It’s just the public who don’t know who the fuck Thee Hypnotics are, that’s all.”
To see Jim (now conquering the world with his Revue, who were Mojo magazine’s new band of 2010) carry on Thee Hypnotics’ high-energy ram-a-lama (albeit a little more Little Richard than MC5, although of course the two are the same) is a pleasure. “For me my new band is coming full circle... it’s something I have carried with me since I was a nipper,” he states matter- of-factly. And it’s true. He has stayed true to the spirit of rock ’n’ roll. Phil has mellowed out and drummed for one time Rockingbird and UK country legend Alan Tyler in his Lost Sons Of Littlefield. And Ray, well Ray is Ray; a rock ’n’ roll survivor.
company was in flux and had no money to break new bands. “They were throwing all of their money into this case,” adds Jim. “There were tales of bugged offices and it all went... the funding went like that.” A poorly attended string of shows followed. “We toured anyway with Archie O’Connor and Heidi Fufkin. Not many people came to the gigs that had been booked and it was like starting out again,” Jim soberly claims. “Regular faces came along, but it was dying.” In an almost by-the-book rock ’n’ roll story Thee Hypnotics had been on a roller coaster ride of near misses, tragedy and destruction. Of this final American tour Phil tries to pick up the tone. “The Weathered Wall at Seattle was a brilliant gig though. We were consistently good, but just dying on our arse. The album was only ever available on import in the UK on SPV Records from Germany who had a reputation for picking up dying acts... I think they did something with The Jesus & Mary Chain too.” Thee Hypnotics once again returned home with their tais between their legs, zero management, no deal and a support tour for third rate Shed Seven at Norwich! From L-fuckin’-A to Norwich! What an anticlimax. Having endured indie, drone and grunge they were now plying their own brand of retro hard-rock to the new Britpop crowd. “We were perplexed, bewildered and bemused,” states Ray.
Where now?
“All we knew is that we started playing to have fun and the music business came and went,” Jim honestly tells me. Under their own steam they continued to gig and as they had done with Soul, Glitter & Sin, reinvented themselves. “We became more funky, which in one way or another had been with us all along. Sly & The Family Stone etc. We never sold out or made music to be more commercially viable. We had always played what we liked. For us. I was really inspired by Humble Pie, The Meters and that kind of sound. The hybrid between soul, syncopated funk and rock and that showed itself in the music. We were always a band that jammed
and got together in a room, so what we were listening to always came through. The band was me, Ray, Dave Danvers and Phil.”
The End
“We did a great single at Toe Rag that was really good,” Ray proudly adds, although it is a travesty that the session was never released. Could Shindig! rescue it? Watch this space. “These Animal Men’s manager Matt Willis looked after us for five minutes,” adds Jim “... and it then fizzled out before the record was released. We did not know how to stop as Thee Hypnotics were something Ray and I had been doing since we were teenagers. That’s how it was.” Their last gig was in ’98 at The Shepherds Bush Empire supporting Shed Seven.
Shed Seven were now old hat and it was the beginning of a new era, and on all accounts the will was no longer there. “My son was born in ’97 and my life changed drastically, I pulled myself together...” closes Jim.
Postscript
Like so many other great acts, Thee Hypnotics were so far ahead of the game in terms of what they were doing. As Jane Maben pointed out they had long hair and played hard-rock at a time when the London crowd were emulating ’60s garage. When signed and playing alongside indie bands like Chapterhouse, the vogue was for shoegaze. Thee Hypnotics were staring at the crowd and ripping their clothes off. The grunge crowd liked them, but their attention to style and craft confused them. And then when set to rival The Black Crowes their label dropped them. If only they had been born 10 years later and entered the world at the same time as The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Black Keys, hell, even The Darkness, then their fate could have been so very different. “We always got amazing reviews and the journalists loved us,” says a drunk and emotional Ray, “as did our peers.
We Want The World: Chrystal Speed Machine promo
To see these three close-knit friends reminisce was an honour. Thee Hypnotics lived the dream, nightmare and reality... and have been through more than your average rock band.
This article would not have been possible without the inside stories from the band. I raise my cap to the guys for supplying beer and opening up. Thanks to Jane Maben for her fan photos and words, Richard Allen for the scans from Freakbeat, Hugh Dellar and Lee Tea for memories and Martyn Atkins for his input.
FIVE OF THEIR BEST
‘Preachin’ & Ramblin’’ Flipside of ‘Justice In Freedom’, the debut Beggar’s Banquet 12” single. A high-octane rollercoaster of soul-rock riffola that catches the guys at their most MC5.
‘Let’s Get Naked’
This Live’R Than God outing shows what an exciting act Thee Hypnotics were on stage! Blues harp collides with The Who Live At Leeds guitar heroics and more than a touch of the Igster!
‘Half Man, Half Boy’
A theme tune of sorts, centred around the band’s stylistic man/boy androgyny. It also rises and falls like a diving blue whale. A behemoth of epic rock proportions.
‘Shakedown’
A new sound, which combines early ’60s John Barry with early ’90s Sonic Youth – far better than it sounds on paper. Gigantic and cavernous with stabbing horns and a cinematic noir.
‘Goodbye’
A very capable mellow moment from the last album in a full-on, unadulterated Sticky Fingers style. Although on the way out they were sounding better than ever. Soulful vocals from Jim, great piano and some expressive guitar from Ray.
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