At last, Belgium has given us a better punk representation than Plastic Bertrand! F.O.D. is classic punk in a Green Day mould, in fact, they started out as A green Day covers band in 2008. By 2011 they decided to move forward with their own songs and released the EP ‘Dance To This’, they have subsequently released some great singles and five albums. There is a Green Day reference in their name, it comes from the song “F.O.D.” on Green Day’s ‘Dookie’ album, the acronym stands for ‘Fuck Off and Die…’. The band is new to me and I am glad I eventually found my way to them. Their new single “A Thousand Shots” is a fine slab of magnificently put-together pop punk. It is fast, full of excellent punk riffs and hooks, and has some fabulous melodies. If I have any criticism it would be that it only lasts for 76 seconds, but with the ability to repeat on streaming who cares? F.O.D. are Hans Roofthooft (guitar god and prime vox), Stijn de Waele (bangin’ backing vox), Pierre Janssens (bombastic bass), and Lode de Feyter (dynamite drums). A quick footnote, I actually quite like Plastic Bertrand’s “Ça Plane Pour Moi”, but it wasn’t real punk was it? Anyway get some F.O.D. into your lugholes, their new album ‘The Once A Virgin Club’ is out on 5th April, followed by a handful of European dates. The single “A Thousand Shots” is out now. The video has a rather wonderful old-school graphics feel about it, which fits the tune perfectly.
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This was one of thousands of gigs across the country supporting Independent Venue Week (IVW). While it is important to show support and solidarity for your local independent venues please do it all year round and not just during IVW. This is the only way that the grassroots of UK music will survive. Support your scene! So this is an important week for live music and that was evidenced by the presence of 6 Music’s Huw Stephens and BBC Radio York’s Jericho Keys alongside many of the great and good from the York music scene. Headliners were NewDad who released their debut album on 24th January. But more of them later as there was a rather special support act, the sublimely talented Kindelan who hails from this fine city. This would be the fifth time that I have seen Laura Kindelan play live which puts her just behind Gene, David Bowie, Avalanche Party, and Frank Turner in the list of acts that I have seen the most times! I have seen her play solo, with minimal accompaniment, and with a full band. Tonight she was ably supported by an incredibly talented rhythm section and a backing singer with a heavenly tone. Four of tonight’s six songs were from her most recent EP, ‘You Can Reach Me If You Try’. The new songs definitely have a modern R&B and jazz vibe, but when played live Laura takes them in a direction that only she can. Her songs are stunningly good in recorded form, but live they become almost alive themselves. I have previously compared Kindelan to Jeff Buckley and that still stands, she will, I believe, mature into the kind of artist that Buckley would have become had he lived. “Hazel Frustration” was incredible, “Can’t Sleep” was immaculate as was a new song “Know You”. Kindelan gets better every time I see her, will that ever stop? I suspect not!
Kindelan at the Fully Arms January 2024 (Picture by Charlie Daykin)
Headliners NewDad are touring on the back of their new album ‘Madra’ which follows two classy EPs and some fabulous singles. The band was formed in Galway. Ireland in 2018 when Julie Dawson, Áindle O’Beirn, and Fiachra Parslow were in secondary school. Apparently, it was a way of avoiding solo performances for their Leaving Certificate practical music exam. Fourth member Sean O’Dowd joined the band a little later. The NME has compared them to The Cure and Beabadoobee. I can see those comparisons but I can also hear references to the likes of the Sundays and possibly the Cranberries. On their heavier-sounding songs, I sense a bit of Sleeper and Elastica. The new album is good, but live the songs are even better. However, I felt the sound mix was a bit off for much of the set with the vocals appearing way too low in the mix. This improved though, particularly for “White Ribbons” where the mix was spot on, the song was gorgeous and the performance exquisite. NewDad appeared in the Mayhem charts for January, so I am definitely a fan. I will certainly be seeing them again.
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The Proclaimers search for the young soul rebels in their own way!
Here comes the first in a new, occasional series from Mayhem, Weird Music Facts. We are kicking off with a story that links the Proclaimers to Dexys Midnight Runners! Apparently, the Proclaimers’ early demos to record labels were funded by Dexys’ Kevin Rowland. (Thanks to Popbitch for this wonderful snippet). A copy of the demo tape that Rowland helped to fund found its way to the then indie darlings the Housemartins who then invited the Proclaimers to support them on their 1986 UK tour.
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On 4th February 2024, Alice Cooper (formerly Vincent Furnier) turns 76. The first Alice Cooper album came out when Mr and Mrs Furnier’s son was 21. He had previously released some singles as a teenager in The Spiders (nothing to do with Bowie) and Nazz. On Alice’s 32nd birthday, the iconic New York Disco Studio 54 had to close down following its owners, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, being convicted of tax evasion. Schrager eventually received a presidential pardon. The final night, February 4th, 1980, featured performances from Liza Minelli and Diana Ross. The building that housed Studio 54 had originally been designed as an opera house in 1927.
Alice Cooper partying with Jean Stapleton (Edith Bunker) at Studio 54
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The last time I saw ABC was at the now iconic Hammersmith Odeon show in November 1982. Now more than 40 years later I will be at an ABC gig again. Once again, it will be with a full orchestra, the Southbank Sinfonia, conducted by Anne Dudley. I believe that the ‘Lexicon Of Love’ is synonymous with orchestral pop music and the album is the finest example of its kind. Trevor Horn’s production on the original album was exemplerary and Anne Dudley’s orchestration was sublime. That is why I was so pleased to see that it was her conducting the Southbank Sinfonia Orchestra on this tour. I know that Martin Fry is the only remaining member of the original line up still performing as ABC, but to be fair he was always and still is the face of the band. While this show was mostly about a full run through of ‘The Lexicon Of Love’ there was always going to be more songs from the ABC song book, and that is what the first set was all about. We were treated to some absolute classics including “When Smokey Sings”, “The Night You Murdered Love”, “Be Near Me”, “One Better World” (Fry’s take on house music), “How To Be a Millionaire” and a particular favourite of mine, “Ocean Blue”. There were also some fab tracks from ‘Lexicon Of Love 2’, I thought “Viva Love” was a great performance.
Part two began with the Lexicon Of Love Overture (as did the first set) before belting into album opener “Show Me”. The crowd were on their feet for “Poison Arrow” and were in mighty fine vocal form, although to be fair Martin Fry put in a stunning vocal performance. The biggest hits, “Tears Are Not Enough” and the iconic “The Look Of Love” mesmerised a Barbican full house. My favourite song from the album has always been “Date Stamp” and this was a heavenly performance of a great tune, especially the backing/ counter point vocal. After “All Of My Heart” we all wondered whether there would be an encore, there was and Martin asked if we would mind a second take on “The Look Of Love”, we were never going to refuse, were we? This goes down as one of the best performances from a long established band that I have ever seen. Everyone in the audience absolutely lapped it up, well apart from a bloke near us who came close to having a ruck and spent part of the first set effing and jeffing loudly. Also, while the programme looked good, I felt it was a bit overpriced at £20, but to be fair I didn’t need one. There are a few shows remaining on this tour, but sadly most are sold out. But if you have a ticket, then you’re in for a proper treat!
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Here is the Mayhem chart for January 2024. Regular readers know that the chart is based on my Spotify listening habits over the last month. The chart is contemporary-ish, rather than just an oldies chart However, the top three “Legacy” artists are Led Zeppelin, Manic Street Preachers, and Jesus Loves You. Surprisingly for the second month in a row David Bowie is not in the top 3. There is a top ten artists chart and a top 5 songs chart. There is the usual eclectic mix of artists, including two who were in the top ten last month (Rebecca Ferguson and Delilah Bon). Only one of the top five songs is by an artist which features in the top ten artist chart. That honour goes to Lola Young at number 5 in the song chart and number 8 in the artist chart. The Bridge City Sinners are number 1 in the artist chart and Polevaulter are number 1 in the song chart. So without further ado here are those charts in full! Click on the header of the song chart for the playlist on Spotify.
MAYHEM ARTIST CHART JANUARY 2024
1 The Bridge City Sinners 2 Rebecca Ferguson 3 Ian M Bailey 4 Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes 5 Brittany Howard 6 Say She She 7 The Smile 8 Lola Young 9 Delilah Bon 10 NewDad
1 Violently Ill – Polevaulter 2 Serendripity – Skram 3 Back In Time – Georgia Reed 4 Centrefold – Vaquelin 5 Wish You Were Dead – Lola Young
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Ethan DeBoard and Evelyn May Nielsen are the duo that is Wasting May. They are from Orlando Florida and met in High School back in 2018 and began working on music together only last year. Ethan has always had a passion for music and taught himself to play guitar. Evelyn started out as a creative writer and is the mastermind behind Wasted May’s excellent lyrics. They played their first show on September 15th last year in their hometown. Since then they have released a single, “Maureen” and an EP ‘Machine’. Wouldn’t those two words make a great band name? The Maureen Machine anyone? Anyway, they have just released a new single, “In The Pines” and it is rather splendid. It is haunting and ethereal with an occasional feel of the Cocteau Twins. The sound is minimal but also cinematic in its ambition. Evelyn’s vocal is heavenly and the guitar work from Ethan is spellbinding. I love the change to almost a completely different song about two and a half minutes in. This pair should be given free rein to soundtrack a David Lynch film. I am in love with this tune and with Wasting May. You need this track in your life!
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Sun Way Street is singer-songwriter Steven Eli and multi-instrumentalist Leor Manelis. The pair met online during the pandemic in 2020. Steven is from Ireland, and Leor lives in Colorado. They have spent the time since meeting recording songs, mostly remotely. But in 2023, the duo met face to face for the first time after Steven flew to Colorado, where they continued to record, this time in Leor’s studio and later in Colorado’s Coalesce Audio Studios. They strengthened their sound with the support of some skilled and experienced musicians from Colorado.
Their new single, “Burn It Down” came out a couple of weeks ago, and it is damned good. It has an infectious hook with indie-pop stylings and a retro 90s soft dock feel. It chugs along like the perfect hit songs always do, and it certainly deserves to be a huge hit. It is strangely different and quirky, and I hope it gets plenty of airtime. Sun Way Street are planning live shows in the US and Europe this year, I hope they play near me!
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This is the nineteenth song in the Play It Again Mayhem series, which began in 2020. Check out the previous entries along with this new one in the Play It Again Mayhem Spotify Playlist click here to take a listen! It has only been 3 weeks since the last entry, so how about another quick one? Once again it is back to the 70s, to 1974. So far, 14 of the 19 songs are from the 1970s. This time it is the turn of the Faces, (or in the case of this release Rod Stewart and the Faces), a seminal British band that influenced countless others. The shortened title of the track can be seen in the header above. But, the full title, including parentheses, is “You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything (Even Take the Dog for a Walk, Mend a Fuse, Fold Away the Ironing Board, or Any Other Domestic Shortcomings)”. Has there ever been a title quite like that before or since? The single still holds the record for the longest-titled song ever to chart in the UK.
It was the last official single from the band and was recorded with a mostly classic lineup of Kenney Jones (drums), Ian McLagan (piano, organ), Ronnie Wood (guitar, backing vocals), and Rod Stewart on vocals. Ronnie Lane had previously left the band and was replaced on bass by Tetsu Yamauchi who plays on this track. The song was co-written by all five of them. It was recorded over a few sessions at Musicland Studios in Munich and Olympic Studios in London. It reached number 12 in the UK charts and scraped to number 100 in Australia, it failed to chart anywhere else, sadly. The song never appeared on a studio album but is on most of the greatest hits type packages from the band. It is my favourite Faces track and has been since I first heard it. It has a supremely happy and danceable vibe and I would love to have seen how this style might have developed had the band stayed together. So give it a spin and let me know what you think of it. Incidentally, fact fans, this is the second time Rod Stewart has featured on the Play It Again Mayhem playlist. He appeared back in May 2022 with a solo hit, “I Was Only Joking”.
I love the lyrics to the song, they really suggest someone very much in love with their partner, here they are.
“hey baby, I wanna say something to ya’, listen sometimes when I get out of my head and I say all the wrong things sometimes I know I stay out late at night and I get back fighting, hey babe somehow all my plans keep slippin’ through my hands and I end up crying, but listen I can be a millionaire honey when you’re standing there you’re so exciting you can make me dance, you can make me sing you can make me do just any old thing and I love it sometimes I wanna get up so early and get away from here girl summer’s gone and before long north winds blow, that bring the snow I’ll keep us warm girl my schemes it seems are merely dreams fading with each morning, hey babe but this old heart of mine is far too proud not to keep on trying you can make me dance, you can make me sing you can make me do just any old thing, yeah baby so little bird don’t fly away want you here every day don’t ever leave me I’d rather lose both my eyes than never see your smiling face again girl you can make me dance, you can make me sing you can make me do just any old thing you can make me dance, you can make me sing you can make me do just any old thing hey babe, keep on loving me babe yeah, keep on loving me babe just keep on loving me babe … just keep on loving me darling … woww, alright, hey baby, oh darling keep on loving me darling just keep on loving me darling …”
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This was the first matinee gig I have been to in many years and the final gig celebrating the 10th birthday of the fabulous Fulford Arms. It was a two-set show from the magnificent New York Brass Band, a New Orleans-styled jazz-type band from York. But they are so much more than just a jazz or brass band. They are the ultimate party band that can raise a storm at festivals, parties, weddings, and intimate gigs like a matinee birthday party for the Fulford Arms. They are an 8-piece unit including four family members, and oh boy can this bunch play. They had the crowd on their feet from the first number and kept it that way the whole afternoon. I always think a band performs better when they are having fun themselves, and the New York Brass Band were having their own on-stage party. I loved some of the brassed-up Motown tracks they played, particularly “I Want You Back” and “Just My Imagination.” The female artist medley was ace and included some Spice Girls, B*Witched, S Club 7, and Weather Girls. I also feel that their version of Bruce Channel’s “Hey Baby” took ownership of the song back from DJ Ötzi who had a huge hit, a UK number one, in 2000 with an atrocious version of the track. The second set was even funkier with some excellent renditions of Earth, Wind, and Fire and Kool and the Gang tunes. At one point we even had a very polite York mosh circle/ conga going on which was huge fun! The cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” was one of the highlights for me, in an afternoon full of them. To quote from that tune, “hot just like an oven” was exactly what the New York Brass Band made the Fulford Arms feel like on a cold Sunday afternoon in January! Bring on next year’s birthday, this one was fabulous! Well done to the Fulford Arms and all the fantastic staff and punters!
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