Cars and girls/Bikes and Blue Orchids

It's an undisputed fact that the best music has always been about cars and girls (although The Ramones did rule themselves out by having neither when they started) but could there be a place for the bicycle in pop? After all chemist Albert Hoffman first identified the wibbly effects of LSD after a wobbly bike ride. The grateful 60's psychedelic acts responded with Pink Floyd's Bike and Tomorrow's My White Bicycle. I'm not exactly sure what threw up the Mixtures Push Bike Song though. For the second week running I'm going to have to mention Alessi's Oh Lori. Sorry. "I want to ride my bicycle with you on the handlebars".

Queen's Bicycle Races obviously defies all description and understanding…apparently though "Fat bottomed girls will be riding this way so watch out for those beauties oh yeah". The guitar solo is completely bonkers and sounds like a chase scene from a silent movie.

Kraftwerk not only recorded Tour de France but are all keen cyclists, with a habit of breaking off interviews to go training. Age of Chance though just dressed up in the gear. Their version of Kiss is not a great record…unlike their preceding single Motorcity, which is!

More bike and Pop links? When The Redskins split up their bassist Martin Hewes became a cycle courier. Mary Hansen from Stereolab died after being knocked off her bike and Nico died of a brain haemorrhage after falling off her bike in Ibiza. She was initially misdiagnosed as having sunstroke because she seemed to be bizarrely overdressed both for the climate and for bike riding.

I saw a Nico gig in 1982/83 in Manchester which was excruciating. On another occasion I saw the Blue Orchids play Waiting For The Man as an encore with Nico on vocals. That was really good though, partly because they could really do the Velvets rattley sound but also I felt they must just have enjoyed the fact that they were actually doing THAT song with THAT singer.

I always thought the Blue Orchids were a great band but not a great advert for heroin. Martin Bramagh was an early member of the Fall and their sound is like a woozier more melodic version of The Fall's early sound. The early Rough Trade singles Work and The Flood still sound fantastic, squawking guitars and murky keyboards. The Flood fades out on a single repeated chord. I remember once playing it to a friend who knew more music theory than me….it utterly pained him that the chord never resolved itself.

I loved it even more after that.