The Idiots by Dee Wilson 25/03/2011
The Idiots were formed at the end of August 1977 after
some drunken discussions at a Rudi gig in the Glenmachan Stables; the three
culprits were Barry Young, the younger but much bigger brother of Brian young
`Guitarist of Rudi’ and the only one who sort of knew how to play Guitar. The
other two, were well known Punk’s around town, Gordy Owens alias fangs albert
`because of his lack of front teeth’ on Drums and Dee Wilson who could play the
flute but not that would help, on Bass Guitar.
All that was need was someone who could remember the words; it didn’t
matter if they could sing or not this was Punk Rock.
The post was finally filled a few days later with a school friend of Barry young, and Stephen Harvey was drafted in on Vocals, now the Band was complete. With an average age group of just fifteen Dee Wilson being the oldest at sixteen, meant the Idiots were the youngest Band on the circuit at the time.
The Band were initially inspired by serious amounts of Old English Cider and Drawbridge wine, the latter not being the nicest of beverages but it done the trick back then, it was the 70’s version of Bucky (Buckfast). Along with their Anti-establishment views and their Punk Rock ethos believing anyone could play, and add the fact that they knew they would get into Rudi gigs free as the support band was good enough reason.
It didn’t take long before the four members began rehearsing each other’s homes which is quite ironic. Seeing their first and only single which was released on the Good vibe’s EP Battle of the bands, was called Parents. A song which slagged the very parents of who suffered in silence while they occupied the front room of the family home, driving their parents insane with their racket, Barry had already begun to pen the lyrics of the song.
There were also several times when the Band rehearsed several time in and around the grounds of Stormont; not the parliament Buildings itself, that would have been something to tell the kids about. Dee’s Father worked in the Government Security and at weekend and public Holidays while he was doing over time the Idiots would entertain him and his fellow work mate’s. The things that man done to help the band along, he even stood in as road crew as did Ronnie Matthews’s dad for Rudi, God bless them.
Rehearsals and gigs were never really taken seriously at first, they were an excuse for a rake, and or a piss up or whatever else would turn up, which could mean anything with the Idiots. The rehearsals usually took place at Stephen Harvey’s house, which meant all sort of mayhem would occur as Stephen’s mum was never at home most of the time due to her work load. So rehearsals became a whole different ball game in Harberton drive a lot of raking went on to say the least. The fact Stephen had a little sister at just the right age made matters worse; Dee would always disappear quite often and for long periods of time, as did Stephen’s little sister.
That was the main reason why Stephen left the Idiots, his aim was to protect his little sister from Dee Wilson but Dee knew where she lived and she liked him (foolish girl) so his efforts were in vain.
Their set consisted entirely of cover versions i.e. Ulster, Angels with dirty Faces, Janie Jones, Sweet Jane and their own self-made anthem teenagers in Love which was always a hit the punters and later became the title track for Shell Shock Rock.
There first gig was in pure Idiot fashion, gate crashing a Rudi Gig at the Arts Collage in Belfast York Street. The Gig was headlined by Rudi, The Flying Squad, Pretty Boy Floyd and the Gems as support. The Idiots never saw The Flying Squad and Pretty Boy Floyd as Punk Bands so backed by the members of Rudi and armed with Rudi’s instruments they took to the stage. With the gig not being planned as such it didn’t last long, and after only one song which was the cover of Liu Reid’s Sweet Jane, for some strange reason or another Vocalist Stephen Harvey walked of stage at the end of the track. Although it’s not known why he walked of the stage after one song, the Band themselves believe it was because his little sister had arrived with a few of her little punk mates, which somehow distracted Dee and Stephen wasn’t happy that Dee was abusing his little sister, he did try to be protective.
Prior to the Idiots none of the band members had played in a band before apart from Dee but that still didn’t count, not quite the same type of band we are talking about here but their enthusiasm and sense of fun made up for any lack of musical ability. Although they did gradually improve with each and every gig they played.
The Bands next appearance was at the Winsor Hotel at Knocknagoniy which is now a Police Station, their set that consisted of Sham 69’s ‘Ulster’ Liu Reid’s ‘Sweet Jane’ and the Clashes ‘Janie Jones’ before Stephen Harvey once again walked off, this time after the third song this time for good, and not for the same reason as his sister wasn’t there that night. Stephen was never seen again but his sister was.
Two up and coming face of the Belfast Punk scene who were there that night were William Guiney and William Johnston better known in the rock world as Bill Ginny (R I P) and Billy Idiot, there at the right time and place so to speak. Already friends of Wee Gordy they soon became friends with the other two members Barry and Dee and within a matter of weeks Billy Johnston was given a name change and drafted in on Vocals, and Wee Gordy felt the urge to quit the Band and Guiney was left to fill in on Drums briefly.
His reign as rhythm master or rock star didn’t last long as he was replaced by a friend of Alwyn Greer’s, the up and coming Photographer and author of one of Belfast’s well known and loved fanzine Private World. His friends was Gary Thompson who was also given his very own name change, on joining the Band he was to become known as Jah Weelbe a friendly piss take of his shape and size but could he play the Drums the only one you could have called a musician. His stage name was crossed between the advert Weeble’s wobble but they don’t fall down and the Bass player of Public image limited Jah Wobble, you may call it cruel but he took in good stead.
There next gig with their new found members Billy and Gary was at the Stormont Methodist Church on the corner of the Newtownards road and Cabinhill road. A youth club for little rich kids and one that let local bands play usually without any problems. The gig that night was to prove a bit different, it was shared with the Tinopeners and another local Band and it too sadly came to a quick end again after only playing three songs.
The Idiots were second on the bill but the their set was once again cut short, this time by the Minister of the Church who pulled the plug on the back line due to the amount of bad language that was used on the night, mainly by Dee. As he recalls there was a bit of banter between himself and Stuart Bailie of Acme Army, who later played with Dee in both the Family of Noise and the Troubleshooters.
The band now decided it was about time they began to write their own material, and the job was left down to Barry Young who quickly penned the lyrics along with the music to Parents which they recorded at Wizard Studio for the Good Vibes Record Label. It was released on the Battle of the Bands E P in the autumn of 1978. It was said that Aza Middleton once of Victim and the Androids provide the Guitar solo because none of the Band felt competent enough to play it themselves.
The truth behind this myth is none of the Band was aware of Aza Middleton input until the E P had already been released, and by that time it was too late to do anything about it. The Band never ask or approved of any such input, Aza Middleton was a friend of Fat Barry the so call roadie who was so far up Davy Wizard’s arse it was unbelievable there was time you would have thought Davy Wizard had a pair of shoe in his back pocket. It was a few days after the Bands had record the single that Barry roadie arranged for Aza to record the guitar solo not even Terry Hoolie knew of this or so he said. The Hand claps however were provided courtesy of Rudi.
In the summer of 1978 the band had found new rehearsal rooms run by the art council on the corner of Lombard Street in Belfast city centre along with other bands such as Rudi etc. but this was to prove too much. Not only was it used for rehearsal the Bands also used the premises for partying with many a late night practice season, most going on through to the early hours of the morning or at least till the first bus.
There was one night in particular that has found memories for Barry and Dee at least. One Friday night after rehearsals the band relaxed in Idiot style with loads of drink, the night was going as it usually did, then out of the blue Billy Idiot made a comment to Jah Weeble that didn’t go down well with him and all hell broke loose, he was going to kill him. Fuelled up with four tins of Carlsberg special brew he lost it and turned on Billy, and when Billy told him to stop acting like the incredible bulk he went totally and uncontrollably mad chasing Billy around the rehearsal room fall over all sorts, bouncing of walls, doors etc. and finally out on to Lombard street towards corn market. While Barry and Dee wet themselves laughing finding the whole thing highly hilarious, they knew they had to stop him. It took some doing stopping the big lad but they succeeded; now with Billy long gone they were able to control the beast until he finally fell into a drunken sleep. Not a good advertisement for Carlsberg special brew that night.
Dee Wilson left shortly after the release of the EP mainly because Rudi had taken up root and moved to London hoping for fame, which planted the seed in Dee’s head and it wasn’t long before he began to lose interest in the Band. Then the final nail in the coffin arrived, when Dee had an argument with Terry Hoolie at Harp Bar. The argument was because Hoolie had brought the Undertones (who had been recording Teenage Kicks at Wizard Studio) to the Idiots gig and foolishly asked for them to do their set before the Idiots played, which meant lending their gear to the Undertones. Dee was never one to mince his words and he never liked the Undertones, because as far as he was concerned they were not a punk band and they didn’t belong in the Punk world. And he also believed that they stood for everything that Punk in Ulster stood against. He wasn’t one bit happy about Hoolie overstepping the mark by asking such an Idiotic request, this resulted in a blazing row and Dee leaving the Band all be it on good terms and still friends with the others.
Dee Wilson was replaced by new bass player Graham 'Jaunty' Johnston, who made his live debut with The Idiots at the Dark Space 24 hour bash at Dublin's Project Art Centre, a notable date in the Belfast Punk diary. Not only did The Idiots played on a bill that included the likes of U2, Virgin Prunes, Rudi, Protex, The Mekons and Public Image Ltd. Although they never showed up, Barry young was the first Belfast Punk to meet the Black Catholic’s a group of Dublin skinhead/punks who loved a row, and subsequently a fight began which lead to an on-going cross boarder Battle between the Rudi crew and the Black Catholic which lasted for a few years. The Belfast Punk showed Dublin what Punk Rock was all about. The Dublin punk scene, what punk scene?
1979 was proving to be a busy year for the Band. On their return to Belfast they recorded their version of 'Teenager in Love' for John T Davis's seminal punk movie Shellshock Rock and the song was meant to appear on the films soundtrack album, but the album was never released. Snippets of the song can be heard during the film itself along with the dubbed theme song 'Shellshock Rock', also performed by The Idiots. The Idiots version of 'Teenagers.....' was a live favourite with the fans and would have made a great single. Dave Fanning played a tape of the song on RTE Radio 2 and the recording used was superior to that of 'Parents'! The Idiots continued to gig through '79 and began to include a few new covers in their set such as Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid' and the Bay City Rollers 'Keep on Dancing'.
Billy Idiot had been slowly become a closet Heavy Metal fan and tried to move The Idiots in that direction but Barry was having none of it and the band decided to split, citing 'Musical differences' as the reason. They played a 'Farewell to the Harp' gig on 15th September 1979 and shortly after, played their final gig as support to The Moondogs and Rudi at Oscars in Derry. Barry Young went on to play in ACME, with Stuart Baillie (who went on to write for the NME).
The Family of Noise
Dee Wilson formed The Family of Noise with Ian Hanna and Alan Giddings aka Gid who also played with Stuart Baily in Acme with a well-known Punkeet Alison Gibbney alias Gibby, they recorded a single Harries game with B side Dream girl for Good Vibrations in 1982, but unfortunately the single was never released due to Good Vibes going bust (for the first time of many).
The Family of Noise replaced Gid with Stuart Bailie and shortly after Gibby was replaced by Linda Henry, when Linda left they carried on for a while as a trio, changing their name to The Troubleshooters.
Dee Wilson left The Troubleshooters while the Band were competing in the Battle of the Bands and recording in the Studio. Stuart Bailie and Ian Hanna found a new Guitarist and went on to release a single called 'Slave to the Rhythm' in the mid 80's. Dee Wilson moved to Italy were he reformed the Family of Noise and continued playing for a few more years. Billy Idiot went on to sing in some Heavy Metal outfit.
For More info on the Belfast Punk scene go to www.deewilson.co.uk
Extracts from it made me wanna spit, Contributed to by Barry Young
The post was finally filled a few days later with a school friend of Barry young, and Stephen Harvey was drafted in on Vocals, now the Band was complete. With an average age group of just fifteen Dee Wilson being the oldest at sixteen, meant the Idiots were the youngest Band on the circuit at the time.
The Band were initially inspired by serious amounts of Old English Cider and Drawbridge wine, the latter not being the nicest of beverages but it done the trick back then, it was the 70’s version of Bucky (Buckfast). Along with their Anti-establishment views and their Punk Rock ethos believing anyone could play, and add the fact that they knew they would get into Rudi gigs free as the support band was good enough reason.
It didn’t take long before the four members began rehearsing each other’s homes which is quite ironic. Seeing their first and only single which was released on the Good vibe’s EP Battle of the bands, was called Parents. A song which slagged the very parents of who suffered in silence while they occupied the front room of the family home, driving their parents insane with their racket, Barry had already begun to pen the lyrics of the song.
There were also several times when the Band rehearsed several time in and around the grounds of Stormont; not the parliament Buildings itself, that would have been something to tell the kids about. Dee’s Father worked in the Government Security and at weekend and public Holidays while he was doing over time the Idiots would entertain him and his fellow work mate’s. The things that man done to help the band along, he even stood in as road crew as did Ronnie Matthews’s dad for Rudi, God bless them.
Rehearsals and gigs were never really taken seriously at first, they were an excuse for a rake, and or a piss up or whatever else would turn up, which could mean anything with the Idiots. The rehearsals usually took place at Stephen Harvey’s house, which meant all sort of mayhem would occur as Stephen’s mum was never at home most of the time due to her work load. So rehearsals became a whole different ball game in Harberton drive a lot of raking went on to say the least. The fact Stephen had a little sister at just the right age made matters worse; Dee would always disappear quite often and for long periods of time, as did Stephen’s little sister.
That was the main reason why Stephen left the Idiots, his aim was to protect his little sister from Dee Wilson but Dee knew where she lived and she liked him (foolish girl) so his efforts were in vain.
Their set consisted entirely of cover versions i.e. Ulster, Angels with dirty Faces, Janie Jones, Sweet Jane and their own self-made anthem teenagers in Love which was always a hit the punters and later became the title track for Shell Shock Rock.
There first gig was in pure Idiot fashion, gate crashing a Rudi Gig at the Arts Collage in Belfast York Street. The Gig was headlined by Rudi, The Flying Squad, Pretty Boy Floyd and the Gems as support. The Idiots never saw The Flying Squad and Pretty Boy Floyd as Punk Bands so backed by the members of Rudi and armed with Rudi’s instruments they took to the stage. With the gig not being planned as such it didn’t last long, and after only one song which was the cover of Liu Reid’s Sweet Jane, for some strange reason or another Vocalist Stephen Harvey walked of stage at the end of the track. Although it’s not known why he walked of the stage after one song, the Band themselves believe it was because his little sister had arrived with a few of her little punk mates, which somehow distracted Dee and Stephen wasn’t happy that Dee was abusing his little sister, he did try to be protective.
Prior to the Idiots none of the band members had played in a band before apart from Dee but that still didn’t count, not quite the same type of band we are talking about here but their enthusiasm and sense of fun made up for any lack of musical ability. Although they did gradually improve with each and every gig they played.
The Bands next appearance was at the Winsor Hotel at Knocknagoniy which is now a Police Station, their set that consisted of Sham 69’s ‘Ulster’ Liu Reid’s ‘Sweet Jane’ and the Clashes ‘Janie Jones’ before Stephen Harvey once again walked off, this time after the third song this time for good, and not for the same reason as his sister wasn’t there that night. Stephen was never seen again but his sister was.
Two up and coming face of the Belfast Punk scene who were there that night were William Guiney and William Johnston better known in the rock world as Bill Ginny (R I P) and Billy Idiot, there at the right time and place so to speak. Already friends of Wee Gordy they soon became friends with the other two members Barry and Dee and within a matter of weeks Billy Johnston was given a name change and drafted in on Vocals, and Wee Gordy felt the urge to quit the Band and Guiney was left to fill in on Drums briefly.
His reign as rhythm master or rock star didn’t last long as he was replaced by a friend of Alwyn Greer’s, the up and coming Photographer and author of one of Belfast’s well known and loved fanzine Private World. His friends was Gary Thompson who was also given his very own name change, on joining the Band he was to become known as Jah Weelbe a friendly piss take of his shape and size but could he play the Drums the only one you could have called a musician. His stage name was crossed between the advert Weeble’s wobble but they don’t fall down and the Bass player of Public image limited Jah Wobble, you may call it cruel but he took in good stead.
There next gig with their new found members Billy and Gary was at the Stormont Methodist Church on the corner of the Newtownards road and Cabinhill road. A youth club for little rich kids and one that let local bands play usually without any problems. The gig that night was to prove a bit different, it was shared with the Tinopeners and another local Band and it too sadly came to a quick end again after only playing three songs.
The Idiots were second on the bill but the their set was once again cut short, this time by the Minister of the Church who pulled the plug on the back line due to the amount of bad language that was used on the night, mainly by Dee. As he recalls there was a bit of banter between himself and Stuart Bailie of Acme Army, who later played with Dee in both the Family of Noise and the Troubleshooters.
The band now decided it was about time they began to write their own material, and the job was left down to Barry Young who quickly penned the lyrics along with the music to Parents which they recorded at Wizard Studio for the Good Vibes Record Label. It was released on the Battle of the Bands E P in the autumn of 1978. It was said that Aza Middleton once of Victim and the Androids provide the Guitar solo because none of the Band felt competent enough to play it themselves.
The truth behind this myth is none of the Band was aware of Aza Middleton input until the E P had already been released, and by that time it was too late to do anything about it. The Band never ask or approved of any such input, Aza Middleton was a friend of Fat Barry the so call roadie who was so far up Davy Wizard’s arse it was unbelievable there was time you would have thought Davy Wizard had a pair of shoe in his back pocket. It was a few days after the Bands had record the single that Barry roadie arranged for Aza to record the guitar solo not even Terry Hoolie knew of this or so he said. The Hand claps however were provided courtesy of Rudi.
In the summer of 1978 the band had found new rehearsal rooms run by the art council on the corner of Lombard Street in Belfast city centre along with other bands such as Rudi etc. but this was to prove too much. Not only was it used for rehearsal the Bands also used the premises for partying with many a late night practice season, most going on through to the early hours of the morning or at least till the first bus.
There was one night in particular that has found memories for Barry and Dee at least. One Friday night after rehearsals the band relaxed in Idiot style with loads of drink, the night was going as it usually did, then out of the blue Billy Idiot made a comment to Jah Weeble that didn’t go down well with him and all hell broke loose, he was going to kill him. Fuelled up with four tins of Carlsberg special brew he lost it and turned on Billy, and when Billy told him to stop acting like the incredible bulk he went totally and uncontrollably mad chasing Billy around the rehearsal room fall over all sorts, bouncing of walls, doors etc. and finally out on to Lombard street towards corn market. While Barry and Dee wet themselves laughing finding the whole thing highly hilarious, they knew they had to stop him. It took some doing stopping the big lad but they succeeded; now with Billy long gone they were able to control the beast until he finally fell into a drunken sleep. Not a good advertisement for Carlsberg special brew that night.
Dee Wilson left shortly after the release of the EP mainly because Rudi had taken up root and moved to London hoping for fame, which planted the seed in Dee’s head and it wasn’t long before he began to lose interest in the Band. Then the final nail in the coffin arrived, when Dee had an argument with Terry Hoolie at Harp Bar. The argument was because Hoolie had brought the Undertones (who had been recording Teenage Kicks at Wizard Studio) to the Idiots gig and foolishly asked for them to do their set before the Idiots played, which meant lending their gear to the Undertones. Dee was never one to mince his words and he never liked the Undertones, because as far as he was concerned they were not a punk band and they didn’t belong in the Punk world. And he also believed that they stood for everything that Punk in Ulster stood against. He wasn’t one bit happy about Hoolie overstepping the mark by asking such an Idiotic request, this resulted in a blazing row and Dee leaving the Band all be it on good terms and still friends with the others.
Dee Wilson was replaced by new bass player Graham 'Jaunty' Johnston, who made his live debut with The Idiots at the Dark Space 24 hour bash at Dublin's Project Art Centre, a notable date in the Belfast Punk diary. Not only did The Idiots played on a bill that included the likes of U2, Virgin Prunes, Rudi, Protex, The Mekons and Public Image Ltd. Although they never showed up, Barry young was the first Belfast Punk to meet the Black Catholic’s a group of Dublin skinhead/punks who loved a row, and subsequently a fight began which lead to an on-going cross boarder Battle between the Rudi crew and the Black Catholic which lasted for a few years. The Belfast Punk showed Dublin what Punk Rock was all about. The Dublin punk scene, what punk scene?
1979 was proving to be a busy year for the Band. On their return to Belfast they recorded their version of 'Teenager in Love' for John T Davis's seminal punk movie Shellshock Rock and the song was meant to appear on the films soundtrack album, but the album was never released. Snippets of the song can be heard during the film itself along with the dubbed theme song 'Shellshock Rock', also performed by The Idiots. The Idiots version of 'Teenagers.....' was a live favourite with the fans and would have made a great single. Dave Fanning played a tape of the song on RTE Radio 2 and the recording used was superior to that of 'Parents'! The Idiots continued to gig through '79 and began to include a few new covers in their set such as Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid' and the Bay City Rollers 'Keep on Dancing'.
Billy Idiot had been slowly become a closet Heavy Metal fan and tried to move The Idiots in that direction but Barry was having none of it and the band decided to split, citing 'Musical differences' as the reason. They played a 'Farewell to the Harp' gig on 15th September 1979 and shortly after, played their final gig as support to The Moondogs and Rudi at Oscars in Derry. Barry Young went on to play in ACME, with Stuart Baillie (who went on to write for the NME).
The Family of Noise
Dee Wilson formed The Family of Noise with Ian Hanna and Alan Giddings aka Gid who also played with Stuart Baily in Acme with a well-known Punkeet Alison Gibbney alias Gibby, they recorded a single Harries game with B side Dream girl for Good Vibrations in 1982, but unfortunately the single was never released due to Good Vibes going bust (for the first time of many).
The Family of Noise replaced Gid with Stuart Bailie and shortly after Gibby was replaced by Linda Henry, when Linda left they carried on for a while as a trio, changing their name to The Troubleshooters.
Dee Wilson left The Troubleshooters while the Band were competing in the Battle of the Bands and recording in the Studio. Stuart Bailie and Ian Hanna found a new Guitarist and went on to release a single called 'Slave to the Rhythm' in the mid 80's. Dee Wilson moved to Italy were he reformed the Family of Noise and continued playing for a few more years. Billy Idiot went on to sing in some Heavy Metal outfit.
For More info on the Belfast Punk scene go to www.deewilson.co.uk
Extracts from it made me wanna spit, Contributed to by Barry Young