Yes, we are actually in the studio recording a new album as we speak.... how exciting is that?
And our excellent stick twiddler Pinch is writing a blog documenting the action on a daily basis, gawdblessim... most of which is true as well - apart from the bit about the baby frog getting slaughtered by a maurauding owl. The good news here is that our tiny amphibian friend was gently placed in some long grass and (as far as I can tell) lived happily ever after. Aw, what a nice story eh?
Anyway, get over to Pinch's Myspace and have a gander..... leave a comment too won'tcha playmates!
(believe it or not) THIS IS NOT A PAID ADVERTISMENT
Oh, the sumptuous luxury us international celebrities are cosseted in as we travel the globe spreading joy and happiness!
I'll let you into a secret - on our gig contracts is a clause that says the promoter must supply, along with the bevarage requirements - 6 Pot Noodles..... and the 'BOMBAY BAD BOY' variety at that.
If you've never indulged discard the anti pot noodle snobbery and get down the shops to purchase one as ASAP as you are seriously missing out on a tongue sizzling experience. Blimey playmates, these snacks are HOT.... and that's coming from your vindaloo guzzling chums in the Damned.
Don't cheat and omit to apply the hot sauce though as you'd only be defrauding yourself of one of the great snack sensations of our times.
Oh, and if there are those out there who are on some strict diet or other then a good second best is TRUfree's Rice & Lentil Quick Snack - 80g of heaven..... especially if you bung in a bunch of chilli sauce or whatever.
Like a lot of London bands the Damned started our performing careers at the Marquee Club as the Who and the Rolling Stones had done before in the 60s. Everyone played there, I lost count of the sensational shows I witnessed in that gloriously sleazy pit but this important gig is no more - having unfortunately been re-developed along with CBGBs in New York and the Cavern Club in Liverpool.
Once these venues are gone they're gone forever but London's mayor Ken Livingstone is promising to protect the cities music venues from this sort of cultural short sightedness in future, and for this reason (amongst others) I am supporting his campaign for re-election.
In fact, the Damned did some gigs for ken back in the GLC days and having met him I can say he is a pretty decent bloke - a man of the people if you like AND he travels on the tube rubbing shoulders with those he represents.
Which is more than you can say for those ghastly toffs Boris Johnson and David Cameron. PLEASE don't let us have to go back to being ruled over by old Etonian aristo types. That would be a backward step too far.... and the re-instatement of foxhunting would be the tip of the iceburg when it came to new fat-cat friendly legislation.
Along with Billy Bragg and Paul Weller I did some gigs for Red Wedge in the grim days of Thatcher but unfortunately am not in the picture above. Ken's been proven right on a lot of issues over the years, he was ahead of the game as regards Ireland, gay rights, anti racism and a whole lot more GOOD political stuff. I know politicians have a bad name generally but this is a bloke who is GENUINELY trying to do his best to make things better.... and not just in London.
To have that posh clown Johnson running things would be a disaster, so I sincerely hope Ken wins the election.
1. Sebastian Grigg, 41
• Son of Anthony Ulrick David Dundas Grigg, 3rd Baron Altrincham, and Eliane de Cassagne de Beaufort. • Educated at Eton and Oriel College, Oxford, where he studied modern history. Studied for an MBA at the Insead business school in France and joined Lazards investment bank before joining Goldman Sachs. • Married Rachel Kelly, a journalist, in 1993 and they have five children.
2. David Cameron, 40
• Educated at Eton and Brasenose College Oxford, where he gained a first in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. • Worked at the Conservative Research Department and at the Treasury and Home Office before spending seven years as Head of Corporate Communications at Carlton Television. • He was elected as Conservative MP for Witney in Oxfordshire in 2001 and became party leader in 2005. • Married Samantha in 1996 and they live in Notting Hill, West London with their three children.
3. Ralph Perry-Robinson, 40
• Educated at Bryanston in Dorset and Oriel College, Oxford. • He had a role as a teenager in the film Another Country. • At Oxford he was renowned, not just for the strange sunglasses, but also for slashing the cork from a champagne bottle with a sword and running around a quad dressed as a monk. • He is an architect and furniture designer and lives in Wiltshire. • Married Amanda in 1999 and they have two daughters.
4. Ewen Fergusson, 41
• Son of Scottish rugby player and diplomat Sir Ewen Fergusson. • Educated at Rugby and Oriel College, Oxford, where he studied modern history. • Is said to have been responsible for throwing a plant pot through a restaurant window the night after this photograph was taken. • He is a partner in the banking and finance division of the City law firm Herbert Smith. • Lives in Kensington, west London.
5. Matthew Benson, 40
• Grandson of the Earl of Wemyss and March. • Educated at Eton and Oriel College, Oxford, where he studied modern history. • Spent three years in international finance with Morgan Stanley and later established a consultancy business. Now works for Scottish property agents Rettie & Co. • He lives in central Edinburgh with his wife Lulu, and they have three children aged six, eight and 15.
6. Sebastian James, 40
• Son of Lord Northbourne, a Kentish landowner. • Educated at Eton School and Magdalen College, Oxford • He is described by friends as an "entrepreneur" who was involved in running a chain of DVD shops called Silverscreen. • Lives with his wife, Anna in Notting Hill, west London, and Deal, Kent, and they have two daughters.
7. Jonathan Ford, 41
• Bullingdon club president. • Educated at Westminster and Magdalen College, Oxford where he studied modern history. • Worked for investment bank Morgan Grenfell before joining the Evening Standard as a financial reporter and then moving to the Financial Times. • He is a co-founder and deputy editor of the financial website breakingviews.com. • Married journalist Susannah Herbert in 1999 and they live in Holland Park, west London.
8. Boris Johnson, 42
• Educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford where he studied classics and became President of the Union. • Went on to become a journalist and editor of the Spectator. • Was elected Conservative MP for Henley in 2001 and is shadow minister for higher education. • Marriage to Allegra Mostyn-Owen in 1987 lasted less than a year. He later married Marina Wheeler, a barrister, in 1993, and they have four children.
9. Harry Eastwood, 39
• Educated at Eton and Oxford. • Worked for Storehouse before setting up Filmbox which aimed to rent videos through vending machines. In 2001 he joined Will Macdonald, an old Oxford friend, to set up TV production company Monkey Kingdom. He is also director of a film production company with Lord Wahid Alli and Rupert Murdoch's daughter, Elisabeth. • Married Gillian in 1998 and they live in Holland Park, west London.
10. Marc Rowlands, 39
• Educated at Marlborough and Magdalen College Oxford. • Works as a barrister in London specialising in construction and engineering. • Married Amanda, a former solicitor, in 1995 and they have four children aged between nine and five. • Lives in Bath, Somerset and West London. • Was spotted lunching with golfer Colin Montgomerie's wife before her divorce, although the two denied having an affair.
Thanks to the following site for the preceeding photo and blurb
Surely it is time to pull the plug on all that squalid, boring and (according to insiders in the ’sport) corrupt Formula 1 motor racing nonsense.
At a time when the newspapers are full of Max Moseley’s S+M frolics while dressed up as a Nazi officer (unfortunate considering who his father was....) and racing on the track is little more than a procession following the Ferraris around the track why, oh why is the public funded BBC getting ready to hand over £30 million a year of enforced license payers fees to these mega rich petrolhead fat cats?
While the rest of the world are increasingly concerned about the inexorable march to doom that Global Warming is threatening, is it really the time to be supporting and encouraging this daft gas guzzling circus.
Sure, the drivers are extremely talented - and they are certainly well remunerated for their skills but with the distribution of wealth and power amongst the teams so cockeyed it is unlikely that there will be any other result other than a win for the top 2 or 3 teams (and most probably Ferrari).
Of course ’Mad’ Max Moseley only retains his job by virtue of being the puppet of the REAL F1 boss - the odious and megalomaniac Bernie Ecclestone, who we all remember as having ’donated’ a million quid to Blair’s Labour Party, some say to postpone the banning of tobacco advertising on the side of his cars. This vile little bloke is literally dripping in cash but don’t hold your breath waiting for any Bill Gates like foundations to aid ’Third World’ countries from Bernie say his detractors, as that would be a gross misjudgment of character.
The whole unedifying spectacle that this outdated petrol fest has become - what with the underhand backroom dealings added to the moribund nature of the actual ’racing’ has, for an increasing number of former fans been a huge turnoff and I for one will not be wasting any more of MY time watching any more of their unentertaining garbage.
"AND SOMEWHERE BEHIND THE FERRARI ARE THE OTHER CARS....."
I was chatting with our mates the Briefs (one of the best punk bands on the go currently) about stuff... you know - getting on my soapbox as usual giving it plenty.... and they suggested I go legit and write a column for this website they were involved with... put it all on paper and be dome with it!
The websites called FUZZ and sure enough I now find myself doing a weekly rant for them and a lot of fun it is too.
Pop over sometime and give it the once over, and maybe say hi - and of course if you disagree and want to take me to task, by all means leave a reply along those lines as there’s facilities for all that interactive stuff which is great, eh?
For those out there who like a little ’Prog’ occasionally - here’s a remarkable performance of Pink Floyd and Ron Geesin’s epic ’Atom Heart Mother’ suite. For some (including myself) this piece is the last piece of real experimentation the Floyd did and this French performance from 2006 is truly spectacular. I wish I’d been there!
Another day, another demo. Do they take any notice? Well, if we didn’t let them know what we think they would probably have bombed Iran already.
The demo was also expressing solidarity with the oppressed peoples of the West Bank and Gaza who are really under the cosh at the moment. And I had a nice chat with some of the Jewish people helping out on the ’Boycott Israeli Goods’ stand in Trafalgar Square - for we must remember that there are a lot of decent compassionate people from Israel who do NOT support the way the Palestinians are being treated currently.
It was a fair old trek from the Square down Whitehall to Parliament and then across Westminster Bridge for a circuit down to the next Thames crossing and back to Parliament again. I have to admit I did get a little thirsty at one point and took the opportunity when it presented itself to have a sneaky pint.
All in all, it was a great day... and very encouraging to see the nice mix of people from many different backgrounds and religions (some with NO religion including my good self)... all getting along famously while making their points in their own different ways. There were even a few trannies in there for good measure.... but thankfully NOT Susie Lollipop!
cheers me dears - Cap
As per usual at chez Sensible it’s a ’click the pics’ Blog.
They say that the music you get off on as a teenager stays with you for the rest of your life - which is why I count myself lucky to have be born when I did, getting into some wonderful but pretty diverse artists it has to be said. But I thank the heavens I missed all that 80's drum machine pap and I certainly I don't envy the current generation with their ghastly 'bling' musak.
No, when I was growing up walking to school with the likes of the Who and the Kinks blaring out of my transistor radio every morning was a blast... pop music was a succession of 'fab' 3 chord ditties about love and the like.
And then, with the 70s approaching things started to change... music got more complex and bands ditched the clean cut look for something altogether different. It was anything goes all round - which explains the rise of artists like Frank Zappa, Soft Machine, Jimi Hendrix and (my favourite) Egg... a band who comprehensively threw out the rule book and created some spectacular and unusual records which I discovered through (you guessed it) John Peels radio show.
But don't get me wrong - not all 'prog rock' was listenable. Far from it..... there was a lot of turgid nonsense about at the time too. Personally I can't stand Genesis, Yes or ELP, which unfortunately are the very bands people think of first when 'Prog' is spoken about. And what were all those ridiculous 20 minute drum solos about??
But it would be a real shame for younger music lovers to banish a whole genre to oblivion because of the likes of Phil Collins and Rick Wakeman as there are some truly marvellous records hidden away that deserve a reappraisal from a whole new audience. I am talking here about the likes of the Groundhogs, The Pink Fairies and Egg.... the latter of which are the focus of this here blog piece.
I remember the day we purchased Egg's second album entitled 'A Polite Force'.... what fun we had rearranging the furniture round my mates house. His parents had one of those new fangled *stereo record players* you see, and we'd take turns to lay on the floor in the dark between the external speakers and go on a little musical trip courtesy of some pretty mind expanding music. And it has to be said that some of the longer material gets wildly spaced out in places what with all that mangled fuzz organ flitting about from side to side of the stereo mix.
The music on the record ranged from jazzy pop, to full on psychedelia... I remember playing some on a Radio 3 arts programme hosted by Paul Gambucini in which the guests brought along a piece of their favourite music and then the assorted guests would all say what they had thought of it. Anyway, there was some classical piece or other followed by a bit of acoustic folksie stuff and then it was time for my choice - 'A Visit to Newport Hospital' which I gave a glowing introduction to - comparing the instrumental sections of that, and some of Egg's other extended pieces to the greats of the jazz and classical genres.
But apart from all the instrumental dexterity the subject matter of this song actually has a touchingly autobiographical theme and whenever I end up with some of my punk chums... (Arthur from the Lurkers and Mark P. who edited Sniffing Glue in particular) we can occasionally be heard singing this song after a couple of beers as the words are very memorable and evocative of the early 70's which was when we had all started watching bands. In fact I too remember avoiding "skinheads and the law" at the time - those were the days, eh.....
Strange time signatures, virtuosity, charming lyrics, improvisation, fuzzed out psychedelia and an unbeatable blend of rock, pop and jazz - this band has got the lot and the only surprising thing for me is that they are not a whole lot better known as their extended symphonic pieces should be up there with Bach and Beethoven.
Until the release last week of some recently discovered live and archive recordings - 'The Metronomical Society' (Egg Archive CD69-7202) there were but 3 albums available from Egg.
'Egg' (Deram)... a real mixture of diverse material.... Bach, pop, jazz, prog and some laughs too. Great stuff.
'The Polite Force' (Deram)... in my opinion the finest example of 'prog rock' you can lay your hands on. A truly marvelous record - * HIGHLY RECOMMENDED*
'The Civil Surface' (Virgin)... which also features wind quartet pieces and angelic choirs. And why not?
Oh, and immediately prior to Egg they were known as Uriel... joined by tripped out guitarist about town Steve Hillage as can be heard on...........
Uriel - Arzachel Collectors Edition (available from the Egg Archive site below)
Anyway, that's Egg for you... a fave from my teen years which had a big influence on me. You wanna know where 'Curtain Call' came from... check 'em out!
* Stereo Record Players * - Being of a 'certain age' I can remember the very first domestic stereo record players, which were pretty pricey when they had just hit the high streets in about 1966.
Most records at the time were available in both Mono AND Stereo formats but the funny thing is that as the mono records were for a period vastly outselling the stereo versions the labels were almost begrudgingly producing the latter versions.
In fact some of the best known records made in the 60s, music that is still played on the radio today was actually mixed by the TEA BOY (otherwise known as the tape op) after the producer and band had gone home after putting all their time and effort into the Mono mix. Which is why when it comes to Pink Floyds 1st album the purists only want to hear the Mono one as THAT was the one that Syd and the gang had worked on till they got it right. The stereo one that most of us know these days could possibly have been mixed by the cleaning lady.......
Well, occasionally you blunder apon a new piece of equipment that blows you away.... so I'd like to give a quick plug to the BOSS MICRO BR, which is (if anybody's old enough to remember them) the latest version of the 4 track portastudio.
The * Tascam 144 cassette portastudio will forever be in my memories as it changed everything for the budding songwriter - and the MICRO BR is a digital memory card based version of that fine tradition. Only it adds some great quality effects for guitars and the like for good measure.
Boss were a little tight in not including a mains power supply, but you can get a 9v DC wallwart anywhere and until I purchased one of those I found the thing lasted a a couple of hours on rechargeable batteries.
Anyway..... the thing is a breeze to use - just plug in your guitar, dial up a drum pattern and away you go. It's even got a built in mic, which is fun to use... especially when you bung on a bit of Elvis style echo - which sounds great when you give it all that "woh, uh huh" stuff.
Of course if you want to do polished multitrack stuff then use your computer or nip down your local recording studio - but this is simply a brilliant little sketchpad for knocking together ideas quickly and without fuss - I love mine... and I'm not being paid to tell ya this either, playmates!
Click the pics for more info.
And for anyone who possesses one of these gadgets - here's a handy little program for converting the Roland / Boss proprietary files into WAVS or AIFS....
* Talking about the Tascam 144 - although it was cassette based 4 track my chum Martin Newell managed to record a few albums on his and they sounded terrific. And being a bit of a guru for all things portastudio I believe he wrote a pamphlet or summat outlining his techniques and methods for cranking out the maximum quality from the machine at the time.
