Right, that's it. I'm off on my annual digital detox. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Finally here's an all too rarely heard classic from the 80s that Quincy co-wrote as well as produced.
After waiting roughly 40 years to see Altered Images
this was the third time we’d seen them since 2022. At this rate they’ll be
taking out a restraining order against us.
First up though, Vanity Fairy, a one woman disco extravaganza (check out her outifits) with an equally delicious sideline in witty between song banter. Hot on the high heels of supporting Last Dinner Party she dazzled the early birds with an album's worth of instant classics.
If Kate Bush had grown up in Studio 54...
Playing the whole of fourth album, Bite, Altered Images (although only Clare Grogan remains from the original band) kicked off with a particularly groovy Bring Me Closer which was only narrowly beaten by a sublime purr through classic Don’t Talk To Me About Love for first set highlight. Grogan’s in fine voice and form and it’s clear that she’s loving this phase of a career that started waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in 1979. Yes, really.
After a quick break they returned for bangers old...I Could Be Happy and Dead Pop Stars...and new, courtesy of 2022's top notch comeback single Mascara Streakz. GWR cancelling the last train home stopped us from staying right to the end...oh the joys of relying on public transport...but too much pop perfection may well have proved fatal at our age.
With another 13 tracks it's not too bad for 50p eh?
PS: Having hoovered up thousands of CDs over the past few years I've noticed that the volume and quality available in charity shops has dwindled pretty dramatically recently. It's not surprising, most people who had 'em in a box under the bed have got rid of 'em now....just as they did when vinyl fell out of favour. The majority of my fellow CD buyers still tend to be middle aged men (bless 'em) but over the weekend I was rifling through the racks next to a couple of trendy students who seemed besotted with the format. And who can blame them? You Tube seems to be fighting off the ad blocking software that's worked so well over the years and I daresay that you get ads every 30 seconds on Spotify too unless you spunk up a monthly subscription fee. Why subscribe when you can buy, own and play (in much better sound quality) CDs though? If you buy from charity shops, you're supporting good causes too. And, as I've probably banged on about before, CDs seem to be both retro and futuristic making it the ideal format for hipsters and hip replacement-ers. It's probably too late to accumulate a big collection for little money now but if you're passing a charity shop or car boot sale it's well worth a look. Happy hunting!
If you're new to TT give this one a spin too...worthy of Leonard Cohen at his best.
Highly recommended, especially the title track, a vision of the distinctly dystopian future that we seem to be rapidly stumbling towards...
18 years since our first (and their first) Moseley Folk we’re back after a couple of years away (not even the number 11 goes as far as Devon, so popping to Mo Folk is a bit more of a mission these days than when we lived in Bearwood). No idea who these two lovely chaps either side of me were but they had fine taches.
That special vibe (vibe…what is this…1990?) is still
there and entering the site from bustling Moseley village still feels a little
like stepping into Narnia. All three days contained enough gems to warrant the
ticket price for the whole shebang but here’s my personal pick of the pops...oh dear:
Friday
The Black Country Cowboy film…with a live performance
from the man himself, Mr Pete Boddis.
The Scratch – one of the rocking-est bands around
right now dished up the latest anthem to going on the lash, Another Round, and,
appropriately enough (given the resulting hangover), a powerfully funereal
cover of The Pogues’ Sally MacLennane.
Flogging Molly – Another of Ireland’s finest –
although apparently founded in Los Angeles (who knew eh?) – kept up the energy
as the post work crew arrived bearing pints of ale and a burning desire to
bounce the office out of their hair.
Beans On Toast – Love this dude. He just seems so genuine, nice and honest, freely admitting that he doesn’t have all the answers but making a strong case for a world that’s based on music festivals like Mo Folk. He gets my vote.
The Levellers – Despite going to The Lev’s own
festival, Beautiful Days, every year I’m normally up at the Tiny Tea tent when
they’re playing silently mulling over the dreadful prospect of packing up our
tent at 7am on Monday morning. Oh the horror. So it was great to see their
whole show up close and personal, including rousing romps through One Way and
Beautiful Day. It was, too.
Saturday
Katherine Priddy – Ahhhh, KP, Mo Fo’s very homegrown folk f-henomenon. Always a joy to hear her play and not even swallowing a fly during the last number could stop her from delivering one of the most bewitching sets of the weekend. Full marks for George Boomsma (also pictured) for stepping in at the end to sings the last few verses.
Vashti Bunyan in conversation with Lyle Bignon – Folk
legend who made me want to pack up my bags and recreate her 18 month wander up
to the Outer Hebrides, although she and I suspect that it wouldn’t be quite as
idyllic as it was back in the 70s.
The Staves – Sisters still doing it for themselves,
folk doesn’t get much poppier than this. That’s a great thing by the way. Despite
the world outside Moseley Park turning to shit All Now still manages to make
you feel optimistic.
Jon Muq – He’s from Uganda but now living in Austin,
Texas…as he was very fond of telling us. The songs may be simple but some of
the best ones are and Muq’s beaming smile sold the set to me.
CMAT – Quite possibly set of the weekend as Ciara (Mary-Alice Thompson…see what she did there?) literally threw herself into her performance with some top notch banter in between songs that blend such disparate influences as Country and Western and Kate Bush. Bonkers pop has its new princess. A Cyndi Lauper for the 21st Century anyone?
Brian Lightning – Missed the start if this dude’s set
but if I was still living in Brum I’d be there at every single show. A bit of
Bowie, a bit of Jobriath, a bit of Scott Walker…it’s all a bit brilliant. One
to watch.
Dexys – “Been down Bearwood…The Little Nibble?”. Sadly they missed out this bit at the start of This Is What She’s Like but they included pretty much everything else in a joyous hit (and should’ve been hits) packed set. Kev seemed pretty happy too and, at 71, that distinctive voice of his is still in fine fettle.
Sunday
George Boomsma – Last seen backing Katherine Priddy this
was the first time we’d caught George solo and it was the perfect start to the
final day of Mo Fo. By George’s own admission there’s a gentle melancholy to many
of his songs but his vocal and odd bout of remarkably tuneful whistling casts a
soft and reassuring light across every word.
Niall Macnamee – Top notch between song banter from
actor, singer/songwriter and all round great bloke. He wins the best song title
of the weekend award too courtesy of the rousing Magpie With A Mullet.
Helen O’Hara in conversation with Lyle Bignon – Ah, so
this is what she’s like. Dexy’s original fiddle maestro reveals some surprising
myth busting facts about joining the band. Got to meet her and buy a copy of
her autobiography afterwards too. Teen me would be beside himself.
Kate Rusby – Folk’s own Bubble from Ab Fab (and I mean
that in the loveliest way…she really is a sweetie) Kate delivered one of the
festival highlights with a crowd cheering romp through The Bangle’s Manic
Monday.
Belle & Sebastian – Almost 30 years after falling in love with ‘em I finally got to see Belle and Sebastian live…and boy (with the arab strap) was it worth the wait. A much meatier proposition than in their earliest incarnations they dished up a masterclass in witty pop perfection and rocked the roof off the place. Yep, seriously. Stuart even pulled off a death defying mid set walk/wobble along the safety barrier and after 90 minutes they barely scratched the surface of a body of work that few bands get within sniffing distance of. A folking amazing end to the weekend.
I think this was our seventh Beautiful Days and…miracle of miracles…it actually stayed dry. Apart from a slight drizzle on Thursday night but we’ll ignore that.
Perhaps this wasn’t the strongest line up ever but all
three days produced more than their fair share of musical treats, new and not
so new. Here’s what we caught (as the loos were particularly clean this year hopefully we didn’t catch anything else…ahem).
Friday August 16th
Our 28th wedding anniversary. Yes, I know,
I don’t look old enough do I eh?
Hotwax – Spunky, punky teen trio fronted by two girls of the female variety (can you still say that these days)...
...which was something of a rarity on the main stage in particular.
David Wax Museum – Lordy I loved this lot.
One of my festival highlights. Imagine Paul Simon and Vampire Weekend on a day trip to Mexico and that’ll give you a tiny idea of how some of their tracks sound. I bought five of their CDs so they must’ve been good.
The Scratch – Another highlight! Irish rock, roll and soul with a percussionist who appears to be playing a box with a pair of greyhound’s legs. I may have had some cider by then though.
Lottery Winners – Indie rock with a dash of stand up. Played
‘our’ song, ‘It Must Be Love’...and on our wedding anniversary too. They must've known.
Moon Hooch – Highlight #3 of day #1, two scronkingly brilliant
sax players and a drummer that must’ve been powered by at least a dozen
Duracell batteries. It’s jazz Jim, but not as we know it.
The Saw Doctors – Second Irish band of the day, this
lot are 40 years into their career though, as the crowd’s lusty singalongs
proved.
Saturday
Holy Youth Movement – Despite an 11am start (what madness is this?) HYM attracted an impressive audience for their rock-tronica
Yep, I’ve just made that one up. You’re welcome.
Pet Needs – The crowd swelled for this lot and I’m not
surprised. Perfect pop punk singalongs with some slightly mellower moments to
help you catch your breath back.
Up, Bustle and Out – Global dance music that deserved
a much bigger audience than they got. So much on though and so little time to
see it all.
Cast – First saw this bad supporting The Lightening
Seeds back in 1894…possibly…and here we are 130 years later enjoying some of
Brit Pops finest moments again. A Finetime was had by all…see what I did there?
Inspiral Carpets – Loved this set. Cool As Fuck.
Particularly enjoyed the ghostly voice – no doubt recorded on a beer and baccy
stained cassette found on a bus in Manchester – of Mark E. Smith on I Want You.
Mr Bruce – How does this man not explode? How can anyone dance with such energy and still carry on breathing let alone singing. This was one of the three seconds of his set when he wasn't leaping around.
One of the nine wonders of the world.
A bit of Richard Ashcroft – Clearly the drugs are
still working.
Toyah and Robert –
Mr and Mrs Fripp cover everything from Metallica to Bowie in one of the most fun sets I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen The Darkness play an 11am set at Glasto after a night on the pop.
Sunday
The Gulls – Why weren't these guys on later? Hell, why weren’t they headlining?
Shut yer eyes and you could be at Woodstock in 1969…open yer eyes and, well, as you can see they look the part too.
3 Daft Monkeys – Legendary folk punksters play their first BD set for 12 years.
Kathryn Priddy – One of folk’s most beautiful voices with a mesmerising and maturing song book of current and future classics.
You could have heard a pin drop in the Big Top, which is particularly impressive given the fact that we were standing on grass.
Pop Will Eat Itself – Almost 40 years after they formed
the Poppies are back and sounding as rad as ever. Great to hear Touched By The
Hand Of Cicciolina for the first time since 1990.
A bit of Stornaway and Hard-Fi…sadly not on the same
stage though.
The Damned – Punk godfathers (and grandfathers
probably) dished out the hits and camped it up a bit too, at least Vanian did.
Highlight? A shout out to the “Dawlish massive” from Captain Sensible himself.
We heard some of The Levs set and bits and pieces of other stuff but spent many a happy hour chatting to some of the many lovely peeps that make up the BD crowd, which is one of the joys of a festival like this one. If I'm still alive and kicking I'll be back next year.
PS: Here's Sir David Attenborough's take on the subject of overpopulation David Attenborough: The planet can’t cope with overpopulation | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
Sister Sledge kicked things off in fine style at 11.50am, almost breakfast time. Lost In Museli anyone? Debbie Sledge may the only original sister in the band but at least her daughter and son are part of the line up now, so the lyrics of We Are Family still kinda ring true.
Shared DNA aside they put on a cracking show and the Chic powered tunes are absolute belters.
Clare Grogan (Altered Images) was another early highlight, slipping in a quick swearword, “Well, I am from Glasgow” she explained after forgetting the lyrics to a song. Bless 'er.
Clear winner of the 'Most Fun Set Of The Day' Award she dropped in 2022's Mascara Streakz, bringing that classic Altered Images sound bang up to date.
I wasn’t expecting to enjoy eXTC’s set so much, given that drummer Terry Chambers is the only one from the original band, but hearing some of these songs played live for the first time was a proper treat. This Is (top) Pop!
The Real Thing dished up some of the best British Soul
ever committed to vinyl, with a particularly funky Can You Feel The Force
hitting the sweet spot, before From The Jam delivered a hits filled set that,
at times, sounds spookily close to the original band.
I thought The Boomtown Rats might divide the crowd a little but St Bob soon won ‘em over. And yes, they did play all the songs you’d want them to play. Looking a little like Gandolf’s younger brother the 72 year old’s in remarkable shape and relatively new track, The Boomtown Rats, capped things off with an almost techno vibe showing there’s life in the old rats still.
Ali Campbell ended the day and he was in fine voice
with a great band behind him. It’s not UB40 sadly but we all know what happened
there. He wasn’t the chattiest soul, but maybe he’d had…wait for it…too much
red red wine the night before. Oh dear.
Let’s Rock Exeter 2025’s still unconfirmed at the moment
and I’ve read rumours that it may not happen or that it could move, which would
be a shame. If it is still on though can we please, please, please finally get Jimmy
Somerville down here? Cheers.
PS: Oh go on then, let's have a little Marc and the Mambas too...
I've been on a bit of a Microdisney fix after watching the recent documentary about them. How the hell did they miss out on having hits with stuff like this?
I tried picking up a compilation album on CD from eBay earlier this week but it went for...wait for it...£50 with postage and packing. Good grief. Still, CDs aren't worth anything are they eh? Ha!
PS: I've noticed that charity shops seem to have started picking up on the CD collecting boom with some ramping up their prices by 100% overnight. At £2 - £3 some CDs are still cheap but expect these prices to carry on rising, as happened with vinyl.
Here's the latest track from Marc Almond's new album 'I'm Not Anyone' (out on July 12th), a lush, string gilded cover of the Northern Soul classic!
Been meaning to post this up for a while, especially after reading volume 2 of Moby's autobiography. Good grief, how is that dude still alive? Happily he stopped trying to kill himself through drink, drugs and shagging everyone in sight and he's still around to produce grooves like this beauty.
Just a few days after the release of hotly tipped debut album, Post Industrial Hometown Blues (number 15 in the midweek charts apparently, they're coming for you Taylor Swift), the Spesh play the whole bostin' shebang end to end kicking off with a particularly propulsive (and ever so slightly krautrockish in places, to my ears at least...but then again my ears are a bit fucked) Black Country Gothic.
We're soon into a trio of the band’s finest with Desperate Breakfast, Shithouse (surely a shoe-in for the theme song of the forthcoming Peaky Blinders film) and This Here Ain’t Water all making the most of punk poet preacher Joe’s unique way with words and drummer Callum’s way with, well, beating three flavours of shit out his kit (what the hell are his sticks made from? Australian Buloke?).
Judging by the healthy number of people in the audience already
sporting Big Special t-shirts they were clearly preaching to the converted but
it’s easy to see ‘em going down an absolute storm during festival season, the perfect
soundtrack to a country and, let’s face it, world that’s slowly but ever so surely
going down the pan. They’re already special, now watch ‘em go big.
Reading the many tributes to one of the most prolific and important record producers of our time it's pretty clear that Albini knew his own mind and if you didn't like that, tough titties. So, rather than pop up another video by Nirvana, Pixies or PJ and Duncan...hang on...no that can't be right...Harvey...I've plumped for an equally straightforward no crap taking legend Miles Hunt and his short lived, underrated Vent 414 band whose debut album Steve produced back in 1996. Pure class.
Lead singer Tony Mansfield went on to work with The B52s, The Damned and Mari Wilson amongst others. And who can forget this classic that he produced...ahhhhhhhhhhhh, weren't the 80s fun?
If you're new to Credit To The Nation check out these tracks too.
Anyway, back to the music and first up Bristol’s Langkamer.
If you’ve been bitten by The Bug Club’s recorded stuff you’ll love the meatier live versions.
Sam, guitar and vocals, dished out some surprisingly bluesy riffs whilst Tilly, bass and vocals, rocked out like Angus Young on amphetamines. Drummer Dan kept up with a pretty relentless pace as the trio blazed through several sackfuls of witty, pithy and occasionally ever so slightly bonkers tracks (see, for example, Rare Birds) that come across like an indie kid’s wet dream. Trust me, this is one bug that’s well worth catching.