In the late 1970’s I used to frequent a 2nd hand record stand on the Hilversum market every Saturday and the guy who ran it introduced me to a lot of good artists and groups.
One of those turned out to be a musician I had completely forgotten about: Jona Lewie…
Joan only recorded 2 albums for Stiff: On The Other Hand There's A Fist (1978) and Heart Skips Beat (1982), which I both dutifully purchased, excellent songs I thought. Unfortunately for Jona there were no more hits and that was the end of his career at Stiff.
Visiting record shops in various towns I did however manage to find more of his work, incl. his first album Gatecrasher on Sonet which was a 11 track collection of singles, some released under his own name, others as Terry Dactyl And The Dinosaurs With Jona Lewie. Then I discovered why I was vaguely familiar with his name, in 1977 he’d scored a minor hit with Come Away (a cover of Roberto Leaĺ’s Bate O Pe) and even appeared on Dutch television!
Another 45 I found was Cherry Ring with a non-album B-side: After We Swun, a very quirky blues track, utterly bonkers but brilliant!
Both Stiff albums and compilations of those tracks are still rereleased, especially Find Me In The Kitchen (used for a commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCtLrVihFhQ ) and Stop The Cavalry (which has become a Christmas standard, despite that holiday being mentioned only once!).
Gatecrasher was never released on CD which was a shame to say the least…
BUT in 2020 Grapefruit Records released a 6 CD box set:
Brett Marvin & The Thunderbolts – The Sonet Anthology of which Jona was a member as well and the last CD consisted of the entire Terry Dactyl And The Dinosaurs With Jona Lewie output! It even included that wacky B-side…
This made it possible to come up with an extended Gatecrasher collection for your listening pleasure!
Question: What's your favorite Jona Lewie (if any!) song?
FYLP, here's the link: https://mega.nz/file/fUUg1LLb#posbu8qTIPC---H3982GUQbTDs2pwZRV1zW80xNjVNs
ReplyDeleteAfter posting this I googled a bit and found to my surprise that Jona has just released a new album, Are You Free Tuesday?, his first since 20 years!
ReplyDeleteListening to it now on YouTube, it's actually wonderfully oddball again, check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kYp6E0E-_3zxqFYk0hkeEDBQc-6mCNI5U
Seaside Shuffle is a very interesting ditty for (when memory serves me right) it has a very very interseting instrument used. I don't know the name or what it looks like. In my mind, it is a pole with bells. A traditional item mainly used in folklore. Anyone knows more? Favorites? That one, Cherry Ring and....
ReplyDeleteYou'll always find me in the kitchen at parties, Her Majesty, the late Kirsty MacColl sings on.
Have a look here Richard: https://youtu.be/FKT_RdXvzpM?si=xe6AL1lxk5HGV6QF
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e74yxz4eUWE Thank you. Do you know what that instrument is called. BTW The video is 99% about Kirsty, the other 3 % are for Jona and the rest of the band. ( refrasing a quote I heard on QI)
DeleteSorry Richard, I have never ever seen something like that before! Thanks for your link as well, never realized how much Kirsty adds to the song... Here's some more background info about Kitchen - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw8Q6no7kB4
DeleteWow, Jona denies Kirsty is in on it. (3:23 in the video) that is 30 years after the facts, who's memory is the better. Great song, and I wanted to include it on a Kirsty Special but now this one must go down to the Maybe (As A Special Bonus Track) section
DeleteRe Seaside Shuffle - I bought it when I was a kid. On the UK label (like 10cc) if memory serves. I think that weird instrument used is called a rhythm pole - or at least that's what the Bonzo Dog Do-Dah Band called it in the genius Intro and Outro from Gorilla.
DeleteWhen they used to be Brett Marvin & The Thunderbolts I used to go see them at the Stapleton in Finsbury Park. Then they called it a zobstick.
DeleteBack in the 17th century in France before they had orchestral conductors they used something like this to beat the rhythm.one famous composer died when the stick went through his foot.
Keith Trussell on zobstick I recall.
DeleteI searched "zobstick" and got this from Wikipedia: A monkey stick (also called a mendoza, mendozer, Murrumbidgee river rattler, lagerphone or zob stick) is a traditional English percussion instrument, used in folk music. Some musicians have taken to fixing a small stuffed toy monkey to the tops of their instruments. The instrument is constructed from a stout pole with metal "jingles" fastened at intervals along the shaft. These are commonly beer-bottle tops with a 1-inch washer in between the tops and the shaft.
DeleteThe "zob stick" variation of this instrument was constructed and named in 1968 by percussionist and songwriter Keef Trouble of the band Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts and Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs, and included a sprung-boot attached to the bottom of the pole and a metal sleeve round its centre, to be hit with a serrated wooden stick. It is now, with the term ‘Lagerphone’, the most commonly used name for this instrument.[citation needed] The term 'zob' was taken from the British naval slang term for "penis".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_stick
Mystery solved?
Well I'll be zopped...
DeleteYes that was exactly what I was looking for. Finally a years and years old mystery solved.
DeleteFrom wikip - "Lully died from gangrene, having struck his foot with his long conducting staff during a performance of his Te Deum to celebrate Louis XIV's recovery from surgery" I knew it was one of them, Marais, Rameau or Lully.
DeleteThis has been one of the most educational music blog posts I have ever seen!
DeleteI fully agree, love it when the comments go in completely unexpected directions!
DeleteThis looks great., Koen. I'm predictably fond of ALWAYS FIND ME IN THE KITCHEN AT PARTIES. Maybe I'll find a new favorite here! - Stinky
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you find a new favorite!
DeleteAnother fab compilation, Koen! I vote for "Rearranging Deck Chairs On The Titanic".
ReplyDeleteThat's one of my favourite songtitles ever!
Delete"Stop The Cavalry (which has become a Christmas standard, despite that holiday being mentioned only once!)."
ReplyDeleteHow many times do you want a Christmas standard to mention Christmas? Where's the threshold?
Well, you'd expect at least a few times, but as long as it works, who cares really? I certainly don't, it was just an observation!
DeleteHi Anonymous, you think the other way around. It becomes a christmas standard when it gets branded as such. I agree with Art58Koen, who cares? I think the inclusion of christmas (once, will do nicely) and the bells suggesting sleighbells are a massive pension plan for Jona Lewie. Good for him it worked.
DeleteWill this become a musical version of the debate over whether "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie? Or will we heed the words of Joey Ramone: "I don't want to fight tonight"?
DeleteCompletely new to me though all this talk about a Penis Pole makes me a bit wary -- thanks?!
ReplyDeleteif it ain't Stiff...
Delete