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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On 22nd August 1968 Ringo Starr quit The Beatles during the recording sessions for what was to become known as ‘The White Album’ He said that he couldn’t handle the constant bickering and the tension became too much for him. The news of Ringo’s departure was kept secret, and he later rejoined the sessions on September 3rd. After Mr. Starkey walked out, the remaining Beatles recorded “Back In the USSR” with Paul on drums and John playing bass.
In 1741, also on 22nd August, Georg Friedrich Händel began composing “The Messiah.” He finished the work on September 14th.
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Dutch Singer-songwriter and Producer Patty Lou has appeared on these pages before. She is based in Amsterdam and has just released a new single. It is sung in Dutch, but thanks to Google Translate I believe it is a song about overcoming sadness in love and then finding love again in a kind of love rebirth. The title “Mooie Ogen” I believe translates as beautiful eyes. The music has a lilting, swaying Caribbean-style dance beat that would be perfect for a beach party. Patty Lou‘s vocal performance is a superb take on sublime pop. The language really doesn’t matter, this is a great song whichever language or dialect it might be performed in. This all proves just how universal music can be. It is wreathed in emotion and musically it oozes happiness. This song deserves to be a huge hit and I hope it is!
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Swedish future pop powerhouse launched a new single on the world last month and it is deeply sublime and incredibly infectious. The driving slow groove sinks its roots into you like it was always a part of your being. This deserves to be a gigantic hit it is the epitome of perfect, gorgeous summer pop! The song first came to life after ORKID visited her mother’s grave. She says of the track, “My mom’s grave is the one place where I feel closest to her and can sense her presence. Even though she’s the one lying beneath the earth, it feels like a huge part of me is also buried with her. We wanted this song to resonate with anyone who deeply misses someone. “Where flowers grow” can symbolise a person or a place, but at its heart, the song is about not being alone in that longing.” You might not know it, but you need this song in your life!
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Here comes Under The Covers With Mayhem Chapter 6, OK I know it is only a day since the last one, but this was too good to ignore in my opinion! It is a cover of “Guns Of Brixton”, originally by one of my favourite bands, the Clash. This one is by Les Touffes Krétiennes who describe themselves as a crazy punk brass band. While Francoise Hardy sadly passed away recently, Les Touffes Krétiennes carry the torch to show that France still has some rather excellent music!
I have said before 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 🙂 Oh, and there will, of course, be an Under The Covers With Mayhem Playlist soon!
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Thanks to those marvellous people at The Modern Record I was given the opportunity to see and review PJ Harvey at the Piece Hall in Halifax. Click here to check out my review. All photographs by John Hayhurst.
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Many people, often for the wrong reasons cite metal bands like Korn as dark and related to horror. I don’t really see that, well maybe the dark part. But for those who do see them like that knowing what frontman Jonathan Davis’ first job will not change your opinion. He was an embalmer, albeit for a short while, after completing a mortuary studies course. Some Korn songs including “Dead Bodies Everywhere” and “Pretty.” are apparently drawn from that working experience.
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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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Aussie punks Johnny Hunter smash it with their new single “Hot Mess”, this is hard-rocking 21st-century punk at its best. It draws on classic 70s punk and some of today’s heavier sounds like Frank Carter and Soft Play. It was produced by Jesse F. Keeler (Death From Above 1979, MSTRKRFT). The band has said a lot about the song’s birth throes.
“Hot Mess” was recorded above The Lord Gladstone Hotel in their Sydney hometown. Of the recording process, lead singer Nick Hutt said “Whenever we needed to go to the bathroom or for a smoke we had to push through crowds of people on their night out, from people hooking up to crying with their friends outside, to pairs of people coming out of cubicles so every time we were in the studio on the weekend we’d be flys on the wall for (and sometimes part of) this exhibition of what we could only describe as hot mess behaviour. We literally recorded the vocals whilst a massive DnB party played downstairs, I’m 95% sure that if you solo the raw stems of the vocal you can hear it in the background. This is the essence of the song, the whole feel, the drums, the lyrics, the mood all of it attested to recording music in the pub”.
the song was inspired by what bassist Dakota Fisher described as “a meth loop” which he describes as “clanging metal in a bathroom whilst dragging your teeth on the tiled floor“, the band initially explored an 808-driven beat. However, this direction felt too techno, leading them to pivot towards a more organic, LCD Soundsystem-inspired groove that producer Jesse helped refine. To capture a specific dancefloor energy, the band wrote the verse while Groove Armada’s “Shakin’ That Ass” was on repeat. Though they admit to only knowing one verse of the song, it provided the perfect foundation for their own track’s rhythmic delivery. Whilst the rest of the band then joined the party downstairs at the Lord Gladstone drummer Gerry Thompson (Gez) the band’s resident hardcore enthusiast, channelled his love of harmonics into the song’s wild energy. Instantly ripping the guitar part through a Big Muff pedal, he creates a layer of chaos that perfectly complements Dakota’s initial inspiration. Like me, you might be very pleased to learn that Johhny Hunter has permanently moved to the UK!
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Shehehe have a fantastically fun new single out before their upcoming album. The song is called “Wanna Be You” and it has a magnificent late-70s punk vibe with hints of everything from Jilted John to the Ramones. Speaking of the Ramones, Shehehe was recently compared to da Bruddas in a recent review, “Shehehe, from Athens, GA, deliver a powerful sound that’s part rip-roarin’ rock ‘n’ roll, and equal part Ramones.” That wasn’t me saying it, but I agree 100%! Staying with the Ramones once again the band has said this of “Wanna Be You”, “It is a work of fiction about two characters from two great rock and roll songs, ‘Sheena Is A Punk Rocker’ by Ramones and ‘Allison Is Starting To Happen’ by The Lemonheads. If they met and became friends we think it would go a little somethin’ like this…” We need more songs bringing together characters from other songs, this is great! This really is a bouncy, tear-along feel-good hit, I love it!
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With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 