Dodgy - Speaking In Tongues (1998)

Dodgy's third album 'Free Peace Sweet' was released in 1996, and was a solid record containing some memorable songs, such as 'You've Gotta Look Up' (with shades of the Ad Libs' 'The Boy From New York City') and 'Good Enough', which cracked the top 5 of the UK singles chart in the summer, yet overall the critics felt that it fell short of the greatness that many had expected, with Paul Moody of the New Musical Express summing it up with 'A fine pop album then, but not a great Dodgy album'. With rumours of personality clashes flying around, Clark left the band in June 1998, and the trio’s final single 'Every Single Day' was released in September. Miller and Priest returned in summer 1999 with new singer David Bassey, keyboard player Chris Hallam and bass player Nick Abnett, but the Dodgy that I'd loved was no more, and so I left them to it until the original line-up re-united in 2007 for the live 'So Far On 3 Wheels – Dodgy On The Radio'. In the summer of 2007, they announced a reunion tour featuring the entire original line-up, but these plans were abandoned when Miller fell out of bed and chipped a bone in his arm, with the rescheduled tour taking place in March 2008. Further tours followed, and the band started recording again in 2008, with the fruits of their labours finally appearing in 2012 as the excellent 'Stand Upright In A Cool Place' album. To round off this series we have the b-sides of a couple of singles from 'Free Peace Sweet'. as well as that final single 'Every Single Day', and also their contributions to the HELP charity single, and a Small Faces tribute album. I hope these five albums bring back memories of one of the very best indie-pop bands of the 90's, and don't write them off as they are still producing great music to this day.  

Track listing

01 Is It Me (from the 'Come Together' charity single by the Smokin' Mojo Filters 1995) 
02 Pebblemilljam (b-side of 'If You're Thinking Of Me' 1996)
03 Forever Remain (b-side of 'If You're Thinking Of Me' 1996)
04 Grateful Moon (bonus track on early vinyl copies of 'Free Peace Sweet' 1996)
05 Self Doubt (b-side of 'In A Room' 1996) 
06 Speaking In Tongues  (b-side of 'Good Enough' 1996)
07 I Can't Make It (from 'Worlds Apart: A Tribute To The Small Faces' 1997)
08 Every Single Day (single 1998)
09 The Bridge (b-side of 'Every Single Day')

10 Revolution (b-side of 'Found You' 1997)

Dodgy - Colour Me With Paints (1995)

1994 was Dodgy's breakthrough year, with their 'Homegrown' producing two memorable singles in 'Staying Out For The Summer' (a hit when reissued in 1995) and 'So Let Me Go Far', and despite lacking any discernible image, aside from that of three wide-eyed and unspoiled souls with a fondness for dressing down, their eminently hummable songs meant that they were now welcome guests in both the charts and the pop press. The third post from the band contains b-sides from 1994 and 1995, taken from the singles that were extracted from 'Homegrown', and once again it's astonishing at how many exclusive tracks were gifted to their fans on the b-sides of the many and various editions of their singles.

Track listing

01 A Summer's Day In Mid January (b-side of 'Staying Out For The Summer' 1994)
02 Don't You Think (b-side of 'Staying Out For The Summer' 1994)
03 Back To Life (b-side of 'Staying Out For The Summer' 1994)
04 Colour Me With Paints (b-side of 'Staying Out For The Summer' 1994)
05 The Snake (b-side of 'Melodies Haunt You' 1994)
06 Watch Out Watcha Doin' (b-side of 'Making The Most Of (New Version)' 1995)
07 This Is Ours (b-side of 'Making The Most Of (New Version)' 1995)
08 (Get Off Your) High Horse (b-side of 'Making The Most Of (New Version)' 1995)
09 Spent All My Time Running (b-side of 'Making The Most Of (New Version)' 1995)
10 All The Time In The World (b-side of 'Making The Most Of (New Version)' 1995)
11 (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher (b-side of 'Staying Out For The Summer '95' 1995)

Dodgy - Sylvia's Bedroom (1993)

Despite the fact that 1993's 'The Dodgy Album' was filled with buoyant 60s-styled pop tunes, it nevertheless failed to sell, though The Dodgy Club was now being exported as far afield as Amsterdam and Scandinavia. It's one of those albums that has been re-evaluated over the years, and although it's reputation is still as a second cousin to their breakthrough album 'Homegrown', it does contain some fine songs from Clarke, and remains a favourite with me. This second post contains only songs released in 1993, and bearing in mind that they'd used their best dozen or so for the album, it shows just how prolific they were even at this early stage in their career.

Track listing

01 Don't Go Back (To The Beaten Track) (from the 'Homegrown' EP 1993)

02 Let's Wait Until We Get There (from the 'Homegrown' EP 1993)

03 It's Been So Long (b-side of 'Water Under The Bridge' 1993)

04 She Wants My Loving (b-side of 'Water Under The Bridge' 1993)

05 Valuable Fool (b-side of 'Water Under The Bridge' 1993)

06 Big Brown Moon (b-side of 'Lovebirds' 1993)

07 Sylvia's Bedroom (b-side of 'Lovebirds' 1993)

08 Smashed Up In A Flat (b-side of 'Lovebirds' 1993)

09 Never Again (Campfire version) (b-side of 'I Need Another' 1993)

0 If I Fall (b-side of 'I Need Another' 1993)

11 Hendre-DdU (b-side of 'I Need Another' 1993)

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)

Dodgy - The Dodgy Club (1998)

I've always considered Dodgy to be one of the very best bands to emerge during the Brit-pop era of the early 90's, with their infectious humour and knack for a memorable melody earning them the title of the clown princes of the genre. While putting together an exhaustive collection of their non-album b-sides and rare recordings I found that they sometimes handed over control of their music to remixers such as Jah Wobble and Tranceglobal Underground, with the results being a far cry from the classic indie-pop that we know and love. As a foretaste of the future posts, here are all the dance remixes on one album, titled as a tribute to the club that they started in 1990 at the Bacchus Wine Bar in Kingston Upon Thames, where they gained their first fans, and got their foot on the ladder to international success. If you have fond memories of the band then you are in for a treat, with a four-post series to collect all their hard-to-find recordings, and in the meantime, enjoy this quite superb album of their remixes, which I think hangs together extremely well as a dance album in its own right.   

 

Track listing

01 See The Way (promo 12" single as D-Club 1991)
02 So Let Me Wobble Jah (b-side of 'So Let Me Go Far' 1994)
03 The Elephant (The Balafon-A-Bing-Bong Immigrant Mix) (b-side of 'So Let Me Go Far' 1994)
04 Out Clubbing (b-side of 'In A Room' 1996)
05 Jungle UK (No Rest In Peace) (b-side of 'In A Room' 1996)
06 Nutters (b-side of 'Good Enough' 1996)
07 Lovebirds On Katovit (b-side of 'Good Enough' 1996)
08 Look Up (b-side of 'Every Single Day' 1998)
09 Mostar Keep Shining (b-side of 'Every Single Day' 1998)