Tommy Boyce: The Fifth Monkee

Text by Nancy Foster; introduction by Robert Barry Francos
© 1986, FFanzeen; introductory comments © RBF, 2011
Images from the Internet

The following article on 1960s music icon Tommy Boyce was originally published in FFanzeen magazine, issue #14, in 1986. It was written by Nancy Foster.

Around 1985, I was hanging out at Nancy Foster’s apartment on Third Avenue, just south of 14th Street, listening to some music. While the building had once been a high class high rise, now it was a bit of a roach-infested hovel. We had gone out to dinner, as we often had, and she was waiting on a visitor.

A ring of the bell, and Tommy Boyce was at the door. We all hung out for a little bit and joked around, and then I took some pictures, none of which came out well (it was a darkly lit room, and I had no flash yet). After a few minutes, I left Nancy to interview Tommy for the following piece.

Sidney Thomas Boyce, suffering from some physical and mental ailments, pulled a Del Shannon and did himself in with a gun almost a decade later, in 1994, but the music he wrote and inspired keeps on going. – RBF, 2011

What do Jay and the Americans, Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Monkees, the Lettermen, The Sex Pistols, Showaddy Waddy, the Darts, among many others, have in common? They all recorded songs written or co-written by Tommy Boyce.

It’s not surprising that Tommy co-wrote, with partner Bobby Hart, the theme to Dick Clark’s Where the Action Is, but the fact that they wrote the theme for that long running soap opera The Days of Our Lives is outrageous.

Talking to Tommy Boyce is fab and fun – like taking a crash course in pop. There are a lot of great stories out there, and he got a million of them.

Tommy Boyce’s first hit came when his father told him, “Write a song for Fats Domino and call it ‘Be My Guest’.” This was a hot tip. The phrase comes from the song “Sea Cruise”: “Be my guest / You got nothin’ to lose / Won’t you let me take you / On a sea cruise.”

So, Tommy wrote the song in 1959 and called Imperial, Fats’ record company. The guy at the record company said, when Tommy suggested the idea, “Fats won’t like it.” Well, Tommy wasn’t satisfied with that. A friend in the industry told Tommy the name of Fats’ hotel, so Tommy went, demo in hand, and waited in the hotel lobby for six hours. When he finally gave up his vigil, he walked out, only to bump into Mr. Domino himself.

Tommy was beside himself: “Uh – Mr. Domino – uh – I have a – uh – song for you. I know – uh – you’ll like it. Just – uh – listen to it. That’s – uh – good enough – uh – for me. My God! – uh – He –uh – touched it!”

One of Fats’ bodyguards tried to cut Tommy off, and the man himself spoke: “Let the boy talk. I like how the boy talk. Calm down, boy!”

So, Tommy gave Fats the demo and Fats promised to give it a listen. The record company contacted Tommy a few weeks later with the good news: Fats would record it. Even better news – Fats had a hit with it soon afterwards.

But then the drought hit. No hit for two years. So Tommy checked out Billboard and Cashbox. There he noticed something pertinent – the songwriting team of Doc Pomus and Morty Shuman had three hits in the Top-Ten! “Wow!,” thought the budding pop god. “If anyone knows the secret of writing hit songs, they must!” Tommy saved his money and made a 3,000 mile trek to find the key to songwriting.

When Tommy arrived in New York City, he hung out at the Brill Building. Then he approached Doc and Morty at their fave teatime hangout. “I wrote one hit and I can’t seem to do it again. I came 3,000 miles to find out the secret of writing hits.”

The answer was simple: “The title.” With this valuable information, Tommy had a hit three months later with “Pretty Little Angel Eyes,” sung by Curtis Lee. Tommy mixed the doo-wop of “Blue Moon” with the romance of the Everly Brothers’ “Ebony Eyes,” to come up with the world’s first romantic doo-wop record with a white guy singing lead and black guys singing back-ups.

Tommy had some solo singles: “Sweet Little Cathy,” followed by “I Remember Carol,” in 1962. In 1964, Jay and the Americans had a hit with “Come a Little Bit Closer,” a by-then-songwriting-team Boyce & Hart composition.

Then, the men behind the Monkees wanted Boyce & Hart to put their musical Midas Touch on the Monkees’ first album (The Monkees). They wrote the TV theme, “I Wanna Be Free,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” “Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day,” “This Just Doesn’t Seem to Be My Day,” “Let’s Dance On,” “Gonna Buy Me a Dog,” etc., as well as added their production know-how.

Yet, it wasn’t all “peaches and cream” behind the scenes of the Monkees. Mickey was fooling around during the recording of “Last Train to Clarksville.” Tommy chastised Mickey and the air turned blue. Mickey returned in kind saying only he could sing the song right. Tommy left the studio and Mickey kept his promise, and such is the way great hits are made.

After leaving the Monkees' songwriting stable, Boyce & Hart, the reflex hitmakers, had three albums on their own on A&M Records, as well as writing the theme to the film Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows.

In 1975, five years after the Monkees’ demise, David Jones had the idea to put together a new version of the Monkees, with Mickey Dolenz, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. He could not get the legal rights to use the name “Monkees,” so the group of Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart was born. It was so successful that they did a year-long international tour and put out two albums, one studio and one live in Japan.

After the tour, Tommy decided to visit London. He planned to stay a few weeks and ended up staying nine years.

A band called Showaddy Waddy (the British Sha Na Na) recorded religious version of Curtis Lee’s “Pretty Little Angel Eyes” and “Under the Moon of Love.” Then Tommy got together with Richard Hartley of The Rocky Horror Picture Show fame and said, “Let’s put everything I know about the Monkees with everything you know about Rocky Horror, and put it together. The Darts had three albums produced by Tommy, as well as recoding some of his songs, like “Peaches and Cream,” originally done by Tina Turner in 1965.

Tommy also produced the wonderful Pleasers, which included a couple of singles, such as their version of the Who’s “The Kids are Alright.” Tommy said he really enjoyed producing them, and the only thing that held them back was a “rotten manager.”

One of my favorite anecdotes of Tommy’s was the Johnny Rotten story: When Tommy first met Johnny, he introduced himself as the writer of “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone,” and added that he dug the Sex Pistols’ version. Instead of taking a compliment graciously, the ungrateful Mr. Rotten answered Tommy with a beer can in the face.

Years later at the Peppermint Lounge in New York City, Tommy ran into Johnny again and decided he deserved a second chance. So, he introduced himself again. This time, Johnny was more civilized: “You’ve got a lot of money, donca? How about buying me a drink and giving me a few bucks?” Tommy showed his Southern hospitality (he’s from Virginia) by indulging the no-so-rotten one.

Another great story is when Tommy was producing cuts of Iggy Pop’s album, Party. It was a high pressure situation. Iggy said, “Produce me a hit, Tommy, or I’ll kill myself!”

Then there was the time when Christopher “Superman” Reeves asked to meet Tommy. Tommy was impressed with his size and wondered, “Where’s your cape?” Christopher was impressed by Tommy’s wit, but he had a confession to make: “When I was living in the Midwest and I was fourteen, ‘Last Train to Clarksville’ was my favorite song.” When you have Superman on your side, you know you’re okay.

Tommy, who has never been out of the swing of things for long, will soon be back in the public eye. Lorimar Productions wants to do a video on the history of Boyce & Hart. Slated to star in the video are Larry Hagman and Barbara Eden, who will show the Boyce & Hart clip of “Out and About,” from the I Dream of Jeannie show, circa 1965. Elizabeth Montgomery will present another clip from Bewitched, as well. There will also be various and sundry acting and musical personalities, including Tony Orlando, Connie Francis, Chris Reeves (who will aspire to reveal how “Clarksville” was written), etc.

The video will be filmed mostly in Los Angeles, but Tommy took time out to visit New York City and some long-time musical cohorts, like the inestimable Keith Allison (of the Crickets, Where the Action Is, Paul Revere and the Raiders, etc., fame). Where he’ll be next is inn the watching!

Fats Domino


Curtis Lee


Tommy Boyce


Days of Our Lives Theme


Jay and the Americans


The Monkees


Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows


Bewitched


I Dream of Jeannie


Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart


The Darts


The Sex Pistol


Iggy Pop


My favorite of the Boyce & Hart songs

Punk Primer #2: The British Second Wave

Text © copyright Robert Barry Francos
Images and recordings from the Internet

Recently, I was asked by some friends (who are about my age) to teach them a little about the history of punk. For the first class, I played them some proto-punk and influences (Shangri-Las, Iggy, Velvets, MC5, Dolls, etc.). For the second, I did the New York first wave (Televisions, Ramones, Hell, Dictators, Blondie, Heartbreakers, etc.).

The following is the list of records (both LPs and 45s) and CDs I played for them for a history of British punk, or the Second Wave, that are part of my collection. There is more I could have played, but I chose from my heart. Certainly, I could spin them all night, but I tried to keep it somewhat realistic. While many stories, both historical and personal, went with the airings, I will kept that to a minimal here. I have supplied videos for you, the reader, as many of the originals as I could find, with some exceptions (which will be noted). Feel free to leave comments at this blog about my choices, or alternatives, or additions.

1. Ian Whitcomb: Where Did Robinson Crusoe Take Friday on Saturday Night?
One aspect of British music that is generally missing from the US side is the dance hall sound that was a more risqué version of Tin Pan Alley. It is irreverent and usually bawdy with a lot of innuendo (much as some early Blues). As with British punk, this music was embraced more by the lower end of British working classes. Whitcomb, a musical historian, has written two books extensively on both this early period of music (After the Ball: Pop Music from Rag to Rock) and about the ‘60s (Rock Odyssey: A Chronicle of the Sixties, and I highly recommend them both.


2. Ramones: Beat on the Brat
The Ramones tour of England was important for spreading the minimalist anyone-can-do-it sound and initiative, but they also brought a level of (imagined) malevolence in the music, that would be interpreted as actual violence in many cases.


3. The Heartbreakers: Born to Lose (aka) Born Too Loose
The Heartbreakers’ tour of England also brought a nihilistic tone to music that was absorbed into the British scene. And, quite infamously, they also introduced heroin as the “cool” drug. Their other indirect import was Nancy Spungen, but that’s another story. The line I pointed out to the class was, “Living in a jungle, it ain’t that hard / Living in the city, it’ll eat / Eat out your heart.”


4. Nick Lowe: So It Goes
Despite being a strong pop tune, that it was the first release on Stiff Records makes it a turning point in the British punk movement, if not merely a touchstone.


5. The Damned: Neat Neat Neat
Getting signed before the Pistols is reason enough to put them here, but the fact their music was so interesting is a plus. I played three of their songs because (a) the length is short, (b) I saw them at CBGB’s a number of times on a double bill with the Dead Boys, and (c) it’s just so much fun.


6. The Damned: Stab Your Back


7. The Damned: Help
The song starts at 45 seconds:


8. The Sex Pistols: Anarchy in the U.K.
Do I really need to explain?


9. The Sex Pistols: God Save the Queen


10. The Clash: White Riot
The story goes that Joe Strummer was in the pub rock band the 101ers, heard the Pistols, and quit that band to form the Clash. Well, I liked the 101ers, but respect the early Clash as well. I played the singles version, as that’s the one I had and like best.


11. The Clash: London Calling
This is where the Clash end for me. Great song, but they went way too commercial and lost all appeal to me. Their releases Sandinista and Rock the Casbah were trifling.


12. The Adverts: One Chord Wonders
One of the bands I regret not seeing live. Always like their first few singles.


13. The Adverts: Gary Gilmore’s Eyes
This is slightly different than the Stiff single I played, and I feel this is a bit inferior.


14. Eater: Thinking of the USA
One of the first anti-USA songs in the punk canon, taking a shot at politics, and also at some of the musicians who brought punk over, including the Heartbreakers’ Walter Lure. This is not the single version I played, but rather a more sedate live version, with less bite.


15. Stiff Little Fingers: Suspect Device
Punk spread far and wide on the Isle, and here is one of Ireland’s great contributions, a band named after a song by the group the Vibrators. I’m proud to say that myself and Alan Abramowitz introduced bassist Ali to sushi after interviewing him at Irving Plaza. The staccato of this song's chorus is just stunning.


16. Stiff Little Fingers: Barbed Wire Love
Could only find the live video, but it’s accurate.


17. The Buzzcocks: Breakdown
I definitely like the Howard DeVoto years better than the Pete Shelley period.


18. Anti-Nowhere League: I Hate… People
As time went on, more thugs found punk as a way to vent their anger, and A-NL are a perfect example. Interesting music, a bit on the heavy side, but I had no desire to see a show. And my class audience were not “So Wot” kinda people.


19. Mo-dettes: White Mice
Much as Blondie co-oped NY punk into New Wave, bands like the Mo-dettes make the sound a bit more palatable. Still, it’s a fun song.


20. Adam and the Ants: AntMusic
And a final nail was the public acceptance of Adam and the Ants. Yeah, the song was a shit-and-giggle, but was it punk?


21. Plastic Bertrand: Ca Plane Pour Moi
Sheer joyous insanity and abandon, and perfect for pogoing. The only decent version was did not permit embedding, so here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VE45LlwTvc&feature=related

22. The Descendants: I Like Food
As a preview to the next class, the third wave of American hardcore, I played this. But first, I read the lyrics out loud…


Some I brought, but due to time frame, did not play:

A. Eddie and the Hot Rods: Teenage Depression
Saw them at Max’s KC in 1977, and they were boring live, but I enjoy the single.


B. Elvis Costello: Accidents Will Happen
Actually like his current stuff more than his old material.
.

C. Chelsea: Right to Work


D. Cortinas: Fascist Dictator


Then there are the Strangers, X-Ray Spex, the Crass, the Mekons, the whole Manchester scene, and so on, but we didn’t have all night, y’know! Oi!

DVD Review: “Final 24: Sid Vicious, His Final Hours”

Text © Robert Barry Francos/FFanzeen
Images from the Internet

Final 24: Side Vicious, His Final Hours
Season 1, Episode 1
Cineflix International, 2006
60 minutes, USD $14.95
MVDvisual.com

Having seen two other of this Canadian series (Janis J and Keith M, reviewed previously) that was once presented on the Discovery Channel, I was looking forward to seeing more, especially the first one, on Sid Vicious. I was wondering what their take on the whole affair, and the question about Nancy’s death. This DVD did not disappoint.

This is another fine mixture of first person interviews and actual images of Sid and his crew, such as footage (including the famous bed interview with Sid and Nancy) from Lech Kowalski’s D.O.A. documentary. Throughout, actors dramatize Sid’s last day while the real persons often included in these vignettes discuss what you are seeing in 2007 monologs. British narrator Danny Wallace (listed on the box, though IMDB claims it was Dave McRae) somberly informs us regularly of the time of day, and just how much longer our anti-hero has to live (e.g., “In four hours, Sid will be dead”).

The action jumps back and forth between the dramatized last day and documentary scenes of Sid’s life up to that moment. Between each commercial break there is a different period discussed, be it childhood, Pistol-hood, drug use, Nancy’s demise, and post-prison. His mom, Anne Beverly, comes off as creepy as Deborah Spungen, Nancy’s mom, did in her book, And I Don’t Want to Live This Life.

There is a mystery exposed here, and I was assuming that it would be information about Nancy’s death, which has had as many expository causes as JFK, but the end takes us down a different and very interesting path that I will not expose, but is an attention-grabbing thought, though it is impossible to track as everyone concerned is mort.

Many familiar and not well known names are presented in 2007 interviews, such as Peter Kodick, who bought him his last shots (Kodick listed as Sid’s “friend,” and yet I still don’t understand why he is not in jail for accessory), his friends Eileen Polk and Alan Jones, his lawyer James Merberg, Pistols’ roadie Steve Connelly, Glen Matlock (which I found ironic), and even the late Malcolm McLaren. Unfortunately they did not talk to his post-Nancy girlfriend, Michele Robinson, or any of his band members.

Usually what really makes the program is not necessarily the last 24 hours, which is nicely dissected in increments of events with a digital clock showing how much time the subject has left to live, but the overview of the person’s life. However, in this case, the show posits an idea into Sid’s death I had not heard before (though I did hear a variation of it), making this a bit more relevant and “new.”

For all the high drama visuals and narratives, the program actually manages to make Sid somewhat of a sympathetic man-child who was out of control and had a lack of boundaries buried under fame and a needle. This surprised me, as I was expecting more of a modern-style expose. Sid comes off as more of a Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein’s monster, created by the media and music business, than, say, the cold killing machine of Glenn Strange’s version of said creature.

Like most of the other people in this series, Sid’s death began with circumstances beyond his reach, in a world full of cameras and twisted adoration, and he just couldn’t handle it. But the question is, who shot the sheriff, and this show tries to examine that very question.

SEX PISTOLS: Pretty Vacant

Text by Sue Starstruck, intro by Robert Barry Francos
Interview © 1979; RBF intro © 2010 by FFanzeen
Images from the Internet

The following article about the Sex Pistols was originally published in FFanzeen magazine, issue #3, in the Winter-Spring 1978-79 issue. It was written by Sue Starstruck.

Do I really need to go into any background or detail about the Pistols? Didn’t think so, thereby let me say that Sue Starstruck, along with her cohort Alex, used to live in Whittier, California (near Disneyland), and published their own fun and fabulous fanzine, called / (which as subtitled “The fanzine without a name”). I was friendly with them, and somehow, when they both moved to England, I lost contact with them. If anyone knows their whereabouts or what happened to them, please let me know. – RBF, 2010
It’s fucking St. Valentine’s Day, and I celebrated by playing a Bryan Ferry record. Now I’m in my room, there’s a kite on the bed – but no wind outside.

So: The Sex Pistols. When Alex and I first worked out the idea of doing their fan club, we knew it wouldn’t be ordinary. That wasn’t what the Pistols were about. We just wanted to share information, to give people a chance to get t-shirts, posters, all that; and to just DO SOMETHING, in a personal, non-boring way.

Well, the fan club never got off the ground due to delays and the increasing possibility that it would be run by a merchandiser – the same one who supplies the KISS Army.

Time dragged on; the album was released, the film off and on and finally off (good). Then it hit. The Pistols were coming to America. Then they weren’t. OK, they were. It was enough to drive a crazy person sane!

Knowing I didn’t want to see them at Frisco’s Wonderland (too big and too crowded), I scraped together fanzine money and some I was saving up to move out, and went to Dallas.

As soon as the show at the Longhorn Ballroom was underway, I thought I’d wasted my money and my effort. The Sex Pistols were so bad; they reminded me of the New York Dolls, who I don’t think were ever what they are now thought to have been – Sid Vicious was so gone, but we’ve probably all read about this in Rolling Stone…The band was furious, but the music wasn’t. It was just sloppy and self-centered.

The next night was Tulsa – Cain’s Ballroom. I waited for hours in the snow, but I’m not complaining. I thought it was great! (It was only the second time I’ve ever been in snow, so you’ll have to excuse me.) The Pistols arrived late afternoon in their tour bus. They clowned around in the snow. Another kid who had been waiting outside went to shake Sid Vicious’ hand. Sid hit him, not hard tho. I thought it was funny and I was glad it wasn’t me.

I managed to see some of the soundcheck. Boy, I saw enough to know. “Let’s do it together this time,” Rotten pleaded. During “Liar,” which I don’t think they ever did in the actual shows, John (I must be trendy and call him John) just sat on the edge of the stage and looked out, hollow, empty – what am I doing here?

The show that night was fantastic despite the fact that Rotten had the flu. Paul played well as ever, Steve (who looked none too happy) explored a new guitar, Sid was carefully watched by a guard as he fought the temptation to swing his bass at the people like myself who were smashed together right in front of the stage. And John – definitely on, like a man possessed, his performance sliced by his cat-and-prey stares with the crowd. It occurred to me as I caught his stare, “It’s all for him. He’s putting forth so much but he’s doing it for himself, and not for the audience.” I stared back with a vengeance.

But this was the show I had waited for since way back when. I’m glad they had it in ‘em like I’m glad I wasn’t wrong.

A few days later was the SF show topped off by the break-up. Why it happened, who threw out who more exactly we may never find out. But what will happen next: Paul & Steve form a power pop band (here we go again with labels!). John does reggae – “I mean it, mon.” Sid with Jerry Nolan… is luckily yet to be learned.

By the way, I really recommend a book that is, as far as I know, only out in England: The Sex Pistols by Fred & Judy Vermorel it’s called, and try writing to Tandem Publishing… It’s pieces of interviews, news stories, and best of all, portions of Sophie’s (McLaren’s secretary) insightful diary. The book’s loosely done but it speaks for itself as in “look afar and see the beginning” – I got that in a fortune cookie once.

THE VIBRATORS: Into the Future

Text by Mary Anne Cassata
Images from the Internet
© 1985 FFanzeen

The following article/interview with British punk band The Vibrators was originally published in FFanzeen magazine, issue #13, in 1985. It was written by Mary Anne Cassata. – RBF

The Vibrators. With a name like that, what else can it be put a punk era band? This brute British quartet reunited a little over a year ago and since then has continued to drive their audiences into a frenzy at each performance. The members, Knox (guitar / keyboard / vocals), John Ellis (guitar / keyboard / vocals), Eddie (drums / vocals), and Gary Tibbs (bass) have defied sensationalism by screaming at their audiences, incorporating bondage themes on stage, and smashing guitars and amplifiers.

The Vibrators, who original formed in 1976, consider themselves to be the only true innovators of British punk music. One of the group’s early performances resulted in the premier Punk Festival, in London, which also featured the Clash, the Damned, and the Sex Pistols. Their debut single, “We Vibrate,” caused quite a stir in Britain upon its release, and the album, Pure Mania, won the support of new fans in America. The second single from the album, “Baby Baby,” followed with massive European press and helped sell out shows all over the country.

[Pure Mania (1977)]
The music is extremely harsh on the ears, but the Vibrators equally satisfy an ever growing army of punk maniacs. Lead vocalist Knox, who refused to reveal his last name, was asked to comment on the group’s penchant for violence. “All this talk about violence is rubbish, really,” he stated. “It isn’t like that at all with us. Our music may be violent, but the people that come to our shows are there to have a good time and that is what we give them. That’s all.”

Sounds like a contradiction to me.

Recently, the Vibrators performed in the New York City area to highly enthusiastic fans. Knox and Eddie took some time out to speak with FFanzeen about their first arrival in America, and their Stateside album, Alaska 127 What entailed from the interview was a very open and frank discussion about the group’/s career and future plans.

["Baby Baby) (1977)]
FFanzeen: This is your first time touring in America. How do you think it’s going?

Knox: Tonight will be our third show in the States. The first shows we did were not very good. We didn’t like it too much.

FF: Why is that?

Knox: First of all, we are on a very punishing schedule. We are not used to the heating here in the hotels and all. You get laryngitis and colds. We are sort of knocked out. Everything has goon really well. There wasn’t a disaster or anything like that; it was more equipment failure than anything else.

FF: I heard you got a very good reception in Canada.

Knox: Oh, yes, the people really liked us a lot there. We have a domestic release there called “Baby Blue Eyes.” It is doing quite well on the charts there. I really didn’t like Toronto too well. There are a lot of expensive buildings there. I saw all these people on the streets begging for money. It made me very paranoid. All this money and the people are really poor.

FF: New York audiences are among the toughest to perform for. How did you feel about that?

[V2 (1978)]
Knox: We knew it would be. It was alright. We came in from Cincinnati and ended up here only in time for the soundcheck. We have hardly had any sleep at all. We thought we played well, I guess. It wasn’t really an over-the-top show, but that is how we wanted it. We know we are capable of doing much better than we did. Besides, it wasn’t the right kind of place to do our show. We like it to be a certain way. There wasn’t enough fooling around. It seemed more like a presentation than anything else.

FF: In 1976, what was it like to perform at the very first Punk Festival, in London? I can imagine all the violence that night.

Knox: Oh yes, it was very violent that night. We didn’t get any proper reviews on that show either. Such a shame; a real pity and all. People just thought it was distasteful, but it put punk on the map. Just to talk about it is very exciting. Punk music, more or less, just had to happen. It was really always in the air. It was a new kind of music that brought people about that were bored with the old stuff.

Eddie: Punk means a different thing now than it did before. It used to mean to be individual, to be yourself. It is very much a one-dimensional thing now. Personally, I think we belong to it now just as much as we did before.

FF: How has punk music changed over the years?

Eddie: Today, every song is played in 2/4 and it is fast and furious. There is little room left for craft anymore. As it stands in 1983-1984, it means a different thing altogether. It is up to us to make the music and let the people fit into their little bags. I have heard kids say we are an amazing band.

Knox: If you look at early pictures and styles of punk, they have changed quite a bit. The hardcore look and the hardcore sound has changed. In those days, it was better and more inventive. We were before the Clash and the Pistols – no, we were about the same time as the Pistol. We knew all these people from before. We started our band in school. We had always talked about starting a band. Most of the successful people in punk seem to have gone through the art school syndrome. I did.

FF: What events led to the band’s breakup in 1980?

[Alaska 127 (1984)]
Knox: Some of the people in the band began to go off in different directions. Some got into drinking and things like that. All they did was fuck it up for the rest of us. It was more like a family splitting up, or a marriage gone wrong. It is one of those things that is very difficult to talk about. Sometimes when you become very successful and our, you find out some people aren’t really into doing a lot of that. The band never really reached its full potential.

Eddie: We just carried it on and on ‘til it came to a grinding halt. When the others left, I kept going. When we got together last year we put out an album called guilty. Our latest album is Alaska 127.

FF: Eddie, why was “Baby Blue Eyes” released in the States and “Flying High” in England? Why not the same song for both countries? It’s harder for us to obtain British imports.

Eddie: It wasn’t us, it was the record company. They thought it was the best thing to do. But we think “Baby should be a better choice for America.

FF: Do you usually write the songs as a unit?

Eddie: We usually come out with ideas between us and work on them together. It seems to work out fine between us. We get four different varieties; sort of like the Beatles.

FF: Judging on what music is popular today, is there a remote possibility of the Vibrators becoming more mainstream rock?

Eddie: We seem to be moving in an upward direction and punk, so to speak, seems to be going down a blind alley. Punk music has moved away from where we are now. We have sort of retained a position where we have created music that is exciting and intelligent, as well. I think punk has moved away from being an intelligent source of music. Hopefully, it will move in a forward direction again. What we are trying to do is experiment with new ideas without losing that sort of flavor.

[Guilty (1989)]
Knox: We have run over rocky ground before, so we are used to it. We are very adaptable and getting better all the time. Punk people don’t realize that without change it becomes stale, or a dead form of expression. We have to change our music to get better. Punk music is just another type of rock music, and one day it will be assimilated into ordinary rock.

FF: Do you still spit on the audience?

Eddie: Yeah, but the audience spits at us, too. When we first started out in London, there was a lot of spitting and things like that. It has sort of died out now.

Knox: Those kids had really gotten good at gobbing from 20 feet away. We used to let them gob and shake their hands.

FF: While on stage, why all this aggressiveness toward the audience?

[Pure Punk (2009)]
Eddie: We have a tremendous amount of energy. If there is violence, it is done in a constructive way. From time to time we do break tings on stage. It’s the excitement and all.

Knox: I can get reasonably aggressive now. I am very much into playing. The violence at our shows is very small. When the violence is done on stage it seems like the right thing to do. Sometimes I think I can really smash this bloke one in the head.

FF: Then the audience still plays an integral part in your performance?

Eddie: Yes, the people are there to enjoy themselves. They dance and jump around, leap and scream. That is why they are there. Wee don’t want them to sit and politely clap. We want them to have a good time at our shows.

Knox: If you go to our concerts the kids really go crazy knocking each other about. It looks like they are fighting but when they leave they wring out their shirts, and take a deep breath and stagger on home. I want to give the people that come to our shows the buzz that the Who gave me.

CHEQUERED PAST: Solid Future

Text by Julia Masi
Images from the Internet
© 1985 FFanzeen

The following article/interview with the band Chequered Past was originally published in FFanzeen magazine, issue #13, in 1985. It was written by Julia Masi.

Their music is their passion. Drumbeats so precise they jumpstart the heart, and aggressive guitar riffs that accelerate the pulse, played by five dynamic personalities that form the mutual admiration society of Chequered Past.

As their name implies, Michael Des Barres (vocals), Clem Burke (drums), Nigel Harrison (bass), Steve Jones and Tony Fox Sales (who share rhythm and lead guitar duties), all come from very diverse cultural and musical backgrounds. Yet they have so much respect for each other that just doing a telephone interview with these guys could induce insulin shock.

“If I wanted to be in a band with my favorite guitar player, I’d want to be in a band with Steve Jones,” comments Nigel. “If I wanted to play the drums, I’d want to play like Clem Burke. Clem is my favorite. And it goes throughout the whole band like that.” Nigel seems like his voice rings with such warmth you can hear him smile. And Michael is too hip to lie.

“Everybody always asks,” offers Michael, “’How can a Blondie, a Sex Pistol, an offspring of Soupy, and a Detective come together and play music?’ And it just occurred to me this morning that the common thread that each guy has is power, energy, excess, strength and drama. All our attitudes are the same. The manifestations of our attitudes may appear to be different, but the core of the group is that we like to deal in power; strength. And the closeness of the group, everyone has been through so much shit that we’re very supportive of one another.

“A common thing with all of us is that we’ve been unique to whatever environment we’ve been in. And we’ve survived this ridiculous pressure that we’ve put on ourselves and that we’ve found ourselves in.”

In the beginning, Chequered Past formed for fun and played mostly top-forty cover songs. Their first gig was, according to Nigel’s calculations, on September 26, 1982, at the Peppermint Lounge, two years before the date of our interview.

“We are primarily a live band,” explains Nigel. “To me, making records is secondary. The main thing is the instant communication you get from clubs, whether there are 28 people in the clu8b or 17,000 people.

“The greatest part of a love affair is the first year, or the first week, or the first night. It’s the same with music and people in bands. Their best music comes out in the first few years.

“To really keep a band together truly as a band, you have to keep playing as much as you can. And not take a year off because someone wants to buy a country home or something, which is what happens in most successful bands, unfortunately.

“This album was just a trial run. I think every day we’re getting more in focus as to what we want to be, as opposed to what people expect us to be.

“This is our idea of what the ideal band, or what we think the ideal band will be. I’m not saying we particularly captured it on this record, but we will.”
Their album, Chequered Past, on EMI, offers their weakest cut, “How Much is Too Much” as the fist single. Most of the songs were written by Michael and Steve, except Waylon Jennings’s “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?”, which they perform with such a verve you’d swear it was written for them. Michael particularly enjoys this song, “because it’s chequered. The lyrics are so appropriate to the band” ‘Lord, it’s the same old tune/Fiddle and guitar – “Michael pauses. Like most professional singers, he can’t remember the words unless he sings them. And after three attempts to recite the words he sings every night, he bursts into song: “’-Where do we take it from here/We’ve got rhinestone suits and new shiny cars/Where will we take it from here?’ The second verse is really cool. I goes, ‘Ten year on the road doin’ one-night stands/Dreaming my young life away/Tell me one more time so I’ll understand/Are you sure Hank a-done it this way?’ And the last verse is, ‘Lord, I’ve seen the world with a five piece band/Looking at the back side of me/Singing my songs/One of his now and then/Are you sure Hank a-done it this way?’” He laughs, “It’s really crazy. And he loves it. Waylon loves it.”

They’ve been considering this song as a possible single and video. “We’ve spoken to both Waylon Jennings and Hank Williams, Jr. about the possibilities of being in the video, or getting involved. And they were so overjoyed at the fact that we’d even do a Waylon song, let alone call them up,” recalls Nigel. “It’s one of my favorite tracks. I like anything that’s against the grain, with a slant. I think a Blondie and a Sex Pistol doing a Waylon Jennings song about Hank Williams is interesting. I’d like to do more of that. Also, on stage, that song has taken on a whole different light. We allow for a certain spontaneity that comes from playing live.”

On stage, they are a lot more powerful than any band could be on vinyl, but their record does allow you to appreciate Michael’s lyrics. His songs are very structured and one of his goals is to tell the truth to his audience. His song, “Underworld,” is a short biography of the band.

“’Underworld’ is just an expression of rebelliousness, I think. Each guy sings a verse. Tony’s verse is, “Temptation in the City of Lights/Growing up in the glare of the spotlight/Daddy’s throwing pies on TV/Now I’m a prodigal celebrity.” And Steve’s is, “Always sound better on a stolen guitar/Could always go faster in a stolen car,’ about his experiences. And mine is, “Daddy was an aristocrat.’ I was raised by a very rich family. And just how all these ridiculous backgrounds all end up in the same area. We are all outside of our own environment. We all find ourselves together and we are all underworld, underworld being a euphemism for the other side.”

If anyone ever had an unusual background, it is Michael. While his father’s position offered many privileges, his mother “was so ridiculously eccentric. She was the main influence in terms of bohemia. She turned me on to Billie Holiday when I was nine. We used to sit around drinking red wine.

“I was educated by the most decadent institutional system in the world, which is the British Public School System, which trains you to be the leader of men – and play cricket.”

Leadership training should prove useful to the lead singer of a band, but Michael doesn’t see his position as that of a dictator. “One thing I’ve learned about leadership is that you’ve got to be humble. You’ve got to be kind. You’ve got to care about each other. To get fame is such a silly thing. My main desire is being sensitive to the needs of others. Because I’ve spent so long wanting it for myself; my needs were always so callous.

“I don’t believe in rock’n’roll stars. It’s an outmoded concept. I believe in the arts. And I believe in communication. To be a good, true artist you have to communicate. That’s what art is all about: if I’m communicating me, that’s important. It doesn’t matter who the me is. If they’re true to themselves and they communicate to one other person, then an artistic act has taken place. The whole idea of the benevolent superstar bestowing his thoughts on El Salvador to a 15-year-old audience sucks.”

For years, Michael wrote and performed as the androgynous fantasy character he created. The character was based on Turner in performance, and was an outlet for Michael’s obsession with the destructive superstar mythology. He grew up idolizing men like James Dean, Lord Byron, Errol Flynn, and John Barrymore, and the rock’n’roll stage seemed like a viable way to turn himself into a strange creature of his imagination. “It was at least two years before I could sing and I’d been in a band already.”

During that period, he claims to have been more interested in “finding the definitive earring” than in perfecting his music. He became lost in his alter ego and became a victim of the nasty clichés of rock’n’roll.

Eventually, he realized what was happening to him and decided to abandon this character. “When I finally came down to earth I had to talk about what was happening to me.

"I believe one creates one’s own experience. I live my life through principles and for the first time in my life I have some moralistic view of how I should behave. And it’s quite simple. I guess when I started to love myself a little, I started to get a handle on how to treat other people.

“Our little lot is sort of unique because we really do care for another; we support one another.”

Both he and Nigel enjoy being on the stage because it fosters their creativity. “Just the five guys being on the road, you get more of an identity,” says Nigel. “The songs come out of nowhere. We’ve already got about four new songs. And we’re really looking forward to making another album.”

Hopefully, the Chequered Past will have a long, bright future.