Simon Milner, Neil Fitzpatrick, Ian 'Mog' Morris, Mike Doherty and 5th Smirk John Scott.
Producers. Mike Howlett, Laurie Latham, Chaz Jankel, Andy Mac, Steve Jah Foley, Matthew 'King' Kaufman and Kenny 'Glock' Laguna.
The management. Andrew Jaspan and Bruce Mitchell.
The world's best agent. Paul Boswell
And Smirkonasticktastic fans
Well Paul Morley said this in NME.
"To You (Smirksongs/Virgin)
The Smirks come to us! At last it's easy to fall for The Smirks, who've made the new pop single of the week if not the month. Both sides of this record do imaginative things with guitars, pace and harmonies that add whole new layers of delight to the brisk Buzzcocks motion manner. No wonder The Smirks have stubbornly carried on even though they were dumped by Beserkley and no one seemed to love them, if this is what they're capable of. Why haven't you shown us before, Smirklads? This will be a hit, and The Smirks will smile properly, not just bravely."
Mind you in the interest of balance, in his review of our Alex Park Rock against Racism gig, he called us 'an irritating little combo'.
He may have been right on both counts
The Street’s Alive and Working Again.
(An abridged Smirkstory)
So there I was, late 1976, nursing a drink at the bar in the left Bank of Paris.
Very arty, the essence of bohemian sophistication you may think.
But take a look to my right where a young Neil Fitzpatrick is squaring up against a slightly older Bob Dylan wannabe. Straight ahead a stocky crop haired figure wearing bizarre looking Vietnamese pants and a black t-shirt has another youth in a head lock and he’s not letting go, even though the bar owner is striding purposefully towards the centre of the commotion, night stick in hand. The stubbornly surly youth is Simon Milner. The Smirks are in Paris and busking will never be the same again.
After leaving school Simon and Neil spent time doing crap jobs and playing folk clubs before hitting on the brilliant idea of busking around the world before earning their fortune working in the mines of Australia (You couldn’t make this shit up).
First stop Paris where they realized that by playing Rock and Roll rather than the staple diet of dreary folk tunes they could make a lot more than other buskers. Add to that the brain-wave of a unique dancing style that involved throwing themselves around like mentalists and it wasn’t long before the moolah started to pour in. The world trip soon faded into distance as the bright lights of Paris kept our intrepid duo landlocked.
Then the talent scouts arrived. With offers of gigs and a recording contract a bass player was needed which is how I found myself sleeping on a very crowded floor in the 13th arrondissement
and ultimately in that bar.
Presently Simon and Neil returned to Manchester. In one of the most defining moments of Smirkdom, I took Simon along to Belle Vue where Granada were filming The Clash in concert for Tony Wilson’s ‘So it Goes’. Simon was completely knocked out and the next day went into town to buy a couple of electric guitars and AC 30s and immediately set about rehearsing. Gigs were needed so I suggested that Simon and Neil took themselves down to the offices of left field listings mag and gig promoters New Manchester review.
The editor Andrew Jaspan was intelligent, slightly posh, well connected and left wing thus a perfect candidate for punk rock manager. We could tell that he was well connected, as the first gig he got us was a fireman’s benefit at the prestigious Globe in Salford. I can’t remember if it was us or the fire eating stripper that was headlining but a grand night was had by all.
With our gig tally still in single figures we were signed to Bezerkley and put straight into Rampart Studios with Kenny Laguna, a character, to put it mildly. I’m sure he found us sullen opinionated Mancs a bit odd too. As we were about to return to Manchester Kenny announced that he would add the glockenspiel and send us the finished product. We assumed this was the crazy American’s idea of a gag and were completely floored upon receiving a tape a few days later bathed in glock. In a fraught exchange we managed to force Kenny to remove it apart from 2 notes on the intro. It was at this point the penny dropped. We thought we were The Clash but Bezerkley thought we were The Rubinoos.
OK UK should have been a hit. Fact. We received shed loads of airplay, NME single of the week and a midweek chart position of 48. The records weren’t getting in the shops though, apparently Bezerkley were in dispute with Decca, their distributors.
(In a postscript to the Laguna production it was only upon remastering in August of this year that we realized the glock hadn’t been removed but buried. It’s back now, not only on OK UK, but also bashing away ten to the dozen on Streets. Kenny Laguna we salute you, you glock loving crackpot)
Mog September 2007
Hi Mog.............great to hear from ya. Just got computer back after nearly 2wks so have been feeling v. isolated without it!! Good news about the album eh? Used to luv u guys - yeah some happy memories of you lot crashing at my pad in Bayswater. Wish i was still there..........Now i'm stuck up t'north in yorkie country! Crash pads in London getting harder to find now everyones had to move out or downsize. So, if u know anyone still there wiv spare room who cud 'placate' a 'little un' for few days i'd be grateful if u cud let me know cos friend has bought me tkt for 'Killers' in Hyde Park end of June!!!! If ur ever playing round this way any time in future don't forget to get in contact. Would be great to see u again. Lotsa love Yvesx
Just wanted you to share this rare knowledge with you. So far, we have only circulated it to ourselves (which doesn't count) and to Nicky Tesco. For more zany Canadiana please visit our profile page, play a few rounds of crokinole, trade mirthless giggles with the loons, anything goes at Singing Fools MySpace.com! Not to be confused with Bugs Harvey Oswald.
Endnote 1: the game of crokinole appears to have developed in rural Canada in the 1860s. A unique blend of several older English, French, German and East Indian games, crokinole has been an enduring family favourite for close to 140 years. And while many rules and variant playing methods have developed throughout North America, it appears that one basic set or pattern of acceptable rules has emerged from it all. The following, then, is the distillation of what seems to be the most common, popularized, ‘settle-the-squabble’ rules for fair, enjoyable crokinole play. (For dozens of other regional variations, manufacturer’s specific rule choices, tournament rules and unique games to play on the crokinole board, please consult The Crokinole Book by Wayne Kelly) The object of the game is to position shooting discs on the playing surface in such manner that they remain within the highest scoring circles by the end of the round. A crokinole shot is accomplished by firmly holding the end of your index or middle finger against the thumb and then flicking or snapping it against the disc in order to propel the disc across the playing surface. Each player seeks to make a “20" (centre hole) score whenever possible. At the same time, each player - in turn - will attempt to make such scoring opportunities difficult for his opponent. The game is played to 50, 100, or more points, as determined by all players in advance.
ahhh mog, sorry, roger didn't tell me about it in time, otherwise i would have come along. i'm glad it all went well, i hear simon turned up too! can't wait to hear it all.
"They never noticed Rosemarie, she was the hottest piece of cake in town" and "California hippies with their yellow hair--there's nothing there!" will always be in the lyric hall of fame. Not to leave out "Up eh up!". Smirks Against Travolta!
oh yes, joe and his mates... it may be fair, but i don't think so...
jolly days of my youth, so many great records, so many great gigs!
still a fan... great to hear about the album too! happy daisys... paul
Online Now!
