'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...

The Guns Of Brixton

Well it wasn't without the odd mad moment - breaking down on the Rome ring road will stay with me for a while! - but overall the Ruts D.C. European jaunt was a great, maybe even unqualified success. The shows with The Stranglers were uniformly excellent (as indeed were The Stranglers) and our solo shows all went well - highlights were many and varied, but playing The Paris Olympia was fabulous as was the last show of the tour in Huxley's in Berlin (incidentally both of these venues were once played by The Jimi Hendrix Experience - excellent!) where it was great to catch up with Mutti and Monica from Muttis Booking, Andi and Vom from Die Toten Hosen and many more. I made the usual scribbly notes as we went along which will hopefully see the light of day here at some time in the not-too-distant future, and reported as it all happened on Facebook - I'd be lying if I didn't say that 12 shows in 12 days was a long haul, but as we all admitted afterwards, we could all have carried on for more... probably... anyway no time to worry about that now as we finish 2019 with a show at The Brixton Academy this coming Saturday 21st December supporting The Alabama 3. The Woodentops are also on the bill (remember them? They were good!) and with The Alabama 3 playing the whole of their classic first album 'Exile On Coldharbour Lane' it promises to be a fine end to what overall has been a great year for the band. Oh yes!

Do Anything You Wanna Do

'The Crack' by The Ruts was released 40 years ago on September 28th 1979.

I bought it then - my copy still has the 'Pay No More Than £3.99' sticker on the cover - and I absolutely loved it. I still do. It is, in my not-so-humble opinion one of the greatest records of all time, and that means a lot around these here parts - I spent so many hours listening to it, and so many more hours playing along with it in an attempt to decipher the wondrous electric guitar playing of the mighty Paul Fox. Although I couldn't have known it then it wouldn't be that long before I myself would be able to ask him how to play the songs; even more unlikely is the fact that these days I find myself playing the songs on stage with original Ruts Dave and Segs. It's a funny old life sometimes isn't it? You never know what fate has in store for you... 

...for example, who would have predicted a Ruts D.C. Weekender in Crewe, during which we will play 'The Crack', an acoustic set and more? Well certainly not me, but I wouldn't have predicted a European Tour with The Stranglers and a just-before-Christmas show at The Brixton Academy with The Alabama 3 either - as I say, you never know what fate has in store for you... and there's more - we have a live album recorded on the last tour coming out in December, and gigs a-plenty are already coming in for next year - great stuff all round. 

And who would have predicted that your humble narrator would be asked to appear on noted website Everyone Loves Guitar? Segs was on last month - you can hear him here if you'd like to, and very interesting it is too - and I'm recording my appearance tomorrow. I've been sent some sample questions and they're very in depth - I was expecting things like 'what gauge plectrum do you use?', not 'what is your happiest childhood memory?'. This should be interesting - I'm really looking forward to it!

But as if to prove that you don't get something for nothing in life, October 2nd saw the

death of Eddie And the Hot Rods singer Barrie Masters. I can't pretend to have known him well, but every time I did speak to him he was always friendly and enthusiastic, which is more than you can say about many people that you meet. And The Hot Rods have always had a very special place in my musical mind... I saw them play at Brunel University in Uxbridge way back in 1977 (probably 19th October) supported by No Dice - this was the first vaguely 'punk' gig I attended and it remains one of the most exciting evenings I've ever been part of. Everything about it was brilliant - No Dice were excellent (I've got an old single by them but I really must search out some of their stuff one day) and The Hot Rods were absolutely phenomenal. They looked great, sounded greater and, maybe most importantly from my point of view, they might as well have had a bloody great sign saying YOU COULD DO THIS LEIGH above their heads. I was a cripplingly shy, very-young-for-my-age 16 year old, and although it took me a long time I can say without being pretentious (for once!) that I wouldn't be playing the guitar today if it wasn't for that show. I saw them play again on many occasions - this amazing clip of them playing 'The Beginning Of The End' on The Old Grey Whistle Test shows just how great they could be as a live band - and then, incredibly, was lucky enough to appear on stage with the last line up of the band a couple of times, the last of which was at The Islington Academy in April this year - I played 'I Might Be Lying' and Ignore Them' (the A and B side of my favourite Rods record in case you were wondering) and joined a cast of thousands for the last song 'Gloria'. After the song had finished and everyone made their way off stage I somehow found myself with Barrie in the middle of the stage - he looked exhausted but he'd made it through an epic show. I lifted his right arm aloft, as you do with a champion who had just won the toughest fight of their life, and the place went mad. A fantastic, unforgettable moment. 

I owe Barrie and people like him more than I'll ever be able to put into words. 

I think of it every time I play. 

The Stranglers / Ruts DC tour 2017

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

'Time and the devil is gonna bring me everything I need...'

Well it seems like ages since my last blog posting - probably because it is ages since my last blog posting. It turned out that it was a long two weeks, not one… it's been a busy, one might even say intense time since last we spoke - here, in no particular order, is what's been happening...

- Work has continued on the Ruts D.C. album 'Music Must Destroy'. 
Myself and Segs recorded some guitars at Jamm in Brixton and even though I say so myself, we made a pretty good job of it. There's still a way to go, but we'll get there in the end.

- I saw The Blockheads in Chelsea. 
I'd not been to Under The Bridge before - what an extraordinary venue. And what an extraordinary band The Blockheads were, are, and will continue to be. A great gig.

- Ruts D.C. rehearsed for and played at the 'Scotland Calling' festival.
A couple of short sessions at The Music Complex in Deptford set us up for a barnstorming 40 minute set at The ABC in Glasgow, which in turn set your humble narrator up for a barnstorming evening that saw much drinking, merriment and a fair bit of time spent in The Ramonas's' dressing room (no, I'm not quite sure how that happened either!) among the other many and varied highlights. Excellent!

- I worked many-a day at Balcony Shirts. 
It's a busy time in the shop so I've been helping out whenever I can.

- We made a promotional video for the new Ruts D.C. single 'Psychic Attack'. 
Filmed by Graham Trott and featuring noted actor Peter O'Connor, I've seen a rough cut and it looks bloody great. The single and indeed the video is out at the end of next week. Exciting stuff!

- Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks played at The Queen's Arms in Colnbrook.
It was Al's birthday, which went some way towards explaining the lightness of the mood - right up until the moment that someone shouted 'IT"S ALL KICKING OFF OUTSIDE' and virtually the whole pub ran to the windows or indeed went outside, presumably in the hope of witnessing said 'kicking off'. I always think that people who do things like that have never been unfortunate enough to have been caught in a violent incident, as anyone who has generally moves quickly in the other direction… incidentally it didn't all kick off outside, or indeed anywhere else for that matter. Good.

- I guested with Department S at The Fleece in Bristol supporting The U.K. Subs. 
I joined Dept. S for their last three songs and they sounded great with or without me; The Subs were of course as mighty as ever, and first band on Knock Off were pretty good too.

- Probably some other things as well.
It's hard to remember sometimes...

Obviously there's a lot to more to say about all of the above but, rather like the tale of The Giant Rat Of Sumatra, that's a story for which the world is not yet prepared. Or that I haven't got time to write up. Or something. 

More this week. Or next week. Or something.

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...

'Oh no - don't say it's true...'

If I'm still alive on July 24th this year - and I really hope that I will be - I'll be 55 years old.

I can't remember President Kennedy's assassination; I remember Jimi Hendrix dying, and I've already written (here!) in these hallowed pages of the trouble I got in on the day John Lennon left the building. That was probably the biggest 'celebrity death' for me - Princess Diana's passing was a huge international event but I've never been a royalist, and I suppose Kurt Cobain's death was a big one for the generation below mine. My mum always used to say that something bad always happens around Christmas (I don't know why she used to say it, but she always did!) but 2015 had ended with Brad from The Specials and Lemmy dying so surely that was bad enough? So when I woke up on Monday morning to a text message that read 'I need hugs!' from my mate Dave I wasn't sure what to think; when a text then arrived from my friend Nicky that spoke of her feeling 'sick with sadness' I thought that I'd better check the TV news...

If you're my age (or indeed a few years older or younger than me) then David Bowie has, for want of a better term, always been there. Actually he's always been miles ahead of his many imitators and indeed all of the rest of us but you know what I mean I think. And he's still there now too isn't he? There has been so much said and written about him in the last week that I don't really feel as though I can add very much, other than to say that we were lucky, very lucky, to have been on Earth at the same time as he was. Musically my favourite part of his long and magnificent career remains those immortal recordings with The Spiders From Mars, but that's just me - fans everywhere will have a different memory of what a song means to them, of how they felt when they saw him and realised that they weren't alone anymore, or that it was ok to be different, or to feel like an outsider in a world that couldn't see them and didn't care anyway, or, or, or...

Who'll love Aladdin Sane?

By a twist of fate I found myself in Brixton (Bowie's birthplace) on Monday afternoon as myself and Segs were going to Jamm to work on the Ruts D.C. recordings that we began last month. As I walked up the stairs from the underground station it was impossible not to notice that there were rather more Bowie t-shirts around that there might normally be; across from the station a small crowd had gathered around the mural on the side of the Morleys department store, with people leaving flowers, pictures, messages and more - I'm not normally one for grieving over people that I'd never met but it was impossible not to be moved by the scenes. Meanwhile The Academy had 'DAVID BOWIE - FOREVER OUR HERO' in the place where it would normally advertise the evening's main attraction - and why not? Local boy makes good. Local boy makes very good indeed. About as good as it can get if you think about it. 
I like most people have been playing a fair bit of the great man's work in the last few days - I'd actually been listening to the Spiders stuff a fair bit lately anyway in an attempt to tune into Mick Ronson's guitar genius as one of the sources of inspiration for our recordings - and have been struck by just how bloody good Bowie was.

The Bowie Academy.

Well he was wasn't he? And it's easy to forget that - you don't accidentally get a 50+ year career at anything if you're not any good at it, or (as someone remarked to me while telling me that Bowie had been 'lucky' as he 'wasn't particularly talented'. Oh dear...) if all you do is rely on fashion, or gimmicks, or indeed anything other than making great music and giving brilliant performances. David Bowie did both of those things of course, but he also did so much more. I'm sure there'll be a backlash soon, where some jumped up two bit journalist or television presenter tries to make a name for themselves by starting a bit of controversy ('he wasn't that good', 'he stole all his best moves', 'he sacked all The Spiders' - you know the sort of thing) but that'll hardly matter - the last third of The 20th Century belonged to David Bowie, and there's a good chance that a fair bit of The 21st Century will be influenced by him and his work. And rightly so. It is unlikely that we will see his like again, but we should be thankful that we saw it at all. 

Somewhat inevitably the day at Jamm was tinged with sadness. Or was it? Greg the engineer said how proud he felt that Bowie had been from Brixton; I suspect he wasn't the only one in the area with that thought. Rob from The Alabama 3 was on hand, he said that we were there to make music and make music we would - his possibly rather controversial production methods (tins of Red Stripe, bottles of wine and, er, more besides...) coaxed some astonishing vocal performances out of Segs. Even though I say so myself the tracks are sounding great; there's a lot of work still to do and more tracks to record next month but I for one am very optimistic about how the album is shaping up.

After the session I walked back along Brixton Road to the tube station - there were hundreds of people at the mural singing, dancing and indeed crying, an amazing (and from my point of view absolutely unforgettable) outpouring of emotion. It really was quite a thing to see, but nothing less than the occasion deserved.

New boy band forms - 
see you on 'The X Factor'...

On Thursday evening Dave, Segs and myself had what I suppose could be thought of as a 'works outing' to see Henry Rollins at The Barbican. In addition to being a great fan of both The Ruts and Ruts D.C. he of course sang with the band at Paul Fox's last show - I first met him at a rehearsal for said show (you can read the story here if you'd like to) and have spoken to him several times since then, he's an absolutely extraordinary character who is completely unlike anyone else that I've ever met. His 150+ minute show saw him talk (and talk and talk and, er, talk...) about anything and everything that came to mind - although some parts were obviously scripted I spoke to people who had seen other shows on this tour which were apparently quite different in content. Incredible. He told me that he has to have a timer on stage with him otherwise he would 'go on all night'. I for one don't doubt that he could do exactly that.

Tropic At Ruislip hosted Who's Who on Friday evening - given my admiration (oh ok then, worship) for The Who it's always interesting to see a tribute band and Who's Who are probably the best that I've seen (not that I've seen that many!) They're more 'Live At Leeds' than Goldhawk Club, but they make a great job of honouring The Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band In The World. And it was the first gig of 2016 for Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks last night, at The Dashwood Arms near High Wycombe. This was a new venue for the band and I must say that it's an excellent establishment with a good tradition of live music - with Terry elsewhere Dave did a great job on bass and the band began the year on high note.

This week there may well be more Ruts D.C. recording as well as another couple of Buicks gigs and probably more besides - but if you'll excuse me it's time to play 'The Jean Jenie' just one more time...

New Year's Resolution revisited

Nothing ever really changes does it?

2015 began with your humble narrator watching Martin Turner in Ruislip, playing a Sunday afternoon gig in Colnbrook with The Upper Cut and spending rather a lot of time at The Resolution Festival at The 100 Club. 

2016 began with your humble narrator watching Martin Turner in Ruislip, playing a Sunday afternoon gig in Colnbrook with The Upper Cut and spending rather a lot of time at The Resolution Festival at The 100 Club.

As I say, nothing ever really changes does it?

I hadn't been to Tropic At Ruislip for a while; having now seen two shows there within a week of each other (I saw The Rollin' Stoned there last Friday in addition to the former Wishbone Ash man the previous Saturday) it's great to see so many people at what clearly is a thriving venue. I know that some people locally criticise the booking policy - mostly tribute acts with the 'first Friday of the month' show featuring an artist or band performing original material - but if it attracts the sort of audience numbers that these shows did it surely can't be a bad thing. And both the shows were excellent, with Martin Turner and his band sounding every bit as classy as they did last year and The Rollin' Stoned playing a great set of songs from every era of the Stones's long career to a sold out crowd.

My first gig of the year as a musician as opposed to as a spectator was with The Upper Cut at The Queen's Arms in Colnbrook. I'd not played at this pub before although the band played a short notice gig there with Pete depping on guitar last month; it being the first Sunday of the New Year it wasn't as busy as it might have been but there were still more than enough people there to make it work. That said although it was by no means a bad show the band wasn't as tight as it can be so it might well be time for a rehearsal or two before our next gig.

The Resolution Festival opened at The 100 Club last Monday with spirited sets from The Ramonas and The Duel - booked by The Crucial Talent Agency and featuring artists and bands from right across the punk rock spectrum highlights have been many and varied, although I have to say that last night's U.K. Subs show and The Members gig on Tuesday night stood out for me. I joined T.V. Smith and Vom for a few songs during their excellent performance supporting the afore-mentioned Members, and Segs joined us for the set closer 'Gary Gilmore's Eyes' - with Gaye Advert in the audience he confessed to being nervous before the show, but it all went brilliantly well as this short clip shows. All in all a great event which will hopefully take place again next year.

And tomorrow Segs and myself will be in the studio at Jamm in Brixton reviewing and working on last month's Ruts D.C. recordings. 2016 then...

From The West End to The North Bank

January is normally a quiet month gig-wise, and while this one has been no exception in many ways it's been nice to have a bit of time at home. That said there are always a few musical goings-on going on...

On Friday night I returned to Tropic At Ruislip to catch a splendid performance from Like The Beatles. Being a big fan of The Fab Four (the less-charitable might use the term 'Beatle Bore') it was great to see them playing less-than-obvious material like 'Why Don't We Do It In The Road?' amid the expected hits; I was also very impressed with the accuracy of the vocal harmonies that are such a vital part of those amazing records. The all-but-sold-out crowd seemed to enjoy ever minute of it, and I don't mind saying that I did too. I was far too young to have been able to see the original band, and whilst it would be churlish to suggest that a show like this gets anywhere near the excitement of an actual Beatles show if nothing else it does reinforce just how good the songs are. As if we needed reminding?

Saturday saw your humble narrator journey to Holloway for a London Sewage Company gig supporting King Kurt at The 12 Bar Club. Yes, The 12 Bar Club. With Occupy London er, occupying the old club in Denmark Street many of the fixtures and fittings have been moved from the original premises to Phibbers on the Holloway Road - I must say that it was a rather surreal experience to see pictures, staff and indeed club regulars all transplanted from the old place in the new place. Not bad, but definitely surreal... anyway I arrived to find the rest of our band all present and correct and King Kurt setting up so I took the opportunity to visit the wonderfully-named Piebury Corner a couple of doors down for, you've guessed it, a pie. And very nice it was too.
Back at the club our soundcheck was somewhat tense affair, with feedback, monitor problems and everyone having trouble hearing each other. Still we got it all together in the end, and by the time we took to the stage at half past eight the place was filling up nicely. Our set saw a few of the aforementioned soundcheck problems rearing their ugly heads again, but despite it all we played well and got a great reaction from the audience. In the interval I caught up with John King, Sarah Pink, Lee from Infa Riot, Tara from The Duel and more - see what I mean about people being transplanted from the old to the new! - before King Kurt played a storming set. A great evening all round, right up to the moment that I got back to Holloway Road tube station to find the service in disarray and no chance of getting home by train. Bah! Oh well - I made it to Piccadilly Circus, Marble Arch and the night bus home - that used to happen at the old venue too!

And last night I joined Segs and Dave at Jamm in Brixton to work on Ruts D.C. material that should hopefully come out as a 7'' single in time for Record Store Day on April 18th. I'll keep the exact details to myself for the moment, but I did record some backwards guitar on one of the tracks. Great fun - I knew all that time spent listening to 'Tomorrow Never Knows' would come in handy one day... 

Blood on the tracks

I got on a tube train the other day - nothing too unusual about that - and as I sat down I smiled cheerily at the two young ladies who were sitting opposite me. They looked somewhat awkwardly back at me, probably because blood had just started pouring from my nose. Sadly there is nothing too unusual about that either (the nosebleed, not ladies looking awkwardly at me... actually thinking about it... hmmm, maybe it's best that I don't think about that too much!) at this time of year as the hay fever season is once again upon us. Every year I think that I might be lucky and it won't effect me, and every year it does... bah!

In the meantime I have spent much of last week at Jamm in Brixton with house engineer Greg a.k.a Wizard working on, among other things, the upcoming Ruts D.C. live album. We've been reviewing recordings from several shows recorded over the last year or so with a view to compiling the best ones for release - as you might well imagine this is quite a lengthy and time consuming process, not least because the album is being mixed by Lee Groves (an old friend of Dave and Segs) who lives and works in New York. To this end we email a track over to him, he sends us a mix back, we listen and send him comments, he changes the mix accordingly then sends it back, we listen and send him comments... well, you get the idea. However from what I've heard this week it's all going to be worth it, as the tracks are sounding excellent. We're playing at The Concorde 2 in Brighton this coming Friday followed by a show the next night at The BWM Rally at Santa Pod Raceway, and there are more dates coming in all the time - good news all round!

After a day in the studio I travelled across town to The Half Moon in Putney on Friday evening to catch a night promoted by Retro Man blog writer Steve Worrall. I arrived just in time to catch a couple of songs by The Galileo 7, who feature ex - Prisoners bassist Allan Crockford on guitar and vocals. They sounded good enough for me to resolve to catch them again as soon as possible. Next up were The Len Price 3 who delivered a blistering set to the enthusiastic approval of everyone in the by-now sold out room. It was then left to headliners Graham Day and The Forefathers to close a brilliant evening, which they did in fine style. I've been a massive fan of Day's work since I first heard The Prisoners back in the day, and he remains a criminally under-rated singer and songwriter. As I say, a brilliant evening.

I've also played two shows with Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks over the weekend, the first of which was at The Paddington Packet Boat in Cowley. With Pete away for the day I was on solo guitar duties, and with Dave gigging elsewhere Bob Pearce depped on drums for a show that suffered audience-wise at the hands of the England v Honduras game but was nevertheless an enjoyable affair. And I have just - just! - got in from a splendid afternoon show at The Horns in Watford. Dave returned on drums, Pete and myself were both on guitars and everybody in the band gave a fine performance. Great stuff - and there's plenty to look forward to this week, not least the Ruts D.C. gigs at the weekend. Hmmm... I've only played at The Concorde 2 once before, and on that occasion I managed to break to headstock off my Les Paul. Oooo! I intend to be using said instrument for these shows (it has been repaired in the meantime!) and hopefully nothing too untoward will happen this time. Mind you, we are playing on Friday 13th... 

Back to Brixton and beyond

Before last weekend's Ruts D.C. shows Thursday evening saw Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks return to The Sunningdale Lounge in Sunningdale. This was our third appearance there in 2 months which I thought was pushing our luck a bit in terms of us getting an audience, but as so often happens I was wrong (!) and the place was all but full. It just goes to show what I know eh? Our set was well received by all concerned including Graham the guv'nor who again offered us a return gig almost immediately - this time however Al went for a show in a few weeks time on July 24th. Hmmm... that's my birthday...

Ruts D.C. rehearsed on Friday, after which we met up with Richard from Cadiz Music to consider options for future releases. Talk was talked, drinks were (inevitably!) drunk and plans were planned - hopefully there are exciting times ahead... on the way home I called in to Tropic At Ruislip where I arrived just in time to catch Ian Dury And The Blockheads tribute band The Blox who were supporting my old mates The Pistols. With Dury being one of the most distinctive frontmen of them all and The Blockheads being famously brilliant musicians a tribute act has a lot to live up to - I thought they did a good job especially the deputy Dury (although he's got to watch the timing of his tambourine playing - did Dury ever play one?!?) with the band following him every step of the way. Mind you, none of this explains why they played 'Madness' and '54-46 Was My Number'... meanwhile the Pistols were as great as ever, and it was good to catch up with them all again.

I seem to be spending a lot of time at Jamm in Brixton these days, what with us gigging there and then working on Ruts D.C. recordings there at various times in the last few days. After our show there last Monday I met Pete 'Manic Esso' Haynes at The 12 Bar Club - I hadn't seen him for a while and there was a lot to talk about. His latest book 'Cool Water' is published by Caffeine Nights later this month - let's hope it goes some way towards giving Esso the success that his hard work deserves. I was back in Brixton during the day on Tuesday but in the evening I went to Rough Trade East to see Electric River play a launch show for their new album 'The Faith & Patience'. The afore-mentioned Richard was there (Cadiz are putting their album out) as was 'Vive Le Rock' editor Eugene Butcher who manages the band. I hadn't seen them for a while and I thought they sounded terrific. I've since been backwards and forwards to the studio quite a few times since - maybe I should see if there's a Travelodge nearby?!?

And this posting ends as it began, with a BA & The BBs (that's so much easier than typing 'Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks' I can tell you! Mind you, I've just had to type it again to tell you that... bugger!) gig last night at The Three Wishes in Harrow. With the Froch v Groves fight being shown in the venue our show was somewhat inevitably compromised - we played a short set before and a longer set after the boxing, and all things considered it all went pretty well. There are three gigs for the band this coming weekend, although it'll depend on how the studio work goes as to how many of them I'll be able to play. Let's see what this week brings shall we...

From Bristol to Brixton and beyond

It was around half past eight yesterday evening and I was walking towards Brixton Underground Station. As I rummaged in my pocket for my Oyster Card I thought to myself 'hmmm - I've just left Segs with one of the biggest dope smugglers the World has ever seen, someone who used to work for The Kray Twins, and that mad bloke out of The Happy Mondays. What could possibly go wrong?...' 

This frankly astonishing thought came at the end of a splendid three days for Ruts D. C., beginning with a set at VegFest in Bristol on Saturday night. The show went well until about halfway through our set when, as the old saying goes, the heavens opened - I must admit that I didn't realise how heavily it was raining until I saw one of the sound men turning over various plug boards (including, rather worryingly, the one that my effect pedals were plugged into) over, presumably in an attempt to lessen the chance of water getting into them. I have feeling things were possibly a little more dangerous that I thought at the time... before us Goldblade had played a typically boisterous set with John Robb as crazy as ever out front; after us Peter Hook And The Light took the place by storm with a brilliant show that particularly impressed Segs, to such an extent that he even attempted to shake Hooky's hand from in the photographers pit mid-song. John Robb also appeared alongside us the next night at Strummercamp in Cheadle Hulme, this time as lead singer and bass player in The Membranes. I think I last saw them around 30 years ago, and I'm pleased to say that nothing much has changed in the interim period with them sounding every bit as spiky as I remember them sounding first time around. Our show began with a burst of P.A. system feedback that was so severe that we had to stop our first song so that it could be sorted out. From there on in however it was a great gig - we'd decided to play 'Generations' (a song that Segs wrote with Joe Strummer and Rat Scabies) and since Seamus Beaghen was going to be there (he was on later with Lee Thompson and used to play with us) we hoped that he would join us for that and a few other songs, but sadly he was delayed and couldn't make it which was a real shame - still it was great to see him again. We'd also added the old Ruts track 'S.U.S.' to the set all weekend which was great to play and went down really well so hopefully that'll stay in the show for the next batch of shows. We went down well enough that we could have played an encore but with things running late we thought it was better that we didn't and so made way for Lee Thompson's Ska Orchestra who finished off proceedings in fine style. And we made it to Jamm in Brixton yesterday afternoon (while he was queueing in a motorway service station toilet Segs was stopped by someone with the words 'this is a strange place to meet a bass legend'. I suppose it was if you think about it!) in time to make a 'surprise' appearance (well it certainly was a surprise to us as we didn't know that we were definitely appearing until two days before!) at the 'Best In Brixton' charity event. After checking in it was time for a drink - we arrived back from The Crown And Anchor (well, we had a set list to write!) just as Howard Marks was presenting extracts from his 'Scholar, Smuggler, Prisoner, Scribe' one man show, and from what I saw I wish I'd seen the whole thing. As we were about to go onstage a chap came up to me and asked 'are these The Ruts who did 'Babylon's Burning' and all that?' I told him that, yes, some of them are... Tenor Fly joined us for 'Mighty Soldier', 'S.U.S.' seemed even more powerful than on the previous two evenings (I really hope that it stays in the set!) and the final adrenalin rush of 'Society' bought the proverbial house down. A great show, after which I met the afore-mentioned Mr. Marks, Freddie Foreman (or 'Brown Bread Fred' as he was known back in the day. Oo-er!) and Bez, who was DJ-ing later in the evening. Sometimes I can hardly believe what I type here.

Incidentally, in case you were wondering - Segs is fine, although he didn't get to bed until gone 9 o'clock this morning. I don't suppose that I would have either...

Acoustic alchemy

So how did last week's tube strike effect you? Speaking personally it made me feel quite nauseous - well that's not strictly true, as what actually made me feel nauseous was the amount of television time devoted to the ever-odious Boris Johnson as he attempted to get his photo taken with anybody unfortunate enough to be next to him in a train carriage, all the while banging on about how naughty and horrid those nasty unions are. What a twerp. And then there was all that stuff about Bob Crow being on holiday the week before the strike. The Royal Family are permanently on holiday aren't they - at least they are when they're not out huntin' shootin' and fishin'. Why was nobody having a go at them? Oooo don't get me started...

The downside of the tube strike from my point of view is that I didn't get to a Ruts D.C. rehearsal in Deptford on Thursday, a shame not least because we were due to look at material for both the German gigs at the weekend and the acoustic show on Monday. I also was obliged to leave early from Jamm in Brixton on Tuesday evening where work was continuing on various Ruts and Ruts D.C. recordings, although at least Segs, Dave and myself did get chance to have a short acoustic rehearsal while we were there, which was just as well as this turned out to be our last chance before the shows. I therefore spent much of Thursday running through the songs at home - as I sat playing along with 'The Crack' it struck me that I had learned to play by doing just that (and indeed by playing along with many other records) all those years ago. A very strange thought, although not as strange as some of the thoughts running through my head at 4.30am the next day as I struggled to get myself up in time to catch my cab to Heathrow Airport...
After checking in at Terminal 1 Dave (drums) Segs (bass) Molara (vocals) Nick (sound man) and myself adjourned to The Giraffe Cafe (with Dave triumphantly announcing 'I'll stick my neck out' as we decided to eat there. Ouch!) for breakfast before we headed to Gate 5 for our flight to Dusseldorf, which was reasonably uneventful (good!) until the rather bumpy landing (bad!) We then met up with tour manager Mutti and Freider our driver (that's how I'm going to spell his name - that's certainly how it's pronounced and I can't find anything on the Internet to help me. I knew I should have asked him!) to make our way to The Getaway Club in Solingen where we're headlining The OxFest celebrating 25 years of Ox fanzine. However first we have a planned detour to see Die Toten Hosen drummer Vom at his house where we've been invited for 'tea and biscuits'. Rock 'n' Roll eh? Vom features heavily on many T.V. Smith recordings and I saw him playing many years ago in Doctor And The Medics; he turned out to be a very nice chap who in addition to providing the afore-mentioned refreshments also showed us around his house including the very impressive downstairs bar which we were told was the scene of many misadventures. Somehow we managed to leave before anything too untoward happened.
We arrived at The Getaway mid-afternoon (where there was probably the biggest dog that I have ever seen. Molara's comment that she could 'ride it onto the stage' tells you all that you need to know!) to find everything set up and ready for soundchecking, which was straightforward enough although somewhat enlivened by the presence of a local television crew and a presenter decked out in what I was told (by him) was a traditional hunting outfit. Strange but true. He attempted to interview Dave while he was soundchecking the drums, although Dave was more interested in trying the interviewer's hat on... from there it was off to check in at the nearby Kempe Hotel where I'm sharing room 216 with Nick - we turn the television on to find the footage from the venue already being aired! 

(And here is that footage - that's Nick behind the sound desk, and you can hear Dave and myself soundchecking in the background. Sadly they didn't use the interview with Dave!) 

We returned to the venue around 6.30 for some food (all vegetarian and / or vegan, all excellent) and to check stage times - we're due on at 11.20 so with plenty of time to spare we return to the hotel before Dave, Segs, Nick and myself find ourselves in The Agora Lounge a few doors down form the hotel. After a couple of drinks it's back to the venue where there's a good-sized crowd in attendance and The Generators about to take to the stage. They're all big Ruts fans (good boys!) and have their pictures taken with Dave and Segs before going on to play an excellently energetic show. Our show is a rowdy affair, there are people calling out for songs from the word go (most if not all of which we play) and by the end of our set the place is going crazy. We encore with 'Society' and 'In A Rut' - Segs invites The Generators to join us on stage and Manny the bass player takes up the challenge and indeed Segs's' bass guitar, riffing with relish during my solo. After the show we find ourselves in the upstairs bar where we see Frank and co. who we first met at our Berlin show back in September and who were also at the Bremen show that's currently being prepared for live album release; I also see Faf from The Tips who supported us on last year's German shows and who gave me a (very good) promotional CD of three tracks from their latest album 'Trippin''. Drinks are drunk, stories are told and we make it back to our hotel for around 3am. A splendid evening.

The next morning I make it down for breakfast by 10am, although I'm not sure how. By midday we've left for the evening's show in Stuttgart (pausing only to say goodbye to The Generators who were also staying at our hotel) and I'm asleep again within 15 minutes of us setting off. No surprise there then... we wind our way to Stuttgart (pausing only for an impressive amount of food at a motorway service station) eventually arriving there just as it's getting dark. We check in at The Astoria Hotel (there are some very mixed reviews on the lik - see what you think!) before going to Goldmark's to set up and soundcheck. The club was named after Peter Carl Goldmark, who among his many achievements invented the long-playing record. Top man! Also on the bill are Sumpfpaepste (don't ask me how to say it!) who are soundchecking as we leave to go back to our hotel to pick up some bits and pieces - as we walk towards the van a rat runs out across our path. Oo-er!
When we arrive back at Goldmark's Sumpfpaepste are on stage and the place is packed with people still arriving. The scene is set for a great gig and I'm pleased to say that is exactly what transpires, although speaking personally I wasn't happy with my performance. You get nights where everything goes right and you get nights where everything goes wrong, and for me this was definitely one of the latter. I just couldn't for want of a better term 'get hold' of the gig. Still no one told me that I played badly so I'm going to do my best not to dwell on it... actually thinking about it, I probably shouldn't have mentioned it here! Afterwards there's time for a few drinks (well, quite a few drinks actually) before we return to our hotel for some well-earned sleep.

Sunday starts just a bit too early for some (well, it certainly does for me!) as we've got to be at Stuttgart Airport before 10 o'clock to check in for our flight home. Once again our flight was reasonably uneventful (good!) until the rather bumpy landing (bad!) and after collecting my guitar from outsize baggage I got on the phone to Big Al Reed - he and The Blistering Buicks were playing at Colnbrook at Ye Olde George Inn at 5pm, and before I left for Germany I'd arranged with him that provided my flight wasn't delayed (it wasn't!) I'd meet him at the airport and join the band for the gig. I met him outside Terminal 5 and we made our way to the venue - we were a bit early so decided to have something to eat, but sadly they'd run out of food (!) so we spent the next hour or so attempting to find somewhere locally that wasn't either packed out or not serving meals. By now it was all catching up with me a bit, to the extent that it all felt a bit surreal - by the time the show came around I was feeling rather disorientated (and not from alcohol, I hadn't had any, honest!) although the show went well with everybody on good form throughout. 

I got home around 9 o'clock, and felt grateful for it being an early show as it gave me a chance to catch up on some sleep before spending Monday in Balcony Shirts. At closing time it was straight onto The Metropolitan Line into London (meeting Pete 'Manic Esso' Haynes on the way) for Ruts D.C.'s first ever acoustic show, at The 12 Bar Club in Denmark Street. It's the first of 13 Reggae Punk Monday nights, all of which will feature The Duel (their singer Tara organises the shows) along with different guest bands and artists each week. Segs is resident DJ, and when we arrived he was setting up his gear in anticipation of a busy night. Having had minimal rehearsal time our soundcheck was more along the lines of a 'what songs do you think we need to try?' session than perhaps it should have been, but as always Nick got everything sounding excellent. With Segs staying behind to start the evening's music (and Esso staying behind in the bar!) Dave and myself went off in search of some food, finding the Aziz Mangal Turkish restaurant on Shaftesbury Avenue where we order too much food (well, too much for me anyway - it was really nice though!) and discuss tactics for the months ahead. When we returned to The 12 Bar Club The Duel were playing to a packed room and people were still arriving - we though it would be a busy night but nothing had prepared us for the amount of people that were in attendance. After setting Segs and my guitars up I go to the bar to get myself and Dave a drink - by the time I'm served I can see Dave and Segs ready to play with Dave saying 'LEIGH HEGGARTY TO THE STAGE PLEASE!' in a somewhat exasperated manner down his microphone but the place is so crowded that I physically can't get near to the stage. I eventually manage to fight my way through - I hand Dave his drink and he smiles a big smile. That's a relief, I thought that I'd annoyed him. We start the show with 'Something That I Said' and it feels great - our set goes by in no time and the audience love it. Larry Love from The Alabama 3 and Aynzli Jones join us for 'Smiling Culture' (no rehearsal at all for that one! You can see it here if you like...) and a couple of songs from the end Segs announces that there's no point in us finishing and then doing an encore as we can't get off the stage, so we play 'Society' and 'In A Rut' to finish a terrific gig. Afterwards there are comments a-plenty from audience members, all of whom hope that it's not the only acoustic show that we play. I agree with them - it really was a great thing to be part of, and hopefully we'll be doing more shows like it in the future.

And here is footage of the first few minutes of the show - I told you that I couldn't get to the stage! There are also two reviews of the gig courtesy of the excellent Elvis In the Clouds and Stupefaction blogs -that's my handwriting on the setlist in the second review...

Well what a few days that was - in contrast there is just one gig for your humble narrator this weekend, with Back To Zero at The Gardeners Retreat in Stoke-on-Trent. It should be a relatively quiet weekend compared to the last one - although having just read back through what I've written here this may not be a bad thing...