SATURDAY'S SCOTTISH SINGLE (Part 33)

As written back in 2006 when this single appeared:-

Clean George IV make a kind of racket they like to call 'pop-rock'. 


Originally from Edinburgh they have been together for around a year (in various guises/lineups), have already supported Babyshambles and Clor and count Bloc Party’s singer, Kele Okereke, and drummer, Matt Tong, among their fans, as well as a veritable legion of other indie players... 


They comprise of mainman/flagship George McFall and various musicians stolen from other bands. They are equal parts Eno, Devo, Erasure and Country (Big).

It was one of the other bloggers who alerted me to this.  Could very well have been Ed over at 17 Seconds.  Saw it in a shop soon after and bought it.

Hugely misogynist title.  Don't take it literally........

mp3 : Clean George IV - First Blast Of The Trumpet Against The Monstrous Regiment Of Woman
mp3 : Clean George IV - The Great Highland Crack Epidemic

Fabulous stuff.

Oh and thanks to said Ed from 17 Seconds for pointing out the files hadn't been loaded.  Blame the heat.....

Next up......The Close Lobsters

THE SMITHS ON BRITISH TELLY (PART 14)

No words are needed.  From TOTP on Thursday 30 August 1984:-




mp3 : Kevin Cavanaugh - William, It Was Really Nothing

I know. It's an appalling cover. But any I've heard have been equally as bad.

Next up a much delayed TOTP appearance.

THE FALL : 4584989 A SIDES (Part 3)

The third of the singles from the 84-89 era as appears on the compilation LP wasn't a 45 as such.

BEG120 was a EP entitled Call For Escape Route.  It featured five tracks, three of which were on a 12" single while the other two were on a 7" single that came with it.  I know....it would just have been as easy to have all five tracks on the one bit of vinyl. But The Fall never do things the easy way.

This was one of the tracks on the 7":-

mp3 : The Fall - No Bulbs 3

See...it is The Fall you can dance to.

The personnel were:-

Bass – Steve Hanley
Drums – Karl Burns
Drums, Keyboards – Paul Hanley
Guitar – Craig Scanlon
Guitar, Vocals – Brix Smith
Vocals, Piano – Mark E. Smith

 John Leckie was in the producer's chair.

I WANT TO KNOW....CAN YOU FEEL THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD?

This is still a fantastic sounding piece of indie-funk some 17 years after it was first released:-

mp3 : Black Grape - In The Name Of The Father
mp3 : Black Grape - Land of 1000 Karma Sutra Babes
mp3 : Black Grape - In The Name Of The Father (Choppers Mix)

By all rights, Black Grape should not have been a success after the way that Happy Mondays had broken up.  But the talent and genius of Shawn William Ryder should never be underestimated. Having said that, the remix version of the single is a bit dull.


A #8 hit in the UK.  But the Americans never took to it. I guess radio stations were scared of the backlash from the religious fanatics if they put it on the playlists.

SURPRISINGLY GOOD AMERICAN ALT ROCK

A #30 hit in the UK singles charts in 1992, the same year that Sugar took the UK by storm, with the album Copper Blue winning out at the end of year poll in the NME.

Having toiled away for years with Husker Du in which record sales didn't come close to matching the critical acclaim that came from all directions, Bob Mould thoroughly deserved the fame and fortune that came his way with his next band.   Having said that, it didn't seem to make the notoriously miserable and cantankerous frontman any the happier and less than two years later the band had broken up.

I can't claim to be any sort of expert on the life and work of Bob Mould, but I know a man who is.  Take a trip over to Mike at Manic Pop Thrills (just click here) and type in 'Bob Mould' to a wee search engine at the top of his blog.  You'll find loads of informative stuff.

Me?  Well I do highly recommend this CD single:-

mp3 : Sugar - If I Can't Change Your Mind
mp3 : Sugar - The Slim (BBC Session)
mp3 : Sugar - If I Can't Change Your Mind (BBC Session)
mp3 : Sugar - Where Diamonds Are Haloes (BBC Session)

Happy Listening.

I KNOW I MISSED SOMETHING REALLY SPECIAL

I had the time of my life a couple of weeks back when a group of friends from Canada came over to Scotland and fulfilled their dreams of playing golf on some of the finest courses there are in Scotland.

I was with them every step of the way from their arrival in Glasgow on 2 May.  I stayed with them at their rented house in Edinburgh, acted as their tour guide to all the golf courses, distilleries pubs and restaurants throughout their packed itinerary.  It was great to be with them and the memories will live long.

The only downside was that their stay meant there was no point in me trying to get a ticket for the Dexy's Midnight Runners gig in Glasgow on Sunday 6 May as I was a long way away from the city that day and night. I knew I was going to miss something special.

Amazingly, the night I got back to Glasgow I bumped into my sidekick Aldo on the train back home.  He told me the gig was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen, but beyond words to try and describe.

The next day I spoke to my boss at work.  He too said it was something that was beyond words...even his teenage kids had come away blown away by the brilliance of the show.

And then to top it all....a very dear friend whose musical taste is as wide and eclectic as anyone I know....and someone who under the name of cullen skink has written some excellent pieces for TVV over the years got in touch to say that while he too thought the show was beyond words he was going to try...so much so that the gig inspired him after all these year to start up his own blog.  And without shame or embarrassment, I'm lifting his review straight from said blog:-

Yesterday I wrote on Facebook...


 "A band makes three albums. Their stock-in-trade is emotion without restraint, expression without compromise. Soul-baring belligerence.


You're a teenager and they're your favourite band.


You listen to their three albums more than any others, throughout your teens and beyond.


They make a fourth album. And you find yourself in your forties.


HOW DO YOU FEEL?"


 ...a roundabout way of saying that I was going to see Dexys. And that listening to Dexys has been an intrinsic part of my life.


But I'm not that teenager any more. Different things appeal to me. So who was to say the emotional extremes of Dexys would still ring true?


I needn't have questioned it.


The show was billed as a performance of the new album One Day I'm Going to Soar. I've listened to clips online - and it sounds promising. But live and in its entirety... it was incredible. If any other band made an album after 27 years away, it'd be irrelevant, probably regrettable. But this set of songs is VITAL. It's pure Dexys - passionate soul music full of ideas, incredible singing, conversation, Kevin Rowland beating himself up.


Cottiers Theatre was an unbelievably intimate venue to witness this in. I was probably about 20ft away from Kevin, and there wasn't even a stage to raise him above us.


It was more like theatre than any regular gig. As ever the band were tailored to perfection. And the songs were performed as dialogues, monologues, explosions of emotion. Every detail arranged with insane precision.


Love and sex figured large, approached with utter candidness. Kevin sang two songs to a projection of his ideal girl, then suddenly she appeared in person! Whereupon the songs became a conversation between the two of them. And just when their weird dynamic got uncomfortable - an older man slavering over a beautiful young girl - Kevin turned it on its head and declared himself "incapable of love". He shrank from her in front of our eyes - cast himself out, enraging her. It was mind-blowing to witness in a concert.


We might think of Dexys as Kevin's search for something to believe in, but this is a more tangible story: a man getting old without a loving relationship, and - of course - it's laid out with brutal honesty.


But it wasn't just Kevin with a backing band, this was truly Dexys: a living, breathing collective, matching the singer's passion. Rather than re-inventing the Dexys sound, the 2012 version seamlessly combines all the previous incarnations. New blood and old blood flow together. Band members Mick Talbot and Dave Ruffy are heroes too. Pete Williams is a big part of Dexys' history. But most of all, Big Jimmy Paterson on trombone: Dexys fans know his story, and to hear him back in the band, playing beautifully once again, was profoundly emotional.


After the new album, there followed a set of old songs I wouldn't have dared imagine: Old (now with its point-of-view reversed), Until I Believe in My Soul, Tell Me When My Light Turns Green, Come On Eileen, This is What She's Like, and an extended routine in which Kevin tried to make a statement to a policeman (yes, Pete got costumed up) about the burning feeling he'd had since 1971. It was hilarious, bizarre, and utterly heartfelt.


Kevin is beyond unique. Even when he's assimilated heroes like Van Morrison, it's impossible for him to be derivative - he just puts himself out there in ways no one else would. And after so many wilderness years, the triumph of his return was a joy shared by everyone in the room.


The whole thing was positively REDEMPTIVE. It's (with no apologies for the use of the word) WONDERFUL that Kevin Rowland has formed a band, and written and recorded an album, which more than live up to the name.


Dexys can still be my favourite band.

What a brilliant and heartfelt review.  I know that my mate doesn't mind me lifting his words lock, stock and barrel.

Sadly, my mate's wee boy has been quite poorly this past few weeks and his blog hasn't quite taken off as he'd intended.  But when it does, I'll be drawing your attention to it.  In the meantime, here's one of the new Dexy's tracks:-

mp3 : Dexy's Midnight Runners - Nowhere Is Home

And here's two clips from their appearance last week on Later with Jools Holland:-





Happy Listening and viewing.

THIS ONE'S FOR A REGULAR READER....

The picture above is the fantastic view of the home ground of Dumbarton FC.

As wiki explains, Dumbarton Football Club is Scotland's 4th oldest football club – founded in 1872, just after Queen's Park (1867), Kilmarnock (1869) and Stranraer (1870). They come from the town of Dumbarton in West Dunbartonshire and play their home games at the Dumbarton Football Stadium,sponsored by DL Cameron, next to Dumbarton Castle. The club were one of the greatest clubs of the nineteenth century, winning the Scottish Football League in the first two seasons of the competition.

Since then the club have spent the majority of their history outside the top flight, and last played at the top level in 1985, thus being the only existing Scottish league champions to not have competed in the current Scottish Premier League.

The clubs' badge features an elephant with a castle on its back, this represents Dumbarton Rock with Dumbarton Castle upon it, Dumbarton Rock, a volcanic plug is said to resemble an elephant & the teams nickname 'The Sons' is derived from the phrase 'Sons of The Rock' a term used for those born in the town of Dumbarton.

The 2,025 all seated stadium has been used since December 2000. The main (and currently only) stand is overshadowed by Dumbarton Rock & sits aside the banks of the River Leven, which makes it one of the most picturesque stadiums in the UK. Prior to that the team played at Boghead Park from 1879 until the end of the 1999–2000 season, 131 years is currently the longest a senior British club has stayed at the same grounds.

Son of The Rock is the name taken by one of the most loyal and regular readers of TVV.  He's not only from the town but he's a huge fan of his local team....and this afternoon, on a weekend when so many important football matches were played across the UK and Europe, his team triumphed in a play-off match to earn the right to compete next season in Scottish League Division 1....where they will play against, among others, Raith Rovers FC.  I'm delighted for him and all the other Dumbarton fans.  It will be a great way to celebrate the team's 140th Birthday....and I look forward to meeting up and having a few beers on each of the four occasions our respective teams will play one another.

And here's a great wee song that commemorates a match/incidents played at the team's former ground:-

mp3 : The Supernaturals - High Tension At Boghead

It was a song on this 1997 single which reached #38 back in 1997:-

mp3 : The Supernaturals - Prepare To Land

Enjoy the celebrations SotR.

SATURDAY'S SCOTTISH SINGLE (Part 32)

As featured loads of times before on TVV. And it's always been with an apology.

mp3 : Clare Grogan - Love Bomb
mp3 : Clare Grogan - I Love The Way You Beg
mp3 : Clare Grogan - Love Bomb (extended)
mp3 : Clare Grogan - Love Bomb (dub)

Still can't believe that Davey Henderson was involved with it.  Top of the Flops 1987.

Next in this series.........Clean George IV

THE SMITHS ON BRITISH TELLY (PART 13)

The first TV appearance came  a full 2 months before the single was released. It was on the same Earsay show on 31 March 1984 as had featured Sandie Shaw:-



Simon Goddard has pointed out that Rough Trade's TV campaign to promote the single was relentless...something they had to do as The Smiths refused to make promo videos...as famously proclaimed by the lead singer in a live TV interview for The Tube in January 1984:-



So you had that very strange Charlie's Bus clip that was featured last week....and now the singer could be seen being very uncomfortable on Eight Days A Week and Pop Quiz on BBC telly on 25 and 26 May:-







But the mainstream telly stuff did the trick in terms of giving the new single exposure. Morrissey made his third BBC appearance in five days the following Thursday:-



On 14 June 1984, just as I was about to turn 21 years of age....they went Top 10 for the first time and went back to the TOTP studio:-




mp3 : The Beautiful South - Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now

Next up.  One of THE greatest Top Of The Pops appearances of all time.

REALLY CREEP LYRICS WHEN YOU READ THEM

I'm so happy
'cause today I found my friends
They're in my head
I'm so ugly that's okay
'Cause so are you
Broke our mirrors
Sunday morning is everyday
For all I care
And I'm not scared
Light my candles, in a daze
'Cause I've found God


Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah


I'm so lonely, that's ok
I shaved my head
And I'm not sad
And just maybe
I'm to blame for all I've heard
I'm not sure
I'm so excited
I can't wait to meet you there
And I don't care
I'm so horny, that's okay
My will is good


Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah


I like it I'm not gonna crack
I miss you I'm not gonna crack
I love you I'm not gonna crack
I killed you I'm not gonna crack
I like it I'm not gonna crack
I miss you I'm not gonna crack
I love you I'm not gonna crack
I killed you I'm not gonna crack


I'm so happy
'cause today I found my friends
They're in my head
I'm so ugly,
but that's okay 'Cause so are you
Broke our mirrors
Sunday morning is everyday
For all I care
And I'm not scared
Light my candles in a daze
'Cause I've found god


Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah


I like it I'm not gonna crack
I miss you I'm not gonna crack
I love you I'm not gonna crack
I killed you I'm not gonna crack
I like it I'm not gonna crack
I miss you I'm not gonna crack
I love you I'm not gonna crack
I killed you I'm not gonna crack

If Smells Like Teen Spirit hadn't grabbed all the attention then I reckon this is a 45 that would have been getting talked about all the time nearly 21 years on.

mp3 : Nirvana - Lithium
mp3 : Nirvana - Been A Son (live)
mp3 : Nirvana - Curmudgeon

It reached #11 in the UK singles chart but only #64 in the US singles charts.  Probably cos the video didn't get as much airplay as those for earlier singles...for if ever a rock band was broken by MTV it was Nirvana.

1st CLASS SINGLES FROM SCOTLAND

I know that most of the stuff I rave on about tends to be from years and indeed decades ago. But how about recalling some cracking singles by Scottish singers or bands from more recent times.  In no particular order of preference

mp3 : Paul Haig - Trip Out The Rider (Radio Mix)

The original version can be found on the 2009 LP Relive but a series of mixes, including one by Fred Deakin of Lemon Jelly were put out as a limited edition 7" single or download in November 2010.   Long-awaited new material from Paul Haig is expected sometime soom.

mp3 : Meursault - A Few Kind Words

Back in 2009, Meursault released 2 x 7" singles.  One was William Henry Miller Pt1/The Dirt & The Roots and the other was William Henry Miller Pt2/A Few Kind Words.  The track featured is an excellent example of what has been described as folktronica.....i.e. beardy music you can dance to in clubs. Again, much anticipated new material should be with us in 2012.

mp3 : The Vaselines - Sex With An X

From 2010.  The first 45 from Eugene and Frances in 19 years.  The wait was well worth it.

Happy Listening

THE BEST GALLAGHER BROTHER VOCAL BETWEEN 1996 & 2005

I'll happily defend the quality of the material on the first two Oasis LPs and some of the stuff that they came out with from about 2005 onwards.  But the run of albums from 1997 - 2002 were a crock of shite in which they believed their own hype.

And yet, in the middle of it all, Noel Gallagher again collaborated with The Chemical Brothers to provide us with a really impressive dance track that was a deserved Top 10 hit.

mp3 : The Chemical Brothers - Let Forever Be

Cracking video courtesy of the vivid imagination of Michel Gondry



The CD single also has two repetitive bits of music, both of which sample tracks from the LP Surrender:-

mp3 : The Chemical Brothers - The Diamond Sky
mp3 : The Chemical Brothers - Studio K

The former samples the title track of the LP while the latter samples The Sunshine Underground.

Happy Listening.

SORRY FOLKS.  NAE SONGS AVAILABLE......DREADED DMCA NOTICE.

THE SINGULAR ADVENTURES OF EDWYN COLLINS (Part 8)

The big hit had finally come Edwyn's way.  He looked as if he would be financially secure for life on the royalties from A Girl Like You.

Keen to build on his success, Edwyn penned another cracking single that was tailor-made for radio.  One that celebrated Northern Soul.  One that was every bit a dance classic as so many from that genre.....and ultimately it went on to enjoy as much chart success as the very best of Northern Soul....in other words it flopped.

Released in February 1996, in terms of Edwyn's solo career a #45 hit would have been more than respectable, but I'm sure he was hoping for something better to maintain the momentum of the previous late summer and autumn when he was never off the radio.

mp3 : Edwyn Collins - Keep On Burning

It was made available on two CD singles.

The first featured Edwyn's faithful version of a wonderful Vic Godard song that he had recently produced, one new caustic composition (that seems to predict years in advance the growth of alt-folk!!) and a great live version of A Girl Like You as performed live a year earlier on telly with Bernard Butler....well before it became the smash hit.

mp3 : Edwyn Collins - Won't Turn Back
mp3 : Edwyn Collins - You've Grown A Beard
mp3 : Edwyn Collins &; Bernard Butler - A Girl Like You (live on 'The White Room')

CD2 gave us a new and strange instrumental track as well as two radical remixes of some old favourites:-

mp3 : Edwyn Collins - If You Could Love Me (In Time And Space)
mp3 : Edwyn Collins - Lava Lamp
mp3 : Edwyn Collins - The Campaign For Real Rock (Battle of Brazil Mix)

It would be the best part of 18 months before any more new material appeared......

SATURDAY'S SCOTTISH SINGLE (Part 31)

From wiki:-

The Cinematics were an alternative rock band from Scotland, consisting of Scott Rinning (vocals and guitar), Larry Reid (lead guitar), Adam Goemans (bass) and Ross Bonney (drums). The original line-up, with Ramsay Miller on lead guitar, formed in Glasgow, however, the members originally met at school in Dingwall. 


The band were signed to TVT Records in 2005 after playing at an In the City showcase gig in Manchester. Their debut album A Strange Education was produced by Simon Barnicott (Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, Editors, Kaiser Chiefs) and Stephen Hague (New Order, Blur, Pet Shop Boys), and released on March 6, 2007. 


In early 2008, it was reported that TVT Records was suffering financial difficulties and was forced to file for Chapter 11/Bankruptcy. The label and its assets were purchased by New York-based digital-distribution company, The Orchard. Much of the TVT roster was dropped, but The Cinematics’ recording contract was retained. Around the same time, the band parted company with Ramsay Miller, who was replaced by Larry Reid, who had previously played with the band live on tour.


In their Myspace blogs, the band reported at various stages that they were writing and self-producing their second studio album, despite suggestions that it would be produced by Richard Gottehrer (Blondie, Dr Feelgood, Richard Hell). The Cinematics' second album, Love and Terror, was released on 6 October 2009. 


The band released a five-track EP, entitled Silent Scream EP, on May 22, 2010. The EP was recorded partially live while on tour during late 2009 and early 2010. As with Love and Terror, the EP was produced by guitarist, Larry Reid. In 2010, Reservoir Media Management acquired 100% of the Cinematics publishing assets which had formerly been administered by TVT Music Enterprises, LLC. 


The Cinematics began recording their third studio album in Berlin in 2010. 


In July 2011, however, Reid announced in an interview with The Pop Cop blog that the band had split up before completing it. (click here for said interview)

The track 'Rise and Fall' from their debut album appears in the 2011 Hollywood box office hit 'What's Your Number', starring Anna Farris, Chris Evans and British actor Martin Freeman. 

I actually have just the one piece of plastic by The Cinematics in the cupboard and I'm guessing it's quite rare. Its a one side 7" records:-

mp3 : The Cinematics - Be In The World (demo)

I bought it the one time I saw the band. I know this cos the ticket stub is still inside the sleeve of the 7".

It was in Glasgow on Friday 5 August 2005 when they opened for an up and coming band who could have sold out the venue three or four times over by that time in their career. The lead act was Editors. And as I'm sure Jacques the Kipper will testify, it was as fine a night as we've ever had at King Tut's...

I'm only sorry I never really picked up on The Cinematics for they were an excellent support that night.

Here's a link to a track they've made available on their website...one that would have been on the aborted third LP.

Next up.......Clare Grogan (so regular readers will know exactly what's coming!!!)

THE SMITHS ON BRITISH TELLY (PART 12)

The effort to turn the debut single into a bona fide chart hit via  a guest vocalist was a stroke of genius.  There were three different TV appearances.

First up was on Channel 4's Earsay programme in late March 1984 - Earsay was one of the programmes that took the place of The Tube in the Spring and Summer months. There was an interview followed by a performance:-





Sandie has gone on record as saying in this clip she looks like a demented housewife.

Just under a month later, the single went Top 40 and this gave Sandie Shaw here first Top Of The Pops appearance in 14 years. The three band members performed barefooted in homage to the singer was famed in the 60s for shoe-less appearances on the show):-



The third and final appearance wasn't to perform the single, but the previously shown clip of Jeane. And as was pointed out, the full excruciating clip is available to cringe at:-



mp3 : Vanilla Swingers - Hand In Glove

Next up....Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now