HISTORY

KURSAAL FLYERS

OFFICAL FACEBOOK PAGE

Kursaal Flyers made their debut in February 1974 at the Blue Boar in Southend-on-Sea, commencing a 9-month residency. During that time, with help from Dr Feelgood, the Kursaals broke onto the London pub

OFFICAL WEBSITE

Will Birch and John Wicks founded The Records in 1978. Will thought of the name in the bathtub. Influences included Big Star, The Raspberries, Blue Ash, Badflnger, Stealers Wheel and the Beatles

STUDIO FROLICS

TALES FROM THE OLD ‘RECORD PRODUCTION’ DAYS

DR FEELGOOD

Brilleaux Brilleaux Stiff Records LP Produced by Will Birch 1986 Recorded at Trackside Studios Southed, engineer Neill King According to legend, the launch of Stiff Records in 1976 was enabled by a £400 loan from Lee Brilleaux. 10 years later, the Feelgoods turned up on the roster, releasing two albums, this and 'Classic' (1987) in the dying days of the label. The object of 'Brilleaux' was to try and get the group some radio play and the single 'Don't Wait Up, whilst not a hit, was the first time l'd heard a new Feelgoods' single on Radio 1 in many years.

THE LONG RYDERS

State Of Our Union Island Records LP Produced by Will Birch 1985 Recorded at Chipping Norton Studios, engineer Neil King "Under-produced" said Time Out (the birth of alt. country lo-fi, natch), but it failed to happen. Of course, I would blame the 'Paisley Underground' backlash.. it was bargepole time for the Long Ryders before their 1985 plane even touched down, but Sid and the guys were a warm bunch and a privilege to work with. Great live, too.

THE LONG RYDERS

Looking For Lewis And Clark Island Records 45 Produced by Will Birch 1985 Recorded at Chipping Norton Studios, engineer Neill King I loved the Long Ryders first full length indie LP 'Native Sons' for its post punk take on the Byrds/Burrito Brothers. Astonished to be offered the job of producing their major label debut, I nipped over to LA for song routining purposes, returning to the idyllic Chipping Norton to cut. The rocking 'Lewis and Clark' was a minor hit single, but the album was described by Time Out as ""'he most under- produced record ever to appear on a major label".

MAKIN' TIME

Rhythm And Soul Countdown Records LP Produced by Will Birch and Pat Collier 1985 Recorded at Greenhouse Studio/Workhouse London, engineer Pat Collier I ended up 'managing' them. 'Here Is My Number', which Pat Collier turned into a hit sound, hovered around the bottom reaches of the chart for weeks but failed to break. The LP 'Rhythm And Soul' contained many amazing moments and introduced the world to the sound of young Willenhall (West Midlands).

MAKIN' TIME

Here Is My Number Countdown Records 45 Produced by Will Birch and Pat Collier 1985 Recorded at Greenhouse Studio London, engineer Pat Collier Countdown Records was a label run by Eddie Piller and Maxine Conroy, distributed by Stiff. The first exercise was a compilation LP featuring a dozen mod groups (third generation), the best of whom was Makin'Time, featuring the phenomenal vocal talent of Fay Hallam. No Makin'Time gig was complete without a post-show blood bath involving the various factions that followed the group.

ANY TROUBLE

Wrong End Of The Race EMI America LP Produced by Will Birch and John Wood 1984 Recorded at Rampart Studio London/Penny Lane NY, engineer John Wood Clive Gregson presented the job to me as a fait accompli involving the great John Wood, whose ear for sound knows no bound. The latter stages of this epic involved no less than three trips to NY, including a mixing session with the legendary Bob Clearmountain, who had just finished mixing 'Born in The USA. His first and only question was, 'what kind of sound are you guys looking for which was reasonable, I thought.

BILLY BREMNER

Bash! Arista Records LP Produced by Will Birch 1983 Recorded at various studios including Eden, engineer Neil King Arista A&R man Tarquin Gotch (no, really….) sponsored a full LP's worth of tunes from Bill, and good on him. Side one was made with Terry 'The greatest rock drummer in the world' Williams Side two featured an equally great drummer, Bob Irwin. Bill and I slaved over the songs (in between trips to the turf accountants and Walton snooker hall), plus we enjoyed a contribution apiece from Elvis Costello and Chris Diffford/Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze.

DESMOND DEKKER

Book Of Rules Stiff Records 45 Produced by Will Birch 1982 Recorded at Eden Studio London, engineers Neill King, Aldo Bocca This one sure stretched my limited capabilities, but Desmond was a dream to work with… such a great vocal talent. He also kept us spellbound with tales of making 'Israelites' with producer Leslie Kong, whose "heart burst over the mixing desk Desmond's 'royalty' for 'Israelites' apparently consisted of a Ford Zephyr, a mohair suit and a gold-plated microphone.

HOWARD WERTH

Six Of One & Half A Dozen Of The Other Demon Records LP Produced by Will Birch and Paul Bass 1982 Recorded at Ampro Studio London, engineer Paul Bass (Paul Riley) Shake hands with a big voice. Formerly with Audience and exiled in LA, he returned to London with a portfolio of stirring songs. Jake had the idea of combining these with some sixties R&B covers. Much credit must go to Paul Riley for creating a tough sound and coming up with some cool production ideas.

BILLY BREMNER

Laughter Turns To Tears/ Tired And Emotional (And Probably Drunk) Stiff Records 45 Produced by Will Birch 1982 Recorded at Rockfield Studios, engineers Paul Cobbold, Aldo Bocca, Neill Kin More fun with Bill. The song was originally entitled 'Laughter Turns To Screams', but Dave Robinson at Stiff put me right. It was later covered by Alvin Stardust, and the Hollies, who roped me in to produce. Check out Bill's sneaky quitar licks on the b-side, a song inspired by seeing The Coasters in Chicago in 1980.

BILLY BREMNER

Loud Music In Cars Stiff Records 45 Produced by Will Birch 1981 Recorded at Eden Studio London, engineer Aldo Bocca Billy Bremner was the dark horse of Rockpile, a modest and amusing chap who plays great guitar, writes beguiling melodies and sings from the heart. This was the start of our two year spell as co-writers, during which I think I heard every joke known to man. Thanks to Nick Lowe for the 'turn it up' suggestion.

THE RECORDS

Starry Eyes/ Paint Her Face The Record Co/Virgin 45 Produced by Will Birch and Dennis Weinreich 1978 Recorded at Scorpio Studio London, engineer Dennis Weinreich Although I was credited as producer, this was really a team effort. But I knew how I wanted it to sound and got pretty close. We were on the Stiff 'train tour' backing Rachel Sweet at the time. We took copies of the 45 to New York when the Stiff tour played The Bottom Line and it qot instant radio play on WNEW-FM. Thrilling.

DR FEELGOOD

Primo Grand Records LP Produced by Will Birch 1990 Recorded at Greenhouse Studio London, engineer Paul Tipler Dr Feelgood launched their own label, Grand Records, in 1988 to handle reissues from their cataloque and the occasional new recording, such as Primo' Whilst not 100% true to the group's R&B roots, a varied selection of covers (The Doors, J J Cale, Los Lobos) made for an entertaining record on which Lee gave his all, despite declining health. The album also includes a cover of the Kursaal Flyers"'My Sugar Turns To Alcohol'!