|
|
 |
The Gels.
Mark Gel is on the phone from his spa. Amidst the sound of bubbles and swirling warm water he points out that he's not actually the Mark Gel that I thought I was speaking to, but in fact he's Mark Gel version 2.0 (ex-King Krill, Tantra and sometimes producer and occasional drummer for Lazaro's Dog), after replacing the former sticksman of the same name. Well not exactly the same name... but you understand why he thought it best to clarify.
Now: flashback to 1973 and The Sweet, British purveyors of hair spray and spandex. Among their vast catalogue of chart-toppers the biggest and most enduring hit was Ballroom Blitz; which brings us back to The Gels who have just released a cover version of the single.
"Ben actually brought the idea to the band," Mark explains, "he then said 'let's jump on the Spiderbait bandwagon with our own Black Betty, and then try to whip it for all we can get!'" he laughs, totally devoid of any shame. "When Ben suggested Ballroom Blitz we thought that was a good idea, but I also thought back to when I first started to learn the drums and how I wanted to play that drum beat and it used to scare the shit out of me. It's all about using your left hand."
Please explain? "On average, with other songs for every four times you use your right hand, you're using your left once but with Ballroom Blitz it's got that nasty shuffle beat and it's got a fifty-fifty ratio with left accents, and that used to bother me when I was learning. I tried but failed. So I first thought, 'Oh no, this is going to be a fucking nightmare from the start and it's all coming back to haunt me.' But I think we've come up with an absolute fucking boomer!"
My first impression was that it really isn't that far removed from the original though upon further listens one does notice the subtle differences. "We didn't want to risk rewriting a classic," he agrees, "I've always thought if it ain't fucked don't fix it. That beat is what's always given that song it's groove and drive, take that away and all you're left with is a 'seventies glam guitar special with not much else, you know? So we still wanted to give it that classic groove that it has, but also give it a bit of punk-rock drive. So if my grandfather hears it and likes it that's a killer, and if my nephew hears it and likes it, that's a killer and if anyone else in between hears it and likes it, well that's all good too. My mum's boyfriend is the ex-guitarist for Mississippi [who went on to become The Little River Band], so being from that era he's now creaming over our version of the song. He says it's got now and then written all over it.
Steve Jones
 |
The Gels launch Ballroom Blitz at Jive on Fri 19 Nov.
|
|
|
The latest issue
available now!
|
