The Prisoners at King's Hall Herne Bay, Saturday 28th February 2026

Band reunions can be hit and miss affairs – some acts resist the temptation all together in the hope of not tarnishing a legendary reputation such as The Clash, The Smiths and Talking Heads, for example. Some bands you think have reunited have never actually gone away, they just evolve over the years – dealing with various bust-ups, court cases, serious illnesses, and of course untimely deaths along the way by replacing key members. Kind of like a football team, you still support them despite them selling your star striker, sacking a favourite manager and dropping down to the lower leagues, occasionally to rise again like a phoenix. The Stranglers were totally reinvigorated when they reverted to the traditional four-piece and moved Baz Warne up front and are now selling out huge venues like the Royal Albert Hall again. The Undertones with Paul McLoone now fully grown into his role as frontman, are probably playing more gigs now than they have in years. Then at the other end of the spectrum are some bands who are more like Trigger’s broom and really should know better, somehow continuing without any original members in the line-up at all. Some misjudge it completely and get in totally inappropriate replacements so that you wonder who is actually advising them. There are some bands who tread the cabaret circuit, happy to get together for the occasional festival, play the hits and collect a big pay cheque. 

 

Then there’s the rare case where some reunions really work, such as Pixies – which hit to a completely new generation of kids and some like Wire, who still produce superb new and vital music. So, what happens when it’s one of your really ‘special’ favourite bands, and it’s no secret that The Prisoners are one of mine. Thankfully, like The Soundtrack of Our Lives, another act who mean so much to me that the announcement of a reunion a few years ago stirred up mixed emotions. On one hand it’s ‘please god, let it be good, don’t tarnish the many happy memories, don’t let yourselves down’ and on the other, there’s the excitement that you’d get to see them play again. Thankfully in both cases, neither band let me down in the end. Of course, The Prisoners did get back together for some shows and a so-so single “Shine On Me” in 1997, but that didn’t last long, it was over pretty soon. Once it was clear The Prisoners reunion wasn’t a long term prospect, Graham and Allan followed up on the Prime Movers with the superb Solarflares, a three-piece that  eventually reverted to the classic Prisoners style line-up by adding Parsley on the organ. Then Graham recruited The Woggles’ rhythm section for Graham Day & The Gaolers and released two brilliant albums with material that matched the quality of The Prisoners. After a hiatus, the news was out that Graham had got the three-piece Solarflares line-up back under the guise of Graham Day & The Forefathers - “we’re basically a tribute band to ourselves” he told me in our Retrosonic Podcast special. There was no talk of new material – just a set of stripped back versions of classics from the back catalogue – The Prisoners, Solarflares, Gaolers and Prime Movers. They went down a storm and released a raw, live in the studio album of choice cuts called “Good Things”. 

 

Fed up with the pressures of fronting a band, Graham then started The Senior Service where he could indulge in his love of Barry Gray’s wonderful themes to Gerry Anderson TV shows such as Thunderbirds and Fireball XL5 and John Barry and Ennio Morricone’s evocative Spaghetti Western and Spy movie theme tunes. Of course, this aspect was nothing new, The Prisoners and Solarflares in particular would often include at least one or two instrumentals on their albums and in their live shows. Graham seems to have a love/hate relationship with both singing and fronting a band and with the Hammond organ. He sometimes needs a break from both. He once told me his dream was to just play guitar in one of those groovy bands you saw in a 1960’s hippie exploitation movie, where assorted spaced out kids dance away under psychedelic liquid lights. Either that or just playing guitar in The Woggles, his favourite band, would have been cool. The opportunity for this wish did occur, although in rather sad circumstances, when The Woggles guitarist Jeff Walls passed away in 2019 and they needed a replacement. So, Graham ended up touring the States, Europe, the UK (you can see a feature on The Woggles brilliant 100 Club gig here) and even Japan, where Graham, that icon of cool, was enjoying himself so much that he even performed in fancy dress costumes such as lederhosen or karate monkey suits! But the pull of The Prisoners was strong, and circumstances conspired to facilitate the latest and long-awaited reunion. The Prisoners had that something special, that all important chemistry and a hugely dedicated fanbase, as shown in the brilliant book “A Taste of Ink! The Prisoners Sentenced By Their Fans”. Plus, they had James Taylor on the Hammond organ. James had gone onto forge a respected career in Jazz, Soul and Funk with The James Taylor Quartet and it didn’t seem likely that he would be interested in revisiting The Prisoners given his success. Wrong! The news filtered through that the original line-up was getting back together, initially incognito at a friend’s party at the Billabong Club in Rochester in 2021. 

 

Then came the announcement of a show at the Royal Function Rooms in Rochester (check out our feature here), in early December 2022 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their debut album “A Taste of Pink”. Due to the demand, it ended up as a four-night stand from November 30th – 3rd December 2022 and it was also live streamed on-line. It was emotional, it couldn’t end there could it? Thankfully no, there were shows in Herne Bay in December 2023 and the fantastic news of a brand new album, “Morning Star” followed by a gig in May 2024 at the legendary Roundhouse in London’s Chalk Farm (read all about it here), actually the band’s biggest show to date. But “Morning Star” was superb, the sound of a band having fun, embracing their influences, although sometimes sailing a bit close to the wind in the shades of The Who, Ramones, Small Faces and Hendrix, which coloured the songs, but who cared. The quality of the songs was what mattered and there were some that easily stood up to the classics, in particular “Winter In June” and “Something Better”. Everyone was on top form, with James Taylor in particular shining out with some superb Hammond. Then came the feeling that was it, all over again. In some ways it would have been a fitting way to draw a line under it all, to go out on a high, but it seemed a fire had been lit. This year came the announcement of a new single “Autumn Skies” and live shows at King’s Hall in Herne Bay, an impressive Edwardian Pavillion on the sea front where they would celebrate three albums over three nights. On the Friday night it would be 1983’s “The Wisermiserdemelza” (and my entry point to the band back in the day), Saturday would be the classic “The Last Fourfathers” from 1985 and then Sunday it would be 1986’s “In From The Cold”, where they would be joined by the James Taylor Quartet’s sometime Brass section. 

The venue was great, and in some ways better than the Roundhouse, where the sound can sometimes get a bit lost in that cavernous building. It was packed out on the Saturday night, sadly the only night I could attend and there were so many eager, happy and familiar faces in attendance, many of whom I’d got to know through my Retro Man Blog  gigs with Graham Day & The Forefathers and The Solarflares. Kicking off proceedings were Lord Rochester, featuring Russ Wilkins, formerly of The Milkshakes, Saskia Holling on bass and vocals and Lois Tozer from The Embrooks on drums and maracas. Their Bo Diddley influenced rhythms went down really well and they were the perfect opening act. My personal favourite was the Crampsian rumble of “Transcontinental” and the insanely catchy “Chicken Salt” and Russ closed the set by announcing “This is for the Mods… and the Punks” and they launched into a cracking version of “What’cha Gonna Do About It”. Next up the always reliable Masonics, aided and abetted by Ludella Black, entertained the crowd and played my favourite track “Silently By Night”, so I was happy. DJ Wendy May was spinning some mighty fine tunes, putting everyone in an even better mood and you could feel the atmosphere start to build.

 

 

Then The Prisoners took to the stage, looking great and starting strongly with “I Am The Fisherman”, the crowd went mental, you can’t get much better than this. They play a good chunk of “The Last Fourfathers” including “The Drowning” and “Take You For a Ride”, ending the section with a powerful version of “Night of The Nazgul”, one of their best instrumentals. Then we get “This Road is Too Long” and “Save Me” from the current album and in between there’s the new single “Autumn Skies” before a nice surprise from their debut album, “Til The Morning Light”. They then flit between the “Last Fourfathers” and “Morning Star” albums including a great version of “Whenever I’m Gone” and I see that Eddie Piller, who released the single on his Countdown label back in 1986, is in the crowd. The James Taylor written and sung  “Go To Him” is a highlight as it channels the way the Ramones took those Phil Spector, Shangri-La’s melodies and married them with fast Rock ‘n’ Roll, plus it has a classic “Blitzkrieg Bop” style call and response section of “just go, just go, just go with him!” Considering Johnny Symons isn’t regularly playing like his bandmates, his drumming is superb throughout and Allan’s impressive bass riffs and backing vocals complement Graham perfectly, who is in mighty fine voice. When he’s not singing, Graham stalks the front of the stage, guitar pointing out to the adoring crowd. There’s a really nice chemistry fizzing between all four of them, from Allan with his deadpan between song banter to James’s cheerleading and encouraging the crowd to sing along, they look like they are having as much fun as we are. They always did carry a reputation for being ‘surly’ and ‘difficult’, but it’s certainly not been evident at any of the reunion shows. After all, all four members spent a long time afterwards signing the new single  and chatting to fans at the impressive merch table stocked by our favourite record label Spinout Nuggets and Sound Is Colour clothing.

Someone posted a nice photo in The Prisoners forum from one of the Herne Bay nights of Allan and Graham smiling at each other, one wag commented “must be A.I.” and Allan himself replied “Fake News!” The set draws to a close with the Prisoners very own Garage Rock classic “Melanie” and then “Reaching My Head” the song which started it all for me and quite obviously The Charlatans too as they nicked the bassline and made a career out of it. A stunningly emotional “Thinking Of You (Broken Pieces)” nearly has me welling up, something in my eye! Then “I Drink The Ocean” segues into a fantastic version of Deep Purple’s “Hush” and sadly, that’s it, all over. An absolutely momentous night, we got twenty three superb songs from a band that despite starting over forty years ago, strangely seem to be at the top of their game. Maybe it’s the impressive back catalogue, the lessons that have been learned, of getting older and wanting to do things right. Maybe it’s the huge wave of respect and affection that the crowd shows towards the band, that special bond, I don’t know what it is but all I do know is that I don’t want it to end, again. I’m hopeful that there will be more to come from The Prisoners in the future so let’s hope it becomes more permanent so that we can finally stop labelling it all as just another reunion.

 

You can read all about how I first got into the band and my experiences of putting on shows for the Forefathers, Solarflares and Senior Service, in my feature on The Prisoners Roundhouse gig here. Our thoroughly entertaining Forefathers Retrosonic Podcast with Graham, Allan and Wolf Howard is still available in our archive here. You can listen to them discussing and playing a pick of their favourite songs from all aspects of their musical careers. 

Retrosonic Podcast · Graham Day & The Forefathers

 

Unfortunately, the brilliant book “A Taste of Ink!” is now sold out, but if you are interested, then please contact them here and register your interest as I’m sure they will consider a re-print if there is a big enough demand. However, don’t despair if you did miss out on “A Taste of Ink!” as a new book has just been announced. “Graham Day - 45 Years of Music”, originally a limited edition book in Italian by Antonio Bacciocchi and Luca Frazzi, has now been translated, expanded and revised by Thomas Buch and Les O’Hare and will be available to order on 20th March. Please check out their Facebook page here for details on how to get hold of this promising looking book.

 

For more videos from the gig, please head on over to our Retro Man Blog YouTube channel and subscribe for free here. All Photos and Videos copyright Retro Man Blog 2026.

The Return of The Prisoners - New Book "A Taste of Ink", New Album "Morning Star" and Reunion Gig at The Roundhouse in London...

It's certainly a good time to be a fan of The Prisoners - this week sees their biggest gig since the band's reunion - a huge show at London's legendary Roundhouse on Friday May 24th featuring the original line-up of Graham Day, James Taylor, Allan Crockford and Johnny Symons with support from Inspiral Carpets and DJ Steve Lamacq. Talking of huge... there's been a loud thud on the doormats of many households around the world in the past few days (orders have been received from Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UK and USA) as the Postman has been delivering the fantastic new book "A Taste of Ink: The Prisoners Sentenced By Their Fans" lovingly compiled and edited by Elinor Crockford, Jeremy Stride, Michael Langer and Thomas Buch. I've just received my huge hardback labour of love and all 385 pages are bursting with every scrap of information you could wish for on the history of the Medway Garage Rock legends. It's mainly a chronological collection of various fan's experiences with the band over the years right up to the recent reunion shows but along the way, there are also hundreds of flyers, adverts, posters, press cuttings, fanzine features, fan's own original photos, illustrations and official promo pics crammed into each page.

There's also a comprehensive gig list and a timeline with a family tree showing the many branches to have sprouted from The Prisoners - the various side projects and new bands that the members of the band embarked on after the initial split. I have an extensive music book library and I can honestly say that I haven't seen many better books on a band than "A Taste of Ink", what with it's wealth of archive material and first hand experiences - it's a fan's dream, and that's basically because it's been compiled by and contributed to by the fans themselves. A fantastic effort and well done to all involved, they must be very proud of the work of art they have produced. I know, I'm very honoured to have some of my photos included and it's great to see them alongside so many familiar names and faces from fellow Prisoners fans that I have got to meet and know since my first Graham Day & The Forefathers Retro Man Blog Night some ten years ago now. 

The Prisoners reunion in Rochester December 2022

 

 

 

My old Ramones Gig Ticket - The Prisoners as support

My first recollection of seeing The Prisoners was on the classic TV music show The Tube in 1984 and I was hooked ever since - however due to geographical difficulties, I only saw them play live a couple of times back in the day at the much-missed Hammersmith Clarendon and supporting Ramones at the Hammersmith Palais. Fast forward some 30 years and I must admit to having a lump in my throat when I walked backstage at the Half Moon Putney before one of my shows for Graham Day & The Forefathers, and saw the Star Trek outfits hanging up in the dressing room. It made a special event even more special than I could have imagined and I'll never forget it.

Photos above Graham Day & The Forefathers at Retro Man Blog Night

I would go on to put on gigs for The Solarflares, Senior Service and The Galileo 7 and then was in the crowd to finally witness a superb Prisoners reunion show in Rochester in 2022 (which you can read about here), something I never thought would happen. But not only is there the upcoming Prisoners gig at The Roundhouse to look forward to, there's also the superb new album "Morning Star" which is out now on Own Up Records and is a remarkably strong set of brand new material that distills all of those trademark Prisoners elements you love. The stomping Motown beats, immense Hammond organ, fuzzed up guitars, melodic bass lines and instantly memorable, bittersweet harmonies. There's also one of the very best Gerry Anderson TV show instrumental themes that never was in "The Green Meteor" and nods to all the band's influences along the way, some more unsuspecting than you might think such as The Who on "Going Back" and Ramones and Phil Spector on "Go To Him" (I hope they play this on Friday...), it's a surefire classic that will live up to all your expectations.

 You can order "A Taste of Ink" via the book's own official Facebook page here.

The Prisoners at The Royal Function Rooms Rochester Friday December 2nd 2022

Back in one of our earliest episodes of Retrosonic Podcast – myself, Rock photographer Paul Slattery and Adam from The Jetsonics all happened to choose a Graham Day related track for the playlist – in the end we decided on The Solarflares “Windsor Oval” and bemoaned the fact that Graham’s most recent outfit, The Gaolers had sadly called it a day after two blistering albums. There were rumours that Graham had packed in music all together and sold off all his guitars and we all mentioned how good it would be for him to play again. Well, not long afterwards we got our wish as Graham Day and The Forefathers emerged. This new band consisted of Graham, his former Prisoners colleague and bassist, Allan Crockford along with Wolf Howard on the drums and all three were bandmates in Graham’s other post-Prisoners bands, The Solarflares and The Prime Movers. Graham told me in a later Podcast that The Forefathers were “basically a tribute band to myself” – the band were to play the best tracks from The Solarflares, Prime Movers, The Gaolers and of course, The Prisoners too. I knew I just had to get involved and through my dealings with the Medway based band The Len Price 3, who we were championing at the time, managed to secure a show for The Forefathers at The Half Moon in Putney for one of our Retro Man Blog nights. So, despite warnings from more than one person that the band may be “difficult” to deal with I wasn’t to be deterred and the gig sold out pretty much immediately. In fact, I was to go on to promote more shows for The Forefathers along with The Solarflares reunion at the Water Rats in Kings Cross and The Senior Service album launch as well as various gigs with Allan’s own Galileo 7, so obviously I never got to experience their so-called difficult reputation. I must admit though, I was in awe to meet Graham, Allan and Wolf for the first time and it was a bit difficult to separate the fan from the promoter in me initially. Luckily, this is all just a hobby for me, I’m not a professional, so the fan easily won out and I made sure I was down the front among the “middle-aged mosh-pit” as Graham christened us from the stage – leaping about and singing along to all those classic songs. The Half Moon gigs seemed to go down a storm and thankfully the band enjoyed them too, so we did a few more shows together over the years. I’d told the band that the first time I ever became aware of The Prisoners was seeing them on CH4’s The Tube when they played “Reaching My Head” dressed in Star Trek outfits and then before one Forefathers show at The Half Moon, I went backstage to see Star Trek costumes hanging in the dressing room. I was almost moved to tears! It was great hearing The Forefathers play those Prisoners songs again even if they were stripped back and raw minus the Hammond organ. 

However, nothing quite beats the real thing and that’s what we got treated to courtesy of Lee Grimshaw and his team at the fabulous Spinout Nuggets, a Prisoners reunion to celebrate 40 years since the release of their classic debut album “A Taste of Pink” with the original line-up of Graham and Allan, James Taylor and Johnny Symons. The four of them had got together to play at a couple of benefit shows over the summer and I guess that’s where the idea for a full-scale reunion sprang from. So, some 37 years since I last saw The Prisoners, I was to get the dream opportunity to see them again at The Royal Function Rooms in Rochester, the jewel in their Medway home. The rush for tickets was phenomenal, the initial Friday night sold out in an instant and was soon followed by the announcement of further shows on the Saturday, then the Wednesday and Thursday were added too. Due to the demand, the Saturday was to be filmed for an on-line livestream which enabled even more eager fans around the world the chance to see their heroes in action. I must admit to being a bit concerned on how the shows would pan out and doubts were raised – would the band get along, Johnny doesn’t seem to have played drums regularly since The Prisoners, is James Taylor “too famous” nowadays? But as they took the stage to the strains of the theme from “The Sweeney” and Allan announced “track one, side one” and they powered into “Better In Black” and that crunching guitar riff hit everyone between the eyes, you could sense a huge tide of emotion spread through the crowd around me.

 

It was a real mixture of relief, disbelief and all those memories of being back at the Hammersmith Clarendon, the Star Trek outfits on The Tube flooded back. The band look great, sound great, turning back the clock – sounding as fresh, youthful and powerful as you could ever have wished for. For the first set, they play the whole of the debut album from the Garage Go-Go stompers like “Creepy Crawlies” and “Maybe I Was Wrong” to the emotional heartfelt numbers like “There Can’t  Be A Place” and my particular favourite “Til The Morning Light” which brings a lump to the throat – it’s a classic track that surely paved the way for The Charlatans and Inspiral Carpets to plunder and take to far more commercial success than the Prisoners ever achieved. It’s a travesty, but there you go – sadly, true originators often get overlooked. I mean, I can’t remember any other band on the scene at the time using a Hammond organ – The Fuzztones used a Farfisa to conjure up that authentic Nuggets sound but generally, keyboards and in particular the cumbersome Hammond, were a rarity. Of course, James Taylor has now become an internationally acclaimed Hammond maestro with his Quartet and it’s a truly wonderful experience to hear those swirling riffs again, in particular on “Say Your Prayers” which is a personal highlight.

There’s an interval and a chance to catch up with friends and exchange delighted chatter about just how bloody marvellous it all is and there was a real buzz of adrenaline coursing through the Royal Function Rooms. I bumped into a lot of people I’d got to know through our Retro Man Blog gigs over the years, many of whom are in their own bands including The Past Tense, Jetstream Pony, Thee Girl Fridays, The Beatpack, Of Arrowe Hill, The Len Price 3, The Dentists and everyone agreed we were experiencing something very special indeed. Thankfully, the band seemed to be enjoying themselves too – there’s lots of smiles and a nice chemistry between all four bandmates and in particular, between Johnny and James. One thing that hit me was to reminded just how good a drummer Johnny is, he’s lost none of the chops, powering away cheerfully through some quite complicated drum patterns and his performance gets a thumbs up from everyone I spoke to. “Hurricane” opens the second set and then follows most of the superb “The Last Fourfathers” album, although sadly no “I Am The Fisherman” which is saved for the very last number on the Saturday night Livestream. Of course, “Whenever I’m Gone” gets a huge cheer but for me it’s the “Thinking Of You (Broken Pieces)” that hits me right in the heart and I must admit to a tear in the eye as everyone sings along to the uplifting chorus. It would have been worth the entrance fee alone just to experience that one moment of magic. 

Retrosonic Podcast · Graham Day & The Forefathers

The set is punctuated by only two tracks from the “In From The Cold” album, luckily they are “Find And Seek” and the soulful strut of “Deceiving Eye” which has always been one of my favourite Prisoners songs. The band also play a fair selection of instrumentals including “Revenge of The Cybermen” and “Night of The Nazgul” – tracks that would lay the foundation for Graham’s current project The Senior Service and their Ennio Morricone, Barry Gray influenced tunes. The set closes with the classic “Melanie” which sparks off some frenetic dancing down the front and then sadly, it’s all over. But is it? Of course, there are encores, and the instrumental rarity “American Jingle” gets an airing along with “Reaching My Head” the very track that I first heard from The Prisoners and then finally it’s their cover of “Hush” and it really is all over. What can I say? Better than I could ever have hoped for – if it is to be The Prisoners last stand then I’m just thankful I was there to witness it. However, the reaction and demand was just too good to be ignored – and taking into account, the band seemed to be having fun too – I’m sincerely hoping that they will consider more gigs in the future. 

Sadly, just prior to the gigs the news filtered through that The Royal Function Rooms and worse still, the legendary Ranscombe Studios which is housed in the premises, are due to close soon. This is a nightmare and yet more damning evidence that cultural buildings have no protection in these relentless greed and profit driven times. How many great venues have we lost – not just the traditional down and dirty places such as the Marquee, The Fulham Greyhound, The Hammersmith Clarendon and the 12 Bar Club but historic buildings in their own right, like the Astoria and the Hammersmith Palais too. There is a fundraising concert at The St. George’s Hotel in Chatham on January 13th to help with the relocation of Ranscombe Studios that features a mouth-watering line-up of Medway talent including The Solarflares, The Len Price 3, The Galileo 7, The Masonics, Theatre Royal and more. Tickets and information can be found at this link. 

Huge credit to Lee and Dave Grimshaw at Spinout Nuggets and their team for organising the shows so brilliantly. Don't forget to check out the Retro Man Blog archive for loads of previous features on Medway related bands and music including reviews, videos and photos of all our shows with The Forefathers, Solarflares, The Galileo 7, The Len Price 3 and more. Also, all episodes of Retrosonic Podcast are available at our archives at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iTunes or Soundcloud including interview specials with Graham, Allan & Wolf, The Len Price 3, Billy Childish, Ian Greensmith of The Dentists and much more besides. More videos from the Royal Function Rooms show can also be found at our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel, here's a taster...

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!"

 

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

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.

Girlsville: The Story of The Delmonas & The Headcoatees - The Queens of the Medway Delta by Saskia Holling (Spinout Publications) Review by Ms Sheringham-Boom

 

I have been waiting for this book "Girlsville" for what seems like forever so I was over the moon to find a copy dropping through the letterbox a few weeks ago. Before I go any further, I should declare that I was asked to contribute to the book by the author Saskia Holling. I was thrilled to be asked and it was an absolute honour to be part of a book that so badly needed to be written. Saskia had mentioned that she was in the process of writing a book about women involved in the Medway music scene, one of the main reasons being that unfortunately these women had mostly been ignored or only briefly covered by previous authors. For example, "The Kids Are All Square - Medway Punk and Beyond 1977-85" (pre-Headcoatees times) by Bob Collins & Ian Snowball does mention The Delmonas somewhat in passing yet none of the female voices of the band are heard, Maybe they weren’t asked to contribute, who knows? I haven’t read "Do It Yourself: A History of Music in Medway" by Stephen H Morris, so can’t comment on that, but have sadly heard similar things said. Time to put that right? You bet. Saskia herself has been involved in music since the 1990’s and the book gives the reader a glimpse into her own musical life having made her escape from a small Scottish island to form her Riot Grrl band Sally Skull. She then went onto Lord Rochester and Big Russ & Lightnin' Hollins (with her partner Russ Wilkins of The Milkshakes and The Wildebeests) and latterly The Nettelles. Indeed, not a musical heritage to be sniffed at. 

Sarah (Ludella Black) on stage with Billy Childish & CTMF in 2016

Here she relates the stories of the women of two of the most important bands in post-1960's U.K. Garage & Beat history, The Delmonas and Thee Headcoatees. Meet Hilary, Louise, Sarah, Debbie, Holly and Kyra. The story of these wonderful women (told in two parts) is warm, amusing, dark, joyous, and lots in-between. Saskia has clearly gained the trust of these women and there is a stark similarity in their musical experiences. The frustration, the not being heard and to a certain extent of being controlled. Regrets and resentments can be expected, such is band life. I shed tears when I read these stories because there was a side of their musical lives that I had not anticipated. They were and always will be so much more than the sum of a Billy Childish project. Saskia has evidently carried out her research very thoroughly and has firmly put their stories into context by including musical reviews from those times, not only reviews of their bands, but of a wider variety of female musicians. It clearly shows the pervading misogyny of the male music 'journos' of that era and whatever one’s musical tastes, it makes for very uncomfortable reading. I’m happy that these women found their own ways of being creative. They have all since (and with Debbie The X-Men before) blessed us with numerous musical treasures such as The A-Lines, Ye Nuns, and The Buffets (to name a few) as well as Holly, Sarah and Kyra’s solo careers, in fact a new recording from Kyra is in the offing which is certainly something to get excited about. From start to finish "Girlsville" is an unputdownable read and I must mention the striking cover art provided by Sarah Crouch. Props also to Saskia for including a comprehensive discography, links and references and the book features many previously unseen photos of the band on and off stage, record covers and more.

Kyra on stage with Billy Childish & CTMF in 2016

With many thanks to Ms Sheringham-Boom. Ms Sheringham-Boom is the bassist in Edinburgh's premier purveyors of Garage Rock, Thee Girl Fridays. The book is the first from our friends over at Spinout Publications and you can buy a copy directly from them at their on-line store here. For your listening pleasure don't forget our Medway music related Retrosonic Podcast interview specials with Billy Childish, Ian Greensmith (Vic Templar), Graham Day, Wolf Howard, Allan Crockford & Viv Bonsels of The Galileo 7 and Ian Ballard from Damaged Goods Records. All episodes can be downloaded at our Soundcloud site or streamed/listened to at Spotify or Apple Podcasts all for free.

The Prisoners: Your Stories and Memories Needed for New Book on the Medway Garage Psych Legends (feature includes rare Paul Slattery photos)

The Prisoners at The Hope & Anchor - Copyright Paul Slattery

A new book on Medway Garage Psych legends The Prisoners is currently being planned by an Anglo-German collective of fans and they are asking for your memories and contributions. They would like to hear what the band means to you, when you saw them, what records you bought and any memorabilia or photos you would like to share. The book has had the official blessing of the band and here's a few words from bassist Allan Crockford in support: 

"I thought I'd bring this to your attention, if anyone's missed it. My sister Elinor is teaming up with a couple of friends and fans in Germany to put together a book about the Prisoners. It will be from the perspective of fans of the band (and maybe people who hated us - that would be an interesting perspective!) who came to the gigs and bought the records. They want your stories and memories of the band and the times. Me, Graham, James and Johnny have given it our gracious blessing and look forward (with some trepidation) to reading your stories. At least we finally might find out what happened..."

The Prisoners at The Hope & Anchor - Copyright Paul Slattery

As regular readers to Retro Man Blog will know, The Prisoners and all their many and varied spin-offs are a huge inspiration on what we do so we'll also be keeping a close eye on the progress of the book. You can send in your contributions to be considered for publication via email to Atasteofpink9@gmail.com

Don't forget our thoroughly entertaining Graham Day & The Forefathers Retrosonic Podcast special with Graham Day, Allan Crockford & Wolf Howard on the complete story of The Prisoners, The Solarflares, The Prime Movers and all their other projects and bands over the years.

Retrosonic Podcast · Graham Day & The Forefathers

 

Photos of The Prisoners at The Hope & Anchor, London March 24th 1983 copyright Paul Slattery.

Retrosonic Podcast Celebrating 10 Years of The Galileo 7 - Part 1: Allan Crockford & Viv Bonsels with a Track-by-Track to "Decayed" & The Lockdown Sessions

Welcome to the first of two very special Retrosonic Podcast episodes dedicated to the 10th Anniversary of our favourite Psych Pop outfit The Galileo 7. Band-members Allan Crockford and Viv Bonsels discuss their superb brand new album of cover versions "Decayed", which is out now on their own Fools Paradise label. We go through the album track by track and find out the reasons behind the choice of songs and of course, give them a spin. This Podcast release comes with a bonus track not found on the album and a section on the Lockdown Sessions which saw Viv and Allan tackle even more cover versions for Kevin Younger's themed on-line open-mic evenings. These included songs by Katrina & The Waves, Haircut 100, The Stranglers, Robyn Hitchcock and The Dukes of Stratosphear and even the theme tune to Thames TV's Today programme! This thoroughly enjoyable episode spent in the company of Allan and Viv is soundtracked by The Galileo 7's stunning take on songs by The Who, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Nerves, The Monkees, Pink Floyd, The Soft Boys, Julian Cope, Terry Reid, X-Ray Spex, Shocking Blue, The Stranglers, The Association and Haircut 100.

Retrosonic Podcast · The Galileo 7 "Decayed" New LP Track by Track Guide with Allan Crockford & Viv Bonsels

You can order the limited edition vinyl version of "Decayed" from the band's on-line store here or get a download version of the album from their Bandcamp site here. For more information and news on The Galileo 7, please check out their official web-site here. For loads of your favourite Medway Legends (often as you've never seen them before!) performing an eclectic selection of cover versions, please check the Mister Unswitchable YouTube channel here. With many thanks to Allan and Viv. "Decayed" album cover artwork by Darryl Hartley. Retrosonic Theme by Adam Donovan.

Coming soon - "Ten Years of The Galileo 7" in which Allan and Viv go through their previous six albums and pick out and play some of their favourite and pivotal tracks from each release. Along the way we discuss the band's history, inspirations and song-writing process. Don't miss out, please subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud, iTunes, Apple Podcasts and Mixcloud.

Retrosonic Podcast Lockdown Lowdown Episode 9 with Ian Greensmith (A.K.A. Vic Templar) from The Dentists & Armitage Shanks (and much more...!)

Photo: Jokin Misterklin

For Episode 9 of our special Lockdown Lowdown series we welcome Ian Greensmith into the virtual Retrosonic Podcast studio. Ian, a.k.a. Vic Templar, Herbie Greensmith, Vic Flange or just Ian Smith is not only a man of many names he's also a man of many talents as drummer with Medway Indie legends The Dentists, Armitage Shanks, Ye Ascoyne D'Ascoynes, The Dirty Contacts, Sine Waves, Rubberman 12 and The Nuevo Ramon 5. He's also a DJ, one of the promoters of The Fratcave club night and Beatwave Weekenders, author of the hilarious semi-autobiographical "Taking Candy From a Dog", keen gardener, badger watcher and retired cricketer. So yes, you can guess that this episode is packed full of many fascinating musical memories, inspirations, tales and adventures and, of course, some bloody great music! Ian takes us on a musical journey from his very first memory of hearing Aretha Franklin in the canteen at Butlins in Bognor Regis (he was wearing a red cardigan with white piping at the time fact fans) to the first record he bought with his own pocket money, his first gig and first time behind the drumkit. We learn about the early shows with The Milkshakes and The Prisoners, discovering the MIC Club and some legendary Medway Delta names such as Billy Childish, Graham Day, Russ Wilkins, Sexton Ming and more. There's the stories behind his own bands including The Dentists, Ye Ascoyne D'Ascoynes, Armitage Shanks and Nuevo Ramon 5 along with a pick of the best of their music. Then there's a stash of great tunes from his DJ bag, the gig he would travel back in time for, his perfect LP and 45rpm single and some of his favourite bands that he has put on at his own Club nights and Weekenders. There are brushes (excuse the pun) with Buddy Rich, Mark E Smith, The Monochrome Set and Johnny Echols and the story behind his superb semi-autobiographical book "Taking Candy From A Dog". Includes music from The Dentists, Armitage Shanks, Ye Ascoyne D'Ascoynes, The Milkshakes, The Prisoners, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Sammy Davis Jr & Buddy Rich, The Fall, The Byrds, Love, Buzzcocks, The Kingsmen, Gary McFarland, The Monochrome Set, The Wildebeests, The Fallen Leaves, Ye Nuns, Ramon 5, Little Richard and The Allisons. So sit back, turn up the volume and enjoy!

Retrosonic Podcast · Lockdown Lowdown Episode 9 with Ian Greensmith (A.K.A. Vic Templar) of The Dentist

Tracklisting (please click on highlighted links below to investigate further)

Aretha Franklin "I Say a Little Prayer"

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea"

The Milkshakes "Shimmy Shimmy" & "After Midnight"

The Prisoners "Better In Black"

The Kingsmen "Haunted Castle" 

The Dentists "I Had An Excellent Dream" & "She Dazzled Me With Basil"

Ye Ascoyne D'Ascoynes "Favourite Stuff"

Ramon 5 "Amor Perdido"

The Fallen Leaves "Did You See Her"

Ye Nuns "Cuckoo"

The Wildebeests "Lucinda"

The Allisons "Surfer Street"

Love "The Daily Planet"

Little Richard "The Girl Can't Help It"

Gary McFarland "Fried Bananas"

Armitage Shanks "Look Out Here Comes Uncle John"

Sammy Davis Jr & Buddy Rich "Come Back To Me"

The Monochrome Set "Apocalypso"

The Fall "I'm a Mummy"

The Byrds "Eight Miles High"

Buzzcocks "Time's Up"

Louis Jordan "Bullitt"

You can buy "Taking Candy From A Dog" by Vic Templar from Blackheath Books here. Please check out the Facebook page for The Fratcave to keep updated on this and Beatwave as soon as things return to normal. Please do visit the excellent Spinout Nuggets Records for releases by Ye Ascoyne D'Ascoyne, Armitage Shanks, Treasures of Mexico and lots more Medway related bands.

Ian at The Marquee with The Dentists

You can also check out our other Medway related special Podcasts with Billy Childish, Graham Day, Allan Crockford and Wolf Howard at the Retrosonic Podcast archive here. Retrosonic Podcast is also available to subscribe for free at Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcast & Mixcloud. With thanks to Ian.