Celebrating Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson, 29th April 1951 to 11th June 2024.
I was terribly sad to read that Gaps has passed away after a short illness. Barely a week ago, I posted The Selecter delivering a brilliant live show in 2017, on the back of belatedly buying their 2023 album Human Algebra and being reminded how utterly fantastic the band were, and still are.
There are lots of lovely but deeply sad tributes out there and rightly so. I can't begin to come close to that, not least because the span of The Selecter in my collection amounts to the albums Celebrate The Bullet (1981), Human Algebra, a greatest hits collection and a random selection of singles, B-sides and live tracks.
So, it's a strange 10-song selection, veering wildly between 1980/81 and 2023 with nothing in between. Hopefully, like their last album did for me, it's a reminder that heritage bands can not only celebrate the hits but continue to have something to say. And does The Selecter's music deserve to be heard.
An absolute legend, Gaps, you'll be greatly missed. Thanks for everything.
1) Armchair Guevara (2023)
2) Murder (1980)
3) Celebrate The Bullet (1981)
4) On My Radio (1979)
5) Star Fell Out Of The Blue (2023)
6) Missing Words (Live @ The Old Grey Whistle Test, BBC TV) (1980)
7) Too Much Pressure (1980)
8) Three Minute Hero (1980)
9) Boxing Clever (2023)
10) Train To Skaville (Extended Version) (Cover of The Ethiopians) (1980)
Sad news
ReplyDeleteAs sad as it was unexpected, CC.
DeleteSad, didn't know he'd died until I opened your blog today
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, it was a few hours later that I read the equally sad news about Françoise Hardy's passing....
Delete