Ain't It Time - Queen Yahna

Bit of an Across 110th Street vibe from this mid 70s underground soul disco gem. Perfect for gently sizzling in the sun too for anyone lucky enough to be off work today. I'm not jealous...honest. 

God Gave Me Feet For Dancing - Ezra Collective ft Yazmin Lacey

Instant classic from Ezra Collective to keep the Brit Jazz flag flying. I might have to try some of those dance moves down the Co-op. 

High Energy - Evelyn Thomas

Who doesn't like and, let's face it, need a little High Energy right now eh? Sad to hear that Evelyn Thomas passed away this week along with Duke Fakir from The Four Tops and now John Mayall too. Good grief. Still, they all had a good innings and they left the world some cracking music which is more than most of us will do. I rescued a baby crab from a herring gull the other day, does that count for anything? 

Flowers power

Picked up a couple of albums from a band called Flowers last weekend and they're the perfect indie pop soundtrack to a dreamy summer's day which...miracle of miracles...we seem to be enjoying today. Love the vids too...

Life - Jamie xx featuring Robyn

Look up 'banger' in the dictionary and it'll probably mention this track, even if the video induces seizures... 

'ouses, 'ouses, ouses - The Imagined Village

As someone who's been lucky enough to live in beautiful South Devon for just a few years I've already witnessed what I would class as overdevelopment, but now it seems that the gloves are off and no field, wood or patch of dirt's safe. How sad. It might be a hard truth for some people to swallow but what this country (and planet for that matter) needs is fewer people, not more 'ouses, ouses, ouses... 

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)

Bargain Buckley...

Picked up the 2 CD Tim Buckley Starsilor Anthology over the weekend for 33p and it reminded me of just how staggeringly diverse his output was. If you've not yet dived in to his 9 albums (and all released before he sadly passed away at just 28) you're in for a treat...

Double Denim - Cornershop ft Rosanna

The weather may be predictably shite this summer...now there's a change...I'm 54 and the only proper summer I can remember was 1976...but at least there's a new Cornershop track to warm the cockles (and other bits of your anatomy) on a distinctly autumnal July day. 

Burning Boats - Annie Hogan (ft Marc Almond & JG Thirwell)

Picked up a sealed double CD copy of Anni(e) Hogan's classic 1985 Kickabye album on my travels and it sent me spinning right back to the mid 80s when I first heard this track. Almost 40 years later it still packs one hell of a punch.   

Let’s Rock Exeter 2024 @ Powderham Castle (ft Ali Campbell (UB40)/Boomtown Rats/From The Jam/ The Real Thing/eXTC/Jason Donovan/Kim Appleby/Clare Grogan (Altered Images)/Sonia/Sister Sledge

Perhaps not the strongest line up ever for Let’s Rock Exeter but still more than enough musical treats to make it well worth the £40 or so for a ticket (even if the cans of ‘cider’ – containing less than a pint – were £6.50 this year). Here are a few of my highlights…

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.