2013....The Beat Went on!

2013....What's been released this year and going round and round on my CD player. Well....In no particular order we have.... JOHNNY THUNDERS with Hurt Me, this album showed his tender side; stripped naked with just a guitar, a brittle and beautiful listen NIKKI SUDDEN, The Boy From Nowhere Who Fell Out Of The Sky is a six CD box set. A lovingly crafted and compiled collection of Nikki’s work. Both these were reissued by the wonderful Easy Action Records. Sweet Revenge by the criminally ignored Punk'n'Rollers the LIGHTNING RAIDERS, was not so much a re-issue, because back in the day it was never released. Knox may not be touring with THE VIBRATORS but On The Guest List shows he's still part of the band, with a collection of songs that rank amongst the best he's written, and all supported by a cast of special guests. The UK SUBS, they just keep going, and going and getting better as they go, maturing with age disgracefully. CHARLIE HARPER and CAPTAIN SENSIBLE, this was a real surprise Too Much Reality....took Punk to a new Psychedelic underworld of neon grey. GLM, released three blinding Rocky yet slightly poppy download only tracks from their website. DEADCUTS, do just that....they cut you dead! A switch-blade to the throat of all the taste-makers and trend-setters. Deadcuts are out there and have got something special going on. BABYSHAMBLES Sequel To The Prequel, a brilliant album, Pete Doherty has been the only real Great British Rock'n'Roller for the last....fuck knows how long. THE MOB returned with a single Rise Up! an anthemic call to arms. THE FITS, reformed legends of the UK82 Punk scene, returned with some Punk Rockin' action with their Lead On EP. NEW MODEL ARMY, released a dark and moody master piece, and JAMES KING AND THE LONE WOLVES crawled out of the wreckage with some sublime swamp rock blues. Finally a couple of Punk'n'Roll supergroups cut through the crap this year. THE CRUNCH with their album Busy Making Noise which is a blast of pure Power Pop Punk, their line up includes former members of the Cockney Rejects, Lords of New Church/Sham 69 The Clash and Diamond Dogs. THE INTERNATIONAL PLAYBOYS, include a Twenty Flight Rocker (Gary Twinn) Sex Pistol (Glen Matlock) a Gen X/Chelsea (James Stevenson) Blondie (Clem Burke.) released three stompin' tracks via their web page. Hopefully an album will be released in 2014. Finally PRIMAL SCREAM's 2013 was a real return to form, a musical and lyrical statement of intent. Well there you have it a year in my Rock'n'Roll world....Here's to the next one!

BABYSHAMBLES / DEADCUTS - Live @ Cambridge Junction (*A Review / Article*)

Last Thursday (17^th) between them Babyshambles and support band Deadcuts blew the roof of the Cambridge Junction. It was a night of Pure Rock'n'Roll at its most riveting and exciting, certainly the best time I've seen Babyshambles. I wont go into detail of the songs they played, but it was a well selected cross section of the old'n'new, borrowed'n'blue, because Babyshambles are more than just Pete Doherty, as a listen to their latest album Sequel To The Prequel will testify. Pete was at his playful and prancing best, at one point, with scant regard for health and safety he launched the micstand and microphone into the adoring throng of 'shambles crazies. Earlier in the evening Deadcuts had shaken the foundations with a post punk, post brit pop sonic assault on the senses. From the opening guitar noise and the first few chords along with their glam scruff look something told me that Deadcuts might be quite good. Thirty minutes later and my initial reaction had been proved wrong, they weren't quite good, they were fucking great!

A trip to their facebook page the next day revealed a lot more about Deadcuts to me. It turns out singer and guitarist Mark Keds had been in the Senseless Things (a late 80's early 90's indie guitar band.) Bassist Mark McCarthy played in The Wonder Stuff, and Goth Rockers Queen Adrena, Drummer Trevor Sharpe had hit the skins for Miranda Sex Garden, while the guitarist with a look of Johnny Thunders about him was Jerome Alexander formerly of The Skuzzies. With that sort of pedigree, and a rich and varied list of influences from Johnny Thunders to Death In June and The Birthday Party to Prince. it is no wonder the Deadcuts are a....cut above yer average Rock'n'Roll band.

The piercing twin guitar attack, solid Semtex bass and the machine gun drums hammer their songs into yer head and heart, these are tunes that absorb and engulf the listener before spitting them out shaking and twitching on the floor. The throaty and drawling vocals add to the full throttle aural assault. Never mind being a breath of fresh air in the stale stagnant Rock'nRoll world of the noughties Deadcuts are like a tornado; ripping it all up with their sleazy sonic soundscapes, like a punked-up Psychedelic Furs. Deadcuts are a psyched up primal, tribal and feral howl in the face of mediocrity.

I dunno if the 4 track CD of theirs which I picked up at the gig is their new single or what, but it's well worth tracking down, but while you do that, here's a selection of songs from their soundcloud page for you to Enjoy or Destroy!  

Pete Doherty’s freedom gig at the Forum, can’t really give you a full account of what it was like as I got thrown out after a few songs of Babyshambles set. Had a good spot at the front of the balcony, there I was minding my own business drinking crap lager when a bouncer/security whatever came over and signalled for me to move my nearly empty glass, well plastic actually, apparently I was holding it too far over the balcony, I shook my head in despair, for fucks sake what did he think I was gonna do, drop it on someone below? With that he went off, as he did I gave him the dickhead sign and continued watching the band. A few seconds later I felt a firm hand on my shoulder, turned round and saw what I can only describe as a silverback gorilla grunting that he wanted a word with me, with him was a rather smaller ape, the one who’d had words with me. Before I’d time to gather my thoughts I was grabbed by my arms, hoisted out of my seat and marched up the stairs and to the bar area, at the back where the silver back reminded me of what I‘d done. I tried to point out that I objected to being treated like an idiot and was quite caper able of not dropping anything from the balcony, he then told me to shut up, all this time I was clamped firmly in the hands of the 2 security gorillas while the people in the bar looked on. Then I was marched down the stairs and to the pavement outside. Bollocks! Still no one to blame but myself, but for fucks sake, why do these people think everyone’s an idiot, then again in reflection perhaps I had been, (that’s too much lager for you) still, treat people like idiots and they behave like one. After about 5 minutes my girlfriend came out to see what had happened to me, found out that I hadn’t been beaten up like what might have happened in the ’old days’ then told me that Shane MacGowan had come on to do Dirty Old Town, bollocks! That made me a bit cross, cos I remember going to see The Pogues on numerous occasions in small clubs/pubs that were packed full of drunken people, with minimal security and no trouble, apart from the guy who got his leg broken at The Sir George Robey, but he was lifted up carried to the back and sent to hospital. I even passed out unconscious on the stage of the ICA when they played there, apparently Shane had to step over my body while playing, didn’t get thrown out, and it was my mates that moved me off the stage, mind you that was over 20 years ago and times have changed. One last thing, I find it rather ironic that Pete Doherty was able to flaunt and break the law for months before eventually getting jailed, I give the dickhead sign to a bouncer and get immediate punishment with no defence. Aaah! Freedom it’s a wonderful thing.

A GIG REARVIEW

Went to see BABYSHAMBLES at Brixton Academy on Monday. Last went there in 1991 to see Iggy Pop, and had a bit of a scene with security, who told my girlfriend that she wouldn’t be able to see anything, and then one of ‘em told me “wasn’t it about time you got yer hair cut”, my response to him was “isn’t it about time you grew yours fucking longer”, they weren’t impressed, but hey… Anyway that was 17 years ago, and times change. This time we got ourselves some seats, on account of yes at the Iggy gig the security were right and neither me or my girlfriend could see much, and as she’s a bit of a Pete groupie she wanted the best possible view. After a couple of average support bands; Beggars, The Courteeneers, the clocks ticking chaps; 14min 59secs…14min 58secs…14min 57secs…The ‘shambles hit the stage for another blinding performance. Everyone in their seats was up and on their feet, my girlfriend could see Pete and everyone was having fun, until the security bods started going round telling everyone to sit down, which we did, only to promptly stand up again after they’d turned their backs and walked away, ended up doing this a few times until I was told “yer on your last warning, if you don’t sit down properly you’ll be thrown out.” I asked one of ’em what the problem was and they said that it was for “Health and Safety reasons; in case anyone started crowd surfing” Crowd surfing? From the balcony! The only health issue I could see would be the mental health of any potential crowd surfer and as for safety, I thought Rock’n’Roll was supposed to be dangerous. Good night Brixton, see you later.

DOWN IN WEMBLEY

In 27 years of gig going, I’d never been to Wembley Arena, that is until Tuesday night when I went to see BABYSHAMBLES there. Fuckin’ hell what a fuckin’ horrible place to go and see a band. Lifeless, large and lacking in any atmosphere. Support bands of no interest to me what so ever, neither was the extensive array of merchandise from disposable lighters to knickers, all as overpriced as the alcohol you could buy from people wandering around with large backpacks of lager that they poured for you from some sort of hose pipe. Still saves queuing at the bar I suppose. It aint a rock’n’roll venue, fuck knows why babyshambles were playing there, they were never gonna sell it out, saying that though it was about a third full which was quite a lot of people jumping around and getting excited. Pete and company put in a good performance played for over an hour, not a lot of banter with the audience. The set was comprised of the bulk of Shotters Nation, an acoustic interlude before finishing with a couple of numbers from Albion. All in all a solid un-shambolic workman like performance totally in keeping with the setting. If yer interested there's a recording of the 'SHAMBLES at Wembley here.