The Dickies - Banana Splits - CD+DVD Album

A CD and DVD double-pack of The Dickies' gig at the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth 16th July 2002.

The Dickies were the clown princes of punk, not to mention surprisingly longstanding veterans of the L.A. scene with a style that was campy and humorous with obvious influences from The Ramones. In fact, by the new millennium, they'd become the oldest surviving punk band still recording new material. They formed in early 1977 after guitarist Stan Lee and bassist Billy Club saw The Damned on their first American tour. The band made their live debut at the Whisky a Go Go in September of the same year. The Dickies were the first California punk band to appear on network television and the first California punk band to be signed to a major record label (A&M Records). In contrast to the snotty, intentionally offensive humor of many comedically inclined punk bands, The Dickies were winningly goofy, inspired mostly by trashy movies and other pop culture camp. Their covers were just as ridiculous as their originals, transforming arena rock anthems and bubblegum pop chestnuts alike into the loud, speed-blur punk-pop -- basically the Ramones crossed with L.A. hardcore -- that was their musical stock in trade. As the band got older, their music slowed down little by little, but their sound and their sense of humor stayed largely the same, and they were an avowed influence on new-school punkers like Green Day and the Offspring.

Inspired by the first wave of punk coming out of New York and London, The Dickies were formed in 1977 in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. Their initial lineup consisted of cartoon-voiced lead singer Leonard Graves Phillips, guitarist Stan Lee (both of whom would remain constant throughout the band's myriad personnel shifts), keyboardist/saxophonist/guitarist Chuck Wagon (b. Bob Davis), bassist Billy Club (b. Bill Remar), and drummer Karlos Kaballero (b. Carlos Caballero). Already local scenesters, the majority of the band had some connection with the Quick, either as friends or roadies, and started out mostly as a cover band and an amusing diversion for its members. They started playing around the burgeoning L.A. punk scene within a few weeks of forming, and quickly earned a following with their zany live show, which featured outlandish costumes, puppets, and a midget roadie.

On the strength of their demo tape, The Dickies became the first L.A. punk band to score a major-label deal in 1978, when they signed with A&M. That year they issued their debut single, which featured their warp-speed cover of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" and the originals "Hideous" and "You Drive Me Ape (You Big Gorilla)"; the latter reigned as their signature song for many years afterward. In early 1979, the group's debut album, The Incredible Shrinking Dickies, was released to significant sales in the U.K., where their cover of the "Banana Splits" cartoon theme song became a Top Five hit. By the end of the year, The Dickies were able to put together a follow-up, Dawn of the Dickies, which featured the fan favorites "Attack of the Mole Men" and "Manny, Moe and Jack," plus a jokey, rocked-up cover of the Moody Blues' "Nights in White Satin.
After several hiatuses and line-up changes The Dickies made a comeback in 1993, when they issued the three-song EP Road Kill. Not long after, bands like Green Day and the Offspring brought punk-pop to the top of the charts, shining a spotlight on The Dickies as an influence. Renewed interest in the band led to a new album, Idjit Savant, which appeared on Triple X in 1995. Phillips and Lee subsequently assembled a more permanent lineup featuring second guitarist Little Dave Teague, bassist Rick Dasher, and drummer Travis Johnson.
Always known for their tongue-in-cheek covers, the band put together its first all-covers album, Dogs from the Hare That Bit Us, for Triple X in 1998. The full-length All This and Puppet Stew followed in 2001. Punk Singles Collection appeared in June of 2002 on the UK-based Spectrum, while Live in London showed up three months later.

This concert includes the hitsBanana Splits (The Tra La La Song), Paranoid and Nellie The Elephant (With Olga from The Toy Dolls)

Format - CD & DVD

Track listing

1. Solitary Confinement
2. I'm O.K. You're O.K.
3. Nights In White Satin
4. Got It At The Store
5. Give It Back
6. Paranoid
7. I've Got A Splitting Headache
8. Water Slide
9. Howdy Doody In The Wood Shed
10. Manny Moe And Jack
11. My Pop The Cop
12. You Drive Me Ape
13. Poodle Party
14. Wagon Train
15. Sh's A Hunchback
16. Curb Job
17. If Stuart Could Talk
18. See Me Feel Me
19. Gigantor
20. Nellie The Elephant (With Olga from The Toy Dolls)
21. Banana Splits (The Tra La La Song)