tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9956152528395391722024-03-09T08:32:09.253+00:00ratterratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09056842592399489363noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-62945091737517510722018-04-01T20:41:00.000+01:002018-04-01T20:41:14.504+01:00Bluebird!<br />
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Here's something you don't see every day...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">As we're up in Newcastle, our mate Andy Kershaw invited us across to
North Shields to visit him on a very special project he's involved with...the
restoration of Donald Campbell's iconic Bluebird...the jet boat that claimed
his life during a world record speed attempt on Coniston Water in 1967...</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World speed record attempt, 1967</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Andy is involved in raising awareness of the project and also a possible
documentary about the whole thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Me, Gary and Merv drove over there this afternoon to have a look and
meet the team... my goosepimples had goosepimples on them when I saw the
boat...huge portions of which were all intact due to the depth the boat was at,
about 140 feet down...but also because of the coldness of the fresh water...
nothing lives down there to create rust or eat away at the wreckage, which was
also partially buried in mud...further preserving it...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It blew us away...and Bill Smith, the head of the team, who actually
found the boat, standing there on the lake bed in his pressurized diving
suit.... (what a rush that must have been!) was only too keen to answer our
questions and let us take pictures...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">They're due to attempt some trials this August...yep...they’ve got it
running and are confident we'll see it on the water again...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A truly memorable hour of my life...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b>Baz<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b>March 2018</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Merv, Andy, Gaz, Baz and Bill (L to R)</td></tr>
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<br />ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-59731756643968714432016-09-14T23:47:00.000+01:002016-09-14T23:48:46.416+01:00Suite XVI<b>The Saga Of Suite XVI</b><br />
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Well, I suppose this had to be written about one day…there’s been a lot of talk about it, much at the time, and a lot more since. While the facts (and dirt, if you like) will always be between just the 5 of us, the result, whichever way you slice it, was that it was Paul Roberts’ last album with the band…a band he’d fronted for 16 years, good or bad, indifferent or striking…never boring… Sad yet ultimately inevitable, an album did eventually find its way out of it all…and this is my potted take on it…<br />
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When I’d joined the band 6 years before in April 2000, Paul had already been there for a decade, and they were tight. There were a few ‘new boy/ old boys’ things obviously, how couldn’t there be? But after everything they’d been through and survived, they were still together…and a team. During the <i>About Time</i> UK tour of ’95 and the European leg of the <i>Written in Red</i> tour in early 97, when the band I was in at the time were guests, we’d become friends and had kept in touch…calling each other from time to time, and Paul even coming to see us one night at the Borderline.<br />
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My first tour with the band was a blur…I auditioned, got the job, and was on the road in Europe 10 days later. Paul helped me through all of that, and much more over the 6 years we were in the band together. As we ploughed our way through the next few years on the road, we all began to get a feel for each other obviously…and there were a few little dints and cracks that started to appear and show themselves occasionally…and you’d expect that too…we lived together an awful lot. We’d had a very successful album in <i>Norfolk Coast</i>, and the time spent writing and recording it will always be a very treasured time, for all of us I know…new beginnings often are. We worked incredibly hard during that time, and no one helped me through it more than Paul.<br />
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When it was time to start collating stuff for the next record, we all tossed our bits and pieces in, as we’d done with the last one, and arranged some time together to start sifting and rejecting at our HQ in Somerset. There were tensions in the house and Paul wouldn’t stay, electing instead to drive the 180 mile round trip every day from the south coast where he was now living, a practice he’d started during the <i>Norfolk Coast</i> sessions which were now an accepted part of his routine…there was a wall going up. My thoughts at the time were, we’ve got to strike while the iron is hot from the success of the last album. There were a few good songs and bits left over from the sessions for it… and as any musician will tell you, you never entirely throw anything away. We had ideas and impetus, but it was becoming more difficult to all be in the same room together for the time necessary time to work on all the stuff we had…it was fucking frustrating to say the least.<br />
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The management company had arranged for a house to be rented in Cornwall…and almost as far away from normal life as it’s possible to get…with no distractions (always a downfall), and you fend for yourself. JJ and I went down there together in January 2005 to start the process…we got masses done…writing for hours every day, and night too. I was having personal issues and if I’m being totally honest, it was great to be so far away and be able to focus and concentrate on something else…I feel ashamed to admit that, but there it is. JJ always needs to be able to go somewhere neutral, and as we’d written much of Coast at the farm in Somerset, it was decided to get away from that and get off any kind of beaten track. This upset Paul a great deal I’m led to believe...he hadn’t been invited…although as I haven’t spoken to him since he left, I don’t know for sure.<br />
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What I do know was that there was a padded envelope on the doormat one morning with some songs from him on a CD…but such were the tensions between him and JJ in particular at the time, it was never opened while we were there. When it was eventually opened and played we already had most of what we needed…having said that if there had been anything absolutely killer on it, it would have been used I’m sure. There wasn’t…but I suspect Paul knew that anyway. This only led to more disruption, and recording the songs for the finished album dragged on mercilessly.<br />
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Personally I just couldn’t understand why he wasn’t prepared to make the most of the platform we’d been given, what with the success of the last album and all…but Paul just got more and more frustrated and I think we all knew something had to give. He was also incurring the wrath of our beloved road crew, who were his very dear mates…and things came to a head when he turned up to record one day having not bothered to learn the words to the song we were doing…unusual for him…he was usually the consummate pro, always giving it 100% with whatever we were involved in, and never settled for anything second best…even during the most stressful times. It was the beginning of the end. Usually you have a set of lyrics written on a stand in front of you for reference, but that’s all they’re there for…you don’t read them verbatim as you sing. I wasn’t there, but Paul apparently sang like a robot…maybe he was making a point…the producer complained, a meeting was called, and Paul quit.<br />
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He was given some time to think it over and make a choice…go on the road for the next 4 months with an album he felt he had no real part of, with a band he was becoming increasingly distant from, and with a crew who didn’t want to work with him any more…or leave for pastures new with a clean break and blank canvas…I think anyone would have done what he did next in that situation to be honest. He’d completed about 2/3 of the record, and there are versions of the finished songs with his voice on them, and some typically good Paul vocals, but he’d just had enough…and to those ends, so had everyone else…16 years and he was gone. I was shocked but not surprised if that makes any sense…upset but not fazed. He was my mate and I know to this day he thinks I was complicit in his leaving, that there was some kind of under handed conspiracy to get rid of him…total bollocks…that just proves he never really knew me at all. He worked so hard to ostracize himself, but it would’ve blown over like all the other disagreements of the past if he’d stuck in…I agreed with everyone that something had to change and thought he’d given up…we all did…a real shame considering we were following up a successful record and needed to bond together more than ever.<br />
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At his last gig at Rock City in Nottingham in December 2005 a few months before, he’d stayed out of the way of all of us and didn’t speak to anyone before, during or after the show…he’d made a few gestures to the crowd during songs that people picked up on, then got into his car and drove away…rolling it on his way home and completely writing it off…thankfully he was unhurt but his mind was clearly somewhere else…and so it proved… It’s been 10 years since all that happened and I still think about him often…a process I’m pretty sure isn’t reciprocated…whatever…He’ll crop up in conversation or we’ll play one of the songs he originally sang on and I’ll try to think about how he interpreted it…but no one can walk far with a stone in their shoe, and he had to leave…if for nothing else but his own peace of mind.<br />
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<b>UNBROKEN</b> I remember JJ bringing this in one day. I think he had most of the chorus, and a few scraps of a verse. He started playing the verse bass line and I instinctively thought of a Nirvana style guitar line…a kind of loud/quiet/loud thing. It was obvious this would be a rocker of some description, and so the guitar is raw and dirty…I remember it being bollocking loud in the studio when I was recording it. JJ’s lyrics were autobiographical, and I liked the way he balanced it up with both good and bad elements. We decided to give it some light and shade vocally, so it’s me singing the chorus…somehow it seemed more amusing to have a big shaven headed northerner singing about wearing suspenders…to this day I’m not sure if that line was thrown in for effect, or whether JJ has actually done it…he hasn’t said…but knowing him…<br />
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<b>SPECTRE OF LOVE</b> I mentioned earlier about my personal issues, and this song reflects that for me…it’s about, and for, my daughter. Writing about things so personal, and letting the whole world see them, has always been a bit of a poisoned chalice. Its catharsis laid bare for the writer, and can sometimes come across as syrupy and sentimental…I didn’t want that…I’m not given to that publicly, but the turmoil I was in was all pervading and I had to do something I guess. By the time this was released my little girl was 2 years into a 5 year vow of silence against me…5 years without talking to me…she’s super stubborn like her dad, but even I hadn’t expected that…suffice it to say that I was caught in the usual rock and roll trap, and came out the other side a single man…my son was only very young, but my daughter was a teenager…she had a lot to say on the matter…<br />
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I’ve never spoken about it until now…I’ve been asked and have never breathed a word…so now you know…We’ve put everything behind us and are now closer than ever but it was touch and go for a while…and whenever I hear this or we play it, I think of those times…music should remind you of the bad as well as the good times in your life… This was the first ’single’ if you like and was released as a taster. We played it live very early on and it was heart-warming to see the crowd singing along with every word from the start. There were a few reservations about a Stranglers song with the word love in the title, but I was adamant it should stay, and I’m pleased it did. It’s a sing along kind of chorus…the old juxtaposition of dark subject matter and up beat music. I really like Dave’s synth line in the chorus which gives it a great flow…and the riff JJ and I play to bring the 2nd verse in…great all round effort. The band knew what this meant to me and really dug in…<br />
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<b>SHE’S SLIPPING AWAY</b> I was reading in the paper one day about a chap who’d had an argument with his girlfriend. The row developed into a full blown fight and eventually he’d punched her and she’d fallen to the ground…hitting her head on the fireplace. There was blood everywhere in the sitting room and he couldn’t rouse her after a considerable amount of time had gone by…so he did what any self -respecting cowardly woman beater would do…fearing he’d killed her, he took her outside and buried her in the garden. Trouble was, she came round…and with a light dusting of soil on her face, and screaming, hammered on a neighbours’ door…he opened it to find a banshee covered in blood and mud and obviously stricken with horror…I thought it would make a great song…<br />
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Paul and I wrote the lyrics and it’s an example of a song with a very repetitive riff that just keeps going around the same chord progression for pretty much the whole thing. We introduced light and shade to differentiate the verses from the chorus’, and JJ switches the bass line around to punctuate that too, but the chord pattern is the same. We wanted to tell the story with and not distract from the narrative too much. Just before the guitar solo, which I played with a dropped D on the bass E string, the producer gives it a bit of the devil by detuning my voice on the word ‘soul’ to give it a demonic twist…you can also hear me laughing into the guitars’ pick up during the solo too…the little Gibson Melody Maker I used has at some time had the pickup taken out of it and put back in the wrong way round, which gives it a slightly microphonic tone sometimes…so I laughed into it and we kept it in… Listening to it again I can’t remember why we had the coda at the end on the fade…maybe just to change the pace…<br />
<br />
<b>SUMMAT OUTANOWT</b> Meaning ‘Something out of Nothing’ in a northern/Yorkshire/ Lancashire type accent, as if you didn’t know, this was one of the first songs JJ and I had written in Cornwall the previous year. I remember the core bass line and guitar hook coming almost at once one night when we were jamming, and when I woke up the next day JJ had most of the lyrics…about a relationship he’d had with a girl in his youth who made mountains out of molehills, blowing everything out of all proportion…we’ve all been there.<br />
<br />
The line about ‘the bad Albino’ came from the Da Vinci Code movie which we’d seen on a tour bus somewhere, and ‘the rabbit horror show’ from Fatal Attraction, and he just tried to get in as much ranting as he could, to show his anger…worked very well. I remember him sitting with his bass for hours in the kitchen working out the bass solo in the middle…honing it and streamlining it…then I joined in at the end on guitar and we had the whole middle eight. This was the first song to be recorded I seem to remember, and there’s an amusing out take of Paul venting his spleen…he either couldn’t get the words right, or was showing his frustration at somebody…either way you wouldn’t play it to your mother… A proper arse kicker this one with some great playing.<br />
<br />
<b>ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN</b> I remember a huge argument over this one. It brought the days’ work to an end with people walking out and refusing to come back. JJ had written it but Paul just wasn’t delivering it the way he wanted. Paul would always put his own spin on our lyrics, and mould them to himself…which is what you’d expect, but the cracks were widening by this time and I seem to recall the pair of them goading each other…both over reacting on purpose, and it just blew right up…2 crimson faced blokes right in each other’s faces…the day’s work was over and me and Dave went to the pub and Jet went home…dunno what the other 2 did but neither of them were there when we got back.<br />
<br />
As a result this was one of the last songs to be recorded…and it changed almost beyond all recognition by the time we did. It started life as a medium paced rocker I think, but we were bored with it and it got shelved. By the time we looked at it again we were a 4 piece and wondered if we couldn’t give it a total overhaul. JJ had written the lyrics about George W Bush…Dubya to his detractors, and the ongoing war in the Middle East, and the more mellow direction we took it in suited it very well. I was determined to try and work out just 1 guitar part with as few overdubs as possible. There’s also a great atmospheric solo from Dave, with a counterpoint guitar behind it which I’d forgotten about until just now…but remember working on quite a bit to get it right…Paul plays percussion on this too…and I didn’t realise how much I liked this song until 10 minutes ago…<br />
<br />
<b>SEE ME COMING</b> This was a piece that JJ had written for a Japanese animated version of The Count of Monte Christo, called Gankutsuou, which means The King of the Cavern. I think we just liked it and appropriated it for the album…I can’t remember the exact details, but as this was already released and part of a movie soundtrack, maybe we just liked the idea of having it on the album. In any case, I like the verses, and the turnaround rhythm, where we shout out the name of the lead character in the movie, E-D-M-O-N-D…the guitars are further up in the mix for this one too, which was a bit different… There are probably a few too many bleeps and keyboard effects in this for my liking if I’m honest, but overall a pretty good track, and one which I’ve not heard for a good few years…enjoyed listening to it again.<br />
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<br />
<b>BLESS YOU (SAVE YOU, SPARE YOU, DAMN YOU)</b> Driving along in the car with a friend one day around this time, the discussion turned to children’s nursery rhymes. There’d been a programme on the radio about the significance of some of them, the sign off being about ring a ring a roses, atishoo atishoo we all fall down…and it’s supposed connection to the Great Plague of London in the 17th century, which killed almost a quarter of the city’s population…but which is still unfounded. The conversation then turned to another saying from the same period, Bless You (you’ve sneezed once), Save you (twice), Spare You (thrice) & Damn You (you’ve sneezed 4 times…you’re dead)…I thought it was a great subject for a song.<br />
<br />
I wrote the lyrics pretty quickly and JJ and I wrote some music, and there it sat for a while. I liked the idea of an old rock and roll song style intro, and came up with the chords…that kind of old doo wop feel to the rhythm at the top of the song…the first verse continued along and when it came to the first chorus I thought some female vocals would be great in there. During our time in Cornwall the previous year, one of the girls in the estate agents where we’d rented the house, turned out to be very musical and had a fantastic voice…lovely quality to her voice and a great command of pitch. We’d gone down to the local pub (The Bullers in Looe) one night to an open mic night and heard her sing…what a voice…I knew she’d be great for this song. So we called her and she came up and did a great job of making the chorus haunting and very atmospheric…it wouldn’t have had half the impact had she not sung on it…so thanks again Lucy.<br />
<br />
The middle eight was a delight to arrange and play. JJ came up with a great chord sequence which was basically the intro chords in double time, then more added until they told a story all by themselves. Then Dave worked out the fantastic Elizabethan style baroque melody, and underpinning it all was some brush work by Jet that appears to go completely against the grain when you hear it on its own, but works beautifully…it goes right across the rhythm…I’d heard him do it months before and hadn’t let him forget it…it really works in this section. Then we thought we’d do the whole thing again only this time with a full band behind it…I got a bit bluesy at the end, pretty un-Stranglers…but it seemed to fit and the consensus was to keep it…no rules in this band… This is one of my favourite songs on the album, and one I still play acoustically when occasion allows…<br />
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<b>A SOLDIER'S DIARY</b> The fastest song the band has ever recorded. I wanted to cram in as many chord changes as we could and still keep the whole thing rocketing alone. It was inspired by reading about some of the notes, letters and diaries that were found in the allied trenches during the First World War, left by soldiers about to go over the top, never to be seen, and in many cases never to be found, again. I thought it was stirring stuff, heart breaking, poignant, and in the case of many a British Tommy, blackly amusing…never say fucking die…sometimes all there is left is to laugh…<br />
<br />
Counterpointing dark subject matter again with a jolly upbeat tune and melody seemed to be key here, and we rattled this off in no time once we’d worked it through. It’s not easy playing as fast as this and keeping it tight, and we’ve been playing it live recently too…a first… As an aside, this was the song I mentioned earlier that Paul hadn’t learned before coming in to sing…ironic in that he singled it out in a demo playing session we’d had months earlier as a real contender and couldn’t wait to get his teeth into it…another sign I suppose of how disenchanted he’d become…<br />
<br />
<b>BARBARA (SHANGRI-LA) </b>This was about my first ever girlfriend. I met Barbara when I was 15…there were a lot of firsts involved... She wore a particular perfume, can’t remember the name but can smell it even now…and I haven’t seen her for over 35 years. One day during this time I was at home and needed to rescue something from the attic. I was rummaging about through an old box I didn’t know was there and found a bag with some junk in it. I tipped it out and one of the things I saw was one of those perfume tester bottles you can get…not knowing what it was I unscrewed the cap and had a sniff…and there was Barbara in my minds’ eye…the smell took me straight back all those years…I couldn’t believe it and it had such an effect on me I told JJ about it on the phone the next time we spoke…"you should write a song about that” he said…<br />
<br />
We tried all kinds on this, and it went through loads of adjustments and arrangements and even titles before we found it. I played 12 string Rickenbacker on it, I think you can still hear it somewhere in there…but I was floundering with the arrangement for days before JJ and I sat for a whole day on it and pulled it into shape…I had a real blank on it but he could see what I couldn’t. This was one of the first songs we recorded I seem to remember, and I also remember Dave getting hold of a theremin to try in the middle…giving it a ‘Good Vibrations’ vibe…but they’re so unpredictable and difficult to master we ended up using a virtual one instead…much more stable and user friendly…the original one is still kicking about somewhere though…saw it not long ago… Wonder sometimes if Barbara has ever heard this…<br />
<br />
<b>I HATE YOU</b> The topic of much discussion at the time of its release…and he still won’t say who it’s about…though we all have our suspicions. This was an acoustic bash along that JJ came up with one afternoon…not sure when…don’t think he had it in Looe. Anyway he played it to me one day and I fell about laughing telling him we should use it. I’d just got hold of a Fender Stratocaster, not a model of guitar I have too much love for, but thought it would be great on this as a kind of Johnny Cash pastiche. This is an absolute blast to play. Jet’s brush work on this is superb and he really kicks it along in the up tempo sections. I’m pretty pleased with the harmonica I played on it, and JJ’s vocal is great, as is the walking bass line at which he is so adept…sitting right in the pocket with the drums. There was a jews, or jaws harp lying around and for a laugh I started playing it under the harmonica solo one day…never thinking it would be used…came in the next day and there it was in the mix…<br />
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<b>RELENTLESS</b> The last song to be recorded. This is one of our favourites to play live, and a fans’ favourite too so I’m told. Dave rates it in his all-time top 3 band songs. I was talking to Louie in the studio one day and he said something along the lines of “we need something that doesn’t stop…something that hammers along…something relentless”…it jumped into my brain and stayed there. I thought, rather than making the actual music relentless, write about things that just never stop…time and tide, love…all things that are eternal.<br />
<br />
The lyrics came pretty quickly, but I laboured long and hard to try and find the right guitar riff…it sounds simple on the record, and it is, but therein lies its power. It took a day of just playing it over and over until I found it…the test is always playing it to the band, and once they got their hands on it, it came to life…I knew it would make sense, but everyone working on it shifts it, and it pulls and pushes and moulds itself in to the finished article…took a little while, and there were quite a few different mixes of this until we found the right one… I’m very proud of this song. It’s actually really quite simple, but Dave’s keys and the driving bass just smack it along, and the chorus is really just one word…I like that…<br />
<br />
<br />
This album signalled another turning point for the band…one that until it actually happened, we didn’t really see coming. It was my first stab at lead vocals, good or bad, and marked JJ’s return to lead vocals after a 16 year layoff. We went out and played a show 3 weeks after we became 4 again too…and that surpassed all our expectations. It took a while to get used to…but not too<br />
long…by the summer of 2006 we had it down…and this album helped start yet another new era for us…<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>BAZ/ 14th SEPT 2016</b>ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-16244138565287581322016-01-30T19:35:00.000+00:002016-01-30T19:35:15.617+00:002015-a year in the life...<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Another
year gone...where does it go? Unbelievable...I look back on it and, seeing the
things we did, it </span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">seems simultaneously like yesterday and 10 years ago
sometimes...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">January
started with a trip to JJ's to catch up and talk about possible songs for the
March On tour...unseasonably warm even for the South of France, we managed to
sit in the garden in t-shirts playing acoustic guitars one afternoon...global
warming at its finest...</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">At the
end of that month JJ, Jet and I appeared on BBC Breakfast TV in
Manchester...Jet all bundled up in scarf, shades and woolly hat, prompting Boy
George to Tweet "Jet Black...a punk Paddington Bear"...The presenters
seemed more interested in the band's dalliances with Heroin from days of yore, I
get asked one question and am abruptly interrupted by the rude and particularly
crass male presenter during my answer...I opt not to speak again...</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">February
is taken up, as most Februarys are these days with rehearsals...We convene in
the west country for 2 weeks, have a break, then come back for another week.
Sometimes it doesn't last that long, sometimes we need longer, but not
often...We tend to know what we're doing...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">March of
course was tour time...and again, a great time. As it comes around, we always
play it down thinking it'll not be as good as last year, or the year before
that...and it always is...Our expectations are surpassed, and we still look at
each other with 'wow' expressions on our faces...hard to put into words how it
makes us feel...but I think you know...</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">April is
a quiet month...nothing going on but the rent...</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">May is a
very varied month. We play in a marquee in Belfast city centre...always
fantastic to go there, we don't go enough...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Then me
and my mate Merv go on a road trip of a lifetime on our motorcycles, getting a
ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao and riding through Spain and along rhe bottom
of France, culminating in a gig for Harley Davidson in St Tropez in the south
of France...full of posing arrogant Europeans on very silly machines, but still
worth a look...When I arrive home I discover I've ridden over 2000 miles. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">The
month is rounded off by 2 cracking shows in Greece...despite all the economic
problems both shows completely sell out and we're looked after very well. You
always go to places like these and assume you'll never go again...somehow you
always do.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">June is a
relatively quiet month but is punctuated by festival in Belgium early on, and
rounded off by a superb show at the Eden Project in Cornwall with
Motorhead...The weather surpasses itself and 5,000 people bask in the early
evening sun as we take the stage. Despite us being pretty consistent in our
performances most of the time, we play and sound particularly good on this
occasion and win over a lot of hairy people during the next hour...It's all
smiles as we leave sweaty and triumphant...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwp_CgJirJQq-SGVaXSIJDCBTpwliqskGO3ZZu9BeYmUtwm0S219yRP18UXoIxaRoOroz-oUbKZ3tYIpbpimzz6dRwTSGEgyZfFTlBx7xuoWDJ6IY8y0OnBh7frb-qb7Ri9suV-pP5Fc/s1600/Eden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwp_CgJirJQq-SGVaXSIJDCBTpwliqskGO3ZZu9BeYmUtwm0S219yRP18UXoIxaRoOroz-oUbKZ3tYIpbpimzz6dRwTSGEgyZfFTlBx7xuoWDJ6IY8y0OnBh7frb-qb7Ri9suV-pP5Fc/s200/Eden.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Backstage
we encounter a very frail looking Lemmy who has a distant and glassy look to
his eyes but is still friendly as only he can be...He and JJ embrace and him
and I shake hands and exchange brief pleasantries...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">It's the
last time we'll ever see him...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">July is a
pretty varied and quite busy month too. We travel to London on the 9th to do a
video with Simple Minds who we'll be touring with at the end of the year. Jim
Kerr has come up with the idea of us playing together and making a promo to be
streamed nearer the time...it's also his birthday and after we do the number, a
combined version of 'Grip', the bubbly and cake appear and we all toast him as
he stands looking slightly sheepish. Charlie Burchill then breaks the whisky
out ,and it's with slightly blurred vision that we leave them later that
afternoon, looking forward to seeing them all in the winter. Lovely day...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">We then
play a small series of club dates as we've done for the last couple of years,
taking in Worthing, Hampton Pool, York, Middlesbrough, Holmfirth and
Blackburn...The York gig being the hottest gig I've personally ever done in my
life...ask anyone who was there...unbelievable...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_GlVXnsWRqLoTDQFH5wce0ig1d-BQEURZPvOhQfc-7g5qNKv7i0RtfWrE6h9cXOPHEFeaKv8yNWUd78_6pkfVnLqiiU0cR3lAHpS1bEl6SzeROP3heNUtKNVo4zbRHrHHgsQIoxxusQQ/s1600/Belladrum_Baz_Ricky+%25280%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_GlVXnsWRqLoTDQFH5wce0ig1d-BQEURZPvOhQfc-7g5qNKv7i0RtfWrE6h9cXOPHEFeaKv8yNWUd78_6pkfVnLqiiU0cR3lAHpS1bEl6SzeROP3heNUtKNVo4zbRHrHHgsQIoxxusQQ/s200/Belladrum_Baz_Ricky+%25280%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">August
starts with the famous Scots Festival Belladrum, which takes place up near
Inverness. I opt to ride up on the bike and it's a very pleasant journey
indeed...The weather holding out nicely. We're on with the Kaiser Chiefs who
are fans and mates, and the whole thing is set in a lovely forest clearing
surrounded by mountains. Earlier in the summer they'd played in Sunderland with
the Foo Fighters and a fan had presented Ricky with a football shirt complete
with his name on the back...him not being a football fan at all, never mind a
Sunderland fan, asked me if I wanted it...bless him...My daughter is a Kaisers
fan, and when I give it to her, her face is a picture...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Unfortunately
due to the late running of the previous act, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
would you believe (who can still sing like a bird) our set is cut short which
we're none too happy about...We make our feelings known and people tend to give
us a wide berth after that until we leave the festival site...bit of an anti-climax
to say the least...Still, the ride was good...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">We then
do a couple of shows in the west country and Warwickshire which go without too
many hitches, and then my favourite part of the whole summer...JJ'S too...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip4i8NwFU2w5Ls-W-DiRJoYPr6mSJ6Cpcj4zmaKaSYAP7oCa-0OjLkJWHOjSZwzRBH9AFu20kKI6o6lbGzsbfkmPbnShxPnrBYkYf0cPFds6jYkOH41BWirSWh2KGb-brFpu1FwM2dfhU/s1600/MCN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip4i8NwFU2w5Ls-W-DiRJoYPr6mSJ6Cpcj4zmaKaSYAP7oCa-0OjLkJWHOjSZwzRBH9AFu20kKI6o6lbGzsbfkmPbnShxPnrBYkYf0cPFds6jYkOH41BWirSWh2KGb-brFpu1FwM2dfhU/s200/MCN.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">We're
doing a festival in the Ardennes region of Belgium, and myself, JJ, Merve the
Swerve and 2 motorcycle journalists ride down from England in a convoy to do
the show...Merve and I getting a ferry from Hull and meeting the other 3 at a
hotel near Zeebrugge...They're covering it for Motorcycle News (MCN) and also
want to take in the gig...It turns out to be a
fabulous weekend...The weather is sublime, the gig is superb, 10,000 folks in a
gorgeous old city square, and the riding is an absolute dream...Of course, you
can't have things your way all the time, and on getting back to Hull 2 days
later, it's pissing down...I mean absolutely stair rodding it, and when I
arrive home 3 hours later I'm soaked to the bone despite all my expensive
protective clobber...If the weather wants to get in, ride through it long
enough and it will...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Doesn't
dampen my thoughts about that weekend though...it'll live long in the memory...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">September
is traditionally a holiday month for us...and providing there's no work to do, we
try to relax...I go to JJ'S for another week of playing, writing and
drinking...and we get a few little nuggets recorded for later...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSs1W3OL8xpSkqBuw3qLt3akGJUWVNCmsG2rhOAlSWKpX0yHnn0NfgjiQLpz57BQu3iHSyx6QAQS0mOcBFiLw48pr_ebRc16puo6TjSBOLim5YR1GsZBLVhMJ2lUwqVcPL_AB1WwiVlM/s1600/Euro+15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSs1W3OL8xpSkqBuw3qLt3akGJUWVNCmsG2rhOAlSWKpX0yHnn0NfgjiQLpz57BQu3iHSyx6QAQS0mOcBFiLw48pr_ebRc16puo6TjSBOLim5YR1GsZBLVhMJ2lUwqVcPL_AB1WwiVlM/s320/Euro+15.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The three stooges-France 2015</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">As we've
an unusual November tour of Europe coming up we spend most of October
rehearsing and getting ready...it's going to be an intense jaunt...16 shows in
19 days in 5 countries...3 days off....</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">And it
couldn't be better...at least until the end of the French leg. It's normal for
it to take 2 or 3 shows to bed in on a tour...iron out the wrinkles and get
things seamless...but we don't even need that this time...We hit the ground
running from the very first show and don't look back. It's apparent that all
the playing we've been doing has really paid off, and we're as tight as I can
ever remember us being. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Then we
hit Strasbourg...it’s the final night of a very triumphant French tour...we're
heading into Switzerland tomorrow for a rare visit there, and things couldn't
be better...until we're told to switch on our TV's because something has
happened in Paris...something bad we're told...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrTg0Ra5l7nmKrG7VnyzLrvtnMYPw00AuSNs-xI1-r33_c7NFrpp5ED9QwXpR1jke5iIaUAOM9x2wngygS1GohYxuyjRsglRt5_ypVxPEhRHs36DI2jWY6Yl1C4Mwt97z2GaG5wAMI0Z8/s1600/Bataclan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrTg0Ra5l7nmKrG7VnyzLrvtnMYPw00AuSNs-xI1-r33_c7NFrpp5ED9QwXpR1jke5iIaUAOM9x2wngygS1GohYxuyjRsglRt5_ypVxPEhRHs36DI2jWY6Yl1C4Mwt97z2GaG5wAMI0Z8/s1600/Bataclan.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">I've
mentioned the tour bubble before. Every band on tour gets it, and everyone
associated with a tour understands it. You just don't know what's going on in
the outside world most of the time, so it's with abject horror that we watch
the events unfold around the Bataclan with absolute disbelief...I'm thinking of
the layout of the place...We've played there...I had a birthday there...I was
hoisted up onto the shoulders of fans and carried around the place there...like
that famous picture of Bobby Moore holding the world cup at Wembley...I know
how intimate that place is...and I can't imagine what those poor kids inside
must have gone through...all that needless carnage and horror in such close
proximity...We sit and admire the tactics of the French police...no fucking
messing about...They formulate a plan, act on it, and are merciless with those
responsible...exactly as it should be...but nothing will ever bring those poor
unfortunate kids back...kids who'd only gone to see a show...The poor merchandising
guy who was shot was known to some of our guys too...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">It's with
heavy hearts that we cross over into Switzerland the next day. We're
anticipating a thorough shake down as we try to enter, in my opinion, one of
Europe's strangest countries...but nothing could be further from the
truth...They don't even stop us and we cruise on to Zurich for the next show.
The rest of the tour is a blur really...I know it was great and our Wonky
counterparts do us proud for the last 2 Dutch gigs...really charging the
atmosphere...but it's hard to shake the images from Paris...especially with
armed guards and police at all the remaining shows...keeping a low profile but
there none the less...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvd1nQBmR7GwiRbAmB8e6VKTdKpk3pyTtcc4R-jK8D6hT3ont6t2SS9FRZ24yMaRGq5QBpvnMETpSlGvbm8GnOGjC8V3yT_g1g6p6hpZJQerN4FKiKqWvVKS6W2cFUynceOOkKuoHeGw/s1600/Goodnight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvd1nQBmR7GwiRbAmB8e6VKTdKpk3pyTtcc4R-jK8D6hT3ont6t2SS9FRZ24yMaRGq5QBpvnMETpSlGvbm8GnOGjC8V3yT_g1g6p6hpZJQerN4FKiKqWvVKS6W2cFUynceOOkKuoHeGw/s320/Goodnight.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final gig of Euro tour</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">So we
finally arrive in London with 3 days off before our first Simple Minds gig at
the O2...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">I sleep
for pretty much the whole of the first one and don't do much for the other two
either...The last 3 weeks have been very intense, and although extremely
enjoyable, totally knackering too...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">We do 5
shows with the Minds and enjoy every one. It's great when the pressure is off a
bit and you can just enjoy it and leave...We were in the bar most nights by
8.30...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE6azmoErsWB8pw3mbMtdsozYV4yv9ahRZ_PrNhdCP7S-ZF_sOLs-s93q-wrxpsLrs8vXKuNS403_1dzNtSAT1zC6MqOjjQ2eKSlpyfa1lYSfE9VPl8nPYYrVmV25KUfCzTOJHwvlzbKE/s1600/SM+tour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE6azmoErsWB8pw3mbMtdsozYV4yv9ahRZ_PrNhdCP7S-ZF_sOLs-s93q-wrxpsLrs8vXKuNS403_1dzNtSAT1zC6MqOjjQ2eKSlpyfa1lYSfE9VPl8nPYYrVmV25KUfCzTOJHwvlzbKE/s200/SM+tour.jpg" width="190" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Both
camps are tight but there's still plenty of time for a good crack with them
all, and I enjoy a </span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">particular flight sitting next to Jim Kerr where we get to
know each other much better...him telling me his first ever football match was
on holiday in England and his dad took him to Roker Park in Sunderland to watch
one of the world cup games of 1966...He was 5...bless his little cotton
socks...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">They've
got a great crew, just like ours...Some faithful lads who've been there for
years, through thick and thin...but also they had a couple of production
managers who were hired in just for the tour...and I couldn't let this
opportunity pass without giving our opinion on them...I won't get too het up
about it but suffice it to say that if we never see those 2 wankers again it'll
be too soon...If you've seen the footage of JJ blundering across the stage in
Aberdeen when Simple Minds were on, or if you were at the gig itself and
wondered what on earth he was doing, it was a direct swipe at these 2 pleasant
individuals...and it worked...The confrontation afterwards between JJ and one
of these chaps was worth the price of the admission alone...I laughed my arse
off for 10 solid minutes...The one way to hit out at a jobsworth prick like
that is to make him fail completely in his job...in full view of everyone...and
my erstwhile colleague did just that...total humiliation...I love it...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRdVajc0o9DhVlVVy2F7oQy3REnTWwZuEsxSXyUc2FPi0mcm0BUqKph0aKuT7SmI7-6FCx7I7NSZ_BRl4mf9-CNw7WwehTcbXDfqJQtni_kIJ8gOp5q4gtuaXnuogjwEXkG32YN3SFGU/s1600/Poland+NYE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRdVajc0o9DhVlVVy2F7oQy3REnTWwZuEsxSXyUc2FPi0mcm0BUqKph0aKuT7SmI7-6FCx7I7NSZ_BRl4mf9-CNw7WwehTcbXDfqJQtni_kIJ8gOp5q4gtuaXnuogjwEXkG32YN3SFGU/s320/Poland+NYE.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Dave and
I got the train home the next day, me leaving him in Edinburgh as he ploughed
on home. We then did the Christmas thing and reconvened to fly to Poland on the
29th for a new year’s eve television special...miming to 4 songs musically but
singing live in front of 75,000 people in a Wroclaw city square and 16,000,000
live on Polish TV...a weird but actually very enjoyable experience...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">When we
took to the stage for our final bit at 1.40 in the morning it was minus 8
degrees... </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">We fly
home on new year’s day and sleep for the rest of the week...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Who says
we don't suffer for our art...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">This year
promises to be as productive as the last...We've of course got the much
anticipated Black and White tour in March, and then with barely time to turn
around, New Zealand and Australia in April...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">The
festival season will be upon us in the summer, and there are quite a few things
being mooted for later in the year too...can't say too much about any of that
yet as I don't know to be honest...but that's the beauty isn't it? </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><strong>Baz/30<sup>th</sup>
Jan 2016</strong></span></div>
ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-12938141156094472242015-12-09T16:03:00.000+00:002015-12-09T16:03:55.384+00:00The Wonky Bus
<br />
<div style="border-image: none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLVObGhhIoR9SN68mHQlqHTTmdWPJPa9Ko44_UYBmFedRYVfT21ELY5djlPGde-3sHX2Y_yK0kfBSjWvV-1LWaNrq7qJK7To5fN3zK4Gax9vTZExtPSUda3Cp_tJpaFwiOOxz2x6-A0Q/s1600/Wonky15-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLVObGhhIoR9SN68mHQlqHTTmdWPJPa9Ko44_UYBmFedRYVfT21ELY5djlPGde-3sHX2Y_yK0kfBSjWvV-1LWaNrq7qJK7To5fN3zK4Gax9vTZExtPSUda3Cp_tJpaFwiOOxz2x6-A0Q/s200/Wonky15-a.jpg" width="136" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">"I don't know what
effect these men will have on the enemy but by god they terrify me" is a
quote attributed to the Duke of Wellington describing his own men.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Courier; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">
This comes to mind when I think of the horde who pile out of the Wonky bus onto
unsuspecting European streets in search of a Stranglers gig.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very much, I suspect, the same as those
monks on Lindisfarne in 792 when suddenly confronted by the first Viking raid.<br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Courier; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">Grown adults, not all men I hasten to add, who enjoin The Stranglers in an orgy
of joy, mayhem and, for the most part, a celebration of a commonality.<br />
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Mupj28A0nP4l6Xb7c8O74Y7Eis8UUmcQfXfuDsUrTtd080Nxhcv-ROlST4ALOseQ55DHOxV2fYNZBoYbOgAq7WsAG1tcqWxnpiMw9NpSD4kogVvO7j3JPzUAoGasGG2DoBT9pXZ5VhU/s1600/bus_5+no+type%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Mupj28A0nP4l6Xb7c8O74Y7Eis8UUmcQfXfuDsUrTtd080Nxhcv-ROlST4ALOseQ55DHOxV2fYNZBoYbOgAq7WsAG1tcqWxnpiMw9NpSD4kogVvO7j3JPzUAoGasGG2DoBT9pXZ5VhU/s320/bus_5+no+type%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="border-image: none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIT2skAfYgjxRHv4xw55hwg32DIAglyXE0NG0kRHJuuPzJWhCxwb0-EALBHZ4z9FBC21nPt61xnXx-g4SQ7gy78QwaqNZaUMvcMxktdpYZg4r505l7KiZkB1cIkBqR8OkUmfjGr1Uy9g/s1600/tshirtdesign.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIT2skAfYgjxRHv4xw55hwg32DIAglyXE0NG0kRHJuuPzJWhCxwb0-EALBHZ4z9FBC21nPt61xnXx-g4SQ7gy78QwaqNZaUMvcMxktdpYZg4r505l7KiZkB1cIkBqR8OkUmfjGr1Uy9g/s200/tshirtdesign.bmp" width="186" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">They add a vibe which can never be equalled by the good burghers of the
Netherlands or Belgium who I have witnessed from the relative safety of the
stage observing the Wonkies with a mix of trepidation and disbelief.<br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Courier; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">I applaud these modern day berserkers who give a lift to our concerts in
Europe. Long may you Wonky(a new verb).</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Courier; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"><strong>JJ Burnel/9th December 2015</strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Courier; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">Bus illustration-Steve Beaumont</span></div>
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ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-84062026119904385752015-07-29T23:04:00.001+01:002015-07-29T23:04:14.692+01:00Summer Mini Tour- July 2015<strong>WED JULY 8TH</strong><br />
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<br />
Opted to travel on the train today. Despite all the well worn savaging it’s had over the years, it’s still my favourite form of transport by far, and as the train pulls out of Newcastle at lunchtime the familiar anticipation and tingle of the days ahead begins to take its hold…it always does… I love it…<br />
<br />
The journey is extremely pleasant…a deli platter and some wine help to relax me as the fresh damp fields of England speed by and London gets ever closer…<br />
<br />
I get to the hotel in Shepherds Bush before everyone else as I usually do, and as we’re here for 4 nights, get to my room, unpack, and wait for someone to call to tell me they’re in the bar…usually Dave G…<br />
<br />
And so it proves…<br />
<br />
<strong>THURS JULY 9TH</strong><br />
<br />
Quite a different and unique day for us today as we head off into London for an engagement we’ve all been looking forward to (in our way)…keep your eyes peeled…<br />
<br />
<strong>FRI JULY 10TH / WORTHING ASSEMBLY HALL</strong><br />
<br />
As we’re staying in London we don’t sound check for this show…so the first time we see it is when we step onstage to play. It’s as you’d expect…a small and very neat little hall…and it’s absolutely rammed to capacity. Some of the usual suspects are arranged along the front, all in their regular places, same places as they’ve been countless times before, and will be again, and the glee on their faces is heart-warming indeed as we kick into Toiler on the Sea, and proceed to deliver a tight and punchy 90 minutes. We haven’t played for a fortnight since the triumphant appearance at the Eden Project, and despite that, and not having a sound check, we play very well…and it’s hot! <br />
<br />
Just like to say I’ve never been to Worthing before, and again the jury is out as to whether the band has ever played here either…JJ seems to remember a demo recording session way back in the early days, but Dave isn’t convinced…For my part it’s a lovely little place, quintessentially English sea side…pier and long prom…lovely…<br />
<br />
<strong>SAT JULY 11TH / HAMPTON POOL-LONDON</strong><br />
<br />
This is a bit of a strange one, as they sometimes are…<br />
<br />
Hampton Pool is just that, a swimming pool/lido kind of a place…very Hi-De-Hi and somehow redolent of 1950’s British holiday camps. It’s been sold out for months, and instead of pomaded hair and bobby socks, we’re treated to some of London’s beautiful people, scenesters, women in deck chairs, and of course a lot of the army in black…quite a blend. There is a very large covered over swimming pool, and we’re actually warned that if we even so much as mention a swim, or incite anyone to jump in, our fee will be voided and we’ll be asked to leave…seriously…it’s in the contract. It’s like a red rag to a bull for Messrs Warne and Burnel though…and we wrack our brains for some way to get it in there without actually getting it in there…if you know what I mean…how can we say something we know we’re not supposed to say, but say it anyway without actually saying anything…<br />
<br />
In the event of things once we’re up on the stage the pool isn’t visible anymore and we just sort of forget…getting into the show and having a lot of fun in the process. The crowd are really up for it, and my light hearted ribbing is taken in the spirit it’s intended…unlike later in the tour…more of which later…<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hampton Pool gig</td></tr>
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Special mention to our mates Nine Below Zero who opened the show again tonight…they sounded as good as ever…proper band…and Dennis Greaves gets the prize for getting closest to breaking the dreaded pool rule…” yeah we’ve been told not to jump in the pool…and you shouldn’t either”!<br />
<br />
Well said that man…<br />
<br />
<strong>SUN JULY 12TH</strong><br />
<br />
Day off…a lovely journey to York, and a good dinner with everyone…very cordial…<br />
<br />
<strong>MON JULY 13TH / YORK FIBBERS</strong><br />
<br />
I know from writing these blogs over the years that it can be very difficult sometimes to put into words what I’m seeing and remembering in my head…transferring my thoughts to the page and trying to keep my descriptions and thoughts as vivid as I possibly can…conveying the atmosphere of a certain time, place and event so that whoever reads it can at least get a sense of what it must have been like to be there…the key for any factual writing of course…<br />
<br />
I’m struggling with this one…<br />
<br />
I remember when I was a kid touring with the Toy Dolls in the US at the beginning of the 80’s. I was 19, strong and fearless…We did a gig in San Diego and it was so hot I had to sit outside in the shade afterwards, which was the coolest spot available, for a full half hour to try and get some breathable air…at that age…<br />
<br />
We’ve done some club gigs in recent(and not so recent) years where it’s been unbearable…Oxford, Leamington Spa, Liverpool, Paris, New York, Reading (ha)…the claustrophobia will live with me forever…but nothing can compare to the melting, boiling thing that was York Fibbers…If you were there you’ll understand…if you weren’t, next time you’re in a place with a sauna, leave all your clothes on and go in for 20 minutes…unbearable…but bear it we did…<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">York Fibbers-pic Yellow Mustang</td></tr>
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JJ and I, being the little boys we are, often have shirt wringing and boot puddling competitions after shows…there’s always something to compete for in this band…but we were both so saturated all we wanted to do was lay down somewhere cool, dark and quiet…Dave was shiny too…something you very rarely see with his big fan blasting beside him…and Jim bless him, had a very very bad hair day…It was an amazing gig…we played very well, getting into our stride by now…and the crowd were magnificent…how they shoe horned 700 people into that place will long be a mystery to me…It’s an extremely small place…The staff were very accommodating to our crew and bent over backwards to make sure everything was as it should be…a big thanks to them…<br />
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Visit when you can…<br />
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<strong>TUES JULY 14TH / MIDDLESBROUGH THE VENUE</strong><br />
<br />
Again, strangely for me, this was the first time I’d played in the ‘Boro with the Stranglers. Like York, I’d played here many times over the years with various bands and solo, but not with us…so it was nice to see some friendly faces from home nestled among the throng when we hit the stage at 9pm. From the off the sound was sharp and tight, and for a large room above a supermarket it had a nice range…the lowish headroom stopping the sound from travelling too far and bouncing around. <br />
<br />
I had some local banter with the crowd as you’d expect and it was all pretty light hearted and in good nature. I probably raised a few hackles here and there, I’m good at that, but all in all a memorable gig. Our thanks to local band Zeitgeist 77 too, who, despite their blatant (and pretty awful it has to be said) era conjuring name, played some great original music…not what was expected at all…I have their CD and it’s good…<br />
<br />
<strong>WED JULY 15TH / HOLMFIRTH THE PICTUREDROME</strong><br />
<br />
We hadn’t played here in around 5 years and there were quite a few changes. Because we were staying in Manchester there wasn’t a sound check and so those changes all became evident when we arrived at around 8pm. It’s always been a great gig this, but the backstage area left a lot to be desired and so in the past we wouldn’t really hang around here too long, but it was very comfortable and modern and indicative of how the folks here are presenting their venue now, and how serious they are at attracting acts of the right size…a statement of intent. The town needless to say doesn’t require an introduction as it’s been on our TV screens since 1973 almost every week as the setting for Last of the Summer Wine…but of course, you knew that. The venue is a beautiful old theatre which dates from 1913, and has many of the original features…the iron pillars and ornate balcony dressings, and we’ve always loved playing here. I actually broke a guitar here once after being hit with a pint of lager hoisted stagewards during a gig in the Paul Roberts era…people did that a lot more during that line up…I lost my temper as I am wont to do sometimes, and threw the guitar against the wall, snapping the headstock off…that’ll teach me…or maybe it won’t…<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holmfirth-photo Jim Mac</td></tr>
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<br />
The gig was fantastic and a sell out since the tickets went on sale months ago. The audience were warm and friendly and there was a tangible good time vibe in the air right from hitting the stage. This was our 3rd show in a row and 5th in 6 days, so we were right on the money…it always takes 3 or so shows to get us firing, and this was it…really good. There was some great banter with the crowd (if you’re going to throw your knickers at us at least have the good grace to give us the ones you’re wearing…new ones still bearing the price tag just won’t do) and we played right up to the curfew, leaving the stage very hot, sweaty and satisfied…I’d love to play there again soon if we can…<br />
<br />
<strong>THURS JULY 16TH / BLACKBURN KING GEORGES HALL</strong><br />
<br />
Another first for me…<br />
<br />
Lost my temper at this show…not completely and not altogether un-theatrically I have to say but I saw red none the less. It’s always been my way to gently rib the crowd about where we’re at, especially if it’s somewhere relatively remote or off the beaten track, and I imagine you’ve seen me do it many times, but some folk it seems take exception to it sometimes, or me, or both…as if I could give a fuck…but it happens.<br />
<br />
I love my old football teams…proper old style English football teams that have been around a long time. This part of the country hosts 2…Blackburn Rovers and Burnley, who I’ve always had a soft spot for since my dad took me to my first ever game at Roker Park in 1972 to see Sunderland play them. It was desperately hot inside the venue, not York hot but getting there, and I look over at JJ who’s getting very damp indeed and taking every opportunity to take water on board and towel himself down…and I needed to do it too…Our shows can be blitzkriegs and we rarely stop between numbers…knackering in heat like this…so I start to tell a story about Blackburn Rovers and my bass playing colleague who had their strip as a boy, just to get a minute to draw my breath, and some arse in the crowd takes exception to the break…he’s joined by the bloke I berated earlier and asked to identify himself, who took exception to my Blackburn baiting and tried to hurl a similar thing back at me…getting my town wrong(of course) and comparing me to the most sensitive part of the female anatomy…a fact I’ve never denied…I laughed at him at first and he got even more irate and then I did too…all in all a shouting match occurred which was all very funny to me, and life and death to these 2 blokes…<br />
<br />
My predecessors were feisty fuckers and so am I...Of course, I wear in ear monitoring and could have completely misinterpreted what was said and over reacted…it’s difficult to hear the crowd unless the ambient mics are turned up…I’m in my own little world otherwise…but I don’t think so…If someone wants you to hear them badly enough you will 9 times out of 10…and I did…who cares…<br />
<br />
Having said all that, the whole thing probably lasted 30 seconds and didn’t detract from what was a great hot sweaty rock show…the low ceiling contributing to the furnace like conditions and the crowd going mad right to the death…we played like men and sliced right through the heat…Great… <br />
<br />
<strong>FRI JULY 16TH</strong><br />
<br />
Travel day…Dave, JJ, myself and Kev Allen, who’s joined us and is acting tour manager for the weekend, board a plane from Manchester airport to the Algarve in Portugal for a festival the following day. It is hell…<br />
<br />
We’re staying at what amounts to a holiday resort, and so the plane is full of families, petting couples, the heat already beginning to get to them, fat women with fans, and sin of sins…lots of babies...Wouldn’t it be great if it was a legal requirement by airlines to mildly sedate children under a certain age for travel? I’m not talking about knocking the poor little blighters out, just something mild to calm them down and make it a bit nicer in a crammed sweaty plane for everyone…a little sweetie under the tongue perhaps, or a nice sugary drink…just to take the edge off for all the other intolerant old curmudgeons like me…<br />
<br />
As it turns out, the hotel is perfectly acceptable though, and we have one of our patented band/crew meals which we all love…and then several drinks…and then bed…It’s dark, and more importantly, quiet…and before I can even reflect on the days gone by, I’m asleep…<br />
<br />
<strong>SAT JULY 17TH / 34 FARO / PALCO 2015</strong><br />
<br />
This festival is one of Europe’s biggest motorcycle rallies…attracting around 30,000 people each year. Thankfully it’s not all Harleys like the last one we did in St Tropez, although there still seems to be a bit of an American infatuation, with Victory being a pushed brand, but there are many hundreds of bikes of different origin to be seen in the locale, and checking them out is a tour bus staple when getting in and off site. There’s a Portuguese metal/rock band on when we arrive, who we’re told are famous in their native land, and from backstage it sounds like someone’s miked up a herd of charging Wildebeest, and mixed it in with the sound of the Hindenburg coming down…<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Onstage in Faro-photo Motoclube De Faro Facebook page</td></tr>
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Then, as we wander around backstage there are many people in very strange tribal costumes and tall Amazonian women in various stages of undress…applying make-up and glitter to their nipples, and limbering up for something…It soon becomes obvious it’s no more than a glorified strip show…amusing, cringe some and mildly erotic, in a Carry on up the Congo sort of way…The women don’t look real to me, their amazing jelly mould breasts not moving at all as they cavort around the stage attempting to titillate several thousand apathetic bikers and pulling all the stops out. It actually looks to me like they do their bit, come off stage, take their boobs off and hand them to the next girl, such is the uniformity of it all…and we laugh the entire time…It’s a sexy as Boris Johnson and Clare Short doing the Rumba…and probably just as funny.<br />
<br />
The gig itself for us is a different matter. We worry that 90 minutes to an after midnight crowd, who are not our crowd, is too much and we stand a chance of losing them at some point somewhere… We needn’t have worried. The stage is huge, the sound is spectacular, the lights are stunning, we’ve just done 6 shows in 8 days and so are drum tight, and the crowd are in desperate need of a break from tuneless thunder and fake tits…and we storm it…3 songs in and we’re looking at each other all smiles, knowing this is going to be a good one… <br />
<br />
I’ve mentioned before how together and organised Portuguese festivals are. They’re never less than very well run and thorough. You get everything you ask for…the equipment is always spot on, and it lifts you…no doubt about it. We know after the last week or so that we’re going to play well, that’s not arrogance, it’s just a fact…you do anything all week and you’ll be better at it at the end than when you started… We have a great time and it’s a lovely way to round off a long and draining week. We haven’t done 4 shows in a row for a while, and when those shows are mad little sweatboxes it can really take it out of you…Playing on a huge stage with a light breeze to thousands of people is the other very welcome side to the same coin.<br />
<br />
It’s been another really good week or so. Seven shows in 9 days…very varied and hugely enjoyable. This little mini tour thing we’ve found ourselves doing the last couple of years is proving to be a lot of work, but tremendously good fun…and we all reflect on that as we have one last very late drink together back at the hotel.<br />
<br />
<strong>SUN JULY 18TH</strong><br />
<br />
We all fly out at different times today, which is something that happens now and again, and as I’m driven to the airport I think of everyone winding and wending their ways back home for another couple of weeks or so, recharging their batteries and looking forward to the next jaunt as our summer schedule starts to count down.<br />
<br />
Looking forward to the next ones…<br />
<br />
<strong>BAZ / JULY 2015</strong> <br />
<br />ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-72622871970485985122014-12-21T20:43:00.000+00:002014-12-21T20:43:47.188+00:00Another busy year over...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83PizlVwg0dyeU1N6aX7SMsW-w14JfqpKThgIW6VQCayuumwaPPCdVZetgeYaOiTJvdk02Mg3bmPKzoVAM_Rk01bNjl2Wff73FahL-J-tqrSToKGRQU9rLf6hozZCgKQWtkqJuQjI7r8/s1600/The+Stranglers+Feb+14+ad+425px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83PizlVwg0dyeU1N6aX7SMsW-w14JfqpKThgIW6VQCayuumwaPPCdVZetgeYaOiTJvdk02Mg3bmPKzoVAM_Rk01bNjl2Wff73FahL-J-tqrSToKGRQU9rLf6hozZCgKQWtkqJuQjI7r8/s1600/The+Stranglers+Feb+14+ad+425px.jpg" height="200" width="143" /></a>Well...here we are again…the end of another year is practically upon us , and it falls to me to sum up the last 12 months…and to look forward to the next few coming…<br />
<br />
We started the year as we have done for a while now…rehearsing in the west country for the 40th anniversary tour…catching up with each other and generally larking about for a day or two before earnest work commenced…it’s our way of blowing the cobwebs away and connecting again…we always do it… <br />
<br />
The UK tour of course was the highlight of the year for us, and we had an alarmingly good time…the whole tour was a sell out , and we revelled in it…It’s always lovely to play in front of our ever growing family but there seemed to be an extra element of excitement in the air for each gig…and it surprised us all…so much so that we immediately made plans to do a smaller tour in the summer to some other cities and towns which are usually (and unfairly) left out of most bands touring schedules (see my summer blog <a href="http://stranglers-ratter.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/that-was-week-that-was.html" target="_blank">here</a>) and we really enjoyed that too. In between we did another fairly long European tour which included 4 gigs in Spain…an unusual amount for us, but which was tremendous…must try and get back there again…<br />
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The summer festival season seemed to grow again this year for us, and we played right across Europe…including quite a strange trip where we flew to Luxembourg, had our hotel in Belgium ,and did the show in France…We did a nice little one in God’s back garden, the Lake District, and for once were treated to almost perfect weather there…there can’t be many more beautiful places in the world than the Lakes when the climate is good… <br />
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We also revisited the V Festivals and T in the Park, receiving fantastic receptions again, and marvelling at the 1000’s of kids singing along to all our songs…old and new… <br />
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We finished to season at the end of August in Ireland at the Electric Picnic which was a first for us and was one of the highlights among many during the summer…JJ and I swearing and having a lot of fun on TV there during the afternoon…which was all broadcast…I know I have a penchant for obscenities and most of the time I really don’t care what people think, but they asked me for a story, I told them it involved swearing and they said it was fine…it’d be edited out by the time it was aired…but it wasn’t and they showed it all…very cool about that the Irish… <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baz at Sub 89, Reading-photo Maria Meli</td></tr>
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And so we went our separate ways for the rest of the year…just addressing life really, and being pretty normal…speaking to each other every week and keeping in contact…I had some knee surgery which had me out of action for 3 months, JJ went to Japan for his 7th Dan…Jet and Dave kept busy with their various projects and things…and life goes on…normal stuff I guess… <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtqURAvSRW5ofgChdnqRBoqo5g0U6fnfpnBhOB8MvYzu4bN47talL0fVGlXzJesNhaLZWjxP2RF610m2RkIIgMUbS8SCsid6E6GDWnzMhs_56tXsMqcBW97D3hc41SEB2VG36xegIsZs/s1600/stranglers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtqURAvSRW5ofgChdnqRBoqo5g0U6fnfpnBhOB8MvYzu4bN47talL0fVGlXzJesNhaLZWjxP2RF610m2RkIIgMUbS8SCsid6E6GDWnzMhs_56tXsMqcBW97D3hc41SEB2VG36xegIsZs/s320/stranglers.jpg" height="200" width="141" /></a>Can’t really say much about the new year yet as it’s all starting to take shape as we speak, but there is of course a tour in March which we’re all gagging to do, and a trip to Russia, which is a first for me…looking forward to Moscow…then we’ll see what the rest of the year brings…We’re all looking forward to seeing each other again and getting stuck back into what we do best… See you all soon and have a good Christmas and even better New Year… <br />
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<strong>Baz/ 21st Dec 2014</strong> ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-55905346646888568712014-12-09T22:44:00.000+00:002014-12-09T22:53:34.185+00:00Aural Sculpture-track by track<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<em>Released in November 1984, Aural Sculpture was the band's eighth studio album. JJ talks us through each of the album's tracks although his memory is slightly sketchy of certain tracks as it was a period of some major personal issues for him:</em><br />
<br />
<b>ICE QUEEN</b><br />
<b><br />
</b>At the time, when we were preparing <em>Aural Sculpture</em>, I had a lot of studio equipment in the back room of my house in Cambridgeshire including a Linn drum. Dave was living just up the road in Cambridge. He would come around to mine, we would go to the pub and play darts for a couple of hours, have a few pints and then we would work through the night, sometimes until two or three in the morning. I was getting riffs together and <em>Ice Queen</em> was my riff with Hugh's lyrics. The lyrics were about his girlfriend in New York who was a model. For me personally, the brass section's finest moment was when they came in on <em>Ice Queen</em>. It was the best manifestation of the brass... <br />
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<b>SKIN DEEP</b><br />
<b><br />
</b>That was originally a little blues riff of mine, Hugh took it away and wrote the lyrics to go with it. It was a little blues thing which I've since played on some of my acoustic dates. Between the ages of 14 and 17, my parents had a restaurant in Godalming, Surrey and there was a pub in the village which had a blues club every Sunday night. I saw lots of bands before they released their first albums there, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac were the most notable, although there were loads of other bands. I kind of played about with blues riffs as I liked the blues. I still like good blues musicians.<br />
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<b>LET ME DOWN EASY</b><br />
<b><br />
</b>This was my music again and Hugh wrote the lyrics about my Dad (who was gravelly ill at the time) and I was very grateful that he did that. Hugh knew my Dad and came down to see me in the south of France when I was looking after him. I had spent the last month with my Dad who was in awful pain. Doctors and nurses were coming every day to give him injections to alleviate the pain. I used to carry him out onto the patio so he could get a bit of daylight. My Dad had died by the time that the album was released. It was very sympathetic of Hugh...<br />
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<b>NO MERCY</b><br />
<b><br />
</b>Definitely Hugh's lyrics. Epic were putting quite a lot of money behind the record and we were starting to do quite well in various places. <em>No Mercy</em> was deemed a worthwhile single so we did a video for it. It wasn't a bad video actually as I recall. We were dressed up as doctors and also appeared as ghostly sax players. <br />
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<b>NORTH WINDS</b><br />
<b><br />
</b>That was mine, just a JJ 'where things are now' song. It was one of my melancholy songs about the very strong images that had occurred during my life, while I was growing up. The 'Orange road burning' was about the self immolation of Buddhist priests during the Vietnam war, setting themselves on fire. The 'Youth on fire' referred to Jan Palak, who I'd talked about before on Euroman. The 'Metal machines...' line was about the Prague spring in '68, when the Czechs tried to be much more liberal and the Russian tanks just rolled in. 'Two generations' referred to the two world wars, 'Birth pains' was about the birth of Israel and what I remembered about the Yom Kippur war. 'Freedom in the shape of disease' was about AIDS, suddenly this new word AIDS had arisen when we were writing <em>Sculpture</em>. It was an unknown disease then. 'Kids whose bellies' was about the west and the rest of the world having so much food while there were images of kids with huge distended bellies starving on television. The title <em>North Winds</em> referred to where I was living in East Anglia which was subjected to winds from the North Sea and it gave a melancholy feel to living there... <br />
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<b>UPTOWN <br />
</b><br />
Originally <em>Uptown</em> started off as a more RandB track but it changed once we were in the studio with Laurie. Hugh's lyrics referred to taking Cocaine rather than anything related to horse racing.<br />
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<b>PUNCH AND JUDY</b><br />
<b><br />
</b>No fucking idea!!! I don't know how that got on the album, I must've been asleep... <em>Aural Sculpture</em> was a labour of love between Laurie and Hugh to be honest. Dave and I were almost secondary and we weren't seeing so much of the others, apart from crossing paths in the studio. <br />
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<b>SPAIN</b><br />
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</b>I used the Kinkade acoustic bass on that. Hugh was going to Spain more and more often and he had read a book written by Franco's daughter. We used a recording of her voice on that song. The lyrics were inspired by the Spanish Civil War. <br />
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<b>LAUGHING</b><br />
<b><br />
</b>It's an entirely Hugh song. The lyrics are about Marvin Gaye who had just been shot by his father before we started recording the album. We used an unprogrammable drum machine on this track, like I had used on the <em>Euroman</em> album, which was a Laurie Latham idea. <br />
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<b>SOULS</b><br />
<b><br />
</b>Quite a nice track with Hugh's lyrics about the ancient Mayan culture in Mexico. Hugh had a big contribution on this album, a lot more than mine, and I can't recall much more about some of these tracks. It's a long time ago and it wasn't the best time for me with my Dad's illness... I wasn't too complicit in the recording and was a bit detached at the time. <br />
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<b>MAD HATTER</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><em>Mad Hatter</em> was another Hugh track. It was about his little clique in Bath. He had these sycophants, all posh Bath boys who laughed at all his jokes. They weren't healthy for Hugh I think.<br />
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<b>JJ Burnel/9th December 2014</b>ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-33579282608611980892014-10-06T21:44:00.001+01:002014-10-06T21:44:38.731+01:00Norfolk Coast-track by track<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSY1vX2gMUjNrfNZMZm_vgKRBMqSWoc7BMigkNqiHiohbYap7u03ZInXp0zDJLbPJiIEnxFajf03I-yWWu9oL5-mwvIFGymo2AV4zkvyrxxi4dreBtbUqwSrcV8H_rJJ8yMohwIdDxmA/s1600/51ORt9wtm6L._SX425_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSY1vX2gMUjNrfNZMZm_vgKRBMqSWoc7BMigkNqiHiohbYap7u03ZInXp0zDJLbPJiIEnxFajf03I-yWWu9oL5-mwvIFGymo2AV4zkvyrxxi4dreBtbUqwSrcV8H_rJJ8yMohwIdDxmA/s1600/51ORt9wtm6L._SX425_.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><i>Released in February 2004, Norfolk Coast was seen by many as a real return to form for the band who had been fired up by the arrival of Baz on guitar. Baz talks us through each of the album's tracks:</i><br />
<br />
<b>NORFOLK COAST</b> <br />
<br />
This was the track that kick started the idea of the album returning to a rockier and more song led record I think…and its roots lay in unrest and a yearning for validity again… There’d been a lot of turbulence in the band prior to my joining with one thing and another and JJ in particular was very troubled by it I know…Apart from the obligatory live album and a compilation here and there, the last studio album proper had been the universally panned and disappointing Coup de Grace and that really niggled him…hurt him very much…Admitted by all as an incoherent body of work and not really recorded by a band at all…things were seriously unravelling and he’s on record as saying it was his attempt to seize back some power after being ‘ bullied and cajoled’ over the recording of Written in Red, and although his intentions were 100% honest and with the bigger band picture in mind, it just didn’t come off…and you can hear it on Coup…assuming you want to listen to it at all that is…leaving him even more at sea and directionless…something most definitely had to change… So he went away to ‘find himself’ as he puts it, in a rented house on the Norfolk Coast…walking, contemplating and writing…and came up with a gem…and in my opinion Mark 3’s best recorded highlight by some margin…although it changed direction a couple of times and needed quite a bit of TLC before we found it… I first heard it as a pretty downbeat but interesting acoustic track…I’m told it was played on an acoustic tour JJ had done just as I joined the band, although I didn’t see it live…and it wasn’t really considered a contender immediately…Jet I remember not being particularly keen on it at first…but as we worked on it we realised the best way to deal with it was to kick it heftily up the arse…and when JJ almost angrily played the bass intro one day saying “why can’t we just fucking do it like this”?!...we knew we had something…I tweaked the guitar chords a bit…adding some dissonance to the end of the vocal passages, worked a solo out, and cranked the gain levels right up, and Dave came up with some great filtered sequences which open the track…We went to a little studio outside of Bath with a producer with a view to recording it as an experiment really, to see if we could work with him and him with us…turned everything up so loud the walls and windows literally shook, and really went for it…recording it in 2 days…They then took it back to London, mixed it, and sent us copies. When it dropped on my mat at home and I put it on for the first time I remember being completely blown away…that fucking bass was back and it sounded like the Stranglers again…a new, sleek and somehow more modern sounding Stranglers…but undoubtedly us… There were a lot of excited phone calls that day I remember and we realised that we had a direction for the album to take…still one of my favourite tracks…new or old…<br />
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<b>BIG THING COMING </b><br />
I think the nucleus of this was from JJ’s Norfolk trip too…Among other things they’d discovered Sea Henge near where he was staying, which historians had said was going to explain a lot of unanswered questions about Bronze Age Britain and our ancestry and heritage…a big thing coming…Also he may or may not have been thinking about a new start to the bands’ fortunes…being in the frame of mind he’s told me he was at the time… Either way this song started with me finding a snippet of this he’d recorded during one of our late night sessions at the farm in Somerset…literally about 30 seconds of an idea he just wanted to get down with a great hook and catchy vibe…and because I was living at the farm during a lot of this time and the others were commuting at weekends, I often sifted through stuff when I was alone trying to find ideas to expand…I called him to tell him about it and he suggested I knock it about for a couple of days until they all came back, and that’s when I hit on the idea of the intro being a kind of T.Rex guitar riff…and the whole song turned out to hang on that rhythm…it’s a very simple song this , with not a lot to it and we had to arrange it carefully to keep it interesting, which we did well I think…I like this one too and my one abiding memory of recording it was seeing Dave’s face when he heard the arpeggio keys coming back at him through the studio monitors for the first time…he turned to me beaming and said “I’m back”! This was a single and scraped its way into what was the old top 30…our last hit to date…and the BBC still use it from time to time… <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VtiEc0_QyxZPIRzksN_jHJNe8T31FdIYf5nktu1YDBwAKHdFdzbmK1MBTJnQP8LkgdJSv2fVdBw5oUKStSW13ddQnLjozJ5DY22j1cbhQB6RfmpbEJPEhAsc8apgpanBiaLWKt4gTwc/s1600/stranglers_longf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VtiEc0_QyxZPIRzksN_jHJNe8T31FdIYf5nktu1YDBwAKHdFdzbmK1MBTJnQP8LkgdJSv2fVdBw5oUKStSW13ddQnLjozJ5DY22j1cbhQB6RfmpbEJPEhAsc8apgpanBiaLWKt4gTwc/s1600/stranglers_longf.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><b>LONG BLACK VEIL</b><br />
I was going through a bit of personal strife by this time and this song reflects that… I was still married but things were sliding and I was at a loss as to what to do…there was someone else on the scene and that’s mixed up in here too…I felt like I was dying at times…just withering on the vine…I probably was aware of another song with the title Long Black Veil, I can’t quite remember, but I wouldn’t have cared anyway knowing the mood I was in at the time…The lyrics are quite dark but I think I wanted to offset that with an upbeat woah oh oh no brainer sing along type chorus to try and lighten the mood a bit…we worked on the music very hard because there are a lot of chord changes in this and twisting turning verses…with the call and response guitar…and Dave came up with the great piano part he plays…Jet decided to keep the verses on the side stick before powering into the chorus’ and JJ found a lovely bass line that weaves through the intro and chorus’ moving the song along nicely but not interfering with the vocal melody…a great band effort this one… We chose this as a single too which I was very pleased with on a personal level, and played it live both acoustically and electrically for quite a few years afterwards…<br />
<br />
<b>I’VE BEEN WILD</b><br />
Just sitting at home one day I came up with the riff for this…and I can’t remember why but I just thought about writing a song specifically about JJ…in the first person and from his point of view…he had his doubts when I mentioned it to him one day but once we started to work on it he sort of warmed to the idea… It was initially faster than the version we ended up with…I can’t remember who’s idea it was to slow it down a bit, maybe the producer, but when we did it seemed to give things more weight and it drives along better… People love fast songs but if they’re not treated right it can just blend into a dirge…the riffs and power come out more if the tempo is right and not steaming away… I think a lot of Stranglers songs have suffered from this… particularly live when the blood’s up and we’re charging into the fray…the riffs suffer…and this band is big on riffs… Paul Roberts’ vocal is really solid on this too…he liked the song and gave it his all… <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi05MWtewEjZrGNCuXoyKjNrCAIXAyaDszVotaiVmirMR-HpD2suDmQwXbQHgvOdrsKQ7mFuQg9szLgrfE5QZe5b8TJwDSGjRgR63u1NsxQnj1eLsUaxO2L1KQcfP15Hve1MUQAjIosCfQ/s1600/NC2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi05MWtewEjZrGNCuXoyKjNrCAIXAyaDszVotaiVmirMR-HpD2suDmQwXbQHgvOdrsKQ7mFuQg9szLgrfE5QZe5b8TJwDSGjRgR63u1NsxQnj1eLsUaxO2L1KQcfP15Hve1MUQAjIosCfQ/s1600/NC2.jpg" height="400" width="161" /></a><b>DUTCH MOON </b><br />
This song had a strange genesis. It’s widely known now that this was the first time I chanced my arm and wrote a song for the bands perusal…I’d been with them for 10 weeks and thought I better try something…All I had was the title…I remember looking out of a tour bus window somewhere in Holland with Smalltown Heroes at the most perfect huge yellow moon I’d ever seen, it was absolutely massive, and thinking it would make a great title for a song…and there it stayed…in the memory banks for about 5 years…until it became a sort of skewed love song…Sometimes you hear people saying that a song wrote itself, and that’s the case with this one…the lyrics came in about 15 minutes…I think the band expected some punky thrash thing and Jet in particular was very complimentary with my first fledgling effort…but it didn’t make the first batch of songs recorded and so we just forgot about it really…At the time I was working on a little limited edition EP thing with a mate of mine in the north east…a thing I’d actually started to record before I joined the band…and as it seemed they didn’t want it I recorded it myself for that, albeit very stripped down, and then just left it alone…That happens with songs sometimes…they just get left behind and you move onto something else. A few weeks later it was mentioned again, I can’t remember by who, and we looked at it again with the benefit of hindsight and thought it might have legs…I’d made a little demo of it which was pretty close to the way it ended up, but as soon as JJ started working out the walking bass line and Dave and Jet brought the key lines and brush work it came to life and we did it pretty much live in one take at the farm one afternoon, left it for the weekend, and on revisiting it when we came back, decided it was fine as it was… and that’s the version you hear now…It’s a lovely song this…no fat and great individual playing from everyone. It’s a fan favourite too when we play it…mostly when we do the acoustic shows…lends itself very well to that side of things…and I’ve heard it’s been used on more than one occasion as a couples’ wedding dance too… <br />
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<b>LOST CONTROL</b><br />
This was one of JJ’s pretty much completed ideas. He had all the lyrics and the meter pretty much worked out but I seem to remember this being one of the songs we had the most trouble nailing. There’s a lot of London in this song…a lot of what was going on around him and his unease with the urban decay and the living breathing cauldron of a city that was unfolding right in front of him…his thoughts are not quite as pure as they once were…he’s bordering on some kind of revenge…The lyrics were biting and immediate and we needed some power from somewhere to go with them…I know there are quite a few demos of this song in existence, I have a few at home, and they’re all different…the rant in the middle where it goes off on a tangent is particularly inspired with a grinding heavy bass riff and squealing car brakes which were all done on guitar…and when we play it live we get the sub bass really cooking in an attempt to make people crap themselves…hasn’t happened yet but we live in hope… Another great live number… <br />
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<b>INTO THE FIRE</b><br />
All I really remember about this one was that I wanted to celebrate party culture and write a song about being as hedonistic as possible…the opening line “I need a woman like a stag needs a hat rack” was particularly intended to get peoples backs up, and it did…one writer calling us misinformed sexist pigs…mission accomplished then. This one suffered from a little too much in the overdubbed guitar department, and although the licks were intrinsic to the recording it couldn’t be replicated live and so is the only track on this entire album we’ve never done in concert…At one point we had as many as 6 of these songs in the set, such was our belief in the record…We were very gung ho around this time… <br />
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<b>TUCKERS GRAVE </b><br />
Somewhere between the villages of Norton St Philip and Faulkland in north east Somerset is the cider house known as Tuckers Grave. I won’t waste much time here trying to describe it to you because no words can do it justice unless you’ve been there…There isn’t a bar, no music, and 9 times out of 10 your mobile won’t get a signal…up until 25 years ago if you wanted a piss you went outside and did it up against the wall…and that included the women too…It’s a celebration in the dying art of spontaneous conversation…and if you haven’t got any, stay at home…the place is alive with character, and characters, the cider is lethal and the landlady’s tongue is as sharp as a cut throat razor…the locals play skittles in an alley at the back and are brought big plates of homemade cheddar, bread and pickles after the game…I was carried out once after ‘accidentally’ drinking 7 pints…I was in bed for 2 days…In other words it’s fucking fantastic… We spent many a happy hour there during this time. Getting to know each other and just relaxing into what we were doing…and JJ and myself developed an interest in the history of the place. Edward Tucker was tied to a tree stump on the crossroads outside the pub after hanging himself at the very farm we now call home…sometime in the latter half of the 18th century…he couldn’t be given a Christian burial because he’d taken his own life…against the law…so they just trussed him up and left him to rot…the local wildlife having a field day and the locals using his corpse as target practice…nice… His story is actually in a booklet on the mantle in the pubs living room for all to see, and after reading it one night we decided to write about it. I remember JJ calling me on his way home one weekend and asking me to “write this down”…he had quite a lot of the lyrics in his head and between us, down the phone we came up with the rest…I’d been messing around with open tunings on the guitar and after putting it into DADGAD came up with the rolling chord sequence…I’ve had a lot of people over the years asking me how it was done because they can’t play it…and you can’t in regular tuning… We wanted to make it trancy and atmospheric and Dave’s keys really gave it that slant…also Jet syncopated the snare drum…building it very slowly up into a spooky march of the dead…Paul absolutely sang the shit out of it and to my mind this is one of his best ever recorded performances…I love this track… <br />
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<b>I DON’T AGREE </b><br />
Looking at the lyrics to this they seem very personal to JJ and I really can’t remember who or what he said it was about when I asked him…I know I would have asked him at the time...it’s important to know what stuff’s about…but for my sins I can’t remember…if he even told me at all that is… I think the idea started with his bass riff at the beginning, which he was playing over and over one afternoon… I remember pretty much playing the opening guitar riff straight away and we just went into it…some great fast runs from Dave in the bridges and building up to the chorus’…We played this live all through the summer and it really went down well…I remember taking inspiration from The Byrds for the jangly guitar at the fade…I think I maybe even tried it on a 12 string…there’s a picture of me in Louie’s studio sporting a Rickenbacker which I can only assume we rented to try this…and again another great vocal from Paul…he sang very well on the whole album…It came really quickly this song…we had it all in one afternoon… <br />
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<b>SANFTE KUSS </b><br />
This is the first thing JJ and I ever wrote together and it dates back to mid 2000 when I drove down to his then place outside Cambridge to see if we could write songs together. He’d had the bass parts for a while, essentially a tune just on bass, and all the lyrics, and it was the first thing he played me when I arrived. I loved it and picked up on the hot club vibe straight away, finding the chords and pretty soon, I’d say a couple of hours, we had most of it…It came together really fast and I remember him calling a mate in Germany for an accurate translation of the lyrics he’d written…Sanfte Kuss being German for ‘A Gentle Kiss’…There are 3 verses all sung in different languages…German, French and finally English, where we discover that all he really wants is to fuck…surprise surprise…I worked on the guitar solo at home and when we finally came to record it proper we got Jon Sevink from The Levellers to come and play violin on it…When we play this live Dave comes to the front to play rhythm guitar as there’s no keys on this at all…just guitar , bass, brushes and a voice… <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgomte1zpy0aESNamadG3AvArnl9OdHme505gq-oih16BpTFpC-GTsV2aMNKf1Oiad9nIvj7vcGH1fSlHlifqqNRJ1ka7fLnzoeTqCXSKQb6HKXTBZNW5QmjzyRlMnBKdfIhaNvDsbCGCU/s1600/NC1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgomte1zpy0aESNamadG3AvArnl9OdHme505gq-oih16BpTFpC-GTsV2aMNKf1Oiad9nIvj7vcGH1fSlHlifqqNRJ1ka7fLnzoeTqCXSKQb6HKXTBZNW5QmjzyRlMnBKdfIhaNvDsbCGCU/s1600/NC1.jpg" height="320" width="243" /></a><b>MINE ALL MINE </b><br />
Pauls sole contribution to the album writing wise, but one of the best songs on it…we re-visited this for the convention in London in 2011 and had a lot of fun playing it again. In retrospect this suffers from a bit of overproduction I think…lots of sound effects, bleeps and noises, but it’s a very strong chorus and we played this live a great deal around that time. I seem to remember the arrangement being kicked about a bit and PR not being too happy about that, wanting it the way he’d written it…Paul all over really…JJ and Dave working on the middle eight for quite a while to get it super tight…and me and Paul working closely to get the vocal harmonies right…I think this one was the first tune we recorded too, or one of the first, and it just seemed to fit really well as the albums closing song…I was never really sure what it was about though…none of us were…but it was a really strong number… <br />
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In the summer of 2003 we all went to Hunstanton in Norfolk for the weekend to take the shots that ended up on the cover…driving down directly one afternoon after a performance on the main stage at that years’ Guilfest…Us being us we had to actually go to the Norfolk Coast…nowhere else would do… Those rocks are actually there…The tour manager we had at the time brought his young son along and I remember JJ, Paul and myself playing football with him on the beach between takes…and also the portly American photographer we were using eating every last sandwich that was brought in for us for lunch…as a lot of portly Americans are wont to do… This was my first album with the band…there was a great vibe around us at the time and it felt like a new beginning for everyone…we were all mates and had spent the last year very closely together working on this and getting to know each other…and the great music notwithstanding, that alone holds very good memories for me… <br />
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<b>BAZ W/6th OCT 2014 </b>ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-75638378372440915252014-09-20T07:08:00.000+01:002014-09-20T18:48:19.654+01:00The Raven-track by track<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><em>35 years after the release of The Raven, the band's fourth studio album, JJ recalls the inspiration behind each of the tracks that make up one of The Stranglers most loved releases:</em></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">LONGSHIPS<u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">An instrumental setting the scene for the album and another 6/8 fast waltz time. By the time we had started to prepare The Raven, The Stranglers were getting invited to play abroad, we had started to travel and we had foreign experiences. As a result, we were starting to take in what was happening all around us. With our traditions as British people, and as a Norman person as well, the longship seemed to be an appropriate thing, the Vikings, the Raven, it all gelled…<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">THE RAVEN<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The symbolism of the track was about Huginn and Muninn who were the two ravens that sat on either side of Odin’s shoulders and whispered in his ears. They went around the world telling him what was happening, the gossip and the news. It seems crazy as, if he is king of the gods, then he should know, he should be omniscient. They reported back to him and we felt like we were experiencing things first hand in different countries and we were reporting back too. It’s an album of reportage on what was happening in the world at the time. We thought that it was a tremendously strong symbol to represent the album. It was quite a brave new world in some respects because we were moving away from our sound as there were quite a few polyphonic synthesisers in it like the Oberheim. We were getting out of our comfort zone. The line ‘My friend you’re black…’ was partly about Dagenham Dave and racism because the Raven is a black animal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried combining a lot of imagery and a lot of other things that were on our mind together. You can take the meaning at face value, but it also means different things on other levels. That’s what I was trying to achieve. It has a melody, it builds into it, it has a theme and it’s quite a complete piece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEierxeSZ6YpC7NIeWcpppp6XS8EY7ni4gkZFvwuJ0WGk2XKCo_c3BGSnqFd3eOlboSq7xPHEYZKtuCl2hkMLtalDiyaciqYOsNXkR8VP_QuHFgSP3XEkLFqOR7mBytkyFnQs0t_MNo9Nx8/s1600/JJ+1979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEierxeSZ6YpC7NIeWcpppp6XS8EY7ni4gkZFvwuJ0WGk2XKCo_c3BGSnqFd3eOlboSq7xPHEYZKtuCl2hkMLtalDiyaciqYOsNXkR8VP_QuHFgSP3XEkLFqOR7mBytkyFnQs0t_MNo9Nx8/s1600/JJ+1979.JPG" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">DEAD LOSS ANGELES <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It was about our first impressions of LA and what we felt about it. We initially thought that there was some kind of superficiality about the place. It’s lots of towns stuck together, it’s like Milton Keynes in a way. People who live in LA just dream of success in cinema or in music. Initially it was cinema then the American music industry based itself there too. It just so happened that they had dug up a massive mastodon at the time that we were there so we just stuck that in. Using the two basses was quite an experiment, I’m not sure who’s idea that was, but we were experimenting quite a lot with that album. <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">ICE<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Lyrically it was about when the Samurai in Japan committed Seppuku (ritual suicide), they made themselves up and put rouge on before they got beheaded by their chosen beheader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The keyboard is really difficult as it’s not sequenced but it’s actually played. I remember Dave taking 2 or 3 days at Jet’s learning to play the sequence manually. Live, it’s really fucking difficult to get right and it takes the whole track out of sync. The drums and bass kept it together but, because the keyboard was used percussively on the track, if it’s not right then it’s completely out. We had fun recording the breaks in it as we had bottles in the studio which Jet smashed and you can hear him grunting. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">BAROQUE BORDELLO<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Baroque Bordello was the result of a week in Umbria and it was a fantastic time out of our comfort zone. We came out of it with Baroque Bordello which I think is one of the most beautiful songs we have ever written. It’s also one of the most complicated songs to play because the guitar is the most complex thing that Hugh ever did. I think that the guitar and bass meet up every eight bars or something like that. It’s a guitar sequence that doesn’t fit into a bar. I think Hugh’s singing in it is superlative, it’s one of his best vocals. I think Dave’s keyboard solo in it reaches for the sky. Everything is good in it, it’s a perfect song as far as I’m concerned. A masterpiece…<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">NUCLEAR DEVICE<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Nuclear Device is about Joh Bjelke-Petersen who we experienced when we went to Australia earlier in 1979. We got arrested by his thugs in Queensland, we experienced the brutality first hand in Brisbane. We got attacked onstage, I didn’t know that the bloke who was attacking me was a cop, I just hit him! He was being really aggressive and I was trying to defend myself. We had to escape over the state line. A group of three people or more constituted an illegal gathering. It was like a police state, like the early sixties in Alabama or something. His party was the Country Party and ranchers voted for him.In Australia, 90% of the people live in cities on the coast. He gerrymandered and changed the voting and made the votes of the ranchers who voted for him worth three times more or something. There’s a place called the Gold Coast and it was meant to be a beautiful area and he gave planning permission to the Japanese to build hi-rise buildings there. He also sold off traditional Aboriginal lands for the Uranium. He was corrupt and not democratic and we were subject to his bullying tactics.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">SHAH SHAH A GO GO<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The Ayatollah at the time had been living in France and he’d just moved back to Iran. We weren’t experiencing it but it was in the news and in our faces. Everything was happening and, for us, it was fantastic. It was more reportage on the world. <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">DON’T BRING HARRY<u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We were indulging (with Heroin) at the time, Hugh was the first one. We all decided that we would try it. We were experimenting with ourselves and it provided us with some inspiration. Jet and Dave were sensible and decided that they wouldn’t go far with it. It culminated in The Meninblack album but that’s another story. The line ‘With a friend like him, who needs enemies’ says it all really. I don’t want to glorify or glamourise it. It has relevance to a lot of people in the world because of the subject matter but it’s something I feel awkward about now. I’ve seen so many people die through it and I think that some fucking arseholes glamourise it because they think they’re being risky and on the edge. They don’t know what they’re talking about. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great song, I think it’s beautiful personally, it’s just a bit awkward. It was on Top Of The Pops but they didn’t know what it was about! <u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">DUCHESS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I found a riff for that at Jet’s. Hugh had been dating some posh bird, as he did. We put the two together and it was an instant pop song. We had great fun doing the video and the unsubstantiated paedophile C**** R****** objected to it and the BBC pulled our vid. The vicar was more than pleased for us to film the video there. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">THE MENINBLACK<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The Meninblack was the reason that Martin Rushent didn’t produce The Raven. It was the first track that we started doing and we slowed down Two Sunspots which we had at the time. He just walked out of the studio, he didn’t think that we should be experimenting with stuff and we were on it, we wanted to. It was something that we were interested in, the subject matter was esoteric. We just got the Vocoder which we were experimenting with too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">GENETIX<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Obviously Hugh’s lyrics, because he knew about those things being a scientist & a bio-chemist. It was quite a precursor to the modern age because DNA had been mapped out then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought that it was a tour de force and it was wonderful to play. It’s a musical challenge to play, definitely muscle flexing. Basically it’s four solos going on through the whole song until we rock it out at the end. We developed it over weeks if not months and Hugh and I worked on it late into the night. It starts to develop its own shape and personality. It gave us all a chance to shine and show our virtuosity at that time. Dave’s voice has a certain quality that makes it a bit scary and we thought that it would lend itself to the subject matter perfectly. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">FOOLS RUSH OUT<u1:p></u1:p>-b side of Duchess single</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It was written about our management at the time. They wanted us to split up and reform in three years’ time and make a fortune. We said ‘Fuck off!’ We looked at each other and knew that it was the end of the relationship with them…<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">YELLOWCAKE UF6<u1:p></u1:p>-b side of Nuclear Device single</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">A reworked instrumental given a title to fit with Nuclear Device.<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">BEAR CAGE<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It’s about GMBH, the German equivalent of Limited Company. It’s another sort of travelogue written about Berlin. We spent a lot of money on a video for that which was crap! It did fuck all as a single…<u1:p></u1:p></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><strong>JJB/20<sup>th</sup> September 2014</strong></span><sub><o:p></o:p></sub></div>
ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-86448524344151580012014-07-19T10:37:00.000+01:002014-07-19T10:37:15.111+01:00That Was The Week That Was...A very varied week this one… 2 festivals, 4 club dates, and a live television appearance…<br />
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First off was a trip up to the wilds of Cumbria for a show at Whitehaven, way up on the northwest coast of England. I personally haven’t been here for many years, having last played here in another life nearly 20 years ago with Smalltown Heroes…and suffice it to say, it hasn’t changed one bit in that time as far as I can see. The people are still as hardy and friendly as ever, and the landscape is eye boggling in its beauty. We happen to drive into the festival site on as clear an English summers’ day as ever there was…the sun glinting off the sea, highlighting the contours of the rugged coastline in an otherworldly glow…blindingly blue sky with little wisps of cloud settling around the tops of the distant mountains…quite a nice setting for a gig then…<br />
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We take to the stage at 7.30, to the 5,000 capacity crowd in the little arena going absolutely nuts from the start…and after the first few bars of the first song, it’s apparent I’m in trouble. I’ve started using some new amps and one of the ones they send me decides it’s time to play funny buggers and fries an output valve…I know immediately that something’s not right and it takes nigh on the whole show to identify the problem properly in the heat of a noisy and sweaty show…the crowd don’t seem to mind though, and the signal going out front from me is still healthy enough in the P.A…despite sounding like George Formby to me in my ear monitors…and we pull it off…a tight punchy hour…the crowd absolutely roaring their approval as we leave the stage…and despite me feeling let down by the new gear, we’re all smiles as we pull away and head to Leeds and the nights’ hotel…<br />
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We’re playing live on French TV the following morning and taking part in the opening weekend celebrations for the Tour de France which is happening at York Racecourse this year. This particular engagement being relatively short notice it’s impossible to get a hotel anywhere in York, so we stay in Leeds and drive in at 7.00 the next morning for rehearsals…a bit bleary eyed I have to say, but in good spirits. As we approach York the traffic for this time on a Sunday morning is beginning to thicken very quickly, and we wonder if we’ll make the venue at all, despite leaving with time enough to spare…but once we actually get there its painless enough and we get to the crew bus where everyone is waiting just about dead on time. The boys have been on the go since 6 loading our gear and sound checking and as usual make it easy for us to just wander up and start some run throughs for camera angles and recording…<br />
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The whole thing goes as smoothly as live TV can and once we’re finished the 2 songs they want, JJ goes across to a small stage for a live interview to the folks tuning in across France, having their breakfasts and laughing at the English weather. Even as he’s doing it our crew are breaking the gear down, packing, loading, and are just about ready to go when he winds it up. They’re fucking marvellous our crew…no other way to say it… And of course they also know we’ve got a club show in Preston tonight… <br />
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The 53 Degrees is a great little place and there’s 1,000 people rammed into it as we go on at 9.00pm… We’ve rested up as much as we can during the day and after a good sound check, during which my amp troubles are sorted and are sounding crisp, we turn in what can only be described as a blinder…the crowd are right there with us from the off and we respond and play very well…it’s loud, hot and sweaty, and we’re dripping as we leave the stage…great show…<br />
A big thanks to the scores of fans who waited around before and after the show too…there was some good craic there…and everybody enjoys that don’t they…<br />
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The next day we rise in decent time and make for St Albans. Dave and JJ are uncertain as to whether the band have ever played here before…we certainly haven’t in my time…and as we drive up to sound check I decide I’ll ask the crowd personally tonight…sometimes it’s the only way…they know everything… So ask them I do, and apparently we haven’t…although Dave’s still not 100% certain…<br />
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This is a great gig too…1,200 people have packed into it on a Monday night…and after 2 shows we’re tightening up nicely and play well again. Someone decides to throw beer at JJ and he halts proceedings by taking his bass off, getting down on his hands and knees, and wiping the stage himself with a towel…slowing the gig right down…fair play…he then decides to go wandering down to the front in a bid to seek out the culprit…me, Dave and Jim laugh at the thought of the berk cowering in the crowd with little streams of wee running down his black trouser legs and all over his D.M’s, as a glowering JJ tries to find him and administer a clip round the ear hole…very funny…<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0_2XcbLhXk4EWOAgKDFCAGL0AXFX2pELxrkeP5Phm4ctoLJw8QYC_6LK-bZ5Bp9TWAI7XkyNHK-O5KZ_W3y-rY3rsj7LMq75dereV5SnSsjoQO6fFxiKjXceAjNbvXN5qbgLHEBu2Vok/s1600/10541811_10152525741912604_2905660068799604286_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0_2XcbLhXk4EWOAgKDFCAGL0AXFX2pELxrkeP5Phm4ctoLJw8QYC_6LK-bZ5Bp9TWAI7XkyNHK-O5KZ_W3y-rY3rsj7LMq75dereV5SnSsjoQO6fFxiKjXceAjNbvXN5qbgLHEBu2Vok/s1600/10541811_10152525741912604_2905660068799604286_n.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a><br />
A bit of advice…don’t throw beer at this band/any band…but especially not this one…none of us take kindly to it and some of us can get punchy about it…one drop of beer into any of the equipment in the wrong place and the whole gig ends and everybody goes home…and you’re responsible you prick…<br />
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The mood lightens though when we get a lady out of the crowd who’d written asking for a picture with us to send her son out in New Zealand who’s a massive fan…”he says I’m not cool and I thought if I had a photo of myself with you lot he’d sharp change his mind” she’d said…I don’t think she bargained for us getting her onstage, facing the drums with her in the middle, all 4 of us, and with the crowd all waving behind us, getting the shot…courtesy of Big Al…She was lovely though, and clearly moved by the whole thing…nice…<br />
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Again there were lots of people waiting outside in the cold which was heartening, and after a good natter with as many as we can we depart…happy again…<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94pR9M67vjVAyvJ71mpvG4IN____0YPbIq-zXFq_qDJTtkRrwjCxcN0U659WoUDgIWxEyzLHTfUbPkzD8kOuMkFYsWGa9MFg9qvqiHmQyzw-Majz9mbVtt8840lMuQNxUTvxFi67K2U0/s1600/BmoW6jTCAAAyD-B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94pR9M67vjVAyvJ71mpvG4IN____0YPbIq-zXFq_qDJTtkRrwjCxcN0U659WoUDgIWxEyzLHTfUbPkzD8kOuMkFYsWGa9MFg9qvqiHmQyzw-Majz9mbVtt8840lMuQNxUTvxFi67K2U0/s320/BmoW6jTCAAAyD-B.jpg" /></a>It’s a relatively easy drive across to Reading the next day to play the Sub 89 club…a tiny venue of around 650 people which sold out very quickly so we’re told. It’s great to do gigs like this one every once in a while…the crowd are right in your face, the condensation runs down the walls, and we have puddles in our boots by the end…Around halfway through someone hands a piece of paper up to JJ which has the unbelievable legend Germany 5 Brazil 0 written on it…he shows it to the crowd and the looks of disbelief are very amusing…I can’t believe it and ask one of our boys who says it’s true…as the gig progresses we get updates and the final score unfolds just as we encore…<br />
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Oh and the gig was great too…there was some high spirits with a bit of crowd surfing and some poor girl at the front having her mouth smashed into the barrier a couple of times, she steadfastly refused to move…good for her…(I saw her later and there was no damage done)and some mile wide grins from people not used to being so close to a full throttle band really going for it…and it all adds to the atmosphere…a good old fashioned sweaty punk gig…<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-zl3XcNmasyN3WFSZeTWFFHp3KrTq3NvygMjitYCKIEUiywV0M1tyKeAkBz8V8HFgqp_DrMgAz_ekmT_uZx7EgKMEiJD_sTzwBuKlzDD475cu-BTfT_mmMrJ-r2xvqrDlQx5EpQSgr6k/s1600/10384579_10152495602482604_6261758610304461095_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-zl3XcNmasyN3WFSZeTWFFHp3KrTq3NvygMjitYCKIEUiywV0M1tyKeAkBz8V8HFgqp_DrMgAz_ekmT_uZx7EgKMEiJD_sTzwBuKlzDD475cu-BTfT_mmMrJ-r2xvqrDlQx5EpQSgr6k/s1600/10384579_10152495602482604_6261758610304461095_n.jpg" height="200" width="141" /></a>After a fairly routine day off in Hull, during which we had a meal in a place that was so unselfconsciously 70’s it almost defied belief, we sound checked at the City Hall the following afternoon. This isn’t a club but a lovely quirky old municipal building in the heart of the city that seems to be on the verge of crumbling at every turn. It’s got an amazing atrium at its heart which is bathed in bright sunlight with a huge glass dome looking down on marble pillars and floors…quite something…we do some photos there and gawp up at the sky and the surroundings. The hall is as you’d expect…high, wide and handsome, with huge reflective surfaces everywhere, and a massive balcony right the way around the top…<br />
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Thankfully though the PA is really good and Louie our front of house man isn’t anticipating too many problems…especially with just over 1,000 people coming out to see us on a gloomy grey Thursday night…the sound tightens up with so many bodies there to soften it and it’s a great show…a massive noise coming from the crowd in the echoing confines of the room…There are a lot of teenagers here too…and they know all the words, old and new…<br />
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After a lengthy drive up the east coast from Hull to Edinburgh we arrive at one of favourite haunts in Leith. When we’ve played T in the Park in the past we’ve always stayed here and as the gigs not until tomorrow lunchtime we take the time to relax after a busy week, have a nice meal, and a relatively early night. We leave the next day around 11 for the hours’ drive to Kinross and as has happened every time we’ve played here, it’s raining and already beginning to look muddy and broken up. We go on at 1.10 for an hour and have a great time…probably my favourite show in a week of corkers…<br />
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The first thing that strikes me is how young almost all of the crowd is…really young…there’s thousands of them all looking up with varying expressions, ranging from “wow” to ”I know most of the songs…was this them?” It’s great to see them warming to us song by song, until there’s a good 20,000 people there, drawn in by the sound and atmosphere…and when I go to thank them at the end the roar is deafening and we walk away smiling again…surprisingly sweaty for an outdoor gig…<br />
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A really satisfying end to a lovely week…and it puts us in great stead for the half dozen remaining festivals we’re doing before the season ends… A great week…too short, but great all the same…<br />
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Thanks to everyone who came and saw…we appreciate it…<br />
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<b>Baz/ July 2014</b><br />
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TITP photo-Corinne Laver<br />
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</b>ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-50162719995549068982013-07-23T20:23:00.002+01:002013-07-23T20:23:54.145+01:002013-the story so far...Halfway through the year give or take, and the present quiet offers a chance to reflect on the last few<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBR7Gdnuq6lWNkvUqbdzvkbGIRHwlQ7UAU91nThAgYQs1qrnfUdCw4AWGfemeEhXJLbjmqT1LtA3xp_w8iba16-MFJSQ7-_P0KvSsuNFu8Twx6PRRVAPR4OiQDGwhej4-AribVpdjFGE/s1600/Baz+Cognac.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img bba="true" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBR7Gdnuq6lWNkvUqbdzvkbGIRHwlQ7UAU91nThAgYQs1qrnfUdCw4AWGfemeEhXJLbjmqT1LtA3xp_w8iba16-MFJSQ7-_P0KvSsuNFu8Twx6PRRVAPR4OiQDGwhej4-AribVpdjFGE/s200/Baz+Cognac.bmp" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baz Cognac 2012</td></tr>
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months, a look forward to the coming one, and then on into next year… <br />
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The British tour was, as always, a great time…We had nothing to promote commercially, and it was a chance to just get out there again, see everyone, and play… Using Jim McCauley for most of the set and then Jet coming on for the last 30/40 minutes or so was a risk, but a chance we felt we could take, and after a few teething troubles early on in the tour, we straightened the transition out and it worked very well we thought…and it seems a lot of you did too judging by the comments and reviews we received. I passed a milestone with my 500th gig, and as you can see from the footage was completely taken by surprise...As always, too of course, you’ll never please everyone, but we’re used to that and plough on regardless…as you’ll know by now. We were happy with it… <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jXe9YwX-TULyNAYMgopdu0G6L5F3aYlpTv-_8fvaTYYkMMUEm5RdO5TMopicZx7kiDe8_fAay4iTcnmT4NISIKyEDXxXgnpcMGvoUGXId1t3R9A_KMhsFqsHr23rdo9uE2tpWWbku7A/s1600/Baz+Philly.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img bba="true" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jXe9YwX-TULyNAYMgopdu0G6L5F3aYlpTv-_8fvaTYYkMMUEm5RdO5TMopicZx7kiDe8_fAay4iTcnmT4NISIKyEDXxXgnpcMGvoUGXId1t3R9A_KMhsFqsHr23rdo9uE2tpWWbku7A/s200/Baz+Philly.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baz-Philly</td></tr>
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Then a breather…a knee operation for JJ on his left cruciate ligament…then off to Canada for the first time since being there as a 5 piece in 2004, the U.S. for the first time in almost 20 years, and my first visit there with the band. It’s been well documented by now that it was a hard slog in places, as all tours are, and wasn’t as seamless as we’re used to in the organisation department, but the shows and unending enthusiasm from the fans and media alike made it a trip to remember for sure…<br />
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Everywhere was packed with whooping, hollering yanks and braying Canucks and it was a pleasure to see the faces of people who feared they’d never see us play there again… Cancelling Detroit was a decision that wasn’t taken lightly of course…pulling gigs never is, but we had no choice as at that stage we couldn’t physically get into the United States and the entire tour was at risk had we not done so…In our parlance Detroit ‘took one for the team’…it couldn’t be helped and again, we’re sorry…hopefully we’ll be back… <br />
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And so now, during what has been a very quiet summer for us, we’re moving into August, the Royal Albert Hall, and a couple of nice local festivals, one of which we’ve done before… When we were first asked to do the Proms it all seemed a little unreal…for a band that has thrived on bucking trends and moving in the darker fringes of British music, courting controversy whilst still having hits and enjoying huge popularity, it almost seems like some sort of perverse vindication…The BBC, pomp and circumstance, and ‘Land of Hope and Glory’… <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMY8jGOwegXmrv9jMvMOx33PE8VSaRbqeds6cSqz5HpwGC3DSi5TGVXB21VzvKzD4fmkXwOgi_KNzAlOTDjMyG4hQvMAbYz4pHu7bVlq09mz05Gun5jIVsmcpVRPMPjd0mCxQp5XH9ds/s1600/Proms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img bba="true" border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMY8jGOwegXmrv9jMvMOx33PE8VSaRbqeds6cSqz5HpwGC3DSi5TGVXB21VzvKzD4fmkXwOgi_KNzAlOTDjMyG4hQvMAbYz4pHu7bVlq09mz05Gun5jIVsmcpVRPMPjd0mCxQp5XH9ds/s320/Proms.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Err...maybe not...</td></tr>
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The band have played at the RAH before of course, but it’s another first for me and I’m looking forward to it immensely, as are JJ, Jet and Dave…we get to play with a very big orchestra this time, as well as live simultaneous broadcasts on the beeb…and as I write this it’s very close to selling out…Hip hip…. <br />
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Two festivals follow then we break for a while as preparations are made for next year…don’t know what they’ll be, where we’ll be or what form much of it will take…but we’re plotting, planning and scheming…and when we know, so will you… Enjoy the rest of the summer… <br />
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<strong>Baz/23rd July 2013 </strong><br />
<br />Baz Cognac pic thanks to Phil Martin<br />
Baz Philly pic courtesy of Mitchell Smithratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-17859108492313665322013-05-18T11:46:00.000+01:002013-05-18T11:46:54.505+01:00Black and White-track by track<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUklSBblHizVft7zPn77lpB53tNIWVsPSJSTNgUVjjaB_vAeL5rmmaJg46hPkc_m-m79vSiRquXMj5p6ZWQjaDfwbNBxqVuuFN3xfk9DeQEEQFq2MiaZWWH5JoUqAk5X8pLaBWIQngEk/s1600/Black+and+White_232px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" pua="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUklSBblHizVft7zPn77lpB53tNIWVsPSJSTNgUVjjaB_vAeL5rmmaJg46hPkc_m-m79vSiRquXMj5p6ZWQjaDfwbNBxqVuuFN3xfk9DeQEEQFq2MiaZWWH5JoUqAk5X8pLaBWIQngEk/s1600/Black+and+White_232px.jpg" /></a>Thirty five years after the release of the band's third album <em>Black and White</em>, JJ revisits the album's tracks and associated b-sides:</div>
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<strong>TANK</strong><br />
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Hugh's lyrics with my music I think. I can't remember much else about it. It's a hard one for Dave to play live, depending on where he is through his bottle of Cognac at the gig! The whole of the album was written (at Bear Shank Lodge) at Oundle and it was a very snowy winter. Everyone else went away for Christmas but I didn't cos I had nowhere to go. I was left at Oundle by myself.</div>
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<strong>NICE 'N' SLEAZY</strong><br />
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<em>Sleazy</em> was written about our experiences with the Amsterdam Hells Angels in the autumn of '77. One of the Finchley Boys rode my Triumph over to Amsterdam and I went with the band. The Amsterdam Angels treated us very well, too well, and we ended up at their Chapter house, which had been donated by the Government to keep them out of town. After the Paradiso gig, I remember Jet going back to their club house on the back of a Harley. I went with the President of the Angels in his huge, American car and we got stopped by the Police. He gave me a large bag of white powder to look after while he got out of the car and went and pissed on the police car's front wheel! Back at their compound, we shot guns at a prison which was being built. Quite scary! </div>
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<strong>OUTSIDE TOKYO</strong><br />
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<em>Outside Tokyo</em> was completely Hugh, even the waltz music. Normally, all the waltzes were mine but I don't recall writing the music. </div>
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<strong>SWEDEN (ALL QUIET ON THE EASTERN FRONT)</strong><br />
Again, my music and Hugh's lyrics. We'd had a few set to's in Sweden by then with the Raggare (Swedish 50s influenced youth movement who drove old American cars) and had already been escorted out of the country under armed guard, for our own safety. <br />
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<strong>HEY! (RISE OF THE ROBOTS)</strong><br />
By then, we'd heard Devo and we really thought they were on to something musically. I remember talking to Lora Logic from X Ray Spex (who guested on sax on the track) and telling her to feel free to play whatever she wanted on it. We wanted that musical freedom that Devo had on this track. <br />
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<strong>TOILER ON THE SEA</strong><br />
I was left to my own devices over that Christmas and that's how <em>Toiler</em> came about. <em>Toiler</em> was one of my epicy instrumental things. I had the whole piece, all the parts of it and, as the others were away, I actually started rehearsing it with Dennis from the Finchleys on drums. I remember going into the rehearsal studio there and trying to get him to play the drums on it. <br />
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When Hugh got back after Christmas, he had a bit of a bad holiday. He'd gone with a Japanese girl to Morocco and he added his very recent story to my music when he came back after the break.</div>
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<strong>CURFEW</strong><br />
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The lyrics are mine. We were going through a Cold War spell at the time and it was just me imagining how it would be if the Russians actually made it through to the West. There was a general fear that the Cold War was going to escalate into an invasion. We'd gone to Germany and realised that, at the time, Germany was completely inthralled with the Americans. They had lost their strength and had gone very pacifist. There are references to the 'American dream'. So, the song was imagining what would happen if it all kicked off...</div>
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Musically, we thought we'd be clever as we added one 5/4 bar into the song. <br />
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<strong>THREATENED</strong><br />
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<em>Threatened</em> was another of my lyrics with Hugh's music. One night I went out with some people and they had opinions about everything, they were all too opinionated. I thought if it doesn't threaten you, what's the point in having a fucking opinion about something? Basically that was the idea behind the song.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVki5KG9uNv14Elx8x8VXwFbcgyV8lalGkL4oC7WVtokIBhniBk0-3i2uHrRo5liNcEKO5BHC44Ecgqe3ZlZFuPSNaQEhcDAuWxwjO9nqFA3etRVTdEhw2SI07cqlG0WQdxov6dc7IkjI/s1600/Iceland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" pua="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVki5KG9uNv14Elx8x8VXwFbcgyV8lalGkL4oC7WVtokIBhniBk0-3i2uHrRo5liNcEKO5BHC44Ecgqe3ZlZFuPSNaQEhcDAuWxwjO9nqFA3etRVTdEhw2SI07cqlG0WQdxov6dc7IkjI/s320/Iceland.jpg" width="207" /></a><strong>DO YOU WANNA?</strong></div>
My music and Hugh's lyrics and Dave's amazing vocals. I don't remember him explaining the meaning of the lyrics to me at the time. Definitely my riff though.<br />
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<strong>DEATH AND NIGHT AND BLOOD (YUKIO)</strong><br />
<em>Death and Night and Blood</em> was completely me, the title comes from a quote from Yukio Mishima. He was full of contradictions, he was homosexual but was married with kids, he was a highly rated writer but he wanted to make a statement with his body, which he did by becoming a body builder and taking up karate and kendo. He was also slightly misogynistic and leaning towards the fascistic. <br />
<br />
He also had his own private army The Shield Society which enabled him to get access to a General's office at army headquarters and to incite the Japanese 'Self Defence Force' (as they weren't allowed to be called an 'army') into action. He barricaded himself in the office and then addressed the gathered troops but his speech was drowned out by the sound of helicopters and the soldiers jeering. He went back inside and commited suicide by Hari Kari.<br />
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At the time, (Julie) Burchill and (Tony) Parsons wrote a book called The Boy Looked At Johnny and in it they described me as a 'Nazi, homosexual thug'! That's unfair, I'm not a thug!!! They were part of the Socialist Workers and, in their minds, if you weren't with them, you're a fascist. That was typical of them really... <br />
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<strong>IN THE SHADOWS</strong><br />
<em>In The Shadows</em> started as a jam, which was originally twice as long as the finished version. It was a piece of improvisation went on for about 12 or 15 minutes! I spent about 12 hours with Martin Rushent in the studio editing it down. I also wanted to add a dub reggae type feel so there were delays and cutting in and out added on to it. <br />
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We actually improvised the lyrics which were about paranoia and fear. We wanted it to sound like Captain Beefheart which was why we sang in low voices. It was originally released as the b side of <em>No More Heroes</em> and was a taster for what was coming next. We felt it fitted the whole album concept of Black and White as it felt dark and 'late at night' so we included it on the album too. I liked it as it was something new, a real departure for us... <br />
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<strong>ENOUGH TIME</strong><br />
This was about the same paranoia, about how we felt about the times that we were living in, the zeitgeist. In fact, the whole of <em>Black and White</em> was quite paranoic. It was also fueled by the fact that we'd had all that success the year before, and we were now getting slated by the press. That fed into our general consciousness, it was us against the world! <br />
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The morse code solo at the end reads 'SOS. This is planet Earth. We are fucked. Please advise'. We thought we'd be clever and include morse code to send that message out...<br />
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We played it live on the tour at the time, but I'm not sure how managed to do it. We tried rehearsing it for the Weekendinblack convention in 2011 but we just couldn't get it together. It's one of the very few things that I don't know how we originally constructed it... <br />
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<strong>WALK ON BY
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We didn't write it! <em>Walk On By</em> was a leftover from the days when we had to play cover versions. We'd play our own songs but, before people started throwing bottles, we throw something in that they knew! The solo section became a vehicle where we could extend our musicianship and it got longer and longer. Everyone played a solo in it and that became a trademark in some of our other songs in the future, like <em>Genetix</em>, where the four of us are playing totally different things. The instrumental section was a nod to Light My Fire by The Doors, that was the template that we used for the solo piece. <br />
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<strong>TITS</strong><br />
We used <em>Tits</em> as our weapon when something went wrong or against us! We'd circle the wagons and give people what they don't want. The song was taking the piss out of everything and it worked for us on occasion. We used it against the Finchleys when they tried intimidating us at the Torrington that first time. We weren't been forced off stage like they'd done with other bands. We also did it at the Roundhouse when we supported Patti Smith the first time. Old school sabotage...<br />
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<strong>MEAN TO ME</strong><br />
A basic bit of rock and roll because we were just a rock and roll band originally. We had no pretentions and it's an unpretentious rock and roll song with misogynistic lyrics from Hugh. We did a version with Celia Gollin. Dai Davies came up with the idea us working with Celia and to lend our kudos and musicianship to this girl he was trying to push. He wanted me to write songs with her, one of which featured Wilko (Johnson) too.. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZowdQAWSUcmd_vKLKSHukRpMNUM_RLpgGeNLWA6qxDM9xvX0Jnw-4cSl9fFD8nw0nvvVN2PDNIMBYHiibcE8TQMJ3IDXMI92xxdd4Z3QHq5ZfRcUKRIXaYuz_kJgsYgzgAPoDY7Arpw/s1600/JJ+B&W_98px.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" pua="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZowdQAWSUcmd_vKLKSHukRpMNUM_RLpgGeNLWA6qxDM9xvX0Jnw-4cSl9fFD8nw0nvvVN2PDNIMBYHiibcE8TQMJ3IDXMI92xxdd4Z3QHq5ZfRcUKRIXaYuz_kJgsYgzgAPoDY7Arpw/s1600/JJ+B&W_98px.JPG" /></a></div>
<strong>OLD CODGER</strong><br />
This was a blues type song which came about because we were pleasantly surprised having just met George Melly. We'd met him making an Arena programme for BBC2 where he had described us as the 'inheritors of Dadaism'. Hugh wrote the lyrics for him specifically for him to sing, with references to his self-confessed sexuality of previous years. During the recording at TW studios, with Lew Lewis (harmonica player), he also surprised us getting out a small tin and rolling spliffs! We didn't expect a bloke of his generation or ilk to be like that. It was all very chummy and we kept in touch with him for a few years... <br />
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<strong>SHUT UP</strong><br />
An inoffensive little song with my lyrics about a girl. We wanted to do the fastest song we could ever do. Punk by numbers, tongue in cheek and a bit throwaway really...<br />
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<strong>SOCIAL SECS</strong> <strong>(released as WASTING TIME)</strong><br />
The title is a play on words, with Hugh's lyrics about social secretaries at colleges who wouldn't book us. It also relates to the well documented Rock Goes To College incident which was considered commercial suicide at the time. The track went on to become <em>Yellowcake UF6</em> although the riff also resurfaced on<em> Do The European</em> as I was working on <em>Euroman Cometh</em> at the time. <br />
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<strong>JJB/18th May 2013</strong><br />
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ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-40277307536125265462013-05-04T13:13:00.000+01:002013-05-04T13:13:23.767+01:00Basses and bad backs!<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigemH61G12lVvIzg0uZxqC3O_prRsSi2TfJLmaG3K2gCgzDurEG4a-rmKOEKOr7vcLr6GSDxO6igJhCFhz1qFLo1sBdnARBjFFEN2aZ2S4QHBGd4w9Jwu-Sx-SSF4BDYTqntTCySqnsCY/s1600/JJB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" lua="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigemH61G12lVvIzg0uZxqC3O_prRsSi2TfJLmaG3K2gCgzDurEG4a-rmKOEKOr7vcLr6GSDxO6igJhCFhz1qFLo1sBdnARBjFFEN2aZ2S4QHBGd4w9Jwu-Sx-SSF4BDYTqntTCySqnsCY/s320/JJB.jpg" width="236" /></a>Some bands don’t rehearse much and it shows. Some consider it to be part of their slightly chaotic or anarchic charm. Others will play strictly the same set every night and, after a while, the audience will sense that they are merely going through the motions. We are often accused, if that is the right term, of being as tight as a duck’s arse. Since I haven’t had said pleasure I usually take it as a compliment. </div>
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I prefer for the Stranglers to rehearse much more material than is necessary so that we can chop and change our sets as and when we feel like. Another advantage, as I see it, is that I can feel much freer with my instrument and I don’t have to keep looking at it to see that I’m playing the right notes. In that way the bass player can groove with the music. I absolutely love to dance when I’m playing, 'Daddy dancing' to some but, ladies and gentlemen, "thems my own legs!" <br />
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I don’t always get it right, there is the occasional howler but bollocks it’s rock and roll! Obviously when there is the odd bum note then I repeat it just to show that it was meant and no mere accident. Of course... <br />
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However, before this last “Feel it live” tour, we rehearsed more than ever. Some days we had to actually play two whole sets. The end results makes it look effortless but there are many hours to make it look thus. The only problem for me was that some evenings my back was killing me. My bass is quite a heavy thing and without the luxury of being able to move around so much in a small rehearsal room and maybe playing 5 or 6 hours it was starting to be an issue. <br />
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I called Jon Shuker to see what could be done. The great thing about a close relationship with an artisan manufacturer is that personal contact. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmygmc5As7x4nOHXze_bY4b85IXk5azRvE4vpDPAkzTM-sAhdCYkV0XqfiFOH9kfzLDhp1nPmZzJwpDP6C_ypUjpz1jDiHQ7wkJxVO1B0qKx_9OfYDLD-v8vGF-JMOqWuQBnPf-U2edF8/s1600/JJ+Guildford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" lua="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmygmc5As7x4nOHXze_bY4b85IXk5azRvE4vpDPAkzTM-sAhdCYkV0XqfiFOH9kfzLDhp1nPmZzJwpDP6C_ypUjpz1jDiHQ7wkJxVO1B0qKx_9OfYDLD-v8vGF-JMOqWuQBnPf-U2edF8/s320/JJ+Guildford.jpg" width="320" /></a>For many years I used the Fender Precision. I eventually got fed up with the fact it was a distant and remote manufacturer and was determined to find a British manufacturer who could follow the Fender P blueprint or, indeed, improve on it. I found him in the shape of Jon Shuker. For a few years now we have been collaborating on a JJB four string bass which has a great sound, is British made and is custom built. </div>
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In fact, I’m trying to have as much locally made equipment as possible. If something is better than my locally made equipment the challenge is for our manufacturers to improve and beat the competition. At present I use Rotosound strings (Kent ) Ashdown amplification (Essex) and Shuker bass (Derbyshire). <br />
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Now it was time to update my bass to accommodate my back issue... <br />
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Near the beginning of the tour I took delivery of a somewhat modified JJB bass. What a difference. Jet immediately said after the first show that he heard it that it was the best sound he had ever heard from my bass. It was much lighter and balanced. Jon will still be making the original JJB spec fender p type model but this one will be my spec from now on. <br />
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So now, with Jon’s permission, for all you bass anoraks out there, here are the new specs... <br />
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<strong>JJB/4th May 2013</strong><br />
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Thanks to Louie N. for bass & case photo<br />
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<strong><u>J J Burnel P bass original body</u></strong><br />
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The body is made of two woods, dense white ash and lighter swamp ash, 3 pieces in total. The centre section is made from white ash where the neck, pickups and bridge are fixed, the reason is as the new body - the dense ash in the centre section is where all the main components are bolted, the theory being that the denser ash gives a more defined sound, stronger bass response and brighter trebles, overall a more aggressive sound with stronger sustain and more harmonics.<br />
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The wings are made from swamp ash which is a lightweight ash, traditionally used for guitar and bass bodies in the past, but it lacks a little in sound but helps with weight. The idea in the original body was to emulate the sound of the 70’s black P without the extreme weight of a soild white ash body (which is what it is made from and certainly helps the sound) but to get closer to the weight of the green bass, which I think was all swamp ash. <br />
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The body was finished in the same way as the new body.<br />
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<strong><u>J J Burnel P bass Neck</u></strong><br />
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The neck is made from rock maple, with a rock maple fingerboard. It has a truss rod that is adjustable at the body end, accessed behind a small cover in the scratchplate. Two lengths of carbon graphite rods are installed either side of the truss rod, these dramatically increase the strength and stability of the neck, making it extremely strong and solid, also the carbon graphite increase sustain and harmonics, eliminate deadspots.<br />
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The headstock is slightly thicker than normal, this increases sustain and neck strength. The frets are made from stainless steel, this makes the bass brighter, but the main reason is to reduce the wear as normal nickel fretwire is just not up to the job…..! The nut is made from brass, this gives a brighter sound to the open strings, a more fretted note sound, also it is pretty much unbreakable and brass is self-lubricating, so doesn’t pinch the strings.<br />
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On the Mk1 bass the headstock was fitted with Gotoh GB2 tuners which are extremely well made and will last a lifetime, one of the best tuners on the market. On MkII we went for Schaller bml lite tuners which are the lightest tuners available and are made by one of the most respected manufacturers of guitar hardware, not cheap because they are made from lightweight alloy and cast carbon resin.<br />
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The neck is finished is satin polyurethane lacquer<br />
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<u><strong>J J Burnel P bass</strong></u><br />
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<strong>Hardware</strong><br />
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The basses are fitted with a gotoh 203 bridge, which is a traditional bridge but with huge improvements, the outer saddles run in grooves that stops any side to side movement, the baseplate is much thicker than normal, a heavy duty bridge!<br />
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<strong>Pickup</strong><br />
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The pickup is custom wound to suit JJ’s sound, its based around a ’62 pickup but slightly overwound to give it more output and a stronger midrange and a more aggressive attack. The pickup is complemented by the bass construction giving an increased dynamic range, fuller more defined low end and a crisp, strong treble response.<br />
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<strong>Controls</strong><br />
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Just a volume and tone. The tone control is set to cut more treble than usual.<br />
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<strong><u>New bass spec – No. 1 mkII</u></strong><br />
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34” scale<br />
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20 frets<br />
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44mm nut width – neck measurements taken from green bass<br />
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rock maple neck<br />
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maple fingerboard<br />
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two way adjustable truss rod<br />
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carbon fibre neck reinforcement – 2 rods either side of truss rod<br />
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black face and side dots<br />
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jumbo stainless steel fretwire<br />
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brass nut<br />
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Schaller bml lite tuners<br />
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Black neck hardware<br />
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Satin neck lacquer<br />
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White ash and lightweight alder chambered body (as previously described)<br />
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Polyester basecoat<br />
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Wet look gloss black polyurethane topcoat<br />
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Black scratchplate<br />
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Custom wound P pickup<br />
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Volume and tone<br />
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Chrome body hardware<br />
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Gotoh 203 bridge<br />
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<strong><u>Original bass spec – No. 1 mkI</u></strong><br />
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34” scale<br />
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20 frets<br />
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44mm nut width – neck measurements taken from green bass<br />
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rock maple neck<br />
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maple fingerboard<br />
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two way adjustable truss rod<br />
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carbon fibre neck reinforcement – 2 rods either side of truss rod<br />
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black face and side dots<br />
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jumbo stainless steel fretwire<br />
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brass nut<br />
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Gotoh GB2 tuners<br />
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chrome neck hardware<br />
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Satin neck lacquer<br />
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White ash and swamp ash body (as previously described)<br />
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Polyester basecoat<br />
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Wet look gloss black polyurethane topcoat<br />
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Black scratchplate<br />
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Custom wound P pickup<br />
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Volume and tone<br />
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Chrome body hardware<br />
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Gotoh 203 bridge<br />
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<strong><u>J J Burnel P bass Lite body</u></strong><br />
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The body is made from two woods, a dense white ash and lightweight alder, six separate pieces of wood in total. There is a solid centre section and two chambered ‘wings’. The centre section is a sandwich of the ash and alder, the ash is the upper piece where the neck, pickups and bridge are mounted, the rear the alder. The reason for using the ash on the top is that all the main components are bolted to this dense wood, the theory being that the denser ash gives a more defined sound, stronger bass response and brighter trebles, overall a more aggressive sound with stronger sustain and more harmonics, using the alder on the rear keeps down the weight but also the alder has a more full range sound and adds an amount of warmth to the sound.<br />
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The wings are lightweight alder, the upper bout is chambered to lighten the body further. The chamber starts just forward of the forearm contour and stops just before the top horn and is routed to two depths so that the rear contour can be carved. Then a top laminate of alder is glued over the upper wing, this is 6mm thick, which is a fair bit thicker than a top would be for a bass that’s chambered for acoustic reasons, this is because it tends to get thumped often…..<br />
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The lower wing is also chambered but just forward of the waist and up to the lower horn, so that the cavity for the controls can be routed from the front without breaking into the chamber.<br />
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The wings are glued to the centre section and the bass routed and carved. The body is finished in a polyester basecoat then a gloss black polyurethane topcoat. So all in all quite a complicated build for a P bass, but when together this makes for a bass that weighs only 7 ½ lbs.<br />
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The other main change to the first model is the tuners, this bass has Schaller BML lite tuners, which are the lightest tuners available, made from lightweight alloy and cast resin.<br />
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We’re looking to develop the bass further, looking into the possibility of a carbon fibre cased neck with a maple board.<br />
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Jon Shuker <br />
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<a href="http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/jjpbass.html">http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/jjpbass.html</a><br />
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<img height="87" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmygmc5As7x4nOHXze_bY4b85IXk5azRvE4vpDPAkzTM-sAhdCYkV0XqfiFOH9kfzLDhp1nPmZzJwpDP6C_ypUjpz1jDiHQ7wkJxVO1B0qKx_9OfYDLD-v8vGF-JMOqWuQBnPf-U2edF8/s320/JJ+Guildford.jpg" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 37px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 636px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" />ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-87530417473786639842013-04-13T11:05:00.002+01:002013-04-13T11:05:19.662+01:00Feel It Live round up<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrv47Rq9LdC1Q_mTpGiiZ9Lm59D8C7xbFoEAAlcmyfAuFcG6hf-15Xk0pkBWWBpWKJ8STKVByrNL9EqzcOoweASqUdqgIFkd1AW1e2jmRgIXx9KXI2MfqwPRc19tfZMHqM9ehjD4IwJnk/s1600/JJ+WM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrv47Rq9LdC1Q_mTpGiiZ9Lm59D8C7xbFoEAAlcmyfAuFcG6hf-15Xk0pkBWWBpWKJ8STKVByrNL9EqzcOoweASqUdqgIFkd1AW1e2jmRgIXx9KXI2MfqwPRc19tfZMHqM9ehjD4IwJnk/s320/JJ+WM.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">JJ @ Manchester (Warren Meadows)</td></tr>
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As I sit here with my crutches by my side, I suddenly find myself with a bit of enforced time to reflect on our latest tour. </div>
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I must explain that, immediately the tour was over, I had an appointment to reconstruct my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) which I tore last August whilst training. It is just a reflection of how busy the Stranglers were last year that this was the first opportunity that I had to have the operation and recover in time for more action on the Stranglers front. </div>
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So, apologies to anyone who thought that I wasn’t jumping as high or as frequently as usual. Like Steve of the Finchleys! <br />
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A successful tour. Even more people came to see the Stranglers this year than last, according to SJM-our promoters. and bearing in mind that overall the numbers on tours throughout the UK this year are 10% down on last year. In anyone’s book, that was a success. </div>
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We even managed to play in a few places like Carlisle and Salisbury that we haven’t played in for ages. I remember last time in Carlisle some bloke threw a pint of beer over me, which elicited what I imagine he expected, only for the police to come looking for me at the end of the concert following a complaint from said miscreant! I left through one door, they entered through another! Keystone cops! <br />
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Even the last gig in Croydon, which we thought would be a bit of an anti-climax since it was added to the itinerary after the Roundhouse sold out so quickly, and was after what has become our traditional last nighter in Manchester AND is a seated venue, turned out to be a great night. So many familiar faces. Quite a few people came to several of the shows, all over the country. I suspect there are some very understanding spouses all over the UK.
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpBsMyxeQT2gtqqdH5tGc7amqZAph-Fb_e5DnosEaTPKzVLvSOq78mNoyWPvfJ7CUiq6s3GCR7H0r-3Itaenh6v3pFlP9OkG7OEinI8PfS36aaj42q_aIFBVKaza2idr6OcWGJKTQHTJg/s1600/FIL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bua="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpBsMyxeQT2gtqqdH5tGc7amqZAph-Fb_e5DnosEaTPKzVLvSOq78mNoyWPvfJ7CUiq6s3GCR7H0r-3Itaenh6v3pFlP9OkG7OEinI8PfS36aaj42q_aIFBVKaza2idr6OcWGJKTQHTJg/s1600/FIL.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feel It Live-photo Dave Sims (Baby Dave)</td></tr>
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This tour we managed to change the set more times than usual. This in part due to the fact that we had to learn and rehearse two sets, one for just Jim alone, in case or when Jet didn’t participate, and one including Jet. And only Jet can play <em>Genetix</em>. It was already decided beforehand which gigs Jet would be able to make and which were just logistically impossible for him to do. Some stages just couldn’t handle two drum kits on at the same time. Our road crew who can probably play the instruments better than any of the band found it to be the best tour that they had been on. And these guys don’t only work with the Stranglers. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJozmR4_BhdbYkoanu-8C75bYw_sbe4vBer0XOumNpiHz7xSkkei8Pn5xs0dvRe0376kU8T2IZQQ4dNeFYy70ogobyL4vFARIi5MkIdIFxOyztVEz99b642EaF6iiQXlD5itrXkKiseQ/s1600/Graeme+R.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJozmR4_BhdbYkoanu-8C75bYw_sbe4vBer0XOumNpiHz7xSkkei8Pn5xs0dvRe0376kU8T2IZQQ4dNeFYy70ogobyL4vFARIi5MkIdIFxOyztVEz99b642EaF6iiQXlD5itrXkKiseQ/s320/Graeme+R.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graeme Rennie in WA (Nichola R)</td></tr>
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However, all good things have their counterpoint and the first of these was the news that an old friend and fan of the band had finally succumbed to his cancer. Graeme Rennie died on March 9th. Graeme had met Nichola Still, who had been helping out with SIS many years before, through the Stranglers (In fact I’ve since learnt that quite a few couplings are on account of The Stranglers). Graeme was a Scot and Nichola was from the south coast. They had decided to emigrate to Perth in western Australia and were living the dream. Theirs was most definitely a love match. They had even bought their tickets to come and see the Stranglers in Sydney and Melbourne in December when we were playing there with Blondie. That would have been a five hour flight but, sadly. due to his illness they had to cancel... </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0YnbtvvxOvk4lLn62eEhra79YMVavfBvtzmfhuiwpxgh1_mUEiM-vF90kjsSoXe9rc3ich15At29WZoHrUfFRKRgOUWck5iJ5TVqHL5YHwjGC7wNGgdc61v_vL8xjeWuL8vOH3o2xrZk/s1600/Daniel+D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0YnbtvvxOvk4lLn62eEhra79YMVavfBvtzmfhuiwpxgh1_mUEiM-vF90kjsSoXe9rc3ich15At29WZoHrUfFRKRgOUWck5iJ5TVqHL5YHwjGC7wNGgdc61v_vL8xjeWuL8vOH3o2xrZk/s200/Daniel+D.jpg" width="200" /></a>At the beginning of the tour it was announced in France that someone that I had known years previously had passed away. Some of you may remember <a href="http://www.taxigirl.org/" target="_blank">Taxi Girl</a>. They supported us on, I think the second <em>La Folie</em> tour . And had made quite an impression. I had actually produced their first and only album 'Seppuku' and had had to bring Jet in to do the drumming on the album following the death of their drummer at the age 19 just weeks before going into the studio. Daniel Darc had since the demise of Taxi Girl forged a considerable reputation as a poet and recording artist. Our paths had crossed a few times in the intervening years and his loss will be keenly felt. </div>
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As many of you also know, my dear friend Wilko Johnson, who was my flatmate in 1977 and was a mainstay of the original Dr Feelgood, had also announced just before the tour started that he would be embarking on his last tour after being diagnosed with non operable cancer. </div>
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Good news and bad news. The only connection is that both fill me with wonderful sweet memories.
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<strong>JJB/13th April 2013</strong></div>
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ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-74662481027627489822012-11-17T15:14:00.001+00:002012-11-18T20:51:51.467+00:00Keith, Kanreki & Karate<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmDc6KxkfgVApZvhkhEc9zk0rGS3dpBu1hcx6ydElRErZROQ_kFs55SIc7O0_XHQ6wprcf7Zk60m_bGCsuoUhY-Ldftt2Sb72Sn0hT0rscxtoPiXOsicks2RHcs951CwxOR_uCIQ76c8I/s1600/KeithARB.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmDc6KxkfgVApZvhkhEc9zk0rGS3dpBu1hcx6ydElRErZROQ_kFs55SIc7O0_XHQ6wprcf7Zk60m_bGCsuoUhY-Ldftt2Sb72Sn0hT0rscxtoPiXOsicks2RHcs951CwxOR_uCIQ76c8I/s200/KeithARB.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
Keith was the drummer with ARB and he and JJ have been friends for many years. Keith was having his 60th birthday party gig in Tokyo at the Shinjuku Loft on 5th February and JJ made a commitment to play with him at the gig.<br />
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Keith told JJ that he wanted to play some Stranglers’ songs and JJ knew that there’d be no keyboard player in his Japanese band. Instead, there’d be 2 guitarists.<br />
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JJ met his band for the first time at their only rehearsal in Tokyo. Keith had had an operation on his right arm last year but he’s now back behind the drums and looking good. One of the guitarists, Shin-ichi Fujinuma, was familiar as JJ had met him once before. The other guitarist, Koya Naito, also played with ARB and, although JJ had toured with ARB in the past, it wasn’t with Koya so they had never met.<br />
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Before JJ got to Japan, the band had practiced six of the Stranglers’ tracks in exactly the same way they were recorded in the original albums. They seemed a bit nervous at the beginning but, as they started playing, the atmosphere soon became more relaxed with JJ speaking to them in Japanese. It wasn’t a problem for JJ to play those tracks, of course, but it must have been a lot of work for the others as all of them were going to play in other bands as well on the night of the gig. In fact, Keith was playing with all of the bands so he had 30 songs to practice! <br />
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The rehearsal lasted for three hours and they were ready, well almost. They only did a bit of backing vocals towards the end of the rehearsal so I was wondering what it would be like at the gig… On the day of the gig, they got together at the sound check at the Shinjuku Loft. It was just a short time and they were done. No worries.<br />
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The door of the Loft opened and it was jam packed with fans of Keith and various other artists and they were there to celebrate Keith’s Kanreki! I knew there’d be other Stranglers/JJ’s fans there not only from Tokyo area but also from other parts of Japan. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiAFqYNatmEiWuU8JtMUE-dx95vuzVf7mwFV7QPVWUCGreT5J02QFKauIXK0hpG13yjoTCM-o15FXKiDQXloMmV-JrJDNcjoZNGA6Da7sEQ9lWhaKE_WnORegQcEhL8UIIFbbBQQzkF3I/s1600/JJonstage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiAFqYNatmEiWuU8JtMUE-dx95vuzVf7mwFV7QPVWUCGreT5J02QFKauIXK0hpG13yjoTCM-o15FXKiDQXloMmV-JrJDNcjoZNGA6Da7sEQ9lWhaKE_WnORegQcEhL8UIIFbbBQQzkF3I/s320/JJonstage.JPG" width="320" /></a>“Konbanwa.(Good evening)” With JJ’s greeting in Japanese, they opened the set. The band sounded great. You can actually hear the keyboard line played by the guitars! They seemed to be enjoying themselves too and you can see it on their faces. Before the last track, JJ started singing Happy Birthday and so did all others with the audience for Keith. Keith was smiling and raised his arm high to respond to all. It was a real bonus to hear JJ sing <em>No More Heroes</em> as it was the first time he’s ever taken the lead vocals on that! At the very end of <em>NMH</em>, JJ was looking at Keith smiling and putting his tongue out as if he was going to go on forever. Then JJ turned around back to the audience and shouted 1,2,3,4,1,2,3! in Japanese to end the song. A big applause and they all came to the front of the stage. Enjoy the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNHM1pi1y8w&feature=share&list=UUo059sh6g62rrk4uka62arQ" target="_blank">video</a></div>
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After the gig JJ was met by Mr. Maeda, the director of the popular anime Gankutsuo, friends from Shidokan and fans who patiently waited. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijH1A0gM9s0KLrc2goFoFQ6wraSKPh8movNaaq6IsqcMOR__w8exWI7OMEzXkB2huEvhJy5LvKiIX1zcsl5kksy4yuoutlSd2mP_0786PjFSPkGR0e2x7TZ7nFUyKAS3Y0Uxpghyphenhyphen0jsZ8/s1600/JJ&Keith.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijH1A0gM9s0KLrc2goFoFQ6wraSKPh8movNaaq6IsqcMOR__w8exWI7OMEzXkB2huEvhJy5LvKiIX1zcsl5kksy4yuoutlSd2mP_0786PjFSPkGR0e2x7TZ7nFUyKAS3Y0Uxpghyphenhyphen0jsZ8/s320/JJ&Keith.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keith and JJ after the gig</td></tr>
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Keith was very happy that JJ actually took the time out of his busy schedule for this special day for him. He said that he appreciated so much and was very touched by JJ’s friendship. JJ said that he just wanted to be there to celebrate his friend’s birthday.</div>
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[ KANREKI ]<br />
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A person's 60th birthday is special in Japan. It’s called KANREKI. It’s the recognition of a person’s second infancy. The Japanese characters in the word KANREKI literally mean KAN = return (or cycle) and REKI = calendar. It is based on the traditional, originally the Chinese calendar which was organised on 60-year cycles. The cycle of life returns to its starting point in 60 years therefore KANREKI celebrates that point in a person’s life when his personal calendar has returned to the calendar sign under which he was born.<br />
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When celebrating KANREKI, people traditionally give red clothing as birthday presents. That is because in olden days, a new born baby was given red swaddling clothes as colour red was believed to ward off evil spirits.<br />
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Also, 60 years was a very long life in the olden days as the average life expectancy of a person was around 50. So it was to celebrate the long life although we have much longer life these days and 60 years is not considered old at all. Well, we know that well!<br />
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By the time he arrived in Japan, he had other appointments for Karate. Shidokan HQ recently opened a new gym/dojo in Tokyo where he visited one day. They then took him to a nearby shrine “Hiei Jinja”. Before walking up to the main shrine, you first clean your hands, left and right, then mouth. There was a kind of stage being built in front of the shrine and that was for Setsubun (3 Feb.) After visiting the shrine, they had a casual update meeting on Shidokan.<br />
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Setsubun (February 3 or 4): the day before the beginning of spring according to the lunisolar calendar. On the evening of this day, people open the doors of their houses and drive the demons (i.e., bad luck) out of their homes and gardens by throwing handfuls of beans and shouting, "Demons out! Good luck in!" <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjreuLCTHCIrv1SSdRV8he0gzfOBGlGVZJoktANHVYCOREj-hCDJLAIX1gGeS3IvjNinGJSTLVhd6HNAzNF96XHwr-cMu1dQVqBPhBQfsqxQafiB95_cAGw2x2o8iTO3ysT0CmOjEEFDxs/s1600/JJ+at+memorial.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjreuLCTHCIrv1SSdRV8he0gzfOBGlGVZJoktANHVYCOREj-hCDJLAIX1gGeS3IvjNinGJSTLVhd6HNAzNF96XHwr-cMu1dQVqBPhBQfsqxQafiB95_cAGw2x2o8iTO3ysT0CmOjEEFDxs/s320/JJ+at+memorial.bmp" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JJ with Shihans at Mr Maki's memorial</td></tr>
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There was another event for JJ which was Mr. Hisao Maki's memorial ceremony. Mr. Maki started Kyokushin Karate under Mas Ohyama’s instruction and later founded his own style. He was very diligent Karate master as well as a writer, and JJ had met him a few times in the past.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSnjL2ZXoVNtihvQvO93YvrvIL93RIrmw3ZWlbNcy5TS2YaaWarhO2WEX-fNm12FQOlYgjYM7QJODnITZ5t7MMpHHccszUHBsMSK2o7iQb8mSaDDrPqIiy9OQlrVZX-9K0Eypn3kZ7LrY/s1600/JJ+at+Hiei+shrine.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSnjL2ZXoVNtihvQvO93YvrvIL93RIrmw3ZWlbNcy5TS2YaaWarhO2WEX-fNm12FQOlYgjYM7QJODnITZ5t7MMpHHccszUHBsMSK2o7iQb8mSaDDrPqIiy9OQlrVZX-9K0Eypn3kZ7LrY/s200/JJ+at+Hiei+shrine.bmp" width="150" /></a>He suddenly passed away in early January and all shihans and masters of related Karate were to gather at the ceremony to say goodbye to Mr. Maki. There were JJ’s master Kancho Soeno and lots of Karate related people, his students, publishers, celebrities, and his fans. It was the first time for JJ to attend such a ceremony in Japan so unexpectedly he had a chance to experience another traditional aspect of Japan. </div>
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During his stay, he learnt another fact about Japan. It was a very cold day and he was sitting in a train when he felt his bottom was on fire… It was the train seat which was heated by the heater underneath. He also noticed that there were many Japanese people with blond hair. I told him that Japan is much more international so there are more blonde. He just grinned.</div>
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<strong>Yuka Takahashi, SIS Japan/17th November 2012</strong><br />
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Photos Yuka Takahashi/video Mr. Kato<br />
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Yuka has also posted this ratter on the SIS Japan site <a href="http://kuroki-rin.cocolog-nifty.com/stranglers_live/2012/11/keith-kanreki-k.html" target="_blank">here</a><br />
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<br />ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-56268928522832767332012-09-21T23:13:00.000+01:002012-09-21T23:13:26.025+01:00No More Heroes-track by track<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisKO7hESkkpnhfNSxXkDJ8VflRVLym-YeDTPlhQqUPstSVXWCG1527eMPuV_Kti9eKPhsWLQhpTYIXFk5jQoWZpFjxZ6x0fSsHE-KRAaNAUZvhoZJ6zvusdLdma9HdFRvF0wJSOzKcpoE/s1600/NMH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisKO7hESkkpnhfNSxXkDJ8VflRVLym-YeDTPlhQqUPstSVXWCG1527eMPuV_Kti9eKPhsWLQhpTYIXFk5jQoWZpFjxZ6x0fSsHE-KRAaNAUZvhoZJ6zvusdLdma9HdFRvF0wJSOzKcpoE/s1600/NMH.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Thirty five years after the release of the band's second album <em>No More Heroes</em>, JJ revisits the album's tracks:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><strong>I FEEL LIKE A WOG</strong></span><br />
I can't actually remember a thing about <em>I Feel Like A Wog</em>! Hand on heart, I don't know who originated it. It feels like a JJ bassline as it's an easy bassline on the E and the A. The lyrics were Hugh's and they were based on our experiences when we went to Hamburg. After we played a gig there, we went to a club in St Pauli, which is quite a cool part of Hamburg where the Reeperbahn is. Something happened and we were made to feel very alientated. The term 'wog' is a fantatstic word, very emotive. When we played the Roundhouse five years ago, the Guardian reviewer said he felt even more uncomfortable about the word now than he did 30 years ago. It's a very emotive word, it works...One thing I can remember is that the National Front had a magazine called British Bulldog and apparently, in one issue, they said that we were a cool band because we had a song called <em>I Feel Like A Wog</em>. Completely misunderstanding the point of the song! It's the antithesis of that. That's all I remember now... <br />
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<strong>BITCHING</strong><br />
<em>Bitching</em> was written after our visit to Amsterdam with Fred Grainger (landlord of the Hope and Anchor) who tour managed us when we went there for a week. It's about our experiences with the produce that you can purchase in Amsterdam and various aspects of that trip, about being impoverished and having copious amounts of grass. I do especially remember that one night in a pub there that Dave was sick. He puked up into three pint mugs perfectly without spilling a drop and it was all purple! <br />
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<strong>DEAD RINGER</strong><br />
<em>Dead Ringer</em> was my riff with Hugh's comments about all the hypocrites in the scene at the time including 'Saint' Strummer and people like that who were turncoats. People who'd been mates only a few months before and then suddenly they didn't want to know us because we were successful and it being politically incorrect to have anything to do with The Stranglers. It was about that bullshit... <br />
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<strong>DAGENHAM DAVE</strong><br />
<em>Dagenham Dave</em> was my lyrics about a guy who was our earliest mentor. Unfortunately, on one amazing night, he took on the whole of the Finchlies at the 100 Club. We did see him a few weeks later at Aylesbury, where they had all made up. After that he wasn't right, he threw himself off Tower Bridge and into The Stranglers' mythology. Enough's been written about that over the years...<br />
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<strong>BRING ON THE NUBILES</strong><br />
<em>Bring On The Nubiles</em> was funny and very clever. It was my riff which I nicked off Miles Davis' Bitches Brew album. It's a seminal album as it's the first album where jazz & rock combined. I nicked that bass riff unashamedly. Hugh's slightly tongue in cheek lyrics were very funny and annoyed a lot of feminists all over the world. They took it at face value which so many people did all the time with Stranglers' lyrics. Irony?<br />
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<strong>SOMETHING BETTER CHANGE</strong><br />
<em>Something Better Change</em> was my lyrics with Hugh's riff. This was written in the summer of '76. It was about the zeitgeist that was happening around then. Something was obviously afoot...<br />
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<strong>NO MORE HEROES</strong><br />
<em>No More Heroes</em> probably epitomised the feeling of <em>Something Better Change</em> perfectly. I did the music for <em>Heroes</em> while I was still living at Wilko's (Johnson-Dr Feelgood guitarist) flat. It was Hugh's lyrics.<br />
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<strong>PEASANT IN THE BIG SHITTY</strong><br />
I wrote <em>Peasant In The Big Shitty</em> a few years earlier. I wanted it to be a Beefheart type thing. Absurdist but the lyrics meant a lot to me, I knew exactly what I was talking about which were events that happened to me on acid. It's a 9/4 rhythm which is not very rock and roll. I had the idea in the ice cream van coming back from somewhere. I could hear the rhythm of the engine which was about to blow up at the time and wasn't running straight. I remember asking Jet 'what's this rhythm?' and he worked it out and I said 'Great, I'll write a song with that...'! <em>Peasant In The Big Shitty</em> was all me. <br />
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<strong>BURNING UP TIME</strong> <br />
<em>Burning Up Time</em> was all my lyrics. It was all about burning ourselves out, taking speed and dying young! Doing everything very fast and to the limit with the Finchley Boys and everything. <br />
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<strong>ENGLISH TOWNS</strong><br />
<em>English Towns</em> was kind of a filler. For <em>No More Heroes</em>, we needed one more song. But, in fact, it kind of summed up my thinking about life in England for us at the time.<br />
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<strong>SCHOOL MAM</strong><br />
<em>School Mam</em> was my riff but Hugh's lyrics about his experiences at a prep school in Guildford. He was sacked for being too friendly and taking acid with his students which might be frowned upon! It was a nod and a wink to a song by the Velvet Underground called The Gift, which was about someone receiving a gift in the post, little knowing that there was a person wrapped up inside. They couldn't open it so they just stabbed it open with scissors and killed the person inside. <br />
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<strong>STRAIGHTEN OUT</strong><br />
<em>Straighten Out</em> was about the impending doom that was going to befall us all and the atmosphere at the time-kind of nihilistic...<br />
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<strong>FIVE MINUTES</strong><br />
<em>Five Minutes</em> were my lyrics and Hugh's riff I think. It was about what happened at the apartment I was sharing with Wilko and a girl. She got raped one night. There were five black guys who did it and the main point, in the middle eight, was 'some say that I should hate them all' about all black people which was absolutely ridiculous and obscene. I just wanted to find those guys, I didn't use it as an excuse for hating all black people. How would you? I mean, if you have a bad experience in France, you say 'French bastards!' I find that all the time, I don't think they really mean it but it is easily done. <br />
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<strong>ROK IT TO THE MOON</strong><br />
<em>Rok It To The Moon</em> was a B side which I can't remember anything about! It was my riff though and it was prepared way after <em>No More Heroes</em> at Bearshanks at the end of '77.<br />
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<strong>JJB/21st September 2012</strong><br />
<br />ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-85696755334267565872012-09-01T20:13:00.000+01:002012-09-01T20:28:32.352+01:00Summer festivals and beyond...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZ0GwO9qb2Y2SLnCDbsGx0icCD12CnCCxS26C8h0usXvgwgjALwsAgae-EGH6asHhv7rJCaNkyT-elggfuQKUi5EEgotj_xcTvOcpqusTTIk16WnyjRCi3Z9WsqAx-XG5_vENVOX3L04/s1600/festival+portrait5+copy+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZ0GwO9qb2Y2SLnCDbsGx0icCD12CnCCxS26C8h0usXvgwgjALwsAgae-EGH6asHhv7rJCaNkyT-elggfuQKUi5EEgotj_xcTvOcpqusTTIk16WnyjRCi3Z9WsqAx-XG5_vENVOX3L04/s320/festival+portrait5+copy+%25281%2529.jpg" width="226" /></a>It has been very successful summer campaign! By today, the last day of August, it has been twelve victories and no defeats.People have been conquered all over the world... It's gratifying that we are still in such demand and I think it is a direct reflection of the work that we have put into the last few albums. It's also confirmation that somewhere there's a little place in everyone's heart for The Stranglers! <br />
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Jim (MacCauley-our stand in drummer) has been holding his own. He's done his homework and we're very grateful. When Ian (Barnard) asked us for the chance to work with Bombay Bicycle Club for the summer, after all these years with us, you can't refuse his opportunity. Our crew become like family and The Stranglers isn't a shut thing so if a guy wants to work elsewhere then we can respect that. <br />
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There have been quite a few interesting gigs. Estonia was great, the people were lovely there. In the drizzly rain in the Baltic in the very early summer and they were still there. The Isle of Wight was fantastic considering the bullshit and bollocks about the organisation. The island was in gridlock, 10,000 people were evacuated from the tent because of the weather. An hour later we were on stage playing-that was quite exciting.<br />
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There have also been some memorable gigs. Berlin was amazing. Those Nazis certainly new how to build things! The Waldbuhne was quite impressive, the ergonomics of the whole place and how it was built. It was built for the 1936 Olympics for the gymnastic competitions I think. It's right by the Olympic Stadium in a wood in central Berlin. Die Arzte are the second biggest grossing band in Germany and I was touched that they came on stage before us and explained why we were there. They said they wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for The Stranglers! I was really touched that they, in the position they are in, were still very humble. Cool as fuck... <br />
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Nuremberg was another Nazi construction which was shown in early Nazi propaganda films of their first rally when they came to power in 1933. Now it's a venue for rock concerts. The Nurburgring is a famous racing circuit that has killed more drivers than any other track in the world. In Brussels, as the gig was in the gardens of the royal palace, I got booed as I asked everyone to make so much noise that the king would come out on his balcony! He didn't come out so I said he must be still asleep. People booed me and it was fantasic-god save them! The V's were great as lots of young people had never heard of The Stranglers got to see us. Cognac was a fantastic setting with charming volunteers helping to make the town festival a success. <br />
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After the summer dates are over, I want to start writing as I've got lots of things that I want to explore. Personally I've also got to go to Japan and do some karate. The band need to take a bit of a break and assess what we want to do. We want to write and we want to record, but I don't want to take six years about it, as half the band members won't be around. I'd feel like Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea playing the organ by himself on the Nautillus as all the old veterans have died off one by one.<br />
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We are hitting on a huge creative strata, which resonates with a lot of people, both young and old, and I'd like to exploit that creativity. I have a great writing partnership with Baz, which is both creative and productive. I'd rather try and have one last gasp... <br />
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<b>JJB/31st August 2012</b>ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-68059014026272714622012-05-15T20:16:00.000+01:002012-05-21T21:44:10.216+01:00Giants tour debriefing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEaLL7eBLF3j1Gd2ooHSRTTto8CKlvWfumhjBIp2Hs6reE7lw6Zc06u-4NYe6Xr8tZQeC3vZJljday_ApZhZbb-8BDKxjLjQNLZ0D8A-YdcLMzuKbR7l35-UOJy4-YUM-uah_fs0B6XxE/s1600/IMG_1041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEaLL7eBLF3j1Gd2ooHSRTTto8CKlvWfumhjBIp2Hs6reE7lw6Zc06u-4NYe6Xr8tZQeC3vZJljday_ApZhZbb-8BDKxjLjQNLZ0D8A-YdcLMzuKbR7l35-UOJy4-YUM-uah_fs0B6XxE/s320/IMG_1041.JPG" /></a></div><br />
It's only two weeks ago that we completed two months of touring in the UK and Europe. It seems a lifetime ago already. <br />
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After what was described by SJM, our promoters, as <b>the</b> most successful tour in the UK so far this year by any artist, we embarked on a European jaunt. Before we actually started the tour it was evident that there was more interest in the band, and more precisely <i>Giants</i>, than there had been for many years. The number of interview requests and reviews is a fair indication and we didn't have the time to fulfill them all.<br />
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Looking at the schedule I should have realised that it was going to be a hard slog but I didn't really think too much about it. It's only when you have played six shows consecutively and five nights on the trot, twice, that you appreciate a night free in a real bed as opposed to travelling on a bus from venue to venue and often from country to country.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXup3TAJjLwt9hiz2qOoOl6B3javygNR2ezzPZ8oXH4aqtvvEfw4yZuL7GJreLm3V_P6NmyEtpniXyM-lfFi6X-uFNx29PAxy-tg1hyphenhyphenNv-m912tyZNlMM0y47rl-Q5GpoXV6aFD9lWcqU/s1600/IMG_1119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXup3TAJjLwt9hiz2qOoOl6B3javygNR2ezzPZ8oXH4aqtvvEfw4yZuL7GJreLm3V_P6NmyEtpniXyM-lfFi6X-uFNx29PAxy-tg1hyphenhyphenNv-m912tyZNlMM0y47rl-Q5GpoXV6aFD9lWcqU/s320/IMG_1119.JPG" /></a></div><br />
It was incredible to me to recognise the number of Brits who would appear at the different venues in the various countries and who would really affect the vibe of the gig. In a most positive way. I don't think there was a night when there wasn't a Brit who had made the journey to some part of Europe to see us. The gigs were all packed, apart from Italy, which, interestingly enough, was the only country where we didn't have any promotional requests from. And even there, they were noisy too!<br />
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During the tour I lost five kilos (about 11lbs) and my jeans could slide over my arse without undoing a thing by the end!<br />
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Eating becomes an issue since we don't want to eat later than 6pm if we are on stage at 9pm. Lack of sleep also becomes an issue but the response from the audience reinvigorates you. I think that we changed the set list more on this tour than any other ever. Because we could. We had rehearsed more repertoire than ever before.<br />
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All in all a great tour, knackering but great fun. My only regret was that Jet wasn't there to enjoy the warmth and appreciation from the people we played to but, in his way, he had prepared Ian to cover for him during his absence. <br />
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By the end I was thinking "How long can my body take this gruelling schedule? How many more years can I keep doing this?" and now there is talk of doing something similar next year because the promoters in the various countries have all voiced an interest. <br />
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I say bring it on...<br />
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<b>JJB/15th May 2012<br />
</b>ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com66tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-71165333133990622612012-04-23T22:17:00.000+01:002012-04-23T22:17:15.178+01:00Rattus Norvegicus-track by track<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhATJdEKKP67t4JBjX9VKUzxhCJwzLfPU-wyIW5ZAVDok5yQzz4teh0otn1nrMJJ6TRrWA5NOi7WcHAGcEgtgAlOvfWCHD-HucvHGXX3JsAfGdf0sh8XN_Xk1O2Mnf63UuvuwDpT2rSavA/s1600/Rattus+Norvegicus_232px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="233" width="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhATJdEKKP67t4JBjX9VKUzxhCJwzLfPU-wyIW5ZAVDok5yQzz4teh0otn1nrMJJ6TRrWA5NOi7WcHAGcEgtgAlOvfWCHD-HucvHGXX3JsAfGdf0sh8XN_Xk1O2Mnf63UuvuwDpT2rSavA/s320/Rattus+Norvegicus_232px.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Thirty five years after the release of the band's debut album <i>Rattus Norvegicus</i>, JJ revisits the album's tracks:<br />
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<b>SOMETIMES</b><br />
This was one of my bass riffs. The opening line was about Hugh's inability to control his temper with his girlfriend at the time, Caroline. If I recall, it was based on a Doors song 'Love Her Madly' from the LA Woman album. It's kind of that feel... <br />
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<b>GOODBYE TOULOUSE</b><br />
It was mainly my lyrics, it was Hugh's chords. It was a 6/8, a kind of weird double-waltz time. I wrote the lyrics. There was a nuclear power plant near Toulouse and, at the time, we were swapping all our Nostradamus books around each other. He claimed that there was going to be an explosion in Toulouse. Then I wove in some medieval story about some beautiful girl in Toulouse who was paraded on her balcony. The lyrics were mine. <br />
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<b>LONDON LADY</b><br />
<i>London Lady </i>was a Hugh riff as well with my lyrics. It was a synthesis of a few ladies that we were meeting at the time, one of them being Caroline Coon. She was a journalist for the Melody Maker who was a champion of the Pistols and the Clash, who'd come on to me at some point. It wasn't about one particular woman, it was a kind of synthesis of lots of women.<br />
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<b>PRINCESS OF THE STREETS</b><br />
<i>Princess Of The Streets</i> I wrote entirely. I thought Hugh's guitar lick on it was brilliant. It was a bluesy thing about my ongoing relationship with Choosey Susie at the time. She'd dumped me again, once more!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDA_NcWWdj4tDP2CTC826kfYiYfKyWBptyd4_TvEREWvWQzN70gU5VcbOc1rlb_-qPVdCwNCfMf6QX3noBps6-5AW8Q2JIdBocKHQKaBcFUys89DtNVTMwqEnrm-iVLBKwl2Z5F42FbQ/s1600/JJ%252777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="316" width="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDA_NcWWdj4tDP2CTC826kfYiYfKyWBptyd4_TvEREWvWQzN70gU5VcbOc1rlb_-qPVdCwNCfMf6QX3noBps6-5AW8Q2JIdBocKHQKaBcFUys89DtNVTMwqEnrm-iVLBKwl2Z5F42FbQ/s320/JJ%252777.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<b>HANGING AROUND</b><br />
A lot of people thought that whoever sang the song, wrote the lyrics, which was not the case, certainly not on <i>Rattus</i>. I wrote most of the lyrics to <i>Hanging Around</i>, and the chords. Hugh came up with the actual 'hanging around' lyric but I did most of the verses. I wrote it when I was staying with Choosey Susie in Finborough Road in Earl's Court, when she was doing her nursing training. Just around the corner, in Brompton Road, was the Coleherne Pub and on the other side was Boltons. The Coleherne was more for the leather gays and Boltons was for the traditional campy ones. Outside the Coleherne, there was a bus stop and you'd see guys coming off the bus with motorcyle helmets and leather jackets. Susie and I walked in there one day to be confronted by the doors being locked after us by a huge guy in a leather jacket and leather cap who was blocking it. There was no turning back! We had half a pint in there getting stared at. The first time I walked in there, by accident, I was quite impressed and slightly intimidated actually. <br />
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<b>PEACHES</b><br />
We had a little 500 watt PA and, just to augment any income whatsoever, we hired it out for a reggae night which I think it was in Acton Town Hall. We went there with Choosey Susie on Saturday afternoon to set it up alongside another PA which had loads of bass speakers. I remember distinctly that we were the only whites there. While we were setting up, the was a whole group of black guys passing a spliff around. We hung around them but the spliff got passed by us as if we were invisible. My over-riding impression, because it was dub and toasting, where they talk over a bass and drums rhythm, with a delay on the snare. I remember going back to Chiddingfold and thinking I'd never heard bass so dominant before. I thought it was fantastic, it blew my mind. It was all about space. Lots of bands were doing lots of notes very fast. Next day I came up with this riff as I had to do something similar in that vein. Over the next few weeks, we developed it and Hugh wrote the lyrics suiting his penchant... <br />
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<b>(GET A) GRIP (ON YOURSELF)</b><br />
<i>Get A Grip On Yourself </i>was entirely Hugh... You can refer to the 'bible' (Ed: Song By Song) if you want to know.<br />
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<b>UGLY</b><br />
I think I wrote <i>Ugly</i> entirely, the riff and the lyrics. I wanted it to sound like a Dr Feelgood thing at the time. Of course, every time we tried to emulate something, it ended up being Strangled! We always missed the point. With <i>Peaches</i>, we missed the point as well. We wanted to make it a reggae thing but the snare wasn't on the reggae beat, the third beat. We always got it wrong but somehow it worked. <i>Ugly</i> was just a rant about money and poverty and about how the ugliest blokes in the world, as long as they've got lots of money, always end up with glamourous women. I don't know how that works! <br />
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<b>DOWN IN THE SEWER</b><br />
<i>Down In The Sewer </i>developed over quite a period of time. I had the original riff, which was more like a Beefheart thing. I remember writing that when Choosey Susie and I went to Normandy for Christmas to visit my grandparents. I had my bass with me in a really heavy wooden case that Jet had actually made for me. I took that with me and came up with the original <i>Sewer</i> bass riff. I wanted it to be more like a Beefheart thing like Rockette Morton did. Then we added bits over the course of about a year. I added the melody. Hugh wrote the lyrics which were great I thought. <br />
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<b>GO BUDDY GO</b><br />
That's an old story. I wrote it when I was fifteen. It's a marriage of Hendrix's 'Hey Joe', which was a big hit when I was fifteen, and the Beach Boys and I stuck them together. It was about one of those sad little school dances that we used to got to when you tried actually making contact with a female and they'd look down their noses at you! <br />
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<b>CHOOSEY SUSIE</b><br />
<i>Choosey Susie </i>was about my then girlfriend Susie. It's based on a riff which we've used before 'All Day And All Of The Night'. It was also nicked from the Kinks by the Doors for 'Hello I Love You', which they got sued for. <i>Choosey Susie </i>is the same...<br />
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<b>JJB/23rd April 2012</b>ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-38202530092612973412012-01-16T22:10:00.009+00:002012-01-18T18:48:41.369+00:00From The Beginning To The End<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2PiLhZhL7UwDLgAIQGtUHwg2z1gznLmgT0sgM6xrf2cPTxGvYqqIpMhyFJrEBdHshDunxvt5NUgugNuvCGg-ofh7jXaVa60BJ0M5WQo-1Val36qq-r56S05cfZ-KOcqiEv6rRv7fUcw/s1600/Roy+Budd.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699045147469006306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2PiLhZhL7UwDLgAIQGtUHwg2z1gznLmgT0sgM6xrf2cPTxGvYqqIpMhyFJrEBdHshDunxvt5NUgugNuvCGg-ofh7jXaVa60BJ0M5WQo-1Val36qq-r56S05cfZ-KOcqiEv6rRv7fUcw/s320/Roy+Budd.jpg" /></a><br /><div>I can say I knew him for many long months, but perhaps on reflection, and with the passing of an entire lifetime, I should say, a few short months. He was the most extraordinary musician I ever knew personally. His name was Roy Budd.<br /><br />I can’t claim to have been his friend or confidant, but we talked often at the time, mostly by way of my putting questions to him and he replying and probably - in truth - with some reluctance.<br /><br />I’m guessing here, but I was somewhere around 21/23 by the time in question, which would have meant that Roy would have been correspondingly around 12/14. Now that sounds improbable and also likely to have been an infringement of some law or other, but by then, he had already made his first television appearance and played London’s Coliseum theatre, so perhaps it’s not so extraordinary, at least for Roy Budd.<br /><br />The venue was a rugby clubhouse, not, a clubhouse in the town of Rugby, but a clubhouse on a field of rugby, the game. I was never particularly interested in rugby myself but my friends at the time were, these would have been my early music associates to whom I have often referred. Many of them being rugby players, this may have been the reason we had arrived on that first evening to see the young Roy Budd. On the other hand - since I don’t recall exactly - we may equally have arrived at the club for reasons more to do with rugby and booze than to marvel at the talented piano player. I’m not now actually sure if we had gone to the venue knowing we were going to see the young Roy either, it was all so long ago. Anyway, by that time, he was still completely unknown, a wiry and spotty teenager.<br /><br />Within less than a minute of witnessing the skill of Roy Budd for the first time, we - my friends and I - were completely mesmerized. He would sit at the piano with a glass of Coke and a pile of KitKat bars perched at one end of the keyboard.<br /><br />At this young age, Roy was already a sensation by any yardstick, not in terms of fame but simply the fact of his astonishing ability, and it was as if he had the skill and experience of a mature professional of international repute. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvEEAAe5DTqu5amwHTiD39ZGZARiRxVcXQot1jQELHCg7gGHE517mgaATwVuDvjz-miWFv3yJCXe3p69lvvyhLXGTwb87ij5qGIfWaDrvUW2ktO-WT5khfocyN8pizoLDD56sHv32LK0/s1600/RB2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 213px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 237px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698357045183515490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvEEAAe5DTqu5amwHTiD39ZGZARiRxVcXQot1jQELHCg7gGHE517mgaATwVuDvjz-miWFv3yJCXe3p69lvvyhLXGTwb87ij5qGIfWaDrvUW2ktO-WT5khfocyN8pizoLDD56sHv32LK0/s320/RB2.jpg" /></a><br /><br />We returned to the clubhouse many, many times to thrill at this boy’s talent. Being musicians of more modest accomplishment ourselves, we would throw challenges to him to play this or that number and even nursery rhymes to try and wrong-foot him, but undaunted he would immediately launch into a masterful rendition of said piece with astonishing complexity along with various key changes, time signatures and tempo changes. It was truly breathtaking. It’s difficult to comprehend now, that he was entirely self taught.<br /><br />It is a sad fact of musical life that Roy isn’t really what you would call a household name, but he should be. Many of you reading this will probably have never heard of Roy Budd, however, it is unlikely that there are many of you that have never heard some of his music.<br /><br />Although he soon established himself as a recording artist and popular performer as both soloist and ensemble player, the greatest body of his working life was as a writer, performer and director of movie music. Amongst some of his most notable works are his musical contributions to:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwycVMZ6WiRUII2kdhf6i-amCCH_s_RI9PHS2PiRTmoCBy9dhmcW6McLxYte_V8DOlGSFR8aRWF5fzwpMefRvot1hafNtSc5O1xIeZMK9M0xOQ9HYBMpMT64ltWtXuJwmK_8V8ryfr-E/s1600/Get+Carter.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 225px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 224px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698357303128444226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwycVMZ6WiRUII2kdhf6i-amCCH_s_RI9PHS2PiRTmoCBy9dhmcW6McLxYte_V8DOlGSFR8aRWF5fzwpMefRvot1hafNtSc5O1xIeZMK9M0xOQ9HYBMpMT64ltWtXuJwmK_8V8ryfr-E/s320/Get+Carter.jpg" /></a>‘Get Carter’<br />‘Zeppelin’<br />‘Kidnapped’<br />‘Fear is the Key’<br />‘Steptoe & Son’<br />‘Man at the Top’<br />‘The Black Windmill’<br />‘The Wild Geese’<br /><br />To mention only a few.<br /><br />Roy has been compared to some of the all-time great Jazz giants like Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum and without doubt he was up there in that league, but he was also unique.<br /><br />I was brought up in an age when jazz was far more popular and relevant that it is to-day and that was in part at least, because the wide spectrum of music styles we know to-day hadn’t yet evolved.<br /><br />In the beginning, jazz followed a simple formula but evolved into an area of ever increasing complexity, far too complex for the masses and accordingly considered by many as ‘musicians’ music’. I, along with an army of deserters, lost interest in the way jazz was evolving. It all got too clever to retain my interest, much too clever for it’s own good. Perfectly fine for those that liked it and many did, and do, but I always felt that the essential element of melody got lost along the way; and so it was, that new trends of a pop and rock genre succeeded in attracting the attentions of former jazz audiences.<br /><br />One of the defining elements of Roy’s mastery, was his ability to traverse all the technicalities of the jazz idiom whilst still retaining that - for me at least - essential integrant of melody. It was this all too rare ability that so endeared him to me.<br /><br />Why or how Roy came to move into the arena of film music I don’t precisely know, but his first such score was completed as early as 1970 when he was a mere 23. His score for what is probably the most widely known movie with which he was associated (Get Carter) came the following year when he was just 24. During my own life in music I had an eye on Roy’s parallel and illustrious career. One which us mere mortals could only envy.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYXCj8FBPjpns52i5E9NwpbaOQUGZx4JLYXpjyI6tDwLY4LfGsRCOYxFiPp5TCNiAtAcDTWo2qbI1paakQc8HyASrFqh_d3xXDyLGydONoZ6Fac7Aya_A9K3Fx7IZbD9teWk775antE4w/s1600/RB3.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 303px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 305px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698357999774534290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYXCj8FBPjpns52i5E9NwpbaOQUGZx4JLYXpjyI6tDwLY4LfGsRCOYxFiPp5TCNiAtAcDTWo2qbI1paakQc8HyASrFqh_d3xXDyLGydONoZ6Fac7Aya_A9K3Fx7IZbD9teWk775antE4w/s320/RB3.jpg" /></a><br />One day in 1993 I was in the London suburbs to attend a domestic birthday bash and it was suggested we might all go out for some entertainment. I got the job of organising something suitable.<br /><br />When I scanned the papers for an eye on what was happening in town, I soon discovered that Roy Budd was appearing at the ‘Bulls Head’ at Barnes Bridge, less than four miles away. A noted venue on the jazz circuit and one he probably played hundreds of times over the expanse of his career.<br /><br />Most of the party had never heard of Roy, nevertheless, they were not disappointed. The funny thing is that you don’t even have to be a jazz lover to enjoy a Roy Budd performance. Watching him work, is, was, a joy in itself. I think it was just three days later that I heard on the news that he had died suddenly aged a mere 46. What a great loss............<br /><br />Check out ‘I’ll remember April’ at:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H87qRznPN5I">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H87qRznPN5I</a><br /><strong></strong></div><br /><div><strong>jb/16th January 2012</strong></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-36473369549038527502012-01-13T14:05:00.007+00:002012-01-18T18:44:27.618+00:00Giants track by track<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlDGmdVDUnEnkuHP19gdOos87ps_yZrdSAN4kXtc9HJGZvGPDsfDVTxNqsnKv_diy97mtTS4aPqMv_l-yzXvyOlwCuSCynUGOB1iC6beHuDD3nq4H8nzW6arddYugqUg4bTzPXZ9YMnj0/s1600/Giants+image.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlDGmdVDUnEnkuHP19gdOos87ps_yZrdSAN4kXtc9HJGZvGPDsfDVTxNqsnKv_diy97mtTS4aPqMv_l-yzXvyOlwCuSCynUGOB1iC6beHuDD3nq4H8nzW6arddYugqUg4bTzPXZ9YMnj0/s200/Giants+image.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699044735755119282" /></a><br />Giants is nearly upon us and I thought I'd give you a few details about each of the album's tracks:<br /><br /><strong>ANOTHER CAMDEN AFTERNOON</strong> This was originally inspired by an article JJ read about a mugging that took place in Camden where the assailants actually ran down a woman in their car to get her bag…we wrote the music then eventually shed the lyrics apart from some backing vocals…there’s a lot of guitar in this…very greasy…very British…<br /><br /><strong>FREEDOM IS INSANE</strong> You should never throw anything away…this was an idea JJ had that was left over from the <em>Suite XVI</em> writing sessions. We rented a house in Cornwall for two months and wrote 30 songs…I came down one morning and he’d been up for hours staring at the sea and writing this…I think it’s one of his best vocal performances ever…<br /><br /><strong>GIANTS </strong>A song about captains of industry and how the world we live in today was shaped…and it’s pitfalls…”I’m glad my fathers’ not here to see what happened to men like him”…great line that says it all…and a nice guitar riff too…<br /><br /><strong>LOWLANDS</strong> This was inspired by the first acoustic tour we did with Neil Sparkes in Holland and Belgium in 2007, and one mad night in particular when we were driving back from a gig to the hotel we were using as a base. We had plenty of brandy and primo Dutch weed and started to record ourselves accapella making up a song. Dave was in the front singing the keyboard parts, I was singing bass parts, JJ was singing the melody and Sparkes was keeping time on a champagne bottle with a broken drumstick…our tour manager Gary Knighton was laughing so much he could hardly drive and was getting secondarily stoned…you had to be there really…very funny…<br /><br /><strong>BOOM BOOM</strong> A different feel from anything the band has done before…a sort of Stonesy rhythm with a jangle and a bit of swagger… about a girl…well there had to be one didn’t there?<br /><br /><strong>MY FICKLE RESOLVE</strong> Some lovely laid back brush work from Jet here and Dave doing his trippy <em>Euro Female</em> style thing…JJ played acoustic bass on this and as with most of the album we tried to keep it as stripped back as possible…I like the lyrics on this one too, and Daves’ solo at the end is sublime…<br /><br /><strong>TIME WAS ONCE ON MY SIDE</strong> JJ sang the lyrics down the phone to me when he first wrote them and I knew we’d have to make a song out of them…great words and Neil Sparkes providing some tremendous conga work, especially at the end…one of those songs that just barrels along and feels great you know?<br /><br /><strong>MERCURY RISING</strong> This song reminds me the most of mid 80’s period Stranglers with a bit of production and a lovely swirling keyboard riff…JJ provides a ‘motif’ bass line which keeps the whole thing together and I do my best Beefheart impression on the vocals and slide guitar…don’t know how to describe this one…wacky? One of my favourites so far…<br /><br /><strong>ADIOS (TANGO) </strong>This a heavy metal tango sung in Spanish…no really…I love this…<br /><br /><strong>15 STEPS</strong> We’ve spent, off and on, nearly three years down in Bath preparing, sifting, rejecting and writing these and many other songs…there are loads that didn’t make it, and at times it was gruelling and very difficult…On these occasions when I went upstairs to bed I found myself counting the number of steps to the landing…and there were 15…15 steps to heaven and the salvation of my room…This song is purely about the wonderful old house we lived in writing this album…and some of the things that occurred there…<br /><br />I hope you like it, I'm sure you will...<br /><br /><strong>BAZ/ 13th January 2012</strong>ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-63187546832476631302011-12-10T10:49:00.007+00:002011-12-10T11:13:48.325+00:00Just for the record<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16S0URE7vTNvRE6hE8x6y6gEnqbCyfb6NaaFkGdkNoZE6XTp4jcKwbQs0cxptZdBIjs2X_wPst1fc8gptGaIZYhpvYVLE0whFqa33ABbVBisEdh_uj_AMnWlpiQISNDh2RAvU33MJ40Y/s1600/John+%2526+Jet.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684455856172100146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16S0URE7vTNvRE6hE8x6y6gEnqbCyfb6NaaFkGdkNoZE6XTp4jcKwbQs0cxptZdBIjs2X_wPst1fc8gptGaIZYhpvYVLE0whFqa33ABbVBisEdh_uj_AMnWlpiQISNDh2RAvU33MJ40Y/s400/John+%2526+Jet.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>It was one of those questions which are what you might call perennial. So I guess the answer therefore, would have to be one of the most avidly anticipated, but I’m not sure why, maybe it’s some indication of the early beginnings of one’s musical journey, or maybe people just want to compare notes, who knows? It was that one about ‘the first record you ever bought’.<br /><br />If you were there that weekend, you will recall that my colleagues had a better idea than I did. If I recall correctly, I blurted out something about records not having been invented during my childhood years.<br /><br />Well it was in jest of course, the pleasurable platter has been around longer then I have, and cylindrical ones before that, though if you wanted to check that one out, you might need to visit a museum.<br /><br />Nonetheless, there was at least a grain of truth in my impetuous retort. In a more considered moment, I should perhaps say, that the ‘record’ as we know it ‘to-day’ (or very recently at least) hadn’t been invented.<br /><br />It was during my early life, that the black diskette of delight underwent a complete revolution, if not an actual metamorphosis. The format, known to all as the 78 by the time of my teen years, was a delicate and low-tech idea, although I believe it did improve slightly towards the end of it’s life.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVC0UwgoWDCCGXw1tHgLT8AUVMLKkKireI3udQPxsS2qFTPfvj946eaik1x7c4LFH2CqRb5-Jhq0WlFi418-7Zt9wKD_E8S5YsDaqnb0R5V5VSPxCbuERqp8FYloTYeiyEUOLTt-AYmQ/s1600/78+player.bmp"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 244px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 207px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684453905017461458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVC0UwgoWDCCGXw1tHgLT8AUVMLKkKireI3udQPxsS2qFTPfvj946eaik1x7c4LFH2CqRb5-Jhq0WlFi418-7Zt9wKD_E8S5YsDaqnb0R5V5VSPxCbuERqp8FYloTYeiyEUOLTt-AYmQ/s320/78+player.bmp" /></a>Dropping one, was almost certain to result in a breaking or shattering of the piece, they really were quite brittle. The way they were intended to be played atop the musical counterpart record player, or ‘Gramophone’ as they were then called, necessitated the attachment of a stubby needle to a mechanical ‘sound’ arm, which were supposed to be replaced (the needles that is) with new ones every, or every other, play. The resulting sound reproduced, although probably the wonder of it’s day - was abysmal by later standards of the 20th century, never mind the 21st.<br /><br />The whole purpose of the exercise, to deliver the recorded ‘event’ to the listener (for that was what it was, there was no ‘production’ in those days), again, would perhaps have been a wondrous event at the time, but quite sad in the light of our modern standards.<br /><br />Suddenly, during the 50's, a number of truly major developments were to unfold within a historically short period of time:<br /><br />* The coming of age and beginnings of a youth culture.<br /><br />* The emergence of Rock ‘n’ Roll.<br /><br />* The change from the rigid 78 to the more flexible ‘vinyl’, the new 45, extended play (EP) and 33⅓ rpm type long playing (LP) records.<br /><br />* The establishment of pirate radio.<br /><br />* The forward evolution of music recording and playback technologies.<br /><br />Astonishingly, these ground breaking events were to begin during an epoch of roughly a decade and both youth culture and Rock ‘n’ Roll were to become joint bedfellows and the catalyst for a unique revolution.<br /><br />Although there was obvious excitement at the time, and actual hysteria would not be an overstatement, I don’t think that many people even so, fully comprehended the enormity of it all. We were unwittingly witnessing the birth of an entirely new popular music culture and industry, the like of which had never previously existed.<br /><br />It all happened during those formative and impressionable years of my life, and so will always remain an important and very significant influence on my contemporaries, as of myself.<br /><br />By the end of the calamity that was WWII during 1939-1945, Britain was a broken country, deeply scarred and bankrupt. Indeed, so deeply, that the UK didn’t complete it’s final war loan repayments arrangement with the United States until the end of 2006 and so, very, very recently. (A staggering 61 years since the war, if you haven’t worked it out already).<br /><br />That first post war decade was quite grim but at least everyone was cheered by the knowledge that it was all finally over. Times were tough for most people but somehow the nation just got on with it and made the most of what they had, which perhaps makes it easier to understand how the small mercies offered by the humble ‘record’ were so much appreciated. Records had played a big part in popularising many artists over the war years and had played a major role in boosting national morale.<br /><br />Dismal in terms of sound quality, as they were, they sold in what today would be considered huge and enviable quantities. This in part, because there wasn’t an awful lot else to do by way of recreation. TV had begun it’s life by then but didn’t immediately have any meaningful presence because of the austerity following the war years, and then it took time to catch on as things tend to do.<br /><br />A youth culture as we understand it to-day, didn’t really exist either prior to WWII. The buying of records, or indeed just music, wasn’t what you could really call a ‘youth’ activity. Youth by and large, were unpossessed of a disposable income. From my own memories, many were far more preoccupied with a sport which was known as ‘knocking on doors and running away’ or simply breaking windows, than engaging in such sissy-like activities as listening to music. Even less available, was anything of a musical nature to which the juvenile could be irresistibly attracted.<br /><br />By way of a guess, I think perhaps people purchased records and the means to play them, more because they could afford to, rather than an actual zealous desire to play music, although the latter cannot be entirely discounted.<br /><br />The kind of musical phenomenon which was eventually to turn the tables and transform the youth of the day, into the crazed teenagers, that so alarmed their superiors, arrived suddenly, in the 50's and with a very big bang indeed. It was of course the aforementioned Rock ‘n’ Roll.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud_JZcC0tHI">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud_JZcC0tHI</a><br /><br />Now people had something to get excited about, and they had the money to buy it, although I’ve never fully understood the mechanics of how that came about.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12O65MTYNMCIsjd4XlpM9bCR9aUawbyqJBOhs1Whd7-YFHojt7lCUD77ukDnHQL2-PGaQXYkuCYfGN7dtXnpLyeT8FgMQ7OGqjuRFWS4rlZukW5BvDSGaq4nvWXUkfSqABVT_tRLoWYc/s1600/bbc.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 203px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684454402974266210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12O65MTYNMCIsjd4XlpM9bCR9aUawbyqJBOhs1Whd7-YFHojt7lCUD77ukDnHQL2-PGaQXYkuCYfGN7dtXnpLyeT8FgMQ7OGqjuRFWS4rlZukW5BvDSGaq4nvWXUkfSqABVT_tRLoWYc/s320/bbc.jpg" /></a><br />The musical focal point of many peoples’ lives during and up to the 50's was radio. Radio in the UK, was a BBC monopoly, and there was no British commercial radio and certainly no internet at the time. Perhaps the biggest draw would have been the cinema where both music and drama were a major attraction.<br /><br />The BBC’s stranglehold on broadcasting was a comparatively new and expanding phenomenon. However, being a monopoly, they proceeded to do what all monopolies do. They please themselves first, everything else comes after that. Whereas in a competitive market, you need to offer a widely attractive service or product, in order to secure the most desirable level of success.<br /><br />That the Beeb were always good at what they did, is beyond dispute, but it was ‘good’ within their terms of reference, or by their own standards.<br /><br />Now I’m not anti BBC, I think they are a wonderful British institution, and some of the things they do, both then and now, they do better than anyone else. But back in the day, the corporation’s attitude towards music was painfully Dickensian. They had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 20th century.<br /><br />I still recall their drab, politically correct, and downright pompous approach to music and there was of course a place for that, but there was never any excitement from the other end of the spectrum. The truly radical and dangerous.<br /><br />Jazz was quite widely regarded as an undesirable musical element, but attitudes were to change albeit ever so slowly. This was more a case of jazz - on the other side of the Atlantic - being seen as something that just could not be ignored, than being an art form that could be easily recognised for what it was, and so legitimised. For a long time though, jazz, in the eyes of stuffy British society, still had to be performed in evening dress to be respected by many. But in the end, it got there, even though by that time, it was R ‘n’ R that people wanted, rather than the then dated jazz formula.<br /><br />There was in fact plenty of music to be found within the schedules of the ‘Radio Times’ but it was as though it had to be either stuffy or stupid to qualify for radio.<br /><br />Not unlike the attitudes towards jazz, the Beeb’s foray into the area of the “pop” song, was often limited to the less attractive, safe, and at times embarrassingly ridiculous. I can only surmise that they thought it was all, ‘jolly good fun, what, what, what’.<br /><br />Once again, through the wonder of the internet, I have been able to locate a few examples of the kind of torture that my generation were subjected to from time to time.<br /><br />I must warn you that you won’t be able to stand more then a few seconds of this, but from these links you can find some examples of the sounds the listener had to endure during the age about which I write. From 1952......(you may need to skip the ad), (if not the song itself!).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AkLE4X-bbU">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AkLE4X-bbU</a><br /><br />and it gets worse......in 1955.........<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M_erqf0dN0">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M_erqf0dN0</a><br /><br />Even making allowances for the idea that this may have been fashionable at the time, implausible though that seems, it is difficult to comprehend how the corporation could have justified some of these choices and yet ignored real musical excitement for as long as they did, when so much else was available.<br /><br />I’m sure you’re not going to need much more of that, but there was plenty more. On the whole though, it wasn’t quite so stupid as that, it was very often infantile but also stuffy and pompous and ever so British.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZANKFxrcKU">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZANKFxrcKU</a><br /><br />That one Dates from the 30's, but they were still playing it in the 40's & 50's. Then we had the Beeb’s retinue of regulars. One of the prime examples was the great Victor Silvester, the ‘Strictly’ star of his day. A dance champion and band leader.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCoPdguD7H4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCoPdguD7H4</a><br /><br />Victor had the distinction and trademark of sameness. Every song was almost identical save for the actual melody line. He maintained a long career on the back of this, he was regularly on, and rarely off the radio.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqUpW4wNhdU&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqUpW4wNhdU&feature=related</a><br /><br />Another BBC stalwart was the great Edmundo Ross. He was a mega star of his era and enjoyed a long life until his death in 2011. But Edmundo occupied the more sensible side of the Beeb’s regular output and possessed great charm. His style was much more than the token Latin presence in the UK, he was THE Latin exponent par excellence.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMZ3joAyh54&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMZ3joAyh54&feature=related</a><br /><br />But apart from music of this type and there was plenty of it, it’s not too difficult to see that it was never orientated towards a youth audience. Perhaps I should say, why would they? The kids had no money. However, at pretty much the same time as the music abruptly and dramatically, shifted from dour and staid, to pounding and provocative, the kids had suddenly, somehow, acquired spending money. Were that not so, who knows what would have happened.<br /><br />So is it any wonder that the youth of the western world went apeshit - en masse - when R ‘n’ R finally arrived!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yRdDnrB5kM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yRdDnrB5kM</a><br /><br />and from the movie....those famous balls.....!!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFOCdHMSR-8&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFOCdHMSR-8&feature=related</a><br /><br />and again the great man himself............<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFQDqcDZ_FM&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFQDqcDZ_FM&feature=related</a><br /><br />Music is such a fascinating subject. It is also a very personal thing. No matter how many people there are that love any one piece, there is always someone who hates it.<br /><br />There are comparatively few notes available to the aural spectrum of the human ear and yet there seems to be no limit to the number of combinations that can be assembled with these musical building blocks.<br /><br />I often wonder if anyone has yet set about the task of running this through a computer to see if there is actually a limit to the number of possible combinations. Surely there must be, it can’t be infinite?<br /><br />There are certainly combinations of notes that just don’t work together, for pertinent musical reasons, that’s why you need to have some idea about how you might want to combine a series of notes. And there must be millions of such combinations. Yet in spite of all that, there still appear to be millions and millions of possible combinations left that do work. I find that quite fascinating.<br /><br />Perhaps it’s just that the number of possible songs or compositions, is so incredibly vast, that by the time we get around to where it all started, so-to-speak, the next generation have forgotten all about those previous ones, and wouldn’t want to listen to them anyway because of their un-fashionable credentials.<br /><br />By now, the number of identifiable genre within the spectrum of music must also be quite vast. Hundreds? Thousands? Who can answer that one?<br /><br />To-day, we are free to explore and enjoy whatever genre we like, but there was a time within my own life, when one was limited by the choices of others. That also, I believe, is why such furore was occasioned when the musical floodgates were finally thrown open in the 50's, and thank god for that.<br /><br />The next milestone of note, was perhaps the change in the type of music that pervaded the airwaves, and it was famously, the radio pirates who started the move away from the deeply entrenched and dull broadcasting format of the Beeb. There was now a new and exciting style of music and by and large, the BBC weren’t playing it. The pirates, seized the moment and seemed to just appear out of nowhere. The word went around like wildfire.<br /><br />Until around this time, music was largely a serious business. To secure a career in music, usually required a ‘proper’ musical training. Holding down a music job would have required the ability to play anything placed in front of you, and with supreme confidence and ability. Anyone playing music below those sorts of standards were not widely considered ‘proper’ musicians. But then came the day when people who couldn’t read or write musical notation were demonstrating that it could be done without the constraints of musical academia.<br /><br />The internal mentality at the Beeb meant in turn, that a large part of it’s output was of an ‘orchestral’ nature, both classical, semi-classical and indeed contemporary, such as it was.<br /><br />So, when Britain’s airwaves were suddenly invaded by a new breed of music enthusiasts and entrepreneurs, from off-shore locations atop various ships, ex-maritime sea forts, and foreign shores, the chips were well and truly down. Auntie Beeb was dealt a massive and well aimed boot to her posterior. Listeners deserted the Beeb in droves as the new illegitimate radio stations forced her to succumb to, and rethink, her position within the new commercial world of music. This was yet another revolution and an instant one at that.<br /><br />And it’s not as though the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis had suddenly torn up the rule book, it’s more likely he/they never saw it in the first place. The new music offered a new kind of freedom, freedom to play whatever you liked and without any rules.<br /><br />What this new breed understood, so very clearly, and so also did it’s audiences, was excitement. Any such excitement within the hallowed walls of the BBC at the time, would doubtless have induced a corporate heart attack.<br /><br />Eventually, in defence of the Beeb’s inability to reform itself and compete within a free market, (albeit illegal at the time on the commercial side of it), the government was moved to devise a method of preventing these pirates from enjoying the financial rewards of their newly developed commercial radio stations, from business resources within these shores. The BBC couldn’t beat them, so they joined them. They employed many of the once pirate DJ’s, many of whom went on to become household names. This brief period was a major milestone in the history of British entertainment, and ought perhaps to be known as the British Radio Renaissance.<br /><br />Whereas the initial push towards the mass commercialisation and expansion of pop music culture was largely American driven, by the 60's it had become focussed around the English port city of Liverpool as most people know.<br /><br />The business of ‘records’ had come of age too and the record business had moved from an obscure genesis amongst a handful of enthusiastic small-time pioneers, into mega-rich multi-national corporations.<br /><br />The record, was now challenging every other form of entertainment for the enviable position of being, the most popular.<br /><br />No-one new it at the time, but by the 80's/90's the ‘record’ was moribund. I remember around that stage, I was sitting in the New York offices of the CBS giant, on the umpteenth floor of the massive black clad edifice of the building known locally as ‘The Rock’. One of the top brass was eager to play me his new copy of the latest wonder product of the musical age. It was - so they said - indestructible, would literally last forever, and possessed sound qualities unsurpassed in the entire history of music. Little did he know it, nor did I, that it was also going to completely wipe-out his balance sheet within a few short years. This was the arrival of the CD.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisNN_EpU_ycuY0IJBYIU2DTMezVd_TWcOPns-HLEPkb1Xz5ZJe6RDCju4Yeu5OPLYxBX-B6FD5niuBPcoG8eIZVHXS6Rq88ZAXGP9p-xT7iPLwkQbTgxXRnYKittVdqFANObEjAxw89UY/s1600/Download.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 250px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 187px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5684455293475313330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisNN_EpU_ycuY0IJBYIU2DTMezVd_TWcOPns-HLEPkb1Xz5ZJe6RDCju4Yeu5OPLYxBX-B6FD5niuBPcoG8eIZVHXS6Rq88ZAXGP9p-xT7iPLwkQbTgxXRnYKittVdqFANObEjAxw89UY/s320/Download.jpg" /></a>To-day, all three, vinyl, CD and now DVD are widely considered obsolete technologies. Indeed the very idea of placing music on a disk seems positively ancient when all you need is a bit of digital memory space. Job done!<br /><br />So what are the consequences of all this? The record, which played such a big part of my, and indeed most peoples lives, has gone. It’s not completely extinct yet, we are ourselves about to launch yet another one upon you, being one of the few remaining entities who are still able to, but the proverbial end is looking very, very nigh indeed.<br /><br />This is all rather sad;........nay;........very, very sad. It’s always sad when something has to die. Is this the day the music died too?<br /><br />If I can try and be positive about this, my feeling is that sooner or later, music, as we used to know it, and loved it, will eventually - one way or another - resurface and reinvigorate the enjoyment of our lives. It is just too uplifting and emotive within the human experience to remain eternally damned. Fete, will surely find a way?<br /><br />But why is this happening at all? It’s difficult to face up to, but it’s also a fact of life that nothing lasts forever. Nothing.<br />The plain fact of the matter, is that the listener, not all of them, but enough, at some point, discovered that it had suddenly become possible to copy music - without any loss of quality - through the facility of digital music, and copy it, and copy it, and copy it, they did.<br /><br />That that had become possible in the first place, was simply a result of the path that the evolution of music and it’s associated technologies had taken.<br /><br />Many music lovers are still wondering when their favourite bands are going to release their next record. Well, in all probability, they ain’t going to. Who in their right mind is going to spend a fortune making a record, and then giving it away? Well, some have done so, but they’re not going to repeat that too often, if at all and that’s just the way it is now.<br /><br />So, what’s next? Well, in my opinion we have already got the ‘what’s next’, it’s the Cowell empire!<br /><br />Now, I’m not going to jump on the ‘I hate Simon Cowell’ bandwagon. Love him or hate him, he is just a businessman, doing what businessmen do. They make money. That’s their job. The real problem as I see it, is not Mr Cowell per se, businessmen will always grab as much as they are able. It’s that he has been allowed to create yet another virtual monopoly, and that shouldn’t be allowed and there is no meaningful alternative to it. Anyone with wall to wall TV coverage, could sell sand to Arabs and you wouldn’t need any talent to achieve it. How can anyone compete against that kind of dissemination.<br /><br />So we as a nation, are no longer able to enjoy the wide and varied creations of the worlds finest artists, because their work would simply be stolen, but we are able to be battered and brainwashed with an avalanche of repetitive mediocrity for weeks if not months on end, created, not by artists of extraordinary vision and ability, but by businessmen who’s abilities are not derived from the creative music processes, but rather, the manipulation of the balance sheet. That just cannot be right.<br /><br />It should not be so surprising, that programmes emanating from the newly constituted music industry format, bespoken by a new breed of muso-magnates, have succeeded in supplanting a thriving and vibrant musical industry, with a chain of mindless repetition, reliant on endless overstatement of it’s participating stars’ abilities and alleged sales achievements and aspirations, rather than any self evident and/or stunning display of inherent creative ability, has succeeded in it’s quest so to do, by way of it’s unchallenged monopoly of the supreme marketing podia of television, whilst it’s defeated former music industry would-be competitors’ resources, have been stolen, thereby rendering them impotent. Nice one Simon!<br /><br />At the very least, there ought to be a level playing field upon which those that choose to buy into the creations of the businessman, can do so, but alongside those who would choose that of the artist.<br /><br />The tool that facilitates this biassed marketplace against fair competition, is of course the talent show. The talent show is nothing new, it’s been around as long as I’ve been watching TV. The basic principles remain the same. You watch a series of competitors vying to be chosen as the ‘best’ of the entrants.<br /><br />In other words, it’s all about watching people learning how to do something. Become professional singers, in the case of the largest of the genre.<br /><br />Then there’s another show about learning how to become a variety act, or a novelty act. Then there’s a show about learning how to survive in a jungle.<br /><br />Followed by another about learning how to become a dancer. And yet another about how to become a cook.<br /><br />It’s all so ridiculous. What’s actually happened, is that we have gone from watching the craftsman, to watching the apprentice! And as if you needed any confirmation about that, we even have one CALLED ‘The Apprentice’, which is about watching people who want to learn how to become business people!<br /><br />Now we are no longer watching great performers, we are reduced to watching learners. In any event, the majority of contestants are failures by definition since there can only be one winner! So we are in effect, watching a bunch of no-hopers showing us how bad they are. Admittedly, some are actually so bad they inadvertently become quite funny, but that’s not the point.<br /><br />Have we all gone completely mad to stand for this nonsense? This surely, if nothing else is, is something up with which, we most vehemently should not have to put! Where are the crusaders when you need them? Why is no-one shouting from the rooftops?<br /><br />Of course Mr Cowell’s end product is still exposed to the worst wild-west like activities of the internet, like everyone else, but he has the overwhelming advantage of massive and biassed broadcasted marketing facilities whilst the rest of the industry can go to hell, and has largely done so.<br /><br />Are we all now, those of us still surviving within the industry of music, actually occupying the position once experienced by our beloved Beeb? Do we need to become as radical as did they back in the 60's and face the music of the 10's by joining those in the vanguard, if it can be so described, even if we were able?<br /><br />But perhaps I’ve got this all wrong. Is it a question of that lexicon of notes about which I previously speculated, having finally reached the end of the road? Is it just that we have now used-up all the possible combinations of notes and genre within the pantheon of music? Has the last song now been written? Is that the reason that music has plummeted down to where it now is? Are we now back at the proverbial square one?<br /><br />Do we now have to regress to the point where it all started scores of, maybe even hundreds of, years ago, and start all over again? If that is so, then we had all better find something else to do until we get back to where we were in the 50's/60's and once again marvel at the excitement of music.<br /><br />Of course if that is the case, it won’t in fact be us enjoying it, but rather some distant relatives of ours, if they in turn succeed in surviving through the dangerous world we now inhabit. Oh dear, it all now looks rather depressing, but I needed to get it off my chest................................just for the record.<br /><br /><strong>jb/10th December 2011 </strong><br />© Jet Black 2011</div>ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-89606170346399806622011-11-21T12:28:00.004+00:002011-11-22T10:58:21.766+00:00Weekendinblack!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Ij8FCgiMlJQgXz3_ZGKo8eEURFoQMLlQuUct90EWMvcaMhWuVr1m0A26TWiaDQdESgfaTML49frseoa9A-xbl8W0eTN4L9BF_tr26oNI8_GfdMKgSrZsdxWcSw7S6GRiLMKgpFebGyY/s1600/conventionbanner.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 156px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Ij8FCgiMlJQgXz3_ZGKo8eEURFoQMLlQuUct90EWMvcaMhWuVr1m0A26TWiaDQdESgfaTML49frseoa9A-xbl8W0eTN4L9BF_tr26oNI8_GfdMKgSrZsdxWcSw7S6GRiLMKgpFebGyY/s400/conventionbanner.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5677433208381000098" /></a><br />Well, that was a memorable weekend! 4 sets featuring band members (5 if you include JJ & Polyphonic Size), a huge cast of guest supports and some amazing other events. And a venue packed with the best fans in the world!!! <br /><br /><strong>We had:</strong> JJ cooking, Dave remembering (!), Baz singing his heart out, Jet thundering away, Sparky bongoing, John Robb enthusing, 6 new tracks and lots of old ones, a £3350 bass in auction, a guy in a black & white suit, Chiswick Charlie and a Finchley Boy recalling and the world's hardest pub quiz... All packed into one weekend.<br /><br /><strong>We got:</strong> Bitching, Lowlands, The Raven, Unbroken, Swine, In The Shadows, Don't Bring Harry, Freedom Is Insane, Rise Of The Robots, Bless You, Genetix, Boom Boom, Mean To Me, Do The European, Giants and Shut Up... <br /><br />Many, many people to thank but here's just a few of them: the band, the crew, the management, Neil Sparkes, the legendary John Robb, Goldblade, Mike Peters, Gus & Fin, Polyphonc Size, the Wilko Johnson band, Al Hillier, Garry Coward-Williams, Chris Twomey, Ava Rave, the Butts Brewery crowd, the Mamstore girls, the Music Glue girls, the Maidman sisters, Phil Johnson, Rab & Tracy for trophies, the venue & security staff and last and most importantly the fans... Thanks to everyone!<br /><br />We'd like to throw this open to comments and feedback from you. Please let us know what you think-you never know, there may be a next time...<br /><br /><strong>ratter<br />21st November 2011</strong>ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com123tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-64224637603540302862011-10-14T20:37:00.004+01:002011-10-14T20:44:15.657+01:002011 so far...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-QT2a04V2pZcJV_fpzvsHYPB_I64Auu-YZyBwLiiyg1e7LfLToehs974-8uvRiBC47lAQKGuUabYPRkkYc3j9U80DuNxd-OCNJ2c0E4jmMZMPjy-EjLyPfriDe4qLWJiHhPByJh_Rw0/s1600/2012bazcrop_120px.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 120px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-QT2a04V2pZcJV_fpzvsHYPB_I64Auu-YZyBwLiiyg1e7LfLToehs974-8uvRiBC47lAQKGuUabYPRkkYc3j9U80DuNxd-OCNJ2c0E4jmMZMPjy-EjLyPfriDe4qLWJiHhPByJh_Rw0/s320/2012bazcrop_120px.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663435769858254002" /></a><br /><div><div>As seems to be customary when doing a retrospective of a given period of time, and looking back on the events that have happened in past months, it never fails to amaze you at what you’ve actually achieved...when you put your mind to it.<br /> <br />This year started for me on January 2nd when I travelled down to Bath to continue the writing for the forthcoming album, and to start rehearsals for the Black and Blue tour in March. We’d had our Christmas and new year break and were raring to go...I got there, just, when the weather closed in and I spent the first week of the new year alone and snowbound before anyone else could get to me...which was actually very nice after the hustle and bustle of a typical Warne family Christmas I have to say.<br /> <br />We spent a month or more writing more material and honing what we had before we headed out in March on tour for what was one of our best in recent years. We’d toiled long and hard to pick a set that would please everybody (yeah right) and were very satisfied with the reactions and reviews we received. It could have all gone so wrong at the third gig in Edinburgh when I lacerated my hand after breaking a shower door at our hotel an hour before stage time, but with luck, and a trained medic on the team, we prevailed and the rest of the tour went off without a hitch...I think.<br /> <br />It was then back to Bath for more song writing sessions during late spring and into early summer, interrupted only by the odd jaunt out to play festivals, including the legendary Benicassim , Spain’s biggest music festival, in July...where we really enjoyed Elbow, but were bemused by the attention lavished on the Strokes...who struck us as a not very good Television...horses for courses...<br /> <br />As I write this now we’re just about to reconvene after a short break to resume work on the record and, with 5 tracks down, works well and truly in progress, it’s looking good for next year...<br /> <br />We’re all looking forward to the convention in November very much too, and it’ll be nice to do something different and see some old and new friends. There’ll be surprises aplenty and it’ll be good to play with our mate Neil Sparkes again for the acoustic show, as well as Mike Peters, Glen Matlock and our old pals Goldblade, led as always by John Robb, who’s also compere for the whole event.<br /> <br />Then of course the touring starts again in March next year,and runs through into April in Europe, followed by more festivals during the summer...and beyond that...is, as always, a mystery...<br /> <br />Hope to see you all there...<br /></div><br /><br /><div><strong>Baz/14th October 2011</strong></div></div>ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-995615252839539172.post-38912560728878452702011-09-01T21:35:00.008+01:002011-09-01T22:18:36.518+01:00When a friend calls you up and asks a favour, you step up...<div>
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<br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazK8b1KfgTabdXt1qTcDvYHT2E5bqnpgoBKQ_j98EZNSWfHx9nwGI4Yk9txuKIubTp25d-nJ6F8WdPo2LdTjaaIc3OrddikjyKzA1pF-_ZDmrf5UBFClb3tvp2Ul-YwQ0lXANhg2-ATA/s1600/2011_Triumph_Tiger_1050.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi31XdMBQo5mbb0pwXr3duPnLQZuzw_XLEntM1WlKvtc1-m_X0W58L-bFH-8mC1U_YTkWTLsjNG_hjDblSMU2SMCsbOGHMCpedLP4CV-9JyXbfiK8rhWjs-sMh79_gUyHU-neszhD-q4cM/s1600/JJ%2526PS4.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647497996710846434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi31XdMBQo5mbb0pwXr3duPnLQZuzw_XLEntM1WlKvtc1-m_X0W58L-bFH-8mC1U_YTkWTLsjNG_hjDblSMU2SMCsbOGHMCpedLP4CV-9JyXbfiK8rhWjs-sMh79_gUyHU-neszhD-q4cM/s320/JJ%2526PS4.JPG" /></a>
<br />When Roger Marc Vandervoorde reformed Polyphonic Size a couple of years ago he saw it as a fun way of bonding with his two teenage daughters, one of whom is a very talented musician and is a student at the Brussels conservatory. The occasional gig allows him to mobilise old friends and re-jig old tunes.
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<br />After they supported the Stranglers at two acoustic gigs this year in Belgium I suggested that they might be able to improve their sound if they got a professional sound mixer. I found their sound not altogether great. They were then offered the Brussels Summer Festival if I would join them. Of course, I agreed although this year has been seriously busy and I've had a few distractions of the personal kind to contend with.
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<br />Louie Nicastro, the Stranglers outfront sound man and also our studio engineer/co-producer agreed to come along to help. He came by Eurostar.
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI4VNm73_aElUKL6d30Z7W5kzZv76S6FIqRPnrw-0sei5R2S1VoHpyac5xa2Q2Uj3dcIF8klS1NIunMNvrxgQRBAAnXQrvkbNamq4QvUrKOF4-5ZlfJR0QToV5WvL4uS-wA7ARuiLsK6M/s1600/2011_Triumph_Tiger_1050.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 100px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647503212775608674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI4VNm73_aElUKL6d30Z7W5kzZv76S6FIqRPnrw-0sei5R2S1VoHpyac5xa2Q2Uj3dcIF8klS1NIunMNvrxgQRBAAnXQrvkbNamq4QvUrKOF4-5ZlfJR0QToV5WvL4uS-wA7ARuiLsK6M/s200/2011_Triumph_Tiger_1050.jpg" /></a>
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh3fFsnHyme0bMs6vFc2OhCsgyz2QqLYJoEjC5Mg-4cHnIFluKMJPyJu5B9e3yubF0XzwcVDdyo5BEOnG0lgYr03WLahbd2ng6X_54YeeCZrJNj0spNncFbLOA_6Z0qT559pejb0jIdYU/s1600/2011_Triumph_Tiger_1050.jpg"></a>This was a good opportunity to ride the 'Tiger' to Brussels (the Tiger is 1050cc Triumph kicking 118 horses and is all black). No rain predicted for the day I set off to have one evening's rehearsals with the current line-up. I was to sing five songs, <em>Do the European </em>(from <em>Euroman Cometh</em>), <em>European Female</em>, <em>Winston and Julia</em>, <em>Je t'ai toujours aime </em>and <em>Walking Everywhere</em>. From London it took me four and a half hours to get to Roger's front door. This included 35 minutes on the Shuttle. I got up to 137mph on the bike. Should have got much more, however traffic kept getting in the way.
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<br />Next day there was a warm up gig in the same rehearsal studio (Studio DaDa) in front of about 130 people invited through social media. </div>
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<br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647499224594599538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGiVeePhcjGukhwo4KIeghQVYPX_k03R9XSjNNHbC8Ull6NNsWWhyphenhyphenGx5Dt7jHbOsoHFFPJxUrPJQGWKnaGemOGbaT_f7isaBN1cUU47jyVzelnlNkrPpmByHeQwsy1XtLFO4sh8kGD5-I/s320/JJ%2526PS2.JPG" />
<br />Day of the main gig and the weather had changed. In fact it was catastrophic for an open air concert. The Polyphonics were supporting Karl Bartos, a former member of Kraftwerk who I've previously met when he came to a Stranglers gig in Hamburg. It rained and it rained. Freak weather, even by Belgian standards. Down the road at a festival only 40 minutes from Brussels, in Hasselt, at Pukkelpop the weather had a disastrous effect when a stage collapsed killing five people. We heard about this just before going on stage.Nevertheless the gig went on in front of a damp but enthusiastic crowd of several hundred and not the eight thousand expected. </div>
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<br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647500540166186450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG47_CP5JP-gRtu0sMpIESmXsluDC62Pihd5mM2AcMcbEU0cU6YsiqUkkI2EtdrgsSQuGUmOymGQwHsLIcnjHUfqNLQvSBQ2hj-opUJIcw3f4DAe6f07LU40Gmf5pco1pDzaZuS4iGS5Q/s320/JJ%2526PS1.JPG" />
<br />Polyphonic Size will be appearing at the Stranglers' Convention in November with Louie on the mixing desk and featuring an old friend on vocals.
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<br />Next day the sun shone and I rode back to London. With a hangover.
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<br />Do The European at Studio DaDa on Youtube <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEzO1yyRHkE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEzO1yyRHkE</a> <a href="http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEzO1yyRHkE"></a>
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<br />Slideshow of photos from the Brussels gig <a href="http://www.slide.com/r/LIGk0UIOwD98Q9JY6bJwnS6jblC5c_1Q?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original">http://www.slide.com/r/LIGk0UIOwD98Q9JY6bJwnS6jblC5c_1Q?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original</a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/r/LIGk0UIOwD98Q9JY6bJwnS6jblC5c_1Q?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original"></a>
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<br />Photos courtesy of Fabienne Cresens <a href="http://www.picturelle.be/">http://www.picturelle.be/</a>
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<br /><strong>JJB/1st September 2011</strong><a href="http://www.slide.com/r/LIGk0UIOwD98Q9JY6bJwnS6jblC5c_1Q?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original"></a></div></div>
<br />ratterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01561993489997338610noreply@blogger.com9