Some distance yes - I suppose the extra 30 or so miles I'd have to do to where I was then in North Wales wouldn't have caused any more blisters than hadn't already appeared. I'd be jealous if someone I'd known was is a band like that (I'd deal with it though ) though I'd be quite proud to know them.
The Bodysnatchers did a couple of Peel sessions. On one they did a version of the Boiler which was originally a Bodysnatchers tune. Bodysnatchers
1. 007 2. Monkey Spanner 3. What's This 4. Mixed Feelings 5. Mule Jerk 6. Ruder Than You 7. Hiawatha - also played by The belle stars 8. A little Bit of soul 9. Happy Time Tune 10. Too Experienced 11. Private Eye 12. THe Boiler - yes that one 13. The Loser 14. Easy Life 15. Lets Do Rocksteady 16. Time is Tight That's the set list from 30.8.1980 at a gig in Folkestone, either I've got an awesome memory or....
It HAD to be posted - was brought up a few pages back. Shocking, yes. It took me completely unawares when I firs played it and like I said before, my face dropped a certain point towards the end and anyone looking on would have wondered what had happened! The screams are awful too, but it's a VERY important piece of writing and it is a good thing that there were seemingly very little social 'issues' these bands would not approach. I mean, Bad Manners have a single b-side called Suicide. For all their joviality, even they had the same concerns as any of these artists.
After The Belle Stars some of them had a third group, The Deltones. They were nearly all female (the drummer was a man). The Deltones released a couple singles an a great album, very much in the late 80s euro-ska revival sound. Well worth checking out (though it is fairly hard to find - there were a couple of LP versions (one in France and one in The UK) and I think three CD releases (the original UK one and a couple Japanese issues from later years). Various members also later made guest appearances with various other ska bands like Bad Manners, The Trojans (they had a long connection with Gaz Mayall as he get co-writing credits for a song on the second single), and Big 5. Finally for those curious in 2015 Rhoda Dakar put out an album of re-recorded Bodysnatchers era songs “Rhoda Dakar Sings The Bodysnatchers”
Heard that last weekend. I was like “woah!” I’d never heard it before. Considering the subject matter you’d think she’s spilled a drink on her skirt the way he sings it.
Now that's true. I played it the other day for the first time in ages (decades?) and thought it sounded a bit... dashed off... to say the least (!)
This seemed to ring a distant bell but I don't recognise the album cover and perhaps it was because there were at least a few bands with that name at one time or the other. However. this is all useful information and I will try to find this to listen to, one way or the other.
The next release by The Selecter was the album track Missing words, backed by a live version of the Ska classic Carry Go Bring Home, originally by Justin Hinds and the Dominoes (not Derek's Band) and also Desmod Decker recorded a version too Released as CHS TT10, it entered the charts on Mar 29 1980 and was the second Two Tone release to miss the top 20 getting to No.23 and stayed in the charts for 8 weeks. This would prove to be The Selecter's last single on the Two Tone label, they started to feel that the label wasn't supporting them enough and moved directly to Chrysalis after this record. A move that didn't really have the desired effect. Nevertheless a pretty good song, more melancholic than previous releases, showing a maturity which would continue onto the next record. Maybe the Rude boys and Girls didn't want so much maturity just yet.....
I think your use of the word 'melancholic' is quite appropriate for this... never really thought of it that way before although it would be hard to not have an idea of the subject of the song. It could be something like and 'answer song' to Madness's My Girl come to think of it, but weeks on down the line maybe! Similar lyrical tone I feel. This always ranked very highly with me in the scheme of the TT singles but there would be a few tracks on the first album I like better these days. I've had a few copies of the single on the silver label - and every time I see one I will check it... almost all have the spelling mistake Nissing Words. I used to think that was done as a joke, and is some way in-keeping with the title. But that doesn't make sense in the way I thought it did when I was a lad! So it has just to be an error. I think... Staying on the subject, I was wondering if the fact that the b-side is stated as 'live' was an error as well. I've only ever known it to have the studio version. BUT I find that this is the sleeve for a French release. Now, this could answer something I was curious about. I will get to it in a moment... This picture sleeve release is on the blue Chrysalis label. The ones with the spelling mistake are Two Tone Made In France copies. But the Made In England ones are spelled correctly. So there could have been far more copies made in France, for sale over here than even I previously thought! As to what I was just about to say, here's the Dutch b-side label. So now we have it confirmed as being right and it's another I will keep a lookout for (any European copy that has this live version of course...) Would have been nice to release it like that over here, but then I have Blondie's Sunday Girl on the same label which is sung in French - it got a later release on a 12" single because I don't think it was put on a 7" in the UK at the time. Takes me back to when people getting hold of imports at the time, just for that elusive picture sleeve or one track they hadn't got anywhere else. And only the select few seemed to know how and where to buy them.
Hoping it was the live version... it's actually the studio one, but... ...not 'the' one but live, yes.
Wait a minute... I think I've misremembered something vital here! I've seen that at least *some* of the silver-labeled TT copies of the single have this live version. I found and played it on You Tube and I rememeber it as clear as day now. But can't be sure that I didn't have a copy (or copies) with the studio version on instead. Anyone?
Rhoda Dakar released an album in 2014 which was sonmgs the Body snatchers played: Easy Life The Ghost Of The Vox Continental Happy Time Tune 007 Private Eye Too Experienced The Loser Mixed Feelings Hiawatha Let’s Do Rocksteady Of course there was also The Boiler which was later re-worked with The Special A.K.A. A tape also exists of a 1980 gig in Folkestone, which also features What's This? Hiawatha [later a Belles Stars tune,] Mule Jerk, A Little Bit Of Soul, Monkey Spanner and Time Is Tight. BBC Sessions are also out there, and all this should be on YouTube.
Thank you. I've been listening to the album and other tracks fairly regularly again over the last couple of years and can only guess how I got that one wrong...
I'm now finding these things - didn't think to look before... great stuff, thank you! For example: The sound is very good on the above apart from a handful of songs... I can imagine they wouldn't be much different elsewhere and there's a bit of a difference in the volume levels of some tracks.
Next release is the fourth single by Madness, they decided to dust off a track from the album and add three new tracks to it to create the Work Rest and Play EP, which entered the charts on the 5th April 1980 and got to number 6, stayed in the charts for 8 weeks. The boy made it! Chas is on the front cover for the first time and from now on is a fully fledged member of the group. Headline track was Night Boat To Cairo, which I kind of consider to be an instrumental with words, rather than a song, good fun though and outside of Egyptian Reggae, where do you hear those two cultures meld so well? Other tracks are Deceives the Eye, The Young and The Old, and Don't Quote Me On That.
And as someone mentioned above, it's all eggs bacon beans and a fried slice! But Don't Quote Me On That!