Medway beat band god Billy Childish must have sore armpits with the number of bands said to have been taken under his wing. The Beatpack are another, active in their first life from 1987-91 and assisted with recording of an EP and an LP (on the esteemed Screaming Apple) back in the day by none other than Mr Childish.
Twenty years later and The Beatpack are back, packing three original members and this 7” single on State. For a re-animated band they sure pack a kick. Tremelo guitar and blues harp announce “I’m Walkin’” which starts sedately enough before exploding into fits of rage. Bassist William Burton Esq. holds the whole thing together and I like it a lot. The band even name-drops The Masters Apprentices in their bio. You can’t argue with that.
The B side sounds like “Farmer John” with lots of innuendo and a haircut. Simon Harvey’s unhinged solo gets this over the line. It presumably goes down a treat with the laydeez in Spain.
1/2
