Strangely Strange but Oddly Normal

On saturday night I realised a lifelong ambition. I saw a concert by Dr Strangely Strange and afterwards I met the band.

I have been an avid fan since 1974 when, for a dare, I went shoplifting in Woolworths in Bideford High Street. It was a silly thing to do, and was all about schoolboy bravado rather than about any attempts at becoming a juvenile Abbie Hoffman. However the record I pinched was an Island Records Sampler called Nice Enough To Eat. Just in case you are about to dob me in to the Director of Public Prosecutions, or blame me for the spectacular insolvency of the Woolworths empire late last year, the LP was priced up at 75p and was in the bargain box.

It contained some magnificent music, and introduced me to bands like Traffic and Blodwyn Pig, but most importantly to Dr Strangely Strange. With the possible exceptions of Hawkwind and my own Amphibians from Outer Space they are one of the most fortean bands ever, with songs about giant wasps, minotaurs and other strange things, and all-in-all a vibe of sweet otherworldliness.

I have been using a few bars of their signature song Strangely Strange but Oddly Normal as an ident for my webTV show Cryptozoology Online: On The Track for about eighteen months, and on saturday when they played The Gaff (a tiny club in London's Holloway Road), I had hoped to be able to video a few brief excerpts from the show.

Instead, with the consent of the band, I recorded the whole show, and it will be presented in its entirety on CFZtv and on the band's own website. Further collaborations including an appearance by the band at the Weird Weekend look increasingly likely. So here, as a taster, is the band (with Ivan Pawle singing) performing their best known tune: