the rah band - the crunch

[MalcNedd62]

Thanx for confirming that. I remember certain ex-members of The Clash quoting that as one of the reasons they wouldn't appear on TOTP.

As for Lieutenant Pigeon, Mouldy Old Dough must be the only no.1 featuring mother and son - that "chap with the flute" (Rob Woodward) recruited his mum Hilda as second pianist.

[hardyfh1]

Always wondered what happened to Lieutenant Pigeon. Where's the chap with the flute?

[fifthof]

DLT an anagram of TWAT.

[MalcNedd62]

I remember this all too well! I read a subsequent article in the paper which confirmed that the RAH Band was actually one guy called Richard Hewson, and the guys you've just seen were a bunch of front men (who I think renamed themselves "Paris"). I do know that in those days there was a "rule" that all backing tracks used on the show had to be specially re-recorded for the show; I can only assume that this one must have been recorded by Paris rather than Mr Hewson.

[UTDavidT]

@MalcNedd62

There was such a rule, but they only allowed one hour in the recording studio though, prior to the 'live' TV mime session. A very short time to reproduce the generally highly 'produced' sound of the average hit.

So a lot of 'tape switching' went on behind the scenes!

Most of the tracks aired sounded exactly like the original hit mix (which probably took several days or weeks to produce).

As if by magic!

(So the one's on the TV show may not be the ones on the sound recording).

[weff4]

brilliant, I remember it was out at the same time as Space's Magic Fly,

[nutster9000]

Awesome track - so how many people have viewed this after Tony Blackburn played it today - 06:07:11!!!!! :-)

[shaftsbury94]

@nutster9000 me just listened on eye player, forgot bout this one.

[NCW250]

Barking mad… Love it!!!!

[michal23pl]

damn that's the one dusty minimoog

[Jamaiceltable]

Music most foul.

[evenslimmersladey]

Is'nt that Cozy Powell on the drums???

Sold this 45 at a car boot sale.

When I got my jukebox I had to go and buy another copy for much more than I sold it for!!

[OneBigRetard]

@evenslimmersladey

Nick Monnas

[milosit]

I remember watching this live on TOTP in the 70s.

I can't take my eyes off the black guitarist chick!

[OffTheCharts365]

Thanks for posting this song!

Listen for great music like this on a new radio station called "OffTheCharts" - featuring 70's (and some 80's) lost hits and chart wonders!

Go to Live365.com, type OFFTHECHARTS in the Search box and click on the station logo. The audio stream should begin. Become a VIP member and listen commercial free!

This song is being featured this week!

[snolan1990]

If you get the CD release of this album there is an interview in which Richard Hewson (The man behind the RAH band) states that they asked him to appear on TOTP but he was busy with studio work, so the lable got together a band of people who they found on the street and sent them to do the performance without Hewson's permission. These guys were booked to do a european tour on the back of this and Hewson had to personally pay off these guys to stop it happening. Thats why it sounds awful.

[john111257]

baileys hanley...omg so young then

[fyrret09]

Stockton-On-Tees's finest. Class song.

[jackamo23]

This video freakin' rawks though as retunerman rightly points out, the 'live' rendition of the track leaves something to be desired...for full audio-visual effect try turning the sound down and synching up a recorded version of the track! Got to love those costumes, they give Rockets, Space & The Creatures (Italo version) a run for their space-glam money! Definitely a hugely underrated band, just check out Clouds Across The Moon video as well or Messages From The Stars - pure cosmic disco!

[noizefeeler]

OMG that's me in the crowd - dark blue adidas t-shirt..

[lgreen1973]

The keyboard player looks like one of the Federation guards from Blakes 7

[homer46303]

I heard "I'm A Man" by Chicago in this song for some reason.

[mfactor88]

Goldfrapp oh la la is this reborn :) and thats a good thing m48

[zeligcanhearyou]

tuberkulose

[termin9r]

WTF - this is the shit surely? I paid good money fot this sh1t - this haz got to be the real sh1t?

[mickeytipp]

Awful reproduction of the original sound. Apparently at the time, it was a BBC policy on TOTP to re-record chart hits using their own session musicians. It happened quite frequently. At times they got the reproduction reasonably right, in this case however, it wasn't very good. Another example of this dire form of reproduction would be Kate Bush's performance of Wuthering Heights from Jan 1978. Look it up here on YT.

[rattu123]

Sounds like glam. I could almost see Bowie singing to this tune.

[serinatu]

This is NOT The Rah Band, it's a motley assortment of sessioneers cobbled together for Top of the Pops because the REAL guys were not available that day, and this is a very poor live version. Check out the original recording on YT !!!!

[thegreatmuta]

It has Andy Clark on keyboards who WAS a member of the band. I know what you mean though! lol

[derekdingle]

a top of the pops 'off' day

[termin9r]

hey - I bought the single on the strength of this (now sub-standard as it turns out ) performance thank you.....where were you with your internet opinions back in the 70s....eh.

[Westernprovince]

Hmmm......Perhaps you would be better off listening to the real Rah Band - 'Messages from the stars', 'Clouds across the moon', 'Perfumed garden', etc... Just a thought.

[Pendragonm]

WOW!!!

this is

AWESOME

silly, catchy and groovy

just pop!!

perfect!

[domofthavmakos]

How can this happen???????

SACRILEGE.

[1jobest]

..das hat aber mit der rah-band nichts zu tun. weg damit!

[phmovie]

Is aber so

[melkur]

Haha, what's up with the hood? Lol!

[TECKMASSE]

I LOVE THIS SONG !

[serinatu]

This is not the Rah Band ,it's a group cobbled together for Top of the Pops because the real band was unavailable that day. This sounds weak compared to the real recording, check it out here on YT !!

[levison]

this is true

[gumma71]

There is no RAH band, RAH stands for Richard Anthony Hewson, its a one man band.

[pianoman74]

Fully correct. The sweet female voice in "Clouds Across The Moon" is not a band's lead singer, but his wife Liz ;-) That's how myths commonly begin.

[gerrymoran1]

@gumma71 Dont underestimate this man's ability....this was a diversion from his day job as an Orchestral arranger and conductor for all the big names from the Beatles to the Bee Gees, Art Garfunkel, Fleetwood Mac and the list goes on. He even commanded the Royal Philharmonic for Cliff form his 25th at the R.A.H (pardon the Pun)

[farmereddy11]

wtf is this????

[nikisoft7]

das lied ist voll der hammer!!

weiß zufällig wer, woher ich musiknoten für das Stück bekommen kann?

wenn ja >> PN an nikisoft7

danke!

[domski26]

equally as bad as that stuttering idiot doing spirit in the sky

[RainbowOfDarkness13]

I like it that they play music but, how lame!

[Lionforever1860]

Das war noch kreative Altrenativ-Mucke

COOOOL "The Crunch"

[serinatu]

"no way ( to treat your lover)" is the first new tune from The Rah Band in 10 years. Check it out here on YouTube!

[fenian94]

...and just who is that stunning woman playing guitar!??

[serinatu]

this band is not the rah band, it was a put together outfit by the record company for top of the pops and their sound is nothing like the original recording, check it out!

[joss885]

Well I think its generally accepted that 1 gimp kept in the cellar is ok but more than that who knows what they will get up to. This is a fetish too far. truly perverse

[jojoblow01]

i presume thatn you are talking about dave lee travis , the hairy cornflake ( oh how we all didnt laugh! )

[mylomaster]

And I always thougt that Boytronic where the silliest dudes ever, but now I've changed my mind...

[pelicule62]

I've just posted an extended version of this track. I got it on a white label, there aren't any details on the label apart from the title. It sounds like the original. Could it be side one and two merged together?

[jamesabandonedme]

yo mi dad reherses wiv da drummer all the time every friday and wed

[135026]

Ha Ha looks like Psycho Mantis from MGS

[robotsmith]

This is the best song to wake up to in the morning...

[innertextures]

true

[bakedbeanzontoast]

Remember seeing this on TOTP and they were so different. still love it - even though no one I know can remember them :(

[serinatu]

the actual RAH Band version noddy means is the one posted here as a video response from serinatu!

[noddythe2cv]

DON'T LISTEN TO THIS INFERIOR VERSION OF THE CRUNCH - CHECK OUT THE ACTUAL RAH BAND VERSION - this version was recorded by the TOTP crew as Rah Band didn't actually appear on TOTP until 1985. Check out the Eye In The Sky Remix as well.

[SlotShop]

Wow, a live version... Thanks for sharing this. I had the recorded version on a compilation tape called Rip Snorter.

[v40sjb]

The B side was odd, carried on from the A side but was much better...

[plumptoad]

Have you got any DLT shaving a tiny bit of beard off (1 cm approx) while dancing to this. Thank you in advance.

[RevTwoSheds]

NoW ALL YoU LoT GoT iS BiG BrOthEr, AuToMAtEd CoPyCaT BLiNg RaDIo StATioN PaP, SpAwn oF CoWeLL, LaTTe WiTh JoOlZ HoLLaNdAiSe & ThE NeXt EpISoDe Of PAnTeNe Pro-V WiTh AcTiVe LiPoZoMes T'LoOk FoRwaRd ToO...

YoU'Ve OnLY GoT YErSeLf T'BlAmE Y'KnOW...

DoN'T Say We DiDn'T WaRn YeRz...

DoN'T CaLL US ...

We'LL CaLL YoU...

KiNdEsT ReGArDs EtCETerA

ReV.TwO-sHEdS

[dictated - not read]

[ramoneschick1]

What a strange song.

My mother likes the original song, so do i.

[SazBob2223]

WOW! This was so bloody different and wonderful back then. Just up mine and my mates' streets. I remember a party we had in 1977 - this was rocking us all night as we supped copious amounts of ale from PARTY 7 cans... before being dizzy and sick!

[LazloStPierre]

The original track is brilliant.

This performance sounds like Father Ted and Father Dougal trying to write their Eurosong...

[silvertaff]

It's not the recorded version (the synth was loads fartier)...is it live ? For Top of The Pops , it's pretty out there , in a performance art/Dadaist kind of way .

[carlosslazenger]

TAKE THAT GOLDFRAPP!...that hairy cornflakes cheeky though innee?

[carterget]

e did a job i suppose,nothing creative tho.DLT'LL fix it would have been good

[serinatu]

just type in "crunch eye in the sky remix" at the top of this page !

[serinatu]

If you think this is cool,check out the REAL Rah Band sound at The Crunch -Eye in the Sky remix vid. then you'll hear what it's all about!

[nigelseakayak]

where can we get to hear this The Crunch -Eye in the Sky remix

kindest regards

julia alexader c/o nigelseaskayak

[megatonblitz]

I can only remember one of the members of The Rah Band calling himself " Telescope " at a P.A. in the Metro Radio tent at the Newcastle Exhibition 197? - please help, was it a dream or was I really there ?

[VancouverCanucks08]

what in the world lol

[darrren61]

I had no idea that was Andy Clark.

Did he play on all their stuff?

[therahbanddotcom]

no, he was only a sessioner pulled-in for this Top of The pops, he wasn't officially in The RAH Band.

[llordflamer]

so why did they drop the talentless bearded waste of space called DLT from radio one?

[wigjnr]

They didn't - he infamously resigned on air one Sunday.

[19671958]

I remember that,heard it live.

[terryjohn]

HE WAS USELESS. LIKE ALL RADIOONE djS

[dantheman1242]

brilliant tune.thanx georgekhol.

[carterget]

Thanks Andy,pity about the ego-head hairy cornflake fore and aft

[Andrewsmate]

Glam Stomper! LOOK,listen and Love!

[triplenippel123]

whats that under the minimoog

[Bethany0987654321]

A Little Bit Rawcus :)

[Primiewoo]

weyy my uncle sent my mum this + now I've totally fallen in love :D

[CLARKHUTCHINSON]

ANDY CLARK from CLARK HUTCHINSON on keyboards,

Dressed in bin liner and balaclaver. From BBC costume department.

New video out now

[therahbanddotcom]

this track and more RAH Band tracks now available from iTUNES

[Diabolik771]

That's pretty good.

[retunerman]

Oh dear. A great track that fell victim to one of TOTP's intermittent insistences on live performance. Sounds superb on the record, but a bit like one man and a Casio keyboard live :-( Thanks for posting though. Great image!

[plungerdrum]

@retunerman That's why Andy Clark (The keyboard player) was hiding his face! He really just did it for the money offered him, and he STILL was thinking about doing it!

[swimbythesea]

@retunerman its a combination of studio recording and live performance.. ie the horn section and other sound fx are pre recorded (play back) whilst some is played live.. Its also in mono , probs due to the videos VCR being in mono, play this on a mono TV from the 70s and the average ear wldnt tell the difference between the 2 recordings..

Im sure there is a recording of this off of the desk some where that wld sound awsome..

also the NEW HQ version has been re mastered digitally,,

[matrixsenior]

@retunerman totally agree mate. Good song, awful performance sounds like a stylaphone...or am I showing my age now?

[anuman94]

daft punk stole their concept. sparkly spacemen and loopy songs.

[carterget]

heared this a few times when RL teams scored or came out.good crowd raiser.favourite when i was 10 !

[r196642]

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­ooooooooooooooooooooooho!

[milosit]

OMG!

This song has been stuck in my head since 1977 when I saw them play on TOTP as a lad. I could never find out the band that played this song or what it's title was. Now, here it is after 30 years! Amazing!

[19671958]

I brought a K Tel album Disco Fever in 1977 when i was 10 and the Crunch was on it.Still got the record and still love the tune.Where does the time go?

[terryjohn]

JUST PLAYED IT LP.

TJ

[19671958]

Still playing it in Bromsgrove,small world.Ah retro!

[vostokhed]

Bring out the Gimp!!!

[ewaf88]

Love actually sounds a bit like Chicory Tip an early 70's group.

[nikteacher1]

I remember this as a kid. Still have the vinyl myself. Would love to know where to find it on CD.

[ewaf88]

Hi goto the RAH website - you can buy it there. I've just put on Falcon by the RAH band so you can sample more of his music

[ausge62]

i have the original vinyl,its double.if anywhere interested send a e-mail

[ausge62]

i have the original vinyl,its double.if anywhere interested send a e-mail

[thegreatmuta]

At last! All hail George Kohl! lol

[lore1972]

Il tastierista è uno spettacolo

[therahbanddotcom]

THE CRUNCH and other RAH BAND tracks available for iTunes NOW !!!!

[richeebee]

Nice... love this tune from back when I was a wee nipper. It could almost be the KLF couldn't it...