May 15, 2010

PATRIK FITZGERALD +3 " Tunisian Twist " (UK, 1986)


A commercial failure of its time and rather thrown in oblivion ever since, "Tunisian Twist" is Patrik Fitzgerald's third and last Red Flame album, not counting the 1993 compilation "Treasures From the Wax Museum".
The once punk-poet, backed here by a proper outfit (drums, bass, trombone, piano, trumpet etc.), starts finding his solitary way out of the era inclining to a more classic pop form, melancholic but always sharp, the same one that, 8 years later would give birth to his next great album "Pillow Tension".

Today i have picked the track "Putting Wings On Aeroplanes" for listening.

We're waiting for the strike to end
Counting days
Counting hours
Hoping we don't lose our jobs
Ready to lift the hammers
Ready to place the bolts -
We'll go back to work again
Putting wings on aeroplanes
Once i went, for free, to Spain
I was proud to travel, that day
In the plane i'd helped to build
Landing in a foreign field
Something strange, though, had gone on
Our boss went instead to Hong Kong
Booked into the best hotel
A hundred waiters waiting
And we went back to work again
Putting wings on aeroplanes
Then it came, that awful moment
I was sad to travel, that day
In the plane i'd helped to build
Landing in a foreign field
Run, with the others
From the plane
Towards the hills of southern Spain
The aeroplane was now deployed
To destroy, or be dastroyed
I'll never go back to work again
Putting wings on aeroplanes
I'll never...



Patrik Fitzgerald - Putting Wings On Aeroplanes

10 comments:

Dr Faustroll said...

One of my fave artist... and a quite rare record indeed, but... well... don't see any link :-(

Anonymous said...

I agree wholeheartedly with Dr Faustroll above -- Patrik Fitzgerald is a remarkable talent. And if you could *please* supply the missing link to Tunisian Twist, I would be forever grateful. Thank you!

john said...

Just like to ad my voice to those desperate for the link ...

the saucer people said...

As a young kind in the early eighties listening to John Peel in 1980 I was immediatelt taken by tracks like Backstreet Boys & Safety Pin Stuck I My Heart when he played them and they still resonate with me even today.

To be honest though, his later material I am totally unfamiliar with so thank you very much for sharing the track 'Putting Wings On Aeroplanes'. I was astonished by two things about it, firstly the way Patrick's voice lends itself to a full band really well and how the almost flat rhythm he uses to modulate his voice locks onto the steady 4/4 beat well. The second thing was the music itself, it sounds so perculiarly contemporary and not something recorded 24 years ago, a more punchy beat and it could be a house record!

I appreciate you did not say you were posting the whole album but like the other posters, I hope a link appears!

the saucer people said...

I meant 'Patrik' not 'Patrick', I always forget that weird spelling!

Anonymous said...

Could you post the whole LP please?

Pleasent Demon said...

His best album musiclly, no argue

would add my voice for teh link , as my vinil became very thin.........

Anonymous said...

could you please post the whole album?

paramo said...

in my (digital)copy some tracks are not very listenable.. i have tried to repair but it seems they need to be replaced. So i'm waiting...

sharpey said...

yes great stuff & he's touring again !! now about the link........