FULL-FROKKUL-FIASCO!

FRANK SIDEBOTTOM FUNDRAISER MANNEQUIN

2012-03-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

Better late than never....here's a project I did last summer during the six months or so I wasn't blogging.
The idea was to make a life-size Mannequin of Frank Sidebottom to help raise awareness of the Statue Fund to raise money for a bronze statue in Timperley village (6 feet outside Manchester)

I took Franks head (there is only one in existence) to CNC ROBOTICS where I do freelance set building for their sister company LIVERPOOL SCENIC WORKSHOPS. They kindly 3D scanned the head and then machined a polystyrene replica for me to use as a base to create the head.
I sealed the polystyrene with pva glue and the painstakingly rendered the entire head with a thin but tough layer of car body filler. facial features the nose, lips, hairline and ears were sculpted and then sanded until they blended in.

At this point I also started to work on the body. A shop window dummy was donated by fellow Frankophile Alan Woods. Unfortunately, the dummy was tall, slender and gazelle-like...NONE of Franks attributes. I decided to modify the standard dummy to resemble Franks vital statistics. This involved shortening the arms, legs and 'cutting and shutting' the torso. That went very well so I decided to now reposition the arms utilising plastic plumbers 'elbow joints'. Again this worked out surprisingly well so I took it further and remodelled the left hand, cutting and repositioning each digit into the 'Thumbs Up' sign. I pinned it all together with short lengths of coat hanger wire.
I sourced an identical suit on ebay for a max bid of £11.37...which I won, spent £4 on the shoes in a charity shop and had a genuine pink tie previously worn by Frank and then passed on to me as a member of Franks backing band THE OH-BLIMEYS.

I'm really bad at painting and the plan was for Martin Sievey (Frank/Chris's older brother) to do the painting..... however this didn't happen for various reasons so I decided to apply the paint myself. I'm more than happy with how that turned out. Working for Frank/Chris for the last 5 years leading up to his death I even knew which particular brand of paints to use and their code numbers.....Chris even imparted a couple of tips on techniques he used to achieve the desired affect.

I'm very proud of my work and whenever the statue is on public show, folks seem to love it.
It is currently on display at Alans shop in Wigan and is scheduled to make an appearance at FRANK-FEST in Manchester on Saturday March 31st. Headlining is THE FALL also THE STAGS are on the bill and will play a couple of Franks best loved songs in the set.

1977 ABC WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS: CATALINA CLASSIC

2012-03-07T09:18:00.002-08:00

Fantastic for numerous reasons:

Burly downhill decents with the guys riding out the speed wobbles.

Bobby Piercy and John Hutson riding for TURNER SUMMER SKI and SANTA CRUZ respectively....absolutely charging it!

Dale 'Sausage-Man' Smiths insanely camp freestyle moves.

Amazing Mustaches.....short shorts.

Herds of Buffalo roaming majestically across the horizon.

Jamie Hart's attache briefcase containing his race formula OJ WHEELS.

Tough girls on skateboards.

The anchor mans neat bright yellow blazer!

SKATEBOARDS? .....I ALMOST MADE THEM RESPECTABLE

2012-03-04T07:18:00.001-08:00

What we got here are 3 bands/artists generally regarded as 'plastic punk' by most punk obsessives but as these videos show.... these bands could really rock!

First up is JOE JACKSON in 1979 with the title track off his 2nd album 'I'm the man'...this fully rips along!
This song has the classic line 'Skateboards?....I almost made them respectable' ..a strong enough reason to love this song for this single fact alone.

Following this is ELVIS COSTELLO in 1978 with 'Pump it up'
When my dad saw this routine on Top of the Pops ....it made him feel sick and wanted to write to the BBC to complain.......good job he never got to witness the Sex Pistols.

To finish it's THE BOOMTOWN RATS with a spirited live performance in 1978 of a great album track 'Don't believe what you read'.
This clip is from the short-lived, brilliant REVOLVER tv show that had PETER COOK as the host.

It seems to me a shame that these bands had their heads turned and for whatever reasons got themselves ran through the mainstream 'Music Machine' to to lose all the sharp edges and become the acceptable face of punk at the time.....New Wave.

THE WIGAN INVASION

2012-02-27T16:02:00.000-08:00

Its Soundflat Records 10th anniversary party in London very soon. Both my bands THE STAGS and THE SHOOK-UPS are on the bill.....said I'd never play in both bands on the same night.....but hey ho....hopefully it will be fun

KILLER DILLER RADIO guest spot

2012-02-23T11:43:00.000-08:00

Had great fun on Tuesday night as a guest on KILLER DILLER radio show. Big thanks to Johnny Alpha for cutting me some slack with my choices. Listen again HERE for some 90's garage, '77 punk, surf instros and good old rock 'n' roll

SHAKE IT 'TIL THE MEAT COMES OFF THE BONES!

2012-02-16T08:23:00.000-08:00

I know we are already a couple of months into 2012 but here are some of my favourite shots of myself competing in the 2011 race season. Obviously, my choice of pictures shows me in the best light possible but on the other hand, like they say....the camera never lies!
Looking forward to the start of the new season on April 1st (no joke)... as the competition continues to get stronger I've no idea how I'll do this coming season but I feel I've finally recovered from my various injuries I picked up late last year and feel it's gonna be a good year for dirt track in the UK!

THE STAGS...VALENTINES DRAG NIGHT

2012-02-14T14:38:00.000-08:00

Great show at the weekend to celebrate Valentines day....girls dressed as boys and boys dressed as girls. Pulled 'Husky' out of the bag after a 5 year lay off...it felt good!

DIRT QUAKE.....feel the rumble!!

2012-02-11T16:00:00.000-08:00

Just announced...this will be a doozie! Lots of stuff planned but top of the heap for me is the UK's first ever dirt track chopper race. If it's heavy, hard to handle and totally unsuitable for track use...then it's in!
Pics are from a similar event that took place in Finland last year

Takes me right to the spot.....

2012-02-02T02:57:00.000-08:00

Just received this shirt in the post from Tim Stamp. It's a short sleeve repro of the MAX shirt that I wore in 1982.

It's a high quality screen print on a 'Super-Premium' Fruit of the Loom and a limited run of 20 pieces.

Tim also excelled himself last year with a repro BICYCLE MOTOCROSS ACTION MAGAZINE long sleeve.

The BMX ACTION shirts are long gone but the MAX design, at this moment, is still available. If anybody wants one, get in touch and I'll pass on Tim's contact details.

THE PUPPETS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM...

2012-01-31T06:32:00.000-08:00

I like to collect all things Gerry Anderson-related. Here are some simple, customised 12" action figures I have. All aquired very cheaply at car boot sales. We have:

Joe 90 dressed in a Captain Scarlet uniform.

Brains in the International Rescue uniform.

Barbie dressed in a Captain Blue uniform.

I have a ton of Anderson memorabilia but these cheap, simply customised dolls from the 90's are very pleasing to my eye!

I think it's the 'What if?' factor of mixing up elements of the different shows.....I think they look better than any of the standard issue figures released at that time.

ACTION NOW MAGAZINE TV SHOW 1981

2012-01-27T06:17:00.000-08:00

My good friend Tim Stamp had a VHS copy of this that we hammered when we skated in '83-'84.
ACTION NOW magazine rose out of the ashes of SKATEBOARDER magazine when the skateboard boom took a dump in 1980.
It was a last ditch attempt to stay afloat and the mag opened its doors to other action sports: BMX, roller skating, surfing, skimboarding etc. Unfortunately, this ploy didn't work out...it totally alienated the hardcore few that still skated, the lowpoint for me being a photo of someone on a horse down at the beach.
On a plus point, the mag did have a reasonable music content and it was quick to champion the LA punk scene. Lots of Circle Jerks, Black Flag etc as well as features on the big UK punk bands at the time.
The mag didn't last long and around this time a new, truly independent skateboard magazine was launched called THRASHER that drove the final nail in the 'Action Now' coffin.
The Action Now TV show was a self financed 30 minute showcase produced at one of skateboardings all time low points. By todays standards it looks nothing special but the skate footage blew me away. It was the only way to see moving images of the new 'bionic' skating that was starting to come through. particular stand outs are Neil Blender and Steve Alba....totally inspired by this, me and a few friends built STIFFNECKS RAMP.
I wish the rest of the show was on Youtube. Its been over 25 years since I saw it but I recall some good footage of Jeff Watson on his BMX in the Upland fullpipe and some early Bob Haro ramp riding.

PROJECT:ODDJOB

2012-01-26T11:16:00.000-08:00

Whilst plebbing around on Myspace (first time in a long time) I stumbled upon this dormant page for a band we put together for one gig only back in 2005. The recordings are intentionally crude and fizz with energy. We only recorded 4 songs: DIRTY ROBBER, I DON'T LIKE YOU, HEATSEEKER and RIP YER HEART. All covers by The Wailers, Skrewdriver and The Rip-Offs respectively.

I don't entirely remember what we played in the set but I vividly remember a stonking version of MY BABY DOES THE HANKY PANKY with Topsy Stag on vocals.

Here is the blurb from the page:

"FOUR TRAINED ASSASSINS....... UNDERCOVER AGENTS........... ARMED WITH GUITARS ......... PLYING THEIR DEADLY TRADE......EXECUTING CRUDE, SNARLING, UGLY GARAGE-PUNK!! "

THIS IS PROJECT:ODDJOB ................... A SMALL BAND PUT TOGETHER FOR OUR OWN AMUSEMENT AND DISTRACTION......FEATURING EX-MEMBERS/CURRENT MEMBERS OF.........THE STAGS, DOKTOR COMBOVER, JAILCELL RECIPES, DRIVE. OUR MISSION IS TO PLAY OFF THE CUFF, THICK-NECKED, SAUSAGE-FINGERED THUG-ROCK. AMPED UP, IN THE RED, ROCK 'N' ROLL .....A TIP OF THE STEEL-BRIMMED BOWLER HAT TO THE TOUGHEST SIXTIES GARAGE BANDS AND BEST '77 ERA PUNK BANDS

Listen to the songs HERE

Verona: the not-so-good, the bad and the ugly

2012-01-24T12:07:00.000-08:00

Ben Part prepares to cut down the Sideburn banner he sewed up with a hotel emergency sewing kit

Hideous neon green Harley with a constant crowd of people ogling it.

Passion-killer lace calf socks....not a good look.

Poor, stressed-out exotic moggy

Lame, lame, lame!

Horrible 'Highlander-esque' spoked wheel

Toughguy!! Hope he was getting paid to do this...

The model on the ARLEN NESS stand... some famous porno star?

Verona Bike Expo 2012....part four

2012-01-24T11:28:00.000-08:00

Verona Bike Expo 2012....part three

2012-01-24T11:05:00.000-08:00

On Friday we were joined by Sideburn's Rome correspondent Mick Phillips and our friends at CO-BUILT Anthony, Geoff and Anna and Wilky #99.

We hosted a party at MR. MARTINI's bike shop that involved DJ'ing from a hydraulic car lift, nice food, drink, dancing and a charity raffle that involved some poor sod bidding 100 euros for a box of Thornton's chocolates, concealed in a plastic bag... donated by the Ace Cafe. There was some nice items donated by DAVIDA, RUBY HELMETS and MR. MARTINI himself.

Verona Bike Expo 2012....part two

2012-01-24T10:25:00.000-08:00

I didn't get a lot of time to look around the show this year....so just a quick whizz around the custom hall. Here's a few things that caught my eye.

Verona Bike Expo 2012... part one

2012-01-24T09:40:00.000-08:00

Just back from an enjoyable and fruitful few days representing Sideburn Magazine at BIKE EXPO 2012 in Verona, Italy.
A relentless schedule of early starts and late nights took its toll on all involved, not helped by a pre-show boozy do on the night we arrived. The shout was given, so it was over to BELLA NAPOLI for delicious pizza served by the metre! I was amongst great company: Benny Boneshaker, Zip, Guy and Pat from Greasy-Kulture, Matt from Dice Mag, Conrad Leach and of course Ben and Gary from Sideburn.
The meal was concluded with a Lemon-based strong spirit whose name escapes me.We then moved to the bar next door where Gary introduced everyone to the local tipple, a luminous orange spritzer-tipple called APEROL....it went downhill from there. A couple of hours later we bid goodnight and headed off in search of a taxi, which proved a tad tricky as the streets were deserted. We were dressed in our themed outfits for the weekend, tweed and deerstalkers and Gary was particularly worse for wear sporting his deerstalker in 'flaps down' mode. Eventually we spotted a taxi rank off in the distance with two availlable taxis. As we approached the taxi rank I quipped " Looking like this...I bet they drive off before they get there". Lo and behold, that's exactly what happened. That kinda set the tone for the weekend. Finally got back to the hotel to find we were sharing it with JESSE JAMES and ARLEN NESS amongst others.

Been a while......

2012-01-15T05:30:00.000-08:00

After More than 6 months of inactivity....I'm coming round to the idea of posting on this blog again.

I've been using Facebook regularly but I'm gonna start posting stuff up here that's possibly of interest to people who don't know me personally

AMERICAN SKATEBOARDER

2012-01-15T05:22:00.000-08:00

Jason Adams makes a custom print of Duane Peters

ROLLERBURN

2011-07-18T06:12:00.000-07:00

Everything is starting to fall into place for this upcoming event.....it's gonna be a hoot!

THE SHOOK-UPS

2011-05-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

Thanks to UGLYPUNK for these pics from last Thursdays SHOOK-UPS show in Liverpool. Now booked to play THE BIG STRAMASH, July 28th-31st, a garage festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, with THE POETS, THE MASONICS and THE WILDEBEESTS amongst others.

Also in negotiations for a performance at another big festival this Summer!

In the process of putting together a self-financed 45 together which will consist of 2 of the following tracks
Shook-Ups song set

Hopefully, have these in time for these bigger shows.

70's MUSCLE CAR MAYHEM

2011-05-14T16:24:00.000-07:00

Here they are! Some dumb, pointless yet very entertaining muscle car movies from the Seventies.
Classic American V8 powered cars with way-too-soft suspension crashing into things.
Vividly remember all these trailers on TV when they were released.
I feel a trip to PEP BOYS coming on!
In order we got:
DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY (1974)
GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS (1974)
VANISHING POINT (1971)
DEATH RACE 2000 (1975)
CANNONBALL aka CARQUAKE (1976)

In 1974 my Dad actually owned a MUSTANG MACH 1 just like the one in GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS!

RACE WITH THE DEVIL

2011-05-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

This film has been floating around in my subconscious for many many years. I was on Youtube exploring a recent obsession with 70's Carsploitation movies (more on that in another post) when I stumbled upon this mighty gem.

The first few minutes of RACE WITH THE DEVIL make great eye candy for vintage Flat Track freaks.Great shots of Bultacos in a mid 70's workshop, followed by a well filmed race scene on asphalt!!!!.......I love the fact his mate in the Winnebago shows up mid race and obliviously pulls onto the track at a snails pace!
Great shots of vintage race leathers and helmets....wonder where this was filmed and who the 'racers' are?

First released in 1975, the film is a weird mix of horror and car chasing and stars Peter Fonda and Loretta Swit (hotlips in M.A.S.H.) so that ticks all my boxes! Not sure if it is commercially available on DVD but I'm gonna try and get a copy for my ever growing Biker movie collection

Tim's new roller-skates

2011-05-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

My mate Timothy in Stockport just bought himself some Rollerskates...guess he must have seen that new TV advert for LUCOZADE LITE.....

Faulkner Bmx Archive 1980-1982

2011-05-14T04:35:00.000-07:00

Dave Arnold, Craig Borrows and Alan Woods.....50 mph plus downhill session

Mike Pardon: Styling over Chorley doubles

Dave Arnold: Southport Skatepark

Dave Arnold and Craig Borrows in the background

Mike Pardon: Cheesy grin

Tony Law: moody punk attitude

Dave Arnold: Textbook Kerb -Endo, Wigan train station

Dave Arnold(Left) and Mike Pardon (right) Southport BMX track

Dave Arnold: Chorley Bomb-Hole

Same session: Handlebar malfunction

Tony Law Jumping, Terry Lloyd lying down, Fenwick Carr Peace sign: Chorley Bomb-Hole

John Lee #3 and Mark Lavery #11 Chorley BMX track.

Here are some photos from the newly founded FAULKNER BMX ARCHIVE. We have just set up a Facebook group for these Photos......Here's some info from that group:

A group set up solely to showcase the BMX photography of Stefan Faulkner.

A school friend of BMX'er David Arnold and a keen photographer....Stefan put himself in the right place at the right time.
He had a great eye for a good shot, capturing events at a time when no-one else had the foresight to document what we were doing....we were totally in the moment and too busy 'doing it'... we never thought for one second how great it would be to be able to look back at these photographs thirty years down the line.
These shots are all took approximately between 1980-1982, in and around the NW of England. Mainly Chorley BMX track, Southport BMX track, Southport Skatepark and some downhill shots from Rainford St. Helens.
For me, they are a brilliant snapshot of carefree, happy times.....when the only things that mattered were when the next race was, hoping you didn't get a puncture and wondering if the holes in your Vans style #95's would hold out until you could afford a new pair!
Stefan has said that he has a bunch more images stashed in his vault, hopefully over time, this group will act as a platform for him to show them to the world.

We salute you Stefan!

I feature pretty heavily in Stefans pictures and I'm very proud to be involved with this project.
This archive has only been in existance for a couple of days and already there is dicsussions about the possiblities of a photo exhibition hosted both here in the North West and a venue in the South.

See the Facebook page here

GOD SAVE THE KING!

2011-05-13T10:13:00.000-07:00

Better late than never! Here's some pics from Runcorn Rich of our Royal Bash a couple of weeks back.

It was a celebration of "Britishness" with a monologue, a Crown of Trifle, Michael Fagin-the royal intruder and some British style wrestling!

FRIDAY NIGHT RACING AT OXFORD

2011-05-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

A couple of shots from Oxford on Friday night...In my opinion, the most successful UK Flat Track race in its seven year history!
This was round one of the 2011 GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, held at the defunct Cowley Stadium. There hasn't been a motorcycle race here for over 5 years and in order for it to happen, a lot of hard work had to be done. The CO-BUILT guys spent a couple of weeks prior to the race, grading and watering the unloved track. On the day of the race, a bunch of us sheeted the entire greyhound track around the outside with tarpaulins and then secured them with literally hundreds of old speedway tyres!! We had to ensure that no shale whatsoever got roosted onto the dog track. CO-BUILT organised bringing in the plant hire needed to do final grooming and watering in between heats. There was a few uninterested parties who didn't want this to happen....namely the dog track guys and the owners of the tarmac go-kart track in the infield.
All the collected hard work paid off, it was a warm summer night with a record attendance of spectators. The grandstands were full as well as the indoor glass-fronted viewing balconies.
The track was a loose cushioned track that didn't groove up and suited my riding style. It was rather bumpy but that somehow added to its charm. It felt magical to ride under the bright floodlights.
The racing was very close and fast-paced with suprisingly very few stoppages, only one serious accident requiring the ambulance to take Geoff Baldock to hospital with a shoulder injury.
Special Guest, DAVE ALDANA put on a great show, riding like someone half his age......but crashing 3 times consecutively in the semi and the following restarts.....rendering his borrowed bike unridable. I asked him if he wanted to borrow a bike, he answered "who's gonna want to lend ME a bike after that!" ...I guess he had a point.
SKOOTER FARM had a great nights racing. Personally, I rode my best ever......leading my first two heats for the majority of the race but making a couple of mistakes and settling for two 2nd place finishes. This was good enough to put me 6th on the grid in the final. I rode hard and really on the limit and finished 10th overall.
Pete Wilky #99 also rode great on his Harley XR750, finishing in a respectable 7th overall.
Gary Inman #13 rode tough all night but failed to make the THUNDERBIKE final. He did do well enough in the super competitive SHORT TRACK class to make the semis.which is no mean feat!!
The whole event was a media frenzy with 2 seperate film crews and a host of Hi-Viz wearing photographers.
During the interval, the pits were opened to the public and literally hundreds of curious race fans came over to see the bikes and racers up close.....at one point 4 rows deep in front of the SKOOTER FARM/SIDEBURN race tent...it felt good to be the focus of all that attention!
It was no accident all these folks showed up. Again, CO-BUILT did an amazing job of promoting the race and can give themselves a huge pat on the back. Perhaps Friday night races at Grand National level is the way forward for getting spectators into the grandstands?
The UK racing scene has really stuggled to pull any sort of crowd since its launch in 2004.....I really hope that this Oxford race is a turning point in crowd attendance!

Its Dave Aldana time!!

2011-05-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

Dave Aldana is here this week....gonna be good!

Talky night Thursday 5th May then racy night Friday 6th May

details here

update: whilst googling Aldana images....this came up.... Rachel Aldana!!

Daves nickname was RUBBER BALL.....I wonder what Rachels nickname is?

POLY STYRENE PASSES AWAY ....."OH CANCER UP YOURS!!"

2011-04-26T03:05:00.000-07:00

Another idol of mine claimed by cancer at the age of 53. With her band X-RAY SPEX she really was a unque artist. I played the early singles to death IDENTITY, OH BONDAGE and DAY THE WORLD TURNED DAYGLO.

I met her backstage once in London in 1989 on a Youth of Today/Jailcell Recipes tour . She had Krishna beliefs and was friends with Y.O.T. vocalist Ray Cappo, a new Krishna convert. She came down to see what the current punk scene was like. I remember her being very positive about the gig...very sweet and soft spoken and not looking any older than she did in 1977!

Keep turning left

2011-04-25T15:56:00.000-07:00

I'm jazzed to stumble upon this rad racing shot of myself (number 31) over at keep-turning-left.blogspot had a really great day racing, finishing in a strong second in this last Thunderbike heat. It was disappointing the finals were abandoned due to many stoppages and the meeting over-running......I'm sure I could have got a favourable result had the final taken place.

"You shall go to the Prom"

2011-04-19T04:16:00.000-07:00

It was my Nephew, Jake Roberts 16th Birthday yesterday. As I posted a couple of weeks back, he's recovering from surgery to a splintered collar-bone after a heavy BMX crash whilst training in Denmark.

One positive outcome from all this is Jake can now take his girlfriend, Aimee-Kate to his school Prom Night! The date clashes with a round of the National race championship and he's under contract to attend 'em all...However, he is recuperating...so he's excused.

Jake came round yesterday to raid my attic and try out some suitable threads for the Prom. this is the outfit he picked out.

I know for a fact that his mum has different ideas about this.......thing is.... he's Sixteen now!

RULE BRITANNIA....WITH THE STAGS

2011-04-15T17:01:00.000-07:00

Oh Yea, Oh Yea, Oh Yea!......There's gonna be a wedding! Here's the official poster....by Royal Appointment.

RULE BRITANNIA.......with THE STAGS!

2011-04-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

Bored rigid by the forthcoming Royal Wedding?
...Then get down to THE OCTOPUS at The British Legion for a night of over the top POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE!!!

I'm sure there are lots of things to do on this special day .....but you could do a lot worse than spend it with The Stags, celebrating WHAT MAKES BRITAIN GREAT!!
Everyone attending RULE BRITANNIA...WITH THE STAGS will receive their very own to keep, British Legion commemorative Stags ornamental plate, by Royal appointment to Dennis the Bar-Steward!
Support is from girl-fronted, power-poppers THE STACHES from Geneva, Switzerland....don't know what they will make of all the jelly eating and flag waving!

FRIDAY 29TH APRIL at The British Legion, Wigan
£3.00 ON THE DOOR (including commemorative plate)
Doors open 8.30pm

"God save the King"

Rammy the Rookie

2011-04-09T05:01:00.000-07:00

Via the magic of Facebook, I've recently been back in touch with some old BMX buddies. I invited Jason Ramsden and Tony Law over to the SKOOTER FARM practice track a coupla days ago.

Jason was an old ROBINSON team-mate back in 1981...and I ain't seen him since about 1982.

Both guys had a good day but Tony was struggling in pain due to 20 plus years of Freestyle MX abuse to his body.
However, Jason got into it really quickly, within minutes he was comfortably sliding the bike through the corners.
Jason was always a natural on a bike, tons of style and a total command of "Body English". He came away smiling and really stoked and can't wait to ride again next week.

I know I said the SKOOTER FARM team was fully subscribed but taking into account CAPTAIN HIGHSIDE is pretty much out for the season... I think there may be room for one more rookie on the team. I reckon a couple more sessions on the little track, maybe a practice session on a big track and then maybe Rammy could try a race or two......I hope so!

BIG BALLS...BIG HEART

2011-03-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

My nephew Jacob Roberts got hurt this afternoon.

He flew out to Copenhagen, Denmark with 12 other top English BMX racers.

They have privately rented the UCI SUPERCROSS track for the weekend. The track is ultra-gnarly......it's BMX on steroids.....super-hero stuff.....the stuff you see in an X-BOX game.

Unfortunately, Jake went down hard on his first attempt to take the fearsome first jump... a 40-footer. According to his Step-Dad, Roy... he did a massive, terminal endo..... landing on his head and breaking his collarbone.
the phone footage is shaky and doesn't show the impact....but it still sickens me to watch.

Over the last 8 years, we have watched Jake grow from a little kid "having a ride round" to becoming one of the most promising racers in the country. He will turn 16 in April, he's the 4 times defending British and National number 1 and is one of only a handful of racers on the BRITISH CYCLING TALENT TEAM.....grooming him to represent his country at the 2016 Olympics (he's just a few months too young for 2012 London)

I'm watching his progress "live" on Facebook....it's a bad break and he's been moved to another hospital to see a surgeon.

Jake is my hero...his first time on one of these "X-Games super tracks", only been there less than one hour, he has the balls to take a jump like that, fully commited, not knowing whether he will make it or not.
Unfortunately, today, it didn't go quite as planned, but knowing Jake like I do, if he had not broken his bones ..I'm 100% certain he would have dusted himself down and tried it again and again ..until he made it.
These modern, made-for-TV tracks make the tracks I raced on back in 1980-81 seem like pre-school.....I wouldn't even ride down that start ramp!!

I'm so proud of his achievements and if he wasn't so damn good at BMX I would have had him on SKOOTER FARM in the junior class in a heartbeat....I know he is in good hands but I am thinking about him....

BTW, Jakes bike sponsor is REDLINE ENGINEERING for those that know their flat track motorcycle history..a company formed by Linn Kastan....originally producing thoroughbred cro-moly race frames before sidestepping into BMX racing in the late 70's!

UPDATE

Jacob is now recovering from his surgery which involved a steel plate and pins. It's a complicated break, he splintered the collar bone into 4 pieces and has been told he can't even begin to do any physio for another 6 weeks. This means he will miss the first few rounds of the British BMX championship...which he's gutted about.

Long live THE SHOOK-UPS......The lentalists are dead

2011-03-15T14:03:00.000-07:00

Just a name change.. only played 4 local shows under the old name so no harm done.
After weeks of deliberation, a list of 356 potential names and the recruitment of a new drummer....we settled on THE SHOOK-UPS!.
Now we got a name all the band members are happy with...we can now start to spread the word, book shows start to have some fun with this project.
Comprised of members from various North-West bands: MOCO, THE V.C.'S, THE STAGS, DOKTOR COMBOVER and FILTHY ROMANCE......THE SHOOK-UPS play up-beat tuff 60's Garage in the vein of BOB SEGER SYSTEM, THE SEEDS, ALARM CLOCKS
We just set up a Myspace for the new band...but there ain't a lot to look at right now, however. you can listen to a bunch of newly recorded songs like the one below.

listen to six more songs HERE

Say something with Billy Childish

2011-03-09T05:08:00.000-08:00

Looking forward to this lecture by Billy Childish about German pop artist Kurt Schwitters next Thursday.

Venue is the Islington Mill, Salford and is part of the "Say something" season....

SEVENTY-SIXTIES

2011-02-11T14:40:00.000-08:00

Had a pretty crappy day today. I came home and cheered up when I found this cool set of pics I took in 1999 when US BOMBS came to stay with us for a couple of days.I gave the prints to Duane the next time I saw him at the Blackpool punk weekender in 2000 and the shots finally see the light of day on his official website http://duanepeters.net/
There is shots of our kitchen (hasn't changed at all) my chopper, the backyard ramp, my Evel Knievel BMX and even my little Honda CM200 flat tracker being built in the workshop!!

UPDATE:
I actually did a more indepth post about the time The U.S. Bombs came to stay when I first started this blog, Almost a year to the day!
Read it HERE

Billy Childish and Tracy Emin

2011-02-06T16:46:00.000-08:00

Unbelievable footage from 1997 of Billy and Tracy publicly deconstructing Billy's writings about their relationship in Billy's "novel" MY FAULT.
If you are familiar with the history between these two, then it makes compelling viewing.

VERONA EXPO part five.......SIDEBURN SUPPORTERS

2011-01-25T09:51:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately my camera battery ran out so I didn't get as many portraits as I would have liked. Anyway, from the top we got Renzo Ruffo and his lovely wife. He's the son of Italian 50's/60's road racer Bruno Ruffo. Don't know what attracted him to Sideburn but he kept coming back to see us!

Next shot is Jacopo Monti, hot Italian dirt track racer who competes in the UK championship.

The guy in red is Sven from SCRAPERS car club he does a nice mag called MOTORIZED.

Next up is the guy behind SINNER SUPPLY.....sorry but his name escapes me.

The last shot is of the singer of an AC/DC clone band hired to play throughout the day.......not supporters....more like competitors...we got into a soundclash with them with Mr. Martini's 300w amp!

VERONA EXPO part four......STRUMPETRY

2011-01-25T09:30:00.000-08:00

never a dull moment with unashamed, overt, Italian-style vogue-ing in every direction....BELLISIMO!!

VERONA EXPO part three ...MR. MARTINI

2011-01-25T09:17:00.000-08:00

Mr. Martini is a big TRIUMPH dealer in Verona.....across the street from his dealership he operates a small retail shop selling really nice customised vintage and modern Triumphs. The shop looks and feels more like a VIVIAN WESTWOOD/AGENT PROVOCATEUR lingerie emporium than a bike shop. To say Mr. Martini is an Anglophile would be an understatement, for his stand at the show he rented a London double-decker bus and utilised the top floor as a VIP lounge.
The geezer in the last shot is on the Mr. Martini payroll, his neck tattoo says "IT CANNOT RAIN FOREVER".......He's obviously never been to Manchester!!

VERONA EXPO part two... EVEL KNIEVEL EXHIBITION

2011-01-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

The Evel Knievel exhibition was on display at the show. It all packs into a big trailer and is on tour throughout Europe for all of 2011. The blue leathers are the ones he wore for the Wembley Stadium Jump. Also on display was the Canyon Sky Cycle (complete with damaged nose cone) his XR750 he used for the jump over the tank of sharks, the EK Dragster and the Jet-Bike. The highlight of the exhibition was a skeleton showing all of Evels broken bones........I purchased an EK bathrobe!

ITALIAN MOTORCYCLE EXPO, VERONA 2011 part one

2011-01-25T08:40:00.000-08:00

Just back from a truly great trip to The Italian Motorcycle Expo in Verona where SIDEBURN MAGAZINE were invited to "exhibit"....
We shipped a pallet of goodies (thanks Wilky #99) and jumped on a plane armed with 2 small boxes of Garage, Soul and British Beat 45's along with my portable record player and the four Psychedelic Terrorist Masks.
Got picked up by the "Viscount of Verona" Paolo Zieta, in his pimped out paddy wagon and travelled in style to a nice hotel where the EVEL KNIEVEL EXHIBITION and LOWRIDE MAGAZINE staff were also staying.
The show was HUGE!! I didn't actually manage to get round all the 8 halls....and I was there for 3 days!
The Sideburn Booth turned out to be in a great spot....hall 1, in the shadow of Mr. Martini's double decker London bus and right next to the LOWRIDE MAGAZINE photo studio! This meant that all the really cool bikes from all around the different halls were lined up ready to be photographed in front of our booth. Add to this, a constant parade of stunning models in various states of undress, entering and exiting the studio, thus providing endless photo opportunities!
Although the Sideburn booth was one of the smallest there, we seemed to make a big impression, resorting to shock tactics and "masking up" in matching white overalls and dancing like loons to IL GEGHEGE by Rita Pavone, around the new ZIETA STREET-TRACKER.
I met a bunch of cool people, Roberto Totti and his wife Chintzia (respected Italian bike builder and winner of best street bike) that's them pictured with Paolo Zieta under the Sideburn banner. Also Mr. Martini (more on him later) who sorted out a nice loud amp for me to play my records with and took us out to a bustling pizza joint that sold pizza by the metre! We spent time with the OFFICINE MERMAID folks Dario, Stefania, Antonio and Toto...we were treated like kings.
Jeff Decker was there with his collection of Motorcycle Club Colors and a couple of his bronze statues.
Fiddy introduced me to a guy called Neil Blaber, director of AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER WORLD who turned out to be a JAILCELL RECIPES fan and saw us play with GREEN DAY at Tunbridge Wells in 1991.

LANCELOT LINK......IN COLOR!!

2011-01-16T13:13:00.000-08:00

I noticed that the last few posts have been mainly monochrome...so, for no reason other than to add some color to FULL FROKKUL...here are some Lancelot Link comic covers and a clip from the TV show with the band singing "Evolution Revolution", another song squished through THE STAGS mangle and served up on the DO THE TON album

Roots of UK skateboarding

2011-01-13T17:19:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon a little bit of UK skateboard history by pure accident. The pics in this post came from two entirely separate sources.

Firstly, after watching a 1965 British teen movie BE MY GUEST (starring a very young pre-Small Faces Steve Marriot) I googled the leading actress JOYCE BLAIR. It turns out that she was the sister of famously camp TV dancer LIONAL BLAIR. I also found the shots of Joyce posing in London's Hyde Park on a wonderful Gerry Anderson licenced STINGRAY skateboard!

Fast forward only a few weeks to Christmas time. I received some vintage TV21 comics as a present and there, amongst the pages, was this ad for the very same skateboard. The magazine advert dates the photo to 1964.

It's strange to me that two completely unrelated interests of mine, namely Gerry Anderson memorabilia and sixties beat music led me to learning stuff about a third unrelated intrest!!

OUTRAGIOUS!!!.....Screaming Lord Sutch

2011-01-13T09:03:00.000-08:00

An in-depth documentary about Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages.
I've seen the "Jack the Ripper" performance before but here is the entire original UK broadcast from 1964...in four bite-sized chunks.
Listening to Sutch sum up the dynamics of putting a great band together is compelling......he talks about band-mates requiring "no sense of self embarassment" and a the overwhelming desire to perform and not just be interested in the money at the end of the night.....great advice that still holds true today.
The clip of the band rehearsing whilst doing the Hokey Cokey and moving the drums around is inspiring.
I really envy his use of crazy props and "in your face" theatrics....you would get punched in the face if you tried that stuff today!
I can't help but think Vic 'n' Bob could well have been influenced by the WIG ON STICK prop, and the Sid Vicious "My Way" scene in ROCK 'N' ROLL SWINDLE has more than a passing resemblence to Lord Sutch's Schtick with the blank firing revolver.
Ever the trendsetter, just look at the length of his hair....in 1964!!!
He was a truly original, eccentric and pioneering performer who sadly only seems to be remembered for his political career with his MONSTER RAVING LOONY PARTY in his latter years and not the things he was really good at.......

Czech coolness.....part two

2011-01-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

Three more random 60's clips from the Czech Republic.

First up is the Eastern Bloc answer to Lulu, Valerie Cizmarova .....singing "Leta Leti". This is a rendition of the song "Moustache a Papa" that my band THE STAGS recorded a version of on the DO THE TON album.
I'm now confused because our take on it was based on French YE-Ye girl ANNA-BELL's version (from 1971) I thought it was the original.....however this footage looks older than that I'd guess at '68-'69.
Another interesting fact (to me, anyway) is it was written by Giorgio Moroder.....PAPA OO MOW MOW!!!!

Next up is handsome singer/daredevil Vaclav Neckar. the song is "Hej pane zajici" ...Very entertaining eye candy.....keep an eye out for the reckless, tormenting lion tamer!

Finally, THE GOLDEN KIDS from 1969 live in concert...check out the lucky guy in black's dance moves and the bass player in the band has got some style too!

Czech Coolness..... part one

2011-01-12T10:47:00.000-08:00

60's Czechoslovakia is my new Utopia!!
Here's some groovy ads for the city runaround MZ ETS 250cc.
This was the first road bike I owned. It was actually registered on the log book as a 125cc and I rode it on L-plates and even took my test on it.....folks used to say "that's pretty quick for a 125!".....that's because it was a 250...

snow fun January 1965

2011-01-09T18:16:00.000-08:00

Sick of the snow? Paul Revere and the Raiders love it!!

BLACK FLAG DEMOS 1982

2010-12-30T09:32:00.000-08:00

Scorching demo versions of songs, recorded in 1982 that ended up on the MY WAR and SLIP IT IN albums.
Stuck with record contract hassles, BLACK FLAG secretly recorded a bunch of new songs.
In my opinion, these demos are superior to the official releases.
Rollins had just joined Greg Ginn, Dez Cadena and Chuck Dukowski plus amazing drummer Chuck Biscuits(RIP) a formidable line up and these songs showcase the direction the band was going to go in.......

Duane Peters.....Lowdown on the leg

2010-12-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

Straight from the horses mouth!!

Duane Peters Actions Realized from dlxsf on Vimeo.

SWIRLY-HAMMOND-POTS 'N' PANS-SIXTIES SOUND

2010-12-07T02:21:00.000-08:00

Here's a promo video we put together in 2004 for THE STAGS. The song is called "Husky" and was shot in literally a couple of hours in my old workspace in Wigan. Great fun to do and it's about time we did another one. You may notice the groovy orange backdrops in the vid are the very same ones we loaned and eventually sold to Frank Sidebottom and were used in every episode of his most recent PROPER TELLY SHOW on Channel M.

SIDEBURN EURO-ROADTRIP part one

2010-11-23T07:30:00.000-08:00

Jasons bike gets photographed for LOWRIDE mag

GI and MP ....put 'em together and whatya got?..GIMP!!

I JUST WANT SOME SKANK! The boots the girl in the last picture was wearing

Anna and friend peruse THE FLAT-TRACK BIBLE

MEEOOOWW!!

ZAETA PRODUCTION BIKE

Just got back from a 5 day road trip to Milan, Italy to have a presence at a custom/hotrod show. We had a super hectic schedule, managing to take in an motorcycle art show launch in Paris, a home visit to photographer/RUBY HELMETS guy Dimitri Coste, an overnight stay with IVAN THE TERRIBLE which included some frantic record buying and then a US BOMBS gig on the way home in Belgium. It was a 2200 mile roundtrip and almost 40 hours behind the wheel.

Personal highlights were:

Getting to know Paulo from ZEATA MOTORCYCLES a little better. He booked us a nice hotel and generally made sure we enjoyed our stay in Milan.

Spending time with Ivan in Paris and getting the chance to buy some records out of his recently deceased good buddy "SF Sorrow Seb"s collection.

Driving in heavy snow conditions over the Alps.

Hooking up my portable record player and playing my records over the big PA at the show.

Catching up with DP in Belgium. I lent him some DVD's to while away the hours in the van. He almost borrowed a comp of classic british tv adverts including all the Leonard Rossiter/Joan Collins CHINZANO ads!

AURORA BOX ART

2010-11-11T06:06:00.000-08:00

Continuing on the monster tip....take a look at the great box art for the "GLOW IN THE DARK" AURORA MONSTER KITS.
The "long box" non-glow versions issued in the 60's are probably more valuable and sought after.... but these are the kits I remember buying with my pocket money as an 8 year old!
Aurora Plastics Company had been making figural models of the Universal monsters for a few years and they were really one of the first companies to captilize on the Monster craze of that decade. In the 70's they relaunched the line with a new feature, they now glowed in the dark. Monster items and glowing in the dark is still a prevelant trend to this day..The box art was re-vamped and looks really great, even more ghoulish and lurid.
The last picture of the BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN is a mock up of a kit that was never released.

DON POST CALENDAR MASKS

2010-11-11T05:18:00.000-08:00

FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER

THE CREATURE

GORILLA

THE HUNCHBACK

THE MAD DOCTOR

THE MOLEMAN

THE MUMMY

METALLUNA MUTANT

THE PHANTOM

THE WOLFMAN

MR. HYDE

DRACULA

Here at Full Frokkul Fiasco it's Halloween every day of the year! and to labour the point here is a fantastic collection of latex masks from DON POST STUDIOS.

These particular masks are commonly known as "The Calendar Masks". They were released in 1966 and as a marketing ploy, each of the 12 masks were showcased in a full colour calendar available through FAMOUS MONSTERS magazine. Unfortunately, latex doesn't age very well and not many have survived. Original examples, in good condition are highly sought after and sell for big bucks...

The Calendar masks were re-issued in the mid-nineties and can be picked up for a reasonable price but as with most things, the revamped version pales into insignificance compared to the 44 year old originals.

Another negative with the re-issues is, because they have been cast off the originals(the factory molds are long gone) the new masks are somewhat smaller and therefore can't be worn and are classed as display only.

However, it is possible to force the mask over a small childs head for a quick photograph....like we did one time a few years back.....sorry Jake!!

BORN TO GO SIDEWAYS.....

2010-11-09T01:46:00.000-08:00

Great shot from Steve Baldock of me out wide in the loose stuff....looking forward to the 2011 season

THE SHED SHOW

2010-11-09T01:40:00.000-08:00

Released yesterday 8th November.....The complete series, plus the pilot episode!

Duane Peters "benefit" wheels

2010-11-05T02:19:00.000-07:00

Great example of folks looking out for each other. OJ wheels are producing a wheel with all proceeds going towards helping to pay Duanes crippling medical bills following a serious staph infection in his left leg (which he almost lost). For the full story see here
If you skate, do the right thing and hunt these wheels down and run 'em on yer board....if ya don't skate but dig what DP is about then buy a set and put 'em on the mantlepiece, use 'em as a paperweight, give 'em to the dog to chew etc.
All being well, Duane will be on a Euro tour which includes 2 UK dates 24th Nov. London Underworld and 25th Derby, The Old Bell........

UPDATE:
I've been corresponding with Big Woody and he can confirm that he is able to supply these wheels here in the UK when they become available....He thinks the cost will be £36 per set (in line with all OJ wheels prices) If you want a set, then get in touch at www.bigwoodys.co.uk/

MonsterChef 2010...with The Stags

2010-11-01T07:34:00.000-07:00

Great Stags party this Halloween weekend. A cookery-themed spooky show MONSTERCHEF that was half pantomine and half bordering on performance art!!......oh yeah, with some songs thrown in too!

Some memorable highlights were:

Satans Sausage Machine....and the two contestants Kerry and Chris.

Conways ridiculous head chefs hat.

Mobile Jones grotesque costume.

"The Replacement Hip" dance contest won by Wilky #99.

Sinderella strapped to the operating table and force fed Satans Sausage.

Mike the sax players presentation of a 5 foot tall Stags Carriage clock for services rendered.

Dennis the Barsteward stumbling off the stage and falling flat on his face, blind drunk.

Tons of friends travelled from far and wide to take part and "make the scene". and The Stags SALUTE YOU!!

MOTORCYCHO MAILSHOT

2010-10-23T03:07:00.000-07:00

Lots of thanks to Norman McFuzzybutt over at MOTORCYCHO magazine for a package through my letterbox today! A big bunch of 45's, stickers, buttons etc. This mag has been in existence for 15 years now and also has a blog page that you can visit HERE

STAGS HALLOWEEN DANCE PARTY 2010

2010-10-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

expect nothing less than COMPLETE AND UTTER MONSTER LUNACY!!!

Duane Peters...update

2010-10-19T16:05:00.000-07:00

Our thoughts are with our good buddy Duane Peters, who has been fighting to not lose his left leg after developing a serious staph infection following a bad slam on a skate tour last month. GoGo Lou emailed Duane yesterday and got a reply.....He is in good spirits and feels he's turned a corner in the last few days. Doctors said his leg has to grow some "new meat" in order for it to begin to heal and if this didn't happen soon he was facing amputation at the knee. DP has gone back under the surgeons knife very recently and signed a document to allow them to take the leg off if necessary. If amputation was to be the outcome, he told the docs not to bother making the stump to take a prosthetic limb saying he was gonna go back to boozing and "go pirate with a wooden peg-leg".

He ain't out of the woods yet but the gap in his leg has started to close up a little..and that's an improvement!

Above are some progress pics of the wound and some pics off Ebay. Duane is selling some of his art and personal skateboards to help to pay off some crippling hospital bills. If you feel you wanna bid and help raise some cash take a look on Ebay HERE

Update 20th October 2010:

Here is a post from earlier today over at Duanes facebook page....

just noticed all the cool donation sugestions.I dont think I,m cool with that tho,but thank you all you radsters.cant go to jail for oweing I dont think,I just gotta stir up the shit instead of siting in it I think,so I,m burning A disc with all my last Shoe ideas & even tho the market is soft I,m gonna look for someth...ing.when my son clash told his class his daddy was a shoe maker for a living the other day it made me start to think about it.no real offers yet but I'll wash dishes ,Tap dance or what ever I gotta do till shit happens. ive allready done the bum thing,begging aint my style no more.Clash gets his tonsils out friday so I hope it dont rain that day,gonna ride motto up to LA to see him,coreys brother cherokee has been going to bat for me during this whole fucking last ordeal of mine. I guess some shit sold on ebay.I will be able to give her half.I,ll sell garage junk next weekend & next till I can tap dance on the road in 3 weeks.rent got paid.Gonna work on just staying sober & healing for now.More people way werse off than I ! You ROCK ME ! Thank you Friends for even wanting to help out,much Love.

MOBILE AND THE LENTALISTS....new band

2010-10-13T02:14:00.000-07:00

The first gig for a project band I'm playing bass in, takes place this Sat 16th October at THE TUDOR HOUSE, Wigan.
The Lentalists play loud, twin guitared, amped-up, driving 60's garage in the vein of 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS, THE LITTER and BOB SEGER SYSTEM.....
This band is something of a local supergroup with members from THE V.C.'S, THE STAGS, MOCO and THE MALLADIES.
Looking forward to seeing how this new band is received on its debut outing

R.I.P. PEK....THE KING OF PUNK

2010-10-07T15:42:00.000-07:00

SAD BUT TRUE.......The death of Pek...punkest guy in Liverpool. Dead at only 44 years old, I don't know any details other than he suffered a stroke a few weeks back but was reported to be making good progress. Pek was one of the guys behind UNDER SIEGE promoters booking all the Punk/HC/Crust gigs in Liverpool, mostly staged at PLANET X in its various incarnations. He put on some amazing gigs for touring US and European punk bands and also local bands too...my own band included. Before taking up running the gigs and almost single-handedly creating a "Scene" Pek was also vocalist for DISATTACK precurser to CARCASS..here is a youtube clip

Dennis and Lois documentary....

2010-10-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

Dennis and Lois Doc Teaser from cassflix on Vimeo.
Fantastic teaser for an upcoming documentary about Dennis and Lois from New York.
The absolute biggest fans of Frank Sidebottom I ever met! The couple met at a FATS DOMINO gig and ended up running the Merch stall for THE RAMONES in 1975-6. Chris Sievey once told me that it was Dennis who actually suggested that the boys all wore black leather jackets.
Dennis and Lois are my kind of people... rabid toy and record collectors

One night in September 1995....

2010-10-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

Classics from Barry Thornton on Vimeo.

Psychick-Boy does it again unearthing unseen footage of THE RAMP COMMANDOS sessioning my old mini-ramp back in late September 1995. On duty that night were me (blue shirt/dyed black hair) Psychick-Boy, Captain Highside, Julian Parkinson and Daz Robinson.The list of tricks I have forgot I could do leaves me at a loss for words......look out for my backside boneless one, Psychick-Boy's Lein to tail and Captain Highside's frontside roll-in.......LIVIN' IN A WIGGLY WORLD!

A Napple a day.....keeps the doctor away

2010-10-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

DRASTIC PLASTIC

2010-10-04T09:10:00.000-07:00

Earlier this Summer I picked up a big box of assorted AURORA MONSTER MODEL KITS. I had all these kits as a child and unfortunately administered all the usual "melting with a magnifying glass/ air-gun/ fireworks" torture routines. In the 90's, I picked up all the re-issues and these remain mint boxed but it ain't the same as having the originals. I parted with 4 pounds at my local car boot sale for a rag tag, mixed up collection of various tiny kit parts that I recognised from 20 paces. These kits are the real deal and I have a hunch they could even be 1st issue from the mid-60's. The series was re-vamped in the 70's with various"Glow in the dark" pieces such as hands, heads, rats, bats etc. and not one of the myriad of parts in the box were glow parts. After an hour or so sorting the parts out, I discovered I had a totally complete FRANKENSTEIN(my favourite) and almost complete DRACULA and THE CREATURE. The rest of the kits are AURORA PREHISTORIC SCENES including a WOOLY MAMMOTH, T-REX, TRICERATOPS and a bunch of CROMAGNON MEN / WOMEN

Wigan Speedway

2010-10-03T15:09:00.000-07:00

Infinitely more famous for rugby league and football,Wigan had its fair share of speedway racing with not just one but two different venues. Poolstock Stadium was the home of Wigan Warriors in 1947. The team upped sticks and moved to Fleetwood in 1948, although they returned to Poolstock again in 1960. incredibly, Laurel and Hardy came to watch the racing in 1947. They were speedway fans and were appearing in nearby town, Bolton. Apparently they came along to cheer on a he/she mystery rider known as "The White Ghost". Woodhouse Lane Stadium was also used briefly in the early 1950s, this local team was known as the Wigan Panthers. I didn't know anything about this local bike history but I wanna find out some more.....

Championship finale......

2010-10-02T09:51:00.000-07:00

The final round of the 2010 SILKOLENE-POZZANNI SHORT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP takes place tomorrow at Scunthorpe Speedway. the SKOOTER FARM team will almost be at full strength (just missing Jason #99) and all jostling for points! Its been a fantastic season with favourable weather at most races however the forecast ain't great for tomorrow....hope we get a few hours of dryness whilst we run the meeting. Above is a shot of me #31 at the last round, leading the pack in the first turn. Unfortunately the race was red flagged due to a crash and the restart didn't really go my way.

Vintage Jim Goodrich photography

2010-10-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

A few examples of the skate photography of Jim Goodrich. In the late Seventies I would see these kind of images in SKATEBOARDER MAGAZINE and they would make me wanna grab my board and get shredding.

From the top we have Steve Alba (at Winchester pool??) then Shogo Kubo in the Lakewood half-pipe. Next is Marty Grimes at Oxnard and to conclude, Greg Weaver, at Skatopia.

STARFISH-HITLER......Japanese monster villain

2010-09-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

Loony late seventies jap TV show KAMEN RIDER with controversial Nazi-bad guys and an unsettling mutant Hitler/giant starfish opponent!

LEE.......

2010-09-29T07:26:00.000-07:00

What is it about the name LEE?? If you are lucky enough to have the word "Lee" somewhere in your moniker then you are probably destined for greatness. Straight off the bat we got 5 all-timers:

Christopher Lee, Lee Hazlewood, Bruce Lee, Lee Marvin and Jason Lee

JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS 1967

2010-09-29T06:11:00.000-07:00

Another HANNA-BARBERA cartoon that had an impact on me.....Even as an 8 year old I knew this was almost identical in format to SCOOBY DOO but with groovy, better looking chicks! There was obviously some tie-in with ARCHIE COMICS too

DEVLIN 1974

2010-09-29T05:57:00.000-07:00

Another influential HANNA-BARBERA cartoon. Based on Evel Knievel it followed the exploits of professional motorcycle jumper Ernie Devlin. Can't tell you much more about it other than they actually used an image of E.K. on his XR750 in the opening title sequence.

FRANKENSTEIN JR. 1966

2010-09-29T05:41:00.000-07:00

The Japanese get all the credit for cranking out outragious, crazy kids shows but this HANNA-BARBERA cartoon from 1966 is pretty insane! Look out for the OCTO-VULTURE monster! I used to watch this when I was a very young kid. I love the vivid colours and the stylized depiction of the mad doctors laboratory. I was totally mesmerised by it and maybe that's a contributing factor to how I turned out as an adult.

UGLY BUGS BALL part two

2010-09-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

More pics... at the top we got BAMBI LA BEAU performing her "Cleopatra" routine then a bunch of random snaps...the caterers ran out of paper plates so TOPSY STAG ate her hotpot out of a washing up bowl!!

UGLY BUGS BALL PART ONE

2010-09-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

First few pics from this weekends UGLY BUGS BALL with The Stags here in Wigan! A great party for sure....some good bits were an eight-armed drum solo from Arachnid Kenny Roquette, a bug related burlesque routine, a human fly buzzing around a giant turd stuck to a blanket and full-on honking saxaphone by our special guest Mike the Fireman. The party was totally sold out and people showed up in some great costumes. Next up is a Halloween party with The Stags Friday 29th Oct. at THE ROARING PSYCHEDELIC OCTOPUS in Wigan. It's an official OCTOPUS/SIDEBURN/DAVIDA HELMETS bash with amongst other things, special guest DJ Sideburn head honcho, Gary Inman......absolutely not to be missed!
Thanks to GoGo Lou and Wilky #99 for these pics.

Forgotten footage.....

2010-09-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

Untitled from Barry Thornton on Vimeo.
Big thanks to Psychick-Boy for digging up some skate footage of me on my mini ramp 15 years ago in 1995. The ramp stood for 12 or so years until it was dismantled to make way for YOYO'S BOWL.
That's Capt. Highside on the platform waiting to drop in. I had completely forgot I could do both those tricks...Frontside Rock 'n' Rolls and little Frontside Ollies.......Looks like I just threw down a gauntlet to my own self.......

UGLY BUGS BALL......WITH THE STAGS

2010-09-23T02:35:00.000-07:00

C'MON AND CRAWL TO THE UGLY BUGS BALL....This Saturday 25th Sept. THE STAGS play The Ugly Bugs Ball in Wigan. For one night only the Royal Oak, Wigan is being transformed into an upside down insect utopia.

It's gonna be a truly bugtastic evening with performances from THE STAGS (with special guest), THE UGLY BUG STOMPERS (17 piece brass band) ALAN ANT (vinyl disc-slipper) and BAMBI LA BEAU (buxotic burlesque dancer)

Other activities include a fancy dress contest with prizes, hot food, wild cocktails, crazy decor and a lucky dip!

This is a ticket only event....NO PAY ON THE DOOR! It's almost sold out but I do have a handful of tickets left. Cost is 10 quid (inc. free cocktail, food and confectionaries) get in touch if you wanna come and I can hold your tickets on the door.....call 07785 110645 and quote "spider bollocks!"

FIRST TURN ACTION...

2010-09-21T01:59:00.000-07:00

Another Gregory Mild shot of the Thunderbikes first turn. Two things of interest here.....Paul Harrison #4 on his ear at the back of the pack and for a fleeting moment, my good self # 31, out in front!!

WILKY # 99

2010-09-21T01:18:00.000-07:00

2010 SKOOTER FARM rookie Pete Wilkinson # 99 in action at Rye House last weekend. Pete rode really well all day, making the cut to the "A" final....an increasingly difficult thing to do. Here's a sequence of him giving team-mate Capt. Highside # 76 a hard time.

Thanks to Gregory Mild for hanging out and taking all the shots. http://www.gregorymild.com/

FULL-TILT, BOZO....

2010-09-20T14:03:00.000-07:00

Just had a great long weekend Dirt Tracking. Took off with Wilky #99 to the practice session at Rye House on Friday. Hooked up with Steve Red Max, Ant 'n' Geoff from Co-Built and Ben from Sideburn Mag amongst others. Sun was shining, track was awesome.....life was great until my rear wheel bearings disintegrated and my bike threw a chain. The CO-BUILT guys came to the rescue, somehow sourcing a new set of bearings out of business hours and even getting the supplier to post 'em through Anthonys letter box. They were there waiting for us when we arrived back from a stop off at the ACE CAFE on the way home.

Wilky and me were then treated to some overnight CO-BUILT hospitality thanks to Anna and Ant.

Saturday morning was spent with a Co-Built super tune up on my bike. Not only was the rear wheel repaired but an intensive "dialing-in" was carried out. When my bike broke part way through the practice, I took a couple of runs on Ants bike and was knocked out by how well it handled. So, we tried to set up my bike with the same characteristics. The gearing was lowered substantially, the wheelbase shortened, we switched to lower rise handlebars, the forks were dropped in the yolks, lowering the front end and finally, the offset tweaked somewhat.

The end result was my bike handled 100% better! On the Sunday I had one of my most enjoyable race meetings ever and made yet another "A" final with a respectable 7th place finish (I could have possibly pushed it to a 5th or 6th if I had been a bit braver)

Big thanks again to Anthony Brown and Geoff Cain for all their help and hospitality

So all in all, a fab weekend....can't wait for the final round at Scunthorpe on 3rd Oct.

YOYO'S POOL PARTY 2010

2010-09-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone that showed up to YOYO'S POOL PARTY 2010.

As the sun set, folks started to show up...skaters and non skaters alike. I spent a good coupla days fixing up the backyard and setting the scene with a Tiki/Voodoo theme, which looked really great. GoGo Lou and Lady Di took care of the skarfing material, serving up killer veggie chilli dogs and an awesome Indy cake.

It was mainly a gathering of older skaters and a great session was had by all. Some skate highlights were PSYCHICK BOYs Slob-Airs and Rock 'n' Roll slides, CYBs backside grind to tail, CAPT. HIGHSIDEs Rock to Fakies and Cess Slides and BULLCRAIGOs Tail-Drop, his first time on a skate in 22 years!!

Some other things worthy of mention were JOHNNY ALPHA and CONWAY CASTLE providing a terrific aural backdrop to the nights activities, my "BMX Bastard" nephew Jake pledging to skate more often, my neice, Shea, skooting around on my 33 year old G+S slalom board and Capt. Highside drunkenly barbecuing a 2 foot long giant marrow at 2am!

Other shout outs to Geoff from CO-BUILT, driving over from Oxford to make the scene, Foxy (with a broken foot) and Daisy for hooking me up with a new S.S.S.-SHRED-SLED deck, Mr. Wilson, out of action with a back injury for all the photos and Joe Crow for his electrical expertise and inadvertantly taking the "slam of the night".

ERRAND-RUNNER....

2010-09-08T04:21:00.000-07:00

I put this board together from old parts I had lying around. Its best feature is the ultra soft 78a Kryptonic wheels. Slalom wheels, originally 66mm diameter but lathed down by Capt. Highside to a managable 58mm. The board skates like a regular board but able to roll on rough terrian without feeling tall and cumbersome. Got the deck directly from Duane Peters on a U.S. trip a few years back. The perfect tool for stocking up on veggie hot-dogs and Vimto for Saturday nights upcoming Pool Party

HEAVY SESSION

2010-09-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

Invitation only....get in touch if you intend coming along

HELLS ANGELS, LONDON 1973

2010-09-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

Fantastic 25 minute BBC documentary about the British Hells Angels back in 1973....hilarious!!

watch it HERE

Mad John!

Cross-Eyed Chris!

Hitler the Alsation!

Micks mum!

on his way......

2010-08-20T14:25:00.000-07:00

MOTOCYCHO associate Billy on his honda 350 embarking on an 8 hour journey from Canada to Portland, Oregon to THE MUMMIES show dressed as a mummy!

He knows the show is sold out and doesn't have a ticket.....if he makes it across the border....I really hope he gets to see 'em play......It will be well deserved!!

SHUT YOUR MOUTH.....The Mummies

2010-08-19T15:59:00.000-07:00

If I have to explain....then you wouldn't understand!

The Mummies in Portland, Oregon

2010-08-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

The Mummies play their last show ever this weekend in Portland, Oregon. It has been organised by our good friend Cecilia who has relocated to Portland from Paris. The show has been engineered to coincide with Cecilias wedding to Ryan Epoxie that very same weekend. We were invited to the wedding but sadly we are unable to attend due to poor finances, work commitments and ill heath.
I'm sure it is gonna be one hell of a party with a bunch of our friends from all over the world and we are gutted we can't make it.....we wish Cecilia and Ryan all the best!!!
Here's a some pics from The Mummies playing in Spain a coupla years back and a shot of the happy couple!!

"WHOLESOME COCAINE".....More epic Scopitones

2010-08-18T04:02:00.000-07:00

SCOPITONES......BIRTH OF THE MUSIC VIDEO

2010-08-18T03:21:00.000-07:00

For some reason Queen are credited with producing the first ever music video for "Bohemian Rhaspsody" in 1975. However, the SCOPITONE has been in existence since the late-Fifties! The technology for the Scopitone machine itself (also known as a Cinebox) dates back to the late 1940's. A cross between a jukebox and a 26-inch color TV, it was the result of technology developed for use during WWII and put together from obsolete aeroplane components, turned by CAMECA to civilian use, projecting 3-minute Scopitones—song films—for a quarter to tipsy audiences in clubs and bars. Terribly popular in France, the rest of the world began to take notice, and in 1963, George Wood from the William Morris Agency started a development deal to license the machines in the U.S., the Agency's first foray into multimedia
Alas, Wood, up to his neck in gambling debts, also included in the deal a cobweb of Mafia up and down the East Coast. He didn't last out the deal, and one of his younger associates took over with a cleaner proposition. The completed negotiations included the importing of 200 machines, with a guarantee that 5200 machines would be built in the U.S. over the next 10 years. Optimists! The Scopitone's potential even swayed a young Francis Ford Coppola, who invested a big chunk of his money from some early screenwriting gigs. But America's embrace of the medium never came. Something between 1,000 and 1,500 machines were produced in the U.S. before the Scopitone "craze" fizzled out entirely, around 1967. Even big stars had Scopitones—Neil Sedaka, Nancy Sinatra, Lesley Gore, Debbie Reynolds, and Paul Anka all made them—and it didn't help
Exactly like today's music videos, there are two themes to Scopitones:

1: Illustrate the story of the song.

2: Make it sexy.

Between France and the U.S., the production esthetics involved had a gap bigger than the Atlantic. American Scopitones bordered on soft-core porn (for the early 60s, that is): chicks gyrated wildly (and not even in time to the music) wearing either the ubiquitous bikini, a similarly skimpy outfit or sent through a modified striptease, ending up in even less. Though most French Scopitones, too, center on the female form, others might have a chorus of dancing guys as the background—usually doing the Twist, or the Hully-Gully. And these men, like the women, were not always fully-clothed.....
The chick-to-hunk ratio was, of course, huge. The French methods of depicting the chicks were, in some ways, more realistic. If models or dancers were in bikinis, at least they were near a pool. If they were in lingerie, they were (usually) not strutting across a stage set, but instead filmed through keyholes. The ogling opportunities were skewed to the 'accidental' view—the style called for quick shots up the skirts of women walking (or twisting) on the tops of walls, or down the bosoms of low-cut dresses. Usually all the camera caught was a set of garter straps at mid-thigh, a little cleavage. The French Scopitone producers looked for ways to go around the dress, so the female body became a sequence of parts, glimpses. And like the fast-edit MTV style, these fleeting glimpses of flesh kept audiences interested without being bombarded with a satiating (or nauseating) overt display.

And if it wasn't sex, it was the Twist. In the U.S., the Twist was just one of many dance crazes, seeing its heyday between 1960 and 1962. In France, it was an institution, persisting well into 1965. Le Twist might be performed in many inches of snow, on driftwood, in the middle of the woods, on trains, behind screens, or in the middle of a corral. Rubbery legs and flexible ankles could be the foundation for a career for any singer, regardless of their voice. And if singers couldn't twist? Then they'd import a whole set of teens who could, and just plop the singer down in the foreground. The Scopitone producers had odd interpretations of music yielded not a few stereotypes of all kinds of other culture, especially American, but could be so disjointed to be curiously interesting. While the American Scopitones are merely well-produced kitsch, the low-budget quality of these French productions created surreal brilliance. Les Surfaros—a group of 6 pygmy teenagers—performed "If I Had a Hammer" in French dressed in skiwear in front of a chalet.
The French obviously used a high percentage of their obtained footage, which left a haphazard, low-budget style presence—singers oblivious to misbehaving animals, dance sequences with the dancer's body off-camera (you can just see his bobbing head), bored-looking stars, plenty of askew lipsyncing and, of course, parts and parts and parts of bodies. Being a fairly new medium, all kinds of framing devices and rudimentary special effects were added. They liked to film on trains, cars, carnival rides (any possible moving vehicle), from very far away through layers of trees, or in front of a hastily-constructed set (wall of travel posters? one white sheet on an empty stage?). Even though most American stars kept their filming safely at home where, no doubt, there'd be some sort of standards, but once they moved it to France, even they weren't exempt from these random treatments—Dion's "Ruby Baby" features him singing from the cockpit of an conspicuously grounded plane. These slapdash effects and production meant that almost anyone could fancy themselves a director—and many amateurs did. But even then, the Scopitones made only number a little over 300 worldwide. In France, they were an (albeit temporary) entertainment institution. Here, irritation quickly succeeded enthusiasm. From an American consumer's standard, not only were there so few available to watch, but half of these were in French, made on crummy, reddish film stock (which, over time, has gone from bad to worse). It's no wonder the Scopitone's already negligible popularity was surplanted by the growth of color television. And in this medium, they too, are all but forgotten—to this day, only three Scopitones have been shown on American television, tellingly, on the Comedy Channel.
Google SCOPITONES.....sit back and enjoy the show!!

BLUE TILE FEVER

2010-08-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

Spent the afternoon skating YoYo's bowl with Psychick-Boy....making the most of the hot summer weather. The light blue paint reflected the glare of the sun and also seemed to intensify the heat. Feels good to be skating regularly again. After a couple of weeks, I'm starting to ease back into it and I'm 10 tricks into my list of 32 tricks to nail before I'm fifty!

Psychick-Boy even has a time machine!!

New Sideburn magazine

2010-08-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, apologies for the Lapse in posts for these last few weeks but I lost my blogging mojo....

The latest issue of SIDEBURN mag is back from the printers next week!

This is the 6th issue and features a submission from yours truly. The feature is called "Dancing with the Devil"

David Arnolds?

2010-07-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

I know that Dave Gorman based a TVcareer out of this but that aside, for a creepy experience, type your own name into the Facebook search engine.

I just did and it threw up 500 plus "David Arnolds"......here are my top 9 namesakes.

Bike Hauler

2010-07-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

Just did an interesting interview for the upcoming issue of SIDEBURN mag with a guy called Vince Martinico. Now Vince races pre-1930 motorcycles and next year this is gonna be his transport to the race track.

It was built for the 1939 World Fair. Apparently the whole left side folds out to create an instant "Pit Area"

I shudder to think about fuel consumption but just imagine turning up at Buxton Speedway in this!!

Mini Ramp skating in the late 80's

2010-07-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Pete Rogers for sending me these skate shots. The first three are taken at Dave Davies backyard ramp, in Lark Lane, Liverpool in around 1987. First 2 pics are me (stand-up F/side Grind and B/side Air) and then the 3rd shot is Ian Barwick mid Rock 'n' Roller.

The last 3 are of my own backyard ramp from maybe 1988-89. We used to skate for hours and end up full of splinters!!

the 4th pic is Paul 'Cyb' Lewis with a stylee, relaxed F/side Grind. Next up is Ritchie on a Fakie Smith Stall.

The last shot is Natas Kaupas (F/side Ollie) skating the ramp on a visit with Jesse Martinez at the ramps original short-lived home......upstairs at Split Skates shop in Manchester.

I'm really hoping that Pete digs out some more nuggets for me to post here!

UPDATE: Here's a pic of Pete himself Smith Grinding again on my old ramp

The Stags Halloween Show 2010.....

2010-07-14T05:57:00.000-07:00

Just confirmed a Stags Halloween Party for 2010. I'm excited....we haven't done this for the last 5 years due to not having a suitable venue that would allow us to take the place over and build all our dumb stuff!

I know it's a little early but put this date in your diaries: Friday 29th October at The British Legion, Wigan.

Should be a monumental night with games, dancers, DJ's and a few special guests on the bill too.

Here are a few shots from past Halloween parties 2003-2006

Glam Rock....as ugly as it gets

2010-07-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

Following on with the recent early 70's Glam/Pre-punk theme, here's 3 shots of some of the ugliest bands around at the time.

First up is CHICORY TIP resembling the cast from an Estonian knock off of Dr.Who.

Next is a great shot of THE SWEET pre-dating the Sex Pistols in the 'outragious' stakes by a good couple of years.

to conclude, we have a promo shot of THE HAMMERSMITH GORILLAS whose bassist was so ugly...they had to dress him up as an actual gorilla!