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THE FOOLS
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TYMON DOGG & THE FOOLS
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In January 1977, Tymon and former 101ers/PiL drummer Richard Dudanski formed the band Tymon Dogg & The Fools. They called themselves The Fools as they we weren’t playing the commercial Punk music that was the order of the day. A recording by the band has yet to be released, though at least five tracks were recorded on a TEAC 4-track recorder. Legendary BBC DJ John Peel helped promote the Fools 1977 concert on his radio programme. At the Crypt venue in '77, the Fools played first, and then The Slits came on. The trio broke up after only a year or so, with Tymon leaving for India.
Tymon Dogg & The Fools - Cochon (1977 recording)
Tracks recorded include: Dog Dirt, Cochon, Lose This Skin, Appearances, and Sick As A Dog. The following track "Cochon" was taken from an old tape copy of a copy of a copy of a copy... which is noticeably lacking in sound quality. For the complete Fools recordings visit the "Downloads" page.
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TYMON DOGG (c. 2007)
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"We had a guy called Ron Harvey who had made his own strange one-string bass, which he played with a bow on some numbers, Richard Dudanski of course on drums [later with Pil]. It was just us three. We did this gig with The Slits who hadn't played for six months because Malcolm McClaren was keeping them under wraps. I'd just got 'the Fools' together and I thought it would be great if we supported them and the place got sold out immediately. It was funny because it was so packed that the front part of the audience got pushed up on to the stage and we were crammed up at the back of it. I had an Indian harmonium and there was no room for the bellow to go back and forward to get more air in it - imagine trying to play the accordion on a stage so crowded that you can't actually pull the squeezebox open, it was like that! And so many people got on the table the mixer was on that it collapsed and the soundman still talks about it to this day how he had to stand there and hold the mixer in his arms. We only did three or four gigs and then I went to India."
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RICHARD DUDANSKI (c. 2007)
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"I went off to Sicily for a few months and came back Xmas '76. I quickly met up with Tymon and we decided to form a band - Tymon Dogg and the Fools in January '77. Called it the Fools 'cos we knew we were being Fools (in commercial terms) in not toeing the current fashion line - ie de rigeur Punk... as A&R men were then scrambling like mad to sign leather-clad guitar bands! For me, and Tymon, Punk meant being an individual, so we went our own way. Must say for me it was great to be playing with Dogg (the punkiest of punks) - not only for his take on things, but also for the music. We kept it as a trio with "Ron the Tassel" on bass and a basically acoustic set up with Dogg's violin and acoustic guitar. Ron would also get out his home-made one string bass for a couple of songs. Did a never to be forgotten gig (amongst others) which we organized in the Crypt club with the Slits - I had to literally bail out Ron from Brixton prison.... 2 hours before show was start as he'd been nicked for nothing the night before! We recorded a few things on a TEAC 4 track, including a version of Loose this Skin - very different, I might say, from the Sandinista version. After about a year the band broke up."
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RICHARD DUDANSKI (DRUMS)
Richard Dudanski was the drummer of Joe Strummer's early pub-rock band The 101'ers, and later Johnny Rotten's Public Image Limited. Other bands include The Dog House, The Bank of Dresden, The Decomposers, and Basement Five. He is married to artist/photographer Esperanza Romero, who is the sister of Paloma Romero (Palmolive of late 70's punk band The Slits). For a year or so he was also a member of The Raincoats. In August 2003, he organized the Joe Strummer Tribute in Granada, Spain. The city of Granda has been home to Richard since 1988. Richard is currently playing with band El Doghouse and writing a book about his experiences in the 70’s and early 80’s. www.eldoghouse.com
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