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1.) He met his very mysterious death in July of 1966, but not before scoring with a Buddy Holly sound alike song. Who was he and what was his biggest hit?
2.) On February 8, 1990, Charles Westover shot himself in the head with a 22 caliber rifle. His wife thought his death was related to his use of Prozac. Who was Charles Westover?3.) They were members of the same band. Both died in similar accidents, about a block apart and about a year apart. Who were they and to what band did they belong?View the "comments" section for answers.
For years when I’ve gone hunting for used records I would always come across this one 12” (in the hip-hop section most often) that had bloodied smiley-face artwork and an ambiguous title scrawled in red graffiti style lettering. The first time I remember finding it I thought that the imagery was intended as a jab at “acid house” culture so it peaked my interest a little, but not enough to bite. From that point I started to subconsciously take notice of how often I would come across it, but I was typically too lazy to pursue, and would usually just thumb right passed.
Recently when I was fortunate enough to find it again I decided to finally check it out and feed my curiosity after all of these years. To my surprise not only did it end up being a solid listen, but also (with some research) apparently a classic “house” record and one of the first songs to introduce sampling into the mainstream charts, alongside such acts as M/A/R/R/S and others.
Bomb The Bass is a moniker used by Tim Simenon, a producer and DJ who started his career during the late 80s at the Wag Club in London, a local fixture that also birthed Jonathan More of Coldcut fame. He spent time in college studying music production and applied this basic knowledge coupled with his DJ experience to produce his first record "Beat Dis". The sample-oriented track blended hip-hop and funk sounds from the likes of the Jimmy Castor Bunch, with clips from “Thunderbirds” and “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” soundtracks.
From the surprise popularity of the “Beat Dis” record, Simenon went on to produce three more singles (a couple of which being “Megablast” and “Don’t Make Me Wait”) that appeared on the rushed debut album “Into The Dragon.“ Together with releasing that record, Simenon also collaborated with veteran musician John Foxx on a project called Nation 12 that enjoyed marginal success in the United Kingdom.
Following that album Simenon hit a troubled period as he was commissioned for remix and production work for super model Naomi Campbell’s thankfully abandoned pop career. Despite that blemish Simenon still went on to become a successful producer, working with such acts as Depeche Mode, U2, David Bowie, Seal, Bjork, Sinéad O'Connor, Curve and even the likes of Consolidated. On his next two albums “Unknown Territory” and the William Burroughs inspired “Clear” that featured a grocery list of contributors, it was later dubbed that he had pioneered the (reluctantly mentioned) “genre” of “trip hop”.
Bomb The Bass went through a change in sound during the early 90s to follow and began to incorporate loud rock guitars until becoming unofficially inactive. After relocating to Amsterdam, starting his Electric Tone label and focusing on other projects Simenon also eventually went on to collaborate with Jack Dangers of Meat Beat Manifesto fame on 2001’s “Tracks”. Although Simenon had kept Bomb The Bass dormant for years recording under the moniker “Flow Creator” instead, in 2006 he announced that a new record had been completed, however a tentative release has still not been determined.
Basics:
Bomb The Bass - Beat Dis 12” Single - 1988
33 1/3 rpm
114 BPM
A Side
Extended Dis (6:02)
Bonus Beats (5:30)
B Side
Dub Dis (5:09)
- It’s first release on the Mister-Ron label was minimally packaged to disguise itself as a white label US import out of NYC. It was later reissued shortly thereafter (with a pictured sleeve as shown above) on Rhythm King and then hit number two on the UK charts.
- The bloodied smiley-face artwork, borrowed from the Watchmen comic books, and influenced much of the imagery surrounding the 'acid house' and 'rave' scenes.
- The record supposedly cost £500 to make, in between Simenon's then work at a supermarket and as a DJ.
- The song also appeared on the full length "Into The Dragon".
Bomb The Bass / Tim Simenon Discography
1.) He met his very mysterious death in July of 1966, but not before scoring with a Buddy Holly sound alike song. Who was he and what was his biggest hit?
