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Tenpole Tudor | |
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Background information | |
Origin | England |
Genres | Punk rock, new wave [1] |
Years active | 1977–present |
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Members |
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Past members |
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Tenpole Tudor are an English punk band fronted by Edward Tudor-Pole. The band first came to prominence when Tudor-Pole appeared in the Sex Pistols' film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle and on three of the singles released from the soundtrack. The band then went on to have hits in their own right with songs like "Swords of a Thousand Men" and "Wünderbar". The band has been active intermittently since 1977. During 2017 whilst working and recording new versions of his old songs in Norway, Tenpole formed a Norwegian based incarnation known as the 'Tenpole Tudor Vikings' who performed two UK shows, at London's 100 club, and Milton Keynes Crawford Arms. Due to distance and travel logistics, The Vikings were short lived. Meanwhile back in England in 2020 the time felt right to put together a UK based band again to tour. The line-up consisted of husband and wife teams Chris Sutton on guitar and Juliette (daughter of Chas Hodges of Chas and Dave fame) on keyboards, Nigel Marshall on bass and wife Jenny on backing vocal, and long time friend and collaborator Dave Twigg on drums (previously with the Godfathers). With a diary of dates quickly filling up, the band succumbed to the COVID outbreak. During the nation's lockdown, Ed began writing his biography due for publication in 2023. In 2022, Ed made a number of solo appearances throughout the UK at the 'Lets Rock' retro festivals.
Tenpole Tudor formed in 1977 when Tudor-Pole (vocals/saxophone) met guitarist Bob Kingston, bassist Dick Crippen, and drummer Gary Long. [3] They played regularly for several years until Tudor-Pole himself (under the moniker of Eddie Tenpole) came to prominence by appearing in the 1980 film, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (filmed in 1978). [3] He was originally billed as a replacement for Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten — performing the songs "Who Killed Bambi?", "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle" and a cover version of "Rock Around the Clock" for the film and subsequent soundtrack [3] — however, manager Malcolm McLaren and the remaining Sex Pistols instead decided to abandon the group and go their own ways.
Tenpole Tudor recorded a single on WEA Records with the A-side being "Real Fun" and the B-side "What's in a Word". [3] "Real Fun" is available in live form on two different CDs, but the single was never released on CD. Tenpole Tudor returned in 1980 and signed a recording contract with Stiff Records, with whom they released the single "3 Bells in a Row" [3] (which is a slightly different version of the one later found on the album Eddie, Old Bob, Dick, and Gary) and was produced by Dick Crippen.
The band released their début album, Eddie, Old Bob, Dick and Gary , in 1981. [3] It sold well, and in addition to the popular "3 Bells in a Row", launched two additional hit singles "Wünderbar" and "Swords of a Thousand Men". [3] In the same year, the group released their second album, Let the Four Winds Blow, which also performed well. [3] They further distinguished themselves with their oddball live performances, which had band members often dressing in medieval garb, and Tudor-Pole himself in a full suit of chain mail armour. They also added Munch Universe, as he was billed, to their line-up. [3]
Stiff Canada released a Canada only album entitled Swords of a Thousand Men in 1981. This album was pressed by Attic Records in Toronto. This was a compilation of their other two albums, and included Eddie Tudorpole, Gary Long, Bob Kingston, Dick Crippen and Munch Universe. The album cover was of high quality, showing a photo taken by Kim Aldis of the band in suits of armour, standing in front of the relics of a castle. The videos for "Swords of a Thousand Men" and "Wünderbar" received regular airplay on Canadian TV.
In 1982, the original Tenpole Tudor broke up. [3] While Tudor-Pole led a cajun-inspired version of Tenpole Tudor, the rest of the band released a single under the name The Tudors, minus Munch Universe. [3] After the non-original incarnation of Tenpole Tudor failed, Tudor-Pole left Stiff Records and began performing in jazz and swing bands, eventually returning to acting. [3] Tudor-Pole formed a new line-up of the band in 1985, [3] featuring Mick (guitar), Matt (bass), Sean (saxophone/guitar), and Paul (drums). [4]
Since the 2000s, Tudor-Pole has concentrated partly on acting, but focuses mainly upon his new one-man-show, performing live shows described as a 'One Man Stadium Show'. He has re-formed Tenpole Tudor from time to time, notably in 2001, with Darrell Bath on guitar, Donagh O'Leary on bass and Ben Standage on drums. He currently performs his one-man live show throughout Britain and, in 2009, released a Tenpole Tudor album titled Made It This Far.
In 2018, the band's latest incarnation was formed. The Tenpole Tudor Vikings features Ed Tudor-Pole alongside Rita Kae, Elin Krstiansen, Tony Rudseter, Thomas Hoegda, Tony Karlsen, Daniel Norum, Morten Anders Gaard and Inger Marie Buseth. They recorded an album, mostly consisting of covers of old Tenpole Tudor songs, at Rudestar Recording, Skogbygda, Norway, which was released in 2019 as 3 Bells in a Row.
Ed Tudor-Pole and Dick Crippen appeared onstage together for the first time in over 35 years in September 2016 in support of charities Rhythmix and Heads On. [5] Bob Kingston is the brother of the former The Mo-dettes drummer June Miles-Kingston. Since 1988, Crippen has owned and operated the Panther Recording Studio in Surrey, producing many rock, punk and garage bands such as Chelsea and Johnny Moped. He also plays guitar in The Weird Things.
"Anarchy in the U.K." is a song by English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released as the band's debut single on 26 November 1976 and was later featured on their album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. "Anarchy in the U.K." was number 56 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, also known as The Great Rock and Roll Swindle, is a 1980 British mockumentary film directed by Julien Temple and produced by Don Boyd and Jeremy Thomas. It centres on the British punk rock band Sex Pistols and, most prominently, their manager Malcolm McLaren.
Eddie and the Hot Rods are a pub rock band from Essex founded in 1975. They are best known for their 1977 UK top ten hit "Do Anything You Wanna Do", released under the shortened name Rods. The group broke up in 1985, but reformed in 1996. Singer Barrie Masters was the only constant member until his death in 2019. The band continued to tour, fronted by their former bassist, Ian 'Dipster' Dean.
Flogging a Dead Horse is a compilation album of singles by Sex Pistols, released after their break-up, and includes the four songs issued as singles A-sides that were included on Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, three of their B-sides, and the six A-sides taken from The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle and one B-side, "My Way".
Edward Felix Tudor-Pole is an English musician, television presenter and actor.
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Eddie, Old Bob, Dick and Gary is the debut album by English punk rock band Tenpole Tudor. The title is a play on the phrase "any old Tom, Dick or Harry". A moderately successful seller, peaking at No. 44 on the UK Albums Chart, the album launched three singles: "Three Bells in a Row", "Wünderbar" and "Swords of a Thousand Men". "Wünderbar" rose to No. 16 on the UK Singles Chart. "Swords of a Thousand Men" was the most successful of Tenpole Tudor's singles, reaching No. 6 and remaining on the charts for 12 weeks. The album was reissued on CD in 2007 on the See label.
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle is the soundtrack album of the film of the same name by the Sex Pistols.
"Swords of a Thousand Men" is a song and single written by Eddie Tenpole, and performed by the English punk band Tenpole Tudor. It was first released on Stiff Records in March 1981. It entered the UK Singles Chart in April that year, reaching number 6 and staying for 10 weeks on the chart. On 1 June 1981, the single was awarded a silver certification by the BPI in the UK for sales of over 250,000 units.
Captain Oi! Records is a punk rock and Oi! record label based in High Wycombe, England. The company has released over 300 albums by many notable punk and Oi! bands of the late 1970s and 1980s. The label was set up by Mark Brennan, former bassist of The Business, who had previously co-run Link Records and the Dojo subsidiary of Castle Records. Brennan's inspiration had been Ace Records, with Captain Oi! targeted at being "the Ace Records of retro punk rock", reissuing material by classic punk bands.
Wunderbar may refer to:
"Silly Thing" is a song by the Sex Pistols that was released in 1979. It was the 3rd single released in promotion of the film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. It was written by drummer Paul Cook and guitarist Steve Jones, and recorded after the band's original lead singer, Johnny Rotten, left the band. Typically, Jones also played bass in the studio, rather than suffer the ineptitude of the band's official bassist, Sid Vicious.
"The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle" is the title song of The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle movie soundtrack album.
Let the Four Winds Blow is the second album by Tenpole Tudor and the follow-up to Eddie, Old Bob, Dick and Gary. Despite featuring the minor hit "Throwing My Baby Out With the Bath Water" the album and the follow-up single both failed to chart. It would be 27 years before the next album, Made it this Far would be released.
Keith "Lew" Lewis was an English harmonica player and vocalist, who was a member of Eddie and the Hot Rods before forming his own bands. Influenced in style by Little Walter, he also guested on albums by The Stranglers, The Clash and others.
"Wünderbar" is a song by Tenpole Tudor. Written by Edward Tudor-Pole and produced by Alan Winstanley, it was released by Stiff Records on 17 July 1981, and entered the UK Singles Chart on 1 August 1981, climbing to No. 16 and spending 8 weeks in the charts. It is a re-recorded version, somewhat faster than the version on the group's debut studio album Eddie, Old Bob, Dick and Gary.