Gold and Silver Discs of Selling England
by the Pound
Keef Hartley
and Johnnie
were killing time. Keef came to visit Johnnie at his flat where a
pair of beautifully framed
Gold and Silver discs
of the album Selling England
by the Pound by Genesis
had recently taken up their illustrious
residence. The album had reached
number 3 in the UK charts and number 70 in the US charts since its
release in 1973.Two sets of eyes examined
the discs warily. What were these proud and ego-aggrandising items?
Whose business did they represent? Johnnie found himself slightly
embarrassed at possessing these trophies, in the way one would for
serving caviar for a pet cat's breakfast. 'Selling England' indeed!
They seemed fake and
pretentious, their shine superficial and they seemed to come from a
completely different universe to the studio where the music they
claimed to embody was actually recorded. Did they even have Genesis cut
into those shiny
grooves?
They could have recycled any disc.
Could be the Beatles or Frank Sinatra, even... A short debate
followed and it was unanimously decided that there was nothing for it
but to take the discs out of the frames and play
them.
It was 'that' stage of the evening. It was the 1970's. Approaching the dawn of punk. It seemed eminently appropriate that the discs were set to with a sledgehammer and so were made fit for inclusion in Johnnie's home.
Later, Keef asked if he
could have the frames, they'd be useful, he said. "Sure!", was
Johnnie's inevitable reply.
So, here are the discs as
they are today, tempered to fit into the rightful position they hold
in the household of Johnnie Burns, anarchic tamer of supercilious
discs.
Here he is, propped up like a Soviet dignitary at a parade, while members
of rock band, JEBO, make his waving
at troops appear to be akin to the movements of a living man, with a message
for the world:
One last
look at those shameless discs in all their unframed battered glory:
Live version of "Nowhere left To Hide"
recorded at the Opera House, York when JEBO supported The Musical Box
