Retrosonic Podcast with Duncan Reid - "And It's Goodbye From Him..." Former Bassist and Vocalist with The Boys and (now) The Big Heads on his decision to call time on his musical career

Following our feature on Duncan Reid & The Big Heads final bittersweet show at The Lexington, I thought I'd invite Duncan into the Retrosonic Podcast virtual studio to get the lowdown on the shock decision to hang up his purple Duncanbacker bass for the very last time. The announcement came just as he released his fifth and arguably best album to date "And It's Goodbye From Him..." calling time on a musical career that started off in 1976 with spells in The Matinee Idols and The Hollywood Killers before a move to London at the very start of the U.K. Punk explosion in 1977 to join the melodic Punk Pop legends The Boys. In this episode, Duncan picks five songs from the new LP that cover the reasons behind his decision and we take a look back at each of the rest of his albums with The Big Heads, discussing some of his favourite hidden gems and overlooked tracks along the way. He also praises his Big Heads bandmates who contributed to making them one of the most visually exciting live acts of recent years. You can subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Amazon Music or download/stream direct from our SoundCloud site below.

Retrosonic Podcast · Duncan Reid "And It's Goodbye From Him..."

Episode Tracklisting

Bill Gates (Finland Is a Myth) from "And It's Goodbye From Him..."

They're Dreaming About Me from "Little Big Head" (2019 reissue bonus track)

Would I Lie To You from "And It's Goodbye From Him..."

Just As Good As I Used To Be from "The Difficult Second Album" 

It Rains On The Good from "And It's Goodbye From Him..."

Confetti from "Bombs Away"

Gilded Cage from "And It's Goodbye From Him..."

Don't Blame Yourself from "Don't Blame Yourself"

Real Good Time from "And It's Goodbye From Him..."

To Live Or Live Or Live Not from "Don't Blame Yourself"

Our previous Retrosonic Podcast with Duncan, Episode 5 in the "Lockdown Lowdown" series, is still available in our archive and is a thoroughly entertaining romp through Duncan's life from his earliest childhood musical memories to his first exposure to Rock & Roll, the first record he bought and the first gig he went to. Along the way he picks some of his favourite singles and albums along with the Artists and gigs that had an impact and influence on him over the years. 

Retrosonic Podcast · Lockdown Lowdown Episode 5: Duncan Reid of The Boys & The Big Heads

For more info on Duncan Reid & The Big Heads back catalogue and merchandise, please check out his official web-site here. You can see our feature with photos and videos from the final show at the Lexington in the Retro Man Blog archive here. Podcover photo of Duncan with Sophie and Karen of The Big Heads copyright Retro Man Blog. Retrosonic Podcast has a valid PRS licence. Here's a superb (but sad) reminder on what we will be missing from now on... All the best to Duncan and his Big Heads on whatever comes next.

Duncan Reid & The Big Heads - Words, Photos & Videos From The Final Show at The Lexington, London, October 7th

It's not often a musician will announce their retirement at the very top of their game - certainly not hot on the heels after the release of what could possibly be their best album to date. Definitely not when they look as fit, healthy and energetic as many people half their age (let alone most of their contemporaries) and have a young, charismatic and popular band backing them up. But that's exactly what former Boys bassist and co-vocalist Duncan Reid has done,  announcing in advance that this Lexington show will be the very last time himself, or the fabulous Big Heads will be appearing live. Yes, it is true, he is hanging up his purple Duncanbacker bass for good. The decision certainly came out of the blue (or purple...) and took the majority of fans by surprise, making the atmosphere at the sold-out Lexington a bit weird at first, especially when the band hit the stage with their customary energy and slammed into the brilliant "Your Future Ex-Wife" and you could sense everyone thinking the same thing - "why the hell are they packing it in now!?" Duncan then announced the bad news that unfortunately, guitarist Sophie Powers had been told by her doctors not to play due to a wrist injury, but then the good news was that she was going to make an appearance on a few songs throughout the evening anyway.

 

So, Heidi Cotton deputised for Sophie alongside regular Big Heads, guitarist Nick Hughes and drummer Karen Jones but it wasn't long before Sophie joined in on the fun, hair flying everywhere and trading riffs with her guitar sparring partner Nick. There's such a great energy and chemistry between the band, they seem to be having as much fun as us in the crowd are. In fact, Sophie did end up playing on most of the songs, so I am sure she will have suffered the next morning. There are some special guests, former Chelsea and Gene Loves Jezebel guitarist James Stevenson joined in for "The One" and previous Big Heads drummer Ciara takes her place behind the kit for a superb run through of "Kelly's Gone Insane". We get a pick of tracks from Duncan's debut solo album "Little Big Head" and then from each of his four albums with the Big Heads "The Difficult Second Album", "Don't Blame Yourself", "Bombs Away" and the superb new one "And It's Goodbye From Him". My personal highlights included "Montevideo", "Listening To The Beach Boys" and a blistering "C'est La Vie" along with the early Boys track "Soda Pressing".

 

Unfortunately, they didn't play my all-time favourite track "Gotta Call Simone" after all, we loved it so much, over ten years ago now we named Episode 9 of Retrosonic Podcast after a line from the song, "I'm Going Crazy, Need a Shot of You", but I guess the twenty one other brilliant melodic guitar pop nuggets in the set-list more than made up for its omission. The thoroughly entertaining night ends with a chaotic blast through The Boys classic "First Time" with Nick playing keyboards on his shoulder and the whole thing degenerating into an emotional singalong. The band then have their photos taken in front of their adoring fans and that's it, they skip off stage to rapturous applause, unfortunately for the very last time. Well, I must admit it was a somewhat bittersweet night and with so much negativity and cynicism in the world today, not to mention the amount of dull soulless bands treading the boards, it's quite sad to think we are losing one hell of a special good-time Rock 'n' Roll band that puts smiles on people's faces and guarantees you a great night out. But the memories of such nights remain and we can only be thankful for them and wish Duncan and the Big Heads all the best with whatever comes next in the future.

I hope to ask Duncan about the reasons behind his decision to call it a day in an upcoming Retrosonic Podcast so please keep an eye out for that. In the meantime, you can listen to our Retrosonic Podcast "Lockdown Lowdown" special episode from a few years ago with Duncan discussing some of his favourite songs and influences and a pick of his own material, it's available in our archives at Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcasts or direct from our SoundCloud site below. 

Retrosonic Podcast · Lockdown Lowdown Episode 5: Duncan Reid of The Boys & The Big Heads

 

All photos and videos copyright Retro Man Blog

You can see more videos from the final show at our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel here. You can order the new Big Heads album "And It's Goodbye From Him" from the official site here.

Duncan Reid & The Big Heads, Cyanide Pills & The WitchDoktors - Photos & Videos from The 100 Club London Friday May 24th

Duncan Reid & The Big Heads at The 100 Club - photo Retro Man Blog

Here are some photos and videos of a thoroughly enjoyable night of Punk Rock at London's iconic 100 Club featuring a top-notch three band line-up. Headliner Duncan Reid & The Big Heads were unfortunately missing regular guitarist Sophie due to illness so Mauro Venegas from The Speedways stepped in at the last minute to cover admirably. Mauro had an immediate chemistry with Duncan and his bandmates, the excellent drummer Karen Jones and impressive lead guitarist Nick Hughes. As promising as they sounded, Duncan didn't make Mauro's job any easier by including a couple of new songs in the set. And what a set it was...packed full of timeless Punk Pop, or Power Pop or whatever you want to call it - that took in the best of his debut solo album and those with The Big Heads including songs such as "Bombs Away", "Let's Skip To The Good Bit" and "Montevideo". Duncan is a non-stop blur of purple clad energy and he barely gives himself time to finish singing a line before he's off jumping around the stage again. Of course there's a pick of classics by The Boys including "First Time", "Brickfield Nights", "TCP" and "Sick On You" which got everyone singing along. Duncan mentions how lucky he was to be in The Boys with such talented songwriters and cheekily comments that's why his new songs are so good! He's not wrong though, as songs such as "Don't Stop" and "C'mon Josephine" certainly match the melodic genius of his previous employers.

Duncan Reid & The Big Heads at The 100 Club - photo Retro Man Blog

Duncan Reid & The Big Heads at The 100 Club - photo Retro Man Blog

Duncan Reid & The Big Heads at The 100 Club - photo Retro Man Blog

Duncan Reid & The Big Heads at The 100 Club - photo Retro Man Blog

Duncan Reid & The Big Heads at The 100 Club - photo Retro Man Blog

Duncan Reid & The Big Heads at The 100 Club - photo Retro Man Blog

Leeds band Cyanide Pills put on an all-action show with a set crammed full of their fast and naggingly memorable Punk tunes. Although some of the humourous songs such as "Suicide Bomber", "Mail Order Bride" and "Can't Get It Up" might at first put them firmly in The Toy Dolls and The Dickies camp, the quality of their superb songwriting, particularly on excellent tracks like "Government", "Sit Tight" and "Shallow" for example, prove there is much more depth to the band. A personal highlight of the night was the classic "Johnny Thunders Lived In Leeds" which boasts one of the greatest lines ever - 'I'm a Yorkshireman not a New York junkie'. The merchandise table was bulging with their already impressive back catalogue of multicoloured vinyl singles and if you didn't snap up the lot on the night then you can order them from Damaged Goods Records here. 

Cyanide Pills at The 100 Club - photo Retro Man Blog

Cyanide Pills at The 100 Club - photo Retro Man Blog

Cyanide Pills at The 100 Club - photo Retro Man Blog

Cyanide Pills at The 100 Club - photo Retro Man Blog

It's been a while since we last saw The WitchDoktors play and it was refreshing to catch them again after so long and enjoy their whiskey soaked Rock 'n' Roll. The crunching Garage Punk of songs like "I'm Sick" and "No Pain No Gain" are balanced by tuneful favourites such as "Told You To Go", which I always felt was The WitchDoktors very own "Train In Vain". Talking of The Clash, the band don't shy away from their primary influence especially as "Black Bag" segues into a cover of "Guns of Brixton" and there's a sneaky drum attack tribute to "Tommy Gun" along the way too. The band are steeped in the outsider Rock 'n' Roll tradition of bowling shirts and brothel ceepers - Johnny Cash, Ramones, old school Rockabilly and it's all wrapped up in a swampy Voodoo sound perfectly captured in two of the night's highlights, "Neck Tattoo" and "Common Prayer For A Working Man". Great band and great guys. I hope it won't be too long before we see them again.

The WitchDoktors at The 100 Club - photo Retro Man Blog

The WitchDoktors at The 100 Club - photo Retro Man Blog

The WitchDoktors at The 100 Club - photo Retro Man Blog

The WitchDoktors at The 100 Club - photo Retro Man Blog

For more photos of the gig please check out the Retro Man Blog Facebook page here and you can find lots more original videos of all three bands at our YouTube channel here. Please click on the highlighted links to take you to the band's official web-sites for news and more info on upcoming tour dates and how to buy their records. Mauro is also involved with Some Weird Sin promotions who will be putting on the Pump It Up Power Pop weekender at The Lexington on July 27th and 28th which features Duncan Reid & The Big Heads and The Priscillas among others.