Ian McNabb – Camden Dingwalls – 8th November 2012

Dingwalls certainly looks very cosy for Ian McNabb’s return to the venue, with the dancefloor populated by tables with cloths and candles. The intention may be to disguise the fact that the crowd is a little sparse, certainly in comparison to previous occasions when Ian has played here with a band and the place has been rammed. No matter – it’s the non-attendees loss.

Tonight, armed with just his rich baritone and an acoustic guitar, Ian takes us on a tour of his not inconsiderable back catalogue. With a full beard and wearing glasses he has a slightly professorial bearing, which sort of suits him.

We get Hollow Horse, Great Dreams Of Heaven, and That’s Why I Believe before Ian says a word to the audience, and that’s just to thank Tracie Hunter who had previously entertained us with her bluesy torch songs. Ian has looked decidedly angry so far and has attacked his songs with a venom that Pete Townshend in his prime would’ve been proud of.

Ian loosens up after a glass of pinot grigio and before Little Girl Lost finally admits to enjoying himself! We get little in the way of new material tonight, with only two songs from the current album Little Episodes. The first song is High On A Hill which would appear to be an attack on Dave, George and their banker pals. We also get the title song of the album, which is a McNabb classic in waiting.

Those of us lucky enough to be in attendance get a masterclass in the art of the songwriter. It’s a pity there aren’t more of us here. Ian McNabb is criminally ignored these days. Give the guy your support. He deserves it and his music will enrich your life. 

Bat For Lashes – Brighton Dome – 4th November 2012

Tonight Natasha Khan makes a hotly anticipated return to her former adoptive home town of Brighton with Bat For Lashes. Support comes from her former bandmate Charlotte Hatherley’s new project Sylver Tongue. This is something of a departure for Charlotte as Sylver Tongue’s music is synth-heavy 80s electronica. However, as Charlotte takes the stage she wears her Gibson SG around her neck, which is a hopeful sign…

So it proves. The ‘electronica’ tag is a little lazy, as there is more to Sylver Tongue’s music than that. All of the musicians play percussion at some stage or other, belting out tribal rhythms that are a possible Bat For Lashes influence. The SG is much more than a prop and gets plenty of use. Additionally, the bass player is the first person I’ve seen play slap bass for about 25 years. The closing song Creatures is more guitar driven and is the best song of the set. This band is very much a ‘work in progress’ but shows plenty of promise. They’ll be a very interesting prospect as long as they don’t lose their sense of adventure.

A sense of adventure is certainly something that Natasha Khan doesn’t lack. Each of her albums (and her latest, The Haunted man is no exception) have provided an adventure for the ears and the intellect. Apparently, disappointed by the reception afforded to her previous album Two Suns, Natasha had considered giving up making music. Thankfully she decided against that particular course of action.

Tonight’s set begins with the opening track from the new album, Lillies. It would appear that most people here tonight have The Haunted Man, judging by the communal singing! This time around, the Bat For Lashes stage band is mostly male, which does give the performances a harder edge that they didn’t previously have. This seemingly rubs off on Natasha as she beats a syndrum with some gusto, and brandishes her drumstick like a weapon, which is a bit scary.

We’re on more familiar territory for the second song, What’s A Girl To Do? from the first album Fur And Gold. This song exhibits a frequent theme in Khan’s work: the dissection of one’s emotions. In the hands of some this could result in a degree of mushiness, but Natasha manages make her lyrics moving without descending into the realms of ‘chick lit’.

Glass from the under-rated Two Suns gives Natasha the opportunity to demonstrate how wonderful the upper reaches of her vocal range are, whilst Travelling Woman from the same album sees her seated behind an astonishingly elderly (but probably not) looking keyboard.

Natasha boogies to Oh Yeah from the new album, emphasising that anybody who thought her new ‘mature’ look meant that the playfulness had gone from her music should think again! We also get All Your Gold and Marilyn (featuring Natasha on theramin) from the new album.

Next up is “a really old one”: Horse And I from the first album. This is a particular favourite of mine with its driving keyboard (harpsichord?) riff. The horse theme is continued with Horses Of The Sun from the new album.

However, the highlight of the gig (and possibly of her ouvre) is the next song: Laura from the new album. Performed by Natasha on vocals and Ben Christophers on keyboards, this is extraordinarily emotional and moving, to the extent that Natasha sobs at the end when the song gets the rapturous reception that it deserves. I have a theory about this song – I suspect that Natasha may be singing about herself. It must be pretty galling when the Florence Welches of this world get so much more recognition. Whatever the thinking behind its composition, this song is a classic in waiting.

To follow this tour de force we get a song called Lumen, which didn’t make the album, followed by Trophy, Priscilla and A Wall. A Wall is a great anthem of optimism: 

                                 

                                 “Cause where you see a wall

                                   I see a door

                                  (We’re entering a brave new world)”

and appears to be sung to somebody who’s had a (hopefully) metaphorical bashing. It’s a very uplifting live track. The last song in the set is Pearl’s Dream, Pearl being Natasha’s blonde alter-ego from the Two Suns album.

The band are off-stage for the briefest of times before the encores. First off is the title track of the new album The Haunted Man, which Natasha accompanies with a particularly expressive and interpretative dance. Some of the vocals appear to come from an old radio which Natasha embraces at the end of the song. Bless. This is followed by a positively celebratory version of Daniel, after which the band are gone.

The beauty of a Bat For Lashes gig is that every last detail has been carefully considered, from the sonic delivery to the lamps that decorate the stage, to the cliff faces on the risers which echo the reference to the Sussex coast in Winter Fields on the new album. I have seen very few gigs that could be described as truly beautiful, but this was one of them.

   

Tame Impala – Brixton Academy – 30th October 2012

Tame Impala beam down to Brixton Academy for a gig so hotly anticipated that you could almost get high on the atmosphere alone. However, before we get too carried away a downer appears in the shape of Young Dreams from Norway.

Young Dreams are a bunch of Stone Roses wannabees who are really gutted that they were born too late to participate in the late 1980s baggy era. No matter – they’ll just pretend that it’s happening now! The vocals are at times appallingly off-key (sound familiar?) and the guitarist’s chops aren’t quite sufficient for what he’s trying to achieve. Much room for improvement.

After that, some kind of musical miracle is needed, and it’s at least partially delivered by The Amazing (terrible name – virtually begging for a critical kicking!). This lot have decided to be Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and they make a pretty good fist of it. The emphasis is very much on the ‘Young’ part of the above partnership, and the songs are almost worthy of young Neil himself, as are the lengthy guitar solos. A good effort.

Which brings us to Tame Impala, who are probably the most convincing proponents of psych rock since the 1970s heyday of Hawkwind, or possibly Secret Machines around the time of their first album. They certainly seem to mean it maaaaan, but what is it precisely that they mean? A listen to current album Lonerism would seem to suggest that main Impala Kevin Parker is drowning in a sea of weed induced paranoia.

The setlist is slightly weighted in favour of Lonerism (6 from Innerspeaker, 7 from Lonerism) and it’s a pretty flawless gig. They’re possibly not the most engaging band visually, but frankly they don’t need to be. The music is more than capable of taking you somewhere else entirely, and the doodly green laser backdrop only helps. It Is Not Meant To Be and Lucidity rock like riff-driven muthas and Elephant lumbers and lurches like a lumbery lurchy thing. As a reward for being good we get an encore of Half Full Glass Of Wine from the first EP. If the song had been on Lonerism the glass would have been half empty.

Jack Savoretti – Guildford Boileroom – 27th October 2012

Saturday night in Guildford brings a potential feast of the singer/songwriter’s craft. Hors d’oeuvres are provided by Karima Francis, whose exquisite songcraft is well received by the Guildford crowd.

The main course is Jack Savoretti and his band, a pleasingly cohesive unit with none of the stand-offishness often displayed by band leaders towards their sidemen. To their credit, this band are far more than backing musicians.

Jack is here to promote his current album, Before The Storm, which is a good thing as it is a far more percussive collection than his previous effort (Harder Than Easy) which tended to sag in the middle somewhat. A Jack Savoretti gig is very much a late 1960s / early 1970s singer/songwriter experience, with Jack’s voice swinging between James Taylor and a rather gravelly Cat Stevens. Most songs are played with the band and have the feel of Sweetheart Of The Rodeo era Byrds coupled with early Eagles. Jack plays a few songs solo displaying some pleasingly accomplished finger-picking, the band returning for a storming cover of Ring Of Fire.

Jack Savoretti isn’t doing anything new, or indeed overly inventive, but as a live act he and his band are a very good night out.     

Sparks – London Barbican – 26th October 2012

Immediately that we take our seats the stage set emphasises precisely what we’re going to get on Sparks’ Two Hands One Voice tour, as it consists of one keyboard and one microphone stand, each illuminated by a solitary spotlight.

Ron Mael takes the stage and plays an overture consisting of snippets of some of Sparks’ finer moments (the intro to This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us elicits a particularly loud cheer). Ron’s brother Russell joins him dressed in a black shirt, sports jacket, three-quarter length trousers, striped socks and black shoes, looking for all the world like a 1930s all-American college boy.

The first song, Metaphor from Hello Young Lovers proves from the start that Sparks don’t miss having a full band on stage with them. Indeed, the lack of a band highlights the quality of the songs, and allows the lyrics in particular greater prominence than they may otherwise have had. 

The set list appears to have been carefully chosen from across the band’s catalogue. The hits are there, and their more successful albums from recent years (Li’l Beethoven and Hello Young Lovers) are represented by a couple of songs apiece. There is a selection of excerpts from The Seduction Of Ingmar Bergman (together with the announcement that that particular work is to become a stage show and a feature film). More surprisingly they include the 1975 US-only b-side The Wedding Of Jacqueline Kennedy To Russell Mael, complete with a mime of the marriage ceremony from Russell! 

In many ways this particular choice underlines Sparks’ appeal. Their songs are intelligent both in terms of music and lyrics, but playfulness and humour is never very far away. In some ways the performance tonight was reminiscent of Weimar Republic era cabaret, both in terms of the sometimes quasi-operatic melodies, and in the presentation of the performance. As is customary, Ronald stayed behind his keyboards (apart from during encore Beat The Clock when he came out to dance enthusiastically, stripping to the waist in the process…..) whilst Russell inhabited the whole of the stage; dancing, pacing, skipping.

This was a bravely pared down performance that only enhanced the songs delivered. Thankfully it had none of the po-faced reverence of the 1990s MTV unplugged sessions. The Mael brothers appeared to enjoy the performance as much as the audience. My only complaint was that the gig couldn’t have been a couple of hours longer! Still, can’t have everything…..

   

8th September 1985 - Robert Plant - Birmingham NEC

Robert Plant embarked upon his September 1985 UK dates still with the cheers from Led Zeppelin's Live Aid reunion in Philedelphia ringing in his ears. Indeed, when acknowledging the crowd reaction to his 'good evening!" greeting in Birmingham, his immediate response was to say "I've heard it louder than that recently". Ouch.

Notwithstanding the fact that the possibility of a full Led Zeppelin reunion was in the air (informal  rehearsals with Tony Thompson on drums would be held in early 1986) Plant enthusiastically aired selections from his new album "Shaken 'n' Stirred" to a packed NEC with no Zeppelin covers to be heard. This was a good thing as with his debut album "Pictures At Eleven" he had reached a point that Zeppelin would have probably taken four albums to reach. Each of his subsequent albums had been more left-field than the last.

Plant aired three songs from the new album tonight: "Pink and Black", "Little By Little" and "Too Loud", which featured a spoken word passage (not quite a rap) which seemingly distanced Plant from his past. The last song of the main set was "Slow Dancer" from Plant's solo debut, which is probably the most Zeppelin-like track of his solo career thus far.

If Plant had been in denial about his past with Zeppelin, for the encores he went much further back than that. In 1984, along with Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and others Plant had released a mini LP called "The Honeydrippers: Volume One". This was a collection of 1950s and early 1960s rock 'n' roll covers, and Plant proceeded to dip into this. He was joined by the Kick Horns (who had also played on the LP) and female backing singers in 1950s dresses. To cap it all off behind the band was a backdrop comprising the massive chrome radiator grille of a 1950s car. A sumptious exercise in pure nostalgia.

However, nostalgia is something that Robert Plant has never been about, and this tour proved to be a swan song for his band of the time. The 1986 Led Zeppelin rehearsals proved to be abortive and Plant would return in 1988 with a new album and a new band. Plant gave the audience at this Birmingham NEC a superb demonstration of where he was artistically at that point. However, of all the ex-Zeps, he also showed (and continues to show) that he remains the most true to their ethos of "ever onward".

07/08/2012 - Savages + Palma Violets - Brighton Haunt

Tonight Savages return to the scene of their first ever gig in January this year. However, we first witness Palma Violets having a sound-check which is notable for both its length and its apparent chaos. The apparent chaos continues when they start playing. Their highly mobile bass player is a shoe-in for the title of The Most Effervescent Bass Player In The World.....Ever! However, the chaos is an illusion. They are actually very controlled. That said, their attitude is reminiscent of The Clash in their prime. With the singer's Jim Morrison baritone they sound like a cross between Echo and the Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes, whilst the beatific keyboard player adds a dash of Small Faces Hammond-flavoured keyboards. Superb stuff!

Savages are channelling the spirit of Joy Division, the Banshees and just about any other decent post-punk band that you care to name, but this is no bad thing as it quickly becomes clear that their identity is far greater than the sum of their influences. The rhythm section is sufficiently busy to allow the guitarist Gemma Thompson mostly to concentrate on embellishment, whilst singer Jehnny Beth uses her voice as a musical instrument, often using a delay pedal for her vocals.

Sometimes the music is slow and atmospheric, aided and abetted by effects laden bottleneck guitar. At other times songs such as Shut Up are fast like an amphetamine maelstrom of raw emotion. I'd almost forgotten that music could be this exciting! Jehnny rarely engages the audience between songs, but remains an aloof brooding presence. The band are like a four-headed beast from which you can't rip your attention.

The last song is Husbands, the double A-side (with Flying To Berlin) of their first single. As it finishes Jehnny Beth gives drummer Fay Milton a piggy-back off-stage. There is no encore.    

Last Week's Boat Floaters

The Rolling Stones - Get Yer Ya-Yas Out

The self-proclaimed 'greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world' recorded live on their 1969 tour of the US on the lead-up to Altamont. This album is probably the best live representation of the Stones.


Augie March - Moo, You Bloody Choir

Australian band who are essentially a vehicle for the not inconsiderable song-writing talents of Glenn Richards.


The Auteurs - Now I'm A Cowboy

Not quite as good as the previous year's (1993) New Wave album, but still pretty good. After all, any album that includes the excellent Lenny Valentino can't be bad can it?!!


Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi

Yes I know - again! I make no apologies for this album being on high rotation at Kelly Towers. This is a future classic.


Deep Purple - Made In Japan

I was very sad to hear of the passing of keyboardist Jon Lord this week. This album admirably highlights his keyboard skills. Indeed, the high quality of musicianship in general on this album is striking. Particularly noticeable is drummer Ian Paice's dexterity and lightness of touch. It's not all biff! bang! pow! y'know!


Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour of Bewilderbeast

A classic that Damon Gough doesn't seem to have matched since. An inspired, varied and beautiful album.


The Band - The Band

An album stuffed with classics: Rag Mama Rag, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Up On Cripple Creek, Jemima Surrender......RIP Levon Helm.

Last Week's Boat Floaters

Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi

A truly astonishing album from last year. Who says that it's no longer possible for music to be taken in a different direction???


Howling Bells - Radio Wars

This is the 2CD version with a live disc. A great band with excellent material who seem to be criminally ignored.


Cornershop - Brimful of Asha

The CD single with both the original version of the track and the Norman Cook remix. It's rather frightening to think that this came out 14 years ago!!!


Paul McCartney - McCartney

Paul's lo-fi (although I don't think that the term had been invented then!) first post-Beatles effort. It wasn't well received at the time as McCartney was almost universally blamed for breaking up The Beatles. It wasn't public knowledge then that John Lennon had actually left the band in September 1969. This album contained the superlative Maybe I'm Amazed which would have been more than at home on any Beatles album.


The Who - Quadrophenia

Reckoned by Pete Townshend to be the last great Who album (he's probably right). Despite the lavish production it's one of the most vital works that The Who committed to vinyl.


The Beatles - Yellow Submarine Songtrack

This was a 1999 pull-together of the Beatles tracks on the original Yellow Submarine album (it excludes the George Martin orchestration which, whilst pleasant, is hardly essential) together with the rest of the songs which were on the film soundtrack. It was also the first (pretty successful) attempt at remixing and remastering Beatles tracks. Of the four songs recorded for the film, Hey Bulldog and It's All Too Much are criminally underrated.


Ash - Intergalactic Sonic 7"s

One of the most consistent producers of cracking singles of the nineties and noughties. If nothing on this album brings a smile to your face then it's possibly wise to start checking for rigor mortis.  

12th July 2012 - Anna Calvi + Cold Specks + Eugene McGuinnees - London Somerset House

Arriving at a very rainy Somerset House we are greeted with the news that sound checks are still in progress. So in common with most of the audience who have arrived thus far we shelter in the arched entrance to the venue. Eventually we are allowed into the rainy courtyard and with minimal delay the first of the supports takes the stage.

This particular artist is Eugene McGuinness. He has toured as part of Miles Kane's touring band and has clearly taken on board one or two tips from Mr Kane. Eugene and his band are very sharply dressed. Their look features slicked back 50's hair coupled with a vaguely mod style of dress. The look Eugene appears to be trying to achieve is that of a late 1950s / early 1960s heart-throb. The whole presentation is decidedly retro with Vox amps well to the fore.

The music is very influenced by the 1960s with a touch of the Mark Ronsons thrown in for good measure. One song ("Shotgun") 'borrows' the riff from Duane Eddy's "Peter Gunn", but builds upon the riff sufficiently inventively to obviate the need for lawyers to become involved. The band are very tight live, the songs are good, and they have a marketable image. They should go far.

Next up are Cold Specks who are essentially a vehicle for Al Spx, a Canadian singer/songwriter who performs under a pseudonym as her parents disapprove of her career choice (they really shouldn't...). Al has a fabulous blues voice and could sing a soup can label and inject it with meaning and emotion.

Having said that, the songs create a feeling of crafted sophistication without any of them particularly standing out. Although the musicianship on display is superb, the instrumentation adds discreet pastel shades to the songs rather than colour. I suspect that Cold Specks are probably more of an 'at home' listening experience. The songs do occasionally rouse themselves, but generally the tend to trundle along on one level. I can visualise them sound-tracking dinner parties.

This all changes with the last song (which may or may not have been called "Stink") which features a brief sax solo (the sax player has provided an impressive procession of saxes incidentally) before the song builds to an impressive crescendo. Unfortunately though it's too little too late. A cold wet crowd standing in the rain needs to be grabbed by the throat otherwise they'll drift off to the bar, which many here did.

In terms of the 'feel' of her music I have often compared Anna Calvi to Jeff Buckley. Perhaps this is a comparison which she agrees with, as before she takes the stage we are treated to a hefty chunk of Buckley's "Grace" album over the PA.

Anna takes the stage dressed as a matador as is her habit, and goes straight into album opener "Rider To The Sea". Immediately her guitar playing is simply jaw-dropping, with a fantastic display of flamenco stylings which I've never seen attempted on a Telecaster before!

During this song Anna is joined by her band, consisting of Mally Harpaz on harmonium, an enormous selection of percussion and occasional additional guitar (or as Anna gestures later: "all this"); and Daniel Maiden-Wood on drums and backing vocals. I'm not sure why, but I was expecting a rather less minimal line-up. However, the backing the two of them provide is more than adequate.

A quick fire procession of "Suzanne & I", "Blackout", "I'll Be Your Man" and "First We Kiss" soon make us forget about the rain (for which Anna apologises). Having been gob-smacked by the guitar playing, next up are the vocals. Anna's voice is rich and powerful without being strident. It is also capable of being tender too, and her whole performance oozes passion and emotion. She could be remarkable for either her singing or her guitar playing, but having both simultaneously? Well, it's just not fair!!!

Anna has a great understanding of how an electric guitar should be used and abused. Indeed, I don't recall seeing a guitarist who combines so many styles of playing within the framework of one song, and whose playing seems to be so intuitive. I certainly wasn't expecting this degree of guitar mangling! It's a while since I've seen anybody banging the body of their guitar with their fist in order to get feedback.

The main set finishes with "Love Won't Be Leaving" which features more astonishing guitar pyrotechnics. Seemingly as the intensity of the song increases, so the rain becomes heavier! That must have been a coincidence right? Anna quickly returns to the stage for encores of "The Devil" and (first single) "Jezebel".

This is one of the most amazingly good performances that I have seen for years. There are times when an artist appears to fall fully formed from the sky, yet when you see them play you know that you are witnessing the artist at the beginning of their journey. Such artists are very few and far between. Anna Calvi is such an artist, and I strongly recommend that you follow her on her journey.

27th June 2012 - Howling Bells + Steve Smyth - London Lexington

Howling Bells chose the rather marvellous Lexington as the venue for a warm-up gig for their appearance at the Hop Farm Festival.

Support was provided by Steve Smyth, a singer/songwriter very reminiscent of Josh T. Pearson whilst also coming on like a cross between Captain Beefheart and The White Stripes. He sings in a gnarled American accent which sounds as if it has been marinaded in bourbon for a goodly number of years. However, when he speaks he is very clearly English! No matter - the songs are good and I was sufficiently impressed to purchase his "Release" album.

Howling Bells are always pretty good live and tonight was no exception. All three of their albums were fairly evenly represented in the set list, which was a crowd-pleasing list which had probably been put together with the weekend's festival in mind. I suspect that the Lexington may be a bit of a local for the band (they had their after-show drinks there when they played The Scala last year) and this very much had the feel of a homecoming gig. The Howling Bells live experience always feels an inclusive one. This was demonstrated when Juanita announced that she is expecting by patting her stomach and introducing "a new member of the band: The Bump!"

The band are not afraid to display their musicianly chops, and often extend songs with interesting jams, without becoming self indulgent. In fact, at times when they do this they remind me of Led Zeppelin in their live heyday, apart from the fact that they have a very clear idea of how to edit themselves.

All too soon they finish their main set with Live On from The Loudest Engine album, before returning for an encore of (what else??) Low Happening. It never fails to surprise me that Howling Bells are not more popular than they are. They consistently release good albums and are a cracking live band. On the other hand, I'd rather not have to see them at Wembley Arena!!!

Lucy Rose + To Kill A King + Nathan Holmes - Charing Cross Heaven - 20th June 2012

I'd been intending to check out Lucy Rose live for some time, as I'd heard some of her stuff on t'internet and had been pretty impressed. I missed her when she played at the Camden Barfly in March so was pleased when another opportunity arose.

On arrival at Heaven (the club) it immediately became clear that this was very much an 'industry' event. The first thing that greeted me on arrival was a notice to the effect that the gig was being filmed for DVD release, and the second was a lengthy queue for the guest list desk. No problem - I got into the venue a lot quicker than those on a freebie did!

The first support act was Nathan Holmes: a singer / songwriter finger-picking a crystal clear Fender Telecaster. One of the lines in his first song was "Take off your bayonet and just shoot me" which rather grabbed the attention. His delivery was particularly delicate, and it is the first time I have ever been to a gig and thought that the air-conditioning was too loud!

On some of the songs Nathan used layered effects to build up the on-stage sound. This practice is all very well but it can make key changes difficult, and therefore can limit the performance rather than enhance it. Also it's something that has been somewhat over-done. The first time I saw this done (I think about eight years ago) it seemed innovative and interesting, but now it just seems to delay the artist (and the audience) getting into the song. With the undeniably interesting material that Nathan has it's probably better to keep things simple. Bells and whistles aren't needed!

Next up are To Kill A King, who are a five-piece band whose arrangements and delivery are so well considered that I would describe them as a 'song-serving' band, which is a good thing. However, they also remind me of Travis on occasion, which is not such a good thing. Countering this is the singer's marked similarity in style to the singer of Tindersticks which is (in my opinion) a Very Good Thing.

When Lucy Rose takes the stage she elects to sit down, which possibly explains why the stage is so unusually high, because we still have a good view of her. Apparently it's Lucy's birthday today and the audience duly oblige with a rendition of Happy Birthday. Lucy is suitably both pleased and embarrassed.

The first song is Middle Of The Bed which is one of the best of her songs that I've heard, seemingly describing the joys (or otherwise) of being newly single. Lucy's band have a great sense of dynamics which suit the songs well. Lucy's vocals and finger-picking are the main components of the songs, while the band provide a framework within which those components sit. The band are a vital part of the performance but are at the same time unobtrusive.

Lucy's performance is massively assured and oozes with confidence. The songs are good and even her inter-song chat makes her sound like an old hand. Never mind a club under some railway arches - she could be at Wembley Arena! Sadly that elevation to larger venues will almost certainly happen sooner rather than later. Although she started out only a couple of years ago playing open mic sessions in London and guesting on Bombay Bicycle Club's Flaws album, she seems to have arrived fully formed. She is signed to Columbia and her debut album is set for release on September 24th. Lucy Rose is cleared for take-off.    

26th May 2012 - Buzzcocks - Brixton Academy

So, the Buzzcocks performing three sets firstly with their current line-up, then with their 'classic' line-up, and finishing up with their original line-up (featuring Howard Devoto) seems too good to miss right? I thought so anyway, and being absolutely determined not to miss a bally moment, I arrived at a somewhat sparsely populated Brixton Academy at about 7.30pm. No problem - gave me time for a pint.

A DJ who looked unsettlingly like Peter Buck (but wasn't) played a pretty inspired selection of punk and post-punk classics. It turned out that this was actually veteran music journalist and author Kris Needs. He did get a cheer when The Clash's White Man In Hammersmith Palais got stuck and  he swiftly managed to remedy the situation.

At 8.15pm four shadowy figures loped onto the stage, and the current line-up of the Buzzcocks tore into What Am I Supposed To Do from the All Set album. Steve Diggle is still a complete guitar hero, making an immediate connection with the audience. Pete Shelley has a somewhat less animated stage presence, whilst the rhythm section give a workman-like performance. The more recent songs (and by that I mean post-1990) compare well with the songs from the band's heyday, but frankly they're not what the audience have come to hear, and gradually people start disappearing to the bar and not coming back. It's actually a bit of a relief when this section of the gig ends. This is not really the band's fault, but the material in the first set was probably unknown to the greater part of the audience. Still, I suppose they got the kind of response that most support bands receive.

The second set is a completely different story. If the Academy isn't sold-out it gives a damn fine impersonation of somewhere that is. The contrast between the performances of the two line-ups is astonishing. You realise in retrospect that bassist Chris Remmington in particular looked as if he was just doing a job. He could almost have been playing The Birdy Song for all the enthusiasm that he conveyed. Steve Garvey's stage presence in comparison is only slightly less flamboyant than Steve Diggle's! John Maher definitely appears to be feeling the music, and his drumming in Moving Away From The Pulsebeat is superlative.

Something else that hits you is the sheer quality of the Buzzcocks' back catalogue. Not only did they have an impressive run of singles between 1977 and 1979, the album tracks they play could also have been singles: Fiction Romance, Fast Cars, Hollow Inside, Get On Our Own and Autonomy to name a few. Then there's the singles that have become classics: I Don't Mind, What Do I Get?, and Everybody's Happy Nowadays get given a good seeing-to. There's even the latter day hit that wasn't: Why She's A Girl From The Chainstore from 1980.

Pete Shelley seemed less entertained by Steve Diggle's antics than the audience was. Somebody chucked a plastic pint glass onstage and Diggle asked him to come up onstage if he was so brave, and he'd "wrap one of these champagne bottles around yer head". It did appear that he got through two bottles of champagne during the course of the gig, and he was noticeably more pissed as it progressed. Still - it didn't affect his singing or playing, and he windmilled like Pete Townshend! The classic line-up finished their main set and encored with Harmony In My Head, Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've) and Orgasm Addict.

Now it was the turn of the original line-up (comprising Pete Shelley on guitar, Steve Diggle on bass, John Maher on drums and Howard Devoto on vocals) to perform the Spiral Scratch EP. Pete Shelley used the guitar (now missing about a third of its body) that he used for the recording of the EP. I don't know whether it's age, but Howard Devoto's vocals sound much richer than in the past. They still suit the songs though, Breakdown and Boredom working particularly well. They encore with what sounds like I Can't Control Myself bringing an excellent gig to an end.

However, this may have been a worrying evening for Shelley and Diggle, as there is a definite gulf in terms of quality between the current and classic Buzzcocks line-ups. I don't know what Garvey and Maher are doing for a living now but playing in the Buzzcocks must be a lot more fun, and probably just as lucrative. Well lads? How about it?

25th May 2012 - The Primitives + The School - London Borderline

The Primitives re-formed last year to play in memory of their recently deceased former bassist Steve Dullahan, and enjoyed playing again so much that they decided to continue as a band. They recruited new bassist  Ralph Moore and recorded an album of carefully chosen covers entitled "Echoes and Rhymes".

However, before we get to see the 21st Century version of The Primitives we are to be entertained by The School. The School are a seven-piece from Cardiff who have been supporting The Primitives for the last five dates of their tour. The band comprise a singer (Liz Hunt) who also plays keyboards, electric and acoustic guitarists (the acoustic guitarist also plays recorder and xylophone), bassist, violinist and trumpeter.

The plethora of instruments on stage makes one fear that this could all get a bit messy, but nothing could be further from the truth. The band's performance is both tight and deservedly assured. The set is reasonably varied. The first song comes over all jangly-pop with the guitarist's Johnny Marr indebted sound, Liz Hunt's honeyed vocals and farfisa sounding keyboard. The next song however has a real Stax / Motown feel powered along by insistently choppy chords from the Tele. Yet another song has a clear Velvets influence.

Something all of the songs have are great pop hooks. Liz Hunt's vocals have a certain purity which emphasises the melodies. She has very confident inter-song banter too. The band's assured performance is all the more surprising when it emerges towards the end of the set that the drummer and guitarist are standing in!

The School are an excellent pop band with loads of potential, if only as providers of a great night out! See for yourselves when they play at The Queen Of Hoxton on 12th June.

Finally it's time for The Primitives! Ralph Moore takes the stage first, followed by Paul Court and then Tig Williams. They start up a riff and then they're joined by Tracy Tracy. If it wasn't for the grins on the band's faces this could all be a bit showbiz, but it's obviously tongue in cheek.

They start off with Till You Say You'll Be Mine (by Jackie De Shannon) from the new album and it's like they've never been away. They're tight and energetic. Tracy is in great voice and has lost nothing as a frontwoman. She is still very kittenish, though this perception may have been helped by the bow in her hair which looked like ears!

Although Spacehead and Sick Of It follow, the set is heavily weighted in favour of the new album. This is no bad thing as it makes the point that The Primitives are alive and kicking as a band and not just an oldies act. However, this thought was swiftly barged out of the way by Thru The Flowers "from the old indie days"! This was followed by "Single Girl", which my mate tells me is a classic from 1965 by Sandy Posey. Obviously a classic that I haven't heard. It's a cracking song - good choice Prims!

Their disappointing third album Galore isn't ignored and You Are The Way gets an airing, sounding way better live than it did on vinyl. We get a run of three songs from the new album (including Panic for which the band are joined by the ladies from The School on backing vocals) before the band dip into the classics from their back catalogue: Stop Killing Me, Way Behind Me and an absolutely storming version of Crash (which is preceded by Nico's I'm Not Saying). Apparently The Primitives were huge in Japan and there are a large number of Japanese fans present, some of whom hold aloft 12" single sleeves of Crash when that's performed.  The set ends with two more songs from the new album, but it's not long before they come back to crash through "Buzz Buzz Buzz" and "Really Stupid".

All in all this was a great evening for both band and audience. If the covers they've chosen for their new album are an indication of the direction they'll take when they record some new originals then we're in for a bit of a treat. The band have obviously matured, but their new material sits well with their effervescent classics.

Last Week's Boat Floaters

David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
Bowie's debut as an icon.

Big Brother and the Holding Company - Cheap Thrills
The wider world is introduced to Janis Joplin.

The White Stripes - Icky Thump
Who would have guessed that it would be their last album???

The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
The spirit of the Ramones with added guitar solos.

Record Store Day 21st April 2012

Record Store Day is an annual celebration of independent record stores that started in the USA in 2007 and took place in the UK for the first time in 2008. The event is marked by bands playing in record shops and artists issuing special (and often limited) releases chiefly on vinyl.

I attended for the first time last year, when I went to Brighton and visited record stores there. I was struck by the  enthusiasm and excitement that the event generated, and decided that it was a 'must do' for my calendar this year. Last year I didn't see any of the live music related to the event, so decided that I would make sure that I did this year.

Therefore, I ditched my original plan to go to Brighton as there was only one gig taking place (Big Deal, who I would actually have liked to see) at Resident Records, but it was at 8am, and I wasn't convinced that I would have been able to fully appreciate them at such an hour! So London it was then.

I arrived at Sister Ray in Berwick Street to find a queue stretching halfway around the block. This did not inspire me with confidence. There was another shorter queue snaking the other way out of the door. This was for a signing session for Simple Minds, but as I've always found them at best intensely annoying I didn't join it.

As I was aware that live music at Rough Trade West commenced at 12.00, and I had arranged to meet a friend there at 11.30, I hot-footed it over there. When I arrived I found another queue with my friend already in it, but it was nowhere near as fearsome as the one at Sister Ray. However, it still took over half an hour before we made it through the door.

My partner Carole had decided that she wanted the Bat For Lashes one-sided 7", and the Kate Bush 10". Sadly both had sold out. I had opted for the double 10" of Pete Townshend's Quadrophenia demos, provided that it wasn't too expensive. There was one copy left, but I didn't think that I could justify the £39.99 asking price. Eventually Carole settled for a heart-shaped 12" of The Supremes' "Baby Love", and I bought Richard Hawley's "Leave Your Body Behind You" 10", and 7"s of The Bevis Frond "Hard Meat At The Midnight Court" and Elbow "McGreggor".

It was then time to track down some lunch, and also attempt to also track down Carole's vinyl requirements. We tried Intoxica and Honest Jon's on the Portobello Road, but to no avail, so we decided to head back to Rough Trade West for some live music. When we arrived Cate Le Bon was in the basement playing songs from her new album "CYRK". Cate has a wonderful voice which seemed to swoop and soar around the room. She only had her acoustic guitar for accompaniment, but you could hear a pin drop in the audience as she played.

It was decided to take the live music outside as the basement was uncomfortably hot, so we went outside to await 'Allo Darlin', who were due to play at 2.15pm. 'Allo Darlin's appointed hour came and went with no sign of the band, but Smoke Fairies who were due to follow them had already arrived, so they played first. By this time the sun had come out and it was quite warm, so Smoke Fairies performance felt for all the world like a sunny afternoon festival slot. Their music is rather ethereal with gorgeous harmonies and intricate finger-picking and slide guitar. Their delivery is very serious and nothing if not professional. It was a surprise to hear that most of the songs that they were playing were from their new EP and hadn't been played live before. It sounded as if they'd been playing them to audiences for years! Their final song was the most interesting, as at times it slipped into a riff that apart from the fact that it wasn't distorted and was finger-picked could have easily been a heavy rock riff. A very good band worthy of further investigation.

'Allo Darlin' had arrived just before Smoke Fairies commenced their set, and I overheard Elizabeth Morris commenting, I thought rather gloomily, that they would have to "play after them" (Smoke Fairies). She needn't have worried. What they may have lacked in comparison to the Smoke Fairies' finesse, they more than made up for in fun and spontaneity. They were minus their drummer and by Elizabeth's own admission were "busking". Paul Rains' unamplified acoustic guitar was all but inaudible, but other than that say sounded fine. We got "Dreaming", "The Polaroid Song", "Woody Allen" and the title song of the new album "Europe" amongst others. Elizabeth's promise that the band would play until we all went home didn't quite come to pass, but it was a reasonably lengthy set.

That was the end of the live music at Rough Trade West, but a band that I had never heard of called the Fair Ohs were playing at a shop in Islington called Flashback (of which I was also unaware) at 7pm. Well, it would be rude not to go and have a look wouldn't it? After a brief stop-off at the Old Queens Head on Essex Road for a little refreshment, we arrived at Flashback. The band were sound-checking behind the counter where there was a tiny stage with the drum kit and the bass player on it. The vocalist/guitarist was tucked behind the counter near a till. As it got nearer to 7pm the front door was closed and the shop staff passed amongst the audience handing out beers. What a great shop!!!

The band themselves had a distinctly lo-fi sound but with great musicianship. There was none of the thrashing that may have been expected. The bass playing was both fluid and powerful, whilst the guitar had some pretty impressive lead lines. Fair Ohs have a new album coming out next month which will certainly be well worth a listen. With the music over there was time to have a look around the shop (and drink another beer which was thrust into my hand!) and what a place it is! Loads of good quality second-hand vinyl but without the ludicrously inflated prices of some establishments. I bought the first Icicle Works single ("Nirvana" on the Troll Kitchen label from 1982) and vowed to return when I had more money to spend. We then headed for the Mucky Pup for a too short visit to the Flashback after party before we returned to deepest Sussex, and so ended a great Record Store Day.

Record Store Day is a great idea as it raises awareness of the existence of independent record shops. However, you don't need to wait until Record Store Day 2013 to enjoy these establishments. In these days of HMV, Amazon and Downloads they need as much support as they can get. Use them or lose them.      

11th April 2010 - Bad Company + The Joe Perry Project - Wembley Arena

With Aerosmith being on hiatus due (allegedly) to Steven Tyler having dramatically fallen off the wagon, Joe Perry has recorded an album ("Have Guitar Will Travel") and revived The Joe Perry Project. Perry is joined by (amongst others) original bassist David Hull and the very impressive German singer (who sounds to all the world like an American) Hagen Grohe.

On taking the stage the band immediately tear into the title track of their 1980 album "Let The Music Do The Talking", something that could very much be said to be Perry's modus operandi. The cover of "Walkin' The Dog" seems a little superfluous when Perry has so much great original music at his disposal, however a subsequent cover of Woody Guthrie's "Vigilante Man" shows that other people's music can be treated with a degree of imagination. The covers do seem to have been chosen imaginatively - who expected Jeremy Spencer's Fleetwood Mac song "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite" (also covered with distinction by The Rezillos) to get an airing? However, even a support act as respected as Joe Perry only gets barely an hour to play with, and after a romp through "Train Kept A-Rollin'" and "Walk This Way" Joe and the Project are heading backstage.

The phrase "follow that!" springs to mind, but Bad Company's first London gig with Paul Rodgers on vocals for (if my memory serves me correctly) around twenty-eight years is going to take some beating, and there can't really be many more emphatic opening numbers than "Can't Get Enough". Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke both look in fine fettle, but I can't get over how goddamn old Mick Ralphs looks! He looks like a portly retired English gentleman who has treated himself to a Gibson Les Paul on which to noodle away his twilight years. Nothing wrong with his playing though - if you close your eyes it could almost be the old days.

Paul Rodgers' voice remains the impressive instrument that it always has been, and the setlist is pretty much what any Bad Co. fan would have chosen. "Seagull" is sublime and "Feel Like Makin' Love" has all the raunch of yore. During "Shooting Star" pictures of Paul Kossoff and other dead rock stars are projected onto the backdrop, making for a particularly poignant moment. The only real negative criticism is Paul Rodgers' cheerleading through the whole set. The crowd were loving the gig and there wasn't really any need for further encouragement for people to get into it. Mr Rodgers at times was just trying too hard. However, that's a minor point. A great gig, and something that they'll hopefully repeat before they're too much older!

9th April 1984 - The Kinks + The Truth - Leicester De Montfort Hall

The Truth were Dennis Greaves' band after Nine Below Zero split. I had seen Nine Below Zero a couple of times and enjoyed them very much, and I was pleased to discover that The Truth were worthy successors. However, apart from the fact that the personnel were different, the differences between the two bands were minimal. Doubtless this was a factor in Greaves later re-forming his former band.

Despite the fact that The Kinks were playing to a shockingly quarter empty De Montfort Hall, the sparseness of the crowd did not detract from the atmosphere. There were lots of young mods in the audience, who swarmed to the front to pogo wildly during "David Watts", and then returned to the back to stand around sulkily in their parkas and striped blazers.

The Kinks played quite a bit from their then current album "State Of Confusion", but they by no means neglected their back catalogue; "You Really Got Me", "All day And All Of The Night", "Waterloo Sunset" and "Lola" particularly standing out. However, for me the encore was a highlight: the played "I Gotta Move" which was the b-side of "All Day And All Of The Night", a childhood favourite of mine.

The band played with a great degree of tautness and energy and deserved a far bigger and more enthusiastic audience. Rumours abound that they are going to return in some shape or form, if only the Davies brothers can bring themselves to speak to each other.....

7th April 2001 - Show Of Hands - London Royal Albert Hall

It is not the first time that Show Of Hands have sold out the Royal Albert Hall. The Devon folksters have a loyal following who seemingly are quite happy to shell out to see the band at the venerable venue. They are fine musicians (Phil Beer has previously played with the Albion band and Mike Oldfield amongst others) who produce pleasant and melodic folk music. However, I found their music ultimately rather bland. They don't have the edge of others of their ilk such as Fairport Convention for example. They're basically just too 'nice'.

However, they do stand out for providing the most toe-curlingly cringeworthy moment that I have ever witnessed at a gig: when Steve Knightley proposed to his girlfriend who was in a box towards the back of the venue. The young lady responded with a decidedly uncertain 'maybe'. Let's hope it all ended happily ever after for them.

The highlight of the gig was when they were joined by Ralph McTell who sang (what else?) "Streets Of London". All in all it the Show Of Hands experience was a reasonably pleasant one, but not one that I would necessarily want to repeat.

3rd April 2003 - Johnny Marr and the Healers + Mellowdrone - London ULU-

This was a very packed and much anticipated gig, perhaps evidenced to some degree by the sight of Ian McNabb queueing for the bar. On my way back from the cloakroom I passed Johnny Marr in the corridor and was surprised by how short he is. He looks much bigger on the telly.

The Healers certainly had a very impressive line-up, including Alonza Bevan (ex of Kula Shaker) on bass and Zak (son of Ringo) Starkey on drums. They were promoting the somewhat criminally ignored Boomslang album, so there were no covers, and certainly no Smiths songs! Marr handled all of the lead vocals and made a pretty decent fist of it. It was a competent rather than a great gig, but the Healers have been playing some low-key gigs over the last few months (albeit with only Marr from the original line-up) so with luck they'll be prowling a stage near you soon.

28th March 1990 - David Bowie - London Docklands Arena

At this stage in Bowie's career, his last decent album had been what? "Let's Dance" ? Certainly there had been a couple of stinkers since: "Tonight" was sufficiently awful that it's title track had already been covered to better effect by Iggy Pop on his "The Idiot" album; and "Never Let Me Down" was an attempt to return to past conceptual splendour that simply didn't cut it - a conceit too far - and that's before we even mention Tin Machine.

So rather than have another attempt at being creative, Bowie heads out on a greatest hits tour. Nothing wrong with that per se, but this was  Bowie as human jukebox - his most popular work being performed pretty much as it appeared on record, with little discernible emotional input from the artist. This was a case of giving the public what they wanted.

That isn't to say that it was a bad show as such, it just wasn't as spectacularly good as Bowie can be. He could have been accused of going through the motions and waiting for the pay cheque at the end of the night. There was a real feeling that this could be the end and that this was maybe a farewell tour. Possibly Bowie at this stage suspected that he didn't have another good album in him. Thankfully there was to be a renaissance, just not yet!

28th March 1987 - Simply Red + Terence Trent D'arby - Birmingham Odeon

I was dragged along under protest to see Simply Red. Although I thought their first album was very good, I thought that their second served no purpose other than to soundtrack yuppie dinner parties, so the prospect of seeing them live did not excite me in the slightest.

However, before they slithered onto the stage we had Terence Trent D'arby to contend with. I must confess that I'd never heard of TTD so I had no idea what to expect. What we got was a soul singer with great songs and a stage presence somewhere between James Brown and Michael Jackson. I was convinced that I was watching a major new talent, and indeed his first album "The Hardline According to Terence Trent D'arby" was very successful. I was therefore very disappointed for him when his second album "Neither Fish Nor Flesh" utterly stiffed. This album was very ambitious, didn't have many instantly accessible pop songs, and was seemingly just too difficult a listen for the people who'd bought his first album. Pity.

Perhaps if he'd aimed for being bland (not to be confused with Bobby 'Blue'Bland) he'd have sold as many truckloads of records as Simply Red. Nothing remotely challenging about them. To be fair, Mick Hucknall wrang every last drop of emotion possible out of each song, but quite frankly when the band looked as bored as they did it simply wasn't enough. The musicians looked as if they were being paid by the note and were thinking about what they were going to eat, drink, smoke or shag when they walked offstage. The audience loved it, but really listening to the album at home would probably have been a far more exciting experience. They certainly didn't appear to care that they'd just been blown offstage by Terence Trent D'arby. Probably the most boring hour-and-a-half that I've spent in a music venue, and one I won't get back either.

26th March 1993 - Ian McNabb - London Astoria

This was Ian's first tour since the demise of The Icicle Works. He was promoting his solo debut "Truth and Beauty" and it was a very promising start. The album itself was excellent, and Ian played with a very good full band. The Astoria may not have been sold out, but it was pretty full. Unfortunately Ian has been playing to an increasingly (to quote Spinal Tap) "selective" audience. The British music-buying public is a bit bloody rubbish at times.

Last Week's Boat Floaters

The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
Essentially the Ramones with guitar solos......what's not to like???

The Band - Music From Big Pink
The Band stepped out from Dylan's shadow and effectively invented Americana as we know it today.

The Beatles - Live at the Star Club, Hamburg 1962
This album is from a performance taped by Kingsize Taylor of Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes. It was first released in 1977 and The Beatles responded by demanding it was deleted and by suing Taylor to emphasise their point. They claimed that the performances on this album was not representative of their recorded work. This is indeed true. The recording quality is poor, but the performances are superbly raw and energetic. It is effectively a bootleg of The Beatles' live show before they became famous. It is occasionally re-released, and each time this happens The Fabs sue Taylor once again! It's a marvellous artefact. If you happen to see a copy - grab it!!!

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - Couldn't Stand The Weather
It's now twenty years since SRV was killed in a helicopter crash. This album simply underlines what a grievous loss to the world of music he was.

Wire - Pink Flag
Spiky New Wave from 1977

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
It is too simple to describe this as 'fuzzy folk'. Jeff Mangum presents some of the most moving lyrics and emotionally cracked performances that I've heard for a long time. A unique talent.

23rd March 2005 - The Zutons - Brixton Academy

The Zutons were touring their first album "Who Killed The Zutons?" which at this point had been out for a year. However, they sounded really fresh and gave a really enthusiastic performance. What impressed me about the band live was their sheer musicality. The songs were really good, and a lot of thought had clearly gone into the arrangements of the songs when played live. Abi Harding's sax contributions were particularly tasteful. It really was a case of 'less is more' and there was no hint of showboating, although she is clearly a very accomplished player. This in fact goes for the whole band. Good songs played well by a band who were clearly enjoying the experience. What more could you want?

23rd March 1982 - The Jam + Rudi - Leicester De Montfort Hall

This was one of the most keenly anticipated gigs that I have ever been to, and in some ways one of the most disappointing. The Jam were playing two nights in Leicester on their "Trans-global Unity Express" tour, and a lot of my friends had been the previous night. They had apparently played for about two-and-a-half hours and had played pretty much everything that you would want to hear.

The gig was a sell-out and De Montfort Hall was absolutely rammed. The support band Rudi were a punk band from Belfast, but I don't really remember very much about them. I remember The Jam's set was pretty firmly weighted in favour of the current album "The Gift". They had a keyboard player and a brass section on stage with them to enable them to do justice to the newer material. They had been on-stage for about an hour when Paul Weller's guitar started to cut out really badly. This had happened a couple of times earlier in the set but had appeared to have been fixed. However this time it seemed that things were irretrievable and Weller completely lost it. He took his guitar off, smashed it and his amplifier up and stormed off-stage.

The crowd became increasingly restive as the minutes ticked by. Eventually the cockney geezer-ish tones of John Weller (Paul's Dad and manager) came over the PA announcing that the gig was over and asking everybody to leave. He then added that he was sure that we would agree that we'd had our money's worth. This was a grave error as the audience went beserk! People invaded the stage and smashed up the band's gear. When people started to throw seats from the balcony onto the stage my mates and I decided it was time to leave. At least the pubs were still open......

22nd March 2004 - The Who + The Black Velvets - Kentish Town Forum

This was a warm-up gig for The Who's forthcoming appearance at the Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, hence the relatively small (for The Who) venue.

Support came from The Black Velvets who were a pretty faceless generic rock band. They were an adequate live band certainly, but not particularly memorable.

The Who took the stage to the strains of Roger Daltrey singing "Maybe It's Because I'm A Londoner". Hmmmmm.... Luckily we didn't have to endure this for long as the band kicked into a very enthusiastic version of "Who Are You". A bit of a departure this as whenever I've seen them since the early 1980s they've tended to start with either "I Can't Explain" or "Substitute". Still, it was no matter as those two stalwarts followed immediately afterwards, together with "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere". There was then another departure from the norm when "Another Tricky Day" was hauled out of retirement. This was from their poorly received "Face Dances" album of 1981, and I'm pretty sure that it hasn't been played live since the early 1980s. It received a fairly muted response tonight, which reflects its standing in The Who's canon. It's by no means a bad song, it's just not a particularly good Who song.

Townshend's guitar playing throughout is astonishingly good. Fans may hanker for the glory days when The Who were recognised as the loudest band on the planet by the Guinness Book of World Records no less, but there is more in the way of light and shade in Townshend's playing than there was in days of yore. Sure he can still make your ears melt when he wants to with the loud bits, but when he turns the volume down there are some marvellous moments of delicacy.

"Who's Next" gets a good seeing-to by way of a very raw "Bargain", "Baba O'Riley" and "Behind Blue Eyes". Likewise "Quadrophenia" is revisited with "5.15", "Sea And Sand" and "Love Reign O'er Me" being dusted off.  This was the first time I had seen The Who since John Entwistle's sad passing, and I was delighted at how well Pino Palladino's playing fitted in with the rest of the band. However, there were moments when the power of Entwistle's attack was very sorely missed. A key example was the introduction to "Baba O'Riley". When the bass and piano came in it sounded terribly weedy. This is only a minor quibble however.  

The early 1980s were revisited again as we got "Eminence Front" from "It's Hard" and "You Better You Bet" from "Face Dances". These two songs are probably the only ones from this part of The Who's career which really stand up. It probably doesn't hurt that "You Better You Bet" was their last hit single, reaching the lofty position of no.9 in 1981.

Then something very unexpected happens. The Who play a new song. There is much confusion and head-scratching in the audience. Probably. Townshend explains that "Real Good Looking Boy" is their new single, and that their record company have transferred the band from the part of the label which is "for dead people" to the part which is for active artists. Hooray! The song itself is a little underwhelming, starting with an intro which quotes "Can't Help Falling In Love With You". However, it's still very exciting to hear new Who material. In the event the single doesn't get a full release. It simply gets added to the new singles box set. A pity.

"The Kids Are Alright" and "My Generation" follow in quick succession and then it happens again: another new song! This is "Old Red Wine" which is Townshend's tribute to John Entwistle. Entwistle apparently collected very old, expensive and pretty much undrinkable red wine, hence the title. It's a fairly slow ballad. However, the coda is far more interesting: a stinging guitar riff displaying all the hallmarks of classic Who material. A hopeful sign for the future!

That coda leads into a vicious version of "Won't Get Fooled Again" which ends the main set. The band put a skimming stone through "Tommy" ("Pinball Wizard", "Amazing Journey", "Sparks" and "See Me Feel Me / Listening To You") for the encores and another Who gig ends.

Although there are now only two original members of the band left, the character of The Who is undiminished. With a Who gig you can never be sure of what is going to happen. There is always the impression that they are only just getting through by the skin of their teeth and the whole thing may fall apart at any moment. During this gig there were guitar errors, Daltrey forgot lyrics and there was absolutely no attempt to hide those errors, and the gig was all the better for it.There's a temptation to view The Who as sort of indestructible and tonight's gig only reinforced that temptation. Sure Townshend looked absolutely knackered at the end of the main set, but this was a robust performance and a thoroughly great gig.

22nd March 1986 - The Cherry Bombz + The Baby Sitters + Dogs D'amour - Birmingham Portland Club

This was an evening of rock'n'roll writ large. Dogs D'amour were a Faces influenced bunch from the North-East of England led by the indefatigueable Tyla. I believe they're still going in some form today. The Babysitters had previously supported Hanoi Rocks on tour so their place on the bill was well deserved, as The Cherry Bombz were Andy McCoy's post Hanoi Rocks band. Their singer was the very lovely Anita Chellemah who had previously been a backing singer for Billy Idol. If you think of The Cherry Bombz as a female fronted Hanoi Rocks then you're not very far off course, and they were every bit as good and enjoyable as that comparison suggests.

20th March 1986 - The Nightingales + Ted Chippington + We've Gotta Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It + compere: John Peel - Birmingham University

John Peel was an arbiter of musical good taste for at least two or three generations of music fans, therefore any tour to which he lent his support was not to be missed. It was pleasing to discover that even when he was speaking on stage he was as diffident and understated as he was on the radio. I don't know whether John actually chose the acts for this tour, but I suspect he may have had some hand in it. They were all pretty different from each other, but were of a similarly high standard.

We've Got A Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It looked like the result of a series of explosions in dressing-up boxes and make-up drawers. Both their look and their music had a certain day-glo quality. They were obviously barely tutored in their instruments, but their sheer creativity overcame that obstacle. This was no virtuoso performance but their material was very good, especially "XXSex". Unfortunately they had to run the gauntlet of bad undergraduate humour (e.g "show us yer fuzzbox!"). They were very imaginative, but were later given a corporate pop sheen by WEA and re-branded as Fuzzbox.

Ted Chippington was a spoof working men's club comedian and singer. His jokes were given a very flat delivery and usually started with the line "walking down the road the other day", for example: "walking down the road the other day I was stopped by one of those long-haired blokes (you've seen them around) and he said 'hello mate, would you like some grass?' I said 'I've got crazy paving mate, grass is no good to me'". Hopefully this gives you a flavour of his humour. He'd had an EP released called "Party Hits of the 50s, 60s and 70s" on which his 'singing' was every bit as flat as his vowels. He was actually hilarious but some of the students just didn't get it. One bloke yelled out: "who the f*** are you?!!" Without missing a beat Chippington replied: "Ted Chippington's the name mate". They don't tell 'em like that anymore.

A degree of gravitas was brought to proceedings by The Nightingales who were perceived as 'proper' artists. They were promoting what would be their final album before splitting: "In The Good Old Country Way". The quality of Robert Lloyd's songwriting was never in doubt, and his sonorous baritone only served to underline that quality, inviting the audience to listen as well as leap about. Whatever your reaction to them, they certainly didn't give the impression of a band about to implode. All in all, a memorable gig!

 

Last Week's Boat Floaters

Treetop Flyers - Bury The Past
Country rock from London!

The Beatles - Live At The Star Club, Hamburg 1962
Appalling sound quality - raw energetic performances! The Fabs have been repeatedly suppressing this since it was first issued in 1977. It has come out in various guises, being rapidly withdrawn each time. My copy is a Japanese import which, much to my amazement, I found in HMV a couple of years ago. Needless to say, I haven't seen a copy since. It's available on Amazon for £365 (my copy cost me a tenner), although used copies can be had for about £40.

19th March 2002 - Vex Red + Halo - London Kings College

At the time of this gig Vex Red were being touted (I suspect mostly by NME) as being the next big thing. I hadn't heard anything by them that impressed me so there must have been some reason why my mate dragged me along.

We arrived at the venue, took a cursory look at the stage where Halo were re-heating somebody else's long dead ideas of what a rock band should sound like, and headed for the bar. As we did this, a pothead pixie in a stupid woolly hat bounded up and asked us whether we were "from Sony?". As one we rounded on him and said "no - f*** off!". I suppose he didn't think there could be any other reason why people who were possibly over thirty should be there.

Halo finished torturing their instruments and the sensibilities of the audience (none of this in a good way you understand) and Vex Red appeared. In my opinion the biggest curse that can be laid at the door of any band is declaring them to be the next big thing. My God - if that was the case regarding this lot then the only option left for me would be to remove my ears with whatever was available, even if it happened to be a broken plastic beer glass.

Vex Red had essentially jumped on the rear bumper of nu-metal, and were bouncing along the road behind that clapped out banger as it spluttered its last. They split up, got married and had kids (or did whatever else retired nu-metallers do) and we all lived happily ever after. The End.

19th March 1990 - The Stranglers + Ugly As Sin - Guildford Civic Hall

I'd seen The Stranglers at least three times before this gig, and as they were always a good proposition live, I wasn't going to miss this.

Support Ugly As Sin were pretty impressive. They had loads of attitude and the material to back it up. They also had two front people, a girl and a bloke who seemed to work well off each other. I looked forward to seeing them live again. Sadly I never got the opportunity!

It wasn't known at the time, but this would be Hugh Cornwell's last tour with The Stranglers, and I for one have always viewed his departure from the band as a bit of a tragedy. The band were touring their album "10", the lead single from which was a cover of "96 Tears". I didn't particularly rate the material from the new album, but the older stuff was presented with the customary venom. There was a particularly good rendition of "School M'am" during which a girl from the audience was called up on stage, given a mortar board and gown to wear, and invited to spank Hugh Cornwell, which she duly did!

When the band exited after the encores, one bloke in the audience was foolish enough to boo. What he hadn't realised was that Jean Jacques Burnel was crouching down at the front of the stage chatting to someone. At least the guy who booed can tell his grandchildren that Jean Jacques Burnel told him to f*** off!

18th March 1998 - Rialto - London Oxford Street Virgin Megastore

This was a lunchtime in-store gig to promote Rialto's self-titled album, and as it was taking place just around the corner from my office it seemed rude not to go.

The band were onstage for the best part of an hour and I think played the whole album, including the singles "Untouchable" and "Monday Morning 5.19". They were a very tight live band and I must confess that I thought their brand of classy indie rock would take them a long way. Louis Eliot is an extremely good songwriter and I suspect that the reason that the band didn't get much further (they released a second album "Night On Earth" in 2002) was simply because they weren't heard enough!

16th March 1991 - Uriah Heep + Dangerous - Guildford Civic Hall

Uriah Heep are 1970s rock legends and this was the first time that I had seen them. However, we were first entertained by Dangerous about whom I remember little apart from them being a typical late 1980s heavy rock band. They did have a very good female singer however.

Uriah Heep have been around since 1969, although only Mick Box remains from the original line-up. The line-up from this particular gig had been together since 1987 (and would remain unchanged until 2007) and in addition to   Mick Box comprised Bernie Shaw (vocals), Trevor Bolder (bass), Lee Kerslake (drums) and Phil Lanzon (keyboards). The band gave a committed and enthusiastic performance in what was a disgracefully sparsely populated Civic Hall. The audience consisted of two rows of people along the front of the stage, but the way the band performed you would have thought that the place was sold out. Now that's commitment!

We got superb renditions of "Stealin'", "The Wizard" and the wonderful "July Morning". I only feel sorry for the people who could have been there!

This Week's Boat Floaters......

Swell Maps - A Trip To Marineville
DIY from 1979

22-20s - 05/03
Fantastic live EP. They were a great band - whatever happened to them?

Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi
A future classic. In atmosphere very reminiscent of Grace by Jeff Buckley

Television - Marquee Moon
Tom Verlaine forever changes the way in which the electric guitar is perceived.

The Pogues - If I Should Fall From Grace With God
Bringing St Patrick's Day to life!!!

15th March 1986 - Heartbeat '86 - Birmingham NEC

This was a charity gig in aid of Birmingham Childrens' Hospital, and Birmingham bands from the previous twenty-five years or so stepped up to the plate to do their bit for a very worthy cause.

Proceedings kicked off with a set from the Steve Gibbons Band, who were West Midlands pub-rock heroes. They certainly looked very self-assured on the big stage, almost as if they played arenas every day of the week!  They had a sniff of the big time in the mid 1970s when The Who took them under their wing for a while and they regularly supported the rock legends. They had also had a Top 40 hit in 1976 with a cover of Chuck Berry's "Tulane". That didn't get played today but they did play "Share It With You", "Till The Well Runs Dry" and "BSA".

This was very much a West Midlands mini Live Aid, and from the start it ran every bit as smoothly and slickly as that other great concert. Next up were The Fortunes who played the Everly Brothers' hit "Let It Be Me", and their own hit "You've Got Your Troubles".

Roy Wood followed. This gig was supposed to feature a performance from a re-formed Move, but Wood announced that this hadn't been possible "for various reasons" (he didn't go into details but sounded pretty pissed off about it). We were treated instead to a trio of Wizzard hits: "See My Baby Jive", "Are You Ready To Rock" and "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day". It really was tremendous stuff and the crowd loved it, but all too soon Woody was gone.

UB40 and Ruby Turner pitched up with "I Got You Babe". The band had to start without Astro who seemingly had managed to get lost between the dressing room and the stage - shades of Spinal Tap! I thought UB40's first album ("Signing Off" from 1980)  was a superb social commentary, and I was disappointed that they chose to produce what was essentially pop pap for the rest of their career.

The Applejacks re-formed specifically for the event and played their 1964 hit "Tell Me When". They were once dubbed 'the Solihull sound', but they sounded like typical unremarkable mid-60s British beat to me. However, they clearly meant a lot to people in Birmingham and it was good of them to re-form for this show. They certainly didn't give the impression that they hadn't played since the end of the 60s.

Denny Laine made a terribly nervous appearance to play "Go Now" which he had a hit with in 1964 with The Moody Blues. Laine had to have two attempts at the song before his ordeal was mercifully over.

Robert Plant, possibly one of the most hotly anticipated acts of the day, appeared next with The Big Town Playboys. The Big Town Playboys are a rock 'n' roll revival band, and their short set with Plant wasn't dissimilar to the mini-album that he'd recorded with Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck as The Honeydrippers the year before. Perhaps it wasn't what people expected from Robert Plant, but since the demise of Led Zeppelin he has made something of an art form of doing the unexpected.

The Rockin' Berries made a brief appearance performing their 1964 hit "He's In Town", before The Moody Blues appeared with all of their customary grandeur. The Moodies turned in a three song set which incorporated some of their best work: "Tuesday Afternoon", "Question" and "Nights In White Satin". Their music has always had a somewhat sumptuous quality, and this performance certainly did that quality justice.

The Electric Light Orchestra were the day's final band. This was their first UK gig since 1982, and would indeed be their last. A great pity as the band put in a storming performance. Again it was a veritable parade of hits: "Telephone Line", "Do Ya", "Rockaria", "Hold On Tight" and "Don't Bring Me Down". Then the band were gone.

Naturally there was going to be an encore, and the massed ranks of Brummies returned Live Aid finale style. Jasper Carrott (one of the day's comperes, along with Peter Powell and a very drunk and obnoxious Jim Davidson) made a short speech before introducing "the icing on the cake - the former Beatle George Harrison!" That was sufficient to light the blue touch paper and the whole place erupted! "Johnny B Goode" burst into life with George providing lead vocals for the first verse. After additional contributions from (a seemingly much recovered) Denny Laine and Robert Plant it was all over.

Whilst the show was inevitably weighted toward Birmingham's musical past it was a great opportunity to see some fabulous artists doing their stuff. It was however a pity that there weren't more of Birmingham's recent artists on the bill. Ultimately though it was a day of great music and it raised a lot of money for Birmingham Childrens' Hospital.  

  

14th March 1993 - Belly + Radiohead + Sidi Bou Said - Kentish Town, Town and Country Club

This was one of the last gigs at the old Town and Country Club before it was taken over and renamed the Forum, and had an agreeably good line-up to see the old place off with.

Sidi Bou Said commenced proceedings with their somewhat ethereal brand of indie, and were followed by Radiohead who were promoting the first album. Thom Yorke at this time had shoulder-length blond standard rock star hair. Was it meant to be ironic? You'd have to ask him.

Belly was a vehicle for ex-Throwing Muse (and ex-Breeder) Tanya Donnelly, and they were promoting their already very successful debut album "Star". They were a very potent live force - an effervescent moshpit forming as a tribute to their live prowess. Thom Yorke joined the band on vocals for the encore.


14th March 1998 - Miles Hunt + Carina Round - Camden Monarch

Carina Round at this time was a purveyor of largely delicate acoustic folk songs. A particular highlight was her version of the standard "In My Time of Dying", as recorded by Bob Dylan on his debut album, and Led Zeppelin  on "Physical Graffiti".

Miles Hunt delivered an acoustic set of mostly Wonder Stuff songs, which despite their setting had quite considerable energy. The Monarch is better known these days as Camden Barfly.  

13th March 1987 - The Cult + Gaye Bykers On Acid - Birmingham Odeon

Sadly I remember very little about seeing Gaye Bykers On Acid at this gig. However the name of their alter-ego band in which they gigged in drag if I remember rightly always amused me: Lesbian Dopeheads on Mopeds.

The Cult however made a very definite impression on me. I had seen them a couple of years previously on the "Love" tour in Leicester. This time they had gone further down the road of adopting the values of late 1960s/early 1970s rock music, with Ian Astbury firmly ensconced in his Jim Morrison persona. They were promoting their "Electric" album, on which some of their musical 'borrowings' were on the edge of being legally actionable. This was especially true of "Love Removal Machine", where the second half of the track bore more than a passing similarity to Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker" (mind you, Led Zeppelin had no cause to complain, having liberally 'borrowed' from a number of blues and folk musicians who they had to give composer credits to years, and sometimes decades, later).

This borrowing took nothing away from their live performance however. By this point in their career they had become a traditional 'proper' rock band and still had the youthful swagger to carry it off. At one point Astbury wore a hat that appeared to have been made from a fox's head. Did he look ridiculous? Yes! Did he care? No! He was the focal point of the band, along with guitarist Billy Duffy who ripped death-defying solos from his Gretsch White Falcon as if his life depended on it. The 1980s were often desperately lacking in rock 'n' roll. This particular band more than filled a need!!!

On This Day I Saw:

The DTs - Leicester Dores Wine Bar - 1984

The DTs were an r'n'b band very much in the vein of Dr Feelgood, and like them were excellent exponents of 'pub rock' (n.b - don't be fooled by the name of the venue: it had previously been called the Dixie Arms, and the name was all that had changed). In Simon 'Honeyboy' Hickling and Steve Walwyn they had  respectively an excellent vocalist and guitarist. In fact, Steve Walwyn did become a member of Dr. Feelgood in around 1990. The DTs' set mostly consisted of covers, and their renditions of Chuck Berry's Talkin' 'bout You and The Beatles' One After 909 were particularly good. I do remember them having a single called BSA Rocket III which was built around a Bo Diddley riff with loads of slide guitar, but they rarely seemed to play it live. I saw them quite a few times and they were a great night out.


Mansun + Travis - Reading Alleycat - 1997

Mansun had released their album Attack Of The Grey Lantern about three weeks previously and were touring the toilet circuit to promote it. They had already released a series of accomplished singles prior to the album being released and put in a pretty fiery performance on this particular night. Travis on the other hand were thoroughly unremarkable and I really did not expect to encounter them again!


 

On This Day I Saw:

1984 - Hawkwind + Bronz - Leicester De Montfort Hall

During the 1980s Hawkwind seemed on occasion to be cursed with very average support bands, and Bronz were no exception, being purveyors of mediocre and instantly forgettable heavy metal. Hawkwind on the other hand provided a singularly memorable experience. At this time the band still attracted 'freaks' wearing white lab coats decorated with art either inspired by or copied from Hawkwind album sleeves. The music seemed capable of transporting one to other galaxies or times without the use of any form of chemical amusement whatsoever (although I am reliably informed that this can enhance the experience). On this occasion the band were joined by bassist Dave Anderson, who had left after the release of the In Search Of Space album in 1971.


1998 - Cornershop + Les Rhythmes Digitales - Shepherds Bush Empire

Les Rhythmes Digitales was a vehicle for Jacques Le Cont (aka Stuart Price) and was essentially his homage to French house music. He seemed to be having a good time on stage and that translated to the audience to an extent.

Cornershop were touring their When I Was Born For The Seventh Time. Cornershop are not necessarily the most arresting live performers, but their music has sufficient depth to draw in the audience, so it doesn't really matter that presentation is very much a secondary consideration.

This Week's Boat Floaters (in no particular order) :-

Allo Darlin' - Allo Darlin' (LP)

The Just Joans - If You Don't Pull You're Gonna Walk Home On Your Own (track)

The Stranglers - No More Heroes (LP)
Malevolence and menace from 1977

Tame Impala - Innerspeaker (LP)
Psychedelic stoner rock

Sugarcubes - Life's Too Good (LP)
Possibly the most bonkers band ever......

Dr. Feelgood - Oil City Confidential (DVD)
Fascinating and frequently hilarious documentary charting the career of the Canvey Island Band

Dr. Feelgood - Goin' Back Home (DVD & CD)
Feelgood's homecoming gig at Southend's Kursaal ballroom in 1975

On This Day I Saw:

1983 - 10CC + Locomotiv GT - Leicester De Montfort Hall

This was 10CC after the departure of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, who left the band after the release of the band's "How Dare You!" album in 1976. In 1977 the remaining members, Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart released the "Deceptive Bends" album, which was essentially a 'last hurrah' for the former high quality of their output. The subsequent album "Bloody Tourists" released in 1978, featured the casually racist hit single "Dreadlock Holiday" and was at best disappointing. From the point of view of creativity in the studio it was downhill from there.

However, they were still a reasonable live band, sensibly concentrating their set on the pre-"Bloody Tourists" era. They were supported by the Hungarian rock band Locomotiv GT, UK gigs by whom were pretty rare with the Cold War in full swing.


1990 - Rik Mayall + Andy De La Tour - Guildford Civic Hall

2008 - Levellers + Dreadzone + Alabama 3 - Brixton Academy

With the best will in the world this was a bit of a nostalgia-fest for early to mid '90s alternative protest music. The Levellers are still a good live proposition though, and the most recent album that I have by them (2002's "Green Blade Rising") isn't bad.

Gig Review: Allo Darlin'

Allo Darlin’ / Vadoinmessico / The Vaudeville – Brighton Haunt 3/3/2012

Due to appalling timekeeping on my part I managed to miss The Vaudeville entirely. However, I’ve caught up with them on Youtube and will make the effort to see them live in order to make up for my previous tardiness!

I did however see the last three or four songs of Vadionmessico’s set. I would describe their music as ‘interesting’: electro-tinged indie with folk elements (well, there was a ballad featuring acoustic guitar and they used a banjo on their last song). They’re one of those bands that seem to swap instruments at the end of each song. I’ve never been able to make up my mind whether this shows a degree of versatility or is just plain annoying! Is it a sign of a band who are too clever for their own good?!! It certainly interrupts the flow of the set.

I have seen Allo Darlin’ described as twee, which I’ve always viewed as a bit of a derogatory term. However, they undeniably display signs of being both cute and sweet, which I guess is sort of OK. I was a little dubious about Elizabeth Morris’ extensive use of the ukelele, and wasn’t sure how that would work live. When they arrived on stage Elizabeth was toting a very nice Fender Mustang and their jangly indie pop was far more muscular than I expected.

About four songs in Elizabeth switched to ukelele for the song “Darren”, which is about their friend Darren Hayman, who Elizabeth protested that she is not in love with. The uke sounded absolutely fine, but during this song her Mustang, which she’d leant against the drum riser, fell over. Invest in a guitar stand Elizabeth!

The band seemed to hit their stride with “The Polaroid Song” with some very impressive pogoing from bassist Bill Botting (who later also took an equally impressive leap from the drum riser). This was the last night of the band’s UK tour, and they definitely seemed to be having fun, the sense of which was infectious. However, this didn’t get in the way of their performance. Whilst there was plenty of exuberance, there were also moments of great understatement which had the audience absolutely rapt. Sometimes less really is more.

They finished their main set with “Dreaming” during which Bill Botting’s lead vocal lines were unfortunately all but inaudible. They quickly returned to the stage for the encores amid dry ice which apparently reminded Elizabeth of “high school discos”! They played a great cover of “If You Don’t Pull You’re Gonna Walk Home On Your Own” by the Just Joans, and finished with “Kiss Your Lips” and “My Heart Is A Drummer” complete with funky coda that sounded a lot like “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper.

Allo Darlin’ aren’t doing anything new, but they do what they do with considerable aplomb (especially Paul Rains’ C86/Johnny Marr influenced guitar inflections). Primarily though, this band is about fun (and romance – listen to the lyrics). If you see them they won’t make you re-assess the way in which you live your life or lecture you on the inequalities of modern life, but you will almost certainly leave the gig with a smile on your face.

                                                                                                      Mark Kelly    

Introduction

Welcome to my music blog! I shall be using this as a vehicle for my musings, to tell you about the gigs I've seen and the music I've been listening to, together with some occasional stuff relating to art forms other than music.

I must apologise to Ian McNabb for partially appropriating the title from one of his songs with The Icicle Works: "Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream)". In my opinion Ian is one of the most undervalued and overlooked songwriters that Britain has produced. I shall be adding an overview of his career in due course.

I hope you all enjoy what I churn out, and that you'll feel free to add comments, even if only to tell me I'm talking rubbish!

Mark Kelly