PROJECT
ADORNO
Promoters of several Clayson recitals in recent years, this multi-media
amalgam - a surprise hit at 2002s Edinburgh Festival - hinges on the
activities of Russell Thompson and Praveen Mangali.
Heres what Alan wrote in Record Collector about one of their disc
releases: A stunning exercise in electronic beat poetry, PA/CD is less
a venture into an area bordered by Crass, Mark Astronaut and John
Cooper-Clarke than those rapid-fire vers libre readings accompanied by
jazz that were prevalent in bohemian circles in the early 1960s. If not
exactly jazz, Praveens programmed combine a mannered
revelling in mainstream pop with keeping pace behind declamations such as
The Sex Pistols Last Photo and The Other Ones, a transcendence beyond some
ghastly family occasion.
THE
ASTRONAUTS
There are people around who'le tell you that Clayson and the Argonauts
were the greatest group ever formed - and , if in a perverse mood, Mark
Wilkins, better known by his Mark Astronaut stage alias, might be one of
them. In reciprocation, theres a place in Alan's heart for Mark's group,
The Astronauts, since they supported C&As in Bishops Stortford, circa
1978. The Astronauts' debut release, an eponymous EP, was a Clayson
production. If the wheels of the universe had come together for Mark then,
he might have been bigger than Hitler.
www.astronauts.org.uk
IRREGULAR
RECORDS
Perhaps Britains most adventurous independent label,
Irregular Records were responsible for Ne Me Quitte Pas; Brel Songs
By... and Nine Times Two. The company is the brainchild of chansonier
Robb Johnson, whose renown rests not on one composition , but many that
have spread themselves thinly enough over years of cover versions by the
most disparate entertainers. Bluesman Mike Cooper has slipped Johnson
numbers into his sets, and Sunday Morning St. Denis was a highlight of
cabaret diva Barb Jungr's cause celebre of an album, The Space In
Between. Robb supported Clayson & the Argonauts at the 100 Club
show in spring 2006
www.irregularrecords.co.uk
HAVIC
With offices in Texas, Sweden and Bracknell, Havic Records - co-ordinated
by Hans Alehag and Vic Thomas - had the good taste to finance the
recording of and then issue Soiree. Other Havic clients include Steve
Gibbons, Bob Pearce, The Flying Tortellinos and the AAA Blues Band. The
founders recognised the need for a company that was willing to work with
established artists, it says here, as well as develop talent that might
otherwise go unnoticed.
KD
The formidable KD has loomed large in my legend since primary school.
However, we only became friends around the time time when he tried to pick
a fight with my teenage self at a local youth club - from which we were
barred for incidents exemplified by our use of a portrait of the Virgin
Mary as a dartboard.
We were then thrown together at Farnborough Technical College on a two-year course in business studies - which might as well have been in sky-diving as far as I as concerned, though Kevin gained his diploma without effort. Since then, this talented artist, entrepreneur and philosopher has gone far beyond the call of duty in his encouragement and practical help with Clayson ventures, quixotic and otherwise, over the decades. These have included the construction of this web-site.
COKATHRYN
WILLIAMS
In May 2004, I attended a concert at the invitation of her
guitarist, David Scott. It was so unexpectedly intriguing that
I dragged Inese along to another Williams recital in November.
Since then, Kathryn's Relations LP and its Old Low Life predecessor
have been on the turntable nearly every time Inese has
required recreational listening. See Argosy 6 for further
information.
Thats My Boy!
Alan's younger son
Harry used to be lead singer in a pop group called Mangasm - which he left
in 2006 just when the outfit was about to make its London debut supporting
Clayson & The Argonauts. He is presently forming another group
called "The Electronic Males".
If you want to relive the golden days of Harry's tenure with Mangasm, here
is Harry's infamous alter ego, the "Sex Robot".
Please follow this YouTube
link.
