A History of Bad Manners (1)

David Turner BA (Hons) Teacher/Consulting Historian/
Mouth Organ Player

Introduction
History-writing is a process of interpretation. A short glance through the skarchives shows that the Goddess of History will be generous to Bad Manners for the band deserves a decent history. This first article concerning the history of Bad Manners hopes to provoke other people into thinking they can add to or even improve it. Go ahead and make our day!

The Bad Manners story…


Genesis of the Manners…

Formed in 1976 by school chums who lived in London, Bad Manners have become a British Institution. The nucleus of the band came together in the mid-1970's at Woodberry Down Comprehensive School, Stoke Newington, London. The school closed in 1981 and the band celebrated this event on the back of their Gosh It's album sleeve. Some ex-pupils returned over the years to 'do' the headmaster but Buster and roadie Roy never did. The band consisted of Doug Trendle (vocals), Louis 'Alphonso' Cook (guitars), David Farren (bass), Brian Tuitt (drums), Alan Sayagg (harmonicas) and Paul Hyman (trumpets). The boys went through various incarnations before the final brand name of Bad Manners was chosen.

One huge happy family

Initially, the band had no name and its personnel line-up was very fluid and inter-changeable. Bolly Yusosevski sometimes stood in on guitar or bass while a character known as Smelly Socks often blew tenor sax as well. Paul Hyman actually tried bass and guitar before he decided to go with the trumpet after the band liked his mime routine with road cones. In actual fact the fledgling Bad Manners could claim to have as many as 35 musicians in it. Practice and rehearsal was somewhat complex in those days! One influence on the band was an outfit put together by some of their school teachers called Snacks at the Bar. This school band often played in the canteen at lunchtimes…

'Stand Back', Back Stage Boogies and Stoop Solo and the Sheet Starchers

The band slimmed down to its more familiar line-up mentioned above and went through two more phases. The first was the 'Stand Back' phase when the future Bad Manners were known as 'Stand Back' and played debut gigs at hippy festivals and Stonehenge. They joined forces with another band that was called The Back Stage Boogies. Here they discovered two things. First, they could play and make some form of impact on a crowd. Secondly, they enjoyed it. In fact, young Douglas Trendle abandoned his chosen career path of acting in order to play an audience with his tongue, voice and singing, owing to the success of these early forays into live music. The band performed songs including their own 'Cheese & Pickle Blues' (during which Doug would eat a plate of food)'The Milky Bar Kid', 'Riot in Cell Block 9' and 'Monster Mash' during this early incarnation.

On returning to London, the final pre-Bad Manners phase began as the band became known as Stoop Solo and the Sheet Starchers, which for a group of young men just about speaks for itself 'eh reader!

The final line-up on the eve of Stardom…

The band line-up was finalised with the arrival of three more key people - Martin Stewart on keyboards (from Auchtermuchty, Scotland), Andrew Marson on alto sax (from Alum Rock, Birmingham) and Chris Kane on tenor sax ( Irish/London origins).

By 1978/79, the band line-up consisted of :

Douglas Trendle Vocals
Louis Cook Guitar
David Farren Bass
Brian Tuitt Drums
Martin Stewart Keyboards
Alan Sayagg Harmonicas, yelps, stage lunacy, dramatic monologues and 'effects.'
Paul Hyman Trumpet
Chris Kane Tenor Saxaphone
Andrew Marson Alto Saxaphone

The music that informed the Manners sound…

Early influences on the band were the jump and jive sounds of the 40's and 50's. Artists like Louis Jordan (Caldonia) and Napoleon Brown (Don't be Angry) were as important as those who wrote on the grander form such as Offenbach and who would help the boys reach the top of the charts in 1981 (Can-Can). The boys were taken by film and TV soundtrack sounds and soon opened gigs with The Magnificent Seven. At one point, they had even considered performing the Star Trek and Fireball XL5 themes in their set. Surreal nonsense informed the talents of the group and the Bonzo Dog Band (late 1960's super loonies) had a heavy bearing on Mr Trendle and his chums. Alan Sayagg had an enormous record collection and it featured many important sounds that would one day influence his harmonica playing as well as the band's overall sound. It included the work of American blues master Sonny Boy Williamson II, The J Geils Band and many kiddie discs top of which was Scruffy, the Huffy Chuffy Tugboat, a happy little song that eventually made it onto the final track of the band's first album Ska'N'B in 1980. Douglas Trendle was even into Euriah Heep while Martin Stewart loved Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band. Chris Kane loved Bill Haley and His Comets and listened to little else for most of the time he was in the band, aside from apre Ski music while Andrew Marson was a Charlie Parker fan. Incidentally, among other things, Kane went on to perform with the Jordanairres - Elvis Presley's vocal group who continue to work today. Many moons after the King passed on. Chris Kane was the sole member of the band who could read music and his apprenticeship had been served with the Gerry Cottle circus band among other things, when he had completed solos for the magic show and the arrival of the elephants in the pre-PC days.

Names, aliases and assumed stage identities

Bad Manners' members loved taking on new names and identities. The Scottish fringe actor and story smith Ivor Cutler had appeared as Mr Buster Bloodvessel in the surreal Beatles' movie Magical Mystery Tour. Doug Trendle liked the name and assumed its useage in the later 1970's, just before the band went big. Louis Cook became Louis Alphonso after the famous SKA legend Roland Alphonso. Alan Sayagg became Winston Bazoomies (!) and was basically out of control, mad and wild on stage and off. David Farren was Reggy Mental (!) before he became David Farr-In. Brian Tuitt was now simply Chewit while Andy Marson was Marcus Absent and Chris Kane was 'Crust.' Martin Stewart was Mr Bogingong at one point…

The early Manners circuit - charity lads and yellow/black tape…

It was with their unique sounds and names in tow that the band took to the pubs and clubs of London in the late 1970's. Venues such as the Green Man amongst others witnessed the early Bad Manners spectacle and the bizarre invasions of their cult live following. The actual finalised band name was decided upon when David Farren's poster art work began to bill a certain Buster Bloodvessel and his Bad Manners. The impoliteness factor began to kick in as a selling point once mild forms of indecent exposure and other incidents became part of the stage act. For instance, Buster was one night halfway through the Cheese and Pickle Blues routine when he coughed up half the plateful of snacks he had eaten, all over the audience… Etc. Another reason for the Bad Manners name was the Bad Manners method of raising cash. They were very imaginative. At one gig they billed the event as being in aid of the Deprived Children of Hackney. At the end of the gig they thanked everyone for their generosity on the door and in the collection plate before announcing that THEY were the deprived children of Hackney. They then left. Quickly…

Whereas, the 2-Tone movement of SKA had taken the country by storm in 1979, Bad Manners had been playing the same material for some years. The 2-Tone music label was also branded by its Black and White check pattern. The Bad Manners colour code was Black/Yellow. Many people often ask why. The answer is simple. Many Bad Manners fans were railway and traffic workers and they were happy to bring those huge rolls of tape you see at the side of road works. Armed with these rolls of tape, the fans would then help 'decorate' the insides of the venues were the gigs were being held. The reaction of the proprietors of those venues has not been recorded.

A super-group of global proportions is born…

By 1979, the Bad Manners spectacle was created and there was a firm following for the band in North and East London's venues. Fronted by the enormous and outrageous BUSTER BLOODVESSEL this nine-piece musical mini-orchestra took the scene by storm with a diet of luscious and endearing lunacy that is still kicking today, except today they are recognised and welcomed across continents, oceans and especially Finland. Their early forays into the pubs and clubs created a cult live following that enabled them to be signed by Magnet Records for an 'undisclosed' sum of money without even recording a demo tape. They had succeeded in creating a unique blend of SKA, jump blues and boogie known as Ska'N'B which became the name of their first album in 1980.

Between 1980 and 1983, they spent 111 weeks in the pop charts and had 15 hit singles. Their time in the charts exceeded that of Little Richard, Fats Domino, The Moody Blues, Culture Club and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

Hits included Ne-Ne-Na-Na-Na-Na-Nu-Nu, Lip Up Fatty, Special Brew, Lorraine, Just a Feeling, Can-Can and Walking in the Sunshine to name but a few. Each was accompanied by outrageous appearances on Top of the Pops that endeared Buster and his chums to the great British public.

The band were always far more than a simple charting prospect however as anyone who has seen them live will know. They are an unbelievable live act with a cult status that transcends anything the less charitable critic might dare to write. A world of trick and treat, pinhead and skinhead, circus and freakshow all combined with honest vulgarity.1000% enthusiasm is matched by 1000% proficiency every time! By the time the band gets into its live strides, the audience will be covered in water and other fluids, various inflatables and body sweat. Yes sirree, the band know how to manner their fans badly…

Bad Manners and the politics of 'race.' Ridiculous charges rejected…

The early 1980's were strange times in Britain. On one hand, the Thatcherite experience benefited millions of entrepreneurs, first time home owners and people who had the opportunity or backing to take up the challenge. On the other hand, old industries were dying or changing in order to survive and millions were thrown out of work to face what appeared to be a very bleak future. There was also a noted increase in racist activity. Bad Manners were a solitary fun voice in 1980's Britain. Even Madness acknowledged the lead Bad Manners had in 1980. Buster actually declared 1980 as the Year of the Fatty in terms of the Chinese Calendar (he had been banned from several Eat All You Can venues in London at this time). One of the strangest things that came about at this point however was the accusation from some senior political circles that Bad Manners and other SKA bands were becoming 'magnets' for Neo-Nazi groups. The charge was simplistic and also ridiculous. Firstly, the white working class skinhead cult was actually connected with the black working class fashion cults of the Afro-Caribbean in terms of its desire to 'express' an identity for people. Secondly, the white skins were dancing to and were addicted to West Indian-inspired SKA music. Finally, the SKA bands were completely multi-cultural and multi-coloured. In Bad Manners case, the line-up included Scots, Irish, Jews and a black man, as well as English whites. That this or any 2-Tone SKA band could have been accused of being a friend to the extremists or racists is laughable. Perhaps 1% of skins and SKA fans may have been dodgy but in any case, they were left in no doubt as to the opinions of the band and the audience. Bad Manners were a physical band but they were anti-violence. If fighting started, they refused to play. It was as simple as that…

The TV personality of Bad Manners

The band was a household name in Britain for three glorious years 1980-1983. They made it into the top three twice, the top ten twice and the top thirty eleven times. They were a most welcome addition to any TV show and made it onto Pebble Mill, Gloria Honeyford, Breakfast TV Workout, Hold Tight (for which they wrote the theme music), Educating Marmalade (for which they wrote the music) and many more.

The Top of the Pops appearances were among the band's favourites. Louis Cook and Buster have recalled how they all enjoyed being paid to get drunk and fool about as they mimed to their records! Some of the more noted appearances included Buster's Can Can dress and DM boots while the performance of Just a Feelin' saw him set up as a human 'blackhead' with dark stage paint on his bonce and tongue a wagging. In 1981, Bad Manners performed Can Can for the Brits awards and Buster again did the human blackhead impression while Sayagg stood at the back of the stage motionless bar his wild arm movements on the kettle drums.

However, no history of TV Bad Manners can be complete without the TISWAS period. This is a sacred and hallowed time zone. In 1980-1981 they made several appearances on the cult live kids' Saturday show with Chris Tarrant, Sally James (stand on the cold lino' lads), John Gorman, Lenny Henry, Sylvester McCoy and the Phantom Flan Flinger himself. Here, Bad Manners were in their natural environment. Everything was spontaneous and unexpected. Things would be sheer brilliance or utter, hilarious disaster. Slapstick lunacy was balanced by ingenius wonkiness. The band performed Lorraine in 1980 and promoted the 2Tone film Dance Craze while they were all locked into the infamous Cage and almost drowned in water and custard. Buster also had the opportunity to show his culinary penchants for drinking disintegrated pork pies mixed with pickled onions from the jar (live), as well as offering a three week old pair of pants (from a tour) as a prize to the TV viewers in a competition. In 1981 during another appearance they performed Can Can and Monster Mash with custard pies flying and blocking up the bits where the sound came from in saxaphones and trumpets etc.

Bad Manners - 'live' in the 1980's…

And what was a typical Bad Manners gig like in those chart-topping days! It would start with a darkened stage. The lights would dim. Shapes and figures would drift across the stage and plug in etc. The audience would be mental but they would get shouted at and told to shut up perhaps by Chewitt. Alternatively, the whole band would wail a chorus of 'Whooooooooooooo?' into the mikes. Then the spotlight would go up on the drummer Chewitt who would be kitted out in Clockwork Orange bowler hat and whites or a Jungle hat and silk shorts. It was time for Echo 4-2.Echo 4-2 has achieved a legendary place in every serious Bad Manners fan's consciousness of what the band is about live. It is akin to a religious rite or a ritualistic, primitive communion with the spirit of SKA.

It begins with a solitary drum-beat on the toms which is played in true jungle-gallop style and immediately grabs the crowd's attention and gets them jumping. A mighty brass fanfare kicks in and the full pelt starts with a crucial off beat from the guitar. From here, long horn parts and calls are answered by a fast-fingered melody that simply makes people hop, jump, scream and shout. The piece builds up to a mighty, horn-led climax and Buster then walks onto the stage. That's it. That's the trick. It is simply magic.

The band had lifted the theme from a lesser known 1960's Cops and Robbers show of the same name. Echo 4-2 was the signal given by the boys in blue as they signed on/off in the show. By the time Buster and his chums had finished with the orginal Laurie Johnson arrangement, it was a devil's gallop and a primeval, primordial call to arms for all SKA fans. It still is to this day.

Early into Echo 4-2, Alan Sayagg would walk onto the stage in full Winston Bazoomies attire of a cheap suit, shirt, tie, kiddie yellow sunglasses and harmonicas in hand. He would then speak gibberish into the microphone until the end of the tune when he had to complete his next job - introduce 'Mr Buster Bloodvessel - all the way from the moon…' and Buster would walk onto the stage and the place would go mental. Alan also served an important function in that he was regularly introduced as the Loony and would sing Never Smile at a Crocodile from the Disney film Peter Pan during any possible lulls in the Manners set, giving the band a rest from the hectic pace.

Louis Al's stage persona was chip-shop man/scientist in white lab coat and boots/hat while David Farren sported a tropical straw sun hat and suit. Martin Stewart preferred the Clockwork Orange Droog outfit of boiler suit, boots and bowler (as did Buster), while the brass were in a world of their own. Chris Kane sometimes resembled a Teddy Boy with his draped jackets and crepe shoes (Bill Haley influences), while Andy Marson might drift from leopard skins to gold lame' jacket and slicked back hair. Paul Hyman was always immaculate in waistcoat, trilby and smart trousers.

The early tours and a tragedy

SKA'n'B & Loonee Tunes 1980-81

In 1980, the band were able to seriously tour the UK and Europe/Scandinavia for the first time. Magnet, their record label knew the band were winners but had been cautious about the release of Special Brew. They had wanted to 'soften up' and prepare the British people for the arrival of the Fat One and his gang and they had decided to do it with NeNeNaNaNuNu first followed by Lip Up Fatty. This formula had worked. TOTP had promised an appearance if NeNeNaNaNuNu reached the dirty thirty and it got to 28. Bad Manners therefore went on TV. Lip Up Fatty had a second and far more effective chart performance. When Special Brew was released later in 1980, the band hit the number three spot. Special Brew had in fact been conceived within three minutes in a rehearsal room when the band were armed with their minds and a pallet of Special Brew Beer. It was certainly a charting prospect then and it pays the band good royalties to this day, thanks to its popularity with biscuit companies, TV chefs and Sainsbury's adverts. Special Brew was the third release from SKA'n'B, the band's debut album. This LP contained many classics including Inner London Violence. Initially, the boys were going to call that track In A Luncheon Voucher…

After all this chart success, the band, for some unexpected reason were sent to FINLAND. The reason for this remains obscure to this day. Some people have argued it was because Special Brew is part of the Scandinavian CARLSBERG scene. Whenever they were doing well, Magnet Records always seemed to send them to Finland! In any case, the Finnish tour was a great success. Thousands of people were waiting at Helsinki airport when they arrived, with banners and cheers, and the band performed their expanded repertoire alongside Iron Maiden at a huge festival were they went down very well. It was during this tour that Magnet Records sent gifts of champagne and telegrams informing the band of their Top 3 success with Special Brew.

As well as Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, there was England, Ireland, Spain and Italy in 1980, during the Year of the Fatty. The band's imaginative ways of turning the property of other people, hotels and venues into their own finally caught up with them in Italy however and they were escorted to the airport to ensure they left. Buster and co had even stopped the bus on the side of the road one day to sell items they had decided to move from one place to another. Talk about throwing a brick through someone's window then asking them how far it had gone… Buster had also received a life-time ban from Italian TV for indecent exposure (mooning) while performing. He had been informed that his Holiness Pope John Paul was watching the set and decided to treat the Papal seat to a view of his own. The band was saved on one occasion when Chewitt was indisposed. Roger Lomas therefore played drums - badly. In one venue, the mayor, local councillors and chief of police ordered armed police to make fans sit down rather than dance. Bizarre!

In Spain, Bad Manners saved and protected the brother of Madness' Chas Smash when he truanted from the French Foreign Legion! They got that boy home…

Back in Britain Lorraine charted and the band were recording their second album - Loonee Tunes. This next offering contained classics such as Echo 4-2 on track for the first time as well as Just a Feelin', Suicide, El Pussycat, Ivor the Engine (Undersea adventures of…), Doris, Spy-I, Tequila and many, many more. The Bonzo influence was clear in the closing track Just Pretendin'. The record was made in Wales and in Coventry. On the sleeve notes were the full lyrics to every song, as well as photo credits that showed each band member when they were either babies or toddlers, including an infant matchstick-skinny Buster Bloodvessel. The inner sleeve also featured items from Alan Sayagg's extensively weird postcard collection and other collections in general. There was a man taking a crocodile for a walk, as well as British political leaders at the cenotaph on Rememberance Sunday. The infamous Todd Browning feature called FREAKS had been banned from cinemas in 1933, for THIRTY YEARS. The film featured pinheads, human snails and eels, halfmen, hermaphrodites, midgets and cripples. Loonee Tunes therefore featured a still from the film showing all the main characters and billed them as the Magnificent Seven. The band were obviously working very hard and playing very hard.

During the Irish tour, Alan Sayagg became unwell. He had a nervous breakdown. He had to go home. For some time he was unable to work and after his time in hospital, an eventual diagnosis of schizophrenia was arrived at. Sayagg was never fully 'well' again after this event and between 1980 and 1992, he would have to enter periods of retirement from the band before returning again. The incident had an important effect on the other members of the group and it was not really until the Gosh It's tour of 1981 that Sayagg would return to full-time work with the band. When he did it was excellent.

However, it is the case that Sayagg more or less left the band in 1993 with a permanent right to return whenever he was well. Today Alan is receiving good care and attention and a number of Bad Manners friends and relatives keep in contact with him. In the periods of his absence, there have been only three other harmonica players. Jerry Tremaine played for a short period in the mid 1980's followed by the highly talented Stevie Smith. In 1994, childhood Sayagg fan David Turner took on the role of resident Sayagg-inspired harmonica player and has filled the spot ever since, much to the concern of many band members apart from Buster…

Gosh It's - Autumn 1981 / Back of Beyond 1982

Summer 1981 was an immense time for the band. Can Can went to the top 3 and would have reached number One but for the riots that affected the cities of Britain. Against this backdrop, Ghost Town by the Specials dominated the charts and kept Buster's brigade from the number 1 slot. Within a few weeks/months, Walking in the Sunshine had reached the top 10 as well and Buster was on Tiswas assuring the great British public that the guys did not need to rely on 'covers' (Can Can by Offenbach) to reach the dizzy heights. He was right of course but Can Can was a killer hit, as was Walking in the Sunshine.

Splitting their time between Southend and Weston-Super-Mare, the boys produced an amazing and strange seaside video for Walking in the Sunshine. It featured them as a bunch of likely city lads who were trying their luck in the arcades of a classic seaside resort. They were chased out of the arcade for rocking the money waterfall games, then they all took their places on a huge raft from which they performed the song. The raft broke up and they all fell in the sea. After this episode, they were chased through a park by Roy their roadie who was dressed as a policeman. Finally, they ended the vid by arriving at a concert stage in a park in order to perform for old age pensioners. It was very surreal and again showed the wonky slant that Manners were capable of, as well as some finely-invested hours listening to the Bonzo Dog Band when they were younger.

Walking in the Sunshine was a key feature on the latest Bad Manners offering in terms of their album output. Gosh It's was launched in Autumn 1981 and as their third outing into the recording studio, things were very strange indeed. Recorded partly at Horizon Studios in Coventry and Rockfield Studios (somewhere else), Gosh It's featured some very new sounds and arrangements. Mixed and produced by Roger Lomas who had engineered all the hits since the band's debut single in 1980, Gosh It's was recorded using all sorts of new innovations. As was the Manners habit by now, the final track was surreal, off the wall and downright weird. Gherkin told the tale of how Buster had failed to satiate the pickling lusts of a woman who therefore left him… What also marked out Gherkin was Doug's interest in Hot Pot takeaways. He ate them while singing and he sang through a huge plastic drainpipe into the mikes, while wearing the obligatory cans on his head to do each take. He also did it all in the open air, which Lomas found challenging.

Gosh It's was also important for seeing the future musical trends for Bad Manners. Accomplished SKA maestro's they may have been, but Gosh It's also featured Latino and Jazz/Soul style influences and fusions. Buster ain't superstitious but he was told in Italy that the musician who is number one the day you are born is a sort of guardian angel or key influence on you as you grow up. Strangely enough, PEREZ PRADO was top of the charts when Buster was born . Dansetta and Weeping and Wailing certainly brought out the Latino in the band while Casablanca and Only Funkin' showed their Jazz/Soul talents. In a world of their own sat Never Will Change and Runaway, both of which were surreal vehicles from which the band could view their world. A further inclusion on this excellent album was Nappy Brown's Don't be Angry which modern Manners fans recognise when Buster breaks into his 'LaLaLaLaLaLaLaLaLAAAAAAAAA!' routine, inviting audience participation. The song was recorded live in the courtyard of Rockfield studios and a large crowd of drunkards were assembled from the local public houses to play the role of audience. The effects were startling and thoroughly authentic. Don't be Angry led to the band's next single outing in the charts - the R'n'B Party Four which featured the aforementioned Nappy Brown number, Buena Sera, No Respect & The New One. Each song was solid, exciting and grabbed you by the choppers. The TOTP appearances featured Buster carrying Chris Kane around on his shoulders and Sayagg pushing a doll's pram with a pet Panda doll inside it…

Autumn 1981 saw Bad Manners stocked up for their first fully-independent tour in terms of finance. They had secured a band bus of their own for the first time and they also had a disco in the back of the bus. The band were keen to entertain and so the Gosh It's tour featured routine and effective water attacks on the fans for the first time, as well as a huge, inflated ball and gifts such as Christmas decorations, tossed in by Buster as he walked onstage. Prior to each gig, the boys would often take a hike around the town they were performing in that very day and here they would buy cheap goods from second-hand shops to use as stage props or clothes. In Liverpool, 30th October 1981, this writer notes that the band walked through Scouseland pushing prams with dolls riding in them.

Another welcome aspect to the Gosh It's tour was the addition of a dedicated support act called the Dolly Mixture - a modette'ish/thrash fusion trio of girls who were very nice and played interesting, danceable songs. Anoraks may be interested to know that the Dolly Mixture took on a new role as Captain Sensible's vocal support during his solo career on songs such as Happy Talk and that one of them even married him. Last seen by this writer when Captain Sensible was playing in his Brighton-based project called Space Toad Experience in the early 1990's.

The Gosh It's tour was a very good one and the band produced an excellent programme for the tour called An evening with Bad Manners. Each member wrote his own biog for the programme and each programme was fronted by the oil portrait of the band, completed by David Farren whose art abilities stood out by a mile. Farren had devised the Fatty Man symbol for Bad Manners in 1978/79 but try as they might the boys could not get permission to mascot for Michelin Products and earn valued sponsor money!

Spring 1982 saw the band undertake an outback tour to the back of beyond. The boys played obscure and small provincial venues. The fans turned out but the venues sometimes seemed too big. This writer saw them in Southport Floral Hall in March 1982 with a respectable 500 or more other people. The problem was that the venue could take 3000.

In 1982, Bad Manners went through a number of 'phases' and changes. First of all, every record charted but the higher positions of the charts seemed more difficult to scale. Got No Brains & Samson and Delilah were both impressively mixed, produced and very imaginative. Buster appeared as the Eagle Comic's arch-villain The Mekon when the band performed Got No Brains on Chegger's Plays Pop. Samson and Delilah saw the most expensive video the band had ever made and featured them as a 1930's Orchestra playing the song to a variety of backdrops from Hollywood. Buster is immortalised as King Kong scaling the empire state building in one scene only to become Bogey in Casablanca in another. Martin Stewart's keyboard solo saw him take the guise of Logosi's Draclua astride a rising cinema organ! Despite these fantastic and genius - inspired ideas, SKA was apparently on the wane in some respects as the New Romantics took control of the scene, although Bad Manners managed to make the top 10 once more in the Summer of 1982 with My Girl Lollipop, a re-working of the famous Millie hit from the 1960's. Those bands which had heralded 2-Tone were fading. The legendary Specials had folded and despite their great successes, the Selecter were going through personnel changes and looking at a shorter shelf life. Only Bad Manners and Madness were left by the end of 1982.

Forging Ahead!

The band's next and fourth album offering was probably one of their most important in terms of the critical edge. Bad Manners were now offering a superb latino/soul/stax fusion to give their SKA sound the edge. The jazzy skank through Exodus, was matched by the excellence of Rose of Italy, Salad Bar, Tonight is Your Night, Samson & Delilah, Seventh Heaven, Lollipop, What's Up Crazy Pup and others. The now familiar final oddity added on to end things was a songster version of the ITV show Hold Tight. The band had re-christened and re-recorded this fairground/circus arrangement to include full lyrics and chorus and it was simply amazing!

The excellence of the album was matched by the choice of cover. Hogarth's Election Entertainment had been adjusted to accommodate Fatty and the band engaging in an 18th Century election banquet. Wigs were flying, food was being scoffed and wenches were a-serving in so many different ways.

While the band and their loyal cult following were ecstatic about the album, there was a definite shift in the tastes of the record-buying public. Bad Manners had to some extent been pigeon-holed into the 'good time' niche market and this meant silliness and the image of the fat man and his band playing Lip Up Fatty forever… Of course, every fan who knew the band knew that there was far more to them than this but the difference between the real Bad Manners and the TV/Public Bad Manners was a problem. In some respects, 1983/84 saw the band stumble to redefine themselves in a world that was becoming more and more distinctly post-SKA.

New faces, new places, Mental Notes and the United States 1984-1987

In the mid 1980's, Bad Manners 'disappeared' from regular media spots, the TV and other useful vehicles for their show and sounds. They were in permanent work all over the world but they were not hitting the TV spotlight as much as they had done. There is nothing new in this. Many super-groups have gone through this stumbling stage after big hits to face the issue of trying to find more. Manners didn't have to worry about work as it was all out there. Their big concern was the direction they should be taking. Where next! Should it be SKA or should it be the commercial pop direction!

Worryingly for them, Magnet Records allowed Telstar to release all their charting songs on a Greatest Hits album. As the band had only been charting for three years, it felt a little premature to allow a sort of R.I.P effort to hit the shops, but the deal went ahead.

Another issue was band size. As a 9 - piece mini-orchestra there were plenty of people to pay and mouths to feed, plus the overheads of maintaining a sound crew and transport/security/marketing organisation. Buster and others recall the difficulties of managing '9 member democracies.' The band even used to argue about toilet stops while on tour and then put it to the vote. Within the band there were enough people to form 'gangs' who tried to keep the group on the sort of course that they wanted. Louis and Buster did not talk for some years because one had not told the other of a party they were invited to. Things were a little silly at times…

Against this backdrop, Alan Sayagg took another health-led break from the band and was replaced by the excellent blues harmonica player Jerry Tremaine. The band was also joined by the veteran musical figure Jimmy Scott who had helped pen the classic Beatles song Ob La Di Ob La Da. Jimmy was on percussion and other effects and was a very good stage worker, despite his more advanced years.

It was at this point that an important video company suddenly offered the band £10,000 for rights to film and sell a live concert. The band eagerly agreed and Live at the Regal was thus made. It was not the band's most favoured gig as several original members have since acknowledged, owing to the crowd and venue but the music was absolutely brilliant and showed how seasoned the boys had become. The input by Jerry Tremaine left some question marks as to his future. Tremaine was and is a top harmonica player but his style was very blues-orientated and some of his licks were not appreciated by some of the longer-serving members of the band. Perhaps this is unfair but at the same time, there will only ever be one Alan Sayagg and Alan played simple, beautifully silly, tuneful lines that made the songs the classics they are. Change them and you change the song. The Regal video was also characterised by the finale appearance of the Can Can girls - much to the delight of every fan and band member!

As the band reflected on its future, they were offered what appeared to be a once in a lifetime opportunity by Portrait records. They were going to be US-backed mega-stars with secure work and recording, plus big budgets! Bad Manners had pulled it off. They were signed to this large American label with the prospect of super star status and numerous album deals. The prospect of global distribution and earnings was very attractive to a hard working nine-piece who had all gigged till they dropped since 1976. The vision was somewhat different to the outcome however and things began to move in new and worrying directions. For 'contractual reasons' their new 1985 album Mental Notes could not be purchased in the UK or Europe and this naturally cut them off from their fans.

An additional factor was the actual content, style and direction of the material on Mental Notes. It represented a big win for those in the group who wanted to push further towards a brass led soul/funk fusion and in many respects, the album's content was alien to all previous ones. Nevertheless it was very interesting, if somewhat over-mixed and produced and contained rare single releases that DID reach the shores of the UK - Tossin in My Sleep and Blue Summer, neither of which reached the higher parts of the charts. Other better tracks included Bang the Drum All Day and What the Papers Say.

Jerry Tremaine had since gone and his replacement on harmonica was Stevie Smith who was regarded as a world class player, ranking in the top 10 UK players alongside the likes of Paul Lamb and Johnny Mars. Stevie brought back more melodic lines into the songs. His recordings on Mental Notes are sublime and while not Sayagg style, they represent an extension to the sort of places Sayagg was going with his playing before he had been forced to give up. Another factor with Stevie was his solid experience as a jobbing player. He was and remains one of the top class blues performers in the UK to this day, via Ruthless Blues.

Portrait poured incredible amounts of money into Mental Notes without a big, guaranteed market such as Europe or the UK. Literally tens of thousands of pounds were spent on production of one single track while US producers were flown across the Atlantic in order to mix the records at great costs. As the budget expanded, it became the case that the band would need to sell literally millions of albums before they could make a single penny for themselves. Buster and co began to suspect rightly or wrongly that Bad Manners were being used as a tax fall for the Portrait organisations.

Despite these later opinions, the mid-1980's tours at home and in the USA were sublime times for Bad Manners. They made some excellent videos while in the states, including a knock-out version of My Girl Lollipop, featuring Buster as a hopelessly love-sick ice cream parlour boss, trying to woo a sweet babe away from her beau. Back in the UK, they were occasionally called upon to perform on the Saturday night TV cabaret circuit or chatshow and on one memorable occasion Buster dyed himself silvery-blue then threw buckets of glitter all over himself and the host while performing Special Brew - live.

Stevie Smith (in interview with this writer) has spoken of the 'reality problem' the band faced in these middle years of the 1980's. The band (he claims) were never stupid but they were under the odd impression that somewhere 'out there' was an entity called Bad Manners. This band was somehow making their money for them and they were therefore unable to appreciate the importance of getting things together with Portrait and other companies. It was as though the band had become lost in terms of realising who they were.

The end of the American Adventure and another tragedy

The thing that finally shook them up was the final and ill-fated tour of the 1980's. Eventually and owing to great dissatisfaction with the promotion of their album in the United States, Buster and co. tore up their contract in America and returned home to the UK. They had called into a record company HQ and were enraged when the staff there did not know who Bad Manners actually were. Until their obligations to their recording company were over, they would go 'underground' and 'unsigned.'

The bad news was not finished however. The final tour had been gruelling and taxing on everyone. Several members had colds and influenza but in the case of older Jimmy Scott, complications set in and not long after the band got back to Britain, Jimmy developed pneumonia and died. Naturally, the band tried to raise money for his family and his funeral expenses by performing benefit gigs. They even contacted Sir Paul McCartney to inform him that one of the people behind a Beatles' song was dead. Macca is said to have given £1000 to the appeal fund in an act of generosity.

It was after the death of Jimmy Scott and the Portrait wrangles that the third piece of bad news arrived in the form of a massive VAT bill. It was the unpleasant duty of Louis Cook to have to inform band members that their performance fees must be cut from c.£300 per night to £30 per night. Bad Manners would have to now gig to pay the tax bill. Never a nice line of work. Stevie Smith left the band not long after.

Out of adversity came forth a new phoenix-like Bad Manners… 1988-1992

In actual fact, these difficult times proved to be a great opportunity. Bad Manners were forced to re-think and re-position their focus and direction owing to the challenges created by the American Adventure. Firstly, Buster decided the band needed a 'kick up the bum' and created a smaller and alternative outfit for his musical talents - Buster's All Stars. A key player in this project was the excellent producer and bassist Nicky Welsh who was to pen a number of excellent new Bad Manners tracks in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Buster's All Stars played smaller venues across the UK and Europe while the original Bad Manners reflected on their future direction and worked off the tax bills. Eventually, with the smell of a SKA revival looming c.1988, Buster merged Bad Manners and Buster's All Stars together and created an all-new Bad Manners.

As a result of this merger, several original members left. Paul Hyman decided that he would take up a good job offer in a City finance house. His childhood sweetheart had also accepted his proposal. Brian Tuitt left shortly before the band were due to perform in Finland, drumkit in tow apparently. David Farren's jaunts around the world had cut him out of some discussions and re-thinks and his dismissal was regretted in some respects but has never held subsequent back his artistic career. He has been a much sought-after brand-labelling artist and the Lucky Lotto Lady was his design. David also continues to lead his own outfit called the Jam Professors. Andrew Marson was not invited to join Buster's All Stars in 1987/88 and decided to call it a day. He was a gifted wood worker and joiner in any case and is a carpenter according to recent news, somewhere in the East End.

This left Buster, Martin Stewart (keyboards), Winston Bazoomies (stage eccentric, loony and harmonica), Chris Kane (tenor sax) and Louis Alphonso (guitars) to pick up the trail with new people such as song-writer/producer Nicky Welsh (bass) and a number of brass/percussion players, including the excellent Alan Perry. Perry was a saxophonist who had gone to school with Buster and also knew the original trumpet player Paul Hyman. You will see his name on the credits for the song 'Return of the Ugly' on the 1989 album of that name. Alan Sayagg had made a welcome return after his previous 4 year absence.

Bad Manners line-up c. 1988-1992 was varied and inter-changeable but the following people played in the band and/or Buster's All Stars :

Buster Bloodvessel: Vocals
Louis Cook: Guitars
Dave Horn: Guitars
Paul Seacroft: Guitars
Nicky Welsh: Bass
Mark Pinto: Bass
Perry Melius: Drums
Stephan Hobbs: Drums
Chris Kane: Tenor Sax
Ian Fullwood: Tenor Sax
Matt Godwin: Tenor & Baritone Sax
Jan Brahms: Trombone & bass trombone
Rico Rodriguez: Trombone
Scampi Alto: Sax
John Preston: Trumpet
Alex Arundel: Trumpet
Alan Sayagg: Harmonicas
'The Billy': Harmonicas
Martin Stewart: Organs/Keyboards
Johnny Tee: Violins/Strings

The Blue Beat phase and new recordings 1988-1992

Between 1988 and 1992, this all-new and very extended version of Bad Manners recorded a number of albums including Eat the Beat, Return of the Ugly and Fat Sounds. They toured Europe, Scandinavia and the USA constantly, as well as building up a rock-solid college campus, night club and larger venue following in the United Kingdom.

Veteran Bad Manners guitarist Louis Cook was given the honorary status of having the right to come and go from the band while he completed his French philosophy and language degree. Louis had to live in France for a major portion of his degree but this did not prevent him from joining the band in Europe during selected gigs, nor did it stop him getting to the UK on occasion

The band was absolutely kicking and the inter-changeable and flexible line-up led to some unfair comments charges including 'retro band' or 'Buster's pick ups' etc. In actual fact, the band had been through traumas between c.1985-1988 and the period 1988-1992 was a settling down period. Other bands would have been content to give up and die. Buster and his varied line-up refused to do so.

Their forays into the charts were lesser known but nonetheless fantastic. Buster acquired the Blue Beat label and went independent as a recording artist and someone who could give other, younger bands their first opportunity inside a studio. Longsy D came up with This is Ska which featured Buster. The single charted in 1989. The Blue Beat album Eat the Beat was recorded in 1988 and featured many tracks that would later appear on Return of the Ugly (1989) which was a vehicle for the band's new live material, while Skaville UK (Nicky Welsh) missed the charts by one millimetre of a cat's whisker. Bad Manners were back on the scene as the new and younger audiences began to rub shoulders with older and more seasoned fans.

Final departures before a firmer footing.., 1991-1992

The band was to go through one more important shake-up before it settled down into a period of complete stability and firm-footings c.1992-1998.

In c.1991-1992, The Selecter, a former leading 2-Tone outfit, had reformed and its singer Pauline Black had been assisted by Martin Stewart and Nicky Welsh of Bad Manners in breathing life back into a band that had been dead for some years. All three musicians believed that their careers needed to move in a new direction and so Martin and Nicky left Bad Manners. They continue to perform and record with Black's Selecter to this day but their professional association with Buster was now finished. Nicky also leads and records through Big Five, featuring Jenny Bellestar among others.

On a matter of public record, probably the biggest wrench for the band was the almost permanent departure of the wonderful and magical Winston Bazoomies (Alan Sayagg) due to long-term illness in 1993. Something along the lines of an amazing music-hall character and Bad Manners institution, Sayagg was the original harmonica player and stage eccentric/loony and had always been a favourite with the fans. His departure was probably more important to the band on a personal basis than any other change in the early 1990's. Buster and Sayagg went back to toddler days together. Since the later 1980's, Alan had been back performing with Bad Manners whenever he could. He had entered a new phase in his career by wearing the traditional suit and yellow sunglasses but he had added a rubber Elvis wig to surreal effect. He often sat on a settee live on stage and directed the band during Ivor the Engine and King SKA FA.

The Welsh/Stewart episode was an important wrench for the band in that once again, Buster and the remaining members were left to reflect on their future and direction. They needn't have worried. They continued to gig and record without mercy and with great enthusiasm.

By Autumn 1994, the Bad Manners line up that was to last almost five years was finalised:

Buster Bloodvessel Vocals
Louis Cook Guitar
John Thompson Bass
Stephan Hobbs Drums
Dave Welton Trombones/Key boards (Royal College of Music)
Matt Godwin Tenor/Bariton Saxaphones (Player/Manager)
Alex Arundell Trumpets
David Turner Harmonicas

This line-up travelled the length and breadth of the UK, Scandinavia and Europe, playing every conceivable gig venue. Leisure centres, pubs, theatres, festivals and all manner of goodly places were filled with Bad Manners fans. Of special interest to the band was their association with John Hessen Taylor promotions who actually put them on stage with bands including the Sweet, Hot Chocolate and Slade! This was a very bizarre and thoroughly enjoyable experience. The promoter's generosity knew no bounds and the Winter 1995/1996 fixtures saw 'catering provided' for all musicians - soup, bread and savouries. Yummy.

Wake Me Up for Meals, Sweden and Fatty's Back in Town - 1995

The period 1994-1995 saw two other key developments. There was the first Bad Manners tour of the United States for some years. The 'Wake me up for Meals' tour was a killer in terms of 46 gigs in 49 days coast to coast but the band were more than hardened by their constant European and Scandinavian experiences so Spring 1995 was a challenge more than met. Of greater importance was the welcome the band received at cult live venues in the US including the famous Whisky A Go Go and among others.

Between America in Spring and the new album tour in Autumn came an endless procession of excellent gigs all over the UK. There was even a special 30th birthday party gig for Sandra Shipman in Essex. Sandra and her husband Mark set up Tea-Leaf Records in the late 1990's and are absolute Bad Manners freaks and they and 400 close supporters packed a venue one day before the band hit the road for their annual Summer round of West Country gigs to embrace the cider culture. It was in Wales during that Summer that Mark, an enthusiastic drummer, went on to fulfil a childhood ambition byt drumming for Bad Manners at a gig in a castle grounds, when Stef was not available. Mark was excellent and very pleased with his experience. From here it was Sweden and the band played to a record 20,000 people at the famous Hulfstred festival, sharing the billing, coach and hotel with the excellent Black Grape and a very young and hopeful band who went on to become Ash. There was a little bit of eyeing each other up between some of Black Grape and Bad Manners, who were challenged to a fight. Bad Manners responded by threatening to outsing and outchant Black Grape with football songs. Black Grape backed off and anyway, Sean Ryder is a nice guy and it wasn't anything to do with him really, just some 'angers on. One of the benefits of Sweden 1995 was the excellent live album - Live in Sweden, captured with perfection and engineered by Roger Lomas, who had come out to mix the sound.

The second key development of 1995 was the recording Fatty's Back in Town. The band recorded Feel Like Jumpin', Lager Delirium and newer versions of Special Brew and Lip Up Fatty were also added to the mixture for good measure. Buster was assisted by his producer from the Magnet days - Roger Lomas who recreated that magic 1980's Bad Manners sound all over again.

Fatty's Back in Town created a new and bigger interest in a permanently gigging Bad Manners. As if by magic, Undertaker Promotions combined forces with the Dojo Record Label and the biggest UK Ska tour of the 1990's was organised. With accomplished US ska veterans Bim Skala Bim as support, Bad Manners were also joined by 1970's legend Judge Dread and the stage was set for a kicking tour of the UK and Europe. The tour was a sensation with the biggest SKA gigs of the decade filling highly respected venues across the UK, including the London Astoria (2,000+ tickets sold). Some of the strangest aspects of the tour came with the band's arrival in the 'old East' of Germany. Towns such as Chemnitz, Zwickau and Leipzig had been free of Communist rule for just a few years. There was obvious poverty in the faces of many fans. They had worked hard to buy their tickets. Between gigs, the band bus rolled across flat lands of drab fields and endless roads. In the midst of nothing, they would suddenly encounter a Burger King or Toys'r'Us, new symbols of a capitalist dawn.

As a result of Fatty's Back in Town, more recordings were organised and in 1997, Heavy Pettin' was recorded at 411 Studios, Cowfold, Sussex. It featured all new material from the band and has been a great hit with fans across the world, thanks to distribution from MoonSKA Records and Pork Pie. More on this one later.


A time - served drummer leaves

The 1995 US tour had re-kindled the wander-lust in the band drummer Stefan. He had also fallen in love with an American girl and so after many years of pushing the live sound, Stef departed, but not before he had completed all engagements on the Fatty's back in Town tour, where he taught me several things about on the road survival including how to make takeaway lunches from breakfast leftovers, the value of a jar of French mustard and the essential need for a person to carry a penknife. Stefan and his Grace are now happily married. It took 12 months to find a proper replacement in Carlton Hunt who has led the band's percussion ever since and has got to be one of the finest SKAcore drummers on the scene. For a while the band used Rob from Essex band Eskalator who was a great bloke but tended more towards the reggae end of the off beat world.

SKAndinavia 1996

Stefan's last tour marked a watershed for Bad Manners in early 1996. SKAndinavia '96 was the band's first full tour of the four main countries that make up the Nordical Council for over a decade. It was not since Chewitt had left in 1986/87 that the band had undertaken a dedicated tour exclusively for the fans in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. This was going to be a big tour. The whole gang were looking forward to it. In the case of Buster and Louis Cook, the last time they had seriously toured Finland, there had been a huge waiitng crowd at Helsinki Airport and Special Brew was in the top three ! This time, although the venues were a little smaller, there were actually people waiting at the Luxury Five Star HISPERIA international hotel for the band when they arrived - who had also turned up in 1980 ! These were absolute Bad Manners train spotters and the same sort of people were encountered in Sweden where one autograph-obsessive actually exchanged a sacred and impossibly rare copy of Mental Notes for a set of band signatures !

The gigs were amazing, friendly and the food was superb across Denmark, Norway and Sweden. It was on the Finnish leg that things got even more interesting. The boat across the Baltic Sea was accompanied by an ice-breaker, riding shot gun for the band and Louis commented on the womb-like sounds the ice pack made as the ship whooshed past it. He felt secure. Others were scared shitless. To fortify themselves, the whole band went to a very large and posh bar lounge and watched the Finns and Swedes dancing to Euro-disco sounds from a show band, including Yellow River…

Matt Godwin and others approached the band and asked if they wanted Bad Manners to play an impromptu set, using the band's instruments. Owing to the state the band was in, they were amazed that the band leader agreed, only to be disappointed when band members refused to share mouth pieces on brass instruments with a horn section that was decidedly worse for wear.

Consequently, Bad Manners continued talking to Finns and Swedes, drinking, people-watching and talking to a large group of Finnish students who were on their way home after what Finns call the 'trip.' Basically, younger Finnish women sometimes go on a fun cruise for the weekend and meet Swedish guys who want to take advantage of the cheap booze on the Finnish ships, in Finland or Estonia. There was plenty of this sort of 'cultural exchange' going on and various band members were teaching the Finnish students English language. In return the Finns promised to come to the gig the next night in Helsinki.

As the night turned to morning, the band hit the sack only to be awoken a few hours later by the knowledge that one of their number had got lost and was extremely drunk. The band disembarked at Helsinki and reached the HESPERIA International, where they would also appear that night, in the underground CLUB SIBERIA. It was -25C in Helsinki and they were a man short. The man turned up however - in Estonia. He had gone to sleep on the floor of an empty cabin in the Swedish part of the ship. Turfed out by an angry cleaner he took advantage of the British consul in Talinn and got a ship back to Finland just in time to play the gig, which was broadcast live on Finnish TV !

The day before the gig gave the band a chance to book into their individual suites. The HESPERIA management were nothing if but generous. The band was given a free bar tab, restaurant tab and room service. Mini-bars were emptied, a barrel of lager was quaffed and people dined on beluga caviar, snails, oysters and reindeer steak in the restaurant. And CHIPS. Dave Welton and Louis tried to visit the house of the late, great Finnish leader and national hero MANNERHEIM but it was closed that day. Dave Turner took a magical tram ride around the capital and asked inane questions of Finnish passengers.

True to their word, the Finnish students turned up - 65 of them. They formed an obliging front row of adoring fans for the TV cameras who also picked up on the excellent Finnish skins, mods and scooter people who had turned up. The gig was a mega event and Buster was interviewed live from the Sauna and Steam complex before the event.

The hotel continued to be generous into the night with champagne, saunas, a swimming pool and many other services laid on. Stardom…

After Finland came return gigs in Sweden where the band got a rough ride at Ljinroping then Malmo, finishing the tour at Copenghagen, Denmark where they performed and lived for a day or two in the alternative world known as Kristiannia. This community is set apart from the rest of Danish society and has many of its own ways, liberal customs and almost a separate legal system compared to other Danish regions. Here, the band feasted on roast dinners. Buster ate a whole half of a lamb. We have photo's to prove it. This episode fits in nicely with all the other culinary chapters of Bad Manners history, such as the time Buster ate 28 Big Macs before finding himself too poor to make it 30. He has eaten a whole shark while on an Arabian tour and in Argentina, consumed a whole hindquarter fillet of world class A+ grade beef.. In the Isle of Wight, Buster once ate 15 lobsters served up with lemons, salt and pepper.

Bad Manners 1996-1999 : Recordings and a hotel adventure…

As 1996 came along, band personnel were undergoing life changes. Dave Turner and Matt Godwin got married while Buster and his long-term partner Angie became increasingly interested in a new business venture beyond their kebab stall in Ramsgate. There was also great interest, rumour and enthusiasm for the brand new Bad Manners album Heavy Pettin' with original material by Louis Cook, produced by Marcus Bush and distributed by DOJO, MoonSKA and Pork Pie. Mark and Sandra Shipman had now established Tea Leaf Records and were about to launch the Bad Manners Rare album. This CD when launched received critical acclaim from all Manners fans and the SKA world in general. It contained superb covers of classics such as Double Barrel, considered to be one of the best Bad Manners tracks ever by classically trained Dave Welton (trombone, Bad Manners) and it also contained little known studio prototypes of material that had graced Mental Notes. A number of cuts featured Alan Sayagg at his loveable and surreal best. On one track he was singing ala Elvis about being a Trucker while on another he was a bard, extolling the virtues of a woman who he referred to simply as 'You and your pussy my love.' All of these things made the album a hit for the true Manners lover. Nothing could prepare even the most hardened Bad Manners fan for Buster's next venture into the world of catering and leisure…

Fatty Towers c.1996-2000 & R.I.P…

With the recording cycle more or less complete, Buster's mind had been taken by a new idea. He was tired of the Health Police's hectorings as he called them. He was now 28 stone in weight. He therefore decided to create a leisure and pleasure formula for all fatties and those skinnies who wanted to eat, eat and eat. Fatty Towers was thus born! Buster and Angie had been living in London and the Kent resort of Ramsgate for some years now. They were both aware of the potential for a fun food concept and had already trialled the formula in Ramsgate, before they came across the property in Margate.

The Club 18-30 Stone society had been created by Buster in Ramsgate in the early 1990's. Members were invited to a regular club dinner by Buster and Angie. They had to pay but £5 and were challenged not become full. Should they be able to eat their full dinner, their £5 was returned.

At such gatherings, Buster was able to indulge his guests in one of his chief pleasures - fine and hearty catering from the most remote corners of the world. In this way, he was clearing the way for the Fatty Towers concept. Guests were treated to meals including :

Lard Arse Pudding

Double figure weights in finest beef steak and kidney, prepared in Guinness and finished in a rich suet pastry, into which was inserted smoked Oysters.

Pork in Clams

Large shanks of bacon pork and ham were cooked in a rich tomato gravy, flavoured with Spanish Chorizo sausages. Into this bubbling cauldron were placed a huge number of large British sea clams with thick shells. In the process both sausage and clams almost merged…

With such dishes on offer, the Club 18-30 Stone paid out not a penny in refunds during its existence. Buster knew the food formula could work. His next move came with the take over of a vacant hotel in Margate.

A time a place and an announcement…

In Summer 1996, the Band were on tour through the East Midlands and played an open air show in Mansfield as the final leg of a journey which had seen performances across the UK. They were given the mayor's residence as a dressing room and were fed and watered well. At the end of the gig they piled into the bus in stage clothes and it was driven through the night to Norwich where they appeared on The Time and the Place. The programme was interested in the 'issues' faced by FAT PEOPLE IN SOCIETY and naturally, Buster had something to say. The band were there to perform LIP UP FATTY to close the show. As John Stapleton closed the debate Buster was invited to announce Lip Up Fatty. He also managed to announce the opening of FATTY TOWERS in Margate and invited the whole nation to visit !

Fatty Towers was now born and it had reached the public's attention in true Bad Manners style…

Fatty Towers…

Buster's hotel was opened to the strains of a massive party in December 1996 and offered impossible meals (48 ounce steaks, 4.5lb meat puddings etc), huge beds, tequila slush puppies, pleasure rooms, big baths, the St John's Ambulance and a Cardiac Cashback guarantee in the event of misfortune. The hotel was a sensation in both its image and reality. This writer can vouch for that as he personally visited it four times.

Buster worked it for two glorious years. He became something of a local celebrity in Margate and was involved in many charitable events as well as setting up a number of local new acts and fielding many brilliant stunts from the hotel, including Belly of the Year contest.

Across 1997 and 1998, the hotel continued to trade but in Autumn 1998 Buster decided to move on from the business owing to personal reasons. In an uncharacteristic swipe the papers gave a less than charitable spin on events, which was disappointing for a press that has always given Buster a fair crack.

Bigger business…

In letting the hotel go, Buster could free up his attention and concentrate on that factor that he has always done best - MUSIC !

1997 and 1998 saw the release of two versions of the new Louis Cook-led album. Don't Knock the Bald Heads and Heavy Petting promoted by MoonSKA Europe, USA and Pork Pie records. The albums represented completely new material and other recent tracks such as FEEL LIKE JUMPIN' and LAGER DELERIUM. Of special interest were the spoof versions of BLACK NIGHT and RED RIVER SKA, as well as well-penned Cook originals including Down Bury Wood and Heavy Pettin' itself.

All the tracks were beautifully mixed and contained well-assembled brass, harmonica, rhythm, keyboards and extras including Hawaiian steel guitar !

Of special interest on the vocal take was the appearance of Louis' French girlfriend and her twin sister.

Buster also moved into management and agency work. It was here that the band began to consider a new generation of theme albums linked to all manner of Hollywood and other genres. Buster intended the band to record a Western album, a Sci-Fi album and so on, until contractual difficulties got in the way. In 2001, they were overcome and Bad Manners began recording two important sets of albums.

Firstly, the band's current line-up re-recorded every single ever released ! These have started to be issued in CD Album format known as the 25 Years of being BAD series and the first album was released in Autumn 2001.

Secondly, always with an eye on the trends and with a talent for spoofing them to a nicely Mannered texture, Bad Manners will soon release a loungecore album based on the works of the Rat Pack, Andy Williams and many other crooners who have recently made it back to the top of the charts. Robbie Williams has much to be thanked for !

Millennium Manners…

In the first years of the 21st Century, Bad Manners have settled once again into what they do best - gigs. Not that Buster and co. ever stopped but at times he can be distracted ! In 2000 AD, he stood as the SKA candidate for Mayor of London on a non-political ticket, (Buster has always remained above politics aside from his Anti-Prejudice campaigns and views). His campaign was sensational but owing to the outrageous cost of the deposit (£10,000) he withdrew from the race, advising his supporters to vote with their consciences- ie vote for KEN LIVINGSTONE to stop the New Labour stooge from winning. This is this writer's view, not the view of Buster.

The band also issued the Millennium Knees-Up to mark the year 2000/2001. This CD included an absolutely brilliant medley of pro-British football sounds that any England fan will like, sung to the tunes of The Great Escape, March of the Mods and Come on Eileen !

What is the current 'typical' round of life like in Bad Manners ?

Hectic and there have been changes ! Louis Cook left for France in 1998. Dave Turner who is a busy school teacher took a break for 14 months owing to relocations to the East Midlands. Matt Godwin left the band permanently in 1998 and his replacement manager/fixer Tony also parted company by early 2000 to work in the Millennium Dome.

The current line up of the band has settled again, back to the steady and solid ways that Bad Manners prefer. The gigging is permanent and the band could work 365 nights a year, 24/7 if it wanted. Every region of the UK and the world wants Bad Manners. Buster has been called a fat bastard in over 100 languages to date !

After the London political contest, the band went to Argentina, Dubai, Bahrain and many other international spots before returning to sexy old Europe again to take their place on the familiar, brilliant live circuit they have dominated for almost thirty years!

With the band playing at their best ever, with Fatty in charge, with a rock-solid rhythm section, with an ass-kicking brass sound, with a tempestuous keyboard backdrop, a mean harmonica and with the finest SKA guitar in the world, Bad Manners are back on top of the SKA world, where they have always belonged. No one can touch us live.

Bad Manners current line-up appearing at a venue near you at any time this year !

Buster Bloodvessel: Singer
Simon Cuell: Guitar
Lee Thompsom: Bass Guitar
Dave Welton: BassTrombone
Warren Middleton: Trombones
Trevor Irving: Trumpets
Tony Rico: Saxaphones
Mark Harrison: Drums
Rick Macwana: Keyboards
Carlton Hunt: Drums
Chris Bull: Trumpets
Dave Turner Harmonicas (when he gets there)
SKArchive UK (Band Historian)
Russell Wynn Mr Fixit, Driver, Entourage, Spiritual Advisor,
Embalming (not a joke, he undertakes as well as doing Bad Manners…)

This has been a rather big story. I hope you love it. I hope you hate it. I hope that love or hate will drive you to write to us with more information about the band. There is simply loads of stuff I want to add to the website in the future. Keep watching for updates and articles !

Keep skanking…

Dave Turner - Harmonica Player.