The Table

One of the stranger records of 1977 that appeared out of nowhere was The Table from Cardiff, Wales and their classic Do The Standing Still backed with The Magical Melon Of The Tropics (Virgin 1977). I haven’t a clue what it was about and no clue was given by the picture cover either. The song was described by the NME as “a seething turmoil of furious punk rhythms, multi tracked psychedelic guitars and bizarre comic book lyrics” which pretty much hits the spot.

Originally to be called the jokey ‘Can I Have This Table’  Virgin insisted the band be named ‘The Table’. However while Do The Standing Still was a great favourite in the clubs, the Virgin deal was a one-off and off they went to Chiswick. One more, single, the disappointing Sex Cells / The Road of Lyfe, (Chiswick 1978), and that was it.

Fabulous video from guitarist Tony Barnes which tells the story of The Table!

An unsympathetic full page feature in Sounds 15.4.78, following the Sex Cells release, portrayed them as pretentious and schoolboyish with a set of songs including Electric Girls and Love Or Love a song about rape set to catchy hummable music.

They played few gigs and were hampered by lack of instruments.  Connor departed early ’78 to be replaced by Kevin Bannon on guitar. My mid 1979 no further records had been released and Richard Rae on drums and Tim Cox on guitars and vocals joined the original Barnes and Young and that was it.

The Sounds feature had prophesied ‘They may grow up great or they may just fade away.’ Sadly it was the latter but whatever way you look at it Do The Standing Still is a great record to leave behind.

Discogs say this which add some more to the story.

Young and Barnes had been performing together since 1971 in the band John Stabber, and formed Do You Want This Table (later shortened to The Table) in 1972. However, they did not own any musical instruments, refused to tour, and stated that they were not a “real” band and had no future in the music industry. Despite this, they were signed to Virgin Records and released “Do The Standing Still (Classics Illustrated)”, first recorded as a demo in 1975. The single was an NME ‘Single Of The Week’, rapidly becoming a cult favourite, and subsequently appearing on several punk compilation albums.

Record label pressure saw them reluctantly become a well-received live act. Their uncompromising stance led to disagreements with Virgin, however, and they left, signing to Chiswick Records in 1978 and releasing a second single, “Sex Cells”. The band ceased to exist after several line-up changes and a policy of playing increasingly uncommercial and distasteful material. Young’s later band, Flying Colours, released a single, “Abstract Art”, on the No Records label in 1981. Cardiff band Boy Azooga recorded a cover version of Do The Standing Still in 2018.

Discogs

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