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The Band forms. |
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To gain any understanding of the remarkable entity that was Chicks With Dicks it is necessary to know something of their origin. You have to go back to late-seventies Slough, a magical time, in a wonderful place with a thriving music scene at the time. Slough is definitely Englands best kept secret. Though a number of people performed with the band, the getting together of the core members is a glorious coincidence. Present at the birth was infamous drugs dealer Dick Speigh. The following is his recollection of the remarkable events. It is reprinted from an interview he gave to Falcon magazine, the main source of information about the underground scene at the time.
Man it was incredible. It was at this festival 'The World of Vroom 77 festival' in Slough. Every band worth a damn was there and I was providing my usual services if you catch my drift. Anyway, I go into a changing room, and there they are Reckless Jake, Jonny Spondulics, Big Jon, Grandmaster Green Flash, the Dodgy Scouser, MC Mumbles, and Abdul Husaini. Anyway, I sell them some, erm, stuff, you know? It puts them into a sort of funny mood and they start talking about how all their current bands are falling apart. Then they find this toy guitar thing and start playing with it. Then they all started singing Chicks With Dicks, Chicks With Dicks, Chicks With Dicks [The Chicks with Dicks Theme]. Man I swear they all started spontaneously, just like that. I've never seen anything like it. The rest is history.
Chicks With Dicks
was born that night. The next day they made it known that
they were up for bookings and suchlike. They brought on board
Bonny (reputedly the coolest man in the
world) as roadie, procurer of women and every other function they needed.
| The band then signed a contract with the notorious Jimmy 'Jukebox' Jury (aka James Gury, Jimmy Dury, Ovinder Choury, or just 'the slug', described as a one-man criminal underworld). Jukebox was involved in just about illegal activity you can name. He initially signed them up to serve as a front for some of his other interests. |  |
Bonny describes this time (again in Falcon)
Jukebox was as shady as they come. I mean the Chicks would be doing a gig out front while at the back he'd be buying guns off the Russian Mafia and stuff. The band didn't mind because he always kept them supplied with free booze and drugs. Also he had various contacts that meant that they were never troubled by the police".
Jukebox tended to let the band do as they pleased. They played various small gigs while Jukebox carried out his nefarious activities behind the scenes. However word spread about this amazing band and Jukebox, sensing a new form of revenue started organising them proper gigs. Throughout their life, Chicks with Dicks never once advertised a gig. As Reckless Jake said, anyone worthy of entrance to a gig will hear about it anyway. Thus they acquired their small but fanatically devoted following, a sort of underground elite.
 The
Recordings. | ||
