Thanks to the following for their contributions to the site: Raymond Allard, Boz Boorer, Brian, Cornelius, Ray Eden, Joe Giorgianni, Martin Gordon, Michael A. Green, John Hellier, Marietta T. Hülsken, Ivan Kocmarek, Mark, Chris Marshall, Cliff McLenehan, John Melbourne, Gavin Ross, Sonia & Matthew, Paul Thompson, Jeff Watt, Colin Wilcox, Steven Wright.
28 September 2009
Here's a report from Andy's recent gig written by Radio Stars webmaster Steve Wright.
Andy Ellison The Standard, Walthamstow, London September 18th 2009
Well they say ‘There is a first time for everything’, and on Friday September 18th I witnessed Andy Ellison in one place for just over 35 minutes. It seemed strange seeing him walk on stage with his Union-Jack acoustic guitar, but this was the ‘mild side’ of Andy Ellison. The ‘wild side’ was still to come from the ‘Godfather of Punk’ !! It was good to see Andy in all white and wearing his Ramones t-shirt too !! I had gone down to London for the gig from Yorkshire as I wanted to lend him my support, which is now in its 32nd year (Yes, I am old too !!). I was also doing the merchandise for Andy and T-Rextasy.
There was a great John’s Children family gathering as Andy’s daughters Jo-Jo and Tanzi came to support their Dad, along with his girlfriend Sharon. Sammi Townson, the eldest daughter of the late ‘great’ Chris Townson was also there too. Some of my friends also came along, Phil Madden, Kevin Hook and Julie Skattabu from Norway. Yes Julie came all the way from Norway to see Andy perform, and she was proudly wearing her Radio Stars website (www.radio-stars.com) badge !! She is still buzzing from the gig !!
Andy walked on stage to a big cheer and sat on his stool as “It Must Be Love” by Labi Siffre was pounding out of the PA. You would have expected the person in charge of things to have faded the song out so Andy could start his set, but he didn’t !! Andy said prior to starting things off with “Mustang Ford”, “That was the most exciting intro’ of all time !!” Andy thanked everyone for coming and the song got a rousing reception from the crowd. This was followed immediately by one of my favourite John’s Children songs “But She’s Mine”. Towards the end of the song Andy flicked his plectrum into the audience, then proceeded to do his ‘Joe Satriani impersonation’. He put a ‘stop’ at the end of it and this totally caught the audience out as they started applauding thinking it was the end of the song, but it wasn’t as Andy came back in !!
“Hippy Gumbo” was next, and Andy introduced it by saying that John’s Children used to rehearse the song with Marc in their club in Leatherhead and they had bought it as they had had some success in America with their debut release. Part way through talking Andy told the audience to ‘Shush’ as they were talking quite loudly, and rightly so and this got a big cheer !!
Andy’s debut 1967 solo single “It’s been A Long Time” followed, and Andy introduced it by saying that after John’s Children had out who’d The Who during a gig in Germany and got thrown off the tour, when they on the boat home from Calais, Marc was very drunk and entertained the passengers by standing on a table reciting poetry !! Plus when they got back home they found out that their equipment had been confiscated in Germany. A few months later the band split up. Andy then found himself in the studio recording “It’s Been A Long Time” and the songs ended up in the film “Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush”. The chorus sounded really good with it’s choppy sound and every time I hear it, it always reminds me of the ‘German Goosestep’ for some reason !!
My all time favourite Andy Ellison song was next, “Cluster Bombs”. This really is a killer song and is from Andy’s “Fourplay” EP that he released in 2008. Andy did a short version compared to the one on his EP. It didn’t surprise at all when the song went down very well. John’s Children performed the song live during May 2007. Andy then came up with a very interesting surprise, “Smashed Blocked”. This was the debut release by John’s Children back in 1966 and Andy did a good version of it. Prior to the song Andy told the crowd “Simon Napier Bell went to America to record it with session musicians, and on the plane back he came up with the name psychedelia for it. So this song became the first ever psychedelic song.” The only other occasion it had an outing was when John’s Children played in London during February 1998.
Another song from the pen of Marc Bolan was “The Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith” and this virtually went straight into “Train In My Head”. This song was another one of Andy’s, and actually started life back in the early 80’s. It has even had the John’s Children treatment along the way !! The song went down very well and appears on Andy’s solo album from 2006 “Cornflake Zoo”. “Sara Crazy Child” was next and this was followed by another surprise, a version of The Beatles song “Eleanor Rigby”. The 90’s version of John’s Children used to perform this, although originally the idea and arrangement came from when Andy was in Radio Stars during the early 90’s. The song ended with Andy doing another ‘Joe Satriani impersonation’ !! He was attacking his guitar in quite manic fashion !!
Andy’s voice sounded good throughout and it was nice to hear that he had slightly rearranged the melodies a little on various songs, as well as the arrangements. Andy finished his set off with “Anyway Goodbye” and this song appears on his 2006 solo album “Cornflake Zoo” and his “Fourplay” EP.
Andy performed a good selection of John’s Children songs with his own songs, and to say this was the very first time he had performed an acoustic set, he did brilliantly. Andy has a great attitude when it comes to performing on stage and the crowd know that and they showed it when they gave him a wonderful reception.
T-Rextasy put on a great performance performing every T-Rex hit and more. It was a very enjoyable set by Danielz and the boys and they are by far the best T-Rex tribute band around. During the sound-check I had the pleasure of meeting Danielz and his wife Caron, along with bassist Paul Marks.
Danielz introduced Andy back on stage for the encores. His Ramones t-shirt had gone and he had a Union-Jack flag wrapped around his waist. The first thing he did was throw water into the crowd from his bottle !! The first of three encores was Radio Stars’ “No Russians In Russia”. Sammi and myself weaved our way through the crowd and headed right to the front. I really got into the song and was singing every word because the song sounded big and full and really punky. Plus it had lots of attitude with the ‘twin guitar attack’. The song was also faster than usual, and it sounded brilliant. I kept bumping into people as I was punching the air and playing my air guitar (not at the same time !!) due to the sheer excitement and enjoyment as Andy was really working the crowd into a frenzy, well he did me anyway !! The spirit of ‘77 had really got hold of me and I was unstoppable !! Andy was bouncing around on stage like he was 20 years old, and obviously enjoying every minute of it. First he was on the drum riser, then on his knees and then strutting all over the stage. Amazing stuff !! There might not be any Russians in Russia, but there was certainly plenty of energy inside Andy Ellison !! The reason Andy & T-Rextasy did this song was because Radio Stars performed it on Marc Bolan’s TV Show ‘Marc’ during September 1977.
“Desdemona” followed and Andy moved up to another gear in the entertainment category. Again he was bouncing all over the stage, but at the start of the second verse he invaded the crowd and bisected them straight down the middle as he headed towards the bar. I followed him to make sure his microphone lead didn’t get caught up around anyone !! As he retuned to the stage to finish the song off he got individuals to sing along. Andy went off to a great reception, but Danielz brought him back for the final encore, “Hot Love”. Andy proceeded to waft everyone with his towel as he came back, and then he drenched a few more of the crowd with water !! Andy sang along and got the crowd to join in.
A very enjoyable evening was had by all and I bet T-Rextasy enjoyed playing “No Russians In Russia” and “Desdemona” as it was something different for them. Hopefully Andy will perform more acoustic shows in the not too distant future, but what I would love him to do is assemble a band featuring two guitarists and go out and perform under his own name. Keep going my friend, there is still plenty of energy left in your tank !! Umbrellas and raincoats will be made available next time !!
22 September 2009
Andy Ellison played a solo electric/acoustic set supporting T. Rextasy on Friday the 18th. Andy did encores with T. Rextasy of Radio Stars' "No Russians In Russia" and John's Children's "Desdemona".
Andy Ellison will be appearing solo (supporting T. Rextasy) at The Marc Bolan Commemorative Anniversary Concert on Friday, September 18th at The Standard Music Venue (Blackhorse Lane, Walthamstow, London, E17 6DS). Andy shall be playing John's Children songs and some of his new material. Tickets £10 (www.standardmusicvenue.co.uk).
9 December 2008
The text for the history section of the website is being rewritten by Andy Ellison himself. So far we have Andy's take on the story up to the band getting signed by Simon Napier-Bell. The rest will be uploaded later on.
6 December 2008
Radio Stars play the Forum, Kentish Town London, next Saturday the 13th, and then the following night in Southampton at Talking Heads.
5 December 2008
It's been long overdue but the website has finally been moved to a new host (no ads) and as you can see, everything has been redesigned (big thanks to Mr. Tuomas Vanamo for the visual design). A new discussion forum will open soon, everything else is operational already. Hopefully you'll like the new website. More updates soon.
