Cardiacs are certainly NOT forgotten! By coincidence, I was at a “Sing to Tim” gig literally last week (October 2024, Band on the Wall, Manchester) which was sold out well in advance and which celebrated the genius of the late Tim Smith. To some people (me included), Cardiacs were (and remain) the greatest, most important, most influential and most original band on the planet and they released incredible albums well into the ‘90’s and early 2000s. They did turn into a “guitar band”, but said band released “Sing to God” and “Guns”, both amazing albums; if Tim hadn’t have had the medical emergency which left him very disabled, I bet Cardiacs would still be going today. To class them as an ‘80’s band who essentially faded away in the ‘90’s is wholly ridiculous.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and to comment. The Cardiacs were a great band and at the time in south-west London they were revered in a way that went beyond my admiration for them. We all like different things and this channel is my opportunity to share my feelings, thoughts and experiences with others. Maybe you should consider doing something similar, either in print or online? Cheers and please keep watching (and commenting)!
There was no musical decline for the Cardiacs. The output from the stripped back lineup was still fantastic. RIP Tim. Glad I discovered your incredible music xx
Cardiacs are simply the best live music experience I've ever had. From their annual concerts at the Astoria to the incredible career retrospective at the Garage, where they encored with Is This The Life and the moment the descending drum intro started literally everyone in the venue spontaneously jumped in the air.
Yes the cardiacs, and Tim in particular, were extraordinary and we will never see there like again. Nevertheless, lots of happy memories and hopefully somebody out there now is a fledgling Tim Smith in the making… ✌️ Thanks for watching and for taking part. Please stick around for more!
Great to see you acknowledging The Icicle works , great group . Should have been playing stadiums ( although it's far better to see groups in small venues).
Thanks! Yes, I also prefer small venues and was lucky enough to see the Rolling Stones play the Half Moon Putney and Paul McCartney at the 100 club, both when they were jolly famous! I also tried to encourage that by putting on Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis on at the 100 club, but of course tickets had to be expensive to pay for it all. In retrospect I think it was worth it. Amazing showsall round. Thanks for taking part. Please come back for more!
Fantastic! Yes it's also a shame that the Clarendon was demolished but at least it was something useful: a bus station (we won't mention the shopping centre)…
I was there too! ...well I was at a Cardiacs gig at the Marquee in the 80s... late '85 or sometime in '86 I reckon... One of the best live bands I've seen.
I love it when you mention bands I used to see regularly. Cardiacs? Even saw them in Berlin once (my Mrs once knew Sarah) brilliant band back then. Saw the Icicle Works at Essex University once too, i remember they had a brilliant drummer. Keep the videos coming Jim, great music, great memories.
Thanks for the kind words and for sharing those memories. This was one of the videos I enjoyed making (which is usually the kiss of death!). Please keep watching. Cheers!
I totally agree! Definitely top five and off the top of my head. I can't think of anybody I've seen who's done a better show or put more effort in to producing music that ripped through you like a chainsaw.
Thank you very much for the kind words and for sharing your memories of the cricketer. Friday nights with Wilko (it was usually a Friday, though not always) were utterly magical! Cheers!
I loooved the Jazz Butcher in the 80s. Pat's covid performances were lovely. I was gutted when when he died. He was a criminally underrated songwriter.
Cardiacs are mint ,never seen them but own all the cds, Tim actually wrote every bit of music for all the instuments and i believe did all the videos and sound engineering mixing etc, the guy was a genius R.I.P. Tim
I agree with almost all of what you say but I always thought they were in their element on stage. I think if Tim has lived and functioned, he could have been a genius with all the modern technology. Cheers!
I'll let you into a little secret. At the time, I was never that into the icicle Works, possibly because there was so much else happening. But since I discovered Ian McNabb in the 1990s I've gone back and revisited his earlier days and I'm liking most of what I'm hearing very much indeed. Thanks for taking part. Please keep watching and commenting! Cheers!
@@JimDriverthat's the thing isn't it, there was so much going on then that it was impossible to listen to everything. Plus tastes change over the years. Both the 70's and the 80's are always worth revisiting. There are so many unknown pleasures for us to uncover
@@JimDriver Ciao Jim and Cameron, for that 'Head Like a Rock' album, there was some rumours of Ian McNabb becoming mates with Neil Young ... might be true, might not .... But the three guys from the Icicle Works really knew how to put songs together and McNabb understood the power of the guitar.
They were the first band I went to see live with just my mates, in Victoria Halls in Hanley in about 85/86. I always had a huge soft spot for overblown histrionic nonsense and Iain McNab could always deliver that.
Still listening to Cardiacs and the Jazz Butcher. I saw the Jazz Butcher at the Richmond in Brighton some time in the early 90s. Remember the gig was sold to me by a mate who mentioned the the bass player from Bauhaus was in the band. Good to be reminded of the Icicle Works and Screaming Blue Messiahs….
Thanks that great story. I forgotten the Bauhaus connection! Yes, in retrospect, I forgotten how many fantastic bands I saw back in the 1980s. I was so very lucky! Thanks for taking part. Please stick around and watch more!
Great picks! Cardiacs' Tim Smith guested on a couple The Sound albums, who are one of my alltime faves. A fan of the Icicle Works, but never got around to listen to McNabb's solo stuff, will fix that. The Jazz Butcher have been favorites since I was a teen, and the three volumes of hardcover book back box sets from Fire records are essential, especially Dr. Cholmondley Repents with all the singles comps collected, including one of my faves, "The Devil is My Friend." Screaming Blue Messiahs also got a box set treatment a few years back. Their debut was part of a wave of post-punk/psych that tickled the top 100 charts in '86 (Gun-Shy made #90) along with Chameleons, Easterhouse, That Petrol Emotion, Woodentops, Mighty Lemon Drops, Shriekback, Feelies, Agent Orange, Comsat Angels and many more.
Wow! Thanks for sharing those great stories and your knowledge. (Have you ever thought about making RU-vid videos?)? Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment: please stick around for more!
All great bands and great stories. I remember some of these bands, having worked in college radio in the '80s. It was a magical time with new music coming out almost every week from all over the world. "Whisper to a Scream" was indeed huge in the US. I still hear it in the supermarket now and then. That first Screaming Blue Messiahs album is pretty incredible.
Thanks for sharing your fantastic memories of those fantastic times. I didn't realise until very recently how lucky we all were living through it, and me especially for being involved in it. Wow! Thanks for communicating and for watching. Please stick around for more!
@@JimDriver Nowadays, it seems so much harder to find new bands making interesting new music. I continue to scour RU-vid and Bandcamp and occasionally luck into something that appeals to me. Keep doing what you're doing, because I know there are so many older bands that I've missed along the way.
Yes, I quite agree: as I say, I've been a big fan since head like a rock Thanks for spreading the word about Ian's touring and recent albums. I think we can all be grateful he didn't get this Barry Grant part in. Brookside. That would've spoilt everything!
I first saw Cardiacs at the Marquee supporting Here & Now in 1984 iirc. I used to regularly make pilgrimage to the Clarendon during that time. Thoroughly enjoying your recollections
That's great here and thank you for the kind words. As the manager of here and now back in those days the person who introduced them to the marquee, there's a good chance I was at that gig too! Thanks for watching and please stick around for more!
Yes, I was only joking about Roy. No I don't think he's bumpers but I do know he is aware of how great he is! The last conversation I think we had was about how people think he and Donovan are on the same level,. Happy days! Thanks for taking part and please keep watching. Cheers!
Tim Smith was a musical genius, a term over used of course but in his case absolutely no doubt. Whilst the line up changes inevitably influenced the music they were simply progressing rather than standing still, I love all line ups and in fact probably their most revered album seen as their masterpiece is Sing to God, when they were effectively a 4 piece. Such amazing music and I love them, saw them many times and most recently this year at the run of gigs which were brilliant
Being from the Kingston area I saw Cardiacs loads of times and they were always incredible. Usually appearing on the verge of total collapse they’re live persona masked incredible musicianship and a band that deserved to be so much bigger. RIP Tim.
Good Choices there. Saw Jazz Butcher on numerous occasions just by chance as supporting group for various events. Always had a great night out watching them. My choices of that decade... Even though you didn't ask. A sample Popular Voice Virgin Prunes The Janitors The Very Things The Playn Jayn The Cannibals I still don't know how these bands could just take over a venue and enthrall. I really miss those days in the 80's of exploring new live music.... Lovely lovely times.
You're dead right about the music and gigs of those days. I don't know whether it was us or the bands, but it was absolutely spectacular so many times. Great choices by the way and I always need people to put forward their own favourite act. Cheers!
Cardiacs fab - cant believed only just discovered them! Blurt absolutely excellent and still very much alive! my band supported them at The Bull and Gate about 20 yeas ago! THe Jazz Butcher also marvelous and I met Pat Fish a couple of times at gigs I happened to be also playing at wIth Jowe Head (Swell Maps and Television Personalities). Check out the recently revived Maps when you get a chance - Dave Callahan (Woolfhounds) a longstanding fan is part of the new crew and they are often joined by Luke Hanes (The Auteurs). A supergroup!
Thank you for sharing those fantastic memories of your band! Your passion for music really shines through! I'll definitely have to check out Maps. Cheers!
I used to correspond with Kavus Torabi when we were mid teens. I'm from Belfast. Kav at the time was from Plymouth and in the band Die Laughing. Kavus used to really champion Cardiacs back then. I'm talking early 1990s. It's only in the past 3 or so years I've started to really appreciate Cardiacs. Kavus went on to join Cardiacs a few years down the line. Kavus is a cracking musician. Worth checking out some of his work particularly Knifeworld.
Another great video, bringing back lots of memories. I scored 3 out of 5 on this one, with Cardiacs, Icicle Works and Screaming Blue Messiahs all being bands I remembered from the days when my hands were regularly blackened by the print from the NME. Great stuff.
Thanks for the positive and very interesting comment! To be honest, I'm still playing most of those bands on a loop a couple of days after I posted the video!
Well, I hadn't heard of two, was aware of two, and was a big fan of Screaming Blue Messiahs (although I got to them a little late, but I played the hell out of their 1989 release "Totally Religious", which was one of my favorite albums from that era).
Thanks for those memories of screaming blue Messiah. When I was making the video, I could still feel the excitement I felt back when I first saw them on stage. Magic times! Cheers!
That's great to hear and thank you so much for the very kind words. Part of my recent for making videos is to share the excitement and joy. I was lucky enough to experience firsthand. Plus a bit of information here and there… ☺️
For a very brief period in the mid 80s, the Gatehouse Theatre in Stafford hosted the occasional rock/ pop gig and I went to them all, being local. I remember Green on Red and James, but also Jazz Butcher! I don't think they were headlining but if they were supporting, can't recall for whom. They made an impression on me and I became a fan that night. Clear memories of hearing Pet Sematary for the first time: 'Saturday morning the cat came back... '
The Icicle Works - saw them on the Love is Wonderful Colour tour at Essex Uni, Colchester - as with many other great bands of the day the students Union bar would put of for about £2.50 and it was the last tour stop before London. My two penneth on the Cardiacs - seen them many a time and the hardest audience was when they supported Chumbawamba at the T&C - the kids who had come to hear Tubthumping were bemused by them even they did condescend to playing Is This The Life? Sadly that Pub University touring circuit along with the majority of the smaller venues in London have all gone.
Great memories thanks for sharing them. I think the decline of the university circuit, which was a direct result of Thatcherism contributed towards the less than ideal Music situation we have today! Thanks again and please keep watching.
Thank you very much for those kind words. You really don't know how much it means when people enjoy what I do. Part of the enjoyment is getting to share my passions. Please stick around for more and comment as appropriate. Cheers!
Haha! I'd like to think you are right and that people are generally good and do things because it's for the good of mankind. Unfortunately my 70 years on earth have persuading me that this will be a very small proportion of our population. Still, always good to dream. Thanks for counting and for watching the video: please stick around and do it all again. I genuinely mean that by the way.😇
Not sure if these fit the topic or not, but a couple years ago I was at the local record shop and found an album by some band called the Lucy Show. The song titles suggested it might fit my taste, my best friend/roommate/four legged angel is named Lucy and the record was $2. so I had to... Blew me away. Checked into them on the webs and was lead to the Comsat Angels. Blown away again. Don't know how I had never come across either group in all these years. So many 'hidden' gems out there. Great video!
Thanks for the positive words and for such an informative interesting comment. The Lucy show and the concert Angels are both on my radar and thanks for reminding me! Cheers!
Cardiacs were transcendent live act in the 80s; very few other bands could take you out of yourself in quite the way they did when they performed. You are right, though, they lost much of the magic in the 90s Blurt are new to me (I will check them out) but the others still feature regularly in my listening
You obviously have great taste! My go-to album for me from Blurt was the first one I heard, which was called 'The Fish Needs A Bike'. Epic! As regards The Cardiacs, I didn't say so in the video, but I think Tim over-did the drugs towards the end and I suspect that may have done for his health, as well. On that soggy note... Cheers !
Oh mate! Line the video up with the Cardiacs on the cover you knew what reaction you were gonna get! Bands I have seen wearing cardiacs t shirts include : Splodgenessabounds, Hawkwind (well magnus tarantism), T.V. Smith, and Wonk Unit amongst others! Once again cracking video, ( did see them at Glastonbury one year with a Certain John Peel in the Audience..) Punishment of luxury, Earl Brutus and the legendry pink dots pleeeze!
Thanks for the kind words! Aside from the cricketers, to be honest, they were more on the arty circuit then the rock circuit. We were lucky that Ted lived a couple of miles away and occasionally popped in to the pub to watch bands. . Cheers!
At the time, I enjoyed it immensely whenever the Jazz Butcher played at the cricketers, but now realise the artistic gold that was passing through my fingers. I consider myself so lucky to be where I was and when thanks for taking part and please keep watching. Cheers!
Great show Jim. I wouldn't say Cardiacs have been forgotten though. If anything they are more widely known and appreciated today than ever before. Dave Grohl saw to that with his endorsement a couple of years ago.
I put out their very first record “Bus For A Bus” on my little Tortch Records label (alongside The Sound and The Directions of course)z great band and miss Tim !
Thank you! That's very kind of you to say so, though like many people of my age, I feel I forgotten more than I remember! Please keep watching and commenting. We need you!
Upvoted for the Jazz Butcher. They got quite a lot of play on North American college radio stations, and they blew my mind when i was 14 years old and I heard Distressed Gentlefolk!
Yes, the Jazz Butcher managed to grab a lot of peoples hearts, including many record company bigwigs. I was always surprised about who turned up to see them at the cricketers. Thanks for your memories and please keep watching!
One of my favourite bands of the 80s and they were quite popular in Canada too,. At least in Southern Ontario where I was fortunate enough to see them a handful of times. Great memories!
They certainly were good, yes. But I feel Ian McNabb was just feeling his way and his latest stuff is in a different class. That's my view and you are entitled to say anything that you fancy, contrary or not! 😀 Please watch more of my videos and keep commenting if you can. Cheers!
Bravo on highlighting Cardiacs, however rather than decline, they are probably bigger now, especially in the USA (mainly due to the many 'Reaction videos). John Peel did have the spin-off Sea Nymphs on his show but it was his producer who vetoed Cardiacs, not Peel himself.
Cheers! Thank you for the kind words. As I predicted, it was very difficult to talk about cardiacs, due to my personal connections andsuch and it as long as possible, to be honest! But I didn't do such a bad job. I don't think the site for adding the word THE before every mention! Please keep watching and commenting!.
Good to see The Icicle works get a mention, I went to see them in Southampton in the mid 80's but unfortunately they cancelled the gig at the last minute so I never did get too see them.
That's a shame, but I believe Ian McNabb is about to embark on another tour and I hear his solo shows are pretty outstanding. Thanks for taking part and I hope you'll stick around for more. Cheers!
I have heard of some of the people you’ve mentioned but of all those you’ve mentioned, it was the Screaming Blue Messiahs that should have really made it big. As a teenager, I only saw them once on tv, doing Wild Blue Yonder, ****ing brilliant. But never caught them again, that lack of tv airplay is why they failed to hit the heights not a lack of talent.
Definitely not a lack of talent. But I don't think they help themselves to be huge because if you listen to a lot of the lyrics they would be unplayable on the radio. But even so, they should've been much bigger than they were. Thanks for taking part and please keep watching. Cheers!
@@JimDriver thanks to RU-vid ( and yourself) I get to see performances that, as you say, wouldn’t get an airing. One of my favourite albums in my collection is Neither Washington Nor Moscow, The Redskins,but until recent years, I’d never seen the videos or tracks performed live. Keep your good work up ❤️
Listening to Blurt was certainly a challenge! Way too oddball and a bit clever clever to appeal to a mass audience. Would love to see you feature the likes of That Petrol Emotion, Win, The Loft, Blue Aeroplanes, Eddie & Sunshine, Felt, Paul Haig/Josef K, Gang of Four, The Higsons, Sudden Sway etc etc in future videos in this series! All great bands who never quite reached their full potential in my opinion.
Did you listen to Down in the Argentine on the playlist I posted in the description and top of the comments? That's the song that really became an earworm with me. Thanks for your comments and for watching. Please stick around and do it all again!
Thanks for the great suggestions. I've added a few to my lists! Just to let you know, I did feature that petrol emotion in my recent video about the demolition of the cricketer.
I'm sure I saw Jazz Butcher at the White Lion pub in Putney sometime around 1985. Saw the Cardiacs twice between 1985 and 1987 and The Icicle Works played the old Whitelands College, West Hill, Putney around 1986 - great show that ended in a rousing cover of Pretty Vacant!
Shame that Cardiacs' pic was used because they most certainly aren't forgotten. Not to their fans who are some of the most dedicated and diehard fans of any band going. I saw them live back in the late 80's at The Venue in London and was hooked ever since. If someone is looking for a real, pure, genuine genius by anyone's definition, backed up by virtuoso level brilliant musicians, look no further that Tim Smith and the rest of the band. This post should really be titled ' British bands who never received the accolades they thoroughly deserved'.
Thanks for that, but remind me not to put you in charge of my search optimisation. The titles are written as they are to entice as many people as possible to watch, which is why there structured as they are at the same time, I do try and keep them factually accurate. As the video is not just about cardiacs, I'm pretty sure 99% of people watching have forgotten or never heard of at least one of those bands. But thanks for taking part and please keep watching! Cheers!
Saw The Screaming Blue Messiahs at The Roadmender, Northampton. My mate's band were supporting (Magnolia Siege). Gotta say was the loudest, sweatiest gig I have ever been to. Also had many a mutual friend that were close to Pat Fish, being based in Northampton.
Great cool! I didn't have much to do with him personally, but I'll certainly try and include them in the future video. Thanks for watching and for commenting. Cheers!
I suppose I was very lucky because I saw every show for free and got paid to do it. It doesn't get better than that, does it? Thanks for commenting and I hope you're going to stick around to watch more videos. Cheers!
Nice to see the cardiacs get a mention Jim....'Is the the life' what a choon!!!, part of my eighties life soundtrack relevant to a very interesting time in my life, whenever I hear it the memories come flooding back, it will remain one of my favourite all time singles ...that said, I really couldn't get into anything else they did, to quirky for me, intellectual rock....IMO they never topped Is this the life Jim did you ever put my old mates band, Buddy Curtis and the grasshoppers on anywhere?
@@JimDriver we were going to see them one night at the cricketers, met Gags in the cafe in the morning, he told us they weren't playing there...they were playing the R.A.H support Roy Orbison on an 8 date tour instead!!!....Gags brother was in a pub and overheard someone say that Orbisons support band had let him down and they were in schtook....'you need a band mate?, I'll get you a band' And off they went....great band, nice fellas, maybe a linited audience and life span...but I like em Bob Young started managing them, then it all went pair shaped sadly
All these bands were on my radar and have records by all of them except Cardiacs for some weird reason, actually got the Icicle Works box set last year as don't have a deck to play my vinyl on atmo and can't actually go too long without listening to Evangeline and Understanding Jane.
Ah, the much lamented Astoria - saw quite a lot of bands there, over the years (principally 90s into the 00s) - there and the Marquee, when it resided on Charing Cross Road! None of those you've mentioned, however. Keep up the good work!
Thank you very much for the kind words! Yes, there was a lot of great music around back then and we were very lucky that we could be around and part of it all. Cheers!
Blurt's drummer, Jake, Ted's brother, lives round the corner from me in Walthamstow! I know him and his wife Gloria. (Who dated Bryan Ferry once upon a time).
Jim, please put our more vids covering little known bands. I did not know any in this film. I will now be looking on the net for more information,the musicians looked quite groovy.
Thanks! I will certainly do my best. I find it thrilling that I can share the fantastic music I have had the fortune to experience in my lifetime. I realise I am so lucky. Please keep watching and please keep commenting.
Thank you very much for your positive comment. It really does make it all worthwhile. Please keep watching and I assure you blurt will remain on my playlist until the day I die. (Wasn't that an Eric Clapton quote?) Cheers!
Agree with you up to a point with The Icicle Works, however when it comes to the Mercury Music Prize, also losing out that year were Pulp with His 'n Hers. I remember being gutted when that album lost out to M People. There are more Lightning Seeds link to the Icicle Works. McNabb also wrote with them and their drummer Chris Sharrock was the Lightning Seeds' drummer when they started gigging. Ian Broudie also produced the Icicle Works. Later Icicle Works drummers Zac Starkey and Matthew Priest also played with The Lightning Seeds for a time, although I think Priest may have been a one off gig. Zac Starkey was Chris Sharrock's replacement.
As for 'turning into just a guitar band' in the 90s - not really, Tim kept all the bells and whistles going live via a meticulously recorded synched tape and while it wasn't quite as mindblowing as the percussion/keys/sax days it was still mindblowing. Are you sure you've heard 'Sing To God' - the magnum opus released in 1996? Their crowd dropped in the late 90s until the internet kicked in and the useless music press could be circumvented and by 2003 were selling out the main Astoria
Thanks for an excellent and knowledgeable comment. I did know about the tapes Tim made and used for the later live shows, but essentially, (for me) the live experience is as visual as aural. Let's agree to differ… 😎 Cheers!
Icicle Works debut is one of my all time favorite albums. Ian’s solo stuff is good too, I follow him on Facebook and what can you say about Cardiacs? Great band.
Thanks for watching (and for the compliment!) and for sharing your memories of those amazing bands. I hope you keep watching and commenting. Thanks again!
Ya The Cardiacs saw them a few times Notting Hill The Hammersmith Klubfoot couldn't get on their wavelength (I will leave it at that) But The icicle works were awesome Saw them Many times in the 80s Saw Ian McNabb once did a Solo gig in a cellar on the corner of Tottenham court Road, a great musician and tune Smith understanding Jane is a timeless slice of modern Rock N Roll brilliant Band.
Great stuff, love Blurt and The Jazz Butcher. Icicle Works should have been bigger, but same goes for the Comsat Angels and The House of Love. Early Screaming Blue Messiahs rocks much harder than that silly Flintstone song. Hadn't heard about the Cardiacs before, so cheers!
Thank you very much for kind words and for commenting generally. Always great to get feedback and hear what other people think. It really was a fantastic time for Music and I can consider myself so lucky to have been part of it with those brilliant artists. Thanks again and please keep watching and commenting. Cheers!
Check out Cardiacs "Fairytales from the Rotten Shed" on RU-vid... you will never see the world in the same light again. It's just Cardiacs by the way, not the Cardiacs (excuse a pedantic old git his eccentricities). Your welcome.
They're still going. I did see somewhere there about to go on tour (I may have dreamt that) do a search for the blurt website: that definitely still exists. Cheers!
Comsat Angels from Sheffield were another band that should have had more success I also saw a lot of early UB40 at the Lafayette in Wolverhampton but around the same time another reggae band Weapon Of Peace were playing They were more "roots reggae" & probably less commercial but in my opinion were as good as if not better than UB40
I think I saw a weapon of peace (hoping I'm not confusing them with weapon of destiny) and I do remember that they were really good. Lots of great music happening at that time. Thanks for some great examples!
Hi Jim - re; Ted Milton/Blurt = 100% agreed. What an amazing live band! Ted has been working with Graham Lewis (Wire / He Said / etc.) in *Elegaic* for a few years now - Cannot recommend them enough! Have a look/listen/maybe even purchase a record or a d/load on the *ELEGIAC* Bandcamp page. Brilliant! all the very best from JPN, Cheers!
Yes, stomp were another band that played at the cricketer. They didn't really strike me in the same way as cardiacs or several of the other bands in this video, but that's just me. We all have different taste and I tend to remember some incidents and not others. Thanks for taking the time to comment and for watching. Cheers!
I know two past members of the Jazz Butcher, but then everyone in London probably does, they had so many members (I just checked their wikki page)! Paul Mulreany and Dave Morgan if thats Rockingbirds Dave Morgan!
I think it was a testament to Pat Fish that very few people knew who was in the band because of the live show every I was on him. That's not to say that the musician weren't brilliant, it's just a fact. Thanks for sharing all that please keep watching. Cheers!
Forgive me if I'm going a bit off topic with this one. A rock band who should have been bigger and never spoken about today is Budgie. Ok, they were never going to be major stars, but imho they were better than bands like Judas Priest and Saxon, who both had more success.
The studio live take of Budgie's 'Breadfan' on RU-vid has notched up nearly 8 million views, with 85,000 likes... they never took off here in the UK, but as one of Cardiff's finest exports, they did well elsewhere in Europe (similar to Swansea's 'Man' who got popular in the US)... Welsh rock bands were rarely promoted well, so It's highly likely that the dreadful Metallica are partly responsible for the bulk of all those RU-vid views, as they did a cover of 'Breadfan'. RIP Burke Shelley (1950 -2022), the fine bassist and vocalist with Budgie.
@@Richiemun Thanks for your reply. It might sound a trivial point, but I don't think the name of the band was a good one for a metal band. More suited to a clean-cut 70's pop group than a metal band. As much as you hate Metallica, it's a good name for a rack band. So too were Saxon, Judas Priest and many others. Those kinds of band names fit the image of metal bands, look cool on t-shirts and posters etc.
Back in the late 1960s when I was growing up in Pembrokeshire, the local rugby club held fundraising dances at Queens Hall Narbeth and budgie were very often the star attraction of those nights, often when a bigger name such as (for example) Jimi Hendrix or cream had cancelled. So, they never really were my top go-to Welsh band, I'm afraid. Plus, I've never really seen the need for heavy metal or hard rock except in a very few instances. Please forgive me for my sacrilege and I hope you'll keep watching, regardless of my bad taste!
@@JimDriver Thanks for your reply Jim. You might be surprised by my post but I'm not actually a fan of Budgie. I recently just happened to watch a random video which popped up on RU-vid and it made me think back about why they never made it here in the UK when to my ears their music was as least as good as some rock bands which did make it. I don't recall ever seeing them on top of the pops or hearing them on the radio either, but for a while I seem to remember there was a bit of a buzz/hype about them potentially being a big band in the UK. Why they didn't make it is what interested me. ps. I will of course continue to watch your videos. Enjoy them a lot. Keep up the good work.🙂
I always thought Clock DVA would be big especially after releasing the album "Thirst" in 1981. Sadly the split up after that. I also liked The The who never quite made it big.
A great third gig! I have very fond memories of Pat Fish and the Jazz butcher. Thanks for taking part and I hope you're going to stick around for more. Cheers!
Screaming Blue Messiahs great band, saw them a couple of times, did you ever have any experience with the Sid Presley Experience or the Godfathers Jim, another amazing British band, that sadly went under most folks blinkered mainstream Radar!
Wish I had something like SBM to play when I was 16 or 17. Back then it was all CSN&Y, Hendrix and The Beatles, stuff like that… 😀 The 60s 70s and 80s were great for music, weren't they? Thanks for commenting . Please stick around for more.!
Another top video, thanks Jim. Four out of five in my collection. I don't remember Blurt, I'll have to check them out- they sound intriguing. Sorry to be pedantic, but Jim Smith was the bassist in the Cardiacs, not the guitarist. 😉
That's very kind of you to say so. Thank you! Blurt remain one of my favourite bands of all time. I forgot to mention what Eric Clapton said about him in his autobiography. Next time, perhaps 😀
I'll get a felt-tip pen and write "THE" on everything. Then it will be THE Cardiacs. Thanks for the correction. and please keep watching : I've probably made loads more gaffs along the way. To be honest, (genuinely) I have a penchant for adding a "the" to band names: I even call "The The", The The The. 🤓😄 Cheers!
