| Here's
some more anecdotes on Johnny and the Band from Roger Armstrong of
Chiswick Records. For more of the same and info on the early punk
scene click on the link at top of page. How did you come to sign up Johnny Moped.
He seems slightly off his trolley. Any memories
?
Moped was and probably still is eccentric to the
point of being legendary. Live the band were one of the great punk acts
and certainly further out on the edge than any of the others. I got to
know them via Capt. before we were involved in the Damned. He brought
them to our attention.
The conventional
punk influences were New York Dolls, Stooges, 60s garage and pop etc,
but Capt and various members of the Mopeds were big fans of the early
Soft Machine. At one point they used to stalk them from gig to gig.
Hence the Mopeds had this wild highly musical thing about them. Slimy
Toad was a superb guitar player, and I think like many of the punks he
was a musician whose vehicle was punk rock. He once met the jazz
guitarist Alan Holdsworth in a guitar shop and invited him to play at a
Moped gig. Alan duly turned up with a few beers or six on board in the
punk spirit – gamey lad – and was amazed at how fast and intricate
the Moped’s music was. He had real difficulty keeping up with them.
Still in attitude and energy they were pure punk rock.
Getting Johnny to
the studio could be a nightmare. At one stage the band resorted to
kidnapping him form his work. To be honest he was not that unwilling.
Captain was amazing with him – like a big brother always on the look
out for him. He eventually married a fellow eccentric – Brenda. The
first gig she turned up at was the Marquee. She plonked a chair down in
the middle of the club and to watch the band. Eventually she was
surrounded by pogoing punks who kept knocking her off the chair – but
she defiantly got up put the chair back upright and sat down, only to be
knocked down again.
Johnny was just
electric on stage – one of the best performers we ever had. I remember
him turning up at a Damned gig one night in Hemmel and he got up and did
a couple of numbers with the band, finally dueting with Dave on New Rose
– spectacular stuff.
Rat and I had
birthdays only a few days apart, so round the time of my 30th
he arranged a big party in the back garden of his mum and dad’s place
– big house – big back garden – Plan 9 video and outdoor parts of
the Smash It Up were shot there. Anyway he hired the local heavy metal
band as entertainment, but that didn’t last long and I have vivid
memories of Capt and the Mopeds blasting through a set of Damned and
Moped favorites.
Little Queenie
still cracks me up.
Brenda and Johnny are still married.
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