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Clapham South Escalators (the)

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Clapham South Escalators

Clapham South Escalators – Leave Me Alone

Clapham South Escalators

Upright Records – UP YOUR 1 [1981]
Leave Me Alone / Get Me To The World On Time – Cardboard Cutout

The Clapham South Escalators were, as you probably already know, an alias for the Meteors. After the recording session of their debut album, Lewis, Fenech and Robertson had some spare time and recorded three tracks in a garage/psychedelic mould.
One side features a Fenech original which borrows its bass line from the Jam’s Funeral Pyre (see how far we are from the Meteors frantic Rockabilly) with Nigel on electric bass. But, there’s no mistake, the lyrics are 100% Fenech.
The other one is the Lewis side. Get Me to The World On Time is a cover of the Electric Prunes, a Psychedelic band from the 60’s that the Meteors played live at the time. Cardboard Cutout is an original more in a Garage-Punk vein. Both announce the forthcoming releases of the Escalators.
Retrospectively, one can see in this single the seeds of the future split of the band, with Lewis choosing to pursue in that direction.

Debbie and Jackie

Delmonas (the)

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Delmonas (the) – Hello, We Love You! The Big Beat EPs

Delmonas

Big Beat Records 10WIK 348 [2021]
Comin’ Home Baby – Chains – Woa’s Now – He Tells Me He Loves me / Hello ,I Love You – I’m The One For You – Peter Gunn Locomotion – I Want You

When they recorded After School Session in early 1983, The Milkshakes asked two of their girlfriends (Hillary and Sarah) to provide backing vocals on three songs (Cadillac, Soldier Of Love and Goodbye Girl.) It worked very well, and after adding a third member, Louise, The Delmonas were born. Of course, the Milkshakes provided the backing band.
Their debut on records took the form of two EPs on Big Beat Records in 1984.
The first one featured two covers, Mel Torme’s I’m Coming Home and The Cookies’Chains. A pair of two Hampshire/Childish originals completed the set: Woa’ Now (that the Milkshakes recorded on Fourteen Rhythm & Beat Greats) and He Tells Me Loves Me (that later appeared on the Milkshakes’The Milkshakes’ Revenge!).
Louise takes the lead on Comin’ Home in a very voluptuous manner. By comparison, Chains is very lighthearted and pure fun. Woa Now brings back a touch of Garage and Beatles’ Hamburg days feel. The best track has been kept for the end: He Tells Me He Loves Me sounds like an instant Girl Groups classic in the style of the Shangri-Las.
The second single is based upon the same pattern: two covers and two originals. Hello, I Love You is the Doors song played on the music of the Kinks’ All Day And All Of The Night. Peter Gunn Locomotion owes more to Freddie Starr’s version than the original one. The two originals (I’m The One For You and I Want You) had previously been recorded by the Milkshakes. Still, the girls added a brand new dimension to these songs, with their (dangerous) charms and sensibility, especially on I Want You, which sounds like a lost gem from Laurie records.
Both singles are now reissued by Ace/Big Beat records on this superb 10” album. 

Available here

Delmonas (the) – Comin’ Home Baby (Volume 1)

Big Beat Records SW 101 [1984]
Comin’ Home Baby – Chains – Woa’s Now – He Tells Me He Loves me

Delmonas (the) – Hello We Love You (Volume 2)

Big Beat Records SW102 [1984]
Hello ,I Love You – I’m The One For You – Peter Gunn Locomotion – I Want You

Debbie & Jackie

Bananamen (the)

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bananamen

Bananamen – The Crusher

Big Beat Records – NS 88 [1983]
The Crusher / Love Me – Surfin’ Bird

Though it was fairly easy to recognize the Meteors on the cover of the Clapham South Escalators single, the identity of the Bananamen was less obvious and more mysterious.
Here’s the story. In 1983, Ace Records released a reissue of a three-song single by the Bananamen. The Bananamen were supposedly a Minneapolis quartet that released this single in 1965 on Hava Banana records. The group was playing a noisy brand of trash, and one could see the direct influence on the Cramps. The use of a double-bass in their line-up was surprising and pretty unusual for the time. Except that… these songs were actually recorded in 1983, and instead of being from Minneapolis, the Bananamen were, in reality, the Sting Rays in disguise. I remember some reviews at the time writing that the Bananamen were so ahead of their times. There’s nothing like an excellent musical hoax. These songs later appeared on the CD compilation Single-Minded. But if you can, try to grab a copy of the original single. This music is meant for that.

Debbie & Jackie

Nigel Lewis And The Stereo Satellites

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Nigel Lewis

Nigel Lewis And The Stereo Satellites – Satellite Baby

Crazy Love Records – CLEP64434 [2021]
Satellite Baby / Surfin’ Bird – The Train Kept A Rollin’

Nigel Lewis of the Meteors fame recorded these three songs with Chris Shearwood on acoustic guitar and Stewart Rhodes on snare drum December 1980 while still playing with the Meteors.
If there’s an undeniable historical interest, the musical aspect is also gratifying if you don’t expect a clean sound or else. Don’t forget that this is the recording of an informal rehearsal. The sound is raw, and the performance somewhat wild. The terms of low-fidelity or even no-fidelity can’t even apply here. At best, one could describe it as the mix between a bare-bones version of Garage rock with a hint of Tav Falco and Panther Burns, especially in their rendition of Train Kept A-Rollin’.
It’s a limited edition of 300, including red, gold, green, white & black vinyl, so grab a copy while you can.

Nigel Lewis

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Nigel Lewis – What I Feel Now the Nigel Lewis Solo Album

Nigel Lewis What I Feel now

Media Burn MB10 [1986]
True – The Search – It’s Time – There Must Be Something – You’re My Best Friend – Love Song – Orchids And Roses – Heart Of Darkness – What I Feel Now – Ffuzzbox – Bomber

Nigel Lewis (the Meteors, the Escalators, the Tall Boys) recorded this album in 1986. He recorded it alone, using a multi-track recorder.
‘What I Feel Now’ is one weird and experimental album, to say the least. The result is a mix of garage, psychedelia, and even a bit of new wave (some tracks reminding a bit of a garage version of Joy Division.) Lewis seems in a daze (and the listener sure is after the whole album), and his voice is buried under layers of distorted and fuzz guitar with minimal drums provided by a drum machine.

The Radioactive Kid

The Toxenes

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The ToxenesThe Toxenes – Hot Rod

Killjoy records – Kill 026 [2018]

Hot Rod – Green Room – Caveman -Alley Cats
Like Prince the Toxenes are from Mineapolis but the comparison ends here. This trio plays a solid and straight in your face brand of garage rock.
Hot Rod is the perfect opener for this four-track ep. A perfect blend of garage, desperate rock’n’roll and surf. Next is Green Room which is my favourite, having a strong Cramps feel on the guitar.
B side opens with an excellent cover of the Pandoras’ Caveman and is followed by the more rockin’ Alley Cats with hiccupy vocals.
As usual with Killjoy records, it’s a limited release (400 black vinyl, 50 purple vinyl and 50 x turquoise vinyl) so grab one while you can.

Available here.

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