Alexander Boag: Guitar & backing vocals for Mo Solid Gold (see below). Now in The Orphans (also see Below).		Patrick Murray: Left the business after TAM.
			Julian "La Hooligan" Hewings: Bass & backing vocals for Mo Solid Gold. Now in The Orphans. UBL listing		Stevie Hussey: Left TAM after the recording of A&E. Joined Guernica and then (Fruitbat from Carter USM's) Abdoujaparov for brief stints, then spent time as stage manager for The Beta Band, The Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things.
			Craig Warnock: Initially keys for Mo Solid Gold. No idea after that - lemme know.		Rob Hague: Occupied the drum stool of Mo Solid Gold, and then returned to S*M*A*S*H

A three piece featuring Julian and Alex. tDebut album out now. See also their Myspace page.

Mo Solid Gold

Mo Solid Gold (MSG) were the band that occupied Julian, Boag, Craig and Rob for a bit after TAM. They shone briefly but brightly, with a sharp funky sound and a spectacular and soulful new singer, K, for one album and a few singles, but then faded away. Opinion amongst TAM fans was inevitably divided (see the survey), since it was such a significant change of direction, but generally noone denies the high quality of "Brand New Testament".

This page has a few snippets from their early days that might not be around anywhere else, the links page and a decent search engine will help you find out more. There's also a great interview with the TAM members that went on to make up some of Mo Solid Gold here (mirrored on this site here if that link doesn't work).

Mo Solid Gold Reviews

The Camden Falcon (17.11.99)
Are you ready for star power? K, frontman for London four-piece Mo Solid Gold, leans forward into the audience, his grin so wide he could swallow whole this smattering of slowly-warming Camdenites. Behind him, the Mo Solid players pump out a thrusting, Stax-powered funk, all blitzed breakdowns and swirling Hammond keys, a distressed groove capturing equally Make Up's gospel swell and Geno Washington's Ram Jam Band's thirsty party stab. "Are you ready?" he calls. "Are you with me?" The band kicks in again, harder this time, jerkier, dirtier. And K's lost in it, torn between pouring his Otis Redding howl into the mic, or simply kicking the mic stand to the ground and miraculously catching it just before it hits the stage. It's too tough a decision for him, so, what the fuck, he does both. So, yeah, star power. That's what we've got here. And if the sources for this star power seem perhaps a little too exposed right now, time and touring will solve that. As the balmy closing 'On My Mind' washes over us, a paranoid devotional, all post-Primal Scream soul, the idea of what MSG will become within six months, every little quirk growing into the band's own sound, well, it makes the mouth water really. Because then, Mo Solid Gold will be ready. And you will most definitely be with them. Stevie Chick

Camden Barfly, 12 Jan 2000.
(Thanks Miss Inga) Excellent gig, better than last time in my opinion (was anyone else there last time?). sound quality seemed better and the music was even catchier (i'll be singing along at the next gig!). quite a large crowd this time and a more responsive audience. the whole band looked amused as well, and i witnessed some quite good gurning and very slight posturing.

(& from me:) I was there too - what a gig, eh? That singer (K) has that star/showoff thing nailed perfectly. I'll tell you, it takes something serious to produce mike-stand tricks that impress a jaded 20- something indie kid. Felt a brief pang of sadness to see our boys playing second fiddle; Julian on to bass, Boag with backing vocals, but hey, they've moved on. You can't do the same thing forever and what they're doing now is being the best new group I've seen in *years*. I'll be back next week if I can dredge up some more friends!

Camden Barfly, 19 Jan 2000.
(Thanks Matt) I went to see Mo Solid Gold at Camden Barfly last night and can report that this band are shit-hot. The first thing you notice is the frontman and what a proper star he could be! He has got all the moves, an outstanding voice and big-time stage presence, holding your attention for the duration. It was strange seeing Boag and Julian/Hooligan in the wings, Boag on guitar and backing vocals looking more into it than Hooligan with even a few Boag poses and struts coming back from 94! The songs themselves are boss, catchy tunes, they include a song which is probably called "Mo Solid Gold" and I already can't wait to hear them again, always a good sign. This band could and should go far. Definitely worth making an effort for!

Same Night:
(Thanks Simon) Reforming as a tribute to your former self seems to have taken hold over the indie world, a resurgence that has hit the venues of Camden Town with a terrible vengeance. There’s Carter USM, schismed into Jim’s Super Stereo World and Abdoujaparov; the Inspiral Carpets turning into the Clint Boon Experience; and there’s even rumours that Niall from Sultans Of Ping has a new band in the offing.

So finding These Animal Men’s Hooligan (the artist formally known as Julian) and Boag peddling their wares as Mo Solid Gold should come as no real surprise. TAM, for readers unable to recall them, were the band that led the flash-in-the-pan New Wave Of New Wave (NWONW) movement, closely followed by S*M*A*S*H and, erm... no, it's gone. Their forte was glammed-up pansy punk for speed-freak mods who are big on Bowie, make-up and Adidas tracksuit tops.

But MSG (ha!) aren’t just a synthetic substitute for the Men, regurgitating their old sound in a less convincing way. It’s possible to discern a vague TAM-ness as they haven’t quite ditched their NWONW heritage - the eye-liner’s gone but their glammy rock is still there, layered over a huge deep soul sound.

And it's this latter that grabs the attention: a violent concoction of heavy, deep, soulful funk packed with ferocious riffs, Manic guitars crashing around the smouldering hot soul of The Volcanos. They still raaaawwwk!!!, though, and nobody does so more than K, hornier than a Viagra-stuffed rabbit, parading and taunting the overwhelmed crowd with bawling vocals that eat into the room.

Intense, yes, but - somewhat surprisingly - irresistible.

Zoë MacGechan Thu Jan 20 2000 19:17 GMT