'The Internationale' out on 'You Tube' for Easter

In a cynical attempt to try to get as many you tube hits as his version of 'The Partisan Song' (currently on 300,000) Red Smed has now put up his 30th you tube link to a former recording by one of his shit bands.

"This time it's that old classic 'The Internationale' " said Red Smed , taking a break from overthrowing capitalism to buy some jaffa cakes from Lidls.."a song which of course has been sung by Stalinists and Trotskyists alike with absolutely no sense of irony or unity. I thought maybe Ed Milliband would like to try it."

Smed had noticed that 'the Partisan Song' has received so many you tube hits "probably because people are looking for a different version and stumble on this one by accident. So by picking an equally famous song i reckon people will probably do the same."

A totally irrelevent photo of  Red Smed in a scene from a
not connected play back in the pointless 1980s 

The song was recorded at the Monkton Heathfield studios in  2002 and features Smed as both Hank Marvin  AND Jet Harris, reprising the verse melody on lead guitar and then on echo laden 6-string bass. The chorus was sung by Elaine Di Campo in 3 part harmony. Smed says "Sadly when the guy mixed it down he had never heard the original 'Internationale' and so didn't know which of the 3 melodies was the lead...and so got the wrong one. That may be why some people won't recognise it."

Rare CLUB WHOOPEE recordings unearthed

Sunday 25th 1983 (as my diary NOW tells me...) saw a one off recording session by a one off version of the band CLUB WHOOPEE at the Milborne port studio in Dorset.

The studio was booked from 11am to 7.30 in the evening and 3 Kim Newman/Brian Smedley songs were recorded.

The first track 'Brazil' had already featured in the musical 'The Gold-Diggers of 1981'-script & lyric by Kim Newman, Music by Brian Smedley, starred Kim on lead vocals , the second 'Philadelphia Cheese' had Lynne Cramer singing and the third track 'Rock n Roll Lizard' had a host of guest celebrities .

The music for the day was exclusively down to Brian Smedley - playing guitars,bass and keyboards and Kevin 'Nervo' Freeman on drums. The lead vocal was shared between Rob Hackwill and Brian Smedley with Lynne Cramer, Kim Newman,Kevin Freeman & Eugene Byrne on backing. Opening dialogue is by Dean Skilton, beach party back chat from Lynne and Eugene and Vincent Price fade out from Kim.

There's an odd 4 note Dali-esque sax flourish at one point from a girl called Sian (who we never saw again) but who also played clarinet on Philadelphia Cheese.

The other odd note I have in my diary is that I stayed on to mix down the session and hitched back through the night to Bridgwater....one lift being in an ice cream van....but life was THAT exciting in them days.

PARTISAN SONG TOPS THE RED SMED CHARTS

For the 4th year running the PARTISAN SONG has topped the Red Smed hit parade with an almost unassailable 289,233  viewings 480 likes and 51 dislikes (probably Nazis). 

Red Smed says "It's probably because I'm not singing on it." However, the man is probably being modest, his partner  Big Alf Thrubworth, said "It's definitely because he;s not singing on it. And maybe because people are clicking on it cos they think it's the Red Army Choirs version."

Undettered, the Red Smed follow up you tube, 'Katyusha' (another instrumental ) hit the same target audience but only attracted  4,644 hits. "Probably because people realise by this stage it's just that twat Smedley" .

In third place the first of the 'singalong' ditties that made Murmansk what it is today. Somewhere you'd like to be in the hope they'd never heard of Red Smed.  'Leon Trotsky'  comes in with 2,704 hits 8 likes and a staggering 0 dislikes. Red Smed said "He truly was a man with a beard and glasses".

For a full run down of ALL the glamourous youtube videos released by Councillor Fat Boy in the guise of various bands click on the links to the left of this page.

1.  The Partisan Song (Red Smed) 289,233
2.  Katyusha (Red Smed) 4,644
3.  Leon Trotsky (Red Smed) 2,704
4.  Secret Seven (Dangerous Brothers) 992
5.  Route 666 (Club Whoopee) 955
6.  Me &My Clone (Red Smed) 840
7   Bridgwater (Red Smed) 722
8   Fat Bald Dave (Red Smed) 595
9   I'm Too Fat to Rock (Red Smed) 426
10 Drop Dead Darling (Red Smed) 402
11 I'm a County Councillor (Dangerous Brothers) 378
12 Ello Ello Ello (Dangerous Brothers) 343
13 Bohemia Sekt (The Visitors) 322
14 Brother Can You Spare a Dime (Club Whoopee) 288
15 Party at Brians (Red Smed) 273
16 False Nose (Dangerous Brothers) 233
17 When Teddy's Gone (The Spanners) 209
18 Don't Be So Bloody Miserable (Red Smed) 198
19 The Magnificent Several (Red Smed) 195
20 Rock n Roll is Pretty Exciting (Red Smed) 170
21 Swedish Language Yeh Yeh Yeh (Red Smed) 170
22 Greed (The Sedgemorons) 156
23 Do The Washing Up (Red Smed) 127
24 We're All Going Shopping (Red Smed) 98
25 Stogumber Cajun Gumbo (Red Smed) 64

POTATOLAND 30 YEAR'S LATER

I thought i'd better share this with everyone. Here's a link from Nick Hairs who ran the White Horse Inn, Stablebar in Launceston , Cornwall which has a web site that brings back all the memories of what was one of the West Country's best venues of the period.

For sure the Dangerous Brothers played there a few time, and the Sedgemorons. Who else I can't remember. Anyway, check out the web site.....

Click on the newspaper article (right) to go to the site.

Heres somethings that Nick sent me that I'd forgot existed.

THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES!!

A Merry Christmas and a happy new year to both Red Smed fans during the festive season. A seasonal message from the People's Commissar was mislaid somewhere near the Labour Club but instead of this we present a brand new old video of the great fight to save the Sedgemoor Splash (in which we came second).

The images come from the day of the heroic Occupation of Bridgwaters popular swimming pool which was being closed down by Sedgemoor Tories to make way for a gigantic and unwanted Tescos Extra.



The song is "We're all Going Shopping" written by Red Smed for the Dangerous Brothers back in 1979 (when the Splash was in fact the Sedgemoor Council offices - or the 'H block' as it was known). Ironically the song was re-written in 1985 for the Sedgemorons as "I lost my Heart in Tescos" by Red Smed and Radio 4 Producer-to-be Anne 'Betty Bonkers' Dixey. The attached version was recorded in 2001 by the Hot Trot Smash the System Boogie Band and features Smed on shite vocals, ridiculous piano and jazz guitar, Matt Bartlett on bass, Nervo on drums and Elaine, Cathy & Jo on backing vocals. It;s possible that Fat Bald Dave is on mandolin too but if he is he's been faded out in the mix. Which is a GOOD thing.

STOGUMBER CAJUN GUMBO

"Possibly the worse case of miming ever to hit the small screen" admits Red Smed at the launch of his latest tribute to himself 'Stogumber Cajun Gumbo', which features live footage of the Hot Trot Smash the System Boogie Band performing 'Leon Trotsky' at the Bridgwater Labour Club with the studio recording of 'SCG' dubbed pathetically over the top.

"Several parts of the dub actually work" Smed added in an almost desperate fashion. "But most of it doesn't. However, as there is no live footage of us doing any of our songs particularly well, it seemed like a good idea at the time."

Stogumber is a small village in the backwoods of Exmoor. Red Smed has never been there, but he did explain "I once saw the film 'Southern Comfort' where a bunch of US National Guardsmen get lost in a swamp in Louisiana or Canada or somewhere and end up having to shoot the local Cajuns. I think 'Gumbo' is a kind of food they eat in West Somerset and it's probably made out of twigs and roadkill."

Smed admitted he got the idea for the music as he was copying it note for note from the film but "hadn't a bloody clue" what they were singing about so re-wrote the lyrics in his own attempt at French-Cajun creole. "It's probably pretty accurate" he said "I did visit a pub in Wheddon Cross once."

DO THE WASHING UP

In the dim distant past when nobody cared how fat you were or that you'd eaten yet another 3 pack of walnut whips when you'd promised you wouldn't, life was a lot simpler.

'Do the Washing Up' was written in either late 79 or early '80 and certainly featured on the Circus Records session which was done in February 81. In fact if I could be arsed to go over to the drawer i could probably pin the date down exactly.

Well, I did look and I have no record of it.

Needless to say. It's a waltz tempo . In Bb. In fact, Bb to F# if you want to play along, and like all Dangerous Brothers songs, tells the heart wrenching tale of life on the frontline in those crucial years when Thatcher first came to prominence. Mainly it was about my mum telling me to do the washing up .