Hello folks!
1-2 Cut You Hair! The Story of Johnny Moped by author Simon Williams is in the shops now!
**CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER FROM THE DG SHOP**
Moped lovers may also want a copy of the recent reissued "lost album" The Search For Xerxes. More info on the album below.
If you were lucky enough to secure tickets for the sold out launch gig at The Hope and Anchor, I'll see you there!
Also in this mailout is a roundup of our next batch of releases - coloured vinyl LPs from Fabienne Delsol, a reissued LP and brand new 7" by Billy Childish & the Singing Loins, plus a brilliant compilation of Croydon punk and post-punk to coincide with the Are They Hostile? documentary!
1-2 CUT YOUR HAIR! THE STORY OF JOHNNY MOPED
By Simon Williams
Johnny Moped – The man, the band, the punk myth, the none-hit-wonder, the absent singer, the comeback (and back, and back again) king. Five decades of heroic eccentricity, elusive musicality and accidentally saving The Electric Light Orchestra.
This story has it all and so much more.
Featuring brand new interviews with Dave Berk, Slimy Toad, Xerxes and Johnny himself, plus exclusive insights from Captain Sensible, Marco Pirroni and a litany of old school expert fans and perturbed modern Moped riders, this is the only book you will ever need to read about one of the all-time great misunderstood and frequently mislaid rock ‘n’ roll troopers.
Formed in Croydon in May 1974, the band were a proto-punk band, initially calling themselves Johnny Moped and the 5 Arrogant Superstars before reverting to just Johnny Moped by January 1975. They became one of the pioneering punk bands that played at London's legendary Roxy Club.
Their track ‘Hard Lovin’ Man’ appeared on the hit various artists album Live at the Roxy WC2 (1977). The band went on to sign with Chiswick Records and released three singles and one album, Cycledelic, before splitting up. A low-key reunion album (The Search For Xerxes) came out in 1991. Sixteen years after its release Cycledelic was listed as one of the best fifty punk albums of all-time by The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Popular Music.
A documentary about the band, Basically, Johnny Moped, produced by Fred Burns, premiered in September 2013. The film further cemented the band’s legendary status. It’s currently available to watch in the UK via Netflix.
In 2016 the revitalised band released a new album It’s A Real Cool Baby on Damaged Goods Records, with a fourth studio album Lurrigate Your Mind following in 2019. With interest in the band at an all-time high, the time is now right for their story to be told.
The Search For Xerxes
Johnny Moped's “lost album” from 1990, finally gets a reissue!
I like this album, Johnny hates it. But why? I think it’s more “Johnny Moped” than any other album out there. What other album has entirely penned JM songs/ditties like ‘Soldiers’ and ‘Moped crash’ plus ad-libs and all the other little interludes in between the tracks that are pure “Moped”.
Johnny thinks it sounds like a “disco” album, which it does in places, but, hey-ho, it was 1989 and it was the age of Stock, Aitken and Waterman.
At the time there had been no Moped band since 1985-ish and certainly Slimy hadn’t been in the band since the early ‘80s. Also, there was only one album out there, Cycledelic so there was a lot of songs destined for a follow up album that never happened and it looked like we were going to be a one album band.
So, with so much unreleased material and a chronic lack of “mopedisum” I decided to embark on a little project…
This album came out in 1990 on Deltic records but the deal was that I had to produce a finished master tape that could go straight to the cutting room and be pressed, so I borrowed a 4-track Teac and a Roland sampler and Roland drum machine and got to work.
Some of the tracks sound like they were recorded in someone’s bedroom, that’s because they were, but Captain recorded some great stuff on his 8-track where I had recorded Johnny “live” and handed over a tape for him to work with (‘I’m a Spasm’, ‘Soldiers’, ‘Cut across Shorty’). Also, he provided some decent backing vocals on other tracks (‘Corpse Boogie’, ‘Hiawatha’).
DAVE BERK MAY 2022
LP TRACKLISTING - 1 – I Believed Her Lies 2 – Edwina 3 – Every Dream Came True 4 – Corpse Boogie 5 – Cut Across Shorty 6 – I Wanna Die 7 – Zogaloogajergabrox 8 – Sad Sack 9 – Soldiers 10 – Save The Baby Seals 11 – Moped Crash 12 – I'm a Spasm 13 – Hiawatha 14 – Soldiers (Alternate Version)
CD TRACKLISTING - 1 – I Believed Her Lies 2 – Edwina 3 – Every Dream Came True 4 – Corpse Boogie 5 – Cut Across Shorty 6 – I Wanna Die 7 – Zogaloogajergabrox 8 – Sad Sack 9 – Soldiers 10 – Save The Baby Seals 11 – Moped Crash 12 – I'm a Spasm 13 – Hiawatha 14 – Cut Across Shorty (Alternate Version) 15 – Cincinnati Blues 16 – Bros and Xerxes 17 – Soldiers (Alternate Version)
Are They Hostile? Croydon Punk, New Wave & Indie Bands 1977-1988
An 18 track compilation featuring the best of Croydon's punk and post punk scene!
**Release date - 2nd September**
**PRE-ORDER CD / LP HERE**
**PRE-ORDER LIMITED EDITION DVD HERE**
Are They Hostile? Is a new documentary film about the Punk, New Wave and Indie scene in Croydon in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. It takes its name from the first single by Croydon band Bad Actors. To coincide with the film’s release Damaged Goods Records are releasing a compilation vinyl LP and CD featuring bands from in the film including Johnny Moped, The Marines, The Daleks, Case, Fanatics and also bands such as The Straps who played Croydon many times usually at The Star Pub in West Croydon. The CD version also features a specially recorded introduction by the legendary ex-Croydon Greyhound DJ Peter Fox.
It’s been argued that Croydon was the birthplace of Punk in the UK, largely due to The Damned and Johnny Moped. But there was a group of other, less well-known bands who were part of that scene, or who came just after, but who didn’t achieve the same success or recognition. The film and album attempt to set the record straight by shining a light on bands such as Bad Actors, Case, The Daleks, The Heroes and Fanatics.
The music still fizzes with the energy and enthusiasm of youth and the punk ethos of just doing it. And the participants, if a bit older and slightly less slim than forty years ago, come alive in the current interviews as if connected to the mains. As the saying goes, “old punks don’t die”, but they do remember.
The documentary film takes us through the history of these bands, the people in them, the places they played and, through current interviews with “a bunch of old punks”, what they did next, and how formative and important being in a band was for them growing up.
The film is the brainchild of Bad Actor Griff Griffiths and Mark Williams and will premier at the David Lean Cinema in Croydon on 2nd September with a Q & A afterwards by Griff and Mark, and an aftershow party nearby with special celebrity guests TBC.
Griff explains: “It’s also a film about being young, being passionate, being part of something.”
LAUNCH EVENTS
Sept 2nd - Film premier at the David Lean Cinema in Croydon with a Q & A afterwards by Griff and Mark, and an aftershow party nearby with special celebrity guests TBC.
More screenings to be announced - http://www.davidleancinema.org.uk/
YouTube Teaser
TRACKLISTING
(CD Also includes intro by Peter 'Foxy' Fox)
1 – Bad Actors – Are the Hostile?
2 – Johnny Moped – Groovy Ruby (Live at the Roxy)
3 – The Marines – Step This Way
4 – Slime - Controversial
5 – Case – Smiling My Life Away
6 – The Daleks – Tiny Town
7 – Fanatics – Total Confusion
8 – The Straps - New Age
9 – The Heroes - Tarzan
10 – Bad Actors – One Of Us
11 – Johnny Moped – Incendiary Device (Live at the Roxy)
12 -The Marines – Pleasure Business
13 – Slime - Loony
14 – Case – I Don't Wanna Kill The Whales
15 - The Daleks - Rejected
16 – Fanatics – When The Sun Goes Down
17 – The Straps - Brixton
18 – The Heroes - Russia
Fabienne Delsol - WHITE VINYL REISSUES!
RELEASE DATE - 9th September
No Time For Sorrows (2004)
Fabienne moved to London in 1996, almost immediately joining the Bristols, a then studio project consisting of Liam Watson and Ed Deegan, two producer-engineers at Toerag Studios. After two albums, a few singles and several tours of Europe, the Bristols came to an end. Eager to carry on singing, Fabienne went solo. With the help of Liam Watson producing, Fabienne recorded her first album No Time For Sorrows concentrating on a more elaborate but similar style she had previously experienced with the Bristols.
Between You and Me (2007)
Over three years in the making, Between You And Me is full of swinging 60’s Ye Ye pop charm including a few French language songs and the single ‘I’m Gonna Catch Me A Rat’. It’s the usual mix of cover and new songs written by George Miller, Peder Bernhardt and fellow Damaged Goods artist Pete Molinari (who also guests on one track).
On My Mind (2010)
Put together in studio down-time and ably backed by Toe Rag's stable of musicians, On My Mind features Fabienne's customary mixture of both English and French lyrics sung with plenty of coquettish charm. The album marks something of a departure from the jaunty beat-pop and ye-ye of her previous albums however, there's a definite autumnal feel to several of the tracks, putting you in mind of what the much mooted Francoise Hardy/Nick Drake collaboration might have yielded.
Four (2019)
Four has a more nuanced and mature sound, rooted in Mellotron-drenched psych whilst retaining some snappy French pop and ‘60s garage styles. The original songs are masterfully crafted for Fabienne’s distinct delivery, and both feature a strong ‘60s groove. Carefully chosen covers are lovingly interpreted – take Lyme and Cybelle’s ‘Follow Me’, a heavy-handed garage-folk jaunt, or the stunning take on the Human Beinz’ second album opener ‘Face’. A lifelong devotee of “the Quo”, Fabienne tacklies a Spare Parts album track, whilst Francoise Hardy’s smouldering French classic ‘J’ai Fait Du Lui Un Reve’ is ethereally reimagined.
Billy Childish & The Singing Loins - At The Bridge LP
RELEASE DATE - 23rd September
In Memory of Chris Broderick of the Singing Loins, who passed away earlier this year.
We proudly present a vinyl reissue of this Medway folk classic!
A re-issue of
one of our favourite early releases and a rather overlooked classic album, a one
off collaboration between Billy Childish and legendary Medway folkies The
Singing Loins.
This was recorded in 1993 when Billy was in Thee Headcoats and The Singing Loins
were in their first incarnation. The Singing Loins formed in late 1990, a two
piece band playing “Authentic raw folk from the Medway Delta”. They
were Chris Broderick on vocals/stick and Chris ‘Arfur’ Allen on
guitar. They had recorded two classic albums before this both of which were
released on Billy’s own Hangman records.
The album features a few Childish classics reworked including ‘You Make Me
Die’ and ‘Every Bit Of Me’ as well as 4 tracks written by
Billy & The Loins especially for this album.
CLICK HERE FOR THE CD VERSION OF THIS
ALBUM
Wild Billy Childish & The Singing Loins - Song Of The Medway 7"
(A Tribute to Chris Broderick)
RELEASE DATE - 23rd September
Billy & The Loins reunite for a tribute 7” to founding Loins member Chris Broderick
Billy recorded the first two Singing Loins LPs with Chris Broderick and Arf' Alan in his bathroom at May Road, Rochester in 1991 and 1993. The lads then decided to record an LP of folk variations of Billy’s own tunes, called At The Bridge. The Singing Loins then went their own way recording many LPs. Fast forward to late 2021 and the singer Chris was diagnosed with blood cancer. Before his passing in January 2022, he let Arf (and later Loin Rob), know that he wished them to carry on the group. That said Billy proposed a memorial 45 (and an LP to follow).
The tracks:
‘The Song of the Medway’ is about their hometowns of Rochester, Chatham, Strood and Gillingham, all on the banks of the River Medway. Chatham's ancient Dockyard was where Nelson’s Victory was built.
'The Broken and the Lost of the Old Long Bar' celebrates a drinking hole on Chatham High Street (which once boasted more pubs and brothels in a single mile than anywhere in the world).
Especially written by Billy for this return of The Singing Loins, the songs are at once brand new and ancient.