Tag Archives: Dolly Mixture

Jam Today

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Rock Against Sexism gig reviewed in Spare Rib, 97, August, 1980.

Rock Against Sexism Gig for London Gay Pride Week
(London, June 27)

Dolly Mixtures can give you bad teeth but men like little sweeties … There was a surprise assortment of talent on show at the RAS/Gay Pride extravaganza. The band showing the most (body, that is) were definitely the Straits. We were rather surprised when they slunk on wearing skin-tight black plastic trousers, tiger skin top, Joe Jackson shoes, and pouted their way through a couple of standard power pop numbers, by which time a certain male elemant in the audience had gone glassy-eyed and slobbered down their shirts. They appeared to be selling their sex, regardless of their sexulaity (some of them are lesbians).
Women should be able to wear anything they want, but where is the line between self-expression and self-seeking when you are more likely to “make it” if you fit into their stereotype? The music was good, but nless women are careful they will be used more now than they have ever been.
Jam Today are well aware of this trap. One song deals specifically with how the music industry survives by exploiting fame-hungry fools (‘Free Lyrics’). They play jass/latin-influenced music, the saxophone often takes the lead. They are excellent musicians and performers, really defining their own style. Some young people may have found the jass style hard to relate to and Jam Today are not a bop band.
The Mistakes, however, are perfect for bopping. They shared their enjoyment and enthusiasm with everyone, and dedicated ‘Man or Woman’ to “Our bisexual friends”, offering the advice, “You just have to seduce them”. Some of the solos landed a bit nose downwards, but when it came together the sound was very powerful, especially with the pounding drum rhythms. They were well worth the trip and conveyed the message of Gay Pride Week by having a bloody good time celebrating their sexuality.

Jane and Ilo

Weller Winners 1980

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Paul Weller’s NME Readers’ Poll 1980 selections, from the NME, 24 January, 1981.

Weller Of The Year

Paul Weller

Most wonderful human being: Jim from Stiff Little Fingers
Event: It didn’t happen
Creep: Thatcher
Best group: The Beat, The Skids and The Slits
New act: Department S, The Questions and The Nips
Male singer: Julian Cope, Suggsy and Michael Jackson
Female singer: Siouxsie, Slits and The Dolly Mixtures (all three of them)
Songwriter: Slits, Teardrop Explodes, Skids and Questions
Guitarist: Stuart Adamson
Bass: Bruce Foxton and Tessa Pollit
Keyboards: Bloke in Teardrop Explodes
Drums: Pube and Budgie
Other instrument: Saxa
Single: ‘Embarrassment’ (Madness), ‘Do Nothing’ (Specials), ‘Is Vic There? (Department S) and ‘Animal Space’ (Slits)
Album: ‘Killimanjaro’ (Teardrop Explodes), ‘Grin And Bear It’ (the Ruts)
Sleeve: Ours
Best dressed: Steve Marriott circa 64-66 and “Blackburn” (not Tony)
Haircut: none
DJ: Certainly not Peel for a start!
TV show: Minder
Movie: Love On The Dole (NFT darling)

Redskins Revue

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The Redskins did a month of Sundays ay the Mean Fiddler in 1986 with a great mix of turns. Great gigs they were too. This review is from the NME, 12 July, 1986. The Housemartins sneak in as Fish City Five.

Redskins Revue
Harlesden Mean Fiddler

Young, girted and bald was the aim. On the revue’s second night the result was a combination of two, but never all three. Buster Bloodvessel came close. That rotund rascal of drollery, with a little help from his friends, rip-roared his immense proportions through ‘Monster Mash’. ‘My Boy Lollipop’ and more. The Troubleshooters, perverse in the presence of dogma, saw Debbie (Dolly Mixture) don a monstrous wig for their camped-up journeys through the Abba and Madonna songbooks. Seething Wells spouted furiously in a scathing attack on the life and times of Laura Ashley. Why her you may ask. Why indeed? A true contender if only he’d had a haircut.
Wendy May’s sizzling Locomotion sounds kept all alive and kicking, in striking contrast to Lol Coxhill, whose 15 minute homage to Jnr Walker rated as a wonder-cure for insomnia!
Not forgetting the mighty mouth on the loudhailer who led the Redskins through their stomping favourites, ‘Kick Over The Statues’ et al. And a well splendid night was rounded off with some accapella combo by the name of Fish City Five. In fact there was only four of them. , but their harmonies weren’t half bad, especially on some ditty called ‘Happy Hour’ which sounded sort of familiar. One of them launched himself into a ranting preach about Jesus, Karl Marx and himself in the same bed (with clean sheets, of course)! What a strange bunch. Perhaps they’ll be famous one day.
Maybe it was the rumour that Paul Weller was to appear, or perhaps Tom Watt (chump Lofty from East Enders), that drove the hordes on mass to Harlesden for this Artists Against Apartheid benefit on the fourth night. With its Brechtian overtones, the climax of the Redskins revue proved a resounding success.
Angus and Toby from Test Dept. swapped their metal objects for bagpipes and calmed a packed frustrated crowd, unable to move to Stuart Cosgrove’s and Steve Caesar’s fast and furious vinyl funk. The Redskins began their set of covers with ‘Levi Stubbs’ Tears’, and were closely followed by the man Bragg himself. He soon had the audience whipped up a storm with ‘Chile Your Waters’, and ‘A13’, for which he was accompanied by stalwart Wiggy.
And the grand finale, ‘Winds Of Change’, as performed by the Redskins, Dammers, Bragg and others, baldly established the common bond.

Jane Wilkes

Very Dolly

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Dolly Mixture live review from London mod zine Fight Back, 2nd issue, 1980.

Dolly Mixture

Arriving at the Marquee at 8-30, we missed the support band, which was a shame. The girls started off with their ‘Dolly Mixture’ song. Their set continued with numbers like “How come you’re such a hit with the boys Jane”, “Will you kiss me tonight”.
The girls would burst into fits of giggles when the intros were mucked up, and there were a few problems with feedback. New songs included “Rainbow Valley” “Perfect Day” and “Angel Face”, during their set some very good songs surfaced, I think the best was called “Now I know my way down the alleys”.
For the encore, we had “New look baby”, “I didn’t know I loved you till I saw you rock ‘N’ roll” (an old Gary Glitter song) and the “Locomotion”. Dolly Mixture have a very distinctive sound, and definitely a band you should see.
They have a 60’s/Crystals crossover, and are (as far as we know) the only all girl band playing 60’s based music.

True Mod

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A mod writes in to Sounds, 26 December, 1981.

Rather than agree with the narrow-minded evaluation of the ‘True Mod’, I have decided to ‘bury’ Sounds with just one letter expressing my astonishment at his inept view of what mod is all about. There are several facts that must be stated. Firstly, that ‘glamour’ bands like Secret Affair and the Lambrettas did more damage to the ’79 revival than even the music press because of their mindless portrayal of mods as being ‘beach-fighters’ and ‘rogues with style’.
This encouraged thousands of failed ex-punks to jump on the bandwagon before the music press quite rightly exposed the deficiencies of Page and Co.
Bands like the Chords and Hearts were part of the real revival but were crucified by the press who grouped them in the same vein as prats like Ian Page.
Since then, scores of new bands like The Variations, Dolly Mixture and The Questions have put across the real modernist ideals to the public. Nine Below Zero, Q-Tips and other bands are re-creating the intense form of soul and r’n’b which the faces of Carnaby Street once danced to in ’64 (including Messrs. Townshend and Meaden). More and more clubs like the Whiskey A GoGo in London and Top rank in Birmingham are allowing mods an insight into what it was really like in the Sixties. Surely someone who has been a mod since as long ago as ’74 would have discovered that by now and should also remember the very essence of that fashionable, fast moving way of life – that mod was directed from within and needed no justification from without.

Brian Gunn, Belfast Mod.

Something Else

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What yoof TV used to be. This episode of BBC’s Something Else, a series that ran from 1978 is from 2 October, 1981. There’s poetry from Anne Clark and Aidan Cant – incidental music by Paul Weller – a bit about youth clubs, as well as music from The Jam, The Questions and the much missed Dolly Mixture. There’s an also a section where young people talk about what class they are as they awkwardly sit around a table (not) drinking.
Of particular interest is some talk on ‘zines from Tony Fletcher of Jamming! Also featured is Making Time and the item is very centred on poetry. The young reporter even talks to Faber and Faber about what they are, and aren’t, publishing and this links right back to the class item. Now there’s a suprise.

Artists For Animals

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Fairly typical benefit gig reviewed in the NME, 21 May, 1983. The fabulous Dolly Mixture, ranting’s own Benjamin Zephaniah, the lovely Damned, and more.

Damned, Dolly Mixture, Benjamin Zephaniah, A Popular History of Signs
Fulham Greyhound

Such a strange assortment could only mean a benefit gig. Artists For Animals was the cause, and a well filled Greyhound (how apt) gawped at The Animals Film on video during lulls in the action. Mildly surreal, but there was much to enjoy.
A Popular History Of Signs hail from North London, but this trio’s spiritual home is located even closer to the Pole. APHOS play atmospheric yet dramatically charged music of a style usually associated with Yorkshire and the North West. The gang Of Four’s agit-prop is welded to the Factory sound, but APHOS transcend their evident influences to resonantly addictive effect.
Benjamin Zephaniah has allowed himself to be adopted as a token by righteous whites hungry for the sound of suffering in Babylon. Feted by the first few rows of upturned, all-whte faces at events like tonight’s, he’s selling himself short, not least artistically. His poetic rhythms are strong and lilting, hence lending themselves naturally to a song. Linton Kwesi Johnson realised his potential by switching from band to maestro – remember the power of ‘Sonny’s Lettah’? Benjamin Zephaniah should be doing the same with ‘Margaret Thatcher’.
Captain Sensible officiated throughout, and with earnest bashfulness demonstrated his commitment to animal rights by reading out some of his poetry on the subject. William Blake he ain’t. Then reverting to his more familiar self, he introduced his protegees Dolly Mixture, who immediately warmed up a hitherto low-key affair.
Rachel and Debsie are singing very well these days, and though Hester’s drums lack finesse, their all-round performance sparkled with enthusiasm. With their polka-dot party dresses and eagerness to please, Dolly Mixture are quaintly and ingenuously English, and their ’60s teenbeat-style set drew me even further back to childhood’s untroubled fun.
Finally The Damned came on to play ‘Smash It Up’, a latterday ‘Hokey Cokey’ reminding us that although they’re pretty dodgy elsewhere, they’ve always been a good pub act.

Mat Snow