A1 Me 'N' My
Wings 2:52
A2
Valley Of
Death 3:36
A3
Poison 2:37
A4
Misirlou
Arranged By –
Last Drive, The
2:30
A5
This Fire Inside 2:24
A6
Blue Moon
Written-By – Rogers-Hart*
7:20
B1
Sidewalk Stroll 3:18
B2
The Shade Of
Fever 3:40
B3
Every Night
Organ – Hannelore Thospann
Written-By –
Human Experience, The (
3)
4:12
B4
The Night Of The Phantom
Written-By –
Larry And
The Blue Notes
3:23
B5
Repulsion 6:54
Artwork,
Photography By – Marialena*
Drums,
Tambourine, Vocals –
Chris B.I.*
Guitar, Guitar [Fuzztone], Vocals [
Feedback] –
Nick "
Pop Mind"*
Guitar, Vocals, Other [Fuzztone
Mess],
Slide Guitar –
George*
Producer – Last Drive, The
Recorded By,
Mixed By,
Mastered By – Manolis Vlachos*
Voice,
Bass [
Ripper] –
Alex K.*
Written-By – Last Drive, The (tracks: A1 to A3, A5, B1, B2, B5)
Early rehearsals by nascent band and occasional gigs in clubs in
Athens circa 1981-
.82 Made their first official gig at
Rodeo (
Cult) as
The Last Drive, on
December 1983, the line-up was : Alex K (vocals, bass), Chris
B. I. (drums), Nick ‘Pop Mind’ (guitar) and
P.E.P. (guitar), two months later they made another live appearance in
Saloniki at
Basement Club, but P.E.P. has already left the band.
On
March 1984, The Last Drive recorded their first demo, including the originals songs ‘
Race to
Hell’, ‘Train of
Pain’ and ‘
Graveyard Cat’ and a version of ‘
Lonesome Train’ by
Johnny Burnette.
Late 1984 George, a.k.a. ‘Be George Bop’, Be Bop
Jungle guitarist, joins the band. The Last Drive become a quartet again and at
December 30 play at the legendary club
Pegasus, in
Exarchia, in the midst of the
Greek underground mid-80’s explosion.
Again in the studio but this time for official recordings (first EP Includes ‘Poison’, ‘
Midnite Hop’ and ‘
Right by My Side’, all originals). They played
Live at Kyttaro Club. ‘
Calhoun Surf’ and ‘
Blue Girl’ included in cassette-compilation by Di-Di
Music. Two more live shows one in Giannena (
Chevrolet Club) and the other in Salonici at the famous
Berlin Club. During the summer of
1985 the single ‘Midnite Hop’ released on independent
Art Nouveau, distributed by Polygram.
The following year after explosive gigs, the band signs with new independent label Hitch-Hyke, entering the studio to record the first
Long Play ‘
Underworld Shakedown’, the sessions completed after two months and the result was eight originals – ‘Me ’n’ my Wings’, ‘
Valley of Death’, ‘Poison’, ‘This Fire Inside’, ‘Sidewalk Stroll’, ‘The Shade of Fever’, ‘Repulsion’ – and four representative covers: ‘Misirlou’ (by Roubanis), ‘Every Night’ (Human
Expression), ‘
Night of the
Phantom’ (
Larry and the Blue Notes) and the classic ‘Blue Moon’.
The band plays with
The Watermelon Men from
Sweden at Kyttaro, while Mick
Blood (lead singer with The
Lime Spiders from
Australia) joins them on stage for ‘
You’re Gonna Miss Me’, ‘
Five Years Ahead of My Time’, ‘
Have Love Will Travel’, and an attempt at ‘
Creature of My
Dreams’ – Mick’s version of ‘Sidewalk Stroll’.
The audience takes over the stage and the
Swedes appear reluctant to follow!
Their debut
album ‘Underworld Shakedown’ released on June
1986 by Hitch-Hyke
Records and was dedicated to
James Cagney (‘
Top of the world, ma!’). The album causes a stir, receiving rave reviews in
Greece and abroad. The Last Drive shows in Athens continue to be a unique experience, while more and more provincial towns witness their live power. Touring abroad comes next.
- published: 22 Jun 2015
- views: 5103