An occasional update on bands that I love
THE GRANNY
The Granny were one of the best modern day psychedelic groups. Formed in Eastbourne in 1987, they had a minor hit in '89 with "Dust Flower Candles". But where did they go?
SIMON, VOCALS
Golden-voiced SIMON (“I have no second name; it was stolen from me at birth”) has added many strings to his bow since the heyday of The Granny.
As well as continuing to tour with his mother in SIMON 'N' MUM, Simon enjoys entertaining members of the public outside the Observatory in Slough by slowly scoring the sole of an old shoe with a tile cutter. That's where we caught up with him.
“I’m not grumbling but none of us made anything out of the band”, says Simon. “Apart from Steve. Steve’s weakness was money...for which he would ultimately pay a very considerable price”.
MARTIN MOTHIMAN, GUITAR, KEYBOARDS, VOCALS
Songwriter and Granny mainman Mothiman can these days be found living in a small hut on the dunes at Whitby. Here he spends his days staring at small pieces of burnt driftwood and repairing kilts. In the corner of the hut is a small pile of magpie feathers, damp with urine, which he believes will begin to generate electricity once they ferment.
Mothiman regrets falling out with the other band members but feels he has paid for his crimes. “The driftwood is my constant reminder”, rasped the empty-eyed popster. “I can still feel the flames licking at my boots”.
TIMOTHY BROWN, BASS
Timothy combines his career as a successful retailer of lunchtime snacks with a passion for black magic. “Since the fire I have been experimenting with transmutation”, claims Brown. “And I am determined to become half man-half goat so that I can better serve my master, the Dark Lord Beelzebub”.
BENTLEY JACKSON, VIBES
Vanished. Believed to have sold his vibes to Monty Don.
ROMILLY CIEKA, DRUMS, PERCUSSION
Cieka moved to Newport after a deer-strangling incident. “I have put my anger with wild woodland creatures behind me...though I must avoid all scent of forest dwellers. I saw a deer in the fire before I passed out. It was a vision.
“Since coming out of hospital, I have focussed my mental strength on a business that combines social work with aromatherapy. I use Aveda products, nothing less. It’s all about using chakra and natural perfumes to channel dysfunctionalism”.
STEPHEN KITCHEN, TRUMPET, FLUGELHORN
After splitting from his fellow Grannies Stephen did a couple of sessions for Cattlemachine and played a restored zitherette on Simon's solo single "Sweet Acid Creature". A month later his charred corpse was discovered floating in the Thames near Greenwich. The blackened bones of his fingers were curled into a fist. Inside, detectives discovered a gold sovereign.
Showing posts with label Psychedelic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psychedelic. Show all posts
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Mongo Debussy & The Satans
Mongo Debussy & The Satans
'Vueepo D’Merthmai’ia’ c/w 'Yit'
'Vueepo D’Merthmai’ia’ c/w 'Yit'
Released 27th May 1967. Pye 7N989453
Mongo Debussy (vcls, harp), Bjorn Caine (nose flute), Gervaise Hockney (drum), Stan Rivet (guitar), ‘Monkey’ Mann (bass), Jimmy Andrews (dancing)
"I first met Mongo Debussy in St Paul’s Public School", says Gervaise Hockney, now a top showbusiness lawyer. "He was my fag and, as I was beating his buttocks with a cane one day, he noticed that I had a good sense of rhythm and abjured me to join The Satans". And the rest, as they say, is history.
Six years later, Mongo Debussy & The Satans were one of the foremost psych-pop bands on the groovy scene, frightening audiences with their deranged brand of drug-soaked imbecility.
Debussy was one of the earliest experimenters with LSD and it was during this period in his life that he was visited by an entity he only referred to as ‘The Thing’, which commanded him to not only form The Satans, but also create an inter and intra-universal language that could be understood by people from other planets. The result was ‘D’peepuigg’, the language in which their second single ‘Vueepo D’Merthmai’ia’ is sung.
In case you’re wondering quite what is being sung on this marvellous number, here, for the first time, are the lyrics in full:
‘Frrrprrr’ni b’ylmnmnmnmnprorf’wi hi
Ag’ryrthmog ‘fn pgarrripnfoma’a
Qithk m’apnu brbrbr!
Amhtokorrrim’I pi o’kg nem fudd
Vueepo D’Merthmai’ia
Vueepo D’Merthmai’ia
Crit n’I blu’euirk er bzln’ia’ia!
Listeners new to this sort of material will be astonished by Debussy’s almost unbelievable vocal range – the four-octave leap he makes while singing the word ‘Vueepo’ has had musicologists arguing for years over whether such a thing was possible.
Hockney again : "Mongo had an eleven octave vocal range – there were no tricks used in the studio to create that vocal swoop – the technology wasn’t up to it even if we’d wanted to fake it. It was all Mongo".
With phased harp and nose flute dominating the mix, the number is still a favourite in Japan. However, neither Hockney nor the rest of the band had any idea what the song was about.
"Mongo simply refused to discuss it and that was that", says Hockney. "He was out of his mind by that time, basically". After the recording session was finished, Debussy walked out of the studio to buy a new hat and was never seen again.
For more details of his mental state at this time, you should get hold of a copy of Sophie Pint-Guinness’s autobiography ‘Confessions Of A Pop Group Girl’, which details Mongo’s breakdown.
Mongo Debussy (vcls, harp), Bjorn Caine (nose flute), Gervaise Hockney (drum), Stan Rivet (guitar), ‘Monkey’ Mann (bass), Jimmy Andrews (dancing)
"I first met Mongo Debussy in St Paul’s Public School", says Gervaise Hockney, now a top showbusiness lawyer. "He was my fag and, as I was beating his buttocks with a cane one day, he noticed that I had a good sense of rhythm and abjured me to join The Satans". And the rest, as they say, is history.
Six years later, Mongo Debussy & The Satans were one of the foremost psych-pop bands on the groovy scene, frightening audiences with their deranged brand of drug-soaked imbecility.
Debussy was one of the earliest experimenters with LSD and it was during this period in his life that he was visited by an entity he only referred to as ‘The Thing’, which commanded him to not only form The Satans, but also create an inter and intra-universal language that could be understood by people from other planets. The result was ‘D’peepuigg’, the language in which their second single ‘Vueepo D’Merthmai’ia’ is sung.
In case you’re wondering quite what is being sung on this marvellous number, here, for the first time, are the lyrics in full:
‘Frrrprrr’ni b’ylmnmnmnmnprorf’wi hi
Ag’ryrthmog ‘fn pgarrripnfoma’a
Qithk m’apnu brbrbr!
Amhtokorrrim’I pi o’kg nem fudd
Vueepo D’Merthmai’ia
Vueepo D’Merthmai’ia
Crit n’I blu’euirk er bzln’ia’ia!
Listeners new to this sort of material will be astonished by Debussy’s almost unbelievable vocal range – the four-octave leap he makes while singing the word ‘Vueepo’ has had musicologists arguing for years over whether such a thing was possible.
Hockney again : "Mongo had an eleven octave vocal range – there were no tricks used in the studio to create that vocal swoop – the technology wasn’t up to it even if we’d wanted to fake it. It was all Mongo".
With phased harp and nose flute dominating the mix, the number is still a favourite in Japan. However, neither Hockney nor the rest of the band had any idea what the song was about.
"Mongo simply refused to discuss it and that was that", says Hockney. "He was out of his mind by that time, basically". After the recording session was finished, Debussy walked out of the studio to buy a new hat and was never seen again.
For more details of his mental state at this time, you should get hold of a copy of Sophie Pint-Guinness’s autobiography ‘Confessions Of A Pop Group Girl’, which details Mongo’s breakdown.
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