Little Hits outs local musician
The Man From DelMonte - My Love Is Like a Gift You Can’t Return
From the Pop Cassettes 12″ EP “My Love Is Like a Gift You Can’t Return,” 1989
This past St. Patrick’s Day, I was standing around talking to a couple of members of a local Thin Lizzy tribute act (Lawrence possibly has more Thin Lizzy tribute bands than Dublin) about local musicians we admire, and Mike West’s name came up. Mike is known and respected as a local producer as well as a fine songwriter, and with his wife, half of Truckstop Honeymoon, New Orleans refugees who settled in Lawrence a few years back. Anyway, Eric Mardis (of Splitlip Rayfield fame) says “Yeah, he was in this band when he lived in England called ‘The Man From DelMonte’.” My jaw dropped. I think Eric was surprised that I knew what he was talking about. Eric said “Yeah, I saw the video on YouTube. He had floppy hair and the whole bit.” So basically, Mike was doing in the early 90s exactly what I wanted to be doing at that time.
The studio works of The Man From DelMonte were rounded up on the now-defunct Vinyl Japan in 2000 or so (2 LPs or 1 CD). Besides their debut 45 “Drive Drive Drive,” which appeared on one of those Leamington Spa comps, this song, from the aforementioned video, is my favorite. It’s a fine example of post-C86 indie pop, breezy and witty with that familiar Motown rhythm. While it might seem long ago and far away, it is nevertheless driven with a similar spark and attention to detail that fire Mr. West’s current endeavors.
-Jon Harrison
