It’s A Podcast – Episode 16 ‘These Pair Of Monkeys Can Swing’

It’s A Podcast – Episode 16 ‘These Pair Of Monkeys Can Swing’

Welcome to Episode 16 of our little Podcast where DD And Hotshot bring you some top tunes from the archives. We have some brand new tunes from current records that have either just been released or are about to be released as well as tunes from the archives such as Joe Strummers demo outtake of ‘Coma girl’ that is taken from his boxset 002.

First up in this Episode is a Steve Lillywhite recording of Johnny Thunders recording ‘Leave Me Alone’ recorded with current Damned bass player Paul Gray alongside drummer Steve Nicol. It was eventually released on a 10″ EP on Remarquable Records alongside three other tracks. It was a remarkable time for Thunders who went on to release ‘So Alone’ with a veritable host of bonafide Superstars, spawning his best work (arguably) that included the epic ‘You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory’.

Next up Hotshot picked a Hanny J track ‘Days Felt Like Years’ From her 2019 EP ‘Possession’. HAnny is known for her bass playing in Melbourne punks Clowns but this change of pace offers an insight into her talents as a songwriter and singer.

Ming City Rockers have just completed a new album and whilst we wait for them to start dropping details of when we can expect to hear songs of fit you’ll have to make do with ‘Desperate’ from their last album ‘Lime’ which was released early in 2023. We’ve already had the one-track drop so hopefully, it’s soon when we’ll get news.

Guitar pop indie kids Ash released a great new album late last year and have just released it as an extended option ‘Race The Night’ comes out with an extra raft of tracks. If it’s classic tracks you’re after then look no further than Misfits classic ‘Hybrid Moments’ lifted from the Box set version ‘Static Age’. Digitally remastered from the band’s classic debut – You can’t argue that Early Misfits didn’t deliver and anyone whos seen them play recently can testify that they still have it.

Scandinavian punks The Good The Bad And The Zugly are about to release something of a compilation album based on B sides of singles and a new cut that we play spanning the band’s 15 years of doing this. ‘Decade Of Regression’ hits the shops on the 5th of April. Catch them on tour now!

Next up The Drowns knock out their single ‘Ketamine And Cola’ from the album ‘Blacked Out’ get it off Pirates Press and I can promise you – you won’t be disappointed.

Jumping back to Scandinavia the pair offer up The Backstreet Girls and ‘Boogie Woman’ lifted from their latest album of loud infectious rock n roll ‘In Lust We Trust’. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it which is the mantra the band adhere to and continues to turn out top tunes and top albums.

Joe Strummer gets aired and a demo of ‘Coma Girl’ lifted from his second box set ‘002’ The Mescaleros years. It’s hard to believe that Strummer passed in 2002 and those studio albums still sound fresh and relevant all these years later. This is one of the early outtakes of the track and still, I champion it as his most outstanding solo post Clash record. The box set is well worth investigating full of artefacts and really well designed.

Who doesn’t love Slade? I guess if you’re still reading and you hit the link to play the podcast then you’re going to love this live recording which was recently released on splatter vinyl. ‘Them Kinda Monkeys Can’t Swing’ is a barnstorming opener and this version is particularly good. After a quick check, I can correct myself and say this recording was made from a few nights at the theatre in 1975 so right smack in the middle of the band’s pomp. Captured for a BBC performance Slade are remembered by a slew of fine albums that have just had the rerelease treatment and this is one not to miss alongside the Reading performance that the pair chat about. If you’ve never delved into the Slade archive then what better place to start than a live album stacked with absolute bangers. there aren’t many frontmen with a set of pipes like Holders and on this song he gives his vocals a damn good workout.

Maverick Ryan Adams recently dropped five albums on the same day (now that doesn’t happen every day) one of those albums particularly piqued my attention and ‘Skulls’ is lifted from the album ‘1985’. A daunting and huge back catalogue maybe if you start from this recent album drop you have pretty much the whole sound of the guy in one day – five albums mind and all crammed with tunes. Try him.

Gene Loves Jezebel recently released an album on Cleopatra Records ‘x – Love Death Sorrow’ and it contained a very mixed bag in as much as there were Four covers with the originals and one that caught our ears in the classic post-punk/ New Wave ‘Another Girl Another Planet’ but put their Gothic twist and owned The Only Ones classic taking it somewhere we weren’t expecting but thoroughly enjoyed.

NWOBHM aficionados might baulk at our ignorance when we encounter the recent Cherry Red Records compilation ‘All Systems Go’ and the Crucifixion track ‘Jailbait’. The beauty of these retro boxsets is that you discover bands like this that you might have missed first time around. Don’t take my word for it hit the podcast and get on it.

I think it’s the first Replacements track we’ve dived into on the podcast certainly the first one lifted from the superb ‘Tim’ album box set that came out last year with a superb remix that elevates the album from what we were used to. Possibly hearing the one track in isolation doesn’t do it justice but ‘Kiss Me On The Bus’ is a belter and if you’re new to the Replacements then this is a quality album/box set to dive into it also includes some fantastic live recordings. one of Americas best gifts to music ever – you can take that to the bank.

Finally, on this episode, Laura Jane Grace closes off the show with the title track off her new solo album ‘Hole In My Head’ an album that offers the listener her usual variety of electric and acoustic songs as she rages against the machine. Its her fourth album and this is just a taste of what to expect from another fantastic album. Punk, Folk Rock, Acoustic, Rebel Rousing Grace is compulsive listening and this album maintains the super high standard of songwriting be it as a solo artist or fronting Against Me! or Laura Jane Grace & the Devouring Mothers.

I’m sure you’ll agree if you can understand our poetical Welsh voices we do have the gift of the best music available whatever variety it might be. Join in – let us know what you think. If you have a request or a topic you’d like us to play/discuss then get in touch.

Listen-Folow-Like-Share. Thanks from the pair of us.

Slade – ‘Nobody’s Fool’ & ‘The Amazing Kamakazi Syndrome’ (BMG)

Slade – ‘Nobody’s Fool’ & ‘The Amazing Kamakazi Syndrome’ (BMG)

Continuing the very nice Slade back catalogue reissues on Splatter vinyl we have the mid-eighties pair of ‘The Amazing Kamakazi Syndrome’ and ‘Nobody’s Fools’ and I must say if there is a shortage of vinyl for pressing records blame BMG and Slade these records feel like 280gms never mind 180gms. Very impressive reproductions they are too and the splatters continue the line of releases.

First up is the mid-70s ‘Nobody’s Fools‘ which reminds me of heyday Mott The Hoople on the opener and title track. The band were untouchable for a period in the 70s with the impeccable melodies and playing to the one-of-a-kind Noddy Holder air raid siren vocals. This was the band’s sixth studio album and was – say, less riotous and hedonistic (even if it did have its moments) it was said that they moved away from their sound and fancied a tilt at the USA market with the more soulful backing vocals and bigger arrangments. It’s still a damn fine album with some great riffs and even though it doesn’t receive the recognition that the more classic albums did and does it’s unmistakable Slade. Spreading their wings maybe but ‘Do The Dirty’ is a rocker alright. I’ve not played this record for many years if I’m honest but I forgot how good some of the songs were. The Honking cotton-picking ‘Pack Up Your Troubles’ and the Lennon like ‘Do You Remember’. There was even some hip shaking in the shape of ‘Did Your Mama Ever Tell Ya’ to the funky ‘All The Worlds A Stage’. Slade still had no doubt about that.

Slade was still unstoppable midway through the seventies and rightly so. Three UK No-1, a run of 17 consecutive Top 20 singles and their hits are synonymous with the glam era.

Buy ‘Nobody’s fool’ Here

‘The Amazing Kamakazi Syndrome’ (BMG)

With a jump of a decade, Slade had had their day (it’s fair to say) but whilst they weren’t dominating the singles charts and shipping platinum discs left right and centre they could still rock out and deliver a tune or two.

Take the opener ‘Slam The Hammer Down’ with its familiar Holder rasp at full tilt – Hill laid down some exquisite chops on that six-string. It might not have troubled the album charts but it still had two top-ten singles on it. the record was retitled for the North American market for some reason but it faired about the same there as well with the two singles hitting the US Billboard top 40.

The single ‘Run Run Away’ was a shift in sound with that fearsome mid-80s drum sound but a memorable riff and Noddy doing what Noddy has always done. Produced by Lea it was contemporary and of its time. Slade were still contenders and would go toe to toe with many of their hard rock contemporaries of the mid-80s – besides the album had that 80s big ballad in ‘My Oh My’. If you’d never heard of Slade (God bless the kids) and put this record on and asked what era – any half clued in muso would place it right in the middle of the decade of decadence – shoulder pads and big hair with that drum sound like its recorded in an aircraft hanger Slade could never be accused of not moving with the times – they did! Now get your lighters out and bang those heads Noddy and the boys are bringing the noize. Hell, they even dabbled in the dreaded MOR with ‘Cheap ‘n’ Nasty Luv’ but that aside it’s a wonderful trip down memory lane Slade style – Now turn it up!

Buy ‘Amazing Kamakazi Syndrome’ – Here

Author: Dom Daley

Slade – ‘All The World Is A Stage’ (BMG)

Slade – ‘All The World Is A Stage’ (BMG)

Amongst the many hundreds of concerts I’ve attended over the years, I still Slade as one of the best live bands I have been fortunate enough to see. I saw the classic line up of Noddy Holder, Jim Lea, Don Powell and Dave Hill twice, in Cardiff and Bristol, on the ‘til Deaf Us Do Part’ tour when I was around 14 years of age, and having initially fell in love with the band through their ‘Sladest’ album around 1974-75, I think this is proof positive that when you fall in love with a band early on in life they stick with you forever, especially when they are as awesome as Slade.

I’ve also collected the band’s back catalogue with an almost religious fervour over the years, and with Salvo having provided the almost definitive reissues of their recorded output as recently as 2006, including the ‘Slade Alive! (The Live Anthology)’ two CD set (which features three of the albums/concerts included here plus the ‘Slade Alive Vol. 2’ set which isn’t included here) you’ll forgive me if I admit that the purpose behind this all new ‘All The World Is A Stage’ 5CD box set is somewhat frustrating.  With only the CDs ‘Live At The New Victoria’ recorded on April 24 1975 and ‘Live At The Hucknall Miner’s Welfare Club’ recorded on June 26 1980 proving to be of any real interest, and at around £40 for the set, I have to say that’s a lot of money to spend when things are getting pretty tight at the moment.

Granted the ‘Alive! At Reading’ CD (which I’m sure some will also be buying this set for given its almost legendary status) restores the classics’ Tak’ Me Bak ‘Ome’, ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’ and ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ (all missing from the Salvo reissue along with the ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ singalong) but it’s still not the full fifteen song set, and to include ‘Slade Alive!’ and ‘Slade On Stage’ but miss out ‘Slade Alive Vol. 2’ simply feels like an opportunity missed to finally give Slade fans as near a definitive live document of the band as they always excelled in that setting.  Or why not simply ditch the already released albums and just go with previously unreleased live sets, I’m sure there must be enough fans who would have snapped that 5CD set up?

To that effect, I find myself only briefly dipping into the review streams of ‘Slade Alive!’ and ‘Slade On Stage’ (they sound just as I expect them to), before moving quickly to ‘Alive! At Reading’ and that triumphant Sunday back in 1980 when Slade stepped in at short notice to replace Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard Of Oz and Gary Moore’s G Force on the Reading Festival bill and then proceeded to not only steal the show but also kickstart their ‘80s reawakening. There are a few sonic dropouts throughout this set, but it’s great to once again hear it in most of its glory, as my tape recording from the Friday Rock Show had long since disappeared from my collection, most probably leant out to a friend and never returned. 

Moving on to ‘Live At The New Victoria’ from April 1975 and not only does it capture the band live at the time I first started listening to them, but it also has a set list that centres largely around the band’s then new album and film ‘Slade In Flame’. The volume on the stream of this recording seemed to drop ever so slightly compared to the Reading set but it’s a rip-roaring run through a dozen of some of the finest songs the band ever penned. Okay ‘The Bangin Man’ might be stretching that definition a bit but this set is worth investing in just for the versions of ‘How Does It Feel’ (which is also my all-time favourite Slade song), ‘Far Far Away’ and the B-side ‘OK Yesterday Was Yesterday’ where Noddy slips into an impromptu Tommy Cooper impression for the song’s introduction. Amazing stuff indeed!

The ‘Live At The Hucknall Miner’s Welfare Club’ 1980 CD that closes this set out is (as far as I can tell) pretty much the full live set that Slade did a few nips and tucks on for their Reading 1980 set, and here the band sounds absolutely fantastic from opener ‘Dizzy Mama’ through to ‘Born To Be Wild’ which brings things to a suitably high energy end. I’m not sure how large the crowd was at this show but compared to the turbocharged sound Slade generate onstage they sound positively timid. This is the sound of Slade firing on all cylinders, yet seemingly on the verge of also splitting up due to their lack of commercial success at the time. Mind blowing stuff indeed.

Unfortunately, as I’ve only received a stream of this box set to review, I cannot tell what the twelve-page booklet or clamshell packaging is like, but what I can tell you is that the (mainly) previously unreleased live material really is exceptional.

As I said at the top of this piece Slade will always rank as one of the best live bands I’ve seen in my forty plus years of gig going and ‘All The World Is A Stage’ turns that fact up way past eleven…and then some. Magical stuff, even if the set is seemingly somewhat overpriced. I’ll let you decide if you snap one up now or wait for the price drop that will no doubt follow.

Buy Here

https://www.facebook.com/SladeBandOfficial/

Author: Johnny Hayward

Slade unveil brand new official animated video & Its Alive splatter vinyl

Slade unveil brand new official animated video & Its Alive splatter vinyl

This is the first time there has been a promotional video for the ultimate festive anthem.
‘The video is very unusual and comical. It does sum up the band’s characters HO HO HO!’ exclaims Noddy Holder.


Originally released in 1973 Merry Xmas Everybody was the band’s sixth number-one single in the UK and sold over a million copies upon its first release.  


A Christmas standard Merry Xmas Everybody has spent an incredible 105 weeks in the Official UK Singles Chart and entered the charts for an amazing 26th time this week. In 2009, PRS for Music announced that up to forty-two percent of the world’s population could potentially have listened to the song!

BMG conclude a new series of limited edition splatter vinyl reissues from Slade, with the release of ‘‘Slade Alive’, on 28th January 2022. ‘Slade Alive’, the fourth release in the series, will be released on red and black splatter vinyl. 
The first release in this beautifully presented re-issues collection ‘Slayed? debuted at #7 in the Official Vinyl Charts.


Slade’s first live album ‘Slade Alive!’, originally released on 24th March 1972, entered the UK album chart at #2 and remained in it for 58 weeks. Featuring the anthems ‘Get Down and Get With It’ and ‘Know Who You Are’, today ‘Slade Alive!’ is considered one of the greatest live albums of all time. “Sounds better, the louder you play it” – Los Angeles Times.

To pre order ‘Slade Alive!’ go to: https://slade.lnk.to/sladealive-splatterPR released 28th January 2022


‘Slade Alive’ follows the release of Slade’s third, fourth and fifth studio albums ‘Slayed?’, ‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’ and ‘Slade In Flame’.
‘Slayed?’ features ten songs including Number One single, ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’  and ‘Gudbuy T’Jane’ which reached Number two in the charts. While ‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’, features the singles ‘My Friend Stan’ and ‘Everyday’ and  The Times to retrospectively state: “This is joyous, unshackled and unpretentious stuff that reminds you how they rattled off six No.1’s.” Slade’s first soundtrack album ‘Slade In Flame’, includes the singles ‘Far Far Away’ and ‘How does it Feel’ and their seminal film was hailed as ‘the Citizen Kane of British pop movies” by Mark Kermode, BBC.
Slade are without doubt one of the most exciting bands to come out of Great Britain and were unstoppable throughout the Seventies becoming one of the biggest bands; releasing six smash hits albums, including three UK Number Ones, a run of 17 consecutive Top 20 singles and their hits provided a soundtrack to the Glam Generation.

To order ‘Slayed?’ go to: https://slade.lnk.to/slayedPR

To order ‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’ go to: https://slade.lnk.to/onbabPR 

To order ‘Slade In Flame’, go to: https://slade.lnk.to/sladeinflamePR

SLADE – deluxe vinyl re-issue – ‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’

SLADE – deluxe vinyl re-issue – ‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’
SLADE
official deluxe vinyl album re-issue series
‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’
released on limited edition splatter vinyl 
out 15th October 
Order Here
BMG is proud to continue presenting a new series of limited edition splatter vinyl reissues from Slade, with the release of ‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’, on 15th October.
‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’, the second release in the series, will be released on red and blue splatter vinyl. Further releases in this beautifully presented re-issues collection will include; ’Slade In Flame’  and ‘Slade Alive!’.

 

Slade’s fourth studio album ‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’, was originally released on 15th February 1974, and features the singles ‘My Friend Stan’ and ‘Everyday’. It entered the UK album chart at #1 and is certified Gold by the BPI. The Times retrospectively stated: “This is joyous, unshackled and unpretentious stuff that reminds you how they rattled off six No.1’s.”
‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’ follows the release of Slade’s third album ‘Slayed?’, the first in the series on splatter vinyl. ‘Slayed?’ features ten songs including Number One single, ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’  and ‘Gudbuy T’Jane’ which reached Number two in the charts.
Slade are without doubt one of the most exciting bands to come out of Great Britain and were unstoppable throughout the Seventies becoming one of the biggest bands; releasing six smash hits albums, including three UK Number Ones, a run of 17 consecutive Top 20 singles and their hits provided a soundtrack to the Glam Generation.
To pre-order ‘Old New Borrowed And Blue’ go to: https://slade.lnk.to/onbabPR released 15th October
To order ‘Slayed?’ go to: https://slade.lnk.to/slayedPR

SLADE – ‘Slayed?’ deluxe vinyl album re-issue series

SLADE – ‘Slayed?’ deluxe vinyl album re-issue series
SLADE
announce
official deluxe vinyl album re-issue series
starting with
‘SLAYED?’
out 3rd September 2021
Here
BMG is proud to present a new series of vinyl reissues from Slade.  On 3rd September the first release in this beautifully presented new series, ‘Slayed?’, is released on limited edition yellow and black splatter vinyl.
Slade’s third album ‘Slayed?’ was originallyreleased on 1st November 1972 and reached Number One in the UK charts. It remained in the charts for 34 weeks and was certified silver in early 1973.
‘Slayed?’ features ten songs including Number One single, ”Mama Weer All Crazee Now”  and ‘Gudbuy T’Jane’ which reached Number two in the charts.
‘One of the greatest rock’n’roll releases ever’ hailed NME.
Slade are without doubt one of the most exciting bands to come out of Great Britain and were unstoppable throughout the Seventies becoming one of the biggest bands; releasing six smash hits albums, including three UK Number Ones, a run of 17 consecutive Top 20 singles and their hits provided a soundtrack to the Glam Generation.
To pre-order Slayed? go Here
‘Slayed?’ tracklist
Side A
01 How D’You Ride
02 The Whole World’s Goin’ Crazee
03 Look at Last Nite
04 I Won’t Let It ‘Appen Agen
05 Move Over
Side B
01 Gudbuy T’Jane
02 Gudbuy Gudbuy
03 Mama Weer All Crazee Now
04 I Don’ Mind
05 Let the Good Times / Feel so Fine
Cat No: BMGCAT501LP
Barcode: 4050538659290

Miqu December – Plastic Tears interview exclusive

Miqu December – Plastic Tears interview exclusive

 

(Aleksi Lausti Photography)

Coming outta Helsinki Finland, Plastic Tears have been around for ages knocking out a glam-punk sound on their own terms. They’ve just recorded a brand new album and to be fair it’s taking them to the next level with some excellent songs and they have undoubtedly found their own sound and added some good time Rock and Roll into the mix.  We thought it was about time we sent out the call and brought them in for questioning. So it’s with great pleasure frontman and mainstay of the band Miqu who joined us for a chat and talk about all things Plastic Tears…

 

The band has been through some changes since starting out – how do you look back on the band’s career so far? You claimed that break-ups, lineups changes, record company changes and drama enough for a soap opera.  Talk us through some of those soap opera moments?

We’ve been around for long, so we’ve seen a lot of ups and downs. The dramas are mostly stuff that happened in the beginning of our career. But we’ve split up on stage, had fights on stage, been filmed completely wasted for national TV and so on. We were wild, young and cocky then, I guess we’re a bit more stable nowadays. We’ve had a lot of lineup changes back in the day, and Eco and I are the only ones that are left from the early days. But I’m not much for nostalgia myself, I prefer to focus on the present.

 

 

The lineup is settled now, right?  who writes the tunes in the band?  and why?

Yeah, we’ve had this lineup since the last album, ‘Angels With Attitude’, and the band has matured a lot I think. I guess that’s what happens when you find the right guys who stay together. If you look through the band catalogue I seem to have written most of the songs. But I guess that’s kind of natural as I’ve been in the band from the start. But everyone in the band is welcome to contribute to the songwriting, and on our new album Juha has also written a couple of tunes. And that’s good because it widens the band’s sound.

 

 

The new album ‘Anthems For Misfits’ is about to be released, tell us about who’s releasing it an Italian label I believe?  Where it was recorded? Give us some of the background as to how it was recording under lockdown during a pandemic or had it already been tracked?

Wormholedeath Records is releasing it worldwide. We’re really excited to work with them as they seem to be doing good work and still leave us the freedom to do stuff ourselves. That’s important to us, as we’re used to being independent and doing a lot of promotion ourselves. We had a European tour at the end of 2019, and before that we had already recorded the base for the album, the drums and bass.

 

When we got back we continued recording, but soon after that the pandemic started showing signs of itself. We were still able to continue recording, even though it progressed slower than originally intended. Our original plan was to release this album in the summer of 2020. We had to look for a new keyboard player too, as the one that was lined up didn’t want to expose his family to the virus. That’s understandable, but luckily we found Ville who did a marvelous job in the studio. We recorded at East Sound Studios in Helsinki with Sammy Aaltonen who also did the previous album with us. It’s easy for us to work with him as he comes from similar musical backgrounds and we could well fit on the same bill as his band Private Line.

 

As somebody who has been lucky enough to hear it, it’s fair to say it’s your strongest album thus far.  Is that fair?  I think the songs are stronger and the songwriting is really good there have been a few risks taken would that be a fair assessment?

I agree, it’s our strongest album this far. ‘Angels With Attitude’ already got a great response, and people have doubted me when I’ve said the new album is even better. I guess that’s how bands always feel about their new release, but I honestly think this is true. The band, the songs, and the production is better. We gave a lot of thought to the arrangements and wanted it to be a diverse album. I guess there are some risks, but, it’s not like we’ve consciously calculated what risks to take, the songs just came out like this.

We’ve always mixed in a bit of this and that, like ‘Spanish Whispers’ (still one of my favorite songs) reggae vibe on the first album, ‘Beat Me Blue’ on the second and so on. But I guess this time the production makes these things stand out better, and overall the album is diverse in a good way I think.

 

 

The first video/single is ‘Riot Zone’ which has a good hook but is only a fraction of what’s on offer why choose this one as the first to go public off the new record?

We had a lot of choices so this was a hard decision to make. The label wanted to make an animated lyrics video to go with the single, so in the end we made the choice based on which song would fit that kind of video the best. It’s also a strong ‘bang your head and raise your fist’ style of song that shows our punkier side and is easy to sing along to. And it has a really funny midsection!

 

The album opens up with a real shot of energy with ‘Doomsday girls’ which is a real Rocker with some fantastic piano that really lifts the song – whos playing that? and how important is the running order of a record?

‘Doomsday Girls’ is a great opener, and it immediately gets you into a party mood. The piano was played by Ville Tolvanen, aka Doc Tolvanen. He also played all the other piano/organ/keyboard parts on the album. He’s a blues/roots guy, but he did fantastic work on all the different styles of the songs. He himself said he’s never used as many different sounds and styles in a studio session, that kind of sums up the album. A big thank you to Ville, his parts were the icing on the cake! The running order is really important. We’re old school in the way that an album is the crown of your work and want it to be strong and balanced from start to finish. So we spent a lot of time thinking of the running order, and I think it worked out pretty good.

 

 

Talk us through some of the highlights of the album in your opinion? I love the opener but in the first three songs, there is a wealth of rock and roll all different but all obviously by the same band.  Has this lineup struck on its identity?

‘Doomsday’ is one of my favorites too. I also love the dark gothic feel of ‘Candlelight Hate Affair’, the pop sensibility of ‘Clash in the Night’, the New York Dolls meets Elvis of ‘Crybaby’ and Hallucinations is a really special song that I can’t really categorize. I think we have. We’ve never wanted to be a band that’s easy to define. There’s rock, punk, glam, power pop, hard rock and more blended into our own sound, and I think all the pieces fell together like they were meant now.

 

What’s the scene like in Helsinki? for fans of Rock and Roll, live music? places to go bands to see?  I know you have support over here on plague island are there any plans to play any shows further afield?

Well, there used to be clubs and venues before the pandemic, let’s see what’s left once this is over. The scene is pretty good, there’s good rock bands of all kinds, and of course a lot of metal bands as we’re talking about Finland. What I’m missing here is the kind of small half-sleazy rock bars, like old Loose and Bäkkäri were. But as always, clubs and bars come and go. Still, good venues to go see bands here, like Tavastia, Semifinal, (new) Loose, On The Rocks, etc.

We had a UK tour scheduled for last year with Paradise Alley, but then came the virus. The plan was to reschedule them for this year, and we’re still on the lineup for HRH Sleaze in August, hopefully, it can be carried through. And if, then we’ll hopefully get some other gigs booked there too. We’re also looking forward to getting back to mainland Europe once that’s possible.

 

What formats will the new album be available on?

Italian label Wormholedeath Records is releasing it on CD and digital. There have been requests for vinyl too, but as our deal doesn’t include vinyl, we’re still trying to find a way to get that done.

 

With regards to the new record tell us how it comes together?  How do you go about putting it together?  Do you demo the songs as individuals? What works for Plastic Tears?

Usually, someone makes a rough demo at home which is then played to the other guys. We then start arranging it and everyone puts in their own parts before entering the studio. As we recorded over a quite long time frame with Sammy we still had the chance to make some changes at Sammy’s East Sound Studios. I think this a couple of days of recording every now and then works well for us, as it gives us time to do changes, as opposed to doing it on a tighter schedule.

Tell us a bit about yourself Miqu. Did you always want to front a band?  Who were your influences growing up and what other artists still make music you relate to and get inspired by?

Me, I’m just a rock’n’roll singer, who writes a lot of songs of which only a fraction are completed. I guess since I fell in love with rock’n’roll at about the age of ten I knew I someday wanted to work with music in one way or another. Elvis was my first step into the world of rock. Shortly after that, I got hooked on punk and soon widened my musical taste with bands like Lords of the New Church, Cheap Trick, Hanoi Rocks, Slade, and many more. Of older artists that still make music I can relate to and get inspired by, I would say, Alice Cooper, Blondie, Social Distortion, John Fogerty, and Rolling Stones. Of the newer bands, I love The Interrupters, Tiger Army, The Sounds, and The Baboon Show. I’m a music fan so I listen to a lot of old and new music.

Thats always good to hear, someone still in love with music.

Congratulations on the album I think it’s your best to date and a big step up in production and songwriting and the whole package (that’s not to say the previous ones were bad, they weren’t but this is excellent)

Thank you Dom, happy to hear this and I agree completely!

Facebook / Website / Order the album Here / Instagram

Slade – ‘Feel The Noize – The Singlez Box’ (BMG)

Slade – ‘Feel The Noize – The Singlez Box’ (BMG)

The first album I ever owned was ‘Sladest’ the 1973 released compilation album by Slade. It came with a second hand cassette recorder my mother picked up for me for my 7th birthday and as such it left a truly indelible mark on my life.

Of the ten 7” singles featured here in this soon to be released box set from BMG the A sides of the first six singles were all featured on ‘Sladest’, so there’s no way I could feel anything other than total delight when listening to the likes of ‘Coz I Love You’ and ‘Gudbuy T’Jane’ and the only thing that kind of disappoints me is that the likes of ‘Look What You Dun’ and ‘Get Down And Get With It’ aren’t included too.

Still you can’t have everything I suppose, its just that after the lavish ‘When Slade Rocked The World’ LP box set released by Salvo back in 2015 which contained a cornucopia of wonderful Slade ephemera from the 1971 -1975 era the fact that nine of the ten singles contained within this set also draw from the same period I do have a real sense of deja-vu when revisiting these songs so soon after, and again if you are going to focus on this period and not include the seismic ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ single then you do start to wonder what BMG are really trying to achieve with this release.

The answer I guess lies in the fact that those nine singles all come housed in internationally released picture sleeves, complete (where applicable) with non-album B sides; songs like the acoustic stomp of ‘My Life Is Natural’, the Kinks-y pop of ‘Kill ‘Em At The Hot Club Tonite’ and the simply superb ‘Wonderin’ Y’, a song Noel Gallagher must have heard many times over when composing most of the ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?’ album.  Once again though these tracks have all been released previously on the expanded Salvo versions of the corresponding Slade albums, so it really does boil down to the fact that if you are a Slade completist if the tenth “promo only” 7” of ‘Night Starvation’ is really worth the admission price for this set?

Look, I’ll admit I’ve already pre-ordered a copy of ‘Feel The Noize’, but if you are something of a more casual fan there are certainly much more cost-effective ways of getting these songs. You just won’t have the pic sleeves or the (ahem) flip-top box.

Slade’s music is timeless, and (largely) faultless, they are THE BAND I go to whenever I lose faith in life, plus as I once got caught with me trousers down by Noddy Holder at an Ozzy gig in Birmingham Odeon I do feel like we connected that day. Oh and please remember Slade are for life not just for Christmas, but there’s certainly nothing stopping you adding this box set to your Christmas list.

Buy it Here

Author: Johnny Hayward

On this day – Gone But Not Forgotten – Nick Knox

On this day – Gone But Not Forgotten – Nick Knox

Nick Knox, the drummer with the Cramps from 1977 until 1991, died at the age of 60,  (born Nicholas George Stephanoff; March 26, 1953).

He was the band’s longest-serving drummer and appeared on their biggest selling albums including 1986’s ‘A Date With Elvis’. Knox died of Cardiogenic shock (which is a condition in which your heart suddenly can’t pump enough blood to meet your body’s needs) on 15th June 2018.

Knox played drums for proto-punks the Electric Eels before joining Lux Interior and Poison Ivy Rorschach in the Cramps.  He played on ‘A Date With Elvis’ – which was the band’s most commercially successful album. It followed 1980’s ‘Songs the Lord Taught Us’ and 1981 follow-up ‘Psychedelic Jungle’. Knox’s final recording was, 1990’s ‘Stay Sick!’ before his departure.  The band extensively toured Europe under Knox’s watch and hes regarded as being the glue that pulled the Cramps sound together.

After retiring from The Band Knox didn’t surface until he appeared on stage with The Pagans in 2003and it wouldn’t be until 2017  when he was credited as “senior advisor” to the Cleveland-based punk band Archie And The Bunkers in 2017.

After his passing Knox had some wonderful testimonials from his peers such as his predecessor Miriam Linna, the Cramps’ drummer Knox replaced, She Said she’d visited Knox in the intensive care unit in Cleveland. She added, “I thank God that Nicky was a friend of mine. He was one of the kindest, funniest, most amazing human beings ever and I was very lucky to have been in his orbit.”

On his passing Former guitarist Kid Congo Powers tweeted, “Nick Knox Coolest of the cool. R.I.P. Glad to have played to your boss Beat. Meet you on the mystery plane.”

 

On a happier note  RPM favourite, Noddy Holder was born on this very day in 1946. Noddy went on to front The UK’s most successful singles band of the ’70s scoring 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six No.1’s impressive legacy by anyone’s standards.  Neville John Holder was born in Walsall, West Midlands.  Sadly Holder isn’t interested in joining his ex-bandmates for any shows and prefers to spend his time hosting radio shows and acting.  What would we give to hear him belt out a Slade tune with Jim, Dave, and Don.  We can but hope, anyway, Happy Birthday Noddy.

Also sharing his birthday on this day is current Wonder Stuff Bass player Mark Gemini Thwaite (born 1965) ordinarily known as a guitarist of the six-string variety Mark is standing in on Bass for shits and giggles according to Hunt and on the recent tour the band has never sounded so good largly down to the fantastic musicians in the current line up. 

The list of artists Thwaite has recorded and toured with is incredible – The Mission, Tricky, Peter Murphy, New Disease, Spear of Destiny, Theatre of Hate, Mob Research (with Paul Raven of Killing Joke), Canadian band National Velvet and he recorded with Gary Numan, Al Jourgensen of Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Roger Daltrey of the Who, P.J. Harvey, Alanis Morissette, Primitive Race(with Chuck Mosley of Faith No More), Ricky Warwick of The Almighty, Ginger Wildheart, Stan Lee of Marvel Comics, Franz Treichler of The Young Gods, The Wonder Stuff, Ashton Nyte of The Awakening, Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory, Laurence “Lol” Tolhurst and Porl Thompson of The Cure and Ville Valo of Finnish band HIM. And breath; Mark has kept himself busy to say the least and landed himself some exceptional jobs with a whole variety of cool bands. Happy Birthday, Mark!