Adrian Sherwood on board for new Spammed charity recording, with members of The Damned, Specials and more
The Spammed gather for their annual charity fundraiser on behalf of Teenage Cancer Trust
Adrian Sherwood is the latest producer on board to work with The Spammed – a supergroup featuring members of The Damned and Specials, Terry Edwards, the actor Kevin Eldon and others.
The group gather annually, along with a legion of other punk and ska bands, to record a new cover version for the latest compilation put out by the Specialized project, which raises funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Previous compilations have included tracks from The Clash, The Jam, punk pioneers and glam classics, with the current album’s theme on an 80s vibe, all given a dub/ska makeover. This time round they chose Stray Cats‘ ‘Stray Cats Strut’ as their 80s-themed cover.
The Spammed were assembled by their guitarist Micko Westmoreland, together with visual artist and painter Harry Pye and have enlisted top name producers such as Tony Visconti and Nick Lowe in recent years.
The luxurious Soho Sonic in Camden kindly their offered services for the event and this line Spammed line up consists of (l-r, above) Damned drummer Rat Scabies, The Specials’ bassist Horace Panter, Micko Westmoreland of Micko & The Mellotronics (front, left), PJ Harvey/Gallon Drunk brassmeister Terry Edwards, comic actor Kevin Eldon on vocals (seated, right) and Paul Cuddeford (Holy Holy/Boomtown Rats).
Micko Westmoreland said of their frontman: “Kevin always comes through with something interesting whether it be playing it straight when required or adding a unique flavour with bags of personality intertwined. The track favours the latter – he spells out the most interesting aspects of the lyrics in a captivating manner.”
Rat Scabies, meanwhile, had just returned from a tour of Asia and Australia with The Damned.
Having completed recording in a super efficient six hours, with Edwards and Sonic’s producer/engineer Dom overseeing the technical aspects, the stems were prepared to send on to Adrian Sherwood, On-U Sound boss and famed remixer. Westmoreland said: “Who knows what’ll come back, but whether it’s open heart surgery or a straighter take, there’s a lot here to enjoy.”
The Specialized 80s-themed album Skank Up The 80s – the 13th in the series – is expected out in October. More details here.
Photo Credit: Ashley Jones. Thanks to co-founder of the project Harry Pye for the supply of Peter Blake-esque denim jackets adorned with pop art badges, reflecting the cartoon elements of the album.
Kevin Eldon and Micko Westmorland appear at How Sweet To Be An Idiot – A Celebration of the life of Neil Innes (a former Spammed member), at London’s O2 Indigo venue on November 28 alongside musical director John Altman, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, The Rutles, Tommy Emmanuel, Ade Edmondson, Phill Jupitus, Tom McGuinness, Elliott Randall, Roger McGough, Yo La Tengo, Terrafolk, John Halsey, Andy Roberts, Ricky Fataar, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Larry Smith, Brian Patton and Micky Simmonds.