Gone But Not Forgotten

Gone But Not Forgotten! The Fabulous POLY STERENE And X-RAY SPEX (1976-1979)

Posted on by JL

Great bands from the past

One of the most genuine Brit punk bands of
the late ’70s was, unquestionably, X-RAY SPEX.

School friends Marianne Joan Elliott-Saidn, loudmouth Poly Styrene, and
Susan Whitby, saxophonist Lora Logic, started the group in 1976 and made
an instant intense impact on London’s punk scene with loud and clear feminist
punk manifestos, but they also ranted about the consumer society, environment
issues and other essential daily life problems.

They sounded amazing, they looked amazing and they
made an amazing debut LP with Germ Free Adolescents.

By 1979 Styrene left the band an did some solo work and
later X-Ray Spex had some reunion shows, but in 2011 Poly
was diagnosed with breast cancer. She didn’t survive the
cruel attack on her body. She was only 53. R.I.P.

Three great X-Ray moments.

– THE DAY THE WORLD TURNED DAY GLO –

– IDENTITY –

– OH BONDAGE! UP YOURS! –
(Saxy live version. ACE!)

Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard
But I think “oh bondage, up yours!”
One-two-three-four!
Bind me, tie me, chain me to the wall
I wanna be a slave to you all
Oh bondage, up yours
Oh bondage, no more

X-RAY SPEX: Story

Gone But Not Forgotten – JOHN TOVEY Aka FAT GADGET (1956-2002)

Posted on by JL

Great artists from the past

27 March 2023

Artist: FAD GADGET
Who: The stage name of London’s
post-punk maverick Frank Tovey.

Albums: 4 under the Fad Gadget moniker
and 6 under his own name.
Full discography: here.

For all intents and purposes, Frank Tovey was best known as the man behind Fad Gadget, one of the most significant cult acts of the post-punk boom. As Fad Gadget, Tovey and his revolving door of conspirators released several singles and four full-length albums that stretched the boundaries of pop music during the late ’70s and early ’80s. And after Tovey started making records under his own name in the mid-’80s, he continued to remain as unpredictable as ever, working within the realms of Cajun, blues, and folk, in addition to furthering his journey into experimental electronics. – All Music.

Tovey was born on 8 September 1956. He died of
a heart attack on 3 April 2002, only 45. R.I.P.

Three great FAD GADGET moments.

– COLLAPSING NEW PEOPLE –
(From the 1984 ‘Gag’ album)

– KING OF THE FLIES –
(From ‘Incontinent’ album.
Live in Manchester 1984)

– LADYSHAVE –
(B-side from 1981 single Make Room)

All FAD GADGET SINGLES.

.
FAD GADGET: Story

(Image on top: cover of his ‘Gag’ LP)

Gone But Not Forgotten! THE TEARDROP EXPLODES

Posted on by JL

Great bands from the past

21 March 2023

Band: TEARDROP EXPLODES
Who: Post-punk pop group from Liverpool formed in 1978
with genial eccentric Julian Cope as the orchestrator.

Active: 1978-1982
Albums: Kilimanjaro (1980), Wilder (1981)
and Everybody Wants to Shag… The Teardrop Explodes
with material recorded in the middle of the 1982 split,
but not released until 1990.

1-2-3 top tracks.

– REWARD –
Single from debut LP – #6 on the UK Charts

– TREASON –
3rd single from debut LP – #18 on UK Charts

– PASSIONATE FRIEND –
Single from ‘Wilder’ – #25 on UK Charts

TEARDROP EXPLODES: History

(Band image: the cover of debut LP ‘Kilimanjaro’)

Gone But Not Forgotten! WILLY DEVILLE (1950-2009)

Posted on by JL

13 March 2023

Artist: WILLY DEVILLE
Who: Celebrated singer-songwriter, born William Paul Borsey Jr.
in Stamford, Connecticut on 25 August 1950. He’s best known as
frontman of his band Mink DeVillle, but he also had a succesful
solo career after that band broke-up. He passed away on 6 August
2009, only 58, due to pancreatic cancer.

With the release of debut album Cabretta in 1977 critics put him
in the ‘new wave’ category just because these were the years of, well,
new wave. He had nothing to see whatsoever with that label. He was
a rock and soul man at heart, adding Latin rhythms, blues riffs, doo-wop,
and Cajun music to his grand work

That effervescent cocktail, his high-quality songwriting talent, his
vivacious live shows (I saw a couple of them) and last but not least
his impassioned voice made him really special.

Active: 1968-2009 / 6 LPs with Mink Deville and 10 solo

DeVille told an interviewer at one point: “I have a theory.
I know that I’ll sell much more records when I’m dead. It isn’t
very pleasant, but I have to get used to this idea.”

Bob Dylan: “DeVille stood out, his voice and presentation
ought to have gotten him in there (Rock and Roll of Fame)
by now.”

Three top live moments.

– SPANISH STROLL –
(Sweaty version in Montreux 1982)

– LOVE AND EMOTION –
(Pinkpop Festival, The Netherlands 1985)

– HEAVEN STOOD STILL –
(Goosebumps – Berlin 2002)

WILLY DEVILLE: Story

 

Gone But Not Forgotten! Australian Indie Band THE TRIFFIDS 1978-1989

Posted on by JL

Great bands from the past

8 March 2023

Band: THE TRIFFIDS

Who: Australian alt-rock band formed in 1978 by singer/songwriter
David McComb, his brother Robert, and drummer Alsy MacDonald.
McComb‘s songs were influenced by the total bleakness of his rural
upbringing resulting in songs of solitude and yearning desire.

McComb‘s life already ended at the age of 36 (on 2 February 1999), due
to heroin toxicity and complications following his 1996 heart transplant.


R.I.P.

Active 1978–1989

Albums:
1983: Treeless Pain
1986: Born Sandy Devotional
1986: In The Pines
1987: Calenture
1989: The Black Swan

Turn Up The Volume‘s 1-2-3 top Triffids moments…

– WIDE OPEN ROAD –

– A TRICK OF THE LIGHT –

– FAIRYTALE LOVE –

THE TRIFFIDS: History

Gone But Not Forgotten! THE SOUND 1979-1988

Posted on by JL

One-two-three remarkable moments from remarkable bands from the past

26 February 2023

British post-punk band THE SOUND was formed by its singer-songwriter
ADRIAN BORLAND in 1979 after he called it a day with his previous band
The Outsiders. They emerged amidst a flood of post-punk bands like Joy
Division, The Cure, Gang Of Four, Teardrop Explodes, Bauhaus, Echo &
The Bunnymen, Magazine, and many more.

Tough competition if you want to shine. Probably one of the reasons they
operated much of their time in the shadows of the giants. But also the lack
of much-deserved support from the press and record industry, plus drug
problems and a not caring entourage turned them into one of the most
underrated bands ever.

The group broke up in 1998, leaving five albums behind. The immensely
sensible, vulnerable, and psychologically troubled Adrian Borland who
suffered from schizoaffective disorder started a solo career with more
downs than ups. Slowly but surely he sank into a deep black hole. He
took his own life in 1999, only 41. R.I.P.

1-2-3 memorable The Sound moments…

– NEW DARK AGE –
(Momentous live version)

– I CAN’T ESCAPE MYSELF –

I’m sick and I’m tired
Of reasoning;
Just want to break out,
Shake off this skin
I can’t escape myself…

– TOTAL RECALL –

THE SOUND: History – All Albums

Gone But Not Forgotten – ULTRAVOX! (Original Line-Up With JOHN FOXX)

Posted on by JL

Great bands from the past

19 February 2023


ULTRAVOX!

I’m quite sure that the masses think that Vienna boys outfit Ultravox led by Casanova
Midge Ure was the band’s original line-up. Wrong. The band formed in 1974 in London named Tiger Lily at first, but became quickly Ultravox! (with exclamation mark) led
by charismatic singer/songwriter John Foxx (in the middle on the cover of their debut album on top) who definitely was a huge Roxy Music fan.

The new wavers’ two LPs (Ultravox! and Ha! Ha! Ha!) had that early
glam and glitter Rpxy-ness and their appetite for sexy, provocative,
and razzle-dazzle pop/rock in look, vision, and music.

Foxx left in 1979 to pursue a solo career. It was then that
Midge Ure took over and the band became a cheesy but
very popular pop group.

Three great Ultravox!John Foxx moments…

– ROCKWROK –

– HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR –

– MY SEX –

ULTRAVOX: Biography

Gone But Not Forgotten! SUGAR (Bob Mould Band) 1992-1995

Posted on by JL

Great alternative bands from the past

17 February 2023

Band: SUGAR
Who: Riff-loaded noise trio led by Bob Mould
Active: 1992-1995
Albums: Copper Blue (1992) and
File Under: Easy Listening (1994)

After frontman Bob Mould left legendary group Hüsker Dü in 1988 he went
on a solo trip and canned two LPs. After his label dropped him, he recorded a
demo tape with over thirty songs for his new project Sugar with David Barbe
and Malcolm Travis.

The band was named by Mould after he spotted … a sugar packet on the table
in a restaurant. Their journey lasted only for 3 years. I saw them live once, when
they played in my home country (Belgium) in the 90s. It was a deafening assault
on my ears that kept ringing for several days

Three great Sugar moments…

– YOU’RE FAVORITE THING –
(From ‘File Under: Easy Listening‘)

– A GOOD IDEA –
(From ‘Copper Blue‘)

– THE ACT WE ACT –
(From ‘Copper Blue)

SUGAR: Story

Gone But Not Forgotten! The Fabulous POLY STERENE And X-RAY SPEX

Posted on by JL

15 February 2023

One of the most genuine Britpunk bands of
the late ’70s was, unquestionably, X-RAY SPEX.

School friends Marianne Joan Elliott-Saidn, loudmouth Poly Styrene, and
Susan Whitby, saxophonist Lora Logic, started the group in 1976 and made
an instant intense impact on London‘s punk scene with loud and clear feminist
punk manifestos, but they also ranted about our consumer society, environment
issues and other essential daily life problems.

They sounded amazing, they looked amazing and they
made an amazing debut LP with Germ Free Adolescents.

By 1979 Styrene left the band an ddid some solo work and
later X-Ray Spex had some reunion shows, but in 2011 Poly
was diagnosed with breast cancer. She didn’t survive the
cruel attack on her body. She was only 53. R.I.P.

Three great X-Ray moments.

– THE DAY THE WORLD TURNED DAY GLO –

– IDENTITY –

– OH BONDAGE! UP YOURS! –
(Saxy live version. ACE!)

Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard
But I think “oh bondage, up yours!”
One-two-three-four!
Bind me, tie me, chain me to the wall
I wanna be a slave to you all
Oh bondage, up yours
Oh bondage, no more

X-RAY SPEX: Story

Gone But Not Forgotten! THE ASSOCIATES (1979-1990)

Posted on by JL

Great artists/bands from the past

10 February 2023

Band: THE ASSOCIATES
Who: Scottish post-punk and art-pop duo featuring
otherwordly voice and songwriter Billy Mackenzie
and guitarist Alan Rankine.

Active: 1979-1990 / 5 studio albums

Billy MacKenzie had a short solo career after the duo’s
split. He took his own life on 22 January 1997. Alan Rankine
died recently, on 3 January, only 64. R.I.P.

3 top tracks.

– WHITE CAR IN GERMANY –
(From compilation album ‘Fourth Drawer Down)

– THE AFFECTIONATE PUNCH –
(Title track from 1980 debut LP)

– PARTY FEARS TWO –
(From 2nd LP ‘Sulk’ – 1982)

THE ASSOCIATES: History – Discography

(Image on top: cover of compilation ‘Fourth Drawer Down’)