Beautiful Monster / Art Ghetto
Brian Jones Bastard Son / Nice People
Excellent second Folk Devils 12″ single on (Ray) Ganges Record Label, the debut 7″ single ‘Hank Turns Blue’ also on Ganges Records is uploaded on this site if you use the search function to find it. Great band in the studio and during live performances. First track starts off very quietly so be patient.
Text below courtesy of the big Wikkie
The Folk Devils were an early 1980s post-punk ensemble born of the Notting Hill, West London music scene.
Founding member Ian Lowery had initially been signed to Killing Joke’s Malicious Damage label as leader of the group Ski Patrol. Politics and the general tensions that seemed endemic to the Killing Joke scene led Ian to leave Ski Patrol and recruit long time friend of Jaz Coleman – Alan Cole on drums, Kris Jozajtis on guitar (now Dr Kris Jozajtis at Stirling University) and Mark Whiteley, from Wales, on bass to form another, more satisfying but no less intense project – The Folk Devils.
The sound was a bastardised blend of punk, blues, and amphetamine fuelled angst with the music often walking a fine line between a patchwork of brilliant musicianship and violence. The political and ideological canvass for the Folk Devils was the miners strike, Thatcher’s Britain, mass unemployment and the flooding of Britains street with heroin and despair.
Initially managed by Ray Gange, star of The Clash’s film Rude Boy, the Folk Devils first single “Hank Turns Blue” recorded for £180 (allegedly the bands combined dole money) and released on the label Ganges Records and distributed through Rough Trade resided at number three in the indie charts for six weeks being kept off the top spot only by New Order and Depeche Mode.
Three Peel sessions followed in quick succession. Subsequent recordings were critically acclaimed and musical luminaries such as Jason Pierce of Spiritualized still regard the Folk Devils as a highly influential musical force. Having recorded the Beautiful Monster E.P. (their final release on Ganges Records) late in 1984 with ‘punk’ producer and IRS stalwart Richard Mazda which charted nationally at 47 and the 1986 Fire and Chrome EP which was well received throughout Europe drug and alcohol use finally caused the band to disintigrate as their first and only album Goodnight Irony was finally released by Situation Two. The Folk Devils, as Brian Taylor of Killing Joke’s management said at the time, “were a force of nature live and were never quite able to capture that ferocity on record”. Ian Lowery died in 2001 having continued to work throughout the late 80s and early 90s the with Nigel Pulsford of Bush on the King Blank project and the Ian Lowery Band.
Longy
November 26, 2008 at 10:55 amIts great to see the Folk Devils popping up again on here. Ian Lowery’s stuff be it The Wall, Ski Patrol, King Blank or this great band was so overlooked by the masses. A great artist, sadly missed. Its spooky, I was listening to the three Peel Sessions by this band just last night!
dan i
November 28, 2008 at 9:57 amcouldn’t agree more Longy. ‘Chewing The Flesh’ is one of my all time punk classics
Nuzz
November 30, 2008 at 11:10 amThe Ian Lowery revival is everywhere check out: http://sonsofthedolls.blogspot.com/ for the King Blank To The Ian Lowery Group album.
Mug
December 3, 2008 at 3:44 pmOne of my all time favourites.
mark whiteley
May 4, 2009 at 7:17 pmHi there, it’s gratifying to read some of the recent and not so recent posts about the folk devils–I’m just wondering if anyone out there has copies of any of the Peel sessions….I’d chop off my right arm to get hold of copies, failing that eternal gratitude would be forthcomming!! 07747 686 196 if you can help me in this quest…it was great making that music and would be good to hear it again. Cheers: Mark Whiteley, bass, Folk Devils.
Curious Guy
May 4, 2009 at 9:22 pmMark,
found the Folk Devils Peel sessions on this blog:
http://cliffrichardsneck.blogspot.com/search?q=folk+devils
The Chris With a C........
May 6, 2009 at 5:56 pmMark, if you manage to download them, any chance of a copy, I’m a luddite when it comes to these things !!!! I did backing vocals (very badly) on ‘Traitor Hand’ if you remember ?
Just remembered, I need to look for those photos you asked me for !!!!!!
CHRIS H.
sally ford
October 8, 2009 at 1:49 amhey whiteley. you won’t remember me, my name is sally and i was married to john ford and, well you must remember john he was the tour manager when you all came to manchester in 1984? at that time you all lived in lingham st? xx
POD
January 21, 2011 at 1:32 pmGreat site any chance of uploading this again as side 2 has been deleted off mediafire
thanks again
Penguin • Post Author •
January 21, 2011 at 8:38 pmThe link is working now POD