The Rifles celebrate 10-years with deluxe edition of debut album to be released on 4th May (Cooking Vinyl)

The Rifles have come a long way since their first, self-financed single, 'Peace & Quiet', released from their own front rooms in Walthamstow, back in 2005. With consistently respectable chart entries and a huge, loyal fanbase (that to this day sees the band selling out venues like London's' Forum), combined with genuine songwriting talent and unwavering creativity, The Rifles have long outlived many of their original peers. 

To help the lads celebrate 10 years since the birth of the band, Cooking Vinyl Records are pleased to announce the deluxe edition of the band's debut album, 'No Love Lost', released 4th May. Digitally re-mastered at Abbey Road Studios, it features all the B-sides from the band's singles along with unreleased bonus material from the 'No Love Lost' studio sessions giving fans an even deeper insight into the first few steps in The Rifles' career. 

Inspired by the likes of The Clash, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and The Specials, 'No Love Lost' spawned five singles: 'Peace & Quiet', 'When I'm alone', 'Local Boy', 'Repeated Offender', and 'She's Got Standards', the NME describing the latter as, 'the Specials scrapping with The Strokes'. 

The album announced the band on the UK music scene with great gusto. Fronted by the distinct vocals of Joel Stoker, sharp vocals, quick-witted songs, rolling guitars and a crucial hint of ska made 'No Love Lost' the perfect London soundtrack. With Ian Broudie on production duties, the album was initially released on a limited run and has since gone on to become something of a cult classic receiving critical and mainstream success. 

Spearheaded by the single, 'She's Got Standards', the album proceeds to deliver 11 songs at break-neck speed ' a culmination of the band's trademark Mod sound, rock and roll and timeless indie pop. 'Local Boy' is an energetic piece of social commentary whilst 'One Night Stand' boasts strong melodic guitar hooks, a trick that is repeated on 'Peace and Quiet', another hard-rocking corker with anthemic chorus. The Rifles show their softer side with tracks like 'Spend A Lifetime', whilst 'She's The Only One' emerges as the sweet sound of motown via Walthamstow. 

Packing a ferocious punch in their 10 year history, the unyielding Rifles have released four critically acclaimed albums to date and have picked up high profile fans in musical heroes Paul Weller and Oasis. 

The band is set to perform 'No Love Lost' in its entirety plus all the B-sides with three shows at the Electric Ballroom, Camden on Thursday 4th, Friday 5th and Saturday 6th June.

The Rifles are: Joel Stoker (vocals, guitar), Lucas Crowther (guitar, vocals), Rob Pyne (bass guitar) and Grant Marsh (drums). 

The album is currently available to purchase through Pledge Music: - 

http://po.st/RiflesPledgeMusic  

Tracklisting: - 

CD 1 (Main Album)

1. She's Got Standard

2. Local Boy

3. One Night Stand

4. Hometown Blues

5. Peace & Quiet

6. Spend A Lifetime

7. Robin Hood

8. She's the Only One

9. Repeated Offender

10. Narrow Minded Social Club 

CD 2

1. Breakdown

2. Fat Cat

3. Lost in London

4. Fighting

5. Up Close

6. Rock the Boat

7. No Love Lost

8. Lazy Days

9. Rainy Monday

10. Hard to Say

11. Holiday in the Sun

12. Down South 

CD 3

1. Local Boy (Demo)

2. She's the only One (Acoustic Demo)

3. Rat Race (Live at Virgin Radio 2005)

4. In-between Days (live at Radio 1 Maida Vale 2004)

5. 22 years

6. Hometown Blues (demo)

7. Peace and Quiet (piano version)

8. Waiting in Vain (Acoustic Demo)

 

https://www.facebook.com/therifles

BBC Radio 6 Music - Don Letts, ‘Crucial Vinyl: The Jam - All Mod Cons’

Don selects the Jam's 1978 classic All Mod Cons as his Crucial Vinyl this week.  

Don admits that he came late to this album, as, back in the punk days, the band, in their mod suits, were considered outsiders. 

Don says, "Now I discovered this album late - way late. It was only after I was asked to make a film about the making of the Jam's All Mod Cons that I realised what a great British record I'd missed. Still, better late than never... 

All Mod Cons was the trio's third album. It was released in November 1978, just eighteen months after their debut. Now you can't deny the obvious 60's British invasion pop influences, but that was only part of its strength. What was familiar territory to my ears was also invigorated by the punk energy of the late 70s. Along with anthemic tunes such as A-bomb in Wardour Street and Down in the Tube Station at Midnight, were emotive cuts like English Rose, all of which testify to Paul Weller's writing skills. 

At the time of All Mod Cons' release, I was pre-occupied with the likes of the Clash, so I missed out on what is without doubt a great record. In fact it was only in 2005, some 35 years after its release, that I really got into it - talk about standing the test of time!" 

As ever, the Don's other selections cross time, space and genre. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b050gv2r

The Itch 'live' at The Function Room, Darwen, on Saturday 31st January

Roddy Radiation at Alex's Bar, Long Beach, on Thursday 29th January

Rockin' R&B Record Hop at The Pilgrim Function Room, Liverpool, on Saturday 31st January

The Go-Go Cage 9th Birthday Party at The Cabin Club, Liverpool, on Saturday 7th February

Into Tomorrow - The See No Evils & The Lost Boys double header at the Heavy Soul Records night in Middlesbrough on Friday 1st May

A Mod girl's perspective from the Sixties, ‘A Sense of Occasion: the Chelmsford stories’, by Elizabeth Woodcraft on Amazon Kindle Store for £3.58

Review

'Wry tales of teenage love, loss, languor and Lambrettas that bring a lump to the throat long after you've closed the cover.' Val Wilmer  

Book Description

Chelmsford Essex in the Sixties – boom town, Marconi, Milk Bars, Mods and Rockers. 

 

As Alan Price moans ‘I’ll Put a Spell on You’ and Tommy Tucker puts on his ‘Hi-Heel Sneakers’, Marie meets Bill, Deirdre yearns for Mick, and Sandra and Linda leave for a wild walking holiday on the Isle of Wight. The Orpheus coffee bar becomes the setting for a special gift, while a dance at the Corn Exchange leads to the baking of a birthday cake, and a Ban-the-Bomb march ends with a Fray Bentos pie for dinner.

This interlinked collection of short stories describes life from a perspective never seen before – mod girls living on a working class estate – and shows how the Sixties made them into the people they became.  

About the Author

Elizabeth Woodcraft was born and grew up in Chelmsford. She became a mod at 13, worked in the Milk Bar at 15, and danced to the music of Zoot Money, Georgie Fame and Wilson Pickett on Saturdays. She took her suede coat and small collection of Tamla Motown records to Birmingham University where she studied philosophy. She then taught English in Leicester and Tours in France. After that, she moved to London where she worked for Women's Aid, the organisation which supports women who suffer domestic violence. Women's Aid helped to bring about a change in the law - the Domestic Violence Act of 1976 - and Elizabeth's experiences during that time led her to retrain as a barrister. During her time at the Bar she has represented Greenham Common Peace Protesters, Anti-Apartheid demonstrators, striking miners and Clause 28 activists, as well as battered women, children who have suffered sex abuse in and out of their homes and gay parents seeking parental rights. She has published two crime novels, featuring barrister Frankie Richmond - Good Bad Woman and Babyface. Frankie Richmond's collection of Stax and Motown records is to die for. Good Bad Woman was shortlisted for the John Creasey Award for Best First Crime Novel, and in the US won the Lambda Literary Award. The reviewer in the London Times said about Babyface, 'Move over Rumpole.' A third Frankie Richmond novel - Crazy Arms - is on the way.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sense-Occasion-Chelmsford-stories-ebook/dp/B00K1DVVV8/ref=sr_1_1_twi_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422366620&sr=1-1&keywords=A+Sense+of+Occasion%3A+the+Chelmsford+stories

Line-up announced for 2015 Teenage Cancer Trust at The Royal Albert Hall

 

The 2015 Teenage Cancer Trust season line-up has been announced: - 

23 March: Stereophonics

24 March: Kevin Bridges

25 March: Van Morrison (Official)

26 March: The Who + Wilko Johnson

27 March: Paul Weller + Johnny Marr

28 March: Noel Gallagher + Future Islands 

Find out more about the series and how to buy tickets at: - 

http://life.royalalberthall.com/2015/01/27/teenage-cancer-trust-at-the-royal-albert-hall-2015-line-up-announced/

Dave's 50th Birthday Bash, The Britannia, Monument Street, London on Saturday 31st January

'Save Our Soldier' Charity Evening, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Saturday 19th September