Buddies was the first offering from the Fingolstones Firemen. Like many bands before them (the Monkees, the Velvet Undergound, the Archies), the Fingolstones were a concept band. The band already had a name and a pseudo-history long before they ever actually had any songs or even a settled band membership. A poster, long-since lost, drawn by Dobba in a dull General Studies lesson, introduced the band. Album covers followed and an interview with the band and their alleged manager, Brian Cant. The project excited Dobba’s mate Lee, (later known as Norbert) and their mutual friend Booga, an impressionable youth with a thirst for adventure and Kestrel Lager. With their creative juices flowing they rushed out of school, missing double games, jumped into Lee’s dad’s blue Talbot Solara, and headed round to Dobba’s parents’ house to record some real songs. The band was born.
The recording sessions spanned nearly a year and saw a number of changes in the Fingolstones line-up. Some songs were even recorded by individuals on their own due to a mixture of apathy and embarrassment. It is hard to forget but these were young souls in the first flush of manhood. In the process of putting the album together, the original masters of many of these songs were played to the assembled members of the Arsehole Club (AHC). The critical response was sometimes severe, understandably since most songs amounted to character assassinations of the AHC’s membership. It rapidly became clear that the Fingolstones appealed to a niche market, at best, consisting largely of the people they hadn’t yet insulted. The Ballad of Sara and Goffy even spawned a response by Sara Vaughan; a sort of Suzanne Vega meets Pam Ayres. Inspired by The Flying Pickets, Dobba and Lee felt obliged to include an acapella version of her untitled ditty on the album amongst the later recordings. (Editors note, sadly this track did not survive the remastering process and is now only available as a limited edition cassette).
After the first few recording sessions Booga left the band to concentrate on bodybuilding; fearing that the diet of Kestrel Lager and Monster Munch was taking its toll. Dobba drafted in Richard ‘Jeeves’ Gibbs, the son of Baptist missionaries, to record Captain Flak, hoping to launch a spin-off boy-band. The premature greying of Jeeves’ hair put paid to that, along with the fact that far from having chiselled-features Dobba had a face like a sack of chisels. The B-side of their planned debut single, Country Flak, was used as an album-filler on Buddies. Writing together again once more, Lee and Dobba began to explore more controversial subjects. CBS Song was a comment on football violence in the late-1980s; while Skeggy Market encapsulated the decline in the British Holiday market following the boom in cheap overseas package tours.
The album was released on limited edition C90 cassette-tapes from Woolworths, and featured original artwork by Dobba. Enigmatically the cover displayed four individuals – Marlon, Chez, Yag and Sqvan – none of whom were members of the band. Mystery has surrounded the identity of these people, fuelling speculation that session musicians were brought in for the more-fiddly guitar and organ parts that were beyond the Fingolstones capabilities. However, it seems the truth may have been more prosaic. Years later when interviewed after several pints of lager top in the Saltergate Club, Lee revealed that the cover was, ‘Just some crap that Dobba drew on a post-it note’. Multi-layered genius, or just tossed-off crap: the Fingolstones have split critical opinion ever since.
The recording sessions spanned nearly a year and saw a number of changes in the Fingolstones line-up. Some songs were even recorded by individuals on their own due to a mixture of apathy and embarrassment. It is hard to forget but these were young souls in the first flush of manhood. In the process of putting the album together, the original masters of many of these songs were played to the assembled members of the Arsehole Club (AHC). The critical response was sometimes severe, understandably since most songs amounted to character assassinations of the AHC’s membership. It rapidly became clear that the Fingolstones appealed to a niche market, at best, consisting largely of the people they hadn’t yet insulted. The Ballad of Sara and Goffy even spawned a response by Sara Vaughan; a sort of Suzanne Vega meets Pam Ayres. Inspired by The Flying Pickets, Dobba and Lee felt obliged to include an acapella version of her untitled ditty on the album amongst the later recordings. (Editors note, sadly this track did not survive the remastering process and is now only available as a limited edition cassette).
After the first few recording sessions Booga left the band to concentrate on bodybuilding; fearing that the diet of Kestrel Lager and Monster Munch was taking its toll. Dobba drafted in Richard ‘Jeeves’ Gibbs, the son of Baptist missionaries, to record Captain Flak, hoping to launch a spin-off boy-band. The premature greying of Jeeves’ hair put paid to that, along with the fact that far from having chiselled-features Dobba had a face like a sack of chisels. The B-side of their planned debut single, Country Flak, was used as an album-filler on Buddies. Writing together again once more, Lee and Dobba began to explore more controversial subjects. CBS Song was a comment on football violence in the late-1980s; while Skeggy Market encapsulated the decline in the British Holiday market following the boom in cheap overseas package tours.
The album was released on limited edition C90 cassette-tapes from Woolworths, and featured original artwork by Dobba. Enigmatically the cover displayed four individuals – Marlon, Chez, Yag and Sqvan – none of whom were members of the band. Mystery has surrounded the identity of these people, fuelling speculation that session musicians were brought in for the more-fiddly guitar and organ parts that were beyond the Fingolstones capabilities. However, it seems the truth may have been more prosaic. Years later when interviewed after several pints of lager top in the Saltergate Club, Lee revealed that the cover was, ‘Just some crap that Dobba drew on a post-it note’. Multi-layered genius, or just tossed-off crap: the Fingolstones have split critical opinion ever since.