Gangsters by The Special A.K.A

As mentioned in a previous post in this blog, the Punk and New Wave years unleashed a whole new group of Do It Yourself record companies. '2 Tone' were just one of those labels.

'2 Tone' was the creation of Jerry Dammers, the founder member of the Coventry based ska revival band best known as The Specials.

"Gangsters" was the first single on the '2 Tone' record label and was released in March of 1979, getting to number 6 in the UK charts.
As you can see from the photo above, the band were credited as 'The Special A.K.A' at this time. But, they had changed their name to the more widely known 'The Specials' by the time of their second single release, "A Message To You, Rudy", which was also released in 1979.

The release of "Gangsters" had a big impact on UK music at the time of its release and sparked off a whole revival of Ska music, a genre often referred to as 'Two Tone'. It also helped to kickstart the formation of many other UK based Ska bands such as Madness, The Selecter and The Beat, all of whose first singles were released on the '2 Tone' label.

The song "Gangsters" is often thought to be at least partly about 'The Specials' early manager and also manager of The Clash, Bernie Rhodes. The song starts with the lyrics, "Why must you record my phone calls? Are you planning a bootleg LP?"

The Specials, who originally formed in 1977 at the height of the Punk era, were given their first big break by Joe Strummer. Who, in typical Joe Strummer fashion, invited the band to open for The Clash on one of their UK tours. Hence the brief association with The Clash's manager.

As was the case with many of the early Two Tone era releases, "Gangsters" was a reworking of an old Jamaican ska tune, this time Prince Buster's "Al Capone".
The B Side of the single was not credited to The Special A.K.A, or even The Specials. It is instead a track called "The Selecter" by The Selecter. The song is credited to John Bradbury, the drummer with The Specials and Noel Davis.
"The Selecter" is even credited as being the second '2 Tone' release, having the serial number 'TT2' on the record itself. "Gangsters" is 'TT1'.
Confusing isn't it?

The complete single is in fact basically a Double A Side. Effectively splitting the record between The Special A.K.A and The Selecter. It's just that "Gangsters" was always the most popular track and the one that got all of the attention and radio play, at the time.
After the success of the single, Noel Davis then formed the previously mentioned band, The Selecter. They went on to have several hit singles in their own right over the coming years, many of them on the '2 Tone' label.

The "Gangsters" single featured the first outing of a fictional character called 'Walt Jabsco', who can be seen in the artwork gracing the records label itself. The design of 'Walt Jabsco' was loosely based on an old image of Peter Tosh, an early member of Bob Marley's band The Wailers.
'Walt' was to feature on many of the record sleeves and labels of the '2 Tone' record releases, as well as appearing on countless t.shirts, posters etc.

The 'Walt Jabsco' character fitted in perfectly with the whole ethos of '2 Tone' records. The black and white colouring and '2 Tone' name was meant to signify the bands aim of bringing people of different colours together, peacefully and through music.
This was at a time when the whole Rock Against Racism movement was very active in the UK. A cause that The Specials were very supportive of.

As if to emphasise this, in 1984 The Specials released a single called "Free Nelson Mandela". That song became something of an unofficial anthem for all those people across the world, campaigning for the release of Nelson Mandela.

The Specials split up, or were effectively dissolved by founder member Jerry Dammers, in 1984, not long after the "Free Nelson Mandela" single. They have since reformed, minus Jerry Dammers himself, and are still touring to much acclaim in 2012.

The influence of The Specials and of the '2 Tone' record label is still felt today and not just because the band are still touring either. Their music stands the test of time, both lyrically and musically, even after 30 years.
Their 1981 chart topping single "Ghost Town" regularly features in lists of the best UK singles ever. Something that i certainly wouldn't disagree with.

I loved the music of the Two Tone movement and bought many of the singles and albums of the bands from that era. I still have most of those vinyl singles, especially those by The Specials, who along with The Beat were probably my favourite of the bands to emerge at that time.
I'm sure many young people in the late 1970's were introduced and exposed to Ska music for the very first time because of bands like The Specials. That cannot be a bad thing.
Although i can remember reggae and ska music from the old Trojan record label, back in the late 1960's. I was still a bit too young to really appreciate it fully and certainly too young to buy any of the records at the time.

The 'Two Tone' movement that The Specials helped to start and the whole ethos that went with it, all those years ago, is still very relevant today.
The '2 Tone' record label itself has also influenced musicians and music makers, from that day to this, by showing them that they can bypass those major record labels and just do it themselves.
The fact that i've chosen to talk about the band and their music here and also to end up writing far more than i ever anticipated, maybe goes to prove that?

Urban Guerrilla by Hawkwind

"Urban Guerrilla" by Hawkwind was released on 27th July 1973 and reached number 39 in the UK charts. It would quite probably have reached a higher position, as the single was selling very well, but the single was withdrawn after only 3 weeks.

Why?

Well, the opening lyrics of "Urban Guerrilla" are 'I'm an urban guerrilla, i make bombs in my cellar" and Hawkwind had the misfortune to release the single just as the IRA started a bombing campaign in London. The lyrics and subject matter were felt to be in bad taste and the BBC refused to play the song on the radio.

Apparently, it was considered trying to promote the singles B Side, "Brainbox Pollution" instead, as a way of getting around the problem. But, possibly, because "Brainbox Pollution" is a song about drug abuse, "Urban Guerrilla" was withdrawn from sale.

Ironically, the lyrics of  "Urban Guerrilla" were written by band member Bob Calvert a couple of years prior to the songs release.

So, "Urban Guerrilla" joins that long and illustrious list of records that have been banned, or effectively  banned. Either because somebody decides that the content is offensive (think "Relax" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood), or for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I can still remember there being a list of songs not suitable to be played on the radio during the first Gulf War in 1990/91. That list included songs such as "Give Peace A Chance" by Plastic Ono Band, with John Lennon and, possibly not suprisingly, "Killing An Arab" by The Cure.
There have of course been many other situations like this, but this is the one that sticks in my mind.

The main reason that i included "Urban Guerrilla" in this series of blog posts, was because of the controversary surrounding the song. That and also because it may well have some value as a rarity, because of its withdrawal from sale.

'Urban Guerrilla" can now be found on the re-issued version of the Hawkwind album "Doremi Fasol Latido" and on various compilations of the bands work.

Looking at the scribbling, that i did at the time, on the record sleeve i can tell you that i bought "Urban Guerrilla" on 19th September 1974. So, i didn't buy it at the time of its original release.
I did own at least one Hawkwind album by this time, so would have known about the song. I can only presume that i couldn't find the record, due to its being deleted so quickly?

It is not the only vinyl single that i still own by Hawkwind. I have three more, including the obligatory "Silver Machine". Which was the bands only real hit single and got to number 3 in the UK charts in 1972. My version, from 1972, even has a nice picture sleeve and i would probably have written about that record instead, if not for the aforementioned controversary.

The other two singles i still have are "Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear In Smoke)" from 1974 and "Kings of Speed" from 1975. "Kings Of Speed" has, as its B Side, the original version of the song "Motorhead". "Motorhead" was written by then bass player Ian "Lemmy" Kilminster, who went on to form the band "Motorhead", after being sacked from Hawkwind in 1975.


Even if you know nothing about Hawkwind, apart from what you've read here, the bands song titles may well give you some idea of what the band, who are still going, are all about. They have been called a "space rock" band, amongst other things and have their origins in the hippie era of the late 1960's.

I vividly remember seeing Hawkwind live a few times in the mid 1970's.
There is a track on their classic 1973 live album, "Space Ritual", called "Sonic Attack" written by the science fiction and fantasy author Michael Moorcock, who was a friend of the band. The title of that song sums up very well what a Hawkwind gig was like, especially back in those days.

For a young man, who was attending one of his first ever gigs, my first Hawwind concert was quite an initiation into the world of live music.
Hawkwind had a pretty revolutionary light show back then. They were also sometimes joined by a rather buxom young female dancer called Stacia. Stacia was renowned for taking all of her clothes off and dancing around the stage in a kind of musically induced trance. For some strange reason, this is something i remember very well!
Couple all of that with the wall of sound coming from the band on stage, in a small venue and it really was a complete audio/visual experience.

Hawkwind are one of those bands that command an almost fanatical following amongst their many fans, i know several myself. Forming in 1969 and still gigging and recording in 2012 means that they have now accumulated many legions of dedicated fans across the years.
Long may that continue.

The Day The World Turned Day-Glo by X-Ray Spex

"Some people say little girls should be seen and not heard. But I think, Oh Bondage Up Yours! 1-2-3-4!"

And so starts the first ever single from the punk band X-Ray Spex, "Oh Bondage Up Yours!".
Not a bad opening is it, especially as the final part was virtually screamed down the microphone by the bands singer Poly Styrene.
This is something that had a profound effect back in 1977, as young girls just weren't supposed to act like that. It could be argued that this was the start of what became known as "Girl Power".
Punk Rock opened up doors for many people, especially for women, who were at the forefront of that movement and have not looked back since.

By the time of their 2nd single "The Day The World Turned Dayglo", X-Ray Spex were well established within the UK Punk Rock scene. The single was released in March of 1978 and got to number 23 in the UK charts.
The B Side was a track called "I Am A Poseur", which contained the lyrics, "I am a poseur and i don't care. I like to make people stare". There certainly were a few poseurs around in those days and especially in 1978.

X-Ray Spex were formed after Poly Styrene (Real name Marianne Elliott) saw the Sex Pistols on Hastings Pier on 3rd July 1976, supporting the Welsh rock band Budgie would you believe? A day that just happened to be her 18th birthday. Like many people who saw the Sex Pistols in those early days, it changed her life.
X-Ray Spex quickly established themselves on the London Punk Rock scene, playing at the legendary Roxy club and appearing on the "Live At The Roxy" album released in July 1977.

The main reason that "The Day The World Turned Dayglo" has been included here though, is because of the colour of the actual vinyl itself.

As you can see, it is indeed Dayglo!

In my mind, one of the great things about this period in British music is the revival of the 45rpm single.
Yes, they'd been popular for many years, but the Punk era kick-started a revolution in cover art and coloured vinyl. The whole singles market was revitalised and new, independent record labels started springing up everywhere. Partly because the mainstream labels weren't interested in a lot of the new music being created, a whole new Do It Yourself culture was started.
Singles became collectors items, with limited edition releases containing many shades of coloured vinyl, or special picture sleeves. Apart from the new record labels, new artists and designers were emerging to produce all that new and exciting cover art. Once again, the ripples from that era are still being felt today.
There will be more coloured vinyl, cover art and new record labels featured in future blog posts.

X-Ray Spex only released one album Germ Free Adolescents, which came out in 1978 and the band split up in 1979. They did reform, albeit briefly, several times, most notably in 2008 when they performed a sell out gig at the Roundhouse, in London. But, no new music was ever released.

Poly Styrene settled in my home town of St Leonards On Sea and lived, literally, just around the corner from my house. She, very sadly, died of breast cancer in a local Hospice on 25th April 2011.
I wrote a blog post, "Oh Cancer, Up Yours!" about her death at the time.

I think it can be safely said, that without the emergence of the Punk Rock movement in the mid 1970's, bands such as X-Ray Spex would never have been given the opportunity to record and release their music to a wider record buying public.
And what a lesser place this world would be without that music.

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, is one of the most successful single releases in UK chart history and from one the UK's most successful bands too.
It has been number 1 twice and has sold very nearly 6 million copies overall. On both occasions it was number 1 at Christmas time. A feat that nobody else has managed.

"Bohemian Rhapsody", written by Freddie Mercury, was first released on 31st October 1975 and was number 1 for nine weeks. This is the version you see in the photo above.
It also featured on Queen's 4th studio album "A Night At The Opera", also released in 1975, just after "Bohemian Rhapsody".
The album "A Night At The Opera" was number in the UK for 4 weeks.

The B Side of "Bohemian Rhapsody" has also become well known in its own right. Written and sung by drummer Roger Taylor, "I'm In Love With My Car" was also a track from the "A Night At The Opera" album and has become a bit of a favourite amongst dedicated Queen fans.
Don't forget that the B Side of a single received the same amount of royalties as the A Side, so Roger Taylor has done well out of the sales of this original version.

The re-release of "Bohemian Rhapsody" in 1991, to commemorate the death of Freddie Mercury, had the track "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" coupled with it to make a double A sided single.
"These Are The Days Of Our Life" was credited to Queen, thereby sharing the royalties this time around.

Apparently, "Bohemian Rhapsody" was very nearly not released as a single at all back in 1975. Running at nearly 6 minutes, it was considered by EMI label executives to be too long for radio play and consequently was unlikely to be a hit. But, radio DJ Kenny Everett got hold of a copy and started playing it, getting a huge reaction from listeners. After that, it was only a matter of time before an official release happened.

The famous video of "Bohemian Rhapsody" was, i'm sure, a big factor in the success of the song. A pretty revolutionary idea at the time and one that is thought to have help kick start the whole video promo idea. It certainly had an effect on me and many other people at the time, as we'd not seen anything like it before.
Apparently the video was only made because the band realised that they wouldn't be able to appear on the tv show Top Of The Pops. They also weren't happy with having to mime such a complicated song either.
Give me that video over a band miming in a tv studio anyday.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" was not the first Queen single that i bought. I already had and still have, previous singles "Now I'm Here" and "Killer Queen". I remember hearing Queen's very first single "Keep Yourself Alive" on the radio back in 1973 and had followed their progress since then. Both via the radio and the weekly music press. For me, that was easily their best period, but i know that many might disagree with that?
I did buy several of their future singles releases, but not their albums. I don't think i've ever owned an album by Queen, i'm not sure why?
I think it may be due to the fact that Queen have never been a favourite band of mine. I have friends who rave about them, but they just never had the same effect on me. Don't get me wrong, they've released some great music, especially in those earlier days. But, for me, Queen have never quite touched the parts that other bands have managed to reach.

Although, on this occasion, i don't actually remember buying "Bohemian Rhapsody", i did get to see Queen live at a free concert in Hyde Park in the September of 1976. Only 9 months after it was number 1 in the charts.
I remember "Bohemian Rhapsody" being played at that gig, but seem to recall Queen playing it in parts throughout the show, rather than as a complete song. One thing i do remember though is Brian May's guitar playing on "Brighton Rock".
It was the only time i ever saw Queen live.
Amazingly enough, i have just come across video footage of that entire 1976 gig! The wonders of the Internet eh? The quality isn't very good, but what do you expect?

As for other personal memories of the band Queen?
Well, for those of us who were lucky enough to see it, who can forget their appearance at Live Aid in July 1985? As i've said elsewhere, i wasn't a huge fan of the band, but what an epic performance that was. It still looks good today and could serve as a lesson in crowd control and participation to any aspiring frontman, or woman out there today.

Then, of course, there's that scene in the movie Wayne's World, which i'm sure brought "Bohemian Rhapsody" to the attention of a whole new group of potential fans.

There aren't that many songs that have managed to span the decades and have the same effect as "Bohemian Rhapsody, has. Like so many of those songs from the 1970's, it still sounds great today.

Not bad for a song that was thought to be too long to be a single, or a hit.
What do "the suits" know eh?

Trampled Under Foot by Led Zeppelin

Rock bands don't come much bigger than Led Zeppelin and at the time that this single came out they were easily the biggest band in the world.

As many people may well know, Led Zeppelin didn't release any official singles in the UK. They did release some in the USA and elsewhere, but not in the UK.
So, where did this one come from then?

"Trampled Under Foot" is taken from the bands 6th album "Physical Graffiti", which was released in 1975. The B Side of this single, "Black Country Woman", is also taken from the same album.
The single was released on Led Zeppelin's own "Swan Song" record label.

This piece from Wikipedia gives a clue as to how the "Trampled Under Foot" single came to be released in the UK.
"There were several pressings made of "Trampled Under Foot" as a single in 1975 in time for the band's Earls Court concerts (in May of 1975), but they were all shelved before being released"
As you can see from the photo above, it says "Special Limited Edition" on the record sleeve, which tends to back this up.

Those gigs at Earls Court were part of the tour celebrating the release of the "Physical Graffiti" album.
I was lucky enough to go to one of those dates at Earls Court. I don't know which night it was now, but i do remember that it was a great gig. As it happens, one of the songs that stood out for me on the night and that i can still remember it being played, was "Trampled Under Foot". For the record, others include "Kashmir" and "In My Time Of Dying", all tracks from "Physical Graffiti".

I was also lucky enough to see Led Zeppelin again, at one of their shows at Knebworth in 1979.
I thought the Earls Court gig was better by the way.
Age does have its benefits sometimes you know.

Once again, i can remember where i bought my copy of "Trampled Under Foot". This time it was in a dedicated record shop called "Whites". Another shop which has now, sadly,  bitten the dust. "Whites" will, however, feature in some more of these blog posts in the future.

I was a regular customer there around this time and knew the owners well. Hence the fact that i got to buy this single in the first place.
I remember going into the shop and one of the owners showing me a copy of "Trampled Under Foot'. Being a big fan of the band, i asked if i could buy it. I was told that, as it was rare and really just a promotional single, he could only sell it to me if i bought a Led Zeppelin album.
I don't recall what i bought, but i got my copy of "Trampled Under Foot" and if memory serves me correct, it only cost me 50 pence?

Looking on the back of the record sleeve, i can tell you that i bought "Trampled Under Foot' on 31st May 1975, which was after the Earls Court gigs. I can also tell you that it was the 221st single that i bought.
Back in those days i used to write certain dates and facts on the record sleeves and i'm now very glad that i did.

Led Zeppelin have always been one of my favourite bands and i still play their music regularly, both at home and on the radio. Although it all tends to be on CD, or even an mp3 these days.

The "Trampled Under Foot" single is the only music by Led Zeppelin that i still have on vinyl. I used to have most of their albums and even a couple of U.S singles on vinyl. But, in common with many other people, i sold much of my vinyl collection, especially my LP's, some years ago now.
A major cause for regret, but....

For me, Led Zeppelin's music still stands the test of time and sounds as good as just about anything that has been produced since.
I don't see my opinion about that changing anytime soon.

Anarchy In The UK by Sex Pistols

After my post yesterday which talked about a day that changed my life in some ways. Here is a record that changed many people's lives and could even be argued to have changed the face of music and much else besides.

"Anarchy In The UK" wasn't the first Punk Rock single to be released, in the UK, back in those heady days of 1976 and 1977, but it was certainly the most influential.
The honour of being the first Punk Rock single probably goes to The Damned and their first release "New Rose", which came out about a month earlier. I will more than likely talk about "New Rose" at a later date, as it's still a big favourite of mine.

"Anarchy In The UK' was released on the EMI label on 26th November 1976 and reached number 38 in the UK charts. It was produced by Chris Thomas. But, the B Side of the single "I Wanna Be Me" was produced by Dave Goodman. I don't think that happened very often?
Both songs are credited to, in my mind anyway, the classic line up of Sex Pistols: Rotten, Jones, Matlock and Cook.
To be honest, i was never much of a fan of Sid Vicious, who joined after Matlock left the band in 1977 and i do get a little annoyed when Sid is mentioned above Glen Matlock most of the time. Especially when it was Glen Matlock who wrote most of the early and classic music that Sex Pistols produced.

Once again, i can remember buying "Anarchy In The UK" and once again, it was from 'Standens' in Tonbridge high street.
For some reason i didn't buy the single when it was first released. I'm not sure why, as i was well aware of the band and their music at that time. I was a voracious reader of the weekly music papers, especially Sounds and the NME. So, i knew all about this new musical movement called Punk Rock. In fact the NME is even mentioned in the lyrics of "Anarchy In The UK".
What i do know though is that i bought the single for only 40pence. It had been reduced in price, probably because of it's low chart position and was in a bargain bin!
It certainly was a bargain, as the single was deleted not long afterwards (see below for the reasons) and is now worth some money because of its rarity. I don't know how much it's worth, as i have no intention of selling it anyway.
At one time i thought i had lost my copy of "Anarchy In The UK", as i couldn't find it in my big box of vinyl singles. But, thankfully, it turned up recently in another box with some other of my rarer vinyl 45's. Phew!

Sex Pistols were dropped from EMI records in early 1977, after the all the "Filth and the fury" and the aftermath of the now infamous Bill Grundy interview on Thames TV on 1st December 1976.
I remember that interview well, although i didn't actually see it at the time.
I was at work and in another section of the building where i worked, when a young work colleague, who had seen the interview, rushed up and told me all about it. He obviously knew i'd be interested, which i was.

I think it can safely be said, that if you didn't know about this new thing called Punk Rock before 1st December 1976, you most certainly did on 2nd December 1976.

The rest, as they say, is history and what a history it is.

That period certainly changed my life, possibly because of my age? I was 18 in 1976.
Music was a huge part of that change, as it was a time when i probably bought more records than i have ever done since. Most of those records were 45rpm vinyl singles, like "Anarchy In The UK".
I even paid full price for most of them too.

Hot Love by T. Rex

What better place to start than with the very first single that i ever bought.

I was a big fan of T. Rex and they were the first band that i really got into. In fact their previous single "Ride A White Swan" is one of the first songs that had a real effect on me. I can still remember hearing "Ride A White Swan" for the first time in a youth club, probably the local YMCA.
I even made a YouTube video about the song a couple of years ago.
As i said in that video, when "Ride A White Swan" came out i could't afford to buy it.

If you look at the photo of "Hot Love" at the top of this page, the cover has a date on it, 13.3.71. That was the day that i bought that single.
I can still remember the name of the shop that i bought that single in too. It was called "Standens" and was an ordinary electrical retailer, that just happened to have a small record counter at the back of the store. As so many did back in those days.
I was a regular record buying customer there for several years and i suspect that many of the vinyl singles that will appear in this blog were bought there.

That date on the cover, 13th March 1971, was a pretty significant one for me, as it was actually my 13th birthday.
So, one of the first things that i did as a teenager was to go out and buy my very first record. My life changed in more than one way on that momentous day.

"Hot Love" was T.Rex's very first number one single. The first of many over the coming few years.
It was number one in the UK charts for 6 weeks between March and April of 1971. A fact also written onto the record cover by myself, all those years ago.

"Hot Love" was released on the Fly record label, as were many of their singles and albums. The catalogue number is "Bug 6".
The B Side of the single contained the songs: "Woodland Rock" and "The King Of The Mountain Cometh". All tracks were written by Marc Bolan, who sadly died in 1977, just short of his 30th birthday.

As well as "Hot Love', i bought all of T. Rex's subsequent releases until 1973, when their hot streak of classic single releases stopped, or at least slowed down. Unfortunately, "Hot Love" is the only one that i still own. For some long forgotten reason, i got rid of all of the others. Something i very much regret now.
If only....

Rather ironically, "Hot Love" is now my least favourite of all those classic T. Rex singles.
For me at least it hasn't aged as well as all those other subsequent number one singles. That bit at the end just goes on for far too long in my opinion. Even the earlier "Ride A White Swan" sounds better to me in 2012 than "Hot Love". Mind you, 1971 was a long time ago now and tastes change over the years don't they?

As if to emphasise the impact that T. Rex had on my young life, my first ever album purchase was also a T. Rex album. Albeit a cheap compilation album of earlier material, the name of which i have forgotten. Most of it recorded under the name of 'Tyrannosaurus Rex'. That album is yet another record that i no longer own.

And so begins a personal musical journey.
Where to next i wonder?