THE KIPPER SONGBOOK

                                         

                                                  The name is Kipper, Kipper
                                                  Mean as Jack The Ripper
                                                  Our name is Kipper, Kipper
                                                  Hang on to your heads
                                                 We'll knock you all dead tonight

 

This is the story of  imaginary pop group KIPPER as told in the movie  ''CONFESSIONS OF A POP PERFORMER''. The film was shot in 1975 as the second in a series of BRITISH SEX COMEDIES starring the actor ROBIN ASKWITH. KIPPER are depicted as a rough and ready working class band with a confrontational lead singer called Nutter Normington.Despite their fictional status Kipper were an interesting glimpse into the near future of rock.What set them apart from their GLAM and HEAVY contemporaries was the bands basic musicianship and Nutter’s cockney vocals which recounted casual violence and a life on the dole.like the movie itself the concept of the group was extremely edgy and they served as a precursor to the STREET PUNK bands which would arrive later in the decade.

Here’s a quick rundown of the songs that the group perform along with a brief summary of the story:

 

 

Window cleaners Sidney Noggett and Timmy Lea discover a struggling Pop Group called BLOATER.Sid decides to manage them and renames the group KIPPER.He organises a showcase concert,but before they go onstage the bands drummer injures his hand.Timmy sits in on drums to save the gig,but the band only get to perform one number before a riot ensues.

''THE CLAPHAM''

Journalist Jill Brown agrees to handle Timmy’s PR {Oh! Pardon!} and convinces her newspaper proprietor father to help arrange a record deal for the group.Sid tries to of hype the record into the charts by buying multiple copies in chart return shops.This idea fails and the band continue to rehearse while they consider handing over management duties to Jill.

''ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN''
 

Sid gets the group a spot on the TV Talent Show STAR KNOCKERS,but things don't go according to plan.Disaster strikes when Sid’s attempts to rig the applause-o-meter.The ruse fails and the studio catches fire as a result! The group are at a low ebb and contemplate throwing in the towel.

''OH SHA LA LA''

 

 

Jill’s father invites the band to play a charity fund raising concert in front of The Queen. On the night an onstage fight with support band THE CLIMAX SISTERS ensues and the safety curtain pulls back to reveal a number of partially clothed bodies.Sid and Timmy have been trying to get music promoter Mr Barnwell to take an interest in the band throughout the movie and this display of onstage decadence finally convinces him to sign the band .Unfortunately Sid and Timmy get sidelined from the deal and the film ends with the duo busking for change outside of a sell out KIPPER concert promoted by Barnwell in partnership with Jill!

''KIPPER''

 

Much like the other CONFESSIONS movies,POP PERFROMER did very good business in UK cinemas.The mixture of CARRY ON humour and abundant nudity proved to be just right for the time.The films may seem a little quaint now,but they were as near the mark as the BBFC censor would allow in the 1970's.The Daily Mail still considered them to be quite racy in the late 1990’s when an editorial in the newspaper strongly criticized Channel 4 television for including the films in their schedule!