The Goo 1
Interview JOHN BRERETON THOMAS WALSH Born in Drim
nagh, Thomas Walsh has had a fascinating journey in music so far. In the early 1990s, Walsh adopted Pugwash as a stage name and began recording demos in a converted back garden shed, some of which eventually ended up in the hands of the infamous American producer/promoter Kim Fowley who took Walsh under his wing. In 1999, Pugwash released their debut album Almond Tea, which was co-produced by Walsh and Keith Farrell. 2002’s Almanac featured contributions from Air and Beck collaborator Jason Falkner and was another collection of similarly melodic and retro-styled songs which invited comparisons to classic 1960s and 1970s pop. The album caught the ear of XTC’s Andy Partridge, who would go on to name the single ‘Apples’ as the most exciting track he had heard that year. Released on 1969 Records in September 2005, Pugwash’s third album Jollity had an Abbey Road recorded string arrangement by Dave Gregory of XTC which led to Gregory introducing Walsh to Partridge, following which Partridge went on to co-write the song ‘Anchor’ with Walsh. The album would also feature contributions from US artists Eric Matthews, Graham Hopkins (ex-Therapy?), Johnny Boyle (the Frames), Duncan Maitland (formerly of Picturehouse) and Tosh Flood (of Irish band Saville), among others. PAGE 30 The Rest Is History is out now. A LOT OF SHIT AT THE TOP BUT DIG INTO THE MUSICAL DIRT A LITTLE AND THERE ARE SOME LOVELY POP POTATOES WAITING TO BE ENJOYED