Yesterday Mrs Wasanon and I (me Julie, aye?) nipped out of the big bad shopping shitty to Strumpshaw Fen. Which is ane ROYAL Soc for the protection of birds, reserve. East of Brundall, which is not so very far East of Norwich in Eastern England. Very pleasant wandering around it was too. Sunday vibes. Marshes, reeds, bullrushes. Noise of tranes soon far away. Warm southerly wind. It is weird November weather. Saw some wild pheasants, (though they seemed very unwild as no one was blasting at them as they usually do with a horrible shotgun in order to just eat their breasts and throw the rest of them away after they have killed them).
Hung out in some restful bird hides with birdies or spotters pointin' binoculars and cameras at various placid scenes. Also spotted three (3) marsh harriers, geeseys of unknown species, (rhymes) laughing ducks, some herons in flight and one particularly striking grey-blue specimen on the ground. It was in the reeds standing poised spear-like. And with its beak pointing keenly into a pool hopefully full ay fush! As still and motionless until it (twitched) in fact as a probly typical member of a BBC Top of the Pops studio audience circa 1975. Lot of mud to plash and stodge through though to get round the circuit. I wanted to see the Fen raft spider but it was asleep or something and so I had to be content with a passing hornet.
Spider
Friday, what happened? Standing in a light smirr of rain? And? Yes! Fireworks! Big Bang in the City fireworks as the Norvicii council blew up loads of fantastic fireworks to some dubious tunes outside ye olde museum/prison/castle all in one - and in the streets. Place was rammed. "Teen Spirit" was about the best of the tunes accompanying the colours and the whooshes. Assuredly that very well know tune "I would do anything for you (but I won't do that) " ("Bat Out Of Hell") by Meatloaf was about the WORST Can't imagine why the guy given the job of devising a playlist to accompany fireworks chose that one.
Och stop ye moanin'!
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Ok so Steve is now 60 years old but we are not supposed to broadcast it. And Billy Idol will be the same soon.
Bill visited the (955 KLOS) Jonesy's juke box on 10/30/2015. I thought I would summarise a few bits of it and bang out a transcription of interessen gubbins. Steve's got himself a new jingle or three in radio land too in his new post on The Rock of Southern California. too. His new title,
"The Lord of La Cienega".
Not a great a graphic (will try harder) but this is where the studio is.
Summary:
Bill's autobiographical book, "Billy Idol, Dancing With Myself" (Simon and Schuster,
In the show Bill announced that his bok or buik or book is now on the New York Times bestseller list.
It was not ghost-written either as he authored it himself. Though it was bleedin' hard work as it was typed out using just two fingers. (click clack). Steve revealed that he himself was working on a book (YAYYYYYYY) with a guy and he admiringly asked how Bill set about writing his own book. Bill explained that he had "marinated" his chronological life-experiences. So he would immerse himself in the punk period of '76 say, and let those sets of experiences steep into him until he felt an urge to "write it up" -as it is called in academic circles. Of course although his book was written chronologically (as proper history should be) he had to still "jump around" differing time periods as it were to recall them.
Generation X playing in 1977 at Le Gibus in Paris.
Original photograph by Ray Stevenson.
It was then explained that as Generation X's Tony James has an archivist-like memory he was a terrific source. Bill approached him for the Generation X period. Tony had even kept the ad, that Bill had placed in the press looking for musicians. Idol is perhaps first known in PUNK as one of the Bromley Contingent, a loose group of fashion and style setters who were early Sex Pistols fans and lived in a dormitory town in the South East of London. (see useful mappe 1.) The Sire and Bill didn't work over that well mined seam.
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| UseFUL mappe 1. Distance to London 10 miles. |
Bill was a massive Beatle fan and lived at first in Worthing, on the South Coast of England (see ye old useful mappe 2.)
He was gig going from the age of 13 - seeing Black Sabbath, Zappa, Beefheart and then morphing into Glam, the Velvets and the Dolls and David Bowie. Though Bill's performing roots were in the Rock and Roll of Gene Vincent like. He of course also saw Lou Reed performing separate to the Velvets. Jonesy then picked "Transformer" with Mick Ronson playing as one of his favourite albums. Bill was inspired by "Rock and Roll Animal" - modelling upon that. Here there was a guitarist who could really play (Steve Hunter) and a "punk rock" singer (Lou Reed). So Idol "in a way" stole that idea. Substitute Bill for Lou and Steve Stevens for Hunter. Bingo masters breakout! (a The Fall reference).
OK lets have some TRANSCRIPTION:
Steve: What was the first punk thing you saw?
Bill: That would be the MC5 in 1969/70. I was really lucky I saw them at a Phun City festival outside of Worthing, yeah MC5. And it was a kind of a hippie festival and er they just came on like and you know?
("Phun City" Festival in July of 1970.)
Steve: Kick out the Jams?
Bill: Yes...
Steve: You son of mofo...
Bill: Yeah it was amazing, it kind of, that. that was what fired me up in 1970 you know?
Steve: Yeah
Bill: Seeing that was pretty incredible.
Controversial ad.
Steve: That Queen track (Steve had played Queen's, "Sheer Heart Attack").
Bill: Yeah I could cover that.
Steve: Yeah sounds like Gen X, like the Judas Priest did.
Bill: Its got the 16ths.
Steve: The "Jing jing, jing, jing, jing, jing, jing, jing, jing, jing, jing jing jing jing jur jing" (Rising to a climax). The ole...ah. Well there's a story behind that Queen one 'cos we were actually recordin' "Never Mind The Bollocks" at the time in Wessex studio which I know you've recorded in.
Bill: Yeah we did "Valley Of The Dolls," there yeah.
Steve: In Islington (North London) And when we was in there, Queen was in there, I remember we walked in the studio once and Freddie was doin' some backing vocals. Well we didn't know, we just walked in the room where he was singin' an' he got all. He got all upset but. Then after we kind of finished "Never Mind The Bollocks" I guess they were doing that album...what album was that? Is it "Sheer Heart Attack?" I think that was the album.
Bill: Yeah that was the album.
Steve: Steve or "summink for the world?" Er anyway, the point is they were in at the same time and that sounds very Pistolsesque, I thought.
Bill: Yes, yes! Quite far away from "Killer Queen" and stuff.
Steve: So I don't know if they were making fun or if they were tryin' to get on the bandwagon a little bit.
Bill: It's not bad, I like that.
Steve: Its great!
Bill: I could cover that!
Steve: And I think that's the drummer singin'
Bill: Ah.
Steve: Remember the one song if you was in love with Queen? "I'm In Love With My Car?" That's a good 'un. Anyway that's me story sooooo....
Bill: It's funny there I ran into Freddie Mercury, I wanted just to say something nice really and I said to him, "I really..." You know "Flash Gordon" had just come out so, "I really love that Flash Gordon" so I turned to walk out of the room and as I walked out of the room he said, "I didn't write that!" So I couldn't help it, I turned round and said, (deep voice) "I know." (Laughs)
Steve: Like a movie, "I know."
Bill: He was so...
Steve: And he was not being nice?
Bill: (Repeats the story.) And I mean anybody else would just say, "OK great!" You know cos he sang on it, it's his..."great!" Imitates the Queenster. "Flash ahhhhahhhah". Never thought that it was the guitarist writing I didn't get that. It was more like just saying, "I like that!" and he was, "I didn't write that!" Laughs heartily.
Steve: He got the 'ump. Was he a nice guy?
Bill: He seemed like a nice bloke, yeah. I just couldn't help but joke it was just funny, you know? But they were great, they were really great. I met Brian May once and he kept thinking we were in "The Clash". Me and Tony James. Kept sayin', "Now you're, you did that 'White Riot'. (Laughs). "No we're Generation X we..." And he was going. "No, no you do that 'White Riot', don't you? "Oh no, we're Generation X."
Steve: Yeah I guess that was something you had to put up with then, cos it was not like something that was took really seriously, especially from those guys back then.
Bill: We would all seem the same to them.
Steve: "Oh spikey hair guys. Oh they're a punk band, yeah!"
Bill: "It must be The Cla.." (sh) (Laughs). But he's a great guitarist and he's a...greater singer and.
Steve: Fantastic.
Bill: Actually that "Sheer Heart Attack" the drummer but you know, they're a fantastic band.
Steve: Yeah, Freddie probably didn't want nuffin' to do with it, he didn't write that one.
...
Steve: He used to work in Kensington market for a bit, Freddie Mercury. I remember seein' him in there once when I was in there thievin' some platform boots.
Here are some rather funky 19th Century ladies boots instead.
Steve: He was workin' in one of the places cos I mean he's very distin...you know his face and you'd recognise him in a "line-up" any day of the week, you know what I mean?
...
Steve: (referring to next song on the juke box) Is this Gen X, its kind of on the verge weren't it?
Bill: This is Gen X really and yeah. You're on it and Danny Kustow, Steve New, there's a million guitarists on it.
Steve: We did this, well you did it and I did some overdubs on it at Air Studio. Oxford Street where I had a seizure.
Bill: That's right.
Steve: I think it was doing this, it was weird, one minute I was listening back, next thing I'm on Oxford Street on a stretcher with old ladies lookin' at me.
Bill: Yeah I'd just gone to the toilet and when I came out you were being taken out on a St. John's ambulance stretcher. You were really calm you were...
Steve: (shouting in a garbled sort of voice) Er wha ah what ah hey!
Bill: There's a story about that, what the hell happened?
Steve: Did I show up at the club, I can't remember? Probably... "No time to lose!"
Amongst others Jonesy then played the song "Dancing With Myself."
Steve: And before that we 'ad "Dancing With Myself," where I was er hangin' out of a window with my pants down.
Bill: The whole of Oxford Circus looking up at you playing air guitar. And when we said, "what are you doing Steve," you said, "I'm dancin' with myself," sooooo...
Steve: Brilliant, thank you for that. Cos I don't remember.
Bill then announced a benefit gig for a Cancer charity called "Rhonda's kiss." Performing as The Hellcat Saints at the El Rey in Wilshire. (Google them for their impressive line-up.) Bill lost his father to cancer in 2014.
Facebook page here including pictures of the benefit that you can pinch (J.o.k.e) to make your own blog with, if you want:
Rhonda's kiss facebook page.
Bill and Steve talked about crash helmets as Bill had been in a motorcycle smash 25 years previously. After finishing the "Charmed Life" album he stayed up all night partying and had an axident near the sketch pad. The studio. With Christopher Guest directing, Bill appeared in a Bank Of America commercial. Quite a self depracating (on BOA's part) ad campaign, there are some 4 of these ads floating about in US telly land. * Bill's also worked with quite a few great comedians including Adam Sandler. et al; Bill likes the character Ian Rubbish (search Ian Rubbish on this blog or google it). He remarks that Fred Armistin puts a bit of, "Kiss Me Deadly," Tooooniiiiiighhhhht! into his act when he sends up all the punk acts. Steve plugs his twitter and instagram account. Jonesy invites us to watch him looking like a jackass in five inch platform and who knows what else on there. Bill's twitter is @billyidol. Could be all lower case, all Caps, dunno, TRY it and see. Steve doesn't respond to negative stuff in soshul meeja and either zaps it or leaves it. They observe that all the Scottish blokes that were in bands were lunatics. There were about five of them and it never ended up good at the end of the night. People gettin' cut...
* I hate adverts but as I've never done one, I've no idea really - they might be brilliant things to do.
Franco the Beggar boy from the band "Tranespottin'
tellin' some wido drafpak schemie fi Wester Hailes. (FaUSE).
That's all for now until the next chriwasanon. In the pipe, the 'Oo.
STOP...
CwA!
