HAWKEYE: TO CONQUER THE WORLD

This article was originally published in Standard #2 1986. This magazine was produced by Max Admiraal and Gerard Davelaar from the Netherlands;  Marie Presager in France, and Jan Erik Justesen in Norway. 
The author was Gerard Davelaar





THE HAWKEYE STORY

Hawkeye was not so much a label as it was an idea. They were only in it for the fun of releasing albums, and not for the money. The only thing the Hawk got for his idea’s were some sample copies from the released albums. Another reason was that, by offering new titles, other “companies” wouldn’t repackage old albums and release these over and over again. Thanks to this policy a variety of albums is or was available. Only recently the silly repackaging and digging up old stuff has begun again. (An example is the “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” album, no information given about the tracks, and all the tracks taken from previously released gigs.)

The albums came not from one “company”, but were produced by various people in the USA and Europe. But the idea for Hawkeye started much earlier, under a different name and produced various EP’s. It started in the spring of 1982, when someone got access to doing EP’s cheaply. He didn’t have material though and turned to a long time friend and asked him if he had any idea’s. This guy was a Joy Division fan from the early days on, and he had noticed that cassettes with Joy Division gigs were going very well, so he suggested a Joy Division EP. The choice was not too difficult as the “Ideal for Living” EP was never properly available in the Netherlands and that becomes the first release. In a couple of months the record was out on the Coco record label. The producer used silly labels on the actual record and proper labels were printed on various colours of paper and included separately with the records. Some “promotional” sleeves were made on all kinds of different cardboard and paper, all in about 40 copies.

A limited edition was made of the very first issue of the History in Cuttings book, including a cassette with Joy Division’s second Peel Session and New Order’s Western Works demo’s. The “Ideal” EP in a special silver pouch , all together in a see-through plastic cover. Not much of these were made, 50 or 60 copies. A year later a repressing was done and this time several white label copies were made.

The second release was, the now legendary, “Solitary Demands” EP. It was released in the summer of 1982, again on the Coco record label. It consists of the Paradiso tapes and two tracks from the second Peel session, then also available for the first time on vinyl. The cover shot was made during the Dutch tour. The picture on the back was made by Kevin Cummins at the Russel Club gig (17-7-1979). Again, a lot of different paper sleeves were made to frustrate the collector who “wants everything”. In the case of Joy Division impossible now! The EP was sold out quickly and has not been repressed.

The third release was the “Out of Balance, Out of Tune” EP. Some people thought the title did injustice to Joy Division, but in my view it’s a good one, as the title covers the contents.









The recording was made during the soundcheck for the gig in High Wycombe on February 20, 1980 (the gig itself is available on the “Live Transmission - Dance to the Radio” album). For the release the tape was heavily edited, as there were a lot of false starts. One track was omitted totally, because only about 10 minutes playing time per side was available. It’s a nice EP though with an OK sleeve. The review on the back comes from the NME review of the University of London gig (Febr. 8, 1980). This time a numbered edition was made. 500 copies it says, but I think some more records were pressed, as the EP is still available.

But now, finally, we’ve come to the Hawkeye releases.

Early 1983, a good quality tape from the Russel Club gig was circulating. A master tape was prepared, together with three tracks from New Order’s second Peel session (at that time not available on vinyl). The Joy Division encore was not included because the quality dropped heavily on the last two tracks. The tape was sent to Germany, because a lot of these albums were produced there. The sleeve was also designed, with on the front a picture of Ian at the actual gig and on the back an “In Memoriam” written by Steve Davis, which appeared in the UK Fanzine “In The City” - No 15/1980, under the title of “New Dawn Fades”. Together with the Russell Club tape, a second master tape was made, the complete gig done at the Winter Gardens in Malvern, April 5, 1980 and three tracks from Eric’s, Liverpool August 11, 1979. Although the quality was not too good, these recordings were valuable, as the Malvern gig was played very well and included a jam with Section 25, and among the Eric’s tracks was one song, never played before or after, titled “Gimme your Heart”. The Russel Club album was released first as Hawkeye SCX 5443. Unfortunately the mother disc was cut in a bad way, so the first track on side one was marred by a dent in the vinyl, but overall it’s a nice release. The first edition was 500 copies and it was repressed later on five different colours of vinyl. The coloured vinyls sound not as good as the original black pressing.


The Malvern/Eric’s album took very long to appear, and when it finally came out (not as a Hawkeye, but on the Elf record label as “Curtis and the Boys”) almost all the copies were seized by the German police in a raid in the South of Germany in the autumn of 1983. A few copies escaped, and in 1984 it was repressed under the title “Isolation”, poor quality, again on various colours. The original album has a well known picture on he front: taken at a rehearsal session at TJ Davidson’s in Manchester where the "Love will tear us apart” video was shot. The back cover wasn’t designed by Hawkeye, but taken from the 'History in Cuttings' book.

After this it took almost a year before the next albums came out. In the meantime a sleeve was designed for someone in the USA who released the “Autosuggestion” EP in an edition of 500 copies. The photo was taken at TJ Davidson’s again on April 20th 1980. It was a one sided 17 - 17cm b/w sleeve.

July 1984, two new albums were prepared. The first one was the Paradise Garage gig from New Order (July 7th 1983) - Hawkeye 006. A very good performance. The sleeve depicts New Order before the Paradise Garage in New York, taken from the NME, and on the back a part from an article from Sounds is reprinted about the gig. The quality is great and a first edition was pressed on white vinyl (500 copies). However the record didn’t sell very well and is still available. If you want a nice New Order live album this is the one to get!

The second release is the already legendary “Retrospective” album from Joy Division, with all the rare and hard to get vinyls collected on one album. The sleeve notes were taken from the Christmas issue of the NME (1983) where a very good article on Joy Division and New Order was published. As an added bonus, two remixes were included from the “Unknown Pleasures” album. “Candidate” and “New Dawn Fades”, both almost drowned in Martin Hannett’s echo chamber. Unfortunately these two tracks were mastered on a much higher level than the other tracks, so they came out slightly distorted on the album. In my opinion it’s a playable collection and an album that Factory should have done.
In the meantime a fourth EP was released in September 1984. This time it was meant to be a New Order EP but in the end it became a single only. Side one was the rough mix from “Confusion” produced by Arthur Baker and taken from a Streetwise white label 12” (Hawkeye didn’t expect that in the end 4 different mixes were released). Side two should have had two tracks recorded live at the 688 club in Atlanta on their USA tour “Confusion” and “Cries and Whispers”. Sleeves were prepared according to the information but when the records arrived (on the Paradise label this time) it was discovered that only “Confusion” was on side two. A few copies were sold in the original “wrong” covers, printed in black and blue, but soon after that a new grey sleeve was made with the right tracks on it. The pictures came from an issue of the Face magazine in 1983. All in all, a disappointing release.


In May 1984 New Order played an almost unannounced gig at the Paradiso club in Amsterdam. It was quickly sold out, and everybody expected something special as it was four years ago Ian died. Hawkeye was there as well and they released an album of the concert called 441. The gig was great. New Order started with an “unknown” track and Bernard wrote “New Guitar One” on the setlist as they hadn’t decided on a proper title. This track hasn’t turned up yet. The rest of the gig was very good and at the end, two Joy Division tracks were played “Decades” very good, and “Love will tear us apart”, ragged, careless and quick. After some feedback New Order left the stage and Hawkeye had another live album to release (Hawkeye 007 - released 11/84). The front picture of Bernard was taken at the Atlanta gig (1983) while the photo on the back came from the Paradiso gig. The liners were taken from an issue of the Record Mirror. The bad thing is that the album was mastered on a very low level this time, you have to switch your amplifier high to get a good sound. But this also increases the hiss, crackles and bobs, so watch your speakers! What happened to the last tracks on side one is unknown to me, but this really sound shitty!


In the spring of 1984 an excellent quality tape of Joy Division’s Effenaar gig became available. A cassette of this gig was available for years but it lasted for about 55 minutes excluding the encores “Warsaw”. It was an audience recording made on a Sony Eleaset recorder. The master tape was sent to Factory, but they did nothing with it. Part of the gig was filmed on 8mm and these were used in the “Here are the young men” video. A master tape was prepared and it turned out to be enough for three sides. A fourth side was made up with the second Peel session and a “long” version of “She’s lost control”. Later I discovered that this version is available on certain Dutch pressings of the “Atmosphere / She’s lost control” 12” released by Megadisc in Amsterdam. The double album was released in the USA only as Hawkeye 008. All the pictures on the (hand made) sleeve were from the actual gig. Quality is great, only marginally less than that of the “Amsterdam” album. Go for this one and not for the terrible Swedish picture disc or the hissy “Morituri te salutant” incomplete album (in a horrible cover as well!).
In 1985 no more good quality Joy Division tapes were discovered and Hawkeye’s New Order albums were selling poorly. The question arose if different groups could be used for Hawkeye releases and that’s where these three albums came from: John’s Children - Direct Action (Hawkeye 010), a sixties “Who” like band featuring Marc Bolan, The Nomads - Psycho Live (Hawkeye 011), Swedish garage rockers and the Velvet Underground - Amsterdam 1971 (Hawkeye 013).


Together with these albums one new Joy Division Hawkeye was made: “Here are the young men” (Hawkeye 009), which came out in July 1985. The album had the remaining tracks from the “Here are the young men” video which were not on the Effenaar double album and some tracks from videos, notably the Australian version of “Love will tear us apart” with nice double tracked vocals. Also mentioned on the sleeve is “Shadowplay” from Granada TV, which unfortunately doesn’t appear on the record. (Later this track became available on the German “Shadowplay” album). The front sleeve was made with one of the many Joy Division postcards which appeared in the shops during the summer. The back was a rare “posed” shot from the band, also used on some later editions of the “History in cuttings” book. Origin unknown.

Another Joy Division album was also mastered titled “Le Terme - part 2”. As the Hawkeye label was a kind of guarantee for at least decent quality, this album was not meant to get the Hawkeye tag, but the people who actually produced the album decided different. The album was given a Hawkeye number (016) and released. The quality was not too good. The Preston gig was disastrous, as almost the whole equipment of Joy Division broke down and most of the gig was played through the bass amplifier only. The performance is interesting though because there’s communication between Ian and the audience, at least he tried to explain what went wrong. The Derby tracks are roughly the same quality as those on “Le Terme” and the University of London track is OK. Nevertheless it’s a questionable release.

As yet unreleased, an quality wise not much different from the above album is “Futurama 2 / Live 1979”, an album with the Futurama gig (Leeds Sept 8th 1979) plus “Incubation” (to complete the “Komakino” album), “The Sound of Music”, the missing track from the “out of Balance, Out of Tune” EP, “Candidate” and “New Dawn Fades” (retrospective), properly mastered this time. This album is not given an “official” Hawkeye number, but I don’t know if, and how it will be released.
During this time another New Order album was prepared. The front sleeve was ready but the album was never mastered. Side one had the BBC gig from August 25th 1984 and side two: “Thieves Like Us” (Pop Elektron May 25th 1984), “Lonesome Tonight”, “Temptation” and “Thieves Like Us”, recorded live at the Hacienda and incorporated in the special “Play at Home” (broadcast August 21st 1984) while the last track on side two was an edited / remixed scratch version of “Blue Monday” made by a disc jockey from a NT radio station. An unusual but nice version. However the other Hawkeye New Order albums were not selling and the producers lost their interest.


A couple of weeks before these releases a fifth EP came out and that was the infamous “Rough Trade” promo EP with the missing tracks from “Le Terme - Part 2”. An interesting (edited) version of “the Eternal” is included with three other OK tracks. The sleeve notes from Steve Morris were adapted from the letter he sent to record shops and promoters when the “Ideal” EP was released in 1978. One hundred of these EPs came with a free postcard. Distribution is low on this item and although it’s been out for a couple of months now it’s hard to get one. It is not likely that more genuine Hawkeyes will be released. New, good quality Joy Division tapes are unavailable and not likely to turn up, while New Order is not strong enough to sell. Even a kind of “Greatest Hits” was tagged unsuitable. The album should have had the promo versions of Confusion, Thieves Like Us and The Perfect Kiss together with the Hacienda flexi, the Blue Monday remix and 5.8.6 from the “Touch” cassette.

Other people understood the Hawkeye thought and the recent release of New Order's Tokyo 1985 album was given a fake Hawkeye number (010), it's great quality, so keep up the standard!

The Hawkeye label produced many of the best Joy Division and New Order bootlegs:

Hawkeye releases:
001 - Ideal for living EP
002 - Solitary demands EP
003 - Out of balance, out of tune EP
004 - Russel Club album
005 - Retrospective album
006 - Paradise Garage (New Order) album
007 - 4 4 1 (New Order) album
008 - Eindhoven double album
009 - Here are the young men album
010 - John's Children (w/ Marc Bolan) album
011 - Nomads (swedish group) album
012 - BBC (by who?)
013 - Velvet Underground - Amsterdam 1971
014 - Greatest hits (New Order) 
015 - Echo & the Bunnymen - Peel / YMCA


Hawkeye related releases:
New Order - Confusion single

Joy Division - Malvern / Eric's album

Joy Division - Le terme - part 2 

Joy Division - Rough Trade EP

Joy Division - Futurama 2 / Live 1979 album

LIGHT UP THE DYNAMITE; THE STORY OF DYNAMITE RECORDS

by Gerard Davelaar

(This article originally appeared in the November 1981 issue of Gorilla Beat magazine). 

 Dynamite’s story begins way back in 1972, when Pieter Meulenbroeks and Parisian Marc Zermatti set up SKYDOG Records.

The main idea behind the label was to give rock groups a chance, which were extraordinary but wouldn't have a look-in otherwise.

The whole music scene at that time at such a low level, that there wasn’t much for a spoilt pop fan to enjoy. 

SKYDOG tried to remedy the situation by importing all kinds of cut-outs and collector’s items from the States, finally resulting in a bit of recognition for “New York Scene” bands as the MC5 and the Stooges in Europe. 


Around that time the ‘art’ of nice pic-sleeved singles had gone completely lost and as SKYDOG wanted to produce records by themselves, it was also very important to them to release 45’s with high class picture-sleeves. 

The first SKYDOG release however was an album, Sky high, a collection of Jimi Hendrix jam sessions with amongst others, Jim Morrison of the Doors. 

At the beginning of 1973 SKYDOG received a tape by the Flamin’ Groovies, out of which came the EP’s Grease and More Grease. 

An obscure collection of Kim Fowley also appeared and a fantastic EP Jumpin’ by British pubrockers Ducks De Luxe. 

This was followed by the Frantic EP of British rockabilly star Shakin’ Stevens and a re-release of Sneakers, the legendary 10” EP by the Flamin’ Groovies. 

 In June 1975 the DYNAMITE AGENCY (also led by Pieter Meulenbroeks and his companion Klaas Jan Janssen) set up a tour by the upcoming R&B group Dr. Feelgood (The Speedin’ thru Europe tour). The two businesses gradually grew apart with SKYDOG carrying on as usual, while the DYNAMITE AGENCY in that hot summer of 1975 started their own label DYNAMO, which released a couple of outstanding singles within a very short period. 

A bit later, in August 1976, Jake Riviera, tour manager of Dr. Feelgood started his own STIFF label with Dave Robinson, owner of the Hope & Anchor pub.

One of the earliest DYNAMO singles was the London R&B group The Count Bishops’ recording of Taking it Easy / Train Train, recorded at Pathway Studios London, March 1976. 

Along with their first CHISWICK EP it was the best The Bishops trusted to vinyl. 

The single was later leased to CHISWICK records, who released it with a slightly different picture-sleeve. Then a great 45 from DUCKS DE LUXE frontman SEAN TYLA followed: Amsterdam Dog / Midnight Man in early 1975. 

The line-up was Sean Tyla (guitar), Martin Belmont (vocals), Micky Groom (bass), and Tim Roper (drums). Amsterdam Dog told about the time when DUCKS DE LUXE played regularly in the Amsterdam club Boddy’s Music Inn, the equivalent to the London pub like the Hope & Anchor. 

One of their performances over there was recorded by Dutch VPRO radio in 1974 but was never broadcasted because “the presentation was not up to standard“. 

The reason the DUCKS played at Boddy’s was that TED BODDY was also owner of the nearby Wiechmann Hotel on the Prinsengracht, well known to musicians at that time. 

A free bed as long as they played a few times at the INN was always there. 

It should also be mentioned that the Dutch music papers did nothing to support the independent companies. 

The singles which DYNAMO released were never reviewed in the national press, with the result that almost a whole nation didn’t even know about its existence. 

Only the big import shops in Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam took some singles from the company, put away between all other imports. 

It was thus, without meaning to be, always strongly directed to the collector, who had to put a little more time into purchasing their music than the average record buyer. 

And let’s face it, to make it as a band, you need more than the support and attention of a handful of people. 

 The next DYNAMO release was the splashing SHAKIN’ STEVENS EP Sexy way. The follow-up, the ROOGALATOR single was leased from STIFF and only pressed as limited DJ release to avoid trouble with the BBC as they had the rights to this release. 

The British music press wrote very favorably about ROOGALATOR, led by American Danny Adler, but live they weren’t particulary good, suffering from uninspired sets. 

 Then there were THE SNAKES, a band formed around ex-DUCKS-man Nick Garvey with future WIRE-member David Gotobed on vocals. 

Other members were Rob Smith (bass) and Richard Wernhem (drums). 

The A-side of their single was the Flamin’ Groovies song Teenage Head, inspired by the time Nick Garvey was a roadie for that band in 1972. 

It’s a good version but not representative of their live sound which was a whole lot better. 

After leaving The Snakes, Nick teamed up with The MOTORS who were reasonably succesfull for a while (Airport). The most legendary DYNAMO record is the Dutch-only released NICK LOWE single Keep it out of Sight / Truth Drug, recorded in London during the winter of 1975/76 and produced by Jake Riviera. 

Keep it out of Sight has a beautiful, threatening presentation of the Dr. Feelgood song, while Truth Drug is lighthearted, short and energetic. 

The single was such a success that a counterfeit was made in the USA, recognizable by its black and white label (the original label has a red stick of Dynamite, not a grey one), the lack of a picture-sleeve and bad sound quality. 

The TYLA GANG single Styrofoam / Texas Chainsaw was released by DYNAMO with a picture-sleeve in contrast to the STIFF version who had a blank sleeve. 

Styrofoam was written by Daniel D’Vore who had been part of THE CHARLATANS along with Mike Wilhelm (of the Flamin’ Groovies). 

Via some intricate channels it became part of THE DUCKS’ repertoire and this single was dressed with TYLA’S very own interpretation. 

The last two releases on DYNAMITE before fate dealt a blow, were 2 albums: THE COUNT BISHOPS’ Good Gear, recorded in Holland with the Exalto Mobile live at Boddy’s for the first half and at the Zijkanaal-F Studio in Ruigoord (near Amsterdam) for the 2nd. half. 

It is an album of R&B covers played at maximum energy but is limited by weak vocals. 

After that came the SHAKIN’ STEVENS C’mon Memphis LP, which appeared in both (limited) 10” and 12” versions. 


Late 1976 DYNAMITE is organizing a number of concerts with Dr. Feelgood and shortly after, THE FLAMIN’ GROOVIES. 

The concerts are artisticly a success, but prove to be a financial disaster for the organisation. 

They can hardly scrape enough money together to pay the groups, mainly because the FLAMIN’ GROOVIES concerts were poorly attended. 

Supporting act were the TYLA GANG, playing mostly uninspired sets but the GROOVIES were really fantastic. 

One of the gigs took place on December 5, (when the Dutch celebrate the Sinterklaas children’s fest in the evening) in Paradiso, leaving the GROOVIES with a 4/5 empty hall.

At the same time there were troubles with Dutch R&B giants THE BINTANGS who recorded an incredible live-album for DYNAMITE at the IJmuiden-Pen Centrale in the spring of 1977 for an LP-side. 

For the other side they made a trip to the Welsh Rockfield Studios where, under the guidance of SEAN TYLA, some powerful tracks were recorded. 

These recordings took quite a while though, progressing slowly and were costing so much money that the other DYNAMITE activities came to an abrupt halt. 

There was no money left to release the Bintangs album or any other records at the time. 

One year later the LP finally appeared on the PHILIPS label and DYNAMITE barely got a mention on the sleeve. 

The DYAMITE headquarters on the Amsterdam Singel were being renovated and after a chaotic removal the label seemed to disappear off the face of the earth. 

For years nothing more was heard about it. 

Most of the singles became collector’s items and many DYNAMITE artists enjoyed commercial success. 

During 1980 appeared what at first seemed to be a number of ‘new’ releases, soon turning out that those were remains of the old ’77 stock. 

In most cases the records had been pressed but there was no money for a picture-sleeve, there were even covers without singles!. 

 But there was also some good news: a 12” of the BINTANGS' Big Black Tank was released, which had been planned for years, with 4 tracks of the Philips album, which was originally meant to be a special DJ ‘pleaser’ for the LP. 

Next was a single by LOOSE GRAVEL, a 3-piece San Francisco Bay Area outfit led by MIKE WILHELM. It contained two outstanding songs: Gravel Rash and Don’t Flash Out. The third one was a recording of the legendary farewell concert of DUCKS DE LUXE at the 100 Club, London on the 1st of July, 1975. 

The line-up then was Billy Rankin (drums), Brinsley Schwarz (guitar and sax), Sean Tyla (guitar and vocals), Martin Belmont (guitar) and Mickey Groom (bass)… with a little help of friends like Martin Stone (Chilli Willy & the Red Hot Peppers), Dr. Feelgoods’ Lee Brilleaux and Bob Andrews (Brinsley Schwarz). 


With those 18 tracks on a double-album the DUCKS were buried in style. It was an inspired performance with perhaps a little too much alcohol and chatter… but it was a farewell with great tracks like Fireball, Here comes the night, Amsterdam Dog, Jumpin’ in the Fire and Knockin’ on heaven’s door.

The last record to appear was also the best presented DYNAMITE of all. 

A mixed bag with the catchy title Light up the Dynamite, sporting a real great supplement sheet containing worthwhile information, a handglued sticker and a cover designed by nowadays Dutch top-illustrator JOOST SWARTE. 

The album itself is a rarity, containing A or B sides of earlier Dynamite singles but most of them were new: THE SNAKES’ Have you seen my baby and Little Queenie, also DAS LUFTWAFFENGESELLSCHAFT (Tyla & Garvey together with Mike Desmarais and Peter O’Sullivan ) with the song On the Street, recorded in London in 1976. 

Further outstanding tracks by LOOSE GRAVEL, Blue Skies and Sunshine and The Frisco band, also from 1976. There are two BINTANGS tracks introduced by Sean Tyla and two of the best tracks ever, recorded by Dutch young punksters THE FLYIN’ SPIDERZ under the guidance of Sean Tyla in March 1977. 

The reason for including the Eindhoven-based punk group was that DYNAMITE intended then to broaden their base with new music, discovered the FLYIN’ SPIDERZ, (who used to play Flamin’ Groovies stuff before they turned into punks). 

A few demos were made and when TYLA heard those he immediately got enthousiastic and wanted to produce them. 

The SPIDERZ were soon opening for THE DAMNED, at their first Dutch concert in Paradiso, a low budget concert that DYNAMITE organized with the local RAF record shop. 

Due to the everpresent financial troubles DYNAMITE had, The SPIDERZ also left the label for a more lucrative contract with EMI, for which they made less interesting records. 

That was the end of it. 

Tired of being without money most of the time, Pieter and Klaas-Jan folded the label and got themselves a regular job. 

They deserved more, but fortunately left us collectors with a great legacy. 

Looking back, DYNAMO RECORDS was one of the highlights of the music scene in the mid- and late seventies in the Netherlands, opening the way for other small labels likes Torso and No Fun.

DISCOGRAPHY 

Only those releases in which Pieter Meulenbroeks was involved. 

Jimi Hendrix - Sky High LP (SGSH 2017378, 1972) 

Flamin' Grooves - Grease EP (FG 001, 1973) 

Flamin' Groovies - Jumpin' Jack Flash/Blues For Phillys (SGFGG 002, 1974) 


Velvet Underground - Evil Mothers LP (LP 003, 1974) 


Kim Fowley - Animal God Of The Streets (SGKF 004, 1974)

 
Flamin' Groovies - Sneakers 10" LP (MLPFGG 003, 1975) 


Ducks Deluxe - Jumpin' EP (EP 005, 1975) 

 Shakin' Stevens & the Sunsets - Frantic EP (EP 006, 1975) 

From Clinton Heylin's 'The Secret History of the Other Recording Industry'

(Viking, 1994). 

"Sky Dog Records - which had a base in Paris but initially operated from Holland - became the first 'bootleg' label to claim quasi-legal status. It was as an underground outfit that they first released the legendary Hendrix title Sky High, featuring such luminaries as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Johnny Winter, contributing to a particularly drunken jam session at a New York club. In a laminated black and white sleeve, with a skull in a bandana emblazoned on the front cover, Sky High was a significant seller. Sky Dog had obviously realized that it was easier to ship their albums across national borders and sell them to cautious punters if they looked like real records. In fact, Sky High was a legitimately release, at least in Holland, since the tapes had been legitimateley purchased and all royalties were paid (through the Dutch copyright-house, STEMRA). 

In the early years of bootlegging it was relatively easy to attain 'quasi-legitimate' status in Holland. 

Sky Dog certainly were operating with a 'bootleg' mentality. 

Indeed, when Sky Dog's Parisian partner, met Ken in LA in the early months of 1973 he was appalled at the mercenary nature of his Smokin' Pig operation. Marc Zermati: (At this point) we realized that these guys were really only in it for the money. 

For us it was much more of a radical thing... (we wanted to) undermine the record industry. 

Sky High may have been kosher, but the other early Sky Dog title, Evil Mothers was definitely not an approved release. Zermati had been given copies of the complete Brigid Polk tapes of the Velvet Underground at Max's in 1970 and had send copies to his Dutch partner, who proceeded to release them under the Sky Dog banner, thus creating the first Velvet Underground bootleg, at a time when the Velvet's legitimate sales barely numbered in the thousands. 

Shortly afterwards, Zermati and his Dutch partner went their separate ways and the French-based label went 'legit' with a legendary live album of Iggy & the Stooges' final show, Metallic K.O..

DYNAMITE 45s

DYR 45001 Count Bishops - Taking It Easy/Train Train

DYR 45002 Sean Tyla - Amsterdam Dog/Midnight Moon (1976)

DYR 45003 Shakin' Stevens & the Sunsets - You're the Mostest Girl/Rock-A-Billy Earthquake (1976)

DYR 45004 Shakin' Stevens & the Sunsets - Sexy Ways EP (1976)

DYR 45005 Roogalator - All Aboard/Cincinnatti Fatback (1976) 


DYR 45006 Snakes - Teenage Head/Lights Out (1976)

DYR 45007  Nick Lowe - Keep It Out Of Sight/Truth Drug (1976)

(bootlegged in the USA w/ B&W label and no picture sleeve)

DYR 45008 Tyla Gang - Styrofoam/Texas Chainsaw Massacre Boogie (1976)

DYR 45009 Loose Gravel - Gravel Rash/Don't Flash Out (1979)

DYR 45010 Flyin' Spiderz - Down/Let's Take The Chance

(sleeve only, record never pressed)

BOMP 101 Flamin' Groovies - You Tore Me Down/Him Or Me (1976)

(US pressing in Dutch picture sleeve).

"A special Flamin' Groovies fanclub venture collectors edition" as it says on the sleeve. 

The "fanclub" was indeed another Dynamite venture, it's P.O. Box was listed on the Flamin' Groovies' Skydog releases as well.

DYNAMITE LPs 


DYR 3301 Count Bishops - Good Gear LP (1977) 


DYR 3302 Shakin' Stevens & the Sunstes - Come On Memphis 10" (1977)

DYR 3303  Ducks Deluxe - Last Night Of A Pub Rock Band 2LP (1979)


DYR 3304 Light Up The Dynamite (1979)

DYR 3305 Bintangs - Bintangs

(not released) -

This is the album that drained all Dynamite's funds, it was eventually released on Philips 6410955 but does state "An exclusive Dynamite recording"-


DYR 3306 Shakin' Stevens & the Sunsets - Come On Memphis LP (1979)

DYNAMITE: OUT WITH A BANG

by George Evers 

This article was first published in Flashback magazine #14 

 Tja, wat betreft het Dynamite label; er heeft in Holland eigenlijk nog nooit zo'n vooruitstrevend label bestaan als deze superkleine platenmaatschappij. Ergens valt het zelfs nog een beetje te vergelijken met Hollandse mid-sixties labels als OP-ART of MUZIEK EXPRES waarvan ook maar in totaal een 15 singles zijn uitgebracht, maar waar baanbrekende groepen als GROEP 1850, de OUTSIDERS, ZIPPS e.a. de boventoon voerden. 

DYNAMITE bestond gedurende 1976 tot begin 1977 toen financiële en persoonlijke moeilijkheden een eind maakten aan het compagnonschap van oprichter Pieter Meulenbroeks (voorheen SKYDOG label) en Klaas Jan Jansen. 

De voorliefde voor echte rock 'n roll en goede muziek zonder commercieële opsmuk was de feitelijke reden van het ontstaan van Dynamite. 

Jammergenoeg waren ze er te vroeg bij. 

Tegen de tijd dat The Damned met de eerste punk-single aller tijden "New Rose" verscheen, en de belangstelling voor de kleinere Engelse labels zoals Stiff en Chiswick begon op te leven, was de aftakeling van DYNAMITE reeds begonnen. 

Enerzijds door een slechte platenverkoop en tevens forse verliezen op concerten van de Flamin' Groovies en Dr. Feelgood eind 1976. 

Daardoor bleek het niet mogelijk optimaal te blijven functioneren. 

Ook onze nationale "trots" Muziekkrant Oor heeft ze danig in de steek gelaten. 

Terwijl de Engelse music weeklies er geweldig aan meegeholpen hebben om de kleine labels te promoten, was Oor druk doende met Funk. 

Sla er maar eens een nummer op na uit die periode. 

Pas half 1977 kwamen ze er achter dat er ook nog wat anders bestond als de Eagles en de Atlanta Rhythm Section. 

Dynamite was totaal onbelangrijk. 

Een solo-single van Nick Lowe, platen van de Count Bishops of Sean Tyla waren niet belangrijk genoeg om opgenomen te worden in de nieuwe platenrecencies. 

Feit is dat voor de al eerder genoemde single van Nick Lowe 100 gulden gevraagd wordt en dat dat er voor betaald wordt ook. 

O.K. voor de eerste 10 singles van STIFF werden ook de onmogelijkste prijzen gevraagd (en betaald) maar bij STIFF waren ze nog in de gelegeheid om die veelgevraagde 10 stuks in de vorm van een box opnieuw tegen een redelijke prijs uit te brengen maar bij DYNAMITE kan dit uiteraard niet meer. 

Het laatste nieuws is echter dat Pieter Meulenbroeks toch weer bezig schijnt te zijn. 

Er wordt gesproken over een elpee met daarop het afscheidsconcert van de befaamde pub-rock groep DUCKS DE LUXE. 

Ik hoop dat het lukt. 

Gepoogd wordt om verder in dit artikel een totaaloverzicht te geven van alle DYNAMITE activiteiten en dat houdt ook in het vermelden van de onuitgebrachte opnamen, die zeer zeker de moeite van het vermelden waard zijn. 

 DYR 45001 COUNT BISHOPS: TAKING IT EASY/TRAIN TRAIN 

 De Bishops die eind 1975 geen vaste deal hadden met een grotere platenmaatschapij zwalkten wat heen en weer tussen DYNAMITE en CHISWICK, waarvan de laatste nog steeds de Bishops platen uitbrengt. Buiten deze single heeft de band ook nog de elpee "Good Gear" op DYNAMITE uitgebracht. 

Deze elpee is onder Engelse fans beter bekend als "the great mystery album" omdat er maar weinig exemplaren van circuleren. Bassist Steve Lewins die recentelijk Holland aandeed met Wilko Jonson's Solid Senders en voorheen in de Count Bishops zat, verzekerde mij in een gesprek dat ik met hem had dat hij de plaat zelfs nog nooit gezien had. 


Steve heeft de Solid Senders in de tussentijd al weer verlaten. 

De Bishops die een paar maanden geleden een grote klap te verwerken kregen door de tragische dood van hun belangrijkste man Zenon de Fleur, timmeren op dit moment al weer aardig aan de weg met een nieuwe gitarist en een meer dan uitstekende rhythm en blues uitvoering van het nummer Mr. Jones, hun laatste schijf op het Chiswick label. 

DYR 45002 SEAN TYLA: AMSTERDAM DOG/MIDNIGHT MOON 


Nadat Sean Tyla's groep DUCKS DE LUXE in 1974 al een EP op het Skydog label had opgenomen waar o.a. een prachtige uitvoering te beluisteren viel van Bobby Fuller's "I Fought the Law" was Tyla zelf goede vrienden gebleven met Pieter Meulenbroeks en dat resulteerde niet alleen in diverse bezoeken naar Amsterdam, maar ook in een subliem plaatje dat door Tyla zelf geproduceerd werd. 

Van de TYLA GANG die omstreeks dezelfde tijd ook in oprichting was en nogal met personeelswisselingen te kampen had verscheen ook een single op het Stiff label, niet onder de naam Tyla Gang maar gewoon onder Sean Tyla. 

De laatste was in zoverre belangrijk omdat hij de allereerste plaatopnamen (nooit uitgebracht) van Neerlands eerste punk-groep de Flyin' Spiders heeft geproduceerd en de studiokant van de voorlaatste Bintangs elpee, die onder de directie van Dynamite, maar later door Phonogram gemaakt is. 


De Tyla Gang heeft al enkele elpees gemaakt op het Amerikaanse Beserkely label, maar het lijkt of het nog steeds niet wil vlotten met de band. 

DYR 45003 SHAKIN' STEVENS: YOU MOSTEST GIR/ROCK-A-BILLY EARTHQUAKE 


Deze Engelse rock 'n roll groep kon beschouwd worden als zijnde de beste van de zeventiger jaren bands die deze muziekstijl ambieerde. 

Samen met andere bands als de Flying Saucers (op het Amsterdamse ROCKHOUSE label) en Matchbox waren het voornamelijk de zaaloptredens die het enorm goed deden bij het publiek. 

Shakin' Stevens die wat dat betreft weinig te klagen had met een uitstekende band als de SUNSETS achter zich viert op dit moment grote triomfen in de musical over Elvis Presley. 

Jammergenoeg halen zijn laatste elpees lang niet het peil van de Dynamite opnamen. 

DYR 45004 SHAKIN' STEVENS: EPEE "SEXY WAYS" 
SEXY WAYS/EVIL HEARTED ADA/BLUE SWINGING MAMA/ROCK AROUND WITH OLLIE VEE 

DYR 45005 ROOGALATOR: ALL ABOARD/CINCINATTY FATBACK 


Roogalator, onder de bezielende leiding van Amerikaan Danny Adler trok in London sterk de aandacht van de muziekpers na vele geslaagde optredens in de hoofdstedelijke muziektempel de Nashville. 

Toch wilde geen enkele platenmaatschappij er aan. 

Tenslotte werd op Stiff de hierboven vermelde single opgenomen en deze werd in licentie door Dynamite in Holland uitgegeven. 

Toen Dr. Feelgood eind 1976 een door Dynamite georganiseerd concert gaf in de Amsterdamse Sonesta koepelkerk speelde Roogalator in het voorprogramma. 

DYR 45006 SNAKES: TEENAGE HEAD/LIGHTS OUT 


Na het uiteenvallen van de pub-rock groep Ducks De Luxe besloten ex-leden Andy McMasters en Nick Garvey een nieuwe band op poten te zetten. 

Ook al door hun vroegere uitstekende relatie met Pieter Meulenbroeks besloten ze met Dynamite in zee te gaan. 

De Flamin' Groovies classic "Teenage Head" werd daarvoor als a-kant opgenomen terwijl J. Byrne's ouwe rocker "Light's Out" als b-kant fungeerde. 

Na het uiteenvallen van Dynamite gingen McMasters en Garvey verder in de veel meer bekender geworden rockgroep de Motors en drummer Richard Gotobed hanteert nu de drumsticks bij de avant-garde band Wire. 

DYR 45007 NICK LOWE: KEEP IT OUT OF SIGHT/TRUTH DRUG

Over deze man, die inmiddels genoegzaam bekend is, hoef ik niet veel uit te weiden. 

Na het uiteenvallen van BRINSLEY SCHWARZ, (the all-time losers) in 1975 liep Nick wat met z'n ziel onder de arm. 

In deze periode trok hij nog al veel op met de opkomende band Dr. Feelgood en na een afmattende toernee van de groep besloten enkele leden waaronder Wilko, Lee en Sparko samen met Nick en ex-Chilli Will gitarist Martin Stone (Stoney) voor de lol en om wat vakantie te vieren, Nederland aan te doen, en wat optredens te maken onder de illustere naam Spic Ace & the Blue Sharks. 

De jongens spelen inderdaad in de Amsterdamse Boddy's Music Inn en Paradiso, weliswaar voor een klein aantal mensen, maar de pret is er niet minder om. 

Ze krijgen in Boddy's iedereen op de stoelen en band en publiek hebben een fantastische avond. 


De "vakantie" werd in samenwerking met Dynamite opgezet en een aantal maanden later verschijnt Nick's solo-single. "Keep it out of sight" is (voor diegene die al een belletje hoorde rinkelen) inderdaad een kompositie van Dr. Feelgood's Wilko Johnson. 

Truth Drug is een eigen nummer van Nick Lowe. 

Beide nummers zijn echter nooit ergens anders verschenen en dat maakt dit plaatje een waar collectors item. 

Ik hoorde laatst van de "administratieve" Dynamiter Klaas Jan Jansen dat er slechts 2000 exemplaren bestaan van deze plaat. 

Dus als je hem nog eens tegenkomt... snel aanschaffen. 

DYR 45008 TYLA GANG: STYROFOAM/TEXAS CHAINSAW MASACRE BOOGIE 


Onder licentie van Stiff uitgebracht door Dynamite. 

DYR 45009 LOOSE GRAVEL: GRAVEL RASH/DON'T FLASH OUT

 LIT 45010 FLYIN' SPIDERZ: DOWN/LET"S TAKE THE CHANCE nooit uitgekomen)

Neerlands eerste punk band de Flyin' Spiderz werd door Pieter Meulenbroeks ontdekt in Eindhoven. 

Pieter maakte een cassette, liet deze aan Sean Tyla horen en de laatste werd zo enthousiast dat hij speciaal in februari 1977 overvloog naar Amsterdam om de jongens te produceren. 

Er zijn vier nummers op genomen die van een zeldzame kwaliteit waren maar die later ver te zoeken was op de eerste elpee op Phonogram. 

Enfin, de tapes liggen nog steeds bij Pieter en misschien gebeurt er nog wat mee. 

FUN 1 MC 5: I JUST DON'T KNOW/I CAN ONLY GIVE YOU EVERYTHING (nooit uitgekomen) 

THE KICKS: I FEEL SO BAD/UNDECEIDED (nooit uitgekomen) 

ELPEES 

DYR 33001 COUNT BISHOPS: GOOD GEAR 

DYR 3302 SHAKIN' STEVENS: C'MON MEMPHIS

DYR 3304 V.A.: LIGHT UP THE DYNAMITE

(met opnamen van de Snakes, Flyin'Spiderz, Count Bishops, Shakin' Stevens, Bintangs, Ducks De Luxe, Nick Lowe, Loose Gravel en Das Luftwaffegeschaft (=o.a. Sean Tyla)

DYR 3305 DE BINTANGS: BINTANGS

(uitgebracht door Philips) NR. 6410955

We volstaan hier met de hoes gegevens achter op de plaat:

side 1: recorded and mixed at Rockfield Studio, Monmouyh, Wales, June 1977.

side 2: recorded live at the PEN-centrale IJmuiden, Holland on May 13, 1977. 

mixed at Rockfield Studio. 

AN EXCLUSIVE DYNAMITE RECORDING, PRODUCED BY SEAN TYLA.