Once
upon a time, a couple of guys in San Francisco cooked up an idea to form a
French '60's covers act. One bet the other he could find some chick who
could sing in French to front it. If he did, the other had to play
bass. Our fairy godmother waved her wand... et voila: a tall blonde
California girl who'd studied at the Sorbonne appeared before them. The bet was
won, more musicians were found and the band called themselves Rue '66. Before
long, yet another lovely, tall American gal appeared who could sing in French
and shake a mean tambourine besides. Now the band was graced with a harmonizing
duo.
They
rehearsed, cut some demos and started doing gigs. A horn section offered their
services and the band could hardly fit onstage. Audiences seemed pleased,
smiling as they recognized some of their old favourites, this time sung in
French, and dancing to the 60s go go beat. At one of these shows, a real
Frenchman by name of Serge hopped up onstage and joined them for a couple of
numbers. The atmosphere suddenly went from euphoria to mania. When the set
ended, the crowd yelled for more... they wouldn't let the group step offstage. Serge
had literally whipped them into a frenzy. He was subsequently invited to guest
appear with the band again. Each time the same thing happened. Even when he stepped in with a band opening for Rue '66, the crowd went
nuts. Finally, Serge became an official member and now the band had no
less than three people who could sing in French. The fellow from the start
of this tale, who'd lost the bet and had taken up the bass in payment, shook
his head in happy disbelief.
The
happiness was not to last however as it was known that the talented performer
who had just joined was living with a terminal illness. Against all odds, Serge
hung on, no doubt strengthened by his love of performing with the band. This
situation was not new to the group. Mark Zanandrea, the guy who dared the
other that he could find a singer, was also in dire straits, physically. The
odds finally began to catch up with him and he left the group and died after
awhile. Serge now dug his heels in even further... when he wasn't kicking them
up on stage... ever the entertainer. The group's last show with Serge was in
San Francisco, the venue sold out... oversold in fact... with people spilling
into the space next door just to hear, if not see the performance.
Rue
'66 talked for years about cutting an album. Serge made that happen. Organized
it, found the money and helped with the production. He contributed an
original song that he'd written in 1968 and co-wrote a new song just for the
album. He also adapted French lyrics he wrote for a song the bass player had
released back in the 80's with his band, The Trip. Serge played 12 string guitar
and sang chansons by Jacques Dutronc and Eric Charden. The songs from the Rue
'66 repertoire doubled when he joined because now the band was not only doing
the ye ye girl stuff but the guy stuff as well.
Most
of all, Serge Martial kept Rue '66 going. His enthusiasm and hard work
never wavered. It truly was an inspiration to all and his tireless efforts were
unmatched plus, he was a real charmer. Cyril Jordan of the Flamin' Groovies who
sat in with the band occasionally called him his "favorite
Frenchman". Serge was truly one of a kind and this author feels greatly
blessed to have known him and having been fortunate for getting the opportunity
to work with him. He really loved the group. Serge was Rue '66's biggest
fan.
Over the last couple of months, there’s been a new post here every day
and I appreciate the regular visits. At this point, to extend my device
distancing regime, those might not be so frequent over the next wee while. In
some consolation, I’ve added to the archive NBT back issues, thanks to the
assistance of Mr Simon Birrell. I know not how those might look on a phone
browser but we’re up to Number 21 so go laugh, cry and all points in between at
that stuff. I’d forgotten there was no Number 22 and can’t recall why – one of the
benefits regarding the onset of auld age. Issue 23 was next – the Tenth Anniversary Edition
with a Thee Roman Gods 45. It’s been a journey and who doesn’t have regrets? We’ll
get from 23 to 27 in due course, just no holding your breath – alright? And if
after seeing this lot, you don’t care, well that’s dandy too.
Some of the source material hasn’t aged well (the reportage - in my
case - perhaps worse) and the PDF images aren’t great. Not having access to the
scanner that I started out compounds the problem but the purpose is to entertain
and any shortcomings are unavoidable. The plan is to work through
other material and to park that, including the recent tip sheets, here too.
The initial scan resolution is high but the documents themselves have
been reduced so the file size isn’t stupid. These are provided for
reference only and if anyone involved wants anything removed then I can do
that. My toes have curled a lot.
Beyond that, I was genuinely surprised because much of it I didn't remember at all. As I often remark, you cannae unscramble eggs.
Episode 3 of KNBT is done. It’s a rickety process because I don’t have the software to do it properly but I’ll spare you the bad workman
bullshit. I would like to work on something with somebody
that knew what the fuck they were doing. I’m not ruling out future attempts but
for now, Season One consists of just three parts. Apologies for the poor
continuity at 9.49, 41.04 and a couple of other places, I did try to fix it but
was just making things worse so I stopped. Sometimes it’s the only way to go. The
music is all that matters.
If you're from Madrid and want to pick up what you buy at the bar to save shipping fees, please include discount code PICK UP at the end of your purchase.
We have done it with lots of love, we hope you like them as much as we do
To mark this day where Amy comes out of isolation and
can make it to the post office again, here’s Part 5 of her Girl to City podcast.
All other episodes are available there too. I took delivery of more copies of
the book the other day so any UK/Europe orders would be turned around real quick.
It’s an ideal diversion for this current malarkey in which we find ourselves. A portal to another time. Check this out too...
There goes April. Not much in the way
of showers until this past couple of days but it’s hardly believable how the
world has turned upside down. I’ll attempt to keep the daily posts going
because it doesn’t seem like there’s going to be much else to do.
My email is out of action but I figure that anyone who needs to contact me is aware of how to do that. This
could be an opportunity to just let that all go.
However, if what goes on here helps
you through a few minutes then the job is done. This is Post 7000. It all
kicked off in 2003 and the direction of travel has changed
little in these seventeen (going on crazy) years. If it hadn’t been for Jeroen
Vedder out in yonder Netherlands then you might have been spared this.
These
clips capture everything we hold dear. We can’t let that become past tense.
In case you didn't hear the news that came in yesterday. Here's the take on it by the man himself. And if you never read his blog before then you're in for a treat.
BEWARE OF THIS SCAM BY THIEVING BASTARDS IN MADRID AND LIKELY ELSEWHERE. There's been an outbreak of utter cuntery in addition to what you're already having to suffer. Some scumbag has come up with the wheeze of pretending to be out favourite hostelries such as Weirdo Bar! and Wurlitzer to try and siphon cash from patrons. They're using the logos and pictures from the bars to look official. Funhouse, Mongo and Chopper Monster have also fallen victim to this underhand development. As if people could stoop much lower. THIS IS NOT THE BARS. IF THEY WERE DOING ANYTHING IT WOULD COME THROUGH OFFICIAL CHANNELS. THIS MAKES ME RAGING MAD BECAUSE I"M CONCERNED ENOUGH THAT I MIGHT NEVER ENTER THESE SACRED PORTALS AGAIN. So please, think at least three times before you donate. It's terrible to have to do that but this is what we're up against. It makes the 'we're all in this together' line ring pretty hollow. Anyway, I was just taking care of a couple things when I saw this and wondered if overseas folks might see this and want to help. As soon as anything official happens to that regard then I shall circulate all relative information. THERE GOES MY BLOOD PRESSURE AGAIN.
Here is a BANDCAMP link to the MUSIC FOR GLOVES initiative in Spain. It includes our friends - FAMILY SPREE, FOLC, Ghost Highway Recordings and Jarama 45rpm. If you feel like you have some spare cash and are sitting in your bunker craving entertainment then have a look (and listen). Is there a similar campaign here in the UK? Hit me up with details if there is. Other countries too. I'm led to believe we get visits from all over.
An important part of the Glasgow music fraternity. I'm genuinely saddened to hear this. Davie released the Wreckless Eric cover of "Sweet Jane" on his Vibrascope label. My condolences to Donna and his friends and family.
