Zounds – Free Freak Out – 1978

Free Freak Out 1

Free Freak Out 2

Sorry I know little about this session, it was stuck on the end of a Clash mixing desk tape from 12/79, which is a wicked tape but is best not uploaded onto this site, because the MAN at CBS / SONY may get his operative to search the web looking for dodgy downloads and could end up in those nasty people sueing this site for a six figure sum! Fucking great tape though….shame, Hammersmith Palais in case you wondered!

Still Zounds practising, more than likely recorded under a haze at Street Level Studios around the time or just after the Weird Tales Tours (the one with The Mob / Astronauts / Androids blah blah etc). Other than that the floor is open to any comments.

My nice picture of Brougham Road E8 to go with the post, cos I have no relevant photos to put up of Zounds this early on!

Streetlevel Studios Site

10 comments
  1. mrmagoomc4
    mrmagoomc4
    December 14, 2007 at 2:46 am

    this is a fantastic web site kicks the living daylightout of mine thats for sure,
    been a mob fan since no doves and have collected what mob recordings i could get my hands on, daz russell who promotes holiday in the sun fest used to trade tapes years ago he had 50-100 recordings on the mob and i got to know him days before he stopped trading of which he said he was gonna record over his boots with album stuff etc. i begged him to let me have the mob stuff but to no avail, i was unemployed, no money so he wasnt interested, and lately i have found 6 new recordings on great sites like yours on my blog site ive put 5 mob recordings on there i also have put my bootleg list avaliable to download theres some 2-3000 recordings from 76-93 if you download it and want any recordings email me your requests and at some stage ill get them done for you ok….ill just finally like to say thanx loads for the mob stuff amongst other real gems and plzzzzzzz put up all the mob you have so i can update my list even more.

  2. Stewart
    Stewart
    June 3, 2008 at 12:28 am

    Can’t Cheat Karma by Zounds is one of my old favourites. Not that it’s related, but if anyone has Patrik Fitzgerald’s ‘Safety Pin’ EP I’d REALLY love a copy of that… had it nicked a long time ago

  3. Penguin
    Penguin • Post Author •
    June 3, 2008 at 12:31 am

    Fucking Christmas already mate, search for Patrik Fitz using the search function. Loads on this site.

  4. Stewart
    Stewart
    June 3, 2008 at 12:38 am

    Lol! Will do! Thanx 🙂

  5. NickG
    NickG
    July 22, 2010 at 12:17 am

    This is taken I think from Zounds first cassette – possibly called Angels Over Wood Green – and was mixed using several cassette recorders at the same time.
    Freak out 1 (Side A) Timings according to itunes.
    0-13 secs: Amusing aside by the band during rehearsal session in Warneford Road, Oxford, c1977-8.
    13-6.50. Deeply Vale free festival, 1977 or 78. We turned up late and just kept waiting for a space to play, which eventually came around 2 in the morning. With no drummer because Jimmy Lacey could not make it and was looking like leaving the band. But Judge (James Louden or Lowden) who was Randon Pulse Lights main man, said he would play. There are probably no pictures of this band since all Zounds pre-punk output was subject to a Stalinist purge. Line-up – Steve Lake on Bass, vox, Lawrence Wood on Guitar, Nick Godwin (me) Guitar, drums: Judge.
    6.50-7.25. Bonkers “Real Music” jam in Wood Green at 2 Cornwall Avenue, my nan’s house. Line-up as above but Jimmy on drums.
    7.25-8.58. Back to Deeply Vale tape – jamming.
    8.58-13.59. Back to Real Music jam. This is with Jimmy Lacey playing his homemade drums. “The happy sound of radio one”.
    13.59-15.00. Experimental recording done by me with Steve in my nan’s front room, Wood Green, on a 2-track reel to reel recorder. I put silver foil over the erase head and we just recorded over the tape 3 times. DIY music-concrete.
    15.00-17.42. Aklam Hall, Portobello Rd, 1978. Lawrence had problems getting his guitar together, so we started jamming. Steve’s electric.
    17.42-20.24. Back to experiment central in Wood Green.
    Freak out 2 (Side B)
    0-7.30. Holland ParkBats from Deeply Vale festival tape.
    7.30-8.51. Comments at rehearsal after being told we had to stop the noise. 8.51-13.15. More weird experimental shit, yeah! Just remembered we changed the speed during some of the takes. Lots of dope and Can records will do this to a person.
    13.15-19.10. Angels. Sounds like Pink Fairies! Sounds like we had fun.
    19.10-20.35. I Made It Happen. Aklam Hall.
    20.35-end. Jam with Jimmy Lacey drums, Lawrence Wood Guitar, Nick Godwin reverb guitar.
    These were the best recordings we had at the time.

  6. Nic
    Nic
    July 23, 2010 at 12:17 am

    Thanks for the detailed breakdown, Nick: the sentiments expressed through Zoundz have been very inspirational to many people…

    The loose Hippy-meets-Punk vibration of the ‘A Tribute to Bert Weedon’ tape recordings still gets a blast in our yard…

  7. Penguin
    Penguin • Post Author •
    July 23, 2010 at 12:29 am

    Ditto Nic’s comments to Nick.

    The ‘Bert Weedon’ tape can be heard again on this very site here:

    https://www.killyourpetpuppy.co.uk/news/?p=834

    As well as a whole batch of Mark Perry Street Level Fuck Off Wreckords / Astronauts-Mob-Zounds-Androids material ready for uploading if you have a week or two to browse the site.

    Thanks for joining in.

  8. NickG
    NickG
    July 23, 2010 at 9:33 pm

    You’re very welcome and it warms the cockles to think people still listen to the old stuff (not just me then). Impressive archive. Nice you’ve got pictures of my artwork for the cassette! Blimey! I have a bunch of posters I did for Idiot Ballroom which I should photograph and send to Street Level. And a suitcase of tapes which I should look through. I think Bert Weedon was the tape Steve and Lawrence “stole then erased” (FO 0006, on Street Level site). I think I have a Weird Tales poster somewhere.
    I have a connection with KYPP actually, as I used to work as a printer at Better Badges. Aha. What ever happened to Scrubber? Regards to all, you have great taste.

  9. Penguin
    Penguin • Post Author •
    July 24, 2010 at 12:21 am

    Heres a search link for some Streetlevel material for you if you want to check some of it out.

    https://www.killyourpetpuppy.co.uk/news/?s=streetlevel

    Loads of material on this site that is out of the Street Level scene of course including a fair amount of top grade reggae.

    https://www.killyourpetpuppy.co.uk/news/?s=reggae

    Fill yer boots Nick.

    Joly has commented on this site on a couple of occasions. The printing for the first three puppies were superior to the last three, thanks to Better Badges.

  10. NickG
    NickG
    August 30, 2010 at 7:31 pm

    Hello people, a link to the stuff I mentioned above.

    Here are some pics and posters of 1979-80s Idiot Ballroom, Meanwhile Gardens, including Weird Tales posters and photo of last gig of Weird Tales first tour (1979), and one picture which features Jesus on bongos at Meanwhile Gardens. Anyone remember him?
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickgmedia/sets/72157624448371299/
    I think if you subscribe to this set you might get alerted when I update it (but I’m not sure).

    I found a picture of the lovely Scrubber – I shall never forget sharing a tube journey home with her and her boyfriend in the rush hour. Her standing between the seats while she slowly gobbed into his mouth. Nice.

    The Weird Tales photo reminded me that Mark Mob got electrocuted on this tour, actually having a blue outline while he did sound check. We fixed the earth on the PA and he went on courageously with the gig. Staunch chap.
    Best wishes to all.

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