Thursday, 30 April 2015
Monday, 27 April 2015
Leeds band, The Vendettas, to play the George IV in Lichfield on Saturday 23rd May - support band wanted
Looking
for a local MOD/ Indie type band to support the fabulous Vendettas on Saturday
23rd May at George IV Lichfield. If you are interested please message Julie
via the URL below or text / call 07846 259034.
The Grand Opening of the Blues Hall of Fame is less than TWO weeks away on 8 May
"Most
of the major construction work on the Blues Hall of Fame has been completed
thanks to the generosity of the blues fans and numerous friends and supporters
from Memphis and around the world. The Blues Hall of Fame, located at 421 Main
Street in Memphis, directly across from the National Civil Rights Museum, is
scheduled for an on-time opening on Friday, May 8, following the Blues
Foundation’s annual Blues Music Awards the previous night."
Game of Thrones actor Iwan Rheon hoping for a hit with his debut album and reveals his Mod leanings
Permanently
clad in a parka he might not be, but Rheon does profess a love for the mod
movement – as the many pictures of him wearing Fred Perry bear witness.
“Stylistically,
it’s a really cool look,” he explains. “I honestly don’t think fashion and that
look has been bettered. There was so much great music around in the ’60s, stuff
like The Small Faces, but I also love The Jam. Mod has always been cool and it
keeps coming back.”
Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames to play The Garrick, Lichfield, on Tuesday 12th May
To
celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Georgie Fame's Yeh Yeh topping the charts, he
will be hitting the road in 2015 with The Blue Flames.
As ever,
The Blue Flames feature the cream of the UK's musicians; Alec Dankworth, Alan
Skidmore, Guy Barker, Anthony Kerr, Tristan Powell and James Powell are all on
board to provide the musical backdrop for Georgie and his Hammond Organ.
Come and
enjoy and evening with Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames - a true British
Icon.
Georgie's
greatest hits include Yeh Yeh, Get Away, Sunny, Sitting In The Park, Ballad of
Bonnie and Clyde and Rosetta.
Sunday, 26 April 2015
Boom Boom, Boom Boom: American Rhythm & Blues in England 1962-1966 Paperback by Mark Stratford to be released on 1st May 2015
Back in
the late fifties and into the sixties Manchester was a happening centre of
popular music, rivalling Liverpool and London. Local lad Brian Smith saw it
happen. In the mid-1950s Brian was introduced to skiffle, early rock and roll
and the blues boom. A keen amateur photographer, Brian soon became known to
door staff as 'the fan with the camera' and along with his friends went
backstage to meet musicians, chat, and take photographs. Brian took a keen
interest in the emerging blues scene after seeing Muddy Waters in 1958 and over
the next decade Brian saw and photographed most of the big American blues
musicians who played in Manchester.
There is
an acknowledged irony that black blues artists began to enjoy a cult following
in Britain and Europe while they were still largely unknown or acknowledged
back home. Brian began frequenting venues such as the famous Twisted Wheel Club
and after the start of Roger Eagle's legendary r'n'b all-nighters there in 1963
(which later led to the birth of Northern Soul), the ground-breaking music
magazine R & B Scene was launched. Brian became their main photographic
contributor until the magazine folded. Brian produced images with a real
presence and quality, and managed to capture a unique and relatively short
lived scene in fascinating detail. Not only on-stage, but back in the dressing
rooms, he photographed these giants of the blues relaxing with a beer and a
pack of cards, or posing for souvenir pictures with British fans, male and
female.
A
remarkable cultural melting pot considering that many of the musicians
themselves could not even travel next to whites in some States back home at that
time. Most of Brian's photographs were forgotten until recently when they began
to be sought out by CD compilers. Yet until now nobody has published a full
collection of his work. Easy On The Eye have had unique access to Brian's
extensive archives, working directly from surviving negatives and prints which
have been newly scanned for the book. The photographs are annotated and fully
captioned.
ARTISTS
INCLUDE: Johnny Guitar Watson, Big Joe Turner, Chuck Berry, Screaming Jay
Hawkins, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Jimmy Reed, Hubert Sumlin, Howlin Wolf,
Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, The Rolling Stones, Carl Perkins and many more.
Rhythm and blues stars to round off the season for Lichfield Arts
Lichfield
Arts will bring their latest season to a close with the return of Paul Lamb and
the King Snakes.
The rhythm
and blues specialists will be at he Guildhall on May 9.
Lichfield
Arts artistic director Chris Newcombe said: “This superb band are a fitting
close to our 2014-2015 concert season at the Guildhall which has been highly
successful.
“After
that we’ve still got our exciting new Blues & Jazz festival at the end of
June. We are also just putting the finishing touches to our Autumn programme of
concerts at the Guildhall which will be announced in May.”
For more
details or to book visit www.lichfieldarts.org.uk or call 01543 262223.
Saturday, 25 April 2015
The Ranch Casting - Calling all Mods, Skinheads, Suedeheads, Ska fans, Indie boys, Brit pop indie rockers, Football Casuals, Rudeboys and Northern Soulies!!!
Are you a
skinhead girl with a feather cut?
Are you
living for the next allnighter?
Have you
been riding scooters since you could drive?
We are
looking for people aged between late teens to early 30's (who look good on
camera) and live, love and embody these subcultures.
An Iconic
UK clothing brand in a campaign shot by an award winning, world renowned and
critically acclaimed photographer want to have you on board!
If you
would like to yourself forward please send head shots (can be a selfie) and a
clear full length of yourself suited and booted along with your name, age and a
short sentence about yourself to Amanda Ashed - Casting Director of The Ranch
Casting: -
You must
be able to attend the casting on Wednesday 29th April and the shoot dates on
14th or 15th of May.
Successful
models chosen from the casting will be required for 1/2 a day of the finalised
shoot day and will receive £300 + £300s worth of the iconic brand’s clothing!
So send us
your snaps!
Thursday, 23 April 2015
Velvelettes discover new fans with Spain concert
KALAMAZOO,
MI — The Velvelettes, the Motown girl group with Western Michigan University
roots, recently performed in Spain for the 2015 Mojo Workin' R& B Festival.
The four
singers spent five days in San Sebastian, Spain in March for the R& B soul
weekend.
"They
revere the Motown sound," said singer Cal Street. "Entertainers in
Europe are timeless. They don't care what age you are as long as you are well
and can still perform. They have a strong respect and appetite for music of the
late 50s, 60s and 70s."
Last year,
the group performed at Modstock in London.
Fellow
Velvelette Bertha Barbee-McNeal said, "They'll drive miles just to see
you. One young man, a journalist from Barcelona, drove five hours to see the
show. People will tell you things like that bring our 45 records from the 60s
for you to sign."
The two-night
festival was an all-female extravaganza, Street said. Other performers on the
roster included blues singer Mabel John, who coordinated the Raylettes for
"Ray," the Ray Charles movie, Maxine Brown, and Dee Dee Sharp of
"Mashed Potato" fame.
"We were
on the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars tour with Dee Dee and had not seen her in
more than 40 years," McNeal said.
The
Velvelettes, which also include singers Millie Gill-Arbour and Norma
Barbee-Fairhurst, sang 14 songs during their hour-long set.
The Velvelettes
were found in 1961, when Barbee-McNeal and Gill-Arbour were students at Western
Michigan University. The group scored a series of R&B hits including
"Needle in a Haystack," which peaked at No. 45 on the Billboard
charts.
"'Needle
in a Haystack' is what keeps us in demand," Street said. "It's the
oddest feeling, because we never expected to keep performing today from the
time we were teenagers."
Barbee-McNeal
and Street said being part of the Motown brand was a unique experience. In
addition to working dress designers to craft their group image and studying with choreographer Cholly Atkins to
create signature Motown moves, the singers were also expected to learn manners
from charm school teacher Maxine Powell.
"She'd
call us diamonds in the rough," Street said. "They prepared artists
to perform for the most insignificant person to kings and queens."
Today,
Barbee-McNeal and Street live in Kalamazoo, while the other members reside in
Flint. They look forward to their next overseas gig.
"We
feel like goodwill ambassadors," Barbee-McNeal said. "the more we
travel and get to see all of the different people, the more it makes you
realize how small the world is. It adds a bit of humility."
Paul Weller Teams Up With Genesis Publications for ‘Into Tomorrow’
Paul
Weller is an artist constantly in forward motion. One of the very few that has
resisted the obvious route of simply resting on past glories, his outlook is
almost always on the road ahead … but we can’t fault him for a quick look at
his glorious past, either. Teaming up with noted publisher Genesis Publications,
Weller is the subject of a new book that focuses on his solo career.
Into
Tomorrow offers a “pictorial record of his solo years” from 1992 onward
captured in over 800 photographs, taken by friend and photographer, Lawrence
Watson, and selected by Weller and captioned with his own handwritten text. The
300-plus-page book will be published in a leather bound edition housed in a red
acrylic slipcase. The special package will also include a 10″ vinyl record
containing previously unissued live recordings.
“When I
look back to the early shots from 1992, I was starting to write and play (and,
importantly, want to play) again. I’d been ‘away’ for a while and didn’t know
what, if anything, to expect,” Weller says. The book, like all of Genesis
Publications’ releases, is a very limited run, with only 2000 copies available
worldwide. Each book is numbered and signed by Weller and Watson. “So many
memories come back. Some of the pictures make me mourn the passing of time,” he
adds. “Lawrence has been there to document most of them. He is part of our
crew.”
You can get
details on Into Tomorrow at http://www.genesis-publications.com/Into-Tomorrow-by-Paul-Weller-Photographs-by-Lawrence-Watson/default.htm
.
This is Weller’s second collaboration with Genesis. In 2008, they issued A
Thousand Things, which chronicled his years with the Jam and Style Council.
Weller’s new album, Saturn’s Patterns, is set for release May 19.
The Printworks to host first Manchester Soul Festival reports the Manchester Evening News
Northern
soul fans can get their groove on at the first Manchester Soul Festival this
summer.
More than
30 bands and DJs from all over the UK will take to the stage at The Printworks
in aid of The Christie on Sunday, August 30.
The event
has been organised by well-known DJ Frank Byrne, who has been undergoing
treatment for oesophageal cancer at the Withington hospital.
Printworks
centre director Fred Booth said: “Frank is an influential part of the Mancunian
music scene and it’s fantastic to see the support come flooding in for such a
good cause.
“The
Printworks is at the heart of Manchester’s city centre and therefore ideally
placed to showcase the best of Northern Soul throughout the different
entertainment venues.
“We are
delighted to be hosting the festival and look forward to welcoming visitors on
August 30.”
The
all-day event kicks off at 2pm on the bank holiday Sunday, with The Oldham
Scottish Pipe Band parading through the Pump Yard.
The
line-up also includes sets from soul favourites including The Casino Allstars,
The Soul Amigos and Twisted Soul.
The Casino
Allstars frontman Paul Kidd, who has been helping Frank to organise the event,
said: “We are all so passionate about this music genre and the event is a
really exciting idea for us because we’ve never done anything like this before.
“It speaks
volumes that all artists jumped at the chance to be involved, free of charge to
support Frank and The Christie.”
Participating
venues include Tiger Tiger, where there will be a specially designated Groovy
Wonderland bar, as well as The Hard Rock Cafe, The Bierkeller and many more.
Wristbands
are now on sale priced at £5, with all proceeds going to The Christie. Organisers
hope to raise more than £10,000 and are already nearly a quarter of the way to
their target.
The event
will also feature children’s face-painting, a silent auction with a haul of
luxury prizes and special discounts.
The Selecter: how we made On My Radio - The Guardian Interview
Roger
Lomas, producer: ‘The band didn’t want to record it as a single at first – they
said it sounded like a Eurovision entry’
Roger Daltrey gives back to teens through cancer charity
Raleigh,
N.C. — For 50 years, The Who has been making hit after hit, and the unique,
iconic voice of Roger Daltrey has led the way the whole time.
You know,
so many people come up to me and say, ‘Thank you for singing the soundtrack of
my life,’ which is kind of scary. We’ve done all that?” Daltrey said with a
laugh.
The
legendary singer is also using his voice to help teenage cancer patients.
At every
concert stop, including Tuesday’s performance at PNC Arena in Raleigh, the band
holds a fundraiser for a charity that Daltrey started about three years ago
called Teen Cancer America.
“We do
sound checks where people pay to hear us make a terrible racket while we get
the sound sorted out,” he said. “We charge them for that, and all that goes
into the pot. We’re having fundraisers every night.”
Daltrey
and his bandmate, guitarist Pete Townsend, founded a similar organization in
Britain 25 years ago called Teenage Cancer Trust. Since then, the charity has
raised more than $200 million.
The goal
of the non-profit is to set up places in hospitals to focus on cancer treatment
for young people who are no longer children, yet not quite adults.
It doesn’t
have to be a big space, just somewhere they can meet, be together. The parents
can meet other parents going through the same horror,” Daltrey said.
“Psychological and social well-being for anyone with serious illness like
cancer is incredibly beneficial to the patient.”
At 71,
Daltrey still loves to perform and is passionate about giving back to the fans
who have helped him and The Who persevere for 50 years.
I’ve had a
life of privilege,” he said. “I really have, I mean, due to the music business.
And when you look at the music business, what it is, it is literally,
completely and utterly supported by that age group. So, this is just a way of
easily giving back.”
As a
child, Daltrey spent time in a hospital after he swallowed a nail. The
experience gives him a certain empathy for teens undergoing treatment.
I remember
the horrors of being isolated,” he said. “I hated it.”
The first
Teen Cancer America facility started at UCLA. The group is in talks with 40
other hospitals, including Duke University Hospital, to expand the program.
Triangle
resident Sally Webb is a member of the board of directors for Teen Cancer
America. Her younger sister was diagnosed with a brain tumour in her early
teens and died in her 20s.
Webb also
sits on the executive committee of the Triangle Chapter of the British-American
Business Council, which co-hosted a pre-concert event in Raleigh that raised
$7,000 for Teen Cancer America.
Daltrey
said his work with the charity has given him immeasurable return.
I get so
much good feeling out of doing this. You can’t buy it,” he said.
Paul Weller asks MOJO: “Eton Rifles? What Did David Cameron Not Get?”
As Paul
Weller returns with his 24th studio album, he talks MOJO magazine through his
extensive songbook.
On sale in
the UK from Tuesday, April 28, the latest issue (June 2015/ #259) sees the
former Jam and Style Council man reliving 20 of his most significant
compositions, including toff-baiting breakthrough single Eton Rifles, telling
our writer Tom Doyle that he’s still staggered that David Cameron has claimed
it as one of his favourite songs.
“The whole
thing with Cameron saying it was one of his favourite songs… I just think,
Which bit didn’t you get?” wonders Weller of the Old Etonian Prime Minister.
“People
say, Why don’t you write any more political songs? But I would just write
exactly the same f**king things I wrote thirty-odd years ago. Every time they
fire a missile in the Middle East, that’s 850,000 pounds, right? And then they
talk about the NHS, f**king selling it off or it crumbling. So nothing’s really
changed, has it?”
As for the
origins of The Jam’s iconic single from 1979’s Setting Sons, a wet weekend
rather than a summer of rioting was primarily responsible for Weller’s call to
arms.
“We had a
week off and I never even thought about going abroad for a holiday at that
time. So I went down to my mum and dad’s caravan in Selsey and it pissed with
rain for the whole week, so I just ended up writing,” he recalls. “And I wrote
Eton Rifles. I thought it was a powerful statement.”
Order your
copy of the new MOJO now for the exclusive interview with Weller, spanning his
first compositions to new record Saturn’s Pattern.
The issue
comes with a cover-mounted free CD, Beyond Saturn featuring 15 mind-blowing
cosmic tracks personally approved by Weller, including Panda Bear, TOY, Public
Service Broadcasting, Neu! and more.
PHOTO: Tom Sheehan
http://www.mojo4music.com/19940/paul-weller-mojo-259/
The Harringtons’ debut single, ‘On My Mind’, is now available to purchase on iTunes (and it’s well worth buying)
The Harringtons - a really good band of 17-year olds from Barnsley: -
Jack Shaw
- Lead Vocals / Lead Guitar
Brad
Cartwright - Bass Guitar / Backing Vocals
Jordan
Watkin - Drums / Backing Vocals
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/on-my-mind/id987937717?i=987937721
The Sha La La's - 'Your Blind Soul' EP out now on limited 7” vinyl (Detour)
After
their much heralded album Feelin’ Real and the blisteringly anthemic follow up
single Soul Of The Nation, The Sha La La’s have moved it on a notch still, with
their latest EP, proudly released on Detour Records, Your Blind Soul.
Forget all
the comparisons that have been made of them in the past, they’re 60’s R&B
influences are apparent but make no mistake, their sound is definitely their
own.
This EP
has it all…The driving bass lines, thunderous drum fills, soulful guitar riffs
all complimented by swirling Hammond and Wurlitzer combine to make you want to
get up and get down!
Your Blind
Soul opens and leaves you in no doubt of what’s to follow. This is “in yer
face” driving soul at its best and it doesn’t let up. The title track carries
you high above its head!
I defy you
not to want to dance to the next offering, Bring It Down on You. Wah Wah pedals
at the ready! Shut your eyes and you’re in a heaving, sweaty club!
Always
There is a more introverted number but not lacking in the style and panache of
its Side A cousins. With a nod to the Northern Soul scene and an incessant
beat!
The final
track on the EP, Do What’Cha Wanna, is the uplifting finale. The clue is in the
title. A musical Tour De Force that really leaves you wanting to press repeat!
The Sha La
La’s have done it again with four self-penned tracks which deserve your
listening.
RELEASED ON MONDAY 13th APRIL 2015 - ONLY
250 COPIES PRESSED ON 7" VINYL SO BE QUICK
http://www.detour-records.co.uk/
Stone Foundation album, 'A Life Unlimited', scheduled for June release
Stone
Foundation have been signed to Japanese record label P-VINE, Inc. and have the
new album, "A LIFE UNLIMITED", released in Japan on June 17th.
UK &
EUROPEAN release dates to follow very soon, along with pre sale links and
further album info.
"Beverley"
the first video from the new SF long player will be released on May 2nd, so
stay tuned for that folks.
You can
catch Stone Foundation playing songs from the new album "A LIFE
UNLIMITED" live throughout April and May on their European and UK tour at
the dates below: -
EUROPEAN & UK TOUR DATES
April -
23rd El Diablolo, Lille, France
April -
24th Freedom Sounds Festival, Cologne, Germany
April -
25th Honigfabrik, Hamburg, Germany
April -
27th ČESKÁ 1 MUSIC CLUB, Kutna Hora, CZ
April -
28th Klub Buben, Prague, CZ
April -
29th Parkclub Fürstenwalde, Germany
April -
30th Reduit, Mainz-Kastel, Germany
May - 8th
Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen Leeds
May - 14th
Jazz Café London
May - 15th
The Dukebox Theatre part of the Brighton FestivalFringe
May -16th
Thunderbolt Bristol
May - 17th
The Musician Pub Leicester
May - 30th
Malaga Rocks Mijas, Spain
Pete Meaden biography by Pete Wilky & John Hellier to be published this summer
Light
& Dark Publishing Ltd.
We're
pretty darn excited about releasing Light & Dark's first book, due to be
published in Summer.
Clean
Living Under Difficult Circumstances is by Pete Wilky and John Hellier. It is
the biography of Pete Meaden, who was an English publicist for various
musicians and the first manager for The Who. He was a prominent figure in the
English Mod subculture of the 60s and is sometimes referred to as the "Mod
Father" or "Mod God", either way his influence has left a mark
on the Mod subculture to this day.
With a
foreword by Pete Townsend from The Who, this book is destined to be loved by
all Mods and fans of music as well as the genre. Pre order link will be posted
as soon a possible.
Wednesday, 22 April 2015
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The Specials last ever filmed concert (at Coventry Cathedral) on Sky Arts at 9pm today
TONIGHT! The last-filmed concert by leading Ska-band The Specials, before the sudden and tragic passing of lead-singer Terry Hall in 2022,...
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In 1983, the venerable British pop magazine Smash Hits (sadly no longer with us) published a feature called “The Things People Said,” in w... -
It was 60 years ago that a venue opened that truly caused a seismic shift in terms of what was on offer for the youth of Sheffield. But ...