THE REAL THING
b/w OUT OF LUCK

The Pointed Sticks second single, Real Thing b/w Out Of Luck was released in June of 1979 to great expectations. The band had been gigging heavily since the release of their first single the previous November, and with great press in hand, hopes for a radio breakthrough were high. Quintessence even bought time on the local FM station to promote the record. Alas, taking the money for the ads was as far as CFOX was prepared to go, and despite a phone in request fan campaign, no airplay was forthcoming. However, college stations across Canada, and up and down the west coast jumped all over the record, further cementing the bands reputation as a top notch punk pop band. The record went on to sell about 6,000 copies, helped by a furious touring schedule that saw them play some 60 dates in the next 4 months.

As for the single itself, with the addition of Gord Nicholl on keyboards, and with Bob Rock again at the helm, the band showed a maturing musicality. The A side, Real Thing, was a moody mid tempo number that began life as an instrumental with the working title, The Cowboy Song.  Manager Steve Macklam provided the lyrics, a cynical tale of a socialite caught up in her own image, always searching for the next hip thing without realizing the futility of her quest. The B side, Out Of Luck, went on to be the bands best loved song, thrashed out by countless bands in basements the world over, and covered at least 3 times on record. The guitar/vocal intro was an instant crowd pleaser,and quickly became the closing number in the bands live set. As simple little ditty about love gone wrong, singer Nick Jones claims to have written Out Of Luck in 5 minutes, much like so many of the best pop songs. Check out the live version from 2007 at the NYC PowerPop festival on YouTube to see a fine sing a long version. (link)

The vintage photo cover concept came from manager Macklam, with the Chinese translation kept a closely guarded secret! The back cover featured a playful gratuitous crotch shot of the band, by local photographer Katherine Blakely.

As a footnote, the single was to feature the last recorded appearance of drummer Robert Bruce, who was replaced before the singles release by the late Ken “Dimwit” Montgomery.

News Flash...
Pointed Sticks appeared in
Austin, Texas  Friday August 29th
as part of the Rock-a-Round Wild Weekend
Power Pop Festival held at
the Mohawk and other venues.

Check out photos here.

How ODD?

Check out the NEW Odds EP!
with a cover of
POINTED STICKS "Real Thing"

You can listen and or buy by visiting the links to the right.

Check out the cool cover art by
Chris Cran!