The Higsons
Encyclopedia
The Higsons were an English
funk
-punk
band
popular in the United Kingdom
in the 1980s.
in Norwich
, The Higsons' first recording
was on the Norwich - A Fine City compilation album
. The band signed to the 2 Tone Records
label
, along with bands such as The Specials
, The Beat and Madness
. The Higsons' first single
, "I Don't Want to Live with Monkeys", was released in 1981.
The band's blend of high-energy funk and groove brought them some chart
success: their most remembered track
was "Conspiracy", released in 1982, with the refrain
"Who stole my bongos?; Did you steal my bongos?". The band played their last gig in March 1986, disbanding by mutual consent.
found fame as a comedy
writer and actor
in The Fast Show
. Terry Edwards
fronted his own band and became a session musician
. Simon Charterton founded the Camden
based country
band The Aftershave, with singer-songwriter
and composer
Adam Wilson, and in 2005-7 wrote the libretto
for their opera
/musical
The Reader's Wife. Stuart McGeachin and Colin Williams got full time jobs.
Robyn Hitchcock
paid tribute to the band with the song "Listening to the Higsons," which acknowledged their song "Got to Let This Heat Out" in the couplet, "I thought I heard them singing/Gotta let this hen out." Hitchcock used this mishearing as the title of his 1985 live album with the Egyptians
.
Backs Records / Chaos Tapes (Cat No. live 008); limited edition of 4000
01. "Insect Love"
02. "It Goes Waap"
03. "Surrender"
04. "Lost and Lonely"
05. "Got To Let This Heat Out"
06. "Where Have All The Club-A-Go-Go,s Went Went"
07. "A Dash To The Shops"
08. "Touchdown"
09. "Conspiracy"
10. "Crash"
11. "I Don't Want To Live With The Monkeys"
12. "My Love Is Bent At Both Ends"
13. "We Will Never Grow Old"
played the second half.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
-punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
popular in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the 1980s.
History
Founded in 1980 at the University of East AngliaUniversity of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
in Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, The Higsons' first recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
was on the Norwich - A Fine City compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
. The band signed to the 2 Tone Records
2 Tone Records
2 Tone Records was an English record label that mostly released ska and reggae-influenced music with a punk rock and pop music overtone.-History:...
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, along with bands such as The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
, The Beat and Madness
Madness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
. The Higsons' first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "I Don't Want to Live with Monkeys", was released in 1981.
The band's blend of high-energy funk and groove brought them some chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
success: their most remembered track
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
was "Conspiracy", released in 1982, with the refrain
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
"Who stole my bongos?; Did you steal my bongos?". The band played their last gig in March 1986, disbanding by mutual consent.
After the break-up
Charlie HigsonCharlie Higson
Charles Murray Higson , more commonly known as Charlie Higson - also Switch - is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer...
found fame as a comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
writer and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
in The Fast Show
The Fast Show
The Fast Show, known as Brilliant in the US, was a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for three series from 1994 to 1997 with a special Last Fast Show Ever in 2000. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, John Thomson, Arabella Weir and...
. Terry Edwards
Terry Edwards
Terry Edwards is an English musician.Edwards gained a degree in music from the University of East Anglia in 1982, where he was also a founding member of The Higsons. He produced and played on the debut album by Yeah Jazz "Six Lane Ends"...
fronted his own band and became a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
. Simon Charterton founded the Camden
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
based country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
band The Aftershave, with singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Adam Wilson, and in 2005-7 wrote the libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
for their opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
/musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
The Reader's Wife. Stuart McGeachin and Colin Williams got full time jobs.
Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....
paid tribute to the band with the song "Listening to the Higsons," which acknowledged their song "Got to Let This Heat Out" in the couplet, "I thought I heard them singing/Gotta let this hen out." Hitchcock used this mishearing as the title of his 1985 live album with the Egyptians
Gotta Let This Hen Out!
Gotta Let This Hen Out! is a live recording of Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians recorded in April 1985, shortly after the group had come together for Fegmania!....
.
Band members
- Charlie “Switch” Higson (vocals)
- Terry Edwards (guitar / saxophone / trumpet)
- Stuart McGeachin (guitar)
- Simon Charterton (drums)
- Colin Williams (bass)
- David Cummings (guitar)
UK singles
| Title | Date | UK Chart | UK Indie Chart UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered... |
Label | Format | Cat # | Other tracks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "I Don't Want to Live With Monkeys" | July 1981 | — | 5 | Romans in Britain | 7" | HIG2 | "Insect Love" |
| 12" | — | — | |||||
| "The Lost and the Lonely" | November 1981 | — | 10 | Waap | 7" | WAAP1 | "It Goes Waap" |
| "(Got to Let This) Heat (Out)" | November 1981 | — | 10 | Waap | 12" | 12WAAP1 | "It Goes Waap" (re-recorded) |
| "Conspiracy" | March 1982 | — | 5 | Waap | 7" | WAAP2 | "Touchdown" |
| "Tear the Whole Thing Down" | October 1982 | — | — | 2 Tone | 7" | CHSTT21 | "Ylang, Ylang" |
| 12" white label promo | CHSTT1221 | "Ylang, Ylang" | |||||
| "Run Me Down" | February 1983 | — | — | 2 Tone | 7" | CHSTT24 | "Put The Punk Back Into Funk Pts 1 & 2" |
| 12" | CHSTT1224 | "Run Me Down" (Long Version) "Run Me Down" (instrumental) "Put The Punk Back Into Funk Pts 1 & 2" |
|||||
| "Push Out the Boat" | November 1983 | — | 4 | Waap | 7" | WAAP4 | "Round and Round Pub Mix" |
| 12" | 12WAAP4 | "Round and Round Pub Mix" "Push Out the Boat" (extended) |
|||||
| "Music To Watch Girls By" "Music To Watch Boys By" |
7": 1983 12": Sep 1984 |
— | 2 | Upright | 7" | UP 9 | "Music To Watch Girls By" (7" only) "Lying On The Telephone" |
| 12" | UPT 9 | "Music To Watch Boys By" (unique 12" version) "Lying On The Telephone" "Clanking My Bucket" (live at The Lyceum, 3.7.84) "I Don't Want To Live With Monkeys" (live at The Lyceum, 3.7.84) |
|||||
| — | — | — | |||||
| "Take It" | 1985 | — | — | R4 | 7" | FOR2 | "I Walk The Land" |
| 12" | 12FOR2 | "I Walk The Land" "Take It" (extended mix) "Take It" (instrumental) |
|||||
| "Lost And The Lonely" | December 1981 | — | — | Vinyl Magazine #9 (released in Holland) | Flexidisc | V 9 | "Jigsaw Mentallama" (by Virgin Prunes Virgin Prunes Virgin Prunes was an Irish gothic rock band formed in 1977. They disbanded in 1986 after the departure of Gavin Friday. The other members continued under the name The Prunes until they split up in 1990.-Career:... ) |
Cassette
- "The Higsons Live at the Jacquard Club, Norwich 11.2.82" (April 1982).
Backs Records / Chaos Tapes (Cat No. live 008); limited edition of 4000
01. "Insect Love"
02. "It Goes Waap"
03. "Surrender"
04. "Lost and Lonely"
05. "Got To Let This Heat Out"
06. "Where Have All The Club-A-Go-Go,s Went Went"
07. "A Dash To The Shops"
08. "Touchdown"
09. "Conspiracy"
10. "Crash"
11. "I Don't Want To Live With The Monkeys"
12. "My Love Is Bent At Both Ends"
13. "We Will Never Grow Old"
Compilation albums
- Attack of the Cannibal Zombie Businessmen (1987) - retrospective singles compilation - Waap Records
- It's a Wonderful Life - compilation albumCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
of BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
sessions, on the Hux records label (1998)
BBC Radio 1 In Concert
A one hour concert was recorded and broadcast from the Lyceum Theatre in London on 7 September 1983. The Higsons played the first half hour whilst the Norwich based band The Farmer's BoysThe Farmer's Boys
The Farmer's Boys were a British band from Norwich, England. They formed in the early 1980s and were briefly called 'Bang Goes My Stereo' before changing their name to The Farmer’s Boys.-History:...
played the second half.
- Tracks played:
- "Gangway"
- "Where Have All The Club-A-Go-Gos Went Went?"
- "Born Blind"
- "Music To Watch Boys By"
- "Heat"
- "Run Me Own"
- "Clanking My Bucket"
- "Push Out The Boat"
Videos
- Jacquard Club, Live February 1982 (released by MEI)
- The Camden Palace, Live 2 November 1984 (broadcast on London Weekend TelevisionLondon Weekend TelevisionLondon Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
programme 'Live In London' 19.1.85) - I Don't Want To Live With Monkeys Live [2006] (released by Cherry Red - reissue of Camden Palace gig)