The Undertones Live at The Electric Ballroom, the new compilation "Dig What You Need" and other personal ramblings on the importance of the band and their related offspring...

The Undertones at Camden Electric Ballroom - Photo Retro Man Blog

The Undertones have always held a special place in my heart ever since I first saw them on Top of The Pops as an impressionable 13-year-old back in 1979. I was too young to fully appreciate the initial Punk Rock explosion – the Sex Pistols had already split up and their record company were releasing cash-in singles such as “Silly Thing” and “C’mon Everybody”. Punk was already pretty mainstream, New Wave I guess it was called then, but it did mean that some superb singles were gate-crashing the Top 40 and we got to see loads of exciting bands on TOTP every Thursday evening. The Undertones might not have had the surly aggression of The Stranglers nor the spikey peroxide cool of Generation X and they certainly didn’t have the sharp black and white Mod stylings of The Jam or the theatrical fantasy look of Adam & The Ants but they really struck a chord with me and my pals. The band members were cheeky, smiling and clearly enjoying themselves on the tele and with their snorkel parkas, V-necked jumpers, floppy fringes and questionable complexions we could really relate to them. Most importantly, especially in guitarist Damian O’Neill’s case, they didn’t look much older than we did. So, in 1980 when we started up our very first band in the school music room, our guitarist Jeff copied the guitar swinging style of Damian rather than the high-octane leaps and poses of Mick Jones and Paul Weller. We also butchered “Teenage Kicks” as an encore at our very first gig in the school gym, a C-90 cassette tape of which still exists under lock and key somewhere in the attic. To cap it all, soon after that gig The Undertones released a superb new single about a cousin called Kevin. Hey, I even had a cousin called Kevin! 

The Undertones, Belfast 1978 - Photo by Paul Slattery

John & Damian O'Neill at Camden Electric Ballroom - Photo Retro Man Blog

The band’s second album “Hypnotised” became a firm favourite and even to this day, remains in my “all-time top 10 albums of all time” (as Smashey and Nicey would say). After The Undertones split, the O’Neill brothers were to have a similarly invigorating impact on my life with their new outfit That Petrol Emotion and the blistering 1985 singles “Keen” and “V2”. These were followed a year later by their debut album “Manic Pop Thrill”, the title of which summed up their sound better than anything I could ever think up. On their release, I wrote about these records in my old D.I.Y. cut ‘n’ paste fanzine “Out of Step” – the records were ahead of their time, something that could be said for That Petrol Emotion’s career as a whole I guess. So, let’s fast forward to 2014 and Damian was involved in another pivotal musical moment in my life with the release of "Anima Rising" by a new band called The Everlasting Yeah - who just so happened to be the last line-up of That Petrol Emotion minus singer Steve Mack, who had moved back to the States and now fronts the excellent band Stag. "Anima Rising" must surely rank among the greatest debut albums of all time and I was thrilled to get to meet Damian, along with Raymond Gorman and Ciaran McLaughlin from the band around this time to record our comprehensive and thoroughly entertaining Retrosonic Podcast special about TEY and TPE (as they can handily be abbreviated). 

Steve, Raymond, Brendan & Damian (That Petrol Emotion) at Stag gig, Islngton

The Everlasting Yeah, Half Moon Putney - Photo Retro Man Blog

This led to me putting on a show for The Everlasting Yeah at one of my Retro Man Blog nights at The Half Moon in Putney, a wonderful night that will live long in the memory. I also then did two more Podcast episodes with Damian about his career in music, including his superb solo album “Refit, Revise, Reprise” and contributions to 5 Billion in Diamonds, a kind of super-group project created by Garbage drummer and producer Butch Vig, James Grillo and Andy Jenks and also featuring our mutual acquaintance Ebbot Lundberg of The Soundtrack of Our Lives. Damian also discusses how he and Billy Doherty got to produce the excellent New York based Power Pop band Baby Shakes. All throughout these encounters, I think I did a reasonable job of holding myself together and not collapsing to the floor in a blubbering fan-boy wreck. At least I hope I did. In the meantime, hopping back to 2003, I’d seen The Undertones at the Brighton Concorde 2 for the first time since the band had got back together with vocalist Paul McLoone stepping in to fill the shoes of Feargal Sharkey and I was blown away. They’d just released a superb album of all new material called “Get What You Need” and yes, this really was just what I needed. 

The Undertones in Brighton, 2003 - Photo Retro Man Blog

The lead single “Thrill Me” gave me goose bumps – it had all the unmistakeable melodies of the classic Undertones with the edgy sonic thrill of That Petrol Emotion. The Undertones were back in my life. They released another mighty fine album called “Dig Yourself Deep” in 2007 that again highlighted the fact that the band were very much of the here and now. Damian and Brian O’Neill’s excellent label Dimple Discs Records have just released “Dig What You Need”, a new compilation of the best of these two albums, re-mixed by Paul Tipler and sequenced by Damian. It also marks the first time on vinyl for the featured tracks and is packed full of great numbers such as “Enough”, “She’s So Sweet” and the brooding “Fight My Corner”, which I always thought sounded like a long lost That Petrol Emotion track. The compilation is not only perfect for those that might have overlooked the Undertones ‘Mark 2’ material but is a must-have for the die-hard fan too. It all sounds so fresh and exciting in a different context, especially when played extremely loud on vinyl. 

Soundcheck at Camden Electric Ballroom - Photo Retro Man Blog

And now, rather like one of those annoying backwards and forwards time-travelling dramas, (insert wavy lines and psychedelic music) I find myself in the present day, standing on the side of the stage at the Electric Ballroom in Camden watching The Undertones sound-check. It’s hard not to avoid the lump in the throat, as I think back to myself as that 13-year-old boy transfixed by seeing the band on Top of The Pops. It’s a dream come true to be standing so close to the band that has meant so much to me over the years. The venue starts to fill up and is soon packed to the rafters and there’s barely room to move as the band take the stage and blast straight into “Family Entertainment”. The atmosphere is amazing – there’s such a wonderful vibe as the band speed their way through a career spanning set of almost thirty songs. Paul pulls out all the stops with his high kicks, jumps and Elvis moves – he’s an engaging frontman that has built up a real rapport with the crowd and live, his voice is really something special. Rather like Baz Warne in The Stranglers, Paul has made the position his own on merit – keeping the integrity of the original delivery intact while retaining his own personality. There’s the usual witty on stage banter, mainly from bassist Mickey Bradley as he reads out requests and dedications between songs. 

The Undertones at Camden Electric Ballroom - Photo Retro Man Blog

Damian and John’s guitars are immensely powerful, swapping rhythm and lead parts effortlessly and Billy’s drums propel everything along at breakneck speed. Mickey jokes, “that’s a record, the quickest we’ve ever played that” after one song. “Hypnotised” and “Tearproof” are personal favourites and of course, the pick of faultless singles such as “Here Comes The Summer”, “You’ve Got My Number”, ”Jimmy Jimmy” and the inevitable “Teenage Kicks” are certainly hard to beat. It’s not just about the singles though, they treat us to a plethora of excellent album cuts and B-Sides like “I Gotta Getta”, “Jump Boys”, “True Confessions” and of course “Male Model”. The Paul McLoone era songs featured on “Dig What You Need” such as “Thrill Me”, “Oh Please” and “Dig Yourself Deep”, sit perfectly alongside all the familiar classics and I particularly enjoyed “Here Comes The Rain”, which sounded superb tonight.

The Undertones at Camden Electric Ballroom - Photo Retro Man Blog

I think it’s rare to see such a band where the only disappointment is that they don’t include more “new” material in the set. Given the quality of the songs highlighted on “Dig What You Need”, it’s a bit of a shame that they haven’t released any new material since the 2013 Record Store Day single “Much Too Late”. The band seem content to spend more time touring rather than being cooped up in a studio these days and I suppose you can’t blame them. When you get the chance to play live in front of frenzied, adoring crowds around the world, you’re not going to turn down the opportunity I guess. Anyway, after such an abysmal couple of years, it’s hard to put into words how wonderful tonight’s show was. It was so great to experience once again the sheer joy and life-affirming power of timeless music played by a band that still clearly enjoy themselves as much as we, the fans do. The crowd - from the very front of the stage to the bars at the back and to the balconies above - all singing along together, almost drowning out the band…bloody marvellous!

Retrosonic Podcast · Damian O'Neill: From The Undertones to The Monotones

At the time of writing, it was announced that drummer Billy Doherty unfortunately had a medical emergency, which meant a show had to be cancelled at the last minute. However, the band have recruited Kevin Sharkey as a deputy and the rest of the advertised dates should be going ahead as advertised, but please double check with the venues. Our very best wishes to Billy for a speedy recovery. “Dig What You Need” is available now from Dimple Discs Records.

Please check out the following highlighted links...

The Undertones - official web-site

Damian O'Neill - official web-site

Retrosonic Podcast - From The Undertones to The Monotones with Damian O'Neill

 

Michael Bradley Radio Show - BBC Radio Ulster

Paul McLoone Show- Spotify Show/Playlists

Dimple Discs Records - official Bandcamp site

 The Rocking Humdingers Club - The Undertones Fan's Facebook page

That Petrol Emotion - official Facebook page 

 The Everlasting Yeah - official Facebook page

 King Afonso Radio Hour - Raymond Gorman's Podcast

Stag (Steve Mack) - official Facebook page

Baby Shakes - official Facebook page

5 Billion in Diamonds - official Facebook page

Retrosonic Podcast - That Petrol Emotion & The Everlasting Yeah special 

(with Damian O'Neill, Raymond Gorman & Ciaran McLaughlin)

Retrosonic Podcast - with special guest Raymond Gorman

 

Retrosonic Podcast - with special guests Baby Shakes 

 

Retrosonic Podcast - with special guests 5 Billion in Diamonds

Retro Man Blog - feature on The Everlasting Yeah at The Half Moon Putney

Retro Man Blog - Good Vibrations movie feature with photos by Paul Slattery

 

Write Wyatt - Malcolm Wyatt's excellent Blog with lots of Undertones related features

For videos of The Undertones at the Camden Electric Ballroom and more...please check out the Retro Man Blog YouTube channel. Here's a little taster for you...enjoy!

 

The Bug Club and Premium Leisure at The Lexington, London Wednesday April 6th

The Bug Club - photo by Retro Man Blog

Now, here was a gig to lift the spirits – The Bug Club at a sold out Lexington. It’s great to catch a band in the ascendancy, to be there when there’s a tangible buzz of excitement amongst the crowd, knowing that there might not be many more chances to see them play in such intimate surroundings. In fact, on the back of the phenomenal demand for tickets, the band have already announced a bigger London show at the nearby Scala in Kings Cross on October 26th. There’s a real sense of anticipation fizzing around the packed out venue and I notice the mix of ages, proving that The Bug Club’s eclectic mix of musical styles and influences appeals equally to old gits like me as well as a much younger audience. Guitarist and Vocalist Sam appears on stage alone and kicks off proceedings with “Pretty As a Dog In The Light”. Drummer Dan and Bassist Tilly take their places and slam into the quick fire “Word of God” which segues into the brilliant “My Baby Loves Rock & Roll Music”, a number that Lou Reed would have been proud to have called his own. 

The Bug Club - photo by Retro Man Blog

Tilly, Dan & Sam of The Bug Club - photo by Retro Man Blog

 

The band are much more powerful and tighter than I imagined and they have an irresistible groove running through their more up-tempo songs like “Vegetable Garden” and “The Fixer” which follow the breathtaking opening salvo. There’s a great chemistry between the three bandmates, Dan is a superb drummer, locking into Sam’s rhythmic guitar and Tilly’s solid bass playing booming from a very cool looking vintage amp. Tilly struts around the stage, a constant blur of motion with her mop of blonde curls, only pausing to add vocals to the mix. In fact, it’s the wonderful boy/girl harmonies between Sam and Tilly that’s at the heart of The Bug Club’s appeal and this is apparent on the sublime “Pure Particles”. These infectious melodies and immediately memorable choruses mean that even the new song “Lay Down Your Roses” will be stuck in your head and seem as familiar as an old favourite by the time it ends. A big part of The Bug Club’s charm is that they are impossible to pin down. They can veer from rollicking Punk Rock blasts like “A Love Song” and “Doin’ Time” to beautiful bittersweet songs such as “We’d Feel Sadder at Twilight” with its “I might die today, tomorrow, would I mind?” and “I’d sleep better in the graveyard” refrain reminding me of The Smiths at their best. Then the band can crank out a three-song self-confessed “Classic Rock” section, complete with an ecstatically received drum solo from Dan.

The Bug Club - photo by Retro Man Blog

The Bug Club - photo by Retro Man Blog

They can switch tempos effortlessly and the sinuous “All of The Scariest Monsters Live in London” reminds me of Jonathan Richman while “Checkmate” cranks up the volume to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion levels on which Sam’s guitar work is a joy to behold. He can switch between Wilko Johnson’s stuttering rhythm guitar style to screaming Jimmy Page lead to the Bluesy Garage Rock of Jack White in an instance. Some of the stand out moments for me include the brilliant Pixies’ Quiet Loud Quiet dynamic of “Launching Moondream One” and the guaranteed future Indie classics “If My Mother Thinks I’m Happy” and “We Don’t Need Room For Lovin’”. These two also highlight the Bug Club’s intriguing, often amusing lyrics that are sung word for word by the happy punters around me. What a show, faultless from beginning to end, I’m blown away. 

The Bug Club - photo by Retro Man Blog

The Bug Club - photo by Retro Man Blog

The only downside is how difficult it is to get any physical copies of The Bug Club’s music; something the band admitted on stage was getting them down too. They have released only very limited edition vinyl versions of the “Launching Moondream One” E.P. and “Pure Particles” mini-album, both unfortunately long since sold out. Tilly tells us sadly that they don’t have any records for sale tonight. “Blame Record Store Day!” someone shouts and Tilly responds “yes, please write to the Pressing Plants….Dear Mr. Pressing Plant…” It’s funny but also a bit of a shame and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if there weren’t a host of major record labels circling like greedy vultures ready to remedy this situation. The demand is there for the delights of The Bug Club so just be quick on the uptake for gig tickets and future releases, you don’t want to miss out.

 

The Bug Club have announced an extensive U.K. tour in October and November so please check out their Facebook page here for details. You can download their releases at the official Bandcamp page and we play one of our favourite tracks from the band in episode 45 of Retrosonic Podcast. 

I must also mention the excellent support act Premium Leisure, who proved to be the perfect warm up for The Bug Club. Since COVID restrictions have lifted, I’ve been more selective on gig going and so the opportunities to be pleasantly surprised by a new (to me at least) band have been somewhat limited. So, I was glad I caught Premium Leisure, who are the vehicle for the Oxford based songwriter Chris Barker. He’s certainly assembled an excellent line-up to do justice to his songs as the musicianship of his bandmates was superb, particularly the lead guitarist, who’s inventive and atmospheric riffs really impressed. Stand out songs for me were “Easy FM”, “Algorithms”, “Ready For Ever” and the powerful groove and dynamics of “Remedies”. It’s refreshing to see a band where I can’t second-guess their reference points, to just go with the flow of the music without any preconceptions. In fact, I asked Chris about this after their set and he told me that his main influences included White Denim and 70’s Psychedelic Rock. Anyway, I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out on future releases from the band and will play a track from them in our next Retrosonic Podcast episode. For more information on Premium Leisure please check them out here.

The Others - Local 60's R'n'B Legends Celebrate the Reformed Crawdaddy Club's Tenth Anniversary - Photos & Report by Paul Slattery

The Others by Paul Slattery - Pete Hammerton & Paul Stewart

Last week the Tenth anniversary of the reformed Crawdaddy Club at Richmond Athletic Ground was celebrated in true style by R&B maestros The Others, a fitting band for such a tribute. The band who originally formed at the local Hampton Grammar School back in 1963, played a fantastic two set gig of around thirty songs laced with legendary R&B standards such as "Route 66", "Oh Yeah", "Goin’ Down" and "Can’t Judge a Book" alongside Paul Stewart’s own superb compositions "I’m Taking Her Home", "What’s Wrong With Me?", "Redwood League" and "Rockman".  I love this place as it’s so friendly and has a real authentic vibe to it, after all The Stones, The Yardbirds, The Pretty Things, The Others, and The Downliners Sect all played here back in the Sixties. Sad to note the recent passing of The Downliners Sect Don Craine who was a lovely guy and a local legend. You can see our features on the Downliners Sect live at The 100 Club and recording a BBC Session at our archive here.  

The Others by Paul Slattery - Paul Stewart

The Others by Paul Slattery - Geoff Grange from The Blue Bishops

After the Crawdaddy Club closed down, forty years passed by until it was resurrected back at The Athletic Ground by fans Mike and Sylvie Rivers just over ten years ago. They’ve tried to recapture some of the atmosphere of those times and host monthly gigs with new and established top name acts, both veteran and current bands. Unfortunately, Mike’s been ill for a while and was unable to make it to the gig, but by the wonders of technology was able to give his congratulations to the assembled crowd during the interval, receiving a great round of applause. The second set saw the band ramp up the pace and the dance floor fill up with some amazing shapes thrown by an energetic and lively crowd. Pete Hammerton on guitar & vocals, Geoff Coxon on drums and Paul Stewart on guitar and lead vocals all go right back to the beginning of The Others in 1964. Paul saw the Stones play the original Crawdaddy back in ’63 and the Others played at the Club in ’64 so you can’t get much more of a West London pedigree than that! Paul’s a mean mouth harp player too. 

The Others by Paul Slattery

The Others by Paul Slattery - Geoff Coxon

Bassist Rob Tolchard is now based in Australia so Steve King from The Great West Groove stepped up superbly to fill in on bass and Tim Staffell who plays regularly with Paul added a superb third guitar and vocals. Tim also went to Hampton Grammar School where he met Brian May and became the lead singer in the pre-Queen trio Smile. Geoff Grange from the Blue Bishops made an appreciated guest appearance on vocals for a couple of songs, accompanied by some of his excellent mouth harp playing. The Stones traditionally finished their sets at the club with "Hey Crawdaddy" and in the spirit of the night so did the Others with a few local lyrics added for the occasion! This band may be veteran but they are steeped in blues and R&B and it really shows. What a great night! They got soul! You can read our feature on the story of The Others in the archive here and there’s also a good piece in Garage Hangover here. 

The Others by Paul Slattery - Steve King

The Others by Paul Slattery - Tim Staffell

Just to prove it's not all about nostalgia, Tim Staffel and Paul Stewart got together in 2019 to record "How High" which also features Steve King on bass and the Great West Groove’s drummer Paul White. Incidentally, The Great West Groove have now resumed their superb blues night at The Brewery Tap in Brentford on the third Wednesday of each month and Tim and Paul often drop by to play. This is always a great night – it feels like Louisiana even though you’re in the West Thames Delta! You can find our more information on The Great West Groove at their official Facebook page here.

A big thanks to Julia Lewis at The Crawdaddy for all her help - Paul Slattery, March 2022.

Please click on the highlighted links below for further information.

The Crawdaddy Club - Official web-site and Facebook page

Tim Staffell - Official web-site and Bandcamp site

The Great West Groove - Official Facebook page

Paul Slattery on Amazon 

The Others by Paul Slattery - Paul Stewart

All photos copyright Paul Slattery.

The Price - Photos from the "No Justice?" In-Store Launch at Sounds of The Suburbs Records

The Price - photo by Retro Man Blog

I'm just back from a thoroughly entertaining Sunday afternoon at Sounds of The Suburbs in Ruislip which hosted an in-store acoustic show from The Price to celebrate the release of their "No Justice?" compilation album. You can read more about the background to the album in our previous Retro Man Blog feature here. The band, appearing with all five members for the first time - guitarist Leigh Heggarty, taking time off from recording the new Ruts DC album, vocalist Malcolm Andrews, bassist Huggy Harewood and both drummers, Paul Mullineaux and Mick Francis - treated us to a set of their melodic guitar pop and seemed to enjoy themselves as much as we did. They had signed copies of "No Justice?" available for sale and were more than happy to chat with fans, (who today included Punk icon and Adverts bassist Gaye Black), and indulge in lots of photo opportunities, especially once the Pricewise store was spotted across the street! Tony at Sounds of The Suburbs did another superb job organising the afternoon and I'd recommend following the store on social media as I know he has some really good events coming up. 

The Price - photo by Retro Man Blog

The Price - photo by Retro Man Blog

The Price - photo by Retro Man Blog

The Price with Tony from SOTS (3rd L) - photo by Retro Man Blog

Gaye (Advert) Black & Leigh Heggarty - photo by Retro Man Blog

Here's some links for you, please do kindly check them out for more information...

The Price official Facebook page

"No Justice?" CD for sale on-line from Cadiz

...or why not buy a copy from a proper record shop such as... 

Sounds of The Suburbs Records

Ruts DC

Leigh Heggarty's Mad World of Guitars Blog

Retrosonic Podcast Episode 46 (featuring tracks by The Price & Ruts DC)

Don't forget our Retrosonic Podcast with Leigh Heggarty is available to stream at Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts or you can listen/download from our SoundCloud below.

Retrosonic Podcast · Lockdown Lowdown Episode 2: Leigh Heggarty of Ruts DC

 

The Price "No Justice?" New Compilation & Launch Event at Sounds Of The Suburbs Records Ruislip on March 20th.

33 1/3 years after they released their first single, The Price release their debut album "No Justice?" on Cadiz Records featuring nineteen studio recordings from 1988-1993. The Price played hundreds of shows during this time, including support slots to Transvision Vamp, Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, The Lords Of The New Church, Wilko Johnson, Mega City Four, Senseless Things, John Otway and many more, as well as sharing the stage with contemporaries like Red Letter Day, The Newtown Neurotics, The Chairs, Action Pact, TV Smith’s Cheap, Who Moved The Ground?, The Shout and Porky The Poet (now better known as Phil Jupitus) among others. They also toured the UK with The Lurkers and were one of the few bands to play in East Germany (including gigging in Leipzig and East Berlin and a recording session in Halle as well as supporting Half Japanese in Magdeburg and Cottbus) before The Wall came down. The band appeared on a compilation album with The Manic Street Preachers (who they were booked to support but who got too big for the gig!) and their two 7” singles 'The Price You Pay' / 'The Man With The Smile' and 'So What About Love?' / Between The Lies' were both Single Of The Week in The NME and Sounds magazines. BBC radio presenter Steve Lamacq was an early champion of the band, and ex-Ruts guitarist Paul Fox produced their second single ‘So What About Love?’ They also went on to work with famed and fabled producer Pip Williams who also produced Status Quo, Dr. Feelgood and more. Although the band released a six-track mini-album ‘The Table Of Uncles’ in 1990 they were never able to release a full-length LP at the time, so this release collects together many of their best-loved songs in a long overdue overview of their career. Price guitarist Leigh Heggarty now plays in Ruts D.C., and has also worked with Henry Rollins, Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants, Wayne Kramer, T. V. Smith, Department S and many more. Leigh explains further...

Tony from Sounds of The Suburbs Records (R) & Leigh Heggarty - Pic Retro Man Blog

"One day in the dim and distant past, I received a cassette of The Price in the post. Way back in those pre-internet days one of the main ways you got your music to promoters, journalists, indeed anybody who might be interested in what you were doing, was to send them a tape. Most of them disappeared forever, but this one had been sent back to me in the stamped addressed envelope that I invariably included in the package along with a plea to send the tape back if they didn't like what they heard so that we could use it again. This was an unusual occurrence, which is probably why it's stuck in my mind. The accompanying note said that the music was interesting, but that we needed to think more about our melody lines; also we should look at making the arrangements more commercial - maybe by listening to the sort of things that were getting into the charts at the moment - and while we were doing that, perhaps think about the sounds on those records, especially on the drums. Oh and we should always include at least one photograph of the band so that people could see what sort of image we had. Needless to say we did none of those things.  

It's interesting to speculate on what might have happened if we had taken even any of those points to task...Would we now be thinking about reforming for yet another money-spinning World Tour to coincide with the latest box set reissue of our illustrious back catalogue? Would we all be in poverty-ridden obscurity, bitter and twisted at the way that our music has been sold and resold by a ruthless music industry without any of us ever seeing a penny for it? Would we be somewhere between the two? And if so which would we be nearer to? These are obviously all rhetorical questions, as we were far too naive to have even considered considering any of it. Well, I certainly was anyway. 'No Justice?' collects together 19 tracks recorded between 1988 and 1993 - here are some of my memories from that time". Leigh Heggarty January 2022 

The excellent Sounds of The Suburbs Records in Ruislip will be hosting a free in-store live show from The Price to celebrate the release of "No Justice?" on Sunday March 20th at 2pm and you'll be able to buy the album on the day too. Please check out the event page here for more details. If you can't make it you can order the album from Cadiz here. Leigh Heggarty has his very own Blog "Leigh's Mad World of Guitars" and you can also check out our thoroughly entertaining Retrosonic Podcast special episode with Leigh. if you search and subscribe at Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or Mixcloud or you can listen/download directly from SoundCloud below:

Retrosonic Podcast · Lockdown Lowdown Episode 2: Leigh Heggarty of Ruts DC

Hoodoo Gurus - Australian Garage Power Pop Legends Celebrate 40 Years with New LP "Chariot of The Gods"

Hoodoo Gurus by Christopher Ferguson

I first saw the legendary Australian band Hoodoo Gurus at the Hammersmith Palais back in 1985 when they were touring to promote their breakthrough second album "Mars Needs Guitars!" This LP built on all the great things present in their classic debut "Stoneage Romeos" which to this day remains one of my all time favourite records. Hoodoo Gurus combined all the best bits of my favourite music from 60's Garage nuggets, stomping Glam Rock, the down-town Punk Rock of New York Dolls and Ramones and melodic Power Pop to the swampy Blues of The Gun Club and The Cramps...they have it all! But most of all they have the tunes...the songwriting genius of frontman Dave Faulkner, ably abetted by guitarist Brad Shepherd, lifted the band to another level and earned them international recognition with songs such as "I Want You Back" and "Bittersweet". Well, the good news is that they are back with a new album "Chariots of The Gods" and they've lost none of their trademark brilliance. Thanks to Hungry Promotion, I'm able to give you an in-depth look into background behind "Chariots of The Gods".

Hoodoo Gurus "Chariot of The Gods" cover

Hoodoo Gurus hold a singular place in Australian and indeed international Rock’n’Roll history. Comprising members of seminal ‘70s Aus-Punk outfits including The Victims and Fun Things, the band were unrepentant Garage-rockers whose colourful personality and pop culture smarts, superb songcraft and unabashed rocking took them to the top of the charts at home and to the forefront of an international Garage-rock, Alternative-rock and Power Pop movements in the mid-‘80s. Accepted as friends and contemporaries by bands ranging from The Bangles to The Fleshtones and Flamin’ Groovies to Redd Kross, the band became real-deal, Rock’n’Roll heroes of the pre-Grunge era, playing to packed houses across the US and in the UK and Europe and making their way to the top of the US College charts. Now with the addition of a couple of members who have added both the Divinyls and Radio Birdman to th group’s extended family tree, the Gurus have solidified a sound that combines a range of ‘60s and ‘70s influences into a classic Punk/Garage/Hard rock sound that – like that of their heroes the Ramones – is instantly recognizable even as it is wide-ranging. The album includes five songs that were released as singles. The Punk-snarl of "Answered Prayers" emerged in late 2019 followed by the politically charged "Hung Out To Dry" in July 2020 and a slice of soaring power pop in the form of "Get Out Of Dodge" in October last year. "World Of Pain" was released in June 2021 and the band ended the year with "Carry On", an anthem celebrating resilience and tenacity. The releases follow the official reprisal of Hoodoo Gurus owned and operated label "Big Time Phonograph Recording Co" in 2018 - under which the band reissued their entire album recording catalogue on coloured vinyl in the same year. So, while celebrating their 40 years of touring, recording and global success – Hoodoo Gurus are embracing 2022 with full vigour. Bassist Rick Grossman explains: "40 years as a band this year. I’ve spent half my life with these guys and looking forward to making more memories with them. When I played in Divinyls, I bought the first 2 Gurus albums and the single Tojo. So, I was a fan. And now, 33 years later, I still am. I always dreamt as a kid to be a member of a band, so my dream came true. The Gurus are a great live band so it’s always exciting to play - and to play great songs. I love Dave's writing and how we as a band, turn them into Hoodoo Gurus songs. And we still are. And so it goes on."

 

Hoodoo Gurus

2022 looks like it will be one of Hoodoo Gurus most eventful years to date. They were going to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the band’s formation in 2021 but COVID messed with that! The release of "Chariot of The Gods", their first album in over a decade, alongside a welcome return to the stage sees the band full of a palpable level of determination, drive and spirit as Hoodoo Gurus’ founder Dave Faulkner explains: "The last twelve months have been frustrating and nerve-racking for everyone but, for the Hoodoo Gurus, this dark cloud has had a silver lining. Forced to rely on ourselves instead of the outside world for validation, there has been a creative rebirth within the band that has resulted in a string of singles and a new album. Most important of all, the musical bonds between the four of us have never been stronger. When the discussions are all about which songs we're sad about having to leave off the record, that's a damn good sign. I'm tellin' ya, folks, we've got a real spring in our step right now". The new album is the first with new recruit on drums, Nik Reith, a veteran of some of Australia’s most esteemed Rock’n’Roll bands including Radio Birdman, The Celibate Rifles, The New Christs and Tumbleweed. Nik said: "It's a real honour to be playing for such an iconic band. I've been a fan for a long time (since cassettes!) and to be playing for them in a milestone year is a privilege. We've recorded some wonderful songs that I hope continue the rich Power Pop/Rock catalogue that fans will recognise and love. I’m looking forward to a huge year for the band's 40th birthday to celebrate with past members and the extended family, and hopefully a few more years of doing what Hoodoo Gurus do best".

My first time - London 1985.

The announcement of the original, pre-COVID rescheduled 2021 tour with The Dandy Warhols coincided with the release of a new Hoodoo Gurus’ single, the explosive Glam-stomper "World Of Pain". The track simply, enthusiastically leaps from the speakers, demanding your attention. It’s a sign of the revitalised approach to writing and recording the band have undergone in recent times as guitarist Brad Shepherd beautifully articulates: "There were times as younger men when making a record seemed easier; we operated largely on initial impulses and others were more or less OK with it. Through the years, as a consequence of us becoming more confident in our abilities, and developing an acute responsibility to the songs, our process has evolved into a more meticulous pursuit. These tunes haven’t simply happened by accident. Very few details have been left unattended, although on occasion the most important idea may be to have no idea at all, which can be challenging when we’re rolling tape. I learned it a long while back, but it holds true: tolerance and patience are your allies, easily as valuable in a band as creative aptitude or ability on your instrument. Nonetheless we’ve stayed the course, working hard into nights of long hours, revising and fine tuning. It was a pleasant surprise then, amidst the close scrutiny and hand wringing, that one day strong songs revealed themselves unannounced in a kind of miracle. It would appear that even at this late stage of our game, we are capable of turning in some of our best work". 

 

Hoodoo Gurus

For more information on Hoodoo Gurus please check out their official web-site here. With thanks to Roberto Calabro and Hungry Promotion. We'll be playing a track from "Chariots of The Gods" in the next episode of Retrosonic Podcast so, make sure you don't miss out by subscribing for free at iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts or direct from our main SoundCloud site here. Thanks to Hungry Promotion.

Alvin Gibbs "Diminished Responsibility: My Life as a U.K. Sub and Other Strange Stories Vol. 2”

Here’s another rollicking, rip-roaring Rock ‘n’ Roll memoir from U.K. Subs bassist Alvin Gibbs courtesy of the always excellent Time & Matter Recordings publishing wing Tome and Metre. “Diminished Responsibility: My Life as a U.K. Sub and Other Strange Stories Vol. 2” picks up the tale from the aftermath of Alvin’s sudden and unexpected dismissal from the Subs in 1983 and ends some 11 years later with a cliff-hanger phone call from Charlie Harper and a tantalising offer. First of all, I was pleasantly surprised to read in the foreword that Alvin and T&M have decided to expand this thoroughly entertaining autobiography series to a trilogy of books with Volume 3 hopefully due to be published at the end of the year. This will continue with Alvin’s adventures following that fateful phone call from Charlie right up to the present day. 

Cheap And Nasty in Berlin, 1991 by Mark Plummer

Anyway, back to Volume 2 which starts up with Alvin going through a bit of a musically quiet patch following his departure from the U.K. Subs and the realisation dawns that he might have to get some real work to make ends meet. So he gets a job as a Hospital Porter! This is where Alvin’s writing comes into its own and the descriptions of his day job are shot through with a hilarious, if occasionally morbid humour, when it comes to unexpected autopsies and navigating corpses on trolleys through the Hospital car parks. It’s like a cross between Carry on Doctor and the best of Dave Allen’s sketch show. In fact, near death experiences loom large throughout Volume 2 – whether its narrowly avoiding drug overdoses, being hit by an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 on the Richter Scale or getting his parachute cords twisted during a sky dive, Alvin certainly does get into some scrapes. A lot of the danger and the drama however, does seem to stem from one person and that’s Hanoi Rocks guitarist Andy McCoy. On one hand, his - what can only be described as a love/hate - relationship with Andy does offer Alvin quite a lot of opportunities including the chance to join Iggy Pop’s band for his “Instinct” period world tour and the chance to replace Sami Yaffa in Hanoi Rocks. However, the hand that gives can also take away and Andy’s hedonistic lifestyle often scuppers the best opportunities that the pair find themselves in. 

Alvin on stage (centre) with Iggy Pop in 1988 by Paul McAlpine

Along with Andy, it’s also Alvin’s relationship with his American wife Mary that’s at the heart of Volume 2 and the strains on their marriage caused by a life in Rock ‘n’ Roll music are laid bare with a searing honesty. The couple move to San Francisco and L.A. where Alvin is immersed in the local music scenes. He tells us of his bands Revolver and Broken Glass and his relationships with Timo Kaltio and Nasty Suicide and mixing with Hollywood stars such as Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp, James Russo and most impressively (to me at least…) George Wendt or Norm from “Cheers”.  There’s some funny tales of auditions including an offer from Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s to try out for her band World’s Cutest Killers and an infuriating encounter with John Lydon’s brother Martin.

Alvin in Revolver, 1986

Things do get better after that thankfully, Guns N Roses cover the Subs “Down on the Farm” on their “Spaghetti Incident” LP, there’s a reunion in New York with Charlie Harper and Nicky Garratt and then of course, Andy McCoy recommends Alvin to Iggy Pop. Although the “Instinct” tour is covered in Alvin’s excellent book “Neighbourhood Threat – On Tour with Iggy Pop” he does add quite a bit of extra background info and gossip to his time spent touring the world with Iggy, which makes for fascinating reading. The book ends in 1994 and his time with Cheap & Nasty, which sadly is beset by the usual music industry problems and hassles with management and record labels. It’s another thoroughly satisfying read and as I mentioned in my review of “Volume 1”, Alvin excels with his evocative reminiscing of travels and experiences in places such as India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Japan and this lifts his books far above any standard Rock ‘n’ Roll memoir. Although, don’t worry, there’s still plenty of on-the-road debauchery thrown in for good measure! I’m already looking forward to “Volume 3”.

Alvin with the U.K. Subs photo by Retro Man Blog

To order the book please check out Time & Matter here. For our feature on "Diminished Responsibility: My Life as a U.K. Sub and Other Strange Stories Vol. 1” please check out the Blog Archive here. Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants official page is here and more info on the U.K. Subs can be found here. Thanks to Mark & Rob at Time & Matter.