Thursday 8 January 2009

First Post/Last Post?




So there I was watching Roddy Frame when JC,  (the Vinyl Villain) said "why don't you write your own blog?"

I had thought about it but had decided that it would be just vanity assuming that anybody would be interested in what I had to say so put the idea to the back of my mind. But recently, while jumping about the internet reading the blogs listed down the side I thought fuck it I'll give it a go, post some tunes that mean something to me and hope they are of interest to someone.

The next problem was thinking of a title for the blog, however yesterday the ipod selected ". . . From Across The Kitchen Table" by the Pale Fountains and it kind of made sense as it is an example of how I can get obsessed about a song and is also the location where most of the thought for this blog will be done.

I first heard this song in 1987 when a student, two years after its release. My girlfriend at the time introduced it to me (and to whom I am eternally grateful). The song just stopped me in my tracks, the hair on the back of my neck stood up and when the backing singer sang the line "you saved my life, I fought you" I nearly wept. I fell in love with the track so much so that I asked D to make me up a C90 of just that one song and it became the main track of the soundtrack to my first year at Uni .

I became totally obsessed with the song and bought the vinyl album, however the version on the album was different and inferior to the that on the tape and the hunt began.

In those pre-internet days finding out of print vinyl consisted of searching charity, second hand record shops and the occasional record fair. Through this process I ended up with the song on 2 other formats, the 7" double pack and cd album, neither of which was the correct version. It took about another ten years and the internet for me to get the 12" extended mix on a cdr of Pale Fountains and Shack rarities and not until 2006 did I manage to get a copy of the 12".

The Pale Fountains were a band from Liverpool formed in 1980, 2 of whose members were Michael Head, who went on to form Shack and Andy Diagram who joined James. They produced 6 singles and 3 albums and in From Across The Kitchen Table an epic to match any penned by Pete Wylie or Ian McCulloch.

Pale Fountains - from across the kitchen table

29 comments:

dickvandyke said...

Drew, Drew, Drew.

Trumpets please. Help ma Boab!

Hey, this is worth crawling out of my nice warm Four-poster cardboard box for! (Obviously, I'll also have a poo whilst I'm up. Might as well, eh).

It's an honour to be your 1st Commenter. (Obviously, as I'm your 1st, it won't be the best, and it will be all over in a fumbling flash, but hey).

Anyway, I look forward to lurking around the Kitchen Table with ya.

I'll not be succumbering to the blog Beat Surrender thingy as I am inherently lazy with a less than mediocre lust for ambition .. or anything else really. I will pop in to make the tea and toast though.

Good luck and good groovin'.

Simon said...

Welcome to the blog world Drew!

I would have been first but my comp just went funny and lost an essay of a comment!

Lovely lovely choice as first track I must say! I love the Pale Fountains second album, keep meaning to post something from it. Certainly going to dig it out and listen to it tonight!!

davyh said...

OK. This is a very strange but, I swear, true story.

Today, early and tired, walking along a foggy and still quite dark London street on the way to Paid Work I started thinking about you - the picture in my head, your Mr Benn icon.

And I thought - 'I wish Drew had a blog, and then I could leave him comments. That Last FM 'shout' thingy's not quite the same'...

And then this.......lovely thing.

Pull up a chair dear boy: what can I get you? x

Greer said...

Great first track and first post. I'm glad you started up and I'll look forward to reading more.

dickvandyke said...

Sorry Si. Sidle up kiddo. We can shuffle down the breakfast bar. Can I butter you up some hot crumpets by way of an apology?

davyh said...

Oh, PS: I love the Pale Fountains and you are (of course) linked.

davyh said...

PPS: Please don't do that Old Colin thing and not have a paragraphs - iss bad for my eyes man.

drew said...

Cheers and thanks for the comments, can't seem to get the link to work, any suggestions?

davyh said...

Select and copy the Box link URL. Go to your blogger post edit and write out the song title; then select it and click the link icon in your blog toolbar and paste the link address into the URL box. Click OK, eh voila.

davyh said...

Sheesh, listen to me. MORE WINE FFS!

Simon said...

Crumpets DVD? Hot? What other kind of crumpet is there?

:)

davyh said...

Unobtainable.

beth said...

Hello, thank you for having me on your blog list.

I look forward to nipping in, stealthily downloading stuff, and nipping out again.

Oh, yes...and reading the associated post, of course.

Unknown said...

I'm going to go all Toad for a second or two if you dont mind...

What took you so long you fuckwit??!!!

Delighted at long last that someone with your distinguished taste has joined our ranks - it'll give you something to do inbetween getting out of your bed at 2.37am to do the feeds.....

Great choice of song and a great bit of writing to boot.

Drew, it truly is an honour to be mentioned as an inspiration...more power to your fingertips amigo.

Link from TVV on its way....

Ctelblog said...

Hurrah for Drew. Welcome dear boy. Looking forward to this.

And am blushing in a confused manner about the "inspiration" bit.

Colin said...

Ignore him, paragraphs are way overated. :)

Welcome to the other side of the counter Drew. I will return here many times, I am sure.

x

Jon said...

Good luck and I look forward to reading your stuff. Good call on the Pale Fountains, very enjoyable stuff.

Anonymous said...

Hey Drew, just wanted to say well done and best of luck! This whole blogging thing is pretty darn addictive, you won't be able stop now that you've made a start. Love the blog name too by the way! Heading off to link you all up now...

Dirk said...

Dear Drew,

all the best for the future with 'Across The Kitchen Table' also from my side: keep up the good work!

Dirk from Sexyloser

drew said...

Thanks people for the kind words just hope that I can keep it interesting.

Anonymous said...

Hurrah!

Rol said...

Welcome - I can always use another blog to wile away the long lonely hours! Look forward to reading more.

Anonymous said...

Cool. Looking forward to another quality blog to add to my favourites list, and to many Weatherall related posts (although between acid ted, audio out and the rest there can't be that much left already untouched. Actually scratch that, there's probably tons of stuff).

Unknown said...

Greeting mate...

Sorry to mention this, but your link to the Pale Fountains aint working, although the one to the darts player is....

Word verification...cheesse. Its like something out of Wallace & Gromit

drew said...

Pale Fountains sorted now, thanks for stopping by JC

a Tart said...

Oh, it's like finding another baby under the cabbage leaves, ain't it? Welcome dearest! :) And having never heard this song (must have not made it over the pond) I'm loving it, so thank you! xoxoox!

Echorich said...

Excellent blog man...and an inspired title...Pale Fountains have been a very kind of my own little secret for over 2 decades...nice to see that it isn't that big of a secret! Mike Head is one cool dude and even though he has had to battle some heavy demons over the years his music has remained a touch above the rest. And hell he got to play with Arthur Lee one of the great forgotten! Blog on man! Really enjoying what you have to offer us.

I-FE said...

Nah, the LP version is the best, I reckon, though I do like listening to the 12" version every now and then. Been a Palie and a Shacker for more years than I can remember. In fact, why not visit my Shacknet site? www.shacknet.co.uk.

Si

sansserif said...

Thought I would read from the beginning...and there it was - another treat - Pale Fountains and Shack...I don't know you - but figure you must be an alright bloke if you are into Michael Head!