The Hammersmith Gorillas – "Gorilla Got Me" (Big Beat Records - CDWIKD 185) 1999

 

This is what CD's were invented for....surely?....,Primarily so we could get all of The 'Ammersmiff Gorilla's non album work in one place.

If you look closely at the sartorially elegant gentlemen on the cover,you may have noted that two of them were last seen in proto-Punk flag bearers Crushed Butler. Sporting a fine set of muttonchops would be rockin' warhorse Jesse Hector, with the late Alan Butler himself (he fell off a horse),sporting a rather fetching Steve Marriot on heat haircut.

Alongside, Eddie and the Hot Rods,Doctor Feelgood,Ducks Deluxe and the Bishops, The Hammersmith Gorillas helped keep alive the Rock and the Roll for the poor kids who, sadly, came of age post Sgt Pepper, as part of the Pub Rock circuit around 1974,which basically served the same purpose as the Ramones/Heartbreakers end of the arty New York CBGB's/Max's scene; but with a lot more Rock'n'Roll and a lot less pretentious bohemian prancing involved.Out of which sprang forth most of the 'Punk' groups. Basically,the formula reads something like this Pub Rock plus Ramones,plus Glam plus the Sex Pistols management created what was now called Punk Rock in 1976....unsquared. A formula, if left unchecked,or applied incorrectly, will lead to a New Wave of British Heavy Metal....which it did.

The Gorillas,as they were known,in their contracted Punk Rock form,were certainly a mixture of Glam, which had its own more nostalgic revival of Rock'n'Roll going on and the hooligan friendly Slade inspired Bovver Rock of the pre-punk period.

These chaps certainly know their Rock history,selecting to cover the two main precursors on how to be a punk Rock group,namely "You Really Got Me" and "Wild Thing"....that's where the seeds were sown,maybe cross-pollinated with a bit of "Johnny BeGoode" and "Louis Louis",from here sprung hither the mutant.

Whatever, the Gorillas had great Haircuts and recorded for legendary Punk Label Raw Records, straight outta Cambridge.

Tracklist:

The Hammersmith Gorillas
1 You Really Got Me
2 Leavin' Home
3 Eleanor Soapdodge
4 I Live In Style In Maida Vale
5 Luxury

The Gorillas
6 She's My Gal
7 Why Wait 'Til Tomorrow
8 Gatecrasher
9 Gorilla Got Me
10 Move It
11 Song For Rita

The Hammersmith Gorillas
12 Moonshine
13 Shame Shame Shame
The Gorillas
14 Feel It Easy
15 Miss Dynamite

The Hammersmith Gorillas
16 You Can't Judge A Book (By Looking At The Cover)
17 Leavin' 'Ome
18 Come On Down
19 Jailhouse Rock
20 Wild Thing
21 Keep On Chooglin'
22 Foxy Lady

23 It's My Life (Raw Single)

24 My Son's Alive (Raw Single)

25 I'm Seventeen

DOWNLOAD a 'gorillas' without a single damon albarn in sight HERE!

Crushed Butler – "Uncrushed (1969-1971)" (Radio Heartbeat – RHB-110) 2015

Even before the members of the Ramones or Dead Boys were born,'We invented Punk' candidates ,Crushed Butler, were having their photo taken amongst scenes of devastating Urban decay ,and bombsites left over from the Blitz. 

Including Brit rock's most rockinest under 25 equivalent of Iggy poop, Jesse Hector, Crushed Butler were making balls to the wall basic proto-punk when three quarters of the UK Subs were still in nappies.Recorded in glorious Mono,these demo's obviously never saw the light of day until the search for the Holy Grail of embryonic Punk began in the 21st century.

Of course, anyone old enough to have gone to see Bovva Rock leg-ends Slade, Mott The Hoople,or even the punk metal myth made flesh  Atomic Rooster, will remember that brutal trio who opened the evening on many such occasions in 1971. Equally, anyone who remember those sweaty weeknight pub rock extravaganza's at the Hope and Anchor in 1974, or the Punk Rock nights at the same venues in 1976, will have noticed that the two blokes in Crushed Butler with the funny haircuts and lambchop sideburns were those geezers in historic Pub /Punk crossover trio The Hammersmith Gorillas; whose top tune "It's My Life" was first unleashed by the Crushed Butlers in 1969....included here.

Crushed Butler pictured as children during the Blitz, 1941.

They were around slightly before Third World War,and The Pink Fairies , and other worthy 'we invented (UK) Punk' candidates; but after the Deviants and Edgar Broughton, although musically,and visually, they tick more boxes probably,than a few of their bluesy rivals.....retrospectively of course;back then they would have been called Hard Rock,or what we sad 21st century bastards have labelled 'Bovva Rock' ,exclusive to the Uk,conjuring up images of the boots and braces football following Bovva Boys of the early 70's. Something that carried over into Punk Rock exemplified by those Mick Ronson devotees of Pistols in Manchester support act fame...Slaughter and the Dogs, who even wore football scarves at gigs!?

Football fans still sing Gary Glitter's anthemic bovva boy stomps at matches to this day....who cares of he's a paedo,he was one of the boys back in '72! The golden era of the boot boy and footy fandom;before they made us sit down and put us in cages....sometimes electrified (Chelsea did that!)

If ever anyone wanted to sing a Gary Glitter song in a dense electrified atmosphere of pure malevolence and Hatred, other than standing naked in a queue for the showers in a Nazi extermination camp.Then going to a football match in the 70,s and 80's was the place for you.There was lots of space for pure hatred to fester on the terraces,as no-one 'normal' ever went.

This is what the UK media thought going to a Punk gig was like in 1977......not far off actually.

It's complicated innit?

PS....was it a pub myth that at a certain football match in the blue side of Manchester,around 1980,some clever chap started a chant, directed at travelling supporters,which went something along the lines of..."You're going 'ome in a Crispy Ambulance"?

Or was that a Half-man Half Biscuit song?

Probably post-fact Mandela syndrome stuff, but fun all the same.

Tracklist:

1. It's My Life

2. Factory Grime
3. My Son´s Alive
4. High School Dropout
5. Love Is All Around Me
6. Love Fighter
7. High School Dropout Ver. 2

DOWNLOAD the crushing reality of who invented punk rock HERE!