tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19286023.post-52605791499839157172007-08-15T11:38:00.000+02:002007-08-17T00:10:33.404+02:00<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/RsQI8REgEJI/AAAAAAAAACM/aU2xxD4sFjQ/s1600-h/doctorsofmadness-bulletin.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099210509557698706" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Gn_oSeziSPM/RsQI8REgEJI/AAAAAAAAACM/aU2xxD4sFjQ/s400/doctorsofmadness-bulletin.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I have this weird urge to dig into the history of any type of music I happen to like. Whether it's punk, rockabilly or jazz, at one point I'm going to ask myself: "Well, what did the very first *** (fill in the genre) records sound like? And what did the forerunners sound like, the Almost-***-records?" (This process of digging deeper and deeper once got me briefly obsessed with 20's jazz/blues... "Actually, we're not into music - we're into chaos": Steve Jones? No, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band said that in 1917!) It's like, whoever did it <em>first</em>, probably did it <em>best</em>. Although that theory doesn't exactly hold up in practice (the Vibrators' "We vibrate", anyone?), there's always something touching about "the ones that came first", a certain quaintness/ undefinedness coupled with the excitement of treading unknown territory.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">The Doctors of Madness were one of these mysterious bands that get namechecked in early punk histories in such a way that you're aching to know more about them. You know, they minutely describe every day in the life of the Sex Pistols, and then they go: "Oh yeah, this band called Doctors of Madness were also around." What do you mean, <em>also around</em>? When they were around in early '76 I want to know more about them! Just exactly how "punk" were they, and why aren't they up in the Year Zero punk pantheon of Buzzcocks/Clash/Subway Sect/etc.? Back in the 80's/90's questions like these remained unanswered; these days, you ask the almighty Google or find that elusive record on eBay for 2 Pounds. Actually, by some strange cosmic blip I found their <em>Sons of Survival</em> LP at a flea market the same week I'd ordered their "Bulletin" single, so there's still hope outside of the internet I guess...</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Both records are pretty good: fast, urgent rock with hints of both punk and prog, and Urban Blitz' electric violin has to be heard to be believed. Not "punk" in the John Cale/ Raincoats way, but more musicianly ("Waiting" even has traces of hillbilly fiddle!). Singer Kid Strange sounds like a cross between TV Smith (urgent) and Hugh Cornwell (thuggish), he's a good singer but you get the feeling he's straining to get this "punk voice". (But what the heck, so did Lee Ving.) </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Needless to say, Doctors of Madness were regarded "punk fakes" by the music press; the fact they were actually around before the Pistols, briefly had Dave Vanian on (shared) vocals, and co-wrote Adverts B-side "Back from the dead" with TV Smith didn't help. But their records belong to that rare species of first-timers, music being made while it was still being invented, and all the more intriguing because of that. Like, say, in early rock 'n roll you had weird stuff like the Three Chuckles, who used an accordion; I guess Doctors of Madness were the Three Chuckles of punk.</span></div><br /><a href="http://212.127.186.65/public/Blog/doctorsofmadness-1-bulletin.mp3"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Bulletin</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><a href="http://212.127.186.65/public/Blog/doctorsofmadness-1-waiting.mp3"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Waiting</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> (single, 1977)<br /></span><a href="http://212.127.186.65/public/Blog/doctorsofmadness-backfromthedead.mp3"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Back From The Dead</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> (Doctors of Madness, from <em>Sons of Survival</em> LP, 1978)<br /></span><a href="http://212.127.186.65/public/Blog/adverts-backfromthedead.mp3"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Back From The Dead</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> (Adverts, B-side of Television's Over, 1978)</span>Nielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08579889924374160663noreply@blogger.com