Retrosonic Podcast with Mickey Bradley of The Undertones

In the latest episode of Retrosonic Podcast we welcome Mickey Bradley, bassist of The Undertones prior to their "Celebrating 45 Years of Teenage Kicks Tour" (or a 'series of weekends away' according to Mickey). We discuss his excellent book "Teenage Kicks: My Life as an Undertone" (Omnibus Press) and he picks some of his favourite songs and music that had an impact on the early days of The Undertones. Sadly, we recorded the episode the day that Seymour Stein passed away, so Mickey pays tribute to his former Sire Records label boss and picks his favourite Sire Records release. Throughout the show, we discover his influences as a bassist, some of his favourite music related books and authors, how he missed Paul Simonon smashing his bass while touring with The Clash, the influence of Lenny Kaye's "Nuggets" compilation and he picks some pivotal early Undertones tracks. We also cover last year's excellent compilation of the best of the current Paul McLoone fronted line-up "Dig What You Need". As you would expect, Mickey is entertaining company so please check out the show by subscribing to Retrosonic Podcast at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iTunes or at our Retro Man Blog You Tube channel. Otherwise, check out the direct link to our SoundCloud site below. The episode is soundtracked by loads of Mickey's superb musical choices...

Retrosonic Podcast · Michael Bradley of The Undertones

Tracklisting 

The Undertones "Listening In"

Ramones "Blitzkrieg Bop"

Rolling Stones "Jumping Jack Flash (live)"

Dr. Feelgood "Back In The Night"

Sex Pistols "God Save The Queen"

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "Pump It Up"

The Undertones "Trill Me"

The Undertones "Male Model"

The Jam "David Watts"

The Clash "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais"

Ramones "Oh Oh I Love Her So"

David Bowie "Friday On My Mind"

The Undertones "True Confessions"

The Undertones "You've Got My Number"

The Undertones "Enough"

The Undertones "Tomorrow's Tears"

13th Floor Elevators "You're Gonna Miss Me"

The Undertones "Teenage Kicks"

With many thanks to Michael Bradley, more details on his regular radio show can be found here. "Teenage Kicks: My Life as an Undertone" is available from Omnibus Press and all good bookshops. For news on The Undertones upcoming live dates, please check out their official website here. The Undertones "Rocking Humdingers" Facebook Fan's Group can be found here. Finally, check out the Retrosonic Podcast archives for our episodes with Damian O'Neill, at SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts and iTunes. Retrosonic Podcast has a valid PRS Licence. 

R.I.P. Seymour Stein. 

The Undertones, Belfast 1978 - Photo by Paul Slattery

Retrosonic Podcast - Eel Pie Island Museum, The History and Legacy of The Thames Delta 1960's British Beat and R'n'B Explosion

In the latest episode of Retrosonic Podcast, Steve from Retro Man Blog and Buddy Ascott of The Fallen Leaves are on location at the excellent Eel Pie Island Museum in Twickenham in the company of museum curator Michele Whitby and music historian Pete Watt. We discuss the rich musical heritage of what has become known as the Thames Delta and the birthplace of 60's British Beat and R'n'B, focusing on the legendary Eel Pie Island Hotel and some of the famous acts who played there. From it's opening night in 1956 and the Trad Jazz of Acker Bilk, Chris Barber and George Melly to the last show in 1970, the Hotel hosted gigs by many hugely influential bands and artists. There were shows by the leading importers of American Blues and R'n'B such as Alexis Corner, Long John Baldry and John Mayall, the originators Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker and of course, their young acolytes such as the Rolling Stones, The Artwoods and Downliners Sect. That's not to forget Soul acts like Jimmy Cliff and Geno Washington and even the later incarnation when the Hotel was transformed into Colonel Barefoot's Rock Garden and started putting on Heavy Rock and Psychedelic acts such as Deep Purple, Joe Cocker and Black Sabbath. One of the most fascinating aspects is discovering all the now legendary names who made early pre-fame and fortune appearances at the Eel Pie Hotel including David Bowie with The Manish Boys, Jeff Beck with The Tridents, Ian McLagan with The Muleskinners and Eel Pie audience regular, Rod 'The Mod' Stewart with Steampacket. 

Surprisingly, despite Pete Townshend's strong links with Twickenham - after all, his studios and publishing company were named after the Eel Pie Island - The Who only played there once and you might be surprised to find out when. The answer can be found in the episode along with other interesting facts and anecdotes - for example, just how did bands get their equipment to the Hotel before the bridge was built? Did you really need a passport to cross to the Island? Why did The Pretty Things never get to play there? The Hotel was sadly destroyed by fire in 1971 and is now the site of luxury flats but thankfully, the Eel Pie Island Museum is keeping the remarkable legacy of Eel Pie Island alive in such a vibrant and enthusiastic way. To find out more about the Museum and the history of Eel Pie Island, including their mightily impressive list of bands and artists who played at the Hotel, details on visiting, yearly membership, merchandise and much more please check out the official web-site here. If you're going along to the Museum we'd also recommend a visit to the excellent Eel Pie Records, check out the regular live shows at The Eel Pie Club at the Cabbage Patch and of course enjoy a pint or two at the Eel Pie pub. For our report on the recent Don Craine tribute and fund-raising gig at The Half Moon Putney, please check out the feature in our archive here. Retrosonic Podcast Episode 48 features Buddy and Rob Green of The Fallen Leaves discussing the show and there's also an exclusive new song from Thee Headcoats Sect, the band that Billy Childish formed with Don Craine. We'd also recommend the books "British Beat Explosion: Rock 'n' Roll Island" and "Raving Upon Thames: An Untold Story of Sixties London" by Andrew Humphreys for further reference and inspiration. You can subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast for free at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Amazon Music or direct from SoundCloud below:

Retrosonic Podcast · Eel Pie Island Museum - The Legacy of The Thames Delta 60's British Beat and R'n'B Explosion

Here's a few more photos of the Museum and Eel Pie Island itself (copyright Retro Man Blog).

Michele, Pete and Buddy Ascott

The bridge to Eel Pie Island

The site of the old Eel Pie Island Hotel

The impressive list of Eel Pie Island Hotel shows

Tracklisting

Downliners Sect "Glendora"

Rolling Stones "I Just Want To Make Love To You"

Rolling Stones "Not Fade Away"

The Artwoods "If I Ever Get My Hands On You"

The Muleskinners "Back Door Man"

The Who "I'm A Boy"

Downliners Sect "Why Don't You Smile Now?"

The Steampacket "Can I Get A Witness?"

Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames "Yeh, Yeh"

Geno Washington "Hold On I'm Comin'"

The Manish Boys "Take My Tip"

With sincere thanks to Michele and Pete at The Eel Pie Island Museum. Eel Pie Island resident Sheba from Bitter & Twisted Cartoons designed the fantastic Eel Pie caricatures picture (as seen below), which can be found on tea towels, posters and postcards in the museum shop.   

The Others: Veterans of the 1960's Richmond & Eel Pie Island R'n'B Scene at Sunbury-on-Thames

The Others photographed by Paul Slattery

The Others are veterans of the early British 1960’s R’n’B boom that sprung up in the lush suburban greenery of the affluent Thames Valley area to the South West of London. Based around many now legendary venues and club nights such as the Crawdaddy in Richmond, The Ealing Jazz Club, Eel Pie Island Hotel in Twickenham and the Ricky Tick in Windsor, the scene became a fertile breeding ground of talent, spawning many bands such as The Artwoods, The Birds, The Yardbirds and The Downliners Sect. These bands were influenced by their contemporaries such as the Rolling Stones and The Pretty Things along with more established acts such as Long John Baldry, Cyril Davies, and Alexis Korner who introduced the British youth to the original Chicago Blues sounds of artists such as Bo Diddley, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters. 

The Others, Paul and Rob photographed by Paul Slattery

The Others were formed while they were still pupils at Hampton School which also included founder members of The Yardbirds and, a few years their junior, Paul Slattery, the legendary Rock Photographer (and my Retro Man Blog colleague…!). Paul kindly wrote a few words about his memories of the time and you can check them out at the end of the feature. The first line-up consisted of Paul Stewart on lead vocals, Rob Tolchard on rhythm guitar, Ian McLintock on bass, John Standley on lead guitar and Nigel Baldwin on drums. John and Nigel left before the release of their debut single “Oh Yeah” and were replaced by Pete Hammerton and Geoff Coxon. Another Hampton School student, Brian May was so influenced by Pete Hammerton’s guitar playing that he too started a band called Smile before going on to form Queen with Freddie Mercury. 

The Others, Pete Hammerton photographed by Paul Slattery

Fontana Records released “Oh Yeah” in 1964 and recently the influential California based musician and journalist Mike Stax declared in his excellent “Ugly Things” magazine that it was “one of the best records to have come out of the early British R’n’B scene”. It certainly made waves across the Atlantic, with Garage Punk legends The Shadows of Knight having a minor hit in the States with their own version of the single. However, The Others failed to capitalize on the promise of this debut release as they split soon after the single’s release. So, despite their impeccable credentials their short-lived career meant that they were quickly overshadowed by many of their contemporaries. In 2012 Paul, Pete, Rob and Geoff decided to re-form The Others but unfortunately it would be without the original bassist Ian McLintock who had sadly passed away. Rob moved from rhythm guitar to bass and they started to write new material as well as mixing in plenty of those classic Blues songs that had originally inspired them. They have recently released a live in the studio CD entitled “Gold” to celebrate 50 years of The Others but have announced that they will finally call it a day with a gig at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond later this year. So, it’s quite appropriate that I see the band in Sunbury-on-Thames, right in the heart of that legendary R’n’B Scene, just steps away from the river. 

The Others, Rob Tolchard photographed by Paul Slattery

Before tonight’s gig Rob explained to me that they were just happy to be playing music again with no pressure. He insisted that they didn’t want to be thought of as purely a revival act and that they liked to inject some energy into their performances and make sure the songs sounded fresh and contemporary. He wasn’t wrong, as despite Paul’s banter about the advancing years of both band and audience alike, The Others played with an energy that would put most bands half their age to shame. Paul has an impressively raw and authentic Blues voice that sometimes veers into classic Soul and on some occasions even Gospel territory. He’s a great front-man, tall and charismatic with a nice line in self-deprecating chat between songs. Unfortunately he forgot to bring his harmonica. Paul Slattery saw him play harp when he joined Robert Hokum’s Great West Groove on stage in Brentford recently and he was mightily impressed so I was really looking forward to hearing him play. Let’s hope he doesn’t forget the harmonica next time we see them! 

The Others, Geoff Coxon photographed by Paul Slattery

Although, Rob plays bass with a nice laid back but funky style, he really immerses himself in the music, dancing about the stage, swaying along with the rhythm and taking lead vocals on his excellent self-penned number “Can’t Get You Outta My System”. Drummer Geoff holds it all together nicely in an understated and effective way. Pete Hammerton, with his dangling ear-ring, drain-pipe jeans and silk scarf, looks every inch the classic guitar hero. His superb guitar playing is something to behold, mostly playing without a plectrum, it’s difficult to take your eyes off his deft fret-work. Pete and Paul take the stage at the start of their second set armed with acoustic guitars and play an impressive flamenco number that proves the band are definitely far more than just an R’n’B tribute act. My personal highlights were versions of Al Green’s “Take Me To The River” which I got to love after seeing the Talking Heads play it in their “Stop Making Sense” movie and Allen Toussaint’s “Fortune Teller”. I first heard this via the blistering version on The Who’s “Live at Leeds” album and the excellent Freakbeat take on the song by the under-rated Tony Jackson Group. It was a great evening’s entertainment, so enjoyable in fact that I can only feel a bit disappointed that they will be calling it a day. However, it is fitting that their very last show will be at the new home of the legendary Crawdaddy Club in Richmond on Friday August 21st so keep an eye on their web-site for more news and try and catch them while you can. Now, over to Paul...

The Others photographed by Paul Slattery

"I was 14 in October 1964 when The Others released "Oh Yeah", their only recording on Fontana records. What made the record special for me was that the band were still students at Hampton Grammar School, the very school I was attending and for many of us the new sounds of Rock and Roll were having a huge effect on us. For the first time kids wanted to be different from their parents, they wanted to think differently, dress differently and grow their hair long, causing a massive social change. Many of our parents were horrified and the constant battles I and many other boys had with out parents and our teachers about our hair length and choice of music still remains with me. We knew who The Others were at school although we were far too young and insignificant to talk to them - we just admired them and wanted OUR hair that long too. They were three or four years older than us, the same age as Brian May, who also went to Hampton, and they were all following in the footsteps of Jim McCarty and Paul Samwell-Smith who had started The Yardbirds in the summer of ’63. We all went out and bought a copy of the record and played it to death, but I never managed to see The Others play live. In fact I had to wait over fifty years to see them play the gig at Sunbury Cricket Club last week,  and I was not disappointed as the gig was a scorcher. These guys all in their late sixties ooze rock and roll and show that half a century after they got together they can still rock with the best of them.

The Others photographed by Paul Slattery

The Others will be continuing to gig this year and will be playing at the Eel Pie Club this Thursday 30^th April. Check out their website for future gigs.  Their CD "Gold" is a real classic chock full of  R'n'B gems and  you can read a fantastic interview with The Others about life in a schoolboy rock band and the burgeoning Richmond music scene of the Crawdaddy Club and Eel Pie Island, in an article in "Ugly Things" which you can download from The Others website here."

Photo by Paul Slattery

With thanks to Paul for the words and photographs. All photos copyright Paul Slattery 2015.