A1 - Normal Service Will Never Be ResumedA2 - Married Men
B1 - Several Grabs (At The Empty Holdall)
B2 - Stage Gear (Live)
Here's the 1st 7" from this Nottingham Band (1973*-80) - their only previous recording is "Playing At Love" on the compilation "Nottingham Castle Rock" - PRIVATE FEST 002 (1973 - 500 pressed)
The EP's a mixed bag, but good enough for NME to make it "single of the week" & call them "Art college clever dicks who have earned their precocity"
The Band began life as
Wayne Evans (voc bass)
Paul Cronk (guitar)
John Herod (guitar)
Mick Baratt (drums)
But by now were
Wayne Evans (voc bass)
John Maslen (guitar)
Clive "Myph" Smith (guitar)
Mick Barratt (drums)
Brendan Kidulis (keyboards) left the band early '79 & made a pretty good 45 in 1980
Discography
7"
-Normal Service Will Never Be Resumed EP - Cleverly Bros CBM-002 (1978)*
-Hearts Of Stone/ You Know I Love You (But I Don't Know How I Know) - Gaffa'n' Product ZZZZ-S001 (1979)*
-Attitude Dancing (Land of 1000 Dunces)/ Long Weekend - Gaffa'n' Product ZZZZ-S002 (1979)*
-Man With A Motive/ Your Side My Side -Gaffa'n' Product ZZZZ-S003 (1980)
* these recordings have many sleeve variations, many hand made by the band
-According to 45 Revs there was also a recorded but unreleased 4 track 7" EP, (working title of "Firm Favourites" - Use Your Imagination / Feeble Without A Pause / Parish / The Raver) that was due to be their 2nd release in early '78 on the Croydon based Next Records.
LP
Neither Use Nor Ornament - Gaffa'n' Product ZZZZ-001 (1979)
Peel session (unreleased)
Baby Sitting / Anna Nervosa / White But Not Quite / The Rota / Gangster Tendencies - (produced/engineered by Trevor Dann & Mike Robinson in Madia Vale studio 4 - recorded 20.03.1979 & aired 04.04.1979)
Wayne Evans played in many Nottingham based bands after the band demise, the latest being The Last Pedestrians
Gaffa It seems have returned go here for some footage of the gig (Review here) or follow the links to hear their Peel Session & LP
Sounds & scans below
http://www.mediafire.com/?xnb9y8ji21mhlz2
Fantastic that you tracked this down. I've been intensely curious about Gaffa for long time and requested it...you certainly come through and I appreciate it. The title, which seemed so ominous and evocative of songs like "Reuters" and "Disorder" had me expecting doomy, student-y punk. (Also, gaffa is typically gray or black, and useful for goths playing dress-up). Hearing the song itself, it sounds more like the telly fritzed half through "Crossroads".
ReplyDeleteI also like the fact they're from Nottingham; aside from the Favourites, Medium Medium, and Sparta, nothing comes to mind. Surely a Robin Hood-theme band would go down a storm.
Having heard it, I can guess why they're so forgotten. It's quirky pub rock, with a clever singer and cheery bounce, like if XTC added Jools Holland and they did years of warm-up for Ian Dury & the Blockheads. Not exactly Dr. Feelgood, nor the Attractions...but the reality of midlands pub-ery should not merit condemnation. Especially as Gaffa seem quite clever, and at the very least D.I.Y. I'm intrigued as to the rest...although I too easily imagine them changing into ska.
Hi Brian - thanks for the comment - As to great bands from Nottingham "Ten Years After" jump to mind.
ReplyDeleteI've also sourced Gaffa's 2nd 45 (unfortunatly it hasn't got one of the many sleeve variations) which is much more powerpop/New wave - drop me an e-mail & I'll send a link
You can also hear the B-side of the 3rd 45 if you follow the link on "Returned" above
The prize goes to you sir! Ten years ago (or thereabouts - I am too shamefaced to make puns at the moment) I spent a winter's week in Eindhoven with my brother, smoking funnel joints and watching the Isle of Wight film...the one where everything goes as badly as possible for the organizers. Ten Years After and Family stole the show of course - cheers for the Midlands. (And the Welsh, since I did know TYA's bassist was of the elect.) I'd certainly rate them with Jeff Beck or Chicken Shack's imagination lady and they are one "progressive" album band I can get me raunchier mates hooked on. I like their psych numbers too; "The Sounds" is even more underrated than Gaffa or the Warm!
ReplyDeleteUntil now I thought TYA was Wolver boys since Slade was doing "Hear Me Calling" (and then Swell Maps was doing "Get Up & Get With It"). That's exceptionally poor reasoning on my part. HOWEVER, I did pull out my trusty Hicks From The Sticks and found TWO more Notting-nutters: Art Failure and Medium Medium!
It was then I used google and found, lo and behold, Plummet Airlines! Plus the two goth acts from Dead Good, Fatal Charm and B-Movie. (I expect so Maid Marian has something to listen to while Rob and his mates enjoy the forests' fine crop of metal bands and easily-spooked bobbies. If that don't cheer her up, she can switch to Ann Briggs...the siren of Nottingham.)
So by this time I was wishing I'd paid more attention to the old scrub. Seconds later, the following, scientific impossibility had me packing a bindle and heading out for the merry men...for without Nottingham, not only would Witchfynde never risen to make Venom seem credible (to say nothing of their Rondelet enterprise putting more smiles on Gary Bushell's face than a day in the WC with a stack of Beanos and a packet of crisps.)
Doubly shocking is that Nottingham could simultaneously throw up Paper Lace, that band that did "The Night Chicago Died" and "Billy Don't Be A Hero". Fitting themes in the hands of Joy Division, perhaps - but useless in the hands of these Buck's Fizz types...a Bucks Fizz that denudes itself of good grammar, rather than miniskirts! Maybe I'm wrong, and they've got better songs...I mean, I'd hate to forgo the Equals just because of that "Rub-a-Dub" song.
Looks like I got carried away. I type fast and mindlessly. And while listening to Gaffa on repeat. ("Normal Service", and the Snivelling Shit's "Crossroads", means that two songs describing my old babysitter in cold-turkey terms were recorded in the same year?)
My email is magmagoblin&gmail.com and I'll send you a list of links you might enjoy...like, have you heard the first song on the first Fans EP, the Georgia band?
Cool stuff - already had mp3s of the LP but I'd never seen or heard the Peel Session before. Anyone got any of the other singles?
ReplyDeleteExcellent article above. May be you need more time to share all the knowledge that you have.
ReplyDeleteSo, thanks for share this information with us, I always come across this amazing post.
Great post, you can find the album here http://www.fade2grey.com/rip-it-up/gaffa/
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments / link
ReplyDelete