Bits & BOBs

(A song by song account of the Blue Ox Babes recordings)

Apples And Oranges (The International Hope Campaign) (Archer/Saleh/Bache) A western-swing style festival of flutes and fiddles, released as the band's second single and intended as the title track of their album. The song dates back to one of the Blue Ox Babes' early demo tapes and was co-writen by guitarist Nick Bache who was with the group briefly in its early days. As with many Blue Ox Babes songs, the lyrics are allegorical and a little difficult to decipher: 'What's up down on the ground, a close meeting. Someone from above shouts "take-a-this-up". The 12" version of the single included an extended play-out, alternating between a series of lively folk-influenced riffs. In a typical act of shoddy journalism, one ill-informed reviewer wrote of the single: "Still worshiping Dexy's, the hopelessly worthy B.O.B's have subtitled this 'The International Hope Campaign'. Suitable for the Eurovision." - Record Mirror.

Ballad Of The Blue Ox Babes (Archer/Saleh) A mid-tempo ballad with a beautiful fiddle-led intro which was the closing track of the Blue Ox Babes' album. The autobiographical lyrics, telling "the story of the Blue Ox Babes; (three men and girl, approaching something final, no discouragement)", deal with the group's "trials and tribulations" during the long years ("spent crafting these trusty tunes") which it took the group to secure a recording contract. As Yasmin later explained: "Archer told it like it was. Steve was always living above his needs. Me, yes I did sigh and still do til this day. I sigh when I'm bored, I sigh when I'm frustrated and I sigh when I cry. I just sigh."

Bedlam (Archer) An atmospheric ballad with plaintive fiddle, sultry trombone and more than a hint of Al Green's "Tired of Being Alone" on the chorus when Kevin sings "Don't forsake yourself no more, there's much more to you this day, I see nothing to deliver us from bedlam".

East To West (Archer) This uptempo number which closed side-one of the Blue Ox Babes album rocks forcefully with a heavy back-beat and the very uplifting chorus: 'And now the sun shines east to west, I think I'm coming home, the born-again decide amongst themselves to do no wrong'. An alternative version of the released track (without the sound effects and Yasmin's spoken introduction) remains unreleased:

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Four Golden Tongues Talk (Archer/Bache) A really wonderful waltz-time ballad with beautiful harmonies, that features Andy Leek playing harmonium and includes the great lines: "Standards are solid, moral not squalid, so look me in the eye, friend, when you're telling your tale, for the truth is a stranger." This track dates back to the group's second set of demos recorded in early '82. Not credited at the time of its eventual release, Nick Bache remembers coming up with the initial idea for this song.

Gregory Right (Archer/Shaw/Wynne) One of the many hi-lights of The Blue Ox Babes' album, the only public airing of this tune prior to the CD release was a short extract of the 1985 demo [below] featured on the BBC's "Young Guns" documentary about the Dexys story. A joyously infectious gypsy-style romp, the lyrics are both obscure and alluring: "I thought about it but I didn't buy it, catholic (he was a catholic), I tried so hard not to deny it, but you never know about these kinds of things, it's just the way it goes."

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It Could Have Been Love (Archer) Perhaps the most pop-oriented Blue Ox Babes track, both in terms of sound and lyrical content ('Those were the times, when I thought love was being together, and those were the times part of me said you were forever'). The gorgeous tones of Yasmin Saleh are more to the fore on this track than on any other with some solo singing on the middle-eight in addition to the usual harmony vocals, and had The Blue Ox Babes been as successful as they deserved to be this would have made an excellent single - indeed there is even a 3.45 minute "single length" edit amongst the archives!

I Get The Sweetest Feeling (McCoy/Evelyn) Nick Bache recalls: "We were really starting to sound tight and needing a little more to get our teeth into. We were all soaked in the sound of soul, what with James Brown and Al Green, etc. As a warm up song, to get the fingers working on the strings and the vocal chords loosened, we used to start off by playing 'Sweetest Feeling' by Jackie Wilson at every rehearsal. This proved to be a great 'get us in the mood' tune to play and warm up with." So it seems that while Kevin Rowland was singing about what "Jackie Wilson Said", Kevin Archer was actually singing what Jackie Wilson sang! Sadly this was never recorded.

The Last Detail (Archer/Saleh) A brilliantly brassy instrumental with shades of Archer's Dexys classic, "The Teams That Meet In Caffs". Sharing its title with an early Jack Nicholson film, like 'Teams' it has the feel of a movie theme - bold and brazen - like a gang marching into town. One of the track's hi-lights, a trombone solo (performed by Big Jimmy Paterson) gives way to some unmistakably 'Archer-esque' brass riffs before returning triumphantly to the main theme and stomping off stridently into the sunset.

Pray Lucky (Archer) Opening with a typically melodic burst of brass and fiddle, the lyrics to this 'Apples And Oranges' 7" b-side are remarkably scathing, with lines like: "Fool to believe you're winning, it's just not a part of you, soon you'll belie your lying and there's no taking part any more. You told me something I can say, your dawning day has reached a peak, your weak smile really shows your age, your time has come for getting (...no I don't really feel the need anymore.)" One can only speculate as to the song's subject!

Russia In Winter (Archer/Shaw) Another glorious Kevin Archer instrumental, but unlike 'The Last Detail' the mood of this piece is (in keeping with its title) calm and reflective. An incredible eight and a half minutes long, its beauty lies in its gentle nuances. The subtlety and sensitivity of the interplay between guitar, fiddle and piano (performed by Vince Crane) are reminiscent of 'Don't Stand Me Down's more delicate moments, and the sedate pace and home-spun feel of the recording really do conjure up images of vast rural expanses.

She's So Strong (Archer) Another powerful album track which opens with gentle piano and the softly-sung lines: "With the wonders of the world, and thinking about what to do about the boy meets girl situation, and it comes to us all, each and every one of us, if there really is a pure motivation" before the rest of the band kicks in as Kevin Archer declares: "She's so strong, stronger than I am". Curiously, the bass-line is almost identical to that used on Kevin Rowland's 1988 single "Tonight"!

Something's Wrong (Archer) Original 1981 version of the song which eventually became "Walking On The Line", featuring Helen "O'Hara" Bevington on violin. Clearly the key track from the original demo tape - and the one with the greatest potential for single release - Kevin Archer's appreciation of Marc Bolan is more audible here than on any of the other Blue Ox Babes' records. The influence that this recording, in turn, had on Dexys Midnight Runners' "Celtic Soul" sound is quite clear from the short mix featured below.

"Something's Wrong (From The Start)"
[A short mix of "Something's Wrong" & Dexys' "Let's Get This Straight"]

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Take Me To The River (Green/Hodges) A rousing cover version of the Al Green classic demonstrating once again Kevin Archer's ability to rework classic Soul standards into something original and personal. Interestingly, The Blue Ox Babes' version lacks the familiar "and wash me down" lyric in the chorus, preferring instead to let the instruments do the talking.

There's No Deceiving You (Archer/Shaw) The group's debut single, its lack of chart success was the first indication that The Blue Ox Babes brilliance was to go unnoticed by the general public. Issued at the same time as Kevin Rowland's debut solo single, 'WalkAway', Rowland commented in an interview that the Blue Ox Babes' release sounded "very Geno", adding that it wouldn't occur to him to make music that sounded like this any more (a comment which must surely have disappoined many Dexys fans at the time!) Whilst there definitely are shades of 'Geno' in the foot-stomping rhythm, packed full of hook-lines and catchy riffs, ‘There’s No Deceiving You’ is a great example of Archer's unique gift as a writer and arranger, expanding upon Steve Shaw’s original idea.

Thought As Much (Archer) A folk-rock styled waltz existing in two different versions: one featuring the full band (that was due for release on the album in 1988) and another, featuring minimal instrumentation which is a demo version recorded back in 1981 (which was included as a b-side to "Walking On The Line"). The song opens with a harmonica (played on the album version by Mark Feltham who later performed on Kevin Rowland's "My Beauty") in a style reminiscent of the "Midnight Cowboy" theme, before Kevin Archer launches into a vocal that rivals "Keep It - Part Two" in terms of unashamed, unrestrained emotion: "I've looked so hard, eyes have gone dry now, shoulders so brittle from this low".

Walking On The Line (Archer) The Blue Ox Babes' third and final single and an extremely commercial release which inexplicably failed to sell - even to fans of the group. Indeed publicity surrounding its release was so non-existent, there is a misaprehension amongst many fans that The Blue Ox Babes only ever released two singles. Hook-laiden with brass, fiddle and a great "ba-da-dow ba-da-daa" sing-along chorus, this is as good as any of Kevin Archer's Dexys compositions and it is interesting to speculate how the song would have fared had it been released by Dexys in their prime rather than by the relatively unknown Blue Ox Babes. "It makes me want to feel so strong".

We Are But Together (Archer) In August 1981, Kevin Rowland included "We Are Back Together - Kevin Archer" in a list of his ten favourite singles featured in Record Mirror. Something of a mystery, Kevin Archer remembers that he did record a song called "We Are But Together" before the group secured a deal with Go! Discs but it would seem that no recordings still survive. Nick Bache also recalls working on a song of this title in the group's earliest days: "I think it was no more than an exercise song, testing ideas out now Kev had left Dexys. In my time it never saw light of day again."

What Does Anybody Ever Think About? (Archer) This "Walking On The Line" b-side was recorded way back in the earliest days of the group, long before The Pogues made this type of bawdy barrel-house bash fashionable. The song features a section half-way through where the music slows right down before gradually building back up to full-speed, accompanied by gypsy-sounding vocal refrains and frenetic fiddles, in a style which fore-shadowed the "Come on, Eileen, ta-loo-rye-ay" part of Dexys' worldwide hit. When Kevin Rowland stated in 1997 that "the breakdown and build-up section of the song [Come On Eileen] was heavily influenced by a section of one of Kevin Archer's songs" he was undoubtedly referring to this song. Listen to short clip:

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Where Do We Go From Here? (Archer/Shaw) "La-La-La-La Means I Love You" sings some-time Northern Soul fan Kevin Archer with a sly reference to The Delfonics' 1971 hit. Faced with no real prospect of an acceptable deal, perhaps the title of this previously unissued demo was autobiographical. Although the song has remained unheard for twenty-four years, its lyric seems as relevant today as ever when Archer states: "no reason to get excited about the times we live in now."

Yes Let's (Archer) A very powerful b-side, this song finds Kevin Archer 'burning in the streets of Birmingham' with the lyrics: "I tell you, something's happening, I'm burning on one tonight" set to a smouldering back-drop of brass and fiddle. This track was recorded together with "Pray Lucky" at a specially arranged B-sides session at ARC studios. Confusingly, this track and "Pray Lucky" are labelled the wrong way round on the 12" release of "Apples And Oranges". To add to the confusion yet further, the original version of Dexys' 'Come On Eileen' was also entitled 'Yes Let's' but that was an entirely unrelated song