BP Fallon

Twenty-six years ago today Phil Lynott died, bless him.
He was 36.

BP Fallon & Phil Lynott, Malahide Castle Dublin March 1st 1983. Photography by Eve Holmes

Here’s a flashback to a year ago – BP Fallon & Dave Fanning talking to Katherine Thomas live on RTE Radio1 Jan 3rd 2011, discussing the life and times of their friend Phil
BP Fallon & Dave Fanning on Phil Lynott

Phil Lynott August 20th 1949 – January 4th 1986. Bless you, Phil.

Cup of tea? BP Fallon & Phil Lynott in Malahide Castle Dublin March 1st 1983. Photography by Eve Holmes

“I believe in Philip Lynott…” BP Fallon recites at The 25th Vibe For Philo, Dublin January 4th 2001. Photography by Ruth Medjber

A bunch more 25th Vibe For Philo pix on BP Fallon’s Flickr

BP & Barry – photo courtesy Radio Nova

BP Fallon talks to Barry Egan on Barry’s Radio Nova programme tonight (Sunday) at 7pm to celebrate the BP Fallon & The Hot Sprockets show in Dublin on Tuesday.

Today at 7pm ie 19.00 GMT gobally
ie New York 2pm, Los Angeles 11 pm etc:
Hear ‘BP Fallon Interview By Barry Egan’ live on Radio Nova here

With Barry Egan‘s famous probing in-depth questioning – honed by two decades writing for Ireland’s Sunday Independent plus Britain’s the NME and US magazine Creem – expect the unexpected when he sits down with BP Fallon in front of the Radio Nova microphone.

Previous guests on Barry’s show include Roger Waters, The Sex Pistols and Paul Weller.

So along come eircom with their new advertising posters. Not exactly a benign scene being depicted – an unhappy girl being manhandled out of somewhere that’s supposed to be rockin’ by two grim-faced don’t-fuck-with-me security guards.

The eircom ad. Photography by Peter Murnaghan

What caught our eye was how eircom – without a bye-your-leave or a nod in this direction – have ‘adapted’ our Death Disco skull-and-headphones logo on the girl’s t shirt. Do we have a patent on all skulls and headphones? No. But look at the ad… eircom have basically drawn a pair of shades over their version of our DD logo.

BP Fallon and Robert Plant at the the benefit concert for Arthur Lee, bless him, at The Beacon Theatre NYC June 24th 2006. Robert sang. BP DJed – in non-eircom Death Disco t shirt. Photography by Bob Gruen.

It’s flattering to have one’s work – one’s art, one’s images, one’s logos – recognised by the mainstream.

It’s disconcerting how this acceptance of something that was once underground and pure and based around music and having a good time is now warped magnetic eye candy for a corporation flogging telephones by any means possible.

Then again… who are we to stand in the way of pop culture influences?

Or… should we sue ‘em?

Camille Corazón in her Death Disco t shirt.
Life’s a gas.

And while we’re at it…

Death Disco badges w/ thanks to Barney in Dublin and Joly In New York

The Wailers, Westbeth Studios, NYC 2010.
BP Fallon, Electric Picnic Music And Arts Festival, Stradbally, Ireland 2009.
Ozzy Osbourne, John Lennon video tribute, NYC 2010.
The Sex Pistols, Roseland Ballroom, NYC 1996.
The Fugs Tuli Kupferberg & Ed Sanders, NYC 2003.
Ian Hunter & Robert Plant, Arthur Lee Benefit, Beacon Theater, NYC 2006 – which BP DJed.
Photography from & © Bob Gruen’s new book Rock Seen.

Oh, it’s simply a small photograph but it’s in there – BP Fallon at Electric Picnic in Ireland 2009.

“There’s something poetic in having your picture in between The Wailers and Ozzy Osbourne” notes BP.

Jimmy Page & BP Fallon on Starship 1973 by & © Bob Gruen

Fallon and Gruen first met in 1973 when Bob joined Led Zeppelin and their self-styled Entertainments Manager on the band’s private airliner Starship, flying with them from New York to a Zeppelin concert in Philadelphia and back.

They’ve been friends ever since – with BP DJing Bob’s famous birthday parties in New York and even bringing Bob over to MindField at Electric Picnic in Ireland for the esteemed Mr Gruen to give an illustrated talk on his illustrious life as a rock’n'roll photographer.

For your visual delectation and edification, some more shots from Bob Gruen’s stunning new book:

Led Zeppelin in front of Starship 1973 by & © Bob Gruen.
“Led Zeppelin and their airplane epitomize the excesses of the 70s” – BG

Elvis, New York Hilton press conference NYC 1972 by & © Bob Gruen

Debbie Harry NYC 1976 by & © Bob Gruen. Debbie writes the introduction to Bob’s book. “The car had been upside down on Sixth Avenue for several days when we walked by it, but Debbie made it her car wreck” – BG

The cover of Rock Seen: Paul Simenon & Joe Strummer of The Clash
by & © Bob Gruen

Buy Rock Seen by Bob Gruen here

And while we’re grooving on Gruen…

BP Fallon & His Bandits 2011 by Bob Gruen: Aaron Lee Tasjan guitar, BPF vox, Mark Stepro drums & Nigel Harrison bass

The musical collective Operation Juliet 2011 by Bob Gruen: Aaron Lee Tasjan guitar, Mark Stepro drums, BP Fallon vox, Teddy Purvay bass & Sean Lennon guitar

BP Fallon & Bob Gruen in Texas 2011 by Kate Jurkiewicz

The Electric Picnic Music & Arts Festival, Stradbally Estate, Ireland
this weekend Fri/Sat/Sun Sept 2nd/3rd/4th.

BP Fallon & The Hot Sprockets – with Dylan lurking stylishly on the very left – by Peter Pureheart.

BP Fallon singing his songs with Dublin’s Hot Sprockets for the first time ever, talking with Bob Geldof in MindField probably about whatever comes into their heads, a speedy recitation… herewith the programme:

Friday 10:30pm @ Salty Dog
BP Fallon & The Hot Sprockets (a little taste after The Hot Sprockets have played). Some sonic foreplay before the BP & Sprockets full set on Sunday night @ MindField

Sunday 3:00pm @ Ignite in the MindField area
BP Fallon kicks off this year’s Ignite with a five minute recitation. Hit, git and split.

Bob Geldof & BP by Jennifer Andrada. Annie Tierney & BP by Kay Gourley.

Sunday 5.00pm @ MindField in the Leviathan tent
Bob Geldof and BP Fallon and – from Tieranniesaur – Annie Tierney discuss the future of the future and music, moderated by David McWilliams. This’ll be very vibey and probably fiercely irreverent.

Sunday 8:00pm @ Mindfield Finale Party in the Leviathan tent
BP Fallon & The Hot Sprockets (full set). The rock’n'roll poet gets choogling backed by the blueswailin’ honeyskippin’ cats from the Southside delta of Dublin. We can’t help it – Sprocket to me, baby!

BP on The Hot Sprockets: “I love their ‘Honeyskippin’ album and went to meet them in Dublin at their rehearsal space and there on the walls are their posters – Son House, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, The Raconteurs, Blind Willie McTell, John Lee Hooker and Led Zeppelin. I thought ‘That’ll do!’”

Other bands playing Electric Picnic
Arcade Fire – Pulp – The Chemical Brothers – Big Audio Dynamite – Interpol – PJ Harvey – Beirut – Mogwai – Underworld – The Family Stone – Sinéad O’Connor – Public Enemy – Jimmy Cliff – Joan As Policewoman – Death In Vegas – Toots And The Maytals – The Mighty Stef – Sweet Jane – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – The Black Angels and a million more!

The Salty Dog stage in the woods before the deluge, by BP Fallon. We jest you not!

Some tickets still available here

BP Fallon & Matt Cooper by Ronan Lawlor courtesy TodayFM

BP Fallon in The Matt Cooper Interview (22mins)
TodayFM August 26th 2011

In an interview that is as far-out as it is deep, BP Fallon talks to Matt Cooper about New York, about Ireland, happiness, the afterlife, secrets, drinks and drugs, God, rock’n'roll, living on a beach, making music, Electric Picnic, BP Fallon & His Bandits, U2… and having children.

Twitter:
Dylan Haskins diylan
Amazing. @BPFallon reasoning that you can roll a joint on a record but not on an MP3 on The Last Word.

Half of BP Fallon & Dave Fanning by BP

BP Fallon interviewed by Dave Fanning (12.53) RTE 2FM August 27th 2011

BP talks to Dave about MindField at Electric Picnic this weekend with Bob Geldof, about the state of record companies, about BP Fallon & His Bandits… and, under Dave’s determined questioning, admits to being a guest and DJing at that wedding.

BP Fallon giving a spoken word performance of I Believe In Elvis Presley before The Kills at Terminal 5 NYC August 8th 2011. Filmed by Johanna Port

Angle #1: BP Fallon before The Kills at Terminal 5 NYC August 8th 2011 by Jen Maler

Angle #2: BP Fallon before The Kills by Dana (Distortion) Yavin/Brooklyn Vegan

Reports Brooklyn Vegan: “Though not on the bill, BP Fallon, who played Escape To NY over the weekend, made a surprise appearance at the Terminal 5 shows…”
More Brooklyn Vegan review of The Kills show Monday August 8th 2011 plus amazing pix

Twitter:
Eric Odioso ecodios
@thirdmanrecords BP Fallon just killed it on stage at Terminal 5. Amazing.

Barbara S peelslowlysee
BP Fallon making T5 a whole lot less shitty.

Makar MakarMusic
@bpfallon you were amazing last night at The Kills show, great poem! brought tears to our eyes!

The next night at The Kills show, BP Fallon was joined on stage at New York’s Terminal 5 by Aaron Lee Tasjan – ace guitarist in BP Fallon & His Bandits.

Reports sentimentalistmag.com:
“A bowler-topped BP Fallon, founder of the internationally renowned Death Disco parties and a punk cause célèbre in his own right, provided the perfect introduction to his friends The Kills’ set with his ‘one and a half songs’, performed with one of his Bandits on angsty guitar. ‘I Believe in Elvis Presley’, part spoken word, part litany in barren blues, is a song for which Fallon was recently flown to Nashville to record in Jack White’s studio. In tonight’s rendition, Fallon listed a few of his favorite things, from hallucinogens to LSD to Oscar Wilde and Elvis Presley, topping it off with, yes, The Kills”.
More sentimentalistmag.com review of The Kills show Tuesday August 9th 2011 plus cool pix

Angle #3: BP Fallon before The Kills by Gregg Greenwood

Bob Geldof and BP Fallon truckin’ in Texas by Jennifer Andrada

Bob Geldof and BP Fallon speak on a panel together at MindField at Ireland’s prestigious arts and music festival Electric Picnic. The subject is the future of the future – and the music therein. Moderator is David McWilliams. Scheduled time is Sunday afternoon Sept 4th at 3.30pm in EP’s MindField area.

Geldof and Fallon go back together seemingly forever. BP was publicist to The Boomtown Rats when the Irish group were launched in Britain in 1977 and he and the band’s singer have remained firm friends ever since.

BP Fallon & Jeff Dexter & Marc Bolan & Boomtown Rats Johnnie Fingers & Bob Geldof 1977 outside the ‘Marc’ tv studios in Manchester. The Rats were guesting on Marc’s show – their first-ever British tv appearance. Photography by Kevin Cummins

Bob Geldof London 2011 by BP Fallon

Bob Geldof photographs BP Fallon Texas 2011
photographed by Cameron Jordan

“Mind your mind and your mind will mind you” – BPF x

Larry Mullen Jr & Morleigh Steinberg & Bono & BP Fallon in Mexico
in the foothills of the Teotihuacan Pyramid 1992

Soundcloud 03 Part 2
Uploaded by bill-kates 1 day ago
Soundcloud tags: Radio H Historic Zoo Irish

Listen on Soundcloud here

Writes Bill Kates:
“Sssh. A track from that rarest of U2 discs, ‘Zoo Radio’, their official radio show released only to radio stations by Island Records and the Album Network in 1992, produced by yours truly, hosted by BP Fallon, longtime friend to U2 and the DJ at their live shows at the time. This section features clips from a pre-’South Park’ Primus with the Zoo Radio Theme, Michael Franti and the Disposable Heros of HipHopcracy, Mick Jones and B.A.D, Chuck D and Flavor Flav from Public Enemy… I post this as an historic record of a radio show which I produced, for educational purposes only, and make no profit by doing so. All Rights Reserved for the short music clips by the respective owners of those copyrights. No infringement is intended”.

Fact fans factoid: ‘Zoo Radio’ was produced & written by the esteemed Bill Kates & the less esteemed Zoo TV tour DJ Mr Fallon – who also hosted the show, doing skits with Bono, talking about Elvis and Marilyn and asking about the most famous man in the world. Chuck D here is particularly brilliant – and additionally, most elucidating about Elvis.

Zoo Radio CD cover 1992

Hats Off To Harper: Roy Harper & BP Fallon & Dave Cochran, Knebworth Festival England 1975. Memphis-born Dave – who once saw Elvis in a diner – played bass in Roy’s band Trigger with Chris Spedding (guitar) and Bill Bruford (drums). At the festival, Roy also sang ‘Have A Cigar’ with Pink Floyd. Polaroid photographer unknown.

Roy Harper talking to editor Allan Jones in ‘Editor’s Letters’ in the current Uncut magazine:

“At the time, BP Fallon was doing my PR. He knew there hadn’t been a diagnosis, but he’d been with me when the doctors asked what I’d recently been up to that might have made me ill, and I told them I’d tried to bring a still-born lamb back to life by cupping my hands around its mouth and blowing into them. I actually never touched the lamb at all, but in Fallon’s version of events I’d ended up in hospital after giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a sheep.

“This was the story that went out to a ludicrous number of newspapers. Suddenly I’m president of The North-East Lancashire Sheep Shaggers Association. For years, it was the only thing people wanted to talk about, how I nearly died after kissing a sheep. I spent years trying to explain what had happened and in the end just gave up and went along with it. I mean, why not?”

Double Trouble: BP Fallon & Roy Harper in Ålesund, Norway 1975. BP’s snakeskin jacket a present from Steve Marriott, bless him. Photography by Steinar Remme.

Double Bubble: Roy Harper not with a sheep, Continental Hyatt House West Hollywood June 1973 during a Led Zeppelin tour. Photography by
BP Fallon who took some of the shots below – as did Roy Harper:

Led Zeppelin ‘Physical Graffiti’ inner sleeve (1975). Jimmy Page with bandaged left hand and champagne glass in the right and John Bonham and Robert Plant ascloseasthis in a limo, photography by BP Fallon.

Read the complete Allan Jones’ ‘Editor’s Letters’ plus ‘Roy Harper: a candid interview with the mercurial singer, who’s 70 this month’ in Uncut.

The End?

Melody Maker July 12 1975. 12p weekly 60c in USA.

SEE! More fun & frolics! BP Fallon and Sable Starr swap clothes LA 1973, photography by Roy Harper x