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Rollin'
and Fumblin'
 Fumble
attempt to re-incarnate the spirit of an age - that of America in
the late fifties and early sixties.
It was the golden era of Highschool, hype, true love, payola sandals,
notes in class, dates with Wilbur, V-neck sweaters and acne.
It was the sunny age when it was a joy to be young and in love,
and when the Beach Boys sang immortal lines about being "true
to your school".
These are the themes that constantly appear in Fumble's music both
in the oldies they do, and in the numbers penned by members of the
group, Sean Mayes, pianist with the group explained their basic
philosophy (he has a degree from Cambridge in Philosophy although
he looked somewhat renegade in Hawaiian shirt and genuine baseball
boots).
"Yeah, we try to capture the innocence and naivete of that
period but not in a nostalgic or academic way. We reckon that the
same basic first-kiss, boy-next-door, teenage-heartbreak, emotions
are just as important to kids today but they're being bombarded
by seriousness and progression.
"We're trying to bring back enjoyment and simplicity to music
like it was before the Beatles and Dylan. Fumble do their music
for the kids - we don't want to know about the incrowd nostalgia
scene."
I asked Sean if, by being older than the kids and being strongly
influenced by the original oldies, they might be out of touch with
the teen market they were aiming at?
"Well, I guess if we're wrong, we go under; if you're too old
you die. But I don't think so. Y'know we get kids coming up to us
all the time asking us if we wrote all the numbers we do - they've
never heard the originals bot they still like the songs.
"That's why on our next LP we're going to do 60 per cent of
our own material - numbers embodying everyday teen sentiments with
a more modern presentation. Like our next single has a strong driving
beat with the same feel Slade get and very simple lyrics - it's
called 'Million Seller'."
How did Fumble land the plum job of supporting David Bowie on his
tour of the U.K. and America?
"David wanted a really good warm-up group to appear before
him. We tried one gig at the Hard Rock, it went well, so we stayed.
Actually Bowie never saw us before that. He used us on the strength
of our last album cover which was done by Hipgnosis - that cover
has really done well by us in getting our name known. Mind you,
our next LP cover will be more modern as we don't want to be tied
to the fifties image." I thought for a moment about falling
between stools but remained silent.
I asked Des Henly, lead vocalist, whether they made a deliberate
attempt to copy 50's and 60's style as well?
"Not really; we just like to be different. The other day I
went into a shop to get some trousers and was told that the trend
was towards the more flared look. I immediately thought that was
a good reason for having tight bottoms. We just happen to like the
clothes from that era and we're just as likely to wear our stage
clothes in the street."
Fumble "live" are a competent, crowd-pleasing English
rock'n'roll band - they are certainly not great, lacking somewhat
in the necessary class, flash and technical expertise. But they
have no pretensions to such greatness - they used to be a pop group
called The Baloons so they know the road and enjoy playing to the
kids who go to local Friday night dances like the one at Ilkeston,
where I saw them.
Apart from Sean and Des, the group is Mario Ferrari on bass and
Barry Pike on drums. Their act comprised soft rock numbers a la
Bobby Vee, a finale of Little Richard-style hard rock for the leapers
in the audience, and four original numbers including "Get Up"
part of which went:
"Someone put a sign up 'No Hippies in the Hall,' But everyone's
invited, gonna ball, ball, ball."
Fumble went down really well with the motley crowd of local youths
but they dissappointed me 'cause they only did the numbers that
were well-known - there were none like "Palisades Park"
or "Come Go With Me." As regards stage presentation they
were definitely not "too fast to live, too young to die"
- I mean it's just not right to rock a small electric piano during
"Jailhouse Rock."
David Milton
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More
articles:
Success for Weston Group in beat championship
(Local paper, 1967)
Baloons flying
high behind Iron Curtain (Local paper, 1968)
Fumble (Record Mirror,
1971)
FUMBLE (Beat Instrumental,
1972)
American Press (1972)
Fumble gain a firm hold (1972)
Nancy
finds out all about....
(date unknown 1973)
There's no flies on Fumble (NME,
1973)
Fumble flies to fame and fortune
( 1973)
Rumble, rumble...here comes
Fumble (Record Mirror, 1973)
Fumble begin to feel good (Evening
News, 1973)
Fumble US Tour (Record Mirror,
1973)
In a class of their own
(Sounds, 1973)
Under the influence: Des
Henly (NME, 1973)
Rollin' and Fumblin'
(Melody Maker, 1973)
The Raver
(Melody Maker, 1973)
Back
in time - Nutrockers! (Reading Rock 73)
Accident Prone (Music Star,
1973)
An
interview with Barry Pike (Drum Magazine 1974)
Rock'n'Roll band signs up (St.
Albans Midweek Recorder, 1974)
Record and Popswop Mirror (Record
& Popswop Mirror, 1975)
Robin Katz talked to Sha Na
Na and Fumble (Sounds, 1975)
Pop goes GLC decibel dosage
(Daily Telegraph, 1975)
Concert reviews:
Playhouse Theatre
(supporting Bill Haley) (date unknown)
Newcastle,
City Hall (supporting David Bowie) (Jan 7, 1973)
Philadelphia,
Tower Theatre (supporting David Bowie) (Feb 17, 1973)
London,
Greyhound (May 17, 1973)
Paris
(May 31, 1973)
London,
Speakeasy (June 7, 1973)
London,
Marquee Club (July 14,
1973)
London, Rainbow Theatre
(supporting Chuck Berry) (Sept 7, 1973)
London, Marquee Club
(March 1974)
Bristol,
University (Apr 27, 1974)
London, Kings Road Theatre (Dec
15, 1974)
Burton-on-Trent,
76 Club (Mar 29, 1975)
London,
Roundhouse (supporting Dr. Feelgood) (Apr 20, 1975)
Festivals:
The Reading
Festival 1973
Alexandra Palace
Music Festival 1973
Roskilde
Festival, Denmark 1973 (Sounds)
Roskilde
Festival, Denmark 1973 (NME)
LPs and Singles:
Fumble
(Sovereign) 1972 (Melody Maker)
Poetry In Lotion (RCA) 1974
(Disc, Melody Maker)
Alexandra
Park (Sovereign) 1973 (Disc Magazine)
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)
German / Danish articles:
 Fumble
ride the oldie-wave (fans magazine, 1973) translated
Fumble
- Nostalgischer Pomaden-Pop (Flash magazine, 1973)
Success through persistence (BRAVO
magazine, 1973) translated
 FUMBLE
(GO, 1972)
Sjoveste LP i lang tid (Some
Danish paper, 1972)
Kendt
beatgruppe i Diskotek Limelight (Danish paper, 1973)
Roskilde-festival en stor succes
(Berlingske Tidende, 1973) |
