Neurotic outsider

Colin Dredd, bass player with The Newtown Neurotics, died last week. I saw The Neurotics (as they were also known) play many times and our group The Price shared the bill with them on quite a few occasions - their uncompromising left wing stance ensured that (a) they achieved virtually no mainstream recognition as the terror of the Thatcher years unfolded all around them and indeed us, and (b) people like me loved them. Colin (real surname Masters) was always friendly, approachable and ready to talk to anybody about anything - it always seemed to me that he simply adored everything about being in the band. He will be missed by everyone who knew him and - I'd like to think - remembered by everybody who ever met him.
And Mac Poole died after a long battle with cancer. He will it seems always be remembered as the man who turned down the job in Led Zeppelin, but he drummed with great distinction for many acts in the succeeding years. He depped with Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks several times, and I'll remember him as a great character with a rock 'n' roll story for every occasion. He was a heck of a drummer as well.

Ruts D.C. played two gigs over the weekend, the first of which saw us visit Italy for the first time. Arriving at Heathrow Airport Terminal 4 at the not-too-early (for once!) time of quarter to eight in the morning I met up with Dave and Segs, checked in and after a less-than-straightforward journey through security (shoes off, belts out of trousers, hand baggage unpacked) we launched ourselves enthusiastically at breakfast. We're playing at The Sottotetto Club in Bologna at an evening organised by Bologna City Rockers - I'd not played in Italy before so I'd been looking forward to this show for a while. Our first flight took us to Paris  - no, I'm not sure why we didn't / couldn't get a direct flight either - where we renegotiated security (shoes off etc) before flying to Bologna where we were met by the Bologna City Rockers team who took us to The Hotel Astor. After checking in an abortive attempt at finding a coffee shop followed (it seems that they close during the afternoon) after which we headed to the venue where things were ready for soundcheck. I had an excellent Marshall JCM 900 half stack (oh yes!) while Segs had a not-quite-so-excellent Ampeg set-up - it sounded bad from the word go so while Dave struggled with a faulty hi-hat clutch some anxious-sounding phone calls were made... eventually a gentleman arrived with another clutch, and after fiddling with the bass amp he announced that it was set in stereo mode, flicked a switch and everything sounded great. After soundchecking we walked over to a nearby bar where we were interviewed for the Bologna City Rockers radio show (or to be more accurate Dave and Segs were interviewed as the questions were about the original band) after which Lorenz took us to the La Perla restaurant where a frankly mind-boggling amount of food was provided - I'd been told that Bologna's nickname 'La Grassa' means 'the fat one' and refers to the local cuisine, and on this showing it wasn't hard to see how it got it's name. (Incidentally I can't find a website for the restaurant but it's highly recommended, if only because it serves a 'Metro Pizza' which we're told is 1 metre wide! Maybe next time!) By now it was nearly 10 o'clock but since we weren't due on until after midnight we decided to go back to our hotel for some much-needed rest. Well, it was certainly much-needed in my case.
Lorenz got us back to the venue for around 11.15 - there were people everywhere, and with the front part of the club resembling a record fair with vinyl, CD and t-shirt stalls all doing a roaring trade it was clear that this was going to be quite a night. Klaxon took to the stage just as we got to the dressing room, their set included a fine version of The Clash's 'Garageland' which is never a bad sign. We start with 'Something That I Said' and with the venue packed with people the sound has changed which prompts Segs to ask me to turn up as he can't hear what I'm playing. His mic stand collapses during 'Mighty Soldier' which causes much amusement, not least from him; by the middle of our set things are well on course for a great gig with people singing along with both the old Ruts songs and some lesser-known Ruts DC material. 'West One (Shine On Me)' triggers a mini stage invasion, 'Love In Vain' gets an almost football crowd - style singalong and the new song 'Secondhand Child' is greeted like an old friend. 'Staring At the Rude Boys', 'Babylon's Burning' and 'In A Rut' clearly are old friends to all concerned and the final encore of 'H-Eyes' finishes a great - make that GREAT - show. Afterwards there are numerous record covers for Dave and Segs to sign while a man who in my imagination resembles a Roman Centurion has tears in his eyes as he tells me that he'd 'waited 35 years for this show'. Amazing. 
Meanwhile the DJ is spinning old ska and rocksteady records (yes, records!) and no one is going home, we stay for a while before being reminded that we've got a plane to catch in a few hours...

My alarm goes off at 7am. Bugger. Three hours sleep didn't feel like nearly enough. Oh well. I have a shower then meet Dave at breakfast, there's no sign of Segs so Dave goes to knock on his door, he returns after no response so I suggest he calls his room from reception. Segs answers him with the news that he 'thought he'd heard some banging when he'd been in the shower'. Our taxi takes us to the airport where we attempt to pre-empt security by removing our shoes and belts first. It works - good. From there it's yesterday in reverse - there's time for a quick coffee at CDG before gate K53 takes us back to Heathrow where after a bit of 'how do we meet the bus?' shenanigans we hook up with Bob the soundman, Rhiannon the merch girl and James the new-to-us driver and set the controls for Cheadle Hulme where we're closing The Strummercamp Festival at Manchester Rugby Club. No, I'm not sure why we didn't fly to Manchester either... I guess ours is not to reason why sometimes?
We arrive in the Strummercamp backstage area just as Barnstormer are playing a, well, barnstorming set. Attila The Stockbroker dedicates a song to Colin from The Neurotics, they were old friends of course and he's got a picture of him taped to his mic stand which is a nice touch. Meanwhile we meet Phil and Mike from Bug who are lending us their guitar and bass amps for the gig, they played the day before and by all accounts got a great reception, to the extent that Phil has been stopped by people wanting to buy merch so many times that he's taken to walking around with a bag full of it! After finding out what time we need to be backstage to set up we take the only possible course of action under the circumstances and go to the bar, where it's clear that a lot of people are looking forward to our show. No pressure then... Dave and Segs go off to do another radio interview while I use my meal ticket to get a jacket potato - rock 'n' roll eh?
We return backstage in time to catch the last few songs by King Kurt who sound as great and indeed as mad as ever; the tent empties while we're setting up but fills up to capacity by the time 'S.T.I.S.' kicks things off once again. There's dancing from the word go and everybody is on top form - 'Secondhand Child' gets another good reception which as Dave says 'means a lot to us', and we encore with 'Brand New Cadillac' for Joe Strummer amid scenes of no little audience pandemonium. Afterwards the organisers go on stage to thank the audience for coming but it's us that should be thanking them - it was a real pleasure to be part of such a great festival.

These two gigs were bookended by two shows with Big Al and co., the first of which took place on Thursday at The Sunningdale Lounge in Sunningdale. I'd been rehearsing all day with Ruts D.C. so felt quite tired by the time I got to the venue but it turned out to be an enjoyable show with several new-to-the-act songs (they're old numbers, we didn't write any of them!) alongside the usual crowd pleasers. But if I was 'quite tired' on Thursday then I'm not sure what word describes my condition during Bank Holiday Monday's 5pm show at The North Star in Iver. Let's go for 'out on my feet' shall we? I got home less than an hour before I had to leave for the show - I played the gig, but I'm not sure how. I don't think that I played too well, and I was pretty wound up, especially when some fat drunken oaf kept on saying that he wanted to get up to sing 'Mustang Sally' with us... I think the contrast between successive shows sometimes gets the better of me, or something... perhaps I should call everyone to apologise... in fact I might do that now... hmmm...

The thrill is gone

We live in strange times don't we? Well I think that we do - another 5 years of Tory (mis) rule have arrived seemingly by accident, or at the very least against the run of play; anyone who dares to question anything that they say and do is labelled at best a troublemaker and more likely a loony lefty revolutionary ready to take the 'great' out of Great Britain. Most of the country didn't vote for them of course, but that hardly seems to matter - millions struggle to keep a roof over their head and put food on the table while The Royal Family casually add another member who will live with all the luxury and opulence that they've come to consider 'normal'. For what my opinion is worth I think that the very existence of The Royal Family is an insult to the working people, indeed the working class of the country, but I guess that just makes me a loony lefty revolutionary troublemaker. If you're lucky enough to have a job then you're not supposed to have a opinion, if you're lucky enough to have a opinion then you don't deserve to have a job; in the meantime former contestants on television talent contests are now considered to be 'artists', the winners are referred as 'legends' while others are now presenters or indeed judges on said programmes. A self-fulfilling prophesy? Maybe... 
If B.B. King had have showed up on the set of The X Factor he'd have lasted a few seconds at best - too old, too heavy, not able to sing and play guitar at the same time, not even trying to dance, all of which means that he will have to be content with being remembered as one of the greatest and most respected blues guitarists of all time. His playing is literally the stuff of legend - yes, legend - with sad men like me spending their entire lives trying to get even near to it. We all bend strings, but no one bends a string like B.B. King. Did he invent it? Well probably not, but as he himself once observed, nobody did it before him. And then there's that vibrato - often imitated but never equalled, it almost redefines the term 'industry standard'. As an artist - yes, an artist - he stayed true to himself and his music throughout his long and illustrious career, and as such should be seen as an inspiration to musicians everywhere. There is thankfully a huge amount of superb live footage, most of which confirms his graceful greatness and total commitment to his music, so here is a clip of 'How Blue Can you Get?' recorded at Sing Sing Prison - somehow he even looks cool hitching his pants up doesn't he? What a player, and what a man - we are sadly unlikely ever to see his like again. R.I.P. B.B. - and thanks.

It's been a busy few days in mad-guitar-land, starting with a show by The London Sewage Company at The Dublin Castle in Camden Town. I'd not played there before and so was particularly looking forward to the evening, which turned out to be highly enjoyable despite there being hardly anybody in the audience. It had been raining heavily all day which probably had an effect on things, and it's often the case that a big show (we played at The Shepherds Bush Empire last month) is followed by a much smaller one. Still we played well and we're back at the same venue on June 4th for another show in what could well turn out to be a monthly residency for the band. Support came from The Uppercuts (Oooh! That's a dodgy name for a band!) and Dirt Royal (both of which were excellent) and earlier in the evening I found time to visit The Rock 'n' Roll Rescue shop next door - time to donate some of those books that I haven't read for ages methinks!

Two Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks gigs saw the band return to The Riverside Club in Staines on Friday night before heading up to the previously uncharted territory (that's uncharted by us - other people have been there!) of The United Services Club in Dunstable the following evening. Both shows went well although I for one wasn't sure that they would - the first one was rather sparsely attended while the next night had a real 'go on then, impress us' feeling about it from the moment we arrived. However I'm pleased to say that in both cases the band rose to the occasion, playing with plenty of energy while Al's showmanship soon had the people on our side. Indeed both gigs saw plenty of dancing and general merriment which is always a good thing to see.

On Sunday I (re)joined my old mates Neck for a how at The Cursus Festival in Dorset. With no chance to rehearse with the band I'd worked on the songs on my own, and I'm glad that I did as the projected set list was changed on the day when the band got to the site. This sort of things happens a fair bit as it's always good to react to what's happening on the day, and when we realised that there was rather a lot of cider around (I'll leave you to think about the implications of that development... got the idea?!?) we changed the set to be a bit more, shall we say, danceable... it was a tactic that worked too, as our show saw a great amount of jollity from the assembled multitude, and an excellent time was had by all.

This coming weekend Ruts D.C. are playing in Bologna (I've not been to Italy before so I've been looking forward to this show for a while) and at Strummercamp at Manchester Rugby Club - Bologna and Cheadle Hulme has to be the most unusual and indeed unlikely back-to-back gigs that I've ever done! In the meantime it's Pete Townshend's 70th birthday tomorrow - when push comes to shove he's my favourite guitarist of them all, so here is some incredible footage of The Who at The 1970 Isle Of Wight Festival touching musical heights that few if any will ever approach. 
Enjoy!

' 'Smell The Glove' is here...'

Ruts D.C. with 'Love In Vain' - at last!

Well last night promised much, and I'm pleased to say that it delivered much more, as 'Love In Vain - The Story Of The Ruts and Ruts D.C.' by Roland Link was finally unveiled after many years in the making. Edited by Paul Trynka and published by Cadiz Music and Sosumi Records it really is an amazing piece of work - I know you'd expect me to say that, but I'd like to think that I've still got some level of objectivity here... mind you, if you'd told me a few years ago that there would be a time when I'd be asked to autograph a book then I'd probably have told you that you'd gone completely mad - but it happened last night. Incredible. Said event took place at The Islington in Islington where Ruts D.C. played an acoustic and electric set, participated in two Q & A sessions with the afore-mentioned Messrs Link and Trynka and met what felt like the entire audience. And I'm going to say that every moment of it was enjoyable - and that's a great thing to be able to say.  

The previous evening The Upper Cut played at The Dolphin in Uxbridge. We'd rehearsed at Bush Studios in Shepherd's Bush the previous evening - this coupled with the fact that we've been playing regularly lately (well, regularly by our standards!) and that it was Big Al's birthday (he bought down quite a few family and friends) meant that we were on fine form throughout. Such was our enthusiasm that I managed to cut a finger by windmilling and being silly - I really should watch things like that shouldn't I?

Once again there's a busy week in prospect, meaning that once again blogging time is limited. The London Sewage Company play The Dublin Castle in Camden Town on Thursday, I'm joining Neck at The Curcus Festival in Dorset on Sunday and there are a couple of Buicks gigs in between - how on Earth am I going to find time to read Roland's book?!?  

Islington... and on... and on...

There's not been much time for blogging this week, what with the Bank Holiday ensuring that none of us know what day it is - or maybe that's just me? 

I had three gigs to keep me out of mischief over the weekend - The Upper Cut played The Salmon And Ball in Bethnal Green on Saturday night (the audience included several cheery gents who went to school with members of The Small Faces and two very good-looking young blonde ladies who indulged in some rather, er, exhibitionist dancing) whilst Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks played a private party in Wendover on Sunday afternoon (the marquee in the back garden just about kept the torrential rain out, to the immense relief of all concerned) and a Bank Holiday Monday early evening show at The North Star in Iver where the layout of the pub meant that most of the band played to a substantially-sized pillar. I also managed to get along to The Feathers in Rickmansworth on Sunday night after our gig to see another splendid performance from The Razors, and worked in Balcony Shirts on Saturday and Tuesday - but now all roads lead to Islington where Ruts D.C. are playing a show at The Islington on Saturday evening as part of our successful PledgeMusic campaign. Well to be pedantic, not all roads lead to Islington as I'll be at The Dolphin in Uxbridge the previous evening with The Upper Cut, but you know what I mean I think... the band will be playing acoustic and electric sets, there'll be a Q & A session with the band (which will also include Roland Link, author of the about-to-be issued-at-last book 'Love In Vain - The Story Of The Ruts And Ruts D.C.') chaired by Paul Trynka and it has all the makings of being a night to remember. I'd tell you some more about it but to be honest that's all I know. No, really, that is all I know about what we're going to do - which is why we're rehearsing tomorrow...

Everybody's carrying a gun

Well I don't mind admitting that I've not felt great today - possibly as a result of 4 late nights in a row, possibly as a result of what I've been doing during those late nights, more likely due to combination of both. I knew Friday, Saturday and Sunday were going to take their toll but after a very busy day in the shop yesterday I went down to RnR Studios in Uxbridge to catch the end of a Department S rehearsal. With Phil from Bug now installed on guitar and new drummer Alex getting to grips with the material they are preparing for some upcoming shows which depending on founder member Mike Herbage's availability may or may not feature your humble narrator on guitar; with this in mind we repaired to The Dolphin to discuss tactics - after spending several hours in there and The Queen's Head I fear we were still no nearer to working out where and when I may appear with them. Or maybe we were - it's a little tricky to remember...

Friday night The Upper Cut found themselves in the somewhat incongruous surroundings of Buckinghamshire Golf Club. We played there almost exactly a year to the day ago (once again on the evening of their St. George's Day event) and I received a call this week asking if we'd like to make a return appearance. There is of course only one answer to a question like that, and it isn't 'no'... as with last year we arrived to the general confusion of the staff, although after asking around in the bar we soon found the right people to talk to. One of the chaps who was there the previous year was on top form, telling us that he'd instructed the person who was paying us to adopt a generous approach to the evening. Well what he actually said was 'I've told 'im, don't be a c@nt, pay the boys wot vere facking werf', but I think you know what I mean. By the time we started playing at half past nine it was clear that with a few participants having been there for getting on for 12 hours a noisy night was in prospect, and a suitably raucous show ensued. Could it all happen again next year? We shall see!

Yes, it does look like
 a gun doesn't it?

The next day Ruts D.C. journeyed up to Bedford for a show supporting The Neville Staple Band at The Corn Exchange. With much of the journey spent singing copies of our new 'Jah War' single (now there's something that I never thought that I'd ever type. It's true though!) the mood was good, and the air of jollity continued for the rest of the day which saw opening act New Groove Formation getting things off to a suitably lively start. Our show took a few songs to get going, although by the time we got to the afore-mentioned 'Jah War' things were definitely moving in the right direction. Time constraints meant that we couldn't play an encore but we all pronounced ourselves pleased with proceedings. The evening ended with The Neville Staple Band mixing Specials songs with ska classics and playing an excellent set in process. A successful night's work.

And last night Wilko Johnson continued his remarkable renaissance with a blistering performance at The Shepherds Bush Empire. Support came from the always-worth-seeing Eight Rounds Rapid, whose splendid 30 minute set found favour among the rapidly-arriving audience, many of whom seemed to be recent converts to the cause judging by the number of Who t-shirts on display. As Wilko took to the stage to a hero's welcome it was clear that we were in for an evening to remember, and as always the great man delivered a storming show which bought the proverbial house down. As I say it was clear that some songs were better known by the audience than others, with material from 'Going Back Home' getting a big reaction and other songs seeming to pass some people by, but none of that seemed to bother the band who all played brilliantly. A top evening all round, not least because those splendid chaps from 8RR managed to get me into the after show party. That's another drink I owe you boys...

You cannot be serious!

In writing these (ahem!) hallowed pages I quite often find myself recounting things that when I read back through them seem scarcely believable - but an incident that occurred at The Upper Cut's performance on Saturday evening at The Halfway House in Barnes has to go down as one of the best. There I was at the bar with Scots Kenny, the always-genial mate of UC bassman Terry discussing of all things The Motors (and why not? They were great weren't they?!?) when we were approached by a man who I will politely describe as 'odious'. Sorry to have to say that but, well, he just was. Nasty, bitter, rude - it was written all over him. You and indeed I sadly meet people like that sometimes don't you? He cared not a jot for the fact that Kenny and myself were having a private conversation but instead interrupted and weighed in with the line 'you should be enhancing my evening but you're coming close to ruining it'. At first I thought that perhaps he'd heard what we'd been saying and wasn't a Motors fan (in which case he'd obviously be a total git - after all, who doesn't like The Motors?) but when he followed it up with 'let me give you some advice' I knew we were in for an entertaining time. He went on to tell Kenny that although he was 'quite a good singer' his vocals were so loud that they were giving him a headache. Although struggling to keep a straight face (well, I certainly was!) we politely agreed to turn Kenny's vocals down in our second set - meaning that we of course left our singer Terry's setting where they were. So what happened next? You've guessed it, our friendly neighbourhood buffoon approached the band (and specifically Terry, who remember had been lucky enough not to have spoken to him up until this point in proceedings) and threatened all manner of terrifying actions if we didn't turn the vocals down. I briefly considered a comment along the lines of 'listen mate, I don't come around to your work and tell you how to do things, so don't come around to mine' but instead Terry told him where to go in no uncertain terms - after which the landlady came over to ask him to leave us alone before giving us the frankly astonishing news that he used to be a Wimbledon umpire and was well-known in the area for having been insulted by John McEnroe back in the day. Like I say I sometimes have trouble believing the stuff that I write here... leaving aside that idiot's antics (I'm sure a couple of people clapped as he walked out of the door a few songs later!) it was a good night - our first gig at the venue ended with barmaids dancing on the table and us being rebooked. And for the record, I didn't think that we were too loud, but I suppose that I wouldn't would I?

I dread to think what Mr. Miserable would have made of the previous evening's entertainment at The 100 Club, where The Cockney Rejects had roared through a blistering hour-or-so set in front of a sold out crowd of diehard fans, all of whom seemed to know ever word of every song and who gave them the sort of reception that their performance thoroughly deserved. I arrived just in time to miss the first band 16 Guns (sorry lads!) as I had been to meet Richard and Blaise from Cadiz Music in The Ship in Wardour Street where I received the sad news that the pub was about to close for several weeks before reopening as a gastropub. Bugger! How many more landmark establishments will we lose in the name of so-called 'progress'? I however did see a splendid set from The Morgellons (let's face it, any band who plays 'The Blank Generation' has to be worth a look!) and a not-such-splendid set from The East End Badoes although in the latter's defence I did spend much of their time on stage catching up with various people so perhaps I should not be quite so judgemental (for once!) about them.

The previous day Segs and myself had met up to review some ideas for new Ruts D.C. songs - we worked on some chords sequences, recorded two rough demos and looked at any number of lyrical ideas so the day was certainly a success on pretty much every level. The band is about to announce a batch of shows for the Autumn including some in far-flung and in my case previously unchartered territories - watch this space, as they (whoever 'they' are) say... and we're playing at The Corn Exchange in Bedford with The Neville Staple Band this Saturday which has all the makings of a classic evening.

And it was a classic day yesterday when The London Sewage Company recorded 5 songs at The Brook in Wallington. Engineer Andy does a fair bit of work with Status Quo, and as I did a fair bit of work with Pip Williams back in the '90s we had plenty to talk about - progress was swift and although the tracks have yet to be mixed it looks as though they should turn out well. Game, set and match, you might say...

The calm after the storm? The calm before the next storm?

Well there we are then - a few weeks of intense activity (by my standards anyway!) and suddenly I'm back in the real World. Ooo! Still it's been good to have a week-and-a-bit to get things in order (I didn't half have a lot of clothes to wash!) and working at Balcony Shirts before the next batch of gigs begin. 

The long-awaited (by me at any rate!) book 'Love In Vain - The Story Of The Ruts and Ruts D.C.' by Roland Link is due out next month - we'll be playing The Islington in (you've guessed it!) Islington as part of the PledgeMusic funding campaign on Saturday 9th May which should be a night to remember. We're also about to release a 7'' single featuring a re-recording of the Ruts classic 'Jah War' which even though I say so myself has turned out really well. (I know you wouldn't expect to say that it's terrible but you know what I mean I think!) And myself and Segs are getting together tomorrow to go through yet more ideas for new songs - exciting stuff!

Although I wasn't out gigging myself last weekend I did manage to see a couple of shows, starting on Friday night with The Secret Police at Tropic At Ruislip. The Police were never exactly the coolest of bands to like, to the extent that they almost fit into the 'guilty pleasure' category for many. For what my opinion is worth I think they made some great records and having seen them play a couple of times back in the day can say that they were absolutely brilliant live. Much of their material is notoriously difficult to play, and I thought that The Secret Police made a very good job of things despite backing tracks malfunctioning as early as the first song. It looked as though they were running them from a somewhat temperamental iPad, and if this proves nothing else then the old adage 'always carry a spare' comes to mind... still once they got going it sounded excellent, and I for one had forgotten just how great songs like 'Bring On the Night' are. 
The next night it was off to Sub89 in Reading to see Adam Ant. A packed house witnessed an energetic performance from The Ant Man and his band (with Tom sounding splendid on low-slung Les Paul) who performed the 'Dirk Wears White Sox' album to the approval of all concerned. The show then continued with a selection of B-sides and early less-than-well-known material - you could all but hear the collective sigh of relief from the audience as 'Kings Of The Wild Frontier' began the encore, and 'Antmusic' caused predicable hysteria before a medley of 'Get It On' and 'You're So Physical' bought a highly enjoyable evening to an end.

This coming weekend there's a London Sewage Company recording session and The Upper Cut play their first gig since January, at The Halfway House in Barnes. We've not played their before so it'll hopefully be a good night. Before that I'm intending to see The Cockney Rejects at The 100 Club on Friday - well, I haven't been there for a couple of weeks...