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Old V-Twin
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Old V-Twin is a Brit-biker's 'chase-to-the-Ace' story with a twist in the ending.
martin craig acoustic fol
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Martin Craig wrote the bikers' anthem 'Rockin' At The Ace Cafe' about the legendary North London haunt in 1973. 'Mile After Mile' is a stripped-down solo acous
'Mile After Mile' is a 16-track acoustic solo album of English Road Songs by Martin Craig, whose 1973 single 'Rockin' at the Ace Café' helped to spark interest in the re-opening of the legendary 50s and 60s British biker haunt in North London. Martin says, "MILE AFTER MILE is a stripped-down, solo acoustic collection of 16 of my songs. Some of the tracks draw on my experiences of running a 13-year music & songwriting group in a high security prison and leading a long-term community development project in one of the UK's most deprived and high-crime areas." "During the 14 years I worked with the neighbourhood project, my family and I were on the receiving end of death threats, wrecked cars, ram raids, arson attacks and a burgled home, all carried out by criminals who wanted to take control of the troubled community away from the people who lived there. The area suffered large-scale rioting in the 1990s." "Writing and playing music has long been my way of dealing with the personal impact of incidents such as these, and my song 'Contract Killer' which opens MILE AFTER MILE is a literal description of real-life situations, sung from the point of view of a local hit-man." "I am promoting MILE AFTER MILE with live shows, radio performances and interviews. Check my web-site for further details."
Song Info
Charts
Peak #56
Peak in subgenre #14
Author
Martin Craig (words and music)
Rights
Martin Craig/Goldmist Productions Ltd, 1973/2001.
Uploaded
March 10, 2004
Track Files
MP3
MP3 4.8 MB 128 kbps 0:00
Story behind the song
Since visiting the Ace Cafe in 1961 as a wide-eyed wannabe rocker aged 15 I've been obsessed with the magic of the place. 'Rockin' at the Ace Cafe was released on vinyl in 1979, and 'Old V-Twin' is a kind of sequel. I worked Chuck Berry into this tale, just for kicks!
Lyrics
OLD V-TWIN I was working on my bike, Sunday afternoon Old V-twin that'll kick you to the moon You might ride a Velocette you may have a Bonneville You'll see me on your shoulder when you're on Gorse Hill Well, a voice said "Help me, boy I'm in a Hell of a mess" She wore a black leather jacket, not a blue and white polka-dot dress I thought "Never mind the question, you know the answer's gotta be yes" She said "Please can you help me? I don't know what I'll do" "Should've been at Brighton Station by a quarter to two" "Should be there to meet my sister, she'll be at the ticket gate" "It's 15 miles and I'm already late" I thought "My, my, my, I never saw a sweeter smile" I said "Jump on quick, pull the goggles down over your eyes" And the motor fired up like a drag bike on a quarter-mile We hit the A23 without another word If a bike was a woman, she'd have been a Thunderbird Knees on my hips, arms around my waist Can't wait to see the faces on the gang from the Ace Well the road was like a ribbon, the needle said 105 The lake was like a mirror, just the place to take a Sunday drive But I was taking bends at 60 trying to make it to the station alive SOLO We hit the edge of Brighton by a quarter to four Holiday traffic made her look pretty sore I went down a 'no entry' round the back of some shops Wound up with a ticket from a motorcycle cop He took my number, told me I'd be getting a fine She said "Hurry up Mister, we've gotta be making up time" But when we got to the station I found it was the end of the line Instead of a sister, she ran up to a guy Who was holdin' a guitar and givin' her the eye I said "Wait a minute here, I've been taken for a fool" She said "Too bad sonny, you tried to play it cool" "So long Junior, nothing's ever quite what it seems" "Bye-bye baby, goodbye to all your dreams" "My friend's Chuck Berry and my name's Maybellene" Well, she said, "Bye bye, bye bye bye bye" "Bye bye, bye bye bye bye" "Bye bye baby - my name's Maybellene"
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