Friday 28 May 2021

Retrosonic Podcast with Saskia Holling on "Girlsville: The Story of The Delmonas & Thee Headcoatees, The Queens of The Medway Delta"


For episode 17 of our Lockdown Lowdown series we welcome Saskia Holling to discuss her new book "Girlsville: The Story of The Delmonas & Thee Headcoatees" which is out now on Spinout Publications. Saskia talks about the process of writing the book itself along with the history and legacy of both groups and each of the band members. We also find out more about Saskia, her own music with Sally Skull, Lord Rochester and Big Russ Wilkins & Lightnin' Hollings and her fanzine "Heavy Flow" along with encounters with Kim Fowley and the impact of seeing Poison Ivy of The Cramps. We then discuss the prejudices and barriers faced by women in music and the positive effect of the Riot Grrrl movement. The episode is sound-tracked by Saskia's personal selection of her favourite Delmonas and Headcoatees songs, a pick of her own music and some of her influences and most memorable musical moments. Here's a description of the book from Spinout Publications. "Following the arrival of Post-Punk in the UK, an explosion of musical wonders flourished in the South East of England. Two such wonders, The Delmonas and Thee Headcoatees added to the burgeoning flow of music from the Medway Delta; a current started by The Pop Rivets, The Milkshakes and The Prisoners. Fronted by women from the Medway area and beyond, The Delmonas and Thee Headcoatees are regularly labelled as ‘Billy Childish projects’, yet the women involved added their own stamp to the musical beat. Hear ye for The Queens of The Medway Delta! Here, we find out more about these women – Hilary, Louise, Sarah, Debbie, Kyra and Holly and just how their paths intertwined to create memorable records (without musical industry intervention) and just what has happened to them all since…Collated and related by Saskia Holling, herself a music maker (The Nettelles, Lord Rochester, Sally Skull, Big Russ Wilkins & Lightnin’ Holling) and fanzine writer, who is seeking to help keep women in musical history. Published under the Spinout Publications imprint, with front cover painting by Sarah Crouch (Miss Ludella Black), and packed with photos and contributions from key figures within the Medway Delta, and related, and beyond!"
 

Tracklisting (click on the highlighted links for more info)

Oscar Brown Jr - "Mr. Kicks"

B Bumble & The Stingers - "Nut Rocker"

The Cramps - "Human Fly"

Babes In Toyland - "Handsome & Gretel"

The A-Bones - "Take Up The Slack Daddy-O

Sally Skull - "You Better Go"

Thee Headcoatees - "Wild Man"

The Delmonas - "Wo' Now"

The Go-Go's - "We Got The Beat"

The Raincoats - "Fairytale In The Supermarket"

The Delmonas - "Black Ludella"

The Delmonas - "Farmer John"

Thee Headcoatees - "The First Plane Home"

Thee Headcoatees - "Teenage Kicks"

The A-Lines - "Nothing Personal"

Miss Ludella Black - "You Don't Know Right From Wrong"

Ye Nuns - "Higgle-Dy-Piggle-Dy"

Holly Golightly & The Broke-Offs - "Burn Your Fun"

The Nettelles - "I Don't Want To Talk To You"

Lord Rochester - "Don't Understand"

Sally Skull with Big Russ & Lightnin' Holling - "Sentimental Tuesday"

Skinned Teen - "Dancing Alice"  

Links & Credits


"Girlsville" can be bought directly from Spinout Publications at their on-line store here. The book is dedicated to the memory of Claire Scrivener of Sally Skull and The Nettelles and any kind donations would be greatly appreciated to either Maggie's Edinburgh or Girls Rock School Edinburgh. For Ms Sheringham-Boom's review of "Girlsville" please check out the feature here. Saskia has set up a new "Girlsville" Facebook page to share information on the book along with archive material of The Delmonas and Thee Headcoatees, you can check the page out here. Loads of lovely Delmonas, Headcoatees and Billy Childish records can be ordered from Damaged Goods Records and you can check out our Retrosonic Podcast with label boss Ian here. Our Podcast with Billy Childish can be found at our Soundcloud site here. With thanks to Saskia & Ms Sheringham-Boom. Retrosonic theme tune by Adam Donovan. You can subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast for free at Soundcloud, Spotify or Apple Podcasts/iTunes.

Thursday 13 May 2021

Retrosonic Podcast Lockdown Lowdown Episode 16 with Gaye (Advert) Black

For the latest episode of our Lockdown Lowdown Podcast series we welcome former bassist with The Adverts, Gaye Black into the virtual Retrosonic studio to discuss her life in Music and Art. In this thoroughly entertaining episode, Gaye takes us on a musical journey from growing up in a small town in north Devon and discovering music for the first time to buying her first record. We then discover what lured her into Rock 'n' Roll and what inspired her to play the bass. There are tales of her experiences of moving to London, being right at the heart of the early Punk Rock explosion and of course her time with The Adverts. This leads onto the bands and the characters she met and toured with along the way such as Iggy Pop, Lemmy and The Damned. We also cover her DJ'ing and the inspirations on her own Art as well as curating Art Exhibitions and working on the artwork for record covers by U.K. Subs bassist Alvin Gibbs. The episode is sound-tracked by Gaye's personal selection of her favourite songs from The Adverts and some of Gaye's most inspirational musical moments including Black Sabbath, Rolling Stones, The Stranglers, The Damned, The Beatles, Mayhem, Motorhead, The Phobics, Mayhem, Turbonegro, Cyanide Pills, The Men Who Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, Iggy Pop, The Stooges, A Place To Bury Strangers, U.K. Subs and the Fireball XL5 Theme...! So, crank up the volume, sit back and enjoy!

Track-listing (click on the highlighted band name for further information)

The Beatles "She Loves You"

Don Spencer "Theme From Fireball XL5"

The Rolling Stones "19th Nervous Breakdown"

Black Sabbath "Paranoid"

The Adverts "Gary Gilmore's Eyes"

The Stranglers "Walk On By"

The Adverts "One Chord Wonders"

The Adverts "Bored Teenagers"


Motorhead "Motorhead"

The Damned "Neat Neat Neat"

Iggy Pop "Lust For Life"

Iggy Pop "Tonight"

The Adverts "Love Songs"

The Adverts "Great British Mistake"

Mayhem "Freezing Moon"

Turbonegro "Are You Ready (For Some Darkness)"

The Phobics "When You're Dead"

Ramones "Teenage Lobotomy"

The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing "Victoria's Secret"

Iggy & The Stooges "Search & Destroy"

Cyanide Pills "Suicide Bomber"

A Place To Bury Strangers "I Know I'll See You"

U.K. Subs "Warhead"

With many thanks to Gaye. For further information on Gaye's Artwork please check out her official Gaye Black Art web-site here. Retrosonic theme tune by Adam Donovan. Podcover photos and artwork by Minna Waring (top left), Retro Man Blog & Gaye Black. You can subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast for free at Soundcloud, Spotify or Apple Podcasts/iTunes

Correction from Gaye: "I meant the Marquee, not the 100 Club when I was talking about The Stranglers!" (22mins:23secs)