M - ProfilesArchive

About Me

WARNING - this is heavily unecessary overload of information for y'all but I don't do things by half so, with no apologies offered, I will wade verilly into theeee info which will not mean an awful lot to many.............
BASIC INFO:Mark Mortimer (the bass guitarist with DC Fontana)
Nicknames include Midge / M / Mortimer
I am: as just mentioned, dc fontana's founding member & bass player & maker of tea
I am a dreamer, musician, writer, dream factory worker
Tamworth is my home town in the Mercian part of the UK Middle-Lands.
Vegetarian.
Now for the more full-on nonsense:Born on March 7, 1965 in a hospital in the brewing town of Burton-upon-Trent some 14 miles north of Tamworth in Staffordshire, "middle-England" to a mother of farming background and a father who helped paint the Reliant cars made famous by Del-Boy......my roots are planted in the town of Tamworth, once the mediaeval capital of the ancient kingdom of Mercia but basically now Chav City Central.....
Was fortunate enough to come together with a whole amazing year of people when going to the then Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Tamworth, 1976.
As punk rock vomited itself into the drab mid 70s suburbia then so was I turned on instantly to music, and the energy, rebellion and power of the music...aged just 11!
First record I bought was the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" for 5p from a fete as I had grown up listening to the melody-drenched retro pop sounds of the fabs and also the Everlys thanks to my parents but my next purchases in '77 were the likes of The Stranglers "No More Heroes", The Jam's "In The City" & "All Around The World", the Pistols' "God Save The Queen" and so on....
Surrounded by a bunch of incredibly intelligent, witty, cool and truly amazing friends and fed on a diet of emerging punk, new wave and my parents' 60s music I was given the greatest possible "education" despite my unhappiness with being a school pupil and my subsequent descent into surreal behaviour (I wouldn't call it "bad behaviour" - I just acted, errm, odd).
When at school all I wanted to do was to be in a band and indeed I got 7 of my 9 "O" levels but then quit 6th form in 1982 much to my parents' horror (they saw me as being the sort to go on to university & a well-paid "safe" job) purely so I could get a job to buy a guitar.
I didn't care what job it was so long as I got a guitar from the situation - thankfully I drifted into becoming a trainee journalism and that led to a spell of about 15 years of a largely happy career as a local journalist.
Musically in the mid 80s I managed to finally buy a bass (guitar) and kinda learn how to play it. I formed a mod-influenced psychedelic band called The Dream Factory with a guy called Tim Goode who I had known since I was 5.
The group name was lifted from a lurid porn magazine article and the blueprint was to marry trippy Syd Barrett psychedelia with northern soul.
Around the same time I became matey with Julian Cope who had moved back to Tamworth following te split of the Teardrop Explodes and he encouraged the fledgeling group and even name checked us in Smash Hits.
The Dream Factory quickly established itself with a reputation for creating fantastic energy at gigs and attracting a huge regional Midlands following who initially had a penchant for rioting and violence.
During this time I continued my journalism; firstly I wrote for the local free rag The Tamworth Trader before moving on to the Nuneaton-based Evening Tribune in 1988.
The Dream Factory had released 2 singles. The first was "Wine & Roses" / "Fashion Toys" (which scraped the outer edges of the charts in 1985 on the small indie label Inferno run by well known northern soul afficiando & DJ Neil Rushton) & the 2nd was a limited edition and cheaply recorded cover/interpretation of the Big Boy Pete psych classic "Cold Turkey."
We played in front of 25,000 people alongside Bad Manners at the huge Donington International Scooter Classic event in 1985 & eventually started to write better songs and get tighter as a band, attracting national press and Radio One airplay but success was not to be as the times moved on and our soul-tinged sound was felt to be passe.
Still...things with my journalism were going well and within just a little over a year of joining the daily paper the Tribune I had risen from trainee reporter to becoming chief reporter and then news editor.
After the Dream Factory's end in '86 I formed a harder hitting band called The Great Escape and then recorded a load of expensive solo demos before starting another psychedelic band called The Space Seeds in 1988 which had the unusual sonic marriage of a Walker Brothers-styled male lead vocal duet over psychedelic sitar & garage sounds....
That group metamorphosed into the dreadfully-named Bash Out The Odd the following year and despite some healthy interest from a heap of record labels it ultimately burned out despite a pointless name change to The Strangeloves in 1991.
The band's name had nothing to do with the 60s garage group of the same monicker but we figured that we'd just stick with it even though during a gig with Echo & The Bunnymen guitarist (& one of my real heroes) Will Sergeant had told us we were crazy to keep it.
Supporting the Bunnymen (at that time without their singer Ian McCulloch) on tour was great fun though and an honour and pleasure.
The Strangeloves turned into The Lovebirds and the line up slowly became settled into what, in November 1993, was re-titled "DC Fontana".
The group's co-founding member Neil Jones was a big Star Trek fan and gave the band the name after the Trek script writer....I hated the name but it stuck.
Early gigs saw us going in a sort of indie country rock direction but by the mid 90s we were finally starting to create the kind of sound that I had originally dreamed up for the Dream Factory by combining trippy psychedelia with hip-shakin' mod-soul sounds.
In 1997 we recorded a cheap single that included a rushed version of the Frank Wilson classic "Do I Love You" and a lively take of the Al Wilson northern soul anethm "The Snake" as it had become such a firm favourite at the gigs which were increasingly being populated by scooterists and modernists.
Original DC singer Frazer Douglas quit in 1998 but returned briefly in 1999 before vanishing to Slovenia (he is now living & working in London as a TV & film actor!) & that sparked a series of line up changes with vocalists coming and going.
But since the new Millennium DC FONTANA has grown in its popularity and I'm really happy with the current incarnation which has the strongest line up since the name was created.
.. width="425" height="350" ..As for myself, well I left journalism in 1992 when I was head-hunted by the aforementined Neil Rushton to become the head of publicity and marketing at his underground dance/house label Network Records in Birmingham.
I had six amazing, crazed & dazed, silly, hilarious & totally out there years working in the music industry doing all kinds of weird and largely wonderful things including publicity stunts, studio engineering, music-making, appearing in videos, going down to Top Of The Pops, organising a record launch party for rave act Altern 8 in a laser warfare arena (I challenged Britain's music press to take on Altern 8 and our record company people at a game of laser warfare which I had fixed so we couldn't lose - made a change from pretentious London-hosted champagne-flowing "oooo dahhhling it's lovely to see you" kind of affairs!)and much much more besides.....
When the label's bubble burst I decided to create my own business called Jazzfish Promotions to promote fledgeling singers and bands in my home area ad I continue to do that today while also being heavily involved with DC Fontana.
I'm still living in Tamworth with my wife Christine and three children Thomas, Emily & James together with our young dog (Arthur Lee).
I am a non-smoking vegetarian maker of music and am still massively into the same musics and fashions that I have had such a long and unbroken fascination with (that whole 60s thing)...some things just stay with you.
And I am having more fun than ever in all aspects of music.
That'll do.
I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4

My Interests

Music, music, music, 60s fashion, some literature, dipping your toe into the psychedelicatessen, love & life, classic scooters, aston villa football club, seeing new places, seeing new people, music, music, some politics, love and life and, you know, other stuff too. Have given up defacating other people's bathing facilities a long time ago.

I'd like to meet:

....the fella who stole my Lambretta while I was in the bath (grrrrrr!!!)

Music:

STRICTLY ECLECTIC, ELECTRIC, ACOUSTIC & ABOVE ALL ENTHUSAISTIC. I am particularly in love with the majesties of the hip-shakin' soul & its associates & derivatives from the early 60s thru to the mid 70s PLUS mind-melting psychedelia, freakbeat, beat, blue-eyed soul, dance-floor jazz, mod-jazz, Latin and boogaloo tunes, some soundtrack, plenty of loungecore, a dollop of ska, mucho Rhythm & Blues and so much more I would bore you rigid but including a zillion and one groups, singers, charlatans, pretenders, dreamers, magicians, unicorns and those who would make your heart dance naked in four-four time.I was always one for lists so here's a little of my eclectic tastes for you in no order you understand:scott walker, the byrds, the two-car garage band of the estate of robert peel, television, love (gawd bless you arthur!), jimmy smith, will sergeant, sly & the family stone, the action, nick drake, julie driscoll & brian auger, jacques dutronc, the small faces, tammy st. john, echo & the bunnymen, Jacques Brel, kaleidoscope (UK), kaleidoscope (USA), the beatles, Jackie Lomax, smokey poky world, georgie fame, terry callier, syd barrett, electric prunes, james brown, the free design, the las, buffalo springfield, france gall, nicola conte, the jayhawks, burt bacharach, chicca andriollo (intrigo & the boogaloo guys), nancy wilson, FranÃ§oise Hardy, bo diddley, jim webb, wimple winch, brother jack mcduff, velvet underground, julian cope, the rascals, marlena shaw, sagitarrius, Dusty Springfield, THE pink floyd, freight train, the beach boys, Jimmy McGriff, buddy rich, curtis mayfield, the association, barbara lewis, the monkees, astrud gilberto, the flying burrito brothers, cannonball adderley, Otis Redding, The Chocolate Watch Band, Thee Hypnotics, The Cosmic Rough Riders, johnny pate, marvin gaye, john schroeder, the boys, ravi shankar, joy division, the dave pike set, primal scream, the who, the left banke, stereloab, ray barretto, nancy sinatra & lee hazelwood, kenny burrell, tamiko jones, the ramones, bebel gilberto, gene clark, elvis costello, julie london, Hal, Sandie Shaw, Los Salvajes, dexy's midnight runners, the impressions, the smiths, the creation, mongo santamaria, jean dushon, tim buckley, spencer davis group, big maybelle, joe bataan, the walker brothers, the peddlers, the divine comedy, world of oz, the rationals, Magic Numbers, lou rawls, doris, The Undertones, the remains, Amon DÃ¼Ã¼l II, nina simone, Monguito Santamaria, the Animals parliament, los bravos, brigitte bardot, Anoushka Shankar, Tony Middleton, ray charles, The Nazz, house of love, chris clark, horace silver, the doors, the everly brothers, The Vibrations, the carrie nations, sugar pie desanto, The Untamed, traffic, john coltrane, marlene dietrich, hendrix, frank sinatra, Ann Sexton, Lalo Schifrin, The Herd, andy williams, edwin starr, P.P. Arnold, mortimer, esther ofarim, the hollies, Nico, major lance, the koobas, booker t & the mgs, the birds, the meters, lulu, donovan, muddy waters, billy nicholls, john barry, the kinks, funkadelic, the turtles, herbie hancock, the seeds, the 5th dimension, Iggy Pop,Willis Jackson, the yardbirds, morrissey, the pretty things, Etta James, the alan bown set, dizzy gillespie, Chris Farlowe, Gene Chandler, chuck jackson, bob crewe, the international submarine band, the jam, the shadows of knight, one in a million, gene pitney, big boy pete, the teardrop explodes, tony galla, Big Star, junior wells, Modern Lovers, Hank Jacobs, the mamas & the papas, the strawberry alarm clock, the beat, tammi terrell, jose feliciano, wire, Sharon Tandy, grant green, the stranglers, gabor szabo, Shotgun Express, jacques arel, incredible bongo band, the dave brubeck quartet, quincy jones, the youngbloods, Connie Austin, the ventures, sylvie vartan, Syn, the incredible string band, blondie, the sonics, john's children, xtc, the craig, lou lawton, tintern abbey, Herbie Goins & The Nightimers, The Shadows Of Knight, Lou Johnson, the easybeats, Ride, yvonne baker, orange juice, spanky wilson, aretha franklin, Buddy Guy, tchaikovsky, Shirley Ellis, Spiritualized, Betty Everett, the village callers, belle & sebastian, nolan porter, BB King, we the people, the young rascals, the zombies, kim fowley, the 13th Floor Elevators, Alan Hawkshaw, Herbie Mann, the standells, the blossom toes, the temptations, wolfgang dauner, Al Green, sergio mendes, barbara mcnair, the Beau Brummels, Pere Ubu, The Wailers, The Plague, King Curtis, Big Mama Thornton, DC Fontana, charlie parker, New Order, trini lopez, Glide, the Artwoods, Hipster Image, billy butler, laurie johnson,the motions, chico hamilton, Bob Dylan, Staple Singers, ramsey lewis, keith west, fleur de lys, The Rolling Stones, Knut Kieswetter, Bo Street Runners, The Spacemen 3, Henry Mancini, billy hawks, brian eno sometimes, broadcast, Booker T & The MGs, john lee hooker, Mazzy Star, tomorrow, bobby paris, the moving sidewalk, jesus & mary chain, the marvelettes, the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, the mohawks, Soul Sisters, Marianne Mendt, Wings, Los Buenos, the Graham Bond Organisation, The Olympics, Shocking Blue, the volcanoes, Supergrass, the Fox, neil young, screamin' jay hawkins, The Chiffons, my bloody valentine, Dean Martin, Stone Roses, Major Lance, Willie Bobo, memphis slim, St. Etienne, Rupert's People, the records, Ennio Morricone, mark murphy, the Ronettes, The Long Ryders, Faster Pussycat Kill! Kill!, The Radiants, The Pentangle, Lightnin' Hopkins, The Stooges, CSNY, Mose Allison, the groove corporation, Sam Cooke, Lee Dorsey, Johann Strauss, Les McCann, the Karminsky Experience, Dantalian's Chariot, the clash, The Honeybus, gilberto gil, Freddie Scott, The Kool, Mighty Baby, Heidi BrÃ¼hl, Memphis Black, Phil Spector, Skip Bifferty, Brunetta, Os Mutantes, George Harrison, The Skatalites, The Blues Magoos, The MC5, della reese, Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers, The Spinners, Googie Rene, Debussy, Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, Pavement, Little Eva, the Orlons, Richard Groove Holmes, the Buzzcocks, The Game, The Mighty Lemon Drops, the Isley Brothers, Larry Williams & Johnny Guitar Watson, Ray McVay, John Lennon, Fenwyck, Ketty Lester, The Shirelles, The Fall, Pizzicato 5, Frazer Douglas, The Specials, Eddie Jefferson, The Space Seeds, early REM, the Mar-Keys, the Rockingbirds, Prince Buster, Q65, The Dynamics, Leonard Cohen, The Meddyevils, Freddie McCoy, Artie Skeppard, The Great Escape, The Coral, Lord Sitar, Curtis Mayfield, Ella Fitzgerald, Wah!, Aquarian Age, Portishead, Thoughts, the Crystals, Ritchie Havens, Lush, Aphrodite's Child, Serge Gainsbourg, The Hush, the Boo Radleys, & much more..........

Movies:

Head, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, Help!, I Love You Alice B. Toklas, Barbarella, Faster Pussycat Kill! Kill!, Alfie, Easy Rider, Georgie Girl, Young Frankenstein, Girl On A Motorcycle, The Wicker Man, Spinal Tap, The Italian Job, The Party, The Trip, The Life Of Brian, Blow Up, The Knack, A Hard Day's Night, Midnight Cowboy, Magical Mystery Tour, Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush, Gandhi, To Sir With Love, Vixen, the pink panther, Yellow Submarine, Sleeper, The Great Escape, Carry On Abroad, All You Need Is Cash, A Shot In The Dark, Lorna, Monty Python & The Holy Grail, Dr. No, Casino Royale (1967), Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex, Batman, Dr. Strangelove, The Graduate, 37 2 Le Matin, Planet Of The Apes, From Russia With Love, Stir Crazy, Psycho, Live & Let Die, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Television:

don't watch the box that much these days as I am too heavily involved in everything else but there are stuff i do dig when i can! Not going to list the contemporary ones I watch here for now....maybe later I will? As for the retro stuff well I adore all the obvious stuff like The Avengers, U.F.O., The Prisoner, even stuff like Department S, Captain Scarlet and zillions more beside... including Father Ted, the news channels (once a journalist always a....), the Royle Family and more and more

Books:

Plenty thank you: I've seen it in your eyes..................

Heroes:

"no more heroes anymore" :)