OFF TOPIC with Steve Mixup. A place for me to tell the odd story or two about the post war rock generation. If they couldn’t change the world at least they brought us some wonderful music.

“If things stay hidden long enough they become a gem when they are found“

The song Dirty Old Town written by Ewan MacColl in 1949 is bona fide classic. A beautiful heart-rending memory of post-war industrial Salford, sung on the folk and pop circuit equally, and made popular by many, including The Spinners, Roger Whittaker, The Dubliners, Simple Minds, The Pogues, a rare and cool soul version by Eddie Carr in 1970 and many many more I don’t doubt. No debate needed. After the version by The Pogues in 1985, particularly, it has grown in stature, but that was not the case in the early seventies. In 1972, the Ewan MacColl song was not as engrained in our popular cannon as it is now, mainly being heard on the folk circuit alone. So, it might not seem so strange for someone else to write and record another song with the same title in those days.

A song with the same title was recorded and released in 1971 by a long forgotten British band called Trifle. To my ears, another beautiful heart warming song conjuring up a feeling of reminisce, about that grubby old town you might have grown up in but for all its faults, it is still “home”. Similar to some of Ewan’s feelings I think. Unless you are a muso like myself finding another song with the same name would probably be fairly difficult today. Modern search engines are just going to keep coming up with the Ewan MacColl song or related information. Having a look on discogs I can see that David Byrne has written one. Maybe there are one or two more, who knows, but if you look hard you will find “Dirty Old Town” by “Trifle”.

To me, the whole sixties thing was like a metaphor for life. Those young frantic teens grew up and needed to expand their horizons. Trifle were a late sixties, early seventies group who like many others, grew up a little and moved away from the three minute pop, rock or soul song they had been used too and pushed out, finding a more grown up sound. A lot of groups were doing this at the time. Punters in clubs, used to dancing the night away, weren’t so happy, but the overall tide was to progress. Good musicians got better, writing your own material was no longer thought odd and most importantly, at the time, there was a move away from the “pop limelight” to a “grown up coolness” in what was a cultural and political youth movement. Trifle were one of many who might be called brass rock, slightly blues, progressive or many other genres we are so prone to using nowadays. Actually the word “progressive” was used in late sixties to encapsulate this very move away from pop but it didn’t yet mean “progressive rock”, that a few years later would be associated with groups like Yes and Genesis ( I ain’t knocking those groups), but just the post Sgt Pepper environment of exploration.

Trifle were led by George Bean who was from Rugby. George had been one of those early sixties teens who got a record contract and released records on Decca, a protégé of Andrew Loog Oldham. A run of respectable beat singles and a pop psych number to chime with the times in 1967. With his group “The Runners” they eventually morphed into Trifile in 1968. The story of this group is taken up by Paul Griffiths on a website dedicated to the group. Triflemusic

In short, they produced an album and singles getting favourable reviews but their future was cut short when George Bean died in 1972. Other members went on to have careers in the music industry, Pat King later joined the group Shanghai and eventually Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, whilst Dick Cuthell became a highly respected session musician, working with acts such as Rico Rodriguez, The Specials, John Martyn, The Eurythmics and Elvis Costello.

I had surmised that because George Bean was the singer and co writer of the song it must have been about his home town, Rugby. I asked Paul Griffiths if this was so. He asked fellow writer Dick Cuthell who said “it was not based on anywhere specific”. So, it could be my town or your town, wherever. A tip of the hat to Trifle and to George, long passed, but not forgotten.

Trifle – Dirty Old Town – 1971

dirty old town
dirty old town
well it’s good to get away
a change is as good as a rest they say
but its good to see you again
like the grin you get from your best friend
dirty old town
dirty old town

when I see your battered face
that defies the hand of time with grace
I feel warm and smile inside
while you’re my shadow I’ll walk with pride
dirty old town
dirty old town

torn up, worn out, broken down
torn up, worn out, broken down
torn up, worn out, broken down
beautiful dirty old town
torn up, worn out, broken down
beautiful dirty old town