stop the pigeon...
This song perfectly encapsulates the grey twilight of the early 70's up and down the sewage stoked shores of these hallowed isles.
An era of miners' strikes and constant power cuts as a consequence. Unemptied refuse bins piling on the streets and troops deployed to clean up the decaying heaps.
Nobody seemed to mind too much. The miners were heroic then, the martyrs of Great Britain's declining heavy industry and just in their demands for better pay.
The winter was long and filledwith blackouts; kettles were boiled and baths filled with military precision lest the lights blinked off and caught you in the dark. Children padded home from school through the sleet and snow and watched what they could on the tragic lantern before the cathode rays invariably died.
Late at night their parents secretly cursed those same strikers they countenanced by day. Heavy metal canisters of Calor Gas appeared in every house like early Christmas presents.
Fast forward a mere decade, and the miners had a much tougher time of it as they fought to preserve their jobs and dignity under Tory prime minister, Margaret Thatcher.
This was Lieutenant Pigeon's only big hit. From Wiki:
"A spin-off from the experimental music band, Stavely Makepeace, fronted by Rob Woodward; Lieutenant Pigeon's sound was dominated by the heavy ragtime-style piano played by his mother, Hilda Woodward."
Written by Nigel Fletcher and Woodward - and recorded in Woodward's front room in Coventry with his mum tinkling on the ivories - this was one of Jarvis Cocker's Desert Island Discs when he guested on the very wonderful BBC Radio 4. My station of choice.
Ideal for any funeral as an antidote to the bogus angst of the Big Chill.
▼ LEUTENANT PIGEON: MOULDY OLD DOUGH from "Mouldy Old Dough b/w The Villain" 45 (Decca) 1972 (UK)
THE BEST OF LIEUTENANT PIGEON
9 comments:
Wary that anyone out there may form the impression that I'm a budding Mark Chapman with a "Catcher in the Rye" complex, I revisited this post and edited the word "phony", substituting "bogus"in its place.
Never let it be said that I'm not anal.
Now I'm convinced I commented on this yesterday afternoon. Some fine words about irony of being at home listening to a song from the time of the last concerted industrial action because my son could not go to school because of the Unison strike. However, it appears to have disappeared into the ether so I'll try again a lot less lyrically
Damn, peewit! We need all the gold comments we can get here! And here was me thinking I must be the only person (outwith Jarvis, of course) who had a word - kind or not - to say about this classic piece of Blackpool kitsch...
In my son's preschool year, I was worried that he would possibly detest the mandatory nursery placement. On the contrary, he loved it until it was rudely curtailed by the strike (I think that was Unison).
I found myself gnashing my teeth every time a car cruised by the picket line and honked loudly on the horn in encouragement and support.
What I left out this time was that this was very nearly the first record I ever bought. ( I eventually waited for Simon Park Orchestra's eyelevel). I once owned a Lieutenant pigeon album that also wnt in the great wife purge. So, no, you are not alone in loving this great bit of good time boogie
Good show - and brave of you, too, to buy an entire album! Was it any good, though ?
I'd very nearly forgotten about "Eye Level". Was that not the theme to Van Der Valk, if I'm not mistaken ? Thank god for the Sweeney when the Flying Squad finally got there a few years later...
never said I liked it!
Yes, Van Der Valk. Later in life I told my parents that's why I wanted to go to Amsterdam!
Did they buy it, though ?
I bet you didn't even bring them back any tulips. Lost in a coffee shop romance...
What an incredible record. "The villain" is great too; sounds a bit like PiL, only much better. I have to confess though i'm almosty a bit put off to hear that knob Jarvis Cocker likes it. C*nts are still guesting on Radio 4.
Yes. I know what you mean about the JC accolade. Ah well.
I like the "peotry" and "Refuse". Very minimal.
Very cool idea with the scans.
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