First-Ever Lobotomy Room Set List 29 December 2012

/ Beehive Beauty /

On Saturday 29 December 2012 I finally unleashed my long-threatened club night Lobotomy Room on an unsuspecting world at Paper Dress Vintage in Shoreditch. I’m describing it as a trashy night of vintage musical sleaze, featuring tunes inspired by John Waters soundtracks or Songs The Cramps Taught Us rather than a rockabilly night: there are already a lot of those (my favourite is The Hillbilly Hop) and I don’t want to compete with them. Plus, it would be painting myself into too narrow a corner musically if I called it a rockabilly club: I want to be free to go far freakier, punkier and stranger than that.

In the lead-up to the night I was vibrating with nerves (remember Natalie Portman’s psycho-ballerina in the film Black Swan? I was acting like that). Stephen (the promoter / organiser behind nights at Paper Dress Vintage) was away that weekend, so if anything went tits up with the audio I would be on my own. And would anyone come? I've been DJ'ing for years now, but I have no illusions about being a "draw!" In the days between Christmas and New Years Eve, London is a ghost town. Certainly walking from my bus stop to the venue, the streets (normally thronged with people on a Saturday night) looked eerily deserted. Plenty of my friends were either out of town for the holidays or struck down with the Norovirus. To make matters worse, the City branch of the Northern Line (the tube that would take you to Shoreditch) was closed for engineering works that weekend, which felt soul-destroyingly discouraging and inconvenient. If people were looking for a reason not to come, that would be a pretty compelling one!

In fact it all went pretty smoothly. Paper Dress Vintage is the ideal-size venue: it’s not too intimidatingly cavernous to fill. I had two tables of friends; the rest were strangers who wandered in and stayed. It wasn’t packed but it did feel reassuringly buzzing. Carla and Laura behind the bar kept me topped up with lager, which kept me loose and inspired! My set was pretty messy, but considering my Lobotomy Room flyer promised a mix of Rockabilly! Rhythm and Blues! Surf! Tittyshakers! Punk! Exotica! Kitsch! Curiosities and Weird Shit! I think I delivered on that.

/ Flyer created by the very talented (and muy guapo) Ego Rodriguez /

Photos from the night. See more on my flickr page



DJ'ing surrounded by vintage hair dryer and vintage caftan!



Kat, Rachael and Mia. (Doesn't Mia have a Tura Satana in Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill! vibe in this photo?)



The Dan-ster



Christopher and Paul



Ian and Ilana



It just wouldn't be me without the trademark sweat patch



Martin, Rachael and Michael



Rachael and I



Christopher, Paul and Ian



Girls Gone Wild! Kat and Mia

Thanks to everyone for coming! Fingers crossed, Lobotomy Room will become a regular thing in 2013.

/ I played not one but two songs by John Waters character actress / punk pensioner / ultimate outsider actress Edith Massey – so you know it was a good night! Above: Massey in her defining role as Aunt Ida in Female Trouble (1974) -- one of the masterpieces of 20th century cinema /

Xtabay - Yma Sumac
Voodoo Dreams / Voodoo - Les Baxter
Monkey Bird - The Revels
Run - Jeri Southern
Cocktails for Two - Cliff Duphiney
Shopping for Clothes - Snatch
Ain't That Good? George Kelly and Orchestra
Letter from Tina - Ike and Tina Turner
Strollin' After Dark - The Shades
Slow Walk - Sil Austin
Sick and Tired - Lula Reed
Night Walk - The Swingers
I Learn a Merengue, Mama - Robert Mitchum
Go Calypso - Mamie Van Doren
Misirlou - Laurindo Almeida and The Bossa Nova All-Stars
Strip-tease - Nico
Night Scene - The Rumblers
Intoxica - The Revels
Pussycat Song - Connie Vallett
Heartbreakin' Special - Duke Larson
You Done Messed Around and Made a Mean Woman Mad - Julia Bates
Little Queenie - The Bill Black Combo
Bottle to the Baby - Charlie Feathers
Mambo Baby - Ruth Brown
She Wants to Mambo - Johnny Thunders and Patti Palladin
Chop Suey Rock'n'Roll - The Instrumentals
The Bee - The Sentinels
Jim Dandy - Sara Lee and The Spades
Pass the Hatchet - Roger and The Gypsies
Suey - Jayne Mansfield
Can Your Pussy Do the Dog? The Cramps
No Good Lover - Mickey and Sylvia
Drummin' Up a Storm - Sandy Nelson
My Baby Does the Hanky Panky - Rita Chao and The Quests
Sweetie Pie - Eddie Cochran
Jaguar - The Jaguars
I Love the Life I Live - Esquerita
The Beast - Milt Buckner
I Ain't in the Mood - Helen Humes
Madness - The Rhythm Rockers
Fujiyama Mama - Annisteen Allen
Khrushchev Twist - Melvin Gayle
Shombolar - Sheriff and The Ravels
Bombie - Johnny Sharp and The Yellow Jackets
Waddle Waddle - The Bracelets
I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield - The 5,6,7,8s
That Makes It - Jayne Mansfield
Woo Hoo - The Rock-A-Teens
The Big Bounce - Shirley Cadell
Fool I Am - Pat Ferguson
Booze Party - 3 Aces and a Joker
Chicken Walk - Hasil Adkins
Chicken Grabber - The Nite Hawks
Scorpion - The Carnations
Viens danser le Twist - Johnny Hallyday
Boots - Nero and The Gladiators
Comin' Home, Baby - The Delmonas
Hand Clappin' Time - The Fabulous Raiders
Love Potion # 9 - Nancy Sit
Deuces Wild - Link Wray
Breathless - X
Tunnel of Love - Wanda Jackson
Dragon Walk - The Noble Men
Lucille - Little Richard
Somethin' Else - Sid Vicious
Crybaby - The Honey Sisters
He's The One - Ike and Tina Turner
Don't Be Cruel - The Bill Black Combo
Dance with Me, Henry - Ann-Margret
Baby Let Me Bang Your Box - The Bangers
Hump-A-Baby - Little Ritchie
Save It - Mel Robbins
Esquerita and The Voola - Esquerita
Adult Books - X
Hey Punk Get Off The Grass - Edith Massey
Fuck Off  - Wayne County and The Electric Chairs
Poon-Tang - The Treniers
Trash Can - Ken Williams
53rd and 3rd - The Ramones
Contact - Brigitte Bardot
Beat Party - Ritchie and The Squires
Rotten Cocksuckers Ball - The Clovers
Frenzy - The Hindus
Town Without Pity - James Chance
I Was Born to Cry - Dion
Wino - Jack McVea
Pink Champagne - The Tyrones
Bossa Nova Baby - Elvis Presley
Boss - The Rumblers
Salamander - Mamie Van Doren
Are You Nervous? The Instrumentals
Ain't That Lovin' You, Baby? The Earls of Suave
Big Girls Don't Cry - Edith Massey