dirty. tricks!!

SEEZ 04. Norman Watt-Roy: bass; Charley Charles: drums; Edward Speight: guitar; Chas Jankel: guitar keyboards; Geoff Castle: Moog; Davey Payne: saxophone;Ian Dury: vocals. Produced and recorded by Laurie Latham, Peter Jenner and Rick Walton. Photograph by Chris Gabrin. ▼ IAN DURY: PLAISTOW PATRICIA from “New Boots And Panties!!” LP (Stiff) 1977 (UK) PURCHASE NEW BOOTS

put your boots on your feet

TI 7050. The history of Caribbean migration to the UK is well documented, but full of contradictions and convoluted misrepresentation. Between the end of World War II in 1945 and 1960, Britain offered free entry to its shores for all Commonwealth citizens, including returning soldiers who fought for Queen and Country. The infrastructure and economy

pensioners in gas meter scam

“Can I please see your most recent bill, sir ?” Door to door tea-leafs looking to inveigle their way into the homes of the elderly, beware. Alerted to a bogus meter reader, this fragile OAP reaches inside his cardigan pocket for a well-oiled 9mm Parabellum. Recent statistics suggest that as many as four in ten

chain gang cupid

“cerambycidae #1“. photograph by insect lab.“Aren’t you going to do something,” she demanded.“No, Bill,” he replied, dismissing Mildred andchoosing to address the organ-grinder face to face.” I’m all out of rejoinders, and – besides –this game was fucking rigged right from the start.” Vinyl rip from Office Naps. ▼ CHARLIE’S WAY: CHARLIES TUNE from “Charlie

club minutes: dealing with cancer

“What the fuck was that ?” Ralph Hubert “Sonny” Barger, 1965.Every time I see Oakland flash up on Feedjit, I start a little (Frank; if that’s you, apologies). A hard-nosed businessman to the last, I’m not quite convinced Sonny Barger would approve of this choice cut, but I’m all out of Merle Haggard. Still. If

albert with an ‘e’

Albert Speer ; before and after an ‘e‘.photographs by david lees, 1970. ec•sta•sy |ˌɛkstəsi|noun ( pl. -sies)1 an overwhelming feeling of great happiness or joyful excitement : there was a look of ecstasy on his face | they went into ecstasies over the view. See note at rapture .2 chiefly archaic an emotional or religious

for your digital delectation

Written by Eric Spear – no relation to Albert with an ‘e’ – in 1960:“a cornet piece, accompanied by a brass band plus clarinet and double bass.” A then unknown musician from Wimslow, David Browning, was contracted by Granada Television (ITV) to supply trumpet for the original theme – and its re-recording in 1964 –

goodbye coney island

Two years ago, apparently, the Brooklyn Museum staged a small exhibition of no more than 50 photographs entitled “Goodbye Coney Island“. “The collection “traces the evolution of this fabled part of New York over the past 125 years,” over which time it has undergone many transformations.”I would have liked to have seen that. This is

anatomy of a sketch

detail from “anatomy of the neck“.from the sketchbooks of leonardo da vinci. Very often, the working sketch delivers more of interest than the finished article; certainly, it reveals more on the mechanics of the creative process and the thinking from concept to final delivery. It is the same in music. In many cases, the very

old tongues

“the ladies’ lament from the ballad of sir patrick spens“.elizabeth eleanor siddal, 1856. “In the reign of Alexander III of Scotland, his daughter Margaret was escorted by a large party of nobles to Norway for her marriage to King Eric; on the return journey many of them were drowned. Twenty years later, after Alexander’s death,

jackdaws and crows

jack•daw |ˌdʒakdɔː| noun a small, gray-headed crow that typically nests in tall buildings and chimneys, noted for its inquisitiveness. • Genus Corvus, family Corvidae: two species, in particular the Eurasian C. monedula. Jackdaws are very cool birds. Ferociously intelligent but not as obviously malefic as carrion crows or ravens. I am guessing they have a

mildew on my mirrorball…

And lava on my lamp. Twin snare attack from the most kick-ass, bubblegum-baiting, glam backing band Mike Leander could hope for. Also released as a 45 in July, 1974. Going it alone for a string of hits, they sounded infinitely snide and genuinely antagonistic. Don’t allow the discomforting guilt by association force you to turn

richard allen lvs mick ronson

LF 13723 . Formed in a dreary suburb of Manchester in 1976 and billed support to the Sex Pistols at a gig in the Lesser Free Trade Hall in that same year (The Buzzcocks also made an impromptu appearance), Slaughter & The Dogs were the missing link between the Glitter Band, football terraces and punk.

paradise lost

engraving by lodovico cardi cigoli, 1559-1613. Beelzebub stands immobilized in ice, tethered to the centre of the earth.Possibly, his birth sign is Taurus. If you looked up at the stars once upon a time, you just might have seen him tumbling past Hyades. Be•el•ze•bub |bɪˌɛlzɪbʌb|a name for the Devil. ORIGIN from late Latin Beëlzebub, translating

anonymous crack

VS370. A b-side I’ve played more times than may be strictly sensible. Stay off the tracks. Malcolm Owen: vocals; Paul Fox: guitar; John “Segs” Jennings: bass; Dave Ruffy: drums. “For Malcolm who lived for the crack – shine on.” ▼ THE RUTS: THE CRACK from “West One (Shine On Me) b/w The Crack” 45 (Virgin)

hole in one

The sky is a deep blue bleeding into black like a bruise in full bloom, but if you look straight into it you can see the faint yellow corona of light pollution from all those little sprawling towns and – further out still – the hub. A web of twinkling Christmas tree lamps. A daisy

where the spirits are

photograph by Eliot Elisofon, ‘Life Magazine‘, 1959. Female guitarist, Pirako Kurenai and her male accomplice, Kageo. With a nod to Swan Fungus. ▼ SUISHOU NO FUNE: YOUR TEARS FALL FROM THE SKY from “Where The Spirits Are” CD (Holy Mountain) 2006 (Japan)PURCHASE WHERE THE SPIRITS ARE

new years’s resolution

The apartment was a small collection of rooms she knew only too well. It was not just that it was limited. She had spent so much of the past eight years in here that each skeletal skelf standing upright between its floorboards had grown as familiar as the fingers on one hand. “Fuck,” she said.

loudon done right

Emmett and Mike over on Art Decade have whipped up something of an Alex Chilton and Big Star limousine buffet this past week. You might not want to miss it. A good deal of those tracks (and the odd supporting link) featured are kind of hard to find. This Loudon Wainright III song – a

$6 motel recovery

My PC is badly in need of one of its regular dusting downs; a time-consuming process which fills me with dread. It has already gone into thermal shutdown mode twice this morning in order to protect itself from permanent damage, so if I suddenly disappear into the ether you will know the reason why. My