Wednesday 30 January 2013

Tune into London's Xfm, where it's "Strypes' Day" all day!



Tune into London's Xfm, where it's "Strypes' Day" all day! 

Catch an interview with Josh (time tbc) later today, and there's a free download to boot! 

The song on offer is 'Delilah' and it is a track that, we are informed, will not be included on their forthcoming E.P. release. The essential link is as follows: -


Remembering Steve Marriott


Today is the 66th anniversary of the birth of Steve Marriott, one of the UK's greatest ever singers who formed a wonderful songwriting partnership with Ronnie Lane and fronted possibly the sharpest Mod band ever - and then had the good grace (like Weller later did with The Jam) to disband the Small Faces at the top of their game.

They could have gone on to even greater things or they could have been engulfed in the more mainstream rock scene that ensued - we'll never know for sure.

But what we do know is that they left us a fantastic musical and stylistic legacy that still burns brightly today.

Born on 30th January 1947, Steve Marriott is greatly missed, but will never be forgotten.

The Who UK Tour tickets on general sale today!!!


Tickets for The Who's UK leg of their 'Quadrophenia and More' tour go on general release at 9am today.

For more details of how to obtain tickets for the show of your choice, visit the bands official website at www.thewho.com and then get phoning.

Advance tickets went on sale to fan club members yesterday so for those of you booking tickets for the Birmingham gig on 28th June, I'll see you there!!!

Tuesday 29 January 2013

Mark ‘Bax’ Baxter’s ‘Strike A Pose’ Exhibition on the Culture Show, BBC2, on Wednesday, Launch party on Thursday, Q&A on Friday....



The Culture Show on BBC2 this Wednesday explores the impact of football on five decades of men's fashion as Manchester's National Museum of Football unveils its 'Strike A Pose' exhibition.

From terrace style and cultural movements to designer brands and high street ranges, meet the men and women who have taken football from Kop to catwalk.

1960s Britain saw a revolution in style, youth culture, and football. With the maximum wage abolished, young footballers with disposable income were suddenly style leaders off the pitch – accessible heroes for a generation discovering a voice on the terraces and in the high street.

George Best and Bobby and Tina Moore may have paved the way for today’s Balotellis and Beckhams, but it’s the mods, skinheads and casuals on the terraces who have hit the high street and the headlines.

This exhibition charts the journey football and fashion have taken together over the last half century. Features iconic on-and-off pitch outfits with era-defining adverts and photography from half a century of style and football revolution.

‘Strike A Pose’ is inspired by the book ‘The Fashion of Football, From Best to Beckham, From Mod to Label Slave’ by Paolo Hewitt and Mark Baxter.

The Nu Beat Club Manchester - Opening Night Saturday 30th March 2013



The Nu Beat Club is a new club night in Manchester City Centre where you can listen to and, more importantly, dance to classic 60's Ska, Rocksteady, Reggae, Club Soul and early Northern Soul.

All tunes are played on ORIGINAL vinyl by resident DJs Sugar Merchant and Paul Welsby.

The action takes place upstairs at The Waldorf, which is on Gore Street, City Centre Manchester M1 3AQ (not far from Piccadilly Station and the Whitworth Street Twisted Wheel building).

The opening night is on SATURDAY 30TH MARCH 2013 and events run from 9pm to 2am.

The organisers plan to hand out a free gift to commemorate the opening night to the first 30 or so through the doors on the night and will be running a membership scheme which is free to join and will entitle members to reduced entry prices and some other free stuff !!

Dates for 2013 are: -

Saturday 30th March 2013 - OPENING NIGHT

Saturday 25th May 2013

Saturday 27th July 2013

Saturday 28th September 2013

Saturday 30th November 2013

Their own website gives more detail of the music policy, but here's a snippet:

WHAT WE'RE ABOUT

How many places are there in Manchester and the North in general, where you can listen to and, more importantly, dance to the very best in 60s Club Reggae and Club Soul under one roof?

Yep. We came to the same conclusion.

The next obvious question is would anyone want a club night with quality 60s soul and reggae under one roof?

We certainly would.

And that is basically what The Nu Beat Club is all about. It’s a club night that we would want to go to and that doesn't already exist.

Sometimes life doesn't have to be too complicated.

Your resident DJs have both served their time on the Soul and Reggae scenes. Here you can find out a little about what makes them tick and why they are playing at The Nu Beat Club

SUGAR MERCHANT

Growing up listening to my Daddy's records. Dad played records every Sunday on the Blaupunkt system and at blues parties at Harpendan Street in Moss Side during the '60s and '70s - every Saturday our street was the Beat Street. Anyway my Dad had Ska, Rocksteady and early Reggae (what some might call Skinhead Reggae today).Me and my friends were into Rockers and Roots tunes and joined many sound systems. As the '80s rolled on I got into Two Tone, with The Beat from Brum being my favourites. So I started to drift back to Reggae in a big way. Now I got serious with the 7" singles: Ska plus Roots and later Rocksteady.

Over the years I've had many clashes with the likes of King Floyd from Preston, Selektors Choice deejays Mr Obidah, Crazy Joe, Mr Mass and Nigel Flood. All of us chasing that killer 7".

I do believe I am Top 20 Skaman in the world ha ha...........

PAUL WELSBY

Paul has collected and DJ'd rare Soul and R&B records for longer than he cares to remember. After co-running and DJing at the legendary Hideaway Club for 12 years and DJing at Mod and Soul events all over the UK and Europe, Paul has been in self-imposed DJ exile for the last couple of years – only surfacing on the odd occasion to play his beloved 70s Soul and Disco.

As soon as the chance arose to DJ on a regular basis with the Ska King himself, Paul was all over it like an ill-fitting suit. After all where else was he going to hear that quality of Ska, Rocksteady and 60s Reggae without travelling the length and breadth of the country. At The Nu Beat Club Paul will be playing classic 60s Club Soul, early Northern and a hint of Boss Reggae, all aimed firmly at the dance floor. It may be rare, it may be common, it may be new, it may be familiar but one thing’s for certain – it will be made for dancing!

Monday 28 January 2013

Britalian Job Interview - Simon Wainwright




Ahead of this Friday's Britalian Job night in Nottingham, I was fortunate enough to catch-up with Simon Wainwright, one of the event's organisers, to ask him a few questions about this excellent club night and historic Mod venue.

What can we expect from the Britalian Job night on 1st February in terms of DJs, music policy, start/finish time, price on the door etc.?

We start as always at 8pm at the Britannia Rowing Club, Trentside, Nottingham next to the Nottingham Forest ground. The resident DJs for the Brit Job are Mark Shaw, Simon Wainwright and Mark Crew....we have guest DJs each night ranging from the up and coming DJs who are given the chance to open the night ...to more established DJs from around the scene who are well known.

We pride ourselves on not having a music policy as this allows a wide range of music to be played from Mod Classics, Soul, R’n’B , Latin, Hammond and Ska. Each DJ plays a varied music set this means you’re never far away from a tune that you love.

We play the music till approx 2am and for the entrance price of £4 each, give everyone 6 hours of pure quality music in one the most renowned venues in the country. 

What other Britalian Job dates are confirmed for 2013?

Apart from this Friday 1st February, the dates for future Britalian nights are: -

Friday 5th April
Friday 31st May
Friday 2nd August (1st anniversary gig)
Friday 4th October
Friday 22nd November (end of year bash)

We have a charity all-day and night event taking place on Saturday 18th May in aid of Nottingham City Hospital cancer units

Who are the people behind the Britalian Job and what are their backgrounds on the Mod scene?

People behind the Britalian job are : -

Mark Shaw (who owns The Soulville Steakhouse Company) and has been a mod on the Nottingham scene since 1979. A regular DJ on the Nottingham circuit and an avid collector of all things Jamaican. Mark was one of the original gang of four who began The Britalian Job about 10 years ago, the early nights hosted some top bands as I am sure you will remember, highlights were Long Tall Shorty and the release event for the ‘Sorry’/’In This Town’ 7” single by The Threads. Rides a rather camp Series 3 Lambretta!

Mark Crew, another "79 mod” who has also been on the scene without interruption since the early 80's, again a regular DJ on the Nottingham circuit. A self employed painter and decorator who was another member of the original gang of four. Our very own Silver Fox rides a spectacular series 2 Lambretta.

Simon Wainwright - The newest and youngest member of the team, HGV driver Simon has been a Mod for years and again is a regular on the Nottingham DJ circuit, he joined the other 2 for the re-launch of The Britalian Job last August and can often be seen his riding his gorgeous Series 3 Lambretta.

When did the Britalian Job nights first start?

The Britalian Job was first launched about 10 years ago and took a break for a few years until August 2012 when it was re-launched to a great response.

The venue has an incredible interior and an interesting Mod history – could you tell us more?

From the 1960s onwards the Britannia Rowing Club has been renowned for having a big mod connection and having bands such as  The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Small Faces, The Action and Rod ‘the mod’ Stewart just to name but a few.

What’s the Mod scene currently like in Nottingham and which other events/nights do you go to/recommend?

The Nottingham mod scene is without doubt the most vibrant it has been since the early 80s...from original Mods of the sixties through 79 revival Mods and a thriving community of young Mods keeping the scene alive.

Other nights in Nottingham: -
Chitlin Circuit 2nd Saturday of every month at the Thurland Hotel
Ronnie London’s last Saturday of every month at The Grosvenor

Another night running and attended by Nottingham Mods is Grits and Gravy in Sheffield run by Sheffield based Nottingham Mod, Joe Tucker, who regularly brings Sheffield Mods to Nottingham.

The Who announce Quadrophenia & More UK & European 2013 Tour Dates



THE WHO have announced a 12-date arena tour of the UK and Europe. They will perform their iconic 1973 double album QUADROPHENIA in its entirety, along with a selection of WHO classics. The UK tour follows hot off the heels of their hugely successful North American, tour, praised by press and fans alike as probably the definitive interpretation of Quadrophenia and “a rock ‘n’ roll lover’s dream come true” (Telegram.com, Boston). “QUADROPHENIA is their (The Who’s) boldest and most fully realized albums,” writes Rolling Stone, “but it’s never quite gotten the live show it deserves – until now”.
  
QUADROPHENIA was The Who’s second rock opera (after Tommy), raising the bar for rock albums as an art form. It hit #2 on the UK album chart and massively influenced the future of UK style, fashion and culture – from Paul Weller to Bradley Wiggins, from Paul Smith to Noel Gallagher.  The album’s title is a variation on the popular usage of the medical diagnostic term schizophrenia and exemplifies the four varying personalities of the original band members. IGN placed QUADROPHENIA at No. 1 on its list of the greatest classic rock albums of all time and Q magazine placed it on its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. QUADROPHENIA  features such classic WHO songs as “The Real Me,” “5:15” and “Love Reign o’er Me.”
  
The movie of QUADROPHENIA (1979) has become a cult classic, starring a young Sting, Phil Daniels, Ray Winstone, Trevor Laird and Lesley Ash. John Lydon (Rotten) was screen tested for a part, but the idea was dropped when insurance became an issue! QUADROPHENIA became one of the key influential, independent British movies, alongside other gritty real life films (known as ‘angry young man films’), like “Scum”, “The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner” and “Look Back In Anger”.
  
This new concert version of QUADROPHENIA, personally directed by Roger Daltrey, focuses on the original album and replaces the narrative used in previous stage versions with powerful imagery projected on an array of massive screens, designed to support, complement and propel the musical content of the work by setting it in the context of the history of the band. This is achieved to startling effect. “Quadrophenia and its coming-of-age story unfolded in songs that blended nuance and noise, a spectacle grand and gritty,” writes the Orlando Sentinel.
  
The Who’s 12-date  tour in the UK (including Belfast) and in Dublin, Paris and Amsterdam features founding members ROGER DALTREY and PETE TOWNSHEND, who will be joined by Zak Starkey (drums), Pino Palladino (bass), Simon Townshend (guitar/backing vocals), John Corey (keyboards), Loren Gold (keyboards/backing vocals) and Frank Simes (musical director, keyboards/backing vocals).

THE WHO QUADROPHENIA AND MORE EUROPEAN TOUR 2013

June 8th            Dublin: The O2

June 10th          Belfast: Odyssey

June 12th          Glasgow: SECC

June 15th          London: The O2

June 18th          Sheffield: Motorpoint Arena

June 20th          Newcastle: Metro Arena

June 23rd          Manchester: Arena

June 25th          Cardiff: Motorpoint Arena

June 28th          Birmingham: LG Arena

June 30th          Liverpool: Echo Arena

July 3rd             Paris: Bercy

July 5th             Amsterdam: Ziggo Dome

BREAKING NEWS: The Mark Three to play the IPO Festival at The Cavern, Liverpool, on Sunday 2nd June

  The Mark Three's stage times for Sunday 2nd June are: - 5.15pm The Cavern Pub 7.00pm The Cavern Club