What is your favourite 999 track???
Jul 25 2008
Hey
Following on from a surprisingly successful casual referencing to one of 999's track titles in my Titanic thread in news, herewith a tribute thread to them. 
RPG has already said his fave tracks are "Feeling Alright with the Crew" and "Titanic (My Over) Reaction."
Mine are Titanic, "Nobody Knows" and the frenetic "High Energy Plan".
I liked their dress sense also - how they could wear pink or green trousers coupled with a lairy shirt and maybe a small bowtie yet still look hard. 
The drummer wears a pale lemon jumper on one pic so i could see where a certain poster sought historical style inspiration.
And man the lead singers vocals are unique. Who else with a high voice could sound all aggressive and punky?
Man.
Love
LW XX
Jul 25 2008
#2
"what service do you require" has been a long fave of mine
Jul 25 2008
#3
David in Atlanta wrote:
wow, fun band, somehow they've escaped my attention all these years!
youtube only has i think three videos, one classic with the goofy outfits and some more recent live stuff, mygawd they got fat
999 - Homicide
Great old grainy clip with yeah, those loud outfits. Fab.
And i read just the first page of comments - 5 stars, unequivocal praise, and the top comment (josephkoller) was pretty moving - his younger brother couldn't get into a gig so the lead singer played some tracks out in the street - original punk bands, nowt like em. 
I would have been astounded if they hadn't got fat.
Jul 25 2008
#4
Tacks wrote:
"what service do you require" has been a long fave of mine
I think you mean "Me and My Desire" and yeah sexy track. My punk ex used to sing it to me.
Jul 25 2008
#5
John Doe from X did that once in Atlanta. He showed up pre-gig on the plaza where punks hang out and did a short solo set for folks who couldn't afford tickets.
X See How We Are
Jul 25 2008
#6
"nasty, nasty" is my fave and the youtube link that david did has the live version of it and its ace!! good solid band.
Jul 25 2008
#7
jambo1 wrote:
"nasty, nasty" is my fave and the youtube link that david did has the live version of it and its ace!! good solid band.
Ditto.
Jul 25 2008
#8
somebody forgot to give those guys the memo that punks not supposed to be funny
Jul 26 2008
#9
Just been listening to "Separates" and, as RPG says, "Crew" is an ace track. Hence the tagline change which was due anyway.
Love the lyrics - about a group of lads (oi types presumably) getting ready to go out on the tiles for a night of trouble. V. evocative stuff
Jul 26 2008
#10
David in Atlanta wrote:
999 - Obsessedsomebody forgot to give those guys the memo that punks not supposed to be funny
Yeah they have always been able to laugh at themselves. Like most punk bands really apart from teh anarchist lot.
Wow what an amazing vid. Not seen that before - i would have remembered.
I specially like the lead singers take off of the cowboy walk and also those fake fur chaps are amazing. 
Jul 26 2008
#11
David in Atlanta wrote:
999 - Obsessedsomebody forgot to give those guys the memo that punks not supposed to be funny
They were always regarded as "plastic" punks mate... If the furore about the Pistols on Bill Grundy hadn't kicked off they would still have dressed like Slade or The Sweet. Glamrock rejects, but fun nevertheless.
Jul 26 2008
#12
Udo_Bukowski wrote:
David in Atlanta wrote:
999 - Obsessedsomebody forgot to give those guys the memo that punks not supposed to be funny
They were always regarded as "plastic" punks mate... If the furore about the Pistols on Bill Grundy hadn't kicked off they would still have dressed like Slade or The Sweet. Glamrock rejects, but fun nevertheless.
That's as maybe but i bet you wouldn't have labelled them that in front of their hardcore skin supporters back in the day.... Not if you wanted to remain in one piece of course...
Jul 27 2008
#13
Lone Wolf wrote:
Udo_Bukowski wrote:
David in Atlanta wrote:
999 - Obsessedsomebody forgot to give those guys the memo that punks not supposed to be funny
They were always regarded as "plastic" punks mate... If the furore about the Pistols on Bill Grundy hadn't kicked off they would still have dressed like Slade or The Sweet. Glamrock rejects, but fun nevertheless.
That's as maybe but i bet you wouldn't have labelled them that in front of their hardcore skin supporters back in the day....
You're seriously underestimating my teenage nihilism. 
But now I've got your attention, what was that Millie Jackson story you were going to tell me a lifetime ago when I first joined the board?
Jul 27 2008
#14
Yeah, they do have something of the Slade / The Sweet sound about them, which is not a bad thing. And it's not just all three bands having tenor singers, they share a melodic sense that invites sing alongs. With all due respect for hardcore and most recent metal, I like bands that know how to write melody and sing. They don't have to be terribly good at it, this is rock and roll after all, but still, the effort is appreciated
Oh, i have a Millie Jackson story, kinda. I bought a cassete, back when they were state of the art, that was packaged and labeled as being Brian Eno's latest. When played it was Millie live. I kept it as an oddity and eventually gave it away.
Jul 28 2008
#15
Udo_Bukowski wrote:
Lone Wolf wrote:
Udo_Bukowski wrote:
David in Atlanta wrote:
999 - Obsessedsomebody forgot to give those guys the memo that punks not supposed to be funny
They were always regarded as "plastic" punks mate... If the furore about the Pistols on Bill Grundy hadn't kicked off they would still have dressed like Slade or The Sweet. Glamrock rejects, but fun nevertheless.
That's as maybe but i bet you wouldn't have labelled them that in front of their hardcore skin supporters back in the day....
You're seriously underestimating my teenage nihilism.
Heh teenage nihilism, methinks you were not the only one.
But i never had a Millie Jackson story at anytime, a lifetime ago or not.. I never even heard of them, perhaps you meant David??
Jul 28 2008
#16
They were one of my fav punk bands. I saw them at the rather wonderful Bones club in Reading in 1978. Crew is a great song, as is Nasty Nasty and Me & My Desire. There was a lot of pure-ist nonesense back in the 70s about who were or weren't real punks. A lot of the bands then didn't fit the standard 1,2,3,4/three chord rift straight jacket - think X Ray Spex, Gen X tracks like England's Dreaming, The Adverts or Banshees but were still punks. 999 stood out for me cos they were a bit different...and I loved Sweet anyway (The Damned's cover of Ballroom Blitz is ace).
I'm not sure though I would want to see them now - I do have mixed feelings about bands that are still playing sets that are 25 years old. I have seen Gang of Four and Stiff Little Fingers recently and enjoyed the gigs. A bit of me thinks a great song like Anthrax or Suspect Device is a great song even if its three decades old; another bit thinks it was of its time and we should look forward. To be fair SLF are doing new stuff.
Jul 29 2008
#17
Lone Wolf wrote:
But i never had a Millie Jackson story at anytime, a lifetime ago or not..
Lone Wolf wrote:
Udo_Bukowski wrote:
"Loving you, is easy 'cos you're beautiful..." Not you lot obviously, but the Minnie Riperton song. It's the "La-la-la-la-la" bit with the seagulls in the background; gets me every time.And if that's not embarrassing enough for a first post, my work computer crashed midway. Ominous.
That song is not a Guilty Pleasure tho because it is a genuinely beautiful song. And kinda unique. I know a bit about Minnie's life and the history of that song, its fairly moving tho so i won't spill, this has already been an emotional day for you.
Love
LW XX
You were right and I'm a moron... It was Minnie Ripperton. D'oh. Now spill the beans, Wolfie!
Jul 31 2008
#18
Udo_Bukowski wrote:
Lone Wolf wrote:
But i never had a Millie Jackson story at anytime, a lifetime ago or not..
Lone Wolf wrote:
Udo_Bukowski wrote:
"Loving you, is easy 'cos you're beautiful..." Not you lot obviously, but the Minnie Riperton song. It's the "La-la-la-la-la" bit with the seagulls in the background; gets me every time.And if that's not embarrassing enough for a first post, my work computer crashed midway. Ominous.
That song is not a Guilty Pleasure tho because it is a genuinely beautiful song. And kinda unique. I know a bit about Minnie's life and the history of that song, its fairly moving tho so i won't spill, this has already been an emotional day for you.
Love
LW XX
You were right and I'm a moron... It was Minnie Ripperton. D'oh. Now spill the beans, Wolfie!
Great lil post, i wish more people on here would admit that i am right and they are morons!
Wow yeah of course, this was your first post - ah, memories! - and you emoted in it - awesome! Glad i was around to respond!
Gah you want the sad story now?? This is already a sad time for you, i guess may as well just go for it.
(Btw, sorry about your shitty news. One or more of us should always be around if you wanna rant or sob or whateves! )
Well as you know most love songs are nauseating pieces of shit written for purely commerical reasons, but "Loving You" seems different. Minnie wrote it, it would seem, as a genuine and heartfelt tribute to her husband and child. She wrote the song as a way of lulling and soothing her baby so she could spend a bit of quality time with hubby. Which was much appreciated as, at the height of her short career, Minnie was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 28. A radical mastectomy was not enough to halt the spread of the disease and despite the grim prognosis Minne kept touring etc and also became the first female black spokesperson for the American Cancer Society. Cancer was a more taboo subject back then (it is not exactly a conversation piece now!) and cancer at a young age particularly so. Minnie used her remaining time to break this taboo as best she could.
She died aged 31 in the arms of her loving husband while listening to a song Stevie Wonder wrote for her. A quality passing for a quality woman.
Love
LW XX
Jul 31 2008
#19
RPG wrote:
They were one of my fav punk bands. I saw them at the rather wonderful Bones club in Reading in 1978. Crew is a great song, as is Nasty Nasty and Me & My Desire. There was a lot of pure-ist nonesense back in the 70s about who were or weren't real punks. A lot of the bands then didn't fit the standard 1,2,3,4/three chord rift straight jacket - think X Ray Spex, Gen X tracks like England's Dreaming, The Adverts or Banshees but were still punks. 999 stood out for me cos they were a bit different...and I loved Sweet anyway (The Damned's cover of Ballroom Blitz is ace).I'm not sure though I would want to see them now - I do have mixed feelings about bands that are still playing sets that are 25 years old. I have seen Gang of Four and Stiff Little Fingers recently and enjoyed the gigs. A bit of me thinks a great song like Anthrax or Suspect Device is a great song even if its three decades old; another bit thinks it was of its time and we should look forward. To be fair SLF are doing new stuff.
I have exactly the same mix of feelings! On the one hand, the whole essence of punk was that it was of the moment, it was a youth movement and its energy was such that it was destined to burn itself out, to be replaced by something even better!!!
Only there wasn't anything better 
and on a more prosaic level life is pretty hard for both us fans and many of the original punk musos most of whom were not commercially minded (something we loved them for) Therefore if they wanna make a few bob now playing the old tunes and i and others would like to hear them than so be it. Also them being around still seems to be inspirational for some new punks etc and a think a mix of new and old punks is a good thing!
Love
LW XX
Jul 31 2008
#20
i went to see buzzcocks,the damned and the rezillos at various times last year. they were all brilliant and the crowd was a good mix of old twats like myself and younger kids right into it. it was also good as the support bands were young newish bands and it got them playing to new audience.
Jul 31 2008
#21
Exactly
wow, fun band, somehow they've escaped my attention all these years!
youtube only has i think three videos, one classic with the goofy outfits and some more recent live stuff, mygawd they got fat
999 - Homicide