POOKAH MAKES THREE - Collection (1984-1985)

Country:
UK
Genre:
Electronic, Pop
Style:
Synth-pop, Pop Rock

Members:
Martyn Watson And Mallett (according to some sources also written as Martin Allett and Martin Hallett) - Drums

VIDEO:
"Take It Back"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKzx8LRqFT0

"Lucky Lucky Lucky"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJZ6CqLEJhc

Credits:
Producer - Tony Visconti (http://www.tonyvisconti.com/) (tracks 01, 02), The Pookah & Steve Power (tracks 03) , The Pookah (track 04),
Brian Tench (http://www.myspace.com/briantench) (track 05),
Steve Power (http://www.stevepowermix.co.uk/) (track 06),
Remix - Michael H. Brauer (http://www.mbrauer.com/) (track 03), Teri Reed & The Pookah (track 04), Steve Forward (http://www.myspace.com/httpwwwmyspacecomsteveforward)(track 06) Peter Care (tracks 08,09)

Notes:
Tracks 01, 02 are from "Lucky Lucky Lucky" 7" (1984)
Tracks 03, 04 are from "Take It Back" 7" (1984)
Tracks 05, 06, 11 are from "Love Can't Be Far" 12" (1985)
Track 07 is from "va-Debut LP Magazine - Issue 08/09" (1984)
Tracks 08, 09 are from ??? (1985)
Tracks 10, 13 are from "Take It Back" 12" (1984)
Track 12 is from "Lucky Lucky Lucky" 12" (1984)

Tracklist:

01 Lucky Lucky Lucky
02 Fanfare For A Cowboy
03 Take It Back
04 I Can Do Anything
05 Love Can't Be Far
06 Who In The World
07 Time After Time
08 Waving The Flame
09 This Is
10 Take It Back (Extended Version)
11 Love Can't Be Far (Extended Version)
12 Lucky Lucky Lucky (Version)
13 I Can Do Anything (Extended Version)

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/326549473/pookah_makes_3_-_the_collection__1984-1985_.rar
There are only very few review -all short and positive like "they are wonderful" etc.- about their songs. Fans like especially "Lucky Lucky Lucky" and "Take It Back", but if you wonder my opinion they have some more good songs (tracks 06-09) too. The style is a kind of happy synthpop, pop like...but i don't wanna compare them to other bands, instead, i wonder which band(s) do you think remind me of their music?:)

Biography:
Pookah Makes Three were an electronic pop music group from the United Kingdom in the 1980s. The members were Martyn Watson and Mallett. The band's name references a fairy in Celtic folklore, the Púca. In their short lifetime, they released three singles and a 12" version of "Take It Back".
In 1981, before they founding Pookah, both played in Last Touch "a group whose hybrid vision of post-punk neuroses and pre-punk dynamics". Aptly named drummer Mallett and vocalist Martyn Watson, meanwhile, first met at college, before Watson joined Andy Bennie in the Wendy Tunes. After Last Touch split "the remaining duo of Mallett and Watson were gigging as the Pookah Makes Three, and signing to Virgin's Ten subsidiary."
(http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=LASTTOUCH&sql=11:j9fqxqu5ldfe~T1)

They released onlyfew singles. One of them, "Take It Back" was a minor hit in the UK and Australia, where it hit #33, with the B-Side "I Can Do Anything".(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pookah_Makes_Three)

Martyn Watson later joined Twelfth Night (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Night_(band)) on bass and vocals:

"four tracks recorded in February 1987 featuring Martyn Watson who sang with the band for the last few months of their existence. Martyn also contributed bass after Clive Mitten left and these are the only tracks the band ever recorded without Clive."
(http://www.dprp.net/reviews/200738.php)

SINGLES:
"Lucky Lucky Lucky" (1984)
"Take It Back" (1984)
"Love Can't Be Far" (1985)



MARTIN ALLETT

played in The Wendy Tunes (http://books.google.com/books?id=sIWzUrpE1wUC&pg=PA86&lpg=PA86&dq=MARTIN+ALLETT+wendy+tunes&source=bl&ots=1fKJXwJzII&sig=xH0HrMwy8CYOJw7xMTCDNMM_OSg&hl=hu&ei=g_U3S43hLZOUnwOpoOn9Bg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=MARTIN%20ALLETT%20wendy%20tunes&f=false),
in Raw Deal (1975-1978) (http://www.myspace.com/rawdealpeople),
in The Newmatics (1978-??) (http://www.myspace.com/thenewmatics),
in The Last Touch (around 1981)
and he also was the concert drummer for Transvision Vamp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transvision_Vamp) between 1989-1992 . You can read more about it here: http://www.itm-ed.de/tvamp/band/jazzmallettpol.html

Since then, whereabouts unknown. Martin, if you see this please tell us some about you!

MARTYN WATSON
Talent-Spotter Martyn has worked in the music industry for three decades.
In that time has worked many artists including Matthew Jay, David Bowie, Patti Smith, Lisa Stansfield and the Divinyls.
Martyn began life working for American record label Arista and realised that his knowledge of the industry from the inside, joined with his life as a performer himself, meant he could successfully adopt a management role.
Combining the two areas led him to work for electronic label Advanced Records and gave him the experience to lecture to students at various universities on the music industry.(http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/content/articles/2009/09/07/martyn_watson_feature.shtml)
Martyn Watson's been a teen mag pin-up, pioneer of ambient music and worked with Simon Cowell. For a county that can boast a healthy list of up and coming bands and solo artists, Nottinghamshire's lasting musical legacy to the outside world still revolves around Alvin Stardust and Paper Lace. But if My Coo Ca Choo and Billy Don't Be A Hero are the songs that are, occasionally, heard on the radio it shouldn't be forgotten that there are plenty of other Nottinghamians who've made a lasting contribution to the music world.

Early days

Step forward Martyn Watson. From punk the teen chart fame to ambient king to talent spotter, the Nottingham musician has experienced plenty of highs and lows.
It was the Beatles that first hooked Martyn...that and the sound of a train engine! Even at an early age he was recording the sounds that would soon become the staple diet of ambient samplers up and down the country.

Pop celebrity

He's been the front page star of teen magazines, produced musicians while living in Paris and discovered Nottingham singer / songwriter Matthew Jay, whose career was cut tragically short. He also came close to making a record with psychologist RD Laing.
As part of International Peoples Gang he's still very much part of the music scene, having just released Action Painting, an album described by himself as combining warm, organic dub soundscapes with classical elements, shades of folk, fuzzed out guitars and digital manipulation of language.
It's a long way from the days he was one of the first two punks in Nottingham!

Read more and listen to an excellent interview with Martyn here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/content/articles/2006/06/06/martyn_watson_interview_feature.shtml

He guested in Tyla Band (1980), played with The Skyscrapers (1981, see: http://saltyka.blogspot.com/2009/10/skyscrapers-mad-hatters-and-autumn-rain.html), with Joan Jett (1981), in Last Touch - Ladies Of Grey (1981), in Twelfth Night (1987) (http://www.twelfthnight.info/history/chapter4.php and http://www.twelfthnight.info/nightmoves/nm.php?nm=28)

and currently (since 1992) plays with International Peoples Gang (http://www.emit.cc/artist/ipg and http://www.myspace.com/internationalpeoplesgang).
It is a fine Nottingham based electronic duo he formed with Ric Peet. Visit their page, the music is really good!


More info of Martyn Watson:
http://www.myspace.com/internationalpeoplesgang

http://www.bigchill.net/news/2006/06/international-peoples-gang-0006em-t/

http://www.facebook.com/MWIPG

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:0zfrxqtgld0e~T4