Zeitungsartikel
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Robin
Katz talked to Sha Na Na and Fumble and found that the music never
died
 Secondhand
oldies - but goodies...
Sha Na Na are a ten piece American band who first made their presence
felt when they woke up the drug laden Woodstock nation with the
dazzling glare of gold lamé. Fumble are a five piece British
band who earned themselves a place on David Bowie's first American
tour by the impact of their groping first album sleeve. Regardless
of where they move from this second in time, both groups got their
initial start by reworking musical marvels from the great dusty
vaults of oldie goldies.
Both groups earned their reputations from performing other people's
hits. While Sha Na Na concentrate on the numbers most conductive
to dramatic overplay, i.e. "Tell Laura I Love Her", "Teenager
In Love", "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do", Fumble prefer
to bring back some of those Bobby Vee and the all American Good
Guys numbers.
Both groups write original material, and both claim to be completely
different from one another. Keeping contrast in mind, I sat down
with Fumble's singing drummer Barry Pike and singing bassist Mario
Angelo Ernesto Ferrari (that's his honest to goodness name) and
later Sha Na Na's guitarist Chico Ryan and gold lamé vocalist
Johnny Contardo. Just for the record, Fumble's new album is called
"Poetry In Lotion", and Sha Na Na's last release was titled
"Hot Sox".
"We got together seven years ago," began Ferrari,
"and the original idea was more bebop. We tried a period of
all wearing white suits, but gave it up because we want to be individuals.
At the time we started the Fumble idea, the market was not as wide
open. Nobody had been talking about oldies, The Wild Angels were
around, but we wanted to play the Carole King/Gerry Goffin stuff.
We didn't want to do it note for note, but instead capture the feeling
and the freshness. We wanted to sing it from the heart, not send
it up."
"After being with Sha Na Na for four years and singing "Tell
Laura I Love Her" for every one of them, you can't help but
take on the attitude of an actor," explained soft spoken Johnny
Contardo. "Before a show you get into character while you grease
up. We may toss in the odd thing or two, but one of the priorities
for us is that we can't be sloppy, and so with ten of us, we have
to be rehearsed."
Finding the old songs was no problem for either group. Deciding
whether they could be sung or arranged wasn't a challenge either.
Deciding what is right for performance is perhaps the most notable
difference between the acts. Both groups admit that their stage
presence overrides their studio work in terms of reaction and success.
Competition
"In England," declared Pike, "there is this constant
urge to smash, bang and stomp everything into being a rock number.
Every British rock band has either 'Jailhouse Rock', 'Let It Rock'
or 'All Shook Up' as part of a night's work. So when we sing 'Take
Good Care Of My Baby', we're putting the competition at an arm's
length.
"We don't really have any major league competition," said
Ryan. "Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids don't have a
record label any more. We keep going back to the genre of the fabulous
Fifties for most of our stuff. We're visual and that's our greatest
strength.
"More showbiz than show,"added Contardo, "And the
audiences are getting younger. When we started out as college kids
most of the audiences were older than we were. Now the age is about
15. But they know all the songs. There's total recognition."
Put that last point down to US radio. Fumblers (what else do you
call them?) Pike and Ferrari agreed that their British audiences
were also too young to remember most of the originals, but more
often than not credited the band for composing them and even making
them hits. With Sha Na Na the misguided credit happens less often.
"When it comes to gigs, you can't really compare us to a circus
of ten guys doing hilarious things. We don't take it all overly
seriously. To us, it's innocence and fun. We don't have choreography,
and we don't approach it as a rock and roll revival. To us it feels
natural. We don't feel embarrassed singing 'Ebony Eyes' sincerely.
If we did, I don't think we'd get across to all age groups,"
explained Barry Pike. "In my mind, it's the singer and not
the song. For that reason our audiences fo home feeling good, but
not hysterical."
"There's a basic format to Sha Na Na," said Ryan. "and
new members are brought in because they fit our style. But we try
things. When Bowzer first joined he used to wear a complete baseball
uniform on stage, and it took four or five months to get him into
other stuff because it just wasn't working out."
Johnny Contardo rates Sha Na Na's best stage show as the one they
initiated a year and a half ago. Divided into four parts the group
sang their well known street songs, did an acapella section, their
audience participation dance contest and finally ended up with all
those rocking numbers that mods and rockers alike, loved.
Fumble's definitive show includes more of their own material, a
step that Sha Na Na has yet to take in their stage act.
"We find people shouting out for our songs which shows we're
writing in the right direction," said Mario Ferrari, "but
all of our singles which we have written have flopped. 'Not Fade
Away' has done well, but we're hesitant to put out other people's
songs as records or that's all that will be expected of us."
Novelty
On the other hand, Sha Na Na's new British single, is 'Hot Sox',
a cute novelty record featuring bass singer Bowzer slinging around
his best Brooklyn accent, right down to the duh, duh, duh.
And it's theirs.
"We've just finished cutting three songs with Tony Camillo
(composer of Gladys Knight's 'I Feel A Song')" Contardo said,
"and we've cut a new version of 'Just Like Romeo And Juliet'
which was a big hit 11 years ago for the Reflections. We cut a version
near to the original, but it's too dated to be a single, so Tony's
rearranged it as well."
As far as wondering how far into the future groups will exist by
digging into the past, is anyone's guess. Fumble have been together
under other names for seven years, and neither hell or high water
will break them up. If things get impossible - they'll always be
friends. Sha Na Na, because of their size, are much more restrictive
but then all the group spemd nearly a fortnight of every month on
the road, which doesn't leave much time for anything except staying
healthy. Both groups have done two dozen songs in a show, which
ain't chicken feed.
Although they'll always be criticised by true blue oldies freaks
for 'ripping off' originals, and knowing that their success will
continue if they never compose a note of their own, Fumble and Sha
Na Na have proven, by their mere existence, that the artists may
have moved on, but the music never died.
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Weitere Artikel
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Artikel in englischer Sprache)
Erfolg für Gruppe
aus Weston im Beat-Wettbewerb (Lokale Zeitung, 1967)
Baloons fliegen hoch hinter
Eisernem Vorhang (Lokale Zeitung, 1968)
Fumble (Record Mirror,
1971)
FUMBLE (Beat Instrumental,
1972)
American Press (1972)
Fumble bekommen festen Halt
(1972)
Nancy findet alles heraus über....
(1973)
Fumble lassen sich nicht hinters
Licht führen (New Musical Express, 1973)
Fumble starten durch
zum Ruhm (1973)
Rumble, rumble..hier
kommen Fumble (Record Mirror, 1973)
Fumble beginnen sich gut zu
fühlen (Evening News, 1973)
Fumble US Tour (Record Mirror,
1973)
Eine Klasse für
sich (Sounds, 1973)
Under the influence:
Des Henly (New Musical Express, 1973)
Rollin' and Fumblin'
(Melody Maker, 1973)
The Raver (Melody Maker,
1973)
Back in time - Nutrockers!
(Reading Rock 73)
Accident Prone (Music
Star, 1973)
Interview with Barry Pike
(Drum Magazine 1974)
Rock'n'Roll Band unterzeichnet
(St. Albans Midweek Recorder, 1974)
Record und Popswop Mirror
(Record & Popswop Mirror, 1975)
Robin Katz talked to
Sha Na Na and Fumble (Sounds, 1975)
Pop wird Dezibel-dosiert
(Daily Telegraph, 1975)
Konzertberichte:
Bill Haley, Playhouse Theatre
(Datum unbekannt)
Newcastle, City Hall (Vorgruppe
von David Bowie) (7. Jan 1973)
Philadelphia,
Tower Theatre (Vorgruppe v. David Bowie) (17. Feb. 1973)
London, Greyhound (17.
Mai 1973)
Paris (31. Mai 1973)
London, Speakeasy (7.
Juni 1973)
London, Marquee Club
(14. Juli 1973)
London, Rainbow Theatre (Vorgruppe
v. Chuck Berry) (7. Sept. 1973)
London, Marquee Club
(März 1974)
Bristol, Universität
(27. Apr. 1974)
London, Kings Road Theatre
(15. Dez. 1974)
Burton-on-Trent, 76 Club
(29. März 1975)
London Roundhouse (Vorgruppe
v. Dr. Feelgood) (20. April 1975)
Festivals
Reading Festival 1973
Alexandra Palace Music Festival
1973
Roskilde Festival,
Dänemark 1973 (Sounds)
Roskilde Festival, Dänemark
1973 (NME)
Plattenkritiken:
Fumble (Sovereign) 1972
(Melody Maker)
Poetry In Lotion (RCA)
1974 (Disc, Melody Maker)
Alexandra Park (Sovereign)
1973 (Disc Magazin)
Million Seller (Sovereign)
1973 (Melody Maker, NME, Disc, Sounds)
Not Fade Away (RCA) 1974
(Record Mirror, Melody Maker, NME)
Don't Take Love (RCA) 1974
(Sounds)
Deutsche / Dänische Artikel:
Fumble reitet auf der Oldies-Welle
(fans, 1973)
Fumble - Nostalgischer
Pomaden-Pop (Flash Magazin, 1973)
Durch Sturheit zum Erfolg
(BRAVO, 1973)
FUMBLE (GO, 1972)
Sjoveste LP i lang tid (Dänische Zeitschrift, ca. 1972)
Kendt beatgruppe i Diskotek Limelight (Dänische Zeitung,
. 1973)
Roskilde-festival en stor succes (Berlingske Tidende, 1973)
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