The Occasional Tables – Strings and Pulleys!

This tape was handed to me by my friend Jon Thurlow. I had never heard of The Occasional Tables before, but what a mighty recording it is. The band featured the late B.B. Floyd and Local musician/producer Lee Bates. Although recorded in 1991 still sounds fresh and exciting two decades later.

Jon says ” Occasional Tables are one of my favourite attic bands. BB Floyd formed Occasional Tables after leaving Chron Gen, and alongside Lee Bates, developed a strong creative song writing partnership. Floyd’s tense riffs and sideways lyrics counterbalanced Lee’s pop sensibilities perfectly and live, the band’s nailed down rhythm section set free Floyds whirring SG through its vintage VOX – The band were great and Floyd is nothing less than a metal sex god. RIP”

Windmills For Giants

Conspicuous

Pussy Cat

Never in a thousand Years

Bonfires

Wishing Well

Spending Time

Conspicuous (Reprise)

Mercenaries – ‘Move Your Wok’ and ‘Government Slaves’

I am happy to post a couple more tunes from the excellent Mercenairies. The first is a dub of yesterday’s post, curiously titled ‘Move Your Wok’. This originally appeared as a part of a double A sided 12″ single released 26th March 1993.

The second track is ‘Government Slaves’ a political number with a driving rocksteady beat and a punky singalong chorus (Intriguingly also described as the third part of a double A side release)

Move Your Wok – Mercenaries

Government Slaves – Mercenaries

Mercenaries – Move Your Body

Thanks to Facebook I’m now in contact with an old friend/band mate Dave Evans who posted the sweet track from The Mercenaries. Formed from a core of Studio 6 musicians this band went on to play numerous gigs around the area in the late 80′s/early 90′s.

Dave adds “In the style of the classic Studio1 beat, featuring those sugar sweet three part harmonies made famous by the likes of the Heptones, the Diamonds and the Abbysinians, Floating on a Rocksteady rhythm. Recorded in DAMAJIVE Studio Hitchin, Hertfordshire 7th February 1993″

Hopefully more of this to follow. Get on those dancing shoes………..

The Mercenaries – Move Your Body

Studio 6 (Mk2)

Here are seven tracks from the home studio recordings from Studio 6 mk2 (or more accurately Studio 6 – Markless) from August 1985 recorded at Gary Lewis’ flat in Lonsdale Road using the then ubiquitous TEAC portastudio (oh we would have done with Ableton Live!!).

Studio Six (with yours truly on the left) – not really posing on the Joy Ride in Stevenage

Ba Ba Boom Time – Studio Six Girl – Studio Six Watch Out Girl – Studio Six
Way Down Low – Studio Six Feeling Soul – Studio Six Rivers of Blood – Studio Six Save A Bread – Studio Six

King Rizla – Slippin’ Away video

Stevenage’s very own King Rizla with an early video from 1986. With the legendary Marcus Downbeat very nearly literally slippin’ away at 0:31

Rickshaw AKA Burning Hearts Anglia TV

Rickshaw AKA, a later spin off from the North Herts 80′s legends, Roony Rickshaw 1995 perform in a video shot in Letchworth’s Spirella Ballroom

Soma Coma 7″ single

A post punk single from 1982 by Soma Coma from North London, I know- not really North Herts, but the guitarist was Logo Wright, a familiar face about Stevenage in the late 70′s/early 80′s (plus there previous incarnation, The Far Cry, recorded a version of a song I wrote – to be posted soon)



These Loyal Hands

Look At The Money