Happy Halloween...

Hallowen on Spools Paradise has now become synonymous with the much missed Lux Interior. My first ever posting was on Halloween 2010 and featured The Cramps as did last years. After over 25 years of going to gigs I have witnessed few bands on a par with The Cramps. Some gig memories come and go while others stay with you. The two occasions that I was lucky enough to witness The Cramps live are still as fresh in my mind as they were back in the day.

The first time I heard a Cramps record was also a live recording as one of my school friends had a copy of "Smell Of Female" that he used to play any time I visited. It sound other wordly back then and still remains so today. I'm not a huge fan of live albums with "Smell Of Female" being one of the exceptions. Lux was the ultimate front man and one of the best live performers ever.

This ones for all you Gucci bag carriers out there...

Happy trick or treating...

I Ain't Nuthin' But A Gorehound

Such Innocent Times...

 

 

Shirley & Lee are best remembered for their 1956 hit, the timeless classic "Let The Good Times Roll". Strangely enough for a vocal duo they almost never sang in harmony, let alone together at all with their contrasting male-female duet style apparently being a big influence on early ska and reggae productions from Jamaica. It was also a staple of teenage dance parties upon its release in '56 and somehow managed to receive a radio ban due to its suggestive lyrics. Such innocent times. 

 

Let The Good Times Roll

The 81...

The wonderfully monikered Candy And The Kisses are most well known for their song about Philly dance craze, "The 81". New York sisters Beryl "Candy" Nelson and Suzanne Nelson formed a singing group called The Symphonettes, with their cousin, Port Richmond High School student, Jeanette Johnson before changing their name to Candy and The Kisses.

"The 81" opens with a rapid, two-chord guitar riff, immediately followed by a cacophony of booming horns and driving drums which borrow, merge, and transform the beginning of the Martha & The Vandellas tunes "In My Lonely Room" and "Heat Wave". The finished product succeeds in sounding like it had come straight off the Motown conveyor belt but was actually released on the Cameo label. Sadly it was their only hit record but what a great record it is.

The 81

Lou Reed 1972 - 2013

I have just heard the very sad news that one of the most important and influential artists in musical history has died today. Very few musicians redefined the sound and style of rock music to the extent that Lou Reed did, especially on those first three Velvet Underground albums of the late 60's. There are vast amounts of my record collection that have the influence of Lou Reed stamped all over them.

In today's earlier post I mentioned that I did not go to The Sex Pistols' reunion gigs. I did, however, go to the Edinburgh Playhouse in the early 90's to see the re-formed Velvet Underground and, like a lot of people I knew, was reticent about seeing them but am so glad I got to see one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands of all time perform live.

He was a visionary who took risks and his influence on music will never fade.

Rest In Peace Lou Reed.

The Gift
Pale Blue Eyes
Good Evening Mr Waldheim

Punk Rock Sunday Part 3...

I never went to any of The Pistols reunion shows a few years back as I just thought it would be a bit of a circus. Until last week I had never seen PiL live either and although it was a bit pantomimey (is that a word!!) in places Mr Lydon and co put on a belter of a show at Glasgow's ABC wth a setlist that included "Death Disco", "Poptones" and "Careering" in the main set and one of the best encores I have witnessed for a long time with "Public Image", "Rise" and "Open Up" closing the show.

I would have paid the entry fee just to hear "Public Image" in all it's glory live. As soon as that bass line starts you know you are about to hear a fuckin' immense song. Much as I love "Never Mind The Bollocks" I don't think Lydon has ever bettered the great cathartic celebration that is "Public Image".

Public Image

Keeping It Peel 2013...

The Natural Ites were formed in Nottingham in 1982 with backing by an ever changing line-up known as The Realistics, arriving on the scene as Britain was enjoying a run of successful homegrown Reggae groups such as Aswad, Steel Pulse, UB40 and Black Roots and went on to produce some of the most sweetly, melodic Roots anthems of the 80's with "Picture On The Wall" being the most well known.

Back in 1983, I came across "Picture On The Wall" in the same way that a lot of others did, hearing it numerous times on Radio 1 between ten and midnight with a radio stuck to my ear under the duvet. The single hit the number 1 spot in the UK Reggae chart and also made it into Peel's Festive Fifty in 1983, reaching number 10.

As everyone knows Peel championed reggae music throughout his time at the Beeb and was certainly responsible for introducing me to some wonderful reggae tracks over the years and none more so than this great track from The Natural Ites.

Picture On the Wall

The Flatmates...

Last Saturday night found us on the dark streets of Shawlands to witness the triumphant return of mid 80's indie darlings, The Flatmates. The Glad Cafe paid host to the most C86 band not to appear on the legendary NME album. By their own admission they were/are "indie pop to the core" and the small crowd at The Glad Cafe took them to their hearts.

The new lineup features original members Martin Whitehead and Rocker who are joined by drummer Brian, bass player Verity and new singer Lisa Bouvier, who although feeling the after effects of dicovering Buckfast the previous day performed brilliantly. Energetic, lively, lovely and a vocal that complemented The Flatmates sound perfectly. The set was a mix of old and new with personal fave "I Could Be In Heaven" saved for the end of a great set.

Like one of their many influences, The Modern Lovers, before them The Flatmates sadly did not achieve any chart success but paved the way for subsequent bands like The Primitives and The Darling Buds who followed on and took The Flatmates sound into the charts.

Punk Rock Sunday Part 2...

Formed in Belfast at the height of the Troubles after Jake Burns witnessed The Clash playing his hometown, Stiff Little Fingers went on to become one of the most important and influential bands of their era. Debut single, "Suspect Device" heralded what would become their trademark sound with lyrics that melded the personal and political to music that combined the energy of punk with infectious hooks, and a delivery that rang of honesty and commitment.

I saw SLF live a few years back at one of their legendary St Patrick's night gigs at Glasgow Barrowlands when Bruce Foxton was playing with them and that energy and commitment was still there. There can be few better debut albums than the incomparable "Inflammable Material" which still sounds as fresh and relevant today as it did back in '78. Starting with "Suspect Device" it does not let up once and contains some of the most visceral and exciting music of that era.

A true classic in every sense of the word..every home should have one...

Johnny Was

GO Toronto...

There are plenty of holiday destinations around the world for the discerning music fan. Most people would automatically think of New York or London. To that duo add Toronto. Maybe not the first place you would think of but Canada's largest city has a thriving live music scene and also a thriving independent record store scene. It is one of the best cities in the world to be a musician with grants and loans available to bands to help with touring and making videos, partly funded by the government and by TV and radio broadcasters.

I last visited Toronto 5 years ago and visited all the independent record stores I could manage while I was there and they were all bustling. My personal favourite was a store called Soundscapes which reminds me a bit of Mono in Glasgow with equally knowledgeable staff. It was just really refreshing to see such a vibrant scene. Sadly Toronto institution Sam The Record Man is no longer trading but there still remains many great music stores.

As for the music scene rather than touting a single defining sound, Toronto has a myriad of different scenes with the likes of Feist, Fucked Up, Metric and Crystal Castles amongst many others. By welcoming people from all cultures, Toronto has fostered an environment where ethnicities mingle, which can create some stimulating noise as evidenced by the eclectic spread of different genres that are developing within the city.

Toronto will always hold a special place in my heart as it was where I went on my honeymoon and my 10th wedding anniversary and although I am no longer married someday soon I hope to return to my favourite foreign city and hopefully catch a band or two while I am there.

Punk Rock Sunday...

 

For years I have had mixed feelings about Jimmy Pursey and his Cockney Cowboys. My first introduction to the music of Sham 69 was at an under 18's disco in East Kilbride where a group of young scallywags, myself included, would pogo our collective 12 year old puny bodies to "Hersham Boys". We thought we were the coolest lads at the disco and were completely oblivious to the unsavoury elements that were in evidence at a Sham gig. The band did not have the art school background of many of the punk bands of that era and sadly attracted a large right wing skinhead audience, often resulting in violence at their live shows. They had their 3 minutes of infamy in the late 70's and early 80's with 3 Top 10 hits. 

They are probably remembered more today for the frequent violence at their gigs but should also be remembered for some great tunes and, for me personally, some great nights in East Kilbride jumping ten feet in the air with your legs splayed somehow thinking it would impress the girl you had your eye on. Such innocent times....

Hersham Boys

Hold On, Hold On...

I have written before about the wonderful voice of Neko Case but feel compelled to do so again as I have just noticed she is playing Glasgow in December. I described her voice back in 2011 as dramatic, gutsy, mysterious and quite simply a force of nature. That pretty much sums her up.

I remember the first time I heard Festive 50 winner "Twist The Knife" and just being blown away by that voice. When I got the chance to see her at Glasgow's much missed Barfly venue in 2003 it was too good an opportunity to miss. To this day it still stands as one of my fave gigs I have been to. I only own a couple of Neko Case albums so am no sort of authority on her music but live I have not seen much better. Case’s phenomenal voice alone can literally knock you over with it's raw beauty.

Neko Case has always been difficult to pigeon hole musically but is always worth listening to and live really comes into her own.

Get Your Act Together....

I've always been a big fan of King Tut's going right back to the early days but I do have a major gripe with it also. Is there a reason why most gigs don't finish until almost 11.30 ? That in itself would not be as much of an issue if we did not also have a shit, antiquated rail network where everything stops before midnight. It is after all the 21st century where almost every major European city has trains running into the early hours. If you do not live in Glasgow itself and you don't drive then more often than not you miss the end of a gig at the Wah Wah Hut. It is more than a tad frustrating when you pay your hard earned dough to see a band and have to leave before or during the encores.

So to last night. For the first time in over 20 years I went along to see Spear Of Destiny at King Tut's. Now some people may say why on earth would you want to see Spear Of Destiny ? We all have our guilty pleasures and Kirk Brandon's music over the years has always been one of mine from "Westworld" onwards. But sadly I had to leave during the encore and run through Glasgow's rain sodden streets to catch the last Lanarkshire train home.

Is it too much to ask in 21st century Scotland to be able to go to a gig, have a couple of drinks and then get a train home after half past 11 ? I think not....

In case anyone was wondering the gig was great. Brandon has got a really good band around him and vocally he has rarely sounded better. This was the 30th anniversary of Spear Of Destiny and was very much a fan's gig with a large splattering of album tracks played, interspersed with some of the "hits".

PS - As if my blood pressure wasn't high enough the last train was bursting at the seams with hundreds of Fleetwwod Mac fans coming back from The Hydro..need I say more

Liberator