Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie

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Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie was a late 1980s and early 1990s band which hailed from Bathgate, near Edinburgh. The classic line-up was Martin Metcalfe as lead vocalist, John Duncan on guitar, Rona Scobie on keyboards, Fin Wilson on bass guitar, Derek Kelly on the drums and most notably, Shirley Manson as a keyboard player and background vocalist.

The band came to prominence in the late 1980s and signed to the English arm of EMI's Capitol Records offshoot. This was the era of Scotrock magazine Cut, and joined Danny Wilson, Hue and Cry and Deacon Blue in getting national acclaim.

However after charting with their debut album release Good Deeds & Dirty Rags, Capitol records did not want to release their second 'proper' album Hammer & Tongs, even after the album campaign had been launched with lead off singles (actually released on EMI's Parlophone imprint). Thankfully the band managed to acquire a deal with Radioactive Records in order to release this album.

Wilson, Kelly, Metcalfe and Manson would form Angelfish in 1993 in order to fulfill a contractual obligation to Radioactive Records. While Manson went off to perform with Garbage, Metcalfe, Kelly & Wilson continued to play intermittently throughout the 90's under names such as The Filthy Tongues and Fishhead. They have now re-appeared with a new band, [Isa & the Filthy Tongues]. Derek Kelly, Fin Wilson and Martin Metcalfe formed the band Isa and the Filthy Tongues with American singer Stacey Chavis.

They were named as the best unsigned band by Rob da Bank on BBC Radio 1 in April 2005, by Karmadownload.com and won best new band on Radio Scotland 3 weeks in a row. Their debut album was released on May 1st 2006 on Circular Records.

A survey of Scottish music fans for Scottish listings magazine The List ranked Goodbye Mr Mackenzie as the 31st best Scottish band, possibly not the greatest tribute to a much underrated act.

'Big' John Duncan, also a former member of The Exploited and Blood Uncles found another few moments of fleeting fame when he appeared as Derek Clapton (sic) in the Channel 4 comedy-drama The Young Persons Guide to Becoming a Rock Star. More famously he appeared as a guitarist at a number of Nirvana's later gigs.

UK Albums

Good Deeds & Dirty Rags (Capitol)- Original vinyl copies with an additional 12" single
Fish Heads & Tails (Capitol) - Compilation
Hammer & Tongs (Radioactive)
Live (On The Day Of Storms)(Blokshok)
Five (Blokshok)
Jezebel (Blokshok)
Good Deeds & Dirty Rags (Razor & Tie)
The Glory Hole (Blokshok)

US Albums

Good Deeds & Dirty Rags (Capitol) - Different tracks
Goodbye Mr Mackenzie - Compilation featuring tracks from 'Good Deeds & Dirty Rags' and 'Hammer & Tongs

Recent Releases

A double live album release on River Records was released in early 2006 and a re-release of Hammer & Tongs on Cherry Red Records at the same time.

The River Sessions (River Records RIVERCD054)

Features live tracks from Calton Studios in Edinburgh from 1991, Glasgow Big Day in 1990 & remastered tracks from the show at Glasgow Barrowlands that originally appeared on 'Live: On The Day of Storms'

Hammer & Tongs (Cherry Red CDM RED 293)

With four additional tracks that appeared originally on the 'Now We are Married' single

Singles

The Rattler (Precious)
Face To Face
Open Your Arms (Capitol)
Goodbye Mr Mackenzie (Capitol)
The Rattler (Capitol)
Goodwill City (Capitol)
Love Child (Parlophone)
Blacker Than Black (Parlophone)
Now We Are Married(Radioactive)
Hard (EP)(Blokshok)
Goodwill City (Live)(Blokshok)
The Way I Walk (EP) (Blokshok)

External links

[Official Website]
[] at MusicBrainz

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