The Fabulous Poodles were a British pre- new wave band formed in 1975. Known for quirky stage antics, such as exploding ukuleles, as well as songs with funny lyrics, The Fabulous Poodles toured with

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

Sha Na Na Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll doo-wop group. Formed in 1969, but performing a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs, it simultaneously revived and parodied the music and the New York street culture of the 1950s. After ga ...

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the la ...

Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English former drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording ...

and

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

(as backing band). They appeared on

the Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...

and for a long time were music critic John Peel's favourite group. The band released three albums between 1977 and 1979 on

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherho ...

History

The Fabulous Poodles started out just as The Poodles. The original Fabulous Poodles consisted of Tony de Meur on lead vocals and guitar, Richie Robertson on bass and vocals, Bobby Valentino on violin, mandolin and vocals, Bryn Burrows on drums and Bob Suffolk on piano. Many of the band's lyrics were written by John Parsons, an artist/poet, who wrote "Chicago Boxcar", about a hair cut, for de Meur to put music to. Suffolk recognised a possible hit and asked de Meur to join the band. The song was taken to

Private Stock Records Private Stock Records was a record label that operated from 1974 to 1978. The label was founded by Larry Uttal after he was ousted from Bell Records. The label primarily focused on pop music and had numerous hit records, many of them one-hit wo ...

who released it as a single in connection with Dave Woods. The Poodles began touring England and the continent. Bob Suffolk left the band and went on to design recording studios (Suffolk Studio Design) while the final line up settled down to life on the road with Parsons as van driver, road manager and warm-up act as the Blue Poodle on a unicycle, often with his Jack Russell dog, Nipper, who howled to the harmonica. Parsons designed all the promotional material and merchandise. In 1979 the Fabulous Poodles embarked on an American tour supporting such notable acts as the Ramones and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The Fabulous Poodles were very heavily influenced by such British 1960s acts as

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

and

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

. Their first album, ''Fabulous Poodles'', was produced by John Entwistle, bassist for

, who also played eight-string bass on a few songs. Their second LP, ''Unsuitable'', featured their two best known songs, "Mirror Star" and "Chicago Boxcar (Boston Back)" and was produced by

Muff Winwood Mervyn "Muff" Winwood (born 15 June 1943, Erdington, Birmingham, England) is a British songwriter and record producer, and the older brother of Steve Winwood. Both were members of the Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, in which Muff Winwood pla ...

. In 1978 they undertook a UK tour with special guest Tom Sorahan. Their manager was Brian Lane, manager of Yes. In 1979, the final album ''Think Pink'' was recorded and released, the title being the only lyrics to one of the songs, "Pink City Twist". Initial quantities of the album shipped with hugely outsized outer sleeves, 24 inches (60cm) on a side. In 1980 the Fabulous Poodles released their final single, "Stompin' on the Cat" b/w "Anna Rexia" and "Don't You Lie To Me". Bryn Burrows later joined

Freur Freur was a Welsh new wave and synth-pop band featuring Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, who went on to form the electronic band Underworld. It was their second band, following their art school collaboration, the Screen Gemz. Their best known song ...

and was in the original line-up of

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...

Discography

1977: ''Fabulous Poodles''

# "The Ending" (de Meur, Parsons, Valentino, Robertson, Burrows) # "Doctor" (Bentley, Suffolk) # "Work Shy" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Bike Blood" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Rum Baba Boogie" (de Meur, Parsons) # "When the Summer's Thru" (de Meur) # "Rosie Pink" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Roll Your Own" (Mel McDaniel) # "Pinball Pin Up" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Mr. Mike" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Cherchez la Femme" (de Meur, Parsons) ;Personnel * Tony de Meur - guitar, lead vocals, harmonica * Bobby Valentino - violin, backing vocals, mandolin * Richie C. Robertson - bass, backing vocals * Bryn Burrows - drums, backing vocals * John Entwistle - 8-string bass (tracks 2, 10, 11) * Bob Suffolk - piano (tracks 6, 9)

1978: ''Unsuitable''

# "Mirror Star" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Topless GoGo" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Chicago Boxcar (Boston Back)" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Oh Cheryl" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Toytown People" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Convent Girls" (de Meur, Parsons) # "B Movies" (de Meur, Parsons, Valentino, Burrows, Robertson) # "Tit Photographer Blues" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Third Rate Romance" (Smith) # "Mugs Game" (de Meur, Parsons, Robertson) # "Suicide Bridge" (de Meur, Parsons)

1978: ''
Mirror Stars ''Mirror Stars'' is the first American album by the Fabulous Poodles. The album was a reconfigured version of their second British album ''Unsuitable'' with four tracks added from their debut album ''Fabulous Poodles''. The album was well receiv ...
'' (an American compilation of the first two British records)

# "Mirror Star" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Work Shy" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Chicago Boxcar (Boston Back)" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Oh Cheryl" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Toytown People" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Mr. Mike" (de Meur, Parsons, Robertson) # "Roll Your Own" (Mel McDaniel) # "B Movies" (de Meur, Parsons, Valentino, Burrows, Robertson) # "Tit Photographer Blues" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Cherchez La Femme" (de Meur, Parsons)

1979: ''
Think Pink In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, a ...
''

# "Man With Money" (P. Everly, D. Everly) # "Bionic Man" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Any Port In a Storm" (de Meur, Burrows) # "(Hollywood) Dragnet" (de Meur) # "Bike Blood" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Cossack Cowboy" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Anna Rexia" (de Meur) # "You Wouldn’t Listen" (de Meur) # "Suicide Bridge" (de Meur, Parsons) # "Pink City Twist" (de Meur, Valentino, Burrows, Robertson) # “Vampire Rock” (de Meur, Parsons)

1995: ''His Masters Choice''

This is a compact disc personal best-of compilation # "Mirror Star" # "Work Shy" # "Bionic Man" # "B Movies" # "Toy Town People" # "Pinball Pin Up" # "You Wouldn't Listen" # "Stompin' on the Cat" # "Mr. Mike" # "Cherchez La Femme" # "Talkin' Trash" # "Rum Baba Boogie" # "When the Summer's Thru" # "Rosie Pink" # "Man With Money" # "Bike Blood" # "Chicago Boxcar (Boston Back)" # "Anna Rexia" # "Suicide Bridge" # "Pink City Twist" # "Vampire Rock"

2009: ''Mirror Stars / Think Pink''

The two American albums were paired on a single CD released on the American Beat Records label (an imprint of

Collectors' Choice Music Collectors' Choice Music (CCM) is an Itasca, Illinois, company originally primarily in two businesses, but since 2010 only in the second. CCM was best known for reissuing albums originally recorded in LP record form as compact disc The com ...

). A bootleg live album recorded in

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, on ...

in 1979 entitled ''Radio Stars'' has also been circulating around collector's circles for a few years.

Personnel

* Tony de Meur – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica *

Richie Robertson Richie or Richy is a masculine given name or short form (hypocorism) of Richard. It is also a surname. First name *Richie Ashburn (1927–1997), American Major League Baseball player, member of the Hall of Fame *Richie Benaud (1930–2015), Austr ...

– Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals *

Bobby Valentino (UK) Bobby Valentino (born Robert James Beckingham, 22 June 1954) is a British musician, violinist and singer. Career Born in Chatham, Kent, he adopted the stage name Bobby Valentino in 1975. Valentino's first success was as a founding member of ...

– Violin, Mandolin, Guitar, Backing Vocals *

Bryn Burrows Bryn is a Welsh word meaning hill. It may also refer to: Places United Kingdom See also UK location England * Bryn, Greater Manchester ** Bryn (ward), an electoral ward in Wigan ** Bryn railway station * Cornwall Wales * Bryn, an electoral d ...

– Drum, Percussion

References

External links

Ronnie GoldenBobby Valentino"Mirror Star" performed live on Peter Cook's Revolver in 1978"Work Shy" performed live on American Bandstand in 1979
{{Authority control English new wave musical groups Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups disestablished in 1980