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Banishing with love – in praise of Laura Marling’s Semper Femina

Posted on April 7, 2017 by writewyattuk

Femina Force: Laura Marling, whose sixth album, Semper Femina, is a typically intimate affair.

If expectation carries a weight, it doesn’t seem to concern Laura Marling, six LPs into a somewhat understated yet still stellar career, this super-talented artiste gracefully rising above genre labels amid major music press analysis and hyperbole.

I tried to get a ‘one-to-one’ with this innovative 27-year-old when news of her nine-date Spring UK tour and the release of new album Semper Femina surfaced, but word has it she’s super-shy when it comes to media intrusion. And who can blame her. Maybe next time, eh. Instead, what follows is a cobbled-together appreciation of the new LP and its creator, complete with quotes from the interviews her publicity people found me and a little background. You may have seen parts elsewhere, but I felt the strength of the album and Laura’s career to date justified a tad more web-space devoted to her recorded endeavours.

On the face of it a folk artist, Laura was always much more, her 2011 Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist followed by further nominations in 2012, 2014 and 2016. Meanwhile, three of her first four albums were Mercury Music Prize-nominated, including 2008 debut Alas, I Cannot Swim and 2010 follow-up I Speak Because I Can.

It took me a while to catch on. I’d heard tracks here and there and the inevitable hype, but through finding a copy of the latter platter at my local library I got to realise first-hand the strength in depth, not least on stand-outs like Rambling Man and Goodbye England (Covered in Snow). From there I went back – drinking in the might of tracks like Tap at my Window – and forward, with so many gems unearthed, so much ground covered.

I’ll spare you much of the back-story, but the youngest of three daughters, Laura was brought up not far from my old patch, between Berkshire and Hampshire, learning guitar early, moving to London to make her name after her GCSEs. She featured in an early line-up of Noah and the Whale, but left after splitting with lead singer Charlie Fink before their debut LP, Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down, took off. And yes, It took me a while before I realised just who supplied those backing vocals on a great if not thematically-miserable album.

Work followed with The Rakes, Mystery Jets, and another innovative outfit at the vanguard of a new indie folk movement (for want of a better description), Mumford & Sons – including a relationship with front-man Marcus Mumford – but by 2008 Laura was defiantly striking out on her own. You’ll either know the rest or can find out for yourself, but less than a decade on there’s a mighty clamour surrounding her latest LP, a typically-mature set of songs by one of our more prolific talents.

Its title drawn from Virgil’s The Aeneid, roughly translated as ‘always a woman’, something she also has tattooed on her leg, apparently only deciding on the shorter version late on, rather than ‘Varium et mutabile semper femina’, which translates as ‘A woman is an ever fickle and changeable thing’. That phrase about a woman’s prerogative springs to mind there, as does Kathy Lette’s assertion that ‘whim is the plural of women’.

Body-etching and changes of heart aside, Semper Femina seems a fitting title for an album seen as ‘an intimate sonic exploration of femininity and female relationships’. Written largely on the road during a tour for her fifth LP, 2015’s Short Movie, and released on her own More Alarming Records label, it was recorded in Los Angeles with much-feted session player turned producer Blake Mills, whose credits also include Alabama Shakes’ second LP, Sound and Color.

I’ve been living with the results of Blake’s work with Laura these last couple of weeks, and Semper Femina certainly offers that ‘compelling collection of songs’ promised, one ‘run through with Marling’s fierce intelligence; a keen, beautiful and unparalleled take on womanhood’.

I was hooked from the moment I heard the beguilingly-sultry, somewhat claustrophobic yet ultimately uplifting Soothing. That bassline certainly gets beneath the skin, those stirring string and keyboard touches hitting the spot while Laura rising above it all and banishes us with love. Yet there’s nothing like it on the album, and while the threads of the album come together so well, there’s so much scope within. The Valley is a perfect example, those glorious harmonies between Laura and herself highlighting her folk roots, and while Joan Baez comes to mind in places there’s far more of a Nick Drake influence for me.

Wild Fire offers a further gear shift, her American influences coming on strong, as if tackling New York era Lou Reed in a Chrissie Hynde style down in Paul Weller’s Wild Wood. Lyrically, it’s the old theme of ‘if you love something, set it free’, yet this is far removed from any Sting pastiche, the keyboard touches transporting us from country to Memphis soul.

The Pretenders-like vocal comes through again on Don’t Pass Me By, but again this isn’t straight-forward rock, carrying an ethereal John Lennon vibe, transported to Portishead maybe. After that we need the more straight-forward sweet if not mournful folk-country of Always This Way, and Laura reflects, ’25 years, nothing to show for it’. We’ve all been there, right? Yet she concludes with a more wistful, ‘At least I can say that my debts have been paid’. Yes, time to move on.

Wild Once is as nostalgic as she seems to get on this record. Her explanations suggest it’s about a ‘more masculine phase’ in her life involving ‘hiking and bouldering, scrambling up trees or whatever’, ‘running through a forest by Big Sur with no shoes on’. Yet for me there’s a quintessentially English spirit. The album notes further suggest The Valley is more of a nostalgia trip, but for me this nod to the ‘archetype of the wild woman and her unrestrained physicality’ is more so.

Next Time retains that sense of outdoor exploration, underpinned by a fitting acoustic strum yet again beautifully constructed and subtly orchestrated, retaining its ‘out on the porch’ vibe. Think Michelle Shocked’s Texas Campfire Tapes with Beatlish undertones.

Latex Love: From the stirring Laura Marling-directed promo video for Soothing

Nouel is lyrically the key to it all, but musically maybe the closest we get to Joni Mitchell here. This is no tribute act though. It’s every bit Laura, her ultimate ‘fickle and changeable are you, and long may that continue’ line a joyous celebration of pride in yourself.

Then we’re away with some glorious touches of blues electric guitar underpinning part-Dylan, part-Hynde masterpiece Nothing, Not Nearly, its searing six-string touches taking us to a climactic coming together, so to speak. Besides, ‘Nothing matters more than love’. Again, I hear it as a hymn of hope for the future, about making the most of the limited time we have here. ‘We’ve not got long, you know, to bask in the afterglow. Once it’s gone, it’s gone’ she reminds us, then adds that final rider, ‘Love waits for no one’.

In short, Semper Femina is as intimate and personal as we’d expect from Laura, yet strewn with mature touches showing us just how much she’s picked up along the journey. The accompanying interviews go deep into examining the psychology and female psyche, but don’t let that guide you or deter you. For me it’s more about friendship, romance and everything we hold dear. But what’s Laura’s take on it all?

“I started out writing Semper Femina as if a man was writing about a woman, then thought, “It’s not a man, it’s me! I don’t need to pretend it’s a man to justify the intimacy, or the way I’m looking and feeling about women. It’s me looking specifically at women, feeling great empathy towards them, and by proxy towards myself.”

The LP follows Laura’s Reversal of the Muse podcast series, ’10 conversations about what’s happening in music and feminine creativity and its relationship to one another’. From high-profile singers Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris to female sound engineers and guitar shop owners, she sought to openly discuss female creativity, with no pre-conceived conclusions.

“I would say feminine creativity, the feminine part of the brain is in both sexes, but is inherently different to the masculine. For me, playing guitar has always been tied up with my identity, it’s always been involved in myself, rather than enticing people in. There’s a lot more to catch up on for women in this industry and I’m interested to investigate other industries, particularly visual art, film and television. The imbalance needs to be rectified so we can have a more balanced understanding of the world.

“I started the Reversal of the Muse before I started this record, although my interests in femininity and the origins of that fuelled both. I’ve been asked a lot to have firm opinions about felinity and feminism and still don’t know enough about either of those subjects. But what I really enjoyed was that it allowed me to keep asking questions. That’s what I want to keep doing.”

Wrapping Up: Taken from the Laura Marling-directed promo video for The Valley

Semper Femina too questions how society views sexuality and gender, although Laura offers no definitive answers, instead perhaps more concerned with expressing her own voyage of self-discovery while developing and learning as artist, performer and individual. Explaining further the concept behind the album, she tells us it came from a particularly ‘masculine time’ in her life.

“We’re somewhat accustomed to seeing women through men’s eyes, and naturally that was my inclination to try and take some power over that. But I quickly realised the powerful thing to do was look at women through a woman’s eyes. It was a little stumble at the beginning of the record – a self-conscious stumble.

“I read a lot of poetry. Gothic romantic literature used to play quite a big part in my vocabulary of emotional experience. Now I have my own emotional experiences I like drawing on them and delving into poetry as well as literary fictional and fantasy. My favourite poet is Rainer Maria Rilke, who was a bit of a hopeless romantic. He’s the reason I got to writing this record in some ways, as I was researching his life for writing the libretto for an opera. He was dressed as a girl until he was eight, which had quite a profound effect on his relationship to women and made him somewhat of an obsessive woman-fancier.”

Laura also directed the videos for the album, starting with the stirring, latex-lavished Soothing promo, taking on the dreamy premise behind the first track I heard off the album, still as powerful as on those early listens.

“I’m more comfortable talking about the directing than the music. The directing was amazing. I’d never been inclined to give visual representation to my music personally. It’s become the way music is released now to have a visual accompaniment. So to give my lucid dreaming quality to this, where I get a lot of imagery from, was an amazing experience.

“It requires a lot of people to be in that image with you, so you have draw so many people in to that image with you. That annoying extra prop that costs lots of money has to be there because it has symbolic value. I found it quite stressful, but that’s in my nature, and one of the more creative things I’ve ever done.”

If Short Movie gave a glimpse into Laura’s spell living in LA, the new album suggests further change since. So where does she go from here?

“I don’t know! When I wrote Short Movie it felt like I was writing about something I was going to experience rather than something I had experienced. Creativity has a funny way of being ahead of you. I don’t know where I am now, because maybe it’s still catching up to me.”

And while Short Movie was arguably more about landscape, this album is perhaps more based in thought, less grounded to one place, as befitting something written on the road.

“I was all over the shop. I suppose there’s a bit of English nostalgia in there too, because I was in America a lot lot last year and the year before last.”

Having produced Short Movie herself, why bring in Blake Mills this time, and how did that influence the album?

“I’d become accustomed to working with Ethan Johns, who – like Blake – is also an extraordinary musician. We made five records together so have a very established way of working. Working with Blake was quite a shock to the system. He has a very different way and is incredibly innovative. He’s not very far in age from me so we kind of met at a similar level.

“I’d go home every night from the studio and practice guitar. I wanted to be as good as him. Over the three weeks we were playing together my playing improved a lot. He’s someone who has spent a lot of time playing and it made me think I need to spend some more time playing guitar. He’s got an incredible tonal palette and a cool cat, so it was a great honour.

“I really enjoyed producing but it’s just not my calling. I’d love to do it for someone else, but for myself it was too difficult to play both roles. Making the podcasts I discovered I play off the vulnerability of being a solo human being, playing a very vulnerable song in front of a microphone with six people in a control room.

“It’s a weird dynamic, but has always worked for me. A lot of songwriters I know can’t bear to be overheard when they’re songwriting, but I quite like it — I write in venues or dressing rooms when there are eight people in the room. There’s something thrilling and weirdly voyeuristic about it. But I like the idea that it will be heard, whereas if I’m producing it feels like it might only be heard by me.

“I think Blake was very sweetly not sure what to do with an English girl. It took a week or two to shake off the very set image of what I was in his mind – a ‘romping through the countryside’ delicate character from Emma. I’ve had that so many times. In some ways you can keep that image of me, but in others I have to break it in order to get work done, because it’s a really heavy block between you and what you want to get done. Also, because I’d just come from producing a record myself I had to get rid of that idea of delicacy.”

As she now splits her time between the UK and California, how does Laura feel the US has influenced her?

“I love America and find it very infuriating for the same reason. They give a lot of value to artists and that’s quite nice if you’ve devoted your career to being an artist. It makes you feel good about yourself, but also gives a strange over-the-top reverence to people who have lived very self-indulgent lives and demand to be called artists. That represents my own constant inner tussle over whether something is an indulgence or a compulsion.

“America gave me a bit more freedom to indulge in that and I got pulled in again. In that way it gave me a lot of freedom to express myself without self-criticism that I should be doing something more important, or more useful.

“LA makes me feel very different to England. Now my love affair with LA is at a point where I don’t really leave my house and all my friends are English. It’s a great place to be, but it’s not an enticing fantastical adventure anymore. I think the election brought that home.”

Does she ever think about what her life would have been if she hadn’t chosen music as a career?

“Constantly, right now more than ever! I think I would have always had music in my life, but probably would have been a chef or a writer.”

And how have her recent experiences shaped the writing of Semper Femina?

“I’ve done a lot of travelling on my own and touring on my own. It can sound super-romantic and glamorous, but dragging three to four guitars around and throwing them in the back of a car constantly, it’s a big mental and physical exertion and it can be a little bit scary. Being alone, getting paid, doing all that stuff, I’ve been aware of that restriction of women traveling and that’s been the most relevant thing to me. I have this great fear of traveling alone now and that innate sense of fear is really quite constricting and perhaps more of an affliction to women than to men.

Empathetic Standards: Laura Marling takes a philosophical perspective on Semper Femina

“The falling in love you experience with friendship is so less defined than romantic or sexual love. I’ve been obsessed with that always. Because I have sisters maybe, and a mother. I think because of that there’s a high standard of trust and care that I place on myself and that I feel in my female friends as well. We have quite a high empathetic standard for each other.

“There’s a lot of that on this record, that trying to make amends for those sort of broken channels. The time and the political climate that we live in, we’re coming to a point where there’s no need for this sort of artistic expression that I’ve been a part of. Innocent creativity had a little flourish in the last 10 years. But I’m getting older and now think, ‘What use is that?’ It’s not rooted, not pointed, not political. For me right now I feel like it’s more important I have a practical use.”

To catch up with the videos for Soothing and The Valley, for all the latest from Laura, and how to get hold of the new album, head to her website.

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Alas, Blake Mills, California, Ethan Johns, I Cannot Swim, Joni Mitchell, Laura Marling, Mumford and Sons, Nick Drake, Noah and the Whale, Pretenders, Rainer Maria Rilke, Semper Femina, Soothing, The Valley, Virgil | Leave a comment

Lloyd Cole – Preston Guild Hall

Posted on April 4, 2017 by writewyattuk

Family Way: Will and Lloyd Cole in contemplative mode at Preston Guild Hall (Photo: Michael Porter)

We were two songs in on Monday night before our special guest deigned to talk to us, fixing us with something of a 1,000-yard stare while sussing out his audience before announcing, ‘You’re not getting any younger either’.

It was a defining moment, the ice well and truly broken. Perhaps this wasn’t the Lloyd Cole we thought we knew after all, that moody demeanour and ‘trademark frown’ suggested all those years ago maybe just a front.

Yet while any previous grouchiness was maybe a misunderstanding, the quality of the songwriting and delivery was never in doubt as we revisited the pick of the first dozen years of his recorded output over a magnificent two-hour double-set.

Initially it was just LC and guitar, our first reminder of a wonderfully-unique voice heard on the first Commotions LP’s Patience then Perfect Blue from the follow-up, before a fresh arrangement of that wondrous debut’s mighty title track Rattlesnakes.

A retrospective set was given further poignancy by his choice of ‘in memoriam’ covers, starting with Prince’s Sometimes it Snows in April.

Loveless from his 1990 debut solo LP was next, followed by a plug for a ‘mostly brilliant’ new boxset covering the first 10 solo years. His understatement, not mine.

Back in loveable grouch territory, he told us he’d happily sign anything after, but warned us against selfies, reminding us we wouldn’t know how to work our cameras without our children there. So true.

Solo Slot: Lloyd Cole during the opening set at Preston Guild Hall (Photo copyright: Michael Porter)

From the last LP on parade, ‘95’s Love Story, came I Didn’t Know You Cared and Love Ruins Everything, Lloyd explaining how ‘trying to look neutral’ moodiness backfired and had him mistaken for miserable.

Lost Commotions track Lonely Mile showed that band’s strength in depth, while ‘85’s Pretty Gone‘s surging play-out was even better with its added nod to The Beatles’ Norwegian Wood.

After discussing his eyesight, ranting about how ‘small print is ageist’, there were neat solo takes on ‘87’s My Bag, ‘91’s Butterfly and ‘93’s You’d Like to Save the World.

He even built in Famous Blue Raincoat and a ‘Thanks for the songs, Mr Cohen’ line, before finishing his opening spot with plenty of audience participation on penultimate top-40 hit Jennifer She Said.

For the next set he was joined by son Will on second guitar. I say that, but his lad played most of the neat lines and is clearly no slouch in that department, complete with flamenco touches.

Getting going with third Commotions LP title track Mainstream and 1990’s Don’t Look Back, Lloyd quipped how hard it was to find a 24-year-old version of himself …. If he was in Echo and the Bunnymen.

While there is an Ian McCulloch look about Cole Jr., he’s clearly a chip off the old block with that seemingly moody persona, the pair at home picking up the pace on ‘87’s Mr Malcontent.

Perfect String: Lloyd Cole in retrospective mode at Preston Guild Hall (Photo copyright: Michael Porter)

Lloyd let on, ‘Some of you may know I used to live round here’, before going all Doris Day on us, adding, ‘When I was a little boy, I asked my mother what I will be.’

Yet rather than Que Sera Sera we got another Love Story gem, Like Lovers Do, followed by the glorious Are You Ready to be Heartbroken? from a decade earlier and Cut Me Down from Easy Pieces.

The hits and near-misses keep coming, three more Rattlesnakes cuts – the lyrically-luscious Charlotte Street, breakthrough 45 Perfect Skin and pensive 2cv – reminding us just what a great album that was.

There followed an anecdote about George Formby and the Queen before traces of With Me Little Stick of Blackpool Rock and even mention of Lytham St Annes on 1990’s Undressed.

Four Flights Up worked really well thanks to Dad and Lad’s under-stated guitar duel, while 1990’s No Blue Skies took us back to the early solo years.

There was a reminder for the Polygram moguls of what they turned down on ‘96’s No More Love Songs, Lloyd adding a ’when I was 26 I knew everything’ rider before ‘87’s Hey Rusty, complete with built-in Bruce Springsteen Born to Run outro.

From there, Brand New Friend went down a storm, seguing into a stirring climax with David Bowie’s Heroes.

They came back, Lost Weekend having the joint jumping and a delightful Forest Fire the final flame, those subtle six-string touches from Cole & Son helping ignite an evening of so many great songs.

Cole Deliverance: Will and Lloyd Cole in liaison at Preston Guild Hall (Photo copyright: Michael Porter)

For this website’s recent interview with Lloyd Cole, This One’s From the Hip, head here.

Lloyd Cole in New York features all four solo albums released on Polydor and Fontana between 1988-1996 – Lloyd Cole (1990), Don’t Get Weird on Me Babe (1991), Bad Vibes (1993), and Love Story (1995) – plus Smile If You Want To, an unreleased fifth LP (including one previously unreleased track) and Demos ’89-’94, 20 recordings from home and studio made public for this release. For more details follow this link.

For all the latest from Lloyd, including the final dates on this tour, go to his website, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

With thanks to Danny Morris, Helen Roughley and all at Preston Guild Hall, and Michael Porter, of the Preston Photographic Society, for use of his photographs.

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged David Bowie, Easy Pieces, George Formby, Leonard Cohen, Lloyd Cole, Mainstream, Preston Guild Hall, Preston Photographic Society, Prince, Rattlesnakes, William Cole | 5 Comments

The continuing adventures of the Magic Band, the Mothers of Invention, and the Muffin Men – the Denny Walley interview

Posted on March 30, 2017 by writewyattuk

Muffin Men: Denny Walley, right, and his bandmates, all the way from Drury Lane, Liverpool … maybe.

Do you know the Muffin Men (‘the Muffin Men?’ I hear you ask. Yes, the Muffin Men), presumably based in Liverpool’s Drury Lane or Mulberry Place?

Chances are that you might. They’ve been doing the rounds for more than a quarter of a century now, often featuring past members of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention as guests. And this April’s no exception, when Denny Walley will be joining them on the road.

It just so happens that Denny also featured with further avant-garde art-rock success Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, recording and touring with both experimental outfits in the ’70s. Yet he goes much further back with the charismatic duo – to the same Lancaster high school in fact.

That’s Lancaster, California, by the way, although it turns out that this Atlanta-based 74-year-old – nicknamed ‘Feelers Rebo’ by Don van Vliet, aka Beefheart – clearly has an affinity for the North West of England too.

Denny, now 74, was born in Pennsylvania and raised in New York, yet his family’s later West Coast move proved pivotal, his folks settling in the same housing development as the Zappa clan, initially becoming friends with Frank’s younger brother Bobby.

He’d already discovered the blues and taken to the guitar by then, a move that in time led to him going on the road with his two illustrious high school buddies turned bandleaders. And while both are long gone, Denny is helping to keep their legacy alive, not least through his on-stage commitments with a Liverpool band who first got together to mark Zappa’s 50th back in 1990, performing his music as a tribute, along with their own Frank-infused originals.

Until his death in 2008, the band often featured guest vocals and percussion from MoI drummer/vocalist Jimmy Carl Black, and often included a number of Beefheart covers. In fact, they’ve featured no less than several more Zappa band members, also performing with Don Preston, Bunk Gardner, Ike Willis, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Mike Keneally, Ray White and Robert Martin. Yet rather than play note-for-note covers, this is a band more concerned with the Zappa spirit, working to the strengths of a particular line-up, often involving a different slant on the original versions. And that suits Denny fine, as I found out when we talked via Skype before he flew over to join the latest tour.

Guitar Man: Denny Walley aka Feelers Rebo in action … way back.

That schedule starts with a date in Corby, Northamptonshire, the conclusion of two nights of Zappa music at the Moo-Ah Festival on Saturday, April 1st, paving the way for 13 more shows, starting at The Continental in Preston, Lancashire, on Thursday, April 6th, and winding up at The ferry in Glasgow on Sunday, April 16th.

And while we’re in geographical mode, home has been Atlanta, Georgia for more than 20 years for this treasured guitarist and his beloved ‘Janet the Planet’ (they have one son and three grandchildren, one of whom plays bass and has featured for the Grandmothers of Invention spin-off and also the Project Object band Denny regularly turns out for). Yet there remains plenty of affection for past haunts, including The Muffin Men’s Liverpool. So, born in Pennsylvania, raised in Brooklyn and nearby Long Island, New York, then moving to the West Coast before settling in America’s Deep South … Why the affinity with our own North West coast?

“Well, you know, part of my heart is in Liverpool, part in Brooklyn, and California too. I’ve got great friends all over the place.”

Why Liverpool in particular?

“The people there seem to have the same sense of humour and directness as people in New York, especially Brooklyn. You don’t have to guess what they’re thinking. I like the straightforward approach – no bullshit.”

Was there always music around the house when you were growing up?

“Yeah, records. Dad was a big country and western fan, but I found a couple of blues records in his 78 collection, which I was surprised at – Big Bill Broonzy. I was shocked. That was when I first heard that stuff.”

Magic Band: From left – Don and Jan Van Vliet, Denny Walley, Bruce Fowler

A generalisation, I know, but I get the impression lots of Americans first properly registered the blues through hearing The Rolling Stones, then going back to the original artists.

“Yeah, that’s true … and really sad.”

Was that the case for you?

“Not at all. In fact, when I heard the Stones, I said, ‘Oh man … these guys!’ I thought it was great but was also pissed off that it took that for people here to wake up to what we had right under our noses. I’d been collecting blues since I was 13 years old when I was living in Lancaster.”

Has Denny ever passed through Lancaster in the north of Lancashire?

“Yes, I have”.

How do they compare?

“Well, I’m telling you, it was probably just a blur. For one thing though you don’t have any desert there, so that’s one big difference … a drastic difference.”

Lining Up: The Muffin Men, coming to a town near you, somewhere between Corby and Glasgow

You moved to Lancaster when you were 12, in the mid-’50s. Was that a big change for you?

“It was unbelievable. It was like Cowboy and Indian country. I’d never seen the desert and to see jack rabbits and those types of things running all over the place was pretty cool.”

Those regular moves came about as his Dad was working for an aircraft company and often transferred between sites, Denny going to ‘13 different schools’ en route. Yet a love of music no doubt helped him settle, starting with an accordion at the age of seven.

“I was at a party with my parents and all the kids were sent down to the basement playroom, and I found this box and there was this small accordion, 12 bass. I asked the lady if I could play it, she put it on me and I started messing around, saying, ‘Man, I like the way this thing smells!’ It was pretty cool and I figured it out pretty quick. “

Do you think that gave you the affinity for guitar later?

“Not really. What did that was when I heard Muddy Waters and Jimmy Reed. That’s when the accordion went immediately under the bed. You’re not going to pull any chicks with an accordion when you’re 13!”

You made a bit of money though, playing for tips, I gather.

“Oh yeah. My father belonged to a fire brigade that threw an annual picnic and he’d drag me with my accordion to play polkas. People would put dollar bills and five dollar bills in the bellows. I’d make more money in that one day than he’d make in a week.”

That’s quite sad really.

“Yeah, it is, but it’s not that way anymore – try making money out of music. If you’re in it for money you’re in the wrong business. But I never have been in it for money.”

Mothers’ Pride: Denny Walley with the legendary Frank Zappa

Tell me about your first guitar, and how old you were then.

“I was probably 15.”

Did you put in a lot of hours to get to know your way around the guitar?

“I never considered it work. I wanted to get as close to the blues stuff that I could get, learning to play along with the record. That sent chills down my spine when I learned the first little things – to play along with Muddy Waters, the same notes he was playing! You know what I mean? And it’s still like that.”

Do you still have that first guitar?

“Unfortunately I don’t. I wish I knew what happened to it. I did see one at a guitar shop that someone had in for repair. I made an offer to buy it, but it was not for sale. But I still got my eye open for it.”

Were there ever day-jobs to make up the wages?

“Oh yeah, I had all kinds of day-jobs … and some of them only lasted a day!”

Norwegian Blues: Banned from Utopia in Oslo, 2016. From left – Albert Wing, DW, Ray White.

I guess you were never in any doubt that it was music that would be your true career path.

“Oh yeah, and I like to work. You don’t always do that playing but I enjoy working. I love carpentry and I love to sculpt, I’ve done a lot for film … But I’ve made money and that allows me to have the lifestyle I have – doing my passion.”

Becoming friends with Bobby Zappa at Antelope Valley High School, northern Los Angeles (where not only Don van Vliet and Frank Zappa went, but also Judy Garland, apparently) seemed to be key to Denny’s progress too. A few more years passed before he hooked up with them professionally, but the die was cast.

“It was unbelievable the way things happened. Frank’s younger brother Bobby became my best friend. A group of around five of us hung out. I’d be at the house almost every day, playing blues records and listening to Frank’s doo-wop stuff.”

Do you remember Don (Vliet) from around that time too?

“Oh, sure. He was a character. Everybody knew who he was.”

But first came Denny’s apprenticeship of sorts, plying his trade with his own band. As he mentioned Liverpool before, I put it to him that he was playing a few Beatles songs by night.

“Well, I started before The Beatles. We’d play blues and rhythm and blues. We would learn a couple of cover tunes to get the gig at some club. But about halfway through the first set we’d be into all the shit we wanted to play. Sometimes we made it through the whole night… and sometimes we got paid too! We wanted to play what we wanted to play, and wanted people to hear it. We thought it was valid.”

And it just so happens that one night in the ’60s he was playing just a block away from Frank in Greenwich Village, New York.

“Yeah, they were playing the Garrick Theater. My three-piece blues band, The Detours, were on a break, I walked past and saw ‘Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention – absolutely free!’ I said, ‘Oh man – Frank!’ and right next to the kiosk was Bobby. We had big hellos. It was great. It had been so long. I asked where Frank was and he told me he was down the street having coffee, so I went and saw him.”

I understand he was with a few friends, including the beat poet Allen Ginsberg.

“Yeah, a couple of those guys were sitting there with them. I think everybody knows that story though.”

Bongo Fury: Zappa and Beefheart, long playing cover stars in ’75

Fast forward to ’75, when Denny’s successful slide-guitar audition led to a spell with the Mothers, then later a role with Beefheart too, on Frank’s suggestion, carrying on with both bands for a while.

“My first with Frank was the Bongo Fury tour. Terry (Bozzio) was the drummer then, and Beefheart on that tour – the first time I’d seen him since Lancaster. We had rehearsals then went on the road with them. Then at the end of the tour Frank suggested I played with Beefheart. He was trying to get him to get his band together again.

“Frank gave me the Trout Mask Replica album to listen to, which I’d never heard before. I went home, put it on, listened and I’m going, ‘What the hell? Frank must be pissed off at me or something, man! Why’s he doing this to me? We’re friends!”

I’m guessing it took you a while to get your head around that?

“I think it took me until around the third time, when I really started to hear how deep the blues influence was. The most difficult thing for me was trying to find out where my guitar part was. What am I playing? Which way was up!”

Alex Neilson from the Trembling Bells recently told me that once he’d heard Captain Beefheart there was no way he could go back to the indie music he was listening to before. How about you, back then?

“After playing with Frank and after playing with Don, it’s really … I don’t know. What they were saying and the feel of their music had a real strong pull for me. I think they felt that. That’s why they asked me to be in the band. I fit in a certain box. That’s why Frank changed his band so much. That was great. He got guys who really represented the kind of music he was writing at the time. And they’d bring something of themselves to it.”

You’re credited with bringing a harder-edged bluesy feel to both bands.

“Yeah, I did. And Frank never told me not to play anything. I just played what I felt, and he trusted that.”

Fishy Tales: Captain Beefheart’s revered Trout Mask Replica album

You got to see a lot of Europe and the US during that period. Interesting times. Any specific memories of gigs in the UK around then?

“Oh man! A lot of it was a blur. Travelling with that large a band – and that popular at the time – you’re doing one night in one town and you see the airport, you see the town, you see the hall you’re going to play in for a soundcheck, you go back, try to eat something and next thing you’re back in the theatre. Next morning you’re there at 5.30, bags in the hall, and you’re off to the airport. So you don’t get to see a lot of days off. When you have 25 people on the road you have to pay for a day off.”

Do you make sure you have more time these days to do a little sightseeing?

“Well, it’s easier in the UK. This time we’re going from Glasgow to Bristol … or Brighton … (Denny shuffles his itinerary in front of him) … well, one of them that starts with a ‘B’. Where the hell are we going? I don’t know. I’m just going to get in the car!”

I think I saw Bilston on the list. That’s in the Black Country – Black Sabbath and Slade country.

“Yeah, playing the Robin 2!”

Did you stay in touch with Beefheart after leaving the Magic Band?

“Oh yeah, for a long time, until he was getting progressively worse with the MS. Then he cut off communication, which you know …”

It’s now six years since we lost him. How do you like to remember him?

“I remember him in so many ways. I play his music every day. In fact, I just played Steal Softly Thru Snow on the guitar.”

Feelers Rebo: Denny Walley in six-string action, looking contemplative

You stayed in contact with Frank too, and it’s now 23 years since we lost him.

“That’s unbelievable, isn’t it.”

I’ll ask you the same about him. How do you remember Frank Zappa, first and foremost? Through his music again?

“Yeah, but it was more than the music. If you had something to offer … but if you couldn’t cut it … it wasn’t easy. He wouldn’t hire you just because you were his friend. He did say if his mother couldn’t cut the part he wouldn’t hire her … which is big.

“For me it was like going to college for free, and being paid for it. It was really challenging, which was a great discipline for me. I learned so much about me in that band.”

Are you still learning now?

“Oh yeah, every day! If you’re ever satisfied with your playing, it’s over!”

And the Muffin Men help you with that continued learning?

“Yeah. They’re great. I love those guys. They’re my brothers!”

They’re celebrating more than a quarter of a century on the road around Europe with this tour. They say they’ve played nearly 2,000 gigs altogether. How many of those were with you?

“Probably a couple of hundred. It’s like a travelling circus when we’re together, and those guys are all mad! I love it!”

The Muffin Men play The Continental, South Meadow Lane, Preston, on Thursday, April 6 (7.30pm), with tickets £12, and full details here.

If you can’t wait that long, there’s Orange Claw Hammer plays Beefheart at the same venue tonight (Thursday, March 30th), a revered outfit re-interpreting classic Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band songs, with tickets £8 (£10 door), and full details here.

And for more details on the Muffin Men tour, try this link.

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Antelope Valley High School, Atlanta, blues, Bongo Fury, California, Captain Beefheart, Denny Walley, Feelers Rebo, Frank Zappa, Lancaster, Liverpool, Magic Band, Mothers of Invention, Muddy Waters, Muffin Men, Preston, The Continental, Trembling Bells, Trout Mask Replica | 1 Comment

Life beyond The Waves – the Katrina Leskanich interview

Posted on March 23, 2017 by writewyattuk

Shining Light: Katrina Leskanich in live action (Photo: Ulf Skjernbo)

Shining Light: Katrina Leskanich in live action (Photo: Ulf Stjernbo)

When Katrina Leskanich told me down the telephone line, ‘The sun is shining, finally’ in London, I took it with a pinch of salt, not least as earlier that day I revisited a grainy mid-‘80s promo video in which she was strutting around the capital in capped t-shirt singing about soaring temperatures, while her bandmates were wrapped up in overcoats.

You’ll no doubt remember Walking on Sunshine, the breakthrough Katrina and the Waves single, and 12 years later the same outfit had a second top-10 hit, securing the UK’s fifth (and most recent) Eurovision Song Contest win in the process with Love, Shine a Light.

While that debut chart success charted 32 years ago, royalties are still coming in for an instantly-recognisable feelgood tune, not least when the sun’s out and summer is on the mind for radio DJs all over. It was Katrina’s bandmate Kimberley Rew – who’d had a spell away with Robyn Hitchcock in The Soft Boys – who wrote that track, a version appearing on the 1983 Katrina and the Waves debut album. But second time around a remix (and the video) helped break them. And just when they were in danger of being labelled ‘two-hit wonders’ – the hits drying up after follow-up Sun Street – came that Eurovision victory, which may even be our last following the UK’s move towards Brexit, making it even less likely that we grab ‘douze points’ from anywhere south or east of these shores.

While born and raised in Kansas, Katrina has been based in the UK since the mid-‘70s, with London her home since the late ‘90s. She’d moved around a fair bit before though, her Dad – a colonel in the US Air Force – having served all over with the US Air Force and the family – with Katrina one of six siblings – going with him.

“We lived in about eight different states in America, then Germany and Holland, then to England in 1976, and I’ve stayed here pretty much ever since, although I divide myself between here and America. I work there a lot but choose to live here. I often think through some of the winters I haven’t quite chosen right, but you got a beautiful day over here and it’s fantastic.”

My excuse for talking to Katrina is the Back to the 80s Live tour, in particular a show at Preston Guild Hall on Saturday, April 15th, also featuring Paul Young, Sonia, Hazell Dean, Tight Fit, and Nathan Moore (Brother Beyond). And bearing in mind Katrina’s transitory past, when the headliner sings his cover of Marvin Gaye’s Wherever I Lay My Hat, I tell her she has every right to tell him he’s stolen her song.

“Exactly. It’s like, ‘Paul, you’re singing my story here! It’s really great to be with him on this tour though. He’s a great entertainer, as is everybody else on this show. I’m going to be on tour with Paul in America in July and August too, going all over on the same bus. And you really get to know someone very well when you’re sharing a bathroom on a bus and it’s like a 32-hour drive from Colorado to Florida! There’ll also be Howard Jones, Men Without Hats, Annabella from Bow Wow Wow on the American tour. And there are a lot of shows – about 26 in a month.”

Looking Up: Katrina looks for live guidance (Photo: Ulf Stjernbo)

Mention Katrina and the Waves, and you’ll probably find people either namecheck that first hit or the third. Can that get a bit tiresome?

“Yeah, but I guess it’s better than them not knowing what to say. The name Katrina and the Waves probably has less currency than mentioning Walking on Sunshine or in this country Love, Shine a Light. People don’t always remember who did a song. I’ve had many people come and tell me how much they loved my song Echo Beach or how much they loved my song 99 Red Balloons. I get a lot of credit for stuff I never did, but that’s kind of where the lines are a little blurred about who exactly did what.

“There are so few women who came from the ’80s scene, yet proportionately to the amount of men still working from that era it seems there are more women than men out there now. It seems that everywhere you look there’s Carol Decker or Kim Wilde.”

Of course, she’s set herself up now, and I tell her I might come along to a show and shout for Brass in Pocket when she’s on.

“Ha! Oh, I get it all the time. Now I just go, ‘Thank you!’ In an interview a while ago someone said, ‘Now, Walking on Sunshine, that was like 1968, right?’ I said, ‘Yeah, wasn’t I singing well for eight years old!’

While the band’s second and third albums somewhat flopped, there were a few hits that never quite happened, not least a further stand-out from chief songwriter Kimberley Rew, Going Down to Liverpool. I love that song, but – I admit to Katrina – it was The Bangles’ version I heard first and that made a bigger impression accordingly. That said, they never actually had a proper hit here with it either. It certainly deserved better.

“I know. The thing is that The Bangles covered that way before we were signed to Capitol Records, and did a really interesting video …”

Going Solo: Katrina Leskanich

I remember it well, with Leonard Nimoy co-starring, riding Susanna Hoffs and co. around in a cab, before the band had their big breakthrough with another cover, Prince’s Manic Monday.

“Yeah. Pretty weird. MTV were quite intrigued by that and then Columbia Records, who they were with, asked who did that song originally. It was relaid that it was this group with a girl. We were touring in Canada at the time, having a small deal with a Canadian label (Attic), and these guys showed up to a show and before we knew it we were signed by Capitol. So that was very much thanks to The Bangles’ covering our song, although it wasn’t really a big hit for them.”

So what about that Walking on Sunshine promo video, on location near Tower Bridge – was that filmed around this time of year? It looked like it was cold that day.

“It was bloody freezing! It was February 3. We had £1,000 to make this video with Chris Tookey, who had previously directed a TV show called Revolver. He’s a film critic now. It was the first we’d ever made and we didn’t have a clue. They told us, ‘We’re going down to the docks. I didn’t know where that was. At the time I was living in Norfolk, near the military bases by the Suffolk border. We came down to London and were walking around what is now an area of luxury condos and flats. At the time it was dilapidated and I don’t know how we got permission to jump around in that warehouse.

“I remember people saying, ‘Mind when you jump, the floor’s really rotten and you could fall through’. They also kept saying, ‘Act like it’s really hot, but there was steam pouring out of my mouth, so I was told to sing but don’t breathe! It was crazy but we filmed the whole thing in about an hour then did the inside shoot. I don’t even know where that was. I think by then the Jack Daniels had come out, and we didn’t really care. I was frozen to the bone. I just wanted it to be over. Of course, the boys are in big army surplus overcoats. They always had it so easy. I had to do all the dirty work, freezing my ass off!”

I get the impression the band were all good mates then, but _ I put it to her – there was a little animosity later, Katrina quitting in ’98 and a legal dispute following.

“Not really, no more so than you’d have in any normal divorce. We knew after we won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1997 that everything was going to change. The perception of the group was completely different. It became all about me and that was a tricky thing.

“I went into BBC Radio 2, working there for a year, and did some musical theatre shows (playing the lead role in Leader of the Pack), wrote a couple of books and kind of did my own thing for a while. Now it’s kind of come back, with this enormous demand for ‘80s music and artists. I think people look back on it with fond memories of a good time, all the nostalgia and sentimentality involved with that.”

Eighties Days: Katrina and the Waves in 1989 (Photo: Michael Halsband)

While Katrina will be singing live to track on this tour, I have to ask – is there ever likely to be a Katrina and the Waves reunion?

“Oh no, those guys were older than me and they’ve very much officially retired. “

Despite her Topeka roots, Katrina’s probably more European than most of us, with Irish, German and Czech ancestry and all those country-to-country moves. She certainly doesn’t come over as a great believer in closed borders and xenophobia.

“Well no. I don’t really belong anywhere and I’ve stopped trying to figure out where I do belong. It’s very time-consuming and doesn’t really lead anywhere. It became less and less important to be from some place. But London’s the best place for someone like me – it’s just full of foreigners. We’re all over the place here!”

Going right back, was her early spell in first band Mama’s Cookin’ her pop and rock apprenticeship?

“That was just a way to try and make it in the music business. I was coming out of high school and being put under a lot of pressure by my parents to go to Kansas University and go do the right thing. I put a band together and we played a bunch of cover songs to GIs and other military guys. We did all the RAF and USAF bases. At the age of 18 I was the band’s manager, phoning up these clubs, asking to speak to entertainments managers, saying, ‘Listen, we’ve got a band that plays American music, and the GIs will love it’.

“That’s how we got started, and then a couple of English guys in Cambridge heard I was a good singer and wanted to get a band together with a woman. At the time that was still a novelty. My phone rang and I dragged along my friend Vince (de la Cruz, Katrina’s ex and a fellow ‘USAF brat’ who sang and played slide guitar). We’d known each other since we were teenagers. That’s how The Waves got started.”

Sunshine Seekers: Katrina and the Waves in 1987 (Photo: Simon Fowler)

So who were your heroes at that stage? Who first inspired you to front a band?

“It was always Chrissie Hynde. There were so few women that played guitar, and I very much fashioned myself on her, with the hair and the Fender Telecaster. She was another American who came to England, so I took all of my cues from Chrissie. I loved Linda Ronstadt, and had the Patti Smith album. I was very interested in any woman who was making it in the music business. It was same with all the girl groups and writers for those groups like Ellie Greenwich. And I loved the Velvet Underground, fashioning myself after Nico for a while. It always goes back to Chrissie though. And she’s still going.”

Away from her life in music, there’s also Katrina’s publishing sideline, working on the Metropoodle photographic guide books with her partner Sher Harper, centred around their beloved pooch, Peggy Lee. And is that right that there’s an autobiography coming (for Katrina that is, rather than Peggy Lee)?

“I’ve been toying around with that for an awful long time. It’s a very challenging, difficult thing to do. It’s much more fun to work on Metropoodle, the new name for our Peggy Lee Loves London book. She has two books – a London guide and a Cornwall guide, and they’ll both be on Kindle very shortly. They’re photographic books you can use as guide books, full of my favourite aspects of London, where I live, and Cornwall, where I love.”

I was aware of her love for Cornwall through her most recent solo album, Blisland, its title celebrating a small village near Bodmin which Katrina fell in love with.

“Exactly. The Blisland Inn is one of the first places if you’re on your way into Cornwall. It’s great to hang a right there and go grab a beer! I also Iove going down to St Just and Cape Cornwall, very remote, with some fantastic pubs around there. Zennor too, with some lovely drives around there. Really cool.”

I smile at this point, Katrina putting the emphasis on the last syllable of Zennor, just as she had with Norfolk earlier, those tell-tale US tones still there four decades after joining us.

Love Shines: Katrina Leskanich , up close and personal (Photo: Sara L Petty)

And while the ’80s retro circuit continues to call, this May will mark 20 years since the UK’s last Eurovision success. So did Katrina get to properly party in Dublin back in ’97?

“It was insane! We had Prince Charles on one phone and Tony Blair on the other, and the President of Ireland (Mary Robinson), and everybody and their brother came out of the woodwork, offering their congratulations. It was a gigantic party, and what a great place to win. After the show we were sitting around with Terry Wogan drinking Black Velvet, smoking huge cigars, not even having a hangover the next day. When you’re celebrating something as truly magnificent as winning the Eurovision Song Contest when everyone said it couldn’t be done, you’re pretty happy!”

In fact, they won by a record points margin, becoming the most credible victors since ABBA with Waterloo in 1974. And Katrina’s had a hand in the competition since, helping out with various entries in Sweden, Belgium and Austria. She was on the You Decide UK entry panel here last year too. Has she heard this year’s UK entry by Cardiff’s Lucie Jones?

“Yeah … it’s okay. You have to bear in mind you have to come up with something incredibly strong and commercial. I don’t know if that’s it. The Swedes are very good at constructing hit songs and know exactly what they’re doing. There was a song called Euphoria by Loreen – the 2012 Eurovision winner – an amazing song, cleverly crafted, a global smash, one you heard everywhere, and that’s really the calibre we’re talking about.

“Forget about old school Boom Bang-a-Bang. Those kind of quirky novelty songs are never going to win again. People want important, big statements.”

The politics might not help either. We seem to be on a hiding to nothing, seen as a stand-off island wanting to be divorced from Europe anyway.

“Well yeah, there’s a really great excuse this year not to do well, called Brexit. Did no one think that when they voted out? I’m surprised Cheryl Baker didn’t stand up and ask, ‘What’ll happen to the Eurovision?’”

A fair point, if not delivered with a little humour. And is Katrina – set to release the 18-track The Very Best of Katrina retrospective in early May – tempted to head to Kiev for this year’s final?

“No, I’m returning my library book, and won’t be able to make it. Such a shame.”

Telecaster Strut: Katrina Leskanich in live action (Photo: Sara L Petty)

To catch up with this website’s feature/interview with Paul Young, from last December, head here. And for the most recent writewyattuk interview with Howard Jones, try here.

To keep up to date with Katrina, check out her website and stay in touch via her Facebook and Twitter links. There’s also the official Katrina and the Waves website.

Katrina will be appearing at Back to the ‘80s Live at Preston Guild Hall on Saturday, April 15 alongside headliner Paul Young, Sonia, Nathan Moore (Brother Beyond), Hazell Dean and Tight Fit, with tickets £25 from the box office (01772 804444) or online via this link.

With thanks to Sher Harper for supplying the extra photographs.

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged Blisland, Chris Tookey, Chrissie Hynde., Dublin, Going Down to Liverpool, Kansas, Katrina Leskanich, Katrrina and the Waves, Kimberley Rew, Leader of the Pack, London, Loreen, Love Shine a Light, Lucie Jones, Mama's Cookin', Metropoodle, Norfolk, Paul Young, Preston, Terry Wogan, The Bangles, The Soft Boys, Walking on Sunshine | 3 Comments

WriteWyattUK on White Riot … 40 years on

Posted on March 18, 2017 by writewyattuk

I couldn’t get through Saturday, March 18th, 2017, without mentioning a certain clarion call from the early days of punk, released 40 years ago today – the song that inspired this website’s name. Naive maybe, but so much energy to this day.

That first single from The Clash was a call to arms, although perhaps not in the way Joe Strummer and Mick Jones suggested in the lyrics. To the best of my knowledge, we never got to see Sten guns in Knightsbridge, as mentioned on b-side 1977, but this was more a revolution of the mindset and three weeks later was followed by the release of an inspirational debut album, a mighty influence on so many other great bands that followed and whom I grew to love.

You can go a long way back to pinpoint the seismic moments that shaped the punk and new wave revolution. From the more raucous moments of The Kinks. The Rolling Stones and The Who through to late ’60s/early ’70s US underground outfits such as MC5, The Velvet Underground, The Monks, The Stooges, Captain Beefheart and New York Dolls. Then came the swagger and fan appeal of The Faces and Mott the Hoople – as oppposed to the pomp and ceremony of most of the other prog and rock bands of the time – and back-to-basics thrills of Dr Feelgood this side of the ocean, or Ramones, Patti Smith, Television and Blondie across the Atlantic. The die was cast, and along came The Clash, The Damned, The Stranglers and Sex Pistols at the forefront yet among many more great bands emerging or reinventing themselves.

White Riot certainly wasn’t the first shot across the bow. Blitzkrieg Bop was released a year earlier, and on this side of the water we had New Rose in October ’76, five weeks before Anarchy in the UK. Then there was Buzzcocks’ Spiral Scratch EP and my hometown boys The Stranglers’ (Get A) Grip (On Yourself) at the end of January ’77.

Incidentally, The Clash began their White Riot tour on March 1st, ’77, on my patch at Guildford Civic Hall, supported by local lads The Jam (who quit the tour soon after), Buzzcocks, The Slits and Subway Sect. London’s Burning sounded the start of a 16-song set that night, including two plays of 1977 (second in, and the final song).

OK, I wasn’t even nine and a half when the single came out, but this sub-two minute blast had consequences, and without The Clash …. well, who knows. I was only finding my feet around then, but my brother and his mates (eight school years above me) were along for the ride and I kind of absorbed it all, to the point that when I started earning a little cash through paper-rounds and weekend labours at a farm shop, Combat Rock was the first album I bought for myself, albeit on cassette. I was 14 and a half then, having little in common with Adrian Mole other than we shared the same school year. The family photos of the time might not suggest it, but I was a punk and new wave kid at heart.

While The Clash and third offering London Calling were rightly seen as seminal moments, it was the album in between – released in late ’78 – that first stopped me in my tracks, so to speak. Those first three songs on Give ‘Em Enough Rope – Safe European Home, English Civil War and Tommy Gun (and I knew all the words of the latter two, courtesy of Smash Hits) – really struck a nerve. In fact side one of that album remains a joy for me, and there’ll always be that added nostalgic element.

Anyway, I’ll stop there for now, other than to say this also gives me a chance to put a teaser out there about a major project I’ve just signed up to and which will be taking up a fair bit of my time over the next six months. As Joe Strummer put it 40 years ago, ‘Are you going backwards, or are you going forwards?’ Well, I’ll tell you more soon. In the meantime, I think I’ll have a riot of my own.

Update (December 2018): Malcolm Wyatt, sole driver of the WriteWyattUK brand new cadillac, is the author of This Day in Music’s Guide to The Clash, which you can learn more about, including online sales links, here. If you would like a personally-dedicated, signed copy from the author, just get in touch via this page.

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged 1977, Buzzcocks, Combat Rock, Give 'Em Enough Rope, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned, The Jam, The Stranglers, White Riot | 8 Comments

A Whole Lotta Zeppelin, with the Black Dog Orchestra

Posted on March 17, 2017 by writewyattuk

Operatic Setting: The Led Zeppelin Masters show, caught on camera at Sydney Opera House

There’s a treat in store for Led Zeppelin fans next month, as Stairway To Heaven: Led Zeppelin Masters opens its UK run at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, prompting us to get the lowdown from this grand-scale production’s Aussie front-man, Vince Contarino.

Four decades after their final major tour, there’s still a Whole Lotta Love out there for Led Zeppelin, the iconic heavy rock band that first burst on to the scene in 1968 out of the ashes of The Yardbirds.

You probably know the rest – a highly-influential 12-year reign, with eight mega-selling studio albums during that period, ending with the death of drumming legend John Bonham in 1980, aged just 32. Fellow originals Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones appeared together under the band name four times beyond that, first with Phil Collins and Tony Thompson on drums in the summer of ’85 for Live Aid at the JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, then three times with John’s son Jason Bonham, the last in December 2007 for an Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert at London’s 02 Arena which set a world record for the highest demand for tickets for one music show (with 20 million requests online).

Unlike the other shows, that last gig brought critical praise, fuelling widespread speculation about a full reunion. Page, Jones and Jason Bonham were reported to be willing to tour and work on new material, but Plant was busy with Alison Krauss and said in September 2008 he wouldn’t be involved. Jones and Page reportedly eyed an alternative, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler among the options, but in early 2009 it was confirmed the project had been abandoned. And I reckon it’s fair to say that … erm, remains the same to this day, not least with Page now 73, Plant 68 and JPJ 71.

But there is at least one alternative at hand for diehard fans, not least those who never got the chance to see those songs performed live, and at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on Tuesday, April 18 you can enjoy the opening night of the grand-scale production Stairway To Heaven: Led Zeppelin Masters, featuring a full band complete with a 35-piece Black Dog Orchestra performing 18 Led Zep classics.

The show’s been a huge success Down Under, recently selling out three nights at Sydney Opera House as part of a nationwide Australian tour. And its Adelaide front-man Vince Contarino is looking forward to a similar response here during an eight-date visit also including visits to London Palladium and Edinburgh Usher Hall.

From the raw, metallic blues of Whole Lotta Love to the epic Stairway to Heaven and sheer exhilaration of Kashmir, the show celebrates the timeless legacy of this highly-influential four-piece. And powerhouse vocalist Vince tells us he’s ‘incredibly excited to finally bring this show to the UK, the home of Led Zeppelin’.

Vince, who previously played with Joe Walsh of The Eagles and ex-AC/DC bassist Mark Evans as well as a band called Party Boys, is also a front-man for former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick’s band when they perform in Australia, and his past support roles include those with Alice Cooper, Status Quo and Stevie Marriott.

Good Times: The Led Zeppelin Masters showband in action

He’s not only featured in four sell-out seasons with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria performing orchestral versions of Led Zep songs, but also helped give Deep Purple’s catalogue the symphonic treatment, performing with late, great keyboard player Jon Lord. It was in 1997 that he turned to theatre with the cross-cultural Theatre Company Doppio Teatro, soon adding the roles of Judas (Jesus Christ Superstar) and the Pharaoh (Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) to his repertoire at Her Majesty’s Theatre. But how – we asked him – did the Black Dog Orchestra collaboration come about?

“To answer that, we must go back to 2004 when we first decided to play the music of Led Zeppelin with an orchestra. We’d been playing as the Zep Boys for almost 20 years in pubs, clubs, theatres and outdoor festivals, so were looking to do something different.

“It wasn’t so much that we wanted to make the gigs bigger as much as we wanted grandeur. With an orchestra, we could play all the dubbed tracks on a Zeppelin studio track and, at the same time, bring together two different musical performance cultures.

“We played our first orchestral show with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in 2005 and it was a resounding success. The rest is history, going on to perform many more of these shows across Australia. And now here we are getting ready for the UK – the most exciting phase without doubt so far.”

I’m guessing you must have been one of the first recognised tribute acts in the world?

“This could be true. I never heard the term until a few years later when suddenly there was a deluge of tribute bands flooding the scene. I can only speak for Australia, but think it’s become unsavoury and in many cases just done for easy attention and monetary gain. Having said that, only acts that entertain and give audiences what they come to gigs to receive will survive the long haul.”

Three sold-out shows at Sydney Opera House is a testament to the reputation you’ve built in Australia. Did you ever imagine that was possible at the start?

“Never dreamed or dared to dream that. All we wanted to do was a couple of shows at the local pub and have fun playing the music of what we believe to be the greatest rock band ever”.

Twin Attack: Taking the Page and Plant route to success

Understandably, Zeppelin fans are very protective about the music. With you also being fans, how important is it to show respect and honesty to the music and the performance?

“The performance must be true to the catalogue and how those songs were recorded. Even though Zeppelin is blues-based – and blues is all about the moment and how we express ourselves individually. We believe we must stick to the script. We may express and interpret certain themes a little different from the original, but overall need to play the compositions as recorded on the albums so the audience is satisfied. We are strict on this and yet still have room to move within the confines of that material”.

You don’t tend to impersonate the band but allow your own personalities to come through. Was that always part of the plan?

“It was never even a consideration. We’re musicians, not actors. The music is what is important to us, not the clothes or fashion of a bygone era. The performance can only be honest if we are real and celebrate and communicate with the audience using the composition, not the alter-egos of Led Zeppelin themselves”.

Does that mean more emphasis on the music and musicianship, rather than trying to play a role then?

“Absolutely, the music is everything unless of course we want to take the piss. And I’d rather take the piss out of myself than Robert Plant or Jimmy Page. I have way too much respect for them”.

The addition of a 35-piece orchestra adds a new depth and makes for an amazing spectacle. How did you approach the project and arrangements with the orchestra?

“The arrangements are the brainchild of Nicholas Buc. He’s the man that sweated over those and has done a wonderful job – superb. We discussed dynamics and different versions of the songs so we could find a good custom fit. Compositions like Song Remains the Same and Rain Song for instance are different on the live album.

“We wanted to keep elements that we love from both. And of course there are endings that need to be written especially for the fade-out songs. In places Nic has added subtle orchestrations and some that just smack you in the face. The obvious one is Kashmir. However, Achilles’ Last Stand just keeps on building. The beauty of having an orchestra!”

Upwards Direction: No sign of the band being Dazed and Confused here.

So are there new interpretations on the old classics?

“Indeed, but as I mentioned some of the changes are subtle and then there are moments that come out of nowhere that simply take your breath away. That’s the wonder of music, introducing unexpected elements that enhance and lift and take you by surprise”.

And finally, tell us again how much you’re looking forward to bringing this show to the UK.

“Are you kidding me? We’re super-excited. We have a crew here in Australia that for logistical reasons we can’t take with us. They’re offering the blood of their firstborn to come – haha! We, the band, are beside ourselves. Some of these concert halls like Bridgewater Hall, Bristol Colston Hall and Newcastle City Hall were gigs Led Zeppelin did themselves. I’m sure they would have done the London Palladium, too.

“We are nervous though, because we want to put on a show that honours and reflects Led Zeppelin with integrity, passion and honesty. We want to be fighting fit and in good form. We are very much looking forward to the UK. In fact, it can’t come soon enough.”

UK April tour dates (tickets on sale through www.ticketmaster.co.uk):

Tue 18^th Manchester, Bridgewater Hall 0161 907 9000 bridgewater-hall.co.uk; Wed 19^thLondon Palladium 0844 412 4655 rutlive.co.uk; Thu 20^thBristol, Colston Hall 0844 887 1500 colstonhall.org; Sat 22^nd Newcastle, City Hall 0844 811 21 21 theatreroyal.co.uk; Sun 23^rdEdinburgh, Usher Hall 0131 228 1155 usherhall.co.uk; Tue 25^th Birmingham, Symphony Hall 0121 780 3333 thsh.co.uk; Wed 26^th Southend, Cliffs Pavilion 01702 351 135 southendtheatres.org.uk; Thu 27^th Plymouth Pavilions 0845 146 1460 plymouthpavilions.com.

For a quality recent read on Led Zeppelin, this site recommends The Dead Straight Guide to Led Zeppelin by Nigel Williamson (Red Planet, 2014), an essential Led Zep companion detailing the life and after-life of the band, covering all the albums, solo albums and reissues, including an inside track on the author’s 50 favourite tracks and much more. For more details and how to get hold of a copy, head to the Red Planet publisher’s link.

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged Australia, Bridgewater Hall, Jason Bonham, Jimmy Page, John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Led Zeppelin, Manchester, Phil Collins, Robert Plant, Stairway to Heaven, Tony Thompson, Vince Contarino, Yardbirds | 3 Comments

Once More … with The Wedding Present

Posted on March 17, 2017 by writewyattuk

Following this site’s breaking announcement last week comes news of The Wedding Present adding a second night in Preston, Lancashire, having sold out their first summer show at The Continental in super-fast time.

Three decades after their first visit to Preston, the John Peel favourites are now set to play the South Meadow Lane pub venue on Wednesday, July 26th, as well as the following night, with tickets £20, available from 11am today (Friday, March 17th) via wegottickets.com, the venue (01772 499425) or Action Records (01772 884772).

Thursday’s show tickets went on sale last Friday, with all online options gone by the following night. The last were sold by Action Records on Monday morning, the Church Street shop opening early to let in queueing fans.

Support on July 26th is from Miles Salisbury, once of Preston College-formed Blank Students, who did a BBC Radio 1 session for John Peel in 1981.

Kent duo The Catenary Wires are supporting the following night, featuring Talulah Gosh’s Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey. Between them, Amelia and Rob recorded Peel sessions with Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Marine Research and Sportique. What’s more, Amelia has her own Wedding Present heritage, having supplied backing vocals on four memorable tracks on revered debut LP George Best, and five beyond that (appearing on both singles in 1988).

The Wedding Present appeared at the Twang Club, Kent Street, Preston, in January 1986, and have only returned twice more, playing Preston Poly in November 1990 and more recent UCLan venue 53 Degrees in December 2010, scoring 18 top-40 singles and seven top-40 LPs between the first and third visits.

Continental Flavour: Two summer nights now booked for The Wedding Present (Photo: http://www.newcontinental.net)

David Gedge’s four-piece – completed by Charlie Layton (drums), Danielle Wadey (bass) and Marcus Kain (guitar) – are also set to play BBC 6 Music’s festival in Glasgow on Sunday, March 26th, and the Preston show follows a major North American tour and several larger UK and Irish dates. The band will travel on from Lancashire to festival appearances in Derbyshire and on the Isle of Bute. For full details, check out the band’s official Scopitones site.

Meanwhile, Miles Salisbury is also set to commence proceedings at a further Tuff Life Boogie event at The Continental tonight (Friday, March 17th) with headliners Oskar’s Drum, featuring Manchester-based Patrick Fitzgerald (Kitchens of Distinction) and Yves Altana (Chameleons Vox, Wonky Alice, The Chrysalids), and Drahla, a much-feted North Yorkshire outfit channelling Pixies, Giant Drag and Life Without Buildings. For more details of that and further Tuff Life Boogie events head here.

For this blog’s original announcement of the Preston show, and links to past David Gedge and The Wedding Present features on this site, head here.

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Amelia Fletcher, Caternary Wires, Drahla, George Best, Kitchens of Distinction, Miles Salisbury, Once More, Oskar's Drum, Patrick Fitzgerald, The Continental, The Wedding Present, Twang Club | Leave a comment

Going Going … This Boy Can’t Wait – a writewyattuk exclusive

Posted on March 10, 2017 by writewyattuk

Huts’ Entertainment: The Wedding Present, 2017. From the left – Marcus Kain, Danielle Wadey, David Gedge, Charlie Layton

I don’t tend to do ‘breaking news’ and ‘exclusive’ splashes on this website, leaving that to the … yawn … competition. But when you’ve got it, perhaps you should flaunt it after all. Go, Man, Go, as a wise man once said. Let those mice Click Click.

So when a promoter you’ve got to know well over the years (yep, Always the Quiet One) tells you about a Mystery Date involving one of your favourite bands ever, you have to Dare to get the Sports Car out and Drive the point home. Besides, You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends, particularly when he’s good enough to let you know in the first place. Thanks.

The head honcho at Tuff Life Boogie might well have said, ‘I’m From Further North Than You’ and kept this news away from me, but instead agreed, ‘Let Him Have It‘, early enough for me to spread the word via this site. But enough of the pre-amble. I’m Getting Nowhere Fast, and you could argue it’s Something and Nothing anyway, but I can’t be anything if I can’t Be Honest. so here’s what’s happening.

Indie favourites The Wedding Present are set for a memorable return to Preston this summer, 31 years after their first visit, The John Peel favourites are the latest big name to play The Continental on South Meadow Lane on Thursday, July 27th, part of the on-going UnPeeled series. with tickets £20, available from today (Friday, March 10th), online via Skiddle and WeGotTickets, through the venue itself (01772 499425), or Action Records (01772 884772).

David Gedge’s four-piece – completed by Charlie Layton (drums), Danielle Wadey (bass) and Marcus Kain (guitar) these days, and set to play BBC 6 Music’s fringe festival in Glasgow later this month – appeared at the Twang Club at the long-gone Caribbean Club on the corner of Kent Street and Canute Street, Preston, in January 1986, long before debut LP George Best. In fact, word has it that Tuff Life Boogie’s Rico la Rocca – then a bright-eyed indie schoolkid – might have had a word in organiser Dave Hindmarsh’s ear to get that booking in the first place.

Continental Callers: The Wedding Present, 2017 – David Gedge looks over (from the left) Marcus Kain, Charlie Layton and Danielle Wadey.

They’ve only returned twice (in fact, Preston’s become a city since those first two visits), in mid-November ’90 at the Polytechnic and then on a memorable winter’s night – with snow falling on the approach to the venue, I recall – on the Bizarro anniversary tour at that educational establishment’s more recent incarnation UCLan’s 53 Degrees venue in December 2010, having scored 18 top-40 singles and seven top-40 LPs between the first and third trips. Actually, I must dig out the review I did for the Lancashire Evening Post at the time of the latter (a year and a bit before this website was up and running).

Despite having seen them more times in Manchester (Granadaland, pop kids?) than anywhere else, I could only find a handful of North West dates for Gedge and co. outside there and Liverpool over the years. Those included two early dates in Lancaster (the Gregson Centre in March ’86* and the Sugar House at the Uni in May ’87), another at Blackburn’s (King George’s Hall, November ’89), and more recent ones at the latter venue (2014), Blackpool (Tower Lounge, 2008) and Clitheroe (The Grand, 2011).

And this Preston show follows a major North American tour and several larger UK and Irish dates this year, this prestigious warm-up at the Conti set to be followed by festival appearances in Derbyshire and on the Isle of Bute.

Anyway, It’s What You Want that Matters. Nobody’s Twisting Your Arm. But seeing as it’s barely a 200-capacity involved, you better get on – Go Out And Get ‘Em Boy! And girls.

I’ll finish with a blatant advert (Once More). For All This And More stay tuned to writewyattuk.com. Ah, It’s a Gas this job. Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah.

A subsequent conversation with Amsterdam-based friend of this site Ajay Saggar – of Deutsche Ashram and King Champion Sounds fame, and previously Preston’s Dandelion Adventure, among others – reveals he not only booked The Weddoes for that early ’86 Gregson Centre date, but there’s a lovely muffled recording of it out there on YouTube, linked here.

For a taste of what you might get at the Conti from The Wedding Present, check out this recent review from the Boileroom in Guildford.

The writewyattuk review of last year’s Going Going … is here. And for a past appreciation of The Wedding Present on this site (wrapped around a review of 2012’s Valentina), try here.

For Thirty Years in the Business, a writewyattuk interview with David Gedge at Hebden Bridge’s Trades Club in the summer of 2014, try here.

And for full details of all this year’s Wedding Present dates, check out the official Scopitones website and keep in touch via Facebook and Twitter.

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged David Gedge, John Peel, Lancaster, Preston, The Continental, The Wedding Present, Tuff Life Boogie | 1 Comment

Look to get to know him well – back in touch with Howard Jones

Posted on March 9, 2017 by writewyattuk

Stage Craft: Howard Jones live (Photograph copyright: Jose Franciscio Salgado)

It was a cold, grey day as Howard Jones looked out on to the Somerset Levels from his West Country home studio when we caught up on the phone ahead of his latest solo tour. But Spring was on the mind, in what’s already turning out to be another busy year for a seasoned singer-songwriter still selling out venues, 34 years after New Song truly announced his arrival.

That No.3 single and follow-up What Is Love? – which went one better – were the first of six top-10 and 10 top-40 singles for this Southampton-born pioneer of synth-based pop. And all these years on there’s still plenty of public appetite for this likeable Live Aid veteran.

Altogether, Howard has sold more than eight million albums across the globe and is one of a select group of British artists who have comprehensively ‘broken America’. But while equally at home playing Freddie Mercury’s Steinway grand piano at Wembley Stadium in the summer of ’85 – remember those goosebump moments on Hide and Seek? – it seems that the smaller venues hold just as much allure for the 62-year-old.

His on-going series of solo acoustic shows provide more personal settings, in which he thrives, even if he is often worried about re-telling the same tales. An Evening with Howard Jones (The Songs, The Piano and The Stories) offers audiences an intimate journey through a stellar career. Many of his best-known songs were composed on piano, and Howard looks to share a few behind-the-scenes stories and reveal the inspiration behind many of those songs on stage.

The current tour runs through to dates at The Lowry in Salford on Thursday, March 30th (0843 208 6000 or via this link), and a finale at The Grand Theatre in Lancaster on Friday, March 31st (tickets via 01524 64695 or this link). And that last date stokes up a few memories for starters.

“I think I played Lancaster before I even got a record deal, at the University there, and remember going up in a van, before anything had really taken off for me. That’s a long time ago.”

The idea of just you and a piano sharing a stage has proved to be a winning format.

“Yes, and I really enjoy doing them, so that goes a long way towards enthusing people when they come along. I’m really at home doing it. It is a challenge, a lot harder than doing bigger shows with the band, which is a comparatively secure way of doing things. With these it’s different night to night, and every audience has a different personality and you have to find that and engage with that. I really enjoy the challenge of that, and think It helps me to be a better performer and player, pushing me forward.”

Howard’s Way: Synthpop pioneer Howard Jones is coming to a town near you

As you do more and more solo shows, do you find it easier to do the talking between the songs, or was that never an issue?

“The only thing I worry about is whether people have heard the stories before! But when I express that, very few people remember what you actually said last time. And of course, those stories evolve all the time. I’m probably a little paranoid about it though, so I’m constantly on the lookout for new material.”

As you travel up and down the country, do more and more memories come back to you?

“Yes, and I ask fans to tell me which gig they’re coming to and what songs they’d like me to play. That in itself produces the most incredible stories people have about what the songs mean to them. I have so much to say that I could probably do the whole night talking and just do a couple of songs at the end. But I don’t think people would be too happy with that!”

By now I’ve recalled how much fun it is talking to Howard, laughing at the other end of the line. Besides, we agree he goes to so much trouble taking a piano with him that he might as well use it.

We last spoke barely a year ago, ahead of his previous solo tour, which included a return to his old seat of learning, Manchester’s Northern College of Music. We also touched on his family roots, the sad passing of his heroes David Bowie and Keith Emerson, his early mastery of the synthesiser, his Buddhist faith, his famous friends in the industry, his memorable performance at Live Aid …

“So we’ve covered everything already?” he butts in.

Well, it was a long interview, but was a lot of fun and went down very well, I’d say. Besides, I’ve got plenty more to ask him, not least as he’s getting set for a fresh set of engagements on both sides of the Atlantic and at both ends of the earth. I make it 17 dates this month, with three already sold out, I put to him. That’s impressive after all these years, isn’t it?

“Yeah, it’s great. Actually, I think we’ve sold out eight shows now, so it’s progressed since!”

Well, there you go. Howard was always much more than just a pop act, of course, but that’s not always enough in itself to ensure longevity. So it must be very satisfying to see the interest still out there.

“It is great, and I don’t take it for granted. It’s wonderful that people still want to come and see me after all this time, and that’s dependent on doing great shows and people wanting to come back. I don’t have a huge record company behind me now, so it’s all done in a very real way too. And that suits me.”

Looking further ahead, I see there’s a date lined up at Hangar 34 in Liverpool on Friday, May 19th (follow this link for details) too.

“That’s when I’ll be introducing the new band. We’re doing a bunch of festivals in the UK this summer, and I’ve expanded the band, so that’ll be our debut. There’s five of us, and I’m excited by that as well.

“Mainly, the gigs I do are with a band, but I’m trying to make it an annual thing to have a month where I do piano shows, because they’re such fun to do. And that’s a different side to me which doesn’t seem to affect the other gigs. People either like both or one or the other.”

There goes that laugh again, and I point out that those bookings continue to come thick and fast, with his latest month-long trip to America next in mid-July.

“Yes, I’m headlining an American tour, which is very exciting, playing lots of big outdoor venues, something I’ve been working towards for the last three or four years.”

Do you plan to make the most of the six weeks between engagements to carry on with your new LP? I know you’re itching to get something out there.

“Yeah. It’s very difficult to find time to get things done, but I really have to, and have three tracks that are pretty much done. But there’s a lot more to do to get a whole album together. There will be some time in the summer though, and when I get back from America. So hopefully by the end of the year it will be close.”

Spending all that time on tour, I wonder if you’re good at writing on the road, and if so does that involve some form of gadgetry rather than pad and pen these days? Or do you need to be at a piano?

“Usually with me it’s lyrical ideas, and words. I’ve got my phone with me everywhere, so jot things down as notes, which then appear on all my different devices, so I can’t lose them! If I’ve got musical ideas I can use voice memos. I’ve a stack of stuff on there, which I should go back and listen to, see if there’s anything worth culling!”

Life Story: Howard Jones, waiting for an opportunity to finish the next album

Is it something a bit like The Beatles’ way of eventually putting together a few ideas to make one song?

”That’s true. You never know. Usually the very strong ideas stick with you, and don’t disappear, I find. It’s rare that I have a killer tune and then it’s gone. If it’s that good, it stays with you.”

Howard’s forthcoming 24-date headlining Retro Futura tour in the US will see him supported by The Beat, Men Without Hats, Modern English, Paul Young, Katrina (of Katrina and the Waves fame) and Bow Wow Wow’s Annabella Lwin on some shows.

All very exciting, yet on a more contentious issue these are uncertain times in America. And it seems to be a similar tale this side of the Atlantic after last year’s referendum. He recently mentioned these ‘turbulent times’ on his website and a ‘need for good spirits’ and to ‘stand up for the things we value’. I’m guessing as an international performer he’s no little Englander and no great advocate of closed borders.

“Well, broadly, whatever form it takes, we need to work together if we’re going to solve the global problems we have. So really we have no choice other than to work together. That can take many forms and I believe people feel they need a say in what goes on all over the world. I totally respect that and think that’s a good thing.

“Above all that, we really need to collaborate and work together, and that’s hard to do if we’re separated and putting up walls and all that stuff. Philosophically, that’s where I’m coming from, but I feel there are many ways of doing that. We have to find them though, otherwise we’re kind of doomed.”

On a lighter note, since we last spoke you’ve totted up a lot more air miles, including your last stateside dates with Barenaked Ladies and OMD. And then there was a tour Down Under with fellow ‘80s icon Kim Wilde.

“That’s right. We worked out that the best way to get there was to collaborate and share bands and crew. That’s what we did and we had a really great time. I think I laughed more than I have for a decade. It was such fun touring with the Wildes (Kim’s band includes her brother Ricky), and we had a great reception from the Australians. They loved it, and we covered God Only Knows together. That went down really well.”

Those on-going global ticket sales certainly suggest it’s not just the UK where you’re remembered with affection.

“Yeah, because I’ve spent a lot of time doing the groundwork again in the States, I’m starting to see results now. We’re definitely in bigger places playing to bigger audiences. It’s re-established, and while it’s taken America a while to get with that ’80s thing again, that’s started to happen again in a big way, with those audiences coming out to see their favourites.”

There were even ‘80s cruise ship engagements in America, also starring the likes of Rick Springfield, Mike + The Mechanics, Thomas Dolby, and Katrina again.

“That’s right. It’s a big trend now, from jazz to country and more. The new generation of cruise ships have the most amazing theatres, with full lighting rigs and really comfortable seats, holding around 1500 people. I love it, and was out seeing bands every night, like Morris Day and The Time, who played with Prince. Then there was Berlin and many more. For artists, it’s great to see other bands properly from a really good position, rather than from the side of the stage. And every night there’s someone amazing playing.”

There seems to be quite an eclectic mix on those bills too, not just the more obvious ‘80s acts you might expect. For example, I see The Tubes were involved.

“That’s right. It’s a very interesting and new development, and it was fun.”

But before the summer dates here then back in the US with the expanded band, Howard’s concentrating on the solo tour. Last time he had Somerset’s Elise Yuill guesting, and this time it’s US singer-songwriter Rachael Sage. A hand-picked support act again?

“Yes. She contacted me and sent links to her work – music and videos. I really liked it and thought it would make for a nice combination again. And it’s great to have female artists on the tour.”

You should be used to all this after all these years, but how’s life on the road for so long, and does Mrs Jones – his wife Jan, with whom he has three children – join you as much as she can?

“She does. She’s with me the whole time. That’s what makes the difference for me. And because all our kids have left home and are doing their own thing, we’re free to do that. It’s perfect timing.”

Keyboard Warrior: Howard Jones strikes a chord on stage

Finally, as it shares the billing with you, tell me more about that piano coming out with you.

“I’m just waiting for it to turn up, actually. Roland are sending a piano which I haven’t tried yet. I’ve got several options, but I’m really hoping it’s turning up today and I’ll get going with it.”

A proper road-test then.

“Yes, I’m trying to work towards getting the perfect piano sound live. I’m spoiled, because I have a Steinway at home, the most unbelievably-wonderful piano to play.”

I’m guessing taking that is not an option.

“No, I’d need a crane to take it with me. So it’s about finding something that gets close to that. I’ll probably be searching for the rest of my life, but it’s getting closer.”

That said, when you played Lancaster Uni back in the day, I’m guessing you weren’t likely to have had more than a couple of Casio synths in the back of the van.

“No, it would have been the Moog Prodigy, the Pro-One, the 808 drum machine, and a Juno 6 (both Roland) back then!”

Telling Tales: Howard Jones, all set for his latest solo tour

To catch up with the last writewyattuk interview with Howard Jones, from February 2016, head here.

For further details about An Evening with Howard Jones (The Songs, The Piano and The Stories) and other shows this year, try Howard’s official website. You can also keep up to date via Facebook and Twitter.

To find out more about Rachael Sage, you can follow her via Facebook and Twitter.

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Hangar 34, Hide and Seek, Howard Jones, Kim Wilde, Lancaster, Live Aid, Liverpool, New Song, Rachael Sage, Retro Futura, Roland, Royal Northern College of Music, Salford, Steinway, synthpop, The Lowry | 3 Comments

King Champion Sounds – Preston, The Continental

Posted on March 6, 2017 by writewyattuk

On Track: Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera was the perfect backdrop for King Champion Sounds’ winning performance.

There’s something about an unconventional marriage of inspirational music and film that always appeals to me, and I’ve been spoiled for choice on that front of late.

In my formative days on the ‘80s London circuit I recall a venue juxtaposing Dave Brubeck Quartet’s 1959 album Time Out with 1973 science fiction Western fantasy Westworld. And it somehow worked, staying with me long after forgetting which band was on that night.

A quarter of a century on, Public Service Broadcasting’s live use of archive documentary backdrop helped re-energise the concept of the music video after the MTV years arguably drained such creativity. And in 2012, the year I first caught PSB’s London Will Take It and Spitfire, British Sea Power (what is it with these three-word names?) gave us From the Sea to the Land Beyond, adding their own cinematic soundscape to evocative footage.

Two years later, we also had King Creosote’s spin on that theme, From Scotland with Love, and since then I’ve witnessed The Magnetic North’s Symphony to Orkney and Prospect of Skelmersdale masterfully blending expressive compositions with poignant moving pictures.

Which brings me to Friday and a snatched couple of hours on a busy weekend, timed perfectly to catch King Champion Sounds, all the way from Holland for a starring role on night one of the wondrous Vernal Equinox Festival in Preston, Lancashire.

Taking on co-promoters Tuff Life Boogie, Concrete Tapes and They Eat Culture’s ‘something new’ Spring theme, we got a UK exclusive, this revered Anglo-Dutch septet providing a mighty live soundtrack for Man with a Movie Camera, a cult 1929 foreign feature and one which any self-respecting student of film should be aware of.

New Amsterdam: The many faces of King Champion Sounds

This work-of-art silent documentary by Russian director Dziga Vertov and his wife Elizaveta Svilova (with cinematography by Mikhail Kaufman) seems every bit as fresh and innovative nine decades after its release, the camera techniques and editing as intriguing as its story of sorts, told through ordinary ‘Soviet citizens’ going about everyday lives, at work and at play in Ukrainian cities Odessa, Kiev and Kharkov, as well as Moscow.

It’s far more than pure nostalgia on celluloid though, several composers drawn to add their own soundtracks over the years, notably including Michael Nyman in 2002. Accordingly, you’d think it wouldn’t need a new score, yet King Champion Sounds take it to new heights for my money, filling the sonic gaps perfectly.

Taking Stu Sutcliffe’s approach to live performance to a new high, KCS mastermind and axe-meister Ajay Saggar – a John Peel sessioneer with the bands Dandelion Adventure and Donkey – barely caught our eye, so wrapped up was he in focusing on the big screen beyond.

The same went for Oli the bass player, who along with workman-like drummer Mees proved key to this time-sensitive concept working, while Danielle added further wondrous guitar touches, and brass duo Ditmer (sax) and Chris (trombone) brought further rich colour for this veritable feast on the eyes and ears.

That left vocalist G.W. Sok (former The Ex frontman) to do his performance poetic thing, side-on to the audience, again concentrating on the images throughout, adding real live presence at one moment, yet just another arms-folded movie-goer between verses.

I was soon hooked, ensconced with pint in hand as the band opened the gate on their Ghetto of Eden, one of three highly-emotive tracks from second LP Songs for the Golden Hour, on-screen Odessa waking up to a JJ Burnel-type bass rumble as this left-field collective quickly acquitted themselves to such an ambitious task.

Walk Away: King Champion Sounds and visions in harmony at the Conti

The uptempo, metronomic drive of Orbit Macht Frei and deep-throated throb of World of Confusion – the first of four selections from 2013 debut platter Different Drummer – took us forward with aplomb as the trams transported us to our city workplaces.

For my money, King Champion Sounds seem to be caught somewhere between The Blue Aeroplanes, Can, The Fall, Happy Mondays and PiL, while the horn section brings a brand new Pigbag sensibility. And while that combination might not scream ‘perfect fit’ for this venture, it works … and so well.

Mees and Oli led us from both sides as we ploughed into another highlight, Waiting for Measures, then jerky, quirky, Beefheart-baked The Year 500, while the more dreamy Shouting at the Moon – oh, the irony of our esteemed Low Country frontman inviting this happy breed of indoor festival-goers to reach for the top – gave rise to the brass-heavy splendour of Here We Go Again. Yes, think of The Go! Team covering a medley of The Beat’s Twist and Crawl and Department S’s Is Vic There? Glorious.

As the images kept coming, the breezily discordant Point Blank – the first of two sonic blasts from last year’s To Awake in that Heaven of Freedom – neatly complemented Vertov’s high-energy parade of sporting moments. This time, imagine an X-Ray Spex fitness video, and you’re not far off.

Epic finale Mice, Rats and Roaches took us briefly into a Stranglers-like underworld beneath those Soviet streets before the climax, although the scheduling must have been a minefield for band and promoter alike, and a late start for KCS led to a further theatrical twist, a member of last-on Mugstar tugging at GW’s sleeve towards the end, an animated discussion ensuing before the credits rolled, the angst quickly forgotten and hugs traded. And for me that proved to be something of a microcosm for all that came before and was to follow during this mud-free fest, one oozing with full-on, impassioned indie spirit.

King Champion Sounds followed this appearance with Saturday’s Fallow Cafe stop-off in Manchester, Ajay later adding, “The plan was always to make three albums and take it from there. The first cycle is complete. There will be another one to follow.”

I’m pleased to hear that, and of Friday’s spin cycle apogee I’d say our Amsterdam visitors supplied enough creative Vertovian flair to own the place, their celebration of sound and vision doing all the talking.

To keep in touch with the world of King Champion Sounds, head to their Facebook page via this link. And to download digital copies of their first three albums and new single Fool Throttle, try this Bandcamp link.

With thanks to Ajay Saggar and Chris Trombonist for use of the live images.

Silent Secrets: A still from 1929 classic Man with a Movie Camera

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Music | Tagged Ajay Saggar, Amsterdam, British Sea Power, G.W. Sok, John Peel, King Champion Sounds, King Creosote, Man with a Movie Camera, Preston, Public Service Broadcasting, The Continental, The Magnetic North, Tuff Life Boogie, Ukraine, Vernal Equinox Festival | 3 Comments

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WriteWyattUK on White Riot … 40 years on

A Whole Lotta Zeppelin, with the Black Dog Orchestra

Once More … with The Wedding Present

Going Going … This Boy Can’t Wait – a writewyattuk exclusive

Look to get to know him well – back in touch with Howard Jones

King Champion Sounds – Preston, The Continental

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