Back for good?

I've just been listening to the splendid new live album 'Triumph Over Adversity' by The Newtown Neurotics. Recorded at Brunel University in Uxbridge back in 1987, The Price supported along with a local band called In Session at a benefit night for Multiple Sclerosis research. Contrary to what the sleeve notes say Steve Lamacq didn't provide the recording of the show - I did. As a big fan of the band I gave the sound engineer a cassette and asked him to record their set - I then copied it for a few friends including Steve (who I don't remember actually being at the gig, despite what the sleeve notes say) who then inadvertently played it to Neurotics singer / songwriter Steve Drewett when he gave him a lift one day. The sleeve notes are correct on that point - although I don't think the bomb scare that occurred after our set was a terrorist threat; I recall it being an animal rights organisation who objected to the use of animal experimentation in MS research. Anyway after hearing it Steve D. asked me if I still had the master tape, which I did and subsequently passed on to him.

So - it's all my fault!   

It really is a great show, every bit as exciting as I remember it being on the night, and although it's been available for official download for quite some time it's wonderful to see it receiving a 'proper' release at last. Highly recommended - even if the final encore of 'I Fought The Law' has gone missing! - and the band gave a fine performance at The Rebellion Festival earlier this month so they're still well worth seeing live if you get the chance.  

It's often a bit weird to think back to earlier times. The past is a funny place isn't it? Musically I've always tried to leave it behind as much as possible - I rarely if ever listen to recordings by previous bands, and have never been one for over-analysing shows. They may have been good, they may have been bad, but they're done and you're only as good as your next show. Still between the above live album and last Friday's gig I've been travelling backwards and forwards in time a fair bit over the last few days, as on Friday evening I played a corporate show with The Amazing Blues Brothers at The Ocean View Hotel in Bournemouth. I worked a lot with Mike and Matt in The Chicago Blues Brothers, which all ended a few years ago amid no little chaos. I've stayed in touch with them and the other good guys in the band since it all ended, and it was a great pleasure to be asked to play with them again. With former CBB bassman Johnny Squirrel also on duty the band was completed by Josh on keyboards and Dion on drums - although everybody was set up and soundchecked by 2 pm we then had a 7 hour wait until stage time (I'd all but forgotten the 'hurry up and wait' aspect of many corporate shows) which might normally have been rather tedious, but with The Bournemouth Air Festival taking place the afternoon literally flew by.  
Although I played any number of shows with the boys back in the day I hadn't played many of the songs since, and so had spent a fair bit of time earlier in the week revising the material. Most of it came back to me surprisingly easily, which was good news from my point of view as they were also playing a batch of songs that I was considerably less familiar with. Basically they lose the Blues Brothers suits and sing a set of what might best be described as 'party music', which includes a few songs that I'd not played at all before. We'd had a bit of time in the soundcheck to look at some of them, but it was all still a bit nerve racking from my point of view. And of course the other thing that I was reminded of is that these sorts of things are not 'gigs' as such i.e. nobody is there to see the band, but are actually there to eat, drink and be merry. All well and good you might think, but it does mean that your performance is often all but ignored by all and sundry. Matt and Mike were having none of that however, and soon had the dance floor full. I'd all but forgotten just how good the pair of them are both as individual singers and as Blues Brothers clones - as we finished our first set with 'Gimme Some Loving' the place was going crazy. This bode well for the second set - however although we only had a short break quite a few people had drifted away by the time we went back on, some to watch the fireworks taking place on the beach and some because they had, shall we say, peaked too early... still after a few songs the dance floor had filled up again and we were even asked to play for an extra 30 minutes. From my point of view I thought it was a good show although if I'm asked to play with them again I'll make sure I've changed the battery in my overdrive pedal - the bloody thing ran out halfway through the set. Bugger! I had a spare, but I really should have checked it first shouldn't I? 

'Twas a very different show last night, when I was invited to play a couple of songs with Department S at The Lexington in King's Cross. Since I played with them in February Eddie the singer and Pete the bass player have put together a new line-up with Phil on guitar and Alex on drums, and having played a few low key shows last month this was to be their first London appearance. Thanks to the rigours of the London Underground I arrived just in time to miss the soundcheck, but did get chance to talk the songs through with the band - they had a new extended arrangement of 'Is Vic There?' but 'I Want' was the same as when I last played with them. From there it was time for a drink and a catch up before first band on Los Pepes opened the evening with an excellently raucous set. Next up were Duncan Reid and The Big Heads, whose blazing power pop performance bought the proverbial house down. A hard act to follow, but Dept. S weren't in the slightest bit intimidated - or if they were they certainly didn't show it. Kicking off with 'Clap Now' and 'Monte Carlo Or Bust' they were clearly in no mood for messing around - new songs mixed with old favourites and the audience loved every minute of it. By the time I fought my way across the packed dance floor to join them for their last two songs the place was going crazy, and my time on stage went by in a blur of pogoing and power chords. A fine evening all round, and the future looks good for the revamped Department S.

So there you have it - a bit of looking back, and a bit of looking forward. And why not?

North East Calling

I have just - just! - returned from the first three shows of the twelve that Ruts D.C. will be playing in the month of November, and I'm pleased to say that barring the odd technical hitch they all went very well. Heavy traffic (and indeed heavy rain) meant that we were an hour late arriving at The Wardrobe in Leeds for the first show on Thursday but our new driver / backline man Jon got us all there in one piece - after an excellent support set from The Expelaires (who reminded your humble narrator of early U2, which is never a bad thing in my book) we took to the stage at 9.15 for a splendid 75 minute set with sound man Bob getting everything sounding pretty near perfect. After the show Rhiannon does a roaring trade on the merchandise and we chat many-an audience member, all of whom seemed to enjoy the show which is always good news. And it was great to see Phil from Bug with his wife Annette and my old mate and fellow Chicago Blues Brothers escapee Matt too. From there it was back to the hotel for a drink (ok then, quite a few drinks!) before bringing a long day to a close.

The next morning we breakfasted amid stories of cannibalism on the television news (Dave - 'if you were going to eat someone you wouldn't start with their face would you?') we all agreed that it had been a great gig to start the tour with. With the rain continuing to fall we left for Newcastle not long after checking out at midday, arriving at The Cluny a little after 2pm. I'd not been there before although it's a very well-established venue which has been putting on live music for many years - we'd not been there long before Martin McAloon appears to say hello to Segs and Dave, he's the former bass player in Prefab Sprout, brother of Sprout singer / songwriter Paddy McAloon and an old friend of them both. After setting up and soundchecking there time for me to help Segs solder a couple of leads in one of his bass guitars before we have a meal in the venue bar then head off to The Vermont Hotel to check in and have an hour-and-a-bit off before returning to The Cluny just in time to catch the guitar / vocals / backing tracks duo The Symptoms. Perhaps inevitably they bring Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine to mind, which can't be bad can it? Our sound isn't quite as good as the previous night, with a couple of monitor problems and a microphone failure but none of this bothers the audience, most of whom go crazy from the word go. Once again there's time to speak to some of the crowd afterwards before retiring to our hotel for, you've guessed it, a drink or two. And why not?

Saturday morning's weather was a distinct improvement on the previous couple of days, and with only a relatively short drive in prospect there's a chance to spend a couple of hours in Newcastle before leaving for the next hotel. This can only mean one thing - a visit to Guitar Guitar is in order. Within no time myself and Bob were ensconced in one of the demonstration booths there with a Vox AC30 - I'd wanted to try one for a while as I'd heard great things about the latest model, and I must say that it sounded absolutely tremendous. I've also been told that the AC15 is worth a listen so I'm hoping to find one or those at either the Edinburgh or Glasgow shops this weekend. We also auditioned an Electro Harmonix B9 organ simulator pedal which sounded frankly astonishing - there go the wages I fear... from there it was the afore-mentioned drive up to Stockton-on-Tees where we're returning to The Georgian Theatre around a-year-and-a-half on from our first visit. Steve and Martin of Big Figure Promotions were very helpful, support bands The Iron Hearts and The Filth both played well and we gave a good show despite more microphone problems - in Bob's words, 'I took 'em all of the shelf in the warehouse, and that's where they're going back to!' 

Today it's been the long drive home, and I don't mind admitting that I'm feeling very tired now. Still there are four shows in Scotland on the horizon - now that's something to really look forward to! Mind you, that'll be an even longer drive home...

September song

This month begins with the news that GLM - the band formed by ex-Lurkers Pete Stride, Nigel Moore and Pete 'Manic Esso' Haynes - have released a new single (well you can download it for free from their website, I think that's how things work these days?) For what my opinion is worth 'The Future Is Calling' is probably their best work to date, sounding more like The Lurkers of old rather than their recent 'Chemical Landslide' album. And if that wasn't enough the band has a new Facebook page which you can find here - it looks as though things are going well for Ickenham's finest... 

After last weekend's gig frenzy things have backed off a bit this week, with 'three-gigs-in-three-days-with-three-different-bands'; actually they haven't really backed off that much have they? Good!

Big Al Reed And The Blistering Buicks played at The Dolphin in Uxbridge on Friday evening; the show got off to a late start due to the Chelsea match being on the television but the band certainly got straight into the swing of things and gave an energetic performance in front of a small but enthusiastic audience. I'm going to miss some gigs with the band over the next few weeks as I'm off gigging with Ruts D.C. (more about that in a minute) so my good friend Pete Kerr will be depping for me - he joined us for a few songs at this show and it sounded to me as though he'll make a very good job of things. A good gig all round.

Saturday saw Balcony Shirts designer and t-shirt printer Dave get married to Kate in The Four Seasons Room at Uxbridge Register Office. I was trying to remember when I last went to a wedding at this venue - I'm pretty sure that I haven't been to one there this century (!) and I'm absolutely sure that I hadn't been to one like this before, with Dave in his punk rock finery, both bride and groom sporting splendid haircuts courtesy of Horsepower Hairdressing and Dave's brother Mick wearing what might best be described as a 'tuxedo onesie' (it looked something like this and had to be seen to be believed!) among the many highlights. Their reception was held the same evening at The Old Vinyl Factory in Hayes, an extraordinary venue on the site of the EMI record factory. Musical entertainment came from myself and my old mate Matt - between us we came up with a varied selection of material performed on two acoustic guitars and with Matt in fine voice throughout. The unusual nature of proceedings was underlined by the fact that there was coffee, curry and cupcakes but no alcoholic drinks - I'm sure I haven't been to a  reception like that before either!

It was back to Colnbrook on Sunday afternoon for an Upper Cut gig at Ye Olde George Inn. We've played some good shows here over the last few months but this was probably the best so far, with our three sets seeing much dancing and jollity from the assembled throng (no shortage of of alcoholic drinks here!) and a chap in the audience offering us money to play another set. When our drummer Roger declined saying that he had to be elsewhere I couldn't resist asking him if he really had to get away or if he just didn't fancy playing any more - he replied that he did have to leave but that he'd also put so much into the show that he felt that he physically couldn't play any more. I knew how he felt - and believe me, that's a great way to feel at the end of a show.

And to finish the weekend off I went to the jam night at The Three Wishes in Edgware last night. Myself and the afore-mentioned Pete and Big Al played 'My Babe' and 'Born To Run' to the general approval of all concerned, and I was very pleased to be invited to play 'It Hurts Me Too' and 'Natural Born Bugie' with Danny the bass player and some very young and talented chaps and chapesses. All good stuff, and indeed good fun.

This coming weekend sees Ruts D.C. play shows in Preston and Newcastle - there are gigs for the band over the next four weekends, and full details are on the band's website. And if that wasn't enough I'm making an appearance on Music Scene Investigation this Sunday evening - provided of course that I get back from Newcastle in time...

Cool Britannia rehearsal photos

Here are a few shots from August's Cool Britannia rehearsal -going from left to right in the last picture that's me with Chris Teeder on keyboards, Matt Hewitt on vocals, Dave Ruffy on drums and John Sorrell a.k.a. Johnny Squirrel on bass guitar. There are theatre shows being booked for next year but I for one hope we do something before then - after all if we sound half as good as we look here it should really be something to look forward to...