Hi, everyone! Lisa here with today’s music video of the day! It’s an old one, one that comes to us all the way from 1967! I present to you: Smashed Blocked by John’s Children!
John’s Children were an English band who were together for about two years, from 1966 to 1968. By most accounts, they didn’t make much of an immediate impact, despite Smashed Blocked finding some popularity in the States. (However, they would later receive some retroactive recognition as one of the major influences on early punk rock.) Perhaps unfairly, they were better known for their antics on and off the stage than for their music. For instance, they opened for The Who until they were got kicked off the tour for being too wild. They frequently posed naked for the press. They named their first album Orgasm, which was a sure way to generate controversy in the 60s. Marc Bolan, who would later find fame as the frontman for T. Rex, was briefly a member of the group, though he wasn’t involved with the recording of Smashed Blocked.
Anyway, this video for Smashed Blocked was apparently filmed in 1967, in the basement of the Establishment, a popular London nightclub. That’s ainger Andy Ellison, drummer Chris Townson, and bass guitarist John Hewlett in the video. According to some comments that Ellison posted on YouTube, the song’s title comes from “mod” slang — Smashed meaning to be drunk and Blocked meaning to be high on amphetamines. That’s certainly the feeling that I get from this song, which really does seem to scream out “1967!” in every way that it can.
Interestingly enough, there’s a second video for Smashed Blocked on YouTube. This one was not an official release. Instead, it’s made up of footage that was left on the cutting room floor after the first video was put together. Here it is:
Enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens 