Have we done this before?
Dog Trumpet have just released this lovely ode to Ray Davies and The Kinks
For those unfamiliar with Dog Trumpet. they are NZ born/Sydney resident brothers Chris and Peter O’Doherty – Chris is better known as artist Reg Mombassa, responsible for many iconic images for the Mambo clothing label in the 80s. They were both co-founders of the band Mental As Anything who had huge hits in Australia and possibly overseas in the 80s and 90s.
Dog trumpet’s latest album “Shadowland” continues in the spirit of its predecessors, great pop songs and some quirky anger from Reg. I’ll post one in the comments
But more to the point, any other songs about bands?I do have a niggling feeling we’ve done this before…
Dog Trumpet – “Nina Simone”
“In 1987 I was on tour in London visiting a friend from Sydney who was living there at the time. We spent a few days together looking at the sites, going to galleries, combing second hand shops and markets. One Sunday she bought shoes and I bought her a book and Nina Simone’s first record Little Girl Blue which we took back to her bedsit. Little did we know we’d still be together today.” – Peter O’Doherty
I tried to post Reg Mombassa’s song “F*cking Idiots” but of course it’s “age restricted”. Presumably to people over 61 and a half…
This classic. He was well placed to comment having been on the Factory scene and friends with the band. His contribution to their documentary is true fandom well expressed.
And the Rockingbirds did one about him.
A fan of Dog Trumpet here, ‘Shadowland’ is a great album but I can say that about their discography. If you like tunes and good songwriting these guys have it.
The self-referential stream – The Ballad Of Mott The Hoople (by Mott The Hoople)
Them got there first, I suspect: ‘The Story of Them’, which first appeared in 1968 – a mere two to three years after the career being mythologised.
Dylan – Song to Woody , Roll On John
Cat Power – Song to Bobby
Song for Bob Dylan – David Bowie
Two by Luke Haines – Lou Reed Lou Reed and Peter Hammill
Irish folk/country guy Mick Hanly has a memorable song on his 1991 album called ‘The Fabulous Thunderbirds’ – written with brio after seeing them play in the US. I can recall it from seeing him in concert in the mid 90s – though it’s not on YouTube.
I can think of plenty of songs about / named after individual musicians – indeed, I’ve written/recorded several myself (‘Blues for the Mahavishnu’, ‘Steven Kindler’, ‘The King is Dead’ [Brian Houston], ‘Make Your Own World’ [Bert Jansch], ‘Hebridean Seas in Winter (For Seamus Ennis)’, ‘Aztec Energy’ [Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs]…)
Here’s one written by Terry Cox for legendary NYC street musician ‘Moondog’ and featured on a 1968 Pentangle album – performed entirely solo.
Neil Young did Buffalo Springfield Again, a touching ode to his own former band.
The drolly titled “‘The Bride Stripped Bare’ by The Bachelors” from the Bonzos
Manfred Mann – The One In The Middle
…and, of course, “5-4-3-2-1”.
This one sprang to mind. Rodney Crowell’s tribute to Johnny Cash. Great video too.
And this one of course.
The Freshies – I Can’t Get Bouncing Babies by the Teardrop Explodes
Half Man Half Biscuit – Eno Collaboration and God knows how many others.
To choose but one…
I never tire of listening to that. What a songwriting genius!
(Different anecdote) I revel in the memory of singing along to that full throttle with half the Executive Committee of ASLEF.
Let’s not stop at one HMHB song. How about this – references to Chas ‘n’ Dave and Crispy Ambulance.
Sits back and waits for @thecheshirecat to post anecdote…
See also their song about Climie-Fisher?
Mary oh Mary
Quite ordinary
Tell me how does your CD collection grow
With Sade and Whitney
Vandross and T’Pau
Everything’s AOR
“After the Identical Cocteau Twins, came the final act, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Focus. Following a commendable stab at Sylvia, Helen shouted to the guitarist: “Are you knackered, man?” To which he replied: “No, I’m Jan Akkerman”.”
Tour Jacket with Detachable Sleeves
“I’m off to see the Bootleg Beatles, as the bootleg Mark Chapman”
When The Evening Sun Goes Down
Both Bob Dylan and Muddy Waters did songs about the Rolling Stones……
And, in 1963, Prince Buster did one about Madness.
Stiff Little Fingers call out a tribute to Joe Strummer
Apparently Bob Dylan heard Heart Of Gold on the radio and thought, hey someone’s stealing my act so he was moved to write may you stay Forever Young. I.e. do your own thing.
There’s a thread. Songs that are about something other than what they seem to be about.
A quick search and this came up
Lovely tribute to Brian Wilson by Tears For Fears.
Love the piano on that song…
Returning to Julian Cope with ‘Bill Drummond Said’.
Not forgetting Van Morrison and ‘Jackie Wilson Said’.
How about “Julan Cope Is Dead” by Bill Drummond?
John Cale’s Mr Wilson is also about Brian. The chorus includes the lines
And you know it’s true
That Wales is not like Californ-i-a in any way
A bit of an undeserved slight on Barry Island ,but here it is anyway.
The Television Personalities had a song called Part Time Punks which name-checks Holly and the Italians and Gary Numan.
Also, I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives
There’s no need to show off about it.
The Traveling Wilburys’ Tweeter and the Monkey Man contains loads of references to Bruce Springsteen songs.
Before pedants leap in to say that Jersey Girl is a Tom Waits song, it had relatively recently appeared on Bruce’s Live 1975-85 box set which I assume is the reason for its inclusion (as well as it being another Jersey reference).
Life In A Northern Town by Dream Academy is apparently a tribute to Nick Drake.
The song refers to The Beatles too.
Also for Nick Drake is J Martyn’s Solid Air.
Fairport’s ‘Take Away the Load (Sandy’s Song)’
Dave Pegg’s ‘Song to Sandy.’
Sandy wrote ‘Stranger to Himself’ about Swarb.
R Thompson in ‘Bone Through her Nose’ namechecks Scritti Politti.
Thommo also namechecks The Clash in “Tear Stained Letter”.
Well my head was beating like a song by The Clash
It was writing cheques that my body couldn’t cash
Got to my feet, I was reeling and dizzy
I went for the ‘phone but the line was busy
Just when I thought that things would get better
Right through the door come a tear-stained letter
Both he and Sandy Denny wrote songs about Annie Briggs.
Thommo’s song was “Beeswing”. Sandy’s was “Bushes And Briars”.
I think you mean ‘The Pond and the Stream’.
I think I do, Colin.
Not sure if it’s what Mousey is looking for, but there’s a nice song on Lloyd Cole’s latest album called ‘The Idiot’. While it doesn’t mention David Bowie and Iggy Pop by name, it’s obviously about them and their decision to move to Berlin and kick their drug habits. It takes the form of Iggy addressing DB …
“I know that I’m not doing great
But you’re almost translucent”
The video even uses lookie-likies…
Jackie Leven has form for this, there are many references in his songs, here are a couple
He was enamoured with Judee Sill and this song is about her
He not only wrote a song about but also named an album after Johnny Cash
One for Townes …
And Jackie had some songs written about him, here are two by his friends Jinder and Michael Weston King and fellow performers who often joined him on the stage and the bar afterwards
I think I’m right in saying that Edwyn Collins once wrote and recorded one called ‘The Beatles.’
The world’s greatest band (The Undertones of course) namechecked the Human League in their biggest hit (#9 April 1980) My Perfect Cousin.
Yo La Tengo sing about being in a band, while also tipping the nod to Grand Funk Railroad on this copper-bottomed classic …
Charles Mingus put “Duke Ellington’s Sound Of Love” on two albums in the same year, 1975.
A long instrumental on “Changes One” and then a short vocal version on “Changes Two”.
Van Morrison, In “Hardnose The Highway” mentions Frank Sinatra and musical arranger Nelson Riddle.
“When Sinatra sings against Nelson Riddle Strings, then takes a vacation”.
See also: ABC’s When Smokey Sings.
A Girl Called Johnny, about Patti Smith, apparently. Also, brilliantly, Mike Scott didn’t play it for years because he’d borrowed the phrase “ashes and sand” and felt bad about it.
Jim Carroll’s Crow is also about Patti Smith.
It must be strange to just fall from the stage
And snap a bone that is so close to the brain
And be attended to by so many down below
I saw a doctor tie you up from so far above
And you start singing just like light through a black floor
You start sliding like burned skin to a side door
But Crow, when you throw yourself under
Singing’s hard when you can’t lose control
They don’t know, to them in the dark you don’t whisper nothin’
And they’re all gonna try and rip the wind from your soul
It must have been hard to be a cashier in a bookstore
And to be surrounded by the history of your true loves
And you’d get naked between the deep shelves in the backroom
And have your brain get tan by sharp fluorescent light tubes
And you start spinning like the pillars in the temple
You’d start screaming just like Sister Aimee Semple
It was so sweet when you brought donuts to the junkies
Hey, you’d give us something we’d go slip into our coffee
And we’d start reading lines from poems that didn’t matter
You covered me with blankets in the Chelsea Hotel lobby
And I’d start reachin’ for the scar along your belly
They’d start takin’ us ’cause winning is their hobby
The wonderful song “What’s the Drawback?” by the Silver Seas mentions “the magic chords in the ELO”. I’ve heard Daniel Tashian reveal that he just reversed the chords from Evil Woman for the song. Nice of him to acknowledge the steal.
An obvious one not mentioned so far:
Steely Dan – Parker’s Band
Also Was (Not Was) – Elvis’s Rolls Royce.
Two more from “That Richard Thompson” later:
“Al Bowlly’s In Heaven” and “Mingus Eyes”.
And ‘Madonna’s Wedding,’ ‘I Agree with Pat Metheney’ and allegedly ‘Geordie’ was about Sting., from RT
Steely Dan name checked The Eagles too.
Babcaygeon by The Tragically Hip references TMTCH. Playing at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, apparently.
“They changed my brain
And I made the Beatles appear
I made the Beatles appear
Out of nowhere”
Kathryn Williams: “Beatles”
Jings, guys, anything from this century?
boygenius.
Well as I saw him on Thursday night there’s this from L Thompson about a certain Mr Tams.
How have we got so far without mentioning this. “Guitar” George, of course, still in gainful employment as guitar tech for Teenage Fanclub
Have we mentioned The Beatles And The Stones by The House Of Love?
Beefhearts And Bones, by the late great Michael Marra, mentions many, many bands and artists being argued over by an acrimoniously parting couple.
Robert Plant once revealed that, due to an unfortunate previous experience, he always made sure after that, his records were always safely in the car before splitting up with a woman.
LCD Soundsystem have got Daft Punk to play a house concert.
Nice tribute from the Manics
For Amy Winehouse
Bo Diddley: »Hey Bo Diddley«
The Animals: »The Story Of Bo Diddley«
Willie Nile: »The Day I Saw Bo Diddley In Washington Square«