Things have been very quiet in France when it comes to rock’n’roll these last couple of years. NANCY BOYS introduce themselves as the offspring of The FRENCHIES so they have knocked at the right door. These cats started playing together in late 2019 but only introduce themselves now with four songs recorded live. “Nancies Are Comin’ To Town” is a ROSIE cover and the first thing that comes to mind is that it fits them like a satin glove. “Swap Club Stud” offers us some cool 70s influenced cowbell rock’n’roll that makes you think that they might be right when they mention The FRENCHIES. “Gimme Love” has a bit of an early AC/DC meets BAD LOSERS vibe and “Bondage Love” brings us back to this moment in rock history when there was a fine line between hard rock and punk rock. Call it glam rock’n’roll, hard rock’n’roll or punk rock’n’roll, it’s only rock’n’roll and we like it ! /Laurent C.
France has never been the best place for glam rock’n’roll but there were a few jewel bands in the past. Some of you might think of The FRENCHIES in the 70s or bands like TEARS and TEASIN’ BABES in the early 90s but the best French glam band in the mid-80s was undoubtedly BAD LOSERS. Twisted Soul Records has just reissued the band’s album enriched with some great bonus material and a 4 song vinyl EP for Record Store Day on June 12th. Guitarist Mister T.Jones answered our questions…
Can you tell us a bit about the history of BAD LOSERS?
As far as I’m concerned, the story started in 1983 when I joined the band in Paris. BAD LOSERS was originally a garage rock punk band from Toulon (Var) that had explored most of their local scene.
Did you have a precise idea of how you wanted to sound and look from the start ?
It was clear to me as a guitar player that I wanted to play in the spirit of the bands that had influenced me such as The ROLLING STONES , T.REX,the NEW YORK DOLLS and all the band we used to listen to like TheGUN CLUB or The ONLY ONES. Since BAD LOSERS wanted to head in that direction, we quickly got along well. The way we looked developped as years went by just like our haircuts! (Laughs)
You recorded the album in London in 1985. How did that happen? How were the recording sessions ? Any anecdotes ?
We recorded the LP in August 1985, we had just signed a record deal with Parisian record label GMG. We wanted to record it with Peter Perett (The ONLY ONES) who had worked with bands we used to like such as WASTED YOUTH (with some future members of FLESH FOR LULU) but the record label decided to send us to Dave Goodman who was the live sound engineer of The SEX PISTOLS and who recorded their songs before “Nevermind The Bollocks”. Dave was great to us as a producer, always listening to what we had to say, from our arrangement ideas to the production ones. We wanted to have female backing vocals and sitar on one of the songs (“Evil Sacrifices”) and he played it himself. He even went and record traffic jams on Oxford Street (that can be heard as the intro of “On Main Street“.) We recorded 8 songs in 5 days (mix included.) The mastering was made at world famous Abbey Road Studios.
There was The DOGS D’AMOUR and HANOÏ ROCKS among others at that time in London. Did you ever think of relocating there just like HANOÏ did?
We met The DOGS D’AMOUR in Paris before the became a well-known band, we felt really close to the way they played rock’n’roll live as well as the way they looked, the glam image we also had here in France. We wanted to move to London but a few things hold us back in France. On the other hand we really thought of being the French glam band in London. In late 1986 they sent us Ian Grant who played with GUNSLINGERS. We were HANOÏ ROCKS fans because they were one of the rare European bands playing so tight and so loud at that time, their Marquee show is just timelessly killer!
(Copyrights Richard Gillet)
Were you feeling close to any other French bands?
We were friends with WILD CHILD and a few other bands we happened to play with like The JET BOYS but honestly we were the only band with such a glam image playing NEW YORK DOLLS kind of rock’n’roll in those days. Most French bands at that time were part of the “alternative punk” scene/movement.
Johnny Thunders and Stiv Bators were also in Paris in those days. We can hear Stiv sing “Honky Tonk Women” with you on the CD. Did you happen to share a stage more than once?
Unfortunately not! It was the only good occasion to share a stage together. I think I saw Johnny Thunders at least 10 times when he was in Paris whether it was for solo gigs or with Henri Paul Cosa Nostra or The HEARTBREAKERS. As far as Stiv is concerned, it was a great surprise to play with him! We were invited to play as Johnny Thunders’ backing band at the New Moon in Paris and once we got in, the promoter told us that Stiv Bators would also be there! During the first part of the night Johnny was playing with only BAD LOSERS’ rhythm section and his friend Henri Paul Tortosa while I had prepared cover song list that we used with Stiv for the second part of the night.
It was memorable and so unique to hear Stiv sing a ROLLING STONES song and even a HEARTBREAKERS song we knew by heart. You can listen to the “Honky Tonk Women” cover with Stiv on vocals on the “Southern Style” CD.
There was several line-up changes in the band. Wasn’t it too difficult to find people who could fit considering your style?
It was indeed very difficult to find a guitar player who could match with our tastes and needs. I found Jean-Paul (N’Diago Pop) who played on the album and who was a 60s/70s ROLLING STONES fan just like me and a really good guitar player when it comes to play Chuck Berry/famous bluesmen kind of guitar chords.
There were various reasons for these line-up changes and usually personal ones. Jean-Paul went and toured in England, Ian who then played with us had the right image for us and so did Phil. The other ones were either shooting stars in BAD LOSERS or just out of control! (Laughs)
A band like HANOÏ ROCKS kinda suffered from being caught in between several music styles, “too glam for punks”, “too punk for hard rockers”, etc. Did you feel the same thing with BAD LOSERS?
Totally! We were a rock’n’roll band before all and in the middle of the 80s, it was all about the “alternative punk scene singing in French (for most of them)” in France. BAD LOSERS had several sides, a punk rock side but also a lot of 70s influences. Alike the NEW YORK DOLLS or HANOÏ ROCKS, I don’t think we can use the word “hard rock” to describe us even though we could think about it nowadays mainly because of the way we looked.
“Southern Style” will be out on June 12h. This EP was also recorded in London. How come it wasn’t released back in the day?
These 4 original songs were supposed to be included on a second album that was never released. We shopped for record labels to get a better the deal so that the band could get bigger. Major labels were asking us to sing in French and we refused because our music style was purely Anglo-saxon. Then we had some line-up changes and desires for a different music for some of us. We got tired of it and the band broke up in 1988.
Both CD and vinyl EP are released by Twisted Soul Records. How did that happen?
We’ve had this project for a long time. We had to wait until the birth of the record label and their start as a professional company. We also had to dig for files like this 1985 “Waiting For The Man” (VELVET UNDERGROUND) cover which was a demo with Richard, a great guitarist from Toulon who unfortunately couldn’t stay in the band. Same thing with our MOTT THE HOOPLE cover “One Of The Boys” recorded live at the Gibus Club when we opened for The CHERRY BOMBZ (Nasty Suicide introduced the band onstage with us before we started playing) or the song with Stiv Bators.
How did the band break up? Was it a brutal stop or was it more a long-run thing?
It was more a long-run thing for several various reasons and a desire to do other things. Also because it was a bit hard to see our future as BAD LOSERS at the end of the 80s in France.
Do you think the band would have explored other music territories if you didn’t split? On the EP we can feel a will to try new things and sounds, a bit like The LORDS OF THE NEW CHURCH or when The DAMNED released “Phantasmagoria”…
The style of these four unreleased songs is a bit different especially in their arrangements. We wanted to have a brass section and a boogie piano for the pure rock’n’roll “Southern Style”, but also some orchestral arrangements for the ballad “Girl In Uniform.” There’s also “Century Jane”, a 70s rock song and another song that can bring The LORDS OF THE NEW CHURCH or The DAMNED (when they experimented with darker influences) to mind indeed.
After the band’s split you went and explored new musical horizons. Can you tell us about it?
At the end of BAD LOSERS I bought a Home Studio which was a very new thing in those days. Bass, drums, everything was in! (Laughs), then I wrote music for advertisements/commercials before forming an electronic music duo that allowed me to travel and play in many different countries. The band (MOOG SPECTRAL) still exists to this day. In the 00s, I got back to my guitar and started a band called The JONES. We played as a backing band for Chris Wilson (FLAMIN’ GROOVIES) or Willie “Loco” Alexander.
I’m also part of an electro-rock project with Holeg Spies, we have some releases out on a British record label and a song remixed by Youth (bassplayer in KILLING JOKE.) I also work on songs at home. They’ll be released this year…
Did you ever think about a BAD LOSERS live reunion?
Honestly it’s almost impossible to get the band back as it used to be in those days full of music, fun and rock’n’roll!!! But this Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/BadLosers) as well as the quality of this reissue with 4 unreleased songs, live material, a demo, a poster and beautiful words from Patrick Eudeline almost make me want to play some good old BAD LOSERS rock’n’roll riffs.
Ancient Egypt and eternal life seem to be a recurring theme on this 5th GUTTERCATS album. Do cats really have nine lives? These guys could probably answer the question, paying tribute to wild life in opening track “Wild Animal” with their usual melancholy but they also know that eternal life might not be for everyone, facing life, time and the duty to keep the fire burning in “Keep The Flame” and its GUN CLUB atmosphere. “Dagger In My Heart” might be one of my favourite tracks on this new album, a sad dark pop song with a “Strawberry Field” mellotron in the verse and a rockin’ end. Listening to this album sometimes brings The DOORS to mind (“Farewell”) although the omnipresent violin almost takes us to old celtic territories. On the other hand, “Dark Room” takes us to psychedelic seas before it offers us the catchiest chorus on the album while “End Of Times” and “Know Your Roots” both bring a Western touch to the album. You’ll also hear a bit of a ROWLAND S. HOWARD atmosphere in “If I Had A Loaded Gun”, this one might also stay in your head after you’ve listened to it! The record finishes on the sorrowful notes of “Eternal Life” and “Sweet Lies, Betrayal & Adultery” (the CD version has an acoustic version of “Wild Animal” as a bonus track.) GUTTERCATS still follow their path against all odds and never deceive. /Laurent C.
10 years after their album “Amerikka Macht Frei” and after quite a few EPs and singles, UNDERCOVER SLUT are back with a new 10 song album, a new line-up and a new approach to their music. While they were often described as a glam punk version of MARILYN MANSON flirting with WHITE ZOMBIE, they now have broadened their influences. UCS still have this NEWLYDEADS/death rock vibe but they have also incorporated modern electronic sounds in these new songs, sometimes more melodic than before (“F-Bomb”), and mix their industrial metal to American hip-hop (“Insult To Injury”, “Dance Dirt”.) While the MANSON influence can still be heard in “Chloroform Nation” or in “Black Phillip”, it is mixed to electro/techno sounds and rap vocals. It sometimes even gets a bit more experimental with “Vice”, ambient (White Gloves”) and dark hip-hop (“I Lie, U Die”) before ending with a slight DAFT PUNK and gospel note in “Supreme.”
As the apocalyptic collage of the cover (would look great on vinyl!) suggests, this is a good soundtrack for the terrifying times we live in. Lovers gonna love! /Laurent C.
Paris rock’n’rollers The JONES are back with a new 13 track album. Opening song “True Love” mixes DR. FEELGOOD to Les DOGS while “Sid Vicous” brings GARY GLITTER and T.REX to mind. The JONES are no newcomers since they played in many bands before, including BAD LOSERS and CHRIS WILSON, so you can expect some good, solid and tight playing. The 60s influences can be heard in “Shake” or in “Betty Jean” while “No One To Blame” has a cool rockabilly vibe and a pretty catchy chorus. The classic blues rock’n’roll side of the band shows more in “Come Back To Me Baby”, “Silver Faces” and in “Can’t Afford Wasting My Life”, and you’ll get your powerpop fix with “Morning Ghost” and “Look The Part.” You’ll even hear some groovy funky guitars in “Looking For A Fox” and some classy pop in the last song “Twenty Seven.”
Keith Richards once said “The rock is easy, but the roll is another thing…”, and “Silver Faces” shows us how it has to be done! /Laurent C.
Paris’ GUTTERCATS are back with a 4th album already. Opener “A Trip Down Memory Lane” displays more pop influences than in their previous works, although you still can hear the obvious GUN CLUB influence. The band also gets darker with “(Beyond The Limits) Before I Die”, the guitars still have this cowboy slide feel, and the drums sometimes get crazy à la Keith Moon. You’ll hear some 60s influences in “I Wonder”, “I Promise” (and its psychedelic end), as well as in the sax infused ballad “Sweet Little Sister” (not to be mistaken for SKID ROW‘s famous sleaze rock’n’roll hit!)
My personal favourite is probably “Follow Your Instinct” and its repetitive, yet groovy hypnotic post-punk tones.
The band’s music sometimes gets close to NICK CAVE‘s (“Don’t Cry On My Shoulder”), and often gets drama-romantic (“Down In a Hole”, “No Remorse No Regrets”) although “On The Road” reminds me of Guts’ old band BABY STRANGE since it goes more into early 90s British glam rock’n’roll territories.
The production of this new album fits the band very well since it sounds live enough to imagine how these songs can sound once they are played on a stage and under the lights.
Let’s face it, GUTTERCATS are only getting better and better with age, just like good wine!/Laurent C.
First (digital) release of this new band from Paris. “Ladies Night In Hell”, and “Midnight Queen” both display strong HELLACOPTERS influences, you’ll also find a bit of BACKYARD BABIES in “Garbage City”, and early TURBONEGRO sometimes comes to mind (especially in the guitar solos.) These guys also love ZEKE and PETER PAN SPEEDROCK, and you can hear this in “Doppelgänger.”
6 songs you should check out if you miss the early 00s punk’n’roll scene, or if you’re into high energy rock’n’roll. I guess the next step for IRON LIZARDS is to release a physical release./Laurent C.
Veglam 