Just when we thought it was all over, the phone rings again!
So said Vic ‘Vespa’ Szcesnowicz, the charismatic frontman of legendary Huddersfield-based Mod outfit The Killermeters.
“If we can keep doing it, let’s keep doing it,” added Vic, who together with guitarist Mick Moore, are the longest-serving members of the band who sparked notoriety in Mod circles with their play-hard, party-harder work ethic.
The Killermeters - key exponents of the 1979 Mod sound, “Whatever that was,” added Vic dryly - are still in demand and along with entertaining their contemporaries, the ‘fifty -somethings’ are attracting kids from the Facebook generation.
And it is this multi-age appeal of social media that is keeping The Meters clocking up the miles with recent gigs at the Mods May Day Festival at The Alley Club in Cambridge and the famous 100 Club London.
But tomorrow the four-piece, now comprising Vic, Mick, Aussie Martin and Steve Dutton on drums, are on our doorstep with a rare but hugely welcome gig at Rhubarb, near Shore Head roundabout. They will be supported by Jenny Wren (Mick’s daughter) and DJ Billy Longden, who hosted memorable nights in the town’s West Riding pub.
“We’ve got North Yorkshire and Stoke posses following us around now and in London, there was a lass from Brighton who turned up to the show with her boyfriend from Wales, along with fathers and sons,” said Vic. “It never ceases to amaze us.”
Last year’s appearance in Cambridge led to a dream come true for the band, formed in the mid-seventies as a punk outfit, before realising the limitations of the genre and broke up, only to reform a few months later and metamorphosise in a new melodic direction.
“A promoter came up to us after the Cambridge festival and invited us to play the 100 Club. It was always a huge ambition to play there,” said Vic.
“In fact after I hopped onto the stage to have my photo taken with the sign, I could have just driven back home. Job done, but it turned out to be a brilliant event playing alongside The Len Price 3 and the Groovymen.”
He added: “Every band who has ever played there, from Jerry Lee Lewis to Alice Cooper, Mick Jagger to Paul Weller has their photos on the wall. It was like walking into a museum. And Paul McCartney did a benefit gig there to keep the Denmark Street club a going concern.”
But not only have these recent invitations renewed the band’s enthusiasm, they are writing new material.
“We’re playing strongly as ever as a really tight four-piece now,” said Vic. “and it feels good.”
He added: “We’re writing a lot of new stuff, some with a rhythm and blues feel which lends itself to us being a tight four-piece and there’s a couple of songs we’ve written with a nod to Wilco Johnson and Dr Feelgood.
“It’s an interesting experiment. We record a lot during rehearsals and we’ll just see where it takes us. We’re not precious about anything, we’re just trying different things out, work on the sound and structure then it slowly builds before we get tired and have a cup of tea!”
So there’s plenty of life left in the old dogs yet and with tea hardly likely to be their first choice of tipple tomorrow night, there’s certainly more to come from the grand lads with the top modsters starring in next month’s ModFest at the Irish Centre on Fitzwilliam Street (Sunday, March 23) in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust and an invitation to team up with Squire in Crawley in October, presented by ‘The Last Great Act Of Defiance Scooter Club.’
With the popularity of the Mod scene continuing undiminished, Vic added:
“Well, the Meters were one of the first ... We’ve been there, done that ... and are still doing it! It keeps us off the streets you know.”
Mick Moore with Vic Vespa and Evil Roman, the people’s poet, have cobbled together some career highlights (all dates approximate and in no particular order)!
Mick talks us through it ...
1976 Mick meets Vic in the Albion (Bar 1:22): “I’m a guitarist, I need a bass player, heard you play bass,” says Mick to Vic and The Killermeters formed. Played in every pub in town then punk rock took over and Mick said to Vic we can write songs too you know, so we did.
Played all over the country, bands supported include: The Undertones - We did two British tours with them, great lads - then Eddie and The Hot Rods, one British tour, again great lads. X Ray Spex, XTC, The Rich Kids, Steel Pulse, Secret Affair, The Lurkers, Ultravox, Slaughter and The Dogs, supported The Chords at The Music Machine in London. Captain Sensible jumped onstage and sang along with us, and we met Paul Weller in the bar.
Memorable Gigs: The Marquee London 1979. Headlined the Isle of White Scooter Rally 1999 when more than 2,000 scooters travelled over to the island. The Forum Kentish Town London 1999 - Mods May Day. Reunited with Damien O’Neil from the Undertones for the first time in God knows how many years. St George’s Hall Liverpool - My (Mick’s) home town. Landed in Manchester from Majorca, got the train to Liverpool, walked out of Lime St Station and looked at St George’s Hall and thought, ‘we can’t be playing there.’ It makes the Bradford one look tiny ... errr, we were.Picturedrome Holmfirth (cheers Pete) supporting the Undertones for the first time in years. Great to meet up with them again. Damien O’Neil always up for the craic makes me smile and restores your faith in human nature.The 100 Club London December 29, 2013 - What a venue! Can’t believe they were going to close down. The pictures on the wall from the Stones to the Pistols. If you played there you’re on the wall. Fantastic.
Musicology:1st single Cardiac Arrest, Psycho Records, (one went on ebay for £150 recently).2nd single Twisted Wheel (GEM Records) still rare. Twisted Wheel was recorded at CBS studios in London. We had a nosey about and found the orchestral recording studio. They were using it for the CBS Christmas party and it was the first time we met the late, great John Peel there. Dizzy from Detour Records contacted us and we put out Metric Noise on Detour Records.EP Are You Ready on Detour Records.Mods May Day Detour Records, a live recording from the gig in Kentish Town Forum.
At this moment we are rehearsing for gigs but then going to carry on recording for an LP. We’ve got about 8 tracks so far.
