"She Does it Right" might be the best thing that's ever come out of Essex

and the ford capri?

Hope Temple's done the business on this - listening to Down by the Jetty in the car earlier travelling through snowbound Britain - what a great album and what a great band! (The first incarnation anyway - law of diminishing returns as time passed). Looking forward to hearing/seeing more.

silly press release. Just hearing anyone had had made a film about Dr Feelgood would get me in the cinema. Is it a coincidence the Dury one is out at the same time?

.....been overdosing on The Feelgood's for the past week. Especially that wonderful 30 minute set they played at the BBC (Sight and Sound In Concert,) along with Ian Dury and The Blockheads in 1977. It's on the 77/78 BBC CD. Utterly fanastic performance - both soundwise and visually. Wish I hadnt worn out my VHS copy recorded off VH1 bout 10 years back.

Of course that was the Gypie Mayo era, after Wilko had left. Still good then, they were. I suspect in the 80's it was just Brilleaux on his own and not so impressive once Sparko and the Big Figure had left, but the mid to late 70's was a fantastic run for them.

Great, great band. Cannot wait to see this!!!

...and it's very good. It has the feel of the times just right and some cracking archive footage - watch out for Wilko on the BBC protesting about a proposed development on Canvey Island. Fascinating contributions from all the original players & lots of great music as well of course.

On the down side - they've clearly had to eke out a fairly limited amount of performance archive & if you're as sad as me you may well spot some elements of the legendary Stiff tour film making an appearance here & there. The use of noir-ish film extracts threatens to get a bit out of hand as well.

The present day Wilko is admirably bonkers throughout & Temple gets great mileage out of his new trick (first used in Liberty Of Norton Folgate?)of projecting one lot of footage onto a local landmark & then filming it - the Feelgoods projected onto the side of an oil refinery is especially good in this regard. In fact it's almost as much about Canvey as it is the band - top stuff all round; am looking forward to seeing it again.

I believe that the premiere event next month - at Koko on Feb 2nd - may be worth noting in the Massive diary as well...

Ignore these blokes at the beginning

....as you have chosen to post this very evening please can I ask you to get the Dr Feelgood/Ian Dury and the Blockheads 1977 Sight and Sound in Concert repeated on BBC4 asap???? It's wonderful. Plus any other Dr Feelgood archive performances you can find. That will make this one licence fee payer very happy and no doubt i'll not be alone.

Double the reason to get The Feelgoods and some Dury on TV.

as part of a "twofer" with a reissue of New Boots:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Boots-Panties-Dury-Blockheads/dp/B000XJ42FC

The bonus DVD is the whole of the Sight and Sound show, minus the introductions from Pete Drummond. I remember watching this first time round in Dec 77. Great stuff. Think it was taped at the Queen Mary College in Mile End. Rewatching it now, it's still great.

As for the Feelgoods then look out for "Going Back Home" a short promotional film shot on grainy 16mm at a Stupidity tour show in Southend's old Kursaal ballroom (looking superbly tatty just prior to demolition). This has also been out on DVD before now. Only 20 minutes long, but dynamite stuff.

Maybe someone was reading my earlier posts about getting the Sight and Sound shown. It is from '77 therefore it's the post-Wilko, Gypie Mayo era, but its a bloody great performance all the same. A night in for everyone next Friday??? Certainly worthy of a few beers on the sofa in front of the box!!

Friday 23rd April, 21:00 on BBC Four

21:00–22:50 Oil City Confidential: Dr Feelgood
Director Julien Temple celebrates the early Seventies Essex rhythm and blues band.

22:50–23:50 Sight and Sound in Concert
Dr Feelgood and Ian Dury
Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Chaz Jankel and Dr Feelgood perform at Queen Mary College. (R)

23:50–01:20 If It Ain't Stiff
Adrian Edmondson narrates a documentary chronicling the story of Stiff Records. (R)

Excitement begins to mount! Already!

I caught it at the cinema a couple of months ago when it got a v.limited screening here. I knew virtually nothing about Dr Feelgood and could only name Milk and Alcohol by them, yet I loved the doc. If you're a fan I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Julien Temple makes great docs. The Filth and the Fury is my favourite of his so far. Even if you don't like the Pistols, it works as a film about a period of British social history as well. Heartily recommended.

I never thought I would miss Canvey Island but as an old Benfleet lad I couldn't help but feel moved seeing this film (predictably aired on BBC 4 a few moths after release). Canvey of course features the worlds largest man-made iceberg- how cool is that? Growing up in the 70s Dr Feelgood always felt to me like an enormous presence in the background somewhere (a bit like the storage containers on Canvey) Looking at those refineries at Shell Haven as a kid they always seemed to me (as echoed in the film by Wilco) to be something magical at night -a far away city of twinkling fairy lights and flaming torches that certainly fired my imagination. I had to laugh at references to the Thames Delta but I guess it makes sense as the people of Canvey always have a worry in the back of their heads that tomorrow they could be under 20 foot of water. That part of South East Essex that runs from Southend in the East to Basildon in the West should never be underestimated, in terms of the energetic ferment of raw talent and creativity that was going on and still goes on to this day. The fact that only one member of the original line up left Canvey and Wilco can still be spotted (or more likely purposefully ignored) doing his weekly shopping around town says something about a place that is unimpressed by fame and fortune ad where a good night out can still be had. Carrying on the fine tradition my nephews, who live there quite happily, both play in bands and they are bloody good.

This Film acknowledges that the Feelgood were Punk's Godfathers.
They finally have got a good record in Film which gives you some of the feel of what they were like. Great to See Lee talking.

Best WG

http://www.southend-sites.co.uk/feelgood/index.html