Greetings.
The Cardiacs are an archetypal vegemite/marmite band. Blur, Thom Yorke are huge fans. Peel hated them as did, it seems, most of the record buying public. I came to them very late, merely months before Tim Smith had his heart attack and stroke which ended the band. I pretty much instantly became a devoted and evangelical fan. Get a few drinks down me at parties and I become a Cardiac’s bore – “You really must give this a listen…. luckily I have it here on my phone … No wait … its great … really”
Anyway this particularly track came up on my ipod shuffle today and consequently I felt compelled to share it with you lot. If you aren’t yet on board I implore you to give this a listen. It is IMO a work of absolute genius, as is the album it came from. Its astonishing in its ambition. A deranged masterpiece in parts reminiscent of Suede, King Crimson and Radiohead. It is a true epic. In short.. its pretty damn good.
Thankyou for your attention.
I’m surprised you suggest they’re a Marmite band. I can really take them or leave them. Every time Marc Riley plays them (and that’s a lot!) he eulogises about them and I wonder if we’ve just been listening to the same track.
I had them written off for years as a knockabout comedy band (probably on the basis of having seen Tarred & Feathered on The Tube or some such tv show). I also remember someone (the unknown Cardiacs bore) leaving some tapes in our old house urging us to try them, I think they sat on the kitchen worktop unplayed for a year or more.
Finally ‘got’them years later on this very site and it was the track the OP posted that truly grabbed me…clearly not a comedy band! Fortunately the Alphabet Business Concern is operational and I’ve been able to Hoover up most of the back catalogue.
I regret not getting into them sooner as I’d have loved to see them live…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co6eZmQl1yg&sns=em
i too, got in to them off the back of their Tube appearance thirty years ago and was hooked instantly. I used to see them play live a lot in the eighties, some of the greatest gigs of my life.
I love this new William D. Drake video where he revisits his Cardiacs geek persona (and who’s that fiend assaulting him? Why, it’s THE CONSULTANT!!)
I’d known about them at the time, but being an idiot had bought the NME line that they were shit. It was only after hearing a track from their first album (Whole World Window) on Maconie’s 6 Radio show that I realised what I had been missing all these years. This was around the time I started getting into early Zappa/Mothers, so I could see his influence on them. Dirty Boy is indeed a thing of wonder, a true epic. Thanks for posting & reminding me how great they are.
Fabulous band. I think I described seeing them in 1985 – completely unaware of what was to come – back at the old place, It jump-started me out of a break-up based depression nicely.