In 1987, in between the first and second Fine Young Cannibals albums, David Steele and Andy Cox made a house record (Roland Gift was off making Sammy And Rosie Get Laid). The name they used for the record, Two Men A Drum Machine And A Trumpet, is a pretty good description of the sound of the single (except it should also include Robert Mitchum somewhere in there as it is he who provides the vocal sample). It’s a decent slice of early house by two men who went from The Beat to FYC, always doing stuff that was interesting and good for dancing to.
This performance from Top Of The Pops in January 1988 is good fun- Andy and David miming guitar and bass, a couple of dancers with nifty footwork, Yazz looking very cool on keytar, a dj/percussionist, a trumpeter (miming badly) and a Humphrey Bogart lookalike (miming badly).
I know (and agree) that the first Velvet Underground album is the one and that the third is the secret best one (it is) and that White Light White Heat is the furthest out one but I think Loaded is the one I play the most. It sounded out of this world listening to it last night. It’s also the most contentious, what with Lou Reed moaning for several decades after it was released that it was remixed and re-edited without his knowledge and that Sweet Jane had a verse missing and that his name came third in the list of writers and that John Cale left during it’s sessions and that Mo Tucker didn’t even play on it because she was pregnant and that Velvets fans don’t like Doug Yule at all. But look at the tunes. And the playing. And I love this song, with the autograph hunter, Robert Mitchum and the fat blonde actress.
Bagging Area 