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Memphis Louie
an' the Rockin'
Firebirds of
Death – Triple
Header with The
Meantime and
Swedish TV at
the Royal Hotel
5 September 1985
Lineup
(L-R in
picture):
-
-
Memphis
Louie
Studebaker
(Vocals,
Harmonica)
-
Etheridge
Lockjaw
Jones
Ist
(Drums)
-
Levi Mac
‘an
Sheonaidh
Rickenbacker
(Rhythm
Guitar)
-
Bob
Bitchin’
(Lead
Guitar)
(only
Bob's
right
arm is
in shot)
Peacenik hippy
pinko Levi was
involved with
the organisation
of a benefit gig
for “Hebrides
CND” at the
Royal, and it
wouldn’t have
been right for
his own band not
to play. After
some muttered
protestations
from plutonium
enthusiast Leroi,
the band were
signed up for
the gig along
with The
Meantime and
Swedish TV.
Perhaps the
whole gig should
have been
entitled “An
Evening With
Memphis Louie
Studebaker”.
After excellent
sets from
Swedish TV (with
Memphis Louie
playing drums)
and the Meantime
(with Memphis
Louie on
vocals), The
Firebirds
appeared about
midnight. They
played a 40-ish
minute set which
went down a
storm (in
comparison with
previous
occasions) and
sounded pretty
good even from
the stage. Leroi
had brought
along the trusty
ghetto blaster
to tape it, but
something was
switched the
wrong way and it
didn’t come out.
Memphis Louie
reads his
lyrics. And
Leroi wants to
point out that
that goddam' new
romantic yankee
f*gg*t keyboard
in the bottom
left wasn't
nothin' to do
with the
Firebirds. He
was just standin
beside it, OK?
At the back of
the hall,
however, were a
couple of
drunken
bootleggers with
a dodgy cassette
player and even
dodgier
batteries -
Ejected Dark
Visit drummer
Alan “I Taught
Them Everything
They Know” Dick
and his pal
Roddy “Actor”
Morrison can be
heard throughout
the tape they
made, the witty
badinage
deteriorating
from “Roddy
Huggan is
reading the
lyrics off a
sheet of paper…”
to “That’s my
cymbal they’re
playing… yay …
f***…” as the
night wears on.
The band closed
with The 13th
Floor Elevators’
“You’re Gonna
Miss Me” and
then packed up
for good.
Etheridge
Lockjaw Jones 1st
decided there
and then that it
was time to go
out on a high
note and no-one
else could be
bothered going
through the
hassle of
looking for
another drummer.
Click here for
more
pictures of
Memphis Louie,
Swedish TV and
the Meantime,
and some stuff
on Meantime
live
appearances from
the
Unofficial
Meantime
website.
Songs (most
likely):
-
Hi Heel
Sneekers
-
Wherewolf
-
Out of
the
Question
-
Louie
Louie
-
Blues
with a
Feelin’
-
18
‘Gators
in Space
-
Strychnine
-
Nobody
Now
-
From My
Window
-
I Was
Murdered
by the
C.I.A.
-
You’re
Gonna
Miss Me
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