Zoo time

Without wishing to step on Martin's toes (his recent chain series over at New Amusements entitled Cover Charge is really rather good), I'd like to write about a brace of singles, separated by 20+ years, each in turn covered by another artist. My modus operandi being simply to showcase two blinding songs that no longer get the airplay they deserve. Oh, and the band being covered on track one is the band doing the covering on track two. Confused, you will be... 

Spaceman was the tune (choon?) Levi's deployed to maximum effect back in 1995 to advertise their latest 501s. They used all of ten seconds of what would become Babylon Zoo's debut single released in January 1996. It went straight in at Number One. Of course it did.

This version is a rather spartan affair yet captures the essence of the song quite perfectly. It's brought to you by Derwood Andrews who, if you were paying attention last week, was playing some tasty homespun blues with a twist. 

Derwood Andrews - Spaceman (2021)

Babylon Zoo belong to that (not so) elite club known as One Hit Wonders. Being a member is generally not something you brag about but would, I'm sure, get the odd drink bought for you if it ever came up in conversation (should the conversation veer down that particularly lonesome cul-de-sac.)

But it is from that very cul-de-sac that I'm going to pluck The Zoo and drop them in a rather more salubrious part of town. Mott Street, to be precise. (If you know, you know.) Ian Hunter admitted from the get go that you'd be wasting your time looking on a map trying to find Honaloochie. It only existed in his head. In a parallel universe their cover of Mott the Hoople's follow up to All the Young Dudes was released as a single and it too went straight to Number One. No, of course it didn't.

Babylon Zoo - Honaloochie Boogie (1999) 

 

Fulham fallout

Derwood Andrews has done a lot of living since parting company with Billy Idol and Generation X way back in 1979. Now residing on the edge of the Mojave Desert in Southern California, he's come a long way from his teenage manor in Fulham, SW10. And the once loud guitarist is just as at home these days with an old 1940s lap steel guitar as he is with any one of his many trademark Fender Strats. This is proper campfire stuff and is taken from his excellent Tone Poet series of albums.

Derwood Andrews - Coyote (2014)

  

 

Guitarists off the leash (#1*)

On the back of my guitar solo piece a couple of weeks ago I was really interested in some of the comments that were posted in response; not least by old friend of this blog, Artog. Artog comes, and Artog goes; but when he does put his head above the parapet, usually once every five years or so (I suspect he's part of the witness protection program), I always take note. He said he loves it when guitarists do fucked up things. I told him I did too. For instance, Bob 'Derwood' Andrews' from Generation X leaves his calling card all over their first (and best) album. But he was doing it long before on this, the definitive version of No No No (not the cleaner album version or even the John Peel session) - it appeared on the flip side of Ready Steady Go released in February '78. Fast forward to 3:04 and hear Derwood as he tries to keep it together, then listing at the end before finally, and inevitably, slipping anchor. Marvellous stuff, I think you'll agree.

Generation X - No No No (1978)

...

* Don't hold your breath for #2 - me and long running series don't mix very well. I leave that kind of behaviour to the ineffable Rol.

'45' (1924-1977)

45: Berlewi (1924) 

45: Bubbles (1977)

45: Your Generation

The Number One Son told me last week that one of his neighbours is currently sporting a giant Generation X '45' framed print in his flat - James isn't stalking the guy, this piece of artwork is so large it can be seen from space, apparently. Now, I know a thing or two about Generation X: 'I think you'll find that particular design was the brain child of Tony James' (Gen X bass player and joint CEO with Billy Idol), I said with that tone that fathers adopt when handing down vital nuggets of rock history down the male bloodline. Wrong, wrong and wrong.

45: Idol

45: James

If the graphic artist, sleeve designer and troubled soul that was Barney Bubbles (1942-1983) had been eavesdropping our conversation, he would have been yelling in my ear that, actually, the Generation X masthead was one of his - Tony James would just knock out copies when he was screen-printing band tee shirts.

However, I think Barney, real name Colin Fulcher, would be the first to admit that he was influenced by Polish artist Henryk Berlewi (1894-1967), whose 1924 work 'Composition in Red, Black and White' (at the top of this blog) was surely the inspiration behind Barney's 1977 iconic sleeve for Generation X's first single.

45: Derwood