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Interview with Fairport Convention’s Simon Nicol

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Ahead of Fairport Convention’s 2024 Winter Tour, starting in February, I catch 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.

So you’re obviously looking forward to the Winter Tour then which starts early next month. What can fans expect this time?

Well, for those who didn’t catch DM (Dave Mattacks) with us last year, you’re in for a different kind of musical experience than the last twenty-five years with Gerry. That’s one thing. But the other thing that’s happened with DM, it’s not just the style of playing, it’s the way it’s easily opened up a lot of the repertoire that Peggy and I, and Ric, and DM kind of all know. Because that line-up from ‘85 to ’98, when DM moved over to America, created a lot of its own material. But, of course, Ric was easily able to adapt to much earlier material so it’s really only a case of Ric and Chris now having to learn old stuff if we want to go back to the early days of when Peggy joined. It’s suddenly opened up a huge tranche of the back catalogue which, I’m happy to say, we’re having a look at this year. We’ve been dusting off the old LPs and we’ve found some things that have never really been in the repertoire at all. So it’s going to be an adventure for us and a real voyage of discovery for some of the older – well the more mature members of our audience who perhaps remember us from college days and are now in retirement. They’ll be hearing some stuff that they haven’t heard for decades. And a lot of that will be brand-spanking-new for newbies.

Excellent. So there’s going to be quite a few surprises, then?

Yeah! I hope so! All good ones. You say it’s quite soon but I’ve got a daunting number of things to do before we all actually get together and start practicing under the one roof. Because we all live miles apart. Peggy’s in France when he’s not in this country, he’s over there. DM, obviously, he only comes over a few days before from Boston. I live down in East Kent. So we don’t actually see each other very much considering we’re kind of based in north Oxfordshire.

Has it all slotted in place, in terms of working together. Does it feel very comfortable having Dave Mattacks back?

Yes. We’re used to planning a repertoire in this way. There’s a lot of to-ing and fro-ing and discussions on the phone and WhatsApp groups, where we chew the fat. And then people go off and listen to the songs in question and we end up with a big rag-bag, a bucket of songs if you will. And Chris is the clever one. He sits down and tries to work it out – “Let’s put this one here. Let’s put that one there.” And then there aren’t too many instrument changes and not too many things in the same key and a bit of a rise and fall to the shape of the two sets.

Yeah, we’re very much looking forward to it and we’re used to working that way so when the time comes and we get together in the studio for the rehearsals – two days of that – everybody’s on the same page and there’s not much to be worked out. Just – “Does this still work in this key?” That’s one of the big questions (laughs) because obviously voices and so forth change.

Voices change over the decades! And talking of Dave Mattacks coming back, you never seem to have suffered the sort of rancour with former members that have often bedevilled other bands. That seems to suggest that Fairport Convention has always been a relatively happy working environment. Is that true?

Well, it’s many things. It’s a band. It’s an environment. It’s a family in many ways. I’m closer to the guys I’ve been working with for fifty years than I am to my own immediate family really – I spend more time with them! Been through more adventures! It’s been said before but no-one gets out of Fairport alive. You may stop coming to the gigs but, you know, underneath it all, if you scratch deeply enough do they not bleed Fairport?

So you’ve never really had any of those Noel and Liam Gallagher moments?

Oh.. well. Obviously there are hearty and firm disagreements occasionally and there have been moments when you haven’t spoken to people but there’s a parallel there going back to the family thing or in any small office. Occasionally there’ll be frictions but basically, if you’re a band and a band-member kind of person, I don’t get it. If you’re at daggers drawn and you don’t cut each other slack all the time then you’re probably in the wrong band. You’re probably working with the wrong collection of people because you’re just making life unpleasant for yourself.

Yes, it seems an incredibly sensible philosophy but it seems to evade quite a few bands.

Well I think there’s the famous difficulties which brothers always have when they form groups. There never seems to be a seamless happy bunch of brothers. I mean the Finn Brothers seem to do ok but what do we know about their.. they just make wonderful records. But the Kinks were at it when they were kids. And the Gallaghers dear oh dear. And even the Everlys used to travel to gigs separately and have their own managers and their own lawyers. They would talk to each other through their lawyers and they’d come on to the stage. One time I saw them they came on from different sides and when they went off they didn’t look at each other and they walked off separately…

So Fairport’s a largely happy family rather than a dysfunctional one then..

I don’t want to be all Pollyanna-ish about it but, you know, I think we’re all cutting each other slack all the time and happy to do so.

And moving on, from Fairport Convention’s vast back-catalogue, what album are you most proud of?

Oh God, I don’t know. It’s that favourite child question again isn’t it? I think it’s more of a repertoire to me. A performance on one album enshrines a particular place and a time and a collection of people at that point in their lives. But, you know, we’ve had ‘Crazy Man Michael’ in the repertoire, along with ‘Matty Groves’, since they first surfaced on Liege & Lief in 1969 and I don’t think there’s a definitive version of either of those songs. Certainly, there isn’t in my head when I go to sing that song. If I see it on the list and it’s coming up, I’m not thinking, “Oh, the definitive version of this was recorded on this particular album. This is what I’m going to try and emulate now and try and make it as close to that as possible.” You now, I’m not a human juke-box and the band doesn’t feel like that. We’ve got this song. We all know where it starts and finishes, what key it’s in, what tempo it is. And on the count of four, we’ll start playing it and what comes out that night will be tonight’s performance. It’ll have the same structure as last night’s performance but it’s not the same song. Because my mind will be somewhere else in this song. The person standing next to me playing will be on their own little passage from note one ‘til the end. And I’m sure it’s the same with actors. They perform the same play every night but every night is a first night for that play and that song because it’s a performance.

Fairport Convention’s second album where ‘Meet On The Ledge’ first appeared

Even ‘Meet On The Ledge’ – probably your most well-known song from the live repertoire – that’s evolved massively over the years from the quite gentle and understated song when it first appeared to the rousing anthem for live performance now.

That’s right. It was just a ‘no-big-deal’ song on the second album. It was tucked away on Side Two, Track 4 which is a bit of a graveyard slot for most songs. It wasn’t what you heard when you dropped the needle but it has grown in the telling. It’s a song that’s grown in the telling and it’s acquired more reasons to perform it every year. And I know it means the world to people at Cropredy when we come to it – and not just because we can all go home soon! But because of what it’s come to mean to all the people who are there.

Yeah, it’s gathered extra meaning along the way for the audience and gathered more and more meaning over the years.

You also recently announced the final line-up for Cropredy this year. What are you most looking forward to? (apart from your own set of course!)

That’s another bit of a favourite child isn’t it! I’m looking forward to seeing the reactions of the audience who, implicitly, trust our judgement in selecting the bill and you always get the positive feedback and you always get… it’s a bit like TripAdvisor. You hear the best reviews and you hear the worst ones, you know? And you have to disregard the complete outliers because those aren’t a good ship to follow. And some acts you just know are nailed-on. They’re going to be an absolute banker in terms of the reaction. People’s response to them is just.. that’s why you book them. They’re a certainty. But the funnest acts or the ones that create the most warm feelings at my time of life are the ones that are largely unknown or perhaps under-exposed to the audience. And they go on and they’ve got this huge stage, this wonderful setting to perform to and an audience which is trusting and agog and waiting to be entertained. And you put somebody that’s not had a go before or maybe only has a hundred-and-fifty friends in the audience and then ten minutes later they’ve got the whole audience. Ten thousand new best friends! And that’s a wonderful feeling. And I can think of the Travelling Band having that experience happening to them and, of course, the Pierce Brothers

The Pierce Brothers, they were incredible.

If you weren’t there, I feel sorry for you!

I’d actually seen them, I think a week or so before at Womad and they were just on a small stage with maybe a hundred or so people and I thought, “There are going to go down pretty well at Cropredy.” But yeah it was just incredible.

They went down so well we booked them the next year which is, you know, an absolutely unique experience. Buy yeah, that’s like if you go back to last year for instance, we knew that Chic would be an absolutely 24-carrat performance. But what surprised me was the act before them. Because Toyah and Robert (Fripp) were a little bit of an unknown quantity. You had no idea what their repertoire would be derived from and then they came on and they just tore the place up. It started with ‘Paranoid’ I think, just the set-list from heaven and the performance was just… everything was turned up to the right level and it just absolutely cooked. So I had that same experience. I knew it was going to be ok. It might be great but it was better than both.

This year though, we’ve got some unexpected people, unknowns. And I can tell that you know the Spooky Men’s Chorale. I think that they are going to surprise a lot of people who wouldn’t have come upon them. And they’re so different. What they do is just absolutely heart-stoppingly beautiful and so funny and so moving and you can get all of that in the space of about ten seconds. He’s a brilliant showman, Steve, and I’m really pleased we managed to get them.  

Photo credit: Simon Putman

Other bands have run their own festivals over the years. The Levellers have been doing Beautiful Days for about 20 years I think, but I can’t think of a single one that’s lasted anywhere near as long as Cropredy. What do you think the secret is?

I don’t know but if I could put it in a bottle I could sell it. No, it’s great and all festivals have to confront the same logistical situations. The same questions have to be answered in many different ways. But there are more questions that set Cropredy apart really than make easy parallels with other festivals. It’s just the way it’s grown out of something that was in the village. It wasn’t started as a commercial thing. It literally was the village hall committee asking us if we’d perform for them after the village fete. So it got it’s roots down deep into the heart of the village at the very beginning rather than being something that was imposed on the village. So it’s always been welcomed and enabled by everybody in that postcode. And the fact it’s just grown little by little, almost just incrementally.

Photo credit: Simon Putman

A big change was going from the one day, the Saturday thing, to incorporate the Friday. And that happened after quite a while and it was just such an obvious thing to do. It didn’t feel that weird because people were camping anyway in advance of it. Similarly, we moved again, changed it into a three-day festival but instead of incorporating a Sunday, we thought we’d go back again and bring people to the village a little early and everyone gets a relaxing free day to go home on the Sunday. Most festivals end on the Sunday night and there’s definitely a different feeling from ending a festival on a Sunday morning. That’s one thing that makes it stand out. And the fact that we’ve always tried to look at it as a punter would. You know, your experience from arriving. You see some festivals where people have to go and park half a mile west from the village and then they have to carry everything to a campsite a mile-and-a-half the other side of the village. Whereas at Cropredy we’ve got enough land to play with and the right size, with the smaller number of people attending. It means people can actually camp next to their car. But it’s just a practical thing like that. And because we wouldn’t want to stumble around on an unlit road, we light the village. We put our own lighting in because it’s safer and it’s practical. And road closures and things like that, we try to make it as good an all-round experience as we can.

Indeed, I’ve been going for years but I went with a friend who had not only never been to Cropredy but had never been to a festival before. I think this was two years ago, the first one after Covid. And he’d done loads and loads of camping so he knew campsites inside out and the drill with that but he’d never been to a festival before and he was like, “Oh, it’s really well-organised. It’s not what I was expecting at all. It’s like proper camping!”

Well, you can always improve things so every time you try and tweak things. The glamping has really taken off. So every year we expand that and it still sells out immediately, however many tents we put up. Because I suppose the demographic is not getting any younger, same as the band. So yeah, we try and make things comfortable but, you know, if you change anything in a way that’s noticeable there’ll be uproar! It’s like tinkering with the broadcast time of The Archers. You can’t do it quietly!

Fairport Convention’s Dave Pegg up on the big screen (Photo: Simon Putman)

Wonderful. Is there anything else you want to tell us, ahead of the tour and ahead of Cropredy?

You can just take it from me that I appreciate every tour more as I get older. And I look forward to every Cropredy more and more. But after the two lockdown years, the two missed Cropredies, that period of enforced retirement made me value all the more what this band and this lifestyle and this business, this fellowship of people, has given me. And if I was ever thinking of retiring, making a choice to step away, that thought was sent to the bottom of Davey Jones’ locker big time. Because I would just miss it so much. And I love what I do and I love the people I work with and I’m so grateful for the opportunity when I wake up every morning and I can wriggle my toes and fingers and look forward to the van pulling up then it’s alright with me.

Fairport Convention’s Winter Tour begins on 6th February 2024

Tickets: https://www.fairportconvention.com/

Related posts:

Interview with Dave Pegg

Interview with Ric Sanders

Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2023

Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2022

Book review: ‘On Track: Fairport Convention – every album, every song’ by Kevan Furbank

Fairport Convention at Bexhill 2020

Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2018

Fairport Convention at Cropredy 2017

Album review – Fairport Convention ‘Come All Ye: The First Ten Years’

Fairport Convention – 50th anniversary gig at Union Chapel 2017

Fairport Convention at Cropredy 2014

Fairport Convention at Union Chapel 2014

Album review – Fairport Convention ‘What We Did On Our Saturday’

Seven Stories (parts one and two): the new project from acclaimed Americana singer-songwriter, Little Lore

Album reviews, americana, Music news, , , , , ,

Seven Stories (parts one and two): released 23rd February 2024

“Storytelling is at the heart of Duffy’s songwriting but she finds a unique angle or topic on each track that brings a fresh perspective to a common and relatable issue.” – Maverick magazine on the 2021 debut EP from Little Lore

Following her fantastically well-received debut EP as a solo artist back in 2021, Seven Stories is the latest project from Tricia Duffy and her singer-songwriter alter ego, Little Lore. The first four songs, Seven Stories part one, were released digitally back in September 2023 with the final three songs Seven Stories part two being released in February of this year. A CD version, featuring all seven songs from both parts one and two, is also set for release on 23rd February 2024.

Little Lore: “I had seven songs and I decided to release it in two parts: Seven Stories part one and Seven Stories part two. I’m now thrilled to be releasing the final three songs from the project as well as the CD bringing all seven songs in the collection together. There’s a real variety of styles. Death is one of my go to subjects to write about so there are a couple of quite bleak, sad songs. I’ve got some wry wit in there as well. There’s obviously a climate change one as well – I always like to include one of those. It’s a figurative song written from the perspective of the planet.”

Featuring Little Lore’s compelling storytelling, irresistible melodies and heartfelt vocals, Seven Stories is again produced by renowned New York-based producer and multi-instrumentalist, Oli Deakin (who records under the name of Lowpines). As with the debut Little Lore EP and subsequent singles, Oli Deakin provides the lush instrumentation on each of the tracks, with Morgan Karabel, once again, featuring on drums.

Little Lore adds: “I recorded the vocals in a studio in Kent with an amazing producer and engineer called Paul Stanborough. Lowpines (Oli Deakin) has done the production and all of the instrumentation again and Morgan Karabel is playing drums once more. It is important to me to have women in the team so having a female drummer is really cool.”

On working with Little Lore, Oli Deakin comments: “Working with Tricia on her records as Little Lore has been a really fun journey. As a producer it’s always exciting to work with people who have great ideas, and even more so when they’re also open to building on those ideas and trusting where that might lead. Tricia has been very generous with that trust, which I think has given us both a lot of confidence to be adventurous with our approach, both in the writing and the recording. It’s super rewarding to go out on a limb with an idea and have it land in a place we both get excited about!”

For the full interview with Little Lore visit here

Six of the seven tracks were again written by Tricia Duffy while the final track, ‘It Would be Easier to Miss You if You’d Died’ was a writing collaboration between Tricia and musician and songwriter, Thiago Trosso. A part of the US Ska/Punk/Reggae scene and playing as a session musician in his home country, Thiago Trosso moved to the UK in 2015 with the goal of building a career as a songwriter and solo artist. He finished a Songwriting MA in London, and is now doing a PhD in therapeutic songwriting, opening the path for co-writing with numerous artists around the world.

Seven Stories (parts one and two) will be released on CD on 23rd February 2024 and the final three songs from the project will also be available on all the main digital platforms on the same date.

Available via https://littlelore.bandcamp.com or https://littlelore.ffm.to/sevenstoriespartone

Seven Stories – track by track:

  1. Running on Empty: “Written from the perspective of the planet, it’s sort of a love letter to the human race. The lyrics start “I hold you gently, while you destroy me. Running on Empty. I love you anyway. To get into the frame of mind I needed to write the song, I physically wrote a letter to humanity to help me get the sense of what I wanted to say, that the planet will survive the climate crisis just fine after we humans have wiped ourselves out, but she (Mother Earth) acknowledges that she benefits from some of our interventions. Despite the big topic, it’s a relatively simple song with a haunting Americana vibe.”
  2. Stolen Glances: “I wrote this song in response to a prompt from the Song-a-week challenge run by James Tristan Redding in Nashville. The prompt was “Stolen Glances” and I was travelling home from Cornwall on the train. I remember opening my computer and typing “on a train facing backwards, I steal glances”.  It has had quite a lot of re-writes since that first draft – I think the original version is still knocking around on YouTube somewhere – it’s quite a different song lyrically now. I tried to capture the sense of movement and observation that can be inspired on long journeys, the narrator is searching for answers, but there is almost a sense of not quite knowing what questions she is asking. I think we have all felt that way at some point in our lives.”
  3. The Bench: “This devastating song was inspired by the benches that line the seafront in St. Ives in Cornwall and the true story of a friend of mine who tragically lost her husband a few years ago. The song tells the tale of a man and a women who meet and fall in love despite their age difference. He leaves her once because of the social discourse around their circumstances, but later returns and they marry only to have him leave her again. In the bridge it is revealed he hasn’t left her voluntarily, but died. In many societies benches are incredibly important to people, who use them to memorialise their loved ones with plaques that articulate their feelings about a particular place. “He loved this place” – for example. By centring the story around the bench, we have a sense of a specific location with which to build the narrative. And I believe this makes it more relatable as a result.”
  4. Sebastian Says: “This is a song about imposter syndrome and the inner critic. I have named the voice in my head Sebastian so this is my tribute to him and a good way to tell him to button it! Obviously it had to be a man who tells me I am too fat, doormat, too old, too cold etc. It is a full on driving rock Americana song which probably needs to be played at full volume!” 
  5. The Jackal: “I originally wrote this for a TV Americana Crime brief, but I liked it so much I decided to release it myself.  There are lots of myths surrounding the Jackal, which are known in some communities as ‘death dogs’ or as tricksters.  The Egyptian God of the afterlife, Anubis, had the head of a jackal, so seeing a jackal was considered a warning that someone was in danger.  A bit like a fox in European folklore, in African folklore the Jackal is recognised for its ability to adapt with cunning and stealth, a wily creature that dodges traps by feigning death. It has a black saddle because it offered to carry the sun on its back, burning his fur, and inspiring the words in my chorus.”  
  6. Little Pieces: “I wrote this in response to a brief which was simply to write a song that was titled “little pieces” with a I IV V chord structure. I started mind mapping the words little pieces and somehow landed on the idea of food. I asked myself who eats food in little pieces? The infirm, babies, people at ‘80s dinner parties with pineapple and cheese on sticks? The lack of control people in care feel over all their choices I think can be summed up with the concept of food. Imagining what it must be like to have so little influence over your daily life that you can’t even decide what you eat must be disturbing. I had a lot of doubts about releasing this song as I know it is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea! But I took inspiration and confidence from the likes of Nick Cave and Tom Waits and decided to just go for it – with a lot of support from Oli who always believed.  The arrangement is entirely unsettling and I am sure it is not an easy listen but sometimes stories just need to be told.”
  7. It Would be Easier to Miss You if You’d Died*:“This was a co-write with my friend and fellow songwriter, Thiago Trosso. I always like to come to writing sessions prepared with some ‘writable’ ideas. I don’t always need them, but I think it is the spirit of co-writing to bring your best stuff to the room. That day I read out a list of ideas to Thiago and when I told him the concept I had of being ghosted and it being easier to miss that person if they’d died – he smiled and said, “Let’s write that one!”.  We knew it had to be a careful balance of wry wit and humour with sadness and I hope that we have struck that balance. It was inspired by a real experience of being ghosted which seems to be more common these days. Or maybe we just notice it more because we are all so connected. I think Oli thought I was crazy when I first sent him the song. It doesn’t fit a typical structure, starting with a half chorus to land the premise from the start. But he really leaned into the wry nature of the song and I think the instrumentation really enhances the feel. This is the first time I have ever cut a co-write, but I am positive it won’t be the last.”

Seven Stories: release information:

All Tracks written by Tricia Duffy except *written by Tricia Duffy and Thiago Trosso

Vocals – Tricia Duffy 

Produced by – Oli Deakin

The Bench Drums – Oli Deakin

All other tracks Drums – Morgan Karabel 

All other instruments – Oli Deakin

Vocal Recording – Paul Stanborough at Chapel Studio, Kent

Artwork – Afiya Paice

About Little Lore:

Little Lore is a London based, Indie-Americana singer-storyteller whose songs are both charmingly accessible and beguilingly challenging. You’ll want to listen twice. When you combine British wit and wordplay with cherished Americana roots, musical magic starts to happen. Based in Chiswick, West London, and originally hailing from Portsmouth, Tricia Duffy started her singing career as a teenager, which included a stint on cruise ships in the United States.  She began writing and performing her own material with Americana duo Duffy & Bird and they released a well-received album ‘5 Lines’ in 2017 and a follow-up EP ‘Spirit Level’ in 2019.

Tricia’s solo project Little Lore was created in 2020 during the pandemic. Her debut solo EP, Little Lore, was released in 2021 to glowing reviews. The singles, ‘Shallow’, ‘Brown Liquor John’ and ‘Birds’ were released in 2022 to similar acclaim, followed by another equally well-received single ‘Normal’ in January 2023. An enthusiastic advocate for songwriters, she is the London Chapter Coordinator for NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) and is especially passionate about creating opportunities for female, transgender and non-binary songwriters.

In her songs, Little Lore brings together an affection for the heart and heritage of Americana music, with an intelligence and maturity of storytelling that can sweep you away into new and unexpected emotional worlds.

Seven Stories (parts one and two): released 23rd February 2024

Related posts:

The gripping tale of Little Lore: interview with Americana singer-storyteller, Tricia Duffy

Little Lore: the magical new project from UK Americana singer-storyteller Tricia Duffy

‘Normal’: a gorgeous slice of lush Americana – the new single from Little Lore

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

Glam rock, Interviews, Music culture & history, Music news, Rock music, , , , , , , , ,

Ahead of the ten-date Lust For Life tour (featuring Clem Burke, Glen Matlock, Katie Puckrik, Kevin Armstrong, Luis Correia and Florence Sabeva) where she will appear as their special guest, I catch up 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.

You’ve got the Lust For Life tour coming up in February/March this year. Can you tell us about your role in that?

I’m going to be telling a story! A bit like a Moth story when I did that. I think I’m doing it right before the Lust For Life band go on. I’ve got a couple of stories but I think the one I’m going to use is my journey from a little hairdresser in Beckenham, meeting Mrs Jones (David Bowie’s mother) and getting involved with David and going on the road with him. That basically is what it’s going to be about. It was quite a journey that’s for sure!

You mentioned the hair salon in Beckenham and then being introduced to David Bowie. What were your first impressions of David?

The first time I saw David he was wearing a dress walking down Beckenham High Street. So when we all ran out to have a look we were like [mouth wide open]  it’s a man in a dress! But when I first met him, he was quite shy really. I mean he wasn’t particularly… Angie was the one who would talk all the time. David was quite quiet. But very determined. Very conscious of what he was doing I think – all the time. He was really ambitious. He was so ambitious, David. I didn’t realise quite how ambitious until I started doing research for my book and I realised that since he was 15 years old, he’d been playing like five nights a week every week anywhere that would take him. And I mean that is dedication for you. I was surprised when I read that. I think it’s that old adage where people say to you, “Oh, it’s overnight success.” But, of course, it’s anything but that. David had been doing this for years before I met him. I just happened in on the pivotal moment I think.

Working as David’s stylist which you went on to be, were you surprised to find just how influential your ideas would be in shaping British pop culture in the early 70s?

No, I mean if you told me that some fifty years later we’d still be talking about this haircut I would never have believed you! I think when the punks came in and they still had that sticking up hair-do which I think was my influence from David. And it changed. I mean David’s hairstyle was originally inspired by a Kansai Yamamoto model But that wasn’t the haircut he ended up with. That was just a little froo at the front. But it developed and evolved and in the end it was definitely my haircut. That long – what was it?  – the mullet I suppose is what it ended up being! And the colour!

And, as you say, it had that enduring impact across one different fashion and youth cult to another so it didn’t just come and go.

It didn’t. I still get asked about it. David was asked once what he’d most like to be remembered for and he said, “Always having great hair.” And he was right! I mean he had great hair. He really did. And a great face. I mean I saw 200lb truckers wearing that hair-do and it didn’t look quite the same. David certainly was the perfect person to do this hair on, yes. It helped he was tall and skinny!

And if we can just talk a little bit about Mick as well, one of the dates on the tour is going to be Hull on 1st March. That’s going to be a rather special night surely, in Mick Ronson’s home city?

It’s always a special night when I’m in Hull. It always is. I went to see Turn & Face The Strange (Mick Ronson tribute) there a year or so ago. I mean, I would go every year but I’m not in England all the time. It’s a great show. They took such care to do that show. I think it’s a really good show. And they love Mick in Hull. I think he would be shocked at just how revered he is in Hull still. His old band-mates still play and talk about Mick. And, yes, it will be an interesting evening and I always get a bit emotional when I go to Hull. Because I go and visit him, of course, in his grave and it’s a bit emotional. And it’s also a bit terrifying because they knew him. And I kind of do that accent at some point coz (adopts strong Hull accent) I can take Mick off quite well now. I can talk a bit Hull like. And I’m always a bit nervous to do that up there!

And given it’s the Lust For Life tour, will you be sharing any particular memories of Iggy Pop as well?

Yeah, that’s the other story I’ve got. I’ve got an Iggy story. I met Iggy at the Dorchester Hotel. David, Lou and Iggy were doing a press conference for the American press and it was the culmination of a couple of weeks where they’d all played in London. David had played at Aylesbury. Both Lou and Iggy played at the Scala. I went to the Lou one. I wish I’d gone to the Iggy one because the reviews from that night were like completely outrageous. So I wish I’d gone to that one but I was exhausted, I couldn’t go to them all. And I met him there and then I met him in California. And his hair – he wanted something different so we dyed it blue. And I said to him as I left, “Don’t go in the pool. Don’t wash your hair for a couple of days. Let the colour have time to set.” Well, he paid me no attention whatsoever. He goes in the pool at the Beverly Hills Hotel and left a streak of blue from one end to the other. So those were my two most memorable moments with Iggy.

And if we can move on to another key figure in rock and roll. One of Mick’s long-term collaborators was Ian Hunter who wrote that wonderful tribute ‘Michael Picasso’ when Mick passed away.

Oh my god. I can’t listen to that song. I can never listen to that song. What an amazing song.

It still always brings a tear to my eye when I hear it.

I can’t. I can’t. When Ian does a show he always says, “Suzi, time to leave!” Because I can’t. I’d just sit there and I’d just bawl. It’s such a sad song but it’s such a great song. Ian’s a really good writer.

It must have been incredibly moving hearing that for the first time.

Yes, I mean yeah… Lisa and I for years we would go and see Ian. They’re still friends of mine today. And Lisa and I we’d just look at each other and go, “No please, don’t do this song.” But an incredibly moving song, yes. Brilliant writing. And Mick well deserved it. He was an amazing person, Mick.

Yes it just seemed to capture both the friendship and Mick’s personality in that song.

Yes. Brilliant title. What a title – Michael Picasso. What a great title.

And personally, I became more aware of Mick’s work with Ian Hunter when I was a teenager in the 80s than I did with Mick’s work in the Spiders really.

That first record was just destroyed by managers. The Ian Hunter record that first one they did together, ‘Once Bitten Twice Shy’ – what an amazing record that was. We all thought – hold on, here we go! Managers… Record companies… They were not going to allow that to continue. And it just ended up… I’m amazed that we’ve remained friends to be honest after what went on during that time with Tony Defries and Fred Heller – and they should check their egos at the door but they did not. Especially Tony and they just wanted it all under their control and it’s just ridiculous. Ridiculous really because that should have been a hit record and it should have been a hit touring band. Because they looked fabulous together. It was all working out because Mick had done the Mott thing. I don’t know what went wrong there but that was a massive failure! And then he and Ian decided to work together and do a record. They still couldn’t be a band because we had two different managers and two different record companies and neither one of them wanted to be, you know kind and nice and ‘let’s make something work’. They just didn’t do that. But the record itself, I thought, was fantastic.

Absolutely. And it’s so nice to hear that the friendship has endured all of that.

Yes! I’m seeing Ian in a couple of weeks. I still cut his hair! Isn’t that funny. I still cut his hair!

And finally, is there anything else you want to tell us about the tour before we wrap up?

Oh, come and see it! I think it’s going to be great. That band sold out last year. I didn’t see it – I was in New York – but apparently it was amazing. The whole tour was great. And Katie (Lust For Life band lead singer – Katie Puckrik) I met her and I saw some videos of her and I thought, “Damn, this girl is really good.” I kind of missed her not living in England. I kind of missed what she was doing before. And Glen (Matlock) is an old friend of mine so that’s going to be really nice. And there’s Clem (Burke). I don’t know Clem and I don’t know Kevin (Armstrong) but by all accounts that band are really hot and I can’t wait to work with them. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.

And I think you’re going to be a fantastic addition to the tour as well!

Ooh, I hope so. I’m a bit nervous. But I hope so!

Tickets for the Lust For Life tour available via: https://www.lustforlifetour.com/

Suzi Ronson’s book Me and Mr Jones: My Life With David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars is published by Faber on 4th April this year

Bowie backing vocalist to reprise iconic ‘shopgirl’ role on ‘Absolute Beginners’ – Lust For Life, Islington Academy – 9th March

Music culture & history, Music news, Rock music, , , , ,

As the Lust For Life band (Clem Burke, Glen Matlock, Katie Puckrik, Kevin Armstrong, Luis Correia and Florence Sabeva) hit the road in February/March this year there will be one song in the set-list that will be particularly special for guitarist, Kevin Armstrong.

As Kevin explains in this video, getting the call to work with Bowie on ‘Absolute Beginners’ was a life-changing day for him, not to mention a pretty unique experience for his sister, too!

But how did Kevin’s sister come to be performing backing vocals for David Bowie?

Kevin takes up the story in his recently-published autobiography, Absolute Beginner:

“After twenty minutes of trying various things, we had a structure and shape that seemed to please him. He took a pen and paper and started jotting down lyrics. We recorded the whole thing in one or two takes, and it sounded fucking amazing right off the bat. David seemed really impressed and asked me, Neil, and Matthew to be ready to do the real session in a week’s time at Westside Studios near Ladbroke Grove.

‘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.’

This was no idle comment. He really meant it. That really is my sister Jan harmonising sweetly above Bowie on ‘Absolute Beginners’.”

Janet and David Bowie in the studio recording Absolute Beginners

Janet Armstrong recalls the session as follows:

“It was all a bit surreal. The atmosphere that he created in the studio – even before he turned up – was electric and upbeat. I remember Mathew Seligman was making everyone laugh.

When David came in he lit up the room just a bit! He was lovely, chatty and engaged. He listened to people and their ideas and joined all these elements with his to get the track done. When we did the vocals I was really nervous but David was so sweet and encouraging. Mathew suggested some breathing exercises, which he directed. So there I was standing a foot away from the great man himself doing these breathing exercises together!

Then he sang and I joined in, he corrected me on phrasing and I think we only did a couple of takes and that was it. David left shouting ‘see ya’ and went off for a Sunday roast. Like I said, a bit surreal, it was a whirlwind!”

Janet today

You can catch Kevin and the rest of the Lust For Life band at the O2 Academy, Islington on 9th March where Janet will be joining the band on stage to relive that “surreal” experience.

Tickets for all available dates via: https://www.lustforlifetour.com/

Related posts:

Suzi Ronson joins the Lust For Life Tour – ‘Me and Mr Jones: my life with David Bowie & the Spiders from Mars’

Notes from the Lust For Life Tour – Feb/Mar 2023

Absolute Beginner: Interview with Bowie/Iggy guitarist Kevin Armstrong

Live review: Iggy Pop, Blondie, Generation Sex, Stiff Little Fingers & Buzzcocks at Crystal Palace Park 1/7/23

Lust for Life 2024: Clem Burke, Glen Matlock and Katie Puckrik reunite for second UK tour

‘Slade in the 1970s’ by Darren Johnson – reviews round-up

Book reviews, Glam rock, Music culture & history, Music news, Rock music, , , , , , ,

Slade in the 1970s – my third book for Sonicbond Publishing’s Decades series came out in May 2023, following my books on The Sweet (2021) and Suzi Quatro (2022). All three books are available on Amazon and other major retailers as well as the publisher’s own online shop at Burning Shed.

It’s been great seeing the amount of interest in the book, including a joint interview with Don Powell (pictured here with a copy of my book – definitely a proud author moment!)

Here is a round-up of reviews that have come in so far:

“Covering the titular decade, Johnson provides in-depth analysis release by release, relying heavily on contemporary press. It reads well: interesting, informative and with an amiable personal slant.” – Gerry Ranson RnR magazine

“Another ‘must have’ for the casual Slade fan and anyone who loves a bit of glam rock”– Jason Ritchie, Get Ready To Rock (read full review here)

“As a massive glam rock fan, this is a must-have book” – Martin Hutchinson, Eighth Day magazine

“This neat paperback guide to a glittering 70s heyday recalls a momentous run of singles and albums” – Beat magazine

“As well as listing all single and album tracks, with accompanying background notes, all key elements of the Slade story are covered here.” – Jon Marsh, Wired Up fanzine

Related posts:

More info on Slade in the 1970s book

Reviews roundup: ‘The Sweet in the 1970s’

‘Suzi Quatro in the 1970s’ by Darren Johnson – reviews round-up

‘Wild Love’ – sultry new single for Joanne Shaw Taylor ahead of February 2024 UK tour

Music news, Rock music, , , , ,

UK blues virtuoso Joanne Shaw Taylor has unveiled a new single and video ahead of her February 2024 UK tour and a much-anticipated new studio album which is also slated for release next year.

Catchy and infectious with a sultry twist and boasting plenty of the guitar maestro’s trademark licks, ‘Wild Love’ follows recent single ‘Black Magic’ in providing a taste of what’s in store for fans when Shaw Taylor releases her brand-new studio album next year.

Joanne Shaw Taylor: “I love this track. I wanted it to be dark and sexy. I think, with the boys’ help, we came up with something really cool that the band in the studio really made come to life. It’s also rather different to anything I’ve done before so I’m really looking forward to playing it live.”

‘Wild Love’ is available to stream via the usual platforms here

2024 UK Tour dates

British blues rock guitarist and singer songwriter Connor Selby has been announced as the special guest on the tour.

To purchase tickets visit https://www.joanneshawtaylor.com/tour/

About Joanne Shaw Taylor

Discovered at 16 by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, Joanne Shaw Taylor quickly ascended as one of the world’s leading rock guitarists. Championed by legends like Stevie Wonder, Annie Lennox, and Joe Bonamassa, her powerful song writing and distinct vocals first captivated audiences with her 2009 debut, White Sugar. Over the years, Joanne has released numerous acclaimed albums, including the UK Top 20 hit Reckless Heart and the #1 Billboard Blues Chart toppers The Blues Album and Blues From The Heart Live. Her most recent studio album, Nobody’s Fool, launched under Bonamassa’s Journeyman Records in 2022, showcases collaborations with industry icons and highlights her continually evolving artistry.

Photo credit: Stacie Huckeba

Suzi Ronson joins the Lust For Life Tour – ‘Me and Mr Jones: my life with David Bowie & the Spiders from Mars’

Glam rock, Music culture & history, Music news, Rock music, , , , , , , , ,

It’s just been announced that former Bowie stylist and wife of the late Spiders from Mars guitar hero will join the 2024 Lust For Life Tour (Clem Burke, Glen Matlock, Katie Puckrik and Kevin Armstrong). Suzi Ronson will be reading extracts from her her forthcoming book Me and Mr Jones: My Life With David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars – published on 4th April next year.

Me and Mr Jones is described by publishers, Faber as “an electrifying peek behind the curtains during a legendary chapter of pop culture history… from the stylist behind David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust look.”

“Suzi Ronson was there as Bowie transitioned from suburban folkie to world superstar and genius. Few can offer such insight, and tell this fascinating story with such verve.” Hanif Kureshi

From the synposis: “Suzi Ronson was working in a Beckenham hair salon in the early seventies when Mrs Jones came in for her weekly shampoo and set. After being introduced to her son David and his wife Angie, Suzi finds herself at the Bowies’ bohemian apartment and is soon embroiled in their raucous world.

Having crafted his iconic Ziggy Stardust hairstyle, Suzi becomes the only working woman in David’s touring party and joins the Spiders from Mars as they perform around the globe. Amid the costume blunders, parties and groupies she meets her husband-to-be, Mick Ronson, and together they traverse the absurdities of life in show business, falling in with the likes of Iggy Pop, Bob Dylan and Lou Reed along the way.

Dazzling and intimate, Me and Mr Jones provides not only a unique perspective on one of the most beguiling stars of our time but also a world on the cusp of cultural transformation, charting the highs and lows of life as one of the only women in the room as it happened.”

Tickets for the Lust For Life tour are available via: https://www.lustforlifetour.com/

Related posts:

Notes from the Lust For Life Tour – Feb/Mar 2023

Absolute Beginner: Interview with Bowie/Iggy guitarist Kevin Armstrong

Live review: Iggy Pop, Blondie, Generation Sex, Stiff Little Fingers & Buzzcocks at Crystal Palace Park 1/7/23

Lust for Life 2024: Clem Burke, Glen Matlock and Katie Puckrik reunite for second UK tour

Neighbourhood Threat: all-star Lust For Life band release live single ahead of Feb/Mar 2024 UK tour

Book reviews, Music news, Rock music, , , , , , , , , ,

‘Neighbourhood Threat’ a cover of the classic Iggy Pop song released: 1st December 2023

Following glowing reviews, sold-out venues and many, many fun nights, the all-star line-up celebrating Iggy Pop’s classic Lust For Life album have announced a second UK tour. Legendary Blondie drummer, Clem Burke, will once again be joined by former Sex Pistol and punk pioneer,  Glen Matlock on bass; broadcaster and Pet Shop Boys dancer, Katie Puckrik on vocals; Iggy Pop and David Bowie collaborator, Kevin Armstrong on guitar;  Luis Correia, who’s toured internationally with Earl Slick on second guitar; together with classical pianist, composer, and touring member of Heaven 17, Florence Sabeva on keyboards.

The band will again perform the Lust For Life album in full, as well as revisiting songs from across the individual band members’ careers with legendary artists including Blondie, David Bowie and the Sex Pistols. Some of them will be songs the band performed on the last tour but there will be a few surprises thrown in as well.

Ahead of the tour, a live version of Iggy’s ‘Neighbourhood Threat’ from the classic Lust For Life album will be released as a single on 1st December, recorded live at London’s Lexington on the previous tour back in March this year.

Fronting the band, the irrepressible Katie Puckrik proved a rock ‘n’ roll revelation to many on the last tour. As Clem Burke said: “Katie is fantastic and she’s joined the ranks of the other brilliant women I’ve been fortunate to play with: Debbie, Annie, Nancy, Wanda, The Go Go’s and Joan!”

Katie Puckrik: “Touring Iggy Pop’s Lust For Life in 2023 felt like a homecoming. My broadcast career had long steered me away from my original calling as a performer, from dancing onstage with The Fall and Michael Clark Company, touring the world with Pet Shop Boys, and singing in Sparks’ opera The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman, both on the original cast recording and in performance. So to embody the funny/dirty/tart/smart songs of the magnificent Iggy Pop was an electrifying rebirth. Every single gig was a communion with a frothing room of Pop-aholics, and it’s thanks to the crowds who danced and hollered along to Lust For Life, The Passenger, and the rest of Iggy’s anthems, that we get to do it all over again. Once again I’ll be elevated by some of Iggy, Bowie and Blondie’s most beloved players, including Clem Burke, Glen Matlock and Kevin Armstrong, and I’m warning you—this band is a joy machine!”

Three of the band members, Glen Matlock, Clem Burke and Kevin Armstrong, have toured with Iggy Pop and each has made an album with him: Glen Matlock (Soldier) in 1980, Clem Burke (Zombie Birdhouse) in 1982 and Kevin Armstrong (Blah Blah Blah) in 1986.

Glen Matlock: “To be on stage with these fellow like-minded guys and gals and celebrate our collective musical ancestries is always a pleasure, so come on down and let’s all hit the roof together.”

Clem Burke: “I’m really looking forward to  once again playing with this great group of friends and musicians. All aboard for more Funtime!”

Lust For Life tour – what they say:

“One hell of a gig.” – Tim Keppie, Record Collector magazine

“Puckrik leads a performance of riotous energy and no mean volume.” – Chris Roberts, Classic Rock magazine

“If you’re my generation, this is a blast.” – Neil McCormick, chief music critic – The Telegraph

“Great gig. Great band. Brilliant night.” – Marc Riley, BBC Radio 6 Music presenter

The full 2024 tour dates are as follows:

Wed 28 Feb – Arts Centre, Colchester

Thur 29 Feb – Arts Centre, Colchester **SOLD OUT**

Fri 01 Mar – Social, Hull

Sat 02 Mar – St Luke’s, Glasgow ***SOLD OUT**

Sun 03 Mar – O2 Ritz, Manchester

Tue 05 March – O2 Academy2, Leicester

Wed 06 Mar – O2 Academy2, Birmingham

Thu 07 Mar – The Exchange 1856, North Shields

Fri 08 Mar – O2 Academy2, Liverpool

Sat 09 Mar – O2 Academy Islington, London

All tickets available via: https://lustforlifetour.com/

Related posts:

Notes from the Lust For Life Tour – Feb/Mar 2023

Absolute Beginner: Interview with Bowie/Iggy guitarist Kevin Armstrong

Live review: Iggy Pop, Blondie, Generation Sex, Stiff Little Fingers & Buzzcocks at Crystal Palace Park 1/7/23

Dave Mason re-imagines Traffic’s ‘Dear Mr Fantasy’ with blues rock icon, Joe Bonamassa

Music news, Rock music, , , , , ,

In a new collaboration, the former Traffic musician and all-round rock legend, Dave Mason, has teamed up with blues rock icon, Joe Bonamassa, to record a brand-new version of Traffic’s ‘Dear Mr Fantasy’ which was originally released back in 1967 on the band’s debut album, Mr Fantasy.

Although written by Traffic’s Steve Winwood, Chris Wood and Jim Capaldi, the song has been a mainstay of Mason’s live set throughout his solo career and he’s expressed his delight about re-revisiting the track and in working with Bonamassa for a contemporary take on a seasoned classic.

Dave Mason: “Fantasy has been a favourite song of mine since its release in 1967. I’ve played it live for years in a number of different arrangements. As I’ve often said, there are no old songs, just good songs, and ‘Dear Mr. Fantasy,’ in my mind, is one of the finest examples around.”

“To have the opportunity to incorporate one of the modern-day great guitar players, Joe Bonamassa, is as exciting to me as playing with Jimi Hendrix. He is the first person I wanted to include on this new version of ‘Fantasy.’ The combination of talent with great song structure is exhilarating to me, and I knew Joe would play it like nobody else. He has a uniquely keen sense of precise timing, unobstructed by a bluesy groove that’s perfect for this song. He brings everything up, and ‘Dear Mr. Fantasy’ is both classic and current, an exceptionally difficult balance to do but Joe Bonamassa pulled it off powerfully with grace and genius.”

The new version of “Dear Mr. Fantasy” featuring Dave Mason with Joe Bonamassa is available now on all major streaming platforms.

https://www.davemasonmusic.com/

About Dave Mason

Fans and critics alike hail Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason as one of the most talented songwriters and guitarists in the world – which is why he is still performing over 100 shows a year to sold-out crowds. Best known for his soulful voice and unsurpassed guitar playing, Dave founded two bands by the age of 15: The Deep Feeling, and The Hellions. At 18, the Worcester, England native teamed up with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Chris Wood to form the legendary band Traffic. At 19, Mason penned the song “Feelin’ Alright.” The rock anthem, first recorded by Traffic and then covered by dozens of other artists (including Joe Cocker), cemented both Dave’s and Traffic’s legacy, and had a profound influence over rock music that continues today.

About Joe Bonamassa:

Blues-rock superstar Joe Bonamassa is one of the most celebrated performing musicians of today. As a three-time GRAMMY-nominated artist and 13x Blues Music Award Nominee (4 wins), he achieved his 27th No. 1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart with his latest release, Blues Deluxe Vol. 2. Only in his mid-40s, Bonamassa has become a living legend with an astounding multi-genre catalog. He has released more than 40 albums, including studio and live recordings, as well as collaborative albums with his adventurous side projects: Black Country Communion and Rock Candy Funk Party.

Related post:

Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam at Union Chapel, London 3/3/17

Lockdown: the hard-hitting new studio album from Thunderstick – released 20th October

Music news, new wave of British heavy metal, Rock music, , , , , , ,

Led by the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal legend, Barry Graham Purkis (aka Thunderstick), and fronted by the mesmerizing lead vocalist, Raven Blackwing, October 2023 sees the release of a brand-new studio album from Thunderstick. Lockdownwill be the band’s first new studio album since the critically-acclaimed Something Wicked This Way Comes album in 2017.

A collection of fourteen titles playing for one hour and twenty minutes, Lockdown features brand-new material never before released, and includes compositions written by Barry Graham Purkis during the band’s original tenure in the 1980s that only made it to demo stage at the time due to live commitments.

Taken from the album, stage favourite ‘Go Sleep With The Enemy (I Dare Ya)’, was released as a single in August and has been picking up extensive airplay.

Lead singer Raven Blackwing: “I’m very excited about the forthcoming full-length studio album which is my first with the band. I have been working really hard on the live shows and believe that the album tracks present many different facets of my onstage characters. I hope that our fans enjoy meeting them all.”

Thunderstick’s alter ego and creator Barry Graham Purkis adds: “What can I say… I am so pleased that I am able at last to announce that we have new material ready for release. Drum tracks for this album were laid down pre-covid in 2019, so to say it has been a long time coming would be an understatement. I do believe, however, that it has been worth the wait. I regard the new material as some of the strongest that I have recorded. Something that I can thank the many guest appearances for, as well as my live band.”

Read full interview with Barry Graham Purkis here.

Featuring the band’s regular touring line-up of Raven Blackwing (vocals), Pete Pinto and Dave Butters (guitars), Rex Thunderbolt (bass) and the legendary Thunderstick/Barry Graham Purkis (drums), the album also features a number of guest appearances from friends of Purkis, including former Thunderstick guitarists, Dave Kilford and Vinny Konrad; ex-Iron Maiden guitarist, Terry Wapram; Dave John Ross from NWOBHM band, More; and solo heavy metal guitarist, Marius Danielson.

Lockdown is released by Roulette Records on 20th October 2023, in CD format and on all the main digital platforms.

Mixed and mastered BGP/Danielson at Legend Recording Studios, Ålesund, Norway.

Original artwork: Baz Crowcroft

About Thunderstick:

Best known for his time with Samson and an early Iron Maiden Barry Graham Purkis (AKA Thunderstick) has been the legendary icon for the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) scene since the late 1970s. His eponymously-named band, renowned for its female-fronted power rock and theatricality, have a considerable heritage. The band played live and recorded for six years, both in UK and in the US, throughout the 1980s until playing their last gig October 1986.

Then in 2016 former lead vocalist, Jodee Valentine, tragically died following a five-year battle with early onset Alzheimer’s. In recognition of Jodee’s memory Barry decided to record some of the songs that Jodee had performed live. This became the Something Wicked This Way Comes album, the first Thunderstick product in over thirty years. It was released in July 2017 to enthusiastic reviews worldwide.

Barry: “Back in 2017 after the ‘Something Wicked’ album was released I had no intention of forming a live performing band or indeed a follow-up studio album but after such positive encouragement from both long- time supporters and new followers alike I realised that there were still an audience of many out there that wanted our particular brand of mayhem. The die was cast. After much deliberation a new Thunderstick was formed staying true to its theatrical roots but still relevant in today’s fast changing-musical environment. I am so lucky to have found the musicians that I now work with especially Raven of whom I consider to be one of the finest rock singers that I have the good fortune to watch and listen to every time we perform. She is the ‘real deal’ both in terms of voice and stagecraft. The next chapter in our story is now ready for the writing.”

A live DVD of the band’s appearance in Lublin, Poland last April is also scheduled for release towards the end of the year.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thunderstickofficial/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThunderstickUK

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thunderstick.official/

Roulette Records: http://www.rouletterecords.co.uk/

Related posts:

‘Snakebite’ – second single released from forthcoming new studio album by Thunderstick

Behind the mask: interview with Thunderstick’s Barry Graham Purkis

NWOBHM icons Thunderstick are back with new single and video ahead of studio album this Autumn

News: 40 years of Thunderstick celebrated with limited-edition live album – released 20/3/20

Thunderstick is back! New album from NWOBHM legend – ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’