Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
I Lick You
102 Plays22 days ago
Oh blimey.
In this episode, brothers Steve and Giles tumble recklessly into a retro-void.
They roll around with joyful abandon in a garden of lo-fi delights... and gorge themselves silly on the ripe fruits of nostalgia and creativity.
Including a candidate for "The Eternal Halls Of The Four Track Gods" and a brand new "Childhood Themed" recording.
It's really fantastic. You know it is, it really is.
Featuring:
- "Howay man, it's Lou Reed!"
- Tommytwentytoes gets paid in full
- DJ Steve’s advert disco
- More revisionist history and problematic lyrics
Related audiovisual material is available on the This Are Johnny Domino blog.
Visit the Johnny Domino website
Connect with Johnny Domino on Facebook and Instagram
Podcast artwork by Giles Woodward
Edited by Steve Woodward at PodcastingEditor.com
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to This Art Johnny Domino
00:00:00
Speaker
I live with 13 dead cats, a purple dog that wears spats. They're all living out in the hall and I can't stand it any anymore.
00:00:32
Speaker
Welcome to the This Art Johnny Domino podcast. My name is Steve. And my name is Giles. And this is the one-stop shop for outsider art, unpopular opinions about music, and very specific nostalgia. It's true.
00:00:48
Speaker
Every episode we listen to songs that we wrote and recorded from our adolescence onwards and we did it for a lot longer than we probably should have done and we're still kind of doing it as well. And it's a very specific niche market that we're going for. We're talking men in their... Stop it! In their 50s. Well, we are. We're not. I'm not going for that audience. It's just that is the audience.
00:01:14
Speaker
I'm not saying we're cynically going old, there's a gap in the market. Who's looking after the media needs of middle-aged men? From Derby. Specifically from the East Midlands of England. We are.
00:01:27
Speaker
But not exclusively. Anyone could listen to this, right? um im I'm convinced that anybody could listen to this and get something out of it. I think there's i think there's good vibes here. I think so too. I think we're both trying to force ourselves to be up this evening, in so I think we should go for it. Every episode, we listen to songs that we wrote and recorded at home years and years ago.
Debate on Lou Reed's New York Album
00:01:51
Speaker
We talk about them. But increasingly, we are also seeking recordings made by other people.
00:01:56
Speaker
that they probably did back in the day, then we can talk about them as well. We can do that. We can. And and anyway, you know, ah Lou Reed, I was just quoting some Lou Reed lyrics there, right? You know, an unpopular opinion about Lou Reed.
00:02:12
Speaker
I'll see what you think about this. the The New York album that you recorded is a great Lou Reed album. I don't think that's a particularly niche opinion. It's not one that I agree with. Yeah. So is it an nonop is it an unpopular opinion on this podcast?
00:02:29
Speaker
No, no, but probably not I'm probably very much in the minority of people who are interested in development underground and Lou Reed in general. I just don't like it. I can't get past that late 80s snare sound. That's the thing, isn't it? It's hampered by a bad drum sound on that album. But once you if you yeah, if you can get past it though, it's really good. There's some fretless bass on there as well. which so not a fan I've got a problem with that. I once sat in a room with a man who played me the whole of the New York album, this was in the 90s, from start to finish on his acoustic guitar. He played every song, every lyric, and that was before I'd actually heard the actual album. And this man was from the northeast of England, possibly Newcastle, and there's only one other person in the room with us.
00:03:16
Speaker
And he basically played the whole album. And now, whenever I hear the New York album by Lou Reed, I hear it in a Geordie accent. And, reader, I married him. He's gannin' oot to the dirty boulevard. He's gannin' doon to the dirty boulevard. That's the way I hear it. I'd be a better album. And that's why I love the album. There is a line that I always quote, which is, stick a fork in my ass and turn me over, I'm done.
00:03:46
Speaker
That is a good one. I'm probably paraphrasing it and getting it horribly wrong, but I don't own a copy of the album. I think I probably gave it to you. Yeah. And I lost it. And then I bought another copy of the album and then I get that away. And then I bought another copy of the album. So Lou Reed, ah quite well, his his estate has had quite a lot of money off me for so that. That's very nice. Yes. Right.
Story Behind 'I Lick You'
00:04:08
Speaker
Shall we go into the first song? Jingle. This is the most fantastic story I've ever heard.
00:04:15
Speaker
And every word of it's true, too. That's a fantastic part of it. Right. The first song we're going to listen to today is one of our songs, isn't it? And it's one that we wrote in about five minutes. And it's utterly stupid. But, you know, it's probably about as deep as anything we ever did write. I think so. The brevity of the writing and composing experience may be apparent when you listen to this song.
00:04:43
Speaker
Yeah, we wrote and recorded a lot of songs as Johnny Domino and then for some reason we got bored on on a bank holiday and we formed a Johnny Domino side shoot band called Jimmy Dorito. It was a wet bank holiday and we challenged ourselves to write eight songs in four hours and we wrote a series of song titles down and this is one of them and the song title that was written down for this one was I Lick You.
00:05:11
Speaker
you know what though actually i think what what we wrote i think this is one of those classic misreading situations right because i think what i actually wrote was i like you Well, I'm going to correct you on that, because in my memory, we didn't write it down on a piece of paper. I think we may have typed it up on a computer, a home computer, and printed it out. And then I wrote, I like you. And then you changed it to, I lick you. and Okay. Well, there was some sort of confusion there. So it's called, I lick you. You got to say yes. I will do it.
00:05:58
Speaker
Can I just, I'm going to stop it for a minute. and just kind of The keyboard notes are very good, aren't they? Yeah. I mean, for new listeners, this is quite hardcore. A bit of lo-fi arsing around for you to come in on. If this is your first episode, I can only apologise. There are better songs to come, but this was prime lo-fi arsing around. I think people come here for this, Steve. Okay, that's cool. ah Just when that keyboard note's just kicked in and made me go, hmm. Can we have it again? Oh yeah, it's challenging.
00:06:30
Speaker
you got to say yeah
00:08:00
Speaker
I always thought of a shit.
00:08:41
Speaker
that's That's not a happy crowd, is it? That's a terrorised crowd at the end there.
Recording Process and Listener Engagement
00:08:46
Speaker
They're scared, aren't they, Steve? Yeah. A while ago, we talked about my old music teacher, Barbara Plant, and she gave us the term through composed for pieces of music that were effectively made up as they went along. I'm going to use another word, not necessarily one that I got from Barbara Plant. The word is alliatory. Alliatory, which is depending on the throw of a dice or on chance. Random. Relating to or denoting music or other forms of art involving elements of random choice.
00:09:17
Speaker
I think when we were recording my vocal, the sped up backing vocal, you turn the telly on in my bedroom and that was what was on. So there's a siren going off and I don't know if you changed the channel and then you got a screaming crowd, but that was just what was on. Yeah. And I think that sort of chance thing's quite good. Lots of fun with a four track you can have, isn't there? Lots of fun, yes. It was a very dull bank holiday and we made our own fun.
00:09:45
Speaker
And I don't know, I sort of, I like the chance element thing. You know, I don't know, I might be wrong, but I ah sort of heard something about, you know, when the Beatles did all that stuff with like putting radio on some of their songs. yes I think that that was just by chance, wasn't it? They just turned the radio on. They didn't do it like, they didn't plan it.
00:10:05
Speaker
That was every bit as good as I am the walrus. Is that what you're saying? I'm saying we were doing the same thing. Yes, we were. We were doing the same thing and it is, ah it's well, is it? Yeah, it's every bit as good. Anyway, I like any anything that's kind of a bit stupid anyway, really.
00:10:21
Speaker
And and i caught I think it, I don't know, it for me, I like that. and And they're the sort of songs that I remember the most really, this the more stupid ones that we sort of, we were just kind of arcing around really. Having a laugh, having a laugh. Yeah. It was another the really stupid song. You've got to trace this song. I was talking to you about it the other day, that I love your belly song.
00:10:43
Speaker
Yes. We didn't write it. who wrote Who wrote that song? Now that was back in the days I worked at Virgin Megastore which was like a very boring kind of music shop but it was always nice to work in a record shop and I worked with a lad called James and he was in a band called the Carry Nations. What's the film that the Carry Nations is from? Is it Valley of the Dolls. I could i think it could be think it's the Valley of the Dolls. And he was in a band called the Carry Nations and we used to talk a lot about music, occasionally get into trouble for taking the piss out of customers and egg each other on in that sort of way. And the Carry Nations had a song called the Belly Song and it was great and we really liked it. I still remember it and I really need to hear it, Steve. I know, I don't think I can play it on the podcast. The chorus is something like, I love your belly. But do you love your belly too? You've got to find in that song. I love your belly, but do you love your belly too? I see, that's good. I actually played lead guitar for the Carry Nations at a gig.
00:11:52
Speaker
they were playing out an art happening, which was weirdly enough being held at the assembly rooms in Derby. And they decided, right, the last song in the set is going to be Helter Skelter. And I was going to run on stage and run on stage and play lead guitar for them. And I did. And it was great. ah Except the promoters absolutely hated because they wanted them to get off the stage five minutes before they started playing Helter Skelter. Oh, okay. But you know,
00:12:18
Speaker
Was it as good as the Beatles version? It was every bit as good. And I actually had blisters on my fingers at the end of it. Did you? Very nice. I did. I did. But anyway, it was good fun. Anyway, that song, yeah that song, I Lick You, potentially could be included in out the best of this Our Johnny Domino collection, which is now almost at two volumes. You can listen to the first volume on Spotify.
00:12:47
Speaker
please do it's got some good tracks on it and the second one is going to be out soon yes i just need to finish it off and also we've got another album of stuff from the podcast called all them trimmings which is a collection of songs or collection of song by people who listen to the ah the podcast and get engaged with our engagement opportunities. nice steve yeah du and And they got engaged with this particular engagement opportunity and then we put all the songs together on Spotify through were Artists Against Success and it's ah it it's good, so go and listen to it. And we've got more engagement opportunities
00:13:28
Speaker
happening all the time. We do. We do. In fact, we're going to be talking about a couple of them right now, aren't we? I mean, do you think the songs that we're going to talk about next are part of the eternal halls of the Four Track Gods? They could be. They could be. they could i thought In fact, do you know what? Thinking about them, I think these songs could possibly take up a very, very high position on the altar of The eternal halls of the four-track gods.
00:14:08
Speaker
Space for the long tail on the delay there. Yeah. Yeah, you need to talk about these because you've got the background. Okay, they say it themselves somewhere, but this possibly could be.
00:14:23
Speaker
one of the greatest low-fi bands you've never heard of. And this is a band called Tommy Twenty Toes that were made from the remnants of two bands from Leeds University at about the time that I was there, featuring Simon Gatemouth Richardson, who was in last episode, and Stan, who was in a couple of episodes before, and a couple of other guys. And I could have been in this band, i I feel. I like to flatter myself. I could have been in this band. But I was too busy traveling back to Ilkeston to make music with my brother, really. I think it wouldn't have been the same band if I'd been involved. But I really like this stuff. And it is pure lo-fi madness. The first track we're going to listen to is a cover version of sorts.
Tommy Twenty Toes and EMI Story
00:15:11
Speaker
of the song Lonesome Pine, made famous by being featured in the Laurel and Hardy movie Way Out West. I've got a bit of a story to tell you about it afterwards.
00:17:04
Speaker
you go What do you reckon to that? I think it's lovely. I remember liking that at the time because did they press up a seven inch single? They did. I'm going to tell you the story about that. oo Good. So that was Tommy 20 toes. Yes, it was pressed up as a single. and Being very good boys, they actually contacted EMI to tell them that they were putting the single out with a version of the song on it because EMI apparently owned the rights to the Laurel and Hardy song.
00:17:34
Speaker
right a Naively, they wrote a letter to EMI. And they got a letter back saying and they weren't allowed to use the words and that it was to be broadcast nowhere in the universe. in couples for that Oh dear, oh dear. yeah Then they discovered that the words were actually out of copyright.
00:17:57
Speaker
but the music was not out of copyright and actually they hadn't even used the music they'd just written their own music to it so they weren't infringing any copyright so they wrote another letter back to emi saying and they were going to do it anyway hey yeah and they got another letter back with a contract and a check for five pence, saying that EMI owned their recording and they weren't allowed to make any more than the 500 copies that they'd pressed.
00:18:29
Speaker
Can you believe that? I think that shows a level of humour that I would not have thought anyone in EMI could ever have. Do you think that's humour or is that record company fuckery? I think it's a bit of both. I think it just show a bit of a sense of humor to say, with five pence, we own your recording. yeah that was Yeah. I mean, yeah, it's a bit fuckery, but... But there you go. But know they almost want to applaud them.
00:18:58
Speaker
But anyway, Simon says that they didn't even sell one copy. So fuck you, EMI. That's what he says. Yeah, man. Well, they did sell one. They sold it to EMI for five pence. There you go. what's up Was it a check for five pence or was it a five pence piece? Well, like a five p, sort of like sell a tape to a postcard or something. No, it was a check. It was a check. Amazing. So imagine I'd quite like to see that check. and I'm sure one of them's probably got it.
00:19:25
Speaker
Anyway, I find their recordings very evocative. I'll put a link on the show notes so you can listen to some more of them. But I'm going to play you another one because I think, you know, I really do think this is peak four track gods material, right?
00:19:41
Speaker
I'd like to hear more from anyone else. So if anyone else has got any of this kind of like screwing around on a four track kind of stuff, please send us some more. We want to hear it. Right. But here is another one. And with this one, you know, the visuals I'm getting here is a smoke filled room, a full ashtray, curtains drawn, sort of sunlight kind of coming through the crack in the curtains and cups of tea and Rizzla's.
00:20:08
Speaker
And this is called God in My Tea Cup.
00:20:16
Speaker
here you seeing life goes around um remember
00:21:04
Speaker
a music And life goes on. I hit the train. I went to the
00:21:32
Speaker
um His white coat was all grubby and wet. He spoke of a man where the sunlight shone and suggested it was time for a um i prayed for rain know So he made me a world where the sun never shone. It was the size of a small room. I was like a little lost boy. the toilet and I prayed for rain.
00:22:27
Speaker
the
00:22:37
Speaker
Do not adjust your set. I've listened to that three times today for various reasons, you know, and ah ah got ah I think that's probably about it.
00:22:49
Speaker
Yeah. To be honest, I thought that might be you playing the bass. No, it was not. I think it's Simon, actually. Okay. But I don't think the person who is narrating the story was particularly into the idea of being recorded.
00:23:04
Speaker
Oh, I think he was. I think he was. Yeah, it's Joe. Yeah. And sadly, Joe's no longer with us, actually. But he was a good guy. He was a good guy with a dark sense of humor. And he was also a very, very talented and skilled artist, actually. But yeah, sadly, he's not no longer on this world. But, you know, it's great to hear him. And it's great to great to hear that. I listened to that.
00:23:28
Speaker
A lot. That is peak four track recording. It is. Rewiten the podcast and turn it up and let's do again through some speakers and annoy people. Yeah. Let's have a bit more delay on it. Yeah, some more delay. Why not? They'll have a bit more delay. Well, I think obviously they need to go into the the eternal halls of the four track gods. Oh, definitely. They're there. They're there already. ah Maybe they were already there. They may have built it.
00:23:56
Speaker
But I do love the story of Five Pents from EMI. That is astounding. I love it. I wasn't sure about the Johnny Domino podcast, but I gave it a chance. And now I think I love it.
00:24:10
Speaker
So onwards, onwards, onwards. Let's, let's keep going. We're kind of, I think we're, we're having a bit of a, I think it's a bit of an avant-garde episode here. Okay. Right. So we are now going to get into another engagement opportunity. Actually, we're just engaging in our own engagement opportunity here. Cause a few episodes back, we kind of said, come on guys, let's record some stuff.
00:24:36
Speaker
to do with childhood or just reminiscent of childhood. Because you know what? That's the kind of thing that people like. you know Think of bands like Punk Rock Factory. Oh, not again. Let's think of them again. They've they've got enough from this podcast.
00:24:53
Speaker
Yeah, I know, but look they they they were the people who kind of sparked it off in my head, you know, and I want to be an alternative to punk rock factory. and They can't corner the market for nostalgic versions of songs. I know we should be doing it too, right? So we're tapping into the collective memory here, right? This is nineteen going back to 1984.
00:25:18
Speaker
Yes. Right. If you were there, you might remember this. I do remember this. Can I just say, I think eventually we're going to get a five pence check from punk rock factory to say, please stop mentioning us on your podcast. I think um that'd be quite good. ah Yes. So we've had people sending in theme tunes to TV programs or songs that are about childhood. And this is kind of adjacent to it. Do we need to say anything more to it? I think our core demographic of people will know exactly what this is once it starts. Do you think? Let's see what they think. Let's see if they can figure it out.
00:27:06
Speaker
All the way back to 1984.
1984 KitKat Advert and Pop Culture
00:27:08
Speaker
Now, when I was growing up, I used to watch a lot of TV, but my favorite things on the telly were usually the adverts. And that was an advert for the UK chocolate confectionery KitKat.
00:27:22
Speaker
oh yeah So if I'm sure everybody knows what happened in the advert, but the scene was a record company office. There was a man in a suit who was obviously the record company manager.
00:27:35
Speaker
It was looking a bit bored, wasn't it? Looking a bit bored. And a group of mid-80s punk types, the ones only seen, never seen on the streets, only seen in yeah UK light entertainment, and they were playing their song.
00:27:51
Speaker
One of them was hitting a white vase with drumsticks. Yes. And the rest of them were kind of banging their heads and singing along. And he stops the tape and says, I think we should take a break and deliver the immortal lines. You can't sing. You can't play. You look awful. You'll go a long way. And that's the end of the advert. And it's a classic. So if we're doing songs from from childhood, things that affected me the most, we usually see the adverts.
00:28:20
Speaker
yeah Yeah. And I think obviously we like the idea of doing it because we thought it was funny, but also when you'd like dig into it a bit deeper, right? Actually, it's a pretty good advert and like yeah all the best adverts, it taps into something that's prevalent in the culture of the time. And I think it really does sum up the perception of popular music, that type of popular music by the sort of general public.
00:28:49
Speaker
that point yeah by the man in nineteen eighty four you know your mom's and dad's yeah your mom's and dad's view of of pop music what valuable like kind of thing and also it just the whole thing kind of just like really stuck in your head the song stuck in your head and also just the you know the sentiment you know You'll go a long way, you know, that kind of thing. It's hilarious. As I say, it was a ah depiction of punk rock that was not seen on the streets. It was only in light entertainment. And um it reminded me of one of my favourites, right? Now, you probably won't remember this. It was this awful sitcom called Keep It In The Family.
00:29:24
Speaker
It was on telly from 1980 to 1983 about a cartoonist whose name was Dudley who lives in an upstairs flat with his wife while his daughters live in the flat below. Right. And there's an f remember no but there's an episode which I have never forgotten where there's like a vicar who always comes. I mean, it's one of those sitcoms, a vicar's always coming around the house and he's writing a song called Anarchy.
00:29:49
Speaker
Right. Yeah. And the cartoonist daughters, they thought it was amazing. And they all got dressed up as punks. They got all their best punk gear on. And it turns out it was a gentle piano ballad about a woman called Anna.
00:30:03
Speaker
whose surname was Key. And I think it goes, and the key, and the key, I'm in love with... I mean, I can't remember where my keys are. I can remember that. I'm in love with and the key. I wonder if that is this anywhere. No, it really isn't. I've been searched. Have you searched? I don't have. Because you know what, now you mention it, I kind of vaguely remember that as well.
00:30:28
Speaker
I mean, i've I've only got like verification. It was from a comedy website. And after describing that episode, it says hilarity almost in tune, which i think is a very funny, funny line. But yeah, that was ah I mean, that's obviously a terrible program, but the advert was great. And it did make me think of some of my other favorite adverts from the time. yeah can i yeah Can I hit you with some?
00:30:52
Speaker
Go on. Go on. i Go on. Tell me. Tell us some more. Go on. Roll with it. Let's enter the retro void. Yeah. Will it be chips or jackets? Will it be salad or frozen peas?
00:31:05
Speaker
Will there be mushrooms, bright onion rings? You'll have to wait and see. From the bird's eye steakhouse, lean, juicy steakhouse grills. Pure ground beef that you cook like a steak and serve like a steak. What'll you give your old man with this steakhouse grill? Oh, big slip, big slip. We all miss you. Beef grills and lamb grills. More sizzlers from the bird's eye steakhouse. What will you give? What will you give your old man?
00:31:34
Speaker
What will you give your old man? Because he's been out at work talking about what he wants for his tea and he wants some chips. I'm swaying backwards and forwards listening to that one. Now, one of the actors that appeared in the advert, he only appears very, very briefly in the advert, but he's a face that you will recognise. His name was Daniel Peacock. He was in the comic strip quite a lot. He was in Quadrophenia. He was in Supergrass.
00:32:02
Speaker
I brought a vampire motorcycle, all these terrible, whoops, apocalypse. ah It was in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves and Carrion Columbus. He also played Yung Jacques Clouseau in Trail of the Pink Panther. And he appeared in the Jewel of the Nile. And he also appeared as a teddy boy in this advert. Okay.
00:32:23
Speaker
How do, do it all, do it, what might do it for? Won't somebody tell? If only we knew it. How do it all, do it, you can bet. We'd be doing it as well. Do It All are doing Contiplast leather look shelving 229 and Marley super soft flooring from 775.
00:32:45
Speaker
Oh, yes. 5.99? 15%?!
00:33:00
Speaker
You can bet we'd be doing it as well. ah Three Teddy Boy spivs skipping around outside do it all, which was I think it was owned by W.A. Smith, but it was like a budget DIY type place. Yeah. And yeah. And they were dancing around there. if We can't how do do it or do it.
00:33:19
Speaker
What do they do it for? Don't somebody tell? He does some really good comedy glares at the camera because he can't believe the prices that do it all are doing. He can't understand it. He's been in loads of stuff and Yeah. Very good. Very good. Have you got any more? Yeah, that'll do for now. though I think we've gone into a retro void, but, you know. I've got to carry it. I've just left you got one more thing to say. I just want to go ah back back to the alien invasion. Oh, yes. Sorry. i'm so I'm still wanting a Kit Kat, right? Yeah. It's made me hungry. But, you know, the actor that played the manager, name's Gavin Richards, right? He's most famous for being in EastEnders. And he was also in Alo Alo.
00:34:00
Speaker
and he played Captain Alberto Bertorelli, the Italian. Do you can remember that? He used to say vaguely rubbish, Italian, slightly racist accents, like, beautiful lady. And what a mistake to make. What a mistake to make. What a mistake it to make. that was That was this phrase. And also, I can't verify this,
00:34:22
Speaker
But there is a ah theory on the internet that the dad's favorite, Carol Smiley, is one of the girls in that Kit Kat advert. No. Apparently so. Apparently so. That's something. I like that.
00:34:38
Speaker
Jingle. Jingle. Sorry. I haven't got any more money. I've got so many clips. The soundboard is full. I'll put one in the edit. We'll have one in the edit, right? We'll have one in the edit. Put a big one in the edit. I'll put a big one in the edit. It's the Johnny Domino podcast. Give it a chance.
00:35:00
Speaker
Where we going now? Where we going now? Where we going now? It's going for an actual Johnny Domino song that was recorded for our fourth collection of songs in an album format. ah The album was called Solid Ground. And this song is also called Solid Ground.
Analysis of 'Solid Ground'
00:35:21
Speaker
Now, do we need to give a content warning for this one? Oh, I don't know, do we?
00:35:26
Speaker
I mean, I think there's stuff to discuss, definitely. I mean, it's not it's not this is not just a matter of us kind of playing something and going, hey, look at how great our old music was. There's elements of this that have not dated particularly well. Absolutely. But maybe we can discuss that afterwards. Let's enjoy the pastoral sounds of solid ground.
00:39:22
Speaker
powerful it is it is powerful powerful but i can't help feeling that we've let ourselves down oh look let's just talk about the music first Yes. Tell us about the music, Steve. What do you think about the music? What do you like? Do you like the music? I love the music. I love the music. I like the fact it's Roadrunner in a way. It's like, is she a classic three chords of modern rock and roll?
00:39:49
Speaker
Yes. and And I'm trying to do, I think in my head, I was trying to be like John McLaughlin from ah the Mahavishnu Orchestra and various other jazz type bands. I think after a while, I realized that I was actually playing a twisted version of a song by our friend Frankie ma Machine called 1973.
00:40:15
Speaker
Oh yeah, that's a good one. It's very but is very, very similar, the guitar riff. And if you remember... well Can we hear that song next episode? Oh yeah, I was going to put it i was goingnna drop a bit in there.
00:40:56
Speaker
But yeah. I'll talk a bit in underneath. Maybe we can hear the whole thing next episode. Yeah, definitely. But can you remember, we were going to do a split single with Frankie Machine. He was going to do a version of that song, Solid Ground, and we were going to do 1973. Why didn't we do that?
00:41:16
Speaker
Well, I think we were doing it with the express purpose of getting played on the John Peel show. And then he went and died. you went He went and died. don So we never we never done it. Foiled again. But Frankie Machine did put a remix album out, which was called Blow Me Out in Rings. nine And bits of the instrumental that we worked up as our version of 1973, he sang over them.
00:41:47
Speaker
Oh, never heard that. Well, there you go. Can we dig into that next episode as well? Let's do them both. There you go, flagging up next episode. That's like very podcasty, isn't it? You know, like professional. It's almost like we're planning it. Yeah, it's like we're working out as we go along.
00:42:02
Speaker
Yeah, so that's the classic iteration of the Johnny Domino band with the the full band lineup. We played that on live quite a bit, didn't we? i remember particular we did I think it was the first gig we did with the Jeff Bot 3000. That was the first song in the set and it was in a pub called the Blessington carriage beloved of students of Derby.
00:42:23
Speaker
and We were playing with the solo female folk guitarist who was on the same bill of souls and we were on after her. And we did our usual thing where we had a bit of a jam to kind of get the levels right because we didn't like doing sound checks. We just tended to try to figure out the levels as we were doing it. And and Jeff used to like to do a thing where he didn't do accounting on that song. which We just sort of like go,
00:42:53
Speaker
And we were then people that could hear it. And the lady who was supporting us, she was sat with her back to the stage. So we did the silent counting. And we cracked into that full pelt. And I remember seeing her jump.
00:43:11
Speaker
Quite a lot. That was a very long story. Yeah, well, it's quite dull. I thought you were just going to say she dropped a pint. No, she didn't drop a pint. I just remember she was sat with her back to us and we did quite well at that gig and we sold a few CDs. My favourite thing was somebody came up to me and said, how much are they? I said, £4. He said, can you do me a deal for two? I said £8. He said, brilliant.
00:43:37
Speaker
So there you go. That's marketing at work. Hooray for GCSE maths. Right, you know, anyway, the lyrics. Problematic lyrics. Solid ground is here with me and beside me it will stay. So obviously I'm lying down. Yes. Took me a while to figure that out. And then there's a line. Yesterday was my birthday. I got a radio hat. That is, I have to say,
00:44:04
Speaker
directly from the TV program The Office, the episode in series one where Tim has his 30th birthday and Tim gets a radio hat from his mum as a president and he's really not happy about it. So yeah, I basically just watched The Office and then wrote that lyric. And then there's a line, this is the one I think that you think is problematic. It says, won't you bring me my tea in a cup that is gay?
00:44:33
Speaker
yeah followed by, and I'll spin like a record, oh so obviously. the Spin me like a record is not the problematic line. No, but it it relates, doesn't it? Because it's like obviously dead or alive, Pete Burns. No, I didn't link the two lines together. ah All I heard was, I mean, the thing about Here's a story, and the question is, why did Mark stay in the band for as long as he did? Because throughout music history, you know, in them in orchestras, the viola player is the butt of all the jokes. In most bands, the drummer is the butt of all the jokes. And to all intents and purposes, in the four-person lineup of Johnny Domino, where we had a drum machine, Mark was the drummer.
00:45:24
Speaker
So are you saying he was the above all the jokes? He, you know, and he took it very good naturedly, but the Johnny Domino writing and recording experience was fueled almost solely by cups of tea. Mark was the only one who had sugar in his tea. So to mark it out, we always gave him a flowery teacup. So we knew that that was Mark's cup of tea because it got sugar in it. Yeah.
00:45:52
Speaker
So it was gaily coloured in the old sense of the word. Yeah. I don't think... Is that revisionist history right there? I believe that is revisionist history. I think we meant it in the pejorative sense, being children who grew up in the 1980s and 90s and yes.
00:46:16
Speaker
it's a pity it's a real pity because ah you know in my day job I do quite often have to pull pull people up for using ah the word gay in a negative sense right young people and obviously I have to be very disgusted with it and explain why it's wrong and and there there I am writing it in a pop song yeah yeah I never drew a link between the the line about the tea the cup of tea that is gay. Well, it's not a link, but it's like, you know, spin round like a record, baby.
80s Pop Stars Nostalgia
00:46:50
Speaker
The classic Dead or Alive song, which I love, actually. Yeah. And don't say it like that, because it sounds like you're going, I'm not a homophobe, I like Dead or Alive. Well, yeah know I hope that people listening to this probably would realize that we're not the sort of people that are homophobic, right? I think so.
00:47:10
Speaker
And we weren't then, I don't think, really. got it was It was just, we were like many people. That's not an excuse. Like many people, we were quite thoughtless and didn't really put two and two together at that point. But time's moved on. Anyway, that particular song by Dead or Alive is is one of my favourites.
00:47:29
Speaker
And I just watched the video of it recently, the original video, and it's brilliant. ah It made me think I really miss those kind of 90s, 80s pop stars, you know, going back to the ah Kit Kat advert, that were like really shit at dancing and not particularly good looking and couldn't really sing.
00:47:47
Speaker
yeah But they were still pop stars, right? yeah And the video is so cheap and tacky and brilliant. It's got like disco balls, there are members of the band waving flags, and they look look really ah the the other members of the band look quite uncomfortable being kind of wrapped up by a giant ribbon.
00:48:05
Speaker
ah it's just It's just brilliant and just so cobbled together. And it's it's so different to sort of like the really polished pop performances that you see kind of these days. It's just like, you know, back in those days, it seemed like anyone could be a pop star really. You didn't have to be particularly good looking or talented or be looking for a particularly long career. You think about like one hit wonders and I mean, there weren't a one hit wonder, but you think about a pop star like Billy Mackenzie from The Associates.
00:48:34
Speaker
And you know, that song, Party Fears 2, that's absolutely nuts. Mental. It's an absolutely mental song and it was a chart hit and it's just mental what you were allowed to get away with, particularly in the 80s.
00:48:51
Speaker
Oh my God. this is a very This is turning out to be a very 80s episode. Growing up watching the adverts on the telly. It's nice going back to the 80s and thinking about it. I'm enjoying it, Steve. It's good. Hopefully the listeners are enjoying it too. Hopefully so. I wonder if Mum and Dad have still got that cup. I can't even remember which one it was.
00:49:16
Speaker
At this point in the podcast, we tend to choose one of the songs that we've listened to to go on the next volume of the very best of this R Johnny Domino. We have got I Lick You yeah and Solid Ground.
00:49:31
Speaker
Oh, a hard decision. Hard decision. Can we change the words to solid ground? Can we do another version of it and just change the words to a more updated version? Should we whitewash the less than acceptable lyrics? I'm not going to get the 8-track tapes out. I'm not going to get the 8-track out. Although we're going to have to go with our lick cue then. It's going to be our lick cue. There you go. There you go.
00:49:57
Speaker
the album Solid Ground is on Spotify. yeah But if you can handle it, there's probably some fairly obnoxious stuff on the rest of the album anyway. Yeah, maybe. There's plenty more where that came from. We've got lots more dodgy stuff to talk about from our back a lot coming up. Oh yes. Oh yes. Worse than that, some re-dodgy stuff. Thank you for listening to the This R Johnny Dominator podcast. If you are enjoying it, just hang on there a moment though, Steve. Just one more little thing. Sorry. One more little thing. Okay. For some reason, well, actually I do know the reason. I've been thinking about Frank Sidebottom.
00:50:37
Speaker
Yes. Who put it on Facebook? Who was it? That'll be me. You put it on Facebook? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, so you put the song Material Boy. Yeah. On Facebook, didn't you? From Frank's Firm Favorites, right? which Which also includes a version of You Spin Me Round like a record. As part of the medley, yes. As part of the medley, didn't it?
00:51:01
Speaker
i got my hi on you now baby I've been listening to it lots. I've been listening to it a lot. I've been getting into Frank. Can I say the reason why I put it on Facebook is because I had a complete breakdown ah one morning and I was singing basically the whole of Frank's firm favourites EP to my wife.
00:51:23
Speaker
And I thought I need to get it out of my head and share it with all the people. ah but I bet you enjoyed that. As our father has said before, a problem shared is a problem forgotten about. and I've completely forgotten about the fact that on Frank's phone favorites, there's a version of Every Breath You Take by the police. There is. Anyway, go away and listen to that, people. But I've interrupted your ah outro bit, as though I do, because I'd quite like to play. Well, you know, you remember the this the whole six degrees of ah of Kevin Bacon?
00:51:57
Speaker
Yes, yes, yes. Right, I want to do six degrees of Frank's Eyed Bottom. Okay. Are you ready for that? Okay, go for it. Right, it may be less than six degrees. You might have to count it, right? So anyway, you've got Frank's Eyed Bottom, right?
Frank Sidebottom and Musical Connections
00:52:12
Speaker
Obviously. Yes. Yes, right. But obviously, Frank's Eyed Bottom was a character played by a man called Chris Seavey.
00:52:22
Speaker
Yeah. Right. Now, Chris Seavey, before he was Frank Sidebottom, in 1981, he was in a band called The Freshes, which were kind of a punk band, The Freshes. And they actually had a song called I'm in Love with the Girl on a Certain Manchester Mega Store Checkout Desk, which is a great title for a song. And you worked on a certain Derby Mega Store Checkout Desk, didn't you, Steve?
00:52:48
Speaker
They also did a song called I Can't Get Bouncing Babies by Teardrop Explodes, which is one of the most sad and most beautiful songs I've heard in a long time. Go and listen to it. Anyway, that's the freshies, right? You need to listen to them. Okay. Anyway, so Chris Seavey was in this band with Billy Dorphy. What did he go on to do, Steve? He was in the cult. He was in the cult. He was in the cult. Yeah, and...
00:53:13
Speaker
Yes. The drummer was a fellow called Martin Jackson. Now, Martin Jackson left the freshies and went on to join a band called Swing Out Sister in 1985. He was the drummer on the hit their breakout hit, Break Out. Brilliant song, I want it. And she was lovely watching Corinne Drury. She was. Anyway, it's brilliant. Anyway, Corinne Drury.
00:53:44
Speaker
this is ah This is a part of family history. Corinne drawers from Nottingham and her mum was called Elaine and our dad yes was friends with her. Apparently this is what he said.
00:53:56
Speaker
Corinne's mum was a very good friend to me when I was a teenager and she ran a dog grooming business off Beeston High Road called Poodle Trim. And Corinne would only be three or four when I met her. Her dad Ray was in a band called Junko Partners and they were a cut above the usual bands I came across at the time. Anyway, that's my dad's words. Anyway, so our dad new Corin Drury's mum. So there that's that that's the, I think that's only three, is that three or four degrees from san Frank Sidebottom? Frank Sidebottom, Martin Jackson, Corin Drury, Johnny Domina. I see it's probably four or five, but yeah that's pretty good. that's true Can anyone do better than that? How many degrees of Frank Sidebottom can you do? Can I ask you a question? Did dad really use the phrase a cut above?
00:54:45
Speaker
He did. i'm I'm reading the email. Yes. Oh, it's an email. Okay. Cut above the usual bounds I came across at the time. Why? Is that not the sort of thing you would say? No, it just seems a bit of an odd one. Lovely stuff.
Closing and Call to Action
00:55:00
Speaker
Thank you again for listening to the This Are Johnny Dorman and her podcast.
00:55:05
Speaker
If you're enjoying it, please share it with one other person and like and subscribe and listen whenever you can. Do a review yeah because that helps as a thing, doesn't it Steve? It does something, it makes us feel better and more importantly send us your old recordings and send us your submissions to the songs from slash about childhood.
00:55:33
Speaker
Yeah. yeah and And also go back to last episode, you could write some music for one of those weird lyrics that I wrote. Yeah. They're really weird. They're not that weird. They're pretty weird. Yeah. Well, that's all right. but Listen to this episode, you know, just full of weird stuff. I've enjoyed it though, right? It's been a bit of a night nighttime vibes episode. 1980s. I'm lesser than Nightfly. Hello Baton Rouge.
00:56:03
Speaker
That's one for the dads out there. Please do like and subscribe to our podcast and recommend it to someone who you think might like listening to all this kind of weird shit. Send us some of your old music and enter the eternal halls of the four track gods.