(Fetch) The Comfy Jigsaw
 |
(Fetch) The Comfy Jigsaw
March 1981
Wigginton Village Hall
(Full Size Image) |
Musical Genre/Type: Post-punk
Formed: 1980 Split: 1981
Matthew Lees - Lead Vocals/Guitar (Tamworth town centre)
Andrew Baines - Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals (Gillway)
Garry Dorrell* - Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals
Donald Skinner - Drums/Backing Vocals (Wigginton)
*Later replaced by Mark Mortimer (Gillway)
07/03/81
Those Attractive Magnets
The Assets
The Travelling Dog
(Fetch the) Comfy Jigsaw
Wigginton Village Hall
09/03/81
Those Attractive Magnets
The Assets
The Travelling Dog
(Fetch the) Comfy Jigsaw
St. John's Youth Club
10/03/81
Those Attractive Magnets
The Assets
The Travelling Dog
(Fetch the) Comfy Jigsaw
Polesworth Youth Club
12/03/81
Those Attractive Magnets
The Assets
The Travelling Dog
(Fetch the) Comfy Jigsaw
Dosthill Boys Club
16/03/81
Those Attractive Magnets
The Assets
The Travelling Dog
(Fetch the) Comfy Jigsaw
Wood End Youth Centre
17/03/81
Those Attractive Magnets
The Assets
The Travelling Dog
(Fetch the) Comfy Jigsaw
Kingsbury Youth Centre
01/05/81
Omen
Classified Ads
(Fetch the) Comfy Jigsaw
Wigginton Village Hall
Venue: QEMS School Assembly. Date: March 1981
Venue: Wood End Youth Centre. Date: September 1981
Formed when all members were attending Q.E.M.S. - a true "schoolboy band" that played only a handful of low-key youth club gigs before changing name and line up slightly when they became Thirty Frames A Second.
Tamworth Herald – 05/03/81
TOMORROW (Saturday) sees what could be the dawning of a new era in the history of rock music in Tamworth.
Those Attractive Magnets and three other bands are taking to the road to do a six date tour of youth clubs around the Tamworth area.
Wigginton village hall is the setting for the first of these important gigs.
Then the circus pitches its big top at youth clubs all over the area, finishing at Kingsbury on March 17.
The Magnets are backed by three new names on the local scene, The Assets, The Travelling Dog and (Fetch the) Comfy Jigsaw.
Musicbox will like to congratulate all concerned with this enterprising venture
DIRECTION
Lately, we have been complaining about the lack of live music in the area and if the youth clubs could be opened up as regular venues for local bands it would be a big step in the right direction.
So we urge everyone reading this column to go along to at least one of these concerts and give the new talent that is emerging in the area the support and encouragement it deserves.
The Magnets are already known to all of you but below we profile the three other bands on the tour.
As they say in Hollywood. This could be the start of something big!
TOUR DATES
Saturday March 7: Wigginton Village Hall; Monday March 9: St. John’s Youth Club; Tuesday March 10: Polesworth Youth Club; Thursday March 12: Dosthill Boys Club; Monday March 16: Wood End Youth Centre; Tuesday March 17: Kingsbury Youth Centre.
Richard Whitehead
Tamworth Herald – 05/03/81
HOWARD, Sense of Doubt and The Perfect Gift – these are just three of the songs (Fetch The) Comfy Jigsaw will be debuting on the tour.
The four-man outfit came together at the beginning of the year after all of them had been in
(Fetch the) Comfy Jigsaw are: Donald Skinner (drums), Matthew Lees (guitar and vocals), Andrew Baines (lead guitar) and Garry Dorrell (bass guitar).
Tamworth Herald – 12/03/81
Review: THOSE Attractive Magnets/(Fetch the) Comfy Jigsaw/The Travelling Dog/The Assets – Wigginton Village Hall
ON FRIDAY I heralded this gig as the possible dawning of a new era. At the end of Saturday night I was beginning to have my doubts.
Apart from Those Attractive Magnets – more of them later – the three ‘new’ bands were shockingly under-prepared, out of tune and baffled by the whole situation.
Of course they will get better, develop and find their own level in a few years or maybe in a few months, but while the idea for this tour was enterprising and adventurous, some members of the groups plainly hadn’t got the talent to deliver the goods.
Best of the three were (Fetch the) Comfy Jigsaw. They battled on, despite the fact that they were out of tune, and played the most listenable music of the evening.
The songs they did play were sort of power pop, new wave style, and I felt that with a lot of hard work and concentration, ‘Jigsaw’ could become quite a force. Good luck lads.
The Travelling Dog were hampered by the fact that they were hopelessly out of tune, under rehearsed and had lost Gary Overton and Steve McDaid just a couple of days before the concert.
Donald Skinner, drummer with Jigsaw, deputised on guitar, but, despite the enthusiasm of Mark Mortimer, they never really got going.
By the time The Assets took to the stage things were even worse and far from providing us with a “wild punk thrash” as they promised, they just looked nervous and desperately lacking in preparation.
SERIOUS
Back to the beginning of the evening and the Magnets, who, to my surprise, opened rather than closed the entertainment. No ego tripping for them, which was a good sign I suppose.
Sound problems hampered them when I saw them at The Warren with the Lounge Lizards, but tonight they seemed to have some of that sorted out.
Constructive criticism is what they wanted, so I’ll do my best to give them that. For a start there is no doubt that TAM are very serious and thoughtful about their music, they want to succeed, and that’s as good a start as any.
But where I feel they are going wrong is in the construction of their music. All the songs they played at Wigginton were far too long and complex for the sort of audience they are trying to reach.
SUPERB
The ‘new’ electronic music that is selling records and gaining recognition, is despite the synthesisers, very commercial. But the Magnets are more like Hawkwind than Gary Numan, playing lengthy numbers with layer upon layer of sound.
I feel that if they concentrated on getting some catchy hook lines within their music they could be very good indeed. They have a superb drummer in John ‘Hurricane’ Higgins and showed with … they can write good stuff.
All in all then a very mixed evening. The low points were the bad turn-out and the lack of co-ordination shown by the three newcomers.
However, John Higgins, Donald Skinner, Matthew Lees and Mark Mortimer deserve some credit for wholehearted, skilful performances.
To the three new bands the message is continue to work hard and don’t be discouraged.
Richard Whitehead
Tamworth Herald – 20/03/81
Despite the fact that the Magnets had to pull out of the tour, the other bands battled on, drawing a crowd of over 100 to St. John’s Youth Club on Monday.
One important line-up change is that Mark Mortimer, bass player with The Travelling Dog, has joined (Fetch The) Comfy Jigsaw while ‘Dog have split.
However, The Assets have continued to improve with a barnstorming display at Polesworth.
Watch this space for more developments.
Tamworth Herald – 03/04/81
SHOWING true British grit and bulldog spirit, the much-heralded tour of the youth clubs has soldiered on despite its wounds and the remaining bands have come through with much credit and growing reputations.
After headliners Those Attractive Magnets withdrew after the first gig at Wigginton Village Hall and the Travelling Dog went for an early “walkies” the tour looked doomed but (Fetch The) Comfy Jigsaw and The Assets battled on and in the end only one date was missed.
Bass player, Mark Mortimer of FTCJ said “The tour was a success but not a massive success.”
CIRCLE
As Mark explained, the main aim of the tour was to get their names known to a wide circle of young people in the area and, in the end, that was just what they did.
“We did not let many people down and we all think that’s the most important thing”, added Mark.
Now that FTCJ and the others have got their names known it will be interesting to see where they will go from here. Watch this space.
 |
 Matthew Lees and Andrew Baines on stage at Wigginton Village Hall with (Fetch) The Comfy Jigsaw in March 1981. |
 |
| Donald Skinner playing drums with (Fetch) The Comfy Jigsaw at the Wigginton Village Hall gig. |
 |
| (Fetch) The Comfy Jigsaw in March 1981 playing at the QEMS School Assembly (left to right) - Donald Skinner (drums), Mark Mortimer (bass), Matthew Lees (vocals & guitar), Andrew Baines (guitar). |
 |
(Fetch) The Comfy Jigsaw "live" at Wood End Youth Centre in September 1981. The photo shows (left to right): Matthew Lees (guitar), Mark Mortimer (bass and on this song lead vocals!), Donald Skinner (drums) and Andrew Baines playing keyboards (he also played guitar).
Note the bed sheets that littered the "stage area"!! We decided beforehand to go all arty and strange and, inspired by Echo & The Bunnymen's then penchant for camouflage nets and army greens on their stage shows we proceeded to spend the afternoon of the gig running around the village of Wood End darting in and out of people's back gardens and stealing bed sheets from washing lines to create what you see in the photo!!!! Wonderful madness!! I am sure the villagers were wondering where all their bed sheets had gone that day!! |
Thanks to: Mark Mortimer - www.jazzfish.co.uk
|
HOME