The Snakes announced themselves in the early years of the century, arriving with pronounced Stonesy-swagger, a definite air of the Jacobites, and a deep country-rock grounding. Finding a loyal champion in Borderline booker Barry Marshall-Everitt they built a reputation playing memorable, spiky opening slots for a Who’s Who of notable US and UK Americana bands, becoming regulars at Come Down & Meet The Folks, What’s Cookin’, and Clerkenville West, and notching up an enviable list of festival appearances.
Frontman and main songwriter Simon Moor and guitarist Richard Davies connected in 2001 when Davies almost ran-over a distracted Moor on Muswell Hill Broadway. They’d briefly met in the mid-80s after Simon had answered an advert in Melody Maker for a singer, though their Band Of Gypsies proved very short-lived. Moor had grown up in Basingstoke where his best pal had been Darrell Bath; the wayward genius guitarist who’d go on to play with Ian Hunter, and The Vibrators.
Simon and Darrell’s teenage band was Bazooka Joe, garage-glamsters who would open for The Dogs D’Amour, The Queerboys, and a host of similar. Moor then formed the more psychy Cellophane Aeroplane with drummer Dan Tilbury and served time as Mega City Four’s guitar roadie. Meanwhile Davies tasted success in mid-nineties Britpop-adjacent Tiny Monroe, signing to London Records, attracting John Peel’s attention, and sharing management with Lush. Moor and Davies turned out to be near-neighbours so they started making a few home recordings on Moor’s 8-track. As the germ of a band grew they called in Tilbury, Tiny Monroe’s former bassist Alex Culpin, and Davies’ photographer pal Pete Smart.
Their debut album, Songs From The Satellites (2006), brought them to the attention of legendary BBC Radio 2 broadcasters Bob Harris and Mark Lamarr, who both declared themselves fans of the band, with Lamarr inviting them into the studio for a live session, having been particularly impressed by the dark, twang-laden delights of ‘I’ll Be Around’. It was but one of ten stage-honed tracks mainly recorded and mixed at Nick Beere’s Stable Studios with addition work at Tommy Hale’s Holiday Disaster Studios in Dallas.
Songs From The Satellites proved a thoughtful collection gaining in strength with each successive play. Genuinely soulful songs ranging from late night ruminations on ‘Eight Ball’, through the winning chorus of ‘Drag You Down’, and four-square rocking out as they go full-on Glimmer Twins for ‘Satellite Town’ The emphatic opener ‘Turn Back The Clock’, and the robustly tender ‘Lil’B’ are both enhanced by Nick Beere’s B3 ,while David Rothon (pedal steel) and Hannah Elton-Wall (backing vocals) of Redland Palomino Company along with the mysterious Billy The Fish (piano) bring added warmth to the country charms of ‘Homecoming Day’.
There were further guest appearances from Norma Wilow – Tiny Monroe’s NJ – singing backing on the lilting ‘Old Country’, violin from Jenny Gleeson on ‘8 Ball’, Richie Guy’s mandolin on ‘Fade Away’, and programmer Mass (Simon Massey, sometime Afro-Celt Sound System) on the extended, surprising closer ‘Happiness’.
The Snakes would record two further albums Sometime Soon (2010) and The Last Days Of Rock’n’Roll (2013) before going on hiatus in 2015. Reconvening in 2019 to play a commemorative event for Barry Marshall-Everitt, they planned further shows before the the pandemic intervened. A new album and renewed gigging are now anticipated in 2025.
Songs From The Satellites; The Snakes’ debut album from 2006; receives its first ever digital release on Gare du Nord Records on 15th Nov 2024. Available in the usual places.
Bucketfull Of Brains 