Disc of the day
The Meters - The Meters
Kings of Nawlins "fonk" go it alone. Cue incurable itch in sacroiliac.
Features Disc of the day
Thee Headcoatees
Girlsville
(Hangman, 1991)
1991 debut from the Sisterhood Of Suave.
We weren’t really turning up to see Billy Childish’s Thee Headcoats at the St Johns Tavern in London’s Archway in the ’90s. The 200 of so crowd at the down at heel, wallpaper peeling, sweaty pub were there to glimpse the glorious Thee Headcoatees – The Primettes to Childish’s Primes if you want – four women – Holly Golightly, Bongo Debbie, Kyra LaRubia and Ludella Black – who backed by Childish on guitar, bassist Johnny ‘Tub’ Johnson and drummer Bruce Brand, begged, screamed, hollered, and smouldered their way through a rollicking set of R&B, garage, blues and early Beatles and Kinks covers. Their 1991 LP *Girlsville, the basis of their live set, melded sumptuous girlgroup harmony with raucous, ramshackle Pebbles styled garage punk and dollops of self depreciating humour. The Downliners Sect Don Craine provided sleevenotes, the quartet appeared decked in deerstalkers and hunting tweeds on the front cover artwork, the back helpfully advised on how to make your own “dashing deerstalker in tartan and velvet”. Standouts include the frantic Meet Jacqueline and ferocious Wild Man, two slabs of raw DIY punk. Elsewhere they rewrite Them’s Gloria as the kittenish, seductive purring, Melvin, turn The Beatles’ Run For Your Life into a finger wagging admonishment and pay tribute to The Kinks on their rave-up rendition of First Plane Home.
An indie hit, it set the blueprint for their further releases including 1992’s Have Love Will Travel, 1994’s Bozstik Haze and 1997’s Punk Girls. The music didn’t progress, the style and attitude remained the same, but *that was the point. Sadly though when Thee Headcoats disbanded and Childish formed The Buff Medways, so too Thee Headcoatees bereft of backing band, went their separate ways. Holly Golightly, remains the most visual today, concentrating on a solo career, she’s also turned up on records by White Stripes and Rocket From The Crypt and currently records with the Broke-Offs.
Lois Wilson
Posted by Ross_Bennett at 6:00 AM GMT 10/08/2008
Further Listening
The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy (Pye, 1965)
Thee Headcoats - The Kids Are All Square, This Is Hip (Hangman, 1990)
The Shangri-Las - Myrmidons of Melodrama: the Definitive Collection (RPM, 2002)
Previous Disc of the day
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The Meters - The Meters
Kings of Nawlins "fonk" go it alone. Cue incurable itch in sacroiliac.
6:00 AM GMT 06/11/2009
-
Blur - Blur
Sun sets on Damon Albarn's Little England. "Look inside America," he urges. "She's alright."
6:00 AM GMT 05/11/2009
-
The Congos - Heart Of The Congos
Roots reggae's Lee Perry-produced Pet Sounds!
6:00 AM GMT 04/11/2009
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