Mandrake Handshake - Photos and videos from Fabric London November 26th

 

There have been some fanastic albums released this year and we've been to many superb gigs - Mandrake Handshake, the Oxford based nine-piece Psychedelic collective, have been responsible for two of the best. Firstly, their debut LP "Earth-Sized Worlds" set an almost impossibly hard-to-beat standard from as early as it's release back in February, staking a claim for Album of The Year even before the second month was over. Then, finally we just got to see them play live at Fabric at their biggest headlining London show to date and they were even better than expected. Luckily, the stage at Fabric is pretty big so there was plenty of space for the nine bandmates to strut their stuff - Trinity Oksana has the sultry voice of an angel, next to her is the looming prescence of Elvis Thirlwell, the band's Joel Gion, on general vibes, tambourine and various items of percussion including a good old-fashioned triangle at one point. The other side of Trinity is Rudy Mae Symonds who adds some wonderful backing vocal harmonies and at the far end is the super-cool Row Janjuah on some pretty impressive lead guitar. A superb rhythm section is augmented by keyboards, synths, rhythm guitar, flute and sax and it all makes for a stunning aural and visual assault on the senses. 

 

 

This most exotic and eclectic of bands conjures up some truly mesmerising music and as they drop the word 'motorik' into the lyrics of one of the many highlights "Hypersonic Super-Asterid" - you can see they are clearly influenced by the driving hypnotic drum beats of Can - they have even cleverly labelled themselves as 'flowerkraut' - which sums them up perfectly. I love the Eastern guitar riff intro to "The Change and The Changing" which is a beautifully pastoral piece of Tropicalia and the single "King Cnut" is a laid-back delight. I think if you have any albums that feature Ardneks cover art then you won't go far wrong with Mandrake Handshake - they have certain similarities with Moon Duo and Flamingods but I also see touches of the Anatolian Psych of Lalalar and Gaye Su Akyol and the sitar driven music of Karma Sheen or Rishi Dhir's Elephant Stone and Mien. Of course, named as they are after a Brian Jonestown Massacre song, there is a certain influence there but probably more from the 2012-15 albums "Aufheben", "Revelation" and "Pish" (from where the "Mandrake Handshake" track appears). There's also a bit in common with Anton Newcombe's L'Épée collaboration with The Limiñanas but all in all this wide musical palette is moulded into a unique sound that is all of Mandrake Handshake's own creation. A quite wonderful gig draws to a close and the audience gives them a truly well deserved and rousing send-off. I'm pleased I got the chance to see Mandrake Handshake in a venue of this size as I'm sure it won't be long until they are packing out far bigger places. Please check out their Bandcamp page here to buy their records and for more information, please visit the band's Facebook page here.

 

Photos and videos copyright Retroman Blog 2025

Thunderbirds at 60 - Exhibition and Presentation with Dee Anderson, Mary Turner & David Hicks at Slough Museum

Slough Museum has been running an excellent exhibition to celebrate 60 years of Thunderbirds since early October with various regularly changing displays and happenings along the way. Sunday November 23rd saw the biggest event so far where a capacity crowd was treated to presentations and Q&A sessions with Dee Anderson, the daughter of the show's creators Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, puppeteer Mary Turner and cameraman and director of photography David Hicks. There were fascinating insights from all three speakers into the making of the iconic Sci-Fi series packed with behind the scenes information, anecdotes and technical information. Dee explained fondly what it was like growing up in such a creative family and admitted it did make her popular with her classmates. She also told us how the character of Parker was inspired by a waiter in a local pub who had once been a butler for the Queen and she spoke warmly about the musical maestro Barry Gray, who provided so many of those magical theme tunes. An audience member chipped in with the link between Barry Gray and The Who, which of course was of particular interest to me. Mary explained how she created those wonderful puppets and that Sylvia was especially fond of Lady Penelope when she saw how the design resembled her looks. 

David worked on the anniversary episodes and talked about the technical side incuding the various cameras, lighting and special effects. Of course, in those days there was no digitial film or CGI, everything was strictly analog and do it yourself. Apparently, David is writing a book about his experiences which will be something to keep an eye out for. There were also some former Century 21 employees in attendance and it was nice to see them enjoying the reunion with their colleagues. The museum, which is located on Slough Trading Estate just around the corner from the Anderson's original AP Films/Century 21 Studios, has some fantastic displays of puppets, stage sets, posters, comics, toys and memorabilia that will delight the die-hard fan along with the more curious visitor. The Museum Manager, staff and volunteers were all excellent and deserve a lot of credit for a thoroughly entertaining day.

The Exhibition runs until December 20th and is open Fridays 11am-4pm and Saturdays 10am-2pm but please check with the museum before visiting. For more information on Thunderbirds check out the web-site here and for all your merchandise needs, please visit the Gerry Anderson Store here. Here are some more photos...

All photos copyright Retro Man Blog 2015

WitchDoktors "Izzatso?" - Feature on the New Album with Photos, Videos and Tour Dates

WitchDoktors released their long-awaited brand new album "Izzatso?" on Halloween via Bomber Music, and if you're after vinyl then you can choose from three appropriately spooky coloured discs - either blood splattered, pumpkin or black and gold swirl vinyl. There's a tendency for music journalists to reach for the same old cliches when reviewing new albums, four lazy phrases such as 'best album of their career', 'return to form', 'all killer no filler', 'every track could be a single' spring to mind. Luckily, I'm not a music journalist so let's just deconstruct those cliches for a moment... First of all, yes, I'd say that "Izzatso?" is the best album of WitchDoktors' near-30 year career to date. I say that with a slight caveat though because there's always an initial rush of excitement when you give a new record by one of your favourite bands its first spin. When it's as good as "Izzatso?" there's a kind of relief that the band haven't let you down and then, after more plays, it dawns on you that this could well be an absolute classic in the band's impressive back catalogue. 

 

Next cliche - 'return to form' - if I was in a band I'd be pretty insulted when journos drop this phrase into a review as it's kind of implying the last release was basically crap! This definitely doesn't apply to WitchDoktors, for as great as "Izzatso?" is the band have never been out of form and it would be doing a huge injustice to previous albums such as "Voodoo Eye" or "$3 Hooker". However, "Izzatso?" does contain all the best elements of WitchDoktors crammed into it's eleven superb songs, capturing the very essence of the band perfectly. The album kicks off with a drumbeat and a distant 1,2,3,4 before "Lightning Strike" zooms in on a wicked Bo Diddley beat overlaid by some excellent slide guitar courtesy of special guest Leigh Heggarty from Ruts DC. "Before The War" one of the sides of the debut single from the album has already established itself as a bit of a WitchDoktors classic with it's memorable singalong chorus. 

Of course WitchDoktors are steeped in the influence of The Clash, particularly that period when they threw off the shackles of Punk Rock and embraced American roots music with the "London Calling" album. So, WitchDoktors also cherry pick from the raw Country of Johnny Cash, fuzzed up 60's Garage Rock nuggets, the swampy Blues of Gun Club and The Cramps to the downtown New York sleaze of The Heartbreakers. WitchDoktors dressed in their bowling shirts, shades and trilby hats look cool, like a gang, just like a real band should and live, they are a supercharged blur of energy, they know the score. Frontman Andy Last and guitarist Tony Major certainly know how to work a crowd and engage with them in concert and they've managed to truly capture that dynamic on record with "Izzatso?", the guitar work is stunning throughout and Andy has never sounded in better voice. Among their contemporaries I guess Jim Jones shares similar ideals, in fact next track "High, Dry and Burnt" reminds me of his current outfit, Jim Jones All Stars, with a menacing bassline courtesy of Lee Page and brass section. Also similar to Jim Jones, WitchDoktors do love their Rock 'n' Roll myths and legends too - railway tracks, whiskey, movie stars, murder ballads, voodoo, neck tattoos and tiki bars - it's all there in their albums but "Izzatso?" adds in more thoughtful subjects such as PTSD and environmental and climate issues. Next cliche up, 'all killer, no filler' - well that's definitely true, every song is well worth its inclusion, nothing overstays its welcome. 

 

One of WitchDoktors biggest talents is their understanding of the dynamics of Rock 'n' Roll, on record and in concert. Live, they know how to pace a show, build the tension and when to release it. Same on their records and with "Izzatso?" in particular, the track-listing is perfectly plotted with songs that are buzzing with ideas, genres, riffs and harmonies. To get the full effect you've got to play it from side one, song one all the way through and it all makes perfect sense. Back to The Clash and WitchDoktors have also taken  their love of Reggae and similar to The Ruts really make it work. This is no doubt thanks mainly to Joe Colfar who is certainly one of the best drummers around with an instinctive feel for the genre as you can hear on the brilliant "Spanner In The Works". Then there's "Freedom Fighter" which wouldn't be out of place on Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros "Global A-Go-Go" album it's that good. The final cliche I picked on was 'every song could be a single' - possibly, although I have one reservation in the slightly downbeat closing track "Kicking The Can" which in context of the album works perfectly well but I'm not sure it would fare as a stand-alone single. 

However, WitchDoktors have already got a head start with the release of the stunning 7" vinyl single "Before The War"/"Spanner In The Works" which is a tour-de-force double shot of Punk and Reggae that must rank up there among the very best double A-sided singles of all time. Talking of singles, "One Shot" would make another great one with it's wah-wah guitar and some superb drumming from Joe. "Planet of Pain" is a blistering quintessential WitchDoktors number that rubs leather clad shoulders next to my favourites "I'm Sick" and "No Pain No Gain". It blasts off like Rocket From The Crypt with some cool brass and Andy's rasping voice, not to forget a great bass riff and guitar freakout that will have you leaping about the room like crazy. "Jezebel" is a tuneful Pop Punk number with some nice Buzzcocks "ooh ooh" backing harmonies and the stabbing rhythm guitar of "God Knows" continues with this more melodic lighthearted side of the band. Then they up the tempo with the excellent "Candy Star" which surfs in on a naggingly catchy Pixies style guitar riff, I love this track. 

The album closes with the afore-mentioned "Kicking The Can" which starts off in the backstreets of Paris with its mournful accordion before mariachi trumpets and twanging guitars transform the song into an evocative Spaghetti Western number. It's a slightly unassuming ending to the album but I guess it's good to have a bit of an atmospheric comedown after all the undoubted highs of a quite brilliant record. With "Izzatso?" it's like the band have been slowly building up to creating this masterpiece, an all-time classic album that will proudly sit alongside all the favourites in your collection. I'm just wondering how the hell WitchDoktors are going to better it? Here's a little bonus - The Voodoo Eye (WitchDoktors with special guests) performing "Suffragette City" with Stevie Savage and Nicky Forbes from The Revillos at the Retro Man Blog Birthday Gig and Alzheimer's Society Fundraiser, Half Moon Putney back in September.

 

The band will head off on tour to promote the album so please check out the official WitchDoktors Facebook page here for more details. You can order "Izzatso?" on CD, download or your choice of coloured vinyl at their Bandcamp site here. Check out our YouTube channel Retromanblog65 for loads of original WitchDoktors videos including their special appearance at the Retro Man Blog Birthday Gig & Fundraiser at the Half Moon Putney back in September. Videos and photos by Retro Man Blog and Ruth Rae.