By Monk
The history of rock ‘n’ roll is littered with tales of acrimony and dispute, break-ups and reunions, trails and tribulations… and one band who have undergone more than their share of these travails over the past two years undoubtedly have been The Quireboys, with the ever-troubled Spike being fired from the band most fans identified as being his band, the virtually inevitable consequence of two versions of the group hitting the road simultaneously, with the equally predictable round of “cease and desist” orders flying backwards and forwards between the rival camps… it all got messy, and the only losers were the musicians and their fans…
But, with Spike now firmly established as the owner of the name of the band he formed and reunited with two-thirds of the line-up that recorded the iconic ‘A Little Bit Of What You Fancy’ album – bassist Nigel Mogg and keyboardist Chris Johnstone – as well as drummer Rudy Richman (who joined the band after the album was recorded) and long-term friend and collaborator Willie Dowling, with Thunder’s Luke Morley stepping up to the unenviable task of filling the winkle-picker shoes vacated by the late Guy Bailey, the ‘Boys are once again struttin’ their way through the heart of Soho town with their heads held high and their guitars slung low.
‘Wardour Street’ is very much a turning of the circle for Spike and co., it’s title itself a direct reference, and homage, to the days when they would sell out the legendary Marquee Club without even having to paste a flyer to promote the show. Sonically, it’s a clear and definite hearkening back to the time when they delivered a little bit of what we all fancied, before the inclination to combine bitter and sweet into a twisted cocktail resulted in their initial implosion.
‘Jeez Louise’ kicks off the album in suitably lascivious and rambunctious style, a lewd slice of harp briefly leading into a stomping traditional r’n’b twin guitar riff underpinned by an equally archetypal and typical barroom boogie piano drive that propels the song along at speed, with Spike’s gravelly vocal sounding finer than it has in a long time: a symbol of his new-found self-control? Maybe that’s why he wrote this song (and if you listen to the lyrics you’ll understand that reference).
‘Raining Whiskey’ sees the ‘Boys easing off a bit on the accelerator but not on the rock ‘n’ roll attitude, especially as it sees Spike re-unite with his lifelong hero Frankie Miller for a typically laconic but incisive dose of honesty, a lyrical theme which is continued in the confessional ‘I Think I Got It Wrong’, which in itself reflects and identifies the deeply personal and profound journey the conclusion of which this album marks.
Is ‘No Honour Among Thieves’ a dig at his former bandmates? Hell, yes. In the process it is also a defiant middle finger raising salutation, positively declaring that Spike has faced up to the situation with which he was presented and come out the other side with both his fists and his head held high. It’s a stance reinforced and defined in the gospel-tinged ‘It Ain’t Over Now’ and again on the James Brown vibe of the funk-fuelled ‘Like It Or Not’, one which he declares himself to be the “whiskey-drinkin’, beer-swiggin’,hell raisin’ Quireboys singer”. Yes, Spike doesn’t give a flying fuck, and he doesn’t care if anyone else does either.
The closing title track is another suitably melancholic, without being maudlin, slice of retrospection, again characterized by Spike’s laconic, understated poetry, which in turn is in accentuated by a beautifully, typically restrained, mournful sax riff and a superbly underpinned organ, which really only identifies itself in the last two bars, making its contribution all the more impressive by the fact that you don’t really notice it until this point.
This is the classic Quireboys sound that we know and love: old school British rhythm ‘n’ blues stripped right back to its bare, unpretentious bones. A barroom boogie session, honky tonk piano ambience underpinning gristly, gritty guitar riffs that bump ‘n’ grind harder than an East End prostitute, the sound of a band reinvigorated, renewed, revived and ready to take on what the rock ‘n’ roll Überverse may chuck in their direction. This, quite simply, this is The Quireboys and this is feckin’ rock ‘n’f’n’ roll – and we love it!
- ‘Wardour Street‘ is out now.
- The Quireboys head out on tour next week:
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