The Big Untidy Magazine

An interview with Jowe Head

Swell Maps were one of the most original and exciting bands to emerge from the UK punk/new wave scene in the late 70s. Made up of Nikki Sudden (vocals, guitar), his brother Epic Soundtracks (drums, piano, vocals), Richard Earl (guitar, vocals) and Jowe Head (bass, vocals). They fused an inspired blend of punk, glam, Stones, blues, krautrock, Gerry Anderson, and a general sense of mischievous fun, which all came out in a glorious collision of sound. The unmistakable pre-grunge buzz from Nikki´s guitar; the melancholic tapping of Epic´s sad piano; the oddball strangeness of Jowe´s lyrics ("I gotta full mooooooooon....!!!!"). They released four brilliantly original singles via Rough Trade: Read About Seymour, Dresden Style, Real Shocks and Let´s Build A Car; plus two excellent LPs: A Trip To Marineville (1979) and Jane From Occupied Europe (1980). After splitting in the early 80s, they all pursued solo projects. Jowe released a couple of cult classics in the form of Pincer Movement (1982) and Unhinged (1994) as well as joining Dan Treacy´s Television Personalities. Nikki and Epic are sadly no longer with us - but Jowe, thankfully, is. His version of Evil Island Home is featured on the Kevin Coyne tribute CD, Whispers From The Offing. Following the release of a new solo album From A Parallel Universe, he is back with his new group Angel Racing Food (and album of the same name). Jowe is also a painter and recently held a successful exhibition of his work in Berlin.

First of all, I have to ask - how did the name "Jowe Head" come about?

“Jowe Head” comes from brummie slang. – the argot of the Birmingham region.  I was a part of a small scene of teenage outsiders – later to merge as Swell Maps.  We were all weedy kids and we ran a continual gauntlet from the skinheads and bad boys who would chase us through the town.  We would imitate and parody their expressions.  This phrase was one of the ones that stuck.  Another was “cwar mayte!” “Jowe Head” translates, roughly, as “weirdo”.

Where and when were you born? What do you remember about your childhood?

I was born in 1956 in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, the youngest of three children.  We moved to Solihull, where the cars were made, soon after.  That is where I met Nikki, Epic, Richard, Phones and John Cockrill.  I remember the trains, which obsessed me for a while.  I would go on long day-trips with a school friend, dodging fares sometimes.  I travelled around Europe with my family, driving down to France and Spain, which was a great thrill.  Foreign travel was less taken for granted in those days.

What were your earliest musical influences / fave records?

I used to dig some of my big brother and sister’s records – he had “Disraeli Gears “ by Cream, and “Hard Road” by John Mayall, plus Shadows, Stones and Incredible String Band.  She was into the Beatles, but she also had a Screaming Jay Hawkins single – awesome!  My first favourite discoveries were mainly Tamla Motown and soul records that I heard on the radio.  Examples – “Up The Ladder To The Roof” (Supremes), “Smiling Faces” (Undisputed Truth), “”Inner City Blues” (Marvin Gaye), “Dock Of The Bay” (Otis), “Soul Man” (Sam and Dave), “I’ll Take You There” (Staple Singers).  I clearly remember hearing Captain Beefheart for the first time – “Too Much Time” playing on a car radio; I dug it because it sounded like a soul disc on the Stax label – I was hooked! I later developed an appetite for  his more far-out material.  What I first bought was Led Zeppelin 4, and “Who’s Next”.  None of these necessarily made me want to play, but they made my heart sing.  What made me want to play was a desire to experiment and express myself – I never wanted to copy other people’s tunes.

Can you tell me about the bands you were in (if any) prior to joining Swell Maps...

I first started playing as a result of being encouraged by Nikki, who had been bitten by the bug when he saw T.Rex on TV.  He had started to write songs and play them with Phones and later Epic.  I bought a cheap semi-acoustic guitar from a well-off teenage class-mate who had upgraded to a Gibson model.  I started to play with the others in various combos, and in 1975 me and Epic also played in a short-lived band with Ken Spiers (aka Spizz), who we would later encounter again at Rough Trade when he formed Spizz-Energi.  He was a friendly rival, I suppose.  The Swell Maps scene, though, mushroomed straight away; we made loads of tapes, some of which can now be heard by the braver listener, and I eventually braved a stage with Nikki and Epic on Boxing Day 1977 before we recorded our first single.

How did you first meet Nikki, Epic and Richard?

I met Nikki at school.  We were fellow outcasts, since we were both bespectacled straight-looking types – no flared trousers!  I remember we went working together on a farm after school and we saved up to travel around Europe, sleeping on trains, hobo-style.  Epic was Nikki’s kid brother and we played a bit of football together; and we shared a lot of musical tastes later.  Richard’s family’s garden was at the end of Nikki’s family’s house and he came over one day, curious about the noises!

What was it, in your opinion, that made Swell Maps such a unique group?

What made Swell Maps interesting was the sheer variety of influences that we took in and filtered back out.  It was nothing to do with the area, because that was so conservative and reactionary.  As a whole we were into a collective pool of music featuring krautrock, glam, progressive, soul and punk.  Also we were an eccentric bunch of broad-minded, friendly fellows who liked to share our discoveries.

Any particular favourite memories of Nikki?

Nikki could be very witty.  He could also be rather vain, but he was ideally suited as a focus on stage for the group because of that.  I remember he was lacking in confidence with his singing voice, and asked me to be the singer at an early stage but I freaked, and copped out.  It took me some time to have the courage to stand at the centre of the stage and sing.  I had to grow into that kind of role; I am more of a collaborator.  We sometimes shared clothes, which bonded us together because we were the only ones in the Maps who liked to dress up!  I borrowed a black fishnet top from my mom, and he took the thing and I never saw it again – I got into bad trouble for that; my mother never forgave me!

TVP´s and solo LP´s - what are your highlights from the 80s and 90s?

I love some of the T.V.Personalities material from that period – “How I Learned To Love The Bomb”, “Privilege”, “Salvador Dali’s Garden Party”, the “Closer To God” epic double album.  I wish all the best for Daniel.  I hope that he is okay.  Me and Epic made some great recordings together in about 1981; we did a single for Rough Trade, but most of them ended up on a Swell Maps compilation, apart from three on “Strawberry Deutschmark”, a solo album of mine.  Some of my first solo album, “Pincer Movement” still sounds good.  There’s some great tracks on the next one too: “Unhinged”.  Most of the album I made as part of the Househunters is great too –what a crazy band!  I can also recommend the wild album I made as one of Olives Hairy Custard.

Tell me about your new group, Angel Racing Food...

Angel Racing Food started as a duo with me and guitarist Lee McFadden, who I met while I was playing bass for Long Decline.  Like me, he is a funny looking guy, and a he’s got a great sense of humour.  We get along fine.  We played live as a trio with drummer Mick Frangou, then expanded to a five-piece with bassist Nick and Chloe, a horn player.  We played a load of gigs in London, made an album then split up, but now there’s a new version.  We have Marina on bass, also from  Long Decline, and my old friend and neighbour Jeff from TVPs and Househunters.  I have already written most of a new album’s worth of material.

You´ve just had a successful exhibition in Berlin. Can you describe the kind of paintings you do?

This was my first solo exhibition outside London, so it was a very exciting experience.  My recent batch of nine paintings are all painted over the last two years, and part of a continual progression of ideas and imagery that I’ve been working on for maybe over ten years.  The imagery is based on social observation, plus more formal influences, such as Aztec and ancient Egyptian.  My favourite painters include Max Ernst and Francis Bacon.  As for my own work, I would rather have someone like you than me describe them, Clive!  I have been painting since the mid-1970s;  I went to art-school in Manchester in 1976-79, which was a great experience, but I did not produce much that excited me until more recently.  Mostly it is the drawing which is most important, and the colour is added for emphasis and for the sheer hedonistic pleasure of it.  I try to combine a touch of satirical humour with more serious social comment, I suppose.  I would love to try and arrange similar exhibitions in other cities in Europe, and even beyond!

A self-portrait (in words)...

As for a self-portrait in words – I am sorry but that is not for me to even contemplate trying!  Ask someone else!  I am not into self-analysis.

Editors Note Angel Racing Food now boast a 5 piece line up with Rob Mack joining on tenor saxophone and to whet your appetite for a live gig you can now catch some onstage footage of the band at You Tube. 

Web monkey note; Here it is. Pictures at the gallery