Monthly Archives: December 2024

2024 in Darren’s music blog – the ten most popular posts of the year

Folk music, Glam rock, Hastings music scene, Interviews, Live reviews, Music culture & history, Rock music, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Happy New Year and thanks to everyone who has visited Darren’s music blog during 2024. As usual, we have a nice eclectic mix of musical genres featuring in this year’s top ten most viewed posts: folk-rock, prog rock, glam rock and much more besides. Here’s to 2025! 

1. Live review: Saving Grace with Robert Plant & Suzi Dian, White Rock Theatre, Hastings 23/3/24

Of all the ‘70s rock gods, Robert Plant is perhaps the one who has most has steadfastly refused to be pigeon-holed in the superannuated, stadium heritage rock act persona. It’s meant he’s continued to surprise and delight with new musical ventures. And it’s meant I could stroll along up the road to see him and his band perform an intimate gig in my local theatre.

Read full review here

2. Interview with Fairport Convention’s Simon Nicol

Ahead of Fairport Convention’s 2024 Winter Tour, I caught up with Simon Nicol. We discuss Dave Mattacks’ return to the Fairport fold, the forthcoming tour, this Summer’s Cropredy and why he won’t be retiring any time soon.

Real full interview here

3. Farewell Frank Torpey – the last surviving original member of The Sweet

Frank Torpey’s role in the history of The Sweet was a small one but, nevertheless, an important one. Moreover, as well as continuing to play and record, he was always happy to engage with fans about The Sweet’s very early days. My tribute to Frank, who died in March this year.

Read full obituary here

4. Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2024

As things drew to a close with the familiar rendition of ‘Matty Groves’ prior to ‘Meet On The Ledge’ Simon Nicol confirmed that he’d been given permission by the ‘powers that be’ to throw in his usual ‘same time next year?’ invite, in spite of the festival’s future looking extremely precarious earlier this year. Phew! It will be going ahead in 2025 then. I’ll be there…

Read full review here

5. Bowie backing vocalist to reprise iconic ‘shopgirl’ role on ‘Absolute Beginners’

‘Oh, and I need to find a girl singer who sounds like a shopgirl,’ he said.

‘My sister Janet sings a bit, and she works in Dorothy Perkins,’ I ventured.

‘Great,’ he laughed. ‘Get her in.’

Read full article here

6. Live review: Oysterband & June Tabor, De la Warr Pavilion, Bexhill 5/10/24

It was almost exactly ten years ago when I last saw June Tabor and Oysterband at the De La Warr Pavilion, my first time visiting this stunning piece of 1930s architecture. I wasn’t even living down here yet but a friend had a spare ticket going and I came down for the weekend. So, when Oysterband announced their ‘Long Long Goodbye’ farewell tour with June Tabor, once again, as their very special guest I booked a ticket straight away.

Read full review here

7. Beckenham, Bowie, the Spiders and glam: interview with Suzi Ronson

Suzi was a small-time hairdresser in Beckenham before being swept up in a world which saw her become stylist for David Bowie and the originator of the iconic Ziggy Stardust hairdo as well as falling in love with the late Spiders From Mars guitar icon, Mick Ronson, who she would go on to marry.

Read full interview here

8. Live review: Tubular Bells – the 50th anniversary celebration at White Rock Theatre, Hastings 30/10/24

From the familiar opening bars of part one of Tubular Bells, through every second that followed the who thing was just a magical, mesmerising and utterly unforgettable experience. For something that was so clearly conceived as a studio project, to see it transformed into a live performance piece in this way will stay with me a long time. Hats off to Robin A. Smith for pulling together such a stunning interpretation of one of the all-time classic instrumental albums.

Read full review here

9. Live review: Martin Turner ex Wishbone Ash – White Rock Theatre, Hastings 6/9/24

Performing two hour-long sets with a short half-hour interval in the middle, it’s a superb night packed full of Wishbone classics. I won’t say I haven’t enjoyed Andy Powell’s ‘official’ version of the band when I’ve seen them live but, for me, what gives Turner’s outfit the edge is being able to hear the original voice behind many of Wishbone Ash’s most famous songs live on stage. And his bass-playing is as majestic as ever.

Read full review here

10. Live review: Justin Hayward at De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill 16/10/24

With the death of Mike Pinder earlier this year, none of the original ‘Go Now’ line-up of the Moody Blues are still with us. And only Justin Hayward and John Lodge now remain from the classic ‘prog-era’ post-1967 line-up. But the music they leave remains with us and Justin Hayward does a hugely impressive job in celebrating the band’s legacy with affection, panache and good humour, along with some incredible musicianship on stage beside him.

Read full review here

2023 in Darren’s music blog

2022 in Darren’s music blog

2021 in Darren’s music blog

2020 in Darren’s music blog

2019 in Darren’s music blog

Live review: Mud at the Factory Live, Worthing 20/12/24

Glam rock, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , ,

Thanks to a run of unforgettable festive hits during the period 1973-74, glam rock has been an integral part of the traditional British Christmas ever since. And apart from one year during the Covid pandemic, a trip to see a ‘70s glam rock chart-topper (whether that be Sweet, Slade or, ahem, Gary Glitter) has been an annual Christmas ritual for me pretty much every single year since I was a teenager back in the early ’80s.

But with Andy Scott’s Sweet not touring the south-east year, Dave Hill’s Slade not touring at all and Gary Glitter safely locked away in prison, it almost looked like it being a glam-free Christmas for me this year. But then a friend messaged me with the news that Mud were playing Worthing this year. Featuring the two surviving original members, Rob Davis and Ray Stiles, I would get my glam Christmas gig after all!

Taking the stage at the small but packed-out Factory Live venue, Ray Stiles began by paying tribute to the memories of the two who are no longer with us, Les Gray and Dave Mount. I’d seen Les Gray’s version of Mud back in the 90s, and I’d seen his former backing band doing their own Mud tribute many times over the years, but this would be my first time seeing Stiles and Davis together on stage.

Stiles (who has enjoyed a solid, almost four-decade career as bass player with the Hollies) takes on the frontman role in the rebooted Mud. As well as Davis on guitar, the glam-era connection is further underlined with the Glitter Band’s Pete Phipps on drums; alongside Stiles’ long-time Hollies band-mate, Ian Parker, on keyboards and veteran guitarist, Keith Read, providing additional guitar and vocals.

Ray Stiles

Things get off to a storming start with a rendition of Stiles and Davis self-penned ‘L-L-Lucy’ before we get a blast of Mud’s first three Chinn and Chapman hits: ‘Crazy’, ‘Hipnosis’ and the always-brilliant ‘Dynamite’. There’s no shortage, either, of the glam-themed remakes of those vintage rock and roll standards that Mud became famed for, songs like ‘One Night’ and ‘Oh Boy’. For the latter we are treated to a guest spot from Liquid Gold’s Ellie Hope who reprised her role on the original 1975 single, where she duetted with Les Gray.

As well as delivering his signature pounding beat throughout the set, Pete Phipps also gets his moment in the spotlight when he is invited to deliver the lead vocal on a glamtastic cover of the Glitter Band’s own smash single, ‘Angel Face’.

Mud’s brief dalliance with disco also gets a look-in with a rendition of their 1976 hit, ‘Shake Down’. For the benefit of anyone at all who may have been unaware, this gives Stiles the chance to point to Davis’s post-Mud career as a mega-successful songwriter, writing dance anthems. We get a short blast of Kylie’s ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ over the PA just to prove the point.

Rob Davis

Though less familiar, and clearly nowhere as lucrative, Stiles is also keen to highlight aspects of his own post-Mud career. He introduces his wife Anne on stage to perform a couple of numbers from their corporate covers band days. In fine voice she delivers soulful-sounding covers of ‘Love Is a Battlefield’ and ‘Play That Funky Music’.

Then we’re back to more classic-era Mud with rocking renditions of ‘Cut Across Shorty’, ‘Rocket’ and ‘The Cat Crept In’. We’re coming to the end by now. There’s only time for two more songs. Everyone knows exactly what there going to be and we wouldn’t want it any other way.

First, Stiles puts on his best Les-Gray-Does-an-Impression-of-Elvis voice to deliver a glorious sing-along ‘Lonely This Christmas’. How wonderful to be hearing Mud perform this live on the fiftieth anniversary of the very week it was the Christmas number 1 – I felt quite emotional, even with all the daft ventriloquist dummy antics on stage reprising Les Gray’s iconic Top of The Pops appearance.

 Then we are all invited to give a hearty yell of ‘Yaaaaaaaaaaaay’ and it’s time for a barnstorming, rip-roaring rendition of ‘Tiger Feet’, one of the biggest hits of 1974 and one of the best songs of the entire glam era. What a wonderful evening and thank you Ray and Rob for taking us all back to the days of Mud Rock.

Meeting Rob
Meeting Ray
Signed gig poster

Related posts:

Before glam: the debut 60s singles of Bowie, Bolan, Slade, Mud and Sweet

Slade, strikes and the three-day week: the story of the greatest Christmas record ever made

Live review: We Love The 70s at Butlins, Bognor Regis 13-15 September 2024

This week’s featured artist: Church Street Shuffle – debut album ‘The Five Day Weekend’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , , , ,

A contemporary Scottish fiddle and guitar duo featuring fiddle player, Neil Ewart, and guitarist, Ali MacQuarrie, the pair came into one another’s orbit through the bustling live music scene in Inverness and the band’s name pays homage to that, where it’s not unknown for in-demand musicians to play up to three venues in one night, shuffling up and down the city’s Church Street as they do so.

Church Street Shuffle: “Recognizing a shared vision, they embarked on a collaborative effort to blend Neil’s multilayered fiddle loops and chops with Ali’s intricate guitar work, bass lines, and beats. Despite their modern approach, they remained steadfast in honouring the timeless traditions of Scottish music, infusing each track with authenticity and reverence.”

The inspiration for the album’s name, meanwhile, harks back to an old expression about a musician’s typical lifestyle during the winter months, where the weekends would extend beyond the conventional working week.

Neil Ewart’s musical journey began at the National Centre for Excellence in Plockton, where he honed his skills before pursuing a degree in Applied Music at Strathclyde University. His innovative and daring compositions are deeply entrenched in the rich heritage of Scotland’s west coast. Echoing the creative spirit of pipers from centuries past who improvised variations on Gaelic airs, Neil breathes new life into the genre by infusing it with contemporary harmonic structures and rhythmic complexities.

Ali MacQuarrie’s masterful guitar playing and infectious grooves, meanwhile, are also a key feature of each track. He continues to refine his craft at the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow, enriching his musical repertoire with classical training. His reputation as a sought-after guitarist in the Highlands continues to soar, which has seen him share stages with acts such as Calum MacPhail and Cala.

Recording the album, the pair joined up with established recording engineer and producer, Barry Reid, who also plays synths and percussion.

A contemporary and fresh-sounding take on Scottish traditional music, the duo have created an instrumental album that’s both fizzing with innovation yet also feels like the warm embrace a familiar old friend. The Five Day Weekend is an impressive debut.

Released: 17 May 2024

https://www.churchstreetshuffle.com/

Live review: Morgan Fisher at Fiddler’s Elbow, Camden 30/11/24

Glam rock, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

My introduction to Mott the Hoople was via the band’s final two studio albums, Mott and The Hoople, discovered while hunting through the second-hand record racks of Preston’s Action Records as a teenager in the early ‘80s. I was rebelling against the synth-heavy, over-produced music of the era and was on my very own retro-fuelled journey of discovery. Mott I absolutely adored, particularly Ian Hunter’s old-school rock and roll piano, and a few weeks later I also bought The Hoople, with Ariel Bender now on guitar and the one and only Morgan Fisher on keyboards. To me those last two albums, with all of that irresistible keyboard-playing, was the sound of Mott The Hoople and at the time I was completely oblivious to the earlier material featuring Verden Allen’s distinctive Hammond – although I soon came to love that as well.

Late-period Mott The Hoople was, therefore, very much my entry-point into what would be a life-long love affair with the band. So when I saw Morgan Fisher announce he was doing a one-off solo gig while he was over from Japan I booked my ticket straight away. I’ve witnessed each of the Mott The Hoople reunions and I’ve seen Ian Hunter perform solo many times but this was going to be unique: Morgan Fisher performing The Hoople album in full in a small sweaty music pub in Camden.

Dapperly dressed, as always, in keyboard-lapelled jacket and glass of red wine in hand, Morgan introduced ‘The Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ (track one, side one of the original album) by saying that Ian Hunter had originally planned to play the keyboards himself, but after nailing the keyboards on the first take, Morgan’s Jerry Lee Lewis-inspired pounding is what you hear on the album. And on it goes from there. All of those unforgettable classic tracks, played and sung exclusively for a gloriously-enthusiastic 120-strong audience.

Morgan told us that the backing tape he was playing along to was actually the sound of Dale Griffin’s drums, isolated from the original album. He explained that while AI was a terrible way of creating music it was a great way of separating out certain sounds from music that had already been created. As well as the sound of Buffin’s drums (and a chance to really hear what a superb drummer he was) there were other embellishments along the way: the odd bass-line, certain guitar riffs and some of the album’s most memorable sound effects. For the ‘I’ve got my invite’ line in ‘Roll Away the Stone’, however, Kristy Benjamin (daughter of post-Hunter Mott singer, Nigel Benjamin) stepped up to the mic to do the honours, to huge applause when Morgan introduced her.

That last song, of course, ended both the original album and the first set of the afternoon in spectacular fashion. Then, after a short break, we were back with a mix of other Mott the Hoople classics (‘Foxy Foxy’, ‘Saturday Gigs’, ‘Dudes’) together with a Nigel Benjamin-era Mott song (‘Career’ dedicated, touchingly, to his daughter) as well as some highlights from Morgan’s solo career and other collaborations – plus a bit of Bach! As the second set moved to a close, Morgan reminded us that there was one song from The Hoople that he had not yet played, pointing out that the epic, classically-influenced ‘Through The Looking Glass’ had never been attempted on stage. Until now that is…

Morgan is, deservedly, clearly still proud of his time in Mott The Hoople and praised the quality of Ian Hunter’s sharp, observational song-writing. “He should have been recognised as Britain’s Bob Dylan,” he told us before launching into a poignant, spirited and triumphant rendition of Through The Looking Glass’.

Then it was time for an encore. I’d spotted John Fiddler in the audience at the start and hoped he’d be jumping up on the stage for a couple of numbers. Sure enough, as a special encore treat, he joined Morgan on stage to deliver rousing renditions of two songs the pair had performed together as part of the post-Mott outfit, British Lions, ‘Wild in the Streets’ and ‘One More Chance To Run’. What was equally touching was seeing the very obvious five decades of friendship playing out on stage between the two.

If you’d have told me in my mid-teens that one of the ways I’d be spending my late 50s would be a Saturday afternoon in a packed north London boozer listening to Morgan Fisher pounding out old Mott The Hoople classics, I’d have been very happy with that indeed. A perfect afternoon.

Set-list:

First Set

The Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll

Marionette

Alice

Crash Street Kids

Born Late ’58

Trudi’s Song

Pearl ‘n’ Roy (England)

Roll Away the Stone

Second Set

Career (No Such Thing as Rock ‘n’ Roll)

Prelude in C Major

Rest in Peace

Foxy, Foxy

Moth Poet Hotel

(Do You Remember) The Saturday Gigs

All the Young Dudes

Through the Looking Glass

Wild in the Streets

One More Chance to Run

Related posts:

Live review: Mott The Hoople ’74 at Shepherds Bush Empire 2019

Ian Hunter at Shepherds Bush Empire 2016

Ian Hunter at Shepherds Bush Empire 2014

Ian Hunter at Giants of Rock 2016

Mott The Hoople Fan Convention 2016

Mick Bolton: 1948-2021