The Comedy of Errors: Fudge Tunnel - Teeth (1 May 1992)

Sorry, no video at present.

Buy this at Discogs

I’m currently working in an office that has a radio in it.  The channel it’s tuned to is Magic Soul, “Playing Stevie, Marvin and Aretha” as its main jingle says.  All things considered, I’ve got off lightly - Peel put himself through much worse on a drive to Scotland.  Out of every 10 records played, at least seven of them will be ones I enjoy and there are plenty of surprises on their playlist too.  One staple of the playlist is the original version of Lady Marmalade as recorded by Labelle.  A corking record as you all know and durable enough to have returned to the UK Number 1 spot through versions by All Saints and as part of the Moulin Rouge soundtrack; Labelle’s version only just made the UK Top 20.  However, it’s taken until now through prolonged exposure to their version to realise just how dirty and rude it is.  I’m not talking about the “Voulez vous coucher avec moi, c’est soir” refrain but  rather what “”Free your lady marmalade” actually means.  What a sheltered life I’ve led these 42 years.
Which brings me to Nottingham based sludge-art metal band, Fudge Tunnel.  And I will confess that when I first heard the name I mentally pictured the sweet.  But a few listens to Lady Marmalade and my new realisation over its literal meaning set me right again.  You can be puerile and clever it seems.  Nevertheless, it could provide a nice piece of extreme dating language for music lovers, “Meet like-minded people and see whether you can get some Lady Marmalade up your Fudge Tunnel”.

This was the title track from an upcoming EP that the band were releasing through Earache Records.  Peel chose it as he felt that it would serve as a good programme opener after Tommy Vance’s Friday Rock Show which also has its own wiki, though details of what Vance played on this evening are not available yet.  Teeth was a borderline inclusion for me.  Irritatatingly, I can’t make out enough of the vocals, which bugs me because although they flirt with elements of thrash metal, they never fully commit to it.  What makes Fudge Tunnel interesting is the way in which they mix up Donnington style riffage with grungy atmospheres.  Allusions to “the razor” pitch this in some area of internal torment which could be potentially fascinating, but ultimately all we’re left with is something to rock out to and sometimes that’s all that is required.




Videos courtesy of GrindcoreDeathFreak (Fudge Tunnel) and Cla Sessantasette (Labelle)