Angel Air
http://www.angelair.co.uk/
Rating: B
British musician Edward Tudor-Pole had been fronting his own
band Ten Pole Tudor and was pretty much flying under the radar
in the mid 70’s until Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren
enlisted him to appear in the Pistols film The Great Rock ‘n
Roll Swindle in 1978. He performed his own song “Who Killed
Bambi?” as well as “Rock Around The Clock” with the band in both
the film and the soundtrack, and for a brief minute it looked
like he might replace the band’s front man Johnny Rotten until
the band eventually imploded. The Pistols definitely had their
much publicized fifteen minutes of fame, while Tudor’s was
probably closer to ten because by the early 80’s he had slipped
back into being an underground artist.
This rollicking sixteen offering released by Angel Air,
appropriately tilted Made It This Far is his first album
of new material in twenty six years. Blimey! Most people with
any sense would have gotten off the boat a long time ago, but
here we are in 2009 and the man is still taking a kick at the
can. Well kudos to him really ‘cause this disc comes across as a
great big kick in the ass and is really a lot of fun.
Considering these recordings span the years 1983-2005 it doesn’t
sound like it was carelessly patched together just to deliver
an albums worth of material. There’s a real cohesive feeling
here as rockabilly drinking anthems “Yippie Yi Yay”, “Football
Yobbo” and the title track mesh perfectly with the laid back
reggae feel displayed on “Real Fun” and “Last Orders”.
Made It This Far
is nothing short of a rip snorting good time from beginning to
end and further testament to Tudor’s dedication and perseverance
to hang around just long enough to get some long overdue
recognition. This collection is certainly a positive step in
that direction, that is provided he doesn’t take him another
twenty six years to follow it up.
-Ryan Sparks
