Post by ageingted on May 8, 2021 20:42:46 GMT
Did the Prime Minister shut down the pub during the pandemic? Very silent these days.
I don't have much to say on the Cleaners front but there's been some activity at the David Devant Facebook group. You'll recall that band was on the Humbug label in the mid-'90s alongside Martin. While they issued only a single on the label, a digital collection of early Devant demos from that period was released years ago. For some reason, only just now have partial liner notes appeared. The introduction contains anecdotes about what it was like to work with eccentric label boss Kevin Crace.
The Lost World of David Devant
Remember how there was once a fancy studio remake of 'Johnny The Moondog Is Dead' intended for release as a single? And how it never came out except on an unobtainable Falling A compilation CD? I got this info from John Relph's phenomenal Newell discography:
[According to the Falling A Records web site: "A single was recorded for Falling A, but was not released at the time. It is however of great historic value as it regrouped the original line up of Martin Newell and Lol Elliot to record at Sea Level studio and it spawned the original studio version of `Johnny the Moondog' as well as `Only a shadow'. True to our spirit of good intentions and then running out of cash we also had Martin compile a best of the DIY tape years which was scheduled to be released as an album called _The purple love machine is incredibly groovy_. Sadly this also never got beyond a few promo copies either.'']
So getting back to David Devant, they also did an unreleased single remix of the song 'I Think About You'. At least unreleased until now. It just showed up on the Facebook page. Much different than the LP version, plus they made the radio-friendly lyrical substitution of 'pluck my eyebrows' for 'fuck my brains out'! They left the risque line 'with my famous purple heart on' intact, though. I of course maintain that the reference is to the US military medal rather than an erection, but someone pointed out to me that a 'purple heart' was a well-known amphetamine pill favored by the Mods back in the '60s. Now the pill interpretation makes no sense in the Devant lyric, but it figures into a wonderful Beatle anecdote. They were accepting British Variety Awards in 1964, which looked like silver hearts. John gets up and says "Thanks for the purple hearts", everyone laughs, and Ringo yells "Silver! Silver!"
I have gone to absurd lengths to tie Newell, Devant and Lennon to purple, so it's time to rest. Just let me say in closing that if Devant can unearth a decades-old unreleased single, I encourage Martin to follow suit with Johnny...
I don't have much to say on the Cleaners front but there's been some activity at the David Devant Facebook group. You'll recall that band was on the Humbug label in the mid-'90s alongside Martin. While they issued only a single on the label, a digital collection of early Devant demos from that period was released years ago. For some reason, only just now have partial liner notes appeared. The introduction contains anecdotes about what it was like to work with eccentric label boss Kevin Crace.
The Lost World of David Devant
Remember how there was once a fancy studio remake of 'Johnny The Moondog Is Dead' intended for release as a single? And how it never came out except on an unobtainable Falling A compilation CD? I got this info from John Relph's phenomenal Newell discography:
[According to the Falling A Records web site: "A single was recorded for Falling A, but was not released at the time. It is however of great historic value as it regrouped the original line up of Martin Newell and Lol Elliot to record at Sea Level studio and it spawned the original studio version of `Johnny the Moondog' as well as `Only a shadow'. True to our spirit of good intentions and then running out of cash we also had Martin compile a best of the DIY tape years which was scheduled to be released as an album called _The purple love machine is incredibly groovy_. Sadly this also never got beyond a few promo copies either.'']
So getting back to David Devant, they also did an unreleased single remix of the song 'I Think About You'. At least unreleased until now. It just showed up on the Facebook page. Much different than the LP version, plus they made the radio-friendly lyrical substitution of 'pluck my eyebrows' for 'fuck my brains out'! They left the risque line 'with my famous purple heart on' intact, though. I of course maintain that the reference is to the US military medal rather than an erection, but someone pointed out to me that a 'purple heart' was a well-known amphetamine pill favored by the Mods back in the '60s. Now the pill interpretation makes no sense in the Devant lyric, but it figures into a wonderful Beatle anecdote. They were accepting British Variety Awards in 1964, which looked like silver hearts. John gets up and says "Thanks for the purple hearts", everyone laughs, and Ringo yells "Silver! Silver!"
I have gone to absurd lengths to tie Newell, Devant and Lennon to purple, so it's time to rest. Just let me say in closing that if Devant can unearth a decades-old unreleased single, I encourage Martin to follow suit with Johnny...