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The Daizies 4 : The Fading then Falling with Slight Return and Back in Fashion Rise of the Rock Legends
The Daizies 4 :
The Fading then Falling with Slight Return and Back in Fashion Rise of the Rock Legends
In the fourth and final part of this revealing interview Wayne talks about his environmental work and the solo projects of the band members.
But he also speaks about the comeback of The Daizies as they moved into the 21st century celebrating over 40 years in, but mostly out of, the music business.
He finishes off his incredible story:
"We were coming to the end of the 20th century and I became more environmentally friendly and socially obnoxious.
I didn't like people anymore, I loved animals, even killer crocodiles and vampire bats, we had to save the environment, I mean it was everywhere, all around us. I had got married and had children, some to my wife.
Saving the chimpanzee
I felt a responsibility to protect our World, man. Me and Eric Daley campaigned tiresomely for the environment, After extensive negotiations, which stalled due to expense requirements and copyright assurances I joined an expedition to the Congo for the 'Discovery' Channel to investigate the natural habitat of the notorious 'throat-strangling bonobo' chimpanzee.
After a week all I had discovered was a strange rash on my undercarriage and the debilitating delights of dysentery. But eventually we secured some great footage, although our sound engineer was almost choked to death by an alpha male during a mating ritual."
"My other most memorable TV appearance was on the BBC on 'Noel's House Party' one Saturday night.
I appeared as 'Ronny the Rat Catcher' but as luck would have it the actor playing Mr Blobby got loaded and passed out on top of Melinda Messenger.
I stepped into the breach and got into costume to help avert a crisis.
It was the first and only time I could truly say I'd been a ‘Top of the Pops’ No.1 artist."
"As for Bash, he kept on drumming as it was all he knew and all he wanted to do, to be honest. He appeared on many other albums and was in great demand. The studios were usually warned in advance to hide their drum machines before he turned up. He had a crazed post-industrial Luddite kinda attitude to that type of stuff and he could afford to pay the criminal damages.
Side projects
Oliver and Jacky teamed up and recorded some experimental tunes based on the blues, jazz, reggae and acid house, covering Burt Bacharach ballads. They played to a pretty selective audience it must be said but they had fun jamming with the like of Elvis Costello, Morrissey, Sam Fox, Tiffany and Richard Clayderman."
"Oliver became hugely inspired by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and got involved with some native minstrels in Marrakesh. A dodgy decision since his old man was banged up in jail again, for corporate manslaughter (they never did pin a drug smuggling charge on him!!)
It led to intense speculation in the press that Oliver was running the family business under the guise of his musical meanderings around the globe. That was certainly the rumours in the music business and his phone never stopped ringing. Good news travels fast and he had a new found popularity."
The coming of Y2K
"But of course we could never be apart for long and in the new millennium we were back together. Everything was new man, a new Millennium man, the 21st Century, Y2K came and went without a hitch, a new century, another New World Order, New Labour, New Britain, nu-metal and 'The New Daizies'.
Yeah! Believe it dudes! Jacky and Oliver got fed up waiting for an unexpected re-union and toured under the new name and a new line-up. They hired ex-'Blood Blister' drummer Jimmy McThud and got Gilbert 'Squawkin' Hawkins on vocals. Me and Bash weren't keen on this and there was a huge fall out.
Their new manager, Big Ronny Ribald didn't help. He was the heir to the Cygnus soup manufacturing company and acted like a real stuck-up rich kid with us. Out with the old in with the bloody new. I felt we didn't fit in with the Rock scene; everyone was screaming at each other and playing at a hundred miles an hour, pure overkill. What happened to Classic Rock, it was going back to the dark days of the 70’s before NWOBHM took hold."
Conserving the planet
"Anyway, I was happy being active in my environmental work; eat your heart out Sting.
I spent a year on the high seas with 'Friends of the Ocean', a splinter group who fell out with 'Friends of the Earth' in a bloody awful fight.
They could be real hard cases these guys.
We sailed on their ship the 'Midnight Princess' trailing the whaling fleets and dodging Japanese harpoonists and Fleet Street cartooonists as we fought for as much publicity as we could."
"But as they say, charity begins at home; I had to beg the wife to go as long as I promised to stay in back in Blighty a bit more often.
So a lot of my conservation work had to be continued locally. In 2004, a report in 'The Wimslow Whistler' newspaper revealed that the famous Welsh mounting sheep was threatened by pollution from the Cygnus soup processing factory in the Sunflower Valley. It was my chance to get back at Ribald.
We forced them into improving their waste processing system as disposed lentils were clogging up the local river and their chimneys belched out the fumes from discarded split-peas.
A pressure group was formed and we became known as 'The Wimslow Boys' much to the annoyance of our sole female member Sally H. who had to remain anonymous since she was claiming jobseekers allowance and housing benefit. But she was a cool rock chick."
"But I still had music in my blood, not blue label vodka or Colombian marching powder anymore, and I liked to jam with my favourite musicians. I especially rediscovered my love of the blues and appeared at the famous Boglárlelle Blues Festival 2005 in Hungary with their local maestro Zoltan Kuntz Szôlôssi."
The return of the Daizies
"But, of course the tide of history smashed through the shores of uncertainty and The Daizies reformed in late 2006.
The time was right.
The Darkness had made Classic Rock and bad teeth fashionable again.
A great band, a mixture of ACDC and Sparks, although they had their critics and detractors as well as falsetto knockers.
We rode on this peak and played together for the first time in 10 years on 'Later...With Jools Holland', appearing on the same show as Slash, Blondie and the Latvian Balalaika Troupe."
"It was about time, as the plethora of tribute bands pointed to the popularity of our music, 'The Hayzee Fan Daizies' were one, 'Purple Daize' and 'Whoops-a-Daizie', did the rounds too. The final straw was when 'The Australian Daizies' reached the lower end of the charts with 'Mama Weer All Daizies Now', performing with hippy wigs and platform boots covered with glitter.
If Noddy Holder wasn't still alive he'd be turning in his grave. Hell! It seemed no better than that Mike Batt's 'Remember You're a Womble' carry-on back in the '70's. Jacky and Oliver were up for a get-together, especially since they were selling fewer tickets than the tribute bands."
"So that's us today, back touring the clubs and writing material for our new album out this year. Classic Rock is back and our old 70's hit 'I Get So High(In My Platform Boots)' is played all the time on the Rock Radio stations, much to the annoyance of their listeners I was told.
But Hell! It’s the 2010's man, the tens, the teenies, it's Thrash, Emo, Scream-Emo, Chavs, haves and not haves, Obama, Osama, the Dalai Lama, it's Big Brother, Little Britain, Pop Idol, American Idol, X-Factor. It can't get much worse than that my friends."
"So that's my story. You guys Keep on Rockin' in the Free World and hang loose out there. It's been a gas jammin with ya!"
Wayne Starlight C.B.E
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You can read more Hubs by Shinkicker at these links
- The Invasion of the Tribute Bands
A slightly tongue-in-cheek meander through the modern sensation. Once upon a time there was a far off distant band, one amongst many that I would watch at my local bar or nightclub. I used to love going to see local gigs by small-time bands. - Shakespearean Top 20 Rock Tunes
Verily, I hath ye great a fury that gathereth in mine heart. They cry that Mozart was ye first Rock n' Roller in history. but NAY!! - LinguaRock in a Few Easy Lessons
with Professor Von Stuffelheim, of the Berlin School of Music and Language. "Now you haff learnt zum basic 'Rockney' words und phrases vee can now move on to more advanced sentences zat may come in useful ven conversing". - You Can't Count Rock n' Roll
Five to one, baby , One in five , No one here gets out alive, now , You get yours, baby I'll get mine , Gonna make it, baby, If we try .... Fine words from Jim Morrison, but a pity he couldnt do his sums.