Recently I listened to ‘Bummed’ by the Happy Mondays and it made me think how lucky Bez is to have made a career out out of dancing with a pair of maracas. There was also talk a few months ago about Andy Fletcher’s role in Depeche Mode.
There must be more than a handful of band members who appear to contribute very little/nothing to a band, yet still receive the associated perks. I’m thinking of those who are officially members rather than backing musicians.
Bez
That bloke with the tambourine and wooly hat in the Brian Jonestown Massacre.
At least Bez was fairly likeable. Barry Mooncult of Flowered Up was not only pointless but always seemed to be one of the great spelling mistakes whenever I heard tales of his exploits.
John out of Jedward. Edward contributes every single letter of his name, whereas all John brings to the table is his first initial.
Edwohn would’ve been a far more egalitatrian band name.
Although it could be argued that they are both fairly pointless.
Wojtek, the dancer out of The Blue Aeroplanes.
Oi @fentonsteve
Leave Wotjek alone…for a short time the Blue Aeroplanes were the best band in the world and he played his part.
I know they were, Swagger is one of my fave albums, but I’d love to know what Wotjek brought to the studio. Lunch, perhaps?
Swagger was and is ace isn’t it? Still gets played chez Steady. Beatsongs was one of those disappointing follow ups that we’ve probably mentioned on other threads. As were the follow ups to the follow up though they all have their moments.
They’re still going of course and periodically I have to resist buying a Blue Aeroplanes T shirt. Not sure if Wotjek is still dancing, he wasn’t last time I saw them about 8 years ago.
Paul Rutherford of Frankie springs to mind as well – but the remarkable thing about Fletch is that unlike other non-musicians he doesn’t even act as a flamboyant focus for live shows. Yet his presence is important, somehow. Gahan and Gore plus band wouldn’t really be Depeche Mode.
PR sings – briefly but rather beautifully – on Welcome the the Pleasuredome, Black Night Night Light and The Only Star in Heaven. So he’s probably on more Frankie records than Pedro or Mark O’Toole.
Does he sing the deeper voiced “shooting stars never stop” line ?
Yes he does.
I’m sure we’ve done this before… Still… Andrew Ridgely springs immediately to mind. And back in the 50s Bo Diddley had a maracca guy in his band called Jerome – whose name gave rise to Bo’s hit ‘Bring It To Jerome’ (a rare example of Bo putting someone’s name other than his own in a title). But… does anyone really *need* a maraccas guy?
What Bo wants Bo gets, in my book.
The Bo Diddley beat only comes to life with the magnificent Jerome.
Often hauled out of a bar to come on stage.
Andrew Ridgley gave GM the confidence to develop his songwriting and perform in public. For some reason, he was considered (mainly by George) as the good-looking one who represented Wham’s image.
Andrew Ridgeley is the man in Pop I most admire. He recognised talent when he saw it, hung onto its coat-tails and trousered £10 million in royalties in the process. He fulfilled a contract obligation solo album that was so bad Rolling Stone gave it half a star and ensured he would never be asked to do another. He also shacked up with a Bananarama, sadly splitting last year, and tried his hand racing cars. He knows his place and that is living the life of Reilly doing no work whatsoever. He is Pop’s very own Gary. He still has his looks.
The inverse of this, I think Stacia brought quite a lot to Hawkwind. COR!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yao_T2adl14
It’s NorkWind!
Sid Vicious – perfect cartoon image, but musically little worth.
There is only one track on Never Mind The Bollocks with his bass on (No Feelings), but it is so buried in the mix you’d never know.
Linda McCartney
Or Stuart Sutcliffe.
Hilariously, Lewisohn says that by the time the Beatles finally left Hamburg SS was finally getting the hang of the bass, after two years of pitiless haranguing by the others. After they left he played a few times with what was effectively the first Beatles tribute band.
In a meta twist, he could have played…himself!
Years before Mike Yarwood, too..
Every single member of the Archie’s?!?
John, Paul and George.
That bloke with the can of lager in Sleaford Mods.
He’s no Bez or Fletch because he writes all the music (and very good it it is too). He chooses to present this Live by pressing ‘play’ on his laptop and dancing with a can of lager while the other one does the vocals. I suppose he could play along on a keyboard or whatever but I kind of admire the fact that he doesn’t – he just bops away and that’s become part of their shtick.
‘Dancing’?? Head-nodding more like.
Isn’t it also a satirical reference to the fact that many hip-hop acts feature a lot of non-musicians standing around nodding and occasionally pointing and not doing a lot else. For the can of lager read a flaming dustbin.
And the other one…
No, the other bloke in the Sleaford Mods.
Fletch basically is the Bez of Depeche Mode. He doesn’t play on the records (unless anyone can correct me) but apparently his keyboards are plugged in and he has some samples and various bleeps and bloops to fire off during their live set – but then again lots of bands have members that only contribute in performance rather than on record don’t they?
Fletch has been with them since the beginning and without him they’re a synth duo comprised of two men who don’t get on very well – apparently the sessions for their last album were particularly fractious – so they’d probably implode without their old pal from Basildon to ‘Get the Balance Right’.
Of course – On the flipside of this, Daniel Miller (Mute Records Boss) is the Ian Stewart of Depeche Mode in that he did an awful lot of the heavy lifting on the early albums
Dave and Martin would have killed each other a long time ago – well, more likely, Dave would have killed Martin – if it wasn’t for Fletch. He’s Martin’s best friend. And he likes to play bass when it’s time for PR pictures.
It’s a shame Alan Wilder left. Most underrated band member ever?
Alan Wilder would probably agree, as far as the band is concerned. It seems he got little, if any, thanks for the work he did. Martin Gore has written extensively about how abnormal he is when it comes to relationships and expressing feelings. That can really be a challenge for someone who needs the odd pat on the back.
I recall an interview from the early days – Fletch said that Martin is naturally a very quiet person but that you often find with quiet people, once they do say something – it’s usually worth hearing. “With Martin though, it’s usually a load of boring old rubbish”. Said Fletch.
And let’s be honest regarding Wilder.
Something IS missing from the albums they’ve made since he left. He brought attention to detail. And musicality, even if he never sang or wrote.
Arranging is an important part of the finished product, and he did a lot when it came to the tinkling in the studio.
(But I say this as a fan of Ultra and Playing The Angel.)
I agree – Alan Wilder is sorely missed. He created the developing Depeche Mode sound between 83-94, which was when they really hit the big time. There are plenty of great post-Alan moments but not the same consistent quality in one album. The closest has been Ultra, which was (gulp) 21 years ago.
He did have an early burst of songwriting – and his songs were pretty good.
@Black-Celebration
Oh, I didn’t know Wilder wrote for the band earlier on. I usually don’t listen much to the early stuff. Hardly ever go further back than Music For The Masses, the ones before that doesn’t do much for me. Though I have The Singles 81-85 collection and enjoy the hits. Also think I have Black Celebration somewhere.
The first one I bought was Faith And Devotion.
You really must give Black Celebration more of your time (not me, the Depeche Mode record). Not just because it’s ace, but you like Music for the Masses – you will definitely love this. If you have a CD with the extra tracks on it (like Christmas Island and Breathing in Fumes) then you are in for a treat and I envy you. The instrumentals and B-sides are a key strength of Depeche Mode and this is where you find peak Alan Wilder at play.
I do have Black Celebration on CD and it appears to have the bonus thingies you talk about. I’ll dive in and get back to you. A Question Of Lust is already a favourite. Who can resist a slightly over the top ballad sung by Gore?
Agreed on that. One Caress and Home are top drawer Depeche and the singing is all Gore and no Gahan.
@Black-Celebration
One Caress is my favourite DM song! I´ve only seen them live once, and they played it. I´ve understood it´s very rare live. maybe that´s why I haven´t seen them since (this was on the Sounds Of The Universe Tour). They were great, but it won´t get better than that.
So, Black Celebration. Played it at work three or four times. It´s pretty good. You can start to hear the band who would go on to do Violator. I know it´s the first album of theirs Gore thinks still holds up. It´s getting properly dark.
Gore is singing a lot on it, isn´t he? Cause he usually just gets one or two songs. Or maybe it´s just Gahan sounding like Gore, especially on the ballads, cause he hadn´t found his own voice yet (just a theory). No information re who´s singing in the booklet.
But Not Tonight is ALMOST a great song. The words are very true/you/blue/do/moo and the sound probably was too poppy for them at the time, and reminded them of something they were growing out of. But it could have been a hit. It´s definitely better than New Dress.
Fly On The Wind Screen – Final shows a growing ambition they haven´t quite figured out how to deal with. Oh, and I´ve never liked A Question Of Time. Sorry. Favourites: A Question Of Lust, World Full Of Nothing and It Doesn´t Matter Two.
@neela But Not Tonight – I agree that it’s a great song but it slightly misses the mark – don’t know why but I think it is the lyric. A much loved song in the States for some reason. And yes, I have sometimes confused the Gore vocal with Gahan – it’s obvious sometimes (One Caress) but with a song like The Bottom Line on Ultra it took me a while to realise.
I seem to be alone in this, even among Depeche Mode fans, but I really like Dressed in Black. Alan Wilder really is working his magic on that giving it a really sumptuous quality. Perhaps they consider it a throwaway ditty but I often come back to it.
@Black-Celebration
But Not Tonight was included in an American movie called Modern Girls (me neither) and because of this it was also included on the American version of Black Celebration. Their American record label, Sire, decided to make Stripped the b-side to But Not Tonight rather than the other, intended, way around. The band, needless to say, were not happy about this. They considered the song filler material. The single did not chart. Thank you, Wikipedia.
I´ve Always thought I´ve been able to tell who´s singing what. Maybe I´ve been wrong. Gore has more vibrato and mostly sings ballads. More vulnerable. You wouldn´t mistake something like Wrong for being Gore. Nor would you mistake Somebody for being Gahan.
Agree. Depeche aren’t really a band in the traditional sense- it’s basically Martin (and much later Dave) writing the songs – Vince Clarke and Daniel Miller did most of the music on Speak and Spell, and then after that it was mostly Alan Wilder with Daniel and Gareth Jones doing most of the heavy lifting up to and including ‘Songs of Faith and Devotion’. When Alan left they’ve had to rely on various producers/programmers (Flood, Mark Bell etc) to put the tunes together with Martin – and they’ve had to draft in 2 people to replace Alan on stage.
Very true. It’s a duo filled out by whoever they’re currently working with – and Fletch.
Brian Jones became pretty pointless in his later years with The Stones.
Live, these days, Keef????
Certainly so, a few years back. But not so on their most recent tour, reportedly.
Didn’t Howard Jones have a mime artist? I recall also he had a vegetarian dog…
Jed!
Ah yes, Jed literally threw off his mental chains.
Ooo Ooo Ooo
One day Jed, Cressa, Bez and Stacia will form a supergroup.
Chains, E’s, Maracas & Knockers.
That deserved better.
It did very well in Twin Peaks
…but it made my EYES HURT
Should’ve called themselves The Es Jugs and Maracas Chain…
Bravo!
(geddit? Bra – vo?)
I’ll get me preposterously big t-shirt
In all the early Split Enz film clips, Noel Crombie seems to be standing around doing not terribly much – he was apparently responsible for their wardrobe and hair, among other things, and I’m told that in concert he had a solo turn playing the spoons. After drummer Mal Green got the boot (for daring to release his own solo single) Noel took over behind the kit for the rest of the Enz’s run.
Lol Tolhurst fromThe Cure?
Someone to scream at whilst recording your vocals?
Ronnie.
Does anyone have any evidence that he’s ever brought anything to the party except the party?
You kidding me? He’s fantastic, miles better than his successors Graham, Joe, Doogie, or current incumbent, the second Ronnie. Or perhaps that’s who you’re referring to? The second Ronnie?
No idea who you are on about.
I’m talking about the Stones’ passenger for the last few decades.
If you can guess who I’m on about, without cheating, you can win a sandwich toaster. And perhaps even a dog*.
* Depending on how fast you are and when my neighbours get back from their hols.
I worried about this for a while before I replied, so, no, I’m afraid I can’t even start to make a bid for the sandwich toaster, and I already have two perfectly fine little mutts, thanks. Hope the neighbours haven’t left their dog behind while on their hols, the swine!
They have a dogsitter, but I reckon she’s an easily-hoodwinked fool.
I put on about two stone when I had a sandwich toaster. Cheese toasties are the work of Satan.
“You have to butter the outside of the bread… it says in the instructions!”
Play my game and win a dog!
I like dogs. They are perfectly agreeable creatures.
In other people’s houses.
Heavily soundproofed.
At all times.
Not exactly what I have written on the card, but it’ll do. (The answer I had in mind was “Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow”, but I think “I like dogs. They are perfectly agreeable creatures. In other people’s houses. Heavily soundproofed. At all times.” is close enough. Dog’s yours. In the post the second I can be arsed.
…he can fetch me a newspaper on the way.
PS. I live in a comic.
Bernard Manning?
Assuming those guns really are fake, dare we mention the Security of the First World?
They had swords rather than guns when I saw them live (back in 2001). I suspect that as those uzis weigh a ton it’s easier on your luggage allowance.
Moving the topic sideways a bit, wasn’t Davey O’List a pointless member of The Nice? Not wishing to be unfair to the nifty guitarist of the first album, but his role was made redundant by dominance of Keith Emerson’s keyboards, and the band themselves sidelined him.
Whatsisname who wrote crappy lyrics for early King Crimson. He was a band member, wasn’t he?
Pete Sinfield. I had thought of him, hell, even bought his “solo” album, “Still*” on, obviously, Manticore records, but I didn’t because I wanted to include him as a job lot with Keith Reid, the lyrics member for Procol Harum, which then set me thinking quite where that Bernie Tiepin sat.
*Dreadful nonsense.
Paul Morley was listed as a member of the Art of Noise when they were on ZTT. Crikey!
Wasn’t he credited with ‘metaphors’ on the sleeve notes?
I’m not a violent man – but if that’s correct, he needed a good slap.
Pete Sinfield – author of Land Of Make Believe for Bucks Fizz, Rain or Shine for Five Star and Think Twice for Celine Dion
“Have mystical pen, will write lyrics to order. In the Court Of the Crimson Pop (Pap?) Charts”
I think Pete Sinfield was also their lighting/light show man in the very early days.
Bucks Fizz? Well, I never knew that…
Pete Sinfield. What a boring life he’s led compared to mine.
I could have written the lyrics for Cat Food, produced Roxy Music’s first album, married a Miss Spain model, contributed to ELP’s worst ever album, co-written with the supreme Gary Brooker whilst churning out “I Believe in Father Christmas” and written songs for Celine Dion, Cher, Cliff Richard, Leo Sayer, Five Star and Bucks Fizz, if only they’d asked.
According to Wikipedia… “Hearing Donovan’s opening line of “Colours”: “Yellow is the colour of my true love’s hair”‘ was, Sinfield stated, the defining moment when he decided he had the desire and ability to start writing songs.”
So in essence (to essence) Donovan invented Pete Sinfield.
Give that man a peerage, for services to everything, everywhere.
Viscount DONOVAN Of Atlantis has a certain ring, don’t you think?
I think Adrian Wright out of the Human League was officially the band’s slide operator – he had a slide projector and his images were the backdrop to their shows. He’s in the Don’t You Want Me video.
The two girls were essentially taken on as dancers, IIRC…interesting line-up, that band.
This far down the list and I’m surprised that no one had nominated Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman, the Pet Shop Pointless
I remember now. That hey hey hey heyyy refrain is from (Keep Feeling) Fascination by the Human League. I can get on with my life now.
Shacho, from Japanese jazzers “Soil & “Pimp” Sessions” (see clip on the electric jazz/wild ‘n’ wooly jazz thread) doesn’t appear to actually do anything musically within the group.
His official role is designated “Agitator, Spirit”, whatever that means.
In the clip he just sits motionless in an armchair as everyone else leaps about.
I watched the ‘Concert for George’ again the other week. What I was struck by was how little the percussionist Ray Cooper actually does. He mainly seemed to shake a tambourine and despite standing behind a bunch of congas he never seemed to hit any of them. At one point he did hit the cymbals like drummers generally do at the end of the song (there were at least two other drummers on stage doing it too. I often wonder if this is done to wake the audience up and remind them to start clapping).
Despite all of this he seemed to be on tour with everyone in the 70/80’s, so he must’ve done something right. Was he the Bez for early seventies British rock stars?
Gillian Gilbert ?
She get’s quite a hard time of it in Hookys New Order book. I am hoping she does her memoirs at some point so I can have the full set* & it would be interesting to hear her perspective on a lot of it.
* Ranked it would be Hookys first, Stephen second & then Barneys last.
Mainly wrote their only no. 1 hit apparently (World in Motion), the tune at least
As this thread has been resurrected, I’d just like to say that I think Bez was a very important member of the Happy Mondays. the people I knew who saw them live said that you couldn’t keep your eyes off him. Take him out of the Happy Mondays and they’re a superior indie band. Put him in and they have star power.
They’re playing my local theatre in the spring (support form Inspiral Carpets and Stereo MCs). I’m very tempted.
Mine too. Having seen all three live in their prime, I’m tempted to go for the supports and leave before the main act.
I saw Stereo MCs blow both EMF and the Mondays offstage.
Ooh matron.