>Trainspotting socialist from hell
668: Neighbour of the Beast
Attila the Stockbroker
Larrikin Records
Reviewed by Nick Fredman
Attila the Stockbroker (AKA John Baines) is a stand-up comic, performance poet, singer, folk musician and cutting social commentator from the crop of punk-inspired performers like Alexi Sayle, Ben Elton and John Cooper-Clarke that emerged in England in the early '80s.
This release, coinciding with his current tour of Australasia, consists of extracts from his last five LPs and material recorded since his last tour here in 1991. Some of the best tracks are those aimed at the local audience: "The Beatification of Paul Keating", "The Gospel According to Rupert Murdoch" and "Privatisation (As Explained to the Stupid)", which parodies the moronic and expensive government advertising that attempts to make ordinary people accept the sale of public assets.
For New Zealand there's "Somewhere under the Rainbow ...", about the spineless willingness of the NZ government to trade the due punishment of French terrorists for retaining markets in Europe. There's also the somewhat less political "Australian Decomposition", a dedication to the Hume Highway's contribution to wildlife observation.
Some of Attila's other favourite topics are trainspotting, the anti-fascist struggle, Morrissey, capitalist restoration in Eastern Europe, the inspiration of the poll tax rebellion and what would Motorhead have sounded like if their lead singer was Jean-Paul Sartre.
This generous 21-track release is an excellent introduction to Attila's words and music. Even better would be to catch him live on his current tour of Australia: Thursday, March 11, University of NSW; Friday, March 12, Annandale Hotel, Sydney; Saturday, March 13, Asylum, Canberra.