Pussy Galore – Sounds: Mean Fiddler [11 January 1988] (PRESS, UK)

23 January 1988

Sounds

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VIEW:

NOTES:
Review of Pussy Galore live at Harlesden Mean Fiddler, London on 23 January 1988.
TEXT:
Photo Credit: Mary Scanlon Photo Caption: PUSSY GALORE’S J Spencer: his labotomy’s designer, even if his shirt isn’t… NO PUSSY FOOTIN’ PUSSY GALORE Harlesden Mean Fiddler WANT TO hear about a gen-u-ine rk and row-ul band? Attracted to their cover of the Stone’s ‘Exile On Main Street’ (all four sides plus the album sleeve) and rockin’, bitchin’ post-Stooges synopses of the calibre of ‘F* You’ and ‘C*’, I headed down to the Mean F** to investigate. Do they come from Washington, District C*** or New York C* I was wondering, when I was interrupted…”From Hate F* City, USA, this is Pussy Galore”. Oooeer, fnarr, pnarpp, I thought. No, I tell a lie. In fact I thought BIG BOLLOCKS! Viz Comic’s Finbar Saunders may be the critic’s latest reviewer friendly aid, but for this lot what you need is Rude Kid or perhaps Alexei Sayle cutca “Bastard f* c**, I can swear a lot”. Coming on like The Cramps plus designer labotany on the NHS plus not so much MCS as their bsad offshoot The New Order, Pussy Galore take just half an hour to deliver a Death Valley ’69, cock in pocket, Altamont, Bill Grundy, Jesus sucks lession in rocky rolliness. J Spencer (real name N* Twatface) and Julia handle the vocal chores immaculately, Mr Spencer (the same! Only joking!) turning in a particularly nice pre-caveman, sub-Iggy gruffness and astutely restricting his ‘tween songs banter to “yeah” and its variants “yuh” and “yeaahhr” while J goes all brat f* crazy. The three-strong axe attack brings about a fine display of spastic Mick ‘n’ Keef brand internal combustion and the new songs, ‘Bastard F* C* Bastard’, and ‘He’s A Faggot’, come across very hard ‘n’ heavy, loud ‘n’ proud. The audience, composed of equal parts devoted scum disciples, curious people and social functioning bozos, lick (ooerr) it (fnarr) up (pnarpp). Meanwhile, what are we to make of songs like ‘Biker Rock’ and ‘You Look Like A Jew’? Some post-easyridin’ rock rhetoricin’ and some obviously paraodic controversyin’? What do you say, Rude KId? “Well, let me see…respectively, a big dog’s cock and a pound o’ shite.” F***ing hell, you don’t mince your words young man. ROY WILKINSON