The Moonlandingz’s Adrian Flanagan tells us about the “Songs My Mum Taught Me” (Bowie, The Smiths, more)

Adrian Flanagan, who you might know from Eccentronic Research Council, International Teachers of Pop or his solo project Acid Klaus, just released No Rocket Required, the new album from his other group The Moonlandingz (which also features Lias Saoudi of Fat What Family and Dean Honer of Add N to X). While the group are known for their debauched electro-disco jams, there is also some tender humanity here on “It’s Where I’m From” which was written by Flanagan and sung by Iggy Pop. Watch the video for that below and read our review of the album here.

While you can play “spot the influence” on No Rocket Required, Adrian made us a more personal list he’s titled “The Songs My Mum Taught Me.” He writes:

On New Year’s Day, after a couple of years in the grip of the hideous disease Alzheimer’s – my beautiful mother, Maria, passed away.

In her final months of her life she struggled walking, talking and remembering immediate things so I found that reminiscing about the distant past with her and showing her old photos of her and family when she was very young would encourage more lucid memories – and also as music is my thing I knew that by just simply playing the songs she loved on her big TV via YouTube from when she was a kid (or from when I was a kid) would also have a really positive effect on her mood, with her singing along with the songs, mouthing all the lyrics whilst waving her finger from her bed like a mad conductor of an orchestra.

These visits filled me with both incredible pride and crushing sadness, but they also allowed my mother and I (her first born) some real quality time together that I’ll always treasure. These are just a small selection of tracks my mum loved or and – brought in to my life – and me in to hers!!

Those songs include classics from The Beatles, Roxy Music, David Bowie, The Smiths, Love, Scott Walker and more. It’s a touching tribute to Maria and you can read his list and commentary below.

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‘The Songs My Mum Taught Me’ – Adrian Flanagan /The Moonlandingz

“Strawberry Fields Forever” – The Beatles

In the ’60s when my mum was a kid, her favourite band was The Beatles and her favourite Beatle (everyone had one) was John Lennon. She absolutely loved him. So when I ended up working on the debut Moonlandingz album over a decade ago with John & Yoko’s kid Sean Ono Lennon, my mum was immensely proud. Even during her final months she would always hilariously ask me, “ How’s your friend….Julian?” I’d go ‘Julian who?’ and she’d go ‘Lennon!!’ and I’d correct her and say ‘Oh You mean Sean mum? he’s ok I think Mum!’

This song she’d love me playing to her and we’d both sing along too it like a pair of space cadets!

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“Jackie” – Scott Walker

My mum introduced me to the songs of Scott Walker bless her! When she was in her late teens in the late 60’s she’d been to see Scott live in a venue in Manchester. After the show she and a young friend followed a large group of girls to outside a hotel where they’d hope to get Scott’s autograph. They stood around for a short while and as Scott never turned up her and a friend walked off towards their bus stop home. Just as they did, a car with blacked out windows pulled up and a lairy suited tour manager rolled down the window of the driver seat and shouted across at my Mum and friend — “Hey girls do you want to go to a party at a club with Scott Walker, he’s here in the back of the car?” My mum replied “No he’s not, your lying!” as the tour manager rolled down the back window revealing a slightly embarrassed Scott Walker sat in the back of the car! My mum and friend let out a little yelp and then Mum said “Sorry we can’t’- if I’m not home for ten o’clock my mum will be very angry!” So they said their goodbyes and jumped on a bus home. I never forgave my mum for not making Scott Walker my Dad!!

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“Andmoreagain” – Love

When I was a teen discovering ’60s garage bands via my love for bands like The Fall (who lived in the next street from me in Prestwich) and The Cramps (who didn’t), I came across a band called Love who my mum also adored as a teen – especially this song “AndMoreAgain.” The Forever Changes album is head and tail more sophisticated than most of those psychedelic-cum-garage groups of ’67-’68 with its lush strings and brass arrangements and beautifully melodic gentle sounds. It was probably the first record my mum would ask me to “turn up” not “turn down” – as I blasted my new teenage discoveries in my bedroom!

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“Do the Strand” – Roxy Music

Another band my mum really loved was Roxy Music and she also had a bit of a crush on Bryan Ferry. When I was three years old my mum and I escaped the hideous biological spunker who impregnated her with me and we moved in temporarily to my Ukrainian grandad’s house over in Stockport, South Manchester. He was a very tight fisted man. old Ivan, and Mum and I would use the music of Roxy Music to drown out the sound of my grandad dragging his iron wallet across the upstairs landing!!

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“Come to the Sabbat” – Black Widow

My mum was in to a lot of old hippy rock n flute stuff in the ’70s like Jethro Tull, but she used to play this to me when I was a child lots, and we’d excitedly stomp and sing around the living room laughing and chanting the chorus with passion and glee: “Come, Come, Come to the Sabbat, come to the Sabbath – Satan’s there!!” At that very moment Satanism felt so fun so I immediately donned a black hooded robe and denounced the Catholic Church — aged 4 !! Read More