The Secrets

             

PSSST!

                      IT'S A SECRET

THE NEWEST BAND TO HIT THE STREETS OF TORONTO HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE THE BEGINNING.
COMPOSED OF THREE EX-VILETONES AND ONE EX-DIODE THE SECRETS ARE -- FREDDIE POMPEII (LEAD VOCAL), CHRIS HAIGHT (GUITAR), MIKE ANDERSON (DRUMS) AND BUDDY SEVEN NEE JOHN HAMILTON (BASS).

POMPEII, HAIGHT AND ANDERSON RELEASED TWO E.P.'S AS THE VILETONES WHICH SOLD WELL AND RECEIVED FAVOURABLE REVIEWS IN PUBLICATIONS AS DIVERSE AS ANDY WARHOL'S INTERVIEW AND MELODY MAKER.
HAMILTON WROTE AND ARRANGED ON TWO CBS ALBUMS FOR THE DIODES AS WELL AS PLAYING DRUMS, SAX, KEYBOARDS AND DOING BACKING VOCALS.

THE SECRETS PLAN A SERIES OF LOCAL DATES TO TIGHTEN UP AND KEEP BODY AND SOUL TOGETHER.  NEGOTIATIONS HAVE BEGUN WITH A LOCAL LABEL AND AN ALBUM IS DUE IN THE SPRING.  AN AMERICAN EAST COAST TOUR IS PLANNED
THIS FALL WITH A POSSIBLE ENGLISH OR WEST COAST VISIT ALSO IN THE
WORKS. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION
CONTACT MARGARITA PASSION
368-0325

(From the original Secrets press release.)


After about a year spilling blood and leaving broken beer bottles on the various stages of Toronto's punkiest clubs, the original Viletones imploded in 1978.

According to an uncited newspaper clipping from the time, it wasn't the prettiest sight when the backstage standoff took place at the city's Hotel Isabella: Haight, Pompeii and Anderson (along with "Screamin'" Sam Ferrara from The Ugly -- who, presumably, had been on stage with them that evening) on one side; Steven "Nazi Dog" Leckie on the other.  Evidently, they decided to fire Leckie from the Viletones.  Despite reported emotional protestations from the former Nazi Dog, the other members just stood in stone silence.  Reportedly, Leckie returned fifteen minutes later more defiant than ever:

"Fuck ya!  Fuck each and every one youse!  I AM The Viletones! You guys are nothin' but my backup band!  Fuck you!  You can't fire me -- I QUIT!!!"

(The preceding quote was reported in an (unnamed and seemingly biased) entertainment publication, which was  reproduced in the liner notes of the now-out of print Secrets retrospective, Teenage Rampage.  I'm further reproducing it here from a scan.  I don't know Steven Leckie, so I cannot attest to the veracity of said quote.)

Subsequently Chris Haight, "Motor X" Mike Anderson and Philadelphia-born Freddie Pompeii join up with John "Buddy Seven" Hamilton, formerly of The Diodes, to form The Secrets.  In the process, they shed their stiff Punk ethos to adopt a more Rockabilly and Doo-Wop sound.

In 1979 The Secrets play the infamous Last Pogo festival, to formally close the Punk Rock chapter of Toronto's musical history.

In 1980 the band release their 12" EP Success Without College and leave behind a smattering of rehearsal tapes and demos that wouldn't see the light of day until 1997. 

In 1980 Pompeii is busted for drug possession and flees the country...

The band splits. 

The Secrets' approach to music came at a time when many bands were tiring of the whole "Punk Rock thing", at least in Toronto; much like the titular club in that city, the movement had Crashed and Burned.  Subsequently, many bands were returning to a (then) retro sound of the late 50s/early 60s. 

Success Without College (1980):

1	Secrets	Suzie Peroxide	2:16
2	Secrets	Teenage Rampage	1:51
3	Secrets	Pretty Woman	2:49
4	Secrets	All The Girls	2:26
5	Secrets	Zoom	2:20
6	Secrets	Tattoo City	4:20
7	Secrets	Rock Music	1:51
8	Secrets	Cough Syrup	1:47
9	Secrets	New Blood	2:02
10	Secrets	Take Another Look	3:14

Teenage Rampage (1997):

1	Secrets	Little Sister	2:33
2	Secrets	Marie	2:42
3	Secrets	Shout	3:03
4	Secrets	I'll Cry Tomorrow	3:10
5	Secrets	All The Words	2:51
6	Secrets	Guitar Boogie	2:14
7	Secrets	Diddy Wah Diddy (Live At The Last Pogo '78)	2:48

(VA) Punk: F.U.B.A.R.!

RELAX, DUDES!!!

It was an April Fools' Day Joke. 

Okay, onwards and upwards...


The third in the series of 3 discs that I made a few years ago.  This one gets back on track and dispenses of the filler material I used on Snafu'd Again.

Anyway, I hope you like it.

(VA) Punk: F.U.B.A.R.!

1	The Cramps	Human Fly	2:15
2	Talking Heads	Psycho Killer	4:21
3	Blondie	Rip Her To Shreds	3:20
4	Adam & The Ants	Deutscher Girls	2:26
5	The Germs	Lexicon Devil	2:05
6	Devo	Jocko Homo (original single version)	3:18
7	Elvis Costello	Pump it Up	3:15
8	Nick Lowe	Heart Of The City	2:01
9	The Dictators	Two Tub Man	3:33
10	The Misfits	Cough Cool	2:14
11	Pere Ubu	Final Solution	5:00
12	Black Flag	Nervous Breakdown	2:04
13	Rich Kids	Ghosts Of Princes In Towers	3:34
14	X	Devil Doll	3:11
15	The Dishes	Ghidra	4:32
16	The Cure	Killing An Arab	2:23
17	Subway Sect	Ambition	3:06
18	The Fall	Bingo Master	2:24
19	The Runaways	Cherry Bomb	2:19
20	Wire	12XU	1:56
21	Squeeze	Take Me I'm Yours	2:48
22	Magazine	Shot By Both Sides	4:01
23	The Boomtown Rats	Rat Trap	4:52
24	The Soft Boys	I Wanna Destroy You	2:53
25	Tuff Darts	She's Dead	2:32
26	Martha & The Muffins	Echo Beach	3:30

So Long...And Thanks For The Visits.

After I don't know how long, The Model Citizen is waving goodbye. I've been getting a number of complaints from people and threatened with "legal action" regarding my site.  I really don't have the wherewithal to fight it, so I'm gonna shut her down. 

Effective midnight tomorrow (Friday) MCZD will be no more. 

Thanks for all your kind messages and all your support. 

Cheers!

(VA) Snafu'd Again!

This is the second CD I made of Punk Rock.  This one's not as obvious a collection as Punk-n-Pie was and there's actually a bit of dreck here with Johnny Moped, Radio Stars and The Motors.  Still, you'll find some classics and some shoulda-beens. 


(VA) Snafu'd Again!

1	The Stooges	T.V. Eye	4:17
2	MC5	Kick Out The Jams	3:01
3	Dead Boys	Sonic Reducer	3:09
4	Generation X	Your Generation	3:14
5	Department S	Is Vic There	3:04
6	Patti Smith Group	Rock & Roll Nigger	3:20
7	Velvet Underground	White Light, White Heat	2:50
8	Forgotten Rebels	Reich 'N' Roll	3:09
9	Jonathan Richman	Pablo Picasso	4:19
10	Teenage Head	Lucy Potato	3:36
11	Radio Stars	Dirty Pictures	2:48
12	Mods	You Use Me	2:41
13	The Motors	Dancing The Night Away	3:12
14	Ruts	Babylon's Burning	2:34
15	Television	Marqee Moon	4:29
16	Pointed Sticks	The Witch	2:40
17	The Slits	Vindictive (Peel Session)	2:13
18	New York Dolls	Jet Boy	4:39
19	The Heartbreakers	Chinese Rocks	2:55
20	Johnny Moped	No One	2:44
21	Wayne County And The Back Street Boys	Max's Kansas City 1976	5:37
22	X-Ray Spex	Oh Bondage Up Yours!	2:50
23	Sid Vicious	My Way	4:03

(VA) Punk-n-Pie

Okay...

So as you've figured out by now, I haven't had any time to upload band histories and music in the last little while.  I do plan on doing it, I just gotta make sure I have the time/energy/wherewithal to do so. 

In the meantime, to satiate your musical little hearts, I'll be uploading a series of CDs I made a few years ago: they're sort of a history of the U.S./British/Canadian Punk Rock movement, from The Velvet Underground, MC5 and The Stooges; to the Clash/Ramones/Sex Pistols, Viletones/Teenage Head/Subhumans/DOA axis; to such latter-day fare as The Cramps and The Misfits.

This one was the first in the series. 

(NB: I've taken some creative license with the album covers.)

(VA) Punk-n-Pie

1	Sex Pistols	God Save The Queen	3:19
2	Ramones	Blitzkrieg Bop	2:11
3	The Clash	White Riot	1:59
4	The Jam	News Of The World	3:26
5	Buzzcocks	Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)	2:40
6	Adverts	Gary Gilmore's Eyes	2:17
7	Bad Religion	Fuck Armageddon	2:11
8	Viletones	Screamin' Fist	2:03
9	Joe Jackson	Is She Really Going Out With Him?	3:32
10	The Damned	New Rose	2:44
11	Dead Kennedys	California Uber Alles	3:25
12	Ian Dury & The Blockheads	Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick	3:43
13	Killing Joke	Eighties	3:48
14	Slaughter & The Dogs	Twist And Turn	2:12
15	DOA	Burn It Down	2:32
16	Split Enz	I Got You	3:29
17	Eddie & The Hot Rods	Do Anything You Wanna Do	4:01
18	Diodes	Tennis (Again)	3:18
19	Joy Division	Warsaw	2:26
20	Siouxsie & The Banshees	Christine	2:58
21	Psychedelic Furs	Pretty In Pink	4:00
22	Richard Hell And The Voidoids	Blank Generation	2:41
23	Subhumans	Fuck You	2:06
24	The Police	Fallout	2:02
25	The Undertones	Teenage Kicks	2:25
26	The Stranglers	Peaches	4:07
27	Public Image Ltd.	Public Image	2:58

The Government: Electric Eye Reupped.

Sorry for the delay, folks...

Been crazy busy, lately!

Cheers! 

The Government - Electric Eye

Yes...I Know.

 

Not me.

It's been a while since I last posted.  Been damn busy lately and quite frankly, when I do have the time, I can't get arsed to post as much.  But fear not: The Model Citizen is still up and running; just running on fumes.  When my energy is back up I'll be posting more stuff. 

Thanks for you patience. 

Cheers,

SOS