North Fork Sound - Best Of 2010

Top 25 Tracks:

1. M.I.A: Born Free
2. Kurt Wagner & Cortney Tidwell present Kort: She Came Around Last Night
3. Macy Gray: Kissed It
4. Rich Hopkins And Luminarios: El Otro Lado Suite
5. The Drive-by Truckers: The Wig He Made Her Wear
6. Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez: The Deep End
7. Drakkar Sauna: Leave That Hole Alone
8. Wanda Jackson: Thunder On The Mountain
9. The Phobics: In My Street
10. Raul Malo: 'Til I Gain Control Again
11. Bryan Ferry: You Can Dance
12. Shit Robot: Triumph!!!
13. The Wolfmen: July 20
14. Ben Folds & Nick Hornby: Doc Pomus
15. Ray Wylie Hubbard: Drunken Poet's Dream
16. Peter Wolf: Watch Her Move
17. John Powhida International Airport: Daddy's The Man
18. Teron Beal: Magic Mushroom
19. Alabama 3: Vietnamistan (A Must For All Parties)
20. Doug Powell: The Uninvisible Man
21. Matt & Kim: Silver Tiles
22. Elizabeth Cook: El Camino
23. Solomon Burke: Dreams
24. Elvis Costello: All These Strangers
25. Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby: In My Room

Top 20 Albums:

1. Kristian Hoffman: Fop
2. Die Antwoord: $O$
3. Jerry Lee Lewis: Mean Old Man
4. Kid Rock: Born Free
5. Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3: Propellor Time
6. Martin Rev: Stigmata
7. J Roddy Walston & The Business: J Roddy Walston & The Business
8. Roky Erickson w/Okkervil River: True Love Cast Out All Evil
9. Glenna Bell: Perfectly Legal - Songs Of Sex, Love And Murder
10. Mose Allison: The Way Of The World
11. Shooter Jennings & Hierophant: Black Ribbons
12. Dean & Britta: 13 Most Beautiful - Songs For Andy Warhol's Screen Tests
13. Tom Jones: Praise & Blame
14. Mikel Rouse: Recess
15. Dr. John & The Lower 911: Tribal
16. The Tom Tom Club: Genius Of Live/Genius Of Love (remixes)
17. Vincent Quatroche: Singing Mr. Cedric
18. Robyn: Body Talk Pt. 2
19. Black Angels: Phosphene Dream
20. LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening

Top 20 Compilations/Reissues:

1. V/A: More Miles Than Money
2. Buddy Holly: Not Fade Away (The Complete Studio Recordings And More)
3. The Pretty Things: Parachute (40th Anniversary Edition)
4. Wingless Angels: Volumes 1 & 2
5. Iggy & The Stooges: Raw Power (deluxe edition)
6. Chuck Berry: Have Mercy - His Complete Chess Recordings 1964-1974
7. V/A: How Many Roads - Black America Sings Bob Dylan
8. Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Friends: Sipple Out Deh, The Black Ark Years
9. The Rolling Stones: Exile On Main Street (remastered, deluxe edition)
10. V/A: The London American Label Year By Year (1959, 1960 &1962)
11. Elvis Presley: I Believe - The Gospel Masters
12. John Lennon: Signature Box
13. Roland White: I Wasn't Born To Rock 'n Roll
14. DA: Exclamation Point (Recordings 1980-1981)
15. Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames: Mod Classics 1964-1966
16. V/A: Charlie Gillett's Radio Picks - 'Honky Tonk'
17. George Jones: The Great Lost Hits
18. V/A: Mr Success - The Bert Berns Story Vol. 2 1964-1967
19. Lightnin' Hopkins: His Blues
20. Kevin Coyne: I Want My Crown Anthology 1973-1980

Top 10 Remakes:

1. Angel Corpus Christi: Loving You
2. Eric Clapton: Autumn Leaves
3. The Secret Sisters: Big River
4. McGinty & White: Wichita Lineman
5. Imelda May: Tainted Love
6. The Jolly Boys feat. Albert Minott: Rehab
7. The Blaggards: Last Of The Steam Powered Trains
8. Quincy Jones feat. Amy Winehouse: It's My Party
9. Peaches: Jonny
10. Robert Plant: Angel Dance

Shows:

Suicide: 'Girl'
Apollo, Hammersmith 5/3/2010

1. The Stooges/Suicide - Hammersmith, London, 5/2 & 5/3/10
2. Spiritualized - Radio City Music Hall, NYC, 7/30/10
3. Die Antwoord - Gramercy Theater, NYC, 10/29/10
4. Hallogallo 2010 - Damrosch Park, NYC, 8/6/10
5. Mikel Rouse/'Gravity Radio' - Brooklyn Academy Of Music, Brooklyn, NY, 12/7/10
6. Gene Casey & The Lone Sharks - Fishermans Rest, Cutchogue, 1/16, 6/5 & 8/7/10
7. Alex McMurray, Bill Malchow & The Go Cup All-Stars - Sullivan Hall, NYC, 1/15/10
8. Jerry Lee Lewis - BB Kings, NY, 9/13/10
9. The Dirty Strangers - Inn On The Green, Ladbroke Grove, London, 5/7/10
10. David Rawlings Machine - Bowery Ballroom, 6/3/10
11. Roky Erickson w/Okkervil River - Webster Hall, NYC, 5/25/10
12. James Hunter - Boulton Center, Bayshore, 6/23/10
13. The Tom Tom Club - Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, 10/16/10
14. Dr. John - Stephen Talkhouse, Amagansett, NY, 8/4/10
15. The Hot 8 Band - The Pleasure Lounge, Shelter Island, NY, 8/20/10

In 2010, NORTH FORK SOUND was the FIRST to play:
Alabama 3: Revolver Soul (live365.com premiere)
Amy Winehouse: "It's My Party" (live365.com premiere)
Angel Corpus Christi: Elvis Elvis (worldwide premiere)
Arif Mardin: All My Friends Are Here (live365.com premiere)
Die Antwoord: $O$ (live365.com premiere)
Dr John: Tribal (live365.com premiere)
Hallogallo 2010: "Blinkgürtel"/"Drone Schlager" (live365.com premiere)
Hole: "Skinny Little Bitch" (live365.com premiere)
Iggy & The Stooges: "Doojiman" (live365.com premiere)
Jerry Lee Lewis: Mean Old Man (live365.com premiere)
Jim Jones Revue: "High Horse" (live365.com premiere)
John Lennon: "India India" (live365.com premiere)
Kurt Wagner & Cortney Tidwell present Kort: Invariable Heartache (live365.com premiere)
Kristian Hoffman: Fop (live365.com premiere)
Mikel Rouse: Recess (worldwide premiere)
Natalie Merchant: "The Janitor's Boy" (live365.com premiere)
Raul Malo: Saints And Sinners (live365.com premiere)
Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3: Propellor Time (worldwide premiere)
Roky Erickson w/Okkervil River: "Goodbye Sweet Dreams" (live365.com premiere)
Rolling Stones: "Pass The Wine (Sophia Loren)" (live365.com premiere)
Wanda Jackson: The Party Ain't Over (live365.com premiere)

North Fork Sound won't forget:

Neil Christian 01/04/10

Willie Mitchell 01/05/10

Mick Green 01/11/10

Bobby Charles 01/14/10

Lynn Taitt 01/20/10

Dale Hawkins 02/13/10

Mickey Jones 03/10/10

Alex Chilton 03/17/10

Charlie Gillett 03/17/10

Malcolm McLaren 04/08/10

Dennis Hopper 05/29/10

Crispian St. Peters 06/08/10

Bernie Andrews 06/11/10

Pete Quaife 06/23/10

Harvey Fuqua 07/06/10

Sugar Minott 07/10/10

Harvey Pekar 07/12/10

Tuli Kupferberg 07/12/10

Richie Hayward 08/12/10

Michael Been 08/19/10

Alphonsus 'Arrow' Cassell 09/05/10

Solomon Burke 10/10/10

'General' Norman Johnson 10/13/10

Ari Up 10/20/10

Gregory Isaacs 10/25/10

Sonia Pottinger 11/03/10

Don Van Vliet 12/17/10

also, catch howard on WPKN, 89.5fm and wpkn.org on the 2nd Friday of every month. Next show: January 14th, at noon (til 3pm)

Frankie Teardrop

Suicide
'Frankie Teardrop'
Hammersmith Apollo, London - May 3 2010

North Fork Sound Top 20 - March 28 '10

The 5.6.7.8's
l-r: Akiko Omo, Yoshiko Fujiyama, Sachiko Fujii

1. The 5.6.7.8's: 19th Nervous Breakdown
2. The Winkies: Red Dog

3. George Jones: Small Time Laboring Man
4. Little Anthony & The Imperials: Goin' Out Of My Head
5. Jon Cleary: Would I Lie To You
6. The John Coltrane Quartet: Tunji
7. The Mystics: Lucy's Factory
8. Issa Bagayogo: Kalan Nege
9. The Bamboo Kids: Low Life
10. Mickey Jupp: Switchboard Susan
11. The Dixie Chicks: Pink Toenails
12. Black Limo: 100 Bucks
13. Derrick Harriot: Answer Me My Darling
14. The Great Awakening: Amazing Grace
15. Roger & The Gypies: Pass The Hatchet
16. Tim Buckley: Look At The Fool
17. The Ramrods: Riders In The Sky
18. Bow Wow Wow: C30, C60, C90, Go
19. Greg Brown: Mose Allison Played Here
20. Evil Beaver: Cherry Master

Evie Evil, Evil Beaver
Luxx, Brooklyn, NY
photo: ht

more Evil Beaver shots here

North Fork Sound Alb O' The Week
Mose Allison: The Way Of The World

North Fork Sound Legend Of The Month
Captain Beefheart / Don Van Vliet
'Safe As Milk' photo session out-take
courtesy Mojo magazine, March 2010 issue

Last Week's Listener Favourites
Alabama 3: Mansion On The Hill
Andre Williams w/The Eldorados: I'm So High
B. Bumble & The Stingers: Nut Rocker
Billy Swan: My Baby Left Me
Bobby Rush: I Wanna Do The Do
BP Fallon: Interview/I Believe In Elvis Presley
Brian Eno & The Winkies: Baby's On Fire
Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band: I Love You, You Big Dummy
Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band: Sure 'nuff N Yes I Do
Chuck Prophet: Barely Exist
Chumbawamba: Torturing James Hetfield
Chumbawamba: Puccini Said
Dan Baird & Homemade Sin: Champagne Sparkle
Dave Alvin: Don't Look Now
Dennis Linde: Hello, I Am Your Heart
The Dictators: Sleeping With The TV On
Doc Starkes & His Nightriders: Women & Cadillacs
Donald Fagen: Ruby Baby
Emiliana Torrini: Dead Things
Fun Lovin' Criminals: Scooby Snacks
Galactic: Do It Again
Iggy Pop & James Williamson: Kill City
J. Geils Band: It Ain't What You Do, It's How You Do It
The Jerry Garcia Band: Let It Rock (live)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Third Stone From The Sun
The Kingpins: Ungaua
Lew Lewis: Boogie On The Street
Lucio Battisti: Ancora Tu
Luna: Slash Your Tires
Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Love To Burn
PJ Harvey: Down By The Water
Peter Cook & Dudley Moore: Bedazzled
The Pursuit Of Happiness: I'm An Adult Now
The Rolling Stones: It's All Over Now
The Quireboys: 7 O'Clock
Robert Wyatt: Shipbuilding
Ronnie Lane & Eric Clapton: Around The World (Before I Grow Too Old)
The Slits: Pay Rent
Southern Culture On The Skids: Liquored Up And Lacquered Down

Suicide
Alan Vega, Martin Rev
Irving Plaza, NYC
photo: ht

Suicide: Ghost Rider
Terry Allen: The Pink And Black Song
Trembling Bells: Goathland
Vanity 6: Nasty Girl
The Velvet Underground: Who Loves The Sun

Suicide again

Suicide

Suicide

Suicide: 'Wipeout Beat'
Alan Vega: vocals
Martin Rev: electronics
Deitch Projects, Wooster St, NYC
February 22 '02

Iggy & The Stooges

xerox of Stooges' Elektra Records recording contract

(page 1)

The first time I saw a Stooges record was at Harum Records in Crouch End. It looked cool so I asked Gary if he'd play a few tracks. It sounded pretty good but, at the same time, I was looking at a Jean-Luc Ponty album ('King Kong') and my meagre wages as a shelf-stacker at Tesco Supermarkets across the street only allowed for one purchase. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know...Mr. Cool...

Iggy
King's Cross Cinema, London 7/15/72
photo: Mick Rock

A couple of years later, me, Peter Lloyd and his friend, Carol, decided to check out the Flamin' Groovies at an allnighter at the King's Cross Cinema. July 15th, 1972. The Stooges and The Groundhogs (I think) were also on the bill but, for us, it was all about the Groovies. At least we thought it was. Somehow, it didn't turn out that way. The only thing I remember about that particular evening was how utterly devastating the Stooges were. They came out and in one fell swoop showed me - for the first time - what in-your-face, primal, sex-beast, 3-chord rock & roll was all about. Iggy comes out dressed only in silver jeans and boots and proceeds to lay the audience to waste, particularly Richard Ogden, a popular publicist about town, in whose lap Iggy sits while he proceeds to 'serenade' him.

Iggy Pop
photo: Mick Rock

I'd just turned 19 and had grown up listening to and being heavily influenced by the Stones, the Small Faces, Them, the Pretty Things, the Who and other loud, anti-establishment weirdos but this took things to another level completely. I came out of that show with a new batch of values and Iggy had set a 'performance' standard I would rarely see again. Paul Trynka wrote THE Iggy book, 'Open Up And Bleed'. Check out his blog and some other cool links, here.

Iggy Pop
photo: Dustin Pittman

Around this time, I remember a fellow called Larry Debay aka Greenbeard (who I would later come to know as an associate of Bizzarre Records on Praed Street and Marc Zermati of Skydog fame) coming to Trident's disc-cutting room with a 7" reel with the last Stooges show from the Michigan Palace on it, but because it was in a quarter-track format (ie, the tape ran in both directions, 2 tracks in one 2 in the other) we didn't have a machine capable of transferring the tape to disc. That tape later came out as 'Metallic KO'

Iggy, Mick Rock
'Raw Power' remix party
Studio A, Sony Music Studios, NYC
photo: ht

After the King's Cross show, I tried to see Iggy as often as possible. There was the Rainbow show when David Bowie played keyboards and I got crushed in my 3rd row seat by screaming teenyboppers trying to storm the stage. I taped two shows at the Music Machine in Camden. One (April 25th 79) - "I was a piece of dirt when youse was still readin' books!" - featured Glen Matlock on bass while the other (6/14/78) featured Fred 'Sonic' Smith on guitar.
When I worked for Island, I found a cassette of an early version of 'Kill City' (8 songs) in a cupboard and when I was at Elektra, the phone rang one day and it was Iggy's manager, Art Collins asking if I could find some old Nonesuch Explorer albums that Iggy had probably been given by Jac Holzman or Danny Fields. I told him I'd do my best and went upstairs to see Peter Clancy who, as luck would have it, had just had a bunch of the Keith Holzman-produced series manufactured on cd for the first time. Art asked if there was anything he could do for me, so I asked him for the words to 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' in Iggy's hand-writing.

One of the perks of working at a major label was access to the vaults. I didn't abuse the privilege, but there was one idea I had that, to my surprise, ended up come out several years later through Rhino Handmade. As a present to myself, I paid Paul Rothchild's son, Dan something like $1,200 to mix all 12 reels of the 8-track 'Funhouse' masters, making sure that he preserved every note and chatter that had been recorded. I thought it might eventually make a tasty piece of art. I also asked Dan to do it twice, with the second version having the band on the left and Iggy on the right so I could have the ultimate 'karaoke' version of Funhouse, too

ticket to see Iggy at The Continental, 3rd & St. Marks Pl., NYC
Jan '93

Another time, I was in San Francisco for a convention and I brought Angel Corpus Christi to the event. Iggy was one of that evening's performers. We were amused to see him playing to a bunch of stuffed shirts, most of whom didn't like him or even know who he was, but we watched from the lip of the stage. Angel even got to kiss him during the performance. Later, in one of the suites, we took pictures.

Iggy Pop, Angel Corpus Christi
WEA Convention, San Francisco
photo: ht

The only time I ever got to speak to Ron Asheton was about 18 months ago when Blast First's Paul Smith flew me to London to see Suicide get a Mojo Award. The Stooges were also being recognized for a Lifetime Achievement Award, so I approached their table, tapped Ron on the shoulder and explained that I ran an internet radio station called (at the time) Cake and "would he do an ID, please"? He graciously obliged -

ron asheton/ID - Ron Asheton
Here's Iggy's...

iggy pop IDmp3 - Iggy Pop

Iggy
'Raw Power' remix party
Studio A, Sony Music Studios, NYC
photo: ht

Finally, in 2003, as the Stooges were part way through their first US tour after reforming and six days after spending nearly a week in hospital, I went to see them at Roseland. Here's an excerpt from the diary I kept while I managed The Star Spangles:
August 27th ...Had lunch with Bob Bortnick, and hung out before going to rehearsal to meet with the SS. Ed Hamell sent me a couple of excellent reviews for his record (NY Post and Rolling Stone.) He's beginning to get some recognition (finally), Peter C Johnson’s album looks like it’s coming out on a Boston label affiliated with Morphine, Hi-'n'-Dri. Willie Nile is sending me some mixes for my comments. And the Spangles are fun to work with. Things are looking up. Went up to rehearsal with a q&a from BB Gun for each of the guys to fill out. They’re working on a Dils song, 'The Sound of the Rain' for the Alejandro Escovedo benefit. They were pleased to hear that Sheryl from the Late Show with David Letterman had called Bobbie Gale to tell her how pleased they were with the appearance. Send flowers. Got a nice message from Tom from the Phobics. He’d heard from Afonso about the h/a. Joey and Laura picked me up and we went up to Roseland. While parking, I ran into my Elektra colleague, Suzanne Berg. She’s now at Verve, doing promotion for Tommy LiPuma.
Still recouperating, I didn't want to get crushed in the crowd so I watched the show from about 50 yards back leaning against the side stage, where the VIPs were seated. It's great to see them back in action, and Iggy ends the set running/dancing all the way down the side of the room, along the VIP stage to exactly where I’m at, and proceeds to launch himself into the audience.
Onto me, and another guy.
I thought of putting a Spangles badge down the front of his (open) jeans, but the opportunity passed too quickly. It wasn’t the life-changing show it was back in 72 when I saw the Stooges at the King’s Cross Cinema with the Flamin Groovies, but it was still better than most of the stuff I see these days and great to run into my friend Eric Danville who ended up onstage, dancing like a nutter. Chatted with Dustin Pittman and his daughter, Skyler. Bought a Stooges hoody, came home.

Ron Asheton, Iggy Pop
Randall's Island, NY 8/14/04
photo: ht

Martin Rev

Martin Rev
signed manuscript

Incoming...

Some good mail showed up at NoFoSo Towers this week. What used to be a double LP is now a triple cd - yes, the Greasy Truckers Party at the Roundhouse in 1972 is now available thanks to the gentlefolk at Liberty Records in London. So now we get cds of whole sets by Brinsley Schwarz, Man and Hawkwind, not to mention a song by Magic Michael, silence from Byzantium (thanks to a power failure) and commentary from founding Curry Club member and all-round NoFoSo fave dj, Andy Dunkley, (The Living Jukebox).
The Greasy Truckers was an outfit formed by (Hawkwind manager)

Doug Smith
Gramercy Park Hotel, NYC (late 80s)
photo: ht
scanned from a 3-D lenticular print

Doug Smith and (Brinsley Schwarz manager and - later - Stiff Records co-founder) Dave Robinson based on the Diggers, a San Francisco anarchist/street theater group who doled out advice to folks who'd been busted for drugs and free food for the homeless, amongst other things. According to the booklet, Liberty U/A's Andrew Lauder described the Truckers as a "loose organization of individuals whose aim was to recycle money into worthwhile causes that would benefit the 'underground' community in Britain". This particular concert practically launched the careers of space-rock jammers Man and spaced-out rockers Hawkwind, who would soon re-write this early version of 'Silver Machine', put Lemmy into the vocal spotlight and have a top 5 hit in the UK with it the following year.
Who can forget the magnificence that is Stacia?

Alas, Brinsley Schwarz were condemned to remain slogging around the pubs and clubs of the UK, nevertheless leaving a very tasty catalogue of albums in their wake. Brinsley himself (guitar), went on to play with Graham Parker, Ian Gomm (rhythm guitar) had a top 40 US hit with 'Hold On' and Nick Lowe formed Rockpile with Dave Edmunds, produced Elvis Costello, Paul Carrack, The Damned, Wreckless Eric, Dr. Feelgood amongst many, became Johnny Cash's step-son-in-law by marrying Carlene Carter while continually putting out great, great albums.

Ok, so if that doesn't make you want to fly to England immediately, how about the latest in the Suicide 10" ltd. edition vinyl series with Lydia Lunch giving us her take on murder/infanticide/suicide subject Frankie Teardrop and Primal Scream taking the piss out of Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne? C minus, Gillespie...can do better.

Lydia Lunch: Frankie Teardrop
art: "Undated X-Ray of 16 year old youth"
courtesy of London Metropolitan Police

Primal Scream: Diamonds Fur Coat Champagne
art: detail from Untitled 2007 by Fang Lujin
courtesy alexanderoch-galleries.com

Just as I posted my Cure piece, a cd showed up right out of the blue: 'Just Like Heaven - A Tribute To The Cure (American Laundromat Records) - featuring the delightful Julie Peel, Joy Zipper, Tanya Donelly and our faves, Dean & Britta, who also have a new, very good Christmas 45 out, called 'He's Coming Home' (Chimney Rocks Records). It's the old Wailers song, but don't ask me which Wailers we're talking about. It doesn't sound like the Bunny/Tosh/Marley version, nor does it sound anything like the Washington state band who did Out Of Our Tree and Louie Louie. Get it now, 'cuz I got #369 out of 500 and it'll be gone soon.

Paul Weller's new favourites, Little Barrie sent a package. Sad to say, the cd tray in my computer just wheezed its last, but since one of the items was a 7", that'll go on the radio until we're fixed.

Also, this week I re-connected with ex-Ant, Marco Pirroni. So I asked him to send the new album by the Wolfmen, his triffic new group. I heard their version of Eno's 'Needle In The Camel's Eye' 45 on Little Steven's Underground Garage and if the rest of the alb is anything like it, then it's going to be a 'year's best'.

ht, Marco Pirroni
CBS Records UK, 1981

Adam & The Ants

Adam & The Ants
handkerchief, 1980
designed by Danny Kleinman

When I worked for Bronze Records in 1977, a demo cassette by Adam & The Ants crossed my desk. It had a couple of tunes on it, neither of which were very compelling. However, Adam had gained some press by then, had been given a small role in Derek Jarman’s film 'Jubilee' and was quickly building a reputation so I went to see him at the Vortex, a punk rock club at the top end of Wardour Street. To be honest, I wasn’t a big punk rock fan. I liked the Ramones, the Sex Pistols and there were several punk 45s I enjoyed a lot, but generally I was more drawn to bands like the Modern Lovers, Television, The Stranglers, Eddie & The Hot Rods, Dr. Feelgood, Elvis Costello, the Flamin’ Groovies and Blondie. A lot of them had the energy and some of the attitude of punk, but their music retained a certain old-school rock & roll charm. The Vortex was a punk's home away from home. I went there twice. A load of coloured Mohawk hair-dos, black leather, tartan bondage pants, black make-up, buttons and pins slouched around the joint and unless you were one of them, you didn’t belong. I felt weird going there and not relevant at all. Adam came out, did his thing and I left thinking "what a racket". I couldn’t relate to him, his fans or the tunes and found the whole thing slightly depressing. He ended up being signed to Decca and they put out the 'Young Parisians' single. Then they promptly dropped him. In 1979, indy label Do It Records picked him up and, this time, Adam got to release his first album, Dirk Wear White Sox. Despite more press and touring, the album failed to do the requisite numbers and once again Adam was forced to regroup and look for another deal. Hiring Malcolm McLaren to re-image the band backfired when McLaren persuaded Matthew Ashman, Dave Barbarossa and Leigh Gorman to jump ship and form Bow Wow Wow with Annabella Lwin. Adam is nothing if not persistent and to his credit, he had enormous faith in himself and his vision. He brought in guitarist, Marco Pirroni (ex-Models), bassist Kevin Mooney and 2 drummers, Terry Lee Miall and Chris “Merrick” Hughes, who had released a couple of singles with Dalek I Love You. He hired a manager, Falcon Stuart, who I’d met when he was doing the rounds with former charges, X-Ray Spex. I went through a change myself when my boss, David Betteridge, was offered the position of MD at CBS Records, so having brought Andy MacKay, Sally Oldfield, Goldie, Motörhead and the Red Star label (Suicide, The Real Kids) to Bronze that year, we left Chalk Farm for Soho Square where I found myself working in Muff Winwood’s a&r department alongside Chas DeWhalley, Nicky Graham and former Byzantium guitarist, Jamie Rubinstein. I was quite happily working with the Psychedelic Furs and (not quite so happily) The Only Ones and Judas Priest when Falcon Stuart called and asked for an appointment. When he walked in with a new demo by Adam and The Ants, I sighed. He’s already gone through 2 labels and by now had been pretty much written off by the press. None of the labels had particularly liked him, even when he wasn't damaged goods and now most didn't want to know. But I liked Falcon and so I put the tape into the machine, happy that it only had 2 songs on it. The first song was ‘Kings Of The Wild Frontier’. I played it again. I turned it all the way up. It sounded fantastic. Whoever came up with the "Burundi beat" idea had hit on a brilliant idea. Falcon told me that Adam was ending his tour that week and asked if I would check him out at the Empire in Leicester Square. Sure, what the hell...why not?

Apparently, there was a lot riding on this tour. Adam had financed it himself by spending his advance from a recent publishing deal he’d made with EMI Music. If he couldn’t get a record deal now, he probably wouldn’t be able to keep the band together and his publishers would have no way to recoup their costs. Comes the night, I walk into the ballroom to find about 3,000 rabid punks, ALL kitted out as 'sex people', fervently waiting for their man to hit the stage. 2 large drum kits on tall risers at the back of the stage created a powerful visual and finally, when the Ants walked out, dressed, and made-up to the gills, the place went berserk. The show was stunning and it took me very much by surprise. The sound was thunderous, the beat was relentless and Marco’s guitar rang loud and pure. Everybody on stage looked fit and fabulous and there was very little ‘punk’ to be seen or heard, onstage anyway. The fans went mental. It was fantastic and you'd think they were coming off a string of chart-toppers by the way the fans were behaving. I scoped the audience for competition but only saw someone from Virgin Records. The following day, I told Muff and David about the show and played them the tape of 'Kings'. They decided to lock up a deal, quickly, before reviews for the show hit the papers. I called Falcon and asked if he and Adam could have lunch with us. At the table, after we’d made our interest clear, I asked Adam, "apart from all the things that go along with a record deal, what do you really want?" He looked at me, narrowed his eyes and with all the seriousness he could muster said, "Howard…I want to be a household name". Well, that sealed it for me. London Zoo was chosen for the signing photos but Maurice Oberstein (CBS Chairman), David Betteridge (MD) and Muff Winwood (head of a&r) didn’t show. Staff photog, Terry Lott, took some pictures near the rhinos and the polar bears and outside the Insect House with his, and my camera, and that was that.

Adam & The Ants, ht
photo: Terry Lott - Insect House, London Zoo
1981
Adam & The Ants, ht
photo: Terry Lott - Rhino Pavilion, London Zoo
1981

While we were preparing the release of the first single, I went to Rockfield Studios where they’d already recorded a few tracks. Adam had wanted Chris Hughes to produce and that was ok by me. I liked his production for Kings and once I’d heard Dog Eat Dog, Antmusic, Los Rancheros and some others it was obvious he was the right man for the job. Later, when I realized Adam was such a control freak, this made even more sense as having a fellow band-mate produce, he wouldn’t have to fight with a stranger to get his way in the studio.

"Kings Of The Wild Frontier" acetate

"Kings Of The Wild Frontier" label copy
(written out by Adam)

We put out 'Kings Of The Wild Frontier' and it stalled at #48 on the charts. Adam was furious and made his feelings well known around the office.
Around this time, Michael Jackson came to London to promote his 'Off The Wall' record. He bumped into Adam in the CBS offices and next, we started seeing Michael in ornate military jackets. 'Dog Eat Dog' was chosen as the next single and it reached a respectable #4.

"Dog Eat Dog" acetate

"Dog Eat Dog" label copy
(written out by Adam)
"You're So Physical" acetate

'Antmusic' followed and made it to #2. We re-released “Kings” in ’81 and, this time, it reached a deserved #2. Antmania set in and it was just fun to watch the craziness. Screaming teenage girls hanging around all the time. I'd not seen this kind of thing from the inside before. I met one of Adam’s best friends, a punk scene originator, Jordan, at the Top Of The Pops studio. She’d just had some new contact lenses made. They’d been tinted a deep crimson red, giving her eyes a wild, startling look. She was fascinating, and turned out to be a very cool person indeed.

gold record presentation
CBS Records, London
back l-r: Kit Buckler, Kate Mundel, Jeff Gilbert, Tony Woolcott, Adam Ant, Angie Errigo, Greg Lynn, ht, Kevin Mooney, Louis Rodgers, Chris Hughes
front: unknown, Marco Pirroni, unknown, Terry Lee Miall

When things go right, my instinct is to maintain...keep things the same. But with all this success, the first thing Adam did was get rid of Falcon, replacing him with his head of security, part-time villain and eventual guest of Her Majesty, Don Murfet, who proceeded to immediately alienate most people at the record company. Suddenly, Adam was "unavailable" and I never saw him at Soho Square again. Then Adam fired Kevin Mooney after his guitar strap broke during a 'Royal Command' performance. Without any support, Kevin had difficulty playing his bass, so he bounced it off the floor a couple of times, kicked it and got all ‘pirate-y’ with it. This embarrassed Adam and, later, I was told he fired Kevin backstage. (Whether it was before the band was presented to Princess Anne or whichever royal was there that night, I’m not sure). Kevin went on to form Wide Boy Awake, a marginal ‘new romantic’ outfit who released a couple of singles, 'Bona Venture' and 'Chicken Outlaw' and an album. He's now part of the Lavender Pill Mob, and guess who guests on their new album, ‘Mike’s Bikes’...Adam!
With ex-Vibrator/Roxy Music bassist Gary Tibbs filling the gap, the band checked into AIR Studios to begin work on the follow-up album. During an overdub session at the Townhouse, I spent most of an afternoon watching Marco lay down the 4 bar guitar solo for ‘Stand And Deliver’. The vibe in the studio was good, and it seemed like a refuge from all the madness that was now surrounding the band. When I heard someone on The Comedians, a ‘Variety’ show Granada broadcast on Saturday evenings use "Adam Ant!" as the punch-line to a crummy joke, I realized then Adam had, indeed, become a "household name", although perhaps not in the way he'd hoped.

'Prince Charming' was released in 1981 and the Ants got even bigger. Things started to get silly. The stage set looked like it had been stolen from a Great Yarmouth pantomime production of Peter Pan. There were galleons all over the place. Adam had was losing his punk cred and gaining a teenybopper audience. And we all know what happens then, don't we? For one week during the year, Adam had FIVE singles in Music Week’s Top 75. Stand And Deliver, Prince Charming, Ant Rap, Kings Of The Wild Frontier and something from (the now re-released, on CBS) Dirk Wears White Sox. Cartrouble, I think. Because Adam had become so huge, CBS let me sign Roky Erickson, New Math, Aswad, The Stroke (featuring Barb Jungr) and The Slits. I was having a blast and by this time, I’d visited the U.S. about 16 times, either on business, vacation or even just a quick weekend visit. I'd grown to love NYC and wanted to live there. I didn't like the direction British music was starting to take (Duran Duran, the 'new romantic' movement, etc) and thanks to Margaret Thatcher, the general vibe in the UK left a lot to be desired, so I started to put out feelers. I got some calls. Irving Azoff inquired about me working at MCA but he was based on the West Coast. RCA's Don Ellis flew me to NY for an interview, put me up at the Drake Hotel. Arista's Clive Davis called and I flew out for an interview. After I met with Mr. Davis, he took me to meet with Bob Feidon, his head of a&r. Bob kept his office door locked. I couldn’t think why. I met head-of-promotion, Richard Palmese, about whom I’d been told great things and he said I'd get on well with Mike Bone, who ran their AOR promotion dept. Mike had a tropical fish tank in his office - showbiz! - and the first phone head-set I’d ever seen. He was excited about a new act called Krokus, the antithesis of everything I liked in music. Mike was cool though, and I was seriously thinking about working there but finally, after saying they weren’t interested, Al Teller at Columbia Records came through and said they’d have me in New York at $35,000/year, the minimum (I'd been told) I needed in order to scrape by in NY. Sounded good enough to me, so I left England for new pastures.
Thanks, Adam.

Slideshow: HERE