Me too mate. I loved A Storm in Heaven and bought A Northern Soul the day it came out, limited addition with postcards. I saw their first reformation gig at The Leadmill, the first time they ever played History live.
Why does Urban Hymns seem to be their only album that gets wide-scale recognition? Sure, it is absolutely brilliant, but A Storm In Heaven is on-par, and A Northern Soul is much better... It's the same with Oasis - Definitely Maybe was their best album, but the media bums over (What's The Story) Morning Glory. Stones are the same - Second Coming is a brilliant album, but it has been ignored for years. My opinion, obviously. I saw their 'second' reformation gig at The Roundhouse in 2008, it was class.
havnt read a single thing on this saw the topic and this [video=youtube;TGCgUZhlvMc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGCgUZhlvMc[/video]
i'll bite definaltly maybe one of the best punk debut albums ever [video=youtube;0eUp6es-ypE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUp6es-ypE[/video]
1/ The Beatles 2/ Led Zepplin 3/The Rolling Stones 4/ Black Sabbath 5/ Deep Purple 6/ Dire Straits 7/David Bowie 8/The Sex Pistols 9/Jethro Tull 10/ Elvis Costello
if your gonna live in the 70's don't forget [video=youtube;c42Y75cmqag]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c42Y75cmqag[/video]
They had a couple of fantastic tunes. Listening to the radio yesterday and they played Joe Jackson - he was great too.
I criticised him and his band because they were ****, not because he had polio. The Blockheads were definitely the media darlings, but they were about as popular as Black Lace with the youth of the time and with songs like 'Hit Me With Your Rythm Stick', 'Reasons To Be Cheerful' and 'Sex and Drugs and Rock n Roll' as their biggest hits it's easy to understand why. I don't know how old you were in the 80s, but I know that the majority of the kids at my school (ID& the Bs target age group) saw them as a sort of crap punk version of Chas and Dave. It was mainly the BBC (in a growing culture of Political Correctness) as you mentioned, that championed them and if it's ****ish to mention that then I put my hands up. Also to say Madness or The Sex Pistols owed anything to the Blockheads is on a par with saying Led Zeppelin owed a lot to Cliff Richard.
The career of Suggs, dynamic Madness frontman, sometime television presenter and all round cheeky chappy, has taken many twists and turns since his band sprang to prominence back in the late 1970s. His latest endeavour, however, was catalysed in the oddest of circumstances. “I turned 50 last year,” he recalls from a quiet room in a London pub, “and on that very day my favourite cat died, right in front of me, and it really got me thinking.” The result of said contemplation is the stage show Suggs: My Life Story in Words and Music. “When your kids are around you don’t really have time to sit thinking and staring at your navel, but they moved out last year and I felt like there were a few loose ends to tie up. So in the show I talk about how I found out about my dad, who I never knew, how I became Suggs and add all the amazing and funny and unfortunate things that have happened to me. Oh, and throw in a few songs.” Hitting the nation’s theatres as a solo performer with only piano playing sidekick Deano there for moral and musical support means it’s been a challenge he’s currently relishing. That said, not having six band members to back him up and bounce off is taking a little getting used to. “It does get a little bit lonely,” he explains between sips from his pint. “But at the moment it’s all too scary and I don’t have time to worry much. If I’d done 200 performances and it was all polished I might get a bit bored, but now I’m learning so much every night. The audience can go from a row of smiling grannies to drunken Madness fans all shouting and falling over.” So does this theatrical undertaking, one that appears rooted in the age-old tradition of vaudeville, bear much relation to the musical exploits of Madness? “Absolutely,” he says without hesistation. “Because Ian Dury and Ray Davies influenced us so much and they were influenced by Max Miller and all that music hall stuff so it all ties in. “We’re all such extroverts so messing around in our videos and wearing daft costumes – bumble bees, coppers, exploding traffic wardens, sailors, soldiers, our Egyptian phase, plenty of cross-dressing – was like a dream come true.” Presumably having no band mates to answer to offers a refreshing artistic liberty. “I can definitely ad lib, even change something mid-song if I like, and that’s what makes it exciting. That said, one time I completely cocked it up,” he recalls with a cautionary chuckle. “I went off on a wild tangent and came back in 1975 and not 1972 – I felt like I’d got out of the bloody lift at the wrong floor. But even then the audience goes with you.” Chatty, witty and positively brimming with bonhomie, Suggs is clearly a performer who approaches each step of his career and every challenge with genuine passion. A long-overdue autobiography is in the pipeline – “that’s been helpful for this show as the research I’ve done for the book has helped me remember what the hell I’ve done with my life!” Plus, he’s currently working on a new Madness album with an extensive winter tour already pencilled in. All things considered it’s tempting to view the man as a genuine national treasure, albeit a national treasure with a hint of Tommy Cooper thrown in. How does that combination sit? “The Tommy Cooper comparison is great. When you’re talking about the mystery of great performers you just look at him – so in the moment. It’s just mesmerising and the audience isn’t really able to work out whether he himself knew where he was going next – those nuances you can only get when you’re away with the fairies. That,” Suggs concludes, “is what I’m aiming for.” Suggs: My Life Story in Words and Music, 6 Feb, Buxton Opera House; 16 Feb, City Varieties, Leeds; 17 Feb, Burnley Mechanics; 18 Feb, Hull New Theatre
