It's not every day that you find an image of a speedway rider on a bands CD cover, but in 2007 The Go! Team's "Proof of Youth" featured a roughly cut out seventies speedway picture (Andy Grahame in Birmingham Brumies colours - I'll get me anorak...) on their resolutely low tech cut and paste cover.
It's almost impossible to describe The Go! Team's music in words, but if you imagine a mix of jangly guitars, shouty cheerleader chants, kids TV themes, nursery rhyme tunes and 70's car-chase music samples over hip-hop beats, you are half way there. The bands debut album "Thunder, Lightning, Strike" is a great record, that is completely nuts in places, but also fantastic fun throughout. One track is titled "Junior Kick-Start" - perhaps a clue to the future speedway reference.
The follow up album, Proof of Youth promised much and in places it is inspired, but it is also flawed. The record is let down by a poor sound quality where the vocals are often completely drowned out by the surrounding sonic chaos. Although the lo-fi sound should add to the charm, it spoils otherwise great tunes. Rap legend Chuck D sounds as if his vocal was recorded in an outside toilet. Perhaps album number three will see them fulfill their undoubted potential.
Oh guess what? I sent a copy of this LP cover to speedway star letters page, and I knew it was Andy Grahame too. Whats even sadder is that I remembered it was from the cover of a 1979 speedway star!!!......
ReplyDeleteNever really got off on the Go Team so I won't be doing any Moto Freako posts on this band. Ciao BCB.
I must confess that I did a google search to find out who the rider was, and there was a link to an old thread on the British Speedway Forum discussing the artwork and the mystery rider.
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