Sad . Seemed nice and certainly a great guitarist with a unique mani(a)c style .

He's gonna be missed . 

Our sincerest condolences.

Too, too young. Saw them a few years back in Spain and if I recall right, one of their mothers was with them for the trip. Just kids. But a great band none the less. Condolences to all who knew him.

My best to his friends and family. It sounds like he was great guy who clearly who will be missed greatly. 

....Well , I think , the bottom line is , Spenser has been around for a long time , since the Pub Rock days.....I saw Wreckless Eric once , and , he said , before going solo , he auditioned for "A Garage band , Standells , Chocolate Watchband covers... with an American singer". I asked him , later , if he was talking about Mike Spenser . "YEH !  HOW DID YOU KNOW?". I said , well , I can't think of too many other American singers  who might have been trying to start a Garage band in Britain when there was even less call for one than there was , even here in the states. But , I asked Eric if this band (Presumably an embryonic version of The Cannibals that did'nt take off.) was before or after Mike's stint with The (Count) Bishops , to which he replied , "Mike Spenser was in the Count Bishops?!"

I THINK , POSSIBLY , SPENSER ALSO WARRANTED A DOCUMENTARY , FOR CARRYING ON , REGARDLESS OF DEMAND. HE DID'NT BECOME , LIKE BILLY CHILDISH , HUGE IN AMERICA, OR EVEN P.PAUL FENECH , GRADUALLY POPULAR IN AMERICA. HE'S AN AMERICAN WHO CARVED A LITTLE NICHE IN ENGLAND....

Nice find Kop, I'm sure that was a small part of it. I don't think it's ever been shown again here and was probably never shown in the States?? The length might not be 30 minutes but it was a lot longer than that, if my old memory serves!

kopper said:

Not sure if this is what you're after or not (it's not even three minutes long, much less thirty!)...

Oh yeah, here he is!

http://garagepunk.ning.com/profile/MikeSpenser

Maybe if he's got a copy of it he could post it in our Video section (hint, hint)!

Mark George Harrison said:

Had a look through some of it earlier then found him on here! Have sent a friend request so maybe he can shed some light on it.

Had a look through some of it earlier then found him on here! Have sent a friend request so maybe he can shed some light on it.

Some interesting things on Mike Spenser's YouTube channel, too:

http://www.youtube.com/user/mikespenser1

Not sure if this is what you're after or not (it's not even three minutes long, much less thirty!)...

Many years ago I caught a documentary, about 30 minutes long, about Mike Spenser. To say it was a shock is an understatement as the Cannibals were never big in the UK and MS was, to most, an unknown. I never thought to record it at the time and have never seen it repeated. I've been through Youtube as well and there's nothing there either. 

Does anyone else remember seeing it or does anyone have a copy?

The July 29th Show. R.I.P. Sherman Helmsley.

http://cjamlog1.cjam.ca/mp3dirnew/381-The_Trip-20120729-0030-t1343518200.mp3

The Setlist:

Shop Assistants - no contest. Never lucky enough to see them live, but did see short-lived spin-off band The Motorcycle Boy supporting the Mary Chain in '87. Anyone ever see them?

Thanks for the help. In the "We Never Learn" book, he does mention that it was a "brief" beef, implying that it didn't last too long or cause any major problems, considering the people in both bands/camps were amicably hanging out together (to some extent) at each other's shows (according to the book).

I was just curious about the story, considering how influential the members of each band are in our little arena of crusty rock.

This was discussed on the Bomp List many moons ago:

http://bomplist.soybomb.net/2000/04/msg00605.html

I seem to remember that basically the Gibson Bros. had sampled a piece of an A-Bones' record and that caused a ruckus. No credit was supposedly given, etc. Or maybe they'd made some rude noise after the 'Bones sample (and *still* not given credit or paid for the use or something like that.)  The Norton folks objected to the use, at any rate and the Gibsons obviously didn't like being given crap for it. Or, at least, that's the little I remember about it.

There's a thread on the Terminal Boredom board which explains a little more: http://terminal-boredom.com/forums/index.php?topic=24544.0 and I seem to recall (although based on somewhat hazily-remembered conversations with Howland and Evans) that it was all sorted out somewhere along the line.

It's good to see so much interest in these kind of bands as it's the sort of stuff we've been playing on our shows, as well as the more 60s inspired garage stuff that seems to get far more coverage. Check out Church of Thee PVC here and our other non GaragePunk Radio show Polyvinyl Craftsmen that features much of the same plus music from loads of other genres too. 

You can also check out:

Thee Holy Ghosts (http://theholyghosts.bandcamp.com/)

Dusty Mush (http://dustymush.bandcamp.com/)

Strange Hands (http://strangehands.bandcamp.com/)

Definitely The Moonhearts, I was listening to their LP yesterday and it really does have a Black Lips sound.

I, too, love the Black Lips! A few other suggestions I'd add to the list: Wavves, The Night Beats, Brimstone Howl, The Moonhearts (aka Charlie and the Moonhearts)

There's one chance left to listen to my July show - at midnight  tonight (UK time) - featuring the ususal mix of psych, garage, electronica and everything else I can lay my hands on.

New August show starts streaming on 1st August (surprisingly), with 3 tracks from the latest Garage Punk Hideout comp, a preview of the Liverpool International Psychedlic Festival, and loads of new stuff, including ace Cambodian psych-pop, drone-y bluegrass and some lovely dub, as well as a couple of vintage rock n roll moments.

Give me a shout if you like what you hear - pete@dandelionradio.com

I made the cover. Do you know how hard it is to find quality images of the Band? Impossible. Even my comp cds have pretty crap photos.

John Battles said:

THULL ,  Thank you. I wonder who did this clever retooling of,was it "If I Stay Too Long" pic sleeve? It was'nt used to promote the gig , originally . I did one flyer and Steve Krakow from Galactic Zoodissier (New issue out . BIFF , BANG , POW ! Buy this monster , NOW !) did another. You can see mine on my profile , plus , some pics from that two - night mind melter. Actually , I need to put some more up there......

I'd seen most , not all , of this performance , but , the quality , here , is so good , it's scary. I scored a copy of "Jams" on a VHS comp of Beat Club clips 20+ years ago , but , before You Tube , the other songs never seemed to surface. You never would have guessed this was a band on it's way out . They had a second chance in Europe in '72 , but even that newfound attention could'nt save their careers. 

Stream or download the July 27 show right here.

Deadline – The Challengers
Straw that Stirs the Drink – The Baseball Project
I Sell Soul – Rocket from the Tombs
Final Stretch – The Oblivians
You Can’t Buy My Love – Barbara Lynn
Ichiro Goes to the Moon – The Baseball Project
Let’s Make a Fair Trade – Bob King

Hijack the Radio – The Nervebreakers
Strange Movies – The Troggs
If Looks Could Kill – Laughing Hyenas
Crazy Date – The Senders
My Girlfriend is a Rock – The Nervebreakers

Rich Daddy – The Dicks
Do the Beege – 10 Cent Fuck Flicks
Tube Top – Jam Messengers
Burn My Eyes – The Mess Around
Groovy Intuitions – Adam Widener
You Shot Me – River City Tanlines

Local Lunchbox
Mr. Supportive – Fatty Acids
Of Metal – Certain Stars

Constant Waves – The Ripe
I’m Gonna Break Her Heart – The Ugly Beats
Every Summer Day – The Last
The Rack – The Last
Don’t Drag No More – Susan Lynn
I’m OK, You’re OK – The Dickies

This Love is For Real – Stupidity
Llevo Un Tigre En Mi Guitar – Los Fleshtones
Jump Inside – The Smoggers
Royal We – MFC Chicken
Daddy Walk – The Felines

Papa Oom Mow Mow – Hi-Fi Twins & The Kings
Going All the Way – The Squires
It’s Karate Time – Travis Wammack

Lookin’ For a 7-11 – Ben Vaughn Combo
Get Out of My Car – Hasil Adkins
Love Don’t Love Nobody – James Brown
Hot Weather Blues – Mr. Sad Head
Not the Only Girl in Town – The Cool Jerks
Bad Man – The Sights

Shame – Million Sellers
Lost Highway – Midnight Wolf
Golden – Kelly Hogan
When I Fall Down – Chris Mars
Grow Your Own – Red Jacket Mine

I Didn’t Miss You at All – The Electric Mess
I’ll Make You Sorry – Shadows of Knight
Monkey Swing – New Kind of Mambo
Moonstars – Laughing Sky
Summertime – Strange Hands
Speed of Sound – Beat Mark

Check out Jack Of Heart from France! They ROCK.

http://youtu.be/IePFYDe-lBc