a thread for great bands (and artists) that just didn't...quite...fit.

city boy. crack the sky. numbers band. doctors of madness. tin huey. oh, there are a lot more.

listening now to the (live!) 1977 debut by Burlesque called Acupuncture. i dig it a lot. they weren't pub rock, they weren't punk, they were...Burlesque! jazzy, bluesy, funny, kinda unclassifiable for 1977. the first friends you see on their myspace page are: tin huey, fabulous poodles, sailor, deaf school, mother goose, metro, city boy, easy street, split enz, and stackridge! which sums up this thread pretty good, actually.

Howard Werth & The Moonbeams to thread!

(in short: quirky, arty, sometimes poppy, but not really ART ROCK and too weird to hit the pop charts. unless as a catchy one hit wonder kinda thing.)

also from the burlesque myspace:

influences: Kilburn & the High Roads, Chilli Willi & the Red Hot Peppers, Kursaal Flyers, Sailor

sounds like: Snopek, Tin Huey

so, the pub is accounted for. and namechecking Sigmund Snopek will make me your friend for life.

i guess ground zero would be 10cc and sparks for this kinda band. and roxy's art-glam. and a little prog. and a little punk. and pub. and everything else ever.

scott seward, you're wonderful and one of my favorite ilx regulars, but you're not making too much sense here ("quirky, arty, sometimes poppy, but not really ART ROCK and too weird to hit the pop charts" covers a whole lot--like, too much-- ground)

i mean bands that were quirky and arty but who had an ear for pop and who weren't ART ROCK like henry cow were art rock. and whose pop was a little too weird to ever hit it big with a pop audience. and who had a mishmash of styles that didn't really endear them to one camp or another. i mean, i guess fans of regular 70's rock or hard rock liked crack the sky, but crack the sky weren't a normal rock or hard rock band.

and a lot of these bands were sold as something other than what they were. as punk or new wave or hard rock. and they no doubt disappointed a lot of punk and new wave and hard rock fans who bought their albums.

this is kinda related to my "smart art glam" thread.

which thread is that?

oh yeah that one. i remember that one.

I think Living Colour didn't fit very well at the time. Heavy rock but pretty poppy too (with the Stones connection), and some funk, but kinda proggy too.

i wonder about this -- a whole network of bands and fans must have existed in the 70s that were sub-mainstream or non-mainstream that got either wiped away or subsumed into punk. "college rock" avant la lettre

i wonder about the same thing too in the 50s-60s; apart from the boomer myth tying a vague sense of a social movement to the rock music they grew up with. like, what did a 20 year-old adlai stevenson voter listen to? there are all these blank spots...

maybe i should have out "70's major label" in the thread title. but it doesn't actually have to be the 70's. or art glam. just bands that didn't fit the mold. bands too this or too that to be embraced by genre fans or the mainstream. last crack would be a metal example. on a metal label and sold to a metal audience and metallic too, but too weird to be "metal". on their own astral plane, if you dig.

maybe alex harvey is the root of it all. not glam, not punk, roots in 50's skiffle and R&B, makes wordy arty albums in the 70's that cover just about all of 20th century music. and he did it with a smile. and he was theatrical without ever having to be peter gabriel, god bless him.

where would the heavy metal kids have been without alex harvey?

As I read the first sentence of the post, I was thinking "Deaf School" and there it was by the fourth sentence. I'd stick The Mumps in here as a NYC version of the sound.

Hackamore Brick

(in short: quirky, arty, sometimes poppy, but not really ART ROCK and too weird to hit the pop charts. unless as a catchy one hit wonder kinda thing.)

wire surely tick most of these boxes ?

Wire fit punk and post-punk pretty cleanly and don't have a burlesque boner in their bodies.

but tick some of the boxes, sure!

doh .. only read the synopsis...
back to watching the TV i must now go.

Smart art-glam suggestions?

yeah, there's a circus-rock element to a lot of this stuff...

70's hello people and my beloved molkie cole fit the bill in a big way.

i mean, Bricks, is just a weird friggin' album. it is ALL over the place.

http://991.com/newGallery/Hello-People-Bricks-417482.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/suff1107/MolkieCole-FRONT.jpg

not that 60's hello people were any less weird. bricks is a lot more enjoyable to me than the 60's records.

The Durocs and Ron Nagle

i've never heard the durocs album! i'll look for that one. and i need a copy of the bad rice album too.

Mansun

still my fave and recorded in the 70's but released in 1980: Tom Trefethen's Am I Stupid Or Am I Great/It's All Mom's Fault album. what an album. and hard to describe. those it has plenty of poppy moments. i urge all adventurous ilxors to find a copy.

mansun, really? i just think of them in a blur of blurechobellysuedeplacebococoandthebeandodgywhateverelse.

but denim probably. and go-kart mozart for sure.

(but i should probably listen to some mansun. i've never wanted to really.)

Their album 'Six' was an epic of not-fitting.

really, well, now i'm intrigued.

This thread makes me think of the Beats, also sometimes known as the Upbeats.

Athens GA band that I think was a studio owner plus whoever was around. Pete Buck was one of the people who was occasionally around. They have a promo EP and then a CD collecting a lot of their stuff (but not everything on the promo CD).

Tracks range from jangle pop to truly horrible fusion to odd Beatles covers to sort-of space rock. There's no rhyme or reason to this. Their best song (on the EP, not on the CD) is by Kate Pierson's (B-52's) sister: Jello Party Mania. Very odd, semi-novelty song about throwing a jello themed party.

This band/thing totally baffles me in a way that few musicians do.

Whoops, that should read "(but not everything on the promo EP)."

How bout The Alpha Band? They seem like they fit here.

The Quick?

alpha band definitely fit. their albums are conundrums. who did they appeal to????

the quick fit in the way that they straddle disco/rock/pop/new wave/underground. but they were pretty straightforward, songwise, no? or maybe i've never heard the weird quick songs.

And now that I'm listening to The Alpha Band again for the first time in eons, they're giving off a slight Spherical Objects vibe and that band fits here big time. Even Carducci says so:

"You had to be really good to be an English band in the late 1970s and get ignored by this country's Anglophiles. You had to be strict essentialists and decline to provide a stylish meal for the psychiatric appetites of the terminally, tribally cool. The Spherical Objects were that band. The name itself denies the hungry hipster a hold."
Rock and the Pop Narcotic (203)

And if hungry, hungry hipsters weren't buying, who the hell was (besides me and Bimble RIP)?

you know what's funny? i'm listening to the debut by Face Dancer from 1980 right now and there is an old sticker on it (maybe from a radio station) that someone has written the word "prog" on. now, Face Dancer weren't prog, but i can see this person's confusion. they were more of a quirky power pop band with some interesting flourishes and occasional hard rock moves sold as aor and bought by almost nobody. which is a shame, cuz it's a really good album. and totally faceless looking. one of my favorite albums from the early 70's is by the band The Facedancers and THEY were also pegged as "prog". but, again, they weren't really. more of a freeflowing jazzy psych with some prog moves. okay, i'm confusing myself.

Maybe the quick just ain't as weird as I remember....all this talk of Burlesque takes me back: in the mid-seventies when almost no British bands came to Dublin(no local promoters that weren't crooks and/ or more interested in showbands, no venues, the 'troubles') they played Moran's - a legendary venue - a few times, and earned devotion as a result. Eddie and the Hot Rods, Roogalator and Racing Cars are other visitors i remember. 'Johnny the Fox', the doorman, let me in but told me not to be seen with a drink.

this is a GREAT list by the way:

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Zaragon/uk_under_the_radar__1975_1982_/

some stuff i've heard, some stuff i REALLY want to hear, etc.

t5he korgis is another good one. though they did have a big hit.

always loved the fingerprintz and cowboys international albums on that list. and brian protheroe needs a revival.

the yachts for sure. love that hockey-rink organ sound! (and songs called "yachting type," which was iirc actually *critical* of dudes who owned yachts)

The Tubes?

scott, that list is custom made for this thread and mine. Art Objects got a reissue on cherry red or somewhere recently. Really good...even if the singer is just a "poet" or something.

though it's funny how some calls were made...people behind the list may not be up on the "post-punk revival" scene. Josef K or John Foxx for instance, are iconic canon releases to very large populations of people, hardly "under the radar".

yeah there is definitely stuff on that list that has been re-heralded over the last however many years. but some of that stuff i am really curious about. just based on band name and album covers alone. i'll definitely be checking out some of the myspace links.

forgot the actual burlesque myspace link. lotsa songs to listen to on there:

http://www.myspace.com/burlesqueuk77

and there is stuff like magazine and the vibrators on that list. not very under the radar. but overall, i dig it.

scott, that list is custom made for this thread and mine. Art Objects got a reissue on cherry red or somewhere recently. Really good...even if the singer is just a "poet" or something.

Keep meaning to investigate that. The 'poet' was Gerard Langley who went on to front the Blue Aeroplanes. Speaking of whom, a lot of their earlier stuff was a lot weirder than people ever gave them credit for.

This is probably a better way to approach the question than my thread - 70s Genres

Panties get wadded at the mention of genres, but just talking about the bands that slip between the cracks seems to work. I'm still curious as to how people would weight the glam/prog/art rock elements of the likes of Be Bop Deluxe, Deaf School, Heavy Metal Kids, and Pink Fairies.

A lot of these bands seem to have started in the twilight zone years of 1972-1975 and share an affinity for Bowie. One band that falls into this cross genre netherworld is Dead Fingers Talk, whose "Storm the Reality Studios" is a nice sleazy mix of Ziggy Bowie and the Velvets. Another favorite of mine is Doll by Doll, whose lead singer, Jackie Leven, went on to release some very highly regarded solo albums.

The first Crack the Sky album is great. It's kind of what Steely Dan might have sounded like if Steely Dan had been a hard rockers instead of Bard College jazzbos.

i'm not particularly a fan, but wouldn't oingo boingo fit into this general category?

got the 2nd Burlesque album! so great. punky, arty, proggy, pubby, and music hall-y all in one quirky package.

i totally missed the revived with that fastnbulbous mix! great idea!

the two post-Mott British Lions albums featuring Overend Watts and Dale Griffin and the singer from Medicine Head kinda fit here too. been listening to them a lot lately.

the 2nd British Lions album was made in the 70's, but the label they were on wouldn't release it and Cherry Red was kind enough to put it out circa 1980/81(?). didn't do a lot of good for the band, they had broken up by then, but a nice gesture all the same.

What big ears you have, Scott!

Listening to Howard Werth now - Doctors of Madness to follow!

Howard Werth was discussed on my "smart art glam" thread.

I never heard of Howard Werth & the Moonbeams but I may still have a copy of 'Indian Summer', a single by Audience, Werth's previous band, from 1972 on Charisma Records.

here's a good sui generis example of what i'm talking about here. and a ground zero example as it predates the 76 revolution (came out in 1974). firmly of the pub + bowie + progressive flourishes(produced by alan parsons) + a genuine weirdness and theatrical bent. roy wood and mott-derived basically. with all that other stuff thrown on top!

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oUvAUjqKPbU/S8NmboXC3WI/AAAAAAAAAWE/hT1dBJ96Gnk/s1600/psychomodolp.jpg

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

howard werth and moonbeams with no hyperbole is one of my favorite records of the 70's. for the first side alone! okay, fine, i have a LOT of favorite records from the 70's but its up there big time.

Pretty big band in the UK (xp)

Still remember the first time i heard that....Kid Jensen on 208, crackly and far away on MW

'That' being psychomodo

Tho admittedly when they'd toned down the glam and become more of a singer-songwriter vehicle (xxp)

Xpost. That first British Lions album has a cover (not as good as the original) of one of the best Kim Fowley songs "International Heroes." I've never been able to find out who the co-writer of that and most of the tracks on the Fowley album, Kerry Scott, is/was.

and i don't know how many times i'm gonna say it but if you are a fan of twisted 70's poprock: MOLKIE COLE MOLKIE COLE MOLKIE COLE! okay, i'm done.

Doctors of Madness surprisingly better than I remember.

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

Laser Pace would fit this thread concept, yeah?

Love "The Psychomodo" sooooooo much!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmcMrpj704w

yes to laser pace! they were gloriously unclassifiable and way ahead of their time.

Scott, you've been championing Mott The Hoople a bunch. If I think that 'Cavaliers' song is just outrageously great (and I DO!) which Mott sounds like this?

HELLO TO ALL FRIENDS ! I`m FROM RUSSIA !!! PLEASE HELP ME TO DOWNLOAD SOME ALBUMS 1.MOLKIE COLE - 1977,2.TRANSLATOR - HEARTBEATS & TRIGGERS - 1982,3. PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC - 1971 ( PG&E - 1971),4.JOE THOMAS - JOY OF COOKING - 1974, 5. SPLIFF - 85555 (International version - British version ) THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND IF IT`S POSSIBLE SEND THE LINKS TO MY E - MAIL.

Holy crap, there's a brand new Deaf School record?! This song isn't anything earthshaking, but it's great to hear that voice again!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fby0f420-00

<3 Deaf School so much, best band from Liverpool ever

Metro. Did anyone mention them?

Clive Langer's solo stuff is way underrated, esp the I Want the Whole World ep.

Haven't watched video, is he involved with this new Deaf School?

Last I heard from him was the punk songs for the movie Brothers of the Head.

oh he's got a band w/ Andy Mackay!

http://www.dominorecordco.com/uk/news/20-11-14/the-clang-group---the-clang-group-ep-16th-february-2015/

starting at around 2:30 here you can see HEADACHE and their unsuccessful shot at becoming the UK's 1981 eurovison entry with NOT WITHOUT YOUR TICKET

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWA2d_Zf7MM

the singer is this guy who went on to work with Trevor Horn frequently

lots of these groups seem to be projects by producers/arrangers/session musicians etc?

brian protheroe needs a revival.

― scott seward, Friday, September 11, 2009 10:32 PM (5 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Brian Protheroe is amazing. Noel Gallagher has been saying that a song on his new album is inspired by Protheroe's single Pinball, he heard it on a night out with Morrissey and Russell Brand

http://www.qthemusic.com/7871/noel-gallagher-a-night-out-with-morrissey-inspired-track-on-my-new-album-q343-preview/

don't really dig the idea of being unable to listen to Pinball without picturing Gallagher Morrissey and Brand on a night out, but if it kickstarts the Brian Protheroe revival I guess it's worth it

am I a snob for being slightly vexed by the fact that these are now the top comments on the youtube video for Pinball

FreddysNightmare78 4 months ago
I'm here because of Noel Gallagher and Morrissey. Top tune this RKID!
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Rubieraoreilly 4 months ago
Ditto !!
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Victor Santiago 2 months ago
+Rubieraoreilly Nice one Noel!
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michelle acosta cristobal 2 weeks ago
+FreddysNightmare78 me too XD
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topseyshakehands 5 months ago
noel gallagher bought me here,respect cool tune.
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Chema Fernández 7 months ago
Noel Gallagher and Morrissey brought me here. Good tune.
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sfjff1 5 months ago
Ha! Me Too!
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RedYellow Blue 2 months ago
THE CHIEF SENT ME HERE TOO

Metro. Did anyone mention them?

the Hungarian psych band? I have one of their records and it's one of my favorite 60s psych gems

i guess a new-ish contender for this thread = CLOR.

all the right ingredients of the day, a cracking album, but nope.

just did not quite fit.

Fischer-Z are maybe a bit too new wave for this thread, but maybe a close relative

Not the hungarian psych band, he's talking about the Roxy/Bowie-ish band that gave us Criminal World and Peter Godwin.

Gloria Mundi and spin-off Eddie and Sunshine

That Clor album was really good.

I liked Clor. And some songs from Whomadewho, who made zero waves in the us.

The first Who Made Who album is really solid and sort of a 00s example of this.... As far as the disco punk thing goes it's leaden and slippery rather than tense and spikey. And the vocals are... That impersonal sincerity thing.. Bryan ferry-ish?

I can't imagine hearing Roxy Music in the 70s. Actually, maybe they sounded less weird at the time.

Wrathchild America

Can't imagine listening to Roxy Music in the 70s? They fit right in! They weren't as big here in the US as elsewhere, but they had a dedicated, maybe mostly collegiate following, and heard "Love Is The Drug" fairly often on American radio for several months. Ferry's crooning (compared to Bowie's belting) was maybe too much of an acquired taste for the masses, but Bowie credited Roxy and Kraftwerk for helping him to revamp his style after hard rock and disco, also had their records playing while we filed into his shows. so yeah, we listened. T. Rex, Roxy, Bowie, Lou Reed etc, and when MTV Wave came along, the Roxy influence was very apparent: video ate the radio star, but you are what you eat. (Wait, that's the 60s talking, not the 70s or 80s; nevermind.)

Not that they didn't make some pretty wild records, especially Country Life. But seems like Family and Streetwalkers are more relevant to this thread, at least when they're being pushed and pulled and reshaped by Roger Chapman's very distinctive vocals.

If Chapman and Kevin Coyne sang with/at each other, they wouldn't back down, but everything around them would go flying backwards.

no no no no no, what i meant to say is i can't imagine the effect that roxy music had on one's brain in 1971, whether hearing the record or seeing them on "top of the pops" or whatever

that first album seems pretty innovative and original but what do i know

i'm just trying to figure out if "one's brain" is an intentional pun or not.

anyway they wore makeup so i bet most people just filed them in the same mental category as bowie and bolan and moved on. the human mind can put up with a lot of strangeness if you put the right sort of lampshade on it.

this song is so brill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvAv44zHsp8