JC writes:
Haud the Bus.
I
couldn’t let this series go without drawing attention the vehicle
that has just left the depot and is picking up some passengers.
Probably best of we start with the driver.
The Frank and Walters - Happy Busman
The indie-poppers from Cork enjoyed a modicum of success in the early 90s and still have something
of the cult status about them all these decades later. Their two initial EP
came out on the Dublin-based Setanta Records, the positive reaction to which led to Go! Discs dangling a contract with the
promise that Edwyn Collins would produce the debut album. Happy Busman was the lead-off single,
reaching #49 in March 1992.
Approaching the next stop, another denizen from the city of Cork wishes to get on board.
The Fatima Mansions - Only Losers Take the Bus
The late and great Cathal Coughlan formed The Fatima Mansions after the break-up of Microdisney.
His new band was named after a notorious housing estate in Dublin. Cathal was pretty pissed off.
with a lot of people in high places in the late 80s, and this was his response to Thatcher’s statement
that if a man finds himself a passenger on a bus having attained the age of 26, he can count himself a
failure in life.
Haud the bus a minute, please. One of Cathal’s best friends in the pop business wants to hop on.
Luke Haines - Ivor on the Bus
The hits with The Auteurs and Black Box Recorder may just be a distant memory, but the solo
material remains an absolute joy. This can be found on the magnificently titled Setting The Dogs On
The Post Punk Postman. Here’s how a contemporary review described this one:-
“….the most experimental track on the album. An ode to Scottish poet and humorist Ivor Cutler, it
features cosmic tinkling, sound panning between speakers and an interview snippet with the subject
matter while Haines odes a man with “a wheezing harmonium and an old age pensioner pass.” It’s
almost as winningly eccentric as its focus of attention”
And finally, as if to prove that bus songs tend to be written by those who are a tad on the eccentric
side, here’s the Bard of Boston.
Jonathan Richman - You're Crazy For Taking the Bus
One of the many enjoyable songs that can be found on the 1990 album, Jonathan Goes Country.
CC writes
Many thanks for this Jim. Just as we were about to give up four corkers came along at once!
