The Korgis -

The Korgis were an English pop-rock band that charted with “If I Had You,” “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime,” and “If It’s Alright with You Baby.” Between 1979 and 1981, they released three albums: The Korgis, Dumb Waiters, and Sticky George.

They formed as the duo of Stackridge veterans James Warren and Andy Davis, backed by assorted sidemen, including Shortwaveband’s Stuart Gordon and Phil Harrison.

Members: James Warren (vocals, bass), Andy Davis (vocals, guitarist, keyboardist, drums), Stuart Gordon (violin), Phil Harrison (keyboards)

Background

The Korgis formed in 1978 when bassist James Warren and multi-instrumentalist Andy Cresswell-Davis regrouped after the breakup of their prior band, Stackridge.

Davis (b. August 10, 1949) founded Stackridge in 1969 in Bristol. Between 1971 and 1976, the band released five studio albums and gained a dedicated cult following with their theatrical shows and music-hall style songs. Warren (b. August 25, 1951) played on the first three Stackridge albums (Stackridge, Friendliness, and The Man in the Bowler), but left after their 1975 label switch.

With Korgis, Davis and Warren bridged their long-standing Beatles/Kinks influences with the current new wave pop of Elvis Costello and Squeeze. Their name was a Kinksian spin on corgi, a small Welsh dog breed.

The Korgis signed with Rialto, a new London indie founded by brothers Nick and Tim Heath, the former managers of Pilot. Davis and Warren assembled a backing band with drummer Bill Birks and the nucleus of Shortwaveband: violinist Stuart Gordon (ex-Neutrons) and keyboardist Phil Harrison.

On February 16, 1979, Rialto launched with the debut Korgis single: “Young ‘N’ Russian,” a Warren/Davis song third-credited to one Jakki Ridlington; backed with Warren’s “Cold Tea.”

On May 18, Korgis released a maxi-single comprised of three Davis originals: “If I Had You,” a ballad backed with “Chinese Girl” and “Art School Annex,” both quirky numbers. Davis based “If I Had You” (the first completed Korgis song) on Variation 18 of Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, a 1934 concertante work by Russian Romantic composer Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943).

The Korgis

The Korgis released their self-titled debut album on July 1, 1979, on Rialto. It gathers the five songs from their prior singles with five new tracks.

Side A spotlights Andy Davis material: “I Just Can’t Help It” and the pre-released “Young ‘n’ Russian,” “Chinese Girl,” and “Art School Annexe,” plus the James Warren co-write “Boots and Shoes.”

Side B contains “If I Had You” and four Warren numbers, including “Cold Tea” and “Dirty Postcards,” a piano-thumping tune reminiscent of Stackridge.

The Korgis features Davis on drums, keyboards, and mandolin; doubled respectively by Bill Burks, Phil Harrison, and Stuart Gordon. Additional guests include drummer Al Powell (Chicken Shack, Vinegar Joe, Hawkwind), harpist Keith Warmington (a longtime Dave Evans, Steve Tilston sideman), and teenage keyboardist Alan Wilder, who later joined Depeche Mode.

A1. “Young ‘n’ Russian” (3:12)
A2. “I Just Can’t Help It” (3:43)
A3. “Chinese Girl” (2:19)
A4. “Art School Annexe” (3:37)
A5. “Boots and Shoes” (4:32)

B1. “Dirty Postcards” (4:45)
B2. “O Maxine” (2:39)
B3 .”Mount Everest Sings the Blues” (2:32)
B4. “Cold Tea” (4:26)
B5. “If I Had You” (3:55)

Davis and Warren self-produced the album between late 1978 and early 1979 at Crescent Studios, situated in the Camden Crescent, Bath, residence of David Lord, who co-engineered The Korgis in sequence with titles by the Glaxo Babies and former String Driven Thing singer Kim Beacon. At Crescent, Davis also produced a Rialto a-side by Europeans, a Bristol synth-punk quartet with (future Specimen, Banshees) guitarist Jon Klein.

For the album cover and corresponding sleeves, Davis and Warren posed in trademark goggles, blazers, and ties for Martyn Goddard, whose photography also graces 1978/79 sleeves for Blondie, Chris Rainbow, The Cure, The Jam, Real Thing, and Trevor Rabin.

The Korgis features graphics by Julian Balme (One Step Beyond…) and George Rowbottom (Squeezing Out Sparks). The name appears in three-tone Memphis-style letters in most territories apart from the US, where Warner Bros. issued The Korgis with the name in serif font on an otherwise identical cover.

Warren let his long yellow tie dangle ajar for the five-man Korgis’ July 5, 1979, appearance on Top of the Pops, which thrice aired “If I Had You” amid summer hits by Gary Numan + Tubeway Army (“Are ‘Friends’ Electric?”), Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (“Don’t Kill It Carol”), The Pretenders (“Kid”), The Ruts (“Babylon’s Burning”), Sparks (“Beat the Clock”), and The Specials (“Gangsters”). “If I Had You” reached No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart.

In October, Rialto reissued “Young ‘n’ Russian,” this time backed with “Mount Everest Sings the Blues.” The Korgis don detective garb in the “Young ‘n’ Russian” video, where Davis makes a shady booth call to silhouette in a nearby window, then heads down an alley as Warren tails him by vehicle.

In January 1980, Korgis issued a remixed version of “I Just Can’t Help It” as their third single (b/w “O Maxine”).

Dumb Waiters

The Korgis released their second album, Dumb Waiters, in July 1980 on Rialto.

Dumb Waiters contains their international breakthrough hit “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime” and the followup “If It’s Alright With You Baby,” both ballads by James Warren, who composed six of the album’s tracks, including “Silent Running” and the upbeat title track, issued as the third single.

Andy Davis submitted two songs per side: “Love Ain’t Too Far Away,” “Perfect Hostess,” “Intimate,” and the sprinting “Rover’s Return,” later lifted for a 1980 Christmas single.

Warren handles bass and all lead vocals. He shares electric guitar and keyboards with Davis, who performed all the drum parts but left between the album’s completion and release. The back cover pictures Korgis as a trio composed of Warren, keyboardist Phil Harrison, and violinist Stuart Gordon, who also plays acoustic guitar.

Dumb Waiters features passages with the Bechstein Grand piano and eight distinct synthesizers, including models by ARP (Omni, Solina), Korg (M500 Micro-Preset), Moog (Polymoog), Yamaha (CS organ), and recent innovations like the programmable Prophet Sequential Circuit 5, the newly released Fairlight CMI sampler workstation, and the short-lived Wasp Synthesizer, a distinct yellow/black unit noted for its ‘buzz’ sounds.

A1. “Silent Running” (3:05)
A2. “Love Ain’t Too Far Away” (3:29)
A3. “Perfect Hostess” (3:21)
A4. “Drawn and Quartered” (3:20)
A5. “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime” (4:24)

B1. “Intimate” (3:08)
B2. “It’s No Good Unless You Love Me” (3:24)
B3. “Dumb Waiters” (2:42)
B4. “If It’s Alright With You Baby” (4:06)
B5. “Rover’s Return” (3:34)

Sessions spanned October 1979 through March 1980 at Crescent Studios, where Fairlight salesperson Stephen Paine (a cousin of Peter Gabriel) demonstrated the instrument for Korgis. David Lord co-produced and engineered Dumb Waiters in sequence with Crescent recordings by Glaxo Babies (Nine Months to the Disco) and Peter Hammill (A Black Box).

Dumb Waiters and its followup feature cover art by Leeds College of Art graduate Jeffery Edwards, whose painting (a visual pun on the album title) depicts a dunce cap used to hold up the door on a faulty dumbwaiter (hence a ‘dumb’ cap for a ‘dumb’ dumbwaiter.) The back cover shows the trio lineup against a paint-splattered background, photographed by Tim Simmons (Roll-Ups, Walkie Talkies).

On April 11, “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime” appeared as an advance single, backed with the earlier “Dirty Postcards.” Rialto housed this and the following single in sleeves with images culled from Fifties catalogs. In the video, a party clears from a flooded pavilion in a lunar-lit gray space, where the three-man Korgis perform with somber expressions. Gordon mimes the violin solo on an elevated beam surrounded by cats.

“Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime” reached No. 5 in Ireland and on the UK Singles Chart. In Europe, the song reached No. 1 in France, No. 6 in Switzerland, and No. 11 in the Netherlands. The song also reached No. 11 in Australia, No. 12 in New Zealand, and made a surprise showing in the US, where it peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In July, “If It’s Alright with You Baby” became the second single (b/w “Love Ain’t Too Far Away”) and peaked just outside the UK Top 50. In October, Rialto lifted the song “Dumb Waiters” as the album’s third single (b/w “Perfect Hostess”).

In December, the dog-themed instrumental “Rovers Return” reappeared on a Korgis yuletide single, “Wish You a Merry Christmas,” issued in picture sleeve with three corgis beside a Christmas tree.

Sticky George

The Korgis released their third album, Sticky George, on July 10, 1981, on Rialto. Musically, it continues the prior album’s mix of airy balladry and quirky upbeat numbers. James Warren leads a revised trio lineup with Phil Harrison and Stuart Gordon.

Warren lone wrote “Can’t We Be Friends Now” and the bulk of Side B. Harrison submitted one number (“Foolishness of Love”) and co-wrote “Sticky George” and “Domestic Bliss.”

Despite the absence of Andy Davis, the ex-Korgi co-wrote “That Was My Big Mistake,” “Nowhere to Run,” and “All the Love in the World,” a ballad covered by Manhattan Transfer singer Janice Siegel on her 1982 debut solo album, Experiment in White.

Sticky George features Warren on bass and piano, backed by Gordon on guitar, banjo, violin, and percussion. Harrison plays the Bechstein and Yahamaha electric grand pianos, plus three synth models: the Synclavier Ii Cm1, the Prophet 5, and the CS80.

American session drummer Jerry Marotta (Gabriel, Robert Fripp, Hall & Oates) guests on eight tracks. “Contraband” has a five-piece wind section with flute by Steve Buck of the Tears for Fears precursor Graduate. The two side-closers feature vocal backing by ‘The Korgettes,’ identified as Sheena Power and Jo Mullet.

A1. “Sticky George” (3:36)
A2. “Can’t We Be Friends Now” (4:01)
A3. “Foolishness of Love” (3:31)
A4. “Domestic Bliss” (3:15)
A5. “That Was My Big Mistake” (4:37)

B1. “Nowhere to Run” (4:15)
B2. “Contraband” (3:18)
B3. “All the Love in the World” (4:12)
B4. “Don’t Say That It’s Over” (2:50)
B5. “Living on the Rocks” (3:32)

Sessions spanned December 1980 through February 1981 at Crescent Studios, where David Lord co-produced and engineered Sticky George in sequence with Peter Hammill’s tenth solo album, Sitting Targets.

Jeffrey Edwards’ cover painting depicts a dropped barbell and the blunt of its impact on a hardwood floor. The back cover shows a startled Warren as he passes through the doorway in an apparent act of mischief, as captured by Peter Ashworth, whose photography also graces 1981 sleeves for Cuban Heels, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Scars, Soft Cell, and Visage.

“That Was My Big Mistake” (Edit) – 4:01 / “Can’t We Be Friends Now” (‘James Warren & The Korgis’, Rialto TREB 134, April 1981)

“All The Love In The World” (Edit) – 3:38 / “Intimate” (The Korgis, TREB 138, June 1981)