Showing posts with label Psychedelic Furs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psychedelic Furs. Show all posts

Thursday, August 26, 2010

The Psychedelic Furs IV



The Psychedelic Furs: 'Sleep Comes Down'

Richard Butler: vocals
Tim Butler: bass
John Ashton: guitar
Vince Ely: drums
Ann Sheldon: cello
Howard Kaylan: backing vocals
Mark Volman: backing vocals

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

The Psychedelic Furs III




The Psychedelic Furs: 'Dumb Waiters'

Richard Butler, vocals
Tim Butler, bass
Vince Ely: drums
Roger "Dog" Morris: guitar
John Ashton: guitar
Duncan Kilburn: sax

The Psychedelic Furs II



The Psychedelic Furs: 'Into You Like A Train'


Richard Butler, vocals

Tim Butler, bass
Vince Ely: drums
Roger "Dog" Morris: guitar
John Ashton: guitar
Duncan Kilburn: sax

The Psychedelic Furs



The Psychedelic Furs: 'Sister Europe'


Richard Butler, vocals

Tim Butler, bass
Vince Ely: drums
Roger "Dog" Morris: guitar
John Ashton: guitar
Duncan Kilburn: sax

Sunday, June 27, 2010

North Fork Sound Top 20 - June 27th 2010

1. Madness: Michael Caine
2. Mikel Rouse: Where Are Those Girls
3. Nick Lowe: Maureen
4. Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band: Too Much Time
5. Robert Earl Keen: The Five Pound Bass
6. The Inmates: The Walk
7. Maceo & The Macks: Cross The Tracks (We Better Go Back)
8. Peter C. Johnson: Burka
9. Sylvain Sylvain & The Criminals: Kids Are Back
10. Fairport Convention: If I Had A Ribbon Bow
11. Gypsy: Still You're Not Sure
12. Rodney Crowell: Who Do You Trust
13. Dennis Brown: Black Magic Woman
14. Patsy Cline: Why Can't He Be You
15. Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women: These Times We're Living In
16. The Velvet Underground: Stephanie Says
17. The Psychedelic Furs: Flowers
18. Eddie Reader: Wings On My Heels
19. Egg: A Visit To Newport Hospital
20. New Math: They Walk Among You
New Math & The Psychedelic Furs
l-r: Kevin Patrick, Chris Yockel, Roger 'Dog' Morris, John Ashton
Cherry Hill, NJ
photo: Duane Sherwood

North Fork Sound Alb O' The Week
Dr. John & The Lower 911: Tribal

North Fork Sound Legend Of The Month
The Cramps
Roseland Ballroom, NYC - November '97
photo: ht


Last Week's Listener Favourites
Albert King: Blues Power
Allen Toussaint: Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky
Ananda Shankar: Jumping Jack Flash
Ann-Margret: You Sure Know How To Hurt Someone
Arif Mardin w/Dr. John: Chez Twang's
Barrett Strong: Money (That's What I Want)
Cerberus Shoal: Omphalos
Creatures Of The Golden Dawn: Bye Bye Baby
Dead Weather: Gasoline
Dwight Twilley Band: It Could Be Love
Eric Burdon Band: The Real Me
Family: Burlesque
The Flowerpot Men: Joe's So Mean To Josephine
Ian Dury & The Blockheads: Dance Little Rude Boy
Ian Whitcomb: You Turn Me On
Intastella: Skyscraper
J. Geils Band: Detroit Breakdown
James Brown: It's A Man's World
Jerry Garcia & David Grisman: Blue Yodel #9
Kate Bush: The Big Sky (Meteorological mix)
Lemmy & The Upsetters: Blue Suede Shoes
Lo-Fidelity Allstars: Cattleprod
Man: Bananas
Mara Carlyle: Saw Song
Marc Vormawah
London
photo: ht
Marc V: Let Them Stare
Mark Bingham: Evil (I Inject)
Martin Belmont feat. Johnny Nicky: Time For The Sun To Rise
Michael Nyman: Pretty Talk
The Mothers Of Invention: Directly From My Heart To You
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Babe, I Got You Bad
Nina Simone: The Pusher
Preservation Hall Jazz Band feat. Louis Armstrong: Rockin' Chair
The Pretty Things: Summer Time
Rising Appalachia: Caminando
Rising Appalachia: Caminando (remix)
Rising Appalachia: Swoon (remix)
Rising Appalachia: You And I Are Falling, You And I Are Free
Ronnie Cook & The Gaylads: Goo Goo Muck

The Star Spangles
Tokyo, Japan - August 2nd '03
photo: ht

The Star Spangles: I Told A Lie
Them: Here Comes The Night
The Tom Tom Club: Irresistable Party Dip
Veneice Stark: I Still Love You
Vince Taylor: Brand New Cadillac
XTC: Stupidly Happy

live365 and the internet is just not big enough so
we're now on terrestrial radio too! SEND PROMOS - cds or vinyl ONLY
Next show: July 9th, and every second Friday of the month, 1-4pm:-

WPKN 89.5 or www.wpkn.org

Monday, October 19, 2009

The Psychedelic Furs


Richard Butler
Sag Harbor, NY
October 17th '09


Sunday, August 23, 2009

North Fork Sound Top 20 Aug 23rd 09

Lyric work-sheet
(© Richard Butler, 1979)

1. The Psychedelic Furs: Blacks/Radio
2. Little Feat: Hamburger Midnight
3. Hidden City: Raw Weather
4. Reverend Horton Heat: Crazy Ex-Boyfriend
5. Passion Pit: Let Your Love Grow Tall
6. Guy Clark: Jack Of All Trades
7. George Gilmore & The Giblets: Cuttin’ Out (Goin’ Back Up The Line)
8. Jook: Do What You Can
9. Eddie Cochran: Stockin’s ‘n’ Shoes
10.Bees Make Honey: Booterstown
11.Dave Alvin & The Guilty Men: Mobile Blue
12.Eddy Lawrence: Say It In Southern
13.Bob Marley & The Wailers: Punky Reggae Party (12” version)
14.John Adams: Hoodoo Zephyr (Hoodoo Zephyr)
15.Egg: Long Piece #3 (Pt. 4)
16.O.V. Wright: Ace Of Spades
17.Etta James & Sugar Pie DeSanto: In The Basement Pt. 1
18.Oasis:
The Turning
19.Genya Ravan w/Lou Reed: Ave. Co’lorado
20.Janet & The Jays: Love What You’re Doing To Me

NoFoSo Alb o’ The Week:
Glenn Tilbrook & The Fluffers: Pandemonium Ensues (Koch)
The Guilty Pleasure:
Genevieve Waite: White Cadillac (Paramour Records)
Last Week’s Listener Thumbs-Ups:
Marvin Gaye: I’ll Be Doggone
John Cale: Dirty Ass Rock ‘n’ Roll
Jimmy Cliff: You Can Get It If You Really Want It
Adam Faith: What Do You Want
Tanya Tucker: Crazy Arms
Helen Love: Beat Him Up
Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Days That Used To Be
Ian Dury And The Blockheads: Jack Shit George
VAST: Pretty When You Cry
Suicide: Frankie Teardrop
Shakin’ Stevens & The Sunsets: Spirit Of Woodstock
Ryan Shaw: I Do The Jerk
The Rolling Stones: Wild Horses
The Only Ones: Another Girl, Another Planet
Nick Lowe: (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?
Dr. Feelgood: All Through The City
Joe South: Games People Play
Jet Harris & Tony Meehan: Diamonds
Billy Lee Riley: Red Hot
John Martyn: Big Muff
Ian Hunter: Words (Big Mouth)
John Prine: Ain’t Hurtin’ Nobody
The Jim Jones Revue: Fish 2 Fry
The Buzzcocks: What Do I Get
MC5: High School
Shakin’ Stevens & The Sunsets: Spirit Of Woodstock
The Pulsars: Tunnel Song
Robin Tyner w/Eddie & The Hot Rods: Till The Night Is Gone (Let’s Rock)
John Hiatt: Perfectly Good Guitar
Kasabian: Vlad The impaler
MX-80 Sound: PCBs
Van Der Graaf Generator: Darkness (11-11)
The Mothers Of Invention: Mother People
Mothers Of Invention beer!

Fans of Little Feat should know that founding drummer Richie Hayward has some serious health issues and is in dire need of a little financial help. Go here -
http://richiehayward.chipin.com/richie-hayward-medical-expenses - and donate whatever you can. Just do it. The drumming on 'Hamburger Midnight' alone is worth the effort. Then ask yourself why do most people in the civilized world get 'free' health care while Americans don't?

Today, let's celebrate Keith Moon's birthday, b. August 23rd 1946
photo: Bob Gruen

backstage, CA, 1976
(found at The Dust Congress blog)

Sunday, May 3, 2009

North Fork Sound Top 20 May 3rd ‘09

1. Ike Turner: Jesus Loves Me
2. The Cramps: People Ain’t No Good
3. Dean Wareham: Anesthesia
4. Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers: Pablo Picasso
5. John Mooney: Drink A Little Poison (4 U Die)
6. Kris Kristofferson: The Show Goes On
7. Detroit (feat: Mitch Ryder): Long Neck Goose
8. Billy Bragg: Seven And Seven Is
9. Beverly Jones & The Prestons: Hear You Talking
10. Doug Powell: The Uninvisible Man
11. John Doe & The Sadies: Til I Get It Right
12. Ornament: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
13. Allen Toussaint: Singin’ The Blues
14. Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson: Motor Head Baby
15. Johnny Dynell & New York 88: Jam Hot (Rhumba Rock)
16. The Divinyls: Elsie
17. True Believers: Nobody’s Home
18. Pink Floyd: Interstellar Overdrive (‘Tonight Let’s All Make Love In London’ version)
19. LCD Soundsystem: Yeah (Pretentious Version)
20. Clive Chin & Lloyd Parks: Extraordinary Version

NoFoSo Alb o’ The Week:
Various Artists: Cries From The Midnight Circus/Ladbroke Grove 1967-1978 (featuring The Pretty Things, Quintessence, Mick Farren, Junior’s Eyes, Robert Calvert, Mighty Baby, The Action and more)

The Guilty Pleasure
:
Abba: Does Your Mother Know

Last Week’s Listener Thumbs-Ups:
John Martyn: Certain Surprise
Jeff Onore: Twenty Years
Johnny Rivers: Rockin’ Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu
Jona Lewie: The Baby She’s On The Street
Sarah Gillespie: Stalkin’ Juliet
The Psychedelic Furs: The Ghost In You
New York Dolls w/Bo Diddley: Seventeen
Larry Lurex (Freddie Mercury): I Can Hear Music
The Pretty Things: Havana Bound
Lita Ford: Kiss Me Deadly
Robert Medici: She Said Drive
Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band: Sure ‘nuff ‘n’ Yes I Do
Bo Diddley: Road Runner
Joy Division: Love Will Tear Us Apart
Howlin’ Wolf: Little Red Rooster
Bruce Anderson: Lebanon
The Band: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (alt mix)
Joe Gibbs & The Professionals: Fashion One
John Campbell: Angel Of Sorrow
The Rolling Stones: We Love You
Johnny Thunders: You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory
TG Sheppard & Delbert McClinton
: 15 Rounds With Jose Cuervo
Spike Priggen: In The Inside
Philip Glass Ensemble w/Bernard Fowler: Changing Opinion
Paul Carrack: Lesson In Love
Mick Jagger: Evening Gown
Kevin Ayres: May I
Marc V: Let Them Stare
Lo-Fidelity Allstars: Feel What I Feel
Karen Verros: You Just Gotta Know My Mind
Ernie Isley: High Wire
Grateful Dead: Till The Morning Comes
Led Zeppelin: Ramble On
Sam Cooke: Little Red Rooster
Detroit (feat: Mitch Ryder): It Ain’t Easy
Mary Gauthier: Drag Queens In Limousines
Adam & The Ants: Dog Eat Dog
Billy Bragg: There Is Power In A Union
Brinsley Schwarz: Nervous On The Road (But Can’t Stay At Home)
Jill Sobule: Nothing To Prove
Keith Gemmell: Whoo-Hoo
The High Dials: The Holy Ground
The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs: Little Tokyo
John Doe & Kathleen Edwards: A Little More Time
Eddie & The Hot Rods: It Came Out Of The Sky (live)
Family: In My Own Time
Finn’s Motel: Concord Village Optimist Club
Gene Vincent: Ain’t She Sweet
Mara Carlyle: Saw Song
Roky Erickson & The Aliens: Don’t Shake Me Lucifer
Savoy Brown: Train To Nowhere

Ike Turner: Jesus Loves Me
We like Ike. As pianist/leader of The Kings Of Rhythm, he cut what is probably the first ever rock & roll single, ‘Rocket 88’. Produced by Sam Phillips, the single was credited to Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats and released on the Chess label, reaching #1 on the R&B charts in 1951. With Anna Mae Bullock (Tina Turner) and Phil Spector, he made the greatest single of all time, ‘River Deep, Mountain High’ and continued to make great music up until his death on Dec 12, 2007. 'Jesus Loves Me' is from his last album 'Risin' With The Blues
'.

Ivy Rorschach, Lux Interior
N. Edgemont St, Los Angeles
photo: ht
The Cramps: People Ain't No Good
If there was any justice, The Cramps would be number 2 - at least - on all charts (including ‘classical’) every week.


Terry Tolkin, Dean Wareham 23rd St, NYC
photo: ht
scanned from a lenticular 3-D print

Dean Wareham: Anesthesia
Ornament: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
Dean Wareham is just one of the artists that helped make no. 6 Records a respected
indy label at college radio throughout the 90’s and now there’s a (double) cd of all its 7" 45s, ‘Speed Dating: The no. 6 Records Compendium. Founded in 1989 by Terry Tolkin, no. 6 managed to put out about 50 records during its 10 year existence and was an early champion of artists like Unrest, The Afghan Whigs, Luna, Tindersticks and Nada Surf. The label’s first album release (in 1989) was 'The Bridge - A Tribute To Neil Young' benefiting the Youngs' Bridge School cause and it featured Soul Asylum, Victoria Williams, Nick Cave, Sonic Youth, the Pixies and more. A couple of years later, alt darlings Thurston Moore, Wayne Coyne, J. Mascis, Paul Leary, Kim Gordon, Nikki Sudden, Steve Albini and 19 other 6-string slashers contributed to Terry’s ‘Guitarrorists’ compilation. I brought Terry to Elektra’s a&r department where he gave us Luna, Stereolab and the Afghan Whigs and, for a while, things were looking good. But when one of the artists he signed stole his wife and the building in which he lived on 17th St. collapsed destroying all his vinyl, a very valuable movie poster collection and all the no. 6 masters and artwork, it began a streak of bad luck and gruelling times for Terry. Luckily, he's managed to fight through it and now lives on a farm in Oklahoma with a dog and a Glock.
Ornament were Marcy Mays (from Scrawl) and Greg Dulli (from the Afghan Whigs)
more pics of Terry

Billy Bragg
photo: ht


Billy Bragg: Seven And Seven Is
Apart from the odd glimpse of a wandering, fully electric Billy Bragg (with loud-speakers on antenna-like stalks growing from his shoulders) accosting people with his songs in the corridors of a New Music Seminar hotel,
the first time I saw him properly was when his manager, Peter Jenner, asked if I could come and see him open for The Smiths at NYC's Beacon Theater. I didn't know Peter well, but he's been involved in so many great things I jumped at the chance. As one half of Blackhill Enterprises, he and partner Andrew King had managed Pink Floyd, Marc Bolan, The Edgar Broughton Band, Roy Harper, The Clash, Ian Dury and had organized the free concerts in Hyde Park in the 60s and 70s. Peter had also run EMI's 'underground' label, Harvest, run the a&r dept. at Charisma Records before it was bought out by Virgin and I soon got to know an immensely interesting and entertaining fellow, whose out-of-the-box thinking, sense of fair play and advocacy for artists’ rights puts him right at the top of the good guys column (managers division). Up until then, I’d only heard a couple of Billy’s singles and they hadn’t made much of an impression. I’ve always found, however, that it’s the ‘live’ experience that sorts out the real from the fake and at this show, I finally got it. I was thinking his coarse, un-trained, yet distinctive voice might have a certain commercial appeal when, out of the blue, I found tears running down my cheeks as Billy delivered ‘There Is Power In A Union’ on behalf of the thousands of striking British miners whose jobs were about to disappear courtesy Margaret Thatcher. I looked around...he had the audience in his hands and they had him in their hearts.

Billy Bragg 'Old Clash Fan Fight Song'
Grand Ballroom, Manhattan Center, NYC
October 25th 2008



Billy Bragg 'N.W.P.A.'
Grand Ballroom, Manhattan Center, NYC
October 25th 2008


Everybody was entranced. It didn’t hurt either that Billy is a natural speaker who infuses his message with humour and passion. 'Til then, I’d never been very interested in politics, but the Elektra label had quite a history in that department (Phil Ochs, Judy Collins, MC5) and at the time, with people like (10,000 Maniacs’) Natalie Merchant, Rubén Blades and Jackson Browne doing their bit, it was a natural fit. Billy recorded 'Seven And Seven Is' for Elektra's 40th anniversary album, 'Rubaiyat'. Why they left it off Billy's career retrospective multi cd box sets 'Volume 1' and 'Volume 2' is anybody's guess.
more Billy Bragg photos here

John Doe
on a bus, somewhere in Germany
photo: ht

John Doe & The Sadies: Til I Get It Right
John Doe is not a slacker. As an actor, he’s appeared in 47 films and 28 tv episodes (including 'Carnivale' and 'Roswell'). As a founder member of revered Los Angeles punk band “X”, he’s released 10 albums, 2 greatest hits compilations and appeared in 5 films. As a solo artist, he’s just released his 8th album, a collaboration with The Sadies, ‘Country Club’ (YepRoc Records). As always, he delivers.

Robert Buck, John Doe
Elektra Records Grammy party, Los Angeles, CA

photo: ht
more John Doe pics here
Christina Amphlett/The Divinyls
The Ritz, NYC

photo: Eric Maché
The Divinyls: Elsie
I saw the Divinyls open for the Psychedelic Furs one afternoon at an open air gig one afternoon at Syracuse University
. If you're looking for a female Iggy, Christina Amphlett's your gal. She wore a white blouse with a tartan schoolgirl’s tunic and during their epic ‘Elsie’ late in the set, she took out a lipstick and started scrawling all over her face and arms with it. She lurched around the stage in some kind of psychotic fog, grunting, practically dragging her knuckles along the floor. Then she proceeded to upend a large bucket of water over her head while growling “Open the door, Wally”. She had a feral, primitive appeal. She was beautiful. Ya had to see it, but here's a close approximation, cleaned up a bit for tv.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Reasons To Be Cheerfull

What do Billy Bragg, The Edgar Broughton Band, Paul Carrack, Carlene Carter, John Cooper Clark, Elvis Costello, The Damned, Dr. Feelgood, Ian Dury, Dave Edmunds, Peter Hamill, Hawkwind, Nick Lowe, Graham Parker, The Psychedelic Furs, Larry Wallis and Howard Werth have in common?
Well (apart from being core artists on North Fork Sound) they've all had their music wrapped in the art of Barney Bubbles. Born Colin Fulcher in 1942, he obtained his National Diploma in Design (with honours) from Twickenham College of Technology and in July 1963, created his first piece of commercial art - a poster for the Rolling Stones' appearance at the college's end-of-year dance. Now it's one of the rarest pieces of Stones memorabilia. Around the same time, he made a poster for the college's in-house group, the Muleskinners featuring none other than a soon-to-be member of the Small Faces, Ian McLagan. A love for music, fashion, art and photography played a huge part in Colin's development and in '67, he was inspired by a Pink Floyd event at London's UFO club to purchase four old projectors and create his own mobile light-show. He combined coloured inks with oil and placed the mixtures between glass slides which, when heated by the lamps' warmth, would 'bubble' and make gloopy shapes on walls at clubs like UFO, the Roundhouse and Middle Earth. An introduction to Oz magazine's Richard Neville and a move into 307 Portobello Road placed Barney bang in the centre of London's blossoming underground. He became art director for Friends (another counter-culture mag) who set up offices next door and soon freak-friendly labels like Island, United Artists and Vertigo were commissioning artwork for acts like Quintesscense ("Everything's great in Notting Hill Gate"), The Sutherland Brothers, Cressida, Cracious!, Quiver, Brinsley Schwarz and Hawkwind. It wasn't long before Barney's meticulous, expertly executed, pioneering designs were being used to separate stems and seeds across the nation. Reasons To Be Cheerful - The Life And Work Of Barney Bubbles by Paul Gorman tells of Barney's highs (and lows) so much better than I can and you'll find a huge amount of Barney's work presented magnificently between its covers. If you have even a half-decent record collection, you already have some of his work. Here, you can check out the rest.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Ruth Polsky (12/5/56 - 9/7/86)

Ze Records' Michael Zilkha, Ruth Polsky
23rd St, NYC
photo: ht
Today would have been Ruth Polsky's 52nd birthday. I met Ruth when she came to London to see if I could help her get The Psychedelic Furs to play Hurrah, a club she booked in NYC. I made the necessary introductions and it wasn’t too long before they were playing ‘Sister Europe’ to David Bowie, myself and a house full of curious Anglophiles.
Richard Butler, David Bowie
Hurrah, NYC '80

photographer: Ebet Roberts

Ruth was a big fan of the period’s non-mainstream music and bands like Simple Minds, New Order, The Smiths, The Birthday Party, The Sisters Of Mercy, The Slits and Echo & The Bunnymen can all thank her for being the first person to bring them to the States. After Hurrah, in the early 80s she moved on to Danceteria and, with Jim Fouratt, Rudolf and Dianne Brill, made it NYC's liveliest, and most creative nightspot. The man with the 'list', sweet Haoui Montaug, would greet you with a smile and the first thing I'd do upon entering was turn right, into the room where the bands would play. Ruth's booking policy made everything worth a look, so I'd take a spot at the bar, order a drink and give whoever was playing 3 songs (or 2 drinks) to make their point. It was there I first saw 10,000 Maniacs at Ruth's insistence (and also on the recommendation of my friend Eric Maché, who had seen them in Buffalo). It only took a couple of minutes to find me up front, mesmerized by Natalie Merchant's extraordinary stage presence and Rob Buck's liquid guitar-playing.
Natalie Merchant
Rochester
, NY, 1983

photo: ht

If nothing was happening downstairs, one floor up was where DJs like Mark Kamins, Anita Sarko, Johnny Dynell and Bill Bahlman would spin all the latest discs. I remember 'dancing' past a supremely confident and stylin' lass on my way to give Bill a Leisure Process advance 12" only to find out her name was Madonna and that she was a regular and Kamins' girlfriend. She was not tall (in stature) but she had huge presence. There were bars on all floors and sometimes I'd just park myself at the bar, drink a few, listen to the latest records and watch the dancers.
The 3rd floor featured a video lounge that ran experimental video (a developing art-form) and bizarre porn. I remember staring at the televisions once - careful, I nearly typed TVs - trying to figure out exactly what was going on and suddenly realizing I was seeing my first fisting tape (male). Had to wash away the image with copious screwdrivers with Suicide's Alan Vega, a regular 3rd floor customer who lived a few blocks away at the Gramercy Hotel.
(unknown couple), Alan Vega, Diane Brill, ht
3rd floor, Danceteria
photo: Herbert Schultz
German Cosmopolitan December 1984

In the summer, the club’s owner Rudolf opened up the roof to lucky invitees and on Wednesday nights, Haoui presented his freaky 'No Etiendes' variety show, where Madonna made her live debut. There were often strange art events happening. Underground film-maker Nick Zedd 'premiered' his 'Geek Maggot Bingo' (to most people's disappointment) and somehow Chris Isaak even had a residency at Danceteria.
One of Ruth’s favourite bands was Joy Division and she worked very hard to put their first US tour together only to have it canceled when singer Ian Curtis hanged himself the night before they were due to leave for America. She wasn’t only a fan of British bands though and in 1984 started managing NYC’s Certain General, whose compilation 'Invisible New York' was released last year. For those who might be interested, their history is admirably recounted by Kris Needs here
Ruth enjoyed photography, and one of her favourite people was Andrew Eldritch from the Sisters Of Mercy. Andrew used a photo she took inside their debut album, First And Last And Always.
The Sisters Of Mercy
publicity photo by
: Ruth Polsky

and she took this one, backstage, after a show in London -
Andrew Eldritch, ht
photo: Ruth Polsky

Tragically, Ruth was killed on September 7th 1986 outside another club, Limelight, when a taxi jumped the kerb and pinned her to the wall while she was waiting to enter the venue to see Certain General play. Ruth was a lovely, kind, funny, generous and nurturing woman. At this time of year, I always think about the ways she encouraged and helped musicians. She enriched many of their lives and her presence and influence is still greatly missed.
Robert Maché (The Swinging Madisons), Stephen Israel, Ruth Polsky, Eugenie Deserio & Steven Alexander (Model Citizens/The Dance)
23rd St, NYC
photo: ht

David Johansen, Anne Deon, John Anthony, Jo-Ellen (top), Ruth
23rd St, NYC

photo: ht

Friday, October 24, 2008

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