IDLES release animated video to “Never Fight A Man With A Perm”

 

IDLES today release the animated video to fan-favourite and album highlight “Never Fight A Man With A Perm”. The video was put together by the team behind Fluffer Records (Al Brown, R*E*P*E*A*T’s own Russell Taysom & Stella Belle Hex) who have said the following about the concept:

“The idea for the “Never Fight A Man With A Perm” video came directly from the lyrics of the song and how it tackles the subject of toxic masculinity. Using a British take on the classic arcade beat ’em up platform game seemed like a cool way to put this across visually.”

WATCH “NFAMWAP” VIDEO

The band recently announced a short tour for December to celebrate a landmark couple of years for the band – including their biggest headlining date yet on Saturday, 7th December at London’s Alexandra Palace. All five dates went on to sell out within the first 24 hours.

Mon 2 Dec Glasgow, Barrowland Ballroom SOLD OUT
Tue 3 Dec Glasgow, Barrowland Ballroom SOLD OUT
Wed 4 Dec Manchester, Academy SOLD OUT
Thu 5 Dec Leeds, O2 Academy SOLD OUT
Sat 7 Dec London, Alexandra Palace SOLD OUT

The band’s latest release “Mercedes Marxist” is currently A-listed at 6 Music and will be released physically on August 2nd as a 7″. The single will include another new song on its B-side, entitled “I Dream Guillotine.” Both tracks were written and recorded during the band’s sessions for “Joy as an Act of Resistance.” and pre-orders are available HERE.

 

Tour artwork by Orlando Weeks

More information on IDLES:

Joe Talbot – vocals
Adam Devonshire – bass
Mark Bowen – guitars
Lee Kiernan – guitars
Jon Beavis – drums

Passionate, political and darkly comedic, IDLES’ debut album “Brutalism” made an impact that no-one, not least the band, could have expected when it arrived, seemingly out of nowhere, in 2017. It was an album with such relevance to the fractured Britain that birthed it, that the band’s potent individuality and honesty simply couldn’t be ignored – and was described perfectly at the time by Uncut as: “a rare rock record with the rage, urgency, wit and shattering of complacency usually found only in grime.”

No band toured harder, and invites to support the likes of Foo Fighters and The Maccabees (at Alexandra Palace) saw IDLES’ message spread even further, leading to a signing with the Brooklyn and London independent Partisan Records. IDLES second album saw them become leaders in a movement of new bands tearing down outdated perceptions of masculinity and bucking a trend of style over substance. Songs from the record were full-throated indictments of sexism, racism, the polarisation of Britain in the wake of Brexit, nationalism and toxic masculinity. The record felt both incredibly personal and at other times universal, wearing both its heart – and an active mind – on its sleeve. In a musical landscape that had become so safe and sanitised, IDLES were and remain a bolt to the arm of the norm.

Here was a band you could pin all your hopes on, ideals you could rally round, a set of songs you could believe in. And so many people have done just that – part of IDLES’ success has been down to putting their fans first. A community, the AF Gang, was formed on social media in the wake of “Brutalism” that has now grown to tens of thousands of members. A judgement free zone where people can discuss everything from their musical tastes to their mental health, the group features regular contributions from members of IDLES themselves. The tight connection between the band and those who back them remains a fiercely important part of what makes them what they are, even now.

That second album, ‘Joy As An Act Of Resistance’, debuted at no.5 in the UK charts upon its release last August, breaking Rough Trade’s all-time record for most pre-orders and sales in a day. It was, for a period, the no.1 best reviewed record of 2018 (average rating of 88 across 25 reviews) and at the end of 2018 it had won a fanbase far beyond the UK, featuring in album of the year lists across key media worldwide.

The band saw not only the album’s singles but the album itself A-listed at 6 Music and earned major features, among others, from the likes of Q, Mojo and The Guardian with covers to follow at DIY, Loud & Quiet, Kerrang!, So Young, CRACK and NME. IDLES won Best Breakthrough at the Q Awards, Best Breakthrough Act at Kerrang! Awards, were nominated for Breakthrough Artist at the Brit Awards and performed a raucous Jools Holland debut which NME called “history in the making…incomparably brilliant,” likening it to Arctic Monkeys and Kanye West’s first appearances on the show.

They were announced as 6 Music’s no.1 album of the year, won both the coveted Ivor Novello award for Best Album and saw not one, but two extensive tours sell out worldwide. Dates in the UK, US & Australia and festival performances across the globe were full of people eager to see a band famed as much for their frantic, unforgettable live shows as their rousing songs. Their last run of London shows, three consecutive dates at The Electric Ballroom in April, all sold out in minutes – and on December 7th this year they return to Alexandra Palace, this time as the headliners. Their biggest headline performance yet, it culminates a remarkable last couple of years for a band who have never given us anything less than everything. As well as a chance to celebrate all that has come before, it will also be the first opportunity for people to hear much-anticipated new material from an-as-yet untitled third album set for 2020.

More info:
http://www.idlesband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/idlesband/
https://twitter.com/idlesband
https://www.instagram.com/idlesband/

Mystery Jets return with ode to the NHS, the new single ‘Hospital Radio’

Mystery Jets have released their brand new track Hospital Radio, an ode to the NHS and the local hospitals who have helped lead singer Blaine Harrison cope with Spina Bifida. The tracks come in this, the month of the NHS’ 71st anniversary. The track is the first taste of their soon to be announced new album, the follow-up to 2016’s Curve of the Earth. The band will also be playing at a number of festivals this summer, including Spilliers Wharf in Newcastle and TRNSMT Festival in Glasgow this weekend. Check out ‘Hospital Radio’

Today Mystery Jets release new track Hospital Radio. The track is an ode to the NHS and the staff that have helped lead singer Blaine Harrison, who has spent a large portion of his life relying on local hospitals due to having Spina Bifida. In the month of the NHS’ 71stanniversary, the band are heading out this week to some local London NHS hospitals to play Hospital Radio live on air. Blaine explains, “I was born in the NHS and it has saved my life several times over. I spent so much time on wards growing up that they became a second home to me and inspired the first song I wrote.  Over the years, I have come to see NHS nurses and doctors as our guardian angels, beautifully portrayed at the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony.  But austerity measures over recent years have meant that the spectre of privatization has become a very real, and threatening prospect.  Whilst in hospital last month for on-going leg surgery, I lay in bed watching President Trump’s televised address to the British media, in which he boasted that NHS contracts would be part of future trade deals. It gave me the chills, as it must have done to many others. I felt especially fearful of what the future might hold for the elderly people in the beds around me, many of whom are already in danger of falling through the cracks of the social care system. Sometimes music can reach places deep within us that can’t be reached by words alone. On this, the 71st anniversary of the creation of the National Health Service, it feels right to release this song to express our gratitude.” Mystery Jets are unique for the unusual network of relationships at their centre: Blaine and Will have known each other since nursery school; drummer Kapil Trivedi joined them in 2003 as a teenager and – famously – Blaine’s father Henry Harrison, once a touring member, remains an invaluable part of their creative process, a “conduit” for ideas and a “walking library” of literary references, taking the band’s lyrical sketches and pulling extra reading from his shelves to help them expand their thoughts. Bass player Jack Flanagan joined the band five years ago and instantly meshed with their sensibilities. Exploding on to the indie scene in the mid noughties from beginnings on London’s Eel Pie Island, Mystery Jets have always ploughed their own musical furrow. While so many of their more two-dimensional peers have long since faded away, what’s kept Mystery Jets consistently fascinating over the last fifteen years has been an itchy footed desire to keep trying new things. From follow up Twenty One’s dazzling jumble of electro, off kilter indie and suit-jacket-sleeves-rolled-up yacht rock, Serotonin’s well-buffed melodies and the dust-stained Americana of 2012’s Radlands, to be a follower of Mystery Jets’ music has been to eagerly await the next move of their restlessly curious muse.The band released their critically acclaimed album ‘Curve of the Earth in 2016, which featured the Ivor Novello nominated track ‘Telomere’. The band will be heading out this summer on a string of UK festival dates: 12.07.19          Spilliers Wharf (w/Bloc Party)     Newcastle UK 13.07.19          TRNSMT Festival                     Glasgow, UK 25.07.19          Kendal Calling                          Penrith, UK 01.08.19          Neverworld                             Edenbridge, UK 02.08.19          110 Above                              Atherstone, UK

STRAY CATS ANNOUNCE ‘RUNAWAY BOYS’ – A DELUXE 40TH ANNIVERSARY VINYL BOXSET

STRAY CATS ANNOUNCE ‘RUNAWAY BOYS’ – A DELUXE LIMITED EDITION 40^TH ANNIVERSARY VINYL BOXSET RELEASED SEPTEMBER 27^TH VIA BMG

FEATURES FOUR LPS, BOOK AND BOARD GAME

ALSO AVAILABLE: THE 40^TH ANTHOLOGY – A 36 TRACK, 2CD DIGIPACK AND 25 TRACK, 2 LP GATEFOLD

View the boxset here:

Hot on the heels of the release of ‘40’, their first album of new material in 26 years, Rockabilly legends the Stray Cats are set to release ’Runaway Boys’ – a deluxe vinyl limited edition boxset set for release through BMG this coming September 27^th.

Formed by guitarist/vocalist Brian Setzer, upright bass player Lee Rocker and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, NY, in 1979, the trio shared a love for Rockabilly music and are famed for putting that distinctive sound back on the record charts in the early ‘80s, scoring several big hits on both sides of the Atlantic thanks to a striking visual 1950’s style brought “up to date” with exaggerated pompadours and colorful tattoos and as well as genuine musical chops that evoked the best players of rockabilly’s original heyday. They spearheaded the nascent rockabilly revival, by blending the 1950s Sun Studio sound with modern punk elements.

After banging around New York and Philadelphia for a few months, in the summer of 1980, the band were persuaded by a mutual friend to hop a plane to London where a rockabilly revival movement was just beginning to emerge. Their massive hits and videos include ‘Runaway Boys,’ ‘Rock This Town,’ (which the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame has listed as one of the songs that shaped rock and roll) ‘Stray Cat Strut,’ ‘(She’s) Sexy + 17,’ and ‘I Won’t Stand in Your Way.’

Celebrating their 40^th anniversary in style, Stray Cats have embarked on a world tour (for the first time in over a decade) in support of ‘40’ , their first new album in 26 years, recently released on Surfdog Records, now followed by ‘Runaway Boys’, the forthcoming epic vinyl boxset.

‘Runaway Boys’ features the bands first three classic albums on vinyl – ‘Stray Cats’, ‘Gonna Ball’ and ‘Rant’N’Rave’. This deluxe set also includes an LP of rare tracks as well as a 40-page book of the story of the Stray Cats. Inside you will also find board game where you can race across South East England, from the Ace Café to have a rumble in Brighton. The game comes with dice and bespoke playing pieces.

‘RUNAWAY BOYS’ FEATURES IN FULL:

STRAY CATS LP

• Brand new half speed master created from the original tapes for optimal dynamic range. Pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl.

GONNA BALL LP

• Brand new half speed master created from the original tapes for optimal dynamic range. Pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl.

RANT ‘N’ RAVE

• Brand new half speed master created from the original tapes for optimal dynamic range. Pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl.

RARE CUTS

• Eleven track compilation of rare B sides and deep cuts from the Stray Cats archive.

MERCHANDISE

FORTY YEARS OF THE STRAY CATS

• Forty-page book of classic interviews with the Stray Cats over the decades. Includes never before seen photos and rare memorabilia.

RUMBLE IN BRIGHTON THE GAME

• Race from the Ace Café to Brighton with this unique boardgame. Contains bespoke Stray Cats playing pieces, dice and drawstring bag.

Also available: ‘The 40^th Anthology’ – a 36 track, 2CD digipack and 25 track 2 LP gatefold.

Pre-order at: https://straycats40.lnk.to/RBPR

THE LIBERTINES UK Christmas and European shows

France/Germany/Luxembourg/Belgium/Netherlands

(OCTOBER & NOVEMBER)

The Libertines are very happy to announce a nine-date Christmas jaunt accross the UK in December, along with shows in France, Germany, Luxembourg, Brussels and The Netherlands in October and November. Tickets, for what is The Libertines first headline tour in over two years, go on sale at 9:00am on Friday 28th June and are available from: www.gigsandtours.com & www.ticketmaster.co.uk  The full dates are:

OCTOBER

27th Sunday Paris Olympia

NOVEMBER

2nd Saturday Cologne Carlswerk

4th Monday Munich Tonhalle

5th Tuesday Berlin Columbiahalle

17th Sunday Luxembourg Den Atelier

18th Monday Brussels Cirque Royale

20th Wednesday Utrecht Tivoli Vrendenburg

21st ThursdayUtrechtTivoli Vredenburg

DECEMBER

3rd Tuesday Bournemouth  O2 Academy

4th Wednesday Leeds  O2 Academy

6th Friday        Dundee  Caird Hall

7th Saturday Glasgow  Barrowland Ballroom

10th Tuesday      Manchester  O2 Victoria Warehouse

12th Thursday     Nottingham  Rock City

14th Saturday     Birmingham  O2 Academy

16th Monday      Bristol  O2 Academy

18th Wednesday    London  O2 Academy Brixton

The Libertines bar ‘The Waste Land’ and recording studio, at ‘The Albion Rooms‘ in Margate, open on the 16th August. More details on the opening celebrations of the bar and studio to follow shortly.

As previously announced Peter Doherty and Carl Barât play two acoustic shows at London’s Hackney Empire on Thursday 5th September and Friday 6th September, as part of Somewhere Festival, which sold-out within minutes of going on sale.

Peter Doherty recently released his acclaimed new album ‘Peter Doherty &  The Puta Madres’ and toured the UK and Europe. Carl Barât latterly returned from a sold-out tour of the far East. The Libertines are currently working on their fourth album, the followup to the No.3 UK charting album ‘Anthems For Doomed Youth’ (2015), which spawned the hits ‘Gunga Din,’ ‘Heart Of The Matter’ and ‘You’re My Waterloo.’

The Libertines released their debut single, ‘What A Waster,’ in 2002. A second single ‘Up The Bracket’ was released in September of the same year and hit the UK Top 30 and was followed by their debut album, also entitled ‘Up The Bracket’ (produced by Mick Jones – The Clash). ‘Time For Heroes’ was unveiled in January 2003, followed by ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’ (produced by Bernard Butler). A second album, ‘The Libertines,’ was released in August 2004 and entered the UK album chart at Number One, spawning the top 10 singles ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’ and ‘What Became Of The Likely Lads.’

Following the release of ‘Anthems For Doomed Youth’ The Libertines played to over a million fans worldwide, including sold out shows at Hyde Park, three nights at Alexandra Palace, seven UK Arena shows, Brixton Academy, The Roundhouse, The Royal Festival Hall, along with headlining Reading, Leeds, Y Not, Victorious, Truck, T In The Park and On BlackHeath Festivals.

The Libertines are Peter Doherty – vocals/guitar, Carl Barât – vocals/guitar, John Hassall – bass guitar and Gary Powell – drums.

Message from Joe as Idles announce their biggest gigs so far

IDLES announce series of UK dates for December 2019 –

Includes biggest headline date yet at Alexandra Palace

“We are excited to let you know about our December UK shows, which includes our biggest headline show to date at Alexandra Palace.

Alexandra Palace will be an opportunity for the community and fans which built itself around us to join us in celebration with what has been an incredibly humbling turn of events. We are adamant on pushing things forward and making this something special so that as many people as possible can enjoy together for one night.

We want to put the last 12 years to bed with a celebration of everything and everyone we have worked for. It was a dream of ours to have got this far so now we will put on a run of shows before we move on to the next album.

It will be magic, thank you for all the support along the way and thank you to all that have built this ship.

Joe x”

Tour artwork by Orlando Weeks

Tue 3 Dec Glasgow, Barrowland Ballroom
Wed 4 Dec Manchester, Academy
Thu 5 Dec Leeds, O2 Academy
Sat 7 Dec London, Alexandra Palace

Tickets will go on sale this Friday 28th June at 9:30 AM BST but fans can gain access to artist pre-sale on Wednesday 26th June 9:30 AM BST by signing up at https://www.idlesband.com

With their last shows selling out in minutes IDLES wanted to give as many fans as possible an opportunity to acquire tickets to celebrate what has been an incredible year. Tickets will be limited to 4 per person.

The band will also be working with Big Green Coach to provide a return coach service for fans to travel safely to and from the Alexandra Palace show. There will be services ran from Bristol, Bournemouth, Reading, Southampton and Swindon and tickets will be available direct from: https://www.biggreencoach.co.uk/idles

The band’s latest release “Mercedes Marxist” is currently A-listed at 6 Music and will be released physically on August 2nd as a 7″. The single will include another new song on its B-side, entitled “I Dream Guillotine.” Both tracks were written and recorded during the band’s sessions for “Joy as an Act of Resistance.” and pre-orders are available HERE.

 

IDLES

Joe Talbot – vocals
Adam Devonshire – bass
Mark Bowen – guitars
Lee Kiernan – guitars
Jon Beavis – drums

Passionate, political and darkly comedic, IDLES’ debut album “Brutalism” made an impact that no-one, not least the band, could have expected when it arrived, seemingly out of nowhere, in 2017. It was an album with such relevance to the fractured Britain that birthed it, that the band’s potent individuality and honesty simply couldn’t be ignored – and was described perfectly at the time by Uncut as: “a rare rock record with the rage, urgency, wit and shattering of complacency usually found only in grime.”

No band toured harder, and invites to support the likes of Foo Fighters and The Maccabees (at Alexandra Palace) saw IDLES’ message spread even further, leading to a signing with the Brooklyn and London independent Partisan Records. IDLES second album saw them become leaders in a movement of new bands tearing down outdated perceptions of masculinity and bucking a trend of style over substance. Songs from the record were full-throated indictments of sexism, racism, the polarisation of Britain in the wake of Brexit, nationalism and toxic masculinity. The record felt both incredibly personal and at other times universal, wearing both its heart – and an active mind – on its sleeve. In a musical landscape that had become so safe and sanitised, IDLES were and remain a bolt to the arm of the norm.

Here was a band you could pin all your hopes on, ideals you could rally round, a set of songs you could believe in. And so many people have done just that – part of IDLES’ success has been down to putting their fans first. A community, the AF Gang, was formed on social media in the wake of “Brutalism” that has now grown to tens of thousands of members. A judgement free zone where people can discuss everything from their musical tastes to their mental health, the group features regular contributions from members of IDLES themselves. The tight connection between the band and those who back them remains a fiercely important part of what makes them what they are, even now.

That second album, ‘Joy As An Act Of Resistance’, debuted at no.5 in the UK charts upon its release last August, breaking Rough Trade’s all-time record for most pre-orders and sales in a day. It was, for a period, the no.1 best reviewed record of 2018 (average rating of 88 across 25 reviews) and at the end of 2018 it had won a fanbase far beyond the UK, featuring in album of the year lists across key media worldwide.

Idles in Seattle by Phil Rose esq
More here

The band saw not only the album’s singles but the album itself A-listed at 6 Music and earned major features, among others, from the likes of Q, Mojo and The Guardian with covers to follow at DIY, Loud & Quiet, Kerrang!, So Young, CRACK and NME. IDLES won Best Breakthrough at the Q Awards, Best Breakthrough Act at Kerrang! Awards, were nominated for Breakthrough Artist at the Brit Awards and performed a raucous Jools Holland debut which NME called “history in the making…incomparably brilliant,” likening it to Arctic Monkeys and Kanye West’s first appearances on the show.

They were announced as 6 Music’s no.1 album of the year, won both the coveted Ivor Novello award for Best Album and saw not one, but two extensive tours sell out worldwide. Dates in the UK, US & Australia and festival performances across the globe were full of people eager to see a band famed as much for their frantic, unforgettable live shows as their rousing songs. Their last run of London shows, three consecutive dates at The Electric Ballroom in April, all sold out in minutes – and on December 7th this year they return to Alexandra Palace, this time as the headliners. Their biggest headline performance yet, it culminates a remarkable last couple of years for a band who have never given us anything less than everything. As well as a chance to celebrate all that has come before, it will also be the first opportunity for people to hear much-anticipated new material from an-as-yet untitled third album set for 2020.

More info:
http://www.idlesband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/idlesband/
https://twitter.com/idlesband
https://www.instagram.com/idlesband/

BABYBIRD – new single and album ‘Photosynthesis’ are not what you expected.

For the first time in 21 years, Babybird will be releasing a vinyl LP.

‘Photosynthesis’ is out on 19 July 2019.

It’s dark and beautiful.

It’s strange and melodic.

It’s not what you expected.

Arriving just months after the critically acclaimed ‘Happy Stupid Nothing’ compilation, ‘Photosynthesis’ is something very different. Although many people weren’t aware he was even still making music, throughout this decade Stephen Jones has been quietly building himself a reputation as one of the music world’s most prolific artists. Here are ten tracks, all self-recorded in recent years.

Spellbinding melancholy flows through the blue moods and blissful musical flourishes of the single ‘No Cameras’, which comes with a suitably tranquil music video. On latest single ‘Cave In’, shadowy bass gathers around dusty loops as Jones invades trip hop territory and makes it his own.

“One of our most subversive pop artists” – The Sunday Times

“A surreal, off-kilter wit and an endless supply of hooks” – Entertainment Weekly

“Graciously elevates above the merely ordinary” – Pitchfork

“So satisfying, a perfect match of style and content” – NME

“Strong and tuneful” – Louder Than War

“One of the most criminally underrated bands in the UK” – MusicOMH

Stephen Jones spent a lot of time in the 1980s making demo tapes of songs in his Sheffield bedsit. After landing a publishing deal, he released many of these tracks on a series of independently released albums, which caught the ears of the music press and conquered the indie charts. Then came a record deal, followed by a string of seven UK Top 40 hit singles during the 90s, when Babybird’s music was too maverick and eclectic to be pinned down and put into a convenient box labelled “Britpop”. Despite this, Jones sold over 2 million records, and was nominated for two Brit Awards. Hollywood legend Johnny Depp became such a big fan that he even paid for Babybird to record the 2010 album ‘Ex-Maniac’, as well as playing guitar on a number of songs and directing a powerful music video for the single ‘Unloveable’. As well as proving himself to be a master of accessible melodies and captivating hooks, Stephen Jones never lost his appetite for recording strange, imaginative and challenging music. It’s the sort of juxtaposition that has often been a theme in Babybird’s work.

Since launching his own Bandcamp page in 2012, Jones has reconnected with his DIY roots, exploring new styles and approaches with various other projects as well as Babybird, producing many intriguing albums, all self-recorded and self-released. Independence has allowed him to dig deeper creatively without having to worry about commercial expectations. The rate of his output has become so prolific that many wonder just how he manages to do it. Released earlier this year, the acclaimed ‘Happy Stupid Nothing’ compilation collected together some of the best Babybird recordings from the last few years. It gained praise from BBC Radio 6Music, Virgin Radio and many other radio stations worldwide. Uncut hailed it as “surreal, heartfelt” and dramatically poignant”, while Classic Pop Magazine welcomed its range of “eccentric curios and anthems in the making”. Elsewhere, it received 10/10 reviews from music sites such as God Is In The TV, and The Grey Lantern, who rated the album “as hungry, unique and intelligent as anything Babybird has done previously. Releasing a masterpiece 25 years in is such a Stephen Jones move…”. But while there was plenty on that collection to please the indie rock fans who gravitated towards Babybird in the 90s, Stephen Jones has never really been an indie rock musician. ‘Photosynthesis’ is definitely not an indie rock album.

 

While ‘Happy Stupid Nothing’ offered up a sprawling mixed bag, this is a fluid yet more focused record. It’s a more cohesive collection of songs, yet it draws on an advanced range of sounds. Chords and beats fall on the surface like rain. Earworm hooks emerge from scruffy lo-fi blues. Love, death, religion are linked up to big crashing drums. Cosmic colours explode into mesmerising musical rainbows. Euphoric, otherworldly sounds elevate and serve up bedazzling revelations. Smooth, resonantly introspective tones mix with smoky funk and soul flavours, ringing out ominously into the night. Celestial electronics buzz around transcendental soundscapes, creating a rapturous, serene beauty. Mellifluous notes and understated elegance drift through the darkness, taking the listener on an alluring journey.

‘Photosynthesis’ will be available as a limited edition gatefold vinyl LP, limited double mini CD, standard CD, digital, and will be released on the RW/FF Recordings label.

Look out for a series of other new Babybird releases planned for this year, all available exclusively at www.thestephenjones.bandcamp.com

‘BB/AA/LOFI Future Taste’ is a sampler containing several brand new songs, which can be downloaded FREE at thestephenjones.bandcamp.com/album/bb-aa-lofi-future-taster

Babybird will be touring the UK in November 2019. Tickets are available now from seetickets.com

NOV 15: BRISTOL – THE EXCHANGE
NOV 16: MINEHEAD – SHIIINE ON WEEKENDER
NOV 21: LONDON – THE 100 CLUB

NOV 22: LEEDS – BRUDENELL
NOV 23: LIVERPOOL – JIMMY’S
NOV 28: BIRMINGHAM – HARE AND HOUNDS
NOV 29: MANCHESTER – DEAF INSTITUTE

BABYBIRD.INFO
TWITTER – @BABYBIRD_MUSIC
TWITTER – @XBABYBIRD
THESTEPHENJONES.BANDCAMP.COM
RWFF.BANDCAMP.COM
FACEBOOK.COM/BABYBIRDOFFICIAL

Releases July 19, 2019

Written, played, recorded and produced by Stephen Jones
Stephen Jones © 2019

LAST PUNK STANDING! Wild Billy Childish & CTMF! PRE-ORDER NEW ALBUM & 7″

Following on from his Margate show last Sunday, legendary underground label Damaged Goods have a new album and single from Wild Billy Childish and CTMF!

Both released on July 19th.

Last Punk Standing is quite possibly the best CTMF album so far. Damaged Goods think you’ll agree.

Wild Billy Childish & CTMF – Last Punk Standing… and Other Hits! (LP/CD)

These can be ordered direct from the label here
https://damagedgoods.greedbag.com/

CTMF are back with their sixth studio album (and dare we say their best!) to date. Forty years of homemade punk rock and Billy really is the Last Punk Standing. Here’s the man himself taking us through a couple of songs from the new LP.

RED VINYL – 600 COPIES

‘Last Punk Standing’
A more CTMF sounding track. This should really be called ‘Who’ll be the Last Punk Standing?’ but it looked better as a shortened title. Again it’s about time , and knowledge running out. When a generation passes there’s no one left to explain the true nature of their experience. eg- those who fought in WW2 are all but gone and that’s how we get the rise of the new right: we learn from history that we don’t learn from history. Who’ll be left to pass on the essence of what punk was about – home-made, please yourself music.

PS – the character Roberta, is from a Leadbelly tune- I thought it nice to have her and Mark E. Smith in the same pop song (Mark was still with us when we recorded this number).

GREY VINYL – 600 COPIES

‘Like an Inexplicable Wheel’

The strangest thing in life is time, not clocks but that there was a past and there will be a future (apparently). Life seems to be an inexplicable wheel, and I thought there should be a pop song (or two) about that.

Billy Childish – May 2019

CD – A CONVENIENT MODERN FORMAT

TRACKLISTING

1- It Hurts Me S till   2 – You Can’t Capture Time   3 – Journey To The End Of The Night

4 – Like An Inexplicable Wheel   5 – You’re The One I Idolise   6 – The Darkness Was On Me

7 – Mahrek Le Mole   8 – Gary’s Song   9 – The Happy Place

10 – She Didn’t Know Everything Was Available   11 – Last Punk Standing

12 – I Can Recall It All   13 – Some Unknown Reason   14 – The Used To Be

Wild Billy Childish & CTMF – You’re The One I Idolise (7″)

New limited edition 7” from CTMF!

600 copies on traditional black vinyl!

A-side taken from new album!

Features exclusive B-side!

“T his is a love song, along the lines of some of the ballads we used to do in the Milkshakes – inspired by Arthur Alexander. There also seems to be some Richard Hell in there (the Voidoids have been a big inspiration over the years (I saw them supporting the Clash at Hastings Pier Pavilion in ’77.”

Billy Childish – May 2019

TRACKLISTING

1 – You’re The One I Idolise    2 – Everything Intensifies

And don’t forget the 4 new releases that came out today…via this handy YouTube clip

The Wildhearts Renaissance Men Tour Part 2

THE WILDHEARTS

‘THE RENAISSANCE MEN TOUR PART II’

THE WILDHEARTS will hit the road again this October for ‘The Renaissance Men Tour Part II’.

For 3 decades The Wildhearts have remained at the forefront of the British rock scene. From their classic debut album ‘Earth Vs’ (voted number one album of the year in Kerrang! back in 1993, and number 20 in the best rock albums of all time in a Kerrang! Special in 2006), through to now with the release of their first full-length studio album in 10 years, ‘Renaissance Men’, their creative output and legendary live shows have been second to none. R*E*P*E*A*T has followed them since the early days of supporting The Manics in 1992, interviewed them in 1995 (where I got my first ever photopass and was scared by the pyros), again in 2007 (here) and probably on other occasions, put a show on for them in 2007 and loved them nonstop in all the years inbetween. A band that is that rare thing, one that never disappoints.

Although the 90’s saw the band covered like a living soap opera in the press with tales of sex, drugs, bust ups, fights (both with labels and themselves), splits, more drugs and a lot more controversy (one such incident including entering and then proceeding to trash the Kerrang! Offices!), the recent years have seen the band more focused than ever before and firing on all cylinders.

The Wildhearts and their incendiary shows have cemented their reputation and legacy as one of the best bands the UK has ever produced.

The Wildhearts playing a R*E*P*E*A*T gig for Love Music Hate Racism in 2007

Welcoming back their long-time bandmate and brother Danny McCormack on bass; Ginger and CJ on guitars and vocals, with Ritch Battersby on drums released their ‘Renaissance Men’ on May 3rd to critical acclaim.

“It’s The Wildhearts remembering what they do best” – 9 out 10, hailed Classic Rock, with Metal Hammer saying Renaissance Men is “the best thing they’ve made since their genius / batshit crazy debut, Earth Vs The Wildhearts, back in 1993. Actually, thats not true. It might be better.” While Kerrang! gave the album 4Ks, Planet Rock 5 stars and Vive Le Rock 10 out 10!

The Wildhearts’ classic line up recorded the energetic and diverse ‘Renaissance Men’ at the Treehouse Studio with Jim Pinder. It finds The Wildhearts at their full creative tilt delivering hard-hitting, retooled classic rock with a modern and urgent twist. Bristling riffs and jagged, riotous hooks are their poison and the 10 songs are the perfect manifestation of the band’s immutable wit, charm and righteous anger.

Eliran Kantor (Testament, Iced Earth, Sodom) painted the exceptional album cover for ‘Renaissance Men’ and this honest and irresistible new album is an unequivocal triumph, which encapsulates and distills perfectly The Wildhearts’ live energy.

Danny with R*E*P*E*A*T issue 3 1995, Cambridge Corn Exchange

To celebrate the release of ‘Renaissance Men’ The Wildhearts played an intimate 8 date UK headline tour, alongside packed HMV signing sessions and have further live plans throughout the year including festivals, short runs internationally and tiny warm-ups across the UK. Creatively brilliant, The Wildhearts helped change the landscape of British rock through the 90’s, and to this day they haven’t shown any sign of slowing down. Here’s to the next decade.

The Renaissance Man Tour Part II

October

Sat 5th – Concorde 2, Brighton

Mon 7th – Live Rooms, Chester

Tue 8th – Welly, Hull

Thu 10th – Picturedome, Holmfirth

Tue 15th – Junction, Cambridge

Wed 16th – Komedia, Bath

Thu 17th – Engine Rooms, Southampton

Mon 21st – KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton

For more information:

https://twitter.com/thewildhearts

https://www.facebook.com/TheWildhearts

http://www.thewildhearts.com

 

FONTAINES D.C. new video and 2020 tour dates.

FONTAINES D.C.
SHARE NEW VIDEO FOR ‘SHA SHA SHA’

DEBUT ALBUM ‘DOGREL’ OUT NOW VIA PARTISAN RECORDS

(#9 IN THE UK ALBUM CHART)

PHOTO CREDIT: DANIEL TOPETE

Following the release of their critically acclaimed debut album ‘Dogrel’ (#9 in the UK album chart) as well as a sold out US tour with labelmates IDLES, an electrifying performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and yet another BBC 6 Music A listing for their fan-favourite single ‘Boys In The Better Land’; Fontaines D.C. have now shared a new video for album track ‘Sha Sha Sha’.

Directed by Hugh Mulhern (Boys In The Better Land, Too Real) the video takes place in the same the same circus company (Duffy’s) as featured on their critically-acclaimed debut album ‘Dogrel’s artwork.

The band have toured extensively over the last year supporting IDLES on a sold-out 30 date US tour and Shame on their last UK tour as well as selling out every date their own EU and UK headline tours in December 2018, January 2019 and April 2019. They also have further North American dates lined up for September with Pottery before returning to tour the EU and UK across November and December later this year.

Having sold out most of their forthcoming November UK tour dates as far as 6-months in advance, the band have also begun to line-up tour dates for 2020 with two of their highest capacity shows so far announced for January already. The band will also play a vast array of festivals across spring/summer 2019 including their first Glastonbury appearance next week as well as Citadel, End Of The Road, Truck Festival, Y Not Festival, Dour Festival, Oya Festival and many more. Full list of dates below.

Over the last year, Fontaines D.C. have released six critically acclaimed  singles, all of which garnered considerable support both from radio, with the band A-listed at BBC Radio 6 Music for their last single ‘Boys In The Better Land’, and from a vast range of international press, with the band featuring in a number of end of year lists as well as receiving high praise for their debut album from the likes of: Loud & Quiet (cover feature), Pitchfork, The Guardian, The Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, Q, NME, The FADER, Time Out, DIY, The Line of Best Fit, MOJO, Q, Dork, Clash, Gigwise, So Young, Stereogum, Paste and many more.

Fontaines D.C.’s critically debut album ‘Dogrel’ is out now via Partisan Records HERE.

FULL BIO:

“Is it too real for ya?”

“We were encouraging each other to be who we believed ourselves to be all the time” – Grian Chatten, lead vocals, Fontaines D.C.

With the best bands, it seems to happen fast. The trajectory is steep, the progression seemingly preordained, inexorable. Assembling whilst still at college in Dublin a mere three years ago, from the ruins of early nowhere bands, and having discovered a shared love of poetry and a common zeal for authentic self-expression, the evolution of Fontaines D.C. has been swift, sure and seemingly effortless. Three self-released seven-inch singles (the first of which, “Liberty Belle,” emerged in May 2017) each a confident step onward from its predecessor, and a relentless schedule of live shows have seen them progress at a prodigious, yet wholly logical pace. Through around 200 dates in the UK, Europe, and the US, one word has kept resurfacing in their characteristically eloquent yet direct interviews: authenticity. “I think there’s an authenticity to what we do, and people have been starved of authenticity for too long,” Chatten said in one early Irish radio encounter. Not youthful bravado, but a truthful reflection of the shared code that has guided these five young best friends thus far, with what has occasionally seemed a preternatural combination of insouciance and self-belief. This commitment to the authentic, in their music and in each other, is key to understanding the Fontaines D.C. aesthetic. In the course of “going round bars, drinking and writing poetry and romanticizing it to bits,” according to bassist Conor Deegan, the band pushed each other to create, always keeping a collective eye on keeping it real. “We’d call each other out” Chatten has explained, adding, “through each other, we found ourselves a lot quicker.”

Alongside this commitment to each other and the shared goal, another overarching formative dynamic was at work: Dublin City itself; more specifically, the disappearing Dublin embodied most readily in their immediate surroundings, the old working class neighborhood known as The Liberties. As with so many of our cities, the modern malaise of gentrification is steadily claiming vast swathes of the Irish capital. Sure, that’s progress, but the underlying cultural cost of this air-brushing of an environment is something that has preoccupied Chatten, feeding into much of the Fontaines’ lyrical content, and indeed the early singles’ artwork which featured long-gone, semi-mythical figures like Bang Bang and Forty Coats, real-life quasi-Dickensian characters, legendary in their own time but now becoming lost in the city’s fading folklore. Chatten speaks of writing about “the dying romance of the city…the reason we love the Liberties is that seems to be where a lot of that action is happening,” It would be a mistake to view this as some sighing nostalgia, however. Rather, it speaks to the place of Fontaines D.C. in a broader Irish cultural lineage: the bloodline that is more Behan than Bono, evoking poets such as Kavanagh and Lynott, Chevron and MacGowan and yes, even Joyce in the expression of the universal and profoundly human experience through the prism of the local, the familiar, the real. As Lou Reed did with New York, or Ray Davies with London, or indeed The Smiths with Manchester. Write what you know, as the old advice goes. Or, in the words of guitarist Conor Curley: “From talking to these guys about literature, I saw Irishness as being easily romantic about what you see.”

It’s a through-line that can be discovered in all the best of Irish art, whichever the medium, and the band’s intent is drolly embodied in the album’s knowing title: ‘Dogrel.’ To give it its dictionary definition (or close enough for now): crude verse of little artistic worth. The ribald rhymes of the docks, the factories and the early houses. The authentic poetry of the people, which any smart Irish poet knows it is foolish to think oneself above. For in it all is an ineffable beauty, something these young men understand very well.

Not that ‘Dogrel’ isn’t rock and roll; it most assuredly is, the best example of the form that you are likely to hear this or any other year. It spits, it snarls, it snaps with the very best of them. But also it yearns, like the greatest Irish music must do. In songs like the almost unbearably sad “Dublin City Sky” there is a marriage of the lyrical to the poetic tradition that bears comparison not just with MacGowan’s (the Pogues) best work, but echoes the exquisite heartbreak of Luke Kelly’s timeless reading of Kavanagh’s “On Raglan Road.” This is an example of one of the great strengths of ‘Dogrel’; its diversity makes it feel less like a debut and more like the work of a band who have long since proven their point, as I suspect Fontaines D.C. may well feel that they have; to the very people who matter above all: each other.

From the short, sharp opener “Big” (surely rivalling “I Wanna Be Adored” as an irresistible opening statement of self-confident intent) the album delightfully surprises at every turn. The singles sit fully at ease along much more complex, emotionally loaded pieces such as “Roy’s Tune” and “The Lotts,” both examples of a bruised but unbowed melancholia which is the record’s true genome. “Television Screen,” shares its title with the first ever Irish punk single (by The Radiators From Space featuring future Pogue and another of the great chroniclers of old Dublin Town, the late Philip Chevron) and it is a different beast again: melodic and stately, it’s a perfect example of the untimely, almost unnatural maturity that this band has already attained. “Boys in The Better Land,” in another twist, perfectly captures the spirit of the album’s title. Among a blizzard of evocative couplets, “He spits out ‘Brits Out” and only smokes Carroll’s,” stands out as as great a pencil portrait as you’ll find anywhere. That Lou Reed thing again.

Pic from Seattle gig with Idles by Phil Rose esq
more here

As a band, Fontaines D.C. are on fire throughout: witness the brief, urgent mechanical grind of “Chequeless Reckless,” which perhaps comes closest to a Fontaines D.C. manifesto: “A sellout is someone who becomes a hypocrite in the name of money. An idiot is someone who lets their education do all of their thinking. A phony is someone who demands respect for the principles they affect. A dilettante is someone who can’t tell the difference between fashion and style. Charisma is exquisite manipulation. And money… is the sandpit of the soul.” Spat out by Chatten with palpable contempt, they are words that could come back to haunt him, but he’s smarter than that, and anyway, somewhere Mister Wilde is wryly smiling.

‘Dogrel’ is a debut which is best enjoyed as a whole; it is very much in the grand tradition of the album as art form, just as this is a band very much in the classic band mold: great singles, an indefatigable work ethic and an utter aversion to standing still.

Reluctant to be viewed as part of any wider movement (“I get a bit uncomfortable with some of the comparisons that have been made,” says Chatten, as he must, though they inevitably shall be) Fontaines D.C. have delivered on their tremendous promise in a way that few bands have. It is to their credit and it augurs well that their collective eye is already on the next phase as they prepare for now to merely take on the world for real. Too real

Pic from Seattle gig with Idles by Phil Rose esq
more here

TOUR DATES:

23 JUN 2019 / NL / Amsterdam / Loose Ends
24 JUN 2019 / CR / Zagreb / INmusic Festival
26 JUN 2019 / UK / Eden Project / Eden Sessions
(supporting Liam Gallagher)
29 JUN 2019 / UK / Glastonbury Festival

04 JUL 2019 / FR / Chavanches / Les Eurockeennes
05 JUL 2019 / ES / Vilanova i la Geltrú / VIDA Festival
06 JUL 2019 / RU / Saint Petersburg / Stereoleto
07 JUL 2019 / RU / Moscow / Bol Festival
11 JUL 2019 / BE / Dour / Dour Festival
13 JUL 2019 / UK / Glasgow / TRNSMT Festival
14 JUL 2019 / UK / London / Citadel Festival
19 JUL 2019 / NL / Nijmegen / Valkhof Festival
20 JUL 2019 / FR / Carhaix-Plouguer / Les Vieilles Charrues
25 JUL 2019 / CH / Nyon / Paleo Festival
26 JUL 2019 / UK / Oxford / Truck Festival
27 JUL 2019 / UK / Rainton / Deer Shed Festival
28 JUL 2019 / UK / Pikehall / Y Not Festival

02 AUG 2019 / IE/ Waterford  / All Together Now
04 AUG 2019 / CA / Montreal, QC / Osheaga Festival
08 AUG 2019 / NO / Oslo / Oya Festival
09 AUG 2019 / DE / Haldern Pop Festival
11 AUG 2019 / IT / Sicily / Ypsigrock festival
15 AUG 2019 / FR / Saint-Malo / La Route du Rock festival

1 SEP 2019 / UK / Wiltshire / End of The Road Festival
06 SEP 2019 / US / Brookyn, NY / Music Hall Of Williamsburg+ SOLD OUT!
07 SEP 2019 / US / Philadelphia, PA / Johnny Brenda’s+ SOLD OUT!
08 SEP 2019 / US / Boston, MA / Great Scott+ SOLD OUT!
11 SEP 2019 / US / Washington, DC / U Street Music Hall+
12 SEP 2019 / US / Columbus, OH / Ace of Cups+
13 SEP 2019 / US / Toronto, ON / Horseshoe Tavern+
14 SEP 2019 / US / Detroit, MI / El Club+
15 SEP 2019 / US / Chicago, IL / Lincoln Hall+
17 SEP 2019 / US / Minneapolis, MN / 7th Street Entry+
20 SEP 2019 / US / Vancouver, BC / Fox Cabaret+ SOLD OUT!
21 SEP 2019 / US / Portland, OR / Mississippi Studios+
22 SEP 2019 / US / Seattle, WA / Neumo’s+
24 SEP 2019 / US / San Francisco, CA / The Independent+
26 SEP 2019 / US / Los Angeles, CA / Teragram Ballroom+
27 SEP 2019 / US / Dana Point, CA / Ohana Festival+

01 NOV 2019 / ES / Madrid / Chango
02 NOV 2019 / ES / Barcelona / Razzmatazz 3
04 NOV 2019 / DE / Cologne / Gebäude 9
05 NOV 2019 / DE / Berlin / Bi Nuu
07 NOV 2019 / BE / Brussels / Botanique
08 NOV 2019 / NL / Amsterdam / Bitterzoet
10 NOV 2019 / FR / Paris / Le Bataclan
11 NOV 2019 / FR / Nantes / Stereolux
19 NOV 2019 / UK / Manchester / O2 Ritz
20 NOV 2019 / UK / Liverpool / O2 Academy
21 NOV 2019 / UK / Glasgow / SWG 3
22 NOV 2019 / UK / Leeds / Stylus
23 NOV 2019 / UK / Sheffield / Leadmill
25 NOV 2019 / UK / Birmingham / O2 Institute
26 NOV 2019 / UK / Oxford / O2 Academy
27 NOV 2019 / UK / London / O2 Forum
28 NOV 2019 / UK / Brighton / Concorde 2
30 NOV 2019 / UK / Bristol / SWX

1 DEC 2019 / UK / Southampton / The 1865
7 DEC 2019 / IRE / Dublin / Vicar Street SOLD OUT!
8 DEC 2019 / IRE / Dublin / Vicar Street EXTRA DATE

10 JAN 2020 / UK / Newcastle / O2 Academy
11 JAN 2020 / UK / Nottingham / Rock City

+ = with support from Pottery

Fontaines D.C.
‘Dogrel’
Partisan Records
Out Now

Tracklist:
1. Big
2. Sha Sha Sha
3. Too Real
4. Television Screen
5. Hurricane Laughter
6. Roy’s Tune
7. The Lotts
8. Chequeless Reckless
9. Liberty Belle
10. Boys In The Better Land
11. Dublin City Sky

Follow Fontaines D.C:

FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE
WEBSITE

Benni’s Chill: Gabby, Thy Last Drop, The Catch and more raise money IM of teen skater.

On Saturday 29th June at The Victoria in Thurston, it’s the third annual Benni’s Chill: a one-day festival to raise money for a permanent skate park in Thurston held in memory of local skater Ben Wragge, who died three years ago aged 13.

Ben Wragge

This year’s headliners THY LAST DROP will be joined by an amazing array of young artists including BurySOUND 2019 winner GABBY, plus KELODOWN, THE CATCH, DUSKY SUNDAY, PHOEBE AUSTIN and more.  Any coverage you could give us this year would be fantastic; full details can be found below and as always, if you’d like to come along, speak to any of the artists, take photos, and/or need any more info, please just let me know!

Thy Last Drop

Saturday 29th June 2019 at The Victoria, Thurston, Suffolk

BENNI’S CHILL 2019

with THY LAST DROP, KELODOWN, GABBY, THE CATCH,

THE DAZE, FUZE, SUBSTATION, QUEEN DOGS, RED X, LAURA WYATT, JASMINE FAYE, PHOEBE AUSTIN, JACOB CAMERON, MATT REACTION, DUSKY SUNDAY, ALICIA HALL plus DJ sets from BRIAN CARNEGIE, SLIKKUTZ, ONE FOOT SKANK, JONATHAN CARPENTER, RUSSELL TURNER and more. 

2pm-midnight

All ages welcome

£10 on the door (donation requested for under-14s)

Facebook event page: Benni’s Chill 2019 w/Thy Last Drop, KeloDown, Gabby & more