The forthcoming film Spinal Faucet II: The Finish Continues is a sequel to landmark 1984 ‘mockumentary’ This Is Spinal Faucet, which launched the eponymous band to an unsuspecting world. However Spinal Faucet weren’t the primary spoof heavy metallic band – they have been overwhelmed to the punch by anarchic British outfit Dangerous Information, whose personal film had come out a 12 months earlier. In 2019, Steel Hammer talked to the comedians behind Dangerous Information about dodging bottles of piss at Monsters Of Rock and recording a comedy cowl of Bohemian Rhapsody with Queen’s Brian Could.
By 1983, metallic was taking itself a bit too severely. The New Wave Of British Heavy Steel had spawned a handful of stars, similar to Iron Maiden, Saxon and Def Leppard, however components and cliché have been setting in as hundreds jumped on the bandwagon. In the meantime, trad Brit-metal was trying shabby beside the US rock giants of MTV.
The NWOBHM had boomed in simply as a brand new wave of British different comedy was flourishing in parallel, typically in the identical venues. Two anarchic double acts stood out as main lights: Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson, and Nigel Planer and Peter Richardson, regulars at London’s Comedian Strip evening.
Approached by Channel 4 in 1982 to spearhead the brand new community’s comedy output, the foursome pitched a sequence of quick movies below the umbrella title The Comedian Strip Presents…, and one of many first concepts was a spoof documentary following a horrible metallic band on the street.
Written and directed by Ade Edmondson, Dangerous Information Tour was broadcast in January 1983. It launched audiences to narcissistic, control-freak frontman Vim Fuego (Ade); posh poser bassist Colin Grigson (Rik); aggressive halfwit guitarist Den Dennis (Nigel); and chirpy, drug-addled drummer Spider Webb (Peter). The script was impressed by Ade’s teenage band experiences, however Peter and Nigel additionally had agency grounding within the rock circuit.
“Nigel and I toured the nation as a band in 1976, doing Zappa and Beefheart-style rock with comedy,” Peter explains. “It was an uneasy combine, however everyone within the 70s needed to be in a rock band. Weirdly, everybody needs to be comedians now!”
Different comics crossed paths with metallic bands at venues similar to Woolwich Tramshed, so the staff have been well-acquainted with the world of longhairs in vans, crappy amps and bathrooms for dressing rooms. With the creation of Dangerous Information, they completely nailed a quartet of metalhead archetypes that also really feel genuine all these years later.
“I met many drummers after we have been working within the early days at venues just like the Roundhouse [in London], and so they have been all the time very jolly, easy folks,” Peter recollects fondly. “Not angst-ridden big-egos just like the guitarists. When Nige and I did our first present we had a band precisely like that. The bassist was identical to Den, and there was all the time the one that owns the PA who needs to be within the band! So there was numerous fact in these issues. [The Pretenders frontwoman] Chrissie Hynde stated, ‘All my drummers have been identical to Spider – that’s why I like them!’”
With Dangerous Information Tour, Ade successfully created the ‘mock-rockumentary’ a 12 months earlier than This Is Spinal Faucet. “It was an absolute coincidence,” notes Peter of the better-known American phenomenon. “It was a really completely different movie; Spinal Faucet was massive bands on tour, we have been a grubby little band attempting to get going. Folks like Ozzy, who’ve seen each movies, have stated, ‘Your movie is the true deal, that’s precisely what it’s like!’”
The ‘rockumentary’ format had been spearheaded in Britain by Mark Kidel’s 1976 movie, So You Wanna Be A Rock ’n’ Roll Star?. It adopted pub rock hopefuls the Kursaal Flyers across the UK, and Dangerous Information Tour owes a lot of its element and environment to that pioneering broadcast.
“I believe all of the characters struck a chord as a result of they have been all based mostly in actuality,” Peter affirms. “We’d all been near it, so it was an noticed factor; we knew the vibe. Folks like Ozzy and Lemmy actually acquired it, as a result of there have been so many issues they recognised. Folks like what they know, and so they love seeing issues they know ridiculed.”
The Comedian Strip Presents… was a right away success, and Rik, Ade and Nigel have been concurrently taking the nation by storm with groundbreaking BBC scholar flat-share sitcom, The Younger Ones. Ade was decided to make use of their newfound clout to take Dangerous Information to its (il)logical excessive, and conceived a feature-length sequel, Extra Dangerous Information, to culminate in an bold finale: taking the stage on the 1986 Monsters Of Rock competition at Fortress Donington. Peter stays blown away by the expertise of entertaining the crowds with songs similar to Vampire Spunk Retailers From Hell.
“Get this – the primary gig we ever did as Dangerous Information was Monsters Of Rock. The primary time! Are you able to think about?” he enthuses. “It was fairly daring actually. Silly, however daring!”
Donington’s booker within the 80s, Tim Parsons, remembers how these bewigged comedians got here to gatecrash metallic’s most prestigious competition: “The Younger Ones was extremely profitable – everybody was mimicking them,” he recollects. “It was cutting-edge comedy, so to my thoughts they have been pushing an open door. Not one of the brokers got here up with different artists that suited that slot, so it appeared the strongest possibility. We have been twisted about whether or not it was or wasn’t taking the piss, however Ade got here to us and defined precisely what they have been attempting to do, what they meant by it, and nothing appeared disrespectful or more likely to be a problem.
“They did OK, it wasn’t an enormous deal, they didn’t disrupt the day – they added to it. You’ll discover that folks trying again on it’s going to suppose much more favourably about it than they did on the time!”
For Nigel, the truth of strolling out to 70,000 ravenous headbangers proved actually petrifying. “I used to be so scared,” he says. “You may see it within the movie; earlier than we went on, I scratched my head, and after I noticed all these folks I couldn’t really get my hand down once more to hold the guitar! It was so scary. After which we acquired these bottles of piss thrown at us. What’s it referred to as, the Donington Kiss?”
“It used to occur for plenty of different teams,” provides Tim. “The Battle Of The Piss Bottles was nearly a ceremony of passage at Donington!”
Dangerous Information have been adopted onstage that day by Motörhead, who had memorably carried out Ace Of Spades on The Younger Ones in 1984. The staff renewed their friendship with Lemmy, who shared his knowledge with the nervous comedians.
“Lemmy was a gentleman,” remembers Nigel. “He informed us that if persons are throwing exhausting objects at you, it’s finest to keep away from them. Sadly, I didn’t take his recommendation after we performed the Marquee [in London]. We acquired stuff chucked at us, nevertheless it was a smaller venue, and I acquired a beer glass in my face. There are pictures of me from that evening with blood all down me!”
Peter picks up the story: “Nigel went down, crunch, beside me – it was like being in a warzone. There was a man who saved spitting at Adrian, and Ade acquired it within the mouth. He was so indignant, he kicked this man within the face. Subsequent day there’s a letter from his mum, saying, ‘My son is a BBC battle reporter and Vim kicked him within the face!’ We couldn’t imagine it!”
Observing this insanity have been the night’s shock visitor musicians, guitar legends Jeff Beck and Brian Could (ex-Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Web page guested at an earlier date). “They have been watching from a VIP sales space, considering, ‘Shit we’ve acquired to go down and be part of that mob!’” laughs Peter.
After Donington, with such high-profile musicians lending their approval, a buzz was rising round Dangerous Information. “That introduced us in a report deal, stupidly, and [Queen guitarist] Brian Could stated, ‘I’ll produce the album’!” laughs Peter. “Recording the music was severe, as a result of it needed to be good-funny and bad-serious; enjoyably unhealthy, versus ear-splittingly horrible. There was a really skinny line between the 2! Brian beloved every thing, he laughed an excessive amount of. He’s a beautiful man, however very simply happy! We have been like, ‘It’s not that humorous…’ However it’s all subjective, comedy.”
Nigel recollects the Queen man’s manufacturing approach: “Brian forgot to show the microphones off,” he states, slipping into Den’s sleepy-but-truculent deadpan tones. “He left them on for the entire six weeks, which is why the second album, Bootleg, is mainly simply us arguing and arguing.”
After the self-titled debut – a masterpiece of clever ineptitude containing such monster smashes as Warriors Of Genghis Khan, Drink Until I Die and their extraordinary tackle Bohemian Rhapsody – Dangerous Information launched into a full UK tour, the comedians settling into the nightly calls for of taking part in stay, albeit badly.
“I fairly loved it, though it was actually bizarre,” ponders Peter. “We might have arguments – we have been like a correct band all of the sudden! And since there was all the time a lot noise and journey, we’d simply sit in silence after the gig simply staring on the wall for an hour. It was fairly an incredible expertise. You see the way it wrecks these guys that do it, although… you may see why you would want the medicine.”
Dangerous Information have been final seen in public on Comedian Reduction in 1991 (though Colin refused to show up as he was sick of working at no cost), and the tragic sudden demise of Rik Mayall in 2014 dashed all hopes for a reunion of the 4 Horsemen of the Rock Apocalypse.
Requested if there was ever any impulse to get Dangerous Information again collectively once more, Peter supplies the band with an ideal epitaph. “We did the tour and that was it, we’d completed the joke and we moved on to different issues, nevertheless it was a terrific mission and a good time. I believe folks actually acquired into it, I believe they did really love Dangerous Information. It was Rik, Ade, me and Nige being actually silly, and also you don’t get to see bands being actually silly fairly often. Not intentionally, anyway!”
Initially revealed in Steel Hammer subject 321 (March 2019)
