Are You Misreading Me?

 

Having started our history of XTeeHee in the middle, let's venture back a little closer to the beginning, or as close as one dare get, and the band's second album 'GoPoo'. Not included on the album was the single 'Are You Misreading Me'. The band still included keyboard player Barry Bismuth, who would soon take a powder...

Randy: “Barry had this enormous organ, which was probably part of our appeal on stage. He used his penis as a piano substitute. Quite an interesting effect. It inspired the song ‘My Pink Clarinet’, which people have always thought was about my penis. Now the truth can be told... it was actually about Barry's.”

Corin: ‘Everything Barry ever played sounded like the theme from Take Your Pick.’*

* British TV gameshow of the 1950s and 60s hosted by Michael Miles, who is also namechecked in the band's single 'Don't Call Me Pop' - Ed.

How did the album cover come about? And, more to the point, why?

Randy: “We went to the famous album cover designer Hypgnomic and asked what was the worst idea he could come up with for an album sleeve. He whipped out his typewriter and five minutes later we were done.”

The album was notable for including two songs composed by Barry Bismuth, 'My Big Banana' and 'Super Thug'. 

Randy:  “Barry kept on writing songs about trying to impress women with enormous pieces of fruit. We thought, if we don't let him put one of them on the album, he'll start doing it for real.”

Corin: “His organ – if you'll pardon the expression – only had two settings, 'cheese' and 'more cheese'. We asked if it had an onion setting, but he'd taped over the button so we couldn't use it.”

Randy: “He took it to Walkers Crisps in the end, who added a prawn cocktail setting.”

You can hear it all over the single, right here: