Double J and Twice the T: Mod Rap (1989)

 |   |  <1 min read

Double J and Twice the T: Mod Rap (1989)

While going through a pile of old New Zealand singles I chanced on this. They may not have been gangstas or even remotely hard, but if you check the clip below their hearts were in the right place.

But for this they pulled together Ray Columbus and the Invader's She's a Mod hit from '65 with rap and beatbox, and it wasn't as bad as some at the time said. The haters (did we have them then?) were just being too cool for school.

Interesting though that the rap is written out on the back of the picture sleeve and it is credited to M. Chunn, and that would be the same Mike Chunn from Split Enz and Citizen Band (incidentally the latter covered I Feel Good which had been a Sixties hit for Larry's Rebels) and this was on the Definitiv label (which I seem to recall being told was owned/part-owned by Neil Finn, I can be called out on that though).

Recorded at Stebbings by Chunn and Steve Smith, with thanks to Simon Grigg, Greg Clark, Rikki Morris and Tony Nogotautama, there's a lot of New Zealand musical history distilled here.

And it's about mum rocking along to the Mod Nod of Ray and the band at the Bali Hi.

Lotta fun. 

 

For more oddities, one-offs or songs with an interesting backstory check the massive back-catalogue at From the Vaults.

 

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   From the Vaults articles index

Wee Willie Walker: There Goes My Used to Be (1967)

Wee Willie Walker: There Goes My Used to Be (1967)

By the time Wee Willie Walker – who stands not too far over five foot in his bare feet – recorded this soul classic for the Goldwax label in Memphis the days of the great soul singers... > Read more

Gene McDaniels: Tower of Strength (1961)

Gene McDaniels: Tower of Strength (1961)

When Nick Lowe sang this oldie in concert at the Powerstation (see review here), it's a fair bet many in the audience either didn't recognise it, or hadn't heard it in over four decades. Lowe's... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

Unity Pacific: Into the Dread (Moving Productions/EMI)

Unity Pacific: Into the Dread (Moving Productions/EMI)

When the documentary about the life of Unity Pacific's singer-songwriter Tigi Ness made it to the small screen on Maori TV and the Film Festival many in the country had their introduction to a... > Read more

BOB GRUEN PHOTOGRAPHER, INTERVIEWED (1998): The man who shot John Lennon, many times

BOB GRUEN PHOTOGRAPHER, INTERVIEWED (1998): The man who shot John Lennon, many times

Photographer Bob Gruen is affable and chatty but clearly on autopilot. His stories, good though they are, are worn smooth by repetition. But to his credit he repeats them with enthusiasm... > Read more