Here comes another Richard Dutch musical-soccer/football special!
Buy Off The Bar consisted of Michel, Marcel, Paul, and Loetje.
The band emerged from the squatter's world of Amsterdam, but contrary to some, they did not have a militant musical punk style.
Neither did they conform to the leather-heavy guitar rockers of those days. Their main inspiration was John Peel.
So when they thought they were good enough, they made John Peel an offer he could not refuse.
At this point, I might say that they put a dead animal's head in his bed, but they are such nice people that the offer was one John Peel simply could not refuse.
They offered to paint his house for free. So they did, and the first of the four Peel Sessions was a fact.
Their first release was a tape "Billy At The Bar", and a split 7” with Golden Strings.
On their first album "It’s Up To Billy" there is a song Guitar Maffia and I’ll quote a few lines:
Guitar Maffia of Amsterdamn, they feel important ‘cause they play in a band
Imitating poses of Hendrix, Flower Power in 1986
Oh what a mess we can do it better
oh oh what a mess we don’t need any leather……
And that’s the true spirit “we have the fun, they have the fame”
During their career they toured the UK a lot. It resulted in them obtaining a demo from The Buzzcocks of their unfinished song In The Back, which was promptly done by Buy Off The Bar for their 2nd Peel Session. This being the first and only Peel Session they officially released. And The Buzzcocks released their version of In The Back much later, in the 2000s.
Thus, which is the cover?
Anyway this is a brilliant version.
Buy Off The Bar did a few other covers. The best thing they did was keeping them On Stage and Off The Records.
From various live performances I have selected The Fall- That Man, TV Personalities – Part Time Punks, The Tights – Cracked. The latter being included on a compilation album "Pluralism D".
Evolving in the next years, their second and last album bears influences of Bog Shed, and other great UK indie bands.
Early 90s they quit.
Paul, Michel and Loetje, I have no real idea how life went for them. As for 'Cil: there grew a career in DJing and writing, mostly about Ajax, the legendary footballclub from the Dutch Capital. A club where the great Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis Suarez, Swart, Seedorf, Bergkamp, van der Sar, Vertongen, etc., etc., had a career.
Buy Off The Bar consisted of Michel, Marcel, Paul, and Loetje.
The band emerged from the squatter's world of Amsterdam, but contrary to some, they did not have a militant musical punk style.
Neither did they conform to the leather-heavy guitar rockers of those days. Their main inspiration was John Peel.
So when they thought they were good enough, they made John Peel an offer he could not refuse.
At this point, I might say that they put a dead animal's head in his bed, but they are such nice people that the offer was one John Peel simply could not refuse.
They offered to paint his house for free. So they did, and the first of the four Peel Sessions was a fact.
On their first album "It’s Up To Billy" there is a song Guitar Maffia and I’ll quote a few lines:
Guitar Maffia of Amsterdamn, they feel important ‘cause they play in a band
Imitating poses of Hendrix, Flower Power in 1986
Oh what a mess we can do it better
oh oh what a mess we don’t need any leather……
And that’s the true spirit “we have the fun, they have the fame”
During their career they toured the UK a lot. It resulted in them obtaining a demo from The Buzzcocks of their unfinished song In The Back, which was promptly done by Buy Off The Bar for their 2nd Peel Session. This being the first and only Peel Session they officially released. And The Buzzcocks released their version of In The Back much later, in the 2000s.
Thus, which is the cover?
Anyway this is a brilliant version.
Buy Off The Bar did a few other covers. The best thing they did was keeping them On Stage and Off The Records.
From various live performances I have selected The Fall- That Man, TV Personalities – Part Time Punks, The Tights – Cracked. The latter being included on a compilation album "Pluralism D".
Evolving in the next years, their second and last album bears influences of Bog Shed, and other great UK indie bands.
Early 90s they quit.
Paul, Michel and Loetje, I have no real idea how life went for them. As for 'Cil: there grew a career in DJing and writing, mostly about Ajax, the legendary footballclub from the Dutch Capital. A club where the great Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis Suarez, Swart, Seedorf, Bergkamp, van der Sar, Vertongen, etc., etc., had a career.
We ('Cil and I) joked about football. Then Ajax and (my team) PSV were at the same height. 'Cil said that PSV had all the money, to which I replied:
'Ajax can buy players but it takes PSV to make a team.' Or something like that, it was over 30 years ago.
Anyway, at time of writing Ajax keeps losing to PSV.
Cheers 'Cil.
Link:https://pixeldrain.com/u/WaeXC9Bd
ReplyDeleteRichard's non-musical question: Who's in your opinion the greatest football/soccer player?!
It depends in what era you were born. Leaving JC out, I'd choose Kees Rijvers. His football career lasted from the 40s to the 60s. Among the first to be a professional (in the Netherlands) the first to be a "forreigner" who wins the French footballer of the year award, and after his active footballcareer he was an outstanding and visionairy coach. Who, together with his wife Annie, had a concept of Total Football that stretched beyond the field. He trained the lads, and she was their for the wives, the non-football support (psychological aid, alcohol/drugs aid and prevention). His modesty was key in being surpassed many times by the Unions (think KNVB, UEFA, FIFA)
ReplyDeleteA lot of football music has been made. Artists in favour for their teams, New Order World In Motion, Ole Ole Ole the famous chant was in fact Allez Allez Allez for Anderlecht winning the Belgian cup, when Belgium qualified for the world-cup the producer cleverly changed it to Ole Ole Ole and secured the rights to the chant.Every club has its anthem. The Cockney Rejects with Forever Blowing Bubbles (West Ham United) Footballers trying a bit of singing. I think you can scroll to one of the triple titles for Johan Cruijff with Oei Oei Oei.
On Pink Floyd's Fearless you will here a crowd chant You'll Never Walk Alone. In England the football choir is a phenomenon making the link between football and music pretty strong.
The funny thing about Kees Rijvers is that he used to play for St Etienne in the sixties and then he was PSV's manager when they were eliminated by St Etienne in the Champions Cup semis in 1976 only for the latter to be beaten by Bayern Munich and Glasgow's Hampden Park square posts in the final ! It's going to be 50 years ago next May. Regarding St Etienne related music, it was quite awful I have to say. Monty's Allez les Verts including JC Borelly's instrumental trumpet version and then the abysmal Le Petit Rocheteau (by Monty again, a failed yé yé singer) but you guys probably escaped that. I didn't know Buy Off the Bar though.
ReplyDeleteAs for the best footballer, I would say Kopa, Fontaine, Platini and Zidane but Pelé, Maradona and Cruyff weren't bad either.
J from Europe.
Thank you J from Europe. I am lucky to have been close to Mijnheer Rijvers. Many talked about him as Keessie, but he allowed me to call him Mijnheer. The St Etienne story goes a bit further. He played 1944 (making a debut goal at 17) for NAC Breda and 1950-1963, on and off for St Etienne. He was the first non-french to win player of the year in France. His last goal was when he played for his homeclub NAC Breda against AFC Ajax. As a trainer/coach he became famous in The Netherlands and the 5-0 loss against St Etienne was one of his most sour ones. I once asked about it and he only said that they were better that day. Back then everybody had nicknames.He was Trois Pommes. He was not a tall man, he was as tall as three apples. His view of football predates the Cruijff total-football.
DeleteNext may he would have been 100.
BTW Fontaine and Kopa are great, greater greatest indeed. When you compare modern (warfare) footbal with the fairplay gentlemen of those days.....I am old....it will never be the same
DeleteKnowing nothing about football, I have nothing to add to this discussion except a heartfelt THANK YOU to Richard for the music. Now I can add "That Man" to my collection of Fall cover songs, and am sure to enjoy listening to Buy Off the Bar. "We have the fun, they have the fame” is a great attitude to have about music.
ReplyDelete