| Sunday 30th September
I’m bedraggled but home safely after a
boozetastic weekend in great company. My first awayday
of the 2012/’13 season saw Crystal Palace claiming
all three points thanks during a physically contested
game with Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium. Was
the referee right to have awarded the Eagles a second
half pen (duly despatched by Glenn Murray) as the ever-tricky
Wilf Zaha was tackled by Zat Knight? Listen… nobody
could deny that Zaha played for the spot-kick, but when
the defender stuck out his leg he might as well have attached
a Post It note saying: “Go on, trip me over”…
what did he think was gonna happen? Cue CPFC’s first
ever league triumph at Bolton. My host for the weekend,
Marseille’s mega-Trotters fan Nige Roberts, was
incredibly gracious and having sunk several pints of radioactive-looking
cider prior to the match in a brilliant pub called the
Scythe, we headed off to complete the job of getting royally
shit-faced.
In having arranged to hook up with another local fella,
ex-Spider rhythm guitarist/frontman Colin Harkness, at
a Real Ale & Cider Festival at the Astley Bridge Cricket
Club we were effectively signing a communal death warrant…
and so it proved. Way too many cheap pints of something
called Happy Daze flowed down the neck and we bonded further
over cheering at Spurs’ fine victory at Old Trafford
on the TV. When the beer fest’s live band failed
to turn up, a tantalising few minutes were spent chewing
over the idea putting together our own line-up... till
I remembered that I don’t play drums, bass or indeed..
um... anything. Still that never held back Linda McCartney,
did it?
The night gradually spiralled out of control. Plans to
have attended a gig by Rich Davenport and Joe Matera at
another public house called The Alma were… er…
liquidated. Like the rest of our party, I was a disgusting
wreck: Throughout the day I must have supped twenty pints
of fermented apple juice. I wonder whether this fact had
summat to do with Nige toppling ass over tit over in the
Indian restaurant? So thank goodness for the hospitality
of Mr Roberts and the luvvly fried breakfast cooked by
his delightful other half Karen as I prepared to dash
for my train at (ulp!) 9.23am. Frankly, I feel like I’ve
been hit by an articulated lorry… why do I do it??
(Because it’s great fun… haha!).
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 29th September
After what had been largely a long, wet and bleak
week I was determined to enjoy myself at last night’s
gig from Romeo’s Daughter, attended in the company
of partners in grime Andy Beare, Neil Pudney and Dave
Craig.
Arriving at Bush hall just as the support act, Four Wheel
Drive, where hitting the stage, the crowd was a trifle
thin. There’s also a fairly large stylistic chasm
between 4WD’s AC/DC-tinged boogie and the plush,
shimmering melodic pop-rock of the headliners, but the
openers tried their hardest and seemed to go down pretty
well. For some reason the final song of their set, ‘Hammered
Again’, was dedicated to yours truly. Boys…
you can expect to hear from my solicitor.
The venue had filled nicely by the time that RD took to
the stage, though sadly many of the subtleties of their
sound were lost in iffy front-of-house mix. There were
a few ‘faces’ on hand, including FM’s
bassist Merv Goldsworthy (who ’fessed up to a state
of extreme nervousness whilst watching his other half,
Leigh Matty) and keysman Jem Davis, ex-Mama’s Boys
bassist John McManus, Tank’s Cliff Evans and Quireboys
bassist Dave Boyce, the latter of whom was celebrating
his 55th birthday (hehehe… only kidding Boycie!).
The headliners’ set was based upon the newly released
album ‘Rapture’, the likes of ‘Trippin’
Out’, ‘Bittersweet’ and ‘Lightning’
standing up well alongside golden oldies ‘Velvet
Tongue’, ‘Don’t Break My Heart’,
‘Stay With Me Tonight’, and the ever-brilliant
‘I Cry Myself To Sleep At Night’ and ‘Heaven
In The Back Seat’, the divine strains of which were
apparently the cause of some ungainly dance moves from
a person said to have matched my description. Save for
such embarrassment (Christ, I hope there were no photos
or videos!) it was an extremely pleasurable night.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 27th September
A finished copy of Steve Harris’ ‘British
Lion’ album has just arrived. There’s no mistaking
that bass technique but the direction is... interesting.
It’s nowhere near as proggy as had I hoped/expected.
I wonder whether it’s going to be a grower? Time
will tell…
Another record with more instant appeal is ‘Into
Insignificance I Will Pale’, the new solo album
from ex-IQ singer Paul Menel. What truly fantastic songs!!
I am currently spinning this little beaut for the third
time in two days; it’s a million miles light years
away from the neo-prog of what Menel did with IQ. Think
latterday Peter Gabriel (whose cohort Gav Managhan produced
the album) crossed with hard rock, soul and various differing
stands of music. There’s not a duff track on it!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 26th September
It might be time to open a can of Top Deck this
evening! Geoff Barton’s Facebook page just broke
the news that Classic Rock’s spin-off AOR mag will
be making its long-awaited return in December!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 25th September
According to a terse yet unmissably rancorous
exchange on Twitter, Glenn Hughes and Joe Bonamassa are
both “ready to move on” after the apparent
dissolution of Black Country Communion. Read the story
here.
How sad…
So John Terry has retired from playing for England, claiming
that his position had been made “untenable”
before an FA hearing. Terry might have won 78 caps but
I cheer his exit from the Three Lions set-up in the loudest
manner possible. As my friend Steve Goldby has just pointed
out over at his Facebook page (sorry for the steal Steve),
defending this vile, conceited specimen by pointing out
that he was great player for England is a little like
stating that Peter Sutcliffe was a great lorry driver.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 24th September
‘I Am Anonymous’, the full-length
debut from Headspace, will be among my favourite albums
of 2012. Last night at the Borderline the UK-based prog-metal
five-piece, who feature members past and present of It
Bites, Yes, Threshold, Ozzy and Steve Hackett’s
solo bands and many more, served up a show to match the
immense potential of that album, which Prog magazine had
hailed as being among “the most engaging and exciting”
releases since the title’s inception three years
ago. Damian Wilson is without doubt one of the best frontmen
outside the Premier League and Adam Wakeman’s keys
were outstanding but it was the rich, moody tone of Australian-born
guitarist Pete Rinadli, formerly of Justin Hawkins’
post-Darkness troupe Hot Leg, that really served to bowl
me over. The various band members have incredibly overloaded
schedules but it would be great to see Headspace out there
and gigging and again for too long – preferably
on a major support tour. They certainly deserve it. Meanwhile,
here’s the set-list: ‘Stalled Armageddon’,
‘Fall Of America’, ‘Soldier’,
‘Die With A Bullet’, ‘In Hell’s
Name’, ‘Daddy Fucking Loves You’, ‘Invasion’
and ‘The Big Day’.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 23rd September
What an absolutely brilliant comeback!!! Crystal
Palace were 2-0 down to the vile Cardiff at H-T, but thanks
to a hat-trick from Glenn Murray the game finished 3-2
to the Eagles. Now **that’s** why I’m an Eagle
till I die!!!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 22nd September
For yours truly, the self-titled debut from Flying Colors
– the supergroup featuring members past and present
of Dream Theater, Spock’s Beard, Transatlantic,
Kansas and Deep Purple – was among the most pleasant
surprises of 2012. When my friend Nick Shilton and I gained
entry to the Shepherd’s Bush Empire, we were taken
aback to note there were some empty seats. What the heck?!
Beardfish were making their first appearance on these
shores since May 2008 when they opened for Ritual and
The Tangent at London’s Underworld. I’m a
big fan of the Swedish neo-proggers, especially their
twin conceptual discs ‘Sleeping In Traffic’
(released in 2007 and ’08) but the band’s
new, heavier direction seems to have put off some fans
and when Rikard Sjöblom’s first death growl
of the night materialized midway through ‘Destined
Solitaire’, the set began to appear somewhat misjudged.
It’s pretty amazing to think that during the last
two years Mike Portnoy has recorded eight studio albums
and gigged with 12 different bands or projects. However,
the ‘X’ factor within Flying Colors is Casey
McPherson. Hailing from the alternative rock band Alpha
Rev, the 33-year-old’s appointment allows the group
to fulfill a bold mission statement via the teaming of
“virtuoso musicians and a pop singer to make new-fashioned
music the old-fashioned way.” Besides wielding an
excellent voice, McPherson is brave enough to strap on
a guitar and play back-up to the formidable Steve Morse.
With just one album from which to chose, each band member
revisited a song from their catalogue. Sadly, London didn’t
get the additional encore of Purple’s ‘Space
Truckin' ’ enjoyed by Dutch fans 24 hours earlier
but the show’s combination of pop-rock melody and
the majesty of prog is impossible to resist. Here’s
the set-list: ‘Blue Ocean’, ‘Shoulda
Coulda Woulda’, ‘Love Is What I'm Waiting
For’, ‘Can’t Find A Way’ (Endochine
cover), ‘The Storm’, ‘Odyssey’
(Dixie Dregs cover), ‘Forever In A Daze’,
‘Better Than Walking Away’, ‘Kayla’,
Bass Solo, ‘Fool In My Heart’, ‘Repentance’
(Dream Theater cover), ‘June’ (Spock’s
Beard cover), ‘All Falls Down’, ‘Everything
Changes’ and an encore of ‘Infinite Fire’.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 21st September
Having enjoyed the couple of tunes that she sang
at last weekend’s Sunflower Jam, I was more than
happy to join an intimate, enthusiastic crowd at London’s
Gibson Guitar Studios for some free beer during the launch
of Sandi Thom’s fourth solo album. Besides being
the girlfriend of Joe Bonamassa, the Scottish singer-songwriter,
guitarist and harmonica player is probably best known
for her throwaway 2006 pop hit ‘I Wish I Was a Punk
Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)’. Produced in Nashville
by none other than Rich Robinson and featuring contributions
from a stellar backing band comprising Black Crowes guitarist
Rich, plus fellow Crowes alumni Audley Freed (guitar)
and Steve Gorman (drums) and Rolling Stones sax player
Bobby Keys, ‘Flesh And Blood’ is a far less
frivolous record.
Thom took to the stage revealing that the previous week
had been the best of her life so far, thanks largely to
having been told that he was “the real deal"
by certain fellow artists at the Albert Hall. Backed by
a tidy five-piece band, some of whom had been with her
for more than a decade, Sandi went on to prove it, too.
The sassy ‘Help Me’ got the crowd on her side
from the off, while the album’s title cut began
introspectively before building gradually into a full-bodied
rocker. Performed with just voice and guitar, her attempt
at a “non-cheesy” love song called ‘I
Love You Like A Lunatic’ (presumably inspired by
JB), was sung superbly and the last song of the night,
‘Lay Your Burden Down’ (which also closes
the record), saw the return of the full band, sending
the audience home – or in the cases of myself, Andy
Beare and Noel Buckley down the road to the Crobar –
with smiles plastered across their faces.
And how about this for a spooky co-incidence. You’ve
spent a big chunk of the day writing about the many virtues
of Free, and then suddenly you realise that Andy Fraser,
the genius that co-wrote and played bass on ‘All
Right Now’, ‘Fire & Water’, ‘The
Stealer’, ‘Be My Friend’, ‘Little
Bit Of Love’ and many more, is grooving away in
the crowd a few feet in front of you. You’ve gotta
have your photo taken with him, right? Take a peek here.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 20th September
I’ve just had a very entertaining chat
with Bruce Dickinson for the Classic Rock news pages as
Iron Maiden are unveiled as headliners of the Saturday
night of Download 2013. Bruce was extremely chirpy. “Did
you go to the Sunflower Jam?” he asked. “Wasn’t
[Lancastrian opera-pop crossover artist] Alfie Boe brilliant?”
Anyway, I can’t wait to see Maiden’s current
show, which of course is based upon a live concert video
filmed in Birmingham during the ‘Seventh Son Of
A Seventh Son’ tour. This will be the fifth time
that Maiden have headlined at Donington Park – Monsters
Of Rock (1988 and ’92) and the Download Festivals
(2003 and ’07) – placing them ahead of such
rivals as AC/DC and Metallica, who have only achieved
the same feat four times, followed by Kiss, Def Leppard,
Whitesnake and Aerosmith (twice), also Black Sabbath twice
(excluding Ozzfests). You’ve gotta agree, that’s
some pretty exclusive company.
Took me a while to blag a copy but I’m absolutely
loving the new album from Ian ’Untah, ‘When
I’m President’. Ian is still the coolest 73-year-old
in rock ‘n’ roll. Check out the album’s
title
song.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 19th September
Am still feeling sick as the proverbial parrot
after an evening under the floodlights at Selhurst. Such
was Palace’s domination of the game that last night’s
1-1 draw with Nottingham Florist felt more like a defeat.
Having been reduced to ten men, the visitors had a solitary
shot on target: What a kick in the teeth!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 18th September
Given the negativity currently emanating from
the Black Country Communion camp, I’m both pleased
and slightly shocked by the announcement
of a one-off UK gig. I shall be wending my way to
Wolverhampton on January 5 for what’s being described
by those in the know a ‘make-or-break’ appearance.
Oh, look what’s pinged into the ‘in’
box, one of the most preposterously titled emails I’ve
ever received: “Heavy metal star Yngwie Malmsteen
to visit the House of Commons”. Maybe the Yng will
deign to suggest a few useful pointers to revive the UK’s
failing economy? Coming soon: the eminent academic Alex
Van Halen hosts a seminar on Evolution versus Creationism.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 17th September
Monsewer Beare and myself braved Sunday night
public transport to visit the Royal Albert Hall, where
Jacky Paice (wife of Deep Purple drummer Ian) had arranged
an excellent cast for the sixth annual Sunflower Jam,
a charity event that aims to alleviate the suffering of
cancer victims. Coming so soon after the death of Jon
Lord, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when vocalist
Steve Balsamo and violinist Anna Phoebe collaborated on
an emotional version of ‘Pictured Within’,
backed by a collage of vintage photos. The house band,
which saw former Whitesnake guitarist displaying his full
box of tricks, was superb. As a long-time fan of Uli Jon
Roth, it was great to see the former Scorpions/Electric
Sun guitarist play such a prominent role. Uli deadpanned
“it might get louder” before launching into
the Scorps classic ‘Sails Of Charon’ (and
by golly he was right!), returning later to romp through
Cream’s ‘Sunshine Of Your Love’ with
Level 42’s Mark King on bass/vocals.
Things really picked up during the show’s second
half, Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson opening his
segment with a version of Thin Lizzy’s ‘Emerald’
(still with Uli on guitar), followed by ‘Behind
Blue Eyes’ by The ’Oo. Incredibly, Brucie
was then joined by Ian Paice, John Paul Jones and Brian
May for Purple’s ‘Black Night’, with
keys supplied by Brian Auger. Alice Cooper’s short
set featured cameos from Brian May and Uli (again), before
most of the cast took a curtain call for ‘Smoke
On The ‘Water’, with JPJ banging away on a
cowbell… fantastic!!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 16th September
Well, I survived the second week of my running
course. Decided to stick my natural jogging pace instead
of trying to keep up with the younger runners, and by
golly it paid dividends. My legs had ached to kingdom
come after the first week… this time not even a
twinge.
With no Saturday afternoon game for the mighty Eagles,
I sat at my desk and reviewed a batch of records for Classic
Rock and Metal Hammer. Was extremely impressed by the
newies from Kamelot (‘Silverthorn’), Ten (‘Heresy
And Creed’), Impera (‘Legacy Of Life’)
and Neal Morse (‘Momentum’), though sadly
Dokken’s somewhat lacklustre ‘Broken Bones’
pales badly in comparison.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 15th September
A fantastic time was had by one and all at Kip
Winger’s one-man show in London. I’ve been
a huge fan of Winger (the band) since their first self-titled
album, released in those halcyon pre-grunge days of 1988.
Among the biggest thrills of my career was receiving a
call from the Kipmeister in which he proposed I should
write the liner notes for Rhino Records’ anthology
‘The Very Best Of Winger’ back in 2001. The
way that Winger’s name has been maligned by Beavis
& Butt-head and Metallica is nothing less than a travesty
and there’s no way I’d have missed the gig
at the Borderline. But there was a problem. The show clashed
with Crystal Palace’s televised away game against
Clowntown Pathetic. Aaaaaarg! Decided to try and avoid
the result, then dash home and watch it on the Sky+ with
a kebab and a bottle of cold wine.
The show was excellent. Armed with a dry and self deprecating
wit, Kip is a very funny host and his performance took
in most of Winger (the band’s) best tunes, including
my own personal favourite, the exquisite ‘Under
One Condition’, plus a smattering of solo material.
The set-list ran as follows: ‘Cross’, ‘Easy
Come Easy Go’, ‘Who’s The One’,
‘Steam’, ‘Headed For A Heartbreak’,
‘Blind Revolution Mad’, ‘Free’,
‘Miles Away’, ‘Hungry’, ‘Rainbow
In The Rose’, ‘Under One Condition’,
‘Can’t Get Enuff’, ‘Deal With
The Devil’, ‘Down Incognito’, ‘Nothing’,
‘Every Story Told’, ‘Spell I’m
Under’, ‘Madalaine’, ‘Seventeen’
and ‘Blue Suede Shoes’. There’s a big
chunk of quality YouTube footage here.
My pre-game ‘no spoilers’ plea appeared to
have worked. Then, on the train from Charing Cross back
to Catford I reactivated my BlackBerry and received a
Facebook notification email signalling a message from
my friend Ian McClaren that started with the words: “good
w...”. Those nine characters threw me into turmoil!
Was Ian congratulating me upon a fine local derby victory,
or had he been listening to his fave Uriah Heep album
and, ahem, taken himself in hand?! Aaaaaaarg! Luckily,
although the second option cannot also be ruled out, Palace
**did** secure bragging rights over their neighbours with
a wonderfully taken goal from South African international
Kagisho Dikgacoi. Palace’s first triumph in the
league at The Valley since 1968 (ulp!) sent me to bed
a very happy man.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 14th September
I’m extremely proud to have received finished
copies of Spider’s ‘The Complete Anthology’
and the re-master of ‘Kitsch’ by the Heavy
Metal Kids. Merseyside boogie-heads Spider were rightly
pissed off by a shoddy re-release campaign conducted by
a previous label that shall go nameless... compiled from
the original masters (unlike the 2007 editions which were
sourced from vinyl) this four-disc set, which includes
a first official release of their March 1986 swansong
‘Raise The Banner’, does them proud. It would
be fantastic if Spider could be persuaded to undertake
some sort of reunion. Both albums are available from Lemon
Recordings and feature my
sleeve notes.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 13th September
For the past week I’ve been spinning a
promo copy of an excellent blues-rock album by an English
guitarist/singer called Bex
Marshall. ‘House Of Mercy’ is her third
release, and it’s a sassy, slinky, hugely enjoyable
piece of work (the Devonshire native was once memorably
described as sounding like “Bonnie Raitt and Led
Zep jamming in an everglade moonshine joint”). So
the chance to see her perform live and sink a few jars
at an album launch party in an upstairs bar at Ronnie
Scott’s Jazz Club was a bit of a no-brainer. The
album’s standout cut, ‘Bite Me’, was
dedicated to “all the Vampires here tonight”…
no wonder, it really should appear in a future episode
of True Blood. But there was plenty more where that came
from; ‘House Of Mercy’ was built upon an irresistible
gospel-flavoured chorus and the jazzier but hypnotic groove
of ‘Rattlesnake’ was spiced up by some wicked
slide guitar and a set of bourbon-soaked vocals to die
for. This gal will go far.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 12th September
I’ve been familiarising myself with Classic
Rock’s Fan Pack of ‘Re-Machined’, the
tribute album to Deep Purple’s classic album ‘Machine
Head’. Besides some Q&A interviews with the
participants (including my own interviews with Matt Sorum
and Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach), the package contains
some great music. Metallica’s version of ‘When
A Blind Man Cries’ is pretty cool, ditto ‘Space
Truckin’’ by Iron Maiden (Bruce Dickinson
admits that ‘WABMC’ had been Maiden’s
first choice, but Lars and company beat them to the punch).
Zakk Wylde and Black label Society offer a nice, slowed
down reworking of ‘Pictures Of Home’ and,
at the other end of the spectrum, Glenn Hughes, Steve
Vai and Chad Smith of the Peppers have outdone themselves
with a frenetic rendition of ‘Highway Star’.
The latter impressed me so much that I emailed GH to enquire
whether it had been recorded whilst he was pissed off
and angry after a Wolves home defeat. He replied: “Haha!
Nope it was pre-season, vox were done three days after
Lordy passed: Vai’s insanity gave me the nod to
head for Saturn…” Check out this
link. Oh, and the least said about The Flaming Lips’
version of ‘Smoke Of The Water’ the better…
those pretentious wankers should be hung, drawn and quartered.
Last night’s international result of England 1 Ukraine
1 was a big disappointment. After the visitors took the
lead against the run of play with am unstoppable wonder
strike from Yevhen Konoplianka, England deserved the point
that they took from the game, but till Lampard’s
well-taken 86th minute penalty I was beginning to lose
hope that they’d get it. One small crumb of consolation:
The team at least stuck to Hodgson’s game plan and
refrained from resorting to hoofing the ball in the air.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 11th September
Feeling a little groggy after staying up till
gone 2am to watch Andy Murray’s epic five-set US
Open men’s final victory over Novak Djokovic. What
a game of tennis!! After racing into a two-set lead Murray’s
legs appeared to turn to porridge and Djokovic came back
strongly. The writing on the wall seemed unmistakable.
How on earth Murray summed up the inner strength to take
control of the deciding set is a complete and utter mystery.
Britain finally has a Grand Slam winner after 76 years.
It’s official: Andy Murray is an honorary Englishman!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 10th September
There are far, far worse ways of starting one’s
week than phone interviews with Rick Parfitt, Francis
Rossi and John Coghlan (Alan Lancaster to follow). Besides
his now ritual mickey-taking of my coiffure (Him: “You
still got long hair?” Me: “Yes… just
about”. Him: “You lucky wanker.”), Mr
Rossi actually complimented me on my seemingly improving
interview technique; “I like the way you phrased
that question… you’re getting more and more
showbiz these days, aren’t you?” Sarcastic
git. Take a peek at the trailer to the forthcoming Hello
Quo! movie here.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 9th September
How did you fill your Saturday morning? Mine
was spent sweating buckets whilst running around my local
park as part of a six week fitness course. The fact that
week #1 took place baked in blistering sunshine probably
didn’t help, but the tuition – how to warm
up and down, tips on posture, etc – was really useful
and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I’m guessing that
I was the second eldest of the attendees, but also the
second fittest! :o))
To celebrate the above, also what looks likely to be the
final weekend of the UK’s summer, I decided to take
a little ‘me time’ with a tour of the record
stores in central London. Didn’t have a great deal
of luck, to be honest. Despite my extensive vinyl and
CD collection there is still lots of stuff that I’d
love to buy; I’m just unwilling to pay the sometimes
scandalous prices that are being asked. My new vinyl additions
included ‘Grown Up Children’, an LP by the
US soft-rockers Orleans that was co-produced by David
Hungate of Toto fame, an album by the Atlanta Rhythm Section
that I’d never even seen before called ‘Quinella’,
a mint condition anthology of The Mamas & Papas (I
always loved the song ‘California Dreamin’’)
and, purely because it was produced by and features guests
keys from Sir Russell of Ballard, a 1975 platter from
a rather less than macho-looking trio called New World.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 8th September
I’m still uncertain of how much encouragement
to derive from the result of the national side’s
first World Cup qualifying fixture: Moldova 0 England
5. Roy’s new-look Three Lions cruised past their
opponents with ease – just as they should; Moldova
are ranked 141st in the world. However, in pure spectacle
terms the match was a lot of fun. Relative novices Tom
Cleverley and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain both performed well
and Frank Lampard’s nod-in for the second goal was
pure class, though Tuesday night’s clash with Ukraine
at Wembley will pose a far sterner test.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 7th September
Last night was spent at BAFTA HQ on Piccadilly,
no less, where a preview of a new DVD about Freddie Mercury
took place, preceded and followed by wine and canapés
in The Gallery (how frightfully posh does that sound??!!).
Believe me, my pals Sara Harding, Mark Taylor, Dave Boyce
and Tim Jones did our best to drag things into the gutter.
Oddly enough, there were lots of comedians present –
step forward Charlie Higson, Matt Berry, David Baddiel,
Bob Mortimer and Noel Fielding. Oh, and Mark Taylor’s
tailor…!! Talking of Monsewer Taylor, I wonder whether
he remembers asking Jacky Smith from the Queen fan club
whether she shagged any of the band??!!
As part of an introductory speech, from the stage Queen
manager Jim Beach revealed how when Mercury was on his
deathbed, Freddie made him promise: “You can do
anything with my life, my image, my music… but just
don’t make me boring”. Directed by Rhys Thomas,
the Queen fan that broke Mastermind’s record points
total whilst answering questions on his favourite band,
The Great Pretender does no such thing. I’ll be
honest: I haven't heard Freddie’s opera album and
almost certainly never will, but as celebration of the
man and his colourful life this film is wonderful. Check
out the trailer here.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 6th September
Currently spinning my favourite Girlschool album,
the vastly underrated ‘Play Dirty’ from 1983.
The band’s Kim McAuliffe once told me about working
with its producers Noddy Holder and Jim Lea from Slade,
who tried (in vain!) to ban them from the pub: “Noddy
was the only person I’ve ever seen to literally
drink himself under the table. And as he sat there underneath,
this hand would come up and start feeling around for his
drink.” Well, we’ve all done it... er, haven’t
we?!
How nice. Not completely sure of the politics involved
in the sharing of this, but I’ve just received a
short but very sweet email from Wishbone Ash’s Andy
Powell – “I enjoyed your piece on the Ash
boys’ reunion [see Diary, Sept 1]. It was amazing
to see photos of them all together after all these years”
– but keeping it to myself seemed a little churlish.
Just received my copy of Classic Rock’s new editorial
fan pack for the Lynyrd Skynyrd album, ‘Last Of
A Dying Breed’. Plenty to read! I am really looking
forward to the extensive Q&As with Gary Rossington,
Johnny Van Zant and, especially, Rickey Medlocke.
Btw, look out for this month’s amendments to the
YouTube and Playlist
pages.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 5th September
Yay! Just secured my ticket(s) for the premiere
of the Hello Quo movie which takes place on October 22.
Monsewer Andy Sneap will be my swigging partner for the
evening concerned… should be fun!
What brilliant timing. Just as I was thinking: ‘I
need a holiday!’ those luvverly FM boys go and announce
a new UK tour. Eight dates in May 2013, including a return
to my fave London venue, Shepherd’s Bush Empire!!
A few road trips coming on, I suspect!
And on a considerably less upbeat note: I just heard the
new Richie Sambora album, ‘Aftermath Of The Lowdown’…
despite my high hopes, what an audio turd!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 4th September
For my fourth gig in as many days I headed to
central London and the Borderline where I’d agreed
to take a peek at a band called the Burning
Crows. Managed by Matt Goom of the Quireboys, the
four-piece they play commercially inclined hard rock with
cocky swagger and a veneer(-eal) of sleaze. Their YouTube
song ‘Slow up, Get Down’, ‘You’re
So Wrong’ and the cowbell-propelled, Poison-esque
‘You Me Tonight’ were the best of a pretty
so-so bunch, if you want my true opinion. I’ll give
‘em another look in six months or so.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 3rd September
The indulgence of the previous 24 hours wasn’t
conducive to leaving Catford for another gig, but No-Man
are hardly just A.N. Other band. Thought I’d managed
to reach Islington Assembly Hall in time for a solo set
from Danny Cavanagh, but the queue to get in was so massive
that I missed the first couple of songs. Anathema’s
last two albums have been little short of monumental.
Alone with just an acoustic guitar and an echo effects
unit, Cavanagh perhaps felt a little naked in such an
environment (“Where is my brother when you need
him?”) but ‘Dreaming Light’ and ‘A
Natural Disaster’ went down really well with the
crowd and despite saying that he wouldn’t include
his cover of Floyd’s ‘High Hopes’, the
response was such that Danny ended the show by doing exactly
that!
I was extremely impressed by the recently refurbished
venue, though those ignorant twats chattering away noisily
in the bar in the corner of the stalls were an annoyance.
Tim Bowness arrived last, the six-piece band (including
a violinist that resembled Father Jack Hackett) trotting
onstage one by one. The band’s music is a majestic
hybrid of prog, ambient and pop sounds, with rare yet
decidedly fruitful forays into metal territory. One of
the night’s best songs was the haunting ‘All
The Blue Changes’, which summed up their gift of
escalating gradually from an aching, sensual, insistent
murmur to a thunderous climax. At times reminiscent of
Bowie or (ulp!) Marc Almond, Bowness’ warm, expressive
huskiness is simply magical. A brand new song called ‘Warm
Up Man Forever’ added a semblance of urgency to
the mix. Mostly, though, No-Man’s songs make you
just want to shut one’s eyes, rock back and forth
and savour their heady, delicious aroma.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 2nd September
Ohhhhhhh, the relief! Yesterday’s 2-1 win
over Sheffield Wednesday lifted Crystal Palace off the
bottom of the Championship. The visitors had been on a
20-match unbeaten run, so the Eagles’ victory was
all the more remarkable. Play like that for the rest of
the season and Palace will be alrite.
Buoyed with the spirit of celebration I zoomed to meet
Andy Beare for a cheeky half and then onto Big Red, where
Four Wheel Drive were throwing a launch party for their
new EP, ‘House On Fire’. The guys warmed up
with a rather good covers set that included a tucker bag
of AC/DC tunes (‘Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To
Be’, ‘Highway To Hell’, ‘Shoot
To Thrill’), Airbourne’s ‘Runnin’
Wild’, Mötley’s ‘Kickstart My Heart’,
‘Sweet Emotion’ by Aerosmurf and a rather
unconvincing stab at GN’R’s ‘You Could
Be Mine’ before returning to the stage in their
own right. A full day’s boozing had really started
to take its toll by this point, but the likes of ‘Ride
It Like You Stole It’, ‘High Roller’,
the Aerosmurf-like ‘Big Fat And Ugly’ and
an encore of ‘Gettin’ Hammered Again’
set the place rocking. ’Twas a first-rate night
out… well worth taking two night buses across town
to get home.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 1st September
The rain stayed away for yesterday’s Garden
Party featuring Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash, which
took place up in Leighton Buzzard. Tantalisingly, I’d
been promised “a few nice surprises” but I
certainly didn’t expect guest appearances from ex-Wishbone
members Ted Turner, Laurie Wisefield and… incredibly…
Steve Upton. The reclusive Upton (pictured here with myself,
his missus and my friend Mark Taylor on the right) is
almost a Lord Lucan-style figure. It was great to wander
round at a barbecue that took place after the show, acquiring
some quotes from those that had performed. You can read
the full story (including the set-list) here.
PHOTO BY NOEL
BUCKLEY
|
