LOOK WHAT I COULD FIND vol 56
"Covers to die for 10" - 16 silly, sexy and subversive versions of the classics

 

In The Trashcan Records       GEM056
"Major Tom and Mustapha fighting over Marieke living nextdoor to paranoid Alice; that's somethin' else..."

1. ou est ma ch'mise grise? - patrick topaloff & sim

"You're the one that I want" from the movie Grease sung in French??? Heresy! But it was not the first time he did something like this. In 1972 he did the same with "Mama told me not to come". Sim is short for Simon Berryer who died in 2009, a year before his friend Topaloff. A Trema release from 1978.

9. ma belle americaine - patrick topaloff

And here's the flipside…"Greased lightning" sung in French. It's too crazy to be true. If you have ever heard his first single, "Ouh-la-la", you'll understand.

2. anarchy in the uk - frank sidebottom

Aka Chris Sievey. In North England he was famous… in the rest of the world completely unknown. I've met him once and he's a great guy. He's like this eternal 8-year old boy at school. A hilarious rendition of The SexPistols' first 45. A 1985 Regal Zonophone EP. See also vol 36.

10. marieke - kyra

Kyra Deconinck came from Brussels, Belgium and was married to Billy Childish. Being from Brussels, she was a fan of Jacques Brel, whose "Marieke" is one of his strongest songs, written in 1961. 37 years later Damaged Goods released her killer version.

3. mustapha - 2 belgen

Yes, this is the Bob Azzam tune, with English lyrics this time. A 1983 Antler release by the Belgian band that gave us "Lena". For the surprising flipside, see vol 36.

11. my way - nina hagen

Nina heard Sid Vicious sing the Frank Sinatra classic, although it was written by Claude François (as "Comme d'habitude") and translated by Paul Anka, and she thought "I can do it better". I can't say it's better, but it sure is as weird as ex-SexPistols' bassist Sid Vicous' attempt, maybe because she added German lyrics. It was 1980 and all over Europe she was suddenly known as the punk diva.

4. living next door to alice - chron gen

A freebie from their great 1982 Secret album "Chronic Generation", featuring three live tracks, including this hilarious version of Smokie's biggest hit single. Underestimated 80s punk band from the UK.

12. virginia plain - spizzenergi

"Soldier soldier" is perhaps Spizz' best song ever, but on the flipside you'll find this unexpected cover version of Roxy Music's "Virginia plain". Fantastic 45 from 1979 on Rough Trade.

5. paranoid - the dickies

See vol 1 for the B-side. Here's the best cover version ever of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid". Californian funpunk from 1978 on clear vinyl.

13. pretty flamingo - los primos

Candy Del Mar, the busty Betty Page lookalike bass player of The Cramps in the late 80s, disappeared in 1990 to reappear with her bass guitar and chewing gum on this 1995 Crypt release by Los Primos. A decent version of the Manfred Mann classic.

6. tainted love - grandma's toy

Belgian pop rock quartet that recorded this 60s soul classic in 1992. The flipside features a different mix of the same song. Issued by Jaws Records.

14. jack the ripper - the gruesomes

They covered both Screaming Lord Sutch' "Jack the ripper" as the Link Wray instrumental. Their version of the vocal Jack The Ripper is a killer track! Montreal in 1985 would never be the same again.

7. get off the road - the launderettes

The flipside of their debut 45 on Thunderbaby in 1999 is an excellent rendition of the Robert Lewis song "Get off the road" from the b-movie "She-devils on wheels", also covered by The Cramps in 1986. The girls asked me to get off the road after a wild night at Tiki's, but I brought them safely to the artists' house and had a lot of fun with the girls there. Underestimated girl-garage from Norway.

15. something else - stray cats

Eddie Cochran born 20 years later and he might have been Brian Setzer. So it's no surprise to me that the Stray Cats recorded his "Something else", although the SexPistols version is far much better. A 1981 release on Arista.

8. i'm gonna make you mine - the fuzztones

The Shadows Of Knight classic from 1966 reworked by Rudi Protrudi's nth line-up of The Fuzztones, released on Sundazed in 1998.

16. major tom (s'en aller de la terre) - plastic bertrand

Peter Schilling's original was sung in German. Yvan Lacomblez, who also wrote the lyrics of "Ca plane pour moi" and most of Plastic Bertrand's hit singles, turned this Neue Deutsche Welle classic into a French song à la Indochine. It's 1983 when he sang this for RKM (=Roland Kruger Music).