The Bollock Brothers

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The Bollock Brothers
Frontman Jock McDonald (2018)
Frontman Jock McDonald (2018)
General information
Genre (s) Rock music , new wave
founding 1979
Website www.bollock-brothers.com
Current occupation
singing
 Jock McDonald
Guitar (since 2008)
Chris McKelvey
Bass (1980, since 1991)
guitar (1981–86)
Richard Collins
Keyboards (since 2015)
Chesko Geert Vandekerhof
Drums (since 1987)
Patrick Pattyn
former members
Singing (1979-81)
Jimmy Lydon
Singing (1982-83)
David Archer
Guitar (1980)
Graham Wheelan
Guitar (1985-86)
Brendan Gallagher
Guitar (1986–96)
Boris Dommenget
Guitar (2001-07)
Henning Janssen
Guitar (2007)
Fré Landuyt
Bass (1979-80)
Martin "Youth" Glover
Bass (1980)
Phil Pickering
Bass (1980-81)
Noel "Wally" Waldron †
Bass (1982-86)
Keith Bradshaw
Bass (1987-89)
Sean Pettit
Keyboards (1979-80)
Terry Wakefield
Keyboards (1980)
Mick Dabrowski
Keyboards (1981-83)
Mark Sanderson
Keyboards (1982-85)
Martyn Young
Keyboards (1983-86)
Paul Shurey
Keyboards (1986)
Nick Nasmyth
Keyboards (1987-89)
Serge Feys
Keyboards, vocals (1991-2008)
Mark Humphrey †
Keyboards, accordion (2008-2015)
Morgan Michaux
Saxophone (1979-80)
Chris Gent
Saxophone (2001-07)
Klaus Fiehe
Drums (1979-80)
Paul "Youngie" Young
Drums (1980)
Ken "Dreary O'Hoodlum" Topley
Percussion (1982-85)
David Regan
Drums (1985-86)
John Mortimer †

The Bollock Brothers is a British rock band that was founded in 1979 by the London promoter , DJ and manager Jock McDonald (real name Patrick Joseph O'Donnell , born March 25, 1956 in Clydebank ) and is still active today.

Band history

The beginnings (1979-81)

Jock McDonald was the owner of a record shop in Leicester in the mid-1970s and manager of the local band Space Cowboys of the later UK Subs guitarist Nicky Garratt. In 1976 he moved to London and began to get involved in the punk scene. At the beginning of 1978 he was managing director of the Roxy Club for a few weeks before it closed in April 1978.

In December 1978, McDonald organized the first concerts of Johnny Rotten's new band PIL in London. Rotten's younger brother, Jimmy Lydon, wanted to try his hand at music as well, and McDonald helped him record the single One Of The Lads in the summer of 1979 .

Johnny Rotten was supposed to act as producer, but fell asleep in the studio after enjoying a bottle of champagne, so bassist Youth from Killing Joke directed the recording: “I was the only one in this band who could play at all. The whole thing was a punk rock hoax, and Jock got away with it. He knocked out a couple of major labels and I made more money than all my time at Killing Joke. And on my very first recording session, I told the musicians what to play and practically produced the whole thing. It was a club track with a reggae-disco beat, Jimmy shouting 'One Of The Lads!' The whole time. in the background. Actually just like the Happy Mondays ... "

A session musician who happened to be present contributed an Irish-sounding banjo and McDonald's background vocals to the B-side. The single was released on September 1, 1979 under the name 4 "Be 2" ("two by four", English synonym for a stick of wood). On December 25, 1979, McDonald organized a charity punk soccer match for orphans, followed by a party and jam session at London Club Studio 21. Participants included musicians from Thin Lizzy , the Sex Pistols , Killing Joke, Generation X and of course 4 "Be 2", the also improvised live that evening. This evening is seen by Jock McDonald as the actual birth of 4 "Be 2" and consequently the Bollock Brothers, as it was decided to pursue the band project.

In early February 1980, the band left Island Records by mutual agreement after signing a contract with Warner Brothers music publisher and collecting an advance of £ 20,000. On June 4, 1980 they signed a record deal with the major label WEA Records for a single single, which was released on July 4, 1980 under the title "Frustration" and was again produced by Johnny Rotten. The single was promoted the same day with a brief appearance on the back of a truck in front of the London US embassy, ​​the last joint action with bassist Youth , who then left the band.

Further songs, which were created in the spring in the London Basing Street Studio, were published in a revised and partly re-recorded form in 1986 under the misleading title "'77 -'78-'79". However, the alleged guest appearances by musicians from Killing Joke and the Sex Pistols on these recordings can confidently be relegated to the realm of sales-promoting legends, as those concerned themselves have always denied it. With the new line-up, the first real appearances took place in the summer and autumn of 1980, including at the Futurama Festival in Leeds (September 14, 1980).

At the same time, in August 1980 the music press announced the founding of a side project for 4 "Be 2": The Bollock Brothers , for which Jock McDonald now took over the vocals. Noel "Wally" Waldron, a roommate of Geordie and Youth from Killing Joke, became the new bass player and the Bollock Brothers' first single ("The Bunker") was released in October 1980, which was musically more based on PIL and an adaptation of the song " No GDM "by Gina X Performance. The cover of the single claimed "from the forthcoming film" ( The Bunker ), which of course was not true and was a foretaste of the Bollock Brothers' publicity methods in the years that followed. On October 16, 1980, the band ambushed Adam And The Ants during the TV show Top Of The Pops and started a brawl with them in the BBC building, which made some headlines.

Jock McDonald's love of football and hooliganism temporarily brought him into contact with the early Oi! Scene, he took z. B. the one planned debut single from Infa-Riot for his new McDonald Lydon label, which was ultimately not released. On November 22, 1980, the Daily Mirror reported indignantly about a maxi-single "Good Old Arsenal" by Sex Bristol with anti-Semitic football lyrics sold by McDonald outside the stadium, but McDonald correctly stated in the article that "Yid" and "Yiddo "are common names for Tottenham Hotspur fans and they would call themselves that too. Two more soccer singles ("Why Won't Rangers Sign A Catholic?" As Pope Paul & The Romans and "We'll Be There" as Rabbie Burns & The Ticket Touts ) followed in late 1980 and May 1981, respectively.

In early 1981 the last single of 4 "Be 2" ("All Of The Lads"), which had again been produced by Johnny Rotten, and another single by the Bollock Brothers ("The Act Became Real") were released. 4 "Be 2" gave their farewell concert in London on March 17th, 1981 and broke up, the Bollock Brothers tried unsuccessfully in summer 1981 to organize a few concerts in Germany.

Johnny Rotten later stated that his brother Jimmy Lydon only founded the band to finance a home for his planned marriage, which he had succeeded in doing.

Eurodisco (1982-84)

In early 1982, Jock McDonald teamed up with Keith Bradshaw, bassist and manager of Alaska Studios in London. A new band was put together to produce music for the next two years that was then called "Eurodisco" in England. With regard to radio airplay, the name was initially changed to Red Lipstique . Especially the single "Drac's Back" (a cover version of the 1979 disco single by Andy Forray) was quite successful and was re-released in 1986 under the name The Bollock Brothers. Two more singles under the new name followed in 1982 and 1983, "Oscar Wilde" and "Shame, Shame, Shame" (the latter was sung by London DJ Dave Archer), which aimed at the London gay club scene.

The only sign of life for the Bollock Brothers in 1982 was a rather uncommercial single ("The Return Of Vincent van Gogh's Left Ear"), on which old recordings from Basing Street Studios from the beginning of 1980 were used and partially re-recorded.

The Bollock Brothers' first studio album ("The Last Supper") was released in 1983 and, in terms of sound, was based more on the Eurodisco material of the Red Lipstique singles. Song texts with the typical Jock McDonald content (monster films and Catholicism) also appeared here for the first time, such as on the single "Horror Movies" (an adaptation of the Dusty Springfield song "Spooky"). The band began performing in Belgium and Germany at this time, and quickly became much more popular there than in their home country, where Jock McDonald's activities in music circles were seen as a bad joke.

The Bollock Brothers' second studio album ("Never Mind The Bollocks 1983"), released in mid-1983, was a musically unsuccessful new recording of the entire Sex Pistols album . Michael Fagan (a petty criminal who got into Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom at night in 1982 and caused a scandal over the security precautions at Buckingham Palace ) made a guest appearance on it, a PR that is typical for Jock McDonald Gag. Fagan sang the two Sex Pistols tracks "God Save The Queen" and "Pretty Vacant" and also performed live with the band.

In 1984 a live album and the single "The Prince And The Showgirl" followed, which tried to exploit a scandal at the time in the British royal family .

Faith Healer (1985-89)

At the end of 1985 the Bollock Brothers' third studio album ( The 4 Horsemen Of The Apocalypse ) was released, which quickly became popular in Europe thanks to a mixture of catchy synthesizer pop, sparsely but effectively used rock guitars and Jock McDonald's unmistakable spoken word. Especially the play Faith Healer , a version of the Alex Harvey -Klassikers of 1973, was so popular that they released it as a single. The album also contained four adaptations from album 666 by Aphrodite's Child ( Loud, loud, loud , The four horsemen , The lamb and The seventh seal ).

Jock McDonald now concentrated on the continental European market, as it was more or less ignored in England. The Bollock Brothers toured Europe twice in 1986 and released two videos, two singles, a live album, and several compilations of archive material. In Paris there was also an encounter with Serge Gainsbourg , who gave McDonald permission to cover his 1984 hit Harley David Son of a Bitch . The single Harley David was released in January 1987, and a television appearance on Formula One on March 10, 1987 ensured that it also made it into the independent charts in Germany. McDonald claims that Gainsbourg was very pleased with the Bollock Brothers interpretation.

At the beginning of 1987 Jock McDonald set up a completely new line-up of the Bollock Brothers with Belgian and German musicians, in January 1987 he announced a new single God Created Woman (an adaptation of the 1982 Berlin hit "Sex (I'm A ...) " ), On the B-side of which there will be a version of the" Nacht und Nebel "song Beats Of Love sung by the new drummer Patrick Pattyn . This release did not happen at first, instead the band recorded their fourth studio album in Düsseldorf, which was released in December ( The Prophecies Of Nostradamus ). The synthpop elements had now completely given way to a clear rock sound, and with Brigitte Bardot this album again contained a commercially quite successful single.

In 1988 and 1989 the Bollock Brothers toured Europe again. Only one compilation album ( Mythology ) was released in 1989, which contained older material from the years 1982-85, as well as the piece Beats Of Love, recorded in Paris in early 1987 . Then the band took a break, guitarist Boris Dommenget went back to Hamburg and opened a recording studio there.

Since 1991

In the fall of 1991 the Bollock Brothers reported back with their fifth studio album ("The Dead Sea Scrolls"), a catchy rock album in which Jock McDonald processed the Bible textually . In 1992 a new single "Don't Call Us, We Call You" followed, a cover version of the Sugarloaf hit from 1974.

In 1995 the Bollock Brothers released a punk rock version of the Frank Sinatra and Sid Vicious classic " My Way ". The band claimed that the nasal phone voice heard in the opening part of the song belonged to Nick Leeson , who had agreed to participate in the play while in prison. Leeson's lawyers denied this and took legal action against the publication, so that when the single was reprinted, Leeson's face was replaced by a large question mark.

In 1996 the Bollock Brothers released their last studio album ("Blood, Sweat And Beers"), which consisted entirely of cover versions, and the single "Where Is My Girl", a new version of the Eartha Kitt hit from 1983. Boris Dommenget then left the Band that took a break for several years. In 2000, bassist Richard Collins temporarily joined Los Paraliticos , the band of the current Sham 69 singer Tim V.

In 2001 the band was revived with a new guitarist Henning Janssen and a new single "Jesus Lived Six Years Longer Than Kurt Cobain" was announced, but the piece appeared on a new compilation album "Jesus Lives" instead. In 2005 the first new Bollock Brothers single followed in 10 years ("Cyber ​​Polaroid", a cover version of the French single "Polaroïd / Roman / Photo" by Ruth ), which was recorded in 2004 with Luc van Acker ( Revolting Cocks ) and only about the band homepage is available.

After Henning Janssen's departure, Fré Landuyt from the Belgian surf band Speedball Jr. helped out with the Bollock Brothers in 2007, followed by Chris McKelvey from Glasgow as the new guitarist in 2008. On March 31, 2008, Mark Humphrey died in a hospital in Eastbourne , he was replaced by the keyboard and accordion player HeJoe Schenkelberg, who had played several live concerts with the band since 2001.

A new studio album "Last Will And Testament" was recorded in Belgium in 2008 (Closed Session Recording Studio in Beveren ) and has been available on the band's homepage since March 2nd, 2009. The album also contains three live tracks with the late Mark Humphrey on vocals.

In July 2010 the band announced that they were preparing both a new live album and their first DVD.

The live album was recorded in the Discothek Fabrik in Coesfeld, Münsterland.

Discography

Studio albums

  • The Last Supper ( Charly Records ) March 1983
  • Never Mind The Bollocks 1983 ( Charly Records ) July 1983
  • The 4 Horsemen Of The Apocalypse ( Charly Records ) November 1985
  • The Prophecies Of Nostradamus ( Blue Turtle Records , Germany) December 1987
  • The Dead Sea Scrolls ( SPV Records , Germany) September 1991 (as The Famous B. Brothers )
  • Blood, Sweat And Beers ( GUN Records , Germany) July 1996
  • Last Will And Testament ( MBC Records ) March 2009

Live albums

  • Live Performances ( Charly Records ) January 1984
  • In Private In Public ( Charly Records ) December 1986 (as The Famous Bollock Brothers )
  • Live And Dangerous ( MBC Records ) March 30, 2012
  • Live Coesfeld Fabrik “10 In A Row, Here We Go” ( EmuBands ) September 15, 2013

Singles / Maxisingles

  • One Of The Lads ( Island Records ) November 30, 1979 (as 4 "Be 2" )
  • Frustration ( WEA Records ) July 4th 1980 (as 4 "Be 2" )
  • The Bunker ( McDonald Lydon Records , re-released 1983 on Charly Records ) October 1980
  • Good Old Arsenal ( AFC ) November 1980 (as The Sex Bristol )
  • Why Won't Rangers Sign A Catholic? ( no label ) 1980 (as Pope Paul And The Romans )
  • The Act Became Real ( McDonald And Lydon Records ) February 1981
  • All Of The Lads ( McDonald And Lydon Records ) March 1981 (as 4 "Be 2" )
  • We'll be there ( McDonald And Lydon Records ) May 1981 (as Rabbie Burns + The Ticket Touts )
  • The Slow Removal Of Vincent van Gogh's Left Ear ( Charly Records ) October 1982
  • Drac's Back ( Magnet Records ) 1982 (as Red Lipstique )
  • Oscar Wilde ( Charly Records ) 1983 (as Red Lipstique )
  • Horror Movies ( Charly Records ) March 1983 (as The BBs )
  • Are You Durty ( Charly Records ) 1983 (as Jock McDonald's Indecent Exposure Show )
  • God Save The Queen ( Charly Records ) July 1983 (as Michael Fagan and The Bollock Brothers )
  • Shame, Shame, Shame ( Charly Disco International , France) October 1983 (as Red Lipstique )
  • The Prince And The Showgirl ( InDisc , Belgium) October 1984
  • Legend Of The Snake ( Charly / Green Line Records , Italy) 1985 (as The Famous B. Brothers )
  • Drac's Back ( Charly Records ) 1986 (as The Famous Bollock Brothers )
  • Faith Healer ( Charly Records ) 1986 (as Bollock Brothers )
  • Return Of The Vampyre ( McDonald Bros Corp ) 1986 (split single with Sex Pistols )
  • Harley David ( Play It Again Sam , Belgium) January 1987
  • God Created Woman ( Blue Turtle Records , Germany) January 1988
  • Brigitte Bardot ( Blue Turtle Records , Germany) January 1988
  • Don't Call Us, We Call You ( SPV Records , Germany) May 1992
  • My Way ( GUN Records , Germany) August 1995
  • Where Is My Girl ( GUN Records , Germany) 1996
  • Cyber ​​Polaroid ( MBC Records , Mail-Order only) October 2005 (as The Bollock Brothers feat. Lolita )
  • The French Connection feat. Le Hand Of Le Frog ( MBC Records ) 2010

Compilations

  • D Wing ( UD , Japanese bootleg) 1981 (as 4 "Be 2" )
  • '77 -'78-'79 ( Konexion Records , Belgium) July 1985
  • Bollock Brothers, Bollock Sisters ( Konexion Records , Belgium) 1986
  • Family Album ( Konexion Records , Belgium) November 1986 (as The Lydons and The O'Donnells )
  • Mythology ( Blue Turtle Records , Germany) February 1989
  • 14 Carat Gold - The Best Of The Bollock Brothers ( SPV Records , Germany) May 1993
  • The Best Of The Bollocks ( Charly Schallplatten , Germany) 1994
  • Dancin 'Masters (Past & Present) ( MBC Records ) 1994
  • The Sex Pistols Vs. The Bollock Brothers ( MBC Records ) 1996 (split CD with Sex Pistols )
  • What A Load Of Bollocks! ( MBC Records ) January 2000
  • 25th Anniversary ( MBC Records ) August 2001
  • Jesus Lives ( MBC Records ) October 2001
  • Twice The Balls ( Recall Records ) August 2002
  • Ladykillers ( MBC Records ) March 2007

Videos / DVDs

  • Home Video ( MBC Films ) 1986
  • Live In Europe ( MBC Films ) 1987
  • Live And Dangerous ( MBC Records ) March 30, 2012

Footnotes

  1. ↑ a b c [1] previously played in the London punk band Bloodsport
  2. ↑ a b "Eternal Youth - Killing Joke" ( New Musical Express , October 27, 1990)
  3. ↑ 1979-80 member of the James Vane Band , in the 80s and 90s member of Webcore, Zuvuya and Fun-Da-Mental
  4. ↑ a b Michael Ruff: "4" Be 2 "/ Bollock Bros." ( Sounds magazine, September 1981, page 9)
  5. ↑ a b Alex Paterson: Liner notes for the Killing Joke CD "The Peel Sessions 1979-1981" (Virgin Music, 2008)
  6. ↑ ( Myspace.com/555829894 )
  7. ↑ [2] published three singles with The Cuckoos in 1991-92
  8. ↑ previously with the band Stranger Than Fiction (Mark Ellen: "Is This The Dodgiest Band in The World?" ( New Musical Express , February 9, 1980, pages 14-15))
  9. ↑ 1977 with the punk band Solid Waste , 1979-80 member of the James Vane Band (two singles), now department head of the School of Creative and Information Technologies at City College Coventry ( Myspace.com/58535961 )
  10. ↑ after his departure 1983 founding member of Then Jericho , currently in the band Head In Trouble ( Myspace.com/headintrouble13/blog/489079693 )
  11. ↑ At the same time member of Colourbox and later of M / A / R / R / S
  12. ↑ (also called himself: Paul Shurley) originally drummer with The VIP's , then keyboard player with Mood Six , then concert promoter
  13. ↑ to be seen in the videos for “Count Dracula” and “Woke Up This Morning” , 1990-92 with David Regan in Thirteen Days , currently works with the Manic Street Preachers
  14. ↑ [3]  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Chris Gent on the official Radio Stars website@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.dmhughes.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk  
  15. ↑ not the singer of the same name Paul Young , but a former school friend of Johnny Rotten
  16. ↑ founded in 1988 Thirteen Days , with whom he released two studio albums (Niko Brüggmann: "Thirteen Days" , in: Zillo magazine in July 1990, pages 38-39), then worked with shampoo together
  17. ^ Paul Marko: "The Roxy London WC2 - A Punk History" (Punk77 Books, 2007, p. 433)
  18. ^ [4] Bert van de Kamp: “John Lydon - 'Ik haat rock' n 'roll'” ( Muziekkrant OOR magazine, Holland, January 30, 1980, page 28)
  19. ↑ Cocatalog.loc.gov United States Copyright Office website
  20. ↑ Mark Ellen, "Is This The Dodgiest Band in The World?" ( New Musical Express , February 9, 1980, pp. 14-15)
  21. ^ "Won't Get Pulled Again" ( Sounds magazine, Jaws gossip column, June 14, 1980, page 10)
  22. ^ A b Paolo Hewitt: "Stars 'n' Tripe" ( Melody Maker , July 12, 1980, page 8)
  23. ↑ Wilfried Rütten, Bernard Schaub: "Futurama II - One step forward, one step back" ( SPEX magazine October 15, 1980, page 14)
  24. ↑ a b Archived copy ( memento of the original from April 9, 2001 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. the single came on November 1, 1980 for 6 weeks in the British independent charts, where it rose to number 33 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cherryred.co.uk
  25. ↑ [5] Gina X Performance: "No GDM" (Maxisingle, 1979)
  26. ^ Adam Ant : "Stand And Deliver - The Autobiography" (English paperback edition, p. 158)
  27. ↑ [6] Gary Bushell : "The New Breed" ( Sounds Magazine, November 1, 1980)
  28. ↑ a b Archived copy ( memento of the original dated June 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The single hit the UK independent charts at number 47 for 1 week on April 25, 1981 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cherryred.co.uk
  29. ↑ a b Archived copy ( memento of the original from April 9, 2001 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. the single came on March 21, 1981 for three weeks in the British independent charts, where it rose to number 45 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cherryred.co.uk
  30. ↑ [7] Tjerk Lammers: “Johnny Rotten - Showbink” ( Muziekkrant OOR magazine, Holland, November 19, 1983)
  31. ↑ [8] Andy Forray: "Drac's Back" (Single, 1979)
  32. ↑ [9] Dusty Springfield : "How Can I Be Sure" / "Spooky" (Single, 1970)
  33. ↑ the sample from "Mistress Of The Macabre" comes from Mae West : "They Call Me Sister Honky Tonk", from the movie "I'm No Angel"
  34. ↑ [10] The Sensational Alex Harvey Band : "Next" (album, 1973)
  35. ↑ [11] Aphrodite's Child : "666" (album, 1972)
  36. ↑ [12] Serge Gainsbourg : "Love On The Beat" (album, 1984)
  37. ↑ [13] Berlin : "Sex (I'm A ...)" (Single, 1982)
  38. ↑ [14] Nacht und Nebel: "Beats Of Love" (Maxisingle, 1983)
  39. ↑ (dd): "The Bollock Brothers eren Nacht und Nebel" ( Het Nieuwsblad , Belgium, January 23, 1987)
  40. ↑ [15] Sugarloaf : "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" (Single, 1974)
  41. ↑ [16] "Before the Wolves" ( Der Spiegel 34/1995, August 21, 1995, pages 97-98)
  42. ↑ [17] Eartha Kitt : "Where Is My Man" (Maxisingle, 1983)
  43. ↑ [18] Ruth: "Polaroïd / Roman / Photo" (Single, 1985)

Web links