Normil Hawaiians
Biography
September 1979 - 1st demo at R.M.S. 8 track studio South London 1. THE BEAT GOES ON (Smith) 2. COINCIDENCE (Smith, J. Armstrong) 3. DARK WORLD (Lusted) 4. I WANNA (Lusted) Guy Smith - vocals and guitar, Jim Lusted - vocals and guitar, Janet Armstrong - vocals. With Kev Armstrong - guitar, Colin Donaldson - bass , Chris Westerman - drums. Punk is dead. Guy, Jim and Janet survive to journey into the unknown... kicked offstage at first gig at The Brecnock in Camden for being too...
September 1979 - 1st demo at R.M.S. 8 track studio South London
1. THE BEAT GOES ON (Smith)
2. COINCIDENCE (Smith, J. Armstrong)
3. DARK WORLD (Lusted)
4. I WANNA (Lusted)
Guy Smith - vocals and guitar, Jim Lusted - vocals and guitar, Janet Armstrong - vocals. With Kev Armstrong - guitar, Colin Donaldson - bass , Chris Westerman - drums.
Punk is dead. Guy, Jim and Janet survive to journey into the unknown... kicked offstage at first gig at The Brecnock in Camden for being too weird the south Londoners get pals Kev, Colin and Chris to lay down backing tracks whilst they direct and play with the controls. A John Peel session and first single deal are result...
April 1980 - Alvic studio W. London: Dining Out Records Tux 13. Release delayed
1. THE BEAT GOES ON
2. VENTILATION (Smith,J Armstrong)
Guy and Jim - vocals and guitar, Janet - vocal, Nick Rose - bass, Chris - drums, Sue Leeves and Sarah Harley - backing vocals, The Famous Delfonso - sax, Roger Smith - violin.
Ex-Clash roadie and nice man Nick Rose joins on bass, The Heartbeats Chris 'wacker' Westerman continues to stand in on drums. An accapella version of 'Heaven' from the film 'Eraserhead' is uncredited at the end of ventilation on side 2 - ignorance of copyright laws.
Production by Nick Godwin - hmmm next time we'll do it ourselves
20 May 1980 - John Peel Session. Maida Vale Studio
1. THE BEAT GOES ON
2. MEMORIES (Lusted, J.Armstrong)
3. LEVELS OF WATER (Lusted)
4. I WANNA (Lusted)
Guy, Jim and Nick joined by drummer Brian Kealy with Sue on backing vocals.
Janet leaves to go solo. Session is broadcast 3 times over next six months
October 1980 - Tux 13 finally released.
Despite delay and dodgy production; single makes #44 in newly launched independent chart (Nov 1980)
November 1980 - Mousehole Studio, Orpington.
1. PARTY PARTY (Lusted)
2. LEVELS OF WATER
3. OBEDIENCE (Lusted)
4. THE RETURN (Smith, Lusted)
5. SANG SANG (Bertie)
Guy, Jim, Nick and Brian. Sang Sang sung by Stephen Berlin. Produced by Guy and Jim with Kev Armstrong and Pete Leggett.
Berlin would open the Hawaiians live sets with his own peculiar style of yodelling and poetry around this time. He took the name Bertie for this recording, which was picked up by Red Rhino records of York on the condition the recordings were issued as a 12" e.p. with the Hawaiians responsible for everything including artwork for sleeve and labels.
Released February 1981 as GALA FAILED 12" E.P. RED RHINO RECORDS RED 8
February 1981 - Rhino Studios, Dorking. Illuminated Records Ill 7
1. STILL OBEDIENT (Smith)
2. SHOULD YOU FORGET (Smith)
Guy - vocals and guitar, Jim - bass, Kev Armstrong - guitar and drums.
Guy and Jim pulling in different directions - band splits to leave Guy with the name and some new ideas pushing the knobs as far as they will go, Jim and Kev help out...
Most of 1981 spent recruiting new travellers. From down the road and 'Greenfield Leisure' came Simon Marchant and pal Cliff McLenehan on guitar and bass and from fellow South London outfit 'A Circle Charmed' came Noel Blanden. Improvising along with Mark Tyler who appeared out of the ether with a string synth one day, joss sticks, hash, acid and patchouli were procured to further move further away from the new romantic, mod and punk clones... it was too much for Cliff but the remaining foursome spent a couple of weeks recording demos and then were given the green light by Iluminatus fanatic Keith Bagley to record a double album at Foel Studio in mid Wales. This was perfect as Foel was built and run by ex-Amon Duul and Hawkwind bass player Dave Anderson.
June 1982 - Foel Studio, Powys, Wales. MORE WEALTH THAN MONEY Illuminated Records JAMS 23
Side 1.
1. RED HARVEST (Normil Hawaiians) 2.47
2. BRITISH WARM (Normil Hawaiians) 10.00
3. YELLOW RAIN (Normil Hawaiians/McLenehan) 4.45
Side 2.
1. NEW STANDARD (Normil Hawaiians) 2.84 (sic)
2. AN OLD STANDARD (Normil Hawaiians) 5.00
3. OTHER WAYS OF KNOWING (Normil Hawaiians) 9.57
Side 3.
1. WORDS ARE NOT ENOUGH (Normil Hawaiians) 1.51
2. RETURN OF HOLLOW LANDS (Normil Hawaiians/McLenehan) 4.10
3. HA HA THE STORY OF A SUNKEN FENCE (Normil Hawaiians) 2.41
4. SALLY IV (Normil Hawaiians/Greenfield Leisure) 8.05
Side 4.
1. LEFT ALONE WITH HER PIPE (Normil Hawaiians) 10.15
2. TRAVELLING WEST (Normil Hawaiians) 10.05
Noel Blanden - drums, Simon Marchant, Guy Smith, Mark Tyler - the rest. Engineer - Dave Anderson. Vocals on 'Ha Ha' by Liz Blanden, Klaus and photographer Tony Harrison.
A new Collective spirit means that all music is communally credited. Most tracks on sides 1-3 are re-worked improvisations whilst both tracks on side 4 are in their original improvised form. Ex-Amon Duul and Hawkwind bassist Dave Anderson plays on some tracks, Guy, Mark and Simon play the easier bits! Cello screeching provided by total-allergy syndrome sufferer and Greenfield Leisure member Simon 'Klaus Wunderkind' Pritchard along for the fresh air... a return to London and gigging (Janet Armstrong, in the audience, walks out of one gig shouting "Fucking Hippies")... 'Sounds' magazine's Dave Henderson gives "More Wealth..." a 5-star review... newspaper interviews follow... big interest in Europe but no record sales in Britain - years later we discover that Illuminated Records never paid their bills and the Independent Cartel of record distributors wont take Illuminated Records records... so available abroad only...
Summer 1983 - Foel Studio, Powys, Wales. WHATS GOING ON?
Side 1.
1. QUIET VILLAGE
2. MARTIN
3. LOUIS MICHEL
4. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
5. BIG LIES
Side 2.
1. GOING DOWN
2. MARKET PLACE
3. FREE TIBET
Guy - usual shite, Simon - guitar and screwdriver, Alun 'Wilf' Williams - bass, Noel - drums, Sue Leeves - voice of Louise Michel, Jimmy Miller - background presence.
The world is changing fast - communal living in South London, demonstrations, Stonehenge and the free festivals, more political awareness and activity, hope, despair. Alun 'Wilf' Williams joins on bass and along with scouser Jimmy Miller moves into communal home - close friend Martin Pawson kills himself sending profound ripples to/from the heart of the band. Mark Tyler disappears into the ether... the Family Hawaii becoming embroiled in the local underworld... eventually to escape and return to the rolling hills of mid-Wales - but things have changed and the music doesn't flow in quite the same way... Whats Going On is a more disjointed collection of ideas, albeit with some extreme and powerful moments. Guy and Dave spend a couple of weeks in the editing room cutting and pasting the final mixes to create the finished article... good friend and photographer Tony Harrison emigrates to Australia after being savagely attacked and injured at a party in London. Illuminated records self destructs and again the album only available in a handful of shops in the U.K. Most of the 1250 albums pressed exported. Two different covers neither with any writing on front...
Live sets continue to become more theatrical; Jim Lusted rejoins for a short tour of Switzerland culminating in headlining the Ton Zeit Ton alternative music festival in Basle with the boys resplendent in face paint, battle fatigues and - for the beginning of the set - total darkness...
Released early 1984 on Illuminated Records Jams 38
Winter 1985-86 - Foel Studio, Powys, Wales.
Side 1.
1. SIANNE DON'T WORK IN A FACTORY
2. HISTORY OF COAL
3. SLUMS
4. THE SEARCH FOR UM GRISS
Side 2.
1. BATTLE OF STONEHENGE
2. SLEIBHTE MACALLA
3. THE MOULDWARPS JOURNEY
4. PITON DE LA FRONAISE
Guy Smith, Simon Marchant, Alun Williams, Noel Blanden, Jimmy Miller
Returning to Foel without the dubious backing of Illuminated but instead the even more dubious talk of Demi-Monde and now with a few children in tow - the collective pay the studio electricity bills and embark on probably their finest work. Two sessions lasting around a month in total much again taken from improvisations encouraged by engineer Brian Snelling. A real product of the times - Thatcher, the miners' strike - the battle for Stonehenge (as witnessed first hand by Guy and Wilf) all contribute to a powerful and emotive recording...
A promised release on Demi-Monde as RETURN OF THE LEVELLERS never materialised... Guy, Jimmy and Wilf living in squatting communities in South London. Simon and Noel re-locating their families to rural Kent the Family Hawaii splinters... Guy and partner Viv take to the road in an old Bedford bus with their children Sianne and Daisy, busking, playing mainly folk music and learning to Juggle and perform street shows throughout Europe... Jimmy moves to Scotland fly posting...
to be continued...
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