London Quireboys

VHS Archives #126: Metal Mike talks to the Quireboys (1993)

With the London Quireboys back in the news these days, it’s a good time to resurrect this interview from the Metal Mike Show with Spike and Guy Griffin. The year was 1993 and the Quireboys were out supporting their newest album Bitter Sweet & Twisted. This is just a quick clip regarding opening for big bands such as The Stones, Bowie and Aerosmith.

Unfortunately this is the last clip I have on tape from the Metal Mike Show, a cool local rock program that helped compensate for the loss of the Pepsi Power Hour. Mike used to go to Sam the Record Man and talk to Al King about new releases. I think in the pilot episode, Rush’s Roll the Bones was brand new. So that gives you an idea of the time frame. Mike also talked to local bands like the Groove Daddies and big stars like Poison. Great show.

Anyway, here’s Spike and Guy: formerly the Quireboys!

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REVIEW: The London Quireboys – “Hey You” (1990 cassette single)

THE LONDON QUIREBOYS – “Hey You” (1990 Capitol cassette single)

A curiosity unique to cassette.  The UK 12″ single for “Hey You” included a live “Hoochie Coochie Man” on the B-side.  It and the 7″ single also contained the album track “Sex Party”.  You could get these same tracks on the CD single, but the cassette went with a different route.

The A-side common to all is of course “Hey You” from the hit debut album A Bit Of What You Fancy. It sounds classic from first crash of guitar. The Stones-y Faces vibe is immediately apparent, and fondly recalls the summer of 1990 when the need for such a sound heralded in the Quireboys and Black Crowes.  It was completely unlike everything out by Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, and Warrant.  Its refreshing reliance on slide guitar still sounds great in the speakers, but the rasp of singer Spike is its most defining trait.

The first B-side is the roudy “Sex Party” from the album.  The boogie piano keeps it kickin’ hard.  But then the cassette goes its own way with two additional tracks.  They are severely edited versions of hit singles “I Don’t Love You Anymore” and “7 O’Clock”.  Both fade out prematurely just as the songs are getting awesome!

The whole thing repeats on both sides.  The idea is to give the kids incentive to go out and buy the album next time.  Save your allowances and buy the album to get the full songs.  Such teases!  Just as Spike is telling us what time it is, adding that it’s also “time for the party”, the song fades and the side ends!

Can’t realistically rate something like this very high.  While the two full tracks are both awesome, it’s hard to justify buying this tape today as anything other than a curiosity.  The cassette still sounds good after 31 years though!

2/5 stars

VHS Archives #30: The London Quireboys interview (1990)

“You can’t really call what we do ‘work’. How can you call your job ‘work’?” – Spike to Steve Anthony

1990 was a memorable year for rock and roll, but one of the great surprises of the year was the return of classic UK rock and roll, in the form of new bands The Black Crowes and The London Quireboys. Both owed obvious debts to the Stones and the Faces.

Guy Griffin and Spike joined Steve Anthony in the MuchMusic studios in late 1990 to talk about the Faces comparisons, their long rise to fame, radio and more. Check out the scarves and Steve Anthony’s ridiculous hightop shoes.

Are the band sedated or just laid back?  You decide in this decent interview.

#356: Cassingles

Aaron at the KMA and I have coordinated posts today about cassette singles!  If you can’t get enough, click here for his!  Geoff at the 1001 has also thrown his hat into the ring, and you can see his cassettes here!

RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale #356: Cassingles

Cassingle (noun): “cassette single”, a musical single release, usually consisting of two songs, on the cassette format.

A couple years ago, my parents found in their basement something I had lost and presumed would never see again: an old shoebox full of my old cassette singles!  This was especially valuable to me, because a couple of those cassettes have exclusive tracks on them that have never been released on any other format.  Helix’s “Good to the Last Drop” is one such single.  Van Halen’s “Right Now” is another.

The shoebox also contained my prized cassette copy of the Sonic Temple Collection by The Cult.  Buy cassette one (“Fire Woman”) and you can send away for the box.  Buy cassette two (“Edie”) and you get three Cult cards.  Buy cassette three (“Sweet Soul Sister”), and you can send away for a Sonic Temple pin.  (Which I still have, just not handy for a picture.)

There are some tapes that I know I’m missing.  They include three by Warrant:  “Cherry Pie”, “I Saw Red”, and the horrid “We Will Rock You”, which I probably sold at garage sales when I temporarily disowned Warrant in the 1990’s!  I could also swear that I owned Extreme’s “More Than Words”, but I don’t know what happened to that one.  I’m not worried about it since the B-side remix track is being reissued on the deluxe edition of the Pornograffitti album.  Maybe I gave it to Crazy Thunder Bay Girl!

Check out what remains of my cassingle collection below.