British Comedy Guide

What are you listening to now? Page 991

Get It On Bang A Gong- T.Rex

http://youtu.be/gOOLQqK_cNU

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New, unsigned act - Wilding

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKN4f4-0924

http://www.wildlingmusic.com/

Quote: George Kaplan @ July 26 2013, 11:58 PM BST

Liked all these bands, and bought their music. Saw the Clash all through their "career", from the Rainbow with the Jam & Buzzcocks, through to their "Combat Rock" Tour at Brixton Academy, with a Rock Against Racism gig at Victoria Park (as featured in "Rude Boy", which I saw in the cinema at the time too) in the middle. Saw the Smiths play at a "Save the GLC" rally.

Adored Echo and the Bunnymen. Saw them at the Lyceum - on a bill with Teardrop - and much later at the "V" festival. The Redskins were made up of members of the SWP (Socialist Workers' Party).

John Peel is an all-time favourite too. Miss not seeing him on the BBC's Glastonbury coverage, in his wellies.

Bands on this list that I followed were Teardrop, XTC, The The. Who is Hollis?

I have a lot of these NME cassettes still.

Thanks George. That's interesting. I've seen Echo, Teardrop Explodes and the Buzzcocks live and also Ian McCulloch and Julian Cope solo. Unfortunately never saw The Jam or Style Council in concert but have seen Paul Weller twice. How great that you should have seen The Clash. I never did although Mick Jones was in BAD, of course, and then Joe Strummer was with The Mescaleros so those opportunities were taken later.

There is a bit of a story there. Following the release of "Combat Rock", a fellow student who was keen on Abba advised us that he had just seen a group playing for free in a nearby car park. The crowd that had gathered had told him they were called The Clash. It was easier to decide that the report was far fetched rather than to contemplate the disappointment of missing it. The band's biography confirms it was true.

I love that "Rude Boy" film. My favourite album of all time is probably "Sandinista" which I realise divides opinion. Found out recently it's the one thing I have in common with the London Mayor but only if he is to be believed. On the Redskins, yes, they were SWP. I was merely mainstream left. My values haven't really changed though they have significantly hardened. Meanwhile the entire political scale has moved so much I am no longer on it at all. Mark Hollis was in Talk Talk. Hope to reply to your other comments very shortly.

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Quote: george roper @ July 27 2013, 12:48 AM BST

Get It On Bang A Gong- T.Rex

http://youtu.be/gOOLQqK_cNU

Good stuff. The best T Rex song.

Did you know he was also on the Cilla show?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA2fW2IS6gk

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Quote: Horseradish @ July 27 2013, 4:03 PM BST

Good stuff. The best T Rex song.

Did you know he was also on the Cilla show?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA2fW2IS6gk

....Yeah, it was a bit quiet for a Saturday evening.

"My Decent Days and Nights, Sharona"

I love this one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR2JtsVumFA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfJMqUN0FCE

Get Back - Beatles live on top of the roof top near abbey road 1970 just great

http://youtu.be/q9UvjclvVcw

Quote: George Kaplan @ July 26 2013, 11:58 PM BST

Liked all the bands in bold. Saw New Order at the Festival Hall, early on. The first BAD album is really good, and "Megatop Phoenix" is still one of my all-time favourites. Great, great album. Would love to have seen The Pogues, though I hear they were pretty ramshackle, and that Shane could barely stand up when he performed.

Part 2 of 3. Agree on the BAD albums. I saw The Pogues a dozen times. The last ones were disappointing because Shane was really struggling but my main memories are of March 1988. They played the Town and Country Club, Kentish Town, on four consecutive nights. I was at three of them - 14th, 15th and 17th, St Patrick's Day - while somehow going into work each morning. By the 18th, the office felt quite surreal.

It was the era of "If I Should Fall From Grace With God". They did the Kirsty and Shane under the confetti thing as seen by many on Top of the Pops. Joe Strummer, Steve Earle and Lynval Golding of The Specials also took part. Each gig was a marathon. In fact, they managed to play most things from the first three albums. There were also storming versions of "Copperhead Road", "London Calling" and "I Fought The Law".

The DVD of St Patrick's Night doesn't work for me. They sounded much tighter in the hall, particularly earlier in the week. The band gave consistent support to their wayward, if lyrically gifted, singer but they also played off him with humour. So it was "ragged but right". Terry Woods was no fool re professionalism, having been in Steeleye Span. He was a pivotal figure. They were all, though, flagging by the fourth night. That was the attraction. It was a riotous party of all the ages and most in that boat were afloat on Guinness.

After Kirsty died, I attended her memorial service at St Martin's in the Fields. There were performances by Billy Bragg, Holly Johnson and possibly Bono. He was definitely there. They also played "Alegria" and "Us Amazonians" from her last CD very loudly. Movingly, it not only filled the church but led to crowds gathering on the street. Her mother, Jean, thanked everyone personally by shaking each person's hand on departure.

Quote: Horseradish @ July 27 2013, 4:03 PM BST

Good stuff. The best T Rex song.

Did you know he was also on the Cilla show?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA2fW2IS6gk

That's a bit disturbing. Cilla's voice is okay, but her constant grin is hard to watch. And the pairing is more than odd, like wearing flip-flops with a Savile Row suit.

Talking of Savile, when I clicked on the Knack song, I was offered this on the right-side video menu, and couldn't resist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaEQN9Gm-cY

Quote: Horseradish @ July 27 2013, 4:03 PM BST

T Rex

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKTc4Nk5bsw

What a riff!

Quote: Gordon Bennett @ July 27 2013, 7:44 PM BST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKTc4Nk5bsw

What a riff!

What bongos!

Quote: George Kaplan @ July 27 2013, 7:43 PM BST

That's a bit disturbing. Cilla's voice is okay, but her constant grin is hard to watch. And the pairing is more than odd, like wearing flip-flops with a Savile Row suit.

Talking of Savile, when I clicked on the Knack song, I was offered this on the right-side video menu, and couldn't resist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaEQN9Gm-cY

I love Vic and Bob. Whenever Roxy Music appear, though, I now think of Otis Ferry.

Talking of Otis, I believe it was Steve Davis who was a big fan of Magma. This starts out very bland and then becomes wonderfully strange:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS0pKRBdHFA

Quote: George Kaplan @ July 26 2013, 11:58 PM BST

Ska and reggae were important too. The 2 Tone movement - The Specials, The Beat, Selector, early Madness.

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On the reggae front - Misty in Roots, Aswad, Steel Pulse. John Peel championed British reggae acts on his show.

And let's not forget female/mixed gender bands - The Slits, The Raincoats, The Au Pairs.

The Au Pairs were great live, very Gang of Four:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB-DAyZ-3Nk

Then there was the Leeds/Sheffield scene - The Human League, Mekons, Gang of Four, and the Fast label. The first two Human League albums were pretty interesting with lots of rough edges and weird lyrics, and quite different from the slick (in a good way) pop act they later became.

I am going to keep this one shorter if I can. I had forgotten Some Bizarre who you mentioned earlier. The names you mention from Leeds/Sheffield are familiar to me but you'll have more knowledge on many. Living mainly in North Yorkshire in the early 80s, the people I knew did have records by Age of Chance, Gang of Four etc. I know the Human League and Heaven 17 emerged out of BEF but I'm a bit hazy on the detail. On the other bands, the Slits yes. The others are more names to me. But I love the two-tone and also the reggae - all the bands you mentioned - plus, earlier, Peel had also championed Burning Spear, Culture etc.

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