WAX LYRICAL 2

ESSENTIAL PLAYLIST


ARTIST: Mott The Hoople
TITLE: Saturday Gigs
AVAILABLE ON: Greatest Hits (1976)

History of the bands career to date with Bowie foil Mick Ronson on guitar. Became the bands epitaph.


ARTIST: The kinks
TITLE: Harry Rag
AVAILABLE ON: Something Else By The Kinks (1967)

Has there ever been a better song about cigarettes. Also covered by Morrissey although, his version remains in the vaults.


ARTIST: The Chords
TITLE: Maybe Tomorrow
AVAILABLE ON: So Far Away (1980)

Pure power pop from south east London Mod revivalists.


ARTIST: We The People
TITLE: In The Past
AVAILABLE ON: Declaration Of Independence (1967)

U.S. punk rock from 60’s garage band hailing from Florida.


ARTIST: The Byrds
TITLE: Goin’ Back
AVAILABLE ON: The Notorious Byrd brothers (1968)

A haunting, longing for lost childhood innocence. Every bit as melancholy as the Dusty Springfield version.



ARTIST: LEFTFIELD
TITLE: DUSTED
AVAILABLE ON: RYTHMN & stealth (1999)

Standout track from an otherwise under whelming 2nd album By this dance/dub duo.


ARTIST: david bowie
TITLE: wild is the wind
AVAILABLE ON: station to station (1976)

Astonishing vocal from the dame.


ARTIST: santa esmeralda
TITLE: don’t let me be misunderstood
AVAILABLE ON: kill bill ost (2003)

Epic retooling of an amimals standard.


ARTIST: babe ruth
TITLE: the mexican
AVAILABLE ON: dread meets the b boys downtown (2004)

One hit wonders from Montreal shake up the dance floor. A fav with the hip hop elite in new york 1981/82.


ARTIST: bob marley
TITLE: trenchtown rock
AVAILABLE ON: live (1975)

Personal favourite from reggaes very own “live at leeds”.

Lee "Scratch" Perry

Working under many pseudonyms and roles, Lee Perry has been a guiding force in the development of reggae. In addition to his own music, Lee Perry has produced hits for the Wailers, Junior Byles, Max Romeo, the Heptones, Gregory Isaacs, Junior Murvin, and the Clash. Known for his eccentric behavior, Lee Perry often dons costumes and headdresses made of found objects such as feathers, toys, playing cards, and coins.
He began his career as a singer-songwriter for leading producer Duke Reid. When he made his recording debut with “The Chicken Scratch” on Dodd’s Studio One label in the early ’60s, he became known as Scratch Perry. For most of the ’60s, he worked at Studio One as A&R director; he was instrumental in breaking Ska and producing Jamaican hits for Justin Hines, Delroy Wilson.
In 1968, Perry founded Black Ark studios, the Upsetter label and a band of the same name. His first release, 1968's People Funny Boy (which used tape loop “samples” of The Pioneers' “Long Shot”), established Perry as a unique force in Jamaican music. When his song “Return of the Django” hit the British charts in '69, Perry and The Upsetters became the first reggae band to tour the UK, taking reggae out of Jamaica and into the world.

In 1969 Perry began working with the Wailers. During the next three years, he oversaw their transformation from a ska vocal trio into a full-fledged five-piece reggae band - with bassist Aston “Family Man” Barrett and his drummer brother Carlton from the Upsetters - that would become the most acclaimed Jamaican group in the world. “Duppy Conqueror,” “Small Axe,” “Kaya,” and “Sun Is Shining” were some of the Wailers’ songs Perry wrote. The Wailers began producing themselves for their own label in 1971 but were reunited with Perry for occasional sessions in the late ’70s.
Signed to Island in 1973, Perry and his Upsetters maintained a rocky relationship with the company on and off for several years. In 1974 he built his Black Ark Studio in the backyard of his Kingston home. Perry was one of the pioneers of dub. His use of technology such as drum machines and phase shifters gave his mixes a cutting-edge sound that had a profound influence on dub and, later, dancehall. His work in the ’70s with toasters like U-Roy, I-Roy, Big Youth, and Dennis Alcapone established him in the forefront of toasters’ dub; crucial tracks from this, his most fertile period were….. "War ina Babylon", with its classic rolling bass line, by Max Romeo, the falsetto poignancy of Junior Murvin’s "Police & Thieves," his biggest hit which struck a particular chord with listeners in Britain, due to the unfortunate reality of police oppression during a volatile 1976 Notting Hill carnival, the melodic "Party Time" by The Heptones and "Roast Fish & Cornbread," sung by Scratch himself.
Under increasing pressure, Perry reportedly burned down his studio in 1979, leading to claims that he'd lost his sanity. He lived in Amsterdam in the mid-’80s, and then in London. In 1990 Perry moved to Switzerland, only occasionally returning to Jamaica, where he eventually abandoned plans to rebuild his historic Black Ark Studio.

Bob Marley called Perry a genius, and the influence of his groundbreaking recordings continues to this day. Genius or madman, Perry and his densely layered sounds, eccentric and hilarious samples, and constant search for novelty created the sound that has influenced generations of reggae, dub and electronic artist

Favourite tracks as Artist & Producer:

1. Police & Thieves - Junior Murvin


2. Roast Fish & Corn Bread - Lee Perry


3. Groovy Situation - Keith Rowe


4. I am the Upsetter - Lee Perry


5. Small Axe - Bob Marley

Recommended Albums:

The Upsetter Selection
Chicken Scratch

WAX LYRICAL - July

ARTIST: Mikey Dread
TITLE: Jumping Master (12")
AVAILABLE: World War III (1979)
Easy skanking from the late great Jamaican toaster.






ARTIST: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
TITLE: Trailer (45rpm)
AVAILABLE: Playback Box Set (1995)
A hidden gem from a truly great American songwriter. Unfairly relegated to the B side of the 1985 single "Don't Come Around Here No More". This was originally to have been on the abandoned concept album "Southern Accents" on which it would have fitted perfectly.




ARTIST: Elvis Costello & The Attractions
TITLE: This Years Girl (Album Track)
AVAILABLE: This Years Model (1978)

Costello's scathing attack on the trappings of fashion still resonates today, as do most of the tracks on this 1978 classic.





ARTIST: The Zombies
TITLE: Butchers Tale (Album Track)
AVAILABLE: Odessey & Oracle (1968)
There's Sgt. Pepper and then there's this. A haunting anti-war song from this psychedelic classic.
More than holds its own against anything on its more illustrious counterpart




ARTIST: Elastica
TITLE: Waking Up (45)
AVAILABLE: Elastica (1995)

Proof, if it was ever needed, that listening to too much of the Stranglers is not necessarily a bad thing!





ARTIST: Radio Birdman
TITLE: Aloha Steve & Danno (45)
AVAILABLE: Radios Appear (1978)

Get yer surf boards out!! Affectionate Hawaii Five "O" tribute from the 70's Aussie Stooges.





ARTIST: Saint Etienne
TITLE: Goodnight (album track)
AVAILABLE: Tales from the Turnpike House (2005)

Lush strings, "Smile" era choral harmonies and the lovely Sarah Cracknells hushed lullaby vocals.................whats not to like!!!




ARTIST: Neil Young
TITLE: Ordinary People (Album Track)
AVAILABLE: Chrome Dreams (2007)

18 min. epic from his latest long player............still angry after all these years!!





ARTIST: Bo Diddley
TITLE: Story of Bo Diddley (45)
AVAILABLE: The Essential Bo Diddley (2006)

A titan of rock'n'roll, everyone from the Stones onwards pay homage! The king is dead....long live the king.
Classic 1960 single, try not dancing to this!




ARTIST: Kirsty McColl
TITLE: Free World (45)
AVAILABLE: Kite (1989)

"Got to take it, got to grab it, got to get it up and shag it in this free world." Kirsty's vitriolic attack on Thatcher's Britain is just as relevant today as it ever was.......sadly missed.

-Chris Narayan-

HOWLIN' WOLF

In the history of the blues, there has never been anyone quite like Howlin' Wolf. A man of enormous presence, Howlin’ Wolf’s stage show was legendary. The raw power of his voice combined with an electrified blues delivered an exhilarating, exciting experience rarely matched by other performers.

He was born, Chester Burnett, in West Point, Mississippi on June 10, 1910.Wolf's parents, Leon Burnett and Gertrude Young, separated and his mother left him with his uncle, Will Young. Young was very strict and treated Chester badly. When he was thirteen, Chester ran away to live with his father on the delta, near Ruleville, Mississippi. He would work on a farm until a chance meeting with Delta blues legend Charley Patton changed his life forever. The meeting ignited his passion for music especially the blues and would see him recognized, along with Muddy Waters, as a pioneer in combining traditional Delta blues with electrified guitar.

After a four-year stretch in the Army Signal Corps he returned to his father's farm. Wolf settled down to work the farm during the week and play the blues on weekends. In 1948, Wolf set out to play the blues full-time and moved to West Memphis, Arkansas and put together a band that gained popularity on the local radio station, KWEM. Sam Phillips recorded Howlin' Wolf’s first two records, "Moanin' at Midnight" and "How Many More Years" at Memphis Recording Services. Unlike many of his contemporaries Wolf already had good business savy, as a means of advertising his own local appearances, he launched a 15-minute radio show on KWEM in West Memphis, mixing his blues with farm reports and advertising that he sold himself. Wolf had put his first band together, featuring the explosive guitar work of Willie Johnson, whose aggressive style was a perfect fit for Wolf's sound. Willie Johnson’s contribution was without doubt instrumental in his early success. Johnson created the Howlin' Wolf guitar signature mixing delta blues with heavily amplified, distorted electric guitar riffs. Hubert Sumlin would be the other key influence on Howlin’s sound. He first appears as a rhythm guitarist on a 1954 session, and within a few years' his style had fully developed to take over the role of lead guitarist by early 1958.

Chester moved to Chicago, where his career took off. By 1956, Wolf was in the R&B charts again, racking up hits with "Evil" and "Smokestack Lightnin'." He remained a popular draw both on the Chicago circuit and on the road. His records, while seldom showing up on the national charts, were still selling in decent numbers down South. In 1960 Wolf teamed up with Chess staff writer Willie Dixon, and for the next five years he would record almost nothing but songs written by Dixon. The combination of Wolf's voice, Sumlin's guitar, and Dixon's tunes sold a lot of records and saw the 50-year-old's popularity spread worldwide. The mid-'60s saw him touring Europe regularly with "Smokestack Lightnin'" becoming a hit in England eight years after its American release. The Chester Burnett/Willie Dixon/Hubert Sumlin team and variations would be a big money maker for Chess and the core of Wolf's sound for the rest of his career.

Dixon and Wolf parted company by 1964 and Wolf was back in the studio recording his own songs. One of the classics to emerge from this period was “Killing Floor.” However, this was the year of Motown as Soul Music started to gain popularity; Blues music became less popular with black audiences. Fortunately, a new, young, white audience was being cultivated across the Atlantic. Influenced by sounds heard on the American Forces radio, young people in Britain and Europe were an eager and enthusiastic market for Howlin’ and his peers. By the end of the decade, Wolf's material was being recorded by artists including the Doors, Cream, and Jeff Beck. His last big payday came when he recorded the London Session album with Eric Clapton, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. In the late 1960's, Wolf's health started to fail and he suffered several heart attacks. A car crash in Toronto in 1970 severely damaged his kidneys. Wolf kept singing and performing until his death, but for the rest of his life he would need dialysis done every three days.

Howlin' Wolf's last performance was at the Chicago Ampitheater in November of 1975. He entered the Veterans Administration Hospital at Hines, Illinois in mid December. Chester Burnett died on January 10, 1976 of heart failure during surgery. But his music did not go unrecognized. A life-size statue was erected shortly after in a Chicago park. A child-education center in Chicago was named in his honor and in 1980 he was elected to the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. In 1991, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, Ohio.

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SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE

Sly and the Family Stone took the Sixties ideal of a generation coming together and turned it into deeply groove-driven music. Rock’s first integrated; multi-gender band became the innovators of the Woodstock Generation, blending soul, R&B, funk and psychedelia into danceable, message-laden, high-energy music. In promoting their gospel of tolerance and celebration of differences, Sly and the Family Stone brought disparate audiences together during the latter half of the Sixties. The group’s greatest triumph came at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969. During their unforgettable nighttime set, leader Sly Stone initiated a fevered call-and-response with the audience of 400,000+ during an electrifying version of “I Want to Take You Higher.”


Sly Stone was born Sylvester Steward on March 15, 1941 in Denton, Texas, but grew up in Vallejo, California. Early in his life he showed great interest in music - first singing with his family in the Steward Four in 1952. While studying music at Vallejo Junior College Sly began playing in several groups on the Bay Area scene - recording several singles. . This enabled Sly to move his family to San Francisco. Sly also worked as a disc jockey for the local R&B radio stations KSOL and later KDIA.


Eagar to explore the opportunities to create and construct his own sound he would put together Sly and the Family Stone in 1967. The group connected with the rising counterculture through songs that spoke to a generation and dealt with issues of diversity and freedom, music that combined rock and soul, and would later transform into Seventies funk. At the end of 1967 Sly and the Family Stone released their first album "A Whole New Thing". The record was not a commercial success but the next album "Dance to the Music" gave them a Top Ten hit with its title track early in 1968. This enabled the band to not only to play the colleges but also turn to the bigger venues. Soon they would be sharing the bill with well known acts such as the Jimmy Hendrix Experience.
The bands greatest live performance was at the legendry Woodstock festival in 1969. Although their appearance was in the middle of the night they could make the people wake up, get up and start dancing. Something the other bands that night hardly achieved.


A brilliant artist even under duress, Stone was largely responsible for the dark, reflective but no less funky There’s a Riot Goin’ On (1971), which captured the souring mood of the time but, manages to remain timeless. Sly captured the turmoil gripping America in 1971, but also the chaos in his increasingly drug fuelled personal life. During this period, Sly Stone’s drug addiction became much worse and the Family Stone became notorious for missing concert dates, though they still enjoyed commercial success with singles such as “Family Affair.”
From now on every album would see several line-up changes and diminishing success. The Family Stone lost its magic and Sly, who was into heavy drugs. Once being able to change and dictate musical trends, his drug dependency had numbed his creative edge. All motivation was lost as Sly continued in a downward spiral through the late 70s and 80s.

He appeared on the "Soul Man" soundtrack singing a duet with Martha Davis. In 1987 he was once again imprisoned for drug possession. His last public appearance was in 1993 for his induction to the Rock&Roll Hall of Fame. In February 2006 the 61 year old performed "I Want to Take You Higher" with his old band at the Grammies.


A true creative genius, Sly and the Family Stone preformed the soundtrack to the 60s and influenced a generation. Sly Stone’s life would mirror a decade that began with hope and liberation, eventually succumbing to excess and ending in dissolution. The spirit of revolution and change may be long gone but a legacy of fine music remains for all to rediscover.

SLY'S TOP TRACKS:

1. EVERYDAY PEOPLE
2. FAMILY AFFAIR
3. STAND
4. I WANT TO TAKE YOU HIGHER
5. SING A SIMPLE SONG


RECOMMENDED ALBUMS (click to preview)

THERE'S A RIOT GOIN' ON

STAND!

GREATEST HITS!

ROCK AGAINST RACISM

Historic festival marks 30 year anniversary:

On 30 April 1978, more than 80,000 people took part in a "Rock Against Racism" carnival in Victoria Park, east London. They were protesting at the rise of the far-right National Front, which was then making headway in the polls and on the streets. It proved to be a seminal moment, drawing many white youngsters away from racist propaganda, radicalizing a generation, and paving the way for concerts such as Live Aid. The veteran anti-fascist campaigner Gerry Gable describes it as "one of the most important cultural events of the postwar period".

The carnival was the high point of an extra ordinary protest by Rock Against Racism (RAR) and the Anti-Nazi League (ANL) in response to the turbulent racial politics of the late 1970s. The movement was sparked by an Eric Clapton concert in Birmingham in 1976 at which the guitarist urged his audience to back Enoch Powell's anti-immigrant stance.

The photographer Red Saunders and designer Roger Huddle penned a furious response in the New Musical Express: "Half your music is black. You're a good musician, but where would you be without the blues and R'n'B? We want to organize a rank-and-file movement against the racist poison in music. We urge support for Rock Against Racism." Quoting the song by Bob Marley, which Clapton had covered, the letter ended with the scathing postscript: "Who shot the sheriff, Eric? It sure as hell wasn't you!"

In May 1977 the anti-apartheid campaigner Peter Hain, Ernie Roberts and Paul Holborow set up the Anti-Nazi League (ANL). Their aims - to undermine the credibility of the National Front and expose it as racist - keyed in to the preoccupations of the punk movement. Towards the end of the 1970s, the Clash and the Sex Pistols had aligned themselves with reggae, championing rock's black roots and undermining fascist attempts to woo white youths.

In August, the ANL took the controversial decision to confront the National Front on the streets, staging a huge demonstration that broke up an NF march through Lewisham. Meanwhile, RAR started organizing gigs, starting at the Royal College of Art and culminating in the Victoria Park Carnival.

Today, it is standard for musicians to espouse anti-racist sentiments. At the time, however, the carnival organizers weren't sure they would find an appreciative audience. They were hoping to attract 20,000 people to Victoria Park with acts including the Clash, the Birmingham reggae stars Steel Pulse, the Tom Robinson Band and X-Ray Spex. They were delighted when more than four times that many came. "Black bands and white bands appeared on the same bill for the first time, not just at the carnival but at smaller gigs," says Red Saunders. "It was part of an enormous change in society that is still going on - multiculturalism from the roots up."

What did Rock Against Racism mean to you?

Tom Robinson, one of the headline acts at Victoria Park
"RAR started off as a grass-roots thing for ordinary pub bands like us, but when the ANL and Socialist Workers Party came along, it became a mass movement. Not everybody agreed with the SWP, but you have to credit their willingness to organize and fight. We didn't expect the carnival to be so big, and in fact the PA system wasn't strong enough, but seeing bands like the Clash and Steel Pulse close up was pretty damn good.
"There was a triumphalist feeling about the event. Never before had so many people been mobilized for that sort of cause. It was our Woodstock. People who previously felt isolated realized that thousands of others felt the same and it gave them the strength to go back to their schools or workplaces and confront the racists and their gut-wrenching jokes. In 1977 and 1978 there was a great danger of the NF becoming a credible political party, and if things like the RAR and ANL carnival had even a small effect in countering them, it was worth it."

Billy Bragg, singer-songwriter
"I was 19 at the time and came across from Barking, where the National Front was very active. "It really made me think what the whole event was about, because the fascists didn't just hate black people, they hated anyone who was different. So that day I took a pledge to be different, to question authority, to dress the way I wanted to and write songs I wanted to.
"The Clash exemplified solidarity with black culture with their reggae songs. We felt we were part of a movement. In the early days, punk could have gone either way - the Sex Pistols wore swastikas and there was flirting with the right - but Joe Strummer, the Clash and RAR pointed the way forward to the barricades.
"Looking back at it, there's a direct link between the carnival and the huge Free Nelson Mandela concert at Wembley years later, because Jerry Dammers who organized that was inspired by Victoria Park. The whole Two Tone thing was a vindication of RAR."

Don Letts, DJ and film-maker
"Racism was totally in-your-face then. If I wasn't being chased by the National Front I was being stopped by the police using the 'sus' laws. The Clash and the Sex Pistols grew up with black people living next door and I bonded with those guys as friends through our love of black music. We came together through an understanding of our differences. So punk and RAR were immeasurably important at street level because they created a mutual respect.
"Funnily enough, I didn't go to Victoria Park, even though I was involved in DJing at RAR gigs, because Joe Strummer had taken my girlfriend at the time and I was in a huff. Now, every time I see the clip of the carnival in the film Rude Boy I kick myself for not being there."

-Patrick Sawer, Newstatesman-

DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS PRT. 2

Dexy’s transformation from punky soul band to Celtic soul collective proved very successful. “Come on Eileen” their second release was a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic and the biggest selling record of 1982 in the UK. Their popularity grew with follow up singles, a Van Morrison cover, “Jackie Wilson Said” and “Let’s get this straight (From the Start)”.
After a 1983 tour the band had a two year break, returning in 1985 with a critically acclaimed album, “Don’t Stand Me Down”. Initially, Rowland refused to issue any singles from the record. The eventual release of “This Is What She’s Like” coming too late to save the album from commercial failure.

The group would disband in 1986 as Rowland decided to go it alone, releasing “The Wanderer in 1988 which was widely panned by the critics. The 90s were hard as Kevin struggled with financial problems and drug addiction. He made plans to reform Dexy’s on several occasions the last being in 2003 with an announcement that the band would be reforming to tour their greatest hits album. Performances were well received and two new songs were recorded for release as singles. Unfortunately, neither record was ever released to the public.
Kevin Rowland has been described as arrogant, eccentric, ego maniac and many other things. I believe music genius could be added to that list, as a performer Rowland never pretended to be something he was not i.e., black. Amid Dexys' boisterous brass overtures driven by a punky/soul beat, Rowland's shrill, anxious, voice called out to the working class soul boys of Britain who worshipped the same soul legends that he idolized. In “Searching for the Young Soul Rebels”, he created, along with Kevin Archer, one of the greatest debut albums ever made.


DEXY'S TOP FIVE

1 There, There My Dear
2 Geno
3 Dance Stance
4 Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache
5 Jackie Wilson Said

Recommended Albums (click to preview)

Searching For The Young Soul Rebels
The Projected Passion Review
The Best of Dexys Midnight Runners

DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS PRT.1

DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS PRT.1

Dexys were formed in 1978 from the ashes of Birmingham punk band The Killjoys. Combining elements of Northern Soul with punk energy and attitude. Dexys produced one of the greatest debut albums and were one of the best groups to emerge from the post punk aftermath.
Kevin Rowland and Kevin “Al” Archer put the band together, naming it after Dexedrine, an amphetamine that was popular with Northern Soul fans at all-nighters’.

An exceptional band led by an exceptional character in Kevin Rowland who would be responsible for lyrics as Archer put together most of the music.
Their first release was “Dance Stance”, in 1979. The single would reach number 40 in the British charts not a bad debut. However, it would be with the next single “Geno” that they would make their mark. A tribute to soul legend Geno Washington it would go to number one in 1980.
As is the case with many up and coming bands, they had been too quick in signing their contract with EMI. They felt their share of profits should be greater, so would try to pressure EMI into a re-negotiation by stealing the master tapes of their debut album, “Searching for the Young Soul Rebels.” The record was eventually released in late 1980 and was a huge success. The next single, “There, There My Dear”, would maintain their run of successful singles. At this point the pressure would begin to tell on Rowland, nearing a breakdown he decided to release “Keep it, Part Two,” an unpopular choice with the other band members but, a song that Rowland cared for greatly, as he poured out his inner turmoil in the lyrics. The public did not take to the song and it flopped. Kevin lost confidence in his ability as he realized that he was out of sync with what the public wanted to hear. Rowland’s moods and stubbornness proved to be too much for the rest of the group. It would lead to the first of many personnel changes that Dexys’ would go through over the course of their existence.

A new Dexys line-up exuberantly announced its arrival with the classic singles ‘Plan B’ and ‘Show Me’. But it really took hold in November1981, when the (flop) single ‘Liars A To E’ signified a bold turn away from brass to strings, and when Kevin Rowland brought this new-look Dexys Midnight Runners to the Old Vic Theatre in London’s Waterloo for three nights of what he called the Projected Passion Revue.
Rooted in the punk ethos of questioning all convention the Projected Passion Revue represented a complete rejection of all that had become a Rock ’n’ Roll ritual. By seating his musicians around him like a double quartet, by mixing up brass and strings while mostly eschewing rock band Harmonix-Profile instrumentation, by dressing the group in uniforms of track suits, by having that group bring pre-rehearsed actions and words and movements to a theatrical venue, and most of all, by singing his heart out to the extent you thought it might burst in front of you, Kevin Rowland showed that there was a different way to present live music than those methods which were tried and tested, and had grown stale.

DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS PRT.2

HORACE ANDY

Born Horace Hinds in Kingston, Jamaica in 1951, Andy came to the fore in the second wave of great Reggae singers, a continuation of the legacy created by legends such as John Holt and Delroy Wilson. What made Andy different from his peers was his distinctive powerful vocals coupled with an original delivery.

At age Twenty, Andy started his musical apprenticeship working at the legendry Studio One for Coxsone Dodd. It was Coxsone that put together the name Horace Andy a take off from Bob Andy, of “Young, Gifted and Black” fame. Dodd apparently saw a similar writing style and not doubt hoped his young charge might have some of the same success.
Andy’s first recording would be “Something on my Mind”, which did get much recognition in the Jamaican charts.
The first classic would soon come when Horace still only twenty-one. “Skylarking”, a simple record with a very catchy riff was his first commercial success. This was followed by “Love of a Woman” and “I Found Someone”.
By the early seventies he would be one of the most popular singers in Jamaica. He moved on to work with to work with Bunny Lee a good fit personally and creatively as Andy had just converted to the Rastafarian faith. The music recorded with Bunny had an earthier; roots feel as the Dub production style began to grow in popularity. Horace would also rework some of his back catalogue including “skylarking” which morphed into a heavy dub groove and was a massive hit all over again. Other greats like “you are my Angel” and “My Guiding Star” quickly followed.

Mid 70s saw Andy work with New York producer Everton Dasilva, this would prove to be a strongly creative period for Andy and Reggae music in general. Its culmination resulting in Andy delivering “In the Light”. An album acclaimed in the Reggae world but not a commercial success as Reggae music headed into its 1980s slump.

Most recently his work with Massive Attack would bring Andy into the light again... Horace would contribute to the Trip Hop outfit’s groundbreaking “Blue Lines”, “Protection” and “Mezzanine” albums. Outstanding vocals on tracks like “One Love” and “Hymn of the Big Wheel” would see him introduced to a whole new generation of roots ravers.

Top Tracks

1 Love of a Woman
2 Skylarking
3 Sea of Love
4 You are my Angel
5 Hymn of the Big Wheel

Recommended Albums (click to preview)

Skylarking: The Best of Horace Andy
In the Light/In the Light Dub
Living in the Flood

SMALL FACES

Small Faces came out of Manor Park, East London in the mid 60s.
The classic Small Faces lineup would be:

Steve Marriott – vocal
Ronnie Lane - Bass
Kenney Jones – Drums
Jimmy Winston - Organ (later replaced by McLagan)
Ian McLagan - keyboards

Their roots would begin as key players in the London mod movement. Later they would grow as one of the UKs most creative and groundbreaking psychedelic acts. Word has it that the band name came from the fact that the boys were all on the short side and the term “face” was slang for being popular and looking sharp.
Their musical output, during a four year period, is recognized as being one of the most inspirational of the era. They have been name checked by musicians such as Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher as a major influence. The band’s early song set included R&B/soul classics that were popular with many bands of that era. The band would also perform original compositions on which Marriott would display vocals that had been modeled on his own heroes, Otis Reading and Bobby Bland. Check out "Every Little Bit Hurts" for Steve Marroitt's voice at it's very best.

They signed a management contract with 60s impresario Don Arden who would secure a recording deal for the band with Decca Records. Jimmy Winston would be fired soon after to be replaced by Ian McLagan, whose look and keyboard playing was a perfect fit with the band.
The new line up would chart with their third release for Decca, “Sha-La-La-Lee”. Debut Album, “Small Faces” would also see success in the British Charts, as popularity grew the band would begin to feature on TV shows like Ready Steady Go.
The bands playing had improved considerably and they would have achieved so much more if it were not for their aggressive, yobbish attitude which would alienate industry insiders and concert promoters. Marriott managed to eventually get the group banned from Top of the Pops after swearing at the shows producer.

In 1966 the group achieved a number one record with, “All or Nothing “, regarded by many as a white soul classic. Don Arden had spent a lot of time and effort promoting the Small Faces. Now he was growing tired of their loutish behavior, they were wrecking a career that had only just begun. The band found themselves bogged down in a bitter, legal wrangle when they should have been delivering a follow up to “All or Nothing “.
Eventually they parted company with Arden and Decca and sign with Andrew Loog Oldham’s Immediate label.

The Immediate sessions saw the band progress rapidly. The fist single was “Here Come the Nice”, which was influenced by drug use and managed to escape censorship despite the fact that it openly referred to speed. 67/68 saw the group at a creative peak. “Itchycoo Park” was released in mid-1967 followed by “Tin Soldier” a song Marriott had intended for P.P. Arnold who, in the end, sang backing on the Small Faces version.
“Lazy Sunday” was released in 1968, a cockney music-hall styled song released against their wishes but another chart success.
By now their career was at an all time high with the release of the classic album “Ogden’s’ Nut Gone Flake”. It is recognized not only for it’s musical innovation but, also it’s inventive round cover. The album stayed at number one in the UK for six weeks.

A two-act concept album it was narrated between tracks by Stan Unwin who related a psychedelic fable about “Happiness Stan” and his quest to find out where the moon went when it waned. The album was acclaimed and sold well, but the band was confronted by the problem of how to perform a studio created work of art, live.

Through the fall of 1968 there had been strong rumors of the band splitting. Marriott made it official on New Year’s Eve 1969, walking off stage in middle of a live set.
Marriott already had plans for the future and the new band he was forming with Peter Frampton, Humble Pie.
The remaining members regrouped and recruited former members of the Jeff Beck Group, singer Rod Stewart and guitarist Ron Wood. They would release one album as the small faces before enjoying some success as The Faces.
Kenny Jones would join The Who after Keith Moons death in 1978.
Steve Marriott would tragically die in his sleep when a fire tore through his home, on Saturday, April 20, 1991.
Ronnie Lane died in Trinidad, Colorado, in June 1997, after a long and brave fight with multiple sclerosis.

It is well worth checking out the impressive back catalogue left behind by this creative and groundbreaking group during an all too short career.

TOP TRACKS

1 All or Nothin'
2 Tin Soldier
3 Song of a baker
4 Here comes the Nice
5 Itchycoo Park

Recommended Albums (click to preview)

SMALL FACES ULTIMATE COLLECTION

OGDEN'S NUT GONE FLAKE

THE SMALL FACES

SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON

Sonny Boy Williamson was born on the Sara Jones Plantation near Glendora, Mississippi. He was given the birth name of Alex Miller.
Miller would live with his mother and father and work as a sharecropper until the 1930s.

In the early 1930s he embraced the hobo lifestyle, traveling around the south playing blues harmonica mixed with a generous amount of whisky, women and fighting along the way.
In the mid 30s he was going by the mane of Little Boy Blue and traveling the Delta, playing the usual juke joints and country suppers, working with other emerging blues legends such as Robert Johnson, Elmore James and Robert Jr. Lockwood.
In 1941 Miller was hired to play the King Biscuit Time show on radio station KFFA in Helena, Arkansas. This would be the first time America had heard a live blues show on the airwaves and also spawn one of the blues most legendary scams.
The show sponsor, Interstate Grocery Company, felt they could push more sacks of their King Biscuit Flour if Miller were to pose as Chicago Harmonica star John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson, an act of amazing audacity when you consider that John Lee had already released dozens of successful and influential records. As fortune would have it when John Lee was murdered in Chicago, Miller became, in his own words, the original Sonny Boy.
Another major contribution to the history of Blues came about when Sonny Boy brought king Biscuit time guest Elmore James into the studio for a session. With Williamson blowing harp and the tape recording, Elmore recorded the first version of his signature tune “Dust My Broom”.

Twice Sonny Boy lived in Detroit playing with the Baby Boy Warren band among others. His popularity as a solo artist was also growing. A cunning, world weary delivery was broken by short, powerful bursts of laconic harp playing. Songs were about his life and experiences, full of caustic observations. His best work hangs on a swinging beat where blues harp, piano and guitar intertwine effortlessly. His use of space and tone would see him regarded as one of the blues greatest harp players.

In 1955 Williamson’s contract was sold to Chess Records in Chicago. Sonny Boys first recording session took place on August 12, and the single culled from it was “Don’t start me Talkin’,” which became his biggest hit so far on the R&B charts. A European tour took place in1963. Audiences craved the opportunity to hear authentic Blues and Williamson was more than happy to oblige. He loved the Adulation and freedom of 1960s Britain and started working the teenage Beat clubs between recording and touring with the Yardbirds and Animals. The record “Help Me” was a hit and charted throughout Europe.

Sonny travelled home to the Delta in 1965 and returned to playing many of the old haunts he had frequented as a boy. On May 25 he was found dead in his rooming house bed.
So ended the life of a true Blues legend, a simple Mississippi Delta share cropper who would go on to tour the world, host a radio show for 15 years, and had played with everyone from Robert Johnson to Eric Clapton.

Top Tracks

1 Help Me
2 Decoration Day
3 Bring it On Home
4 Don’t Start Me Talkin’
5 Lonesome Cabin

Recommended Albums (click to preview)

HIS BEST: SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON

ONE WAY OUT

NINE BELOW ZERO

FRONT COVER

i-shuffle


1 A Bell Will Ring -Oasis
2 All My Life -Foo Fighters
3 Barbara Ann -Beach Boys
4 Blue Orchid -The White Stripes
5 Boom Shack-A-Lack -Apache Indian
6 Boredom -Buzzcocks
7 Cemetry Gates -The Smiths
8 C'mon Everybody -Eddie Cochran
9 Come On -The Rolling Stones
10 Dear Prudence -Siousie & the Banshees
11 Discotheque -U2
12 Double Talkin' Baby -Stray Cats
13 Everything -Nitin Sawhney
14 Feel -Big Star
15 Feel Good Inc -Gorillaz
16 Fix You -Coldplay
17 Get Over You -The Undertones
18 Half Life -Athlete
19 Helicopter -Bloc Party
20 I Predict a Riot -Kaiser Chiefs

Thanks to Krishnan of London.

VIDEO FOOTAGE

NORTHERN SOUL

Northern Soul, a sub culture that grew out of Britain’s mid 60’s soul/mod scene. The music was characterized by its heavy stomping beat that people could not resist dancing to.
More earthy and less formulated than the commercially successful Motown. Northern Soul began to cultivate a fanatical and loyal following.

1960’s Britain still had a large American Military presence and the Soul and R’n’b records they brought with them would gradually work its way into the hungry and eager audience of mods and jazz freaks who strived to seek out something new and different.

Early Northern Soul fashion included bowling shirts, members began wearing patches representing their club nights held all over Britain.

The music was usually recorded by lesser known artists from Motown, Stax, Okeh and many more obscure record labels. Many of the artist’s would never know or enjoy success or hit records.

Two men are credited with how the term “northern soul” came to be. Journalist Dave Godin, of Blues and Soul magazine, is said to have coined they phrase on a long train journey to the Blackpool Mecca. The other is Tony Petheridge, in 1974 Tony was promoter of the country’s leading “alldayer”, held at Whitchurch Civic Centre each bank holiday. Tony came up with the phrase in retaliation to the “Southern Soul Club” that had been advertising venues in the south. It worked well for promoting events he had layed on in the North of England,”Northern Soul”.

The late 60’s and early 70’s saw a lively club scene develop. The first nightclub that carried the true Northern Soul spirit was Manchester’s Twisted Wheel Club. Other early clubs would have been The Mojo in Sheffield, The Catacombs in Wolverhampton, Golden Torch in Stoke and, of course, the famous Wigan Casino.

Chemically driven all-nighters became a must for all scenesters. The atmosphere was welcoming with little trouble, alcohol was a bit player as amphetamines kept the floor filled through the night. Northern Soul dancing was sweaty and athletic with flips, spins and backdrops.
Thousands visited the Casino every weekend, but the exclusive and underground appeal of the music was lost and many of the original soul fans drifted away. When the Wigan casino was shutdown in 1981, many thought it might be the end of the northern Soul scene but, this only encouraged fans to develop scenes of their own throughout Britain. These days’ clubs can be discovered around the globe in cities such as Berlin, New York and Sydney.

Floor Fillers

1 Marvin Gaye – Lonely Lover (Alt. Mix)
2 Jackie Wilson - Whispers
3 Sam Dees – Lonely for you Baby
4 Gene Chandler – Nothing can stop me
5 Don Thomas – Come on Train
6 Gloria Jones – Tainted Love
7 Al Wilson – The Snake
8 Doby Gray – Out on the Floor
9 Ocean Colour Scene – All Up
10 Stevie Wonder – Love A Go-Go

ALBUMS (click links to preview)

Northern Soul Essential Collection

The Northern Soul Scene

Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities