We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It - Look At The Hits On That!! The Best Of poll

I was going over some stuff and came across this band, I haven't thought about them in well over 25 years. I only sort of remembered them and thought if I'm going to catch up why not do a poll. Not sure how many others have heard of them here but I hope to get a few votes nonetheless.

Found it;
https://open.spotify.com/album/2PG3J6zncWDC0uTAHMiADn?si=I8GO-GyGSPCE5e-aljDnAw&utm_source=copy-link

I've long repped for their debut album but after that, the poppy stuff didn't age well for me though I liked it at the time. Voting "Love Is The Slug".

Pink Sunshine in a heartbeat

Innocent days

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDTFd5pNN1E

Rules & Regulations

Those are some nice hits.

lol, plus adding their name on top of it

That video is a hoot

Or maybe mote fun than funny

One of the best bands ever and they never made a bad song, but this compilation omits my favourite from each album - You Got Me and Versatile for Discos & Parties. That said, Spirit in the Sky (which is best in the 'Shortish Mix' but either version is stunning).

If you think the sleeve is a bit full on wait til you see the discs. Makes me assume the band had no involvement?

Was gonna say that about the discs. I can only assume they *were* involved, it's wayyyy too much otherwise

can't believe they found room for three versions of International Rescue but none for Jackie

There were a couple of collections out around this time, this had the dvd, the other had more / deeper cuts..

I was wondering what you can see me from westbury white horse was talking about, so I went on over to Discogs to see. Well yeah, that is a bit over the top for sure.

the bbc sessions compilation is really good, maybe better than the first album

Or the bottom, as the case may be. xp

I really only know "Self!" I bought the 12" after seeing the video on MTV. Exploring their earlier stuff has been a fun trip down the youtube rabbithole today.

Love is the Slug - their original sound is very cool and unique and the songs were good too.

A thought: their image didn't work for them in the long run since the songs were (a) good and (b) pretty serious and dark most of the time, and that was undermined by all the wacky self-deprecation.

Yeah, "Love is the Slug" is fantastic, I can't believe I've never heard it before today. Reminds me a bit of "52 Girls" in its off kilter harmonies and propulsive dance rhythm.

Yes! Thank you for that 52 Girls comparison. Never saw it before but it is otm.

When I first opened this poll I thought this would be some sub-tier band with a good song or two. I was way off as this band is so much fun and I generally liked everything on here. I need to go and listen to the albums proper. Very glad I did this poll as there are more people who know this band then I thought there would be. Not voting yet as I have yet to hear the remixes at the end of this comp.

The John Peel wiki says they did two sessions in 1986, the first one was repeated four times and the second one twice. Additionally in 1986 he played tracks by them on 36 other occasions. In 1987 he played them once (in January) then never again.

I just nabbed a copy of Bostin Steve Austin on eBay for 99 cents.

A thought: their image didn't work for them in the long run since the songs were (a) good and (b) pretty serious and dark most of the time, and that was undermined by all the wacky self-deprecation.

― everything, Thursday, 3 November 2022 22:14 (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

I think this is kind of true, but also that the tension between the larking about and the angst is part of what made them so great, like how a song like Jackie is pitched somewhere between mockery of teenage angst and painfully sincerity at the same time

I've been rewatching some youtube clips of them being interviewed on saturday morning kids tv shows (sometimes by puppets) and it's sad that these slightly awkward, nervous laughter interviews with bands on kids tv are a thing of the past, reminds me of this article Taylor Parkes wrote about In Bed With Chris Needham about the kids in that doc being 'the last generation of teenagers who would reflexively cover their faces in embarrassment when someone pointed a camera at them' or something

I need to check out some of these youtube videos, sounds like they could be a great time waster. The one that is in this thread is not a great representation of them as it seems more like a Stray Cats song or something. Their sound is there but everything else is just a fun one-off.

I’ve watched the “Love is the Slug” video 5 or 6 times since you started this thread. Super fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXWqfxj-mlU

Yeah, "Love is the Slug" is one of the highlights here and probably their best song.

It is curious that this comp omits Console Me, which was their track on C86 and is therefore better known outside of the UK than theirs other tracks, and has a bit of a legacy attached to it.

Classic moment handled greatly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QWL0AznZ_4

I thought they did 3 albums but I see from wikipedia they broke up before finishing the 3rd. I remember what would've been the opening single from the 3rd album Your Loss My Gain. My sister had the 2nd album when I was a teenager. I sort of liked it but not that much, I was all about Betty Boo at the time. later listened to the C86-era stuff and I like Love Is The Slug and Rules and Regulations a lot

That video is great and like you said, they handled it great. I actually can't believe how smooth of a recovery that was.

Xpost

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlksDKuWnII

On the other side of the coin, here's one of my favourite things to have happened on telly

This was a fun exercise and I'm glad some of you came along for the ride.

Voting Self! featuring Brain May on guitar (not in video however)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH16OX_VPOc

If you think the sleeve is a bit full on wait til you see the discs.

Dare I ask?

Would have voted for Console Me, settled for Love Is The Slug but there were half a dozen options. Not many bands seemed to have so much fun, all the time.

Saw them live in Cleveland Ohio! So much fun - I think the guitarist, Jo, had a broken leg and still managed to play.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

happy to see X X Sex got a couple of votes.

Their cover of "Walking on the Thin Ice" was robbed but other than that good results.