As the name implies, Fanny were an uncompromising, take no prisoners, no holds barred, rock ‘n’ roll outfit who tried to grab the music business by the scruff of the neck and squeeze it dry in the early to mid 1970’s. The fact that they were women didn’t seem to bother them… but it certainly bother “the business”. Formed by sisters June (guitar & vocals) and Jean (bass & vocals) Millington in the late 60’s and signing to Reprise Records in 1969 they were joined by Alice de Buhr (drums & vocals) and Nickey Barclay (keyboards & vocals) to record debut, Fanny (1970), and follow ups, Charity Ball (1971), Fanny Hill (1972), and Mothers Pride (1973), before June and Alice jumped ship triggering a move to Casablanca Records in 1974. Adding Patti Quatro (sister of Suzi) on guitar & vocals and Brie Howard on drums & vocals the band gave it one more crack of the whip with Rock And Roll Survivors. This new two disc set brings together the original album remixed and remastered and with bonus live covers recorded with the new line-up, as well as a second disc featuring the until now never released Rock And Roll Survivors Opera 1974.
Fanny had always struggled a little to find a real direction but by 1974 they had lost any momentum that they they had built up by time of Mothers Pride. On first listen Rock And Roll Survivor reminds me of the 70’s TV series The Rock Follies (& its follow-up The Rock Follies Of ’77). Dishing up rootsy pop rock like the titular track and ‘Long Distance Love’. New additions Howard and Quatro certainly make an impression supplying heavy duty beats and big riffs on ‘Rockin’ (All Nite Long)’ and ‘Get Out Of The Jungle’ but in spite of the apparently conceptual nature of the album, looking back at the bands history so far, it lacks the cohesion of its predecessors. Their most successful single, ‘Butter Boy’ (#29) inspired by Jean’s relationship with David Bowie supplies some fun “tongue in cheek” double entendre via its Doo-wop harmony vocals, and a strong re-work of The Rolling Stones ‘Let’s Spend the Night Together’ featuring honky-tonk piano and layered harmonies both show promise, but with funk (‘Beggar Man’), country rock (‘Sally Go ‘Round the Roses’) and soul (‘From Where I Stand’) all in the mix it all becomes something of a here, there and everywhere mash-up. At this time in musical history a continued move towards the glam rock of first single ‘I’ve Had It’ would have probably been a smart direction to pursue, sounding like something that Patti’s sister would have taken straight to the top of the charts, ‘I’ve Had It’ failed to deliver for Fanny. Rock And Roll Survivor isn’t a bad album, but it does sound a little like a compilation of random tracks as it skips and jumps between different genres. However, never write off Fanny, as although these are not the highest quality live recordings, disc one closes out with tracks from the very first appearance of this line-up recorded at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go, featuring three rip-roaring covers from Holland & Dozier (‘Back in My Hands Again’), Ike Turner (‘Young and Dumb’) and Lennon & McCartney (‘Oh Darling’), which prove once more that, no matter what format, Fanny really raise their game when up on stage. These bonus tracks show that added edge which proves that the band do deserve the “godmothers of chick rock” label regularly directed at them.
The reason many will be tempted to this latest collection can be found on disc two. Rock And Roll Survivors Live Opera 1974, brings to the stage the full story of the accompanying album in the form that it was originally meant to be delivered. By the time that Rock And Roll Survivors hit the stage it was a completely different beast, and only retained a handful of track (‘ Where I Stand’, ‘Beggar Man’, ‘Butter Boy’, and the title track) from the parent album, all suitably beefed up to fit within their new environment. Presented as part of an extravagant stage show those tracks selected where now a part of a much more hard hitting concept with tracks like, ‘It’s A Trap’, ‘I Believe In Myself’, and ‘Jungle Rock Star’ introducing a gang of characters (the innocent, the ingenue, the whore, the fag, and the dyke) that you wouldn’t invite around for a quiet afternoon tea with the vicar. Not only does “the opera” retain all of the dulcet vocal harmonies that characterised their sound, it also returns them to the thought provoking, controversial, raw, attitude of old. Featuring much new music written by the band specifically for the live arena, and proving that Rock And Roll Survivor could have been the swansong that the group deserved. This is the true spirit of Fanny. Regrettably, the only document to exist of those 1974 shows, is this bootleg quality, audio only, in-venue cassette recording of events. If only better source material had been available, preferably with video showing the intensity of the performance, including theatrical staging, spoken word sections and full costumes, this could have been a really innovative piece of work instead of a much needed bonus feature to the fairly average Rock And Roll Survivor.
Rock And Roll Survivors was to be the bands final hoorah, and unfortunately lacked much of the chutzpah of the early days, however the sisters did reunite with Brie Howard in 2016, a collaboration which resulted in the release of the Fanny Walked The Earth album in 2018. In 2021 a documentary of the bands career was unleashed, bringing much needed focus on Fanny’s achievements and sparking a new interest in the bands music. Many bands are labelled as being “groundbreaking” and “inspirational”, but in their prime, Fanny truly were, and here lies further evidence of that. Their legacy is that of true rock ‘n’ roll survivors.
- Reviewed By Peter Brockwell.
- Rock and Roll Survivors/Rock and Roll Survivors Live Opera 1974 is released via Cherry Red Records on 19th September 2025.
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Track List:
Disc One: Rock And Roll Survivors
1. Rock ‘N’ Roll Survivors
2. Butter Boy
3. Long Distance Lover
4. Let’s Spend the Night Together
5. Rockin’ (All Nite Long)
6. Get Out Of The Jungle
7. Beggar Man
8. Sally Go ‘Round The Roses
9. I’ve Had It
10. From Where I Stand
Bonus Tracks:
11. Back In My Hands Again (Live)
12. Young and Dumb (Live)
13. Oh Darling (Live)
Disc Two: Rock and Roll Survivors Live Opera 1974
1. Apologia – From Where I Stand
2. Sage And Novice
3. Beggar Man
4. The Innocent – It’s A Trap
5. The Ingenue – Seventeen
6. The Whore – Butter Boy
7. The Fag – Man Is A Man
8. It’s A Trap
9. The Dyke – Just Like Him – It’s a Trap
10. Rock And Roll Survivors
11. Blind Alley – I Believe In Myself
12. Jungle Rock Star
13. From Where I Stand – Engineered
14. Rock And Roll Survivors
