John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett – "Live At The Roundhouse" (Official Bootleg) 1977

Another who extolled the virtues of wood and its role in popular music,was one Wild Willy Barrett; whose work with the bard of Aylesbury ,John Otway,took unprofessionalism to new heights.

Wild Willy made his own guitars,and even made wooden sleeves for some of his solo releases.

Otway,as Willy called his rather eccentric partner,was one of those very British characters  on the peripheries of the pre-punk rock scene who seemed to exist as Stars in their own lunchtimes and in their own minds.Such as Johnny Moped,John The Postman,Chris Seivey,Wreckless Eric,and Sting,the Geordie Bono.

Like Sting, Otway,would literally do anything to achieve his dream of being a Star,but, unlike Sting,did it with an blatant sense of humour that suggested he also knew he would never make it.....surely not? But, briefly, he did. Mainly thanks to his more Punk than Punk performances on the Old Grey Whistle Test and Top Of The Pops with Wild Willy,which included Otway leaping on to Willy's amp, precariously perched on a chair,and subsequently falling off astride the amp crushing his family jewels,and disconnecting Barrett's guitar in the process,all on live national TV.

Catapulting "Really Free" to the lofty position of number 27 on the UK charts,and Polydor releasing their previously self-released eponymous LP,as financed by John's long suffering parents who re-mortgaged their home(?)in a desperate attempt to help their son to have a career....ANY career.

Of course the follow up singles flopped.Incredibly even the classic hymn to mindless violence "Headbutts", never broke the top 75!?

John then made sort of a career,post Wild Willy as a professional 'Failure',and his fans co-ordinated themselves to buy his "Bunsen Burner" single to get it into the top ten in 2002.

This pair were very representative of the generation of long hairs caught between Punk and Prog. Too young for Prog and too old for Punk,which really most of the Clash were too;but Otway and Barrett didn't have to pretend to be anything but themselves.Punk before Punk,and DIY before DIY.

This recording,headlining at the Roundhouse,was made at the height of Otway's micro stardom.Where our hero is supported by the marvelous  Fruit Eating Bears, Clayson and the Argonauts,and future hit makers,Squeeze...featuring the king of bland coffee table dad rock and boogie woogie criminal, Jools Holland...who,bizarrely, is the only one out of this lot who can still get on TV.

Tracklist:

1.Slewfoot
2.Only A Hobo
3.Really Free
4.Fire On A Mountain
5.Geneve
6.Beware Of The Flowers ('Cause I'm Sure They're Going To Get You Yeh)
7.Running From The Law
8.Cheryl's Going Home
9.Down The Road
10.Racing Cars (Jet Spotter Of The Track)

DOWNLOAD and Cor! baby, it's really free HERE!