Paul Hooper-Keeley to speak on Youth Subculture at University Conference

On behalf of ‘The Interdisciplinary Network for the Study of Subcultures, Popular Music and Social Change’ (a cross-disciplinary research network for scholars and students interested in the relationship between subcultures (in all their forms) and the wider process of social, cultural and political change), I have organised a Symposium on ‘Ageing Within A Youth Subculture’ at the University of Derby. 

The Symposium, sponsored by the ‘Centre for Society, Religion & Belief, will be held between 1pm and 5.30pm on Friday 9th November at the University of Derby Enterprise Centre, 37 Bridge Street, Derby.

Speakers

Dr. Paul Hodkinson (Goth)

Dr. Pete Webb (Punk)

Dr. Patrick Turner (Hip Hop)

Dr. Samantha Holland (Alternative Women)

Dr. Nicola Smith (Northern Soul)

Paul Hooper-Keeley (Mod)

In addition, Alan Fletcher (original 60s Mod and author of the Quadrophenia novel and the Mod Crop trilogy) will be the special guest for the second part of the event – an interview/round-table/Q&A session.

New 'All Mod Icon' out on 6th September

The new issue of Paul Weller/The Jam magazine, ‘ALL MOD ICON’, is out on 6^th September 2012.

Pre-orders are from 9am on Monday 20^th August.

 This strictly limited edition will cost you £4.99 + £1.20 P&P (Total = £6.19) in the UK via Pay Pal to allmodicon@hotmail.com but email for details of overseas shipping rates.

The Action – Book Launch Update

News has just reached us here at the Modernist Society Blog that the long awaited book on legendary 60s Mod band, The Action, (please see our full report in a previous post) is now scheduled for release towards the end of September. 

In addition, there will be a special launch event in London in early October at which all people who have pre-ordered the book will be invited to attend.

The Who have no plans to tour ‘Quadrophenia’ in the UK

As you will note from a previous post on ‘Modernist Society’, The Who have announced a massive tour of the USA & Canada where, from early November 2012 until the end of February 2013, they will be playing ‘Quadrophenia’ plus a number of their hits.

With the ‘Director’s Cut’ box set of Quadrophenia being released late last year, and the recent BBC4 ‘Quadrophenia’ night showcasing a documentary on the making of the album, a screening of the film and a ‘live’ concert from around that time, my hopes were raised of seeing ‘Quadrophenia’ played ‘live’ in the UK either this autumn or circa Easter 2013.

There the trail went cold – www.thewho.com had no information of any dates other than the aforementioned North American shows.

 

Taking matters in to my own hands, I contacted Nicola Joss, Pete Townshend’s PA at Eel Pie Publishing, to see if she could shed any light on the matter for me. Disappointingly, her response was, “There are no plans at the moment for UK dates next year, but please keep an eye on thewho.com.”

So there you have it – loads of dates in North America but no plans for any shows at all in the UK. If, like me, you would like to see The Who play ‘Quadrophenia’ in the UK in 2013, then I suggest you join me in contacting www.thewho.com to let our voices be heard ‘Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere’ we can!!!

Issue 2 of ‘Sussed’ Modzine Out Now

Having made quite an impact with issue 1, I was pleased to see issue 2 landing on my doormat. Produced by Joe Moran and Ray Gilligan in Dublin, it uses the sub-title, ‘A user’s guide to modernism’. 

With a heavy focus on the Irish scene, we are treated to an excellent interview with Irish face, Hugh Burns (The Keepers etc.). There’s a regular focus called ‘The Junction’ on current Mod clubs in Ireland and plenty of reviews of the latest Mod friendly music and fanzine releases from around Europe. 

There’s an ‘essential’ listing on Boogaloo and Latin tracks and a look at Mod girl fashion entitled ‘La Mod Feminine’. Bands including Towerbrown and Resoul are featured and there’s an exclusive on Leonardo Flores’s epic coming of age Mod opus, ‘Young Birds Fly’. A focus on Ska’s influence on Mod and an article called ‘A Mod Life in Shoes’ makes this a very entertaining read. 

For details of how to buy your copy, email seosaimhm@gmail.com now!

Mod Theme to London Olympics Closing Ceremony

The London 2012 Olympics came to an end last night with the closing ceremony having a distinctly Mod theme running through it, emphasising the influence that the Mod subculture has had on this great nation of ours over the last 50 years or so.

Early on in the proceedings we had Madness on a lorry driving round the Olympic stadium playing ‘Our House’ (whilst Lee Thompson had one of his sax flying moments again). Shortly after, the whole stadium was jumping and dancing to the sound of Blur’s ‘Parklife’.

Emerging from a London black cab in the middle of the stadium, Ray Davies gave the world a fine performance of ‘Waterloo Sunset’; one of the greatest songs ever written and quintessentially British.

The sound of two strokes could be heard as a Mod scooter crusade entered the stadium and the Kaiser Chiefs gave us their version of Pinball Wizard. Fantastic to see those Mod’ed up iconic Italian machines and our greatest ever youth subculture getting the recognition it deserves.

There was plenty of dross on the night too (including some of the rubbish we all avoided throughout the eighties) – but I’m not going to dwell on that.

Back to iconic British classics and you don’t get much better than the great ‘Wonderwall’, this evening performed by Beady Eye (I wonder what Noel made of that!).

And the big finish to the whole event came courtesy of The Who, running through a cut down ‘Baba O’Riley/See Me, Feel Me’ sequence before the magnificent ‘My Generation’ to end proceedings.

King New Breed R&B Volume 2 - Review

It’s been a long time coming following volume 1 (10 years, according to the accompanying notes), but Kent’s ‘King New Breed R&B Vol. 2’ has certainly been worth the wait. Opening with the excellent ‘Love Man’ by Hal Hardy and the Billy Cox Band, this collection from the King, Federal, Hollywood and Deluxe imprints immediately takes you to Manchester’s legendary Hideaway Club that has championed original R&B dance music of the late fifties and early sixties and has taken the modern Mod scene forward as a result. The tracks on this particular collection spread across the period from 1955 to 1967.

Second up is ‘I’m Tore Down’ which is classic Freddie King - you can hear so much of his influence and playing style in Eric Clapton’s latter day phrasings. The blistering start to the album continues with Lee “Shot” Williams’ ‘When you Move, You Lose’ and the catchy, whistled melody, of ‘Send Me A Picture’ by Mel Williams.

All 24 tracks on this collections, compiled by Ady Croasdell, are winners, with my personal favourites including ‘You’re Gonna Drive Me Crazy’ by Dolph Prince, ‘Geneva’ by Eugene Church, ‘Why Did We Have To Part’ by Herb Hardesty and ‘Say Hey Pretty Baby’ from the incredible voice of Lulu Reed. If you’re into this genre, which I most certainly am, then there’s plenty here for everyone.

As always with Ace’s releases on the Kent label, there is a 12-page comprehensive booklet with the CD that details each and every song included and is illustrated with many fine photos of the artists and the original record labels. It’s fantastic that, some 45 to 57 years later, some of these great recordings and performers are getting the attention denied to them the first time round. A big thank you to Ace/Kent for releasing this wonderful album – but please don’t make us wait another 10 years before Volume 3 is released.

The Monkees Announce New Tour

LOS ANGELES – Michael Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, and Peter Tork return to the concert stage this November for a historic, twelve-date tour of the United States. These performances will mark their first concerts together since 1997. The jaunt kicks off at Escondido’s California Center for the Arts on November 8 and wraps at New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre on December 2.  

The trio’s shows are set to feature a selection of their classic hits (such as “Last Train To Clarksville,” “I’m A Believer” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday”), deep cuts from their first five platinum albums (including some performed for the first time since the 1960’s) and fan favorites from the soundtrack to their cult film classic Head and their Emmy®-award winning television series. The show will encompass a full multimedia evening of music, rare films, and one-of-a-kind photographs.

 

Since the dates fall forty-five years on from their epic struggle to become legitimate music makers, the concerts will be highlighted by a set performed by just Nesmith, Dolenz and Tork. In 1967, the year the Monkees outsold the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, they issued two #1 albums (Headquarters and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd) which primarily featured the Monkees as a self-contained, musical unit. Each evening’s trio set will showcase numbers from these albums and present the Monkees’ electric garage band sound that they developed on their mid-1960’s tours. To open and close the show, the Monkees will be augmented by a stellar crew of players to play the hand-picked setlist each evening.

These dates comprise the first U.S. Monkees tour to feature Michael Nesmith since 1969. He has reunited with the group over the years; his last stateside concert with the band was a rare private show in support of 1997’s Justusalbum. These dates also follow the unexpected passing of their musical comrade Davy Jones in February. Plans call for Jones to be saluted in the show’s multimedia content.

Although Davy’s absence will undoubtedly be felt by the Monkees and their fans, these concerts will be an opportunity to share their memories amidst the music and the movies that brought them together.

Moreover, the band look forward to performing for their many new fans who have discovered their music through repeats of their TV show on Antenna television, classic rock radio, or via social media. One thing is for certain, these concerts will be a once-in-a-lifetime series of shows that are not to be missed.

The Monkees 2012 Tour Dates 

November

8                California Center for the Arts               Escondido, CA

9                The Arlington Theatre                         Santa Barbara, CA

10              Greek Theatre                                    Los Angeles, CA

11              Flint Center for the Performing Arts        Cupertino, CA

15              State Theatre                                    Minneapolis, MN

16              The Chicago Theatre                           Chicago, IL

17              Lakewood Civic Auditorium                   Cleveland, OH

18              The Center For The Arts                      Buffalo, NY

29              Keswick Theatre                                 Philadelphia, PA

30              State Theatre Regional Arts Center        New Brunswick, NJ

December

1                The Paramount                                  Huntington, NY

2                The Beacon Theatre                           New York, NY

The Kinks 'At The BBC' Box Set

The Kinks 'At The BBC' box set is due for release on 13th August and will set you back about £40 for this full edition (there's also a cut down, double CD, version available).

This limited edition collection of 5 CDs and 1 DVD box set brings together a raft of sessions and live recordings from throughout the band’s career including the rare concert and unheard session recordings.

The DVD includes the band’s sought after appearances on Top of the Pops and the Old Grey Whistle Test a well as concerts from throughout the band’s career.

This is a first for the band as these recordings have never been available in one place before. With comprehensive notes by Peter Doggett who tells the story of the bands history at the BBC as well as being mastering by Kinks aficionado Andrew Sandoval. 

Fully supported and endorsed by the band – The Kinks at the BBC ”is a triumphant collection of the defining moments of a truly seminal British band, as witnessed, broadcast and archived by the voice of the nation, the BBC."

New Untouchables at Brighton for August Bank Holiday

'Ray' Movie on Sky Tonight

‘Ray’ is being screened tonight (7th August) on Sky Modern Greats at 8pm – your digital boxes need to be set for Sky channel 310, Virgin channel 410 or HD channel 440. 

Jeff Shannon says on Amazon that, “Jamie Foxx's uncannily accurate performance isn't the only good thing about Ray. Riding high on a wave of Oscar buzz, Foxx proved himself worthy of all the hype by portraying blind R&B legend Ray Charles in a warts-and-all performance that Charles approved shortly before his death in June 2004. 

Despite a few dramatic embellishments of actual incidents (such as the suggestion that the accidental drowning of Charles's younger brother caused all the inner demons that Charles would battle into adulthood), the film does a remarkable job of summarising Charles's strengths as a musical innovator and his weaknesses as a philandering heroin addict who recorded some of his best songs while flying high as a kite.  

Foxx seems to be channelling Charles himself, and as he did with the life of Ritchie Valens in La Bamba, director Taylor Hackford gets most of the period details absolutely right as he chronicles Ray's rise from "chitlin circuit" performer in the early '50s to his much-deserved elevation to legendary status as one of the all-time great musicians. Foxx expertly lip-syncs to Ray Charles' classic recordings, but you could swear he's the real deal in a film that honours Ray Charles without sanitising his once-messy life.”