Here comes Under The Covers With Mayhem Chapter 13, featuring the iconic reggae band the Paragons with Roslyn Sweat and their take on the Beatles (Paul McCartney) song “Blackbird”. Their version is titled “Blackbird Singing” and I think it came out in 1974 on the Treasure Isle label. The band formed in Jamaica the 1960s. Many of you might not realise, but Blondie’s huge 1980 hit “The Tide Is High” was originally by the Paragons. Atomic Kitten also took the song into the charts in 2002. My favourite Paragons track is probably “Wear You To The Ball”. John Holt, who went on to massive solo success in the 70s was once the band’s lead vocalist. He also wrote “The Tide Is High”. Reggaefied covers of classic songs are often good, but I believe that this cover of “Blackbird” is stunning. What do you think?
Constant readers know that my ideal cover version has a different slant from the original rather than just a facsimile-style cover. So the generic boy bands are probably never likely to feature, but you never know, right? Feel free to recommend any songs that you think should be included in Under The Covers With Mayhem. I want to stay clear of the mainstream ideally, but off-the-wall covers by major artists might work too 🙂 Finally and at last there is a playlist that collects all the Under The Covers With Mayhem tracks together. Currently fifteen songs and 58 and a half minutes of music. Check it out below.
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David Hepworth is a talented, world class music journalist. He began his career in journalism writing for the NME and Sounds (two of the classic UK music “inkies”). He joined Smash Hits magazine in 1979, and having turned it around financially and made it profitable, became its editor. He was behind the launch of a number of very successful music related magazines including, two of my favourites, Q (1986) and Mojo (1993). He has written for the UK newspaper The Guardian. He was a presenter of the long running BBC music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. He has been on other TV productions too, more of that later. Hepworth has also written some great books about music and the social history associated with it. I have read many of them; ‘Never a Dull Moment: 1971 The Year That Rock Exploded’ (2016), ‘Uncommon People: The Rise and Fall of the Rock Stars 1955-1994’ (2017), ‘A Fabulous Creation: How the LP Saved Our Lives’ (2019), and ‘Overpaid, Oversexed and Over There: How a Few Skinny Brits with Bad Teeth Rocked America’ (2020)
Now he has a new book, ‘Hope I Get Old Before I Die: Why Rock Stars Never Retire’. This is a tome that describes rock music’s third act. This is the sense that rock and roll never died, as predicted in the fifties and early sixties, but neither did so many of the young people (mostly men) that played a part in rock’s continued longevity. Back in 1965 when a 21 year old Roger Daltrey sang a 20 year old Pete Townshend’s classic line, “I hope I die before I get old” in the Who’s biggest hit single in the 60s, “My Generation” who might have guessed that they would still be performing the song in the 21st century. Daltrey is now 81 and Townshend is 79. Hepworth was one of the anchor’s of the broadcast of Live Aid in 1985. Hepworth’s new book begins at Live Aid with the sight of Paul McCartney closing the British leg of the show. Macca was seen as the grand old man of rock. Back then he was just 43. Now, 25 years into the 21st century we have many rock stars that are way beyond pensionable age. This is definitely not something most of us imagined back in the 60s and 70s. As a result many rock stars have become a part of the establishment with many receiving knighthoods and other royal honours.
I have loved all the books by David Hepworth that I have read so far, especially this new one. I love his take on the world of music and his immense depth of knowledge of the subject. Many times I have pondered on the fact that rock stars are living to ripe old ages and still performing and producing new music. In some cases this music is the finest of their long careers. Will today’s younger rock stars last as long as the rock ‘n’ roll pension brigade? I suspect that they will and I think Mr. Hepworth believes the same. In fact he talks of the possibility of technology giving rock stars a kind of immortality. Take a look at Abba Voyage for example. If you love great music, great music writing and if you have ever pondered about how rock stars are getting so old you will love this book! Click on Diversion Books to find a place to buy it for yourself!
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On February 28th 1981 the Who released their first single since the death of drummer, Keith Moon, who died in 1978. Former Faces and Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones, took Moon’s place behind the drums. The song was called “You Better You Bet”. The single peaked at Number 9 in the UK and Number 18 in the US. MTV was launched on 1st August 1981, “You Better You Bet” was the fourth video played on the channel.
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Austin, TX via Bolgatanga in Ghana uber talented hip-hop artist Dr. Pushkin has just released a new single featuring Isolirium and Ataman Nikita. The release precedes his SXSW performance on March 12th. The track includes a great blend of Ghanian Kologo guitar with some great Hip-Hop and R & B beats. The lyrics seek hope but also highlight the tough journey that finding peace will take. It is an inspirational tune and I love it, especially the vocal interplay between Dr. Pushkin and Ataman Nikita! Pushkin cites 2Pac and Nas as key influences and I can hear that throughout this wonderful song. the lyrics take some perfect and well primed shots at those in power. Get “Peace” in your ears and your life now!
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Many of you may know by now that the music world has lost another monumental talent with the passing of Roberta Flack. Her biggest hits were “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, “Killing Me Softly With His Song”, and “Feel Like Makin’ Love”. In 1972, 1973 and 1974 respectively. All three of those songs went to number one on the US Billboard chart. Meanwhile they only, sadly, reached 14, 6 and 34 in the UK chart. “Killing Me Softly with His Song” was written in collaboration with singer songwriter Lori Lieberman and was born of a poem she wrote after experiencing a strong reaction to the Don McLean song “Empty Chairs.” Roberta Flack first heard the song during a flight. She performed it for the first time live when supporting Marvin Gaye who told her she had to record a version before playing it live again. Her recording of the Ewan MacColl song “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” didn’t sell particularly well until Clint Eastwood chose it to be a major part of the soundtrack to his 1971 film ‘Play Misty For Me’.
In 1972 she reached the peak of the Billboard US R & B chart with one of her many collaborations, this one with Donny Hathaway, “Where Is The Love”. Another duet with the late, great Mr Hathaway was “The Closer I Get To You” from 1978 which also made the top of the US R & B chart. Apart from Donny Hathaway Roberta also recorded with Peabo Bryson, Maxi Priest, Sadao Wantanabe, Howard Hewett and Les McCann. Flack was also an incredibly talented interpretative singer and made some great versions of songs by the Beatles, Leonard Cohen and Marvin Gaye to name just some. Roberta lived next door to John and Yoko in the Dakota Building in New York for a while. She took up piano aged 9 and eventually won a scholarship to Howard University in Washington DC. She was taken ill on stage in 2018 and then in 2022 it was announced that she was suffering from Motor Neurone Disease. She passed away on 24th February 2025, just two weeks after her 88th birthday. Roberta was born Roberta Cleopatra Flack and like her namesake in that middle name she was a true Queen of Music. My thoughts are with her family, friends and fans. RIP Roberta Flack.
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Supremely talented soul singer Gwen McCrae passed away recently aged 81. Gwen was a prominent singer and performer for many years after working as a duo with her then husband George McCrae. Singer Betty Wright helped the pair get a recording contract with TK Records in 1967. Gwen followed her husband’s huge 1974 hit “Rock Your Baby” with one of her own in 1975, that song was the absolute classic of 70s funk and soul, “Rockin’ Chair”. It made it to the top of the US R & B charts. She had a few more minor hits, including “Funky Sensation” and “Keep The Fire Burning” in the early 80s. Her songs have been sampled by a number of artists including Lady Gaga, Cassius and Madlib. Gwen had been suffering with poor health for a while. In June 2012, after performing on stage in England, she had a stroke which resulted in paralysis on the left side of her body and the inability to walk. The world has lost a great talent. Rest in Peace Gwen McCrae, the undisputed Queen of Rare Groove. My thoughts are with her family, friends and fans.
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On 24th February 1969 the Jimi Hendrix Experience played their last ever British performance when they appeared at the Royal Albert Hall in London. I am not entirely sure why, but during the encore of “Purple Haze” and “Wild Child” the stage was invaded by fans, police, bouncers, floor managers and practically the entire audience. The entire audience? The Royal Albert Hall capacity is close to 6,000. How big is the fucking stage? Those were the days, right? Incidentally the support acts that night were Van Der Graaf Generator and Fat Mattress.
The full set list for the Jimi Hendrix Experience was:
Lover Man
Stone Free
Hear My Train a Comin’
I Don’t Live Today
Red House
Foxy Lady
Sunshine of Your Love
Bleeding Heart
Fire
Little Wing
Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Room Full of Mirrors Encore:
Purple Haze
Wild Thing
The Star-Spangled Banner
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I am more than two weeks late with this post, humble apologies to everyone who played. But I am old school and write my notes in a paper notebook. Said notebook was misplaced, but now I have found it! This was to be the first time I had seen GOO and who would turn down the chance to see a band with such a great name? Certainly not me. But before I tell you about GOO, let me tell you about the first support band. They are a classy four piece band called Juku which according to my limited knowledge is a Japanese word meaning a school offering intensive education outside normal school hours. Juku are the new band formed by Dan and Naomi who are the duo that made the Snakerattlers such a great musical force. This is quite a change of direction for the Snakerattlers pair and they have created an immense new sound. I found them reminiscent of some of the finest 90s female fronted bands such as Lush and Elastica. I had to agree with Mr. Tuke on that point. Whilst they reminded me of those great 90s bands Juku have a much harder, punkier edge to them. I guess that the lack of interaction with the audience was deliberate, after all their socials are clear in their REJECT FAME message. It certainly added some mystique to a band that is hard, dark, deep and frankly simply fucking awesome! Such a great set despite Naomi suffering from a cold!
While the poster shows GOO as headliners they played second rather than last. This is done as a means of keeping punters in the venue when a band that is new to York plays at the Fully. What, sadly, often happens is that people come to see “their” band and then fuck off somewhere else and miss the headliners. Personally that kind of behaviour pisses me off, but hey if that’s what people want to do then fuck ’em! Keighley band GOO have endless, boundless energy and a bag, that might be deeper than Mary Poppins’ bottomless carpet bag, loaded with great songs. If you put Bis, Garbage and the Eels (when Mark Everett is in a happy mood) into a huge melting pot and then add some 21st century Beach Boy style harmonies then GOO would be the result if the pot was simmered over a light pop punk heat for an hour. The band were clearly having fun and smiling became infectious while listening to them. Later in their set they showed their versatility with a shift to a majestic post punk sound that evoked the sound of early and very raw Blondie. The lead guitarist has a latent talent for adding a gorgeous vein of classic rock vibes to the band’s sound. “Call In Sick” is wonderfully warped, weird and wacky with a chorus that I am still singing in my head two weeks after the gig!
Suspicious Liquid closed the show. They are a very talented York Uni band with an incredible guitarist in Danny Durie and vocalist Vanessa Toyn’s voice is spot on. Her singing made me think of what might happen if you spliced the voice of Siouxse Sioux and Dolly Parton and sent them in a psych punk direction. The vocal washed across the venue in a proggy, punky heavenly projection. Their cover of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” was operatic and outstanding. Suspicious Liquid are often epic, cinematic , anthemic and at times mesmerising. I have one small criticism, on some of the earlier songs Stephen seemed to be playing a different tune. I am not sure whether that was a sound issue or not. The highlight for me was their amazing cover of Frank Zappa’s “Muffin Man”. I had heard them play this at last years Battle Of The Bands contest at this venue. Covering Zappa takes skill and guts and oh boy did they pull it off with this take of one of my favourite Zappa tunes. Their closing song (which might have been called “Shadow Boxing”) was spilling over with finely balanced emotion and had the whole band on their best form of the night. I felt that this was a set that began without a great spark, but they warmed up and by the end they had lit their own musical Olympic torch!
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Kety Fusco is an unbridled and immensely talented musician. She has been dubbed the Queen of the Electric Harp. She was born in Pisa, Italy in 1995 and is Swiss by adoption. She has a Master of Arts in Music Performance at the Swiss Italian Conservatory. She first discovered the electric harp at just six years old. Her second album ‘BOHČME’ is released later this year and now she has unleashed “BLOW” the first single from that sophomore collection. I love music that is a bit different and properly “out there” and “BLOW” ticks both of those boxes strongly. It is a riveting instrumental track that contains more emotion than many songs with vocals. It took me to another place, it made me want to dance, it made me smile and it made me want to be who I am. It is injected with elements of classical, electronic and even dance music. This is most definitely a sound from and for the 21st century. Kety says this of the track “I sought to transform it into something wild and untamed, capable of expressing emotions that transcend tradition, projecting it toward a bolder, unknown future”. We live in a strange and frightening world and music helps me weave my way through it. If you love great music then take a listen to “BLOW”.
The video is dark and wonderful. It feels like an update on classic British folk horror films with a bit of archetypal slasher movie tropes thrown in for good measure. Kety wrote the script and also stars in the film which was directed supremely well by Studio Asparagus. This one song and its accompanying video has turned me into a great fan of Kety Fusco!
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Seattle band Museum Of Light have just released their third single of 2025, “Born All Wrong” on Spartan Records. The track follows hot on the heels of “Blunt Force Drama” and “Undone”. All three tracks will form a part of their sophomore album, ‘Diviner’, produced by Scott Evans, which will be released on March 14th. The song is full of earth shattering dark riffs that pound the song forward in a slow march forward. The vocals reminded me of Ozzy Osbourne at his peak. The music is dusted with some gorgeous prog moments, particularly in the final part of the track. There is a vast sparseness to the sound as the song reaches its conclusion. It gave me a feel of wide open wilderness. Is that the influence of being recorded at Ocean Sound Studios in Giske, Norway? The band made the most of their time there by taking a plunge into the icy Norwegian Sea each morning before starting to record.
The band’s drummer Rob Smith said, “As with much of Diviner, “Born All Wrong” is a continuation of all the things that interested us on our first record, just taken further.” he added “The song dives into some of the expanded sonic palette that sets this record apart from ‘Horizon’. The big riff that anchors the first half of the song was written several years ago when we were between bassists. So, we were leaning more on huge, monolithic ideas that sounded good with the guitar running through both guitar and bass amps at the same time. As one of the older songs on the album, we weren’t sure if if was going to make the cut, but as soon as we heard playbacks in the studio, we all had the same thought: ‘well, that’s definitely making the record.” This is a great song and makes me feel rather excited to hear the album!
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With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 