Apparently a group of real nightclub bouncers (they must
have been very short of work in WSM) their first release, We Hear You Knocking/Rubber Ball (Bouncy Bouncers) rewrote – in a Barron
Knights style – a couple of former hits to include some rather poor ‘jokes’ and
references to life working the doors. Arranged and produced by Brian Monk and Chris Merrick, issued with the
catalogue number BFP2 (I can find no evidence of a BFP 1) and recorded at the
now long-gone Horizon West studio, the follow up Kristmas Krackers (credited to the Fat Doormen featuring Colin and
the DJ All Stars, BFP 3) like its predecessor also failed to ignite the charts.
The B-side of this second single was performed, not by the Fat Doormen, but by
one Barry C Bubear – born in Hendon in
1931 but who sadly passed away in Weston in 2009.
There’s not a lot else I can tell you about the Fat Doormen, but I can give you some
more info about the man behind this project, Chris Merrick. Now working in ad sales for for Tenerife’s Oasis FM
radio station, Chris formed his first band when he was still at school. Turning
professional at the age of 18, he has toured with bands throughout Europe, Dubai
and Malaysia and has featured on a number of recordings throughout his career.
When the session work stopped coming, Chris became a
music teacher in Weston-super-Mare, managing a night club in the evenings
(which, no doubt, inspired him to create the Fat Doormen), worked as a DJ and presented shows for local radio
station Orchard FM.
Shortly after the Fat
Doormen singles were issued Chris moved to Tenerife, where he started
working for a local newspaper, soon becoming sales manager for the Holiday
Gazette magazine before joining Oasis FM in August 1997 as a part-time presenter.
He has since joined Oasis as a full-time member of their sales team. Sunny Tenerife
is a long, long way from the mud and rain of WSM, and I’m sure that Chris would
be happy to consign his involvement with the Fat Doormen to the past along with the terrible weather…however
here the World’s Worst Records would
like to remind him of his brief brush with infamy.
Enjoy, then, the Fat
Doormen, and their first 45 We Hear
You Knocking
Interestingly I came across this searching for Brian Monk. I am the Chris Merrick mentioned and have returned from Tenerife after over 20 years in the sun due to ill health. The fundamental thing missing from this article is the fact that I did these records as a way of raising money for children's charities in the Weston area, especially with Downs Syndrome. We sold the records on the door of Stars nightclub to the very generous disco goers. Of course they were intended to be joke recordings and I used my musicianship and contacts to press them for virtually nothing. We were also guests on The Good Neighour Show and BBC radio Bristol. Thanks for taking the trouble of writing this though even if it missed the main point. Regards. Chris Merrick cmerrick7@icloud.com
ReplyDeleteRecordings made for children's charities in the Weston area (especially Downs Syndrome)
ReplyDeleteRegards
Chris Merrick