mott the hoople, ian hunter has my book, kid congo & the pink monkey birds, a tale of semi-senile post-goth stage diving, ben ramble, magnetic fields, blossom toes, the truth behind that easy listening hawaiian facade...
www.wrecklessericradio.com
Friday, June 10, 2011
Wreckless Eric Radio Show #33 (click to tune in)
mott the hoople, ian hunter has my book, kid congo & the pink monkey birds, a tale of semi-senile post-goth stage diving, ben ramble, magnetic fields, blossom toes, the truth behind that easy listening hawaiian facade...
www.wrecklessericradio.com
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12 comments:
i have to say.. you are a national treasure eric..
Happy days.
Sunday - Wreckless Radio, Desert Island Discs, pub...
Please keep 'em coming, Eric, the shows are very much appreciated.
Eric, there is nothing to complain about. Even if you would only talk and play no music at all it would be a great show.
I tell you a secret, I'm here to hear you talk and it would be great if you would read your book on this radio show or on any other.
Please fink about it!
Thanks for your support. I'm working on National Treasure status but I think I'm still only at Living Legend for the moment.
I did read a few extracts from my now out of print and possibly Hunter endorsed book but I don't think anyone could tell the difference between that and me just talking. And since I left my reading glasses round at our friend Alison's place and then another pair at my mum's, and got another pair that make everything sort of druggy and curvaceous (but not in a pleasant way) I don't quite trust myself with reading.
Be careful about attaining National Treasure status, Eric. These are tough times for National Treasures.
Are you sure the Kid Congo stage divers didn't just have a balance problem? Often happens when you get older. . .
Good point, could have been balance problems. But definitely sliding spectacle syndrome. And a twitch, a bit like a rabbit but not quite as cute (to use an American word there). I think he was quite naturally a bit nervous having momentarily lost contact with his zimmerframe, not to mention the mother ship. But his mates rallied round, got him down and they all hobbled off to safety.
Eric, I'm curious about your opinion of the Ian Dury biopic. It didn't get a theatrical release in America, but is now showing up on cable TV. Looks like Andy Serkis does a pretty remarkable job of impersonating Ian, but the description makes it sound a bit dire:
This drama is the rollicking true story of Ian Dury (Andy Serkis), a British man afflicted with polio in his youth who defied expectations and limits to become one of the founders of punk rock in the 1970's. Olivia Williams and Ray Winstone costar in this inspiring musical biography.
I'm left wondering what the verb 'to costar' means, and apart from that I have to say that I mistrust the word 'rollicking' in any context. Also the allusion to punk - Ian has been called the Godfather of Punk on the strength of wearing an earring with a razor blade (blunt designer version) hanging off it, for the fact that Johnny Rotten went to see the Kilburns, and for becoming successful in the magical year of punk 1977. I can find no other reasons to join Ian to punk apart from him being on the same label as The Damned for five minutes. The Damned were kicked off the label, and Ian got a gold record thanks in great part to his ex Pink Floyd management team Peter Jenner and Andrew King. Not much punk in that story.
Other than that I have to admit that I haven't seen the film because I'm afraid I might find it upsetting, but from what I've seen in the way of trailers Andy Serkis does a better impersonation than Phill Jupitus but he still isn't really Ian. I don't think I like biopics. I know I saw one that I liked recently but I can't remember what it was so I couldn't have liked it that much.
The Ian biopic was on cable at 3 AM the other night. I recorded it, but haven't watched the whole thing yet.
The opening scene, which I assume is supposed to be "surreal," shows Ian and band practicing in the living room while his wife gives birth in the bedroom. They got Peter Blake to do little animations that link the scenes together. Lots of time spent on his relationship with Denise Roudette (kind of like the Ian Curtis biopic actually). I imagine it could be a painful experience for someone who was actually there. Outside of his band members like Chaz Jankel, I don't think they portray a lot of other performers in the film. (If a character called Feckless Derek shows up, I'll let you know.) (Name changed for legal reasons.)
You bring up a point I've often wondered about. Stiff Records is often referred to as a "punk" label, at least in the States. I've always thought that was a weird idea since so many of the original performers were guys who been kicking around the pub rock scene for ages. The BUNCH OF STIFFS sampler includes not only yourself, but also Nick Lowe, Graham Parker, Dave Edmunds and Motorhead! No punks in any of that group. You and Elvis Costello were younger, but neither one of you is a "punk."
Although Stiff later did sign Tracey Ullman, who's as punk rock as they come.
I've always heard a lot of music hall influence in Ian. Not sure if it's direct or just something he might have picked up from growing up in England in the fifties.
Tracy Ullman - saviour of punk! You're right about Stiff Records - they were all pub rock leftovers, even Elvis Costello who aspired to being Nick Lowe in Brinsley Schwartz and had a pub rock wannabe outfit called Flip City. There was really only me, the Damned, the Yachts and the Adverts who didn't have a pub rock problem. But quite often the potted histories get it wrong and put me down as pub rock. I never played on the pub circuit until I was at least half way down the slippery slope.
And Ian was hugely into music hall. Comes of spending part of his childhood encased in an iron lung and listening to the Light Programme (which is what BBC Radio Two used to be called before it was hip and groovy.
Absolutely fascinating responses, Eric. Thank you.
I was an American teenager during the heyday of Stiff, so my knowledge of the label is a bit spotty. (Some of the performers were on different labels in the US. Elvis Costello was on Columbia, for instance.)
To this date, LIVE STIFFS is one of my favorite live albums. (I've also heard a recording of Elvis Costello in Leicester as part of the Live Stiffs Live tour where he plays "Whole Wide World" in your honor, as you were apparently sick that evening.)
I hear Ian's music hall influence really strongly in a song like "Billericay Dickie" which sounds like something that might have been written years earlier.
And of course, Joe Strummer is proof that you can overcome a pub rock past and still be accepted as a punk rocker.
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