As I have nothing to report this week, I thought that I would mention my all time favorite band, Cardiacs. I first came across them in 1986 at Reading Music Festival. I was just walking around the site and heard an amazing noise which I just had to go and see what was causing it. It turned out to be a collection of people who I had seen rolling about in a muddy ditch earlier in the day and collectively known as Cardiacs. I remember being so impressed that I was eager to tell all my mates back home of how good I thought this band was. I was studying a C&G course at college at the time so my first job on my return was to let everyone know in my class there. I managed to see the band a couple of times on TV and found one of their albums but it was almost a year before I got the chance to see them live again. This time at The Astoria in London. Seeing that gig advertised, I couldn’t believe my luck and quickly booked tickets for me and a couple of mates that I had persuaded to go with me. As I suspected it wasn’t a wasted journey and the band had good support at the venue with “The Trudy” who were very good too. At the Merch stall I bought a pin badge, a cassette album called “The Seaside” and a short video release on VHS called “Seaside Treats” Both are now very sought after and available on Youtube along with loads of other stuff by “Cardiacs” I still have the cassette album and the video. Even though I now have nothing to play them on, they are among some of my most treasured possessions. I feel that coming across this band by accident was so lucky and I have been a fan ever since I first saw them along with several of my mates who have also become lifetime fans after seeing them at subsequent gigs around the country. I have seen the band several times since the late 80s but I must admit, that was really the best time. After the sax and percussionist were no longer with them and the band became a 4 piece, they seemed to have lost their magic although some would say they were much better. I saw Cardiacs at a place in Cambridge supported by Chumbawumba and for once the support band were much more entertaining. Another “must watch” for any music fan is the Salisbury gig on Youtube which is probably the last time the band played together with sax and percussion. I fist saw this at my friends house in Great Yarmouth who was so impressed with it all guests were treated to it virtually on a daily basis. Cardiacs were certainly infectious and have become a huge influence on many bands and modern music. Unfortunately the singer died in the summer of 2020 ironically of a heart attack and the band no longer exist. I did however join a Facebook group which I swiftly left due to musical snobbery. Some of the members there take everything far too seriously. I never thought of Cardiacs like that and they only ever made a pleasant noise for me which needed no analysis. Even though I liked them so much, I used one of their later albums to annoy my neighbors in Thailand because I knew they would hate it. It certainly did the job that I intended.
Another One off the Wrist
As a footnote, I have been getting a lot of spam comments this week from the same twat. They include crap like this::
“This article opened my eyes, I can feel your mood, your thoughts, it seems very wonderful. I hope to see more articles like this. thanks for sharing.”
Of course the comments will never get published and the arsehole will only win this week’s “One off the Wrist award” What a tosser!
