Best gig I saw back then. Dr. Feelgood live at
The Lord Nelson in Holloway road.1974 I think. They
looked like they’d come straight from a building site
and sounded like thunder. Wilkos tele machine head
knocking over my dads Guiness as he darted back and forth
In this tiny pub. I can still smell it!
I was at Ally Pally for The Dolls. Brilliant times.
My kids are so envious.

Ronnie

BUSTA “CHERRY” JONES – Though it would be absurd to call bassist Michael “Busta” Jones, a punk or New Waver, his credentials are undeniable. The journeyman was a significant contributor to Eno’s Here Come The Warm Jets, he was a legit recording/touring member of the Talking Heads in their expanded funky stage around 1980, he had his own punk/funk band, The Escalators, he was briefly a member of Gang Of Four, and he wrote a song for the Ramones (“Chasing The Night,” on Too Tough to Die). Always exploring the dynamics between Black and white music and musicians, the Memphis native’s early band was a Black rock act with Willie Mitchell’s son called, appropriately, Black Rock. Jones then got his first taste of punk’s anarchy, if not its musical form, in the late ’60s-early ’70s unit Moloch. That post-hippie, ultra-wild, theatrical Blues-Rock band played with the Stooges and MC5 and matched them in chaos (Jones isn’t on the Moloch LP, however). After Moloch he went the more trad route, becoming Albert King’s guitarist. In 1973 he went to England where he became a member of the Sharks with Chris Spedding (and was in Spedding’s subsequent solo act) and played on the debut solo album by art rock/New Wave pioneer Brian Eno (Here Come The Warm Jets, Island 1973). In 1975 he returned to his roots, playing in the all Black, near-Metal Memphis based power trio, White Lightnin’ with Donald and Woody Kinsey, later of Kinsey Report. Wrapped in an elaborate cover by the same artist who painted the Bitches Brew sleeve, it’s surprising their interesting self-titled album (Island, 1975) didn’t find an audience. It was around 1980, with his reputation gleaming, that things exploded for him. He became an integral member of the expanded TALKING HEADS (the funkier big band on the Remain In Light album [Sire, 1980] and tour featured Funkadelic’s BERNIE WORRELL on keys, Labelle’s NONA HENDRYX on vocals and Busta sharing doubled-up bass duties with Tina Weymouth). He also appears on the David Byrne/Eno My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (Sire, 1980) and Robert Fripp’s Under Heavy Manners / God Save The Queen (EG-Polydor, 1980) and began releasing funky solo records around this time. On the more rock tip, his punkest band, The Escalators, a collaboration with Talking Head Jerry Harrison, recorded and released their obscure self titled album (Unison, 1980). He had a cup of coffee with Gang Of Four in ’81 when they were between bassists. In 1984 he collaborated with Joey Ramone on Too Tough to Die (Sire, 1984) and did additional recording, some unreleased, with Joey. Over the subsequent years the list of musicians he worked with is expansive and bizarrely diverse (it includes Dan-I, Stevie Wonder, Bill Laswell, and the Modern Folk Quartet). One of his later projects was the Agitators, a Memphis unit featuring many ex-Moloch members. Jones died in 1995. (JA) By James Porter and Jake Austen

There’s a couple of connections between the Accidents and the Hot Rods: Ed Hollis managed and produced the Hot Rods up until the 1980, he also produced the Accidents mooted 2nd single, “Looking forward to/Puss in Boots”(at Stage one studio, in September 1980). Paul and Nick were in the studio with him. At that stage of the game Ed was pretty wasted but sprinkled a bit of Fairy Dust on the mix. And of course his brother Mark formed the influential Talk Talk.
Also the brother of second guitarist and ex Kursaal Flyer Grahame Douglas took the snaps that grace the front and back cover of the Accidents LP, taken in Covent garden on the 8th of October 1980, when we supported Lilliput(a Swiss version of the Slits but more New Wave)at the Rock Garden, in Covent Garden. Sadly no one can recall his first name.
And Surf Rat John Tuck played bass for the Hot Rods briefly, on a European tour.

Listening to the EP now, it sounds pretty clean. Dave Higgs guitar has the Wilko chop(albeit far more primitive), but grittier, and the bass and drums drive hard, in an almost Velvet Underground style. Guess it was those Amphetamine’d times! Barrie’s vocal is pretty straight, like a reedy brother of Lee. It all adds up to the most urgent Rock’n'Roll that I was aware of, going down in the UK at that time.

But with the exhilarating “Do any thing you wanna do” as the Rods in the summer of 1977 they had blossomed into a Power pop band briefly, but failed to follow it with anything nearly as successful.
Of course nowadays they’re coining it in on the Punk revival circuit………………