started my journey with the With Just A Hint Of Mayhem blog back on February 9th 2009. It started as just a few posts with me rattling on about some odd pieces of music trivia. Then it grew into me reviewing almost all gigs that I go to and then reviewing singles, albums and EPs. More recently I have reviewed a few music related books and films. I would like to thank every single one of you that has stayed with us, especially the real fans (I think there may be nearly ten now!). I owe a debt of gratitude to every one of you who sends me stuff to review, especially the artists themselves and all those rather nice PR people. I have also immensely enjoyed all the interviews with artists and other key music industry people that I have been lucky enough to do.
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem has enabled me to do some things that I never imagined that I would. I am now a regular judge for two great annual Battle Of The Bands contests. I was also able to do a history of music journalism lecture at York’s Access For Music College. Sadly it closed down shortly after, I certainly hope that wasn’t down to me. Back in 2009 I would have been pleased and excited if just a few friends and random people viewed the blog, but now we are up to nearly 1.9 million views across 227 countries (according to the WordPress classification of a country!). There are currently six countries where no one has ever ventured to With Just A Hint Of Mayhem from, that includes North Korea. I can’t see the latter changing soon. Also another huge thank you to all of you who have ever written reviews and articles for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem. Will I still be doing this in another sixteen years? I have no idea, I will be in my 80s by then. But as long as I am able I plan to keep going! Stick with us here at With Just A Hint Of Mayhem for the next part of the journey. To quote David Bowie “I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.” Well I will at least do everything I can to make sure it’s not boring. Once again thank you and here is a sixteen related song to celebrate with (it is actually one of my favourite songs from the 70s!)
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When 2024 began I set myself a target of posting an average of one post per day. That meant I needed to finish at least 366 posts as it was a leap year. In the end I posted 377 times, 11 over target. Those posts received a total of 43,874 views, the second highest annual figure since 2015. That was from a total of 31,105 visitors. Since the blog began in 2009 (yes it really is nearly 16 years old) we have received 1,850,714 views. Let’s push on to 2 million! In completing my target I wrote 113,231 words.
The most popular posts were “Everyone Is A C*nt Except Me” – Judy Raindrop. Another favorite was “Johnnie Walker’s Final Sounds Of The 70s Show On BBC Radio 2“. He will be sadly missed by many of us! A huge thank you from me and the team for your support. We appreciate you sticking by With Just A Hint Of Mayhem for all these years. It is you that keeps me going and I really do love doing this. I hope that 2025 is a great one for you. Be happy, be strong and be kind!
I began my With Just A Hint Of Mayhem journey in 2009. At that time, I had no idea about the future. I never expected that one day I may be writing about what is essentially a porn site. I am talking of OnlyFans. This site was created back in 2016. It was initially a social network. The purpose was to serve as a meeting point between fashion influencers and followers. Its creator, Tim Stokely (a Brit), initially conceived it as a premium content platform. Users paid to see the publications of their celebrity idols. It has grown into a, mostly, soft porn site. It caters to some fetishes and tends to focus where possible on celebrities. However, plenty of ordinary people seem to make money from it. It took off hugely during the COVID-19 pandemic. I can state categorically that I do not have an OnlyFans account and nor am I ever likely to. Not because I have high morals but because no one wants to see a fat old white blokes body. Recently, Lily Allen mentioned that she earns significantly more money selling pictures of her feet on OnlyFans. This income surpasses what she makes on streaming services like Spotify. Check out the screenshot below for more detail and click here to read Drowned In Sound’s’ take on the story.
Since then, Kate Nash has set up an OnlyFans account. This highlights the predicament many artists find themselves in. Nash has said this about her ‘Butts For Tour Buses’ campaign on OnlyFans. “I think it’s bit of a punk protest as a woman to take control of my body and sell it to be able to fund my passion project, which is actually my 18-year career. I want to highlight that, and I want people to talk about it, and I want people to know the truth about what what’s happening in the music business. The only way I could find to make a profit on the tour – you’re either going, hopefully I sell enough T-shirts to cover the debt, or you cut people’s wages, or you fire band and crew, or you travel dangerously. So that leaves me in a position where I’m not profiting from tours. So is this a job, or is it a passion project?” She later said that it was “an important time for women to take control and to feel empowered” The pictures of her derriere that she has posted on OnlyFans so far are revealing but a long way from being explicit. She has also said of the pictures that “I think the arse is the perfect combination of comedy and sexuality” and “I actually like bums. I think they’re just quite great. I think it’s funny. I enjoy taking pictures of my bum. Always been a bit of a flasher. So I’m going to enjoy doing it, and I’m already putting it online anyway.” She has stated that she expects to make more money from her backside than her music, particularly in the short term. Kate has called this protest “as punk as fuck” and I completely agree with her.
Is this right? no of course it isn’t. The music industry needs to wake up and stop being so fucking greedy. It shouldn’t be all about the money for entertainment corporations, but sadly it is. What happened to nurturing artists, supporting them and the grass roots music venues while you are at it! So many talented and upcoming artists are affected by shabby and arrogant treatment by the industry. Remember Little Simz’s lyric from her song ‘Angel’? “They don’t care if your mental is on the brink of somethin’ dark/ As long as you’re cuttin’ somebody’s payslip/ And sendin’ their kids to private school in a spaceship”. That was a sharp and brutal remark directed at music industry executives. Many of them know nothing about music, but they know a lot about ‘product’. What will it take for the industry to change? Sadly, it is likely to take a lot more than Lily Allen’s feet. Even Kate Nash’s arse won’t be enough to change everything, but it is a start. I hope it doesn’t happen, but I can see a distant future where new music never happens. What good will come of that? Well at least the corporations and the misogynist fat cats that ran them will no longer exist. I can’t imagine a life without music so we need to act, and act fast! What can we do? Here are a few thoughts from me, feel free to let me have your views.
• Spread the knowledge of how badly artists are treated and rewarded by streaming companies. • Boycott artists who don’t share a part of their ticket price to organisations like the Music Venues Trust. • Reduce your usage of streaming services. Alternatively, stop using them entirely. • Use Bandcamp more • Buy more artist merch and physical product. • Support your local music scene and grass roots venues • Never buy ridiculously overpriced tickets. Oasis and many festivals for example. • Never use Viagogo or their dark brotherhood of ticket exchange companies • Contact your MP and tell them to speak up for artists
Here it is, we are finally ready to reveal Mayhem’s Top 20 Albums Of 2024. This is part 1 which covers positions 11 through to 20. Have your favourite albums made the Mayhem cut? Check out the list below and check out part two which will reveal the top 10 very soon! I had the list almost complete and then just to make life difficult Not Now Norman and Carol Hodge both released new albums and they appear at number 16 and 20 respectively. Are you looking forward to part 2? There will be a 20 song play list when Part 2 arrives!
11 Cartoon Darkness – Amyl and the Sniffers – Perfectly crafted cartoon punk. 12 What Now – Brittany Howard – What a fucking voice! 13 POST HUMAN: NeX Gen – Bring Me The Horizon – They have evolved into something very special! 14 Where’s My Utopia? – Yard Act – A stunning sophomore release. 15 The Past is Still Alive – Hurray For The Riff Raff – This captures the simplistic beauty of great music! 16 Go HARD or Go HOME – Not Now Norman – They went very hard and we didn’t go home! 17 EELS TIME! – Eels – Mr E once again produces a sublime collection. 18 66 – Paul Weller – He is my age and can still turn out a great album, unlike me! 19 Another Nice Mess – Curtis Eller’s American Circus – A gorgeous slice of American music. 20 EffortLess InSecurity – Carol Hodge – The Hodge pulls off yet another towering album.
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Johnnie Walker‘s final Sounds Of The 70s was broadcast on 27th October. I was on holiday when it aired but listened to it via BBC Music’s catch-up service. After 58 years as a DJ, this is the end of an era for Johnnie and radio. He is one of the finest radio presenters I have ever heard. I might have heard him during his stint at pirate station Radio Caroline in the ’60s, but I remember listening to Johnnie avidly during school lunchtime in the ’70s on BBC Radio 1. In those heady days, he was the first DJ to reveal the weekly chart in a Tuesday pop chart rundown. I remember that he used a musical bed of the classic Booker T and the MGs track “Time Is Tight”. His voice and that track bring back so many teenage memories. I was the kid who always brought a small transistor radio into school with him, particularly on a Tuesday. This meant that me and my mates at Bishopshalt School in Hillingdon could find out whether David Cassidy and the Osmonds were still clogging up the UK charts (they were), whether Slade had gone straight in at the top (they had), or whether Bowie would get his first number one single (yes but not until 1975 with a reissue of “Space Oddity“).
I have listened to Johnnie’s shows regularly over the years. Saturdays in the 1990s were good but Sounds Of The 70s possibly topped all of his other shows for me. This final show was quite emotional, particularly some of the messages provided by stars and colleagues. The one from Rod Stewart was heartfelt and heartwarming. It was followed by “Sailing”, the song played at my Dad’s funeral. I cried a lot at that point. Then there was the wonderful chat with the legendary Sally Traffic. The music Johnnie chose for his last show was like a playlist of some of my favourite 70s songs; “Giving It All Away” – Roger Daltrey, “Solsbury Hill” Peter Gabriel, “I Can See Clearly Now” – Johnny Nash, “Father And Son” – Cat Stevens, “Misstra Know It All” – Stevie Wonder and the Dame himself David Bowie with “Drive-In Saturday”. There was a lot about Bowie on the show. I loved Johnnie’s wife Tiggy’s tale of meeting Bowie in 2002. By the time Johnnie ended the show with Judy Collins’ “Amazing Grace” I was a sobbing wreck! Radio is a smaller place with no Johnnie Walker on the airwaves.
As a footnote, I should tell you that the ‘Johnnie’s Jukebox‘ feature of the Sounds Of The 70s show inspired me to start the Play It Again Mayhem playlist.
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Kate Bush has made a slight return today with a vital and poignant message on behalf of War Child. She has helped create a wonderful, thoughtful, and heartbreaking animation about a little shrew who searches for Hope as she makes her way across a bombed-out city. She has provided her song “Snowflake”, the opening track from her 2011 album ’50 Words For Snow’. While Kate put together storyboard sketches for the film the final animation was produced by Inkubus. Kate was interviewed by Emma Barnett about the film on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 earlier today. Click here to listen to the whole interview. She spoke at length about the film, life, and music. As for the latter Kate teased that she may be working on new music, for me and many of her fans that is incredibly exciting.
But in the meantime, please contribute whatever you can to help support War Child. If you don’t know who War Child are here is a brief summary of their aims and activities; “We protect, educate and stand up for the rights of children living through conflict. We go to the hardest-to-reach places to support those who are hardest hit. We aim to be there for children who need us most when they need us most. When conflict breaks out, we aim to reach children as early as possible and stay on to support them long after the cameras have gone home. We help keep children safe and help them to heal and learn. We understand children’s needs, respect and stand up for their rights, and put them at the centre of everything we do – because just one child caught up in conflict is one child too many.” Take a look at the truly gorgeous, stunning animation which is bleak and yet still filled with hope. Kate posted about the film on her website, click here to read it.
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Well, it has been an exciting Battle Of The Bands so far this year, six excellent heats and three semi-finals that were the closest ever! But only four bands can make it to the final and those talented bands are; Patience (Semi-final 1 winner), Theseus (Semi-final 2 winner), Offbeat (Semi-final 3 winner), and Sleuth Gang who were given the coveted Judge’s Wild Card. They were my wild card choice!) I have been involved as a judge in this fine contest for three years now (and sometimes stand-in compere) and it gets better. The talent in the music scene in York and Yorkshire is huge. Who will win? I have no idea it could be any one of these four amazing bands. I reckon it will be very close again too. Have you got a ticket? I hope so because they sold out in something like eight hours! It might not be as exciting as the other prizes on offer but if any of the bands would like to do an interview at With Just A Hint Of Mayhem sometime after the final, just give me a shout! (Theseus are ahead of the game and I am sorting out interview dates with them already!) See you on November 3rd! To get you ready check out the playlist below!
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I must confess that National Album Day, which has been running for 7 years, has kind of passed me by. I am much more keen on Record Store Day. It feels like just a chance for the major labels to reissue loads of back catalogue under the guise of a special day. Yes, I know there is an element of that on Record Store Day. But RSD is targetted at independent record stores, not the likes of HMV. On top of that releases are generally quite limited which makes the whole day more interesting in my opinion. It seems that not too many independent labels are involved in National Album Day compared to RSD. The theme of the day today, 19th October is British Groups.
Back in 2019, I celebrated the tenth anniversary of With Just A Hint Of Mayhem, and part of that celebration was a list of my top ten favourite albums. I have extended that to a top 25 and ignored the British Groups theme (although my list does include 8 British Groups). These are simply my favourite albums of all time! What are yours?
1 Live At The Lyceum 1975 – Bob Marley and the Wailers – If I had a time machine I would go back to 1975 and be there for this gig. Probably the finest live album ever. 2 Diamond Dogs – David Bowie – My favourite Bowie album changes depending on my mood, but more often than not it is the dystopian tale of Halloween Jack and Hunger City 3 Dog Man Star – Suede – I loved Suede’s first album but this took them to a whole new level. Were they Britpop? If so then they were one of the best Britpop acts by far. 4 The Kick Inside – Kate Bush – Choosing the best Catherine Bush album is very difficult, but I go back to this one regularly. 5 OK Computer – Radiohead – There are still some people out there who don’t like, or maybe don’t get, Radiohead. Why the fuck not? This LP is a work of genius. 6 What’s Going On? – Marvin Gaye – Probably the best protest and message album in history and one which is sadly still very pertinent today 7 Delilah Bon – Delilah Bon – possibly the finest debut album of the century so far 8 The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill – Lauryn Hill – is a great modern R&B record which makes Beyonce look like an amateur 9 The White Room – KLF – dance, trance, chill, weirdness. This has everything. But they should have paid PP Arnold! 10 24 Carat Diamond Trephine – Avalanche Party – Without a doubt, the greatest living UK band right now 11 Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy – Elton John – In my opinion this autobiographical masterpiece is easily the greatest album Reg Dwight ever made 12 Skeleton Tree – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – How can anyone put so much emotion, empathy and sadness in a small collection of songs? I have no idea but Nick Cave certainly achieved it with this album. 13 Abbey Road – Beatles – I love many albums from the Fab Four, but this is the one I always come back to. 14 Never Mind The Bollocks – Sex Pistols – An incendiary début from one of the best punk bands ever. What might have happened if they had stayed together? Who knows but an album like this as your legacy is a great thing! 15 Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too – New Radicals – There is not a track I would skip on this album. The band is effectively the genius that is Gregg Alexander who wrote and produced all the songs. 16 Back To Black – Amy Winehouse – stunning voice, sensational performance, what a sad loss to the world 17 Jagged Little Pill – Alanis Morrisette – A wonderful album with not a duff track in sight. She never surpassed this, but how can you beat perfect? 18 Ramones – Ramones – The high point and possibly the birth of punk, certainly in the USA 19 Songs In The Key Of Life – Stevie Wonder – So good I can forgive him for that bloody awful “I Just Called To Say I Love You” 20 Quadrohphenia – The Who – An absolute opus which I believe knocks the pants off Tommy 21 London Calling – The Clash – The album that showed they were not just a punk band 22 Sign O’ The Times – Prince – Forget Purple Rain. This was Prince’s Mona Lisa 23 The Lexicon Of Love – ABC – I often feel that music was really overproduced in the 80s. But this is sublime 24 Grace – Jeff Buckley – another great talent we lost too young. This is a monumental magnum opus 25 My Merry Go Round – Johnny Nash – This man, for me, has the most beautiful voice that I have ever heard in my life. This album from 1973 has remained among my favourite albums since its release.
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It’s that time again, it is all go for the Fulford Arms Battle Of The Bands 2024. Who will follow the Palava (2022) and Haertstrings (2023) into the Fulford Arms history books? I am honoured and incredibly happy to be invited to join the judging panel once again. I will be at all 6 heats, all 3 semi-finals and the final! I hope to see you there. May the best band win, let battle commence!
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The magnificent and obscenely talented Hærtstrings, winners of last year’s Fulford Arms Battle Of The Bands contest recently played a live session for the rather wonderful Soundsphere. There are some great interview moments with the band too. Like many of you, I am looking forward to some music from these boys very soon! Check out the video and check out our friends at the awesome Soundsphere Mag!
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With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 