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| Total Big at Max's Kansas City showing(left to right) Porridge, Carl, Ian Curtis of Joy Division, Dr. Who, and Loz. |
Fans of Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV will most likely be aware of Porridge's proposed formation of a band with Ian Curtis of Joy Division, as referred to here.
However, few will know that Porridge was not telling the whole truth here, because not only did it actually happen, but the full line-up also included television's famous Dr. Who - none other than Peter Capaldi. Porridge played bass and crooning. The singing was handled by both Carl Glover and Ian Curtis of Joy Division, although Ian Curtis of Joy Division tended to sing the more serious words about German cinema of the 1920s and so on, because he was better at the sort of thing and didn't keep laughing half way through. Guitar was handled by myself and that mysterious traveller in time and space known only as the Doctor, and Chris played the drums. We were called Total Big because, as Porridge explained, it sounded a bit rude like it might be referring to a large penis, and also the initials were TB which acknowledged the thematic continuity with TG, his previous rock band, and also stood for tuberculosis which is a virus, sort of like the word virus which his famous friend William Burroughs used to write about, so that was playful and subversive*. This is a tape of a couple of 1986 rehearsals. Tracks one to fifteen were recorded on 4th May in Chris's dad's garage in Kemsley, Sittingbourne, Kent, and the rest was at my place in Otham, near Maidstone on May the 10th - both a Saturday I think. Unfortunately neither Porridge, Ian Curtis of Joy Division, nor Dr. Who were able to attend either of these rehearsals, so it was just me, Carl and Chris. Further information about Total Big can be found by referring to the index at the foot of this blog entry.
'I was very good friends with Ian Curtis from Joy Division. In fact, I was the last person he spoke with before he died. We used to talk about Frank Sinatra's early records and how they influenced our phrasing. That crooning style we both had was knowingly done. And the two of us had a plan. Joy Division and Throbbing Gristle were going to play together in Paris, and at the end, Ian and I would announce that we were both quitting our bands to start one together. It was not to be, though.'
However, few will know that Porridge was not telling the whole truth here, because not only did it actually happen, but the full line-up also included television's famous Dr. Who - none other than Peter Capaldi. Porridge played bass and crooning. The singing was handled by both Carl Glover and Ian Curtis of Joy Division, although Ian Curtis of Joy Division tended to sing the more serious words about German cinema of the 1920s and so on, because he was better at the sort of thing and didn't keep laughing half way through. Guitar was handled by myself and that mysterious traveller in time and space known only as the Doctor, and Chris played the drums. We were called Total Big because, as Porridge explained, it sounded a bit rude like it might be referring to a large penis, and also the initials were TB which acknowledged the thematic continuity with TG, his previous rock band, and also stood for tuberculosis which is a virus, sort of like the word virus which his famous friend William Burroughs used to write about, so that was playful and subversive*. This is a tape of a couple of 1986 rehearsals. Tracks one to fifteen were recorded on 4th May in Chris's dad's garage in Kemsley, Sittingbourne, Kent, and the rest was at my place in Otham, near Maidstone on May the 10th - both a Saturday I think. Unfortunately neither Porridge, Ian Curtis of Joy Division, nor Dr. Who were able to attend either of these rehearsals, so it was just me, Carl and Chris. Further information about Total Big can be found by referring to the index at the foot of this blog entry.
'Art and life really are the same, and both can only be about a spiritual journey, a path towards a re-union with a supreme creator, with god, with the divine; and this is true no matter how unlikely, how strange, how unorthodox, one's particular life path might appear to one's self or others at any given moment.' - Genesis P. Orridge.
Tracks:
1 - He Believes
2 - He Writes the Songs
3 - Rock Sandwich
4 - Hail Fellow Well Met
5 - Cold Sore Herpes B
6 - I'm Not Losing Sleep
7 - Are You My Mother?
8 - Call It What You Want
9 - Do What I Want
10 - Louie Louie
11 - Sister Ray
12 - Hey Joe
13 - Armchair Maniac
14 - In My Head
15 - Keep Your Dreams A'Burnin'
16 - Hail Fellow Well Met
17 - He Believes
18 - Keep Your Dreams A'Burnin'
19 - I'm Not Losing Sleep
20 - He Writes the Songs
21 - Rock Sandwich
22 - Walking in the Rain
23 - He Believes
24 - Sanity Hose
25 - Are You My Mother?
26 - Call It What You Want
27 - I'll Crawl
28 - Louie Louie
29 - Sister Ray
30 - Hey Joe
31 - Cold Sore Herpes B
32 - Madonna
Return to Index
*: Most of this is a lie.
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