Thee Spivs New Album Launch Party June 29th at The Half Moon Putney - with The Fallen Leaves & The Past Tense

I am extremely pleased to announce that the next Retro Man Blog Night will be at the The Half Moon, Putney on June 29th. This will be the official Launch Party for the brand new album by Thee Spivs entitled "The Crowds and The Sounds", which will be  released on Damaged Goods Records on June 24th. Copies of the new album will be available for sale on the night and the bill will be completed by special guests The Past Tense and The Fallen Leaves. Tickets are just £8.00 on the door or in advance from The Half Moon, click here to buy. Be sure to book early to guarantee entrance as this is shaping up to be a great night..!

You can hear exclusive tracks from Thee Spivs superb new album "The Crowd and The Sounds" on the latest Retrosonic Podcast, "The Damaged Goods Records Story". This is split into two Episodes, "Part 1", and "Part 2", which are both now available to listen to or download for free, from the Retrosonic Soundcloud site. Ian Ballard, the boss of Damaged Goods Records, talks us through some of the pivotal releases throughout the label's history including tracks from Billy Childish, Manic Street Preachers, Buzzcocks, Graham Day & The Gaolers, Holly Golightly, Giuda, Fabienne Delsol, Cowbell and of course Thee Spivs!

With many thanks to Ian, Thee Spivs and to Adam Donovan from The Jetsonics for the gig poster.

Dr. Feelgood Exhibition extended to June 30th at the Canvey Club, Canvey Island

The Dr. Feelgood Exhibition, a superb collection that brings together 40 years of musical mementos and memorabilia from throughout the band's career, has now been extended to June 30th. It's being held at the Canvey Club, 162 High Street, Canvey Island, Essex SS8 7SS, right in the heart of Feelgood's territory. Photographer Paul Hughes, went along and has kindly contributed some of his excellent photographs of the exhibition which I am very pleased to share.

 

With many thanks to Paul Hughes for contributing the pictures. For more of Paul's superb photography please check out his FLICKR page. You can also check our previous Blog feature on our own little Dr. Feelgood's Canvey Island and Southend-on-Sea tour here. This features some famous landmarks such as The Kursaal, THE Jetty, The Admiral Jellicoe, the Monico and the iconic Labworth Cafe. As a bonus there are some classic Dr. Feelgood pics from the 1975 Naughty Rhythms Tour by the legendary photographer, and friend of the Blog, Paul Slattery. All photos copyright Paul Hughes.

For more details on the Exhibition please visit the web-site Dr. Feelgood Exhibition.

 

The Damaged Goods Records Story Part 2: A Retrosonic Podcast Special

In this second special episode of our Retrosonic Podcast, Steve from Retro Man Blog talks to Ian Ballard, boss of the legendary Punk and Garage Rock record label Damaged Goods. Ian talks us through some more of the label's pivotal releases including songs from French chanteuse and ex-Bristols vocalist, Fabienne Delsol, and he explains his pride on finally getting to work with one of his all-time favourite bands, the Buzzcocks. Damaged Goods Records strong Medway connections are highlighted with a trio of the Delta's most successful artists in Billy Childish & The Singing Loins, singer-songwriter Pete Molinari, and ex-Prisoners legend Graham Day & The Gaolers. There's also a track from the debut album from The Wolfmen, featuring ex-Adam & The Ants guitarist Marco Pirroni. We then play some of the latest Damaged Goods releases, including the promising Cowbell  and some stomping Italian Glam Rock from Giuda. We are pleased to have some exclusive new songs too including one from Thee Spivs excellent forthcoming album "The Crowd and The Sounds" and The pUKES ukulele take on a Punk Rock classic! For more info on Damaged Goods releases and merchandise please visit the Damaged Goods web-site.

Part 1 of The Damaged Goods Records Story is available to listen to or download for free on the Retrosonic site. In this Episode we are joined by Rock Photographer Paul Slattery who talks about his involvement with Damaged Goods acts including the Manic Street Preachers and Billy Childish and The Headcoats. There are also great tracks from Thee Headcoatees, Helen Love, Holly Golightly, Slaughter & The Dogs and an exclusive from Thee Spivs forthcoming album "The Crowd & The Sounds".



Retro Man Blog along with Damaged Goods will be hosting the official Launch Party for the brand new album from Thee Spivs entitled "The Crowd and The Sounds". This will take place at The Half Moon Putney on Saturday June 29th, with very special guests The Fallen Leaves and The Past Tense. This looks set to be a great night, so book your tickets here to guarantee entry!

For updates and further info on the Launch Party, Facebook users can register at the Facebook Event page here. Otherwise please keep a check on the Blog for all the latest news.

The Transients live at The Rising Sun, Slough May 18th

Kieren of The Transients - Photo by Steve Worrall

I saw The Transients play a great set of unusual covers, and a couple of promising originals thrown in for good measure, at the Rising Sun in Slough. The band are singer Kieren, guitarist DC, drummer Freezer and bassist Mark Leech, who used to play in the excellent 80's Psych band The Onlookers. The Transients choice of cover versions could have been the playlist to one of our Retrosonic Podcasts as they included Radio Birdman, The Kinks, Pere Ubu and more top tunes.

Mark, DC, Freezer & Kieren - The Transients by Steve Worrall

The Transients kick off with a cover of "Cast a Spell" by the Putney based 60's Psych band The Open Mind, it's a great track and it's catchy chorus "...it's all in the mind..." snares some casual drinkers into paying a bit more attention. They follow this with Subway Sect's classic "Ambition" and then Wimple Winch's Freakbeat gem "Save My Soul", with Mark nailing the superb bass intro and guitarist DC capturing the stinging guitar riff perfectly. The song builds to a crescendo with drummer Freezer flailing away and vocalist Kieren letting loose. "i-94", a rare one from Australia's Stooges, Radio Birdman, is a nice surprise choice and then they mellow the mood with The Kinks "See My Friends".

The Transients by Steve Worrall

There's nothing mellow about their great rip through Television's "See No Evil" though,  it motors along. Kieren straps on what looks like a vintage Vox guitar and joins DC in having an admirable stab at Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd's intricate guitar work. "Specs of Dust" is an original track and that and "Tube Ride Away" hint that The Transients could certainly move away from the covers in the future. The best of the originals however, is "The Hatfield Twins", which is about two early Punk King's Road faces who were apparently responsible for the "never mind the bollocks" catchphrase. It's an excellent Garage Rock track. I hope the band can get into a recording studio soon and get some of these songs released. Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers "She Cracked" is followed by a rather obscure choice of Small Faces track, "Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire", and the set finishes with a raucous "Non Alignment Pact" and a great mash-up of The Vibrators "Whips and Furs" and The Only Ones "Another Girl Another Planet". It was a great fun night out and I recommend going along to catch The Transients live if you get chance.

You can keep up to date with all The Transients latest news on their official Facebook page. Here's a video of their original track "The Hatfield Twins"

Thanks to Freddie - top man!

Good Vibrations: Terri Hooley and a Tale of Teenage Kicks, Undertones, Outcasts, Music & Mayhem..!

Richard Dormer is sensational as Terri Hooley in Good Vibrations

"Good Vibrations" is the heartwarming and uplifting true story of Belfast music legend Terri Hooley, the man responsible for discovering The Undertones and recording "Teenage Kicks". Terri is a radical, rebel and music lover in 1970's Belfast, when the bloody conflict known as The Troubles shuts down his city. As all his friends take sides and take up arms, Terri opens a record shop on the most bombed half-mile in Europe and calls it Good Vibrations. Through it he discovers a compelling voice of resistance in the city's nascent underground Punk scene. Galvanising the young musicians into action, he becomes the unlikely leader of a motley bunch of kids and punks who join him in his mission to create a new community, an Alternative Ulster, to bring his city back to life.

Feargal Sharkey by Paul Slattery

Richard Dormer puts in a stunning performance as Terri Hooley, expertly portraying the wide-eyed, sorry make that, wide-one-eyed, almost childlike enthusiasm and passion for music in all it's forms, bursting with energy, ideas and scams. As Terri recounts in his excellent biography "Hooleygan", people think he was just into Punk but he was probably Northern Ireland's biggest Reggae fan and was first awakened to the joys of music by Hank Williams "I Saw The Light" at a very young age. It was that power of music to unite and uplift people that moved him to call his record store "Good Vibrations" right slam in the middle of a place where good vibes were a very rare commodity. A radical and politically driven hippy in the Sixties, he was constantly demonstrating and campaigning against whatever injustice he saw in the world at large, "Hey Terri, what are you rebelling against?", "whaddya got?". Although wary of aligning himself to any particular party or movement for long, mainly due to his somewhat maverick approach, he managed to take this neutrality and outsider persona into the dark days of the Troubles. In fact it's the unifying spirit he found in the Northern Irish Punk scene that inspired him as much as the music - Protestants and Catholics braved the curfews to go to gigs together and this created a camaraderie, united against the religious bigotry, paramilitary violence  and the brutality of the R.U.C. All this played out on Belfast's war-torn, dangerous streets, something that the Punks in London, safe in the boutiques of Chelsea's Kings Road, could not even comprehend.

Protex outside the Harp Bar in Belfast - Photo by Paul Slattery

Intrigued by punters coming into his shop asking for records with strange and violent names, he is persuaded to go and see the band RUDI. Terri enters the venue and finds himself amongst the crowd of Punks and he slowly lets himself go, lost in the euphoria he ends up joining in the pogoing. I'm not sure a film such as "Good Vibrations" would ever get anywhere near the Oscars, but Dormer certainly deserves one for this scene alone. Terri is so inspired by this Rock & Roll epiphany that at the end of RUDI's set he rushes over and offers to sign them up on the spot despite not having a label at all. It's this naive enthusiasm and total disregard for money, contracts and business acumen that makes Terri such a likeable and inspirational character. He then, rather reluctantly at first, signs up The Undertones from Derry, but as soon as he hears "Teenage Kicks" he releases it on Good Vibrations Records, convinced it will be a massive hit. The scenes where Terri desperately shops the single around London are magnificent, faced with the utter cynicism and disregard of record company moguls (in his book, he admits even Rough Trade turned him down), he is distraught. Only John Peel is impressed, and historically played the song twice in a row on his influential late night radio show much to the delight of Terri and his friends back in Belfast. 

The Undertones - Photo by Paul Slattery

It all goes a bit wrong for Terri from there, he famously signed away the rights for "Teenage Kicks" to Sire Records for the price of a new van and his failure to get RUDI's single released in time for a high profile TV appearance sees the band lose patience with his haphazard business planning. He has to close the doors of Good Vibrations due to mounting debts and then loses money on one of the biggest Punk gigs in Belfast due to the longest Guest List ever known. But the irrepressible Terri, with a gleam in his one good eye, will not be beaten and you are left with a feeling that another scam is just around the corner. The movie shines a light on some excellent and totally underrated bands such as RUDI and Terri's loyal helpers and friends The Outcasts, who he refused to manage as they had a particularly violent fan and a dangerous reputation. Of course The Undertones might get the attention, as they were the only Good Vibrations band to break through, but check out the brilliant Power Pop band Protex, or Ruefrex or The Moondogs...there's so much great, uplifting music to have emerged from such a troubled period, thanks mainly due to Terri Hooley.

Protex with Good Vibrations' iconic Elvis - Photo by Paul Slattery

Terri is still involved in music, he now has a new Good Vibrations store at 89-93 North Street, Belfast and he helped to set up the Oh Yeah Music Centre, a charity dedicated to helping local musicians, so he remains a truly inspirational figure for all those passionate about making things happen. His story can be followed in the fantastic book "Hooleygan", in which, written together with Richard Sullivan, Terri weaves his autobiographical musings alongside stories and tributes from other characters such as RUDI guitarist Brian Young, Greg Cowan from The Outcasts, journalist and broadcaster Stuart Bailie and Gary Lightbody. Good Vibrations was nominated for three Irish Film and Television Awards, and is the second film from "Cherrybomb" directing duo Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn and is scored by David Holmes with a screenplay by Colin Carberry and Glenn Patterson. The movie was released via The Works.

With sincere thanks to both Lucy Fleet at The Works Film Group for the film stills, and to photographer Paul Slattery for the superb, and truly evocative, black and white photos.

Check out Punkerama Records another Belfast based label that specialises in great vinyl picture disc releases from bands such as The Defects and Charlie Harper of the U.K. Subs' Harbour Rats project.

Krister Henriksson as Doktor Glas at Wyndham's Theatre

It was such a treat to get the rare opportunity to see Krister Henriksson, one of my favourite actors, appear on the London stage recently, performing in the one-man play Doktor Glas at Wyndham's Theatre on Charing Cross Road. Henriksson is the star of the Swedish crime TV drama "Wallander" and more recently the movie "Kiss Me" with Ruth Vega Fernandez, the wonderful actress from "Upp Till Kamp". When I mentioned to people I had seen the play, the general response was "oh, I bet that was depressing then..." and I suppose the subject matter of Doktor Glas - rape, revenge, jealousy, religious and moral corruption - doesn't do much to dispel the dark and brooding image that now immediately springs to mind following the success of Nordic-Noir crime dramas such as "Wallander", "The Bridge" and "The Killing". However, Doktor Glas is no contemporary crime story but is adapted from a 1905 novel by Hjalmar Söderberg, which at the time of publication caused outrage. 

Henriksson puts in a quite remarkable performance as the Doctor which is not a million miles from his portrayal of Kurt Wallander, the slightly shabby and unhappy loner in his scuffed shoes and ill fitting suit, struggling to find companionship in middle age. An unassuming man who has a "pleasant way of keeping quiet", beaten down by the unfairness of life in general, where everyone else always seems to be having a good time except him. We learn that Doktor Glas is infatuated by one of his patients, the beautiful Helga, who unfortunately happens to be married to the loathsome and arrogant Pastor Gregorius, who's rasping cough and frog-like demeanour Glas mocks incessantly - behind the Pastor's back of course. It's these merciless impersonations that provides much of the comic relief in the play and certainly highlights Henriksson's consummate skill as an actor as he flits between the characters  with ease. The Doctor's hatred of Gregorius and his own self-loathing increase as he struggles with that age old challenge to the male ego..."what is a beautiful girl doing with such a repulsive man when she could have me?". Then one day Helga appears at the surgery and, probably well aware of the Doctor's infatuation, uses her charms to suggest a rather unorthodox plan. Fed up with her disgusting husband's demands for his "marital rights", she asks Glas to fabricate an illness of the womb to put off the unwanted advances.

Photo by Steve Worrall

Thinking that this might be a way to ingratiate himself into Helga's affections, Glas agrees and summons the Pastor into his surgery to explain the situation. Gregorius is furious but reluctantly promises to keep to the Doctor's advice. The promise isn't kept for long, a couple of days later Helga visits the Doctor to explain that the plan to keep her husband at bay had not worked as he had raped her. She also confides that another reason she no longer wants to have sexual relations with her husband is that she is in fact secretly having an affair. Doctor Glas realises that he knows her boyfriend, the handsome Klas Recke, and is driven into fits of jealousy. Klas Recke, the man who's looks he admired and wished he resembled - Klas Recke, Henriksson wrings every syllable out of the last name, seething with jealously, it sounds like the English word "wrecker" which is apt, considering Klas is the man who, in the Doctor's mind, stands in his way, wrecking his dreams of a romance with Helga. Then his thoughts turn to the Pastor Gregorius and the rape, the disgust and hatred toward this so-called religious man swells and he summons him to the surgery again. He takes great pleasure in telling Gregorius about an exaggerated heart condition, making the Priest squirm and suffer before announcing his diagnosis and instructing that a long trip to a Spa is in order.

Photo by Steve Worrall

That night Glas has a vivid dream where he exacts terrible, and surgical, revenge on the Priest, and Henriksson perfectly captures that fleeting moment when you wake up and think that the dream had really happened. Glas then goes from plotting and fantasising about murdering the Priest to struggling with his guilt, and he is tormented by thoughts of love, death and morality. Would you kill to take revenge on behalf of someone you love, or is it just a murder borne out of jealousy? What about the Hippocratic Oath? Should he take his own worthless life? Henriksson is a remarkable actor, I thought that anyone trying to perform alone would be full of grand, over exaggerated gestures to hold the attention of the audience, but not so, the subtlety in his performance was so impressive. The play ends with the Doctor finally administering a lethal pill, under the guise of medicine, to Pastor Gregorius and the curtains draw to a close to the strains of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" - a deliciously ironic, if somewhat incongruous choice of song. The audience reaction was warm and polite rather than rapturous, I  rose to my feet to join in what I was sure would be a standing ovation. There wasn't one. I turned slightly and realised I was in fact the only one standing! Considering I was right at the front row centre of the balcony, I felt a slight twinge of embarrassment at first, but then again, why should I? I'm not a theatre-goer so I'm not sure of the protocol. Maybe it was because it was a matinee performance, maybe it's not the "done" thing, but all I know is that Krister Henriksson certainly deserved nothing less than a thunderous reception, a standing ovation and repeated curtain calls to acclaim a quite stunning performance.

Krister Henriksson takes the applause - Photo by Steve Worrall

So, you may be thinking "...what's a theatre review doing on the Blog?" Well, here's the thing, there is a link, an albeit somewhat tenuous link admittedly, to Krister Henriksson and my favourite Swedish band, The Soundtrack of Our Lives. So as a bit of fun, here we go...six degrees of separation...

1. Krister Henriksson starred in a 2009 TV movie of Doktor Glas directed by Mikael Marcimain.

2. Mikael also directed Krister in two Episodes of Wallander Series 2, "The Ghost" and "The Heritage".

3. Ruth Vega Fernandez featured in "The Heritage" and also starred in the movie "Kiss Me" along with Krister.

4. Sverrir Gudnason featured throughout Wallander Series 2 as new police recruit Pontus and both he, and Ruth, went on to star in the Marcimain directed TV Series "Upp Till Kamp".

5. "Upp Till Kamp" also featured Ludwig Dahlberg, Kim Fransson and Mattias Bärjed from the band Free Fall, who had a song played in an episode of Wallander. Mattias also wrote the soundtrack music to "Upp Till Kamp" and Marcimain's latest movie "Call Girl".

6. Mattias was the guitarist with The Soundtrack of Our Lives.

So, there you go...how to link your favourite actor to your favourite band in six steps! 



The beautiful Wyndham's Theatre - Photo by Steve Worrall

Krister Henriksson on stage at Wyndham's - Photo by Steve Worrall

Krister Henriksson has an official Facebook page brilliantly organised by Karen Gillett, so please join the group here for all the updates, including news on the brand new series of Wallander.

Crash 74: Glam Garage Beat from founder members of Sparks & Revillos: Live at the 12 Bar Club London May 31st

One of the founder members of Sparks, Harley Feinstein and ex-Revillos drummer Nicky "Rocky Rhythm" Forbes, have got a Glam Garage Beat band together called Crash 74, for what appears to be couple of London shows including an appearance at London's premier sleazy Rock'n'Roll venue, the 12 Bar Club, on Friday May 31st. I'm not sure exactly how permanent this line-up, or indeed the band itself will be, so don't miss the opportunity to go along and see some real Rock pedigree in action!

We hope to be meeting up with Nicky soon for a Retrosonic Podcast special edition where he will be discussing his superb, no holds barred music memoir, "The Rhythm Method" (Sex, Drums and Rock'n'Roll), which is available from Amazon or from the Revillos site. We will also touch on some of the Bands and Artists that Nicky has been involved with, such as Dave Vanian's Phantom Chords, The Revillos, The Pork Dukes, Joe Strummer, Glen Matlock and Tenpole Tudor.