Life begins at forty?

'Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols' was released 40 years ago last Saturday, on October 28th 1977. Many thousands, maybe even millions of words have been written about it, how knows how many bands formed on the back of hearing it, and it's visceral rock 'n' roll power remains undiminished four decades on. Or does it? Every so often I hear somebody repeating the tired old cliches like 'they couldn't play' and 'they were invented by their manager weren't they?' - all absolute nonsense of course, as one listen to the album proves. I played it on Saturday afternoon and it sounded magnificent. Mind you, it usually does.

And talking of magnificent albums 'Power In The Darkness' by The Tom Robinson Band is in my not-so-humble opinion one of the best records (I still think of them as records, don't you?) of all time. To celebrate it's 40th anniversary (hang on - wasn't it released in 1978?!?) Tom has been out and about over the last few weeks with his current band playing it in it's entirety - I was lucky enough to catch a performance by them at The 100 Club last Thursday evening, not least because the band were joined by the original TRB guitarist Danny Kustow for the last two songs ('Motorway' and 'Don't Take No For An Answer' - check out these wonderful vintage clips to see the band back in the day) of the evening. Kustow is one of my all-time favourite players, and it was fabulous to see him on stage again - I even managed a few words with him after the show (I'm shy at the best of times so talking to a genuine guitar hero took a lot of doing!) which meant a lot to me. The best part of a week later, it still does.  

When last we spoke The Upper Cut were about to play their last ever show - and what better place for us to play it at than The Dolphin in Uxbridge. To say that I had and indeed have mixed feelings about this is something of an understatement; I think a lot of the people I play music with, and whilst it's obvious that nothing can last for ever the band has had some great times over the last few years so it'll be sad to see it go - if indeed it does go. Considering we didn't have a chance to rehearse the band played well and there were no awkward moments - well at least there weren't until Noel the guv'nor checked that we were still going to be playing he and Bridie's wedding anniversary party in December. Hmm.. it seems we will be appearing there again next month... the next night Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks played a short notice (I got a text about the show during the Upper Cut's interval!) gig across the road at The General Elliot, a raucous evening which saw much dancing and merriment throughout a boisterous performance. The band played two good shows last weekend (in Burnham and Shepperton since you were wondering) and have plenty more where they came from in the new few weeks so there's lots to be going on with. 

This weekend it's time for some more Ruts D.C. gigs - we're in Norwich on Friday, Wolverhampton on Saturday and Wakefield on Sunday. We've been rehearsing today and in addition to running though our current set we've been looking at some ideas for new songs which hopefully will be recorded for a new album sometime next year. And that's not the only exciting thing that's hopefully on the horizon - but more about that another time... in the meantime I've got the rest of the night off so I think that it's time to play the Pistols album again. I've been playing it rather a lot since last Saturday - maybe you have too?

Shiny Happy People

If only my copy looked like this!

'God Save The Queen' by The Sex Pistols was released 40 years ago this week. I was 15 years old and, in that strange way that you want to be older when you're young, really wished that I was 16. I bought the single from the record shop (Crowley's?) in Windsor Street Uxbridge (which is now Nightfly Records, next to Balcony Shirts) more-or-less on the day that it was released, and since my Mum and Dad didn't want any of that punk rock lark in the house I had to smuggle it into my room when I got home. I also had to keep it secret from my little brother Terry who of course would have liked nothing better than to have outed me as an enemy sympathiser. This meant that I had to wait for the house to be empty before I dared to play it, which necessitated going home during my school lunch break. Listened to then (over and over again, sweaty from running, excited and nervous as I was half-expecting Mum, Dad and Terry to burst in with an eviction notice) it sounded like one of the greatest records - no, one of the greatest things - ever made; listened to now it sounds like, well, pretty much the same thing to me. It remains one of the great 'them and us' moments in music - it lost me some friends, gained me some more and in a weird sort of way helped to set the course for my little life. Can something as 'unimportant' as a pop record do that? This one could.

Ruts D.C. are off to Germany this coming weekend courtesy of our good friends at Muttis Booking Agency - we're playing shows in Berlin, Hannover (Hanover? Is that how you spell it?!) and Hamburg before supporting Die Toten Hosen in Magdeburg (The Price played there in 1990, our gig was attacked by right-wing skinheads - not good!) and Flensburg. We've been rehearsing today (and sounding rather good, even though I say so myself) and it's always great to play in Germany so hopefully these gigs will all live up to expectations - as with the Stranglers tour I'll be attempting to update my Facebook page as often as I can while we're there, and no doubt the usual tales of drunkenness and cruelty will appear here at some point in the not-too-distant future as I appear to have remembered how to write a blog piece. That's good isn't it? Now if you excuse me, it's time to play the Pistols album. Sometimes only the best will do - it's the only way to be, as someone once sang...

Reading, working, peddling, jamming...

Well the busy times at Balcony Shirts continue, although I'm 'only' working four days there this week. Part of me is a bit relived - after all at times it's been far too much like having a 'real' job - while the other part of me has enjoyed it immensely. And I'd be lying if I didn't say that it's been great to earn a bit of money too. In a heroic attempt to not squander it all on beer and jollity I've bought myself a reassuringly expensive Carl Martin Quattro multi-effect pedal, the idea being that it should function as both a spare unit for Ruts D.C. gigs as well as being something that should fit into my luggage easier than my existing pedal board does and so should be useful for shows that we fly to. It could also be something that I might be able to use at Big Al and The Blistering Buicks shows, and with this in mind I took it along to our gig at The Battle Of Britain Club in Uxbridge last Friday. With Pete away elsewhere I was the sole guitarist for the weekend's gigs, which in some ways was unfortunate as the onset of hay fever had left me with a left ear full of wax to go along with the inevitable bunged up nose. Perhaps using an unfamiliar piece of kit wasn't the cleverest idea but I did it anyway - under the circumstances I thought that it went well although I don't mind admitting that I stood on the wrong pedal more than a few times. Well that's my excuse for the dreadful mess I made of the 'Whiskey In The Jar' riff anyway… by the time the next night's show at The Misty Moon in Northwood came around my ear had cleared a bit although it was still far from being 100%, which combined with England throwing away their one goal lead against Russia in The European Championships meant that I for one started our show with no little trepidation. Happily this proved to be unfounded - after a few songs people were dancing and our national football team's latest impression of The Keystone Cops seemed to have been all but forgotten by the end of our show.

The next night Big Al and myself ventured across to The Plough in Tilehurst near Reading where Ann and Steve from the covers band Hot Legs run a jam night. They've been badgering Al to attend for a while now so this seemed as good a time as any - when we arrived we were both struck with how friendly everyone was. This is not always the case at these sort of gatherings - they can be very cliquey - but here it bode well for a good evening. I was asked to play on an original 12 bar blues song with a couple of young ladies, after which Al and myself joined the house band for 'Willie And The Hand Jive', 'Sweet Home Chicago' and 'Let's Stick Together', all of which went splendidly well. From there a very varied evening saw performances of material as diverse as 'Ace Of Spades' and 'I Know What I Like' before I was cajoled into joining a couple of young lads for their songs - I'd had a few drinks by then but with Al's words 'what could possibly go wrong?' ringing in my ears I stumbled towards the stage. The two lads were very good - maybe a few too many notes for my liking but they certainly knew what they were doing. I chugged along cheerily on a funky version of 'Rambling On My Mind' hoping not to be given a solo. The guitar man smiled as he pointed at me and nodded - I played a lot less notes than him but it seemed to go down well. (Let's face it, I wouldn't be writing about it here if it hadn't!) Then he asked if I knew 'Little Wing' - yes I do although I've never played it in front of anyone. Then again I'd not met these boys until about 10 minutes ago so… after them the evening ended with a peculiar (and let's face it, very drunk) fellow who for want of a better word, dismantled 'Mustang Sally' and 'Money For Nothing'. I wouldn't have recognised them if he hadn't slurred the titles several times indiscriminately during his frankly astonishing performance. Yes I was on guitar, although I'm not quite sure what I doing there. Judging by the faces of the other musicians they weren't sure what they were there either. A suitably bizarre ending to a very enjoyable evening.

And I completely forgot to mention that at some point in the last few weeks I visited Tropic At Ruislip where I witnessed Stranglers tribute band The Dead Ringers (a last minute substitute for Straighten Out who I believe had to pull out when one of their members injured a hand) roaring through a set of Guildford's finest's songs and in my opinion doing a very good job. But don't take my word for it - the always-worth-reading Elvis In The Clouds blog has written this review of the show, summing the night up well and somehow mentioning me in the process. Strange - but true!

Rebels with a cause

You know how every so often you get one of those 'did that really happen?' moments? I had one of them on Sunday evening. And it was good!

But more about that in a minute. With your humble narrator's famous finger nearly back up to full strength (whatever 'full strength' is for a finger) things have thankfully been getting much easier, both on guitar and in everyday life generally. It's amazing what problems a little cut can cause isn't it? Anyway hopefully that's more-or-less the last we'll hear of it (thank gawd!) so it's on to bigger and better things - and not a moment too soon, as Ruts D.C. return to the stage next Saturday (April 30th if you're counting) at The 'Scotland Calling' Festival in Glasgow. Rehearsals will occur next week, and maybe some other things as well. It'll be great to get back into things - the 'Psychic Attack' single comes out next month and there's still work to do on our 'Music Must Destroy' album so I'm very relieved that my finger seems to be better at last.
Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks were out and about the weekend just gone, on Friday at The Black Horse in Eastcote and at The Halfway House in Barnes on Saturday. We've played both venues several times before, and since there's not much room at either Al decided not to play electric guitar, thereby saving stage space (or to be pedantic floor space as neither pubs have a stage) normally taken up by his amplifier. He still played acoustic guitar and saxophone (although not at the same time!) but it meant that we had to rethink things a bit - some songs featured acoustic rather than electric strumming (and dare I say it sounded all the better for it) while others were dropped altogether. A recently-purchased alto sax (he usually plays tenor) featured on the new-to-the-band 'Baker Street' and both shows saw much dancing and cavorting from various audience members so I guess we must have been doing something right. Two good shows - but neither prepared us for the goings-on at The Battle Of Britain Club in Uxbridge on Sunday… 

Chas & Dave at
The Battle Of Britain Club
in Uxbridge. Really!

Sid Phillips played saxophone for a great many artists and bands over the years, not least Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers back in the day. He sadly died last year, and Sunday's gathering was something of a celebration of his life and work. Big Al had been asked to provide the PA as well as playing a few songs, and the news that ex-Rebel Rousers Chas and Dave were also to be appearing went down well with all concerned. The first set of the day started at around 4 pm and featured Cliff Bennett with a makeshift Rebel Rousers line-up with Geoff Nicholls on drums and guest appearances from Searchers bass man Frank Allen and Good Old Boys singer Alan Barratt. It was unrehearsed and therefore a bit shaky in places but that hardly seemed to matter given the circumstances. We were next up - our six songs flew past in no time at all, which is generally the sign of a good performance; given the fact that we were offered two gigs on the back of it I suppose you can say that it was! I managed to miss a short set from Roy Young as I was in the nearby chip shop (a big mistake - but I was hungry!) but I'm reliably informed that he was excellent. By now Chas and Dave were in the bar and the scene was set for a memorable performance. Aided and abetted by five saxophone players (referred to as 'The Sid Ensemble' by Chas during the show) they were simply brilliant - I first saw them supporting Led Zeppelin at Knebworth in 1979 and they remain a band that it's pretty much impossible to dislike. Well I think that they are - I can't pretend to have followed their career intently but they are great musicians and, as is evidenced by their presence at an event such as this, decent blokes. As they finished with 'Ain't No Pleasing You' (lump in the throat time for your humble narrator as it was one of my mum's favourite songs) drinks were raised and the waltz was waltzed - it didn't take much imagination to think that a similar scene might have occurred 70 or so years earlier in The Battle Of Britain Club, albeit under rather different circumstances. As I say, it was lump in the throat time for me, and I wasn't alone.

Did that really happen?

'Keep your head high, and your middle finger higher...'

Well I don't want to tempt fate - after all, who does? - but I'm pleased to report that the famous finger seems to be getting better at last. At least I think that it is - the original cut is still pretty painful, and it generally doesn't look how it should look but hopefully it'll improve further over the next few days. You know it's strange - it was just a silly little scratch from a piece of cardboard…

Proof that things are going in the right direction comes with the fact that I played three gigs in three days over the weekend, starting with a Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks show at Ye Olde Swan in Burnham. I'd not been to the venue before but the band had gigged there in my absence and had all said things like 'they like it rocky there' - in the event we played a good show to an appreciative crowd although I don't recall it being any more 'rocky' than any other gig, or indeed the following night's show at The Three Wishes in Edgware. I'd been at said establishment only a few days earlier for the Easter Monday jam night - I used to go along to these gatherings fairly regularly (they have a regular jam night on Mondays) but I got fed up with various people making sarcastic comments along the lines of 'oh aren't you too famous to come along here now?' It's amazing how far things like jealousy, bitterness and spite will get you isn't it? Well they certainly got them a long way… anyway Big Al and Pete from The Buicks were going and invited me to go with them, and with the likes of Gary Sandford, Dzal Martin and Pete Parks all in attendance it turned out to be something of a guitar-fest. Maybe I should go along more often? Then again, maybe not - there were still more than enough sneers to remind me why I stopped going along in the first place… there was a sneer or two from one of the same people on Saturday night too, but that didn't stop it from being a good gig. And why should it? They were having a bad night, not me.
I was supposed to have been playing with The Upper Cut at The Salmon And Ball in Bethnal Green on Saturday night, but the gig was cancelled a few days earlier when we were given the slightly peculiar news that all the pubs in the area were closing at 10 pm as there was to be a Chess Boxing match at the nearby York Hall (and no, I'd not heard of Chess Boxing before either, but it looks mad doesn't it?!) We did however play an afternoon show the next day at The Queen's Arms in Colnbrook, where my 'I'd better be careful in case I hurt my hand' restraint of the previous couple of nights was abandoned in favour of 'oh bugger it, I'm just going to play' - yes, you've guessed it, I took some of the 'new' skin off my finger and generally managed to hurt myself more than I should have just by windmilling and being silly. Good fun though! 

This week, more of the same with Big Al and the boys in Sunningdale and Northwood and The Upper Cut in Uxbridge, along with some time in Balcony Shirts and murmurings of activity from the Ruts D.C. camp. As I say, things are going in the right direction… hopefully...

Single album, double album, single... er, single...

Shameless self-publicity continues...

When I was a lad bands bought out live double albums - I remember the big scary boys at school having records like 'Made In Japan' and 'Irish Tour '74' under their arms. In that strange way that you have when you're young I used to wish that I was old enough to own them too - eventually of course I was and these were and indeed are two of my favourite releases from that time. I never for one moment thought that I'd feature on a double live album one day, but on Saturday 16th April 'Live On Stage' by Ruts D.C. is released on vinyl for Record Store Day 2016. Great stuff!
And if that wasn't exciting enough (and believe me, from my admittedly often rather naive point of view the word 'exciting' doesn't get close to covering it!) the new Ruts D.C. single 'Psychic Attack' is released on May 20th. Released by Westworld Records and distributed by Plastic Head it'll be available on CD and 7" vinyl (oh yes!) as well as download - we've just got the final mix back from engineer extraordinaire Lee Groves and even though I say so myself it sounds bloody great. It'll be available in all good record shops (as the old saying goes) and of course from us at our gigs, but in the meantime if you can't wait that long it can be pre-ordered here. Go on - you know you want to... and work has continued this week this week on the upcoming album - recently re-titled 'Music Must Destroy' and due for September release we're currently working on a perspective 14 tracks between Ealing and Brixton; I was recording guitars (during which I got to play a Fender Electric XII on 'Soft City Lights' - oh yes!) with James Knight while Dave and Segs were working on vocals at Jamm. There's still a long way to go but we'll get there in the end...   

Meanwhile Friday evening saw your humble narrator catch two halves of two Uxbridge gigs, starting with The Dirty Dog Band at The General Eliott. I went to meet Big Al Reed there, and was just saying hello to him when I heard a cheery 'hello Leigh!' from behind me - I turned around to see the smiling face of Tom Edwards who it transpires plays in said combo. I didn't know that he was going to be there and it was great to catch up with him and indeed to see him play. From there it was a short walk across to The Dolphin to see the second set from The Ska Faces - the place was packed and they sounded much better than when I saw them in Watford last month. 
The next night I journeyed up to Derby to dep with The Pistols supporting The U.K. Ramones at The Hairy Dog. I'd not played with them for quite a while and it was great to see the lads again and indeed to play with them. The venue has been revamped since Ruts D.C. played there a couple of years ago and they've done an excellent job. We played well as did The U.K. Ramones who did a fine job paying tribute to Da Bruddas - it's a shame that there wasn't a few more people in attendance, but those that were there certainly seemed to enjoy themselves.

This week, working in the shop and playing some gigs, next week more recording. Keep on keeping on...

European Son

So - the people of Great Britain are to vote on whether or not they think that the country should stay in the European Union. Exciting eh? 
Actually most people that I've spoken to seem to think that 'exciting' is probably the very last word that they'd associate with it. Is it just me or is nobody outside of headbanging right wingers and careerist politicians even the slightest bit interested in it? Nevertheless it gave rise to an amusing start to the week yesterday, when a BBC film crew turned up in Uxbridge to film local shopkeeper's opinions on the upcoming EU referendum. Excellently they started in Balcony Shirts - I managed to keep well out of the way of the camera (do not play, do not give the game away!) while Scott did a splendid job, making a 'EU IN OR EU OUT?' t-shirt while recounting the story of the shop's 'Uxbridge Says Yes To Boris' and 'Uxbridge Says No To Boris' shirts. All good stuff, and lots of publicity for both the t-shirt shop and our friends in Nightfly Records and Horsepower Hairdressing. And why not?

Meanwhile it's been four gigs in four days for your humble narrator, starting on Thursday night with the first visit this year for Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks to The Sunningdale Lounge. A friend of Al's got up and played two songs on bass ('Mustang Sally'  and 'My Babe' since you were wondering - I thought that he crammed in a few too many notes, but that's probably just me) and a similar thing happened next night at The Halfway House in Rickmansworth where another of Al's pals got up and played harmonica (rather well as it happens) on 'Hoochie Coochie Man'. We got through our Saturday night show at The Black Horse in Greenford without any similar incidents and it was probably the best show of the three although none of them were exactly bad gigs. Then on Sunday afternoon The Upper Cut returned to The Queen's Arms in Colnbrook for a boisterous performance which wasn't perhaps our most technically accurate show ever but which certainly had plenty of energy.

This week it's back to Dollis Hill and Harefield for Big Al and the boys. Continuation continues... 

'Turn and face the strange...'

41 years ago today, on the 7th February 1975, Dr. Feelgood recorded this still-extraordinary live performance which was broadcast a few days later on the teatime television show 'The Geordie Scene'. I remember it oh-so very well - I was 13 years old at the time, and came in from school just as the programme was starting. After the suitably cheesy introduction (this was the 1970s after all!) from Dave Eager (whatever happened to him eh?) Wilko, Lee, Sparko and The Big Figure roared into what for them was probably just another live performance but what was for me and people like me literally life-changing. As Wilko tore into his first jaw-dropping guitar solo I dragged my Mum in from the back kitchen to watch it with me - she was a bit of a rock 'n' roller back in the day and said that she liked it although she could have just been humouring me I suppose... anyway she went back to making our dinner while The Feelgoods hammered the riff to 'Roxette' home. By the time the credits rolled over 'Route 66' things had changed, and more than I could ever realised at the time. I went up to my room in a daze - I'd heard of the band and that they were supposed to be good, but nothing had prepared me for what I'd just seen. Amazing. It still feels exciting to be writing about it just over four decades later. 
I went into school the next day as usual but as I say, things had changed. I enthused to my music-loving mates about the show that I'd seen the day before - a couple of them liked it but most of them didn't, they thought that the band looked a bit daft especially that weird guy on the guitar, surely you didn't think that they were any good did you? No you should listen to 'real' music like ELP, Yes and Genesis, not some bunch of herberts from the seaside.
Hmmm. Maybe I'd been wrong. After all when you're 13 you don't want to be the odd one out do you?
Except of course, I hadn't been wrong. And it took me a while to realise it, but it's actually alright to be the odd one out. 

Incidentally Mum died 15 years ago today. How I wish she was here to watch the show again with me now.

It's been a busy week - I spent a day recording guitars with James Knight, two days rehearsing with Ruts D.C. at The Music Complex in Deptford working on songs and arrangements for this week's recording sessions, played with Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks at The General Eliott in Uxbridge on Friday and with The Upper Cut at The Salmon And Ball in Bethnal Green last night as well as working a couple of days in the shop. But this week it's all about more 'Psychic Attack' album sessions - oh and a gig at The 100 Club on Saturday. We haven't played live for over two months, so we'd better rehearse for that too. I told you that it's ok to have a quiet couple of weeks sometimes didn't I?

Still that all starts tomorrow. Today I'm going to play 'Down By The Jetty'. Again. See you in 1975.

'Euston, we have a problem...'

Well I've just had three 18-ish hour days in a row and have had little if any time today to sit blogging about 'em. So, in a nutshell...

Thursday - Ruts D.C. rehearsal during the day, Menace rehearsal in the evening.

Friday - Ruts D.C. rehearsal during the day, Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks gig in the evening.

Saturday - working in Balcony Shirts during the day, Neck gig in the evening.

...which all looks reasonable straightforward written down here, and I suppose in many way it was exactly that. The only bit that caused any real problems was getting stuck at Harrow-On-The-Hill Station on Friday as I was coming back from The Music Complex in Deptford (a disembodied voice repeatedly told us that the line to Uxbridge was closed due to 'signal failure at Rayners Lane'; incidentally 2 splendid sessions at said studio may well mean several new songs appearing at the coming weekend's Ruts D.C. shows - oh yes!) for a gig with Big Al and the boys at Hayes Working Men's Club. This resulted in several increasingly sweary phone conversations before the heroic efforts of fellow six-stringer Pete went above and beyond the call of duty by meeting me at Northwood Hills Station. We made it to the gig in time which went well although I felt that I played badly in the first set; it had been a long day on Thursday with the Menace rehearsal at K Town Studios in Kentish Town running on until after 10 o'clock so maybe it was all catching up with me? Still that rehearsal had also gone well, with drummer Noel sounding good on acoustic guitar (he's usually on drums!) and vocals and and Rob excelling on double bass - we're getting together again tomorrow evening so with a Ruts D.C. session also happening another long day is in prospect. Still I wanted to play the guitar didn't I? And it was definitely good to play guitar last night, when Neck played at The Good Ship in Kilburn at an evening to celebrate the 85th anniversary of The Morning Star newspaper. With Naomi Bedford and Paul Simmonds, Comrade X and Attila The Stockbroker also on the bill a fine night was in prospect, and I'm pleased to say that a fine night was had. Personally after a l-o-n-g day in Balcony Shirts I could perhaps had done with an early night, but as I said earlier, I wanted to play the guitar didn't I?

And there's lots of guitar playing in store for your humble narrator this coming weekend, as it's The Rebellion Festival in Blackpool - in addition to appearing with Ruts D.C. and Menace I'm also playing with The London Sewage Company, working on the Cadiz Music merchandising stall and maybe doing a few songs with a couple of other acts too. I am intending to give a kind of 'running commentary' by regularly updating my Facebook page as the festival progresses, but there are a lot of bars and they're all open all day...

Everybody's carrying a gun

Well I don't mind admitting that I've not felt great today - possibly as a result of 4 late nights in a row, possibly as a result of what I've been doing during those late nights, more likely due to combination of both. I knew Friday, Saturday and Sunday were going to take their toll but after a very busy day in the shop yesterday I went down to RnR Studios in Uxbridge to catch the end of a Department S rehearsal. With Phil from Bug now installed on guitar and new drummer Alex getting to grips with the material they are preparing for some upcoming shows which depending on founder member Mike Herbage's availability may or may not feature your humble narrator on guitar; with this in mind we repaired to The Dolphin to discuss tactics - after spending several hours in there and The Queen's Head I fear we were still no nearer to working out where and when I may appear with them. Or maybe we were - it's a little tricky to remember...

Friday night The Upper Cut found themselves in the somewhat incongruous surroundings of Buckinghamshire Golf Club. We played there almost exactly a year to the day ago (once again on the evening of their St. George's Day event) and I received a call this week asking if we'd like to make a return appearance. There is of course only one answer to a question like that, and it isn't 'no'... as with last year we arrived to the general confusion of the staff, although after asking around in the bar we soon found the right people to talk to. One of the chaps who was there the previous year was on top form, telling us that he'd instructed the person who was paying us to adopt a generous approach to the evening. Well what he actually said was 'I've told 'im, don't be a c@nt, pay the boys wot vere facking werf', but I think you know what I mean. By the time we started playing at half past nine it was clear that with a few participants having been there for getting on for 12 hours a noisy night was in prospect, and a suitably raucous show ensued. Could it all happen again next year? We shall see!

Yes, it does look like
 a gun doesn't it?

The next day Ruts D.C. journeyed up to Bedford for a show supporting The Neville Staple Band at The Corn Exchange. With much of the journey spent singing copies of our new 'Jah War' single (now there's something that I never thought that I'd ever type. It's true though!) the mood was good, and the air of jollity continued for the rest of the day which saw opening act New Groove Formation getting things off to a suitably lively start. Our show took a few songs to get going, although by the time we got to the afore-mentioned 'Jah War' things were definitely moving in the right direction. Time constraints meant that we couldn't play an encore but we all pronounced ourselves pleased with proceedings. The evening ended with The Neville Staple Band mixing Specials songs with ska classics and playing an excellent set in process. A successful night's work.

And last night Wilko Johnson continued his remarkable renaissance with a blistering performance at The Shepherds Bush Empire. Support came from the always-worth-seeing Eight Rounds Rapid, whose splendid 30 minute set found favour among the rapidly-arriving audience, many of whom seemed to be recent converts to the cause judging by the number of Who t-shirts on display. As Wilko took to the stage to a hero's welcome it was clear that we were in for an evening to remember, and as always the great man delivered a storming show which bought the proverbial house down. As I say it was clear that some songs were better known by the audience than others, with material from 'Going Back Home' getting a big reaction and other songs seeming to pass some people by, but none of that seemed to bother the band who all played brilliantly. A top evening all round, not least because those splendid chaps from 8RR managed to get me into the after show party. That's another drink I owe you boys...

Tea for one

Well it's been a while since we've had a caption competition in these hallowed pages but I think it's time for one now, as a new cafe called The Wonky Teapot has opened in Uxbridge. This in itself might not normally be cause for any particular excitement but it's been attracting quite a bit of attention locally - as the accompanying photograph shows the shop sign is, er, interesting... so see if you can come up with a suitable caption for the picture. Come on, you know that you want to - actually that's not a bad caption in itself is it?!

Anyway it's Sunday afternoon, and I was expecting to be playing with Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks at Ye Olde George in Colnbrook today - however we were told this week that a new landlord is arriving soon and all live music has been cancelled, apparently never to return. Bah! It seems strange to me that having built up a successful venue Sally the landlady is being moved to another pub (which apparently will also not be having bands) and being replaced by someone who won't be carrying her good work on. Hmm... I don't think that I'll never understand the grown-up world... but it was a good gig for the band last night at The Wishing Well in Watford, and the one on Thursday at The Sunningdale Lounge in Sunningdale was also fun despite there not being too many people there - I hadn't played with the band since New Year's Eve so I spent a bit of time that afternoon revising the material, and given the amount of 'how does this song go again?' moments I was very glad that I did.

On Friday night myself and fellow Buicks guitarman Pete went to see The Yardbirds at The 100 Club. Advertised as 'the last show with the current line-up' it featured original members Jim McCarty on drums and Tony 'Top' Topham on guitar alongside three younger newer members, and was a terrific show from start to finish. Topham may have been overshadowed in history by Clapton Beck and Page but here he showed himself to be no slouch on both rhythm and lead guitar (although I must mention Ben King who played some fabulous stuff on the other side of the stage) while McCarty was as reliable as ever behind the kit. Pete and myself had debated whether we would go to this gig or to Tropic At Ruislip to see Hats Off To Led Zeppelin - we eventually concluded that it was better to watch the current line-up of one of the bands that started it all (especially given the Zeppelin connection) and I'm certainly glad that we went where we went although it'll be good to catch the Led Zep boys at some point in the future.

And in the immediate future Big Al and Co visit Staines and Hayes this week, and I really must visit The Wonky Teapot. Well, you've got to hand it to them haven't you - after all they've made quite a splash... tea hee...

'If we drink we will die, and if we don't drink we will die...' (a.k.a. 'Lost In the Supermarket')

Four gigs in four days is always a good thing in my little world...

Thursday night saw a swift return to Sunningdale for Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks following our debut show at The Sunningdale Lounge a mere two weeks ago. I don't mind admitting that I wondered if this was all a bit too soon and therefore there wouldn't be too many people in attendance but I'm pleased to say that despite the rain there were plenty of people there. When I'm gigging elsewhere my good friend Pete Kerr deps for me, and we generally do shows together when we are both available - however he was working away so I found myself in the relatively-rare-these-days situation of being the 'only' guitarist (Al plays guitar on some numbers, but you know what I mean I think) which took me a few songs to get used to; still with Al on top form thing went well until 'Shakin' All Over' which went a bit wrong when Al managed to get his top E string caught under the pickup on his Gretsch causing him to go to the wrong part of the song. Still we recovered well, and a real one-off moment occurred when a young lady requested 'Brown Eyed Girl' - Al couldn't remember the words so said something like 'do you know this one Steve?' It turned out that Steve Brookes did indeed know it (albeit in the key of E rather than the more usual G) and sang it very well - I really must ask him about The Jam next time I see him... 

The next evening we found ourselves in the perhaps-unlikely setting of The Battle Of Britain Club in Uxbridge. The club is on what used to be The R.A.F. Camp (it's currently being redeveloped as a housing estate) which is also the site of The Battle Of Britain Bunker which I'm told is a very interesting place to visit. It's usually members only but when bands and / or events are on that rule is relaxed, and we played three 40 minute sets to an appreciative if somewhat small audience. With beer at well under £3 a pint I'm amazed that there weren't more people there - I'm considering joining myself!

On Saturday night The Upper Cut returned to The Halfway House in Rickmansworth for the first time since September 2011. That night my amplifier blew up (!) but this time I managed to get through the show without any problems aside from the guv'nor telling us to turn it down several times throughout the evening. We did our best but it's difficult to play the sort of music that we play at a low volume. Well, that's my excuse anyway... mind you that could be why my amp exploded! In the meantime bizarre displays of Cossack dancing took place only a couple of yards in front of us (cue 'I'll have a pint of what they've had' gags) so there were definitely a few lads that enjoyed what we did. Well, I guess they enjoyed it - perhaps it's time for a chorus or two of 'The Cossack Drinking Song'?

And yesterday The Upper Cut made a 5pm appearance in Colnbrook at Ye Olde George Inn. It being a Bank Holiday Weekend we were part of the 'Family Fun Day', and with live music also happening out in the garden we wondered whether we would be better playing outdoors rather than in the bar. Eventually it was decided that indoors was best, and our two sets were witnessed by a cheery assortment of locals (with the odd ex-girlfriend thrown in) amid much drinking, dancing and merriment. I suppose that's why they call it a fun day? This is a venue where they, as the old saying goes, 'pass the hat round' (in this case, my hat) as the band is finishing - I got the job of counting the coppers and was amused to find a supermarket trolley token among them - you know, those things you can use instead of a pound coin. What can this mean? Answers on a postcard please, usual address...

And today I've got 'White Men In Hammersmith Odeon' by The Clash playing in the background as I type this (The Clash really were brilliant weren't they? And this show is extraordinary, as this clip of 'Armagideon Time' shows) and with Ruts D.C. playing in Serbia this coming Friday there are strings to change and stuff to sort out for then. I've also got songs to learn for the next night when I'm playing at The 12 Bar Club (alongside Chris Pope and The Legendary Groovymen) with the astonishingly-named London Sewage Company - more news on that as and when I have it... oh, and Big Al and the band are in Colnbrook on Sunday afternoon, so it's another busy weekend in prospect. Good!

The calm before the storm?

Over the past few days I have, among other things and in no particular order :-

Worked at the Balcony Shirts t-shirt emporium in Uxbridge.

Spent an evening with Pete 'Manic Esso' Haynes at The 12 Bar Club in London's Denmark Street during which Barnsley punks System Of Hate played an agreeably noisy set.

Rehearsed with Ruts D.C. at The Music Complex in Deptford. 

Played 'Sweet Home Chicago' and 'Why Me' with Big Al, Pete and the house band at The Three Wishes jam night in Edgware.

Fought off a painful sinus problem. Hopefully.

Watched The Good Old Boys play a fine set at The General Eliott in Uxbridge.

Seem Lead Shot Hazard (who feature Balcony Shirts t-shirt printer Dave on bass guitar) come third in a Battle Of The Bands competition at Brunel University, also in Uxbridge.

And tomorrow I'm setting out with Ruts D.C. to support The Damned on their British tour :- 

- oh yes!

If you're going to a show then I'll see you there...

You upset me baby

It's been something of a 'bits-and-pieces-week' since last we spoke...

The last time Ruts D.C. visited The Music Complex in Deptford was to rehearse for last month's show at The Underworld in Camden; rather than busy ourselves with serious work as our 'big London gig' was on the immediate horizon we chose to attempt most if not all of our set in a rockabilly style before going to the pub opposite. Last Tuesday's gathering was a bit different, as with no gigs for a while we decided to get together to look at some other songs from the band's back catalogue as well as trying out some ideas for new numbers. Well that was the plan - what actually happened was that decided to play a few songs from our set in the style of The Upsetters (well, we'd jammed a few chords that we thought sounded a bit like them and then found ourselves playing 'West One (Shine On Me)' in a similar way. Strange but true. Incidentally if you follow this link you'll see the afore-mentioned song from our Southampton show a few weeks ago - watch the chap in front of me during the guitar solo and you'll see him making a well-known gesture at me throughout. I didn't think it was that bad!) before... no, not going to the pub (we did that after the session!) but actually getting down to what we were there for. Many an-idea was tried, arrangements were altered, and we all felt that progress was made. Another similar session is planned for the not-too-distant future - more news as and when I have it, as they say.

Well so far so good - except that by the time I got home I wasn't feeling too well. We'd only had a couple of drinks (honest!) so that wasn't the cause; however after an early night I woke up the next day feeling as though I hadn't been to sleep, all heavy limbs and heavier head. I managed to stumble through a day at Balcony Shirts before going home and falling asleep for an hour-and-a-bit. Rock'n'roll eh? Still I felt a bit better so made it back into Uxbridge to meet Scott from the shop at Harris + Hoole where he was due to play a short acoustic set with your humble narrator joining him for a couple of songs. When I got there a chap who's name escapes me (Sorry! But I'd not been well!) was playing some difficult sounding jazz piano (I'm not entirely sure that there's any easy sounding jazz piano, but that's another story. Mind you, what do I know?!?) which sounded very appropriate in the context of the venue and indeed the evening. Next up was John Napier who I first met back in the 1980s when his band Hector's House played a few shows with The Price. I always thought that he wrote good songs back then and if his set here was anything to go by he still does. Scott then played a couple of songs before asking me to join him for 'Ain't No Pleasing You' and 'Taarabt's Too Good For You', both of which went well not least considering that the extent of our rehearsal was to decide on keys and talk through the songs when I arrived at the coffee shop. It could all have gone horribly wrong but thankfully it didn't. Last on was R.W. Hedges, a good friend of Scott's who did very well in the Mojo magazine 'New Voice' competition a couple of years ago. He'd put the evening together and finished proceedings very well. All in all a highly enjoyable evening in an excellent venue - let's hope they put more musical events on there in the future.

Fridy evening saw The Upper Cut return to The Admiral Nelson in Twickenham for the first time in quite a while. I took the opportunity to try out my newly-acquired Marshall combo as mentioned in these hallowed pages last week - I didn't get as much time as I would have liked to get to grips with it during the week (I've not been well you know!) but overall I think I've made a good purchase as it certainly sounded good where I was standing. It's definitely a 'rockier' sounding amplifier than my Fender (as you would expect) and to be honest it might be a bit much for The Upper Cut but I might give it another go this weekend (we're at Patrick's Bar in Crystal Palace this coming Friday) and see how it sounds. The show was a good one too, with everyone playing well and ending with Sue the landlady offering us money to play for longer. This happened in Colnbrook last month too - maybe we should just charge more and then play for longer?

After a Saturday in the shop (not too busy but busy enough) I had what felt like my first Saturday night off in ages - at last a chance to catch up with things that need doing and maybe even have an early night given that I'd not been feeling well earlier in the week... obviously I didn't do anything of the sort as I went to The Crown And Treaty to see punk covers band No Lip. They feature my old mate Pete Bradshaw on guitar (back in the day he was known to many as 'Suts' after attempting to adopt the stage name Peter Sutcliffe - they were odd times...) and did a pretty good job of summoning up the spirit of '77. And Pete and myself did a pretty good job of drinking far too many drinks after the show. Well - Saturday night out and all that...

And last night it was back to The Three Wishes in Edgware for the the Monday night jam session. An enjoyable evening all round, and it's a regular event that's well worth a visit - you can find their Facebook page here if you're interested. I'm still a bit surprised that I like it as much as I do...

And if you're in the Hayes area this Saturday evening Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks have a short notice gig at The Wishing Well (it's on the Uxbridge Road opposite the police station - you can do your own 'that'll be handy for when the fight breaks out'-type punchlines if you like...) which should be an interesting evening, not least because they've only just started putting bands on there. Let's hope there's an audience!