photo: Marion Schult (c) Schult/Read Archives All Rights Reserved
Darryl Read of Crushed Butler
The bad news that my great friend Ray Manzarek died on Monday 20th May 2013, came to me here via Facebook this morning - Tuesday in Siam, from my friends and fans, when I switched on my computer!
I can tell you that I am devastated! I thought of calling Ray all through last week and was going to call him over the weekend, and decided, I would call him from here in Siam this week when I got in town. The last time we talked – I was saying that I would like to work with Ty Dennis and Phil Cheng on some Rock shows etc – when they weren’t working with Krieger/Manzarek band, which Ray thought was a cool idea!
I had known Ray since early1981 when I met him in Hollywood, and had remained close friends with him. During that friendship we made three albums together: Beat Existentialist (1990), Freshly Dug (2000), and Bleeding Paradise (2007). Ray was one of the few people who helped me in my career, and was loyal to the maximum! On many occasions – he would put people in their place if they tried to put me down - if we were hanging out – or working together! Ray never left me out of anything going on! As an example in 2006: he made the whole crew and tour bus wait for me, whilst I got my bags and went down to Paris with the band – after a quick decision to go with the Krieger/Manzarek outfit from Frankfurt!
Many stories and many cool times I spent with Ray, he also got me into writing poetry – and encouraged many aspects of my Rock career over the years! We were on the same wavelength as friends and as musicians! When we made the Bleeding Paradise album in San Francisco in 2007 – the production people in the studio, said they thought we were so tight musically, and asked how long we'd been rehearsing, Ray said: "Well he's good and I'm good – we are just throwing it down now!" We had almost a telepathic connection music-wise, and were doing the cuts in one takes – faultlessly, and further more second back up takes – the same! His music to my poetry – was supreme! And what was cool; was English poetry, alongside the greatest Rock keyboardist in history! With no Morrison tribute stuff! It was all new and original!
I am very sad, as if only I had made that call to Ray, in the last weeks, I would have felt better! But no chance to say goodbye! I always thought of Ray of being there, as he was the many times when I called him! In a way; not saying goodbye is good – because I will always think of him as being there! His music lives on forever, as does his soul!
Darryl Read May 21st 2013 Siam
For Ray
MAN O’ JAZZ
(Darryl Read words Music Ray Manzarek, from the album Freshly Dug)
The old man of jazz full of tom - sparse - brass and snake hips
We once spoke in close-note-contact
His face gaunt and of chemical impact - to file and fuse the bread - lead - doctors in floodlit death and C’abria D’oro
Sluice - Outed the vermin crowds of smart flaked impostors - his road was of jagged truth and genius hoof
Blazed and dry the jazz world cried
Many would feel his ghost as they sprung be-bop cool notes
Interwoven in the beads of eternal fires inside the chosen spokes!
17th of May 2013
JUST IN! UK's First Punk Band
CRUSHED BUTLER - Uncrushed 10" Vinyl Deluxe Copy includes DVD, Massive Poster, Booklet. Limited Edition of 500 copies Worldwide. On Sale Next Week!
4th of May 2013
Check out this cool description of my works and the new Crushed Butler release by Paul Green
best Darryl
Wowser! Just want to introduce a very talented friend of mine. Darryl is one of the most un-derated talents of the film/ music scene, an unsung hero of the underground scene, as well as being a child actor who appeared in Hammer films, similar to Steve Marriot who started out in film, Darryl then turned onto the music scene, in lots of sixties bands, too many to mention here, but most importantly Darryl along with Jesse Hector and Alan Butler were the lords and creators of punk, or as it is now known 60's proto punk forming CRUSHED BUTLER. There is way too much stuff to tell you about, the only thing i can advise you to do is to buy Darryl’s biog Stardom Road available from http://www.darrylread.com/. More recently though Darryl has made albums with ex THE DOORS members (see pic with Ray Manczarek and Robbie Krieger), and learnt how to play guitar with a flick knife!
The most genuine down to earth musician and talent non celebrity everyday geezer i know with true punk values.
the latest version of the CRUSHED BUTLER album is out by Die Luxus German release! The new edition of the 10in vinyl UNCRUSHED - CRUSHED BUTLER, has a DVD of Jesse Hector and Charlie Harty and yours truly in rehearsal in 1998 - planning a reunion - which didnt happen! Plus large poster! AVAILABLE from lastyearsyouth@web.de However i will be advertising this via my mail order site a.s.a.p
20th of February 2013
OUT TODAY! The new Crushed Butler re-issue Die Luxus German release! The new edition of the 10in vinyl UNCRUSHED - CRUSHED BUTLER, has a DVD of Jesse Hector and Charlie Harty and yours truly in rehearsal in 1998 - planning a reunion! Plus large poster and 10 page booklet! Advanced sales can be purchased through: lastyearsyouth@web.de from Joe Saerig
yours truly
Darryl
7th of November 2012
New Crushed Butler logo, and it looks like there will be a new release of the Luxus Vinyl Version of UNCRUSHED in January 2013 - the release will be from Joachim Saehrig - watch this space baby!
Monday, December 10, 2012
Crushed Butler - "Uncrushed - First Punks from the British Underground 1969-1971" (CD, RPM - 2005)
The perfect example of someone being ahead of its time. Of the few bands deserving the tag 'proto-punk'. Legendary Jesse Hector, Darryl Read and Alan Butler's three piece dynamite and predecessors of the Helter Skelter and the sadly underrated Hammersmith Gorillas (later just Gorillas) was probably Britain's own answer to MC5's soul guttering rock & roll (Whaaat? The Deviants? Come on, you must be joking right..?)! Hippie haters and prog-rock's squall enemies, were just what the Tubes immortalized with their classic "I was a Punk before you were a Punk" a few years later...Back to the basics rock & rollers, primal screamers and ex-mod mobsters. Waaaaaaayyy too wild to be compared with any other act of their time. They blew Slade, Atomic Rooster and Mott among many as the story smugly is saying now and they set the parameters for the generations to come (glam, pub rock, punk). Sometimes I really wonder what the public was then thinking by consuming massively Led Zep's pseudo blues crap...? If you think you 're offended by the last statement, stay away - if not, well this is the shit!
Posted by Mihaleez at 11:28 PM
Labels: Crushed Butler, Darryl Read, Jesse Hector, Protopunk - Garage
Every once in a while, when the School Machine has not given me enough to do, I will stroll one and a half hilly-but-pleasant suburban miles to the nearest public library, and seek to educate myself on something or other. More often than not, given my general state of mind, the “something or other” in question is at least tangentially related to the sort of nonsense that ends up on this blog. Yesterday, when I reached the library at approximately the same time as I finished the first disc of Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti, I had put myself in a definite rock and roll mood, but as such moods often do, it lacked any specific direction.
Crushed Butler in 1970: Jesse Hector, Alan Butler, and Darryl Read
Blindly searching the rock and roll section, I happened to pick up what turned out to be an excellent book, Phil Strongman’s Pretty Vacant: A History of UK Punk, and proceded to discover yet another candidate for the endless “who started Punk?” debate: the explosive UK rockers, Crushed Butler.
Crushed Butler, it is important to note, were not of the brand of pure garage noise that one would expect to lead to the punk movement of groups like The Sex Pistols, X-Ray Spex, or The Buzzcocks. While yes, John Lydon was an Crushed Butler fan before he went Rotten, the group actually reminds me more of very early Black Sabbath, who released their first album while they were together– a fuzzy, messy guitar tone, strong, riffy bass, drums that seem from the school of Ginger Baker or Mitch Mitchell, and prominent, gritty vocals. A full-on, reverb-heavy sound that pulls out all the stops. Indeed, in terms of both style and chronology, it appears that Crushed Butler is somewhat removed from the late-70s punk movement, definitely more akin to the heavy psychedelic and proto-metal of the late 60s that at least helped inspired Punk with its sheer rawness, volume, and departure from the late-60s peace-and-love sensibility that many felt was rapidly turning to cliché.
Crushed Butler in 1969
The history of Crushed Butler is surprisingly difficult to find– the bio listed on the band’s own website leaves a lot to be desired, and further information tantalizingly sparse, apt to leave a researcher interested, but begging for more.
From what I can discern, the band was formed sometime around 1968. In the beginning, guitar and vocals were covered by Ray “Jesse” Hector, also a member of The Gorillas and of The Jesse Hector Sound. Hector was a constant member, remaining a part of Crushed Butler until their name change (to Tiger), personnel change (when Neil Christian of The Crusaders became their manager) and eventual disbandment in 1971. Bass was covered by Alan Butler at the beginning, but he had departed by 1971. A succession of bassists after him included Stan Aldous, Arthur Anderson and Barry Wyles, who would later join Smile with future members of Queen. Actor-musician Darryl Read serves as drummer. In addition to a short stint later in Krayon Angels, he would go on to collaborate with Mickey Finn and Bill Legend of T. Rex, and record with Ray Manzarek, formerly of The Doors.
While Crushed Butler did not record any full-length albums in their short-but-influential existence, there are several recordings in existence from demo sessions throughout the band’s short life. They were eventually released as a collection, Uncrushed, in 1991. The best-known of their songs is probably the A-side of their 1969 single, the garagey ”It’s My Life,” a ferocious attack that sounds almost like an angrier, more distorted and less psychedelic Seeds, and heavily features Darryl Read’s steady barrage of drums, which propel the track relentlessly forward for its disappointingly short 2:16 running time.
Crushed Butler’s more heavy-psychedelic side is represented by the band’s extremely Black Sabbath-sounding “Love Is All Around Me,” recorded in 1970. Note, of course, that this similarity in sound might have something to do with the band’s involvement with Don Arden, who aside from managing The Small Faces and ELO was not only Black Sabbath’s manager, but also Ozzy Osbourne’s father-in-law. But no matter who influenced who, “Love Is All Around Me” is a great heavy psych song– driven by palpably aggressive unison riffing between guitar and bass and a song form complicated enough to be interesting, and simple enough to have an almost irresistible hook. In addition, bluesy but inventive guitar lines provides a classic example of psychedelic guitar work.
All in all, with so few Crushed Butler songs available– all of seven, by my count (one of which I have not heard, as it is only available on the Uncrushed collection), I would recommend listening to every one. From the raspy psychedelic blues of “High School Dropout” to the terrifically primeval rock of “Factory Grime” and ”Love Fighter,” the slow, crushing epic that makes its rather silly title seem like a mockery, Crushed Butler might have made even the staunchest of flower-power advocates wonder just how much raw aggression will be able to survive into the Age of Aquarius, and whether it will be enough to feed the utter intensity of this truly heavy music.
Check this!!! Darryl Read, Jesse Hector, and Charlie Harty rehearse a potencial CRUSHED BUTLER reunion in 1998, Camden Town. The film clip, will be part of a full length Rockumentory on Darryl's intensive carreer - spread over 5 decades! Watch this space!!!
January 7th 2012
Very cool review of CB from Rich:
11th of November 2011
Check this! http://drinkify.org/darryl%2520read
19th of November 2010
YEAR OF THE TIGER!
19th of September 2010
ALL THE GHOSTS OF ROCK 'N' ROLL new Album release from Darryl Read get it NOW!
We got the front cover of Pattaya People on the 16th of September --- and kinda cool on the brink of the release of our new album ATGORR! The mag sports a big feature on Darryl inside.
8th of Septemeber 2010
New Darryl Read T-Shirt available from here and at info@darrylread.com merchandise
modelled by the fab Apple --- photo by Woody of TQ all rights reserved Darryl Read Archives
The T-Shirt, it has Darryl's poem from SET Last Poets Land on the back --- all orders through here or www.darrylread.com --- this shirt is sponsored by:
Best Bakers Pattaya/The Holiday Inn/Foxy Bar/Rendezvous Bar/Thai T-Shirt Factory
7th of Septemeber 2010
Ok Kats & Kitties!
The release date for my new Rock album downloads is September 19th - which also happens to be my birthday! The album is now titled: All The Ghosts of Rock 'n' Roll - The album will also be released on 12inch vinyl!
Yours truly
Darryl Read
Wednesday 1st of September, 2010
1st of Septemeber 2010
***NEW CRUSHED BUTLER SINGLE ON VINYL
POW WOW SUMMER BATCH IS ALL OUT. FREE SHIPPING EVERYWHERE FOR 24 HOUR.
NEW SINGLES OUT NOW!
CRUSHED BUTLER - ITS MY LIFE B/W MY SONS ALIVE 7"
AVAILABLE ONLY THROUGH THE WINDIAN INTERNATIONAL WEBSITE WWW.WINDIANRECORDS.BLOGSPOT.COM
Thursday, November 26, 2009
New Crushed Butler release 1st of December
For all CB Droogs: Released on December 1st on 12' Vinyl
CRUSHED BUTLER "Uncrushed" LP RHB - 110 new release check this link and
get it:http://radioheartbeat.net/ with new bonus track.
CRUSHED BUTLER "Uncrushed" LP
RHB - 110
Many bands are called legendary, few are. Among them are Crushed Butler
whose assualt on the UK prog rock scene in 69-70 layed out the dynamics
that were to follow in the best punk, glam and pub rock records of the
seventies. From the anthemic R&B classic "High School Dropout", to
the pure punk mayhem of "It's My Life" and "Factory Grime" and the
heavy Sabbath-esque psych of "Love Is All Around Me" this has long been
a record deserving of wider accessibility. Radio Heartbeat Records is
pleased to make that happen. The RHB LP edition adds a 2nd version of
"High School Dropout" and an previously unreleased instrumental
recording, "Let It Ring" to the 6 tracks first pressed on the Dig The
Fuzz 10" in the 90s to make this the definitive vinyl release that
contains the band's complete surviving recordings.
There is a special press kit version available (limited to 75 copies)
which contains bonus Crushed Butler press photos, reprinted emphera,
Crushed Butler comic and badge.
DARRYL READ PUTS THE VERBAL BOOTS TO CB
NAYSAYER!!!
............................
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Probably the sole negative review of Crushed Butler ever. Check out
Darryl Read’s rebuttle!!! :
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Crushed Butler Review by Richie Unterberger....
.. ..
Crushed ....Butler.... never got a record deal during the brief time
they were active, but they did manage to make a few studio recordings.
These seven tracks (including two versions of "High School Dropout")
were rescued from such 1969-1971 sessions, though it's more like an EP
than an album, the playing time adding up to a mere 21 minutes. Though
some of the group's retrospective press has played them up as
"proto-punks," in fact this is more like late-'60s/early-'70s hard rock
with a raw, pouting edge than a clear ancestor of punk. There's a
downbeat, grinding flavor to these outings, though "High School
Dropout" has an updated Chuck Berry feel reminiscent of some of the MC5
songs that took that approach. But the songs and basic, ominous riffs
aren't as strong as the attitude. It's a little unusual for the era in
its insouciant bluntness, but it's not exceptional music, either in
terms of its position within its era or its own artistic merits.....
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To....
Richie Unterberger ....
.. ..
So you think you know about Punk! And you throw down statements in
reviews about Crushed Butler --- pertaining that CB were not Punk and
the music wasn't good!.... Have you seen the 1969 image of CB have you
heard the music! --- No I don't think so, in fact, what I think you are
is yet another failed musician trying to be clever --- with jealous
prejudice --- an arselicker to the likes of Mojo mag and Rhino records.
I have seen a pic of you with your semi-balding head and sly
half-smile! You got a book out on the Velvet Underground ---- did you
know Nico was my friend, and there are 60 un-published as-of-yet photos
of Nico and I; to prove it! --- And I bet your book is a cheap shot!
--- And I could be sure that Nico would never let a creep like you
write on her when she was alive, with VU or otherwise!....
You are what I call a scene parasite, not an underground journalist ---
your are more of the Shit-Cunt variety; and a pseudo smug freak --- of
what CB and Punks and Independent Artists were always against!
I hope more CB Droogs, Punks, Rock musicians and real Underground fans
find you, and put you in your place, or at least let you crawl back to
it! ....
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Punk enough for ya .... Richie!
.. ..
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Darryl Read of Crushed Butler
Berlin October 31st 2009
www.DarrylRead.com....
