The Count Bishops - Two Minute Bishops

» TWO MINUTE BISHOPS

There was a time when the Swinging Blue Jeans moseyed into a studio, played the Hippy Hippy Shake for somewhat less than two minutes, decided that was all right and moseyed back out again with a number one single.

That sort of carelessness (or should it be called spontaneity) has been put to scorn by epic single makers from the Beach Boys through to Queen but now a cosmopolitan bunch of roustabout pub rockers called the Count Bishops have loudly and proudly put the clock back.

Their current EP 'Speedball' (it ain't no soddin' maxi-single mates) is culled from 13 tracks of hot Ramp;B laid down in five hours. I know this means they were tainted by modernism enough to take maybe half an hour on some tracks but you will agree that basically the statistics suggest all the doubts and hesitations of an express train.

The Count Bishops are Johnny Guitar (American on you-guessed), Zenon De Fleur (Polish/English on guitar, if you get the pun in his name, quite frequently the floor), Steve Lewins (proper English on bass) and Paul Balbi (Maltese/Australian on drums). The singer on 'Speedball' Mike Spenser, a New York buddy of Mr Guitar, has already 'moved on'.

The band's French manager Larry Debray lamented: "Mike is a good mover, all the ingredients to be a good singer but his attitude was so unprofessional."

So Johnny and Zen are taking the vocals with a gentleman called Laurie, lately of the Michigan Flyers (who? ah well now...) temporarily on mouth-harp while they seek out a new front man.

Johnny, whose versatility extends to writing their intriguing Press handouts, said: "Then we got together we rehearsed night and day for a couple of weeks" (a couple or weeks? te-he) "And then we went into Pathway Studios in Islington with the idea of getting down as many tracks as possible. It was 'We'll bring the amps, you guys bring the beer'.

"After eight or nine tracks we'd stopped and were listening to the playbacks and everyone was so enthusiastic we unpacked all the gear again and recorded four more including 'Route 66' and 'Teenage Letter' which we put on 'Speedball'."

Debray: "We captured the live sound which is very tight. The beginnings of a band. The accent was on energy level rather than refined recording."

There is certainly no danger of anyone describing the result as 'refined' but that raw, old sound (acknowledged Bishops' heroes are early Stones and Yardbirds) is just what made them kick in the crypt. You have to laugh - and bop.

Debray is dubious about such praise though: "We think people are too hooked on the nostalgia. This is Ramp;B alive today! It's not just a matter of getting dusty records down off the shelf. The band is writing its own songs now it's got used to playing as a unit."

They have so far sold out the 2,500 initial pressing of 'Speedball' (Chiswick Records) and plan further recordings on the Franco-Dutch Skydog label for which Debray happens to be UK agent. Another year and could Ramp;B be back, could the Count Bishops be feeling good?

By Phil Sutcliffe. First published in Sounds, January 1976.

Speedball EP

HOME • BIOGRAPHY • ARCHIVE • PICTURES • DISCOGRAPHY • LINKS