With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

‘Hot Singles In Your Area’ – SCENE QUEEN June 4, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 7:41 pm
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Hannah Collins a.k.a. SCENE QUEEN takes Bimbocore to a whole new level on her debut album, ‘Hot Singles In Your Area’, which hits the pink streets on 28th June via Hopeless Records. It is stacked full of good stuff including some collaborations with WARGASM, The Ready Set, and 6arelyhuman. Whatever excites you, whatever your kink is there is something on this record for you. SCENE QUEEN says this about the album “I wrote an album about growing up in the early 2000s but not exploring my sexuality until my 20s with all the messy and chaotic situations you find yourself in when you’re trying to find yourself and your own power.” She is at the vanguard of feminism and could probably bring down the patriarchy on her own given the power in her metal/ emo/ punk/ pop anthems. To look at her you might think Barbie, and yes the look is there, but the strength is so much more like G.I. Jane.

The album kicks off with “BDSM” (I told you there was something for every kink, right?) This is a full-on metal assault with nasty, dark pop vibes. This could be the Bimbocore national anthem. Her voice is so strong on this, what a way to open. The 2023 single “18+” tackles head-on the prevalence of so many bands being misogynistic and apparently happy to use underage girls. The chorus is like Gwen Stefani on steroids with a hook that Babymetal would kill for. Misogynists and predators are going to be scared shitless when they hear “Whips & Chains”, especially when they hear the lyric “gonna nail his dick to the wall of shame” It is a glorious metal pop song, which sadly won’t be heard on mainstream radio. Another totally anthemic single from last year plays next on this record, “Pink Push-Up Bra” This tune takes metal to a mountainous new level that many of SCENE QUEEN’s male peers are probably afraid to go to. These riffs are as hard as fucking hell! She showcases her signature style when she lays into circle jerkers everywhere with “Mutual Masturbation”. This chorus was hanging around in my head for days after I listened to it. WARGASM adds something to “Girls Gone Wild” but it is still full-on energetic femme fatale fury from the high priestess of Bimbocore. The guitar solo screams hard and slaps you in the face.

“POV” is another collaboration, this time with the Ready Set. It is first-class rap metal with riffs ripped straight from the early 70s glam rock peak. The title track “Hot Singles In Your Area” starts out like a cutesy country ballad, and then it rips out the beating heart of Nashville’s finest as its sonic attack throws you from one side of your padded cell to the other. Speaking of country, SCENE QUEEN goes metallic dosey doe on “MILF”. Maybe there will be a Bimbocore country album in the future, I reckon it would outclass Beyonce’s leisurely stroll in Ole Opry territory. I would love to hear Madonna tackle a SCENE QUEEN song, perhaps “Amateur” would be a good place to start. “Stuck” featuring 6arelyhuman was a single earlier this year and it encompasses everything that a song needs to top every chart in the world. Sadly this world is full of shit so that ain’t gonna happen. But an electro-dance remix of this track would be awesome. SCENE QUEEN is an ambassador for sexual freedom and that is perhaps never more clear than on “Finger” a song that extols the virtues of self-pleasure. If you like dark, dirty, sex-fuelled, dance vibes you will fucking love “PEG”. The guitar shredding on “Oral Fixation” is a DEFCON 1 event. This has the influence of PEACHES all over it. Appropriately the album closes with a song called “Climax” it is a Bimbocore power ballad that gives you just enough time to recover from the aural blitzkrieg of the album, before spinning it again! SCENE QUEEN has metaphorical balls of steel and is not afraid to question and challenge, misogynists, haters, and genre purists. She stands up and fights angrily and passionately for LGBTQ+ people and anyone unfortunate enough to have fallen through the cracks in this often vile world. Even if you don’t know it yet, you need SCENE QUEEN in your life and you need her NOW!

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The Mayhem Charts – May 2024 June 2, 2024

Filed under: Mayhem Monthly Chart,Mayhem Top 20 Chart — justwilliam1959 @ 9:12 pm
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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

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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On This Day The Fabs Went White, Bowie Went Arachnid And Mick Jagger Went Mr. Whippy! May 30, 2024

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 9:32 pm
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On May 30th, 1968, The Beatles began work on their 30-track self-titled double album (popularly referred to as The White Album, due to its all-white sleeve design). Nineteen of the songs that ended up on the record were written while the band was on a Transcendental Meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India. It took more than six months to record and the first track to be laid down was “Revolution.” In my opinion, this is one of the best Beatles albums.

In 1987, also on 30th May, David Bowie kicked off his Glass Spider tour. It was believed to be the largest touring set ever at the time, the stage was designed to resemble a giant spider. The tour was in support of one of his poorest albums, ‘Never Let Me Down’. 43 trucks transported the set to each of the tour’s 87 shows. I was at one of those shows, Wembley Stadium in June. I recall that Big Country was one of the support acts the day I went.

May 30th, 2009 saw Mick Jagger offer to buy an ice cream van but his offer was turned down by its owner, Guiseppe Della Camera. Guisseppe had spent ten years restoring the rusting van to perfection after he saw it on a farm being used as a chicken coop. Jagger offered to buy the van when he saw it at a show on Wandsworth Common. Guisseppe said, “Jagger told me he’d really fallen in love with my van and asked me if I would consider selling it. I was stunned when he offered me £100,000“. One reason that Guisseppe turned down such a generous offer was that he had promised his daughter he would drive her to her wedding in it. Maybe Jagger just wanted Forty Licks!

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The Apocalypse Disco – Fulford Arms, York – Friday 5th April 2024 April 7, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 4:57 pm
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The original line-up for this gig included Fully Arms favourites I Tell Lies, sadly they had to pull out. What was their replacement like? They might be a late addition to the bill, but what a fucking magnificent band Safe Harbour is! Heavy, passionate, emotional songs and they didn’t just play, this was a proper show. They played an explosive set, with intensity dialed up to 11, and gave it everything. The singer is totally captivating and has an awesome, soaring voice. There were many highlights but for me, the biggest were “Let Me Breathe” and “Sedated”. I hope I got the title of the second one right! This is a band that I think can become huge!

Next up it was one of Mayhem’s favourite bands Hærtstrings, winners of last year’s Fulford Arms Battle Of The Bands contest. It is hard to believe that this band played their first gig around seven months ago. They get better every gig and I think I have now seen them four or five times. They clearly watched Safe Harbour and rose to the challenge of “how the fuck do you follow that” with a great performance. KJ’s face makeup gave him an ethereal look under the lights, although I think he suffered for that by sweating white makeup into his eyes. His voice was great, he channels his passion and anger perfectly, and he is shaping up to be a great frontman. The whole band were in top form, but I will mention guitarist Archie, who, despite a cut finger, played like a guitar god. I have always loved a band or artist that it is not easy or impossible to put into a genre box and Hærtstrings are one of those!

Finally, it was time for headliners the Apocalypse Disco. They have one of the best band names ever and were on fire tonight. If the apocalypse was truly happening then this gig would have been the one to end the world with! Ian and Robin make far more sound than you would expect from two people and what a sound it is. banging tunes that arise from the ashes of the Prodigy with an added punk attitude. Their music compels you to dance and if you were standing still during this set, what is wrong with you? “Welcome To The Disco” is a post-apocalyptic party anthem and “Alive”, which we were treated to twice, is an electro singalong like no other. I don’t believe that anyone was quiet during that song. And are there many better opening lines than “God loves a sinner, thank fuck for that”, I think not! They gave a lovely shout-out to Kurt Cobain and played an incredible cover of George Harrison’s “Art Of Dying”. Following Safe Harbour and Hærtstrings was a huge challenge, but the Apocalypse Disco did it with a performance which registered on the Richter Scale!

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Soma Crew – Album Launch – Fulford Arms, York – Wednesday 3rd April 2024 April 4, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 5:44 pm
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This was a gig to kick off the launch of the new Soma Crew album ‘Confused OK’ which we reviewed here at Mayhem Towers a few days ago, click here to read it. But before I tell you about Soma Crew I have to speak about the two support acts. The first to take the stage was Pascallion. His guitar style was like Chet Atkins on a Hendrix trip with some Jeff Buckley thrown in. As for his songs, wow, imagine if a Thom Yorke demon had possessed Bob Dylan, that is how it sounded to me. Obviously, this just proves that sometimes demonic possession can be good, right? When Pascallion used prerecorded backing tracks (or were they samples) it was like Groove Armada attempting acoustic folk. This guy is very good!

Sewage Farm was next, they sounded like early Nirvana but leaned more towards garage than punk. There were some great hooks and melodies on display and some of these were quite Beatlesesque at times. There were occasions where they reminded me of ‘Monster’ period R.E.M. This band are three great musicians but I want to give a huge shout-out to the drummer he was stunning on the night. So based on this set, I can confirm that, at least musically, don’t stink! They probably don’t stink from a personal hygiene perspective either, but I didn’t get close enough to confirm.

Finally, it was time for the monumental, magnificent, magical, mesmerising, mighty musical powerhouse that is Soma Crew. This bunch is clearly one of the best bands to arise in York and their new album is, for me, possibly their best yet. Soma Crew is always a great live band and tonight was no exception. The new songs are superb on record but in a live setting, they blow up and rip the multiverse apart with more power than Thanos held in the Infinity Gauntlet. Frontman Si Micklethwaite tried to add another dimension to the show with white sheets and his white suit upon which some psychedelic, surreal, and epilepsy-inducing projections were played. Is this similar to those 1960s Pink Floyd Happenings? Incidentally, those projections worked perfectly on Si’s suit for most of the night. There were many highlights in this relatively long set, particularly from the new album. For me, the best moments were”Mirage” and “This Illusion” but the one that blew everything else out of the water was “Propaganda Now”. That really summoned up the spirit of Hawkwind. This has been one of the best gigs I have been to this year so far!

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‘David Bowie, Enid Blyton and the sun machine’ – Nicholas Royle March 29, 2024

Filed under: Book,Review — justwilliam1959 @ 10:35 pm
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I haven’t actually counted for a while, but I believe that I own around 120 books about David Bowie. Thanks to Nicholas Royle I now own 121, or at least thereabouts. I was completely unaware that Royle’s book ‘David Bowie, Enid Blyton and the sun machine’ existed until I took a look at the schedule for the 2024 York Literature Festival and saw the title. As a Bowie fan, I therefore had to be there for Nicholas Royle’s session at York St. John University to talk about his new book on Tuesday 12th March. Royle, who is the Emeritus Professor (English) at Sussex University, opened the session by playing Bowie’s older song “Memory Of A Free Festival” as this was the song that provided part of the book title with its repeated refrain “The sun machine is coming down and we’re gonna have a party”. Then he read from the book. But the most interesting part was the interview with Nick by Dr. Sam Reese originally from Aotearoa New Zealand, and now a senior lecturer at the Centre for Writing at York St. John University. Reese asked some insightful questions about how the book came about and what it actually is. In essence, the book came about thanks to Covid, well at least that was probably the catalyst and it is largely a memoir, or is it? Anyway, that whole evening saw me buy the book and get Nick to sign my copy and now, while on holiday in Cornwall (I am not sure why I said that, is it even remotely relevant?) I have got around to reading it.

I think that my fear was that this would be a very academic and deep tome that I might find difficult to read. It is academic at times but Royle writes in a style that even a bloke with one English O Level from 1974 can read and devour easily. One of the first things that intrigued me was the title. How can you write about Blyton and Bowie in the same book? Sure they are both associated with Beckenham and were great artists in their own spheres. Well, what Royle focuses on is their ability to access the undermind or the subconscious mind or self. I think from this book it is clear that both Bowie and Blyton were able to work in their own undermind with natural and unknowing skill. The memoir thread of the book takes the reader through Royle’s personal experience of Covid and lockdowns and his reacquaintance with both Bowie who he kind of lost touch with in the 1980s, and Enid Blyton. The book is written as a series of “ghost lectures” from a university lecturer who has opted for voluntary severance. The lectures flow together beautifully and are all anchored with a specific piece of music or song. Mostly Bowie songs but also some classical pieces.

I have not read anything by Enid Blyton since I was in junior school, but I am encouraged to go back and reread some of my favourites. The Famous Five, which features strongly in Nicholas Royle’s book and my personal memories of loving the Secret Seven series. Some of the insights into Blyton are drawn from biographies and also her own autobiography and perhaps something that is personal to Nicholas Royle’s family. His paternal grandmother and artist and illustrator had an affair with Enid Blyton sometime in the 1920s. There are many things that I love about this book, perhaps the biggest thing is the continued discussion about what a sun machine is. Maybe a time machine, maybe a way that an idea dawns on an artist, or something that might be different for every artist. Do I have an undermind? I hope so. Can I access my undermind? I hope so. If you are a fan of David Bowie, Enid Blyton, or indeed sun machines you need to read this book. It is eye-opening. I loved it! And finally, I was going to put together a playlist of all the music used in the book, but someone on Spotify has already done that! Thank you tommymackay1959, click here to play it.

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‘Beer Baby’ – Drunk Mums March 24, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 6:52 pm
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Melbourne’s Drunk Mums has just released a new album full of first-class punk and garage firepower. proceedings are kicked off with “New Australia” which is a perfect blueprint for the album, full of anger, angst, and huge punky riffs with a wonderful Ramones feel. “Slippn’ Up” could have arrived here in the 21st Century via a punk time machine from 1977. It has elements of the Clash and the Damned. If Status Quo had been fed Lemmy levels of speed they might have sounded like Drunk Mums do on “Mutant”. If the New York Dolls came back from the dead to record with Iggy Pop, then the Drunk Mums “Bet On Black” was written just for that occasion. Drunk Mums keep their punk credentials to the fore on “Apocalypse” but they incorporate a filthy and gorgeous dark glam vibe. “Livin’ At Night” showcases everything that is great about Drunk Mums but adds a layer of 1970s classic rock. The punk fun continues with the high-octane “Magazines” which could be like a more punky Jonathan Richman. Do you need a Saturday night party anthem? You do? Then look no further than the Drunk Mums blasting out “Saturday”. Play it alongside Elton’s “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” and the Bay City Rollers “Saturday Night”, now that would be an absolute mental party! All the expletives on this album have been saved for the final two tracks, starting with the epic and warped “Not My Dad” and followed by the album’s closer “From The Hip”. These two are probably my favourite tracks from the record right now. Check it out, this is considerably classy classic punk!

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The Mayhem Charts – February 2024 March 4, 2024

Filed under: Mayhem Monthly Chart,Mayhem Top 20 Chart — justwilliam1959 @ 10:10 pm
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Here is the Mayhem chart for February 2024. Regular readers know that the chart is based on my Spotify listening habits over the last month. The chart remains contemporary-ish, rather than just an oldies chart However, the top three “Legacy” artists are Was (Not Was), Bob Marley and the Wailers, and Stackridge. Surprisingly, David Bowie is not in the top 3 for the third month in a row. 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 (Delilah Bon and Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes). For the first time, none of the top five songs is by an artist which features in the top ten artist chart. However, after reaching number three with “Back In Time” last month Georgia Reed hits the top spot for February with her current single “Honey”. Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes are number 1 in the artist chart and as previously mentioned Georgia Reed is top of 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 FEBRUARY 2024

1 Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes
2 Jazmin Bean
3 The Chinaskis
4 Crawlers
5 Ellis Bullard
6 Bambi Thug
7 Shaé Universe
8 Girli
9 Delilah Bon
10 Ashnikko

MAYHEM SONG CHART FEBRUARY 2024

1 Honey – Georgia Reed
2 Waiting For The Britpop Revival – Fran Ashcroft
3 A Thousand Shots – F.O.D.
4 Primetime Television – The Corsairs
5 What Kinda Love – Sohodolls

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Mayhem Gives You 12 Inches… Of Music! “You + Me = Love” – The Undisputed Truth February 18, 2024

Filed under: Mayhem Gives You 12 Inches — justwilliam1959 @ 10:01 pm
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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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On This Day Chubby Checker Stopped A Pecker Checker And The Pistols Got Vicious! February 15, 2024

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 8:43 am
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On February 15th, 1977 bass player Glen Matlock was fired by the Sex Pistols to be replaced by John Beverly a.k.a. Sid Vicious.

On the same day in 2013, music legend and still going strong at 82 years old Chubby Checker took out a huge, $500,000 lawsuit against Hewlett-Packard for including an app on its phones and tablets that was not only named after the then 71-year-old musician but measured a man’s manhood based on his shoe size. Incidentally, I am a UK size 11 and probably proof that there is no link between shoe size and manhood measurement! Checker (a.k.a. Ernest Evans) settled the case the following year. HP denied liability in agreeing to settle with the singer but did agree not to make future use of his stage name, likeness, or related trademarks.

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