Bands nobody ever talks about anymore in the "England" chapter of the 1980 new wave guide I just bought for $2 off a seemingly homeless guy set up on the sidewalk of St Marks

- severe adolescent crush!

the headboys

- from Edinburgh, I think. Hyped and then vanished. One powerpop single of note 'Shape of things to come'

penetration, the fabulous poodles

- a vague memory, but now seem to be highly rated by UK punk collectors

wreckless eric

- legendary figure, incredible voice, discussed here recently. Still gigging, rumoured to be reforming the (flat out garage punk) Len Bright Combo.

(Both "New Toy" and B-side "Cat's Away" were played often in Detroit by the Electrifyin' Mojo.)

I'll still totally rep for their record "Moving Targets" and most of the songs on "Coming Up For Air," too. I have that Live/Demos thing too, but don't spin it as much as the actual releases. I got to see them live once too, circa '79. Pauline Murray was absolutely feral, and Fred Purser was playing amazing almost-metal solos above the punk din. I loved 'em so much, I dressed as Pauline that year for Halloween (!)

LP - Akron Album - Stiff GET3, UK, 1978
Chinese Circus - Tin Huey / Nova - Bizarros / Rubber City Rebels - Rubber City Rebels / Apu Api (Help Me) - Chi Pig / When I Was Young, I'm An Actress - Jane Aire & the Belvederes / Mephistopheles' Passion - Idiots Convention / Truckstop Queen, Tourist Boys - Rachel Sweet / Love Is Making Me Bleed - Sniper / Beer And A Cigarette - Terraplane / The Comb - Waitresses

Rachel Sweet was on one of the Stiff tours.

xp

No, certainly not on the first record. It was loud and direct, to the very hard-charging side of pub rock.

There was something called "Tenement Steps" but I don't remember it at all.

You might be a little bit right about the *proggyness*, at least as far as the second album. But with that growling vocal style it was hard to notice.

Had no idea the Motors were so good. Second album has a big handful of songs that are eclectic but really focused, and all pretty much on top of their game in varied ways. Sometimes brilliantly so ("Airport," "Forget About You," "Soul Redeemer").

"Forget About You" had a similar theme riff to "Grandstand" UK TV Sport programme.

Sector Twenty-Seven??? That's Sector 27, and how can there be that with no Tom Robinson?

― George the Animal Steele, Wednesday, 21 September 2005 15:22 (5 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

TR used to get very arsey if they got advertised as "with Tom Robinson" on gig billboards, and quit the record label over the fact his name was appended on the front of the album. (either that, or they got dropped for poor sales)

I do remember their song "Not Ready", it sounded a lot like TRB, so go figure.

This is all stuff that used to get a surprising amount of coverage in Smash Hits at the time. The thing I remember about The Motors (apart from the excellence of "Forget About You") is that they changed the cover of their LP because ppl weren't buying it cos it showed their ugly mugs.

http://static.letsbuyit.com/filer/images/uk/products/original/71/76/the-motors-approved-by-the-motors-1978-australian-vinyl-lp-l36568-7176293.jpeg
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61usdj4fJOL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Vaguely offtopic, but, when did Jona Lewie's "Stop the Cavalry" become unavoidable at Christmas in the UK? It came out in 1980 but I don't remember hearing it during the 90s; did it get put on a best-selling Christmas compilation sometime in the early 00s?

(Meanwhile, I do remember hearing "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties" in the 90s, and haven't heard that in probably 8 years. Was gonna speculate that the guy was only allowed one vaguely known song at once but I just youtubed it and apparently it's in an Ikea ad now.)

BA Robertson, anybody?

"Wacky" entertainer type pop singer, used to write serious/good stuff too but got other 'more credible' people to sing them. Like, Cliff Richard (Carrie) for example.

Yeah I know who he was, I was wondering what other ppl thought of him. He once appeared on Saturday Superstore with a bucket on his head and people had to phone in and guess his identity. Come to think of it that may have been his career highpoint

Hmm I heard Stop The Cavalry loads at Xmas during the 90s. And the 80s for that matter. Definitely didn't notice it being more ubiquitous last decade anyway.

All that talk about UK Squeeze upthread is a bit odd. I mean this is just flat out bullshit:

"Not to be confused with U.K., this group produces anonymous, pedestrian hard rock of the same vintage as the other's. By the end of 1978, this band was so defeated it changed its name to the simpler Squeeze." - Dave Marsh, *The Rolling Stone Record Guide,* first (and best) (i.e, red) edition, 1979

They were only called UK Squeeze in the US because of some other band suing them!

I think it was meant as a funneh

Yeah probably but xhuxk took it literally

Meanwhile, I do remember hearing "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties" in the 90s, and haven't heard that in probably 8 years

this is being useed in an tv advert in uk at the moment ..

yeah, he said that.

I think I was just playing along with Marsh's joke up above? (Sure reads like I took him literally, but I'm pretty sure I've always understood that UK Squeeze was just their name outside of the UK -- The book is Australian, not American, fwiw.)

Anyway, lots of these bands wound up being discussed on Rolling Past Expiry Hard Rock threads the past couple years -- most recently, the Tourists, who George thinks were better than the Eurythmics but Scott disagreed. The Headboys LP is great. The Motors rock harder on their self-titled one than on Tenement Steps, which I still say sounded pretty darn ornate for a pub rock band. Just bought the Original Mirrors LP for $1 in December; it's good enough to keep (both songs with "Boys" in the titles were standouts to my ears), but I wouldn't recommend that anybody pay more than I did for it.

Still curious what people think about these, a couple of which I've never heard about elsewhere:

jaine aire (also Akon, which I may say above -- at least, I have a track of hers with the Belvederes on an Akron comp)
darling (I have an album by them, I think -- need to put it on)
judie tzuke
interview
angie
the veterans

Judie Tzuke's just soft rock/ singer-songwritery pre-punk stuff? Not remotely new wave.

Isn't there a female comedian with a similar name to hers?

xp Also picked up the third Sniff N The Tears LP for a buck a few weeks back -- sounds good, but their first two were better.

And have been discussing early stuff by Graham Parker, Dire Straits, and Robert Palmer quite a bit over the past year, on threads devoted to the individual artists.

The first couple of Judy Tzuke singles ('For You' and especially 'Stay with Me till Dawn') are both really nice imo. Like Tom said, not new wave at all, sounds more like I dunno, Christine McVie ?

That's high praise in these parts, stranger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDLfNkwLr1U

Isn't there a female comedian with a similar name to hers?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa3j1qIVito

That does not look enticing.

Thought it was Ken Dodd at first tbh.

Judging by some of the other artists included, I'm surprised Ken Dodd's not in the "England" chapter of the 1980 new wave guide Chuck bought for $2 off a seemingly homeless guy set up on the sidewalk of St Marks

Echo & the Diddymen amirite?

Too early for (Knotty) Ash though

"There are questions in corners of my mind that lurk
Like how do the road gritters get to work
Answer me that and you could win a cruise
And here’s Judie Tzuke to take us up to the news"

Half Man Half Biscuit - When The Evening Sun Goes Down

Actually, turns out I don't own a Darling album after all. (I was probably confusing them with either Deaf School, Dalek I Love You, or both.)