Oil City Confidential is released on DVD today! Here's part two of my Dr Feelgood project. (Part 1 here)
Another regular Feelgood venue in those early days was the Monaco pub on Canvey seafront.
(The Monico being built in the late 1930's)
The Monico was built as a 25 room hotel in 1938 by Mr A H Beaumont, and took just ten months to build. It stood next to the huge Casino which was also owned by A H Beaumont. The building was made in a semicircular and built on a 'Raft'. On the first floor a sun balcony was constructed, and on the roof was a 'roof garden' containing amongst other things a badminton court. The Monico was the first building on Canvey to have central heating installed.
(The Monico shortly after it opened, 1938)
Beaumont eventually sold the hotel in 1946 to the Charrington brewery, after which it was converted to a pub.
(The Monico in the 1990's)
(The Monico - June 2010)
The Monico certainly seemed to have had an odd paint job when I visited. It looked as though it had been decorated to resemble a huge St George's cross (remember I was taking these photos during the world cup).
Dr Feelgoods 2nd Album: Malpractice is released in October 1975. The cover photo is taken outside Phil Moss barbers shop in Maurice Road, Canvey. Great cover, particularly love the furtive look from Wilko, caught in some dodgy deal with The Big Figure!
Here's another shot from outside that barbers:
The barber shop is alas long gone, replaced by houses.... (bah!)
(The Phil Moss Barber Shop was somewhere along here - July 2010)
Here's a few more photos taken from the Malpractice photoshoot. These were literally just over the road from the barbers at Discount Furnishings, 191 High Street (I took the above picture of Maurice Road standing outside 191!).
(Discount Furnishings, 191 High Street, Canvey - 1975)
(Discount Furnishings, 191 High Street, Canvey - 1975)
Discount Furnishings may be no more, but 191 High Street remains:
(191 High Street, Canvey - July 2010)
Here are some more great Canvey promo shots of the Wilko line up of the band:
(Oil City by night 1975)
(Oil City by day! July 2010)
(Canvey Amusements, underneath Cloud 9, 1975)
(Canvey Amusements, underneath what was Cloud 9, July 2010)
Here's another classic location from the seafront area... The Labworth Cafe, Canvey.
This fabulous Wilko era Labworth shot was used for the Oil City Confidential film promo poster, and is also used as the cover of the DVD:
The Feelgoods will return here a few years later to promote their album 'Be Seeing You'.
(The Labworth July 2010 - Tide out)
The Labworth is a stunning art-deco building, sitting directly on the sea wall, looking out to the Thames estuary. It was designed and built in 1933 by Ove Arup, the same man who designed and built the Penguin Pool at London Zoo and Sydney Opera House. Arup designed the Labworth to look like the bridge of the RMS Queen Mary ocean liner.
(The Labworth June 2010 - Tide in!)
Between the 70's and the 90's, the Labworth managed to dodge the demolition ball on more than one occasion, as it slowly went to wrack and ruin. It's fortunes finally turned around in the late 90's when it was taken over and restored by a local lottery winner (it's now a listed building). By day it's a seaside cafe, but by night this is one of the most exclusive restaurants around, and there is always a six month waiting list for a sea-view table! (honest!).
The now almost legendary 'Canvey Is Englands Lourdes' graffiti on the sea wall (the Labworth is just visible in the far background) which is featured in the Oil City Confidential film:
In 1976, Feelgood manager Chris Fenwick vacates Feelgood House for a much grander property in Canvey, complete with full bar in the living room (called The Cluedo Club)! The boys are in heaven, and the place is immediately dubbed Feelgood House 2! This now becomes the hub of the Dr Feelgood machine.
(Feelgood House 2 July 2010)
By this time there has been some considerable tension growing between (tea-total) Wilko and the rest of the (hard drinking) band. With little new material to work with, the band decide that the next album should be a live recording. Some recordings are already in the can so......
Dr Feelgoods 3rd Album: Stupidity is released in October 1976, and goes to number one in the album charts. Side one captures the band live at the Kursaal in Southend (November 75), with side 2 coming from Sheffield City Hall (May 75). The cover shot, arguably the most iconic Feelgood photo ever, is also taken from the gig at Southend.
(The Kursaal, Southend - 1910)
(The Kursaal 100 years later! - June 2010)
In 1894 a brand new area opened along Southend seafront, combining amusements, a marine park and gardens. A grand entrance to the area, complete with a huge silver dome overhead, was built by the Margate and Southend Kursaals Company, and opened in 1901. The Kursaal (Kursaal is German for "cure hall" or "spa" by the way) soon became one of the biggest attractions in the country, with its circus, zoo, scenic railway ballroom and regularly changing amusements.... The list of features held in the 'amusements' area over the years is truly mind boggling! the world's first female lion tamer, the world's first female 'wall of death' rider, the first venue in England to display Al Capone's car, even Eric the sixty ton stuffed whale was on display at one point! The ballroom was supposedly the finest in the country, and many star performed here over the years - Vera Lynn started her career at the Kursaal.
The Kursaal remained popular after the war, but went into decline during the 70's (although don't forget that the Pistols 'Anarchy in the UK' tour almost played here in December 1976!) and eventually closed in 1986. 12 years later in 1998 it was re-opened after a multi-million pound face lift with the tower finally being restored to its former glory (it's now a listed building too). However it's little more than a glorified chav-fest these days, and it's main attraction is fast food and a 30 lane bowling ally... nice!
During the making of the fourth album, Wilko and the rest of the band have a major falling out about tracks to be included. The album is recorded, but it's the end of the line for Wilko. A search is soon underway to find a replacement, and a name is soon recommended to the band.... Another Essex lad, John Mayo (incredibly, keeping up the 3 John's and a Lee line up!) from Harlow. Mayo soon has the obligatory Feelgood nickname, and is re-christened 'Gypie'. It's back to a venue already mentioned for Gypie's inaugural performance - a warm up at Cloud 9 on Canvey seafront, which by now was called Bardot's.
Within a few months of Gypies arrival, Dr Feelgood are releasing their next album.
Dr Feelgoods 4th Album: Sneakin' Suspicion is released in May 1977, but of course it features Wilko on guitar rather than new recruit Gypie. Originally, the cover of this album was going to be a shot of the band outside the Labworth (almost certainly the same picture seen earlier in this post), but now Wilko was gone, a new cover had to be designed. This shot was taken outside The Canvey Club, which for some reason (even the band can't remember why!) they re-named the Alibi Club for the purpose of the photo.
(The Alibi Club - 1977)
(The Alibi\Canvey Club - July 2010)
Amazingly, the delightfully ramshackle Canvey Club is still there today, looking just as it did back in the 1970s.
(The Canvey Club 1970's)
(The Canvey Club July 2010)
(The Canvey Club July 2010)
Piley bumps into Wilko Johnson whilst on the Feelgood trail... where? Oil City of course!
I can't think of any other band who continued to nail their colours to the local mast quite as much as Dr Feelgood. Even when success came their way, they remained loyal to their home town... Photo shoots, album launches, live gigs, auditions and (incredibly) the bands first eight albums all had some local connection to them.
Over the last couple of months I've been on the trail of Dr Feelgood, hunting down these local landmarks that plot the history of the band. How many would I find still in tact all these years on? This project turned into something of a beast along the way, as the remit got wider and wider the more I delved, so I've had to split it into three parts....
So, to celebrate next weeks much anticipated DVD release of the fabulous Dr Feelgood movie 'Oil City Confidential', I'll be sharing my findings over the next week or so.... Here's part one. (with thanks to Chris Fenwick and Ann Adley from Feelgood HQ who helped me out when I got a bit stuck, much appreciated!)
As a child, I lived in Benfleet, Essex. The same train station at which you alight for Canvey Island. So growing up in 70's Benfleet, the name Dr Feelgood was always legendary. But to me, as a 9/10 year old, 'the name' was really all I knew. The first time that I actually heard them was in early 1979, when their single 'Milk and Alcohol' entered the charts (at the age of 12, I was now heavily into 'chart' music). I loved it, and as soon as my pocket money was in, it was off to Kelly's Radios in Hadleigh to buy it... in fab brown coloured vinyl too! I adored the picture cover, with it's beer bottle design, and I carried it in to school for days afterwards! (why did we do that? Please tell me you used to take records into school too?!) A couple of months later and I spotted the follow up single - As Long As The Price Is Right - in Golden Disc, Southend. The cover design of a close up of a woman in a bra made it THE most outrageous single I ever did buy!
But I still really knew nothing about these beer swillin', bra lovin' Canvey-ites... It seems odd now that people could be so ignorant about bands, but this was all pre-internet, and it was pretty hard to find out much about anyone back then. So whilst us kids waited for Wikipedia to be invented, we did the next best thing, which was make stuff up! My mates and I were now convinced that Dr Feelgood were an outrageous punk band from Canvey, who had been involved in a number of fights with the likes of the Clash, Sex Pistols and Stranglers - they'd won them all too! Whenever a smashed up phone box or bus shelter was spotted, it was always assumed that the Feelgoods had done it on a wild night out!
In the early 80's I had a number of friends who were a few years older than me (all met via the CB Radio!), and I was introduced to a number of 'new' bands by them. They pretty much all loved the Feelgoods, and bombarded me with tapes of their songs... These same mates took me to see Dr Feelgood live (around 1982/3), and it was just about my first ever 'proper' gig.... turned out they weren't punks at all! Of course the line-up had changed a bit by then, but I was oblivious to that at the time, and all these years on, I still have very vivid memories of frontman Lee Brilleaux's incredible performance.
But even after seeing them, it still took a number of years for me to really appreciate just how big a band they were, how influential they had been, and just how loyal they were to their Canvey roots. I wanted to retrace the local steps of Dr Feelgood and try to document the importance of the local area on the band and vica versa. But in order to do that, let's go back a bit....
Lee Collinson was born in 1952, and in the mid-60's his family moved to Canvey Island, where his grandfather already lived. He was soon making new pals on the island, and in particular Chris White, who quickly became his best friend. Lee and Chris were almost inseparable and would spend all their free time playing together. Chris soon introduced Lee to another local lad, John Sparkes (born 1953).
Lee, Chris and John went along to a carnival talent competition, and were impressed by a local band called The North Avenue Jug Band, featuring a guitarist by the name of John Wilkinson (born 1947). John had originally been in a band called The Roamers, with his school mate John Martin (born 1946). But when John Martin left to join The Essex Five, The Roamers had mutated into the Jug Band. John Wilkinson was obsessed with the beat bands of the 60's, and in particular Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. He loved the style of guitarist Mick Green, who had a unique talent of being able to play both lead and rhythm guitar at the same time - a trick John would soon adopt. John had saved up, bought himself a Fender Telecaster, taught himself to play and was now determined to follow in his hero's footsteps.
Inspired by seeing The North Avenue Jug Band, Lee, Chris and John formed the first of what was to become a number of childhood jug bands - 'The Southside Jug Band'. Over the years they would become 'The Razzmatazz Washboard Band', 'The Frisco Bay Jug Band' and even 'Chris White and his Mad Mates'! They would busk all round Canvey - Youth Clubs, The Corner Club, The Canvey Club, The Monico, The Admiral Jellicoe and The Oyster Fleet (more about some of these venues in the next installments!) - and parts of Kent too.
In the meantime, John Wilkinson (now going by the rearranged nickname of Wilko Johnson) had tried out another couple of bands (The Flowerpots and The Fix), before turning his back on music and heading off to Newcastle University. After Uni he went for an extended sabbatical in India, only returning to England when diagnosed with hepatitis. Back in Canvey, he started work as a supply teacher in the local schools.... his guitar laying unplayed for over 4 years.
During this time, Lee and John Sparkes had become members of Wilko's old band - The Fix, along with Lew Lewis and Dave Higgs (who would both go on to be members of Eddie and the Hot Rods), eventually leaving to form The Pigboy Charlie Band. The line up of the band seemed forever in a state of flux, but guess who Lee bumped into in Canvey just after the departure of the lead guitarist?? The wanderer returned, Wilko Johnson! The new look Pigboy Charlie Band soon decide on a new name for the new decade, taken from a Johnny Kidd and the Pirates song.... DR FEELGOOD.
Dr Feelgood played their first ever gig at Cloud 9 disco, Canvey seafront.
(Pre-Cloud 9 in the 1940's/1950's)
(Club Astairs - Circa 2000)
Cloud 9 Disco. By the mid 70's it had been renamed Bardot's and by late 90's/early 2000's it was called 'Astairs'... Today? Well, there's not even a name over the club anymore, and no clear indication that it's even still open. Perhaps the best it can hope for these days is to become an extension of 'Fraggles Rock Bar and Function Room' at some point?!
(Cloud 9\Bardot's\Club Astairs - June 2010)
The band soon picked up a number of local gigs, including residencies at The Railway pub in Pitsea and the Top Alex pub in Southend. There are also regular bookings at The Esplanade and The Palace in Southend.
(The Railway Pub - 1960's)
The Railway is (about to be 'was') a HUGE building.... 11,000 square foot of pub (really!). Built sometime in the 1920's, it sits at the top of Pitsea market, and has been a very prominent landmark of the town ever since. Like so many classic 'old boozers' it's fallen on hard times, and finally closed in 2006. Up until recently it had been humiliated even further by being turned into a car wash:
(The Railway Pub, Pitsea - June 2010)
Now the car wash has gone too, and The Railway awaits the bull-dozers, ready for yet more flats...
(The Railway Pub, Pitsea - July 2010)
(The 'Top Alex' - June 2010)
The Top Alex. Oddly, there used to be another 'Alex' pub in the same street, so as this one was at the 'top' of the road, it was renamed to avoid confusion. It was a legendary biker pub in the 1970's, and was always quite a scary looking place when I was a kid! It's had a number of name changes over the years (most recently it was the 'Fish and Firkin'), but I'm pleased to say it once again carries the name 'The Alex'. The other Alex has long since gone (now a building society), so I guess the 'Top' bit was a bit redundant this time round!
(The Esplanade - July 2010)
The Esplanade was a lovely sweaty, dark and dank live venue, situated right along Southend seafront. That is, up until about eight or ten years or so, when it became a much needed family 'fun' pub (yes, there was irony in that sentence), which it still is today. I saw lots of bands here in the 80's and 90's, most memorably when they somehow got Primal Scream at the height of their power as a Glasto (or possibly Reading) warm up. Pearl Jam played their first ever UK show here too (in Feb 1992).
(The Palace Hotel - June 2010)
The Palace opened in 1904, and was originally called the Metropole Hotel. I've already covered the history of the Palace fairly comprehensively in a previous post here if you fancy a looky-see!
By this point, Lee's best friend Chris White had gone into acting, and due to there already being a 'Chris White' on Equity's books, he was now using his mothers maiden name - Fenwick. Whilst at a wedding in Holland, Fenwick managed to blag a few Dutch gigs for the Feelgoods. Up until this point, the role of drummer had been a rather flexible affair, but in order to honour the Dutch shows, the band decided they now needed a permanent fixture on the kit. Wilko suggested his old mate from The Roamers, John Martin... thus the line-up was complete:
Lee 'brillo' Collinson (soon to be known as Lee Brilleaux) - Lead Vocals John Wilkinson (Wilko Johnson) - Lead Guitar John B Sparkes (Sparko) - Bass John Martin (The Big Figure) - Drums
A Lee and three Johns... no wonder they were keen on nicknames!
In the early 70's, there was a familiar face living in the local area and working at the Basildon office of the local newspaper The Evening Echo.... 60's popster Heinz Burt (yes he of The Tornadoes and 'Just Like Eddie' fame). Heinz was now a sales rep, and a pretty good one too (after four years he was promoted to advertising manager at the Evening Echo’s sister paper, the Thurrock Gazette). Despite his new role with the Echo, he still performed the odd show here and there when asked. Heinz became aware of the Feelgoods, and asked them if they would like to be his 'backing band' for a series of upcoming gigs. The boys agreed, and a (by all accounts) mediocre tour took place. The Feelgoods would perform on their own for the first 45 minutes or so, and then Heinz would join them for the 'main event'. However, their short association with Heinz did provide them with one defining moment. In 1972 Heinz was asked to appear on the bill of the 'London Rock and Roll show' at Wembley Stadium. The unknown (outside of Canvey!) Feelgoods suddenly found themselves sharing a bill with names such as Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Bill Haley. There were a few other unknowns on the bill though, including a little outfit called the MC5! The Feelgoods were blown away with their performance (particularly Wilko), and it all went into the pot to shape and mold how the band were progressing.
1973, and there's a big scene taking off in London, pubs are starting to put on gigs in backrooms, upstairs etc etc. Unsurprisingly the scene is labelled 'pub rock' . It wasn't long before Dr Feelgood got the call to join in, and they played their first gig at the Tally Ho in Kentish Town (this pub finally closed in 2006, to make way for a development of flats which now go by the name of 'The Tally Ho Apartments'). Very soon afterwards they became 'the' band on this circuit. DJ Bob Harris caught one of their blistering live shows, and immediately asked them to appear on his radio show. Up until that point, the Dr Feelgood set-list had consisted entirely of cover versions. However, the night before appearing on the Bob Harris show, Wilko decided they should have some of their own material, and starts to write 'She Does It Right'... incredibly, they perform it as part of their set on the radio the very next day!
All the ingredients were complete... Lee with his love of American R&B, Wilko with his love of beat and rock, the tightest rhythm section around in Sparko and The Big Figure, and now writing their own material too. This fused the band into something genuinely different for that time, and people were taking notice. The phrase 'godfather(s) of punk' is an over used one. Musically it was certainly on the right track, but in attitude they were 24 carat proto punks...Wilko with his odd jerky actions, manic stare and snarling guitar solos, Brilleaux with his genuinely menacing and intimidating stage presence and '60-a-day' gravel voice. It wasn't long before the Feelgoods became 'the' live band on the circuit, and they were soon knocking out an incredible 250+ gigs a year (a figure they would continue to achieve every year for decades). It's no surprise that the lads were soon signed up to a record label, United Artists.
By this time, Chris Fenwick was officially the bands manager (he still is to this day). To celebrate his 18th birthday, Chris had been given a plot of land in Canvey by his father who was a builder. A house (with a rehearsal room attached) was soon built on the plot, and christened Feelgood House. Chris and Lee quickly moved in, and the house became the Feelgood operations room for the next few years.
(Feelgood House #1 - July 2010)
As a live act the band were untouchable, but the next task was to try and capture that sound for an album... In August 1974 the band went into the studio to record their debut album. Recording went well, but once at the mixing stage, concerns were aired. The band didn't like the 'stereo' sound of Wilko coming out of one speaker, and Sparko coming out of the other. To everyones amazement (particularly the record labels!) the band insisted on the album being mixed in mono.
Dr Feelgoods 1st Album: Down By The Jetty is released in January 1975. The cover photo is taken, erm... down by the jetty!
(Down By The Jetty - 1975)
(Piley Down By The Jetty - June 2010)
Canvey Island sits below sea level in the Thames estuary, and is protected by a 15 mile concrete sea wall. It's unsurprising then, that the sea and the sea wall featured so heavily in many classic Feelgood publicity shots. The Down By The Jetty photo shoot was done in the early hours of the morning, just as the day was dawning. The lads had only just arrived home from a gig and had not yet slept, hence the rather haggard looks! Here's another couple of shots from that early morning shoot:
(STILL Down By The Jetty! - 1975)
(Down By The Jetty - July 2010) (Down By The Jetty - June 2010)
The Jetty is right alongside the Lobster Smack pub, which was one of the bands favourite local hostelries.
(The Lobster Smack - early 1900's)
(The Lobster Smack - June 2010)
The Lobster Smack is without doubt the oldest public house on Canvey Island, and is thought to have been constructed as early as 1600 (there are tiles on the roof which have been dated as far back as 1510). Charles Dickens was aware of this place, and sent Magwitch and Pip there to hide out whilst they waited for the Continental steamer in Great Expectations (the capture of Magwitch, the fight in the boat and the arrival of the Hamburg steamer all took place just around the corner from here at Deadman's Point). It was a well known pub to be frequented by smugglers and pirates. There was a time when only Dutch was spoken in this pub, as it was almost exclusivly frequented by sailers from Dutch fishing ships. In the late 1700's, The Lobster Smack was famous for bare-knuckle fighting! There is one memorable bout that lasted 62 rounds, it was only called to a halt because it got dark, and was declared a draw! Ouch!
A couple more photos from the 'Down By The Jetty' shoot:
(Down By The Sea - June 2010)
That's it for part one. Part 2 is here, and Part 3 is here.
If this post has got you all buzzed up for another slice of Feelgood, be sure to pick up Oil City Confidential when it's released on Monday (26th July). You can order it here on Amazon, or buy it via the bands official outlet Cadiz here who have a couple of great packs going on (DVD and T-Shirt, DVD and poster). It'll also be available in all good music shops (an no doubt some rubbish ones as well!).
I can also highly recommend the excellent biography 'Down By The Jetty' by Tony Moon, which has been invaluable in helping me research this project. It's just been updated this year, and is also available on Amazon here
I dug out some of my Harvey Pekar books and comics on Monday night, and have been engrossed ever since. Not read some of these for a while, but within minutes his work was once again hitting the right spot, and making me think all over again.
Under the circumstances I found this short three page strip from 1978 (when Harvey was still in his late 30's) rather poignant, and thought I'd scan and share it.
This strip is a good example of his more thought provoking work. On one hand you can see why some people found his stuff 'boring', as on the face of it, I guess not a lot happens, yet on the other hand it speaks volumes (to me anyway).
Bloody hell... for the 3rd time in as many months I find myself typing a post with the words 'RIP' in the title, and this is the second comic related one.
One of my favourite, favourite comic writers died earlier today, Harvey Pekar, aged 70. I already blogged about Harvey and his career a couple of years back (here), so forgive me if some of this post ends up being a little similar.
Harvey was an acquired taste, and a grouchy one at that! you either loved his stuff or hated it, and I loved it! He started making comics after being introduced to local underground artist Robert Crumb in the 1960s. Harvey was intrigued with Crumb's comics, and he decided to try and create some of his own... only problem was, Harvey couldn't draw! He created his strips using stick figures, showed them to Crumb, who loved them and drew them for him. Harvey's very own comic American Splendor was born soon after, and over the years many more artists would provide the drawings for his strips. I loved the fact that for many years he was getting them all printed himself, stapling them together in his front room, and distributing them from home. I think I'd be right in saying that Harvey never really made any money out of comics for almost 20 years, and rarely re-couped the cost of each issue. But this is no way reflects on the quality of his work, it's intelligent and often profound stuff. It's just in the 70's and 80's in particular, there was simply no market for what Harvey did - real life comics for real life adults. He had pretty much invented the genre, and at that time, everyone assumed that comics were just 'superheros' and made for kids (which bar the odd exception was correct)
His strips were almost the equivalent of blogging in comic form, and in the 70s they would have been so completely different to what anyone else was doing. Harvey would simply log what was going on in his life, in his hometown of Cleveland, every day stuff, it all meant so much to Harvey. Sometimes these stories would whip over your head leaving you cold, but other times they would smash into your heart like a sledgehammer. Harvey was a real thinker, he'd sit and analyse stuff, worry about things, and put it all down.
Harvey was a unique guy for a comic book writer, because pretty much up until the last few years of his life, he continued to have a proper day job (he was a File Clerk in a hospital for almost 40 years until he retired in the early 2000's). Indeed, it was the day job that gave him so much of his material, it was almost like you couldn't have one without the other, although his relative lack of success meant he was always reliant on the income from his job. He was the most 'down to earth' guy you could meet, and as such his comics really spoke to the man on the street, because Harvey was that guy too. Even the 'tag-line' of American Splendor was "ordinary life is pretty complex stuff" (and as I confessed in my original post on Harvey, I may well have been somewhat inspired by this when I came up with the tag-line for this blog!)
In the 80s he became a rather unlikely star of the David Letterman show. Harvey had gone on as a guest in 1986, but his no nonsense chat went down a storm with the viewers, and he was invited back another 5 times in the next year or so. He became the resident grouch of the show, and would come on and moan about topical stories... but that was until he moaned about the wrong thing! In his last appearance he ranted live on air about General Electric, who he had a beef with at the time due to the money they were putting into manufacturing weapons. Trouble was General Electric were also the owners of NBC, who put out the Letterman show! It all got a bit heated and Harvey was banned for life! (although I think he did eventually go back once or twice a decade or two later).
In 1990 he was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer, which he would eventually beat. His struggle with the disease became a powerful graphic novel 'Our Cancer Year' - a 'no-punches-pulled' depiction of the hell both he and his wife went through.
Just as Harvey was retiring, a film was made based on his many autobiographical comic strips. American Splendor the movie was a real joy, and Paul Giamatti captured our man perfectly. It's a really quirky film, and there are moments where the on-screen Harvey comes face to face with the real one! Harvey had not released any comics lately, the last 4 issue 'mini-series' of American Splendor came out June - September 2008, but these were still as good as his early work. The guy just had a perfect eye for picking out human life. I wonder if Harvey continued working on any more strips after these comics? Perhaps he has left behind a series of unpublished 'stick figures', that may be brought to life as a final tribute?
At this moment it is unclear what Harvey died of today, although he was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Harvey may sadly be gone, but he leaves behind almost forty years of his life in comic strip form. I hope someone will now finally sort them out and do his work justice with a full chronological reprint of his work. He deserves to be kept on the shelf.
I'll be digging out a few of his books later tonight, and will have a good 'ol moan in honour of the man!
RIP Harvey.
VIDEOS:
'that' appearance on David Letterman (it all gets going at around the 7 minute mark... is Harvey the most 'un-celeb' guest you've ever seen on a show like this??!):
Trailer for the wonderful American Splendor movie:
A Marc gig in a small venue usually means two and a half hours of intense, soul wrenching songs of doom, gloom and unrequited love - all played in 'pin-drop' respectful silence. But with this small venue being the 'all standing' Jazz Cafe in Camden (part of a week long series of gigs at the venue hosted by Mojo Magazine to celebrate the Mojo awards), Marc allows himself a rare opportunity to let his hair down and have fun! Hence he trots out songs from his bulging back-catalogue that I've not seen him perform in over 20 years... and one or two I'm not sure I've ever seen him do live.
Marc looks incredibly relaxed and fresh faced as he and his stripped down band take to the stage via the diners on the second floor (an odd set up that you have to see to understand!). There are a smattering of tracks from the new album in evidence tonight (Intro, Nijinsky Heart, The Exhibitionist, Trials Of Eyeliner, Bread And Circus, Cabaret Clown, Variety) but the majority of the set consists of rare outings for some of Marc's livelier numbers (the ones that get the least live airings these days). He looks as though he's really relishing this chance to let himself go - like the studious kid allowed to bring a toy into class on the last day of term - and enjoying the rare opportunity to not be tearing at his soul in agony with his heartfelt torch songs.
Incredibly, Marc is celebrating 30 years of being a recording artist this year (where did those years go?!), and to mark the occasion is touring his rarely performed 'hits' at the back end of the year. But tonight he seems to be celebrating those 3 score years a little early, as we skip through the decades with a perfectly chosen setlist, guaranteed to please Marc fans from any era.... Joey Demento from his debut solo album in 1984, Tears Run Rings from 1988, Jacky from 1991, Brilliant Creatures from 1996, Black Kiss and Open All Night from 1999... the list goes on. But the biggest surprise for me is the performance of the very first Marc and the Mambas track to ever be released, way back in 1982 - the fan club only 12" single Sleaze (the same year Soft Cell released 'Say Hello Wave Goodbye'). The addition of a Hammond organ to this arrangement gave the track a great new groove, and provided it with a whole new lease of life. Marc has always fused this song with a few bars of 'Walk on the Wild Side', but tonight he extends his Lou Reed tribute to a full two minutes worth.
It's too difficult to leave the stage at the Jazz Cafe prior to your encore. I've seen a few gigs here over the years and everyone does the same thing.... Tonight's no exception, and rather than climb all the way up the rickety stairs that go directly from the stage up to the restaurant on the 2nd floor, it's really much easier to just ask the crown if they want some more!
There's an odd phenomenon in music, and when artists get older, they sometimes feel awkward about playing songs from their youth (how does Daltrey feel singing "hope I die before I get old" these days I wonder?). I particularly remember reading Bowie saying he felt uncomfortable performing much of his Ziggy era songs in his later years. There is none of that here though, as Marc reels out Bedsitter and Tainted Love, both from 1981. Bedsitter in particular is spot on, sounds better than ever, and Marc looks cooler than ever performing it. We finish with the second Northern Soul song of the encore, Kenny Robert's lost classic 'Run Like The Devil'.... after which Marc jokes that his next album might be a collection of obscure Northern Soul songs! Ha ha! we all laugh, then slowly all realise that actually, that would be a fabulous idea!
So everyone leaves with a big silly grin on their face (not least Marc, who has danced, laughed and enjoyed himself as much as anyone), if this is a teaser of what's to come in the autumn, then the 30th anniversary tour should be one to catch at all costs. And what a treat I have in store... opening night? Southend! (front row, natch!).
VIDEOS
Sleaze (with a large dash of 'Walk on the Wild Side for good measure):
(The Monico being built in the late 1930's)
(The Monico in the 1990's)
(The Monico - June 2010)
(The Phil Moss Barber Shop was somewhere along here - July 2010)
(Discount Furnishings, 191 High Street, Canvey - 1975) 
(191 High Street, Canvey - July 2010) 
This fabulous Wilko era Labworth shot was used for the Oil City Confidential film promo poster, and is also used as the cover of the DVD:
The Feelgoods will return here a few years later to promote their album 'Be Seeing You'.
(The Labworth July 2010 - Tide out)
(The Kursaal 100 years later! - June 2010) 
(The Alibi\Canvey Club - July 2010) 
(The Canvey Club July 2010)
(Club Astairs - Circa 2000) 
(The Railway Pub - 1960's)
(The 'Top Alex' - June 2010) 
(The Esplanade - July 2010) 
(Feelgood House #1 - July 2010) 
(Piley Down By The Jetty - June 2010) 
(Down By The Jetty - July 2010)
(Down By The Jetty - June 2010)
(Down By The Sea - June 2010)
Harvey had not released any comics lately, the last 4 issue 'mini-series' of American Splendor came out June - September 2008, but these were still as good as his early work. The guy just had a perfect eye for picking out human life. I wonder if Harvey continued working on any more strips after these comics? Perhaps he has left behind a series of unpublished 'stick figures', that may be brought to life as a final tribute?
It's too difficult to leave the stage at the Jazz Cafe prior to your encore. I've seen a few gigs here over the years and everyone does the same thing.... Tonight's no exception, and rather than climb all the way up the rickety stairs that go directly from the stage up to the restaurant on the 2nd floor, it's really much easier to just ask the crown if they want some more!
