I'm probably going to keep this one a little short, as I'm feeling under the weather tonight, and as luck would have it, I don't have much in the way of background details to extol on the Mockers (or for that matter, an actual copy of this album). From what little I've read, this New Zealand troupe did quite well for themselves during their tenure, borrowing liberally from a myriad of UK wave/power pop acts of the era. A quick listen to just about any selection on Culprit and the King will provide ample evidence that the Mockers had some serious mainstream radio crossover potential, without all the fluff and excessive posturing. Catchy too. I even have some visual evidence for you below. Incidentally, there is a Mockers best-of available, that is if you live in New Zealand.
01. Friend of a Stranger
02. Phone Call at Midnight
03. Seven Years Not Wasted
04. Casualty
05. A Winter's Tale
06. Forever Tuesday Morning
07. New Day Dawning
08. One Black Friday
09. Another Boring Day in the Amazon
10. Home Again (Miss Toffolesse)
11. Culprit and the King
Wow; this is a really cool album. Thanks for uploading it. The songwriting is really strong throughout, and the melodies are great to boot; I definitely agree with your comment that The Mockers had a lot of mainstream potential.
I did some background research, and frontman Andrew Fagan reminds me of Martin Phillips of The Chills in the sense that his band went through line-up changes as well. Very different musical styles when comparing the two bands, of course, but both frontmen are New Zealanders and, at least based on what I've heard from "Culprit and the King," both have some pretty stellar songwriting chops and a definite knack for catchy melodies; not to take anything away from the backing musicians of either band, of course. This one article I came across was an interesting read:
I get the sense that Fagan has had some frustration about not having found success for The Mockers outside of New Zealand. The Chills' "Heavenly Pop Hit" is essentially proof-positive of the frustration Phillips had concerning his group's very limited success.
It's certainly a great shame when amazingly talented bands go unnoticed by the masses. The musicians know of their tremendous talent, but that doesn't exactly pay the bills. I feel like sending my condolences now and then.
Anyway, end rant. Essay over. I just felt compelled to share those thoughts. Thanks again for sharing!
Glad to see you're enjoying this, and thanks for doing a little research on the Mockers for me Dave. I'm totally with you, but bear in mind that in the '80s (and even now to a lesser extent) when talented indie bands signed to major labels, prioritie$ changed, and the music often suffered greatly.
"Heavenly Pop Hit" always seemed so jubilant to my ears, and I never considered the subtext of the song.
7 comments:
nice post.love this release, thanx.
Wow; this is a really cool album. Thanks for uploading it. The songwriting is really strong throughout, and the melodies are great to boot; I definitely agree with your comment that The Mockers had a lot of mainstream potential.
I did some background research, and frontman Andrew Fagan reminds me of Martin Phillips of The Chills in the sense that his band went through line-up changes as well. Very different musical styles when comparing the two bands, of course, but both frontmen are New Zealanders and, at least based on what I've heard from "Culprit and the King," both have some pretty stellar songwriting chops and a definite knack for catchy melodies; not to take anything away from the backing musicians of either band, of course. This one article I came across was an interesting read:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10452191
I get the sense that Fagan has had some frustration about not having found success for The Mockers outside of New Zealand. The Chills' "Heavenly Pop Hit" is essentially proof-positive of the frustration Phillips had concerning his group's very limited success.
It's certainly a great shame when amazingly talented bands go unnoticed by the masses. The musicians know of their tremendous talent, but that doesn't exactly pay the bills. I feel like sending my condolences now and then.
Anyway, end rant. Essay over. I just felt compelled to share those thoughts. Thanks again for sharing!
Glad to see you're enjoying this, and thanks for doing a little research on the Mockers for me Dave. I'm totally with you, but bear in mind that in the '80s (and even now to a lesser extent) when talented indie bands signed to major labels, prioritie$ changed, and the music often suffered greatly.
"Heavenly Pop Hit" always seemed so jubilant to my ears, and I never considered the subtext of the song.
Would you be able to re-up this. Thanks.
Thanks for re-up.
Hello,
Could you please re-up this album?
Kind regards
Could you kindly re up this link please
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