https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/music/keith-moon-felt-1-song-the-beatles-sgt-pepper.html/
Wednesday, 31 March 2021
The 100 Greatest Motown Songs according to Rolling Stone
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-motown-songs-1139063/
Watch Keith Moon's final performance with The Who in 1978 by Jack Whatley
As well as
being the mercurial drummer of The Who on stage, Keith Moon also took on the
role of the group’s madman off stage. Yet, when he took to the stage with The
Who on this day in 1978, nobody could’ve imagined it would be his last
performance with his band.
The iconic
drummer would sadly pass away just four months later due to his excessive rock
and roll lifestyle and make this, The Who’s iconic performance at Shepperton
Studios, the last time the group would ever perform as their famed line-up.
It’s a poignant moment for the iconography of The Who and rock ‘n’ roll as a
whole.
The gig came
as part of the group’s documentary The Kids Are Alright and saw The Who filming
pick-up shots for the film, providing the final performance for Moon. The short
performance would be marred by tension within the group and a serious lack of
cohesion between the band’s members, as they shot daggers across the room at
one another. Th band that had started out life as a rock and roll gang were now
ready to cut each other’s throats. It signalled that even without the loss of
Moon that the band were perhaps nearing the end of the road.
The session
was an undeniably tense one. The band had been previously somewhat estranged
before the show and it added to an already disjointed set of circumstances.
Having been off the road for two years prior, the band were more than rusty.
Still, The Who powered on.
With a small
audience in attendance, the group were being put under increasing pressure from
the documentary’s director, Jeff Stein, to get the shots they needed. The
filmmaker wanted the performance of the band’s 1970 anthem ‘Won’t Get Fooled
Again’ to have a little more swagger and demanded The Who added some more verve
to their rendition of the track. It became a grinding process of shooting and
re-shooting.
Pete
Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwhistle and Keith Moon declined at first and
argued the validity of re-shooting a live performance would be lost if it was
so staged. The nine-song set finished with John Entwistle’s song ‘My Wife’, and
the group returned to their dressing room sweaty, dishevelled and exhausted. It
was done.
Not for long,
though, as Stein wasn’t satisfied and said the film needed a “definitive end”.
Pete Townshend was none too pleased, “A definitive end?” Townshend reportedly
said. “What do you want me to do? Go out there and fall asleep on stage? Maybe
I should go out there and die during my last solo? Or maybe I should hit that
motherfucker who’s been yelling for ‘Magic Bus’ over the head with my guitar?”
They
eventually relented and gave Stein the fiery finisher the director desired,
providing a captivating last song for the small crowd. Afterwards, with Stein
sated and his shots in the can, Keith Moon climbed over his drum kit, took a
bow and shook hands with some members of the audience before walking off stage
with The Who — sadly, for the very last time.
It’s a
performance that hangs heavy over the heads of The Who fans and friends who
were in attendance and beyond. One such friend was Chris Glen, who, while
performing with Michael Schenker Group, had shared the last years of Keith
Moon’s life with him.
“It’s very
emotional, and sadly it’s far from his best,” said Glen in an exclusive
interview with Ultimate Classic Rock. “He’d put on a lot of weight by that time
… and the worst bit was that the Who hadn’t been together for a while. I saw
him the week after the recording and he told me, ‘I wish we’d got together
before it, just hung out together for a bit, and that would have made it
better.’”
Watch Keith Moon’s last performance with The Who as they take on ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ for their documentary The Kids Are Alright.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/keith-moon-who-final-performance-the-kids-are-alright/
Declan O’Rourke: How I learned to trust Paul Weller’s advice
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/declan-o-rourke-how-i-learned-to-trust-paul-weller-s-advice-1.4520152
Monday, 29 March 2021
PromoWest to Donate $20,000 to King Records' Evanston Revitalization Project
https://www.citybeat.com/music/spill-it/blog/21150077/promowest-to-donate-20000-to-king-records-evanston-revitalization-project
Review: How Soul Got Its Soul, Move On Up: Chicago Soul Music and Black Cultural Power, by Aaron Cohen
https://thirdcoastreview.com/2021/03/23/review-how-soul-got-its-soul-move-on-up-chicago-soul-music-and-black-cultural-power-by-aaron-cohen/
Released today! Two classic cuts from the President catalogue.
A - Doris Willingham - You Can't Do That
B - Pat Hervey with The Tiaras - Can't Get You Out Of My Mind
Not many copies left - don't sleep!
Buy here: -
https://deptfordnorthernsoulclub.bandcamp.com/album/doris-willingham-you-cant-do-that-pat-hervey-with-the-tiaras-cant-get-you-out-of-my-mind
BREAKING NEWS: The Threads announce 'One Off' reunion show with Secret Affair on Friday 12th November at The Mick Jagger Centre, Dartford
www.seetickets.com/event/secret-affair-behind-closed-doors-/mick-jagger-centre-dartford/1516534
Six definitive songs: The ultimate beginner's guide to The Kinks by Gracie Williams of Far Out Magazine
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-kinks-six-best-songs-guide/
Friday, 26 March 2021
Watch David Bowie and Ray Davies perform 'Waterloo Sunset'
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-kinks-ray-davies-david-bowie-waterloo-sunset-duet/
The blues king of the Texan Outlaws: The life and legacy of Lightnin’ Hopkins
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/lightnin-hopkins-life-legacy-blues-career/
In ‘Genius: Aretha,’ Respecting the Mind, Not Just the Soul
Read the full article via: -
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/19/arts/television/genius-aretha-franklin-cynthia-erivo.html
Former Advertiser reporter remembers the legendary Disci Shop - and the time Rod the Mod came to Rugby
Years ago,
Rugby had quite a few outlets where you could buy vinyl records. But the top
place for the discerning connoisseur of all things musical back in the 1960s
was, without any shadow of doubt, Disci in High Street.
To be sure,
Benn Radio situated opposite the Clocktower, sold records. But for the younger
buyer, there always seemed to be something lacking. The trouble was that the
person behind the counter usually looked like your mum or dad, back then a
species not particularly well disposed to the creations, let alone the antics,
of the longer-haired pop fraternity. “Val Doonican or James Last, sir? Why yes,
of course. Out of Our Heads by the Rolling Stones? Sorry sir, I’m not aware of
that disc. What was it called again…? ”
Not the case
with Disci. During the mid-1960s, before he went off to art college, the
chances are that the chap you’d encounter behind the counter was Brian
Meredith, not only the drummer with Rugby’s very own Big Idea, but also a bit
of an expert on the latest sounds.
In my book ‘Go
and Make the Tea, Boy!’ I recount at length how I would chinwag with Brian for
hours, talking about what was new on the pop, rock, soul and blues scene. In
those days, the Rugby Advertiser published the local Top Ten, and that meant I
had to visit all the town’s stores every week to discover how the latest
releases were selling. There were about five or six places on the list. Once
the results were jotted down in my notebook, I would work out a mean sales
average, and from that could compile my own Top Ten. Yes, I know. A tough job,
but someone had to do it. The other attraction about Disci was that visiting
pop groups would often drop in to do autograph signings, this being the hippest
place in town.
One Saturday
afternoon, no less than national chart-toppers Dave Dee, Beaky, Dozy, Mick and
Tich called. I also remember a visit by top Birmingham band The Eggy. Destined
to enjoy much greater fame in years to come was the band’s guitarist, the
now-legendary Steve Gibbons. Both these groups played the Benn Memorial Hall
later that day. Gigs like this were always extremely well-attended, because in
those days, Rugby really rocked.
Occupying a
crucial position at the hub of an expanding motorway network meant that Rugby
was slap bang in the centre of the country’s rock map. And that’s probably a
major reason why Rod Stewart’s band played the Benn one memorable Saturday
night in 1967.
Being in
possession of a magical object called a ‘press card’ more or less guaranteed my
admission to virtually any event that tickled my fancy. And the Rod Stewart
Band certainly did some major tickling as far as I was concerned. And ticking
boxes too, for as a devotee of the emerging blues-soaked soul sound, these guys
fitted my bill perfectly.
For a start,
just savour this line-up. There was Stewart on vocals, Jeff Beck on guitar,
Ronnie Wood on bass, and sat in the drum chair was the now late and lamented
Micky Waller, for many years John Mayall’s sticks man.
It was a
tremendous night. Stewart’s stage presence was electrifying and basically a
rehearsal of what was to come. He minced and pouted his way backwards and
forwards across the stage, swinging the mike stand, and throwing back a head of
hair in an act that was already displaying signs of the strutting cockerel that
would later become his trademark.
As Ronnie
Wood’s thumping bass reverberated around the hall, Jeff Beck laid down licks
the like of which few had ever heard before. Much has been written about Eric
Clapton down the decades, but for my money, Jeff Beck was always the uncrowned
king of Britain’s Beat Boom rock guitarists. He made that thing talk, no doubt
about it.
I can recall
just two of the numbers played that night. One was a searing version of Elmore
James’ Dust My Broom, and the other was Some Kind of Wonderful by the Soul
Brothers Six. I couldn’t get the latter out of my head. So much so that the
following Wednesday, when I called at Disci for the top ten results, I asked
Brian Meredith if he had heard of the record. Of course he had. But he’d have
to order it. Was that all right? Yes it was, and a few days later the disc
arrived, its round, bright orange Atlantic label shining like the sun peeping
through a white paper backdrop.
Well over half a century later, I still have Some Kind of Wonderful by The Soul Brothers Six in my singles collection. It sits with all the others on the shelf, lying dormant in a kind of old folk’s home for old records. But every now and again, I take it down for a look. And once again, the memories of when Rugby was a rock and roll town come flooding back… those golden days of the Benn Hall and Disci.
Flashback Friday: Dutch Punk In The 1960s
In this May, 1988 High Times story, Jeff Jarema and Jim Wynand discuss early punk music from the Netherlands, and how the British Invasion hit Amsterdam long before it arrived in the States.
Read it via: -
https://hightimes.com/flashback-friday/dutch-punk-in-the-1960s/
The original rock 'n' roll dandy: The story of Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones by Drew Wardle
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/brian-jones-rolling-stones-life-and-career/
White youth subcultures and Black music in “Northern Soul” and “Quadrophenia” by Justin Allen of Riff Magazine
https://riffmagazine.com/opinion/music-and-the-movies-northern-soul-quadrophenia/
The Who’s ‘Face Dances’ at 40: After Tragedy, Transition by Sam Stone
When Keith
Moon died on September 7, 1978, The Who were left without the driving force of
their rhythm section, a larger-than-life drummer whose thunderous approach on
the kit defined the band’s sound and changed the course of rock drumming. Even
with this blow, guitarist and principal songwriter Pete Townshend announced the
next day that the band “is more determined than ever to carry on.” They’d
already signed deals for several projects and would soon be under contract to
deliver albums to the label, the first of which would be Face Dances, featuring
new recruits Kenney Jones on drums and John “Rabbit” Bundrick on keyboards.
But The Who’s
first project following Moon’s untimely death wasn’t a forward-looking studio
effort, but a pair of retrospectives: the Jeff Stein documentary The Kids Are
Alright, which served somewhat as a tribute to Moon-era Who; and the film
adaptation of Quadrophenia, itself based on an album that looked back on the
band’s first decade, produced by bassist John Entwistle. The band was set to
promote the projects with large-scale tours and had brought on ex-Faces drummer
Jones to replace Moon.
“I thought
that the best thing I could do was to play the way I play. That’s being
honest,” Jones reflected decades later. “I tried to take the best of Keith
Moon—all his great fills, which you have to do in certain songs—and use them
selectively. But the style would finally be me. And that’s all I could do. I
couldn’t do no more.”
Jones’ first
studio recordings with the band were “Get Out and Stay Out,” a Quadrophenia
outtake resurrected for the soundtrack, and “Joker James,” originally written
in 1968. Though it was no easy task, Jones gelled with the band and with nearly
constant tour dates stretching from spring of 1979 to summer of 1980—not to
mention appearances with the other members of The Who on vocalist Roger
Daltrey’s McVicar soundtrack project—he became integrated into a new well-oiled
machine: The Who, mk. 2.
Sessions with
Szymczyk—whose credits included Michael Stanley, Eagles and the J. Geils
Band—were bumpy, as The Who felt the spark fading with each take. As Entwistle
recalled, “He recorded everything in groups of three. I don’t like playing a
backing track too many times. We’d get a really good one and he’d say, ‘Give me
three more exactly the same.’ I lost a lot of confidence worrying about being
brainwashed by the song, so I didn’t play as loosely as I might have.” And any
momentum was stalled by more tour dates and Szymczyk’s commitment to mixing
Eagles Live. Tracking for Face Dances continued at the end of the year and the
band was pleased with what it played.
But final
mixing was carried out by Szymczyk in Florida without the full band’s input,
which led to unsatisfactory, glossy results. While the band blamed each other
for what they felt was sub-par material, the album, released on March 16, 1981,
was nevertheless successful. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard Albums Chart, hit
#2 in the UK, and reached Platinum status by the fall of 1981.
While the
magic of the Moon era might be missing in many spots, Face Dances still
satisfies, with Daltrey delivering some fine interpretations of Townshend’s
increasingly personal lyrics. And its sound, which lies somewhere between
classic Who power-pop (“Daily Records”), punk (“Cache Cache”) and Police-like
rhythms (“Don’t Let Go the Coat,” “Did You Steal My Money”), managed to reach
audiences worldwide.
The
flirtatious pop gem “You Better You Bet” was an early MTV staple and became the
band’s last Billboard Top 20 single, featuring Entwistle’s self-referential
“The Quiet One” on its B-side. In the U.K., the band appeared on the BBC’s Top
of the Pops to promote the single. There, it reached #9. The breezy “Don’t Let
Go The Coat,” inspired by Townshend’s spiritual mentor Meher Baba, peaked at
#84. Meanwhile, “Another Tricky Day” became a live staple for decades.
In all, Face
Dances sees every member of The Who pouring all their energy into their music.
In the fallout of Moon’s death, they were overwhelmed—not just by the tragedy
of losing a friend and core member of the group, but also by a grueling tour
schedule, continuous side projects and a variety of personal issues. Somehow,
they were able to direct all this energy into a fine studio effort that
explores new and varied styles. It may not have hit the heights of their past
glories, with the occasional belabored performance and a certain studio sheen
unusual for The Who, but it was a success and is far from the worst material
The Who would scrape together.
As Townshend
and Daltrey continue to look back on their albums with in-depth reissue
campaigns (the most recent being a super-deluxe edition of 1967’s The Who Sell
Out), one wonders what a deep-dive into 1979-1981 might look like and how it
might reshape the narrative of Face Dances as a tired album. On stage, the band
was energized, and unreleased gems and jams show they still meshed. Might
revealing monitor mixes exist showing an un-futzed-with Face Dances? Or
compelling unreleased songs from Townshend’s library? Perhaps The Who will dust
off such rarities in time and give the era its due with all the bells and
whistles. Maybe it will give fans a new look at this relentlessly creative
period. Until then, Face Dances serves as a document of The Who’s somewhat
shaky reinvention just before things really crumbled.
Get Carter at 50: 10 more Tyneside then-and-now location shots from the classic film
It's one of
the greatest British films of all time - and it was released 50 years ago,
enjoying its European premiere at Newcastle's Haymarket cinema on Sunday, March
7, 1971.
Get Carter
tells the violent tale of London gangster, Jack Carter, who returns to his home
city, Newcastle, to avenge the death of his brother.
Starring
Michael Caine, and with a budget of £750,000, the critically acclaimed movie
was shot in the North East and used the people and places of the region as a
dramatic backdrop to the action.
Half a
century on we've returned to some of the locations used in the film and
photographed the same scenes today.
Some have
been transformed beyond all recognition, while some are relatively unchanged.
The first in
our three-part series of 10 then-and-now photographs was published recently.
This is part two. Part three will follow.
The media
historian and broadcaster Chris Phipps was an authority on Get Carter. Sadly
Chris died in August 2019.
He said of
the film: "Michael Caine steps off a train at Newcastle, orders a drink
and walks into cinematic history.
“Get Carter
coldly documents his portrayal of mobster Jack Carter who investigates the
mysterious death of his older brother and uncovers a web of corruption and vice
in Newcastle.
“The plot
unfolds - a hybrid of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Terminator - as Carter
plans and literally executes a violent campaign of revenge in the name of his
family.
“Caine’s
portrayal of Jack Carter is iconic and revolutionary. Here is a real gangster
exacting real revenge - not a flashy comical spiv that had generally populated
British post-war films.
“It was
perhaps a reflection of the psychopathic Kray twins who had been sentenced in
the late-1960s as a dark conclusion to swinging ‘60s London.
“Caine shares
the screen with the city of Newcastle. Ted Lewis’s original novel was set in
his native Humberside. Get Carter director Mike Hodges had instead chosen
Newcastle as the gritty, corrupt and changing backdrop that had shaped Jack
Carter.”
Chris
continued: “Hodges' background in documentary and current affairs brought an
authenticity to the story which gives it an edge decades later. Roy Budd’s
economic eerie score completed the effect.
“Caine’s
co-stars featured a fledgling Alun Armstrong and an uncredited Jimmy Nail. Get
Carter immortalised the span of the High Level Bridge and the brutal concrete
heights of the Gateshead Trinity car park.
“1971 was a watershed year for crime on the
big screen. It gave us the amoral cops of Dirty Harry and The French Connection
and put Jack Carter in good company.”
The action
aside, Get Carter captures the region at a unique time in its history,
depicting a vision of Tyneside, much of which has vanished.
See the 'then and now' images via: -
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/history/gallery/carter-50-10-more-tyneside-20066259
SAM COOKE DOCUMENTARY GETS DVD REISSUE REPORTS BUDDY IAHN
SAM COOKE:
LEGEND RETURNS TO DVD WITH BONUS CONTENT
The life and
music of Sam Cooke, soul’s first superstar, are examined in the critically
lauded Sam Cooke: Legend, the GRAMMY Award winning feature documentary from
ABKCO Films. The 66-minute film examines the extraordinary career and tells the
real story of his life through first-person accounts from family, childhood
friends, musical collaborators and business associates along with Sam Cooke
himself. Originally released in 2003, it has long been out of print; it will be
reissued on DVD on April 30th. With the success of the film One Night In
Miami…, directed by Regina King, focus on the life of Cooke, portrayed in the
film by Leslie Odom Jr., has grown exponentially. Sam Cooke: Legend traces both
Cooke’s professional and personal life – from his gospel-singing roots in the
early 1950’s through his R&B and pop music career to his untimely death in
1964. It was available for streaming through Amazon Prime earlier this year in
celebration of the soul icon’s 90th birthday. The forthcoming DVD re-release
includes extra content providing additional insight into the life and legacy of
Sam Cooke.
The film
recounts his commitment to the struggle for civil rights, underscored by his
last and most enduring hit song, “A Change Is Gonna Come,” as well as his
transcendent and consummate popular appeal. Sam Cooke: Legend was awarded a
GRAMMY in 2004 in the Best Long Form Video (since renamed Best Music Film)
category. One of the highlights includes archival newsreel footage of Cassius
Clay, the jubilant newly-crowned heavy weight champion, spotting Sam Cooke in
the crowd and inviting him into the ring exclaiming, “Let that man up! This is
Sam Cooke! This is the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll singer!” That same
frantic and scenario is depicted, almost scene for scene, in One Night In
Miami… Sam Cooke: Legend was written by best-selling author Peter Guralnick
whose Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke, is widely recognized as the
definitive biography of the musical giant. It is narrated by Tony Award winning
actor Jeffrey Wright (“Basquiat,” “Angels In America,” “Ali”) and was directed
by Mary Wharton and produced by Robin Klein and Mick Gochanour.
The
documentary features rare and never-before-seen performance clips, TV footage
and family photos, plus exclusive original interviews. These include
conversations with the late Aretha Franklin, TV host Dick Clark, singer Lou
Rawls who was a childhood friend of Cooke’s and R&B great Lloyd Price. Also
seen is Bobby Womack who, early in his career, enjoyed a rewarding musical
association with Cooke who produced his hit “It’s All Over Now,” later covered
by The Rolling Stones as referenced in One Night In Miami… Cooke’s gospel roots
are discussed by LeRoy Crume of the Soul Stirrers, the seminal group that Cooke
joined as a teen, Cooke’s siblings as well as daughter Zeriiya (Linda Cooke
Womack). Another participant is recording mogul Lou Adler (Mamas and Papas,
Carole King), who co-wrote “Wonderful World” with Cooke and Herb Alpert. The
DVD re-release includes a 3,000-word biography of Cooke and a comprehensive
discography of his recordings, highlighting ABKCO’s Sam Cooke Remastered
Series. Beyond that the DVD’s extra content, running in excess of four and a
half hours and not seen in the streaming version, is highlighted by additional
interview footage with numerous of Cooke’s contemporaries including the
aforementioned Aretha Franklin, Lou Rawls, Lloyd Price, Lou Adler, Bobby Womack
and music producer Luigi Creatore. Family members seen in the extra footage
include Linda Cooke-Womack (Zeriiya), L. C. Cooke, Charles Cook and Agnes
Cook-Hoskins plus “Burn Baby Burn” radio personality Magnificent Montague.
The film
chronicles Cooke’s struggle to make it in the world of popular mainstream music
culminating in his triumphant engagement at New York’s Copacabana in the summer
of 1964. From his birth in the Mississippi Delta through his family’s move to
Chicago and the realization of his gift as expressed in his early gospel work,
continuing through his change to secular music, his life can be viewed as a
microcosm of the struggle for recognition and opportunity by African Americans
in the mid-20th century. Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi and raised on
Chicago’s South Side, Sam Cooke was the son of a Baptist minister. He started
singing in the church choir as a child and encouraged by his father, joined
with his siblings to form a gospel group, the Singing Children. By the time he
was a teenager, he had achieved significant success within the gospel community
on the strength of his distinctive vocal style. In 1950 he was asked to replace
legendary singer R.H. Harris as lead vocalist of The Soul Stirrers. Cooke
crossed over into the world of popular music in 1957 and shot to the top of the
R&B and Pop charts with his self-penned “You Send Me.” From that time on,
he was never out of the Top 40, with smash hits like “Wonderful World,” “Chain
Gang,” “Cupid,” “Twistin’ the Night Away,” “Another Saturday Night” and
“Shake.” His success didn’t surprise Aretha Franklin, who had earlier seen him
perform at her father’s church. She commented, “Sam was a prince of a man. He
just had everything going for him. Sam had the looks, he had the voice, he had
the manner, he had the charm, he had the savoir faire.” A triumphant early-‘60s
tour of the U.K. left a generation of young musicians like the Beatles, the
Rolling Stones, Van Morrison and Rod Stewart enthralled as well.
A champion of creative rights who wrote much of his own material, Cooke was among the first artists to recognize the importance of owning the publishing rights to his own compositions. He later established his own record label and business empire to better realize his far-reaching musical ambitions. Refusing to perform for segregated audiences in the South, Cooke utilized his stature as a performer to help break down the color lines separating blacks from whites, and in the process became, along with his friend Muhammad Ali, a symbol of the new black American. Further inspired by Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” Cooke wrote “A Change Is Gonna Come,” a song that would become an anthem of the civil rights movement after Cooke’s senseless shooting death in December of 1964. Sam Cooke was 33 years old at the time and more than 34 years have passed since then but interest in his life and work is stronger today than ever before. Sam Cooke: Legend is a comprehensive look at a figure who is, arguably, one of the most influential musical forces of the 20th Century and whose legacy resonates to the present day.
Send The Observer your questions for Paul Weller by 1st April
In May, Paul
Weller will release his third album of new songs in just under three years –
Fat Pop (Volume 1), written in lockdown and recorded last summer in his own
Black Barn studio HQ. Intended as a compilation of very different tracks – from
the electronic post-punk of Cosmic Fringes to the heartfelt orchestral sweep of
Glad Times – it will showcase the many moods of an ever-changing man.
While many
justly regard Weller as a standard bearer for a very specific aesthetic played
out through the Jam, the Style Council and a prolific solo career, Weller has
long embodied a more expansive form of modernism. He may act as consigliere to
the likes of Noel Gallagher, but Weller is no hidebound traditionalist in
thrall to the 1960s. Sharp of dress, but even sharper of tongue, he remains an
unstoppable creative force in British culture, an artist who only seems to
accelerate and improve as he goes on.
This is your
chance to put your questions to Surrey’s most searching son. How has he coped
with lockdown hair? How did his collaboration with Celeste come about? Just
don’t ask about the Jam reforming. “Absolutely, categorically, fucking no,” he
maintains.
To submit a question, email review@observer.co.uk or tweet @ObsNewReview by Thursday 1 April.
The Who Frontman Says Jimi Hendrix 'Completely Copied' Pete Townshend's Onstage Antics, Shares Feelings on Pete Smashing Guitars
https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/the_who_frontman_says_jimi_hendrix_completely_copied_pete_townshends_onstage_antics_shares_feelings_on_pete_smashing_guitars.html
HEAVY SOUL MODZINE Issue 53 - Out on 31st March so order your copy now!!!
HEAVY SOUL Modzine Issue 53
Release date: 31/03/2021
Hey Hey Hey!! Second edition of 2021
and a great insight into many new and old bands that has influenced our way of
thinking... What's in this one then....
Interviews with:
• Chris
Bostock on the 1980s sensations JOBOXERS
• Jason
Edge from THE ELECTRIC STARS on the new album
• JASON
DISLEY talks about his new book
• PAUL
HOOPER-KEELEY (Threads, Deep Six) on what he's been up to
• The
new compilation album on label GET HIP RECORDS
• 90s
band THE CHARMS who have a great LP out now
• Uber
collector MARK SMITH on his prized records
Plus many ARTICLES like:
New releases on 7" and
LP/12"
eBay Spy - the latest big
wallet-burners
Jason Disley on the Breton top
The Who, Weller, Squire, Museum Of
Youth Culture,
Also - the 25 track CD featuring big
60s Club Sounds
£5.50
What's for tea, Mum? Listen to Unreleased Jingles from The Who Sell Out Super Deluxe Edition
https://thewho.lnk.to/TheSellOutJinglesEM!UMGUK25822-790766?vvsa_consumer_id=13880478&vvsa_tracking=_vvsa_rxsSzKUr385317
THE MEANIES - Waiting For You EP (PICTURE DISC) 7" to be released on 21st May by Detour Records
THE
WAIT IS OVER, HERE IS THE TENTH RELEASE IN
"THE
CLASSIC '79 MOD SERIES"
The Release date is FRIDAY 21st MAY 2021
<<< Pre Orders Being Taken now!
>>>
THE MEANIES - Waiting For You EP (PICTURE DISC) 7"
Well here it is, the wait is over and we can now reveal the TENTH Picture Disc in this very collectable '79 Classic Mod series.
The Meanies were one of those bands that were
around in the late 70s and released one single on the highly collectable
'Vendetta' label along with label mates 'Seventeen' (Pre The Alarm) and then
with a blink of an eye they had gone.
Hailing from the Bracknell area in Berkshire
they sadly had a short life span, but they did regularly gig locally and
left us with one of the most collectable rarities from that golden era.
Original copies now demand a hefty three figure sum and hardly ever surface
anymore. Nobu from 1977 Records in Japan did a cracking reissue back in 2010
and filled the void for the collectors for a while but even that pressing is
now getting rare and the prices have shot up!
Detour Records have been trying to track down
members of this band since the 90s but all the leads went nowhere. Then fast
forward twenty years and after doing more research and from reading a post on
the excellent "My Life's A Jigsaw" blog we went on a mission to track
this elusive band down.
Well we did it and here for a very short time
we can offer you a full colour PICTURE DISC of just 300 Copies and to make this
re-issue a bit special we have included a BONUS track of a unreleased song
dating back to 1979 that has not ever been heard outside of the band!
<<< ONLY 300 COPIES PRESSED >>>
FEATURES
Waiting For You
It's True
I Just Don't Know What To Do Anymore
(Unreleased)
£12.99
Plus delivery
THE BEAT '...Still Can't Stop It' summer tour dates for 2021
Legendary 2-Tone Ska Reggae Group led by
vocalist Dave Wakeling celebrate their 40th Anniversary.
The Beat formed in 1979 and released their debut single, an infectious
cover of the Smokey Robinson classic Tears of A Clown
on 2-Tone Records which went straight into the UK national
charts at #6. Along with their contemporaries The Specials, Madness and The
Selecter, The Beat became an overnight sensation.
Over the course of the next five years The
Beat released three studio albums I Just Can't Stop It,
Wha'ppen? and Special Beat Service. The Beat toured
the world alongside artists such as The Clash, The Police, The
Specials, The Pretenders, REM, Talking Heads, and David Bowie.
The Beat enjoyed a series of classic hit singles between 1979-1983 such as Mirror in the Bathroom, Best Friend, Can't Get Used to Losing You, Hands Off...She's Mine, Too Nice To Talk To, Drowning, Doors of your Heart, Save it for Later, I Confess, Stand Down Margaret and Twist and Crawl.
Friday, 19 March 2021
The Modcast Tony Perfect Memorial Weekender 28/29/30 May featuring The Scene, The 79ers & Eddie Piller
Tickets available from www.themodcast.co.uk
Various Artists: Soul Power ’68 – album review by Ian Canty
Various
Artists: Soul Power ’68 album review
(Doctor Bird)
2CD/DL
Released 12
March 2021
Two CD set of
some of Duke Reid’s rarer productions from 1968, built around the unissued Soul
Power ’68 compilation album that features Joy Landis, Tommy McCook and Hopeton
Lewis among many others. Eighteen of the tracks included are new to CD and three
are previously unreleased in any form. Ian Canty goes prospecting for Treasure
Isle’s buried treasure…
By 1968, Duke
Reid was firmly established as one of the big two in Jamaican music circles,
along with his long time rival Clement “Coxsone” Dodd. He had possibly had the
edge on Dodd in the rocksteady era, after a closely fought battle during the
ska craze. The ex-policeman was an imposing figure rarely seen without a
firearm on his person, but even so, singers and players flocked to his Treasure
Isle studio that cranked out hit after hit, knowing that their tunes would be
given quality attention. Alton Ellis and Justin Hinds And The Dominoes were
just two of the many artists that enjoyed a flush of success with Reid at the
helm.
Change was in
the air though and this collection reflects that, in the main made up of late
in the day rocksteady melodies, but also having a few proto-reggae groovers.
Some of Duke’s biggest stars are not represented here – which is not to demean
artists of the stature of Tommy McCook and The Melodians, but there’s No Alton,
The Techniques or Justin for example, all of whom were a large part of Reid’s
star-studded roster. The Treasure Isle archive has been extensively mined by
compilers over the past 20 or so years, so it is nice to have a good few not so
well-known offerings and artists included here.
As might be
suspected from the title of this set, soul music features strongly. The Duke
himself was a long term r&b fan, with the US imports in that style that he
played on his sound system crucial to getting his start in music in the 1950s.
At Treasure Isle, he continued to favour artists with soul leanings,
culminating in his peerless run of rocksteady successes. Soul Power ’68 makes
Reid’s preferences overt, mixing pure soul offerings and rocksteady tunes.
The Soul
Power ’68 album itself went unreleased at the time and was only recently
located in the depths of the Trojan Records archive. It kicks off in suitable
enough fashion with The Silvertones applying reggae touches to a well-sung
version of In The Midnight Hour, a song made famous by Wilson Pickett. The
decidedly plummy voice of DJ Radcliff Butler makes Soul Power aka My Last Word
different and novel and Tommy McCook And The Supersonics’ Music Is My
Occupation uses Johnny Cash’s Ring Of Fire as the jumping-off point for some of
his trademark fine sax. A brassy Lloyd Williams’ Funky Beat is a good example
of an early toast, with spoken and singing styles combining over an r&b
guitar line. What results is a very cool mixture of soul and reggae.
The Melodians
provide a classic example of the rocksteady format in Come On Little Girl and
it is preceded by its smart b side Work Your Soul, The Supersonics jumping near
instrumental which highlights the horn section. I Fell In Love by vocal group
The Conquerers is a totally charming love song and the album finishes with a
super instrumental take of In The Midnight Hour, here under the name Black
Power and credited to organ maestro Winston Wright And The Supersonics. Soul
Power ’68 would have made a fine release at the time. The reason why it was not
issued back then will remain a mystery. Maybe it was felt the soul/reggae
balance might confuse new UK fans?
The LP is
fleshed out on the first disc of this set with nine contemporary Duke Reid
productions, plus a bonus disc with 21 further tracks from around the same
time. Lloyd Charmers, under the pseudonym Lloyd Tyrell, provides a lovely bit
of rocksteady in Keep Me Going and The Gladiators, who would go on to have
great success as the 1970s went on, give us an early indication of their
abundant potential on Live Wire.
Joya Landis,
actually an American born Wanda Jean Vann, features seven times amongst the
bonus tunes. All are very much in a soul vein and all a delight. On I Love You
True (or So True) she gives us a truly touching vocal performance and When The
Lights Are Low is an absolute beauty. She had a brief but successful recording
career, scoring with versions of Kansas City and Moonlight Lover, but, after a
handful of singles over a three year period between 1967 and 1970, she seems
never to have recorded again. Something that is a great shame, given the
evidence provided here.
The
Silvertones return with Slow And Easy, where their singing talents skilfully
offset against a deep trombone part. The excellent Baby Love by The Sensations
opens up disc two of this set with a perfectly judged masterwork of rocksteady.
It’s a pretty difficult task to follow that wonderful tune, but The Melodians’
lively Let’s Join Hands Together doesn’t go far wrong. That this collection is
full to brimming with top quality vocal groups is rammed home by the inclusion
of John Holt’s band The Paragons’ with the brilliantly arranged Joy In My Soul,
which unbelievably went unissued at the time.
Hopeton Lewis
combines the DJ style and singing well on Black Power (take 2) and provides an
early sighting of the Ali Baba rhythm on his Live It Up. Phyllis Dillon’s
Humpty Dumpty is a soul smasher and features Hopeton on co-vocals, their
contributions making for a very exciting piece of music indeed. The compilers
drew a blank in identifying both The Yardbrooms and Joey And His Group (though
they hint that the latter may be linked to The Melodians), even so, the stately
pace of If You See Jane and the sleepy but warm Soul Love enchant.
All things considered, Soul Power ’68 is another satisfying delve into the Treasure Isle archive. By eschewing the dog-eared (but admittedly still great) songs that have been regularly reissued over the past 20 years, it brings to light many hidden jewels that have languished in the Treasure Isle archive. The step away from pure rocksteady towards soul and r&b gives the set an extra dimension that other compilations simply don’t have and you could always rely on Duke Reid to get it spot on in the Treasure Isle studio environment. With detailed and interesting sleeve notes, Soul Power ’68 is perfect for exploring by the more adventurous reggae fan.
https://louderthanwar.com/various-artists-soul-power-68-album-review/
The first record Paul Weller ever bought
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/first-record-paul-weller-bought-the-kinks/
Ricki-Tics - From Pin Ups to Button Downs (Nottingham 1978)
Read the article about Nottingham band, the Ricki-Tics, who started gigging in 1978 at: -
https://britishculturearchive.co.uk/ricki-tics-mod-revival-nottingham-1978/
Long-Lost "Happening" - 1965 Music Special Resurfaces on PBS
https://www.houstonpress.com/music/things-to-do-watch-its-happening-baby-on-pbs-11540294
Fred Perry to open enormous new Manchester store in Afflecks building
Iconic British fashion brand Fred Perry is preparing to launch a new flagship store in the Northern Quarter.
The huge site will be opening at the foot of Afflecks in the city centre this summer.
Read the full story at: -
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/fred-perry-open-enormous-new-19971614
Painting parkas to help Samaritans - Vicky meets... Nigel Faulkner, from Buzby & Blue, Chichester.
Art was my favourite thing at school. There was a big mod revival in 1977 when I was 11 and my brother was 13. He became a mod and so I became a mod, so there’s been years of scooters and parkas! I had a go at painting on the back of parkas back in the day and about 15 years ago I decided to revive the idea. I now paint and sell them in aid of Samaritans.
Read the full interview at: -
https://www.chichester.co.uk/news/opinion/columnists/painting-parkas-to-help-samaritans-vicky-meets-3158598
Mixed news for Isle of Wight Mods & Scooterists as Covid rules relaxed reports Alan Marriott of the IoW County Press
There was
good news and bad for the Isle of Wight's mods and scooterists this week.
Lambretta
Day, scheduled for the May bank holiday, will not be able to go ahead as the
government's roadmap deems it too early in the year.
But, the
Island's own 'Modfather' Steve Robson, is confident that if the Covid guideline
relaxation goes to plan, the August Bank Holiday Scooter festival should be OK.
Every year
thousands of scooterists flock to the Isle of Wight to enjoy music and
ride-outs around the Island.
Lambretta Day
was established in 1999 with just a handful of scooter enthusiasts but the
annual event has grown hugely.
There are
live music performances, scooter displays and ride outs around the Island.
Proceeds go
to Tonic Music for Mental Health.
Steve told
the Isle of Wight County Press this week that it was a shame the May Lambretta
Day won't happen for a second consecutive year but he understood the reasons
why.
He said:
"We can't afford another lockdown so this has to be done correctly.
"If it all goes to plan we will hopefully have a good summer culminating in the rally at bank holiday time at the end of August."
Kent Records to release 'Modernity' (CDKEND 500) on 30 April - available to order now from Ace Records
40 years of soul and blues mining has given Kent access to some killer previously locked-away tunes for this third volume in our mod series. A hitherto unheard 1964-vintage Ike & Tina track is big news: the duo’s performance on ‘Walk Home With Me’ features a somewhat square-sounding male chorus which only adds to the charm of this excellent Buck Ram-produced number. The vocal pairing of Aaron Collins’ two sisters, the Teen Queens, was a brief music sensation with ‘Eddie My Love’ in the 50s but, unknown until last year, the three siblings got together and cut four tracks for Modern in 1966, including the gritty mover ‘Ooh Baby’.
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The Specials last ever filmed concert (at Coventry Cathedral) on Sky Arts at 9pm today
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