Johnny Moped – announces new album Quonk! out May 17th on Damaged Goods Records

22nd April 2024 0 By Jon Deaux

To celebrate 50 years of this mighty band – A brand new studio album by the legendary Johnny Moped!

Available on CD or on green or pink vinyl (425 copies each), or 50^th anniversary gold vinyl if you buy the bundle (100 copies only)

First up, that title – Quonk! What’s that all about?

Johnny – I have no idea where the name Quonk! come from! it seemed rather weird for a possible album title.

Slimy – Incidental noise that’s picked up …. We are a bit like that … Johnny Moped’s Quonk! is very Quonk le Donk (saucepan lid landing on head) and it’s available soon from all Damaged record outlets.

Marty – This one’s for Toad really. It was his call and it’s a great title for a Moped album.

Robot – The band suffers from Quonking pretty regularly, so we thought we’d make a whole album of it.

It’s been five years since your last album Lurrigate Your Mind. How come it’s taken so long to write and record this one?

Johnny – it must have taken up to five months to rehearse for that album.

Around the same time as previous albums.

Slimy – Toads are slow moving creatures.

Marty – Because we’re old and very very lazy.

Robot – That’s pretty quick for us, it was over 30 years between ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll

Rookie’ and Cycledelic. We wanted to make sure it passed quality control before letting it loose on the world.

It sounds like you had a fun time recording it. Is that the case or was it more painful this time round?

Johnny – We did have a lot of fun recording those albums starting from Real

Cool Baby and Lurrigate Your Mind. Classic albums! I have enjoyed recording all of our albums from Cycledelic up to our latest album (problems aside!)

Slimy – Creating Quonk! was fun … always thrills me when the sounds come together … Johnny and his band have a plethora of tunes. Yeah! It was alright.

Marty – Bits were really easy and other bits were really hard. A lot of the songs on any Moped album really only take shape in the studio. And Dick Crippen

helps a lot with how they turn out. I’m very proud of this album and the band and Johnny have worked really hard to make the best record we can.

Robot – Yeah it’s always fun making a Moped record. Johnny’s totally at home in the studio environment…and the pub across the road. Give him the lyrics, he takes hold and delivers the goods in one take.

There are some brilliant songs on the new LP. Can you tell us what ‘Oh Jane’ is about?

Johnny – Jane is a traveller on that song, nothing to do with an ex-girlfriend of the same name!

Slimy – That’s about Johnny’s love life. Marty – Over to you Rob..

Robot – Johnny wrote it about his love affair with a certain TV starlet who spends most of her time cruising around the world. I’ll give you a clue – it ain’t Susan Calman!

‘Things May Happen’ is being released as a single. What inspired you to write that song?

Johnny – I did not write ‘Things may happen’, that is a Slimy Toad song; but I did not have a problem with it being released as a single.

Slimy – The extraordinary lightness of being … just the path and what’s on it. Marty – This is Toad’s one and it’s a cracker!

Robot – I think it’s about the possibility of London buses running on time, or Crystal Palace winning a trophy.

Johnny turned 70 last year, celebrating in style with a gig at London’s 229 Venue. Some people have said it was the best Moped gig ever. How was it from your point of view?

Johnny – Yes it was a gig at the 229 club to remember for all the right reasons, it was a blinder of a gig.

Slimy – I thought Johnny’s birthday gig was a rip-roaring success … I enjoyed it … The next Moped gig will be the best Moped gig ever and the one after that.

Marty – It’s not the best gig as far as how we performed. But as far as the turn out and the size of the crowd that came along to celebrate Johnny’s birthday it was the best vibe of all the gigs for certain for me.

Robot – Yeah I think it was up there with the Koko gig a few years back, great sound and a great crowd, yeah one of the best.

This year marks the 50th year of Johnny Moped. What have been the high (and low) points for the band in the last five decades?

Johnny – Not much was happening with the band gigwise. we were in hiatus between 2006 up to 2016 when we were getting gig bookings thick and fast,

including mini-German tours and three dates in Norway and one in Sweden.

Slimy – The constitution of these thoroughbred punk rockers is testimony to getting up and rocking out … Johnny is not stopping he’s class.

Marty – I’ve only been in the band since 2017 and before that was the driver and shit carrier and before that a fan and also the band are my mates. So not one low point for me at all.

Robot – I don’t recall any low points…being in the band is one long high.

You’ll be back out on the road this summer. Any message for fans who’ll be coming to see you?