1979 was a pretty damn good year!!

Comments (12)

1. 

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   Terry Staunton says You go, Steve! Elvis didn't record his own version of Girls Talk until a year later, as the B-side to the single I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down. If you can, check out Dave's 1978 album Trax On Wax 4 - among its many joys is a song called A1 On The Jukebox (And Nowhere On The Chart), which he co-wrote with the great Will Birch from The Records. Also, Repeat When Necessary was recorded at the same time as Nick Lowe's Labour Of Lust, basically the Rockpile band doing what they do best and either Dave or Nick taking a lead vocal to decide which record the song should end up on - the two together are essentially a double album.

   Permalink posted 12/04/2006
2. 

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   ennuikiller says wow, definitely didn't know about the records connection (another one of my favorite bands from the 70s/80s)! well, I've only been hanging out on the mog-o-sphere for about 1 week now, and i have to say that i don't think i ever would have learned that bit of information had i not joined this exclusive community......thanks terry!!

   Permalink posted 12/04/2006
3. 

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   Flaneur says Ninteen Seventy-Nine!

   Permalink posted 12/04/2006
4. Anonymous says Anybody hear about a U.K. TV series called "Revolver", from 1978-79? I got a couple of bootleg volumes off eBay. Many of the era's (especially Brit) luminaries are present and accounted for: XTC, Elvis C., The Jam, X-Ray Specs, Kate Bush, Ian Dury, Buzzcocks, Siouxsie, Vibrators. You'll also find the not so famous, like motorcycle stunt driver and leather pants clad rocker Eddie Kidd, who can't sing to save his life but has a kick-ass band and the gung-ho attitude of a motorcycle stunt driver. Best of all is Nick Lowe, who I'd never taken for a hard-core rocker before, ripping through "Heart of The City" like the second coming of Eddie Cochran, with his buddy Dave on gee-tar. Dave Edmunds / Nick Lowe / Rockpile: England's answer to X. More on "Revolver" later.

   Permalink posted 12/04/2006
5. Anonymous says Like ennuikiller, I thank Terry Staunton for the Rockpile "double-album" info.

   Permalink posted 12/04/2006
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   Terry Staunton says You're most welcome, Fedge. I, too, have the Revolver bootlegs and Nick rocks it in no uncertain terms, does he not?

   Permalink posted 12/04/2006
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   Terry Staunton says Here's a piece I wrote last year for the UK magazine Record Collector, which appeared in their Diggin' For Gold bygone pleasures section... Revolver (UK television, 1978) Music mogul and TV talent show pundit Mickie Most was inspired to launch a programme purely for “the kids” after watching a documentary about Top Of The Pops. Robin Nash, the then producer of the BBC flagship, had boasted on camera how TOTP had such a broad appeal that youngsters and their parents would sit down to watch it together. “That just seemed so wrong to me,” Most told reporters. “Where was the generational conflict? Historically, you’re supposed to hate your mum’s and dad’s music, and vice versa.” His response was Revolver, filmed at ATV’s Birmingham studios, where Most was a familiar face on the judging panel of talent show New Faces. The concept was that a run-down local ballroom had fallen on hard times and was forced to open its doors to grubby new wave types. Cue The Jam, The Stranglers, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Boomtown Rats and X-Ray Spex, playing absolutely live and frequently opting to ignore their current single releases. The masterstroke was enlisting the services of Peter Cook to play the disgruntled ballroom manager. Seen mostly on video screen from the security of his “office” in front a notice board covered with pictures of old time variety acts, Cook would insult the studio audience and introduce the bands with thinly-veiled contempt. On one show he referred to Sid Vicious being attacked on stage in America as “a rare occasion of the fan hitting the shit”. Most set out his stall on the Saturday night prime time pilot, booking local boys Steel Pulse to perform Ku Klux Klan wearing white hoods, while Tom Robinson closed proceedings with Sing If You’re Glad To Be Gay, gleefully letting it be known that the BBC had refused to broadcast the track. But if the intention was to shock, Revolver didn’t quite live up to its supposedly dangerous rep. Despite predictably negative reviews in the high-brow press (the Sunday Telegraph called it “a deplorable entertainment”), it failed to ruffle as many feathers as Most might have liked. The majority of viewer complaints stemmed from locals enraged by Cook’s description of Birmingham as “the city that made lead poisoning the ‘in’ thing”. In truth, Most only did half a job. Arguably bowing to pressure from the network, each show counterbalanced the punk elements with appearances by more mainstream-friendly acts like Kate Bush (a rare TV outing on the pilot), Bonnie Tyler, Darts, Lindisfarne and Suzi Quatro. The plan to feature an unsigned “support” act each week was a real opportunity missed, as more often than not it was merely a showcase for bog-standard Brummie pub bands such as Ricky Cool & The Icebergs, Sore Throat and Brent Ford & The Nylons. Although the pilot recorded healthy viewing figures, the full series of seven shows was relegated to graveyard slots at varying times across the ITV regions, and it failed to return for a second run.

   Permalink posted 12/04/2006
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   fastnbulbous says Sweet, 1979 was one of my favorite years. I wrote this on the cover of a tape compilation 13 (!) years ago: The Spirit of '79 Post-punk bore the fruits of the seeds planted by punk. Punk broke down barriers and proved it was possible for inexperienced musicians to express themselves and not have to be slick like the older musicians dominating the charts. 1979 was a banner year for post-punk, an early burst of creativity in which anything seemed possible, and young bands' imaginations surpassed the supposed limits of their talents. Jagged rhythms and dark lyrical themes seem to be a common sensibility running through the era's zeitgeist. It was the era from which it seems every band claims to be influenced by, but no one can really duplicate (except for tiny scraps borrowed by Sonic Youth from Wire, Big Black from Gang Of Four, and The Jesus Lizard from PiL and The Birthday Party). Songs from more familiar albums (The Clash, The Cure and The Specials, The Jam, Elvis Costello) were not included in order to highlight overlooked goodies. Here's a partial list. Art Bears * Winter Songs The Au Pairs * "You" The Boys Next Door (The Birthday Party) * Door Door David Bowie * Lodger Cabaret Voltaire * Mix-Up Chrome * Half Machine Lip Moves The Contortions * Buy The Contortions Delta 5 Essential Logic * Beat Rhythm News The Fall * Live At The Witch Trials The Fall * Dragnet Gang Of Four * Entertainment Joy Division * Unknown Pleasures Killing Joke * Almost Red EP Liliput/Kleenex Magazine * Real Life Gary Numan * The Pleasure Principle Pere Ubu * New Picnic Time The Pop Group * Y Public Image Ltd. * Metal Box/Second Edition Pylon The Raincoats Rip Rig + Panic * God The Ruts * The Crack Siouxsie & The Banshees * Join Hands The Slits * Cut The Soft Boys * Invisible Hits Stiff Little Fingers * Inflammable Material Talking Heads * Fear Of Music This Heat Throbbing Gristle * 20 Jazz Funk Greats Tubeway Army * Replicas James Blood Ulmer * Tales Of Captain Black Alan Vega * Collision Drive James White & The Blacks * Off White Wire * 154 XTC * Drums And Wires Young Marble Giants * Colossal Youth

   Permalink posted 12/04/2006
9. Anonymous says Terry, I think you need to post your Revolver piece for all to see. RIGHT NOW. In fact, I'm quitting MOG today if you do not do so. Here's what to do (IMHO): Post the fist paragraph as your post, then add the rest immediately as a comment. If MOGGERS don't want to know about what you've written here (which if I haven't made it clear, is (expletive) excellent), then they are, IMHO, full of (expletive). To make things easy for you, there's a photo you can use if you want at this page: http://cookp2.notlong.com/ And this page: http://cookp.notlong.com/ But nothing gets the point across like... VIDEOS!!!!! : Here's (expletive) EC on "Revolver"! (Expletive)! I'll put this up on the main page if you don't. Cook introduces The Stranglers (intro only): Don't make me do it, Staunton. Don't make me quit MOG.

   Permalink posted 12/04/2006
10. Anonymous says Good post, fastnbulbous. BTW, I have 25-year-old tapes, including "Big Science" (one side), with Yello's "Solid Pleasure" (on the other): "Bimbo": http://ybimbo.notlong.com/ P.S.: Can I get ya to trade me for a dupe of that tape, or to make some other arrangement besides trading? My music collection, I'm afraid, is no treasure trove of obscurities. Please message me.

    Permalink posted 12/04/2006
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    fastnbulbous says Those Yello remasters were yummy. I'd be happy to dub the tape except my tape deck died. I could post an MP3 comp on YSI. Stay tuned.

    Permalink posted 12/04/2006
12. Anonymous says I threatened to quit MOG unless Terry Staunton granted me permission to post his wonderful article on the main page. Despite this fact, Terry has allowed this to appear: http://stauntonr.notlong.com/

    Permalink posted 12/04/2006