Retrosonic Podcast Episode 38: Get Sa-Ni-Ti-Zin' - with The Parkinsons, BMX Bandits, Elephant Stone, Autoramas, Shack etc.

Photo (and mask) by Maki

In Episode 38 of Retrosonic Podcast, Steve from Retro Man Blog plays some great brand new and recent releases from the worlds of Garage Rock, Punk, Indie, Psych and Power Pop to help ease the Lockdown Blues. In this episode there's a look back at some of the gigs we did manage to attend so far this year and there are songs from Jah Wobble (featuring Keith Levene & Richard Dudanski from Public Image Ltd, Mark Stewart from The Pop Group and Youth from Killing Joke), Shack as Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band played this rare Shack song at Earth in Hackney, The Parkinsons, The Past Tense and Elephant Stone. Then there's more brand new releases from The Jack Cades, Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants, The Sanitizers, Martin Savage & The Jiggerz, The Veras, Palooka 5, The In-Fuzzed, Groovy Uncle and Goodbye Victory Road. There's a look back at our last proper night out at the Poor Cow bar in Tokyo before the Lockdown and a track from the owner's old band, Japanese Punk legends Teengenerate. Then, inspired by the superb "Teenage Superstars" documentary there's a couple of classics from BMX Bandits and The Shop Assistants. Finally, as it should have been our favourite event of the year, Hipsville-A-Go-Go down in Margate, there's one of the best bands we've seen at the Weekender over the years, Brazil's Autoramas. Anyway, here's the full track-listing, please click on the highlighted links below for more information on the relevant band, artist, record company, promoter etc.

THE SANITIZERS - "Sa-Ni-Ti-Zin' "

MARTIN SAVAGE & THE JIGGERZ - "This Broken Heart"

ALVIN GIBBS & THE DISOBEDIENT SERVANTS - "History"

AUTORAMAS - "Homem-Cliche" 

THE PARKINSONS - "Heavy Metal"
JAH WOBBLE - "A Very British Coup"

ELEPHANT STONE - "Darker Time, Darker Space/The Court and Jury/Land of Dead"

SHACK - "Up"

THE IN-FUZZED - "Motor City Baby"

TEENGENERATE - "Dressed In Black"

THE STRIPES - "Tell Me Your Name"

THE PAST TENSE - "She's Got The Time"

GOODBYE VICTORY ROAD - "Grandad's Miscellaneous Military Memorabilia"

GROOVY UNCLE - "God on a Bike"

PALOOKA 5 - "Ultramarine"

THE VERAS - "I'm Not Afraid"

THE JACK CADES - "Dead Star"

THE SHOP ASSISTANTS - "Safety Net"

BMX BANDITS - "E102"

Please kindly support the bands! This Episode's cover star Eric Baconstrip. Photo (and mask) by Maki. Retrosonic Podcast has a valid PRS licence. Thanks to Amy K-B, Lee Grimshaw at Spinout Nuggets, Mark Chadderton at Time & Matter, Michel Moimême at Wattsville, Daniel Taylor, Pat McVicar and Eric Baconstrip. You can subscribe to Retrosonic on iTunes or listen/download directly from our Soundcloud archive, all episodes still available.

OHMS "Melodies of Our Lives" - A New Album of Electronica From Members of The Past Tense & SuperMinx '70

Well, I didn’t see this one coming. Considering our favourite Garage-Psych-Soul outfit The Past Tense have just released an excellent new LP "7A" and their terrace stomping pals SuperMinx’70 have recently announced their return with a new line-up, I wasn't expecting to receive an album by a side-project featuring members of each band. I thought they would be far too busy. I certainly wasn't expecting what lies within "Melodies of Our Lives" the debut release by OHMS, a new duo featuring Past Tense bassist Ken Halsey and SM’70 frontman Paul R Osborn. Yes, it’s Ken and Paul but not as we know them! The opening track "6-8-1-6-79 (For a City Boy)" immediately conjures up early Tubeway Army around the time that Gary Numan started adding early analogue synths over buzzing Punk Rock guitars. It’s a great song and as we swoop into the next number "Sky Falling Now", an unashamedly catchy Electro-Pop song, I notice a theme developing. Suddenly I’m transported back to the early 80's like the time-travelling cop Sam Tyler in TV’s "Ashes To Ashes".

You see, OHMS wouldn’t be out of place appearing alongside Heaven 17 or OMD on any episode of Top of The Pops from around that era. Blimey, "Our Time Will Come" even has a subtle undercurrent of that 80’s museum-piece, the fretless bass. Talking of bass, "Never Let Them Tell You" is another highlight with its New Order bass line and synths that swell into a great chorus. Indeed, what we have with "Melodies of Our Lives" is an affectionate and superbly executed look back at the birth of Electronica in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The duo’s tag-line, 'Music From The Future When We Were Young', pretty much sums it up as they have captured that period where people were taking the Punk DIY philosophy and applying it to synths, drum machines and sampling instead of guitars. You get the feeling that you’ve just tracked down a rare album from an unknown early 80’s band who were discovering this technology and experimenting with it for the first time. There are throbbing sequencers and bubbling analogue synths, sampled brass, Sci-Fi sound effects, toy-town drum machines and rhythm boxes and even the good old classic cascading chimes effect. It's kind of "Vintage Futuristic". Now there’s a good title for the follow up LP guys!

I'm also taken by "Theme For A Swimmer" which is an Erik Satie style minimalist instrumental with hints of Japan’s "Canton" that would be perfect playing over the opening credits of a Cold War Spy movie or part of a Philip K. Dick film score. However, what saves the album from being a gimmick (albeit an extremely well-conceived one) or merely an 80's concept album – is the quality of the songwriting, in particular three tracks bang in the middle of the record. The album gathers momentum and really hits it's stride with the excellent Bowie influenced "Together Forever". Then comes my favourite track "We Were Young" in which Paul reverts to his more familiar South London tinged SuperMinx '70 vocals and they seem to have hit on a style that could lead to OHMS being more than just a nostalgic trip down memory lane. But I think the album’s centrepiece is the stunning "So Alone" which features the best vocal performance I have heard so far from Paul. It starts with a spoken-word verse strangely reminiscent of a darker Pet Shop Boys, before building to an almighty chorus shot through with raw emotion. The lyrics sting with their honesty. There is certainly enough in these three songs alone to hope that OHMS won’t just be a one-off project.

To order the album and find out more information on OHMS check out their official web-site here.

The Past Tense: New Album "Heads Held High" Out Now...

It's been a very busy time for The Past Tense, not content with releasing an outstanding album of brand new material entitled "Heads Held High", they have also put out "Six Live Special", a mini-album comprising six classic tracks brilliantly recorded by Steven Tagg-Randall at our own Retro Man Blog Night at The Half Moon Putney last September. Talking of The Half Moon, the band played a blinding set at the Fruits de Mer and Mega DoDo Records "Games in May" event, where they had yet another record up for grabs, this time "What's The Past Tense of Pipe", a collection of old tracks from their previous incarnation, Pipe, along with early Past Tense demos. The gig at "Games In May", which also featured enjoyable sets from Mark & The Clouds and Crystal Jacqueline & The Honey Pot, was undoubtedly the best performance I have seen from the band, and I've seen a few over the years! New(ish) recruit Buzz (for he was actually previously in Pipe...) is fully embedded in the band and he now plays organ as well as lead guitar. Actually, this was the first time for me to see the band play with the addition of keyboards and I must say it works a treat.

The Past Tense at the Retro Man Blog Night September 2014 photographed by Paul Slattery

So, onto the new album "Heads Held High" and it really is a cracker, much more diverse than their two previous official releases "Pick 'n' Mix" and "Take Three", it highlights the band's different musical backgrounds and interests perfectly. The Past Tense take great pride in what they put out and this is no exception - the album has great cover art and an insert with background notes on each song, which us music fans just love don't we...! The band do everything themselves and they do it very well, I'm thinking in particular of their last official release "Remember The Days", the split 7" single with their mates The Loop, which was issued on different coloured vinyl, it was a real work of art. "Heads Held High" kicks off with "Top Of The World", which could well be the best song the band have written so far. It has a great chorus and melodic verses that I can imagine Pete Shelley would have been proud to have written. There's also a cheeky little nod to The Stranglers in there too, which makes it even better in my book! "Throwing It All Away" sees Andy's vocals on top form, seething with disgust at the current political climate. "Vision From Another World" has some groovy organ bubbling away underneath and is one of those superb little Garage Rock nuggets that The Past Tense excel in like their early live favorites such as "Wolfman" and "My Baby". 

Paul Osborn with The Past Tense at The Putney Club

The next two tracks are to me pivotal in the band's progression and point to a very bright future. Rather like Thee Spivs did on their third album "The Crowds and The Sounds", The Past Tense are also throwing off the somewhat limited Mod Revival/Garage Rock shackles and, whilst not losing touch with their roots, they are really stretching their sound and showing a real maturity in their song-writing. "Won't Miss Next Time" is one of the stand-out tracks on the album, it starts off with acoustic strumming before exploding into an emotional piece featuring some superb guitar work. Strangely enough it kind of reminds me of Dinosaur Jr. or Buffalo Tom which is certainly a new reference point. Next up is the brilliant "Crying" which features lead vocals by Paul Osborn from The SuperMinx'70 and again it's an acoustic guitar driven tracks that sounds a bit like Cockney Rebel. We saw the band last week at The Putney Club and Paul joined the band on-stage for a superb rendition of the song which went down really well with the crowd. "No Apologies" is an uptempo unabashed Motown inspired stomper with a brass section adding to the overall feelgood factor. 

The Past Tense at "Games In May"

The single "Remember The Days" will be familiar to fans of The Past Tense already and it sounds great amongst the track-listing here. "Another Putney Sunrise" is again an unexpected departure, it's a beautifully laid back and evocative song that's part Belle & Sebastian part Style Council, it really conjures up a bright and sunny early morning walk along the River Thames. "Just Keep Believing" is another positive call to action with some nice chiming guitar work, "Music Is The Key" is driven along by some more of those great keyboards and again like the previous track, it's sending out a positive message this time about the pleasures of being in a band. "What's Coming Next" starts off with "A Town Called Malice" style drumming and bass before cracking into a powerful little singalong. The album closes with "Putney Reprise" a whimsical little piece of Psychedelia that really brings the curtain down perfectly on a thoroughly satisfying album. With all the work the band have put into producing and promoting the album they deserve to be really proud of "Heads Held High". You can order the album from the band's web-site here.

The Galileo 7, The Past Tense & The Mynd Set at The Fiddler's Elbow January 09th

The Galileo 7 - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

This was what I call a real Retro Man Blog line-up, three great bands who have all featured on the Blog and Retrosonic Podcast recently and, even better still it wasn't one of our promotions so I could relax and enjoy it! Kicking off the proceedings were The Mynd Set from Stevenage who I'd recently seen at the 12 Bar Club supporting The Fallen Leaves. The band feature Parsley on the Hammond organ and of course his ex-Solarflares colleague Allan Crockford was to appear later on with his own band The Galileo 7 and this prompted a brief daydream where the Solarflares get back together and play at one of my Half Moon shows...ah well, you never know, stranger things have happened!

The Mynd Set - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

The Mynd Set start off with the rousing "Come and Play With Me" the opening track of their debut album "Dreams, Schemes and Laser Beams" and play a great set crammed full of their soulful Freakbeat. They are different from a lot of their contemporaries in the Mod, Garage, Psych genre in that they seem to take more of their influences from bands like Traffic, Cream and Les Fleur de Lys and in Leon Hewitt, with his paisley Fender, they have a bit of an old-school guitar hero. Leon spins out some great riffs and solos and packs a powerful punch too, especially on "Tick Tock" which you can see at the Retro Man Blog YouTube channel here. Lead vocalist Glyn also handles bass and he and drummer Chris lay down a real groove that allows Leon time and space, not only to riff all over, but also add whistles, harmonica and maracas too. The sound at the Fiddler's Elbow is good tonight so you can hear the great Hammond runs from Parsley clearly and he also takes over the lead vocals on the excellent "Our Time" from their "Mynd Set E.P." For me the set's highlight was a storming run through of "Miracle Maker" which we played in Episode 17 of Retrosonic Podcast and which has to be one of my favourite tracks from last year. When I first heard "Maharishi" with it's swirling Arabic intro leading into some crunching chords I was reminded of the The Soundtrack of Our Lives epic "Mantra Slider". After their set I asked about this and indeed Leon admitted to being a big fan of the Swedish Psychedelic Rockers, my admiration for the Mynd Set was cranked up a few more notches! 

Allan Crockford of The Galileo 7 - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

Allan Crockford of The Galileo 7 is another Soundtrack of Our Lives fan but then again he can already do no wrong with me. As a key member of The Prisoners and The Solarflares, and of course now with Graham Day & The Forefathers, Allan has had a hand in some of my favourite records of all time and now with Galileo 7's "False Memory Lane", I can add that to the list too. Stepping into the limelight as main singer-songwriter and guitarist must have been pretty daunting when you have worked alongside someone such as Graham Day for so long, but with "False Memory Lane" Allan has built on all the good bits of the previous two G7 albums and packaged them up into a near perfect Psych-Pop classic. There's an undoubtedly English sensibility about Galileo 7, from Syd Barrett and the Beatles "Revolver", "The Who Sell Out" to Blur's "Modern Life Is Rubbish" and I keep getting drawn back to Julian Cope's first two solo albums "World Shut Your Mouth" and "Fried".

Mole (drums), Viv (keyboards) & Paul (bass) - Photo Copyright Retro Man Blog

The band have had a change of line-up since I last saw them, drummer Russ is on tour with Secret Affair so Mole has switched to drums and Paul Moss has joined on bass. This change seems to have boosted the band's confidence and the on-stage energy was certainly infectious. Mole is a live-wire behind the drums, all Keith Moon rolls and fills and Paul jumps around all over the place, adding some melodic backing vocals into the mix too. Viv mostly plays her keyboards one handed, bashing away on a tambourine with the other hand. She sings the lead vocals on the glorious headlong rush of "Don't Know What I'm Waiting For", which is an unashamed Power Pop song in the vein of The Primitives. The band are already hard at work on new material and we get treated to both sides of the new single which will be out on Mole's very own State Records, and in "One Lie at a Time" they seem to have really captured the essence of the current line-up's energy perfectly.

Mole of The Galileo 7 (and State Records boss!) - Copyright Retro Man Blog

Allan wonders out loud if there will be a conflict of interests what with Mole being in the band and their label boss too! Tonight's set comprises a good cross section of tracks from all three Galileo 7 albums with older favourites such as "Anne Hedonia" from "Staring at The Sound" and the excellent "Orangery Lane" from "Are We Having Fun Yet?" rubbing shoulders with new material and a cover of The Who's "Tattoo" with Viv taking over lead vocals. My highlights of their show were probably the stand-alone single "Modern Love Affair" with it's fuzzed up guitar which comes over really well and "My Cover Is Blown" from the latest album, which starts off with a slow meandering keyboard riff before bursting into a catchy chorus that will stick in your head for days after.

The Past Tense - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

So it's Retro Man Blog's good friends The Past Tense up next and it's a shame that they don't go on until late as a lot of people had to leave to get their last trains. Unfortunately, they missed an excellent set from the band, who also had a change of line-up last year. At first I was a bit worried when it was announced that they were adding a second guitarist, I'm often wary of bands messing with a good formula as sometimes the chemistry can be lost. However, when the band played at our Retro Man Blog night back in October last year, I was blown away with the new sound. Similar to the Galileo 7, the change in line-up for both bands seems to have lifted the energy and confidence no end. In the past I've been a bit harsh on The Past Tense, it's just that on a couple of times I'd seen the band they seemed almost apologetic for getting on stage. While their self-effacing humour is of course refreshing, sometimes I wanted to see the band really smash it, to come out all all guns blazing, to make no apologies and just accept that they are damn great at what they do.

The Past Tense - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

However, nowadays they have no such problems and tonight was without doubt the best I have seen the band play, they were really tight and powerful and the songs really shone through. The good thing is that new guitarist Buzz doesn't overdo things, the balance is just right, there are some nice little touches, a bit of slide guitar here, some nice new riffs and controlled feedback added to those familiar classics but mainly he seems to have given lead vocalist and guitarist Andy, a real boost in confidence. It's been long acknowledged that The Past Tense have one of the best rhythm sections in all the current Garage Rock Mod scene, and bassist Ken and drummer Warren certainly excel tonight. The band play a good selection of new material and I was annoyed as I was messing around with my camera and couldn't record their opening number "Visions of Another World" as it was a real cracker and I can't wait to hear it again.

The Past Tense - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

The good news is that the band are currently in the studio recording tracks for their new album, and if they can capture their live sound in the studio, something they seem to have had trouble with in the past, I am sure it will be a excellent record. Their danceable little nuggets of songs are a good mix of their various influences from 60's Garage Rock, to Soul, classic Punk Rock, New Wave and Mod Revival. Some new titles include "Just Keep Believing", "No Apologies" and "Heads Held High" and they are so good it makes up for the disappointment of having to miss out on some old favourites due to the time restraints. The last song "Throwing It All Away" is another new number and it was a great way to close the set and promises that this year will be good for The Past Tense.

The Mynd Set - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

The Mynd Set - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

The Galileo 7 - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

The Galileo 7 - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

The Past Tense - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

For more photos of all three bands please head on over to the Retro Man Blog Facebook page and if you are not already following, click "Like" for access to the exclusive photo album. You can see some videos of the gig at the Retro Man Blog YouTube channel. Don't forget you can hear a Galileo 7 track in our special Graham Day & The Day Forefathers edition Retrosonic Podcast where Graham, Allan and Wolf look back on some of their various line-ups over the years, download free here.

Retro Man Blog Night with The Len Price 3, Les Kitschenette's and The Past Tense at The Half Moon Putney, September 26th

The Len Price 3 at the Retro Man Blog Night photographed by Paul Slattery

Firstly, I'd like to say a really big thank you to all that came along to September's Retro Man Blog Night at The Half Moon Putney last Friday - if you were there I'm sure you'd agree that all three bands played fantastic sets, it was a blast! It was especially pleasing to see the great reception given to Les Kitschenette's who we invited over from France for their very first U.K. shows in conjunction with You Got Good Taste who hosted the band at Weirdsville at the Fiddler's Elbow in Camden on the following night. I know the band were blown away by the positive reaction and warmth shown from everyone at both gigs and I am sure they have made lots of new friends. 

Les Kitschenette's photographed by Paul Slattery

So, back to Friday night and kicking off the proceedings were long time Blog favourites The Past Tense, who actually opened our very first Retro Man Blog Night back in 2011. They have recently expanded to a four-piece, adding Buzz on second guitar, and it all worked perfectly. Thankfully, the extra guitar didn't over complicate matters but beefed up their much loved classic three-piece sound and seemed to boost front-man Andy's confidence in the process. It was definitely the best performance I've seen from the band and they delivered a tight and tuneful 40 minute set with a selection of well known tracks from their two excellent albums "Pick 'n' Mix" and "Take Three". However, it was the new songs that turned out to be the highlights of their set for me. 

The Past Tense photographed by Paul Slattery

First of all "Vision" perfectly captured the underlying touch of Soul that the band pack into their three minute Garage Rock nuggets, which is testament to the excellent rhythm section of Ken and Warren. It's bloody marvellous! As is "Just Keep Believing" which shows how well the band are developing, it features some excellent melodic backing vocals. "Heads Held High" reminded me of Eddie & The Hot Rods at their best, a bit of a bovver boy stomper with some nice guitar interplay between Andy and Buzz, it goes down really well with the crowd. "No Apologies" is a Northern Soul tinged singalong that gets people dancing, and I think it would make a great future single. 

Andy from The Past Tense photographed by Paul Slattery

The complex Quadrophenia tribute "Jimmy's Love Song" is now a well established favourite and it ends with Andy scraping his guitar along his microphone stand. This was followed by a sprightly version of the latest single "Remember The Days", which they were selling on the night in a choice of bright red or yellow vinyl. Then "Wolfman" and "Throwing It All Away" end a quite brilliant set from The Past Tense and it makes me look forward to their new album even more. If they can somehow capture the energy of tonight's live performance in a studio it should prove to be a classic album. I think a trip to the Medway's Ranscombe studios is surely beckoning...!

Les Kitschenette's photographed by Paul Slattery

Next up were Les Kitschenette's, who were down to a five piece as Lucille had been advised not to travel due to her forthcoming baby. First of all the four musicians run through the aptly named "Rosbif Attack", Rosbif being the French nickname for us Brits, which is a delightfully weird instrumental from the 1966 movie "Ne nous fachons pas". Singer Ludo takes the stage and apologizes for his partner Lucille's absence, admitting "I am the father, or I hope so...! Welcome to Paris...!" and then they launched into a cover of Nino Ferrer's "Mao & Moa" followed by the Serge Gainsbourg composition "Dents de laits, dents de loup". As this was originally a duet with France Gall, you feel Lucille's absence suddenly but Ludo covers both male and female vocal parts really well. 

Les Kitschenette's - Photo courtesy of PRH Photography

Anyway, the boys did Lucille proud, in particular Ludo and lead guitarist Francis, who threw everything into the performance. Ludo was wearing a vintage military jacket with a huge "Les Kitschenette's Need You!" badge and one black leather glove, I guess in homage to The Music Machine's Sean Bonniwell. He has an easy going charm and a twinkle in his eye, he's like Austin Powers meets Serge Gainsbourg. Francis is all action, a constant blur, one minute dancing away as he plays and the next it's foot on the monitor posing with guitar held high. During "Hide & Seek" he jumps into the crowd, he's a bit of a "roux dieu de la guitare" as the old French saying goes (according to Google translate...!). Amongst the highlights of a perfectly paced set are covers of Les Missiles "Ne pense plus à lui" and Delphine's Yé-yé classic "La Fermeture-Éclair". 

Les Kitschenette's photographed by Paul Slattery

The incredibly youthful looking Claude is a great drummer and with his rhythm section colleague Fred's excellent bass playing, he powers everything along perfectly. Mathieu, the super-cool Mod, alternates between rhythm guitar and organ, sometimes during the same song, and adds tambourine and backing vocals too. Each band member has a unique character and there's a really good chemistry between them all, they seem like a bunch of friends having a great time and this transfers directly into the audience. They get a well deserved encore and play "Où va t'elle?" from their first E.P. which ends the set on a real high. When I first saw them in Paris I was determined to get them over to the U.K. and I am really pleased it all worked out so well for them. 

The Len Price 3 photographed by Paul Slattery

Well, there are not many bands that could follow that, but luckily The Len Price 3 are one of them and as they took the stage and crashed into the stuttering "Words Won't Come" it was clear that they meant business. It was another faultless show from the Medway based three-piece and they crammed in songs from all four albums with those from the latest "Nobody Knows" such as "Preying Mantis" and "Billy Mason" now fitting in seamlessly alongside their well established classics like "Rentacrowd" and "Girl Like You". Tonight was particularly special as they debuted two brand new songs "Nothing I Want" and "Sally Ann" which went down really well. 

The Len Price 3 - Photo courtesy of PRH Photography

In fact, they were so new that the Pubmonkey movie writer Jamie O'Hara had to hold up a lyric sheet in front of Glenn while he tried to sing. Both songs were a bit darker and heavier than usual but were nevertheless still packed with the usual lashings of harmonies and catchy choruses that we have come to expect. "Sally Ann" broke the mold even further as it had a slight twist of Pixies, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Beach Boys all rolled into one surefire future single. A raucous "Pictures" saw the dancing ramped up to the max and the set drew to a close with the crowd favourite "The London Institute". The final joyous encore of "Shirley Crabtree" sparked off the now customary stage invasion and it all descended into glorious, feedback drenched chaos. 

The Len Price 3 photographed by Paul Slattery

I'd like to thank Phil Stradling of the night's sponsor Adaptor Clothing, Eric from King Salami & The Cumberland 3 for designing the superb gig poster, Carrie and staff at The Half Moon and Steven Tagg-Randall for filming the night, you can check out the full sets from all three bands at his YouTube site. Thanks also to Paul Slattery and to Paul at PRH Photography for the excellent photos. You can see more photos of the night by heading on over to the Retro Man Blog Facebook page and hitting "Like" (if you are not already following) for access to the exclusive photo album. 

The Len Price 3 + Les Kitschenette's + The Past Tense confirmed for the Retro Man Blog Night at The Half Moon Putney on Friday September 26th

We are very pleased to announce that, in conjunction with Adaptor Clothing, the next Retro Man Blog Night will be on Friday September 26th at The Half Moon Putney where we will be presenting an Anglo-French battle of three of the best Beat Combos around. We have the splendid adrenaline fuelled Medway Delta Pop of The Len Price 3 headlining along with the rather spiffing Garage Mod-upon-Thames sounds of The Past Tense. To complete the line-up we sail up the estuary to extend a very hearty cross-Channel welcome to the exceptionnel French Yé-yé FreakBeat band Les Kitschenette's for their very first U.K. gig. Zut alors, à bientôt chums...!

The Len Price 3 headlining last October's Retro Man Blog Night - Photo by Paul Slattery

The Len Price 3 are an adrenaline pumped pop band from England, forged in the traditions of their Medway Delta roots. They are a revelation to those who encounter them, encompassing all of what you would want from a band in one invigorating sonic experience. Their dazzling live performances feature a thunderous set of well-honed melodic nuggets played at breakneck speed, complete with shiny pop hooks and chrome glazed harmonies. But dig a bit deeper and you will find a rich lyrical content that is full of acid tongued lyrics and wry social observations. With each album and single release receiving glowing reviews and every live show leaving behind a highly satisfied audience full of enthusiastic devotees, The Len Price 3 are fast becoming a true national treasure…

The fabulous French Yé-yé group Les Kitschenette's have just released their latest E.P. which takes you right back to the stylish France of the '60's. Six incredible new tunes of French Freakbeat are just waiting to be played loudly and danced to at your groovy parties! The new 10" vinyl E.P. is called "2e Etage: Lingerie Pour Hommes" and is the second of a series of three releases on coloured vinyl; the first one was on red vinyl, this one in blue and the upcoming one will be released on white vinyl, altogether forming the colours of the French flag. It consists of cover versions of well-chosen nuggets from the 60s; all of which the band interpret with their usual dose of melodic organ, a shakin' beat, a hint of sax and flute, fuzz riffs, a stylophone and brilliantly elegant female as well as male vocals. If you like French 60's Garage-Beat, Les Kitschenette's are a must-see band!

Long-time Retro Man Blog favourites, The Past Tense are a powerful 3-piece band from Worcester Park/Kingston-Upon-Thames with a collective love of Sixties Beat, Mod, Psych, Garage Rock and Punk. Inspired by acts such as The Who, The Jam, The Clash, The Action, The Prisoners, Billy Childish and The Masonics, they mix it all up into their very own perfectly crafted anthems to create a highly danceable and energetic take on all of their favourite sounds. 

Retro Man Blog Night's with The Len Price 3 are always something very special, so make sure you book your tickets in advance so you don't miss out on the fun, and save money too! Advance tickets are a bargain £8.00 direct from the Half Moon box-office here, by phone on 0208 780 9383 or buy at the bar to avoid booking fees. If any tickets are left they will be sold at £10.00 on the night. The Half Moon is at 93 Lower Richmond Road, London SW15 1EU and is about 10 minutes walk from Putney Bridge Tube Station (District Line Wimbledon Branch) and Putney main-line train station (regular service takes only 13 minutes from London Waterloo). Loads of buses go to Putney too.

The Past Tense + The Loop New Split 7" E.P. on Coloured Vinyl

The Past Tense and The Loop have got together to release a cracking new limited edition split 4 track E.P. on different coloured vinyl. The E.P. is available for sale from The Past Tense Store here or at any of both band's upcoming gigs. You can hear two tracks from The E.P. "Remember The Days" from The Past Tense and "Coming Up Slowly" from The Loop, in Episode 11 of Retrosonic Podcast.

Retrosonic Podcast Episode 11 "I Send My Love And a Molotov Cocktail too..."

Steve from the Retro Man Blog reports back from The Len Price 3's new album "Nobody Knows" showcase party at the Half Moon, Putney. Featuring tracks from all four bands who appeared on the night - The Travellers, The Past Tense, The Fallen Leaves and a brand new Len Price 3 track. There were as many musicians in the crowd as on stage, so Steve picks out some of their bands to say thank you. We have The Aardvarks, The Onlookers, The Transients, Robby Allen & The Kite Collectors and The SuperMinx '70 - plus new tracks from The Ace, The Loop and Dirt Royal and a run out groove by The Chris Casey Combo '66. Please do take the time to click on the highlighted links and check out more info on the featured bands.

For a full report on The Len Price 3 at The Half Moon, including an extensive review, videos and exclusive Paul Slattery and Zig Criscuolo photographs, please click here. You can also listen to the Podcast or download for free at our Retrosonic Podcast Soundcloud site. Hope you enjoy it!

The Len Price 3, The Fallen Leaves, The Past Tense and The Travellers at the Retro Man Blog Night, October 25th

The Len Price 3 at The Half Moon - Photo by Paul Slattery

Our latest Retro Man Blog night was at The Half Moon Putney on Friday October 25th for the official showcase party of The Len Price 3's forthcoming new album "Nobody Knows". We were delighted to have the album on sale at the gig exclusively prior to it's official 2014 release on CD and a glorious Deluxe Vinyl edition. The Len Price 3 were joined by very special guests The Fallen Leaves and The Past Tense and we were also pleased to have The Travellers, the St. Malo based band, who opened up the show with a short acoustic showcase of their own, to promote their brand new single "Stay".

The Travellers, Robert & Gemma - Photo by Paul Slattery

The Travellers were over in the U.K. to play a gig at the Fiddler's Elbow in Camden the next day with their full line-up, so it was great that Gemma and Robert could come along and start off the gig in real style. They started off with the beautiful soul ballad "Can't Stop Loving You" and then played both sides of the just released single, the stunning "Stay" and equally impressive "Don't Look For Me". They ended on a spontaneous run through of "Summer With No Sun", which is in the running for Retro Man Blog's best single of 2013, and the set closed to appreciative murmurs about Gemma's wonderful voice. "Stay" is out now on green 7" vinyl, so check out their site for more details.

The Past Tense - Photo by Paul Slattery

Next up were our regulars The Past Tense and they put on a great show, also showcasing two new songs, "Remember The Days" and "What's Coming Next?" from their forthcoming split E.P. with The Loop. Warren and Ken again proved they are probably the best rhythm section on the scene at the moment, with some truly outstanding Keith Moon style drumming during the Quadrophenia tribute "Jimmy's Love Song". Singer and guitarist Andy, slashed away aggressively at his new guitar with that idiosyncratic left handed style of his and as always, looked a little bit bashful at the noisy and appreciative reception from the crowd at the end of their quite excellent set.

The Fallen Leaves - Photo by Paul Slattery

Well, what can I say about The Fallen Leaves that I haven't already said many times on the Blog recently, they are quite simply the best live act around at the moment. The Half Moon certainly seems to bring out the best in them too, and they put in a faultless display on how to pace and build a set to a perfect crescendo, ending with the Garage Rock epic "Trouble" as a well deserved encore. Their stage show is laced with their own brand of laconic humour. Vocalist Rob Green has the art of holding a crowd's attention down to a fine art, if it's not his elaborate English country gent act of nonchalantly blowing smoke rings from his e-cigarette to checking his antique pocket watch it's the set's showpiece, his tea ceremony with a thermos flask.

Rob Green of The Fallen Leaves takes a tea break - Photo by Paul Slattery

Rob Symmons of The Fallen Leaves - Photo by Paul Slattery

"These are simple songs for complex people" he announces and powerhouse drummer William Lewington cracks another set of drumsticks. It's dangerous at the front of a Leaves gig - after his burst of harmonica during "Passing By", bassist Matthew Karas flings the mouth-harp across the stage. But it's Rob Symmon's bashing and contorting of his guitar that tops it all. A truly unique and underrated guitarist, as he twists yet more impossibly catchy riffs from his Fender. Two new songs are played tonight including the excellent "Prodigal Son" and I'm already looking forward to a new album impatiently. The Fallen Leaves continue their "Minimum R'n'B" club night residency at the 12 Bar this Wednesday November 6th with support from The Past Tense, so if you enjoyed these two acts you won't have long to wait to see them again!

The Len Price 3 backstage before the show - Photo by Paul Slattery

So, finally...the long-awaited return of The Len Price 3 to the Half Moon stage to promote their equally long-awaited fourth album "Nobody Knows" and the anticipation was building in the venue. The band kicked off with three tracks from the new album "Words Won't Come", which has actually featured in their set for quite a while now, then the Punky singalong of "Billy Mason" and then one of the album's highlights, "My Grandad Jim". We're back on familiar territory with the classic "Rentacrowd" and it's scathing put down of trendy hipsters north of the river in Hoxton and Shoreditch. Then another new one "Preying Mantis" and the instrumental cover version of "Comanche!" Has everyone singing along, well it's not difficult to remember the words...

The Len Price 3 - Photo by Paul Slattery

"Swing Like a Monkey" from the new album is excellent but then they throw a curve ball by dropping in "Shirley Crabtree" straight afterwards, this is usually their traditional stage invasion inspiring encore, but they plough on with "Wigmore Swingers" and it's tale of suburban naughtiness and follow that with a storming "Christian In a Desert". The pace is slowed down a bit with "Lonely", which is similar in style to their last single "Mr. Grey" and shows that the band are not afraid to put the brakes on occasionally. "After You're Gone" and the storming title new album track "Nobody Knows". The crowd go crazy during "Pictures" and "You Tell Lies" and the band then treat us to "The London Institute", the last song on the new album, which I think it will go down as one of the defining songs in The Len Price 3's hugely impressive catalogue. It hints at even better things to come from the band. Storming encores leave the band strewn across the Half Moon stage, exhausted and happy and so are the crowd judging form the rapturous applause.

The Len Price 3 in action - Photo by Paul Slattery

The Len Price 3 - Photo by Paul Slattery

After the show we had a P.A. play-back of "Nobody Knows" and the band chatted with fans and signed copies of the album. The official release date is not yet fixed, but keep a check on the Blog and we will be sure to let you know as soon as we get the details. We also ran a little competition on the night, the first 30 people through the venue doors got the chance to have a rummage in our Len Price 3 button badge bag. All 30 got to keep their "Nobody Knows" badge exclusive to the launch party, and then one person who pulled out the special "lucky badge" won a great prize of a signed vinyl deluxe edition copy of "Nobody Knows", a Travellers 12" vinyl E.P. and CD, plus CD's from The Fallen Leaves and The Past Tense. I sincerely hope that Ann, the lucky winner is enjoying her prize!

The Len Price 3 - Photo by Paul Slattery

The Len Price 3 - Photo by Paul Slattery

Thanks to everyone that came along on the night, we were just four people short of selling out the venue so that was really encouraging. I'd also like to thank, for the much appreciated support for the gig, the following Radio shows and Podcasts. I'm a big fan of all of these shows so it is really nice to get a mention! Please do check them out, click the links, follow, subscribe and listen in...

Andy Morten and Jon Mills at Shindig! Magazine - Broadcast #2

Wayne Lundqvist-Ford at Radio Andra - The Ice Cream Man Power Pop Show #3

Alan May at 6Towns Radio - Glory Boy Radio Show

Warren Peace at We Are The Mods - Episode #30

Rob at Mister Sauve's Mod Mod World - #Modcast 281

Here are some more photos of the gig from Zig Criscuolo of The WitchDoktors...

The Past Tense - Photo by Zig Criscuolo

Rob Green from The Fallen Leaves - Photo by Zig Criscuolo

Bill Lewington of The Fallen Leaves - Photo by Zig Criscuolo

Matthew Karas of The Fallen Leaves - Photo by Zig Criscuolo

The Len Price 3 - Photo by Zig Criscuolo

The Len Price 3 - Photo by Zig Criscuolo

The Len Price 3 - Photo by Zig Criscuolo

With many thanks to Paul Slattery - the only photographer who can play air guitar and take photos at the same time - and to Zig Criscuolo, from the excellent WitchDoktors, for the great photos. For more photos of the gig please head on over to the Retro Man Blog Facebook page and hit "Like" for access to the exclusive photo album...All photos strictly copyright as stated in the captions. Here is a video of The Len Price 3 with "Pictures" recorded on the night. There are also more videos of all the bands at our Retro Man Blog You Tube Channel, please check them out here.

You can hear a brand new Len Price 3 track from the new album "Nobody Knows" in this special Episode of our very own Retrosonic Podcast, along with tracks from all the bands who appeared, both off stage and in the crowd, it's free to download from our Retrosonic Soundcloud site...Enjoy!