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The first time I saw the name Adrian Henri it was reading the sleeve of 'This Is The Modern World' which was aÌýChristmasÌýpresent in 1977.ÌýI know the second Jam LP is much maligned these days (and those days) but it does contain the odd flash of Paul Weller's songwriting. 'Tonight At Noon' was based on a poem by Henri,Ìýpoet and member of the Liverpool Scene. That was a group, as well as a scene. His 'In The Midnight Hour'Ìýwas not Wilson Pickett's song butÌýa surrealisticÌýwander throughÌýa Liverpool where pigeons hunt cats andÌýHitler tells us to fight on the beaches. Weller took the best of the poem, added his own lines and came up withÌý'Tonight At Noon'. I cut out the studioÌýnonsense that precedes the song on theÌýLP, for no extra charge.
ÌýI have to admire anyone who decides to set up a record label without the aid of a trust fund or a winning lottery ticket. Such as Stephen Pastel, who set up the Scottish label "53rd and 3rd". Not only did he name it after a Ramones song, he also signed some great bands in the 1980s like The Shop Assistants. He (along with Sandy McLean and David Keegan) also licensed some of the better European punk records like Chin Chin's 'Stop Your Crying' mini LP. A man of wealth and taste. Apart from the wealth, of course.

Shop Assistants - Safety Net
Buzzcocks - Are Everything
Triffids - Personal Things
Swell Maps - Let’s Build A Car
The Faith - Subject To Change
Stranglers - Do You Wanna
Jam - Tonight At Noon
Beex - Beat Beat
Chin Chin - Revolution
XTC ÌýGenerals & Majors
Mouse & The Traps - Lie, Beg Borrow and Steal
Gymslips - Wandering Stars
John Cooper Clarke - Post War Glamour Girl
Cravats - Precinct
Dr Feelgood - Riot In Cell Block No 9