The Dukes Of Stratosphear had everything the adenoidal herberts from Swindon's Sausage City lacked - color, fun, and imagination. Also, great album sleeves. They delivered where XTC checked boxes [bullshit - Ed.]. But after two perfect albums, they decided to pack it all in and leave XTC to do the heavy lifting.
Sir John Johns (real name Wayne Phlegm) lead guitarist [left - Ed.], puts it this way: "we were enjoying being the Dukes too much. The first album sold better than any XTC album, and people loved it. It transcended pastiche to become the real thing, real psych-pop that stood alongside anything out of the sixties. So in a way it kind of negated all the pseudo-punk art-pop XTC were doggedly churning out for their miserablist fans. XTC had a stab at the genre with Oranges And Lemons, but it wasn't in the same league. So we burned our kaftans."It was the world's loss.
Yeah, yeah ... XTC ... ZZZ, you ax me.
The first album gots xtry trx, the second ain't. I'll upload as soon as someone tells me a joke as good as this:
ReplyDeleteOld lady standing in the road with a length of rope, looking puzzled. I sez, "What's the problem, Grandma?", and she sez, "Don't know if I found some rope or lost a cow."
I don't always tell dad jokes, but when I do he usually laughs...
ReplyDeleteThis is very good.
DeleteSouthern Cheese -
ReplyDeleteWhy did the blind man fall in the well, cause he did not see that well.
ba dum...
One I heard many times in my career
ReplyDeleteA jazz drummer got in an argument with the rest of the band
"oh, man, you're fired, your timing is so wrong"
After a few days he's so depressed
he went to the station and threw himself behind the train
Drummer jokes are the best. Especially when you realise the most important musician in a band is the drummer.
Deletetwo penguins are sitting in a bathtub, one turns to the other and says,"pass me the typewriter".
ReplyDeleteWhat did you say when Canned Heat singer sneezed ? GesundHite.
ReplyDeleteAn old XTC fanzine interview broke down the different influences on the Dukes' songs. Here goes:
Brainiac's Daughter: Macca circa Sgt Pepper's or Yellow Submarine, Thunderclap Newman.
Have You Seen Jackie: Keith West/Teenage Opera/Mark Wirtz.
Pale and Precious: Beach Boys.
Vanishing Girl: Hollies.
Shiny Cage: Beatles circa Revolver.
Little Lighthouse: Stones imitation.
You're my Drug: Animal's Monterey+Byrd's So You Want To Be a Rockn'roll Star.
You're a Good Man Albert Brown: Pink Floyd's Corporal Clegg, Oscar's Over the Wall We Go Whistling Jack Smith's I Knew Kaiser Bill's Batman, Bonzos, Small Faces' the Universal.
The Affiliated: Kinks, Unit 4+2's Concrete and Clay.
Collideascope: Lennon, Move's Blackberry Way.
Your Gold Dress: Stones' She's a Rainbow/Nicky Hopkins.
What in the World: Manfred Mann, Beatles' Only a Northern Song+It's All Too Much, ECM records.
My Love Explodes: Yardbirds/Pretty Things.
Inneresting!
DeleteHow can you tell when the singer is at the front door? He makes a lot of noise but can't find the right key and doesn't know when to come in
ReplyDeleteHow do you know a drummer is at the door? The knocking speeds up.
DeleteGuy drives past the insane asylum, gets a flat. He takes off the tire ( or tyre) and puts the lug nuts in the hubcap. Puts on the spare. accidentally steps on hubcap, flipping lug nuts into the sewer drain. Gets mad at himself,. "How can I put attach the tire with no lug nuts?" An inmate has watched the entire event from behind a chain link fence. Inmate sez, "You can take one lugnut from the other 3 tires, put them on the 4th, that will be sufficient until you get to a garage." The Guy says, "That's brilliant!...why are you locked up in the insane asylum?" The inmate replies, "I'm crazy, not f**kin stupid!"
ReplyDeleteThe link is lunked.
ReplyDeleteOh, Izzis now? Wayne Phlegm does not seem to know where it is either ( or, 'either').
DeleteIt's not in the comments.
DeleteClever, girl
Delete...apparently not.
DeleteLatest science news:
ReplyDeleteFarmer Worzel Mangelroot of Lower Dinglebottom-On-Fingringhoe has just been awarded the Nobel Prize for Scientific Achievement. A spokesman for the Nobel Institute said, on being questioned about the surprise award, 'Not really a surprise; Farmer Mangel has always been 'out standing in his field'.......
Thankee!, sorry no joke from me.
ReplyDeleteBefore the Dukes album Andy Partridge (the XTC guitarist/singer) produced an early single by Doctor & The Medics, in 1986 they had a big UK hit with a version of Spirit In The Sky.
ReplyDeleteHearing these tracks by The Dukes of Stratosphear got me thinking about a couple of other British New Wave/Punk bands 1980’s alter egos. In 1984ish members of The Damned formed Naz Nomad and The Nightmares, which was a very 60’s psychedelic venture, an album was released. Also a little later members of The Stranglers released the first Purple Helmets album, again an record of 60’s Garage music. Something was in the air in Britain in the mid 80’s, oh could it have been acid?
Is there anything here NOT on "Psurroundabout Ride"?
ReplyDeleteDid you hear about the rock group 1023 MB?
ReplyDeleteThey disbanded. They couldn’t get a gig.
Gbrand
*sensible chuckle*
Deletea drum kit stumbled into a bar.
ReplyDeleteba-dum-tsh!
"Baby seal walks into a club"
ReplyDelete