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 Hi, For years I'd been hoping that Women and Captains First would come out on CD and eventually paid some absurd amount of money for the Japanese release. Only to find that the angelic laughter at the end of Croydon had been EDITED OUT. A full minute of that beautiful fade-out had been amputated. Then, for years hoped that Women and Captains First would be re-released on CD and lo and behold, Cherry Red to the rescue. Only to find it carried the same sadly shortened edit of Croydon. Also, what was making them laugh? It was the perfectest ending...
I live in Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA. You should do a gig in Boston or Cambridge (the other Cambridge) - you really should.
P.S. Thank you for all the excellent music. Thanks for Croydon, Martha the Mouth, Glad It's All Over, Kamikaze Millionaire, The Toys Take Over, Wake Up, and most of all, Holiday in My Heart. It really brightens up the place.
John Partridge, Wellesley, MA, USA
 You are right..... the giggling at the end of Croydon has been faded out. DISGRACEFUL! I can only presume that Cherry Red copied the Japanese version.
My involvement in the Cherry Red A+M reissues was limited to sleevenotes and running order suggestions on 'Power Of Love' and I have to say that finding this out is a bit of a pisser. I know it's only a small thing but how dare whoever it was make decisions like that without consulting the artist.
Dolly Mixture (watch out for a long overdue reissue of THEIRS soon) were always laughing about something or other in the studio.... It made the sessions an absolute joy to do. That's why we left that bit on the fade of Croydon for the world to hear.
By the way, I am planning to do a handful of 'Captain' gigs at some point in the future with the aim of recreating my wonderful 80s solo material in all it's glory. Band lineup, setlist, and the like are at the front of my mind currently.
'Brenda', 'Glad It's All Over', 'Martha The Mouth'...... how exciting! |
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Dear Captain, I wonder if you could tell me where the Scheherazade violin in Curtain Call was taken from. I've got a couple of versions but none sound as raw as this.
Matt Brown, London
I agree.... the fiddle playing on Curtain Call is absolutely possessed. Who it was we have no recollection unfortunately but it is a bit of an ambition of ours to recreate the whole of Curtain Call live (including manic violin section) at some time in the future. |
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A certain Mr Robert Fripp has spoken some nice words about the good Captain over at his online diary - read here. Doesn't that just give you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside?
Irble, Australia
What a nice chap! While we were doing a Euro TV show one day which his band were also on he promised to jam onstage with us at the Hammersmith Odeon the next week. We'd forgotten all about it until Mr F turned up at the show with the jolly old Les Paul under his arm proceeding to jump up for some gratuitous fret twiddling during the encore.
What got me was that before the show, while we were joshing about having the odd beer in the dressing room the great man got his guitar out and started practicing scales saying that it made the fingers supple for the performance. This was a new one for me as until then I'd always thought of it as whatever happens happens, warts and all, etc. I have since revised my opinion seeing as it all ends up on YouTube these days...... especially the MISTAKES!
Needless to say working with Robert Fripp (he also played synth guitar on our 'Fun Factory' track) was a bit of a thrill for us as 'The Court Of The Crimson King' is one of the most groundbreaking albums ever made (check out '20th Century Schizoid Man') and a firm favorite of the band - so it is indeed nice that the he remembers us with affection also. |
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Hi Captain,
1. What was the idea of the in-between audio between most tracks on the album, where we hear a discussion going on and a clarinette (or soprano sax) playing in the background? Why only on Side A, not on Side B of the vinyl? As a kid I thought it's a recording from a bar near a fictional port where the ship from the album cover is anchored (*laughs* the fantasy of one's childhood), but as a grown-up I think it sounds like a recording session where you sat down with Tony Mansfield (?), Robyn Hitchcock and some other guys, discussing the production of the album tracks, and this was recorded by co-incidence. What's the real story behind it? Also, what are you talking about there? I hear something about "headphones" just before WOT.
2. The sound at the end of Nice Cup Of Tea always scared me as a little kid! But now as a composer myself, I think it's a cool distorted sound loop that fits perfectly there. Where did the sound come from (if your remember)?
3. Were Brenda Part 1 and 2 originally supposed to be two tracks? Where exactly is the second part starting (3:43)? What was the idea behind it (defining it as Part 1 and 2 and doing a kind of medley) instead of producing two seperated tracks for the album? Who is Brenda? Was she a love interest at that time? I'm loving the track so much, inspired me as a kid and I still listen to it nowadays as musical inspiration.
4. What are the repeated lyrics supposed to mean at the end of Brenda? As a kid I understood "Brenda stands a little rent".
5. Please tell me the lyrics on Yanks with Guns, I mean the radio voice at 3:40 (But they did it..... they did the impossible....) can't understand further. Why was this included? Thanks for any anecdotes you can tell from the time when the album was produced.
6. What's the name of the "patriotic" military-like radio song starting at Yanks with Guns, 4:19? And more importantly: the crash sound at the end of the track, how and why was it done? The radio explodes? :) Me and my brothers are still imitating that patriotic radio song and crash sound by mouth and still laughing about it 27 years after the LP's release! Please shed some light on it here! Thanks so much!
7. Croydon: Again, as a young lad I was scared of the beginning of the track (the radio quality vocals), I presume it's just a "flawed" take of the Croydon vocals that you kept for the final version? I still can't make out all the lyrics, but something funny seemed to have happened at 00:43, because you start laughing, what are you saying there?
Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer my questions, it's highly appreciated because the album means a lot for me. It's part of my childhood! I remember children's birthday parties of mine, with WOT, Martha the Mouth and Gimme a Uniform playing from MC or LP. Looking very much forward to reading your answers! Sorry for the long email. Captain, you rock!
Fabian, Germany
Thanks Fabian..... I enjoyed your email which made me dredge through my fond memories of that period, here we go with the answers:
1) We persuaded The Beale St Jazz Band to join us in the studio after watching a pub gig of theirs one night while recording my 'Women And Captains First' album. The couple of cases of Youngs Ale we purchased from the bar helped I reckon.... and we recorded 'Nobody's Sweetheart Now' that night.
Unbeknown to them we kept a tape running of their chiity chat while setting up their gear which ran nicely between the tracks on side 1 of the album. Guessing that the novelty would have worn off by the n we ditched it for side 2 but listening back it DOES have that bar room vibe to it. Jazzers do like a drink of course!
2) It's the guitar going through my Roland Space Echo unit... with feedback turned right up giving a psychedelic mind trip effect. The same as you hear when sniffing solvents funnily enough - not that I've ever tried THAT as it's particularly hazardous to one's health, ahem!
3) While recording with the Damned at Rockfield in Wales I got the engineer to link up a mic and the vox continental organ to a revox tape machine as I felt a song was about to happen.
The whole thing just splurged out in one take - although with just a simple la-la'd melody - the lyrics came later after I'd sent a copy to Robyn Hitchcock. It was never intended to be split into 2 parts, that was someone from A+Ms idea.
I love the track, as did a buncha radio stations in Italy where it got a fair amount of play.
The riff in Brenda Part 2 was inspired in part by an album called 'Elastic Rock' by Nucleus, which included the excellent Chris Spedding in it's ranks at the time.
4) It's actually 'Brenda's tent's a little cramped' - ask Robyn about the meaning. He has pointed at several people claiming they were the inspiration for 'Brenda', the Queen, Thatcher, and a former girlfriend. Who can say. By the way, I intend to recreate 'Brenda' live in all it's glory on some solo gigs in the not too distant future.
5) How many macho action films can Hollywood make before we tell them to bog off? Well, that is precisely what I was saying with this song. The sample you refer to is a clip from one of these daft gun crazed blockbusters... it could be any as they are all interchangeable.
6) Another movie sample here.... the ridiculous patriotic music is interrupted by the sound of a shotgun (how appropriate) I believe.
7) This is actually Robyn Hitchcock, my songwriting collaborator telling me his ideas for the song in a phone conversation. We recorded the call to decipher the lyrics - splicing a piece on to the front end of the song during the mix for weirdness sake. 'Weird' was by far our favorite word during these recording sessions.... we tried to include plenty of off the wall ideas on the records, stuff that other artists would have avoided. This was a lot of fun I can tell you.
ATTENTION READERS, CYNICAL CAPITALIST MESSAGE FOLLOWS:
Signed copies of the wonderful re-released 'Women And Captains First' CD are available from our merch page. |
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Hi Captain, Why don't you buy yourself some nice The Damned rocker patches here. I have photographic evidence of your shenanigans at my mate Ade's house circa '97 or thereabouts when you stayed at his pad in Sheffield and trashed his Christmas tree.
Catherine
Yes, I try to avoid Xmas like the plague these days and sometimes when confronted with the inane paraphernalia I can go a little berserk. The music too drives me to the brink.... except one little ditty the name of which escapes me ('Xmas Catalog' perhaps - Tintin).
Nice patches BTW. |
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Dear Captain, I live in the United f***ing States of America and I wake up wondering every day if I fell out of a bad dream and into Cloud Cuckoo Crazy Creepy-Christian Conservative WingNut Land! Our country right now is larded with fat, uneducated people who get to express their incoherent rage on TV and radio because Corporate Media has an agenda to keep us all uninformed (and because they are secretly attracted to these types). The South apparently wants to rise again - many Southern States are threatening to secede from the Union. I say good riddance - go run South Amercia, you'll feel right at home. What will most likely happen though is that we'll to slap them down again - and this time I think we should put them on probation.
I know there are sane people living here, because they listen to the same progressive radio stations I do, but they have begun to take heavier doses of their prescription meds to keep the shock and awe of daily life from overwhelming them. My take is that this is what we get for letting this country be founded by religious fanatics. Yours?
P.S. Once many years ago the Damned played in Finchley Park or somewhere like that, and a bunch of us got locked into the park so you helped me climb over the fence (I had on spike boots and vampire gear). I've adored you ever since.
I have MANY chums in the USA, a great country that has given the world so much in it's young life.... stuff like rock n roll, pop art, space exploration, beat literature, etc, etc.
Unfortunately it is possible via powerful media corporations to control the minds of enough gullible people to ensure that successive governments are in the hands of mega rich vested interests. And who are they then? Check out US policies, home and abroad.... who do they benefit.... ? |
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Hi Cap, what the devil is going on with the Blah Party site? I thought it would be a buzz of activity at election time. I notice there isn't a Twitter link on the site either. I was hoping to tick the box 'The Captain', but I guess you never even ran for the local elections-bummer! As they still aren't gonna supply us with what EVERYONE wants, the ' None Of The Above' box, then I guess I'll have to plump for the most far left option available hehe, if I can be arsed to go vote, given the options...
Tracy (AKA Blytheringidiot, Captainludd)
You are 100% correct Tracy.... the Blah! Party should have been a flurry of activity in the recent elections but I am notorious for my organizational incapacity. My skills are in other areas.... jumping on soapboxes and ranting being an obvious example.
So if anybody fancies helping out the Blah! Party please get in touch.... and don't worry, we won't be banging on peoples doors asking for support or anything, it's really just a fun internet based way of getting over some serious and occasionally radical ideas for sorting out the mess this country finds itself in.
Volunteers welcome (email via 'askcap') |
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Mr Sensible. As you are such a top notch guitarist, I see that you have played many different makes and models over the years, from Viola bass, Fender bass, Gibson non reverse thunderbird, Vox phantom, Hohner headless, various Gibson SG's etc etc etc. My question is what has been your favourites and worst over the years and what has happened to all the great axes you have played, Broken,stolen lost etc. Cheers. Looking forward to the tour.
NWILLI, Thetford
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I've been a Damned disciple since 1977 and a bass player for nearly that long. Could you tell me what was the make of bass you are holding on the cover of New Rose? What was the make of the viola bass you used to play and did you use either to record the first album. All the best Captain; thanks for all the brilliant times and memories, you inspired me to play bass and I still rate your playing.
DazBold, London
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Well I have been putting up with your nonsense for the last 30 years so I thought I may as well drop you a line. How about letting us know what guitars you own.
Ross, Cheam
PS How do you get to Shepherds Bush...Up the....You fill in the rest
PPS Can you send me a signed Gibson SG please.
Thanks NWILLI, DazBold and Ross.... your comments are very much appreciated. Here's some of my favourite guitars that I've owned:
1st guitar - Futurama with switches.... I called it the 'magic guitar' 'cos it was so easy to learn on I thought it had strange powers. Gone.
2nd guitar - Fender Telecaster with humbuckers. Gone.
3rd Burns bass, because 'that guitars got my name on it' (on cover of 'New Rose' sleeve). Location unknown.
4th Gibson SG because Brian James made it the sound of the Damned. No other guitar works for the material.... I've tried loads and come to this conclusion.
Here's some of my fave guitars from later in the career..............
Yamaha MSG. Very nice design, used for solo projects and gigs. Stolen.
ESP Ltd Vipers (several). Gibson SG clone and my sponsors. These has been my stage guitars for many years now.
Tamariya guitars of Tokyo have made me several exceptional custom models using top range parts to my spec.
Of the others the Gibson Firebird / Thunderbird got swapped for a Sega Megadrive in a studio, the Hohner and Yamaha got nicked and the Fender and Viola basses got smashed to pieces. |
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Hi Captain. I was recently watching a Damned live video which, as an encore, featured a version of 'Seagulls' (with drums no less) - it sounded awesome, and dare I say, every bit as good as Smash It Up Part 1. Now you must have played Smash It Up 1 about a zillion times by now, how come you never played 'Seagulls' more?
Second point is I think 'Don't Trouble Trouble' really is up there with the best of The Damned's output from '79, from its 'Therapy' intro, through to its 'Suicide'esque verse and tight bridge into its HEAVY epic, stomping solo. Whatever became of this song and how come it didn't become a standard in the bands reportoire at the time?
Final question, what is the story behind 'These Hands' - a bizarre little song and quite unlike anything else by The Damned. Who wrote it? Any chance of ever getting to hear your version of 'The Sun Aint Gonna Shine Anymore'? Rat said it was really good, until the vocals went on it. Thanks for your time!
Wayne Zenith
Seagulls live? I've no recollection, someone get it up on YouTube.... I wanna see THAT!
'Don't Trouble Trouble', and 'The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore' - I don't have copies of them either. You people know more than I on some of this stuff.
Ah, now 'These Hands' I CAN help you with.....it's 100% Mr Vanian. He can write great original songs when he puts his mind to it. He was good with spooky sound effects too knowing exactly which rooms had the right acoustics to use. Sometimes an office would be commandeered.... or an stables.... or a toilet. All activity would stop when Vanian and engineer marched in with cables and mics, etc. |
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Hey Cap, Are there any songs that The Damned just will NOT play in concert anymore or ever again? And do you have a personal favorite Damned song?
Brett, Cincinnati, OH, USA
There's some on MFP I don't think I'd want to play (or listen to) again. Although with a remix the album MAY scrub up well... who can say until the ghastly clean production is stripped away? All those noise gates, resonant filters and chorus effects were completely unnecessary IMHO. My personal fave is 'Dark Asteroid' for the 10 minute psychedelic freak out. We were going to edit it down for the album but none of it actually seemed to be superfluous at the end of the day. If Neu's 'Hallogallo', Hawkwind's 'You Shouldn't Do That' and Stereolab's 'Jenny Ondioline' can explore hypnotic space rock then why not the Damned? |
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Dear Captain Sensible,
(1) Do you have any idea how perfect you sound on (and off) psychedelics?
(2) More importantly, is there any way to get "A Day in Life" on CD or MP3? (I love my vinyl, but no longer have equipment on which to play it).
Thank you for the memories, Captain Sensible! You're the very best!
Glow, San Francisco, CA, USA
Thanks Carrie, the good news is Cherry Red have reissued my 2 80s albums on CD for 1st time since vinyl.... I'm thrilled! |
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Hi Captain, What can you tell us about the 'Damned But Not Forgotten' album B-side which contains a bunch of interesting demos.. In particular I am wondering about the track 'Take Me Away' - apparently it is Mr Karloff himself on vocals - but who on earth is playing lead guitar on the track?
The track 'Some Girls Are Ugly Too' is an absolute favourite of mine. But I am curious as to why you borrowed/stole the lead guitar solo from Wait For The Blackout for this one? Unless that is Some Girls Are Ugly actually predates Blackout? Mhmmmm.... Thanks in advanc.
Barry, Chichester
Rat's mate Billy Karloff (who had a band called the Extremes I think) co wrote and sang that one. I'm pretty sure I played guitar although it was the first 'boogie beat' tune I'd attempted until then.... or since. (Status WHO?? - Tintin)
We'd spend a lot of time creating songs at RMS Studios next door to Crystal Palace FC ground..... some ideas would get recycled from unused tracks. 'Some Girls' was consigned to the bin but the solo resurrected for 'Blackout'. That's probably what happened - unless there's a Damned boffin out there who knows better..... |
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Hello. A few years ago, there was talk of a stage version of The Universe Of Geoffrey Brown. Would you still like to see this happen, or has the moment passed?
Who would be your ideal choices to play the parts?
Also, I've often wondered what S.2. and Lib2/3, from Revolution Now, mean.
Finally, what the flip are the lyrics after "Hatching shadowy schemes" in Dr, Woofenstein?
Gareth, Cardiff
The Comic Strip had Geoffrey Brown on their list of possible future films but it didn't happen. A movie maker called Martin Gooch has written a complete script for it which puts flesh and bones on the characters, bringing the whole story to life. I hope it DOES see the light of day as a film because it's a good story with an important message (don't destroy the planet you f****g idiots).
My knowledge of actors / actresses is zero (life's too short) so won't attempt a casting.
S.2. is the 2nd sad piece I've written apon hearing of someones death. This one was for a family member..... the previous one was 'Smash It Up Pt 1' for Marc Bolan. Oh, and then there was 'The Limit Club' for Malcolm Owen.
Lib 2/3 is probably the working title on the tape box.
The 'Woofenstein' lyric is inspired by shadowy Whitehouse advisors - plenty to choose from recently.... all modern day Dr Strangeloves. |
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Dear Captain, I would really like to hear about your involvement with Mick Ronson, how you met him and when. I read you borrowed a pedal from him, and I've heard a rumour Bowie managed you for a short time. Is this true? If so, when was this, and for how long? Are you a fan of Bowie and Mick Ronson?
Iain, Edinburgh
We'd bump into some of the days 'rock stars' in places like the Speakeasy and Marquee clubs. Sociable types like Phil Lynott, Boz Burell, Pete Watts would buy an impoverished young punk a beer occasionally. Somehow we managed to persuade Mick Ronson to loan us his hot rodded Mesa Boogie Mk 1 amp and it has to be said the sound it gave us on Machine Gun Ettiquette is second to none. So much so that I did subsequently purchase my own Mesa amp - but it just didn't sound the same, soddit!
I am of the persuasion that you can count classic Bowie tracks on the fingers of one hand..... some great early records but lost his way pretty rapidly after that. And the torn union jack jacket he wore on one of his more recent album sleeves - how cringesome is that?
No, Bowie never managed us. Can you imagine Bowie and Algy Ward having a 'discussion' over a few pints down the Dog and Bull in Croydon market? Laughs...
Ronson WAS a spectacular guitarist though. |
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Cap, how do you decide what to put in a set-list? Considering the very diverse fan-base brought about by an equally diverse back-catalogue it must be very difficult to try and appease the fans and the band alike.
Andy, Truro
Yes, very difficult.... always going to upset someone who's fave has been overlooked. We are going to be a little more adventurous in future though - so be warned! |
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Hi Captain. On as recent tour, I noticed that were playing a different model Viper ESP Guitar, not the uisual Viper 301. What's the story there? How does this new ESP handle in comparison?
Second question; do you believe in ufo's, and if so, have you ever seen one?
The Marlin
I just play 'em.... Jon the guitar tech sets them up and hands them to me onstage. I'm not trusted to fiddle about with gear as I wouldn't know one end of the guitar from the other. Same applies to amps - I have to admit simply haven't got a clue and have to rely on boffins to keep the show on the road. The 'riffmeister' (BJ) was of a similar persuasion.
No, while I DO believe in alien life forms around the Universe, probably in abundance UFOs were a CIA invention to hide their new fighter and spy plane technology from the Ruskies, as was explained in a recent TV documentary.
(I think you are referring to Channel 4s 'UFOs: The Secret Evidence' Cap - Tintin, links here and here) |
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Captain, I have had the 'women and captains first' album since the original release all those years ago, and have just recently got it on cd. Can you tell me who 'martha the mouth' was about? as I am sure I used to know, but now nearly hitting 50 my memory has let me down.
Billy
As Tricky Dicky himself said "If it hadn't been for Martha Mitchell, there'd have been no Watergate."
Another quote anyone? Let's hear from Nixon's right hand man Henry Kissinger..... "The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer."
Made for each other! |
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Dear Captain, I am very undecided about who to vote for. I know you are very knowledgeable in politics, and I wonder who you would recommend voting for and why, as I do value your opinion on these matters, as I consider you to be a very intelligent and sensible guy. If I could vote for the Blah party I would. Many thanks and hope to hear your opinions.
Frances
Thanks Frances, of course I am NOT actually that knowledgeable about politics being a humble guitar player by trade but I do read the papers with interest and a healthy skepticism as spin and bias are everywhere. I was tremendously lucky to have got into Croydon's Stanley Technical School... a wonderful place that instilled in me the duty that we all should have to ourselves.... to test theories, ideas, beliefs and the like to ultimately search for answers and truth.
You can apply the scientific principals of the laboratory to almost anything - like a TV ad, or a political speech for example. Are they telling porkies.... does the statement hold water..... or is it turning the truth on it's head. Like the Orwellian name that is the 'Ministry Of Defense' - which is in fact of course the 'Ministry Of War'.
So, I can spot a liar a mile off which is why I rarely watch TV news bulletins for fear of lobbing a brick through the screen.
Who to vote for then? Well, the Greens got in in Brighton and they have no blood on their hands - which is the thing that would stop me voting for any of the 'war' parties (Lab, Lib, Con).
Blah! is a semi serious anti rotten politics campaign but if they DID change the voting system to Proportianal Representation making it more democratic (come on Clegg, stand up for yourself!) I might even be persuaded to stand for election sometime. What fun! |
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Hello Captain, I've been a fan of yours since your first records. Suitably inspired, I too am a guitarist and have a question for you. When I saw you play live you had a Marshall but I couldn't tell which one. I've got a 50 watt Marshall JCM 900 SLX which is quite good (and goes upto 20) but I like your sound better. What would you recommend for a good sound?
Jasper Plankbadger
As I said I'm not very 'up' on amps.... but I managed to get a reasonable sound out of a Line 6 Pod XT Pro preamp thru a Marshall 9200 stereo power amp and 4 by 12 speaker cab.
The May / June UK tour I used a Marshall TSL 60 thru a 4 by 12 with a Ibanez tube screamer, wah and an echo pedal. In my opinion a lot of the guitar tone, response, etc comes from the height of the pickup in relation to the strings. You gotta get it just right.... too high and it's all distortion and bluster.... too low and there's not enough oomph. Finding the 'sweet spot' for the material is SO important.
But that's enough techie stuff for now, there might be a drummer viewing. |
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Hi Captain, As we're all aware you enjoy a nice cup of tea, but which is your prefered type?
I , after many moments of experimentation, have settled for 2 Assam to 1 Earl Grey mix. This is a good hangover settler and lasts well in a flask. Please I'm looking forward to your views on this very important subject? Cheers me ansom.
Marky, Camborne, Cornwall where the trains don't stop Wednesdays.
I was getting leaf tea from a specialist shop that has recently closed down. Using a pyrex cafetiere you can really see the tea brewing and control the strength easily.
But laziness and convenience has me back to using tea bags nowadays..... using the likes of Good Earth and Clipper organic brands generally but sometimes Typhoo and PG Tips. Er, are we boring anyone? Rooibos is nice too for times when caffeine is not required. |
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