The Hearing Aid Hits a Million!

Okay, so it's taken 19 years but today The Hearing Aid reached a mind boggling one million 'hits'. Back in day I'd spend hours writing gig reviews (if you've got a spare few months you can work your way through 'em all, some of them are even mildly entertaining) but more recently I've mainly stuck to posting tracks I love and somehow the hits have carried in ticking up. As an ad free site I've earned exactly bugger all from it, but if anyone would like to send me a million quid I'll put it to good use. Cider and CDs count as a 'good use', right? 

A Partridge in a Blur tree

Just been reading about the Andy Partridge produced versions of some of Blur’s Modern Life Is Rubbish album (the band’s best release in my opinion) and, thanks to the wonders of Barry You Tube, you can give ‘em a spin. As you’d expect the Partridge versions have a bit more of a 60’s psych meets 70s indie vibe, with Seven Days perhaps the best sounding of the lot.  

I'm so used to the album version of Sunday Sunday that the Partridge one's taking some getting used to but it's turning out to be a bit of a grower...

So High - The Janet Lawson Quintet

Heard this on Craig Charles' weekday 6Music show last week and it tickled my jazz fancy. For anyone who says they hate jazz there's a little funkiness in there to sweeten the deal. 

Beautiful Days Festival – August 15th - 17th 2025

                                         Panic Shack

Our eighth Beautiful Days and goodness knows how many camping festivals and…miracle of miracles…the sun shone. Non-stop. For all three flipping days. Not since our first festival, Glastonbury 1995, has this ever happened. Hurrah!

Music wise the outlook was every bit as sunny and we somehow managed to catch…deep breath…The Deadlians, Millie Manders and the Shut Up, Misty In Roots (pictured below)

Terrorvision, The Mary Wallopers, Penguin Café, Peter Doherty (pictured below)

The Kairos, Girlband!, Panic Shack, a bit of Kid Kapichi, a bit of Sleeper, Kula Shaker (pictured below)

John Grant, Shed Seven, Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter, Grandma’s House, Heavy Lungs, Young Knives, The Meffs, The Bluetones, a bit of Jon Boden and the Remnant Kings, Fantastic Negrito (pictured below)...who well and truly lived up to his name...

and The Levellers (from outside our tent and then up at the Tiny Tea Tent, as is traditional for the best view of the fireworks...and 'cos by then we were knackered with a capital K).

Peter Doherty was in fine form, fitter and happier than he’s seemed in a long time and joined, on drums, by none other that Mike Joyce from t’Smiths. Panic Shack were a riot (grrrl), John Grant really is the Greatest Mother Fucker, Frank Carter’s settled into the shoes of Johnny Rotten brilliantly and Fantastic Negrito more than justified the cost of the ticket on his own (think the lovechild of Sly Stone and Prince raised by Ozzy in a blues club…sort of). As always the entire weekend was pretty much a twat free experience (if only the rest of the world was eh?) and we even managed a little sleep (an inflatable mattress and decent tent have proved to be lifesavers over the past few years).

Given how many festivals have folded over the past few years it’s heartening to see that BD still sells out year after year, even before the line-up’s announced, but I reckon the combination of letting punters take in their own food and drink coupled with decent, sensibly priced booze on offer at the bars, toilets that are cleaned regularly (shout out to Andy Loos) and a sponsorship free environment has a lot to do with it. As The Levs are behind the whole shebang too I wouldn't be surprised if they propped it up with some of their own dosh too.  

PS: Sad to see that the bloke who normally has the hanging bar thingy wasn't there this year, nor were The Curry Shed (although I believe they've retired).  

PPS: Getting onto the site seemed to have been a nightmare for most people. It took us over three hours instead of 35 minutes. That's something the organisers need to watch if they don't want to lose their licence. Having traffic backed up all the way to Exeter can't have gone unnoticed... 

Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In - The 5th Dimension

Okay, so we may be entering the age of AI-arius (see what I did there?) but at least we're having a little sunshine this summer, which at least makes all of the other shit that's going down a little more bearable. Hurrah! Mine's a pint (or three) of scrumpy. 

Don't Go (Kicks Like A Mule) - Awesome 3

Whilst I've never really been a clubber (live music played by groups of sweaty people is more my bag) I can appreciate the tunes and this one from 1992 is...officially...a banger. Ahhhh, the early 90s. Simpler times. If this doesn't get you ready for the weekend, nothing will. 

Candyman Messiah - Army Of Lovers

Picked up another copy of Army Of Lovers classic Massive Luxury Overdose on CD over the weekend, because you can never have too many copies of it can you eh? On top of Obsession and Crucified here's one more gem from the album. 

Enjoy Yourself - Prince Buster

I remember the first time I cottoned on to the two meanings behind this song. It was at Glastonbury and I was in my late 20s listening to a ska band cover it. When I'd heard the track before I thought it was all about having a great night out and not wanting it to end rather than its true meaning...life's pretty short. Now, in my mid 50s, that's a lot truer and when I heard a DJ spinning it on Saturday the last 30 years or so seemed to have flown by. Time flies when you're having fun though, so that must be a good sign eh?  

Thelma & Louise - Panic Shack

Punky indie pop from Panic Shack to end the week. Not the first pop song to reference Simpsons characters of course, a bonus point if you name at least one other...