European Son

So - the people of Great Britain are to vote on whether or not they think that the country should stay in the European Union. Exciting eh? 
Actually most people that I've spoken to seem to think that 'exciting' is probably the very last word that they'd associate with it. Is it just me or is nobody outside of headbanging right wingers and careerist politicians even the slightest bit interested in it? Nevertheless it gave rise to an amusing start to the week yesterday, when a BBC film crew turned up in Uxbridge to film local shopkeeper's opinions on the upcoming EU referendum. Excellently they started in Balcony Shirts - I managed to keep well out of the way of the camera (do not play, do not give the game away!) while Scott did a splendid job, making a 'EU IN OR EU OUT?' t-shirt while recounting the story of the shop's 'Uxbridge Says Yes To Boris' and 'Uxbridge Says No To Boris' shirts. All good stuff, and lots of publicity for both the t-shirt shop and our friends in Nightfly Records and Horsepower Hairdressing. And why not?

Meanwhile it's been four gigs in four days for your humble narrator, starting on Thursday night with the first visit this year for Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks to The Sunningdale Lounge. A friend of Al's got up and played two songs on bass ('Mustang Sally'  and 'My Babe' since you were wondering - I thought that he crammed in a few too many notes, but that's probably just me) and a similar thing happened next night at The Halfway House in Rickmansworth where another of Al's pals got up and played harmonica (rather well as it happens) on 'Hoochie Coochie Man'. We got through our Saturday night show at The Black Horse in Greenford without any similar incidents and it was probably the best show of the three although none of them were exactly bad gigs. Then on Sunday afternoon The Upper Cut returned to The Queen's Arms in Colnbrook for a boisterous performance which wasn't perhaps our most technically accurate show ever but which certainly had plenty of energy.

This week it's back to Dollis Hill and Harefield for Big Al and the boys. Continuation continues... 

'Well well well well - you're just a...'

Well the quiet couple of weeks are now but a distant memory - since the last posting there have been Ruts D.C. recording sessions with James Knight at Pat Collier's excellent Perry Vale Studios as well as rehearsals at The Music Complex in Deptford and a gig at The 100 Club along with a splendid Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks gig at The Horns in Watford. All good stuff (apart from a rather odd occurrence at the 100 Club show, but more about that in a minute) and it was great to busy again.

The studio sessions went well. Very well. Another seven songs were started, meaning that we now have 14 tracks coming together. There's still a long way to go and a lot of work to be done but I for one am very optimistic that we're going to release a great album in September. There should be a single out before then - more news as and when I have it as they (whoever 'they' are) say.

The recordings took place last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; we'd rehearsed for them on Monday (and since we're being pedantic, the previous Thursday and Friday as well) leaving just Friday 12th available for us to prepare for our gig the next evening. We only booked three hours, which turned out to be just enough time - it had been over two months since our last gig, and it's amazing what you can forget in that time... also we'd decided to include a previously unperformed song 'Kill The Pain' in our set, which put a bit more pressure on us time-wise. Admittedly we didn't have to play it, but you know what it's like once you've got an idea in your head... 

Saturday was one of those nights where there were lots of things happening in good ol' London Town; with The Who at The Wembley Arena and The Godfathers, Department S and Eight Rounds Rapid at The Garage in Islington (guess which one I would have been at!) among other appealing events. I don't mind admitting that I wasn't sure that we'd have much of an audience. Still we were on with The Members and The Newtown Neurotics so it was a good bill, hopefully that would attract a few people?
As I queued up to get back into the venue (yes, I know I could have done the 'I'm in the band' thing but that's not really me is it?) I realised that any fears I had about a low audience turnout were thankfully unfounded - at not long after half past eight the place was already getting full and The Newtown Neurotics were going down a storm. They sounded great, as did The Members who I saw at the same venue only a few weeks ago and if anything sounded even better this time around. We went on around twenty past ten - by halfway through it was clear that this was going to be a night to remember, and afterwards several people told me that they'd already seen the best gig of the year. I wonder if they'll be proved right? As a performance it was an absolute pleasure to be part of - which makes the incident that preceded it all the more peculiar. I was told by a friend that the compare, who clearly has some sort of, er, problem, had used a very rude word to refer to your humble narrator during his bizarre appearance onstage after the Members's show. (Incidentally we'd banned him from introducing us - you're about to realise why!) I didn't hear it myself so I asked around a bit, and it seems that he'd made a comment along the lines of 'the guitarist in the next band is a Liverpool fan, but if he says that he's from Liverpool he's a lying c@*t'. A strange incident - I'd make more of it, but what's the point? After all, if said ugly overweight hysterical nonentity - perhaps he could market himself as 'The Fat Out-Of-Controller'? - wants to see an actual 'lying c@*t' then all he has to do is look into a mirror.

So there you have it - a great few days. Back to the pub gigs this weekend. But that's alright too.

'Turn and face the strange...'

41 years ago today, on the 7th February 1975, Dr. Feelgood recorded this still-extraordinary live performance which was broadcast a few days later on the teatime television show 'The Geordie Scene'. I remember it oh-so very well - I was 13 years old at the time, and came in from school just as the programme was starting. After the suitably cheesy introduction (this was the 1970s after all!) from Dave Eager (whatever happened to him eh?) Wilko, Lee, Sparko and The Big Figure roared into what for them was probably just another live performance but what was for me and people like me literally life-changing. As Wilko tore into his first jaw-dropping guitar solo I dragged my Mum in from the back kitchen to watch it with me - she was a bit of a rock 'n' roller back in the day and said that she liked it although she could have just been humouring me I suppose... anyway she went back to making our dinner while The Feelgoods hammered the riff to 'Roxette' home. By the time the credits rolled over 'Route 66' things had changed, and more than I could ever realised at the time. I went up to my room in a daze - I'd heard of the band and that they were supposed to be good, but nothing had prepared me for what I'd just seen. Amazing. It still feels exciting to be writing about it just over four decades later. 
I went into school the next day as usual but as I say, things had changed. I enthused to my music-loving mates about the show that I'd seen the day before - a couple of them liked it but most of them didn't, they thought that the band looked a bit daft especially that weird guy on the guitar, surely you didn't think that they were any good did you? No you should listen to 'real' music like ELP, Yes and Genesis, not some bunch of herberts from the seaside.
Hmmm. Maybe I'd been wrong. After all when you're 13 you don't want to be the odd one out do you?
Except of course, I hadn't been wrong. And it took me a while to realise it, but it's actually alright to be the odd one out. 

Incidentally Mum died 15 years ago today. How I wish she was here to watch the show again with me now.

It's been a busy week - I spent a day recording guitars with James Knight, two days rehearsing with Ruts D.C. at The Music Complex in Deptford working on songs and arrangements for this week's recording sessions, played with Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks at The General Eliott in Uxbridge on Friday and with The Upper Cut at The Salmon And Ball in Bethnal Green last night as well as working a couple of days in the shop. But this week it's all about more 'Psychic Attack' album sessions - oh and a gig at The 100 Club on Saturday. We haven't played live for over two months, so we'd better rehearse for that too. I told you that it's ok to have a quiet couple of weeks sometimes didn't I?

Still that all starts tomorrow. Today I'm going to play 'Down By The Jetty'. Again. See you in 1975.

Halfway to paradise

Right - I'm bored now. I've had enough of 'normal' weeks... 

On Friday evening Dave Ruffy played with Louise Aubrie at The Dublin Castle in Camden Town. I'd met her briefly when he was recording with her at the famed and fabulous Abbey Road Studios last year - fronting a group that aside from Dave consisted of members of Adam Ant's touring band she delivered a tight set of original material in front of a very appreciative audience. I certainly enjoyed the show, although I was left thinking that perhaps there was - for want of a better term - no 'killer song' in the repertoire. All well played and sung, plenty of energy, looking good - but no knockout punch. Then again this is commercial pop music - or if it's not then it should be - so since when did a middle aged man's opinion matter? As I say a good show - and it was great to catch up with six string superman Tom Edwards again for the first time in a while. And he really say that he was going to have a word with Schecter Guitars about getting me an endorsement deal with them?!?

Last night Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks returned to The Halfway House in Barnes for a boisterous performance that featured everything from a collapsing keyboard stand to a cheery chap buying the band a round of drinks then presenting us with a bottle of red wine during our second set. Bill depped on bass (he used to be in The Glitter Band! Really!) and Al rode the wave of his recent television performance for all that it was worth. Oh and I spoke to Doogy who I'd met there a couple of times but who this time revealed that he used to be in a band called The Press who played with The Ruts at The Music Machine back in the day. A most enjoyable evening.

Aside from the above it's been a quiet few days - very welcome in many ways - but after tomorrow in Balcony Shirts the word 'normal' ceases to apply (thank gawd!) as it's time to return to the Ruts D.C. fold to resume work on the upcoming 'Psychic Attack' album. On Wednesday I've got a day with producer James Knight recording guitar parts and then on Thursday and Friday we are all in writing and rehearsal mode - there are songs to finish, brand new material to consider (Segs has not been idle and neither have I!) and the following week's sessions in Perry Vale Studios with Pat Collier to prepare for. 'Tea break over, back on your heads' as the old gag goes. Excellent!

'Transition... Transmission...'

Well it might sound a bit of a strange thing to say but I'll say it anyway - it feels as though I've just had the first 'normal' week for ages. Not that I very often do anything that deserves the label 'normal'... I've worked a couple of days in Balcony Shirts, played two gigs with Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks, been to see a band play at Tropic at Ruislip - as I say, a 'normal' week.

The shop has calmed down a bit since the Christmas blitzkrieg, although there's still more than enough going on to keep us all out of mischief. It's usually quiet at this time of year, but with school leavers, stag and hen parties and more waiting in the wings it's been a chance to clean the place up and re-do various displays. That said we had two very likely lads in and out of the shop for much of today - they were celebrating the taller one's birthday, and judging by their condition they certainly knew how to celebrate... t-shirts that featured Kermit The Frog and some 'adult' slogans were printed, and at some point in proceedings the smaller one bought five - count 'em, five! - Zippy wallets. They were last seen getting into a taxi to go to the taller one's nan's house. I wonder if they made it that far?

Big Al and the boys (once again with Dave from Red Box on bass who may well be turning up a fair bit more in the future...) returned to The Black Horse in Eastcote on Friday night for a raucous performance in front of an all-but-full house, while the next night we journeyed up to Dunstable for a very enjoyable show at The United Services Club. The early part of the evening was enlivened by a visit to the nearby Froth And Elbow, which I only suggested because of the name (!) but which turned out to have a gang of ridiculously attractive young ladies behind the bar; it also puts on live bands so Al swung into action with the business card - we shall see if we get a gig there. Further merriment came from the fact that the ITV game show 'Take Me Out' featured an appearance from Al which he'd recorded while I'd been away gigging last year. The band had been filmed (at of all places The Black Horse in Eastcote) but sadly none of that footage was used; the show itself was broadcast while we were playing our first set meaning that we were unable to watch it (shame!) but when Al switched his phone on in the interval it went crazy with text messages, Facebook postings and Twitter messages, many of whom were from ladies asking him out and indeed offering their, er, services. He didn't win on the show, but 'he who laughs last laughs longest' as the old saying goes... and no, I've never seen the show either!

And last night it was back to Tropic At Ruislip to see The Marrakesh Express - as their website puts it, 'a tribute to the music of The Byrds and Crosby Stills And Nash'. On the surface this was a rather odd event for your humble narrator to attend (both bands are far too hippyish for my not at all hippyish tastes, although it's impossible to deny the excellence of much of their music) but I was intrigued to see that they featured two members of Diesel Park West who were a band I saw several times back in the Eighties and Nineties and who I always thought deserved much more success that they achieved with 'Jackie's Still Sad' still something of an undiscovered classic. I went with Scott from Balcony Shirts who bought along friend of the shop (and indeed of Scott's) Iain Lee who turned a few heads in the venue - it's amazing what the presence of a celebrity does sometimes isn't it? Anyway we all agreed that the Byrds part of the evening was a bit disappointing - without bass and drums the songs didn't really come across as well as they might although the playing and singing was excellent throughout. However the Crosby Stills And Nash set was something else again, with stunning vocal harmonies and some superb guitar work from all concerned. An interesting evening, although inevitably still a bit too hippyish for me. Mind you it wouldn't have been right if it hadn't had been if you think about it.

And this should be another 'normal' week too. Let's see if it turns out that way...

'Oh no - don't say it's true...'

If I'm still alive on July 24th this year - and I really hope that I will be - I'll be 55 years old.

I can't remember President Kennedy's assassination; I remember Jimi Hendrix dying, and I've already written (here!) in these hallowed pages of the trouble I got in on the day John Lennon left the building. That was probably the biggest 'celebrity death' for me - Princess Diana's passing was a huge international event but I've never been a royalist, and I suppose Kurt Cobain's death was a big one for the generation below mine. My mum always used to say that something bad always happens around Christmas (I don't know why she used to say it, but she always did!) but 2015 had ended with Brad from The Specials and Lemmy dying so surely that was bad enough? So when I woke up on Monday morning to a text message that read 'I need hugs!' from my mate Dave I wasn't sure what to think; when a text then arrived from my friend Nicky that spoke of her feeling 'sick with sadness' I thought that I'd better check the TV news...

If you're my age (or indeed a few years older or younger than me) then David Bowie has, for want of a better term, always been there. Actually he's always been miles ahead of his many imitators and indeed all of the rest of us but you know what I mean I think. And he's still there now too isn't he? There has been so much said and written about him in the last week that I don't really feel as though I can add very much, other than to say that we were lucky, very lucky, to have been on Earth at the same time as he was. Musically my favourite part of his long and magnificent career remains those immortal recordings with The Spiders From Mars, but that's just me - fans everywhere will have a different memory of what a song means to them, of how they felt when they saw him and realised that they weren't alone anymore, or that it was ok to be different, or to feel like an outsider in a world that couldn't see them and didn't care anyway, or, or, or...

Who'll love Aladdin Sane?

By a twist of fate I found myself in Brixton (Bowie's birthplace) on Monday afternoon as myself and Segs were going to Jamm to work on the Ruts D.C. recordings that we began last month. As I walked up the stairs from the underground station it was impossible not to notice that there were rather more Bowie t-shirts around that there might normally be; across from the station a small crowd had gathered around the mural on the side of the Morleys department store, with people leaving flowers, pictures, messages and more - I'm not normally one for grieving over people that I'd never met but it was impossible not to be moved by the scenes. Meanwhile The Academy had 'DAVID BOWIE - FOREVER OUR HERO' in the place where it would normally advertise the evening's main attraction - and why not? Local boy makes good. Local boy makes very good indeed. About as good as it can get if you think about it. 
I like most people have been playing a fair bit of the great man's work in the last few days - I'd actually been listening to the Spiders stuff a fair bit lately anyway in an attempt to tune into Mick Ronson's guitar genius as one of the sources of inspiration for our recordings - and have been struck by just how bloody good Bowie was.

The Bowie Academy.

Well he was wasn't he? And it's easy to forget that - you don't accidentally get a 50+ year career at anything if you're not any good at it, or (as someone remarked to me while telling me that Bowie had been 'lucky' as he 'wasn't particularly talented'. Oh dear...) if all you do is rely on fashion, or gimmicks, or indeed anything other than making great music and giving brilliant performances. David Bowie did both of those things of course, but he also did so much more. I'm sure there'll be a backlash soon, where some jumped up two bit journalist or television presenter tries to make a name for themselves by starting a bit of controversy ('he wasn't that good', 'he stole all his best moves', 'he sacked all The Spiders' - you know the sort of thing) but that'll hardly matter - the last third of The 20th Century belonged to David Bowie, and there's a good chance that a fair bit of The 21st Century will be influenced by him and his work. And rightly so. It is unlikely that we will see his like again, but we should be thankful that we saw it at all. 

Somewhat inevitably the day at Jamm was tinged with sadness. Or was it? Greg the engineer said how proud he felt that Bowie had been from Brixton; I suspect he wasn't the only one in the area with that thought. Rob from The Alabama 3 was on hand, he said that we were there to make music and make music we would - his possibly rather controversial production methods (tins of Red Stripe, bottles of wine and, er, more besides...) coaxed some astonishing vocal performances out of Segs. Even though I say so myself the tracks are sounding great; there's a lot of work still to do and more tracks to record next month but I for one am very optimistic about how the album is shaping up.

After the session I walked back along Brixton Road to the tube station - there were hundreds of people at the mural singing, dancing and indeed crying, an amazing (and from my point of view absolutely unforgettable) outpouring of emotion. It really was quite a thing to see, but nothing less than the occasion deserved.

New boy band forms - 
see you on 'The X Factor'...

On Thursday evening Dave, Segs and myself had what I suppose could be thought of as a 'works outing' to see Henry Rollins at The Barbican. In addition to being a great fan of both The Ruts and Ruts D.C. he of course sang with the band at Paul Fox's last show - I first met him at a rehearsal for said show (you can read the story here if you'd like to) and have spoken to him several times since then, he's an absolutely extraordinary character who is completely unlike anyone else that I've ever met. His 150+ minute show saw him talk (and talk and talk and, er, talk...) about anything and everything that came to mind - although some parts were obviously scripted I spoke to people who had seen other shows on this tour which were apparently quite different in content. Incredible. He told me that he has to have a timer on stage with him otherwise he would 'go on all night'. I for one don't doubt that he could do exactly that.

Tropic At Ruislip hosted Who's Who on Friday evening - given my admiration (oh ok then, worship) for The Who it's always interesting to see a tribute band and Who's Who are probably the best that I've seen (not that I've seen that many!) They're more 'Live At Leeds' than Goldhawk Club, but they make a great job of honouring The Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band In The World. And it was the first gig of 2016 for Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks last night, at The Dashwood Arms near High Wycombe. This was a new venue for the band and I must say that it's an excellent establishment with a good tradition of live music - with Terry elsewhere Dave did a great job on bass and the band began the year on high note.

This week there may well be more Ruts D.C. recording as well as another couple of Buicks gigs and probably more besides - but if you'll excuse me it's time to play 'The Jean Jenie' just one more time...

New Year's Resolution revisited

Nothing ever really changes does it?

2015 began with your humble narrator watching Martin Turner in Ruislip, playing a Sunday afternoon gig in Colnbrook with The Upper Cut and spending rather a lot of time at The Resolution Festival at The 100 Club. 

2016 began with your humble narrator watching Martin Turner in Ruislip, playing a Sunday afternoon gig in Colnbrook with The Upper Cut and spending rather a lot of time at The Resolution Festival at The 100 Club.

As I say, nothing ever really changes does it?

I hadn't been to Tropic At Ruislip for a while; having now seen two shows there within a week of each other (I saw The Rollin' Stoned there last Friday in addition to the former Wishbone Ash man the previous Saturday) it's great to see so many people at what clearly is a thriving venue. I know that some people locally criticise the booking policy - mostly tribute acts with the 'first Friday of the month' show featuring an artist or band performing original material - but if it attracts the sort of audience numbers that these shows did it surely can't be a bad thing. And both the shows were excellent, with Martin Turner and his band sounding every bit as classy as they did last year and The Rollin' Stoned playing a great set of songs from every era of the Stones's long career to a sold out crowd.

My first gig of the year as a musician as opposed to as a spectator was with The Upper Cut at The Queen's Arms in Colnbrook. I'd not played at this pub before although the band played a short notice gig there with Pete depping on guitar last month; it being the first Sunday of the New Year it wasn't as busy as it might have been but there were still more than enough people there to make it work. That said although it was by no means a bad show the band wasn't as tight as it can be so it might well be time for a rehearsal or two before our next gig.

The Resolution Festival opened at The 100 Club last Monday with spirited sets from The Ramonas and The Duel - booked by The Crucial Talent Agency and featuring artists and bands from right across the punk rock spectrum highlights have been many and varied, although I have to say that last night's U.K. Subs show and The Members gig on Tuesday night stood out for me. I joined T.V. Smith and Vom for a few songs during their excellent performance supporting the afore-mentioned Members, and Segs joined us for the set closer 'Gary Gilmore's Eyes' - with Gaye Advert in the audience he confessed to being nervous before the show, but it all went brilliantly well as this short clip shows. All in all a great event which will hopefully take place again next year.

And tomorrow Segs and myself will be in the studio at Jamm in Brixton reviewing and working on last month's Ruts D.C. recordings. 2016 then...