Still burning

Malcolm Owen died 40 years ago today. 40 years! Where on Earth has that time gone eh? 

As someone who is lucky enough to play the music of The Ruts on a regular basis I know, both from speaking to countless people and from the reaction that music still receives, just how much it still means to people - and I know that music will live on forever.

To reflect this Episode 9 of Ruts TV was a something of a Malcolm special, although it also featured Paul Fox heavily too. Dave and Segs reminisce about them alongside footage of The Ruts, Henry Rollins talking about the influence they had on the punk bands in America and more - if you missed it when it went out live last Friday you can see it and all the previous shows here. That's the end of series 1 - Ruts TV will return in the not-too-distant future, albeit in a slightly different way, but there'll be more news as and when we have it.

With Britain attempting to claw it's way out of lockdown Ruts D.C. are looking at yet more cancelled shows (bah!) and are still waiting for copies of our '40 Years Of The Crack' live album. This is all but inevitable due to backlogs at printers, pressing plants etc but we'll hopefully have the first batch soon - at which point Dave, Segs and myself will have to sign 500 albums and 500 CDs. Quite how we're going to do that in these days of social distancing remains to be seen, but I'm sure we'll find a way. It can be ordered along with all other band merchandise including face masks - yes that's right, face masks as demonstrated by Dave and Segs here in possibly the most bizarre advert ever! - via the band's online shop.

Talking of record releases the new Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants EP 'History' is available now from Time & Matter Records - it's currently available as a 500 copy limited edition 2 x 7" single numbered set (how cool is that?!) which I'm told is selling well, so if you'd like one it might be good to move quickly. You can also order it via the T&M link above, and why not get volume one of Alvin's autobiography 'Diminished Responsibility : My Life As A UK Sub And Other Stories' while you're at it?

Retro Man is an excellent blog that's well worth following - Steve's always-enthusiastic writing covers all manner of bands from the obscure and oblique to the mainstream and more, and I was delighted to be asked to contribute to his series of Lockdown Lowdown podcasts. He asked some interesting questions as well as inviting me to choose some music, and you can hear the result here - cheers Steve!

And life in lockdown has produced a very unexpected - from my point of view anyway - collaboration with ex - Public Image Ltd and Department S bass player Pete Jones; a few weeks ago (gawd knows how many weeks exactly, time doesn't seem to matter anymore does it?) he sent me a backing track with a 'see what you can do with this' directive. In a situation such as this I tend to default to either (a) backwards guitar, (b) slide guitar or (c) a bizarre combination of the two; in this case option (a) seemed to be the best bet, along with a riff that might sound just a little bit like a rather obscure Deep Purple track. I'll leave you to find out which one - it was an accident, honest! 
One of the things I've been attempting to do lately is to learn how to use GarageBand, the free recording thingy (that's a rarely used technical term!) that comes on a Mac computer; I've been doing reasonably well, but hadn't encountered how to record backwards guitar - at which point I discovered Pete Johns, an Australian chap with a mind-boggling command of said recording medium. After a wee while - ok, quite a long while - on his website and YouTube channel I was ready - the resulting track 'World In Sunlight' can be heard here, and incredibly will be available as a download next Friday 24th July. That's my birthday, and I'm bound to say that having new music released on that particular day is one of the best presents I'll ever get, particularly in these uncertain times.

Oh and Liverpool have won the Premier League. I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get to see that happen again - well done lads, I never doubted you for a minute... well, not that often anyway... 

'Whatever happened to..?'

So. That's that then.

Except of course, it's not. Not while any of us are lucky enough to have a memory anyway.

The Stranglers / Ruts D.C. tour was everything that I / we hoped that it would be i.e. a thoroughly enjoyable experience from start to finish. If I ever get time to decipher the barely - legible notes taken sporadically throughout the three-and-a-bit weeks of motion and music then a fuller version of the story will appear here but in the meantime I'll just say that it was definitely one of the best tours that I've ever been part of. Both bands played well every night, but as always that's only part of the story - The Stranglers were absolute gentlemen, their crew were fantastic, Bittersweet Catering provided some of the best food that I've ever been lucky enough to taste and I feel almost as though I've shaken the hands of every audience member at every show. Something like that anyway. Great stuff!

There are quite a few reviews of various shows appearing on blogs and beyond, Louder Than War and Retro Man among them - the Ruts D.C. Facebook page will no doubt have links to most if not all of them at some point in the not-too-distant future. There are plenty of YouTube clips too, although I wonder if 'Kill The Pain' from the Manchester show will ever appear - did Baz and JJ really invade our stage dressed as scantily - clad Victorian strongmen wielding inflatable dumbbells..?  

So - what now? Well Ruts D.C. return later this month but more about that then - in the meantime I've got gigs with both Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks and The Upper Cut as well as a guest appearance with my old mates Neck this Saturday supporting Ferocious Dog at The Garage in Islington. It's also back to working in Balcony Shirts. Business as usual? Maybe. Until next time.

Blood on the tracks

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

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

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

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

Back in the garage - sonically speaking

This is Pete Townshend's 69th birthday - with rumours of a new Who album and tour this is definitely something to celebrate, as is the 20th anniversary edition of 'Definitely Maybe' by Oasis which is released today. They're still a band that split the jury (click here to read what a couple of my, er, 'professional acquaintances' think of them, and to hear my thoughts on what turned out to be one of their last gigs - so far...) but love 'em or hate 'em you still can't ignore them. For what my opinion is worth theirs is one of the great debut albums of all time, and if I ever write a song that's half as good as 'Slide Away' then I'll be very happy indeed.

Before last weekend's Serbian adventure I managed to catch a couple of gigs in good old London Town :-

On Tuesday (May 6th if you're taking notes - incidentally if you are taking notes then why are you taking notes?!?) I got a teatime phone call from Dave Ruffy asking me if I'd like to see The Sonics at Koko that very evening. There's only one answer to that isn't there... I met up with him in Camden Town at 8.30, and by the time we'd had a drink on the venue's roof garden it was time to find a vantage point for the show. The Sonics were a band that I remember by reputation a long time before I actually heard a note from them - they were often referred to as 'prototype punk' and 'the ultimate garage band' and photos showed them to be a brooding and menacing bunch, which was more-or-less the way they were reputed to sound. Given their influence on many-a punk it was fitting that they were introduced by Glen Matlock; after a slightly strange delay as they all ambled on and leisurely picked up their respective instruments they careered into 'Cinderella' and what followed was a veritable masterclass in out-and-out rock 'n' roll. Larry Parypa's guitar sounded magnificent as he hacked out primal riffs and slashing chords (even if he himself looked a little bewildered at times!) and drummer Dusty Watson had the mighty Mr. Ruffy voicing his approval throughout, which has to be a good thing if you think about it. A cracking evening, as was the next night at The 12 Bar Club when the garage theme continued as The Fallen Leaves continued their 'first-Wednesday-of-every-month' residency. Support this time came from The Len Price 3, who I've been trying to get to see for quite some time - I've been following their movements via the always-excellent 'Retro Man' blog (which incidentally has just published this review of Captain Sensible's birthday gig - thanks Steve!) and their splendid latest album 'Nobody Knows' has rarely been my turntable lately. (Ok, it's really a CD player, but that doesn't sound as good does it?!?) I'm pleased to say that they didn't disappoint - to say that they look distinctive is something of an understatement, with their red and blue striped blazers, white shirts and black trousers combining to create a technicolour spectacle that perfectly complemented the explosive power (pop) of their material. So many great bands have emerged from the so-called Medway Scene (The Prisoners and The Milkshakes being probably the best known, but there are many others) and judging by this performance The Len Price 3 are worthy successors to all of those bands. So great was their performance that I don't mind admitting that I wasn't sure how The Fallen Leaves were going to follow them, but as always they were absolutely superb. Their next 12 Bar Club gig is on June 4th, and they're at The 100 Club with Eight Rounds Rapid and Back To Zero on Sunday 22nd June - now there's an evening I'm really looking forward too!

Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks returned to The Paddington Packet Boat in Cowley on Saturday for a show that started quietly (it was Cup Final day and as you might expect a lot of people had gone out to watch the match and then gone home early) but turned out to be ok in the end. Al asked me if I'd like to go to the jam night in Edgware tonight, but much as enjoy playing and seeing some of the people there I've made the (ahem!) momentous decision not to go - to be honest I've had enough of the snide comments and the insults, which saddens me as I say I like to go along and play. Hmmm... then again Ruts D.C. play VegFest in Bristol this Saturday followed by an appearance at Strummercamp on Sunday - I really must stop letting loud-mouthed nobodies and idiots at jam nights upset me mustn't I?

Clash city rockers

'Wild punk rockers smash up theatre'
- now that's a headline!

Now here's a sight that's absolutely guaranteed to have sad men like me blubbing like a girly in seconds - yes it's three electric guitars, but not any old three electric guitars. Oh no. On the left a 1959 Les Paul Junior owned by Mick Jones, in the middle Joe Strummer's iconic 'Ignore Alien Orders' Telecaster (click here for the story of the instrument) and on the right Paul Simonon's Fender bass, all of which are currently to be found in The Clash pop-up shop at 75 Berwick Street. The exhibition marks the release on the 'Sound System' box set which contains pretty much everything that the band released during it's lifetime as well as outtakes, unreleased songs and video material; also on display are record covers, handwritten setlists, the famous 'London Calling' smashed bass (I would have taken a picture but I couldn't get near it!) and lots more besides. It's only there until next Sunday and it's well worth a visit. Mind you, I would say that wouldn't I? And I wonder what happened to Topper Headon's drumkit? 

Well it's Sunday evening and I'm already home from gigging - this has been happening a fair bit lately but I'm still not used to it! But it was a cracking gig this, er, afternoon at The Horns in Watford where I was depping in The Good Old Boys. With Hud away elsewhere Chris Hunt stepped in on drums - I played a few shows with him many years ago with Dave Finnegan's Commitments, and although I've send him play occasionally since then I'd all but forgotten what an incredibly powerful drummer he is. Teaming him with bass hero Nick Simper made for an absolutely extraordinary rhythm section, and with band stalwarts Alan Barratt on vocals and Pete Parks on guitar on top form throughout it was a thoroughly enjoyable show to be part of. It's good when that happens - and it was a good show on Saturday night too when Big Al Reed and the Blistering Buicks made a return visit to The Admiral Nelson in Twickenham. My good friend Pete has been depping for the band while I've been away with Ruts D.C. - he joined us for a few numbers at this show and sounded as though he'd really got hold of the material, as indeed did the rest of the band which is going from strength to strength. There are plenty of gigs coming in too - I wonder how many I'll play and how many I'll be asking Pete to do?
The answer to that question depends largely on what happens next with Ruts D.C. - and on the evidence of Friday's show at Sub89 in Reading that could well turn out to be a fascinating question. First things first though - what an absolutely superb venue Sub 89 is, with a good sized stage, great sound system and very helpful staff. Everything ran smoothly from the word go, the band played a hour-and-a-bit long set to an increasingly appreciative audience, and talking to people afterwards everyone seemed to think that we'd given a great show. And without wishing to sound too big headed - we had! You know when you play a good one, and this was definitely a good one  - our driver Marc hadn't seen us for a few months and told me that he was amazed at how the band had progressed in the interim period. We're off to Germany for 4 shows this week then up to Scotland next weekend before we start looking forward to the Damned tour in November and December, and with things already being planned for next year the future for the band is looking very interesting indeed. Well, let's hope so anyway.

In the meantime I'm off to bed - it's bloomin' tiring this gigging lark you know, even when you are home early...

Stop press! On Monday the always-worth-a-read Retro Man blog published a review of our Reading show which you can find here - and as I say, the rest of the blog is well worth checking out too.