Martin at Swedish Nurse has put together an overview/appreciation of The Band of Holy Joy (who we have discussed here several times): 'BOHJ were generally described as 'folky' and therefore always compared to THE POGUES, but they really did a kind of end-of-the-pier cabaret, as imagined by squatters living in South London in the 80's'. Martin also notes their early industrial sound, perhaps not surprizing as they shared rehearsal space with Test Department. Incidentally, Martin is not as far as I can tell a Scandinavian health worker - Swedish Nurse is the name of a fanzine he used to do in Belfast, for which he once interviewed BOHJ.
One thing that he doesn't mention is that in 1987, when BOHJ released their More Tales from the City album, Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series were required reading amongst lefty/alternative/liberal types in London, a gay friendly soap opera in a time of anti-gay Tories in power (don't forget people - the leopard can't change its spots). The second volume was More Tales of the City - his version set in San Francisco, BOHJ's in London - but hey, New Cross and San Francisco both have a Telegraph Hill.
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1 day ago
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Thanks again for the mention - I did indeed forget about the connection to Maupin, I assumed 'More Tales...' had to be named after the book. Was looking for my boyfriend's copy of the book but it must have gone to the charity shop when we moved! Picked up a copy of Test Dept's 'Shoulder to Shoulder' last week, haven't listened to it yet though.
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