Inspector Tuppence & The Sexy Firemen

(c’83-’02) – Julian Thorne (bass, guitar, vocal), Spike “Neil” Arrow (guitar, vocal), Jason Wilson (double bass), Mark Charles (bongos, snare, backing vocals), Ian ‘Scampi’ Fulwood (sax) and Chris Coyne (sax).

There was a healthy rockabilly / psychobilly scene in Mid-eighties Surrey, and this skiffle outfit were often seen busking in Guildford. Inspector Tuppence and The Sexy Fireman were the only band allowed to busk on Guildford High Street at the time, and were also known as just Inspector Tuppence from ’91 onward, or just IT as The Sexy Fireman was ‘too long winded’.

On 8 December ’85: Inspector Tuppence and the Sexy Firemen supported Catfish at University of Surrey, Guildford, and an early Buzz Club saw then booked to support Terry & Gerry, a gig held at The Princes Hall, Aldershot on 16 February ’86, instead of the West End Centre, Aldershot as heavy snow on the roof of the West End Centre deemed the club’s regular venue unsafe. The are known to have also appeared at Guildford hostelries: The Royal, The Drummond Arms, The Cannon, Pews Wine Bar and The Plough.

Spike had been in The Millhouse Boys, joining The Rapids in ’83 and ThunderbirdHead in ’87 all while also playing rockablly in The Hog Valley Stompers, cowpunk with Catfish and busking with skifflers Inspector Tuppence. He also joined psychobilly band Frenzy in ’89. The most successful was Inspector Tuppence and he dedicated his time to the Sexy Firemen. The band started playing the clubs on the London circuit and venues all across the UK.

The bands’ “I Love You Just That Way” and “I Guess It Must Be Love” appeared on ‘The James Deans Of The Dole Queue – A Rockabilly Revolution’ compilation in ’87. Both these tracks also appeared a year later on the reissue of ‘The James Deans Of The Dole Queue’ compilation [ABCD15], part of a 2 CD set with ‘Stomping At The Klub Foot, Volume 5’ taking disc 1.

Around ’89 the whole band were living in a squat in Chalk Farm, North London and did most of their busking in Leicester Square; adding Jay Wallis (trumpet) – possibly as a result of an ad in 2 May ’91 issue of The Stage (Ed – Still trying to obtain an image) – and Jim ‘Wazza’ Shearman (drums) to the band.

In June ’91 the band piled into old transit van and set off to busk across Europe for three months. They ended up in Barcelona in August busking every day and gigging almost every night. The band said goodbye to England and settled in Barcelona, where they continued playing until 2002.  

They Released the ‘Jigi Bob’ cassette LP [INSPEC 01], recorded at BBC GLR Studios London, between Feb and June ’91 and the ‘Rip Off’ cassette (also recorded at BBC GLR studios) in Feb ’92. In May ’92 they played Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia (Thorne and Wallis currently still reside in Barcelona).

In ’94 they released ‘Inspector Tuppence’ [50413030] on Spanish BMG sub-label Zafiro, one of the major independent labels in Spain. They had a number six chart hit with “Don’t Put Me Down“, with TV and radio appearances and gigging at the top venues in Spain. Then in 1997 came ‘Paradise’, a self released live album recorded at the Capsa, El Prat de Llobregat, Catalonia; followed by ‘Jigi Bob, The Demos Plus… 1991-1994’ in 2010.

Other band members include: David Garcia (drums), Greg ‘Squeaky’ McGregor (tenor, alto & soprano sax) – who spent some time in House – and Richard Greenblatt (drums).

Thorne, who may be one and the same as the bass player in City, worked with Paul Rogers and The Sex Pistols’ Paul Cook. He was also a founding member of Hubber and The Swingles. Wilson played bass with the James Hunter Band for many years. As stated earlier, Arrow could also be found playing lead guitar with Catfish’s three female vocalists and later formed The Hog Valley Stompers; he also released a solo album or two on Arrow Records. He is now lives in Berlin and is the guitarist with Good For Nothin’ and Hot Jumpin Six.

Fulwood went on to play in Two-Tone ska band Bad Manners with Buster Bloodvessel, appearing on their ‘Skinhead’, ‘Fat Sound’, ‘Inner London Violence’, and ‘The Best, The Baddest And The Ugliest’ albums. He has since worked with the likes of Jools Holland, Rick Astley, James Hunter, The Specials, Xavier Naidoo, Sascha, Aura Dione, Max Mutzke, Gentleman, Andreas Bourani, De-Phazz and Rolf Stahlhofen. Charles, who’d also kept rhythm in UBz, appeared with Shoot! Dispute at the same time as being a Sexy Fireman.

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