Regular readers of this blog know that I will always be attracted by the lure of a free gig and last Saturday was no exception. Those lovely folk at The Inkwell in York (a fab independent vinyl records and books and tapes and stuff emporium) hosted the launch of local bandWorm’sEP launch. The shop is rather small but it was rammed on Saturday, according to Facebook 39 people said they were there. I can honestly declare that I was one of those 39 alongside any non Facebook members that were in attendance. Can they really fit that many people in the Inkwell?
Was it worth the visit? Fuck yeah! It was a great afternoon spent with an excellent band. Worm’s influences in my opinion are somewhat eclectic and range from Nirvana, Foo Fighters, jazz, acoustic Fleetwood Mac and everywhere in between. This is one hell of a talented band and I would certainly pay to see them again. I know this session was a free gig, but I did buy their EP which I must say is rather bloody spiffing and only cost three quid!
It has been on rotation in the car this week and I am loving it. My favourite tracks (and there are six fine tunes on the EP people!) are “Choke”, “Breathe” and especially “Sort It Out”. This four piece York band are very talented and seem to have a great sense of fun and camaraderie. Great musicians, great stage presence and great songs. What more do you want? Socks as dampers for the microphones? Well they had that too! If you get the chance definitely go and see them and make sure that you buy the EP too!
Apparently the usually clean-shavenBrandon Flowers off of the Killers has developed a rather eccentric (or perhaps strange) habit of keeping all the stubble he shaves from his face. He has stockpiled it in a bag for around seven years. He is allegedly quoted in the NME as saying “It doesn’t smell. It’s all black but about halfway up you start to see some greys. I don’t know what to do with it yet”
After
My advice Brandon is perhaps you should use it to stuff a pillow which you can give as a gift to your therapist. I’m sure that you must have one. Surely anyone with a habit like this needs one!
Brandon road tests his new industrial razor – the Gillette Brightside Stubble Eraser
I mostly agree with that. But saving your stubble? Come on Brandon, you’re an asshole!
I am back at Fibbers again just a few days after Julian couldn’t Cope. But there are no diva shenanigans tonight, Mike and Simon have created an excellent line up for what will sadly be Mike J’s final promotion. Kicking events off were the York and Leeds based Wildlife. I believe that this band would have easily fitted into New York’s late 70s post punk scene alongside a fledgling Talking Heads. But they are not revivalists of that era they are very 21st century too. They have great songs, great stage presence and a good rapport with the audience. They handled a little power outage problem with aplomb. Apparently all the songs are about the singers cock, well apart from “Like A Racehorse” anyway! Whether you like songs about cocks or not you should check them out.
The second band to tread the boards tonight were the two piece Broken Skulls. Imagine if the Strokes had more power, more balls and only two members. Can you do that? If you can then you would probably be imagining Broken Skulls. I would imagine that the two piece format leads many to compare them with the excellent Royal Blood. However they are more than a facsimile of another band. They are incredibly powerful performers, gifted instrumentalists and they write some terrific songs. They dedicated an old song to Mike this evening which was also the name of a former band of theirs; “Toy Radar”. I would definitely go and see these boys again and so should you if you haven’t already.
Second on the bill this evening is a band that hardly need any introduction to regular readers of this blog, the magnificent Avalanche Party. Up to now they have had excellent reviews from me. Is that about to change? Fuck no! These lads rocked their socks off on Saturday. They played a barnstorming set and the audience would have eaten out of the bands hands had they been asked. Well the majority would have at least. New song “Money” was stunning live and Joe and Jordan’s crowd invasions, or should that be incursions, raised the excitement levels for the punters. I would like to thank Jordan for dedicating the mountainous (sorry for the cliché) “Mountains” to me. ‘This one is for Big Billy at the front’; I love it! The band will be launching their new EP in their home town, Middlesbrough soon. Sadly I can’t make it, so please put a copy aside for me chaps! But if you can make it then you bloody well should. This band mean big and should be big. They get better every time I see them.
I didn’t envy the brilliant Hello Operator having to follow such a great set from one of my favourite bands of the moment, but they did follow and they followed bloody well. Hello Operator are a different kind of band to Avalanche Party but they are equally as powerful. They appear schooled in a different vein of classic rock and they know how to win over and captivate an audience. I saw them earlier this year at the smaller City Screen venue and they metaphorically blew the roof off. Frankly they did the same at Fibbers. They are and incredibly tight, talented and well rehearsed band. The guitarist has the flourish of Bernard Butler at his peak and as far as vocals go they have a singer who has one of the finest rock voices around. If you have never seen them then get off your arse and do so!
I would like to thank Mike and Simon for a great night and also Joe Bell off of Avalanche Party for the vino. This was a truly superb night for everyone who came along. Four great bands in one night it can’t get better than that can it?
The public service announcement for today is that all the pictures were taken with my Nokia and the videos are courtesy of YouTube
OK here goes with possibly my shortest gig review ever. Julian turned up at the venue complained about the lighting and fucked off home! Mr Cope you are not just a talented eccentric as I used to think; you are a twat, a diva, an arse, a tosser and someone who really couldn’t give a shit about his fans! Julian Cope you are the second biggest cunt in the world!
As regular readers will know I am a 70s music fan. So I am always interested in 70s music trivia, particularly if it involves the UK charts. I was pleased to read a little bit of trivia that I don’t believe I have published before. There is only one British act who had at least one UK top 50 hit in every year of the 70s from 1970 to 1979. That band was Hot Chocolate. I haven’t been able to verify the next one but I understand Elvis Presley also achieved at least one top 50 UK hit for every year of the 70s. Diana Ross almost made it, as she only missed the UK top 50 in 1972. Do you know of any other artists who have done this?
Here are all of Hot Chocolate’s 1970’s UK top 50 hits (including their chart position), there is hardly a duff one among them in my opinion.
1970 “Love Is Life” 6
1971 “You Could Have Been a Lady” 22
1971 “I Believe (In Love)” 8
1972 “You’ll Always Be a Friend” 23
1973 “Rumours” 44
1973 “Brother Louie” 7
1974 “Emma” 3
1974 “Cheri Babe” 31
1975 “Disco Queen” 11
1975 “A Child’s Prayer” 7
1975 “You Sexy Thing” 2
1976 “Don’t Stop It Now” 11
1976 “Man to Man” 14
1976 “Heaven Is in the Back Seat of My Cadillac” 25
1977 “So You Win Again” 1
1977 “Put Your Love In Me” 10
1978 “Every 1’s a Winner” 12
1978 “I’ll Put You Together Again” 13
1979 “Mindless Boogie” 46
A few months back I finally succumbed to the seductive ways of Spotify and I signed up for the premium service. Oh boy I wished that I had done it sooner. The amount of new albums that I have listened to lately is phenomenal. My current faves are ‘The Day Is My Enemy’ and ‘The Magic Whip’ by the Prodigy and Blur respectively. I have also rediscovered some classic old albums especially in the reggae genre; Culture, Peter Tosh and Third World to name a few.
On top of all this there are countless playlists and it is these that I use for my workouts in the gym. Yes I have been a regular gym goer since January this year. Let me tell you I wasn’t just gifted with such a buff body, I have to work at it! Anyway the reason for this post other than to give Spotify yet more free publicity is to mention a song that popped up on one of those playlists in the gym last night. It was a kind of greatest hits of the 70s playlist and the song has always been one of my favourites.
Hearing it once again made me think that perhaps it is one of the finest most timeless pop songs ever. I am talking about the Jackson 5‘s magnificent “I Want You Back”. Put aside any prejudices about what Michael became, before he became the weird, cartoon-like plastic surgeon’s Mr Potato Head he was a supremely talented young boy. His pre-adolescent vocals on this song are electrifying. On top of that you get the full might of the marvellous Funk Brothers who were the Motown house band. James Jamerson‘s bass line is sublime in my opinion. Berry Gordy Jr certainly rated it as he had a share in writing it. I would love to hear your opinion on the song and any other suggestions for the finest and most timeless pop songs.
OK it’s a big day for all my UK readers, yes it’s General Election Day. I would like to urge you to turn up and vote and if you were thinking of sitting on your arse and not voting please think again. Spoil your paper if you believe that is your only option but make sure you turn up to vote. A couple of months ago I was in the depths of apathy about the election, I am pleased to say that I am no longer there. I will be voting to rid us of the current regime.
It is not for me to tell you who to vote for but may I suggest that you ask yourself the question can you really and honestly be prepared to put up with another five years of Tory rule? I certainly can’t. So vote for whoever you like but if you’re undecided then avoid the Tories and UKIP like the plague!
OK this is essentially a music blog so here is a, hopefully appropriate, song from the Style Council. Enjoy it and then get out there and bloody well vote!
Hot Chocolate‘s lead singer Errol Brown has died from liver cancer at his home in the Bahamas, aged just 71. That is really sad news, Errol was an iconic figure from my youth. For me Hot Chocolate were a superb singles band, particularly back in the days when singles were all I could afford. I would always do what I could to buy any Hot Chocolate single as it came out. I once even bought a single that they released on the Beatles Apple label. I can even tell you were I bought that one, in the Harrods sale in 1976.
Their hits are pretty much all classics and the majority really haven’t dated at all. Even the non-hits are pretty darned good. In the mid 70s I bought a Hot Chocolate single called “Blue Night”, it wasn’t a hit. But the B-Side (ask your grandparents if you don’t know what a b-side is) is a song you might know; it was “You Sexy Thing”. It looks like the record company may have got it wrong when making that a B-side initially.
Errol Brown and Hot Chocolate were a great band that were loved by many people. My thoughts go out to Errol’s family, friends and fans. Errol Brown RIP.
This year was the first time I have been around for Live At Leeds and thanks to my good friend John Hayhurst I even got a cheap ticket. On top of that John’s research on the bands, singers and venues was immaculate. After collecting our wrist bands at the First Direct arena we headed to the Key Club. The first band on stage were Forever Cult. I would describe them as a bit grunge, a bit indie and a bit classic rock. They were bloody good, “Yasmin” is a great song. All three were excellent musicians but the drummer attacked his kit like a reincarnated John Bonham. He even had a look of the great Bonzo about him too.
We were entertained on the same stage next by the Treason Kings. They are full on heavy, hard and hairy rock at its best. Maybe with even a bit of a prog twinge. I mean who else but someone with an awareness of prog history would write a song about their chest of drawers called “Chest Of Drawers”? An excellent band in my opinion.
After that it was a brisk walk to the O2 Academy for Gaz Coombes. I have seen him a few years ago when he was still with Supergrass, now they were a great band weren’t they? Mr Coombes solo is different from Supergrass but still su-fucking-perb.
The Belgrave Rooms took us in next. We caught the last pert of Alex Burey’s set. He is a young london singer songwriter who is a bit like a jazzed up and more funky Jake Bugg with an extra added Orange Juice/ Edwyn Collins. Chloe Black was what drew us to the Belgrave. She owned the stage with her striking monochrome look and wowed us with just an iPad and a keyboard. For me she has a range of influences from Amy Winehouse to Bjork via Ballad Madge (a.k.a Madonna) She seemed a little nervous at first but it was a really packed house.
We made a dash to get to a small bar called Milo’s for the highly recommended Crybabycry. The bar is quite small and rammed to the rafters with punters. That might have helped or hindered a performer or band. But I believe Crybabycry raised themselves for it. They are a truly stupendous band. Their songs are often underpinned by a classic glam rock drum beat from a very talented drummer. All three are very talented musicians and their songs are wonderful. I can hardly wait to see them again, but I will see them next month at the Apollo Festival in York.
After this and a brief burger stop we whizzed over to the Holy Trinity Church where we stayed for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Being an old church the acoustics are fabulous. Frances was first on for us. Great voice – Tick, great pianist – Tick, Great songs – tick. She clearly ticks all the boxes for me and has the gifts and talent to be really successful.
The second act we saw in the Holy Trinity Church was Freddie Dickson and the Guard. What a fucking amazing find they were. I thought that I was detecting shades of Coldplay and Radiohead and then I thought nope these guys are very much of their own making. I believe that they are probably one of the best young bands that I have seen in years and believe me I have seen some great young bands; Avalanche Party and the Tuts to name but two. Freddie’s voice is off the scale of phenomenal rock voices. This band really ought to be huge!
Having settled in to our prime spot on the pew just in front of the stage we were next entertained by Seafret. They might look a little like Simon and Garfunkel but they come across like a turbo charged and folky McAlmont and Butler. They are from Bridlington, they are Seafret and they are bloody marvellous.
The penultimate performer for our time at Live At Leeds was Laura Doggett. She has a brilliant band, an amazing voice and her songs are truly captivating. I felt there were quite a few influences in her songs and performance; Florence, Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks. It was a superb set, the one thing that didn’t work for me though was the often very twee between song conversation.
Finally it was time for Lucy Rose, or perhaps it wasn’t time. The were a multitude of equipment problems for which Lucy apologised, although clearly it wasn’t her fault. Eventually she had the techie set up a microphone and an acoustic amp, whereupon she came out and took requests, from her first album. Not many artists would have the commitment and the balls to do this, let alone actually pull it off. But Lucy Rose really did make it work. Eventually the equipment problems were sorted and she was able to perform some of her planned set. Lucy Rose; a trouper, a true performer and a great singer-songwriter. The packed audience loved her and frankly so did I.
And finally it’s the public service announcement. All the videos ( a selection of artists that we saw on the day) are courtesy of YouTube and all the photos are courtesy of rock photographer John Hayhurst. (I borrowed them from your Facebook page Mr H)
Meatloaf is a bit of a football fan (that’s soccer to my friends across the big pond). In fact he is supposedly a fan of English football and his favourite team is the mighty Hartlepool United. Really? Are we supposed to believe that? Anyway I wonder if the club sell Meatloaf pies?
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 