What's So Funny About Peace, Love & Pub Rock?
What's so funny about peace love and understanding? The 'British Pathe' archive video showing one of the 'cheapest' places on a UK Monopoly Board 'The Old Kent Road' (bet it isn't so cheap nowadays!).
the song accompanying the video above is performed by Brinsley Schwarz a pub rock band from the late 60's to mid 70's and the track and video always brings a bit of a tear to my eyes, please take a look at a slice of London at the link above before some of the recent photos here.
The original footage at the link above was all shot along The Old Kent Road, probably on an old cine camera capturing 'real life' London way back when, probably filmed around the mid 1970's, you can check out the film maker has noted some of the 'important' pubs of the area where many of the pub rock acts of the day used to play such as The Thomas A Becket, the great big pub on the street corner.
The more recent snaps show how it looks now, still a bar but more focused on being a Vietnamese restaurant, interesting to note the blue plaque (you must have done something good if you get one!), this one on the side of the building for British Boxer Henry Cooper OBE KSG who evidently used the gymnasium of the pub! You can catch some of his boxing exploits at the link featuring encounters with the legendary Cassius Clay aka Mohammed Ali. Must admit I am not a keen boxing fan I just most remember this guy from the 'Brut 33 Aftershave and Deoderants' adverts as a kid. You can catch a little more about the pub's history and some of the music acts who played or rehearsed there as well as actors such as James Fox who trained in the gym for the Nicolas Roeg film 'Performance' which also starred Mick Jagger at this article thomas-becket-no-room-at-inn, and also this link to countercultureuk.com which features an early incarnation of sharp suited R&B act Nine Below Zero (formerly known as pub rock act Stan's Blues Band) who also played at the pub.
Some things appear not to have changed to drastically, the housing shown in the video, as well as this shop front showing that it was was started along here in 1972, and still going!ย
As well as the pubs, just the detail of things like the school kids walking home past the X Rated horror movie sign boards and some really old style shops, some impression of 'old style houses' being pulled down and 'new' high rise ones taking their place. What possibly also 'shocks' me is how quiet the roads are, blimey! today it is nose to tail chock full of cars!
So, on a day off in the Summer I took a trot 'up town' and headed off to Elephant & Castle and took a bus ride down The Old Kent Road. In a way it is quite sad in some ways, the area has changed a lot and some of those old pubs either just don't exist anymore (if you look at the video link above and check out the pub 'The World Turned Upside Down'), now have a look at the recent picture below:
Hey, It's not all doom and gloom though, there are still many thriving pubs and I continued down the road turning off towards Rotherhithe to a couple of lovely pubs one called The Angel and the other is the Mayflower, both packed with punters even on a weekday and also very near The Brunel Museum (In memory of that fella in the 'stove pipe hat' who built tunnels, ships etc). I then crossed over the river towards Wapping following The Thames Path to my journey's end at The Grapes, a tiny little boozer, but absolutely beautiful overlooking the Thames, evidently originally once owned by Sir Ian Mckellen.
I had a pint or two and a chat outside on the veranda overlooking the water and catching some welcome breeze with a couple of people both having jaunt on foot along the Thames Path around London, the first was a fella from New Zealand visiting, but originally from the UK who had followed the Thames Path and journeyed up from around where The Shard is to the pub to enjoy a welcome pint and the next was a person from Stockport on an 'away day' exploring who had started his journeying in Brixton! Anyhoo, enough of that and on with the musical links...
Surrender To The Rhythm
Catch the wonderful Nick Lowe (munching down hard on some 'Juicy Fruit' chewing gum by the looks of it) with Pub Rock band Brinsley Schwarz with a fantastic track 'Surrender To The Rhythm' at the link, just kind of highlighting their style and the keyboard sound I am guessing maybe picked up by Mick Talbot a la Style Council (kind of reminds me of their track 'Speak Like A Child'). The Brinsley Schwarz song introduced by the sadly missed 'Whispering Bob Harris' on OGWT way back when, selling up that whole 'pub rock' sound of the day, which was probably a whole bunch cheaper to see than the like of Emmerson, Lake & Palmer at bigger venues. Not 'knocking' the whole 'prog rock' thing, just it was probably as 'unaffordable' as many concerts are today in order to see your favourite acts. So if we look at the prices from 1974/75...
The Cost Of Living Bites
ELP Concert - ยฃ2.20. plus the rail fare there and back and food and drink. Your 'average' for example postal work in London might be earning ยฃ46 per week, bearing in mind the inflation rate in the mid 70's hit about 24%, so basic things like bread, milk, the rent or mortgage, much like today became so much more expensive, a trip to see your favourite band may have been just out of your price league, so step forward 'The Pub Rock Scene'. All you needed to do was pop down to your local 'boozer' (as mentioned in the previous video clip) and still manage to get a couple of pints in, or get completely 'bladdered' at 28p a pint (comparing the price of a concert ticket) and get to watch a band for 'free'. No wonder the whole thing kicked off and the 'punk' and d.i.y. 'post punk' thing followed hot on it's heels. I know which venue I'd have been at!ย
RetroWow website gives you some idea of 'the cost of living' on some 'basics' back in the day.
| Pint of beer | 28p |
| 20 cigarettes | 42p |
| Pint of milk | 7p |
| Large loaf of bread | 15p |
Jesus Of Cool
Anyhow, Nick, after Brinsley Schwarz scored his own 'solo' career moving on to work with Rockpile with Dave Edmunds as well as his own sound including albums such as The Jesus Of Cool and tracks such as 'Cruel To Be Kind', a song written by him and band mate Ian Gomm whilst he was still in Brinsley Schwarz, the video featuring Nick at his own wedding to Carline Carter along with other 'names' such as Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner, Terry Williams and also Jake Riviera (ex-Stiff Manager).
He didn't stop there, he also got involved further with Stiff Records and released the first track by the label called 'And So It Goes', not only that but he also produced for the very first UK punk single 'New Rose', by The Damned earning a nickname of 'Basher' as his phrase was evidently, 'let's bash this out and tart it up later'.
Cover Version
The track 'What's So Funny' was originally written by Nick Lowe on the album 'The New Favourites Of Brinsley Schwarz' in 1974.
The Elvis Costello & the Attractions version was first issued as the B-side of Lowe's 1978 single "American Squirm" credited to "Nick Lowe and His Sound". At the time, Lowe was Costello's producer, and he produced this track as well. When the song became a hit, it was quickly appended as the last track to the US edition of Costello's album Armed Forces. It has appeared on most of Costello's "Best of..." compilations over the years. It has also been covered by many, many artists. The video link above showing Costello looking a little lost without his guitar to be honest!๐
You can catch more of some more wonderful Stiff Records artists at the tag link on this site. And if you like a bit of Nick Lowe then catch him recorded at home with son Roy with the song 'Trombone' put out during lockdown. Tipping my hat in respect to one of our 'national treasures'. If you just like a bit of Pub Rock then catch the tag on this site to some of the other artists of the day!
The lyrics to 'What's So Funny...' are just wonderful and 'utopian', uplifting and yet still slightly downbeat and ask the questions:
"Who are the strong?
Who are the trusted?"
Certainly not most of the UK politicians we seem to have at the moment, that's for sure!
Picture Sources
hornetskensington.wordpress.com
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Video Thanks
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