Friday Night Music Club

After having stated numerous times over the past few weeks that I try not to make these mixes themed, saving those for the occasional airing over at JC’s place, a themed mix is exactly what tonight’s is, although it’s a very loose theme that you may not have even noticed had I not been stupid enough to mention it.

I was thinking the other day about how I often bang on about when I started DJ’ing when I was at college, taking over the fortnightly Indie Disco at the beginning of my second year, which was way back in 1989. And I thought it might be rather nice to do a playlist of the sort of things we used to play, until the Madchester scene exploded and changed 80% of our playlist (for the better; the night was dying on its arse until we were saved by the lads and lasses in hoodies and massive flares).

So that’s what tonight’s mix is: a load of tunes from around the time when I started, some from a little earlier, some I must admit, from a little later. Also, I’ve tried to avoid some of the big hitters – so no Smiths, Cure, Echo & The Bunnymen. But I’ve tried to recreate how an hour of our Indie nights generally sounded back way back when.

Also, in a change to normal, instead of just giving you a tracklisting, I’ve added some sleeve notes for you. Cos I’m nice like that. I might carry that on, we’ll see.

Anyway, chocks away, here we go:

Friday Night Music Club Vol 14

1. The Stone Roses -Bye Bye Badman
2. The Chesterfields – Two Girls and a Treehouse

I’ve kicked off with these two as a tip of the hat to the guy I first started DJ’ing with, a lad off my course named Danny Sweeney. He would always try to squeeze these in because “nobody else plays them”. Danny was sensible enough to stop DJing after a year so that he could focus on his course as it entered it’s final year; I was less sensible, stood for election for the post of Social Secretary, DJ’d loads more, and ended up having to retake my final year, adjudged to have failed the course because, although I passed all the exams and coursework, I hadn’t turned up to enough lectures. Not that I’m still bitter about it or anything, thirty years later, you understand.

3. The Darling Buds – Shame on You

Because of the size of the venue (400 capacity), we would often get little-at-the-time bands, on their way up. The Darling Buds played one Friday night; a day or so later I was talking to two blokes who were absolutely astounded that we’d had a band on who they saw on Going Live! (or whatever the Saturday morning live show on the BBC was called at the time) the next day.

The Darling Buds were one of a clutch of indie bands fronted by blonde female singers – see also The Primitives and Transvision Vamp. They were also the first band I ever met; my mate Keith and I being permitted access to the dressing room after the gig, where the band (and lead chanteuse Andrea in particular) studiously ignored us for about fifteen minutes until we sloped off with our tails between our legs.

4. The Wonder Stuff – Unbearable

Because the Indie night was not exactly the hottest ticket in town, you tended to notice and recognise most people there. And so it was that Keith and I took pity on one lad, who was always on his own. We invited him to join us, which he did. Soon afterwards, we realised why he was always alone: he was exceptionally dull. But now he thought we were his friends, so whenever we arrived he homed in on us like the world’s most boring missile. Burned into my memory is the time this tune, with lead Stuffie Miles Hunt at his sneering best, got played; we all danced, but Keith, unkindly in my opinion, kept singing the chorus in the lad’s general direction at first, and right in his face later. Fortunately, he just thought Keith really liked the song.

5. The Fall – Mr Pharmacist

Some big-hitters I just can’t leave out, and having mentioned Miles Hunt’s sneering, it seemed only right to post something by the late great Mark E. Smith, who seemed to have his upper lip permanently set to curl.

6. Sandkings – All’s Well With The World

Remember Babylon Zoo? Once upon a time, they had a few seconds of their record Spaceman used in a jeans advert, resulting in it being catapulted to the top of the charts, as was the way of the world back then. Problem was, the few seconds used in the ad were by far the best thing about the record, which swiftly descended into one of the dullest turgid drones ever to grace the charts at all, let alone the coveted #1 position. Well, this is the band that Babylon Zoo’s Jas Mann was in before he briefly found fame, and this is loads better than Spaceman. Around the time, many bands were trying to sound like either The Smiths or R.E.M.; this falls into the latter category.

7. Milltown Brothers – Never Come Down Again

Speaking of bands trying to sound like R.E.M., that was an allegation often levelled at this lot. I can kinda see what they meant, although it’s not a comparison I would have made myself. This is ace though, in an of-its-time way.

8. The Family Cat – Steamroller

Contains a really great loudQUIETloud section which is so good they repeat the trick later on, stretching out the elastic of the QUIET bit for so long that when it eventually twangs and the loud crashes back in again, the joyous rush it brings still gets me every time all these years later. Play it loud.

9. The Wedding Present – Don’t Laugh

Okay, okay, another from a big hitter, but this is one of the extra tracks from the Nobody’s Twisting Your Arm 12″, each of which is an absolute belter, detailing, as Wedding Present songs so often did, relationships on the cusp of breaking, or which have just gone over the edge. Gedge at his bitterest best.

10. Kingmaker – When Lucy’s Down

Because those few people who actually remember Kingmaker generally remember them for Ten Years Asleep, and not for this little beauty. Which is rather sad.

11. That Petrol Emotion – Hey Venus

Because many people think that the former Undertones only ever had one decent tune (Big Decision), and they’re wrong because this is pretty great, if a little poppier, too.

12. The Waltones – Bold

The Waltones should have been huge. But having tip-toed to the very verge of being popular, Madchester happened and suddenly their brand of jangly indie pop had fallen down the pecking order. Them’s the breaks.

13. James – How Was It For You?

The song which, along with Come Home, laid the foundation for their less-folky, more-stadium sound, before Sit Down was re-released for the umpteenth time and became the smasheroo we all know and love/hate (delete as applicable).

14. Inspiral Carpets – She Comes In The Fall

Still stands the test of time this one, in my book. Also in my book: the Inspirals were one the best singles bands of the late 80s/early 90s. Moo!

15. The Motorcycle Boy – Big Rock Candy Mountain

Just as C86 darlings The Shop Assistants had tickled the fancy of indie tweesters up and down the land, lead singer Alex jumped ship and formed The Motorcycle Boy. This is by far the best thing they ever did.

16. The Sundays – Can’t Be Sure

Oh, Harriet *sighs*.

17. World Of Twist – She’s A Rainbow

Long before The Verve, and around the same time as Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine felt the wrath of Jagger and Richards legal team, World of Twist released this rather wonderful cover of the Stones’ classic. They were sensible enough to dodge the lawsuits by remembering to credit the wrinkly wonders as songwriters though.

And that’s your lot, til next week.

More soon.

Good Friday Night Music Club

By which I mean, a Friday Night Music Club mix for Good Friday, as opposed to “At last! A good Friday Night Music Club!”

I’ve “ummed & ahhed” about posting this one to be honest; whilst I am not in the least bit religious – I’m firmly in the “religion is the opium of the people” camp – I do think it’s important to respect those who do have faith, no matter in which God, and I didn’t want this to come across as me taking the mick.

Besides, if I’m going to happily accept some extra days off work at Christmas and Easter, it would be rude to bite The Hand that feeds me.

That said, when you’re trying to find pop songs which in some way relate to the biggest Christian festival of the year, of which there are few, and whilst also trying to stay away from obviously religious songs, of which there are many, one does worry that what I’ve prepared may see disrespectful. Genuinely, it’s not meant to be, and I hope it isn’t.

See, I think I’ve dodged that particular pitfall by trying to make this mix so that it roughly follows the events of Easter weekend (as far as I can remember from junior school), starting a little earlier with Judas’s betrayal of Jesus, through Peter’s repeated denials, the crucifixion and resurrection, with some stuff about chocolate and bunnies thrown in to cover the Saturday, when nothing much happened. Apologies if I have misremembered the ‘true’ sequence. If only someone had written it down in some kind of, I dunno, good book that I could have referred to…

I also wanted to avoid including anything from obvious film or theatre portrayals, so there’s nothing from Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar or from Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Oh ok, there is a teensy bit of Life of Brian in there, but don’t fret, it’s not Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.

For those of you pondering Dylan’s inclusion, he’s in there for two reasons: firstly, the song title seemed pretty apt, and secondly, because of the infamous moment when someone shouted “Judas” at him at a gig after he dared to start playing an electric guitar. This of course only makes him the third worst Judas that I’m aware of: there’s the obvious Iscariot chap at #1, and of course Sol Campbell at #2, for leaving Tottenham on a free transfer to go to play for Arsenal. (See, if I was religious, I’d have forgiven him by now.)

Anyway, as I say, I’m honestly not trying to offend with this mix (so there’s no need for an ‘effing and jeffing’ warning this week), rather the idea is to offer up a way that non-Christians can enjoy the weekend’s activities from a musical perspective, and who knows, perhaps even engage in a way they haven’t done for a long time.

Here we go then:

Good Friday Night Music Club

Here’s your track-listing:

• !!! – Even Judas Gave Jesus A Kiss
• Cowboy Junkies – Good Friday
• Bob Dylan – Knocking on Heaven’s Door
• Prince – The Cross
• The Beatles – Carry That Weight
• That Petrol Emotion – Creeping to the Cross
• Monty Python – Not So Bad Once You’re Up
• Army Of Lovers – Crucified
• Shanks & Bigfoot – Sweet Like Chocolate
• Kylie Minogue – Chocolate
• Ash – Return Of White Rabbit
• The Undertones – More Songs About Chocolate and Girls
• The White Stripes – The Denial Twist
• Mott the Hoople – Roll Away the Stone
• Status Quo – Resurrection
• Gabrielle – Rise
• The Cardigans – Rise And Shine

Here comes the disclaimer: any skips or jumps are down to the mixing software; any mis-timed mixes are down to me; all record selections are mine.

Oh, and for those of you rolling your eyes at the inclusion of yet another Quo tune, you’d best avoid BBC4 tonight, for it’s Quo night, making today not just a Good Friday but a great one!

More soon.

Fighting on the Forecourt

There are two things (some) British men like to do: queue and fight.

Luckily, some have been able to combine the two recently, resorting to fisticuffs as a way to pass the time in a queue for fuel:

That clip come courtesy of The Telegraph, and you will note that there is no attempt to explain why people are queuing for ages to try and fill their cars up.

But we all know why it is, don’t we, dear reader? Yes, sure some of it is down to Covid, but the bigger reason is the thing the news outlets dare not speak of: Brexit.

I mean, even I haven’t bother mentioning it for ages, because it’s turning out to be exactly the kind of shit-show many of us predicted back in 2016, only to be told our message was “Project Fear” and that leaving the EU would bring nothing but “sunlit uplands”.

Who could have anticipated that when we told all of the EU workers – HGV drivers, fruit pickers, nursing assistants – that they were no longer welcome here, that they would take us at our word and disappear back to wherever they had come from.

The problem is that they were a relatively cheap source of labour, and one of the things that many English people don’t like doing is working for not much money.

The Government know this, but won’t admit it, hence them offering temporary visa schemes to EU workers to come back and help us out up until Christmas, get paid less than they do back home, in worse conditions, at which point, on Christmas Eve, they can just ruddy well sod off again, thanks very much.

Funnily enough, they’re not exactly tripping over themselves to accept that offer.

And hence them making obtaining an HGV licence quicker and easier, which sounds like a thoroughly good idea, doesn’t it? “Passed your over-simplified HGV test have we, old chap? Here’s the keys to an articulated lorry, off you pop to pick up some diesel, and try not to crash into and kill anybody, will you, there’s a good chap.”

I cannot think of a more appropriate record to post this morning:

That Petrol Emotion – Big Decision

There has been some entertaining news this week: Brexiteer Tim Martin – who, lest we forget, stopped all pay for Wetherspoons’ staff immediately after the lockdown started, telling his employees to “try their luck at Tesco” – announced the pub chain’s biggest ever loss of £157 million. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy, eh?

More soon. Once I get out of this queue. (This is the queue for pasties, right?)

It’s Make Your Mind Up Time

So, today’s the day that I can legitimately visit my local primary school without being eyed suspiciously by all the parents. For today, I get to cast my vote in the EU Referendum.

This was going to be a very short post, where I simply posted this song, left those of you able to vote to ponder your decision, and went about my day:

The Clash – Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

I wasn’t going to bang on about which way I’m going to vote, figuring that you can probably guess from my Election posts last year, or if you follow me on Twitter, which box my cross is going into.

But then a few things happened which made me reconsider.

Firstly, I re-listened to the tune, and realised that the lyrics “If I go there will be trouble, but if I stay it will be double” didn’t really convey my thoughts on the Referendum particularly accurately. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Secondly, the exact same song got posted over at “What’s It All About, Alfie?” earlier today, so I figured I needed to up my game a bity (no offence; I’ve only recently found this blog, and am very much enjoying it. You should check it out too). I also figured I could have spared myself a lot of time had I just remembered to post this a bit earlier in the day.

Thirdly, if we believe the polls (and Brexiters will never believe the Poles, unless they’re giving them a really cheap quote, in which case, they’re fine), it is very finely balanced between the Leave and the Remain camps. Some say Leave are marginally ahead, some say Remain are.

So, banging on it is then.

And let me pin my colours to the mast right from the start: I will be voting to Remain.

If you will also be voting to Remain, hello, you’re very welcome, stay as long as you like. Oh, I love your shoes!

If you have no intention of voting, or have not yet made up your mind, then stick around. Maybe something I say, or play, will strike a chord with you. You’re looking great, by the way; have you been working out?

But if you will definitely be voting to Leave, I’d recommend that you read no further. We’ll only fall out.

(Have they gone? Good, then I’ll begin)

So first, let’s talk about those of you who might be thinking of not voting. You should. You really should. This is one of the most important decisions that the British public has been asked in a very long time, and it may be the only time you get to have such a say.

So, if you can’t be bothered with voting, you don’t deserve a dedication, but you’re going to get one whether you like it or not:

That Petrol Emotion – Big Decision

No, if ever there was an occasion where your country needed you, in a non-violent, non-war sense, then it is today. So. Stop. Take your time, and above all:

The Housemartins – Think For A Minute (New Version)

I appreciate that this is not an easy decision, not as straight-forward as simply sticking with the political party you normally side with. Well, not for me it isn’t. I’ve voted the same way at every local, general or European election since I was able to vote, no matter how futile that vote may have seemed: I grew up in former Conservative Prime Minister John Major’s constituency, and the year that he got elected as PM I may as well have voted for Lord Buckethead, who was also standing against him.

But this time, the political lines are blurred. Whichever way I vote, I’m going to be agreeing with somebody who, essentially, I think is an utter cock.

I’m no fan of Cameron or Osbourne. But I’m buggered if I’m going to side with this motley crew of ne’er-do-wells (in no particular order of ne’er-do-well-ness): Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Nigel Farage, George Galloway, Britain First, Rupert Murdoch, Katie Hopkins, David Icke, for fuck’s sake even Donald Trump! (If Motley Crue had to pick a side, I’d have found this whole process a lot easier, of course).

Boris Johnson: a man who spent eight years as the Mayor of London, eight years where I can think of not one positive thing that he contributed to making our capital city in any way safer or better. A man who pledged to end rough sleeping in London by 2012, but then ignored the fact that the figure had risen from 3,673 in 2009 to 7,500 in 2012. A man who ran up taxi bills of £4,698 in one year, including one for £237.00 for a seven mile journey. How is that even possible?? A man who thinks that shamelessly playing the buffoon endears him to us. A man who has positioned himself as the most ardent and prominent of Leave campaigners, yet who, just two weeks before announcing he would be supporting the Brexit camp, wrote this in his column in The Daily Telegraph:

“It is also true that the single market is of considerable value to many UK companies and consumers, and that leaving would cause at least some business uncertainty, while embroiling the Government for several years in a fiddly process of negotiating new arrangements, so diverting energy from the real problems of this country – low skills, low social mobility, low investment etc – that have nothing to do with Europe.”

Or, in 2013 when he said this:

“Most of our problems are not caused by Brussels. My ideal world is: we’re there, we’re in the EU, trying to make it better.”

Bit of  change of heart, eh? What could possibly have prompted that? The notion of taking over from David Cameron as the next leader of the Conservative Party, possibly the next Prime Minister, even? Johnson is without doubt a shameless charlatan, a career politician, who gives not two hoots about anyone other than himself.

Michael Gove: putting aside his immense popularity following his performance as Education Secretary – where the National Association of Head Teachers, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, the National Union of Teachers and the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers all turned in votes of “No Confidence” against him – he’s had a phenomenal last couple of days of campaigning.

On Wednesday, he had to apologise for comparing economic experts’ – who probably know what they’re talking about, you’d think – warnings about leaving the European Union with the Nazis who denounced Albert Einstein in the 1930s.

On Tuesday, Gove announced that former Liverpool and England footballer John Barnes was backing the Leave campaign, only for this to happen:

Yes, that’s John Barnes turning up on Sky News, of all places, to set the record straight. (Someone should tell him that Euro 2016 is happening in France, not South Africa, though.)

Nigel Farage: last year, there was a General Election. In that General Election, we all agreed on something: we did not want this man anywhere near our system of Government. He was soundly beaten in his constituency.

He hates the EU, does Nigel. Hates them so much, that he left the Conservative Party in a huff in 1992 because they signed the Maastricht Treaty. And guess what he did then? Yup, became an MEP. What’s an MEP, you may ask? An MEP is a Member of the European Parliament.

In 2009, Farage was asked what he had received in non-salary expenses and allowances since becoming an MEP in 1999, he said this:

“It is a vast sum…I don’t know what the total amount is but – it must be pushing £2 million.” 

Pretty happy with being in the EU then, wasn’t he?

Hardly a surprise then, that when asked, in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal in April this year, if he was going to publish his tax returns – like David Cameron, Jeremy Corbyn and, yes, even Boris Johnson had done or pledged to do – Farage said:

“The answer from me is no. A big no.” 

Strange that, eh?

And when about when he was an MEP? Surely, he fought tooth and nail for the rights of good, proud, honest British workers, right? Well, no, not exactly. During his time as an MEP, there were 38 votes on European fisheries policies, each one of which would have affected the British fishing industry. Farage voted just 9 times out of those 38 votes. Presumably the pubs were open when the other 29 took place, or perhaps he’d found an excellent tobacconist.

Farage, of course, is the leader of UKIP, a political party which prides itself on its stance against immigrants, coming over here, stealing jobs from good, proud, honest British workers. But let’s ignore the fact that Farage is a hypocrite, since he himself is of French descent, and is married to a German lady, who he also employs as his parliamentary secretary.

No, let’s focus instead on the downright lies and frankly racist comments he has made during this campaign. That he signed off on and stood in front of this poster campaign:

…ignoring the fact that that picture shows Syrian refugees – trying to escape ISIS – going from Slovenia into Croatia, not the UK. And that we have border controls.

The stuff about refugees and immigrants flooding the UK is not just a lie, it’s scaremongering of the worst kind.

And the biggest lie? This nonsense about us paying £350 million a week to the EU. Here’s the truth:

Coupled with that, there was the Leave claim that they would make £8 billion available for the NHS, which they said was supported by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). Here’s what the IFS felt compelled to say in response:

And then there’s Britain First. Normally I would not waste my time discussing them. But this is worth mentioning: on June 13th, they posted this on their Facebook page:

Yes. Yes they did fight for a free Britain. For that picture is of the No. 310 RAF Squadron, formed in Duxford in 1940, and piloted by officers who escaped Czechoslovakia after the German occupation. They came over here, flying our planes and defending us against the Nazis…

You don’t need me to tell you why siding with the rest in that list – just to remind you, that’s George Galloway, Rupert Murdoch, Katie Hopkins, David Icke, Donald Trump to name but a few pre-Leavers – does not show you in a good light, do you?

That said, the whole campaign has, in my book, been utterly shameful, with neither the Brexit (God, I really hate that phrase) or the Remain camps covering themselves in glory. But it seems to me that the Leave campaign have been the most guilty of peddling lies.

Time for a song:

Fleetwood Mac – Little Lies

Up until the week or so, the campaign had been, nasty, sordid, unpleasant. And then it took a truly nightmarish twist.

On Wednesday, Remain supporter and Labour MP Yvette Cooper received this Tweet:

He seems nice.

I imagine, Yvette Cooper gets trolled quite a lot on Twitter. Many people, especially women, in the limelight do, by idiots and cowards, taking a breather from tossing themselves off over the comments section in The Mail Online.

But given the events of 16th June 2016, there’s no room for this kind of stuff. There wasn’t before, truth be told.

On 16th June 2016 Labour MP Jo Cox, a Remain supporter and tireless campaigner for refugees and women’s rights, was murdered on her way to hold a surgery in her constituency. Shot, stabbed, and kicked as she lay dieing. A witness has reported that he heard the murderer shout either “Britain First” or “Put Britain First”.

And, although campaigning in the EU Referendum was suspended as a mark of respect for two days following the shocking events, when they resumed it wasn’t long before her death, and the possible reason for her death, took centre stage in the debate. Nigel Farage – who else? – claimed that David Cameron and George Osborne had tried to link her murder to the Leave campaign.

“I think there are Remain camp supporters out there who are using this to try to give the impression that this isolated horrific incident is somehow linked to arguments that have been made by myself or Michael Gove or anybody else in this campaign, and frankly that is wrong.”

Which of course, is something which could be levelled against me for mentioning it in this post. No: I’m merely reporting. Although, given the rhetoric the Leave campaign has used throughout, and which Britain First use as a matter of course, I’m not sure that you can totally disassociate yourself from a man who, when appearing in Court to face charges under the ‘terrorism protocol’ gave his name as “Death to traitors, freedom for Britain.”

Britain First of course, also tried to distance themselves from the alleged murderer, and some of their sympathisers tried to follow suit. With breath-taking results:

Chapeau, sir, chapeau.

Anyway, Cameron’s response was this:

“What I have been talking about in respect of Jo is what a wonderful human being and great politician and great campaigner she was….What everyone has been saying, and what I say again, is paying tribute not only to her but the values she lived by and epitomised in public life of tolerance, of service, of community. That’s what we are saying about her.”

All I will say is that Farage’s silence was noticeable after Jo’s widower, Brendan, gave this interview:

I’m not saying that Jo Cox was murdered because she was a Remain campaigner. It’s not that black or white. Very little is. I am saying that she was murdered because of her political views, which included a belief that we’ll be better off remaining in the EU. And her bereaved husband agrees.

But it doesn’t matter what I think. Not really. For much as the Leave campaigners have scoffed, stamped their feet, and feigned outrage at the mere suggestion that there could be a link between the person who murdered Jo Cox and their campaign, yesterday there was a memorial service for Jo in Trafalgar Square. And this happened:

That, in case you can’t make it out, is a plane carrying a banner which reads “Take Control #Vote Leave” which repeatedly flew over Trafalgar Square, just as Jo’s widower was giving a speech in her honour.

Words cannot express how tasteless that is.

Just to be clear: I’m not saying that all who support the Leave campaign are racists. But you can bet that every racist will vote Leave.

So today, please vote. It’s important. Think about not just which side you’re on, but whose side you’re on. And make the right decision, whatever you may think that is.

Some songs:

Billy Bragg – Which Side Are You On?

Suede – Stay Together

And if you won’t listen to me or Brett and the boys from Suede, then maybe you’ll listen to the Reverend:

Al Green – Let’s Stay Together

More soon.