Sussed Magazine #2

a user’s guide to modernism

Issue #002 €4.00

Inside....

YOUNG BIRDS FLY Mod auteur Leonardo Flores speaks and we review YBF RESOUL Previewing the new E.P. LONTANO RECORDS Label profile & Vibe Creators LAMBRETTA -v- VESPA Heavyweight clash of giants NEW RELEASES A Round up of current 7s

....and much more

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FOR MODERNISTS BY MODERNISTS

ssue number 2. its hardly a milestone but its an important notch in the Sussed belt. After the feedback we had for issue 1 there was a niggling doubt in my mind that we could keep the standard high. I guess the initial release of any mag is always going to be a big hitter, full of enthusiasm of the new and free of the realisation of the enormity of the task ahead maintaining the standard. Having lived with the mags contents for the past two months, chasing contributors, interviewing bands, label owners, Faces and fans i very much believe that we have surpassed issue 1. But that’s really for you to decide....

The contents speak for themselves, Sussed sits in on a recording session with Irish band ReSoul, we feature Spanish band The Vibe Creators and French groovemeisters TowerBrown and review some bloody good new releases. On a retro vibe there are articles on BooGaloo, Jazz and the importance of the Jamaican influence of Mod fashions and music. Fiona Dennison gives us a girls view on Mod and list of female movers and shakers and Dandy and Polly run through the things they love. All of this anchored by an interview with Leornardo Flores and we cast an eye over his feature length movie young Birds Fly. There are a few other pieces for you to discover. Keep the feedback and suggestions coming [seosaimhm@gmail.com].

Issue 3 is already being planned and is shaping up to be a good one, but you'll have to take my word for it....

FEATURES 4 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 24 25 27 31 32

RENAISSANCE MAN Hugh Burns talks to Sussed THE JUNCTION Club profiles

THEY CALL IT MODNESS The influence of Ska RESOUL This months featured home grown talent WE LIKE IT LIKE THAT A guide to Boogaloo EDITOR’S CHOICE Joe’s Boogaloo choices

LONTANO RECORDS Spanish Mod label’s founder gives us a one to one THE VIBE CREATORS Lontano’s finest get the Sussed treatment KEEP ON BURNING Northern Soul and the Pop video

TOWER BROWN talk Hully Gully, Uncle Willie and Slow Blues LA MOD FEMININE Fiona Dennison’s style icons DANDY AND POLLY Their favourite things

WIDE EYED GIRL ON THE WALL A personal account of meeting a hero YOUNG BIRDS FLY Sussed get the exclusive

LEONARDO FLORES The man himself talks YBF

EVENT REVIEW & A MOD LIFE IN SHOES Glasgow Weekender & Kev talks shoes EDITOR’S CHOICE Ray’s Jazz choices

LAMBRETTA -v-VESPA Clash of giants

STOP THE PRESSES Mod mags and fanzines doing the rounds REVIEWS New releases

Sussed is brought to you by Joe Moran and Ray Gilligan.

Contributors: Dave Barry, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Polly & Dandy, Marty McAllister, Edel O’Sullivan, Hugh Burns If you’d like to contribute to future issues or have your band or club featured or just to let us know what you think contact: email: seosaimhm@gmail.com. Postal address is 4 haydens park grove, Lucan Co. Dublin. https://www.facebook.com/susseddublin

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enaissance man Hugh Burns is one of the most respected and clued-in Modernists this island has produced. Sussed is delighted that he took the time to share with us his genesis. De Rigueur sense of style and a hopeless love of all things Mod we believe makes Hugh one of the last true ‘Faces’...

As someone who grew up in a household that bristled with creativity, it’s always exciting to come across another who is not content to be a consumer but is driven to produce. Belfasts Hugh Burns is one such individual. Words by Hugh Burns and Joe Moran.

JM: So Hugh tell us about your early life in Belfast?

HB: I was born into a council house in Silverstream Ave into a family of 5 sisters and 4 brothers and another little brother soon to follow, in 1965. So altogether there were 10 siblings and being the second youngest I was always seeking attention from my parents. I still live in the area just below Silverstream Ave with my two boys and wife Debs.

You were surrounded by Mods when growing up weren’t you?

My two older brothers (Bill and Robert ) were both Mods in the 60s, so was my oldest sister Anne. Bill later played drums with Van

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Morrison in ‘Them’ for 6 months or so until Van kicked him out for showing off, he was supposed to do a one minute drum solo during gigs, but every night it got longer and when he reached the 3 minute mark Van had had enough and sacked him. Due to my brothers I have grown up with the likes of The Beatles, The Stones, The Kinks, The Who, Spencer Davies Group and The Small Faces to name but a few that were playing in the household, all of which my elder brothers had seen live when they played Belfast, much to my envy!

So what turned you on to the Mod thing?

I later discovered around 1978 my own Mod band along with thousands of other kids my age. That band was The Jam. They were really talking about subjects that other bands were simply skimming past, that subject being my life. I remember being into them from a very young age and thinking I was the only one into them, well me and my older friend who got me into them in the first place. He was really into the punk thing but I didn’t really go for the

punk look but I did love the records and the energy of it al, but when I bought ‘All Mod Cons’ I was really blown away, especially by ‘Down In the Tube Station at Midnight’ , what a record!

My older but the youngest of my sisters, May, was also turning Mod at the same time as me.

She was going out with one of the Tigers Bay Mods who were the ‘faces’ in my eyes. She and Danny her boyfriend were a big Influence on me, playing me records from the latest Mod bands and of course from bands of the 60s which I had heard all those years ago being played by my older brothers, it all started to make sense!

Most Mods don’t make the transition from listening to music to producing music but you did and The Blarimaynes were born

I have always loved music and wanted to play an instrument form a very young age. I played the recorder and the violin at school like many kids did, but it’s not Rock’n’Roll is it? As soon as my friend got a guitar and said “lets form a

band!” I was there, “no problem!”. The band was The Blairmaynes which existed from 1989 - 1991, we were told later by Local DJ (and massive fan of the band ) Johnny Hero that we should have been as big as Oasis as they more or less had the same vibe and sound as we did. We thought we were more like The Stone Roses meets Sly and the family stone.

A music journalist got it right by saying we were like The Stiff little fingers meets Sly and the Family Stone.

So what was the line up?

I was going to sing at first but we needed another Instrument so I picked up a bass and learnt it as quickly as I possibly could. We messed about with a few drummers but no one had that vibe we were after, we then auditioned for a Singer/Rhythm guitarist and found one. After that we needed a permanent drummer, unable to find a drummer I asked my younger brother Norman to come along to practice one night and just keep time behind us, although within minutes of trying the drums out for the very first time he wasn’t just keeping time he was moving us and doing drum rolls and everything! (Showing off, just like my big brother did with Van the man). So he was in and 6 weeks later we played our first gig as a support slot in Belfast’s Limelight Club and we went down a treat.

It’s a bit of understatement to say you went down a treat – wasn’t there a contract on the table at one point?

The second gig we did we headlined and a well known record company (CBS) had come up especially to see us and wanted to sign us on the spot, however being only our second gig our lead guitarist didn’t think we were ready so we declined. I was not happy as the record company obviously thought we were ready!

But like most bands you eventually split up and you took a hiatus from the music scene.

Yes, after the Blairmaynes split I then took 5 years away from music to bring up my first child Andrew (who is now also a drummer and playing in bands).

At the end of this hiatus you started your second band how did that come about?

It wasn’t until I met a new breed of Mods coming through the scene that myself and my good friend Joe Curley (Lead Guitar) decided to get a band together, ‘The Cinnamon Firm’ (formed 97 – broke up 99) would be the name.

Around this time I won Wellers Rickenbacker 330 in a competition so I switched instruments and went on to the rhythm guitar. I knew a few chords so that was enough to write a few songs and I was also doing the lead vocal.

So who were the personnel in TCF?

Curley and I got fellow Mod Mr Michael Dennison (or ‘Denny’ to his friends) in on the Hammond keyboard and good friend Patrick Johnston in on drums and on Bass was Jeff Lynas. We played our first gig after 6 rehearsals to support a friends band The 31s, it went well but unfortunately our bass Player Jeff Lynas left shortly afterwards. We quickly

got Kieran McCann in to fill his place and a few weeks later Jim Reilly (former drummer of Stiff Little Fingers) came to see the band and offered to manage us. Late in 1998 Patrick left and we replaced him with my brother Norman from Thee Dreggs and formerly of The Blairmaynes just in time for the New Years Eve gig in Dublin.

You quickly built up a local following in Belfast

We frequently played at The Creature Club in Vico’s in Brunswick Street (a jazz and soul café), it was the only Mod Club in town then and it was buzzing. It wasn’t exclusively mods as there was really only about a dozen of us Belfast Mods back then, nevertheless the place was full to capacity of like-minded people digging our vibe and scene..

TCF was certainly held in high esteem by those who heard the set including some well known faces? Tell us the story of the Dublin sojourn for you and Joe where you met some of these fans?

Our manager, Jim Reilly, was great friends with Paul Weller through gigging with The Jam in the 80s. Jim had set up a secret meeting between me, Joe and Weller. I never thought that I would ever hear the words from Paul Weller’s dad John “Hugh, Joe, my son wants to meet you’s!” Myself and Joe got to spend about two hours with the Modfather plus Noel Gallagher, Matt Deighton and Paolo Hewitt after the gig he did with The Fun Loving Criminals and RUN DMC at the Point in 1998 in Dublin. As you would imagine we talked about Mod most of the time. Noel was hilarious and Weller was an absolute gentleman, they even formed a line to shake our hands as we left and they treated us as if we were the stars, unbelievable night that was.

Afterwards we went back to The Clarence Hotel. We met The Edge at the Weller gig because the Edge had spotted Jim Reilly and he came over to say hello, it was the Stiffs that gave U2 there first support slot and so he invited us back to his hotel were Weller was staying that night, but Weller didn’t show so we spent the night with the Fun Loving Criminals and Belfast’s very own superstar DJ /ex Belfast Mod David Holmes (Homer) who bought us drink all night, the craic was mighty I have to say.

So TCF split up what happened after that?

My third band ‘The Keepers’ formed in 1999 from the ashes of The Cinnamon Firm and Thee Dreggs and lasted until 2007. Again I was on rhythm guitar and lead vocals with Willy Stitt on bass and occasional lead vocals, Bob martin on lead Guitar and my brother Norman Burns on drums .

Slight change in musical direction with this band wasn’t it?

We played loud trashy 60s garage inspired songs mostly written by myself and Willy.

The Keepers was the most viable of the bands you were in with two albums released and some dates on the continent?

Yes, we released a 7” single through the Spanish Butterfly Records label which is

unavailable now as there were only 500 copies printed, so it’s now a collector’s item, we also had a few other releases through compilations and an E.P by an Italian company. We enjoyed playing the cavern club in Liverpool frequently and our European dates were, well what happens in Europe stays in Europe. We also released two albums on our own label Vibrator Records and just as we were about to record our 3rd album, we broke up. The recordings from this were distributed to a few friends under the title ‘unfinished jams’.

However this was never released to the public.

I wouldn’t mind hearing that unreleased stuff sometime. So The Keepers Break up in 2007 and rather that sit around you head off in another direction?

By the time The Keepers broke up I had another little boy named Leon and I had enough of playing in bands so I threw myself into something absolutely different, painting.

This new hobby came about by accident, although I was always interested in artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and Mal Ramos, it was the Pop Art stuff that I really liked.

So what sparked the jump from consumer to producer? What started you painting?

I was looking on the internet for some art to purchase when I realized that original art can be expensive, so I decided I would have a go myself.

Have you a background in Art or art appreciation?

I have an O Level in art that’s all, I never went to art college or studied it properly but I reckoned I could knock up something decent enough to hang on my wall .

Without wishing to sound disparaging, you then started knocking out Mod themed canvases?

I painted a Roger Daltery image that was taken from the Richard Barnes Mods book, it turned out alright and it wasn’t long before people got to see my work and started asking me to paint something for them, it started as friends mostly but when I put them up on face book it just took off, people from all over the place wanted stuff done, orders came from America, Italy and as far away as Australia. The most popular were the Peggy Moffitt (stripey face), George Best and Michael Caine.

So for a period of 3 years you were very focused on the painting and had a large output?

I must have painted around 150 paintings over a period of 3 years some of which I didn’t even get a photo of, ah well...

So what’s the next step in Hugh Burns journey?

Unfortunately I don’t paint anymore due to a number of reasons. I have a full time job and a young family so my energies go mostly into that. Plus the fact that my Studio is bunged with children’s toys leaves me with nowhere to sit down, get the canvas out and lose myself in the process. I haven’t painted in the last two years but its something I intend getting back to.

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the junction

Each edition the junction will focus on two Irish clubs.

Hoping to bring profile to each club, we give the run down on music policy, dress codes (if any) and the kind of cats you’d expect to see down there. This issue focuses on For Dancers Only and Sunday Social, one an established rare Soul and R&B night, the other a fledgling monthly Mod alldayer. Each equally deserving of a mention and of course your consideration...

sunday DANCERS social only for

For Dancers Only is a Rhythm & Blues/ Soul

Club based in Wexford for the last eight years. The original idea was just to have a club where we could have a few friends down, play some records and have a few beers and a dance. There were no other clubs in Ireland playing the early R&B / Mod sounds that we love so much...

The club was started by Bill & Sandra Kealy with Mary & Dave O’Connor who were soon joined by Ray O Reilly. Over the years we have had many venue changes like most clubs but this had only added to the adventure.

From day one we have had an original vinyl only policy and we are lucky enough to have had some of the finest djs in Ireland, the UK and Europe come and play for us....Highlights include Neil Henderson, Frank Popp, Roger Banks , Andy Pollard, Alfredo Maddaloni, Niamh Lynch, Jamie Parr, Jimmy & Luis Soulful, Geoff Swallow, Steve Cato plus of course a host of home grown talent who are always more than a match for our foreign counterparts.

Our music policy is R&B and Early Soul but we have always had a mix of Latin, Ska and Popcorn thrown in for good measure.

There has also never been any kind of dress code but we find that people do make the effort and dress up for the night. There is nothing better than a room full of well dressed people dancing to the music that they love.

Over the last couple of years we have had a few joint nights with Sleepless Nights Soulclub in Dublin and these have been pretty successful so hopefully we can continue this into the future...

5 plays at the moment:

Marry Clayton - I’VE GOT MY EYES ON YOU Mary Ann Fisher - PUT ON MY SHOES Danny Owens - YOU’RE A LITTLE TOO LATE Jimmy Dee - IF IT WASN’T FOR PRIDE Mack Starr - DOWN BY THE WATERHOLE

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Sunday Social was established in 2011 by Mark

Sherlock. At the start it was, as the name suggests, merely a meeting place for like minded mates to hook up and play their latest vinyl purchases to each other over a few drinks and a giggle. It quickly gathered momentum and has now morphed into a monthly Mod alldayer with resident DJ’s, guests, clothes and record stalls and live acts.

It’s located in the plush surroundings of the Grand Social venue at Dublin’s H’Apenny Bridge and kicks off at 4:00pm last Sunday of the month. Music policy is quite varied but it still retains a Mod sensibility. Resident DJ’s Mark Sherlock, Shane Walsh, Lisa Moore and Ray Gilligan spin their faves from Soul to Latin, Raregroove to Jazz, Psych to Pop and everything in between. As well as the resident Social crew there are monthly guests.

The Atmosphere is friendly with the emphasis here being on having a good time, but some chin rubbbing over records does go on with the usual queries of ‘who’s that?’ and ‘what label’s that on?’ commonplace. The laid back atmosphere and approachability of all involved allows punters to bring along some records and jump up and play. We’re more than happy to try and accomodate anyone who’d like to give their records an airing.

In the main venue there are bands playing during the day... most noteably we’ve had The Strypes and Resoul playing brilliant sets recently and this adds an extra dimension to the overall vibe.

There are record stalls too and some right bargains to be had!

Gillian Long from ‘Cock of the Walk’ tailors does monthly measurings for anyone who fancys getting kitted out in a new suit or a pair of strides.

Be warned though, attendees of the Sunday Social will testify that sore heads of a Monday morning are a given!

If you fancy spinning a few sounds, shifting records or clothes contact Mark Sherlock at marksherlock1@gmail.com

they call it

MODNESS

Ska and Mod have always been tethered, from the early 6t’s influence of the original Rude Boy style to the later breakaway ‘Hard Mod’ movement giving way to the early Skinheads. Jamaican Ska aficionado and DJ Dave Barry tells the tale of Ska’s influence on a young Mod finding his feet and it’s burgeoning impact on Modernism that remains to this day... the door policies in many night clubs and pubs, forcing the Jamaican community to create their own entertainment nights called Blues parties or Shebeens. (The name Shebeen comes from the Irish word sibín and was possibly taken from the new found comradery with the Irish immigrants - No Dogs - No Irish - No Blacks).

l

ittle did I know, back in the late 80s, when I bought Intensified Ska vol one on cassette tape, popped it into the player of my Mother’s Fiesta, and began slapping my Prince of Wales check legs to the pulsating Ska sound of Roland Alphonso (El Pussy Cat), that I was following in the footsteps of the original Mod.

Luckily there were a few Soundsystem operators knocking about, playing the latest sounds popular in Jamaica - notably Count Suckie who moved to the UK in 1952 and who DJ’d for Tom Sebastian the greatest of the first Sound System operators in Jamaica. Mods began frequenting traditional West Indian nightspots, such as The Roaring Twenties in Carnaby Street and Count Suckie's "Q" Club in Paddington, to hear more of this music, as well as to take

E OF L Y T S ARLY TO ‘THE E R A L IMI S Of course the Modernist movement had WAS A already been established by the time the JA K S OPULAR influence entered the frame. Writer Graham P Y D A E R Lentz dates the roots of mod back to 1949 and THE AL

Miles Davis’s Birth Of Cool. However the stylish Kingston Rude Boys who flooded into London in the late 50s and early 60s certainly had an influence on style and music. By 57/58 the West Indian communities had been in England quite a while and to a varied welcome. Racism was rife and the unemployed, and sometimes undereducated, Teddy Boy youth cult were all too easily convinced of blacks ‘takin their jobs’.

Racist attacks by these youths were commonplace. The racism often extended to

R&B PLAYED AT THE TIME’

Georgie Fame outside the Flamingo

note of how the Jamaican youths dressed.

Some 'uptown' clubs had a looser door policy and some adventurous West Indian youths used to venture out to them. Clubs such as The Scene, The Flamingo and the Tiles in London's Oxford Street. As Jeffery Kruger, owner of the famous Flamingo Club in London writes: “The all nighter sessions were predominately black, but they were black GIs and the Jamaicans playing bluebeat music as it was before reggae. They were well dressed and they would bring in from time to time, records to play between (bands) setting up.”

The Mods at the time frequented the Jazz club that closed at 11.30pm. However with the popular acts in the black clubs, wider range of music, and weed, the earlier clubbers were seduced and the two groups began to merge exposing the ‘lower class Dandy’ to Jamaican styles and sounds. It was not just in the clubs that the young Mod would have been exposed to these styles. Huge Jamaican communites had been established by the early 60s alongside working class whites which made a certain rapport possible. Trilby hats, also known as 'Bluebeat hats' (not Pork Pie hats as later media would have you believe) could now be seen on the UK mod, a nod to his new West Indian neighbor. That said the

Kinstonian Rudeboy likely fashioned his own style from US gangster movies creating a rather unique look of their own. That was the trait of the original mod - always moving forward. The newest thing around at the moment was Blue Beat and Rudeboy fashion and which the Mods lapped up with gusto. The early style of ska was similar to the already popular R&B played at the time with the accent on the off beat Cecil Campbell AKA rather than the Prince Buster ‘on’ beat. A big influence and example of the style the Jamaican musicians tried to emulate is Luis Jordan’s 'Caledonia'.

This similarity made a ska record fit right in to the Mods record box.

Big JA names began playing London clubs like Derrick Morgan, Eric Morris, the Folks Bros and the giant of Blue Beat Prince Buster. Such was his standing with the young London Mods that anytime he hit town he would get an escort of shiny chrome clad vespas. UK acts were picking up on the new craze too. Georgie Fame’s first EP was even titled ‘Blue Beat’ with a cover version of Prince Buster’s ‘Madness’.

Georgie Fame once recalled: “There were only a handful of hip young white people that used to go to The Flamingo. When I first went there as a punter I was scared. Once I started to play there, it was no problem.”

One of the attractions this music had for Mods was that it was exclusive to the smaller and virtually unknown labels. Exclusivity was everything. Such labels, namely Melodisc (Blue Beat) and R&B, sprang up to cater for the new mod taste and to cash in on their disposable income. R&B even put out a ska number by Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames called 'Orange Street'after the famous music street in Kingston, Jamaica. The style began to change slightly too even within the Jamaican influence. Mods of lesser means made do with practical clothing styles that suited their lifestyle and employment circumstances: work boots or army boots, straight-leg jeans or StaPrest trousers, button-down shirts, and braces.

When possible, these working class mods spent their money on suits and other sharp outfits to wear at dancehalls, where they enjoyed soul, ska, bluebeat and rocksteady music. This was the beginning of the ‘Hard Mod’ which eventually would become known as the original reggae loving Skinhead but that is another story....

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Sussed gatecrashed a recent recording session which found the Resoul at that overdub premastering stage. The immediate impression they make upon meeting them is one of honesty. Not bogged down with living up to something they’re not and clearly having no desire to, they strike you with an instant charm, wit, politeness, and above all, talent....

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he first time I’d encountered Resoul was the Summer of 2011 when they played support to a band I served my apprenticeship with in the early 9ts. At this point no one had heard, and most hadn’t even heard of, Resoul. They played acoustic that night and they made quite an impact on everyone in attendance. I was later to find out the acoustic set wasn’t planned but out of necessity due to being let down by their bass player at the eleventh hour (an occurrence that Resoul have become quite accustomed to... more on that later). You’d never guess it was unplanned. The performance was flawless, they looked good, and most importantly, their songs definitely had something about them. Acoustic sets are invariably singer songwriters on a self-indulgent ramble singing about love and little else remotely relative. This mob were different. They were saying yes pop music can be played on acoustic guitar, yes these pop songs can be your own, and yes it’s okay to dress well and look good with one in your hands.

For that one night they’d hijacked the acoustic guitar back off the hippies. But make no mistake, although they could do it in their sleep, this is not an acoustic band.

They’ve no time for being dispassionate either.

They know their strengths and they’re not afraid to show them off with aplomb. This recording session gives way to a three track release (possibly four) due out around late August/early September. The format(s) of the pending release is a bit up in the air at the moment.

Possibly an initial itunes release of the lead track ‘Shitkickers Ball’ but they seem pretty definite about a subsequent vinyl EP release.

Although, admittedly, they come from that CD generation it doesn’t appear to be an option for Resoul. Ultimately it’s limited edition vinyl or nothing. You’ve got to commend them on this single-mindedness. We got access to some of the tracks from this recording session (six in all) so let’s give the breakdown of a couple.... It’s quite easy to see why they’re leading with ‘Shitkickers Ball’. For a start it clocks in at 3 minutes 10 seconds and rhythmically would instantly put me in mind of the Kinks Well Respected Man but retaining a riff driven rock sensibility. From the opening four bars it’s pretty evident to see where Resoul are coming from.

A pretty dynamite riff giving way to eight bars of an understated verse to only allow the riff back in to take centre stage. This continues to a dynamic bridge and then the ‘whoa whoa’ led chorus chant of ‘Shitkickers Ball’. Torch songs appear to be this crowd’s forte. Apparently the song is about the minefield that was going to local dances in the 8ts. Heads would be kicked in at the dance, but everyone is happy to share the same bus on the way home. A phenomenon that Deco (singer/lyricist) found outlandish, to the point of having to write a song about it, but one which seemed perfectly normal to me as a teenager. After having played devil’s advocate for a bit and given them a right grilling at length on the song title and the likelihood of it getting airplay with that title Sussed was quickly told, in

no uncertain terms, to fuck off. No compromise here. And rightly so we say. Deco: ‘It’s only a word...I wouldn’t be into fucking changing it.... I don’t want to go in with the white flag up already’. Some subtle laid on thick backing vocals add to this too, so subtle that you’d need to be told they’re there.

The Getaway: A bone of contention this one.

Resoul seem a little unsure as to whether this should be the lead song on the EP. We let them argue among themselves over it for a minute... It’s a cracking tune no doubt. By all accounts some time was spent on the intro to this, and it shows. Siren subsides to backward guitar... heavy bass and drums while guitar sounding like it’s literally bleeding to death kicks this little cracker in. Straight away, the bass is the star here. Vocal seems only too happy to take a back seat for a minute. Resoul seem to have a knack for allowing a song to breathe. Builds up to a chorus which seems to implore the listener. Is it possible for the listener to add validity to the band’s voice? A fair question to ask, and one which Resoul do very well.

Straight away, the elephant in the room rears its big grey head... The obvious comparisons are questioned... No bother to Resoul really this one. They appear to be waiting for us to ask them, and they hasten to add it’s not really a question they’re pissed off about... they’re more than happy to address it. The Who, Kinks, Beatles are obvious influences on this mob but they’re not shy to admit that their initial influences are English 9ts Pop which led them on a journey back through Pop history. I reiterate the word ‘honesty’ here. It would be dead obvious to shirk off comparisons to Oasis, Stone Roses, Ocean Colour Scene, The LA’s, Paul Weller, et al, but Resoul don’t do that.

Quite the opposite they embrace these influences and wear them proudly on their sleeves. Personally I’m delighted that at last someone has piped up and admitted to a love of these bands. Although not bands I’d personally listen to on a weekly basis, they’re still fine pop bands in their own right and clearly have made an impact on kids’ lives in their own way. Any band (apart from heavy metal shite) in my opinion, that can inspire a kid to pick up a guitar is alright by me. Plus they offer a time tunnel for the uninformed to discover guitar pop from the 6ts and 7ts, leading into the 8ts and eventually finding themselves full circle again back in the 9ts and up to the present date. How can that be a bad thing? Why anyone would feel denigrated by a comparison to Oasis is beyond me? As lead guitarist Mark says: ‘if you’ve picked up a guitar and played 4 chords, the chance of someone else having done it already is strong.

But what are YOU going to do with it?’

Unbreakable is a right little romp. A rally-cry.

So much so that Resoul put a promo clip together for it celebrating the Irish football team’s part in Euro 2012 (ahem... the less said about that the better). Worth checking out the

youtube clip because it also gives you a flavour of the band. A band with a love of music, personal identity, and football... and a genuine belief in what they’re doing. Resoul have a rare consciencousness about they’re songs. Upon quizzing them about the length, subject matter, sound, production values of their songs Sussed is met with an instant ‘well if that’s what the song requires that’s what gets done’. What also strikes Sussed about this band is, there’s no real fake anger here. And we were so happy to see that. Resoul don’t buy into this garbage, and yet there is an angst there with them, or a seriousness if you will. They recently played at an annual outdoor event in Dublin and were let down by their bass player yet again. They appear to channel these setbacks and frustrations quite well... Deco: ‘our sound is borne out of the frustration of being forced into playing acoustic when we don’t want to’. Their sense of comradeship is refreshing. Every band proclaims to possess it but in actual fact most bands argue like fuck. It’s obvious that Resoul have a three musketeers mentality. If you join this band you get treated well but if you’re lazy... well, I’m sure you guess the rest.

So often have they had to take to the stage as a three piece, okay they’re not particularly happy about it, but phase them?

Fuck no. This is professionalism to the ‘nth degree. Kilo isn’t particularly phased, he’s just happy for Resoul to be heard, and referring to their songs being heard involuntarily acoustic: ‘sometimes it’s like having six songs in one’.

This ain’t no namby pamby operation. We talk about ‘Serpico’... Deco: ‘the lyrics didn’t really mean anything but now when we sing it I listen to the words as I’m singing them and think there’s a bit of fucking venom in that’. To watch the accompanying video you’d be well advised to have a sick-bag at the ready. A warning is given on the video too! Regardless of that, the song itself is for me, their strongest to date. It’s an in-out two and a half minute job with a killer melody. But be warned! Have a good dinner inside you before you tackle this, because this ain’t for the faint hearted. Resoul are a fine band. What band on earth hasn’t been influenced by what’s gone before? Who’s to say one band’s influences are more valid than the next? Do certain bands deserve more credit because their influences are more in keeping with what our peers tell us is ‘cool’? So if that then, what happens to perfectly good pop bands who don’t quite fit the identikit?

recommended listening: ‘Serpico’ http://youtu.be/hUv2BL-mT0w Ain’t No Love (In This City)

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WE LIKE IT LIKE THAT

1966 New York, enter the timbale.... Sussed’s own Joe Moran gives a brief history of Boogaloo and lists his fave tunes from this short lived but beloved period.....

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he pivotal year is 1966, it’s the year that the Palladium closed its doors finally and surrendered its title as THE place for Latin music in New York. Through the fifties and into the mid sixties the Mambo and Cha-cha-cha had reigned supreme drawing in crowds from all over the Big Apple and further afield. But the crowds had moved on and it slowly declined. It was time for a shift in the Latino musical landscape.

Since the early sixties there had been some big records hitting the charts - not entirely Latin, Soul or Jazz but odd hybrids containing elements of all three.

El Watusi a strange flute and Spanish vocal recording made it big in 1962 for Ray Barretto, a year later Mongo Santamaria hit the charts with his take on Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon man infusing it with a funky conga beat and some far out (for the time) stylized vocals. It was a new sound.

The Nu Yorican kids, the first generation born on American soil, were surrounded at home by the culture of the old country but on their own street corners or at their dances they had their own music, Doo-wop first then R’n’R, R’n’B and Soul. And it was inevitable that they would take elements of all these mix it up with the traditional beats and rhythms and come up with a distinctly New York sound. It has ever been thus, the Big Apple and its citizens have always taken in influences and ideas, chewed them up and regurgitated something new always better than the sum of its parts.

And so over the next few years the music slowly almost imperceptibly moved from orthodox Latin to Latin Soul and beyond. In 1965 Joe Cuba Sextet hit the charts with the classic El Pito (I’ll never go back to Georgia). Possibly the first Boogaloo, certainly the first that charted, it was a condensed party replete with strange vocals, screams, whistles and devilish laughs – its refrain derived from Dizzy Gillespie’s Jazz opus Manteca this pretty much set the template for what was to come. It instantly smashed the charts and put the group firmly on the musical map leading to the release of their album ‘We must be doing something Right’, an album that was to directly lead to one of the biggest Boogaloo hits.

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One evening in the Palm Gardens ballroom whilst capitalizing on the success of the aforementioned 45 and LP, Jimmy Sabater pestered Joe Cuba to have the band play an idea he had, somewhat reluctantly Cuba gave in and Sabater began to expound to the group the piece he wanted them to play. The crowd was a negro crowd and for the most part the fare on offer, Chacha-cha’s and the like, tho well received was not exactly making this a night to remember. Once the group kicked off with Sabaters beat the crowd ignited with exclamations of Bi-Bi-aww BiBi, shimmying form side to side, pushing the musicians on and in that instant one of the biggest Boogaloo hits was born.

And so in 1966 in one swift almost Cambrian explosion the jump was made to Boogaloo, the bastard offspring of soul and latin music, nurtured on street corners of El Barrio and Harlem and born of the kids desire to have their own thing “Nuestra Cosa”.

This new genre, featuring Latin arrangements with elements of R’n’B and soul, was soon setting the dance floors alight all across the barrio and the radio.

It was a time of social change, a time when there was so much opportunity, there was money to go around even in the most depressed parts of the city (and East Harlem was one of the most depressed) and the kids wanted to Dance. The Boogaloo was perfect and it drew audiences from both Hispanic and black communities. Its time had come.

To truly dig the BooGaloo one only has to put “Bang Bang” onto a turntable and immediately the rich tapestry with its multitude of musical threads is laid plain before you. The piano driven intro, timbales and seemingly odd lyrics define this truly as a Latin recording but there is a discernible American flavor to it that places it no where else except New York.

Listen to Pete Bonet rip it up on his track “Puerto Rican soul” from The Odds are on LP - “I do the shing-a-ling, I do the BooGaloo". A hard hitting example of the genre. All those years of listening to radio, of jamming with black brothers from Harlem, of sitting in with legends of Latin had inexorably led to this point in time - this glorious flowering of Latin

Soul into this infectious, fun filled, hand clapping BOO-GA-LOO.

Through ‘66, ‘67 and on into ‘68 the Boogaloo dominated and for the established bandleaders it was a lean time trying to be heard over this new sound – Bubblegum Latin as one disparagingly dubbed it. Eddie Palmieri one of the most talented of the Latin musicians reluctantly recorded his own Boogaloo tune, ‘Ay Que Rico’ in ‘68, and although it’s a classic one can almost hear him sneering through the recording. If the theories are to be believed there was a concerted effort to kill off the BooGaloo - whether through jealousy or musical purity is not fully explained. What is known is that in ‘68 the train started to slow down and by 1969 Boogaloo had been superseded by Salsa.

Was there a concerted effort to kill it off? Maybe but Boogaloo was a fad and like all fads longevity is not an inherent trait. Maybe if the bandleaders had fully got behind the movement it might have lasted on into the seventies. But Musical direction is never static nor is it linear, styles will branch off the main spur and some will wither and die and others will prosper and become main spurs themselves and so Salsa hit the mainstream. And just like one can hear earlier movements of latin music in the Boogaloo, so can one hear Salsa in the Boogaloo – small little hints forcing your hips to give it that little Latin shimmy.

And as the decade turned to the seventies a new consciousness arrived, an emergent movement of Black, Brown and people power called for a new radical music soundtrack. The Boogaloo didn’t articulate outrage nor did it overtly advertise pride in ones race or culture and so as it came, it went. The music evolved and the players matured and moved on – Tony Pabon lead singer with Pete Rodriguez orchestra, the band who above all exemplified the Boogaloo and which was intimately entwined in its fortunes, started up La Protesta and mined the Salsa furrow, many of the Boogaloo cats merged to form the super group Fania Allstars with Bobby Valentin as the musical director and Fania went on to dominate the Latin music world.

But for me that short golden period in NY in the late sixties produced some of the sharpest latin musicZZBi bi awww bi biZ

Joe Moran: ‘ I had thought of putting together a list of essential Boogaloo and Latin tracks but to be honest the list was growing and growing so here are some tracks that are currently doing it for me. Some are easy to pick up and some are thin on the ground but all have that Boogaloo beat and sensibility.’

1 BANG BANG - Joe Cuba (Tico)

The Daddy of them all. Possibly their most famous track and literally the Boogaloo Anthem. Handclaps, nonsense lyrics, crowd interaction and that bouncy beat this had it all. Written by Nick Jimenez and the velvet voiced Jimmy Sabater this became Boogaloo par excellence and garnered the band international recognition. Sabater would go on to have a worldwide successful career right up till his death in 2012.

2 I LIKE IT LIKE THAT - Pete Rodriguez orch (Allegre)

Rodriguez like no other was tied to the Rise and ultimate fall of the Boogaloo but he left us with some cracking archetypes of the genre. This is his big one an advertisement friendly workout that presages the Salsa movement of the seventies. Do yourself a favour and get the LP version for the full rapping intro.

3 DO YOU DIG IT - Ray Barretto (UA)

Barretto had a career both before and after the Boogaloo craze but he slipped into the genre effortlessly and knocked out some cracking examples of the form. This one is a big hefty slab of handclapping and groovy rhythm that will ram any dance floor. Taken from the Latino con Soul LP it also got a 45 release.

4 FUNKY BIG FEET - Bobby Valentin (Fania)

Puerto Rican born Valentin went on to be musical arranger for the Fania Allstars but here he gives us a monster of the Mod scene. Handclapping intro leads us into a pre salsa tale of podophilia and the rather large feet of Bobby’s girlfriend. Flip the 45 over for the equally monstrous Use it before you lose it.

5 NEW YORK SOUL - Ray Barretto (Fania)

On this release it was evident that, notwithstanding the subject matter, Barretto was beginning to move out of the Boogaloo. There are traces of funk soul Latin and even one or two Rock licks. However above all else listen to this one and understand the mish mash of styles that went into the Boogaloo. (Label pic: Alfonso Bonmati)

6 OH THAT’S NICE - Pete Rodriguez (Allegre)

Another one from Rodriguez with the inimitable Tony Pabon on his own composition. Orthodox BooGaloo fare here but it’s an infectious mix of timbales, piano and the crowd participation that is dripping in sweaty atmosphere.

I can imagine late sixties Nu Yoricans just getting off on this whilst the rest of the continents kids wore their hair long I know where I would have been!

7 PUERTO RICAN SOUL - Pete Bonet (Swinger)

Taken from the ridiculously hard LP Odds Are On Bonet gives us a heady workout that is as fast as is comfortably possible. Resplendent with huge congas, screaming brass this one, as the title suggests, is wearing its soul influences firmly on its sleeve. Like Barretto's New York soul track this one lists the ingredients that defines the Puerto Rican soul experience Mambo, Cha cha, Shing a ling, Boogaloo some mix all the same!

8 WATUSI BOOGALOO - Willie Rosario (Atco)

Timbalist and band leader gives us a more laid back, but no less dance floor friendly, affair which harks back to Barrettos '62 recording. Sung in Spanish for the most part bar the last line "Watusi you've got Bad Breath man" and interestingly as Rosario was a collaborator of Bobby Valentin I wonder if there is some cross over between this and Valentin’s Bad Breath Release?

9 DO THE BOOGALOO - Pete Terrace (Somerset)

Whereas the rest of the tracks on this list could be broadly categorised as Latin soul this one flips the genres around and should be more realistically called Soul Latin. Straight up soul with smidgens of Latin at the corners make this one absolutely certain to cross over to the Mod and soul crowd. German 45 release with ‘At the Party’ on the flip.

10 LET’S HAVE A BALL - Cecil Davis (Dial)

Not much is known about Cecil Davis, I know he had an LP released Mr. Diablo which this 45 is taken from but other than that, nada. This is a delightful, if a little odd, 45 with classic BooGaloo styling’s throughout. Basically Cecil exhorts the crowd to do some dances with him and they all refuse till he asks for someone to do the Boogaloo.

With a pounding riff kicking off proceedings the transition is handled very scrappily but it soon settles down into a handclapping raucous affair. Smashing!

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Fernando Pinto del Rosal of Lontano Records gives Sussed a one to one and the rundown about this emergent Spanish label that goes under the tag of ‘Soul, Rhythm & Blues, Jazz’. Sussed can happily confirm it does exactly what it says on the tin....

Can you give me the history of Lontano records?

The history of the label dates back to 2007, with the opening of the store Lontano Stilo, although it was not until 2009 when I immersed myself in the music business and opened the label. Until then, it was all networking, future contacts and checking out bands for the label.

What is the ethos of the label?

Lontano Records philosophy is quality and elegance. Having confidence in the groups that I choose for the label, if they are very good on stage, make you enjoy what they are doing.

Also allowing Bands the freedom to make music as they see fit in the studio. That is the essence of Lontano Records.

How many releases have their been on the label?

So far, there are four records released by the label, The Faith Keepers, a group From Zaragoza, released an lp; Talk & The Woohoos, Madrid, a single, The VibeCreators, Valencia, a single, and Groovin 'Flamingos, Madrid, with a single as well.

The Vibe Creators have a fantastic release on your label. How did you come to release their disc?

I know Sergio Albentosa long, and his extensive experience in groups like Goldfingers, Hipsoul Trio or The Natural Thing, and now in the Vibe-Creators, accompanied by the vibraphone Laurent Erdös, Danilo Argenti on drums and the voice Layla , is the Soul-Jazz group number 1 in quality, elegance and style.

The Vibe Creators themselves chose

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both sides and even if i say so myself its pure dynamite on the dance floor - no allnighter is complete without it.

All the releases on your label are retro sounding however they are no mimics of bygone style. Is it important to you as a producer that there is that freshness to the discs?

That freshness is easily explained and is down to our sound engineer Carlo Coupé. Carlo is a sound engineer and producer of bands like The Speaklow, All Supersonic & The Teenagers and Roy Ellis as well as the in-house producer for Lontano records. Carlo is the man in charge of the controls in the sound booth and as such its his sounds that is the labels sound. My input is merely to pick up the groups and get them to the studio.

How have you discs been selling? We guess they sell well in Spain. Any other markets that you have broken into?

Well, there is no doubt that Spain was not bad the sale of records, but much remains to be done, especially in sales at specialty stores and radio stations. The big markets for Lontano records, and where most of of the discs are sold, are Germany and England.

Are there any plans to expand the roster of bands?

Of course, there are several groups that I am currently keeping an eye on that could come under Lontano but its difficult

finding the right groups that fit in with Lontano. Currently in Spain there are alot of high quality soul and jazz groups but we do not want any artificiality, we want those groups that have an authentic live sound, having said that if there's someone interesting out there we'll be keeping track of them.

What are the next plans for Lontano?

What discs can we look forward to?

We are currently finishing two Lp's - Vibe Creators and Groovin’ Flamingos which should be finished before the end of 2012 and as I mentioned before we are investigating new groups to add to the label.

Any plans to do a Lontano Records tour?

Like the Motown revue?

That would be great however there are a number of factors that would have a bearing on that - interest from international promoters and also the groups would need to be available and interested.

Thanks for taking the time to speak with us Fernando and best of luck with the label.

Thank you for the interest in the label. I hope that soon you can enjoy our live bands.

Thank you very much.

recommended listening: ‘Hipshaker’ (The Vibe Creators) http://youtu.be/a4qUV5oFjNE

‘Soul Testify’ (The Faith Keepers) http://youtu.be/qKywnqQtTTU

‘Surfaloo’ (The Groovin’ Flamingos) http://youtu.be/OboDnV9us24

‘The Mountain’ (Talk! & the Whoohoos) http://youtu.be/b2t_vpYVA-A

vibe creators

THE

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Valencia natives & Lontano Records’ finest exponents of Soul/Jazz/Funk ‘get the Sussed treatment he Vibe Creators consists of LAURENT ERDOS: Vibraphonist and percussionist, arranger and composer, SERGIO ALBENTOSA: Organist, DANILO ARGENTI, Drummer and LAYLA MUÑOZ: Vocalist.

The group was born in 2008 in Valencia Spain as a vocal + trio with a guitar player (Layla, Danilo, Sergio and George).

The guitar player left soon after formation and the band embarked on getting someone new in to round out their sound. It wasnt too long before Laurent Erdos was found - Laurent was at the time with "Guachiguara", a superb band of Cal Tjader Latin Jazz type with Cuban conguero genius Sergio Marciano. Laurent was quickly invited to join and thus was the seed of the magical Vibe Creators sound planted - and since then its been rehearsals, compositions and good old hard work developing their craft till you have now the VB sound.

The band draws mainly on influences from the black music culture of the 60’s and 70’s, with a sound that ranges from Soul-Jazz to Funk and Rhythm & Blues to Boogaloo.

Their music consists of a blend of the smooth groove of Hammond with the cool, brightness of the Vibraphone, resulting in an eclectic mix of rhythm, energy and powerful female vocal. The VIBE CREATORS compose and arrange their own original material as well as playing a range of classic hits of the Funk and Soul golden era.

I'm not sure how i first came across The Vibe Creators, all i know is that the first time i heard the effortlessly gorgeous "I don’t want to be lonely" (Lontano Records - see other article) I was a confirmed fan. From the sleazy organ intro to the crystal clear vocals and the dancefloor friendly backbeat it was clear that this is a combo at the top of the game and playing the kind of music i love - Soul, Latin, Jazz. With the best sound of any combo that i have heard in a long time they really are poised to go big on the Mod scene and i daresay with the right management could move across into other scenes effortlessly. Listen to them on "If you try to smile" - a bouncy jazzy workout with whirly organs meandering over the scale reminding one of a Jimmy Smith classic. The aforemetioned "I don’t want to be lonely" with that delicious vibes break and heavy organ. The intimate "Pop Arts Boogaloo" with Laurent just tickling the vibes trading off against trombone with some neat congas sealing the Latin credentials - Bliss. This is no Pub Rock outfit rehashing the glories of yesteryear this is a fresh and clean ideal aimed at your feet and heart.

So its not hard to see why these cats can pull this amazing sound together. A read of their influences is pretty much a Soul / Jazz / Latin smorgasboard. Jimmy Sabater, Jimmy smith, Les Mccann, Tito Puente, Cal Tjader and singers such as Marlena Shaw, Maxine Brown, Sarah Vaughn. The list goes on. However this is not a case of aping whats gone before rather its taking the many influences, blending them with their own sensibilities and offering up, for the clued in listener, a new

vernacular. Some may say their sound is derivative but to my ears the phrasing on the Jazz cuts are very much theirown. Their Soul and Funk cuts are without reservation and simply put, charm the pants off the listener whilst wearing down the shoe leather. Layla has the chops to match some of the great names in Soul music and its all done so effortlessly belieing the hours of training she has undergone - but she makes it all look so wonderfully easy, the true mark of an artist. The guys backing the vocals are seriously good at what they do and have played with some of the heavyweights Jimmy Sabater, JJ Barnes, The Natural Thing amongst others. So this is no backing band dutifully marking time. This is a fully functioning combo adding more than the sum of the parts and creating a holistic sound.

Their mix of their debut LP is on the can and off to the pressing plant, an LP that is eagerly awaited by the cognoscenti.

Bursting with 9 original compositions including an alternative mix of ‘I don’t want to be lonely’ and 2 covers - Esther Phillips "Just say goodbye" and Linda Jones "My Heart”. Release date will be 10th November 2012 at the famous Boiler in Barcelona.

SRO gig is guaranteed. I could go on but really words are superfluous, go see them, listen to their records, check them out on Youtube, do whatever.... .....but experience The Vibe Creators recommended listening: ‘I don’t want to be lonely’ http://youtu.be/3iPKRLXBZZA

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Keep On Burning

It was just a silly little thing that came into Sussed’s head one day then we felt there could be something in this.... These are Sussed’s top pop videos with Northern Soul references in them.

Information on some was readily available but you’ll notice others were virtually impossible to get any info on (they’re the ones with no info on). Anyway, we hope this puts a smile on your faces... in no particular order: Keep on Burning

Edwyn Collins Kicking it off with one with absolutely no information on. We tried to source it but couldn’t get any. Anyway, the song itself is taken from Edwyns brilliant 1997 album ‘I’m not following you’. The track itself wouldn’t necessarily be representative of the album but you could do a lot worse than root it out. Set against the backdrop of the famous Nite Owl Wigan Casino logo are two pretty serious dudes cracking out the moves.

A winner this. http://youtu.be/w60IShv82XM

Losing Sleep

Edwyn Collins Edwyn again! Some info on this actually does exist. The video was directed by Kieran Evans and filmed on location at the 100 Club and West Heath Studios. The featured dancer is unknown but boy can he move and totally looks the part.

This track is taken from the 2010 LP of the same name which is Collins’ first post-illness work. It’s an incredible piece of work and screams courage, resilience and hope. Sussed likens the production to that of the Mirwood label. http://youtu.be/2x64tqDrHgM

Familiar Feeling

Moloko You’d have to have been living in a cave for the last 9 years not to be aware of

A Solid Bond in Your Heart

The Style Council Plenty of info on this courtesy of Sussed’s pal Andy Davis.

Wnen Smokey Sings The video was filmed at Woking football club 23rd September 1983 and features people like Nicky Weller, Eddie Piller, and even Mick Talbot’s kid brother! Gary Crowley is the featured DJ and at the time ran a club called Bogarts so most of the dancers came from there. Trivia time: Weller gave Gary Crowley that beautiful mohair suit that he wore in the video. Directed by Tim Pope, this one see’s the two Councillors harping back to days of Yore and trying to organize a reunion do to which no one turns up... or do they? The track itself is a non-album track and one that Weller had been playing about with since the latter days of The Jam. We think there’s about three versions of this floating about? Sussed loves all three. Anyone who owns a Series II won’t be happy with the treatment Weller gives his at the start of the video. http://youtu.be/SIZxNy2i5EQ

Celebrate (The Day After You)

this. Taken from the album ‘Statues’ from 2003 this one has drama written all over it. Listen to it without the accompanying video and you’d never envisage it being set to a Northern Soul backdrop. But it is and it really works. Brilliantly directed by Elaine Constantine the video see’s the protagonist getting psyched up to go out to her fave Northern Soul allniter (which in this case is a rather convincing mockup of the Wigan Casino). There she meets her fellah who’s clearly infatuated by her but she has no time for romance. Dancing seems to be this birds raison d’etre. Worth checking out alone to see Paddy Considine give it some on the dance floor.... The legendary Keb Darge was drafted in to choreograph this and it shows. Sussed thinks this was filmed in or around London but don’t quote us on that. NB: Roisin Murphy can really shift too! http://youtu.be/jhjiMx9SpnI

Ireland’s own Liam Quinn is the standout dancer in this. You can tell the pieces of the video that were choreographed and it’s plain to see the bits that weren’t. Proper Northern Soul dancers doing what they do best. The finale is probably one of the most exciting bits of a pop video ever.

Such a crescendo is built up at the end that the dancers’ feet actually go ablaze. In a perfect world we’d like to think that this wasn’t CGI and it really did happen. http://youtu.be/y7ZEVA5dy-Y

The Blow Monkeys No info at all on this one and God knows we tried. We’ll just guide you through it so. It’s a nobrainer this one. You’ve got The Blow Monkeys and Curtis Mayfield and Keb Darge giving it socks. What’s not to like! Only one complaint about this, there isn’t enough of Keb in the video... we could watch him dance all night!

Taken from the 1985 album ‘She was only a grocer’s daughter’ ‘Celebrate’ was an uproarious celebration of the then Tory party and Margaret Thatcher’s demise which at that time sadly didn’t come to pass. We believe the song got banned shortly after. http://www.myspace.com/video/the-blowmonkeys/celebrate-the-day-after-you/20002124

Mercy

Duffy When this video came out in 2008 it really turned all our heads. Directed by Daniel Wolfe this one see’s a demure but confident Duffy effortlessly belting out the tune onstage while all around her the dancefloor is getting more chaotic by the second, Choreographed by Natricia Bernard this and a bloody good job of it she does too...

ABC From the Alphabet City album of 1987 this Bernard Edwards produced little pop gem sees Martin Fry in full homage mode to William ‘Smokey’ Robinson. The video kicks off with our Soulboy mate in his bedroom praying in front of a shrine to Smokey, surrounded by records (‘Jacklyn’ and ‘One-der-ful’ are a couple of labels Sussed spotted). This one has Northern Soul all over it! Wigan posters, talcum powder, bowling shirts, Spencers, and even a duvet made out of beer towels. What strikes us about this one is the realism. This is exactly how you’d carry on before heading out to an allniter. Poses a question though... does he really expect to get his end away full of dexedrine? http://youtu.be/VNxhbDnhEVk

Travellers Tune

Ocean Colour Scene Oddly this 2nd release from 1997’s number #1 ‘Marchin Already’ long player appears to have no info at all in existence, in fact even the accompanying video isn’t that easy to find on Youtube. Strange indeed coz in Sussed’s opinion it’s probably their strongest single. Love them or hate them they’ve always worn their Northern Soul hearts on their sleeves. The vid to this one kicks in immediately with a pair of bowling shoes being taken from a sports holdall and laced up amid a haze of talcum powder. While the band play a pretty cool Soulboy and Soulgirl crack out the moves. And that’s all we have to say on that matter. http://youtu.be/NXS2L51vDIA

Touch My Soul

Lack of Afro Taken from the ‘Press On’ album of 2007 released on the excellent Freestyle label, Lack of Afro is the brainchild of multi-talented producer and musician Adam Gibbons and had been going from strength to strength since. The track is a horn driven instant dancefloor classic laced with Hammond and set to a backdrop of a cleverly sampled Steve Marriott vocal. The video is full of nifty footwork from a selection of dancers young and old. Kev Darge pops up again in this and shows why his moves have been held in such awe through the years. http://youtu.be/oflrqixN8BU SUSSED 15

In research for the magazine we’ve had the joy of coming across some great new music sometimes in the most unlikely and exotic of places. Tower Brown are a band that really jumped out at us this year. The real deal, we expect to hear alot more from this mob...

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Its been said before that Mod is a particularly British phenomenon however it has picked up its influences shamelessly from across the globe.

Fashion from the continent sported by British youth and Black Americana fuelling the dance floors of the Flamingo, Scene club and numerous places whose names are remembered by few now.

In November 2010 Lets Paint it Brown EP was released in a limited edition of 300 copies. With the title tracks intro like some cranked up screaming jet engine, this full on frenetic release barged its way through a host of genres from Beat to garage via soul with a sidetrack into the jazz organ scene and then on to Euro pop. Filling out the EP are three strong tracks described variously as Hully Gully, Uncle Willie and Slow Blues - listen to all four and you are transported back to that short heady time of the 6t's British R’n’B scene before it went over ground.

“hully gully, uncle willie & slow blues”

So there’s a nice symmetry to find a group of Francophone’s cranking out some British Beat and doing it with such aplomb and producing an infectious groove. Throw in some Soul vibes for good measure and the circle is squared.

Towerbrown were formed in 2009 in Grenoble with a line up consisting of Yann Cracker Vocals/Hammond, Dirty Davy Drums, Oliver Brown Bass Guitar and Hugoboy Guitars and all had been involved with previous groups. Interestingly whilst all were sixties fans the bands they had played in were anything but and ranged from Pop to High Energy Rock and roll combo's.

All accomplished musicians, nevertheless a period of acquaintance was needed for the vibe of the 60's to be channled and for the group to gel. With Time in the studio under their collective belts the lads realised early enough that the mojo was there - the spirits of Artwoods, Brian Auger, Spencer Davis and Small faces evident in their sound.

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Selling out in three months the EP rapidly became a collectiors item. Importantly this EP made the various scenes sit up and take notice and they are soon playing through the region with bands such as the Morlocks, Messer Chups, Alice Russel, The Love me Nots, Thee Oh Sees, The A-Bones, DC Fontana. Along the way there was a slight change to the line up when for personal reasons the guitarist left. A suitable replacement was found the enigmatically named Fred - and the campagin continued. In Early 2011 Towerbrown once again unleashed on the faithful, and the soon to be converted, some more of the magic and in May came the second EP once again featuring 4 strong genre crossing cuts.

Title track this time out has Izzy Lindqwister of psych rockers Rodeo Massacre on vocals lending a pure Soul vibe to a dancelfoor stomper and in the process creating a Mod Wig out favourite.

Think Making Time with added steroids, or if Keith Moon had produced Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll’s Indian Rope Man....

Do the Jungle Jane, Lion Club Boogaloo and Emma’s Theme all sit neatly alongside each other on this sophomore release - a release that willl, without a shadow of a doubt, increase the audience for these Beat boys - this ep is destined to sell out and the pattern is set. Band release EP World takes notice and hoover up the release and in the process the band hone their musical chops.

And as if to prove the point in May there is the appearance at Cosmic Trip and the madness that is the main stage. In February 2012 the band re-released the first EP in a limited edition 200 numbered release on Red vinyl which continues to sell and chances are by the time you read this once again it will have sold out.

Speaking to Yann he tells me that they are currently focused on pulling together an Lp that is tentatively scheduled towards the end of the year with work commencing in May/June and will keep the style of the previous EP's "but we’ll also try to bring something new here and there". The rest of the year will be split between writing, touring and honing that TB sound.

Rave on!

recommended listening: ‘Just One Good Reason’ http://youtu.be/rggLJYH4a6w

la mod feminine

Fiona Dennison, a long standing friend of Sussed, gets it right every time. One of this Island’s top Mods for as long we’ve known her, she shares with us her personal tastes, style tips and her top #10 style icons.

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he 1960's was a decade of sweeping change especially for women. Attitudes had changed towards their growing independence and their capacity to assert themselves.

As in all youth movements, women were visible, though they were mainly decorative. The Mod movement was the exception to this rule. Women were mods in their own right.

Growing up in Dublin, during the 70's and 80's, it was hard to tell that these changes had ever happened, unemployment and blackouts were the norm. Maybe that's why so many of us were attracted to the colour and dandiness of the 60's. I was a fan of the films and tv series’ that were rerun during my youth. How sleek the female stars looked with their quintessentially European style.

Beautifully cut suits, elegant shift dresses and narrow legged trousers, set off with smooth glossy hair and understated accessories, so different to what surrounded me.

The early Mods of both the 60's and the revival adopted this look. At first for me, Mod fashion was a world of guidelines, very influenced by the fear of ever being called a "Modette". Skirts were kneelength, shirts and trousers were slimfitting, almost boyish and handbags were of the "Granny" kind.

Hair was simple, either a classic bob or a neat "Frenchline" and makeup was kept to a minimum.

In Dublin it was preferential to wear original 60's clothes whereas I know

elsewhere it was tailormade all the way.

So many Saturday afternoons were spent trawling second hand shops to find that perfect dress for the Mod do or party. Girls were just as competitive as the male mods. I hated to be seen in a repeat!

As with all things mod, female fashion evolved and continues to evolve.

Rules relaxed, gradually more colour and texture and niches grew. Later 60's styling began to emerge. Modism was diversifying, from the classic look to encompace the flamboyance of Psychedelia, with suede and leather waistcoats and tunics replacing the simple shift and capes replacing the smock coat.

Personally, I enjoy the softer line of the mid to late 60's without ever drifting into the realms of Hippiedom. Hipsters with a kick at the ankle, A-line mini skirts, shirts becoming more blousey with a bell sleeve and Penny collars, what better way to show off your dance moves, than with clothes that have movement. Hair has had it’s own movement, drifting up and down in length, with one thread carrying through, neatness and attention to detail.

Over the decades, Mod girls have grown in flamboyance, embracing all aspects of the wonderful 60's. There are no rights or wrongs anymore.

Whether Sweet and neat or Peacock and Bohemian, anything goes. Find your niche and let your personality shine through

Fiona Dennison: ‘When I was asked for this list, I thought, easy... but no! I've struggled. How do you decide? I found I had so many beautiful stylish women to choose from, so please understand that this list is my opinion. These women, I chose for their effect on the decade or on me....Not merely on fashion.’

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5 6 7 8

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10 1 Mary Quant 2 Julie Driscoll 3 Marianne Faithful 4 Twiggy 5 France Gall 6 Penelope Tree 7 Diana Rigg

10 8 Peggy Moffit

9 Jean Shrimpton

10 Madaline Smith

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Wide Eyed Girl On The Wall

It’s been said before that you should never meet your heroes as they will only dissappoint you but sometimes, just sometimes heroes can live up to, and even surpass, what one has imagined them to be. Edel O'Sullivan fills us in on the trepidation, expectation and realization of meeting a long time hero...

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can’t remember when I had looked forward to something more. I almost had a panic attack when the gig was announced, I honestly thought I’d burst with excitement. I bought my ticket at least two months in advance, convinced they would sell out in no time, and I wouldn’t have been able to live with the regret of not seeing him play. The fact that none of my friends were interested in coming didn’t deter me. I was happy enough to go alone, conversation would just distract from the music and I knew I would hang on his every note.

The Roisin Dubh was empty when I arrived. It was a seated gig, and the seats weren’t even filled. It all looked a bit grim, but on the upside it meant I could get a seat front of stage, spitting distance from his keyboardZand all of a sudden there he was, the man himself: Ian McLagan of the Small Faces. The rock legend who’s posters had adorned bedroom wall, schoolbooks and even pencil case since I was old enough to have decent taste in music. I was 15 years old when I discovered the joys of sixties music. Sure, The Beatles were fantastic, ditto The Who, Led Zeppelin, The stones, Hendrix... the list is endless, but The Small Faces were always my band. The soundtrack to my teenage years. While my peers were hiding in ditches drinking cheap booze and taking overpriced drugs, I was sitting at home, drinking tea, listening to music made by people on quality drugs, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.

I was totally obsessed with The Small Faces, (and still am to this day). I’d spend all my pocket money on issues of Mojo and Uncut magazines on the off chance there might be an article, an old interview, or even a stamp sized picture of the boys to add to my collection. So to finally be in the same room as one of them was almost too much to bear. It was like Beatlemania all over again. When he dedicated the song “Young Girl” to “all the young girls in the audience...” and winked at me I genuinely thought I’d collapse. It was definitely me he was referring to as I was one of the only females in the 20 strong crowd, and definitely the only one born post 1970!

He chatted away in between songs, cracking jokes and sharing anecdotes from his colourful career and I was struck by how down to earth he was. After the set was over I decided to get his autograph on a poster I had “borrowed” from a toilet door earlier in the night. I also wanted to thank him, for the gig that night, his wonderful back catalogue, and well...

Everything! So I made my way to where he stood beside the stage, managed to introduce SUSSED 20

myself, but before I had a chance to thank him, he thanked me for coming... He thanked Me! I told him I’d been a fan for half my life, to which he replied “so, about three years then?”

Cheeky git..

I told him how The Small Faces are my favourite band of all time and what an honour it was to hear him play, never mind meeting him and he looked genuinely taken aback. He gave me a huge hug and beamed “You’re getting two kisses for that!”, kissed me on both cheeks and hugged me again, and as sad and stalkerish as it sounds, it is one of those moments that will flash before my eyes when I die, I’ll never forget it. He signed the poster, posed for photos with me and we chatted for a few minutes about the new album he was promoting at the time, Never Say Never. I asked to buy a copy and he signed that for me too. They might never fetch a fortune on EBay, but too me they are priceless.

Another invaluable thing I took away from that night is that I can safely say I will never get star struck again. Unless of course I meet the only other remaining ‘Face, Kenney Jones, or maybe Paul McCartney? Ian McLagan cured me. That night I saw arguably one of the best white soul musicians of all time, and the soul of my favourite band play an amazing set and not only did he prove he’s still got it after all these years, he also proved himself to be unbelievably humble and approachable. The setting was so intimate- he was playing to a crowd of around 20 people at most and he was well aware of it, he even joked to the bouncer that he should drag some punters in off the street to fill the place up a bit. He has come from selling out massive stadiums in the 60’s and 70’s, and playing with everyone who is anyone from Dylan, The Stones and Springsteen as a session musician, to playing in grotty little pubs again, full circle, and he is more than happy to do it. Because for him it has always been and always will be about the passion for music, and not the money or fame.

He truly is an amazing man, a proper star, despite his refusal to act like one. In my mind he was a God, but now that I’ve met him, it turns out he’s just a really lovely bloke! So from now on when faced with the prospect of meeting someone famous whom I admire, they will be just that, an admirable person, nothing more nothing less, and certainly nothing to freak out over. Besides, now that I have been in the presence of greatness, nothing will ever faze me again

2XM Deejay, scenester, and all round sound bird Jacqui Carroll shares with us her top #10 spins

1 I Have No Choice (Big Hit) Johnnie Mae Matthews (1967)

2 Don’t Come Running to me (Kapp)

Sissie Houston (1966)

3 Heartbreaker (Beacon)

Show Stoppers (1968)

4 That’s Not Love (ABC) Holly St. James (1964)

5 Sweeter Than the Day Before (Chess) The Valentinos (1965)

6 Everlasting Love (Monument) Robert Knight (1967)

7 Your Body Not Your Soul (Philips) Cuby + Blizzards (1966)

8 Harlem (Eamon Harkin Edit)

Bill Withers (1971 B Side Sussex)

9 Lovin’ By The Pound (Stax) Otis Redding (1967)

10 My Boyfriend’s Back (Laurie)

The Chiffons (1966 LP)

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this bird has flown

Sussed gets the exclusive on Leonardo Flores’s epic coming of age Mod opus ‘Young Birds Fly’.

Over the page Leo gives us the inside story behind this massive undertaking, it’s development and whether we’ll ever get to see ‘YBF’ on the big screen....

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he first Major release from Californian Leonardo Flores has its flaws but overall it’s a charming tale of the discovery, evolution and solidification of a young girls coming of age as a Mod. The movie presents Mod life as positive force and a catalyst for growth and is the antithesis of previous movies dealing with the subject.

The movie centres on a young girl Jill (Tracy Mathewson in her debut role) who does not speak, caused one suspects by the absence of her mother, and is quite a lone subdued child.

We see her at school and she is either being bullied or sitting alone with her thoughts – the typical misunderstood child. A chance discovery at a neighbours yard sale sees her buy some old 45’s and a shift dress and thus begins her journey in Mod. Her counsellor in school, C-Bird played by Liz Blanchard, is an old Mod from the eighties who has her own personal problems and in reality has not grown up – a case of physician heal thyself. C-Bird takes Jill under her wing and in an effort to open her up she encourages her to delve further into the Mod lifestyle. It’s not long before we see Jill begin to cast off the vestiges of her childhood – replacing Hello Kitty Posters for Mod iconography – and fully immersing herself in the Mod lifestyle. Enter in a soccer playing contemporary from school; The Arsenal Skin (Saree Acosta) who protects her and ultimately befriends Jill and the triumvirate is complete.

Over the course of the movie we see the three lay bare their characters. C-Bird seems to be vainly stuck in time ignoring the fact that all her old friends from the scene, including her husband she is separated from due to an extra marital affair, have all moved on, and to put it bluntly, grown up. Like the drunk who is last to leave the party she becomes the butt of jokes and is in reality a pathetic figure. Jill for the most part sees in C-Bird a mentor but also a substitute for her absent mother and it is this theme that ultimately forces Jill to come to terms with her Mother’s place in her life. Of the three, Arsenal skin is the only character who genuinely brings, and takes, only friendship from the other two.

The denouement is long in coming but when it does it reflects a message of positivity – there can be growth and growth can be good.

Technically I cannot fault this movie. Flores absolutely knows the territory he is in down to the smallest item. Whether it’s the Club scene and the dancing or even just characters talking about records, all of the references are spot on. The auteurs love of his source material is evident throughout the whole movie and it’s plain to see the care taken to get details just right – Josh Agle prints on the walls of C-birds apartment, authentic scooters, perfect hair and makeup and effortless wardrobe all ring true to what we know and expect. The dancing scenes are also flawless whether its Jill’s girly steps at the soul club or Soul Girl’s lone whirling around the record store there’s an

authenticity borne of evident familiarity.

The copy of the film I saw is the full movie however the released version will be leaner with a lot of the extraneous scenes removed. I didn’t see the relevance of the scene with the old british couple and it added little to the plot in my opinion. Still, Flores has a good eye and I reckon that with some trimming he can deliver a truly superb movie.

The three leads all deliver solid performances though in some scenes there is a lack of the nuances of the craft due to inexperience but it’s no bad thing and doesn’t jar. I would single out Tracy Mathewson for praise as she plays the whole movie without uttering a single word whilst she is on screen – as the director puts it “a pantomime performance” and she manages to convey in her animation what could have

easily been delivered with dialogue. Saree Acosta also brings a freshness to proceedings and really portrays the singularly carefree nature of Arsenal Skin. Liz Blanchard keeps the pathos of her character barely concealed and takes a tragic character and imbues it with more of a sympathetic pathos.

In another article in this magazine Edel O’Sullivan writes about meeting a hero of hers and how on that occasion it all worked out wonderfully well. For me getting a copy of Young Birds Fly was kind of the same. I had looked at the trailer for so long that I had hoped against hope that the full length movie would live up to my expectations. Have no fear YBF does not disappoint and should be the beginning of a steady career for Leonardo Flores

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and that became my main focus in life. The goal for myself to make a feature length film was accomplished and it helped me get hired at Fender. I generally just moved on from YBF after it was finished.

You have had limited screenings since it’s been finished, are you intending showcasing at Festivals etc?

Leonardo give a brief synopsis of Young Birds Fly.

Young Birds Fly is a story of a young, shy, and quiet girl named Jill (Tracy Mathewson) becoming a young woman through mod culture in the 2000’s. It follows two years of her life from her sophomore year through her senior year of High School. Along the way she makes two friends, a tough and popular high school soccer player named Jeananne (Saree Costa) and a troubled high school counselor who used to be a Mod in the 1980’s named Cathy but who goes by the nickname C-Bird (Elizabeth Blanchard).

I suppose the question on everyone’s lips is – when will YBF get released? I heard that there was an issue with licensing the music on the soundtrack?

That is the question everybody has been asking since when we debuted the film in July 2007. What it comes down to it is I could not afford the songs for the films. I knew YBF was not going to be the biggest film and I very much paid for the production of the film out of my pocket in the year we spent making it. Not only did I want to make a Mod film I also had some personal goals of challenging myself to see if I could make a feature length film independently without any industry support.

Having never directed a feature length film at the time I felt I did not have the experience to approach people to finance a film. At the same time I wanted to make the Mod film I always wanted to make using the songs I wanted to use but knowing full aware that if I could not get the money to license the music I would not be able to sell the film but it was a risk I was willing to take. After the film was finished I started tracking down some of the songwriters to see if I could use some of their songs for the film. I am a huge Dynovoice Records fan and having written articles about the label I was able to contact one of the songwriters who was formerly on the label.

We met up at a local restaurant in Los Angeles and had lunch. It was a great experience, he signed my records and gave me the inside scoop on many of his songs. He was a true gentleman. I had sent him a copy of YBF earlier on. He said, “Leo, I love your film! But you have to understand that the last time someone licensed that song it was $500,000.00!”. The song that I wanted to use was not even a hit, just a minor song on one of his albums. Hey, but at least I got my records signed! A week before YBF was debut in July 2007 I was hired at Fender Musical Instruments, maker of the Telecaster and Jazzmaster guitars, doing film and art design SUSSED 22

I had two things going against me with getting it into theatres. First were the song licenses and second was the length of the movie as it times out at around 3 hours long. Part of the issue of length was that Jill does a silent pantomime performance through the film.

Whereas it might just take a few seconds to convey what is on her mind through dialog, she had to act out the feelings and thoughts with no dialog. It really stretched things out.

No film festival would ever show a 3-hour film so I had two things going against me with getting it out. Another reason why YBF was so long was that I did not want Jill to become a Mod overnight, where she jumps out of her bedroom 15 minutes into the film and says “Look at me! I’m a Mod now!”. In fact I wanted people to forget they were watching a Mod film through the first act. You and I both know that the transformation to Mod is something that is developed over time with the help from other people, sometimes from an older mentor.

But with a bit of work you could conceivably get this released?

Yes of Course - Liz Blanchard’s husband is in the film industry and really liked the film so I approached him to help with editing. In 2010 we re-cut the film to 90 minutes and, mindful of the copywright concerns for the soundtrack, I was able to get original 60’s songs from my record collecting contacts. I have a co-worker named Don Bagby who’s dad had a record label in the 1960’s and released various garage records. In fact his sister was in the all female group called The Daisy Chain back in the 1960’s (They had an LP release ‘Straight or Lame’ in 67 on the united international label - Joe). He gave me a bunch of masters of these garage bands that were associated with the label. It took me a couple of years but it was various people like Mr. Bagby who helped me get original 1960’s songs for YBF. Really at this point I just need to write up the contracts for everyone involved.

introduced in an organic, natural way.

That scene where the girl is dancing in a record shop is up there as one of my favourite dancing scenes on film.

Thank you! That dance scene is actually the character Soul Girl played by Natalie Miller who is one of the top dancers in the Soul/Mod/20’s Flapper scene. She’s genius if you ask me! Natalie is a true dancer who just keeps getting better as the years go by. Tracy Mathewson who played Jill was only 14 years old when we filmed YBF. Tracy has a great and touching dance scene in the middle act during the club scene. When I cast Tracy little did I know she was an accomplished swing dancer at 14 and quite agile on the floor. It blew me away I had two great dancers in the film that could do some serious dancing.

There are some things a filmmaker can’t fake on the screen and one of them is dancing because the camera never lies. Natalie and Tracy were a huge blessing. Liz is also an accomplished dancer but a week before we started filming she was involved in a head on auto collision when the other driver decided to drive in the opposite direction on the freeway.

She busted her leg up really bad and she should have been killed and it was a miracle that she wasn’t. So Liz sat out for those dance scenes. Thankfully she fully recovered.

I previously said that the canon of Mod films is a pretty slim one. Where do you think your movie sits?

Where I fit in is that I was one of the first Mod filmmakers to take advantage of modern cinema technology and make a feature length Mod film without the help of Hollywood. The key word is “feature length” as many of the Mod films that have been released, such as American Mod, were all shorts. I had already made two shorts, Bad Hair Day and The Last Date and I was ready to move on to something bigger and do a feature. I really hope that Young Birds Fly would be a sign of things to come from filmmakers in the Mod/Soul/Skin scene.

At this point there shouldn’t be any reason why we don’t have a Mod film released every year.

The mod scene is filled with so many people who are artistically minded with art and film degrees and I would hope that YBF nudges people to make their own feature length Mod films. The technology is there to take and use of and I hope more Mods will take advantage of it and do some great art.

“i wanted to make the mod film i always wanted”

I first came across your movie via the trailer that is on YouTube with the Majestics soundtrack and all the Mod iconography – instantly hooked me.

Thanks, I have a great respect for all the Mod eras over the last 60-years, they all have their contributions and their own way of doing things and I took great pains to portray each Mod era with the greatest respect. Most of the Mod iconography suggested in the film is

Is it a movie about Mods or a movie with Mods in it?

As you know YBF is split into three parts. As Jill becomes the Venus Ace, the film style changes as well. The start of the film can be classified as a film with Mods in it but by the end of the film it is a film about Mods.

From start to finish how long did the Movie take?

I came up with the seed that was to become YBF in the mid 1990’s. I wanted to make a mod film in the 1990’s but I hated the look of video and film was just too expensive for a twenty something filmmaker. It wasn’t until Panasonic and Cannon came out with their 24 frames-per-second cine video cameras where the look of the footage was impressive and had film like qualities. I wrote numerous scripts during that time but nothing really jumped out at me. It wasn’t until 2003 where I finally wrote a suitable outline that I felt would make a great film. I actually wrote the script in a week, it just kind of came out. As stated above it took a year to shoot and another six months to edit and I debut it in July 2007.

Looking at Tracy I am reminded of a young Barbara Streisand how did you end up casting her for Jill?

What is interesting is that in the early 1990’s I knew Tracy who was just a toddler! Her dad was a customer of mine when I worked at a local record store. I had many issues with trying to cast the character of Jill. For example she had to look young enough that when she was holding a stuffed animal it looked normal but also not look out of place when she has makeup on for the later part of the film. When I started looking for actors for YBF in 2005 I couldn’t for the life of me find a young actress to play Jill. We were quickly approaching the first day of shooting and I was a bit dejected about it and thought I’d clear my mind and head over to Rhino Records in Claremont. I saw this young lady and I thought she would be perfect for Jill, she just had that teen vibe and energy I was looking for. But I’m not going to go up to her ask, “Do you want to be in a film, young lady?”.

That would be creepy!

So I walked away.

Then I ran into my collector friend Tommy I hadn’t seen in years and I told him that I was looking for an actress for my film.

Tommy said, “Well my daughter actsZhey Tracy! Come over here!”. And what do know, it was the same girl! I knew I had my Jill right then and there and it was good to know I already knew her father for many years. I really have to thank Saree’s and Tracy’s parents with trusting me with their daughters, I could have been a super creep without them knowing!

imagine asking one of my very social Mod/Skin/Scooter friends that I was going to need them every weekend for a year! It just wasn’t going to happen. I filled up many of the supporting roles with my Mod, Skin and Scooter friends and overall those roles really added a lot of color in YBF. My friends also helped with getting certain characterizations right with Tracy, Liz and the young lady name Saree Costa who played Jeananne. For example I had two Skinbyrds help me out with dialing in the Skin clothing and hair for Jeananne at the end of the film. It really was a transformation, it looks like Saree had been a Skinbyrd for years, she just looked so natural and beautiful and her half Asian and half Brazilian looks just complimented it all. I was in love but in the end Jeananne was just a character and Saree went on her merry way.

At least I have on film the day she was a beautiful Skinbyrd!

The Last Date comes across, to my eyes anyway, as an homage to euro cinema... very sparse and economical framing. Was this a conscious decision or an economic necessity?

Thank you for bringing up the Last Date! Both The Last Date and Bad Hair Day were my California State University of Fullerton film class finals, shot using an old 50’s vintage Russian 16mm film camera. That is why the two films appear like they do as it is using period, vintage equipment and lens. I shot them on black and white as I thought it looked better than the color stock, as the color film that the students used looked horrible. It was near impossible to know how the color film was going to look after it was developed. It was a nightmare in seeing those dailies and I am thankful that the footage for both of my student films were shot and developed correctly.

Also because I was shooting on film I had to make sure each shot counts which necessitated the economic and sparse framing. I remember only having two 5minute rolls of 16mm and I had to make every frame count.

By the way both films used my Mod/Scooter friends in the roles, and they all did an excellent job. In fact Sara Hicks who played the wife in Bad Hair Day later supplied 90% of the female wardrobe for YBF. Like Tracy, Saree and Liz, there would have been no YBF without Sara.

“do you want to be in a film young lady?”

So they weren’t all Mods that you cast?

Actors played all the major roles in YBF. Acting is a dedicated trained art form with the understanding of the film making process.

Film making can be a very boring process to people that are not familiar with it and people can quickly lose interest. We started filming February 2006 and our last big scene was filmed in December 2006. We filmed for every weekend except one weekend in the summer.

Granted not all the actors are present at each scene but it was a dedicated shoot. I couldn’t

Again the soundtrack reinforces the imagery with Valerie Lemercier Goute Mes Frites giving that frivolous edge to the action.

As you will see, music plays a huge role in my films, unfortunately my appetite for it is larger than my pocket book! I love Valerie and the music of Bertrand Burgalat who are both somewhat unknown here in the USA and Goute Mes Frites seemed to work just well for the homage to French cinema, which is what I wanted to accomplish with The Last Date. I’m very proud of both of those films.

The actors seem to be over animated - you shot the scene with no dialogue?

The issue we had was my college only had one sound camera and that was reserved for the large class production. According to my professor at time, the problem would have been synching the sound to the old, Russian film cameras, which were a bit unstable. So I shot it silent, and accordingly pantomime acting need to be more physically expressive to get certain ideas across. I think you might have heard that many silent film actors had to change the way they acted when sound came along, as their expressive movements, which worked so well in silent films, suddenly look too melodramatic in sound films. Now when you watch Young Birds Fly you will see that Jill doesn’t say one word through the entire film.

That is where the then 14-year-old Tracy did a brilliant job with her role acting Jill/The Venus Ace in YBF and sustaining such a long wordless performance through the entire film.

It is one of the subtle high points of the film.

What is funny on the screenplay I am working on right now is that the “lead” character also doesn't speak throughout the film. I love silent films and it is interesting at this point all of my films are either silent or have characters that are silent throughout the film.

So, what’s next for Leo Flores?

2010 was a disaster on my side, we had re-cut YBF film and I replaced all the songs with music I was cleared for and I was about to write up the music contractsZand then my computer crashed. I didn’t lose the film but I could not get the contracts written up for the replacement music and before I knew it a year had passed. I finally bought a new computer a few months ago so I’m underway again to get those last few things squared away. I’m about to begin to write a new screenplay for my next film but I want to make sure YBF finally gets released. While I did finish and screen the film it was all the legal and post-production issues that just nailed me. I was really unprepared for it. That was a huge learning process on my side and I will definitely handle it better next time.

I’m about to start a book on 1960’s Japanese Group Sounds music. I’ve been collecting GS records for years and I’m gathering the last few records I need to start writing it. It will be a fun book on the growth of Japanese pops and rock in the late 1960’s and will be told in a very respectful way. As I stated before I will be starting a new screenplay next month that will be a homage to Japanese Tokusatsu and 1950’s-60’s family drama films. I plan to film 2/3rds of it in Japan and 1/3 here in California.

I’m really looking forward to filming it as it is more in the sci-fi genre, something I have not done yet. I also collect WWI and WWII Militaria and I always wanted to make a war film and began researching for a screenplay that I want to make about the Battle of Iwo Jima. I have never done a historical period film so basically I have to become an expert in the battle before I even put pen to paper, something I don’t plan to do until a few years out.

Check out the trailer.... http://youtu.be/RdgR3VH6ddM

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Marty McAllister reviews the recent GLASGOW MOD WEEKENDER 2012. The event was hosted by the Glasgow ‘Friday Street’ collective and judging by this account it sounds like it was a roaring success....

The 10th Annual Glasgow Mod Weekend kicked off Thursday 28th June in McChuills Bar, a smashing Venue, similair in style to Liverpool's Cavern Club, with the low, arched stone ceilings, walls adorned with classic album covers from the past and Images of 60s Mods, and ironically enough owned by Nicky, an original 60s Glasgow Mod Himself. No better Venue to host this Fantastic Event. Local Band "Hamfat 4" started proceedings with a blend of Soul and 60s RnB. Friday night saw the crowd swell with numbers arriving from Spain, Germany, Italy and of course Ireland, North and South. Early evening in McChuills the sounds were provided by "Instant Whip" DJs and Local Band "Raybandos" providing the live Music.

Scotland’s Premier Mod Club "Friday Street" round the corner in Blackfriars kept the crowd grooving with 60s Mod sounds until 3am, time for sleep and rest!!!

Saturday is probably the best part of the Weekend.

Crowds started gathering at McChuills around Noon browsing the vintage clothes stall with quality vintage and new clothing of a very high standard. Record and Book stalls were very busy throughout the day and the DJ kept the tunes coming, until the live Band "The Private Hammond Orchestra" took to the stage. The band were excellent doing a few covers of 60s classics and a few tracks of their own.

Crowds started thinning out around 5-6 pm to get ready for the evening do in the Barony Bar in the local Strathclyde Uni. After a bit of grub and well needed rest, we arrived at the Venue Suited and Booted around 10pm. Already the crowds were arriving in their droves. 60s RnB, Soul, Boogaloo and a bit of Northern was the music of choice. Around 400 Mods dressed to kill filled the Venue, which was a sight to behold, and the atmosphere was fantastic. Drink prices at the Bar were very reasonable, though a few more Bar Staff would have helped, sometimes waiting for a drink was 10-15 minutes, but thats only nit picking. It was 3am and we were still dancing, lights went on and the music stopped, time for Bed!!!

Sunday saw a few rough heads down at McChuills, waiting on the Scooter ride out around 2pm. Saturday night had taken it’s toll on most people, but the mood was still good. A few people had headed home on Sunday, but in my opinion the last night is the best. It’s a more relaxed do in Blackfrairs with Mod sounds across the board with a bit of Revival and Northern thrown in to a good party atmosphere. Credit to Mikey and Paul from Friday Street, the Staff at McChuills, and all the Bands that took part in the Weekend. Well done everyone, will defo be back next year for more

A Mod Life in Shoes

By Kevin Fitzpatrick

Shoes and Mod , you can’t separate the two, but this is neither a guide to, nor a list of must have shoes, merely the musings of an old Mod on the shoes he wore....

b

lack or Brown, that’s the choice I grew up with, implying that I was given an option, which wasn’t really the case. Older brother grew out of his and they became mine, such was life. Shoes meant nothing more than dry feet in the rain or protected toes in a kick about, until one day it happened....My Confirmation loomed and I was asked a question....what shoes would I LIKE???...LIKE!! That added a whole new dimension to it, I had a Choice!!!

Racks and Rails lay before me and I knew what I had to have....Blackthorn Basket Weaves in Ox Blood. If I could draw I could put their every detail down on paper even now, from the two lace holes to the strip of leather across the heel and the basket weave upper. I wore those shoes to within an inch of their lives and then some. So began an appreciation of the noble shoe, leather, suede, cheap, expensive and of course, Black or Brown. This fed nicely into Mod life, in fact, I would think that when I first clapped eyes on Cafe Bleu the polished Weejuns on Wellers feet, I’m sure, were first to catch my eye.

I got my first pair of Desert boots at about 15 yrs old, a mod classic, these were no Clarks not on my budget, in fact off the shelves in Dunnes Stores they fell, Spanish made, nice stone colour in suede with no crepe sole and three lace holes...the shame still lingers. The joy of Clarkes didn’t grace these feet until later in life

Chelsea Boots in Black Suede with a short heel and rounded toe. The 80’s were a strange time and blokes were wearing all sorts of “pixie” boots, not for me, no belts, buckles or studs, no folded down fur flaps . I wore my boots slick, sharp and slim....loved them.

Off to buy new shoes my Mum sent me. ”A nice pair for school” she said ”with good soles”. But I had a plan, I had visited these ‘Gibsons’ (made famous by the Jam) on many occasions while waiting for the bus home and was determined that they would be mine. I had a plan, under my bed they’d be stashed, I’d wear them around the bedroom for a week or so and by the time they were discovered it would be too late to return them.....Everything went according to plan until my Poor Grandad got his calling. Dressed for the funeral Mum spots me coming down the stairs. ”Put your new shoes on, those onesare a state”. “But Mum I prefer these”...”No buts, back upstairs and change your shoes”. I think it might have been two years before my Uncle spoke to me again.

I’ve owned too many pairs of Loafers to list, Leather, Suede, Patent, Tassled and Beefroll all with their own details and design, all framed nicely against denim, cut high on the ankle or a 16” hemmed trouser leg. The “Weejun” tops the pile for me followed closely by my current faves, Alden Edmonds Basket Weaves.

Trainers haven’t featured much in my wardrobe as I generally don’t wear them.

Aside for a couple of pairs of Stan Smiths in the 90’s I haven’t owned any, I did however stumble across a Walsh’s of Bolton pair a couple of years ago, they reminded me of the kid on the Original Quadrophenia album.

I walked into the Fred Perry shop on Newburgh St with an idea of buying a shirt or a new “V”. I was never one for bowling shoes, especially the multi-coloured pairs, but these caught the eye and I surprised myself by walking out with a pair.

Worn with denim cut above the ankle I still think they look good on a summers day.

These days my staple shoe of choice tends to be a lace up chisel toe, nice and sleek I have four or five pairs in various Shades and Colours and no finer example I have seen than DNA’s Calfskin Basket Weaves, I don’t actually own a pair yet, but soon.....Hush Puppies, Moccs, Brogues, Bass, Wingtips, Florsheim, Loake, Churches, Trickers, Keds, Sebago. the list of Styles and Makers is endless and I look forward to many more years of shoes, purchasing, polishing and wearing. All in all its been a good Life in Shoes and I even if I end up barefoot and broke at least I never wore Docs SUSSED 24

Ray Gilligan: ‘While considering doing a Jazz piece for this Issue of Sussed I realized such an expansive subject would warrant more than just a humble one page article so I’ve compiled a list of my ten favorite Jazz tunes in no particular order. All favorites for varying reasons. You’ll probably ask ‘what no Mingus, Monk, Coleman, Getz, Blakey in there?’ Which would be more than fair to ask but this is simply a list of tunes that have a personal resonance with me and they’re here for no other reason than that. This list alone could fill a ten page supplement in any magazine but I’ve tried to keep it as concise as possible.’

1 SELIM - Johnny Lytle (New & Groovy 1966)

I was first turned onto this at a Mod night in London in 1990. After years of hunting it down (pre internet) it wasn’t until around 5 or 6 years ago that I happened across the LP. This gets spun by me at every outing and keen eyed Sussed readers may notice the album sleeve mocked up for issue #1. Noted as a tribute to Lytle’s hero Miles Davis (Selim = Miles spelt backwards). It could be also said that this is quite simply a reworking of Davis’ ‘Milestones’.

2 EFFI - Max Roach (Members, don’t git weary 1968)

Okay, maybe not for everyone this with it’s complicated Modal stylings but there’s no denying this one pisses ice cubes.

Certainly one that takes you on a journey through many jazz techniques. Everyone is the star of the show here, from Merritt’s Bass and Cowell’s Piano intro to the playful interchange between Tolliver and Gary Bartz’s Trumpet and Sax all sat upon Roach’s diction perfect rhythm . A winner for me this everytime.

3 OLILOGUI VALLEY - Herbie Hancock (Empyrean Isles 1964)

It could be well argued that Herbie Hancock’s ‘Maiden Voyage’ is his finest work. It’s certainly one of his most popular and well known but if ‘Voyage’ is his Sgt. Peppers than undoubtedly ‘Empyrean Isles’ is his Revolver. A fairly accessible record this one which includes the famous ‘Cantaloupe Island’. The standout track for me though is ‘Oliloqui Valley’ and sees Hancock at his most evocative.

4 BODY AND SOUL - John Coltrane (Coltrane’s Sound 1966)

Anyone who knows me well will tell you Coltrane is it for me. This is taken from the sublime ‘Coltrane’s Sound’. It’s one of his finest hours and if asked to recommend an introduction to the man it would be this record. Coltrane’s improvised style underpinned to perfection by McCoy Turner’s Piano. There is some doubt in my mind about the actual recording date of this? I’ve seen it as 1964 on some sleeve notes, 1966 on others and as far as I know it was actually recorded sometime prior to these years? Of course this is all irrelevant.

5 ORBITS - Miles Davis (Miles Smiles 1967)

Often overlooked in favour of ‘Footprints’, another Wayne Shorter composition from the same record, ‘Orbits’ would be a personal fave, not just in Miles terms but in overall Jazz terms. This boasts a pretty impressive personnel line up including Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. Listen out for Davis’ and Shorter’s harmonies and you get the impression of two musicians driving too close to the edge of a cliff but never in danger of careering off.

6 IN AND OUT - Wes Montgomery (Movin’ Wes 1964)

One of them that was just made for the dancefloor, from ‘Movin’ Wes’ (an LP that every Mod should own) the only challenge this one puts up is to try sit down when it comes on! Wes’ supercool style embellished by horn section stabs make this an instant Mod classic. Brian Auger’s Trinity do a pretty tidy version of this on the ‘Open’ LP.

7 THEME FROM JOYHOUSE - Jimmy Smith (The Cat 1964)

This is a no brainer. You’ve got Lalo Schifrin with orchestra and Jimmy Smith on his signature B 3 Hammond.

Really what more could you want! This is high drama from start to finish from the band drawing you in for the first 1:30 until Jimmy’s screaming organ kicks in all building up the crescendo to an orgasm like climax. Phew!

8 THE MORNING AFTER - Hank Mobley (A Caddy for Daddy 1966)

I’ve no doubt cooler things than this actually do exist but if you find any please inform me. Mobley is up there with the greats for me and it’s easy to hear why. This is a waltz (of sorts) but really couldn’t be the furthest thing from what you’d expect to see old farts waltzing around a ballroom to. Lee Morgan’s trumpet and McCoy Turner’s piano help send this through the roof.

9 STRAIGHT NO CHASER - Miles Davis Sextet (Live at Newport 1958)

It’s this version of the Thelonius Monk standard that holds a special place with me as it was the tune that first introduced me to the artform. When this says ‘Sextet’ it doesn’t fuck about! Featuring such luminaries as Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley. This live version is the one for me and features a star turn by Bill Evans on piano.

10 LIKE SONNY - John Coltrane (Coltrane Jazz 1961)

10

Yes that man again! Deceivingly Latin at the start, this Coltrane classic bridges effortlessy into all out swing. The charm in this lies in Coltrane’s unreliance on perfection in favor of conveyance of emotion. Apparently stolen from a Sonny Rollins lick (hence the title) we’ll forgive him this time...just don’t do it again John!

SUSSED 25

Advertisement

S

ince their initial production nearly seventy years ago both Lambretta and Vespa have become two of the most iconic modes of transport ever to grace the world’s road surface. Classy, sleek, practical, divisive, instantly recognizable, stylish, obsession fuelling, addictive, striking, life-affirming... so many words and phrases to describe them, and even the most sceptical couldn’t possibly deny them some validity. Every one single owner of a scooter has their own story and reason for their enduring love affair with these chariots of style. But which one comes out on top?

Sussed, always one to remain impartial in matters such as these, will refer to each alphabetically for purposes of clarity but for the sake of a brief historical background we’ll address the Vespa first.

A BRIEF HISTORY Both children of the colossal post-war rebuild in Italy, Lambretta and Vespa were borne out of necessity more than anything. A levelled Italy found itself without industry or ally by 1946. Having been in the grip of a fascist annex with Germany for the preceeding 20 odd years what Italian industries hadn’t been bombed into the stone age by the allies were strip mined by retreating German forces rendering them useless to any ensuing allied takeover.

One of the largest of these was the aeronautical industry with Piaggio at the forefront. With it’s aero plants obliterated it was back to the drawing board for Piaggio.

SUSSED 28

VESPA ‘PAPERINO’

Transport engineering was all they knew and it was a British army major who made the decision to utilise what little salvaged parts and machinery and design resources they had and quickly realize a market for practical affordable light transport to help kick-start (pardon the pun) an economy in ruins. Design resources were so limited that Piaggio designers actually modelled the Vespa wheel on that of it’s aircraft. The first Vespa rolled off the production line in 1946 and within 10 years had garnered a relatively huge international fan base.

The first Vespa ‘clubs’ date back to the early 1950s.

Innocenti’s story is a similar one. It’s basis was in industrial piping and metalwork such as scaffolding for infrastructure. In fact the only tenuous automotive link it had was supplying pistons and shafts to the automobile industry.

brands and the conversation appears to be cordial. I’m clued-in on ‘Model A’ being the first Innocenti model off the production line and ‘Paperino’ the first Piaggo. I’m informed the Vespa has more or less maintained the original shape and lines from the original Paperino and Lambretta’s lines had gone through drastic changes over a short period of time from models A to F before settling on an optimum (quite literally from riding on a bar to a full framed motor scooter).

PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY In the green corner, from Milan, weighing in at 120 kilos the Lambretta, in the red corner, from Tuscany, weighing 110 kilos the Vespa....

When the topic of performance and reliability is raised immediately both come out scrapping. It’s not pretty to begin with the first round seeing both opponents sharing low body blows and rabbit punches.

‘Lambretta were notoriously bad starters so they adapted over the years into the 70s and started the use the electronic ignition designed for the Vespa in order to make them more reliable’.

‘MODEL A’ LAMBRETTA

With the onset of war Innocenti production shifted to weapons casings, grenades and bullets. At one point Innocenti produced 40,000 bullets a day for the war effort. One can quickly see too why Innocenti’s factories became legitimate targets for the allies. After a brief period of rebuilding its metal plants Innocenti soon found itself obsolete and in need of a new direction. With its factories stocked with spare parts and like Piaggio, realizing a need for cheap transport, a long four year development period saw the first Lambretta in production in 1948.

THE DUST UP A long standing healthy rivalry has existed between Lambrettista and Vespiti since time in memorial. Getting them in the ring together to expound the virtues of their respective motorised love interests and challenge their counterpart’s was always going to prove somewhat of a challenge. We’d arranged a time and place to hook up and Sussed was unsure how to approach this except with a blank page. As I arrive an LI Series I Lambretta is in mid restoration and a PX Vespa is undergoing a beautiful black paint job so I can tell this mob aren’t fucking about.

Although all close friends out of the ring one couldn’t help sense a tension. Was this a scenario that had been previously intentionally avoided?

We discuss history and heritage of both

‘??? No! Where did you get that from? The Ducati electronic ignition was made for Lambretta... and who were the first disc brake? The only scooters I saw breaking down on the egg run were Vespas’.

‘No denying nowadays Lambrettas are reliable but that’s only because they go everywhere in the back of a van’.

‘You have to remember series 1 and 2 Lambretta was designed in ‘57-58 and it’s engine design hasn’t changed since’.

‘What’s the most popular scooter at the moment in terms of sales?’.

‘I don’t know you’d need to ask a bike shop’.

‘Don’t be clever. Lambretta haven’t been in production since ‘71 because they realized their mistake and no one wanted to buy the fucking things anymore coz they’re heaps of shite and that’s the end of that... I hate Lambrettas’.

‘Vespas were always known for reliability over Lambrettas but as regards the question of performance....

Your’e getting more power out of a Lambretta than a Vespa’.

(All in agreement..)

STYLE & DESIGN Which is actually the more stylish? (i take a few steps back when I raise this)...

‘Probably the old style GS (Vespa).

It won awards for being the most beautifully designed and iconic machine ever.

The Victoria and Albert museum in London have a GS on permanent display.

‘Probably the TV (Lambretta)’.

I’m beginning to worry slightly and sense a mood of love and harmony. This quickly subsides...

‘In the long run they’re (Vespa) based around the same engine design as a Lambretta’. Vespa robbed the way the engine is mounted into the Lambretta’. If you take the modern Vespa GTs for example they’ll be basically disposable after 20 years’.

A red mist descends..

‘Disposable! Just because you don’t like the fucking things you’re calling them disposable.

How many Lambretta’s have you pulled out of skips and restored’.

I’m interested to hear what was favoured by the original scooter riding mods. I’m told it varied from country to country. It was the Italians and French who originally picked up on the stylish lines of the scooter in the late 50s and it wasn’t until the early 60s that mods in England adopted them.

The Series I Lambretta and GS Vespa both had their fans but the Series I probably pips the GS in terms of popularity simply because it was more affordable. I’m given the Quadrophenia analogy...

‘The guy who wore the fishtail would generally be seen on a Lambretta but the bloke who wore the leather mac would be seen on the GS because it showed he was more money. At the same time mods in the 60s would have aspired to the Lambretta TV because it was more expensive’ (and exclusive).

There was actually a practicality behind it all too with the ‘step-through’ design, which was originally designed to make them more physically accessible. Up until the emergence of the Lambretta and Vespa the ‘bar’ design of the motorcycle involved you having to throw your leg over the bike in order to mount it (...behave). This was cumbersone to most who just wanted a simple mode of transport to nip around town.

Housewives and businessmen alike

gravitated towards the new ‘step-through’ design. For a start there was no danger of getting oil on your clothes. So a new generation of stylists adopted them as their own and the rest as they say...

Another area I personally find intriguing is customization. It can range from the stunning to the outlandish. I’m always fascinated by the creativity involved. For example, a particular trailer adapted by Les Byrne for his LI. This was an old Czechoslovakian motorbike trailer adapated on a single wheel system and I must say the results are simply jaw dropping. I ask about adaptability of design. Which is the more adaptable?

I’m told they’re both equally adaptable but there are strengths possessed by one that the other lacks and vice versa.

‘In Italy for example you’ll find more customization on the Vespa but in England you’ll also find more add-ons on the Lambretta because they’re more associated with mods. On the other hand in Italy they’ll also not touch their (original) Vespas. The most they’ll do is let the paint run down and simply lacquer them’.

I learn the disc brake system on a Lambretta renders it a bit more restricted in terms of adaptability but it’s two-fork construction also makes it more adaptable in terms of fork extensions (although why anyone would want to extend the forks in the first place is beyond me personally.

If it’s not broke don’t fix it I always say).

I’m surprised to hear also that it’s the Lambretta that would generally have the most paintwork customization. It’s at this point I’m reminded of the fact that when you take off the panels on a Lambretta you can see the whole engine therefore it’s only natural that enthusiasts would like the show the engine details off with touches of chrome work etc yet I’m told at the same time the Lambretta is a more difficult bike to customize. These boys certainly don’t make life easy for themselves.

change over in production all the time.

The other models are built on their side whereas the PX is built upright on the production line therefore they have to have the PX on a seperate line and it hasn’t changed’.

What is interesting at this point is, although the PX model came into production in ‘76/’77, I learn there’s more of a leaning towards the classic 80s look of the PX among current Vespiti (the 80s wasn’t all bad after all was it...).

Because of production of the Lambretta ceasing in 1971 it’s now left down to a small army of enthusiasts to keep the flame of Innocenti burning. I think fanatics would probably be a better choice of pronoun. I’m told by the proud owner of the featured Lambretta TV (below right) that you could literally name your price for the headlight alone, similarly the badges.

No winners here except Sussed. It was a joy and a right giggle to spend time with Dave ‘Baggie’ Bagnall, Paul ‘Biddie’ Bevan, Les Byrne, Liam Finnegan, Mick Forde, John Martin Kenny. A Huge thanks for their time, help and insights in putting this together. On a final note we’d have to give special mention to the Dublin leg of the now legendary ‘Egg Run’. At the time of this going to print it raised a grand total of €31,439 for Our Lady’s children’s hospital in Dublin.

It all ended on a cordial note but even as I left I couldn’t help sense the possibility of a rematch...

‘1964 was the last engineering change done on the Lambretta, apart from panel work’.

‘Piaggio have five bikes in constant production. The PX is the only line that never changes. The other four lines

SUSSED 29

Advertisement

STOP THE PRESSES!

We love a good magazine so heres a round up of ones that we have seen or heard about. We'd be interested to hear of any fanzines you know about and we'll happily feature their details here.

Heavy Soul Comprehensive and regular magazine from Adam Cooper who runs the boutique label of the same name. Crammed with loads of information it’s a one stop shop for all your information needs on old, new and future Mod topics. Focus is heavily on music but there’s a wide trawl across all the topics that exercise your average mod. In a nice handy A5 size it comes with an additional booklet, most recently a Motown LP tracks run down from Dublin’s Paul Davis. Contact Adam at 45@rowedout.co.uk for details and prices. Essential Magazine.

Another A5 sized periodical and this time a Greek imprint that comes with a free CD of 60s underground 45s. Belle Vue is a Modernist collective that organise music nights, events and publish this smashing little magazine. The mag itself if a bi-lingual affair and the issue I purchased contains interviews with Max Galli (who illustrated the CD), Mauro Cao, Blue Hipster amongst others. The cost is a whopping $20 but with the quality of the CD and the excellent layout its not as steep as it appears. Seems this is not so regular so best thing would be to get in touch with the publishers via www.myspace.com/belle_vue

One-Two-Five

Belle Vue Neat Northern Ireland publication covering all eras of the culture; 60's/70's/80's/90's, as well focusing on individual people and their viewpoints.

There’s a broad musical spectrum in this mag and we especially loved Issue 2's focus on Irish Beat Groups.

Issue three is in the last stages before print and we expect the same high quality of writing and content as the previous two issues. Cost is €5 including postage from 30 Bleach Green, Dunadry, Antrim

BT41 2GZ N.I. or paypal to jomooress@btinternet.com

Double Breasted

Paypal to: stevecato64@yahoo.co.uk

Underground Scottish A5 magazine that unfortunately is no longer in print however Jennie Bailey, the mags editor tells me that there are still back issues available. DB got up to issue 10 over the period december 2008 to june 2011 and each one was quality through and through with at least one free CD compilation of Scottish mod and retro inspired bands.

The publishers have decided to focus on their Two Cat record label (see seperate reviews in this issue). If you want to pick up the last of the isues then get in touch with Jennie via: twocatrecords@hotmail.com or doublebreasted@hotmail.com

Soul Up North this long running soul Fanzine is now up to issue 75 and continues to deliver great articles. Featuring Etta james, the Willie West Story, a piece on Black Power and the sound of Funk, loads of vinyl and CD reviews from top collectors and Deejays, confessions of a vinyl junkie and much more. £3 plus postage to.

Mexican Fanzine up to issue number 5 featuring: Jackie Edwards: The Soul Recordings.

DC Fontana Interview.

My Favorite 45 rpm by Mocky Dimples.

Mr. UK SUE. The World of Guy Stevens.

Just One in My Life. The forgotten story of the Action...

Dave Cairns Interview.

Georgie Fame Talks About Tamla Motown.

The Italian Mod Scene.

A little taste of... Sugar Pie DeSanto.

Long Tall Shorty. Completely Perfect.

Just A Little Mod. Terry Tonik Interview.

The Buttshakers Interview.

Includes Compiled CD Action & Creation Vol. 5: In 'n' Out

Contact actiondist@gmail.com Cost is 8USD inc Postage.

SUSSED 31

SUSSED REVIEWS

The Vibe Creators I Don’t Wanna Be Lonely (Lontano)

You wil notice from my article in this issue that i'm a big fan of this Spanish combo so reviewing this is just such an easy task. Kicking off with some subdued organ before Layla comes in with her clearly enunciated vocals this one just oozes class and sophistication.

Steeped in years of Black music one is instantly transported to supper clubs and that golden era when folk dressed up to go out. It’s an exhortation to get up and dance and i have no doubt that this one is destined to be a classic of the Modern soul music scene.

Modus Love Bug/Kitten Casino Two Cat)

I've always been partial to a nice organ led groover pumping out of the speakers.

Throw a jerky beat and some high femme vocals on it and you are approaching personal nirvana. This Edinburgh crew really hit the mark on the top side. Nice use of double vocal SUSSED 32

Joe Moran takes on the task of reviewing 45 releases that have popped up on Sussed’s radar over the last couple of months....

across Love Bug with some neo-blaxploitation vibes on the breakdown. Flip side is more northern in its direction on a tale of getting dressed up for the night out. Sure we've all been there. A bit frantic with a heavy Detroit bassline driving the groove forward. Hectic.

The Laynes Wasnt it You/We Got Time (Two Cat) Another release from two cat and again its another Scottish band. Slightly different

inflections from the Laynes with some sub-psychedlic shapes throwing. "Wasnt it you" should be known to anyone who has a passing interest in the sixties Pop art champions The Action. The Laynes take that soft swaying singalong, sandpaper it to give it a rough edge, tweak the tempo and kick its arse a bit and deliver a harder song.

The reverse is a Kinks styled rave up i'm informed by the publicity blurb and I can’t find fault in that description, this really wouldnt be out of place in Ray Davies’ repertoire.

Focused on the dancefloor this is a quintessential Brit Beat freak out.

The Urges Fire Burning (Mersol)

We were privileged to feature The Urges in the first issue of Sussed and in that interview they promised us their next release would blow the socks

off us - they weren't kidding.

This release is taken from their forthcoming Lp and there’s a very definite upping of the game evident with the addition of a horn section (the raging Horns) filling out their typical garage/psych sound. Kicking off with a deadly bass riff and some handclaps the Horns storm in from left field hitting you with a wall of sound, the organ underpins everything and then breaks down into a four four northern stepping stompathon. The break is a savage piece of work with the organ, guitar and drums all propelling towards the insistent finish. These lads don’t fuck about.

The Strypes Young Gifted and Blue Ep (Heavy Soul)

The Cavan lads on their second release that has garnered them huge attention both domestically and internationally. The lads are so steeped in their music that they have dispelled any lazy notions of them being a novelty act. The last year has seen them hone thier live act and stamp their own identity

on their brand of RnB. Four tracks on this EP and all are bleeding with passion - check out the headline of "You cant judge a book by its cover" - a raucous rollicking affair tightly hammered out. Their take of ‘Leaving here’ far from being just another cover is a revelation - they've put their unique stamp all over it and dragged it into fuzzed out psych territory. Great stuff from a great band.

Terry Shaughnessy No Room at the Doom and

Gloom Hotel (EP) The Universal Front Man and songwriter takes a break from the bomabast of Rock’n’Roll and settles back into a more contemplative mood with this collection of acoustic numbers.

An acoustic set more often than not is an indulgence for die hard fans and really it’s the quality of the songs themselves that make or break it for the casual listener. In this instance the set is strong and well crafted. Shaugnessy is just a bloody good writer and gives a well known "relic from a golden age" a run for his money. Check out "I Want You" for a majestic listening experience or listen to how "Is This England" is stripped down to its basics and instead of a paean to gloruous days becomes almost a poetic lament for the current state of that nation. Listen without prejudice!

SUSSED REVIEWS

TowerBrown Let’s Paint it Brown EP (TowerBeat)

interlude like that can be forgiven. It’s got such a big bouncy soulful vibe to it that it will surely grace many a Mod night turntable in the future.

Al Supersonic and The Teenagers Paint Yourself in a Corner (unique)

In 2010 these French groove merchants released the first issue of this EP and it instantly sold out. Such was the demand they released it again in 2012 and again it sold out.

And it’s not hard to see why.

For anyone who likes Hammond led beat this is your only man. Like some screwed up version of ‘she's coming home’ this is really at home playing to a room full of sweaty Mods in a basement somewhere. This is one serious wig-out. Three other tracks fill out the EP all with variations on the theme of that authentic British R’n’B sound.

TowerBrown I Wanna Know (TowerBeat)

Second release form the lads and they just keep getting better. This time around Izzy Lindqwister takes on the vocals and brings the sound bang up to date on this bit of a screamer. Big guitar solo strays into a rocking territory but it’s just such a damn charming track that a small

So there I was outside the Sunday Social in May talking with Ken Mooney from The Urges about new releases when he mentioned these Spanish cats as someone to check out. When i got home I did a bit of research via youtube. Wow! is the only way to describe what Ii heard and saw - a big full on retro sound from a bunch of sharp dressed cats. This is their current release and what a marvellous initation for those who do not know them. Starts off with a riff not unlike something Archie Bell would've laid down. Big Brass abounds on this one and it’s one fabulous party tune.

Expect to be hearing this one when I next get behind the ones and two's. To complete the package the instrumental features on the flip.

Willie West Cold in the Storm/She's So Wise (Timmion) West has been around for quite sometime and has been operating out of New Orleans plugging away creating good solid soul without actually getting the breaks that he deserves. He's had a couple of

vibe to the whole affair, almost as if one is listening to it being laid down in some ramshackle seedy studio in the heat of Memphis. You cannot really fault these guys - they know what they do and they do it well. i could listen to these guys all day.

releases already on Timmion and hopefully this should get him a well earned increase in his profile. Top side is a classic downtempo love song neither retro nor modern sounding, vocals are restrained and the backing track bubbling away beneath, supplied by the High Society Brothers, is deliciously downhome and warm. Really the combination of West and the brothers is just so bang on the mark. Second side gives us an uptempo swirly organ shuffler with stabbing brass punctuating the silky smoothness of West’s vocals.

If you like classic Soul then this is the release for you.

The Soul Investigators Creepin’ (Timmion)

Timmion house band it seems are back-up to some of the grandest names on that stables roster however on this one they go it alone and give us an organ led sleazy workout. The press release on this one tells me that it was recorded on a mono tape recorder, not so sure about that but what is undeniable is that there’s a tangible 4-track

The Moons Double Vision Love/English Summer (Acid Jazz)

Had never heard of these lads prior to picking up on the single. i wouldn’t be a great fan of guitar bands preferring more of a soul vibe to the discs I buy but this one really clicked with me. Very lo-fi intro grabs the ears from the off. Production has that stripped down feel over a clip clop beat. Vocals are nicely balanced in the mix and it all reminds me of that eighties affinity with fifties scary rock ala B-52's. 2 minutes in and the whole thing changes into this beautiful middle third and a sublime little harmony before reverting back to the lo-fii workout ...Magnificent. Flip side is a look at the English Summer you know that time of year when the rain is warm.... another infectious melody.

Hopefully by the time you read this it won’t have sold out....

SUSSED 33

SUSSED REVIEWS

w

ith it being 25 years since the last studio long player I was somewhat reluctant to press play on this. How could it possibly live up to the gutsy passion of Searching for the Young Soul Rebels, or the joyous abandon of Too-Rye-Aye, or the untamed bravery of Don’t Stand Me Down.

The last two studio offerings were to coincide with a reunion (of sorts) tour in 2003. ‘Manhood’ and ‘My Life in England’ although still packing a punch lyrically and perfectly good pop songs in their own right, to me seemed a little twee musically even bordering on pedestrian. So although giddy with anticipation over what the new incarnation of Dexys had to offer, you can understand my quiet reluctance. Forget about it!!!!!!

The intro to the opening track NOW instantly put me in mind of ‘My National Pride’ so I thought... here we go, Don’t Stand Me Down Pt.2 (which ain’t no bad thing). This thought lasted roughly 1 minute and 17 seconds until eight bars of a raucous battle-cry of ‘Attack Attack’ kicks in... The tone has been set.

For what seemed like the quickest next five minutes of my life Dexys set their stall out.

LOST is another of five tracks with one word titles (the order of which appear NOW, LOST, ME, YOU, FREE.... could this be evidence of a concept album?). LOST is a lavish string and harp driven waltz. What seems like an ode to the innocence of youth, this sees Rowland posing the question was youth all it was cracked up to be? ‘soon it was obvious that I was lost inside’ only to answer his own question realizing the frailties of adulthood ‘when I tell them that I’m soft they take they piss out of me’. ME is another of many potential singles.

Mick Talbot shines on this.

Musically, this brings to mind Bacharach, Stevie... and dare I say it, even the Style Council. The genius of this is the musical contrast to Rowand’s kind of ‘fuck them all’ lyrics. For me, upon first listen this was the instant standout tune off the album.

SHE’S GOT A WIGGLE wouldn’t necessarily have been my choice of single but then again, had it been on any other record but this it would’ve been a clear contender. In Madeleine Hyland, Dexys have unearthed a star. Her admissions of ‘I’m mad about you’ and ‘can’t live without you’ set fire to any notions that unrequited love actually exists. YOU is one of them with an instant fiddle hook that has hit single written all over it, backed up by it weighing in at 3.5 minutes.

SUSSED 34

Ray Gilligan reviews the Summer’s most anticipated release since Nelson Mandela. Dexys - ONE DAY I’M GOING TO SOAR

With Kevin professing his initial feelings of lust towards his lover were in actual fact her fault and that these lustful thoughts have since subsided giving way to true love, ‘now I know what true love means’.

So far it’s becoming pretty apparent that all of the tracks on this LP are biographical. No punches are being pulled in that department and this is certainly not a record pretending to be something that it isn’t. If you’re looking for pretentiousness, then look elsewhere. Nowhere is that more obvious than on I’M THINKING OF YOU. Torturous obsessive love is what we’re dealing with here (never dealt with, with such ease and clarity of emotion, since Costello’s ‘I Want You’). Mick Talbot’s Hammond and Neil Hubbard’s Cropper-like guitar give this the warmth required for such an undertaking, making way for an outro of strings and sax. This could be Al Green on a good day!

Glorious.

Part of my initial reluctance towards this record was down to a handful of TV appearances I’d seen on the build up to the release. I must admit I wasn’t overly enamoured with the Jools Holland appearances, but musical history will prove that television production does have a habit of taking the goodness out of everything. I’M ALWAYS GOING TO LOVE YOU was one I approached with trepidation having already witnessed it on the haunted fishtank. Performance wise great but I was left somewhat cold by the live sound production. How wrong was I! Snare and bass drum kick you in the goolies immediately followed by a string riff reminiscent of Hot Chocolate’s ‘So You Win Again’ which is the hook throughout the song.... the comparison to anything else ends there.

Madeleine Hyland makes her duet debut on this and gives the performance of a lifetime. I wasn’t surprised to hear of her acting credentials but was shocked to hear of her not actually being a singer by trade. This is a performance piece and make no mistake. Kevin Rowland reminding his lover of his undying love for her, and within the space of five minutes completely moving the goalposts. His missus isn’t happy.... If I divulge anymore I’ll just ruin it.

INCAPABLE OF LOVE would be one of them you’d play to someone who’d lived a feral existence for 30 years reared by wolves in a cave and never having heard Pop music.

For the sake of this review, let’s call this ‘I’m always going to love you’ Pt

II. Set to the backdrop of a 4/4 ‘blues shuffle’ rhythm, the 1-2-3-4 click count in is left in at the start which gives that immediate feel of a live take. Ms Hyland takes over as the gaffer on this one. OK this is Rowland giving one his best signature pop vocals, monologue et-al but it’s Madeleine who’s the real star here. She’s having no more of this carry on. From the opening blast of ‘he’s incapable of love’ we see Kevin in squirmish begging mode, trying to pull a fast one coz he knows he’s made a mistake with this woman... ‘the road to be free is inside of me’. She’s not having it though...‘fuck that I’m not stupid’. A joy.

Fascinating really if you think about it, Kevin Rowland never struck me as the self-pitying type. He never moaned about the world owing him a favour. On this record he bares it all. We find ourselves in HiRecords/Stax mode again with NOWHERE IS HOME. Never happy with his place in the world he reveals everything in this song. All of them unanswered questions about Rowland are answered on this...‘I was born here from an Irish family but that in itself is not enough for me’. The killer blow of what I can only describe as a gorgeous cacophony summed up to perfection in the line ‘it’s a lie, it’s a filthy lie’. Has the man actually found his home? Answer to this and other questions are found on ONE DAY I’M GOING TO SOAR. The pages are dripping with it... ‘and I can’t be a fucking stereotype but it’s lonely being here living this fight’

There is a tendency for records to drift off. A tendency to open with your 3 or 4 strongest tunes and the rest to be mere fillers if you will.

Not in this case. FREE opens up with that famous snare roll to tom Tamla job and maintains that feel throughout. It’s another I would’ve called for choice of single, but that’s immaterial, there’s plenty of time for that. At last Kevin Rowland is free!

The chorus screams a man unshackled by personal chains and actually happy in himself ‘I can’t fucking wait to go outside with my life. A pop classic, this one definitely soars.

You make mistakes in life, you deal with them... and on and on it goes.

You’d like to think in some small part your mistakes haven’t been in vain and hopefully you can impart some advice to someone based on your life choices that might help them in their journey or with similar experiences. In IT’S O.K. JOHN JOE Kevin Rowland does just this.

The famous Rowland monologue is here and it’s the perfect ending to a perfect album.

I defy anyone to listen to ONE DAY I’M GOING TO SOAR and find it nothing less than an uplifting experience. Was it worth 25 years the wait? I used to be kranky about Dexys as I always felt a little undersold by them leaving me hanging for 25 years. Just when I need them most they’re not there.

Who do I turn to now when I’m in trouble? Those days are gone now.

On reflection every song on this LP reminded me of something but I just couldn’t put my finger on it? Then I sussed it. It reminds me of Dexys!

Coming up in issue #003.... the riots retro cool from carnaby streak postmodernism max galli reviews, features, interviews, art and much more....

Cover girl: Sharon Kirkup.

Photography: Mandy Arrowsmith. www.studioportraitsyork.co.uk. Photo used with kind permission of Sharon and Mandy

Many thanks to the following without whom this wouldn’t have been possible: Hugh Burns l Fernando Pinto del Rosal l Fiona Dennison l Mark Sherlock l Resoul I Dave Barry I Marty McAllister l Leonardo Flores l Polly & Dandy l Dave Bagnall I Paul Bevan l Les Byrne l Liam Finnegan I Mick Forde I John Kenny I Kevin Fitzpatrick l Bill Kealy l Edel O’Sullivan l Jacqui Carroll