Go-Kart Mozart - The further adventures of Lawrence.
Go-Kart Mozart In Session – 2013 – Past Daily Soundbooth
Go-Kart Mozart – In session for Marc Riley – BBC 6 Music – April 29, 2013 – BBC 6 Music
Go-Kart Mozart to get through Hump-Day as recorded for the Marc Riley Program on BBC 6 Music, April 29, 2013. The brainchild of Lawrence Harwood, who spent the 70s and 80s front the band Felt before switching over to Go-Kart Mozart.
From Erik Hage’s excellent bio for AllMusic:
Go-Kart Mozart continues the pseudo-novelty direction of Denim, a group (with Hayward as the sole continual member) that produced a bubblegum strain of ’70s glam rock that often belied the biting social commentary of its lyrics.
Instant Wigwam and Igloo Mixture With Go-Kart Mozart, a true solo project, the name evokes the project’s pull between serious artistry and childish fun. Released in 2000, Instant Wigwam and Igloo Mixture featured such not quite ironic tracks as “Hip Op,” which is about the Queen’s hip surgery; “Um Bongo,” which is named after a British soft drink but comments on the genocide in Rwanda, and a synth ditty about murdering a girl called “Depleted Soul.” Consider this another inscrutable twist in the long career of Hayward, who has inspired such luminaries in their own right as Belle & Sebastian (Stuart Murdoch is a professed Felt obsessive) and Pulp (who draws obvious influence from Denim).
After a five-year wait during which Lawrence oversaw the re-release of the entire Felt catalog and began work on various projects, Go-Kart Mozart’s second album, Tearing Up the Album Chart, finally saw release. The album was again split between novelty and commentary and, as a bonus for fans of Denim, contained tracks from the shelved third album titled Denim Takes Over. After another long wait for more recordings, during which Lawrence was filmed for a documentary on his life and career that detailed his struggles and his genius (Lawrence of Belgravia, directed by Paul Kelly), Go-Kart Mozart reappeared in 2012 with a single (a cover of Roger Whittaker’s hit “New World in the Morning”) and an album (On the Hot Dog Streets,) which was co-produced by longtime Lawrence ally Brian O’Shaughnessy. The record was the most focused work they’d done to date and featured quite a few songs repurposed from the unreleased Denim album Denim Takes Over. Soon after it came out, Lawrence and his musical partner Terry Miles, whose collaboration dated back to Denim’s 1996 record Denim on Ice, began work on a new record. It took longer than they expected, eventually seeing the light of day in early 2018. Titled Mozart’s Mini Mart, the album added some music hall and electro pop to their usual junkshop glam-meets-novelty pop sound.
There should be a lot more of his in the coming months – many live shows and sessions. Here’s a sample.
