Welcome to the RPM Record Club, week ending Friday 28th October. Another week, another PM...but more importantly, another week of musical diversity from the sound systems of the grown up RPM collective. Over to...

Tony -

"Here's my 3 for the week - flu jab tomorrow and then the clocks go back, so here are some warm sounds to lighten the gloom with best wishes to everyone."

Jayne -

"Dear RPMers, thank goodness we have music to help retain our sanity and divert feelings of hopelessness.

Heard this at a singaround this week, with lots of audience participation..."

John -

"Hi RPMers, Hope you're all well and enjoying this wonderful Autumn weather. Here are three tracks from LPs I've listened to this week."

Philip -

"My choices this week include a track from an album I'm a bit undecided about as yet, but I like this particular song; a number from Bruce's forthcoming soul covers album (due out 11th November); and a song by a woman whose name is new to me although she has apparently been trying to make it in Nashville for several years- her new album sees her exploring a broader palette of musical styles than hitherto and was released in the States last week. As yet there is no news of a British release date except as an MP3 download (Sod that for a game of soldiers! On the evidence available on Youtube it's great stuff, so maybe next year?)."

"Best wishes as always."

Alan -

"Three more form the compilation album library this week."

Attila the Stockbroker- 'The Ballad of Airstrip One' (from 'Not just Mandela' LP released mid 1986. Davy Lamp label)

"Generally I can always remember where I bought a particular record from but, here, I have no memory of purchase at all. I suppose this album could be filed under 'worthy' as it features the regular 'agit-prop' stalwarts such as Billy Bragg, Hull's famous 'third best' band' The Housemartins' (before they developed serious po-face-ism), the Neurotics and, under the guise of Porky the Pig, none other than one time Housemartins' press officer and regular TV panelist Phill Jupitus, Also weighing in was Attila the Stockbroker with this anti-war track which has become the title song to a recent collection of his 'lost tapes'. Attila (AKA John Baine) attended the University of Kent (a lowly 2.2 in French and Politics) and then became a City stockbroker clerk. A casual semi-insult from a work colleague regarding his eating habits saw him acquire his sobriquet and become a bassist with several minor punk bands before he began appearing as a 'ranting' poet at punk gigs in 1980 and he then toured most of Europe over the next ten years (including four gigs in East Germany before the wall came down). He formed Barnstormer 1694 in 1994 and he still appears with this band as well as continuing to do solo appearances to this day and, to date, has performed around 3800 gigs and released over 40 albums. Profits from the 'Not just Mandela' album (if there were any of course) went to the Anti Apartheid movement."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4AwCCkT2HA

Basczax - 'Karleearn Photography' (from 'Earcom 2' LP released late 1979. Fast Product label)

"Initially known as Basssax, as it was the intention to feature those two instruments as the focal point of interest, this Redcar band promised a little and achieved just that! Formed in 1978 when glam rock fan Mick Todd became disillusioned with Bowie's move into disco soul at the very time that the News of the World and others began writing about this new music which was 'polluting' our youth, 'Punk Rock'. He attended a gig by the Clash at Middlesborough's Rock Garden on May 19th 1977 and, within weeks, had formed the first version of Basssax and managed to blag a gig at Redcar's Rock City supporting the Undertones who were managed by Bob Last. That performance saw Basssax dressed in bright kimonos topped off with white face paint and black nail varnish (a' la Sparks 'Kimono my house' LP sleeve) and, despite their unpolished act, Last asked the band to support the 'Tones at Liverpool's Eric's club two weeks later. Out went the kimonos and cover versions and in came a new £200 synth and a batch of 'new' songs including 'Karleearn Photography'. The band then went into a local studio, laid down four tracks and hightailed it to Edinburgh where they managed to track down Last. Impressed perhaps by their detective skills, he agreed to release a couple of their songs and included rerecordings of 'Karleearn Photography' and "Celluloid Love" on the Earcom 2 album alongside a couple by the Thursdays (see Week 21/2022) and a fine couple of out-takes by Joy Division which were given to Last by Tony Wilson's Factory Records to try to ensure the Fast label's viability. Sensing an upward curve in the successometer the band changed their faintly ridiculous name to the totally ridiculous Basczax, rehearsed like crazy and were rewarded with a £10 gig supporting the Damned at Cleethorpes aptly named Winter Gardens where Todds newest item of stage wear, a blue feather jumper, disappeared mysteriously at the end of the gig. Several weeks later, supporting the Damned once again in Redcar, Todd noticed that Dave Vanian was wearing a blue feathered top remarkably similar to his missing apparel. Apres gig Vanian admitted it had 'fallen into his bag' and offered free beers as a payment. The eagle eyed amongst you will notice that Vanian is wearing the top on the cover to the Damned's debut album 'Damned, Damned, Damned'. Basczax continued to tour, supporting Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and released a further self financed single and signed to CBS after changing their name to The Flaming Mussolinis."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwYaZVlZCCo

Albertos y Lost Trios Paranoias- 'Gobbin' on life' (from 'Heroes and Cowards' LP released Italy mid 1978. Stiff Records label)

A band we saw several times in the punk era seventies, and what memorable gigs they were. Here was a band capable of puncturing the ego of any high fallutin' rock star as well as duplicating any of the genres around at that time. On their debut album, the Velvets 'Heroin' became 'Anadin', complete with a spot on Lou Reed vocal take off, late era Pink Floyd were dealt a kicking in 'Mandrax Sunset Variations Pts 1-3' and the Jaws phenomenon was coupled with Bob Marley in 'Dread Jaws'......... great stuff and all compered on stage by the inimitable Les Prior. Also on-board was soon to be author and University lecturer, the late C P Lee and Jimmy (Toots) Hibbert who would later do voice overs for the Milk Marketing board (a perfect mimicry of Ian Dury) and, most popularly, Danger Mouse, Count Duckula and The BFG, He would also go on to appear in many differing roles on TV including Coronation Street and Prime Suspect. The Albertos achieved a high level of popularity on the gig circuit and were supported by many bands who went on to greater success including The Police, The Stranglers, Devo, Ian Dury and The Blockheads, The Clash, Joy Division, Dr. Feelgood, The Buzzcocks, Dr. Hook (!!), The Slits, Richard Hell and The Voidoids, The Jam and Siouxsie and The Banshees! Not bad, huh!!?? Their stage production 'Sleak' (aka 'Snuff Rock), about a band who killed themselves for entertainment, was performed in 1977 (eat yer heart out latecomers Spinal Tap!!) at the Royal Court Theatre and featured, amongst other songs, perfect p*ss-takes of the Sex Pistols ("Gobbin' On Life"), The Damned ("Kill") and The Clash ("Snuffin' Like That") as well as myriad reggae bands in "Snuffin' In A Babylon". They followed this with their TV series 'Teach Yourself Gibberish' and took 'Sleak' over to the US for several well received performances. However, the untimely death of Les Prior in 1980 seemed to severely undermine the band and they split in 1982.

Here's two fer the price of one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrQi66kxd-I

"Politics.............. NO!!! not this week. Oh, alright then.............The very person who has raised taxes to a 70 year high is the new PM, possibly supporting a Chancellor who promises to put them even higher!! He warned the previous PM that her plans to borro............. oh, fer Gawds sake! Enough already.......... they'll stick it out now for 18 months, refer back to the last election manifesto and pretend that the last six weeks' carnage was by some other party!!!"

Nina -

"Hi folks. Hope you're all well. Enjoyed last week's selections as ever.

I'm in Budapest, it's ace. Haven't spotted George Ezra yet. 😁

Saw the Cure on Wednesday night so 3 from them this week. Ponderous + ploddy performance at times but they revved up for a finale of faves."

"Take care all. Cheers!"

Dave -

"Hi RPMers, hope you are all well . Here’s my 3 tunes this week."

Piers -

"Hi Folks,

Some time in the late 80s Early 90s, I was driving a Black Dodge Dart... with tinted windows! A couple of friends and I had chosen some favourite songs with 'American' towns named in them. We made up a whole bunch of mix tapes with the aid of a pocket atlas and after pushing the first one in the slot we took off...

We started at Chelsea (Girls) Vermont up near the Canadian Border and via all sorts of places, we headed south. I do remember that the day we hit 'Brownsville' there was a Chilli Cook Out going on in the main square! All you could eat for 50cents which was only a little less than the cost of a gallon of petrol. I can't remember if it was before or after The Streets of Laredo but deffo before we got to Roswell (yes we took unofficial side trips!)

We went down the East Coat I loved El Paso, (I bought some fabulous cheap Hawaiian shirts which had pictures of gas stations on them 3 for just a dollar) We stayed over night I liked it so much. Then on to Juaez for Tom Thumb's Blues, Nogales (Climax Chicago Blues Band) etc. The route took us from Tuscon To Tucumcari (Just in case anyone cares that's the burgh that had a culturally important town sign out on Route 66 which read 'Tucumcari Heart of the Mother Road 200 Motels' and across the bottom via Tombstone (Blues) and Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition', 'from Tuscon Arizona All the Way To Tacoma' taking in The Streets Of Bakersfield, I just remembered why we went to Sandiago, - of course - to see Tom Petty! (and that hotel from 'Some Like it Hot') up the Rocky Mountains to go 'Across The Great Divide' And up the West coast! via Pasadena and San Jose. Of course we wound up the trip driving down Dead Mans Curve! All in all it was a hoot! As John Sebastian once said in a song in the end we had drawn a smile across the face of America!

We had driven for a month taking turns sleeping, navigating, and driving and you should have seen the expression on the guys face when we dropped the unwashed car into the Hertz Rental depot at LAX and he saw the milage that we had clocked up! (Well over 8,000miles

Someone else stopped for breakfast somewhere 'empty', well south of Amarillo. (South of Lubbock too!) In a gas station not far North of The Mexican Border I had one of the most outstanding meals of my life, a breakfast of Huevos Rancheros (heavy on the Chilli) with a big glass of lime juice and then I took over the wheel. The Pilot had control of the Radio! My first action upon assuming command was to flip the dial and I have been seeking out the track that played ever since.

I could of course just play the tracks that set up the map, and I very well might sometime, but today for the first time since that epic trip I found the track that was playing on FM Radio when I pulled out of that gas station.... "

Jean -

"Have been watching Stevie Nicks concerts on Sky Arts and thought this track would get the ball rolling....Have a good week everyone. It’s good to be back."

Tim -

"Nostalgia week for me, this week, as it's 40 years since I saw my first live bands and I've been playing the albums which they were touring at the time. So here are tracks from the first 3 bands I ever saw..."

"So, what do I think of these albums now? I was struck by how strong the Saxon LP still comes across. I haven't listened to it for years, usually choosing studio albums in preference, but what a creative roll the band were riding at this time, for sure. And Diamond Head...? I loved this album when it came out, but I must admit that now, the 80s snare drum sound gets a little wearing plus I just wish vocalist Sean Harris would just shut up for a bit. He seems to have insisted on having his voice layered over everything which is just not needed. Hawkwind's Choose Your Masques I still play and it's a very solid LP....my main bug bear is that a drum machine was used in preference to a live drummer and hence you have to reconcile your ears to that trebly sounding 80s snare again. However, I can forgive this as we have the wonderful lead guitar of Huw Lloyd Langton weaving and soaring spacily throughout. Hearing this album certainly takes me back to that first sweaty, day-glo enhanced gig. Happy daze.

At the end of November at the Barbican in York, Saxon will be appearing in support of their recent Carpe Diem LP...with support from Diamond Head. The circle is unbroken....I shall be there."

'Til Next Time...