THE GREAT GRANDCHILDREN OF NUGGETS. Or: A New Beat Heard Around The World.
Here’s what I know. I could not be listening to this grand collection of recordings if it had not been for the unswerving commitment of Wally Salem. How he concentrated equally on the ‘84 to ‘99 Times / solo catalogue as much as the early period stuff. And for those who’ve recorded for Wally and follow his label faithfully, his enthusiasm and dedication are such that his name is one amongst the greats, like Marty Thau’s Red Star (for Suicide), Greg Shaw’s Bomp! and Voxx, Alan Horne’s Postcard, Dan Treacy and Emily Brown’s Dreamworld, Alan McGee and Joe Foster’s Creation.
I also know that I should not be writing this, I should not be so involved. But I am, and if it comes across as naff or self-serving then all I can say is you just don’t get me, as I think Wally does with his generous liner note. And together, Kally and i – the Wife-fi to my Hub – have listened with joy to these terrific performers and artists take songs, and God-like, breathe new life into them, bending and melting them in to improved ideas. Me and The Times never sounded particularly “garagey”, psychedelic or even really mod. But these artistes bring all of this and more to the party. These are the Great Grandchildren of Nuggets and this Class of 2010 to the present day are more in tune with the Original Artyfacts dynasty than any of the interim generations.
And there lies my dilemma. How to thank these Individuals. I love them all equally, and feel compelled to thank them personally in my characteristic pidgin. I’ve also endeavoured to thank and acknowledge key collaborators and contributors to the sleeve notes as well, many who are Real Stars and True Geniuses.
I know that these selections are magnified by the fact that many of us have been moved and inspired by visionary actor/writer/directors, Pop artists, mega-rock-stars. And just as many have been hurt by love so blue, bewildered by controversial lovers, and if you’re lucky, visited by angels sent from Heaven. In this connection, may your personal-choice God bless you all. And may all those Gods bless The Beautiful Music.
- I’ve reviewed them in reverse order. Don’t ask me why. I like things backwards or in the wrong order.
DISC TWO.
THE TIMES – BRITANNIA SLEEPS TONIGHT. “Hello London, this is Europe!”. Live at the 100 Club 1986, I think.
THE TABLES – LOOKING AT THE WORLD THROUGH DARK SHADES. “Hello Europe, this is Oslo calling!” It might be ‘Beatles at the Star-Club’ quality but it’s a gritty snapshot of the Tables and I’m pleased some very important people found this recording. Bring back The Tables.
TETLEY – BIG PAINTING. A Mod Scholarship student with 1.1 (First Class Honours). Armed with a fuzz box and a beat box, one-man band David creates an exclamation of joy and what it is to be alive. The scholarly bit here is he takes the alternate second verse melody and by dropping the first chord of the verse makes it more unique.
TERRYBALL – BOYS ABOUT TOWN (REMIX 2025). José and Rafa take this song a few steps closer to it’s spiritual conclusion with extra texture oohs and la-la-la s. Great vocals. Spray-Paint me spellbound on this one.
The original was from The Times ‘Up Against It’ soundtrack. I used Boys About Town as the title for The Times 12” EP featuring “David Jones (Is On His Way)”. It then became the moniker for a make-shift band of Tony Conway, Paul Bevoir, Simon Smith and I put together to play charity gigs. Forty years later, Mike Cuenca’s film ‘Boys About Town #1’ comes out, a Pop Art, Mod Culture, French New Wave-inspired romance movie that was cut to a soundtrack of “The Sun Never Sets”, “This Green and Pleasant Land”, “Heaven Sent Me An Angel”, “Boys About Town”, “Whatever Happened to Thamesbeat”, “Goodbye Piccadilly”, “Pop Goes Art” all by The Times, “Leave Me” by O-Level and “Kiss Me” by Teenage Filmstars. The film looked and sounded smashing. Sadly, music clearance became an issue. Still a good flick, though.
Listening to this I’m reminded how lucky we were to have John East’s musicianship and arrangement skills. Most of that album was recorded by just John and I in a short few days. John East, Dan Treacy and I were the REAL Made In Chelsea.
SPRING RAIN – LIAM GALLAGHER OUR LEADER. A great marriage between their voices and haunting arrangement. With the cunning “Love Like Haze or Rain” Times song refrain within its twain, it’s the point where the whole thing drops to a half-time slo-mo pace and takes on a fluoxetine love dream quality which I absolutely adore. Dylan and Morgan, this is a Psychedelic symphony.
THE CHE MEN – MILL HILL SELF-HATE CLUB. A Northern Soul-inspired banger with a great arrangement and inspired performances all round. Soho Mod Caff soundscape. The omnipresent Mark Barrett takes Muff Winwood’s “I’m a Man” groove and makes magic. The instrumental version is great too, ‘Che Men Take a Train’ Roy Budd stylee. Railway sleepers rhythm rolling down the track. Is it the 14 stations of the Cross from Waterloo to Dover Docks? I think so…
As we are in ‘Catholic Guilt’ territory, and the Boo Radleys were such a great support to me on that album, I’d like to thank Tim Brown and Bob Chieka for their great musicianship on both my solo albums. And I’d particularly like to thank Sice for his liner note. We really did share many interests and it was so easy to get on with him as his intelligence, finely-tuned sense of humour and easy demeanour made you want to hang out with him and bask in his glory. The last time Kally and I saw Sice was 2007 and I miss him loads. And when that missing gets too much I just put on the Eggman ‘First fruits’ album, Sice’s reassertion of his identity outside of the Boos, recorded with his best friends, the Boos. One of my favourite solo albums of all time. My favourite track is Sice-all-alone on “First Fruits Fall” where all the instruments and voices are his.
SELF-LOVE – BLUE FIRE. Rafael plays everything with consummate ease, Charles sings with an unforced tone which makes for a smooth and confident take on this song. Much more natural than the original.
WOOG RIOTS – MY ANDY WARHOL POSTER. Mein Gott im Hansa! Bravo Marc and Silvana! This is how it should’ve always sounded, passionately dispassionate. And is that a sample of Little Teddy Ball there giving it large? I love this. Dang, Drella would’ve loved this.
At this point, I’d like to thank Alan McGee for his kind words. And for his total support between ‘88 and ‘99, my personal Reformation period. The idea of Andy Warhol as a role model for us lot was huge – those Pop paintings of his literally informed Times / TVPs Whaam! record sleeves. His management and “production” of the Velvet Underground has obvious echoes in Alan and the Mary Chain. And I’m sure Alan won’t mind me correcting him that the last time we actually hung out was 25 years ago, mid-September 2001. We had lunch at Lemonia at Primrose Hill, just around the corner from Poptones where I was working for him trying to launch Poptones Films, partly in the spirit of Warhol’s underground movies but also as a commercial concern, rather like Warp Records did the following year with their Films off-shoot. Digital film-making had become so easy and cheap, I saw it as us taking on the new digital era, like we did in 1988 with Acid House, only in 2001 we’d be drawing in talent like Chris Cunningham and Shane Meadows as well as the new Ramplings and Weatheralls. So yes, a quarter of a century ago! I have been meaning to meet up but what with the washing and the cooking, and… well, you know what it’s like. To this day Alan is still the best in his field.
¡LOS PADRINOS! – LOOKING AT THE WORLD THROUGH DARK SHADES. I believe my spiritual friends Alain, Banzo, Don, Daniel and Oye! are rebellious characters living outside societal norms as they have nailed this mini epic to false cool with magnificent Sangre Fría. Exquisite singing.
DODGY ACCENT – BIG PAINTING. I am secure enough in my 21st cent. evolutionary state to admit that I wept like a weeping willow when I first heard this marvellous rendition. Five hours to create, seconds to destroy an overly emotional middle aged man. Two words. Edwardian Kittens.
LLOYD MEADOWS – THEME FROM DANGERMAN. So flattered Lloyd took our version of Johnny Drake’s theme rather than the original by Edwin Astley. We recorded it from memory on the spot without referring to the original. The magic here is the channelling of Reg Dixon and Jimmy Smith, every true organist’s touchstones.
Both Ray Kent and Paul Damien gave The Times at this time (1982) a lighter-than-air sound, mainly due to their modern jazz influences like Coltrane and Miles. This was so important to me as bands like The Byrds, Manfred Mann, The Doors and The Zombies took much of their inspiration from the same sources.
CHERRY FEZ – IF ONLY. Multi-instrumentalist Todd dives straight in no messin’ and nails this spiritual to a life of if onlys with a voice all his own, summing up existential alienation and dread. And all in two and half minutes.
THE GREAT AUK FANCIERS SOCIETY – PINSTRIPES. Comes on like a warped merry go round. Who thought pinstripes could be so threatening, like prison bars. One-person operation Marcus gives this the early Mothers of Zappa treatment in the breakdown bits. My kind of breakdown. Vastly improving on our 1980 original.
In fact, 1980 was a big year for John Patrick Bennett, his brother Gerard and myself as the Air Raids, our band who wrote loads of songs, did one gig, then split up. Our Sound was a big influence on The Times that formed later that year. I’d like to use this moment to acknowledge John’s generous “sound-bite” about me. As a founder member of the Television Personalities, his knowledge of the first three years is second only to Dan’s. He re-joined the tvps in 2005 and was there right to the end on all the records. None of us would have even got bands together in the first place if not for his resolve, lyric writing and dedication.
THE NOMEN – KISS ME (TEENAGE FILMSTARS). Another psychedelic symphony. A Trip to the Centre of the Collective Mind of George, Allan and Brian, where they imagine Jimi Hendrix visits Lee Perry and begets this sound so cool I can’t feel my toes any more.
THE DUPONT CIRCLES – JOKES ON ZANDRA. Everyone is “on it” here. Michael and Jonas, Amir and Bob have their prime chops on display and I’m talking your up-market type of Charcuterie establishment. Mike sings like this is the only song in the world worth singing, which is quite something for me. “What would I wear the next day?” is the hero-shot line. As for the song, well, in ‘78 I was very cross with Zandra Rhodes for stealing Vivienne Westwood’s complete persona, and in a totally naff sort of way. By 1980 though, it was all change and no one remembered to tell Zandra off. So I did.
CERDITO – IT’S TIME. The Sirens of Greek Mythology walk amongst us and here’s the proof. Óscar, Begoña and Mark have relocated to a house on Cerdito Road where The Shirelles have mucked in with Kevin and Bilinda from My Bloody Valentine. And. I. Want. To. Go. To. There. Take me home, Cerdito Roads.
BARTHOLOMEW MELLOWGLASS – PICTURE GALLERY. Spiritual guides of psychedelic lineage, they adapt ancient practices and make our dull world a better place. Nifty backward guitar-work. As Timothy Leary might have said about these cats “Bartholomew Mellowglass are prototypes of evolutionary agents sent by Mod”. They are a law unto themselves and serve no other God, other than Mod.
THE SELFISH CALES – THAMESBEAT. Right this moment I’m living on a Torinese rock, and so should you! Proto-surf punk-rock. And one of them even looks like a young Syd Barrett! Vocalists this good are not to be had for love or bitcoin! Cunning vocal breakdown in the middle. Wicked geetar solo and Hammond arpeggios at the end.
We need to get smart here and thank Doctor Anthony Meynell for his kind sleeve-note. And the honorific is totally deserved. His work ‘Recording studios and the psychedelic experience: British and American recordings in the late 1960s’ is my absolute favourite on the subject, and there are quite a few if you know where to look. Squire’s “No Time Tomorrow” was the best psychedelic single of the ‘80s. His love of Big Star’s third album – long before the trendies latched on to it – had a big influence on me. His knowledge of Pop-Psyche Americana is immense. Introduced us to Greg Shaw and Rodney Bingenheimer, again, long before the trendies even knew who they were.
CRABBER – CONTROVERSIAL GIRLFRIEND. I can’t believe this! I’m going out of my mind! Crabber Mach Schau at Hypersonic Mach speed 5+. I want to hang out the window and play this all the way up to eleven – 11,000,000-watts of punk pop powerrr. Olli, Ulrich, Jens and Peter, come on strong like a heat-seeking missile, infrared in-the-red blast of noise and dropdown sections.
Martin Carr…one night in Preston, hardly Vegas, I know but this was the beginning of a new adventure, tho’ I genuinely thought it was an audition. The night in question was Sunday 16th January 1994 and I was staying over with Martin and his then-girlfriend, as a way I think for Martin to suss out the sort of person I was. We played records all night and he played loads of new bands I’d never heard, loads more old ones I hadn’t heard either. On another stay-over in April that year, he played his one-man demos for the Boos next album, ‘Wake Up!’ They were so inventive! Martin had proved what a great writer he was on the two previous Creation albums and these new songs were primed for the year to come. And the band recorded those demos faithfully. That next day in January we travelled to Crash Rehearsal Studios Liverpool for what I thought would be auditions with the band for a keyboardist for which I was to make up the numbers. Turned out to be a week’s rehearsal, with me in the job, ability unseen. The last time I played with Martin was in Abbey Road doing Corin Ashley’s session, April 2008.
THE PAINTED WORD – CONFIANCE. Straight in like a Tarantino film soundtrack. Arash Torabi is a genuine 21st century Renaissance Man. He gives this song a smashing alt.country swing that befits the Celtic-Catholic resignation inbuilt within it. And Arash and Lucille sing the living daylights out of it. A little birdie told me that the wonderful Phil Wilson played banjo and the sensational Dave Morgan drummed this to its safe harbour. Can this be true? Or the stuff of pure urban-myth-making? Cool ending.
The Times version was on ‘Et Dieu Crea La Femme’ which featured Paul Heeren and Paul Mulreany, The Times core members from ‘89 to ‘93… Mulreany went on to Primal Scream where he and Gary “Mani” Mountfield were the rhythm section on ‘Vanishing Point’. Paul Heeren is the most complete guitarist I ever worked with.
THE EDDIES – RED WITH PURPLE FLASHES. Take me! I’m yours!! So exciting. Inspirational figures on the LA Mod Scene and I can totally see why. And do you know, I think these fellows are having a lot of fun with this song, I can tell that sort of thing.
THE WOERMWOOD SCRUBS – BRITANNIA SLEEPS TONIGHT. “We few, we happy few, we band of PunkMod brothers, let us cry Havoc, and Let Slip the Dogs of War! And gentlemen from Brighton to Konstanz now-a-bed, shall think themselves accursed they were not here to hear this clarion call from Marco and Markus”. What a head banger! Like an assault. And 40 years later, 60 years on, England have still not won the World Cup! Top-notch video too.
Phil Vane…what a gentle kind brilliant soul…Phil Vane (lead vocalist for the grindcore band Extreme Noise Terror) teamed up with me in 1993 to form the experimental noise-rock project Conspiracy of Noise. “Losing My Grip” and “Henry” are so arresting.
DISC ONE.
POST PLASTIC WORLD – I HELPED PATRICK MCGOOHAN ESCAPE. PowerPop Powerrr to the people! Angel, Jack and John play it straight sharing the exact truth of the master copy without the Beatle-istic sugar-coating. The Number Two performing here is one evil motherfricker. I think Number 6 hisself would’ve loved this interpretation.
THE ANSWERS – IF NOW IS THE ANSWER. The mercurial David Fleminger has everything under control here, ably supported by some wicked drums and bass. So urgent. They power through the middle bit with a degree of menace as only the end of the world could warrant. Smart guitar arpeggios on the last chorus. Mint.
Paul Bevoir…pop genius songwriter…sleeve designer extraordinaire…hand-drew Enjoy the Times ‘Coca Cola’ logo right in front of me in 20 minutes…wrote “The American Way”, the best song on the ‘Enjoy’ album… His 1985 album ‘The Happiest Days Of Your Life’ splits RealLife / TrueStories sunlight into a rainbow that fades to black with the title / final track. It’s a heartfelt masterpiece. I would urge Ventil Verlag to consider publishing 100 selected lyrics of his songs.
SUPER 8 – LIAM GALLAGHER OUR LEADER. Paul “Trip” Ryan is perhaps the closest we have here to a genuine Roy Wood (my childhood hero), a musical polymath and virtuoso. The last 40 seconds here are stunningly beautiful. Nashville are you coming to my town? Or am I coming to yours? We’re on different buses Nashville, but we’re both using Pedal steel knee levers.
Corin Ashley…an extremely intelligent and astute songwriter and musician, liked “Liam Gallagher Our Leader”… I love his “Badfinger Bridge” even more…Fab day at Abbey Road; best bit was Corin and I doing backing vocals, he turns to the mic and sneers in a Seinfeld-esque voice “Hello, Neumann!”..It was Dizzy Holmes of Detour Records who switched me on to the Brit-style R&B of The Pills single “Scooter Gurl”. Corin’s still a star performer; check out “Empathy Centre”, great song great vid. Toit!
TENDER ENGINES – LOVE IS BLUE. Harvey, Andrew, Jack and Graham handle this with love and care, the vocals are a beaut, giving it a punk blues feel. Clever drop of the first chord of the chorus speeds it on brilliant. Nicely arranged ending. If I still played live I’d Dylan / Hendrix this version à la “All along the Watchtower”.
SI FARRIER – HEAVEN SENT ME AN ANGEL. Perfect electropop for the 21st century. With its heavenly choir and enchanted vocal I think Si Farrier has had a Celestial visitation too, touched by the seraphim wings of an angel because this sounds just like I saw it in my head.
Jowe Head…first time I met him was at Rough Trade early ‘79, when I was taking up a bundle of “We Love Malcolm” eps. I didn’t actually meet so much as experienced him standing in the middle of the main office on the second floor wearing a tweed bouclé jacket and a huge globe earring about the size of a pomegranate, holding court and berating the staff as “Imperialist Lackeys” hahahaha. Played in my favourite line-up of the TVPs, the 5-piece with Dan, Mark Sheppard and Dave Musker where you had to be a Gemini unless you were Joe Foster. ‘Pincer Movement’ Jowe’s first album featuring Joe Foster and Mark Sheppard is ingenious and clever, with “Cake Shop Girl” as the hit that never was.
THE BROKEN HEED – MILL HILL SELF-HATE CLUB. So epic. Personal relocations carried out here; Watford Fields and Harrow-on-the-Hill help inform us what I suspect is a similar story to the original’s narrator. Modern romance performed with thunderous tenderness. Very hard to pull off.
ALISTAIR JACKSON – THERE’S A CLOUD OVER GILLINGHAM. I can see the ‘This is Priestfield’ sign right now. “You’ll never walk again” – not after an Andy Frampton tackle you won’t. Tackhead star Brian Moore would be very proud. Seriously, I really enjoyed this.
Dan Treacy – If I Could Write Poetry: Selected Lyrics, is a book everyone should have. Touching and surprisingly honest accounts from those who know him. A few minor mistakes; “East Sheen” was actually recorded one week after “14th floor” and released in November ‘77. Also, when Bernard Fox had disappeared after recording the Gifted Children single, Dan asked if I would come in and record with him and Mark. Dan had just played on ‘Pop goes Art!’ So of course I said yes. That was ‘Mummy Your Not Watching Me’ the second TVPs album. I played bass guitar on six of the 11 tracks; “Adventure Playground”, “A Day In Heaven”, “Brian’s Magic Car”, “Where The Rainbow Ends”, “David Hockney’s Diaries” (long version) and “If I Could Write Poetry”. Some of these started as my bass riff created on the spot with Dan and Mark Sheppard joining in. I mention this here as I think it was the best work the three of us did together. The excellent Bernard Fox played on the other 5 songs.
PRETTY EYES FOR CAPTAIN AMERICA – I HATE IBIZA. Big Star power pop for all us star-crossed lovers. Holly and Calen have a lovely take on this with a ukelele and some beautiful guitar work in a smart breakdown bit. Great voices all-round.
ARMSTRONG – IT’S KINDA LONELY WHERE I AM. A very pretty interlude of courtly love that is at the heart of my song here. Very haunting.
Karen Parker took the photos for the album ‘If A Man Ever Loved A Woman’ that the original of this song was taken from. Karen and Christine Wanless were the backbone of Creation Records from ‘89 to ‘93. That period of the label’s working party was made up of musicians, like Paul Mulreany, Alan and Dick obviously, Grant Fleming, Karen Parker and Christine Wanless. Including Graham Gillespie, these people were the closest to Alan, like family. Christine had been the singer in Revolving Paint Dream and occasionally Biff Bang Pow! At Creation she developed into an excellent label manager. Karen had the desk next to Christine’s and was Head of International. Karen’s is the voice you hear on the Mary Chain’s ‘Psychocandy’ that gives the album that much-needed vocal colour. She did the same on the Teenage Filmstars ‘Star’ album. She came into her own personal inheritance as One True Parker, remixing The Orb’s ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’ and my Love Corporation’s ‘Give Me Some Love’ and best of all, her album ‘Will I Dream?’ on Richard Norris’s label Eruption.
LOVEJOY – WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR LOVER LEARN TO LOSE. A Damien Hirst vitrine of love flatlining in formaldehyde. So beautiful it makes Edward and Kally catch their shared breath. Richard and Ally do this like they’re in a little boat on the Ocean and there’s only the stars above, and you’re happily lost and you don’t wish to be anywhere else.
Actually, the whole bit about “a little boat on the Ocean…and you don’t wish to be anywhere else” sounds just like Lovejoy’s most recent albums, ‘… And It’s Love!’ and ‘Under the Weather’. Richard Preece is the real deal, the full-on triple threat, a marvellous guitarist, a lyrical and melodic songwriter, and, most importantly, a great singer.
MIKE GALE – CONTROVERSIAL GIRLFRIEND. This is Divine. Brian Wilson meets My Bloody Valentine. What a beautiful voice Mike has got. Like listening to a cross-line phone conversation where you can only hear one person talking, the other sighing, revealing their story over the phone to you. That is the spirit I take away from this.
JAMES CLARKE FIVE – EXTASE. Perfect, subtle and artful simplicity. The tender vocal conveys a very personal truth.
COLIN SWAN – LAST TANGO FOR ONE. There were two true Mod bands on Whaam! Small World and Colin’s wonderful Direct Hits, who had a more enquiring sound, almost progressive mod say, in the spirit of The Who ‘Sell Out’ or The Jam ‘All Mod Cons’. A snappy arrangement here that adds a whole new dramatic aspect to the song. I’m also pleased that Colin took part in this project as for a very long time I thought the DH’s didn’t like me. When they supported the Times at the 100 Club, as I went over to say hello to them, I distinctly heard one of them hissing in my direction “Merchant Banker!”. “Please yerself!” I thought, veering off to the lavs. High jinks, I think.
APRIL EVENTS – MISS LONDON. I wish I had this singer’s voice. Love the La La La’s in the middle. Somehow, this has managed to conjure up Julie Christie and Laurence Harvey in Darling, where as the Times version is more Becky Sharp and Lord Steyne from Vanity Fair.
THE LEADING END – LOVE IS BLUE. The sound of a caress, two lovers kissing at the end of a nightmare. It’s got trumpets trombones and cellos and a wicked Jeff Beck-esque geetar middle solo, and a Miles Davis mini solo …nihilistic overtones of Nietzsche’s “God Love is Dead” with Jack Nitzsche’s arrangement skills, this has got the lot.
Gary Crowley played “Love is Blue” to death on BBC Greater London Radio (GLR) with his radio other half Jim Lahat when it came out. From his Mod Roots with Eddie Piller and through his Junior Best Disco In Town on his ITV network TV show The Beat, which The Times did – “Finnegan’s Break” and “How Honest Are Pearl Jam?” he has always been, like Eddie, a progressive mod of the highest order.
SUMMERHOUSE – TEARS ON A RAINY SUNDAY. Why isn’t this a hit!! Such an emotive performance. I see two spontaneous lovers on the run for the last time, one final anarchic road trip of the soul, defeated by their indoctrination within a stifling society. And by God, it works. Bowie drops in for some ‘Bop-bop-ba-ooh’s at the end. Doomed Love Eurodance for the Modern world.
Simon Smith…this man could’ve made a fortune as a session drummer. His abilities and timekeeping have always been second to none, and his willingness to investigate drum programming in the early ‘80s make him a standout choice as my fave drummer ever. Everyone who has ever worked with him will tell you the same.
MOORE – LIAM GALLAGHER OUR LEADER. The first of the Warholian ‘Triple Liam’s to be featured on this compilation. Neil here gives a sort of Kurt Cobain warning to our leader that fame and fortune ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. In this way he makes it all his own. Such a lovely grainy quality to his voice.
THE YELLOW MELODIES – MANCHESTER. Great vocal performance and playing. Wicked trumpet part. Rafa and Pilar imagine Ennio Moricone at the Hacienda and everyone’s “on one”. Mur-c-ia Murcia Es-pa-ña, Mur-c-ia Siempre te amaré.
ROTIFER – RED WITH PURPLE FLASHES. Comes on like the Electric Prunes at the beginning. Joe Meek stately-like production. Robert and Mike and Ian relate a real sense of innocent defiance in this. I hear the singer confronting the fragmented, ambiguous narratives of the song and leaves the listener convinced that what is unreal, imagined, or a lie can also be Real Truth.
Are you looking for two absolutely smashing guys with wonderful skills and talents? Look no further than Robert Rotifer and Mike Stone. I have a great deal of respect for Robert who, like me, was born into the southpaw tendency and as such has many eclectic gifts. A big hearted human being who recognises the true ills in our world today. We need more Robert Rotifers. I won’t embarrass Mike here by regaling in his musical chops, and with all his good deeds, but suffice it to say that in the scheme of things he has been Dan Treacy’s greatest benefactor, giving him shelter and, with John Patrick Bennett and Texas Bob Juarez, forming a constant band around him. There, I’ve said it. Love these fellows.
TRUE STORIES – I HELPED PATRICK MCGOOHAN ESCAPE. Brilliant production! Jerry Seinfeld as Number 6 meets Marvin the Depressed Robot as Number 2. Seriously, this is great. There’s playfulness here that’s totally infectious. Garage Pop at it’s best.
Bart Mendoza…is a genuine unstoppable force of nature. The quintessential mover and shaker. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and have been proven right. One part Bill Graham, one part Ralph J. Gleason, several parts A Hard Days Night, The Standells and The Zombies, Bart absorbed all the Britpop permutations from the ‘60s to the ‘90s and created a scene with his pals that has become a booming beat-boom sensation.
Phewee! I’m all tuckered out. That’s me done for the next seventeen years.
Love, light, and blessings to Adam and Matt and all at Cherry Red, Joe Foster, Carol Morley and Cairo Cannon, Times vocalist Jan Parker, Nick Heyward, Jim Phelan, Andy Bell, Ioanna, Dimitris Voglis, Aris and Maria Zafeiris, Kevin Shields, Stephen Lawrie of the Telescopes, Adam Franklin of Swervedriver, Idha Övelius, Mike Alway, Danny Rampling, Stewart Mason, Carsten Friedrichs, Gregor Kessler, DROEM for “Ed Ball is God”, Mark Taylor, Ian Shaw, Rob Vasey, Robert Cooksey and Bridget Duffy of the Sea Urchins, Andy Saunders and Johnny Hopkins, Norman Blake, William Blake, Jerry Thackray, William Makepeace Thackeray, Simon Fisher-Turner, J.M.W. Turner, Mark Flunder, Brendan Donoghue, Jasmine Monk (The Smashing Times), Kle, Dylan White, Duglas T Stewart, Bernard Fox, James Fox, Paul Ambrose Wright.
Always remembered and missed; Ray Kent, Andrew Goodwin (Dry Rib), Graeme Wilson (The Projects), Pat Fish, Christine Wanless, Paul Cannell, Rachel Davies (Transmission music show), Andrew Weatherall, Denise Johnson, Belinda McConnell White, James Kyllo, Poly Styrene, Phil Vane.
Love is all the way,
Kally&EdwardBall.
