Sleeve-notes for “The Paul Groovy Birthday Bootleg” ..

(a collection of one-off, one-take and rare recordings).

WARNING:THERE IS A CLUE TO THE SOUND QUALITY OF THIS RELEASE IN THE TITLE!

The Secret Groovys-“Hold Her Tight” (Groovy/Clarke/Hatch)                                             

 Stephen Clarke on guitar & backing vocals, Johnny Hatch on bass & backing vocals, Kieron on drums, with me singing lead. May 1995. A week before we had all got together to come up with some song ideas ,and we knocked 6 of them into some sort of shape during one 3 hour session at the Sanderson Centre in Gosport. There was a vague plan to do a gig or two but it never happened, so these songs remained unheard.

The Night The Goldfish Died-“30 Seconds Over Somers Town” (Groovy/Knight)

My early 80’s DIY cassette band-all but forgotten but for a mention in “Rip It Up”. Alan Knight and I knocked out  half-a-dozen cassette albums and singles-in fact we would give it away...This was a malfunction one afternoon at Alan’s flat in Somers Town...

Paul Groovy & The Pop Art Experience-“Sister Ray”(Reed)

We used to do a little bit of Sister Ray in On The Run, but never as a song on its own..apart from here! Recorded at the rehearsal for the Against The Tide gig at Portsmouth Guildhall 1987.

Paul Groovy & The Pop Art Experience-“Walk Through The Stones”(Groovy/Clarke/Herlihy)

Steve Herlihy had bought a synth and wanted to try it out was the reason for this track. This was at The Sanderson Centre again. It was Steve Herlihy on synth and drum machine, Stephen Clarke on guitar, me on vocals, and a friend of Steve’s, called Keith, on bass. Keith later did a gig with us on bass so Steve could play drums....

Paul Groovy & The Pop Art Experience-“Caroline Bay”(Groovy/Clarke”)

This is just Stephen Clarke and myself from Jan 1986. Sometimes we would write songs that weren’t right for the band. This was one of them. Don’t think we even played it to Jo and Steve

Sequin Junkies-“Feels Like Heaven”(Groovy/Clarke).

From the early days of Sequin Junkies, this recording would have been maybe the second time we played it, and also the last time.

Sequin Junkies-“I’m On Fire”(Springsteen)

Recorded at Stephen Clarke’s place in Alresford. The only time we played it just happened to be when the tape machine was running. I rather like it.

Sequin Junkies-“Wish You Were Here”(Waters)

We had played a few Syd covers in our time-Terrapin  ,Bike, Effervessing Elephant and wanted to do a song about Syd instead. I think we were going to do an e.p or some thing but never follow it up...

The Night The Goldfish Died-”Germany Calling”(Groovy/Knight)

Alan and I had been listening to Can a lot-this was done on a baking hot afternoon with the sun pouring through the windows in Wilmcote House. Radios, waste-bins, knitting needles ,bass guitar all appear on this track.

Paul Groovy & The Pop Art Experience-“Not Fade Away”(Holly)

Another one from the Guildhall rehearsal, Why did we do it? No idea and we never did it again. The Guildhall was going to be Steve Herlihy’s last gig with us so the rehearsal was rather relaxed.

Paul Groovy & The Pop Art Experience-“Fever”(Blackwell/Coonley)

The Guildhall Portsmouth! The biggest place we played-held 1500- Introduced onstage by Annie Nightingale, a totally improvised version of Fever....Steve and I had played it for about 30 seconds at the rehearsal so hey let’s play it right now .On the stage where I saw some of my HEROES perform-Strummer, Jones ,Weller ,Costello,  Dury, Mael (and Mael )... I sung the whole song to the balcony where Alison from Cranes was sitting. They had just played live for the very first time and I just thought it would be nice....

Paul Groovy & The Pop Art Experience-“Just Call Me Jack”(Treacy)

We had supported the TV Personalities the week before and this was my then favourite TVP song so at the end of On The Run I told Stephen, Steve and Jo to keep playing and this is what happened. The echo was courtesy of Tim & Andy who did our sound from time to time. They were always welcome to mix how they wanted......

The Secret Groovys-“World So Straight”(Groovy/Clarke/Hatch)

Another from that almost mythical meeting of the Pop Art Experience and Secret Corners in The Secret  Groovys!

 Sequin Junkies-“English Rose”(Weller)

It’s my bootleg and I’ll sing Weller if I want to, Weller if I want to....

Paul Groovy 18.11.12(the day before my birthday)

GBS002-Various"The Paul Groovy Birthday Bootleg"

You can download "The Paul Groovy Birthday Bootleg" featuring rare tracks from Sequin Junkies,The Night The Goldfish Died,The Secret Groovys and Paul Groovy & The Pop Art Experience  absolutely FREE from here.... "The Paul Groovy Birthday Bootleg"

Story-book Beginnings

• First posted on MySpace Mar 27, 2006

Story-book Beginnings

Somewhere in the archives of the Portsmouth News there is a photo of a queue of people waiting to get tickets to see an up and coming group called The Beatles.....

Flash!    Its late 62/early 63 and there is a queue of about 50 girls stretching down Osbourne Road from the front door of a local dance hall. It's bitingly cold and the girls are all wrapped up in their winter coats, their Helen Shapiro haircuts covered with head scarves. In the middle of the queue is a 14 year old girl .She's badgered her mum and dad into letting her go and see a new group called the Beatles ,and has arranged to meet up with her friends to get tickets.

There's just one slight complication for her....she has to take her baby brother down there as well! So there she stands, a 14 year old girl with a baby in a pram, facing down the disproving looks from passers-by-its bad enough they say that you are going to pop concert but to bring a baby along as well......

The baby didn't seem to care though, all wrapped up against the wind howling in from the Solent, with loads of girls making a fuss, and a bottle of milk.....

Flash!      Its 1965  and that babys other sister, is grooving in her bedroom to the Stones, and the Small Faces and the sounds coming out of America on a label called Motown. In the post one morning comes a letter from Stones guitarist Brian Jones (this was the days when pop stars answered their own mail!).The baby is now 4 and fascinated by how sounds come out of a shiny piece of black plastic.

Flash!      Its 1972 and as this sister gets married she leaves behind her record player and a bunch of lps  and singles for her 10 year old brother He can’t believe his luck as he flips through records by the Stones, Beatles, Who, Small Faces, Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, Issac Hayes and a whole lot more. He's already the smartest-dressed kid in the street thanks to his cool sis  buying him clothes from grown-up clothes shops like Fagins and Lord John, with shoes by Ravel .Now he's got the soundtrack to match the clothes.....