Part of an irregular series of bite-sized posts about 7″ singles I own – shameless nostalgia from the days of vinyl. (Search ‘Backtracking’ to collect the set!)
THE KILLJOYS – Johnny Won’t Get To Heaven b/w Naive (Raw Records, 1977)
Kevin Rowland was never a convincing punk rocker although this is one of the best singles from 1977. It was the band’s one and only official release. “The main thing I learned from The Killjoys was how not to do it”, he later reflected
Rowland started his musical career with Lucy And The Lovers, a Roxy Music influenced band I have never knowingly heard. The tidal wave of Punk Rock forced a rethink and The Killjoys were born.
The band were from Birmingham in the English Midlands and though I was a regular at Barbarellas in this city I didn’t get to see then live.
Kevin Rowland
The line up for this single was:
Kevin Rowland – vocals; Gem (Gil Weston) – bass; Mark Phillips – guitar; Heather Tonge – vocals; Joe 45 (Lee Burton) – drums
It was recorded at Spaceward Studios, Cambridge and produced by Lee Wood.
The cover is an amateurish piece of art work showing Covent Garden tube station with cigarettes and razor blades strewn on the ground and an aerosol can held by a severed hand.
The loutish vocals for the A-side seem to be raging against Johnny Rotten for reasons which are never entirely clear (although the repeated line “It could be me” suggests more than a hint of the green-eyed monster).
The title also makes me think of lines from Patti Smith‘s ‘Horses’ : “The boy looked at Johnny, Johnny wanted to run, But the movie kept moving as planned”. This was where Julie Burchill and Tony Parsons got the title of their slim volume ‘The Boy Looked At Johnny – The obituary of rock and roll’ (Pluto Press, 1978).
The B-side is just as good with surprisingly articulate lyrics :
” I don’t care about truth you see / To me it’s just hypocrisy / You should say more physically / Can’t blame your naivety / In this ball game it’s tough you see / No men in blue equality / You say you’re gonna set me free / Is lying pseudo imagery.”
When the band imploded, Rowland become a “young soul rebel” and formed Dexys Midnight Runners who had a massive hit with Come On Eileen in 1982 . This was followed by an unsuccessful solo career infamous for his appearance on the cover of My Beauty in full make up and wearing stockings. Another example of how not to do it.
Related link:
Killjoys -bio/interviews/video (Punk’77)
