THE FUGS – THE BELLE OF AVENUE A LP – Nr MINT A1/B1 UK 1969

The Fugs – The Belle Of Avenue A
(Reprise Records  1969  RSLP6359)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – UK Pressing

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

Sleeve in Excellent/Very Good+ condition
– some wear to edges – back has some rubbing, a couple of discolouration marks and small tear at opening edge

The Fugs are an American band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of The Holy Modal Rounders. Kupferberg named the band from a euphemism for fuck used in Norman Mailer’s novel The Naked and the Dead.

The band was one of the leaders of the underground scene of the 1960s and became an important part of the American counterculture of that decade. The group is known for its comedic, even lewd, nature but also earned fame through their persistent anti-Vietnam War sentiment during the 1960s. Some 1969 correspondence, found inside an FBI file on the rock group The Doors, called The Fugs the “most vulgar thing the human mind could possibly conceive”.

Aside from derision for their scatological lyrics, the Fugs have also been labeled avant-rock noise music.

The Belle Of Avenue A is a 1969 studio album by The Fugs, a band composed of anti-war poets. It was released in the USA by record company Reprise. The album was first released on CD as part of the 2006 3-CD box set, Electromagnetic Steamboat, and eventually as a stand-alone CD in 2011 on the Wounded Bird label (WOU 6539).

Track listing

1. “Bum’s Song”
2. “Dust Devil”
3. “Chicago”
4. “Four Minutes to Twelve”
5. “Mr. Mack”
6. “Belle of Avenue A”
7. “Queen of the Nile”
8. “Flower Children”
9. “Yodeling Yippie”
10. “Children of the Dream”

Personnel

• Tuli Kupferberg – vocals
• Ed Sanders – vocals
• Ken Weaver – drums, vocals
• Dan Hamburg (tracks 1, 6, 7 & 9), Ken Pine (tracks 2-5, 8 & 10) – guitar, vocals
• Jim Pepper – flute (track 8)
• Bill Wolf – bass, vocals (tracks 2-5, 8 & 10)
• Bob Mason – drums (tracks 2-5, 8 & 10)