SONG OF THE DAY The Ghetto Berries – Spunky Express

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Following on from yesterdays Spunky Onions track, I couldn’t resist featuring the b-side to their one and only 45, released in 1979 on indie label, Templebeat Records

Spunky Onions formed in London late 1976 and although they had many different names including The Russians, The New Bastards, and The Ten Sausages, it was essentially Mat Ducasse 9Matthew James Duguid) who himself explained, “We never could agree on a name and went through scores of them.”

The Ghetto Berries was yet another band name and was used on the flip-side to the Spunky Onions one and only single released on Templebeat Records in 1979.  Spunky Onions broke up quite early on, fragmenting into yet more bands and Mat Ducasse continues to write and perform music to this day in numerous projects.

The Ghetto Berries’ Spunky Express sounds has a classic Clash feel to it, but this sound goes beyond any generic punk sound as it funks into realms of its own with deep bass grooves and loose structured vocals howling out! It nestles into a sound of its own and I like that it’s quite ‘out-there’.  Check it out above.

In 2015 the Glasgow based label Optimo Music released the compilation [Cease & Desist] DIY (Cult Classics From The Post-Punk Era 1978-82) which features (mostly) 7″ singles recorded in the UK between 1978 and 1982 that “showcase the DIY spirit of those times” and included Spunky Onions’ ‘How I Lost My Virginity.’