Dodgy - Summer Fayre (1993)

Dodgy started out as a trio from Bromsgrove and Redditch called Purple, comprising Nigel Clark on bass, Mathew Priest on drums and David Griffiths on guitar. They moved to London in 1998, gaining Frederic Colier as the bass guitarist, with Clark providing vocals, and this new formation first settled in Battersea, using their living quarters as a rehearsal space. The quartet then relocated to a semi-detached house in Hounslow, where they turned the garage in the back garden into a sound proofed rehearsal room, and playing in local pubs and small venues until cracks started to appear when Clarke and Priest's direction clashed with that of Colier and Griffiths. Dissension led to the dismissal of Griffiths and Colier, with Clark and Priest going it alone for the time being, although they soon realised that they needed a guitarist, so they placed an ad in the magazine Loot, and invited Australian Ben Lurie to join them, only to see him leave them less than a week later to join The Jesus and Mary Chain. Shortly afterwards they discovered guitarist Andy Miller, who came from Neasden, and with a new line-up came a new name - Dodgy. Miller moved in with the rest of the band in Hounslow in the early part of 1990, and from then on the three of them were constantly in the garage, piecing songs together through Clarke's songwriting. While out one night, Priest became engrossed in a conversation with a guy who happened to manage bands, and he surreptitiously popped a demo cassette into the guy's jacket pocket without him realising. When he found it he played it and then straightaway rang the number included within the cassette case, and Dodgy now had Andrew Winters as their manager. The band started The Dodgy Club in Bacchus Wine Bar in Kingston Upon Thames in late 1990, and by playing there every two weeks for eight months, they built up a loyal following of fans, and had also drawn interest from major recording and publishing labels. This led to them signing a six album deal with A&M Records in 1991, and as well as a publishing deal with BMG. The band's debut album was produced by The Lightning Seeds' Ian Broudie, and as well as the jaunty indie-pop of their music, they concerned themselves with social issues by supporting The Serious Road Trip, War Child, the Liverpool Dockers' Strike, Charter 88 and youth democracy campaigns. This first post contains their early singles and their b-sides, released before the appearance of their first album in 1993, plus their contribution to a 1993 Bob Dylan tribute album. 

Track listing

01 Easy Way (single 1991)
02 Seems Like A Bad Day (b-side of 'Easy Way')
03 Smeasy Way (b-side of 'Easy Way')
04 Summer Fayre (single 1991)
05 St. Lucia (b-side of 'Summer Fayre')
06 The Elephant (from 'The Black And White Single' 1992)
07 Worth The Blood (full version) (from 'The Black And White Single' 1992)
08 Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (from 'Outlaw Blues Vol. 2 - A Tribute To Bob Dylan' 1993)