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."