Tuesday 15 February 2022

At Sixes and Sevens


On Sunday evenings in 1972 any self respecting teenager with access to a radio and a rudimentary tape recorder could be found in their bedroom with their fingers poised over the play and record buttons as they constructed their very own playlists. Between 4pm and 6pm the weekly chart rundown was presided over by Radio 1 jock Tom Browne. All the platters that mattered got an airing; well, nearly all. For some reason the Beeb had a problem with Judge Dread. Tom would skim over the fact that Big Six (and later Big Seven) was sitting at #8 in the charts - but steadfastly refused to play it. What was going on? What could it be that prevented it from being played on the airwaves? And who was buying it if nobody could hear it? It would be a number of years later till I got to hear it in full. And what great tunes they were (Six and Seven). My 11 year old self would have loved 'em, nothing's so sure.

I don't know if Dread, real name Alexander Minto Hughes (1945-1998), lost too much slip over his blanket ban by the corporation - probably not (it didn't seem to hinder sales). Everyone loves an anti-hero and in 1972 Judge Dread certainly fitted the bill.

Judge Dread - Big Six (1972)


7 comments:

  1. These singles were passed around by certain individuals the playground at my school. You had to be in the know and promise faithfully to return them the next day, on pain of....well, pain I guess. Finding a way to discretely play them at home wasn't easy either. The kids of today don't know they're born.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 'Certain individuals'. Nuff said. Our school had 'certain individuals'. You kept your distance; the smallest transgression could be a flash point. 1972, eh?

      Delete
  2. All I knew, long before I heard a single note/lyric from Judge Dread, and being at that age when certain things start to enter and intrigue one's consciousness, was that he was "rude"... It was the same with Derek & Clive! It seemed terribly grown-up and daring even to mention their names, but it was a few years before I found out what they really sounded like.
    Funnily enough we were re-watching the brilliant 'Life Of Rock with Brian Pern' the other night and there's that bit where he explains how JD "changed the face of music forever... His combination of white reggae and witty lyrics influenced artists from the Police and UB40 and Madness to KD Lang..." All with a straight face.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rude. But also funny. And very clever. I think so, anyway. It's not like he was saying 'cunt' every 10 seconds - God bless Pete & Dud.

      Delete
  3. 50 years on (can that really be true) I finally know what Big 6 sounds like. My Charts Notebook had it recorded, but of course I never heard it. A revelation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our mission, Alyson, is to find a jukebox in Edinburgh with Big Six on it!

      Delete
    2. Mission Impossible I feel.

      Delete