With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Music reviews, gig reviews, fun trivia and extra added random stuff!

The Mayhem Charts – June 2025 July 21, 2025


Here is the Mayhem chart for June 2025, rather late (just like last month) I know, but better late than never right? Regular readers know the chart is based on my streaming listening habits. These are gathered over the last month by obscurify.com. My taste in music remains 99% more obscure than the rest of the UK! The chart remains contemporary-ish (but if a classic artist releases something new they might feature in the chart). However, last month’s top three “Legacy” artists were David Bowie, Stevie Wonder and Johnny Nash. Obscurify also suggests the most obscure artists I have listened to for March and they are Liz Davinci, Dead Rat Society and Kindelan. Bowie, Dead Rat Society and Kindelan have retained their positions from last month. Kindelan also appears in this months song chart with “Cigarettes”.

Party Nails the top artist for June. Bruce Springsteen and Getdown Services are the only two acts that remain in the artist chart from last month. Two artists appear both in the artist and the song chart, they are Party Nails, number one in the artist chart and number two in the song chart with “Same Old Song”. The second is Molly Rymer number eight in the artist chart and number three in the song chart with “Say The Same (Acoustic)”. HerOrangeCoat makes it to the top of the song chart with “Daytime TV”. 60% of the artist chart is female and the song chart is 100% female! So without further ado here are those charts in full! Click on the Spotify link below to listen to the famous (or infamous) five! Twenty one minutes of great music!

Mayhem Artist Chart June 2025

1 Party Nails
2 Bruce Springsteen
3 Valerie June
4 Kate Nash
5 Lorde
6 Little Simz
7 Getdown Services
8 Molly Rymer
9 Pulp
10 Tropical Fuck Storm

Mayhem Song Chart June 2025

1 Daytime TV – HerOrangeCoat
2 Same Old Song – Party Nails
3 Say The Same (Acoustic) – Molly Rymer
4 Fell In Love With Godx (She Was Really Fit) – Peach|Melba
5 Cigarettes – Kindelan

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The Mayhem Charts – May 2025 June 19, 2025


Here is the Mayhem chart for May 2025, rather late (just like last month) I know, but better late than never right? Regular readers know the chart is based on my streaming listening habits. These are gathered over the last month by obscurify.com. My taste in music remains 99% more obscure than the rest of the UK! The chart remains contemporary-ish (but if a classic artist releases something new they might feature in the chart). However, last month’s top three “Legacy” artists were David Bowie, the Sweet and the Wombles! What? The Wombles I hear you say. Well yes I interacted with the legendary Mike Batt via his autobiography and an interview. Obscurify also suggests the most obscure artists I have listened to for March and they are Ace Hansel Jr, Dead Rat Society and Kindelan. Bowie, Dead Rat Society and Kindelan have retained their positions from last month.

Dead Rat Society are the top artist for May up from number four in April. Dead Rat Society are one of four acts that remain in the artist chart from last month, along with Millie Manders and the Shutup, Lexi Jones and Greentea Peng. Four artists feature in both the artist chart and the song chart; Dead Rat Society (#1 Artist, #1 and #5 Song), Sparks (#2 Artist and #2 Song), Getdown Services (#3 Artist, #3 Song) and Bruce Springsteen #6 Artist, #4 Song). Robbie Williams makes his first ever appearance in the Mayhem Chart at number 7 in the artist chart. Yes I am now finally a fan! So without further ado here are those charts in full! Click on the Spotify link below to listen to the famous (or infamous) five! Twenty one minutes of great music!

Mayhem Artist Chart May 2025

1 Dead Rat Society
2 Sparks
3 Getdown Services
4 Greentea Peng
5 Ace Hansel Jr.
6 Bruce Springsteen
7 Robbie Williams
8 Millie Manders and the Shutup
9 Kindelan
10 Lexi Jones

Mayhem Song Chart May 2025

1 Come With Me On A Spaceship – Dead Rat Society
2 A Little Bit Of Light Banter – Sparks
3 Chrysalis – Getdown Services
4 Land Of Hope And Dreams (Live In Manchester) – Bruce Springsteen
5 The Night – Dead Rat Society

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On This Day The Boss Gets Signed! June 9, 2025


On 9th June 1972 Bruce Springsteen was signed to Columbia Records by label boss John Hammond and started to assemble the core E Street Band from various Asbury Park ex-band mates. The wonderful thing is that more than 50 years later he is still going strong. He continues to regularly attack TACO Donny and I am glad that he is using his position and voice to do that!

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On This Day The Boss Shared The Bill With A Manic Depressive! January 4, 2025


Bruce Springsteen started a three-night run on 4th January 1974. It was held at Joes’ Place in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The support band was by Peter Johnson and The Manic Depressives (a local blues influenced band). On the ticket it stated: Due to the energy crisis, most of our outside lights will be shut off. Only one light will remain on. Later that same year Springsteen played another gig in the city and that was attended by journalist Jon Landau. He famously declared Springsteen the “rock and roll future” in his review for the Real Paper.

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On This Day The Boss Sings The King And The King’s Sprog Has A Chippy Tea! September 29, 2024



On 29th September 2012, the UK tabloid press reported that there really was a girl who works down the chip shop and swore she was Elvis’ daughter. This was after Lisa Marie Presley was spotted serving up deep-fried treats on a mobile motor called Mr Chippy. The then 44-year-old donned an apron and cooked battered cod for the locals. Kim Scales, who owned the business, said: “Lisa Marie likes to see how we live and experience British life. We were laughing because the customers didn’t know who she was. She really enjoyed it.” The singer had moved to the quaint village of Rotherfield, East Sussex, in 2010, from Los Angeles. Sadly Lisa Marie is no longer with us after passing away last year.

Also on 29th September, this time in 1989, while travelling on his motorbike from Los Angeles, Bruce Springsteen called in at Matt’s Saloon in Prescott, Arizona, and jammed with the house band. Bruce played a bunch of rock and roll classics, including Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel,” and Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen” and “Route 66.” Bruce also donated $100,000 to a barmaid’s hospital bill.

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The Mayhem Charts – May 2024 June 2, 2024


Here is the Mayhem chart for May 2024. Regular and constant readers know that the chart is based on my Spotify listening habits over the last month gathered together by obscurify.com. Apparently, my tastes are 98% more obscure than the rest of the UK! A drop of 1% from last month. 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 are Johnny Nash, Stevie Wonder, and Bruce Springsteen. Obscurify also suggests the most obscure artists I have listened to and for May those are PERCY, The Apocalypse Disco, and Joe Solo. There is a top ten artists chart and a top 5 songs chart. There is the usual eclectic mix of artists, including two that were in the top ten last month, Frank Turner, and Delilah Bon! Delilah is the only artist to feature in the artist chart and the song chart for May, with her current single “Evil, Hate Filled Female” making it to the top of the song chart. Delilah Bon has been in the artist charts for six consecutive months. Meanwhile, a rather big artist hits the top of the artist charts. Yes, Taylor Swift has finally topped the only chart that matters! To honour that achievement she is also included in this month’s playlist! Incidentally, the longest artist name ever to reach the Mayhem Artist Chart is Warrington Runcorn New Town Development Plan, they are at number six! 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 MAY 2024

1 Taylor Swift
2 Percy
3 Paul Weller
4 Richard Hawley
5 Billie Eilish
6 Warrington Runcorn New Town Development Plan
7 Yard Act
8 Frank Turner
9 Dea Matrona
10 Delilah Bon

MAYHEM SONG CHART MAY 2024

1 Evil, Hate Filled Female – Delilah Bon
2 Debris – Skanger
3 Come Alive – Francesca Faye
4 Here Right Now – Jessica Wilde
5 My Bile – Kate Nash

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My 2020 On Spotify And Some Deeper Listening Stats! January 17, 2021


I thought I would share some of my Spotify listening habits. Apparently I listened to Spotify for more than 12 days last year, I wish I knew how much time I listened to vinyl, CDs, MP3s, radio and other on line sources too. I discovered 577 new artists, wow! My most listened to song was David Bowie’s version of “Wild Is The Wind” and unsurprisingly Bowie was my most listened to artist once again (996 minutes, nearly 6% of my total Spotify listening time) I was also in the top 0.5% of Bowie listeners. The other artists in my top 5 were Biffy Clyro, the Streets, Ella Fitzgerald and Woke Up Dead. I listened to 1,286 artists. My top decade was the 1970s, again no surprise there. Top genres were Rock, Soul and Dance Rock. Rather fascinatingly my music is more obscure than 80% of UK users, what on earth does that mean? I also found a few rather amusing, to me anyway, graphs and charts to accompany this post!

Since starting on this post I have also discovered a few sites on which you can regularly update your Spotify statistics split between artists and tracks and then last 4 weeks/ current, Last six months and all time within that. My favourites among these sites so far are Favourite Music Guru, Obscurify Music and Stats For Spotify. Have you used any of these or can you recommend others?

In case you’re interested in my warped eclectic taste these are my top artists on Spotify (Current, Medium Term and all time) The top songs follow those lists. Incidentally the Kunts and Jarvis Cocker feaure strongly on the tracks lists simply because I did my bit to get them to be the Christmas number one in the UK these last two years!

Top Artists — Short Term (4 weeks)

  1. The Beatles
  2. Yusuf / Cat Stevens
  3. Eagles
  4. London Symphony Orchestra
  5. Evie Sands
  6. Rumer
  7. Jackson Browne
  8. David Bowie
  9. Bobbie Gentry
  10. Harry Styles

Top Artists — Medium Term (6 months)

  1. David Bowie
  2. Biffy Clyro
  3. Gregory Porter
  4. The Avalanches
  5. John Lennon
  6. Eminem
  7. Stevie Wonder
  8. Stephen EvEns
  9. Ella Fitzgerald
  10. The Beatles

Top Artists — Long Term (years)

  1. David Bowie
  2. Bob Marley & The Wailers
  3. Biffy Clyro
  4. Frank Turner
  5. Bruce Springsteen
  6. Four Tops
  7. Eminem
  8. Johnny Nash
  9. Elton John
  10. The Streets

Top Tracks — Short Term (4 weeks)

  1. Boris Johnson is a Fucking Cunt – Single Edit — The Kunts
  2. Billy the Kid, Ballet Suite: I. The Open Prairie — Aaron Copland, London Symphony Orchestra
  3. True Faith ’94 — New Order
  4. Jamaica Say You Will — Jackson Browne
  5. Everybody Used to Love You — Silverjet
  6. Raison D’Être — Stolen Dead Music
  7. Wear A Mask — Sing Sing Rabbit
  8. Three Points on a Compass — Martin Rossiter
  9. Drag Me to the Light — Miles and the Chain Gang
  10. Alfred – Intro — Eminem

Top Tracks — Medium Term (6 months)

  1. Boris Johnson is a Fucking Cunt – Single Edit — The Kunts
  2. Taking It Slow — Heartsink
  3. Concorde — Gregory Porter
  4. Freakin’ At the Freaker’s Ball — Dr. Hook
  5. Pepper — Butthole Surfers
  6. Career Criminal — Stephen EvEns
  7. Close — The Islas
  8. Belladonna — Spunsugar
  9. Make Us Eat — The Shining Tongues
  10. Smiling — Alanis Morissette

Top Tracks — Long Term (years)

  1. Boris Johnson is a Fucking Cunt – Single Edit — The Kunts
  2. Running the World — Jarvis Cocker
  3. Star Treatment — Arctic Monkeys
  4. (red, white, and blue) Cheerfulness — Perry Farrell
  5. Balance, Not Symmetry — Biffy Clyro
  6. Future Legend – 2016 Remaster — David Bowie
  7. Deep Sea Dreaming — Ocean Flaws
  8. Loser of the Year — Woke Up Dead
  9. Three Points on a Compass — Martin Rossiter
  10. Wild Is the Wind – 2016 Remaster — David Bowie

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Isaac Gracie – The Crescent, York – Monday 16th April 2018 April 17, 2018


Another school night, another gig at the fabulous Crescent in York. Tonight was another excellent show from Northern Radar this time headlined by Isaac Gracie. But before I give you my opinion of Mr Gracie how about a big hand for the most amazing support act Matt Maltese. He has an album coming out in June and after seeing him play live that is a very, very exciting prospect. He is like a lounge version of Rufus Wainwright who wears his politics on his sleeve in 72 point bold font. “As The World Caves In” is an incredible song and a very worthy single, a copy of which I bought on the night. Matt’s between song bonhomie and sardonic wit is wonderfully original. I think perhaps that “Guilty” was my favourite highlight, but there were many, so that might change if you ask me again. I would unreservedly pay to see Mr Maltese again.

It would be somewhat of a cliché to say that I have seen the future of rock ‘n’ roll, let’s face it Jon Landau said that about Bruce Springsteen in 1974. However I have seen a very bright future for British music in the shape of Isaac Gracie. Twenty One year old Gracie is a former chorister with the Ealing Abbey Choir. He first came to the attention of the music industry after “Last Words” a song recorded on GarageBand in his bedroom was unleashed into the world in 2015. His songs are far more mature than his years and on top of that he comes across as wonderfully affable and self-deprecating on stage. For me he has all the finest qualities of a young Jeff Buckley. I had the privilege of seeing Buckley at the Reading Festival many, many years ago and Gracie has the same qualities in his songs, performance, raw talent, passion and demeanour. Check out his cover of Radiohead’s “No Surprises” and the Arctic Monkeys “Fluorescent Adolescent” on YouTube and see the ghost of Buckley made real. My wonderful wife Catherine a.k.a. Catwoman doesn’t come to many gigs with me, but she was blown away by this one.

His first album is a truly accomplished début “Terrified”, “Last Words”, “Reverie”, “Running On Empty” and “Silhouettes Of You” all feel like classic songs that have been with you your whole life and Isaac played all of them tonight. There was not a single dud song in his set, my particular highlights were “All In My Mind” and the haunting song of sadness that is “Darkness Of The Day”. “Was our love a work of art, before the painting fell apart”, is that not one of the best lyrical couplets ever written? It is almost 46 years since I attended my first gig and there have been hundreds since then, but this is without doubt one of the finest shows that I have ever seen. If Isaac Gracie does not become a world straddling star then there is something horribly wrong with this planet.

 

12 Days To Christmas – Day 12 – Father Christmas December 24, 2017


This is it Christmas Eve, day 12 of my 12 days to Christmas series of posts. The final one that brings you famous people from history featured in a song, obviously they have all been real and today is no exception. I bring you the bearded weirdy, the fat bloke in the red coat, yes old saint Nick or as I prefer to call him, Father Christmas. He is real ok, don’t let anyone hear you say otherwise! Father Christmas first appeared in the 17th century and until the Victorian age he was seen as a symbol of adult merry-making and feasting. It was around then that he became the bearer of yuletide gifts, especially to children. Santa Claus is an American traditional name for the Christmas figure. Father Christmas’ coat was depicted as green, brown and even blue. It was a big advertising campaign by Coca Cola in 1931 that switched to the now far more common red robes. As it’s Christmas I won’t be focusing on any particular artist today, but I have selected a diverse set of Father Christmas and Santa Claus songs. Finally I would like to wish all of my readers a very happy Christmas, or happy holiday, or a happy life, whatever floats your boat. Just be happy! If you would like to track Father Christmas’ progress in your area click here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXCEdrnaFlY

 

Hurray For The Riff Raff – The Crescent, York – Tuesday 15th August August 15, 2017


Having really loved Hurray For The Riff Raff‘s album ‘The Navigator’ on first hearing it earlier this year I was hoping to get the chance to see them live. Well that chance came around at a fabulous little venue, the Crescent, in my adopted home city of York. Were Hurray For The Riff Raff good? Well you will just have to read on to find out, but first let me tell you about the rather splendid support act, Alex Golisti. He played a great acoustic set including some of his own songs, one of which was an old banjo tune that he played on the guitar and had written his own lyrics for. He has a voice that at times shows similarities with both Tom Waits and George Ezra. He plays a style that evokes bluegrass and roots music with a modern twist. On top of all that he has a great self-deprecating sense of humour.

I was accompanied by my beautiful wife Catherine a.k.a. Catwoman this evening as she enjoyed ‘The navigator’ too. We were both very excited to be here and from the opening salvo of “Life To Save” and “Nothing’s Gonna Change That Girl” we were not disappointed. The energy shown by Alynda Lee Segarra and indeed the whole band never let up for the whole night. There were plenty of highlights notably for me the haunting rendition of “Fourteen Floors” with Alynda on keyboard. Then just when you think it couldn’t get better the band hit us with one of Segarra’s excellent protest songs, “Pa’ lante”. It has vision, power, heart, soul, deep emotion and an uplifting message. I understand that it is Spanish slang and that it means to “go ahead” or “go for it”. Alynda is very proud of her Puerto Rican roots and that shows on the current album and in her stage performance. The encore included a rousing cover of Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark” which had absolutely everyone on their feet. This is a band on top form and one who were really enjoying themselves. I will definitely be seeing them again! This was another great show from Please Please You, thank you Joe Coates.