Hey there and welcome to Pop Rocks Radio. As always, I am your host, Bijan.  We’ve got a great show for you today from GUV, The High Frequencies, classics from Blue Ash and Rich Kids, as well as tracks from our featured artist, founder of The Nerves, Jack Lee.

We’ll also be looking at the 1987 punk rock western, Dudes.

But first, how about a classic from these lads from London, The Boys, turn it up and have a listen to Walk My Dog.

That was the band Joint Pains from Newcastle, Australia with Lurleen from their latest album, Ouch.  Before that, we had Walk My Dog from The Boys.  The Boys originally formed in 1976 and included Stein Groven, aka, Casino Steel from the Hollywood Brats on keyboards.    

I’m currently reading the memoir of Andrew Matheson, lead singer of the Brats on a recommendation of a friend.  Man, is it funny.  Do yourself a favor.

Welcome back to Pop Rocks Radio. You know, on the last episode, I said I was going to talk about what I’ve been up to the past few months when the show was quiet.  If you caught the work on YouTube, you already know.  I thought I’d give a run at trying to do this show as a video episode.  Since I am a one man production studio, I must say, that was kind of a bitch.  Loved it, but man it was hard.  I roped my dog, Lucky, into it, as well…he tolerated it as much as one can hope for, but I expect he would have bitten my face of at some point.

Ok, back to the music. This is GUV, the project of Ben Cook who says on his website that his grandmother helped invent the mini-skirt in London in the 60s.  We are all grateful. This is from Warmer Than Gold - this is Chasin’ Luv.

We closed out that set with Rich Kids with the title track of Ghosts of Princes in Towers from 1978.  Rich Kids is notable as the project of Glen Matlock after leaving the Sex Pistols, and Midge Ure who went on to front Ultravox and wrote the classic “Do They Know It’s Christmas”.  

Before that, we had The High Frequencies with one of our favorites on this show, Lisa Mychols on vocals.


We closed out that set with one of the greats…that was Ohio’s Blue Ash from the rarities compilation, Around Again, released in 2004 on Not Lame Recordings.  

Before that, we played Windows on the World by Cut Worms from their forthcoming album, Transmitter, due out on March 13.  And we kicked off that set with Angel Dust from Baltimore with I’m the Outside from their new album, Cold 2 The Touch.

More to come here on Pop Rocks Radio, but first! A word from our sponsor.  But since we don’t have a sponser, it’s really, just a word.

This is the Methadones from 2007’s This Won’t Hurt…. w ith Poor Little Rich Girl.

We kicked off that last set with the Methadones from 2007 with Poor Little Rich Girl. We also played Jody and the Jerms with Some Day from 2005’s Love Descends, and we closed out the set with one of our favorites on the show - The Cynz with Love’s So Lovely from their new album, Confess.

If you didn’t know, that was the subject of our featured artist this week, continuing with the solo work of the members of the seminal band, The Nerves.  That was the band’s founder and legendary madman, Jack Lee.

Lee founded The Nerves in San Francisco with Peter Case in 1974, later adding Paul Collins on drums. They relocated to L.A. in 1977, where their EP which featured the best-known Lee composition, Hanging on the Telephone, was distributed by Greg and Suzy Shaw’s Bomp! Records.

The Nerves had a tremendous impact on the bands of the time, particularly the burgeoning punk scene in L.A., though not from their own music, but by creating The Hollywood Punk Palace, which was a series of punk shows they put on themselves because they couldn’t get anyone to book them.  

What was unmistakable at the time, however, was Jack’s songwriting ability.  Once Blondie recorded Hanging on the Telephone for their monster hit record, Parallel Lines in 1978, the world took notice.  

One of his other best known compositions was a major hit for Paul Young, as the lead track off his 1983 debut No Parlez.  This is Jack’s version.  Here is Come Back and Stay.

That was Give Me Some Time from the ironically titled debut album by Jack Lee called Jack Lee’s Greatest Hits Vol. 1, back in 1981.  This is another one from that collection.  This is Crime Doesn’t Pay.

Jack continued to write and record for the rest of his life, though his success never quite matched that original run.  He left us in 2023 after a battle with colon cancer, leaving behind an incredible body of work that will hopefully one day get its due.

Paul Young also included two other songs by Jack on No Parlez, closing the album with the song, Sex, and also this song, which he retitles Oh Women.  Originally the b-side of Jack’s single version of Hanging on the Telephone in 1982.  This is Jack Lee with Women.

 That’s it for our featured artist this week.  Join us on the next show when we dive into the post-Nerves work of the one and only Peter Case.

That was Lande Hekt from England with the title track from her new album, Lucky Now.  Before that, we had a classic from Van Duren with Oh Babe from his 1977 album, Are You Serious?.  And we kicked off that set with The Pretty Flowers from  with Came Back Kicking

And with that, we have come to the end of another episode of Pop Rocks Radio.  Let me tell you that I am forever grateful for all of you sticking with us through the ups and downs of this show.  

It feels so great to be back, and we’ll continue to shine a light in the margins where the cool stuff lives.

This is Bijan from Pop Rocks Radio.  Thanks so much for listening.  Be good. Be weird, and we’ll see you next time.