Let's Do The Show Right Here : Glam In The Movies

Glam Rock coincided, for me, with buying records, primarily singles, under my own steam. I'd be 9 or 10 and Glam appeared for da kidz in a way those early to mid sixties did for the older generation. It was your scene, your parents hated the clothes and the ambiguity of the dress and it was as though those buy an album days were over.

Albums were again made up of two or three singles and quickly recorded filler. If I had been older I'd have been drawn to the serious players, Bowie, Bolan, Roxy Music etc, but you just liked the singles, you could discover albums as you got older and more importantly, had more money.

The singles were primarily led by Chinn and Chapman and Mike Leander writing for bands on the RAK or Bell labels. Others got onto bigger labels, Sweet on RCA, Sweet and The Rubettes on Polydor. Others used the scene as a quick direction to something they thought more substantial, such as Sparks.

We may now look incredulously at the Boy Bands that crop up nowadays in a snobbish music collector way, but there were plenty of boy bands and one or two hit wonders in the Glam days, plenty to make the girls scream and the boys show how they were into something much more mature in Sweet and Slade.

Sweet only got the B Sides for their own stuff, Slade did it all in the prolific (for a time) songwriting axis of Holder and Lea.

It's easy to laugh now at someone like Les Gray who looked a bit like a Bricklayer dressed up in drag when he was asleep, but you can't deny how good those singles were, Tiger Feet, Dynamite and Rocket et al and remember Mike Chapman moved onto Blondie. I suppose Suzi Quatro was the token girl and you sensed that she was thrown fish, whilst the better stuff was handed to Mud and Sweet.

Music TV then was aimed at the teenage audience, it's nowhere to be seen now. It wasn't just Top Of The Pops, that 5.15 slot on ITV with the likes Of Lift Off and later, Supersonic feeding the frenzy of those teenage fans. This passed on to bands running the shows, The Bay City Rollers most notably, but also The Arrows, Granada TV being the most notable provider of this essential entertainment.

So it was only natural that the Big Screen would join in the fun, as it had a decade or more earlier with The Beatles and Cliff Richard. The majority followed the Cliff Richard, Let's Do The Show Right Here model and the results were patchy to say the least.

Only one film really reached any heights and that was obviously Slade's In Flame, but before looking at that in more depth, it's worth noting the two David Essex led films, That'll Be The Day and Stardust. Both could have been cliche ridden and for music fans, the latter did have a fair bit of that, but the quality of the writing of Ray Connelly  and some of the acting was largely first rate.

The two films also brought that first era of aiming music at the kids into the second. That'll Be The Day was for all intents and purposes, the story of Merseybeat, Billy Fury played a great take on Rory Storm as Stormy Tempest, Keith Moon and Ringo were present and correct too. The first Brit wave is there too with Marty Wilde and Adam Faith. The film's a cracker and takes the story to the Mid Sixties.

Stardust takes us onwards to the Glam days and despite some of the obvious plot directions, it's still a great film.Keith Moon is still present, now joined by Dave Edmunds and an uncredited, Nick Lowe as the fame comes, the group splits and David Essex's Jim MacLaine loses the plot. Larry Hagman's there in a rehearsal for his JR Role. MacLaine writes a Rock Opera which tells you all you need to know.

Ray Connelly got a BAFTA for the screen production of Stardust and Adam Faith, a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In truth, Adam Faith is the star of both films as Jim MacLaine's manager, a tortured soul, in love with the star, it's a really poignant role.

Slade In Flame then. It still stands the test of time as a film now. It's often said that the film was reason that Slade's star dimmed because of the time filming it and the plot which made it look like the band hated each other. I go less with that theory, Glam was coming to the end of it's run anyway and Slade had partly realised this and wanted to break America, they failed miserably on the US Tours and by the time they got home, it was largely over. They did come again though as a sort of older brother to the NWOBHM brigade.

The film itself is a gritty take on the Music World, managers using thugs and muscling in on bands and the plot was largely stories related by Slade about things that happened to them and other bands in their careers. It's an absolute gem of a film, gritty, realistic and star turns from the Noddy Holder and Jimmy Lea.

An interesting side note is that the original idea of a comedy was rejected by Dave Hill because he got killed in the first fifteen minutes of the script. Set in the late Sixties, it's a highly recommended watch as are the two David Essex films. As for the music, a film that can open with How Does It Feel and close with Far Far Away, shows what a writing team Holder and Lea were, it wasn't all foot stompers.

Less recommended is Never Too Young To Rock, largely a vehicle for the Glam scene and starring Mud, The Rubettes and The Glitter Band. It's a bizarre tale of Freddie Jones searching out groups with the aid of a group detector van for a show and that largely is it. Most of the performances come in the last half hour and seem tagged on to try and sell the film. Truly awful.

Much better is Side By Side, another Glam vehicle and all these were coming to screen as the scene was dying. It's not Oscar material, but it's a funny in parts story of Two Music Clubs next door to each other, trying to outdo one another. Starring Stephanie De Sykes, Terry Thomas, Barry Humphries and Mud's drummer Dave Mount in the starring roles, it's fun knockabout stuff.

The film wins in the artists it promotes, all playing in the respective clubs. You have Fox, Mud, Kenny, Hello, The Rubettes, Desmond Dekker, Mac and Katie Kissoon and Stephanie De Sykes herself. The soundtrack is pretty good too with Lynsey De Paul and Skyhooks amongst the addition.

Finally, a mention for Three For All. A vehicle for Showaddywaddy, a band that get unfair criticism for their Rock and Roll Revival act in the Seventies, a shame really because they revived great sing along songs, as did Darts. But this film is dreadful.

Starring Adrienne Posta with the likes of Robert Lindsay, Paul Nicholas, Richard Beckinsale, Diana Dors, George Baker and Arthur Mullard. It even features Graham Bonnet, well before the Rainbow days.

The story of a band going off to Spain to record an album, I have no idea why, and the hilarious adventures of their girlfriends trying to get over there to join them after not being invited. 9 songs from Showaddywaddy, but you can listen to those on the Greatest Hits. Band can't act shocker and a true waste of money.

Caddy - The Better End

I've been listening to a lot of Scandanavian music through the past week, no particular reason and no particular scene preference. There's been Folk, Prog and Death Metal (I did have a taste for the likes of Gehenna for a 12 month mindfest).

Power Pop wise, Sweden's strength is outstanding, must be something in the water. I am no Swedish Power Pop expert, but my great friend Nick Fletcher is, he's extremely knowledgeable in all things, but the directions he gives me to the Swedes are outstanding.

So with Scandanavia in my head, I should get around to Norway and Tomas Dahl's Caddy. I say get around, because I should have brought this album to the attention of all well before now. ASH Things, hearing etc got in the way, but these are crap excuses becvause the album is fantastic.

Dahl has been around for a bit, he was drummer and Bass Guitarist in The Yums Yums, a splendid underrated Norwegian Power Pop band, but it doesn't end with drums, because he's a one man band.

Tomas plays everything on the Caddy album and as a side note there is a real refreshing change with a one man album coming from someone who can drum, none of that awful programmed drum sound that you can get.

The Better End is a wonderful album. There's Teenage Fanclub comparisons and I know how boring they can be, but they are proper comparisons. There's a real jingle jangle to the album, almost Byrds like, but the harmonies give it far more.

If I had to make one real observation, Caddy remind me so much of Cosmic Rough Ryders.

Amongst all this jangle and melodic mellowness, there is a real gem of a song. People know how much I rattle on about Dom Mariani and Tommy Keene, well our Australian Power Pop God, Mr Mariani is on the No Sudden Moves and it's wonderful. That DM riff, well you know it's him without being told.

There's been an album before this, first as Go Slow and then as Electric Hero. I have this as a download, I'd love to be directed to a physical copy if anyone can help.

You can buy the The Better End on CD from Ray's excellent Kool Kat Musik here. There's also a great Blue Vinyl release from Sugarbush, which is how I choose to listen to the album. I think Markus has some copies left, you can check here.

Finally, I know many of you know of our Lurcher, Crash. He listens to a lot of music, most of it unwillingly. Whenever this album gets put on, he comes and sits by me, no higher recommendation.

The Monkees - Here We Come : The Monkees At 50

Quite a few of you non UK people have been saying that you can't get at the recent excellent 2 PART  BBC Radio 2 documentary due to the region restrictions on I-player,

All three surviving memories discuss their story.

I have uploaded both parts to the I Don't Hear A Single Facebook Group on a 7 day We Transfer link. This will allow you download it quickly and free. If you want to join the group, details are at  the Top Right of the Blog.

This is hot off the press, I only ripped it to 320 last night, so I haven't edited the front end of both episodes, so you'll get the news ahead of each 57 minute episode. If I attach the link in this post, it'll get taken down and the Blog likely reported.

The BBC Blurb is below:


Back in 1966 the TV & pop worlds were shaken by the arrival of The Monkees, a post-Beatles, pre-boy band sensation who took the charts by storm, selling millions of records off the back of their hugely successful TV series.

The songs - I'm A Believer, Last Train To Clarksville, Daydream Believer and many more were instant pop classics and The Monkees, Mike Nesmith, Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork and Davy Jones. were instant pop stars.

Except that they weren't. They were actors playing a part, pretending to be a band, miming on screen and singing over other people's music. But like Pinocchio, they wanted to be real and the puppets turned, wrestling control of their records from the hands of the TV moguls and striking out on their own, This path that led them to the Sgt Pepper recording sessions, Jimi Hendrix avant-garde film-making and a completely unique type of stardom.

Now, 50 years later, The Monkees are back with a big hit album full of songs written for them by the likes of Paul Weller, Noel Gallagher and Andy Partridge of XTC, alongside Neil Diamond and Harry Nilsson.

In this two part series, The Monkees tell their own story with new, exclusive interviews with the 3 surviving band members, alongside their friends, family and associates.

What This Place Is About

I've been asked by a few artists for a sort of FAQ's for here and so I am happy to illuminate the world.

This is the Public Blog from the Anything Should Happen stable. ASH is in it's ninth year and has largely been a private affair with a large group of musicians, critics, collectors and fans. Membership has been closed for many years due to number limits invoked by Blogger.

We've tried to venture into the Public Eye in the past, but the time commitment was too great. Whilst ASH has been a collective, this place is largely me.

My music tastes are extremely varied. Over the past nine years, I've become noted for Power Pop and New Wave, but that's a small part of what I like and this place will reflect that.

This place isn't Pay To Play or any such term. I review what I like. In the past I've reviewed good and bad and sometimes been scathing. The policy here is that only what I like will be featured. It's unfair to be negative to something that others may like just because it doesn't float my boat.

Having said that, it's important to note that this place isn't a PR Blog. nor is it gushing, I just write about what moves me. I wouldn't tell you about something that I don't rate. People who respect my opinion will, therefore, know that if something appears on here, I like it.

Interview wise, I don't do them. I'm not good at them, but I do like talking about music and with musicians. So there are two planned audio features. The monthly Podcast, starting next month, will feature an hour of talking and the hope is that it will develop into musicians talking about music, which will include stuff about their career.

The other monthly audio affair will be a sort of Radio Show.

Here will feature the new and the old and any artist who wishes to have anything featured on here can contact me at any time. I love to discover artists that I've never heard.

The days of these sort of Blogs featuring hundreds of comments are long gone, so I'm aware that a lot of the chat will be on Social Media, particularly Facebook. That's ace, it's not about comments, it's about you liking something that's being reviewed and then supporting the artist in any way you can.

The Junipers - Red Bouquet Fair

Leicester seems the centre of the universe at the moment and The Junipers are doing their bit to keep it that way. Their 2014 debut, Paint The Ground, but this follow up is even better. There's added depth and melody.

The mellow vibe is still there as is the vocal strength, but the arrangements add far more. It's classic Psych Pop but not stuck in that mode. There are times that they could be The Idle Race and yet others when they could be China Crisis and of course, Beatles comparisons spring far and wide.

Robyn Gibson's voice is a thing of beauty and everything seems aimed at enhancing that. It's one of those albums that you play all the way through.




You can buy the album for download or on CD here. The best way to listen to this though is on Vinyl and Sugarbush have released limited editions on Black or Red Vinyl. You can buy these from the Bandcamp site, but International Dwellers get free postage direct from Sugarbush.

The band celebrate the album's release with a show at The Musician in Leicester on Thursday 25th. The support is the wonderful, Duncan Maitland, well worth six quid of your money.

Thee Oh Sees - A Weird Exits

Amidst all this sing along chorus stuff, there has to be a blow out and Thee Oh Sees are back. The new album A Weird Exits is released on Friday and it's suitably noisy.

John Dwyer's crew are in two drummer mode and it's suitably excellent. Not for the faint hearted, it's a great dollop of 60's Garage Psych. San Franciscan excellence.

They begin a tour around Europe and the UK from Sunday before returning to States dates. Details can be found here.

You can listen to the full album below :

Then you can head off and buy the album from Castle Face Record's site whwere there is a splendid 45 plate Vinyl release here. Alternatively you can buy the CD at the favourite emporium of your choice.

The Legal Matters - An Intro EP

The Legal Matters have released a Free EP on Noisetrade. Ignore the six dollar tip, the band would like you to download it and see what you are missing. You can find it here.

I know most of you will want to head off there now, so right click and you can continue to read about why I like this band and for those unconvinced souls, well you can then head off there after the read.

The Legal Matters 2014 self titled debut remains a regular play here. I didn't buy it on a whim, I liked what all three band members had done earlier and this seemed a marriage made in heaven plus I knew Nick Piunti had helped out.

Two of that fine album's songs are on the Free EP, namely The Legend Of Walter Wright and We Were Enemies. The album thrives on it's Beatlesque pop, like The Posies before Jon and Ken bought a load of keyboards, so in turn Big Star-ish.

You can still buy the album here



If you had to sum up where they fit though, it would be in Teenage Fanclub territory. Now I know, TFC comparisons are ten a penny, equal only to the new Jellyfish or XTC, but in this case it's true and to prove it, the third track is a splendid cover of Teenage Fanclub's Don't Look Back.

So what of the trio?

Well I loved Chris Richards And The Subtractions two albums, particularly 2013's Get Your La La's Out (and what a great title that is). You can still buy Chris's stuff here. The Hippodrome album is ace too.




Andy Reed has had a great solo career too from 2008's Fast Forward album onwards. Great melodic laid back pop. He was also in the latter day line up of The Verve Pipe. You can find more on Andy's offerings here. A great place to start is the recent An Introduction To album.




Last, but certainly not least, is Keith Klingensmith. Keith was in Hippodrome with Chris as well as the pair being the duo behind The Phenomenal Cats. Keith is also the man behind the wonderful Futureman Records label, at times, the saviour of Power Pop here.

I'm really looking forward to the upcoming Legal Matters' second album, released very soon on the Omnivore Label.

The fourth EP track is Anything, an exclusive from the upcoming Conrad album. You can keep in touch with released dates and all things The Legal Matters wise at their website here.