Thanks so much to Etta for the interview! I wrote about The Avocados many years ago, and then was even able to find a copy of their wonderful one and only 7″, but since then I never got to know any other details about the band. So I am very thankful to Etta, the vocalist of The Avocados, to answer all my questions and finally know a little more about this short-lived London band! If you are a fan of sweet and punky female fronted early 80s pop, this is a must-read!
++ Hi Etta! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Still making music?
You are welcome and thanks for being interested! I am very well and life is good here in Bath, Somerset. I don’t make music anymore, but often sing around the house. The nearest I come to making music is writing lyrics for children’s songs. I’ve written lots over the years ( I work in children’s publishing), but leave the musical part to people more talented than myself.
++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen at home while growing up?
My first memory of loving music is dancing with all my brothers and sisters while my dad played (or mimed playing) to our pianola (an old Victorian device that played a piano automatically when you pedalled – the music was punched out on great rolls of paper. My favourite song for this was The Sun Has Got His Hat On – I was around two years old. I learned the piano for a while when I was around seven, but lacked the concentration and was not very good at it. My voice has always been my instrument. At home, I listened to all sorts of things: my dad’s old jazz 78s (Fats Waller was a favourite and Scott Joplin), my older brother’s records (Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, David Bowie) and my sister’s (Simon and Garfunkel, The Beatles, Don Mclean, Jon Denver). The first single I ever bought was Wig Wam Bam by The Sweet. As I got older, I loved The Buzzcocks, Elvis Costello, The Jam, The Clash, Gang of Four, The Fall and loads of post punk type stuff. I also like girl groups and was thrilled to discover Dolly Mixture with their new wave take on The Shangri-Las. I also listened to Dusty Springfield and lots of other female vocalists and developed a love of jazz, listening to Ella Fitzgerald (who I was lucky enough to see live) , Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Nina Simone. So very eclectic tastes!
++ Had you been in other bands before The Avocados? What about the rest of the members? If so, how did all of these bands sound like? Are there any recordings?
I should explain that The Avocados was never really a band – we formed just for that one single. It was a spin-off from a band called The 49 Americans https://www.discogs.com/
++ Where were you from originally?
I am from North London, near Camden Town.
++ How was your town at the time of The Avocados? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?
Camden Town was where it was all happening! I used to go to The Dublin Castle every Friday night and see this new little band playing in a pub – Madness! Other venues were the Hope and Anchor in Islington, The Music Machine and Electric Ballroom in Camden and, of course, Dingwalls. There was always something going on. Being a fan of Dolly Mixture, I stumbled across U2 playing their first gig in England in The Moonlight Club (at a pub in West Hampstead) – they were the support act. My favourite record store was called Honky Tonk and was nearby in Kentish Town. Camden Lock was also a great place to find music. The 49 Americans used to hang out at The LMC (London Musicians Collective) where there was always something new and experimental happening.
++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?
We practised at people houses – my parents house and various places.
++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?
Growing up in the 1960s and 70s, Avocados were an unusual thing (hard to imagine now) and I had recently discovered them and thought them the most delicious thing in the world. So we named the band after them!
++ And who would you say were influences in the sound of the band? You were telling me you were huge fans of Dolly Mixture then?
We wanted The Avocados to have a naive, poppy sound (not too hard for the sixteen-year-old me). I loved Dolly Mixture because they combined girl group Motown sound with a punky edge and I guess that’s what I had in mind. Else’s unique drum sound gave the song a quirky edge that I loved.
++ The 7″ was released by Choo Choo Train Records. I was wondering who were they? Who was behind this label? Was it yourselves?
Choo Choo Train Records was set up by Andrew Brenner (known as Giblet) – he was the brains behind it all!
++ I was also wondering about the artwork of the 7″, who made it? And why the shrimps on it? I understand the half avocado of course!
At the time, I was working at Marvel Comics (UK) and I was surrounded by lovely, creative people. The artist and designer was my friend, Rahid Khan. He drew the image and designed the cover. I loved eating avocado and prawns and Rahid thought it would be funny if the band were all prawn characters. I am he one sitting in the Avocado.
++ I really like the song “I Never Knew”, was wondering if you could tell me the story behind this wonderful pop song?
I wrote this when I was fifteen. It reflects my teenage insecurities – I never really believed that anyone could love someone as monstrous as me and so didn’t trust anyone who said they did. It’s the old Groucho Marx thing of not wanting to belong to any club that would have me as a member. I wrote the song in a more lucid moment when I thought perhaps somebody had loved me after all – but it was too late by then, hence the lament!
++ If you were to choose your favorite Avocados song, which one would that be and why?
There were only two (the a and b sides) and I like them both, but I Never Knew means more to me. John Peel once played the b side!
++ Are there more recordings by the band? Any unreleased tracks?
No, nothing more.
++ What about gigs? Did you play many?
No gigs at all.
++ When and why did The Avocados stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?
After The 49 Americans and The Avocados, I started to sing more jazz and sand in a band called Take It! Mostly though, I concentrated on my career in children’s media and being a mother (from the age of 22).
++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?
As mentioned above, Steve Beresford and David Toop continued making music and Oisin was in Push and then The Weather Profits.
++ Has there ever been a reunion? Or talks of playing again together?
No. There was a reunion of The 49 Americans a few years ago, but sadly, I was not invited to it. I have lost touch with most people.
++ Did you get much attention from the radio?
John Peel played the single once or twice.
++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?
I think it was reviewed in the music press, but I don’t remember too clearly – it was a long time ago!
++ What about from fanzines?
I can’t remember!
++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?
It was very good fun – I just remember really enjoying the whole experience.
++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?
I don’t have too many hobbies, but have always worked in children’s publishing and television – something I still love doing. I have a lovely husband and three wonderful sons who are all musical in their own ways.
++ Anything else you’d like to add?
Music is for everyone and everyone should find the music in themselves. In the words of Mama Cass: ‘But you’ve gotta make your own kind of music, Sing your own special song, Make your own kind of music, Even if nobody else sings along.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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Listen
The Avocados – I Never Knew
