An interview with Kidder appeared on the well known PunkModPop Archives web site in August 2005.
Read it here and now at http://punkmodpop.free.fr/
Thanks to Roger for being a strong supporter of the band in recent years.......
The Filth and the Glory - Lost Treasures of New Wave
Teenage kicks, adrenaline rush, sweaty palms - Is she looking my way?
There were always girls, you know the kind; angel like with a smile licensed to kill. And of course there were clubs, but not like these days, there were shy bowling shoes gently tapping in the darkest corner of the dance floor.
And there were bands! You picked them up by listening to the older kids. Maybe you even met them, the last of your allowance went to buying some bass player drinks. Then, the excitement of finding their records in the local record shack. They just got them in huh? I’m the first buying it? Sweet sensation I’m in the know! I’m hip with it!
Next day in school, bring out the magic marker, their logo hastily drawn on your parka. You are it! And she loves you for it. And now those older kids actually talk to you, If only to ask you for a fag.
Perhaps you should learn to smoke...
Then a list of New Wave lost treasures follows including:
The Incredible Kidda Band- Everybody Knows/No Nerve - Psycho records 1978
This insanely rare power-pop classic, changing owners at a price of £160, oozes of teenage rebellion and guitar-fuelled mayhem. The Kidda Band is one of the most obscure groups of the genre, and only released four singles during their brief period of glory. This single alone, however, does not reflect the qualities of a band that were one of the greatest of their time.
Last year (2001) Detour records released a collection of demos and studio tracks that is highly recommended.
© Mike Travis 2001 - 2005 [Published 22 March 2001]
The Kidda Band recently featured in the book "Godiva Rocks" about the Coventry (UK) music scene in the late 70s early 80s
Less punk and more new wave power-pop were the high-energy act The Incredible Kidda Band.
They had a huge following, especially in Germany for some reason. I had the pleasure to see them several times, they never disappointed. I am a proud owner of their 1978 single Everybody Knows. They were also responsible for the song Camphill Go Go, probably the only time Camp Hill as ever been immortalised on vinyl!
They often moonlighted as The Kicks (releasing 2 singles under this name Get Off The Telephone and If Looks Could Kill), just about all their material has been put out on the double CD Too Much, Too little,Too Late. They had another single Fighting the way Back released on Carrere Records in 1979.
Godiva Rocks - ISBN - 0-9544125-1-6 by Pete Chambers. Published by Tencton Planet Publications.
Left to the
future - The Incredible Kidda Band - Too Much, Too Little, Too Late! (Detour
Records 2000)
Being caught between trends the public hold in high regard, and a lack of support for not subjecting oneself to the mass hallucinations pushed on music buyers by those with the money to do so, is a hard universe to fly in. This is where we seem to find Nuneaton, England’s The Incredible Kidda Band.
In those fashion fascist islands, The Incredible Kidda Band looked like glitter tinged Teddy Boy leftovers, whose unpretentious hooks, innocence and simple rock n roll aesthetic would lend nothing to get them over with the class of 76’ punks then emerging, not to mention the already established, comfort driven pop star hierarchy that was being mummified into legend status about the same time (the Kidda’s were with us from 1976-1980). Even new wavers were suspicious of this type of honesty, as detailed in one of The Kidda’s finest statements, “I Don’t Care (If You Think I’m Square.) In essence, these five young studs were left for the future.
A towering revelation warms the cockles of my heart when I tear into this collection. The songwriting swallows you fast, spitting forth the type of hooks that have a life beyond simple melodic shape. Kidda songs are hard, dense creations, given an absolutely vital execution by a quintet of second generation Geordie toughs, who captured perfectly the thought process of young adult, just coming out of your teens life; Songs that build on plain concepts, suburban expectation and want. “Can I Take The Car Tonight” feels as if you’re on the cruise itself. The swagger of our protagonist in “Wait Til’ Your Father Gets Home” catches the attitude of a boy growing beyond parental guidance, while songs like “The Girl Said No,” “I’m Gonna Join The Army Now,” “Fighting My Way Back,” and the super sing along “Bullet In My Heart” all describe the age old conundrum of dealing with the opposite sex. “Saturday Night Fever” is the best slap at disco I’ve ever gotten stoned to, and “F.A.B.” has this conceited, lordly swing that struts ever so sweetly.
The rest of this enormous, 29 song wind up says just about everything you need to know about Kidda politics; Be yourself and you too can realize your full potential as a tight t-shirt wearin’, testosterone fueled English lad out for acceptance, freedom, and a good bit of nasty. Now who’s too old for that?
Frankie Delmane - from The Teenage Frames - www.teenageframes.com
