The Three Johns c/d, s/d etc

well, VOLUME arrived today.
never heard their trex cover version before - fun but not essential.
however, I had totally forgotten about 'brainbox'.
not heard it in 30 years.
bloody brilliant stuff.

well, the boxset gets even better.

the live tracks (not from the live in Chicago album from what I can tell), sound amazing.

the fact that they follow after the remastered, and all time classic album, 'world by storm' set makes perfect sense.

originally I was somewhat hesitant re getting this boxset, but i now think it's possibly the best thing i have bought this year.

all i can say is roll on the next boxset : live in Chicago, death of everything, and the dark and hard going, but ultimately very special final album, eat your sons + various remixes/b-sides etc.

mark I believe those four live tracks are from a bonus single that came with some copies of the original World By Storm LP.

ta for the tip off, have been digging around discogs trying to find their original source.

they are absolutely fantastic, and prove to me that i was not wrong to see them in leeds as often as i could back in the late 80s.

they were always massively entertaining.

ok sleeve, you are spot on.
discogs does not say that they are live, but the tracklisting and ordering is the same.
as i said, a perfect addition to the new version.

http://www.discogs.com/Three-Johns-The-World-By-Storm/release/431573

apparently these are actually from the 'Live In Chicago" album FYI

ahh : i have never heard/seen the live in Chicago release.

still, there must more enough of the remaining albums to make another boxset.

that said, if they don't, this will suffice as it ticks everything i ever wanted from them to be honest.

just realised, that mk1 is now the same age as I was when 'world by storm' knocked me sideways.

30 years on, and the album still sends shivers up my spine, and takes me to a special place.

I genuinely hope the same happens for him when he hears mumdance/pinch etc in 30 years time.

fuck.

I am old.

I adore the material in the box. I had and sold "Eat Your Sons" years ago. Should I revisit?

ahh :
meant to email you GMB .. sorry, forgot.
send me email sir, and I will fix you up re that album
.. its really good in parts ..
of course, its nowhere near the perfection of 'world by storm', but very few albums are.
basically, this boxset is fucking insanely good.

this is the best boxset i ever bought.
was only recently that i found out that the three johns vs adrian sherwood tracks are hidden away at the end of disc 3.

just found out that my partner does not like this band.
i am very conflicted.

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

Which tracks are you referring to, the pair from the "Never And Always" single?

Which tracks are you referring to, the pair from the "Never And Always" single?

yup !

Wasn't there talk of a second box collecting the rest of their catalog?

all the chat at the quietus re goth has reminded me of the three johns.
has there ever been a better band re drum machine + guitars ?
the band did a couple of gigs in leeds billed as their final gigs.
i went to both gigs at the 'pub with no name' aka 'duchess of york' in leeds.
they were so so good.
at one point, jon langford looked at the drum machine and said 'oh f^ck, its the hard one ..'
they were such a cracking live band.

https://louderthanwar.com/john-hyatt-the-three-johns-rip/

as is clear from this thread i loved the three johns.

the first time i saw them was a small gig at a weird basement bar in leeds university ..
you had to walk through through the student union bar, down some stairs, and then down some more stairs, proper basement place.
the gig was a fundraiser for the terrence higgins trust : billed as 'free johnies with the three johnies'.
i dragged along a friend, and yeah, it was a night.
went to the loo, and phil was have a wiz in the next urinal,
absolutely wankered, and this was before the gig !
they were absolutely bloody fantastic as it was the era of 'world by storm',
i.e. they were at the height of their powers.
after a couple more glasses of wine, i suspect i will be listening to that album later on.

r.i.p john.

so sad to hear. saw them many times - always mighty!

two johns left.

it's unfortunate that this great band's legacy gets overshadowed by the Mekons connection, hopefully they will get their due some day

you're right, I do tend to think of them as a Mekons side-project and have never really dug into them that much. I do like Atom Drum Bop a lot and some of their singles but a band I really ought to listen to more of.

I am listening to another Leeds band atm (Sisters) but that's just a coincidence

AWOL/Square Thing/Death of the European/Brainbox/Sold Down The River/Never & Always is an unimpeachable run of A-sides

scroll up a bit and there's a photo of jon langford playing guitar in the sisters xp

lol amazing. we wish go for a xmas drink, it's been a while

aww raise one for me if you do

am up for that cp!

was just reading this:
http://sistersfan.blogspot.com/2017/08/eldritch-and-botha-boys.html

apparently there was a pre-three johns band called the botha boys who allegedly played one gig comprised of jon langford, john hyatt, kevin lycett (mekons) and... andrew eldritch on guitar

lots more on langford and the sisters here btw:
https://clrvynt.com/jon-langford-interview/

what I wanna know is if they ever shared a drum machine

sounds quite likely imo!

(that interview is great, thanks!)

oh wow his label put out the The Body Electric/Adrenochrome 7", the b-side of which is one of my favourite Sisters songs

hahaha wiki ftw

The band initially formed just before the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer, and their first gig was to be part of a "Funk the Wedding" event, but they were refused permission to play because they were drunk.[1]

What shall we do now?
What shall we do?
Let's sit and stew in the devil's brew now
Demon drink
The demon drink
We will drink the demon drink...

am i right in thinking that it was hyatt that did all the drawings on their sleeves? would check but all those records are buried at the moment

Men Like Monkeys, that's a good tune

always loved this one:

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

kind of bill nelson-ish in hindsight

very skidsy too!

I went to see Superchunk in Brighton the other week and the between-songs-playlist/DJ played Where Were You before they came out, amongst other things. including the Bush Tetras, and I just found out from ilm that Cait O'Riordan is their bassist now wtf

I liked that one. but then I suppose I would because I also like Bill Nelson

what?? haha that is weird, like the flow of the musical timeline has flipped back on itself in an endless loop but somehow its got jumbled up in the process xp

they (the Bush Tetras) just played in London, presumably including Cait, but last month was completely packed with gigs and I just couldn't do it

there youtube footage of the london show, definitely looks like her

looks like it was a lot of fun too

steve shelley on the drums too i think?

oh hang on, it was the 3rd, I didn't just wimp out of going, I went to see Slowdive that night. there was some other gig I did skip but obviously it wasn't them

xp probably - that's how I found out about this, someone posted about a potential pub quiz question, what links Sonic Youth and the Pogues?

aha there you go!

i guess the analogous question for this thread then would be what links the mekons and dead or alive?

the Sisters of Mercy?

I did have to cheat

never really dug into goth period dead or alive, wonder if its any good? i think its all a bit doorsy from the odd thing ive heard

I've listened to a bit of it. some singles from 80-82. yeah that's probably not far wrong tbh. it's not bad - nothing really noteworthy though I don't think

don't mind me I've just put You Spin Me Round on

clear case of SAW improving a band

I went to that I Wish It Was 1985 night last week. it was amazing

Guessing they didn't play any Bogshed?

no, it was wall-to-wall Half Man Half Biscuit and the June Brides

haha

oof we drifted a bit off topic here eh? ended up reading some interviews and other things with hyatt talking up the projects he was doing while he was having his cancer treatment. a lot of it left me too sad to post links to, but he seems like such a decent and lovely bloke. this is a nice but v brief chat with him from a few years back though talking about the first gigs he went to (but of course he was a feelgood fan!) amongst other things:

https://homemcr.org/article/spotlight-artist-john-hyatt/

What has been your most difficult achievement?

JH: I instigated world peace but it is taking a little while to filter through.

jesus, what a great album 'world by storm' is, just tune after tune

that slide guitar on 'death of a european' really reminding me of 'babble'-era TPE

actually loads of it sounds like TPE doesn't it? can totally see Steve Mack singing 'King Car' in my minds eye. Beep-beep!

jesus, what a great album 'world by storm' is, just tune after tune

― blazin' squab (NickB)

100%
It's a blast of noise, beats and tunes.
re TPE : yeah, i get the connection, but nah.
The Three Johns were in a different league.
TPE wanted to become A Pop Band,
whereas TTJ never once gave a shit re such aspirations.