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garage

Long John Thomas and the Duffs

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Long John Thomas and the Duffs – Presenting

Wormtone Records – WT-508 [2006]
Ain’t She Sweet – Shake, Shake Little Gwendolyn – Buckle Shoe Stomp – Be Cool – Excuse Me Baby -. So What – 9 Times Out Of 10 – Move It Baby – Dynamite – Girl With The Pretty Face – Fish & Chips – Uh Huh, Oh Yeah – Having A Wild Weekend – Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It’s Flavor (On The Bedpost Overnight)

Long John Thomas and the Duffs

In a world where you can find a Western swing band in Helsinki, a jump blues band in Madrid, and a rockabilly combo in Zagreb, I shouldn’t be surprised to stumble upon a Merseybeat-influenced trio in Missouri. Long John Thomas and the Duffs (Tim Hopmeier on bass, Scott Lasser on drums, and Ray James on vocals and guitar) are more English than the Queen Mum herself. They have the accent, the car, the hat, and they even have a song they wrote called Fish’n’Chips (I thought only Englishmen were proud of their food!).
Musically, they are heavily influenced by Johnny Kidd (look at the pic on the cover; doesn’t he remind you of someone?), Cliff Richard (they cover Dynamite) and the early Beatles from the Hamburg days (the album opens on Ain’t She Sweet based upon the Tony Sheridan/Fab Four arrangement). But they are not a revival or a nostalgic act. They write good songs that find their place ideally in the set and bring a bit of modernity to their music with some garage incursions sometimes close to Thee Milkshakes. Besides, John’s voice bears certain resemblances with Mickey Hampshire’s. The album ends on a solid cover of Lonnie Donegan’s “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It’s Flavor.”

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Shaggs (the)

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The Shaggs – Philosophy Of The World

Third Word Records (Third World 3001) [1969]
Philosophy Of The World – That Little Sports Car – Who Are Parents? – My Pal Foot Foot – My Companion – I’m So Happy When You’re Near – Things I Wonder – Sweet Thing – It’s Halloween – Why Do I Feel? – What Should I Do? – We Have A Savior

the Shaggs

I sort my records into three main categories. The good ones, the bad ones and… The Shaggs. After all those years, I still don’t know what to think about it. I even came to doubt the story that goes along with this album and sometimes believe it’s a hoax. It was supposedly recorded in 1969 by three sisters (Dorothy, Betty, and Helen Wiggins) and produced by their father. The first surprise comes with the cover. What is this? Excuse me, but are they men with wigs? But wait until the needle hits the groove or whatever you call it in those digital times.
The Wiggins sisters can’t play to save their lives! They don’t even know how to tune their instruments, and the drummer can’t keep a steady beat for more than two bars. The Shaggs play by their own rules, which makes this album hard to judge. They seem to play three different songs simultaneously in a parody of the worst free jazz you could ever hear. The lyrics are simply dumb but convey a rare sort of sadness. But you don’t even care about them because their voices are simply unbearable! Somehow, despite being painful to listen to, this record is fascinating. Maybe it’s their will to play despite all these handicaps, the testimony of a father’s love, or something you can’t put into words. It’s so naïve that you come to think it’s calculated. Finally, more than music, you feel like owning a piece of conceptual art coming straight from Fremont, NH, or something like that. Later, Frank Zappa admitted that “Philosophy Of The World” was one of his favorite records, which is, after all, logical. It’s the kind of platter you hardly play but want to own.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Dutronc

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dutronc

Dutronc – Mini, Mini, Mini

Wild Wild Records – WILD 4 [1995]
Mini Mini Mini – Sur Une Nappe De Restaurant / Les Gens Sont Fous, Les Temps Sont Flous – Ça Plane Pour Moi

Dutronc

Dutronc, as its name suggests, is a Franco-British tribute band to Jacques Dutronc, a renowned French singer and songwriter, formed in the mid-1990s. The group is made up of well-known figures of the Medway and British garage scene, including Parsley (Billy Childish and the Blackhands, The Adventures of Parsley) on vocals, Bruce “Bruno” Brand (Milkshakes, Headcoats) on guitar, Rudie Spence on bass and Debbie Green aka Bongo Debbie (Ug And The Cavemen, Headcoatees) on drums.

This EP, which was released in 1995, features three covers of Jacques Dutronc and “Ça Plane Pour Moi” by Plastic Bertrand.

Parsley sings everything in French with a very strong English accent, which gives the group its unique identity. The band emphasizes the original characteristics of the songs. “Sur Une Nappe De Restaurant” is a psychedelic blues with the appropriate organ. “Les Temps Sont Flous” is supported by a heady buzzsaw fuzz guitar, and “Mini Mini Mini” could rival the best of The Kinks. The EP closes with a powerful version of “Ça Plane Pour Moi,” also covered by the Headcoatees during the same period.

This EP, along with most of Dutronc’s recordings, is a curiosity that will interest any fan of the Medway scene.

Debbie & Jackie

The Hot Rollers

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hot rollers

The Hot Rollers- Got Your Number

Sweaty Betty Records SB002 [2005]
You Don’t Do It – Black And Blue – Mileage – Hooker – Got Your Number – Casper Guido – Wild Man – Hello Vapid – You May Be Right – Ice Princess – Bad Word For A Good Thing -. I Wanna Go Home – Wrap Your Heart

hot rollers

This girl band comes from Seattle and includes Kirsten Ballweg from The Donettes and the Black Crabs on bass, Lori Campion from The Poontwang on guitar and vocals, and drummer Heidi Jessup. Their music mixes 60’s garage with some Billy Childish influences (Headcoatees, Delmonas), punk rock, power-pop, and a touch of Pixies. Engineered by Kearney Barton (who worked with The Sonics), their sound is wild and powerful, yet they maintain a good balance between the bass and the guitar distortion while emphasizing melody. Lori’s versatile voice can shout, scream, and sing with scorn when needed, as you can hear in “Got Your Number.” Talking about The Pixies, this one has a bit of Kim Deal style in the bridge (and a direct reference in the lyrics).
“Casper Guido” has a nice Farfisa played by bass player Kirsten, and I’d love to hear more of that. As I mentioned, Billy Childish and the girl bands he led are also apparent influences. That’s why they cover The Tamrons’ “Wild Man,” also covered by the Headcoatees on Girlsville. I’m still trying to figure out which version inspired them, but theirs is the best. But the best cover is yet to come, as they play Billy Joel’s “You May Be Right.” If you’re a Rock’n’Roll geek, you can’t help but turn the volume up to 11 and play it repeatedly. Their cover of “I wanna Go Home” by Holly and the Italians is equally good, with excellent backup vocals and handclaps.
Beware, this album is very addictive, and once you’ve finished listening to it, you just want to hear it again.

Debbie & Jackie

B. Confidential and the Secret Four

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B. Confidential and the Secret Four

B. Confidential and the Secret Four – Black Is The Colour Of My Baby’s Soul

Martin’s Garage Records [2022]
Black Is The Colour Of My Baby’s Soul/Satan Is Her Name

B. Confidential and the Secret Four - Black Is The Colour Of My Baby’s Soul

B. Confidential and the Secret Four are from Croatia. The combo consists of Dalibor Pavicic on guitar (Bambi Molesters), Branko Radovančević (Mad Men, B and the Bops) on vocals, Mislav Kurspahic (thee Melomen) on bass, Ivan Horvatić on drums and Bruno Vrgoč on guitar.
Side A is a superb instrumental drenched in reverb, evoking the theme of a spy film from the 60s. The song takes time to develop, creating a fantastic and deliciously intriguing atmosphere.
The second side, sung this one, develops an agonizing, even menacing strip club atmosphere, with a haunting saxophone—sort of like a B-series version of Fever.

B. Confidential and the Secret Four – Down The Subway

Martin’s Garage Records [2022]
Down The Subway/Cuttin’ Out

B. Confidential and the Secret Four - Down The Subway

This is the second single of B. Confidential and the Secret Four, and it’s as good as the first if not better. The A-side is a cover of Down In the Subway, Jack Hammer’s 1966 single. The band keeps the Soul of the original and injects a solid dose of Garage into it. The result is fantastic.
The Pirates were an American Garage band (some say they were from Louisiana, but they appear on a compilation of Texas bands). In 1965, they released Naughty Girl, which featured Cuttin’ Out on the B-side. This is the track that B. Confidential and the Secret Four cover. It’s an excellent Garage tune with a Bo Diddley rhythm and psychedelic influences.

Both singles are available here.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Guy Hamper Trio (the)

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Guy Hamper Trio (the) – Polygraph Test

Guy Hamper Trio

Damaged Goods DAMGOOD339 [2009]
Polygraph Test / Sally Sensation

The Guy Hamper trio was an instrumental combo formed by Billy Childish with Wolf Howard on drums and Julie Hamper on bass. It also features another mainstay of the Medway scene in the person of James Taylor of the Prisoners, The James Taylor Quartet and many others on the organ. Their sole release was this single on Damaged Goods (DAMGOOD339) in 2009.
The result is a mix between Childish’s punk attitude and Taylor’s acid jazz/funk influence.
A-side is a reworking of Thee Headcoats’ Lie Detector renamed Polygraph Test. It’s got a strong Psychedelic feel with the organ to the fore. Sally Sensation (initially recorded by the Buff Medways in 2001) is less frantic and groovier. They planned to record an LP, but nothing happened yet.

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