True Faith is a 1987 track by New Order, produced by Stephen Hague. It was the first New Order single since their debut Ceremony to be issued in the UK as two separate 12" singles. The second 12" single features two remixes of True Faith by Shep Pettibone. Both versions of the 12" (and also the edited 7") also include the song 1963.
The single peaked at #4 in the United Kingdom on its original release in 1987. The single also became the first New Order single to chart on the Hot 100 in the United States that same year and their first ever Top 40 hit, reaching # 32.
A True Faith remix 12" single and CD single were released in 1994, and another True Faith remix 12" single and CD single were released in 2001. The 1994 remix charted in the UK at #9.
But I'm no fool. There would never be any better versions than those released on vinyl back in 1987.
mp3 : New Order - True Faith
mp3 : New Order - 1963
mp3 : New Order - True Faith remix
mp3 : New Order - True Faith dub
I do own one version of the 94 mix as it was made available on a CD compilation:-
mp3 : New Order - True Faith-94 (The 94 remix)
And while searching the files on the PC, one of the 2001 versions has turned up courtesy of its inclusion on a Q Magazine Dance CD given away free:-
mp3 : New Order - True Faith (Morel's Pink Noise Mix Edit)
Edwyn's second single was released in November 1987 with the catalogue number ACID6 has the distinction of being the final ever release on Elevation Records:-
mp3 : Edwyn Collins - My Beloved Girl
mp3 : Edwyn Collins - Clouds (Fogging Up My Mind)
The 12" has the catalogue number ACID6T, and in addition to the standard version of the single, has these:-
mp3 : Edwyn Collins - My (Long Time) Beloved Girl
mp3 : Edwyn Collins - Clouds (Fogging Up My Mind) - Cumulonimbus Version
There was also a limited edition 7" box edition (ACID 6B) which came with three postcards of black & white photos of Edwyn (the reverse of one was blank, another had lyrics written in Edwyn's own handwriting and the third had a list of tour dates in November and December 1987.) Oh and it also had two extra tracks on the vinyl as well:-
mp3 : Edwyn Collins - 50 Shades Of Blue (acoustic version)
mp3 : Edwyn Collins - What's The Big Idea?
50 Shades Of Blue would emerge as a 7". 12" and CD single in its own right some two years later by which time Edwyn was on Demon Records, while What's The Big Idea would be re-recorded and find its way onto the LP Hellbent On Compromise which was released in 1990.
I couldn't find any promo on you tube, so I'm guessing parent label WEA had already decided they had thrown enough money at Elevation Records so there wasn't one made.
Review of Butcher Boy/Darren Hayman : Cecil Sharp House, London : Saturday 21 January
(The subplot......24 hours after Easterhouse, JC was down in Camden, London to watch his beloved Butcher Boy - could it be better than the gig he himself promoted in Glasgow back in November??)
The venue was the majestic and quaint Cecil Sharp House, home of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. It’s a building that dates back to 1930, and other than some modern adaptations to allow it to conform with access legislation, it has been authentically and lovingly maintained to the glory of its opening day. It’s an atypical venue for Butcher Boy and a real surprise to find such a building amidst the hustle and bustle of Camden
Support came from Darren Hayman, someone I’d last seen ages ago as lead singer of Hefner on a tour when they supported Billy Bragg. I recalled enjoying the support on that occasion, but not enough to go out and buy any merchandise. The bloke who took to his seat behind the piano to the side of the stage was not the face I recalled from Hefner....but then again, do many of us look the same way we did some 14 years ago?
Dressed in a coat, scarf and cap, he did confess early on during his often amusing between-songs patter that he looked like a Dickensian character. Like a geeky Oliver Twist. This was a show I was really looking forward to.
Sadly, it was very soon a show I was really looking forward to the end of.
The songs were all a bit too monotonous. They were also, for the most part, depressing. Darren’s delivery was akin to an off-pitch Neil Young circa 1970. There was loads of polite applause between the songs and most folk stayed in their seats to watch the 45-minute set. But it was so deadly quiet that moving your chair and walking across the wooden floor to the exits would have seemed very rude. If there had been reserved seating, and if the room had been carpeted, I think a few would have headed for the sanctuary of the bar. There were a few folk who loved it all. Perhaps my mood wasn’t helped by being so tired from being out the night before and travelling down earlier in the day, but Darren’s set threatened to send me to sleep. His saving grace was the occasional story between the songs.
And so to Butcher Boy. This was their most important gig since the December 2009 support slot to Belle & Sebastian with many of the audience being debutants given it’s been a long while since the band played the capital. The band did not let anyone down. They were exceptional and played a sublime main set:-
When I’m Asleep The Day Our Voices Broke Girls Make Me Sick I Am the Butcher This Kiss Will Marry us Carve A Pattern Helping Hands Russian Dolls Anything Other Than Kind I Know Who You Could Be Sunday Bells Imperial I Could Be In Love With Anyone There Is No-one Who Can Tell You Where You’ve Been
The first seven songs were the same running order as at the Langside Halls gig in Glasgow a couple of months back, but thanks to the venue having a full-sized piano next to the stage – fully utilised by Alison – quite a bit of the set took on a whole new sound. The rendition of This Kiss Will Marry Us was a real tear-jerker, while Helping Hands was another which benefited from the piano rather than electric keys.
John was in fine voice – he was even spotted dancing a bit during Girls Make Me Sick. Mia and Cat were flawless. Basil was on fire. Fraser was his usual reliable and talented self no matter which instrument he picked up, and not for the first time, Robert and Finlay on bass and drums drove the set along at the perfect pace, quite clearly having the time of their lives.
It was magical.
My ears pricked up when midway through the set when they launched into Russian Dolls. One of the lesser-heralded songs on the new LP, this was the first time the band have ever played it live. And they did a great job of it.
After that it was back to the tried and trusted set played at Glasgow until they came back for the deserved encore.
I’ve since learned that they had four songs up their sleeves for the encore – they passed on Parliament Hill, which again would have been the first time they had ever played it live, and they also passed on the traditional set-closer of the upbeat and highly danceable Profit In Your Poetry. Instead, perhaps with a nod to the sort of music the venue is famed for, they slowed things right down with the rarely-played slow version of Keep Your Powder Dry as released on their debut EP back in 2005 (when half of the band had yet to become members) as well as the tear-jerking Days Like These Will Be The Death Of Me.
It was a truly special ending to a night when London belonged to Butcher Boy and they again gave a live performance that it was a privilege to see.
There were a few folk filming the gig on phones and cameras. I've tracked down a few clips already out there on the internet. To the various folk who have put them on you tube....thank you. And I hope you don't mind me lifting them and putting them here.
AS I MENTIONED, EARLIER.....A HUGE THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO MADE THIS FOOTAGE AND POSTED IT ON YOU TUBE. I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND THAT IT APPEARS HERE... Next up for the band is again something a bit different.
On Friday 10 February, they will be performing an instrumental set as part of the Glasgow Short Film Festival. Those of us lucky enough to have been present at their one-off performance at the Glasgow Film Theatre back in 2009 when they played a specially composed live soundtrack to a silent movie shot in the 1950s in the West of Scotland will have an idea of what to expect.
But before then, other gigs beckon. Tune in next week for the next instalment.
REVIEW OF CORNERSHOP/1990s at THE PLATFORM, GLASGOW : FRIDAY 20 JANUARY 2012
Celtic Connections is a long-standing annual festival of music held in Glasgow every January. It began as a celebration of folk and traditional music but has increasingly diversified into more contemporary stuff and many acts who now appear under it banner are about un-Celtic as a church of Scotland minister who has a season ticket for the football team that play at Ibrox Park. But this diversity is hugely welcome, for without it your humble scribe and his sidekick Aldo would not have got on a #41 bus on a wet Friday night to go see Cornershop supported by the 1990s.
Easterhouse is a vast post-World War II housing estate, known locally as a scheme, some five miles east of the centre of Glasgow. It’s an area I know quite well as I had family who lived there and when I played football when I was younger, many of the matches were played on pitches in the scheme. Over the past 50 years since its construction it has always had a bad reputation – much of it sensationalised and over-played. It has, in recent times, undergone a massive regeneration with many facilities that should have been built in the first place finally being made available to the populace. One such facility is The Bridge which brings together a college, library, swimming pool and performance space under one roof. The performance space is called Platform – and this was the venue Celtic Connections had expanded to for part of its 2012 programme.
This was a new venue to both of us – for me it is now approaching 60 the number of different places in Glasgow I've has seen a band or singer since 1979 (there’s a posting in there somewhere). It is a very modern and adaptable space, capable of supporting theatre, dance and concerts. It’s the sort of place which has retractable raked-seating meaning it has an incredibly tall space from floor to ceiling and 1990s looked awfully small when they came on not longer after 8pm to a sparse and what seemed largely uninterested audience, including a group of well-behaved and attentive 8 year-olds who sat cross-legged down on the floor near the stage.
The 40-minute set was enjoyable enough that the time passed quickly and such was the energy and enthusiasm of the band that they quickly won the majority of the audience over. The venue benefits from having cracking acoustics with the sound being ass good as either of us have heard in many a long time, and this particularly highlighted just how good frontman Jackie McKeown is on guitar.
1990s have never really cracked it in the six or so years they’ve been going. Maybe that’s because they’re not your usual 3-chord indie outfit. They’re more American rock-indie that UK skinny-boy indie. They were far from dull, but the set was just a bit too one-paced to be truly special. We both actually thought a song played near the end had been aired earlier in the set. The thing is though, 1990s would be the perfect opening act for many an arena or stadium band on tour. They have crowd-pleasing upbeat tunes and based on a wet Friday night to an audience that was far from familiar with their songs, a cracking positive attitude to performing.
mp3 : 1990s – You’re Supposed To be My Friend
Cornershop took to the stage at the back of 9pm. The venue, although not the biggest, was far from full. But it was an audience that really wanted to be there and gave the band a rousing reception as they one-by-one took to the stage and belted out Heavy Soup. They very quickly got into a funky groove and gave the fans a set that drew almost exclusively on their three studio albums released between 1997 and 2009. It was the first time either of us had seen them live, and for JC in particular it was a long-held ambition being realised. Some songs were even better on the stage than the recorded versions. Sleep On the Left Side was a particular highlight of the early part of the set – a keys, drums, bass and vocals on version that had the entire audience dancing along. JC noted at the time ‘Will I hear a better song live in 2012’?
About 45 minutes into the set they went into the hit they are best known for. Played at the pace and temp of the original and not the Fatboy Slim version that topped the charts back in 1998, Brimful of Asha brought the house down.
After a band plays its best known hit, things can often go downhill for the audience. And here’s where Cornershop divided opinions.....
The next 20 minutes featured just the one song – The Turned On Truth (The Truth Is Turned On) which closes the 2009 LP Judy Sucks A Lemon For Breakfast.
JC : Stunning sonic boom boys. The groove is perfect and this noise could go on all night as far as I’m concerned. Doubt I’ll hear anything so infectiously funky the rest of the year.
Aldo : Could have done with this being cut down a bit before the noodling began. But that’s personal taste for 3 minute pop songs and my self-admitted short attention span.
But we both agreed that the encore of Good Shit was the perfect way to end the evening and we went home happy. JC with a new t-shirt in his possession and Aldo determined to listen to a bit more Cornershop.
Lazy posting today...which somehow seems appropriate. Word lifted from wiki:-
Ice Hockey Hair is an EP by the Welsh alternative rock band Super Furry Animals, released in 1998. The record contains four songs which the band felt did not fit in with either their previous album, 1997's Radiator, or its follow-up Guerrilla. The title track refers to an alternative name for the mullet hairstyle.
The first track on the EP, "Smokin'", was commissioned by British television station Channel 4 for a programme about sloth presented by Howard Marks as part of a series on the seven deadly sins. The band went into Grassroots, a community recording studio in Cardiff, in June 1997 and looped a sample of the Black Uhuru track "I Love King Selassie", playing along and writing "Smokin'" "completely spontaneously". According to singer Gruff Rhys the song is "really light and up" as a result of being recorded in the summer. The track's lyrics refer to smoking cannabis, with Rhys stating that it "seems ridiculous that you can't do what you want with a plant that grows naturally" in reference to the drug's illegal status in many countries. Rhys has claimed that he does not consider the track to be subversive however—it is about the band's own drug use and he doesn't "expect everyone who buys the record to do the same. They'd be quite sad if they did".
Chief lyric writer Rhys has stated that, whereas he might "empty parts of [his] emotional state" into some songs, Ice Hockey Hair's title track was written in the "instant pop music" tradition.[1] The track was originally called "The Naff Song" as the band felt it "had so many naff, cheesy things about it" before being renamed "Ice Hockey Hair" following a conversation with a Swedish football player who said that having 'ice hockey hair', an alternative name for the mullet hairstyle, was a really naff thing to do in his home country. Rhys has described the song as a "Badfinger-style power ballad" and claimed that it is about "someone who's sunk so low they're asking advice off a women with ice hockey hair".The track was recorded at Orinonco Studios, London.
The band felt that "Ice Hockey Hair" and "Smokin'" were "light relief" and needed to be released so that they could concentrate on their next album, Guerrilla, with Rhys stating that the "EP was a good chance to do something in isolation, because the tracks on it won't fit in with the new album, and they didn't fit in with the old one".The EP is completed by "Let's Quit Smoking", a remix of "Smokin'", and "Mu-Tron", a largely instrumental track named after the Mutron guitar effects pedal and written by keyboardist Cian Ciaran.
mp3 : Super Furry Animals - Smokin'
mp3 : Super Furry Animals - Ice Hockey Hair
mp3 : Super Furry Animals - Mu-Tron
mp3 : Super Furry Animals - Let's Quit Smoking
The EP reached #12 in the UK singles charts. Fabulous stuff I'm sure you will agree.....
Something came up on the i-pod shuffle the other day that got me thinking that it was perhaps the finest of the singles released by Siouxsie & the Banshees. Not more than 20 minutes later, another random single came on that made me think this was in fact their finest 45. All of which got me doing a wee bit of research...
Between 1978 and 1995, the band released 30 singles. Of these, all but three sold enough copies to gain a place in the UK Top 50. But they were never a band that had enormous hits – just two made the Top 10 and a further three went Top 20.
A further thirteen of their singles stalled in the middle sections of the charts (ie between positions 21 and 40) which at least got them regular name checks on Top Of The Pops. They were also a band who had an unfortunate knack of reaching #41 and then falling away – this happened to them on four occasions.
So a few more sales here and there could have seen history record them as one of the great singles bands in terms of sales rather than merely quality. Funnily enough, while I’ve often thought of myself as a fan, I don’t have all that many of their singles in the collection. Admittedly, a few went missing back in the mid 80s when I lost all of my collection of 7” singles in a misadventure, but while I’ve since then replaced many of these as the years have gone by, I’ve never been inclined to do so with the Banshees.
Partly this was to so with the singles being widely available on a couple of excellent ‘greatest hits’ type LPs, volume one of which was released as far back as 1981, but also because so few of the 45s had contained particularly memorable or essential b-sides. And it’s this lack of plastic in the cupboard that has led to them not being featured so often here at TVV over the past five and a bit years as they deserve.
So without any further ado, here in descending order are my three favourite S&tB singles:-
Number 3
mp3 : Siouxsie & The Banshees – Slowdive
From 1982. This was one of those pesky #41 hits. It’s the strings that do it for me. That and the it where Ms Sioux sings/moans ‘Oh My God’ in the most orgasmic of fashions. This was a song brilliantly covered many years later by LCD Soundsystem
mp3 : LCD Soundsystem – Slowdive
Number 2
mp3 : Siouxsie & The Banshees – Cities In Dust
From 1985. This got to #21. It’s the ability to dance in a non-gothic way does it for me. That and the memory of a brilliant live performance on Whistle Test with Ms Sioux confined to a chair after she had busted her knee while performing live.
I’ve a copy of the 12” version of this single in the cupboard and hence this extended version. Goth goes Tears For Fears.......
mp3 : Siouxsie & The Banshees – Cities In Dust (Extended Eruption mix)
Number 1
mp3 : Siouxsie & The Banshees – Israel
From 1980. This was yet one of those pesky #41 hits. A song that wasn’t included on any of their studio LPs. It’s the ability to dance in a totally-gothic way does it for me. A single that takes me back to arguments in the common room at school about how punk and new-wave had great musicians and talent shouldn’t be measured alone on the basis of extended guitar or drum solos.
It wasn’t easy to get it down to three. I’ve left off Happy House, Hong Kong Garden, Kiss Them For Me and Spellbound when all were serious contenders.
So many great singles.....with the biggest shame being that it was cover versions – Dear Prudence in 1983 and This Wheel’s On Fire in 1987 – that give them two out of three of their highest chart placings.
Composed of Stuart Adamson (formerly of The Skids, vocals/guitar/keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar/mandolin/sitar/vocals), Tony Butler (bass guitar/vocals) and Mark Brzezicki (drums/percussion/vocals) though a variety of other drummers have been in the band throughout their long career, including Simon Phillips and Aaron B. Prior to the recruitment of Butler and Brzezicki, an early incarnation of Big Country was a five-piece band and it featured Peter Wishart, later of Runrig and now an SNP MP, on keyboards, his brother Alan on bass, and Clive Parker, drummer from Spizz Energi / Athletico Spizz '80 (Rough Trade & A&M Records). Parker had approached Adamson to join his new band after the demise of The Skids. Adamson auditioned Parker (1980) at The Members rehearsal room in Ladbroke Grove London, and the next day was called on to play drums on demos for CBS Records at their Whitfield Street studios. The demos just featured Adamson, Parker, with barely a contribution from Watson. Adamson had asked bassist Dave Allen from the Gang of Four to join the band but he declined. Adamson asked Parker to join the band, which led to 8 months of rehearsal in Dunfermline, at a disused furniture warehouse. The culmination was a successful concert at the Glen Pavilion in Dunfermline, (playing to a home crowd, mainly Skids fans), and an interview with BBC Radio Scotland, where the CBS Studio demos were utilised. What followed were live dates with Alice Cooper's Special Forces tour in 1981. The band were 'out of their depth' with their rambling Echo & The Bunnymen and keyboard orientated sound which went down badly with the metal crowds and the band were dumped from the tour after 2 dates of Bournemouth Centre, and Birmingham Odeon. Adamson's management issued an ultimatum and the Wisharts and Parker were sacked. Adamson later asked Peter Wishart to rejoin on Keyboards, but Peter declined without his brother in the band. Parker formed the synth pop band Scary Thieves, and signed to EMI Records, and later went on to play session drums for ex-Jesus and Mary Chain member John Moore in The Expressway, (Polydor Records) touring the UK and USA. Alan Wishart later joined Parker in contemporary folk band Barra (Sony/ATV Music/Hi-Note Records). The manager Ian Grant brought in Brzezicki, and Butler, and along with Watson, the main band Big Country line up was formed. Although the band's music drew from Scottish traditional music, none of its members was born in Scotland. Adamson grew up in Dunfermline though, and as such, his Scottish accent was genuine.
Formed initially as a five piece band in 1981, their first single was "Harvest Home", recorded and released in 1982. It was a modest success, reaching #91 on the UK Singles Chart. Their next single was 1983's "Fields of Fire", which reached the UK's Top Ten and was rapidly followed by the album The Crossing. The album was a hit in the United States (reaching the US Billboard Top 20), powered by "In a Big Country", their only U.S. Top 40 hit single. The song featured heavily engineered guitar playing, strongly reminiscent of bagpipes; Adamson and fellow guitarist, Watson, achieved this through the use of the MXR Pitch Transposer 129 Guitar Effect. Also contributing to the band's unique sound was their use of the e-bow, a device which allows a guitar to sound more like strings or synthesizer. The Crossing sold over a million copies in the UK and obtained gold record status (sales of over 500,000) in the U.S. The band also performed on both the Grammys and Saturday Night Live.
The band released the non-LP extended play single "Wonderland" in 1984 while undergoing a lengthy worldwide tour. The song, considered by some critics to be one of their finest, was a Top Ten hit (#8) in the UK singles chart but despite heavy airplay and a positive critical response, was a comparative flop in the U.S., reaching only #86 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the last single by the band to make a U.S. chart appearance.
Their second album Steeltown (1984) was a hit as soon as it was released, entering the UK Albums Chart at number one. The album featured three UK top 30 hit singles, and received considerable critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, but like Wonderland (and, in fact, all subsequent releases) it was a commercial disappointment in the U.S, peaking at #70 on the Billboard album charts.
Throughout 1984 and 1985, the band toured the UK, Europe, and, to a lesser extent, the U.S., both as headliners themselves and in support of such artists as Queen and Roger Daltrey. They also recorded prolifically, and provided the musical score to a Scottish independent film, Restless Natives (1985), which was not released on CD until years later on the band's Restless Natives and Rarities (1998) collection.
1986's The Seer, the band's third album, was another big success in the UK, peaking at Number 2. It produced three further top 30 singles, including the Irish number one hit "Look Away", which would also prove to be the band's biggest hit in the U.K., peaking at #7. Kate Bush provided backing vocals on the album's title track, and as was the norm for the band at the time, the album received good reviews from the music press. In the U.S., The Seer sold a little bit better than Steeltown, reaching #59 on the Billboard charts.
In what some critics felt was an apparent attempt to regain their dwindling U.S. following, Big Country used producer Peter Wolf for their next album, Peace in Our Time (1988), which was recorded in Los Angeles, California. The result was very different from the previous singles and albums, and, in "Broken Heart (13 Valleys)" contained the song which Stuart Adamson claimed to be his favourite of all time.[citation needed] Despite this it was not well received by most critics and fans. One reviewer noted that it was the group's "least representative and least interesting album." It sold poorly. During the "Peace In Our Time" Tour, the band were supported by Diesel Park West and Cry Before Dawn.
No Place Like Home (1991) not only effectively killed off the band's commercial hopes in the US, it nearly broke up the band. Drummer Mark Brzezicki returned to the studio as a session drummer after leaving the band. The album found the band trying to reinvent themselves and shift away from their '80s image. It was not a commercial success and was not released in America, although two re-recorded tracks showed up on 1993's The Buffalo Skinners.
In 1991, the band was dropped by Phonogram, the label that had released all of their material for ten years. After that, Big Country became a minor act, popping up in the lower echelons of the charts in the UK and Europe with the release of every subsequent album. Only one of these, 1993's The Buffalo Skinners, received a major label release (via Chrysalis Records), and it seemed a return to form of sorts for the band, reaching the UK Top 25. The album obtained a surprisingly enthusiastic critical response, and although it produced two UK Top 30 singles in "Alone" and "Ships", its sales were meagre and, in retrospect, it can be seen as Big Country's last, lost chance to regain a mass audience. Regardless, the band retained an intensely devoted cult following, as evidenced by their deceptively large post-1990 discography, which consists mostly of live concert recordings and singles/rarities collections.
Throughout the 1990s, Big Country became a popular 'opening act', supporting such bands as Rolling Stones and The Who. Big Country had backed Daltrey on his 1985 solo album Under the Raging Moon, and Tony Butler played bass and backing vocals on Pete Townshend's 1980 hit single "Let My Love Open the Door". Both Butler and Brzezicki performed on Townshend's 1985 solo album White City: A Novel. Brzezicki played drums for The Cult on their 1985 Love album and featured in the video for the single, "She Sells Sanctuary".
Of growing concern, however, was the mental and emotional health of lead singer Adamson, who reportedly had struggled with alcoholism for several years. Adamson split with his first wife, who later spoke to Scottish and English tabloids about his heavy drinking. He moved to Nashville in the mid-1990s where he took up residence and married a hairdresser. While in Nashville, he met noted artist Marcus Hummon and released an acclaimed studio album with him under the moniker The Raphaels.
In 1995 Big Country released another album, Why the Long Face?.
1999 saw the release of Big Country's eighth and final studio album, Driving to Damascus (titled in its slightly different, augmented U.S. release John Wayne's Dream). Adamson said publicly that he was disappointed that the album did not fare better on the charts, which led to depression. Later that year, he disappeared for a while before resurfacing, stating that he had needed some time off.
Adamson returned for the band's 'Final Fling' farewell tour, culminating in a sold-out concert at Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom on 31 May 2000. Although that marked the end of Big Country as a touring band, they were always adamant that they would appear together again. They played what turned out to be their last gig in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October that year.
In November 2001, Adamson disappeared again. Numerous appeals were put on the Big Country website asking for Adamson to call home and speak to anyone in the band, the management company, or his ex-wife. The website also requested that any fans who might have been 'harbouring' the singer to contact the management company and alert them to his whereabouts. Mark Brzezicki and Tony Butler had indicated they were concerned but the reason Big Country had lasted so long was they stayed out of one another's personal lives, and both later noted they were unaware of the extent of Adamson's problems. He was found dead in a room at the Best Western Plaza Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii on 16 December 2001. The official autopsy revealed that he had hanged himself.
At the time of death he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.279%.
A memorial to Adamson was held at Dunfermline's Carnegie Hall in January 2002, followed by a tribute concert at the Barrowlands in May. It brought together the remaining members of both Big Country and The Skids; Adamson's teenage children, Callum and Kirsten; as well as Steve Harley, Runrig, Simon Townshend, Midge Ure and Bill Nelson.
In 2007, to celebrate 25 years of Big Country, founding members Bruce Watson, Tony Butler (now lead vocalist for the first time), and Mark Brzezicki reunited to embark on a tour of the UK with dates in Scotland and England and a gig in Cologne (Germany). They also released a new album, twenty five live, on the trackrecords label.
As of September 2008 the band returned to an indefinite hiatus.
The surviving original members toured again in late December 2010 and January 2011 with Mike Peters of the Alarm and Jamie Watson, Bruce's son, added to the lineup. They played another set of concerts in April 2011. Big Country have been announced at six major UK/Irish festivals in 2011 — Isle of Wight, T in the Park, Oxegen in Kildare and V Festival (Chelmsford and Stafford), plus Inverness with Simple Minds.
Steve Lillywhite, who had produced Big Country's first and second albums, produced the band's first single in over twelve years. He remarked: "When I heard the demo of their new song, I was impressed on first listen. I am looking forward to working with the band again whom I last worked with in the 80s on one of my favourite albums I have ever produced — The Crossing."
“It will be a real buzz working with Steve again," Tony Butler said in response. "He is a producer we all have a great regard for and are looking forward to working with again. We'd also like to thank all the festival promoters for having faith in us."
The band will also soon announce a series of smaller dates where they will be "breaking in" new songs for a future release. "These will be places we have never played before," Mark Brzezicki added, "giving us the chance to work in new songs in the more intimate type of venues.”
Mike Peters said, "Due to the success of the January and April tours, the band have decided to continue and have already started planning for a new album and a 30th anniversary tour in the new year."
Bruce Watson commented: "We are 100% dedicated and intent on making this new line up a permanent one. We can finally look forward to completing unfinished business from the past, particularly internationally, and look to a creative and active future"
Around August 2011, Big Country their first single in 11 years called "Another Country" with Peters on vocals.
I first saw Big Country at a gig at Strathclyde University in 1982, going along to pay homage to Stuart Adamson as I'd been a huge fan of The Skids. I came away hugely impressed and saw them quite a few times over the next 18 months and watched them become popular and successful. But I never did take to the material on Steeltownand they faded away from the list of bands I classed as liking. But I still have all the 12" versions of the early singles plus the debut LP on vinyl:-
mp3 : Big Country - Fields Of Fire (Alternative Mix)
mp3 : Big Country - Fields Of Fire
mp3 : Big Country - Angle Park
The b-side remains one of my favourite songs from the era...
Today's posting is dedicated to Brian from the blog Linear Tracking Lives!
He's such a fan of Big Country that he is flying all the way over from the USA to see them play in Glasgow at a show on 6th February 2012. His posting on his upcoming trip captures his excitement brilliantly. Click here to read.
Recently, a reader requested a piece featuring Ultravox and Midge Ure. Your wish is our command.
The first incarnation of Ultravox formed in 1974 as Tiger Lily. Vocalist and keyboard player Dennis Leigh and guitarist Steve Shears were joined by Canadian drummer Warren Cann, bassist Chris Cross and soon after by violinist Billy Currie.
They played a mixture of glam rock, influenced by Roxy Music and David Bowie with a harder edge that suited the audience change of taste as the onset of punk approached.
Fledgling producer Steve Lillywhite produced their early demos and due to his involvement they were signed to Island Records but it was Brian Eno who produced their self-titled debut album.
With the change of name to Ultravox and Leigh’s name change to John Foxx, came a minor success with the single My Sex.
The second album Ha Ha Ha featured one track Hiroshima Mon Amour that showed the synth-led future of the band. This track is a particular favourite of mine and is still seen by critics and fans alike as the standout of this period of their work.
mp3 : Ultravox - Hiroshima Mon Amour
After their third album Systems of Romance, produced by famous German producer Konrad Plank, failed commercially, Island Records dropped them.Shortly afterwards, following a tour of America and Canada, Foxx departed the band to pursue a solo career while guitarist Robin Simon remained in the States.
This left Currie, Cross and Cann without a singer.
Currie had been a part time member of new romantic electronic supergroup Visage, who also featured Midge Ure.
James ‘Midge’ Ure’s musical journey to Ultravox had seen many twists and turns. He started as a guitarist in a covers band called Salvation that was the house band of the Clouds nightclub in his hometown Glasgow. When the lead singer left he also took on the role of singer.
In 1975, Ure was approached by Malcolm McLaren and offered the lead singer role in a new band he was putting together….. the Sex Pistols. He declined the offer.
After a name and image change Salvation became Slik and in early 1976 their third single Forever and Ever went to number one, in the UK Charts.
mp3 : Slik - Forever and Ever
Phil Coulter and Bill Martin who wrote the single, had previously written hits for other including Bay City Rollers. After three more singles without repeating their chart success, they terminated their contract with Coulter and Martin, citing unhappiness with their ‘boy band’ look. Ure in particular was determined to embrace the ‘new’ punk style of music that was becoming popular.
The members of Slik changed their name to PVC2 and released one single on Zoom Records:-
mp3 : PVC2 - Put You in the Picture
It was after this failed effort that they decided to go their separate ways.
Ure moved to the bright lights of London, where he met Glenn Matlock who invited him to join a new band he was putting together with Rusty Egan and Steve New to be known as TheRich Kids.
Elsewhere, Slik and PVC2 band drummer Kenny Hyslop and bassist Russell Webb formed the Zones.
mp3 : Zones - No Angels
Hyslop then went on to play sticks for both Simple Minds and The Skids. Webb also joined The Skids.
The Rich Kids released one album - Ghosts of Princes in Towers - as well as three singles to a fair amount of critical acclaim that wasn't reflected in poor sales.
After they were dropped by Island Records, things were hard for the remaining members of Ultravox . At one point they were so skint they even had to sneak into an Island Records warehouse to get back some of their musical equipment.
At this point in history, Ure had just completed an American tour playing guitar with Thin Lizzy. It was Rusty Egan who badgered Billy Currie to approach Ure with a view to joining Ultravox. Still a young man, Ure had been around a bit....but as he began rehearsing with Ultravox, he finally he was in a band that was moving in the right direction, with all members contributing to their new sound.
The product of these sessions was the album Vienna. Once again Konny Plank produced it, working with him was a dream come true for Ure, as he had long admired his work with Kraftwerk.
Midge Ure brought a commercial sheen to the previous Ultravox sound that wasn’t universally accepted by all their following, but that and their new electronic driven songs brought them an album that broke into the UK album Top Ten, peaking at No.3.
The first single from the album reached number 28 in the UK charts
mp3 : Ultravox - Sleepwalk
This was followed up by the title track - a song that was infamously held up on its rise to the top being stuck at #2 in the singles chart behind novelty one-hit wonder Joe Dolcesinging Shaddup Your Face
But while man at #1 faded into obscurity, it was just the beginning of an extended period of success between 1981 and 1986 with Ultravox enjoying 4 Top Ten albums and numerous hit singles.
As I’ve said on their rise to success, Ultravox shed a good number of fans that couldn’t accept Midge Ure as lead singer and frontman but history shows they achieved the commercial success their early record label craved.
Monday 9 January 1981. Sometime between 8pm and 10pm. On the Richard Skinner Show on BBC Radio 1. In the days when few TV stations and not many more radio stations would have meant a fairly good audience for the songs performed in session:-
So much was expected of the boys at this point in time. Success was still some way off, before which there would be an acrimonious parting of the ways from some of the original members.
Those were the days my friends. But 31 years ago??? Jeeeez.
Tracks lifted from the sublime Coals To Newcastle box set. I urge you all to buy a copy...although it is becoming a bit of a rarity. Not even Amazon have any in stock......
After the experience of the local hip-hop scene in week one, your humble scribe and his sidekick Aldo decided to get on more familiar ground in week two. And to avoid the possibility of us having to leave early and miss the headline act as had happened with Mackenzie and Swad, we decided to make it a Friday night out.
There were two gigs vying for our attention – in the end Aldo tossed a coin. If it had come up tails, we’d have gone to this:-
“Ultimate Thrush, She’s Hit, Smack Wizards and Gig O Ram play the Old Hairdressers on 13 January and then all their names will go into a hat to select four new supergroups who will have just 24 hours to create a set then play the same venue of the 14th”
But it was heads. So it was a swift return to the 13th Note on the 13th for three bands, the headline act of which was described as ‘fiery indie music from Sweden.’
First thing we note is that the venue isn’t quite as crowded as it had been for the hip-hop night. Also, instead of about 80 baseball caps in the house, there’s just one on the head of a bloke who is the double of the bloke who used to play bass in Queens of the Stone Age. Oh and there’s a lot more females in the audience this week – a mix of indie-cool, goth and rock. The night looks promising.
Fat Janitortake to the stage. Four young men who have attracted a fair crowd for being bottom of the bill. It’s loud guitars, bass, drums and a laptop. It’s mostly instrumentals or minimal lyrics. It’s mostly fast. Oh and did I mention it was loud??
These boys can play...no arguments from either of us. They are hugely energetic and seem slightly constrained by the small size of the performance space. This is a band whose audience would revel in a mosh pit. Korn come to mind as do Rage Against the Machine, but no doubt their real influences will of course be more hardcore and obscure.
The drummer was particularly impressive. He battered away without seemingly breaking sweat during the six-song set. But the truth is, it was neither of our scenes. Aldo was pleased he’d brought his earplugs while JC wished he’d invested in a set. Can’t see John Butcher Boy playing any of the Fat Janitor material at any of the Little League nights. Not enough in the way of pop hooks or melodies.
After a short break, Miss the Occupier take to the stage. JC has to own up and admit that this is a band he’s long been looking to catch live as the drummer is someone he used to work alongside.
Another four-piece act - guitar, drums, keys and a fantastic-looking female singer who also plays bass. Said singer had been spotted in the venue a bit earlier wearing killer heels – these were removed for the performance so that it was barefoot a la Sandie Shaw, who coincidentally the singer, thanks to the black-bobbed hair, has more than a passing resemblance to.
Despite the band being a bit unhappy with the sound via their own monitors, what comes across to the audience is a fabulous 30-odd minute set that had the two of us among many others swaying and dancing along. Lots of hook and lots of melodies. Notes we took at the time name check The Cure, Pauline Murray, Sons & Daughters, Sonic Youth, The Slits, Pixies and Lush. Two more to add in the cold light of day - The Organ... and ElasticaHugely enjoyable stuff.....but it all begs a thought.
If a band this talented, energetic and such damn good fun to watch and listen to are still unsigned more than three years after their formation, then no wonder the modern-day music industry has gone to buggery.
Miss The Occupier would, without any question, have been massive if the industry hadn’t messed up so spectacularly in the late 90s when any indie-looking and sounding band were signed up and given huge advances only to see the scene crash and burn within months thanks to a lack of quality control and the fact that things do move on (albeit inevitably come back into fashion some time later). Right now, the fashion is for bands round these parts to have something that makes them stand out as distinctly Scottish and that clinches them a deal – no harm in that – but there has to be and must be room for talented bands like Miss The Occupier. They aren’t your typical Scottish band right now – they could just as easily be from Swindon, Swansea, Sunderland or Stockport. And their music deserves a wider audience. Including the good people of Sweden. Talking of whom....
The QOTSA look-alike in the baseball cap with the beard turns out to be the bassist in From Our Hearts, tonight’s headliners. Formed in Gothenburg back in 2009, they have attracted a reasonable crowd for a Friday night in January, but we’re wondering how the hell they can afford to be here. The entry fee was just £3 and there’s no t-shirts, CDs, vinyl or merchandise to allow any further financial contributions to support their efforts.
They’re another four-piece band – and we’re caught out by them having a female vocalist as she is stood to one side while the bass player is centre stage. Oh and their drummer has more than a passing resemblance to Kurt Cobain in those photos where he wore glasses – or maybe it’s Garth from Wayne’s World.
JC makes his mind up right away that this band are going to be good. Opening few minutes of guitars are indie-rock heaven....and besides the singer’s guitar-strap says ‘Jazz Sucks’ on it. JC would want one of those if only he had a guitar....
They are also very good indeed. Less poptastic than Miss The Occupier there is a touch of shoegazery about them and its close cousin – grunge. Dinosaur Jr and Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins influences are duly noted. There’s nothing unique or earth-shattering about From Our Hearts, but after more than 30-years of listening to punk, new wave, indie, college rock, grunge, Britpop and all parts in between, there’s very little can ever be new with a classic four-piece line-up.
But part of what this whole ‘one gig per week’ is to try and ‘discover’ things that otherwise would have passed us by. From that perspective, the night at the 13th Note was a success as two of the acts are now firmly on our radar while the third, while not our cups of Earl Gray, are recommended to those who like lots of noise and moshing.
Even at this stage in the adventure, it’s going to take something special to give us a better value night than we enjoyed on Friday the 13th at the 13th Note. £3, three bands and we got talking to one of the performers afterwards (and yes, Ione from Miss The Occupier was as good on the drums as the other two stickmen mentioned above).
It was a gig we went to on the toss of a coin. Very much a case of ‘heads, we win...’
NOW TO THE MUSIC....................
Fat Janitor's six-track debut mini-LP Lurk can be downloaded for free by clicking here
mp3 : Fat Janitor - Laughing Sick
Loads of information and links to Miss The Occupier can be found here
mp3 : Miss The Occupier - All Day
And finally....to learn more about the headline act, please click here
mp3 : From Our Hearts - Berlin/San Francisco
mp3 : From Our Hearst - Disco From Our Hearts
mp3 : From Our Hearts - Rewind
mp3 : From Our Hearts - Sunn 636
From the winner of the 1998 BRIT Award for Best British Male Solo Artist.
mp3 : Finley Quaye - Your Love Gets Sweeter (Abbey Road Version)
mp3 : Finley Quaye - Your Love Gets Sweeter (Album Version)
mp3 : Finley Quaye - Everybody Knows
mp3 : Finley Quaye - Le Saint Des Delinquents
What can I say? It's a cracking wee pop song with a hint of reggae. I don't own anything else by the singer.
The BRIT was in recgnition of his debut LP Maverick A Strike which sold by the barrowload when released in 1997. By the time he got round to releasing a follow-up some three years later, his public had more or less deserted him and he's never troubled the charts since.
Strange fact pop-pickers. Finley Quaye is Scottish.
Born in Edinburgh in 1974 to a Scots mother. His dad, who he never knew when he was growing up, was from Ghana and a well-known jazz musician.
This wasn't originally intended to be a repeat post. I just wanted something loud to blow away the cobwebs on a Monday morning. But I did a quick search via google and found I composed these cliches back on Tuesday 19 January 2010:-
Sometimes I fall for something that isn't quite what folk who know expect of me. Such was the case back in Y2K when the heavy rotation of some promo videos on MTV2 expanded my horizons. (I had only just got a satellite dish installed and was amazed that there was a music video channel that played non-chart fodder). There was also a great wee 45 minute show on Sunday nights that was presented by a little-known fella from New Zealand by the name of Zane Lowe......
Anyways, I ended picking up what seems now to be a hard-to-get-hold-of CD by Queens Of The Stone Age. It came, as the image indicates, with a bonus disc of 5 songs plus a CD-ROM video.
If the truth be told, it's not an album I play all that often nowadays, but I still think the two singles are fantastic, and I've also a very soft spot for one of the tracks on the bonus disc for the fact that it plays nicely on an old hippy hit by Carly Simon away back when I was just a child. And here they are:-
mp3 : Queens Of The Stone Age - Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret
mp3 : Queens Of The Stone Age - Feel Good Hit Of The Summer
mp3 : Queens Of The Stone Age - You're So Vague
And apologies to Drew - he left a comment behind 2 years ago saying that he hated it.
Here's the promo.
As I said, sorry Drew. And anyone else who hates it.
The Beta Band formed in 1996 around St Andrews musicians Steve Mason (vocals, guitar) and Gordon Anderson. The two had plans to call their group The Pigeons but later changed their minds. As they pulled together songs for their debut EP, Champion Versions, they added Robin Jones (drums) and John Maclean (DJ, sampler, keyboards). Steve Duffield was the original bassist but quit the band soon after recording Champion Versions. Not long after they were signed to Regal/Parlophone, Anderson became ill and decided to quit the band. He would later produce recordings under the name Lone Pigeon. The remaining members added Englishman Richard Greentree (bass) and solidified their lineup.
Champion Versions was released in July 1997 to critical acclaim not only for the music but also for the record's innovative cut-and-paste sleeve design (the work of John Maclean). Two further EPs followed in 1998: The Patty Patty Sound in March and Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos in July. The EPs were all subjects of widespread critical praise, and all three appeared on the appropriately titled The Three E.P.'s collection in September 1998. The compilation was rated by Pitchfork in the Top 10 Albums of the year.
The band soon commenced work on their ambitious first full-length recording, pulling inspiration from sources as diverse as Jamaican reggae, Disney's movie The Black Hole and Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart." The record, simply titled The Beta Band, was released in June 1999. The first track, "The Beta Band Rap," managed to tell the band's back story over alternating bubblegum pop, rap and rockabilly backing tracks. Its eclecticism was representative of the rest of the album, which was widely perceived to be more stylistically diverse than the initial EPs. The mixed press turned decidedly negative when the band announced their own disdain for the record. They claimed that Regal's unreasonable deadline and tight budgets kept them from refining their improvisations into coherent songs.
Nonetheless, the album had not generally been as well-received as the preceding EPs, and the band returned to the studio with something to prove. The result of that session was the double A-side single "To You Alone"/"Sequinsizer", recorded by future The Go! Team producer, Gareth Parton. As early as August the previous year, Mason had discussed the possibility of releasing the tracks as a single and had urged fans to lobby Regal for the release. It was released on 24 January 2000. The single was received favourably and was widely regarded as a return to form for the band. The NME made it their "Single of the Week", and would later select it as one of the 50 greatest singles of 2000 in their end-of-year awards. "To You Alone" was also included on the soundtrack of the 2000 remake of the television series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), released in March.
Even higher profile soundtrack exposure was to follow, with the band's music featuring prominently in a scene in the film High Fidelity (based on the Nick Hornby novel of the same name), released in late March 2000 in the U.S. and July in the UK. In the film, a record store owner played by John Cusack mentions the band by name ("I will now sell five copies of The Three E.P.'s by The Beta Band") and plays a minute or so of the song "Dry the Rain." This exposed the band to a wide range of new listeners, particularly in the U.S., where the band's profile had previously been borderline nonexistent.
A hiatus followed, during which Mason released his second King Biscuit Time EP. The band gradually gravitated back into the studio, this time recruiting noted UK producer Colin Emmanuel, aka C-Swing, to oversee the process. The album, Hot Shots II, appeared in summer 2001, and was warmly received by critics and fans alike. It sacrificed much of the first album's experimentation for more boiled-down pop structure and hooks. The band had originally intended to release "Squares" (b/w "Won") as the leadoff single—a video had been filmed and promo discs issued—but when it transpired that another single ("Daydream in Blue" by I Monster) featuring a sample from the same sixties song by Gunther Kallman was to be released at around the same time, the band opted to release "Broke" instead. Two other singles were released from the album: "Human Being" in October 2001 and "Squares" in February 2002 (with the I Monster track long out of the charts). The band embarked on a long tour to support the album, at one point supporting Radiohead. In August 2002, they made #3 on Q magazine's list of "50 Bands to See Before You Die".
The band began demo sessions for their third album in September 2002. They entered the studio with producer Tom Rothrock in 2003 and managed to complete a number of tracks. However, the band were not pleased with the results, and nor were Regal executives. So it was that the band themselves produced the album. Famed producer Nigel Godrich was called in to mix the album, which was finally completed in early 2004. Lead single, "Assessment," was released on 12 April 2004, followed by the album Heroes to Zeros on 26 April. One of the tracks, "Liquid Bird" is based on a sample of Painted Bird by Siouxsie and the Banshees. A second single, "Out-Side", followed in July. To the surprise of most fans, the band announced their breakup on their official website on 2 August 2004. In November, they performed at the Summer Sundae festival and commenced a farewell tour. Their final show was at Edinburgh's Liquid Rooms venue on 5 December 2004.
On 3 October 2005, the band released a 2-disc DVD set, The Best of The Beta Band - Film, featuring most of the band's videos and a selection of short films, television footage, documentaries as well as four songs recorded live at the Shepherds Bush Empire on 29 November 2004, one of the band's final performances. Also released on the same day was a 2 CD set, The Best of The Beta Band - Music, comprising a compilation disc of studio recordings and a disc containing the Shepherds Bush gig.
Since the split, Steve Mason has released music with his solo project King Biscuit Time, as well as new projects Black Affair and Good Face. In May 2010, he released the first record in his own name entitled "Boys Outside". Robin Jones and John Maclean have become The Aliens along with former Beta Band member Gordon Anderson (a.k.a. Lone Pigeon) and Richard Greentree is working with his new band The General and Duchess Collins.
Now I'm willing to admit that it's a bit of a cheat offering today. I'm not lucky enough to own a vinyl copy of the 12" EP that was Champion Versions. There were only 1000 of them made and they are exceedingly rare. But I do have a copy of the afore-mentioned Three EPs collection on which you will find:-
mp3 : The Beta Band - Dry The Rain
mp3 : The Beta Band - I Know
mp3 : The Beta Band - B+A
mp3 : The Beta Band - Dog Got A Bone
A genuinely innovative and impressive debut that still sounds fantastic almost 15 years later. All four songs .
Here's astunning and extended live version of the best-known song from the farewell tour:-
The Wannadies released many a great single in the 90s and the early part of the 20th Century. They were a hugely entertaining live act as well with one particular show some 10 years ago at King Tut's in Glasgow being a particular stand out.
They are probably best remembered for You And Me Song which was a bit of a flop when first released in 1994 but which soared to #18 some two years later after it featured in the soundtrack to the hit movie Romeo + Juliet - the updated one directed by Baz Luhrmann.
Despite their singles being infectiously catchy and radio-friendly, The Wannadies only enjoyed chart success on two further occasions - the aptly named Hit in 1997 reaching #20 and today's offering for your ears, which was the follow-up to the re-released You And Me Song:-
mp3 : The Wannadies - Someone Somewhere (single version)
mp3 : The Wannadies - Why
mp3 : The Wannadies - Goodbye
A paltry #38. The UK CD-single buying public were too busy looking out for the next great Britpop act to pay attention at that time to the great stuff coming out of Scandinavia. Fools.
Here's the LP version which tags on another minute of music at the end:-
January is a depressing month. Tired and skint and after Christmas. Trying hard to get back into the swing of things at work. Dark mornings when you set off and even darker evenings when you come home. It's cold, it's wet or snowy. The joys of summer seem a long way off.
Sometimes though a chirpy cheery pop song comes on the i-pod shuffle and lifts that gloom.
mp3 : The Thrills - One Horse Town
Released in March 2003, it reached #18 in the UK singles chart. It was just about the band's biggest ever hit - but this equally jolly follow-up hit #17 a few months later:-
Well.....that could have been a headline you would have expected to read when this single was released in mid 1996.
It was a time when the mania and hype around Oasis was at its most ferocious with Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger having dominated the singles charts like no others in many a long time. Beck had recorded a critically-acclaimed LP entitled Odelay, but the first single lifted from it, Where It's At, hadn't done all that well, peaking at #61 in the USA and #35 in the UK.
But Noel Gallagher was a big fan of Beck and he offered to play on and produce a remix of the follow-up single, Devils Haircut. Fair play to the record label, they resisted the temptation to make the most of things by keeping the original version as the single with Noels' remix, along with another remix by Mike Simpson of The Dust Brothers made available as extra tracks along with a previously unreleased Beck song.
The Oasis connection worked to some extent in the UK, with the single reaching #22 (which is the third highest single position Beck has achieved over here). But it made no difference at all in the USA with Devils Haircut bellyflopping its way to #94.
mp3 : Beck - Devils Haircut
mp3 : Beck - Devils Haircut (Remix by Noel Gallagher)
mp3 : Beck - Devils Haircut (Groovy Sunday Remix by Mike Simpson)
mp3 : Beck - Trouble All My Days
My own verdict? An excellent pop single on its own. But both remixes do manage to bring something extra along to the song - the extra guitar playing (by Noel Gallagher himself) makes it ideal for your indie discos, while Mike Simpson's work gives it a touch of soul.....
This wasn't a Xmas gift....it was one I picked up in the middle of last year while browsing round one of the few remaining branches of Fopp Records in Glasgow City Centre and one which was read in a few days. I'm giving it a mention here as I saw some copies on sale in the same shop for just £3 the other day which is an astonishing bargain given its list price of £9.99
The book is, as its cover indicates, a series of extracts from the diaries of James Yorkston written while he was on various tours. On the surface this might sound a bit dull and monotonous - you know the sort of thing....woke up with hangover, travelled to venue, did soundcheck, gig was great/mundane/OK/awful* (* delete as appropriate), got drunk afterwards and went to bed after crazy party/realising again how much I miss my family back home* ("delete as appropriate).
But this is nothing at all like that.
It begins, somewhat very helpfully to anyone who might not know too much about the author,with a 20-page introduction that explains how James Yorkston became part of the roster of the critically-acclaimed and increasingly popular indie-label of Domino Records. There then follows five separate chapters for tours covering 2004-2009 in different parts of the world promoting different records to different audiences.
There's a real touch of the Malcolm Middleton's about much of the writing with James seemingly always trying to convince himself that he is as good and talented a performer as everyone else is telling him. It's very clear from the outset that the author is indeed a true gent from his behaviour towards fellow artistes, including support acts or those above him on the bills and that he is one of life's genuinely decent blokes in an industry where egos run rampant and you can never really be sure of who your friends really are.
The book, like a few others in the genre (see in particular parts of the Luke Haines bio Britpop and My Part In Its Downfall which was previously reviewed here at TVV), is great at reminding anyone envious of the rock'n'roll lifestyle that much of it is mundane and repetitive with the added worry of never knowing in advance how well your performance will be received. It's worth remembering that to musicians this is a job first and foremost.....and I don't care what anyone says, there are days when nobody wants to go to their work.
Other recurring themes are the need to get a decent meal - James is a committed vegan and many a promoter has failed to grasp just what that means - and his feeling that only drink and Valium can get him through the fear of flying. I know all this sounds a bit downbeat and depressing, but at no point does the author seek your sympathy. There's a great deal of self-deprecating humour in the writing (another Middleton trait) and all told you cannot help but feel a lot of warmth and affection for the author....he's the sort of bloke you'd be proud and honoured to call a mate.
You really don't need to know anything about the records James Yorkston has released over the years to get something out of this book, and as I say, it's going for a ridiculously cheap price in Fopp Records just now, so don't be shy and give it a try.
mp3 : James Yorkston The Athletes - St Patrick
mp3 : James Yorkston & The Athletes - St Patrick (Vitus Mix)
mp3 : James Yorkston & The Athletes - Catching Eyes
mp3 : James Yorkston & The Athletes - Blue Madonnas
All four tracks lifted from a single released back in May 2002. It's a really beautiful song in my humble opinion.
A LIFE IN A YEAR OF GIGS : #1 : THE GLASGOW HIP-HOP SCENE
As explained yesterday, 2012 is going to be the year of the live gig for TVV with your humble scribe and his sidekick Aldo doing all we can to give you a flavour of all sorts of music in the raw from all sorts of venues.
We decided to dive-in at the deep end. In some ways we had no choice given how few live gigs are put on during the first week of any January. There was an option to head through to Edinburgh and take in something highly recommended by Song By Toad on a Friday night, but we wanted to get things going in Glasgow.
So it was on Thursday 5 January that we headed along to the 13th Note to take in the following attraction:-
“Deadlife Entertainment presents: MACKENZIE & SWAD (ep launch) / JAKEYBYTEZ / ERIN FRIEL / THE HEAVY DAMAGE
Mackenzie & Swad-EP Launch of 'Falling The Concept Of The Number 7' - Complex Lyricism With Some Outstandin Beats Jakeybytez -Comedy Hip Hop Trio Erin Friel-Young Talented Female Songwriter/Singer The Heavy Damage-Abstract Hip Hop Duo Doors being 8pm and the price reasonable blingin. £4 entry”
Neither of us had been to any hip-hop gigs before unless you include catching sets by famous Americans at outdoor festivals. We certainly had no idea that there was a Glasgow hip-hop scene that on the evidence of the turn-out at the 13th Note is reasonably thriving.
There must have been close on 100 folk in the small basement space that is one of the best and sweatiest venues in the city. And I reckon 98 of them knew one another. Guess which two stood out in the crowd??
The pre-gig beats came courtesy of Tesko. We didn’t recognise one single track but it was clear the stuff was going down well with the audience one or two of whom were dancing. At 9pm the first act took to the stage – and it was Erin Friel. In our heads when we see the description “young talented female songwriter/singer” we imagine some bed-sit angst with an acoustic guitar.
Not this time.
All 4 foot 11 inches of Erin grabbed the mic and proceeded to give us a few minutes of spoken word in a very strong Glasgow accent delivered at full speed. There was the occasional stumble along the way, possibly from nerves, but that was about the only grumble we had about her performance. She followed up with three songs again delivered with a heavy Glasgow accent, all of which seemed to draw on her life and environment, but there was no doubt she could sing and rap. One track, which may or may not have been called No one's an angel until they go to heaven was a particular standout. Erin finished with some more spoken word and after 15 minutes left to well deserved rapturous applause and acclaim.
The next 35 minutes were among the most surreal either of us have ever had at any gig. It was ‘Open Mic’ time.
It was opened by one bloke paying tribute to what he’d just seen with Erin’s set and with a warning that he didn’t want the usual nonsense spouted at open mic sessions about guys shagging burds and spurting all over their faces or bitch this, cow that. In other words....cut out the misogyny.
It was, we’re afraid to say, like a red rag to a herd of particularly pissed-off bulls as bloke after bloke took to the stage and spouted all sorts of nonsense about their masculinity and virility. They all seemed to have a mic in one hand and a pint of Tennent’s Lager in the other and it seemed to be a spoof of a bad sketch in some sort of Scottish comedy show.
Having said that, a couple of those who took part in the open mic session did stand out. The same bloke who had started it jumped up at one point and delivered another blistering rap along similar lines of his opener – he was right in the face of one of the other rappers who had been ranting about women and it seemed for a moment that it might turn into a violent confrontation. But then again, given that everyone in the venue seemed to know one another it might just have been part of an elaborate and very clever act. Our suspicions that the Open Mic session might be a bit more planned were raised when the final person took to the stage and delivered something that was as good as anything either of us had heard in our admittedly limited knowledge of the hip-hop genre. Not so much straight out of Compton as straight out of Crookston (or No Sleep Till Buarheid)
Ten minutes later and Jakeybytez took to the stage. To our dismay, there were at times 5, sometimes 6 and occasionally 7 of them on stage at one time. We say dismay as all of them had been part of the Open Mic session that we had for the most part just endured. Thankfully, there were only 4 mics available so we were spared all of them rapping at the one time.
At least we knew from the advance description that Jakeybytez (a great name incidentally) were a comedy hip hop act. But sorry guys, we just didn’t get it. Having said that, we were in a bit of a minority as their 20-minute set went down an absolute treat with the 13th Note posse. One thing we will say however – the shouty-along chorus of set-closer Out Comes Stanley was catchy as fuck.
By this time is about 10.20 and the MC announced the headline act MacKenzie and Swad would be up next in about 10 minutes time but for now we’d be left in the capable hands of Tesko. Again, all sorts of tunes were pumped out none of which we knew, but they showed that in the right hands, rap can be wonderfully entertaining to listen to.
Unfortunately by 10.45 there was still no sign of the headliners and with our last train back to our hoods due not long after 11 we cut our night short and headed to the station.
Overall, we had a good night. It was well worth the £4 entry fee....there are pubs not far from the 13th Note where it costs more than that for a bottle of beer...particularly for catching Erin Friel’s set and for learning that in a city famed for jingly-jangly guitar pop played by boys with occasionally fashionable haircuts there is a hip-hop scene that until the participants opened their mouths would not have looked out of place in any working-class city in North America....except 95% of the folk in the Glasgow venue were white.
Here's JC's favourite ever hip-hop effort:-
mp3 : Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy - Television, The Drug Of The Nation
And a great suggestions from Jacques the Kipper for a fine example of hip-hop from closer to home
And finally, as JtK puts it....."to show where hiphop can travel to musically - one of the best singles of last 10 years". No arguments there....
