Rough Trade's retail shop

Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk and early post punk bands such as Buzzcocks and Desperate Bicycles, Travis began to manage acts and distribute bands such as Scritti Politti and began the label, which was informed by left-wing politics and structured as a co-operative. Soon after, Rough Trade also set up a distribution arm that serviced independent retail outlets across Britain, a network that became known as the Cartel.

Interest and investment of major labels in the UK indie scene in the late 1980s, as well as overtrading on behalf of Rough Trade's distribution wing, led to cash flow problems, and eventually to bankruptcy, forcing the label into receivership. However, Travis resurrected the label in the late 90s, finding success with The Libertines, The Strokes and Antony and the Johnsons.

History[link]

Rough Trade began as a record shop, opened by Geoff Travis on Kensington Park Road, West London, in February 1976. It was inspired by what Travis has described as the "community-based environment" of the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, and specialised in garage rock and reggae. Steve Montgomery, initially a customer of the shop, was offered a job soon after it opened and became its effective co-manager. Travis and Montgomery were joined by a further employee, Richard Scott, in June 1977.^[1][2]

Rough Trade produced its own record for the first time after French punk band Métal Urbain came into the shop asking for assistance in publicising their music.^[2] In 1978, the shop began organising a record distribution network, dubbed "The Cartel", in collaboration with other independent record stores in the UK. This network enabled small record labels such as Factory Records and 2 Tone Records to sell their releases nationally. It specialised primarily in European post-punk and other alternative rock of the late 1970s and early 1980s. It also dristributed a range of British fanzines such as No Cure.

The Rough Trade label subsequently issued a single by Jamaican reggae singer Augustus Pablo, the debut single by Sheffield band Cabaret Voltaire and the second Stiff Little Fingers single, "Alternative Ulster". During 1978, the label released singles by The Monochrome Set, Subway Sect, Swell Maps, Electric Eels, Spizzoil and Kleenex.^[3] In 1979, Rough Trade's first album, Inflammable Material by Stiff Little Fingers, reached number 14 in the UK charts and became the first independently released album to sell over 100,000 copies in the UK.^[4] Rough Trade's significance by this time was such that it was made the subject of a South Bank Show documentary.^[5]

In 1982, the retail outlets broke with the A&R and distribution divisions, after a decision to allow the shop staff buy out.^[6] The distribution wing found itself overtrading by 1991 and shortages of cash flow lead to a filing for bankruptcy. The entire company ended up in receivership.

Rough Trade Records was relaunched in 2000 as an independently owned entity, a partnership between Travis, Jeanette Lee (a former member of Public Image Ltd.), and minority partners Sanctuary Records, as a part of the Zomba Group until June 11, 2002 when BMG bought out this business. In July 2007 Sanctuary Records then sold Rough Trade to the Beggars Group making Rough Trade independent once again ^[7]

Since its re-birth, Rough Trade has released albums by artists such as The Strokes, The Libertines, Babyshambles, and Belle & Sebastian.

Artists[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Cavanagh, David. The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize. London: Virgin Books, 2000. ISBN 0-7535-0645-9.
• Savage, Jon. England's Dreaming: The Sex Pistols and Punk Rock London: Faber and Faber, 1991. ISBN 0-312-28822-0
• Young, Rob. Rough Trade. Black Dog Publishing, ISBN 1-904772-47-1

External links[link]

• Official website

Look up rough trade in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Rough Trade may refer to:

• Rough Trade Records, a record label
• Rough Trade (shops), linked but independent London record stores
• Rough Trade (band), a Canadian new wave rock band
• Rough Trade (American Dad!), an episode of American Dad!
• Rough Trade, a slang term for a masculine working class man who has sex with men (sometimes as a male prostitute)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2007)

Jeffrey Lewis
Jeffrey Lewis performing at The Luminaire, London, England, 2006.
Background information
Born	(1975-11-20) November 20, 1975 (age 36) New York City, United States
Genres	Anti-folk
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Rough Trade
Associated acts	Schwervon!, Kimya Dawson, Major Matt Mason USA, Jack Lewis, Adam Green, Diane Cluck
Website	Official Site

Jeffrey Lewis (born November 20, 1975 in New York City) is an American singer/songwriter and comic book artist.

Early life[link]

Lewis attended State University of New York at Purchase and graduated in 1997 with a degree in Literature. His Senior Literary Thesis was on the comic book Watchmen.^[1]

Lewis also lectured on the topic of Watchmen at the Institute For Cultural Studies at the University of Leuven, Belgium, in 2000, and the text of his lecture ("The Dual Nature of Apocalypse in Watchmen") was published in the book The Graphic Novel, edited by Jan Baetens, in 2001.

Starting in 2000, he spent about 2 years living in Austin, Texas, playing open mic nights, working odd jobs and distributing his autobiographical comics to local coffee shops.

Music[link]

Several of his musical influences have been acknowledged in his songs such as "Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror", "The History of The Fall" and "The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song", concerning the song by Leonard Cohen. Lewis' lyrics are complex and literate, often combining a nihilistic world-view with a hopeful message and sharp wit. Growing up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan Island his songs are also highly informed by his home surroundings, with songs name-dropping places such as Williamsburg, the FDR Drive and the East River.

Lewis is often regarded as part of the antifolk movement, first and foremost because he was one of the many bands and performers (including The Moldy Peaches, Major Matt Mason USA and Lach) who played in the 1990s at New York's Sidewalk Cafe and its biannual antifolk festivals and open mic events. His music also possesses certain traits of a perceived antifolk style - a downbeat self-deprecating humor, an off-kilter singing style, a mixture of acoustic and 'punk' songs which feature themes of everyday occurrences and feelings. Lewis himself does not mind the 'antifolk' tag: "I think it's a cool title. The fact that no one knows what it means, including me, makes it kind of mysterious and more interesting than saying that you’re a singer/songwriter or that you play indie rock."^[2]

After being signed by the British record label Rough Trade in 2001, Jeffrey Lewis released his first official album The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane.

In 2003 he released the album It's the Ones Who've Cracked That the Light Shines Through, with drummer Anders Griffen. His third record, City and Eastern Songs, was released in the UK in November 2005 and in the US in September 2006. All three of these albums also include his brother, Jack Lewis, who wrote and sang a number of the songs. In October 2007, Jeffrey released 12 Crass Songs, an album consisting entirely of songs written by the anarcho-pacifist British punk band Crass, reworked to match Jeffrey's antifolk style.

He has also performed and collaborated with Kimya Dawson of The Moldy Peaches as well as Diane Cluck. Some of his hand-drawn comics appear in the cover art of his CD releases.

In June 2008 Jeffrey Lewis with his brother Jack were the support act for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks in Europe. Other well-known acts that Jeffrey has performed shows or whole tours with include Devendra Banhart, Jarvis Cocker, Black Dice, Adam Green, Thurston Moore, the Fall, Kimya Dawson, Beth Orton, Frank Black, the Fiery Furnaces, Daniel Johnston, Scout Niblett, the Mountain Goats, Dr. Dog, the Moldy Peaches, Cornershop, Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Wooden Wand, the Cribs, Danielson, Herman Dune, Los Campesinos, Roky Erickson, and Super Furry Animals.

The New York Times online Op-Ed page "Measure For Measure" hired Jeffrey Lewis to write a number of short essays on the topic of songwriting, some of which Jeffrey drew in comic book form. All went up on the New York Times website at intervals in Fall/Winter 2008.

Jeffrey has created a number of illustrated historical songs, usually sung while flipping through accompanying books of color drawings, including ten such pieces which are in use by The History Channel on their website.

In November 2011 The New York Times ran a feature article on Jeffrey Lewis in the Arts section of November 23, written by Ben Sisario.

Artwork[link]

Jeffrey has his own comic book series titled 'Fuff' (formerly called 'Guff') available via Olive Juice Music.

In March 2009, he designed the cover to the sixth issue of Bearded magazine.

Comics

• Reflections on Tomorrow thus a yesterday Flower Shall Doom (1998)
• The Worldwide Comix Scavenger Hunt vol 1 (1998–2003)
• Reflections #2 (1998–2003)
• Trip to Key West (1999)
• 1999 European Travel Diary (1999)
• Jeff's Austin Diary (2001)
• Come to My Show (2004)
• Fuff # 1
• Guff # 2
• Guff # 3
• Fuff # 4
• Fuff # 5
• Fuff # 6
• Fuff # 7
• Fuff # 8
• The Art of Touring (2007)
• Comic book press kit for Mountain Goats' album 'Heretic Pride (2008)

Discography[link]

Albums/EPs[link]

• When Madman Was Good - Version One (1997)
• When Madman Was Good - Version Two (1998)
• Indie-Rock Fortune Cookie (1998)
• Journey to the Center of the Earth (1999)
• The Only Time I Feel Right Is When I'm Drawing Comic Books (2000)
• I Am, Of Course, Glad (2000)
• Kimya Dawson And Jeff Lewis (2001)
• Songs From Austin (2001)
• Diane Cluck And Jeffrey Lewis (2001)
• The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane (2001)
• Guitar Situations: Musical Conduct (2002)
• AntiFolk Collaborations Volume 1 (2002)
• It's the Ones Who've Cracked That the Light Shines Through (2003)
• Jeffrey Lewis "Four Seasons" Box Set (2004)
• City and Eastern Songs (Jeffrey & Jack Lewis) (2005)
• Gas Money EP (2005) (split with Schwervon!)
• Tapes From The Crypt (2006)
• 12 Crass Songs (2007)
• City and Eastern Tapes (2008)
• 'Em Are I (Jeffrey Lewis & the Junkyard) (2009)
• Come On Board (Peter Stampfel & Jeffrey Lewis) (2011)
• A Turn In The Dream-Songs (2011)

Singles[link]

• The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song (2001)
• Back When I Was Four (2002)
• Graveyard/Spirit of Love (2002)
• No LSD Tonight/Don't Let The Record Label Take You Out To Lunch (2003)
• Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror (2005)
• Had It All (2005)
• To Be Objectified (2009)
• Roll Bus, Roll (2010)
• Cult Boyfriend (2011)

Compilation Appearances[link]

• Antifolk Vol. 1 (2002) - "You Don't Have To Be A Scientist To Do Experiments on Your Own Heart
• Call It What You Want This Is Antifolk (2002) - So Long (I'm Gonna Go Draw All Alone In My Shack)
• Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before (2003) - "Part-Time Punks"
• The Art Star Sounds Compilation (2005) - "Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror"
• Still Unravished- A Tribute to June Brides (2006) - Waiting For A Change
• Anticomp Folkilation (2007) - "The River" (with Diane Cluck)
• Tallahassee Turns Ten: a Mountain Goats Cover Album (2012) ^[3]
• Audio Antihero Presents: "Some.Alternate.Universe" for FSID (2012) - "Dog Eat Dog"

External links[link]

• The official Jeffrey Lewis website
• Russian-english podcast about Jeffrey Lewis in Moscow

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jeffrey Lewis

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. It may have been edited by a contributor who has a close connection with its subject. Tagged since October 2008. Its tone or style may not reflect the formal tone used on Wikipedia. Tagged since October 2008.

The Foundations were a British soul band, active from 1967 to 1970. The group, made up of West Indians, White British, and a Sri Lankan, are best known for their two biggest hits, "Baby Now That I've Found You" (a Number One hit in the UK Singles Chart and Canada, and subsequently Top 10 in the US), written by Tony Macaulay and John MacLeod; and "Build Me Up Buttercup" (a number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 in Canada), co-written by Macaulay with Mike d'Abo, at the time the lead vocalist with Manfred Mann. The group was the first multi-racial group to have a number 1 hit in the UK in the 1960s.^[1]

The Foundations are notable for being one of the few label acts to successfully imitate what became known as the Motown Sound. In terms of line-up and musical style, they anticipated the sound of the more successful Hot Chocolate. They were in a similar musical vein as Love Affair, who also topped the UK charts in 1968 with their version of Robert Knight's "Everlasting Love". The Foundations signed to Pye, at the time one of only four big UK record companies (the others being EMI with its HMV, Columbia Records, and Parlophone labels; Decca; and Philips who also owned Fontana).^[2]

Biography[link]

Origins[link]

The Foundations drew much interest and intrigue due to the size and structure of the group. Not only was there a diverse ethnic mix in the group, but there was also diversity in ages and musical backgrounds. The oldest member of the group was Mike Elliott, who was 38 years old. The youngest was Tim Harris, who, at 18, was barely out of school. The West Indian horn section, which consisted of Jamaican-born Mike Elliott and Pat Burke, both saxophonists and Dominican-born Eric Allendale on trombone. They were all highly experienced musicians who came from professional jazz and rock-and-roll backgrounds. Mike Elliott had played in various jazz and rock and roll bands including Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott,^[3] the Cabin Boys (led by Tommy Steele's brother, Colin Hicks), and others. Pat Burke, a professional musician, was from the London Music Conservatorium. Eric Allendale had led his own band at one stage as well as having played with Edmundo Ros and being a former member of the Terry Lightfoot^[4] and Alex Walsh bands. Alan Warner, the guitarist, was also an experienced musician for his age, having played with numerous semi-pro groups from the age of 16.^[5] Bassist Peter Macbeth was a former teacher. Tony Gomez, the keyboard player, was a former clerk, while Clem Curtis had been an interior decorator and professional boxer.

The story of the origins of the Foundations can be somewhat surprising and a bit confusing as to who was responsible for choosing the band's name, and various sources give slightly different accounts of their beginnings. One version is that they were originally called The Ramong Sound,^[5][6] or The Ramongs, and there were two lead singers, Clem Curtis and Psychedelic shock rocker Arthur Brown.^[7] Other variations on this are that after they dropped the "Ramong" from their name, they were then called The Foundation Squad or The Foundation Sound.^[5] Apparently, Arthur Brown was only a temporary member for about one month, and by the time the Foundations had signed to Pye, he had left the group.

The Foundations actually did come together in Bayswater, London in January 1967. They practiced and played in a basement club called the Butterfly Club, which they ran.^[8] While managing the club themselves, they played music nightly, and handled the cooking and cleaning. They would get to bed around 6 or 7 a.m., sleep until 4 p.m., get up and begin again to get ready to open at 8 p.m. Sometimes they barely made enough money to pay the rent, let alone feed themselves. At times, they lived off the leftovers and a couple of pounds of rice.^[9] They stayed there until they were eventually forced out by a protection racket gang and then had to move next door to a dingy unused mini-cab office.^[10]

Career from 1967[link]

While the biography on Allmusic states that Barry Class was the first to discover them,^[1] Alan Warner, the original founding member and lead guitarist of The Foundations and former Ramongs member states that it was actually Fairway who saw them in the dingy office and then introduced them to Class.^[10] Either way, both Fairway and Class teamed up to become their managers.^[11] Class took care of the business management, while Fairway went out promoting and trying to secure gigs for the group.^[10]

When they were at the top spot with "Baby, Now That I've Found You", Fairway commented to Melody Maker that most management would pull them out of the "bargain priced dates" that were booked for some time. He expressed gratitude to everyone for their support, and said that they would fulfill every engagement for which they had signed.^[3]

Not long after "Baby, Now That I've Found You" became a hit, rock historian Roger Dopson describes what followed as a "behind the scenes struggle",^[3] where Fairway was "pushed out" and his partner, Barry Class, remained as sole manager of the group. Fairway later attempted to sue the band, alleging that he was wrongfully dismissed, though the band said that he had resigned of his own accord.^[12] Dopson also noted that Fairway also leaked a story to the media saying that the Foundations had broken up which only served to keep the Foundations name in the news headlines.^{[3] [13]} Fairway and Class eventually introduced them to Pye A&R man Tony Macaulay.^[10] The day Macaulay came to hear them play, he was suffering from what he described as the worst hangover of his life. The band was playing so loud he could not judge how good they were, but he decided to give them a chance.^[3] He would later comment in the book, 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, that he woke up that morning with a stinking headache, and when he got to the studio and heard The Foundations, he thought they were pretty terrible. He decided his hangover was to blame, and so he gave them the benefit of the doubt.^[14]

At first they found progress quite slow, and one of their sax players, Pat Burke, had to drop out of the band and take another job while they went through a rough patch. He did rejoin them again later in 1967.^{[15] [16]}

They did a couple of tours backing The Toys and later Motown Records' Edwin Starr.^[10] Curtis doubted if this group called The Toys was the original Toys let alone American. They were noticed by Brian Epstein who added them to the roster of his NEMS Agency but the contract became void when he died.^[17]

When "Baby Now That I've Found You" was first released it went nowhere. Luckily the BBC's newly founded BBC Radio 1 were looking to avoid any records being played by the pirate radio stations and they looked back at some recent releases that the pirate stations had missed. "Baby, Now That I've Found You" was one of them. The single then took off and by November was number one in the UK Singles Chart.^[2] This was the ideal time because of the soul boom that was happening in England since 1965 and with American R&B stars visiting the UK, interest and intrigue in The Foundations was generated. Their second single released in January 1968, "Back On My Feet Again", did not do as well but made it to #18 in the UK,^[2] and #29 in Canada. Also in January 1968 they were invited to put down some tracks for John Peel's radio show. One of the tracks that they laid down was a cover of ? and the Mysterians garage classic 96 Tears.^[18][19] On the same day PP Arnold was in the studio with Dusty Springfield and Madeline Bell as her backing vocalists.^[18]

Around this time after the release of their second single, there were tensions developing between the band and their songwriter/producer, Tony Macaulay. He would not allow them to record any of their own songs.^[1] In an interview, the band's organ player, Tony Gomez, told NME Magazine in an interview that he, Peter MacBeth, and Eric Allendale had some ideas that they wanted to put together. Curtis later recalled that Macaulay was a problem. "Tony Macaulay was very talented, but could be difficult to get on with. When we asked to record some of our own material - just as B sides, we weren't after the A side - he called us 'ungrateful' and stormed out of the studio."^[3] The group felt that Macaulay had reined in their "real" sound, making them seem more pop-oriented than they were.^[1] Tony Macaulay was later to recall, "I was never close to The Foundations. I couldn't stand them, and they hated me! But the body of work we recorded was excellent."^[3]

A third single, also released in 1968 "Any Old Time (You're Lonely and Sad)", reached #48.^[2]

Curtis and Elliott leave group[link]

Original vocalist Curtis left in 1968, because he felt that a couple of the band's members were taking it a bit too easy, thinking that because they had now had a hit, they did not have to put in as much effort as they had previously.^[1] Saxophonist Mike Elliott also left around this time and was never replaced. Curtis hung around and helped them audition a replacement singer. They auditioned 200 singers. It was reported in a New Musical Express article in 1968 that Curtis while being interviewd at a festival had mentioned that they were trying out Warren Davis to replace him. He said he wouldn't leave the band until they found a replacement.^[20] He had become friendly with Sammy Davis, Jr. and was encouraged to try his luck in the United States. He moved to the US for a solo career on the club circuit, encouraged by the likes of Wilson Pickett and Sam & Dave, playing Las Vegas with the Righteous Brothers. His successful replacement was Colin Young.

New lead singer[link]

With Young the band had two more big hits; "Build Me Up Buttercup" which was their third hit in 1968 and "In the Bad Bad Old Days (Before You Loved Me)" which was a hit in April 1969,^[2] and reached #23 in Canada May 5 that year.

At the height of their popularity, the Foundations management were in negotiations and a UK TV company for a television series that would star members of the band. They had turned down a number of offers to appear in films because of script unsuitability.^[21]

Bassist Peter Macbeth left the band in 1969, to join the group Bubastis with Bernie Living,^[22][23] and was replaced by Steve Bingham.

Beginning of 1970 to the breakup in late 1970[link]

After a successful run of hits, The Foundations broke off with their management and a Bill Graham sponsored tour to support The Temptations at the newly opened Copacabana club. This ended up in disaster and the band came back to the UK in low spirits. It had been previously reported in a publicity sheet around early December 1969 that the band had broken away from their manager Barry Class. Jim Dawson who was formerly their agent and Mike Dolan took over the group's affairs.^[24] The group's final hits were "Born to Live, Born to Die" which was written by Eric Allendale and Tony Gomez.^[25] and "My Little Chickadee", a US only hit which barely made the hot 100. Another member joined the band in 1970. Paul Lockey who had been with Robert Plant in Band Of Joy joined as their bass guitarist.^[26]

"My Little Chickadee" proved to be the band's last hit. In spite of releasing "Take A Girl Like You", the title song to the Oliver Reed and Hayley Mills film, and a heavy blues rock song "I'm Gonna Be A Rich Man", the band split in late 1970.^[27]

1971 to the end of the 1970s[link]

The last record released in the early 1970s as The Foundations was a single "Stoney Ground" b/w "I'll Give You Love" MCA MCA 5075 1971.^[28] By that time the original band had already split up and Alan Warner had been a member of Pluto since joining and helping to form the English progressive rock band in 1970.^[10] There would be two more singles released as The Foundations in the mid to late 1970s.

When Curtis returned to the UK, he formed a new version of the group with little success in spite of releasing several singles, but later had a lucrative spell on the 1960s nostalgia circuit. Curtis' re-formed Foundations have on several occasions and among the many musicians to be part of latter day Foundations were Bill ^[29] and John Springate, the latter becoming a member of The Glitter Band,^[30] Derek "Del" Watson, Paul Wilmot (all members of the band "ELEGY") and Roy Carter who later on joined Heatwave.^[31]

Also in the 1970s there would be a collaborative attempt between two former members of the Foundations. Original Foundations trombonist Eric Allendale attempted to work with original Foundations Foundations drummer Tim Harris.^[32]

In the mid 1970s, while Clem Curtis and The Foundations were on the road, there was also another Foundations line up that was led by Colin Young who were on the road at the same time, who were playing basically the same material. This eventually led to court action which resulted in Curtis being allowed to bill his group as either The Foundations or Clem Curtis & The Foundations. Young was allowed to bill himself as The New Foundations or Colin Young & The New Foundations.^[3]

Also in the mid 1970s, Young and his group, The New Foundations, released a lone single on Pye, "Something For My Baby" / "I Need Your Love".^[3] There were actually two more singles released in the late 1970s as the Foundations. They were "Where Were You When I Needed Your Love" / "Love Me Nice And Easy" and "Closer To Loving You" / "Change My Life" on the Summit and Psycho labels.^[33] These featured Curtis as the lead singer.

Various sources erroneously state that there was an early 1970s English line up that had nothing, or little to do with, the original Foundations. However, Curtis has been leading a new line up of the Foundations since coming back to the UK and reforming the group in the early 1970s.

1980s to present[link]

In or around the late 1980s Curtis and Alan Warner teamed up to recut "Baby, Now That I've Found You" as well as other hits of The Foundations.^[3]

There has also been another line up formed in 1999 that included Young (vocals), Alan Warner (Guitar), Steve Bingham (bass), Gary Moberly (keyboards), Tony Laidlaw (sax) and Sam Kelly then Steve Dixon (drums). This version of the group was reformed due to the popularity of the film There's Something About Mary and the interest created resulting from the 1968 hit "Build Me Up Buttercup" being featured in the film. Some time later Young left this version of the group and was replaced by Hue Montgomery (aka Hugh Montgomery).

Known as Alan Warner's Foundations, this group is on tour in 2012 either in their own right or with The New Honeycombs, Terry Rice-Milton of Cupid's Inspiration, Billie Davis and Keith Powell.

Curtis still appears at venues and tours as Clem Curtis & The Foundations as he has done during the past four decades.

There is a bogus American group using the Foundations name and includes original Foundations hits as part of their repertoire. This group has no connection with the group that recorded the hits on Pye.^{[citation needed]}

Former personnel[link]

The Foundations[link]

• Clem Curtis: lead vocals - born 28 November 1940,^[34] Trinidad, West Indies.
• Colin Young: lead vocals - b. 12 September 1944, Barbados, West Indies - replaced Clem Curtis in 1968.
• Arthur Brown: vocals - b. 24 June 1942 Whitby, Yorkshire, Member for approximately one month in 1967
• Alan Warner: lead guitar - b. 21 April 1947,^[34] Paddington, west London.
• Peter Macbeth: bass guitar - b. Peter McGrath, 2 February 1941,^[34] Marylebone, North London.
• Steve Bingham: bass guitar - b. 4 April 1949, Solihull, Warwickshire.
• Tim Harris: drums - b. 14 January 1948,^[34] St John's Wood, North London - Died 2007
• Tony Gomez: keyboards - b. 13 December 1938,^[34] Colombo, Ceylon - (now Sri Lanka).
• Pat Burke: tenor saxophone/flute - b. 9 October 1937,^[34] Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies.
• Mike Elliott: tenor saxophone - b. 6 August 1929,^[34] Jamaica, West Indies. - Left in 1968
• Eric Allandale: trombone - b. Eric Allandale Dubuisson, 4 March 1936,^[34] Dominica, West Indies — died 23 August 2001.
• Paul Lockey: bass guitar^[35] - joined in 1970 for nine months

Guests[link]

• Mike D'Abo :piano - b. Michael David D'Abo, 1 March 1944, Betchworth, Surrey. Co-wrote and guested on "Build Me Up Buttercup" contributing piano.
• John Mcleod: piano

Clem Curtis & The Foundations[link]

• Clem Curtis: vocals
• James Colah: keyboards
• Michael J. Parlett: saxophone
• Alan Warner: guitar ^[3]
• Roy Carter: bass guitar ^[36]
• George Chandler: backing vocals
• Valentine Pascal: electric guitar

1970s line-up[link]

• Clem Curtis: Vocals
• Bill Springate: guitar
• John Springate: Vocals
• Del Watson: Bass
• Paul Wilmot : Drums
• John Paul: ? ^[37]

1977 line-up[link]

• Clem Curtis: Vocals
• Leroy Carter
• John Savile
• Valentine Pascal
• Georges Delanbanque ^[38]

Discography[link]

Summary of single releases

From the bands beginning to their breakup near the end of 1970, the Foundations released ten singles in the UK including two versions of the same song. A good deal of the songs on the singles were composed by Tony Macaulay and John Macleod. They had four significant hits from these plus a minor hit with one of their own compositions, "Born To Live, Born To Die" and another minor hit with "My Little Chickadee" in the United States. There were other titles announced that were either never recorded or were never released. They were "Our Love Went Thataway",^[39] "Tear Jerker, Music-worker, You" which was to be released around the same time as "Better By Far" by Lulu and "No Place On Earth Could Find You" ^[40][41] In 1971 the single "Stoney Ground" was released. It is believed that this single was actually by Colin Young and his new backing band Development. It seems quite likely as the Colin Young and Development debut single "Any Time At All" pre-dates "Stoney Ground". In the mid and late seventies there were two more singles released under the Foundations name. They were "Where Were You When I Needed Your Love" and "Closer To Loving You" which featured the Northern Soul classic "Change My Life" as the B side. These last two singles to bear the Foundations name featured Clem Curtis once more as the lead vocalist.

Summary of album releases

During the 1960s the Foundations recorded and released four LPs in the United Kingdom. Before the release of their debut album, it was originally announced, in the October 1967 of Beat Instrumental Monthly that the debut album's title was to be Sound Basis.^[9] However, when it was released on Pye, it had the title of From The Foundations. The American version of this album, which was released on the UNI label, was given the title of Baby, Now That I've Found You. This album featured Curtis on lead vocals. The next release was in 1968. It was a live LP called Rocking The Foundations, and also featured Curtis on lead vocals plus two instrumentals "The Look of Love" and "Coming Home Baby". Also in 1968, another LP was released on the Marble Arch label. This featured re-recordings of their previous hits and songs, but with Young on vocals instead of Curtis. It also featured a version of "Build Me Up Buttercup". There was also an American album called Build Me Up Buttercup. This was a compilation of Foundations tracks. Side one consisted of tracks from their Rocking The Foundations album; and side two consisted of "Build Me Up Buttercup", the B side of that single, plus some earlier Foundations tracks. The group's last LP release was in 1969, which featured their hit "In The Bad Bad Old Days", and the minor US hit "My Little Chickadee". Since then there have been various compilations of the Foundations songs, released on both the Golden Hour and PRT labels.

UK singles[link]

• "Baby, Now That I've Found You" / "Come On Back to Me" - Pye 7N 17366 - 1967 - UK #1, US #11
• "Back On My Feet Again" / "I Can Take Or Leave Your Loving" - Pye 7N 17417 - 1968 - UK #18
• "Any Old Time (You're Lonely And Sad)" / "We Are Happy People" - Pye 7N 17503 -1968 - UK #48
• "Build Me Up Buttercup" / "New Direction" Pye 7N 17636 - 1968 - UK #2, US #3
• "In the Bad Bad Old Days (Before You Loved Me)" / "Give Me Love" - Pye 7N 17702 - 1969 - UK #8
• "Born to Live, Born to Die" / "Why Did You Cry" - Pye 7N 17809 1969 - UK #46
• "Baby, I Couldn't See" / "Penny Sir" - Pye 7N 17849 - 1969
• "Take A Girl Like You" / "I'm Gonna Be A Rich Man" - Pye - 7N 17904 - 1970
• "I'm Gonna be a Rich Man" / "In The Beginning" Pye 7N 17956 - 1970
• "Stoney Ground" / "I'll Give You Love" - MCA MKS 5075–1971
• "Where Were You When I Needed Your Love" / "Love Me Nice And Easy" - Summit SU 100
• "Closer To Loving You" / "Change My Life" - Psycho P 2603–1978
• "Baby Now That I've Found You" / "Build Me Up Buttercup" - Old Gold OG9407 - (1979 Re-release)
• "Baby Now That I've Found You" / "Build Me Up Buttercup" - Flashback FBS 6 - (1979 Re-release)
• "Baby Now That I've Found You" (1989 Re Mix) / "Build Me Up Buttercup" - PRT PYS 24 - 1989
• "Build Me Up Buttercup" - CD single - (1998 Re-release) - UK #71

^{[2] [33]}

UK albums[link]

• From the Foundations - Pye NSPL 18206 - 1967
• Rocking the Foundations - Pye NSPL 18227 - 1968
• The Foundations - Marble Arch MALS 1157–1968
• Digging the Foundations - Pye NSPL 18290 - 1969
• Golden Hour of the Foundations (Greatest Hits) - GH 574 - 1973
• Back to the Beat - PRT DOW7 - 1983
• Best Of - PRT PYL 4003–1987

UK EPs 7"[link]

• "It's All Right" - Pye NEP24297 - 1968
• "Mini Monster" - Pye PMM.103

UK EPs 12"[link]

• "Baby, Now That I've Found You" - Pye Big Deal BD 107 - (4 tracks)
• "Baby, Now That I've Found You" - PRT Pyt 24 - 1989 - (3 tracks incl remix)

UK CDs[link]

• Golden Hour Of The Foundations - Knight Records KGH CD 104 - 1990
• Strong Foundations - The Singles and More - Music Club - MCCD 327 - 1997
• Build Me Up Buttercup - Castle Select SELCD 527 - 1998
• Baby, Now That I've Found You - Sequel Records - NEECD 300 - 1999
• Build Me Up Buttercup (The Complete Pye Collection) [Remastered] - Castle - 2004

US singles[link]

• "Baby Now That I've Found You" / "Come On Back To Me" - Uni 55038 - 1967
• "Back On My Feet Again" / "I Can Take Or Leave Your Loving" - Uni 55058 - 1968
• "Any Old Time (You're Lonely And Sad)" / "We Are Happy People" - Uni 55073 -1968
• "Build Me Up Buttercup" / "New Direction" - Uni 55101 - 1968
• "In The Bad Bad Old Days (Before You Loved Me)" / "Give Me Love" - Uni 55117 - 1969
• "Born To Live, Born To Die" / "Why Did You Cry" - Uni 55162 - 1969 - UK #46
• "My Little Chickadee" / "Solomon Grundy" - Uni 55137 - 1969
• "Take A Girl Like You" / "I'm Gonna Be A Rich Man" - Uni 55210 - 1970
• "Stoney Ground" / "I'll Give You Love" - Uni 55315 - 1971
• "Build Me Up Buttercup" / "Baby, Now That I've Found You" - Eric 192 (Re-release)

US albums[link]

• Baby Now That I've Found You - Uni 3016 (Mono)/73016 (Stereo) - 1967
• Build Me Up Buttercup - Uni 73043—1968
• Digging The Foundations - Uni 73058—1969

Canadian singles[link]

• "Baby Now That I've Found You" - Pye 827—1968 - #1
• "Back On My Feet Again" - Pye 833 - #29
• "Build Me Up Buttercup" - Pye 17636 - #1
• "In the Bad Bad Old Days (Before You Loved Me)" - Pye 17702 - #23

References[link]

Reference links and other information[link]

• The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown http://www.richieunterberger.com/brown.html
• Alex Gitlin Pluto page http://www.alexgitlin.com/npp/pluto.htm
• Gary Moberley info http://web.archive.org/web/20091027104142/http://geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Diner/2674/moberley_gary_a.htm
• Pluto Website http://www.pluto-rockband.com/70141/info.php?p=2&pno=0
• Alan Warner site page http://www.alan-warner.com/10102/info.php?p=4&pno=0
• Ride Your Pony http://rideyourpony-twighlightzone.blogspot.com/2007/09/group-made-up-of-west-indians.html
• Mike D'Abo Foundations http://www.mikedabo.com/foundations.htm
• Buddah Records @ Disco-Disco.com http://www.disco-disco.com/labels/buddah.shtml
• www.javirunner-brightsideofthemoon.blogspot.com Info on Barry Class
• www.tamworthbands.com Info on Barry Class

External links[link]

• Clem Curtis & The Foundations web site
• Alan Warner's Foundations official website
• The Foundations at Allmusic
• The Foundations discography at Discogs
• Clem Curtis web site
• Clem Curtis on Myspace
• Alan Warner site page
• Interview with Clem Curtis

Billy Bragg
Bragg at a protest calling for electoral reform in 2010
Background information
Birth name	Stephen William Bragg
Born	(1957-12-20) 20 December 1957 (age 54) Barking, Essex, England
Genres	Folk punk,[1] folk rock, alternative rock
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1977–present
Associated acts	The Blokes Riff-Raff Wilco
Website	billybragg.co.uk

Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) – known as Billy Bragg – is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist.^[2][3] His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes. His music career has lasted more than 30 years.

Early life[link]

Bragg was born in 1957 in Barking, Essex,^[4] the son of Dennis Frederick Austin Bragg, an assistant sales manager to a Barking cap and hat maker, and his wife, Marie Victoria D'Urso.^[5] Bragg was educated at Barking Abbey Secondary School in Barking.^[6]

Career[link]

In 1977, Bragg formed the punk rock/pub rock band Riff Raff, and toured London's pubs and clubs. The band released a series of singles, which did not receive wide exposure. He also worked in Guy Norris Records in Barking. Bragg became disillusioned with his music career, and in May 1981 joined the British Army as a recruit destined for the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars of the Royal Armoured Corps. After three months, he bought his way out of the army for £175 and returned home, having attended basic training but having never served in a regiment as a soldier.^[7]

Bragg began performing frequent concerts and busking around London, playing solo with an electric guitar. His roadie at the time was Andy Kershaw, who became a BBC DJ (Bragg and Kershaw later, in 1989, appeared in an episode of the BBC TV programme, Great Journeys, in which they travelled the Silver Road from Potosí, Bolivia, to the Pacific coast at Arica, Chile).^[8]

Bragg performing at South by Southwest in 2008

Bragg's demo tape initially got no response from the record industry, but by pretending to be a television repair man, he got into the office of Charisma Records' A&R man Peter Jenner.^[9] Jenner liked the tape, but the company was near bankruptcy and had no budget to sign new artists. Bragg got an offer to record more demos for a music publisher, so Jenner agreed to release them as a record. Life's a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy was released in July 1983 by Charisma's new imprint, Utility. Hearing DJ John Peel mention on-air that he was hungry, Bragg rushed to the BBC with a mushroom biryani, so Peel played a song from Life's a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy although at the wrong speed (since the 12" LP was, unconventionally, cut to play at 45rpm).^[9] Peel insisted he would have played the song even without the biryani and later played it at the correct speed.

Within months, Charisma had been taken over by Virgin Records and Jenner, who had been laid off, became Bragg's manager. Stiff Records' press officer Andy Macdonald – who was setting up his own record label, Go! Discs – received a copy of Life's a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy. He made Virgin an offer and the album was re-released on Go! Discs in November 1983.^{[citation needed]} In 1984, he released Brewing Up with Billy Bragg, a mixture of political songs (e.g., "It Says Here") and songs of unrequited love (e.g., "The Saturday Boy"). The following year he released Between the Wars, an EP of political songs that included a cover version of Leon Rosselson's "The World Turned Upside Down" – the EP made the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart and earned Bragg an appearance on Top of the Pops. Bragg later collaborated with Rosselson on the song, "Ballad of the Spycatcher". In 1985, his song "A New England", with an additional verse, became a Top 10 hit in the UK for Kirsty MacColl. After MacColl's early death, Bragg always sang the extra verse in her honour. In 1984–1985 he toured North America.

In 1986, Bragg released Talking with the Taxman about Poetry, which became his first Top 10 album. Its title is taken from a poem by Vladimir Mayakovsky and a translated version of the poem was printed on the record's inner sleeve. Back to Basics is a 1987 collection of his first three releases: Life's A Riot With Spy Vs. Spy, Brewing Up with Billy Bragg, and the Between The Wars EP. Bragg released his fourth album, Workers Playtime, in September 1988. With this album, Bragg added a backing band and accompaniment.

In May 1990, Bragg released the political mini-LP, The Internationale. The songs were, in part, a return to his solo guitar style, but some songs featured more complicated arrangements and included a brass band. The album paid tribute to one of Bragg's influences with the song, "I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night", which is an adapted version of Earl Robinson's song, "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night", itself an adaptation of a poem by Alfred Hayes.^{[citation needed]}

Performing with The Imagined Village at Camp Bestival, 20 July 2008

The album Don't Try This at Home was released in September 1991, and included the song, "Sexuality", which reached the UK Singles Chart. Bragg had been persuaded by Go! Discs' Andy and Juliet Macdonald to sign a four-album deal with a million pound advance, and a promise to promote the album with singles and videos.^{[citation needed]} This gamble was not rewarded with extra sales, and the situation put the company in financial difficulty. In exchange for ending the contract early and repaying a large amount of the advance, Bragg regained all rights to his back catalogue.^{[citation needed]} Bragg continued to promote the album with his backing band, The Red Stars, which included his Riff Raff colleague and long-time roadie, Wiggy.

Bragg released the album William Bloke in 1996 after taking time off to help raise his son. Around that time, Nora Guthrie (daughter of American folk artist Woody Guthrie) asked Bragg to set some of her father's unrecorded lyrics to music. The result was a collaboration with the band Wilco and Natalie Merchant (with whom Bragg had worked previously). They released the album Mermaid Avenue in 1998, and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II in 2000. A rift with Wilco over mixing and sequencing the album led to Bragg recruiting his own band, The Blokes, to promote the album. The Blokes included keyboardist Ian McLagan, who had been a member of Bragg's boyhood heroes The Faces. The documentary film Man in the Sand depicts the roles of Nora Guthrie, Bragg, and Wilco in the creation of the Mermaid Avenue albums.

In 2004, Bragg joined Florida ska-punk band Less Than Jake to perform a version of 'The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out' for the Rock Against Bush compilation.

At the 2005 Beautiful Days Festival in Devon, Bragg teamed up with the Levellers to perform a short set of songs by or associated with The Clash in celebration of Joe Strummer's birthday. Bragg performed guitar and lead vocals on "Police and Thieves", and performed guitar and backing vocals on "English Civil War", and "Police on my Back".

In 2007, Bragg moved closer to his English folk music roots by joining the WOMAD-inspired collective The Imagined Village, who recorded an album of updated versions of traditional English songs and dances and toured through that autumn. Bragg released his album Mr. Love & Justice in March 2008.^[10] This was the second Bragg album to be named after a book by Colin MacInnes. In 2008, during the NME Awards ceremony, Bragg sang a duet with British solo act Kate Nash. They mixed up their two greatest hits, Nash playing "Foundations", and Bragg redoing his "A New England".^[11] Bragg also collaborated with the poet and playwright, Patrick Jones, who supported Bragg's Tour.

In 2008, Bragg played a small role in Stuart Bamforth's film "A13: Road Movie".^[12] Bragg is featured alongside union reps, vicars, burger van chefs and Members of Parliament^[12] in a film that explored "the overlooked, the hidden and the disregarded."^[12]

He was involved in the play Pressure Drop at the Wellcome Collection in London in April and May 2010. The production, written by Mick Gorden, and billed as "part play, part gig, part installation", featured new songs by Bragg. He performed during the play with his band, and acted as compere.^[13]

Bragg curated the Leftfield stage at Glastonbury Festival 2010.^[14]

He will also be partaking in the Bush Theatre's 2011 project Sixty Six where he has written a piece based upon a chapter of the King James Bible.^[15]

Politics[link]

Bragg has been involved with grassroots, broadly leftist, political movements,^[3] and this is often reflected in his lyrics. Bragg has recorded and performed cover versions of famous socialist anthems The Internationale and The Red Flag. Bragg said in an interview: "My theory is this; I'm not a political songwriter. I'm an honest songwriter. I try and write honestly about what I see around me now."^[16] In another interview, Bragg said: "I don't mind being labelled a political songwriter. The thing that troubles me is being dismissed as a political songwriter."^[17] In an interview with Bullz-Eye, Bragg said:

I would then say that I am Mr. Love and Justice, and to check out the love songs. That’s how I capture people. People do say to me, “I love your songs, but I just can’t stand your politics.” And I say, “Well, Republicans are always welcome. Come on over!” I would hate to stand at the door, saying to people, “Do you agree with these positions? If not, you can’t come in.”^[18]

Bragg expressed support for the 1984 miners' strike, and the following year he formed the musicians' alliance Red Wedge, which promoted the Labour Party and discouraged young people from voting for the Conservative Party in the 1987 general election. Following the defeat of the Labour Party and the repeated victory of Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative government, Bragg joined Charter88 to push for a reform of the British political system.

Also during the 1980s, Bragg travelled to the Soviet Union a few times, after Mikhail Gorbachev had started to promote the policies of perestroika and glasnost. During one trip, he was accompanied by MTV, and during another trip he was filmed for the 1998 mini-documentary Mr Bragg Goes to Moscow, by Hannu Puttonen.

On TV series After Dark in 1987

On 12 June 1987, the night after the UK General Election, he appeared on a memorable edition of After Dark. In 1999, Bragg appeared before a commission that debated possible reform of the House of Lords.^[19]

During the 2001 UK general election, Bragg attempted to combat voter apathy by promoting tactical voting in an attempt to unseat Conservative Party candidates in Dorset, particularly in South Dorset and West Dorset.

Bragg has developed an interest in English national identity, apparent in his 2002 album England, Half-English and his 2006 book The Progressive Patriot. The book expressed his view that English socialists can reclaim patriotism from the right wing. He draws on Victorian poet Rudyard Kipling for an inclusive sense of Englishness.^[20] Bragg has participated in a series of debates with members of the Socialist Workers Party who disagree with his argument. Bragg also supports Scottish independence and Welsh independence.^[21]

Supporting a demonstration against police misuse of anti-terrorism legislation; Trafalgar Square, London, 23 January 2010

Bragg has been an outspoken opponent of fascism, racism, bigotry, sexism and homophobia, and is a supporter of a multi-racial Britain. As a result, Bragg has come under attack from far right groups such as the British National Party. In a 2004 The Guardian article, Bragg was quoted as saying:

The British National Party would probably make it into a parliament elected by proportional representation, too. It would shine a torch into the dirty little corner where the BNP defecate on our democracy, and that would be much more powerful than duffing them up in the street – which I'm also in favour of.^[22]

Also in 2004, Bragg collaborated with American ska punk band Less Than Jake to record a song for the Rock Against Bush compilation album.

During the 2005 general election campaign in the Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, Bragg supported Oona King, the Labour Party's pro-Iraq war candidate, over George Galloway, the anti-war Respect Party's candidate, due to a belief that splitting the left-wing vote would allow the Conservatives to win the seat.^[23] Galloway overturned King's 10,000-strong majority to become his party's only MP.^[24]

In March 2006, journalist Garry Bushell (a former Trotskyist who ran as a candidate for the English Democrats in 2005) accused Bragg of "pontificating on a South London council estate when we all know he lives in a lovely big house in West Dorset".^[25]

In January 2010, Bragg announced that he would withhold his income tax as a protest against the Royal Bank of Scotland's plan to pay bonuses of approximately of £1.5 billion to staff in its investment banking business. Bragg set up a Facebook group, made appearances on radio and television news programmes, and made speech at Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park. Bragg said, “Millions are already facing stark choices: are they willing to work longer hours for less money, or would they rather be unemployed? I don’t see why the bankers at RBS shouldn’t be asked the same.”^[26]

On the eve of the 2010 general election, Bragg announced that he would be voting for the Liberal Democrats because "they've got the best manifesto".^[27] He also backed the Lib Dems for tactical voting reasons. Bragg later expressed disappointment with the party, stating that "the Lib Dems had failed democracy ".^[28]

Bragg was also very active in his hometown of Barking as part of Searchlight's magazine's Hope not Hate campaign, where the BNP's leader Nick Griffin was standing for election. At one point during the campaign Bragg squared up to BNP London Assembly Member Richard Barnbrook, calling him a "Fascist racist" and saying "when you're gone from this borough, we will rebuild this community". The BNP came third on election day.^[29]

Bragg is a board director and key spokesman for the Featured Artists Coalition, a body representing the rights of recording artists. Bragg founded the organisation Jail Guitar Doors, which supplies instruments to prisoners to encourage them to address problems in a non-confrontational way.^[30]

Bragg is a regular at the Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival, an annual event celebrating the memory of those transported to Australia for founding a union in the 1830s.^[31]

In January 2011, news sources reported that 20 to 30 residents of Bragg's Dorset hometown, Burton Bradstock, had received anonymous letters viciously attacking Bragg and his politics, and urging residents to oppose him in the village. Bragg claimed that a BNP supporter was behind the letters, which argued that Bragg is a hypocrite for advocating socialism while living a wealthy lifestyle, and referred to him as anti-British and pro-immigration.^[32]

In July 2011 Billy joined the growing protests over the News of the World phone hacking affair with the recording of "Never Buy the Sun" which references many of the scandals key points including the Milly Dowler case, police bribes and associated political fallout. It also draws on the 22 year Liverpool boycott of The Sun for their coverage of the Hillsborough Disaster.^[33]

In 2011 Bragg joined the Occupy Movement Protests.

Personal life[link]

Billy lives in Burton Bradstock, Dorset with his wife Juliet and son Jack.^[34] He is a supporter of West Ham United.

Discography[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Andrew Collins (2007). Still Suitable for Miners: Billy Bragg (revised and updated ed.). London: Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0-7535-1245-6. 
• Billy Bragg, The Progressive Patriot: A Search for Belonging (London: Bantam Press, 2006) ISBN 978-0-593-05343-0
• Billy Bragg, How we all lost when Thatcher won – Thatcher's victory over the miners led directly to this economic crisis. The Guardian, 5 March 2009

External links[link]

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Billy Bragg

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Billy Bragg

• Official website
• Braggtopia
• Billy Bragg collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
• Billy Bragg's Big Busk At Lincoln Center 27 July 2011