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

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

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

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

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

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

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

OK - here we go again... 

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

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

See You Up There!

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

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

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

The Stranglers / Ruts DC tour 2017

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

'Time keeps on slippin', slippin, slippin'... into the future...'

Well the busy times are back, hence the lack of blogging. Like an idiot I didn't take any notes over the past couple of weeks, so stories of Ruts D.C. at the North East Calling festival in Newcastle (we thought we were playing at 9 o'clock but were actually on 3 hours earlier - we arrived at the venue less than an hour before showtime) and gigging at The Slade Rooms in Wolverhampton (I loved the backward 'S' on the end of 'Rooms', Noddy and co. should be proud!) and The Brooklyn Bowl in The O2 Arena (a Vive Le Rock - sponsored event that also saw great sets The Newtown Neurotics, Giuda and The Cockney Rejects) have somewhat faded from my memory... I also saw Sharks at The Borderline (where I met Paul Cook for the first time and somehow promised Professionals singer / guitarist Tom that I'd play on their upcoming album - I wonder if that'll ever happen?!) and Paranoid Visions with Steve Ignorant at The 100 Club on the same night (ooh I was tired the next day!) and played gigs with The Upper Cut (at The Dolphin in Uxbridge - not our best ever performance, we really must have a rehearsal sometime) and Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks (where two young Polish girls's dancing at the Black Horse in Greenford enlivened proceedings no end) as well as working many-a day in the shop, to such an extent that this feels like my first day off for weeks. Surely that can't be the case? Mind you I've spent most of it asleep so maybe it is.

 More of the same this week, and next week, and the week after that...

25 with a bullet

So there we were - Dave, Segs and myself - in Dave's car on our way to Southend Airport on Friday afternoon when his phone rang. Nothing too unusual there as it rings all the time - as he was driving he had it plumbed into one of those new-fangled hands-free speakerphone thingys that let you answer the phone while you're at the wheel. It was Steve Beatty, head honcho at Plastic Head Distribution and Westworld Records. 'D'you want the good news or the bad news?' asked he. 'The bad news' answered Ruts DC as one man. 'You've missed out being in the indie charts by one sale' Various derisive noises were emitted by all concerned before he asked if we'd like the good news. Of course we would. 'You're number 25 in the Rock And Metal Album Chart' said he cheerily - if he said anything else it was drowned out by our whooping and hollering and the inevitable 'time for a drink then' from your humble narrator. And as this photo shows, it was all true - there we are between Pink Floyd and Guns N' Roses. And we're a couple of places above Lordi - you remember, that mad mob that won The Eurovision Song Contest a few years ago dressed as giant lizards, or something. Hilarious! 

We were en route to France for an appearance at Fiesta La Mass in Rennes the next evening - for reasons unknown (possibly flight availability?) we were travelling out the night before which meant that we got to the festival site in time to see The Angelic Upstarts roar through their set before retiring to The Hotel Voltaire for some much needed sleep. Being there a day early meant that we had time to look around town the next morning with the help of Vincent the promoter's daughter Alice - I'd not been to Rennes before so it was good to get a bit of a feel for the place and indeed to have a splendid lunch before going back to the hotel for a couple of hours. After an interview with the Punks Not Dead radio station (shouldn't that have an apostrophe?!?) we headed

back to the festival site where things were in full swing with local heroes Banane Metalik going down a storm. We met the Italian band Klasse Kriminale backstage, they're all big Ruts fans and very nice chaps to boot. We were due on at midnight although an issue with Dave's monitor meant that we actually started our set a few minutes late. I thought we played well although the onstage sound was a bit, for want of a better word, nasal which meant that it hard to hear each other sometimes - and as we started late we got the almost inevitable 'ONE SONG' instruction sign when we had two left to play. Halfway through 'In A Rut' Segs stopped the band with the words 'we didn't come all this way not to play ''Babylon's Burning'' did we?' He was correct - we didn't so we played it! A good show but maybe not a great one, especially compared to the previous week's gig, but that happens from time to time. We're up in Newcastle for North East Calling this Saturday so let's see how that one goes. And I wonder where (or indeed if) we will be in the charts this week?    

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...

'One last bout before the year is out? Thought you'd never ask...'

Following on from last weekend's Islington extravaganza Ruts D.C. have 12 gigs this month, starting in Leeds this Thursday - as the accompanying flyer shows we'll be covering a fair few miles, and it goes without saying (but I'm going to say it anyway!) that I'm really looking forward to getting out and about again. If you coming to a show then please say hello!

Meanwhile it's been three gigs in three days for your humble narrator, starting with Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks at The Sunningdale Lounge in Sunningdale. It being the night before Halloween Al suggested that we play 'Monster Mash' - I remember the record well from when I was a lad (by the splendidly-named Bobby 'Boris' Pickett and The Crypt Kickers, although I believe The Misfits among others have covered it) and even though we hadn't had chance to rehearse it beforehand we played it well with the only downside to an otherwise good night for the band coming when somebody knocked Al's saxophone over. Fortunately it wasn't too badly damaged, but sadly the same thing happened the next night when the band played at The Black Horse in Eastcote. This time it was more serious as one of the keys got bent, to such an extent that we were obliged to leave several songs out of the show. Bah! Still I'm told that it's since been repaired, and once again 'Monster Mash' went well as indeed did the rest of the show. There are some pictures from the show on Al's Facebook page - as you can see I was too miserable to dress up for the occasion... ah well, maybe next year? And last night The Upper Cut played at Ye Olde George in Colnbrook. We've not played together very often lately so there were a few dodgy moments - still judging by people's comments afterwards everyone there everyone there enjoyed our efforts, and we managed to play the Cream (yes I know that it's a Robert Johnson song, but most people heard it first by Cream or Eric Clapton didn't they?!?) classic 'Crossroads' for Jack Bruce which has got to be a good thing if you think about it.

Right - tomorrow it's a day in Balcony Shirts, Tuesday it's a Ruts D.C. rehearsal and Wednesday I'm back in the shop before the first batch of shows in Leeds, Newcastle and Stockton-on-Tees start on Thursday. Busy busy busy - the rest of today off methinks...   

Preston... and on... and on...

'Why? Because Krakatoa's
not erupting?!?'

Have you seen that scene in Fawlty Towers where the deaf woman complains about the view from her hotel room? (Just in case you don't, here it is - a classic!) She'd have had a birthday if she'd stayed in the room that I shared with Seamus on Saturday night. Mind you it's a bit unfair putting this photo here - if I'd have turned around I could have taken a picture of the ornamental water feature that sat slightly awkwardly between our two beds...

So far, so sarcastic - but how had I got there?

I met the van at 9am on Friday at Driving Me Crazy in Brentford. As I got there my new friend Dawn was just reversing the vehicle into place - when I commented on her New Model Army shirt she revealed that she works for them and then offered to put me on the guest list for their show at The Forum in November. Result!
If I now tell you that we arrived at 53 Degrees in Preston just before 6.30pm after a journey that should have taken around 4 hours you will have some idea of how our day went. Why does this country completely fall apart when it rains? That said although the journey was long it wasn't by any means totally unenjoyable, as Seamus told some hilarious stories about his time playing with Paul Weller (it's best that they're not repeated here, believe me!) matched by Dave coming out with a seemingly endless succession of bad jokes among the many amusing diversions. It was all more fun than it looks written down here, honest!

Backstage passes for the gigs,
and the 'short but sweet'
Newcastle setlist.

When we finally arrived at the venue we were met by the very helpful stage crew who helped us carry our equipment in. Bass and guitar amplifiers were provided by first-on-the-bill band Bug who feature Louder Than War scribe Phil Thompson on guitar and vocals; The Notsensibles are also on the bill and given that we were due to arrive at 3 o'clock there is shall we say a certain amount of urgency to get us soundchecked, but as always Nick our soundman pulled things together in no time. There's just time to get our merchandise table set up and to say hello to Richie from Biteback before Bug take to the stage at 8 o'clock - the room is filling up and they go down well with all concerned. I thought that they sounded great but Phil's a mate so perhaps I shouldn't say that?!? The Notsensibles single 'I Am the Bishop' was produced by Paul Fox (yes, I do have a copy!) and both Segs and Dave are big fans of the song - the band sounded more-or-less how I remember them from back in the day i.e. not too serious and therefore good fun. We all felt that our show took a while to get going, probably due to the journey taking more of a toll on us that we perhaps realised at the time - that said we may have just been a bit overcritical, as everybody I spoke to afterwards seemed to love it. The customer is always right...
With everything packed away it was back to The Holiday Inn where thankfully the bar was still open. Phil from Bug joined us with his wife, brother and mum (they'd all been at the gig, I don't think that he has them with him all the time!) and drinks were drunk, stories were told and the day ended on a much more optimistic note than I for one felt as though it might when we were on the endless M6. Good! 

Saturday started in a leisurely manner, with breakfast finishing at 11am and the band leaving for Newcastle at midday. Our journey goes well and we're checking in at The Ramada Encore in no time where the food is good and the mood is relaxed. We're playing at the North West Calling festival at The O2 Academy where we're sharing a dressing room with The U.K. Subs who are on after us with Sham 69 topping the bill. I meet Subs guitar man Jet in the afore-mentioned room, and since we've both got our instruments handy a spot of guitar nerdery takes place, much to the horror of other band members and onlookers. Great stuff!

The doorway that
leads to adventure -
 or in this case,
an in depth discussion of
electric guitar intonation
and fret wire gauge.

I went for a walk out into the venue to catch a song or two from Steve Ignorant and Paranoid Visions and to meet up with my mate Ross who lives locally, he used to roadie for Jimi Hendrix tribute band Little Wing back in the '90s when I saw them a few times, not least because they had Upper Cut bassman Terry Peaker in their ranks. He always said that he was a big Ruts fan so it was great to be able to invite him along as I hadn't seen him since Terry's 60th birthday bash back in December 2011. No time for a chat now though as we're on in 15 minutes, and even though amplifiers are provided (that's why we didn't take ours along the night before) there's a mad rush to get everything set up in time - we just about manage it and play a blazing 40 minute set to the increasing approval of the increasingly animated audience. We start our last song 'Babylon's Burning' and the place goes wild - but the song goes wrong and Segs stops us during the first verse, confusion reigns but the crowd carries on singing, we restart it and finish to tumultuous applause. A great gig - I wish we could have played for longer but sometimes 'short and sweet' is the way to go, and this was perhaps one of those times. 
With our gear all packed away it's off out front to watch a couple of songs from The U.K. Subs (who sounded great - apparently their soundman just left our settings up on the mixing desk!) before joining our driver Mark behind the merch desk which slightly oddly is up on the second floor. You can't see the stage from there but business is brisk,with plenty of positive comments from many-a punter. Tony who saw us in Stockton back in March shows us his new Ruts D.C. tattoo and local record dealer Pod presents Segs and myself with compilation DVDs of old Ruts footage as Sham 69 blast though their set in the background - it's been a great evening. The rest of the band take the van back to the hotel while Segs and myself pack the merchandise away then take a taxi through the Newcastle streets which are full of people - as we stop to let an endless stream of them cross the road the driver asks us if there's anything we need. The evening then takes a slightly surreal turn when offers us some Viagra - which we decline in case you were wondering - then when we get to the hotel there's a St. Pauli-themed hen party at the bar. I'll leave you to do your own punchline...

The next day's journey back to London goes well if somewhat blearily - I get home and fall asleep for a couple of hours before getting on Skype and participating in episode 128 of the Music Scene Investigation podcast. Watching it now I'm not entirely sure that I was awake during the broadcast either - have a look here and see what you think. And I should perhaps have had an early night on Monday after a day in the shop but instead journeyed up to London where despite guitar amplifier problems during their first couple of songs The Duel were in fine form at their Madame Jojo's Monday night residency. 

And there's more on the horizon from Ruts D.C. this weekend as we're playing at Sub89 in Reading this Friday 13th September. Unlucky for some? Hopefully not for us...

10 years gone

I guess you know that you're old when you find yourself saying things like 'when I was a lad...'

When I was a lad I used to really like football. It used to be good didn't it? I was a Liverpool fan then, and I'm a Liverpool fan now, although I don't think I really care too much about the game these days - and not just because the Red Army aren't the team that they once were. After the Wayne Rooney 'is-he-isn't-he' transfer debacle last year my Dad, who began watching the sport since the 1940s said to me that the game was 'finished' - with Liverpool buying Andy Carroll from Newcastle for £35 million and then selling Fernando Torres to Chelsea for £50 million it's hard not to agree with him. There are homeless people living on the streets within a few hundred yards of the grounds of all the afore-mentioned clubs while mind-boggling sums of money are thrown in the general direction of players who have worse haircuts than the down-and-outs. Even if they don't score all season they will still be paid more each day than most people in this country earn in a year. I could rant on (and on) here, but instead will direct you to this classic appraisal of the situation courtesy of the ever-excellent Daily Mash - many a true word spoken in jest, as the old saying goes.

From the ridiculous to the sublime - I'm a big fan of Stanley Unwin. You remember Stanley Unwin don't you? Of course you do, he was the old chap who spoke in that wonderfully mad way that, as my Dad will recall, I literally fell off the settee laughing at as a youngster. He sadly died a few years ago but now he's back - sort of... an anonymous blogger has started where the great man left off, and if you click here you can join him 'from the grale beyonders, sprinkly wise worms in the earlodes of the human specie'. He's also on Twitter which has to be read to be believed. Deep joy!

Meanwhile the occasional ongoing obituaries continue - John Barry died last week. He might not have written The James Bond Theme' (or did he?) but he wrote some fantastic music for most of the other Bond films and many more besides. And back in January Gerry Rafferty died, as did Mick Karn - sad losses all. I've got the same birth date as Mick Karn, and I'm 50 this year - it doesn't seem 40-something years since I was falling off the settee laughing at Stanley Unwin, but it is. Time flies as they say. Another old saying, also true.

My mum died of Motor Neurone Disease 10 years ago tomorrow. It doesn't seem like 10 years. It doesn't seem any time at all. A year to the day after she left the building I somehow found myself alone in the house; at 2.50 p.m. (the time that she died) I stood in the front room where her motorised chair used to be, trying to work out how I felt. I remember feeling sad, lonely, and yet oddly relieved that her terrible suffering had been finally bought to an end. I looked out into the back garden where me and my brother used to play as kids, and remembered an able-bodied woman out in the sunshine with her family. A good memory. A better memory.

Suddenly the phone rang. Back to the real World Leigh...

'Hello'

'Hi! Is mum there?'

I nearly fainted.

'Erm...'

'Are you ok? I just called to talk to mum, is she there?'

'I think you've got the wrong number'

'Oh Sorry!'

If my phone rings at the same time tomorrow, I'm not going to answer it!