When he had hair, Yid Andy and he could have been twins...it's uncanny and rather spooky. please log in to view this image
As the strikes continue and some people in the media are suggesting that the general public are not in support I would just like to confirm my position...
(I was drinking with some Damned fans in Manchester, a fair number of whom were fresh from a Steeleye Span gig and raving about it...That bass!)
Maddie & her pals took folk rock to another level of public consciousness when 'All around my hat' was a hit. Trouble was, their strong ordinary man / political messages (a folk tradition) from other songs were never really picked up by a popular audience.
Back in March, my young lady and I went to the Betsy Trotwood for one of the Robert Elms Live shows he's done and Mark Baxter was his "Listed Londoner". Apparently he hails from South London so there was plenty of banter between himself and Robert as he's a West London boy. Tbh I'd never heard of him prior to that evening but he seemed like a genuinely decent bloke in spite of the fact that he's a lifelong Millwall supporter and someone I could imagine going out for the evening with and having a right good crack!
Some professional footage from Sunday. I was stood next to the cameraman, who is at least as tall as me...and a bit wider...but I let some small people go in front of me... ...they looked so little and lost... This one sounds like The Stranglers... Paul wrote this, so it doesn't... Where's Brian? please log in to view this image
Very impressed with both tracks and I can definitely see the Stranglers vibe in the first track especially when Paul played that descending bass line! Have to say though, for me at least, there's only one JJ and no other bassist is ever going to get close to him but I can see myself being tempted by the prospect of these guys live!
W Without knowing that track was Steeleye Span you would mistake that Bass for a 70s Detroit funk band
I know, it's insanely funky! What it's doing in a traditional folk tune, I have no idea...but love it.
... The tour takes in Islington and Brighton. Although the first is nearer, the second is likely to be more fun and it's the last gig on the tour, so it's probably Concorde 2 for us, although it's a Sunday and Islington's the previous Saturday (22 January) - https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/wingmen Just before I found out the lady, who I was talking to, was Mrs Paul Gray, I asked her which gigs she was going to on the tour. "Oh, all of them I should expect.", she told me. I'd had a few beers, so I didn't twig........and remember saying something like "That's quite a commitment". Mrs B arrived immediately after and saved me from further embarrassment,
Got a surprise call from a mate to go for a beer tonight and a young girl had an open Mike spot , she sang " think for a minute" by the Housemartins I have always loved this song but the girls stripped back version allowed the lyrics to come through , it might be my state of mind at the moment but it reduced me to tears
Mark Baxter co wrote a book with Paolo Hewitt called the Mumper about a group of friends who brought a race horse and their adventures, I recommend it , they also wrote a good book on football and its link to fashion
Get the occasional gem of rare / archive footage popping up on. Social media now and again. This one just reminds me of what an incredible talent Prince was..
I loved The Housemartins, especially the early singles and the London 0 Hull 4 LP and met and spoke to Paul Heaton briefly at Bay 63 in Ladbroke Grove around the time that Flag Day was released. After all these years I've no idea who I'd gone to see, but he just happened to be in the audience and I was young enough back then not to worry about going up to musicians I admired and telling them. He seemed genuinely pleased that I was interested, maybe because at that point they hadn't yet broken and were just another Indie band with a Peel session and single behind them! Anyway it's always been my favourite single of theirs and if Flag Day wasn't enough Stand at Ease runs it very close for best track on the EP!
Yeah he talked about that a bit and Outside Bet, the film based on it, and told a few little stories about Bob Hoskins. Like I said he seems like a really decent guy!
