Very interesting video! Glad to learn more about Gene and Chelsea. Love that era, but for whatever the reason, I don't know those guys as well as a lot of their peers. Of course I knew"right to work" and about the Gen X connection, but not that much else.
Thanks for the comment Cheetah, and pleased you enjoyed the clip... Chelsea do seem to slip under the radar sometimes when the punk scene is looked into. Very underestimated band and Gene was certainly one of the forerunners of the scene.
Great job! My first visit here. I was not so familiar with Gene and Chelsea prior, and this was a nice insight. What was most interesting was the discussion on how the bands were actually rivals at the start. How the Pistols would investigate others. I would have liked to hear more on that as you do not get an insight on that topic much. I did not pick up on who the Roxy German folks were exactly, were they silent investors? I thought Andrew/Susan/Barry were the owners.
Many thanks for your message and compliment. Our situation is always a little tight and it is often a bit tricky trying to get into too much depth about certain things within the show’s schedule, with most of our items happening ad-hoc. Often we kick ourselves afterwards, regretting not asking certain questions or messing something up, but at least we always ‘keep it real’, as the cliche goes. I’ve heard John Lydon speak a little about the rivalry between bands in recent interviews... my memory of the time whilst hanging around on the peripheral London punk scene, was that a comradely spirit existed on the surface, akin to ‘we are all in this together’ between most of the bands, but it was mostly of face value, as behind each others backs, there were many careerists and a lot of skulduggery to get ahead of each other. Certainly a few have told me in the past, that they felt the Pistols were simply lucky in being catapulted to the forefront of the scene because of the Grundy interview and ensuing media attention, which I think Gene also alludes to in a certain way within our interview. My only knowledge about the Punk in England film is similar to that of Gene’s, in that it was directed by a guy called Wolfgang Büld, who just turned up to places, interviewing and filming the bands accordingly. Other than that, I have no idea about who was investing where, or who owns the rights. Much of the legal stuff is a hybrid of chaos due to the instantaneous of how quickly the punk scene erupted and took its course. It was an incredible time though and certainly woke up a very dull England at exactly the right moment, leaving us some mighty fine music and memories in the aftermath. Thanks for watching and taking the time out to message. Paul Mex
@@mexonerecordingsvideo Fabulous and sincere reply Paul. It deserves another thank you! As I am attempting a Punk doc myself for my channel, and have many questions arise as I just dig deeper. The mass public is exposed to what happened, but there are a lot of questions left open to me as to "why"? that is the void I am going to try to fill in. Not being there these interviews are priceless. But what is funny is, the amount of contradictions. I have done an 1 1/2 hour doc on Max's Kansas City (3 Parts). It was well received, and had gotten into the inner circle. They commented and enjoyed what I delivered. In fact the owner's ex wife contacted me to take it down as she is making her documentary. So I did, but offer folks privately to view it. MAx's is NOT well documented in a sense of what it did for the NYC and Brit music culture. If you have any interest in seeing it, I can send the links via email. just would need that. cheers steve
@@FlipSideCT Hi Steve, Apologies for the delayed response - things are a little crazy for me presently and I’ve been away. I think in England, it is easier to explain why punk happened, as there was an entire generation (mine) that were kind of sick of the old order. Much of music had become pompous and didn’t connect with what we were going through, and a post-war generation setting the standards to how we should live. Add to that, England was in a massive spiral of turmoil with strikes, three-day weeks, mass unemployment, power cuts - it was a melting pot to form a seed of what occurred. I also think punk within itself, was a mass of contradictions - it kind of evolved that way and perhaps, the way it should be, because in essence, it was an uprising, over being an organised movement. Would love to see your Max’s Kansas City documentary, but don’t want to put my email address on here publicly. Is there any chance you could make contact via my website www.paulmex.co.uk so I can send you my email address privately. Many thanks, Paul
@@mexonerecordingsvideo Very insightful info, and totally clicks exactly on what I have been reading about. EXACTLY!! Especially about the OLD ORDER. I totally get how the NEW WORLD Western values could not be handled by the old fashioned 50's government.."NO FUTURE!" I will even mention how the Media, and how they just exploited the Mods/Rockers Brighton clash in the 60's as .As the media is what caused a ground 0 and 1 year of the "true" Punk era. Then there is Malcom.....not many folks in the US know about the influence of Situationism on popular culture. I just bought Mark Perry's Sniffin Glue book, which really gives a feel for the time. cheers.....sent you the links via your website. hope you get them! steve
There was certainly a lot of rivalry between the band's when The Pistols had the Clash opening for them they made them build the stage ,Rotten never liked the Clash anyway ,but personally I reckon The Pistols were a bit threatened by 'em . Capt Sensible said when he first heard Anarchy it was like 'old man Steptoe singing over a dodgy Black Sabbath riff '.Also there was conflict between The Clash and The Damned. Going back to Chelsea I saw em with Sting in bass !
I used to bunk off school with 2 other girlfriend mates to Kings Road and hang out at the Beaufort Market. We met Gene with band members who invited us to a band rehearsal nearby. We went a couple of times and then to the Marquee club for proper show. It was my regular hang out but at 16 i didnt understand why Gene was pleasant one minute and then could be quite scathing and nasty in the next sentance. I think it was not as accepted to be openly gay back then with the type of punk image he identified with on that scene and Gene wanted to have a following but couldn't carry on through the act with women who he thought were groupies. So at time he just was avoided after saying another nasty drunk comment to an innocent club goer. His ego didn’t help either.
I've known him a few years now and I don't think he's changed much from those early years you account there. Fantastic that you were right there at the heart of it during the band's peak though. Sometimes he just blanks me when I bump into him in Brighton, whilst other times he's really friendly. He's got a good heart underneath it all though I think, and is a true original. He's certainly got longevity in spades.
In Henry Rollins' "Get In the Van" book, he describes some unpleasant run ins with Gene when Black Flag came to the UK. Henry was a Chelsea fan, but claims Gene fucked with him.
We had intended to use a Black Flag clip and chat about Henry Rollins during the interview. However, Gene wasn't keen on this idea and so that concept went to the wind!
What a nice guy and very interesting to hear his stories from back then
Love this singer.... Absolutely fabulous.
Interesting fella
Cool, thx for Sharing
Very interesting video! Glad to learn more about Gene and Chelsea. Love that era, but for whatever the reason, I don't know those guys as well as a lot of their peers. Of course I knew"right to work" and about the Gen X connection, but not that much else.
Thanks for the comment Cheetah, and pleased you enjoyed the clip... Chelsea do seem to slip under the radar sometimes when the punk scene is looked into. Very underestimated band and Gene was certainly one of the forerunners of the scene.
The Sniffing Glue front cover was Eddie and the Hotrods
Yeah, noticed that afterwards... memory wasn't what it was, but it was a long time ago after all.
Great job! My first visit here. I was not so familiar with Gene and Chelsea prior, and this was a nice insight. What was most interesting was the discussion on how the bands were actually rivals at the start. How the Pistols would investigate others. I would have liked to hear more on that as you do not get an insight on that topic much. I did not pick up on who the Roxy German folks were exactly, were they silent investors? I thought Andrew/Susan/Barry were the owners.
Many thanks for your message and compliment.
Our situation is always a little tight and it is often a bit tricky trying to get into too much depth about certain things within the show’s schedule, with most of our items happening ad-hoc. Often we kick ourselves afterwards, regretting not asking certain questions or messing something up, but at least we always ‘keep it real’, as the cliche goes.
I’ve heard John Lydon speak a little about the rivalry between bands in recent interviews... my memory of the time whilst hanging around on the peripheral London punk scene, was that a comradely spirit existed on the surface, akin to ‘we are all in this together’ between most of the bands, but it was mostly of face value, as behind each others backs, there were many careerists and a lot of skulduggery to get ahead of each other. Certainly a few have told me in the past, that they felt the Pistols were simply lucky in being catapulted to the forefront of the scene because of the Grundy interview and ensuing media attention, which I think Gene also alludes to in a certain way within our interview.
My only knowledge about the Punk in England film is similar to that of Gene’s, in that it was directed by a guy called Wolfgang Büld, who just turned up to places, interviewing and filming the bands accordingly. Other than that, I have no idea about who was investing where, or who owns the rights. Much of the legal stuff is a hybrid of chaos due to the instantaneous of how quickly the punk scene erupted and took its course. It was an incredible time though and certainly woke up a very dull England at exactly the right moment, leaving us some mighty fine music and memories in the aftermath.
Thanks for watching and taking the time out to message.
Paul Mex
@@mexonerecordingsvideo Fabulous and sincere reply Paul. It deserves another thank you! As I am attempting a Punk doc myself for my channel, and have many questions arise as I just dig deeper. The mass public is exposed to what happened, but there are a lot of questions left open to me as to "why"? that is the void I am going to try to fill in. Not being there these interviews are priceless. But what is funny is, the amount of contradictions. I have done an 1 1/2 hour doc on Max's Kansas City (3 Parts). It was well received, and had gotten into the inner circle. They commented and enjoyed what I delivered. In fact the owner's ex wife contacted me to take it down as she is making her documentary. So I did, but offer folks privately to view it. MAx's is NOT well documented in a sense of what it did for the NYC and Brit music culture. If you have any interest in seeing it, I can send the links via email. just would need that. cheers steve
@@FlipSideCT Hi Steve, Apologies for the delayed response - things are a little crazy for me presently and I’ve been away.
I think in England, it is easier to explain why punk happened, as there was an entire generation (mine) that were kind of sick of the old order. Much of music had become pompous and didn’t connect with what we were going through, and a post-war generation setting the standards to how we should live. Add to that, England was in a massive spiral of turmoil with strikes, three-day weeks, mass unemployment, power cuts - it was a melting pot to form a seed of what occurred. I also think punk within itself, was a mass of contradictions - it kind of evolved that way and perhaps, the way it should be, because in essence, it was an uprising, over being an organised movement.
Would love to see your Max’s Kansas City documentary, but don’t want to put my email address on here publicly. Is there any chance you could make contact via my website www.paulmex.co.uk so I can send you my email address privately. Many thanks, Paul
@@mexonerecordingsvideo Very insightful info, and totally clicks exactly on what I have been reading about. EXACTLY!! Especially about the OLD ORDER. I totally get how the NEW WORLD Western values could not be handled by the old fashioned 50's government.."NO FUTURE!" I will even mention how the Media, and how they just exploited the Mods/Rockers Brighton clash in the 60's as .As the media is what caused a ground 0 and 1 year of the "true" Punk era. Then there is Malcom.....not many folks in the US know about the influence of Situationism on popular culture. I just bought Mark Perry's Sniffin Glue book, which really gives a feel for the time. cheers.....sent you the links via your website. hope you get them! steve
There was certainly a lot of rivalry between the band's when The Pistols had the Clash opening for them they made them build the stage ,Rotten never liked the Clash anyway ,but personally I reckon The Pistols were a bit threatened by 'em . Capt Sensible said when he first heard Anarchy it was like 'old man Steptoe singing over a dodgy Black Sabbath riff '.Also there was conflict between The Clash and The Damned. Going back to Chelsea I saw em with Sting in bass !
I can't understand how Chelsea didn't make it big with a gifted frontman such as Gene??????
Because he wasn’t as gifted vocally
Gene was one of the best front man and singer back in the day. Chelsea would have been a world class massive band if only he had half a brain
I used to bunk off school with 2 other girlfriend mates to Kings Road and hang out at the Beaufort Market. We met Gene with band members who invited us to a band rehearsal nearby. We went a couple of times and then to the Marquee club for proper show. It was my regular hang out but at 16 i didnt understand why Gene was pleasant one minute and then could be quite scathing and nasty in the next sentance. I think it was not as accepted to be openly gay back then with the type of punk image he identified with on that scene and Gene wanted to have a following but couldn't carry on through the act with women who he thought were groupies. So at time he just was avoided after saying another nasty drunk comment to an innocent club goer. His ego didn’t help either.
I've known him a few years now and I don't think he's changed much from those early years you account there. Fantastic that you were right there at the heart of it during the band's peak though. Sometimes he just blanks me when I bump into him in Brighton, whilst other times he's really friendly. He's got a good heart underneath it all though I think, and is a true original. He's certainly got longevity in spades.
@@mexonerecordingsvideo Chelsea never became successful due to Gene.
In Henry Rollins' "Get In the Van" book, he describes some unpleasant run ins with Gene when Black Flag came to the UK. Henry was a Chelsea fan, but claims Gene fucked with him.
We had intended to use a Black Flag clip and chat about Henry Rollins during the interview. However, Gene wasn't keen on this idea and so that concept went to the wind!
Haha...not changed a bit