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PROFILE AND
BIOGRAPHY PART 2: SHAKE SOME ACTION [PART 3]
Rocking
at Rockfield It was fabulous at Rockfield – we did six songs – and everyone was over the moon with the results. The accommodation was a bit primitive as we had to sleep in the farm hands’ bunkhouse with a bunch of camp beds. What people probable don’t know is that Rockfield was a working dairy farm at the time. The idea was to put out a couple of single followed by an album and our first choice of A side was You Tore Me Down but Andrew preferred Slow Death while we wanted something more melodic to start off with. But Andrew said, "No, that’s not the way to go" but we couldn’t do anything about it – we didn’t have a signed contract so we were pretty powerless. The single came out in July or August and it was played on the BBC for a couple of days until someone twigged that the last line was "I got a mainline, a hit of morphine" and we got banned. I think John Peel persevered for a few days but he was warned not to play it anymore and that was it. Our relationship with the record company started deteriorating after that. Draft
evasion and jail They came for me a couple of weeks later and I happened to see the car pull up – I told Cyril to say he didn’t know where I was. So we went to our lawyer and he sent me to a psychiatrist – James did the same thing – and he said: "Now tell me how messed up you really are – use your imagination." And it worked. Well, it nearly working until Nixon was impeached. Ford came in and did this conditional amnesty thing and because I hadn’t got 4F – no good for the military – I had to do alternate service. I ended up working at the Haight Ashbury free medical clinic, which was quite a nice job – I learnt a lot about medicine.
In early ’73 we got an offer from Capitol to go and record a couple of songs. Cyril and I wanted to do a different version of Shake Some Action – not quite so buried in Leslie speakers – and When I Head Your Name. We went and did the tracks down in Capitol studios, had a great time, the music came out fabulous and everyone was over the Moon. The contracts were due to drawn up in a couple of weeks but nothing happened. A new vice-president had come in, sacked everyone and put his own people in, and all outstanding projects were cancelled. During 73’ and ’74 we really didn’t do a lot and I was still slogging away at the clinic when Greg Shaw got in touch – we’d known him for years. He said he wanted to manage us, get us a deal and that Sire Records was interested. Things dragged on a bit and it wasn’t until May or June 1975 that we got our contracts through. However, I had to be able to get out the country to go back to Rockfield but I was still under the cloud of the alternate service and if I reneged I had two years in Federal prison hanging over my head. Fortunately, the people at the Haight clinic said just go and we’ll cover for you – don’t worry.
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Timeline: Chris with the Flamin' Groovies 1971 Chris joins the Flamin’ Groovies to replace ousted singer Roy Loney 1972 The Groovies move to England where they recorded Slow Death and Shake Some Action, amongst other tracks, for United Artists. With no chart success the band moves back to the US without a label and everything goes quiet. Drummer Danny Mihm is voted out 1973 Back in the studio, with new drummer Terry Rae, The Groovies record a second version of Shake Some action and new song When I Heard Your Name 1975 The Groovies sign for Sire records and head into the studio with Dave Edmunds to record the Shake Some Action album with drummer Dave Wright. The band plays the Roundhouse in London and returns to the US for more shows 1976 Guitarist James Ferrell is replaced by Mike Wilhelm whose band Loose Gravel Chris had fronted prior to joining the Groovies 1977 "We went back the States. Another unremarkable period – nothing much really going on," Chris later explained 1978 The Groovies go back into the studio, with Dave Edmunds once again at the controls, and record a new album, Now 1979 Back in the studio for their third Sire album, the band set about recording Jumpin’ in the Night but with little label support nothing much happens and the Groovies return to the US 1980 The Groovies start an ill-fated session at Goldstar studios, home of Phil Spector, but with money running out and tensions building in the band little is achieved. Dave Wright quits the band. "It was sort of like a death blow," Chris later commented. Brittley Black is drafted in on drums and Mark Dunwoody joins on keyboards 1981 With poorly attended shows and friction building up in the band, especially about Jordan’s increasingly inexplicable choice of cover versions, Chris decides he’d had enough and moves back to London – his home to this day...
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