Time now for Wilfully Obscure's token "new romantic" entry for the year. Last April, the Canadian snyth-pop combo Tictoc was the lucky contestant, and wouldn't you know it, Those French Girls also hailed from north of the border, Stirling, Ontario from my understanding. The band's self titled album was released by way of Attic Records, the same label that meddled with a couple other bands featured on these pages, namely the Numbers and Johnny and the G-Rays, but back to the subject at hand.
TFG seemed to emanate from The Vapors/early-Ultravox wing of the new wave clique, but don't quite wield the same charisma. They don't particularly overdo anything here, nor do they dress the part judging from the cover pic, but boy, the feigned Brit accents are about as heavy-handed as they come. An even mix of keyboard and traditional instruments here, with "Corridor" being the album's most stimulating moment. TFG also appeared on a compilation tape with a couple non-LP cuts that you can check out here.
01. Sorry Sorry
02. Diving Board
03. 0-0-0-0-0
04. Punching Windows
05. Close Up
06. Mosquito Bites
07. Corridor
08. Influence
09. Regular Sex
10. Rust
11. Love at First Sight
18 comments:
Hi Spavid, thanks for the link, i didn't know they had an album so looking forward to hearing it.
The Ankle tapes not a great recording but the tracks are great.
Also apologies for not having you in my blog list, I was sure you were as I do check out your blog. Anyway I've added you now.
I've put the same comment in reply to your ankle comment.
Totally appreciate the add to your blogroll. There's some great stuff on Always Searching for Music.
Hi there,
just for the record, Those French Girls are from Stirling, SCOTLAND, not Stirling, Ontario.
Hope that helps.
John
Further to the last comment I can confirm that the band were from Stirling. I was at High School with the lead singer, Sean. However the comment about "faux" accents still holds good. The affected London accent is not the one Sean had as a teenager! Still that was the style at the time.
There were two singles from the album both of which got some (British) national radio airplay. Close Up/Regular Sex made the lower reaches of the charts.
I was at school in Stirling (Scotland, not Ontario) with Those French Girs' drummer, Jim Carney.
I remember before he ever had a drumkit, he used to practice with drumsticks on his budgie's cage!
Those French Girls were indeed from Stirling.
I seem to recall they had a few breaks not least supporting Simple Minds in 1979/1980 ish on the Reel To Reel tour.
I think they signed to Polydor. One of them worked in John menzies and latterly run the Random Rythms community studio in Stirling (originally the Causewayhead baby clinic).
Yep, I've known Jim Carney almost all my life and still see him regularly...defo a Stirling SCOTLAND band :)
Hi has anyone a copy of the A.N.K.L.E tape to share please, can´t find it anywhere and The Blog link to it here has ceased to have it,thankyou
Well, I have found the link to the 1980 cassette tape, The A.N.K.L.E. File, here you go! https://rapidshare.com/share/F11DC18A552E55FDBB5453220855B0E0
Well, I have found a link to the 1980 Cassette Tape, A.N.K.L.E. File, here https://rapidshare.com/share/F11DC18A552E55FDBB5453220855B0E0
Formed from the ashes of a heavy rock band, Treatment, in Stirling, SCOTLAND around 1977-8 who were joined by Sean Kelly on vox and general surrealism. Sean later went on to record as Sean Novak and then Surfing Brides, whose album is a lost gem of British pop. think Robyn Hitchcock with a US twist.
I was around in the early days as my friend Jamie Mclennen was the drummer before Jim Carney. and was on the Simple Minds support slot on the Real to Real Cacophony Tour. This I know cos I was there.
In the early days they did covers, Faith Healer by S.A.H.B was one I do remember. They used to practice in a Green Hut that was part of the old Kincardine (Fife Scotland) Power Station recreation park. They gigged round Scotland and I was there to humpf Jamies huge mega drumkit about, He was/is a huge Neil Peart Fan..hence double bass and zillions of toms and cymbals.
The Simple Minds connection probably came about when both bands were regulars on stage at the Mars Bar in Glasgow, and Finlays/Bruces ? records were the promoters. So I knew the boys, Neil, Dave and Sean, and Jamie...(The forgotten drummer !) I went back to the dark side working with bands such as Pegasus ( who ? ) anyways...
Sad to say Jamie now struggles with advanced MS.
Cheers any chance you coul repost this I've been searching for years.
I just discovered this album is now on Spotify!
I've been going through the old vinyl, and checking what's shown up streaming (so much isn't).
Thanks for the history!
A blast from the past! I was a synth player in a Denny band and went into the studio briefly with then ‘83/‘84 ( caused me to get chucked out my other band) I think that the bass player was John Sharp, Drummer was Gordon and I remember Sean.
The drummer Gordon would have been Gordon Kerr, then of Braehead, Stirling, who was mates with them, however he was our drummer, in DIANA, we played New Wave/Prog and used a Korg MS-20 synth. We supported TFG and some others for a while in the late 70s. Their drummers were Jamie McLennan and mainly Jim Carney.
I like this band quite a lot. Right mix of spleen and joy, full of arrogance and youth energy. I don't really hear any Simple Minds in it, more like the Boomtown Rats (but way more bearable !) with a bit of Mick Jones in the back singing sometimes. It's nothing short of an hidden gem to me, I wish they had done more but I'm glad this album exists. How was this not popular ? Success really is a mystery and too often harshly arbitrary. The cassette compilation is still available here : http://www.mediafire.com/?m3yfgjmnknz
Post a Comment