Wow, this is a fucking shock and a huge drag. I just heard that Brendan Mullen, Scottish-born champion of the late 70s / early 80s LA Punk Scene and owner of the Masque club in Hollywood has passed away from a stroke, having just celebrated his 60th birthday this past Friday. The LA Times has a preliminary obit at the link above. I can’t even address this right now. RIP Brendan.
At. Home. He. Feels. Like. A. Tourist.
On This Date in 1979: Gang Of Four released their debut album, Entertainment! It included the singles “Damaged Goods” and “At Home He’s A Tourist” (#58 U.K.). Aside from the singles mentioned above, this album has some of my favorite songs from that era of music including “Not Great Men,” “I Found That Essence Rare” and “Anthrax,” and I played the shit out of it when I had my college radio program, The Gail Pink Show, which was just amazing. Continue reading Classic Post-Punk Album of The Day: Gang Of Four’s Entertainment!
Today’s date is kind of special in that it is 09-09-09, and that also goes for places like England, where they run their dates backwards. In honor of said date ,I suggest we all celebrate by playing the records of seminal first wave British Punk band, 999. Favorite 999 Song: “Homicide.”
“Your Generation Don’t Mean A Thing To Me”
On This Date, September 1st in 1977: Generation X released its debut single “Your Generation,” backed by “Day By Day.” The single reached the #36 spot on the U.K. singles chart. The London punk band, fronted by Billy Idol, disbanded in 1981. Generation X was always among my top three of four favorite first wave British punk bands, not incidentally because I had a mad crush on Billy Idol. Aside from the very excellent debut album I’d also recommend the band’s second album, Valley of The Dolls, which was produced by Ian Hunter.
“And You Know We’re Homosapien, Too”
On This Date, August 24th in 1981: Pete Shelley released his first post-Buzzcocks single, the very fun dance hit “Homosapien.” The single did not chart in the UK, helped in great part by a BBC ban on the song because of its underlying reference to homosexuality. By the late ’80s, Shelley had re-formed the classic lineup of The Buzzcocks for some touring and, soon after, a new Buzzcocks was created with Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle forming the core. They still record and perform today. I interviewed Pete Shelley a number of years ago and was quite amused when he told me that he’d never been employed outside of music because, “Having a day job is something I just can’t get my head around.”