You’re My Curse
August 17, 2007
To feed the continuing interest in James King, here’s a track from the debut JK&TLW single. This is a record I came to late since I got this and another single ‘Back From The Dead’ several years after the fact – some time in the late 80s. Both were actually sold to me at a record fair by Radio Clyde DJ Billy Sloan.
Both were released on the Cuba Libre label, a Virgin off shoot, but I know very little about the records. In fact the first, Back To The Dead, is credited to James King, as yet no Lone Wolves. Having said that all the elements are in place musically on the EP which also features another excellent King original, ‘My Reward’ and a Stones cover As Tears Go By.
‘I Tried’ however is a Lone Wolves record but is also something of a curio, sounding a lot like a King song played over an Adam & The Ants backbeat! The flip is much more like classic King, so here it is:
James King & The Lone Wolves – So Alone
For the record, here is a list of the King recordings that I own. Anyone know if there were any more?
James King – Back From The Dead b/w My Reward / As Tears Go By (Cuba Libre 1981)
James King & The Lone Wolves – I Tried b/w So Alone (Cuba Libre 1981)
James King & The Lone Wolves -Texas Lullaby EP – Texas Lullaby/Sacred Heart/Chance I Can’t Deny/ Until the Dawn /Lost (Thrush 1983)
James King & The Lonewolves – The Angels Know/I Don’t Care If You Live Or Die/Ready To Fall (Swamplands 1985)
Fun Patrol - The Right To Be Wrong/ No Concern of Mine /Meant To Fall (Thrush 1987)
James King & Lone Wolves – Live Video – See Her Cry / Ready To Fall / Chance I Can’t Deny / Fly Away / Time To Go / The Angels Know / Live Or Die / Back From The Dead / One More Time / Until The Dawn / Happy Home / Fun Patrol / Step Away / Just Like A Lone Wolf
A couple more JK web references. First off I hadn’t come across this before whilst Back From The Dead is available here although the words to accompany the MP3 seem somewhat familiar …
Here’s a few more:
Singing in the Showers/Elevator Crash/By-Product- Fun4(1979)
Love is the Drug/Gee George- The Cartoons(1982)
Once the Victor/Dub mix- The Cartoons (1983)
I played guitar, keys and produced. It also featured Mick Price, the Lonewolves drummer.
Over and Over- The Wullie Malloy Experience (1988)
I played guitar and sang on this along with the most of the Bluebells and John McCusker. It also features a poem by Dominic Behan.
There’s a Radio Clyde version of ‘Even Beatles Die’ which we wanted to put out as the second single on Cuba Libre instead of ‘I Tried’. Billy Sloan’s played it quite a few times.
Cuba Libre was financed by Virgin. I don’t know where the story came about being released on Fast Product?
There’s a live version of a Fun Patrol song recorded at the ICA, issued on an EMI compliation. For the life of me, I can’t remember the title. I’d have to ask Joe Sullivan as I think he’s got a copy of it. I only wrote the frigging thing!
Oh well, off to Ebay then …
Thanks, Jim. Ever been tempted to try and compile the material?
Jim
Was the live Fun Patrol track on one of the ‘On The Dotted Lines’ comps? I’ve definitely got one of these but not the one with Fun Patrol on it, I fear.
I am the Rev Volting, original Backstabber, Fun4 maan..I KNOW COZ I WUZ THERE. I started it all ask Jimmy Loser aka McCall fae Parkhead…! I am looking for a few things that Jimbhoy might have…maybe you could pass the message on. Oh by the way I see Jake McKeachan regularly….! It’s Colin I Don”t – last time was the Television gig @ the Arches 2 year ago… DON’T BE SHY TRY ME….!
Hi Rev – I’ll see what I can do.
What a great site, it always comes as a shock to me that people remember and care about good music! The Live video is particularly good. I remember two live songs played on Whistle Test, with one of them being announced as the next single. Anyone got a copy of this or remember what the songs were?
Hi SO. Thanks for the kind words. The OGWT songs are on YouTube. Or at least they were not that long ago, I can’t find them now. If I remember correctly they were Fly Away and Fun Patrol.
Just came across this by chance. Bloody hell, OTHER JK fans!!! I used to work in a record warehouse in west London (Lightning Records) and I remember the sales rep from London Records coming in with Swamplands releases. I’d got the Cuba Libre singles and ‘Lullaby’ so I snaffled “The Angels Know” 12″ straight away… Saw the band round about then down at (if I remember rightly) the Greyhound in Fulham Palace Road… Brilliant times. Last time I saw Jim was at the Forum/Town & Country with Fun Patrol – supporting the Proclaimers, fer chrissake. remember asking Jim if he was playing any more London gigs at the time, but he reckoned thy had to get back in Glasgow to sign on the next day… No justice…
Wow it’s great to see that there are more James King fans out there – thank you so much for the post and that’s cool that he played with the Bluebells – another of my favourites – I didn’t know that.
I Remeber James King playing as The order of Saint Jude. Dont Know if they made any recordings by this name.
Surely a compiliation must be made of all his great recordings
hey Doug , your not “the Doug” of the legendery (UNRECORDED)”SKUNK BTOTHERS ” are you??
Yep, as Rev said he was the original Backstabber. Although claiming to start it all is a bit spurious considering I wrote every song. Fond memories of the riot we caused when we supported Sham 69 (we beat up the audience), Rev’s birthday gig at the Third Eye Centre were he spent the entire gig crawling around under the chairs, the riot in Balloch when the gig was stopped after one number when our fans threw a brick through a window, the riot at the Backstabber’s Xmas party in Maryhill Community Halls…
Christ, we didn’t play gigs, we hosted riots…
A friend of a friend used to roady for James King and the Lonewolves and according to him an album was recorded for Swamplands – Alan Horne’s micro label via London records. Not sure how true this is as I’d have thought we’d have seen/heard it by now. I only saw them once, at Annabels in Edinburgh when I was 17 but it was one of the most memeorable gigs I’ve ever seen, full of energy and tension. Their old Grey Whistle Test performance is always a joy to watch esp the lyrics to Fun Patrol.
Hi Murray
In case you haven’t found it, Jim talks about the Swamplands recordings here:
http://manicpopthrills.wordpress.com/2007/02/22/wolves-lower/
And there’s obviously the Lonewolves Myspace as well:
http://www.myspace.com/jameskingandthelonewolves
hi all am a backstabber fan am lookin 4 a copy of there tracks any idea were a cud get hawd of them?
Sorry, Liam, not a clue. Don’t know if Jim might put some stuff up on the Lonewolves Myspace at some point.
Liam,
You could always ask Rev.