Some three years ago, as a new resident of Northamptonshire, I was contacted by Mr Berni Bilko. Berni told me of a project that he was planning.  It would, he told me, consist of Dave Barbarossa, a Burundi-style drummer from the early days of Adam and the Ants. Dave’s drums were to be recorded first in a studio in Oxfordshire. The project would then switch to the Iberian Peninsula and more specifically to Boz Boorer. Serra Vista recording Studio. A couple of weeks later we decanted to Didcot where we met, the aforementioned, Mr. Barbarossa. Dave proceeded to lay down his drum tracks to four self-penned, Bilko numbers. He really did a fabulous job and was a down to earth, charming man. 

A couple of weeks later we set off to Portugal for the second leg. We were collected from the airport by the great man himself. On the way back to chez Boz we stopped along the way to deliver a bottle of moonshine to somebody and had a beer. It was nice to see that Boz had his priorities right.

Once back at the ranch we were welcomed by Mrs. B., Lynn Boorer, who had cooked for us a splendid meal. once settled we decanted to the studio and set about getting to work on the songs. 

First came the task of putting down some rhythm guitar. With Berni’s hand being compromised by carpal tunnel, Boz put down much of the rhythm guitar and slap bass. Next came Berni’s vocals which were laid down with comparative ease. Then came the task of embellishing the recordings with Boz playing some lead and adding little flourishes with lap steel and tambourine. Boz worked really hard on the project and it was a joy to watch the master at work over the course of three days as the songs were built from the ground up. The results were really quite splendid.

Now we have two of those songs in the form of a vinyl 7”. Going under the name of the Angry Pitchfork Mob. The A side is the wonderful ‘Drama Queen’. The drums are played on the floor tom and the guitar riff is quite hypnotic. There is a splendid middle eight section with the line ‘And if she throws a hissy fit, don’t let her get away with’. This if followed by a lovely guitar solo. This is quite a gem.

On the flip-side is the ‘Patron Saint of Hypocrites’ this is another clever lyrical piece, with the refrain of ‘won the Nobel prize for telling lies’. Mr. Boorer, upon first hearing the track opined that it was a ‘bit monotonous’. Berni retorted that he would say ‘hypnotic’ rather than ‘monotonous’. By the end of the four-day recording session Boz was humming the tune! So this single release consists of two tracks recorded, engineered, produced and also, largely, played by Boz Boorer at his idyllic studio in the hills of the Algarve. There were a further two tracks recorded at the time that will form the basis of a subsequent release. But in the meantime get your mits on this unique collaboration by Messrs Bilko, Boorer, and Barbarossa.

Nick Kemp

Buy a copy of ‘An Angry Pitchfork Mob’ here