I have to admit I was already raising an eyebrow after reading an article in the Guardian last year where Smiley described owning diamond mine concessions across Africa but I’m not one to let an artist’s personal choices affect the music which I’ve always loved, so let’s sidestep the dodgier details and have a butchers at this cockney translator’s musical achievements instead.

I was but a fresh faced kid when I first heard David “Smiley Culture” Emmanuel’s dulcet tones gracing my speakers, I can’t remember who’s copy of Great British MC’s I was listening to as I certainly didn’t own it at the time but I was won over by the sparse fast chat intro of Smiley’s Slam Bam and I’ve remained a fan of the style to this day. Prior to working on Duppy Writer I actually approached Big Dada about putting together a kind of update of the LP, with current UK MC’s toasting over 80′s style rhythms, something I’d still love to do given the time but that’s another story.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqLc1_-Wtqw

I’ve noticed a fair few people claiming Smiley was a one (or maybe two) hit wonder which is sad if you take a look at his back catalogue, admittedly his post Police Officer material never quite lived up to the promise of those initial hits but scratch the surface for a small stack of amazing tracks bubbling beneath. Shan A Shan was arguably better than Police Officer and Cockney Translation though obviously not as anthemic, and honourary mention needs to go to b-side classics Roots Reality and Entertainer Entertainer, the latter I still regularly open my sets with alongside Half Pint’s Greetings.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC-yMtPDsAw

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO77P17m7Rc

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPkrIKWKA0w

Beyond the music, his presence in the UK media of the 1980′s is also significant, when you consider the implications of a young black man on Top Of The Pops regaling tales of police corruption, today it’d send alarm bells ringing in the Daily Mail headline department as they try and decipher how to shoehorn “knife crime”, “immigrant” and “gives you cancer” into one marginally coherent sentence. It’s clear that Smiley’s success was a watershed moment for Britain, with the papers still reeling from the likes of Handsworth and Brixton riots, Middle-England’s cut-eye was placed firmly on a new generation of British born Jamaicans. In the midst of this, one wide boy rode through the hit parade, both eloquent and entertaining, Smiley flew the flag for his growing community proving that yard style had assimilated with the ever evolving and diverse dutchy of London.

Sadly Smiley never recaptured the magic of the initial releases, having trod the path of Saxon Soundsystem and topped both the reggae and pop charts on South London’s legendary Fashion Records, he failed to follow through with his major label debut Tongue In Cheek – a decent enough long player marred slightly by glossier production than his earlier efforts. Later he’d take lesser loved forays into the world of hiphop but much like my issues with the diamond trade, I’m happy to turn a blind eye to such matters.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHm3B-LNC30

Many would probably also like to forget Julian Temple’s bold but arguably flawed attempt at translating Absolute Beginners to the big screen (not me I should add, I love it), and those that even remember, may have forgotten Smiley’s cameo but to me this represents the height of his crossover appeal, being chosen to participate alongside the likes of David Bowie, Ray Davies and Sade says much about his cultural significance of the time. I’ve been searching for a clip of Smiley’s scene but alas no one seems to have uploaded it and I don’t own a copy, neither can I find a youtube link of his cover of Miles Davis’ So What from the soundtrack so if anyone does have them and fancies sharing, then please let me know and I’ll add them to the post. In the meantime I’ll leave you with some early footage of Smiley Culture live in the dance back in 1983 with Maxi Priest and a crowd in full singalong mode, and here’s to hoping we get to the bottom of what actually happened in Warlingham yesterday morning.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0RiqjdFbzA

So what do you need to know about Gregory Isaacs? An international chart topping career in Reggae, spanning over 30 years since he began recording with Byron Lee to the obvious high point of being remixed by me (i jest of course). In between he recorded two of the most iconic lovers rock tracks with “My Only Lover”, considered by many to be the 1st lovers record, and of course the now universal “Night Nurse” which later scored a big hit for Mick Hucknall with Sly & Robbie’s rhythmical blessing.

Sadly the Cool Ruler passed away this morning after a battle with cancer, despite which he still managed to tour earlier this year.

It was an honour to make a tiny little indentation on Gregory’s incredible career so here’s to you old son…

Gregory Isaacs’ 1st appearance on wax.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdje_zJREJ4

An amazing record by Isaacs’ former vocal group The Concords, produced by Dalstonite Rupie Edwards.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLywNU9GUkk

Gregory in his awesome hat, suit and bow tie combo live in Brixton in ’84

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqXoLRkDNks

And finally Night Nurse performed live with the might Roots Raddics.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyEP_st9csI

But enough about that and on to Ari who at one time fronted arguably one of the most important girl groups in rock history. Some might scoff but the girl group more often than not is something of a man-made ideal, and regardless of having plenty of men at the side lines spurring them on, The Slits, on their own terms, carved their name into the flabby arm of an often insecure homme-heavy industry. Embracing reggae in the punk scene was far from unheard of but very few delved into it’s culture, Ari on the other hand cultivated locks way before you could pop up to Camden to get them done on your lunch hour, spoke fluent patois and, on the one occasion I was lucky enough to catch her live, insisted she wouldn’t start performing until the sound man got the bass sound just right. A sonic tug of war ensued until finally Ari announced she could feel it proceeding to wine & bogle as the band kicked in around her.

I’ll pardon myself from gushing further, this could turn into an essay if I were to carry on so I’ll leave you with this slice of dislocated dubbing from ’81, with spiky dread stalwart Dennis Bovell working the faders and Ari’s primeval cry working it’s way through the bank of FX, I give you The Slits “Face Dub”.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWr6ocZKkb4

There’s little to no info about this terrible news as yet, bar Fab Five Freddy tweeting about it earlier this evening but whatever the facts are I’m more gutted about this than most of the others we’ve covered.

I’m guessing if you’re reading this there’s nothing I could tell you about Rammell that you don’t know already and by now various social networking sites and blogs are no doubt inundated with links to Beat Bop, Crazy Sneaker or Death Comet Crew so instead I thought I’d share a snippet of a rare cinematic siting of the former Getovett who once rode a bus talking to our friend Long Distance Dan about Iconic Panzerisms much to the bewilderment of the local grannies hoping for a quiet trip back to Raynes Park.

This is a quick glimpse of Rammellzee on the hustle in Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise, which also featured fellow lower east siders John Lurie and Richard Edson from The Lounge Lizards and Konk/Sonic Youth respectively, Jarmusch himself having a brief stint on the downtown music circuit with The Del Byzantines who appear alongside Rammell & Death Comet Crew on the excellent Anti NY compilation.

Anyway, I’ve got work to do and quite frankly I’m sad so I’ll leave you to watch this…

Rammellzee in Stranger Than Paradise

For those unaware of his work, Frank started life as Chris Sievey, his music career kicking off with Manc-punks The Freshies who shaved the never regions of the UK charts with the really really fantastically titled “I’m In Love With The Girl On The Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk” back in 1981.

Sievey’s scope went way beyond his band, what with running DIY label Razz records, and releasing the Spectrum game The Biz which introduced Frank to the world with his confusing combination of working man’s club cabaret whilst looking like The Residents’ road manager.

After the Freshies disbanded Sievey continued his recording career with Frank turning out fantastic versions of Sex Pistols songs, Beatles classics and as you’re about to hear, quasi-post-punk-funk-rap songs about abstaining from eating pork.

“The Oink Psycho Rap” was a reworked version of the Uncle Pigg Rap originally released as a pink flexi on the cover of the curious Oink magazine published in the mid 80′s in the UK. Only available to Oink readers who’d cut out and sent off a voucher, featuring 3 songs produced by Frank, this 7″ was among my 1st handful of purchases back in 1986, maybe not what you’d expect of your average UK rap fair but still a little piece of forgotten history and one more fantastic feather in Frank’s cap.

Mr Sidebottom, we at Trick n Tom towers salute you…

The Oink Psycho Rap

It was announced at the weekend that the East London institution that is Plastic People is facing possible imminent closure at the hands of Hackney’s police force who wish to revoke PP’s license to prevent “public nuisance” and “crime and disorder”.

I could be completely mistaken and maybe there’s something more sinister at play here but in a town littered with what seems like an endless array of soulless drinking dens frequented by shit-faced city-boys and “going up London Gary” weekenders, why would one of the few venues dedicated to the cause of pushing new music face closure?

Remember The Spitz? Only a few years back you could have been one of a handful of people watching anything from outsider punk rock to Restiform Bodies wrestling both nasty hangovers and their Gameboys live on stage but sadly not any more because now Spitalfields, thanks to a mediocre makeover, is now a lifeless sack of nothing out of the ordinary. Has anyone noticed there’s now a tex-mex restaurant bankrolled by depressing hen night’s on Brick Lane? What’s really happening to this part of town?

Just to set some records straight this isn’t self centred gushing, I’m by no means bias, and will be the first to admit that Plastic People could often attract a cliquey crowd who to quote a nameless patron “would show up to the opening of an envelope” but I’d hardly associate rowdiness with the place or the people. Anyone that’s been to CDR can vouch for a crowd gathered together to explore the wonders of music so fresh it might have come off the mixing desk barely an hour before it was aired, in fact It’d be hard to name an event held there in the past decade which wasn’t solely about the music. So put simply, what on earth are the Met thinking?

Have the slew of strip clubs been issued with such an order? What about that BNP pub up Hackney Road? There are so many places which clearly contribute to the piss and vomit stained pavements of shitty Shoreditch that pointing the finger at the one place which doubtfully contributes to the local stench seems downright ludicrous.

As I say though maybe I’m gravely mistaken and there’s something we don’t know going on behind the scenes, or maybe the council for some mad reason want a Walkabout in it’s place, either way if you give a damn about one of the last bastions of creative clubland then get involved over on facebook.

On a personal level I’ve enjoyed many a night there from Big Dada’s Gosh! nights to testing out tracks on their amazing rig at CDR and hope this wont spell the last of these People and their fantastic Plastic.

Of course if you normally podcast the show and you somehow missed them…

Christmas Special 2007

Christmas Special 2008 (part 1)

Christmas Special 2008 (part 2)

Hi, Mom! is not a porno, though someone sought to market it as one with misleading alternative titles such as Blue Manhattan and Confessions Of A Peeping John, however the John in question is simply trying his luck in the porn industry. Hi, Mom! is in fact a satire, made in 1969 by Brian DePalma as a standalone sequel to his previous Greetings which featured an unknown actor by the name of Bob DeNiro exploring what he dubs ‘peep art’ before getting drafted into the Vietnam war.

Hi, Mom! follows up with John (Bob) returning to NYC trying to pick up the pieces of his post war life. The parallels with Taxi Driver end there as he sells his peep art idea to a porn baron who quickly pulls the plug on the project leaving Bob roaming the streets til he stumbles upon a group of black activists staging an off-Broadway play called Be Black Baby.

Funk & soul fans may have an idea of where I’m going with this as Grady Tate recorded a song called Be Black Baby back in ’69, sampled by the likes of Main Source and Big Daddy Kane for the spotters amongst you. What you may not know is Tate made the track for Hi, Mom! specifically to accompany various sequences revolving around the militant theatre group as they attempt to spread their Black Power message to the middle class population of Greenwich Village…

A word of warning: the following sequences contain acts of violence which some may find upsetting, if you are of a delicate temperament or you don’t get jokes then I’d advise you go straight to the 4th video and simply listen to the Grady Tate track in full.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7fER8ogiNo

Be Black Baby Part 1

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN5Bj5xTdUc

Be Black Baby Part 2

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIp8Vp3LtJI

Grady Tate “Be Black Baby”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBv5pDL0aRQ

Though this entry isn’t strictly about the film it’s best that I give you a brief run down on the unsettling subject matter. Waterpower also often goes by the high concept title The Enema Bandit, and if we’re gonna be reductionist about this, it is about a bandit that applies enemas but, and this is a big BUT with no pun intended I assure you, this is so much more than a marginalised piece of exploitation.

The short version of the story goes – Mafia boss calls up director to make speciality porn film, mafia boss wants nothing more to do with the project, director seizes opportunity to make what he wants assuming no one funding the film would watch it and sets about making the sex industry’s answer to Taxi Driver. Of course there’s much more to it than that and I urge you to read director Shaun Costello’s personal account which gives the film the further unique accolade of being possibly the only picture to have a behind the scenes explanation in place of a plot on IMDB.com.

You might be wondering why I’m sharing this or worse still why I even came to be watching such a monstrosity, and for the latter you can blame the unlikely duo of Jonathan Ross and my Mum – Ross for including a chapter on the film in his Incredibly Strange Film Book, and my mum for buying me the book in the first place. Setting about searching for The Enema Bandit (Ross failed to mention it was also known as Waterpower) led me to a fair few unsavoury encounters and raised more eyebrows than the time I went on the hunt around NYC for Sexual Harassment. Finally I came across a guy who discreetly dubbed me a fuzzy VHS copy which I swiftly slipped home with and was soon staring at in abject horror.

So here’s why I’m telling you about it (aside the fact it’s a must for those of you that like bizarre films). While I was picking tracks for the show last week I wondered if I could track down Waterpower’s soundtrack. Alas it’s rare that a hardcore flick has an official OST and I gather much of this one was culled from other films including Thompson’s Cape Fear and of course Taxi Driver but amongst the rubber piping and hammocked between hookie motifs is a wealth of bizarre synth work and ambient noise akin to the Eno output of the time. There now follows the only clip I could find online which is both very short and not remotely filthy…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd67rALC8bY

See what I mean about the soundtrack? If anyone reading knows anything more about it please get in touch as I would love to listen without having to wade through flushed bowels and ham acting (as appealing as that obviously might sound).

I couldn’t leave it at that though as whilst having a scout about for more info, I stumbled upon this clip from the equally Ronseal named New Wave Hookers which stars the Enema Bandit himself Jamie Gillis dressed like Darby Crash if he shopped in the Camden branch of Argos. I warn you, this one gets a bit sweary but I gather if you’re still reading, colourful language will be the last thing to phase you.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HyiaCozTRE

If you’re familiar with the format already, you’ll know we wont be rolling out the usual festive favourites but we can assure a cavalcade of curious Christmas records which in the past have covered anything from sleigh bell drenched Hawaiian hits to William Burroughs growling about heroine abuse on a cold winter night. Joining us for the party will be our irregular regular guest Ed Zed and as it’s our last show before Resonance breaks up for the Christmas hols we’ll no doubt be bringing in games, busting out the egg nog and oh shucks just tune in on the 16th to find out.

That’s just the icing on the brandy drenched cake though as we’ve got another special show this week in the shape of a Noughties run down. Yes, I’m well aware that we didn’t start at the year “0″ but if we did gauge the decade from zero then surely 1980 would’ve been in the “the 70′s”? Really though, does it matter? It’s simply another opportunity for us to cobble together a bunch of unrelated music with the ruse that it somehow ties together (let’s just hope our selections are marginally better than the name of the decade). Anyway as I said to my mum when I was told not to huff lighter fluid “everyone else is doing it so why can’t we?” So that’s this Wednesday at 10pm GMT  for the rundown and next Wednesday at the same time for the Yule rulers, and don’t forget we’re off for a couple of weeks but we’ll be back on January 6th.