BLUNT INSTRUMENT

"No Excuse" (Diesel, 1978)


Robert Sandall (vocals/guitar), Bill Benfield (guitar), Ed Shaw (bass) and David Sinclair (drums) were the four men responsible for the excellent "No Excuse". Punk by numbers? ...maybe, but Blunt Instrument's blend of snottiness and melody was better than most of the competition. Not bad at all for a band who included two would-be journalists and a school teacher with roots in early 70's folk/prog rock.

For one of the reasons why "No Excuse" never propelled Blunt Instrument to the next level, you need only look at the picture sleeve. Perhaps it was that lack of 'image' that invited the flying cider bottle aimed at drummer David Sinclair at one performance in the summer of 1978. While attempting to dodge that missile, Sinclair fell off his drum stool and fractured his wrist, resulting in months of inactivity for the band. During that hiatus, Bill Benfield decided that teaching English would be a better career move. The rest recruited a new guitarist Nick Aldridge and re-christened themselves London Zoo.

London Zoo signed to the Edinburgh based label Zoom Records in 1979, releasing the great "Receiving End" (previously posted on Worthless Trash). After Bruce Findlay put Zoom to bed to concentrate on managing Simple Minds, London Zoo set up their own Gramaphone label for their next single. That single, "Who's Driving This Car" was a real DIY affair with stamped labels and no picture sleeve, and not to mention, very rare. They also recorded a session for Mike Read's Radio One show before calling it a day.

Post-London Zoo, Robert Sandall played with The Epsilons (a band featuring several members of another Zoom Records casualty, The Cheetahs) and David Sinclair later drummed for TV Smith's Explorers. Both Sandall and Sinclair later pursued careers in Journalism.

Blunt Instrument - No Excuse

AUTOGRAPHS

"While I'm Still Young" (RAK, 1978)


Autographs vocalist Chris Gent had spent much of the first half of the 70's as part of Mike Batt's backing band as well as fronting his own bands Pressure and The Mad Hatters. In 1975, The Mad Hatters backed Mike Batt on his "House Of The Clown" single. The following year they released two singles in their own right for Epic Records, the first one, "The Humphrey Song" (written and produced by Batt) was featured in a TV commercial for the Milk Marketing Board.

By 1977, Chris was working at Alaska Studios as a session musician as well as fronting short-lived punk band The Rage. The following year, backed by members of the Speedometors, he released a cover of "Judy In Disguise" under the band name Frank Xerox & The Copy Cats (recently posted on the 45 Revolutions blog) and later guested on the Radio Stars "Holiday Album", performing saxophone on several tracks.

After a short spell with the soon to implode Stukas, Chris Gent formed the Autographs along with Stukas guitarist Raggy Lewis. The band gigged around London in the summer of 1978, including several gigs at The Marquee and also appeared on the TV show Revolver. It was no coincidence that the producer of Revolver was Mickie Most, also label boss of RAK Records who had recently signed the Autographs. "While I'm Still Young" was to have been released to coincide with that TV appearance, but despite the existence of a one-sided acetate stamped with a release date of 11th August, no one was happy with the recording, so enter producers Tommy Boyce and Richard Hartley. Raggy Lewis explains...

The original "While I'm Still Young" was produced by Mickie Most. It was pretty much the arrangement that we played live, but Mickie wasn't happy with it. Martin Gordon of Radio Stars (a personal friend of Chris Gent) had a go at tweaking it, but it still didn't cut the mustard. Tommy Boyce and Richard Hartley were recruited and we recorded the same 'live' version at Olympic in Barnes. They sent us to the pub for a pint and, when we got back, they'd cut up our recording and stuck it together as a new (in my opinion far better) arrangement. They got us to record the new arrangement with a few extra bits and that is what got released.

As well polishing up the A-side of the single, Boyce and Hartley also managed to get the Autographs to bin the planned B-side in favour of a dated sounding glam/pop number which they had composed themselves... "Lonely Again" would have been the B-side but we were young and impressionable and were easily persuaded to record and release "Fabulous". On September 29th 1978, "While I'm Still Young" was finally released, but despite some decent press the single never troubled the charts.

After the Autographs split in late 1978, Chris Gent continued to take on session work for amongst others Speedometors, Secret Affair and Slaughter (& The Dogs). In 1980 he became vocalist in The Blue Meanies, a band formed by Martin Gordon of Radio Stars fame. The Blue Meanies recorded an album's worth of material but only released one single, the great "Pop Sensibility". Chris later joined The Records, singing on their 3rd LP "Music On Both Sides" and also played sax in a re-formed Radio Stars.

As for Raggy Lewis...

Following the demise of Autographs, I joined the remnants of Bazooka Joe as a bass player (a position once held by Adam Ant/Stuart Goddard) and we became Danny and the Nogoodniks - a wonderful art-school band with horn section, girl singers/dancers, slide show and much humour. We nearly signed to Island and played loads of London gigs but we drifted apart when Danny Kleinman started working in Hollywood (check the James Bond movie credits - he designs the opening credits). Since then I've been in The Four Is/Black Anglias, The Sobs, and now amuse myself as The Band Of Garrys.

The original Mickie Most produced version of "While I'm Still Young" was eventually released on an extremely limited 'lathe cut' 7" on Low Down Kids in 2005. I don't have one, so here's the equally good Boyce/Hartley version...

Autographs - While I'm Still Young

THE FEATURES

"Don't Let Them Know" (ASM, 1979)


The first of two singles by The Features, both on ASM Records. Any Features on other labels (Progress, Double D) are of course different bands. This particular Features previously traded under the name Sucker in a more punky direction before perfecting the 60's tinged powerpop sound of "She Makes Me Blue" in late 1979. The track posted here, "Don't Let Them Know" is the B-side and is preferred slightly, though both sides are winners.

The Features 2nd single "Monday - Friday" appeared a year later and is another good one. That track is featured on "Low Down Kids Companion Volume 2" which might still be available? (if so buy it, if only for "Have You Seen Gene" by Rouge!!). Neither single was officially released in a picture sleeve though some copies of "She Makes Me Blue" came with a photo insert (not mine, though there is a grainy picture of the band on the A-side label).

The Features - Don't Let Them Know

JOHNNY PALERMO

"Saturday Night" (Hans, 1978)


Maybe I should change that bit in the top right of this page to 'mostly from the UK and Belgium'? ...Looking at the sleeve above, you'd think that this is some dodgy Euro-disco record, when in fact "Saturday Night" is a total killer punk'n'roll number. Johnny Palermo actually scored a top 30 hit in Belgium with "Saturday Night", before following it up with another hit, "Silly Old Songs", which is good too, though not on the same level as this.

More recently, someone thought it would be a good idea to include "Saturday Night" on a "Killed By Death" compilation. Whoever compiled that particular volume must've shared the same vision as Worthless Trash and were in fact sticking two fingers up at the whole KBD concept. Also included on that comp were The Freshmen and Neville Wanker & The Punters.

All four sides of the two Johnny Palermo singles were written by brothers Robert and Rene Vlaeyen. The Vlaeyen's had played together in a band called The Bats, before Robert joined Anglo/Belgian pop outfit Octopus in the early 70's, a band who were managed by Rene. Octopus were fairly successful in Belgium and Holland. They were still active when the Johnny Palermo singles were recorded, so possibly the Vlaeyen's contributed more than just songwriting. As for Johnny Palermo himself? ...it's all a bit hazy?

Johnny Palermo - Saturday Night

THE FADERS

"Library Book" (Rip Off, 1979)


One of the most satisfying things about doing this is when bands/artists take an interest in what I'm doing. Especially when there has only previously been vague info available. Chris Tweed, once guitarist with The Faders recently left a comment elsewhere on Worthless Trash where I only briefly referred to his former band. He then followed it up with an email after I requested a little info. Not that I need an excuse to put the excellent "Library Book" on Worthless Trash.

The Faders were based in Ballymoney, in the north of Northern Ireland. Their only single "Cheatin'" / "Library Book" is one of the most sought after of all the late 70's records from Northern Ireland thanks to the great punk/powerpop of "Library Book". The line up that recorded the single was Paul 'Kipper' Dickson (lead vocals), Chris 'Cree' Tweed (guitar/vocals), Hugh 'Bamber' McIlfatrick (guitar/vocals), John Henry (bass) and Willis Beckett (drums).

The Faders played regularly at Spuds in Portstewart and elsewhere in the 'Golden Triangle' area in the north coast (Coleraine, Portrush etc), though Chris Tweed remembers one gig at an infamous Belfast venue...

I had a great time then, even the weekend The Faders played in the Harp Bar when we were auditioning for the film maker John Davis who was looking for bands to appear in "Shellshock Rock". The Harp Bar management 'provided' us with a support band called The Idiots and I remember having to tune their instruments for them. What a laugh. I thought we would get lynched because we weren't very punk, though not as hippy-like as the XDreamysts.

As well as the two tracks on the single, The Faders recorded five or six more songs for an album, a further three songs were later taped with Joe Flegg on drums who had replaced Beckett. The album was never released as the band split up when Chris Tweed left to go to University. The remaining Faders became The Persuaders with the addition of guitarist Micky McCauley.

The Faders - Library Book