milkshake melon with strange tail

  
 
     
     
     
 

the strange tail of

Milkshake Melon

  
     
     
     
  A Mick Sinclair-directed spin-off from the Funboy Five, Milkshake Melon first appeared as a contributor to a compilation indie cassette called Lizards In Your Lounge (Left Luggage Label), issued in 1980, with an instrumental track called 'Walk Don’t Melon'. Two further tracks 'Theme de Melon' and '21C HB' appeared on another compilation cassette, Answers On A Postcard (dps1) soon after.

Following the break-up of the Funboy Five, Milkshake Melon reworked recent material written for that band and composed completely new songs that eventually became half of the 2001 album, Very Hush! Hush!, a retrospective set shared with the Funboy Five.

Like the Funboy Five, Milkshake Melon appears on the Messthetics #101: D.I.Y.77-81 London, with 'What Did You Do With The Body?' and also, on the ‘enhanced’ version of the same CD, with 'Have You Ever Seen a Whale?' (incorrectly titled there as 'Have You Seen A Whale?'). Unlike the Funboy Five, Milkshake Melon also appears on Messthetics Greatest Hiss: classics of the cassette-culture D.I.Y 1979-1982, with 'Walk Oates Walk!'.

 
     
     
     
 

Snippets of the immense critical praise for Milkshake Melon's 'What Did You Do With The Body?':

'Quaint, quiet... lopsided' -- Mick Mercer.

'Infectiously catchy song with great bass lines.' -- KZSU Zookeeper online.

Note from Melon to Zookeeper: there is no bass on this song, only imitation bass played with the low notes of a guitar, but thanks anyway...

And an only slightly less immense snippet for 'Walk Oates Walk!':

'...relatively polished, proper studio efforts like Milkshake Melon’s hyperactive ode to early explorers, 'Walk Oates Walk' -- Tad Williams: the Groover's Grotto.

Note from Melon to grooving Tad: that 'proper studio' was my bedroom.

Meanwhile, amid the whirlwind of engaging commentary (not to mention downloads and missing apostrophes) on the late 1970s/early 1980s DIY scene that is DieOrDiy, comes this regarding Milkshake Melon's contributions to Answers On A Postcard:

'...Milkshake Melons [sic] are the real deal though. With their Dick Dale on Tamazapan instrumental, "Theme de Melon". Its the sound of a tape being chewed up in the pinchers....genius. Equally great is their Doomsday song..."21C HB"....no, its not about soft leaded pencils either!'

Note from Melon to DieOrDiy: We especially like the 'genius' and the '!'. We might have liked the 'Tamazapan' as well but were too smashed on Temazepam to notice.

  
   
 

milkshake melon

  
 
     
     
     
   
     
 

Funboy Five links

 

Introducing

  
 

Formation

  
 

Early Recordings

  
 

The Single

  
 

The Label

  
 

Last Days

  
 

Before and After

  
 

CDs and stuff for sale

  
 

Milkshake Melon at Last FM

  
     
     
     
 

CONTACT