A very simple concept: 2 guitars and a tape machine but one of the liveliest pairings on the circuit. The traditional start to the gig was when the band's lighting engineer and compere Jon Beast would take to the stage to introduce the band. Now Mr Beast was no slight fellow and used to take to the stage without a shirt and so the legend "You Fat Bastard" began as highlighted at the start of 'Surfin' USM' on the '30 Something' album.
I think I probably saw Carter a handful of times. The two gigs that stick out in my mind were from two slightly different times. The first was a Christmas Party style Gig at the Old Trout, Windsor which was probably after '101 Damnations' had come out but pre-30 Something. It was another hot and sweaty one and I remember ending up sitting on the stage during the last few songs (this was before the Old Trout got a bit more organised, and the Health and Safety people had stepped in, in order to erect a crash barrier in front of the stage). The second was a much larger gig at Slough College (now called, Thames Valley Poly or something similar). It was after the '30 Something' album came out and there was a much larger crowd. There were no doubt times when the tape machine played up but it was a fab gig.
The thing that I loved about Carter was probably the one thing that annoys many and that is how catchy the music is how clever the lyrics. Shouty, sing along chorus' are the order of the day and Jimbob's standard approach is to take an everyday phrase and then tweak it to fit with the lyrics of the song. The song titles 'Taking of Peckham 123' and 'Sealed With A Glasgow Kiss' are just two examples of this and you haven't even got into the actual lyrics. The band also did some great cover versions. The first notable one was the Pet Shop Boys 'Rent' which was on the b-side of Rubbish but my favourite was the Inspiral Carpets 'This Is How It Feels' which is so much better than the original (and that was pretty good).Perhaps seen by many as a throw away band I still love 'em.
For more information:
Carter USM on Wikipedia
The Official Carter Website
Essential Listening:
30 Something
You Fat Bastard
2 comments:
nice! thanks mate.
i think they also did a cover of "panic" from the smiths.
am i right?
also, are you familiar w/ the pre-carter usm band called jamie wednesday? any chance of posting some tracks from 'em?
yeah, that was a fairly decent cover too (and they also did a Buzzcocks cover on one of their first single). Havent got any 'Jamie wednesday' I'm afraid.
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