Dracula - Tame Impala

What better track to end the week, whilst also celebrating Halloween...whoohahahahahaha...than Tame Impala's new one, Dracula. We've all heard of Yacht Rock, I reckon this is a fine slice of Yacht Dance. Suck it up. 

Walk On - Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee

Along with my penchant for jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaz as I get older I'm digging back into the blues too, so here's a jaunty little number that might just float your boat. As with jazz the blues is one heck of a genre to explore, but I reckon as long as I live to 170 I should have heard just about everything that's worth hearing. 

Blind - Jake Ryan

Having worked behind the counter in a convenience store (7-Eleven in Hove...1990-1991) I know that some people can treat you with, let's say, less than a modicum of respect, courtesy or even human decency. I imagine it's got a lot worse over the past 30 years or so and it never ceases to amaze me when you see some people fail to even acknowledge the poor sod serving them. Personally I welcome a quick chat with the person behind the counter/bar/bullet proof glass and that's how I got to know Jake. I knew he played music (he's just left the joys of the Co-op to study music in Cornwall) but I've only just found out that he's recently recorded and released a whole album too. Darn fine it is as well, with hints of Billy Joel at his Piano Man-tastic best. 

You can stream the whole thing on Spotify (and no doubt various other streaming 'platforms' that old duffers like me know bugger all about) but please also share it with, well, anyone who'll listen and help give a new artist the break they deserve.  

Dave Ball RIP

No matter what he turned his hand to any track that involved Dave Ball had that signature sound that, judging by the many tributes being paid to him today, was as adored as it was influential.  

I loved the stuff he did with Psychic TV in the Acid House era but, of course, it's Soft Cell where Dave Ball obsession began. Bear in mind the group started in 1977 when synths were still a relatively new thing that could cost as much as a house and you'll appreciate just how ground breaking they were, as their first EP Mutant Moments shows.

File under 'Uneasy Listening'. 

Memorabilia sanded off some of the rougher edges but, blimey, it still sounds futuristic to me.  

After making it bigger than...well...pretty much anyone in 1981 with their cover of Tainted Love the Cell spent much of the next three years confounding expectations with one brilliant but - for the majority of the record buying public - ever so slightly odd album after another. Take this little beauty from This Last Night In Sodom for instance. Punk goth synth pop anyone? 

Amongst other things Dave then went on to form The Grid who helped the define the 90s dance scene with tracks like A Beat Called Love. 

I could go on...and on...and on...but trust me, anything and everything that Dave Ball had a hand in is well worth a listen. My musical world would have been much poorer without him but apparently he'd just completed the final mix of a brand new Soft Cell album days before he passed away, so it's not quite time to 'wave goodbye' forever. 

RIP Dave.   

EMF / Jesus Jones / Bis @ Prospect Building, Bristol – Sunday October 19th 2025

 

A very welcome chance to see Bis again (having seen them way back in 1999 at The Flapper in Brum and 2013 at the much-missed Indietracks Festival in Derbyshire) and EMF and Jesus Jones for the very first time. Bis kicked things off with 30 minutes of the best pop tunes your ears have ever had the pleasure of hearing including their breakout track Kandy Pop and a joyous Eurodisco. Action and Drama still being well and truly delivered.

You have to feel for Jesus Jones trying to follow that.

But it was great to hear the likes of Real Real Real, International Bright Young Thing and Right Here, Right Now again.

Headliners EMF were a rave riot from start to finish, with a hits packed set, including a slower version of their cover of I’m A Believer (which gave a bit of a nod to Robert Wyatt’s interpretation, albeit with 90s indie disco vibe) and a couple of new classics in waiting including recent release LGBTQ+ Lover.

This last track saw a special guest appearance from Bis who they seem to have formed a particularly special bond with on this tour. Speaking of special bonds tonight saw the return of band member Derry Brownson. I’m not sure what’s been ailing him in recent years but he and the band had an…wait for it…Unbelievable time up there.

Ending the night with a singalong EMF (the track that is) the crowd (mainly 50 somethings like me but lead singer James’ son was there with a bunch of his Uni mates who seemed to be enjoying it as much as everyone else) lustily belted out the “Motherfuckers” like…well…motherfuckers. A joyful celebration of the 90s for those who were there the first time round and those who wish they had been. It might just be the old rose coloured spectacles (or varifocals in my case now) but the world really did seem a better place back then.   

Stay In Your Lane - Courtney Barnett

Brand new single and video from the ever reliable queen of Aussie bedsit indie anthems Courtney Barnett. Best not to watch the vid before having your tea though...

Go West (1992 12" Mix) - Pet Shop Boys

Where does the time go eh? 10 years ago today we relocated from Bearwood to the sunny South West. Inevitably the pace of life is a 'tad' slower down here and getting to and back from gigs via public transport isn't that practical (especially the kind of gigs I'd want to attend, the ones that start just as the last train's leaving...) but regular visits to Bristol and the odd festival are more than sufficient these days, especially as the old knees start giving up the ghost. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, the joys of growing old.  

Birdland - Weather Report

Picked up some better than usual CDs at the weekend, including a neat Weather Report best of that, of course, features the classic track Birdland. Seems like a good choice to kick off a new week. Smoooooooooooooooooooooooth. 

Matches - Katherine Priddy

Hauntingly beautiful new track and video from one of folk's leading lights, Katherine Priddy, who's heading out on a major tour next April and May...culminating in a headlining show at the legendary Birmingham Town Hall! 

This Heart Wasn't Made To Kick Around - Peggy March

I still pick up CDs by people I've never heard of and a few weeks ago I found a best of Peggy March compilation on the ever reliable Ace label. Apparently Peggy had a number 1 hit in the States when she was just 15 and she went on to record some absolute bangers like this one.  

Hello Beautiful - Dodgy

My history with Dodgy goes waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back to their pre-Brit Pop fame days (anyone else out there who saw them at The Hibernian in '92/'93?), so it's lovely to see that their new single's made the charts again. If you're new to the band they've got a bostin' back catalogue to explore too, here's a trio to get you started: 

This is Phil celebrating...

A very happy belated birthday to Phil Oakey, who turned 70 years young yesterday. This track's before the split that birthed Heaven 17 and took Phil to a club where he picked up, in the nicest possible way, a couple of school girls. Within a few months they went from watching Top Of The Pops to being on it at number one... 

40 years later the band's still together and playing live but sadly there's not been much in the way of new music for more than a decade. Here are a couple of later era League classic's though, 1990's Soundtrack To A Generation and 1995's Tell Me When. 

Beefhearts and Bones (Live) - Michael Marra

Just heard this on 6 Music and had to stick it up. Marra's a new name to me but bugger me it's a cracker. Sadly he went to that great gig in the sky back in 2012. I wonder what happened to his record collection...?