GODS LONELY MEN - Article/Review/Interview.

Chemical Landslide is the album by GLM (Gods Lonely Men) What an album....Fourteen tracks of Rock'n'Roll energy from Pete Stride, Pete 'Esso' Haynes and Nigel Moore, formerly known as The Lurkers. GLM could easily have become The Lurkers MKIII, but they are not, they've kept a link to their past but aimed straight for the future, and....Bullseye! They've hit the target! 2013 not 1977/78. The progression of time is reflected in the song-writing and playing, which sounds now and not then. There is that old Lurkers feel to the songs on Chemical Landslide, but there's something else, something a bit heavier and darker, a claustrophobic beauty and bleakness, a warm darkness that engulfs and absorbs you.

What follows is an Interview/Article/Feature on GLM. It has been constructed from some emailed questions to Pete Stride and Nigel Moore, and a phone call from Pete'Esso'Haynes.

During the conversation with Esso I probably did too much listening and talking and not enough writing of notes, and then struggling to read the hasty scribblings I did take. Anyway, enough let the show begin.

Nigel Moore - Bass

HOW COME ITS TAKEN NEARLY 30 YEARS FOR YOU GUYS TO RECORD/RELEASE MORE MUSIC?

I think we all just wanted to do different things and none of us wanted to join up and just trot out old Lurkers numbers again and again.  Happily once we decided to start recording again the creative juices flowed easily.  If it had been a painful process we would have knocked it on the head. - Nigel Moore

I got a phone call from Nigel a couple of years ago,could I meet him and Esso down the road (pub) that night to talk about getting back together and making an album, well that sounded good cos I had started playing quite a lot of guitar again after a long break and I also had some rough ideas for a couple of songs. So anyway we met up and it became clear that none of us was too keen on going out as The Lurkers yet again. we felt that the name had been very over exposed and devalued through Arturo’s efforts. Esso suggested Gods Lonely Men so that there was a clear link which old fans would pick up on, and I said lets make it a bit more punchy and go for GLM. So it was decided......- Pete Stride

WHAT HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN DOING DURING YOUR HIATUS?

Pete'Esso'Haynes - Drums

I gave up touring with the Lurkers in 1990,Ii wasnt enjoying it anymore,once Esso and Nigel had left it really didnt feel like the same band.i took a good long break from music and then around "95 I started learning about recording and mixing stuff in a small home studio  .I was doing stuff with keyboards and drum machines and it was good fun for a while.  I started getting back to playing guitar again about 5 years ago – Pete Stride

I went off to University directly after I quit The Lurkers but I've kept playing in bands/writing music practically all through.  I even played drums (sort of) and recorded in a Rockabilly/Rock & Roll band for a while –Nigel Moore

Pete'Esso'Haynes also went to University, lived in Belfast and worked with a victims group, and has had several books published, including one called Gods Lonely Men, which takes “an insiders journey through Punk Rock while maintaining an outsiders view on society” Check out his website for more info about his books and plays.

HOW COME THE SOUND HAS BECOME HEAVIER AND THE SONGS DARKER THANTHOSE YOU DID WITH THE LURKERS?

The heavier sound just developed naturally,we didnt plan it out that way.but once i started using the more "metal"guitar sounds everything seemed to fall into place.the effect of having my voice(which is quite light sometimes) combined with the hard guitars gives a bit of an atmosphere to the material i think,makes it a bit "haunting"maybe. also the lyrics are somewhat darker than in the past but I will say more about that later.... -Pete Stride.

WAS IT A DELIBERATE MOVE NOT TO BE THE LURKERS MK3?

We wanted to add to the old Lurk's sound not ignore it. It's important to keep up your interest when rehearsing/recording songs and to do this you must challenge yourself musically otherwise you get a severe case of head rot. To my mind a band that is simply trying to recreate their old glories 30 years on is pitiful, it shows a complete lack of imagination. With 'Chemical Landslide' The Lurkers sound has been added to not ignored. - Nigel Moore

It took 3 years to record We didn't attempt to make it sound like anything different. The sound just evolved naturally as there was no pressure with recording or releasing the songs. - Pete'Esso'Haynes

WHAT HAS THE RESPONSE/REACTION TO THE ALBUM BEEN LIKE?

Really good.  We've had constantly good reviews from all publications we sent the album to and positive comments on our web site from those who have bought the album. - Nigel Moore

Actually I am very chuffed with the reaction to the album,we have had some of the best reviews we have ever had. I think people realise that we are putting a lot into it and genuinely trying make exciting and current music that isn’t stuck in the past.
Also we have just started to get some airplay on underground and college radio in the States which should help to get our name out there, we know its gonna be a slow process but that’s fine. - Pete Stride

It was recorded live in a small box room, using no click track or funny trickery. The drums were recorded in one take, which gave a raw live feel, with no time to be flash as we had limited resources. - Pete'Esso'Haynes

Esso feels that GLM have a broader sound than the punk bands of today, with poppy melodies and dark lyrics, he then talked about getting the album played on Metal/Rock Radio Stations, and went on to say that the band are proud of the album. (...and so they should be.)

DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WERE EXPECTING A LURKERS MK3?

Yes.  This was a concern all through recording, would the old Lurk's fans reject it.  Luckily this has not been the case. - Nigel Moore

The band were not restrained by boundaries or barriers. - Pete'Esso'Haynes

Pete Stride - Vocals/Guitar.

Now I'll hand you over to Pete Stride to talk us through the recording of some of the songs on the album and how some of the lyrics came about. Although Pete is the main songwriter, as Esso pointed out GLM are greater than the sum of their parts. Here we go then....Pete's thoughts about the albums recording, and some of its significant songs.

Now is the Winter

Very important song for us,it was the first and also the basic GLM sound was developed during its recording. When we began I had the opening riff and the verse and a rough chorus,it sounded ok but needed a bit extra. We decided that halfway through there would be a total stop and there would be some kind of solo guitar part which would lift things up. so we tried it a few times but I wasn’t coming up with anything very exciting,then out of the blue I switched to a big metal guitar sound I had programmed into an old digitech stomp box and just started playing this really nasty but cool riff the others joined in one by one and we just played that riff for about 3 minutes,when we stopped we all just looked at each other and said "that’s it,that the fucking sound" .Once the song was recorded I did a mix of it which was ok but simply not loud enough to compete with pro stuff,I sent it off to a mastering studio I found online. A couple of days later the man from the studio called,he sounded a bit shocked,he said all the dials in his studio had all gone straight into the red and he wasn’t able to work with it. Esso made some calls and Pat Collier was recommended , we took a long drive across London to Pats studio and he said no problem he would mix it for us and he ended up mixing the whole album eventually.

Beyond the Pale

We wanted to try and do something that wasn’t 4/4 time and also had a quiet/loud dynamic like Nirvana,think it worked out well and is maybe my best vocal, think I had all the vocals recorded within an hour or so which is pretty good its also got some impressive drumming from Esso.

Chemical Landslide

Probably the most obvious "single"on the album, very tight arrangement and plenty of attack. Nigel came up with the end chorus section which really lifts the song towards the end. maybe the vocal is a bit light but I think it works ok.
When we came to record Landslide coda we still had our guitars tuned down from some earlier songs and I don’t think the key was great for my voice but we were running out of time so we let it go.

Every nights a story

With this song the whole sound came together and it became the benchmark for the songs which followed Pretty good vocal and a big bonus for me was having some space to let rip on the lead guitar for a change.

Army of angels

We were going for a real metal sound on this one,don’t think we quite managed that but its meaty stuff and a nice big chorus too.

Now here is a little bit from Pete about the lyrics: 

Often the lyrics just come into my head without really thinking about it and I will write them down and try an make sense of it all later,I think it is important for me to work like that because I feel that I am getting some kind of emotional "truth"that way, also I have steered clear of trying to force concepts into songs on this album. There is a definite darker feel to the words now which I wasn’t particularly aware of until other people started mentioning it. Hopefully its not actually depressing though, I think maybe a lot of it is simply to do with getting older and going through all the things which that entails, my mum was extremely ill and only just made it through and I also lost a good friend who died ,so it all has an effect on you,

I'd like to thank Pete, Pete and Nigel for taking the time and effort to make this post happen, but for more importantly recording and releasing, a very special album, one of the best I've heard in a long while.  Right then....That's it for this article/interview/feature, all that's remains to be said is to get hold of a copy of the album. It drops you down then picks you up while punching the air and kicking the ground at the same time. Lurkers fans will not be disappointed, because some of the tunes on Chemical Landslide are the best that The Lurkers never wrote. Get hold of a copy from their web-site.  There are no immediate plans for any GLM gigs, but they do intend to play live in the not to distant future.  

THE HEARTBREAKERS - L.A.M.F Devinitive Edition (A Review)

This 'definitive edition' box set has been out for a couple of months now, but it's still worth a review. Originally released in 1977, LAMF was plagued by sound issues; had the endless mixing of the songs turned the sound to mud, or was the problem in the mastering of the vinyl? Well listening to the different mixes and the cleaned up original release that are spread across the four discs in this collection, it would appear that the mixing was fine, cos there are some really good versions of all the old familiar songs, that sound timeless; cos brilliant Rock'n'Roll never dies.  The disc of demos, includes stuff from the original line-up with Richard Hell on Bass, and a session from the definitive (Thunders/Lure/Rath/Nolan) line up, which has a couple of tunes that never made it on to LAMF on it.

Yes some of this stuff is available on other Jungle Releases; The Lost 77 mixes, Vintage 77, and the DTK box set, so for the newbie it's not a bargain, but for the Thunders junkie/aficionado it's a must have fix.

It all comes beautifully packaged with a great little booklet that covers the time The 'breakers spent in London recording, mixing and hanging out. Plus four badges to tell the world you're: Born To Lose/Loose Like A Mutha Fucker ! Like I said not a bargain, but well worth the £17.99 + P&P from Jungle Records. But I wouldn't pay £25 from my local HMV shop..... no wonder they went bust!  Much respect to record labels like Jungle, Easy Action, Captain Oi and Damaged Goods for keeping the spirit alive.

DEATH...DESTRUCTION...DEATH...DESTRUCTION...DEATH...DESTRUCTION...DEATH... DESTRUCTION...DEATH...DESTRUCTION... DEATH...DESTRUCTION......

Welcome to the 24hr Apocalypse news feed, where people eat at the table of global warring and destruction. From the East to the West, and from the North to South, the world is exploding. From the China seas to the deserts of North Africa, on the streets of Belfast to the alleyways of Bengasi. Citizens turn on citizens and refugees run. Nations wave flags of fear in the faces of enemies who could be friends and not fiends. Differences divide, and those with the power rule in a world of global Politriks. We are all displaced citizens, no matter where we call home when freedom decays in front of our freeview eyes. People become fat on doom and gloom, while others starve in ignorance and injustice the only thing that feeds their minds is the hunger in their stomachs and the thirst in their mouths. Theirs is a world with ends, and for them it's....Apocalypse Now!....We can wake up to breakfast, the morning sky and tune in again tomorrow.

THE BLEACH BOYS - We've Got The Bomb (CD)

Someone requested a reposting of The Bleach Boys Children Of The Wallyworld tape. Unfortunately this was lost in the great hard drive crash of 2000 and whenever, and I'm having trouble finding the back up, so here's some different Bleach Boys. Its their We've Got The Bomb CD Single/mini album, which was released in 2009, original singer Simon Kelly doesn't feature in this incarnation of the band, but they still blast out a mighty fine anarchic and chaotic brand of punk rock that is reminiscent of The Dead Kennedys in more than several places. ENJOY!/DESTROY!

Oh snow here we go....again!

Annual snow report. Once again it's that time when the white stuff comes down, and everything comes to a halt. Everyone’s off work because it's a 'snow day'.... SNOW DAY! Years ago people just got on with it. I don't know if the weather is getting more 'extreme' that's debatable, but what is getting more extreme is peoples attitude and reaction to it e.g. Time off work and panic buying. I wouldn't have passed comment on the latest weather conditions in Britain, if it weren't for what a Met Office scientist had to say about the snow that has been falling recently. Apparently it's the wrong kind of snow....too powdery. When asked why this is the case he said it was due to a “warming in the stratosphere” which has changed wind directions and temperatures, in short there has been a change of atmosphere in the....atmosphere, which is why the weather is the way it is....Snowy and cold. Well that's nature for you, or is it? No, I don't think it is just nature, and I'm not talking about Global Warming, I'm talking about Military experiments, to be more specific, the Haarp Project, which in a nut shell (I've done a few posts on Haarp and The Weather. Click the tags at the bottom of this post if you wanna read more.) is a US Military project that fires radio waves into the ionosphere, which causes it to heat up, and as we have seen changes in the atmosphere result in changes to the weather, a powerful weapon in the US arsenal, with which the enemy can be literally washed away, and everyone thinks it's just a natural phenomena.  

QUI / NON.... You Decide! (Some Thoughts.)

The photo of the faded graffiti accompanying this post has been on a wall near where I live for possibly over 40 years since the last referendum about Britain’s membership of the Common Market, or the European Economic Community to give it its proper title. Despite the weathering and attempted removal you can still just about make out the words EEC NO. (The photo was taken on Jan 12^th 2013) Britain joined the EEC in 1973.

Forty years later the debate about Britain’s membership of the European Union is being questioned, and there is talk of a referendum, and changing Britain’s relationship with its neighbours across the channel. We could probably survive/do without the extra laws that have been generated since the early 90's when the union became more about creating social policies as well as economic ones for its member states. By 1993 the Economic had been dropped and it became just the European Union. But what about the economics....I mean Britain doesn't produce enough food to feed its people, it is nearly all imported from Europe, which was ironically a concern when Britain first joined the union in 1973. If Britain were to opt out then all the old trade deals would become as redundant as the workforce. Or would they? I don't think anyone really knows what the consequences would be for Britain if it did leave the EU, but I can't see it happening, for one The USA wont allow Britain to leave the EU, after all Britain is still Americas trojan horse in Europe, and when it comes to special relationships Britain always favours America, no matter what the cost; you only have to look at the numbers of troops killed and wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq, more British service men than German or French have lost their lives.

An island mentality

It's about the power. Britain wants to be a great European power, but those days of colonialism and Empires are over. Then there's the German question? The fear of a Europe run by the Germans, and some people find this hard to deal with because.... isn't that what Britain fought two world wars for, to stop Germany taking over Europe. (Their view not mine) The same people also believe that Britain has been invaded by immigrants from Europe who are taking our jobs and house or living off state benefits.

Immigration has provided a workforce to do the jobs that British workers either didn't want to do, or were to expensive to hire.

Anti European feeling has been fostered in the media, thanks to stories about EU laws that dictate the length of the British sausage, and the size of our crisps, running along side tales of how much the 'immigrants' receive in state benefits.

The increased popularity of UKIP shows that there are more people out there who are unhappy with Britain being in the European Union. A pound to the mark/franc says that many of these have views and opinions that veer further to the Right than is healthy. All this anti-Europe sentiment plays into the hands of the extremists, and in comparison with the Labour, Conservative and Liberal parties, UKIP are extreme, not to the extent of the BNP, but who knows what could happen over say the next 10 years.

Is membership of the European Union a threat to our democracy? Well....no, not unless our leaders let it be. Which is what they have done since Britain joined, other countries have had regular referendums over changes in European legislation.

All the new laws from Europe have created large and costly bureaucracies and new levels of management to administer politicians and civil servants interpretation of the laws from Brussels. I use the word interoperate, because when the Smoking in the workplace legislation came from Brussels, The British Labour government decided to ban it completely, but many European countries left that decision to the employers, who set aside designated smoking areas.

Using smoking in the workplace as an example, we can see that it's one rule for one country and another one for another country. The same goes for immigration, both Germany and France have placed a cap on the numbers that they allow in. It's the same with the Human Rights that see terrorists appealing against convictions in Britain, but in France they are sent back to their homeland, no questions asked other than that they have been found guilty. Is it tolerance that makes Britain Great? Or is it colonial guilt that dictates over common sense?

Having the cake and eating it! I'm sure a total withdrawal from Europe is not on the cards, I can't see any government putting that question before the masses of X-Factor voters and Racist bigots. I can see them renegotiating the social policies that are strangling a nation with bureaucratic red tape, and haemorrhaging money through the layers of management employed to enforce the laws, such as health and safety.

I don't want a European Super state, especially not if Tony Blair's up for being the EU President. But I don't want isolation, it's about inclusion, involvement, and yes integration in a world that has changed dramatically over the last 50 years. These changes have left some confused and unable to cope with the fears that Britain is losing its 'national identity' these people are easy targets for the media and right wing politicians. The fact is that Britain has changed and will continue to change, the same goes for other EU states, and it's always the economic migrants and the dispossessed that bare the brunt of peoples anger at being let down as they see it by the politicians, and they may have a point, but the answer to 'the European issue' does not lie to the far right, nor to the far left, it lies down the middle, a balance between the good and bad that the European Union offers to all member states, rather than letting them eat cake!   

THE NOVEMBER FIVE - Closure / Flame (CD Single)

This is the debut single by The November Five, released in Feb 2009, and incendiary stuff it is to. What else is there to say that I didn't when I reviewed their album a few posts ago....oh yeah....these guys should be massive, forget yer Biffy Giros and Muse's. It's the Nov 5 that should be filling the stadiums and festival fields with their call to arms anthems like Flame....

“If you're satisfied you are dead. If you are happy with this life, go back to bed....If you're pacified you are a slave, you might as well start digging your own grave.”

This post goes out to Longy, a man with impeccable musical tastes, and a top fella.

THE REVERENDS - The New Addicted (A Review)

The Reverends hail from Derby and formed in 2010, since then they've been spreading the word with their raucous yet tuneful brand of Punk Rock. The New Addicted is their debut album, and what a corker; fourteen catchy and jumpy shout about anthems.

This album is total old skool Punk Rock. The class of 77 meet the class of 82, and everyone gobs on the freshly polished classroom floor. There are bits that have an Anarcho Punk vibe going on, then others with an Oi/Street Punk sound, but nothing is contrived. The music sounds fresh and vital, the message and the anger is totally now.

Behind the shouty and rasping vocals drums thump and cymbals crash. Guitars fuzz and buzz, and the bass meanders around giving a real melodic quality to the short, sharp shock of the songs. Great crystal clear production. No self respecting punk rocker should be without a copy of this album. Available from the bands website.

“The new addicted, not passive nor restricted.”

SUM WERDS!

The comfortable are numb; their cuts don't bleed, because the heartless don't feel the pain they cause. A privilege few born with silver spoons. Sink Estate kids born to lose with a knife and a cold steel slash. Taking the money then running drive by shooting, board room dealings, stock exchange swindles and robbing bankers, tax evaders and benefit scroungers. Divide and rule on the ship of fools, there's no care in the community if the community doesn't care. Welfare....Well unfair! Pensioner freezing because they can't afford the heating. Wrap up warm for a winter of discontent and wait for the summer heat on burning streets.

Bureaucracy rules, with jobs for the boys and girls. The middle class, middle managers, give 'em all the middle finger.

Our leaders lie to and manipulate a mass of people that cannot see, and don't care about thinking. Their satisfaction has been guaranteed by a no refund consumer society, cheap TV and new technologies, mobile phones and lap-pads. 24/7 total communication. They call this progress, when all people have become is slaves to the machine and obese on a diet of consumer goods. Moving forwards but going backwards IMHO, as I LOL when they grunt their whatevers and 'reams. A nation of numb and dumbed down, down and outs. Welcome to UK plc Where there's no future because everyone's dreaming, and ignoring the nightmare. It's time to wake up from passive slumber and decide which side of the bed you are sleeping on.

THE NOVEMBER FIVE - If You're Satisfied You Are Dead (A Review)

If You're Satisfied You Are Dead is the debut album by London based band The November Five. It's an album that reflects the ever present paranoia, distrust and anger in post millennium Britain. The eleven tracks are tense and terse, vicious and violent, frantic and furious. It's a compelling, hypnotic collection of catchy and anthemic songs that suck you in and spit you out feeling alive yet wanting more. Great intelligent and emotional lyrics, with guitars that chop and chime, keyboards that swirl and a rhythm section that thumps, the vocals are reminiscent of 'the Two Ians' (Curtis from Joy Division and McCulloch from Echo and The Bunnymen) in fact it sounds like there's a whole post-punk 80's vibe going on. I Demand is a call to arms that sounds like Joy Division on angel dust, Good Cop Bad Cop sounds like a street fight between The Godfathers and Primal Scream. While Control sounds like Echo And The Bunnymen trading tunes with The Folk Devils. There are other bits that sound like long lost 90's bands Humanzi and Whipping Boy. The November Five have one boot in the past and another in the present, which makes it kickin' stuff! Simple no frills attached Rock'n'Roll that feeds the emotions. Beautiful, brilliant, exciting and life affirming stuff! Details of how to get a copy are on their facebook page.

Carpe diem *

A New Day Rising.

*Latin for Sieze The Day!

SCARS - Sessions/Demos/Live (*A Re-Post*)

Another re-post this time from late 70's early 80's Edinburgh Post-Punk Glam Romantics the Scars, or just Scars, to give them their proper name. During the brief time they were together they released 3 singles and 1 album, recorded a couple of Peel Sessions. and toured with Comsat Angels, Josef K and The Church.This download is like it says on the tin; a collection of sessions, demos and live stuff. Enjoy, because you don't get the like of bands like the Scars these days, and when you do they lack the authenticity of the real thing.

SCUM OF TOYTOWN - *A Re-Post*

This re-posting should have been done a couple of months ago as a footnote to a gig review of the scumbags at Club 85 in Hichin, but due to un foreseen circumstances at the eleventh hour I wasn't able to get along to it. Then I was gonna just post the music with a bit of writing, but found it hard to be objective about it, as primarily the band are friends that I've known for as many years as I can't remember. I started to write about some recollections of gigs etc back in the day, but then stopped because....now is the day!

The blurgh below and the lean, mean and moody photo have been blatantly blagged from the bands Last FM page:

Ska-punksters and arch exponents of tuneful 90s agit-pop to a wider world, Scum of Toytown are a response to the boredom and disaffection of London overspill life in Stevenage, UK. Rooted in the North London punk scene of the 70s and 80s, the main members met and began playing together in the late 80s. Gravitating towards the lively free festival and squat scene, SOTT played numerous dates in the UK with bands like RDF, Back to the Planet, Citizen Fish, Senser, 25th of May, Blaggers ITA, Dub War, Bender, The Cowboy Killers and AOS3. Three highly successful tours were organised on the central European squat scene through the influential Kopi collective in Berlin.

Tracks were released on a number of compilations, a DIY 7” EP, and an outstanding album, ‘Strike’, recorded at Southern Studios in Wood Green with the help of the Newport based Words of Warning label. Generous reviews were received for their recorded music in the underground and mainstream music press. Several tracks received national radio airplay, including an airing of the iconic ‘Jackboot Crusade’ by the late John Peel and, most recently, Tom Ravenscroft played ‘Sink or Swim’ on BBC 6 Music in November 2010.  SOTT stopped playing together around 1997. However, in 2010 events brought them back together and the band are currently working on a host of new songs, with recording and some selected live shows in the pipeline.

Shows have been played, songs have been recorded, there's footage on YouTube and stuff to listen to on the bands website. 2013 could be the year that the scum rises to the surface! Until then lets rewind a few years to a live set @ Bowes Lyon House, Stevenage in 1992, their first release, the mighty Fight Truth Decay Tape and here's a copy of their Destruction Of Both Houses Of Parliament EP, plus some bonus remixes.  

HAVE A LUCKY NEW YEAR!

STAY FREE!  STAY STRONG! and KEEP ON KEEPING ON!

20122013

It's list and reflection time....Top 10's of this and that, seem to be the thang to be done, so here we go then a NPW Top however many list of my favourite records of 2012. In no particular order:

THE BERMONDSEY JOYRIDERS – Noise and Revolution.

The revolution Rocks and Rolls.

NIGHT OF TREASON – Night Of Treason.

A blast of old school punk rock played by old school punks.

THE JIM JONES REVUE – The Savage Heart.

The devil doesn't have all the best tunes.

ELECTRIC RIVER – In Your Name EP.

The sound of the stadiums. Big guitars, big tunes. The Clash meet Bruce Springsteen.

URBAN DOGS – Acoustic Album.

Punk Rock Lullaby’s. Beautiful stuff.

THE DERELLAS – Stick It To The Man (7" Single)

Glam stomping and Punk Rocking.

LIKE JUNK – The Host (CD Single)

A dark and hypnotic Post Punk throb.

GODS LONELY MEN – Chemical Landslide

The Lurkers meet Amebix, a really grower.

A TRIBUTE TO PAUL FOX - See You On The Otherside. (Various Artists)

An eclectic collection of Punk and Reggae crossover grooves from a selection of old and new faces.

And a couple that were....re-released this year:

THE FALLEN ANGELS – In Loving Memory/Wheel Of Fortune.

A double CD set from Knox (The Vibrators) 80's side project, the second and third albums had less Hanoi Rocks input, although Andy and Nasty make appearances.

JOHNNY THUNDERS AND THE HEARTBREAKERS – LAMF (Definitive Edition Box Set.)

A lovingly packaged box set that collects various mixes and demos from the sessions that produced The Heartbreakers flawed but classic album, the versions found across the 4 CD's show what could have been. There's also a booklet that tells the story of the recording of LAMF and four badges.

Unfortunately, especially as I was looking forward to both of them, but THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM's Handwritten, and THE ENEMY's Streets In The Sky didn't do it for me, and left me feeling slightly disappointed.

Right then, that was the music, but it's not just about the music, what else has been going on over these last twelve months? Time to reflect.  Pretty much the same shit that always goes down every year. Scandals, exposes, enquires, truth, lies, death and destruction.

The 'issues' of gay marriage and female bishops showed how broad-minded both the church of England and the Roman Catholic church have become with the passing of time.

Free speech for the dumb. Enquires into press standards and the behaviour of the media, raise issues about the free press, democracy and state control over the media.

Housing benefit changes are bringing about social cleansing with affordable housing that people can't afford.

We are still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting their terror and fear of the Easternization of the West.

The weather has taken a turn for the worse with record rainfall and flooding, lets remember that when in the summer they tell us we are living in a drought and water is being rashioned.

Then there are plans to blow up parts of the country in order to get to gas supplies buried underground. The process is known as Fracking, and it involves setting off explosions beneath the earths surface in order to release the gas. It has caused structural damage to several places up North where they have been extracting gas using this process, Politicians think this is a good idea....well they can Fuck Off with their Fracking Shit! and take their high speed London to Birmingham rail link with them. England’s green and pleasant land is rapidly turning into a concrete and steel mess.

The nation was brainwashed this year by the Olympics and Jubilee celebrations and turned into a mass of red, white and blue flag waving plebs.

The divide between the haves and have nots got wider. Artistic accounting and legal tax avoidance schemes explained why the haves have and the have nots haven't. We, the workers are told how much tax we have to pay, yet corporations like Ogle and Starfucks can choose how much they want to pay, and we are all in it together.

Margaret Thatcher survives another year.

Institutions like the BBC and the Police Force start shaking when the truth is outed and the cover ups uncovered. Justice for the Hillsborough 96! But who's gonna be paying for their lies when claims for compensation start coming in? We will....the tax payer. We pay for the people with the power to maintain their power, what price freedom?

Get Angry! and stay angry with their carry on. The reason they tell us to stay calm is because when people are calm, they are not saying or doing anything. The passive don't protest! Jutice 4 Everyone!

THE CLASH - Live In L.A 1982

1982 was the year that The Clash's outsider values (particularly Joe's) ideologically.... clashed with reality. Drummer Topper Headon had a 'drug problem' and the bands popularity had been growing across the world. By October, Topper had been sacked, and the band were gonna be taking the sound of West London to the stadium stages of America supporting The Who, at the request of Pete Townsend, who was a big fan. It was a case of the old guard meeting the new guard Once again just like when they signed with CBS in 1977, the band were accused of 'selling out' but once again it was about “Reaching more people” and with the Who supports they had a ready made audience to get the message across to, The Clash went out and “Did a job.” and fine job they did to.

The intimacy with the audience may not have been there, but was there anywhere else for the band to go? The previous year, 1981 The Clash had done residencies at Bonds in New York, The Mogador in Paris and The Lyceum in London.

The criticisms and contradictions, were pretty irrelevant because by the 1980's The Clash had broken free from Punk Rocks constraints, but they still tried to remain true, at the Shea Stadium gig hundreds of fans were let in to the after show party.

Did The Clash break the USA, or did the USA break The Clash? It was during this stadium tour that tensions between Strummer and Jones heightened, this would ultimately mean the end of the band when Mick Jones was sacked in 1983 for having “moved away from the original ideals of the group.” The Clash were more than just a band....and if they were just a band, then they were the only band that mattered.

Since The Clash split there has only been one other band with the same mouth and trousers attitude and they are the Manic Street Preachers, and without The Clash there would have been no Manic Street Preachers. Joe may no longer be with us, but his heart still beats with every herbert that picks up a guitar, writes some words and tries to get a message across.

This is a great quality bootleg (with artwork) recorded through the soundboard that I liberated/leached from somewhere/someone who/where I can't remember, respect to whoever and wherever you are, and to everyone else ENJOY!

THE SCREAMING BLUE MESSIAHS - Bikini Red (Re-Post)

A welcome return for Bikini Red, the second album by one of Britain's most underrated bands ever The Screaming Blue Messiahs. Why their albums haven't been re-packaged and re-released with bonus tracks by some record company is beyond me. If you didn't grab this first time around, here's another chance, if you've not heard The Screaming Blue Messiahs, now's yer chance. What can I say about the Messiahs that I've said before; "Pedal to the metal, full throttle, high octane rock’n’roll, the drive of yer life / Pure, ferocious, frantic and fun, with a dark edge / A mutant Rock’n’Roll hybrid of Punk, Rhythm and Blues and Rockabilly. Howling and hollered vocals, guitars chopping and slashing with destructive abandon over the thumping, threading bass and machine gun attack drums / 20+ years later they still sounds fresh as the smell of recently burned rubber on tarmac //!"

"It's the end of the world....and I feel fine."

Well the world didn't end today, now there's a surprise I tell you what though, it should have ended for those gun toting fuck wits from the NRA; up against the wall with the lot of 'em, those that live by the gun will die by the gun! I mean their solution to gun control is to have more guns, with armed security guards in every school across the U.S.A. What the Fuck!!! The NRA are putting the blame on violent video games and films, but are too thick to make the connection, between them and having easy access to guns giving some 'individuals with issues' the chance to live out their Grand Theft Auto virtual reality for real!

N.B

Governments across the world profit from the arms trade. Capitalism Kills!  

THE LORDS OF THE NEW CHURCH - Live @ The Reading Festival (Sun 24th Aug 1986) *RE-POST*

Today’s music is a second coming for those leather clad rock'n'roll renegades The Lords Of The New Church, made up from former members of The Dead Boys, The Damned, Sham 69 and The Barracudas, they truly were a 'punk super group' I saw The Lords many a time through out their career, always a good night out, Stiv Bator’s probably one of the best front man of a Rock'n'Roll band, second only to Iggy; microphone cable wrapped round his neck, rolling round the floor, prowling the stage, while Brian James riffed out over Dave Tregunna's throbbing bass and the solid pounding of Nicky Turners Drums. Maan! These guys were one sexy sleazy Rock'n'Roll beast, as a listen to any of their three albums will testify. The death of Stiv Bator in 1990 was the case of a life cut short too soon, hit by a car in Paris, he got up went home, went to bed and died in his sleep.

By the time of this recording at the Reading Festival in 1986 the band had reached their peak, but were nowhere near past their sell by date. Dave Tregunna had briefly left the band, to be replaced by Grant Flemming, who is charmingly introduced to the Reading audience by Stiv. The bands set is a nice selection of the old and the new, the quality of the recording aint half bad, considering the sound at the Reading Festival was notorious for floating off with the wind at times. Enjoy! And remember TRUTH IS THE SWORD OF US ALL!

As a footnote it's worth mentioning that there's a new collection of recordings available from Easy Action Records. The Gospel Truth is a 3 CD/DVD set that includes rare re-mastered studio recordings from 1987-88, and two live shows one from 1982 at The Agora, and another in 1988 in Lyon. If that wasn't enough there's a live DVD from Vienna in 1988. All this comes at the unholy price of £19.99, a bargain for all believers and worshippers of the New Church.  

DUNBLANE* - UK SUBS

A child is born with a gun in his hand. 
He knows one day he has to kill another man.
But that was some time, some place long ago.
So tell me, how can you justify your gun law?

After Dunblane how can you hold a gun?
And say that you are innocent?
After Dunblane how can you hold a gun?
And say that you are innocent?

Meanwhile back in the USA.
There's a massacre 'most everyday.
But that don't give us the right to deny.
A mother of another dead child.

After Dunblane how can you hold a gun?
And say that you are innocent?
After Dunblane how can you hold a gun?
And say that you are innocent?

So are you blind or are you just a fool?
You can't see the writing on the wall.
Guns are for nothing but to kill.
And it's you not the industry who pays the bill.

After Dunblane how can you hold a gun?
And say that you are innocent?

C) Charlie Harper

*Dunblane is a small town in Scotland, where in 1996 Thomas Hamilton shot 16 school children dead before killing himself.

IF YOU WANT THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS, WEAR A T-SHIRT, OR GO TOPLESS!

I may not be an American, or live in the land of the free, but as a global citizen, I can't help but pass comment, about yesterdays slaughter of twenty school children by another gun toting crazie. Surely it is time for the NRA (National Rifle Association) and those Americans who believe in the second amendment and right to bear arms to take some sort of collective responsibility for the actions of those who have abused this right, by taking the lives of the innocent.

I'm not gonna list all the massacres that have happened across the united states over the years, and yes for every maniac, there are probably a hundred responsible gun owners....but I do wonder Just how much freedom can be endured? and is it found down  the barrel of a gun?

SKATERS - Schemers EP

This post was originally gonna be a where are they now/what are they up to now sort of thang about THE PADDINGTONS, but instead has turned into something different. Here we go from how the original post was going to  start.

Whatever became of these Rock'n'Roll reprobates? They seem to have disappeared since their last album No Mundane Option in 2008. The Paddingtons were no mundane option, with pockets full of power pop punk rock. So what's been going on? Well....their twitter feed hadn't been updated, as far as I can see since Dec 2011, the last tweet said to check out Josh's (The Paddingtons guitarist) new side projects SKATERS. In the original post, I was then gonna talk about the last I'd heard of The Paddingtons, which was about their plans for a live EP, which I didn't hear anymore about, I was then gonna enquire whether there were any recordings available of The Paddingtons preforming with Hugh Cornwall from The Stranglers at some Jack Daniels (I think) sponsored event a few years ago. That was as far as I got before I skated off elsewhere.

I clicked the link and was taken to a web page with scant info about Skaters, but there was a free download of their 5 Track Schemers EP available, which I checked out, and well....Slightly disappointed I must say, will say and now have said. It just sounds a bit dated, a sort of lo-fi post punk, spiky and scruffy Strokes sounding rock'n'roll racket with a splash of arty dub grooves to some of the tracks. But hey....just cos it's not my bag, that doesn't mean it might not be yours....Check Skaters out here!Click, Download, Extract File, Play, then either Save or Delete! depending on what you think of what you hear, sounds like a fair deal, no robbery and all that. ENJOY? DESTROY?

They must think we're not the full ticket.

Train journeys are slow and service is poor, but fare increases are moving quickly along. They've risen higher than the cost of inflation, and gone up 26% since the start of the recession. Capitalism doesn't just kill, it's a kon! You pay more and get less! Quantity and quality....The companies/businesses want the most and the only way they get that is to give us less. Don't let Richard Branson tell you it isn't true. The friendly face of capitalism is just as ugly! and the view from the window is just the same!!  

THE VIBRATORS - Live @ The West Side Club, Lyon, France, In 1984

Original Artwork By Knox.

A not so random music post for yer, because  like the one the other day, this one is also recorded at The West Side Club in Lyon, France, in Dec 1984, this time it's from regular favourites of mine The Vibrators, whose live recordings seem to be a bit scarce; this one originally appeared on the mighty Noise Addiction II blogspot, but I think was lost in the mediafire cull, so I'm reposting it here, with much respect to the original uplloader bat29. For this gig The 'brators borrowed Tony Oliver from The Inmates, as Jon Ellis couldn't make the gig. The songs are taken from their first couple of albums with a splattering of tunes from their 1982 comeback album Guilty, and its follow up Alaska 127, plus a cover of Chuck Berry’s I'm Talking About You. A great recording of a slightly shambolic, in places performance of a band who were born to Rock'n'Roll!

HAPPY CONSUMER-MAS!

I used this image/artwerk a couple of years ago. Time changes / Nothing changes / The message is still the same //// Here it is again! //// CAPITALISM KILLS!!!!  

MUSINGS AND MUMBLINGS!

• Over the last 30 years more of the National Income has been going to 'the financial services' than to the workers. In the 1980's Tory Uber Komandant Norman Tebbit told the unemployed to “Get on your bike” and look for work. Now under a new Government initiative job seekers are being encouraged to “ Get on the bus” by being given free travel.

• The great smog in London may well have cleared 60 years ago, but there might be a new cloud of smoke appearing soon, with talk of setting up a Royal Commission into drugs. (another one?) I should imagine Legalisation of Cannabis is gonna be....high....on the agenda, especially when the powers that we let be see how much money could be made in tax if there was some sort of state control of the sale/distribution of drugs, especially when that figure is balanced against the cost of prohibition and the criminalisation of users.

• What about the Prank call from those two Australian DJ's to the hospital were the Duchess of where-ever was staying with complications to her pregnancy. I've just realised that I didn't do a congratunational post at the good news that there's another royal mouth for us to feed. Back to the prank call the hapless DJ's made; where they pretended to be The Queen and Prince Philip, and were given confidential information by a nurse. A couple of days later, the nurse who answered the call committed suicide, ooops! A butterfly flaps its wings and all that. So now not content with judging our own media, we are scrutinising an Australian Radio stations behaviour, in a situation no-one could have predicted would happen. It's interesting that Prince Charles joked about the call the day after it happened, and the palace made no formal complaint, so I was left wondering why someone would kill themselves over a mistake they made at work, unless they were so afraid that they would lose their job over it. Perhaps we should be looking if there is a 'culture of fear' in the NHS, that drove the nurse to kill herself, especially as the palace had made no formal complaint over the incident. Her husband has said that it was the “shame” that drove his wife to suicide he might have a point there, because they weren't very good impersonations!

• But lets not get distracted from the bigger picture, like just how involved is Britain getting in the conflicts happening in the Middle East and the increased tensions closer to home in Northern Ireland, and what will Santa Satan bring you for Christmas!

THE BARRACUDAS - Live @ The West Side Club, Lyon, France in 1983

The 60's may have been Dead in yesterdays musical post, but today they are certainly alive and kicking, with The Barracudas and their 60's inspired/influenced Power Pop Garage Punk.

This was recorded in early 1983, the surf boards had been left  in the garage, and the bands line up had now been bolstered by the addition of former Flamin' Groovies guitarist Chris Wilson. The 'Cudas are on fine form in front of a lively audience and deliver a righteous and riotous rock'n'roll racket with more energy and enthusiasm than you could shake a twelve string Rickenbacker guitar at. This is one of those recordings that captures the wild and dangerous essence of a Rock'n'Roll show. Check it out here!

The Countdown begins....

13 Sleeps till the end of the world! That's if you believe the predictions of the ancient Mayan civilisations calendar, which it is claimed says the lights go out across the globe on Dec 21^st 2012, well probably not in those exact words but you know what I mean.... or do you....Because the prediction of the end of the world is only someone else’s interpretation of another persons writings. No scientific evidence, unless there's something we haven't been told about, mind you science isn't the answer to everything, sometimes shit just happens.

Other days of reckoning have been and gone and we're still here.

But what if on 21^st Dec 2012 a meteorite or a massive lump of space debris hits the earth, knock it off its axis, flooding half the world and setting the other half on fire? Or perhaps a freezing cold wind is going to blow in from the East, wait up.... yeah they've told us about the cold wind...or 'The Beast From The East' as the media are calling it.

I'm pretty sure that come 22^nd Dec 2012, we are all still gonna be here, some people may have joined some crazy end of the world cult and committed mass suicide, but do people really care anyway? To some it might be a blessing....putting them out of their misery. Some peoples worlds have already ended in economic and emotional bankruptcy, some less fortunate ones haven't seen a world, other than the one they've had created for them, that has left them chasing dreams and living in hope of a better world.

Start again, A new world with order, not a new world order! Time to get organised! Not much time left!

THE DEAD 60'S - Time To Take Sides (Unreleased 2007 Album)

The Dead 60's were from Liverpool. Their self titled debut album was released in 2005 along with a succession of killah singles. In 2007 the band relocated to New York to record that 'difficult second album'

They'd come to bury the 90's Brit-Pop era with their brand of high octane incendiary ska punk, inspired by the likes of seventies reggae legend King Tubby, The Clash and the Gang Of 4. If there was a natural successor to The Ruts, then The Dead 60's were that band. Unfortunately despite major support slots with the likes of Garbage, Social Distortion, Morissey, Kasabian and travelling across the US as part of the Vans Warped Tour, where the band became a big hit on Alternative Radio with their 2004 single Riot Radio. Major success eluded the band, they never received the commercial/critical acclaim of bands like The Enemy or Hard-Fi, which is a real shame and they announced their split in 2008, leaving behind one album, a string of stomping and skanking singles, and this their unreleased second album Time To Take Sides, a collection of songs from the streets, tales of urban angst, anguish and anger. Five years after its non-release Time To Take Sides still sounds relevant today, because socially nothing has really changed in Britain, if anything its got worse. The working week is still boring and the weekend too short. Kids are still growing up in dull towns, in a country run by liars, that is still at war in the desert sun, and it's still time to take sides and stand up! ENJOY!!

PRESS (ING) STANDARDS! (some notes on some thoughts!)

All this talk, mine included about a free press, free speech and democracy has got me thinking....could be dangerous.

Does having a free press really make us free? Who wants to read about pointless celebrity’s that court the media then criticism them in the same breath.

“Is it in the interest of the public, or is it of interest to the public” Is something I've heard spoken over the last year during the phone hacking scandal which is at the heart of the Leveson report into press standards.

Who cares if some 2 bit celebrity has a new hair cut, or their nose fell off because they snorted too much coke while shagging half the Manchester United football team. If this sort of shit is regulated by the state, would it be a bad thing for our society? I don't think it would.

The years and years of having celebrity shoved in their faces has blinded people to what's really going on, and turned them into a dumbed down mass of self obsessed individuals, praying at the alter of celebrity consumption.

The media publishes propaganda for industries like fashion and music, publicity for products aimed at promoting life style choices.

People have become slaves to a machine they help to fuel, by buying and believing the papers.

If people didn't consume it then they wouldn't print it, but they do, so the media machine feeds the hunger for not just the trivial and titillating, but also the vicious and vicarious.

Then there are the stories we've had over the last couple years like MPs expenses scandal, that have gone some way to telling the truth about how people in power abuse their power.

The people in power don't want to be exposed by the media, so any post Leveson recommendations will be used by the politicians for their own ends. i.e. protecting their own interests.

Both the Liberal and Labour parties are in favour of the 'Statutory underpinning' of any legislation based on the results of the Leveson report, or in other terms state control! On lines petitions have been set up and the 'famous faces' have come out to to support what is basically state control of the media.

What about the new social twitterface mediums, how will these be effected by Levesens findings.

The media have created this generation of mindless voyeurs whose politics are also shaped by the paper they read, with their often bigoted views; It's all the fault of the 'illegal immigrants' 'benefit scroungers' etc, etc. Will this sort of reporting become regulated? I doubt it, and neither should it, not if we still want to live in a democracy where the people have the freedom to choose what they think. But like I said; “Too much thinking could be dangerous”, but too little thinking could be even worse, but not as fatal as believing everything we are told!