LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

Formed in 1981 by University of Cambridge Clare College choral scholar Harvey Brough, Harvey And The Wallbangers were six multi-talented musicians from Britain with a taste for Swing, Doo-Wap, Jazz and Rock & Roll. Now available for the first time on CD, what you have here is their first album ‘Allez Bananes’ plus some rare unreleased bonus tracks - out-takes and live material.Harvey and the Wallbangers are performing a one-off gig for the first time in 20 years at Usher Hall Edinburgh on November 7th, 2004.“Almost every day I get asked what the Wallbangers were like. It’s strange, most everybody has heard of them (I guess that is an advantage of naming yourself after a cocktail). But the truth is I don’t remember too well. I remember the highs and some of the lows - when busking in Paris I remember us lying on our backs looking at the stars, instruments on top of us, a cheering crowd peeling back to reveal some very cross gendarmes - and I remember walking on stage at a sold out Sadler’s Wells for our last ever gig, a great feeling. It was great because somehow, through sheer force of will we had created our own thing - we never fitted into the normal pigeonholes, we weren’t pop, not jazz, not swing and yet we did our own version of all those things and many more. And we never had any backing or hype from record companies, so we built our own success, did exactly what we wanted, had a whale of a time and kept ourselves alive for around six years of touring.” From the original liner notes by Harvey Brough.TracklistEARLY DAYS:1. Five Guys Named Moe 2. Who Do You Know In Heaven 3. My Baby’s Gone 4. Jailhouse Rock 5. Shine 6. Your Feet’s Too Big 7. I’ll Be Forever Loving You 8. Boogie Nights 9. Sweet Talkin’ Guy 10. Sixteen Tons 11. Traffic Jam 12. Nutrocker 13. Right Next Door To An Angel 14. Sh Boom 15. Blue SkiesBonus live tracks: 16. Glad To Be Here 17. Paper Moon 18. Deacon Jones 19. Atom and Evil 20. Mr Paganini 21. Old Man River 22. Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing 23. Sunny Side Of The Street