Wednesday 30th April
Yet more phone interviews. Yesterday’s
was with Max Cavalera. Soulfly’s mainman is always
entertaining, and once again he didn’t let me down.
*Sighs deeply*: Farewell to one of my cinematic icons:
Bob Hoskins, RIP. I must watch The Long Good Friday this
evening. Such a great movie.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 29th April
I’d love to have attended Rick Wakeman’s
‘Journey To The Centre Of The Earth’ shows
at the Royal Albert Hall, but the phoners keep rolling
in. Mick Box at lunchtime for Classic Rock, Aerosmith’s
Joe Perry for the Download Festival programme. I’ve
just stumbled upon some great YouTube footage here
and here
of the ’Smiths and Jimmy Page playing together at
Monsters Of Rock in 1990, also at the now legendary warm-up
gig at London’s Marquee Club. They don’t quite
get into “Are we gonna do ‘Stonehenge’
tonight?”, but it’s a close thing!
Sweet Christ on a bike... Triptykon’s new album,
‘Melana Chasmata’ (Century Media), is a complete
metal monster. I wondered how on earth it could live up
to Dom Lawson’s completely OTT review in the pages
of Metal Hammer… but amazingly it does! A real contender
for album of the year, and no mistake. \m/ \m/ \m/ to
Tom Gabriel Fischer.
Strange
goings-on in the Scorpions camp, with drummer James
Kottak having been nicked in Dubai for removing his pants
at an airport and cursing Muslims. There have been rumours
for quite a while that the band would sack the former
Kingdom Come percussionist… this might speed up
that process…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 28th April
Oh well, Palace’s five game winning run
came to an end yesterday at Selhurst at the hands of the
team that now looks set to claim the Premiership title.
In a disappointingly below-par display the Eagles who
fell behind as early as the fourth minute, leaking a second
just before the break. Game over. City looked impressive,
Pulis’ men less so. Thank the Lord we’re already
mathematically safe.
I’m very, very saddened indeed to learn that Harry
Doherty died over the weekend. Harry gave me my first
job in music journalism as part of the team that launched
Metal Hammer UK in 1986. Had he not done so, life for
me would be very different. He was a great boss and, while
we worked together, a very good friend. I will never forget
the editorial meetings (“Are you sober??! Here,
drink this...”), the numerous trips to Dortmund
to put the magazine to bed (the typesetters didn't speak
English, we knew no German except how to order beer and
schnitzel mit pommes), and the encouragement that he gave
when it was most needed. Harry, you old rogue, I will
miss you. RIP.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 27th April
As I type this on my shiny new BlackBerry I’m
in a social club at Norwood Junction limbering up for
penultimate home game of a triumphant season. The billionaires
of Man City are the team visiting Fortress Selhurst. It
speaks volumes of the club’s improving fortunes
that I fancy us to sneak a cheeky point. With three hours
till KO the sun is now officially over the yardarm. Hic!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 26th April
Up early for the long ol’ journey back
to London. There was haggis for breakfast though. What’s
that they say about silver linings? But fakkin’
’ell… doesn’t haggis make you phart?!
I pity the poor bastid that sits next to me on the train!
On the bright side, I’m so glad that I stayed off
the ale from start to finish. Didn’t want to meet
and greet my new paymasters by vomiting on their shoes…
hehe. Bagpipe agony aside it was an enjoyable and worthwhile
trip, and it was nice to sit for a while in a pub called
the Crystal Palace, just across the road from Central
Station, before the train left.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 25th April
Let’s build a bonfire, put all the bagpipes
in the world in one big pile, add paraffin – and
pass me a Godammned match. Please save me from this infernal
fucking din. I’m at the Crown Plaza in Glasgow for
the first birthday party of Team Rock, the company that
now owns Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and associated brands.
All was going well till the arrival of a metal band augmented
by a strangled cat going by the name of Bag Of Rocks.
In all your born days you’ve never seen so many
people vanish outside for a fag break – I almost
took up smoking myself. Great fun but next year I shall
bring earplugs and quite possibly a flamethrower should
the organisers hire the same so-called entertainment.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 23rd April
Though I’d like to have attended tonight’s
launch of the new Weapon (UK) album over in Camden at
the Purple Turtle, this week I find myself lined up with
heaps and heaps of phone interviews. Some are for the
programme of the Download Festival, others to be used
in an upcoming commemorative issue of Classic Rock. Today
there are four phoners and tomorrow I’ve another
three (so that rules me out of taking a look at Vandenburg’s
MoonKings, too, pah…)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 22nd April
Oh dammit. The rumours are true, ManUre have
sacked Moyes. He was doing such a wonderful job, I reckon
they should have given it to him for life. The only upsetting
thing is the strong possibility of whoever gets the job
looking more favourably upon Wilfried Zaha, who according
to rumours was to be sold during the summer for a sizeable
loss. A familiar home in SE25 awaits! You know it makes
sense, Wilf!
Now spinning at top volume here at Ling Towers, ‘This
Is Your Life’, the splendid tribute to the one and
only Ronnie James Dio, featuring members of Metallica,
Anthrax, Priest, Motörhead, the Scorps and a gazillion
more. I really like the Scorps’ remake of ‘Temple
Of The King’ and Metallica ‘Rising’
medley kicks some serious ass. Still missing you, Ronnie!
Here’s a photo the Classic Rock Awards in 2006,
taken just after the album’s subject received his
Metal Guru award! (Thanks to Kirsten for the finished
copy).
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 21st April
My Easter Sunday eve was spent at the smaller
of the Academy’s two rooms in Islington for a virgin
sighting of The Hoax. Given that the headliners have been
called “arguably the most influential British blues
band of the last 20 years”, the gig’s intimate
location was pretty surprising. But by golly it was great
to see them up close and sweaty.
The show was opened by Stockport’s own Federal Charm,
a four-piece whose self titled debut album has quite rightly
been praised in blues-rock circles. The problem is that
FC can be considered blues in as much as Led Zeppelin,
Montrose, Bad Company, Humble Pie and Cry Of Love were
blues bands – though an excellent emotive remake
of Lowell Fulson’s ‘Reconsider’ is falls
squarely into that category, the likes of ‘Gotta
Give It up’, ‘I’m Not Gonna Beg’,
‘No Money Down’ and ‘Tell Your Friends’
are big-riffing, high-energy hard rock tunes, voiced manfully
by Nick Bowden. Though at the start a mere handful of
people knew about the band as a thunderous half-hour display
reached its conclusion quite a few peeps were filming
them on their mobiles. I can’t wait to see how they
do when supporting somebody a little more compatible.
Well Hung Heart (“Don’t forget the Heart,
or if you Google us you will get something very different
indeed”, laughed frontwoman Greta Valentini) are
a Cornish-New Orleans-based male-female duo with added
drummer that plays what the current issue of Classic Rock
calls “artfully course-grained garage-blues punk-pop
with echoes of Joan Jett, Shirley Manson and Polly Harvey”.
With Robin Davey alternating between guitar, bass and
keys and the turquoise-haired Valentini leaping up onto
the bar to deliver a song or two there was a definite
alternative edge to WHH’s sound. They went down
respectably well, though they were not my cup of tea…
at all… just too shouty and self-important. WTF
were they doing on a bill like this?
Save for a five-page story that appeared in Issue #9 of
Classic Rock Blues, I was largely unfamiliar with The
Hoax, the Wiltshire-based combo responsible for four albums
(two of which were on major labels) during the 1990s and
now making a comeback after 15 years with the partially
fan-funded ‘Big City Blues’. The first thing
that stopped me in my tracks was: ‘Wow! What great
songs!’ – reference points would be The Yardbirds,
Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and early Stones. The second
was the standard of their playing. At more than ten minutes
long, the languid, slow-burning ‘Swallow My Pride’
almost caused me to melt on the spot. The new album’s
‘Two Steps Back’ was a further showcase for
yet more goosebump-inducing blues guitar. At encore time
they were joined for a wonderfully ramshackle jam with
Ian Siegal, who played some exquisite guitar and shared
vocals with Hugh Coltman on BB King’s simmering
‘How Blue Can You Get’. A few bars into a
follow-up, Coltman roared with laughter as he demanded:
“Wait! Hang on a second, everyone’s playing
a different song!” ’Twas a great evening…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 20th April
What a great day out at Upton Park where Palace
confirmed their Prem status for another season with a
fifth straight win. Eddie and I met our friend Steve Taylor
well before KO and with the pubs were packed double rounds
were bought. Seated (or rather stood) four rows back,
right in front of the goal we had a superb view. The CPFC
faithful were in fine voice, heaping volleys of abuse
upon Hammers striker Andy Carroll, reminding him that
he’s not good enough to go to this summer’s
World Cup in Brazil. When Julian Speroni made a fantastic
save to deny a bullet header from Carroll, the long-haired
striker was fuly informed: “That’s why you’re
staying home”. I went bonkers as a Mile Jedinak
put away a second half penalty – the only goal of
the game – and there was disbelieving laughter as
the Red & Blue Army sang: “We’re Crystal
Palace, we’re win every week”.
After the final whistle, Steve, Eddie and I trawled around
the pubs of my East End stamping ground – I lived
in Leytonstone, just around the corner from Steve Harris,
for eight fun-filled years. We ended up in the Cart &
Horses at Maryland Point, Stratford, the hallowed scene
of Iron Maiden’s earliest gigs – talk about
placing your head in the lion’s mouth. The trip
back to Sarf London was followed by a kebab and plenty
more to drink. Steve Harris, Bobby Moore, Alf Garnett,
Russell Brand, Noel Buckley, Alfie Moon, Ray Winstone,
Dennis Stratton, Jeff Gilbert, James ‘Fat Talentless
Unfunny Wanker’ Corden, Billy Mitchell, Debbie Shaw,
Phil Collen, Tony Cottee, Harj Hallah, Prince Harry, Frank
‘Know Wot I Mean ’Arry’ Bruno, Paul
Gillooly… your boys took one hell of a beating!
See you again in 2014/15! Hic!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 19th April
Today Eddie and I will be venturing beneath the
Thames to the East End of London as the mighty Crystal
Palace FC seek five straight consecutive Premier League
victories. COYP!!!! ’Ammer those ’Ammers!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 18th April
Not before time I’ve replaced the old steam
driven model 8320 BlackBerry with a top of the range Q10.
It’s such a handsome device! But bugger me... you
need a degree in quantum physics to work the damned thing.
It’s Good Friday and I made the most of the holiday
status to zoom into the West End for my purchase. Leaving
at 9.30am, I’d be back in plenty of time for a midday
phoner with Chris Squire of Yes – or so I thought.
Jeez. Getting from SE6 to Tottenham Court Road, where
I had an appointment with a dude to transfer the data
from one BB to another, turned into a bizarre remake of
Planes Trains & Automobiles. My anxiety built as each
‘essential engineering’ screw-up escalated.
Reaching my desk at 12.15 I called Mr Squire who informed
me he had to go out, and we should re-schedule for another
day. Thanks a lot for nothing TF-friggin-L. Must confess,
it felt a little ironic that I had kept Squire waiting,
as the bass player is so laid back with his own timekeeping
that he’s jokingly been referred to as ‘The
Late’ Chris Squire. Hehehe.
In the evening I took the lads to see the Amazing Spider-Man
2 in 3D... a great way to spend Good Friday and the movie
is highly recommended. As I sat in the cinema’s
bar supping a large glass of house white whilst awaiting
the arrival of E and A (I’d paid a quick lone visit
to the Record & tape Exchange) I bumped into Carl
Glover, the designer responsible for Steven Wilson and
Porcupine Tree’s artwork. He was doing the same
thing as me – small world!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 17th April
Here’s my first (admittedly very poor)
attempt at a selfie, along with my new mistress the delightful
Ms Prosecco, after Crystal Palace all but retained their
Prem League status with last night’s magnificent
3-2 victory at Everton. Unable to make it up to Goodison,
I watched it with my friend Paul Newcomb in the Prince
George at Thornton Heath, a stone’s throw from Selhurst.
It was a great, boozy night but my best memory was sitting
on Norwood Jct Stn with Eddie, who had led many of the
evening’s chants, and I both sipping pino coladas,
and him saying: “I’m so happy, I could go
over there and dance on the roof off that train…
but I might fall off.” You and me both, son! You
and me both. P.S. can we still overtake ManUre?
As most of the music industry winds down
for a long Easter weekend, I remained industrious. I did
a phone interview with Francis Rossi, who said some interesting
things about the Frantic Four reunion, and then had a
nice phone catch-up with Bob Young, before heading into
town to meet Tesla’s Brian ‘Shredded’
Wheat, who over a cup of coffee offered a sneak preview
of some tracks from his band’s new studio record,
‘Simplicity’ (due via Frontiers on June 6).
I really liked what I heard... Jeff Keith has still got
a truly great voice.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 16th April
I’ve just conducted a very amusing phone
interview with Michael Starr. When I asked how the Steel
Panther frontman felt about the recent 20th anniversary
of Kurt Cobain's suicide, he replied: “I kind of
wish he was still alive; that way he could see that grunge
is dead.” Couldn't have put it better myself. Call
me a humourless old git if you must – I’m
sure you will! – but witty banter aside I remain
unconvinced by the spoof hair-metallers from California.
The albums are good, that’s undeniable. And they’re
the kind of group that everybody should see – once.
But it’s hard to believe that at this summer’s
Download Festival they are going onstage after Joe Bonamassa,
Richie Sambora, Buckcherry and Winger.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 15th April
I’m signing off for the day a little later
than usual, at almost 11pm. Why so? Well, I’ve just
been afforded a phone interview with one of the biggest
selling rock musicians of the current generation. Chester
Bennington is the lead singer of Linkin Park, whose debut
album ‘Hybrid Theory’ has sold a whopping
30 million copies and will be performed in its entirety
for the first time at this summer’s Download Festival.
I’ve interviewed Bennington twice before, and he
seems like a cool guy. Not being a bandwagon jumper or
anything but I really liked ‘Hybrid Theory’
when it was released back in 2000. I even attended an
early UK show of theirs at the miniscule King’s
College in London the following January… haven’t
seen them since! Haha. Chester talks a good game. When
he describes the Californian group’s new album ‘The
Hunting Party’ as packing “the power of a
nuclear reactor” I’m not completely sure that
I believe him, but I will certainly be checking it out.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 14th April
Phew – that was cutting it fine. My train
pulled into Hammersmith tube station a mere seven minutes
before FM took to the stage for last night’s gig
at the Apollo. There was just enough time to claim my
guest tickets and locate the seats, five rows and a matter
of feet from the stage, before the house lights dimmed.
Such a great view, though the sound was a little muddy,
burying Jim Kirkpatrick’s guitar in the mix. However,
save for Steve Overland clouting himself on the lip with
the mic, which all onstage found hilarious, the quintet’s
segment of the show was performed slickly enough and elicited
a thoroughly warm response. What’s not to like about
a rapid-fire 38 mins of seven old and new songs –
namely ‘Tough Love’, ‘I Belong To The
Night’, ‘Don’t Stop’, ‘Closer
To Heaven’, ‘That Girl’, ‘Crosstown
Train’ and ‘Burning My Heart Down’?
Special guests Europe used their allotted hour perfectly,
satisfying both those who’d come along to hear the
golden era tunes from their original big-haired heyday,
and demonstrating exactly why the Swedes’ most recent
two albums (‘Last Look At Eden’ and ‘Bag
Of Bones’) were regarded as triumphs in the realm
of melodic hard rock. Joey Tempest commanded the boards,
shadow boxing, whirling the mic stand around his head
and throwing all manner of rock star shapes whilst sporting
a cheek-to-cheek grin. Quite possibly as a mark of respect
to his heroes Thin Lizzy, Tempest, who these days resides
in London, inserting a few lines of that band’s
‘Cowboy Song’ to ‘Superstitious’.
Later on he told us how as a 16-year-old he’d undertaken
a boat journey from Sweden to see a Lizzy concert at “Hammersmith
Odeon, the holy grail of rock 'n' roll!” The singer’s
enthusiasm was as contagious as Europe’s songs,
which ran as follows: ‘Riches To Rags’, ‘Firebox’,
‘Superstitious’, ‘Let The Good Times
Rock’, ‘No Stone Unturned’, ‘Carrie’,
‘Scream Of Anger’, ‘Sign Of The Times’,
‘Cherokee’, ‘Rock The Night’ and
an encore of… what else but… ‘The Final
Countdown’?
Truthfully, I found myself wondering how Foreigner might
go about following Europe’s triumphant set. Not
to have worried; with Mick Jones joining the rest of the
band five songs in and after 25 mins – the ailing
69-year-old was too unwell to perform in Nottingham a
new nights earlier – they produced a performance
cocky and accomplished enough to banish any such worries.
Kelly Hansen has flourished in the role of the group’s
current frontman, leaping into the crowd, demanding that
everyone place an arm around the person next to them during
a singalong rendition of ‘I Want To Know What Love
Is’ enhanced the Portsmouth High School girls’
choir, and prancing around wearing a very colourful jacket
borrowed from a bloke in the front row… there was
much laughter when Hansen found a wallet in the garment’s
pocket and announced triumphantly: “I’d like
to order drinks for everybody!” It was that kind
of a night. Here’s the set-list: ‘Double Vision’,
‘Head Games’, ‘Cold As Ice’, ‘Waiting
For A Girl Like You’, ‘Feels Like The First
Time’, ‘That Was Yesterday’, ‘Dirty
White Boy’, ‘Starrider’, ‘Urgent’,
Keyboard Solo, Drum Solo, ‘Juke Box Hero’,
plus encores of ‘Long Long Way From Home’,
‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ and ‘Hot
Blooded’.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 13th April
Were there a shred of justice, CPFC supremo Tony
Pulis would be hailed as the Premier League’s manager
of the year. Yesterday’s 1-0 victory over Aston
Vanilla was not only Palace’s third consecutive
victory but the club has kept a clean sheet throughout
that timeframe, scoring five goals in reply. Having leapfrogged
their opponents Palace now occupy 12th place in the table,
a cushion of seven points above the dreaded trapdoor.
Survival is by no means a certainty though some bookies
are no longer accepting wagers on the matter. But do you
know what most annoys me? You go out to buy the Sunday
papers and their reports are all about Villa being sucked
into relegation scrap, with barely a mention of the team
that actually won the friggin’ game. Journos? They’re
all scum!
Following a long, long, long, long day of imbibing, Saturday
night was spent at the White Horse pub in Selhurst where
a surprise birthday party was thrown for my good friend
Paul Newcomb by his better half Rita. It’s a measure
of the man that various members of our usual going-going
clique – take a bow David Boyce, Noel Buckley, Kevin
Nixon and Terri Weston – would dare to brave the
supposed horror of South London’s suburbs to celebrate
the occasion. It was quite a night… eldest lad Eddie
has revealed that he escorted me to my bed after we had
watched Match Of The Day, cheering like loonies as Jason
Puncheon’s shot cannoned in off the inside of the
post. Oh, the shame… hehe.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 12th April
Oh bugger, here’s another example of those
wanky gig clashes. All of the following bands are set
to play in London on Weds July 9: Extreme (at the Forum),
Sebastian Bach (in Islington) and Vain (at the Camden
Underworld). Grrrrrrrr! How stupid is that? It’s
the worst example of schedule collisions that I can recall
since we were forced to decide between The Brotherhood
Of Man, Dawn, Julio Iglesias, the Wombles and John Denver
back in ’74. Hahaha.
Anyway, it’s a *huge* day for my beloved Crystal
Palace FC, who this afternoon are set to take on the Benteke-less
Aston Vanilla at Fortress Selhurst. The sun is shining.
Time for a quick park run and shower, and a bottle of
wine to calm the nerves before leaving. We’ve already
beaten our opponents at Vanilla Park earlier this season…
Three wins in a row, maybe? We can do this!!!! COYP!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 11th April
As another frantic week draws to a close I’m
busy compiling the gig guide for the May issue of Classic
Rock’s sister magazine, Blues. My listening material
includes Little Feat’s ‘Live In Holland 1976’,
an excellent CD+DVD two-disc set from Eagle Vision, and
a double-CD of ‘The Best Of Wilko Johnson’.
Crank up dat volume!
Of course, the first three albums from Led Zeppelin are
to be re-issued on June 2, each re-mastered by Jimmy Page
and containing a host of unreleased companion audio. Check
out the official
trailer.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 10th April
Last night I was among a sold out crowd for Halestorm’s
gig at the Forum in Kentish Town. I’d enjoyed seeing
the female-fronted Pennsylvanian band twice before –
once with Shinedown at the Roundhouse and also opening
for Alter Bridge at Wembley – but never experienced
them as headliners. Their show was excellent. Led by 29-year-old
singer/guitarist Lzzy Hale, they are really catching on
popularity-wise, especially with females… I can’t
recall the last time I heard anywhere near as much girlie
screaming at a rock concert.
No wonder: Hale certainly ticks all of the necessary boxes.
She’s smart and able to get a crowd behind her from
the very first note to the last. She’s also talented,
sharing guitar duties equally with Joe Hottinger and tinkling
the piano during the haunting ballad ‘Breathe In’
in addition to possessing an emotive, powerful voice.
In a musical sense she’s well educated, crooning
Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Gold Dust Woman’ mid-show
and screaming down the walls during a great remake of
‘Dissident Aggressor’ by Judas Priest (when
they played with Shinedown she offered a great acapella
rendition of Heart’s ‘Crazy On You’).
Clad in killer heels, leggings and sporting a pair of
shades that were thrown into the crowd two numbers in,
she’s also smoking hot in a visual sense, though
unlike Taylor Momsen from The Pretty Reckless, who makes
a point of rubbing her sexuality in your face at every
available opportunity, Hale prefers to infer things with
a degree of subtlety.
Few of the quartet’s songs outlast the three minute
mark and each is possessed of a fist-punching hook. Though
an almost ten-minute drum solo from Lzzy’s brother
Arejay represented a severe test of patience, I can only
I agree with the late, great Ronnie James Dio (whose ‘Straight
Through The Hart’ the band covered five songs in):
Halestorm are firmly established among an elite group
of acts capable of carrying the torch onwards for this
style of music. Okay I’m not particularly sure that
I’d still like to see Lzzy gone to seed at the age
of fifty, complete with bingo wings and hair extensions,
bawling out ‘You Call Me A Bitch Like It’s
A Bad Thing’, though it would be no less embarrassing
that many other sights currently available to concertgoers
of a certain age. Aired at the start of the encore, a
brand new song titled ‘Mayhem’ from a soon-to-come
third studio album screamed out the message in ten-foot
letters: This band will be enormous. In some ways they
already are. Here’s the set-list: ‘Miss The
Misery’, ‘Love Bites (So Do I)’, ‘It’s
Not You’, ‘Freak Like Me’, ‘Straight
Through the Heart’, ‘You Call Me A Bitch Like
It’s A Bad Thing’, ‘Innocence’,
‘Don’t Know How To Stop’, ‘Rock
Show’, ‘Gold Dust Woman’, ‘Break
In’, ‘Familiar Taste Of Poison’, Drum
Solo, ‘Dissident Aggressor’, ‘Mz Hyde’,
‘Daughters Of Darkness’ and ‘I Get Off’,
followed by ‘Mayhem’, ‘Get Lucky’
and ‘Here’s To Us’.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 9th April
Oh wow… I’ve spent the afternoon
investigating an advance listening link to ‘Pale
Communion’, the forthcoming album from Opeth (amusingly,
the spellcheck just amended that to ‘Palace Communion’
– hahaha, force of habit or what?!). As expected,
it’s little short of immense. Band leader Mikael
Åkerfeldt has certainly achieved his goal of “doing
something more melodic with this album”. It drops
via Roadrunner Records on June 16, and unless you’re
one of the final remaining diehards that wishes the Swedes
still favoured growly death metal, it’s hard to
consider anybody being disappointed.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 8th April
Following last night’s wonderful 5-1 annihilation
at the hands of Tottenham, I wonder how Sunderland’s
Lee Cattermole feels this morning. The midfielder recently
gave a provocative
interview in which he boasted: “If we [Sunderland]
go down this season and Crystal Palace don’t, there’s
something very wrong here.” All I can say in reply
to that is… thanks very much for this season’s
four points, you conceited, deluded asswipe. Enjoy life
in the Championship.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 7th April
Here’s an interesting
interview with Francis Rossi from the Irish Times,
in which he confirms his own reasons for the Frantic Four
having “run its thing”. I suppose I can understand
his opinion, but that doesn’t mean I must like it.
Haha.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 6th April
What a cider-tastic night at Wedfest, the nuptials
of the newly spliced Mr & Mrs Riddles. As arranged
I met my partner in grime, Mark Taylor, at Liverpool Street
station for the outward journey just as the Cardiff-Palace
game kicked off. My innumerable anxious glances at the
BlackBerry paid off as the Eagles took the lead and then
doubled it. I’m happy to say that the game finished
3-0 to the away side – three absolutely priceless
points for the men from SE25.
It was time to celebrate. The party was already underway
as we bowled up at the Corn Exchange in Hertford. Indeed
Stampede’s Reuben Archer was already in ad advanced
state of refreshment, having spent the afternoon in the
hotel bar making the most of cheap double shot with Gaskin’s
Paul Gaskin – top work fellas! As we grabbed some
drinks the live music began with a band that included
the groom, Dave ‘Bucket’ Colwell of Bad Company
fame and ex-Tank drummer Mark Brabbs, who blitzed through
the likes of ZZ Top’s ‘Gimme All Your Loving’,
and ‘Working Class Man’ by Jimmy Barnes. As
these things tend to do when you’ve a glass in your
hand, time flew by. The NWOBHM band Desolation Angels
arrived onstage for a very decent short set that previewed
the first new material in 20 years, namely ‘The
Sweeter The Meat’ and ‘Set The Spirit Free’,
with Mr Riddles stepping up to join them for their final
song, ‘Valhalla’.
Some nosebag seemed in order and following one of the
hottest vindaloo curries I’ve enjoyed in many a
long year it was time for some serious drinking. The final
part of the evening was spent popping up the bar with
Tino Troy of Paying Mantis, who has a great mine of rock
‘n’ roll stories, and the guitarist’s
‘better half’, Ash. Before long security were
in ‘finish your drinks and get out of here’
mode. However, it had been a first-class evening and loath
as I am to saying anything positive about the institution
of matrimony, the bride and groom made a lovely couple.
Here’s wishing them love, life and continued happiness.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 5th April
Okay, a
new web article details the five grounds with the
best atmospheres in the Premier League. And guess which
club came top? (*Blushes with pride!*) And
WFT is this all about? Cardiff boss Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer
reckons he will force ex-Palace star Wilfried Zaha to
celebrate should he score against his former side in today’s
relegation six pointer. Keep your Goddamned nose out of
another individual’s business you no longer babyfaced
Norwegian c**t. He ain’t even your player. COYP!!!
Sadly, I won’t be at today’s game as Mark
Taylor and I are set to trek into the wilds of Harlow
for the wedding for former Angel Witch and current Tytan
man (mountain) Kevin Riddles to the delightful Julie Wickenden.
A hotel has been booked for an overnight stay. Hospital
release forms have been signed. All those TV programmes
about wild behaviour in Essex? In the words of Bachman-Turner
Overdrive, b-b-baby… you ain’t seen nuffink
yet.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 4th April
 As
you can see from this rather silly photograph my friend
Mark Taylor and I experienced a basic arithmetic problem
at last night's launch party for
'Homo Erraticus', the new solo album from Jethro Tull's
Ian Anderson: Too many beers and too few mouths!
It was a great evening, with Steven Wilson, Danny Cavanagh
of Anathema, Bryan Josh and Olivia Sparnenn from Mostly
Autumn and No Man's Tim Bowness (who recently a signed
a solo deal with Inside Out) all among a fairly large
gathering at the Record Club in Camden. As the bottles
of Beck's flowed, Anderson was the subject of a typically
lively audience Q&A, the course of which touched upon
matters political, unusual handshakes and... er... rectal
bowel cancer check-ups. A few short snippets of 'Homo
Erraticus' were played amid the banter, and they sounded
great. My friend Jerry Ewing of Prog magazine has heard
the entire album and awarded hearty approval.
We have having such fun that wallets were produced after
the bar tab expiration and (inevitably), Taylor and I
ended up in a local pub for a final tincture or two. In
the cold light of day, that was a pretty silly decision..
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 3th April
Just received a great email from Dante Bonutto
at Spinefarm Records, asking whether I can review ‘Diamond
In The Firepit', the new album from Finnish melodic rockers
Brother Firetribe that feature Nightwish’s Emppu
Vuorinen on guitar, in the new issue of Classic Rock.
Dante and I have been acquainted for many, many years
and he knows my Achilles’ heel all too well. “Is
it just me or does the cover artwork look a little like
a crystal palace?” he wrote, somewhat gamely. So
my reply was perhaps inevitable: “Okay, let’s
put them on the cover, then.” Hahaha. It’s
a superb record, actually.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 2nd April
Not much to report as Classic Rock is on production
deadline – I am reviewing a brand new Gotthard album
that’s suitably entitled ‘Bang!’ as
I type this; thankfully it’s much better than the
group’s previous offering! – and my dad has
just come out of hospital after a knee op, so Ling Towers
is even busier than normal. The monthly Playlist updates
are here and YouTube here.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 1st April
Eldest lad Eddie sat up in bed and roared: “Nooooooo!”
when I woke him with the shock overnight news that ManUre
have sacked Moyes and, distressingly, replaced him with
Palace kingpin Tony Pulis. He was a little happier that
Wilf Zaha is coming home to Selhurst Park as a sweetener
for the deal. And then I reminded him of today’s
date. After he calmed down the poor blighter laughed:
“I am disowning you as my father!” What a
brilliant wind-up…
What a strange night at the Hammersmith Apollo as the
Frantic Four played the third and final of their London
reunion shows. I was allotted almost the exact same seats
as on Friday and Saturday, three rows back and with a
glorious view of the stage. The set-list remained identical
– obviously! – but with the venue less than
sold out there was no way the atmosphere could touch the
fever pitch of Saturday’s performance. Rossi was
quite rightly annoyed by a persistent backline buzz that
could be heard through the PA for a number or two, but
the band played wonderfully well. There were broad smiles
on the faces of all four band members when John Coghlan
threw in a spontaneous mini-drum solo at the end of ‘Bye
Bye Johnny’, and I won’t have been alone in
experiencing extreme sadness as the final curtain bows
were taken. Messrs Parfitt, Lancaster and Coghlan seemed
reluctant to take their leave, finally doing so with arms
around each others’ waists, but you knew that by
the time they’d done so the evening’s other,
less enthusiastic, participant would already have been
in his cab and on the way home.
Incidentally, whilst arriving for the show Alan’s
delightful wife Dayle introduced herself to me, smiling
broadly whilst relaying that before they’d left
Australia for the tour a doctor’s report had given
the bassist the all-clear of multiple sclerosis…
great news, I’m happy for them both.
And as if the well of emotions wasn’t already deep
and complicated enough as my favourite band bade farewell,
let’s just throw in the news that the news that
West Ham had stuffed relegation rivals Sunderland by two
goals to one up at the Stadium Of Shite. A wonderful Brucie
bonus for all Palace fans. So I decided that I *would*
have a wee post-gig drinkie after all. |
