Tamworth Herald - 04/11/88
TAMWORTH Arts Centre opens its doors on Sunday night to be a very unusual looking quartet of bands.
Local favourites Rape in Yellow will team up with local bands comprising King Woderick and the Yogots, Psychedelicatessen and The Cuckoo Spits.
These three new acts represent a refreshing outbreak of new talent during a generally quiet time on the local scene.
The one band you probably will know are Rape in Yellow who are positive OAP veterans alongside the other three. Heir appearances this year have been few and far between and they will be looking to re-establish themselves in a major way at Sunday’s special party.
Best known of the new trio are King Woderick and The Yogots. This combo of extremely nice people (i.e. Dan Lee, Jon Lanz, Simon Byford and Tim Byford) emerged earlier this year with a cracking demo and followed it with a much admired Arts Centre show. This is their biggest date yet and the band are clearly looking forward to the challenge and proving once again that in their words they are ‘unpigeonholeable’.
Teaming up with the Kings boys (dinky little thing they sent in above) are two bands this column knows admirably nothing. Psychedelicatessen who boat a truly marvellous name have played before at the Arts Centre under another equally strange name and they are a complete mystery while the Cuckoo Spits are described affectionately by King Woderick as being a ‘total Smiths rip-off’. Whether they would agree with this billing is uncertain but it makes them sound intriguing does it not?
A four band tally then for just one pound. With the scene enjoying its customary pre-Christmas snooze an exhibition of three new bands and one good old one must surely tickle your fancy so make your way to the Arts Centre on Sunday and indulge in a spot of BOPPING!
Apolgies to king Woderick for the lack of the umlout on the second ‘o’ of Yogots, The band told me it was absolutely essential to the history of mankind that it wasn’t missed out. Hence I missed it out.
Tamworth Herald - 11/11/88
Good night this. Here we had four original and enterprising bands none of whom could be conveniently slotted into those clichéd old MUSICBOX pigeonholes we all love so much. It made a nice refreshing change indeed and the size of the spikey leather-clad poseur crowd indicated that there are a lot of punters out there looking for a breath of air that doesn’t feature a solitary pigeon.
First up were the Kuku Spits who lasted about as long as your average Milky Way. Their three song set was enough to indicate that when they start churning out one or two more ditties they may well be worth another much extended look. As it was they featured just about the sexiest drummer I have ever seen.
Next up were Psychedelicatessen who probably edged the whole evening as far as most people were concerned. They were a real triumph to these ears, all loud guitars, powerful screams and well-layered melodies. The influences were so numerate I won’t waste time or space listing them but I was inextricably struck by the feeling that the lead guitarist and impressive motormouth played his axe very much like latter day Joy Division. Am I totally wrong? Maybe but I think I am right in saying that this is a very strong and exciting band indeed one who I feel will benefit enormously from repeated trips to the Arts Centre and one who should get better and better.
Third course on this elaborate menu was Rape in Yellow. And what a shock that turned out to be. Gone is the Bros look and the happy smiles and in has come an altogether more aggressive, powerful and modern sound. At times it was surprisingly punkish (far cry from ‘Jivin’ Jane’ chaps!) and at others the bleak boldness of their sound was alarmingly strong. It wasn’t a flawless show but it was a very brave one and if the band carry along this road with renewed enthusiasm I see a brighter future from their broader appeal. And who yes it was very pleasing to see the booming Batman behind the skins again. This man remains one of the best drummers ever to come out of Tamworth and his recent stick silence has been sadly deadening.
Completing the night was those nice men, very, very nice men from King Woderick. As predicted in this very column not seven days ago they were about as easy to define as the appeal of Marillion.
SAM HOLLIDAY
Tamworth Herald - 09/12/88
The line-up for the ‘Placid House’ show at the Arts Centre on Thursday December 22 continues to grow. Emma Gibbs and Fetch Eddie will team up with Indie pop faves Psychedelicatessen as well as the new band featuring Neil Jones (and I think Samantha Law) – The Believers. A fifth band will be added and to give it a real Christmas feel, a local music personality will act as Santa.
Tamworth Herald - 16/12/88
Tamworth Arts Centre comes alive again on Thursday night when five local bands indulge in some ‘Placid House’ noises…
Established local faves Fetch Eddie, Emma Gibbs and the Ferocious Apaches will team up with new Indie boys Psychedelicatessen and debut-makers The Believers.
The gig which trades under the name of ‘The Placid House’ show has been put together by loveable Lee Revelle of Emma Gibbs who thinks that the show will have something for everyone.
For pure pop fans it will be your first chance in quite some time to catch Fetch Eddie, a band who have been gaining ever increasing radio and newspaper coverage and who are said to be far better these days now they have former Musical Youth drummer Brendon behind the skins. The band are keenly looking forward to this Christmas show and they are sure to go down a storm with their large army of local supporters from both Tamworth and Atherstone.
Emma Gibbs should also appeal to those pop-seekers. Their new atmosphere, though not quite one of wine and roses, is a lot more commercially orientated and their last demo was a cracker which ranked as one of the tapes of the year. They have discovered an all new pop senseability and when added to that essential Emma Gibbishness it will make them an interesting Christams spectacle. The Ferocious Apaches have also been added to the bill at the last moment and they (as you know) can be full of ‘fun’.
Joining these three on the bill are The Believers, a new band formed out of the embers of The Macoys and making their debut show. Sadly, rumours that they feature that almost legendary female singer Samantha Law have been denied but come Friday morning we may be a lot more knowledgeable about what this COMBO does have to offer.
Completing the Placid House collections are The Psychedelicatessen who made such an exciting appearance at the Arts Centre a few weeks ago. Their indie based sound is fast, loud and brash and leads to a host of differing comparisons – all I might add with pretty cool bands. They promise to be the hardest band of a pop-based line-up and their added aggression should give the show an extra ingredient.
With five bands of quality and other Christmas joys promised it should be a fun night out.
Don’t forget this show is on Thursday night (I know it’s a long tome until then but it will be worth the wait honest!) so destroy Thursday blues and enjoy a placid house Christmas cracker.
Tamworth Herald – 27/01/89
RAPE IN YELLOW return to live action again next Sunday (Feb 5) when they team up with three other acts at a special Arts Centre show.
With Indoor Festival gigs dominating the rest of the Sunday’s in February it means that no-one can complain about the lack of good music on the near horizon.
Next week’s line-up (which should be confirmed in the Herald of Feb 3) should feature Rape in Yellow, King Woderick ad the Yogots, Psychedelicatessen and The New Puritans.
For Psychedelicatessen it will be a real relief because they were due to be at the Arts Centre this Sunday under their own steam but that gig has now been cancelled.
Rape in Yellow meanwhile will see the gig as a launch pad for a busier next few months which includes the recording of a brand new demo with the assistance of former Terroah men Pete Wright and Batman.
Rape in Yellow’s action men and Cindy squad are pictured above.
Tamworth Herald – 27/01/89
The proposed Arts Centre gig this Sunday (which had to be cancelled) would have featured Psychedelicatessen, Hallelujah Tribe and The Black Shirts, the latter of whom should do something quick about a disgustingly Nazi-style name.
Tamworth Herald – 03/02/89
Four Play on Sunday
King Woderick and The Yogots return to the Arts Centre stage again on Sunday night when they spearhead a four-band show.
The Yogots will be joined by Rape in Yellow, Psychedelicatessen and The New Puritans in a repeat for the show which attracted a lively audience pre-Christmas.
The Wods, who have just produced a demo described by Catch 23 bassist Neil Gordon as ‘brilliant’ are looking forward to the gig which will spearhead a wave of exciting concerts at the Arts Centre. You should by now know something about all the bands involved and in case you’re confused, The New Puritans are the old KuKu Spitz who brought a touch of la Morrissey to the stage when they last played the Arts Centre.
All four bands can loosely be plopped into the alternative/indie basket and an audience made up of a similar ilk can be expected on the night in question. Don’t forget it’s at the Arts Centre on Sunday night starting at 7.30pm.
Tamworth Herald – 10/02/89
Dear Sam,
Just dropped you a line to say how really tripped out I was by the gig at the Arts Centre on Sunday night.
All the bands were excellent, Flowers in the Attic went down really well, good one lads!
The Psychedelicatessen were cool as well, I had seen them play before, but last night’s gig was sheer excellence. Andy has got a really powerful voice.
And finally, Big Muff, like the name, love the sound, totally sky-high, mind-blasting stuff. I loved their first one, I think it was called ‘Mary Anne’. And the Chainsaw Massacre film went brilliantly with the music. All the band looked like they were on another planet. Great!
Oh yeah, didn’t see YOU there, you missed a goof one this time.
Yours,
Well Happy
Tamworth Herald – 21/04/89
Rumour has it that Psychedelicatessen frontman Andy Lane has been offered a solo contract with IRS Records. Andy who used to work in Tamworth’s Our Price, now works in the Birmingham branch of the new shop.
Tamworth Herald – 11/08/89
Psychedelicatessen, the band with the most unspellable name in the world, want a new guitarist. The powerhouse popsters want someone who ‘must be able to jump around a lot and be creative’. Contact Sue at Our Price Records if this is your kinda thing. |
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