On the surface, "Sleeper" isn't the most rock n roll band name you could come up with. It suggests either someone catching forty winks or a huge chuck of wood train tracks roll over. Or maybe that Woody Allen film where Woody gets cryogenically frozen and wakes up 200 years later when everyone's forgotten what a perv he was.
Here are a selection of Sleepers... what's the collective noun for Sleepers? I want to say "snooze". Which ones wake you up... and which ones should be put to sleep?
SLEEPER #1
We start with a slice of jolly Hawaiian pop rock from 1980, and a band who endeared themselves to me greatly with this poster...
The handwritten "Their first single on sale here!" suggests a rather limited marketing budget.
SLEEPER #2
Proper US power pop next, from 1981. I'm a sucker for this kind of thing. This Sleeper came from Quad Cities, Idaho. Could have used that when we were struggling for Qs in CC's A to Z of American Cities.
SLEEPER #3
Meanwhile, down in Portsmouth, another early eighties Sleeper were kicking up a bit of a scene. Apparently this song was written for Shakin' Stevens, but when he didn't want it...
SLEEPER #4
Those of us of a certain vintage (predominantly, me and Martin) have a very special place in our hearts for the divine Ms. Louise Wener, who single-handedly won the Britpop battle for the fairer sex. (Justine who?)
SLEEPER #5
Emo band out of Staten Island in the early 90s. Discogs tells me, "After a few releases as Sleeper, the band was offered $125,000 for the exclusive US rights to the name by a UK-based band of the same name. The US Sleeper accepted the offer, and changed its name to Serpico."
That's got to be the easiest $125,000 anyone ever made.
SLEEPER #6
Melbourne alt-rockers, also from the early-mid 90s, who later changed their name to Fragment, and then to Rail. No mention if they got $125,000 for doing so, but if they didn't, I'm betting they're mighty peeved now.
SLEEPER #7
Here's a Japanese Sleeper from 2008, taken from their album Get Happy!!! No relation to Elvis Costello.
SLEEPER #8
I know this type of thing from 2011 isn't my bag, so I'm not best placed to make judgement, but it sounds like a backing track waiting for a vocal to me. Get Iggy to ramble on over the top about murdering someone and burying them in a carpet, then you're onto something.
SLEEPER #9
Finally, we have a Netherlands rock band from a few years back whose career progression appears to have been rather hampered by the covid lockdown.
Make your decision, then sleep well. Hopefully none of the above will cause you to have nightmares...
It can't have escaped your notice that Doctor Who celebrated its 60th anniversary last week, blasting its way back onto screen with an old face and a Disney+ budget. Like most British kids, I grew up with The Doctor, and your first Doctor will always be your favourite. Which means you can't beat Tom Baker in my eyes.
Still, I have a great fondness for most of the other Doctors, including the modern incarnations (although Huddersfield lass Jodie Whittaker was let down during her tenure by terrible scripts). They say we spent large parts of our youth hiding behind the sofa to avoid the show's scarier bits... and I do have vivid memories of being behind that old red leather sofa in our living room on a Saturday night... but I'm pretty sure I was acting out the adventures I'd just seen on screen rather than escaping in terror.
Here then is a special edition of TV On The Radio dedicated to all the Doctors.
Search for songs that include the words "Doctor Who" in that order and you're on a hiding to nothing. Unless you want to hear a load of tunes that have nothing to do with Timelords such as this...
She sent me to the doctor who sent me straight to bed
I had far more luck searching for words that were unique to the Whoniverse. Such as TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimensions in Space, as I'm sure you will recall).
Here's someone who would look right at home in an episode of Doctor Who... Thom Yorke.
I'm stuck in the TARDIS Trapped in hyperspace One minute, snake charming The next in a motorcade
Step outside the TARDIS and you may encounter some of The Doctor's greatest enemies. For reasons explained above, I didn't bother looking for The Master, and only found the odd song that mentioned Cybermen... but the Daleks were all over the place.
Dave Balfe and Alan Gill from The Teardrop Explodes formed the most famous band to be named after the psychotic pepper pots, possibly my favourite science fiction bad guys (the Daleks, not Balfe and Gill).
Despite my difficulties in searching for "Doctor Who" songs, I still found quite a few that mentioned the Timelord by name (or, not actually by name, since Doctor Who isn't actually his name, is it?). Although many of them fall into the category that causes serious musos to gnash their teeth to the gums... comedy or novelty records.
Frazer Hines was a minor Yorkshire celebrity due to his role on Emmerdale Farm in the 70s and 80s (back when my dad used to watch it because they had actual farmyard scenes). Prior to that, Frazer was an early Doctor Who assistant when he recorded this...
Once All About Eve were done, lead singer Julianne Regan formed Mice. Here's a little timely advice for any of you who might be considering running off with a stranger in a blue police box...
He's my blue sonic boy I believed in his watery lies And his half-arsed scheme to rule the world But you know it isn't easy hanging out with the timelords When you're a Dalek and can't even climb up the stairs So when you wake tomorrow, stick a bell in your van
There were lots of artists I discovered during this search who looked like they'd only ever get a gig at Comicon, but these guys deserved a special mention, for enthusiasm, if nothing else...
But there was only one song I could choose to close this post, from the insane genius of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, The KLF, The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu and The Timelords... with a little help from The Sweet and (whisper it now) Gary Glitter. A Number One smash that Melody Maker described as "pure, unadulterated agony" and "excruciating", while Sounds called it "rancid" and "a record so noxious that a top ten place can be its only destiny". What's not to love?
While America prepares to re-elect the riot-inciting, bleach-advocating man baby (not that we can talk, considering they brought Cameron back), here are fifteen songs that mention a former POTUS in the title. But before we get to that... here's Poet Laureate Simon Armitage giving his verdict on the Trump regime...
When Shane MacGowan stayed at Bono's house, he did what only Shane MacGowan could do...
“Bono put in a glass roof and wall,” MacGowan explained in an interview with The Times. “I used to wave my willy at the train as it passed and hope that they thought it was Bono’s.”
Sad to say I must be on my way So buy me beer and whiskey 'cause I'm going far away I'd like to think of me returning when I can To the greatest little boozer and to Sally MacLennane
I've been giving the Celebrity Jukebox a rest over the past couple of weeks. It's been nice to have a stretch without any big name deaths. But I've been worrying about Shane MacGowan a lot lately, hoping his time wasn't nigh. The pictures from his hospital bed didn't look great, and... I dunno... could we really stand to lose both Sinéad and Shane in the same year?
Another post then, written with a very heavy heart...
Let's start with a Canadian Irish band who owe their entire act to Shane...
Well, the next thing you know I was lying on the ground
I drank some more whiskey, you know I was feeling sound
I dreamt I met MacGowan and he bought me another round
It was Ben who alerted me to the new of Shane's death, and he was pretty certain the mainstream media coverage would hinge around that Christmas song he did with Kirsty. A fine tune (if over-played), but there's so much more to Shane's legacy. There were more great duets to start with. Such as this...
And this, which I no doubt posted back in July when Sinéad passed because it's a high point in both their careers...
Final word to Shane himself. I hope they follow his wishes to the letter...
Bury me at sea
Where no murdered ghost can haunt me
If I rock upon the waves
And no corpse can lie upon me
Let me go, boys, let me go, boys
Let me go down in the mud, where the rivers all run dry
