With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

The Mayhem Monthly Top 20 Artist Chart – June 2022 July 4, 2022


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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The Mayhem Monthly Top 20 Artist Chart – May 2022 June 7, 2022


The Mayhem Artist Top 20 artist chart for May 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 96% more obscure than other users in the UK this month, one point up from last month’s 95%. Regular readers will know that it also lists my most obscure artists, (two of which had been there since I began doing these posts, although for the first time ever Woke Up Dead and Promethium are not on that list! Sorry chaps) which currently are;

Gene (The best British band of the Britpop era in my opinion, back for a second month)

Har Mar Superstar (American modern disco maestro and supremely good live act)

Astoria (A fine young band from Leeds who were recently featured in our Mayhem Virgins series)

Vaquelin (One of York’s finest young bands. They will definitely be in the Mayhem Song chart for May 2022 when it is posted soon. Check out their latest video below too)

Matty Groove (An incredibly talented beatboxer who I recently saw supporting Professor Elemental)

As for the May Top 20, only Dame David remains from the last chart, but he drops from number one to number six. Other classic artists include Sex Pistols (at number one), Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, John Lennon, and The Clash. A few would giants make an appearance too including Bill Withers and the Four Tops. I learned in Uncut magazine this month that somewhere out there is an unreleased album that the Tops recorded with Norman Whitfield. Who do we need to speak to about getting that released? There is quite an eclectic mix here for May: Father John Misty, OMD, Steve Earle, Professor Elemental, and The The. Harry Styles rocked up at number 14 in April and hits number two in May. I am most definitely a Harry Styles fan, he is a hugely talented artist and I bloody love his music! I would love to hear your thoughts on this chart. Oh and keep your eyes open for the third 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 April Artist Chart. Will one of this month’s obscure artists get the coveted number one in the song chart? Maybe, but you will find out soon!

1 Sex Pistols
2 Harry Styles
3 Pink Floyd
4 Bill Withers
5 Four Tops
6 David Bowie
7 Father John Misty
8 The Institutes
9 Steve Earle
10 Arcade Fire
11 Lou Reed
12 Daryl Hall & John Oates
13 Elvis Costello
14 The Clash
15 Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
16 John Lennon
17 Yelawolf
18 The The
19 Professor Elemental
20 Linda Ronstadt

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The Mayhem Monthly Top 20 Song Chart – March 2022 April 11, 2022


We have been publishing our Mayhem Top 20 Artist Chart for a while now, so it’s about time we hit you with our top 20 song chart right? We promised you this in the last Artist Top 20 and here it is! The inaugural Mayhem Top 20 Song chart. Who will be on the hotlist? Who will be number one? Read on to find out! Well it won’t be a traditional old skool run down from 20 to 1, we thought we’d hit you with number one first and it is………. Prairie Brigade with “Is This How The World Ends”. York singer-songwriter Rubby Addy is a close second with her gorgeous tune “Roadkill”. Meanwhile, Bang Bang Romeo follow up their chart-topping of the Mayhem Artist Top 20 appearance for March with a very respectable number three placing. The oldest release on the list is “Metal Guru” by T. Rex at number 20. Eight of the artists who featured in the Mayhem Top 20 Artist chart for March also feature on this list. We would love to hear your thoughts on the Mayhem Song Top 20 Chart as we hope to make it a regular feature. Check out the complete list below.

1 Is This How The World Ends – Prairie Brigade
2 Roadkill – Ruby Addy
3 Cemetery – Bang Bang Romeo
4 Edge Of The World – Last Of The Fallen Angels
5 Ride Home – Katy Hurt
6 You Belong – Set Your Sights
7 Mansard Roof – Vampire Weekend
8 ROCK$TAR – Police Car Collective
9 Sunday – David Bowie
10 Colourful White Lies – Electric High
11 Pieces – Revivalry
12 I Thought I Knew It All – Marq Electronica
13 Wilder Days – Morgan Wade
14 Barbara Streisand – Phonomatiq
15 Fool Britannia – The Undercover Hippy
16 Rhubarb – Childcare
17 I Wanna Be By Your Side – Na’eemah Harper
18 Little Bit Broken – Hattie Briggs
19 If You Get To Hell First – Fury
20 Metal Guru – T Rex

We love our readers so much we have even created a Spotify Playlist of the Mayhem Song Top 20 for March 2022. Click here to give it a spin!

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The Mayhem Monthly Top 20 Artist Chart – November 2021 (and October 2021) November 30, 2021


Thanks to a site called Obscurify. It claims to tell you how obscure your listening on Spotify is. Compared to the rest of the UK I am now supposedly 99% more obscure than other users in the UK, which has increased from a mere 90% in July! It also lists my most obscure artists, (the top three of which have been there since I began doing these posts) which currently are

Woke Up Dead

Promethium

Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate

Seagoth

The Notorious Lightbulbs – this lot also made it to number 7 in the top 20 for November!

So who were the top artists for October (29th) and November (20th)? Check the full lists below, but I can reveal that Delilah Bon was the chart-topper in October, her second time at the top and her fourth appearance overall. Once again it was Dame David Bowie in November for his fifth time at the top. There are a few new artists in there, notably Dea Matrona, Joy Crookes and, Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton. I was pleased to see Apollo Junction, Emily Capell and, Nightmares On Wax making an appearance too. Also plenty of the usual classic acts, including Elton John, Amy Winehouse and, the Biffy Clyro. Regular readers know that as I share this Spotify account with my wonderful wife Catherine (a.k.a. Catwoman) a few artists finished much higher than they might have done if they were only my choices 🙂 Notably the Carpenters and Rick Astley. Give Obscurify a spin and let me know what your chart looks like and how obscure your tastes are 🙂

Mayhem’s Top 20 Artists on Spotify (November 20th 2021)

David Bowie
Nightmares On Wax
Damon Albarn
Radiohead
Carpenters
Rick Astley
Notorious Lightbulbs
Avalanches
Emily Capell
Biffy Clyro
Blur
Apollo Junction
Ima Robot
Bruno Mars
Millie Manders & the Shut Up
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Bunny Wailer
Norman Connors
Joy Crookes
Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton

Mayhem’s Top 20 Artists on Spotify (October 29th 2021)

Delilah Bon
Elton John
David Bowie
Steven Wilson
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Durand Jones and the Indications
Amy Winehouse
Emily Capell
Billy Nomates
Biffy Clyro
Strange Bones
T Rex
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
Darts
Counting Crows
Nightmares On Wax
Cleopatrick
Beans On Toast
Be Bop Deluxe
Dea Matrona

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The Mayhem Monthly Top 20 Artist Chart – October 2021 (August and September 2021) October 12, 2021



Thanks to a site called Obscurify. It claims to tell you how obscure your listening on Spotify is. Compared to the rest of the UK I am now supposedly 98% more obscure than other users in the UK, that has increased from 90% in July! It also lists my most obscure artists, which currently are

Woke Up Dead

Promethium

Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate

Kid Acne

Barry Gray

Woke Up Dead, Promethium and Hat’s Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate stay in the top 5 and there are new entries for the talented British artist Kid Acne and TV Theme legend Barry Gray!

So who were the top artists for August (24th), September (15th) and October 7th? Check the full lists below, but I can reveal that Sparks were chart toppers in August, Elvis Costello and the Attractions in September and Millie Jackson in October Surprisingly David Bowie was close but no cigar, finishing 17th, 3rd and 2nd respectively. There are a few new artists in there, notably Dexter, Cowgirl, Thirst and The Helicopter Of The Holy Ghost. I was pleased to see Delilah Bon and the Tuts making an appearance too. Also plenty of the usual classic acts, including Rolling Stones, Elton John, Marvin Gaye and the Sex Pistols. Regular readers know that as I share this Spotify account with my wonderful wife Catherine (a.k.a. Catwoman) a few artists finished much higher than they might have done if they were only my choices 🙂 Notably Gregory Porter and Billy Joel . Give Obscurify a spin and let me know what your chart looks like and how obscure your tastes are 🙂

Mayhem’s Top 20 Artists on Spotify (October 7th 2021)

Millie Jackson
David Bowie
Sex Pistols
Elton John
Specials
Billy Joel
Scala and Kolacny Brothers
Emmylou Harris
T Rex
Skinner Brothers
Kid Acne
Paul Young
Stevie Wonder
Marianne Faithfull
Counting Crows
Steven Wilson
Wildhearts
Be Bop Deluxe
Kacy Musgraves
Brian Eno

Mayhem’s Top 20 Artists on Spotify (September 15th 2021)

Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Thirst
David Bowie
Cowgirl
Billy Joel
The Police
Rolling Stones
Captain Ska
Sting
The Helicopter Of The Holy Ghost
Uriah Heep
Nick Lowe
Tom Robinson Band
The Tuts
Bad Manners
Faintest Idea
The Skints
Gentleman’s Dub Club
Catfish & The Bottlemen
MK

Mayhem’s Top 20 Artists on Spotify (August 24th 2021)

Sparks
Velvet Insane
Thin Lizzy
Gregory Porter
Marvin Gaye
Dexter
Nazareth
Billie Eilish
Genesis
Gil Scott-Heron
O’Jays
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Johnny Nash
Delilah Bon
Bob Marley & The Wailers
The Clash
David Bowie
Tin Machine
Avalanches
Kate Bush

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The Mayhem Monthly Top 20 Artist Chart – June 2021 June 25, 2021


Back in January I discovered a site called Obscurify. It claims to tell you how obscure your listening on Spotify is. Compared to the rest of the UK I am supposedly 91% more obscure than other users, I’ll take that! It also lists my most obscure artists, which are currently

Woke Up Dead

Alice Simmons

Promethium

Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate

Avalanche Party

It really shows me that I do have eclectic taste. But the thing I love most about it is that roughly every month it tells you who your top artists are for that period based on your Spotify listening habits. So I simply had to start publishing a monthly With Just A Hint Of Mayhem Top 20. I’ll kick off with June. Scroll down to the bottom and you will see all the rest of this years charts! No surprise that David Bowie has been top three times but five other artists have held the top spot too; The Avalanches, Millie Manders and the ShutUp, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Saint Agnes and this month it is the supremely talented Delilah Bon!

Mayhem’s Top 20 Artists on Spotify (June 15th 2021)

1 Delilah Bon
2 Penfriend
3 David Bowie
4 Beatles
5 Simon & Garfunkel
6 Norah Jones
7 Beck
8 Carole King
9 Wolf Alice
10 Twenty One Pilots
11 Kate Bush
12 Babii
13 Liz Phair
14 Avalanche Party
15 Sam Cooke
16 James Brown
17 The Howl and the Hum
18 Biig Piig
19 Children Of Zeus
20 Lachlan

 03 January 202127 January 202118 February 202112 March 202104 April 202126 April 202120 May 2021
1AvalanchesMillie Manders & The Shut UpDavid BowieBob Marley & The WailersSaint AgnesDavid BowieDavid Bowie
2CarpentersBeatlesRadioheadPentastoneEstereElton JohnApollo Junction
3London Symphony OrchestraYusuf/ Cat StevensMink DevillePale WavesBeatlesBeatlesAmy Winehouse
4Los Angeles PhilharmonicPink FloydCall Me MalcolmArchitectsCarole KingBilly JoelRumer
5Jones GirlsEaglesTemptationsPaul WellerSheryl CrowCarole KingRag N Bone Man
6Taylor SwiftEvie SandsDenise SherwoodDavid BowieNormandieSnutsElivis Presley
7Jean CarnRumerCelesteDusty SpringfieldBobby WomackMeatLoafStevie Wonder
8Steely DanJackson BrowneMarvin GayeKate BushCaptain SkaBullBetty Wright
9Norman ConnorsDavid BowieWeezerBiffy ClyroFrank ZappaDr Buzzard’s Original Savannah BandKristina Train
10George MichaelBobbie GentryAmy WinehouseBunny WailerArctic MonkeysShowaddywaddyBilly Joel 
11Sing Sing RabbitHarry StylesPale WavesU-RoyMillie JacksonKid Creole & The CoconutsPaul Weller
12David BowieJoni MitchellIsley BrothersKaty J PearsonJoni MitchellLinda RonstadtFour Tops
13Paul McCartneyDusty SpringfieldStevie WonderAvalanchesBob DylanShaNaNaSam Cooke
14WhamKLFDiana Ross & The SupremesBring Me The HorizonTender CentralBeach BoysEnter Shikari
15New OrderArctic MonkeysMartha Reeves & The VandellasSweetNick CaveDolly PartonMeatLoaf
16Elton JohnJim CroceDenise JohnsonT RexGary NumanElvis PresleyCarly Simon
17Elvis PresleyEminemEstereStackridgeDr Buzzard’s Original Savannah BandSupremesLadysmith Black Mambazo
18Bing CrosbyPaul SimonGAYLIPSNick CaveBohannnonQueenLift
19Stevie WonderJazmine SullivanSweetNot Now NormanKid Creole & The CoconutsCreedence Clearwater RevivalHoly Fuck
20Uriah HeepWingsT RexThin LizzyAmerican West OrchestraT RexJohnny 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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