This new single from Montreal based singer songwriter Guilhelm has pop, punk and a slacker laid-back Weezer type vibe. A summer anthem for 2025 with a wonderfully positive “I know I’m not gonna die” vocal hook. Guilhem described the song “This song explores the different ways to overcome a hangover in some sort of quest for self-improvement. It’s about inadequacy and self-destructive behavior, but it also expresses a hopeful, yet uncertain, desire for a better future“. The video, finely shot by Alex Charron, exaggerates that cool laid back vibe too. I love the song and I love the video. Guilhem’s new album ‘A Good One’ hits the streets on 5th September. It was mixed and mastered by the one and only Frank Turner, a great favourite here in Mayhem Towers!
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Here is the Mayhem chart for March 2025. 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, Elvis Costello and Jackson Browne. Obscurify also suggests the most obscure artists I have listened to for March and they are Liz Davinci, Abraskadabra and Kindelan.
Winnetka Bowling League are the top artist for March and their single “This Is Life” hits number 4 in the song chart . Only one artist in the artist chart remains from last month and that is Antony Szmierek. Two of my all time favourite artists are in the artist chart Frank Turner at number two and Millie Manders and the Shutup at number three. The incredible Erotic Secrets Of Pompeii hit the top of the song chart with the stunning track “Speak Medieval”. So without further ado here are those charts in full! Click on the Spotify link below to listen to the famous (or infamous) five! Nearly eighteen minutes of great music!
Mayhem Artist Chart March 2025
1 Winnetka Bowling League 2 Frank Turner 3 Millie Manders and the Shutup 4 Abraskadabra 5 Manic Street Preachers 6 Wardruna 7 Lady Gaga 8 Jo Quail 9 SEX-O-RAMA 10 Antony Szmierek
Mayhem Song Chart March 2025
1 Speak Medieval – Erotic Secrets Of Pompeii 2 Wednesday – Pick The Flowers 3 Hand In Hand – Drop Dead McPhee 4 This Is Life – Winnetka Bowling League 5 Clickbait Reissued – Sally Pepper
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When 2024 began I set myself a target of posting an average of one post per day. That meant I needed to finish at least 366 posts as it was a leap year. In the end I posted 377 times, 11 over target. Those posts received a total of 43,874 views, the second highest annual figure since 2015. That was from a total of 31,105 visitors. Since the blog began in 2009 (yes it really is nearly 16 years old) we have received 1,850,714 views. Let’s push on to 2 million! In completing my target I wrote 113,231 words.
The most popular posts were “Everyone Is A C*nt Except Me” – Judy Raindrop. Another favorite was “Johnnie Walker’s Final Sounds Of The 70s Show On BBC Radio 2“. He will be sadly missed by many of us! A huge thank you from me and the team for your support. We appreciate you sticking by With Just A Hint Of Mayhem for all these years. It is you that keeps me going and I really do love doing this. I hope that 2025 is a great one for you. Be happy, be strong and be kind!
Here is the Mayhem chart for August 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 risen slightly to 96% 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, Bikini Kill, and Stevie Wonder. Obscurify also suggests the most obscure artists I have listened to for August and those were Liz Davinci, Kindelan, and Modern Marriage. There is a top ten artists chart and a top 5 songs chart. There is the usual eclectic mix of artists, including just one that was in the top ten last month, Delilah Bon! Delilah has been in the artist charts now for nine consecutive months. The only artist to appear in both lists for July is, you guessed it, Delilah Bon! The number one song is “Nureyev Said It Best” by the mighty Avalanche Party. So without further ado here are those charts in full! Click here for the Spotify song playlist.
Mayhem Artist Chart August 2024
1 PJ Harvey 2 Frank Turner 3 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 4 Modern Marriage 5 Mothica 6 El Pony Pisador 7 Ravyn Lenae 8 Bambi Thug 9 Delilah Bon 10 Yes Ma’am
1 Nureyev Said It Best – Avalanche Party 2 Ballad 1 (Sorry) – HerOrangeCoat 3 Two Sips – Revivalry 4 Everything I Hate About You – NOANNE 5 Volatile – Delilah Bon
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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
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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Here is the Mayhem chart for April 2024. Regular 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 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, the top three “Legacy” artists are David Bowie, the KLF, and Public Image Ltd. Obscurify also suggests the most obscure artists I have listened to and for March those are Liz Davinci, The Apocalypse Disco, and Kindelan. There is a top ten artists chart and a top 5 songs chart. There is the usual eclectic mix of artists, including just one that was in the top ten last month, Delilah Bon! Delilah is one of only two artists to feature in the artist chart and the song chart for April, the other is the Blackheart Orchestra. Delilah Bon has been in the artist charts for five consecutive months and after topping the March song chart with “Maverick” she sits at number two with her new single, “Finally See Me”. Joe Solo, who we interviewed recently, tops the artist chart and Everything After Midnight takes the top spot on the song chart with their cracking new single “Little Hints” 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 APRIL 2024
1 Joe Solo 2 Grace Potter 3 Ian Hunter 4 Frank Turner 5 English Teacher 6 Julia Othmer 7 The Blackheart Orchestra 8 Delilah Bon 9 Avalanche Party 10 Paraorchestra
1 Little Hints – Everything After Midnight 2 Finally See Me – Delilah Bon 3 Cinderhaze – Stumbleine 4 The Tide – The Blackheart Orchestra 5 Manoeuvres – Carol Hodge
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With apologies to the creators of the iconic NOW series of compilations that began in 1983, I felt it was time to do something similar with Mayhem! This includes the first 20 singles we reviewed in 2024 in a delightfully eclectic playlist for your listening pleasure! More than 70 minutes of music, click here and lose yourself in the music!
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Is there a new Frank Turner album on the horizon? Possibly, given he released a brand new single on January 4th. It is called “No Thank You For The Music” and it sounds and feels like angry Frank is back! I am very happy about that! It is most definitely a rock number with a great pop vibe. I can see some of those lines being sung by festival choir crowds for years to come, myself included. Particularly “I don’t want to be in any gang that you’re in. I refuse to take part in gatekeeping people’s art“. I have been a Frank fan for years and this is one of his best! Apparently, Mr. Turner says this about the track, “a song about defiance, rejection of mainstream culture, pride in the underground, and staying angry as you get older.” Check it out!
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Kicking off things on Main Stage West it was Lil Tjay who, for reasons currently unknown, failed to turn up yesterday. He is clearly a good rapper, and his DJ had some great beats and, MC skills. But the bottom line for me was I felt that Lil Tjay has all the stage presence of a used tissue. Also, was he lip-syncing at times? Maybe he was just having an off day! Next on the Main Stage East, it was superb Leeds band Yard Act who were accompanied on stage by a bunch of mannequins dressed in trench coats, who turned out to be dancers. This band is so refreshing, every bit as good as the Blockheads with some Talking Heads influence. Vocalist James Smith is just a one-off with perhaps some Mike Skinner and Ian Dury influence. A momentous set from a band who will headline this festival one day. After that, it was a dash back to Main Stage West for the god-like genius that is Frank Turner, along with his Sleeping Souls. I always feel positive and emotional when I see Frank play live. He is one of the most passionate performers in rock and this was a truly formidable set. Too many highlights to mention but “Photosynthesis” and “I Still Believe” were special indeed.
I took time out to interview the wonderful ALT BLK ERA next, and more of them later. Then it was over to the Festival Republic Stage for the Last Dinner Party. They are the subject of quite a bit of hype, did they live up to it? I think they did, in bucketloads. Musically they evoke classic seventies sounds like 10cc, Supertramp, and even Queen. But vocally they are simply first class in both lead and harmonies. I would love to hear singer Abigail Morris take on a cover of the odd seventies classic, “See Me, Feel Me” by the Who, maybe. It was keyboard player Aurora’s birthday today and the whole crowd sang Happy Birthday to her. This was an impressive set, “Nothing Matters” was perfect. I caught a few songs from Seagulls on Main Stage West. I thought they were good. Inoffensive indie pop rock like the Pigeon Detectives and Scouting For Girls.
Mimi Webb was on Main Stage East next. She played a hit-packed pop-fuelled set which hit the spot for most people in the crowd. After a short break, I was back at Main Stage East for Wet Leg. I like some of their songs and they played well and were clearly enjoying themselves, I am guessing you know there is a “but” coming right? Yes, there is. Personally, apart from one or two songs I find them a little bland! I was wandering past the BBC Introducing Stage, and I spotted that Antony Szmierek was about to start. I discovered his music recently via the weird algorithms that Spotify has with a great tune called “The Words To Auld Lang Syne”. He played that and did a great Sugababes cover. The highlight for me was “Twist Forever”. Mr. Szmierek appears to be a teacher as a group of kids all around 16 years old rocked up with a “Mr. Szmierek” sign. One of my favourite sets of the day.
I said there would be more on ALT BLK ERA later and this is it. They headlined the BBC Introducing Stage and after overcoming a few issues during soundcheck they played a set the force and power of which could be measured using a seismograph. Supported by an extraordinarily good drummer and a guitarist who might well be called Mr. Riffage. Together they produce a gargantuan metal hybrid sound which is often like the Prodigy on steroids. There were rough edges, but this is a young band that I believe has many fabulous years ahead of them. They played the title track of their upcoming EP, “Freak Show” which sounds classy. The Arctic Monkeys cover was so different from the original that it was perfect. But the highlight was set closer “I’m Normally Like This”.
Next, it was a stroll across to Main Stage West for a thumping set from Foals. I have seen them a few times and they are an immensely good live band with phenomenally good songs. At their base, they are essentially a funk band with musical muscle who overlay those huge bassy beats with great rock guitar and vocals. They clearly have an affinity with the sound of James Murphy’s LCD Sound System. They opened with the 2021 single “Wake Me Up” which brought a tired audience to life. They followed with some of their finest songs from their increasing canon of work. I think “(summer sky)” was the top choice for me, especially as they played it just when the sun was about to set. Finally, it was time for the mighty Sam Fender to grace the Main Stage East. The crowd was awash with hundreds of Newcastle United shirts waiting for a triumphant headline set from their Geordie Prodigal Son. He gave Bramham Park what many are already calling a career-defining set while showing his love of the North by wearing an Angel Of The North t-shirt. The encore came with waves of love from an adoring crowd.
All photos by John Hayhurst of Snapagig.com
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On the last Mayhem Top 20 post, I mentioned that I was changing how it would be published. Instead of waiting for Obscurify to tot up listens on a seemingly random date, I will now take a snapshot at the end of each month. So the Top 20 for February is the first of those. Many of you know that I am a keen user of a site called Obscurify. It claims to tell you how obscure your listening on Spotify is. Compared to the rest of the UK I achieved a level of 100% more obscure than other users in the UK. 100%, is that even possible? Either way, I am proud of it! Anyway, regular readers will know that it also lists my most obscure artists, (the top two of which have been there since I began doing these posts) which currently are;
Woke Up Dead (One of the two bands that have been ever-present in my obscure list and an excellent band to boot!)
Promethium (This metal bunch continue to fly the flag for great British rock and like Woke Up Dead have been ever-present in this obscure team)
Black Acacias -(I have no idea how I found this lot. Their album came out in 2008 and they have 4 monthly listeners on Spotify. There seems to be no information about them online, apart from the music on Spotify. If you were in Black Acacias or know anything about them please contact me. They appear at number 13 in this week’s chart)
Folk The System – (folky protest and frankly great songs, this lot make their second appearance in the obscure list. They appear at number 27 in the extended chart)
As for the February Top 20, only Dame David and Kate Bush remain from the last chart. Other classic artists include Suede, Arctic Monkeys, Glen Campbell, Alison Moyet, Culture Club, Bob Dylan Dionne Warwick, and Frank Turner. Bruno Skibbild makes his second appearance and there will be another post about him very soon. Nine Inch Nails crash in at number one, I have just read a great book about their album ‘The Downward Spiral’, lookout for a review of that on these pages sometime soon. The rest of the top five is The Skinner Brothers, Hawksley Workman, Heartsink, and the aforementioned Kate Bush. Four of the artists who feature in the February Top 20 are current contenders for my album of the year for 2022, can you guess who they are? Who knew that there was a band called Diamond Dogs? I didn’t until now. Gonora Sounds from Africa produce some of the most uplifting music that I have heard in a long while! Here is that all-important top 20. I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
1 Nine Inch Nails 2 The Skinner Brothers 3 Hawksley Workman 4 Heartsink 5 Kate Bush 6 David Bowie 7 Glen Campbell 8 Paul Draper 9 Bob Dylan 10 Alison Moyet 11 Gonora Sounds 12 Culture Club 13 Black Acacias 14 Dionne Warwick 15 L.A.B. 16 Diamond Dogs 17 Suede 18 Arctic Monkeys 19 Frank Turner 20 Hurray For The Riff Raff
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