The last time I saw a leopard skin jumpsuit was...shit, last week on a Steel Panther video, but before that, the last time I saw one was when Justin Hawkins had squeezed his arse into one..HUH, WHAT, you dunno who Justin Hawkins is ....geez, I best learn you up, hey?...
The music industry trumpeted loudly (and proudly I suspect) when grunge showed up and announced that Glam / hair metal was dead...and maybe it was..FOR A LITTLE BIT, then the Hawkins brothers showed up and turned the music world on its earhole...
The first time I saw the clip for I believe in a thing called love, I was hooked, the album was just awesome, it had the riffs and the hooks required to have the listener having a grouse time, the second album was just as good, the modern classic "One way Ticket to hell and back" was, probably, the best song they had done...lyrically it suggests that the Justin might of had a minor peruvian marching dust problem, which funnily enough HE DID....I had the pleasure to see them at the Big day Out in Sydney, I was probabaly the oldest bugger at the gig, but I cared not a jot....
Anyway the guys have the tunes, they got the look, they got the sense of ridiculous..they got IT...I think its fair to suggest that Justin and his bro are BIG fans of Freddie Mercury, Slade, The Sweet, among others...mind you, Lemmy wasnt a fan of Justins, but me and Lem cant agree on everything....NOW a bit of hystery on the guys
The Darkness formed Lowestoft, Suffolk, England in 2000. The band as it stands consists of Justin Hawkins (lead vocals, guitar), his brother Dan Hawkins (guitar, backing vocals), Frankie Poullain (bass, backing vocals) and Ed Graham (drums)
The Darkness came to prominence with the release of their debut album, Permission to Land, in 2003. Backed by the singles "I Believe in a Thing Called Love", "Growing on Me", "Get Your Hands off My Woman", and "Love is Only a Feeling", the album was certified quadruple platinum in the United Kingdom, with sales of over 1,300,000.
After extensive touring in support of their debut album, Frankie Poullain left the band in 2005, and was replaced by former guitar technician Richie Edwards. The band's second studio album, One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back, was released in November 2005 and the title track continued on in the vein of the ridiculous the guys had created.
The following year, Justin Hawkins departed from the band after succumbing to and then successfully completing a course of rehabilitation from alcohol and cocaine problems.
As a result, the remaining members formed Stone Gods, which I must admit to not have heard any of their stuff, Dan and the rest continued to perform and record without Justin, who subsequently fronted his own project, Hot Leg, which I have heard and is the grouse
On 15 March 2011, much to my sheer delight, The Darkness announced reunion shows, with original bassist Frankie Poullain, including Download Festival 2011, and the Isle of Wight Festival 2012, and stated that they were currently working on their third studio album.... which they have completed and its called Hot Cakes
First time I'd heard of the boys, was when I saw Status Quo at Randwick racecourse (with Slade and aussie bands, Caravan and Lindisfarne) in late 1973..suffice it to say, I was hooked totally...they were loud, they were cool and they rocked, yeh, yeh, Slade looked great, BUT Quo were dressed like us in the audience..I saw them again on the Rocking All Over the World tour in 78 at the Hordern Pavillion...
and I was surprised to see Alan Lancaster on stage, cause he didnt show up to flim the video of Rockin, the band actually had a Alan size puppet playing bass on the video..I thought he was out of the band..anyway, I, like anybody else in the Denim Army, bought a few Quo albums, my favourite, probably still is, was the Live in Glasgow album...what a rocking album...I can shut my eyes and still, to this day hear the bloke introducing the band..
IS THERE ANYBODY THATS WANTS ROCK..Is there anybody who wants to ROLL..and ..IS there anybody out there who wants to BOOGIE...TONIGHT...live at the Apollo GLASGOW, we have the number One rock'n'roll band in the land..will you welcome the MAGNIFICENT ...STATUS QUO...
Hey, what about that for an intro...AWESOME....the next time I saw the band live in any way, was on the End of the Road '84 vhs tape...I thought it was a good gig, recently I saw a Francis interview and he said they were all coked of their nuts and you can tell the chemistry between them was just about history..I went back and checked and his right, it was a bit of a shocker..I must had a guts fulla bourbon when I watched it the first time...HAHAAAAA. ANYWAY...some history of the boys for ya....
The origins of Status Quo were in the rock and roll band "The Spectres" formed in 1962
The Spectres signed a five-year deal with Piccadilly Records, releasing two singles that year, "I (Who Have Nothing)" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man" (written by Alan Lancaster), and one the next year called "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet" ...All three singles bombed miserably.......Then after a spell in the toilet writing some songs Francis came up with Pictures of Matchstick men, which turned their fortunes about ....
BUT...after seeing Fleetwood Mac one night , the boys all realised they liked the "shuffling" boogie beat and decided from that point to ditch the flower power clothes and grow the hair and become a boogie band......and we all know what happened after that....
ONE OF THE GREATEST LIVE ALBUMS ....EVER !!
From 1977 onwards, the band's sound became more polished as they used more famous producers, these included Roger Glover from Deep Purple, who was the first outside producer to work with Quo since Pye's John Schroeder in the early 1970s and produced "Wild Side of Life" and its B-side "All Through The Night" in 1976.
1977's Rockin' All Over the World's title track, a minor hit for its writer John Fogerty (formerly of Creedence Clearwater Revival) became one of Status Quo's most enduring anthems. Sales remained high in the UK throughout the 1980s, but tensions within the band and a serious drinking problem saw John Coghlan leaving the band late in 1981.
His replacement was Pete Kircher from the 1960s pop band Honeybus. This line-up played its last gig at the infamous 1984 Milton Keynes Bowl show, although the band were contracted to record more albums. Status Quo's final appearance with the Kircher line-up opened the Live Aid charity event at Wembley in July 1985.
Rossi recorded and released two solo singles with long-time writing partner Bernie Frost.
Rick Parfitt however recorded a solo album, Recorded Delivery, with bass player John "Rhino" Edwards and drummer Jeff Rich...then in mid 85, Rossi, Parfitt and Bown, along with Edwards and Rich, started work on a new Status Quo album.
Then came the legal shit storm by Alan Lancaster, who by this time had settled in Australia, joining the Party Boys and forming The Lancaster Bombers, took out a legal injunction to stop the band from using the Status Quo name on any records, citing his increasing musical differences with the group.
The specific dispute concerned two tracks which became hit singles for the group around that time. Lancaster had written the track "Ol' Rag Blues", but was angered when the producers chose to release a version with Rossi singing the lead vocal in preference to the one sung by himself. The injunction also prevented the release of a single, "Naughty Girl", for which a catalogue number was issued by Vertigo....yeh, petty hey?
An out-of-court settlement was made in January 1986, enabling the new Status Quo to continue recording the In The Army Now album, of which "Naughty Girl" was reworked as "Dreamin'". and Alan Lancaster formally left Status Quo formally in 1987.
On 12 July 1986 they played at Queen's Live at Wembley '86 concert.
The commercially successful In the Army Now album was released in 1986, the single of the same name becoming one of the band's biggest selling UK singles, reaching number 2. The following album, Ain't Complaining, released in 1988, didnt do as good but did the rocking tune "Burning Bridges" on it which got to number 5. .....
This was later turned into the greatest song in the history of human existence when it was re-recorded (with new lyrics) in April 1994 with Manchester United F.C. as "Come on You Reds" ...excuse me, I slipped on my soccer hat there for a second...HAHAHAHA....Bands have done some unique things to promote an album BUT..to promote the release of the "Rock 'Til You Drop" album (1991), Quo performed four arena gigs across the UK in the space of a single day, earning them a place in the Guinness Book of Records..
Then came an album I quite enjoyed , Famous in the Last Century (2000) consisted almost entirely of covers (with the only exception being the title track to the latter). The former brought some chart success for Quo with covers of Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" and The Beach Boys' "Fun, Fun, Fun". The band became involved in an acrimonious dispute with pommy radio after the station refused to include the "Fun Fun Fun" single on the radio station's playlist.
In December 2005, it was announced that Parfitt had been taken ill and was undergoing tests for throat cancer. All subsequent dates of the UK tour were cancelled as a result. However, the growths in Parfitt's throat were later found to be benign and were successfully removed. In May 2006, a fully recovered Parfitt and the band returned to the NEC Birmingham to play the show that they had postponed in December. This was their 40th show at the venue, and was recorded for a DVD, entitled "Just Doin' It", which I own and have roaring through the cans on a reglar basis.... On the 1 July 2007, they performed in front of 63,000 people at the newly built Wembley Stadium as part of the Concert for Diana. .....Their twenty-eighth studio album, In Search of the Fourth Chord, was released on the band's own Fourth Chord label in September 2007 in the UK
In 2008, they teamed up with German techno group Scooter to record a jumpstyle version of their 1979 single "Whatever You Want" entitled "Jump That Rock (Whatever You Want)"...... In December 2008, they released their 75 th single and first Christmas single, entitled "It's Christmas Time", which peaked at No. 40 in the UK Singles Chart And then came something that Francis and Rick (and me just quietly) would never have expected, they both were awarded an OBE each in the New Year Honours 2010 for their services to music.
There will be a reunion of the original four members (Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Alan Lancaster and John Coghlan) in March 2013, and the original lineup will also record an album in 2013.
But unlike KISS, the project will exist alongside the current lineup of the band, which will also release a new record next year a soundtrack to their movie Bula Quo! which will have 6 re-recorded classics and 6 new songs........AND...Just recently the Quo and their song "Down Down" has been showing up on Coles Supermarket commercials ( must of got a quid or six for that I reckon) so, there you go...
I think its fair to say that you would be hard pressed to find anybody that grew up in the 70's that hasn't heard of, seen or have an opinion, good, bad or indifferent on KISS...
First time I saw them, was when a mate brought a copy of Dressed To Kill to school...he knew I was a album cover freak and he figured four blokes with warpaint and ill fitting suits would spark my curiousity...he was fkn right, it did....sparked it so much that I went up to the music store and got a copy of my own the following Saturday...and of course, my favourite track, straight off, was Rock and Roll all nite....and suffice it to say, I kept on buying Kiss music from that point on...Destroyer, Love Gun, and up till that point, both KISS ALIVE'S ended up in the K-Tel record organiser...
then they released DYNASTY, the album, the critics called the infamous Kiss disco album, yeh, well..f**k the critics, I liked it and so did the squillions of others that sent it triple, double platnidiamond...then Molly sometime in late 79 announced the impending arrival of the boys to our fair shores for their first trip on the back of the "Unmasked" album
KISS TOUR MEMORY'S
Like I said, they came down to Australia on touring on the back of the Unmasked album, I knicked out of work at the GPO to see them get welcomed to Sydney town by Doug Sutherland , the mayor of Sydney
I went and then saw them at the second Sydney Showground gig on November 22nd 1980, hell of a windy night, fire blowing was gonna be an issue...anyway, the one thing that pissed me off at the time was, NO Catman, yep, Peter Criss had left the group, and Eric Carr had taken up the drum stool....BUT...when The Fox started bashing them skins, I was won over, his drum solo that night was off the hook...my god, Eric was an awesome drummer, one of the best ever I reckon...
BUT...bottom line was the 20 something odd thousand standing on the football pitch that night was thoroughly entertained and cudo's to Bruce, my mate who hoisted my 5'3" ass onto his shoulders so I could see RIP (rock in peace ) brother....Fortunately, the band released the Sydney concert on one of the KISSOLOGY dvds sets...thanks guys..;)
Some people thought Unmasked was a shit album, WELL...us aussies loved it, hell, we made Shandi # 1 on the charts, and the guys still play it when they hit Aussie soil to this very day, Hell, the whole album was the grouse, two sides of the coin was my personal favourite track, and still is one of my favourites to this day.....
I saw the boys in '95 as well on the KISS MY ASS TOUR at the Entertainment Centre....this time, no Ace or Eric...Ace had quit (or got the flick) and The Fox had sadly passed away...and while I was sad about Eric, the line-up that hit the stage that night was, I think, without fear of contradiction, my favourite line-up of the band EVER, yeah big call I know, I like Tommy Theyer on guitar, but the lineup of Simmons, Stanley, Kulick and Singer had...IT, at least to me anyway...
The last time I saw them was at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne in '03, this time no Bruce or Eric ..The Catman was back on the kit and Ace had been run over by the wagon he fell off and Tommy Thayer had strapped on the axe...and the backing band was the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra...now, that was on loud fkn gig...awesome stuff indeed.
UNPAINTED AND YET MORE ALBUMS AND MEMBER'S Anyway, after the debacle that was The Elder, (I only liked one track, I), and Vinnie Vincent had joined the band, the news came through that the band had decided to whip off the paint and of course the world went birko about seeing this lineup of the band nude, from the neck up, for the first time...I think its safe to assume that there wasnt a KISS fan that wasnt watching Countdown that night they played "Lick it Up"...luckily... LICK IT UP , the song and the album, didnt suck, mind you it sold a fair bit on curiosity value I reckon....I actually bought a few of the "no paint" era albums, I think its safe to say my favourite album was Hot in the Shade with Revenge coming a close second....
the band member roundabout continued, Vinnie Vincent split, Mark St John lasted a cup of coffee and Bruce Kulick took up the axe spot with Alice Coopers skin slammer, Eric Singer taking up for the late great Eric Carr....and then...
I was watching MTV, when it was on Ch 9 (and Richard Wilkins was the mullet in charge), on tele one night and they played a couple of tracks from the Kiss:Unplugged show from the USA MTV, go on guess which clip they played, YEP, the one with Ace and Peter showing up to play 2000 man and Let me go rock'n'roll....I had the strangest feeling that Eric and Bruce would be heading out the door...and sure enough, Ace and Peter got took on as hired hands for the, one off KISS REUNION Tour, that lasted fkn years...to say I was mildly annoyed at this line up change is a massive understatement...I mean, Gene and Paul had said for years the the Space Ace and The Catman where out of control substance abusers, BUT, now they wanted to be on stage with them again.???....F**K OFF..the whole thing smacked of a coffers filling exercise, and while I'm not adverse to making a buck, I wouldnt make said buck working with two people that I had been bagging for years, but thats just me.
The "original " lineup brought out a album called "Pscyho Circus"..didnt do a whole lot for me..probably the only songs that worked for me where "You wanted the best" and Beth Part 2..."I finally found my way to you")
Like I said earlier, Ace then procceded to get run over by the wagon he fell off and Genes P.A and one time Black'n'Blue axe slinger Tommy Thayer stepped up to the mark and has been there ever since, wearing Ace's makeup which I'm still not sure about, I reckon Tommy deserves his own character, same goes with Eric Singer who took over from Peter Criss, he is wearing Cat makeup and I dont think he should...BUT, Gene says that any member of kiss is replacable, who is under the make-up should be irrelevant..sure Gene, whatever you reckon.
So there you go, my KISS rant...I'l probably have to do a Salman Rushdie and go into hiding if any hard core Kiss Army fans read this...so, if this is the last blog...SEEYA...
