A Beginner’s Guide To... Billy Mahonie
By: Tim Dellow
Billy Mahonie were a massively important band for me. And should be for you too.
The first time I saw them was the first time I ever got drunk. It was a Friday night at Chelmsford Y-Club with Seafood and Tiny Too on the Fierce Panda in a big Vanda tour. I must have been about 15 and was just experimenting with the kind of small local gigs that would form the basis for a musical adventure that would shape my life.
Meeting the band after their slot, I ponced a cigarette from one of the members and asked why they had no singer. Names flew at me: Slint / Neu / Captain Beefheart / Can... the same names flew out of my broken mind later that evening as I vomited out the best part of a bottle of Bells whiskey.
Names were researched when I was sent home from school on the Monday, clearly suffering from alcohol poisoning. Billy Mahonie opened up not only a world of historical record collecting, but access to a fervent underground DIY scene.
Through their tips I frequented the Silver Rocket Club (where I first heard My Bloody Valentine on the dancefloor) to see bands such as Reynolds, Joeyfat and Stanton as well as the all day gigs promoted by Jonson Family Records and Unlabel at the Arts Cafe in Aldgate. Billy Mahonie were kings of a scene which brought together the DIY ethos of Dischord and Constellation records but in a friendly UK non-exclusive fashion. I started a fanzine, learnt how to put out a 7” and put on shows.
Along with people such as Paul Epworth, Steve from Blood Red Shoes, Kevin from Male Bonding and Yannis from Foals, we were encouraged and nurtured musically, ethically and, um, experimentally. It was on a Billy Mahonie forum that I first met Kele and agreed to put on the first gig from his band The Angel Range, then called Union, then called Bloc Party.
From then, my bandmate and I put out their first single which helped to re-invigorate the London underground and a whole new wave of acts flooded through, influenced by those from before but with a new fervour and different aspirations.
Billy Mahonie haven’t played a gig in the UK for over 3 years now, and I’m proud to say that we’re putting them on at Club Rockfeedback - hopefully to inspire yet another generation to a whole world of possibilities.
With a new album BM out soon on Static Caravan, below is an introduction to their key releases to date.
The Big Dig (Too Pure) [July 1999]
Following a string of exquisite limited edition singles (see Found) the debut proper was released on Too Pure, the label behind PJ Harvey. The frenetic pace of the singles (which crammed a huge amount of ideas onto each side of 7”) was toned down with the luxury of a full album length, giving songs and ideas the space to breath and develop into an immensely satisfying listen.
What Becomes Before (Southern) [Oct 2001]
After joining Southern Records, the band set about making their Bitches Brew - a sprawling double album that contains the stop-start-tastic ‘Dussledorf’ along with some more acoustic moments. The kind of album you can live in for months and a perfect example of an act developing and maturing their sound whilst still maintaining their dynamism and exhuberence.
Dust (Tritone) [Feb 2004]
The band split shortly after touring What Becomes Before, and Gavin Baker the lead guitarist formed a number of solo projects (Including Jet Johnson who’s album Micropolitan was one of Paul Epworth’s first productions). Reuniting with Duncan Brown from Stereolab, and a different sound the band took his kraut-influence and applied it to some truly emotive songs.
Found (Records) [Oct 2005]
All of the early singles collated on one CD, and a purchase as essential, if not more so than the first two classic albums. From their debut side of vinyl Hoon to the inclusions from the perfect 3-track EP ‘Little Feet’ as well as their re-invention of Seafood’s ‘Rot of The Stars’ this is a tumultuous, brilliant listen that ignites the imagination and comforts the soul.
Tickets for their Club Rockfeedback show on the 8th of October are available to buy now.
Billy Mahonie play Club Rockfeedback on the 8th of October 2009 - see footage from a previous Club Rockfeedback with The Soft Pack below:
Artists in this article: Billy Mahonie