This is the first post in what I hope will be a regular, although maybe occasional series. I plan to share some great cover versions here and as a special bonus to all of you who bother to read this stuff, the first one features three covers. My ideal cover version is one that 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?
OHP
First up is Oren Halmut a.k.a OHP an LA-based metal head who gives a full-on metal take on Harry Styles’ 2022 pop hit “As It Was”. This is a superb tune and with a heavy hammering like this it takes on a fabulous new lease of life. I am now a definite OHP fan. Check out the OHP YouTube channel there are some excellent covers there.
The second is Deer Scout with a Kate Bush cover, “Suspended In Gaffa”. The song was the fourth single to be lifted from Kate’s ‘The Dreaming’ album from 1982, although it was released in Europe and Australia it wasn’t a single in the UK. Deer Scout is the brainchild of Dena Miller (vox and guitar) who is very well supported by, Zuzia (cello/harmonies), Joanna (drums), and Liz (bass). This takes Kate’s original a drives it in a weird dreamy folk direction and I love it!
The third and final track for this post is from another LA-based artist, singer-songwriter Mini Trees‘ version of Radiohead’s “Let Down”. It is more lo-fi than Thom and the boy’s track from 1997’s ‘OK Computer’ and Mini Trees cover has an angelic, ethereal vocal which mesmerised you and eases your pain, well that’s what it did for me anyway!
Feel free to recommend any songs that you think should be included in Under The Covers With Mayhem. I want to stear clear of the mainstream ideally, but off the wall covers by major artists might work too 🙂
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The Mayhem Artist Top 20 artist chart for July 2022 is here. 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 only 95% more obscure than other users in the UK this month, two points down from last month’s 97%. Although my obscure overall percentage remains at 99%! Regular readers will know that it also lists my most obscure artists, which currently are;
Promethium (The British metal titans returned to this list last month after a short break and they are still here)
Vaquelin (One of York’s finest young bands. You will be hearing more about them on this site soon). Check out the video for their latest single “Broken Window” below, watch it through to the end and you will witness my first acting performance, which I am sure will be winning many awards before long! I play old bloke at the bar with a pint of Guinness!
Hannah Robinson (talented singer who provided haunting vocals for the Last Of The Fallen Angels single “Red Dress”
The Last Of The Fallen Angels – (and speaking of the Last Of The Fallen Angels here they are, Conrad’s lot are firm favourites at Mayhem Towers)
MARQ Electronica – (The Talented Mr. Electronica graced the world with the rather fantastic album ‘Savage Times’ recently)
As for the July Top 20, Dame David and Kate Bush remain from the last chart, but this time Bowie drops from number 1 to number 4 and Kate Bush is up from 16 to 6. Soul music, specifically Motown is represented by the Supremes and Syreeta Wright. Meanwhile, reggae is represented by Burning Spear. Four of the five artists on the obscure list above are also in the top 20; MARQ Electronica (no. 3), The Last Of The Fallen Angels (5), Vaquelin (13), and Hannah Robinson (17). Classic bands and artists include Steely Dan, Nick Cave, Eminem, the Streets, Panic! At The Disco, and Hootie and the Blowfish. I am just preparing a review of Hottie drummer Jim Sonefeld’s autobiography ‘Swimming With The Blowfish. More recent but equally great artists include Captain Ska, The Beths, The Sheratons, and Yard Act. But it is disco music that makes it to the top of the pile this month thanks to the artist that made us feel mighty real, Sylvester! Check out the full chart below. I really would love to hear your thoughts on this chart. Please keep your eyes open for the fifth Mayhem Monthly Song Chart, just like an old-school top 20 singles chart! That one includes songs by eight of the artists featured in the July Artist Chart.
The Mayhem Artist Top 20 artist chart for June 2022 is here. 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 97% more obscure than other users in the UK this month, one point up from last month’s 96%. Regular readers will know that it also lists my most obscure artists, which currently are;
Promethium (The British metal titans are back on the list!)
Johnny Nash (Seriously, why is the greatest singer that ever lived listed as obscure?)
Apollo Junction (An absolutely brilliant band from Leeds, very nice lads too)
Vaquelin (One of York’s finest young bands. You will be hearing more about them on this site soon)
Millie Manders and the Shut Up (Fabulous ska-punk outfit, but they are so much more than that. Millie has huge talent and a fantastic band) – Check out the “Not OK” video below
As for the June Top 20, only Dame David remains from the last chart, but this time he climbs from number six back up to the top of the pile. This was probably driven by me being at the David Bowie World Fan Convention in Liverpool a few weeks ago. That wonderful visit also accounts for French artist -M- (at number 10) who the supremely wonderful human being that is Gail Ann Dorsey is working with, the marvellous Donny McCaslin sitting at number six and the late, great Mick Ronson at eleven. There is a good amount of soul this month, including Aretha Franklin, Millie Jackson, and Mel & Tim. Reggae is represented by Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Upsetters, and the Dynamites. Given his history, Johnny Nash could be represented in the soul or reggae camp. There are plenty of classic rock artists including the Beatles, Rolling Stones, T Rex, and the Who. More recent classic acts are well represented by the Wonder Stuff and Suede. Kate Bush is in at number sixteen and I haven’t even seen Stranger Things 4 yet! Half Man Half Biscuit are in there because I went to see them with my mate John at leeds Uni Stylus. Cigarettes After Sex are at number seven. I planned to see them while I was on a business trip to Bologna, but things conspired against me so, sadly I missed them. I would love to hear your thoughts on this chart. Oh and keep your eyes open for the fourth Mayhem Monthly Song Chart, just like an old-school top 20 singles chart! That one includes songs by a few of the artists featured in the June Artist Chart.
1 David Bowie 2 The Wonder Stuff 3 Johnny Nash 4 Aretha Franklin 5 Millie Jackson 6 Donny McCaslin 7 Cigarettes After Sex 8 Suede 9 Half Man Half Biscuit 10 -M- 11 Mick Ronson 12 Bob Marley and the Wailers 13 The Upsetters 14 The Dynamites 15 Mel and Tim 16 Kate Bush 17 Beatles 18 T Rex 19 The Who 20 Rolling Stones
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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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Greetings dear readers how is 2022 shaping up for you. I am a little late with this post, so there will be a February top 20 on the way soon and some news as to how these Top 20 posts will change going forward. 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 still remain over 97% more obscure than other users in the UK. 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)
Penfriend – (Not Laura Kidd’s first time in this list and a welcome return)
So who were the top artists for January 23rd? Check the full lists below, in a first for this chart there are more female artists than male artists for the first time (11 versus 9). In fact the Top 4 are all women, including a first number one for Gwen McCrae, what a voice! The Dame hangs in at number five. My reggae taste is represented by Dr. Alimantado (7), Dillinger (8) and Marcia Griffiths (17). My favourite 90s band Gene sit at number 18. There a a few classic artists (Kiki Dee, Kate Bush, Judie Tzuke and Joni Mitchell to name a few). This was before Joni removed her music from Spotify of course. Confession time, I really, really fancied Judie Tzuke when I was in my teens! There is a great showing for new artists too, some are more new to me, including The Anchoress, Helen Love, Bruno Skibbild and Yard Act. Look out for an upcoming Bruno Skibbild post soon. Give Obscurify a spin and let me know what your chart looks like and how obscure your tastes are 🙂
1 Gwen McCrae 2 Kate Bush 3 Tori Amos 4 Millie Jackson 5 David Bowie 6 Kiki Dee 7 Dr. Alimantado 8 Dillinger 9 The Anchoress 10 Joni Mitchell 11 Tavares 12 Helen Love 13 Beverly Craven 14 Yard Act 15 Shabazz Palaces 16 Norman Connors 17 Marcia Griffiths 18 Gene 19 Judie Tzuke 20 Bruno Skibbild
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The 10th birthday celebrations for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem could roll on long than Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue at this rate. Today is day 7 and I am giving you a list of the ten greatest gigs I have ever been to. This was pretty damned tough, I could have listed at least 50 or more. Obviously this is in no particular order of preference, simply chronological.
Regular readers will know that so far I have shared with you top ten most viewed posts on the blog since it began back in February 2009, the top ten countries that have given With Just A Hint Of Mayhem the most views, rock/ music related books, biographies and autobiographies, my top 10 Bowie songs, my 10 favourite bands of all time and yesterday my top ten favourite male artists. (Click here, here, here, here, here and here to view those again). Stay tuned, there are still four top tens to come after this! What will they be? Well sign up, follow or just check out this site regularly to find out! What are your favourite male singers, be they current, ancient or no longer with us? Incidentally I can tell you that the remaining top tens will be my favourite female artists, my favourite albums and my favourite singles.
So without further fuss here is the list, strangely there are no 80s gigs in there;
Jackson 5 – Wembley Empire Pool – November 1972 – My first ever gig, the J5 were phenomenal and the support acts included Junior Walker and the All Stars and the Commodores
David Bowie – Wembley Empire Pool – May 1976 – My dad wouldn’t let me see the Dame in the Ziggy years so this was my first Bowie show and the Thin White Duke smashed it. Bowie even forgot the lyrics to “Life On Mars”
Ramones – Rainbow Theatre – December 1977 – This was a New Years Eve show, the night before my 18th birthday. Da Bruddas were brilliant and support was I think from Generation X and the Rezillos.
Millie Jackson – Apollo Victoria – November 1978 – I absolutely adore Millie Jackson’s voice, her soulfulness, her playfulness and her humour. This fabulous show with an amazing band was sadly the only time I saw her live, well so far.
Earth, Wind & Fire – Wembley Empire Pool – March 1979 – This was E,W & F in their full pomp with a pyramid stage set, pyrotechnics and teleportation. On top of that they were one of the finest soul and funk bands on the planet at the time and they were supported by the Emotions.
Oasis – The Old Trout, Windsor – May 1994 – With hindsight seeing Oasis in the sweaty backroom of a pub with a capacity of no more than 120 was truly incredible. I saw that at Knebworth a few years later, but this Windsor show topped that for me.
David Bowie – Phoenix Festival, Stratford on Avon – July 1996 – The second Bowie show in the list, well I did see him ten times. If I was pushed to say which my all time favourite gig was it would be this. The subdued start with “Quicksand” was stunning.
Foo Fighters – Reading Festival – August 2005 – I have seen the Foos at festivals many times, but for me this was their finest hour. A truly perfect live band.
Jimmy Cliff – O2 Academy, Leeds – August 2014 – possibly one of the most entertaining party style gigs I have ever had the pleasure of attending. Mr Cliff seems to have perpetual motion.
Kate Bush – Hammersmith Apollo – September 2014 – I didn’t see Kate in 1978 as I couldn’t afford I assumed that there would be another tour very soon, but there wasn’t But this was definitely worth the wait.
The other day I decided to take a quick count of all the artists in my album collection where I have at least 10 albums by a single artist. I included CDs, LPs and cassettes (although the only non compilation cassettes that I have are David Bowie bootlegs). Oh and while I’m on bootleg recordings obviously I have included them whether they are live, studio outtakes or simply unreleased stuff. I have not included digital recordings. I was surprised to find that there are 4o artists where I have at least ten releases by them. The list is below, (artist followed by the number of albums) there are no real surprises for me, are you surprised at any on this list? Have you ever done anything similar? I have also added a song from each of the top ten artists 🙂
David Bowie 141
Bob Dylan 30 Johnny Nash 26 Bruce Springsteen 26
Beatles 25
Neil Young 25
Elton John 19
Bob Marley 19
U2 19
Rod Stewart 18
Pink Floyd 17
REM 17 Elvis Costello 15
The Eels 15
Prince 15
Paul Weller 15
Ryan Adams 14 Led Zeppelin 14
Madonna 14
The Clash 13 Elvis Presley 13
Radiohead 13
Kate Bush 12
Oasis 12
Lou Reed 12
Stevie Wonder 12
Morrissey 11
Tom Waits 11
ZZ Top 11
Jeff Buckley 10
Julian Cope 10
Johnny Cash 10 Michael Jackson 10
John Lennon 10 Manic Street Preachers 10
Kylie Minogue 10 Iggy Pop 10
Rolling Stones 10
Frank Turner 10
The Who 10
Given that Radiohead recently shared what might have been the theme to the latest James Bond film, ‘Spectre’ I was reminded of some other Bond theme trivia. The theme song to 1979’s ‘Moonraker’ was originally issued to Frank Sinatra and Kate Bush. Not as a duo, although that might have been somewhat intriguing. Eventually it was recorded by Shirley Bassey.
Rita Coolidge released “All Time High“, the theme to ‘Octopussy’ in 1983. That song had previously been turned down by Mari Wilson. Whatever happened to her?
Then in 2008 Jack White and Alicia Keys provided the frankly unforgettable “Another Way To Die” for ‘Quantum Of Solace’. But I wonder what might have been had Amy Winehouse recorded it as per the original plan?
This year was the first time I have been around for Live At Leeds and thanks to my good friend John Hayhurst I even got a cheap ticket. On top of that John’s research on the bands, singers and venues was immaculate. After collecting our wrist bands at the First Direct arena we headed to the Key Club. The first band on stage were Forever Cult. I would describe them as a bit grunge, a bit indie and a bit classic rock. They were bloody good, “Yasmin” is a great song. All three were excellent musicians but the drummer attacked his kit like a reincarnated John Bonham. He even had a look of the great Bonzo about him too.
We were entertained on the same stage next by the Treason Kings. They are full on heavy, hard and hairy rock at its best. Maybe with even a bit of a prog twinge. I mean who else but someone with an awareness of prog history would write a song about their chest of drawers called “Chest Of Drawers”? An excellent band in my opinion.
After that it was a brisk walk to the O2 Academy for Gaz Coombes. I have seen him a few years ago when he was still with Supergrass, now they were a great band weren’t they? Mr Coombes solo is different from Supergrass but still su-fucking-perb.
The Belgrave Rooms took us in next. We caught the last pert of Alex Burey’s set. He is a young london singer songwriter who is a bit like a jazzed up and more funky Jake Bugg with an extra added Orange Juice/ Edwyn Collins. Chloe Black was what drew us to the Belgrave. She owned the stage with her striking monochrome look and wowed us with just an iPad and a keyboard. For me she has a range of influences from Amy Winehouse to Bjork via Ballad Madge (a.k.a Madonna) She seemed a little nervous at first but it was a really packed house.
We made a dash to get to a small bar called Milo’s for the highly recommended Crybabycry. The bar is quite small and rammed to the rafters with punters. That might have helped or hindered a performer or band. But I believe Crybabycry raised themselves for it. They are a truly stupendous band. Their songs are often underpinned by a classic glam rock drum beat from a very talented drummer. All three are very talented musicians and their songs are wonderful. I can hardly wait to see them again, but I will see them next month at the Apollo Festival in York.
After this and a brief burger stop we whizzed over to the Holy Trinity Church where we stayed for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Being an old church the acoustics are fabulous. Frances was first on for us. Great voice – Tick, great pianist – Tick, Great songs – tick. She clearly ticks all the boxes for me and has the gifts and talent to be really successful.
The second act we saw in the Holy Trinity Church was Freddie Dickson and the Guard. What a fucking amazing find they were. I thought that I was detecting shades of Coldplay and Radiohead and then I thought nope these guys are very much of their own making. I believe that they are probably one of the best young bands that I have seen in years and believe me I have seen some great young bands; Avalanche Party and the Tuts to name but two. Freddie’s voice is off the scale of phenomenal rock voices. This band really ought to be huge!
Having settled in to our prime spot on the pew just in front of the stage we were next entertained by Seafret. They might look a little like Simon and Garfunkel but they come across like a turbo charged and folky McAlmont and Butler. They are from Bridlington, they are Seafret and they are bloody marvellous.
The penultimate performer for our time at Live At Leeds was Laura Doggett. She has a brilliant band, an amazing voice and her songs are truly captivating. I felt there were quite a few influences in her songs and performance; Florence, Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks. It was a superb set, the one thing that didn’t work for me though was the often very twee between song conversation.
Finally it was time for Lucy Rose, or perhaps it wasn’t time. The were a multitude of equipment problems for which Lucy apologised, although clearly it wasn’t her fault. Eventually she had the techie set up a microphone and an acoustic amp, whereupon she came out and took requests, from her first album. Not many artists would have the commitment and the balls to do this, let alone actually pull it off. But Lucy Rose really did make it work. Eventually the equipment problems were sorted and she was able to perform some of her planned set. Lucy Rose; a trouper, a true performer and a great singer-songwriter. The packed audience loved her and frankly so did I.
And finally it’s the public service announcement. All the videos ( a selection of artists that we saw on the day) are courtesy of YouTube and all the photos are courtesy of rock photographer John Hayhurst. (I borrowed them from your Facebook page Mr H)
The song “Birdland” taken from the classic Patti Smith album ‘Horses‘ was inspired by the 1973 book by Peter Reich. The title was ‘A Book Of Dreams‘ and Patti had been urged to read it by writer William Burroughs. The same book can be seen in the video for “Cloudbusting” by Kate Bush. That song was also inspired by Reich’s book.
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 