As Act II began, I saw that they had cut "Growltiger's Last Stand" (wise) and retained a rejiggered version of "The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles"(less wise).
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209-212 The band signed to Rough Trade Records and in November 1980 they released their debut single, a double A-side, "The Flood"/"Disney Boys".Beaudoin, Jedd (2016) "Blue Orchids Awefull / The Once and Future Thing", PopMatters, 23 June 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016 After this release Steve Toyne left the band and Rick Goldstraw took over the bass playing duties. In February 1981 they released their second single "Work".
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"(Of) The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles" (Together with Some Account of the Participation of the Pugs and the Poms and the Intervention of the Great Rumpus Cat) is a poem by T. S. Eliot included in Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, his 1939 book of light verse. It is also included in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical Cats, which is an adaptation of the book.
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"(Of) The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles" was first published on 5 October 1939 in T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. Dogs are treated as "gullible simpletons" in the book and this particular poem revolves around a public commotion caused by warring dogs. Eliot specifically mentions "Pollicle Dogs" to be Yorkshire Terriers in the poem as a reference to his first wife's dog Polly. The word "Pollicle Dog" is derived from a corruption of the phrase "poor little dog".
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In Cats, "The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles" is performed in the time signature as part of a play within the musical. It is sung by Munkustrap and describes a legendary battle between two neighbouring dog tribes, the Pekes and the Pollicles, who bark "until you could hear them all over the park". Two more dog tribes, the Pugs and the Poms, eventually join in the barking as well. This goes on until the Great Rumpus Cat arrives and scares the dogs away.
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Karol Tymiński as The Great Rumpus Cat in the non-replica Polish production of Cats, 2007. The Great Rumpus Cat is a fictional character from T.S. Eliot's 1939 book Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical, Cats. The Great Rumpus Cat appears in the poem "Of the Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles." The poem describes a contentious encounter between a Peke and a Pollicle dog which eventually leads to the participation of other dogs and a great deal of barking, heard throughout the park.
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Finally, the Jellicle patriarch, Old Deuteronomy, arrives before the tribe ("Old Deuteronomy"). He is a wise old cat who "has lived many lives" and is tasked with choosing which Jellicle will go to the Heaviside Layer every year. The cats put on a play for Old Deuteronomy ("The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles"), telling a story about two dog tribes clashing in the street and subsequently being scared away by the Great Rumpus Cat. A sombre moral from Old Deuteronomy is interrupted by a second loud crash, presumably from Macavity, which sends the alarmed cats scurrying.
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In 2017 Chis Connolly handed over drumming duty to Howard Jones, formally of Last Harbour, Kin, Calvin Party. In 2016 Blue Orchids released a new album The Once and Future Thing,Babey, Ged (2016) "Blue Orchids: the Once and Future Thing – album review", Louder Than War, 29 May 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016 a retrospective compilation of the Rough Trade years called Awefull, with artwork from celebrated artists Aleksandar Mladenović and Aleksandra Keković Mladenović, plus Bramah's own long-lost solo album The Battle of Twisted Heel on the label Tiny Global Productions,Thompson, Dave (2016) "Reviews: The Move, the Pop Group, Blue Orchids and the English Psych Underground of the Eighties", Goldmine, 19 April 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016 re-shaped the line-up and began a period of touring and recording new songs.
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