Wednesday, 27 December 2023
Friday, 22 December 2023
LIAM GALLAGHER & JOHN SQUIRE - THE OASIS AND STONE ROSES LEGENDS ANNOUNCE A NEW COLLABORATION. FIRST SINGLE ‘JUST ANOTHER RAINBOW’ COMING ON JANUARY 5TH
Collaborations don’t get much more biblical than this. Solo star, Oasis legend
and force-of-nature Liam Gallagher has teamed up with John
Squire, one of the most influential guitarists and songwriters of his
generation via his time with The Stone Roses. The duo will set a high
watermark for 2024 when they release their first single together, ‘Just
Another Rainbow’, on January 5th, with more new music to follow as
the year unfolds. The single is now available to pre-order on 7” vinyl.
It takes mere seconds to identify ‘Just Another Rainbow’ as the work of the duo, as John’s instantly unforgettable psychedelia-tinged guitar motif leads into a classic Liam vocal - full of passion, personality and utmost conviction. And from here it becomes exactly what you’d hope the duo to deliver: layers of guitar that spin seemingly effortlessly from the infectious melodic rush that recalls ‘I Am The Resurrection’ to an intensity that echoes ‘Love Spreads’, all topped by Liam’s signature star quality.
John says, “To me the most obvious take on ‘Just Another Rainbow’ is that it's about disappointment, and the sentiment is that you never get what you really want. But I don't like to explain songs, I think that's the privilege of the listener, it's whatever you want it to be. To me, it's also one of the most uplifting tracks we’ve made together, which is weird.”
Liam adds, “I think John's a top songwriter. Everyone always bangs on about him as a guitarist, but he’s a top songwriter too, man, no two ways about it as far as I'm concerned. There's not enough of his music out there, whether it's with the Roses or himself. It's good to see him back writing songs and fucking good ones. The melodies are mega and then the guitars are a given. But I think even when you take all the fucking guitars off, you can play the songs all on acoustic and they’ll all still blow your mind.”
While this represents the duo’s first collaboration together, the first time they were in a room together was way back in 1989. The then 16-year-old Liam attended a Stone Roses gig at the International 2 in Manchester around the time their self-titled debut album was released, a show that he describes simply as “life-changing.” It was another four years before they met when both bands were recording in Monmouth, Wales: Oasis had just started work on what would become ‘Definitely Maybe’ while The Stone Roses were deep into sessions for ‘The Second Coming’. And when John first heard ‘Definitely Maybe’ he knew it was something special within the opening few bars of ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’.
Their friendship continued in the subsequent years, notably with the pair writing ‘Love Me and Leave Me’ for John’s later band The Seahorses, who also toured as guests to Oasis. But it wasn’t until John jumped on stage at Liam’s gargantuan Knebworth Park show for climactic performances of ‘Champagne Supernova’ that the prospect of working together on something more substantial became a reality.
With John enthused by both the prospect of working with Liam as well as the rush of performing in front of huge audiences again (his final Stone Roses show was six years ago by this point), the idea rapidly took shape. John sent Liam an initial three songs (Liam’s review? “All mega”) and then quickly wrote some more, with the duo then collaborating remotely and sending each other reference points. They were all the greats. Hendrix. The Pistols. The Faces. Bob Marley. And, erm, The Bee Gees.
From thereon in, the project took on a life of its own. Liam arrived at John’s studio in Macclesfield and vowed to complete vocals for two demo recordings each day, a promise that he stuck to, and soon enough they had a catalogue of killer songs to choose from. From there it was off to Los Angeles for three weeks of sessions with revered producer Greg Kurstin who plays bass on the record, with drums courtesy of Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M., Atoms for Peace). They unlocked a shared musical intuition that felt so natural it was almost as if they had always been a band.
There will be much more new music to come - and there could well be shows, too - but for now ‘Just Another Rainbow’ lives up the highfalutin expectations that come with such a collaboration.
Direct from Japan, THE 5,6,7,8's
The 5,6,7,8's were formed in
the early 1990's and hail from Tokyo, Japan. Stylistically, the band take their
inspiration from 50's & 60's Rock 'n' Roll and have been compared to Link
Wray, Dick Dale, The Sonics, Bo Diddley, The Trashmen, Chuck Berry, The Detroit
Cobras and more.
The 5,6,7,8's performed
three songs in the 2003 Quentin Tarantino film 'Kill Bill
Volume 1' where the band were filmed covering 'Woo Hoo' (originally
by The Rock-a-Teens), 'I'm Blue' (originally by The
Ikettes) and a 5,6,7,8's original 'I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield'.
Yoshiko "Ronnie" Fujiyama -
Guitar/Vocals
Sachiko Fujii - Drums/Vocals
Akiko Omo - Bass/Vocals
The Masonics were formed
from the ashes of Medway Garage Punk group Thee Milkshakes. The
Masonics have released 11 albums since 1991 with the latest 'Sursum
Tibiam Vestram' (Spinout Nuggets) having just been released in late 2023.
Mickey Hampshire -
Guitar/Vocals
John Gibbs - Bass/Vocals
Bruce Brand - Drums
Tuesday, 19 December 2023
Secret Affair, Purple Hearts, Nine Below Zero, Chords UK, Squire, The Rage, The Mark Three, Sharp Class, Block 33 and Chelsea Curve to appear on the 'Mods Mayday 24' album on Heavy Soul Records
Adam Cooper of Heavy Soul Records says, " It's shaping up - tracks received from Squire, Purple Hearts, Sharp Class, Block 33 with incoming from Nine Below Zero, Secret Affair and Chords UK as well as new additions to the bill The Rage, Mark Three and Chelsea Curve."
The Vendettas - EP Launch Party at The Essex Arms on 19th January
A limited edition CD will be included in the price of your ticket to thank you all for your support.
We are pleased to be sharing this evening with special guests Monumental Band.
Hope to see all of your familiar faces in the crowd
Groove Central presents 'The Outrigger 41st Anniversary Bash' at St. Anne's Club, Digbeth, on Saturday 27th January
This will be the final Outrigger reunion 41st anniversary we will combining the 2 nights together Sat Scooter sound and ghe Sundays 60s mod nights on the night
DJs TONY AND STEVE REYNOLDS PLUS GUEST JOHN KELLY
PLAYING ALL THE CLASSIC SOUNDS OF 60 R&B* SOUL* BEAT* SKA* INDIE * NORTHERN* TWO TONE * REGGAE ETC
ADMISSION £5 INFO 07738758348
19:00 - 02:00
Monday, 18 December 2023
THE VENDETTAS - 'Losing These Days' EP on 7" & CD to be released on 19th January by Detour Records
'Detour Records'
Would like to announce their first release
of 2024 by this all-star newly formed band.
Many of you will recognise members of this
band.
Release date: Friday 19th January 2024
Launch party: Friday 19th January 2024 at the
'Essex Arms',
Warley Hill, Brentwood, Essex, CM14 5HA
<<< Pre Orders Welcomed
>>>
The Vendettas
(Adam Bishop) (Lead Vocals) (Friends Of Luca Brasi)
(Michael Cohen) (Lead Guitar & Vocals) (Small World
& The Rage)
(Russell Wood) (Bass Guitar & Vocals) (007 & The
Scene)
(Brian Gosling) (Drums & Percussion) (Channel Three
& Major Flood)
-----------------------
15th March 2020 and a day before the first Covid
Lockdown, Adam agrees it's time for Brian to dust down his old drum kit.
Onto 5th December 2021 and Brian and Adam would recruit
Russell & Mick to complete the line-up and a first rehearsal took place
successfully.
The Vendettas were officially a band.
The hard work began on 15th July 22, The Vendettas had
their first gig at where it all began, The Essex Arms to a great reception.
The band were up and running and the sound of trash
garage, psychedelic punk and melodic power pop was to ensue up to their most
recent gig at the Hope & Anchor.
So here we are now, with the launch of the band's first 4
track EP, including 3 original songs with Detour Records.
The Vendetta continues.....
FEATURES
Losing These Days
Bad Little Girl
Man With No Name
Little Jeanie
Friday, 15 December 2023
The Deep Six – ‘Looking For Tuesday Jones’ (Heavy Soul). Reviewed by Paul Hooper-Keeley
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With fantastic artwork from Paul Bevoir, The Deep Six present their third album as a pastiche of a movie soundtrack in a very stylish manner.
It’s a little odd reviewing this release as I was rehearsing several of these songs whilst I was still in the band myself just after the pandemic (and before I had to stand back to the heavy touring schedule), so it adds a level of weirdness for me.
The album kicks off with ‘All To Give Me Love’, a full-on Syd song that is crying out to be released as a single. Catchy from the very beginning and building up to a great hook this would surely get a lot of radio airplay.
‘Just Another Day’ starts with a nice descending 12-string run that immediately takes you to the vicinity of Merseyside. More measured and mid-paced, this is lovely and melodic.
Next up is ‘Come The Day’ which feels like a big song from the way that it launches in. Great backing vocals, this feels like it could have been the title track to an old movie from the 60s. A super lead guitar break too.
‘Look What You’ve Been And Gone And Done’ is the first recorded contribution from Niall Keohane aka Pete Flatwound. And what a start this is to his songwriting career. Catchy, goofy, cheesy, groovy but so much all-round fun you are not going to get this out of your head and will find yourself playing (and singing) this over and over again. Lovely keyboard hook, and Niall’s vocal style works perfectly. Another contender to be an A-side.
Back to Syd’s songs and ‘Sleeping On Your Own’ is next. Starting acoustically, this is mellow and builds up to a beautiful hook with some nice guitar phrasing throughout. Then it changes up a gear in the middle eight with another very nice guitar run. This is quality songwriting and performing.
‘Tell Your Story’ builds from limited instrumentation but with a great melody from the start. Another catchy number from the pen of Mark McGounden and a nice key change too. I also love The Who sequences at the end – “There once was note….” / “Song Is Over…” which blend in perfectly.
For some reason, ‘How I Won The War’ gives an early Weller solo vibe, which is no bad thing. The song drives on nicely once again and demonstrates the great versatility of the band.
There’s a nice harpsichord sound and nursery rhyme feel to the start of ‘Lemons & Oranges’, which has a much more stripped back instrumentation but without feeling like it is lacking anything. Dreamlike and enjoyable in a Jetset/Times/Dance Network kind of way.
‘Holding On’ is mid-paced and mature and has my mind wandering to late Beatles George Harrison territory. A great lead guitar break too. This is another very good song and, as with all of The Deep Six’s recordings, exudes quality and production values.
Song 10 on the album is ‘Open The Door’, another Syd original. A percussive start as Syd sings over an acoustic guitar until the drums kick in and you can feel the song building until it resolves into another great chorus with some delightful piano fills and backing vocals.
The title track, ‘Tuesday Jones’, is written by new recruit Ade Martin and starts with a nice acoustic guitar sound (lovely tone) in 3 / 4 time supported by some strings and a wonderful sounding bass guitar before the drums interact. With a heartful lead vocal and some wonderful backing vocals, this fits in with the album really well and was an excellent choice to be the title track.
Finishing the album with another Syd composition, ‘The Day You Decide To Leave’, crashes in with a chord and launches into a modern take on a Beatles style number from circa 1964/65. Great 12-string guitar runs and another earworm of a song that is yet another contender to be an A-side.
What can I say? This is a great album of well-crafted songs, wonderful melodies and superb performances. A record to be proud of. It’s available on both vinyl and CD formats – every collection deserves to have this in both formats.
The Kinks to reform???
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/legendary-60s-pop-rock-band-31657587
BREAKING NEWS: The Mark Three added to the line-up for Mods Mayday 2024 at 229 The Venue
Mods Mayday, the essential day out in any Mods calendar, will be taking over 229 in central London (opposite Great Portland Street Tube Station) for an all day extravaganza over 4 indoor rooms and 1 outside space.
Room 1 features live performances from Secret
Affair, Purple Hearts, Nine Below Zero, The Chords UK, Squire, The Circles
+
the triumphant return of The Rage.
Room 2 features live performances from The Jam'D, Block 33, The Len Price 3, The Molotovs, Sharp Class, The Mark Three and, direct from the USA, The Chelsea Curve.
Room 3 - For the first time we have added an extra room where we have exclusive Q&A's with Rick Buckler, legendary drummer and founding member of The Jam, + Eddie Piller discussing his book 'Clean Living Under Difficult Circumstances' along with Mod films and documentaries.
Room 4 will be 'Our Favourite Shop' featuring exclusive merchandise from all of the artists along with record and clothing stalls.
On top of this we have an outdoor area with Mod DJ's and a bar to enjoy the 2024 summer weather in between artists.
Running from 3pm-11pm on Bank Holiday Sunday 5th May 2024 we celebrate the 45th anniversary of the original 'Mods Mayday' LP which became an iconic part of the late 70's/early 80's Mod Revival.Thursday, 14 December 2023
Countdown Records: The Prisoners - 'Don't Burst My Bubble' / 'Ain't No Telling' 7" Single out 26th January
The Prisoners
'Don’t Burst My Bubble' / ‘Ain’t No Telling'
7” Single out 26 January
We’re thrilled to announce a brand
new 7” single on our group label Countdown Records: The Prisoners - ‘Don’t
Burst My Bubble’ / ‘Ain’t No Telling’.
Two wonderful sides from the cult
’80s band from Rochester - a cover of Small Faces’ rarity ‘Don’t Burst My
Bubble’, with singer Graham Day in fine voice, alongside a powerful version
of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Ain’t No Telling’. A demonstration of The Prisoners
in their absolute pomp, and a reminder of the deep cuts that were integral to
their incredible live sets.
Countdown Records was founded in the
’80s by Eddie Piller, Maxine Conroy and Terry Rawlings. The aim was to document
a generation of Mod and ‘60s revival artists that were making waves at the time
- of which The Prisoners are perhaps the finest example.
This very special, limited-edition 7” comes ahead of new music from the band in 2024 and a show at the iconic Round House next May.
Tuesday, 12 December 2023
Friday, 8 December 2023
Thursday, 7 December 2023
WHEN THE ALARM CLOCK RINGS - A COMPENDIUM OF BRITISH PSYCHEDELIA 1966-1969 DOUBLE LP
Track Listings
Disc: 1
1 Magic in the Air - The Attack
2 The Madman Running Through the Fields - Dantalian's Chariot
3 Magic Horsemen - Tintern Abbey
4 Maybe Someday - Alex Harvey
5 In the Beginning - Genesis
6 The Wall - The Fruit Machine
7 The World Goes On Around You - The Mirage
8 Dream in My Mind - Rupert's People
9 Mary Jane (Single Version) - Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera
10 Midsummer Night's Scene - John's Children
11 I Hope You're Happy - The Merseys
12 Teagarden Lane - Jason Crest
13 Pools of Blue (Advision Studios Version) - Barclay James Harvest
14 Leave Me Here - The 23rd Turnoff
15 I Unseen (IBC Studios Version) - The Misunderstood
Disc: 2
1 The Train to Disaster - The Voice
2 Remember the Times - The Mike Stuart Span
3 Jane - Living Daylights
4 Wake Me Up - Plastic Penny
5 Don't Go 'Way Little Girl - The Shame
6 Spontaneous Apple Creation - The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
7 Created By Clive - The Syn
8 Mr. Second Class - The Spencer Davis Group
9 The Laughing Man - John Carter and Russ Alquist
10 Mr. Universe - Episode Six
11 Things You Cannot See - The Action
12 The Otherside - Apple
13 Rosemary's Bluebell Day - Picadilly Line
14 Grey Man - Paper Blitz Tissue
15 When the Alarm Clock Rings - Blossom Toes
'DenMark' - The definitive Nine Below Zero acoustic collection to be released Monday 19th February 2024 on double CD with a promotional tour throughout March
It's all go here in the Nine Below camp. Not only are we announcing new tour dates for 2024 but we are thrilled to announce a new album for 2024 - and what an album it is!
DenMark is the definitive Nine Below Zero Acoustic collection, featuring 26 new songs, 13 new tracks, and another 13 some of which you may know already from the Duo and Chilled albums - but to make these special for the DenMark album, these songs have been reworked, production added and subtracted, and a new mix & master!
This album really does feature Dennis and Mark's finest acoustic offerings, with the new recordings capturing them at their expressive best.
So, we are putting this brand-new 2-CD album up for pre-sale, with an official release date of the 19th February 2024. And to give you a taster of what's to come, when you pre-order the new album, you will receive an exclusive link to download a newly recorded mixed/mastered version of 'What's Going On', one of the 26 tracks on DenMark.
Produced by Wayne Proctor and recorded at Superfly Studios, this is an alternative version not to be featured on the album - even more reason to pre-order your copy now!
Wednesday, 6 December 2023
Chris Farlowe Film Update
With the end of 2023 around the corner, it only seems fair to give an update on the film.
As most of the are aware this film has been in production for a long time (too long, I’m sure you’d agree!). Having started this as three first time filmmakers we never really knew what form the project would take, or how long it might take to complete.
Having filmed with Chris for 5 years, amassing unthinkable amounts of footage, we then had to embark on the edit. Through dedication, patience and lots of learning we eventually assembled a cut that we could show some close friends and industry professionals. We’re happy to say that the film has received resoundingly positive feedback.
The making of the film has been funded out of our own (very modest) pockets, along with some contributions from a few kind friends. We are now trying to work out how to finance the completion and release of the film.
Due to the large amount of copyrighted music and footage we want to include, the licenses are currently prohibitively expensive. Therefore, early next year we plan to run a Crowd funder to help finance the release. We hope that in return for various ‘rewards’ (such as your name in the credit, rare Chris Farlowe memorabilia, new music, etc), we can raise enough cash to get this film onto next year’s film festival circuit, which will hopefully help secure wider distribution (on streaming services and/or a small cinema run).
As always, we are ever so grateful for everyone’s patience and understanding. We never thought it would take so long, or cost so much to release the film. We know there’s a lot of people that want to see this film released. No one more so than us and Chris.
Here’s hoping that with fan support we can make that happen next year.
Thank you.
Triple A Films (Adam, Andy and Asa)
Tuesday, 5 December 2023
Monday, 4 December 2023
Why did Paul Weller apologise to David Bowie?
Paul Weller has made many reckless comments throughout his career, and most of the time, he doesn’t intend to cause any harm with his off-the-cuff remarks. However, occasionally, those on the receiving end of his barbed declarations understandably take offence. In one instance, Weller decided to walk back his disparaging one-word critique of David Bowie.
After a difficult time in the 1990s, Bowie was finally viewed as a legendary figure the following decade after his historic headline set at Glastonbury in 2000. In the eyes of most music fans, Bowie was a mythical artist who was incapable of doing anything wrong and existed in a different orbit from everybody else. However, Weller disagreed with the masses.
In 2007, Bowie was honoured by the Brit Awards, which gave him the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’. The presentation was supposed to be a celebration of his iconic career. However, Weller was quoted by The Sun as stating: “I like about three records of his. The rest of it’s pish.”
While this was a throwaway line, it made headlines and led to talk of a feud between the two artists. The former Jam frontman didn’t intend to cause any malice and later apologised for insulting the iconic artist, explaining how Bowie’s music has played a vital role in his life.
He told Mojo: “I’m a born-again Bowie freak! The next time he sees me, I’ll have a fucking great Aladdin Sane flash on me boat race. Every night, we’d drive home to London after recording and have Ziggy Stardust on five or six times. Low’s one of my favourite records anyway. Whatever gripes I’ve had about Bowie in the past, Low’s been a constant since I bought it in 1977.”
Weller’s sincere apology made its way to Bowie, who took it upon himself to reach out to the one-time Style Council leader. His humourous email reportedly read: “Nice one, Paul. Can I have (my) haircut back now?”
The ‘Modfather’ dearly adores Low, and every word of his apology is genuine. Furthermore, Weller named it one of the albums that changed his life to Goldmine, remarking: “Hearing this album was a shock. It showed how pop music could also be. Deconstructed pop and very Euro influenced.”
He added: “It wasn’t well received at the time with critics, but nevertheless, its import was all over the post-punk and ’80s scene.”
Additionally, in 2018, Weller paid tribute to the late artist by recording the track ‘Bowie’ for his 2018 album True Meanings. The song represents a full-circle moment, which would have seemed outlandish a decade prior but holds much more significance than an ill-thought-out comment that he’d later regret.
‘Lets do it’: how a podcasting Paul Weller fan finally found his hero
Dan Jennings’s greatest regret after 25 years in local radio had been missing out on an interview with his idol, Paul Weller. It did not seem likely that the 47-year-old former broadcaster would get much closer to realising the goal in his new career in project management.
With time on his hands during lockdown, Jennings launched a podcast for other Weller super fans, entitled Desperately Seeking Paul, but it unexpectedly became something of a hit and after three years, coming up to 180 episodes and a highly fruitful chance encounter with Weller himself in a bar below the Guardian’s offices in King’s Cross in north London, he finally got his Modfather.
On 19 December, the result of three hours of roving conversation with Weller at his studio in Ripley, in Surrey, will be aired, covering everything from the star’s childhood in Woking, to his discovery of clothes, musings on religion and continued anxiety about performing.
It had been a long time coming. Jennings had few expectations for his hobby when he started out in December 2020 but it happily snowballed and thanks to a host of tantalising nuggets that Weller aficionados love (the 65-year-old is still anxious about performing, sends musical voice notes to pals at 3am and worries about E numbers in his food), the podcast has recently been regularly topping the Apple and Spotify music history categories.
Interviewees have ranged from Weller’s bandmates, past and present, to the album producers and the sleeve designers of the Jam and Style Council records. The former Sunday Times political editor David Cracknell, who was interviewed about playing keyboards on a Weller track, described the podcast as a “biographical Kama Sutra” for a “Weller geek”, with the crowning jewels for many being the chats with Weller’s sister, Nicky, and mother, Ann. She fondly (sort of) recalled ironing “all their bloody suits, shirts” when her son and his childhood friend, the Jam co-founder Steve Brooks, started to play their music outside of the confines of Paul’s bedroom. But an interview with Weller himself, known as the Modfather for his key role in the 1970s and 80s mod revival, had proved elusive.
It was only after bumping into the singer-songwriter in the Rotunda bar at Kings Place in King’s Cross that Weller coyly admitted to being a sometime listener and agreed to take part in the very final episode of the Paul Weller Fan Podcast: Desperately Seeking Paul.
“I went to a gig at Kings Place and went out for a drink outside, just grabbed a beer on the canal,” said Jennings. “There was Jacko Peake, who is in Paul’s band now, a flute player and sax player, and Tom Van Heel who plays keys for Paul. They’ve both been on the podcast. So I wander over, it was, ‘Hi how’s it going?’ And tucked around the pillar was Paul Weller. He went, ‘Oh, hi, it’s Dan isn’t it?’ So he knew who I was.
“We chatted for a little bit and he said, ‘I have listened to a few of the podcasts, it’s a bit weird to listen to a podcast all about me but what you’re doing is brilliant, you should do a book’. And I was like, ‘Well, yeah, we need you to come on’. So, he says, ‘OK, yeah, well, I’m gonna think about it’. I was thinking, ‘Think about it? Bloody hell.”
After the gig, Jennings was looking at his phone working out how to get home, when Weller wandered over again to talk about the gig. “He said, ‘Really nice to meet you’ and went off and then just as he was leaving he came back and he just like did this handshake with two hands and said, ‘You know what, let’s do it. A Christmas special, it’ll be really good’.”
The last podcast with Weller will be the 180th. Jennings said one of his favourite interviews had been with Annajoy David, who together with Billy Bragg and Weller was part of Red Wedge, an initiative to build support for Labour in the 1980s through music.
Jennings, whose last broadcasting role was hosting the drive-time slot for Radio 2-Ten FM, now rebranded as Heart Thames Valley, said it was something of a relief that the focus of all his attention and effort turned out to be “down to earth and genuine”. “He doesn’t think about fame and stardom and he’s not lost in showbiz, or any of that,” he said. “So when it came to do it, it felt like actually, I was just chatting to this hugely talented, hardworking, really open bloke.”
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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 ...