Phil Dolby gets about a bit nowadays, and has recorded an limited edition album about his massive carbon footprint. There is £3.00 from each sale going to Kantha Bopha hospital in Cambodia. Why not go to his website a buy a copy?

The Gargoyles

Singer Eddie Smith told the Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph after the band won the 'Scunthorpe Rock Open' that his name was Mad Eddie Peanut Smith. Consequently this is what the the paper called him all through the article on the competition in the next day's edition. I once saw him sing to a baffled London audience from the inside of a bass drum case. And didn't he once do part of a Gargoyles set at the Tower in Hull completely naked?

Their single "Madmen from the Planet Sex" sadly failed to ignite their career. In my humble opinion, their best moment was 'The Battle of the Elvises' gig they did with The Velvetones at The Adelphi.

I always thought that their best song/lyric was 'Witnessing':

Let's go down the Kingdom Hall and get down to some business/ They don't eat eggs at Easter/ And they don't get pissed at Xmas.

However, over the years I've become fonder of 'Ferry 'cross the Humber', especially so when I lived in London and drove back to Hull along the A63 and saw the bridge again:

Here is a video that was shot for Look North featuring this very song:

'The Humber Bridge is about a mile long/ As it strides the mighty Humber And our foreign brothers from over the sea/ They just stare at it in wonder.'

Alternatively, here's an outake of the same song from one of their BBC local radio sessions, featuring ex-member Hugh Whittaker and boy-about-town Matthew Hogg on backing vocals: Ferry

The photo on the right was taken by Sharon way back when they were just young and thin. Sharon says the sax player's name was Becky. Note Paul Warhurst doing his best Kevin-from-Coronation-Street impression.

There was an excellent, but strangely anonymous, Gargoyles site here (but it seems to have disappeared): Still missing? .

22/01/03: The dreadful news is that Paul died following a road accident on Sunday.  This is a terrible loss to his family, his many friends and to the other Gargoyles. It is just awful.

Matthew Hogg/Coyote Trap/OK Consolers/Fabulous Boots etc

A talented singer/songwriter, his bands in the past always started off as 4-pieces and ended up with the same 23 people on stage singing the same set as the previous incarnation.

Here he is singing 'Foolishly Wise' (a track from his first album) with underpaid nurse Hatty Deverell Twang.

Matthew went on to record another album (under the name White Trash) with the assistance of the ubiquitous Hugh Whittaker. You can click here to hear 'What About Me'.

One of his earlier incarnations was as head honcho of The OK Consolers. I cannot now remember the line-up, but it definitely included Lynn on vocals and (probably) his brother Nicky. Here is a track that Matthew told me he knew nothing about; not when it was recorded, where it was recorded, who was on it. It is fantastic, in my view: More than Blue

It has always puzzled me why Matthew has never made it big. He has a fantastic voice, writes melodic and memorable songs, and plays a mean guitar. I suppose one day a rich record executive may walk into The Adelphi on a Monday night and hear him play and immediately sign him up. But I doubt it.

He is currently earning his crust by teaching estate teenage twoccers how to construct songs. Available for weddings, bar-mitzvars,and christenings. Or for free at The Adelphi most Mondays.

Les Zeiga Fleurs

Sharon's dreadful old goth band. They were awful, but here's a nice photo from her small-girl-with-enormous-bass days.

I have got a number of LZF tapes at home but do not really think that the world is ready for such a goth revival. For that reason I have decided not to put any of their awful music on this page. I know what my band did was not The Beatles or anything, but it was still better than LZF.

For those of you lucky enough not to have seen or heard them, here is a precis:

• Hairspray
• Booming doom-laden bass lines
• Extra-big drum kit
• Funereal set
• No fun
• Black clothing de rigeur
• No summer songs to lift your hearts
• Best left alone

LZF's founder and leader was Ingo Dewsnap. He recorded a large number of local bands at 51 Stepney Lane on his 4-track portastudio. As such he deserves credit for being the first to record The Housemartins, and for getting a local scene going. Unfortunately, LZF probably blots his copybook beyond redemption.

The Velvetones

Although I always thought that Skinhead Girl was their best song, Mike sent me a tape of their stuff and an excellent track (that I don't remember hearing before) called `Beautiful Mams and Handsome Dads' was on it. And here it is

Bizarrely, 2 of them went on to form The Beautiful South.

We played a gig with them at Hull College Student Union (as it then was) in about 1985, and and I remember feeling slightly nauseous when I saw Dave Rotheray's guitar had dried blood all over it from (presumably) his fingers. Urgh.

The video of Skinhead Girl (below) was shot in Killingworth, Tyne and Wear along with a Gargoyles video for The Magnificent Church. Along the stars seen are Steve Left, Sharon Clay and Sophie The Dog...

Johnny and the Carbon Chain

Band with best name in Hull. Sadly without talent. Altogether now...a WOMAN'S hands

I can recall them doing a gig on one of the Surreal `Mike and Eddie' nights at The Adelphi. The band were thrashing out some...,er..thrash, and Johnny was writhing around in an angst-ridden fashion on the floor in front of the stage. There were about 20 people in the audience. As the song reached its peak Johnny kicked out and knocked over an Adelphi chair. Paul Jackson strode up to Johnny, tapped him on the shoulder, and told him to `Stop it'. It was a great moment in musical performance that I will always cherish.

Three Action

Gary, Ian and Dodger. We played loads of gigs with this lot. The highpoints of their act were:-

Hatty Deverell playing trumpet, their crappy Hawaiian shirt look, Ian singing Sugar Pie Honey, and the frankly rubbish Laughing in a Funny Way. Anyway click here for a bit of "Lifeline".

They toured with The Housemartins on their first nationwide outing after being signed up, were obsessed with poo, and had their own van.

Sadly, they never made it. Ian now works in the voluntary sector, Dodger used to work for the local education department tuning piano's or something, and Gary runs a timber yard with his Dad.

Three Action sometimes played with ranting poet Swift Nick (pictured left and caught briefly at the end of the Vicious Circle video below) famous for his poem "You'll never see the queen on the picket line". And, of course, he was so right.

Anyway, here they are in all their glory doing a song which I think is called Matter Batter at an Anti-Fascist Action benefit gig at The Adelphi on 12th June 1987:-

They also appeared on video for the charity Shelter. Somebody has uploaded it to Youtube and I've embedded it here for your delight and delectation

The Housemartins

I thought they were rubbish at first, but I was so wrong. You may even think that they shouldn't be here on the basis that they were not shit. Right enough, I suppose. But who on earth would ever find this page if they weren't mentioned on it?

They asked Pink Noise to play their Signing Party at the Adelphi in 1985. We were pretty excited, and ended up getting third shares in the door takings (£50.00 or so as I recall). The point at which I was forced to revise my until then fairly dismissive attitude of them was when I watched them rehearse 'Joy, Joy, Joy' in the soundcheck. Then I got it. Eventually is better than never, I suppose.

Personally, my favourite track by them is the single version of 'Flag Day, although I also really like the songs on their first demo, 'Themes for the Well-Dressed Man', which was recorded at Sharon's old house in Stepney Lane. Here, by way of a reminder for all who were there in the heady days 1984/5, is how they sounded live: Sheep

Official Beautiful South site here

The Germz

I don't really know anything about them, but John from Sheep mentioned them when he emailed me to complain that his old band weren't featured, and Sharon had this photo she took of them.

Their contribution to the New Youth cassette Twilight Zone is a bit on the shouty side in a Conflict sort of way...but perhaps you guessed that is probably what they sounded like from their appearance. Sharon says they were always very polite.

Later in the 80's came Slander, who may, or may not, have been a later incarnation of The Germz. They looked a bit like this anyway.

The Red Guitars/Planet Wilson

The Red Guitars were just before my time, really. However I do remember hearing Good Technology being reviewed on Radio One. I saw them in 1983 supporting The Smiths at the Hammersmith Palais and bounced around at the front. I also saw them at The Welly club in what must have been their farewell gig. Avuncular guitarist and all-round good bloke John Rowley helped us record some demo tapes at various times.

The Planet Wilson arose from the ashes of the demise of The Red Guitars. We played several gigs with them. They always soundchecked first and took like a trillion years to do it 'cause they had so much equipment. Fnnarr.

Grant Ardis, though:- ace drummer.

I once saw a number of their albums on a plinth as an example of a prize of "albums of your choice" that could be won on some really shitty daytime quiz show. Bizarre.

The excellent Red Guitars site can be found here.

The Penny Candles.

God, I thought they were weedy and awful. But don't take my word for it; judge for yourself by listening to this track that appeared on a Hull, Hell & Happiness fanzine cassette in 1990: Nicely.

The band included two "10 for effort" performers: Hugh Whittaker (Gargoyles, Housemartins, Gargoyles again, The Penny Candles, HMP, various other bands, and sometime Matthew Hogg collaborator), and Nick Langley. Nick has busied himself over the years with The Velvetones, The Penny Candles, The Juniper Chute and by helping Scarlet in writing a number of the songs on their first album.

The Juniper Chute was Nick's collaboration with Matthew Hogg and Hugh Whittaker. Guitar based pop in the vein of that band who do the theme to Friends, as I recall (possibly erroneously). Here is a harmonytastic song of theirs called Me & Mrs Jones. No. Not that one.

Scarlet started off a Cheap Day Return, playing nicely in the background on Sundays at The Adelphi. They went off to London, did a showcase with Nick and Matthew, and got famous. I don't think they are still famous, though. Fame's fickle finger, etc. Their website is here.

Vicious Circle

These lot may have been my favourite live Hull band. Dave Stead, now with The Beautiful South, was an excellent drummer even though his kit appeared to be falling to pieces. One of the cymbals had a big chunk out of it...

Anyway the band would chug along nicely, and singer Lee Potter, home-bleached hair half hidden beneath a broad-brimmed hat would crawl around the Adelphi floor whilst brandishing a plastic fly swatter. Yes, I know it sounds shit, but it wasn't. You had to be there. In case you weren't, here is a clip from a track they had on a shared e.p.: This is Pantomime

They got into trouble for using those images of Hyndley and Brady on one of their gig posters. It turns out that only Fleet Street is allowed to use those pictures as a boost for sales.

Here's a bit of Doppelganger from Dave Stead's and Loz's previous band, The Luddites.

Alternatively, watch the video of the band shown on The Tube in 1984. If you watch to the end you'll catch a brief glimpse of Swift Nick on a bus.

The Sinister Family

Errr..Steve out of my band thought they were excellent. The singer, whose name was Ricky I think, apparently hated all the other bands in Hull. They had a great song called "Club Foot in Club Land". It droned on in a gloomy bass-saturated way as a drum machine stuttered away in the background. The lyrics at one point went something like... "Ga..ga..ga..ga..Gargoyles ...Never made me laugh... Club Foot... In Club Land..". Brilliant, in its own sort of way.

Ricky emailed me in 2004 to say that he is making films the way he used to make music. Which presumably means light romantic comedy is not his genre.

John the Monkey

Imagine that four (mainly science) postgraduate students form a band and collectively decide that, as a matter of policy, they should sound as much like the Stranglers as possible. Now you know all about John the Monkey. In case you are still unsure, here they are with Funny.

Bassist and singer Ted has his own webpages that include a number of JtM gig posters. I think you have to sign up to Yahoo or something to view them: Go there now.

nb. Ted Alkins emailed me to say that the above is all wrong. Not the webpage bit. The bit above that is apparently factually incorrect. He also reminded me the time that we did a gig with JtM at Hull College of Higher Education (formerly Hull World of Carpets), and a friend of theirs jumped on stage during their set dressed as a dirty old man, produced a knife and proceeded to stab himself in the trouser region (down which he had secreted a few pounds of liver). Now I bet you're sorry you missed that.