Pete Holidai (Photo by Cormac Figgis)
Pete Holidai returns with Electric Jukebox Volume One, a glam-punk shot of adrenaline that sounds like 1977 beamed in from the future. Holidai talks Sylvain Sylvain, Dublin’s righteous racket, legacy fatigue, and why protest never goes out of style.
‘A New Revolution’ kicks like a glam-punk time capsule with a modern conscience. Was it always going to be the heart of Electric Jukebox Volume One?
It turned out to be the song that kick started the whole album project. I was so pleased with the structure and sonic shapes of the initial recording It provided the inspiration to explore that very link between glam rock and punk. Glam being the big influencer and Punk being that opportunity to join in the fun of making records and playing live as a career.
Paul McLoone and John Perry on one track. How did that dream lineup come together?
I had John in mind from the get-go to come in and do a ‘Johnny Thunders’ on the recording. We are/were both fans of the New York Dolls and had both separately met Johnny. Thunders joined The Radiators from space on stage at The Music Machine, London for a couple of encore songs at the launch of out debut album TV Tube Heart back in 1977. John Perry resides in Dublin and after we met at a gig in town I asked him would he like to contribute, which he did. He popped out to my studio (Pilgrim Sound) and you can hear the results on the recording…Brilliant!
John was the first guest performer on the album and Paul McCloone was the final guest to contribute. I’ve known Paul for a good while and we were both attending an event and I asked if he fancied adding some vocals to a couple of tracks. I was thrilled when he said yes, as I think he is an amazing front man and vocalist. To have the pair of them of one song was mind-blowing…and also good marketing lol
You wrote it as a tribute to Sylvain Sylvain, but David Johansen’s death adds another layer. Did that change how you feel about the track now?
It most definitely added an extra layer of poignancy. I saw the Dolls a few times and they were that critical link between Glam Rock and Punk Rock. They provided a street corner swagger and Bad Boy with a good heart attitude that I still love to this day.
The song is more and acknowledgement of their greatness than a tribute. Unfortunately, there are a stream of great and influential artist who are in the ZONE including Punk’s like me. Clem Burke’s passing hit home and he is such a great loss but leaves behind a great legacy.
Electric Jukebox feels like both a love letter and a protest sign. Was that the plan or just the way it came out?
It certainly became the plan as I opened to the creative influence of my glam Rock heroes, who, I have never abandoned. Bolan, Bowie, Roxy, The Dolls, Mott etc while at the same time writing a bunch of 21st century Punk songs. The Glam influenced songs represent the early 1970s need for songs to take you away from all the crap in the world (economic depression, oil crisis etc) and take you somewhere, even if only Friday and Saturday nights, to forget. The lyrical content on those glam influenced tunes are quite autobiographical and true accounts of my teenage years. The punk songs are the rantings of an older man who has been there and wore the torn t shirt. Frustrated at the need for continued protests against a range of injustices and rise of fascist narratives.
What made Dublin’s punk scene tick, and what made it different from London or New York?
The good news is that the Dublin punk scene remains very healthy and inspirational after 45 years. The roots of the Dublin punk scene were driven by the need to kick the country post de Valera into the 21st Century and push back the influence of the church and its outdated views.
Irish punk had its own issues to deal with and the protest signs were more directed at the Politicians, Guards, Priests and Doctors who controlled our every day attitudes. Musically the Irish punk bands were more melodic and lyrically more poetic as we are natural storytellers.
From The Radiators From Space to Trouble Pilgrims to this solo run, what keeps you making new noise instead of just replaying the old hits?
There’s nothing worse than being a legacy band or artist. Playing to a crowd who only want to hear the so-called hits. I suppose I’m a songwriter first before anything else and as so will always want to deal with issues and express new feelings using that medium. Technology has also developed to a point where those songs can be recorded and uploaded for consumption from the comfort of your own home or flat. Besides I’ve being doing it long enough that I think I know what I’m doing at this stage. Plus I enjoy it!
Did producing for Dave Fanning’s show shape how you approach your own records?
It certainly showed me how to utilise a relatively short time span to try and achieve maximum broadcast worthy results. At Pilgrim Sound I have all the facilities I need to produce to a high standard, but that means nothing if I’m not organised and focused with a clear set of objectives.
And finally, if Electric Jukebox Volume One had a message stamped on the vinyl runout groove, what would it say?
I’m a big fan of those run out groove messages..my bad for not putting one on the album.
The debut single by The Radiators, ‘Television Screen’ has “Do not adjust your lifestyle.” Ghostown, The Radiators second album produced by Tony Visconti had “paralysis in parenthesis” on one side and “boredom in brackets” on the other. I would have put “this record kills fascists!”
