Friday Old Stuff: Monks

After Hardy broke the barrier on rude (or loving, depending on your perspective) language earlier this week with his post on the Fucking Cops (and welcome to all our new readers whose search engines provided them with this site rather than something more, um, physical), I thought we should have a religious themed Old Stuff entry. And what could be more appropriate that that respectful, pious, quiet classification of religious folk known as monks?

But perhaps we should listen to the monks chant, I mean, the "Monk Chant", while we discuss them further:



Monks were Gary, Roger, Eddie, Larry and Dave. Originally, they were the Torquays, and the band was formed by former GIs in Germany in the mid 60s. They enjoyed some popularity, but yearned for bigger crowds, better venues and record contracts. Their management team decided that they needed a striking image to go with their aggressive sound and their new christening as Monks. The result was distinctive garb for performances and street wear, and haircuts that reflected the tonsure of actual monks.

"Love Came Tumblin Down" is one of my favorites. There actually is a pop song buried in this track. I promise.



As you can hear, their sound was fuzzy, primitive and loud, with big rhythms and plenty of social commentary. The band tells of being treated respectfully in Hamburg because of their appearance, until the residents saw them chasing women and drinking whiskey. Hamburg was, perhaps, the perfect place for them and they built a following. As one monk said, the good kids followed the Beatles, the bad kids followed us.

Here is a 1965 live performance of "Complication" from German TV:



There are good arguments that the Monks are the seminal garage/punk band. As an act, they were a creature of the 60s and their time as a popular act ended with the decade. The players were burned out and the social and musical landscapes had shifted.

"I Can't Get Over You"



Fortunately, the wonderful Seattle label, Light in the Attic Records, has issued two Monks compilations. One is the essential Monk compilation, Black Monk Time. The other is The Early Years: 1964-1965. Both collections contain history and photos and are very well compiled. According to the label, they are available in CD or vinyl.

Monk's page at Light in the Attic Records
Light in the Attic Records website

The Monks website contains some historical revelations from the band, and is a fun read.