URBAN DOGS - 'New Single' (*A REVIEW*)

After the sublime acoustic strum of the Bonefied album, the Urban Dogs have plugged in again and released this electrifying double A side single, which shines brightly in this new dark age.  Rebellion Song is a slow and solid tune that marches into your head, a lead guitar bleeds amongst the thumping rhythm as Mr Harper sings about writing rebellion songs in a world where the pictures of war and destruction write the history of governments One Foot In The Grave is an up tempo toe tapping little number, propelled along by a chugging guitar and Knox's narrative about nothing really changing over time, in a world where the poor are still the poor and politicians are still liars. This single is a gritty growling socio/political statement, possibly the best couple of songs the Urban Dogs have released....Ignore at yer peril, but be quick cos those cheeky chappies at Time & Matter have only pressed up 500 copies. Available here!

KNOX - The Vibrators / Urban Dogs / Fallen Angels (*ARTICLE / INTERVIEW*)

The Vibrators at Bowes Lyon House, Stevenage 1984. Pic: Unknown

I first met Knox back in 1984 when The Vibrators played at Bowes Lyon House in my home town, Stevenage. I interviewed him and the rest of the band for a fanzine I had being doing on and off since 1980. Unfortunately the last issue was never finished as I got myself a job so the interview was never published (although it can now be seen here on The Vibrators website) I only went for the job interview because it was in London, and the Unemployment office (or Job Centres as they now call them) paid for my train travel, and I thought it would be a good excuse to visit the smoke and buy a couple of albums from Virgin Records (This was before Richard Branson took over the world with his 'friendly capitalism') The two albums I bought were The Fallen Angels (Knox's album he recorded with members of Hanoi Rocks) and The Vibrators Alaska 127. I remember this because, some things you just remember, like being thirteen and hearing Baby, Baby on the radio back in 1977 and seeing them play Automatic Lover on TOTP a year later. The Vibrators were just as important to me as The Clash back then, and they still are.

The Vibrators were never a never a 'hip' 77 group; too old, too much hair, bandwagon jumpers (never mind Knox had been preforming this shit pre 76) they were outsiders in a movement of outsiders. Their debut album Pure Mania is a classic, as is it's follow up V2. The original bass player Pat Collier left the band after the first album. Pat became a producer, and still twiddles the knobs in the studio for The Vibrators to this day, as well as having recorder a variety of old and new Rock'nRollers over the years. Garry Tibbs replaced him for V2, after poor sales of the second album John Ellis left the band and became a hired guitar hand for a variety of bands. There was never to be a third album, just one more single Judy Says, before it all fell apart. Eddie carried on with the name and a new line-up featuring ex members of Eater and The Electric Chairs, and released a couple of singles; Disco In Moscow and Gimme Some Lovin' good as they were, it wasn't really The Vibrators. The voice that gave the band their edge (in my opinion) wasn't there.....Knox had gone solo.

Knox and The Trailer Trash Orchestra at The Victoria, Hitchin 2011 Pic: Haddy Webb

During the 80's as well as playing guitar for Alex Chilton and releasing two singles Gigolo Aunt and She's So Good Loooking) Knox worked with several second wave punk bands, producing The Fits Last Laugh E.P and recording with Chaotic Discord.

He also released an album  on Razor Records; Plutonium Express, a lost gem that is due to be re-released soon by Cleopatra Records. Knox also had the Fallen Angels who released a couple more albums In Loving Memory and Wheel of Fortune, with slightly less Hanoi Rocks than the first one, and we mustn’t forget the Urban Dogs, a partnership with UK Sub Charlie Harper that is still going strong today, their last album Bonefield is a sublime slice of the Punk Rock Blues.

1982 saw the original line up get back together, releasing three, good but slightly patchy albums; Guilty, Alaska 127 and Fifth Amendment, before John and Pat left again, leaving and Knox and Eddie to soldier on with some new troops, mainly comprising of either Micky Owen or Nigel Bennett on guitar with a variety of bassists including Mark Duncan a fella called Nik and Robbie (now in The Derellas) Tart. Many studio albums were released along the way; Recharged, Meltdown, Vicious Circle, Volume Ten, Hunting For You, Unpunked, French Lessons With Correction, Buzzin' and Energise all of them are worthy of your attention.

For the last few years, the line up has been pretty stable, comprising Knox, Eddie and Pete, although due to health issues, since 2011 Knox has been taking it easy and hasn't been touring with the band although he has contributed songs and played on their last couple of albums; Under The Radar, On The Guest List and a new one which is due out soon. He's also collaborated with The Trailer Trash Orchestra, and recorded The Knoxville Boy album, the finest County Punk this side of St Albans. What's next for Knox? Well.... like I said there's a new Vibrators album on it's way a re-release of his only solo album Plutonium Express. and a new Urban Dogs single. He can also be found contributing vocals to one track on the recently released genre busting Rhythm and Punk Review album by The Mutants. 

The Vibrators at Bowes Lyon House, Stevenage 1984. Pic: Unknown

Anyway enough of the history and I didn't even touch on his paintings, here's a interview I did with Knox via a couple of emails a couple of months ago.

If you compiled a 12 track album of Ten Knox songs, what would they be? 
This is always changing I think. Anyway today (6 July 2014) the list is:
Modern World – it just does its thing, it doesn’t pander to an audience, and has nice production.
Nazi Baby – I love its intensity.
Juice On – sing-a-long and reliably nasty, could be the theme song for Deliverance 2 (if they make it!)
Houston Tower (Fallen Angels)
How Beautiful You Are
Baby Baby – of course!! When I play it I feel like I’m on a sunny holiday.
Moonlight
Birdland Is Closed
Prisoner In The Mirror
Brand New
Rock ‘n’ Roll Clown
Sleeping

Which do you enjoy more...Painting or Song writing? (I always think your songs are like aural paintings.)

I enjoy them equally I think. I really love painting, especially if I’m doing a stress-free painting, like sitting in the garden doing a painting of the garden, just putting on the paint. Portraits always have to look like the person, so quite early on you can’t just mess about with the paint, you have to really concentrate. As for song writing, fiddling about with the early free demo’s is great and can be very exciting, but again pulling the thing together and making a good demo can be really hard work. In the past I’ve spent days and days on a song, changing it a bit and re-demo’ing it. I don’t know if people realise the amount of work that can go into a song that sounds ‘obvious’ to them.

Should the Manic Street Preachers pay you some royalties for the guitar lick in No Mercy? (Motown Junk by the Manics has a very, very similar refrain.)

No Mercy was actually written by an old bass player, Mark Duncan.. The problem is if you hear a song, or part of a song, which sounds like it’s derived from someone else’s previous song you never know how much is plagiarism and how much is ‘in the style of’ (or a ‘tribute’ to an earlier song), and then it could just be someone else writing the same tune totally by coincidence, or perhaps unwittingly.

How did the Don't Throw It All Away collaboration in 1984 with Chaotic Discord come about? (Great song!)

I don’t remember the details of how it came about at all. I must have been asked to do it at some stage, and then I remember going down to record it in Bristol. It was their song, not one of mine. I was met at the station, I think then driven to the studio and was singing within a few minutes of arriving there. I missed the last train back and had to stay the night. (I was at art school for a while in Bristol years before and in those days the trains to London used to go all night. Not that night!)

Are all the songs of yours on On The Guest List new numbers, or old unrecorded/unreleased songs?

They’re nearly all old songs. I have loads of them, and I think at the time of making the album I was quite busy and thought, I know I’ll check out some of my old home demo’s and I really liked them, and thought the ones that were chosen for the album were good. When The Vibrators are making an album I’ll present the band with more songs than they need and they choose the ones they like. It’s become slightly odd as I write and sing most of the songs but am no longer playing in the band. I’m like a tiny version of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.

What's next for Knox musically?

I’m not sure. It’s an ever-changing landscape out there. I worked on the most recent Vibrators’ album a few weeks ago, which should be coming out here in the UK on Captain Oi!, with a different mix of it coming out on Cleopatra in the USA. I was also helping with songs for a 60’s girl band project for Cleopatra recently. I’ve been thinking of making a ska album of the Vibrators’ greatest hits as that would be a nice project. I’ve got lots of songs so I will be looking at tons of projects. I need to live another few hundred years to fit it all in! My 1983 solo album Plutonium Express should be coming out in the US sometime soon, that sort of thing. And I was thinking of trying to get a rock ’n’ roll charity shop going in Camden, plus maybe having a small pub rock type band, only playing very locally in places with gear already there (no carrying the gear!!), just to keep my hand in as it were. And I’ve got to finish my nasty sci-fi novel I’ve been messing about with for years. And I sometimes think I’d like to re-record lots of old Vibrators’ songs, but spend a lot more time on them than we were able to when we first did them, as you’re always running against the clock in the studio because of the financial restraints. I was thinking of also re-recording some UK Subs songs, spending ages on them, (it’s probably against the whole punk ethos), but I’ve not spoken to Charlie about this!

Do you find people prefer the 'classic' 77-78 Vibrators songs to the ones you've done since then?

They generally seem to prefer the old songs, but I think it’s because they are the best known by our mainly punk audience. The newer albums are not bought in anywhere near the same numbers as the first couple of albums, and I think as a result there’s not the same sharing/consensus of opinion about the songs. The fans can’t talk to each other about the songs as they aren’t so familiar with them. Fan A may not have the same albums as fan B, that sort of thing. If we were a new band doing the newer stuff, and the old stuff had never existed, I’m sure they’d like it.

Any favourite musicians you've played/worked with?

I think the biggest highlight for me was The Vibrators touring as the support band for Iggy Pop when he had David Bowie playing keyboards. It would probably be impossible to top that. I haven’t worked with that many other people, but I like doing it as other people often contribute an extra personality to the recording. Though one time when I was making my solo album I thought I didn’t like some of Dave Birch’s guitar playing. Later when the album came out I found I really missed it! I enjoyed doing the Knox and the Trailer Trash Orchestra album, “The Knoxville Boy”, a country album. It was a different area for me and I liked the opportunity to do it and all the guys in the band. And I like working with Charlie Harper of course, when we do the Urban Dogs.

Knox and The Trailer Trash Orchestra at The Victoria, Hitchin 2011 Pic: Haddy Webb

Have the new technologies (Computers, The Internet, Digital and MP3's) changed the recording and releasing of music for the better? (Discuss)

Probably. It’s difficult to answer as there’s such a massive proliferation of styles of music that it’s not like in the ‘old days’ where you had limited styles and individual songs would have more impact. I like the idea of recording songs yourself and having more control, not having to put up with people who might not share your vision or ideas for a song. The danger is that you end up sort of spiralling into yourself. I think a lot of times other people’s input can be very enriching. Also when you’re in a band it is a band and not your solo project. I think the actual recording process has become a lot easier. You don’t have to endlessly do take after take in the studio ‘til you get a good one, so long as most of it’s OK you can generally patch it up on the computer.

What's Knox's vision of the future, how do you see the world changing in say the next 10-20 years?

I really feel quite pessimistic. I think there’ll be robot computer take-over. The computers don’t necessarily have to have evolved consciousness to effect this. They already have their own computer web where they talk to each other. If the wrong algorithms get written computers could cut off the money for instance, and society would break down very quickly a few days later. Also, with the increase in what an individual can do to kill people, governments might have to bring in some form of brain profiling. This would be to find people who could potentially be a danger, extremists, lone wolves, political people, etc. The knock-on effect of this might be some form of mass incarceration or culling. Hopefully people will have developed space-travel so we can go out into the universe and damage that to our hearts content! (The sooner we break it the sooner we can get on with fixing it!) There are a few future safeguards, like the Centre for the Study of Existential Threat, but if those people miss something.... Then again I might be similar to a child who likes having a story read to them with some scary things in it. I have to say the current news is terrible depressing. I think hundreds of years ago we wouldn’t know about most of the terrible things that go on out there in the world. (End of lecture.)

I'd just like to thank Knox for his time in answering my random questions.

CHARLIE HARPER and KNOX a couple of URBAN DOGS (An Article)

Charlie Harper and Knox, a couple of inspirational people to me, not just back in the day when I was a kid, nearer to fifteen than fifty, but also in the now. Through out the years they have provided a soundtrack to my life. For over thirty years they have kept the faith and the punk rock flame burning with their respective bands the UK Subs, The Vibrators and when they join forces as the Urban Dogs.

During the Nineties New Wave Of New Wave/Brit-Pop/Dance Culture when Rave was being called the New Punk, The UK Subs and The Vibrators soldiered on with campaigns on home soil and in foreign climes, keeping the real Punk Rock fire alight, when a lot of people had left the camp.

The whole New Labour Retro-Lution of re-branding, re-packaging and re-selling the past saw record labels releasing back catalogues and collections of demos and rarities by classic punk bands on CD, more fuel for the fire; as older Punk Rockers re-discovered their youth and a whole new generation of kidz picked up on the past and used it to influence their present.

During the Noughties both The Vibrators and UK Subs have released some of their best albums; Under The Radar and On The Guest List from the 'brators and Work In Progress and XXIV from the Subs, and lets not forget the sublime and superb Urban Dogs acoustic album Bonefield.

Thirty eight years since Punk Rock exploded in the faces of a generation of bored teenagers and boring old people the fire is raging bright; With new bands like The Reverends, The Derellas, Electric River, Deadcuts, The November Five, Continental Liasion all possessing the punk rock spirit sound or sentiment. We've also seen the return of bands like The Fits, The Outcasts and The Mob. Then there are new albums from veterans Chelsea and The Boys due out soon, and lest we forget GLM.    I'm only scratching the surface here, because there are also hundreds more bands young and old out there in bedrooms, garages and rehearsal rooms across this land bashing out a punk rock beat. One such young group are A-M-I who haven't just got the punk rock spirit and sound they have punk in their blood, as guitarist Marley Perez is Charlie Harpers grandson, who had a song Baby Marley written about him on the third Urban Dogs album Wipeout Beach. If A-M-I continue as long as the Subs or Vibrators than I'll slip into death or dementia happy in the knowledge that punk rock will never ever die.

Captain Oi Records, have been responsible for compiling and packaging many of the classic punk CD re-releases. A couple of their recent releases have been by Charlie Harper and the Urban Dogs. Charlie s 1982 solo album Stolen Property is what it says on the tin. A bunch of other peoples including Chuck Berry, Lou Reed, and Bo Diddley tunes plus a couple of Harper originals are given a dirty punk rock blues makeover. Timeless stuff!.

No Pedigree by Charlie and Knox's side project the Urban Dogs was originally released in 1985. Their self titled debut album was a full throttle Rock'n'Roll assault. No Pedigree is a darker, broodier Rock'n'Roll attack with the songs slowly throbbing and thumping their way into your head. Brilliant stuff!

Further proof that the past becomes the present can be heard on the fourth Urban Dogs album Bonefield (released in 2012) with its Stolen Property acoustic blues vibe. The 'experimental' phazed garage fuzz of No Pedigree can be heard on the Too Much Reality EP that Charlie Harper and Captain Sensible released in 2013..

Stolen Property and No Pedigree are available from Captain Oi Records, but be quick cos there are only 500 of each available. Bonefield by the Urban Dogs and Charlie Harper and Captain Sensible's Too Much Reality EP are available from Time and Matter Recordings, as is A-M-I' s debut album Anti Meat Head Inc. Respect to Captain Oi and Time and Matter Recordings for keeping the fire burning especially at a time when fuel prices are high. Given the choice of turning the heating on or buying a CD...I'd put another jumper on and pogo to keep warm!

DON'T GROW UP BEING BORED OR GROW OLD BEING BORING!

KNOX - Three Free Live Acoustic Tracks

Self portrait by....Knox.

Knox (The Vibrators) and Charlie Harper (UK Subs) have started working on a new Urban Dogs album, planned for release next year, it's gonna be a “Punky type album” according to Knox's website. You can't keep the old punks down.  If you need further proof then check out On The Guest List which was released earlier this year, it is possibly the best Vibrators album ever, some brilliant collaborations with Walter Lure, Hugh Cornwall, Nicky Garrett, Ross The Boss and Brian James amongst others. It's also got a couple of the best songs Knox has written; Rain To Town and Birdland Is Closed. 2013 also saw the release of another 'brators greatest hits collection by New York's O Rama Records, who are also planning to re-release Knox's excellent and long lost, forgotten and sadly ignored 1983 solo album Plutonium Express. While we wait for that and the Urban Dogs release, Here are three unpunked acoustic tracks (Automatic Lover, U238 and Baby Baby) from Knox, with some audience participation recorded live at the Made in Brasil Restaurant in Camden Town, London. ENJOYorDESTROY!  Thanx to original uploader on YouTube.

THE VIBRATORS - Live @ The West Side Club, Lyon, France, In 1984

Original Artwork By Knox.

A not so random music post for yer, because  like the one the other day, this one is also recorded at The West Side Club in Lyon, France, in Dec 1984, this time it's from regular favourites of mine The Vibrators, whose live recordings seem to be a bit scarce; this one originally appeared on the mighty Noise Addiction II blogspot, but I think was lost in the mediafire cull, so I'm reposting it here, with much respect to the original uplloader bat29. For this gig The 'brators borrowed Tony Oliver from The Inmates, as Jon Ellis couldn't make the gig. The songs are taken from their first couple of albums with a splattering of tunes from their 1982 comeback album Guilty, and its follow up Alaska 127, plus a cover of Chuck Berry’s I'm Talking About You. A great recording of a slightly shambolic, in places performance of a band who were born to Rock'n'Roll!

URBAN DOGS - Bonefield (A Review)

It's taken three years for Charlie Harper (UK Subs) and Knox's (The Vibrators) side project band the Urban Dogs acoustic album to hit the streets, and now it's here, has it been worth the wait? Too right it has, Bonefield is a real pedigree album that sees amongst its eleven tracks the mongrel punk rock of Tomorrows Girls return to it's acoustic roots. This is an album of the old, new, borrowed and the blues, all nicely packaged, with an eight page booklet of photos, liner notes by Charlie, and a great cover painted by Knox. For a “bare bones production” it's got a lot meat to it, thanks in part to Knox's beautiful 'electric' guitar licks'n'riffs that litter the album.

Individually Charlie and Knox have been knocking out their punk rock blues for over four decades now, and they still sound fresh, exciting and full of life, taking on the old blues classics Charlie used to busk in the 60's like Move It On Over, Hobos Lullaby, and Cocaine, which feature some great harmonica playing by The Harper, their sleazy sublime spin thru of Summertime, really is a treat. The stripped to the bone anti war statements of Warhead and War Baby, make them sound even more vital and relevant than they did in the eighties. Classics both of em! A big ya! to the rewired and wild acoustic feral ho-down that is New Barbarians.  Dragnet is just a great song no matter what. There are a couple of newies; Knox's autobiographical narrative Swampdog Blues and their Dylan like protest number Not In My Name. From start to finish Bonefield is a real gem of an album that doesn't disappoint, and could surprise a few people along the way. Old  punk classics are taken to a different dimension and given new depths, and the old blues classics are given a punk twist.  Highly recommended and available from Time and Matter Records.

FALLEN ANGELS - In Loving Memory/Wheel Of Fortune

Hats off to Jungle Records for, in these economic hard times releasing, THE FALLEN ANGELS albums In Loving Memory and Wheel Of Fortune on CD for the first time, a 2CD set no less.... with bonus tracks. (A demo version of the Urban Dogs New Baptism, and a 21 minute version of Troops Of Tomorrow, are amongst the bonus tracks.) Both albums are more laid back and poppy than the first album, Knox's Lou Reed, Velvet Underground influence shines bright on a lot of the tracks. Andy McCoy and Nasty Suicide's role on these albums are as special guests rather than being the nucleus of the band, as they were on the first album. Some songs; Country Girl, Sailors On The Sea, Losing My Reason date back to Knox's pre Vibrators days when he played in a band called Despair, early versions of these can be found on; Despair The Birth Of The Vibrators 1973-1975, available from Cleopatra Records, or all good download stores. Also due out very soon on Time and Matter Records is the URBAN DOGS long, long, long awaited acoustic album Bonefield, it's been a long time coming, but I'm sure it's gonna have been worth the wait. One day it will come to pass that Knox is recognised by more people as one of Britains great song writers, until that day comes lets be thank full for people like Jungle Records and Time and Matter for releasing the records.

KNOX and THE TRAILER TRASH ORCHESTRA - *A Gig Review*

I don’t get my sorry arse to many gigs these days on account of the price of getting to ‘em and then the cost of the ticket, plus there’s not that many bands I want to go and see. So when I found out Knox and The Trailer Trash Orchestra were playing a pub a few miles up the road, and not only was it free entry, but there was an offer of a lift. (Cheers Chris and Haddy) my arse was ready to go.
Mind you I’d have gone on the train and paid to get in for this one. I mentioned a while back about The Vibrators gig on April 23rd, what I didn’t say was that it was to be Knox’s last gig with the band, as he wanted to work on some solo projects, like what he’s done with The Trailer Trash Orchestra, so last night (Sat 7th May) was one not to be missed, unlike The Vibrators one, when I couldn’t afford the train fare.
The venue; The Victoria Pub, well lets just say It’s a good job my cat didn’t want to go, cos the place was so small there wouldn’t have been room to swing it, and it’s a good job the audience wasn’t in the mood for a ho-down, co it would have been like dancing on a postage stamp.
The two sets The Trailer Trash chaps played were a nice mix of their own numbers, cover versions and ones that Knox got up and sang. I thought their reworking of Magazines Song From Under The Floorboards was genius, that’s until I heard what they did to Lords Of The New Church's Russian Roulette, truly inspired, shame they didn’t get Knox up to sing it with them, like he did on I Wanna Be Your Dog.
If the Trailer Trash Orchestra roll into a town near yours take a trip and go see ‘em, if they bring Knox along for the ride yer in for a special treat, if they don’t yer still in for a top night of toe tapping barnstorming Hill Billy Punk Rawk with a steel guitar, violin, mandolin and stand up bass. The Trailer Trash folk have got it all the look the sound, the attitude and the missing teeth. Nothing is taken too seriously this shit is real and it’s about having some fun in the darkness.

KNOX and THE TRAILER TRASH ORCHESTRA

Once again it’s time for something a little bit different. In the anticipation of when Knox from The Vibrators and Charlie Harper from the UK Subs, Urban Dogs acoustic album was coming out, I’d forgotten that this release was in the pipeline. Its KNOX AND THE TRAILER TRASH ORCHESTRA with The Knoxville Boy, an album of Country/Hillbilly Blues grooves, like Lou Reed meeting Johnny Cash? The Vibrators, Country and Western? An odd mix, well….not really when you listen to Knox’s lyrics; the murder ballad Juice On, or the love lorn Baby, Baby for example, then listen to their 1990 Unpunked album, and yer half the way to what The Knoxville Boy sounds like. Add the trademark Trailer Trash Orchestra sound of pedal-steel, fiddle, mandolin, harmonica, double bass, double guitar and drums., and you’ve got it 11Tracks of Cowboy boot taping stuff (12 if you get it from Itunes)
The fact that Country aint cool makes this album cooler than folk and as punk as fuck! Check out their rendition of The’brators classic the afore mentioned Baby, Baby. (79p on Itunes) and you’ll hear what I mean.
I haven’t got so excited about the country sound since Lash Lariat And The Long Riders in the 80’s or The Rockingbirds and The Walkabouts in the 90’s. So here’s a sneaky preview of a couple of tracks from The Knoxville Boy. Enjoy….then buy. £7.99 on Itunes, as is The Trailer Trash Orchestra’s album Shakin The Dead which is also well worth a listen, if yer partial to a bit of Country Twang. It features their take on The Ramones I Wanna Be Sedated, and an inspired version of Magazine’s Song From Under The Floor Boards (79p on Itunes) and The Vibrators Baby, Baby (minus Knox) If you wanna forget the product placement, there are other download sites, or they’re both available on CD from Trashville.

URBAN DOGS - Urban Dogs (Vinyl Album Rip)

What do you get if you put Knox from The Vibrators, Charlie Harper and Alvin Gibbs from The UK Subs and a geezer called Turkey together? A fucking great blast of Rock'n'Roll that's what, and a criminally ignored album, in these days of punk revisionism and retrolution. Well not anymore, cos here it is for yer aural pleasure. What does it sound like ? Well as you'd expect; a hybrid of The Vibrators and The UK Subs, but in a class of its own. Not one duff track and there's 12 of em. A few Vibrators numbers; Dragnet, I Need a Slave and Sex Kick, a couple of Dolls and Stooges covers I Wanna Be Your Dog and Human Being, (the latter features a guest appearance by Andy McCoy from Hanoi Rocks) There's one track Knox sings; New Baptism and an Alvin Gibbs number A Bridge Too Far. The rest are all Charlie Harper numbers, one a great anti-war anthem called War Babies that still sounds relevant 24 years latter. Any way enuff of this waffle, just get yer ears round the URBAN DOGS.