It’s been almost three decades since skiffle/cow-punk act Terry & Gerry reached the peaks of the indie charts, filling a Lonnie Donegan inspired sound with the politics of the present, and receiving critical acclaim from the likes of John Peel and Shane McGowan. Following a “one off” reunion for a commemorative concert for Mr. Peel, Terry & Gerry (along with washboard wizard Su Richardson and second guitarist Mick Howson) are back with new music, and a new lease of life.
We caught up with them following a support slot with Status Quo and ahead of festival slots through the summer:
How did you both meet?
Terry: We were both in bands in Birmingham so knew of each other. I was in Vision Collision, who supported U2, and Gerry was in The Man Upstairs, who went on tour with The Smiths. Gerry bought a double bass from a bloke he met on a train and I went round to check it out. We found we wrote well together…
Gerry: Our sound needed some percussion and Su Richardson, a mate, had a ridged dinner plate which provided the backbeat – it was a natural progression for her to get a washboard! The inclusion of a second guitar (originally Andy Downer and then Mick Howson) created a really exciting, fun sound.
How did you get into the “skiffle” genre? Was it difficult to approach the music industry with that sound in the ‘80s?
Su Richardson: Our line-up and sound was created by accident. We all loved Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers and punk and wanted to write songs that reflected that, but with lyrics about 1980’s Britain and the Political and social problems people faced. The indie music scene at the time was vibrant, with record companies like Vindaloo in Birmingham run by The Nightingales’ Rob Lloyd, amongst others. He signed us for our first EP, Butter’s On The Bread, which led to us signing to Mark Riley’s (The Fall) Intape label. We recorded several EPs and an album, From Lubbock To Clintwood East. It was a fantastic time!
Television was also good to us and we appeared on The Tube, Whistle Test, loads of Kids TV (on one show Noddy Holden from Slade sang backing vocals), and we even had a documentary made about us by legendary film maker Norman Hull.
Last year our compilation album, Let’s Get The Hell Back To Lubbock, was re-issued too. Lubbock (the birthplace of Buddy Holly) was our nickname for Birmingham.
John Peel was a big fan of your sound, what are your memories of him?
Gerry: John Peel’s wife Sheila Ravenscroft had two friends called Teresa and Geraldine so when he received our demo he thought it was too much of a coincidence that there was a band called Terry & Gerry! Fortunately he really liked our attitude, music and songs. We did three critically acclaimed live sessions on his seminal radio show. Sadly, we never met him, although he did give us a fond mention in his autobiography. We did meet his friend and producer John Walters who was a skiffle fan and totally top bloke. Recently we played the John Peel Centre in Suffolk and Sheila came to the gig and shared some fabulous memories of the great man.
Our new EP, Dear John, features six fab new songs and is in honour of Mr Peel… I think he would have liked it.
You reached the top end of the indie charts on a few occasions, do you have any recollections of how other acts in the charts reacted to your sound?
Terry: We were really chuffed to have five indie number one singles and a number one album. The indie scene in the 1980s was like a family, everyone helped each other. We were lucky enough to go on tour with The Nightingales, The Pogues and Billy Bragg amongst others, and had a blast with everyone. We were so different and eclectic that we fitted in with any band. There was a very real feeling of being part of a movement that was fun, exciting and saying something about issues of the day.
Audiences loved the variety of bands on the bill and were there to have a good time. It was pre-X Factor after all! It’s time for another music movement now and skiffle-cow-punk just might be the way… Buy a guitar, learn three chords, write a song about something you are passionate about and start a band. We are playing Skifflefest in Birmingham on May 31st with a host of skiff-punk bands which shows indie music still lives on.
Gerry: Morrissey was very complimentary about our EP, Clothes Shop Closed, when he reviewed it on BBC Radio One and Shane McGowan and the guys made us feel so welcome on their tours. Joe Strummer even came to a gig in New York! …We still can’t believe it.
While there’s a fun element to your sound the lyrics are quite serious, covering political matters and important issues including overdose. Did you ever experiment with those words in, what might be considered, a more “standard” indie genre?
Gerry: Yes, in our previous bands and the stuff we all did in the gap between splitting and getting together again we still stayed true to our beliefs. You have to write what comes out and what angers or inspires you, otherwise it’s no fun to play. With the risk of sounding pretentious, Terry & Gerry plough their own furrow and have tried to keep to the ethos of when we first started – to have fun and write songs that mean something to us, and hopefully others.
How did it take nearly three decades to follow up your debut, and did it ever nearly happen before?
Terry: At the end of the ’80s we were all pretty burned out and wanted to do something different, but we all stayed in music. Gerry and I fell out and rarely spoke. We had always said we would never reform as it might devalue what we had achieved (if anything!). Doing something together again had never been on the cards.
Gerry: Then in 2014 I was invited to play a John Peel commemoration concert and got in touch with Terry, Su and Mick – we were all amazed that we were all still alive! The old wounds had scabbed over and we decided to give it a go… if it worked.
Mick Howson: Our first rehearsal in 27 years was absolutely amazing; it all came flooding back and, although a little slower than the old days, the songs were as relevant today as they had been in the ’80s. Now we don’t want to stop!
You’ve just supported Status Quo on their Aquostic tour, how has that been?
Gerry: The Mighty Quo and their fans have been brilliant. They sang along, waved their hands in the air and gave us a wonderful reception. We even got a standing ovation at the Royal Albert Hall! They are a brilliant band to tour with and we are so grateful for the opportunity.
Folk music has seen a resurgence over the last few years, do you hear any “skiffle” in current acts, and if so, who?
Gerry: Someone told us that Jake Bugg sounds a bit like Terry & Gerry and George Ezra has a skiffle type style on certain songs. Underground folky bands such as The Hawthornes, The Grimaldi Band, The Prodigal Scum, The United Stoats Of America and Bad Bad Whiskey definitely have a cowpunk-skiffle element, but I doubt whether they found it through us. Perhaps it’s the start of a new movement? Phil Beer from Show Of Hands has always been a champion of ours too.
You’re playing Glastonbury this year, and not for the first time. Are you a fan of the festival, and festivals in general?
Terry: We played Glastonbury in 1986. It was a humbling experience and back then the whole festival scene was very different – more alternative than corporate.
Gerry: I compered there in 1994 and saw a huge change in the types of bands playing and the audience. Glastonbury is a fabulous yardstick by which music and social history can be measured, and we are grateful to be a part of it. As long as the toilets are good we love all festivals!
What’s next for Terry & Gerry? (And do you even regret not choosing an actual band name?)
Gerry: We have concerts coming up all year as well as festivals, details of which are on our site and on social media. It would be good to return to Europe again and the USA to see if anyone remembers us from the ’80s. We plan to record another album, and keep going for as long as we are enjoying it. If the last few months are anything to go by it will be forever!
We tried to come up with a cool name but we’re not clever enough. Our names rhymed so it was, again, a happy coincidence.
Terry & Gerry headline Skifflefest on 31st May, more information can be found here.
A Beginners Guide To Skiffle:
Dan Bull
@danbull7609
Dan Bull
Latest posts by Dan Bull (see all)
- LIVE: Tom Petty And The Heatbreakers @ Hyde Park 09.07.17 - July 14, 2017
- LIVE: The Killers @ BST Hyde Park, 08.07.17 - July 12, 2017
- Glastonbury 2017: The bands, the brass and Barry Gibb! - June 27, 2017
