The Brighton band most likely to succeed back then was the Piranhas. Joby and the Hooligans had a close friendship with them at the beginning- we did a lot of gigs together. Johnny Piranha had a transparent perspex guitar which looked as though it was made out of Fox's Glacier Mint. They were a really interesting bunch of blokes- I inherited Dick the drummer's awful printing job in Lewes, with the National Front man working there: Dick went on to work at Lewes railway station. Reg, the bass player, became chief sparks at the Cafe Royale in Regent Street, after being lumbered with the tax bill for all of them because he was the only one with a proper job. Madness used to attend their early London gigs, begging for a support slot. If you listen to the Piranhas and then Madness, you'll see why- the same bouncy reggae poppy vibe is there in both of them.
They had a hole in the floor of their van to wee out of when they were driving long distances.
Anyway, I digress.
They had great songs, and one song which bordered on extreme cheesiness called Saxophone. It was written when they acquired a sax player, Zoot, in order to show off his skills. I think Zoot came from the University of Sussex or something- he was definitely a Proper Musician.
Joby and the Hooligans created a dance (pretentious, moi?) from the film Metropolis, which had been screened in full on BBC 2. You know the bit when the workers trudge along in single file with heads bowed, each one with an arm on the shoulder of the person in front, with an air of abject misery? Well, that was us; we trudged this way and that, across the front of the Buccaneer, from one side of the little stage to the other, changing direction dramatically as we got to each end, all the way through the songs.
Boy, we must have been irritating!
I sent this to John, who writes 'Lovely to hear Helen's reminiscenses - and a lot of it is news to me - about Dick and his printing job, for instance. But a few misrememberings. It was me that went to Sussex, not Zoot - he went to art college, I think. And he wasn't that 'proper' a musician! Hole in the van to wee out of... no no no - I remember driving the roadies mad with our frequent piss stops. The perspex guitar was borrowed for one gig - which I can't remember much about because I played it under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs.'
ReplyDeleteAh, the hole in the van floor was probably just an exciting fib, then! What a shame!
ReplyDeleteI don't think Zoot was from the art college- I went there, but maybe he was after my time. A mystery.
I remember seeing Dick in his uniform on Lewes station platform once. The printers were awful and deserve their own posting, if I haven't done it already. Rural Sussex was thronging with National Front people- Kate Hayes told me about being burned on the arm with a cigarette once.
And the perspex guitar- well, that was the first time I ever met the Piranhas. At that time, they wore policeman suits. It was at a gig upstairs at the Resource Centre, before they properly opened up the vault for gigs. H McC
Hi Helen,
ReplyDeleteI went to art school; Ravensbourne, in Kent. I'm a graphic designer again now, in New York. I was never really a very proper musician: I bought an old sax for 20 quid in the Swap Shop in Croydon that came with "The First Step in playing the Saxophone", but never really got past page 3. Still got my old Chefs singles, I was singing "Thrush" to myself just the other day! I've been enjoying your blog since I found it yesterday.
All the best,
Zoot Alors!
Oh, I forgot; I also payed off a fifth of the huge tax bill, by working in a factory making badges! Probably tax on money that I never even got anyway, but you know how that goes.
ReplyDeleteZoot.