The 80s, myth and reality?

[tempestbella]

In my college days, The Rolling Stones were the must band, to see. They had quite a repertoire of those pre-war, African/American songs. If you listen to them you can hear that distinctive sound that filtered through every generation and genre. To garner popularity, The Rolling Stones went mainstream and lost that rawness that had given them such a following in the early days. Not that it was a bad thing for Mick & the boys, the legacy that they left created many a new fan of the early days. Those artistes of that period rarely got the acknowledgement they deserve, but at least those fans of The Rolling Stones' own early days, were pointed in the right direction.

Tempestbella, have our paths ever crossed? I must have seen you at Hemsby or maybe Goodwood, there again we could have been at Twinwood or Camber Sands.

You are right about Carisbrooke Halls, wonderful, wonderful nights. Did you ever go to the summer balls at The Rivoli?

There is a very good chance we have..
I’ve pmed you.

 

[Edward]

I love Imelda May. Have a keen Irish billy blues curiosity.

I used to go and see Imelda sing with the Mike Sanchez Band in around 2003/4; I've known Al Gare, who was playing double-bass with them, for years. In 2006, Al recruited Imelda to be the in-house singer at Birmingham's legendary Candy Box Burlesque Club; around the same time, Imelda started her own band with Al as the bass player and after a bit her then-husband Darryl Higham (already a big name on the UK neo-rockabilly circuit) on guitar. Great fun ,cracking band.... enjoyed it all very much. Sadly, sometime after the tour off the back of the 2014 album, Tribal, it all changed. Imelda and Darryl went their separate ways - these things happen. Big changes in the music, though - the whole look changed, the next album in 2017 was recorded without any of the then-regular band. The production was too slick, too modern for my tastes, albeit that in the songwriting there was less radical difference to what had gone before than it seemed to a lot of people. The whole look changed, the band changed; across the next tour I think pretty much all of the original "Imelda May Band" disappeared, and was replaced by musicians in a "backing band". A lot of the fun and the joy we'd had with a collective until I'd followed since they played in the Dublin Castle to ten people in 2006 (five of those being the next band on) to selling out the Albert Hall five or six years later was gone. I guess all artists at some point feel the need to move on, I've just never experienced such radical change on every level by an artist I'd followed - even the audience at the last show I went were not the audiences I'd seen before, swapped out for an all-seated crowd that were more Radio 2 than Radio 2. The end of an era. I see there's another album coming out this year; it'll be interesting to check in and see what it's like. I'm sure the quality will still be there, though I don't know that I'm the audience for it any more. C'est la vie...

 

[tempestbella]

I have known Mike Sanchez since my preteens. He lived in next estate. My friend was his first kiss... and when he played locally about 5 years ago it was him Thea reminded us..
I knew Darryl previous to him and Imelda though mutual friends, I remember Wogan playing their stuff as album of week while driving too and from camp in Bulford to Catford early 00’s !
Darryl is around with new band . Specialty in Eddie Cochran stuff. I was due to go see but lockdown happened..

 

[Edward]

I have known Mike Sanchez since my preteens. He lived in next estate. My friend was his first kiss... and when he played locally about 5 years ago it was him Thea reminded us..
I knew Darryl previous to him and Imelda though mutual friends, I remember Wogan playing their stuff as album of week while driving too and from camp in Bulford to Catford early 00’s !
Darryl is around with new band . Specialty in Eddie Cochran stuff. I was due to go see but lockdown happened..

Is that the guys he recorded Hotel Heartbreak(?) with? I've been meaning forever to see what he's done recently. Last time I saw him perform was when the KatMen were touring. The support act that night was the Caezars.... those kids were fantastic, I wish they'd reform. Crackin' little band, everything the NME wanted the Arctic Monkeys to be (and off paper never quite were...), really authentic garage rockabilly with an edgy sensibility. A band who really looked like a gang - a gang who carried knives. Fun times.

 

[Harp]

^^^Caught something yesterday, Irish Post. Imelda's collaboration with what's his name. ???
Too early right now, first cup of coffee. Sorry to learn all china in shop May shattered.

 

[tempestbella]

Is that the guys he recorded Hotel Heartbreak(?) with? I've been meaning forever to see what he's done recently. Last time I saw him perform was when the KatMen were touring. The support act that night was the Caezars.... those kids were fantastic, I wish they'd reform. Crackin' little band, everything the NME wanted the Arctic Monkeys to be (and off paper never quite were...), really authentic garage rockabilly with an edgy sensibility. A band who really looked like a gang - a gang who carried knives. Fun times.

If you liked Caesars you should check out Danny and the Astrotones ,Danny Dawkins , his Dad ,Paul Dawkins was in various Rockabilly bands including Rough Diamonds.
They toured with the Delta Bombers before lockdown.

 

[tempestbella]

^^^Caught something yesterday, Irish Post. Imelda's collaboration with what's his name. ???
Too early right now, first cup of coffee. Sorry to learn all china in shop May shattered.

Just looked.. Noel Gallagher and Ronnie wood!?

 

[Harp]

Just looked.. Noel Gallagher and Ronnie wood!?

Rings a bell. Catch-as-catch-can-coffee cup remembrance. Thanks a bunch.

 

[Edward]

If you liked Caesars you should check out Danny and the Astrotones ,Danny Dawkins , his Dad ,Paul Dawkins was in various Rockabilly bands including Rough Diamonds.
They toured with the Delta Bombers before lockdown.

Thanks, I'll check them out.

Just looked.. Noel Gallagher and Ronnie wood!?

Yeah. I understood Jeff Beck, even Ronnie Wood (albeit he's a bit of a sad case these days). But Gallagher? Smacks a bit of industry rather than art.... TBH, I blame it all on Bono. No good can come of Bono's influence, artistically speaking.

 

[GHT]

I used to go and see Imelda sing with the Mike Sanchez Band in around 2003/4.

I've lost count of the number of times that my wife and I have seen Mike Sanchez, but he was always a solo performer and, more often than not, the headline act. The Candybox? For the life of me I can't remember if we have been there, we have been to so many. Would a singer come comic and presenter, name of Dusty Limits, have been a compere there?

 

[Edward]

I've lost count of the number of times that my wife and I have seen Mike Sanchez, but he was always a solo performer and, more often than not, the headline act. The Candybox? For the life of me I can't remember if we have been there, we have been to so many. Would a singer come comic and presenter, name of Dusty Limits, have been a compere there?

Sanchez always appeared as himself with "The Mike Sanchez Band", but back when Imelda used to do shows with them where they'd get her to sing lead on a few numbers, maybe an occasional back, but not the whole set. She was more of a lead with Blue Harlem. She did appear on at least one Mike Sanchez album, as since her solo success both those acts have rereleased new versions which put her name front and central...

The Candybox was up in the Glee Club in Birmingham - they did four shows in 2006, six in 2007; I think there were maybe three in 2008, and then a final Christmas show in about... 2013. Thirteen in all. It was the only burlesque night outside London with a full live band. Dusty never compered that one; they had a local comic did the very first one, then after that, Al took over doing it himself. Which was much better- he knew all the band as well, a lot of banter came out of it, and over the course of the shows there was a real sense of a candybox 'family'.

 

[GHT]

Now you have said The Glee Club and mentioned Al Gare, I remembered. How could I forget? Although I can't remember the actual date I do know that it was in 2007 because the ban on smoking had come into force. The over riding memory of that night was that of a lady fire eater and some fellow sending sparks everywhere with an angle grinder.

I would, however, beg to differ on The Gee Ciub being the only burlesque club outside of London that had a full live band. In Bournemouth, at about the same era, Battistini's was going strong. Originally held in a motorcycle showroom, hence the name, it changed venues to the central hotel, where Bournemouth's west station once stood. Overall it probably ran for about five years. Have you heard of a band, now disbanded, called: The Regular Joes? They played there regularly, their singer, Annie would often compere. Bournemouth had a second burlesque venue with a live band and that was called Rubyz.

 

[Edward]

Now you have said The Glee Club and mentioned Al Gare, I remembered. How could I forget? Although I can't remember the actual date I do know that it was in 2007 because the ban on smoking had come into force. The over riding memory of that night was that of a lady fire eater and some fellow sending sparks everywhere with an angle grinder.

I would, however, beg to differ on The Gee Ciub being the only burlesque club outside of London that had a full live band. In Bournemouth, at about the same era, Battistini's was going strong. Originally held in a motorcycle showroom, hence the name, it changed venues to the central hotel, where Bournemouth's west station once stood. Overall it probably ran for about five years. Have you heard of a band, now disbanded, called: The Regular Joes? They played there regularly, their singer, Annie would often compere. Bournemouth had a second burlesque venue with a live band and that was called Rubyz.

That I didn't - we never herd anything about the Bournemouth scene at all. Did they all start up around 2006 as well? THere was a big boom in it all back them; funny, now here in London nobody ever advertises as "burlesque", it's all "cabaret".... There was a bit of a backlash against "burlesque" nights at a time after the boom pulled up a lot of low quality shows, that and there was the occasional one where somebody thought all they had to do was "put some strippers in some basques"* and that was it (back in the day, of course, it was allabout variety....).




*Not a moral judgment, though I do consider stripping and striptease to be two different entertainment forms insofar as the former is about the nudity, the latter more about the these and the getting there; the market - at least these days (of course things were very different seventy odd years ago when it was the 'original') - is also very different.

 

[belfastboy]

Thanks, I'll check them out.



Yeah. I understood Jeff Beck, even Ronnie Wood (albeit he's a bit of a sad case these days). But Gallagher? Smacks a bit of industry rather than art.... TBH, I blame it all on Bono. No good can come of Bono's influence, artistically speaking.

Did you ever watch the Brit movie about the early days of Bono and the band.......how close he came to assassination? Good movie.....but gosh without Bono advising the world's leaders who else would step up to save the world? Well, other than Leo DiCaprio.

 

[Harp]

.....but gosh without Bono advising the world's leaders who else would step up to save the world? Well, other than Leo DiCaprio.

Kim Kardashian? Gal Godot is a wonderful woman. Just my two cents sentiment.

 

[belfastboy]

Kim Kardashian? Gal Godot is a wonderful woman. Just my two cents sentiment.

Gal Godot can save my world any day of the week!

 

[Turnip]

Aaah, cˋmon, Rock´n Roll´s gonna save the world...

 

[Seb Lucas]

Gal Godot can save my world any day of the week!

As long as she doesn't sing...

 

[belfastboy]

As long as she doesn't sing...

I might even put up with terrible singing!

 

[Edward]

And there I used to think the Lennon original couldn't get any worse!