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1980: 'The Story So Far' continues from our February issue...
Attrix Records had released Vaultage 79 and it was selling steadliy, though not in great numbers. Stuart's first move as manager of the Chefs was to get a selection of songs in the can, so he booked the band in to Graphic Sound Studios for a recording session. For the other Attrix bands, it was a contentious choice.
Many felt the Vandells were an altogether much stronger unit and their song Bank Holiday should have been released as a single. It had an irresistible Brighton feel to it, was catchy and melodic and deserved to be heard. Or the Golinski Brothers' Bloody, with it’s great lyric and saxophone riff. Bloody did make it onto a 45 a year later, on Badge Records. Similarly, with its squeezebox rhythm and fat guitar, Air Conditioning by the Lillettes was a strong contender.
In his new capacity as manager, Stuart fixed up the Chefs with the residency vacated by the Piranhas at the Alhambra and for a while things looked to be going in the right direction. They were pulling in the punters and taking money at the door. A prestigious gig at the Moonlight in Hampstead followed and the band also played the Music Machine supporting the Piranhas, which was another high profile venue.
Former Parrots’ drummer Russ Greenwood was added to the Chefs line-up, giving the band a much tighter and more punchy sound and they were booked into Graphic for more recording sessions. The result was a 4-track demo EP, featuring the songs Thrush, Records And Tea, Boasting and Sweetie. John Peel played it a few times on his show and while it sold reasonably well in the independent outlets, it didn’t generate any substantial income, which was what Attrix badly needed...
To be continued.../
• The launch of our free mp3 downloads page in March was set up in conjunction with Stuart Jones and Julie Blair of Attrix Records, to commemorate 30 years of punk (see our March Archive) and in April we launched Stu's new Album Reviews. After kicking off with Joe Jackson's Look Sharp, Stuart continues this month with XTC's GO2.
