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

Latest folk reviews: Honey & The Bear, Holly & The Reivers, Gavin Marwick, Tom Houston and Colin MacDuff

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

Honey & The Bear – Away Beyond The Fret

Away Beyond The Fret is the third album from husband-and-wife folk duo, Lucy and Jon Hart, and the follow-up to the highly-enjoyable Journey Through The Roke, which I reviewed back in 2021.

Lucy Hart: “Many of the songs on this album focus on our Suffolk home and the close bonds of family, friendship and community.”

Fresh-sounding, slightly genre-hopping and once again deeply rooted in the history, culture and landscape of their Suffolk homeland, Away Beyond The Fret is delivered with the duo’s characteristic elegance and beauty. The highly-talented duo of Lucy and Jon Hart continue to delight and this, their third album, is proof that Honey & The Bear have blossomed into something truly magnificent on the UK folk scene.

Released: 3 November 2023 https://honeyandthebear.co.uk/

Holly & The Reivers – Three Galleys

Three Galleys is the debut album from Holly & The Reivers, a project formed back in 2017 that brings together Holly Clarke (vocals/guitar), Merle Harbron (vocals/fiddle) and Bertie Armstrong (vocals/banjo).

Holly & The Reivers: “Three Galleys reaches into the depths of the darker side of folk song and brings forth the messages in the songs that are deeply rooted in human experience through history. Each track has been meticulously arranged to help interlace the story with a musical setting that enthrals listeners to submit and be swept away in a journey of rich storytelling.”

This is an older live video but still carries their instantly-recognisable  signature sound based around the trio’s banjo, fiddle and guitar and their contrasting but complimentary vocals. Beautifully atmospheric soundscapes combine with stunning interpretations of traditional ballads that tend dwell on the darker side of human existence, borne of an enduring fascination of folk horror cinema. In Three Galleys, Holly & The Reivers have served up a highly impressive debut album.

Released: 15 November 2023 https://hollyclarkemusic.com/

Gavin Marwick – Quarterdays: Martinmas

Martinmas is the fourth and final release in Gavin Marwick’s Quarterdays series, and this one sees the Scottish fiddle-player and composer team up with pianist and accordion-player, Phil Alexander. The two have played together both socially and professionally over a number of years.

Gavin Marwick: “Martinmas celebrates the life of St Martin of Tours, the only actual historical figure to appear in the Quarterdays canon. Born in what is now part of Hungary, serving in the Roman army and ending up as Bishop of Tours and ultimately one of the patron saints of France, Martin offers a very broad European vision of the spread of the early church across the continent during this long ago fourth century period.”

Marking the final season of the year and celebrating the life of St Martin of Tours, whose feast day is marked on November 11th, the six tune-sets, all composed by Marwick, distil Scottish, Eastern European and French traditional influences alongside more contemporary ideas. Once again, Marwick hits us with more wonderfully expressive fiddle and he and Alexander deliver some nicely evocative tunes that perfectly capture the time of year. Quarterdays has been a fascinating project and Martinmas is a worthy finale to the series.

Released: 11 November 2023 https://www.gavinmarwick.co.uk/

Tom Houston – Everything In The Delicatessen

Playing in bands such as Paper Tiger, Unspeakable Acts, Delicious Houdini, Bamboozle, Tom Houston and the Keltic Band and davesnewbike as well as working as musical director in theatre, Tom Houston has also had a prolific solo career and Everything In The Delicatessen is his sixth solo album. His current work encompasses spoken word, soundscapes, stories and songs.

“Everything In The Delicatessen attempts to give the listener that ‘up close and personal’ experience with ‘local produce’ of high quality,” promises the accompanying press publicity.

An album that transcends musical boundaries and is brimming with drama and musicality, great lyrics and great melodies, Everything In The Delicatessen is the kind of album you’ll come back to again and again and always find something new.

Released: 13 October 2023 https://www.tomhouston.org/

Colin MacDuff – Separations

Aberdeen-based musician and songwriter, Colin MacDuff, says he “dabbled” in music and poetry when family and career commitments allowed time but things got more serious upon his retirement when he enrolled on Boo Hewerdine’s and Findlay Napier’s mentorship scheme for aspiring songwriters. With their encouragement he soon found he had more than a dozen original songs and his debut album, The Past In The Sky, was released in 2022 to positive reviews. Separations is the follow-up.

Colin MacDuff: “During the past year I wrote a lot of new songs and got thinking about whether some might fit together in an album. At first, I thought they were very disparate. But, aided by a glass or two, I had the revelation that they were all songs about different aspects of separation.”

The theme of separation in the songs extends across a range of subjects, from relationship break-ups, to bereavement to economic displacement. The main accompaniment is MacDuff’s own acoustic guitar-playing but he’s joined by Angus Lyon (accordion),  Jenna Reid (fiddle) and Hugh Halton percussion, with pianist Maria Quinn also providing some beautifully eloquent piano on three tracks. With his gentle vocal and engaging storytelling, Separations acts as an excellent showcase for Colin MacDuff’s fine songwriting.  

Released: 8 December 2023 https://www.colinmacduff.com/

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

2023 in Darren’s music blog – the ten most popular posts of the year

Folk music, Interviews, Live reviews, Music culture & history, Rock music, , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Happy New Year to one and all. My thanks to everyone who has visited Darren’s music blog during 2023. As usual an eclectic mix of musical genres feature in this year’s top ten most viewed posts of the year – from blues to classic rock, to prog, to goth, to punk, to new wave, to folk – and much more in between! Here’s to 2024 which will mark ten years since I first started this blog back in March 2014.

1. So farewell to Butlin’s Rock & Blues weekends, Skegness 13-15 January 2023

For more than a decade an out-of-season trip to Butlins has been a fixture in my diary at least once each year: numerous trips to Minehead for the Giants Of Rock weekends, several trips to Skegness for the Great British Folk Festival and a handful of additional trips to the same resort for the Rock & Blues weekends. But now it was finally all coming to an end. My review of the final ever Rock & Blues weekend.

Read full review here

2. Live review: Francis Rossi – ‘Tunes & Chat’ at White Rock Theatre, Hastings 3/6/23

Always quite a Quo fan since being a young teenager, I’d originally booked to see Francis Rossi on his ‘I Talk Too Much Tour’ back in 2020. Covid came along and that got rescheduled and then cancelled altogether but Rossi finally made it to Hastings’ White Rock Theatre on his follow-up tour, ‘Tunes and Chat’.

Read full review here

3. Goth without the gloomy bits: five cheerful, upbeat and joy-inducing songs by goth bands

My affectionate but somewhat tongue-in-cheek look at some of my favourite tunes from goth bands. Features Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cult, Sisters of Mercy and The Cure.

Read full post here

4. Live review: Steeleye Span at the Old Market, Brighton & Hove 23/11/23

This tour saw Steeleye Span promoting a new album The Green Man Collection. The band revisit some of their past material with a mixture of songs written by members of the band at the time and some traditional numbers. The new album also includes a newly-composed song from Maddy Prior, a couple of well-chosen covers and something that was written for the band by (the sadly now recently deceased) Bob Johnson back in the ‘80s, committed to tape and then completely forgotten about for the next four decades.

Read full post here

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

The Lust For Life tour brought together Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop), Clem Burke (Blondie, Iggy Pop), Katie Puckrik (Pet Shop Boys, Sparks), Kevin Armstrong (Iggy Pop, David Bowie), Luis Correia (Earl Slick) and Florence Sabeva (Heaven 17). Having had the immense privilege of spending the past few months working on the PR campaign for the tour it was a joy to finally witness the band live, not just in a professional capacity but most importantly as a fan, of both that glorious Iggy Pop album and of the individual players in the band, too. The band are back for a new tour in Feb/March 2024.

Read full post here

6. Live review: Graham Nash at De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill 30/8/23

Billed as ‘Sixty Years of Songs & Stories’ the ten-date UK tour celebrated Graham Nash’s six decades of writing, recording and performing. I’m aware of his hits with The Hollies in the early days, of course, and (courtesy of a couple of compilations) I’m also pretty familiar with some of the best-known songs by both Crosby, Still & Nash and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. I can’t claim to have followed his solo career in any great depth but, nevertheless, I felt confident that this tour was going to be something rather special and something I didn’t want to miss.

Read full review here

7. Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2023

Following an enforced two-year break due to Covid, going to last year’s Cropredy festival almost felt like a novelty. This year, though, it very much felt like being part of an annual fixture once more, the two-year gap now but a distant memory. With various combinations of friends and family over the years, I’ve been going to Fairport Convention’s annual bash in rural Oxfordshire since 2010 so it’s been part of my summer for a good chunk of my life now.

Read full review here

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

One thing I like about the music scene these days is how much less tribal it all is compared to when I was a teenager. The intense rivalry between punks and metalheads has certainly dissipated since I was at school in the late 70s and early 80s. The passage of time, for many of us, has led to a much broader appreciation of rock and roll in all its many guises. As a teen, I was firmly in the hard rock/metal camp rather than the punk/new wave camp but looking around at those attending what has been billed Dog Day Afternoon today, there doesn’t look to be much difference in appearance between all the crop-haired, ageing punk fans clad in regulation khaki shorts and black T-shirts and all the crop-haired, ageing metal fans clad in regulation khaki shorts and black T-shirts.

Read full review here

9. Absolute Beginner: Interview with Bowie/Iggy guitarist Kevin Armstrong

Kevin Armstrong has played alongside icons like David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Thomas Dolby, Sinéad O’Connor and many others. We catch up to talk about his forthcoming autobiography Absolute Beginner which came out in October; as well as the Lust For Life project which has brought together the likes of Clem Burke, Glen Matlock and Katie Puckrik to celebrate the classic Iggy album; plus our mutual love of the live music scene down here in Hastings.

Read full interview here

10. Live review: John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest at Salle Pleyel, Paris 19/11/23

I was fairly late coming to Barclay James Harvest. I was aware of the likes of ‘Mocking Bird’, of course, but picked up a second-hand compilation from a charity shop in about 2019 and my fasciation grew from there. By the time lockdown came, I found myself tracking down the band’s entire back catalogue on ebay. When I saw that John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest were doing their final tour I decided I just had to be there. With only one remaining UK date I wasn’t particularly keen on a trek all the way up to Huddersfield from my home in Hastings and so I hit on the idea of a trip to Paris. I could meet up with friends and make a long weekend of it.

Read full review here

2022 in Darren’s music blog

2021 in Darren’s music blog

2020 in Darren’s music blog

2019 in Darren’s music blog

Rock/folk/prog: album review – Joshua Burnell ‘Live At The Crescent’

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

Hot on the heels of his stunning 2023 studio album, Glass Knight, released back in August, genre-fluid glam-prog-folk singer-songwriter, Joshua Burnell, follows it up with a new live album in time for Christmas.

Glass Knight, which Burnell launched when he performed on the main stage at Fairport’s Cropredy festival, picked up tons of good reviews – including from Darren’s Music Blog where I described it as “Hunky Dory-era Bowie meets folk rock meets prog” and hailed it as a bona fide twenty-first century masterpiece. Rather than giving us ‘stadium-ready’ renditions of the songs from Glass Knight, however, Live At The Crescent (recorded in the intimate setting of a gig in York in October 2022) takes us back to before Glass Knight was recorded, when many of the songs were still being worked up in readiness for the studio.

Opening with the then un-released ‘Where Planets Collide’, Burnell goes on to share with the audience a number of embryonic versions of songs that would later appear on Glass Knight, as well as some older material, including three songs from its excellent, albeit more folk-leaning predecessor, Flowers Where The Horses Sleep.

In addition to live versions of other classic tracks from Burnell’s back catalogue, there are also songs like ‘Some Things Aren’t Eroded’ and ‘Slow-Burning Cigarette’ that are yet to appear on any studio albums, giving us a tantalising glimpse of what might be coming next.

Joined by his regular band of Nathan Greaves on electric guitar, Oliver Whitehouse on bass, Ed Simpson on drums, Frankie Archer on violin and Frances Sladen on vocals; the album is a complete, unabridged recording of his concert at The Crescent that captures the immersive atmosphere of a Burnell gig.

Released: 1 December 2023

www.joshuaburnell.co.uk

Related posts:

Album review – Joshua Burnell ‘Flowers Where The Horses Sleep’

Live review: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2023

Album review – Joshua Burnell ‘Glass Knight’

Blues rock: album review – Long Road Home ‘Are We Invisible?’

Rock music, , , , , , ,

Storm Warning won over plenty of loyal converts on the UK blues rock scene during their fifteen-year existence. I was pleased to review their latest and final album back in the Autumn of 2020. Although an impressive album its release was tinged with sadness, however, as guitarist and founder member, Bob Moore, passed away shortly after recording was completed. None of the remaining members wished to continue so Different Horizons became Storm Warning’s swansong and a lasting tribute to Bob Moore.

Happily, the story doesn’t quite end there. A chance encounter between Storm Warning’s Derek White (bass) and Ian Salisbury (keyboards), with the guitarist Steve Summers and the vocalist Mike Sebbage (both from recording project Rien de Faire) led to the inception of a brand-new band: Long Road Home.

Making their debut appearance at the Cambridge Rock Festival in June 2022 (initially with drummer, Dave Norman, but Lee Morrell was soon to step in on a more permanent basis) the band began planning gigs and putting together their debut album.

Are We Invisible? is the result. Blues rock with a touch of class and bags of soul, the album comprises eleven original tunes and it took no time at all to win me over. Driving rhythms, great vocals, catchy songs, penetrating guitar solos and divinely soulful keyboards, Are We Invisible? is a highly impressive debut.

Released: 16 November 2023 – visit website here

Related post:

Blues rock: album review – Storm Warning ‘Different Horizons’

‘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

Folk: album review – Show Of Hands ‘Roots 2: The Best Of Show Of Hands’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , ,

After a hugely-successful three and a half decades together Steve Knightley and Phil Beer announced this year that Show Of Hands’ days as a touring unit would finally be drawing to a close. The recent Autumn 2023 tour marked their final outing as a trio (with Miranda Sykes) and a spring tour planned for next year will be their final hurrah as a duo. To coincide with this fond farewell, they have a new compilation out. Intended as a companion piece to their original 2007 Roots ‘Best Of’ of compilation, Roots 2 offers up a whopping 31 tracks across two discs.

Steve Knightley: “We’ve always strived to evolve and experiment with our sound,, all the time staying true to our folk roots. We hope the diversity of this album demonstrates that and it will be a noteworthy addition to our discography.”

Immediate proof of just how long-overdue this follow-up compilation is, immediately comes in hearing just how many of my favourites from Show Of Hands can be found on this new collection: ‘Haunt You’, ‘The Long Way Home’, ‘Now You Know’ and, of course, ‘Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed’.

The earlier material isn’t neglected completely though. There’s a new version of ‘Country Life’, for example, recorded live in Exeter and reimagined as a gentle, reflective ballad rather than the rousing twenty-first century rural folk anthem we all love and know. And things are brought up to date with a gloriously celebratory live version of their 2021 ‘lockdown’ single, ‘The Best One Yet.’

Moving, poignant, rousing, anthemic (no-one does anthemic quite like Show Of Hands after all),  Roots 2 is a sterling late-career retrospective of one of the most important UK folk outfits of the past four decades.

Released: 6 November 2023 https://showofhands.co.uk/

Related post:

Live review: Show Of Hands at St Mary in the Castle 4/5/18

‘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

Live review: Steeleye Span at the Old Market, Brighton & Hove 23/11/23

Folk music, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

One of the really nice things about seeing Steeleye Span live (and there are many) is that on each new tour there are always a few surprises to look forward to. It’s never just a ‘greatest hits’ set of the most obvious crowd-pleasers plus a few songs thrown in to plug whatever happens to be the latest album. Obscure songs from the band’s bulging back catalogue are dusted down and given a new lease of life. New arrangements are tried out by what is often a very different line-up from the one that originally recorded it. Or sometimes an entire album is revisited and performed in full. Meanwhile, to make way for a constantly-evolving setlist, old stage favourites are often gently retired and given a rest for a few years.

This current tour sees Steeleye Span promoting a new album The Green Man Collection. Here, the band revisit some of their past material with a mixture of songs written by members of the band at the time and some traditional numbers. The new album also includes a newly-composed song from Maddy Prior, a couple of well-chosen covers and something that was written for the band by Bob Johnson back in the ‘80s, committed to tape and then completely forgotten about for the next four decades.

The latter song, ‘Green Man’, is the one that opens the show. The symbolism of the Green Man has obviously been a mainstay of English folk traditions for centuries but here the lyrics address ecological concerns – then very current in the 1980s when it was first written and, alarmingly, even more current now. Dark, brooding and slightly mysterious, it’s a classic slice of Steeleye Span and a superb opener. Indeed, it’s a complete mystery how the band managed to forget about such a magnificent track. Both the original version and the newly-revisited version appear on the new album.

Alongside familiar numbers like ‘The Dark Morris Song’, ‘New York Girls’ and ‘Tam Lin’, the first half of the set also sees the band take on two songs written by former bass-player, Rick Kemp, ‘Low Flying’ and ‘Genocide’. The former featured on the 1990 Rick Kemp & Maddy Prior album Happy Families whilst the latter appeared on Kemp’s solo album Escape.

The second set opens with a surprising but hugely poignant cover of Elvis Costello’s ‘Shipbuilding’. This is then followed by a newly-written song from Maddy Prior – the excellent ‘Hey Nonny Violence’, which very much follows in the Steeleye Span tradition of seemingly jolly songs tackling much darker themes. Another new song (well new for Steeleye Span, anyway) is the band’s interpretation of the traditional ‘The Sound of Drums’.

That’s not to say there aren’t a few more familiar favourites as well. One song I would have been disappointed to see dropped was ‘Hard Times of Old England’ and, as Prior points out in introducing it, it’s sadly as relevant today as it ever was. For those familiar with the Mike Batt-produced version on the All Around My Hat album, this new interpretation is even more of a rocked-up boogie-fest than the original recording. This is no surprise as none other than Status Quo’s Francis Rossi makes an appearance on the new album guesting on this track, and the band bring some of the spirit of the mighty Quo to their stage performance tonight. There’s also some equally lively fiddle from newcomer, Athena Octavia, who slots in alongside the old hands beautifully.

All the band are on fine form, Prior’s voice is in top-notch shape and Steeleye Span continue to surprise and delight. When the band exit the stage to huge applause towards the end of their second set all that is left is for them to come back on for a riotous, sing-along version of ‘All Around My Hat’ and we can all leave with a spring in our step.

Setlist – first set:
Green Man
The Dark Morris Song
Sir James the Rose
When All The World
The Gardener
New York Girls
Low Flying
Genocide
Tam Lin

Setlist – second set:

Shipbuilding
Hey Nonny Violence
Black Jack Davy
The Sound of Drums
The Weaver and the Factory Maid
Jack Hall
Hard Times of Old England
Bonny Black Hare
Dodgy Bastards
All Around My Hat

https://steeleyespanfan.co.uk/

Related posts:

Book review: ‘All Around My Hat – The Steeleye Span Story’ by John Van Der Kiste

Interview with Maddy Prior

Interview with Julian Littman

Review: Steeleye Span at Hastings 2019

Review: Steeleye Span at Ashford 2019

Review: Steeleye Span at Hastings 2017

Review: Steeleye Span, London 2015

Review: Steeleye Span at New Forest Folk Festival 2014