Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 296 - The Dickies

Dawn of The Dickies - The Dickies

A&M

Produced by Robin Geoffrey Cable

Released October 1979

Was Released on Blue Vinyl

A1 Where Did His Eye Go?    
A2 Fan Mail    
A3 Manny, Moe And Jack    
A4 Infidel Zombie    
A5 I'm A Chollo    
B1 Nights In White Satin    
B2 (I'm Stuck In A Pagoda With) Tricia Toyota    
B3 I've Got A Splitting Hedachi    
B4 Attack Of The Mole Men    
B5 She Loves Me Not

Bonus Tracks on 2000 Reissue on Captain Oi!
    Gigantor
    Bowling With Bedrock Barney

Personnel
    Leonard Graves Phillips - Lead vocals, Mellotron, Piano, Organ
    Stan Lee - Guitars, Vocals
    Chuck Wagon - Keyboards, Guitars, Saxophone, Harmonica, Vocals
    Billy Club - Bass, Vocals
    Karlos Kaballero - Drums, Percussion, No vocals

Singles on Dawn of The Dickies

Nights in White Satin / Waterslide

14th September 1979

UK Chart #39

Released on White Vinyl

Manny, Moe and Jack / She Loves Me Not

23rd November 1979

Released on Black Vinyl

Fan Mail / (I'm Stuck In A Pagoda With) Tricia Toyota

29th February 1980

UK Chart #57

Released on Red Vinyl

Included on the Captain Oi! Reissue (2000)

Gigantor / Bowling With Bedrock Barney

18th July 1980

UK Chart #72

Released on Yellow Vinyl

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The Dickies from Los Angeles first appeared on the scene with their wonderful cover of Black Sabbath's Paranoid in 1978 (UK Chart #45) and they seemed to get a lot more attention in the UK than in there homeland as their first US single (Silent Night) wasn't released until late November 1978 (after a further two singles had been released in the UK - a cover of B.F. Sloan's Eve of Destruction and Give It Back). When Silent Night was released as their fourth single in the UK it was backed with yet another Cover Version, this time it was the classic The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel. The first three singles were on their Debut Album The Incredible Shrinking Dickies. The 2004 Captain Oi! CD Reissue of the album would include B-Sides and non-album singles like Silent Night and Banana Splits (Tra La La Song). 

The theme song for the kiddies show Banana Splits was actually their biggest hit in the UK reaching #7!

For their second album, The Dawn of The Dickies they drew inspiration from the movies for the album's title and jacket cover, which depicted the band members set upon by "zombies" in blue make-up. It was a salute to the George A. Romero horror film, Dawn of the Dead.

Three singles were taken from the album starting with the usually somber sounding Nights in White Satin by The Moody Blues performed at high speed - I've often wondered what Justin Haywood made of it! Singles by The Dickies were not always chart busting (only Banana Splits really broke the mould) but some did break into the Top 40 and the lower reaches of the Top 75. More often than not the Coloured Vinyl releases were a bit of a spur to grab a copy and it was probably those that enabled the various singles that did chart.

There would be a long wait until 1983 for the next album from The Dickies to appear (Stukas Over Disneyland). This was due to very tragic circumstances as  Guitarist/keyboardist/saxophonist Chuck Wagon (born Bob Davis) committed suicide after a break-up with his girlfriend on 28th June 1981. He does feature on the 1983 album playing drums on the first two tracks (Rosemary and She's A Hunchback, and guitar on the Led Zeppelin cover Communication Breakdown). I have no idea when these tracks were recorded. By 1981 Chuck had become disatisfied with the band and had left but was persuaded to come back for a few shows and it was after a show in Topanga Canyon that he shot himself.

The Dickies are still on the go these days and are playing live and every once in a while doing some recording.

Check out their 2003 Show

A Night With The Dickies - Here.

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!