In 1979 Henri Padovani heard for the first time the Ventures, when Wayne County offered him a record of this forever-young instrumental band. The ventures are still very popular above all in Japan.
Henri is a native of the small Mediterranean Island Corsica, where you can hear the guitar sound. For Henri, the local popular music sounds a bit like the Ventures. It was for him the main reason to play guitar like mad.
He played a red Gibson 335 like the Chuck Berry one, and then he tried a green Fender Jaguar, which he was to exchange against a Gretsch. Then we was broke, he was obliged to sell it. Back to the Gibson he made this album font l’enfer. (flying Padovani’s played like the devil.)
On drums you had, Chris Musto, a Brit. which drums powerfully, he played with a lot of fabulous bands, before joining his fellows Henri and the third member Paul Slack, the bald bass player with a Travis Bean.
Together they played the London clubs with one night audience like Bruce Springsteen or Peter Townsend. They jammed with guy like Johnny Thunder, at the gibus where they played a devil like version of Pipeline.
Their album “font l’enfer”, a mythic album has also been issued in Japan in 1984 and reissued in France in the early nineties. It has been recorded in 1980 and 1983 under the direction of Marc Zermati. It features 10 tracks, of which the Henri Padovani’s self penned tune: rattlesanke, three for trouble, they call him crazy and murder, a tribute to Ennio Morricone, no place to hide, tribute to Link Wray, the last bullet and cover coming from the Hell like Wipe out, Lies (Kickerbrokers),and caravan in the Ventures style. Unfortunately the flying Padovani’s have not been released from the hell and there was no follow-up record.
Jean BACHELERIE
Discographie (60)
- The Flying Padovani “font l’enfer” (Skydog Records 62225-2)
Rattlesnake / Lies / Three for trouble / Wipe out / They call him crazy / No place to hide / the last bullet / Murder / Bumble bee / Caravan.