Punk icon Charlie Harper published a long awaited autobiography last month on Earth Island Books. The rather excellent foreword is by Lars Frederiksen (of Rancid), and the cover art is by Steve Dann. It details his long and colourful life against a supremely well put together social history of the UK music scene and the formation and development of punk rock. Even if you are not a UK Subs fan, but simply a music fan or punk fan you will love this book. Charlie regularly fires both barrels and rarely pulls his punches this memoir is often brutally honest. The details of so many UK Subs gigs are included. If there is anything missing it is perhaps more information about the UK Subs songs and how they were created, maybe he has saved that for another book.
Charlie is not a music historian but he knows his own story intimately and all the many things that were happening around him. The birth of rock ‘n’ roll, the sixties, the rise of punk (and its continued development) are all stars of the book. There are some wonderful vignettes, I particularly loved the piece on Rod Stewart giving Charlie a harmonica lesson in a London club in the sixties. Harper gives a fantastic and at times forensic insight into the UK Subs history. Studio stories, gig tales, highs and sometimes rather deep lows. The carousel of UK Subs members is extensively detailed. Charlie’s early life and memories of Britain’s cultural history starting at the tail end of World War Two help to explain to a small degree how punk came to be. I believe that Charlie being older than many of his punk peers makes him more authentic, he really does “mean it, man!”
The book includes many previously unseen photographs from Charlie’s life. This adds even more authenticity, which enhances the volume perfectly. There is no definitive or strict timeline to the UK Subs gigs that are covered, but for me this adds to the charm of the book. It stands at just shy of 480 pages, although mostly doesn’t feel too long. This is helped by having some really short chapters, there are nearly 140. Some might say it could be edited a little more, but then it wouldn’t capture the ragged edges of punk, the UK Subs and Charlie nearly so well. Treat yourself to this tale of a life well lived!
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This was the third Basement Sessions event put on by Navigators Art and Performance and the first that I was able to get to. Thanks to flooding and all sorts of acts of god it has moved around a bit and original headliners PERCY were unable to play, but they were represented (more of that later). It was a mix of music, poetry, and comedy which meant the thrilling prospect of six different acts. Up first was young comedian Will Glitch. He seemed very nervous but at times in his short set, he was splendiferously funny. The first music of the night was from the duo the Jammingtons Experience. They are very much “anti-rock stars” and all the better because of that. I saw them as a folk version of John Cooper Clarke with some fabulously sharp lyrics and ironic delivery. “Lost It” reminded me of the Moldy Peaches but with a much more British slant. The highlight for me was “Psychic Fight”. I spoke with the bass player later in the evening and he said that no one had written about him before, I am honoured to break that duck! Next, it was the turn of Mexican-born and UK-based poet Danae. I loved the angry poem based on Ageus and the story of the slaying of the minotaur and relating that to relationships with her father. Her second poem, “Box Of Tea” was weird, wacky, wonderful, and witty.
The New Solar Drones were the next band on the intimate Basement Stage at City Screen. The first song was a bit like Godspeed You! Black Emperor backing a 1969 period David Bowie. “This Hollywood Love” sounded at times as if Brian Molko had been hit with a music epiphany while listening to Neil Diamond. Is there another band like the New Solar Drones? perhaps not! Andy Wiles from PERCY (I told you they would get another mention) did a great job guesting on bass for the night. The instrumentation on the final song was Abbey Road album Beatlesque. Sadly there were no actual drones, maybe because they are solar-powered and it was dark, or perhaps the ceiling was too low. But this was a fantastic set even without those small remote-controlled flying robot things! Will Glitch made his second appearance of the evening and seemed just as nervous but definitely funnier in a very alt.comedy kind of way.
Jazz often gets a bad name and can be the butt of many music-related jokes, but acts like the Neo Borgia Trio smash that myth into tiny pieces. This was jazz beamed in from another dimension. They opened with a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “The Immigrant Song”. Fucking hell that was good, such a huge sound with just drums, guitar, and saxophone. They are self-confessed jazz punk in style but in their cover of MF Doom’s “Raid” they told us they added hip hop into that mix and they did it perfectly. But this is not just about breaking down barriers around jazz. The three of them are also highly skilled in applying their talents to classic jazz. The cover of Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” was phenomenal and the drum solo gave it something extra special, turning it from a plain old caravan into a Winnebago from space! The Neo Borgia Trio are three musicians who are absolutely on fire. They closed their set with a monumentally magnificent cover of a Rage Against The Machine track. Poet Danae returned for her second appearance afterwards and “The Poem About The Tree” was incredibly powerful. I think that she said it was based on some of Dostoyevsky’s work.
The night closed with Fat Spatula, a band I had seen and loved before. They opened like punkier, feedback-fuelled Talking Heads and followed that with a sound akin to Vampire Weekend on Lemmy Kilminster levels of speed. “Jesus In My Bed” now that really is a fucking awesome song. Sometimes they sound like the 21st-century bastard sons of Jonathan Richman. Fat Spatula combines a really funky sound, perhaps aided by a five-string bass, with classic punk riffs and delivery. Their music is difficult to stay still too, but this was a seated gig so while dancing was difficult there was plenty of head bobbing, foot tapping, and chair movement going on. “Lot Lizard” is pure full-octane punk….. and some! Fat Spatula are beyond doubt one of the best live bands on the scene right now. Bring on Basement Sessions #4 please!
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Earlier this year I had the pleasure of seeing a young band called the Tuts in York when they were supporting the wonderful Kate Nash. They hail from my birth place and old stomping ground of Hillingdon to the west of London. They are Nadia, Harriet and Beverley and they are a three girl punk powerhouse. Why am I telling you this? Well largely because the girls have just launched a new track into cyberspace. It’s called “Worry Warrior” and I must say it’s bloody good. I’d like to know what you think of it. I’ve already purchased it and I urge you to do the same.
Back in those heady days of the late 70s when even I was a mere teenager punk was in some people’s eyes the new fashion, the new style and the new order. But I always saw punk as much more than that. At its core, for me, punk is all about attitude and the Tuts have that in abundance. On top of that they are three very talented people. You’d better check them out and buy their new song. If you don’t then you need to remember that…….. I know where you live! “Worry Warrior” by the Tuts; I’ll give it five out of five and I’m looking forward to the album even more now! Click here to download the song from bandcamp.com.
About 18 months ago I had the pleasure of interviewing a rather excellent band on this blog. (Click here to read that interview). Well now it’s time for drum rolls and fanfares because that band have an album out. That band is the splendiferous Colour Me Wednesday and their album is called ‘I Thought It Was Morning’. Earlier this evening, before I ordered my copies, I took a listen to the album as a stream on punk news. So I thought that you might like to know what I thought of this collection of 12 rather spiffing tunes.
The LP kicks off with “Shut”; a perfect start with a quintessentially English rocker which talks about changing the world one person at a time. There really aren’t enough English bands that sing with an accent from Albion. “Holiday From Your Life” has an 80s feel and undertones of Orange Juice in a parallel universe where Edwyn Collins was female. Two tracks in and I’m loving it! This band writes great songs and forget all that X Factor shite, they play bloody well too. A cool reggae vibe is introduced for “Carefree” and it enables the song to jump from the speakers like Lily Allen with balls! So at three songs in it’s also pretty clear that the art of the protest song is alive and well in Uxbridge. Hopefully it will spread much further afield.
The next song I have heard before and I believe that it will become one of my favourite Colour Me Wednesday songs. It’s the supremely titled “Unicorn In Uniform” and it’s the perfect Indie Pop Punk song. What a slow pulsing, brooding song “Lost On The High Street” is. I love the bass line and the harmonies are exquisite. ‘I Feel Like I’m Running Out Of Melodies’ is the first line of “Bitter Boys” and frankly it’s obvious this band have melodies to spare.
Halfway through and this album already feels like one that will get plenty of plays in my collection and one that deserves wide exposure. National Radio need to pick this up! “Don’t Waste Your Breath” is laid out over a really tight reggae bed which is far more the Clash than the Police thankfully. How true is the line ‘Life’s Too Short To Piss Away’? Very true methinks! If you’re a Tory Boy I wouldn’t invite Colour Me Wednesday to your barbecue, you’ll be met with the melodic pop punk of “(I’m Not Coming To Your) BBQ“. I love the way this band draw you into some very commercial sounding tunes that have amazing lyrical bite. “Cat Hair” is no exception to that. The writing on this album belies the fact that this is still a relatively young band.
Perhaps my favourite title on this LP record is “You’re Not My No. 1 Bastard”. I think I’ll be singing that one tomorrow at work! Another song I have heard before and absolutely love is a song that ought to be high in the charts. It’s “Purge Your Inner Tory” and wouldn’t it be fun to see those mindless bigots at the Daily Mail get hot under the collar about such a great song? The album’s title track is also the closing song and it has the makings of a mini epic.
This is a fabulous début album from a band that most certainly dares to be different. If you like formulaic pop pap don’t buy this album. But if you like great music with pop sensibility and a great punk attitude then you’d better bloody buy it! That’s an order ok and I’ll make it dead easy for you. Just click here to buy one, or more than one, of the many formats available. Then tell all your friends about this band and be safe in the knowledge that you knew them before they were mega big! I would like to wish Sam, Jen, Hat and Carmela stacks of success with this album. They are miles better than the Saturdays and the Sundays. They are more powerful than “Blue Monday”, they pack more emotion than “Everything’s Tuesday”, they give “Thursday’s Child” a run for it’s money and they make sure “Friday On My Mind” is no longer on my mind. They are not just your average day of the week, they are COLOUR ME WEDNESDAY!
Recently I had a rather excellent band recommended to me by the name of Colour Me Wednesday and not only have I been enjoying their damned fine tunes I have also had the pleasure of interviewing them earlier this week. They hail from Hillingdon and have some educational links to Peckham.
They see themselves as a punk band and I have to agree with that. I always felt that the first wave of UK punk in 1976/77 was more about attitude, outlook and enjoying yourself. This bunch of talented guys and girls has all of that in abundance. They prove that punk is about so much more than just image; they don’t have a tattoo between them!
The band members are Jen on vocals, Hat on guitar and backing vocals, Sam on drums and backing vocals and Danny on bass. They all have a hand in the song writing and frankly it’s hard to believe they are children of the late 80s given the meaning and maturity in their lyrics. They have great principles too, so do not expect to see them in a bigoted, racist pub near you anytime soon.
Every year when I plan my trip to the Reading Festival with my good friend Nick we always select a band that we have never heard of but have an interesting name as a must see act for the weekend. Whilst Colour Me Wednesday (CMW) is a pretty cool name (and more on that later) I may have to choose my must see bands by interesting song titles in future. CMW have some fantastic songs in their repertoire including my current favourite “Purge Your Inner Tory” and “Unicorn In Uniform” Just how good are those titles? But it goes beyond that because the songs have real class both musically and lyrically. Regular readers will know that “Purge Your Inner Tory” plays well to my own political leanings and I just had to use a lyric from it as the title to this post!
“Carefree” is one of Sam’s songs and I particularly love the lyrics which the band say are about the feeling of not being able to stay ‘punk’ But the closing lines for me could be even more universal than that. Just how good is the following? ‘Seems we could go on forever, without another care about the world beyond our own doorstep. But I don’t think that’s for the best and I hope I’m not alone. Yeah I hope I’m not alone’
“Lost On The High Street” is reminiscent of one of my favourite Clash songs “Lost In The Supermarket” I reckon CMW could make a great cover of the Clash’s “Julie’s Been working For The Drug Squad” (Folks that is a request from me!). A remix of their “Lost On The High Street” features on their wonderful Sampler 2011 CD along with demos of the aforementioned “Purge Your Inner Tory” and “Unicorn In Uniform” along with the beautiful and fragile “Holiday From Your Life”. You can click here to buy the EP for the almost criminally low price of £1.79 including postage (if you’re in the UK). Not only are the songs superb but the packaging is wonderfully hand crafted just like the early days of punk.
As it was an interview I had to ask a few questions so I did. I started with who is the best band or singer on the planet and agreed that they could include those sadly departed artists and defunct bands if they wished. They all love the Beatles and Jen and Hat particularly love Juliana Hatfield. (Formerly of the Blake Babies and Some Girls). Danny loves REM and Elvis Costello; the band has covered Costello’s “I Don’t Want To Go To Chelsea” at some point too.
My next question was on a ‘what if’ trip. If there was a Colour Me Wednesday chat show who would be the guests on the first episode. Hat went for Russell Brand and Jen would invite Kathleen Hanna from Bikini Kill. Sam suggested that he would invite a selection of those cute YouTube cats. I’d be happy to send my two cats Benny the Ball and Mrs Betty Slocombe to audition for that! Incidentally I reckon that would make a good chat show especially if they invited Mr Costello as well.
A recent survey claims that the biggest tear-jerker of a song is “Everybody Hurts” so that was my lead in to ask if any of the band could think of a particular song that made them cry. Jen offered one of my own favourites from the late, great Jeff Buckley with “Lover You Should Have Come Over”. Ben Folds Five’s “Brick” was Hat’s choice. Sam went for “My Baby…” from band favourite Juliana Hatfield while Danny opted for Weezer’s “Pardon Me”. Some interesting choices I reckon; what do you think dear readers?
I then asked the rather shameful question of what is the most embarrassing song in your collection. The band rightly pointed out that music shouldn’t be embarrassing and if you enjoy it what’s the problem. It’s difficult to disagree with their argument (but if “Macarena” comes up on my iPod shuffle facility any time soon I will not be able to avoid that embarrassing feeling; sorry gang!). Jen and Hat did offer a song and a band that they felt they shouldn’t really like. In my view I would say these were pretty cool choices. It was “Kiss Me” from Sixpence None The Richer a song that sisters Jen and Hat used to practice their harmonies on. They also felt that Paramore fitted the bill here as well given their heavily teenage fan base and image.
My next interrogative line was is there a song that sums up your life so far and obviously I had to extend that to albums as well. When I think about it could I answer that question myself? Only with great difficulty! Any way they did come up with Belly’s debut album from 1993, ‘Star’. Along with Juliana Hatfield’s “Become What You Are”. The band have been to see Juliana on one occasion and it was made even more interesting and exciting by the appearance of one time Blake baby Freda Love.
Jen went on to speak about how it felt singing other people’s lyrics. She said that very, very occasionally she might want to edit a line. In particular she feels that the end of a line should be very evocative. She also admitted that she felt almost possessed when singing a cover version.
When travelling up to Sheffield for a recent gig they amused themselves by swapping jokes about cheese, especially vegan cheese as all the band are vegetarians. Are there many cheese jokes? I can only think of two and they are cheesy indeed. Which cheese would you use to entice a grizzly down from a mountain? Camembert. (It’s all in the pronunciation) and what do you call cheese that isn’t yours? Nacho cheese.
I promised you more on the name later and here it is. How did the name come about? Well it was back in the days before Jen was in the band and Hat wanted to find a name that didn’t evoke Goth or death metal. So she used a bag of fridge magnet poetry and pulled out random words until she found a combination that worked. That combination was obviously the pretty cool Colour Me Wednesday.
If you get a chance to see them live then I urge you to take it. I haven’t had that opportunity yet but I will certainly take it when I can. If you want to book them for a gig then get in touch I am pretty damned sure you will not be disappointed. I would like to offer some big thanks to the band for letting me interview them and for becoming the very first act ever to be interviewed for the With Just A Hint Of mayhem blog in nearly three years!
Now enjoy a few of the band’s songs and make sure you order the sampler 2011 EP. If I find that you haven’t bought it, remember……. I know where you live! If you missed the link earlier click here to order the CD.
Firstly let me warn you that this is a shameless piece of self promotion of one of my other blogs too!
Did you think that the word ‘punk’ was a modern word? I certainly did. However it is in fact a very old word, indeed it is over 400 years old. It was supposedly first recorded in the 1590’s. But the Bard himself, William Shakespeare to his folks and Ms Hathaway the term “taffety punk” in his “All’s Well That Ends Well” to describe a ‘well dressed whore’. He wrote it during 1604 and 1605, unless of course you believe the conspiracy theories in which case it was written by Philip Marlowe.
In the 1890’s the word was often used to describe a young male criminal as well as something worthless and rotten. I wonder if Mr Lydon knew that when he chose his moniker for the Sex Pistols. The first time the phrase punk rock was used was surprisingly (to me at least) in a piece written by Dave Marsh for Creem Magazine in 1971. This main body of this post also appears in my learning blog ‘With Just A Hint Of Learning’ as it is a bit ‘what have you learned today’ related.
It is with great sadness that I bring you the news of the death from cancer of Poly Styrene aged just 53. She remains a true punk icon and an inspirational figure. The music world has lost someone who was a true original. Poly, whose real name was Marianne Elliot-Said, came to prominence in the wave of UK punk bands that broke through in 1977. X Ray Spex was their name and they left some classic songs which crop up on my iPod shuffle quite often; “Oh Bondage Up Yours”, “Germ Free Adolescence” and my personal favourite, “The Day The World Turned Day=Glo”. You can see some of those in a short while. Her most recent solo album was released just last month. You can read the news on the BBC and the NME. My condolences go to her family, friends and fans.
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 