The Untouchables (Clyde Grimes on the right)

Listen/Download – The Untouchables – Free Yourself MP3

Listen/Download – The Untouchables – I Spy (For the FBI) MP3

Greetings all.

A little while back (the blog moves at a different speed during the summer due to an adjusted work schedule) I heard about the passing of guitarist Clyde ‘City Gent’ Grimes of the mighty SoCal mod band the Untouchables.

Back in the day, when MTV was still young and foolish, the video for the Untouchables ‘Free Yourself’ was a certified mindblower.

First of all, it was visually arresting in a way that most videos weren’t even close to. Second, it tapped into the mod soul thing (a sound I was just starting to devour) like absolutely nothing else on MTV, and the band was (unlike any other mod/retro band of the day) mostly black.

They formed in the early 80s, and their style was a very cool mix of ska, mod and soul.

Though they were largely one (and a half) hit wonders on this side of the country, they were hugely important to the Southern California mod scene of the time.

‘Free Yourself’ (written by Grimes) – which I find every bit as vital today, after more than 30 years – was a Top 30 hit in the UK. It’s a retro-soul banger that manages to capture, then reinvent a classic soul sound in a spectacular way.

Their cover of Jamo Thomas’s ‘I Spy (For the FBI)’ is also very cool. Produced in the UK by Jerry Dammers of the Specials for their second album (after the band had signed with Stiff) ‘Wild Child’, their version adds horns and a mod/ska edge to the soul classic.

This record is an EP released in 1985 combining their previous hit with two new cuts.

Though their recording heyday was over a long time ago, the Untouchables continued (with a dwindling number of original members) for years.

These are both killers, and I hope you dig them.

See you all on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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PS Head over to Iron Leg too.