SPEAR OF DESTINY – ANNOUNCE ‘WORLDSERVICE@35’ UK TOUR FOR LATE 2021 

SPEAR OF DESTINY – ANNOUNCE ‘WORLDSERVICE@35’ UK TOUR FOR LATE 2021 

SPEAR OF DESTINY

ANNOUNCE ‘WORLDSERVICE@35’ UK TOUR
FOR LATE 2021 TICKETS HERE

Rocking the music scene for over three decades, SPEAR OF DESTINY are not stopping. Today, they announce their ‘Worldservice@35’  tour, following their acclaimed lockdown album released last year. 
TICKETS HEREHard to believe we know but it is true, Kirk Brandon has now been leading SPEAR OF DESTINY for over 38 years.

Spear of Destiny were formed in 1983 after the demise of Kirk Brandon’s post punk iconic rockers THEATRE OF HATE. (Brandon had also, before TOH, been the main man in every punk rockers favourite band of that era The Pack)

The current line up of Spear is the longest serving to date and features Adrian Portas (New Model Army / Sex Gang Children), Craig Adams (Sisters of Mercy / The Cult / The Mission) and Phil Martini (Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind) on drums. During 2019 the line up was boasted by Saxophonist Clive Osborne who will be staying in the line up for 2021.

On April 6th 2018 SPEAR OF DESTINY released their 14th studio album “Tontine” The album was been fully funded from a private fan pre-sale. The album is officially released for Brandon’s own Eastersnow Recording Company label imprint and is available on CD, Vinyl and Download across Europe. US label Cleopatra Records will be handling the North American release.

Just before the lockdown of 2020/1 the band went into the studio and re-recorded perhaps their best known album, 1985’s WorldService. Eventually releasing the album to much critical acclaim in November 2020. The upcoming ‘WorldService @35’ UK Tour set will feature the album + b-sides in full and the show will be finished with a career spanning extended SOD encore.

WORLDSERVICE@35 TOUR DATES:

September
Wed 8th NORWICH Waterfront
Thur 9th NEWCASTLE The Cluny
Fri 10th DUNFERMLINE PJ Malloys
Sat 11th GLASGOW Oran Mor
Sun 12th NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms
Wed 15th EXETER Phoenix
Thur 16th BIRMINGHAM  Hare & Hounds
Fri 17th  BEDFORD Esquires
Sat 18th STOKE Underground
Sun 19th YORK The Cresent
Tue 21st LEEDS Brudenell Social
Wed 22nd DARWEN Library Theatre
Thur 23rd SOUTHEND The Venue @The Cricketers
Fri 24th LUTON Hat Factory
Sat 25th HULL The Welly
Sun 26th SOUTHAMPTON Joiners
Tues 28th BRISTOL The Fleece
Wed 29th  GRIMSBY Yardbirds
Thur 30th MANCHESTER Club Academy

October
Fri 1st  LONDON 229 THE CLUB
Sat 2nd  LEICESTER The Musician
Sun 3rd SKEGNESS GB Alt Fest
Sat 9th WOLVERHAMPTON WW-XVIII @ KK’s Steelmill
Sun 10th WOLVERHAMPTON WW-XVIII @ KK’s Steelmill

SPEAR OF DESTINY ANNOUNCE ‘WORLDSERVICE@35’ UK TOUR FOR LATE 2021

SPEAR OF DESTINY ANNOUNCE ‘WORLDSERVICE@35’ UK TOUR FOR LATE 2021

 ‘WORLDSERVICE@35’ UK TOUR FOR LATE 2021 

Rocking the music scene for over three decades, SPEAR OF DESTINY are not stopping. Today, they announce their ‘Worldservice@35’  tour, following their acclaimed lockdown album released last year. 
TICKETS HEREHard to believe we know but it is true, Kirk Brandon has now been leading SPEAR OF DESTINY for over 38 years.Spear of Destiny were formed in 1983 after the demise of Kirk Brandon’s post punk iconic rockers THEATRE OF HATE. (Brandon had also, before TOH, been the main man in every punk rockers favourite band of that era The Pack)

The current line up of Spear is the longest serving to date and features Adrian Portas (New Model Army / Sex Gang Children), Craig Adams (Sisters of Mercy / The Cult / The Mission) and Phil Martini (Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind) on drums. During 2019 the line up was boasted by Saxophonist Clive Osborne who will be staying in the line up for 2021.

On April 6th 2018 SPEAR OF DESTINY released their 14th studio album “Tontine” The album was been fully funded from a private fan pre-sale. The album is officially released for Brandon’s own Eastersnow Recording Company label imprint and is available on CD, Vinyl and Download across Europe. US label Cleopatra Records will be handling the North American release.

Just before the lockdown of 2020/1 the band went into the studio and re-recorded perhaps their best known album, 1985’s WorldService. Eventually releasing the album to much critical acclaim in November 2020. The upcoming ‘WorldService @35’ UK Tour set will feature the album + b-sides in full and the show will be finished with a career spanning extended SOD encore.

Spear Of Destiny – ‘World Service 35’ (Eastersnow Recording Company)

Spear Of Destiny – ‘World Service 35’ (Eastersnow Recording Company)

Recorded during the lockdown in July 2020. Spear Of Destiny has re-recorded the hit album ‘World Service’. I’m sure there are those who’ve clicked here wondering why? Royalties?  Those less cynical amongst us might have recently read Kirks reasons where he sites the original production being a pop/rock record which was never his intention and whilst Rusty Egan did a job (and a jolly good one too) Brandon was never happy and with a settled, more Rockin line up currently playing the songs.  Also, it was a chance to change the artwork – (oh well you can’t have everything even if this new one is better than the ’80s version.) The tracklisting has been arranged and to be fair Brandon’s recent explanation makes sense and this re-imagination is certainly a lot harder hitting. Following on from 2019’s rerecording of ‘One-Eyed Jacks’

Trying to put fresh ears on a record I’ve played hundreds of times isn’t an easy thing but I will say I’ve not actually played it for a few years to be fair and probably the last time I did was when Brandon was touring with mike peters under the dead men walking banner so there you go.

Opening with ‘World Service’ the re-recording has a punch that’s for sure and the saxophone wails perfectly the other thing I notice is Brandon’s vocals are infinitely stronger.  He has a unique style that’s instantly recognisable and there are moments here where he really excels like on the punchy ‘I Can See’.

I was never keen on the piraty ‘Come Back’ although I would say here it sounds more Strummer than Strummer ever did on his Mescaleros recordings.  The breakdown and sax is excellent here and the song isn’t as piraty as I remember it being. To be fair its songs like this that have benefitted most from the re-recording.

‘Mickey’ is still a chest pumping classic. Now minus the ’80s drum sheen and overall compression squeezing the life out of everything having it stripped away has breathed new life into all these songs. The original album opener ‘Rocket Ship’ has fallen down the tracklist and has a harder rockier edge breathed into it which is another good reason to have done this.

One of the songs that strangely was more “Rock” on the original for me is ‘Last Card’ but having the ’80s Rusty shaken out of it makes the song brighter. ‘Walk In My Shadow’ is possibly the song that’s changed the least with it still having that Blues based undercoat workout. ‘Up All Night’ reminds me a bit of Adam And The Ants with the guitar sound and drum beat but that where the comparisons end.

To finish off this rework is a beautiful piano-led take on ‘Young Men’ which fits perfectly as some sort of come down and mellow out from what’s gone before.  I haven’t seen the line up with Craig Adams in and I can’t understand why that hasn’t taken place so once we’re all able to venture back inside a venue I will be taking myself to see the band and hear how this reworked album unfolds live – but then Brandon always excelled live. It’s a no-brainer for diehards but for casual fans and newcomers, it’s a great place to jump in. Like the titles tracks lyrics “It only seemed like yesterday, I hear music”  where did all those years go? Two reworks and both well worth investing in with this one being the boldest and brightest.  Great job.

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Author: Dom Daley

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!