El Records - search and destroy...

Destroy: The people on ebay who are driving up the bids on el related material, thus deterring me from having it all. You bastards! ;-)

destroy - monochrome set, i think they are great songwriters(see would be goods) but not much for their own material. also detroy the fact that they seem to repackage the same 17 songs on 18 different compilations.

As for el, well, it wasn't about records, really. It was about being jolly damned silly ponces and we had a whale of a time.

ha ha, I knew I'd snare one of you! ;-)

Search: Louis Philippe, Would be Goods Destroy: the guff about "englishness" and "fair play", the labels that went on to slavishly replicate El Records' image and roster except with guaranteed non-impact on wider culture : Le Grand Magistery, Siesta

The Would-Be-Goods: search "Cecil Beaton's Scrapbook", "Hanging Gardens of Reigate", "Pinstriped Rebel", "Ecuador Days", "Black Pearls of Polynesia", "Christmas in Haiti".

destroy "Bayswater Blues", "Motorbike Girl" and, whatever you do, make sure you destroy "Marvellous Boy".

Crumbs. Has El Records had any impact on wider culture? I only ask because I'd never knowingly encountered anything associated with the label until I started reading ILM. I don't make any claims to cultural omniscience, but I'm mildly disturbed that the El records phenomenon has slipped under my radar if it has had such an impact.

Also , it was their aim to have a hit. Perhaps quixotic, but infinitely more noble than the presdestined obscurity of their followers.

As for EL Records:

SEARCH: The one essential EL complilation for me is "London Pavilion Volume 2". Contains "Whoops! What A Palaver" by The Raj Quartet. This is the best version of a much anthologised song, with outrageous vocals, samples of Kenneth Williams and gratuitous swearing. Plus you get Anthony Adverse's big band version of the Monochrome Set's "The Ruling Class". And The Would-Be-Good's "Hanging Gardens Of Reigate".

ALSO SEARCH: The recent Scarlet's Well albums on Siesta.

DESTROY: The proliferation of compilations.

I adore the following Scarlet's Well tracks: "Miss Twinkle's Been On Holiday Again", "The Water-Shrew Shuffle", "Edo Meridiem", "Willy Whispers", "Sweetmeat", "Dark Dreams Aboard The Hesperus", "Old McGhee" (which might be traumatic listening for Tom because of one word alone), "Clop's Birthday", "Dragon", "Street Of A Thousand Fools", "Raven's Treasure", "Lord Fishgarlic's Last Expedition", "Fragment of a Parchment", "Azul Como El Diablo". Which is most of them, I know, it's just the rest I can take or leave and the occasional cod-music-hall tracks ("The Mayor's Song", "Luminous Creatures") I actively dislike.

But what I like about them is the sense of being unashamedly antiquated and outmoded in the sense of "exotica", which might otherwise be tedious, but here is unbearably moving.

Plus I like to think that I live in Mousseron, sort of. There is actually a sign down the road from me that says "Fortune's Well", an inverted comma that is never actually used in practice. Which is rather wonderful.

After the first single, "Fruit Surprise / Hanging Gardens of Reigate", which was penned by Simon Turner, Jessica Griffin, who IS the Would-Be-Goods, wrote the bulk of the music and lyrics.

As for Bid and the Monochrome Set's own records, I pity anyone unmoved by the timeless pop brilliance of "He's Frank", "Reach For Your Gun", "I Love Lambeth", "Goodbye Joe", "Up", "Whoops What A Palaver"...

So there's a bazillion El Records compilations, any one or two the best place to start? Something called _Too Good To Be True - The Best Of El Records_ came out within the last few years, will that do?

They are basically all the same songs over and over no matter what compilation you buy. Ruling Class is a best of that comes with a bonus audio cd of Alan McGee and Mike Always and is pretty good. Seriously though they just keep repacking the same 20 or so songs over and over on their VA compilations. London Pavilion's are also a pretty good place to start.