Johny Brown,Alfie Thomas,Chris Brierley..............And some of the ones who have passed through(Real Beauties)!Bill Lewington,Big John,Adrian Bailey,Jub,Karel Van Bergen,Mark Cavener,John Jenkins,Paul Sampson,Wendy Dunleavy,Rob Hacker,Leo,Tom Smith,Steve Hands,Caroline Jewkes,John Brown,Paul O'Donnell,Marek Budzynsky,Andy Astle,Peter Rollinson,Louise Kleboe,Hilary Jeffrey,Janey Shorter,Alex Keen,Oscar Khan,Franny Armstrong,Max,
George Lovell,
Fitz,
Brett Turnbull,
Martine,
Malou,
Caroline Gaskin,
Howard Rickard,
Gus Ferguson,
John Moore,
Chess(tim),
Emrys Baird,
Neill Starr,
Anne Solomon,
Mairie,
David Coulter,
Robert Lee,Mike Thomas,Adele and Terry
Influences
DISCOGRAPHY
“had a mother who was proud: and look at me now” (1985, FlimFlam Productions HARP1T, 12” only) - Track list: 1. Disgust 2. Consumption 3. Nylon Rose.......
Who Snatched The Baby? (1986 FlimFlam Productions HARP4, 7” & 12") - Track list:
(7”): 1. Who Snatched The Baby? 2. A Great Binge 3. One Child
(12”) 1. Who Snatched The Baby? 2. One Child 3. Yo!.........
Rosemary Smith (1987, FlimFlam Productions HARP6, 7” & 12”) - Track list: 1. Rosemary Smith 2. Aspidistra House 3. Hanging Johny (12” extra track)
............
Tactless (1988, Rough Trade RT223, 7” & 12") - Track list: 1. Tactless 2. Butterfly Beauty Burns 3. Zombie (12” extra track) Promo video ............
Evening World Holiday Show (1989, Rough Trade RT233, 7” & 12") - Track list: 1. Evening World Holiday Show 2. Broken Hearts Battered Minds 3. Jack Mark II (12” extra track) Promo video..........
Real Beauty Passed Through (1990, Rough Trade RT243, 12” & CD) - Track list: 1. Real Beauty Passed Through 2. Chantal 3. Happy Go Lucky 4. Lonely Cottage (12” extra track) Promo video...........
Happy Go Lucky - 1990, Rough Trade - 1 sided flexidisc to promote album “Positively Spooked”..........
Claudia Dreams (1992, Ecuador Records EQ003, 12” & CD) - Track list: 1. Claudia Dreams 2. Well You’ve Met This Boy 3. Jelly Baby...............
It's Lovebite City (1992, Rough Trade Singles Club 45revll - 7" only) - track list: 1. It’s Lovebite City 2. Sleepy Time Donald.................
ALBUMS/MINI ALBUM/CASSETTES.............................
Tales From the City (1983/4?, Cassette tape) - issued on a Scottish label run by Robert King; 50 copies made according to Johny, who in 1989 told me he “hadn’t clapped eyes on any for years”!......................
More Favourite Fairy Tales (1984, Cassette tape) - label not known, but probably the same as above. A small number were briefly available through the Holy Joy fan club (Club Joy). Each copy was accompanied with a black and white booklet of prose and photographs entitled “The Ghost Road”. Track list: A side: First Hour of the Day; Today Smashes Down; The Only Thing Working In This Town; Liquid Lunch; I’d Dream If I Could Sleep; Violence, Adolescence, Nightmare; Maybe One Day. B Side: Peter’s Playground; Consumption; Mental; Snow White; Drug Virgin; Anticipation......................
The Big Ship Sails (1986, FlimFlam Productions HARP BABY 1, 10” vinyl only) - Track list: A side: Prams, Piers & Bitter Tears; Rosemary Smith; First Hour Of The Day. B side: Living Legends; The Boy Sailor; Maybe One Day...................
More Tales From The City (1987, FlimFlam Productions HARP LP1, vinyl LP only) - A side: Who Snatched The Baby?; Mad Dot; When Stars Come Out To Play; The Aspidistra House; The Tide Of Life. B side: Don’t Stick Knives In Babbies’ Heads; Leaves That Fall In Spring; Cities; Fishwives; Goodnight, Godbless, Goodbye. ...........................
When Stars Came Out To Play (1987, FlimFlam Productions ByeBye Baby 1, vinyl LP only) Live album - Track list: A side: Don’t Stick Knives In Babbies’ Heads; Mad Dot; Janis - This One’s For You; Nico - This Is The Way Out. B side: One Child; Amsterdam; North Shields; Fishwives; Who Snatched The Baby; Yo!.........................
Manic Magic Majestic (1989, Rough Trade Rough125, LP/CD) - Track list: A side: Route To Love; Baubles, Bangles, Emotional Tangles; Nightjars; Tactless; You’ve Grown So Old In My Dreams; Killy Car Thieves. B side: Bride; Manic, Magic, Majestic; What The Moon Saw; You’re Not Singing Anymore; Blessed Boy. CD extra track: Where It Hurts.......................
Positively Spooked (1990, Rough Trade RTD CD154, LP/CD) - Track list: A side: Real Beauty Passed Through; Evening World Holiday Show; Because It Was Never Resolved; Unlikely Girl; Shadows Fall; Bitten Lips. B side: Here It Comes; Hot Little Hopes; Freda Cunningham; Torch Me; Positively Spooked; Look Who’s Changed With The Times.........................
Tracksuit Vendetta (1992, Ecuador Records EQLP4/CD4, LP/CD) - Track list: A side: Ragman; Casual 983; Well You’ve Met This Boy; Tracksuit Vendetta; 0898 Intermission. B side: Claudia Dreams; By The Light Of A Magical Moon; Kitchen Emigre; Marvin In Ostende; Soulstress; Trafalgar Square......................
Love Never Fails (2002,Rough Trade) - track list: Capture my Soul;Wilfred Owen;City Trams;The Death of Love;Refugee;Hugh Grant;The Laughter on Ganton Street;Someone Shares my Dreams;Grace Darling;Love Never Fails;And Then the Real Thing Comes Along.....................
COMPILATION APPEARANCES..........................
Disgust on Here We Go (Sterile LP, 1985)........................
Drug Virgin on You Bet We’ve Got Something Against You (Cathexis LP, 1985)............................
A Glorious Morning In Orton Street on Perdurabo (Cathexis LP, 1987).........................
Route To Love on Sonic Sounds 2, a 4 track 7” single given away free with Sounds music paper (1987)...............................
Killy Car Thieves on Gigantic, a Melody Maker compilation cassette (1988).........................
Right As Rain on Gigantic 2 (Melody Maker compilation CD, circa 1990)................
Tracksuit Vendetta on Ecuador CD 3-band, 3-song sampler (1992).....................
OTHER STUFF............................
Tactless - single promo video on the Carry on Disarming compilation video (DISARM1). 41 bands featured on this fundraising video jointly issued by the NME and CND in 1989. The video features an appearance by a young Vic Reeves, a friend of the band from their South East London squatting days in the early 1980s.....................
What The Moon Saw - on SNUBTV Volume 1 (1989). This features a short introduction to the song by Johny Brown followed by a studio performance by the band. The compilation features 12 bands highlighted .........
thanks to Wendy for the discography..
Try this quiz and see how well you know the Band of Holy Joy .........copy and paste this ....................http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz2205641941268.html
Welcome to the official unofficial Band of Holy Joy myspace.
Although this has Johny,Alfie and Chris's approval,they have nothing to do with the running of the page.Any messages will be passed on.
this has been set up to keep the name alive and perhaps spread the word a bit further afield.
In case youve never heard of the Band of Holy Joy(and im sure you have)...They consist of a nucleus of Johny Brown (without a doubt,the best lyricist ever to put pen to paper)who sang songs about his life with such passion and honesty that it took you to the run down areas of North Sheilds or to the funfair on the bank of the river medway or to Soho Square....so many times ive looked up at the moon above centre point in Charing Cross Rd and the words of Nightjars fill my head..thats what the words and music of the Holy Joy can do for you!..then theres Alfie Thomas,in my mind the most passionate and best accordianist and keyboard player ive ever seen!A wizard with a laptop and currently doing nicely with SOIF (formerly Kleboe) which also has the pleasure of Chris Brierley,Chris is so laid back and the "quiet one"The politest man in rock and roll"and that is hardly your rock and roll cliche..but when it comes to violins,there is no better..his haunting notes transcend beauty...worthy to catch in any capacity,whether its turning a SOIF song into an operatic dream or a Holy Joy song into a breathtaking journey that will leave you with tears in your eyes!...summed up,he plays with heart and soul!
The Band of Holy Joy have gone through numerous changes over the years since the first recording of "More Favourite Fairytales" back in 1984 to the most recent..the highly acclaimed" Love Never Fails" in 2002.
The band havent played together since February 2003 and have been inactive as a collective ever since.
Many of the band have gone on to other projects most notably 'Society of Imaginary Friends(soif)','The Delights' and 'Morton Valance.hopefully it wont be long before there are links to their pages on myspace.
UPDATE................1st of May 2007 The Band of Holy Joy headline at the 12 bar club in Soho,London..supported by the Fantastic Society of Imaginary Friends and Simon Rivers(Bittersprings)...A glorious night of new and old..4 or 5 new songs including the tragic "Ipswich" and some old favourites including "Leaves that fall in spring" and the heartstopping "Town in every girl".................Another superb night Soho!UPDATE..NOVEMBER 2007
There have been a few more live dates since the 12 bar back in may....most notably a festival in Southend in July which just happened to fall on the only glorious day of the summer...the weather great,friends had gathered from around the globe...and Holy Joy were alive...playing in a barn on a farm in Rochford in Essex..the setting fantastic...the sound..pure joy!
Then more recently came The Rhythm Factory in Whitechapel...supported by The Bitter Springs and SOIF plus the charming,A Singer must die.
SOIF and The Bitter Springs were at their very best but BoHJ surpassed any expectations of making this already wonderful night even greater....new songs that are now firm favourites...Cold blows the wind,Ipswich and John Wesley were interspersed with Because it was never resolved,Bride,the lovely...Well youve met this boy and the absolutely breathtaking...Town in every girl.........A Glorious night...we carried on drinking and talking till 4 or 5 in the morning with our friends that had come from as far New York,Dublin and Hertfordshire!
And so to the present day...The Best of cd(Leaves that fall in spring) is imminent on Cherry Red Records(19th NOV 07) and 2 dates in London have been announced for the 19th and 21st of December.
Heres to a Happy and Holy Joyous Christmas!.....................................The 12 Bar Club,Soho..21st December 2007....You can be pretty sure when the BoHJ play the 12 bar,you can be in for
a fantastic evening.
They've pretty much made the place their own and although its an
intimate venue,people pack into every available space to join the party.
Support came from the Hungry dog brand (Martin) who played an acoustic
solo set.Its worth checking out his my space page for the song...you
dont have to be stupid!
www.myspace.com/hungrydogbrand
you can find details of his album to buy or download.
He was followed by Hacker from Morton Valence who also did a solo
acoustic set including a couple of old Florida favourites.
Society of Imaginary Friends,as sharp as ever...played a few songs from
the new album including the soon to be legendary...welcome to my space
(also available to listen to on their my space page).
They were joined by Tam Dean Burn for a classic rendition of 5 years
(just try to imagine a duet between Louise Kleboe and Tam Dean Burn!)An
instant classic!
www.myspace.com/societyofimaginaryfriends
11.15pm and Holy Joy take to the stage...The usual
suspects..Johny,Alfie,Chris,Steve Hands,Paul o Donnell,Andy Astle,Marek
Budzynski and Louise.
A fantastic set of old and new(even managed to play the whole proposed
set!!)
Denmark St
Manic Magic,Majestic
John Wesley
Cold blows the wind
Punklore
Town in every girl
Bluebird
Lovebite city
Consumption
Capture my soul
Like a face starved of a kiss
and an encore of Fishwives and Death of love.
All in all it was a great night...the band were in party mood and the
crowd were in party mood........................Heres to a fantastic 2008!!!
"There's too much sincerity in your voice", "Beginning rehab" 's lyrics, a song by us on VIRB... it's about you, Johny. You're the one who makes us quiver. Roman Oswald.
I think..you should put the secret history..AND michael grace on your friends list here..and put TSH on the top friends ...cuz they did a LOT for us....in NY. they put a lot of effort down.
I followed The Band Of Holy Joy on a short tour they did in (I think) 1989. Totally brilliant. "Manic, Magic, Majestic" and "Positively Spooked" remain two of my favourite albums from that era. No-one has ever written romance better than Mr. Brown. All the best Joe xx
great night in london last weekend, seen so many joy gigs but that was up there in the top list, loads of graft from lots of ppl with big hearts, and me vibing on it, keep up the mission Tim. X
Unless something horrid comes up, I'll be flying from MN to NY/NJ to see a gig- this is my first time doing anything like this, and I'll be working extra hours up until then. All the nights growing up listening to BOHJ while drinking under the Williamsburg Bridge has to lead to something, and this is it!
Hello The Band Of Holy Joy will be playing live at Chats Palace in Super Sunny Hackney on Friday May 2nd ... perhaps you could help spread the word ......Cheers Kev
i keep being drawn back to your web of delightful sound... and now i'm being drawn to the delights of whitechapel with its may 10th goings-on. i am excited. very. rose x
