'Felicitations on the anniversary of the commencement of your journeys around the sun'

...and what a splendid night the second anniversary party for Ruislip's Sounds Of The Suburbs record shop turned out to be, with excellent sets from The Witchdoktors and Religion Equals Decay (aka RED) alongside a show from Punky Reggae Party which saw your humble narrator reunited with an old friend. Back in the 1980s The Price played several gigs with a fine band from the Acton area called 1926 - I'd not seen any of them for the best part of 30 years so it was great to discover that their singer / guitarist John now plays in Punky Reggae Party. I was invited by bassist Chris to join the band 'for a few songs' when I met him back in April at Ruts D.C.'s Balcombe gig - somehow over the last couple of weeks this progressed to 'why don't you do the whole show?' Well why not indeed? So I did - which means that as well as sharing the stage with my old mate John I also got to play 'Up Against The Wall' with Tom Robinson Band keyboard maestro Ian Parker (he was in the band, he didn't just suddenly appear there!) among other highlights. Which reminds me - I also joined The Witchdoktors for their encore of the Damned classic 'Neat Neat Neat' which, as I'd already played it with PRP, meant that I got to play the same song with two different bands on the same night. Weird!

Talking of splendid nights Sunday just gone saw Sylvain Sylvain play The Dublin Castle in Camden Town. Like all sensible people I'm a big New York Dolls fan, and I'm pleased to report that the man himself was in fine form, promoting his new book 'There's No Bones In Ice Cream' with some great stories from the rock 'n' roll frontline and an acoustic set of Dolls classics and more. But some of the most memorable moments for your humble narrator were away from the stage - I went over to say hello to Gaye Advert and found myself being introduced to Bobby Gillespie and Thurston Moore. I'd just finished talking to them when I got a cheery wave from Damian O'Neill of The Undertones. The things I type here sometimes eh? And did Thurston Moore really say that he liked The Price? Yes, incredibly, he did. As I say, weird - and getting weirder!

Anyway it's my birthday today. I know that some people don't like having birthdays but I really like them, especially given the rather basic alternative... I often find that I get a bit introspective at this time of year, and reading through this posting I do seem to be looking back more than I'm looking forward... ah well - it's only once a year. At at the same time every year. Hopefully. 
I called Price merch man East earlier (it'd be difficult to him call later and be able to comment on it here if you think about it!) about meeting up tonight - his opening line was so brilliant that I've shamelessly stolen it for the title of this posting. And I've got 'Torn And Frayed' by The Rolling Stones playing in the background at the moment - 'just as long as the guitar plays'... see what I mean? Introspective. 

Hmm... time for a drink, or two, I think - don't you?

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...

Happy talk

Have you ever found that it's possible to look forward to something so much that it's all but inevitable that it's a disappointment when it actually happens? I know that I have... last night at The Forum in Kentish Town had all the makings of just such an occasion - but, thankfully it was no such thing. Captain Sensible's 60th Birthday Party was all that it promised to be and more. Everybody on the bill played a great show - T.V. Smith appeared with Vom on drums for the first time in The U.K. ('TVOM'!) and gave a typically energetic performance to begin the evening; the only annoyance from my point was that when I spoke to them both afterwards they said that if they'd been able to find me before the show then they'd have asked me to join them for a few numbers. Bah! (I of course was in The Assembly House mourning the loss of The Bull and Gate... mind you, have neither of them ever heard of mobile phones?!?) Next up was Johnny Moped, who I first saw supporting The Damned at The Marquee sometime last century - he was bonkers then and he's bonkers now, with 'Panic Button' remaining a neglected classic of the genre. Maybe one day I'll work out what genre it's part of... with the venue getting fuller and fuller (surely there was more people in than there should have been?) Ed Tudor-Pole went down a storm, although you could feel the anticipation for the main attraction building throughout his set. By the time The Damned appeared everybody was in party mood, and The Captain and co. rose to the occasion to give a mighty performance which ended with balloons and silly string everywhere. It couldn't really have ended any other way. All that remained was for Ruts D.C. to close the evening - we battled against collapsing microphone stands and what was probably the worst onstage sound that I've ever experienced (someone said that the monitor engineer was eating his dinner during our show - I don't think that they were joking...) to give what we thought was a below-par show but which everyone that any of us spoke to assured us was fine out front. That's a lot better than us thinking that it was great but that it actually wasn't don't you think? Afterwards there was time for a drink in the upstairs bar where Gaye Advert introduced me to her sister Wendy, I saw Sarah Pink for the first time in a while and Eugene from Vive Le Rock magazine kept asking me when we're going to play some new songs. They're on their way Eugene, they're on their way... and probably strangest of all, Captain Sensible asked me to sign his birthday book. Why is that strange? Well because I never thought that someone like him would ever ask me to do something like that for them. I'm supposed to ask them for autographs, not the other way round! A great night from start to finish. Happy Birthday Captain - here's to many more.

Ruts D.C. and T.V. Smith at The 2013 Rebellion Festival

What follows is an attempt to write a piece about my four days at The Rebellion Festival last weekend. Most of it was written while I was there (or has been taken from notes made at the time) and while it's a bit disjointed here and there it does reflect the general feel of the weekend complete with a very unexpected incident along the way. Enjoy.

Thursday - a good journey up to Blackpool with Andy Peart and 'Fast' Tony Clarke saw your humble narrator arrive at Grampian House bed and breakfast establishment around 7.15pm. 'Oooh you've got wi-fi, we haven't got wi-fi' said Fast Tony ruefully. Yes, but you've no doubt got a jacuzzi - mind you, wi-fi is probably more useful... room 5 looks good to me so I sort my stuff out then walk along the seafront to The Winter Gardens to collect my AAA wristband then join Andy and Tony for veggie burgers at Nando's. Rock 'n' roll eh? By the time we've eaten it's nearer to 10 o'clock than 9; at the venue we meet up with Esso, John King, Phil from Bug and his wife Annette and more in the Spanish Bar, all of which means that the first act the I actually see is Walter Lure whose set in The Arena starts at midnight with 'One Track Mind'. I last saw him play nearly 30 years ago with Johnny Thunders And The Heartbreakers, and I'm pleased to say that the ensuing years haven't dulled his Les Paul swagger one bit. From there is was off to The Bizarre Bazaar for a few songs from The Ramonas (who played 'Chinese Rocks' just a few minutes after Walter Lure - weird!) before heading to The Empress Ballroom for a brilliant set from New Model Army with Justin Sullivan as intense as ever and the band sounding superb. A good start to proceedings.

Friday - I made it down to The Winter Gardens in time to catch around half the set from Taurus Trakker and very good they were too, although it was impossible not to be distracted by The Good-Fer-Nothing Circus who were to one side of the stage inviting people to have their photos taken standing on top of a chap laying on a bed of nails. Scary! In the meantime I had to find Stuart the head of merchandising to find out if I could store the two boxes of t-shirts and CDs that I'd bought with me somewhere in the venue ready for Saturday's gig; if that proved to be possible I then had to work out how to get them to the venue as I couldn't carry them all on my own. Sounds simple doesn't it? Well the first part certainly was, and Stuart turned out to be a very nice chap who couldn't have been more helpful and who offered to store the shirts in a room where he kept all the event merchandise. So far so good. So now all I had to do was collect the shirts and take them to the venue. Simple eh?
Have you ever been to Blackpool? I used to go there with my family when I was a lad and so have a lot of good memories about the place, but that was before the words 'one way system' meant anything to me. Myself and the afore-mentioned Phil and Annette (who had rather wildly volunteered to help) spent the best part of an hour attempting to find the back doors of The Winter Gardens - well, that's not strictly true as we knew where it was, we just couldn't work out how to get to it thanks to the psycho drama that is the Blackpool one way system. Several people offered directions, but they always said things like 'well it depends on whether (insert road name here) is open today or not' - many of the roads have those bollards that can be raised or lowered according to which way they're running the roads that day, which means that no one really knows how to get anywhere on any given day. It's mad! Still we got there in the end after a predictably huge amount of swearing and general insanity. After that it was time to see some bands so I did, catching all or part of sets by Eastfield, Charred Hearts, Long Tall Texans, Attila The Stockbroker, Hazel O'Connor, Wob, The Beatlesons, The Crows, The Duel, Peter And The Test Tube Babies, The Guitar Gangsters, Eddie And The Hot Rods, The Damned, Ed Banger And The Nosebleeds (no sign of Morrissey or Billy Duffy sadly) The Vibrators, Neck, The Buzzcocks, Justin Sullivan And Dean White, Space and probably some others. During this time any number of bars were open selling any number of beers - you can work the rest out for yourself...

Saturday - ok, here we go then. All this drinking and cavorting is all very well (and it must be said, tremendous fun!) but the real reason that I'm here is that tonight Ruts D.C. headline The Bizarre Bazaar stage. After spending a lazy morning running through a few of the songs on guitar I arrived at the venue around half past twelve to be told that our merchandise table would be available at 2pm so I got some lunch and saw a couple of numbers from Texas Terri Bomb before retrieving the shirts and discs and setting up our stall. Our slot was next to The Bizarre Bazaar which meant that I managed to see at least a couple of songs from most of the bands playing there that afternoon (all of whom have released material on All The Madmen Records) and met a lot of very nice people, many of whom made comments that confirmed what had become more and more evident since I first arrived at the festival - that a lot of people were really looking forward to our show. No pressure then...
The rest of the band arrived around half past five - after they'd bought our equipment in Segs heroically offered to take over the stall (I say 'heroically' as he was immediately besieged with people wanting autographs and to have their photo taken with him) while I went to get some food and to collect my guitar from my room. Upon my return we formulated a plan - Mark the driver would take over on the stall and we'd all meet in our dressing room at 10 o'clock to warm up for the show. This gave me chance to see a couple of songs from Chas And Dave and to catch up with a few people before climbing the four flights of stairs (!) to our dressing room at the allotted time. Myself and Segs had ran through quite a few songs or bits of songs before Dave joined us; Molara and Seamus arrived soon after that and it was suddenly half past eleven and time to get ready for the gig. And what a gig it was - the place was packed (and I mean packed) and with people dancing from the word go the next 75 minutes passed by in what felt like seconds. An extraordinary show, followed by an equally extraordinary time back out on the merch stall, where hands were shaken, CDs and records were signed and we all agreed that the gig had been everything we hoped it would be. Oh yes!

Sunday - first things first, and it's back to the venue to load up the van and wish the rest of the band a safe journey home. As I walked back through the venue I saw T.V. Smith behind his merchandise stall and decided to go over to say hello; when I got there here was taping a piece of cardboard to the front of the table - it said that his show was being bought forward a half an hour to 9 o'clock and would feature your humble narrator as 'special guest'. Oo-er! It turned out that Pascal Briggs should have been on before T.V. but hadn't made it to the festival so a longer set was now required - 'I've been trying to call you but couldn't get through - do you know anyone who could lend you an acoustic guitar?'
I went back to base camp, had a shower and got my (electric) guitar out. I hadn't played a show with the mighty Mr. Smith since back in March but fortunately I had all the songs that I play with him on my mobile phone for just such an emergency (if only it worked as a telephone as well!) and so set about revising some songs. I also managed to get an hour and a bit of sleep - well, it was going to be a long evening...
As I walked back to the venue The Red Arrows were displaying over the sea - Blackpool appeared to be at a standstill with people parked up on street corners and all the pavements crammed with onlookers. I wended my weary way through them and went straight to the venue office where I arranged to borrow a guitar; there was was time for some food before catching a few songs from The Riffs, I, Ludicrous and Lene Lovich. I'd arranged to meet T.V. at The Almost Acoustic stage at half past eight, where the very helpful soundman Huggy produced a guitar that had been left there for me by Jennie from The Crows. (Thanks Jennie - that's another drink I owe you! Oh and thanks to Billy Liar for lending me a capo too.) After a (very) quick soundcheck T.V. took to the stage for 30-odd minutes of excellence before beginning 'Immortal Rich' which was my cue to start getting ready to go on. I knew he'd be doing two more songs after that -  plenty of time to go to the toilet (even guitar heroes need to have a pee before the show you know!) and get a drink. Or so I thought - I met several people who had enjoyed the Ruts D.C. show and who wanted to tell me all about it. Well I don't want to be rude but I'm on in five minutes...
I just - just! - made it to the stage as my name was announced. Phew! I just made through the set too, with T.V. calling a couple of songs that I hadn't revised - I didn't know that I had quite so much skin on my teeth! By the end of our set we were treated to the unusual sight of massed poging at an acoustic gig, an amazing end to a great show. 
Afterwards it's handshakes and photos all round before heading to the Empress Ballroom to see Sham 69. I was never their biggest fan but I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed their show - and no one is more surprised than me to be typing that sentence.
Only one thing could follow that - the after show party upstairs in The Spanish Bar. Now it's at this point that details get sketchy. Very sketchy. I definitely spent a fair bit of time talking to Gaye Advert, and Richard from Cadiz Music, and Arturo Bassick, Eugene from Vive Le Rock and no doubt quite a few other people too; when that ended at 4am I went to The Orbiston Hotel with various members of The Duel where incredibly the bar was still open. Details are even more sketchy after that... but what a weekend it had been my friends, what a weekend it had been. Same time next year? Let's hope so.

'...but it helps...'

I've been listening to 'Aladdin Sane' by David Bowie a fair bit lately (well to be pedantic I've been playing it in the background while I've been doing other things) and I'd all but forgotten what a great album it is. To my ears there's not a bad track on it, Mick Ronson is in 'guitar god mode' throughout and the songs are some of Bowie's best - mighty stuff. Track one side two (in old money) is 'Time' - it caught my ear a couple of minutes ago as I reflected on how busy the last week has been and how little time I have to do things like write a blog piece at the moment. So here is an edited (sometimes very edited) version of the highs and lows of life in mad-guitar-World since last we spoke, taken from scribbly notes made along the way and some rather blurred memories. Maybe one day I'll get chance to write the 'full' version, but in the meantime...

WEDNESDAY 8TH MAY - RUTS D.C. REHEARSAL in DEPTFORD

With a London gig looming on Friday our heroes return to The Music Complex in Deptford for a session that should have seen us joined by Tenor Fly and Rob from The Alabama 3, both of whom will be appearing with us as special guests at the show, and both of whom had called to say that they couldn't make it before we'd even started playing. Hmm... a chance setting of 'slapback echo' on the P.A. system had Segs singing in a spoof rockabilly manner - we then spent much of our time playing attempting to play our songs in said style before adjourning to The Little Crown and deciding to form a group called Rockabilly Solution. No, really, that was what happened. Even I couldn't make that up.

THURSDAY 9TH MAY - THE U.K. SUBS / T.V. SMITH at THE 100 CLUB in LONDON

After a day at Balcony Shirts (yes, I'm still working there in between all this other stuff) I should really have gone home and got an early night in preparation for the afore-mentioned London show. Instead I went to The 100 Club. I really must try to look after myself a bit better don't you think?

T.V. Smith - analysis is futile. Simply brilliant
Interval - meet up with T.V. and Gaye, Tara and Andy from The Duel, various Phobics, my mate Tom, Coppo and Lynda, arch Price fan Romford Dave and more. Excellent.
The U.K. Subs - analysis is futile. A punk rock institution.
After the show - meet up with all of the above again and introduce myself to U.K. Subs guitar hero Jet who turns out to be a very nice chap. Excellent.

FRIDAY 10TH MAY - RUTS D.C. GIG at THE UNDERWORLD in CAMDEN

Over 200 tickets sold and a good walk up is expected for our 'Rhythm Collision Volume 2' launch gig - no pressure then. I'd not played at The Underworld before - great support sets from Electric River and Dirty Revolution before a potentially classic Ruts D.C. show is interrupted when Molara gets hit in the face by a plastic glass thrown from the crowd. (Yeah I know the term 'plastic glass' makes no sense but you know what I mean I think.) Aside from that the show goes brilliantly well and my old mate Big Andy copes manfully with utter chaos on the merchandise stall after the show. I shake hands with the entire audience (well, it felt as though I did) and ponder why anybody would buy an overpriced watered-down drink and then throw it or the empty (plastic) glass that it came in at a band that they've paid to see and therefore presumably enjoy listening to. Fail to find a satisfactory answer so go across the road to The Mango Room where Segs is DJing. When we got there he was at the bar - he was still there when we left...

And here's 'Mirror Smashed' from the show - even though I say so myself, we played well!

SATURDAY 11TH MAY - RUTS D.C. GIG at THE BOX in CREWE

Seamus after breakfast
 outside the venue -
'nice friendly atmosphere'...

Arrive at The Box to be told that all but one of our rooms at the adjoining hotel were 'trashed last night' (their words not mine) and so most of us were now staying at The Ramada Encore but would be coming back for breakfast in the morning. Strange but true. Soundcheck a bit fraught due to a lack of local crew (cue 'no crew in Crewe' gags) and a lack of microphones which resulted in a bit of rearranging of various things already on stage (we were supporting Spear Of Destiny) and meaning that I ended up not having a vocal mic. There's a fully signed 'Live At Leeds' album above the sound desk - if I had one of them then I'm not sure that I'd let it out of the house. Our show goes well until a rather peculiar chap starts shouting abuse and making various well-known gestures at Seamus from the front of the crowd. He copes well but once again a potentially excellent show gets a bit soured. The guy finds him in the bar afterwards and continues winding Seamus up until he loses his temper and slaps him. A scuffle ensues - where are venue security when you need them? We get back to the van to discover that we've got a flat battery. Bugger.

And here are the last two songs from our set - and why not?

SUNDAY 12TH MAY - THE UPPER CUT at YE OLDE GEORGE INN in COLNBROOK

We eventually got a jump start from one of the venue's security men (I decided not to ask him where he'd been earlier!) and got to the hotel to find the bar still open. Good. Buy some drinks and meet some lads who were at the show and who loved our performance. One of them spots my Dr. Feelgood badge and announces that he's a big Wilko Johnson fan - much jollity ensues, as eventually does nowhere near enough sleep. We make it back to the venue for half past nine - breakfast there has previously been described as 'legendary' by several sources and has since been described by some other less complimentary words by various band members. My namby-pamby poncy vegetarian egg on toast is fine-ish. Spend much of the journey South drifting in and out of consciousness before arriving home with an hour to spare before leaving for a 5pm Upper Cut gig at The Olde George in Colnbrook. Yes, I thought it was a bit if an odd time for a gig too. Play a rousing (if slightly jet-lagged from my point of view) performance to an enthusiastic audience who include a man who spends a fair bit of our set singing along whilst using a chair leg as a microphone. As the leg is still attached to the chair this is a somewhat dangerous concept... get home sometime after 8 o'clock, have a sandwich and think that maybe I should have an early-ish night, but instead go to The Load Of Hay to meet East for a drink. Or two. Or three. What was that about 'looking after myself'?

MONDAY 13TH MAY - THE OLD FIRM CASUALS at THE FIDDLERS ELBOW in CAMDEN

After a busy day in Balcony Shirts I met John 'Football Factory' King at Chalk Farm tube station before going at The Enterprise where I saw Romford Dave (who'd also been at the Ruts D.C. gig on Friday - 'we can't go on meeting like this' etc etc) and spent £3 on a portion of chips and quite a bit more on two drinks. No, I don't know why either. Got to The Fiddlers Elbow, said hello to Lee from Infa Riot and then realised that I was in a room with an almost endless amount of very scary-looking skinheads. As I went to the bar to get some drinks (obviously!) I heard the words 'Is that a Tootal?' I turned to see a giant man pointing at my scarf; I then said the words 'yes it is' in a voice that sounded to me to be at least two octaves higher than normal. 'Looks good mate' said he cheerily. Meanwhile, in the background, an Oi! band was playing...

Angry Agenda - aptly named as they all seemed to be very annoyed about something. Very good though.
Control - initially had trouble getting the bass guitar working. Got there in the end. Also very good.
The Old Firm Casuals - roared through a blazing hour of melodic anthems. Great stuff.

Considered staying for another drink with John and Lee after the show as they were hoping to get a word with Lars but I was flagging (perhaps unsurprisingly!) a bit and so decided to leave after the band finished so as not to be worrying about missing the last train. Woke up as my train pulled in to Pinner station -  in my delirium I'd got on the wrong train and now had to get back to Harrow-On-The-Hill in time to catch the last Uxbridge train. Only just made it - but at least I made it. I'm bloomin' tired now though...

...and I expect I'll be bloomin' tired this coming weekend too, when Ruts D.C. play at The Globe in Cardiff on Friday evening and The Bearded Theory Festival in Derbyshire at 3.30pm on Saturday. Can't wait!

I'm not free - but I'm Cheap

Good news my friends - 'Anthology' by T.V. Smith's Cheap is available now on Easy Action Records. It contains the band's posthumous album 'R.I.P... Everything Must Go!' plus outtakes, John Peel sessions and more. Hurrah! The package has some great photos of the band from back in the day alongside sleevenotes by T.V.'s biographer Dave Thompson and, incredibly, me. Why me? Well back in the dim and distant past your humble narrator made a very brief appearance as guitarist in the band - many details from that fateful evening are a bit sketchy (when I asked East to help me recall what happened his reply of 'you're asking me to remember something that happened in a pub that served beer over 20 years ago' pretty much sums up his and indeed my approach to things at the time) but it's an incident that I do get asked about from time to time, especially when I'm playing duo gigs with the mighty Mr. Smith.

So here, as far as can be recalled, is what happened...

Dramatis personae - 

T.V. SMITH'S CHEAP -   T.V. Smith- vocals 
                                   Mik Heslin - guitar  
                                   Andy Bennie - bass  
                                   Martin Deniz - drums

THE PRICE -                 Malcolm Andrews - vocals  
                                   Leigh Heggarty (me!) - guitar  
                                   Huggy Harewood - bass  
                                   Mick Francis - drums  
                                   East - roadie, merchandise man and probably some other things as well

The show in question took place at The Samuel Beckett (which I believe is now called The Three Crowns) in Stoke Newington in January 1991. The Price were supporting Cheap - I'd probably have been there anyway to watch the band but that explains why I had a guitar and amplifier with me - and as we arrived we were told that the evening had taken an unexpected turn. As you'd expect we were due to go on first, but as their guitarist Mik had become unavailable (his wife was having a baby, the timing of which is obviously unpredictable) T.V. was going to do an acoustic set, aided and abetted by Martin on percussion. From memory I don't think Andy was originally going to play as well; having said that I think he had his bass with him, although he might have borrowed Huggy's for what was to come? Anyway it was suggested (I think by T.V. himself) that we went on last as it would be a better end to the evening - I'm not sure that I agreed with him! - and after a short discussion about set times it was all arranged. We soundchecked, then T.V. strapped on an acoustic guitar (I think this was the first time I ever saw him play one) and ran through a couple of numbers. At some point around this time in proceedings I said something along the lines of 'I'd have learned your set if you'd told me that Mik wasn't going to be here' - although I hadn't been 100% serious (I don't think I had anyway) when I'd said what I said the moment was seized upon and what might politely be described as an 'intense discussion' between T.V., Andy, Martin and myself followed. Did I actually think that I could play some of their songs? Well, I'd got the 'Third Term' single so knew that song quite well; there was also a much-listened-to John Peel session to consider, and I'd seen the band play many times... Andy and I picked up our instruments and played the chord sequence to 'Third Term' - it sounded good, we could do this! 

T.V. Smith's Cheap
Mik, T.V.,Andy and Martin.

Or could we? Was it a bit of a daft idea? Much musing followed, culminating in a plan - T.V. would play his acoustic set as he'd planned, Martin would join him on percussion for a song or two and then Andy and myself would take to the stage for 'Third Term' to finish his show. All well and good - except... except... I really liked 'Luxury In Exile' (I still do!) and I know it, really I do, it's on the Peel session, I've heard it loads of times, let's do that one as well, please... ok, so we'll do that, then 'Third Term' - but what happens if they want an encore? 

It's nearly showtime and things are going well with the venue filling up nicely. East has set up the Price merchandise stall and is facing some controversy over his 'BUY BEFORE WE FRY' and 'PRE-WAR PRICES' signs (Operation Desert Storm in The Gulf War was looming!) although most people are taking it in the spirit that it was intended (whatever that was!) News was filtering out to the Price people as to what was going to happen - the fans were bemused and amused; I'm not sure that Malcolm and Mick were too happy about it but I don't think Huggy was too bothered. Either way I spoke to T.V. just as he was going on - Andy and myself were to join him and Martin on stage after 'Gather Your Things And Go', and whatever was going to happen next, would happen next...

These days I do a fair few gigs depping in bands that I haven't played or rehearsed with before, but in those days things was very different. I was the guitarist in The Price, and if you were in a band then you played in that band, and that was more-or-less it. I had an impromptu acoustic blues trio with my good friends Paul Cope and the late (and undeniably great) John Saxon called The Diving Ducks that did the odd pub gig here and there but that was all, and even that was seen as an unusual thing to do. (I don't think Malcolm or Mick liked that either, although again I don't think Huggy was too bothered.) However you looked at it, I was about to attempt something that I hadn't done before - get up and play in public with a band that I hadn't rehearsed with. I remember feeling a bit nervous but not to the point of shaking or anything like that. 
East and myself were watching from the side of the stage as 'Gather Your Things And Go' ended. I turned to him and said something like 'right, here we go then'. For a split second he looked as though he was going to say 'what - you're really going to do it?' but I don't think he said anything. And anyway, it was too late to turn back now.

I had always thought 'Luxury In Exile' was a great song from the moment that I first heard it. The riff is brilliantly insistent, the chord sequence is a killer - but the words are something else again. It concerns Nazi war criminals being protected thanks to wealth and power; not exactly a simple subject to tackle, but as with most things T.V. writes about, he makes it look easy. There's two lines in the second verse that still make me shudder, even when (or maybe especially when) we play the song together today - 'swimming pool by the black museum, a pile of bones to put your feet on' - how scary an image is that? 

I picked up my gold Gibson Les Paul Deluxe, the guitar I used for the majority of Price shows. It's a fabulous instrument. If you're about to play a song that you don't know with people that you've never played with before, that's a pretty good guitar to have in your hands. Martin counted it in, and three or so minutes later the song ended. Applause. Easy. Everyone on the stage smiled a relieved smile. 

'Third Term' had been issued as a single with 'Buried By The Machine' the previous year. I don't know how many copies were sold but I had one, and suddenly that was important. I knew the song. Good. We played it well. Applause. Easier. We took our instruments off and left the stage. More applause. We've got an encore. Now what?

We went back onto the stage, and got ready to play. But to play what exactly? Well - how about 'The Newshound'? I played the first few notes of the riff - T.V. said 'yeah, he knows it, let's go!' and before we had chance to even think about changing our minds we were off. Now this one we hadn't thought of earlier. I'd only heard it live. What did I think I was doing suggesting it?

The song ended. Yet more applause. Leave the stage again. Don't go back on!

T.V. shakes my hand. Andy shakes my hand. Martin shakes my hand. Was that alright? Martin smiles - 'flash c@*t!' - then bursts out laughing. I take that as a 'yes'... Malcolm asks what time we're on and Mick make comments like 'he's ours, you can't have him!' to The Cheapsters. I told you that they weren't too happy. Huggy says nothing, but he still doesn't look as though he was too bothered. I must ask him one day. Gaye Advert tells me that it sounded great. That'll do for me.

The Price
Leigh, Malcolm, Mick and Huggy.

Then The Price played. When you do a lot of shows with a band you tend to only remember the very good ones and the disasters. This one I can't recall as being either of those so I guess it was good. We were a consistent band around this time so it was more likely to be good than bad, but if you're reading this and you were there and can remember anything about our show (or indeed any other bits of the story that I've forgotten) then please let me know. Maybe what happened before our set has overshadowed the rest of that evening in my warped mind?

Eighteen years later The Price and T.V. Smith were playing at The Load Of Hay in Uxbridge. It was East's 50th birthday - you can read the story here if you'd like to. I joined T.V. for a couple of songs that night, and thus we accidentally formed the duo that we perform as today. We played 'Third Term' that night too. As we went to start the song I realised that I had no idea how the chord sequence went - well, it had been a long time. Halfway through I was playing it without thinking. Good. Again. I guess that means that I'm still a flash c@*t?

'Anthology' by T.V. Smith's Cheap can be ordered from the online shop on T.V. Smith's website by clicking here. Do it now - you won't regret it!

None more black

Is it just me or do the baby's eyes
follow you around the room?

Christmas is coming (I just thought I'd mention that in case you hadn't noticed) and what better way to usher in the festive season than to spend Thursday evening attending the opening night of an art exhibition. (Go with me on this, it does get better!) 'Black Xmas' is at The Signal Gallery until December 21st; it's curated by Gaye Black and as you can no doubt tell from the flyer it's a rather darker gathering than many at this time of year. I arrived just in time to get one of the last bottles of lager (thereby avoiding the somewhat scary-looking cocktails) from the bar and to bump into punk promotess Sarah Pink just as she was leaving. 'Lovely to see you dahling!' said she (as only she can) as she disappeared up the stairs and into the night. After saying a quick hello to Gaye (not an easy task, she's very popular!) I saw Ian from Damaged Goods Records who I last spoke to at The Rebellion Festival back in August. 'You remember this chap don't you?' said he, smiling broadly as Neil from Shelly's Children put his right hand out in my general direction. Yes, indeed I do, but I hadn't seen him for, oooh, nearly 20 years. He's not playing anymore - a shame since they were a great band who The Price played quite a few shows with back in the day. Still it was good to see him again.
Meanwhile The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing ('grammatically incorrect but historically accurate') took to the stage. They're a Steampunk band ('don't worry if you haven't heard of it, it isn't anything...') with a fine line in top hats and handlebar moustaches; if you've ever found yourself thinking along the lines of 'there should be more bands singing songs about Charles Darwin, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the 1832 General Election' then these boys could be just what you're looking for. Very noisy in places, very entertaining pretty much all the time and definitely worth keeping an eye out for, although I'm not really sure why.
As things drew to a close we did the decent thing and went to the pub next door. 'It's not cheap in here is it?' said a rather rueful Mark (a.k.a. Barnet, boss of The 12 Bar Club) as he returned from the bar. No, no it's not. Still the atmosphere is good, and when a chap called Tom comes over and joins our conversation we both agree that we know each other from somewhere... ah, of course, he used to be in Big Boy Tomato, another band that The Price used to play with all those years ago. It was that kind of evening...

In a vague attempt at continuity this seems like a good opportunity to mention that Gaye has designed the front cover of a tribute CD to Paul Fox which has just been released - 'See You On The Other Side' features 24 tracks, and all proceeds are going to The Michael Sobell Hospice where Paul received treatment towards the end of his life. You can find out all about it and indeed order a copy on Foxy's Website - it's well worth getting, both as a musical artifact and as a way of supporting a very worthy cause. And continuing the continuity (!) I'm playing at The 12 Bar Club next Friday 7th December with the mighty T.V. Smith, on an extraordinary bill that also features Texas Terri (she was at 'Black Xmas'  too) Louise Distras, Pascal Briggs, The Crows and probably some other people as well. It promises to be a fine if rather long evening, but I guess that's what the night buses are for. Excellent!

I'd thought about going up to The Half Moon in Putney on Friday night to see Slim Chance (incidentally the excellent Steve Simpson from said band is playing at The Load Of Hay in Uxbridge on Sunday 9th December) but instead found myself at The Admiral Nelson in Twickenham on witnessing a performance by Midnight. Big Al Reed played a mean saxophone and Terry from The Upper Cut did a good job depping on bass but to be honest it wasn't the best performance I'd ever seen from the band, although it went down well so perhaps it was me rather than them if you know what I mean. 
Things were far better on Saturday though, when The Upper Cut played at The Dolphin in Uxbridge at a party for Noel and Bridie's 25th anniversary as landlord and landlady. Geoff 'Rockschool' Nicholls depped on drums (Roger was away gigging with Lee Ryder) for the first time in a while and was as great as ever, and with the place absolutely packed it was a suitably raucous evening. Pete from The Cane Toads joined us for a few songs, Noel and Bridie were very pleased with our efforts and the party was still going strong when we left sometime after 1 am; I suspect there were more than a few sore heads on Sunday, a condition which for once I managed to avoid. Good! 
And Sunday evening saw the last open mic night of the year at The Swan in Iver. Confusion reigned over when proceedings had to finish - having been told that things had to end at 9 o'clock we were then told to 'play for as long as you like' by the landlady. Myself, Pete and Big Al (I'm really getting the hang of this continuity lark aren't I?) joined Tony on bass and Bob on drums to play four songs, the last of which was an ambitious-for-a-jam-night attempt at 'Born To Run' - I don't think we'll worry The E-Street Band too much but considering how difficult to song is we didn't do a bad job. Well, I don't think we did anyway.

Right- time to revise some T.V. Smith songs. I'm really looking forward to Friday night...

T.V. on TV

I don't know about you (obviously!) but I've been really enjoying the BBC re-broadcasts of 'Top Of The Pops' from way back in 1976. I'm surprised at how well I remember some of the shows - I used to watch them every week in the increasingly vain hope of seeing something interesting, a rather rare sight since the glory days of glam rock a few years earlier. Easily the best clip so far has been Eddie And The Hot Rods playing 'Get Out Of Denver' live in the studio - but all of that is about to change as the shows now move into 1977, a landmark year for rock music as punk rock reared it's spiky head. On BBC4 this Friday at 9 pm 'Top Of The Pops : The Story Of 1977' focuses on the year that the likes of The Jam and The Stranglers made their first appearances on the show, and when people like The Tom Robinson Band and The Saints made people like me go 'ARGH!' (or words to that effect). I particularly remember a blistering live version of 'Lights Out' by Dr. Feelgood (not exactly punk I know, but it was my first sighting of then-new guitarist Gypie Mayo) all but blowing the roof off the studio. The documentary also features interviews with the likes of Paul Cook and John Otway as well as T.V. Smith and Gaye Advert, which means we should hopefully see 'Gary Gilmore's Eyes' and / or 'No Time To Be 21' by The Adverts; then again if we don't see them in this show we should see them sometime in the not-too-distant future when the 1977 shows are repeated.

Good news all round then!

Rebel Rebel

'If you don't go now you'll miss breakfast...'

Wise words at the best of times, but at 2.15 a.m. this morning they were particularly pertinent. Your humble narrator was musing on the merits or otherwise of staying at the after show party for yet another drink when the former bass player of popular punk rock combo The Adverts made the above observation. I thought for a few seconds before deciding that she was probably correct, bade everyone a cheery farewell and stumbled off into the Blackpool night in the general direction of my hotel. As I neared my quest I ruminated on the fact that (a) should I find myself at The Rebellion Festival again I'll book somewhere that's a bit nearer to The Winter Gardens than The Ambassador Hotel, and (b) that was the best night out I'd had for ages.

The journey to Blackpool had been simple enough - a tube train to Euston Square, walk around the corner to Euston Station with enough time for a vegetarian breakfast in The Britannia before catching the 12.25 p.m. Glasgow Central train to Preston where I changed onto the Blackpool North train. Arriving in Blackpool around 3.40 I rather extravagantly got a cab to The Ambassador Hotel - I've got room 312 in what is a classic old fashioned seaside hotel, as I'm checking in the jolly lady behind the counter asks me if I'm 'one of the turns down at that festival' and tells me that she recently went to see 'that Katherine Jenkins, she's really good and really young looking'. As I'm sorting my stuff out in my room I hear a jet aircraft roaring overhead, it sounds like you'd imaging one of The Red Arrows would sound if it had flown over the hotel. As I begin my walk along the promenade in the general direction of the venue I realise that it hadn't been one of The Red Arrows making all that noise - it was actually two of them. Excellent.

It was about a 20 minute walk to The Winter Gardens ('turn left at "Harry Ramsden's", you cant miss it') which is far enough with an acoustic guitar and a bag of leads but it's bright and breezy and there's something about the seaside that always makes me smile. As I get closer to The North Pier the ratio of punky-looking people starts to increase, and by the time I get to the venue there are multi-coloured Mohicans everywhere. The atmosphere is good and the policemen and women don't seem to have much to do - I picked up my A.A.A. wristband from the box office and climbed the stone steps into the main part of The Winter Gardens. I was last here when I depped in Foxy's Ruts way back in August 2007 and I'm here to play with T.V Smith this time, nothing much has changed from what I remember and I find T.V. behind his merchandise table doing a roaring trade. He shows me to the backstage area of The Bizarre Bazaar where we're on at 6.30, I drop my gear off while Captain Sensible soundchecks with 'Astronomy Domine'. We agree to meet up at 6 o'clock so there's time for a look around - I catch a couple of songs by Goldblade in The Empress Ballroom before saying hello to Arturo of The Lurkers whose merchandise stall is by the Bizarre Bazaar backstage door. Then it's back into The Empress for Glen Matlock And The Philistines, Matlock's playing guitar alongside James Stevenson which is a bit of a shame as I've always thought of him as one of rock's great bass players although 'Burning Sounds' and 'God Save The Queen' both sound pretty good to me. Meanwhile over in The Olympia Neck are setting up; I played in the band around 10 years ago and would love to have seen their set but sadly they're on at the same time as us although I managed a few words with Leeson and agreed to meet him later for a drink. I see their first song 'Loud 'n' Proud 'n' Bold' before I had to leave to meet up with T. V. - time to go to work...

We start with 'No Time To Be 21' at exactly 6.30. The room looked full when we started and was definitely full by the end of 'Bored Teenagers' with somewhere between 800 and 1,000 people in depending on whose estimate you believe watching our set. Longtime T.V. fan Kevin had asked for 'The Servant' which I'd like to have made a better job of (I messed up the opening riff - bugger!) although it goes well enough overall. By 'Expensive Being Poor' things are really hotting up and the audience are really on our side - before 'Lion and The Lamb' begins T.V. introduces Pascal Briggs who joins us for the rest of our set, they've worked together out in Germany although I met him for the first time as I shook hands with him on the stage. His arrival pushes us on to even greater heights and 'Gary Gilmore's Eyes' even gets a bit of pogoing, a strange sight at an acoustic show. We finish with 'One Chord Wonders' to audience pandemonium and decidedly non-punky onstage hugs. There's no time for an encore but it didn't matter - we'd been great. Great. Sorry if that sounds big headed but you know when you do a good gig and this wasn't a good gig, it was a great gig. There, I've said it again. I'll stop now. There, I've stopped.

Out on the merchandise stall I shake what seems like the entire audience's hands and T.V. signs CD's and poses for fan photos with Gaye Advert. I grab a few words with John Robb who's on the neighbouring stall before getting asked by several people if The Price will ever play at the festival - I reply as best I can along the lines of 'maybe one day...' I'm talking to Tom from The Phobics as the band in The Bizarre Bazaar are playing 'Louie Louie' it's only when they play 'Love Lies Limp' that it dawns on me that it's A.T.V. so go in for a listen, and very good they are too.

Meanwhile I realise I've left my glasses back at my hotel room and while it's tempting to continue posing in my (prescription) sunglasses it would also be nice to see where I'm going so while it's still light I decide to walk back to get them and to drop my guitar off while I'm there. I'm away for about an hour which give me a chance to clear my head a bit as well as catching up on phone calls and getting something to eat. Well the phone calls went well but the seemingly endless chip shops and takeaways are all closed or closing and there's a huge queue at the afore-mentioned Harry Ramsden's so I go back to The Empress Grill in the venue for the inevitable chips. While I'm there Malcolm from The Price calls, he's at a pub quiz and can't remember the name of the character that Barry Humphries plays that isn't Dame Enda Everage and wonders if I know the name - to my surprise I do! I tell him off for cheating (!) then say something like 'actually I was just talking about you...' before telling him where I am - he's very enthusiastic about a possible gig for us so I decide that I'll see what I can find out a bit later on.

In the meantime there are bands to see - The Lurkers roar through 'I Don't Need To Tell Her' in The Arena, Slaughter And The Dogs are blasting out 'Boston Babies' in The Ballroom and The Beat are skanking their way through 'Twist And Crawl' in The Olympia. I decide to spend most of my time in The Ballroom as I'd not seen Slaughter And The Dogs before, they're very good with their final encore of 'Cranked Up Really High' reminding me what a great song it is even if the singalong end section got a bit to 'showbiz' for my liking.

Out in the bar I bump into Steve Drewett from The Newtown Neurotics who's bemoaning the fact that they've run out of lager; as we're talking I get a call from Leeson who's in the backstage bar (what backstage bar?!?) at The Olympia and Jello Biafra's on soon - meanwhile there are more hands to shake and more Price enquiries, not least from Peter who used to write 'Murder By Fanzine' all those years ago, and a tall Geordie chap called Malcolm - maybe we could get a gig here?

With the lager deficit getting more acute by the second I go back into The Ballroom in search of a drink where The Adicts are doing their stuff - I was never their biggest fan but what they do they do very well. Captain Sensible is on soon in The Bizarre Bazaar but the main event for me is in The Olympia where Jello Biafra And The Guantanamo School Of Medicine delivered a show which was a good as any gig I've ever seen. Biafra has been always one of the great punk orators and his performance here showed that he's showing no sign of mellowing with age. The band were astonishing, he was incredible and by the final encore of 'Holiday In Cambodia' it was obvious that I'd just seen one on the greatest gigs I'll ever be lucky enough to witness. Yes, it was that good. In fact it was better than that. Inspirational stuff.

When I meet up with T.V. and Gaye back at The Bizarre Bazaar Captain Sensible is playing 'Do Anything You Wanna Do' - Paul Gray is on bass, Dave Berk is on drums and Monty from The Damned is on keyboards and it's a great way to end proceedings. The encores of 'Wot' and 'Happy Talk' bring a smile to everybody's faces, T.V. and Gaye are surrounded by well-wishers and I finally get to have a few words with Pascal. 'If we never do anything together again then we did that' he says proudly. Good man.

There's an after show party up in The Spanish Bar where I'm introduced to Jennie who's one of the festival organisers - I brave asking 'the Price question' and to my amazement she seems to be interested in us playing. We agree to e-mail each other to see what can be done. Well - maybe, just maybe...

Incidentally I didn't miss breakfast. But it was close.

Not a bad day revisited

Back in May last year I wrote a typically over-emotional piece in these hallowed pages relating to 3 gigs in Yorkshire with T.V Smith. In it I recalled a moment during 'Borderline' at The New Roscoe in Leeds when I felt that it might have been the best piece of music that I'd ever been involved in. I wasn't relating to my or T.V.'s performance - it was the song my friends, the song. You remember songs don't you? They were things that people used to write, back in the days when people who had something to say for themselves chose to use 3 or 4 minutes of pop music to express their feelings. These days I'm not really sure what people do, but that's more my problem than yours, or indeed theirs. But I remembered that moment last night, on the stage at The 12 Bar Club in Denmark Street, next to the afore-mentioned T.V. Smith, playing the afore-mentioned 'Borderline'; as we swung into the first chorus and T.V. sang 'on the borderline, why don't you get on my side?' that feeling returned. You don't get moments like that very often, and I'm sitting here struggling to find a way to describe it. Again I looked out from the stage - there was a small oriental lady at the front, Gaye Advert behind her to the right, some punky lads in the shadows, all eyes on T.V. with the song building and building, bringing all the outsiders like me... you... us... together - '... it's not just you, sometimes I feel it too... look your enemy right in the eye, and say ''stay away 'cause I keep my monsters tied''... on the borderline, where the rules do not apply... you'd better steer wide...

I closed my eyes and played. And played. And played. And suddenly, everything - everything - was alright.

I'd not played at The 12 Bar Club before and I'd love to play there again as it's a great little venue, although the word 'little' is very important in this sentence. There are tables that are bigger that the stage, front rooms that are bigger than the audience area and I'd imagine that one person with flu could very easily infect everybody in the building with one sneeze. It's murky, dank, seedy - in other words, it's fantastic. I travelled up on the tube with Esso; as we arrived '1-2-3' by The Professionals was playing in the bar and club manager Barnet was anticipating a good evening. Esso went to The Angel to meet up with John King just before T.V. arrived; soundcheck was straightforward enough with John the sound man getting everything right in no time. I bumped into Brian from Wunjo Guitars as I walked around the corner to the Nunu takeaway (falafel and salad - excellent!) who I'd not seen for a while - when I said I'd been in a few times and he'd not been there he said he'd been 'working on his golf'. Business must be good then... after catching up on a few phone calls I met Esso and John for a drink then went back to the venue to catch a few songs from gig organiser Brandy Row - anyone who plays a Johnny Thunders song is alright by me - and to get ready for the gig. We were due on at 10.15 but went on a bit later than that, and 'No Time To Be 21' kicked off a set that for me surpassed the 100 Club show earlier this year in pretty much every way. I've dribbled on about 'Borderline' already, but there were more than a few 'can this get any better? Yes it can!' moments for me; that said I also played a couple of absolute howlers during my solo in '21', forgot the extra beat of silence in the last chorus of 'Worn Once', messed up a chord change or two in 'Bored Teenagers' - well, you don't get something for nothing do you? Our set ends with 'One Chord Wonders' and general audience mayhem, we encore with 'Good Times Are Back' and 'Runaway Train Driver' before T.V. sets up shop at the front of the stage and does a roaring trade. Excellent!

It's a late bar and people are everywhere, it would have been great to stay for a drink but Esso and myself have got a last train to catch. Oh well, maybe next time. As we're leaving a chap called Martin stops me to say that he still has his old Price singles and that it was great to see me playing, was the band still going, when was I playing with T.V. again, while we were talking a couple come over to ask the same questions- for a few seconds I think about taking up Esso's idea of getting a cab home later, but times are hard and it would cost too much. Oh well, maybe next time. And once again another one of those amazing songs says it all - it's expensive being poor, these days more expensive than ever. And you don't get something for nothing do you? But for evenings like this, it's all worth it, every time. See you on the borderline sometime...