In the late seventies
I bought some re-issues of Rock ’n’ Roll rarities on LPs issued by NPR records.
I was living in Mülheim/Ruhr then, and one of my favourite shops was somewhere in the
south of Düsseldorf at the arterial road direction Leverkusen, Kölner Landstraße. Unfortunately,
I can’t remember the shop’s name, though I spent a decent amount of money there
and the shopkeeper was a man of Rock ‘n’ Roll knowledge, Dieter Boeck. Anyway, the LPs were
titled “The Real Rock And Surf Sound - Archive Series” and the address given for
the label was 2945 Sande. I tried to make contact then, as I was publishing the
Gorilla Beat fanzine then, but the guys did not respond. I most probably wanted to get free review copies and the NPR guys smelled the rat. Little
did I know then that I would settle in the neighbouring town just a dozen or so
years later. Yet, it was through these LPs that I would get to know the names
of Hugh Barrett & The Victors (“Got The Bull By The Horns), Dick d’Agostini
(“Nancy Lynn”), The Hollywood Vines (“When Johnny Comes Slidin’ Home”) and the
likes. The NPR guys surely were among the pioneers of spreading the gospel.
No, this isn't Boris Johnson on a surf board
And, after moving to where I am still living today, I didn’t know that the guys involved in the record label were making
music also and ran an excellent Surf cover band called The Cruncher. They got it all right, and even acquired the apropriate
equipment. Sande is just a few miles from the North Sea, so Surf music might be
the natural choice, unfortunately the North Sea coast here is all mud and silt
instead of sandy beaches, and the waves are rarely more than a ripple in the
sea.
Anyway, Herbert Hooke, gtr, Klaus Brunner, gtr,
Norbert Heinke, sax, org, Wolfgang Peters, b, and Harald Zeidler, perc, had set their heart on a
brand of music that was not especially popular in Germany and they were – like Jon
and The Night Riders – forerunners in making Surf music part of the burgeoning
Garage scene.
I have now compiled a kind of “Best Of” from their
early LPs “go surfin’ with” and “Jupiter C” as well as CD compiling early
recordings: “Schlicktao Surfer”. And please, bear in mind, they are no innovators
but connoisseurs.
The Cruncher in the studio in the 80s, kings of the jolly trousers
01 THE CRUNCHER – Wild Weekend 02 THE CRUNCHER – Theme From Sheena 03 THE CRUNCHER – Midnight Run 04 THE CRUNCHER – The Wasp 05 THE CRUNCHER – Redondo Strand 06 THE CRUNCHER – Baja 07 THE CRUNCHER – Latinia 08 THE CRUNCHER - Jupiter C 09 THE CRUNCHER – Casbah 10 THE CRUNCHER – Surf Beat 11 THE CRUNCHER – The Bronze Surfer 12 THE CRUNCHER – El Aguila 13 THE CRUNCHER – Ventura 14 THE CRUNCHER – Honky Tonk
