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Once Upon a Cassette

cassette

Yes, it’s true. Guilty as charged! I am what is commonly referred to as a HORDER! I horde things. I collect things. And the lesson I force-feed my children has always been – DOCUMENT EVERYTHING! When the Coronavirus curtailed my freedom of movement, I decided to explore my cellars and lofts. That is where I found thousands of my cassettes that have followed me on every journey I have ever made (and that’s a whole lot of mileage). They were just sitting there, still looking good, just waiting to be cared for again! Since the dreaded pandemic had made me a prisoner in my own home, I decided to use the time to listen to each and every cassette! That became my MISSION IMPOSSIBLY POSSIBLE! Thus was born ONCE UPON A CASSETTE, a collection of ditties and Darnellian witticisms never heard before. I now present you with Volume 1. I hope my attention span allows me to create at least one hundred more! In fact we are attempting to release one volume a month until we’re over and done. And then in time for Christmas, we shall be offering a number of volumes available for purchase in tangible form. Pow to the Nth degree, guys and dolls!

Hey, remember the Wizard who said, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain”? Well, here’s my take on that: Always ignore that demand, from Wizards and Fools. Peel back all curtains. Be entertained. Be shocked. Be transformed. Be embarrassed.
I dare you. In fact, I double-dare you!

August Darnell

ONCE UPON A CASSETTE – VOL 1 – OUT NOW

cassette vol 1

TRIVIA CORNER

TRACK 9 Good Morning Mr. Sunshine
Circa 1970 / Lead Vocal: Shep Coppersmith
The band was just called ‘Savannah Band’ back then. August Darnell had been an English Teacher in Hempstead Long Island. His students called him Mr. Sunshine. He decided to write a song about that chapter of his life. Voila.

TRACK 13 Sooner or Later
Circa 1974 / Lead Vocal: Billy Dorsey / Background Vocals: Stony Browder Jr., August Darnell, Cory Daye
Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band recorded this track in Manhattan. This song evolved into Call Me the Entertainer. Kid Creole and the Coconuts then covered this track on the album Doppelganger.

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Lyric Book

LYRIC BOOK

The Kid, otherwise known as August Darnell is very excited to be launching his first Lyric Book series:

CALL ME MISTER LYRICAL

The first volume in this Lyric Book series covers the cleverly written lyrics from the re-released Off The Coast of Me – 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition. 
book cover
Call Me Mister Lyrical – Volume One

The debate about whether the music or the lyric is the most important aspect of a song has been going on since the first caveman added grunts to his partner’s humming. My opinion is this: they are equal. Each element has the power to diminish or glorify the other. A.D. 

We hope you will enjoy this very first published Lyric Book by August Darnell. Darnell has always been widely reviewed about his lyrics and we feel the contents of this book portray his inspired lyrics perfectly. 

The book is available in Kindle and Paperback versions from Amazon. You can pre-order the Kindle version now, set for worldwide release on April 5th. You can purchase the paperback version which is ready to ship now!
(Order from your own country’s Amazon store)

Volume Two of CALL ME MISTER LYRICAL is also out now!

This edition covers the lyrics from Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places. It also contains the original holographs (handwritten lyrics) from when Darnell first wrote and created the songs! Enjoy!

Some great quotes about Darnell’s clever lyrics:

With his brother, Stony Browder Jr, Darnell formed Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band in the mid-70s, and had a hit almost immediately with the slinky, subversive big band/disco hybrid ‘Cherchez La Femme’. Hugely underrated as a lyricist (who else would write pop songs about being unable to get it up, disowning a child, or use the word ‘slut’ in a chorus?), his string of hits with his own band, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, in the early Eighties – as well as the fruits of his stint as in-house producer at Ze Records – still sound brilliantly bizarre. In other times, Darnell might have been called a wit; his best songs are dazzlingly witty: they can also be sarcastic, ambiguous, deceptively eager to please. It’s pop as a moving target, brighty-coloured – even garish, but rich with shades of grey.

AD: Absolutely Ab-so-lute-ly! I went just the opposite way. That was intentional, in the same way that Kid Creole wasn’t what people expected a band like that to be at that time. That’s how crazy songs like ‘Mr Softee’ [about impotence] came about, crazy self-punishing songs. Ridiculous songs like ‘There But For The Grace of God’ [by Machine], with ridiculous lyrics that everyone got offended by. That goes all the way back to ‘Cherchez La Femme.’ The hook-line, where I got hate-mail was ‘They’re all the same, the sluts and the saints.’ Hate-mail came in: ‘how could you say such a thing?’ but the point is, Hey, at least I got your attention didn’t I? There’s always going to be double-entendres, there’s always going to be word-play – but most importantly there’s going to be things in the live show that jar you, upset you, that are going to make you say, ‘Why is that that way.’ America is the only place in the world where I’ve had people say, ‘Why aren’t there any sisters on stage singing?’ I say, ‘Wait a minute – this is the Coconuts, this is the image. Blond, blue eyes – sorry if that offends you. My wife chose two girls who look like her, that’s the image.’ A.D.

With Kid Creole, there’s always something weird going on – and it’s much more evident. There’s always an unease, a dislocation.

AD: We have a saying: my brother created this. We’d write a song, it was a pop song. A hook, a verse, a chorus, a bridge: standard. After we’d listened to it, we’d be sitting around in the studio, he’d have joint – he was never without a joint in his mouth – he’d say ‘Let’s fuck it up.’ Like the last song on I Wake Up Screaming, ‘Just Because I Love You’ – it’s so poppy, that you have to mess it up. There’s always something a little… off target. That’s how I get my kicks. Because at my age, you’d better get some kicks. I’ve been there, got the T-shirt, every accolade known to man, toured every country in the universe, but I still love song-writing. A.D.

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Off The Coast of Me

40th ANNIVERSARY EDITION

PRE-ORDER FROM MAY 28 – OUT ON JUNE 11

PRE-ORDER from May 28 – OUT on JUNE 11

Dedicated to Stony Browder Jr., without whom this journey would never have even started

OFF THE COAST OF ME – 40th ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Produced by August Darnell, Coati Mundi and Adriana Kaegi for 2C2C Music

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Mister Softee
  2. Maladie D’amour
  3. Yolanda
  4. Off the Coast of Me
  5. Dario, Can You Get Me into Studio 54
  6. Lili Marlene
  7. Bogota Affair
  8. Calypso Pan American
  9. Adnaloy
  10. He’s Not Such a Bad Guy After All
  11. Off The Coast of Me (Youngr Bootleg)
  12. Yolanda (Youngr Bootleg)
  13. Dario, Can You Get Me Into Studio 54 (Youngr Bootleg)
  14. Bogota Affair (Youngr Bootleg)
  15. Mister Softee (Live at the Rock Lounge 1981)
  16. Off The Coast of Me (Original Demo)
  17. Bogota Affair (Original Demo)

CREDITS:
1) Engineers: Bob Blank, Julian McBrowne, Lars Henrik Nissen, Dario Darnell
2) Studios: Blank Tapes, Chappell Studios, LN Sound, Llama Land Studios
3) Photography: John Rynski, Eva Tudor-Jones
4) Art Direction: Nadine Ballard

5) The Musicians: August Darnell, Coati Mundi, Peter Schott, Winston Grennan, Marc Mazur, Stony Browder Jr., Carol Colman, Andrew Lloyd, Freddie Harris, Charlie Lagond, Danny Kahn, Sam Burtis, Jay Stovall, Dario Darnell

6) The Singers: August Darnell, Coati Mundi, Don Armando Bonilla, Adriana Kaegi, Lourdes Cotto, Lori Eastside, Frank Passalacqua, Fonda Rae, Brooksie Wells

SPECIAL THANKS:

Ron Rainey, the most honest MANAGER I have ever known
Eva Tudor-Jones, my wife, who almost killed me by turning me into a Vegan (for 18 months)
My 2020 Band: Dave Imby, Mike Gorman, Oroh Angiama, Mark Anthony Jones, Chris Storr, Barnaby Dickinson, Edgar Jones, Otto Williams, Tim Vine, Jamie McCredie, Lorne Ashley, George Hogg
My 2020 Coconuts: Sarah McGrath, Roos Van Rossum, Charlotte De Graaf 

Michael Zilkha, who believed in the TRIP long before the Banana Boat left the dock.
Maripol, who insisted we be a part of the movie Downtown 81. 

TESTIMONIALS:

Adriana: “I guess my greatest contribution to the band, besides doing all the choreography and designing all the outfits and providing a European flair to the backing vocals is… I refused to let August call the band Kid Creole and the Cold Cuts! He thanks me to this day.”

Coati Mundi: “Dr.Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band got me on drugs and Kid Creole & The Coconuts got me off them”.

And a special thank you from Coati Mundi:
Grande GRACIAS a mi hermana, Marina y especialmente mis padres, Cruz* y Flora*. Tu amor y apoyo me ha sostenido toda la vida. (*QEPD).

Label: 2C2C Music

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Press releases

THE ROOT-TOOT STORY OF KID CREOLE and the COCONUTS

THE ROOT-TOOT STORY OF KID CREOLE and the COCONUTS                                                                                       Chapter 12

Circa 1978:

TWO frustrated musicians escaped from Los Angeles, California and made their way back to New York City, their home. One guy actually drove a car from coast to coast. His name – August Darnell. The other guy flew in an airplane. His name – SugarCoated Andy.
What were they doing in L.A.? Recording an album. Their band – Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band. 

The bandleader, Stony Browder Jr. was a genius. But he was also a delightfully eccentric taskmaster. The album that should have taken 1 month to cut, took 6 months. The name of the album – Dr. Buzzard Meets King Penett!  Check it out next time to have a headache.

August and SugarCoated were happy to get out of Dodge.

Once they reached their homes – August in Manhattan and SugarCoated in Washington Heights – they decided that they had enough of the Dr. Buzzard lunacy. When they were summoned back to L.A. to help with the mix, they refused to go.August’s girlfriend pulled a Lady Macbeth on him: “You should start your own band and stop being a splintered stool for your older brother.” (Oh, I neglected to say – Stony was August’s older brother)  ‘Splintered stool’? Damn, that hurt!

August and SugarCoated were kindred spirits, you see. They both adhered to a strict teetotal lifestyle. And they both abhorred drugs. This alone made them the object of much abuse and derision from various minions, and especially from the bandleader (who believed that marijuana was more important than scrambled eggs in the morning; who knows, maybe it is!). It was truly time to jump ship. Aaaaah, bye bye good ship lollipop!

Speaking of eggs… August was egged on by his Swiss Miss, Adriana Kaegi (aka Dear Addy).  He decided to start his own band. But he was frightened. He had been Stony’s right-hand man for years. It was scary to be the one who would now make all the decisions. He needed SugarCoated and Adriana to join forces with him. He could not do it alone.
By this time, SugarCoated had amassed a quite impressive list of debt and needed to change his moniker to avoid collectors, loan sharks and his ex-girlfriend’s ex-husband (long story). Through a mutual amigo he then met Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of Robert. Kerry shared that the “Coated and Andy” name-parts reminded her of a family pet she grew up with named Andrew who bit her mother Ethel on the leg.  Andrew was a mammal called a coatimundi. VOILA!!! SugarCoated morphed into Coati Mundi. 

And August’s nickname in High School was Mr. Sunshine. He wanted to call the band Mr. Sunshine and the Cold Cuts. Adriana said she would leave him and return to Zurich, Switzerland if he went ahead with such a stupid idea. Coati said, “I don’t care what we call the band! Let’s make music, not alimony or sandwiches!”
That night, as fate would have it, an Elvis Presley film was on tv. August loved swivel-hipped Elvis. The name of the movie – King Creole. The next morning he proudly announced to his Swiss Miss, “The name of the band will be King Creole and the Cold Cuts!”Adriana Kaegi frowned. “Kid not King. Put your ego to rest. Cold Cuts – no fucking way! Try Coconuts!” She had ideas, you see.  Ways to get paid. She was no fool.Coati did three knee spins and a split jump. He replied,  “Vaya, que la música nos espera ansiosamente!”)
The rest is history.

OFF THE COAST OF ME, the 40th Anniversary Edition will be available on the 2C2C Label. Release date = May 28

OUT ON MAY 28th
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LIVE album OUT NOW

Good to be LIVE! OUT NOW!!!

Live in Paris CD – Kid Creole and the Coconuts. Recorded at Le Zenith, Paris, September 10th, 1985.

OOH LA LA

At the zenith of their career, with the complete original line up of Creoleans, Kid Creole & The Coconuts take the stage in Paris to perform and record one of the hot and unforgettable shows that made them famous. The band loved Europe and Europe loved them right back. You can hear it in the applause and the rebounding energy from the stage. In fact, the band is so tight that they never stop playing and we are pretty sure that the audience never stopped dancing (or smiling). The last beat of every song is also the first beat of the next song and this party is a festive and wild ride. Grab a piece of dance floor and hang on!

Kid Creole & The Coconuts

OUT NOW!!!!!!!

YOUR COPY HERE from AMAZON

ORDER YOUR COPY HERE from RAINMAN RECORDS

The line up:
August Darnell, Andy “Coati Mundi” Hernandez, Adriana Kaegi, Cheryl Poirier, Janique Svedberg, Carol Colman (Bass), Peter Schott (Keyboards), Dave Span (Drums), “Bongo” Eddie Folk (Percussion), Jimmi Rippetoe (Guitar), Kenny Fradley (Trumpet), Lee Robertson (Trombone), Charlie Lagond (Saxophone).

The track list:
Don’t Take My Coconuts
My Male Curiosity
Table Manners
Mr. SoftieAnnie, I’m Not Your Daddy
I’m a Wonderful Thing, Baby
No Fish Today
Dear Addy
Stool Pigeon
Say Hey
The Lifeboat Party
Endicott
Indiscreet
Caroline Was A Dropout

 

Also available for streaming:

spotify

 

 

 

Released on Rainman Records

ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!

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Good to be LIVE!

Good to be LIVE!

Live in Paris CD – Kid Creole and the Coconuts. Recorded at Le Zenith, Paris, September 10th, 1985.paris cover

 

At the zenith of their career, with the complete original line up of Creoleans, Kid Creole & The Coconuts take the stage in Paris to perform and record one of the hot and unforgettable shows that made them famous. The band loved Europe and Europe loved them right back. You can hear it in the applause and the rebounding energy from the stage. In fact, the band is so tight that they never stop playing and we are pretty sure that the audience never stopped dancing (or smiling). The last beat of every song is also the first beat of the next song and this party is a festive and wild ride. Grab a piece of dance floor and hang on!

Kid Creole & The Coconuts

The release date is set for March 1st, so to get your hands on a copy you can pre-order yours today to be delivered very soon!

PRE ORDER YOUR COPY HERE from AMAZON

PRE ORDER YOUR COPY HERE from RAINMAN RECORDS

The line up:
August Darnell, Andy “Coati Mundi” Hernandez, Adriana Kaegi, Cheryl Poirier, Janique Svedberg, Carol Colman (Bass), Peter Schott (Keyboards), Dave Span (Drums), “Bongo” Eddie Folk (Percussion), Jimmi Rippetoe (Guitar), Kenny Fradley (Trumpet), Lee Robertson (Trombone), Charlie Lagond (Saxophone).

The track list:
Don’t Take My Coconuts
My Male Curiosity
Table Manners
Mr. SoftieAnnie, I’m Not Your Daddy
I’m a Wonderful Thing, Baby
No Fish Today
Dear Addy
Stool Pigeon
Say Hey
The Lifeboat Party
Endicott
Indiscreet
Caroline Was A Dropout

 

PRE ORDER YOUR COPY HERE

Available at Amazon store for release on March 1st worldwide!

Released on Rainman Records

 

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Right Here

NEW ARTIST ON 2C2C MUSIC – Tchengiz

DEBUT SINGLE ‘Right Here’ OUT NOW

tchengiz

Tchengiz is buzzing about the release of his debut single ‘Right Here’ OUT NOW!

Singer/songwriter Tchengiz, 24, from London, has always dreamed of becoming a successful recording artist. From the young age of 8 when his father bought him his first guitar, and he couldn’t put it down, he always knew music would play a huge part in his life. His vocal sound has been compared to Robin Thicke and he is heavily influenced by Chris Brown and Justin Timberlake. He has been playing venues around London for the last few years, with his biggest accomplishment to date playing alongside an array of big name artists for a tribute to the late Amy Winehouse.

Written and produced by Tchengiz himself, the single ‘Right Here’ was mixed by Executive Producer August Darnell of Kid Creole and the Coconuts fame. Darnell, along with his partner Eva Tudor-Jones and Peter Schott (both from the Creolian family) are the co-founders of the indie label 2C2C Music to which Tchengiz is signed. With all their years of experience in the music business and the fresh new talents of Tchengiz, this is sure to be a winning formula.

Along with the single comes a fabulous and cool introductory music video shot by Zoey Henderson in trendy Copenhagen where the single was mixed by engineer Lars Nissen at Moremax Studios. The video was cut and edited by Lewis Knaggs of LSK Films.

‘Right Here’ is available NOW at all major outlets including iTunes, Apple Music and Spotify, you will also find the video on Tchengiz’s YouTube channel.

DOWNLOAD your copy today

Get on this, Right Here!

Photo credit: Zoey Henderson

Instagram: @Tchengiz

Facebook: @tchengiz

Twitter: Tchengiz

YouTube channel: Tchengiz

Label: 2C2C Music

Management: Tudor-Jones Mgmt CONTACT

logo

 

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Tchengiz

                      NEW ARTIST SIGNED TO 2C2C MUSIC – Tchengiz

tchengiz

Tchengiz is eagerly anticipating the release of his debut single ‘Right Here’ on September 21st.

Singer/songwriter Tchengiz, 23, from London, has always dreamed of becoming a successful recording artist. From the young age of 8 when his father bought him his first guitar, and he couldn’t put it down, he always knew music would play a huge part in his life. His vocal sound has been compared to Robin Thicke and he is heavily influenced by Chris Brown and Justin Timberlake. He has been playing venues around London for the last few years, with his biggest accomplishment to date playing alongside an array of big name artists for a tribute to the late Amy Winehouse.

Written and produced by Tchengiz himself, the single ‘Right Here’ was mixed by Executive Producer August Darnell of Kid Creole and the Coconuts fame. Darnell, along with his partner Eva Tudor-Jones and Peter Schott (both from the Creolian family) are the co-founders of the indie label 2C2C Music to which Tchengiz is signed. With all their years of experience in the music business and the fresh new talents of Tchengiz, this is sure to be a winning formula.

Along with the single comes a fabulous and cool introductory music video shot by Zoey Henderson in trendy Copenhagen where the single was mixed by engineer Lars Nissen at Moremax Studios. The video was cut and edited by Lewis Knaggs of LSK Films.

‘Right Here’ will be available for Pre-Order on iTunes from September 14th with a worldwide release on September 21st. Available on all major outlets including Apple Music and Spotify, you will also find the video on Tchengiz’s Vevo channel and of course his YouTube channel.

PRE-ORDER your copy today

Get on this, Right Here!

Photo credit: Zoey Henderson

 

Instagram: @Tchengiz

Facebook: @tchengiz

Twitter: Tchengiz

YouTube channel: Tchengiz

Label: 2C2C Music

Management: Tudor-Jones Mgmt CONTACT

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You Don’t Know Me

You Don’t Know Me – OUT NOW!

Brand new single: You Don’t Know Me OUT NOW!

Available for download at:

iTunes

Apple Music

and available to listen on Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, iHeartRadio and many more digital outlets.


KNOW

 

The new KCC single is called YOU DON’T KNOW ME.  It was written and produced by Tim Vine of Electric Diplomat and August Darnell.

Darnell met Vine in Monte Carlo. Vine had just won a small fortune at the Roulette table. Darnell had just lost a small fortune at the same table. Vine felt sorry for Darnell and offered to buy him a drink. Darnell rebuked the offer, mistaking it for a  gesture of superiority. Darnell’s ego kicked in. He said to Vine: “You don’t know me?” Vine replied, “You don’t know me?”
And so a friendship was born. And a sun-scorched song was created out of the embers of a gambling addiction in the South of France.
Turns out that Vine did not recognize Darnell without his signature mustache and two-toned shoes. Darnell invited Vine to hop aboard the KCC Banana Boat whenever he wasn’t busy with his own band, Electric Diplomat.
The track is hot. Check out what it does to your body. And meanwhile, have a swell summer.
YOU DON’T KNOW ME , on the 2C2C record labelcan be found in all on-line stores. It is the 2nd single from the KCC Album entitled Port D’Arnelle.

Enjoy!

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ABC tour

ABC tour

The ABC tour……….

Whoever came up with the idea of putting ABC and KID CREOLE on the same stage is a genius.

abc tour

The ABC tour was a great success.

Returning to Manchester was a blast, since I used to live there 1000 years ago. And the same for Sheffield. I used to live there, too. And London … hey I used to live there, as well. Yes, I’m a New Yorker who has spent a lot of time in England. Hey, in the United Kingdom, to be sure.

The tour: Manchester, Liverpool, London, Birmingham, Bristol, York, Sheffield, Gateshead and Nottingham; All cities that Kid Creole has, at one time or another in a long and varied career,  performed in before. But so very nice to revisit.

I’ve known Martin Fry since the glorious 80’s. A true gentleman and a true survivor, much like myself. And he still sounds as wonderful as he did in the beginning. ABC still rocks.

My longevity? Much of it is due to the guys and dolls who surround me on that stage.

This time around, for the ABC tour, we had Barnaby Dickinson on Trombone  (he’s been with me for over 16 years), George Hogg on Trumpet (off and on for 5 years), Dave Imby on Drums (a 9 year veteran), Oroh Angiama on Bass (over 8 years), Lorne Ashley on Guitar (my son, who has just joined the band this year), Mike Gorman on Keys ( over 8 years), and …. the fabulous COCONUTS, of course.

abc tour

The COCONUTS = Sarah McGrath (who we met in Bosnia in 1998), Roos Van Awesome (over 3 years) and Charlotte De Graaf (the newcomer, who joined the band last year).  Charlotte replaced the longest standing Coconut in the history of the band, Eva Tudor-Jones (who took a leave of absence to have a Coconut baby). We all miss Eva’s presence on stage.  But she is still very involved in the business end of things.

Trivia: Charlotte celebrated her 27th birthday while on the road, in York. Who said “youth is wasted on the young”? I disagree, vehemently.

I mention these names because the KCC SHOW would not be as magnificent as it is without these talented musicians and singers and dancers. Every true bandleader knows that the secret to greatness depends on the simple act of assembling the correct players. I have been constantly blessed with the correct players.

abc tour
stone images rocks

One should also note, that besides the players on stage there are a whole lot of other people involved in a tour. My sincere gratitude goes out to the ABC staff, who made the whole thing enjoyable from start to finish. Their monitor man made each show a breeze for me. I could hear every instrument and every voice, including my own. That’s no joke. Every lead singer will tell you that the greatest danger on tour is the possibility of straining your voice. But from the first show I knew I was in good hands. You see, I am still old-school. I use stage monitors, not the in-ear gadgets that shut out the universe. And that means I need a sound man who knows what he is doing at the helm. I got that.

My 2 KCC guys who travelled with us were perfect also: Andy and Eric. Andy, our backline tech guy, made sure the stage was always ready for the groove. And Eric, our house engineer, made sure that what the audience heard was what I wanted them to hear – the goodness!

Our set was only 45 minutes in length but those 45 minutes were filled with magical grooves and banter and joyful appreciation from fans, old and new. We played CAROLINE WAS A DROP-OUT, DON’T TAKE MY COCONUTS, STOOL PIGEON, NO FISH TODAY and ANNIE, I’M NOT YOUR DADDY which, on some nights, got audience members up and dancing the conga. I consider this a major feat, because the venues were all sit-down affairs.

All in all, we had a funky good time.

Another great memory is born in the eternal legend of Kid Creole and the Coconuts.

 

August Darnell

 

Here’s a link to a wonderful write up from Graham Clark for the Yorkshire Times

http://yorkshiretimes.co.uk/article/Abc-And-Kid-Creole-And-The-Coconuts-York-Barbican