Another appearance tonight from The Velvet Underground, with one of the songs from the "VU" LP which didn't see the light of a record shop until 1985. "I Can't Stand It" was recorded in 1969 for what was to be the band's fourth LP. That plan fell apart when MGM records new boss, Mike Curb, dropped the band in what can only be described as a "cull". Billboard at the time had the headline "MGM Busts 18 Rock Groups" implying that Mike Curb was taking a stand against rock groups which "promote and exploit hard drugs through music" - Billboard's words. I suppose the fact that the Velvets had a song called "Heroin" didn't help their chances of surviving Mike's reign.
Mike later went on to become Lieutenant Governor California for the Republican Party and founded the country music label Curb Records. I think they're thinking of signing The Fall.
Magazine - My Mind Ain't So Open
Vibrators - Wrecked On You
Sea Urchins - Pristine Christine
Weirdos - Solitary Confinement
Echo & The Bunnymen - With A Hip
Girls At Our Best! - Waterbed Babies
Modern Lovers - Lonely Financial Zone
The Fall - Your Heart Out
Sham 69 - Family Life
Yo - I See Beyond
Tenpole Tudor - I Wish
Talking Heads - The Book I Read
Velvet Underground - I Can’t Stand It
Jesus & Mary Chain - You Trip Me Up
Mouse & The Traps - Look At The Sun
There's a not quite strictly defined list of the bands that can be put in the queue marked 'They Influenced Punk'. Velvet Underground, Stooges, New York Dolls - you know the names, you probably have their records. Have you any Marc Bolan records ? He was already on the other side of his career hill when he gave the support slot to The Damned in the spring of 1977 but it was a big deal for us NME reading punk rock fans who remembered T.Rex. Whether that was the cue for bands to start covering 'Get It On' and 'Jeepster' I'm not sure but his death that summer may have reminded punk rock fans that T Rex had more than their share of short , sharp songs worth a revisit. Tonight's offering is Marc Bolan on Cherry Red records in 1981. That's right, four years after the car crash in Barnes which killed him. Studio trickery enabled electric guitars to be added to Marc's original 1966 acoustic guitar version. The story goes that it was originally written as a jingle for tablets to cure bad breath. "Horrible Breath" ? Sounds like a Damned b-side.
Wasps - Teenage Treats
Golinski Brothers - Bloody
Farmers Boys - I Don’t Know Why I Don’t Like All My Friends
Consumers - Anti Anti Anti
Richard Hell - I’m Your Man
Television Personalities - The World Of Pauline Lewis
101ers - Keys To Your Heart (version 2)
Medium Medium - Hungry So Angry
Cortinas - Further Education
Someloves - Dont Talk About Us
Victim - Mixed Up World
Marc Bolan - You Scare Me To Death
The Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette
Scritti Politti - 28/8/78
49 Americans - Newtons Laws
Specials - I Cant Stand It
Many things inspire great records but how many have been written because of pique ? That's the first time I've ever written 'pique' without 'fit of' in front of it. I refer to the reaction of The Clash, lovely bunch of fellas, who were signed to CBS in 1977. CBS, to you and I, were a record company who delivered David Essex and Bob Dylan records to shops across the UK. To the Clash, they were the heartless corporation who forced them to accept a large amount of cash, herded them into a recording studio and stole their souls through magnetic tape recordings. They then released (as a single) an average song from their first LP called 'Remote Control' without consulting the band!! It turned out to be the best thing ever to happen to the Clash, as it so annoyed Joe Strummer that he wrote 'Complete Control'. It was released by CBS in September 1977. Of course it didn't wipe clean the extent of their crimes, but you can't have everything.
Adverts - One Chord Wonders
XTC - Are You Receiving Me?
Joy Division - Wilderness
June Brides - Sunday To Saturday
The Upstarts - Head Over Heels
Orange Juice - Louise Louise
Human League - Being Boiled
Clash - Complete Control
Glaxo Babies - Police State
Hagar The Womb - Armchair Observer
Lowell George & The Factory - Candy Cane Madness
Lurkers - Go Go Go
Electric Eels - Cyclotron
999 - Rael Rean
REM - Life And How To Live It
I was listening to Sean Coyle last week, doing a marvellous job filling in for the unfilling-in-able Gerry Anderson on Radio Ulster ('for all your broadcasting needs'). Towards the end of the show he played Leo Sayer's 1973 hit , The Show Must Go On. If you don't know it, I wouldn't bother running out to get a copy. If only someone had said that to me the Saturday after Leo appeared on Top Of The Pops. For that record became 'The First Record I Ever Owned'. Which is not a very cool thing to admit. Should the first single not be a glam rock classic by Slade, or even a single by the Beatles ? Wouldn't it be a much better thing to be able to say 'Yes, the first single I ever bought was 'White Riot' by The Clash'. Yes it would, but it's better to tell the truth. Others made much wiser choices. Feargal Sharkey's first record purchase was '19th Nervous Breakdown.' Now that's cool, but it means he was seven years old when he bought it. That's perfectly feasible although when I first read his answer (it was a pop magazine questionnaire) I must admit I thought it was suspicious. He did grow up with older brothers and sisters who presumably were first generation Stones and Beatles fans.One of them must have reached in their pocket, ruffled his young hair and said 'There's six and eight pence, go out and buy yourself a record - and don't be coming back with anything by The Bachelors'. I, on the other hand, brought back a record by a singer who wore white Pierrot make up.
The first time I ever read the word 'misogynist' was in an NME article about the Stranglers in 1977. I didn't know what it meant but I knew that the band weren't subscribers to Spare Rib. Germaine Greer wasn't in their fan club. They weren't in touch with the feminine side of their .........you get the picture. Did I mind ? Not really, but I did get the feeling that it was in some way wrong to like the Stranglers. They weren't on the level of Sid the Sexist (not even Sid the Sky Sports Presenter) but there is something about the sentiments of London Lady that leaves me cold. Does that mean it's not a great record ? I don't know. The strippers on stage in Battersea Park in 1978 were a mistake though.
Slits - Spend Spend Spend
Boys - Watcha Gonna Do
Stranglers - London Lady
The Van Dykes - Breakin My Heart
Nips - Gabrielle
Dictators - Stay With Me
Count Five - People Hear What I Say
Johnny Thunders & Patti Paladin - Love Is Strange
New York Dolls - Trash
Only Ones - No Solution
Revillos - Where’s The Boy For Me ?
Dexys Midnight Runners - Respect
London PX - Orders
Gang Of Four - Republic
Slaughter & The Dogs - Cranked Up Really High
Apologies for not posting this blog earlier - I couldn't find my shoes. Devo make a welcome appearance this week, but my original thought of playing their version of 'Secret Agent Man' was scuppered by the realisation that, in fact, it's not very good. Originally conceived as the TV theme for the American broadcasts of Danger Man it sounds great as a thirty second jingle. Once its over two minutes, we're in stretching territory. Same with Starjets, Belfast's hidden punk rock band, whose first single on Epic label in 1978 was something called Here She Comes Again. Not very good at all but saved by the great b-side 'Watch Out'. Am I getting too critical ? Possibly, but I have bought these records and with each one , you get a free comment card to fill in.
Ramones - Teenage Lobotomy
X - I'm Coming Over
Flatmates - Happy all The Time
Animals & Men - The Man With The Spiked Toe Shoes
Skids - Charles
Starjets - Watch Out
The Beat - Big Shot
The Barracudas - This Aint My Time
Wreckless Eric - Grown Ups
Devo - Come Back Jonee
The Cravats - Off The Beach
Cramps - Green Fuz
Bow Wow Wow - Gold He Said
Billy Bragg - The Saturday Boy
Splodgenessabounds - Rolf
The Leaves - Dr Stone
Pere Ubu - Caligaris Mirror
