“Bish Bash Bosh” (1974) – The Jook * Written by Ralf Kimmet * 45: “Bish Bash Bosh” / “Crazy Kids” * Produced by John Burgess * Label: RCA Victor
“Bish Bash Bosh” was the final A-side by the Jook, a glam-era singles band that branched off of John’s Children (who included Marc Bolan) and broke up when two members left to join Sparks. The Jook apparently inspired the Bay City Rollers, who mastered the fashion, if not their models’ manner of bedroom-eyes musical assurance. Here’s Jook drummer Chris Townson, quoted in Wired Up: Glam, Proto Punk and Bubblegum: “We were playing in Scotland and this rather scruffy long-haired bunch, who looked like we did a year previously, came in after the gig and said what a fantastic show it was and how impressed they were with the image. Not two months later, even less, we saw these same guys and they’d patched it up with lots of tartan and everything. It was essentially the Jook image…. [and] bloody irritating when you go somewhere and they say, ‘You look like the Bay City Rollers.’ I think I came close to punching many people.”