Story Time
Brady.
HI kids i was almost born on the same day as the kid out the omen 6pm,in the 6 month , on the 7th day , 1981 that twat Lennon was dead by then. I like all the band am one of Thatchers bastards , even as a small child i hated the bitch.I lived in Birtley till I was eight , I have been miserable ever since. I then lived in Berwick on Snob Hill in polis house next door to little lord fauntelroy . The class system is alive and kicking as is sectarian hatred as I found out attending their lovely state non-denominational (though it's completely anglican) school.I then moved to Newton Hall which is a shithole and all the people who live there are fucks.Still they're not as bad as the people who live in Rosemount. Kappa slappers and charvers wander round its every chartered street , where's a fucking serial killer when you need one, I'm telling you some of the sluts round ours are begging to be chopped up .
Tom.
I lived on a farm for the first 3 years of my life. Then my sister was born so I had to move because she couldn't live on a farm. Then I moved to Newton Hall which was good because there were no pigs. I was amazed that it was one of the biggest housing estates in Europe. Then when I was about 8 I moved with in Newton Hall to another street. We chose the house because it was on a hill and would be safe from flooding. I lived in a place were my next door neighbour got a bus pass for school but I didnt because I lived to close to school. This instilled a hatred of bureaucracey from a early age and then they took a pass off a friend of mine when he'd had it for one year already. Had the tectonic plate moved and made him live further away. Newton Hall has gone down hill in the last few years and is no longer a nice place to live.
Phil.
For the first three years of my life I lived in Croxdale, known only for its Citreon garage, at three I moved to Ushaw Moor. I went to the Nursery School that burned down in New Brancepeth and then to the infant school in Ushaw Moor. My first musical aspirations came when in the first year of junior school in my first band The Glasgow's and Thompson, I wrote lyrics for 10 albums then realised my keyboard skills weren't good enough. At christmas when i was eight I got my first guitar,it was a nylon string acoustic which spent the first 8 years of it's life at the back of my cupboard underneath mountains of paper. I moved to Newton Hall in the fourth year of junior school following the collapse of Glasgow's and Thompson and I left music for a while. In August 1992 I joined Framwellgate Moor Comprehensive School and got in with the wrong crowd which led to me becoming alienated. I met Brady and Rutherford at a football game early in year 8 and soon after this returned to music with a new band Surplus to Society which collapsed minutes after its beginning. In year nine I met the love of my life Gemma and my interest in music subsided again. However the purchase of a bass guitar by Whitfield caused me a career change. Maybe I will be saved from a career as a Maths lecturer. I hope.
Julie.
kjlkjklhjk
Band.
Brady joined St.Godrics in September 1991, one of the most dysmal schools in Durham, which Tom had,had the misfortune of attending since he was 5.He was iniated into the strange gang culture of St. Godrics joining the Hardy's but being kicked out for taking a fun fight for real and judo throwing the gang leader, though the official reason given was that he wore his bag on both shoulders.He then chopped and changed between the Weedy's which contained future band mate Whitfield and The Speedy's who contained Gav Young who introduced Brady to drugs(though at later date).Next to Godrics was the Job centre so on a break the local losers would drift past the amused kids who were usually playing football with a stone or wrestling.Both Brady and Whitfield went on to Leonards R.C Comp (Brady leaving with most improved player ,the year before Tom as goalie had got Best player but had decided to play outfield ).Brady was put into a tutor group made up of losers none of whom he knew.Tom was put into the 'High Fliers' tutor with his good friend cockney reject,an albino with an allergy to peanuts.Brady became mates with a schizo named Gloyney, Evans an Ian Rush clone and Patterson who he half knew as when their mothers had been in labour they got to know one another and both were born on the same day.Whitfield befriended Blakey and crew who was Glasgows long lost twin brother from Shadforth, Flemming a jovial but paranoid charachter ,and Haswell who had an obsession with The Animals of Farthing Wood.Both lads were in the same maths class where they wrote their first 'song' called 'bitches' based on 2 fat slags.Sadly Brady along with his mate Morn the prawn were relegated every year ending up in 4th with the dreaded MrMrs(the head of maths once figured out how much money Brady would lose through being on benefits and not being a Doctor like he should be ). Meanwhile Glasgow had joined Framwellgate Moor Comp. and had made friends with a Catholic lad whose Dad was a teacher there, so he got just slightly victimised.Tom spent his time playing cricket for Plawsworth, 5 a side with his Fram friends , and hanging round with DJ Silk Cut .Brady spent his time wasting it , suspended for being drunk in 2nd year, for knocking out a rich kid in 3rd year and put on report for practically anything .He was in set 3 for English when a kindly teacher Mrs GBH shoved him into top set , it was a turning point.Meanwhile back in the land of the prod Phil had made friends with Berkovits Mcdonalds employee of the year 5 years running .It was in third year when a lonesome Phil joined in a game of footy with Runny bum and his mate Brady.Whitfield and chum Connors later joined in . Whitfield later concluded he would be happy never to see Glasgow ever again.In fact Brady was suprised to see his new aquaintaince at his door the next day, especially as he wasn't aware that he had mentioned where he lived, still fate had played its hand.Champ manager would be the thing that would bring the three together. Tom bought it and soon he and Brady were addicted though Glasgow was scared to come to Toms house due to his dog the fiersome Yorkie. He too was eventually overcome .While the rest of kids sat down the park drinking White Star and smoking Lambert n' Butler these three along with Runy bum sat round a PC screen . Sometimes they played real football. Brady and Tom famously Joined AC dunelm the 2nd worst team in Durham County where foul mouthed antics would prove costly. In their second season he played 9 games was sent off 3 times , booked twice and thrown out of the club and banned by the FA from playing football anywhere for a month but avoided a fine through a smarmy letter.AC Dunelm then lost Whitfield and the club soon folded.Tom left Leonards with 9 passes , going on to Dope Smokers Paradise or New College as he likes to call it .Brady got 10 passes and stopped Leonards, Phil got 10 too and stopped at Fram having met love of his life Gemma though none of the other lads had. The lads recorded their first performance piece a re-interpretation of The Pythons 'THE HOLY GRAIL ' with their self written drum N' bass soundtrack using a demo of Techno Maker.The summer was spent down the river until they were jumped by some Roaders while Phil and Cairns cowered across the other side.They turned their attentions to Techno Maker upon which they recorded their first original material along with Youngy , Runy Bum , and Connors , Entitled 'Hoova Killer' and 'Revolution'.Sadly both Champ Manager and Techno Maker fucked in leaving the lads with sweet FA to do.It was Runy Bum who suggested they should form a band .He would sing and dance , Brady would play his kids sized guitar, phil would play bass, Tom the drums.Unfortunately they couldn't pick a name even , Runy wanting Speed Experience, Brady the more political The Surplus Society, Phil and Tom keen on neither.Also Runy had simply decided to speed up other peoples records and sing 'ooh baby i love you ' over the top. His dislike of all guitar bands did not help.Brady arrived around Phils house one day to hear the words, 'We've started a new band ' from Phil and Tom who sat around an acoustic Phil later broke through putting steel strings on it .Brady played them the song 'John Crilley' which he had written with the only 2 chords he knew.Strangely this inspired the lads to buy instruments, Phil a Yamaha Guitar, Tom borrowed a Fender Squire from his old childhood friend Andy Lennox,later to buy his own.Brady being both poor and possessing exceptionally small fingers became Keyboardist/Singer then singer realising his lack of talent.Tom's first song was entitled 'Looking Better for my Soul' though it was later called "2021" and changed several times.Phil wrote the erotic , epic, song that actually made sense for him, 'Anymore'.Phil soon emerged as the leader of the band writing song after song,whilst Brady was realising that none of his songs were working out, Tom built up a steady back catalogue . The lads then recorded an album at Tom's uncle's at Boro. There were 20 tracks chosen by Tom and Phil := Len-Stal-in, Gunslinger, Sun tells lies, "My Piece of Polaroid", Mama, Pullin up the Roots, John, Monochromatic People, Waiting for the Summer, Feeling Good/Great, Clear, "Do we care", Hamlet, Stranger, "Left it too Long", Take me there, "2021", Made of Sand, Anymore. Of these tracks 4 have survived two are due to be reworked and a old song that was left off the CD has been reworked. The other's have been scrapped. Matt and Rob now joined the band.A turning point came in the bands direction with the song "Time" which signalled a departure from the bands Brit Pop leanings and was the first true 'band' song.Tom and Brady then wrote their first song together "K2",Tom started writing bass lines again, Brady was involved in songs again and that friends is the story so far, see lyrics for current fave songs. On August 23rd 1998 Matthew Berkovits was sacked from the band under a sea of controversy His work at McDonalds overshadowed the band and eventually the other band members were sick of being fucked over. One day later Brady became the luckiest man alive by buying a second hand guitar for about half it's real price with a new pick-up costing �45. Sadly, he broke 2 strings the same day and so far has not played with the band. On Wednesday that same week the band finally got round to copywriting their material. With Matthew leaving the band made a fresh start under the new name of Swallow and began their search for a new singer. Brady couldn't be arsed to learn how to play however, and so we didn't bother getting a new singer. We did however aquire a new drummer, Gary. After a few practices we were able to record a demo tape with "3 Pig's Music." This didn't go quite as planned, there were a few very small problems, e.g the guy was completly fuckin insane. To cut a long story short (saving it for the exclusive biography) we ended up with a free demo tape that sounded like it was recorded an shit four-track recorder by someone who had never heard any music in his life. Over the next few weeks we winged about the guy and returned to the old swallow formula of just writing songs and doing nothing else productive in any way. However we were told about some place in Consett and we went to practice there once but the high percentage of Charver like people hanging about around the car park made Gary fear of his car been stolen so we only went there once. Some mincing faggots have nicked our practice time on a saturday so we had to practice at toms house. We need a new guitarist so this bird phil no's is joing shes called Julie Greenwood, and may and Brady have never met here but her brothers supposed to be aright on the guitar in some band called Radiohead.