Neil Crud on Louder Than War Radio 04.04.2022 – Fay Ray special
Another week and sadly another tribute to someone else we have lost, these shows are unfortunately becoming eulogies – and tonight we’ll celebrate the music connected with John Lovering (pic above 2nd right) of Bangor new wave bands Hot Water and Fay Ray who sadly passed away two weeks ago today.
Formed in 1980, and originally called Fay Ray & The Rubbermen, they featured ex-Hot Water members, Sheila Brook McCartney (voc), Owen Hughes (drms), John Lovering (gtr), Jeff Taylor (sax), with Tony Travis (bass). They worked with Nigel Gray (producer for The Police) and released a 1980 single Family Affairs (Surrey Sound) and an LP ‘Contact You’ and single Heatwave (both 1982 on WEA). Tonight’s show has two songs taken from a live performance in front of the cameras for a TV programme over 40 years ago called ‘Something Else.’ The other two songs were recorded at Cob Records in Bangor in 2010 (the shop that drummer Owen ran).
Fay Ray were staples of the Tuesday Rock Nite at Plas Coch in Bangor and also supported Killing Joke in London (29.05.80).
John Lovering, a guitarist who looked like Robert Fripp, was a college lecturer in Bristol. and became a Professor at Cardiff Uni and one time advisor to the Clinton administration (Eastern Europe expert)!
Seek out their album on vinyl, and recently reissued on CD – the singles are knocking around too on eBay / Discogs.
Saddened also to hear the news that Pamela Rooke AKA ‘Jordan’ the Queen of Punk Rock & 70s fashion icon, such sad, sad news, true icon – that vision of seeing her perform Rule Britannia in the film Jubilee will forever be etched on my brain. And I know several people connected with Louder Than War, like Phil Newall and John Robb have also lost a friend…
Dead Kennedys – Saturday Night Holocaust
Auxilio – Drones De La Guerra
Maines – Ascendance
Fay Ray – Heatwave (live on BBC 1982)
Geigerzähler – Balanz (*archive session)
Sage Todz – Rownd a Rownd
DAD – Actually, I’m Strawberry Blonde
Crapsons – Ian Brown is the Resurrection
Fflaps – Blodyn Tatws
Hotwax – Stay Cool
The Sewer Cats – Delia
Body Farm – Living Hell
Awkward Geisha – The Tempest
Salt the Snail – All Hell
Fay Ray – Clean Lines (live at Cob Records 17.04.10)
They Live – Only Human
Human Fault – Jonestown
Cosmo Jones Beat Machine – (Doin’ The) Jonestown Stomp
HHH – Intellectual Punks
High Vis – Choose To Lose
Parallel States – Downpipe
Mclusky – Alan Is A Cowboy Killer
Future Of The Left – Sorry Dad, I was Late For The Riots
The Cox – Nailbomb The Dancefloor
The Mudshark Incident – And I Pick You Up
Grand Collapse – Sullen Fever
Fay Ray – Do What You Want To Do (Live at Cob 17.04.10)
Petrol Bastard – Shoot The Dog
Magic Bullet – Kill Putin
Gets Worse – Retrobate
Bite Back – End Of The Line (*session)
Zaborra – Bucazas
Holy Coves – Hurt Within
Fay Ray – Contact You (live on BBC 1982)
Third Spain – In The Twilight
Membranes – Viva! Spanish Turncoat
Christian Fitness – Real Tennis
