DETROIT - There is a great time capsule experience right now on Amazon Prime. The film "If It Ain't Stiff, It Ain't Worth a Fuck" is featured in your free video section and it's worth checking out. Stiff Records existed in 1976 in the beginning of the Punk Rock boom in the U.K. and lasted until 1986. They worked with Lene Lovich, Devo, Ian Dury, and many others.The label was recently resurrected in 2007. and worked with Madness, The Pogues, Tracey Ullman, Belle Stars, and Kristy McColl. This movie takes us back in time to 1977 and is directed by Chas Jankel who is an English singer, songwriter, arranger, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. Jankel gives us a very unique experience of what it was like to go on a road tour with Stiff Record's earliest acts.
The headlining bands on the Stiff road tour include Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Wreckless Eric, and the New Rockets, Nick Lowe's Last Chicken in the Shop, and Larry Wallis and the Psychedelic Rowdies. The film runs for an hour but it is packed with great performances, high energy, and enthusiastic audience participation. The documentary was shot on film and the quality of it is not very clear. All of the movie's cast members are introduced in the beginning and it is a very full list including Wrecking Eric, Larry Wallis, Nick Lowe, Alec Hawkins, Dave Edmunds, Denise Roudette, Farrah FM, Kosmo Vinyl, Ian Dury, Charlie Charles, Elvis Costello, Mike Sinclair and more. The credits alone on this film take up almost a full five minutes. Take note that the names of the acts are not presented in any way during the live performance so you have to pay close attention. This presentation gives proper credit to the entire Stiff Records label and even puts the bus driver Trevor Wiffen in the credits.
The film starts out on a rainy morning and the musicians meet at Stiff Records office and boards the bus. Take note of the Damned poster on the wall in the lobby at the beginning of the film. They were the first Punk Rock band to get a record deal beating out The Sex Pistols. They are in a different musical class the rest of the Stiff Label. What we have on the tour bus are musicians of various styles and abilities. The New Wave scene is so early that nobody knows what it is going to ultimately look like. Take note that these artists do not look like Punk Rock or stereotypical New Wave artists. This is a rare moment in documentaries where we get to go along for the ride. There is a homemade feel to this film and it takes some patience to understand the artists. Their provincial accents make it difficult at times to comprehend what is being said. But there are mentions of Richard Hell and the Voidoids and the Ramones in their banter.
As the tour bus rambles over the countryside we listen to Nick Lowe with "I Love My Label". We are given a front-row seat to witness Lowe sing live in concert and be part of the experience. It appears that Lowe is playing a double-neck Gibson with a six-string and bass. Also, take note of the two drummers that are delivering the live beat and their showmanship. We are taken through all phases of the live road tour from the stage to the merch tables. The original t-shirts for Stiff Records say "If It Ain't Stiff It Ain't No Use To Know One" which was pretty edgy for its time. They do not carry the title of this film. 1977 was a very different place and this music was still brand new.
Wreckless Eric is introduced in an interview and his speaking voice is very hard to understand. Later on, stage Eric is just as hard to understand when he performs. It's a good performance because he gives it energy and dressed up for the audience. There is some rock influence with Larry Wallis and his music includes a saxophone on "Police Car". Wallis would be known for working with the Pink Fairies, Motorhead, and UFO. The performances are good in that all of the musicians support one another on stage, (look for Nick Lowe on stage with Elvis Costello).
The closest thing to a Punk act on this roadshow tour would be Ian Dury and the Blockheads. He approaches the mic with a strange limp which stemmed from a bout with pollio as a child. He puts on black eye makeup like Lou Reed and talks with a gruff growl like David Johanson from the New York Dolls. He knows how to handle his hecklers when he introduces the musicians to the audience. "Say good night to Elvis Costello, Say goodnight to Wreckless Eric and say good night to me you cunts.... I didn't mean to say that" Ian barks out and then has a second thought points to a member out in the crowd ".... except for you!". Ian Dury ends the show with "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll" hams it up with the band. During the song breaks he does non stop antics like shoving a handkerchief in his mouth and spitting it back up again. He also shoves the whole microphone into his mouth and begins to howl. There is never a dull moment in his stage presence and he is there to entertain the people.
This movie was a rare find and it right now it is available on Amazon Prime. It serves as a nice transition between the late '70s and the coming New Wave music scene of the early '80s. That window is very tight and this documentary serves as the missing piece that helps complete the whole story.
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