Wednesday 18 May 2016

Cockabilly at Bloc Bar DJ Set List 11 May 2016



From the Facebook events page:

Drag a comb through your quiff, swallow a fistful of bop pills and rock around the cock – at COCKABILLY! Wednesday 11 May 2016 in the louche surroundings of Bloc Bar in Camden! And every second Wednesday night of the month thereafter!

Leather boys, gay greasers, cry-babies, prison wives and juvenile delinquents of all ages are welcome at Cockabilly - London’s only regular queer rockabilly night! With DJ Mal Nicholson and I (Graham Russell) spinning all your favourite rancid vintage sleaze classicks! Think rockabilly, rhythm and blues, surf, punk and tittyshakers! Daring and virile! Chains, whips, knives and leather belts all swished around together in bone-jarring rock and roll! Way-out sex and sin for those who like it that way!

Bloc Bar: 18 Kentish Town Road London NW1
8-midnight
FREE



/ This month has been an emotional roller-coaster for fans of the fabulous Bronze Liberace, Little Richard. Prompted by a perhaps hasty Facebook update from Bootsy Collins (“Lil-Richard needs our love & understanding right now … he is not in the best of health so I ask all the Funkateers to lift him up”) on 28 April 2016, the internet was abuzz with speculation the 83-year old Georgia Peach was gravely ill. Certainly when I saw a frail Little Richard perform at the Viva Las Vegas rockabilly weekender in 2013 he was visibly (and audibly) ailing. On 3 May, Little Richard’s attorney was forced to make an official statement assuring everyone that in fact his client was most definitely not on his deathbed.  “I don’t perform like I used to”, an aggrieved Richard is quoted. “But I have my singing voice, I walk around, I had hip surgery a while ago but I’m healthy.’“ Phew! Still, it was gratifying to see the outpouring of love, concern and affection for Little Richard – the freakiest and queerest of rock’n’roll’s original pioneers. Little Richard is, of course, one of the essential faces and voices of Cockabilly. (I played his his version of "Rip It Up" at this installment of Cockabilly). All hail the kween! /

Second Wednesday of the month can only mean one thing – Cockabilly at Bloc Bar! Between us Mal and I whipped-up a menacing roar of rockabilly psychosis and my vintage beefcake homo porn looked sin-sational projected on Bloc Bar’s big screen.

I won’t lie: the crowd this month was small. But it was interesting! Some attendees in particular caught my attention from the DJ booth.  A middle-aged black guy sporting a baseball cap and faded eighties-style double denim entered. My initial impression was: no gay vibe, but a definite authentic sleaze vibe. I noticed he was alone, but ordered three drinks.  Within minutes he was joined by two tough-as-nails, been-around-the-block women in short skirts and heavy make-up. I kept glancing at the trio as I DJ’d and finally the nature of their relationship dawned on me: they were two “working girls” and he was their pimp (or john).  Finally – my kind of clientele! They were like escapees from one of my favourite New Orleans dive bars, The Double Play. Very John Rechy, very City of Night! At one point I cranked up a frantic surf instrumental and the two women jumped up and began gyrating to it, right in front of the flickering homoerotic sixties physique porn. Later - when Mal was DJ'ing - their hipness quotient dropped substantially when one of them requested some Pink or Lily Allen.

Anyway, here is what I played:

Jane in the Jungle - The 5,6,7,8s
Tough Bounce - The Fabulous Wailers
Ain't That Loving You, Baby - The Earls of Suave
I Will Follow Him - Little Peggy March
Little Miss Understood - Connie Stevens
Wipe Out - The Surfaris
Dragon Walk - The Noblemen
Tornado - Dale Hawkins
Here Comes the Bug - The Rumblers
Jim Dandy - Ann-Margret
Vesuvius - The Revels
Lucille- Masaaki Hirao
Rip It Up - Little Richard
Boss - The Rumblers
Year One - X
The Swag - Link Wray
Goodbye So Long - Ike and Tina Turner
Rockin' the Joint - Esquerita
Bombora - The Original Surf-aris
Drive Daddy Drive - Little Sylvia
Wiped Out - The Escorts
Chicken Grabber - The Nite Hawks
Chicken - The Cramps
Viva Las Vegas - Nina Hagen
Johnny Hit and Run Pauline - The Ramonetures



/ As usual, you get a reward for reading this far /

Upcoming Lobotomy Room dates for your social calendar:





Wednesday 25 May 2016: As host and DJ of the regular monthly Mondo Trasho punkabilly club night Lobotomy Room, I – Graham Russell - will occasionally crash Fontaine’s free weekly film night and screen a rancid title of my choice, with an emphasis on the cult, the queer and the camp! The Lobotomy Room Goes to the Movies film club selection in May is … The Valley of The Dolls! Wednesday 25 May!
“You have to climb Mount Everest … to get to The Valley of The Dolls.” Before Mommie Dearest … before Showgirls … the original “What the hell were they thinking?” Bad Movie We Love was The Valley of the Dolls. (Or Vallée des poupées if you want to get all French about it). A perennial favourite of drag queens and a cult classic for connoisseurs of kitsch, the unintentionally hilarious and wildly entertaining 1967 film adaptation of Jacqueline Susann’s lurid 1966 bestseller took the already trashy source material – and went even tawdrier with it! (At the film’s premiere, an outraged Susann reportedly called the film “a piece of shit!”).
A cautionary tale about the perils of show business, it follows the travails of three ambitious casualties of the glamour jungle: friends Anne, Neely and Jennifer. (The “dolls” of the title refer to the fistfuls of uppers and downers the characters pop like Tic Tacs throughout – usually washed down with booze).The Valley of The Dolls packs everything discriminating thrill-seekers demand in its lunatic two hours: hammy performances, pill-popping, bouffant wigs, catfights, slurring drunken scenes, rehab, drug-fueled meltdowns and crap-tastic musical numbers.
This screening is dedicated to the memory of Dolls’ recently deceased-leading lady Patty Duke (14 December 1946 – 29 March 2016). Former child star Duke is rivetingly awful rampaging through the role of Neely O’Hara, a scenery-chewing performance so berserk it can be favourably likened to Ann-Margret’s in Kitten with a Whip. Get yourself a stiff drink and strap yourselves in for a wild ride when Lobotomy Room Goes to the Movies presents The Valley of The Dolls!
As usual: arrive circa 8 pm to order your drinks and grab the best seats. The film starts at 8:30 pm prompt. The Bamboo Lounge seats about 22 people. If you’re feeling proactive, contact Fontaine’s to reserve a seat in advance: email ruby@fontaines.bar or call 07718 000546. Events page




Friday 27 May 2016: Oh god, it's happening again ... the next Lobotomy Room club night. Events page. 

Further reading:

Read about all the previous antics at Lobotomy Rooms to date hereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehere , hereherehere, hereherehere and here.

Follow me on tumblr for all your kitsch, camp, retro vintage sleaze and fifties homoerotica needs!


I'm also on twitter!

"Like" and follow the official Lobotomy Room page on Facebook if you dare!

Monday 16 May 2016

Lobotomy Room at Fontaine's DJ Set List 29 April 2016


From the Facebook events page:

Revel in sleaze, voodoo and rock’n’roll - when incredibly strange dance party Lobotomy Room returns to the Polynesian-style basement Bamboo Lounge of Dalston’s premiere Art Deco vice den Fontaine’s! Friday 29 April! With sensational special offer cocktails on the night!

Lobotomy Room! Where sin lives! A punkabilly booze party! A spectacle of decadence! Bad Music for Bad People! A Mondo Trasho evening of Beat, Beat Beatsville Beatnik Rock’n’Roll! Rockabilly Psychosis! Wailing Rhythm and Blues! Twisted Tittyshakers! Punk! White Trash Rockers! Kitsch! Exotica! Curiosities and other Weird Shit! Think John Waters soundtracks, or Songs the Cramps Taught Us, hosted by Graham Russell (of Dr Sketchy and Cockabilly notoriety). Expect desperate stabs from the jukebox jungle! Savage rhythms to make you writhe and rock! Now with vintage erotica projected on the wall for your adult viewing pleasure! Come for the £6 cocktails - stay for the putrid music and dirty movies!

Admission: gratuit - that’s French for FREE!

Lobotomy Room: Faster. Further. Filthier.

It’s sleazy. It’s grubby. It’s trashy - you’ll love it!

A tawdry good time guaranteed!




/ Human sacrifice is strictly optional - at Lobotomy Room! Pic is from Macumba Love (1960) - a voodoo-themed horror film set in Brazil/

OK I’ve probably claimed this already – but this installment was perhaps the single best Lobotomy Room yet! I’ve learned to approach each one with an open mind and minimal expectations. The previous two Lobotomy Rooms in a row were pretty quiet (think morgue or funeral parlour quiet). But on the plus side, my Lobotomy Room Goes to the Movies film club that Wednesday night (27 April) was bustling. (The film selection was the ultra kitsch 1968 exploitation classick The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield. La Mansfield is, of course, the face and patron saint of Lobotomy Room. It was gratifying to see the attendees really embrace the spirit and celebrate all things Jayne. That night warrants its own separate blog post).  So I was cautiously optimistic about Friday.



Friday night began quietly. Then a group of people would arrive – followed by another group – and then more. And finally I glanced up and we had a nice buzzing (and most importantly dancing) crowd. And what a hip, stylish and sexy bunch! Of course I have no photographic evidence. (Multi-tasking isn’t my forte and it’s pretty hard to DJ and dash around with a digital camera documenting the scene).  But trust me – it was fabulous.


As per usual I endeavoured to whip-up an ambiance of hardcore sensual and depraved vintage sleaze, musically and visually. (Apparently one of Fontaine’s young male bar staff went upstairs and told boss lady Ruby, “It’s a weird atmosphere down there.” That’s Lobotomy Room for you!). I played burlesk tittyshaker films on the big screen most of the night (Bettie Page, Tempest Storm and Lili St Cyr in bump-and-grind action, Russ Meyer’s boob-tastic Mondo Topless). Towards the end of the night I swapped to fifties and sixties beefcake homoerotica. At the first glimpse of grainy black and white male semi-nudity, a guy’s voice exclaimed, “Why didn’t you start with this? I’ve been looking at tits for an hour!” That was one of my highlights of the night.

Like I said, I have no shots from the 29 April Lobotomy Room, but here are a few shots from the Mondo Jayne Mansfield film night on 27 April.

Mondo_Jayne_Mansfield 007

/ Above: Trixi Malicous and Corinna. Corinna (on the right) had specially ordered the platinum blonde wig and miniature "toy chihuahua" from eBay for the night. Trixi always looks like that! /

Mondo_Jayne_Mansfield 006

/ Emma and Emily /

Mondo_Jayne_Mansfield 003

/ Corinna and I /

See more photos from The Wild Wild World of Jayne Mansfield night here: 

My musical selections from the 29 April Lobotomy Room: 

A Cruise to the Moon - Lydia Lunch
High Wall - The Fabulous Wailers
Sheba - Johnny and The Hurricanes
Three Cool Chicks - The 5,6,7,8s
Monkey Bird - The Revels
Wimoweh - Yma Sumac
Kismiaz - The Cramps
Adult Books - X
Little Darlin' - Masaaki Hirao
Beatnik - The Champs
Taboo - The Shangaans
Accentuate the Positive - The Bill Black Combo
Mama Looka Boo-Boo - Robert Mitchum
Dona Wanna - Wanda Jackson
Go Calypso - Mamie Van Doren
Mambo Baby - Ruth Brown
She Wants to Mambo - Johnny Thunders and Patti Palladin
Love Potion # 9 - Nancy Sit
Gostaria de Saber (River Deep Mountain High) - Wanderlea
Blockade - The Rumblers
Black Tarantula - Jody Reynolds
Drive Daddy Drive - Little Sylvia
I Love the Life I Live - Esquerita
Sweet Little Pussycat - Andre Williams
Bombie- Johnny Sharp and The Yellow Jackets
Fever - Nancy Sit
Comin' Home Baby - The Delmonas
Rock'n'Roll Radio - The Ramonetures
Let's Go Baby - Billy Eldridge
Fools Rush In - Ricky Nelson
Devil in Disguise - Elvis Presley
Wiped-Out - The Escorts
Here Comes the Bug - The Rumblers
He's The One - Ike and Tina Turner
Peter Gunn Twist - The Jesters
Peter Gunn Locomotion - The Delmonas
Gunnin' for Peter - The Fabulous Wailers
Viens danser le twist - Johnny Hallyday
Khrushchev  Twist - Melvin Gayle
Ultra Twist - The Cramps
Twistin' the Night Away - Divine
Muleskinner Blues - The Fendermen
Shortnin' Bread - The Readymen
Surfin' Bird - The Trashmen 
Batman Theme - Link Wray and His Wraymen
Rock Around the Clock - The Sex Pistols
Viva Las Vegas - Nina Hagen
Funnel of Love - Wanda Jackson
Breathless - X
Whistle Bait - Larry Collins
Action Packed - Ronnie Dee
Jim Dandy - Sara Lee and The Spades
The Big Bounce - Shirley Caddell
Juke Box Baby - Alan Vega
Margaya - The Fender Four
I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield - The 5,6,7,8s
That Makes It - Jayne Mansfield
C'mon Everybody - Sid Vicious
Boss - The Rumblers
Sweetie Pie - Eddie Cochran
Intoxica - The Centurions
Aphrodisiac - Bow Wow Wow
Heatwave - Martha and The Vandellas
How Much Love Can One Heart Hold? Joe Perkins and The Rookies
Where's My Money? Willie Jones
Beat Party - Ritchie and The Squires
Lucille - Masaaki Hirao
Trash - The New York Dolls
Honolulu Rock'n'Roll - Eartha Kitt
Rock-A-Hula - Elvis Presley
Chicken - The Cramps
Chicken Walk - Hasil Adkins

Upcoming Lobotomy Room dates for your social calendar:



Wednesday 25 May 2016: As host and DJ of the regular monthly Mondo Trasho punkabilly club night Lobotomy Room, I – Graham Russell - will occasionally crash Fontaine’s free weekly film night and screen a rancid title of my choice, with an emphasis on the cult, the queer and the camp! The Lobotomy Room Goes to the Movies film club selection in May is … The Valley of The Dolls! Wednesday 25 May!
“You have to climb Mount Everest … to get to The Valley of The Dolls.” Before Mommie Dearest … before Showgirls … the original “What the hell were they thinking?” Bad Movie We Love was The Valley of the Dolls. (Or Vallée des poupées if you want to get all French about it). A perennial favourite of drag queens and a cult classic for connoisseurs of kitsch, the unintentionally hilarious and wildly entertaining 1967 film adaptation of Jacqueline Susann’s lurid 1966 bestseller took the already trashy source material – and went even tawdrier with it! (At the film’s premiere, an outraged Susann reportedly called the film “a piece of shit!”).
A cautionary tale about the perils of show business, it follows the travails of three ambitious casualties of the glamour jungle: friends Anne, Neely and Jennifer. (The “dolls” of the title refer to the fistfuls of uppers and downers the characters pop like Tic Tacs throughout – usually washed down with booze).The Valley of The Dolls packs everything discriminating thrill-seekers demand in its lunatic two hours: hammy performances, pill-popping, bouffant wigs, catfights, slurring drunken scenes, rehab, drug-fueled meltdowns and crap-tastic musical numbers.
This screening is dedicated to the memory of Dolls’ recently deceased-leading lady Patty Duke (14 December 1946 – 29 March 2016). Former child star Duke is rivetingly awful rampaging through the role of Neely O’Hara, a scenery-chewing performance so berserk it can be favourably likened to Ann-Margret’s in Kitten with a Whip. Get yourself a stiff drink and strap yourselves in for a wild ride when Lobotomy Room Goes to the Movies presents The Valley of The Dolls!
As usual: arrive circa 8 pm to order your drinks and grab the best seats. The film starts at 8:30 pm prompt. The Bamboo Lounge seats about 22 people. If you’re feeling proactive, contact Fontaine’s to reserve a seat in advance: email ruby@fontaines.bar or call 07718 000546. Events page


Friday 27 May 2016: Oh god, it's happening again ... the next Lobotomy Room club night. Events page. 

Further reading:

Read about all the previous antics at Lobotomy Rooms to date hereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehere , hereherehere, hereherehere and here.

Follow me on tumblr for all your kitsch, camp, retro vintage sleaze and fifties homoerotica needs!


Follow me on twitter!

"Like" and follow the official Lobotomy Room page on Facebook if you dare!