Once described as a South London Charity shop Ramones, due to their standard garb of leather jackets and t-shirts. The Fruit Eating Bears are a fine example of Pub Rockers embracing (or exploiting) the Punk Rock sound and merging it with their own sixties R&B sound. Not unlike The Pirates, but without the raw meat.
They even donated a tune for Mick Green and the boys, who did a version of the Bears' own "1.30 2.30 3.35"; which they wrote for Lew Lewis.(The recording here has exactly the same backing track that Lew used!)
There is a strong element of bandwagon jumping in their sound.That tongue in cheekiness kind of fake punk that The Alan Milman Sect carried off so successfully.I suppose the Fruit Eating Bears were a paler version of that, but in a Pub Rock stylee.
However their main claim to fame, and the first time I saw them, was as a surprise entry into the UK heats of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1978.A lame concession to the passing New Wave fad by the BBC i wager. I of course announced "Door In My Face" as my favourite to my mum, and it finished 11th out of 12 songs. In hindsight it was by far the best song naturally.Check out the video below:
Tracklist:
1 Door In My Face
2 Going Thru' The Motions
3 Chevy Heavy
4 Fifties Cowboy
5 1.30 2.30 3.35
6 Indian Giver
7 Love Comes In Spurts
8 Flirt In A Skirt
9 High School Lover (In The U.K.)
10 Shop Door Squeeze
11 I Don't Wanna Be The One
12 Egyptian P.T.
13 Green Love
14 Remand Wing
15 Seven And Seven Is
16 Flies
17 Heaven (In The Palm Of My Hand)
18 I Met Her In Her Magazine
19 Croydon Girls
20 Disco Bop
21 I'm Down
