I don’t expect the sky to be black with hats or riven with hosannas, but legendary Sarfend ivory-basher Mickey Jupp has a new album out. Called Up Snakes, Down Ladders, it was recorded in his home studio up in Cumbria, whither he withdrew many years ago, having tired of the r&r merry-go-round.
I’ve had a soft spot for him ever since I used to go and see his band The Orioles, who were pretty good competition for The Paramounts in Southend, and later, Legend. There’s nothing ground-breaking about the new album, but if you feel like a good dose of 70s pub rock that’s like the intervening decades never happened, performed by an old bugger arsing around in his studio like he wasn’t 78 years old, then this album is for you.
Some old.
I had the first Legend album (on Bell, I think), and the “red boot” album on Vertigo, and I bought a string of his solo albums. Likeable cove who had a way with a tune. Can’t say the prospect of a new album is giving me a music boner, though.
Not expecting the sky to be black with boners either, just a PSA.
I’m agreeing with you.
I know you were. Where did you get the idea that I thought you weren’t??
I didn’t. Why did you think I did?
Then why did you say ‘I’m agreeing with you’?
Because I am?
The brilliant Vertigo sampler ‘Heads Together – First Round’ gave me this long-time favourite:
…and this track is a tad more representative of Mickey’s forte:
This was the “leg end” joke before Henry Cow made it.
I have to admit, as the owner of several shelf-inches of Henry Cow boxed sets, that Mickey’s catchy, good-time music is a lot more likely to get a casual spin than that of the Cambridge experi(mentalists).
I’ve also got a nice vinyl copy of his ‘Juppanese’ album on Stiff (SEEZ10), complete with a cover showing him sat at a table with plates of food from a Thai restaurant, whose name can be seen on the menu that is clearly visible in the cover photo. To compound the cognitive dissonance between the album’s title and the origin of the food displayed on the cover, on the inner sleeve the restaurant’s name is credited, but spelled incorrectly. Doh.
I used to have that, on blue vinyl IIRC. Never noticed it!
Now that you mention it, mine is a fetching shade of bright blue as well!
Mr Jupp has made a steady income for himself over the last 15 years or so by releasing home produced CDs of material to his fan base. He’s not at Marillion size of fan funding obviously but it seems to keep him in beer money. He has made 16 of these so far and I think this “new album” is a compilation of some of the better songs from those. Personally I am surprised at the omission of a song called Trees Died which you can also find on you tube, great writing and in a different vein to his rockers.
He also plays 2 gigs a year in Boot where people fly in from Scandinavia to see him.
Boot, how appropriate!