THE BENT ELBOWS "St. Lucia Road" RARE 1981 Aussie indie EP KBD punk

	A$		149
	$		95

THE BENT ELBOWS “St. Lucia Road” RARE 1981 Aussie indie EP KBD punk

The Bent Elbows – St. Lucia Road EP (orig. Australia EMI Custom STEREO 13154, LIMITED EDITION with picture cover)

Release date: August 1981.  Recording date: March 1981.

On offer here is an EXTREMELY RARE original issue of the only EP released by Brisbane-based KBD PUNK band, THE BENT ELBOWS.

The Bent Elbows made an Extended Play (EP) record in 1981, with 4 songs on black vinyl.  The title song “St Lucia Road” draws on the time the Baker brothers experienced growing up in St Lucia.  It was the era of the street marches against Premier Joh Bjelke-Peterson's reign, so Stirker added a line “marching still stinks”. Scoring Sugar is an anti-drugs song featuring a melodic guitar riff supporting Stirker’s raspy vocal; backed by a piano and a strong beat from the bass and drums.

Paul Norris played harmonica and provided backing vocals on the title track; the earthy tone of the harmonica providing a “bluesy” feel to the song.

The EP was laid down at the Queensland Recording Studios off Little Roma Street in Brisbane city.  Doug Hills was the sound technician and initially thought the band was doing a demonstration tape.  He was surprised when Stirker had the songs pressed by EMI into an EP.  The EP was only a limited edition and those remaining are an historical collector’s item.

I have only seen (and owned) one issue in all my years of collecting vinyl.  In the event that you miss out on this particular copy, you may have to wait a very long time before this EP comes up for sale again.  So please keep in mind when placing your bids.  Good luck!

weblinks:

(1) “That Striped Sunlight Sound” Blog page - http://stripedsunlight.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/bent-elbows-st-lucia-road-ep.html

(2) “Wallaby Beat” Blog page - http://wallabybeat.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/the-bent-elbows-st-lucia-road-ep-emi.html

NB: Text appearing in Italics above was sourced from the “The Bent Elbows in Brisbane” webpage, contributed by original group member, Bruce Iliff - http://suite101.com/article/the-bent-elbows-in-brisbane-a47091

SIDE 1

1.          St. Lucia Road                       Writ: Tony Stirker - Matthew Baker

2.         Freeway Connection              Writ: Tony Stirker - Matthew Baker – Martin Melville

SIDE 2

3.         Scoring Sugar                       Writ: Tony Stirker - Matthew Baker

4.         Chip on the Shoulder Boy      Writ: Tony Stirker - Matthew Baker - Robert Russian

PERSONNEL

     Tony ‘Stirker’ Baker     lead vocals

     Matthew Baker            lead guitar

     Robert Russian             bass guitar

     Bruce Iliff                   keyboards

     Martin Melville            drums

Guest performer:

     Paul Norris                  harmonica, backing vocals (track 1 only)

Recorded at Queensland Recording Studios (off Little Roma Street) in Brisbane—Australia.

Produced by Doug Hills.  Engineered by Doug Hills & Peter Flynn.

Special thanks to Andy Nehl of 4ZZZ FM.

”POUR YOURSELVES IN, WITH THE BENT ELBOWS”.

GRADING to follow . . .

GRADING (also refer photos)

Cover:

front: VG++ to EX impressive shiny appearance: very light ring-wear (inner rim – very hard to see), very minor creasing (along spine & top seam), minimal scuffing (along bottom seam), minor surface rubbing, clear tape holding top of cover together (could possibly be removed, but I will leave that for others to try).

back: VG+ acceptable shiny appearance: light ring-wear (inner rim), minor creasing (along spine), moderate surface rubbing/wear, spot stains (along top & bottom seams).

Record:

visual: SUPERB glossy sheen—insignificant hairlines for the most part, tracks 1 & 3 also have minor blemishes at very beginning of each track (seen under strong light) (track 1: VG+ / track 3: VG++ / tracks 2 & 4: M-).  Also very minor warp which does not audibly affect play in any way.

audible: PUNCHY and VIBRANT SOUND despite some insignificant underlying surface noise (tracks 1 & 3: VG+ very light tick as stylus passes over – affects first 20 seconds of each side only, otherwise EX / tracks 2 & 4: EX).  DEFINITELY NO JUMPS OR SKIPS!

labels: HARDLY ANY SPINDLE WEAR, writing which has been blotted out with correction fluid (side 1).

GRADING DESCRIPTION

COVER

M:      Absolutely NEW—perhaps still in shrink-wrap.

M-:    Slightly less than MINT.

EX:    Very light wear and/or creasing—defects will be noted.

VG++: Slightly less than EXCELLENT.

VG+:   Slightly better than VERY GOOD.

VG:     Some ring-wear and other signs of aging are apparent—defects will be noted.

VG-:   Slightly less than VERY GOOD.

G:       More obvious ring-wear, seam-splits, stains etc—defects will be noted.

M=MINT, EX=EXCELLENT, VG=VERY GOOD, G=GOOD

NB: Brackets indicate the cover is between one grade and another—eg. VG+(+).

RECORD

M:      Absolutely NEW—perhaps still in shrink-wrap.

M-:    Slightly less than MINT.

EX:    Very light scuffs.  Record played infrequently, with little or no reduction in sound quality.

VG++: Slightly less than EXCELLENT.

VG+:   Slightly better than VERY GOOD.

VG:     Lightly scuffed/marked record, with acceptable sound quality—defects will be noted.

VG-:   Slightly less than VERY GOOD.

G:       More obvious scratches, with some deterioration in sound quality—defects will be noted.

M=MINT, EX=EXCELLENT, VG=VERY GOOD, G=GOOD

NB: Brackets indicate the record is between one grade and another—eg. VG+(+).

Shipping, payment details and returns policy

After close of Auction: (1) the total amount owing including postage and handling will be provided to the winning bidder; and (2) PAYMENT WILL BE EXPECTED WITHIN 4 DAYS.  If you feel that you need more time to make payment, please let me know up-front so that we can make another arrangement.  PLEASE DO NOT SEND PAYMENT UNTIL I FORWARD YOUR INVOICE.  IF YOU DO AND I ASK YOU TO MAKE AN ADDITIONAL PAYMENT FOR POSTAGE, PLEASE DO NOT BE OFFENDED.  Thank you!

All items over $AUD100 will require registration or insurance with a tracking number.  This is to be paid for by the successful bidder.  If you ask me to declare a lesser value than the item is actually worth, please be aware that you are limiting your compensation to that ‘declared value’ amount in the event of damage or loss.  This will only be done if you are fully prepared to accept that risk.

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For successful Australian bidders, I also accept: (1) direct deposit, (2) postal money order, or (3) personal/bank cheque—item/s will be sent after payment has cleared.

I offer a 100% money-back guarantee (excluding postage costs), if you are genuinely unhappy with the grading of an item.  The SAME item must be returned in the SAME condition, within one week of receipt.  Returns will not be accepted without prior consultation and approval.

Thanks for looking!  I am happy to answer any questions related to this item.