Dec 14

Vampires Stole My Lunch Money

VAMPIRES STOLE MY LUNCH MONEY
 
 
Vampires Stole My Lunch Money  is a 1978 album by the UK underground artist Mick Farren.  Newly formed Logo Records approached Farren with the possibility of re-releasing some of his material but were delighted when he expressed a preference for recording new material.  “Half Price Drinks” / “I Don’t Want To Go This Way” was released as a single from the album, followed by the non-album single “Broken Statue” / “It’s All In The Picture”.  (More from Wikipedia)
 
 
Andy Colquhoun returned the favor to Mick Farren by playing bass and performing some vocals for an EP called Screwed Up that was released on Stiff Records under the name Mick Farren and the Deviants.  In 1978, Andy was one of the bandmembers backing Farren on a really nice solo album with a great title, Vampires Stole My Lunch Money.  Chrissie Hynde, the lead singer of Pretenders also performed on the album 18 months before their first album, Pretenders came out. 
 
(August 2011)
 
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Mick Farren – a founder of two of my all-time favorite bands, the Deviants and the Pink Fairies – wrote the liner notes to The Sound of San Francisco, which are entitled “Remember You Heard it Here First”.  (I’ve talked about him a lot in these posts, so you should see a photo of him; this is from one of his early solo albums, Vampires Stole My Lunch Money).  
 
(January 2013)
 
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After taking several years off from making music, Mick Farren resurfaced in 1978 with a brilliant solo album, Vampires Stole My Lunch Money.  The album opens with what might be the best cover of a Frank Zappa song by anybody:  “Trouble Coming Every Day”, a seething litany of what’s wrong with the world that could surely have come straight from Farren’s pen. 

 

Vampires Stole My Lunch Money is a more personal record than his other albums.  There are no less than three songs about drinking – “I Want a Drink”, “Half-Priced Drinks”, and “Drunk in the Morning” – plus a monologue about personal demons called “(I Know from) Self-Destruction”.  Whether this is just a persona or the actual state of Mick Farren’s life at that point – I doubt anyone could tell the difference, the music is that heartfelt.  Musicians on hand include Larry Wallis of the Pink Fairies and Wilko Johnson of Dr. Feelgood; supporting vocals are provided by Sonja Kristina of Curved Air and Chrissie Hynde, the lead singer of Pretenders (a year and half before their first album, Pretenders came out).  

 
(March 2014/1)
 
Last edited: March 22, 2021