People and things referenced in Animals That Swim songs
Roy OrbisonReferenced in: "Roy"
American singer/songwriter famous for hits such as "Oh, Pretty Woman", "Blue Bayou", "Only The Lonely", "In Dreams", "You Got It" and so on. One of the biggest US stars in the UK during the 60s beat boom (when it has hard to make any impact if you weren't from Liverpool... and almost impossible if you hailed from Texas), he made a comeback in the late 1980s before dying suddenly of a heart attack.
Check out: Orbison.net, AllThingsOrbison
Madame YevondeReferenced in: "Madame Yevonde"; also pastiched in "Workshy" sleeve art
Pioneering British photographer who did much to popularise the use of colour in portraiture and advertising work. As the song says, she dressed her subjects up as gods and goddeses, monsters and angels.
Check out: MadameYevonde.com
Vic ChesnuttReferenced in: "Vic"
One of ATS's shorter songs pays a rather bizarre tribute to singer/songwriter Vic Chesnutt by way of a rambling anecdote about Hank making a fool of himself at one of Chesnutt's gigs. Noted for his melancholy humour and being one of the few successful paraplegic rock musicians, Vic is something of a cult figure, but he doesn't do surfing songs. At least Hank's drunken antics were in keeping with Vic's, who recorded his album "Drunk" under the influence of considerable amounts of alcohol.
Check out: VicChesnutt.com
The
Tiger Who Came To TeaReferenced in: "Bed Island"
Popular children's book by Judith Kerr, concerning a tiger who comes to tea and basically, eats everything. Well, it's a children's book - you can't expect War And Peace. Anyway, it's rather lovely and has nice pictures by Judith Kerr herself. If you only own two books, well, to be honest this probably shouldn't be one of the them. Go with the road atlas, though.
Go get it: Amazon UK
Charles BukowskiReferenced in: "New Boots", "Sway With Me"
Enormously prolific and influential US poet, and a favourite with what might be called the literate pop set. Besides Animals That Swim, he's been referenced in songs by Tom Waits, The Boo Radleys, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Razorlight, Pearl Jam, The Wonderstuff...
Check out: Bukowski.net
More will be added to this page over time...
