I'm 59 years young I and got into punk in 1980. I don't consider myself an expert on all things punk rock by any means, but I am familiar with all these bands. Good stuff 👍🏻
I am with you on that . 60 years young and we might have bunked off school to get tickets to the same gigs 79/80/81 . I will one day dig out my cassette collection of all the live gigs , there was always a bloke selling "dodgy" live cassettes
Rich Kids were so energetic. The bar was sky high in those days. The other bands here show that the high-energy mood was increacing in the run-up, including here in Brisbane where The Saints came out of nowhere.
I’ll never forget the Pink Fairies! I was booked as a support solo singer/songwriter when they played at the Drill Hall in Ware in 1973. The promoter asked me if I would mind playing my set from a gallery high above the room so the crew could finish setting up the Fairies’ back line and instruments on the stage. Being eighteen and very obliging I agreed. What I didn’t realise was that the drum tech (I guess we called them “roadies” in those days) would be nailing the kit to the stage during much of my set. It was very loud and very distracting! Of course once they started playing they were louder than any band I’d ever heard, the wall of speaker cabs was formidable. After the gig the drum tech did apologise … “Sorry, mate, I thought you were a record playing …” 😂
Thanks that great story. I never approved when crew of the main act disrespected the Support, which happened surprisingly often! Very often, the roadies never quite got the spirit of the times. Thanks again and please keep watching. Cheers!.
Thank you very much for the kind words: very much appreciated! I'm now 70 and I'm pleased to say that people educate me every day just I posting comments like yours. Cheers!
Flicking through the records on a stall in East Lane Market (off Walworth Road in S. London) in the late '80s, I came across a Pink Fairies compilation album. The guy next to me said, "I played on that". I turned to see it was Larry Wallis! I saw the 'Pink Finks' more times in the '70s than I care to remember, including what they said would be their last show - at Sussex Uni. In 1977 (of course, it wasn't). Then, I saw them about 10 years ago, here in Bristol, but I almost wish I hadn't gone as they were shadows of their former selves - Russell Hunter could hardly stand before or after they played and practically had to be propped-up behind the drums. R.I.P. ❤
Thanks for those great stories. I totally agree that the reunion a decade ago was misjudged, but frankly, I think the guys needed the money. We were so lucky to live through the times we did, and I thank whatever Lifeforce exists for every second of my life so far. Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
@argopunk Brilliant! I'd never thought of that; could he have been influenced by the fact they used to play a version of 'I Saw Her Standing There', d'ya reckon?
Going to see the fairies was certainly an experience. Sometimes they were absolutely great, other times, not so much. It all depended on how much they'd had before and during the gig. Either way, it was usually a fun experience and usually they'd be on with several other bands... Cheers!
Very nice video, I was in London in the eighties and used to see quite a few bands in pubs. My favorites were A Bigger Splash, The Electric Bluebirds and Nine Below Zero, the latter apparently still playing…
Yes, Dennis Greaves is still leading out NBZ and very good they were too last time I saw them. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for watching. Please stick around for more!
Great video Jim, some nice edits in it too & I know how long all those little inserts take! Found it really interesting, especially the WW3 stuff.....didn't know about them.
Thanks very much for the kind words. Editing this one has been even more difficult because I had an eye operation yesterday, but I was determined to get it done. Thanks for sharing your thoughts: please keep watching!
@@JimDriver You're a true star Jim & valuable to not only to us in the youtube community but also as a major figure within the history of British live music.
@@MikeWhitcombe-e7i You are right. I read that in "England's Dreaming" by Jon Savage and I have seen an Interview by Ure here on RUclips where he talks about it himself
I love hammersmith gorillas! Fantastic band. Kind of been rediscovered a few years ago through the whole bovver rock thing. I love to hear your opinions on jook?
These videos are treasures -- your insights from being around then are invaluable. I'm a big fan of the Pink Fairies and Rich Kids, but never fully dug into the first three, so I've got some rabbitholes to dive down! Been enjoying Peter Perrett's third (and quite long, 20 tracks) solo album The Cleansing. Would love to see more about The Only Ones, if you were into them.
Great video, as usual. You got me with Clayton and the Argonauts. Weird stuff! The first band I was ever in played a cover of Ghosts of Princes in Towers!
Yes, me too! They were pretty regularly on the bill. Those shows were promoted by John Curd who was one of the most important and impressive music promoters of my lifetime. He always had his finger on the pulse and was responsible for those shows, then most of the stiff and punk/new wave tours of the 1970s, Klub Foot(Upstairs) at the Hammersmith Clarendon) and more. He's still with us, I believe.
All great stuff! I have "Gatecrasher" on a UK punk/indie comp. Great song. I've heard of the Pink Fairies. I need to check out more of these bands for sure. Keep it up!
Agreed! I think it's safe to say that if Glen Matlock hadn't been in the sex pistols, they wouldn't of been anywhere near as musical as they were were. Thanks for kind words and please keep watching and commenting!
Loving the content, Saw the Rich Kids at Middlesborough Rock Garden, I think in 78. One of the best most underrated bands I did see were London, they were brilliant. Did you ever have them on at any of your venue's, just curious.
London were great, weren't they? Pretty sure they played at my ill fated punk club in Cambridge, or at least were booked to play. I forgotten about Middlesbrough Rockgarden: a great venue! Cheers!
I wonder if the Hammersmith Guerillas were closely aligned with Tooting Popular Front ,come the glorious day ill probably have to pay for that one ha ha ,Great info as usual Jim , I didn't really know these bands bar The Rich Kids who I thought sounded Good but they just didnt hang around very long which was pretty much the way Midge was operating back then ,great stuff !
I'd only heard of Pink Fairies and Rick Kids. But being born in 62 and rarely leaving Staffordshire until I was 18, I was probably a bit young to gave been aware of underground stuff from early 70s. The only lical band anyone mentioned in thise days was Climax Blues (Discharge came later 😂). But these videiis are educational and entertaining as ever.
Thank you very much, very kind of you to say so! Yes, when I was a teenager in West Wales, I used to rush out and buy the melody maker immediately I got paid for my Saturday job. I used to read it from cover to cover, even the ads, which were no use to me whatsoever.!Happy days.... 😀
In the ‘80’s I attended a Pink Faries gig in a church basement in south London ( can’t recall the name of the venue) loudest gig I was ever at. They ended their set by leaving a guitar on stage feeding back for 20 minutes!😂
Was that the Crypt in Deptford? I remember that the Vicar was very "groovy" in the 1980s/1990s and allowed gigs in there. I can remember going there with Here & now at some point and I think I saw Hawkwind there amongst the burial chambers… Cheers!
I went to see the Rich Kids at Southampton University (I wasn't a student) and couldn't get ticket. Spent ages trying to get a copy of the Caroline Catz documentary about The Gorillas and Jesse Hector found it in the end. It yielded me a quote (more or less)I use "If I had a time machine I'd go back to the 70s and never come back" If only.
Ha ha! A time machine would be tempting, though I've enjoyed the rollercoaster of my life, and it's still going on, so it would be a shame to miss the end! 😀😎 Cheers!
It's interesting you mention The Rich Kids , making the top 30 I can imagine that in those days you still had to shift quite a lot of records to make the top 40 !
Yes, you had to sell a lot of singles back then and do a lot of manipulating at places like Woolworths, Harlequin, Tower, HMV, and Our Pryce. More science than art, I fancy... Cheers!
@@JimDriver Say, did you happen to know a record shop guy over there called John Stainze? I used to see him at Austin, Texas' Antone's Records all the time and he would tell me tales of trying to promote the Clash, Police, etc over there before they found their success...
When are we going to get a Here and Now video Jim? I know Kieth the Missile (bass) used to monnlight as a doorman for you back in the day, how about a feature?
Ha ha! Yes indeed, a Here & Now video it's very much overdue! Problem is, I tend to shy away from doing videos about people I know very well. It's probably a psychological thing I need to cure myself off! Watch this space, as they say… Cheers!
More please Jim, fascinating stuff. I'm from Northants, next to Wollaston, where the 'Nags Head' is. John Peel was the weekly DJ in the early 70s, and many famous Bands gigged there. Can you do some sort of Video please ?
Great vid as always, My band Alien Stash Tin (give us a google) have played with Alan Clayson a few tines over years, A real nice geezer and a great entertainer
I saw Third World War in 1971, they really went against the prevailing grain of the time. Raw and brutal live, vocalist Terry Stamp played guitar very rhythmically in a style known as "chopper guitar".
Thanks for putting some meat on the bones. I don't think I ever saw them live and there's literally nothing on RUclips or anywhere else that I could find. Thanks for watching and please keep doing so! Cheers!
Yes please, do some more! Also I used to go to the Cricketers and the Bulls head in Barns, did you ever book a band called Paz? Because they were great.
Yes, Paz were a band put on occasionally, I'm not really a huge fan of Jazz, as you may know. I seem to remember calling a guy called Dick Crouch for bookings and he always answered the phone by saying in a very deep voice, "Crouch."... It's funny what you remember, isn't it? 😀
The Hammersmith Gorillas never tweaked the zeitgeist, perhaps because people didn't know what to make of Jesse Hector. A kind of suedehead, glam proto-punk outfit who put out a couple of memorable singles that are well worth seeking out.
Trevor Burton from The Move, played bass on recordings of both Crushed Butler and the Pink Fairies as a guest musician. Although loads of artists guested on other bands' records back then. Although not an actual member, he is alive and well and gigging with Bev Bevan's Move, last I heard. One Pink Fairies former member who I think is still alive, is Paul Rudolf. He lives in Canada. The only one I've not heard before is Clayson and the Argonauts. The name is vaguely familiar, but I've never heard their work before.
Thank you for taking the time to add so much information to the video. Much appreciated! I'm a member of a Facebook group concerned with the pink fairies and I think you're right that Paul Rudolph and maybe one other is still alive. Of course,Jaki Windmill, who joined the band for their reunion is still with us. Please keep watching and commenting! Cheers!
ALL great picks Jim ...Terry Stamp is still making music in LA ...Hector as far as I know ,still around...Pink Fairies are pretty well known, but their Kill Em And Eat Em , one of my favorites...a liitle hard rock, a a little psych...and the Rich Kids are a could've, should've...Matlock was the glue in the Sex Pistols...when he got jettisoned, they were DONE....cheers!
I quite agree about the Sex Pistols. Glen Matlock was the only one of them who knew what he was doing. Thanks for the kind words: please keep watching! Cheers!
p.s. Jim - There are also all those bands that had been round the proverbial block a few times & tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to push their way onto the emerging live punk band circuit of venues, esp. in London - e.g., The (Count) Bishops; Radio Stars; The Pirates; Graham Parker & the Rumour; Jesse Hector & the Hammersmith Gorilla's (as you pointed out) amongst others. Chiswick, w/ 'Rockin' Ted Carroll tried that pure marketing gimmick w/ The Bishops release of a 5" single of "I Want Candy", following alongside a ltd. ed. 12", 'luminous?/mercury-coloured' single - "Mercury Poisoning" by Graham Parker (& band) who, for a brief time, nearly stepped up the ladder to slight fame via John Peel's 18-month patronage. Obviously there were standouts like Dr. Feelgood and their top 20 singles and a couple of good solid LP's., too... who had earned their 'chops' by playing for many years on the live circuit and were a great live band. Meanwhile, over @ Stiff all manner of one-hit/no-hit acts got their 15 minutes via the weekly music papers and the occasional ToTPs appearance for a brief spell, too. And finally those old hippies, Hawkwind, quickly shortening their songs and raising the tempo, bringing in Robert Calvert on vocals, (and then in the '80s side-project, The Hawklords)... I'm sure I've missed a good few, JIm.
Would love a video about memories of any Ska/Trad Jazz and Cajun/Zydeco bands that you booked or put on at the Cricketers or other venues. Also the nicest musician you put on and who had the worst attitude (Only those no longer with us for the latter category).
Thanks for that very interesting comment and those great suggestions. That's certainly giving me. food for thought! The nicest has got to be Tony McPhee, although there were many other potential winners… There are also quite a few vying for the position of worst!! Cheers!
To be honest, I don't mind looking at the 1930s ventriloquist doll head, but I can't stand to touch it. The hair (which I suspect is real ) is gross! Thanks for the kind words and please keep watching (despite little Ernie) and commenting!
@@JimDriver IMO if it can front a band it stays if not............Goodbye little Ern ( insert Morecambe and Wise Joke ) . There has been great music in every decade but the music you reference I think stands out
For me, my number 1 London band is the SHARKS.....and in my all time best 5....The line up of Andy Frasier, Snips , Chis Speding, those guys alone should of generated much more interest, their music was phenomenal, criminaly underrated...
Back when I was social Secretary in 1972/73, the two bands who would always be appearing at a showcase for college social secretaries were Sharks and Home! Much later, I got to talking to Chris Spedding in the 100 club and he told me that he had played the amazing guitar riffs on Bob Marley's first album, Catch a Fire. I was very impressed! Cheers!
@JimDriver Wow Jim that sounds like a job made in heaven. Chris Speding an excellent and well respected guitarist, I know of his solo albums, and extensive work with Roxy Music, and seen the interview where he spoke about turning down the audition for the Rolling stones. Thanks for the info on Bob Marley, shall give that 1st album a listen..... .....And I can hardly believe you mentioning HOME, another band up with the very best, saw them as a support band at the Rainbow !.....Next day, or as soon as possible went out and brought ( ordered ) their self titled 2nd album HOME, a true masterpiece, a cherished album that I listen to often...I did read somewhere while writing his 4th album, halfway through Mick Stubbs disillusioned with the music industry and basically a broken man called it a day..Sometimes there's definitely no justice in this world, so sad. Thanks again Jim for the info and links, and keep up your excellent work.
Brilliant Choices. Third World War were just amazing. Both their Albums are fantastic, with not a bad track on either. Little bit of Urban Rock, Rat Crawl, Stardom Road, Teddy Teeth goes sailing all resonate with the World Today. They were Punk before Punk and don’t get the respect they deserve. Same with Jesse Hector’s Music, and Pink Fairies? Just Do It!
Jim I knew Sandy [Duncan Sandison quite well, he lived in Mill Lane in West Hampstead with his girlfriend and they has a son, he died at the Royal Free in Hampstead, must be about ten years ago A really nice man but he he loved a drink. in fact he was a really heavy drinker and his girlfriend did not like this he went out with some famous groupies and he did re join the Fairies when they were quite old as you have said in commentary, I first saw them at the Middle earth in Ladbroke grove long before I knew Sandy, I never realised you knew the Fairies and if you remember, I spotted you were a Beatles fan and said this in one of your recent videos take care, I always watch you
I'm glad somebody's always watching me! Thanks for the great stories about Sunday and the fairies. Please keep watching and watching over me! 😀 Cheers !
Remember seeing Hammersmith Gorillas on LWT. Think it was on a Sunday lunchtime in 1976, that Janet Street-Porter was the presenter and that there was footage of an early Sex Pistols gig. Can anyone confirm I'm not imagining all of this.
You mentioned Martin Stone, who was with Mighty Baby for a while. The first concert I ever went to, at Malvern Winter Gardens, had Mighty Baby supporting Quintessence. Weirdly, Mighty Baby’s contribution to that concert is available to hear on a fruit-based streaming service. Possibly they knew I was in the audience and would actually like to hear what Mighty Baby played back in the day. The sound quality at the Winter Gardens was poor then. The recording has more detail.
Great story about mighty baby: thank you for sharing it! I did mention mighty baby in another video, when I was talking about the action. I hope you're going to stick around for more! Cheers!
Loved/still love The Pink Fairies - and - The Deviants w/ Mick Farren. Most favourite LP's (*they are all worth giving a serious listening/possible purchase) - 'Fairies - What a Bunch of Sweeties & Deviants - "Ptoof!". Saw the Fairies a good few times>>always great live; & loud & raucous, too. The Deviants just a couple of times, great/patchy/good fun. Finally - I saw the Rich Kids a few times, (once w/ The Slits(!) supporting, don't know who thought-up that bill). I thought they were very tight & powerful, but just ran out of steam due to lack of interest/negative press, plus that whole manufactured anti-Glen Matlock nonsense because of so many narrow-minded journalists/sheep-like, easily-led punks who hated him simply because he was kicked out of the Pistols... Conveniently forgetting that he wrote 90% of the Pistols music w/ Lydon/Rotten adding the lyrics... Thus, unfortunately, there always seemed to be a number of punks at the R.K. gigs I attended who seemed to be there only to shout abuse & throw objects @ them.... Yawn, indeed. Their LP, "Ghosts of Princes In Towers" was/still is a damned fine album. (Rusty Egan was an excellent drummer who filled-in for the Skids for a couple of tours, too - big mates w/ R. Jobson).
Thanks for that great answer and all the information. I agree with practically everything you say. Please keep watching and commenting. I love this community. Cheers!
@@JimDriver Hi Jim, love your videos as they bring back so many forgotten memories for me... I'm about 5 yrs. behind you, but still enjoy music in all forms, be it live/on vinyl/cd ... Really loved 'The Fairies - bet they were a 'handful' to look after! Twink was great... as they all were!! Up The Pinks!
Yes, they were ubiquitous on the London pub rock scene in those days, and it was hard to miss the Hammersmith Gorillaz! I think I saw them at the red car and the greyhound, amongst other places. Cheers!
I have mentioned the account Bishops in an in a video but I must do more about them. Thanks for the nudge… By the way, the truth about how they ended is a bit complicated and involves several bands. Cheers!
@@JimDriver I was listenign my my beloved Fairies last week and then this. A reunion? Don;t think about it, just Do it! Dod i=t do it do it do it do it, DO UT! Ha ha
If you like theatrical like Clayson, check out Jellyfish. Particularly "Spilt Milk" The album is absolutely fantastic. theatrical and as lyrically poetic as any album ever. It's just too bad everyone was in to grunge when it came out....
I was a massive Pink fairies Fan in the 70s l got to see them live when they reformed in 1987 The town and country club Kentish Town London The Hammersmith Klub foot, to me by that time they had they had lost their psychedelic edge owing to the fact Paul Rudolf was absence nonetheless the shows were enjoyable after a few beers l remember going to the Sir George Robey and the band never turned up same as the Roundhouse was cancelled The kill em and eat them was disappointing Last l heard Jaki windmill was fronting them which was very confusing (will say no more) Twink is still with us Pink fairies classic band who should never had remormed (only my personal opinion.
I see they hey up band in the square wheel in chatterly ahh them were the days that I don't remember a band that exists in my head and a place I've just made up is there a place called chatterly
I think there's a place called Chatterley near Whitstable, but I don't know a club called the square wheel. pretty sure I went to the Twisted Wheel in Carlisle once... 😀 Cheers!
This video is good. Thanks for calling our attention to these bands (heard of some, not others). But the BIG OMISSION FROM THIS LIST is the band CARDIACS for pure genius and ongoing influence upon underground rock in London and the world beyond. CARDIACS!!!! ruclips.net/video/gFKg09GBFQE/видео.htmlsi=DZojfg6GoimZyR-d
Thank you very much! Pretty sure I have just done a video about the cardiac… 5 More British Bands from the 1980s That Should Have Been Huge ruclips.net/video/clJhmj_kQIY/видео.html Please keep watching and commenting! Cheers!
I have singles by Pink Fairies/polydor, Jason and Rich Kids both Virgin , Gorillas /Cheswick but nothing by 3rd world war I confused them with 3 man army.
Providing the Third World war was fought with a three men army, we might be alright! Thanks for taking part and for watching. Please keep doing both! Cheers!
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Here's a link to a playlist of the tracks featured on this video: ruclips.net/p/PLeEUmIKakqXPusk46DoZav1pzG_70S_GF&si=GhCEHIqAcilCTHxg
I'm 59 years young I and got into punk in 1980. I don't consider myself an expert on all things punk rock by any means, but I am familiar with all these bands. Good stuff 👍🏻
Excellent! Thanks for the praise and for watching and commenting! Cheers!
I am with you on that . 60 years young and we might have bunked off school to get tickets to the same gigs 79/80/81 . I will one day dig out my cassette collection of all the live gigs , there was always a bloke selling "dodgy" live cassettes
Another interesting show, Jim, Cheers
Thank you very much: I do appreciate it. Cheers!
Great content mate.....Rich Kids lp is bloody fab !
Keep the vids coming !
Glad you like them! I certainly intend to do lots more. Cheers!
Always great to learn from you😊👍
Thank you! Cheers!
Rich Kids were so energetic. The bar was sky high in those days. The other bands here show that the high-energy mood was increacing in the run-up, including here in Brisbane where The Saints came out of nowhere.
Yes, music stages worldwide were vibrating with energy and excitement back then. It was a very good time to be alive and enjoying music. Cheers!
Great choices
Thank you! Cheers!
I’ll never forget the Pink Fairies! I was booked as a support solo singer/songwriter when they played at the Drill Hall in Ware in 1973. The promoter asked me if I would mind playing my set from a gallery high above the room so the crew could finish setting up the Fairies’ back line and instruments on the stage. Being eighteen and very obliging I agreed. What I didn’t realise was that the drum tech (I guess we called them “roadies” in those days) would be nailing the kit to the stage during much of my set. It was very loud and very distracting! Of course once they started playing they were louder than any band I’d ever heard, the wall of speaker cabs was formidable. After the gig the drum tech did apologise … “Sorry, mate, I thought you were a record playing …” 😂
Thanks that great story. I never approved when crew of the main act disrespected the Support, which happened surprisingly often! Very often, the roadies never quite got the spirit of the times. Thanks again and please keep watching. Cheers!.
Love your content, brings back memories and also stuff I never heard ! 61 and still learning!
Thank you very much for the kind words: very much appreciated! I'm now 70 and I'm pleased to say that people educate me every day just I posting comments like yours. Cheers!
Flicking through the records on a stall in East Lane Market (off Walworth Road in S. London) in the late '80s, I came across a Pink Fairies compilation album. The guy next to me said, "I played on that". I turned to see it was Larry Wallis!
I saw the 'Pink Finks' more times in the '70s than I care to remember, including what they said would be their last show - at Sussex Uni. In 1977 (of course, it wasn't).
Then, I saw them about 10 years ago, here in Bristol, but I almost wish I hadn't gone as they were shadows of their former selves - Russell Hunter could hardly stand before or after they played and practically had to be propped-up behind the drums.
R.I.P. ❤
Thanks for those great stories. I totally agree that the reunion a decade ago was misjudged, but frankly, I think the guys needed the money. We were so lucky to live through the times we did, and I thank whatever Lifeforce exists for every second of my life so far. Please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
I wonder how long he was standing there before he saw someone come across that album...
@argopunk Brilliant!
I'd never thought of that; could he have been influenced by the fact they used to play a version of 'I Saw Her Standing There', d'ya reckon?
Great evening last night at the 100 club with Johnny moped. Used to go to The Dutch house in the 70's to see Angelwitch. Love your vids. Great stuff !
Thank you so much for the kind words! It's still possible to see great gigs today though it's not like it used to be, obviously! Cheers!
ah, the Dutch House on the A20 Sidcup By Pass? Now a Cafe/Restaurant with a builders merchants next to it. A sad sight
Great stuff yet again. I'd have LOVED to have seen The Pink Fairies way back then.
Going to see the fairies was certainly an experience. Sometimes they were absolutely great, other times, not so much. It all depended on how much they'd had before and during the gig. Either way, it was usually a fun experience and usually they'd be on with several other bands...
Cheers!
Very nice video, I was in London in the eighties and used to see quite a few bands in pubs. My favorites were A Bigger Splash, The Electric Bluebirds and Nine Below Zero, the latter apparently still playing…
Yes, Dennis Greaves is still leading out NBZ and very good they were too last time I saw them. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for watching. Please stick around for more!
Brilliant - a great view into the music of that era. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for saying so! Cheers!
This was a very interesting and informative video.. know of the last two but will now check out the others .. thanks
Thank you for taking the time to watch and to comment. Please stick around for more! Cheers!
Great video Jim, some nice edits in it too & I know how long all those little inserts take! Found it really interesting, especially the WW3 stuff.....didn't know about them.
Thanks very much for the kind words. Editing this one has been even more difficult because I had an eye operation yesterday, but I was determined to get it done. Thanks for sharing your thoughts: please keep watching!
@@JimDriver You're a true star Jim & valuable to not only to us in the youtube community but also as a major figure within the history of British live music.
Great video as usual. I think I read somewhere, that Jesse Hector was an early contender for the singer's job in the Pistols
Very interesting thanks for sharing that and thanks for the kind words. Much appreciated!
Wasn't Midge Ure up for that vacancy at some point as well? History would've been written differently!
@@MikeWhitcombe-e7i You are right. I read that in "England's Dreaming" by Jon Savage and I have seen an Interview by Ure here on RUclips where he talks about it himself
I love hammersmith gorillas! Fantastic band. Kind of been rediscovered a few years ago through the whole bovver rock thing.
I love to hear your opinions on jook?
Thanks for the fantastic comment. To be honest, Jook are just a vague memory and I'm not even sure our paths even crossed. Sorry!
Nice one Jim, heard of the Pink Fairies and The Rich Kids but not the others!
Brill! Thanks for sharing that and for taking part. Please keep doing so!
These videos are treasures -- your insights from being around then are invaluable. I'm a big fan of the Pink Fairies and Rich Kids, but never fully dug into the first three, so I've got some rabbitholes to dive down!
Been enjoying Peter Perrett's third (and quite long, 20 tracks) solo album The Cleansing. Would love to see more about The Only Ones, if you were into them.
Wow, thank you! Very kind of you to say so. Cheers!
Great video, as usual. You got me with Clayton and the Argonauts. Weird stuff! The first band I was ever in played a cover of Ghosts of Princes in Towers!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for commenting and sharing your experiences with the dead Princes ! Cheers!
Saw Rich Kids at the Lafayette Wolverhampton 1977 they were incredible.. Great content on your videos thoroughly enjoy them. Ta!
Glad you enjoy them and thanks for saying so. Cheers!
Saw Pink Fairies at the Implosion gigs at the Roundhouse on Sundays in the early seventies.
Yes, me too! They were pretty regularly on the bill. Those shows were promoted by John Curd who was one of the most important and impressive music promoters of my lifetime. He always had his finger on the pulse and was responsible for those shows, then most of the stiff and punk/new wave tours of the 1970s, Klub Foot(Upstairs) at the Hammersmith Clarendon) and more. He's still with us, I believe.
Great stuff!
Glad you think so! Cheers!
Yess deffo do more mate I’m hooked
Ha ha! An old girlfriend accused me of being like a narcotic, but that wasn't in a good way! I hope to keep making them as long as I can! Cheers!
All great stuff! I have "Gatecrasher" on a UK punk/indie comp. Great song. I've heard of the Pink Fairies. I need to check out more of these bands for sure. Keep it up!
Please do! I'll be putting together a RUclips playlist featuring the tracks in this video soon. They'll be a link in the description. Cheers!
As always. great insight ...always loved Rich Kids that was a fantastic album Glen Matlock a very under rated talent by too many people
Agreed! I think it's safe to say that if Glen Matlock hadn't been in the sex pistols, they wouldn't of been anywhere near as musical as they were were. Thanks for kind words and please keep watching and commenting!
The first three Pink Fairies albums are available as a cd box . Absolutely essential.
Yes! Everyone should hear those recordings in my view. Thanks for taking part: please keep watching!
I have the pig in the tutu from Live at the Roundhouse tattooed on my forearm
Without a doubt
Loving the content, Saw the Rich Kids at Middlesborough Rock Garden, I think in 78. One of the best most underrated bands I did see were London, they were brilliant. Did you ever have them on at any of your venue's, just curious.
London were great, weren't they? Pretty sure they played at my ill fated punk club in Cambridge, or at least were booked to play. I forgotten about Middlesbrough Rockgarden: a great venue! Cheers!
Thanks, too for the kind words!
I wonder if the Hammersmith Guerillas were closely aligned with Tooting Popular Front ,come the glorious day ill probably have to pay for that one ha ha ,Great info as usual Jim , I didn't really know these bands bar The Rich Kids who I thought sounded Good but they just didnt hang around very long which was pretty much the way Midge was operating back then ,great stuff !
Thank you very much for the kind words and the great comment. Please keep watching and commenting!
I'd only heard of Pink Fairies and Rick Kids. But being born in 62 and rarely leaving Staffordshire until I was 18, I was probably a bit young to gave been aware of underground stuff from early 70s. The only lical band anyone mentioned in thise days was Climax Blues (Discharge came later 😂). But these videiis are educational and entertaining as ever.
Thank you very much, very kind of you to say so! Yes, when I was a teenager in West Wales, I used to rush out and buy the melody maker immediately I got paid for my Saturday job. I used to read it from cover to cover, even the ads, which were no use to me whatsoever.!Happy days.... 😀
In the ‘80’s I attended a Pink Faries gig in a church basement in south London ( can’t recall the name of the venue) loudest gig I was ever at. They ended their set by leaving a guitar on stage feeding back for 20 minutes!😂
Was that the Crypt in Deptford? I remember that the Vicar was very "groovy" in the 1980s/1990s and allowed gigs in there. I can remember going there with Here & now at some point and I think I saw Hawkwind there amongst the burial chambers…
Cheers!
@@JimDriver That's the place. Was a great venue. I only ever went that one time though as I lived in Forest Gate and it was too much of a schlep!
I went to see the Rich Kids at Southampton University (I wasn't a student) and couldn't get ticket. Spent ages trying to get a copy of the Caroline Catz documentary about The Gorillas and Jesse Hector found it in the end. It yielded me a quote (more or less)I use "If I had a time machine I'd go back to the 70s and never come back" If only.
Ha ha! A time machine would be tempting, though I've enjoyed the rollercoaster of my life, and it's still going on, so it would be a shame to miss the end! 😀😎
Cheers!
It's interesting you mention The Rich Kids , making the top 30
I can imagine that in those days you still had to shift quite a lot of records to make the top 40 !
Yes, you had to sell a lot of singles back then and do a lot of manipulating at places like Woolworths, Harlequin, Tower, HMV, and Our Pryce. More science than art, I fancy...
Cheers!
@@JimDriver Say, did you happen to know a record shop guy over there called John Stainze? I used to see him at Austin, Texas' Antone's Records all the time and he would tell me tales of trying to promote the Clash, Police, etc over there before they found their success...
When are we going to get a Here and Now video Jim? I know Kieth the Missile (bass) used to monnlight as a doorman for you back in the day, how about a feature?
I was going to ask the same. I wholeheartedly second this!
Ha ha! Yes indeed, a Here & Now video it's very much overdue! Problem is, I tend to shy away from doing videos about people I know very well. It's probably a psychological thing I need to cure myself off!
Watch this space, as they say… Cheers!
I love the Rich Kids single, especially the solo at the end
BTW how about Punishment of Luxury in a future round up?
Punishment of luxury is a great call. Hopefully, I'll get round to it very soon! Cheers!
More please Jim, fascinating stuff. I'm from Northants, next to Wollaston, where the 'Nags Head' is. John Peel was the weekly DJ in the early 70s, and many famous Bands gigged there. Can you do some sort of Video please ?
Thank you very much! I'll see what I can do…
Cheers!
Great vid as always,
My band Alien Stash Tin (give us a google) have played with Alan Clayson a few tines over years, A real nice geezer and a great entertainer
Yes, I always found Alan to be very amiable. Thanks for taking the time and trouble to comment and watch the video. Cheers!
And thanks, for the kind words!
I saw Third World War in 1971, they really went against the prevailing grain of the time. Raw and brutal live, vocalist Terry Stamp played guitar very rhythmically in a style known as "chopper guitar".
Thanks for putting some meat on the bones. I don't think I ever saw them live and there's literally nothing on RUclips or anywhere else that I could find. Thanks for watching and please keep doing so! Cheers!
@JimDriver I have seen a clip of Terry Stamp solo from much later.
Yes please, do some more! Also I used to go to the Cricketers and the Bulls head in Barns, did you ever book a band called Paz? Because they were great.
Yes, Paz were a band put on occasionally, I'm not really a huge fan of Jazz, as you may know. I seem to remember calling a guy called Dick Crouch for bookings and he always answered the phone by saying in a very deep voice, "Crouch."...
It's funny what you remember, isn't it? 😀
The Hammersmith Gorillas never tweaked the zeitgeist, perhaps because people didn't know what to make of Jesse Hector. A kind of suedehead, glam proto-punk outfit who put out a couple of memorable singles that are well worth seeking out.
Yes, indeed. Thanks for the great comment. Please keep watching and commenting.
Course we want more!
I'm very pleased to hear it and thanks for saying so! Watch this space… 😀😎
Up the pinks! And don't forget to boogie! Xxx
Indeed! Thanks for that and please keep watching. Cheers!
Trevor Burton from The Move, played bass on recordings of both Crushed Butler and the Pink Fairies as a guest musician. Although loads of artists guested on other bands' records back then. Although not an actual member, he is alive and well and gigging with Bev Bevan's Move, last I heard.
One Pink Fairies former member who I think is still alive, is Paul Rudolf. He lives in Canada.
The only one I've not heard before is Clayson and the Argonauts. The name is vaguely familiar, but I've never heard their work before.
Thank you for taking the time to add so much information to the video. Much appreciated! I'm a member of a Facebook group concerned with the pink fairies and I think you're right that Paul Rudolph and maybe one other is still alive. Of course,Jaki Windmill, who joined the band for their reunion is still with us. Please keep watching and commenting!
Cheers!
ALL great picks Jim ...Terry Stamp is still making music in LA ...Hector as far as I know ,still around...Pink Fairies are pretty well known, but their Kill Em And Eat Em , one of my favorites...a liitle hard rock, a a little psych...and the Rich Kids are a could've, should've...Matlock was the glue in the Sex Pistols...when he got jettisoned, they were DONE....cheers!
I quite agree about the Sex Pistols. Glen Matlock was the only one of them who knew what he was doing. Thanks for the kind words: please keep watching! Cheers!
Love it. Third World War are one of my favourite bands. Did you ever work with Clark-Hutchinson or any iteration? Cheers Jim.
Thanks! I don't think I ever did work with them: it doesn't ring a bell, I'm afraid. Cheers!
@@JimDriver They were on Deram ruclips.net/video/SgFv1FxgvF8/видео.html another lost proto-punk band. All the best Jim :)
p.s. Jim - There are also all those bands that had been round the proverbial block a few times & tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to push their way onto the emerging live punk band circuit of venues, esp. in London - e.g., The (Count) Bishops; Radio Stars; The Pirates; Graham Parker & the Rumour; Jesse Hector & the Hammersmith Gorilla's (as you pointed out) amongst others.
Chiswick, w/ 'Rockin' Ted Carroll tried that pure marketing gimmick w/ The Bishops release of a 5" single of "I Want Candy", following alongside a ltd. ed. 12", 'luminous?/mercury-coloured' single - "Mercury Poisoning" by Graham Parker (& band) who, for a brief time, nearly stepped up the ladder to slight fame via John Peel's 18-month patronage. Obviously there were standouts like Dr. Feelgood and their top 20 singles and a couple of good solid LP's., too... who had earned their 'chops' by playing for many years on the live circuit and were a great live band.
Meanwhile, over @ Stiff all manner of one-hit/no-hit acts got their 15 minutes via the weekly music papers and the occasional ToTPs appearance for a brief spell, too. And finally those old hippies, Hawkwind, quickly shortening their songs and raising the tempo, bringing in Robert Calvert on vocals, (and then in the '80s side-project, The Hawklords)... I'm sure I've missed a good few, JIm.
Excellent roundup! Thanks for that and I agree with practically everything you said. Please keep watching and commenting!
Would love a video about memories of any Ska/Trad Jazz and Cajun/Zydeco bands that you booked or put on at the Cricketers or other venues.
Also the nicest musician you put on and who had the worst attitude (Only those no longer with us for the latter category).
Thanks for that very interesting comment and those great suggestions. That's certainly giving me. food for thought!
The nicest has got to be Tony McPhee, although there were many other potential winners…
There are also quite a few vying for the position of worst!!
Cheers!
I really do enjoy these trips . But the dolls head thing on a stand on your mantel piece scares me.
To be honest, I don't mind looking at the 1930s ventriloquist doll head, but I can't stand to touch it. The hair (which I suspect is real ) is gross!
Thanks for the kind words and please keep watching (despite little Ernie) and commenting!
@@JimDriver IMO if it can front a band it stays if not............Goodbye little Ern ( insert Morecambe and Wise Joke ) . There has been great music in every decade but the music you reference I think stands out
For me, my number 1 London band is the SHARKS.....and in my all time best 5....The line up of Andy Frasier, Snips , Chis Speding, those guys alone should of generated much more interest, their music was phenomenal, criminaly underrated...
Back when I was social Secretary in 1972/73, the two bands who would always be appearing at a showcase for college social secretaries were Sharks and Home! Much later, I got to talking to Chris Spedding in the 100 club and he told me that he had played the amazing guitar riffs on Bob Marley's first album, Catch a Fire. I was very impressed!
Cheers!
@JimDriver Wow Jim that sounds like a job made in heaven. Chris Speding an excellent and well respected guitarist, I know of his solo albums, and extensive work with Roxy Music, and seen the interview where he spoke about turning down the audition for the Rolling stones. Thanks for the info on Bob Marley, shall give that 1st album a listen.....
.....And I can hardly believe you mentioning HOME, another band up with the very best, saw them as a support band at the Rainbow !.....Next day, or as soon as possible went out and brought ( ordered ) their self titled 2nd album HOME, a true masterpiece, a cherished album that I listen to often...I did read somewhere while writing his 4th album, halfway through Mick Stubbs disillusioned with the music industry and basically a broken man called it a day..Sometimes there's definitely no justice in this world, so sad.
Thanks again Jim for the info and links, and keep up your excellent work.
Does anyone know who the artist was for the cover of Never Never Land - Pink Fairies? It my favourite cover.
I don't know, I'm afraid, but hopefully someone else will. Great use of the community, thanks!
@JimDriver Thank you Jim. Great content.
Brilliant Choices. Third World War were just amazing. Both their Albums are fantastic, with not a bad track on either. Little bit of Urban Rock, Rat Crawl, Stardom Road, Teddy Teeth goes sailing all resonate with the World Today. They were Punk before Punk and don’t get the respect they deserve. Same with Jesse Hector’s Music, and Pink Fairies? Just Do It!
Thank you very much! Please stick around for more and making such great comments. I really love our little community!
Pink Fairies were a great band. Paul Rudolph and Twink are still going strong by the way.
Cheers! Very glad Twink and Paul are still with us and thanks for sharing that!
The Rich Kids were great. Ian McLagan guested on the album.
Great information, thanks! Please keep watching and commenting! Cheers!
Jim I knew Sandy [Duncan Sandison quite well, he lived in Mill Lane in West Hampstead with his girlfriend and they has a son, he died at the Royal Free in Hampstead, must be about ten years ago
A really nice man but he he loved a drink. in fact he was a really heavy drinker and his girlfriend did not like this
he went out with some famous groupies and he did re join the Fairies when they were quite old as you have said in commentary, I first saw them at the Middle earth in Ladbroke grove long before I knew Sandy, I never realised you knew the Fairies and if you remember, I spotted you were a Beatles fan and said this in one of your recent videos take care, I always watch you
I'm glad somebody's always watching me! Thanks for the great stories about Sunday and the fairies. Please keep watching and watching over me! 😀
Cheers !
Remember seeing Hammersmith Gorillas on LWT. Think it was on a Sunday lunchtime in 1976, that Janet Street-Porter was the presenter and that there was footage of an early Sex Pistols gig.
Can anyone confirm I'm not imagining all of this.
I remember seeing the Sex Pistols on that show, but my mind is otherwise blank. I'll check it out and see what I can find. Cheers!
You mentioned Martin Stone, who was with Mighty Baby for a while. The first concert I ever went to, at Malvern Winter Gardens, had Mighty Baby supporting Quintessence. Weirdly, Mighty Baby’s contribution to that concert is available to hear on a fruit-based streaming service. Possibly they knew I was in the audience and would actually like to hear what Mighty Baby played back in the day. The sound quality at the Winter Gardens was poor then. The recording has more detail.
Great story about mighty baby: thank you for sharing it! I did mention mighty baby in another video, when I was talking about the action. I hope you're going to stick around for more! Cheers!
God how boring was Quintessence that night
@@gavking4917 All I could hear was the vocal, the guitar and the flute. Presumably they had a rhythm section but, halfway back, I couldn't hear them.
@thedaftestnameicouldthinko8233 After 20 minutes I was probably in the bar mate.
Loved/still love The Pink Fairies - and - The Deviants w/ Mick Farren. Most favourite LP's (*they are all worth giving a serious listening/possible purchase) - 'Fairies - What a Bunch of Sweeties & Deviants - "Ptoof!". Saw the Fairies a good few times>>always great live; & loud & raucous, too. The Deviants just a couple of times, great/patchy/good fun. Finally - I saw the Rich Kids a few times, (once w/ The Slits(!) supporting, don't know who thought-up that bill). I thought they were very tight & powerful, but just ran out of steam due to lack of interest/negative press, plus that whole manufactured anti-Glen Matlock nonsense because of so many narrow-minded journalists/sheep-like, easily-led punks who hated him simply because he was kicked out of the Pistols... Conveniently forgetting that he wrote 90% of the Pistols music w/ Lydon/Rotten adding the lyrics... Thus, unfortunately, there always seemed to be a number of punks at the R.K. gigs I attended who seemed to be there only to shout abuse & throw objects @ them.... Yawn, indeed. Their LP, "Ghosts of Princes In Towers" was/still is a damned fine album. (Rusty Egan was an excellent drummer who filled-in for the Skids for a couple of tours, too - big mates w/ R. Jobson).
Thanks for that great answer and all the information. I agree with practically everything you say.
Please keep watching and commenting. I love this community.
Cheers!
@@JimDriver Hi Jim, love your videos as they bring back so many forgotten memories for me... I'm about 5 yrs. behind you, but still enjoy music in all forms, be it live/on vinyl/cd ... Really loved 'The Fairies - bet they were a 'handful' to look after! Twink was great... as they all were!! Up The Pinks!
Hammersmith gorillas I remember there sideburns rather than there music , think I saw them in Hammersmith red cow ?
Yes, they were ubiquitous on the London pub rock scene in those days, and it was hard to miss the Hammersmith Gorillaz! I think I saw them at the red car and the greyhound, amongst other places. Cheers!
What happened to the count bishops ?
I have mentioned the account Bishops in an in a video but I must do more about them. Thanks for the nudge…
By the way, the truth about how they ended is a bit complicated and involves several bands. Cheers!
🎉
Cheers!
@@JimDriver I was listenign my my beloved Fairies last week and then this. A reunion? Don;t think about it, just Do it! Dod i=t do it do it do it do it, DO UT! Ha ha
Do you have any info on the Chords?
Did they ever have anything to say about the Daily Show theme that borrowed heavily from one of their recordings?
I only had vague connections with the chords. I think I put them on once or twice but I don't remember much about them, to be honest. Sorry!
If you like theatrical like Clayson, check out Jellyfish. Particularly "Spilt Milk" The album is absolutely fantastic. theatrical and as lyrically poetic as any album ever. It's just too bad everyone was in to grunge when it came out....
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll definitely check them out. Cheers!
I was a massive Pink fairies Fan in the 70s l got to see them live when they reformed in 1987 The town and country club Kentish Town London The Hammersmith Klub foot, to me by that time they had they had lost their psychedelic edge owing to the fact Paul Rudolf was absence nonetheless the shows were enjoyable after a few beers l remember going to the Sir George Robey and the band never turned up same as the Roundhouse was cancelled The kill em and eat them was disappointing Last l heard Jaki windmill was fronting them which was very confusing (will say no more) Twink is still with us Pink fairies classic band who should never had remormed (only my personal opinion.
Thanks for sharing your great stories and for updating us on Paul Rudolph. Please keep watching and commenting: we need you!
@JimDriver Thanks Jim Will do, keep up the great work.
I see they hey up band in the square wheel in chatterly ahh them were the days that I don't remember a band that exists in my head and a place I've just made up is there a place called chatterly
I think there's a place called Chatterley near Whitstable, but I don't know a club called the square wheel. pretty sure I went to the Twisted Wheel in Carlisle once... 😀
Cheers!
Great British bands who should have been big.
Sassafras
Snafu
A Band Called O
The Edgar Broughton Band
Upp
Kokomo
Zzebra
Some great calls there, thanks! You never know, some if not all of those names might be on my list. Thanks for taking part, please keep watching!!
I alway thought Rich Kids were what Matlock wanted the Sex Pistols to be.
Funny enough, I never asked Glen that. I think you could be right thanks for taking part, please keep watching!
This video is good. Thanks for calling our attention to these bands (heard of some, not others). But the BIG OMISSION FROM THIS LIST is the band CARDIACS for pure genius and ongoing influence upon underground rock in London and the world beyond. CARDIACS!!!! ruclips.net/video/gFKg09GBFQE/видео.htmlsi=DZojfg6GoimZyR-d
Thank you very much! Pretty sure I have just done a video about the cardiac…
5 More British Bands from the 1980s That Should Have Been Huge
ruclips.net/video/clJhmj_kQIY/видео.html
Please keep watching and commenting! Cheers!
You played the wrong Third World War songs. "Working Class Man" and "M.I.5's Alive" are way catchier.
It's always hard to pick tracks and I think you may be right. Cheers!
I have singles by Pink Fairies/polydor, Jason and Rich Kids both Virgin , Gorillas /Cheswick but nothing by 3rd world war I confused them with 3 man army.
Providing the Third World war was fought with a three men army, we might be alright! Thanks for taking part and for watching. Please keep doing both! Cheers!