The Pukka Orchestra story is a saga containing elements of controversy, drama, and misfortune bordering on tragedy. Its central theme, however, centres on extraordinarily talented young artists making music for all the right reasons. That’s the spirit infusing this record, one that proudly stands amongst the finest encapsulations of the fertile Toronto music scene of the time. Not that the Pukka Orchestra CD should be viewed merely as some fascinating artifact. It’s no relic, but rather a completely original piece of work sounding as fresh and relevant now as upon its 1984 vinyl release. Graeme Williamson recently reminisced about the events leading to the formation of the Pukkas (their fans always used this affectionate abbreviation). “I met Neil and [trumpeter] Denis Akiyama back when Neil was a manager at [legendary Toronto music club] The Riverboat. We used together and play songs. After Denis moved into a big house, my girlfriend and I moved in too, and we all played music there. I met Tony through Neil and another friend, Gordon Phillips, who played percussion with us. We started to write songs together, and then decided to do a band. It basically grew out of friends that played music together.” Graeme laughingly admits “the idea of world domination did appeal to us, but forming the band and getting our first gigs was entirely down to having fun. I had no experience as a frontman before the band, but the people we had playing with us were such great musicians, and we all got on so well. It was a charge for everybody!” Word quickly spread on the Toronto club scene about this fresh, exciting new band, and Pukka Orchestra gigs at such venues as the grotty Grossman’s on Spadina and the bohemian Cameron House on Queen Street West soon drew an audience.
By the early ‘80s, the punk conflagration had died down, and local musicians had become more interested in exploring different styles and creating new sonic hybrids. In Toronto, the likes of Martha and the Muffins and The Parachute Club weren’t afraid to mix R&B or Caribbean elements into their sound, while folk and roots music were beginning to have an impact on the emerging sound of Queen Street. The Pukkas had found their ideal milieu. “Toronto was just a great place to play then,” reflects Graeme. “Everyone was extremely supportive, and there were a lot of very talented people there. I was constantly being stimulated by what other people were doing. It wasn’t exactly competition, but because some the other people playing around town were so good, you always felt you had to do well. People like Robert Priest, Gwen Swick (now in Quartette],, and Trudy Artman. Some of them didn’t get deals, but they were very talented people.” Pukka members often worked outside the band. Neil Chapman performed and recorded with Dan Hill, reggae star Leroy Sibbles and Nancy Simmonds, while keyboardist David McMorrow performed with Rough Trade. Unlike many of their peers, Pukka Orchestra did manage to record. Norm Corbett, a long-time friend of Neil’s, owned a studio, and the band soon took advantage of that and laid down their first songs. One of the tunes, the irresistibly catchy, slightly naughty “rubber girl” (reprised here) started scoring serious airplay on progressive local radio station CFNY-FM. Spirits buoyed, the Pukkas got down to writing and recording the songs that were to comprise their debut LP. Their fortuitous friendship with Corbett meant, as Graeme explains, that “we could record the large part of an album, and then we had something quite professional to show people. Because of that, we got a manager and it went from there. It was definitely a matter of luck that we go to make a record and other people didn’t, but we worked hard as well. It wasn’t just luck. I think we were good.” That’s quite the understatement. One of those hearing these early Pukka Orchestra songs on tape was local artist manager William “skinny” Tenn. He picks up the story. “Norm Corbett gave me this tape he was nuts about, and I was just knocked out by it. I took these songs to the States, and was just so surprised we couldn’t get a record deal there.” Sharing those sentiments was their music publisher, Frank Davies. “The biggest surprise to me of all was how hard it was to get them a deal. There was so much talent there, but I couldn’t get the majors to sign. Even with the buzz they had, you’d have thought the majors would have been jumping over themselves to sign them.” Davies singles out three key elements that made Pukka Orchestra such a great group. “There was musicianship. They were so together, and Neil Chapman has long been one of Canada’s best guitarists. Then there was Graeme’s voice. It was almost a non-voice but with so much character and expression. You lived those songs through the vocals. And his lyrics were brilliant. They could tackle serious subjects, but had a light witty side to them.”
Fortunately, Toronto-base label Solid Gold Records sensed the Pukka potential, and the band could proceed with recording. Top Canadian producer Eugene Martynec (Bruce Cockburn, Rough Trade) was brought in to co-produce with the group, and the relationship proved fruitful. “We found Gene very amiable, easy to get along with and open to the suggestions we made,” recalls Graeme. “We were all equally involved, but Gene had the experience we didn’t have at that time.” Recording took place at Toronto studios Eastern Sound, United Media, Sound Kitchen and Inception Sound, and the use of different facilities is one factor contributing to the wonderful diversity of Pukka Orchestra. Eclecticism was the band’s mandate. “We were in tune with the idea of writing songs that were completely different,” explains Williamson. “We didn’t want to repeat ourselves, and that may actually have been a hinrance to our career in a way. We didn’t always have a recognizable sound, as we’d do things like ‘Goldmine In The Sky,’ a country tune, and then do a ballad like ‘Might As Well Be On Mars.’ The songs all sounded different, and that was intentional. It was like a filmic thing, making each song distinctive, with a different atmosphere, through the music and arrangements. So we did conceive of each song as being quite different from another one. That was our aim, even if it wasn’t very sensible commercially.” Graeme was the group’s primary lyricist, although one Neil Chapman composition, the raucous romp “Flies,” made it onto the album. According to Williamson, “our collaboration was mainly Tony and Neil making a tune together and I’d try to write words to it. It usually began with the music rather than the words. The lyrics were often foregrounded in reviews, but it was the music that was the most important thing in a way. I think that’s what people listen to mainly, the music. And if I wrote the melody, Tony and Neil would often make the song really come alive by their arrangement.” The Pukkas cover of English rocker Tom Robinson’s hit “Listen To The Radio” was another standout track. Frank Davies explains that “we were missing one more great song for the album and we went out hunting for songs. We came up with ‘Radio.’ At first, the band was reluctant to do it, but were influenced by Tom being such a valid artist. They eventually got to really like the song and it opened up doors.” Anticipation for the impending Pukka Orchestra album was growing in tandem with their increased local following. On July 26th, 1983, they played legendary Toronto club Larry’s Hideaway for the first time. That was a gig Graeme still remembers fondly. “I really loved that club, and playing there was such a thrill. Plus we got a review in The Globe And Mail the next day. That was a real charge, on a par with the first time we heard ‘Rubber Girl’ on the radio.” In that review, rock critic Liam Lacey praised “the high quality of musicianship and the enthusiasm of the band, even when the songs are about subjects as grim as police brutality or nuclear holocaust… The group is expansive and cheerful about making its music, and perfectly willing to entertain without risking triviality.” Lacey concluded by predicting that “if a fraction of the band’s vigor gets captured on vinyl, a lot of people in the Canadian music industry will be in for a big surprise.
As you can hear on these grooves, the Pukka’s live vitality survived the transfer to vinyl intact. Upon its release, the Pukka Orchestra album received rave reviews and scored impressive local airplay, especially on CFNY. Tracks getting special attention included the spirited version of “Listen To The Radio,” the beautifully poignant ballad “Might As Well Be On Mars” (later covered by English folkrock legends Strawbs), and the sharply sarcastic “Cherry Beach Express.” The latter song’s depiction of the brutal practices of Toronto Police’s notorious 52 Division was, as the Toronto Star then wrote, “too controversial for many local radio stations, but it became an overnight anthem among inner city college and high school students.” The Pukkas local popularity helped them score gigs opening shows for visiting artists ranging from Cyndi Lauper to Marianne Faithfull. The biggest audience they ever played for was at a 1984 Natal Day celebration in Halifax, in front of 30,000 people, but that was their only performance outside Ontario. Sadly, the momentum Pukka Orchestra were generating with their album would dissipate when Graeme Williamson became seriously ill with a kidney condition. Dates had to be cancelled, and in December 1984, Graeme returned to his hometown of Glasgow, Scotland, to await a kidney transplant. A benefit concert was held at The BamBoo (a favourite Toronto locale of Pukka gigs) in February 1985, featuring such musical friends as Robert Priest and Gwen Swick. Williamson finally received a transplant in October 1985, and the group reunited for more writing and recording the following year. Lacking label backing, however, the resulting album, Dear Harry, remained in limbo until surfacing in 1992, long after the Pukka Orchestra had ceased to exist. That record got some club exposure, and the track “Every Man And Woman Is A Star” gained radio play. Graeme admits “we didn’t really have any money for promotion, but for a small-scale release, it did pretty well.” Williamson remains based in Glasgow, where he continues to write (“a mixture of folk type songs, rock ‘n roll and instrumental music”) and, occasionally, perform. Neil Chapman and Tony Duggan-Smith are still active on the Toronto scene, playing together in the Neotones. Vinyl copies of the original Pukka Orchestra album became collectors items, but with this much-anticipated release on CD, a whole new generation of listeners can be exposed to a real Toronto musical treasure.
Kerry Doole
