name	Stiff Records
image name	stiffrecordslogo08.jpg
parent	SPZ Group
founded	1976
founder	Dave RobinsonJake Rivera
distributor	ZTT Records (in the UK)
genre	Pub rock, punk rock, New Wave
country	UK
url	}}

Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman (aka Jake Riviera), and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007.

Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff Records signed pub rock acts and marketed them as punk and New Wave, including Nick Lowe, Wreckless Eric, Plummet Airlines, Elvis Costello and Ian Dury. The label's marketing and advertising was often provocative and witty. Stiff billed itself as "The World's Most Flexible Record Label". Other slogans were "We came. We saw. We left", "If It Ain't Stiff, It Ain't Worth a Fuck", and "When You Kill Time, You Murder Success" (printed on promotional wall clocks). On the label of Stiff's sampler compilation ''Heroes & Cowards'' was printed: "In '78 everyone born in '45 will be 33-1/3". A very early Stiff sampler album, ''A Bunch of Stiff Records'', introduced the slogan, "If they're dead, we'll sign them" and "Undertakers to the Industry".

Stiff also produced eccentric but highly effective promotional campaigns, such as the three package tours in 1977 (Live Stiffs), 1978 (Be Stiff) and 1980 (Son Of Stiff), Elvis Costello's "busking outside CBS Records" arrest and the at least 29 different wallpaper sleeves printed for Ian Dury's second album, ''Do It Yourself'', with associated unscheduled makeovers of unsuspecting record shops.

Barney Bubbles was responsible for much of the graphic art associated with the early Stiff releases.

History[link]

Robinson and Riviera were well-known London music business characters. Robinson had briefly worked for Jimi Hendrix in the late 1960s and also managed pub rock combo Brinsley Schwarz in the early 1970s, and Jakeman had been an early manager for another pub rock band, Dr. Feelgood, from Essex. The label was started with a loan of £400 from Lee Brilleaux of Dr. Feelgood.

Stiff found quick success. Its first release, on 14 August 1976, was a single (in the normal 7" vinyl 45 rpm format) by Nick Lowe, "So It Goes", B-side "Heart Of The City", with the striking catalogue number BUY 1. That record sold 10,000 copies, but Stiff's next release, "Between The Lines" by the Pink Fairies, sold only around half that. Robinson and Riviera used money from their Advancedale management company to finance the release of what is generally accepted as the UK's first punk single, "New Rose" by The Damned, in November 1976, which was a veritable hit. November 1976 also saw the release of a single by Nottingham-based band Plummet Airlines 'Silver Shirt'/ 'This is the World'. Plummet Airlines then went on to be featured on the John Peel show in May and August 1977, as well as releasing the album 'On Stony Ground' on Armageddon Records in 1981. Early in 1977 Stiff Records picked up speed, signing Wreckless Eric, Ian Dury, and Elvis Costello. Bigger sales followed, and a distribution deal with Island Records and EMI was set up. Each release was given individual attention, with inventive artwork, picture sleeves and a range of snappy slogans, often coupled with inventive marketing campaigns that achieved the label a great deal of publicity, if not always huge profit margins.

Robinson and Riviera were a fiery management combination, and after a series of disagreements, Riviera left Stiff in early 1978 to form the short-lived Radar Records, taking Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe and Yachts with him as a settlement package. Riviera's departure coincided with the end of the "5 Live Stiffs Tour", which showcased emerging star Ian Dury. Dury's album ''New Boots & Panties'' had raced up the charts and its sales kept the label in business over the following months. In 1979, Robinson signed Madness, whose considerable commercial success, both in Britain and abroad, would keep Stiff afloat for several years.

The next few years were the halcyon period, with many Top 20 single chart placings, including the label's first No. 1 single, "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" by Ian Dury, and a number of other big-selling albums. Stiff expanded rapidly and moved its premises twice. It also continued to release dozens of obscure and uncommercial releases. For example ''The Wit & Wisdom of Ronald Reagan'', was an LP that was completely silent on both sides, which sold over 30,000 copies, on Magic Records, with its own slogan, "If it sells, it must be Magic".

At the end of 1983, Island Records bought 50% of Stiff, and Robinson ran both labels. Island was very short of money at the time and Robinson had to lend it £1,000,000 to fund the share purchase and pay the payroll. Nonetheless, Robinson led Island through their best year ever, with, among others releases by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, ''Legend'' by Bob Marley, and U2's ''The Unforgettable Fire''. Stiff signed The Pogues, but then Madness left under a cloud. The Island deal failed and Dave Robinson regained control of the newly independent label in 1985. Hits by the Pogues and Furniture helped Stiff to survive another twenty months, but the underlying causes for the failure of the Island deal finally became too burdensome for Stiff and it was sold to ZTT.

In 2007, ZTT and its parent company SPZ Group reactivated the label. Stiff quickly broke one of the UK's hottest new indie acts, The Enemy. It then released a string of well-received albums of new work from legacy Stiff artists, including as Wreckless Eric, Henry Priestman, Any Trouble and Chris Difford. Brand new acts signed to the label included the Tranzmitors and Eskimo Disco. Swedish designer Tobbe Stuhre was appointed official Stiff Records designer.

In 2008, Union Square Music released ''The Big Stiff Box Set''. This detailed catalogue release contained 98-tracks across four CDs and the 100-page ''The Big Stiff Book'' by music journalist and Stiff expert, Ian Peel.

The Stiffs Tours[link]

Robinson and Riviera had arranged package tours, such as the 1975 ''Naughty Rhythms'' tour, for acts they managed before forming Stiff, and believed in this method of promotion, so arranged tours to promote Stiff's roster of artists.

The first tour, known as the ''Live Stiffs Tour'' or ''5 Live Stiffs'' (3 October – 5 November 1977), comprised five bands: Elvis Costello and The Attractions, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Wreckless Eric and The New Rockets, Nick Lowe's Last Chicken in the Shop and Larry Wallis's Psychedelic Rowdies. Having signed all the named artists as individuals, bands had to be formed in order to tour: these were largely based on the session musicians used for the artists' solo records. There were 18 musicians on the tour, several doubling up, e.g. Dury playing drums for Wreckless, whilst the last two "bands" had the same line up (Nick Lowe, Larry Wallis, Dave Edmunds, Terry Williams, Pete Thomas and Penny Tobin). A documentary of the tour, titled "if It Ain't Stiff..." (directed by Nick Abson, produced by Angela Saunders, photographed by Mike Miles with sound by Neville Wills) was made by Rockflicks and has been used extensively by the BBC and others.

The original idea was that the running order would rotate each night, but Dury and Costello were clearly the strongest acts. Costello played mostly new material and covers, rather than numbers from his recently released album ''My Aim is True'', so the gigs usually ended with most of the artists on stage performing Dury's "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll". A live album ''Live Stiffs Live'' and video of the tour were produced, but the tour only covered the UK.

After the departure of Riviera, Robinson arranged a second tour, the ''Be Stiff'' or the ''Be Stiff Route 78'' tour, from October to November 1978 (UK), again comprising five acts: Wreckless Eric, Lene Lovich, Jona Lewie, Mickey Jupp and Rachel Sweet. The UK tour was undertaken by train, and then continued on to the USA, without Jupp, who was afraid of flying. The artists contributed to an EP with covers of the Devo song, and early Stiff single, "Be Stiff".

The final tour, the ''Son of Stiff Tour 1980'' comprised Ten Pole Tudor, Any Trouble, Dirty Looks, Joe "King" Carrasco and the Crowns and The Equators. This was a Europe-wide tour, undertaken by bus, but was not very successful. The tour led to a 12" EP ''Son of Stiff Tour 1980'' (SON 1) and a short movie directed by Jeff Baynes. The movie has not been released for sale, but was shown on BBC4 in September 2006.

Artists released on Stiff[link]

Although closely associated with punk rock and new wave, Stiff Records hosted a wide variety of players, including:

{| |

The Adverts

Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias

Any Trouble

The Belle Stars

The Bongos

Joe "King" Carrasco & the Crowns

Elvis Costello

Jakko

Devo; their single "Be Stiff" was later covered by several Stiff artists.

The Damned

Dr. Feelgood

Ian Dury and the Blockheads

Dave Edmunds

The Displacements

The Enemy

The Feelies

Furniture

Richard Hell and The Voidoids

Mickey Jupp

Jona Lewie

Lew Lewis

Lene Lovich

Nick Lowe, also Stiff's "in house" record producer

|

Madness

Kirsty MacColl

The Members

Motörhead

Graham Parker and The Rumour

Pink Fairies

Plasmatics

Plummet Airlines

The Pogues

The Prisoners

Rachel Sweet

The Realists

The Sports

Bobby Tench

Tenpole Tudor

Sean Tyla and Tyla Gang

Tracey Ullman

The Undead

Max Wall

Larry Wallis

Wazmo Nariz

Wreckless Eric

Yachts

Yello

|}

References[link]

External links[link]

The Official Stiff Records Site

Stiff Discography site

Stiff Records discography at Discogs

Category:British record labels Category:Record labels established in 1976 Category:Record labels disestablished in 1985 Category:Punk record labels Category:Record labels established in 2007 Category:Re-established companies

de:Stiff Records fr:Stiff Records fy:Stiff Records it:Stiff Records nl:Stiff Records no:Stiff Records pt:Stiff Records ru:Stiff Records sv:Stiff Records

name	Lene Lovich
background	solo_singer
birth name	Lili-Marlene Premilovich
birth date	March 30, 1949
Birth place	Detroit, Michigan United States
instrument	Vocals
genre	New Wave
occupation	Musician, Songwriter
years active	1975–present
label	Polydor Records, Stiff Records }}

Lene Lovich (born 30 March 1949) is an American singer based in England, who first gained attention as part of the New Wave music scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Her most popular hit single was "Lucky Number", first released in 1978.

Early years[link]

Lovich was born Lili-Marlene Premilovich in Detroit, Michigan, to an English mother and a Serbian father. After her father had health problems, her mother took her and her three siblings to live in Hull, England. Lovich was 13 years old at the time. She met the guitarist/songwriter Les Chappell when they were teenagers, and he became her longtime collaborator and life partner. In autumn 1968, they went to London to attend art school. It was there that Lovich first tied her hair into the plaits that later became a visual trademark, though at first she did it to keep her hair out of the clay when studying sculpture.

Over the following decade, Lovich attended several art schools, busked around the London Underground and appeared in cabaret clubs as an "Oriental" dancer. She also travelled to Spain, where she visited Salvador Dalí in his home. She played acoustic rock music around London, sang in the mass choir of a show called ''Quintessence'' at the Royal Albert Hall, played a soldier in Arthur Brown's show, worked as a go-go dancer with the Radio One Roadshow, toured Italy with a West Indian soul band, and played saxophone for Bob Flag's Balloon and Banana Band and for an all-girl cabaret trio, The Sensations. She recorded screams for horror films, wrote lyrics for French disco star Cerrone (including the sci-fi dance smash "Supernature", later recorded by Lovich herself) and worked with various fringe theatre groups. She was also one of thousands of audience members invited to sing along at the 1972 Lanchester Arts Festival at the Locarno Ballroom in Coventry when Chuck Berry recorded "My Ding-a-Ling" for Chess Records.

1975-1986[link]

In 1975, Lovich joined The Diversions, a funk group that put out five singles and an album on Polydor Records, without success. In 1976 she released a 7" 3-track "maxi-single" in the UK under her own name, aimed at the Christmas market: "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus/The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)/Happy Christmas" (Polydor 2058 812)

In 1977, Lovich, along with recording engineer Alain Wisniak, provided lyrics for "Supernature", a song featuring music composed by French percussionist and disco music performer Cerrone. The song, with its surreal lyrics describing a world in which nature has risen to fight against desecration and destruction by humanity, is indicative of Lovich's interest in animal rights issues.

In 1978, disc jockey and author Charlie Gillett presented her recording of "I Think We're Alone Now", a cover version of a song originally performed by Tommy James and the Shondells, to Stiff Records boss, Dave Robinson. Robinson immediately proposed to release it as a single on Stiff, for which Lovich and Chappell had to write and record a B-side at short notice. They came up with "Lucky Number", which was then released as an A-side and became a Top 3 hit in the UK.

Invited by Robinson to participate in the forthcoming ''Be Stiff Route 78 Tour'' in 1978, Lovich quickly recorded her first album for Stiff, ''Stateless'', which contained "Lucky Number" and another Top 20 hit, "Say When". Lovich's musical style combined her own quirky inventions with contemporary punk rock and new wave styles. She then recorded the albums ''Flex'' and ''No-Man's-Land'' for Stiff over the next few years, as well as an EP titled ''New Toy'', the title cut penned by touring band member Thomas Dolby, and a cover of the Devo song ''Be Stiff''. She also recorded vocals for "Picnic Boy" by The Residents as "Sandy Sandwich".

Lovich co-wrote with Chappell and Chris Judge Smith and performed ''Mata Hari'', a play/musical at the Lyric Hammersmith, London, October/November 1982. During this time she was having disputes with Stiff. The success of the show and pressure from Epic, her US label, persuaded Stiff to release and promote ''No Man's Land''. Following her departure from Stiff, Lovich released "Don't Kill The Animals," a single with Nina Hagen, with whom she had previously appeared in ''Cha Cha'', a film that also starred Herman Brood; together, the three created the film's soundtrack.

1989 album[link]

In 1989, after an absence of several years due to raising a family, she recorded the album ''March'' on Pathfinder Records. It was only moderately successful and was not released until nearly a year after the album's single "Wonderland" had been issued and had become an American dance hit. She also toured the US three times immediately before, during and shortly after the release of ''March'', giving US fans their only glimpse of her for many years to come. All three tours culminated with benefit concerts for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Her tours supporting ''March'' were done with a semi-full band, featuring the electronic duo Tanz Waffen as her backup band in addition to herself and longtime partner Chappell.

Lovich contributed to the opera ''The Fall of the House of Usher'' (1991) by Peter Hammill and Judge Smith, singing the part of Madeline Usher.

Present day[link]

Lovich continues to perform in much the same style she did back in the 1970s and 1980s, with Chappell still at her side. In 2005 she appeared on Hawkwind's ''Take Me to Your Leader'' CD, as well as appearing occasionally on stage with them. Lovich's first album since ''March'', entitled ''Shadows and Dust'' received a limited release on the Stereo Society label on 13 September 2005. She played for the first time in many years with a full band at the Drop Dead Festival in 2006.

In 2007, MVD Visual released ''Lene Lovich: Live from New York'', a DVD featuring a performance Lovich gave at Studio 54 in 1981. In late 2007, both Lovich and Chappell produced a new edge recording of their hit "Lucky Number". The version was performed by rock group Eastroad, and was used by the BBC for its coverage of the 2008 World Snooker Championship.

In 2011, Lovich sang the part of Eurydice in the songstory ''Orfeas'' by Judge Smith.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

''Stateless'' (1978) #35 UK

''Flex'' (1979) #19 UK, #39 DE

''1980 Global Assault - Recorded Live In London And Boston'' (1980) Promo only

''New Toy'' (1981)

''No-Man's-Land'' (1982)

''March'' (1989)

''Shadows and Dust'' (2005)

Compilations[link]

''The Stiff Years - Volume 1''

''The Stiff Years - Volume 2''

''The Best of Lene Lovich'' (1997)

''The Very Best Of'' (1997)

''Lucky Number - The Best Of'' (2004)

DVDs[link]

''Lene Lovich: Live from New York'' (2007)

Singles [link]

Year	Title	Chart-Position			Album
		UK Singles Chart>UK	Media Control Charts>DE	Austria>AT
1976	"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
1978	"I Think We're Alone Now"
	"Lucky Number"
"Say When"
"Bird Song"
	"Angels"
"What Will I Do Without You"
"The Night"
1981	"New Toy"				''New Toy''
	"It's You, Only You (Mein Schmerz)"
"Blue Hotel"
1986	"Don't Kill The Animals" (feat. Nina Hagen)				-
1989	"Wonderland"				''March''
1999	"Shapeshifter" (feat. Comical Brothers)				''Shadows and Dust''

External links[link]

Lene Lovich at Stereo Society

Innovation in New Wave: Lene Lovich, Perfect Sound Forever

Lene Lovich fan site

References[link]

Category:1949 births Category:American people of English descent Category:Female New Wave singers Category:Living people Category:People from Detroit, Michigan Category:People from London Category:American people of Serbian descent Category:American New Wave musicians

de:Lene Lovich es:Lene Lovich it:Lene Lovich hu:Lene Lovich nl:Lene Lovich ru:Лена Лович

Name	Larry Wallis
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Origin	England
Instrument	Guitar, Bass, Vocals
Genre	Rock, Hard rock, Heavy metal, Progressive rock
Occupation	Record producer, Guitarist, Songwriter
Years active	1968–present
Label	Stiff Records
Associated acts	ShagratPink FairiesUFOMotörhead
Website	Pinkfairies.co.uk }}

Larry Wallis (born in 1949) is a guitarist, songwriter and producer. He is best known as a member of the Pink Fairies and an early member of Motörhead.

Early bands[link]

In 1968, he formed a band called The Entire Sioux Nation with Terry Nolder on vocals, Tim Taylor on bass and Paul Nichols on drums (born in 1949). The band split up in late 1969 at the same time as the Pink Fairies ''Mark 1'' line-up of Steve Peregrin Took, Mick Farren and Twink (with girlfriend Silver Darling) parted company.

Steve Took's Shagrat[link]

Twink formed Pink Fairies ''Mark 2'' with Farren's former band The Deviants leaving Farren bandless. The original intent was for Farren and Took to form Steve Took's Shagrat with ex-Entire Sioux Nation members Tim Taylor and Larry Wallis. Very soon though, Farren left after having a fallout with Took. Shagrat played one gig at the Phun City Festival in July 1970 and recorded a few songs.

Blodwyn Pig, Took and UFO[link]

Wallis then joined Blodwyn Pig, which changed its name to ''Lancaster's Bombers'' (later shortened to ''Lancaster'') with Jack Lancaster. They were a short-lived band although they toured supporting Yes in 1971. Also in 1971, Took, Wallis, and Dave Bidwell (ex-Chicken Shack) recorded four acoustic demos of Took's songs.

In February 1972, Wallis joined UFO, but left in October 1972, after a tour by Europe. Wallis did not record with the band, although a bootlegged live recording of a UFO performance featuring Wallis is known to exist.

Sometime during 1972 Wallis recorded sessions with Steve Peregrin Took at Took’s basement flat in Mayfair. These very casual sessions contain appearances by Twink, Mick Wayne, Duncan Sanderson, and almost certainly Syd Barrett.

The Pink Fairies[link]

In November 1972, Wallis joined the Pink Fairies, substituting for Mick Wayne. The band released an album ''Kings of Oblivion'' which contained mostly Wallis-penned tracks. The band played with an extended line-up for a special gig in July 1975. Several years later, in 1982, their only live performance was released as ''Live at the Roundhouse 1975''. In 1991, it was reissued under the name ''At the Roundhouse/Previously Unreleased'', comprising the original live album, plus additional songs by Larry Wallis from 1984, and an EP by Twink from 1977.

Motörhead[link]

While still a member of the Pink Fairies, in May 1975 Wallis joined a new band called Motörhead with Lemmy and Lucas Fox. In December 1975 Fox left the band and Motörhead recruited a new drummer, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor. Wallis recorded an album with the band, ''On Parole''. It remained unreleased until 1979 when Motörhead had established some reputation for themselves. In February 1976 Wallis was joined by "Fast" Eddie Clarke on guitar. Later in the same month Wallis left Motörhead. Wallis remained with Pink Fairies, which continued as a trio, until July 1976 when they gained additional guitarist, Martin Stone. In September 1976 the band released a single, "Between The Lines"/"Spoiling For A Fight" on Stiff Records. Four months later in January 1977 the band split up. In the same month Wallis guested at a one-off gig with members of Thin Lizzy and Rat Scabies of The Damned.

Steve Took[link]

During 1975 and 1976 Wallis did further recording work with Took although none of these sessions have been released to date. Wallis was present, by accident, at Pathway Studios in 1977 when Steve Took's Horns recorded material which would eventually be released in 2004.

Stiff Records - performer and producer[link]

Wallis then became an in-house producer at Stiff Records. He released a solo single, "Police Car"/"On Parole", produced by Nick Lowe, in November 1977. As well as appearing on a compilation album ''A Bunch of Stiff Records'', Wallis was part of an ad-hoc line-up called The Takeaways which included: Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe and Sean Tyla. Wallis took part in the ''Live Stiffs Tour'' in 1978 and appears as 'Larry Wallis' Psychedelic Rowdies' on the album, ''Stiffs Live'', that was released later that year.

Wallis also produced albums for a number of Stiff Records artists including The Adverts and Mick Farren's EP ''Screwed Up'' (November 1977) and album ''Vampires Stole My Lunch Money'' (August 1978). His song, "As Long As The Price is Right", first appeared on Dr. Feelgood's 1977 album, ''Be Seeing You''; and a live version of the track was later issued as a single in April 1979.

Farren/MC5 collaborations and his own bands[link]

In September 1978, Wallis became a member of another Farren project Mick Farren & The Good Guys; featuring Mick Farren (vocals), Andy Colquhoun (guitar), Willy Stallybrass (harmonica), Gary Tibbs (bass) and Alan (Hawkwind) Powell (drums).

In March 1979 Wallis joined ex-MC5 band member Wayne Kramer, Andy Colquhoun and George Butler for a series of live gigs.

In February 1982 Wallis formed Larry Wallis & The Death Commandos of Love with Johnny Reverb on guitar, Big George Webley on bass and Jim Toomey on drums.

Two years later in 1984 Wallis was once again working with Mick Farren who resurrected the The Deviants name to record a live album ''Human Garbage'' featuring Mick Farren on vocals, Wayne Kramer and Wallis on guitar, Duncan Sanderson on bass and vocals, and George Butler on drums.

Pink Fairies resurrection[link]

In 1987 the Pink Fairies were revived with Wallis on guitar and vocals, Andy Colquhoun on guitar, Duncan Sanderson on bass and vocals, and both Twink and Russell Hunter on drums. This resulted in the album ''Kill 'Em and Eat 'Em''.

Dr. Feelgood links[link]

Around 1991 Wallis worked with Lee Brilleaux and Phil Mitchell (both from Dr. Feelgood) on the ''On The Bench'' recording, with Ian Gibbons. This led to the formation of Wallis' new band, The Redbyrds featuring Wallis (guitar, vocals), Mitchell (bass) and Chris North (drums). The Redbyrds released one 12 inch EP, ''Truth Justice and a Wholesome Packed Lunch''.

Back in business[link]

2002 saw the release of the first Wallis 'solo' album ''Death in the Guitarfternoon''. A comeback gig for The Fairies was planned for The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London on 22 January 2007, however, this was cancelled due to Wallis having a trapped nerve in his back. It has not yet been rescheduled.

Discography[link]

;Albums with the Pink Fairies, The Deviants and Mick Farren

Pink Fairies – ''Kings of Oblivion'' – June 1973

Pink Fairies – ''Flashback'' – July 1975 (compilation)

Mick Farren and the Deviants – ''Screwed Up'' – November 1977 (EP produced by Wallis)

Mick Farren – ''Vampires Stole My Lunch Money'' – August 1978 (produced by Wallis)

Pink Fairies – ''Live at the Roundhouse 1975'' – June 1982

Pink Fairies – ''Previously Unreleased'' – 1982

The Deviants – ''Human Garbage'' – 1984

Pink Fairies – ''Kill 'Em and Eat 'Em'' – 1987

Pink Fairies – ''At the Roundhouse/Previously Unreleased'' – 1991

The Deviants – ''Fragments of Broken Probes'' – 1998 with Jack Lancaster, Andy Colquhoun

The Deviants – ''The Deviants Have Left the Planet'' – 1999, with Jack Lancaster

;Albums with the 'Live Stiffs' package

''Stiffs Live'' – 1978 - Larry Wallis' Psychedelic Rowdies - "Police Car", and with Nick Lowe - "I Knew the Bride" and "Let's Eat"

;As a member of Motörhead

''On Parole'' – 1979

;A French Single

"Leather Forever" – 1980's

;Albums with On The Beach

''Escape From Oil City'' – 1991 album shared with Canvey Island All Stars with Lee Brilleaux and Phil Mitchell

;12 inch EP as Larry Wallis and the Redbyrds

''Truth, Justice and a Wholesome Packed Lunch'' – Shagrat Records, distributed by Pyg Track, 1991

;Albums with The Stranglers and Friends

''Live in Concert'' – 1995

;Solo Albums

''Death in the Guitarfternoon'' - 2002

;Various Artists

''A Bunch of Stiff Records'' - 1977 - one track by The Takeaways - "Food"

''What's In the Pub in 1996'' - 1995 - one track by Wallis, "Touch and Go"

Albums produced by Larry Wallis[link]

Wreckless Eric – ''A Louder Silence'' – 1977

Wreckless Eric – ''Wreckless Eric'' – 1978 (Wallis also plays guitar)

References[link]

Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:English rock guitarists Category:English songwriters Category:English record producers Category:Motörhead members Category:UFO members Category:Pink Fairies members Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

cs:Larry Wallis da:Larry Wallis de:Larry Wallis it:Larry Wallis sq:Larry Wallis fi:Larry Wallis

background	solo_singer
instrument	Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals
name	Jona Lewie
birth date	March 14, 1947Southampton, England
genre	Pop, New Wave
label	Stiff Records
years active	1960s–present
associated acts	Keef TroubleTerry Dactyl and the DinosaursBrett Marvin and the Thunderbolts
website	http://www.jonalewie.com/ }}

Jona Lewie (born John Lewis, 14 March 1947, Southampton) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

Career[link]

Jona Lewie joined his first group, The Johnston City Jazz Band, while still at school in 1963, and by 1968 had become a blues & boogie singer and piano player. In 1969, as a singer/songwriter, he contributed compositions and recordings for the compilation album, ''I Asked For Water She Gave Me . . . Gasoline'' on the Liberty/UA label. Other compositions in 1969 were for the album, ''These Blues is Meant to Be Barrel Housed'', on the Yazoo/Blue Goose label in New York — still as a solo artist known as John Lewis.

In 1969 he became acquainted with the blues band, Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts, which was holding a residency at London’s Studio 51 club, joining as a vocalist and piano player. Brett Marvin signed to the Robert Stigwood Agency in 1970, and Jona Lewie, as part of the band, appeared on television in Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands, and in 1971 performed in a concert with Son House and supported Eric Clapton's Derek and the Dominoes on a UK tour. Lewie stayed with Brett Marvin until 1973, its mainstream hit single being "Seaside Shuffle", another Lewie composition, released under the one-off nom de disque Terry Dactyl and The Dinosaurs. The record did little on first release in 1971, but in 1972 a re-release reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart., aided by a marketing and distribution agreement for the song between Terry Dactyl’s record label, Sonet, and Jonathan King's UK label. Subsequent Lewie composed singles for Terry Dactyl and Sonet, "On a Saturday Night" and "She Left; I Died", didn’t achieve chart success.

Lewie looked likely to remain a part of a one-hit wonder group until he was signed up by Stiff Records in 1977. In 1980, following appearances on the Stiff package tours, he had a solo hit with the humorous synthpop number, "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties" co-written with fellow Brett Marvin member Keef Trouble, which made the British Top 20. His next single, "Big Shot — Momentarily", was a hit in Germany but not in the UK. By the end of 1980 he was back in the British charts with what became his biggest UK hit, "Stop the Cavalry". His subsequent 1981 release, "Louise (We Get It Right)", was not a UK hit, but reached no. 2 in Australia, and achieved chart success in other world territories. His song, "Vous et Moi", charted in France.

Although now one of Britain's and Germany's most familiar Christmas singles, "Stop the Cavalry" was not originally intended as a Christmas song (it had got to no. 1 in France in the summer). In Britain, however, it was released in late November after Stiff Records noticed a line referring to the festival — "I wish I was at home for Christmas" — and the specific style of brass instruments and bells in the chorus as a "Christmas-style" theme. The single reached no. 3 behind The St.Winifred's School Choir and John Lennon in the Christmas chart. The tune and style of "Stop the Cavalry" was later parodied for a series of humorous TV adverts for John Smith's Beer.

During the 1990s Lewie appeared with solo public performances on a short UK tour as special support guest of The Blues Band, playing venues such as theatres and civic centres, while occasionally playing one-off gigs such as that at the Hackney Empire, London and taking part in occasional radio and television broadcasts. In December 2005, he appeared in Channel 4's ''Bring Back...The Christmas Number One'', along with David Essex and Slade (all of whom had big Christmas Number Ones.) They only fronted, but did not play at, the studio recording session of "I'm Going Home". It failed to secure a record deal. It was written by ex-Mud star Rob Davis, who also appeared on the show and who co-wrote (with Cathy Dennis) the international million-selling "Can't Get You out of My Head" for Kylie Minogue. In 2009 Lewie performed two songs at the London Ukulele Festival.

"Kitchen at Parties" [link]

The 1980 song and Lewie’s first hit record, "Kitchen at Parties", was written for Stiff Records by Jona Lewie (melody) and Keef Trouble (lyrics) for the album, ''On the Other Hand There's a Fist''. The song became a UK no. 16 single hit record. Lewie added a new story-line ending to Trouble’s lyrics. He wrote the melody on a multi-timbre polyphonic Polymoog in his home 8-track studio, and played on and recorded the backing track entirely himself, apart from bass guitar from Norman Watt-Roy (of Ian Dury and the Blockheads) and additional hi-hat percussion from Bob Andrews. The female backing vocal in the song’s chorus was not the voice of Kirsty MacColl as is sometimes believed, but the voices of the wives of Andrews and Dave Robinson (the owner of Stiff Records). MacColl's only involvement was when she appeared a few times on TV with Lewie to mime/perform the vocal chorus. However, Karen O'Brien's official biography, ''Kirsty MacColl: The One and Only'', claimed this as MacColl's first vocal backing recording for Stiff Records.

This song also appears in the background of the party in ''The Young Ones'' episode, "Interesting", just before Neil gets beaten up by Vyv's mates.

In 2010 the track was used to advertise Ikea's kitchens. The advert, the full version of which ran to three minutes, featured the group Man Like Me walking around a party in a house comprising only kitchens while singing a new version of the song. Lewie himself appears in the ad as the host of the party.

Discography [link]

Albums [link]

''Alias Jona Lewie'' (1975)

''On the Other Hand There's a Fist'' (1978)

''Heart Skips Beat'' (1982)

''Optimistic'' (1993)

''Ukephoric: The London Ukulele Festival 2009'' (2010)

Singles [link]

"Cherry Ring" (1976)

"The Baby, She's on the Street" (1978)

"Hallelujah Europa" (1978) — ''withdrawn, not released in UK''

"God Bless Whoever Made You" (1979)

"You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties" (1980) (UK no. 16)

"Big Shot — Momentarily" (1980)

"Stop the Cavalry" (1980) (UK no. 3; BPI: Gold)

"Louise (We Get It Right)" (1981)

"Shaggy Raggy" (1981)

"Re-arranging the Deckchairs on the Titanic" (1981)

"I Think I'll Get my Hair Cut" (1981)

"Love Detonator" (1983)

See also[link]

Keef Trouble

Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts

List of Christmas carols

100 Greatest Christmas Moments

List of performers on Top of the Pops

List of Christmas hit singles

References[link]

Further reading[link]

''Rockin' Around Britain'' - Pete Frame - Omnibus Press - Bio Data

Reference to his song being No 2 on Australian Charts in 1981

External links[link]

Official site

Greatest Hits

Nostalgia Central Page

Stiff Records Discography site

Kitchen at Parties Ikea commercial 2010

Jona Lewie talks about the writing of Kitchen at Parties

Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:English male singers Category:English New Wave musicians Category:English songwriters Category:English pianists Category:People from Southampton

de:Jona Lewie fr:Jona Lewie nl:Jona Lewie

The word ''asshole'', a variant of ''arsehole'', which is still prevalent in British and Australian English, is a vulgar to describe the anus, often pejoratively used to refer to people.

History[link]

The word ''arse'' in English derives from the Germanic root *arsaz, which originated from the Proto-Indo-European root *ors — meaning ''buttocks'' or ''backside''. The combined form ''arsehole'' is first attested from 1500 in its literal use to refer to the anus. The metaphorical use of the word to refer to the worst place in a region, ''e.g.'', "the arsehole of the world") is first attested in print in 1865; the use to refer to a contemptible person is first attested in 1933. In the ninth chapter of his 1945 autobiography, ''Black Boy'', Richard Wright quotes a snippet of verse that uses the term: "All these white folks dressed so fine / Their ass-holes smell just like mine ...". Its first appearance as an insult term in a newspaper indexed by Google News is in 1965. As with other vulgarities, these uses of the word may have been common in oral speech for some time before their first print appearances. By the 1970s, ''Hustler'' magazine featured people they did not like as "Asshole of the Month." In 1972, Jonathan Richman's Modern Lovers recorded his song "Pablo Picasso," which includes the line "Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole."

Until the early 1990s, the word was considered one of a number of words that could not be uttered on commercial television in the United States. Comedian Andrew Dice Clay caused a major shock when he uttered the word during a televised MTV awards show in 1989. However, there were PG-13 and R rated films in the 1980s that featured use of the word, such as the R-rated ''The Terminator'' (1984), the PG-13-rated ''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' (1989), and the PG-rated ''Back to the Future'' (1985). By 1994, however, vulgarity had become more acceptable, and the word was featured in dialog on the long-running television series ''NYPD Blue'', though it has yet to become anything close to commonplace on network TV. In some broadcast edits (such as the syndication airings of ''South Park''), the word is partially bleeped out — ironically, as "assh—", with the profane half of the word intact.

Semantics[link]

The word is mainly used as a vulgarity, generally to describe people who are viewed as stupid or incompetent or detestable.

This word or its literal translation is found in colloquial speech in a number of cultures (in both English and other languages). This is because it describes an organ of elimination that is considered a taboo region (since it belongs to the intimate parts) of the body in many societies.

The English word ''ass'' (meaning donkey, a cognate of its zoological name ''Equus asinus'') may also be used as a term of contempt, referring to a silly or stupid person. In the United States, and, to a lesser degree, in Canada, the words ''arse'' and ''ass'' have become synonymous; however, in the rest of the English-speaking world, ''ass'' still only refers to the donkey, rather than the ''arse'' (buttocks). It is worth noting that speakers of some varieties of English "drop their Rs" before consonants, leading to a pronunciation of ''arse'' that is quite similar to ''ass''.

Political usage[link]

In 2000, during a Labor Day event, then candidate George W. Bush made an off-hand remark to his running mate, Dick Cheney, that ''New York Times'' reporter Adam Clymer was a "major league asshole." The gaffe was caught on microphone and led to a political advertisement chiding Bush for "using expletives ... in front of a crowd of families," produced for Democratic opponent Al Gore.

In February 2004, American media reported that during a rally of supporters, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called Bush "an asshole" for believing his aides in supporting a coup against Chavez in 2002. The word in the original Spanish was "pendejo", and in news coverage the word was widely, though incorrectly, translated as "asshole"; the meaning of the word varies substantially in Latin America, and in Venezuela its meaning is closer to "fool". The following year, in September, ''Nightline'' host Ted Koppel said to Chavez on national television, "I'm going to perhaps shock you a little, but these are your words. You called President Bush an asshole," to which Chavez replied, "I've said various things about him. I don't know if I actually used that word."

See also[link]

Arse

The No Asshole Rule

Sexual Slang

Profanity

References[link]

Category:Pejorative terms for people Category:Profanity

cs:Prdel de:Arschloch simple:Asshole zh-yue:屎忽鬼