Funky Friday - Before They Were Famous

It's a Mod Mod Mod world on Funky Friday this week, and a celebration of the first steps of all things swishy, swinging and sixties...In the red Mini - there's a fistful of early doors appearances from proto popsters performing soul stompers here on Planet Mondo

In the white Mini - 'Cool Britannia' a bespoke 'Funky Mod Mix' - 45 minutes of 45s, rarities, obscurities and cinematic tracks is available for download by way of Fu Fu Stew

And in the blue Mini - a selection of blues boom guitar a go-go goodies and my big bang theory of rock are up for grabs in more guest blogging over on The Axe Victim

So the pre fame fruggery and funkiness comes in the form of light entertainers and lungbusters like...

David Essex - yes him from 'Rock On' 'Tahiti'and 'Nightclubbing' getting all Northern Souly

David Essex - So-Called Loving.mp3



Elkie Brooks - yes her from 'Pearl's A Singer' and 'Lilac Wine' sounding just like a proper Ronette.

Elkie Brooks - The Way You Do.mp3



And the atomic Tom Jones huffing, puffing and bellowing the house down on his first single 'Chills and Fever'



'Chills and Fever' is part of the ''Cool Britannia' mix (available at )Fu Fu Stew which continues the 'Before They Were Famous' theme, with appearances from Quincy Jones, Lulu, Tony Newman (later working with Bolan and Bowie), Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker as the rhythm section of The Graham Bond Organisation.

Here's the full menu and a two minute taste test



Michael Caine on Swinging London
The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - Cool Britannia
The Small Faces - Grow Your Own
Georgie Fame - Somebody Stole My Thunder
Graham Bond Organisation - Long Tall Shorty
Tom Jones - Chills And Fever
Loose Ends - Taxman
Bo Street Runners - Drive My Car
Lulu - Feelin' Alright
Jack Bruce – The Ministry Of Bag
Shotgun Express - Curtains
The Shadows - Scotch On The Socks
The Kinks - Brainwashed
Quincy Jones - It's Caper Time
Lord Sitar - I Can See For Miles
The Who - Heatwave
Zoot Money - Uncle Willie
Tony Newman - Let The Good Times Roll
Keith Mansfield - Young Scene (Theme from The Big Match)
The Italian Job -Getta Bloomin' Move On! (The Self Preservation Society)

So get on over and fill your Chelsea boots with 'Cool Britannia'



Jude Rodgers also has some sixties glossy pop amazingness from a very young Gloria Hunniford

March Of The Mods

I'm in a thoroughly Mod mood at the moment - inspired by doing a guest blog spot on Axe Victim's rocking blog - where I make the strong statement that the roots of almost all modern rock can be traced back to the sixties mod movement ( with tunes and tracks to illustrate the point) And having compiled a fourty five minute Funky Mod Mix for Fu Fu Stew - which should be live and online soon.

In the meantime here are a couple of tracks that catch the mood of swinging London and Mod mania.

Georgie Fame - You Can't Sit Down.mp3
If they do ever invent a time machine - this gig is straight where I'm headed



London Jazz - Things We Said Today.mp3
Sessionistas go jazz samba on this Fab Four cover

Re-make/Re-model Pt 2 - Norma White - I Want Your Love

I Don't know much about Norma White and The Brentford Disco Set, but I do know that their politely plodding reggae rework of Chic's 'I Want Your Love' is a joy and a gem. It's so good I'm giving you both versions.

Norma White and The Brentford Disco Set - I Want Your Love.mp3



Norma White and The Brentford Disco Set - I Want Your Love (version).mp3



(Version) in reggae speak is usually the instrumental backing track with extra echo and added dubby squeaks and bleeps.

It's not uncommon on 12" versions of reggae releases say ...six minutes long, for the first three minutes to be the vocal version, followed by a slight but audiable click, where the (version) version has been spliced on to take up the final three minutes.

Themes To Be In Order

Davey had a funky one.

Mick had a classic one.

I'm slapping an unsung obscurity in my cyberspace scrapbook

John Barry - Orson Welles Great Mysteries.mp3


Info on the 'Orson Welles Great Mysteries' series is available here

I don't remember much about the show except the opening titles, where Orson seemed to be stepping out from some smoldering embers dressed as The Sandeman

Funky Friday - Make It Reggae

It's not unusal for people with impossibly good taste and impeccably fancy record collections to make claims about not liking Reggae. I think they just haven't found the right type of Reggae yet.

I gave it swift shrift for years - put off by the white, white whine of UB40 and polished pop sound of Bob Marley - but after getting a blast of the broad bassy brushtrokes and thick crackle and pop of Studio One recordings (via a freebie CD, played several times on the bounce) I was soon hooked on the good stuff and discovering Reggae had it's own offbeat sizzlers and funky nuggets. Out of all the thumpbusting Studio One collections, the 'Rockers' comp is probably the perfect place to start your trip to Sir Coxsone Dodd's Studio One .

And, if you happen to be in the sunny Southend area tonight why not pop along to Weird Fantasy where Agent Cooper, Paul Sigg's and myself will be firing up a few Fifties, Freakbeat Garage, Ska and Reggae rockers.
I'll certainly be spinning the Jackie Mittoo track below.

Sharkey Wilson - Make It Reggae.mp3



Jackie Mittoo - Hang Em High.mp3



Now, why not have a skank on over to 56 Special where Rock n Roll meets Reggae in one uptown pop rocking bundle.

Or if you fancy something in a more mellow mood check out Jamaican guitarist and father of Ska Ernest Ranglin's loose and laidback rework of Toots and The Maytals '54-46 Was My Number' here.

Derrick Morgan, Ernest Ranglin & Prince Buster on the roots of Reggae rythm

Eno's Best

Eno is a genuine genius we all knows that – but because of his colossal catalogue of influence and output, Eno’s fizzy inventiveness as a lyricist is often overlooked. Weighty, worthy and well crafted wordplay is all well and good (Andy Partridge and Ian Dury being two personal faves) but it takes a unique skill to join the dots in a rhyming dictionary with lyrical skits that scan, bubble and bounce like a Gilbert and Sullivan set piece.

'Seven Deadly Finns' is a single only release from 1974, with a guitar solo that that sounds like a prototype for Bowie's 'Boys Keep Swinging'
There's a great piece on 'Seven Deadly Finns' here

Seven Deadly Finns.mp3



'RAF' the flip side to 'King's Lead Hat', (an anagram of Talking Heads) was co written and stars Judy Nylon - one of the cover girls on the 'Seven Deadly Finns' picture sleeve.
Yikes it's like a Möbius strip!

King's Lead Hat.mp3



Selected lyrical highlights?

'Seven Deadly Finns'
The “work it out like Norbert Weiner” backing vocal

'Kings Lead Hat'
“The biology of purpose keeps my nose above the surface”

If you're in the mood for some shiny new electrickery - why not lend an ear to the brand new band and synth fiddlers Baltic Fleet , whose '3 Dollar Dress' is a robot rocker

Prowling Wolf - Marco Pirroni (Part 2)

Part 1 one of my Marco interview is right here - just in case you've missed it.

Is it true that you own Dave Hill’s 'Super Yob' guitar? - How many guitars are in your collection, and which guitars or amps would you grab if the house caught fire?

I do have 'Super Yob' but I'm thinking of lending it to Rob Dickens new British Rock Museum which opens next year. I have about 50 or 60 guitars, but I don't keep them at home. If I had to grab one it would my 59' Les Paul Junior which is my number one live guitar,and my 65 hot rodded Fender Twin which sounds more like a Marshall but with that glam upper mid nasal feedback honk sound. I'm not a big amp collector, I have about 10 mostly small combos all pre seventies. I use these in the studio a lot sometimes combined with plug-ins like Guitar Rig 3.

As someone that was part of Punk scene from the beginning, were there any records or ‘guilty pleasures’ Disco or Pop tracks etc… you enjoyed during the Punk wars but had to keep ‘hush hush’ about at the time?

I never felt I had to keep hush about anything, in fact I worked at trying to think of the worst thing could say to piss off the Punk purists, but I will always insist that 'I Feel Love' by Donna Summer is one of the greatest records ever made coz it is! (And as if by magic - the original Moroder 12" version of 'I Feel Love' )

The whole attitude to Punk seems to have become almost reverential now, are there any Punk myths you’d like to qualify or quosh?

Punk like beauty is in the eye of the beholder so Punk is anything you want it to be,which is the best thing about it.I'm tired of arguing about Punk and now I just say "I don't care" or "I'm bored" which are standard 1976 answers to everything.

The pre Marco ‘Dirk’ era Adam and The Ants songs have an angular almost Indie clang about them (apart from the B sides) , it’s only later when you team up with Adam that the songs start to become chart topping tunes. Do you feel your input into the writing, sound and success of Ant music gets enough recognition?

Oddly I sometimes feel I get too much credit, that I single handedly transformed a cult Punk band into a mega international success...not so,our success was down to Adam and myself fed with where we both were in our lives and the dark days of the late 70s - without Adams drive and vision I wouldn't be talking to you now.

What bands (new or old) are currently playing on The Wolfmen’s iPods?
this week I'm mostly playing Melody Gardot's new album and Scum of the Earth as they sound exactly like Rob Zombie of whom I am a huge fan! Guitar Wolf are another fave of mine, as I write this I'm listening to the soundtracks to 'Thunderball"'and 'Bladerunner'(the original Vangelis version).

So many traditional areas of the music industry Top of the Pops, music weeklies, unscripted radio playlists seem to have gone into meltdown over the last few years, how do you approach promoting The Wolfmen and their music in the digital age?

I think that all of us making music now, are still trying to find and create a music biz for the 21st century, clearly the internet is a massive part of this but its by no means the be all and end all, when people talk about the future of music they are really talking about the future of the marketing of music which I leave to more "interested" men. The Wolfmen will be releasing an 11 track album/CD I cannot defend accusations that this may be an outdated format all I can say is, that is what I have always liked, and I would like to continue that until it is no longer viable, the 7" single is already a loss leader and although that format is what I grew up on I don't mourn its passing anymore than I miss the rotary dial on telephones, basically... "in modern times the modern way".

Where would you like The Wolfmen to be this time next year?

Winning Grammies and lighting cigarettes with £50 notes, but it depends on where the world is this time next year! In an ever changing world we have to take things a day at a time and see where it all leads us.


The Wolfmen - Jackie Says (Alan Mulder Mix)


The Wolfmen - Love Is A Dog (Alan Mulder Mix)


The Wolfmen 'Jackie Says'


The Wolfmen - 'Needles In The Camels Eye'- studio footage


The Wolfmens Re-make/re-model of Eno's 'Needle In The Camels Eye' is released on the
10th March

Unfortunatley I couldn't make the Embassy gig last week but a review of it is here on the Car Trouble website

Dates and details of live shows, releases and downloads are available at...
The Wolfmen's official Myspace site

A special salute goes out to Marco and Ian Peel for their time, trouble and and accessibility in arranging this interview

Funky Friday - Kinda Kinky

Hey Hey - It's a guest blogspot for this weeks Funky Friday - and me ol' mate Bleecher (who also has his own cyberspace scrapbook the marvellous Dedogblog )is pushing the buttons at mission control..

Well hats off to Mr Mondo for letting me (dis)grace the pages of his tip top blog type thing. I've dug out a nugget that's gonna get you reaching for those Paisley shirts and keys to your Union Jack E-type folks!

'Brainwashed' starts like a perfect slice of high revving, free loving, rollock along, late sixties pop brilliantly spun by The Kinks. Fair play - all would be good if it carried on like that, and would still keep you doin' the 'Mashed Potato'. Austin Powers on Red Bull, Vodka, steroids and even more acid springs to mind.

Errr but no, the divinity that is Mr Ray Davis and Co, had plenty more up their more than adaquately sized flared and ruffled shirt sleeves. Chucked in at the end of the first chorus, like a 'do something to fill that gap Dave' thowaway line, is a snarling PUNK riff.

Yeah, you heard me. PUNK

Listen on to the middle eight, and check out just how big and ballsy Dave Davies guitar sound is when he plays another chuckaway riff all on his tod. This track predates the release of the first Stooges album by a few months, and I'm thinking who had more global exposure at that point? I'm not saying The Kinks invented punk, but listen to Dave Davies's parts in some of the early Kinks recordings and the choppy, loud, angular, garage style that became the hallmark of the punk sound is all there.

It's testament to the great songwriting talent that is 'The Kinks', that they only use the riff just twice in the whole song - and this great track only made it as a B-side!! (to the 'Victoria' single). Note to Mr Mondo do I get extra Curly Wurlies for combining your B-side babies and Funky Friday features?
Yes, the chocs in the post (ouch!) - PM

Thanks for reading - may your sun shine and life be full.
(now read my blog or I'll come round n' nick your Coco Pops)

The Kinks - Brainwashed.mp3



And as a kinky bonus here's another Kinks cracker

The Kinks - 'She's Got Everything'.


The Kinks - She's Got Everything.mp3

Pyjamarama

Inspired by completing this today (where Ferry gets much more of a roasting than is strictly necessary) and tuning into this from Mick over at Raiding The Vinyl Archive - I'm on a right ol' Roxy buzz.

So how about the overlooked and underplayed great ' lost' single 'Pyjamarama' - apparantley the band never rated it and even Eno claimed ' Do The Strand' should have been released instead. Nonsense I say! 'Pyjamarama' is perfect pop - all fizz and glitter, like Motown gone glam, and conforms to Paul Morley's theory that all pop songs are truly great if...

"you can imagine them being sung by Elvis".

Roxy Music - Pyjamarama.mp3




And a Roxy refresher (like anyone who's read this far needs it!!)

How great they were...

Roxy Music - 'Ladytron'(1973)


And still are....

Roxy Music - 'Remake/Remodel'(2001)

Wolves In Chic Clothing - Marco Pirroni (Part 1)

Chelmsford Odeon, December 13th 1980 - Adam and The Ants are on the final few dates of their Frontier Tour, the audience is split 90/10 in favour of spiky spitting punks over shiny new pop fans. An enthusiastic, energetic punch up between skuffling skinheads and mad eyed mohicans bubbles away in front of the stage until eventually Adam has to stop the band and scream at the scrappers "it's not 1977 anymore". The fight fizzles out and the show goes on all punchy double drums with glam twang guitars. And there's me a trembly teen at his first 'grown up' gig watching wide eyed at the back .

Fast forward 27 years. The Islington Academy, November 14th 2007 - it's The Wolfmen's debut gig, slinking on stage they kick start with a spectacular sizzler - but hang on a mo' isn't that one of my favourite Eno tunes with added Roxy riffing? Now it's glam garage guitars, flute solos and sitars sharing the same stage, and what's that about the special guest star Dahler Mendhi? He's unable make the gig due to an interview with Her Majesty's finest, not a problem as the show goes on all snap, snarl and sparkle. And there's me a seasoned salty ol' gig goer watching wide eyed at the bar.

I thought The Wolfmen’s debut show last November was a stormer what were your feelings on it?

I think we pulled it off,we got away with it - we were rough, ready and raw which is great. One odd thing about doing this for 30 years is I do not have the ability to make mistakes any more which I miss,sometimes the best things come out of unpredictability...thats my excuse for not turning up to rehearsals and I'm sticking to it!

The set opened with Eno’s ‘Needles in the Camels Eye’ which is an inspired choice of cover version. Did you try out any other covers before ‘Needles’? And are there any more lined up for the future?

No we haven't as yet worked on other covers, but at some point I would like to try 'Homosapien'by Pete Shelley,'Don't split It' by The Subway Sect ,'The Telephone Call' by Kraftwerk (don't ask me how we are going to do that!), 'Theres A Ghost In My House' by R.Dean Taylor and even maybe 'Sounds Of The Underground' by Girls Aloud or 'House Of Love' by East 17, but at the moment we are working on our stuff so don't expect these anytime soon. I think covers should be worked on in downtime for fun.

Everyone I've played Wolfmen material to is always hooked after a couple of plays, where do you start when writing new songs and what comes first the catchy tunes or rocky swagger?

Catchy tunes come first every time. Rock swagger is easy,we've had enough practice at that - I learnt Rock swagger before I could even play!

There's some eclectic instrumentation on several tracks flute, harmonica over growling guitars. Do you write with a view to adding these touches, or does it get worked up later?

We think about it later,there's always a space where we think "what can we do here?" shall we just stick yet another guitar solo over it or make an attempt at something different? Chris is a bit of a multi-instrumentalist so that comes in handy,I can only play the guitar and the intro to 'Virginia Plain' on a Stylophone,but to be frank I don't get much call for that these days.

(I can also play 'Run Run Run' by the Velvet Underground on drums, but again that talent is not in demand anymore...well it never was.)

The Wolfmen are start their residency at the Embassy club tomorrow( future dates and details are on The Wolfmen Myspace site), are there any plans for a UK or international tour after this?

It all depends if people want us, we are in talks about touring India at the moment but it's early days yet.

Who were the guitarists or artists that inspired you to pick up a guitar? And are you self taught?

Mick Ronson,Phil Manzanera,Marc Bolan,Link Wray,Pete Townsend and yes I am self taught (Steve Jones is also in my hero list but no way am I admitting that to him) .

If you could choose anyone dead or alive to jam with, or join The Wolfmen for one track who would it be and on what song?

I'd love Andy Mackay to come down and do something, or Simon House to do some violin but we don't have the song yet, when we do I'll be straight on the phone. And of course the great, incredible and unbelievable Ms Mo Tucker who ranks with Keith Moon as greatest rock drummer of all time!

The Wolfmen - 'Cecilie'

The Wolfmen - 'Cecilie' (Alan Mulder Mix)



The Wolfmen - 'While London Sleeps' (Alan Mulder Mix)


Coming in part 2...

What is the connection between Marco and the rocking chipmunk Dave Hill?

Were there any 'guilty pleasures' at the height of the punk Wars?

Where will the Wolfmen be in a years time?

Recommended reading until then...

The Wolfmen's Myspace site

The Wolfmen's Wikipedia entry

The Marco compiled CDs

Biba: Champagne & Novocaine

Sex : Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die