Everything After Midnight recently released a new single “So To Speak”, and what an exquisite example of perfect pop-rock it is. It has a summery feel and starts off with quite a soft sound but it builds into something great featuring some mesmeric hooks and riffs. There are tastes of Fleetwood Mac in their late 70s pomp and even a small measure of All Saints at their prime in Steph’s gorgeous, ethereal vocal. This band continues to get better and better with each new release!
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On 14th August in 1976 ‘So It Goes’ by Nick Lowe became the first record released on Stiff Records. The label was set up off the back of a £400 loan. Their marketing and advertising was often very witty describing itself as “The World’s Most Flexible Record Label”. Other slogans were “We came. We saw. We left”, and, my favourite, “If It Ain’t Stiff, It Ain’t Worth a Fuck”.
In 2006, also on 14th August Boy George was sweeping streets in New York as part of a five-day community service sentence. He was moved into a fenced-off area after a short while as the media tried to mob him. The singer had been found guilty of wasting police time earlier that year and was threatened with jail if he failed to complete the court-imposed sentence.
In 1971, on August 14th, the Who released their fifth studio album ‘Who’s Next’. The cover shows a photo of the band apparently having just taken a leak on a large concrete pillar, but according to photographer Ethan Russell, most of the band members were unable to pee, so rainwater was tipped from an empty film canister to achieve the desired effect.
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I always like it when I get to see a band that I have never seen before, so Sherbert Flies attracted me. But so did the mighty Soma Crew and Eugene Gorgeous. Eugene Gorgeous was first to take the floor, as it was a relatively small crowd the bands all played in front of the stage. They play funky post-punk sounds, does that make it post-funk? I don’t know, but in alignment with their name, they do make gorgeous music. I have seen them a couple of times before, back in 2016 I said of them “Imagine, if you will, the Velvet Underground meeting the Jesus and Mary Chain at a dive bar in Twin Peaks”. That description still stands, only they have got so much better too. This was a great set, the new song is damned good and would give the Strokes a run for their money, it also has a nifty Dr. Feelgood vibe. Sometimes their sublime garage rock has a bit of Nick Cave in it. A band for the ages. I promise not to leave it so long before I see them again!
Next, it was the turn of the magnificent Soma Crew. Let me be clear, absolutely no one does dark, dirty, psychy drone like Soma Crew. This is a supremely talented band. Frontman Si has more effects pedals than I have ever seen arrayed in front of one person. I think he must have a PhD in effects pedals mastery! All the songs were ace tonight, but it was “This Illusion” that reached sublime heights for me. If you haven’t already checked out the new album, ‘Confused OK’ you need to do it now!
Finally, it was time for Sherbert Flies who I had never witnessed before. Apparently, they formed in York ten years ago. They are grungy, punky, and highly original. The rhythm is hard and full-on in its delivery. The guitar sounds draw influence, but don’t steal, from fine classic rock. The vocals are laconic. lo-fi and, lush which both contrasts and complements the dynamic, Germanic, motorik rhythms of their awesome canon of songs. I want to give a huge shout-out to the drummer who feels like the engine room of this great band and he dominates his kit like a master sticksman! I need more of Sherbert Flies in my life! Incidentally, the band’s name is one of the best I have heard in ages. Does it relate in any way to the title of Alex Chilton’s first solo album from 1979, ‘Like Flies on Sherbert’? This night featured another great lineup pulled together by Joe at Please Please You.
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In 1966 on 8th August, the South African Broadcasting Corporation banned all Beatles records, in response to John Lennon’s remark about the band being “bigger than Jesus.” To be fair I think Lennon was correct. On the same day, the Beatles’ seventh studio album, Revolver, was released in the USA.
On 8th August 2002, The UK’s biggest undertakers Co-Op funeral services reported that bereaved families preferred pop songs to hymns at funerals. Top of the list was “Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler. Other songs included “Angels” by Robbie Williams and “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion. They also reported some unusual choices including “Another One Bites The Dust” by Queen and “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham! I bet that many of those are still very popular at a celebration of someone popping their clogs! My Dad wanted “Disco Inferno” at his cremation, but my Mum forbade it. My ultimate funeral song is “No Woman No Cry” by Bob Marley and the Wailers, but it has to be the live version from the ‘Live At The Lyceum’ album from 1975.
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I thought you, dear readers might like a new series, so this is it. It will be a chance to share the newest post with the most views for a given month and the archive post with the most views. This one covers July 2024. The biggest read post is “Everyone Is A C*nt Except Me” – Judy Raindrop (Laughter Tracks)” posted earlier in July. 370 views in July and still rocking with a current total of 451! The most read archive post has been ‘Imelda May – York Barbican Friday 11th November 2011‘ from, you guessed it, 2011!
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Sometimes it is hard to shake off a great earworm of a song even if that song drops regular F-bombs and other profanities. Well, it certainly is hard for me at times, particularly with the first ten songs to appear in the new Mayhem’s Parental Advisory Playlist (The Tipper Gore Mix). Let me know if any songs like this get you singing along, although maybe not in the vicinity of your Nan! Click here to check it out!
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This is the 25th song in the Play It Again Mayhem series. Check out the previous entries along with this new one in the Play It Again Mayhem Spotify Playlist click here to take a listen! This is another ’70s song, of which there have been 17 so far. This time it is the turn of “Match Of The Day” by Genesis. It was the most played track from the ‘Spot The Pigeon’ EP released in 1977. The EP featured three songs that were recorded for but didn’t feature on the ‘Wind And Wuthering’ album. The EP peaked at number 14 in the UK charts. The two other tracks on the EP were “Pigeons” and “Inside And Out”. I really like “Match Of The Day” but Phil Collins clearly didn’t. In a 2004 interview, he said “Match of the Day”, It was also not our finest hour looking back at it now. I wrote the embarrassing lyrics and the track featured an attempt to bring some of the hipper grooves of the day into Genesis, with very suspect results.” What do you think of the track?
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West Yorkshire artist HerOrangeCoat has released the first song from her forthcoming EP. It is called “Ballad 1 (Sorry)” and it is transcendent and heavenly. The emotion in her voice and the sublime sparseness of the instruments made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, not in fear, but in awe of such a sublime and pulchritudinous piece of music. Apparently, the song is not a cry for help, but rather a resolute, resigned defeat. It speaks to the vast mental health emergency, whilst detailing HerOrangeCoat’s own personal journey with anxiety. If the rest of the songs on the EP (‘Ballads for this Age’) are even half as good as “Ballad 1 (Sorry)” the EP will be a masterpiece.
She has a few dates coming up, I want to see her live, you should try and see her too!
Weird Garden, Lincoln 10 August Northern Green Gathering 15 August Bunkfest, Oxfordshire 30 August – 1 September Otley Folk Club, headline 4 September Circle Social, Leeds 13 September Saltaire Festival 21 September Supporting Bella Gaffney at the Topic Folk Club 14 November
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Here is the Mayhem chart for July 2024. Regular and constant readers know that the chart is based on my Spotify listening habits over the last month gathered by obscurify.com. Apparently, my tastes have fallen to 95% more obscure than the rest of the UK! A drop of 1% from last month. Blimey am I becoming mainstream? The chart remains contemporary-ish (but if a classic artist releases something new they might feature in the chart). However, the top three “Legacy” artists for last month were David Bowie, Elton John, and Alice Cooper. Obscurify also suggests the most obscure artists I have listened to and for July those were PERCY, WREX, and Tercelvoice. There is a top ten artists chart and a top 5 songs chart. There is the usual eclectic mix of artists, including three that were in the top ten last month, Kate Nash, Scene Queen, and Delilah Bon! Delilah has been in the artist charts for eight consecutive months. The only artist to appear in both lists for July is Kate Nash. Female artists and female-fronted bands make up 50% of the artist chart! The number one song is “Everyone Is A C*nt Except Me by Judy Raindrop (actually Judy doesn’t exist, the song was put together by those wonderful and funny people at Laughter Tracks). So without further ado here are those charts in full! Click here for the Spotify song playlist.
Mayhem Artist Chart July 2024
1 Eminem 2 Kate Nash 3 Eels 4 WREX 5 Tercelvoice 6 Bridge City Sinners 7 Millie Manders and the Shutup 8 Childish Gambino 9 Delilah Bon 10 Scene Queen
Mayhem Song Chart July 2024
1 Everyone Is A C*nt Except Me – Judy Raindrop (Laughter Tracks) 2 Collateral Damage – Avalanche Party 3 Typical Fantasy – Pennine Suite 4 So Naïve – Fever Dreams 5 Wasteman – Kate Nash
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It is now just a few weeks until the 2024 Leeds/ Reading Festivals and it must be time for a preview from me, so here goes. Are we back to one main stage again? The poster of the line-up suggests we are, which is wonderful news. Although there is still the silly joint headliner thing going on. But how do the acts on the main stage shape up? Personally, I will be sticking to the bands and artists appearing earlier in that part of the arena. On Friday 23rd August my tips for the best acts on the Main Stage are Pendulum and Crawlers. Who will I not be rushing to see? Well Liam Gallagher obviously, who needs an Oasis tribute act headlining a major festival? On Saturday I think headliners Blink 182 could be fun, even though watching middle-aged blokes with low-slung cargo shorts is a bit creepy sometimes, but I believe the band will rise to the occasion. I am optimistic for Two Door Cinema Club. Sunday’s Main Stage line-up is good with Bleachers, Fontaines D.C., Raye, and Lana del Ray likely to be highlights. The Last Dinner Party might pull it off if they can continue to live with the hype, but Fred Again.. as a headliner? Seriously? I know this festival has often been good at moving with the times, but I am not sure about this one.
The new and futuristic Chevron stage looks great for EDM and generic dance fans. Skrillex headlines on Friday and I find them quite a Marmite act, the Prodigy headline on Saturday, and even without the sadly departed Keith Flint I reckon they will smash it. The BBC Radio 1 Stage looks good, especially on Friday with Beabadoobee headlining and immediately preceded by Ashnikko. Confidence Man will be good on Saturday and the Sunday headliners are the Wombats, a real blast from the past. I imagine that I will be spending a lot of time at the Festival Republic Stage, particularly for the Japanese House, Rachel Chinouriri and Matt Maltese on Friday, Neck Deep, Bad Nerves and the Lambrini Girls on Saturday, and Kid Kapichi and Dream Wife on the final night. The BBC Introducing Stage is a favourite of mine and is a place where I have discovered some great artists. I am familiar with some playing the introducing stage this year, notably Sun King and Welly on Sunday. But shaping up to be the best act of the weekend is the magnificent Delilah Bon who headlines the BBC Introducing Stage on Friday. I predict that she will move to the main stage in 2025 or 2026. Who are you most looking forward to?
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