Band of Georges: Out of His Head

Out of His Head by George (and friends) From Volume VII Side B of the Band of Georges. Music by G. Davies. Lyrics by D. Trotter. Composed 3rd July 1986. This version was performed by The Subterraineans and can be found on The Subterraineans' Demo. Performers: Dean Trotter – vocals George Davies – guitars, vocals Jerry Peirce – bass Graham Barbe – drums Recorded December 1986. Mixed January 1987. Lifted from cassette June 2025. Copyright © 1986 Explicit Music. Copyright ℗ 2025 Wud Records. Fun Facts: * Out of His Head is a song that features a collaboration between George and Dean Trotter. * This song is in the key of D minor. * The lyrics were written on 3rd July 1986, according to an original lyric document. * The guitar part had been composed a few months previously. * George was very pleased that Dean was able to write some lyrics to complete the song as the guitar part pleased him. * Dean's melodic wailings towards the end represents the sirens of police cars. * The drum solo represents the blows from fisticuffs, boots and truncheons that rain down from all sides upon the victims of police brutality. * Dean wrote these lyrics very shortly after being shocked and horrified to witness his friend Jack the Frag being brutally arrested and beaten in Exeter High Street in broad daylight at around lunchtime for having a blim of hashish in his pocket. * Dean himself had been attacked and brutally beaten by police whilst travelling to the unofficial 1986 Stonehenge Festival just a couple of weeks before. * The previous year, the Stonehenge Festival was prevented from happening by the police. * That incident became known as The Battle of the Beanfield, and the terrible and unnecessary police brutality was documented in the media worldwide. * The Levellers wrote a song about the incident on their well known album Levelling the Land. * A few weeks after the Stonehenge battle, in autumn 1985, George was taken into the back yard of Exeter police station and assaulted by an officer for reporting his bicycle stolen. * Police brutality was commonplace in England in the 1980s. * A lot of people in those days referred to the police as “Thatcher’s Gestapo”. * Fortunately the uk police are far better today than they were in the 1980s. * Due to many years of cassette deterioration, the quality of this recording is not great. * We have managed to improve a little on what remained. * Out of His Head continued to live on as a staple of Rough Terrain’s live set after The Subterraineans had folded. Sadly, Dean took his own life by suicide at the Clifton suspension bridge, Bristol, in 1994. He was just 29 years old. Dean had no help at all from the uk medical profession or social services for his mental health, addiction and homelessness. If he had had some professional help he would surely still be here with us today. Rest in peace, Dean. See also: https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/miscellaneous/band-of-georges/ https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/miscellaneous/band-of-georges/volume-vii-side-b/ https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/news/band-of-georges-release-permission-granted/ https://linktr.ee/wudrecords