The Mob – Meanwhile Gardens, Westbourne Park, London W11 – 25/06/83

mob

Another Day Another Death / Dance On / Raised In A Prison / Our Life Our World / Witch Hunt / Stay / I Hear You Laughing / Gates Of Hell / No Doves Fly Here / Slayed / What’s Going On / I Wish / Youth

Shuffling Souls / Witch Hunt

Thirty five years ago, as crumbling canal side terraces were being cleared in Westbourne Park, a local sculptor named Jamie McCullough wondered if some of the derelict wasteland that was left after the demolition could become a community garden. He asked the local authority (Westminster at the time) for permission to turn the rubble into a park. Westminster gave temporary permission – hence the name, Meanwhile. The name stuck and the Gardens prospered. Meanwhile Gardens is still there today and is still a nice day out.

The ‘idiot picnics’ which were held four times a year at Meanwhile Gardens from the summer of 1977 to the last events in 1988 were organised by the Lancaster Music Co Op and the Street Level studios folk (notibly Kif Kif and Grant Showbiz) with the additonal help of Protag. The Meanwhile Gardens events which I attended and jumped around in the sand pit with a bottle of Merrydown cider in hand, were enjoyable affairs with a real mix up bands and performers turning up to play, or to perform for free in the summer sun.

Happy Birthday to Lou photographed here with Brett and Tony Puppy at Puppy Mansion, Westbere Road, NW2 in 1980.

Many happy returns to you Louise, all at KYPP wishing you a relaxing day with the wintery sun streaming through your window in Barnet.

For your listening pleasure, the first of the two blistering gigs by The Mob performed in the summer of 1983 at the Meanwhile Gardens all dayers,  recorded in crystal clear mixing desk quality.

Official Mob Site

25 comments
  1. Jay Vee
    Jay Vee
    January 27, 2009 at 1:21 pm

    Excellent quality recording of this gig, oh if only they would jump on the nostalgia bandwagon and do more gigs *sigh*

  2. Lou Mc Grew
    Lou Mc Grew
    January 27, 2009 at 5:50 pm

    thanks for this guys
    xxx

  3. alistairliv
    alistairliv
    January 27, 2009 at 6:14 pm

    Happy birthday Lou.

  4. John No Last Name
    John No Last Name
    January 27, 2009 at 7:17 pm

    Happy Birthday Lou, I’m sending an e-mail too.

    xx

    John

  5. luggy
    luggy
    January 27, 2009 at 11:22 pm

    Hope that you had a good one. x

  6. mark m
    mark m
    January 28, 2009 at 8:34 am

    Happy Birthday Lou.Hope you had a good one xx

  7. baron von zubb
    baron von zubb
    January 28, 2009 at 8:10 pm

    Happy birthday Lou.
    Hows Barnet?
    Njoy. Jake

  8. Lou Mc Grew
    Lou Mc Grew
    January 29, 2009 at 8:27 pm

    Hi Everyone,
    Thanks for the Birthday wishes.
    I hope that you are all well.
    Barnet is good thanks Jake.
    XXXX

  9. davess
    davess
    February 7, 2009 at 8:46 pm

    Hey, I was at this gig. It was a great day out, a great atmosphere, a real sense of freedom, as were many of the mob gigs all the same people seemed to travel around to see in those days, kept seeing the same faces, grim music in many ways, the lyrical content at least, but a very positive vibe at the gigs.

  10. Barrett
    Barrett
    February 14, 2009 at 8:59 am

    Floored just at the oppurtunity to hear such rare recordings. As awkward as it may be, this band, that broke up about the time I was born, has had more impact on me than any other group. Me and my bro discovered a used cd copy (the one that came in the paper slip case) of Let the Tribe Increase + singles at Tom’s Records (in Pensacola, Fl, US) when we were about 18. We were in a street punk kinda band at the time trying our best to channel early Clash, GBH, and Crass while still sounding authentic and representative of our own background. Anyway, we snagged it on the basis of the artwork and the aesthetics, but listening to the record as we rode to band practice we uncovered a work of ruthless power and beauty, that would literally redefine, refine, affirm, and shatter what Punk means to me for the rest of my life. The combination of brilliantly intense imagery that seemed to carry universal, apocalyptic magnitude with deep revelations that seem to come from a very personal place; the unrelenting punk drive and the depth of melodies that seemed at once both locked in the tightest of rhythm and yet soaring free in unchartered heights, have fed me with unending inspiration. Thanks so much for distributing these recordings. Its like I got a fucking hard-on waiting for the download to finish, haha. Seriously.
    Barrett
    http://www.myspace.com/Romantixpunx

  11. Nic
    Nic
    February 14, 2009 at 12:47 pm

    Nice one, Barrett: a testament to the power of self-expression…

    There’s quite a few more Mob recordings dotted around the site…

  12. Penguin
    Penguin • Post Author •
    February 14, 2009 at 1:32 pm

    Barrett, use the search function to find hours of rare Mob recordings stretching back to 1979. A lot of the gigs uploaded were uploaded towards the beginning of this blog starting, so you may have to keep scrolling through ‘older entries’ a little bit, but well worth the trouble to find some of these gems. Also have a look on http://www.myspace.com/themobfansite for 100’s of rare photos and more info.

    The official remastered version of ‘Let The Tribe Increase’ will be released in April on Overground Records, a post to advertise this release will go up nearer the time on this site as well as The Mob and All The Madmen ones.

    I too felt similar emotions about the Mob in 1980-81 that you describe above, but without the ‘hard on’. I was far too miserable and dour for that kind of thing in those days!

    The band influenced me enough to work for nothing (while claiming welfare / dole) at the Mob’s old record label ‘All The Madmen’ in Brougham Road during the mid 1980’s which brought me in contact with Southern Studios / Southern Record Distribution, where I am still employed to this day.

    Have a look and listen at the other artists on All The Madmen Records by adding that name to the search function. Also more info on http://www.myspace.com/allthemadmenrecords

  13. Dannilo
    Dannilo
    May 6, 2009 at 3:44 pm

    Anyone knows where I could find all their lyrics?

    Thank you for share this record.

  14. Penguin
    Penguin • Post Author •
    May 6, 2009 at 6:04 pm

    All the lyrics were supplied on either the artwork or on printed inserts / posters slipped into the original pressings of the LP and 7″records. None are written up online as far as I am aware.

  15. Andus
    Andus
    May 18, 2009 at 6:49 pm

    Any chance of putting these up Penguin.

    “Crying Again”/”Youth” 7″ (1979 All the Madmen)
    “Witchhunt”/Shuffling Souls” 7″ (1980 All the Madmen)
    “No Doves Fly Here” 7″ (1981 Crass Records)
    Crying Again 12″ EP (1983 All the Madmen)
    “Mirror Breaks”/”Stay” 7″ (1983 All the Madmen).

  16. Nic
    Nic
    May 18, 2009 at 7:03 pm

    Blimey Andus! Almost the full set!
    😉

  17. Andus
    Andus
    May 18, 2009 at 7:13 pm

    Lol, Bit of tall order really, do you think I’m being a tad cheeky.

    Almost the full set, which one have I missed then.

  18. Nic
    Nic
    May 18, 2009 at 7:28 pm

    I was thinking of the LP and ‘Ching’…
    🙂

    You can still buy the Broken Rekkids discography CD which compiles the album and the singles: it’s available in various places…
    I don’t know if it is ‘official’ or not?

  19. Penguin
    Penguin • Post Author •
    May 18, 2009 at 7:47 pm

    Most of them are uploaded already Andus, many many moons ago. Will probably put them all onto a post of there own soon, with some written text from Mr Mark maybe, who knows?
    Plus will ring PR up for permission to get No Doves up here.
    12″ of Crying Again was released in 1986 BTW.

    Also if you are going to purchase Ching or Let The Tribe Increase – get the Overground Record copies as they will help the members of the band out, rather than the Broken Records release, which will not. Do not think that is available anymore anyway…Overground Records made an arrangement with them to cease production on the CD.

    https://www.killyourpetpuppy.co.uk/news/?p=351

    https://www.killyourpetpuppy.co.uk/news/?p=350

    https://www.killyourpetpuppy.co.uk/news/?p=348

    https://www.killyourpetpuppy.co.uk/news/?p=347

    https://www.killyourpetpuppy.co.uk/news/?p=336

    https://www.killyourpetpuppy.co.uk/news/?p=335

  20. Nic
    Nic
    May 18, 2009 at 8:03 pm

    That Broken Rekords one is still up on Amazon, Penguin…

  21. Andus
    Andus
    May 18, 2009 at 8:33 pm

    Cheers Penguin, I did look for them, but its got a bit big now this website.

    Nic I was only interested in the singles. my copies have disappeared into the mist of time, funny how things just disappear over the years. People think its ghosts that go bump in the night, but its not, its your stuff; I reckon eventually the fairies get it.

  22. Nic
    Nic
    May 18, 2009 at 8:52 pm

    I know the feeling Andus: things vanish into thin air…

  23. luggy
    luggy
    May 19, 2009 at 9:18 am

    Try using Google instead of this site’s search function, it’s usually more successful at locating posts.

  24. rayss
    rayss
    March 11, 2016 at 1:58 am

    is that pic on top from the gig as this recoding is made from? thanks!

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