The Glitter Band V's The Stiffs

Unfortunately I won't be joining my beautiful and talented wife on her (now shortened) research tour of the US and she flew out today. So this post is for Dr E who is flying above the Pacific Ocean as I create this post - Love You Baby!! Have a safe and successful trip.

The Glitter Band were named due to their association with glam idol Gary Glitter. They were formed in 1972 to support Glitter's first major concert tour and would ironically become almost as successful, although much less infamous, as Gary Glitter himself.

The band did not play on any of Glitter's hits, but accompanied him on his tours and television appearances until 1976, when Gary Glitter announced his retirement. The Glitter Band also scored six Top Ten hits of their own in the UK.


The Stiffs formed in 1977, a bunch of 15 year old schoolkids, and briefly signed to Stiff Records in January 1981 for this posted one-off single 'Goodbye My Love'. Although the track received good radio airplay, it missed out on bothering the Top 50 charts.

With no label support, The Stiffs broke up in 1988, but reformed in 1999 to support the release of a compilation CD. Since that time the band have had an on-again off-again existence.


For my money this is a classic case where the cover version of a song is much better than the original, but you can make up your own mind. The Stiffs' version comes from the excellent "All Covered In Punk" compilation, well worth checking out if you like punk bands and cover versions.


The Glitter Band - Goodbye My Love

The Stiffs - Goodbye My Love


Do you like these tunes? Then why not support the artists (and my blogging habit) by buying some music. Check out these links:-

The Smokin' Eldorados and Shanghai Sisters (Bands from Perth, Australia)

I only managed to get to one gig while in Perth this time, at the
Hyde Park Hotel front bar. It sounds like The Hydeys' future is still not certain, so if you live in Perth go and support the venue and the bands that play there.

The first band I saw was the cute girly three piece that is the Shanghai Sisters. They have a country-fied sound, with a nod to Rockabilly stylings, and strong vocal harmonies based around guitar and drums and played a good set well supported by the bar staff (who kept sending drinks their way) and camera toting punters and less well supported by a lone, drunken heckler - who they wisely ignored.

But the headliners for the evening were The Smokin' Eldorados. Lead by local legends Rodney Radalj (aka Roddy Rayda) (who has played in bands including The Scientists, The Rockets, le Hoodoo Gurus and The Dubrovniks) and Matthew de la Hunty (of Tall Tales and True fame) sharing guitar and vocal duties and with a strong rhythm section of Laurie Sinagra on bass (Laurie also has a long history as a sound engineer, having worked with Jebediah, Downsyde, Dom Mariani, Sodastream, Gyroscope and Turnstyle amongst many others, including my two bands As Is and The Hoovers) and Tim Bates on drums. Laurie was also asked to stand in on bass only 2 weeks before this gig, and managed to buy a bass and learn all of the songs within that short time frame - Go Laurie!!

As soon as the band started there was a surge from the crowd to the "stage" (which is actually at floor level at The Hydey) and the band were obviously (and understandably) well liked and supported. The set was an interesting mix of blues rock, pop, country and soul and was occasionally reminiscent of a tamer Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (with less posturing and theremin). The band really hit the mark when Rod and Matt were playing off each other, sharing guitar and vocal leads and they seemed to moved into free form jams every now and again giving each other ample opportunity to play as Laurie and Tim maintained the foundations.

The demo mp3 I have posted below is missing something in comparison to the version they played live (and it's not only the bass). Keep an eye out for these guys, cos they are in the process of recording their first album together.

Laurie and Matt have also been working together on the film Greenhead.


The Smokin Eldorados - Where The Highway Ends


Do you like these tunes? Then why not support the artists (and my blogging habit) by buying some music. Check out these links:-

Perthection

To continue the celebration of returning to Perth and posting music from my home town, here's a repost.

Sadly my old buddy from The Hoovers didn't turn up to the party, so there were no Hoovers tracks, no Boss Hoss. But John from The Volcanics did get up for a few songs, including Teenage Kicks, which was fun.

This mix is of Perth bands from the 1970's through to the end of the millenia, when I had already left Perth and moved to Sydney. This mix moves from punk to pub rock, surf instros to post-punk, guitar pop and more. This is only the surface of some of the great music that has come from, and continues to be created in, Perth - the world's most isolated city.

Most of these bands I saw live, many I saw numerous times, some I just liked, others I played in, or played gigs with. But it will give you an idea of how vibrant the Perth music scene was. Check out the links if you want to find out more about any of these bands.


As Is
The Bamboos
Chads Tree
Dave Warner’s From The Suburbs
Deb
Diddywah Hoodaddys
DM3
The Early Hours
The Feends
Flanders
Helicopters
The Holy Rollers
The Hoovers
The Jackals
Kno Matter
The Kryptonics
The Manikins
The Marigolds
Martha’s Vineyard
The Neptunes
Rabbits Wedding
Rhythm Method
The Rockets
The Scientists
The Stems
Superscope
The Triffids
The Victims
The Waltons
Tune Bureau
Valvolux
Verona
Wormfarm


For those of you who don't want to download this zip file, here are a couple of tracks from bands I played in last millenia.

As Is - Count To Ten

The Hoovers - I'm An Addict


Perthection
(this is the link to a zip file containing a song from all of the bands listed above)


Do you like these tunes? Then why not support the artists (and my blogging habit) by buying some music. Check out these links:-

The Red Parrot - The Attic Tapes (Bands from Perth, Australia)

To continue the celebration of returning to Perth and posting music from my home town, here's a post of a compilation only ever released on cassette and of which I may have one of the few copies available.

The Red Parrot was the place to be seen (or should that be scene?) in Perth in the early to mid 1980's.

If my memory serves me right, these recordings were made at The Red Parrot over two nights, Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May, 1986.

As well as being the best night club in Perth (ever?), it supported the local original music scene at a time when most of the pubs were only letting cover bands play. See the Kno Matter track "Playing Covers" for an obvious reference to this phenomenon. The Red Parrot was also the venue where many national and international bands played.

I haven't even had the time to break these tracks up, so here you have side A and side B of the cassette. The track listing is:-

The Red Parrot - The Attic Tapes

Side A
The Holy Rollers - Afraid
Homecoming - Compromise
The Waltons - My Husband Beats Me
The Moment - G Dead
The Marigolds - Down By The River

Side B
Erol H Tout - The Sound Of Swimming
Kno Matter - Playing Covers
Greenhouse Effect - Rhyme Without Reason
The Kryptonics - Trapped Inside


The Attic Tapes
(this is the link to a zip file containing a song from all of the bands listed above)

Do you like these tunes? Then why not support the artists by buying some music. Check out these links:-

Perth Cover Versions

I am about to head home to Perth to visit my family and friends for a few weeks. To celebrate I am posting a very rare collection of cover versions of songs by Perth bands, or of Australian bands containing members from Perth.

Don’t forget to check out the links for more information on these bands and also the opportunity to hear even more great tunes from them.

Artist - Track (Original Artist)

The Church - Wide Open Road (The Triffids)

Fourstroke - No Dying in the Dark (The Bakery)

The Goo Goo Dolls - Don't Change (INXS)

Henry Rollins & The Hard Ons - Let There Be Rock (AC/DC)

Hunchbacks - Virginia (The Bamboos)

Insanity Wave - Can´t Forget That Girl (The Stems)

Kylie Minogue & Jimmy Little - Bury Me Deep In Love (The Triffids)

The Living End - Leilani (The Hoodoo Gurus)

The M-16's - Television Addict (The Victims)

The Monomen - Swampland (The Scientists)

Mudhoney - We Had Love (The Scientists)

P76 - At First Sight (The Stems)

Pyramidiacs - Don't Talk About Us (The Someloves)

Something For Kate - Harpoon (Jebediah)

Spiderbait - My Girl (The Hoodoo Gurus)

The Volcanics - Snuff (The Bamboos)


For those of you who don't want to download this zip file, here are a couple of tracks from a couple of my favourite Perth bands covering their favourite Perth band.

The Volcanics - Snuff

The M-16’s - Television Addict


Perth cover versions
(this is the link to a zip file containing the songs listed above)


Do you like these tunes? Then why not support the artists (and my blogging habit) by buying some music. Check out these links:-

Mono and World's End Girlfriend

Last week we were lucky enough to witness the calming destruction that was Mono live when they played at The Zoo in Brisbane, what a great gig.

We arrived just as World's End Girlfriend began his lap top performance with guitar. Seated in the middle of the stage at a table overloaded with said lap top, guitar effects, mixers and other such electronica which contained his pre-recorded music, Katsuhiko Maeda occassionally played along to the atmospheric soundscapes he had prepared earlier. It was a nice performance of some very interesting music - but I'm a bit of an old school "cause and effect" type of guy and like to see my live music actually played live; this has always been my problem with lap top performances. So for me although I found the music to be very interesting and complex, and in its own right quite impressive, I felt that the performance lacked something.

However, Mono took the stage and began by lulling the audience with a soft and gentle classical introduction which soon erupted into sonic mayhem. Played live this constant movement between the soothing and the explosive, which is what much of the post rock genre and Mono is all about, is very effective. The girl next to me (we were very near to the stage and the speakers) was constantly being shocked by the level of volume and was covering her head with her hands, all rather amusing. My ears were ringing for days, but it was an excellent performance. Although there was no interaction between the band and the audience, Mono let the behemoth that is their music speak for itself. Woo Hoo!! I say.


Mono - Finlandia

World's End Girlfriend - Caroling Hellwalker


Do you like these tunes? Then why not support the artists (and my blogging habit) by buying some music. Check out these links:-