Dolores O’Riordan: was she right?
Author Archive
Nine Below Zero – Live At The Marquee
Nine Below Zero in action. From left to right: Peter ‘Pete’ Clark (Bass), Kenny Bradley (Drums), Dennis Greaves (lead vocals & guitar) and Mark Feltham (vocals & harmonica).
IN THE PAST I’ve provided a few random reviews for Counter Culture. However, it’s always been my intention (and ambition) to review as many of my own books, CDs & DVDs as is possible. Now that I’ve got a bit of time on my hands – and I’m still looking down at the daisies as opposed to looking up at them! – I thought that now’s a good as time as any to start. So, in the words of the Ramones, Hey Ho, Let’s Go!
With the above in mind, I thought that I’d kick off with Nine Below Zero’s brilliant CD Live At The Marquee.
I first heard about Nine Below Zero from a friend from East London many, many years ago, probably in the early to mid 80s. He highly recommended both the band and their live CD. I’ve listened to it lots of times over the years and have always thought that it was probably one of the best live albums I’ve ever heard; not only does it convey the music but also seems to capture the shear energy of a live gig.
I must admit that (at the time) I’d never heard of the band. However, my friend had been over to South London a couple of times to see them. He’d described how frenetic they were – effectively a Blues band that performed with the speed & energy of a Punk band. Therefore, I’d a rough idea of what to expect on the live album. But having an idea of what to expect & listening to the real deal are two different things. Suffice to say that I was blown away by the CD itself.
I’ll leave the actual review of Live At The Marquee until another time. However, I thought that it might be helpful to provide a little background information about the band themselves.
Nine Below Zero started off life as Stan’s Blues Band in 1977 and consisted of four South London lads who found inspiration in the Rhythm and Blues. Led by Dennis Greaves (lead vocals & guitar) the band included his schoolmates Mark Feltham (vocals & harmonica), Peter ‘Pete’ Clark (Bass) and Kenny Bradley (Drums).
Graves was obsessed by the Blues. But to form a R&B band in the late 70s was a bold, almost reckless, move. This was the time when Punk was exploding, and had literally blown other music genres – like R&B and Progessive Rock – out of the water. (I think I’m right in saying that Dr. Feelgood were probably the only well-known British R&B band at the time. They’d formed in 1971 and hailed from Canvey Island in Essex and were known for their driving R&B which had made them one of the most popular bands on the growing London pub rock circuit.)
Despite the seemingly unstoppable rise of Punk, the sharply dressed Stan’s Blues Band played in local South London pubs like the Apples and Pears, the Clockhouse, the Green Man and the Thomas ‘A’ Becket. Playing six to seven nights a week they built up a loyal following. Like Dr. Feelgood they went hell for leather and played at a frenetic pace. Mixing original songs with covers at their gigs, they were soon playing all over London.
Stan’s Blues Band changed their name to Nine Below Zero (they were named after a song by Sonny Boy Williamson II) on the advice of former musician Mickey Modern. He’d seen them play at the Thomas ‘A’ Becket (in the Old Kent Road, Southwark, South London) in 1979 and was so impressed that he offered to manage them.
In a bold – but completely justifiable – move, Modern decided that Nine Below Zero’s first album would be a live one. And so with just one change of personal (Micky Burkey for Kenny Bradley on Drums) Live At The Marquee was released in 1980.
The album was recorded at the well-known music venue, the Marquee Club (in Wardour Street, West London) on Wednesday 16th & Thursday 17th July and was billed as a live recording. The admission fee was £2 with a reduced rate available for students & Marquee Club members.
Apparently, it’d been an ambition of Dennis Greaves and the rest of the band to play at the Marquee – even in the capacity of a support band Therefore, to appear as the headline act & record your first (live) album must have been out of this world. Prior to this gig, Nine Below Zero were well known as an brilliant high energy act. However, I’m wondering if their desire to play at the Marquee spurred them on to go the extra mile and produce such an electric album?
I feel that the CDs sleeve notes excellently conveys something of gig itself:
‘Fourteen high octane R&B monsters – including three Greaves originals Straighten Her Out, Stop Your Nagging and Watch Yourself – merged Chicago chops and cockney charm in a ferocious homebrew of adrenalin which never once seemed out of step alongside the ten regular live favourites: the aforementioned Freddie King’s Tore Down, Otis Rush’s Home Work and J Geil’s version of Pack Fair and Square line up with the John Mayall and Paul Butterfield collaboration, Ridin’ On The L&N, Lloyd Price’s Hootchie Cootchie Coo, Sam the Sham’s Wooly Bully, Muddy Waters’ Mojo Working, and Rush’s I Can’t Quit You Baby, plus Motown stalwart’s The Four Tops’, Can’t Help Myself and Marvin Gaye’s Can I Get A Witness, are all nailed down before the band signs off with their instrumental wig-out, Swing Job.’
(With the sleeve notes in mind, they were printed on thick glossy card which served as part CD sleeve cover, part poster & part information sheet about the band.)
To celebrate their 40th anniversary, Nine Below Zero released a new album in October 2019. Unlike a lot of anniversary releases which tend to be ‘The Best Of’ albums, Avalanche refreshingly featured 12 brand new original songs.
In addition to their anniversary CD, they’d kicked off a new tour in Belfast, with many further dates set. However, as we all now know, the world effectively stopped spinning when Covid-19 reared its ugly head. Therefore, they had to cancel all of their gigs from mid-March onwards. According to the band’s web-site – https://www.ninebelowzero.com – their next scheduled gig is early September in Fleet, Hampshire. Here’s hoping!
Hopefully this brief potted history of Nine Below Zero has provided readers with some insight into the band. Now the only thing to do is to review the album itself. However, as mentioned earlier (and to absolutely cement my Counter Culture reputation as the slowest reviewer in the world!) this’ll appear in the next thrilling instalment.
Reviewed by John Field
Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)
“He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy” .Forty-two years ago, the Monty Python team released their most controversial film, Life of Brian. The opposition to it from conservative religious groups was so strong, the film was banned in the Irish Republic and Norway and in many British cities. TV personality Malcolm Muggeridge and Mervyn Stockwood, the then Bishop of Southwark, appeared on television opposite John Cleese to denounce the film as ‘tenth-rate’ and blasphemous. They predicted that it would soon be forgotten.
In retrospect, a lot of this opposition was misplaced. This was not an attack on the person of Christ or on Christianity; the team decided early on that they would not target Jesus but set their film in the tumultuous time of his birth, first century Judea under brutal Roman occupation. My own church in Belfast has even shown it in our regular monthly film club.
The film stands up well more than four decades after its release. It’s quite possible that it could be the subject of bans or cancellation if it were to be released today; attacked not by the conservative religious right for blasphemy but by the regressive faux-left for the modern secular equivalents of blasphemy; ableism, transphobia, and mocking people with speech defects. The scene where Stan (Eric Idle) wants to become a woman called Loretta and have babies causing the PFJ members to debate supporting his/her right to have babies is a classic. Today, I can imagine trigger warnings on the BBC if it were to be screened again on a mainstream channel.
That said, the film is still screamingly funny. It tells the story of Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman); a hen-pecked mummy’s boy who tries to join an anti-Roman political group. After escaping from captivity when an attack on the Roman occupiers is botched, he is mistaken for the Messiah and followed by adoring crowds who hang on his every word. Much of the satire deals with how religious and political factions can emerge and religious and political sectarianism can grow. Brian drops his gourd and loses a sandal; his disciples divide into gourdists and sandalists. Then there’s the bitter rivalry between the Judean People’s Front and Reg’s (John Cleese) People’s Front of Judea. “the only people we hate more than the Romans are the fucking Judean People’s Front.” The ‘splitters’. When Brian is arrested, the PFJ goes into immediate debates and discussions. When he’s crucified, they march determinedly towards his cross… and then read out a statement to him in solidarity with his sacrifice.
Monty Python’s Life of Brian may not really say much about first-century Judea but it still has a lot to be said about twenty-first century Britain. Brian is not the Messiah; he’s a naughty, naughty boy. Watch it while you still can. And remember, always look on the bright side of life.
Reviewed by David Kerr
You can purchase this film here
Director: Terry Jones
Writers: Graham Chapman, John Cleese
Stars: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin
Runtime: 1h 34min
The Havering Post
The Havering Post. Double-sided A4. Colour. March 2019. Available in pdf form from Facebook/Independent Havering: https://www.facebook.com/groups/499768197023360/
THE HAVERING POST is a local publication produced in support of several Residents Association groups & independent parties in the London Borough of Havering. Havering would have been part of Essex before it was transferred to London by the London Government Act 1963. This same act effectively created what is now known as Greater London as it abolished the administrative county of Middlesex and also absorbed parts of Kent, Surrey and Hertfordshire.
The Facebook site of Independent Havering – https://www.facebook.com/groups/499768197023360/about/ – informs us that it is ‘a pressure group campaigning to maintain and improve our borough’s quality of life. It aims to lobby and hold national and, especially, local Government and bodies to account for their actions. In the event of a future independent/RA Council it would aim to work closely with them to ensure promises are delivered but also have their ‘back’ if so.’
The Independent Havering group appears to be very well organised with lots of local ‘grassroots’ support. In fact, the last local council elections (held in May 2018) nearly saw them sweep away 17 years of Tory rule in the borough. Bizarrely four Residents Association councillors, who were elected on a anti-Tory ticket, later jumped ship to support the Tories. One later went on to join the Tory Party itself. Even more bizarrely, all Labour councillors seem to support the Tory administration!
It should come as no surprise then, that issue 1 of the Havering Post (HP) examines the question of ‘democracy denied’ at both a local and national level. Refreshingly, however, as well as pointing out how democracy can be turned on its head, it also notes that future issues will ‘look at Proportional Representation, a ‘None Of The Above’ (NOTA) option on ballot papers, Referendums, Preferendums and Voter Recall.’
As noted above, the Havering Post (which is written to a Daily Mail standard) looks at national and local cases whereby the electorate has been cheated.
As its national example it cites the case of what used to be known as The Independent Group (TIG). It was founded earlier this year when disgruntled pro-EU Tory and Labour MPs quit their respective parties. Counter Culture readers may recall that, at the time, these MPs came across as very ‘high and mighty.’ However, as the HP notes, despite being elected as Labour or Tory candidates they ‘all refused to resign their seats and intend to stand as candidates for TIG in any subsequent by-elections. In doing so, they have shown that they have no morals or honour.’
The paper then looks at the denial of democracy in Havering itself. As described earlier, several Residents Associations (RA) and Independent groups had united under the ‘Independent Havering’ banner and were really giving the Tories a run for their money. Thus began the political shenanigans. As the Havering Post notes:
‘Things were so tight that the local Tories had do some horse trading. It appears that some Residents Association and Independent councillors were approached by the Conservative Party and were offered positions to help them to set up a Havering Council Administration. In the event, four of them jumped ship. Known as the ‘Back Stabbers’, they are Michael-Deon Burton (who even joined the Tory Party), Brian Eagling, Martin Goode and Darren Wise.’
The rather thoughtful (and insightful) remarks of one local voter are also quoted. In part, he or she declares that:
“It’s not like they defected half way through their term, but on the first day. This cannot continue – some judicial review needs to be put in place to stop councillors swapping sides. I am totally disgusted. They have no morals.
I find it a personal insult to hear that some people in the RA and Independent coalition feel it is OK to lie to us, your electorate, by way of selling their soul to the Conservatives, just so they can form a majority party to lead our council.
I can assure you I will personally do my best to make sure that the people in those wards know full well what they voted for. If we the electorate wanted to be lied to, we would vote Labour or Conservatives.’”
The idea of some legislation being brought into place (to stop elected officials jumping ship) is interesting. The HP declares that those who switch sides ‘are guilty – at the very least – of betrayal and bad faith. Some may say that they’re also guilty of deliberately deceiving voters.’
Whatever the case, those with honour ‘would do the right thing’ and promptly resign their seat and fight a by-election under their new colours. To date, none of the Havering ‘Back Stabbers’ nor the TIG MPs have done so. Depending on the circumstances, it sadly doesn’t really say much for the calibre of those elected officials who turn their backs on their policies, manifestos and the people who campaigned so hard to get them elected. Is it any wonder why so many people feel disconnected from the political system?
To sum up, the Havering Post provides a robust defence of real democracy. It highlights the failings of democracy (giving local and national examples) but presents a well-argued case for more – and not less – democracy. This is particularly apt given present circumstances whereby the establishment ignores the democratic will of the people, if it goes against the interests of the establishment – à la Brexit!
Hopefully issue 2 will be in the offering soon. No doubt it’ll concentrate on local affairs, but as stated earlier, future issues ‘of the Havering Post will examine other ways in which we can make both national and local politics more representative of the people. Thus we’ll look at Proportional Representation, a ‘None Of The Above’ (NOTA) option on ballot papers, Referendums, Preferendums and Voter Recall.’ What’s being proposed here seems to be a purer form of democracy based on participation as opposed to representation. Here, popular participation (a form of personal self-determination whereby voters exercise action and responsibility) will replace the current system of handing over power and responsibility to others. With the political air full of doom, gloom and negativity, it’ll be refreshing to read something that’s extremely positive and forward looking.
Reviewed by John Jenkins
Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love
Director: Nick Broomfield
Runtime: 1hr 42mins
Nick Broomfield’s documentary opens with a BBC television news report from 2016 of Marianne Ihlen’s death and reports of a last email sent to her by her one-time lover, the Canadian singer Leonard Cohen; who was himself to die some three months later. These are the ‘words of love’ from the film’s title.
Nick Broomfield then tells the story of how Marianne and Leonard met on the paradise Greek island of Hydra when he was a struggling young Canadian poet and she was emerging from an abusive marriage.
Broomfield has crafted this compelling documentary from a lot of archive footage – including some of his own – and he’s made good use of interviews with friends and recorded recollections of Marianne and Leonard themselves.
Both Marianne and Leonard had a whole lot of love to give – in that brief period in the Sixties which was the era of hedonistic ‘free love’ and ‘open marriage’. The effects on the younger generation only emerged later. The Johnston family – who mentored Leonard when he arrived on Hydra – lost their mother and all but one of the children to mental illness and suicide when they left the island and tried to resume normal life back home in Australia. Marianne’s son – ‘little Axel’ also developed a number of mental issues and had to be admitted into a mental institution in later life.
Both Marianne and Leonard also had to deal with depression. Both sought comfort in the arms of others: Leonard with Janis Joplin, his other muse Suzanne Elrod and others; and Marianne who had brief relationships with Nick Broomfield before remarrying and returning to Norway. It was her encouragement that persuaded Broomfield to make the first of many successful documentaries.
This is a revealing and passionate film. I reckon that two-thirds to three-quarters of the audience in my local cinema were women of a certain age; probably in their mid teens to early twenties around the time of the 1970 Isle of White festival when Cohen first came to prominence in Britain. He never lost that magnetic appeal to many women.
The ‘words of love’ in the title came from the email Leonard sent to Marianne in 2016 after hearing from their mutual friend, Jan Christian Mollestad that she was dying from cancer;
“Well Marianne, it’s come to this time when we are really so old and our bodies are falling apart and I think I will follow you very soon. Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine.
“And you know that I’ve always loved you for your beauty and for your wisdom, but I don’t need to say anything more about that because you know all about that. But now, I just want to wish you a very good journey.
“Goodbye old friend. Endless love, see you down the road.”
This story became public shortly after Marianne’s death. Leonard died some three months later. What we didn’t know then was that she was filmed on her deathbed by Mollestad as he read Leonard’s final letter to her. I have never seen anything more moving in my life; what an emotional punch this film packs. The old cliché, ‘not a dry eye in the house’ was no exaggeration this time.
Circumstances and events drew Marianne and Leonard apart and into the arms of others for a while; but despite this, they had a deep bond that never entirely faded away. From her earlier recollections to footage of Marianne singing away to herself the familiar words of ‘her’ song, So Long, Marianne in her front row seat at his Olso concert in 2008, Broomfield faithfully documents their intertwined stories and their complicated lives. It’s powerful stuff.
David Kerr
Channel Islands Occupied – Unique Pictures Of The Nazi Rule 1940-1945
Channel Islands Occupied – Unique Pictures Of The Nazi Rule 1940-1945. Richard Mayne. Jarrold & Sons Limited, Norwich, Norfolk, England. 1978. ISBN 978-0711702448 Card cover. 64 pages. 
I LOVE READING and I also like to support different charities. I’m able to combine both of these interests by purchasing books at various charity shops. The books are usually in reasonable nick and are a fraction of their original price. Therefore, when I came across Channel Islands Occupied in a charity shop a while ago, I was more than happy to pay the princely sum of 50p for it.
Compiled, and with a commentary, by Richard Mayne, it relates to the occupation of the Channel Islands – made up of Alderney, Guernsey, Jersey and Sark, and some smaller islands – by National Socialist Germany during WWII. At 64 pages, it’s not a huge book. However, I liked its convenient size – it’s roughly the same as a large postcard so you can keep it in a jacket pocket. My copy also had reasonably thick cardboard cover which wouldn’t bend too easily.
The Channel Islands were the only part of the British Isles to be occupied by German Armed Forces (around 20,000 troops held the islands) during WWII and this book is absolutely crammed full of evocative photographs of the period. Reflecting the history and makeup of the islands themselves, all text and captions are in English and French – indeed, the French title of the book is Les Iles Anglo-Normandes Occupées.
The book is dedicated to ‘the memory of the known five hundred and fifty-seven ‘slave’ workers, mainly Russian and Spanish, who died in these islands between 1942 and 1944.’
Richard Mayne sets the scene in his dramatic Introduction:
‘In 1940 Hitler’s legions swept rapidly and violently through France, and on 12 June the swastika, that hated symbol of Nazi Germany, was flown from public buildings in Paris. With the fall of the rest of France imminent, the German occupation of the Channel Islands also became inevitable.
There was voluntary evacuation to Britain of the civilian population of the islands and about 34,500 people departed, leaving a population of some 64,000. In Alderney, the evacuation was so thorough that only 7 people remained out of a population of 1,432. At the same time, the British Government demilitarised the islands by withdrawing British troops. The Jersey Militia subsequently became the 11th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment. The Guernsey Militia had previously been disbanded to release hundreds of men to volunteer for H.M. forces.’
Channel Islands Occupied is conveniently and effectively set out in chronological order – before, during and after the occupation. Headings like The calm before the storm, German Command, Fortification, Liberation are all accompanied by a commentary plus many photographs. However, it’s still possible to dip in and out of it at your leisure – something I did many times.
The full colour cover is striking enough, but the hundred or so fascinating black & white photographs are the highlights of the book. I’ve read a lot of history books, but I don’t really know too much about the occupation and I’ve never come across any of these photographs before. They include images of bomb damage, the German military, fortifications, weapons, and the ‘slave’ workers. Of particular note are photographs of various German proclamations and death warrants.
One photograph is a favourite of mine – it depicts a van belonging to the Jersey Gas Company which has been converted to run on gas. A massive gas bag sits incongruously on top of the van – it’s truly a bizarre sight as it looks slightly larger than the van itself! – but apparently, there’s enough to fuel the van to cover a distance of 30 miles.
A fairly small photograph also caught my eye. It depicted the words ‘British Victory Is Certain’ painted over a German language road sign in Jersey. It made me wonder what the level and type of resistance to the occupation of the Channel Isles was like. This interests me because I’m sure I’ve come across suggestions that some of the leading lights of island society didn’t exactly go out of their way to oppose the occupation. I have a vague notion that one of the people who first mentioned this was, ironically, a former member of the British Free Corps, a volunteer unit of the Waffen SS made up of former British PoWs. Hopefully, I’ll come across the source material again as I believe it’d make an interesting piece for this site.
I’ve wanted to visit the Channel Island for a long time now as a former workmate recommended the area years ago as an ideal holiday destination. Like me, he was very interested in history – he was also a great fan of the TV programme Bergerac, which starred John Nettles and Louise Jameson, and which was filmed there. In fact, he was the first person I’d ever come across who would go of his way to visit various TV and film locations – something that seems to be very common these days, given the success of films like Harry Potter and the TV series Game Of Thrones.
Channel Islands Occupied is a great introduction to this little known period of British and German military history. It has certainly whetted my appetite for more information. Needless to say, that reading it has deepened the desire to visit as I understand that it’s possible to visit some of the fortifications and associated museums. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do that in the not too distant future and obviously produce a follow-up article for Counter Culture.
- Reviewed by John Field
Memories of Hoxton, Shoreditch, East London
Hoxton Market – like much of inner East London – has changed considerably over the years.
I WAS born and bred in East London. Despite not living there for many years now, there’s no mistaking my accent. Like any Cockney, I still drop my ‘h’ when speaking and pronounce anything that starts with ‘th’ as an f. Thus, thirteen become ‘firteen’ and thirty becomes ‘firty’. I still use a lot of slang words and whilst I’ve lost a lot of backslang (I haven’t spoken it in around 35 years and would probably need to sit down and write much of it out these days!) talking in double negatives – “I ain’t never going to do that again”– makes perfect sense to me. To be really honest, I have trouble understanding people with posh or ‘plummy’ accents and really have to concentrate on what they’re saying!
So why am I telling you all this?
The main reason is that a little while ago I came across an excellent Facebook site called Memories of Hoxton, Shoreditch which you can check out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/46495127566/ It has nearly 6,000 members and it encourages them to post ‘memories or photos of growing up in Hoxton’ – although folks are asked not put up anything about football, politics and religion as they often cause arguments!
When I was growing up, Hoxton was only about a five minute walk away from where I lived. I spent many hours in the general area – and specifically in Hoxton Market where I worked for a couple of years as a barrow boy on an egg stall.
Before I got the job I was very familiar with the market itself. It consisted of a wide variety of shops (from funeral parlours to pie & mash shops) as well as stalls that seemed to sell everything under the sun. There was even a Woolworths – remember them?!!
Like many youngsters who grew up in the mid to late 60s, it was more or less obligatory to help my mum with the errands. (This was way before the weekly shop to a massive out-of-town supermarket became the norm – indeed, from memory, the nearest supermarket at the time was a Tesco’s at Ridley Road Market in Dalston.) Therefore, two or three times a week I accompanied mum down to Hoxton Market. Here my main job was to carry some of the items that she had bought.
Saturday was the main food shopping day, and most children would have followed their mum around, for what seemed like hours on end. Although my mum was only really shopping for food, she seemed to look at every other stall as well – and clothes stalls, in particular! As mum was a seamstress by trade, she’d examine in minute detail the way buttons, hemlines and zips had been sewn. If something wasn’t to her liking she’d slowly shake her head from side to side, purse her lips and mutter ‘tut-tut.’
Unlike supermarkets, the old fashioned street markets seemed to have a real atmosphere about them. Many of the sights, smells and sounds have never left me. In particular, the air always seemed to be full of raucous laughter. Everyone who owned or worked on a stall seemed to be a real character – the wit and banter were second to none. Needless to say much of it would now be considered X-rated and most definitely Politically Incorrect – and this was absolutely true of Hoxton Market!
The market was also a place to meet friends, neighbours and relatives. I always lost count of the number of times that my mum would stop and have a natter with someone. Luckily, virtually every mum would have been accompanied by a child so at least you had someone to talk to as well.
I got my first Saturday job in Hoxton Market via my mum as well. She got it through a friend of a friend of a friend – a classic case of ‘it’s not what you know but who you know’. On saying that, I’m inclined to think that there’s no better way to learn any sort of trade other than from the bottom up. Over many working years I’ve seen many a university graduate put into responsible positions and whilst most of them were very personable many were, to coin a phrase, ‘all brains and no common sense’.
I started working in the market when I was about 14 or 15 (this would have been around 1974/75) and carried on for about two years. Here I was a barrow boy – aka a gofer or general dogs body – on an egg stall. As far as I can recall, there were no other egg stalls in the market so we always did a roaring trade.
My job was to basically to help whoever was running the stall. I helped to set the stall up and both sell & replenish the stock. I was quickly shown one of the tricks of the trade – placing the eggs at a very slight angle to make them look larger!
I worked with a few interesting characters. One was a New Zealander who was living and working in London for a while before returning home to help run family sheep farm. He wasn’t really looking forward to going home to spend the rest of his life working with the “stupidest animals in the world.” For the life of me I can’t recall his name, but I can remember that he was a very calm, happy go lucky bloke. He was also as strong as an ox and was a real grafter.
I also recall working with a biker who was in his mid 20s who was just known as ‘Big Chris’ due to him being way over 6’ tall. He had really long hair and always wore a black leather motorcycle jacket. He was also the person who introduced me into heavy metal bands like Deep Purple & Black Sabbath. He had an in-depth knowledge of anything and everything relating to heavy metal and would talk non-stop about the subject. Big Chris would often recommend different LPs, most of which are still in the roof space!
Apart from bikes and music his other passion was for burgers and bacon sarnies. He was very generous with his money and one of my main jobs was to go to the local café and come back with these delicacies! Looking back on it they should have come with a health warning as they were dripping in grease and covered in brown sauce.
After my stint as a barrow boy, I worked for the local library service. This started off as a Saturday job but I was also able to get plenty of work during the school holidays. Here I was mainly based at Pitfield Street Library (in Hoxton) but also covered worked Kate Greenaway Library (which was situated in the Fellows Estate) and the De Beauvoir Library which was part of the De Beauvoir Estate. I love books so this was more a vocation than a job. I have great memories of the reading room in Pitfield Street where you could spend hours reading all manner of papers, magazines and reference books.
One great difference between working down the market and in a library was the method of payment. In the market you got paid cash in hand – generally with greasy and stained old banknotes – whilst at the library the wages arrived in a small window envelope. This contained a small printed wage statement and, more importantly, your wages in the form of both coins and pristine banknotes. The notes were always stapled together and I always managed to stab my thumb with the staple whilst trying to separate the notes. You also had to sign for the whole lot in a huge book!
A little while ago, and out of idle curiosity, I posted a question (on the Memories of Hoxton Facebook site) asking how many people worked down the market. I was absolutely blown away by the response – it seems as if virtually everyone had either worked in the market or knew someone who had. Many were even related to some of the shop and stall holders. Indeed, one of those who’d worked in the market was someone I’ve probably known for over 50 years from our early days at Randal Cremer Primary School – in Ormsby Street, Shoreditch – and then on to Parmiter’s Grammar School, which was situated on the Approach Road in Bethnal Green. Sadly, we’re probably like many true Cockneys and both now live miles away from the East End.
I’d highly recommend the Memories of Hoxton, Shoreditch Facebook site to any Counter Culture reader (who comes from Hoxton or the general Shoreditch area) who like to reminisce about the ‘good old days’ before the area became gentrified. I’d also like to encourage other Counter Culture contributors and readers to share theirmemories of bygone days, no matter where they come from. In particular, I feel that it’s very important to chronical the lives of ordinary indigenous working folks – especially those from areas that have seen extensive racial, ethnic, cultural and social changes since the 60s – so that their vital memories are not lost to history.
Reviewed by John Field
California Sun – Morrissey
CALIFORNIA SON, Morrissey’s twelfth studio album, is a collection of covers including a few familiar old classics and some maybe lesser known American protest and social
justice songs from the 60s and 70s. Morrissey and his band never shy away from imaginative musical arrangements, often seeking out unusual instruments, and there are influences here from New Orleans, the old time crooners and a touch of Broadway. No doubt this is a nod
to his recent sell out residency at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City (NYC).
The album opens with Morning Starship, the 1973 song by Jobriath. Morrissey has talked about covering this song for many years, and his version does not disappoint. He strips back the glam rock just enough to emphasise his wide range of vocals. It is an uplifting track and was well received when he sang it live on Broadway.
Next up is his version of Joni Mitchell’s Don’t interrupt the Sorrow, a song about Women standing up to male dominance from her 1975 The Hissing of Summer Lawns album. Originally a folky song with lots of hand drums it is given the full Morrissey crooner treatment. Now in his 60th yeapeats on several tracks throughout this album, not least on the very good Wedding Bell Blues on which Green Day’s Billy Joe Armstrong adds backing vocals.
Morrissey is never one to shy away from a song with a powerful message, and chose to include the 1964 Bob Dylan song Only A Pawn in their Game, written following the assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers. The message in this song is that the killer was as much a victim or “pawn” of the elites in power as was his victim. The song was sung at the rally where Martin Luther King gave his“I have a dream” speech. It’s an interesting choice, as is his excellent cover of Days of Decision. This is taken from the 1965 Phil Ochs album Ain’t Marching Anymore, with its lyrics: “you can do what’s right or you can do what you are told.” Maybe in these choices Morrissey is encouraging the listener to look at the lessons of history and to question things a little more?
Buffy Sainte Marie’s Suffer the Little Children is given the full Broadway treatment with big instrumentals and hand clapping. Buffy, in an interview, said she loved it.
There are very good versions of Carly Simon’s When you close your eyes and Dione Warwick’s Loneliness Remembers what Happiness Forgets. Gary Puckett’s Lady Willpower is also very well done. Tim Hardin’s eulogy to his friend Lenny Bruce, Lenny’sTune is perfect for the melancholic signature sound of Morrissey, and whilst this version is not as haunting as the Nico cover it does justice to the original.
Roy Orbison’s It’s Over stays true to the original and is one of the best tracks on the album. He closes with Melanie Safka’s 1971 Some Say (I got Devil). The vocals here are excellent and the addition of instrumentals on what was originally an acoustic guitar ballad gives the song new depth.
There really is not a bad track here but the real gift of this album is that it brings to a new generation a selection of protest songs about freedom, social justice and liberty that have a message relevant to today. It encourages you to seek out the original recordings and the stories behind them. Morrissey is not afraid to try new genres, or of working with material that others might now find too controversial. It is why his music endures despite the controversy, the bad press, the lack of radio coverage and the constant personal attacks. He has already recorded an album of new material for release later in the year. Retirement does not appear to be on the horizon just yet.
Reviewed by Jacqui Cosgree
17 Million Fuck Offs
17 Million Fuck Offs. Written and performed by Dominic Frisby. Music composed and played by Martin Wheatley (based on a traditional Devon folk song). Video directed by Anon. Audio mixed and recorded by Wayne McIntyre. Assistant Director Mark “Yeti” Cribbs. Available from: https://www.amazon.co.uk/17-Million-Fuck-Offs-Explicit/dp/B07PKY39CK/ref=sr_1_3_twi_mus_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1552953132&sr=8-3&keywords=dominic+frisby
INDIVIDUAL TRACK reviews for Counter Culture are like busses – you wait ages for them to arrive and then two come along at once!
Eagle-eyed readers may recall that – towards the end of last month – I reviewed a track called The Dirty Fucking Hippies Were Right! You can read the review here https://countercultureuk.com/2019/04/25/the-dirty-fucking-hippies-were-right/ and listen to the track here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKEZoY-TMG4 At the time (and to the best of my knowledge) I’d never reviewed an individual music track before. Little did I know that I’d be at it again so quickly.
As with last months track, I can’t recall where (or when) I first became aware of 17 Million Fuck Offs but I somehow came across it on YouTube. You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiUFPjulTW8
Remarkably, there are several similarities and differences between The Dirty Fucking Hippies Were Right! and 17 Million Fuck Offs. For instance, both deal with important subject matters. The first was a track about an entire counter cultural movement – the Hippies – which had its origins in the 60s. The second track is about a specific event, the EU referendum of 23rd June 2016.
Mystery surrounds those who wrote and performed The Dirty Fucking Hippies Were Right! although it’s been attributed to George Carlin (1937 – 2008) the American stand-up comedian, actor, author, and social critic. However, there’s no mystery about 17 Million Fuck Offs which is the work of Dominic Frisby. According to his web-site – https://dominicfrisby.com/ – Frisby is a libertarian and a ‘writer-performer’. However, this brief description is very modest indeed, for he combines straight stand-up and character comedy with writing books about the economy as well as acting, presenting, voiceovers and public speaking.
So much for the differences between the two singles. The one obvious similarity is the use of the Anglo-Saxon word, ‘Fuck’, in both titles. Whilst it’s still considered a reasonably offensive swear word, many people seem to use it – maybe even unconsciously – in everyday speech. To this extent, the word has become somewhat ‘normalised’. However, I believe that it’s used on both tracks for description and emphasis. The hippies were way, way before my time, and I’m far from an expert on them, but I believe that they were sometimes described as ‘dirty fucking hippies’. That would explain its use on the first track. On 17 Million Fuck Offs it’s used to great comedic effect – especially as it appears like a bolt out of the blue. Based on a traditional Devon folk song, Frisby sets the scene at the start of the track and sings in a very authoritative manner:
‘On the 23rd of June, 2016
The people of the United Kingdom – and Gibraltar – went to vote
On an issue that for some had been burning for years
The question in full – and unaltered – was – I quote
Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union
or leave the European Union?
It was the greatest democratic turnout in British history, I do not scoff
And when the time came to speak the British said fuck off.
Fuck off.’
I’ve shown the YouTube video to a few people and they’ve always reacted with a great big belly laugh when they first hear the words ‘fuck off’. Have a listen to it yourself and you’ll know what I mean.
Dominic Frisby spends most of his time on the track ridiculing the warnings that the establishment made in the run up to the EU referendum. Known as ‘Project Fear’ the electorate were warned, if they voted for Brexit, that ‘you’ll lose your job’, ‘you’ll lose yourhome’ and that there would be all manner of food shortages, no medicines, grounded planes and the stock market would collapse. However, most terrifying of all, there’d be ‘an outbreak of super gonorrhea. They seriously said that’.
He also calls out various members of the establishment who promoted ‘Project Fear’. They include politicians like David Cameron, Theresa May, George Osborne and Tony Blair – who, in my honest opinion, should be doing serious bird for war crimes – right the way through to ‘celebrities’ like Gary Lineker, JK Rowling and the deliberately (yet delightfully) misnamed Benedict Cumbertwat. At the end of the list comes Labour’s Lord Adonis. Frisby proves that he’s truly a great iconoclast when he asks the question on everyone’s lips:‘Who the fuck’s he anyway?’
Listening to the track, it struck me that this was the first time I’d heard a pro-Brexit comedy song. Indeed, 17 Million Fuck Offs was only song in support of Brexit that I’d come across, no matter what genre it hailed from.
This is odd – to say the very least! Brexit should’ve provided plenty of material for various mainstream artists & comedians to work with. For instance, for three years now we’ve been in the ridiculous position of having those MPs who ‘represent’ their constituents in the ‘Mother of Parliaments’ trying to overturn the democratic will of those very same constituents. It’s absolute comedy gold! So where are all of the mainstream artists and comedians – shouldn’t they be calling out these MPs on their failure to carry out the express will of the people? After all, we live in a democracy, don’t we?
Despite the reluctance of many ‘household names’ to point out the obvious – that representative democracy is no longer representative or democratic – Dominic Frisby has managed to do so using both gentle humour and biting satire. This makes 17 Million Fuck Offsvery important as it reminds us why the electorate voted for Brexit and why the public is so frustrated with the current political stalemate. To do so using music must be a nightmare for Remainers – that’s because music is universal and can cross so many barriers. Indeed, music has the ability to touch everyone, no matter who they are.
Have a listen to both the original track – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiUFPjulTW8– or the Ramona Ricketts Mix –https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD-Sz8S7bA0– which has a slight Irish lilt to it. And don’t forget to let Counter Culture know what you think of Dominic Frisby’s highly original work – both in terms of musical comedy and the message it conveys.
Reviewed by John Field.
• LOOK OUT for Dominic Frisby’s Libertarian Love Songs later this year at the Edinburgh Fringe.
