Feelgood factor (on the Beeb)

[bod]

Nearly missed this one - Dr Feelgood, BBC4 tonight: 9pm Oil City Confidential 10.50 Sight and Sound with Feelgood and Ian Dury.

[Michael Messer]

The Ian Dury & the Blockheads performance on that show has been one of my 'never leaves my side' recordings since I recorded it from the radio in 77.....somewhere around that time. I wasn't at that show, but I was at numerous Blockheads concerts around that time as Chaz is an old friend. I think that show captures the Blockheads at an amazing time, just as the big buzz was starting to hit and just before they became a chart band. Ian is one of the most important British writers and performers ever, IMO.

Shine On
Michael

[growler]

I really did enjoy the Oil City Confidential prog , thanks for posting it bod. What I found amazing is they can make a whole programme about Canvey Island and its inhabitants that was so interesting.
I did not know a lot about Dr Feelgood, I knew they were about , but around that time I was heavily into the American music scene, not taking much notice of what was happening over here, was it them that started off the playing in the Pubs scene along with the ' Kursall Flyers '.
Wilco Johnston ....... what a great guitarist , real stage presence, the 'Skittering ' walk he did on stage, only he could do that and pull it off so well.
I thought the vocalist was also excellent , great harmonica player , plus a bit of playing on slide.Their touring
schedule was amazing , compared to what some groups do nowadays.............. great programme;

Regards

Growler

[honeyboy]

Been listening again to 'Down By The Jetty', 'Malpractice' and 'Stupidity' for the first time for many years after watching the Feelgood programs last night.

Thanks for the post!



Lee Brilleaux and Wilko Johnson were a force of nature when combined..

Amazing how those three early albums still stand up so strongly after all these years..


Roxette by Dr Feelgood

[ken1953clark]

Hmm, I did miss it! hope there's a repeat. I lived in Southend at the time (along with some others on this forum, eh perce?) and was in the middle of this scene as it happened. South East Essex's 15 minutes.

For the rest who missed the prog here is the consolation prize


Ah the Kursaal Flyers, every thursday down the Blue Boar, Prittlewell (of which Southend is the south end of). My brother was mates with the drummer, Will Birch, and I knew the singer Paul Shuttleworth.

[ken1953clark]

Forgot to mention, Lee Brilleaux was a gent, a "Diamond Geezer" as they say down there.

[Stevie]

You can see it on i-player- I just did. (There's been no telly here since the "hurricane" of '87 blew down my aerial!)

Eight bars of pianer.......

[Steverb]

Damn! I meant to set the V+ box for both programmes. Thank goodness for i-player.

As a native of Grays, Essex, the Feelgoods were local heroes to me and all my mates. I think the harp solo on Roxette was the first coherent thing I learned to play on harmonica.
Somehow, bizarrely, I never actually saw them live until I moved up to Bradford and that was after Wilko left, with John 'Gypie' Mayo on guitar. Gypie was a more conventional guitarist than Wilko and took them in a somewhat different direction, but I think he is a very underrated player; he popped up again a few years ago in a line up of the Yardbirds and played some really tasteful stuff on their album, Birdland, which is a fantastic mix of new material and old Yardbirds faves; some of the remakes of the 60s stuff are so good that I actually prefer them to the originals! Check it out:

www.amazon.co.uk/Birdland-Yardbirds/dp/B00008NUX1

Funnily enough, I saw the current incarnation of The Blockheads a couple of weeks ago at Pocklington Arts Centre (home of the annual northern blues weekend, which is being repeated this November, I am told). I was blown away by how good they were. Chaz Jankel, Mickey Gallagher, Norman Watt-Roy and John Turnbull are still there, the other players are top-notch and frontman Derek 'The Draw' Hussey does an excellent job. Obviously Ian Dury was a unique and irreplaceable figure but I think they have unearthed a diamond in Derek. The new material they played was really good and would have graced their classic albums. Their website has the video of their latest single and also a very interesting video of interviews with the band about their new albums and the state of things on planet Blockhead:

www.theblockheads.com/

That Sight & Sound In Concert series had some fantastic shows. My favourite was the Graham Parker and the Rumour concert featuring mostly stuff from Howling Wind and Heat Treatment. Brilliant stuff - I hope they show that one again soon because the tape I took off the radio (great minds think alike Michael) has long since gone to the great birds nest in the sky.

[growler]

Just out of interest this morning I googled ' Dr Feelgood ' to find out a bit more about them. I discovered that the lead vocalist ' Lee Brilleaux ' had in fact died of cancer in1994. Was this mentioned in the programme, if it was I missed it, probably due to tiredness and being one hour ahead of you in France .
Also what I found interesting is the band is still in fact going .......... but without a single member of the original line-up in it ?
It is to be repeated tonight on BBC4 at 11,20 for all the folks who missed it.

Regards

Growler

[Michael Messer]

You must have been very tired Growler!

Steverb, I still have quite a few Sight & Sound concerts on audio cassette, but not the Graham Parker concert.

The Blockheads are still going strong and long may they continue.

Shine On
Michael.

[wolvoboy]

Birdland by the Yardbirds is a great album,been playing it in the car for the last couple of weeks
wolvoboy