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PLAYING OUT LOUD!
ARTICLES
The Blockheads. Preview by Peter
Ashton.
 The
funkiest band in the land, The Blockheads, who are still keeping the music of
the late Ian Dury alive over five years after his death return to The Brook in
Southampton on Friday August 19.
Formed in 1977 to promote Ian Dury’s album “New Boots and Panties” on the first
Stiff Records tour of the UK, Chaz Jankel, Norman Watt-Roy, Charlie Charles,
John Turnbull and Mick Gallagher became known as 'The Blockheads' - a reference
to a song on Ian's album. As 'Ian Dury & The Blockheads' they went back out on
tour, this time without Chaz Jankel, and in 1978 released “What a Waste” a
single that reached No 5 in the UK charts. They were then joined by saxophonist
Davey Payne and toured the USA supporting Lou Reed across North America ending
with their own dates in California.
In late 1978 Chaz returned to the fold and composed “Hit Me With Your Rhythm
Stick” with Ian. The band recorded it in The Workhouse Studios, Old Kent Road,
London and in 1979it shot to No 1 hit record in the UK. Ian Dury & The
Blockheads went on to record the “Do It Yourself” album and toured Europe and
the UK, recording the single “Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3” in Rome. Released
as a single in late 1979 it reached No 3 in the U.K. charts.
In 1980 Chaz, once again left the band to pursue solo projects in California and
Wilko Johnson joined Ian, Norman, Johnny, Charlie, Mickey and Davey to record
and release a third album for Stiff Records called “Laughter” and released “I
Want To Be Straight” and “Supermans Big Sister” as singles. They toured
throughout 1981 in the UK and Europe, sometimes augmented by Don Cherry on
trumpet, ending the year with a tour of Australia. In 1982 Ian Dury & The
Blockheads disbanded and were not to play together again until 1987 when they
went out to Japan in June to play three shows in four days, disbanding again
until 1990, when the death of Charlie Charles in September of that year
re-united them to play two benefit gigs at The Forum, Camden Town in aid of
Charlies' family. Chaz returned from America and Steven Monti picked up the
drumsticks. The band, now augmented by Merlin Rhys-Jones on guitar and Will
Parnell on percussion, recorded a live album “Warts & Audience” at the Brixton
Academy in December 1990. Chaz returned to California and the band toured Spain
in January 1991. Once again the band stopped working until August 1994 when,
with the return to England of Chaz, the band were invited to play the Madstock
Festival in Finsbury Park in August, which led to a series of hit and run gigs
in Europe, Ireland, the UK and Japan throughout the rest of 1994 and 1995.
In March 1996 Ian was diagnosed with cancer and, after recovering from an
operation, was determined to write another album. To this end The Blockheads
went into rehearsal in August 1996 and began recording at Air Studios, London in
October. The album “Mr. Lovepants” was released in 1998 and in May, Ian & The
Blockheads hit the road again, this time with Dylan Howe replacing Steve Monti
on drums. In August Davey Payne left and was replaced by Gilad Atzmon. This line
up continued to play gigs throughout 1999. The last performance by Ian Dury &
The Blockheads was on February 6, 2000 at The London Palladium.
Ian died on 27th March 2000. In 2002 The Blockheads released “Ten Turnips From
The Tip,” a collection of songs they had been working on with Ian over the last
couple of years before his death. Several of the tracks are now a staple part of
their act which covers all the hits and crowd favourites like “Sex & Drugs &
Rock & Roll.”
Tickets for The Brook gig are £14.50 and available online at
www.the-brook.com -
ring 02380 555366 for more details.
Lightnin’ Willie. Preview by Peter
Ashton.
 The
Blues isn’t always of the self-pitying “woke up this morning, and my
girl had gone” variety. One man who will be proving that the blues can be an
uplifting and exciting experience is tall Texan Lightin’ Willie and his band,
The
Poorboys, who will be playing Southsea Folk and Roots Festival later this
month.
Emerging from the clubs and bars of the USA blues scene, Lightnin' Willie
is an accomplished and hard-working guitarist, vocalist and songwriter,
currently based in Los Angeles. Willie is a seasoned musician and talented
songwriter who has paid his dues. With four albums under his belt, this eloquent
storyteller sings about his time on the road, personal loss, fresh beginnings
and
his over-riding love of playing the "Devil's Music."
Originally from Texas, this bluesman's years of steady gigging have given
him as much polish as his performance. He is tall, with an expressive face,
piercing eyes, and the kind of confident all-American swagger that allows you to
walk up to total strangers on the street and introduce yourself. Lightnin'
Willie and The Poorboys mine a rich musical vein, steering away from
middle-of-the-road blues to produce a seductive combination of swinging blues
and R&B
with a hint of rockabilly. Their lively, interactive, audience-friendly
approach to their music has won the respect and admiration of blues fans all
over
the USA and Europe for over a decade.
A gifted musician, Willie orchestrates a delicately balanced live show,
opening with powerful blues, rich vocals, and slide guitar. The band serves up a
feast of accomplished musicianship from the thumping bass of "Spy" to the
subtle drumming of Franck Rouleau and the wailing harmonica of Giles King, not
to forget the stunning guitar work of leader Willie. Lightnin' Willie and The
Poorboys are renowned for delivering a tight, high-energy performance packed
with style and wit.
You can see Lightnin’ Willie and friends when they play on the opening
night of the festival at The Albert Tavern, South Parade Pier, Southsea on
Thursday August 25.Tickets are £8 via Barking Spider Promotions,105, Landguard Rd, Southsea,
Hants,
PO4 9DR. No booking fee payable, but please enclose a stamped addressed
envelope and make cheques payable to Barking Spider Music. If you would like to
contact Barking Spider, please email J.R. at
spiderpromos@aol.com or ring the
Barking Spider Hotline on: 023 9243 6267
The Ukrainians. Preview by Peter Ashton.
 The
Ukrainians, who play the Endorse It In Dorset Festival in Sixpenny Handley this
month owe their existence to the late John Peel. The band grew out of a project
started by 80s favourites The Wedding Present who decided to make one of their
sessions for the BBC's John Peel Show a Ukrainian one. The group recorded the
first session which was duly broadcast and repeated several times. There was a
big demand to release these first two sessions as an album which resulted in
“Ukrainski Vistupi V Johna Peela,” which sold nearly 70,000 copies worldwide.
Wedding Present members Peter, Len and Roman went on to form The Ukrainians,
later releasing their self-titled debut album, with all of The Wedding Present
members featuring on five tracks. It established The Ukrainians as the only
major exponents of a mixture of traditional Ukrainian folk music and Western
rock. The album was wll received in the UK and the band were subsequently booked
to play festivals and tours throughout Europe. In 1993, the group released their
successful “Pisni Iz The Smiths EP” which contained Ukrainian language versions
of four classic Smiths songs. The “Vorony” album soon followed, featuring twelve
original compositions plus a cover of The Velvet Underground's “Venus In Furs.”
To promote the album The Ukrainians played a 110-date tour ranging from Spain to
the Eastern Ukraine, covering most of the countries in between. The tour also
incuded festivals such as Glastonbury and Womad in Britain and a host of
Indie, World Music, Folk and Rock events throughout mainland Europe. They also
made their first incursion into the US by playing the huge Bumbershoot Festival
in Seattle. Then in August 1993 the band undertook their first tour of Ukraine
as guests of Ukraine's Ministry Of Culture. The tour culminated in a performance
in Kiev's Independence Square before over 50,000 people, an
internationally-televised event organised to celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of
Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union.
The “Kultura” album released in October 1994 was heavily influenced heavily by
the group's experiences while on tour in the Ukraine. But the band were worn out
by constant touring and decided to limit their live appearances, apart from
touring Canada, Germany and Poland in 1996 to promote a limited issue single,
“Radioactivity,” in aid of the Children of Chernobyl charity. In 1998 the group
released the limited issue “Prince” EP containing four versions of Prince songs,
before taking a complete rest for a couple of years. The live “Drink to My
Horse!” album was released in February 2001 and the band got together again to
promote it in Britain and Poland. Since then The Ukrainians have put out three
more releases - the “Anarchy In The UK” EP in 2002, the “Respublika album in
2003 and “Istoriya - The Best Of The Ukrainians” last year.
Details of the complete lineup for the Endorse It Dorset Festival which takes
place at Woodcutts, Sixpenny Handley, near Blandford from August 12 - 14 can be
found in our Festival Focus
section.
The Duhks. Preview by Peter Ashton
 Canadian
band, The Duhks (pronounced “ducks” and I don’t know why they are called that!)
are one of the tantalising debutants on this year’s particularly attractive
Eastleigh Summer Festival bill. The band play their set on Saturday August 6.
The five 20-something musicians and singers who make up this remarkable band
which hails from Winnipeg, Manitoba, have been variously described as
”contemporary acoustic,” “progressive soul-grass,” and “kick-ass rock/folk
fusion.” Which means, basically, that they are virtually impossible to
categorise.
All we can tell you here is that there are a huge range of influences in their
music - Irish fiddle tunes, Canadian French and Scots/maritime folk, and
Appalachian old-time string band styles - all delivered with high energy and
huge enthusiasm.
The band is made up of drummer Scott Senior, soulful singer Jessica Havey, banjo
player Leonard Podolak, fiddle player Tania Elizabeth and guitarist Jordan
McConnell.
Festival fans have really taken to the band, spontaneously dashing to dance in
front of the stage wherever they appear. Their debut album demonstrated their
eclectic approach with traditional tunes such as “The Wagoner’s Lad,” mixed with
their own interpretations of material from songwriters as diverse as Leonard
Cohen, Paul Brady, and Sting.
The band itself, like the sounds The Duhks create, came together by a
combination of planning and happenstance. Founder Leonard Podolak set out to
bring together a group of musicians who could create a new sound with
traditional
roots. Each of their distinct individual styles, be it blues, salsa, gospel,
jazz or Celtic, combine to produce a highly original and fluid sound. As banjo
player Leonard puts it, “Folk music is supposed to be the music of the people,
right? Well, ‘the people’’ are what you see all around, and part of what makes
our music is mainstream music. The world is changing. The people in the audience
might be listening to Eminem two minutes before they listen to us.
We want to redefine not just ‘folk’, but what ‘pop’ music can be. It doesn’t
necessarily have to be all drum machines and synthesizers, or electric guitars.
We can play pop music on these acoustic instruments.”
The Duhks play their set at 1pm on Saturday August 6 with Simon Friend, Lunasa,
Peatbog Faeries, Michael McGoldrick, Hayseed Dixie and The Undertones following
on to make it a rocking and rootsy occasion. Full details of the whole Eastleigh
Summer Festival can be found in our
Festival Focus section.
Rory Ellis. Preview by Peter Ashton
 ‘Urban
Folk’ is the way Australian singer-songwriter Rory Ellis describes his music.
Currently resident in the UK Rory has been getting bookings galore at music
venues, folk clubs and festivals all over the country. In August this talented
and uncompromising performer has several dates in Hampshire, listed at the end
of this article.
Rory has been in this country for a year or so having built a huge reputation at
festivals and venues in Australia in recent years. His music defies the simple
folk categorisation, using a collection of progressive contemporary and roots
music influences to create his own style. A powerful and emotional vocalist, his
songs are real tales about life that open up a deep connection with the
listener, an intimate sharing of stories extracted from a lifetime's experience.
He followed up his highly acclaimed debut album “Ride” with “Road Of The Braver
Man” in 2002. The intention was to capture an earthy, totally acoustic
collection of personal insights and real experiences spanning the last twenty
years of his life. Many of the songs contained material gleaned from his time
working in some of Melbourne’s seedier hotels, living in a boxing gym and
featured the special people who have crossed his path, as well as humorous and
personal insights into his own life, and the lives of others.
Rory has had much critical acclaim in his career. One quote from Graham Blackley
of Beat Magazine neatly sums up his appeal: “It is to Rory Ellis that we must
look to gain an insight into the grit of the streets and those who live in its
shadows, as he has so eloquently captured this often misunderstood layer of
harsh reality in both story and song.”
You can see Rory Ellis at The Platform Tavern in Southampton on Thursday August
11, at Southsea Festival on Saturday August 27 and the same night at the RMA
Tavern in Portsmouth. He also plays the Thomas Tripp in Lymington on Sunday
August 28. He will be singing songs from his two previous albums plus his brand
new album, “The Rushes.”
The Honeymoon Machine.
Preview by Peter Ashton
 Hand-assembled
in Southampton two years ago, The Honeymoon Machine are a band who are creating
a bit of a stir on the live music circuit. You can see them
on Thursday August 11 at The Joiners in Southampton.
Named after the title of the 1961 movie “The Honeymoon Machine” which gave Steve
McQueen his first starring role, the band comprises Aaron on guitar and vocals,
Paul ‘Bobby’ Jones on keyboards, Matt Parker on guitar, Lee Blackburn on bass
and James Connolly on drums. Aaron put the band together from musicians he had
met out on the circuit, where he had been playing in a soul-jazz set-up, also
playing solo gigs as an acoustic performer. He started writing songs with
‘Bobby’ Jones and it wasn’t long before the band were snapped up by Easy Street
management company after an awesome debut gig at The Joiners in Southampton.
Easy Street were keen for The Honeymoon Machine to replicate their live sound in
the studio, and last May the debut single “Angie” was duly released. The single
created a lot of attention and the band followed it up with their debut album
“Transistor Go Go.” Made in Brook Barn in rural Hampshire over a period of four
months with the expert help of producer Dave Creffield and mixer Jim Abbiss who
had worked with Placebo and Massive Attack, ‘Transistor’ was just what the band
hoped it would be. A collection of songs with plenty of gear-changes from jangly
rock to soothing slide-guitar melancholia with plenty of variety in between. The
band reckoned it would appeal to everyone from ‘Wild Horses’ era Stones fans to
followers of Spiritualised and Doves.
The band then took off on a three week sell-out winter tour of Canada and North
America at the end of 2004, achieving rave reviews and allowing keyboardist
Bobby to live up to his name as band hell-raiser. Apparently, the best night
came in Quebec when they found themselves, in Spinal Tap-type circumstances,
supporting The Lowest Of The Low. “They’re a really big band in Canada” laughs
Aaron. “There were about eight hundred people there waiting for them.
It was a really partisan crowd. But we just came on and just won the whole place
over.” No doubt The Joiners will be packed for their August 11 gig, so get your
tickets early.
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Featured artists:
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The Blockheads
The Brook,
Southampton
Friday August 19
Lightnin’ Willie
The Albert Tavern, Southsea
Thursday August 25
The Ukrainians Endorse It Festival, Sixpenny Handley August 12 - 14
The Duhks
Eastleigh Festival, Eastleigh
Saturday August 6
Rory Ellis
Various venues throughout Hampshire
The Honeymoon Machine
The Joiners, Southampton Thursday August 11
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