.:   ALBUM INFO   CRUSH UK 1999 - 2009 Another new beginning…  CRUSH UK formed when Peter Groves, bass player in Frampton Weller and Crush informed me of his decision to leave the band on May 29th 1999.  It was the end a great era for Crush and an unexpected blow because the band had become very popular post the epic Frampton Weller days.   Pete suggested I contact his old mate Dave Dudley to fill the role and having consulted Rick on whether it was time to pack it in, I decided to give Dave a shot.  I rang and left a message on his ansaphone with the idea.  I then spent the weekend in the country where the space and time to think made me determined to carry on.  After all we’d been here before and I had a raft of new songs that needed a life.  Dave’s previous ‘employer’ Frank Nazareth told me “it would last a week” with Dave in the band. A sentiment shared by many, however, apart from the odd difference of opinion ten years later we are still in the game.  Dave took to the task of learning the Crush set with enthusiasm and me; Rick and Dave had our first rehearsal on June 8th 1999 at Rick’s place in Carshalton. Pete’s final official appearance was on June 19th 1999.  The new line up performed at the Grove jam night on June 21st playing ‘Changing by degrees’ and ‘Little sister’. It was all too loud, but otherwise it worked. June 22nd saw our first rehearsal at Mary Nazareth’s place in Tooting, home of the legendary Yhaal House.  Two days later we were playing our first full show at the Saucy Kettle, Surbiton.  Pete was sorely missed, but we managed pretty well and decided there was a possible future. Dave’s first tour of duty in our beloved West Country coincided with the eclipse on August 11th 1999.  Our jaunt was reasonably successful and CRUSH UK began recording the songs for ‘Changing by degrees’ on November 5th 1999 at Mo’s place in Mitcham, Surrey.  The album was completed and released in 2000, but the hard work was done in 1999 hence the title of this CRUSH UK collection.  We’ve been a lot of places, seen a lot of faces and there is no sign of us giving up.  During our tenure we have ‘worked’ with a few folks including: Pete Groves, ex Fear guitarist Brian Viner and Richard Jones who played keyboards at a couple of shows. However, we remain at our strongest as a trio.  Having said that, singer Sara Corser has been a welcome guest many times and that works well. Now with the addition of Bing, the ‘Crushettes’ bring vocal harmonies and an opportunity for us to be even more camp and leftfield :)  “We’re lovin’ it, lovin’ it.” Martin Weller aka Captain Damian Black, February 2009. All songs on this compilation are copyright; written by Martin Weller except * credit to Weller & Dudley and developed and recorded by Martin Weller, David Cameron Dudley and Richard Bell, with special guests Sara Corser and Nigel Bradford.  Our sincere thanks go to Bing, Leslie Crete, Don, Terry, Phil, Lesley, Emperor Rick, Biscuit and the rest of the cast who keep us real. xxx   1.  Chowbox                                     2.  Comment  3.  Strange Love  4.  Anthem  5.  Reach Out  6.  Pay Attention  7.  Pop Song  8.  Rainmaker  9.  Tall Society 10. Temporary Closure 11. Meaning of Life 12. First Day of Summer 13. Enjoy the Moment 14. Greedy Martine 15. The New Big Thing 16. Today and Tomorrow 17. Stronger 18. Keeping the Balance 19. Absolutely Nothing 20. Outrageous     Quiddity                 Recorded by CRUSH UK 2007 A.D Quiddity was recorded and produced at Two Farthings, Dawlish, Devon from April through September 2007 and it is with great pleasure and pride that we bring you the first, hopefully of many, CRUSH UK (and other) classic recordings from here. I wrote 'Desire' and 'She loves me, not' before our last album, they just took a while to develop and for opportunities to knock. The rest document the ups and downs of the last four years with the latest addition 'Today and Tomorrow' born in January 2007. We had a few barriers to overcome before we could get this recording started. Not the perennial band fights, artistic differences or record company bickering. Nothing like that, but real stuff like cancer, redundancy, personal relationship breakdowns, death of parents; ex band members and dear friends - normal shit really. It made me all the more determined to get these songs 'out there'. Why DIY? I decided to take control of the process this time because experience of recording in 'proper' studios has left me feeling less than satisfied, skint and frustrated, so I put together a small, manageable suite at home and did the job myself - warts and all. Quiddity is not a solo album. CRUSH UK developed the songs until we felt they were ready to roll. Dave contributed an enormous amount to the recording using a variety of instruments, Rick played drums and percussion on the majority of the songs and it was great to have Sara guest on 'Together' and Radar or 'Mystery'. I hope this record gives you pleasure and captures the passion, hatred, love, anger, desire, misery and pure delight that inspired these songs. My sincere thanks go to the players: Dave Dudley, Richard Bell, Sara Corser, Radar and the back room team of Leslie Crete who keeps the whole cyber show going at www.crushuk.com My love goes to Bing without whom"… Weller xx Who did what? Martin Weller - Vocals, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, ukulele Dave Dudley - Harmonium, bouzouki, electric guitars, slide guitar, harmonica, drums on 'Absolutely nothing' & 'Together', piano and bass guitar Richard Bell - Drums and percussion Sara Corser - Vocals on 'Together' Radar - Drums and percussion on 'Mystery' All songs written, engineered, mixed and produced by Martin Weller (c) 2007 all rights reserved. More CRUSH UK recordings are available from http://www.crushuk.com/store.html QUIDDITY (’Essence’. Ref. Chambers Dictionary 1973)  Recorded by CRUSH UK @ Two Farthings studio, Dawlish, Devon 2007 1.                 Similar to a strange Town 2.                 Today & Tomorrow 3.                 Outrageous 4.                 Absolutely nothing 5.                 Keeping me in my place 6.                 Lassiter 7.                 Stronger 8.                 Together 9.                 Desire 10.            Keeping the balance 11.            She loves me, not 12.            Mystery 13.            What’s that about? Featured musicians: Martin Weller - Vocals, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, ukulele David Cameron Dudley - Harmonium, bouzouki, electric guitars, slide guitar, harmonica, drums and percussion on ‘Absolutely nothing' & 'Together', piano, bass guitar Richard Bell - Drums and percussion Sara Corser - Vocals on ‘Together’ Radar - Drums and percussion on ‘Mystery’ All songs written by Martin Weller © 2007 All rights reserved “It is with great pleasure and pride that we bring you our latest recording, Quiddity. The songs were written in some cases before our last album ‘The New Big Thing’ in 2003, but mostly since, they just took a while to develop.  Besides we had a few barriers to overcome in the meantime.  No band fights, artistic differences or record company bickering. Nothing like that, but real stuff like cancer, redundancy, personal relationship breakdowns, death of parents; ex band members and dear friends, normal stuff really and I was determined to get these songs ‘out there’ regardless. Our experience of recording led me to the decision to put together a studio at home and do the job myself, warts and all. So here it is written, recorded, mastered, paid for and produced by me.  All songs were performed by Me, Rick and Dave in the garage and it carries the ‘essence’ of what I was trying to achieve and that is why I called it ‘Quiddity’. I hope for some of you at least I have managed to get across the passion; hatred, love, anger, desire, misery and pure delight that inspired these songs J May they give you great pleasure.       My sincere thanks go to the players: Dave Dudley, Richard Bell, Sara Corser, Radar and the cyber team - Leslie Crete. My love goes to Bing without whom”… Weller xx The New Big Thing Recorded by CRUSH UK at Two Farthings and Deep Studio October & November 2002 THE MEANING OF LIFE Martin Weller: Vocals/ electric guitars. Rick Bell: Vocals/ drums/ cymbals. David Cameron Dudley: Bass/ electric guitar/ keyboards (synthetic cor anglais). FIRST DAY OF SUMMER Martin Weller: Vocals/ guitars. Rick Bell: Vocals/ drums/ vulcan arse flute/ cymbals. David Cameron Dudley: Bass/ harmonica/ keyboards (grand piano). Blind Dog Walker: harmonica. ENJOY THE MOMENT  Martin Weller: Vocals/ lead guitar. Rick Bell: Vocals/ drums/ cymbals. David Cameron Dudley: Bass/ slide guitar/ 12 string acoustic guitar/ vocals. Sara Corser: Vocals. GREEDY MARTINE  Martin Weller: Vocals/ electric guitars. Rick Bell: Vocals/ drums/ cymbals. David Cameron Dudley: Bass/ guitar/ keyboards (synthetic 'cello). HAPPY TOGETHER (G.Bonner/ A.Gordon) Martin Weller: Vocals/ guitars. Rick Bell: Vocals/ drums/ phonofiddle/ cymbals. David Cameron Dudley: Bass/ keyboards (synthetic Hammond organ)/ vocals. HARMONY Martin Weller: Vocals/electric guitars Rick Bell: Vocals/ drums/ cymbals. David Cameron Dudley: Bass/ slide guitar/ lead guitar/ keyboards (synthetic Hammond organ/ synthetic "honky tonk" piano). AMERICA (Paul Simon) Martin Weller: Vocals/electric guitar. Rick Bell: Vocals/ drums/ cymbals. David Cameron Dudley: Bass/ potter's wheel/ 12 string acoustic guitar/ keyboards (synthetic trumpets/ synthetic bassoon/ synthetic strings). STAY  Martin Weller: Vocals, 12 string  & 6 string acoustic guitar. David Cameron Dudley: bass, keyboards (synthetic bassoon, synthetic trumpets, synthetic bowed strings, synthetic pizzicato strings). SOUTH PARK Martin Weller: Vocals/ guitars/ potato peeler. Rick Bell: Vocals/ drums/ cymbals. David Cameron Dudley: Bass/ keyboards (synthetic Hammond organ) CRITICAL Martin Weller: Vocals/ guitars. Rick Bell: Drums/ cymbals. David Cameron Dudley: Bass/ lead guitar/ keyboard (piano). Ivor Abiks: Keyboard (piano). THE NEW BIG THING Martin Weller: Vocals/ guitars. Rick Bell: Vocals/ souzaphone/ drums/ cymbals. David Cameron Dudley: Vocals, bass/ keyboards (synthetic piano & synthetic organ/ celeste). Blind Dog Walker, Sara Corser et al: Vocals. TIME TO CHANGE Martin Weller: Vocals/ guitars. Rick Bell: Drums/ cymbals. David Cameron Dudley: Bass/ caliope. SILVER MACHINE (Calvert/ Macmanus) Martin Weller: Vocals/ guitars. Rick Bell: Vocals/ drums/ cymbals. David Cameron Dudley: Bass. Ivor Abiks: Keyboard/ FX. EXPECT A LAUGH (Dudley) David Cameron Dudley: Vocals/ ukulele/ bass/ keyboards (synthetic choir, drums). Ivor Abiks: Vocals/ ukulele/ FX. All songs written by Martin Weller (unless otherwise credited). All tunes arranged by Martin Weller, David Cameron Dudley, Rick Bell. "Orchestral manoeuvres" David Cameron Dudley. Produced by Martin Weller, David Cameron Dudley, Rick Bell. Engineered by Ivor Abiks Mixed by Martin Weller, David Cameron Dudley, Rick Bell, Ivor Abiks. Mastered by Ivor Abiks. Changing by Degrees 1999 The first opus featuring: Martin Weller - Vocals, Guitars Rick Bell - Vocals, percussion, drums David Cameron Dudley - Bass guitar, additional instruments Special guest Pete Groves (RIP) – Vocals and bass guitar on ‘Strange love’   The Album. Track By Track, Blow By Blow by Martin Weller. Changing by Degrees - I wrote this in 1986 about my experiences at that time. My band 'Staring into Space' got a chance to live, play and record in Cyprus. We spent all day in the studio rehearsing and recording and at night we'd either be playing or partying. It was a fantastic few months and this song developed in the studio. People used to drop by all day long and 'look at us through the glass' in the control room. This is about the fourth time that this has been recorded and I've lost count of how many musicians have played it with me. It was a 'hit' off the 'FRAMPTON WELLER' album, and it seemed like an apt title for an album that reflects some of the music that I've written over the last fourteen years and the continuous process of change. Chowbox (4534 SE Belmont) - Inspired by John 'dude' Kathman and Will at the Horsebrass Pub in Portland. A lifetime's ambition to go and play in the States was realised in February 1999 thanks to Don and Terry.  Chowbox came from a conversation between myself and John, and Will showed us the inspirational nightlife sights of Portland. Could it be the new Horsebrass anthem? Whatever, it goes out to the party animals who we hope to see again and again. Kicks on 66 - I was reading a book by Bill Bryson, one of his journeyman ventures. It got to the part where he was looking for route 66 and found it was buried beneath a superhighway. Mixing in a few other bits and pieces gave me the basis for this one. Route 66 revisited you might say. Rest in Pieces - I really can't remember who invoked such anger and disgust in me, but the venom still flows when I sing it. Not every band members' favourite, but it deserved to be on the album. I wanna be - This was one of the last songs we were working on before Pete left. No idea where it came from, but there are a few of my influences in there for sure. Comment - Kind of an appropriate song for the end of the millennium with it's commentary on where I was in my life and where the world was in my view.  I finished this one just after Pete left, so I guess it's also about the band at a place in time. Some rock and roll for all you young people. Strange Love - This baby's been around for two or three years and has always worked really well live as a good old singalong.  It has the unusual feature of two bass guitars on the track. Pete and Dave played it their own ways and it worked out well. Gill says - Started life at one of our legendary after show parties at Di's place. I mixed in a few references to some old friends and it just grew from there. It was great fun to record and Dave gave it the reggae treatment it deserved. Anthem - One of my favourite songs. I put the finishing touches to Anthem when a close friend of mine finally fell in love. Clive came up with the classic guitar solo. It was a bitch to sing in the studio without the live atmosphere, but in the end it worked. Coke-ed -  I love the Jam and this just came right out of my Jam tribute songbook. It's a heavy theme and a great live track. The fizzy drink manufacturers'll probably ban it, or perhaps they'll buy it as an ad theme. Who knows? Black - Tough one this. I always envisaged it having a dance back beat. It's loosely about mixed racial relationships. I love the groove.  A bit of a grower, not a regular in the live set, 'cos I tend to save it for special occasions. Gem - Probably the most unusual track on the album. I wrote this a couple of years ago during one of those turbulent periods in life. By chance the chorus sounds a little like Frampton's 'by your side' which I've always liked. It was a tough number to put together. I wanted to avoid the formula trap so I kept the drums to the chorus and made it as moody as possible. With regard to the arrangement, I had those 70's classics in mind by Eric Carmen, Randy van Warmer, etc. Reach - This started out as a slow ballad. I couldn't get on with it at all so I sped it up and it turned into a 'gospel' song. It's about what it says. Coming home from work angry, tired and frustrated. It makes you appreciate the loved ones that are there for you. Is love really ever enough? - The title says it all. Royal Blues - Although I've been a 'blues' fan all my life this isn't about them. We were playing in Holland a few years ago and both Clive and I lost our voices, through our own stupid faults I hasten to add. We were faced with a four hour gig that night and I thought, man I've got to write more instrumentals. They love their blues over there, so this was the answer. It didn't help us out then, but it's grown and it's great to really let it rip. Bollox Alert  - aka Pacific Ocean view / Pacific City / Ode to the Mountain Man. A song of observations, hence the working title which in the end I couldn't bring myself to change. The chorus was influenced by the fact that we travel so much and meet such wonderful people that it is quite unbelievable. This one will always take me back to my first awe-inspiring view of the Pacific Ocean. Acknowledgements Just to get this record together was somewhat of a triumph. I couldn't have done it without Bing, Rick, Dave and Pete. My desire to play music drives me  on and the support that I get fuels that fire - burn baby burn. Thanks to Ricky for the loan of his amp and to Neil for the Gibson. All the songs on the album were written by Martin Weller and performed by CRUSH UK. Cover by Neil Dixon Cthree Design. Photographs by Bing and the mysterons.  Recorded at Mo's place by Mo, Tel 0208 640 8057.   Frampton Weller  Recorded in London 1996 – 1997 All songs written by Martin Weller and Clive Frampton except*  The songs that we have chosen to include span the last five years since the ‘duo’ met in 1992. So many memories, so many great times but all good things come to an end. We hope your particular favourites are included. ALBUM BREAKDOWN CAN’T STOP - Words & Music by Martin. Lead vocal & guitars, Martin, Harmonica & backing vocal, Clive. Bass guitar, Peter Groves. Drums, Steve Scudder. HEY YOU - Words & Music by Martin. Lead vocal, rhythm & lead guitar, Martin. Rhythm guitar & backing vocal, Clive TWO PEOPLE - Music by Clive & Martin. Lyrics by Martin. Starting with Clive on vocal, then shared lead vocal & rhythm guitar parts. Lead guitar & harmonica, Martin WHAT HAVE I DONE NOW? - Words & Music by Martin. Once again shared lead vocals this time starting with Martin. Guitars, Martin. Harmonica, Clive. Bass guitar in the verses, Joe Bazouki. Bass guitar in the chorus, Peter Groves. Drums, Steve Scudder. BLUE - Music by Clive. Lyrics by Martin. Guitars & backing vocal Clive. Lead vocal & harmonica, Martin. NEVER GET TIRED - Music by Clive. Lyrics by Martin. Guitars and backing vocal, Clive. Lead vocal, lead & accompanying guitar, Martin. FLAMINGO - Written by Martin. Rhythm & lead guitar, Martin. Occasional guitar, Clive. CHANGING BY DEGREES - Words & Music by Martin. Vocals, rhythm & lead guitar, Martin. Occasional guitar, Clive. Bass guitar, Peter Groves. Drums, Steve Scudder. SIMPLE MAN - Words & Music by Martin. Lead vocal & guitar, Martin. Slide guitar & backing vocal, Clive. JUST A FACE - Music, by Clive & Martin. Lyrics by Martin. Lead vocal, lead & rhythm guitar, Martin. Main rhythm guitar, keyboards & backing vocal, Clive  *SOMEDAYS - Music by Clive. Lyrics by Clive & John Fielder. Lead vocal, rhythm guitar & flute, Clive. Rhythm guitar & backing vocal, Martin. Bass guitar, Peter Groves. Drums, Steve Scudder. WHY SOME MEN (ARE BORN TO SING THE BLUES) - Words & Music by Martin. Lead vocals, lead & rhythm guitar, Martin. Harmonica & backing vocal, Clive. Bass guitar, Peter Groves. Drums, Steve Scudder. SIMPLE REPRISE - Written & performed by Martin.       Copyright © 2004-2010 CRUSHUK.COM All rights reserved.