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Song of the Week no.5 - Gary Gilmore's Eyes

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Song of the Week no.5 - Gary Gilmore's Eyes

Postby mysticfred » 21 Feb 2011 09:18

A rather grisly story this week from the 70's - the execution of a murderer and transplanted body parts...strange subject matter for a song but this was the Punk era which was full of surprises, a seemingly average punk song by British band The Adverts transforms itself by the inclusion of a very catchy harmonised chorus...

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrwI1gKE4jI
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"Gary Gilmore's Eyes" is an unusual song even for a punk record. Gary Mark Gilmore was born at Waco, Texas, in 1940, and graduated from delinquent teenager to small time career criminal. In 1964, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison but was released in 1972 only to be rearrested for armed robbery within a month. In spite of his appalling criminal record and violent behavior in prison he was paroled in April 1976 and moved to Utah, where the following July he augmented two armed robberies with senseless murders, killing first a gas station employee and then a motel manager in quick succession.

As well as being extremely violent and totally ruthless, Gilmore was careless, and managed to shoot himself in the hand as he disposed of the murder weapon. This led to a speedy arrest, and after an equally speedy trial in what was essentially an open and shut case, he was convicted of the murder of the gas station employee, Max Jensen.

Gilmore's final act, conceivably the only noble thing he ever did in his life, was to donate his corneas for transplant. Two people received them within hours of his execution; some of his other organs were also used for transplants, and what was left of his body was cremated.



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Postby 13oots2 » 21 Feb 2011 09:47

This reminds me of one of my all time favourite punk songs. The Monks Nice Legs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7r5RYThiHM
If I find myself caught between two evils I choose the one I haven't tried yet.
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Postby mysticfred » 21 Feb 2011 10:06

^ nice song, shame it only got to no.19 :lol:


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Postby Jimod99 » 21 Feb 2011 14:41

13oots2 wrote:This reminds me of one of my all time favourite punk songs. The Monks Nice Legs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7r5RYThiHM


Thats never a punk song in its life!!! It was two of The Strawbs that sang it!
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Postby loonieboo » 25 Feb 2011 10:57

A great song from one of west londons finest punk bands .. Tv smith a great pop song writer . Both their albums are excellent .

Thats never a punk song in its life!!! It was two of The Strawbs that sang it!

yeah no way is that punk
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Postby 13oots2 » 26 Feb 2011 07:53

loonieboo wrote:A great song from one of west londons finest punk bands .. Tv smith a great pop song writer . Both their albums are excellent .

Thats never a punk song in its life!!! It was two of The Strawbs that sang it!

yeah no way is that punk


Perhaps one of you would like to correct Wiki, to quote "The Monks were an English punk band formed in the 1970s, by former members of Strawbs - Richard Hudson, John Ford and Terry Cassidy, along with Clive Pearce (drums)"
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Postby Jimod99 » 26 Feb 2011 14:38

13oots2 wrote:
loonieboo wrote:A great song from one of west londons finest punk bands .. Tv smith a great pop song writer . Both their albums are excellent .

Thats never a punk song in its life!!! It was two of The Strawbs that sang it!

yeah no way is that punk


Perhaps one of you would like to correct Wiki, to quote "The Monks were an English punk band formed in the 1970s, by former members of Strawbs - Richard Hudson, John Ford and Terry Cassidy, along with Clive Pearce (drums)"



and everything in Wiki is true!!!!! :lol: They were as punk as Plastic Bertrand!!

There was only one "punk" band called The Monks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3fAzQzgeSc
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Postby Mark E Smith's Dentist » 26 Feb 2011 23:50

Marc Riley the DJ on BBC 6Music has a feature called Driving Me Backwards where he plays parts of a track backwards and possibly sped up.

On Monday, the day you mentioned Gary Gilmore's Eyes can you guess what song Marc Riley did?

I hadn't even thought about that song for months!

And yes, the '60s Monks were the ones - didn't they have two bass players? Black Monk Time is a hell of an album.


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