Embedded Files
UXB SONGS FROM THEIR REPORTOIRE
AND HOW THEY WROTE AND PLAYED THEM
Typical running order circa February 1979
(All cover versions)
Please Don’t Touch (The Pirates)
Let's Dance (Ramones style)
Silly Thing (Sex Pistols version)
I Don’t need To Tell Her (The Lurkers)
Rockaway Beach (Ramones)
English Civil War (The Clash)
Something Else (Sex Pistols version)
So Lonely (The Police)
Bang Bang (Squeeze)
White Riot (The Clash)
Janie Jones (The Clash)
Tommy Gun (The Clash)
Public Image (Public Image Ltd)
Pretty Vacant (Sex Pistols)
The Kids Are Alright (The Who)
The running order above was used throughout the rest of 1979 supplemented or rearranged to include the following:
Borstal Breakout (Sham 69)
Born To Lose (The Heartbreakers)
Around And Around (Rolling Stones)
Batman Theme (The Jam version)
Losing You (The Police)
All or Nothing (Small Faces)
In August 1979 we wrote our first original song, ‘Crazy Today’ and started to include it from then on.
September/October 1979 we wrote ‘Mr Fixit’ and ‘Imagination’
We all loved Reggae, and would often drop into a cool dub reggae groove (usually at gig sound checks) this is how our reggae numbers came about, ‘Jamaica Road’ and ‘Junior Klub’ were our first attempts.
Original songs of all styles came fairly frequently….we were on a roll as they say!
In February 1980 Tony (bass) left and Dom (lead vocal) joined us. We then got down to sorting out a live set which comprised mainly of our own songs sprinkled with a few of our favourite covers.
A typical running order circa July 1980 would be:
(All songs by UXB except for those stated. Note # denotes a reggae style song.)
Don’t Walk Away
Crazy Today
In The Q
Jamaica Road #
Over The Wall
All Or Nothing (Small Faces)
Rescue me
Junior Club #
Waiting For The Weekend
Mr Fixit
2 Steps #
Keep On Running (Spencer Davis Group)
Imagination
Can’t Dance With You
Stop ‘N’ Stare
Rhythm Method
The Kids Are Alright (The Who)
48 Hours
So Lonely (The Police)
Encore; Lets Dance (Ramones style)
By late 1980 we had dropped all covers from the set except for Let's Dance as an encore.
A typical running order from January 1981 would be:
(New songs in italics)
Don’t Walk Away
In The Q
Can’t Stand It
Crazy Today
Jamaica Road #
Mr Fixit
Waiting For The Weekend
Junior Klub #
Over The Wall
Imagination
Go!
Not Enough Time #
Rescue Me
Don’t have Time **
Can’t Dance With You
2 Steps #
6th Form Blues
Stop’N’Stare
Rather Stay In Bed #
Rhythm Method
48 Hours
Encores:
Let's Dance, and various songs previously played, usually Crazy Today, Over The Wall and 48 Hours
** Special note… ‘Don’t Have Time’ is a slow ballad, quite rare for us, we only did this song live once, at the second West Mids College gig .
By mid 1981 Dom had left to be replaced by Pete Higton on lead vocals.
A typical gig from this period would include some of the above plus the new songs:
Moods
Agents Of Love
Ego
Movin’ Up
Down To Zero
Lifetime In Jail
Lying In The Sun #
The running order for our last ever gig at the Star Hotel, Shifnal:
Go!
Moods
Agents Of Love
2 Steps #
Ego
Movin’ Up
In The Q
Imagination
Over The Wall
Down To Zero
Crazy Today
Mr Fixit
Rather Stay In Bed #
Lifetime In Jail
Encore : Over The Wall
Not sure why we didn’t play 48 Hours at this gig as it was a firm favourite with our audience as well as ourselves.
The Complete List of UXB original songs
# denotes reggae style.
Crazy Today
In The Q
Jamaica Road #
Over The Wall
Waiting For The Weekend
Mr Fixit
2 Steps #
Can’t Dance With You
Rhythm Method
Can’t Stand It
Junior Klub #
Imagination
Go!
Stop’N’Stare
Rather Stay In Bed #
48 Hours
Rescue Me
Don’t have Time
6th Form Blues
Ego
Movin’ Up
Down To Zero
Moods
Agents Of Love
Not Enough time
Lifetime In Jail
Lying In The Sun #
We recently discovered some songs on a rough rehearsal demo, which we never properly finished, worked out or played live.
They are:
A Shot In the Dark
Nice Day
Phone Call
These songs have a lot of potential, and will be worked on by the band at a later date.
Sometimes at the end of a gig usually on the cover ‘Lets Dance’ we would all swap instruments……..the line up would be:
COL--Drums,
MARK--Lead vocal,
DOM--Guitar,
MICK--Bass.
Fortunately NO recordings of this line up exists!
Although we have some photos! Which we will put onto the site soon.
WINSTON would join in on the encores now and again, usually on backing vocals during ‘Crazy Today’.
General gig info.
Most of our gigs were recorded onto cassette, usually as a direct feed off the PA mixing desk, or by stereo mikes in the audience onto a reel to reel, sometimes both.
Quite a few of these survive and the quality of some of them is excellent. It is fortunate that we always used good quality TDK SA tapes and they have stood the test of time in storage, 22 years some of them!
We are in the process of transferring all of them onto CD to preserve them.
PA Details
For small gigs and rehearsals we used our own 100 watt Custom Sound 4 channel PA amp into 2 x 2x12 cabs with a couple of piezo tweeter boxes on top of each. For stage foldback we had an old 50watt valve amp (make unknown!) into two 1x12 wedge floor monitors, Dom had a good quality Shure mic and Mick, Mark and Col used a couple of cheaper Shure ones, all pretty low tech stuff really but it sufficed.
For medium to large gigs we always hired a 2K PA rig from SPIN-OFF SYSTEMS Of Wolverhampton. This was trucked, operated and personally overseen by the owner Andy Gilson and his pal Kevin Horden (‘Dude’) This was quite simply the best rig in the Midlands region at our level, and never let us down. (Details are on our Gear Guide)
Andy Gilson became a good friend of the band, (and still is) and is a mine of information and expert on all things audio. Andy very kindly coached Dom’s brother Adrian in the fine arts of live mixing techniques so that on the rare occasions when we had to use a ‘foreign’ rig then at least we had someone who could fly the desk to our best advantage.
Lights and Road Crew etc
We built our own lighting rig for use mainly at small venues where there were non, and this was operated by Kermit to great effect.
Mick had his own drum technician Derek Cooper, who is an excellent drummer himself, his band would often support us at some gigs (see gig list on our Time Line page).
Thanks to the other people who helped us out on the road from time to time:
Steve Sankey, Phil & Rob Morris, Keith Bennett & Dave Davenport from the ‘Rezisters’, and Mark’s Dad!
Photographs
All the band members were interested in photography, therefore we have a wealth of excellent quality photos. We were fortunate to know some professional photographers as well (courtesy of the newspaper group that various members of our entourage worked for)
Artwork and Gig posters etc
Our drummer Mick Turner is a commercial artist, so we were never short of quality ideas in this department. Mick did all of our artwork including the cover of our Crazy Today single and our new (Japan only) single, 48 Hours.
Press and Publicity info
Bearing in mind that Mick, Derek Cooper, Kermit, Steve Sankey and Col’s wife Julie all worked at the local newspaper syndicate’s head office, then we never had a problem in this department!!
UXB Song writing Techniques.
Most of our own songs would come from jamming at rehearsals either Col (bass or occasionally guitar) or Mark (guitar) would come up with a riff and we would be away, Mick (drums/vocals) would adlib a vocal and then later he would do the full lyrics.
Later when Dom (vocals) joined, he too would adlib and then write a set of lyrics
Sometimes, Col or Mark would bring a complete song with the chords all worked out or maybe half a song, we would then suggest middle eights or chorus’s etc.
Mick wrote most of the lyrics to our songs.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse