Ruts D.C ElectrAcoustic Tour July 2024

Ruts D.C are on tour this month. That's good.

This is a tour with a difference for us, as it's our first ElectrAcoustic Tour. Since last we spoke - and yes, it has been a while hasn't it? - we've recorded the third album in this format, featuring stripped-down versions of Ruts and Ruts D.C. material. In my not-so-humble opinion this is the best of the bunch, and if that wasn't exciting enough this album also features a brand new song - Segs bought the idea in, we all worked on it and 'Bound In Blood' was the result. No doubt we'll work it up as an electric number sometime soon, but to begin a song in this way was really interesting - thankfully it's turned out well (it wouldn't be on the album if it hadn't!) so it should feature in these live shows alongside material from the other two albums. We've played acoustic shows at The Rebellion Festival for the last few years, and played a couple of shows during lockdown (ooh - remember that?) in a sit-down format, but this is the first time we're presenting a show of this type on tour. Tickets are apparently going well, and I for one am really looking forward to it.

Before that we play an electric show - I hesitate to use the word 'normal' at the best of times, although I nearly used it here - at The Cryer Arts Centre in Carshalton. I think I've only played in Carshalton once before, way back in 2012 with the mighty T.V. Smith at The Water Tower which if I remember rightly is a local historical landmark. The Arts Centre looks like it's a splendid venue, and I believe that the show is sold out, which can only be a good thing if you think about it. And after the tour we return to the afore-mentioned Rebellion Festival in Blackpool which is more good news. Onwards and upwards, as they (whoever 'they' are) say...

Ruts D.C. UK Tour May 2023 - First World Problems and more...

What follows was written in May 2023, at the times and places indicated.

Wednesday 10th, Room 905, The Thistle Hotel Luton, 9.55 am

Well. 

It's been a while.

Ruts D.C. last played a live show on Saturday 3rd December 2022, at The Islington Academy. Even though I say so myself, we were great. It was the last night of the 'Counterculture Part 1' UK tour, we'd been accompanied on all shows by the mighty T.V. Smith, and it had been a wonderful experience from start to finish. I'd joined Tim for three songs at the last show ('Tomahawk Cruise', 'The Lion and the Lamb' and 'One Chord Wonders' in case you were wondering) which maybe made the night extra special for me - mind you I then spent over an hour after the show walking around with all my tour luggage trying to get a taxi home. First World problems eh?

Since then we've recorded the 'ElectrAcoustic Volume 2' album which is due out in August in time for The Rebellion Festival, and I've been out and about on the Wingmen tour. All good stuff - but there's nothing quite like playing live with Ruts D.C... we've just had two days rehearsal at The Hive Rooms in Horley where the Wingmen tour rehearsals took place, it's a good set up and we've all enjoyed being there. Yesterday afternoon we were joined by Dale (driver) and Dave (soundman) with whom we then wended our weary way to Luton - We're in Stockton-on-Tees tonight so it's a suitable stopping off point. I'd stayed at The Gatwick Airport Travelodge on Monday night (again, Wingmen approved) which was as, erm, eccentric as I remember it being - this is a rather more straightforward place with breakfast consisting of rubbery scrambled eggs, lukewarm baked beans and potato rostis that night best be described as 'experimental'. As I say, First World problems eh? 

 Now I'm scribbling away on some old A4 paper that I found in my bag as I don't have a notepad with me. I used to take one everywhere with me when I was a regular blogger but that was then and this is now - these days I use Facebook to blast on and on about myself (!) so why am I back doing this now? Simple - I've just started re-reading 'Diary Of A Rock 'n' Roll Star' by Ian Hunter and have, rather pretentiously perhaps, decided that it's time to get back to this sort of thing. Do you wanna be a rock 'n' roll star? Of course you do. Let's be one together.

We leave at 11. It's good to be back!

Thursday 11th, Room 304, Hilton Garden Inn Sunderland, 10.12 am

Ooh - that's the Stadium Of Light. I don't think I've seen that before.

It was a good first night, maybe even a great first night as first night's go.

The journey up went well with no major hold ups so we were at the venue a bit early - with our hotel 40 minutes North of there we had no choice but to go to The Green Dragon to, erm, consider our setlist or something. Actually that was more or less what we did, as there are a couple of changes from Part 1 of the tour. 'No Time To Kill' has replaced 'Dangerous Minds - both are on the 1981 'Animal Now' album - and 'Caught In The Kill Zone' from our new album is in for 'Music Must Destroy'. But there is a less likely difference this time... if like me you saw the band promoting the afore-mentioned 'Animal Now' in 1981 you will have seen Segs and Paul swap instruments to play 'Despondency' and 'Fools' - they play each other's instruments on 'Fools' and 'Despondency' on the album too. Somehow - and I'm not exactly sure how - 'Despondency' is now in the set with Segs on guitar and your humble narrator on bass. Strange but true, and a proper 'did I really just do that?' moment for me. This is the longest set we've played since the band reformed and there is hopefully something for everyone in it.

First nights are almost always a bit... weird. Ian Dury put it best in 'What A Waste' - well, kind of anyway. We thought that we took a while to get going but it was a good show with many-a friendly face in a very appreciative audience. It was good to see UK Subs guitar man Steve with his lady Beki (check out her band Chaos 8 - fearsome stuff!) alongside uber fan Tony Lee (he's got our faces tattooed on one of his legs! Really!) and his lady Kate - as I say, a good start to proceedings.

Dunfermline tonight - I don't think I've been there before. It's the home of The Skids - that's got to be a good omen hasn't it? Well I think that it has. We're off at 11. Again.

Room 106, The Guildhall And Linen Exchange Hotel Dunfermline, 3.27 pm

We're staying in a Wetherspoons. Ooh.

Whisper it very quietly - it's excellent. Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be?

Our journey took longer than it might have due to roadworks, diversions and the disconcerting sight of a burnt out car on the opposite carriageway. A lack of service stations (more First World problems!) meant that our only stop was at petrol station where a poster in the window proclaimed 'FOOTBALLER SAVES FRIENDS LIFE AFTER PITCH COLLAPSE'. An evocative thought.

We're a few minutes walk from the venue and we're sound checking at 5. Time for a pint perhaps?

Saturday 13th, Room 306, The NIU Hotel Manchester, 10.53 am

I've missed a day. How did that happen?

'Twas a cracking night at PJ Molloys in Dunfermline, a venue with a rightly-deserved good reputation and one that I really hope that we return to in the future. a sold out crowd made us feel welcome from the first song, and there was time for a drink afterwards with some fans who were also staying at the hotel - great stuff all round.

Last night was also good, but not without it's moments. The monitors were off for the first song which always creates an 'is it just me that can't hear anything?' moment for everyone on stage. Well, it certainly does for me. I thought The Academy was a bit big for us but we had a good crowd who warmed up as the show progressed, and everyone went home happy in the end - that said I for one could have done without the security man trying to throw me out when I went out to our merch after the show to see a few people. My cheery 'I'm in the band honest' while waving a backstage pass in his face didn't even get near to making him smile - still I suspect that judging by his general demeanour I and indeed you have a better day than he does most days... support came from Voodoo Radio, a father-and daughter duo who are well worth a look and listen if you get the chance. Nice people too.

We're leaving for Huddersfield at midday so it might be time for a walk across to the rather odd looking Irish shop opposite. And hopefully there will be time for us to get a photo outside Salford Lads Club. One for the Smiths fans - which I'm not really, but you have to do these things don't you?

Sunday 14th, Room 203, Premier Inn Huddersfield, 11.22 am

I suppose it was bound to happen sometime. 

There I was, soloing my way to the end of 'You're Just A...' and thinking 'oh this is sounding good' - I should know better than to do that shouldn't I? By the time we got to the end of the next song 'It Was Cold' I could hardly hear the guitar. Well, I could, it just had no power.What's gone wrong? Oh, it's ok now, maybe it's just me... 2 songs later and it's definitely not right, Dale is on stage and we're playing with leads then decide to change to my spare pedalboard as Dave and Segs keep everyone entertained with some increasingly outrageous stories. We change the amp while there's high jinks at Niagara Falls with Kirsty MacColl - eventually we restart the show and it goes well despite me spending the rest of it expecting something else to go wrong.

There's work to do at today's soundcheck.

In the meantime - I don't think I've been to Huddersfield before either, it seems like a good place although admittedly I've only really seen The Premier Inn, the pub next door (The Aspley) and the venue (The Parish) but it feels good if you know what I mean. Mind you I was in the bar until 3 am with Stranglers fans Steve and Nick...

Tuesday 16th, at home, 10.18 am

The last thing that you want when you're on tour is a day off. Well, it's the last thing that I want anyway. Or is it? My washing is on, it's a lovely day and my guitar problems on Saturday night turned out to be the fault of a dodgy guitar lead. Well hopefully that's the case - sound man Dave is taking both amps for a service today ('I know a man in a shed') just to be on the safe side.

Sunday in Nuneaton turned out to be a good day all round - lunch at The Chase Hotel was followed by a string change and the afore-mentioned troubleshooting at sound check before I joined Steve & Sheila and Paul & Mandy at The Lord Hop for a pint or two of impressive tasting Pilsner. Back at The Queens Hall it was good to see Pam Greenfield and her friend Josie among the many familiar faces, and a good show was followed by a few few drinks with a few more people... and I woke up yesterday with maybe the worst hangover ever. Ouch.

Or did I? Without going into too many details the next few hours showed that it might have been a stomach bug. Or maybe that Pilsner wasn't quite so impressive after all...

We're playing in Reading tomorrow. Good. 

Thursday 18th, Room 19, The 1843 Hotel Reading, 10.42 am

It's good to be back. Or as I wrote the other day, it's good to be nowhere again. That line should be in a song shouldn't it? Maybe one day it will be.

A good show at Sub 89 last night, although from our point of view maybe not a great one. 'Hard work' we all said in unison at the side of the stage as we waited to go back on for the encore. 'Hard work' said the mighty T.V. Smith who is back with us for the next set of gigs. 'Hard work' said sound man Dave who then announced that the PA system 'might be a bit blown'. 

Hard work then.

I'd been up to Denmark Street earlier in the day as in the wake of the guitar lead issues I though it might be a good idea to buy some new ones - when one goes, they often all go... it's all changed. Last time I was there it was a street with musical instrument shops in it, now it's more like a guitar theme park. Everything seems to have doubled in price too. Bah. For there it was a train to Reading and a walk to Sub 89 to meet Spike and his son Kaleb who are joining us for this leg of the tour as Dale is elsewhere. Dave met Spike when he was drumming in Dexys, he's a great chap and his lad seems like a nice fella so it's looking good for the next few shows.

So - why was it 'hard work'? It's difficult to say... I was expecting my guitar to go wrong again - maybe it's time for some switch cleaner on everything? The lights were rather, erm, dark, Dave was on a riser which made him feel separate to us and us feel separate from him, Segs's mic stand kept collapsing... it's those First World problems again isn't it? And we went down well, and it was great to see Roland Link, Retroman Steve, Bill from The Good Old Boys and more so maybe it's time I cheered up.

Brighton tonight. That'll be good. I've cheered up already.

Friday 19th, Room 40, The Amsterdam Hotel Brighton, 10.31 am

And it was indeed a good show - none of us were happy with the Reading gig do this one has put us right back on track. Excellent.

The Concord 2 is a classic old venue - when we arrived Nick from Burning Picks was there to take some photos and to generally be of assistance. I met him on the Wingmen tour, he's a splendid fellow and a great photographer as these pics show.

Earlier I went to GAK to buy some fingerboard oil and switch cleaner and then went to the excellently-named Wai Kika Moo Kau for a burger - I like Brighton but it's a bit hippyish for me, maybe not the mod temple I always expect it to be. Oh well. As I say the show blew away any doubts about the previous night (which wasn't bad, we just thought that it could have been better) and it's set us up well for Portsmouth tonight. 'Twas great to see Tony and Andy from The WitchDoktors, and the lads from The Assassination Bureau, and my old mate Simon from The Newtown Neurotics - they've got a documentary film called 'Kick Out!' coming out in September which should be well worth a watch, not least because I'm in it!

Check out is at 11 and breakfast finished at 10 so I'd better find a sandwich if I'm going to...

Saturday 20th, Room 232, Travelodge Portsmouth, 11.51 am

Crikey - we're leaving at midday. Where does the time go?

A great gig. More next time.

Sunday 21st, Room 232, Travelodge Letchworth, 10.20 am

Today we leave at 11. Where does the time go (slight return) eh?

An enjoyable show at Club 85 in Hitchin last night, although slightly blighted by the ghastly hippies who were masquerading as the crew. Don't smoke dope all day boys, you'll get nothing done... oh, you got nothing done. Still Andy 'Human Punk' Chesham was promoting so everything went well in the end - T.V. was as great as ever, and even though I say so myself we really got hold of the show. Excellent. Now it's time for a quick walk across to Costa (we're on a distant industrial estate) then to get everything together for the ride up to Derby and a return visit to The Hairy Dog. T.V. is on at 5.30 with us an hour later - it's a matinee show! 

Tuesday 23rd, at home, 5.16 pm

So - where DOES the time go?

I've been asleep much of this afternoon. I'm not ashamed! I'd woken up at 7- something this morning genuinely wondering where I was. This happens my friends, this happens. 

There's lots to mention while I can still remember it.

The East Street Bar in Brighton after our gig. 'It's student night' said the doorman. 'We're students' said Segs with a straight face as the afore-mentioned doorman smiled and let us in and Segs added 'See you in 20 minutes when you're throwing me out'... well it had been a great gig, and Portsmouth was great too, with a snippet of 'How Soon Is Now?' for the recently departed Andy Rourke making it's way into 'In A Rut'. We added that in Hitchin and Derby too, where public transport finishes at 8.30 on a Sunday evening hence the early show. T.V. was tremendous - why don't we play with him all the time? - and we were pretty good too as this footage shows. We managed to get a couple of drinks at The Blue Jay next to our hotel after the show - and that closed at 10 o'clock. It must be a Derby thing... and it was light when we left the venue. Weird!

Oh - and I finished 'Diary Of A Rock 'n' Roll Star', and very good it was too. Last week I re-read Zoe Howe's excellent Lee Brilleaux biography 'Rock 'n' Roll Gentlemen' which I last read when we toured Australia and New Zealand a few years ago (what a poser eh? I mean, I didn't have to mention that did I? Well... actually... I did!) and which highly amused Segs at the time as I apparently somewhat adopted Dr. Feelgood's legendary 'time for a jolly up' approach to touring - in other words I suggested a visit to the bar at pretty much every opportunity. Subliminal messaging perhaps? This week I've got Nick Kent's 70s memoir 'Apathy For the Devil' for company which I've not read before and so am very much looking forward to reading. 

It's a sold out show at The Water Rats in King's Cross tomorrow night, which will also feature an 'exclusive' playback of our new acoustic album and which promises to be quite a night. From there we play York, Dunoon, Sheffield and then back to The Water Rats for an added show - that's a lot of miles isn't it? Still at least I won't wake up wondering where I am.. or will I? Let's see!

Thursday 25th, Room 208, The Linton Hotel, Luton, 9.27 am

Well - that was an 'interesting' end to our evening. But more about that in a minute.

The Water Rats - shouldn't that be Water Ruts? - always promised to be a night to remember and I'm please to say that it more than lived up to expectations. Packed out - maybe oversold? - and beyond hot (surely they could have turned the air conditioning on?) the show was everything we hoped that it would be and more. Much audience and indeed band merriment occurred throughout the show despite the heat, In A Rut' included a breathless burst of 'Love Song' for the recently departed Algy Ward, and even the fact that our dressing room was three floors up (at least! I lost count at 65 steps!) and the fact that the bouncer on the front door was roundly unpleasant to all and sundry couldn't dampen our spirits. But maybe the most interesting moment in the show was also one of the most unexpected... one chap over on Segs's side of the stage was a particularly good dancer, to such an extent that Segs inverted him up onto the stage during the last song of the evening 'Psychic Attack'. It was only then that I realised that it was Peter O'Connor, the noted actor that appears in the promo video for said song - so if you were there you saw a live performance of the video. Strange but true.   

And if you weren't there you can see said performance here - isn't Pete great?!?

A classic evening. And then we got to our hotel. These WhatsApp exchanges say it all -

What's this all about with the student beds?

It must be comedy night. 

I'm on the verge of getting a cab home...

I feel like I've been arrested!

I've slept in worse - Guatemala I think...

I've just seen Tony Handcock's landlady.

Breakfast finishes at 9, court at 10, leave at 11 subject to sentence. 

I'm soothed by the sound of them building the gallows.

And then, in the morning - 

Bed was actually comfortable although the rubber undersheet was a nice touch as were the circling helicopters. 

I feel like I've been operated on. 

Prostrate examination imminent. 

You get the idea.

More First World problems? Maybe... it think it was the shock of there being no bed in the room when we arrived at sometime after 1 am - Kaleb had to show me that it came down from the wall. It's great being old... it turned out to be ok although I've got a really sore neck from sleeping awkwardly; that said the breakfast was good so it's time for a shower and to get everything together to leave for York at 11. Another new venue tonight, and it's Dave's hometown...

Friday 26th, Room 11, The Pavilion Hotel York, 9.38 am

Ooh - vegetarian sausage. If ever there was a not-always-good-option option it's vegetarian sausage. But if it's recommended by Dave Ruffy, all bets are off. Superb. And out new friend Sean the waiter saw Soft Machine at The Crescent a few years back and loved it. A good start to the day, and a good gig last night in front of an enthusiastic audience at a splendid venue. 'In A Rut' included 'Nutbush City Limits' in tribute to Tina Turner, and it was great to catch up with Matt, my old mate from a previous life, he was on top form and is still out gigging regularly which was great to hear. 

We're playing at The Punk On The Peninsula Festival in Dunoon on the West coast of Scotland today. That's a long way away isn't it? We're off at 10 - pack your bags Leigh! 

Saturday 27th, leaving Greenock

Welcome to the Ruts D.C. tourbus. 

To be pedantic, the Ruts D.C. splitter van. These are very prevalent in the rock 'n' roll world (maaan!) as they are ideal for transporting disenfranchised musicians and there equipment from town to town. Usually there are 9 seats - 3 in the front and 2 rows of 3 in the middle section with luggage and equipment in the back section of the bus which is divided off (hence the term 'splitter') from the front and middle sections. In the middle of this bands the 2 rows of 3 face each other with a table between them; sometimes both the rows face forwards so fairly obviously there is no table in this bus.

So - who's in the bus and where are they? Well...  Spike is driving - he's also on sound (Dave the sound engineer left us after the Derby gig as he's away working with Kris Barras) as well as tour manager and more. He's brilliant at all all of it. Also in the front is his son Kaleb - he's now looking after our backline, and is even on merch as well some nights. He's brilliant too. Behind Spike sits Segs and behind Kaleb sits Dave while I'm at the right in the back row facing Segs. The table has 5 receptacles in it - they house, left to right as I look at them, a small unopened bottle of water, a half full (or if you prefer, half empty) bottle of Merlot, an open small bottle of water, a nearly empty bottle of red wine and a large bottle of water with the top off. That's fairly typical for us, and that water bottle could cause me a problem or two of Spike has to brake suddenly so I'll have a look for the top in a minute. The River Clyde is to our left - the tide is out - and it's about 5 hours to Sheffield where we're gigging tonight. The radio on in the front and the mood is relaxed - and why not? It was a great gig in Dunoon where we were made most welcome by promoter Iain and our friend Dave Ralf who was working at The Punk On The Peninsula Festival. We repaired to The Argyll Hotel for Guinness and a setlist discussion - we've been playing for 85 minutes whereas this was an hour show - when we returned to the festival Millie Manders And The Shut Up were sounding good. I had a bit of time to catch up with Ruts fan extraordinaire Mark McCulloch and his wife Shona before Church Of Confidence took to the stage for a boisterous performance. There were no dressing rooms - maybe we're the only band that gets changed for the show? - so we had to use the van which suddenly didn't seem be quite as spacious as it had felt up until that point in proceedings. 

Ooh - it's those First World problems again...

We went on at 8.35 - the tent was full and getting fuller and by our third song 'You're Just A...' it was packed. A large stage meant that Segs and myself could indulge in what we often call our 'Paul Simonon moves' (well, he's the coolest man ever isn't he?!?) with much merriment all round. The only downside to the show occurred when we swapped instruments for 'Despondency' - as I passed it to Segs the guitar strap came off. Closer inspection showed that the end pin had actually come out from the guitar. Bugger! Kaleb sprang into action immediately, passing Segs my spare guitar, finding the end pin and screw on the stage and repairing the guitar in time for the next song. What a splendid chap he is! 'In A Rut' once again featured 'Love Song' (cue mass pogoing from the punks) and 'Nutbush City Limits' (cue mass confusion from the punks, although the girls danced!) and after the show we all agreed that, in Segs's words, we'd blown the roof off the place. Iain the promoter was pleased too, presenting us with a bottle of Glen Scotia whisky which we chose to sample on the ferry back to Greenock. With predictable results. 

To Sheffield!

Sunday 28th in the bus heading South passing Junction 26 of the M1, 11.44 am

I suppose it was bound to happen sometime (slight return).

A bad gig.

Actually it wasn't a bad gig, just perhaps not quite as good as the rest of the shows on the tour. I'd not been to The Corporation before - they kindly 'leant' me some Superglue which I used to plug the screw hole for my Les Paul end pin with the aid of several small pieces of Marks & Spencer wooden cutlery procured at a motorway service station on the way to Sheffield. Rock 'n' roll eh? I must fix it 'properly' sometime soon. 

(Incidentally if this sort of thing happens to you and your guitar cocktail sticks or toothpicks are really good, as are matchsticks. Don't say that you don't learn anything here!)

Soundcheck was... ok... the monitors were shall we say, a bit iffy, Dave's being particularly so. But it'll all be ok later won't it?

We decided to visit The Brown Bear, a favourite haunt of ours when we are in the area - Dave suggested a cab, Segs was on the phone so he said he'd follow along later. We'd just got there when we received a text message from Segs to say that Kirk Brandon had been taken ill and was in hospital. He's an old friend of theirs and they work together in Dead Men Walking so it was worrying news. 

We went on at 8.45. Dave has been going on first to get himself settled behind the drums and usually gets what Segs and myself waiting in the wings often refer to as 'The Ruffy Cheer' - which tonight didn't happen. Or maybe we just can't hear it from where we are? We walked our to a smattering of vague applause - perhaps we've overplayed the area lately. We played well but received a muted response interspersed with people shouting for old Ruts numbers. My monitor was off, or very quiet, or something, but at least my strap button stayed on my guitar... we finished with 'Babylon's Burning' to a few seconds of applause then silence. As we walked down the steps at the side of the stage to the sound of our own footsteps Dave said 'let's leave it there' so we did. No encore.

Back at The Mercure it's time for a few drinks and some mad stories from Spike to go with some from Dave and Segs. That's more like it. 

Today it's sunny and the mood is good. Back to London Town and indeed back to The Water Rats. Good

Monday 29th, at home, 5.19 pm

And there it was, gone. Again. 

But what a tour, and what a way to finish it. We returned The Water Rats for a show that more than made up for the one in Sheffield the night before (which apparently wasn't that bad after all) and which saw a couple of changes to the set - as many people had come to more than one show we replaced 'No Time To Kill' with 'Back Biter' and 'Caught In The Kill Zone' with 'Music Must Destroy', both good choices I thought. I've spent most of this afternoon asleep - of course I have! - so now I've got some washing in and have bags to unpack and things to put away. But what a great three weeks we've had, due in no small amount to the excellence of our touring crew - Dave and Dale early on and Spike and Kaleb for the latter part with Liam and Ceri appearing here and there too. We thank them all, and we thank you if you came to a show.

It was good though wasn't it?!?

So now what? Well as previously discussed 'ElectrAcoustic Volume 2' is due out in August in time for The Rebellion Festival, and we've got gigs coming in for The Autumn and even (gulp!) some new song ideas coming together... forwards... as ever...

'Nobody told me there'd be days like these...'

Well I don't know about you (obviously!) but I seem to have rather more time on my hands than I was expecting to have at the moment. Maybe you have too? So what better time to (a) write one of those blog postings that I keep saying that I must get around to writing, and (b) play a game of Spot The Difference. Well, why not eh?



Here are two posters - the one on the left is for the first ever acoustic tour by (ahem!) up-and-coming young London dub rock band Ruts D.C., while the one on the right is for The Punk Rock Bowling Festival, which takes place every May in no lesser location than Las Vegas, USA. 






Now here are two more posters - the one on the left is once again for the first ever acoustic tour by (ahem!) up-and-coming young London dub rock band Ruts D.C., while the one on the right is once again for The Punk Rock Bowling Festival, which takes place every May in no lesser location than Las Vegas, USA.






So can you - yes, YOU! - spot the difference between them? Tricky isn't it?

Actually it's not very tricky at all is it? I must make the next competition more difficult...

I first started this blog all those years ago as an attempt to become more computer literate, to improve my typing skills - which if I remember rightly were pretty much non-existent at the time - and because I thought that it might be an interesting thing to do, not least as it gave me a way of documenting my increasingly unusual (and often rather obscure) attempts to play the guitar for a living. I gave it the impulsive title 'Leigh's Mad World Of Guitars' without very much thought; I've often wondered if I should change it - maybe one day I will - but it's been hard enough to find the time and if I'm honest the inclination to contribute to it over the last few years, let alone to wonder whether it's name should change. As previously discussed I tend to use Facebook for music-related stuff these days, and as a result the blog feels a little bit like something from another time in my life - which I suppose in many ways it is. Looking back through it I don't really know how I found the time to write as much as I did in the early days, although maybe a more interesting question is to consider what I used to do with all those thoughts before I started writing them down here... but if ever there was a Mad World it's the one that we have 'suddenly' found ourselves in now.

Coronavirus. Was there ever a time when it wasn't the most used word in the English language? It's hard to remember isn't it? And how about terms like 'self-isolating' and 'social distancing'? From people saying things like 'I don't know what all the fuss is about, it's only a cold' to the same folk crossing the road with a look of abject terror on their face if they see anyone within several yards of them has taken a few weeks, but it's certainly happened. As I write this all restaurants, pubs and clubs are closed and gatherings are limited to two people - that's certainly something that I never thought that I'd ever type! All but non-essential shops are closed, the streets are as empty as they are on Christmas Day - well, they certainly are around these parts - and with many people working from home the World seems a very different place to the one we all now only dimly remember from just a couple of weeks or so ago. Supermarket shelves are empty, people are fighting over bottles of hand sanitiser and toilet rolls are suddenly the rarest thing on Earth. I was in the Post Office around the corner from me the other day, and when one of the lads behind the counter mentioned that they would be receiving a delivery later in the day I heard a voice from behind me say 'I'll 'ave 200 of 'em'. It was a giant, not-particularly friendly-looking man, and he wasn't smiling - now that's an upset stomach... all this panic buying has of course resulted in shortages of all sorts of things, which isn't too clever from the point of view of, say, an NHS worker who can only visit shops at a certain time of day due to shift commitments, or an unemployed or elderly person with limited financial resources at certain times of the month. Still, I'm sure that doesn't bother Mr. 200 Toilet Rolls, or indeed any of the other blockheads who work on a similarly self-centred level to him.

As for me - all gigs are fairly obviously postponed or in some cases cancelled altogether, my work at Balcony Shirts is on hold and as a self-employed person I've long since stopped joking about bankruptcy. I began the last blog posting with the words 'as Ruts D.C. ready themselves for a return to showbusiness' - well, that seems a very long time ago now too. We've got things to do - there's a live album from last year's '40 Years Of The Crack' tour coming out soon, there are songs to write for a projected 2021 release (I do like a bit of unashamed optimism, don't you?!) and more, but who knows when we'll next be able to get together? We're looking at sending song ideas to each other via The Internet - time I finally learned how to work GarageBand properly then... we were due to be playing a Rock Against Racism show in Brighton this coming weekend with another one in Brixton early next month so these are now being rescheduled as are quite a few other shows. And we're once again accompanying The Stranglers around Britain on their 'Final Full U.K. Tour' in October and November - tickets are selling well, and surely we'll all be back to 'normal' by then? There are also dates for Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants and The Slogans that need changing - but when do we reschedule anything for? How long is our new Mad World going to be around for? And how much madder is it going to get? 

Hmm... the answers aren't there, but the questions most certainly are. 

Wherever you are, stay safe and stay cool. We'll meet again, don't know where don't know when - but I know we'll meet again, some sunny day...

Ruts D.C. '40 Years Of The Crack' Tour starts tomorrow!

The game is afoot - after what seems like an age (it was announced last summer!) the Ruts D.C. '40 Years Of The Crack' Tour is finally upon us. We're playing 17 shows with The Professionals are special guests, during which we intend to play the first Ruts album 'The Crack' in it's entirety alongside other material from the band's illustrious history - I don't want to sound big-headed, but it's got all the makings of a great tour. As always I'll be attempting to update my Facebook page as often as possible, and if you're coming to a show then please say hello - after all, without an audience it's just like a rehearsal, only louder...

Ruts D.C. '40 Years Of The Crack' tour 2019

Over two - and - a - half months ago I mused in these hallowed pages as to whether or not I was getting lazy when it comes to writing on this here blog; if only I'd known then what I know now.... it's not that I've been lazy (honest!) it's just that I seem to be so bloody busy at the moment; gigs with Big Al and the boys, working in Balcony Shirts, trying to stop nosebleeds bought on by hay fever - it's been all go I can tell you. I've regularly looked at the pile of semi - legible notes that I've been making on the way to gigs, on the way home from gigs, in planes, trains and automobiles - there's a lot of 'em, and even I don't know what half of them are - and thought 'I really must get around to typing them up one day'... and I really must... however in the spirit of shameless self - publicity that this blog (and, I suspect, most blogs) were created in, I'm back - and with big, big news. 

2019 sees the 40th anniversary of, well, lots of things I'm sure, not least the release of 'The Crack' by The Ruts. I remember buying at the time - my copy still has the 'pay no more than £3.99' sticker on it - and spending endless hours sitting on the edge of my bed cradling an unplugged electric guitar trying to work out how to play the songs. Who'd have thought that nearly 4 decades later I'd still be spending endless hours sitting on the edge of my bed cradling an unplugged electric guitar trying to work out how to play the songs? Strange but true.

Next February Ruts D.C. set out on the first part of the '40 Years Of The Crack' tour - the plan is that we will be playing the whole album in it's entirety, along with other material old and new. And there's more good news - special guests The Professionals will be opening the shows (am I really going on after a Sex Pistol? How on Earth has this happened?!?) meaning that if all else fails you get to see two of the best drummers ever on the same stage. To say that I'm looking forward to this is from my point of view the understatement of the century so far, although I'm sure I can come up with something that beats it if you give me long enough. And you never know, I might even write it up here...

Stiff Little Fingers / Ruts D.C. 'Down To The Bone' Tour March 2018

OK - here we go again... 

We're supporting the great Stiff Little Fingers on their 'Down To The Bone' U.K. tour this month, starting in Cardiff this coming Friday and finishing at The Forum in Kentish Town on Friday 23rd March. There's a few new venues for your humble narrator - not least Barrowlands in Glasgow on (gulp!) St. Patrick's Day - among some familiar haunts. I'm intending to update my Facebook page as often as possible, and the Ruts D.C. page should include live streams and more. And as always if you're coming along to a show then please say hello!

Incidentally some of the venues have a club night or event after the gig - nights such as these are known (rather disparagingly) among road crew members as a 'Disco Loadout' - and we might be on stage as early as 7.15pm on those nights so please check with the venue so that you don't miss us!

See You Up There!

Time for a belated report on three Ruts DC gigs the weekend before last, the first or which was at The Waterfront in Norwich. Support came from The East Town Pirates who I thought were very entertaining although I missed the second half of their set as I was summoned to a nearby pub by Segs where he was meeting Stiff Little Fingers bassman Ali McMordie. I walked in to find them both ensconced around a small table - if you'd have told me back in (say) 1979 that I would one day have been meeting up with them never mind being in a band with one of them then I don't know what I would have said... our show saw the return of my Marshall DSL100 amplifier after a repair at the factory, and without wishing to tempt fate I have to say that it sounded terrific. We also have a spare - hereinafter referred to as 'the Riverjuke amp'  as Harry, Adam and co. currently own it - but more about that in a minute. We played well although for me it was the weakest of the three shows - not bad, just not quite as good as the others, if you know what I mean.

The next day - Saturday 4th November, if you're taking notes - saw us journey across the country to Wolverhampton for The Midlands Calling Festival. There was time to check in at our hotel before making our way to The Civic Hall where Harry and Adam went in to set up our merchandise while Segs and myself walked the short distance to the Blooms clothes shop - we'd spotted it on the way there and Segs thought that it 'looked interesting'... he couldn't have been more correct - it was how I imagine tailor's shop would have been years ago, with a brace of cheery immaculately-dressed assistants with tape measures around their necks all only to happy to attend to your every clothing needs. It got a bit 'suit you' here and there - rarely a bad thing I'm sure you'll agree - and I loved it. I found a suit in the sale which I liked the look of, but as I said to the assistant, the trousers were 'a bit David Essex' (I like his music, but not the flares!) and I'd prefer three buttons while the jacket only had two - within seconds I was told that it could be altered and ready for collection the next morning. Sold! I must wear it on stage sometime soon... in the meantime we played a thunderous 45 minute set to the enthusiastic appreciation of the assembled multitude and everybody seemed to be very happy with our efforts. We'd decided to use the Riverjuke amp but to our dismay no sound was forthcoming - with only a short changeover between bands we decided to use the backline amp provided and resolved to have a proper look at it the next night in Wakefield. 

I'd not been to Warehouse 23 before, but it seems to me to be an excellent venue which is putting on a lot of very diverse entertainment, which is always a good thing to see. At the soundcheck we plugged the Riverjuke amp in again - still no sound. I set up my DSL 100 while Harry set about investigating - when he opened the amp up to his and indeed my astonishment he discovered that the four power valves were missing. Well, that would do it! It had gone to Marshalls at the same time as mine but they had clearly forgotten to put the valves back in after testing them. Doh! (Harry called them the next day and they have since sent a new set of valves free of charge, so hopefully all's well that ends well...) Thankfully my amp sounded great, and we went on to play what to me was the best show of the three. Again that's not to say that the other two were bad, just that this one just edged it. We're lucky, we play some good gigs - talking of which, it's just been officially announced today that we're supporting Stiff Little Fingers on their 'Down To The Bone' British tour next March. Once again, if you'd have told me when I was 18 that one day I'd be typing that sentence I don't know what I would have said...

The Stranglers / Ruts DC tour 2017

We're on at 7.45 pm each night - see you down the front!

Home is where the heart is - for a while at least...

Back home after two-and-a-bit weeks away - I've done my washing (well, most of it!) and sorted all my gear out so now it's time to get back to whatever it is that passes for 'real life' in my mad little world. At times like this it's always hard to work out what to do now - that said I'm back in Balcony Shirts tomorrow and gigging with The Upper Cut and Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks at the weekend so this time there's not much opportunity to debate that particular question.

Overall it was a great tour - well I think that it was. Only around 2,500 miles covered this time (!) but we played well, made lots of new friends (not least support band The U.K. Feds who were a great bunch of lads and who were consistently excellent throughout) and generally did what we set out to do. Highlights were many and varied - they often are - and although there was the odd low moment they were far outnumbered by the good bits. As usual I made some hard-to-read notes; as usual it'll be ages before I get around to writing them up here. But if you came to a show - thanks. I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly did.

There are some reviews on the Aural Sculptors and Elvis In The Clouds blogs, and no doubt YouTube clips are appearing even as we speak, if there's any footage of Rupert Orton of The Jim Jones Revue on guitar or Supa 4 freestyling with us at the London show, or Mitt Gamon playing harmonica in Bristol then I for one will be very interested to see it. They were both high points, as were Brighton, Liverpool, Glasgow... well as I say, one day I'll write up those notes!

Next month Ruts D.C. travel to Australia and New Zealand - The Psychic Attack Tour 2015 continues...

Creepy Crawley

I'm sure like me you were saddened to hear of the death of Rik Mayall last week. Although I can't claim to have followed every aspect of his career I remember Kevin Turvey well, and even though I somehow managed to all but completely miss The Young Ones (no, I'm not sure how either!) his appearance as Lord Flashheart in Blackadder II remains something of a classic, as does his all-too-accurate portrayal of scheming Tory MP Alan B'Stard in The New Statesman. We need more characters like Mr. Mayall don't you think?

Last Wednesday evening Back To Zero gathered at Soundlab Studios in Loughton to rehearse for this Sunday's show at The 100 Club with Eight Rounds Rapid and The Fallen Leaves. We tried a couple of new songs, ran through all of our older material and all agreed that we were really looking forward to this weekend's gig. Well, it is a rather excellent bill even though I say so myself! And talking of rehearsals The London Sewage Company were last night working towards our second public performance, which will be at the afore-mentioned 100 Club on July 17th supporting Menace and The Morgellons. Now that should be an interesting evening...

And it was certainly an interesting evening on Friday, when Ruts D.C. journeyed down to Brighton for a show at The Concorde 2. Now I've got some rather odd memories of this venue - the only time I'd previously played there I managed to break the headstock off my guitar (remind me to tell you the story one day!) and I was last there back in December 2006 when among others I saw Paul Fox play. Now I was about to play some of his best riffs on the same (repaired) guitar. I was halfway through the guitar solo in 'West One (Shine On Me)' when I realised that not only was I standing on the same side of the stage as he'd been when I saw him there but I was also more-or-less exactly where I was when my guitar got broken. As I remembered him saying how he always made a mistake when playing this particular solo, I - you've guessed it! - made a mistake. Hmmm... but this didn't put a dampener on what was overall an absolutely brilliant evening, despite the early showtime (it becomes a club at 11 o'clock and they rather unsubtly shepherd everyone out when the gig ends) and the heat (what a night for the air conditioning to fail!) Earlier I'd seen ex - Newtown Neurotics drummer Simon Lomond for the first time in ages (The Price used to support them back in the day and I saw them live many times) and he had Rupert Orton of The Jim Jones Revue with him who I'd not met before but who turned out to be a massive Ruts fan (good man!) He asked if we were going to play 'Something That I Said' - I told him that we hadn't worked a set out yet, but I'd make sure that we'd play it. (And we did - Segs gives The JJR a namecheck at the start of this clip from the show.) I also met photographer Syd Shelton (he took photos of The Ruts and many other bands as well as being very involved in Rock Against Racism) as well as seeing Adrian who writes the always-excellent Aural Sculptors blog, Andy Peart from Vive Le Rock magazine, original Price fan Dave Nash - it really was a night to remember in so many ways, not least as Horseman joined us for this unique version of 'Jah War'. Great stuff all round - and here is a review of the evening from the Nigeyb's World Of Joy. Nice photos don't you think?

As if to prove the old adage that you don't get something for nothing in life Saturday began with the realisation that there was only cold water to shower with. Oooo! If you ever find yourself about to check into The Ramada in Crawley then you might like to ask them if there's any hot water before you decide to stay there... we'd made the hour-ish journey there after the Brighton show in a bid to lessen the journey to Santa Pod Raceway where we were playing at The BWM Rally the next night; despite the freezing cold wash this proved to be a reasonable decision as we made it to The Ibis in Wellingborough before three in the afternoon. As we turned off the main road Segs smiled - 'I don't believe it, we're booked into The Priory!' We weren't - it was the pub across the road, not the well-known rehabilitation centre - but Dave and myself did accompany him to said establishment for a couple of drinks before heading back to our hotel to prepare for the gig (in my case by sleeping!)
We arrived onsite to find that the previous bands had run late, and with people already leaving to watch the England vs Italy World Cup game we eventually got onstage at 10 o'clock. Overall I thought that we gave a good show, but although we went down well the show lacked the somewhat triumphant nature of the previous night's proceedings. Ah well - the people that we spoke to afterwards really enjoyed it, so maybe I'm being a bit over-critical (again!) And we made it back to our hotel in time to see the second half of the match, so it wasn't all bad news by any means. 

And I made it back home the next day in time to join Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks for a 5pm show at Ye Olde George in Colnbrook. I felt tired - let's face it, I was tired! - and as such didn't feel that I played too well, but no one complained. Well, not to my face anyway! 

Quo vadis?

I'd made enough of a recovery from the dreaded food poisoning by Tuesday to journey to Guildford to see The Stranglers supported by Nine Below Zero at G-Live. Nine Below Zero sounded pretty much how they sounded when I saw them in Watford before Christmas i.e. excellent if a little slower than I remember them sounding back in the day. Dennis Greaves still plays the cheeky chappie persona well, and remains an underrated singer and guitarist. I don't think I can recall seeing him play a Telecaster before although it sounded good to me, and I was close enough to the stage to hear him telling the band off a couple of times when they made mistakes - clearly not a cheeky chappie all the time then! Meanwhile The Stranglers were celebrating their 40th year as a band with a two hour long set that (I'm told) included at least one song from each of their 17 albums and which featured a three song-long mid-set appearance from veteran drummer Jet Black, which I believe is a rare occurrence these days. The audience seemed somewhat subdued until he began 'Golden Brown'; after 'Always The Sun' and 'Genetix' he left the stage to tumultuous applause after which the audience then seemed to me at least to return to their subdued selves. Strange - mind you I don't think I was the only person there that found the four screens suspended above the band to be something of a distraction during some songs. Still by the time we got to 'Five Minutes' and 'Hanging Around' things were getting a bit more lively, and the final encore of 'Tank' bought the proverbial house down. A good evening.

Friday Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks returned to The Crown in Cowley for the first time since Christmas Eve. That was a suitably noisy evening, this was rather quieter both in terms of audience numbers and band volume. We'd heard that there had been a few complaints from neighbours so both Pete and myself decided to take smaller amplifiers in an attempt to keep the noise down, and it certainly seemed to work as there were no complaints this time. Well, not to our faces anyway! When you play quieter than usual it can sometimes lead to a scrappy performance due to people not being able to play 'properly', and while there was the odd wrong turning here and there overall it was a good gig. We could have done with a few more people there though - I'm told that when the band played without me the next night several hundred yards down the road at The Three Steps it was an altogether more raucous affair. I was at The Brunswick in Hove playing a Teenage Cancer Trust benefit show with Back To Zero. We arrived just in time to miss Robby Allen And the Kite Collectors - a shame since I really enjoyed them when we played with them in Stoke back in February although I did manage to by their (excellent) album 'Mildred's Room'; I did manage to catch most of The Hiwatts's set of mod and mod-related covers before going off in search of food. The Legendary Groovymen, The Loop, The SuperMinx70 and The Past Tense all delivered strong sets, but sadly by the time we went on things were running a bit late and we were obliged to not only cut our set down but also finish before we were due to play 'Your Side Of Heaven', a situation which left some audience members somewhat disgruntled. I must admit it was all a bit frustrating in the end from our point of view, but hopefully they managed to raise some money for a very worthwhile cause. 

On Sunday afternoon I accompanied Big Al Reed in his 1959 Cadillac (!) to The Sportsman in Croxley Green for a jam session that featured among others High Voltage, some Swedish friends of Good Old Boys guitarist Pete Parks - I believe he goes out there and plays several times a year and organises shows over here for them in return. When we arrived High Voltage were roaring through an AC/DC song or two, and sounding very good indeed; later Al and I joined Pete on guitar, Bill on bass and the drummer from High Voltage (I can't remember his name! Sorry!) to play 'Peter Gunn' and 'Why Why Me', and jolly good fun it was too. 

If you're my age you've got to like Status Quo, or at the very least have a soft spot for them. Well I think that you have - I can remember seeing them on 'Top Of The Pops' when I was a lad playing songs like 'Caroline' and 'Down Down' and thinking that this rock 'n' roll lark looked like a pretty good thing to be involved in. Even my mum and dad liked them. With this in mind a chance to see the original line-up (the so-called 'Frantic Four') at The Hammersmith Odeon (or whatever the hell it's called these days!) seemed like too good an opportunity to miss, not least because the mighty Wilko Johnson was supporting. He sounded as great as ever - actually he sounded even greater than ever, with his 45 minute set going down so well that he could perhaps have played an encore. Everyone seems to love Wilko these days - as we all know his profile has been higher than ever since he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and let's hope he continues to play for a very long time yet. And what can I say about Status Quo that hasn't already been said? Terms like 'industry standard' don't cover it - they sounded, well, exactly like Status Quo should sound, with Rick Parfitt's rhythm playing remaining one of the touchstones of British rock'n'roll guitar and the band reminding everyone present why they liked them in the first place. There could have been a few more hits (I believe the set was based around the 'Live!' album) but I think the current line-up plays them so I guess this was a night for diehards and old fans rather than followers of the chart material. But however you look at it they sounded great - and I imagine that they always did. There are some things in life that you can rely upon, and I'd say that Status Quo are one of them. And that's alright don't you think?