From Jenny.
In the early eighties I lived in Surry Hills, Sydney and my friends were musicians - all relatively unknown, but none the less very talented. My closest friends were the members of Madroom, an innovative, experimental band with a very dedicated underground following. And just to name drop - their manager was Tim Ritchie, then of Triple J, now of ABC Radio National. Why am I writing about this? Because of the cats. This is the time when Ubu, member of the Hep Cats was an important part of my life.
You see, the members of Madroom were all cat lovers! Singer Goose and his percussionist partner Suzie had the inscrutable Lurch - a strange little girl who frequently lived up to her name (taken from a character in the Adams Family). One can never be sure whether the name or the behaviours came first, but either way, who could blame her. Then there was the guitarist Kim and his partner Alison and their gorgeous British Black - Wellington, with the adorable chubby cheeks and amber eyes, who looked just like a 'Beef' Wellington. And of course there was Ubu. He was my Havana Brown Oriental - the most amazing mahogany brown with crossed jade eyes and sabre tooth tiger fangs. My partner at that time was the bass player. And for those of you who think that men don't like cats, think again. The men in these partnerships loved the cats as much as the women.
Three childless couples in their early to mid twenties and their much loved cats. As Tom Cox notes in his book Under the Paw, other people just assume the cats are substitute children. Nothing could be further from the truth. As far as I know, none of the six people in this story have ever had children. [I do have a step daughter - Leticia - and I couldn't ask for a more amazing daughter. She is like me, for better or worse, and has a deep love of cats also.]
Ubu became quite infamous in our crowd who were a eclectic mix of punks, goths, heavy metal, beat generation and anything a bit underground. With his strangely crossed eyes and vampire fangs he had the perfect look for this crowd. His personality endeared him to all and he developed quite a talent for shocking people. He used to build up a static electricity charge and then his tail would zap you as he walked past. I even saw the spark one day. We used to charge him up by rubbing him on the carpet.
As a kitten he had 'cracker cat' moments. He would get a manic look in his eyes and run around as if the devil himself was chasing him. When afflicted by 'cracker cat' nothing was sacred, not even the tomato soup I was eating one evening. All of a sudden, Ubu burst out of the bathroom, ran to the front of the house and then back via the coffee table, through my soup, across my bread and butter and through to the kitchen leaving a trail of red footprints on my bread, coffee table and carpet. Once in the kitchen he sat down and calmy licked the soup off his paws. 'Cracker cat' was spontaneous and usually didn't last long, and while I suspect it affects all cats every once in a while, Ubu's outbursts were reasonably frequent. Given that the first two houses I shared with him were supposedly haunted, I often wondered if he knew things I didn't.
The Hep Cats were city cats. All lived indoors and never went outside. They were happy, much loved and deeply mourned when they passed away.
I'm not sure if the cats actually inspired any music, although some of the Madroom songs did have sections that some people described as sounding like screeching cats. But the Hep Cats didn't screech!
Cats are more suited to city living than dogs. They don't need to be walked and can live comfortably without a routine. In an environment that is so unnatural and contrived they provide a special connection to nature and a kind of spirituality. As any cat owner will tell you, stroking a cat that's asleep on your lap is by far the best remedy for stress or anything other affliction arising from the fast pace of city living. Cats have the amazing ability to just be there. If you want company but not intrusion then find a cat. I think this is what we all found in our cats and why they were so important. There is no doubt in my mind that the 'tortured' artist finds what they need in a cat. A kind of kindred spirit. When I think back on these friends, they all had their own demons and I'm sure this side of them was what was drawn to the cats, who were not trying to help, understand, demand attention - just there. There were some dark times back then for us all and they knew they could count on their feline guardians just as I did on Ubu.
The Hep Cats were publicly thanked on Madrooms album, testament to the special status they enjoyed in our lives. Unfortunately my dear friend Goose passed away in his early thirties after a short battle with cancer. He was an inspiration to me and thanks to the wonderful writers he introduced me to I ended up studying English at university and started writing. He was probably the single most influencial person in my life. Thanks to the wonderful times we had together and the deep affection he had for Lurch and the other Hep Cats, my memories of him will be forever linked to cats.
We've all moved on since then and I don't know if the others still have cats, but as you all know, I do!
In loving memory of my dear friend Goose 'Stephen' Gray who never knew just how much he impacted on my life and left this world far too soon. RIP dear friend.
