It took a while but this is the second post in what is a very, very occasional series. The first was back in August 2022 and featured three songs. A metal cover of Harry Styles’ “As It Was” by OHP. Deer Scout’s version of Kate Bush’s “Suspended In Gaffa” and a cover of Radiohead’s “Let Down” by Mini Trees This time around it is a cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower” by iconic and eccentric British band XTC. I adore the Jimi Hendrix version of “All Along The Watchtower”, but that was probably an obvious choice so I have gone for a more leftfield take on the song from XTC. This is bordering on weird and Devoesque and as a result, is rather splendid. What are your thoughts on this version?
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 🙂
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On this day (23rd February) in 2013 Jermaine Jackson officially changed his last name to Jacksun. Really? Let’s get serious about this Jermaine! He previously and unofficially took the name Mohammad Abdul Aziz upon his 1989 conversion to Islam, (which I do understand by the way) and said he was making the new change for “artistic reasons.”
On 23rd February 1980 U2 appeared at The Moonlight Club, at The Railway Hotel in London, where tickets cost just £2. The band played in many pubs, clubs, and toilet venues in 1980 in and around London including The Half Moon, Herne Hill (allegedly to just 12 people), The Marquee, Hope & Anchor, 101 Club, The Rock Garden, Electric Ballroom and Dingwalls. I was at two of those shows; Dingwalls and the Hope & Anchor.
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Natasha Khan, best known as Bat For Lashes, is perhaps one of the most talented music artists and has just released a new single, “The Dream Of Delphi.” The song is the title track of her upcoming studio album (her sixth) which will be released at the end of May. It is brooding, ethereal, captivating, spellbinding, and beneath all that, it still has the bare-faced audacity to make you feel happy. The drone-like sound drives into your mind like an unwelcome, insidious guest, but when it buries itself deeper you realise that you probably always wanted its beauty in your head forever. Her voice simply soars in a heavenward trajectory. In the past, she has been compared to maverick music artists like Bjork and Kate Bush. For me, on this track, she reaches the same level as both of those icons.
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On February 21st, 2012, the Russian band Pussy Riot put on and videoed a performance on the soleas (an extension of the sanctuary platform in an Eastern Orthodox temple or church building) of the Cathedral Of Christ The Saviour in Moscow. The video of the performance was called “Punk Prayer – Mother of God, Chase Putin Away!”. Sadly vile dictator Putin is still in place. The band said their protest was directed at the Orthodox Church leader’s support for Putin during his election campaign. After a very brief performance, the almost deserted cathedral was raided and members of Pussy Riot were arrested. A few weeks later three of the band were charged with hooliganism. They remained in custody until their trial in July. They were convicted of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” (seriously? WTAF!), and each was sentenced to two years imprisonment. One of the band was given a suspended sentence and the other two remained in jail until December 2013. Their imprisonment drew support from many human rights organisations including Amnesty International. Members of the band are still bravely and defiantly active, showing support for the cause of the assassinated political prisoner Alexei Navalny earlier this week.
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They might be one of York’s youngest bands, but the Corsairs’ music has a mystical maturity that enables them to draw on the great spirits of British rock. Their new release is the punchy, power-packed, persistent, poppy platter “that is called “Primetime Television.” It has shades of the Arctic Monkeys, a hint of the Kooks, and the ghost of Traffic. At the start, the bass and organ style keys combination is reminiscent of the late period of the jam. The hooks and chorus are the best yet, and the mid-song instrumental breakdown is a real psych-out that evokes Television (no pun intended!). This is exactly what a great pop-rock song should sound like. This band will go on to even better things, get into them now so that you can say you were there at the start of something special!
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Occasionally I love a bit of honky tonk, bluegrass country music, and Austin, Texas-based and Louisiana-born Ellis Bullard has delivered a great album of just that! Full of authentic country songs that tell stories of life. The obvious influences are probably Merle Haggard and Conway Twitty, but Bullard is most definitely his own man! His voice is warm and you feel like he is singing those songs directly to you. The album came out a few days ago and is called ‘Honky Tonk Ain’t Noise Pollution’ and his take on honky tonk is most definitely not pollution. Speaking about the album Ellis said “This album is everything to me. It’s over 10 years of winning and losing along the way. This record is blood sweat and tears. No bullshit. All the players on this record are like brothers to me and the energy we create on stage and in the studio is incredible. We’re thrilled that we were able to capture it all and put it on a record for you,” and “It’s country as cornbread but totally has some rock n roll in there. We’re calling it a “Honk n Roll” record. We’re in the clubs, dance halls, and theatres alike and folks are really digging our sound and what we bring to a stage. This record was so much fun to make, we know y’all are gonna enjoy it.” Damned right we will, this is a stunningly good album. There is not a bad track in the whole collection of ten great songs. Initially, my favourite is probably “What’s A Man To Do” which is where I felt the biggest Conway Twitty influence. I can imagine listening to “It Ain’t Easy Needing Green” and “Young, Wild And Free” while sipping a cold beer in the back garden this summer as the Barbecue heats up. Meanwhile, the title track has a fabulous Joe Walsh feel in the guitar work. As a kid, I could not listen to country music, because my Mum and Dad loved it, so to my ill-informed teenage self that meant it was not cool. But now, well I love me a good slice of country and this is a proper tasty slice. A lot of classic country tropes are here; money, booze, drugs, lost (or not yet gained) love, and prison to name just a few and that is what makes Bullard’s stories so captivating.
Bullard and his ensemble of seasoned Austin A-listers have graced prestigious stages, opening for Texas County and Americana luminaries including Paul Cauthen, Whiskey Myers, Mark Chessnut, Moe Bandy, and Gary P Nunn. Bullard has performed at ACL23 and is slated to play at both Jackalope Jamboree and SXSW this 2024. Bullard’s music has earned accolades and even captured the attention of the renowned Joe Rogan, who applauded Bullard’s electrifying performances at the legendary White Horse.
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It was an absolute pleasure and so much fun interviewing Harkirit and Joe who, if the Crescent in York was sentient would be its heart and lungs. Both are incredibly passionate about music and the venue. The interview is just under 30 minutes, but I believe that we could have spoken for hours and hours! Click here to listen to the interview.
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Brazilian-Italian London-based singer Julia Elle has just released her debut single, “Automatic.” It is haunting, emotionally arresting, captivating, and dark in equal measure. Her voice is truly exquisite and the music, especially the slinky, sultry blues-tinged guitar is exceptional. The production is finely attuned and crystal clear thanks to George Gianluca Cunningham. Julia has said this about the song “Automatic is a song about desire and rejection. It emerged from a space where I sensed the pursuit of things not meant for me. It’s about the magnetic pull of wanting someone, even more, when you can feel them slipping away, chasing that unattainable connection where someone’s indifference only fuels the feelings and attraction.” It also appears that Julia directs her talents more widely than just music. She recently attended a performing arts school in the UK and went on to the London College of Fashion, where she graduated in the summer of 2023. She has a passion for photography, fashion, and vintage clothing picking, she often finds herself styling and overseeing creative direction for many of her friends’ projects as well as her own.
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This is the third in the Mayhem 12 Inch single series and I apologise again for the rather smutty, Carry On, double entendre, innuendo title for this feature. Can any of you constant readers think of a better title? But I am quite obviously talking about the 12-inch vinyl single. Eventually, this will build into a playlist of my favourite 12-inch singles and remixes, many of which I used to own on vinyl. There will be a Spotify playlist when the series reaches five songs. So far we have had “Do What You Wanna Do” by T-Connection from 1977, and “Everybody’s Singin’ Love Songs” by Sweet Thunder. Now for our third selection, it is the turn of the Undisputed Truth with more than eleven minutes of glorious funk from 1976. entitled “You + Me = Love”.
The band was originally put together by one of Motown’s most psychedelic producers, Norman Whitfield, and their material was released on the Gordy label which was a part of the Motowm organisation. They recorded a lot of songs also recorded by the Temptations. Notably “Smiling Faces Sometimes” and “The Law Of The Land”. In 1975 Norman Whitfield left Motown to set up Whitfield Records and this was one of the early releases on the new label. The song features Takka Boom (Chaka Khan’s sister) on lead vocals. They had a reasonable amount of chart success in the USA but this song proved to be their only appearance in the UK charts when it peaked at number 43 on the singles chart in early 1977.
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British artist Nick Hudson, now based in Georgia, Eastern Europe has released a new single “Khevsureti” as a taster for his new album, ‘Kanda Teenage Honey’, which is scheduled for release on 15th March. It is cinematic in scope and ambition and features some gorgeous, emotional, and at times spine-tingling music and orchestration. Vocally Hudson evokes the most soulful performances of David Sylvian, David Bowie, Robert Wyatt, and maybe Boy George. If you are interested, Khevsureti is a region in Georgia. The single and the album was recorded largely in Georgia under the shadow of the Ukraine war, featuring some incredible Georgian musicians in a huge former Soviet movie studio, this album was recorded and engineered in Tbilisi and mixed by Toby Driver, and mastered to analogue tape by Paul Pascoe at Church Road Studios in Hove. The video to accompany “Khevsureti” was directed, filmed, and edited by Nick Hudson. This bloke is good at everything! It was filmed in various locations in Georgia: Korsha, the Abudelauri Lakes, Roshka, the Datvisjvari Pass, Shatili, and Tbilisi. It is a stunning piece of work, I love it. The music is magnificent even without the visuals, but alongside the film, the whole piece moves to a higher level completely. Hudson has been featured on these pages before, back in 2022, when I reviewed his song “Lights Svoboda“.
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With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 