The Black Halos – ‘… How the Darkness Doubled’ (Stomp Records)

The Black Halos – ‘… How the Darkness Doubled’ (Stomp Records)

The Black Halos are back and the Darkness has Doubled! since ’94 The Black Halos have been at the forefront of punk n roll when the world was shoegazing and not wanting to look or sound like they were in a gang or band of brothers, bands like The Black Halos were a much-needed shot in the arm and above all they had songs. Plenty of em and they were fan-fuckin-tastic!

The self-titled debut was a much-needed shot in the arm and to follow it up with the magnificent ‘The Violent Years’ the band could do no wrong. They were on MTV and all was good.

With two further albums and some line-up changes, they were still contenders and I loved those albums but something was missing. Now original members Billy Hopeless, Rich Jones (guitarist with Michael Monroe, Ginger Wildheart, AMEN), and Jay Millette, have got the mojo back for the band and that X Factor is right up front and centre on this new album. Joined by new boys John Kerns (The Age Of Electric) and Danni Action (ACIIDZ) the rhythm section is on fire and stoking the furnace in the engine room for the band to truly set ablaze these new songs.

After a few singles that came out ofver the last couple of globally troubled years, we need bands like The Black Halos out there doing it and leading the way for honest, beautiful punk n roll. when they released the singles the sound was there and the tunes were easily some of their best ever written and recorded – maybe their time apart was needed to rebuild and come back stronger and wiser.

The album, recorded in Toronto and mixed by Dave Draper (The Wildhearts, The Professionals), as the guitars kick in on the opener ‘A History Of Violence’ the years just peel back and twenty years melt away. Its got adrenalin, melody, and the familiar Black Halos gang vocals and we’re underway with a Cheshire cat grin knowing that shit just got serious and The Black Halos are in the fuckin Room!!!

the record sounds amazing and ‘Tenement Kids’ opening lick sounds like classic Manic Street Preachers if only they had the bollocks to turn up their guitars its a belter of a song that will leave the intro lick inside your head to just sit dormant before growing over time and before you know it your singing along – classic Halos. A couple of the previously released singles get a look in with the lyrically astute ‘Uncommonwealth’ that just rumbles along like a prowling hungry pissed-off beast. It was a great single but in the mix of this record, it sounds brilliant. The relentless slap of the snare and repetitive chant is pure Halos.

‘Forget Me Knot’ is a confident stab with some magnificent backing vocals and the whole arrangement is one of their finest – its fair to say these gents live it and love it and on songs like this champion it and so they should. They mix things up on the song ‘Better Days’ adding variety on the guitars and it has to be said Billy’s vocals are sandpaper wrapped in a velvet glove his melody is exceptional and again I have to return to the arrangement – its so well delivered it sounds like we’ve been playing it for years never mind a mere couple of weeks, these are better days indeed with a soundtrack like this.

With eleven originals and one amazing cover, this record is unquestionably one of the best records I’ve had the pleasure of all year and it’s so pleasing to hear a band I love absolutely deliver the goods and some. There isn’t one second that doesn’t deserve praise and I’ve heard a lot of music this year but this sounds special and the more I’m playing it the more songs are jostling for positions with a solo that stands out here or a melody there it’s honestly that good. ‘All My Friends Are Like Drugs’ or the epic and heartbreaking ‘Ain’t No Time To Say Goodbye’ written for Mr Chi Pig (SNFU frontman) it was and is one of the best singles I’ve heard for several years, I must have played this song a thousand times since it was released on yeah right! records back in August 2020 if you’ve never heard it then there is no better reason to get a hold of this album right now its one of the best songs the band has ever written and that’s not even up for debate.

In the belly of this here record, you have a cover of The Wanderers ‘Ready To Snap’ which was a fantastic tune, and roping in legend Michael Monroe to handle vocals alongside Billy makes perfect sense, and boy this is how to do a cover from the passion in both vocalists delivery to those backing vocals this song goes to the next level. If I haven’t done my job and whet your appetite for this album then I can only apologise to the band, the label, and to people who still believe in Rock and Roll and its amazing powers if you only buy one record this year then I suggest you beg, steal or borrow a copy of ‘How The Darkness Doubled’because it is a relentless, high-octane blast of classic Halos punk rock ‘n’ roll! and one of if not the best record released in 2022. How’s that for leaving on a ‘Positive Note’ now getoutofhere! you beautiful bastards! The Black Halos have just nailed it…again!

Buy Here / Amazon UK

Author: Dom Daley

SMALLTOWN TIGERS RETURN TO LONDON

SMALLTOWN TIGERS RETURN TO LONDON

Fast-rising Italian punks SMALLTOWN TIGERS return to the UK next month for the first time since their debut shows of October 2019. The girls from Rimini turned a lot of heads on that tour and plans were quickly made for a return. Covid put paid to that, however, and the dates had to be abandoned.

They refused to delay the release of their debut mini-album Five Things, though and were rewarded with fantastic reviews across the board. The icing on the cake was an invitation from The Damned to open for them on their original line-up reunion tour. Postponed twice, those dates are finally set to go ahead in October and November.

In the meantime, the girls are booked to play the Pump It Up Powerpop Weekender at London’s Lexington on Sunday 3 July. The two-day event will also feature sets by NYC’s Baby Shakes, Norway’s Yum Yums, Duncan Reid and the Big Heads, The Speedways and more.

Speaking about the show, singer/bassist Valli says…

“It’s a wonderful time of the year over here at the Smalltown Tigers camp. First, Summer is here so we can surf. Second, after an almost three years hiatus, we’re about to come back to London. And, more important, to play at one of the most significant events we ever played in our career, the Pump It Up Powerpop Weekender at the Lexington.

“It will be great to share the stage with so many great bands, some of them for the first time and some others like The Speedways and The Baby Shakes we already shared the stage with. Moreover, the fabulous NYC girls (and boy!) The Baby Shakes were the band we opened for in Italy on our first tour ever… ah, sweet memories. Can’t wait to be in London again. It’s gonna be a blast! Be sure to buy your ticket in advance, it’s gonna be a busy Saturday and Sunday night on the 2nd/3rd of July!

“Other than that, we can’t wait to play some songs from the brand new album we’re currently preparing and which will be out next year. We think it’s the best material we ever wrote and we can’t wait to hear what you think of it. See you at the Powerpop Weekender people! Stop by and say hi!”

Tickets Here

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Smalltown Tigers release New Bomb Turks Cover Video

Smalltown Tigers release New Bomb Turks Cover Video

Italian garage-punk tearaways SMALLTOWN TIGERS are back for the Chinese Year of the Tiger.

To celebrate, they’ve just released a video of their cover of Columbus OH action-rockers New Bomb Turks’ ‘Girl Can Help It’.

The track was originally recorded for the album ‘Defiled! A Heavy Medication Tribute To New Bomb Turks‘, released last year.

The band dropped their debut mini-album Five Things to worldwide acclaim in the Spring of 2020, deep in the first lockdown, meaning their accompanying UK tour was first postponed and then cancelled. The girls from Rimini are now determined to make up for it.

As previously announced, they’ll be opening for The Damned on their reunion dates in the Autumn. They’ll also be playing Some Weird Sin’s Pump It Up! Powerpop Weekender in July, alongside Baby Shakes, Duncan Reid & The Big Heads and more…

Dates so far are…

3 July – The Lexington, London (Pump It Up! Powerpop Weekender)

28 Oct – Hammersmith Eventim Apollo, London (w/ The Damned etc)

29 Oct – Hammersmith Eventim Apollo, London (w/ The Damned etc)

3 Nov – O2 Apollo, Manchester (w/ The Damned etc)

4 Nov – O2 Academy, Glasgow (w/ The Damned etc)

5 Nov – O2 Academy, Birmingham (w/ the Damned etc)

More dates TBC

Buy Five Things here

Buy Defiled! here

SmalltownTigers on Facebook

The Cutthroat Brothers and Mike Watt Release New Track From Upcoming Record Store Day Release 

The Cutthroat Brothers and Mike Watt Release New Track From Upcoming Record Store Day Release 
Hound Gawd! Records recently announced the new album by The Cutthroat Brothers and Mike Watt. Titled ‘The King is Dead’, the album will be available as vinyl LP on Record Store Day, June 12th, 2021, followed by a digital release on July 9th. The venomous blues-punk, swamp-rock sounds of The Cutthroat Brothers and Mike Watt conjure bands like The Gun Club, The Cramps, The Stooges and The Hives. You can check out a new single called “Wrong” now and download/stream the album for review below…
No Echo says “Basically, if you love bands like The Cramps and X, you’ll be an instant fan of what these fellas are cooking up.” adding, “Mr. Watt’s mind-fucking bass lines colors the material in a beautiful way that makes you go, “Yeah, this is sick.”
This collaboration began when Mike Watt interviewed Jason and Donny on The Watt from Pedro Show. When the real-life barbers casually asked Watt to play bass on their next album, they didn’t expect to hear ‘yes’.
Mike Watt added his magic and is now an honorary Cutthroat Brother barber by blood. Watt’s gritty, powerful playing will blow your greasy black pompadour back like a jet engine.
Hailed as ‘the Sweeney Todd’s of punk’, The Cutthroat Brothers and Mike Watt are a mean and murderous match made in hell.
World-renowned visual artist Raymond Pettibon (Black Flag, Sonic Youth) contributed the cover art, making ‘The King is Dead’ packaging hotter than a wet shave and twice as slick.
Take this blood-soaked bash-a-thon and file it where it fits: right next to punk rock greats like Misfits or The Damned.
Jack Endino (Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney) produces, mixes, and masters again (his 4th collaboration with The Cutthroat Brothers in only 2 plus years since the band was formed), honing ‘The King is Dead’ to a razor sharp point.
‘The King Is Dead’ opens with the aforementioned ‘Killing Time’, an anthem for miscreants everywhere. Up next is the rockabilly and drug influenced ‘Medicine,’ finding Mike Watt in a fuzzed up bounce reminiscent of The Minutemen’s ‘Corona’.
The third and title track ‘The King is Dead’ is a spooky blues burner that slips into the room like a night stalker, then slashes everything into a brash, bluesy bloodbath. The rest of the album pummels forward in the gritty, grimy, grinning fashion that leaves the listener sliced, shaking and twisting on the barbershop floor wanting more.
The Brothers and Watt enjoyed working together so much that you can expect further collaborations in the future!

The Boatsmen Interview Exclusive

The Boatsmen Interview Exclusive

Whilst the world is still in the grip of this Pandemic it’s always great to have a distraction from the daily grind of life currently under restrictions and social distancing and not being able to get out there and spend time with like-minded music lovers.  However, one thing this damn virus hasn’t stopped is the release of great rock and roll records and one of 2021’s most impressive releases so far is without a doubt the awesome new album from Swedens The Boatsmen so with our masks on we made contact with the self-confessed kings of Party Rock and Roll and fist-bumped before we engaged in the chatter that matters.  Welcome to your new favourite band kids please be upstanding for The Boatsmen…

 

Give us a bit of background to the band?  You formed in or around 2008 when the first demo came out but didn’t get around to releasing the debut album in 2013 right?

That’s right, we started out wanting to be a contrast to a lot of the other bands around at the time. The Boatsmen is about letting loose and doing exactly what you feel like, just for the fun and the thrills with no boundaries. Stop taking yourself so seriously, stop overthinking and psychedelick my ass. During our first years, the focus was more on partying than recording. After a while, though we had mastered the art of partying to its full extent and got to work with our first album.

 

 

Where is the band from in Sweden? What’s it like for music there?

Yes, the band is from Örebro in the middle of Sweden and we grew up with a great music scene with bands like The Accidents, The Peepshows, The Strollers and The Pricks. When we started the band however the scene had been losing some action and we felt the responsibility to show the kids how it’s done.

 

 

I’m curious as to where the name comes from?

The band is named after the dog “Båtsman” (“Boatsman”) in the Swedish 70s kids show Saltkråkan. We thought a logo with a big anchor as the T in the middle would look cool.

 

Who were your influences?

We have a big mix of influences but we have a steady ground in the old 60s garage music with band such as The Sonics and Music Machine but with the rock action from MC5 and The Stooges, some boogie from The Hurriganes and Eddie Meduza, and a whole lot of punk approach from bands like GG Allin, The Damned and Ramones. But the main influence is good songs in general. Of course, we listen to and love the Scandinavian rock scene with bands such as Turbonegro, The Hives, and The Hellacopters. Reigning Sound and Henry Fiats Open Sore are two other favorite bands.

 

 

Let’s get up to date with the new album just released on Ghost Highway and Spaghetty Town.  How did that arrangement come about did you tout the new record around or specifically target these guys?

We have worked with Ghost Highway before and we really like the stuff they put out and the way we work together. They also got American Spaghetty Town on this boat and we like many other bands dream of the US so we are really happy about that.

 

 

 

Where was the new record recorded?

We recorded ourselves in our rehearsal room/studio, Super Studios, that we have together with our friends in V8 Interceptor.

 

How has it been since Covid hit the globe?  Sweden didn’t strictly enter a lockdown is that right?  We there live shows then?

The main difference in Sweden compared to most other countries is probably that the lockdown is more about  “recommendations” than laws. No public gatherings with more than 8 people allowed so no shows.

 

Who writes the songs in the band and how do you come to the finished record?  Is everything done before you enter the studio?  Did any of the writing get changed much when you started recording?

The last record we rehearsed a lot before we went into the studio and recorded everything live, all songs in one weekend. This time we pretty much recorded every song as soon as it was made, less rehearsing. We jam the music up together and all the lyrics/poetry are written by lead singer Håkan.

 

 

What about how long it took to get it finished from the start of the process?

Martin the drummer moved to another city so we just met during weekends and partied and recorded. It took almost two years because we really like to party.  Also, we were waiting and hoping for the pandemic to be over before putting the record out, but eventually, we had teased ourselves too much and had to release it.

 

 

Live shows.  Are there any plans to come to Plague island the UK and bring the noise?

We would love to bring our rock’n’roll circus to the UK as soon as we can!

 

 

 

 

The Boatsmen profess to have a good time all the time.  What constitutes a good night out with The Boatsmen and where do we sign up?

Just write to us on Facebook, Instagram or theboatsmen@mail.com and we´ll start out with pizza and beer and end with beer and pizza.

 

I can’t get a copy of ‘City Sailor’ on vinyl any chance of a repress?  I’m sure when people hear the new album the back catalogue will be in demand.

There´s a discussion about a repress and we hope we can get it done soon.

 

 

What has the band done differently from album to album?  The new one is so good you seem to have hit a rich vein of form did it feel good when the songs were finished?  Having had some distance from finishing recording and releasing is there anything you’d have done differently?  What’s the process for The Boatmen.

For every record, we have had a different approach just to keep it fresh and not to do the same thing over again expecting a different result.  This record we did everything ourselves, even the cover design, so maybe next record we’ll do nothing ourselves.

 

Talk us through the songs on the new album.  Obviously, there are some reoccurring themes but are there any hidden depths we need to know about?

First off is the track “Action Delivery” and it’s about the anxiety and excitement of playing in a rock band that believe they´re the best. Next up is “Friday Night Forever” and that song is summed up in one of the lines of the lyrics: “Close your eyes and close your ears, be shitfaced don’t face your fears”. “Blame It On Me” was the first single from the album and it’s about the fact that everyone already thinks we are fucked up drunks, so if you do anything bad you might as well blame it on us. “Thirst Song” is a love song about a drunken relationship. “Saved By Rock” is about the fact that rock’n’roll saved us from boredom, sobriety, and virginity. “Even The Good Times Were Bad” is about how the times you thought then were good times can look like from behind. “I Don’t Wanna Lose This Time” is about not wanting the weekend to end. “When I’m Drunk” is about the superpowers you get when you’re drunk. Everything good that I have achieved in life I have done while being drunk. “Big Waves” is about remembering that you are the captain of your own ship. “Clap Canon” is a Swedish expression that describes when someone is really drunk. We have with our magic linguistic capabilities turned it into a story about making the audience clap their hands to keep the band on fire. “Gimme Your Money” is about the fact that alcohol is very expensive in Sweden. “Better Man” is what I keep telling my wife every day that I’m going to be. After Party In Hell is about the fact that if you end up in hell for doing the things you like I’d rather go there already.

 

 

What next for the band?

We would like to tour the world, but since the world is closed down right now we’ll release a bunch of music videos and do stuff online to keep the people’s thirst and hunger up until we can bring our exploding rock’n’roll chaos to your town! Cheers and thanks for the interview man, keep up the good work!

 

Verses The Boatsmen review Here

Buy the record from Ghost Highway Records or in the US at Spaghetty Town Records

You can pick up your merch from the bands Bandcamp  or visit their website Here

 

 

The Damned confirm reschedule dates and support for UK tour

The Damned confirm reschedule dates and support for UK tour

The Damned’s upcoming shows have been rescheduled to 2022.  The events will now take place in Feb 2022-

11th Feb for Glasgow, 12th for Manchester whilst Birmingham is now set for the 16th Feb and the two London shows

Friday 9th July 2021 moves to Friday 18th February 2022   

Saturday 10th July 2021 moves to Saturday 19th February 2022 

They will be joined on tour by the following guests:

Friday : Special guests Skids + TV Smith & The Bored Teenagers + Small Town Tigers

Saturday: Special guests Wildhearts + Penetration + Small Town Tigers

 

THE DAMNED original line-up has reunited for a UK tour featuring the founding members Dave Vanian, Rat Scabies, Captain Sensible and Brian James.

 

*If you cannot attend the rescheduled date, you are eligible for a refund* for the face value of your ticket(s).

All tickets must be returned to and received by us prior to the rescheduled date. Please return them, along with a quick note stating your order number to: Eventim Customer Services, PO Box 75668, London, WC1A 9QE.

(Please note: we recommend sending tickets via recorded delivery, as we cannot issue a refund if these are lost in transit)

If your tickets are TicketDirect (print at home), for venue collection, or if you haven’t received them, please contact our customer service team at customerservice@eventim.co.uk.

*All refunds are subject to our Terms and Conditions of Sale, which can be found here: https://www.eventim.co.uk/help/terms/

Paul Ronney Angel  – LIVE IN LOCKDOWN – live stream Sat 20th March 8pm (GMT)

Paul Ronney Angel  – LIVE IN LOCKDOWN – live stream Sat 20th March 8pm (GMT)

Paul Ronney Angel 
from
The Urban Voodoo Machine
Celebrates the Anniversary of
LIVE IN LOCKDOWN – live stream
Sat 20th March 8pm (GMT)

Yes Sisters and Brothers, it’s been a whole year since our Prime Minister BoJo made his “Stay At Home” announcement! One day later The Urban Voodoo Machine main man Paul-Ronney Angel (P-R) took to the stage in his East London living room with fellow musician and partner Ane Angel to entertain a locked down community starved of live music.

The show was a storming success and a weekly engagement was born. Throughout the year P-R and Ane have delivered a bourbon-soaked foot stomper of a show every Saturday night featuring Urban Voodoo classics and freshly written tunes making comment on the pandemic. Social distancing permitting, guests have been invited to perform, including Rat Scabies of The Damned, widow and backing singer of James Brown, Tomirae Brown, Jim Jones (Jim Jones Revue) and various members of The Urban Voodoo Machine themselves over the year.

Be sure to tune into The Urban Voodoo Machine’s facebook page this coming Saturday at 8pm and every Saturday till this pandemic’s beaten (Anniversary show / Episode 53 is Sat 20th Mar) – each week is special and who knows what’ll happen!

Other dates for the diary include Paul-Ronney Angel’s debut solo album ‘London Texas Lockdown’ out in June and The Urban Voodoo Machine’s new studio album ‘$nake 0i£ €ngine’ released September.

Sensible Gray Cells – ‘Get Back Into The World’ (Damaged Goods Records)

Sensible Gray Cells – ‘Get Back Into The World’ (Damaged Goods Records)

Lately I seem to hear the term Garage Rock attached to just about everything I’m listening too, as it was to this baby, without going into a rant about how many different styles and eras there are of Garage Rock (again). I’m just going to look at this as a release grounded in influences, but ultimately standing up on its own as of today, it’s going to just be classed as seriously cool music.

 

For the uninitiated (I would expect very few who read RPM to be uninitiated) the Sensible Gray cells consist of Captain Sensible and Paul Gray from you know where alongside Marty Love (Johnny Moped amongst others) on drums with a guest appearance from Monty Oxymoron.

 

As the LP kicks off I’m not so much drawn into a garage rock vibe but instead led back to thoughts of Phantasmagoria era Damned  ‘Sell her Spark” is a great opener, but I can’t help but wonder what it would have sounded like with Dave Vanian on vocals? And that’s a thought that I just can’t shift, and it comes back to me intermittently throughout.

 

The fact is this could be an absolutely cracking Damned LP, and to court controversy, I rate it a better Damned LP than Evil Spirits, but lets not go there! As I’m blasting through the first few tracks, “Black Spider Memo man” for some strange reason hits at “Eloise” but at the other end of the scale “So long” smashes through the speakers more in tune with classic Who material, were the Who ever a garage rock band? Where as ‘Just a little Prick” runs everywhere from Pink Floyd to the kinks via the Beatles its ridiculously catchy and holding on to some classic influencers.

 

“DJ with half a Brain”, hits that Fuzztones vibe raw American garage rock, but presented from a typically British standpoint. I wonder as I’m listening through for the umpteenth time how great this would have been as a Damned track with Vanian to the fore, lets hope it can somehow be assimilated into a Damned live show. “Jam tomorrow” is a great track, different to everything that has come before, with some seriously cool guitar work from the Captain and a great keyboard run, hinting at Dub and Pschedelia with maybe a hint of the Orb within the samples.

 

Taking stock this is a seriously good LP, grounded in that guitar based underground rock that we’ve grown up with not afraid of experimentation, not afraid to push some boundaries, but at times I just wish certain tracks could have been recorded by the Damned! You’ll be able to pick them out.

 

There’s an early Syd Barrett quintessentially English vibe to “What’s the point of Andrew” a very definitive anti Royalist sentiment that any sane individual would wholeheartedly agree with, yes it takes the Piss.

 

“Fine Weather friend” could have been written for Dave Vanian, that name just keeps coming up, but when you listen the theatrics are just there, the vocal presentation is tailor made, again with some serious guitar work and a terrific locked down bass run. Next up “I married a monster” is a real burner, grounded in the underground, and “You and me” follows suite before we’re into LP closer ”Another world” weaving it’s way forward as a real slab of Psychedelia, an almost Eastern feel to the guitar led intro.

 

Great LP, now how do we persuade the Captain to hand over some of the vocal duties to his day job vocalist and introduce them to a Damned live performance?

 

Buy ‘Get Back Into The World’ Here

Author: Nev Brooks

Duncan Reid Poster Auction for Save Our Venues

Duncan Reid Poster Auction for Save Our Venues

In October 2010 The Damned, The Boys and 999 were booked to play at Zakk in Dusseldorf, Germany. The Damned had to pull out due to an injury to Dave Vanian’s back. But the posters all showed them as playing. There are 3 left in the world of which Duncan Reid is kindly auctioning off to raise funds to help small music venues survive these hard times https://saveourvenues.co.uk/watch/#/

You can place a bid on one of the posters Here

 

Good luck!

The Damned – ‘The Rockfield Files’ (Spinefarm Records / Search And Destroy Records)

The Damned – ‘The Rockfield Files’ (Spinefarm Records / Search And Destroy Records)

2020 has been a year that we all would rather forget due to the pandemic live shows have been sorely missed so any new music we must grab with two hands so that brings me to the latest EP release by The Damned titled ‘The Rockfield Files’.

The Damned has recorded some of their classic material at Rockfield and the welsh studio was where the band decided to record their last album Evil Spirits.

‘Keep em’ alive’ is the first track on Rockfield files and it doesn’t disappoint with a chanting intro the track then bursts into life with guitars and drums crashing in and with Dave Vanian’s glorious vocals over the top the tune is a sure-fire winner.

‘Manipulator’ is next up and is a melodic punk ripper with sneering vocals from Dave and some great slashing chords on the guitar courtesy of the Captain.  This track also contains some powerhouse drumming from Pinch who sadly said goodbye to the band and with the Palladium and now this EP as his swansong he is leaving on an extreme high.

The spider & the fly’ is an interesting track as the beginning sounds like something off ‘Phantasmagoria’ but quickly morphs into the psychedelia of “The Black Album” and shows what a diverse band The Damned are.

The last track ‘Black is the Night’ is a song most Damned fans will know as it was the bonus track on the anthology of the same name released last year albeit this is an extended version and a welcome edition here for any fan who has not picked it up.

Overall this EP is top quality with some more great songs from such a great band.

Do yourself a favour and go and buy it and cheer yourself up cause after the last couple of months we all need some happiness in our lives and what better way to do that than with music.

Buy ‘The Rockfield Files’ Here

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Author: Gareth ‘Hotshot’ Hooper