Welcome to the ramblings of a man who really should have grown out of listening to "that sort of music" a long, long time ago...A place to share thoughts and photographs on music and related paraphernalia.
When I first started up the Blog just over two years ago, it was really just meant to be somewhere to share some of my music related "stuff" such as Button badges, 7" Single picture covers, Gig tickets and Photos. I didn't really expect things to expand so quickly into doing Reviews and Podcasts and Gig promotions and such-like so I kind of lost touch with the original idea a bit. Hopefully I will get round to scanning and sharing some of my items soon, but in the meantime, Blog reader Marc Talbot kindly submitted some of his huge collection of Blondie badges. It's quite an impressive haul, so here is just a small part of it...
Marc has been collecting Blondie button badges for over 35 years and has amassed over 400 of his own and has scans of about 500 different designs. He is always looking to add to his collection and is considering setting up a web-site to share other badges, so if you have any spares for sale, swap or share then contact the Blog and I'll hook you up with Marc. All Badges and Photos contributed by Marc Talbot.
Dirt Royal at The 12 Bar Club - Photo by Steve Worrall
Tonight's gig at the 12 Bar Club was the 12th Anniversary party for Barnet Mark's London Callin' Club night, and he picked a great line-up to celebrate the event. The first band on were Dirt Royal who have already picked up some impressive fans. Andy from The Past Tense recommended them and was there at the front of the stage, proudly wearing his Dirt Royal button badge. The Brighton based three-piece are young, guitarist Leon, bassist Charlie and drummer Loz all being in their early twenties and Barnet Mark mentioned to me that they were the band he wished he'd been in when he was their age...! I can see why, as Dirt Royal are full of confidence and have a great set of fully formed, tight and tuneful songs that does belie their age. Starting off with "Sick Boy Method" you are struck by the chemistry between Leon and Charlie, who share lead vocals duties as they crash about the stage, attacking their songs with real aggression, it's a great performance. Dirt Royal have a classic three-piece sound, and with the importance of the melodic backing vocals and Charlie's prominent bass, it's easy to think of The Jam. However, the band have a bit more of a varied palette which is evident in the second song "It Was You", and later on in "Factory Fodder", which both have a Fifties/early Sixties Rock & Roll feel. It's on these two songs, and their cover of Bobby Freeman's classic "Do You Wanna Dance?", that shows they have a lot of varied influences to draw from. So, a very promising band to watch out for, and I'd recommend getting hold of their great six track E.P. called "About Now", which they were selling for only one pound, and you really can't much better than that!
Dirt Royal at The 12 Bar - Photo by Steve Worrall
Here's a video of "Bobbys Without a Cause" filmed on the night. Check out the band's web-site for more information on upcoming gigs and to order their excellent "About Now".
TV Smith and Louise Distras at the 12 Bar Club - Photo by Steve Worrall
It's the 12 Bar again and the 12th anniversary of Barnet Mark's London Callin' club night. TV Smith is standing behind his merchandise table, a table that's almost groaning under the weight of over thirty years experience in music. From a rare recording of his pre-Punk band Sleaze, to albums by The Adverts, TV Smith's Explorers, Cheap and of course his many and varied solo records, an impressive back catalogue lay in front of him. Behind him were hanging T-Shirts for sale, some showing extensive dates from his relentless touring schedule.
TV Smith at The 12 Bar Club - Photo by Zig Criscuolo
Then there are the three volumes of his autobiography, or "Punk Rock Tour Diaries" as they are titled, which are a must-read for any self-respecting music fan, as they document warts and all, the truth about trying to get along as a self-sufficient Musician. There is no place for Rock Star excess in these books, no Limos or Lear jets - just the bus or the tube to the airport or train station. Travelling, not with record company finance but with a support network of independent promoters, bands or friends and often with only a bag of clothes, a box of CDs, a guitar and an emergency sandwich for company. All for the chance to perform to an audience, whether it is in an arena supporting Die Toten Hosen or a decent venue to a derelict squat or a tent in the middle of a forest, it's all worth it just to get on stage and play.
Louise Distras by Paul Osborn
Next to TV Smith is another merchandise table, not quite as laden with goods, but impressive nevertheless with an array of T-Shirts, Badges and CD's. Behind this table stands Louise Distras, the Wakefield based singer songwriter. Louise is probably not quite ready to write her autobiography yet, but these are early days, she's due to release her Pat Collier produced debut album "Tales From The Factory Floor" very soon and people are starting to take notice of her raw and uncompromising protest songs. Seeing both Louise and TV Smith standing there chatting to fans, I'm struck by the similarities in their approach and I wonder if Louise has read any of TV's books. They are both steeped in that D.I.Y. spirit of trying to be as self-sufficient as possible, music is their life and their livelihood and those merchandise tables are an important part of their set up, and not just for helping to bring in important revenue but as a way of building a strong relationship between themselves and their fan-base. It's obvious they take great pride in the quality and design of the goods on display, not to mention the reasonable pricing for fans.
TV Smith by Zig Criscuolo
Their accessibility and friendliness to all who wish to chat is apparent, both are song-writers with strong ideals and values and this is a great chance to communicate. I talked to Louise after her excellent set where she stunned the crowd with her raw, powerful voice and the quality of her songs. I noticed she was wearing a "Strummerville" badge, which I felt was quite apt. I think there is a lot in common with what Joe Strummer believed in and where Louise is coming from. She sings about the effects of social injustice in modern Britain, the aftermath of bullying and hate crimes, in fact her single "Standing Strong Together" was a fundraiser for the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, the charity set up in memory of the Lancashire student murdered by two teenagers for no more reason that she was a Goth and looked different. Louise is sticking up for the underdog, promoting individualism, another single "The Hand You Hold" was released to help promote International Women's Day, and I can see why Joe Strummer might be such an influence. Louise Distras is cool and charming with a friendly down-to-earth character, "I felt shy and a bit nervous tonight", she told me, "I'm not used to playing to so many smiling faces..!" At first I found this comment a bit strange and I worried about what sort of audiences she has been performing to! But then I could kind of understand where she is coming from. Again, like TV Smith, she has important things to say, and I suppose it's probably just as rewarding to play to a hostile or inquisitive crowd and at the end have at least a few people going away saying "you know, I never never thought of it like that..." than it is to have a room full of people cheering and clapping without even considering the subject matter of the songs themselves. But it's also about that balance between entertainment and getting a message across, and Louise and TV both have a humour and self-effacing quality that means you don't get the feeling you are just being preached at. But most importantly they have the songs, both are playing it as stripped back and as honest as you can get, just vocals and guitar, nothing to hide behind, so the songs have to work and they certainly do. Of course TV Smith has a great back catalogue of classic songs in his armoury, and despite having to miss half his set to catch my last train home, I manage to hear a superb, passionate performance including "The Lion and The Lamb", "No Time To Be 21", "Complaints Department", "Coming Into Land" and "It's Expensive Being Poor". TV also plays two brand new numbers, "Replay" and "Long Gone", which were both excellent and promise good things for his next album which will be released sometime in 2014.
Louise Distras - Photo by Steve Worrall
Oh yes, I mentioned his humour. TV notices me checking my watch as I consider if I have just enough time to hear one more last song before shooting off in the dash for my last train. "I usually save this song for the encores", TV says, "but I can see Steve has to rush off..." and he slams into "Runaway Train Driver", thanks Tim, very funny! So feeling honoured to have a song dedication but slightly embarrassed about the circumstances, I make my excuses and leave, very quickly!
Don't forget our TV Smith Retrosonic Podcast special Edition which features TV talking us through his career and picking out some important songs along the way. We were also treated to an exclusive acoustic session so we hope you enjoy it!
Here's a video of TV Smith performing The Adverts classic "No Time To Be 21" on the night. For a bonus video of Louise Distras playing "The Hand You Hold" please check out the Retro Man Blog YouTube Channel here.
With many thanks to Zig Criscuolo from The WitchDoktors and Paul Osborn from The SuperMinx '70
for allowing me to use their photos. Both are not only great
photographers but also in excellent bands, so please check them out.
Thanks also to Barnet Mark, TV Smith and Louise Distras. You can check out more photos at the Retro Man Blog Facebook page, please head on over and "Like" for access to the Photo Album.
Mick Jones and Ray Gange at the unveiling - Photo Copyright Peter Stevens
Last night saw the unveiling of the Joe Strummer mural on the junction of Portobello Road and Blenheim Crescent, right in the heart of The Clash's old Ladbroke Grove stomping ground. I went along to visit the event and there was a great turn-out with some live acoustic performances and a few beers to go along with it. Mick Jones turned up to lend his support and so did Ray Gange from the Clash movie "Rude Boy". It's a long time coming, as New York has had a fantastic Joe Strummer mural for a few years now and it was about time that London paid tribute to Joe too, so credit to Gary Loveridge and Emma Harrison for making it happen.
Mick Jones of The Clash - photo by Steve Worrall
Gary and Emma unveil the Mural - Photo Copyright Peter Stevens
Here, Gary explains how the mural came about: "I've been a Clash fan for over 35 years. Two years ago I was in New York on the anniversary of Joe Strummer's death (22nd December) and to pay my respects, I headed to the Lower East Side because I heard there was a mural of Joe there. I found it. It was good to see him and stand with him in one of his favourite cities. In November 2012, I was asked to create an exhibition of Joe Strummer and The Clash posters from my collection for the "Arms Aloft" gig at the Tabernacle W11. They wanted me to hang the posters, coincidentally, around a photograph of that same mural in New York. Seeing as the anniversary of Joe's death was coming up, it got me thinking that we should have a mural here, in West London, where Joe used to live. I found myself looking out for a wall. The space I was lucky enough to find is at the side of Lydon's Stitch and Bead Shop. The owner said that he liked art and the wall was mine.
Gary, Emma and Mick Jones - Photo Copyright Peter Stevens
I then had a chance meeting with Emma Harrison and during a conversation about Punk Rock posters I discovered that Emma was a mural artist and I asked her if she could paint a Joe Strummer mural. We sat down and designed our mural. We decided to use an older image of Joe with his trusted Telecaster guitar along with a quote of something I'd heard him say on a late night radio show..."Without People, You're Nothing"."
Ray Gange and Gary Loveridge with original sketch - Photo Copyright Peter Stevens
So, great stuff from Gary and Emma, if you're visiting Portobello market be sure to pop along and check out the mural for yourselves and pay tribute to Joe Strummer, it's located on the junction of Blenheim Crescent and Portobello Road, close to Rough Trade. Here's a short video of the unveiling
Many thanks to Gary Loveridge, check out more about his poster archive and exhibitions here. For more info on Emma Harrison please visit her site here. Also, many thanks to Peter Stevens for allowing me to use some of his excellent photos, please visit his photography web-site here.
For more photos "Like" the Retro Man Blog Facebook page for access to the Photo Album.
So, it's the first Wednesday of the month, a date that is block booked in the calendar as it's The Fallen Leaves residency and their "Minimum R 'n' B" Club night at the 12 Bar Club. It's becoming a real highlight of my live music schedule, even more so as The Fallen Leaves always pick a good selection of three or four other bands to play on the night, and this time round, the bill included The Phobics, who I'd been looking forward to seeing for some time. I had actually seen a couple of the band members play an acoustic set at one of Gaye Advert's Art Exhibitions before, but this was the full line-up, so I was particularly keen to catch their show tonight. The band kicked off with "Punk Rock Show", the opening track from their superb album "Deptford Calling", and they weren't wrong, as they treated us to a masterclass in raucous yet tuneful old school Punk Rock.
The Phobics (L/R) Jeff, Shaun, Moyni and Tom - Photo by Steve Worrall
"Won't Let Go" thunders along, reminding me of the great Canadian Hardcore band D.O.A. It's this Trans-Atlantic Punk culture-hopping that gives The Phobics an edge over a lot of contemporary Punk bands. One minute, with the excellent "Split Personality", they are taking us on a trip to the downtown New York of Max's Kansas City and CBGB's, and then on the supremely catchy "One Girl" the Ramones suddenly enter the room and in the corner, the Dead Boys are hanging out with Richard Hell. We are then transported back to the tough streets of South London with "Boy Band" which is bovver-boot rock at it's best. Drummer Charlie keeps things thundering along at some pace, with his rhythm section colleague Moyni on bass, centre stage, a picture of concentration.
Tom and Charlie of The Phobics - Photo by Steve Worrall
They both lay down a solid foundation for the impressive lead guitarist Shaun to play some cool riffs and Johnny Thunders style breaks. With vocalist Tom Crossley, a charismatic but statically cool front man hanging on his mic stand, it's left to rhythm guitarist Jeff to provide the visual assault, with assault being the operative word. The stage of the 12 Bar is small enough, and it's certainly too small to contain Jeff who spends a good part of the set playing guitar amongst the crowd, sitting on the stage or leaping about, he adds an edge of aggression to the band and his enthusiasm is certainly infectious. Great to finally get to see The Phobics and I recommend getting hold of a copy of "Deptford Calling" and seeing them live, just try not to leave it as long as I did...
The Fallen Leaves - Photo by Steve Worrall
There's been a real buzz of positivity around The Fallen Leaves recently, what with their sessions with Marc Riley on BBC 6 Music and on Resonance FM and a glowing review in the Sunday Times by comedian Stewart Lee for their latest album "If Only We'd Known". They just keep on getting better gig by gig, and more people seem to be turning up to the 12 Bar each time they play. Rob Symmons seems to be intent on wreaking as much damage to his guitar as possible without actually smashing it on the stage. Banging it and shaking it to get optimum power, he twists the strings to breaking point, spilling out classic Garage Rock riffs to songs such as "Passing By" and "Trouble".
The Fallen Leaves - Photo by Steve Worrall
Drummer Bill Lewington had a particularly good night, his drumming really stood out and he didn't even shatter a drum-stick over me this time! Bassist Matthew Karas, in his crushed velvet smoking jacket and Cheshire cat grin, is a calming presence as it all goes off either side of him. Vocalist Rob Green's wonderfully English eccentric performance with his tweed, pocket watch and tea ceremony is a delight every time and you think that this is the sort of band that we should be able to watch on "Later with Jools Holland" - they deserve a much wider audience. The Fallen Leaves will play at our next Retro Man Blog night which will be the official launch party for Thee Spivs new album "The Crowd and The Sounds" at The Half Moon Putney on June 29th. We are also pleased to welcome special guests The Past Tense to the party so please come along, it promises to be a great night!
For more photos head over and "Like" the Retro Man Blog Facebook page for access to the Photo Album. Here's a video of The Fallen Leaves on the night with "Against The Grain".
Damaged Goods Records celebrates its 25th year in 2013. That’s 25 years of releasing glorious and riotous punk rock, new-wave, garage rock and vintage pop by all manner of mavericks, geniuses, odd-balls and lunatics…and this Spring is no exception, with the release of The pUKES debut EP on 7” vinyl with poster sleeve. The EP was produced by Dick Crippen from Tenpole Tudor, and features one original, "Will I Learn", plus covers of Menace, Elton Motello and Cock Sparrer songs. The EP release party was held at The Dublin Castle, Parkway, Camden on Friday 24th May with support from CASE and B-Movie Britz. Photographer Paul Slattery was there to document proceedings (before he sped over to the Buffalo Bar to capture Giuda), and a full set of photos can be seen at the pUKES web-site Photo Gallery. The EP can be ordered from the Damaged Goods On-line Store.
The pUKES - Photo by Paul Slattery
The pUKES - Photo by Paul Slattery
The pUKES are a 20-strong (nearly) all female punk ukulele band based in London. They play songs by the likes of Dead Kennedys, Exploited, X-Ray Spex, The Clash etc like you’ve never heard ‘em before. Their massive stage presence and raucous live show has landed them slots at Rebellion Punk Festival and Shoreditch 1234, as well as gigs with many of the bands who inspired them, including Sham 69, Bad Manners, Chelsea and Peter & the Test Tube Babies. Around half the pUKEs were non-musicians before they learned the uke, the others have been in bands such as UK Subs, Extreme Noise Terror and Lost Cherrees. The band have lots of gigs and festivals lined up for the summer – including Rebellion Punk Festival in Blackpool.
Here's the video for the Cock Sparrer cover version "Because You're Young" from the new EP.
You can read more about The pUKES at The Art of Punk book launch at The Tate Modern last year, and see the video to another track from the EP "Will I Learn", on our previous Blog feature here. You can also see a video of "White Riot" on the Retro Man Blog YouTube channel.
The pUKES have received funding to set up their own Uke workshops and it's also enabled them to publish their own fanzine, entitled "Here’s 3 Chords". Issue 1 is out now for only £2.60 including p&p (UK and consists of 24 pages of Punk Uke awesomeness written and designed by members of The pUKEs – featuring Amanda Palmer, Itch (King Blues), UkePunk, Marjinal, chord charts, play along lyrics and tabs and lots more! Copies are available from their on-line Store, for overseas postage costs please contact the band.
With many thanks to Paul Slattery, Clara and Lorna.
We've been busy plastering London and the Home Counties with flyers and postcards advertising our joint promotion with Damaged Goods Records for the upcoming album Launch Party for Thee Spivs at the Half Moon Putney on June 29th. In the run up to the gig I thought we'd arrange a little competition. The first prize is a place on the Guest List for the June 29th album launch party, a signed copy of the "The Crowd and The Sounds" and a CD by each of the evening's special guests, The Past Tense and The Fallen Leaves. The runner up will win a signed copy of the "The Crowd and The Sounds". So, if you find a flyer, get a photo of yourself taken with it in the place you found it and email it, along with your contact details, to Retro Man Blog. Facebook users can "Like" the Retro Man Blog Facebook page and contact us via message there. The first two entries received will win the prizes...Here are some photo clues of where you may well find the flyers. Of course they come and go quickly and there are more in other venues, clubs and pubs, so you never know when and where they will pop up...! Closing date for entries is Friday June 21st...
THEE SPIVS + The Fallen Leaves + The Past Tense
Saturday June 29th - Doors from 7:30pm - Live music curfew 11pm - Tickets £8.00 advance or door.
