Dave Aguilar - Chocolate Watch Band Rod Stewart - Faces David Johansen - New York Dolls Wally Tax- Outsiders Steve Lucas - X Greg Prevost - Chestetfield Kings Rudi Protrudi - Fuzztones Smokey Robinson - The Miracles Jim Keays- Masters Apprentices Joey Ramone - The Ramones
Je T'aime Moi Non Plus b/w Je T'aime Instrumental - Steve Lucas & Joey Bedlam (Radio Rocks)
This is the I-94 Bar Singles Bar, isn't it? "Je T'aime Moi Non Plus" (translated: "I love you no more") is a lovingly-crafted cover of the Serge Gainsborough song he wrote for for Brigitte Bardot, sung by X's Steve Lucas and his better half Joey Bedlam, most notably of Dollsquad.
Everybody from Kim Salmon and the Surrealists to Nick Cave and Anita Lane, TV siren Abigail and Bob Downe has had a lash at "J T'aime", so it would be a pity if you had to self-isolate and not have the chance to sing along with your own nearest and dearest and steam up some windows.
It's a faithfully-rendered version and a million miles from X, but it's also a bunch of fun. Flip the sucker over and there's an instrumental version that you can karaoke with or record along to. Grab a copy at Bandcamp and see the uncensored cover that Facebook banned.
Cross That Line – Steve Lucas and The Rising Tide (Aztec Music)
The global lockdowns were responsible for la deluge of music – good, bad and indifferent. There was something about being cooped up that frustrated anyone with an artistic bone in their body. It prompted Steve Lucas to do a long run of streamed shows from his Melbourne home, and it birthed the idea for “Cross That Line”, which was committed to hard drive in a studio as soon as restrictions lifted.
Lucas is best-known for his role as frontman for X, the punk rock and roll vehicle for him, the late Ian Rilen, Steve Cafeiro and Ian Krahe as well as a long line of subsequent bandmates. As sole surviving original member, Lucas still revels in the occasional X show. This solo album sounds nothing remotely like that.
Mainstream media’s full of stories about the re-birth of vinyl, but anyone with half a clue knows the format never died. What’s glossed over in all the breathless reportage about black platters is the Art of the Seven-Inch Single. Consider the facts…
Back in rock and roll’s heady days of the ‘60s - long before FM radio and the LP format took hold - singles were the deatyh or glory, one-shot-at-the-prize for many bands. The A side of a 45 was a distillation of a band’s essence. The B side was for experimenting.
Melbourne musician Steve Lucas is a big fan of the 45 and acutely aware of the place in music that the format holds.
Ten bands Joey saw live in 2019 - or wishes she did and watched online:
Favourite 10 Frontmen she listend to in 2018:
Je T'aime Moi Non Plus b/w Je T'aime Instrumental - Steve Lucas & Joey Bedlam (Radio Rocks)
Cross That Line – Steve Lucas and The Rising Tide (Aztec Music)
Mainstream media’s full of stories about the re-birth of vinyl, but anyone with half a clue knows the format never died. What’s glossed over in all the breathless reportage about black platters is the Art of the Seven-Inch Single. Consider the facts…