Was anyone from the Hideout around during the 1st wave garage revival?

[James Demby]

I was digging through some old vinyl and reminiscing on the 80's garage revival.  Voxx records put out some great stuff during that time.  Some of my favorites are:

Gravedigger V - All Black and Hairy

Pandoras - It's About Time

Dwarves - Horror Stories

Miracle Workers - Inside Out

Stomachmouths - Wild Trip

Anyway, any old timers up here?  What were you digging on?

[Mark George Harrison]

Was a huge Kurt fan and saw them many many times. Saw Smeggys cock more times than I'd like to admit! Gigs were always messy, it started as a spoof of Alien where one of the band 'exploded' and sent entrails everywhere. Sheeps lungs were a favourite apparently as they were very messy! This all progressed to flower and water in various colours and eggs and bags of flour. Then there were the snakebite drinking competitions, firstly a bucketful through a funnel, this progressed to being pumped through, then the 'wheel of misfortune', basically strapped to a wheel and spun, snakebite, spun, cocks out, spun drink, vomit etc. Saw them once where they had the 'flying wires' used in theatres attached to people, snakebite, up, down spin round, repeat until vomit! Then there was the 'slammers' night(to promote the single of the same name) where all but two contestants ended up in hospital, cant remember if there were eight or ten involved but my mate Stef(RIP) was one who didn't end up in hospital! Carrying a 14 stone drunk across London underground was not fun.

Id seen the advert for the Wigs JB but couldn't get it anywhere, we had quite a good record shop in the town at the time but Media Burn was quite hit and miss as to what you could get.

I never got the Cramps and psychobilly connection which is what I was trying to say earlier, garage was a word that seemed to get added later on here, people didnt think of it as a garage scene as such, apart from Mike Spenser, who is American anyway. Garage always seemed a more American term to me at the time.

melissa scott said:

Well, they got down to their tidy whiteys (not all of 'em) once when I saw them. And after being covered in sweat and flour, it didn't leave a lot to the imagination.

Hmmm. No whipped cream when I went, but beer, sweat, and flour isn't a really good combination. Glue is the right way to put it. The crowd was mostly male and prone to jumping around and into each other. Good time had by all!

I give that band an awful lot of credit for putting the FUN into a music scene that took itself way too seriously. Extra points to KK for their insanely good times.

John Battles said:

 GETTIN' THEIR WEDDING TACKLE OUT  , huh? It's more than most bands will do. A friend of mine , who'll remain nameless , we'll call him "Bill" . He used to go see them and said he came home , once , covered in flour and other crap like whipped cream that was being projected from the floor and the stage, he said it basically turned to glue , and He had to sneak back in the house without Mum and Da seeing the state of his clothes.
 
melissa scott said:

*larf* Yeah, as long as you didn't mind sometimes gettin' covered in flour when you got too close to the stage. They were loud! And known to get their kit off. Not that I complained...

John Battles said:

Yes , it was around that time , I was beginning to wish I lived in England , so I could see my countrymen , The Cramps.   By the time I COULD see them , I'd been a fan for almost 10 years.   IT SEEMED LIKE THERE WAS THIS WHOLE NEW SCENE GOING ON , BUT , I KNEW THAT , BY THE TIME I'D FOUND OUT ABOUT IT , IT WAS COMING TO AN END......

I did'nt hear The Cramps' influence in the Psychobilly bands , which is fine , I just kept reading and hearing about "Cramps copyists" . I think The Cramps' frequent sojourns to Blighty motivated some of the changes taking place in The UK music scene , even if  Paul Fenech and others still deny it..      BUT ,  WHAT ABOUT KING KURT?  I HEARD THEY WERE HILARIOUS , LIVE.
 
Johnny Bean said:

I was around the London scene at that time, Hoodoo Gurus were the kings for me !!! Always loved the Cramps, Stems and The Prisoners, Long Ryders also played some great shows in that period. Always felt Milkshakes, Cannibals, Turkey Bones, Guana Batz et al were not very good, no memorable songs but the gigs were always a drunken laugh :)

[doornail]

Yeah, I went to Keene State College in Keene, NH and was heavy into the garage scene of the early 80's.  There was a great record store in Lowell, Mass that I bought a ton of great stuff from in those days, can't remember the name. Maybe it was RRR Records and Nashua had a great little store for my garage jones, you dig.  Lyres, Prime Movers, Plan 9.Saw about every great show in Boston duing 83-88.  Awesome times!!!!!

Boston Paul said:

"old timers"?  Well, aren't you just the cutest little thing!?  Growing up in Boston, Lyres were my favourite band by a wide margin at least 10 years before I heard the phrase "Garage" or "Garage revival".  They were just the best rock'n'roll band in town or any town.  Also loved the Malarians.

[John Battles]

     That's too funny. I still think the funniest instance of hot (NOT!!!!!) tidy whitey action on stage was when I saw The Damned , I think , in 1997. Of course , The Cap'n was known for lettin' the ol' boy out  , from as far back as the first U.S tour in '77 (With The Dead Boys) . But , at this gig , he was down to his not - so - tidy whities, toward the end of the show ("Make 'em beg"). They were hangin' so low on him , he could have had a hammock - stuffing contest against Felix and his Amazing Underpants , AND WON !  But , WHEN THE SHOW WAS OVER , INSTEAD OF GOING BACKSTAGE (There was'nt really a backstage entrance from the stage , itself.), He just lept off the stage , still in his underwear , until , predictably , a female fan yanked them off. He carried on , smiling , shaking hands , giving people the "Thumbs up" sign , going , "RIGHT , CHEERS! BRILLIANT ! NICE ONE !".

......OH , AND THEY TELL ME OF THIS BAND CALLED NAZ NOMAD AND tHE NIGHTMARES.  THEIR REISSUE IN THE 80's OUTSOLD HALF THE EVA CATALOGUE AND "PEBBLES VOL. MCXVIII . Vatican City Lashes Back.". DAMNED if it did'nt.

[Mark George Harrison]

Ah, Naz Nomad. Had a few drinks with their number one fan Dave Vanian at an AFI gig in London one night. He was with Pinch and Patricia Morrison and was in a 'full Vanian outfit', never took his white gloves off all night, even when buying drink! 

John Battles said:

     That's too funny. I still think the funniest instance of hot (NOT!!!!!) tidy whitey action on stage was when I saw The Damned , I think , in 1997. Of course , The Cap'n was known for lettin' the ol' boy out  , from as far back as the first U.S tour in '77 (With The Dead Boys) . But , at this gig , he was down to his not - so - tidy whities, toward the end of the show ("Make 'em beg"). They were hangin' so low on him , he could have had a hammock - stuffing contest against Felix and his Amazing Underpants , AND WON !  But , WHEN THE SHOW WAS OVER , INSTEAD OF GOING BACKSTAGE (There was'nt really a backstage entrance from the stage , itself.), He just lept off the stage , still in his underwear , until , predictably , a female fan yanked them off. He carried on , smiling , shaking hands , giving people the "Thumbs up" sign , going , "RIGHT , CHEERS! BRILLIANT ! NICE ONE !".

......OH , AND THEY TELL ME OF THIS BAND CALLED NAZ NOMAD AND tHE NIGHTMARES.  THEIR REISSUE IN THE 80's OUTSOLD HALF THE EVA CATALOGUE AND "PEBBLES VOL. MCXVIII . Vatican City Lashes Back.". DAMNED if it did'nt.

[John Battles]

 I met Dave Vanian once , in the early 90's. He told me his Birthday was coming up in a week. I commented that Bela Lugosi's Birthday had just passed . He said , "Yes , I'm the same year , actually." . I said "???????".  He said , "I mean , I was BORN in the year that he DIED.".