RubberBuccaneer
Hedd Wyn
Tricky Skills said:Everyone has their 'own band' who they grew up with. Mine was Diesel Park West. I've bought the bootlegs, seen them live far too many times and followed the boys around the country to some obscure venues (The Oliver Twist in Colchester anyone?). And they've never disappointed.
DPW tried to escape the City of Death (Leicester) back in '88 with perhaps the best ever debut album. Released by a bunch of blokes with a Buffalo Springfield fixation that is.
Signed up to Food Records, an imprint of EMI. great expectations awaited. This was the barren musical period of post-punk and pre-acid house. Five young gunslingers with a West Coast guitar heritage and a love of small town England were courted by the music press and given the red carpet treatment by the big boys at EMI.
They were even elevated to star billing on the Food Christmas EP of '89, with Jesus Jones (US No. 1 less than a year away) and also featuring the second best band from Leicester, Crazyhead.
The Shakespeare Alabama debut sold in modest amounts and DPW then went for broke on the follow up with the Strings 'n All production of Decency. This didn't sit very well with the music press championing Madchester at the time.
And then the curse of Colchester struck with Blur coming up from behind as EMI priorities. Things all started to go a little baggy and the tight trousers of DPW were shafted and placed in the bargain bin.
But I still kept on believing, along with a small crowd of dedicated followers. DPW regrouped and returned with a wonderfully bitter tale of music biz excess on Diesel Park West Vs The Corporate Waltz. The title contained a bit of a clue to as what was contained with.
DPW had dug their own grave, and the next decade saw them being handed down the Food chain (boom boom) from minor indie label to bedroom based indie label with each release.
They even released an album called Thought for Food. See what they've done there? The bitter experience from the EMI episode still haunts the band today.
If it wasn't for some fake mockney geezers hitching a ride on Madchester back in '89, DPW would probably be selling out Wembley by now. This was the scale of their rock ambition.
John Butler and Rick Wilson are one of the great surviving songwriting partnerships. Coming up with a quality album a year is no mean feat. It must be even more difficult when hardly anyone is listening.
And... they're playing at The Borderline this Friday
I think you'll find Gaye Bykers On Acid were Leicesters Best band.
And for those not already into Nancy Sinatra / Lee Hazelwood I'd highly recomend them before they're sampled to death heard in ironic disco s everywhere.
