Final Photo's of Colin Stoner at his last ever gig (with The Doctors of Madness)

[Tj]

Here's another post from The Doctors that you TUTS actually might find interesting...

Never mind Hugh a certain Mr smith has a new CD out next month. A few listens to that might make you feel better.

$ Deal Dave

Hugh is the guy who runs the site and he was moaning about how all the old bands that the music press ever go on about are the likes of U2, The Stones, The Beetles etc. etc.

Check out www.doctorsofmadness.co.uk DISCUSSION BOARD to find out more.

The big question is, is who is $ Deal Dave :?:

 

[Tj]

Tj Sundown posted 9/6/03 2:05 PM

Hmm $ Deal 'Dave' singing the praises of TV's Smith's awesome new album Not A Bad Day (realeased one month today).

Could this be the return of Hippie 'Dave' Damned?

Tj

 :?  :?  :?  :?:  :?:  :?:

 :?    :?

[Tj]

The final Bulletin from The Doctors Cool Network:

The 6th October is Not A Bad Day if you like TV Smith  

Tj Sundown  posted 9/6/03 2:16 PM        

Yes it's all true the official best album of the year is released on 6th October 2003. I've been fortunate to hear demo's of it twice and it is A STONKER.

If you do yourself Only One Favour in 2003 buy this CD. See www.tvsmith.com for details.

Tj  

:idea: Come on TUTS lets start hitting other sites and start telling them about Not A Bad Day and £1M.

 

[Tj]

Hmm loads of responses to other posts, yet nothing in here despite lots of posts about TV Smith and the possible return of Hippie Dave Damned. :?

I'm starting to believe that the TUTS are skipping this section of posts.

Am I right?

 

[Tj]

Well Jock once said I was very determined. :wink:

Ron  posted 9/6/03 11:44 PM    

OK Tj,
I'll do myself a favour, and following my initiation into the TUTS at Peterborough TV can count on my continued support and the purchase of the new album
See you at the next TUTs 'special'
Ron  

Tj Sundown  posted 9/7/03 0:17 AM    
   
Thanks Ron,
Well you asked for it Rocket Ron, this is TV's all too short UK Tour in 2003:
Sun 14 Sep 03 MANCHESTER - Star and Garter
Fairfield Street , Manchester ( 0161 273 6726 )
Doors open : 7.30p.m
Entry £4.00
7.45p.m : The Spinning Fields
8.35 p.m : Because They Came From The Wrong Side Of Town
9.30p.m - 10.30p.m : TV Smith
(all timings approx)
Because They Came From The Wrong Side Of Town....
Twisted country sounds which City Life likened to "Spiders From Mars meets Kurt Weill"
(features ex-members of T.V.Smith faves Harvey's Rabbit.)
The Spinning Fields promoting their "Drunkenness and Cruelty" album which is full of well crafted and catchy songs
Come early!

Wed 17 Sep 03 POULTON (NR BLACKPOOL) - The Royal Oak
Support from Ramones cover band "Sedated,"
plus punk rock film show *confirmed.*
Accomodation available at the venue, tel 01253 882198
Entry £5.00. 7.30 pm. Info 07778 333311
Thu 18 Sep 03 DERBY - The Vic
Support - Paul Carter. Come early!
Midland Place, Derby. Tel. 01332 740091
Fri 19 Sep 03 GLASGOW - DeathKill4000 @ Woodside Social Club
10pm - 2am
Sun 21 Sep 03 GATESHEAD - 3 Tuns
92 Sherrif's Highway, Gateshead NE9 5SD.
Tel 0191 487 0666
T.V.Smith with 1977
Support: T.V.Smith solo.
Gateshead is a must and Derby is always a great night out. Some 'proper' Oakham in the Smithfield as well.
Fancy any anyone?
Tj

[Tj]

:idea: Views currently stand at 876 so I can find out if I am talking to myself  

...As if I would, with my reputation :wink:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

 

[Tj]

Hmm 897 So it is getting some hits.

So here's some more Smith, Strange and Stoner for you:

Returning home, the Adverts signed the worldwide deal they had been hankering after, pledging themselves to RCA - who immediately sacked the person responsible, and sent the band into the studio to see what they could come up with. They responded with one of their strongest singles yet, and their first in ten months, "Television's Over." It was produced, to the astonishment of everyone who read the credits, by Tom Newman, of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells shaped fame, and backed by "Back From The Dead," the earliest of a clutch of songs cowritten by T.V. and Richard Strange, of the Doctors Of Madness.
   "Tim first introduced himself as a fan, he and gaye used to come and see the Doctors every time we played in the West Country," Strange remembers. "We got to know each other, and when they moved up to London with the Adverts, I used to go along, socially at first, then I started to really enjoy Tim's writing, and from there we got into writing together."
    Strange was even more effusive in the press. "T.V. is the only New Wave songwriter who can string together two sentences and still remember what the first one was... apart from me, of course," proclaimed the man who considered only Bob Dylan and John Lennon could rival him in the "Greatest Writer Of The Twentieth Century" stakes.
   Around fifteen songs were born of this union, but only "Back From The Dead" ever made it onto vinyl, first on the Doctors' own third album, Sons Of Survival (Polydor 2383 472), and now on the Adverts' b-side.
   However, two others, "Making Machines" and "Last Human Being In The World" received an airing when T.V. came on stage during the last ever Doctors gig, at the Music Machine on October 26, 1978, while the Doctors also recorded the duo's "Don't Panic England," for a projected final single. Featuring the Damned's Dave Vanian on vocals, the release would eventually be shelved, and has never seen the light of day even on bootleg.
    "It was," says bassist Stoner, "horrible."

Dave Thompson Bored Teenager for Goldmine
   

Come on Stoner, I quite like it It would have been better if you had sung it though.

 

[Tj]

Here's some more on TV and Richard from the two Daves (still don't know if it is Hippie Dave Damned).

$ Deal Dave    posted 9/10/03 5:06 PM     www.doctorsofmadness.co.uk

Bored at work surfing the net checked out Richard on E Bay. Found Phenomenal Rise for sale. The review below was included in the sales spiel. Worth repeating I thought.If any one from Ozit or Captain Trips reads this board PLEASE make this your next Re-release.Stunning the London and New York club scene with a powerful narrative and some devastating songs, The Phenomenal Rise of Richard Strange began life as a solo stage show, a political satire in which the eponymous hero -- a top rock idol -- is elected president of a futuristic European federation, then falls tragically foul of the very men who raised him to such heights. At a time when the United States were being governed by a film star, and the U.K. by a harridan, such a scenario didn't seem so odd. What was remarkable was the ease with which Strange eased the saga into a single and so solid album. Built around dynamics (if not arrangements) which had characterized Strange's work since his emergence at the helm of the Doctors of Madness, the strident opening title track and the closing "I Won't Run Away" have a dramatic power which bookends the album to perfection, guitars and saxophones to the fore. Elsewhere within the cycle, the frenetic "Gutter Press" recalls the "Doctors"' "Bulletin" in both style and subject matter, while the ballad "Who Cries For Me" features some intriguing backing vocals from Strange's former occasional writing partner, Adverts vocalist TV Smith (he appears under the self-explanatory pseudonym Radio Jones). Paying close attention to the lyrics reveals that a couple of the songs exist primarily for their ability to drive the storyline along, but Phenomenal Rise's greatest asset is the fact that much of it stands up to scrutiny even without the overall framework. It's a claim, after all, which precious few other concept albums can make, but one which is backed up by the success of the two singles drawn from the sessions, the edgy "International Language" and "Phenomenal Rise" itself -- neither charted, but both attracted attention at the time. If there was any downside to the album, it was that only a portion of the entire stage show was included. Hopes that Strange would unleash a double album were dashed very early on, while plans for a conventional theatrical or cinema presentation never came to pass. However, several of the absentee tracks can be gathered up from the Live Rise album and Fools Rush In compilation, and even in abbreviated fashion, The Phenomenal Rise was both peerless and nigh on perfect. The greatest concept album ever made? Quite so. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide

And the Live version is even better.

 

[Tj]

More from your favourite Doctor:

Tj Sundown  posted 9/13/03 10:16 PM        
"Built around dynamics (if not arrangements) which had characterized Strange's work since his emergence at the helm of the Doctors of Madness, the strident opening title track and the closing "" have a dramatic power which bookends the album to perfection, guitars and saxophones to the fore."
Dave Thompson
Brilliant Dave.
"I Won't Run Away" is on a par with Mainlines, Marie & Joe and Billy Watch Out in my book.
STANGEly my favourite three artists TV Smith, Richard Strange and Ron & Russell Mael (the Sparks brothers) are also big favourites of Dave's. So much so that he started his excellent career as an author writing and designing the early 80's TV Smith fanzine called TV Times.I'm emailing him again on Monday, so I'll let him know about the mentions he has had on this forum.
Tj

 

[Tj]

Oops wrond Dave again :roll: I've got deja vu. :oops:

$ Deal Dave  posted 9/12/03 8:48 PM    

Hi TJ sorry to dissapoint you but I'm not Hippie Dave (apologies to that esteemed gentleman for any confusion)I'm just a fan who got fed up with my usual sign in name.I would have posted this on the TV site but I've forgotten my password !!! I won't be at any of Richards gigs this year but will hopefully see you & the TUTS if TV plays London soon.  

Tj Sundown  posted 9/13/03 10:19 PM        

I suggest you get a new sign in name then Dave! No worries that you are not Hippie Dave. Mixing my Dave's up is a mistake I seem to make quite a lot.
I'm off to see TV in Manchester tomorrow night. Can't wait!
Cheers Dave
Tj  

 

[Tj]

This is an update on a link site I mentioned on here sometime ago. The first mention was back in the days where Tj and Kid Sundow were 'two different' people :wink: The bit about me is in bold.

Richard Strange has been the charismatic frontman of the now legendary proto-punk group ' Doctors of Madness '. Since their demise he has been artistically involved in numerous enterprises. Everything is excellently documented at his very own web-site which has been launched by the end of March 2002. You will not only get the latest infos there, but you can even order a variety of goodies and exclusives! Some minor updates have been added to the site since it's start. Check out the press-section and enjoy the confusion Richard created at the BBC.

The story of the Doctors of Madness is told at their official website which is kept by Hugh . As a bonus he even keeps an active messageboard . Amongst the regular posters you will find TJ Sundown who must be considered as the greatest living combined TV Smith and Richard Strange fan-base ever, Brian Harding - a very fine and friendly gentleman, who never was a roadie for the Doctors , but at least got stuck on Danish girls and a certain 'Richard' will sporadically post exciting news. On the board he announced the imminent release of a new Doctors of Madness live album on the Japanese label Captain Trip and you get regular updates for his somewhat hectic schedules. Recently he indicated that there will be new 'Happiness' recordings available and there might be the chance that a new 'Doctors' live CD with the help of Japanese band 'Sister Paul' might see the light of the day.

The album Into The Strange is on sale in Japan since February 02 and can be obtained either from Captain Trip directly or through various online sources. Be sure to get it , because it is not only a historical recording of the last ever performance by the `Doctors“ but also contains a very fine version of the Velvet Underground `What Goes On“.

All 3 classic Polydor Albums have been re-released by the small Ozit label . The fantastic debut album 'Late night movies - All night brainstorms' has been on the market since 1998 with added bonus tracks . A very fine review recently appeared on Newspaper Taxi Meanwhile Ozit has released 'Figments of Emancipation' and 'Sons of Survival' as well. If you have not bought the Japanese CD releases a couple of years ago they are a special treat with bonus tracks and guest appearances by Dave Vanian and TV Smith.

If you still need further information on the 'Doctors' you can visit the All Music Guide. They have very favourable reviews of the Doctors and their albums. Another great review seemed to be lost forever but thankfully the Trouserpress pages are active again again ! An extremely valuable source - give it a try.

Richard' s solo career as a musician is documented on the All Music Guide as well. Though it does not mention his latest offerings with his group 'Happiness'. You can listen, buy and download their music at Vitaminic in mp3-format or order the cd version at Richard' s site. An absolute must have item since it contains the new classic 'You Will Die!' which was brought to a wider audience at BBC's Today Show.

A collection of Richard' s solo 'Masterpieces' seems to be in the making on the German label 'Ausfahrt' but has not been officially confirmed yet!

All his solo albums and various singles are long deleted and thus hard to find. If you still want to get hold of any of those check out www.cybercd.de, www.netsounds.co.uk, www.musicstack.com, www.gemm.com or www.ebay.com .

Mr. Strange has appeared in several box office hit movies as supporting actor. The latest addition is the forthcoming Martin Scorcese directed movie 'Gangs of New York'. Obviously the scenes with Richard have been edit out - so let' s see whether the DVD version will have some additional footage. His movie and tv activities can be followed at the International Movie Database. Richard even made guest appearences in German TV as a 'butler' which is documented here .

And finally Richard wrote down his story which is being published by Andre Deutsch Ltd. You can order 'Punks and Drunks, Flicks and Kicks' at www.Amazon.co.uk or www.Bookshop.co.uk (WH Smith). Excerpts can be found at Richard' s website. The reviews have been very favourable and the book is enjoyable and intelligently written. Starting in the 50ies and heading straight into the future it is a journey through more than 4 decades. Buy it now !

Accompanying the release of his book Mr. Strange has done a couple of rare live appearences in 2002. He appeared at the 'Glastonwick Beer Festival 2002' and 'Hoxton Hall, London' and did a couple Radio and Tv shows. I will put up some material from the radio shows soon. April 2003 saw him appearing on a short tour in Japan together with David Coulter and the Japanese Group 'Sister Paul' billed as the 'Doctors of Madness' . The tour seems to have been very successful (see also in the news section). The latest developments indicate though that Richard' s career is getting a very new and unusual twist again and he is becoming some sort of very modern ballet-dancer (or maybe my English is just too lousy).

If you want to find out for yourself what can be found in the internet on Richard and 'Doctors' - just try 'Google' or 'Altavista' . Or try an metasearch at Vivisimo.com with it' s cool features

[Tj]

Seriously though Joern's link site is ace it has lots of links to virtually eveything Strange on the internet

Check it out on http://strange.qxite.de/

I asked him why he used the word fan 'base' and he sent me this nice letter along with a lovely gift that I must repay him for

"The "base" thing: Maybe I'm expressing it wrongly (my mother tongue is German) but I regard you as a one man army in a war to fight ignorance towards Richard Strange, the Doctors and TV Smith... So armies do have bases (or am I mistaken)...   "  

Joern.

If you ever read this Joern, no you are not mistaken and many thanks for your kind words.

Talking of buliding armies though it's been far easier to help build a TVSmith United Tour Supporters (TUTS) army than The AfterGlow (TAGS) army (that has been like pulling teath   .

Cheers for 'listening.'

 

[Tj]

Here's an interesting idea for this forum. It's by Brian, the brother of Richard Strange:

What is he on about??  
Brian  posted 9/20/03 11:57 AM        
I have requested and received the artiste's permission to write a few short pieces on my interpretations and opinions of the lyrics and music of The Doctors of Madness.
These short essays will be my account of what I see and hear as they unfold, or remember (if anything) about their conception and development. It must be stressed that anything I write is my opinion only and not necessarily anything to do with the truth !!
I am allowed to comment on names where they appear, but not to put names to any event where they do not appear. This is fair enough.
Anyone who has seen the film before reading the book will have a picture dominated by the film of the characters and events as they appear when reading the book. Anyone reading the book first will often be surprised and sometimes dissapointed when the see the film. Anyone wishing keep their own private fantasies of the songs should avoid reading anything on the message board marked "Brian" together with the title of a song.
I will attempt "Mainlines" in the near future to start off with.  

What do you TUTS think about doing this on TV Songs?

I suppose I tried to do this in TV Questions a couple of times, particularly on Ship In A Bottle.

 

[Tj]

This was my response to Brian. Forever plugging TV and receiving far more feedback in their very quite forum than I ever do in the TV & the TUTS forum:

Tj Sundown  posted 9/21/03 12:43 AM        

Ace idea Brain. Can't wait!

We have a section on lyrics in TV Smith's site, but nothing so profound.
Here is a link to the TV lyrics written with Richard and the songs he performed and recorded with Stoner in The Explorers: http://www.tvsmith.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=977&start=15

Tj Sundown

 

[$ Deal Dave]

Sorry to read your "disapointment" in attempting to form a Richard Strange "Fan Club". The main difference between the TUTS + the TAGS is that TV is almost permanently on tour and therefore the TUTS have an opportunity to meet & see TV where as Richard gigs only rarely (3 gigs this year) The tour with the dance company does not count as by his own admission Richard will not be performing any of his material.
TV has stuck close to his roots and fan base and is now producing music of (in my opinion) far greater quality than he did with the Adverts. Richard on the other hand had his finest hour with the Doctors and with the Phenomenal Rise LPs. He has now moved on to more " esoteric " areas which while enjoyable (the gig @ Hoxton was incredible) will never,for me, get close to the music of the Doctors. Fair play to you and your enthusiasm for both TV & Richard especially on the Doctors message board where at times you seem to be the only poster. Any way feel free to copy and paste this onto the Doctors board and "slag" me off as you see fit no problem I'll still buy you a pint next time I see you.