S/D: Billy Childish and related projects

also s: the headcoats every little thing 7", heavens to murgatroyd..., most headcoats stuff generally, the headcoatees i'm happy b/w park it up your arse... i've not heard anything i disliked, really, though the black hands cd on sub pop was kinda eh.

"My Troubled Mind"

Probably their most venomous releases.

Also good:

Thee Headcoats - In Tweed We Trust, Knights Of The Baskervilles, Elementary (singles comp)
Buff Medways - 1914, Steady The Buffs
Thee Headcoatees - Bostik Haze
Thee Mighty Caesars - Acropolis Now, Wiseblood
Thee Milkshakes - They Came They Saw They Conquered

D: Billy Childish & Sexton Ming

also, thee stash records (childish covering the clash) are pretty forgettable.

Side 1.

Ballad Of Hollis Brown
Side 2.

Grizzerly Bear
Sub Pop (SP 151)

I came in a few years into the Caesars era, and caught up via three excellent LPs that Crypt put out in quick succession: English Punk Rock Explosion!, John Lennon's Corpse Revisited and Surely They Were the Sons of God. Great records, and to this day some of my favorite Childish product. Tough, focused, both vitriolic and silly, misanthropic, misogynist and fat packed with memorable tunes. English Punk Rock Explosion, which collects the "greatest hits" of the band's career ('85 - '87 or so) is probably the strongest.

From there, I dug back into the Milkshakes, but only a little way. the After School Session and Talkin' About the Milkshakes LPs are both great. A little less incendiary than the Caesars, but I like the early Beatles/Star Club vibe on this stuff. That said, I'm not the best guide to this phase of Billy's career.

After the Caesars, Childish formed Thee Headcoats and started putting out solo stuff. A lot of material from this era is still floating around in the US. I never warmed to Thee Headcoats quite as much as Thee Mighty Caesars. Dunno why. He was still writing great songs, but it's easy to hit the wall with this kinda stuff, and Billy, well ... let's just say that he isn't afraid of repurposing older material when neccessary. My favorite records from this era are the first few Headcoatees singles and LPs, Thee Headcoats' Beach Bums Must Die! and The Good Times are Killing Me LPs, the furious Headcoats Conundrum... and Messershmidt Pilot's Severed Hand LPs mentioned above, and Billy's AMAZING Made With a Passion set of "Kitchen Demos".

Thee Headcoatees were a prefab girl group that Billy "manufactured" to deliver his songs. They eventually developed into a fine band in their own right, and Holly Headcoatee went on to a wonderful, ongoing solo career as Holly Golightly. Also worth checking out.

The Friends of the Buff Medway Fancier's Association (Buff Medways for short) followed Thee Headcoats. By this point, I felt that Billy was simply repeating himself and kinda tuned out. Maybe that's unfair, the first few singles weren't bad by any means. I dunno. Anyway, Billy's presently soldiering on with a new band that I haven't heard.

There's so much other material out there: collabs, solo projects, singles, one-offs and so on. Hard to boil it down. That said, I totally love the Billy Childish and the Blackhands 45 that Sympathy put out (though the Blackhands albums are kinda meh). A rollicking version of the Caears' "The Double Axe" backed with a stripped down cover of Leadbelly's "My Girl" -- called "Black Girl" here for whatever reason.

The final Buff Medways single is an autobiographical "goddammit why am I not famous?" song. Disappointing.

Perpetually gruff Prisoners/Solarflares mainman Graham Day is part of this... I really want to hear some of it.

Will it stay in Kent?

My knowledge of the Childish catalogue is superficial at best, but I love 100% of what I've heard.

Including the new Chatham Singers album Juju Claudius, which at the moment sounds like the best thing EVAR.

I mighta missed it because I skimmed, but has there REALLY been no mention of In Blood, the album with Holly Golightly that's all one chord?? That shit's the bomb!

In Blood, the album with Holly Golightly that's all one chord

Looking for this RIGHT NOW

he must be one of the most prolific dudes ever by this point, right?

2012 Tablets of Linear B, The Spartan Dreggs
2012 Coastel Command, The Spartan Dreggs
2012 Dreggredation, The Spartan Dreggs
2012 Dung Beetle Rolls Again, Billy Chyldish & Sexton Ming
2011 Misery Shared, The Spartan Dreggs
2011 Forensic R & B, The Spartan Dreggs
2010 Poets of England, The Vermin Poets
2009 Archive from 1959: The Billy Chyldish Story, Billy Chyldish
2009 Juju Claudius, The Chatham Singers
2008 Thatcher’s Children, Billy Chyldish & the Musicians of the British Empire
2007 Christmas 1979, Billy Chyldish & the Musicians of the British Empire
2007 Punk Rock at the British Legion, Billy Chyldish & the Musicians of the British Empire
2007 Poems of a Backwater Visionary, Billy Chyldish (spoken word)
2006 My First Billy Chyldish Album, Billy Chyldish
2005, Heavens Journey, Billy Chyldish & the Chatham Singers
2005 Medway Wheelers, The Buff Medways
2003, The XFM Sessions, The Buff Medways
2003 1914, The Buff Medways
2002 Steady the Buffs, The Buff Medways
2002 Here Come the Fleece Geese, Billy Chyldish & Sexton Ming
2001 This is This, The Buff Medways
2001 Live at the Dirty Water Club, Thee Headcoats
2000 Elementary Headcoats - Thee Singles 1990-1999 (compilation), Thee Headcoats
2000 I Am the Object of Your Desire, Thee Headcoats
2000 Ready Sect Go!, Thee Headcoats Sect
1999 In Blood, Billy Chyldish & Holly Golightly
1999 Here Comes the Cessation, Thee Headcoatees
1999 The Sisters of Suave, Thee Headcoatees
1999 English Gentlemen of Rock ‘N’ Roll / The Best Vol.2 (Japanese Compilation), Thee Headcoats
1999 The Cheeky Cheese, Billy Chyldish & Sexton Ming
1999 Crimes Against Music - Blues Recordings 1986-1999 (Compilation), Wild Billy Chyldish
1998 25 Years of Being Chyldish, Billy Chyldish
1998 Taylor Meets the Headcoatees, The Headcoatees
1998 17% Hendrix Was Not the Only Musician, Billy Chyldish and His Famous Headcoats
1998 Brother is Dead... but fly is gone!, The Headcoats
1998 Sherlock Holmes Meets the Punkenstein Monster (Japanese Compilation), Thee Headcoats
1998 The Messerschmitt Pilot’s Severed Hand, Thee Headcoats
1998 Devil in the Flesh, Billy Chyldish / Dan Melchior
1997 The Jimmy Reid Experience, Thee Headcoats
1997 Punk Girls, Thee Headcoats
1997 Chatham’s Burning - Live ’77 & ’78 Demo’s, The Pop Rivets
1997 Bostik Haze, Thee Headcoatees
1996 Made With a Passion - Kitchen Demo’s, Billy Chyldish
1996 Knights of the Baskervilles, Thee Headcoats
1996 Deerstalking Men, Thee Headcoats Sect
1995 The Sounds of the Baskervilles, Thee Headcoats feat. Thee Headcoatees
1994 Connundrum, Thee Headcoats
1994 Ballad of Insolent Pup, Thee Headcoatees
1994 Live at the Wild Western Room, Thee Headcoats
1994 Caesars Pleasure (Compilation), Thee Mighty Caesars
1993 Hunger at the Moon, Billy Chyldish
1993 At the Bridge, Billy Chyldish featuring The Singing Loins
1993 Native American Sampler - A History 1983-1993 (Compilation), Various
1993 Live in the Netherlands, Wild Billy Chyldish and the Blackhands
1993 Torments Nest, Billy Chyldish
1993 Cavern by the Sea, Thee Headcoats
1993 The Good Times Are Killing Me, Thee Headcoats
1993 The Wurst is Yet to Come, Thee Headcoats
1992 In Tweed We Trust, Thee Headcoats
1992 Caesars Remains (Compilation), Thee Mighty Caesars
1992 Have Love Will Travel, Thee Headcoatees
1992 The Original Chatham Jack, Billy Chyldish & the Blackhands
1992 Der Henkermann - Kitchen Recordings, Billy Chyldish
1992 The Sudden Fart of Laughter, Billy Chyldish
1991 I Am The Billy Chyldish (Compilation), Various
1991 Headcoatitude, Thee Headcoats
1991 W.O.A.H! Bo in Thee Garage, Thee Headcoats
1991 Girlsville, Thee Headcoatees
1991 50 Albums Great, Wild Billy Chyldish
1990 Heavens to Murgatroyd, Even! It’s Thee Headcoats! (Already), Thee Headcoats
1990 Live in Germany ’79, The Pop Rivets
1990 Beach Bums Must Die, Thee Headcoats
1990 The Earls of Sauvedom, Thee Headcoats
1990 The Kids Are Square - This is Hip!, Thee Headcoats
1990 19th Nervous Shakedown (Compilation), The Milkshakes
1989 Surely They Were the Sons of God (Compilation), Thee Mighty Caesars
1989 Long Legged Baby, Wild Billy Chyldish & the Natural Born Lovers
1989 Headcoats Down!, Thee Headcoats
1989 John Lennon’s Corpse Revisited, Thee Mighty Caesars
1989 The Delmonas, The Delmonas
1988 English Punk Rock Explosion (Compilation), Thee Mighty Caesars
1988 Do the Uncle Willy, The Del Monas
1988 Play: Capt’n Calypso’s Hoodoo Party, Wild Billy Chyldish & the Blackhands
1988 Brimful of Hate, Jack Ketch & the Crowmen
1988 Poems of Laughter and Violence, Billy Chyldish
1988 ”i remember”, Wild Billy Chyldish
1988 YPRES 1917 Overture (Verdun Ossuary), Billy Chyldish & Sexton Ming
1987 Live in Chatham, Thee Milkshakes
1987 The 1982 Cassettes, Wild Billy Chyldish
1987 Plump Prizes & Little Gems, Billy Chyldish & Sexton Ming
1987 Laughing Gravy, Wild Billy Chyldish & Big Russ Wilkins
1987 Punk Rock Showcase, Thee Mighty Caesars
1987 Which Head Donkey Daddy?, Billy Chyldish & Sexton Ming
1987 Don’t Give Any Dinner to Henry Chinaski, Thee Mighty Caesars
1987 I’ve Got Everything Indeed, Wild Billy Chyldish
1987 Fun in the UK (Compilation), The Pop Rivets
1986 The Milkshakes Revenge - The Legendary Missing 9th Album, The Milkshakes
1986 Wiseblood, The Mighty Caesars
1986 Live in Rome, Thee Mighty Caesars
1986 107 Tapes (Early Demo’s / Live), The Milkshakes
1986 Acropolis Now, Thee Mighty Caesars
1985 Thee Caesars of Trash, Thee Mighty Caesars
1985 Beware the Ideas of March, Thee Mighty Caesars
1985 The Delmonas 5, The Del Monas
1985 Dangerous Charms, The Del Monas
1985 Thee Mighty Caesars, Thee Mighty Caesars
1984 Thee Knights of Trashe, Thee Milkshakes
1984 They Came They Saw They Conquered, Thee Milkshakes
1984 Showcase, , The Milkshakes
1984 Nothing Can Stop These Men, The Milkshakes
1984 The Milkshakes in Germany, The Milkshakes
1984 Sing and Play 20 Rock & Roll Hits of the 50’s & 60’s, The Milkshakes
1983 The Milkshakes IV - The Men with Golden Guitars, The Milkshakes
1983 After School Sessions, The Milkshakes
1982 14 Rhythm and Beat Greats, The Milkshakes
1981 Talking ‘Bout... Milkshakes, The Milkshakes
1979 Empty Sounds from Anarchy Ranch, The Pop Rivets
1979 Greatest Hits, The Pop Rivets

And that doesn't include single, EPs and the like.

Pretty sure the 2LP of Billy solo in the basement of the Aquarium Gallery, most copies of which went to those in the audience that night, is missing from there too (forget the title exactly, but can't see anything I recognise as it in the last few years there).

Totally missed the recent Spartan Dreggs iteration of his career. Catching up on Spotify now and am delighted!

Realized this morning that I have 15 Headcoats albums on my hard drive. I need some Mighty Caesars stuff, too, I think.

Listened to about 20 albums by about 15 different projects over the last two weeks — writing a guide for the Shfl. Came away with a tremendous respect for his artistry — not just the surprising variety of sounds he explores (garage rock, country blues, one-chord Bo Diddley beat workouts, trad folk) but his lyrics and poetry. Billy Childish is who people always claimed Mark E. Smith was. He rules.

@unperson, are you aware of The Shadracks? Singer/guitarist Huddie tries not to lean to hard on his parental lineage but afaik he doesn't deny it.

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

not to be all "nepotism!" but I wouldn't say he tries very hard not to lean on his parental lineage lol. I've literally seen them supporting his dad and they're on the same record label

As promised, a guide to Billy Childish. 20 albums reviewed, many of them different from the others!

good picks (except I didn't much like the new Thee Headcoats album) - not sure how you got to this conclusion though:

Their debut album, 1977’s Greatest Hits, was the first truly independent UK punk LP.

it came out in 1979 not 1977 and there were probably several independent UK punk LPs out before that, not sure which was first but I'm going with Calling On Youth by the Outsiders which was self-released in May 1977 (actually the wikipedia for that band does say that's the first self-released UK punk record so that was a good guess)