Mod-A-Day: The Piranhas

The Piranhas burst out of the Brighton Beach mod/punk scene in 1977. Not surprisingly they were discovered and made famous by John Peel who's constant playing of their first single I Don't Want My Body pushed them into punk popularity. Combining ska, power pop, and at times a raw sixties garage vibe, the band gained quite a following and were signed to Sire Records. They recorded a number of cool songs including Getting Beaten Up, Coffee, and a ska cover of the South African song Tom Hark which went on to become a huge hooligans anthem for footballers worldwide.

But, I think the song that exhibits the definitive Piranhas sound and style is Fiddling While Babylon Burns.


The Piranhas--Fiddling While Babylon Burns

Mod-A-Day: The Ubelievable Uglies

Okay, this is a big part of what Mod-A-Day is about, sharing mod friendly tracks -- often obscure, out of print, or otherwise cultish (though certainly not always). The Unbelievable Uglies are all three. They only came to my attention when Mrs. Suave met her father for the first time and eventually learned his brother was in a sixties garage band. Of course, I had to track them down and so here's their track Spiderman. And you gotta love those outfits. I don't think there's been as coordinated group, except maybe the Hives.

Mod-A-Day: The Lambrettas

The Lambrettas were one of the first mod revival bands I ever heard, and this song instantly became a favorite of mine. Beat Boys in the Jet Age was the sort of original song about the mod scene that many mod revival bands were doing around 1980, in an effort to put their own modern stamp on the music. Secret Affair did the same with Time for Action and Glory Boys, and The Times had their cheeky take on the scene with Whatever Happened to Thames Beat, and Squire did Walking Down Kings Road. Even with their cheesy ultra-vivid colored suits, The Lambrettas stayed true to the revival more so than some of the other scenesters. Their power pop was classic, and when they experimented it was to include more soul, and at times a bit of a ska vibe as they did with their biggest hit Poison Ivy. Sadly, Lambrettas frontman Jez Bird died of cancer in 2008.


The Lambrettas -- Beat Boys in the Jet Age


Youtube it here on my video channel.

Modcast #113: To Begin All Over Again

Welcome to Mr. Suave's Mod Mod World folks. This is the 113th modcast, and the first of 2009. Here's hoping that this year will be better than last year. Not that last year was all that bad but it did end on a rotten, stinking, rancid note for your humble host who had a computer catastrohe and lost tons of archived digital music. Even my backups were blasted away. Thus far, my new year has been spent trying to put the pieces back together enough to get a new modcast mixed up.

And, here it is complete with a brand new track from Spearmint front man Shirley Lee's forthcoming album, some soulful tracks from Lefties Soul Connection, some power pop from Lacrosse, some sixties psychadelia from Five by Five, and a few other goodies. So, crank up your mod listening device and enjoy the tunes.

Listen Now

• Shirley Lee -- Traffic In The Street
  
• Lefties Soul Connection -- Paul Newman
  
• Come Ons -- Something Fool
  
• Joe Tax -- Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)
  
• Charity Shayne -- Ain't It Babe
  
• The Highballs -- Frio Bandolero
  
• Five By Five -- Hang Up
  
• The Pigeon Detectives -- Wouldn't Believe It
  
• Lacrosse -- So Sad
  
• The Soup Dragons -- Just Mind Your Step Girl
  
• Fuzzbox - Love Is The Slug

Bonus Videos

The Pigeon Detectives -- Take Her Back





Fuzzbox -- Love is the Slug

Mod-A-Day: Mr. Review

What sort of year would it be without a little bit of ska. Maybe not every day, but once in a while never hurts. This is Mr. Review with Everyday, Another Day, which is from the Dutch band's sophmore release, 1994's Lock, Stock and Barrel.


Mr. Review -- Everyday, Another Day



Youtube it here.

Mod-A-Day: The Thee

In keeping with my everyday resolution, I've got an obscure Rolling Stone's cast off. This is Each and Every Day (of the year), recorded by a little known British Invasion group called The Thee. The Thee were discovered by Reggie King, lead singer of the criminally underrated sixties mod outfit, The Action, and he was able to get them a recording shot with a song that the Stone's had (probably wisely) tossed out. The 1965 single was the band's one and only for Decca records.


The Thee -- Each and Every Day

Mod-A-Day: Swing Out Sister

Soulful, suave and sensuous. That is Swing Out Sister. As smooth now as they were on their debut LP 21 years ago. Launched by Andy Connell and Martin Jackson, the band took shape when they hired a fashion designer who'd never sung professionally to be the voice of the group. Corinne Drewery immediately become not just the voice, but the face and the passion of Swing Out Sister as well. Jackson left after just one release, but Connell and Drewery have produced eight more albums, most of which are fantastic.

The latest release is 2008's Beautiful Mess, and I have to say it's aptly titled. They've strayed farther from their soulful, easy, sixties pop sound than ever before, making the disk a bit uneven at times. The album exhibits more of a seventies feel than the band has previously, and also has the touches and flourishes that were common on later albums by The Style Council. As the title suggests it is still well worth listening too, and delivers the goods nicely. This track, Something Everyday captures the quintessential SOS sound.

Swing Out Sister -- Something Everyday

Mod-A-Day: Makin' Time

I resolved to start the new year out right, and the best way to do that is with some soulful power pop from a group that couldn't do anything else (and who'd want them to?). This is Every Single Day (another resolution of mine) from Makin' Time.

Makin' Time were mainstays of the mod scene in the mid-80s, following in the footsteps of the mod revival, and paving the way for numerous other mods of the future. Led by Fay Hallam and Mark McGounden, the band had a traditional mod sound that blended soulful harmonies with sixties R&B shaking, turning each song into a dancable floorshaker of a number. Hallam later went to play in the Prime Movers and now heads up Fay Hallam Trinity, while McGounden went on to lead the super soulful The Upper Fifth. Of course, the one member of Makin' Time to make it big - relatively speaking - was bass player Martin Blunt who ended up in Manchester band The Charlatans.

Makin' Time - Every Single Day