The Dancing Did -

The Dancing Did was an English art-punk band that issued two singles on Fruit & Veg Records in 1979/80, followed by a 1981 standalone single on Stiff. Their singular album, And Did Those Feet, appeared in 1982 on Kamera Records with two accompanying singles.

Members: Tim Harrison (vocals), Martyn Dormer (guitar, synthesiser, vocals), Ollie Harrison (drums, 1979-?), Chris Houghton (drums), Peter Barry (drums), Dick Crazies [Mick Davies] (bass), Stuart Dyke (bass, ?-1981), John Wallin (bass, 1981), Roger Smith (bass, 1981-83)

Background

The Dancing Did formed in 1979 in Evesham, Worcestershire, when vocalist Tim Harrison enlisted school friend and guitarist Martyn Dormer. Tim Harrison’s brother Ollie Harrison played drums with The Photos and joined the project for its first two self-financed singles. The band name derived from “didicoi,” a term tied to Romani people.

A local support slot with The Photos drew Harrison toward regular live work, and Dormer recruited drummer Chris Houghton for the stage band. Bassist Mick Davies, also credited as Dick Crazies, joined before Stuart Dyke entered on bass. Dyke appeared on a Chainsaw fanzine flexi-disc recording of “The Rhythm Section Sticks Together” and died in a 1981 car crash. Peter Barry held a drum credit within the pre-album roster, and John Wallin held a brief 1981 bass role before Roger Smith.

Pre-album singles

In November 1979, The Dancing Did debuted with their theme song, “The Dancing Did” (b/w “Lorry Pirates”), both Harrison–Dormer numbers produced by ex-Rumour keyboardist Bob Andrews. The single appeared with a picture sleeve and lyric-sheet insert on Fruit & Veg, a division of Rough Trade.

“The Dancing Did” jostles through eccentric theatrical singing and a traveller-euphemism chorus.

A. “The Dancing Did” (3:09)
B. “Lorry Pirates” (4:08)

The back-sleeve states: “Now some may call him Ragamuffin, Rambler, Alley Sloper, Vagrant, Scatterling, Ne’er Do Well, Vagabond, Landloer, Stroller, Wanderer, Rover, Scruffy ‘Erbert, Vicious Sid, But folks round here just know his As The Dancing Did.”

Fruit & Veg followed during 1980 with “The Haunted Tea Rooms” (b/w “Squashed Things on the Road”), another Harrison–Dormer seven-inch.

THIS SIDE. “Haunted Tea Rooms” (3:01)
THAT SIDE. “Squashed Things” (3:46)

Stiff issued “The Lost Platoon” on December 18, 1981 (b/w “The Human Chicken”) as BUY 136. Bob Andrews produced both sides. “The Lost Platoon” marches through militaristic rhythm and deadpan exhaustion, with repeated death-wish phrasing undercut by homesick retreat.

A. “The Lost Platoon” (2:48)
B. “The Human Chicken” (2:16)

Kamera issued “The Green Man and the March of the Bungalows” on May 21, 1982 (b/w “A Fruit Picking Fantasy (The Time Bo Diddley Nearly Came to Evesham)”), with group production and catalogue number ERA 008.

A. “The Green Man and the March of the Bungalows” (3:56)
B. “A Fruit Picking Fantasy (The Time Bo Diddley Nearly Came to Evesham)” (2:52)

“The Green Man and the March of the Bungalows” rumbles through live-impact pogo rhythm and countryside-loss satire, with bungalow sprawl reduced to sour village complaint. “A Fruit Picking Fantasy (The Time Bo Diddley Came to Evesham)” stomps through a mossy Bo Diddley-derived rhythm.

And Did Those Feet

The Dancing Did released their singular album, And Did Those Feet, in November 1982 on Kamera.

The album contains ten Dormer compositions with lyrics by Harrison, performed with the Smith/Houghton rhythm section. They pit half-sung text against clipped guitars and dry percussive accents with spare synth tones and lyrics about Worcestershire animals, roadkill, school authority, village architecture, and the River Avon.

And Did Those Feet clatters through minimal instrumentation, dark rural humour, and hypnotic hard-lined rhythms. “Squashed Things” rasps through lorry-like guitar and soft, squelchy beat. “The Lost Platoon” marches through militaristic rhythm and deadpan exhaustion. “The Headmaster and the Fly” ends in a buzzing figure. “Wolves of Worcestershire” intones archaic theatrical imagery.

A1. “Wolves of Worcestershire” (5:15)
A2. “The Rhythm Section Sticks Together” (1:47)
A3. “On the Roofs” (3:39)
A4. “Squashed Things” (3:47)
A5. “The Headmaster and the Fly” (3:43)

B1. “Ballad of a Dying Sigh” (4:39)
B2. “Charnel Boy” (3:56)
B3. “Badger Boys” (3:58)
B4. “The Dancing Did” (3:39)
B5. “Within the Green Green Avon O” (3:12)

Sessions occurred at Millstream Studios in Cheltenham, where The Dancing Did co-produced the album with engineer Mick Dolan. And Did Those Feet appeared in a sepia sleeve whose front image shows a church, trees, gravestones, a cloudy moon, and a lower title nameplate.

Kamera issued “Badger Boys” on November 26, 1982 (b/w “The World’s Gonna End in Cheltenham”). The Dancing Did produced both sides for the French-pressed UK single. And Did Those Feet reached No. 25 on the UK Independent Chart.

Cherry Red reissued And Did Those Feet during 2007 as CDM RED 320, with single sides and Cheltenham College live recordings.

Postlude

After the 1983 split, Dormer joined former roadie Bod in The Big Beat Band, a Cotswolds act booked for balls and country-house parties. Smith studied farming and played with Rhythm Oil, then Underneath. Harrison moved into magazine design at Punch, Chat, and Q. Houghton resumed band work in the mid-nineties with The Bassetts.

Discography:

“The Dancing Did” / “Lorry Pirates” (1979)
“The Haunted Tea Rooms” / “Squashed Things on the Road” (1980)
“The Lost Platoon” / “The Human Chicken” (1981)
“Badger Boys” / “The World’s Gonna End in Cheltenham (1982)
“The Green Man and the March of the Bungalows” / “A Fruit Picking Fantasy (The Time Bo Diddley Came to Evesham)” (1982)
And Did Those Feet (1982)