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Cheeky Monkey - Free Again

from Leftovers by Michael Shelley

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about

Written by Alex Chilton, performed by Cheeky Monkey

In 1997 I was living in Brooklyn and DJ-ing on WFMU when I came across some of the first few 7" releases on Glasgow's SHOESHINE label. I liked what I heard, and thought the newly finished "Half Empty" shared some of the same musical sensibilities as the SHOESHINE releases. So I sent an email to SHOESHINE asking if they were looking for any acts to sign and if I could send a tape over. I received an email back from SHOESHINE head honcho Francis Macdonald saying "We're not looking, but send a tape if you like...". I knew Francis as the drummer/songwriter of the BMX Bandits & Teenage Fanclub, and for his work with almost every band in the Glasgow scene.

A few weeks later I got a call from an excited Francis, who had received the tape and was listening to it repeatedly & playing it for friends, and even for his Mom. We talked for hours that first day and at some point in that first conversation Francis suggested we write some songs together, which we did – the first being co-written over the phone!

Shortly after Francis & I recorded the album “For Arms To Hold You” under the band name Cheeky Monkey. The album was recorded at Riverside Studios, in Busby, Scotland (just outside of Glasgow) in three action packed days with Francis & me doing all the playing and singing. We saved time was by NEVER listening back to anything. If a take felt good, we moved on. The record ended up being released in the UK & Spain, The US and Japan, and even a 12” vinyl LP.
The night before we started recording Francis played “Free Again” to me and we recorded it the next day!

It was left off the lp and appeared on the Japanese CD version of the album and the b-side of the "I Wanna Live With You" 45 on Shoeshine.

I love that Cheeky Monkey album – it captured some magic.

Produced By Cheeky Monkey

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from Leftovers, released March 15, 2015

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Michael Shelley New York

The Onion: "Shelley finds common ground between teen angst and grown-up heartbreak." No Depression: "Proving wisdom and whimsy can coexist in the same two-and-a-half-minute-roots-pop excursion, Shelley's writing strikes the correct balance between conversational and clever. His adventures feel like your adventures presuming that you've survived first loves, sunburns and faulty relationships." ... more

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