Ring any bells?0
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A few of you seem to have missed me saying “Mick Hucknall” as the final notes of ‘Hunchback Of Notre Dame’ chimed out at the end of last week’s show so I figured it might be of help if I shed a little light on this slice of ‘crap punk’. Yes this is the same Mick Hucknall that loved the thought of coming home to you and no I’m not going to apologize for unleashing it on our listeners as quite frankly I love it.
I first stumbled upon The Frantic Elevators whilst looking through one of those Q magazine record cover compendiums and spotted a wiry Hucknall bent double with a shotgun in his mouth, which many may consider wishful thinking. It turned out that prior to spearheading the mid 80′s working man’s soul movement, young Mick was one of the handful of potential punks at the infamous Sex Pistols gig at the Fair Trade Hall in Manchester. Unlike his local peers including Joy Division, The Buzzcocks and The Fall, Mick’s Frantic Elevators never quite caught the attention of a wider audience but they pressed on for 7 years before he turned in his safety pins and knocked together Picture Book. The few 7″s they released are a mixed bag of good old fashioned punk rock (a little behind the times for the early 80′s) and even a scruffy but arguably credible rendition of holding back the years, the pick of which being the afore mentioned ‘Hunchback Of Notre Dame’ which is just under 2 minutes of pure gold with it’s timeless hook of “I’m an ugly sod but it’s not my fault”.
So here it is for you to download and cherish in all it’s ginger glory…
The Frantic Elevators ‘Hunchback Of Notre Dame’
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