Rainy Days & Mondays

Rainy Days & Mondays

This new video and single is the light at the end of a very dark tunnel for Mike Peters so lets celebrate this Monday with the brand new video and song off the new album – Take it away MP…

NEXT is the brand new single from The Alarm and is available to listen to now at all DSP’s and online music services. Are you ready for what’s next? 28 February 2023 Subscribe – http://smarturl.it/SubscribeToTheAlarm

“Words cannot express the joy of leaving hospital after a long stay on the wards, especially when it means you have regained your health,” he says, referring to the last year of hospital visits, chemo treatments, and life-threatening pneumonia brought on with the relapse of his leukaemia, which was originally diagnosed in 2005.

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While the single may signal that he’s newly energised from a healthy prognosis and ready to return to what he loves best – recording and performing – the fact is that Peters never stopped doing either of those things. Writing new music and performing it live to hospital staff while undergoing medical procedures to keep his cancer in check, Peters wrote “Next” with his trusty acoustic guitar and an IV stuck in his arm.

“The lyrics of the song were conceived while I was being treated for a leukaemia relapse and a lung that had filled with blood,” Peters explains. “The outcome was uncertain, but the medical and nursing staff did all they could to keep me going and, in fact, were probably the first people to hear what I was working up musically while they did their life saving work. It wasn’t planned, but once the realization hit me that I was going to be in hospital for a long time, I knew I needed my guitar to break the monotony of the isolation. Being able to play music to myself kept me going and I’m convinced that it helped me make the transition back to life.”

As a reminder of what he went through and what he leaves behind, Peters filmed the new video in hospital corridors, a familiar sight in the last year especially. “I wanted to film something that captured the elation of knowing you are going home, moving on, going forwards ready for what lies ahead, for what’s next,” he says. “At night and in between IV sessions, I would walk the very same empty hospital corridors of the North Wales Cancer Centre trying to preserve whatever human strength I could hang on to.”

Can Kicker – S/T (Drunken Sailor Records)

Can Kicker – S/T (Drunken Sailor Records)

A post punk album for a post pandemic generation – hailing from Cardiff South Wales Can Kicker certainly kick up a fair fuckin’ din. its riotous at times and high tension other times. It’s not for the feint hearted, it’s not polished punk by numbers – it has rough edges and the needle veers into the red at times whilst vocalist Luke Penny has a fine knack of conveying they desperate, fractured nature of hardcore post punk really well. Its attention grabbing and makes you want to concertrate on what hes howling at on the frantic ‘My History Is Not For Me’ whilst the lead guitar scraped out its melody over a rhythm section busting a gut to get to the finish line in one piece.

‘Looking For My Love’ is trying to find its way in the world as it staggers around in your speakers like the Fall on speed. ‘Aimlessly, Continually, Boring’ does exactly what it says on the tin. The vocals sound disinterested not unlike what Lydon has perfected in recent PIL albums. The format is often the same as Can Kicker rage through various stages of post-punk from rapid (‘Sterilised Experience’) to the slower metronome-paced throb of ‘Waking Dream’ again housing Perrys’ drone like vocal. The one thing that stitches the songs of this album together is how fuckin’ loud it all sounds. I imagine (and hope) this was all recorded as loudly as possible. Nowhere better is it exampled that the final offerings of ‘Stupid Game’ part 1 and The final track ‘Stupid Game’ part 2. The first sounds like prime Subhumans whilst part two have acoustic guitars next to a feedback-delayed lead guitar sounding like a post apocalypse soundscape that disappears into a void you daren’t even look into. Noisy as fuck but a whole lot of fun if fun is grey, dark, challenging and loud!

Buy Here

Author: Dom Daley

UFO – ‘Walk On Water’ & ‘Werewolves Of London’ (Cleopatra Records)

UFO – ‘Walk On Water’ & ‘Werewolves Of London’ (Cleopatra Records)

Originally released via Zero Records in Japan back in 1995 ‘Walk On Water’ marked the reunification of what many fans refer to as the “classic” UFO line up of singer Phil Mogg, bassist Pete Way, drummer Andy Parker, keyboardist/guitarist Paul Raymond along with the mercurial talents of guitarist Michael Schenker.

Bringing back producer Ron Nevison to the fold (he had worked with the line up on their influential ‘Lights Out’ and ‘Obsession’ albums) to help re-capture the magic of the band is perhaps the secret behind why ‘Walk On Water’ worked so well and the two Mike Varney produced albums that followed it perhaps didn’t. 

There’s a real vibrancy to Schenker’s playing throughout ‘Walk On Water’s’ eight new studio tracks the guitarist dishing out some fine crunchy riffage over which Mogg’s vocals truly soar, especially on songs like ‘Venus’ and ‘Pushed To the Limit’ both of which would figure in the resulting tour in support of the record (sadly though not the splendid Way/Mogg penned rocker ‘Knock Knock’).

A tour which is captured on ‘Werewolves Of London’, a semi-official 2CD set originally released via Zoom Club Records in 2008, and according to the original sleeve notes, sourced via Pete Way, probably for a couple of Special Brews and a curry, knowing the man. Recorded at Wolverhampton Civic Hall on February 10th 1996 (jeez I was 31 the day before) whilst the band at this point had replaced Andy Parker with Simon Wright (as the former found it impossible to tour due to family commitments) they still sound bang on the button across the 15 track set list. A set list that would feature the usual crowd pleasers such as ‘Natural Thing’, ‘Love To Love’, ‘Only You Can Rock Me’ and ‘Rock Bottom’ alongside three ‘Walk On Water’ tunes (‘A Self Made Man’ in addition to the two I’ve already mentioned), whilst for the UFO purists out there there’s a sublime ‘Electric Phase’ along with a stunning ‘One More For The Rodeo’ to really get excited about.

For what is essentially a straight from the mixing desk recording (something Paul Raymond confirmed within the original CD’s sleeve notes) this a fantastic (albeit slightly flawed) live recording, in fact it’s one that I would rank up there alongside ‘Strangers In The Night’ just because it isn’t as perfect as that record. Once again Schenker sounds absolutely spellbinding in his six string delivery with the finely tuned Mogg as always as cryptic/succinct with his between song banter. Then again, we surely wouldn’t want it any other way, would we?

Listening to both releases once again all these years on, and whilst its great to hear the guys back together and writing some cracking new material on ‘Walk On Water’, I can’t help but think there’s a little something missing from the record when compared to those  aforementioned late 70s UFO albums, and the fact the original CD came with two bonus re-recorded versions of ‘Doctor Doctor’ and ‘Lights Out’ (along with a spoken word track ‘Message For Japan’ not included in this reissue), probably spoke volumes for what would happen over the next couple of years as the band once again struggled to function as a working unit. Something you can just sense is already happening within the grooves of ‘Werewolves of London’.

With both title’s having been out of print for some years it’s now Cleopatra’s turn to give both titles an all-new audience both on CD, and now for the first time ever on glorious looking (and eye wateringly expensive) coloured vinyl pressings. ‘Walk On Water’s’ eight track album complemented by the re-recorded bonus tracks as an additional 7” EP, complete with all new cover art, whilst ‘Werewolves Of London’ gets a kind of ‘Strangers In The Night’ cover art makeover and comes complete with a 17″ x 22″ poster of the band!

The flame of the ’Walk On Water’ era of UFO certainly burned brightly, and yeah, oh so briefly it looked like the five guys might finally attain the levels of success they so justly deserved for all their hard work and stellar back catalogue, but UFO being UFO it just wasn’t to be, as once again the band started to slowly unravel, in some cases in truly spectacular fashion. Relive the magic (and not the misadventures) of those years via these quality reissues.

http://www.ufo-music.info/

https://www.facebook.com/UFOofficial/

https://ufoofficial.bandcamp.com/album/walk-on-water

Author: Johnny Werewolf Of Newport’ Hayward

Two For Tuesday from Tom

Two For Tuesday from Tom

February 2, 2023 — Take a deep breath. Everything’s okay – and it’s about to take a stratospheric upturn with former Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer #keiferband’s “A Different Light.”

Penned a decade ago by Tom and Savannah Keifer, the song truly gives meaning to the saying, “Good music has no expiration date.” The lyric etches a timeless message that’s as relevant, if not more so, today than it was ten years ago. A fan favorite upon the release of Keifer’s 2013 critically acclaimed THE WAY LIFE GOES, “A Different Light,” now with a brand new music video, is being released to commemorate the ten year anniversary of #keiferband and Keifer’s debut solo release.

The new video, produced and edited by Joshua Smith, features fan-shot live footage of the band from the first year on tour (2013) through the most recent tour in 2022. Opening in somber black-and-white profiles of suffering souls, Keifer’s sultry vocals reflect the troubles of those in despair as shimmering instrumental vibrations build into an iconic key change. Within the first minute, the viewer is graced with an exalted perspective, and a fully technicolor, changed world. The anthem and video wind between contemplative compassion and explosive enthusiasm, ultimately landing on a perspective of hope and array of smiles where “everybody shines.” 

 Courtesy of Tom Keifer

Keifer says, “‘A Different Light’’s lyric really struck a chord with people and we’ve had countless requests since its release for a music video. The fans have been right there with us over this ten-year journey capturing show after show on their phones. Including the live videos they shot in the video is our way of expressing gratitude and making them part of the ten year anniversary.”  

Tom Keifer remains a resilient, relevant figure in the rock world through constant reimagination and renewal. His story begins as the singer-songwriter, guitarist, and front man of hard rock heavyweights Cinderella. His signature voice and guitar, and bluesy, no-BS arena-shaking songwriting, were integral in moving 15 million records worldwide. Over the past decade, Keifer transitioned his talents to a solo career, enjoying continued success recording and touring with #keiferband. #keiferband is Tom Keifer, Savannah Keifer, Tony Higbee, Billy Mercer, Jarred Pope, Kory Myers, Tanya Davis. Two critically-acclaimed albums have been released to date: THE WAY LIFE GOES (2013) and RISE (2019). THE WAY LIFE GOES was praised by industry publications upon its release: Rolling Stone described the album as “14 blues howlers… [it] calls to mind Cinderella but with an even more rootsy undercurrent”; Guitar Player said, “Keifer flat-out knows how to play vibey guitar parts with ungodly tone…. this guy is singing better than ever to complement his great 6-string parts”; Vintage Guitar praised the album’s “killer blues-rock playing and tones, hooks galore, and strong songwriting”; and the Los Angeles Daily News commended that Keifer has “an amazing, raspy voice and a knack for writing songs that lodge themselves on the brain and refuse to leave for days.”

With the release of #keiferband’s “A Different Light” video, 2023 will commemorate ten years of incredible memories with their fans. The band will be celebrating the milestone this year on their “LIVE LOUD TOUR.” Plenty of high energy, eardrum-shattering shows are in the works for 2023. Tour dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

As the second video for our two for tuesday we visit Keifers ‘Rise’ video from a few years ago as a tribute to lip syncing from a man unfairly lumped in with the hair metal because Keifer was so much more than that’ Enjoy

www.TomKeifer.com

www.facebook.com/TomKeiferOfficial

www.twitter.com/TomKeiferMusic

www.instagram.com/TomKeiferofficial

www.youtube.com/user/TomKeifermusic

Grade 2 – ‘Grade 2’ (Hellcat Records)

Grade 2 – ‘Grade 2’ (Hellcat Records)

There was one album in particular that got me through the first Covid lockdown here in the UK, and that was ‘Graveyard Island’ the superb third album from Isle of Wight punk rocking skinheads Grade 2. Released at the tail end of 2019, it was a record that had initially passed me by, but once I discovered it (via a good friend who also resides on Graveyard Island) it was like a true beacon of punk rock hope shining through those darkest of days.

Fast forward to Rebellion 2022 and playing to a packed Pavilion audience Grade 2 then went and delivered one of the performances of the weekend, giving us an immediate sneak peak of the new album they already had up their sleeves (more of which in a second) to help kickstart a blistering set of older tunes that instantly had the audience in singalong punk rock heaven. They then turn up on the “hush hush” Pirates Press released Cock Sparrer tribute album, that snook out around Christmas time, and here the lads managed to take a Sparrer deep cut and truly make it sound like one of their own, which is no mean feat I’m sure you’ll agree. Reviewing that album for RPM (something you can read here)  I declared that 2023 really could be Grade 2’s year, so with their fourth album now cued up on my system and ready to play, what would the next 35 minutes have in store for me, and would the album actually live up to my high expectations?

Just like during their aforementioned Rebellion slot ‘Judgement Day’ gets things off and running in fast and furious style, the bass of Sid Ryan rattling the speakers with its punchy bottom end and drummer Jacob Hull attacks his kit like the IOW’s very own Joey Castillo whilst it’s the almost Dick Dale like guitar work of Jack Chatfield that truly propels this 1 minute 32 second ball of sonic fury, and before you know it we’re into one of the album’s (many) highlights, the cowbell (yup punk rockers use cowbells too) tonking beauty that is ‘Fast Pace’. It’s on tunes like this where Grade 2 really stand out from the punk rock pack, ditching the speed for a more intense melody packed approach, in many ways they remind me of Newport’s very own 60 Foot Dolls. This is music meant to be danced to, and there’s even a Hammond organ solo that crops up mid song to seal the deal. Fantastic stuff!

Up next, ‘Under The Streetlight’ takes us back to ‘Murder Town’ complete with a doff of a cap to the band’s label masters Rancid, whilst ‘Doesn’t Matter Much Now’ is another bootboy terrace anthem in the making, very much like latter day Argy Bargy. Then there’s the early days Jam anger of ‘Midnight Ferry’ which switches the perils of missing the last tube home for the last boat home, and oh the delights of living on an island eh!  I must give a special mention here to the band’s ear for a melody, as this tune could very easily have been a contender back in the days when singles sold, instead of TikTok views, actually lead to artists becoming household names.

Having been one of the lead videos from the album ‘Brassic’ is the song that initially got me truly excited about this record, its jagged riff and instantly memorable chorus (complete with female backing vocals) knocking the tune well and truly out the park.

As the album reaches its midway point the tracks that fall either side, the Matt Freeman like 58 second blast of ‘Gaslight’ and the anthemic ‘Don’t Stand Alone’ complete with its (once again) glorious backing vocals, really are the perfect example of the two sides of the Grade 2 songwriting coin, and it’s at this almost perfect point I’m going to dip out and let you discover the rest of the album for yourselves, because you really do have to hear it.

I said it at the top of the review that I thought 2023 could very well be Grade 2’s year, and with a proper multi-date UK tour kicking off in just a few weeks’ time, along with dates with Rancid and The Bronx (now that is a one hell of line up) later in the year, it very well could be, it just needs you to get off your arses, buy those gig tickets and most importantly snap up copies of this 15-track Grade-A punk rock record. It’ll never be off your turntable, or out your CD player (you might even be constantly streaming this) come its February 17th release date.

What the hell are you waiting for?

Hit the links below to make it all happen!!!!

Buy Here

https://www.facebook.com/grade2iow

https://grade2official.co.uk/

Author: Johnny Hayward

The Hip Priests are chasing death

The Hip Priests are chasing death

‘Chasing Death’ from their forthcoming album ‘Roden House Blues’ – which will be released May 5th, 2023, via The Sign Records.

The song is, say the band “about self-destruction and self-sabotage. A story stuffed with vice and excess. A tale about one person’s journey, after buying a one-way ticket on the train wreck to end all train wrecks. The age-old colourful topics of sex, drugs and rock n roll. Is it autobiographical? Is it celebration or commiseration? Hero or Rock N Roll failure? Chasing death or embracing life? Crank it loud and make your own mind up.”

Since their inception in 2006, The Hip Priests have released a mighty thirty 7” singles, four albums, two compilations and three EPs by various independent labels from all over Europe & the USA. Fiercely independent and tirelessly driven, the ‘Priests have preached their high energy sermon of misanthropy, hate and contempt across numerous tours of the UK, Europe and USA and made countless rapturously received festival appearances.

picture credit is Ralph Barklam

Gaining a richly deserved reputation as a white-hot live band, the last few years have seen the band’s popularity increasing further with them regularly playing alongside kindred spirits such as The Hellacopters, Gluecifer, The Good the Bad and the Zugly, New Bomb Turks, Dwarves and Zeke at both festivals and in clubs. Rave reviews pour in for every release, ranging from ‘a band on top of their game & steps ahead of any of their UK contemporaries’ to ‘if you’re in any doubt about how good these bad boys are then you need locking up’. After 16 years some bands would be taking it easy but in spite of a global pandemic, there was no let-up in their determination and activity. Their fifth, and by far their best full-length album – ‘Roden House Blues’ – was written, rehearsed, and recorded during this period and will be released May 5th, 2023, via The Sign Records.

Today, The Hip Priests blast out a second offering ahead of the album’s release with new single ‘Chasing Death’, a song that is, say the band “about self-destruction and self-sabotage. A story stuffed with vice and excess. A tale about one person’s journey, after buying a one-way ticket on the train wreck to end all train wrecks. The age-old colourful topics of sex, drugs and rock n roll. Is it autobiographical? Is it celebration or commiseration? Hero or Rock N Roll failure? Chasing death or embracing life? Crank it loud and make your own mind up.”

The Hip Priests. Zero fucks n’ less success since 2006. The most prolific band you haven’t heard of. High energy sweaty sermons of misanthropy, disillusion (self) loathing and despair. Get ready to have your ears torn clean off.

FIND THE HIP PRIESTS ONLINE AT:

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

BANDCAMP

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

CATCH THE HIP PRIESTS LIVE AT THE FOLLOWING DATES:

February

Monday 27th Dragonfly Rock Cafe, Almeria

Tuesday 28th Sala Plant Baja, Granada

March

Wednesday 1st Fun House, Madrid

Thursday 2nd Salason, Cangas De Morazzo

Saturday 4th Hell Dorado, Vitoria

Sunday 5th El Sotana Rock Pub, Teruel

(With The Dangerfields)

Wednesday 22nd Bennigans, Derry

Thursday 23rd Áras Na Ngael, Galway

Friday 24th Fred Zeppelin’s, Cork

Saturday 25th Venue Tbc, Limerick

Sunday 26th Wild Duck, Dublin

Germany

(With Lucifer Star Machine)

April

Thursday 27th Sonic Ballroom, Cologne

Friday 28th Freakshow, Essen

Saturday 29th Zollkantine, Bremen

Sunday 30th Indra Musikclub, Hamburg

UK (With Bitch Queens)

May

Thursday 25th The Pipeline, Brighton

Friday 26th Hope And Anchor, London

Saturday 27th Nice And Sleazy, Morecambe

Slade reissue two more limited editions

Slade reissue two more limited editions

official limited edition splatter vinyl and deluxe  CD reissues ‘Nobody’s Fools’ & ‘The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome’ released 3rd March.

Pre Order Here

BMG Records continue their new series of limited edition vinyl reissues and deluxe CDs from Slade, with the release ofNobody’s Fools,and The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome on 3rd March. 

These beautifully presented reissues will see Nobody’s Foolsreleased on limited edition transparent clear & red vinyl and The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome released on limited edition orange and yellow splatter vinyl. While both CDs are housed in deluxe mediabooks with bonus tracks and each includes an original extended essay.

Prior to the original release of Nobody’s Fools, Slade relocated to New York in 1975 and toured there constantly with the likes of Aerosmith, Black Sabbath and ZZ Top before writing the album. 

Nobody’s Fools,  which when released in March 1976 reached No.14 in the UK, and features the singles; In For A Penny, Let’s Call It Quits and Nobody’s Fool.

The new expanded CD version now includes 16 songs, including 5 additional bonus tracks.

The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome Slade’s eleventh studio album includes two UK Top 10 singles; My Oh My, which reached No.2 and Run Runaway which made No.7. First released on 3rd  December 1983 The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome led Kerrrang! to write  “Slade have lost none of their old wicked touch.”, while Sounds commented “Slade are still capable of rocking harder and catchier than most bands half their age.”

This new CD features 8 bonus songs,  including two tracks never before available on CD; Run Runaway (7” Version ) and Slam The Hammer Down (Hot Mix).

Slade are without doubt one of the most exciting bands to come out of Great Britain. With their unique blend of perfect pop-rock’n’roll, outrageous flamboyance and pure fun, and no less than 23 Top-20 singles of which 6 were No.1 smash hits…plus multiple hit albums. 

With a chart career that has spanned 3 decades Slade have become a firm favourite in the hearts of pop fans all over the world.

To pre-order  Nobody’s Fools  and The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome  Hit this link

To order other releases in this series of limited edition vinyl reissues and deluxe CDs, including ‘Sladest’, ‘Slayed?’, ‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’‘Slade In Flame’ and‘Slade Alive!’ , head Here

Also, available the ‘All The World Is A Stage’ 5 live CD box: https://slade.lnk.to/alltheworldPR

The Stranglers release 40th Anniverary ‘Feline’

The Stranglers release 40th Anniverary ‘Feline’

FELINE

40th ANNIVERSARY EDITON

 REMASTERED LIMITED EDITION GATEFOLD DOUBLE VINYL & DELUXE CD EACH FORMAT FEATURES NINE BONUS TRACKS – Released on BMG – Pre Order Here

On 3rd MarchBMG release The STRANGLERS’ 40th Anniversary Edition of FELINE.

FELINE will be available as a limited double album on remastered 180g Heavyweight transparent pink and red vinyl, housed in a newly created inner bags. The 2CD digipackfeatures exclusive booklet artwork and a new appreciation by the band’s biographer and journalist, Chris Twomey.

Originally released in January 1983, FELINE is The STRANGLERS’ seventh studio LP and was their first for then-new label, Epic.

1982 had proved to be a very good year for the band. The last three singles released for former label EMI had been more gentle and of a mellower-nature than anything their audience had been previously accustomed to. So when FELINE landed, it perhaps shouldn’t have been such a surprise to both fans and critics alike that there was such a perceived musical shift. Hugh & JJ’s acquisition of acoustic guitars from a now world-renowned guitar maker in Bristol helped shape FELINE into becoming possibly the nearest thing to an “unplugged” studio album the band have yet made. Gone were the powerful, sinister, throbbing melodies of their New Wave sound and in came an extraordinary and, at that time, hitherto-unheard mix of acoustic and electronic delights. Having said that, from the black panther on the sleeve to the underlying melodies of the record, underpinned by that unmistakable growling bass, the band still managed to convey their dark, menacing, moody, slightly unsettling and quietly threatening no-nonsense persona.

Much of FELINE was written at Jet’s house – a disused railway station in Gloucestershire – and as soon as the band were free from the shackles of EMI, Epic arranged for them to decamp to ICP Studios in Brussels for all of September, 1982 to record it. It was produced there by the band with Steve Churchyard (Big Country, INXS, Taylor Swift) and mixed by Tony Visconti (Bowie, T-Rex).

The album was preceded by the gloriously-beautiful and breathy JJ-sung EUROPEAN FEMALE, which immediately fired the band back into the UK’s Top 10 Singles Chart.  As the single peaked, the album crashed into the UK charts at number 4 and neither they nor the suits at Epic could have imagined a much better start to life at their new label. In fact it got better, as this new mellow sound struck a chord with European audiences, particularly in France, where FELINE effectively broke them to a much bigger audience; one they still enjoy to this day.

Two further singles were released from FELINE. The mighty album opener, MIDNIGHT SUMMER DREAM, a melody of JJ’s with intoned dead-pan lyrics from Hugh, following a grand symphonic opening from Dave, was released in late February 1983. Both the 7” Edit and the magnificent 10½ minute Special 12” Mix feature amongst the tracks on the bonus LP/CD that comes with this 40th Anniversary release. At the end of July ‘83, PARADISE was released. Again sung by JJ, he wrote it after an uncomfortable holiday he’d hated in the Seychelles because of his discomfort with the poverty that surrounded the luxury in which he was staying. Fact fans: it is the only STRANGLERS’ single that features voices from beyond the band, as backing vocals were provided by JJ’s then-girlfriend Anna von Stern and France L’Hermitte (of Belgian band Polyphonic Size). The 7” Edit that appears on Side 3 is surprisingly scarce and has only once previously appeared on vinyl. It has only otherwise been commercially available on The Hit Men 2CD compilation from 1996.

Both the bonus LP and bonus CD on this 40th Anniversary release feature the same tracks; a mix of B-sides and rarities.

The bonus tracks start by gathering the three 7” single edits and a couple of B-sides from the period. The EUROPEAN FEMALE Radio Edit was a surprising find, in as much as it was only re-discovered in 2018. Other than providing the 7” radio promo serviced from late 1982, the tape had lain gathering dust in Sony’s vaults, overlooked by all previous compilers, until then. PÃWSHĒR and PERMISSION were, respectively, the B-side and the 12” bonus track for the PARADISE single. They are the two tracks within this collection that were recorded outside of the main sessions. The former, a mysterious single-word-repeated song, was recorded in New York in April, 1983; the latter, in London, two months later.  Typically Strangler-esque, it sounds bright and summery, yet in fact chronicles the dark antics of the notorious French CRS riot police…

On Side 4 of the LP and continuing on the bonus CD is SAVAGE BREAST. Originally intended as an album track, it was left off at the last minute only to re-surface before the album’s release as the B-side of EUROPEAN FEMALE. Hugh’s career-long love of film and theatre combined with his twisting of well-established names and phrases ran overboard on FELINE, with SAVAGE BREAST, MIDNIGHT SUMMER DREAM and LET’S TANGO IN PARIS completing his trio of word-play titles for 1983. In fact, so many of the song titles on FELINE are familiar phrases – IT’S A SMALL WORLD; SHIPS THAT PASS IN THE NIGHT; ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME; NEVER SAY GOODBYE – that there was clearly an unconscious pattern developing during the song writing.  Rounding off this collection are a couple of tongue-in-cheek curios that well support the band’s sense of fun. VLADIMIR & OLGA is akin to a modern-day Russian folk song based on a fictional couple in (then) Soviet-era Ukraine. It is the first in what became a quirky and much-loved series of adventures that were to recur over the next decade. The initial pressings of the original LP of FELINE included a free bonus one-sided 7” called AURAL SCULPTURE. It also featured on initial copies of the original FELINE cassette. It was a sarcastic rant against the death of music in general and song-writing in particular. If you got it, it was both barbed and hilarious. Subsequently, the theme was carried on, with the title becoming that of the band’s next album, so the track was from there-on re-titled AURAL SCULPTURE MANIFESTO.

Whilst The STRANGLERS have suffered the recent dreadful losses of both the uniquely-talented Dave GREENFIELD (May 2020) and their founder and driving force, Jet BLACK (December, 2022), they continue to tour. From 3rd to 18th March 2023, they are playing three dates in SPAIN, followed by nine in FRANCE, including PARIS L’Olympia on 11th. Then in April they head Down Under between the 13th and 23rd for three dates in NEW ZEALAND and five in AUSTRALIA.

The line-up is JJ BURNEL (bass and vocals); Baz WARNE (guitar and vocals); Jim MACAULAY (drums, percussion and backing vocals) and Toby HOUNSHAM (keyboards and backing vocals).

To pre-order the 40th Anniversary Edition of FELINE on BMG go to:  https://the-stranglers.lnk.to/feline

LIMITED EDITION GATEFOLD DOUBLE ALBUM on REMASTERED 180g HEAVYWEIGHT  

TRANSPARENT PINK and RED VINYL

ORIGINAL LP

SIDE 1: 1. MIDNIGHT SUMMER DREAM  2. IT’S A SMALL WORLD 3. SHIPS THAT PASS IN THE NIGHT

4. THE EUROPEAN FEMALE (IN CELEBRATION OF)

SIDE 2: 1. LET’S TANGO IN PARIS  2. PARADISE  3. ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME  4. BLUE SISTER  5. NEVER SAY GOODBYE

BONUS VINYL LP:

SIDE 3: 1. EUROPEAN FEMALE (RADIO EDIT)  2. MIDNIGHT SUMMER DREAM (SPECIAL SINGLE MIX)  3. PARADISE (RADIO EDIT)  4. PÃWSHĒR  5. PERMISSION

SIDE 4: 1. MIDNIGHT SUMMER DREAM (SPECIAL 12” MIX)  2. SAVAGE BREAST  3. VLADIMIR & OLGA  4. AURAL SCULPTURE

LIMITED EDITION 2CD DIGIPACK

ORIGINAL ALBUM 

CD 1:1. MIDNIGHT SUMMER DREAM  2. IT’S A SMALL WORLD 3. SHIPS THAT PASS IN THE NIGHT 4. THE EUROPEAN FEMALE (IN CELEBRATION OF)  5. LET’S TANGO IN PARIS  6. PARADISE  7. ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME  8. BLUE SISTER  9. NEVER SAY GOODBYE

BONUS 

CD 2: 1. EUROPEAN FEMALE (RADIO EDIT)  2. MIDNIGHT SUMMER DREAM (SPECIAL SINGLE MIX)  3. PARADISE (RADIO EDIT) 4. PÃWSHĒR  5. PERMISSION6. MIDNIGHT SUMMER DREAM (SPECIAL 12” MIX)  7. SAVAGE BREAST  8. VLADIMIR & OLGA  9. AURAL SCULPTURE

EACH FORMAT FEATURES NINE BONUS TRACKS

Grade 2 – New single and huge tour

Grade 2 – New single and huge tour

GRADE 2 SHARE NEW MELODIC PUNK SONG “MIDNIGHT FERRY” SELF-TITLED ALBUM OUT FEBRUARY 17th VIA HELLCAT RECORDS

EXTENSIVELY TOURING IN EU AND UK THIS SPRING

Famed for blistering live performances and exceptional musicianship, UK band Grade 2 bring no-frills classic punk to the modern era. Their self-titled album due on February 17th is a bone-crunching 35-minutes that agitates, intoxicates and liberates in equal measure.  Ahead of its release they share their new single “Midnight Ferry” out today, featuring slick guitar riffs and lively shout-along verses that lead into crisp vocal harmonies.

“This song is our story, a tale of a night out and the truth of growing up in a rural town,” the band explains. “Capturing the adventurous spirit, trying to escape any mundane responsibilities, if just for a night. Just know you’ll be brought straight back down to earth on that journey home.”

Listen to Midnight Ferry here.

50 years after the genre turned the music world upside-down, UK based Grade 2 are bringing the raw power of old school punk to a new generation. United by a love of old-school punk, ska and oi, childhood friends Sid Ryan (vocals, bass), Jacob Hull (drums) and Jack Chatfield (guitar, vocals) formed the band at fourteen years old, honing their craft playing Clash and Jam covers before refining their own sound. Melding the near-mythical musical heritage of their native Isle of Wight with the humdrum reality of growing up in a tired seaside town, Grade 2 spit out blistering punk music laced with passion, angst, humor and despair.

After signing to Hellcat Records in 2018 – helmed by Rancid’s Tim Armstrong – they put out their second album ‘Graveyard Island’ in 2019. With the release of ‘Grade 2’ comes their most representative work yet; a thumping fifteen track tour-de-force melding the uncompromising ethos of punk with the howl of contemporary injustice, personal identity, and frustrations of Gen-Z youth, authentically told by three lads with punk coursing through their veins.

Grade 2 will be touring extensively this Spring, starting with a UK & Ireland headlining tour in March, directly followed by headlining European Tour with Death by Stereo and a support tour with Rancid this summer. Please find the full list of dates below.

UK & Ireland Headlining Tour

March 3, 2023 -Wakefield, Vortex Bar and Nightclub     

March 4, 2023 – Newport, The Cab         

March 5, 2023 – Stamford, Mama Liz’s Voodoo Lounge

March 6, 2023 – Norwich, The Waterfront Studio

March 7, 2023 – London, The Lexington

March 8, 2023 – Southampton, The Joiners        

March 9, 2023 – Exeter, Cavern

March 10, 2023 – Bristol, The Louisiana

March 12, 2023 – Derby, The Hairy Dog

March 13, 2023 – Stafford, Redrum        

March 14, 2023 – Newcastle, The Lubber Fiend

March 16, 2023 – Dublin, The Grand Social          

March 17, 2023 – Belfast, Voodoo           

March 18, 2023 – Glasgow’ Classic Grand            

March 19, 2023 – Manchester, Star & Garter     

EU Headlining Tour w/ Death by Stereo

March 23, 2023 – Antwerp, Kavka (Belgium)

March 24, 2023 – Tilburg, Little Devil (The Netherlands)

March 25, 2023 – Vechta, Gulfhaus (Germany)

March 26, 2023 – Drachten, Iduna (The Netherlands)

March 27, 2023 – Hamburg, Hafenklang (Germany)

March 28, 2023 – Berlin, Cassiopea (Germany)

March 29, 2023 – Regensburg, Tiki Beat (Germany)

March 30, 2023 – Dresden, Chemiefabrik (Germany)

March 31, 2023 – Posnan, Pod Minogą (Poland)

April 1, 2023 – Warsaw, VooDoo (Poland)

April 2, 2023 – Budapest, Instant (Hungary)

April 3, 2023 – Vienna, Arena (Austria)

April 4, 2023 – Milan, Barrio’s (Italy)

April 5, 2023 – Lucerne, Sedel (Switzerland)

April 6, 2023 – Dijon, Les Tanneries (France)

April 7, 2023 – Montreuil (Paris), La Pêche (France)

April 8, 2023 – Fontenay-le-compte, Espace Rene Casino (France)

EU/UK Tour Supporting Rancid

June 3, 2023 – Ljubljana, Media Center Cvetlicarna (Slovenia)

June 6, 2023 – Warsaw, Letnia Scena Progresji (Poland)

June 10, 2023 – Stockholm, Annexet (Sweden)

June 12, 2023 – Berlin, Columbiahalle (Germany)

June 13, 2023 – Wiesbaden, Schlachthof  (Germany)

June 20, 2023 – London, Brixton O2 Academy (UK)

June 21, 2023 – Manchester, O2 Victoria Warehouse (UK)

Tickets available via band’s WEBSITE.

The Balladmongrels are looking for Trouble

The Balladmongrels are looking for Trouble

Following the rollicking and crashing guitar-driven ‘Ballad of the Knucklemen’, The Balladmongrels second single ‘Trouble’ is the title track from their forthcoming debut album. A towering anthem that will have you singing along from the start, it sets the standard for this eagerly anticipated record which is due for release 12th May 2023.

Listen – Spotify / Apple Music

You can pre-order the album now on CD, Black Vinyl and Ltd. Edition Signed Red Vinyl from balladmongrels.com

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