Myspace Layouts at Pimp-My-Profile.com / Dark Nature
We first met 30 years ago, aged 11 at St. Marks School in Harlow, Essex. Over the next five years we said about 7 words to each other, three of which were "sandwich". After leaving school we became firm friends and formed a duo called Moon. Moon's lasting legacy is written in cement near a bus stop at Bush Fair, Harlow. It simply reads...."MOON".
We then met singer/songwriter Sally Larkin in '83 and formed Jazz/Beat combo This Happy Breed. We wrote many songs for the band and played bass and guitar respectively enjoying a couple of years writing, recording and gigging. In '86 we started playing as Paul Howard and Jo Clack and recorded an EP called "Prison".
We were the victors in the illustrious Harlow Rock and Pop Competition, winning a grand and more importantly winning the loathing of a whole host of "proper rock and pop" acts! In '87 we released an EP called "Winter's Here Again" and had the song "We Will Win" included on the anti-apartheid LP "Not Just Mandela".
We were gigging extensively around London, Cambridge and the Herts/Essex badlands. 'Twas very bliss to be alive. We released yet another EP called "Unification" which garnered a rave review in the NME. And then we stopped....
We each went on to form our own bands The Tender Trap and The Sullivans. We reconvened to record an LP in '96 working briefly with writer Iain Sinclair and producer Phillip Tennent. This fell apart and we went our separate ways again. One to record with Fledge, the other to make the solo record "In The Shadow of Christchurch", amongst other things.
Our relationship has been likened to that of a dog and his master, with each thinking the other to be the dog.
This year we got back together and set ourselves the challenge of setting some of William Blake's poems to music, to celebrate the great man's 250th birthday on 28th November. This we did, and with old comrade Christian Fallon at the controls, and help from singer Sarah Ross, Violin player Bernie Blake and Flautist Thea Penna, we nailed the blighter, (see "Blake Songs" blog). So nearly 25 years after writing our first song together...our debut LP is finally complete! We have also written about 20 new songs and are currently rehearsing some of them with drum and bass stalwarts, Stacey and Don.
This has been a very condensed version of our time working together. One day we will expand a bit and go into more detail. But for now this will do.
Cheers, Paul and Jo x
.. Visit www.moblyng.com to make your own!