The
Vicars were from the Southend / Canvey / Basildon triangle, and were mainly
active around 1979. After some trailblazing gigs with The Vandals in 1978,
Alison 'Alf' Moyet' wanted to move on, and after original Vicars vocalist
Mike Maynard left, Alf took over vocals for the Vicars. In their short
but incendiary time together, they managed to play some great local gigs,
such as at The Shrimpers Club and The Southend College of Technology (see
set list below). They also contributed the classic punk track 'I'm Going
Mad' to the 1979 Sonet Records 'Southend Rock Compilation' LP, easily
providing the albums highlight.
Strange Stories
fanzine captured their time well, and their review, by Jah Orson "quack"
Vertebrae, of The Vicars gig supporting Eddie and The Hot Rods at The
Moonlight Club in West Hampstead pretty much says it all: " Is this
the most important gig wot I've been to? Yes it is in many respects. Doctor
Feelgood, the Rods + Lew Lewis of course all come from Canvey (this is
the sound of the sunken suburbs?) and of course have all worked heir way
into the hearts of the nation. But now here cums something that's gonna
knock all else into submission, namely t'Vicars. The Vicars have been
Vikking for some time now, playing Woodlands (when there was one), Shrimpers
(supporting le fille bonnes) & of course the Van Gogh (when there
was one) but just recently they've added a super new ingredient to their
line up namely Alf (which doesn't stand for Alumino-Lithium-Fluride -
jah vicar no deal in toothpaste). Those of you who ever saw The Vandals
should remember THAT voice, the voice of which it has been said makes
Pauline Murray's beautiful voice sound like a 'Barra Boy' salesman with
laryngitis and a too tight anorak on."
"So
after some warm up gigs, mainly at impromptu jam nights at the Double
Six, the Vicars finally take London town in downtown West Hampstead. Despite
some technical difficulties (the lead guitar amp wasn't working for the
first few numbers) the young Vicars gave a good performance, especially
in the face of some tediously pathetic heckling from certain prats in
the audience. 'Baby Roller' (surely one of the best songs in the whole
universe - hands off Ronstat you ain't gonna ruin THIS song), 'Future
Dictator', 'Radio Rik/Roy', 'I'm Going Mad' all rained forth in cascades
of dastardly deciballic splendour and I only hope that the main heckler
in the audience realises just how close he was to getting turned inside
out (try posing/pogoing to the sound of the suburbs with intestines getting
caught up in your poncy scarf maaaaaaaaaaaaaan)." ...Carry on Vikking!
Several recordings were made by the band, with their first studio demo
deserving special mention. Speaking to Kirk in 2007, he said " It
was recorded in a 24 track studio in Acton, London, courtesy of the Feelgoods
as a freebie". He continued "It was one of the top recording
studios at the time and was a s***t hot recording of the band. The best
they ever sounded." As with so many bands of the era, their time
together was brief though, and unfortunately they spilt up in 1979. Alf
would go on to form the infamous Screaming Ab Dabs, with Andy Stevens
and King Biscuit, and later get the recognition she deserved in Yazoo
and as a highly respected solo artist. Andy Stevens would go on to the
aforementioned Screaming Ab Dabs, then on to the Crawling Kingsnakes,
Rent Party and ultimately to Banjax, with whom he still plays. Micky Ogdon
would also go on to The Abdabs and Crawling Kingsnakes, and Kirk would
go on to manage local bands Caplo Banaal and High Society/Ava Raj. For
details of all The Vicars line Ups, see below for details.
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