The Band of Holy Joy were a treasure - a band that hovered under the radar (well under the radar, to be honest) for a number of years, putting out great records which were cheerfully ignored by just about everyone. They didn't fit neatly into any particular scene, and while it was easy enough to come up with a few bands they kind of resembled - the Pogues, the Mekons, Dexy's maybe, with a bit of Brel and Brecht thrown in - I think they were just too idiosyncratic for the music business to know what to do with. This means, of course, that they had a small but obsessive cult following, of which I was (and remain!) a card-carrying member.
This is one of their more straightforward pop songs, from the 1989 classic Manic, Magic, Majestic - possibly the most accurately-named album ever! It's a simple and catchy tune, but Johny Brown's marvelously evocative lyrics shine through nonetheless.
Incidentally, they've recently reformed and are gigging around London. Don't miss them this time!
No comments:
Post a Comment