Any Questions

[pm]

Hello Richard. Thanks for answering. Another question for when you get around to it:

When I listened to Poison Girls I could never tell who you had been listening to. With The Specials who I loved too it was easy to hear their influences and they talked in interviews about such things. But with PGs it was a mystery, never mentioned as far as I recall in interviews. So who did you listen to and who ‘influenced’ you?

[richardfamous]

Hi pm

I can only answer properly for myself. I grew up with the Beatles, Stones, Kinks, The Who, Small Faces, Bonzo Dog, and graduated to the old blues players through John Mayall and Peter Greens Fleetwood Mac. The 70s saw more British folk and of course, David Bowie and Roxy Music. By the time of punk I was much more impressed by the New York scene, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Television, Talking Heads, Ramones and, Acron Ohios finest, Pere Ubu.

Vi, of course, brought a wealth of influences from female jazz singers (she was around the 50s Soho jazz scene) as well as a love for T.Rex and Slade!!

Lance loved the music of Spike Jones, and other experimental (or should that be just mental) musicians, especially The Residents.

Richard

[webmonkey]

Hi PJM and Steve Dub, the art on the Downloads Page is scanned from CD and record covers. The 12" of Are You Happy Now may not have been to hand at the time the page was put together so the 7" version was used instead (or vice versa). I'll see if we can source the missing one and swap it out.

I'm not sure where the originals are or if they even still exist. If found, maybe they can be sold off and PGs become property magnates on the proceeds ;-)

[Lance d'Boyle Espana]

My musical influences: Richard was right about one thing ; at about 10 I liked Spike Jones who recorded comedy band music with sound effects. This started my interest in SFx and I stared collecting them and found other SFx addicts looking through boxes in obscure record shops. This was long before digital and the BBC obliged their fans by releasing their huge collection of SFx on vinyl So it was brilliant, when we started talking to penny rimshot about recording HEX , that he wanted to use Sfx in the recording. You can hear the results, including our cockerel Gladys. This was also in the fun days before digital' when the sound tape had to cut by analogical
scissors.

[pm]

Richard and Lance, thanks for answering about influences. Good to hear where you were coming from, the collision of influences and talents creating something unique. Hex as you say is full of effects/tapes, a lot sound like you made them specifically for each track. I have sliced tape and edited waves on a screen, I prefer the latter. As regards Vi in 50s Soho, what an mazing place to be at that time as the best US Jazz was being made and the beginnings of Soul were reaching England and finding enthusiasts there. Maybe one day she will come on here an give us a first hand account of mythical 50s Soho!

If you ever release a deluxe ‘Wheres The Pleasure’ what would be available as extras? There was obviously a lot of work put into the arrangements/production. Did you demo before entering the studio or did you work up the songs in the studio? Are there out-takes, tracks that never made it on to the album or alt-takes/arrangements of tracks that did? Did you record any live shows in the months before or after recording when you were playing those songs live? Did you have some idea before you entered the studio how you wanted the finished album to sound?

[pm]

Nov 14, 2012 2:11:32 GMT -5 webmonkey said:

Hi PJM and Steve Dub, the art on the Downloads Page is scanned from CD and record covers. The 12" of Are You Happy Now may not have been to hand at the time the page was put together so the 7" version was used instead (or vice versa). I'll see if we can source the missing one and swap it out.

I'm not sure where the originals are or if they even still exist. If found, maybe they can be sold off and PGs become property magnates on the proceeds ;-)

Thanks webmonkey. I have the 12 inch I could try scanning it in two parts! I have only just noticed the 7 inch soundfile is missing too. Is it gone forever?

[webmonkey]

Dec 16, 2012 19:43:11 GMT -5 pm said:

Nov 14, 2012 2:11:32 GMT -5 webmonkey said:

Hi PJM and Steve Dub, the art on the Downloads Page is scanned from CD and record covers. The 12" of Are You Happy Now may not have been to hand at the time the page was put together so the 7" version was used instead (or vice versa). I'll see if we can source the missing one and swap it out.

I'm not sure where the originals are or if they even still exist. If found, maybe they can be sold off and PGs become property magnates on the proceeds ;-)

Thanks webmonkey. I have the 12 inch I could try scanning it in two parts! I have only just noticed the 7 inch soundfile is missing too. Is it gone forever?

Hi pm,

Thank you for the kind offer, if you could scan the 12" sleeve, that would be great. I should be able to stitch halves together OK as long as there is sufficient overlap. If you're going to have a go, could you scan at 300dpi, same dimensions as the original please?

I'm afraid no-one could source the 7" sound file.

[richardfamous]

Hi pm

Most of the sound effects for Hex were done on a cheap cassette recorder and 'spun' on to the 2" master tape. A hit and miss affair that left a lot to chance/luck. For example there is a cockerel crow in the gap between the two sections of 'Bremen Song'. This was part of a dawn chorus ambiance(?), recorded incidentally on the morning Thatcher was first elected PM, and was 15 minutes or so and just 'spun live' onto the recorded track. The cockerel only crowed once! Right in the gap! Very spooky when it happened.

Wheres The Pleasure was recorded over the spring and summer of 1982. The songs were the result of writing a new set after Bernhardt Rebours left the band, and the first written in the post Crass era. We did perform some of the songs live before they were recorded, gigs at the Belfast Anarchist Centre spring to mind, though I don't know of any recordings.
Wheres The Pleasure is the album that has the most collaboration with other musicians that we did, though conversely I think it is the most true to Poison Girls. I must mention Adrian Arriva (Adrian G Turner), and old friend from the Brighton days, who arranged several songs and helped with several others. Speaking only for myself, I think it is the best collection of songs we did.
There were rehearsal demos made of most of the songs, though I dont know what happened to them.
There was only one song ditched whilst recording, 'She Wolf'. There is no record of it anywhere that I know of.

Richard

[Lance d'Boyle Espana]

Oct 6, 2012 22:49:34 GMT -5 pm said:

Hello Richard. Thanks for answering. Another question for when you get around to it:

When I listened to Poison Girls I could never tell who you had been listening to. With The Specials who I loved too it was easy to hear their influences and they talked in interviews about such things. But with PGs it was a mystery, never mentioned as far as I recall in interviews. So who did you listen to and who ‘influenced’ you?

Lance d boyle my musical influences no2. Hi pm thanks for your interest.in my Sfx period. It did get a bit crazy : I once played the sound track recording of Apocalypse Now while having intercourse. Try It! My next influences: the Kings of Rock and Roll, theres no dispute here, Little Richard and ChucK Berry: seemingly, meaningless lyrics, Against riotous rhythms of pure attitude and sexual awakening. Plus they were black. wore whore makeup. A deep and deadly shock to my mum. The past was destroyed with syncopation. Look out for part 3 shortly. I looked up Spike Jones and the City Slickers a CD is available. Ill try and put them on facebook: Poison Girls page. also Chuck and Little; look at them, pure punk bad boys. Ps I read somewhere that Richard had promised my shoe size. Sorry but I draw the line there.

[pm]

Dec 19, 2012 15:55:43 GMT -5 richardfamous said:

Hi pm

Wheres The Pleasure was recorded over the spring and summer of 1982. The songs were the result of writing a new set after Bernhardt Rebours left the band, and the first written in the post Crass era. We did perform some of the songs live before they were recorded, gigs at the Belfast Anarchist Centre spring to mind, though I don't know of any recordings.
Wheres The Pleasure is the album that has the most collaboration with other musicians that we did, though conversely I think it is the most true to Poison Girls. I must mention Adrian Arriva (Adrian G Turner), and old friend from the Brighton days, who arranged several songs and helped with several others. Speaking only for myself, I think it is the best collection of songs we did.
There were rehearsal demos made of most of the songs, though I dont know what happened to them.
There was only one song ditched whilst recording, 'She Wolf'. There is no record of it anywhere that I know of.

Richard

Thanks Richard. There definitely seemed to be some kind of a shift after ‘Total Exposure’ to more intensely personal songwriting in ‘U.P.’ though the politics was still there obviously. Even the album artwork was different to previous releases.

[pm]

Dec 21, 2012 6:17:39 GMT -5 Lance d'Boyle Espana said:

Lance d boyle my musical influences no2. Hi pm thanks for your interest.in my Sfx period. It did get a bit crazy : I once played the sound track recording of Apocalypse Now while having intercourse. Try It! My next influences: the Kings of Rock and Roll, theres no dispute here, Little Richard and ChucK Berry: seemingly, meaningless lyrics, Against riotous rhythms of pure attitude and sexual awakening. Plus they were black. wore whore makeup. A deep and deadly shock to my mum. The past was destroyed with syncopation. Look out for part 3 shortly. I looked up Spike Jones and the City Slickers a CD is available. Ill try and put them on facebook: Poison Girls page. also Chuck and Little; look at them, pure punk bad boys. Ps I read somewhere that Richard had promised my shoe size. Sorry but I draw the line there.

I love Little Richard, Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry, the holy trinity of Rock N Roll! None of the other Rockin Rollers of that era come close to those three. Got to shake hands with Little Richard years ago and what huge hands he had and more make up than any human being could possibly wear, he was surreal. I remember John Peel saying that when he first heard Little Richard on the radio he could not believe his ears. Must have been mind blowing!

Soundtracks: Bernard Hermann for ‘The Day The Earth Stood Still’ and Miles Davis for ‘Ascenseur pour l'échafaud’ (Lift to the scaffold). Both unbeatable for atmosphere.

[pm]

Dec 17, 2012 5:05:24 GMT -5 webmonkey said:

Dec 16, 2012 19:43:11 GMT -5 pm said:

Thanks webmonkey. I have the 12 inch I could try scanning it in two parts! I have only just noticed the 7 inch soundfile is missing too. Is it gone forever?

Hi pm,

Thank you for the kind offer, if you could scan the 12" sleeve, that would be great. I should be able to stitch halves together OK as long as there is sufficient overlap. If you're going to have a go, could you scan at 300dpi, same dimensions as the original please?

I'm afraid no-one could source the 7" sound file.

Hello webmonkey

I have scanned the front of ‘Happy Now’ 12inch. It is 122mm X 122mm RGB JPEG (same as other AW on the downloads page). I had to do it in 4 parts! But I don’t think it shows. I can’t see an email address to send it to and the file size exceeds the attachment size on this forum. Let me know whenever. Thanks

[webmonkey]

Dec 23, 2012 20:34:16 GMT -5 pm said:

Dec 17, 2012 5:05:24 GMT -5 webmonkey said:

Hi pm,

Thank you for the kind offer, if you could scan the 12" sleeve, that would be great. I should be able to stitch halves together OK as long as there is sufficient overlap. If you're going to have a go, could you scan at 300dpi, same dimensions as the original please?

I'm afraid no-one could source the 7" sound file.

Hello webmonkey

I have scanned the front of ‘Happy Now’ 12inch. It is 122mm X 122mm RGB JPEG (same as other AW on the downloads page). I had to do it in 4 parts! But I don’t think it shows. I can’t see an email address to send it to and the file size exceeds the attachment size on this forum. Let me know whenever. Thanks

Great, thanks pm! Can you try sending it, if you've not already stitched it together, part by part in 4 separate personal messages to me though the forum here? Members > Click my name > Send personal message (use the 'Insert image' button to put the file into the message. Lets see if that works.

[pete1953]

Hi Richard

I think I've lost track of a Poison Girls LP ... or at least a track ... I think it was in support of the Miners' strike and began with something about a crow hovering or flying over a motorway.

Can you help me trace this track and the album?


Thanks


Pete

[pm]

Tried messaging you ages ago but img tag would not work for me from desktop and no option for attachments on personal messaging. So here it is comped together, reduced and uploaded.

Attachments: