FEATURE: Kate Bush: The Tour of Life: Inside Her 2006 Interview with Tom Doyle

FEATURE:

 

 

Kate Bush: The Tour of Life

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 2005/PHOTO CREDIT: Trevor Leighton

Inside Her 2006 Interview with Tom Doyle

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FOR Kate Bush…

feature 985, I am looking back at Tom Doyle’s amazing 2006 interview. Chatting with her for Q, the interview as part of a series to mark the magazine’s twentieth anniversary. The now-defunct publication ran twenty covers with twenty artists. This was the year after Kate Bush released Aerial. Tom Doyle spoke with Kate Bush at length in promotion of that album. He was given another chance to chat with her. However, whereas the Aerial interview was at her home, this one was down the line. I wanted to revisit this great interview and some standout sections. On 28th May, 2006, this amazing interview took place. If Tom Doyle notes in his book, Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush, that it was a slightly gimmicky series, it did show that Q had pulling power. Bush was asked about her attending the Q Awards in 2001. She was honoured with the Classic Songwriter and received as standing ovation from her peers there. She was asked about that reaction and Bush found it wonderful and humbling. In 2001, it was still four years until Aerial would arrive. Bush was struggling to make big progress with it so it was a surprise that she was being recognised eight years after The Red Shoes came out. That reaction at the 2001 awards gave her heart and inspiration. Recognition that she was respected and relevant. I do like that. Recalling how it was “magic”, Bush was worried people had forgotten about her. As this album was taking longer than any other to that point, the fact that people were so responsive and adoring took her back. Bush was photographed at the Q Awards with John Lydon. They had been friends for years. She told Tom Doyle how he was a “true showman”. An intelligent man that she respected greatly, it was nice that the two got together in 2001 for Q.

One of the most interesting early questions is why Bush did not tour Hounds of Love after its success. Its success in the U.S. Bush said it was typical of her really. Expected to tour and do all these interviews to crack America, Bush stated how that was not her. She was not prepared to do that. She did go to the U.S. at the time the 12” of Running Up That Hill was popular. That was big in the clubs. Bush did do some promotion, but that version of it – sitting in hotel rooms drinking tea – was perhaps not want they were expecting. Bush was considering extending 1979’s The Tour of Life to the U.S. but there was demand in Europe and it would have been exhausted. I might extent that thought for a future feature. The success of Hounds of Love and Bush not touring in the U.S. The fact that she was not your typical huge artist and felt like touring was not for her. I wonder what would have happened if she did tour America! Bush was asked about her high and low points of the past twenty years. The birth of her son Bertie (who was on in 1998) was the highpoint; the death of her mother Hannah (in 1992) was the low point. Bush was asked about her music tastes and favourite artists. This is the most interesting section of the interview. She was asked which song from the past twenty years she wish she had written. She selected Paul Simon’s The Boy in the Bubble (from 1986’s Graceland). Commending his poetry (which Bush said was his forte), she also said she was a fan of Shaggy – which was perhaps unexpected! Tom Doyle cheekily asked if Tori Amos was one of her favourite artists. There was silence and Bush said how “As you could hear, I took a deep breath there”. That was no shade on Amos. I think Bush got asked about the comparisons and was a little fed up. However, you get a feeling that Bush is a fan of Amos’s work and there is respect between them.

Bush was asked about being out and about and being recognised. As she tends to keep herself wrapped up and private, she was not as recognised in the streets as in her heyday. She said she did get recognised in the supermarket now and then but from a distance. It is to do with her music and not her as a person necessarily. I would love Tom Doyle to chat with Kate Bush now and get an update. I can imagine there has been this new wave of recognition since Stranger Things took her back to the top of the charts in 2022. It would be interesting  Bush said how, since Aerial was behind her, she has more free time. Dispelling this myth that she lives in some gothic mansion filled with cobwebs, she explained how she is doing normal things: the school run, watching films and that sort of thing. It is interesting that Bush said that was thinking of ideas for a new project. This was in 2006. It would take her until 2011 to release new material (with Director’s Cut and 50 Words for Snow). I wonder what she had in mind and whether it was abandoned. Informing Bush she had only released three new albums in twenty years – The Sensual World (1989), The Red Shoes (1993) and Aerial (2005) –, she was taken aback.

However, she explained Aerial is a double album. So her average was slightly better than that! Bush said how she always intends to finish them quickly but stuff happens. Life gets in the way. How she would like to finish them quick and have a holiday in the Bahamas and move to the next one. Doyle did ask whether we’d have to wait twelve years until another album. Bush (half-jokingly) said she could probably get the next one done in six weeks. As it would be six years instead, I guess that quite a bit got in the way! It was a nice interview that I wanted to revisit. I first highlighted it back in 2022 I think. One of the best interviews Kate Bush conducted, it is interesting going back to 2006 and where she was then. I keep thinking how there needs to be an award given to Kate Bush. Consider all that she has achieved in the past few years in terms of new chart success, raising money for charity and inspiring a new legion of artists and fans. That does warrant something! It would be great if an award ceremony handed her a prize. Maybe Bush would come out to collect the award. A chance for her to give a new interview. It does seem like new work is afoot. Something that she is very much focused on. That will provide opportunity for new interviews. Someone who is always compelling and truly her when she is interviewed, I would urge anyone not familiar with the archive to search through interviews and watch them on YouTube. Check out this invaluable resource. It has been great fun revisiting Tom Doyle’s interview with Kate Bush for Q in 2006. An insight into…

A true icon.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Lily Allen at Forty

FEATURE:

 

The Digital Mixtape

Lily Allen at Forty

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THIS time out…

I am going to focus on Lily Allen. She turns forty on 2nd May. One of our most distinct artists, her amazing debut album, Alright, Still, was released in 2006. Her most recent album, No Shame, was released in 2018. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize. I wanted to mark her upcoming birthday with a career-spanning playlist of her hits and some deeper cuts. Before that, here is some biography about an artist who I hope has more albums in her:

“With her omnivorous musical tastes and cheeky attitude, London-based pop singer/songwriter Lily Allen made a name for herself almost as soon as she released her demos on the Internet. The daughter of comedian Keith Allen, Lily spent most of her childhood bouncing from one school to another; in fact, she attended 13 different schools between the ages of five and 15. This constant moving meant she didn't have much of a chance to make lasting friendships, so Allen entertained herself with books and, especially, music: she listened to everything from T. Rex, the Specials, and the Slits to the Happy Mondays and drum'n'bass, and even ran away to see the Glastonbury Festival when she was 14. After she left school a year later, she realized that music was the only career for her. Allen concentrated on her songwriting and singing, developing a style that was equally sweet and bratty; late in 2005, she set up a MySpace page and posted demos of her songs, as both individual tracks and as part of two limited-edition "mixtapes" that also featured tracks by Dizzee Rascal, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Ludacris. The critical acclaim for her work fueled Allen's publicity, leading to tens of thousands of friends on MySpace, airplay on BBC Radio One, and a record deal with Regal/Parlophone before the end of 2005.

Allen began working on her full-length album with producers such as Greg Kurstin, Mark Ronson (with whom she also collaborated on a cover of the Kaiser Chiefs' "Oh My God" that appeared on her second mixtape), and Futurecut, and released a limited-edition 7" of LDN as her debut single in spring 2006. Both LDN and Smile, which followed that summer, were chart successes, with the former reaching number seven on the U.K. chart and the latter hitting number one the week it debuted. Hot on the heels of Smile came Allen's first full-length, Alright, Still, which she supported with a slew of dates stretching out to the end of the year. Despite the speed of her success, Allen continued to update her MySpace page with amusing blog rants, including one about her June 2006 appearance on Top of the Pops that berated the lead singer of the Kooks for "wearing broken straw hats and dark sunglasses" indoors and Dirty Pretty Things for having "organic sliced bread on the rider." Allen rang in 2007 with more tour dates, including gigs in Japan, Australia, and the U.S., and the U.S. release of Alright, Still. She also earned nominations for British Breakthrough Act and British Female Solo for that year's Brit Awards, while "Smile" and Alright, Still were nominated for British Single and British Album, respectively.

Allen spent most of 2007 touring, but also collaborated with Dizzee Rascal on Maths and English's duet "Wanna Be," and provided vocals on Basement Jaxx's Crazy Itch Radio. Allen's personal life and side projects were nearly as prominent as her music career, with her relationship with Chemical Brother Ed Simons and her subsequent miscarriage making headlines in late 2007 and early 2008. In February 2008, Allen embarked on a talk show on BBC Three, Lily Allen and Friends, which lasted through that April. That month, Allen posted two new demos on her MySpace page, including "GWB," which was about President George Bush; for her second album, she worked with producer Greg Kurstin of the Bird and the Bee, and co-wrote several songs with him instead of just providing the lyrics. She also worked on songs with Jamie Reynolds of the Klaxons and wrote a song about comedian James Corden for the 2008 Shockwaves Awards. Another new song, "Everyone's at It," debuted that fall, and Allen courted controversy again with an unauthorized cover of Britney Spears' "Womanizer" that December. It's Not Me, It's You, which covered topics like drugs, fame, family, and society, arrived early in 2009, preceded by the single "The Fear." Despite the album's success, which included platinum certification in the U.K. and a debut at the top of the charts in the U.K., Canada, and Australia (and at number five in the U.S.), in September 2009 Allen did not renew her record contract and took a hiatus from making music.

She remained busy, however, founding her own label In the Name Of (which included Cults on its roster), writing songs for the musical version of Bridget Jones' Diary, and starting a family with her boyfriend Sam Cooper, whom she married in June 2011. The following year, she announced that she was in the studio working on new music with longtime producer Greg Kurstin; she also sang vocals on P!nk's 2012 single "True Love," which was produced by Kurstin. Early in 2013, she gave birth to her second child. By November 2013, she had released a cover of Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know" for a holiday television commercial by U.K. retailer John Lewis. The single version promptly became her third U.K. number one single. Two subsequent singles, "Hard Out Here" and "Air Balloon," both reached the British Top Ten as well, and both appeared on her third album, Sheezus, which appeared in early May 2014. The album debuted at number one in the U.K., and hit number 12 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Following the album's release, Allen performed at Glastonbury Festival, and embarked on a headlining tour which took her through 2015.

In 2018, she returned with her fourth studio album, No Shame, which included the single "Trigger Bang" featuring rapper Giggs. The album found her moving away from longtime producer Kurstin, and embracing a more intimate, electropop sound. The album also appeared on the heels of a difficult period for the singer, who had gone to court over ongoing harassment by stalker Alex Gray (Gray was convicted and sentenced to an indeterminate hospital stay in 2016 after having broken into her house and threatened her). Allen, who amicably divorced husband Cooper in 2018, also admitted in an interview with Vulture to having gone through an "identity crisis" during and after the recording of Sheezus, and subsequently worked to regain her creative direction. No Shame debuted at number eight on the U.K. albums chart”.

I do hope that we get more Lily Allen music soon enough. Someone who remains one of our most important artists, I felt it only right to celebrate her upcoming birthday. On 2nd May, I hope that she gets plenty of love and respect. In order to demonstrate her music brilliance, I have compiled a collection of her excellent songs in...

THIS mixtape.

FEATURE: Oh, She Move Like the Diva Do: The Title Track of Kate Bush’s The Red Shoes at Thirty-One

FEATURE:

 

 

Oh, She Move Like the Diva Do

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional photo for The Red Shoes in 1993 

The Title Track of Kate Bush’s The Red Shoes at Thirty-One

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I will make this a short feature…

as there is previous little written about the title track of Kate Bush’s 1993 album, The Red Shoes. It is a remarkable song that is one of the highlights of the album. I don’t think the album as a whole gets discussed that much. Certainly not in positive tones. I think that there is something extra special and emotional when it comes to Kate Bush’s title tracks. The Red Shoes’ reminds me of the some of her most extraordinary moments. The energy of the track is infectious! Alongside Eat the Music, there is this sense of frenzy and dance that is impossible to escape. As there is very little available regarding the track, I am going to offer a few words on it, include a snippet of a 1993 interview with Kate Bush. It came out on 5th April, 1994. The album it came from arrived six months earlier. It was an album where quite a few singles were released. Maybe Bush seeing The Red Shoes as a commercial album or one that was seen as more accessible, five singles were released. The Red Shoes was the fourth. The final, And So Is Love, came out in November 1994. The Red Shoes was one of the songs included in the short film, The Line, the Cross and the Curve. That film’s initial release was 13th November, 1993, so fans got to see The Red Shoes before it was released as a single. The wider release of The Line, the Cross and the Curve was on 6th May, 1994. So it coincided nicely with the single release. The lead single from that film as it was. There is a bit of confusion regarding the exact release date of the single. Some say 4th April, 1994, though I think it was the day after. So I will say it is thirty-one on 5th April.

In any case, it is worth looking at the single release. Reaching number twenty-one in the U.K. upon its release, it was a moderate success. Considering April 1994 was a period when bands in the Britpop scene were coming to the fore, it is quite impressive that Kate Bush nearly made it into the top twenty with the fourth single from her seventh studio album Not surprising, because the track is among her best. I have written about The Red Shoes’ title track before. Bush reapproached the song for 2011’s Director’s Cut. I must say I prefer the original as it is so full of life and movement. The 2011 version is quite different. Before moving on, here is some information about the single’s release and its different versions:

“Formats

‘The Red Shoes’ was released in the UK as a 7″ single, a cassette single and two different CD-singles. The 7″ single and cassette single feature the B-side track You Want Alchemy. CD-single 1 added ‘Cloudbusting (Video Mix)’ and This Woman’s Work, and CD-single 2, released one week after the other formats, features Shoedance (see below), together with the single remix of The Big Sky and the 12″ version of Running Up That Hill.

Versions

There are three versions of ‘The Red Shoes’: the album version, which was also used on the single released, and ‘Shoedance’, which is a 10 minute remix by Karl Blagan of ‘The Red Shoes’, featuring excerpts from dialogue from the movie The Line, The Cross & The Curve. Finally, there’s the version from Bush’s album Director’s Cut in 2011”.

I will wrap up soon enough. I want to head back to 1993 and an interview from Vox. Published in November of that year (the same month The Red Shoes was released), we get a bit of context and background to the album. I think that The Red Shoes’ title track is extraordinary. A song that should be played a lot more than it is. I do think it also deserved a higher chart position:

“As befits a masterwork, The Red Shoes was kept carefully under wraps, reviewers being handed numbered lyric sheets (for later collection) at select playbacks. The detail within the tracks and the choice of guests offer witness to Bush's confessed pursuit of perfection. Sadly, history does not relate whether Prince and backing vocalist Lenny Henry were in the studio at the same time for the track 'Why Should I Love You', or whether Henry got to say: "Hey Vic, I do this great impression of you".

A film to accompany the album, with a working title of A Lion. A Cross And A Curve, features Miranda Richardson and Lindsay Kemp. Currently, its release is being delayed (and the album with it) as Bush toils over getting it right. It's been described as her Magical Mystery Tour, but she's reluctant to discuss it until completed, and has postponed other interviews to allow a clear run at the work. Again, she told the nationals: "I've always been tenacious when it comes to my work. It seemed ironic that I was expected to do interviews and television which took me away from the thing that had put me into that situation. It was no longer relevant that I wrote songs. I could see my work becoming something that had no thought in it, becoming a personality. All I wanted was the creative process."

In the following interview, Kate Bush reveals just how important that process has become...

What inspires you? Do you have to achieve a particular mood or are songs triggered off by particular events?

"I think it's incredibly elusive. I think I used to write in a more formulated way. When I was very young, I would sit there at the piano and just write a song - I actually hadn't done that for a long time.

"When I'm working, I'm continually hit by how you start off with something, and though it doesn't necessarily change in essence, there's this whole evolution that happens around it, little ideas that get pulled in. I think that may be one reason why the albums take so long. I feel very grateful, really, to have my work."

Do you escape into it?

"Umm... I don't know about escape - I think it's inseparable, that's what it is. It's not that I'm running away into my work, it's more that my work moves headlong into my life. There's a lot of my very personal experiences that go into my work, and my work gives me a lot of very personal experiences."

If something traumatic occurs in your life, do you find it easy to express, or does it come out in some other form?

"It depends on the trauma, it depends how heartbroken you are. Usually, 1 can pull myself through things like feeling low or having problems by working that through. But I have been at points where I just couldn't work. I couldn't possibly sing--it was beyond me, it just hurt too much. Sometimes you have to allow a bit of time to come between you and the experience in order to even touch it.

"I think the biggest thing on this album is that I lost my mother. I haven't been able to write about any of it--nevertheless, the experience is in there. It's something I couldn't possibly express in music, and yet it is being expressed through very subliminal things, like the quality of some of the performances. I couldn't work for months, I couldn't go near the whole process. I had no desire to start, no desire to work at all.

It was a terrible shock for all of us. Really, I'm so grateful that we had so much time together and we had such a good relationship. I had an incredibly good relationship with her, as did all my family. I often think how awful it must be for people who don't really get on with their parents--or don't know them - to lose them and be so bereft after having had nothing."

What happens if people want to interfere in your work? I take it you don't let them?

"I don't think it's so much that I got interference at the start, but I was aware that things wouldn't be how I wanted them to be unless I was willing to fight. I think you have to fight for everything you want. Whether it's work or life, it's just that sort of thing of struggling; struggle is very important. It's how you grow and change and it also tests your intention - if you really care about something, you won't let go.

I was 19 when it [the first album] came out, and my life completely changed. The big emphasis was that I was no longer allowed to work. My whole day used to be centred around work, in the most pleasurable way: I'd get up and play around on the piano, then I'd go up to London and see some friends, go dancing ..."

Did you feel that you were manipulated. Were you ever encouraged to be bimbo-esque for pictures?

"I think, on a couple of occasions, I was very naive and I was very young. It was all very new to me and, in the first year, 1 learnt so many lessons about how people wanted to manipulate me. I was always quite strong about what I didn't want to do, but nevertheless it doesn't take much."

Do you think of yourself as a feminist?

"I think a lot of respect went for the feminist movement. I think it's really wrong. A lot of women resent women who have pushed their energies, because it's kind of made feminine energy look stupid. I believe there is a way that feminine energy can stand strong and powerful without having to be something it's not."

Qualities such as ambition and competiveness are, supposedly, traditionally male ones, but do you possess either?

"I hate both words intensely I suppose that's because, in a lot of ways, they represent to me an incredibly driven male energy that offends my feminine energy. But I do think I'm driven, and I don't know about this thing of ambition. I don't know because I think my ambition is creative I don't think I'm ambitious to conquer the world, but I am ambitious to try out ideas and push things, to see if you can make it better. I'm certainly very driven in my work. I do think that for a lot of women, their creativlty is quite masculinely driven--it's quite a masculine trait to speed forward, I suppose."

How much time have you spent working on The Red Shoes?

"Well, 1 haven't spent that long. It went on over a long period of time-about two years of solid work amongst three-and-a-half to four years."

Each album seems to take you longer to make than the last Is this because you are a true perfectionist?

"I think 'perfect' is... I have used that word in the past, and used it wrongly because, in a way, what you are trying to do is make something that is basically imperfect as best as you can in the time you've got with the knowledge you have"

You don't normally release material unless you're totally satisfied...

"That's right. That doesn't necessarilly mean'perfect', but it's to the best of my ability. I've tried to say what needed to be said through the songs, the right structure, the shape, the sounds, the vocal performance--that is, the best I could do at the time."

When you've worked hard for something, you obviously don't want somebody interfering with it. In your cuttings, you've been described as the shyest megalomaniac on the planet, so how do yout work out the balance between that and being an incredibly quiet, private person?

"I think it's quite true that most people are extreme contradictions. It's like this paradox that exists, and I think that on a lot of levels, I'm quiet and shy, and a quiet soul.

I like simple things in my life...I like gardening and things like that, but when it comes to my work, I am a creative megalomaniac again. I'm not after money or power but the creative power. I just love playing with ideas and watching them come together, or what you learn from something not coming together.

I'm fascinated by the whole creative process--I think you could probably say I was obsessed I'm not as bad as I used to be, I'm a little more balanced now."

What's calmed you down?

"Just life, I think... Life gets to you, doesn't it? I also think there's a part of me that's got fed up with working. I've worked so much that I'm starting to feel... I felt I needed to rebalance, which I think I did a bit, just to get a little bit more emphasis on me and my life."

Where did you get the idea of 'Rubberband Girl"?

"Well, it's playing with the idea of how putting up resistance... um... doesn't do any good, really. The whole thing is to sort of go with the flow."

What about the sexual content--'He can be a woman at heart, and not only women bleed?

"It's not really sexual, it's more to do with the whole idea of opening people up - not sexually, just revealing themselves. It's taking a man who is on the outside, very macho, and you open him up and he has this beautiful feminine heart."

Have you found many of those?

"I think I've seen a lot of them, yeah. I think there are a lot of men who are fantastically sensitive and gentle, and I think they are really scared to show it."

A father image often comes out in your work. Is that because you're particularly close to your father or does it merely represent somebody or something you respect?

"I think they're very archetypal images: the parents, the mother and the father... it's immediately symbolic of so many things. I'm very lucky to have had an extremely positive, loving and encouraging relationship with both my parents. And you know I feel very grateful... I feel very honoured, actually."

Who is the Douglas Fairbanks character in 'Moments Of Pleasure '?

'Ah... In a lot of ways that song, er.. well it's going back to that thing of paying homage to people who aren't with us any more. I was very lucky to get to meet Michael (Powell, the film-maker who directed the original The Red Shoes) in New York before he died, and he and his wife were extreme;y kind. I'd had few conversations with him and I'd been dying to meet him. As we came out of the lift, he was standing outside with his walking stick and he was pretending to be someone like Douglas Fairbanks. He was completely adorable and just the most beautiful spirit, and it was a very profound experience for me. It had quite an inspirational effect on a couple of the songs.

"There's a song called 'The Red Shoes'. It's not really to do with his film but rather the story from which he took his film. You have these red shoes that just want to dance and don't want to stop, and the story that I'm aware of is that there's this girl who goes to sleep in the fairy story and they can't work out why she's so tired. Every morning, she's more pale and tired, so they follow her one night and what's happening is these shoes... she's putting these shoes on at night before she goes to bed and they whisk her off to dance with the fairies."

Are you still as involved in dancing as you were?

"I've had a lot of periods off, unfortunately, because my music is so demanding and I went through a phase where I just had no desire to dance. The last couple of years, it really came back, and it's been very interesting working in an older body. Your brain seems better at dealing with certain kinds of information. And I think there's something about trying too hard which takes the dynamics out of everything.

I think I've become less conscious through dancing, because it's very confrontational in a positive way - standing in front of a mirror and looking at something that basically looks like a piece of you, and you've got to do something with it”.

I am going to wrap up now. On 5th April, it will be thirty-one years since The Red Shoes was released as a single. Included in the film, The Line, the Cross and the Curve, it is a track I have a lot of love for. Its lyrics are amazing and vivid. Its first verse is extraordinary and sets the scene: “Oh she move like the Diva do/I said “I’d love to dance like you.”/She said “just take off my red shoes/Put them on and your dream’ll come true/With no words, with no song/You can dance the dream with your body on/And this curve, is your smile/And this cross, is your heart/And this line, is your path”. The Red Shoes stands tall…

IN a phenomenal catalogue.

FEATURE: Behind the Scenes and Critics’ Reviews: Kate Bush’s Director’s Cut at Fourteen

FEATURE:

 

 

Behind the Scenes and Critics’ Reviews

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional image for 2011’s Director’s Cut/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush

Kate Bush’s Director’s Cut at Fourteen

_________

I might have touched…

on some of these reviews and interviews where previously covering Kate Bush’s Director’s Cut. This album was the first she released in 2011. The second, 50 Words for Snow, arrived in November. Director’s Cut was released on 16th May. Nobody was really expecting an album like this. Although some feel it is a lesser work, the fact she reproached songs from The Sensual World (1989) and The Red Shoes (1993) was intriguing. I have complained how Wikipedia describe the album as a remix album. It is not in any way. These are not remixes. They are newly-recorded songs. It is a studio album and not Bush taking pre-existing songs and tinkering with them. I am not sure why they have labelled it as a remix album as it is misleading and wrong. In any case, all of the tracks have new lead vocals, drums, and instrumentation. Three of the songs, including This Woman's Work, have been completely rerecorded, often with some lyrics changed. It was a chance for her to correct some errors. Or at least update the production and give the songs new depth. The selected tracks hang together well. I am one of the few people who have written about Director’s Cut. Without reviewing it. Just shining a light on it. I will end with a couple of positive critical reviews for the underrated Director’s Cut. I am going to start out with some exerts from an interview where Kate Bush was asked about her first album of 2011. The first time that she truly immersed herself in retrospection. Returning to Interview Magazine and their chat with Kate Bush. They were one of the few websites/print sources to speak with Kate Bush about the album. She did more press for 50 Words for Snow:

“DIMITRI EHRLICH: I thought we’d begin with talking about Director’s Cut. Let’s talk about “The Sensual World” [off 1989’s The Sensual World]. I know that when you first recorded that song, you had originally wanted to use some text from James Joyce’s Ulysses, which is always a favorite on pop radio here in America.

KATE BUSH: [laughs] Yes.

EHRLICH: But the Joyce estate refused permission, and now, 22 years later you finally got the okay.

BUSH: Yes, originally, as you say, I wanted to use part of the text, and approached for permission, and was refused. I was a bit disappointed, but it was completely their prerogative—they were being very protective to the work, which I think is a good thing. So I had to sort of go off and write my own lyrics, which . . . They were okay, but it always felt like a bit of a compromise really. It was nowhere near as interesting as the original idea. When I started to work on this project, I thought it was worth a shot just asking again, because they could only say no. But to my absolute delight—and surprise—they agreed.

EHRLICH: Looking at your lyrics to “Song of Solomon,” I found it interesting how you juxtaposed sexuality with spirituality. What inspired that?

BUSH: Well, it was quite an interesting process for me to go back and re-sing these songs because, for all kinds of reasons, they’re not the songs I would write now. I can’t really remember what my thought process was when I wrote that one originally. I just thought it was one of those songs that could benefit from a revisit. That was just one of the songs that popped into my head. I didn’t really take a great deal of time choosing the list of songs, I just kind of wrote down the first things that came into my head.

EHRLICH: It’s funny. I’d think revisiting those songs would almost be like looking at old photographs or reading old love letters from a long time ago, because as a songwriter, the emotions that you’re tapping into are the most primal, raw, and immediate ones. Was it strange to step into the emotional clothing you had worn 20 years ago and see how it fit and wonder, Who is this person?

BUSH: Yeah, it was. At first, it was quite difficult, and, at a couple of points, I nearly gave up the whole process. I found that by just slightly lowering the key of most of the songs, suddenly it kind of gave me a way in, because my voice is just lower now. So that helped me to step back into it. And although they were old songs, it all started to feel very much like a new process and, in a lot of ways, ended up feeling like I was just making a new album—it’s just that the material was already written. When I listen to it now, it feels like a new record to me.

EHRLICH: Why did you decide to re-record existing material rather than do something new, or just release the old versions remixed, or whatever?

BUSH: Well, I really didn’t see it as a substitute for a greatest hits package, but it was something I’d wanted to do for a few years. I guess I just kind of felt like there were songs on those two albums [The Sensual World and The Red Shoes (1993)] that were quite interesting but that they could really benefit from having new life breathed into them. I don’t really listen to my old stuff, but on occasion, I would either hear a track on the radio or a friend might play me one, and there was generally a bit of an edgy sound to it, which was mainly due to the digital equipment that we were using, which was state of the art at the time—and I think everyone felt pressured to be working that way. But I still remain a huge fan of analog. So there were elements of the production that I felt were either a little bit dated or a bit cluttered. So what I wanted to do was empty them out and let the songs breathe more.

EHRLICH: Your music has always been defiantly different than American pop. Do you have a love-hate relationship with classic American pop? Do you just find it boring, or is there something about it that you secretly enjoy as a guilty pleasure?

BUSH: [laughs] What a thing to say! No, I mean, god, some of the best pop music ever has come out of the States. Some of that Motown stuff is some of the best songs ever written. It’s not that I don’t like American pop; I’m a huge admirer of it, but I think my roots came from a very English and Irish base. Is it all sort of totally non-American sounding, do you think?”.

I am going to move to a review from The Telegraph. Even though Director’s Cut was her lowest-rated album since maybe The Red Shoes (1993), there were some positive takes. It is commendable of Bush to put something out there that could divide people. Most were unaware that it would only be six months until her tenth studio album. Bush’s 2011 full with new recording and promotion:

“I wanted to drop this interview in again as it is a rare case of Bush being interviewed about Director’s Cut. I think that few people will celebrate its anniversary. I have speculated as to why that might be. There is a general feeling that it was a bit of mixed blessing. Bush providing us with this album but songs we were familiar with. The necesstiyt fo revisitng these tracks. Some felt it was unnecessary. Kate Bush definiktely had her reasonbs. I lovre the fact that she needed to get this album out before she could release new material. Looking back and taking tracjks back. Stripping them and providing rhse new versions. I think Director’s Cut is cannomn and should be seen as such. Rather than drop in the same reviews as I did for the previous Doirector’s Cut feature, I am going to dfcus on a couple of fifferent ones and then wrap up.

“As a fully crimped-up member of the fan club, I certainly felt misgivings which turned to horror at the first radio play of Deeper Understanding. This prescient song about a lonely woman trapped in an obsessive relationship with her computer, begins by sounding not different enough from the original to have been worth the remaking; then gets mangled by a vocoder, which now distorts the computer parts, as though 21st-century listeners might be too stupid to notice the lyrical dialogue. Surely the song was both more beautiful and more seductively sinister when the computer answered Kate in her own voice?

So when the full album arrived, I took a deep breath. By mixing up tracks from two albums, The Sensual World (1989) and The Red Shoes (1993), Bush would be breaking the bubble of intense, personal worlds I had inhabited for years. I began by angrily cataloguing all the little vocal and production flourishes I missed – a change of timing or emphasis here, a lost chorus there and where was that glorious, leonine growl on Lily? This was, of course, a childish approach.

Director’s Cut should really be enjoyed as a rare, live performance from an artist who hasn’t toured since 1979. The lead vocals and drums have all been re-recorded, allowing us to hear how Bush sounds in 2011. She’s stripped back the digital crunch of the production, giving the instrumentation more breathing space and creating a more intimate, organic feel: Rubberband Girl sounds like it could have been recorded in the backroom of an Irish pub.

There is, as Bush intended, much more air around the songs, which can reduce their original, raw intensity but also gives them a more mature, lingering potency.

Floating in a twinkling galaxy of synth notes, This Woman’s Work is a less acutely painful expression of grief than it was in the original piano-only cut – but it is more wisely accepting now. And it still made me cry.

Best of all, on And so is Love, Bush has changed the lyric, “We used to say, 'ah hell we’re young’/ But now we see that life is sad/ And so is love”, to “now we see that life is sweet”.

And so is this album. Fans should give it some time, and it will give them a deeper understanding”.

I am going to finish with another review. This one is from Drowned in Sound. There are some interesting observations. Some of the songs are arguably stronger than the originals, whilst some maybe take time getting used to. Fans will argue whether Director’s Cut is an essential and great album. I think it is an important one. Any album from Kate Bush is a blessing. I am glad that there were some positive and loving reviews. If you have not heard the album then I would strongly encourage you to listen to it:

“If Kate Bush’s Director’s Cut had been released, say, 15 years ago, then this odd project would surely have received a gazillionth of the attention it's enjoying now. Back then, in 1996, Britpop was at its lagery zenith and to some degree Bush appeared a relic of the golden age of AOR. Not that you’d find many with a bad word to say about her; indeed, the oompah oompah weirdness of 1982’s The Dreaming was clearly an influence on Britpop’s artier end. But it was over a decade since her tour de force Hounds of Love, and her most recent album, 1993’s The Red Shoes, was on the weak side, with a ghastly roll call of guests suggesting an artist mired in the past. Lenny Henry; Eric Clapton; Prince; Jeff Beck; some dude from Procul Harem – rich folks who’d peaked in the Eighties (at the latest), jarring outsiders who brought baggage into Bush’s rarefied studio fantasia.

So if, three years later, she’d issued a record consisting of tweaked tracks from The Red Shoes and 1989’s solid The Sensual World, one imagines it would have been seen as a curio at best, an indulgence at worst.

But this isn’t 1996. Since then, Bush’s legend has grown exponentially, her weaker albums fading out of collective memory as her great ones have grown in stature and reach. Much of this can be attributed to simple laws of supply and demand; it became hard to take her for granted when there was a 12 year gap between The Red Shoes and 2005’s Aerial; the fact Aerial was a masterpiece also helped. But also, people want big stars to believe in; in the present musical landscape, there simply are no art-pop auteurs comparable to Bush.

So yeah, the release of Director’s Cut - a mere five years after Aerial! - has got a lot of people excited. And rightly so, but let's keep it in perspective. It’s not new material, and much as there are a couple of jaw-dropping total reconstructions – notably ‘This Woman’s Work’ – it mostly amounts to intelligent tinkering. Opening track ‘Flower of the Mountain’ pretty much sets the tenor: it’s the seductive Celtic lushness of The Sensual World’s title track, only with Bush’s lyrics replaced with the extract from Joyce’s Ulysses that she’d been denied permission to use in 1989. Which is cool and all, and it’s a thrill to hear Bush slink richly through Molly Bloom’s climactic monologue, but ‘The Sensual World’ was a great song already and this new version is really just an act of housekeeping. Likewise, recent interviews would suggest that The Sensual World’s ‘Deeper Understanding’ was basically reworked because at the time of recording, Bush couldn’t get the vocal effect she wanted for the chorus. It does occur that it might have been a bit more practical to simply reissue The Sensual World with those two tracks tweaked, and then a totally overhauled The Red Shoes.

But then, if that had happened we’d have been deprived of the glacial, six and a half minute ‘This Woman’s Work’. Totally rerecorded, it’s creepingly claustrophobic and piercingly beautiful, in its own way just as perfect as the original. Over the barest electronic twinkle, each line is wrenched out painfully, like a cold crystal pulled from the earth. The lyrics remain opaque – is it about post-natal depression, perhaps? – but it builds to a climax whose raw, bitter sentiment is entirely discernible, a diamond hard electronic choir rising in the background as Bush spits the new lyric “all the things that you wanted for me/all the things that you wanted from me”. Though she probably started work on it during the last Tory government, it’s startlingly in tune with the current vogue for minimalism; for somebody who has always had a touch of nostalgia in her sound, it’s startlingly modern. Another total reformat goes to Red Shoes lead single ‘Rubberband Girl’: here it’s shorn of all synthetic trappings and reincarnated as charmingly dippy country strum. Paring things back has never really been Bush’s style, but after the ultra-expansive Aerial, maybe this could be the way forwards.

Most of the rest of the album consists of subtly improved Red Shoes songs, with a more organic, less synthetic feel generally derived from the addition of better vocals and the removal of Kate’s dickhead famous mates. Everything is at least a minor step forwards, but ‘This Woman’s Work’, ‘Deeper Understanding’ and ‘Rubberband Girl’ are the only total reconstructions, and thus the various tweaks do little to alter the fundamental quality of the originals. If it was great before (‘The Red Shoes’, ‘Lily’) it’s great now; if it wasn’t (the painfully bombastic ‘Top of the City’) then it’s still not.

Director’s Cut is a strange undertaking, but pretty much succeeds on its own terms. Hardcore Bush fans will appreciate it; newbies who may only know Hounds of Love and Aerial should certainly get this instead of The Red Shoes. Still, what Director’s Cut is not is a classic – or even proper – Kate Bush album. Some songs are far from her best, and it’s about as stylistically incoherent as you’d expect from a set consisting of bits of music recorded across four different decades. More to the point, was making this really a better use of Bush’s time than cracking on with Aerial’s follow up proper?

Still, at its best Director's Cut is a dazzling affirmation of Bush’s genius as songwriter, performer and producer. Maybe one day we'll take her for granted again. But not today”.

On 16th May, it is fourteen years since Kate Bush released her ninth studio album. The only time that she has reapproached older albums and reworked songs from them, it was a lot for some critics to get their heads around. It would have been great if there were more interviews with Kate Bush about the album. Not enough coverage of Director’s Cut. I love the promotional photos for the album. Bush treating it very seriously and presenting it as a new work. I am going to play Director’s Cut on 16th May. I am fascinated by the songs she chose and the way she recorded them. Many dismiss it as the runt of her output. I would strongly argue that Director’s Cut is more…

WORTHY than that.

FEATURE: Feminist Icons: Mikki Kendall

FEATURE:

 

 

Feminist Icons

PHOTO CREDIT: Dana Richards/Ettakitt 

Mikki Kendall

_________

CONTINUING this feature…

PHOTO CREDIT: Elaine Chung

and I wanted to spend some time with a feminist icon I have recently discovered. Someone whose work I am compelled to explore in depth. The Chicago-born author and activist is someone who you need to read. Mikki Kendall’s work focuses on, among other things, current events, the politics of food, and the history of the feminist movement. I am currently reading her most recent book, 2020’s Hood Feminism: Notes From the Women That a Movement Forgot. I want to highlight interviews with Kendall. An extraordinary voice and writer whose word have moved me. I want to start out with a fascinating 2020 interview from Esquire. An author who discussed “Breonna Taylor, coronavirus' disproportionate effect on women of color, and how feminism has to change”, one of the objectives of her work and Hood Feminism: Notes From the Women That a Movement Forgot is that people stop getting more and making sure everyone has enough:

“In Hood Feminism: Notes From the Women That a Movement Forgot, writer and feminist scholar Mikki Kendall writes, “We rarely talk about basic needs as a feminist issue. Food insecurity and access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues. Instead of a framework that focuses on helping women get basic needs met, all too often the focus is not on survival but on increasing privilege. For a movement that is meant to represent all women, it often centers on those who already have most of their needs met.”

This is the thesis of Hood Feminism, an urgent and essential text about the failure of modern feminism to address the needs of all but a few privileged women. Hood Feminism is a searing indictment of whitewashed, Lean In feminism, with Kendall calling for the movement to embrace inclusivity, intersectionality, and anti-racism. In powerful, eloquent essays, Kendall highlights how the movement’s myopia has failed Black women, Indigenous women, and trans women, among others, and how feminism must shift its focus away from increasing privilege in favor of solving issues that shape the daily lives of women everywhere.

As a long-overdue reckoning about racism and police brutality grips a nation already plagued by a pandemic, the issues of access and equality that Kendall highlights in Hood Feminism have been drawn into sharper relief. Women of color have been disproportionately targeted by the cascading effects of the pandemic, at once more likely to be unemployed and more likely to work in the line of fire as essential workers. So too are women of color subjected to police violence, with Black women suffering an epidemic of sexual assault at the hands of police officers. From her home in Chicago, Kendall spoke with Esquire about the murder of Breonna Taylor, the hard choices facing low-income women during the pandemic, and the lasting changes feminism must make in order to move into a bold, inclusive future.

Esquire: You write about how the feminism we too often see represented in the media is very privileged and whitewashed. How do we steer away from white, Girl Boss feminism and re-educate the public about the real meaning of feminism that can work for everybody?

Mikki Kendall: There's nothing wrong with wanting the power to change your life. However, there is something wrong with wanting the power to oppress other people, so the important thing is to shift the focus from feminism as opportunity for advancement of the individual back to feminism as opportunity for everyone. At the beginning of feminism, we were talking about opportunities for women as a whole, even though racism has always been a problem for feminism. We have to pivot back to the idea that equality for all is not the same as equality to oppress. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be a boss, but what kind of boss are you going to be? If you think, “I want to be in charge,” and your next thought isn't, “So I can pay my employees a living wage,” you need to ask yourself why you want to be in charge.

ESQ: You mention the beginning of feminism. What are some of the most common places that women's studies departments go wrong in how they teach feminist ideas and feminist history?

MK: One of the most common flaws is that the focus tends to be on the idea that white women invented feminism in the late 1800s. The Seneca Falls conference is often pegged as one of the first places where modern feminism happened, but the women they got those ideas from already had these rights. It's not that modern feminism was born when white women found out about it—it's that feminism was already happening in a lot of communities and was being oppressed.

The part that academic feminism erases is that low-income white women always had to work. Early big-name feminists like Susan B. Anthony came from a relatively privileged background; what they wanted was to be able to work in a way that allowed them to control their finances and their futures, because they were seeing other people with less have more power over their own lives. There’s a weird tendency in gender studies to situate the idea of equality in a place where upper middle-class white women discovered a concept as it was already happening for others, as opposed to situating it in a place where low-income women of color either already had it or were working toward it. Then well-off white women figured it out and took over what was already in the works.

ESQ: You write about how we have to unlearn the narratives of white supremacy, saying, “As feminists, we need to take critical, radical measures in listening to women in the poorest communities about what they want and need instead of projecting narratives of ignorance onto them.” What are those critical, radical measures of listening?

MK: Eve Ensler did a project where she was in the Congo going to see women who needed surgery to correct fistulas. She described in lurid detail what the rooms looked like and their lack of privacy, without considering that she was contributing to the lack of privacy. She was talking to the doctors, but she wasn't really listening to the women, because she wasn't really talking to the women. It was a really offensive piece, but it made me think: what might those women have to say about what was happening to their own bodies? We don't know. We barely even know their names. One of the radical things would be to consider that the world doesn't need you to speak for someone who was marginalized. The world needs you to give someone who was marginalized some money, and then to tell people to listen, and then to actually listen for yourself. Go from there in terms of what policies you vote for and what politicians you listen to, with the idea that the things that make life better for the folks with the least are more important than you having more of the excess you already have.

There was a woman in New York who was very upset because her kid had been studying for a test that was outlawed due to racial bias. She said it wasn’t about race, but it never seemed to click for her that she was upset because the playing field had been equaled. Her focus was on the fact that her kid wouldn’t get to be special, as opposed to the idea that maybe all the schools should be as good as this one or that all the kids should have access to opportunities. The radical pivot is to stop thinking about how to get more and to start thinking about how we can make sure everyone has enough. It sounds like a really simplistic idea, but as someone who's been parenting and dealing with public schools for a really long time, I’ve noticed how some of the things that come up at school board meetings make you realize: it's never occurred to people that maybe if every school was good, we wouldn't have to fight over space in these schools”.

There are a couple of other pieces I want to include before wrapping up. I am really looking forward to reading what Mikki Kendall writes next. There were some really interesting questions asked by Marie Clare in their 2020 interview. Kendall explained and discussed “how feminist movement has largely ignored women of color”. I would urge anyone who has not read Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women White Feminists Forgot to check it out. It is a book that, once picked up, you will not want to put down:

“MC: Was that a moment that helped shape your theory of feminism?

MK: Yes. But it's not like that was the only time—there have been various points in my life when I have felt like feminism was not for me or spoke to me. A lot of feminist texts, especially academically centered texts, engage with low income Black women who are single mothers like we're objects, like we're problems to solve.

I really wanted to talk about what I saw day to day, as opposed to what people think happens. There's this weird narrative that the hood is a terrible place, and that no one takes care of anyone and you're out there struggling by yourself. The reality for poverty, whether you're in the inner city or a rural area, is that you are with your community all the time. You're all working together, because otherwise you're not going to make it.

MD: You argue that feminism has largely ignored the problems that many Black women and women in poverty face: things like food security and education. Why is it crucial to view those problems through a feminist lens?

MK: When we say a feminist movement is for women, it's supposed to advance equality for all women. But then we say that these issues that only some women face [like food insecurity or education] are someone else's problem. Well, then we're not a movement for all women. We're a movement for women who want to be a CEO, we're a movement for women who want equality with white men. We're a movement for a lot of things, apparently, but we're not a movement for women who need support in their struggles. Then, mainstream feminism often turns to these women and says, Why aren't you showing up for us? Solidarity can't be a one way street.

We're a movement for a lot of things, apparently, but we're not a movement for women who need support in their struggles.

MC: Can you describe your relationship with the word solidarity?

MK: I think it's a great idea to have each other's backs, but it seems like often the actual having of the back is more likely to happen between communities of color and between feminists of color.

I feel like sometimes the concept of solidarity becomes a trap. It's not that it's take a penny, leave a penny in terms of support. I understand sometimes it's going to be 60–40. But when your idea is 99–1, that's not solidarity.

MC: Why is prioritizing intersectionality crucial?

MK: At this point, there's a weird sub narrative. We think somehow that all women are safer regardless of race, right? Really, women, especially women of color, aren't any safer [than men]. They're in more danger. And in some cases, like for indigenous women, there are higher levels of risk for certain crimes like sexual assault.

People are starting to realize that those women aren't safe. You can find any number of mainstream feminists who will be happy to tell you about the work they've done in the Congo or in India. Then when you start asking them about educational access in America, or about gun violence that particularly targets girls who are often of the same racial background as the ones that they feel like they can go save, [feminists] don't seem to recognize that [those American girls are] people. Some of that is definitely about being able to go and feed this white [savior] complex and feel good about yourself.

You might also have to face the fact that the people oppressing women of color are your neighbors. Are your relatives. Are you. There's a point where I think it's almost painful for feminism to look at the work it didn't do. It's easier in some ways to go clean up someone else's house than to clean your own”.

ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: QuickHoney

I am going to end with a feature from Chicago Mag from last month. I have not included everything from the feature, though I would encourage people to read it all. An author I am quite new to but am determined to explore in greater depth. Mikki Kendall’s background and upbringing was, at times, hugely challenging. The first point, where Kendall writes how spite is fuel is especially commendable and empassioned:

“■ Spite is fuel. People like to tell Black girls what they cannot and will never be able to do. And I’m like, Oh, OK, well, now I’m going to have to show you. There’s a saying, “Those who cannot hear will feel,” and I like to make sure people feel it.

■ When I wrote Hood Feminism, people said, “The hood’s not like this.” I don’t know what your experience was, but in my neighborhood, everybody knew everybody. The teachers knew our parents. My grandmother and my vice principal knew each other from school. There were these labyrinth interconnections where they went to the same churches. Not that it’s a good political practice, but a weird facet of segregation is that it binds people together.

■ When I was 8, an aunt’s ex-husband put a loaded gun to my head to make a point about money. He was going to shoot me. My other aunt was in her nightie with a bottle of barbecue sauce — Open Pit — and this man is going off because he’s decided her sister owes him money. He’s drunk. She tells him, essentially, “Motherfucker, if you crack it, I’m coming.” And she’s swinging this bottle of barbecue sauce. She’s five feet tall and a demon. I think he looked in her face and truly believed that even if he managed to kill me, he wasn’t leaving that house. I still don’t eat Open Pit.

■ I once told my grandmother, who was born in 1924, that I wanted to drop out of high school and take the GED. I was 15. She had just had a radical mastectomy, and I don’t know to this day how she did it, but that old lady raised up an arm that didn’t have no strength to choke the shit out of me. I got the full “Hope and the Dream of the Slave” speech. If I tell that to somebody Black of a certain generation, they’re going to be like, “Oh, you fucked up.”

■ Early on, I would get upset, and my husband would be like, “This is completely disproportionate to what is happening.” And I had to learn that everything doesn’t require the top of the pops, right? But then he met the rest of my family, and he was like, “Oh, you’re doing way better than I would expect”.

I will end things there. I want to give a bit of an introduction to Mikki Kendall. Go and read Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women White Feminists Forgot and also check out 2016’s Hidden Youth: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History and 2019’s Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women's Fight for Their Rights. A phenomenal writer who has dissected and discussed the history of the feminist movement, this is an essential voice that you…

NEED to know.

FEATURE: Feel Good Music: Gorillaz’s Demon Days at Twenty

FEATURE:

 

 

Feel Good Music

Gorillaz’s Demon Days at Twenty

_________

RANKED alongside…

the best albums of the 2000s, Gorillaz’s second studio album, Demon Days, turns twenty on 11th May. Its U.K. release was 23rd May but I am marking its release in Japan. Produced by Gorillaz, Danger Mouse, Jason Cox, and James Dring, it features De La Soul, Neneh Cherry, Martina Topley-Bird, Roots Manuva, MF DOOM, Ike Turner, Bootie Brown of the Pharcyde, Shaun Ryder and Dennis Hopper. I am going to get to some reviews about Demon Days. Reaching number one in the U.K. and several countries around the world, I think perception around the album has changed since its release. In 2005, there was a range of opinions. It is now seen as a classic and iconic. Maybe at the time it was seen as too weird, cartoonish and mad. Its subjects of guns, violence, corruption and greed are scarily relevant now. It is an album that was ahead of its time. In the lead-up to its twentieth anniversary, I am going to end with a couple of reviews for Demon Days. Before then, in 2005, Uncut spoke with Gorillaz’s Noodle and Murdoch:

“Every great band is destroyed by their success: cartoon bands are no exception.” Discuss…

Noodle: When many great bands start off they are uniquely oblivious to what makes them special, what makes that exceptional. When they become successful these reasons are pointed out to them. Their magic is analysed and explained to them by their fans, the press or the people surround them. Therefore it forces a change in them. Either the band

react against it, or try to imitate the elements that make them successful, or other people expect a change. Even the choice to ignore these explanations is a decision. It usually affects that chemistry of a band. It can never remain the same as that first initial unconscious period. Every great band will face destruction or must destroy themselves in order to..start again. Cartoon bands are no exception.

Murdoc: The trouble with great bands is they lose their edge, y’know? The get distracted, or they start writing. ballads, or they mellow out. You know what I’m talking about anyway. As soon as bands become big they invariably need to be brought down. They get complacent. However, cartoon bands are the exception.

Russel: Yeah that’s the difference. You don’t want a cartoon band to become a caricature of themselves.

2D: That would just be weird.

Murdoc: Bands just seem to screw it up at some stage for some reason. If

they don’t, well that’s just equally dull.

Any truth in the rumours that Murdoc wants to kick 2D’s head in for being such an irritatingly good-natured pretty boy?

Murdoc; Hey, I’d want to kick his head in even if he was ugly. You can’t blame it all on good looks.

Was Danger Mouse chosen to produce because of his skills or his name?

Russel: We would never be so flippant with our music as to choose a producer for any other reason than a mutual love and respect for music, and an incredible ability to execute the vision they had for the album.

Murdoc: Yeah. The name Dangermouse was just a bonus.

2D: So was the fact that he turned up with an eyepatch and a mate called Penfold.

Noodle: I was impressed with the work he had done on his own ‘Grey Album’ which I had downloaded from the Internet. It took a while to convince him to work with Gorillaz, but the album took a leap into the incredible when Mr. Mouse arrived. This would be around June 2004. Dangermouse and myself immediately began an intricate pre-production session.

Murdoc: This mainly involved playing table tennis and listening to a load of old electro records.

Noodle: His instinct and insight into music is very intuitive. He will pull out the necessary elements of a track and disguard the rest. In that way the music has an athletic, direct economy whilst still remaining full and rich. I fully expect Dangermouse to produce an impressive run of excellent albums over the next 10 years.

Murdoc: Pass us a biscuit Noodle. I’m getting a bit peckish.

How on earth did Dennis Hopper get involved in this madness?

Murdoc: Oh yeah. Right. Blame it on us. Like Dennis Hopper had spent his entire life in perfectly normal and sane surroundings until he got dragged into the big old nasty madness of the Gorillaz world. Christ! Why don’t you find some other scapegoat, Huh?

Russel: Noodle ran into him at some award show and it turns out he knew some Gorillaz tracks already. We told him what we were working on and then took it from there. He’s always been a symbol for a certain type of expression and free speech that suited the track we were working on. So he seemed a relevant choice for Gorillaz.

Murdoc: He’s always crashed his bike right into the palace of wisdom so we thought, ‘wait a sec I’ll just get my helmet.’

Noodle: The track he narrated was a serious tale or a nation of innocents whose happiness was destroyed by people infiltrating them, and trying to overtake them. As they had never seen aggression or this type of behavior before, they were unprepared. It awoke something in their society which destroyed them and their attackers. This story is read by Dennis Hopper on the album, and because of his history he seemed the right person to deliver it.

2D: Hmmm. And he was great in Speed as well”.

Led by Damon Albarn, I think some took a while to warm to Gorillaz. Perhaps not used to a group like this, it was odd embracing a virtual group. Their most recent album, Cracker Island, was released in 2023. I am going to get to a couple of reviews for Demon Days. NME shared their thoughts about an album that deserved a lot more respect than it got in 2005:

“If you were to invent a pop act right now, where would you begin? Well, human beings take too many drugs and start boo-hooing when they don’t get their own way, so you’d create something, like a cartoon character, to front the whole shebang. You’d do something to make sure The Kids’ parents didn’t understand the appeal – it’s the punk rock way, after all. And since we live in such modern times, you’d promote this new popstar not through the conventional channels, like the gig circuit or CD:UK, but through some semi-interactive platform, to really make the whole thing come alive. You’d pair your popstar with the world’s most can’t-get-out-of-your-headable tune, and once the entire project reached critical mass, you’d whack out a single. Congratulations: you’ve just invented the Crazy Frog. You are, to all intents and purposes, a cunt.

Of course, nobody would suggest that Damon Albarn is a cunt – he was far too pretty in his twenties to ever be truly hateable – but if you need proof of how far we’ve come since the first Gorillaz album dropped four years ago, look no further than how unextraordinary the band’s high concept shenanigans seem now. We don’t think, ‘Hold your horses, cartoon characters can’t make albums’ – we just wonder how Gorillaz sold so many albums in the states when 2D’s teeth were such a state. Gorillaz, now, are no more than a normal band. For this second album the music steps up a gear to compensate for that conceptual shortfall by conjuring a unique mix that’s darker but often more accessible than its predecessor and strutting around very much like the ultimate pop album, but that’s not the only significant development.

Where 2001’s ‘Gorillaz’ began life as an elaborate and self-indulgent vanity project and accidentally turned out to be quite good to the tune of six million copies sold, ‘Demon Days’ is, alongside the Coldplay album, one of 2005’s biggest bankers for EMI. None of this is a happy accident, and nothing has been left to chance. It speaks volumes that legal downloads of the splendid lead single ‘Feel Good Inc’ became chart eligible – thanks to a limited run of vinyl, issued to record shops simply to satisfy chart regulations – in the very week that downloads first qualified in the UK charts. Reckon Damon sat at home and thought of that one? Already, the Gorillaz’ return feels less like a group of mavericks operating in some musical wasteland on the edge of civilisationetcetcetc and more as if every boardroom in the Western world has sprung to life with marketing gurus scribbling ‘MAINSTREAM VS UNDERGROUND’, ‘ASDA BUYERS VS PUNK KIDZ’ on flipcharts. The biggest challenge, given the success of the first album, must undoubtedly have been this: how do you manufacture spontaneity?

They haven’t been short of ideas. Practicality, sadly, has got in the way of the band embarking on a series of gorilla gigs (although you should probably approach your local Dixons window display with caution over the next few months). Instead, a similarly self-conscious culture-jamming exercise was set in motion, through which a viral-type campaign encouraged fans to stick anti-celebrity ‘Reject False Icons’ stickers on billboards. One fan recently noted, in their online diary: “Since it’s so close to the actual release date I plan on going to the mall this week, and writing ‘Reject False Icons’ on some bathroom stalls. Have to do my part, and trust me, I’m not the only one who has done this… I’m part of a ‘team’ who does this kind of thing every day. Pretty exciting actually.”

‘Exciting.’ Make no mistake, this is as sophisticated and insidious as the ‘street teams’ orchestrated for bands like Busted and McFly, except at least that lot get a free frisbee for their troubles. Alongside (but hamfistedly at odds with) the ‘Reject False Icons’ campaign, Gorillaz also launched their ‘Search For A Star’ online campaign, which incorrectly billed itself as the first online-only talent search. Either it was Gorillaz’ intention to eventually tell applicants ‘Look, Michelle McManus isn’t really that bad – what you’ve done is exactly what she did’, or this supposed satire of the fame game was simply in place to have a laugh at the expense of the band’s fans. At the very least, those fans are being used to promote ‘Demon Days’, just like the fans who bought the ‘collectable’ limited edition ‘Feel Good Inc’ vinyl were used to create acres of publicity when the single charted.

Have those fans been cheated? Have we all been cheated? It all becomes irrelevant as soon as you press play, because beyond the mixed messages and startling lack of logic in the album’s promotion, ‘Demon Days’ may end 2005 as one of the year’s most celebrated albums. Before you even consider the sonic and melodic innovation paraded through the album there’s so much crammed into each of these fifteen songs (without any one of them sounding overproduced or cluttered) that repeated listening is a must. With ‘Demon Days’, repeated listening is like throwing a dolphin a fire escape – entertaining the first time, impossible to predict the outcome on each subsequent attempt. There’s always something new to enjoy.

Instrumental in this album’s charm is Dangermouse’s production, which propels the album far beyond the limits of its predecessor; the standard Gorillaz sonic motifs (light-headed dub, left-of-centre electronic flourishes, caricatured wailing from another planet and the irresistible thud of a thousand bass bins) remain, but there’s a seemingly unselfconscious desire from all parties to innovate within the realms of the modern pop song. They succeed at every turn, and the inevitable rolecall of guest stars keep it moving. With the exception of the London Community Gospel Choir, who’d arguably turn up to the recording of an envelope being opened, this is an unexpected and imaginatively-plucked succession of cameos, taking in De La Soul, Martina Topley-Bird, Neneh Cherry (on the droopily spectacular ‘Kids With Guns’), Roots Manuva (on ‘All Alone’, the most ‘Gorillaz’-sounding track on the album), Ike ‘nice guy’ Turner, Dennis Hopper… Even the score from ‘Dawn Of The Dead’ pops in to say a spooky hello at the album’s outset.

We also find Shaun Ryder sounding genuinely relevant for the first time in fifteen years, in an electronic pop masterpiece called ‘DARE’. With the arguable exception of ‘O Green World’ (whose chorus lyric, “Uhhh-uhhhhh-uuhhhhh-uhhhh-uh”, sounds like Jimmy Saville at the dentist), ‘DARE’ is the finest moment on an album which never drops below total brilliance: it’s got more hooks than a New Order bassist lookalike convention and will be absolutely everywhere this summer.

If you believe Gorillaz are genuinely inverting popular culture you probably also think Apple present some ‘cool’ sort of alternative to Microsoft, but while ‘Demon Days’ is as fastidiously packaged and cynically promoted as your average Shania Twain release, it’s an honest overview of the rarely-accepted fact that it never really is all about the music, even when the music’s this extraordinary. ‘Demon Days’ is also just a few IQ points away from being as clever as it thinks it is. Pretty clever”.

It is such a shame that features have not been written about Demon Days. The amazing second studio album by Gorillaz, I do hope that there is some celebration close to the anniversary. Released on 11th May, 2005 in Japan, this is an album I remember at the time and have loved ever since. I am going to end with a review from AllMusic. They made some interesting observations about Demon Days:

“Damon Albarn went to great pains to explain that the first Gorillaz album was a collaboration between him, cartoonist Jamie Hewlett, and producer Dan the Automator, but any sort of pretense to having the virtual pop group seem like a genuine collaborative band was thrown out the window for the group's long-awaited 2005 sequel, Demon Days. Hewlett still provides new animation for Gorillaz -- although the proposed feature-length film has long disappeared -- but Dan the Automator is gone, leaving Albarn as the unquestioned leader of the group. This isn't quite similar to Blur, a genuine band that faltered after Graham Coxon decided he had enough, leaving Damon behind to construct the muddled Think Tank largely on his own. No, Gorillaz were always designed as a collective, featuring many contributors and producers, all shepherded by Albarn, the songwriter, mastermind, and ringleader. Hiding behind Hewlett's excellent cartoons gave Albarn the freedom to indulge himself, but it also gave him focus since it tied him to a specific concept. Throughout his career, Albarn always was at his best when writing in character -- to the extent that anytime he wrote confessionals in Blur, they sounded stagy -- and Gorillaz not only gave him an ideal platform, it liberated him, giving him the opportunity to try things he couldn't within the increasingly dour confines of Blur. It wasn't just that the cartoon concept made for light music -- on the first Gorillaz album, Damon sounded as if he were having fun for the first time since Parklife. But 2005 is a much different year than 2001, and if Gorillaz exuded the heady, optimistic, future-forward vibes of the turn of the millennium, Demon Days is as theatrically foreboding as its title, one of the few pop records made since 9/11 that captures the eerie unease of living in the 21st century. Not really a cartoony feel, in other words, but Gorillaz indulged in doom and gloom from their very first single, "Clint Eastwood," so this is not unfamiliar territory, nor is it all that dissimilar from the turgid moodiness of Blur's 2003 Think Tank. But where Albarn seemed simultaneously constrained and adrift on that last Blur album -- attempting to create indie rock, yet unsure how since messiness contradicts his tightly wound artistic impulses -- he's assured and masterful on Demon Days, regaining his flair for grand gestures that served him so well at the height of Britpop, yet tempering his tendency to overreach by keeping the music lean and evocative through his enlistment of electronica maverick Danger Mouse as producer.

Demon Days is unified and purposeful in a way Albarn's music hasn't been since The Great Escape, possessing a cinematic scope and a narrative flow, as the curtain unveils to the ominous, morose "Last Living Souls" and then twists and winds through valleys, detours, and wrong paths -- some light, some teeming with dread -- before ending up at the haltingly hopeful title track. Along the way, cameos float in and out of the slipstream and Albarn relies on several familiar tricks: the Specials are a touchstone, brooding minor key melodies haunt the album, there are some singalong refrains, while a celebrity recites a lyric (this time, it's Dennis Hopper). Instead of sounding like musical crutches, this sounds like an artist who knows his strengths and uses them as an anchor so he can go off and explore new worlds. Chief among the strengths that Albarn relies upon is his ability to find collaborators who can articulate his ideas clearly and vividly. Danger Mouse, whose Grey Album mash-up of the Beatles and Jay-Z was an underground sensation in 2004, gives this music an elasticity and creeping darkness than infects even such purportedly lighthearted moments as "Feel Good Inc." It's a sense of menace that's reminiscent of prime Happy Mondays, so it shouldn't be a surprise that one of the highlights of Demon Days is Shaun Ryder's cameo on the tight, deceptively catchy "Dare." Over a tightly wound four minutes, "Dare" exploits Ryder's iconic Mancunian thug persona within territory that belongs to the Gorillaz -- its percolating beat not too far removed from "19/2000" -- and that's what makes it a perfect distillation of Demon Days: by letting other musicians take center stage and by sharing credit with Danger Mouse, Damon Albarn has created an allegedly anonymous platform whose genius ultimately and quite clearly belongs to him alone. All the themes and ideas on this album have antecedents in his previous work, but surrounded by new collaborators, he's able to present them in a fresh, exciting way. And he has created a monster album here -- not just in its size, but in its Frankenstein construction. It not only eclipses the first Gorillaz album, which in itself was a terrific record, but stands alongside the best Blur albums, providing a tonal touchstone for this decade the way Parklife did for the '90s. While it won't launch a phenomenon the way that 1994 classic did -- Albarn is too much a veteran artist for that and the music is too dark and weird -- Demon Days is still one hell of a comeback for Damon Albarn, who seemed perilously close to forever disappearing into his own ego”.

I am going to finish there. A remarkable album with some incredible collaborators and standout cuts. I am not sure whether there is a special anniversary reissue coming along. Demon Days deserves it. An album that is now seen as influential and important, that wasn’t the general feeling in 2005. In my opinion, Gorillaz’s second studio album is a…

REMARKABLE work.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Revisited: Lola Young

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight: Revisited

Lola Young

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THIS is an interesting period…

PHOTO CREDIT: Sophie Jones

for Lola Young. I included her in my Spotlight feature years ago so I wanted to revisit her now. Last year’s Messy EP gained a lot of praise. I know that there will be more material coming this year. Her track, Messy, is a song that has been described as an ADHD anthem. A song where Lola Young asks why she can’t just be herself. An honest and raw song that has resonated with so many people. I am going to get to some interviews with Lola Young. If you have not heard her 2024 album, This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway, then I would thoroughly recommend it. I am going to start out with an interview from last year from Atwood Magazine:

“Unapologetic in every sense of the word, the 23-year-old singer/songwriter from Croydon, South London, has been spilling her guts in song for five years now. She made a splash with 2023’s major label debut album My Mind Wanders and Sometimes Leaves Completely, yet it’s with this year’s sophomore record – the critically acclaimed This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway, released June 21st via A Day One / Island Records – that she has transcended the local scene to become somewhat of a beloved cult figure in the alternative and pop worlds.

The attitude Young displays in songs like “Messy,” “Conceited,” “Wish You Were Dead,” and “F***” is infectious and undeniable; she holds nothing back in asserting her unfiltered, charismatic self, blending raw vulnerability with youthful vigor and charm through songs that fuse her emotionally charged, soul-soaked voice with indie rock and alternative pop instruments.

This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway - Lola Young

This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway – Lola Young

You know I’m impatient

So why would you leave me

waiting outside the station

When it was like minus four degrees?

And I, I get what you’re sayin’

I just really don’t wanna hear it right now

Can you shut up for like once in your life?

Listen to me, I took your nice words of advice

About how you think I’m gonna die

lucky if I turn thirty-three

Ok, so yeah, I smoke like a chimney

I’m not skinny

and I pull a Britney every other week

But cut me some slack,

who do you want me to be?

– “Messy,” Lola Young

“This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway captures where I am now,” Young tells Atwood Magazine. “It’s more confident, more honest, and slightly more unapologetic, although I have always been unapologetic in my writing. However, this album feels like I’ve embraced my vulnerabilities even more so; I’ve really explored some deeper parts of myself, and I think you can massively hear that in the music.”

Young wrote and recorded This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway with American singer/songwriter and record producer Jared Solomon, who goes by Solomonophonic (credits include Remi Wolf, BROCKHAMPTON, Dominic Fike). She describes it as a contemporary break-up album, encapsulating “the sound of what it means to be young and in constant romantic chaos.”

“Honestly, the songs just poured out of me,” she explains. “I didn’t plan on releasing another album so soon, but once I started writing, it felt like they needed to be out there. There were things I wanted to say, and when I met Jared, something just clicked and it felt right to start writing again. I wanted to capture this moment in my life while it was still fresh.”

“This album is a collection of experiences and emotions from a period of an intense romantic journey,” she continues. “It’s about the highs and lows, the moments of clarity and confusion. It’s my way of navigating through the chaos of young love and finding some sort of meaning in it all… and I’m still trying to find out if there is any!”

And I’m sick of your puppy eyes

You said boys should never cry

Well, surprise, I bet no one’s ever told you

You bought me some flowers,

I gave them to someone else

Told me that you loved me,

you’re just talking to yourself

I don’t wanna know,

I don’t wanna hear it

Let yourself out,

you’re so conceited

– “Conceited,” Lola Young

As spellbinding and seductive in sound as it is fearless in size and scope, This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway is a cinematic, multi-faceted fever dream from one of the music world’s fastest-rising artists-to-watch.

An ambitious and triumphant record (she herself describes it as ‘”raw, honest, and unapologetic”), Lola Young’s sophomore album emphatically establishes her as a singular and unique voice in the modern zeitgeist.

Atwood Magazine recently caught up with the singer/songwriter for a candid, in-depth conversation about finding her voice and making her second LP. Dive into This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway below as Lola Young digs into her songs, her inspirations, and what she hopes audiences gain from her music.

“I hope listeners take away a sense of empowerment,” she smiles. “This album is about finding strength in vulnerability and embracing who you are, flaws and all. For me, creating this album has been a journey of self-discovery and healing, and I hope it connects with others in a similar way.”

“For me, it’s a daily struggle, but I’ve learned that the most important thing is to stay true to who I am, even if it is super ‘messy’!”.

When speaking with Vogue at the end of last year, Lola Young discussed her Gen-Z anthem, Messy, and remaining grounded. Latter in the year, Young will play some incredible festivals. Here and in the U.S. Her phenomenal music will connect with people around the world. An artist who is going to be influencing people for many years to come:

“I think “Messy” is really resonating with people because they crave that authenticity and your point of view. And of course there’s been the whole Sofia Richie Grainge and Kylie Jenner thing. What goes through your head when you see something like that?

Well, to be fair, I would say the TikToks are the least exciting part about it, if I’m honest. Kylie Jenner… like, that’s a really good promotional thing. Obviously I didn’t ask her to use my song, but in terms of having things move forward, it’s been kind of amazing. And the Sofia Richie Grainge trend is really funny and weird. But I think what’s really exciting is that the song’s in the Top 40 UK charts and global charts. That feels like a milestone. I’ve had Kylie Jenner use my sound before. I’ve had a viral moment on TikTok before – although obviously this does feel slightly different. It is such a wonderful feeling, having something you’ve worked so hard for pay off. I never used to think people listened to my music, but they do.

I liked something you said in your Wonderland interview about the making of an anthem: “Anthems aren’t just pop songs, they start with something else and then become a pop song.” I think that’s super interesting, especially in an era where it feels like everyone’s looking to release the next big hit.

I just don’t think about it. I don’t write to write a hit. If you look at all the artists that have a legacy – Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Charli xcx will have a legacy because of their work – they don’t go into the studio saying “I’m going to write a hit song, and this is the hit song.” And no label or A&R knows what’s going to be a hit song. You can think it’s going to be a hit and then something else is a hit song or vice versa. It doesn’t really matter. Charli even said that she didn’t think Brat was going to touch anybody. You just write from your heart – or just put out something that you believe in, it doesn’t even have to be that deep. It takes time to evolve as an artist. It also takes time to go, “You know what? I’m confident in this. I’m confident in what I do.”

I’ve seen videos of people at your shows crying and singing along in the audience. How does that feel?

It’s such a weird feeling. Sometimes I get really emotional about it, and other days I’m just like, “This is my life now.” This is something I’ve been waiting for my whole life, and then when it starts to happen, it is a very weird feeling. I can’t get too close to that weird feeling because then it might affect me, like, “What the fuck? Where’s this going? What’s going to happen?” Also, I would say the growth has been slow. I used to say back in the day that I don’t want to call [my followers] fans. I only want to call them followers. And then I realised I just didn’t have any fans. When you actually have fans, you then realise that these are people who don’t know you but are really into you and want to drop everything and watch everything. That’s a powerful thing to have.

You appeared on Tyler The Creator’s new album Chromakopia. How did that come about?

Well, he messaged me with an emoji and the words “Uncle Steve” or something, and I freaked the fuck out. I was in LA and this was before “Messy” and whatever. My album wasn’t even out and I actually almost shat myself and then I messaged him something back. I thought he was talking about a meme, but he’s just a fucking weirdo. I was searching through the internet for memes about “Uncle Steve”? Then we had a conversation about sandwiches, and he was like, you should come to LA. Eventually I went to the studio. He’s just actually a living genius.

I have to ask: what was on your Spotify Wrapped?

Well, I use Apple Music as my primary thing, so I didn’t look at my Wrapped, but it probably would’ve been Frank Ocean. I’m listening to a lot of trap at the moment – Tyler The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt as well. “Casual” by Chappell Roan and “Bed Chem” by Sabrina Carpenter were my favourites from their albums”.

There are a couple of other interviews I want to get to before finishing off. Nominated for Best Pop Act at this year’s BRIT Awards – she lost out to Jade -, Lola Young saw Messy reach number one in the U.K. in January. The BBC spoke with an artist who highlighted how her songs were as real as they get. Now there is this new momentum behind her music, this could be her breakout year:

“South London singer Lola Young's unflinchingly honest hit Messy has reached number one in the UK after a two-month climb, and she's been nominated for a Brit Award. Now she's made a breakthrough, this could be her year.

Lola Young jumps into a car, laughing uncontrollably as she flashes a brand new set of shiny gold teeth.

"I just got grills fitted," she explains once she's regained her composure. "But they're like so intense, so you're rocking with this today, and a lisp."

She's been running a few minutes late for the interview and this explains why - so she can finish getting her dental jewellery accessories fitted,, external with which she seems extremely pleased.

The screen suddenly freezes. The car she's in is somewhere in the US and the reception has cut out.

Young made her US TV debut on Jimmy Fallon's talk show, external the night before, which followed a whirlwind trip to Australia, and she'll soon set off on a sold-out European tour. She's talking on Zoom as her manager drives her to the next stop on her schedule.

Young sang Messy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday

Travelling the world and in high demand, but making time to get a full set of solid gold teeth grills fitted - she's living a proper pop star's life.

And she is now a proper pop star. After several years of almost making it - she sang on the 2021 John Lewis advert, was on the BBC Sound of 2022 list and had glowing reviews for her two albums - Messy has given her a bona fide hit.

The song became inescapable at the end of 2024 and completed its climb to the top of the charts on Friday.

The 24-year-old is the first current British artist to have a UK number one since Chase and Status and Stormzy in August, the youngest to do so since Dave in 2022, and the youngest British woman to score a chart-topper since Dua Lipa in 2017.

Her number one came a day after she was nominated for best pop act at the Brit Awards.

"The response has been amazing and it's been really exciting to see all the love that Messy has been receiving," says Young after reconnecting the call.

"I love the song, it's a song I wrote that's really personal and really important to me. So I'm really happy that it's resonating so much."

Young will play the Coachella and Reading and Leeds festivals this summer

Messy was released on Young’s second album This Wasn't Meant For You Anyway last May.

Its trajectory was supercharged when superstar US influencers Sofia Richie Grainge and Jake Shane posted a 14-second TikTok clip of themselves dancing to its chorus. Young's song has now been used in 1.3 million videos on the platform - from Kylie Jenner lip-syncing as a dog, to a viral clip of an old woman vaping and holding a pint alongside the caption "94 and still messy".

The singer would like to point out that the track's success is not simply down to TikTok, however.

"That's not necessarily how it blew up. I would like to say that the song was blowing up before TikTok, and it was having its moment elsewhere. A lot of things contributed to the success.

"The TikTok thing is great. I don't make music for TikTok. I make music for myself and for my fans, but the Sofia Richie thing is just one element of how well it did in every aspect.

"But yeah, it's been great to see every side of it."

Contradictions

The track was indeed starting to gain traction before finding TikTok virality, and has only done so well because it is more than a mere meme.

Its lyrics, about never being good enough for someone whatever you do, have connected deeply with fans. "I want to be me, is that not allowed?" she implores.

"I guess it's because the song speaks to so many people in terms of, I'm talking about the idea that there's two sides of a person, the contradictions," Young says.

The song captures how it is "to basically feel like you're not enough for somebody and also in turn not enough for yourself".

Amid the craziness of success, there's some relief that she has now reached the next level in her career.

"I mean, I feel like it's the right time," the singer says. "It's been a minute, but also it does feel like the right time for me."

Young has also recently featured on Tyler, the Creator’s well-received album Chromakopia”.

I am going to finish off with an interview from NME. Conducted whilst she was at the BRITs, I think we are going to see Lola Young collect lots of awards and headline festivals soon enough. An artist who speaks to so many people. A role model for sure. If you are unfamiliar with her then I would urge you to see out her music:

“The singer, songwriter and former NME Cover star spoke to us while on the BRITs 2025 red carpet, and discussed how ‘Messy’ became one of the biggest singles of the past 12 months.

“I think it’s the idea that you don’t have to be this thing that stereotypers want women to be,” she began. “It’s not even just that though, because everyone can feel like they’re not enough for somebody. ‘I want to be me, is that not allowed?’ – that’s a great lyric! I’m very proud of it and it feels like it’s resonating with people on a wider scale [than I expected].”

“I’m just taking it all in my stride and taking each day as it comes. I’m really proud of the song,” she added.

She also opened up about her recent cover of The Cure’s iconic single ‘Close To Me’, which she shared last month as part of triple j’s Like A Version series.

“I love The Cure. I love the weird [blend] of it being nostalgic but still feeling current,” she explained. “I think they’re an incredible band.”

At the 2025 BRITs ceremony, Young also took to the stage to perform her viral hit, and was nominated in the Best Pop Act category alongside Charli XCX, Dua Lipa and Rising Star winner Myles Smith. The award went to JADE, and marked the singer’s first BRIT trophy since launching a solo career.

The Cure were also up for several awards on the night – becoming their first nominations at the BRITs in three decades. They received nods in Best Rock Act, Group Of The Year and Mastercard Album Of The Year for ‘Songs Of A Lost World’, but ultimately went home empty handed, leading to fans sharing their frustrations online.

You can find a full list of the night’s winners here.

As for Lola Young, last summer, the singer’s debut album, ‘This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway’, was given a glowing five-star review from NME, and described as “the most distinctive and daring realisation of her experimental tendencies yet”.

One of our most remarkable artists, the stunning Lola Young is going to have a very busy rest of 2025. After featuring Young a while ago, I have really enjoyed her music since. Someone who keeps growing and evolving, she will continue to get stronger. Such a talented songwriter and performer, make sure that you follow…

THE wonderful Lola Young.

____________

Follow Lola Young

PHOTO CREDIT: Sophie Jones

Official:

https://www.lola-young.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/lolayounggg/

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@lolayounggg

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/67FB4n52MgexGQIG8s0yUH?si=fdfoCYBETzetDZMt4Kb7-A

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCytDCxKs_rP8sBXjLmEs8jA

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/lolayoungmusic/

FEATURE: Walk of Life: Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms at Forty

FEATURE:

 

 

Walk of Life

Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms at Forty

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LOOKING ahead…

IN THIS PHOTO: Dire Straits performing with Sting at Live Aid in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: Shutterstock

to 17th May, that is when Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms turns forty. Their most acclaimed album, I wanted to spend some time with it ahead of its anniversary. A chance to go inside an album whose huge hits, including Money for Nothing and Walk of Life, mark it out as one of the best albums of the 1980s. A huge commercial success that went to number one around the world (including their native U.K. and in the U.S.), there is no denying the legacy and importance of Brothers in Arms. The fifth studio album from the band, it was the first album in history sell over a million copies on C.D. A truly massive chart success, Brothers in Arms also was the first album evert to be certified ten-time platinum in the U.K. It also won the Best British Album prize at the 1987 BRIT Awards. I am going to get to some reviews soon enough. I want to start out with this feature from 2024. They celebrate the fact that Brothers in Arms was an album that connected with millions of people. Dire Straits could not have foreseen how successful their fifth studio album would become:

“No one, not even Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits themselves, could have anticipated what happened when they released their new album on May 13, 1985. It went on to top the US chart for nine weeks, became a global No.1, a double Grammy-winner and has sold an estimated 30 million copies worldwide. After the preview of the single “So Far Away,” May 25 was the date that year that Brothers In Arms made its debut on the UK listings.

In America, the album also gave Dire Straits a residency on pop radio and on MTV, as “Money For Nothing” hit No.1 on the Hot 100. Brothers also became the first million-selling compact disc, and generated a tour that ran to a total of 248 gigs in 117 cities. In the week that it entered the US chart at No.54, it fell to No.3 after its first two weeks at No.1 in the UK (there would be 12 more, later) but continued at the summit in Australia.

Now happy to be touring in a more manageable way in his own name and with his current, stellar band, Knopfler has come to realise that the enormous scale of that mid-1980s tour couldn’t be sustained. “I always want to go everywhere but you can’t, you have to cut it down a bit,” he said some years ago.

“We used to do all these enormous tours but I think I was sort of running away, and you can’t really run away,” he went on. “These tours end and you have to come back, But now I don’t want to run away, I just want to do a reasonable length of tour and then come home again”.

I want to go back to 2015 and Ultimate Classic Rock’s thirtieth anniversary feature around Brothers in Arms. They note how the band’s fourth studio album, Love Over Gold, subverted critical expectations. Brothers in Arms shattered them altogether. An album that is still being talked about and played widely to this day:

“But before it topped charts, sold millions and won Grammys, Brothers in Arms had a fairly humble birth. After working the songs out with the band in rehearsal, Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler took the group and co-producer Neil Dorfsman out to AIR Studios on the Caribbean island of Montserrat — a setting that proved idyllic in some ways and frustrating in others.

"It was pretty torturous," Dorfsman told Sound on Sound. "It was a good-sounding studio, but the main room itself was nothing to write home about. ... Still, we crowded everybody in there, recording with at least three or four guys on every tune, while I built little rooms out of gobos and baffles and blankets."

What saved the tracks — and helped make Brothers in Arms a benchmark recording for the early years of the nascent digital era — was the studio's Neve console, which combined with the overall Montserrat vibe to produce a purity of sound as well as intent. "It was a great place to hang out and it was very relaxed, so you could focus on what you were doing," explained Dorfsman. "And the board was so good that anything you put through it just sounded great."

One notable exception to that rule proved to be drummer Terry Williams' playing, which Dorfsman immediately found lacking — an opinion that, as the weeks dragged on, Knopfler came to share. Although Williams wasn't fired from the band, he was eventually dismissed from the sessions and replaced by Omar Hakim, then a member of Sting's Blue Turtles band.

While he acknowledged that he could have handled the situation more delicately, Dorfsman stood by the results, which he recalled making an immediate difference as soon as Hakim knocked out his first drum track — the start of a quick two days of work that ended with him replacing all of Williams' performances except his crescendos during the "Money for Nothing" intro.

"Omar is very, very confident as a musician and as a person, and what he brought to it was exactly what it needed, which was kind of a kick in the butt," said Dorfsman. "We were there in Montserrat, it was beautiful, there was a lot of swimming, a lot of hanging out, and basically we got into a thing where the energy slowly ebbed away. It was like being on a vacation for a while and losing a little bit of edge without even realizing it. The music needed that energy and we weren't really getting it. We weren't vibing at all, but then I remember Omar coming in and it was like a bulldozer — New York attitude, New York energy."

Hakim's presence wasn't the only Sting connection on the record. For "Money for Nothing," a tongue-in-cheek dismissal of the rock star lifestyle that Knopfler penned after overhearing a "hard-hat type" complaining in a department store while MTV played in the background on a wall of TVs, Knopfler reached out to Sting to sing a refrain that set the words "I want my MTV" to the tune of the Police hit "Don't Stand So Close to Me." Coupled with the song's distinctive video, it added up to the band's biggest single.

Also aiding Brothers in Arms' steady ascent to No. 1 on the charts was Knopfler and Dorfsman's decision to record using a digital deck. Although the album wasn't completely digital, it came close enough to be marketed as one of the few titles whose sonics took advantage of the new CD format's capability for cleaner sound, and the sales bore that out: Brothers became the first record to move a million compact discs, and the first whose CD sales outmatched its LP's. For a variety of reasons, it was the right album at the right time — not that Knopfler ever professed to understand the huge surge in popularity that followed.

"It was a sheer fluke," Knopfler said years later. "If it hadn't been that album, it would have been something else. It was just an accident of timing. It got connected: 'Brothers in Arms' was the first CD single, or so I'm told, and I suppose it was one of the first CD albums. ... Plus, we had a couple of hits in America – 'Money for Nothing' and 'Walk of Life' – so it got connected with the American success, but people will always want to make something like that into something else completely."

As many artists have discovered, that level of success isn't always everything it's cracked up to be, and Dire Straits' quietly literate brand of rock was never really made for the arena-sized platform they commanded after Brothers in Arms. As the band's profile continued to grow, Knopfler viewed their increased fortune with a certain amount of alarm.

"We just picked the ball up and ran with it. Which is what most kids do when that happens," Knopfler told Barney Hoskyns in 2004. "And that’s fine. We had a really good run. It did get big, and I just felt that it got too big to be real and to be manageable. I think there’s an optimum size for things. I’m a pretty slow learner, so it probably just took me a bit longer than most sensible people to get the sense of proportion right”.

The first of two reviews I want to highlight is from Pitchfork. In 2020, they reviewed the box set, The Studio Albums 1978-1991 / Dire Straits / Communiqué / Making Movies / Love Over Gold / Brothers in Arms / On Every Street. It was interesting what they had to say about Dire Straits’ commercial smash. It is a classic album that did get some mixed reviews. Some critics not completely on board:

“Songs came crashing back into the spotlight on Brothers in Arms. Stripping away the excesses of Love Over Gold, Dire Straits distilled a shimmering, atmospheric sound that could withstand industrial-strength rock’n’roll, cowboy laments, and heartache alike. That delicate balance between songcraft and austere atmosphere is key to the album’s phenomenal success: It could appeal to traditionalists and modernists alike. Some of Knopfler’s sturdiest songs are here, such as the pining “So Far Away” and “Why Worry,” a tune so lovely the Everly Brothers covered it soon after its release. Listening to Brothers in Arms decades later, its moodiness is striking, particularly when Knopfler’s guitar glides atop Clark’s keyboards; this is the sound modern acolytes like the War on Drugs and Jason Isbell have adopted as their own.

Brothers in Arms is also home to “Money for Nothing” and “Walk of Life,” a pair of smash singles that helped sustain Dire Straits’ popularity into the 1990s. Like “Industrial Disease” before it, “Walk of Life” is the rockin’ anomaly on Brothers in Arms, but its cheerful, old-time rock’n’roll became a standard on screen and in sports arenas alike. As popular as it was, “Walk of Life” was overshadowed by “Money for Nothing,” a screed against music videos cannily given a cutting-edge video that made it a staple on MTV. Sung from the gruff perspective of a blue-collar appliance installer who can’t believe musicians draw a paycheck, the song theoretically gives the songwriter license to portray his character’s homophobia in the third person, but the song’s verse about the “little faggot with the earring and the makeup” is jarring and distasteful. Heard in close proximity to “Les Boys,” it’s hard to hear it as simply Knopfler singing in character, the way his idol Randy Newman did on “Rednecks."

Some critics did call out Knopfler about this “Money for Nothing” verse back in 1985—Robert Christgau noted the singer-songwriter somehow got the word on the radio “with no static from the PMRC”—and Canadian radio ultimately banned the song in 2011. The controversy may dog Dire Straits, but it’s never quite tarnished the group, possibly because Brothers in Arms was simply too big: It was certified platinum 14 times in the UK, nine times in the U.S. The record’s success afforded the group the opportunity to take an extended hiatus, allowing Mark Knopfler to pursue his country-rock busman’s holiday the Notting Hillbillies and cut a duet album with his hero Chet Atkins in 1990”.

I am going to end with this review from Subjective Sounds. If you are new to the album or have not heard it for a while then I would advise you to listen to it now. I heard this album when I was a child and have loved it ever since. Even if some critics have taken against it, you cannot deny how millions took Brothers in Arms to heart. Some minor quibbles aside – such as the homophobic slur in the lyrics for Money for Nothing -, it remains this exceptional album that took Dire Straits to new heights and worldwide:

“Released in 1985, Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms was not only a defining moment in the band’s career, but it was a landmark release. With its blend of poignant songwriting, intricate guitar work, and state-of-the-art production, the album resonates as a timeless masterpiece with an equally compelling piece of cover art that blends perfectly with the music.

While the fanfare surrounding this record is absolutely justified, it’s an album that has long divided music lovers and audiophiles for there are so many different versions (masterings) that one needs to question if it is the sonic quality, or the music itself, that should be at the forefront when listening to Brothers In Arms.

Here at Subjective Sounds, you’ll get both perspectives, but I do lean towards the music rather than sonic prowess alone. Let’s start with the formats, and then discuss the music, shall we?

With over 500 versions of Brothers In Arms listed on Discogs, one would rightfully find selecting a definitive edition to be tricky, if not impossible. While I obviously can’t review every release, I’ll give you my thoughts based on the versions I’ve been fortunate to have listened to.

The releases include:

• The Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab 2015 release (MFSL 2-441)

• The 20th Anniversary Vertigo (9871498) Hybrid SACD edition

• The Apple Music 16-bit/44.1kHz ALAC lossless stream

What’s most interesting, however, is that the Hybrid SACD contains not only the CD version of the album but also the HDCD, SACD Stereo 2.0 mix, and the SACD 5.1 Surround Sound Mix. That single disc has so many different versions on it that it really showcases just how well the Hybrid SACD format could be utilised for a mass market release; a release that could appeal to all music lovers, rather than just audiophiles.

While multiple options are (usually) a good thing, sometimes there can be too much of a good thing and in this instance, less is more. Yes, dear reader, I drove myself to the point of insanity, listening to every version and the truth is that I couldn’t pick a winner for each exhibited their own uniqueness and none were what I would consider to be flawed. Certainly, I had my preferences, but I could never quite lock one in; until now.

So, which version did I prefer and why?

I chose to go with the lossless Apple Music stream. Blasphemy, I hear you say. The problem was I was listening for faults and minute elements rather than simply enjoying the music. Plus, when all else fails, sometimes good enough is…good enough.

Nevertheless, I’ll give a brief rundown on my experiences with the two physical versions, for those of you who may, or may not, wish to go through the torturous process of deciding which version you’d subjectively feel is better. And, yes, if you’ve put more money into your turntable setup than your SACD et al gear, that will be the one to go for, and vice versa.

Let’s start with the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MOFI) edition; for it is magnificent. While I don’t condone MOFI’s deceit regarding the master tape sources they used, along with using a digital intermediary, the sonic reproduction, of this release, speaks for itself as you will be enveloped in the soundstage from the very first note to the last. Every musical element is positioned exactly where it should be and regardless of the volume you choose to play the album at, it’s going to sound incredible. While it isn’t necessarily affordable, although what is these days, if you’re after a record that will make your turntable sing, this is one you should certainly consider. You do have to deal with flipping the record over after two songs, however; a by-product of the album being pressed at 45rpm. Of course, original releases truncate some of the album’s greatest songs in order to have had it fit comfortably on a regular 33.3rpm release, so there will always be a tradeoff when it comes to vinyl editions.

As with all MOFI releases, the outer sleeve is thick, so much so that one would need to be determined to damage it before the sleeve would fall apart. It’s a lovely reproduction, even if the gatefold inner artwork is a little on the blander side.

So Far Away opens the album with a clean and steady rhythm that is largely unassuming but equally compelling. Setting the tone for the music to come, So Far Away is not only an enduring classic but its relaxed groove will appeal to just about any music lover as it sounds deceptively simple, yet its melodic sophistication ensures that it’s timeless.

Money For Nothing is, without a doubt, the most iconic track from the album with one of the most recognisable guitar riffs in rock history. This is pop-rock at its finest and despite being released in the mid-80s, no element pigeonholes it to that era. Much could be said about this landmark tune, including the often criticised controversial lyrics, but it’s in the listening that will determine one’s interest in Money For Nothing. So, take a listen and rock out for Dire Straits doesn’t get much better than this.

Walk Of Life lifts the tone of the album with its upbeat organ tuning and the song’s infectious rhythm. Providing a lighter, more playful counterpoint to much of the album’s introspective tone, Walk Of Life is a joyous track that has long been a fan favourite and a staple in Dire Straits’ live performances.

Your Latest Trick immediately sets itself apart from Walk Of Life, yet it doesn’t sound out-of-place in the album’s linear structure. Your Latest Trick is very much jazz meets soft rock, with lush instrumental arrangements and an intricate interplay between all musical elements. While it may not have set the charts on fire, when released as the final single from the album, it’s amongst Dire Straits’ greatest recordings and harkens back to their earlier releases, just with a tad more production and layered musicality.

Why Worry? is tender, meditative, and despite clocking in at eight minutes, I never tire of it and could listen to this song on repeat indefinitely. The soothing melody, combined with Knopfler’s gentle guitar work and delicate arrangement, makes this beautiful song a hidden gem.

Ride Across The River paints a vivid sonic landscape, one built on a foundation of Latin-inspired percussion and atmospheric synthesisers. The song is so immersive that it creates a cinematic listening experience and, despite being an album-only tune, is a core reason why Brothers In Arms is so respected.

The Man's Too Strong has a stark acoustic arrangement before delving into a more dramatic dynamic that will draw you in instantly. As it pertains to the various editions of this album, it’s songs such as this that can either make or break the record as the crescendo tends to be ear-piercing and shrill. In fairness, the Apple Music stream doesn’t deliver the low-end boldness that is heard on the vinyl release, but at the very least it doesn’t grind my senses.

One World injects a funky upbeat groove into the album. Its lively tempo and rhythmic interplay make it a refreshing change of pace; one that will find you toe-tapping and head-bopping along to this incredible tune.

Brothers In Arms is a hauntingly beautiful ballad that features one of Knopfler’s most emotive guitar performances and serves as a poignant closer to one of the greatest albums ever recorded.

Ultimately, Brothers In Arms is more than just a collection of songs, it’s an artistic statement that has stood the test of time; one that has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. With its seamless blend of rock, jazz, and blues influences, there’s little doubt as to why this landmark release was not only so well received, but is amongst the greatest albums released in 1985”.

On 17th May – though some sources say 13th May -, Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms turns forty. A global smash that took the band to number one in so many countries, I hope it gets new celebration and affection nearer its anniversary. There is going to be an anniversary reissue that fans can pre-order now. From standout cuts like Walk of Life and Money for Nothing through to the less-played So Far Away and The Man’s Too Strong, this exceptional album still holds so much power…

FORTY years later.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: A Stevie Wonder Playlist

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

PHOTO CREDIT: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Art of Elysium

A Stevie Wonder Playlist

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MY second Digital Mixtape…

in as many days, there is a special reason for this one. It has just been announced that the legendary Stevie Wonder will headline BST Hyde Park 2025. He is also embarking on his LOVE, LIGHT & SONG U.K. tour. Because of that, I wanted to do a career-spanning playlist. One that reveals the full scope of his genius. It will be an incredible experience seeing him on the stage. Before getting to the mixtape, NME report the news of some exciting dates. Even if you are not a massive Stevie Wonder fan then you will want to catch him. It will be as life-altering experience:

“Stevie Wonder is set to headline London’s BST Hyde Park 2025 as part of his ‘LOVE, LIGHT & SONG’ UK tour. Find all the details below.

The tour will take the legendary singer-songwriter to cities across the UK including Lytham, Birmingham, Cardiff, London and Manchester, with the summer trek set to kick off with a headline performance at Lytham Festival on July 3.

From there, he’ll head to Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena, Birmingham’s Utilita Arena and Cardiff’s Blackweir Fields, before wrapping things up in London with a headline BST Hyde Park concert on July 12.

Marking his third appearance at the festival, the soul legend will take to the Great Oak stage on July 12, with support acts to be announced later. Tickets go on general sale at 10am GMT this Friday (March 21), and you can find yours here.

The ‘Superstition’ singer is one of the best-selling artists of all time, having produced a slew of hits across his career and garnered 25 Grammy Awards, as well as being inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Wonder joins the previously announced BST Hyde Park 2025 headliners Neil Young, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Zach Bryan, Noah Kahan and Jeff Lynne’s ELO.

Tickets for Stevie Wonder’s Hyde Park gig also go on general sale at 10am GMT this Friday (March 21) – you’ll be able to buy yours here. Alternatively, Amex customers can access a pre-sale today (Monday March 17).

Stevie Wonder’s ‘LOVE, LIGHT & SONG’ 2025 UK tour dates are:

July
3 – TK Maxx Presents Lytham Festival
5 – Co-op Live, Manchester
7 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
9 – Blackweir Fields, Cardiff
12 – BST Hyde Park, London

News of his Hyde Park headline show follows last year’s surprise announcement of the ‘Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart’ US tour, so-called after Wonder’s 2024 single by the same name, the release of which marked his first new song in four years”.

I will revisit Stevie Wonder in May as he turns seventy-five then. One of the all-time great artists, his Hyde Park show will be one of his career highlights. I have been a fan of his music since I was a child so I am really glad that he is still performing and undertaking these huge shows. The love he will get on the road. To celebrate a big announcement and these upcoming shows, below is a career-spanning mixtape of…

STEVIE Wonder gold.

FEATURE: Heavy Breathing: Kate Bush and the Search for the ‘Human’ Take

FEATURE:

 

 

Heavy Breathing

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1980

Kate Bush and the Search for the ‘Human’ Take

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THERE is always this debate…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1980

around Kate Bush and whether she can be called a perfectionist. I think you would define one, in musical terms, as someone who was never happy and slaved over takes because they are never happy. Pushing things beyond their limits. With Kate Bush, it is very much about getting something from her players that is more about playing with their hearts and not their heeds. That may sound wishy-washy or abstract. Of course, musicians are largely guided by technique and precision. They are playing the song in a particular way and there may be multiple takes so that it sounds right. When it comes to Kate Bush and her music I think that she wanted to push them beyond that point and open them up. In the sense that there was something inside them that could not be unearthed unless they kept doing takes. So they were perhaps more relaxed and less inhibited. One of the frustrations on her first couple of albums might have been the production and the way the recordings are directed. Of course, Andrew Powell was an experienced producer and exceptional musician. More used to getting what was required but really not going beyond that. Knowing that what he captured was technically great and would sound good on the record. One could imagine Kate Bush producing The Kick Inside and Lionheart in 1978 and taking things in a different direction. When she was producing on Never for Ever things changed. If you play with your head and are perhaps over-thinking thing then you can only get so much from the finished recording. However, when you keep going and let your heart lead then there is something extraordinary revealed. Bonding with the song in a more personal and deeper way. Getting more from the song. It is interesting to consider. Kate Bush not content with a few takes and getting something good out. As a producer, she knew that she could get something special from her musicians.

After being mimicked and spoofed by many in the early days, Never for Ever was an album where her voice changed. There was more gravel and grit in it. Trying to distance herself from the idea she was a squeaky-voiced singer and this rigid (and untrue) perception. Breathing is perhaps the standout from Never for Ever. The album’s final track, it was also one where she had to push the musicians quite hard. Brian Bath being asked to play the same guitar part a couple of hundred times. Though it must have been frustrating or odd for musicians – who could perhaps not detect much difference and improvement between takes thirty and one-hundred -, it is like directing actors. Looking for a perfect take. One where they hit a sweep spot or uncover something that needed bringing to the surface. Scientific discovery and experimentation. Kate Bush must have got through quite a few spools of tape. Max Middleton adding in a discordant note to the song. Though not especially pleasant to hear, when added to the mix, it began to click. It made Breathing even better. Bush as this director and visionary. I have discussed this before. The human aspect of the song. Something Graeme Thomson notes in Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush. Rather than rehash what I have previously written, it is curious honing in on the human element. Songs on Never for Ever – and subsequent work – that were about people or human relations. If you are playing technically or driven by your head, are you going to get the most evocative, human and deepest take? For session musicians who were used to working in a different way, this was a time to adapt. Perhaps a few takes and making sure the song sounded right with no errors. That was it. Songs that demanded more emotion meant that they were being pushed harder by Kate Bush. Producing with Jon Kelly, maybe there were moments when there were tensions.

Kate Bush was right. Something She could not exercise on her first two albums, when she got the chance to take the production reigns, there was this new ethos. A relentless work ethic and this persistence in getting the very best from her musicians. That fact that the finished Breathing provoked tears from the musicians proved that she was correct to ensure that they were playing with feeling and not just instinct or something more academic – and less spiritual. Kate Bush is not really a perfectionist who overworks a song or takes all of the edges off. There is a magic and mystery in her head. She wants the musicians to play what she hears. That is a commendable quality. Until there is this transcendence. When I discussed Kate Bush as a producer and her casting for musicians and doing multiple takes, it is not her flexing or showing who is boss. She writes a song knows what it sounds like. She would not instantly know which player and part is best for the song until she tries a few options. A song like Breathing is an extreme in terms of its takes. However, when you hear the song now, would it impact you as hard and deep if less time had been spent on it?! It was not only other musicians that were worked until they produced the most human take. One that brought all of the heart and humanity from the song. Bush also did this to herself in terms of her vocals.

Again, not wanting to be associated with this image of her having a high voice and it being sweet with no depth, The Dreaming (1982) especially saw her add, in her words, some balls to her vocals. This continues for Hounds of Love in 1985. Maybe a bit of a shift again for The Sensual World (1993). If the experiences with Breathing at Abbey Road was Kate Bush making her musicians do multiple takes and getting the most from their instruments, her studios and spaces for The Dreaming were a world apart. Advision Studios in Fitzrovia became a hermetically sealed environment. Bush would work fifteen or more hours a day. Not as airy or light as Abbey Road, time and space must have seemed distant or strange. Bush recalled how every night she and those with her would watch the evening news, eat takeaway food and digging for treasures. A windowless studio, it must have been intense and claustrophobic down there. This basement studio where Bush was not resting. During meal breaks she would be playing around and working. Subsiding largely on a grape diet in the final stages of recording The Dreaming, Bush stated how she felt like a Martian when she came out of that recording experience. Into the daylight and around humans. However, when you hear about the vocals on The Dreaming, Bush was looking for something extraordinary.

Expressing the real meaning of the lyrics and a distinct timbre and tone. For that reason, she needed some aides to get something different out of her voice. Guide vocals were recorded at Abbey Road and Townhouse. The master vocals were recorded in sections. Seeing as different voices and characters were in the songs, it meant embodying something physical and distinct for each vocal take. Piecing them together. Finding the right technique and production sound for each song. It must have been exhausting. Like with Never for Ever, Bush wanted the human to come from the songs. Like, as Graeme Thomson writes, a “girl becoming a woman”, there are these growling and roaring vocals that are so different to what people were used to. Adding milk and chocolate to her diet to give some mucus and grit, you can hear the results on Houidini, All the Love, Pull Out the Pin, Night of the Swallow and Get Out of My House. Wild, abandoned, emotional and often intense, it was very much controlled by Kate Bush. She knew exactly what she was doing. It must have been wonderful and sometimes draining for her musicians. Maybe not looking ahead to what would come, Bush knew the sound she wanted them to give her. When it came to her vocals, doing whatever she could so that the perfect take was released. The results speak for themselves. It is one of many reasons why Kate Bush is this hugely influential and iconic artist. Like I say quite often, we do not give her enough credit and love when it comes to discussing her…

AS a producer.

FEATURE: Kate Bush: The Tour of Life: Come Together: Welcome to the KT Bush Band

FEATURE:

 

 

Kate Bush: The Tour of Life

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1977/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush 

Come Together: Welcome to the KT Bush Band

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BECAUSE 2nd April…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush with the KT Bush Band in 1977/PHOTO CREDIT: Vic King

was the forty-sixth anniversary of the warm-up date for Kate Bush’s The Tour of Life – that show was at Arts Centre, Poole -, I wanted to go back two years to 1977. That was the year she recorded her debut album, The Kick Inside. Having discussed this before, I wanted to return and expand. The KT Bush Band was a way of Bush to play small gigs and get some live experience before recording her album. That brief stint helped when it came to the performances in the studio. However, consider the leap from the KT Bush Band to The Tour of Life. In terms of the scale and size. However, there is something wonderful about the KT Bush Band. Between April and June 1977, there was this brief anomaly. I am reading Graeme Thomson’s Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush. With Vic King on drums, Del Palmer on bass and Brian Bath on guitar, they were fronted up the teenage Kate Bush. Those three men all bonded at Charlton Secondary School in the late Sixties. They had this incredible love and devotion to the band, Free. They recalled for years the excitement of All Right Now being played live for the first time. It is a shame there are not recordings of the sets they performed. Hearing this track performed alongside work by The Beatles and Steely Dan. King, Palmer and Bath were established musicians. They had done the gig circuit and experienced the usual pitfalls of the industry – bad label deals and playing in tiny venues. Kate Bush connected with Brian Bath via her brother Paddy. She had seen King jam with her brother at East Wickham Farm. I did not know that she played at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1976. There, she saw a band play that consisted of Vic King and Barry Sherlock. Paddy Bush was mounting his final year show for Music Instrument Technology. His sister danced to Classical music with a woollen suit on and a trumpet-like thing coming out of her head. It was pretty strange but you can see that routine expanded and revived for Violin, which was performed during The Tour of Life.

There was no real reason or risk for the KT Bush Band to exist. Nothing at stake. EMI keen for Bush to get some live experience. The strange romance of small pubs and clubs in and around London and the south of England. A smaller-scale version of what she would do in 1979 on her only tour. Venues like the Rose of Lee in Lewisham iconic and essential. There is a bit of debate as to how Kate Bush fronted this new band. Whether she asked Vic King directly or Paddy Bush leaving him a note asking King to call him. Her brother calling King asking him to come over as his sister needed some live experience. I Heard It Through the Grapevine and Sweet Soul Music were rehearsed. Songs too by The Rolling Stones and Free. After a brief rehearsal time at local swimming baths in Greenwich, the band convened to East Wickham Farm and the barn in the garden. Putting furniture away and sweeping up, it was a better space. It was through the winter of 1976-1977 where they honed their set. Vic King was the one who drove the band in terms of organising equipment, organising rehearsals and picking Kate Bush up from dance classes home. King – averse to smoking and quite disciplined – was the one who got thigs together. King, Bath and Palmer were enamoured of Kate Bush: a woman very different to anyone they had met. Del Palmer was especially taken with her! They would soon start dating and did so for many years (Palmer died last year). After debate around that they should call themselves – Bush wanted some strange name; the KT Bush Band seemed like a compromise she was not keen on -, rehearsals began. Brian Bath used his contacts to organise a residency at the Rose of Lee down on 162 Lee High Road. They started playing there in April 1977. After a first week with a low turnout and a nervous singer, the crowds grew. So too did Bush’s confidence.

It was clear that the KT Bush Band stood out. When Pub-Rock was popular and that had a foundation in U.S. Roots Rock, this was very different. Rather than it being about the musicianship alone., the KT Bush Band had a singer who could perform and was a physical performer. More arty and expressive. The Rose of Lee never saw anything like it! In 1977, Bush was taken lessons at the Dance Centre in Covent Garden, so this fed into her performances. When it was cold in the barn at East Wickham Farm, they would decamp to the house’s front room and play on acoustic guitars. With a piano in the room, the rest of the KT Bush Band got an insight into this young genius’s world. Songs that appeared on The Kick Inside were on the KT Bush Band’s setlist. The Saxophone Song and Them Heavy People. A standout was James and the Cold Gun. More equipment and a bigger PA system arrived as the band grew bigger. They were paid £60 a show to play club nights by the South Eastern Entertainment Agency. They played some strange locations. A Sunday cabaret slot at Tiffanys in Harlow. Target in Greenford. After gigs, they might then stop at an all-night eatery like Mike’s Diner (off Regent Street, London) and discuss the next day’s plans. Bush kept band and private life separate. There was some socialising here and there but only occasionally. Del Palmer and Kate Bush got together soon enough. His influence was good. He was straight and direct and could often cut through the biased and unanimous praise Bush’s songs received. Objective despite his personal attachment. Del Palmer brought everything down to reality and was this anchor point. There were about twenty gigs in total. After a time, EMI called Kate Bush into the studio. Brian Southall saw Bush at a pub in Lewisham – where her mother tried to offer him sausages all of the time! – and hurried to the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington to tell his boss Bob Mercer what he just saw!

Bush was in the studio in July 1977 to record The Kick Inside. Snapping from that pub and club circuit to a series setting, some felt she was still a rich girl playing in a noisy band for fun. Four-track recordings were laid down at De Lane Lea and De Wolfe studios in London. When recording at De Wolfe, Bush had a heavy cold and her voice was not at its peak. Vic King suggested taking it down to half pace and adding a guitar solo for James and the Cold Gun. Something that was first played during the KT Bush Band gigs. There might have been a feeling that the band would play on The Kick Inside. Del Palmer and Brian Bath would eventually come into the fold though, for her debut (and 1978 follow-up, Lionheart), session musicians were used. A blow to Vic King. Brian Bath was told earlier that this was going to be the case. Even though many of the KT Bush Band’s gigs were filmed, photographed and taped, nothing has come to light. It is such a pity that we cannot get a whole album or documentary about this. A particularly good take of Johnny Winter’s Shame Shame Shame would have been an excellent single. That was laid down at Graphic Sound studios in Catford as a way of promoting the covers and band performances rather than Kate Bush originals. The song was never released. EMI wanting to keep stuff like that down so that it did not interfere with their plans. Maybe EMI or Bush’s family demanded it, but Del Palmer asked Brian Bath to hand over anything kept that could see the light or be used for profit. Bush was not overly eager for that early stuff to be released. It is a shame. We can only imagine how evocative these performances were. I do wonder whether there are recordings somewhere that could get out. Perhaps we will never know! For this magic time in 1977, Kate Bush, Vic King, Del Palmer and Brian Bath rehearsed together, performed a string of gigs and seemed bonded. Even though Vic King did not continue to perform with Bush, Brian Bath and Del Palmer appeared on her studio albums. When the KT Bush Band were rounded up for promotional duties, Vic King did not participate. It is a shame. However, he must have these very fond memories of being on the road with Kate Bush for a brief time. Imagine being one of those punters who saw the KT Bush Band performing! It would have been very different to any other act playing in pubs in 1977. It also would definitely have been…

A life-changing experience.

FEATURE: Who Are the Girls? Nova Twins and the Misogyny and Discrimination That Exists in Rock and Alternative

FEATURE:

 

 

Who Are the Girls?

IN THIS PHOTO: Nova Twins/PHOTO CREDIT: Tamiym Cader

Nova Twins and the Misogyny and Discrimination That Exists in Rock and Alternative

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THERE was a recent interview…

PHOTO CREDIT: Edward Eyer/Pexels

in The Guardian with Nova Twins. It takes me back to a subject I have covered before. The misogyny and misogynoir that exists in genres like Rock, Alternative and Metal. If the mosh pits and crowds are more welcoming and embracing of women of colour and women in general, can we say the same about the industry? Even if there are more female-fronted Rock, Alternative and Metal bands coming through, it is still very much male-dominated. The work women have to do to be noticed and be on the same footing. Even though racism and misogyny has largely faded from crowds compared to years ago, look around scenes like Alternative and there is still a real absence of people like Nova Twins. It is clear that changes need to happen. A real lack of Black artists in these genres. Women still under-represented. It does seem appalling that, in 2025, there is so little representation when it comes to women and women of colour in certain genres. If some genres have improved and are more inclusive and spotlight a more diverse scene, things are still dragging on the heavier side of the music spectrum:

“The Twins made a conscious decision not to use any synths on the album – all the sounds are made using guitars (Love) and bass (South) with vast boards of effects pedals to manipulate their output. “We’ve always pushed ourselves to do things really manually live,” South says. “And I think being women in music … people don’t question men. So they can have everything on the track and they can still be ‘the greatest’ – people won’t question if they’re playing live, they won’t question if they wrote their riffs, or if they’re miming, or anything. Because we were women going into it – and Black women – we were like: we need to play everything, do everything.”

It might have started as a reaction to the misogynoir that dogs heavy rock genres but it turned out to be an integral part of a Nova Twins show, with South in particular marshalling two vast planks of pedals at her feet, stomping on them periodically to take her bass from a muscular strut to a thundering dubstep fuzz.

Growing up in Essex and south London respectively, Love and South dealt with varying degrees of racism (Love is of Iranian and Nigerian descent, and South is of Jamaican and Australian). When they were playing endless toilet venues and open mic nights around the capital, they soon felt like outsiders in the notoriously white, male world of heavy music. “We couldn’t really see where we fit in,” Love says. “We’re like the only women on the bill, definitely the only Black people on the bill, or were at the time when we first started. And it would be like, well, we don’t quite belong here but the audience are really receptive to us. And then we’d be like, we didn’t really fit in the R&B hip-hop world, either.”

In 2021, they campaigned for the Mobos to add an alternative music genre to acknowledge the influence of Black rock’n’roll pioneers such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Little Richard. The committee listened and in 2022 added the best alternative music act award (the Nova Twins were nominated) and at this year’s show they took to the stage with a blistering performance of Monsters that felt pointedly like a victory lap.

Where communities don’t exist for the Nova Twins, they are not afraid to stride in and demand space. As well as the Mobo campaign, they recently launched a scholarship for music education at London’s ICMP (Institute of Contemporary Music Performance) – and get Love on the topic, she will speak passionately for hours about making room for rock in the mainstream. “There’s a huge audience [for rock] and so much love for it but for some reason, some gatekeepers feel like: ‘Oh, that can’t be on daytime TV,’ like it’s a swear word or something? Like, who said? And why? Instead, they’d rather put something they found on TikTok than a band that’s spent like 10 fucking years honing their craft and musicianship on stage”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Yan Krukau/Pexels

It is clear that there is still an issue. Rock, Alternative and Metal. Even if there have been slight improvements, things still look pretty bleak. It is largely male-dominated sector. White too. Far less representation of women. If Nova Twins are making a space and calling for change, there needs to be more done from the industry. Looking out, there is an issue with gender and race. Is there an easy solution? Change cannot happen overnight or even in the next year or two. Progress will take time, though you can see things slowly shifting. In terms of audiences, whereas one might think it would largely be white men, that is not necessarily the case. There are many bands coming through that are not all-male and white. However, there does still seem to be an issue breaking down obstacles that have existed for decades. The fact an award show like the MOBOs does not have a category for Alternative to acknowledge bands like Nova Twins and pioneers like Little Richard. If Nova Twins have won over the mosh pit then there does need to be greater activism and action from the industry. I do love Metal, Rock and Alternative though there is still this look that has remained for a long time. Women more visible then ever but still having to face discrimination and misogyny. Women playing guitars still made to feel inferior or not taken seriously. Even if Thrash and other genes are trying to confront sexism, there are still cases of women speaking about their experiences. Radio stations that specialise in heavier music playing mostly male bands. Kerrang! are among those whose daily playlist is male-focused. When it comes to women then the story is even worst. A real lack of diversity will make it so hard for women and men of colour to break through. It is bad enough that artists like Matty Healy, in 2018, claimed that misogyny and sexism does not exist in Rock anymore. That interview with Nova Twins caught my eye and needs to create debate. Such slow progress and inclusion, it is clear that things…

NEEDS to shift.

FEATURE: Spotlight: South Arcade

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

South Arcade

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ONE of the most exciting bands around…

I want to spend some time with South Arcade. Formed in Oxford in 2021, the band went viral for videos of their band practices. They also performed at BBC Radio 1's New Music Live in Halifax, West Yorkshire in November 2024. Their debut E.P., 2005, was released last year. I am going to end with a review for that E.P. I want to start out with some interviews. Going back to December, South Arcade chatted with Kerrang! about their year and what lies ahead:

“2025 is the South Arcade takeover!”

Vocalist Harmony Cavelle’s proclamation isn’t wrong. While 2024 has been an unbelievable time for the Oxford Y2K core trailblazers, plans are already in place to take the band’s rise even higher. Truly, this time next year, they could be anywhere.

Joined by guitarist Harry Winks, bassist Ollie Green and Oodie-wearing drummer Cody Jones, South Arcade meet Kerrang! amid a “crazy week of announcements” to take a breath and look back at how they got here, as well as what’s on the horizon.

“I think the beginning of the year was pretty tough,” admits Ollie, “because there’s no definites in this world, and especially doing music. But when it all started getting a bit better is when we stopped worrying. There’s a lot of pressure to have a good TikTok or good whatever, and it was the moment we sort of went, ‘Let’s just try and enjoy it, and capture the bits we enjoy.’”

It’s an approach that’s worked wonders. With the quartet picking up new fans and followers thanks to a steady string of superb singles throughout 2024, not to mention behind-the-scenes social media videos inviting people in their brilliantly chaotic world, South Arcade are killing it on every level.

And, crucially, they’ve proven that online numbers can translate into reality, as they found out when they stepped onstage at August’s Reading & Leeds to a packed BBC Music Introducing crowd. (If you want an idea of just how well that went, next year they’re coming back to play the main stage.)

Today, South Arcade cap it all off with their debut EP 2005 – a six-track release that collates their five latest singles, and the new title-track. Here, the band tell us all about it, and reveal why they’re so excited to take it across the world next year.

“I don’t know if I’ve got a suitcase big enough,” laughs Harmony. “I need to buy some new clothes! We’re excited to have a proper plan, and meet all these new people. It’s gonna be incredible…”

How would you rate 2024 for South Arcade? From the outside looking in, it feels like everything’s pretty much exploded…

Harmony: “Definitely! It’d be rude not to give it a 10/10, right? Well, it’s a 10 so far, I don’t know if anything will change in the rest of the month (laughs). But honestly, I don’t think we could have asked for more this year. The support we’ve had – whether it’s from people coming to gigs, or online, or whatever – we’ve been so lucky. People have really been reacting to the videos we’ve been doing, and the music… I don’t want to jinx anything, but it’s all gone very well! We’ve been very lucky.”

Has it all caught you off guard, or did you start the year like, ‘Things are going to happen for us’?

Harry: “I think stuff like numbers online doesn’t really feel real until you see people in the crowd. We had our first gig back at Reading & Leeds after some stuff had happened on TikTok, and we got to see the new audience that we’d gained for the first time, and that was really special.”

Cody: “I cried. In a good way! It was one of those things that you can’t really comprehend – it’s just, ‘Oh my god, this is crazy.’”

The whole year has probably been like that – just constantly going, ‘How do I process this?’

Harmony: “Oh yeah, definitely. We totally set out at the start of the year, ‘Come on, guys, we’re gonna really hammer this home and do everything we can.’ But like Harry said, until you step out on that stage and see people’s mouths actually moving along, it feels so surreal! But also, I think it’s spurring us on for next year, going, ‘How can we take this to the next level?’”

You’re wrapping things up nicely with the 2005 EP. Was it always the plan to get the singles together and put out something a bit more substantial?

Harmony: “It was a really big thing for us to have people see the world and everything that we’re trying to create with the band. And when the singles started falling into the EP – the first one on it is Nepo Baby – it’s the first time when we really started to feel like we’d found our sound. It was like, ‘Okay, this is our lane and we feel strong here.’ We know what we want to create.”

Harry: “It was very natural. Nepo Baby was the first song we dropped in 2024, and it felt like a new era of music, so it was the natural thing to put all the songs together. And it also feels like it encapsulates the whole vibe.”

Harmony: “It’s been such a fun EP to make, and there’s different vibes in each song – they all create a different world. And now it’s so nice to have them all together, and for people to have that as a thing to listen through and know that it’s how we want it to be presented. It means a lot to us, and it’s really exciting.”

Harry: “We’re doing something different with each song. People know that we coined the ‘Y2K core’ – well, I don’t know if we made that, I think I heard it on the radio…”
Harmony: “It’s what I put in the bio of Spotify!”

Harry: “It’s a cool phrase to simplify what we do, but it is more than that. Each song pulls from a different favourite genre of ours from the 2000s – whether it’s nu-metal or pop-punk. There’s a lot of Britney and Gwen Stefani, even if it’s just subtle.”

Harmony: “And then there’s the Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park reference.”

Harry: “With Linkin Park coming back recently, too, that’s spurred us on. That sound is cool again.”

Harmony: “Yeah, it’s like, ‘We’re on the right track!’ But with the EP as a whole, there’s the Y2K core thing, but we also do like to add a modern spin to that. And what we all really want from it is to end up in everyone’s playlists. Whether it’s the people who get the references and are in that demographic, or the young kids who are finding this music for the first time – that’s awesome, too. We just want to be able to provide that nostalgic escapism.”

Do you feel any pressure in terms of this being a proper debut body of work? Or because people have heard most of the singles already, you’re pretty relaxed?

Harmony: “I think because we’ve been waterfalling the tracks, it’s nice to have everyone on this journey with us, from the start to the end. We’ve picked up all these new people on the way, and then with 2005, we’re hopefully introducing even more people. It’s almost like the family or fanbase that have been with us this whole period, it’s a gift for them, and it ties us all together.”

Harry: “We’ve had this journey with the fans, song by song.”

Harmony: “Because they’ve been the ones where, all this amazing stuff that’s coming up next year, they’ve made it possible”.

They have already got off to a blinding start to 2025. Single Supermodels is among their best work yet. I wonder whether the band will release an album later in the year. With festivals ahead, you can imagine South Arcade being invited to quite a few of them. The first one is from Ticketmaster from February. The band explain how a lot of fun is missing from music:

“Within your sound there are obvious nods to 2000s pop-punk and metal, but there are also some great glitchy pop moments and huge rock riffs. Every song you release had a slightly different take on that core sound, but what always sits at the centre is a huge hook. As fans of music, where do you think your appreciation of a simple, undeniable hook comes from?

Cavelle: I think a lot of that comes down to the actual writing process. It starts out with our guitarist, Harry, who is our producer as well. He’ll make about 20 little minute-long song ideas, he’ll show us all of them, and I’ll end up liking one or two out of the 20. Then, we’ll sit for a week trying out all these random words as freestyles, almost like Simlish. There’ll be parts that stick, and I live with my family, so you’ll hear them singing one of them around the house. That’s when you know you’ve got it, and a big thing for us is to not overcomplicate it. We’re trying to make it catchy and not too highbrow. It needs to be enjoyable for people that like heavy music, but also for people who just want a catchy tune.

Green: It’s a feeling as well. If it feels cool, then why over complicate it? We don’t want to do a Jacob Collier and make something crazy, that’s his niche. None of the stuff we love is complicated, it all just has a good feeling. Less is more, and it just makes you feel good.

Cavelle: What we’re realising now with our music is that having that hook is a big thing, but it’s also about having that coolness or sassiness to it. We’ve got some stuff underneath which is quite heavy, so we could easily go down that angry, sad route, but we love putting fun into the songs. We love the tongue-in-cheek stuff, and we love having a bit of promise in our tracks. We’re making them fun, rather than taking the easy route of going angry.

Green: I don’t know what other bands are like, but we’re not really into brooding or making angry songs. We like listening to music that has at least a bit of optimism, a bit of hope.

Cavelle: We feel like a lot of fun is missing from music now. When people come and see us live, we just want to give them a fun night. You should have a good time listening to music, it doesn’t have to be serious, arms folded and highbrow all the time. There’s a time and place for that stuff, but a big thing for us and all of our newer fanbase to is just to have fun with it. Everything else is so sad and depressing right now, so let’s just have a good old time.

We have to touch on the battle between South Arcade and North Arcade that started out in the ‘HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER’ video. Talk us through the inception of that story and the encounter that takes place…

Cavelle: It was majorly inspired by Scott Pilgrim. The song itself is a bit tongue-in-cheek, even just in the title. If you see a metal band with the name ‘HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER’ you think, “Oh god, okay. This is going to be some heavy stuff!” We were thinking about how we could put it into a cool concept video, and we have our reality in it, but it links to the cartoon. We love Gorillaz, and you can get a cartoon to do anything. If it was us in the music video, knocking someone over and knocking them off a cliff… I’m not sure if that would fly. Since it’s cartoons though, you can get away with it. It was a super fun one, and the animator that we chose to work with got what we were going for. With the North Arcade thing, that was just a one-off idea we had about some alter-ego thing…

Green: South Arcade is on a sign in Oxford. There’s a shopping centre called the Westgate, and it’s there. We’ve been round and looked at all the other signs, and there is a North Arcade. It became a thing that friends would say as a joke; “What band are you in? North Arcade?” At one point, someone probably had a drink and thought, “Oh, I wonder what North Arcade would be like?” They ended up taking the form that they did as weird alter-egos of ours, which was fun. You don’t want a serious music video for that song. If you do a brooding live performance thing…who wants to see that? You want a bit of fun, and being animated, you can tell much more of a story with it. The possibilities are endless, and Harmony is a big fan of cartoons. That’s another thing [that was better] about the 2000s. Now, you’re seeing 3D live-action Bob The Builder – get me the 2D guy back! We just love that time, as well as the art and culture that was around then.

Cavelle: Everything had so much more integrity and a sense of meaning. It sounds so snobby, but it’s not. Maybe it’s because we were younger and naiver, so stuff from then seems more magical and creative, but now everything seems so soulless.

Right now, there seems to be a cohort of bands focused on bringing the idea of the music video back. Music videos used to be a way to discover new music, and often fans would actually discover songs through seeing these iconic videos. That artform seems to have been lost recently…

Cavelle: When I was younger, the first thing I did when I got home from school was put on the Top 40 music charts. The way you found your music taste was through watching these videos, and it’s so cool because the concept is exactly what the artist wants you to see. The song is playing as well, and it makes you put two and two together. You get the artist; you get what the whole thing is about. That stuff started dying down, and I can’t even find the charts on the TV now when I want to. People don’t care about music videos so much now, and a lot of people argue that it’s a waste of time and money, but I think that visuals are so important in understanding the meaning of the song. You see how a band’s meant to be perceived, if they’re serious or not serious, and you get that from watching one video. That’s how you used to discover stuff from MTV, and I don’t think that’s the way anymore, but we are seeing it through YouTube now. We haven’t even tapped into our YouTube that much. We’ve only posted about 40 videos in total there, but the way that people are finding us through that now is reassuring.

Looking towards the future for South Arcade, obviously it’s a tough time to be in the music industry right now. Despite that, what keeps you waking up each morning knowing that this is something that you want to keep pushing towards?

Green: We just enjoy it. The truth is, and I might be getting a bit overly earnest and sincere here, but we are quite good friends. All music aside, we get on, and there’s a bond between us that’s like siblings. We will gladly bicker to no end, but it’s in the same way that siblings do, it’s never deeper than that. We share a love for what we’re doing, and we share a love for going out and playing. We’re doing it because we like doing it.

Cavelle: As a band, so many people have given us their time and come to the shows. Now, our listeners are going up, and it almost feels like we have a responsibility to provide this music and these shows for people. We’re very grateful and feel honoured to have that responsibility, and we want to be these people’s favourite band. Not just because they perceive us as these untouchable, higher beings – we want to be perceived as everyone’s friends. We’re just trying to have a good time, and I think that’s what everyone needs right now. That’s definitely what keeps us all going, and it is so much fun. We’re grateful for the opportunities we’ve had so far, and a year ago there’s no way I would have thought we’d be doing all of the stuff that we got coming up. It’s surreal.

Green: We were doing it when we thought no one cared, and I think that shows that we’re doing it for the fun of it. We’d sit there and go, “What if no one cares?”, but we enjoyed it, and we liked making music, so we just kept going. We like going out and playing shows together, and even if it’s just to 10 people, that’s fine. That’s cool, because we’re doing what we enjoy, and if other people are getting some enjoyment out of it – job well done. Now, it’s just an extension of that. When you enjoy doing something so much, it’s not a chore. It’s a privilege”.

Before finishing off, I want to drop in a recent interview from NME. Hailed for their incredible and electric live shows, together with their mining of the sounds of the 2000s, it is no wonder South Arcade are getting a lot of attention. The remainder of this year will be very busy:

“Has that blend of nostalgia and newness led to you having fans from all ages and backgrounds?

Cavelle: “That has definitely come across. The blurring of boundaries is not something we were consciously looking for, but it’s exciting because it has created a kind of pendulum effect. We were wanting to bring this nostalgic, real-band sound back… but some of these 13 or 14 year old kids are discovering it for the first time! They’ve never heard that before, they’ve not had the chance to see it live until now.”

Green: “Then there’s the other side of the pendulum. The people telling us that they went to see these great bands back in the day, and that we’ve reminded them of that. It’s funny because we’re not in either camp — we’re in this weird in-between area.”

Cavelle: “It’s because of that placement that we’re making this wide fanbase, though. It’s cool to be received by all camps in such a positive way– and to see that it’s not just us who likes it! Part of the appeal is us not taking ourselves too seriously, though. We just want to revive this fun space.”

What was it like to see that sudden spike in interest when ‘DANGER’ went viral?

Green: “It was quite surreal and a bit daunting. It’s weird too, because we’re inspired by the 2000s, but that era didn’t really have that same ‘viral’ thing that we have now. The idea of everything moving so quickly is overwhelming, but it’s also exciting. It actually came at a great time for us too, because by that point we had the mentality of: ‘we’re going to make whatever we want because we enjoy it.’ So, it paying off felt like a sign that we were doing the right thing. It reminded us to have more faith in our process.”

Cavelle: “It’s easy to fall into that mindset of: ‘this has got to perform well’, and then you start doubting yourself. That’s a dangerous space to get into, so it was a relief that doing our own thing worked out like that.”

You’ve managed to continue that momentum, and now many of your fans are discovering you through your immense live shows. What is it about playing live that makes South Arcade come to life?

Cavelle: “When we’re writing our tracks, we’re so conscious about, ‘will this go off when played live?’ If we can’t jump to it, just the four of us in the room, it’s crossed out. For us, it’s all about harnessing that energy and having a good time. We know that people often discover us from a screen, so when they do take the chance on us and come to see us live, it restores a bit of faith for us.”

2024 was a big year for the band, how are you continuing the momentum into 2025?

Cavelle: “There will be new music, and it will definitely tap into something we haven’t done yet. There’s more of an electronic side coming through now. Something more dance-focused. We have a new single called ‘Supermodels’ and it should be out on the night of our show at KOKO!”.

I am going to finish with a review from Distorted Sound Mag for South Arcade’s 2024 E.P., 2005. I know they will be releasing a lot of music across the coming years. If you have not heard of them yet then do make sure they are on your radar. A band that you will not want to miss out on:

“SOUTH ARCADE are slowly perfecting their soundtrack and it is subtlety shown throughout the record. Their lyrical structure has softened and is more loose and playful with ad-libs and vocal FX, perfectly exemplified on HOW 2 GET AWAY WITH MURDER. The random car key sound effect does feel more like engagement bait for social media than a harmonious audio choice but nevertheless, each song does not feel overly juvenile. All are well crafted and polished, beyond what one might expect from such a green band. Across the board, the content of the songs are playful and engaging if not a little emotionally simplistic. stone cold summer, Riptide (and the rest of their discography) perfectly captured the youthful nature of young adult romances and frustrations and, like all good things, just needs a few years to marinate and mature.

SOUTH ARCADE have bared their teeth with this EP; their flair is starting to show but there is ample room for them to push it even more and lean deeper into the grit and grunge with more adventurous vocal styles and heavier riffs. Whilst their origins have come from jamming together in a garage, 2005 shows that SOUTH ARCADE are ready to evolve and collaborate on a more professional setting. Their teeth may not be fangs just yet, but they are definitely sharp and their milk teeth have long fallen away.

Rating: 7/10”.

I am new to South Arcade so have been doing a bit of catching up. They are a really interesting and promising band that have the sound and chemistry to go a long way. I do think they will be playing huge shows and headlining festivals in the future. For those who have not discovered them, do connect with them and make sure you don’t…

MISS out.

___________

Follow South Arcade

Official:

https://www.southarcade.co.uk/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/southarcade/

Twitter:

https://x.com/southarcadeuk

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3vEL65ycUboLH76pgdtqlF?si=a1gc-TpkTxWswVFfTp9dVQ

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRXsIWqhVxLb971GvIg3jkA

FEATURE: Life on the Screen: Kate Bush: The Satirists, Comedy Connections and Acting Opportunities

FEATURE:

 

 

Life on the Screen

Kate Bush: The Satirists, Comedy Connections and Acting Opportunities

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MAYBE it is a badge of honour…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz

but you do not really have satirists now who take off musicians. Those that parody or mimic them. It was more common decades ago. Of course, Kate Bush being so distinct and unusual, she was instantly met with a combination of critical and fan affection and pot shots from satirists. She had a good sense of humour about it, however, it would have also been a little galling now being seen as serious. I have raised this before. How Kate Bush was subjected to spoofing. Especially early in her career. I think that she was seen as an easy target. Someone who was a bit cosmic and out-there. This middle-class doctor’s daughter, many did not think she was a serious musician. I think a lot of people didn’t understand her. As such, parodies from the likes of Faith Brown and Pamela Stephenson were probably seen a reflection of a view a certain sector had of Kate Bush. That her music was a little ridiculous. However, the satirists maybe were paying tribute in their own way. At least her music was being talked about in a way! Bush’s sense of humour runs through all of this. She is a big comedy fan so wouldn’t have minded too much that people were giving her songs and music a comedic spin. I often wonder too whether Kate Bush was offered many comedy roles early in her career. No shock that she did get offered parts in film and T.V. She was approached to appear in the film Castaway, alongside Oliver Reed. The Nicolas Roeg film instead starred Amanda Donohue. Bush did contribute a song to that film, Be Kind to My Mistakes. Bush was involved in comedy early in her career. On 5th March 1979, Bush appeared for the second time on The Kenny Everett Video Show. She was very much game and was very much in on the joke. The video for Wow was played. A year previous, she appeared on the show and featured in a silly and funny question and answer exchange with Everett. Just before the video for The Man with the Child in His Eyes was shown. It could have been an experience where she was mocked or the butt of the joke, though Bush was very much on an equal footing. Someone who was taken seriously.

It is curious seeing these screen and comedy connections. Though Bush never appeared in a comedy film, she did write the classic song, This Woman’s Work (which appeared on The Sensual World in 1989). That film was 1988’s She’s Having a Baby. Kate Bush did appear in 1990’s Les Dogs for The Comic Strip Presents… It was Kate Bush’s acting debut. When asked about the role, she said that “Peter Richardson worked on the video [for The Sensual World] and it was a lot of fun, and we stayed in touch as friends. When he was working on The Comic Strip series, I got a script and he asked me if I’d play a part. I felt very honoured to be asked”. Even though Bush was often parodied or send up by satirists and comedians, as someone who loved comedy, it wouldn’t have deflated her too much. I wonder whether a career in comedy could have beckoned. She must have been offered all sorts during her career. Kate Bush was a big fan of Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers. However, she was not offered much comedy. Interestingly, she was offered a role in Wurzel Gummidge. That would have been in May 1981. Not long before she released the single, Sat in Your Lap (from 1982’s The Dreaming). With the role of The Wicked Witch in mind, she had to turn it down. It was unfortunately typecasting – the media thinking Bush was some sort of witch! -, and Bush was too busy making an album anyway. Thanks to Tom Doyle and his book, Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush for some useful biography and information. In a recent feature, I mentioned how Bush took part in the inaugural benefit shows for Comic Relief in 1986. A year later, she played at the 1987 Secret Policeman’s Third Ball.

It is interesting looking over all the comedic links and highlights from Kate Bush. In 1990, Bush wrote a song called Ken for The Comic Strip’s fourth series episode, GLC: The Carnage Continues. A couple of episodes later was when Bush appeared in Les Dogs. Bush tried to convince Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam to direct the video for Cloudbusting. Julian Doyle directed that incredible video for a standout Hounds of Love song. Lenny Henry appeared on the 1993 song, Why Should I Love You?, from The Red Shoes. Hugh Laurie and Dawn French appeared in the video for 1986’s Experiment IV. The late Terry Jones appeared in the artwork for 2011’s Director’s Cut. He was playing Professor Need. He was photographed in an old-fashioned train carriage, hooked up to his laptop via a wired device. Eric Idle introduced Kate Bush for her only appearance on SNL in 1978. The late Robbie Coltrane – who, as Tom Doyle notes, was one of the voices heard on Hounds of Love’s Waking the Witch – appeared in the video for Deeper Understanding from 2011’s Director’s Cut. In the video, Coltrane is catfished by a certain Noel Fielding. I shall come to him soon. For 2011’s 50 Words for Snow, Stephen Fry appeared on the title track, reciting fifty words for snow. Although Bush has not had many comedy connections since, her music did appear in the 2020 sci-fi comedy, Palm Springs (starring Andy Samberg). I will end by thinking about the satirist and early lampooning and Kate Bush’s love of and affection for comedy. There were a couple of occasions where comics took to the stage ‘as’ Kate Bush. Steve Coogan, as Alan Partridge, performed a medley of Kate Bush songs. Wow, Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), Them Heavy People, The Man with the Child in His Eyes, Wuthering Heights, Don’t Give Up and Babooshka. That was for Comic Relief. Steve Coogan had a lot of fun doing it. Kate Bush actually came to see the last night of his show when it was performed in the West End. She joked to Coogan that it was “nice to hear all those songs again”. Bush did confide in Coogan that she was terrified of being out there as she had not done it for a long time. Maybe self-conscious of being out in public at a high-profile show.

It is interesting that things went full circle. If Kate Bush was seeing satirists like Faith Brown and Pamela Stephenson spoof her back when her career was in its infancy, it was a couple of male comics who were on the stage lovingly spoofing/performing her music. Noel Fielding famously performed Wuthering Heights in a red dress for Comic Relief in 2011. Looking quite the part, it was a more loving tribute to Kate Bush than perhaps the early satirising. Bush was asked by MOJO what it was like being taken the piss out of. Bush loved Fielding’s rendition of her debut single and was flattered. She didn’t mind because the song (Wuthering Heights) was taken the piss out of at the time, so the fact it has endured to be ripe for a new generation of comedic ammunition meant a lot to her. Someone who, in the 1970s and now, not taking offence to this sort of thing. Being in on the joke rather than being the butt of it. I keep thinking about that early satirising and whether it was completely loving. Whether it was seen as the thing that needed to be done. Bush not really taken seriously in the early days. I know there will be more comedic connections. Comic figures or shows using her music. The Bear included Hounds of Love’s The Morning Fog in an episode from Season 3 last year. Will Kate Bush be represented at Comic Relief again soon? Will we see a figure from the world of comedy included on a future album or in one of her videos? You can never rule it out, because this iconic artist loves comedy and has created this incredible network through her career. Those who have an association with her work. Be damned those early satirists! On The Red Shoes’ Moments of Pleasure, Bush sings “This sense of humour of mine isn’t funny at all”. Given the love she has for comedy and the love the comedy world has for her…

THAT isn’t true at all!

FEATURE: Them Heady People: The Collaborators Who Have Worked with Kate Bush

FEATURE:

 

Them Heady People

The Collaborators Who Have Worked with Kate Bush

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WHEN thinking about Kate Bush’s albums…

PHOTO CREDIT: Andy Phillips

I think about the collaborators. Whether they are well-known musicians or players who were a little less starry, they have all made their own impact on her music. Through the years, I have discussed some of the musicians who have performed on Kate Bush albums. I recently talked about Prince. He appeared on The Red Shoes’ Why Should I Love You? I think right back to the start. Then, Kate Bush did not really have the cache and pulling power to have major artists playing on her albums. I think it was the case that she wanted to keep things distinct and not let her music have too many other voices in the mix. It wasn’t until The Dreaming (1982) or Hounds of Love (1985) where she really started expanding her sound. Bringing more voices into her albums around the time of The Sensual World (1989) and The Red Shoes (1993). Even as a solo artist, Kate Bush was not the only player or voice in the mix. Some solo artists strip things back and keep it about them. However, Bush has always worked with other musicians. I guess it was quite impressive that The Kick Inside featured musicians from Pilot (Ian Bairnson), Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel (Duncan Mackay) and The Alan Parsons Project/Pilot (David Patton). Bush had her own musicians that she wanted to work with from the start. Her brother Paddy was in the mix but it wasn’t until 1980’s Never for Ever where she could include people that she really wanted to work with (outside of friends and family). Brian Bath was an old friend. I also love how John Giblin, Del Palmer and Alan Murphy were in the cast of musician. As a producer, Bush could definitely expand her palette and look around to artists and musicians she wanted to work with. I think on The Kick Inside and Lionheart (1978) producer Andrew Powell had in mind some established musicians and did not really want other vocalists. Even though Paddy Bush, Ian Bairnson and other did some backing vocals, there were no big names as such. That changed slightly from Never for Ever.

Roy Harper was one of the first big names to feature on a Kate Bush album. Providing backing vocals to the single, Breathing, he was an artist that Bush admired. Even though Kate Bush was working with Peter Gabriel around this time, he did not (and has not) feature on her albums. Bush sung on You (The Game Part III) with Roy Harper. I do like how Kate Bush was willing to let other vocalists especially into her music. Although there was an absence of female collaborators, Bush knew that other vocalists could add something to her sound. Think about The Dreaming. If there was a more traditional or Rock/Pop sound on her first two or three albums, there was a broader vision on The Dreaming. Not only are there Irish instruments from Liam O’Flynn, Seán Keane and Dónal Lunny. In terms of vocalists who were adding their touch, Paddy Bush, Ian Bairnson, Stewart Arnold and Gary Hurst were in there. Keeping friends and relations very much at the core. However, there was a little bit of magic from David Gilmour on Pull Out the Pin. The Dreaming’s title track having so many layers and effects in them. Gosfield Goers and Percy Edwards. I think my favourite examples of vocal collaborators comes from the final two tracks. Houidini has Gordon Farrell simply saying “Houdini”. Del Palmer voices “Rosabel believe”.

Rather than having a big duet or putting someone too firmly in the mix, Bush very carefully and economically used these collaborators. Think about Paul Hardiman adding braying and donkey noises to Get Out of My House. I think Kate Bush was making albums like The Dreaming and Hounds of Love and not really thinking them as albums to tour. In terms of the dense nature of some of the songs and the scope of them. Perhaps they would not have translated to the stage that easily back then. Hounds of Love saw new vocal and instrumental textures. Irish sounds in there but also the distinct bass sounds of Eberhard Weber and Martin Glover (Youth). Bush switching things up and keeping it fresh. Also, blending established and better-known musicians with those who were not as big. Hounds of Love very much framed Kate Bush’s vocals and she was at the forefront. However, certain songs benefited from other vocalists. The cast of voices that appear on Waking the Witch. Voices trying to wake Kate Bush’s heroine adrift at sea. Included in there are her two brothers, Paddy and John. Hello Earth given swell and grandeur from The Richard Hickox Singers. I do wonder how Kate Bush came into contact with these types of artists. Of course, the more successful she became, the more ambitious she was regarding those working with her. Hounds of Love could have had mainstream artists or music heroes in there. However, I like her choice of vocal and musical collaborators. More about the depth and distinct sounds as opposed any commercial allure. Different genres and styles too. From choral to an Irish frenzy, there is so much explored here.

The Sensual World seems an album more about the importance of the sonics and players rather than vocals. The most notable collaborators on that album are the Trio Bulgarka. The first two Bush worked with female vocalists. Their power and brilliance one of the most potent elements of The Sensual World. An album that did not need a lot of other voices. Perhaps Kate Bush was thinking about the female voice and did not want too many male voices in there. An album exploring femininity and Bush was now in her thirties. Things did change for The Red Shoes. An album that was recorded with a mind of taking it onto the road. A live feel that runs through it. Sounding like it was recorded quite quickly, it is the most interesting album in terms of the vocal collaborators. One of the first albums where a few big names were in there together. Nigel Kennedy playing violin. Prince of course on Why I Should Love You? Also on that song was Lenny Henry. I do wonder how and why he was chosen. It does like quite a lot of random people put together. Bush also pulling in bigger musicians too. Eric Clapton playing on The Red Shoes. Trio Bulgarka featuring again. Also, Colin Lloyd Tucker. There was more focus and unity on Aerial (2005). Fewer big names lending their vocals. Rolf Harris being a black mark on the album (not Kate Bush’s fault in any way). I do think there is more richness and better economy on Aerial. Like The Dreaming or Never for Ever, vocalists used fairly sparsely but to great effect. Michael Wood on A Coral Room. Lol Creme featuring on π and Nocturn. Which album has the best blend of musicians and singers? One might argue Hounds of Love though Aerial must be right up there.

On every album, Kate Bush knows what sound she needs. Whether it is the musicians or other voices, Bush’s instincts nearly always right. Perhaps The Red Shoes is a bit messy in that sense. Some might saw 50 Words for Snow is another. Musically brilliant, this was an album with some huge names lending their voice. Stephen Fry on the title track. Elton John on Snowed in At Wheeler Street. Andy Fairweather Low on Wild Man. I wanted to explore the musical and vocal guests on Kate Bush’s albums. I am curious to see what will come from a new Kate Bush album. Whether she will choose to have other vocalists on it or not. I suspect that she will opt for her voice to be the main instrument, though there is definitely going to be some collaborations. I think the music guests will be the most interesting. In terms of the players. At  a time when her work is reaching new generations and a range of artists around the world, will she reach out to some of them at all? As this is Kate Bush, you can never say what she will do. I love the richness of her albums and the diversity of stories and shades. Songs that stand up to repeated listens because of the people on them. In all cases, Bush seamlessly blending with these people. Listening through her albums, I love identifying the musicians and singers. How they are slot together. What it would have looked like when they were in the studio together. Kate Bush working alongside…

SOME wonderful people.

FEATURE: Feminist Icons: Laura Bates

FEATURE:

 

Feminist Icons

  

Laura Bates

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EVEN though most of the women…

I will include in this series are activists, writers and have so many disciplines to their name, I wanted to highlight feminist writers. As explained in a previous feature, I do worry that there are very few articles written by men that discuss feminism and the next wave of feminism. Even writing about women’s rights and gender equality. It is very rare. At a time when there should be more togetherness and discussion, it is largely women writing about big issues. There is not even a positive men’s movement, so there does need to be greater activism and involvement from men. In this series, I am looking at incredible writers and feminist voices. As I am reading Fix the System, Not the Women, I wanted to talk about Laura Bates. Bates has written many books. Included are Everyday Sexism (2014), Men Who Hates Women (2020) and the upcoming The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny. I am going to come to that new book to end. I am including interviews with Laura Bates. A remarkable and important writer that everyone should know about. At a moment when dangerous men like Andrew Tate are causing an incredible amount of danger and violence, I am finding new relevance and depth in her writing. How there is this crisis. A rise in sexual violence against women. Misogyny that shows no signs of slowing. I would advise people to buy Fix the System, Not the Women. Bates founded the Everyday Sexism Project in 2012 to catalogue the spectrum of sexism faced day-to-day by women, from the "niggling and normalised" to "outrageously offensive". In encouraging people to share their stories, the project aimed to show the world that sexism exists in many guises and is a valid problem.

I want to start with a 2023 interview from The Guardian. As they write, Bates is “the author of bestselling nonfiction titles including Misogynation and Men Who Hate Women, as well as novels for teens that grapple with issues such as revenge porn and slut-shaming. Her new YA novel, Sisters of Sword and Shadow, is the first instalment of a pacy duology set in the time of King Arthur, where heroine Cass is destined for an arranged marriage until she joins a mysterious band of female knights”. It is interesting reading her responses to the questions asked:

“Was there a lightbulb moment for you in terms of your awakening as a feminist activist?

In spring 2012 I had a really, really bad week. I was followed home by a guy who was aggressively sexually propositioning me, I was groped on a bus and everybody looked away, and a guy unloading scaffolding turned to another as I was walking down the street and said: “Look at the tits on that!” If those three things hadn’t happened in the same week, I never would have thought twice about any of them because it was so normal.

Coverage of news stories like the Russell Brand allegations can give the impression that things have improved in recent years. Is that misleading?

I find it bizarre that everybody now is pointing to the lads’ mags and Page Three and going: “Well, it was really sexist back then.” Almost as if that condones the allegations. And I just think: have you heard of Andrew Tate? Misogyny has always existed, but the algorithmically facilitated mass radicalisation of young men is lads’ mags on steroids. It’s pumping out extreme misogyny on a scale that we’ve never seen before in terms of reach.

What did you make of how Jenni Hermoso was treated after speaking out against Luis Rubiales’s unsolicited World Cup kiss?

The fact that he came out fighting, and the fact that the Spanish FA threatened to sue her when billions of people had watched it happen, just shows that we haven’t made the progress we like to think we have in terms of everybody recognising what’s wrong. Also, it was really telling that something like 82 of the women players said they wouldn’t play again until Rubiales had gone, and put their careers on the line to stand behind Hermoso, and one male footballer did the same thing.

Bates with Katie Price at the panel debate 'Does Page 3 make the world a better place?' during the 2014 Women of the World festival in London. Photograph: Tim P Whitby/Getty Images

You’re a contributor to Women Under Siege, an online initiative to investigate the use of sexual violence in conflict. How optimistic are you that it can ever be eradicated?

What people don’t realise is that the use of rape as a weapon of war is always connected to cultural sexism and sexist beliefs – it’s such an effective weapon because of the way that women are treated having been raped. One of the big pieces of the puzzle is women being involved in peacemaking, being given political power and authority.

What are we still getting wrong in terms of how we deal with violence against women? Is the phrase itself part of the problem?

It’s symptomatic of the way that we still focus on the victims instead of the perpetrators. As a society, what we find hard to confront is that a woman is probably safer in a short skirt in a dark alleyway, drunk at two in the morning, than she is at home in her pyjamas in her own bed, because 90% of the time the person who’s going to rape her is going to be a partner or friend or colleague.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sophia Evans/The Observer

How do we correct that misconception?

Partly it’s about institutional misogyny, about recognising it as a systemic crisis that needs systemic solutions. But also a cultural shift is needed in the most minor, normalised sexist behaviour and banter. That, I think, is where storytelling comes in – changing people’s mind by changing who we expect to take different roles within those stories and also what a hero looks like, what power looks like.

Are you still receiving death and rape threats online?

Yes. Last year the police reached a point where they basically said the threats were credible but they couldn’t trace them, so they put panic alarms in my house instead, which feels scary and reassuring at the same time.

You’re married. Your husband must worry.

He is extremely calm and extremely supportive. When we were engaged, a men’s rights activist wrote an open letter on the internet that said if my husband went through with marrying me, he would one day come home to find that I had burned down the house, stolen all his money, murdered our children and absconded with a coven of lesbian witches. That didn’t put him off.

Please tell us how you remain hopeful.

There are so many things that give me hope. Women supporting other women – feminism is so often portrayed as catty, divisive, and it’s just not, in my experience – or auditoriums packed with people who are prepared to give up their time for what isn’t an easy conversation; I aways joke that no one wants to invite me to dinner parties. One of the things that I feel really positive about is we now have a generation of teenage girls who are so much more politicised and aware of their rights. It doesn’t mean that they’re not facing absolute shit, but it does mean that they’re a little bit more armed to fight it than we were.

What advice do you have for anyone raising a son?

Talk to them. Don’t think that it has to be one big scary conversation when they’re 16, because it’s too late then. Start when they’re three and someone gives them a truck and their sister a doll – ask why, question it. Give them the tools to think for themselves and talk about internet literacy”.

I want to end with focus around her upcoming book, The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny. That comes out on 15th May. On 9th May, Laura Bates will be speaking about the book at the Southbank Centre. It is a book that you will want to buy. Even though I cannot cover everything Laura Bates has written and said, I wanted to put in these selections to get a better impression of her amazing work. If you have not seen the Everyday Sexism Project website, then you can see their archive here. It is designed to take a step towards gender equality “by proving wrong those who tell women that they can’t complain because we are equal”. Before moving on, as I am reading Fix the System, Not the Women, I wanted to bring in a review from The Guardian:

“Fix the System, Not the Women is an attempt to highlight “the interlocking systems of domination that define our reality” – and to pull apart the myth that women are complicit in our own oppression. Bates’s central message, which she has developed through her Everyday Sexism Project, the online forum that has now received 200,000 stories of sexism and misogyny from all over the world, and books including Girl Up (2016) and Men Who Hate Women (2020), is that there is a spectrum of gender inequality. Sexist jokes and stereotypes are at one end. Rape, domestic abuse, female genital mutilation and so-called “honour” killings are at the other. Maternity discrimination, workplace sexual harassment, the gender pay gap “and so much more” lie somewhere in between.

What if, Bates asks, none of it is actually women’s fault? What if women can’t network, mentor, charm, assert and lean in their way out of sexism because this is a system that is rigged against them? A system that relies on its own invisibility for its preservation.

Suggestions for reform include apps that track the movements of men convicted of crimes against women

Bates pursues her thesis across five key areas: education, policing, criminal justice, media and politics. The fact that only a quarter of the Cabinet are women might just explain why working mothers lost their jobs at far higher rates than fathers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and new mothers were forced to give birth alone while pubs were allowed to open.

But the most rousing sections of the book are on male violence and the burden on women to keep themselves safe. When a woman is killed, it is often called “an isolated incident”, and yet a woman is murdered by a man in the UK every three days. Bates is scathing about Priti Patel’s support for an app to log women’s movements, on top of managing all the other gear they are advised to carry. As a society “we cannot stop finding excuses for male violence”, she writes. Despite the increased prominence of feminist campaigns, charges in rape cases are now exactly half what they were in 2015–16. Too often, decisions about whether or not to proceed to trial for rape rely on whether the woman fits the societal profile of the “perfect victim”: ie, those who are “sweet and pretty and innocent and careful and didn’t stray off the path or talk to the wolf”. And also, importantly, white.

Fix the System contains plenty of suggestions for reform, including apps that track the movements of men convicted of crimes against women, and banning non-disclosure agreements that gag staff who have experienced maternity discrimination. Bates also reminds us that if we want to tackle oppression in one sphere, we need to be aware of its overlap with others. Black women are four times as likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth in the UK, yet rarely see themselves represented in campaigns to reach out to expectant mothers. Disabled women are twice as likely to suffer domestic abuse, but just one in 10 spaces in refuges is accessible to those with physical disabilities.

But Bates is adamant that it’s not her job to find solutions. Hundreds already exist, “ignored and unused” in reports and campaign materials of feminist and civil rights organisations. Which made me wonder: how many men will read Fix the System? In recent years, books such as Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race and White Fragility have been bought in huge numbers by white people. Because, as Bates says: “this is not our mess to clean up”. Sadly, I suspect the feminist publishing boom has passed most male readers by”.

There are a couple of new interviews that I want to end with. The first is from The Standard. Laura Bates explained how she wants boys to be raised knowing that they can cry and show their emotions when they need to. That girls can grow up without living in fear. That they do not face abuse and discrimination. We are, as Bates says, far from that at the moment:

“Her upcoming book, “The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny,” is set to be published in May 2025. Bates said she has begun to worry about the effect of AI’s integration into everyday life.

“We are hurtling towards a really seismic shift in terms of really every aspect of our society is on the brink of being transformed by emerging technologies and in particular, artificial intelligence,” Bates said.

In her book, Bates said she discusses the ways in which AI will affect change-making due to its repetitive nature.

“AI tech, and the way in which much of it works, is that it is often trained on existing data sets,” Bates said. “Which means that it is absorbing and learning from our already flawed society, and it then risks re-imbedding and exacerbating the racism and the sexism and the existing inequalities of our current society.”

To mitigate this risk, she said AI must be regulated and that “there has to be oversight” and transparency.

Campaigning for policy changes

Bates, alongside other advocacy groups, contributed to the change in the national curriculum around relationships and sex education through campaigning. According to Anglia Ruskin University, they advocated for an emphasis on consent in the health curriculum and, according to the U.K. Parliament, they also urged the government to not remove feminism from the A-level Politics syllabus.

Bates said a modification to the education system felt necessary to include underrepresented topics.

“In the changes, the policies, it was sexual concern, healthy relationships, LGBTQ+ rights and relationships, gender stereotypes, all of that stuff was added and that was really helpful,” Bates said.

Calling attention to sexual misconduct at schools, Bates said she collected stories from girls who were made victims of sexual assault to reveal to people in power.

“I was able to present the politicians with, you know, 1,000 testimonies of girls about what it feels like, in their own words, to be sexually assaulted at school,” Bates said. “It’s really satisfying to see those first-hand testimonies change policy and change people’s minds.”

However, Bates said there are often times when her hard work falls short in the hands of political representatives.

“It’s frustrating and hard, just how much work goes on behind the scenes for any changes to happen, and how many times you put in the work and the change doesn’t happen,” Bates said. “That’s the reality of campaigning and lobbying.”

She said another challenge to creating impact through policy is the frequent change of individual positions in the government, which delays an outcome.

“You might be working really closely with an education secretary and then, suddenly, overnight as a reshuffle, you have to get to know a whole new person and start to work with them,” Bates said.

To achieve a fulfilling result in change-making, Bates said a joint effort is necessary.

“It’s very much taught me the importance of collaboration and building a strong coalition because if you want to get things done in politics, that’s kind of how to do it,” Bates said.

In 2013, Bates, along with other campaigners, successfully changed Facebook’s policies and training guidelines around spreading misogynistic images and comments. Additionally, Bates said stories of harassment on public transport from the Everyday Sexism Project were used to work with the British Transport Police on Project Guardian, an initiative that overhauled the way the force dealt with sexual offenses on public transport.

“Changing Facebook’s policies on rape and domestic violence content, changing the British Transport policies approach to sexual offenses and seeing the number of reporting and the number of perpetrators who were arrested went up, things like that have been really rewarding,” Bates said.

Inspirations and aspirations

Alongside recognized women like Malala Yousafzai, Gloria Steinem and bell hooks, Bates said she looks up to women “whose names other people don’t know.”

“I’m hugely inspired by the women I’m lucky enough to work with who are real women, who are working kind of at the coalface of sexual violence,” Bates said. “These are women who might be working in domestic abuse shelters, they might be frontline service providers, they might be counselors for women who’ve experienced rape or sexual abuse”.

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I am going to end with this interview from We Are the City. The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny is going to be a must-read: “From deepfakes to cyber brothels, this terrifying and timely exposé from the bestselling author of Everyday Sexism and Men Who Hate Women reveals the real and fast-spreading dangers of new, inherently misogynistic techonology and their detrimental effect on gender equality”:

“Why Gender Equality Work is Far From Over

In the UK and beyond, some question whether gender inequality remains a pressing issue. They argue that feminism is outdated, that sexism is a relic of the past, and that initiatives like International Women’s Day are unnecessary. Yet, for those engaged in gender equity work, the evidence tells a very different story.

The Reality Behind the Perception

In reality, women remain significantly under-represented in leadership and decision-making roles. Everywhere from parliament to board rooms, when people are making decisions that impact our lives on a daily basis, they don’t tend to be completely representative of the communities they serve. And the disparity continues across a wide range of fields, from science to art, architecture to engineering.

The Ongoing Impact of Gender Stereotypes

These imbalances stem from deeply ingrained gender norms. From childhood, boys are socialised to believe they must be strong and unemotional, contributing to the stark reality that suicide remains the leading cause of death for men under 50. Meanwhile, women face stereotypes that paint them as overly emotional, impacting their career prospects and credibility in professional settings.

These stereotypes translate into real-world workplace challenges. Women’s ideas in meetings are often ignored until repeated by male colleagues. They are frequently assumed to be less senior, passed over for leadership roles, or expected to take on administrative tasks. Gender bias manifests in hiring, promotions, and workplace culture, contributing to persistent gender pay gaps and barriers to advancement.

The Reality of Violence Against Women

In reality, women remain significantly under-represented in leadership and decision-making roles. Everywhere from parliament to board rooms, when people are making decisions that impact our lives on a daily basis, they don’t tend to be completely representative of the communities they serve. And the disparity continues across a wide range of fields, from science to art, architecture to engineering. AI Adoption and Gender Disparities

AI, structural bias and gendered harm

The rise of AI presents a new frontier in gender inequality. With great opportunity comes great risk, and we are already seeing the impact play out, from women being slower adopters of emerging technology, to the ways in which AI can unintentionally re-embed existing inequalities and forms of prejudice within the building blocks of new systems. Across a broad range of applications, from financial assessments to healthcare and recruitment, we are already seeing the consequences of these biases for women and marginalised groups. There are also ways in which emerging technologies are being harnessed by bad actors for deliberate gendered harms, from the use of deepfake technology to create fake pornographic images of women to the use of smart tech by stalkers and domestic abusers.

The Role We Must Play

As AI reshapes society, we have a critical window to intervene and ensure these technologies do not entrench existing inequalities. Governments, policymakers, and tech leaders must prioritise ethical AI development by:

• Increasing Female Representation in AI development, academia, and leadership to ensure diverse perspectives shape the future of technology.

• Implementing Stronger Regulations to prevent AI from reinforcing bias in recruitment, policing, and finance.

• Developing AI Ethics Frameworks that mandate fairness, accountability, and transparency in algorithmic decision-making.

• Combating Online Abuse by enforcing stricter legal consequences for those who use AI for harassment, coercion, and non-consensual exploitation.

• Raising Public Awareness about the real risks AI poses to gender equality and ensuring that conversations about AI safety include the voices of those most affected.

A Call to Action

Gender inequality is not a women’s issue; it affects everyone. The same stereotypes that hold women back also harm men, particularly in mental health. Tackling these issues requires systemic change, not just individual action. Rather than focusing on how women should respond to discrimination, the conversation must shift toward dismantling the structures that allow inequality to persist.

As long as these disparities exist, the fight for gender equality must continue. Recognising and addressing inequality is not about dividing men and women—it is about building a fairer, more inclusive society for all. The work is far from over, and it is up to all of us to ensure meaningful progress”.

For the first part of this regular series that spotlights feminist writers and activists, I was eager to talk about Laura Bates. An author I am reading at the moment, she is one of the most important writers of her generation I feel. If you have not discovered her writing, then do go and check out Laura Bates. An acclaimed and successful writer, I would advise everyone to…

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OWN her books.

FEATURE: Welcome to the Terrordome: Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet at Thirty-Five

FEATURE:

 

 

Welcome to the Terrordome

Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet at Thirty-Five

_________

I wanted to celebrated…

the third studio album from Public Enemy. Fear of a Black Planet was released on 10th April, 1990 by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. A hugely influential album that was produced by Public Enemy’s production team, The Bomb Squad. Building on the sampling heard on the group’s previous album, 1988’s It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Baack, there was a definite expansion of the sound. Fear of a Black Planet, among other themes, explores empowerment within the Black community, “social issues affecting African Americans, and race relations at the time. Its critiques of institutional racism, white supremacy, and the power elite were partly inspired by Dr. Frances Cress Welsing's views on color”. I wanted to mark thirty-five years of the album by exploring it in more detail. In 2015, NME wrote why Fear of a Black Planet is more relevant than ever. The righteous energy and anger that is displayed through the album is powerful and impactful:

“Yet in 1989, the group found themselves embroiled in an ugly controversy. Professor Griff, the group’s ‘Minister of Information’, told Melody Maker that: “If the Palestinians took up arms, went into Israel and killed all the Jews, it’d be alright.” When grilled on this point by David Mills, of the Washington Times, Griff went further still, saying: “Jews are responsible for the majority of the wickedness in the world.” Chuck D first apologised for him, then called a press conference to announce that Griff would be suspended from Public Enemy. A week later, the group’s label boss, Russell Simmons of Def Jam, announced that Chuck D had disbanded Public Enemy “for an indefinite period of time”.

Within a couple of months, Chuck D returned to deny that the group had disbanded, but by now a shadow had been cast over the band. This was the context in which they wrote ‘Fear Of A Black Planet’ – knowing that their next release could make or break them.

Predictably, they didn’t back down. ‘Welcome To The Terrordome’, released ahead of the album in January 1990, saw Chuck D rapping lines that many took to relate directly to the anti-Semitism controversy: “Crucifixion ain’t no fiction/So-called chosen frozen/Apology made to whoever pleases/Still they got me like Jesus”. Later, Chuck said that he wrote the song over the course of a two day road trip to Allentown, Pennsylvania in the midst of the controversy. “I just let all the drama come out of me,” he told Billboard magazine. “‘I got so much trouble on my mind/I refuse to lose/Here’s your ticket/hear the drummer get wicked”. That was some true stuff. I just dropped everything I was feeling.”

Although rightly apologetic for Griff’s anti-Semitism, Public Enemy didn’t let the controversy stop them writing angrily and graphically about the social problems they’d witnessed in American culture. Most withering of all was ‘911 Is A Joke’, in which a scornful Flavor Flav highlights differing police response times in black and white neighbourhoods. The song is a classic example of the symbiotic writing relationship between the group’s two frontmen: Chuck D wrote the incendiary title and then passed it to his partner to build a song around. “It took a year, but Flavor was saying he had a personal incident that he could relate that to,” Chuck said. “At the end of the year when it was time for him to record he was ready. Keith [Shocklee, Bomb Squad] had the track, and it was the funkiest track I heard. It reminded me of uptempo Parliament/Funkadelic.”

After skewering the police, Public Enemy then reset their sights and took aim at capitalism as a whole. ‘Who Stole The Soul?’ was their furious attack on the commodification of black culture, and Chuck D has called it one of their “most meaningful performance records”. They weren’t just calling for words or token apologies: they wanted action. “We talk about reparations,” he remembered later. Whoever stole the soul has to pay the price.”

The album closes with the incendiary, insurrectionary rage of ‘Fight The Power’. Like the best protest music, it is a song written with a specific political target in mind, which has now become a universal anthem of political resistance. On a recent European tour, Chuck D told NME that the song grows stronger as it takes on the historical context of wherever it is played. “In Belgium, we dedicated ‘Fight The Power’ to the Democratic Republic of Congo,” he said. “The memory of Patrice Lumumba [first democratically elected prime minster of Congo, who fought for independence from Belgium] will not be in vain. You always have to be aware where you’re going to when you step into somebody’s home. That’s the thing that sets us apart as different. We’re not the normal rap group.”

Sonically, too, they were no normal group. Sprawling over 20 tracks, ‘Fear Of A Black Planet’ is hip-hop at it’s most musically ambitious. Having toured as a support act for the Beastie Boys (as referenced in the radio phone-in samples that make up ‘Incident At 66.6 FM’), they were inspired by the sample-laden ‘Paul’s Boutique’, released in 1989, to add soul and jazz influences without dialling down any of the anger of their earlier recordings”.

I am going to move on to a feature from 2020. Among controversy and division, the group released one of their finest work. An album that still sound phenomenal thirty years on. On 10th April, I hope there are new features written about Fear of a Black Planet. If you are not familiar with Public Enemy or know much about the album then I would urge you to explore it now. A big commercial success, at the time of its release, critics hailed Fear of a Black Planet as a masterpiece and the best that Hip-Hop can offer:

“Fear of a Black Planet emerged from a swirling cauldron of uncertainty and animosity. It’s a sprawling, messy, politically charged, and ultimately humanistic album. It features the crew’s frontman Carlton “Chuck D” Ridenhour and hypeman William “Flavor Flav” Drayton trying to envision the future, and taking chances as performers.

It’s also arguably the finest production effort by The Bomb Squad, the architects of Public Enemy’s sound. The team, comprised of Hank and Keith Shocklee, Eric “Vietnam” Sadler, and “Carl Ryder” (Chuck D’s production nom-de-plume), takes their “wall of sound” production styles and cranks them up to the maximum, generating a belligerent and harsh aural assault. It’s even more openly hostile to traditional forms of hip-hop production than Public Enemy’s previous two releases.

The musical backdrop they create is a cross between a fever dream and the world’s most powerful pirate radio broadcast. Tracks often flow together with little break or pause between them. This was during the “wild west” era of sampling, when artists would rarely bother to clear samples; Chuck later estimated that they used 200 to 250 samples to create the album. Even the interstitial music between the songs is interesting, as they continuously layer samples, vocals, and broadcasts to form a collage of chaos.

It’s fitting, as Fear of a Black Planet was born out of chaos. The bedlam initially began at what was the group’s earliest peak, during the summer of 1989, shortly after the release of their signature track, “Fight the Power.” The song is an essential component to Do the Right Thing, a Spike Lee Joint that’s not only one of the best films of the 1980s, but one of the greatest films of all time. The track blasts out of the Boom Box of Radio Raheem (as played by the late Bill Nunn), in nearly every scene that he appears.

Decades later, “Fight the Power” is still one of the most popular and beloved songs in hip-hop history, and just as synonymous with politically-charged hip-hop as the group itself. It exemplifies the group encouraging resistance towards traditional power structures, and thumbing its nose at all-American institutions like Elvis Presley and John Wayne. It would show up as the final song on Fear of a Black Planet, a final exclamation point signaling the end of a tumultuous era for the group.

The problem began for Public Enemy as “Fight the Power” was first gaining traction in popular culture during those hot summer months. The Washington Times conducted an interview with Professor Griff, Public Enemy’s then Minister of Information (essentially their media spokesman). During this interview, Griff made some fairly flagrant anti-Semitic comments. After the interview was printed, all hell broke loose.

In the interest of damage control, Griff was fired, re-hired, and then fired again from the group. Or possibly quit. Or possibly never left. It’s never really been clear. Public Enemy broke up and reformed numerous times over the next few months, before coming back together. Or maybe never really disbanded at all. Again, it’s never been clear. It is worth noting that Griff has apologized a few times for making the controversial comments. It was time of great uncertainty for the great group, and as a super-fan, I personally was devastated by the way things were playing out.

When Fear of a Black Planet was finally released, it was a clear artistic and commercial triumph. To this day, it’s still Public Enemy’s most commercially successful album, as it’s certified double Platinum. It features iconic singles that have had a cultural impact that’s gone beyond just music and entered the shared cultural vernacular. While it might not be Public Enemy’s best work (1988’s It Takes a Nation to Hold Us Back is still better than everything), it’s among the greatest hip-hop albums ever released.

I’ve spoken here many times about by deep love for and obsession with Public Enemy’s music growing up, so it was a given that I was eagerly anticipating Fear of a Black Planet when it dropped. The problem was three decades ago I was in the middle of spring break during my freshman year of high school and on a family vacation with my parents and younger brother the day it hit the shelves. We spent most of it in Death Valley, nowhere near a record store.

Towards the end of the trip I remember that I forced my folks to stop at a Rainbow Records outside of Las Vegas so that I could buy the album on tape. I was instantly overpowered by the release. Even its packaging was overwhelming; the cassette’s liner notes were so voluminous that they had to be included on a separate insert. I remember spending that last day or two of the vacation listening to the album on my Walkman, intently reading the lyrics and the lists of emcees and groups that Chuck D shouted out, including but not limited to the “Popular 14,” the “Disciples of the Future 17,” and the “Funky Fellas on the Block 22.”

Fear of a Black Planet still resonates as powerfully today as it did 30 years ago. “Welcome to the Terrordome,” the album’s first proper single, is as “angry” of a hip-hop track as was released in the ’90s and beyond. The song is as central to the group’s legacy as the aforementioned “Fight the Power.”

“Terrordome” focuses on the controversy that consumed the group throughout the second half of 1989, and Chuck D uses the song to vent his frustration with the news media. Public Enemy has had a, shall we say, difficult relationship with the media since the group’s inception, and Chuck rails against outlets throughout the song’s four verses. He’s said that the song was supposed to signify the beginning of what the ’90s would bring for Public Enemy and rap music, and in many ways it’s correct.

The track itself is one of the Bomb Squad’s masterpieces, a churning engine of unholy sonic fury. The guitars and vocals from the Temptations’ “Psychedelic Shack” are transformed into a relentless cacophonic blare, as disorienting snatches of music and other vocal snippets burst throughout the composition as well. The song barely has a hook, with Flavor Flav chanting “Come on down!” when necessary. He also memorably crows throughout the breaks between verses, reciting lines from Scarface, and generally goofing off in his signature style.

The bitterness on “Terrordome” is palpable, but overall, it’s an outlier on Fear of a Black Planet. For all the pandemonium and acrimony that built the album, Chuck shares a generally positive outlook on what the ’90s will be for the Black population of the United States. “Brothers Gonna Work It Out” typifies the message of optimism that permeates much of the album. Public Enemy is generally not thought of as a particularly hopeful group; they made their name reporting on the way that the government systematically oppresses its Black population. 

Long after it appeared that the group would be ripped apart, Public Enemy persevered and created a perfectly imperfect monument to the end of the ’80s and the beginning of the ’90s. For all the effort that went into its creation, it generates even more power and strength in what it gives back to the listener. The fact that the group survived the circumstances that inspired this album has convinced me that what’s happening now, as addressed earlier in this piece, barely rises to the level of a bump in the road”.

I am going to end with a feature from last year. An album, as mentioned, that is relevant today, it is hard to compare Fear of a Black Planet with anything else. A masterpiece that was “issuing calls for a survivable lifestyle”, it brought respect for Hip-Hop from critics. Public Enemy also acquired millions of new fans. It also provoked passionate debate over its political content:

“Pulling no punches

Packed with Public Enemy classics and somehow even louder and rougher than its predecessor, Fear Of A Black Planet, released on April 10, 1990, pulls no punches. As ever, the group were not only concerned with the present and the future of black people, they were steeped in black history and culture. That can be seen on the most superficial level: their samples are a lesson in hard funk and their song titles show PE know music: “Brothers Gonna Work It Out,” a title drawn from a 1973 Willie Hutch classic; “Fight The Power,” from an Isley Brothers song; “Power To The People,” perhaps partially inspired by Joe Savage’s “All Power To The People” (a song probably released in aid of the Black Panthers, in 1968), or Joe Henderson’s 1969 album of the same title.

Here is a group at the peak of its powers, knowing what it says is going to be heard and fighting to deliver it in the most uncompromising way possible in the face of criticism, fury, incredulity, and misunderstanding, as heard on the radio clips that appear on “Incident At 66.6 FM.” If their intention, at the least, was to make listeners think, they succeeded.

This time around, one of the biggest tunes was Flavor Flav’s showcase, “911 Is A Joke,” a brassy, rolling groove with a point: people in the projects can’t rely on the help the rest of society takes for granted. “Welcome To The Terrordome” drops like a piano from a skyscraper, with Chuck quoting the titles of other songs for a moment before he kicks off a flow that is the work of a man under attack. Paranoid? Perhaps, but they really were out to get him and his people, Chuck’s rhymes taking in crucifixion, racist killings, heroes assassinated, a lack of black unity, and the whole nine yards.

Fear of a black planet

The album’s title track is a shower of funk, with cartoon-like use of vocal clips while Chuck mocks white fear of black people and points out a few home truths as he sees them. A similar fury simmers behind “Pollywanacracka,” but the approach this time is downbeat, quietly explaining a situation in which black people choose white lovers as a status symbol. “Burn Hollywood Burn” features a dream team of Chuck, Ice Cube, and Big Daddy Kane: Cube would soon be making his own movies in Tinseltown, but here his fire is directed squarely at the West Coast dream factory.

On “Revolutionary Generation” a call for unity between sister and brother is served up with references to slavery and oppression; yes, that is a bit of “Pass The Dutchie” incongruously thrown in amid a tangle of samples that keep the ears alert. Flav lands another showcase in “Can’t Do Nuttin For Ya Man,” necessary leavening amid the polemic and power, with the man who knows what time it is telling a tale of being chased down by hustlers, beggars and dudes who f__ked up.

An album beyond compare

Terminator X drops “Leave This Off Your F__kin’ Charts,” exemplary mixology with a title that didn’t really apply since PE had no problem charting back then. Together with “B Side Wins Again,” this is Fear Of A Black Planet’s most B-boy offering: total hip-hop. “War At 33 ⅓” is a mass of ideas, ranging from cars to fake evangelists, religious divides and African-Americans’ second-class status in a racist America. The album closes with “Fight The Power,” another PE classic, rolling on a diced and re-glued beat from The JBs’ “Hot Pants Road,” left to the end just to make you want to go back to the start and hear it all again. Ah, there is Elvis and John Wayne… you knew they had to be here somewhere, getting dissed.

There is more; the internet isn’t hasn’t got the capacity to cover everything in this record. “Controversial” isn’t a big enough word for it; funky is hardly an adequate description for the firepower of The Bomb Squad’s grooves; Chuck’s lyrics are more than mere rhymes. These aren’t songs, they’re calls for a survivable lifestyle, a series of theories, an expression of what was wrong, and what is still wrong – sometimes wilfully so. It’s like Chuck D anticipated the haters-gonna-hate credo that exists now, and decided he might as well speak his mind anyway.

The result was an album beyond compare: thrilling, infuriating at times, educational, funny, and deep enough to keep you finding new things in it three decades after it was unleashed on a planet that feared, loathed, and loved it”.

On 10th April, Fear of a Black Planet turns thirty-five. With its songwriting partly inspired by the controversy surrounding member Professor Griff's anti-Semitic public comments – and his consequent dismissal from the group in 1989 -, there is something personal, political and universal about the album. There have been so many Hip-Hop masterpieces released through the decades, yet there are…

FEW better than this.

FEATURE: Versions of This Woman’s Work: Covering Kate Bush

FEATURE:

 

 

Versions of This Woman’s Work

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1989

Covering Kate Bush

_________

THIS is a subject…

IN THIS PHOTO: Tori Amos is among the many artists who has covered Kate Bush’s work through the years 

that I was wary of covering. Like The Beatles, I always think that Kate Bush did her songs best. That no matter what, you cannot get close to the original. I think that this is largely true. If you think about the cover versions of Kate Bush songs, very few come close to the original. I cannot list and explore every cover version of her song as there have been quite a few. A lot of minor artists that are hard to find or have not done much. However, it is obvious that artists have been fascinated and arrested by her music and wanted to show their affection. It can be quite a challenging task approaching Kate Bush’s music, as it is so distinct. If you try and imitate Kate Bush’s voice, there are few who sound like her. So it is a case of going in a different direction. Charting the first Kate Bush cover version is difficult. It does seem that the earliest cover versions were perhaps not too serious. As Tom Doyle writes in his book, Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush, a cover of Wuthering Heights was an early interpretation. A comedy Reggae version of Wuthering Heights was released in 1979 by Jan Wurzel on the album, Hybrid Kids – A Collection of Classic Mutants. The person responsible was Morgan Fisher, who compiled a mock four-track compilation that he recorded in his bedroom. I guess it is affection at play. It seemed closer to satire than a genuine attempt to honour Kate Bush. I think about satirists such as Faith Brown and Pamela Stephenson. An honour in its own way, and Kate Bush found it amusing. However, it seemed there was a degree of mockery in the earliest years. Never having heard an artist like her, an instinct to lampoon and treat as a novelty more than a serious artist. The first Kate Bush cover was by Julie Covington. Her smooth Folk Rock interpretation of The Kick Inside was included on her self-titled album in 1978. That was the same year as Kate Bush’s debut album, The Kick Inside, was released. I do like the fact that there was this early and serious cover.

It was that trick of trying to capture the power and potency of the original without having to mimic her voice. There were some unsuccessful attempts. As Tom Doyle notes, a 1980 cover of Wuthering Heights by Pat Benatar – adopting a faux English accent – was a definite miss. Included on her album, Crimes of Passion, it was a misstep that showed how hard it was to cover Kate Bush. In Julie Convington’s case, she was a friend of Bush’s brother, John (Jay). She loved Kate Bush’s music and did her justice. It was the artists who added their own distinct take on a Kate Bush song that were most successful. Dusty Springfield covered The Man with the Child in His Eyes in 1979 in London. Quite faithful, it was a slowed-down version and arranged for piano, synths and brass. Although a great version, when reaching for a falsetto near the end, Springfield struggled slightly. That obstacle of trying to sound like Kate Bush but artists maybe not having that range of ability. Natalie Cole and Pat Kane also covered The Man with the Child in His Eyes. I would love to hear a playlist or album with Kate Bush covers from throughout the years. A range of artists today tackling a Kate Bush song. Tina Arena’s 2007 version of The Man with the Child in His Eyes was only a half success. The Futureheads released their version of Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love in early-2005. They performed it at Glastonbury that year. Even though I do not like their version – the tone, energy and sound drains the original of its passion, beauty and meaning -, it is very popular and was a successful single. Bush spoke to Tom Doyle in 2005 and remarked how she loved their cover. Doing their own thing with her. Pleased artists are covering her songs. In spite of my reservations, Kate Bush approaching The Futureheads’ Hounds of Love should be the only thing that matters!

Ezra Furman tweeted in 2018 how people should listen to Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love (song) every day then there is something wrong with your mental health. She performed it at gigs that year and provided a spirited and passionate take. A lot of Hounds of Love attention in terms of covers. Sergeant Thunderhoof provided a heavy and long take on Cloudbusting. In contrast, The Staves’ version was a lot lighter and more harmonious. Solange Knowles has named Kate Bush as one of her key influences. She performed a version of Cloudbusting at Coachella in 2014. It was a pretty loyal version but showed that huge artists from all over the musical map were keen to step up and show their love for Kate Bush British artist Nerina Pallot has covered Moments of Pleasure from 1993’s The Red Shoes. This Woman’s Work has been covered a few songs. A track from the perspective of an expectant father, it is curious how many male artists have covered the song. Luke Sital-Singh, Greg Laswell and Sam Ryder have all covered the track. Most famously, Maxwell provided one of the best Kate Bush covers with his 2002 single version. He performed it originally at a 1997 MTV Unplugged set. It is no shock that Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) has been covered more time than other Kate Bush songs. Placebo, The Chromatics, Meg Myers, The Wombats, First Aid Kit and Car Seat Headrest are a few of the many who have covered this track. In 2022, at the Governors Ball Music Festival in New York, Halsey covered Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God). A huge fan of Kate Bush, she has since spoke about her music and influence. Her recent album, The Great Impersonator, was Halsey writing songs in the style of other artists. Her tribute to her. I Never Loved You was a track influenced by Kate Bush. I will end by discussing a few very recent Kate Bush covers.

Most cover versions have been for more obvious and commercial tracks. However, Nada Surf have covered Love and Anger. That track was from Kate Bush’s 1989 album, The Sensual World. Scroobius Pip produced a Trip-Hop version of Feel It (from The Kick Inside). Tracey Thorn performed Under the Ivy. A B-side for Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), it was an opportunity for people to connect with a song they may not know existed. Jane Birkin covered another Hounds of Love song in the form of Mother Stands for Comfort. In 1998, Tom Doyle interviewed Tori Amos and mentioned how pretty much every review for her 1992 album Little Earthquakes mentioned Kate Bush. Amos wanted her music to stand out and not be a pastiche. That was never the case. However, she was listening to Kate Bush when she was younger and singing along to her songs. People mentioning how she reminded them of Kate Bush. The Stranger Things phenomenon of 2022 – where Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) featured in a powerful scene – has meant a raft of new covers of that song (including a terrible one from Rita Ora). Tori Amos include that track (or bits of it) in some of her sets. In 2005, it was sprinkled into a set, bookending her own song, God (from 1994’s Under the Pink). Amos performed the track again in 2022. In 2014, Tori Amos performed And Dream of Sheep. Many artists not straying too far from Hounds of Love. However, the names and covers I have mentioned is only a small representation!

Since 2022, there have been covers of Kate Bush tracks from smaller artists and established acts alike. Rosie Frater-Taylor covered Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) in 2024. CMAT covered Wuthering Heights the same year. Also last year, BRIT winners The Last Dinner Party released Prelude To Ecstasy: Acoustics and Covers. An expansion of their incredible debut album, one of the covers included – alongside Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game – was Army Dreamers. A rare nod to Kate Bush’s 1980 album, Never for Ever. Many artists not visiting that wonderful album. I have not even mentioned The Puppini Sisters’ take on Wuthering Heights, Chris Anderson (ft. Erin Bentlage)’s version of Joanni (from 2005’s Aerial) or Ada Unn’s version of L’amour Looks Something Like You (from The Kick Inside). Everyone will have their own Kate Bush cover attempt. I have been a bit down by suggesting other artists cannot get close to Kate Bush. Whilst I stand by that, it is impressive how many different artists have approached Kate Bush’s music. I have seen a rise in this over the past couple of years. People showing their respect for an artist who remains untouched and distinct. Something fairly rare in a modern music scene. Especially in the mainstream. Perhaps that is the allure. Kate Bush providing something modern artists do not. The width and breadth of her music brilliance. From Maxwell to The Staves to The Futureheads and Dusty Springfield, so many music greats have covered…

A Kate Bush song.

FEATURE: Alright: Looking Ahead to the Thirtieth Anniversary of Supergrass’ I Should Coco

FEATURE:

 

 

Alright

Looking Ahead to the Thirtieth Anniversary of Supergrass’ I Should Coco

_________

FEW debut albums…

of the 1990s were as successful and impactful than Supergrass’ I Should Coco. Released on 15th May, 1995, I am looking ahead to the thirtieth anniversary. I am not sure whether a vinyl reissue is planned. Supergrass are marking the anniversary with tour dates. I want to get to some reviews and features about the album. On 17th October, 1994, the lead single from the album – and Supergrass’ debut -, Caught By the Fuzz, was released. Most people associate I Should Coco with Alright. The album’s final single was released on 3rd July, 1995. I am surprised the band did not put Alright out earlier. However, dropping in the summer of 1995, it was the perfect time to launch a feelgood and carefree song about youth and living life to the full without stress or responsability. I Should Coco was recorded in Cornwall and produced by Sam Williams. Released during the peak of Britpop when bands like Oasis and Blur were battling it out,  I Should Coco became Supergrass’ most successful release when it reached number one on the U.K. album chart. Before getting to reviews of the album, last year, NME spoke with Supergrass’ lead, Gaz Coombes, about the anniversary tour:

“Last week saw the Oxford band announce details of a UK tour for May 2025, playing their 1995 album in full for the first time. Cockney rhyming slang for “I should think so”, ‘I Should Coco’ was released when Coombes was just 19-years-old, and his bandmates drummer Danny Goffey and bassist Mick Quinn not much older.

It featured the huge singles ‘Alright’ and ‘Caught By The Fuzz’, peaked at Number One in the charts, sold over a million sales worldwide, and became the biggest-selling debut album from Parlophone Records since The Beatles’ ‘Please Please Me’.

“Well, I should bloody coco!” Coombes told NME, looking ahead to the shows. “It’s cool, man. It’s been about a year in the making. It’s just such a great record and really means a lot of to us. The great thing about it, is that this record is part of our DNA. It’s mad that 30 years later, we’re still able to pull off that energetic, youthful chemistry on stage and read each other in that way. Although it’s a 30-year-old record, we all feel really connected to it.”

He continued: “It’s going to be exciting to get on stage and do that album as a whole for the first time ever. There are a couple of tracks that we’ve never performed live before, so that’s really cool”.

In 2015, the band’s original trio spoke with The Guardian about the making of and memories of their iconic debut album. Released in one of music’s best years, Supergrass made an instant name for themselves in 1995. Number one in the U.K., I Should Coco was nominated for the 1995 Mercury Prize. Alright won an Ivor Novello for Best Contemporary Song in 1996. The legacy of the album is incredible. It has inspired so many other artists. On 15th May, there will be a lot of celebration and discussion around I Should Coco:

“Mick Quinn, bass

The summer of 1993 is when it all kicked off. I’d dropped out of college and got a job at a Harvester and Gaz started working in the kitchen. We’d get off our shift and then jam for hours with Danny, who had been in a band called the Jennifers with Gaz. We put up the money from our day jobs to go down to Sawmills Studio in Cornwall and did six tracks in five days.

The moment we started playing together, we all started playing better than we had in any other band. Danny is a frenetic drummer but has a brilliant melodic sense; with me being a forthright bass player, we just drove each other on. Gaz is more meticulous. Any comic lyric usually came from Danny, although with Alright, I came up with “keep our teeth nice and clean”. It felt like such a throwaway song, like a toothpaste commercial.

At the beginning, we’d play gigs to 60s bikers who were really into it; by the time we had Alright out, it was OK for mums and dads to like us. Alright became a millstone, creatively speaking. It was difficult to get out from under the shadow. Like with the video: we were happy to go down to Portmeirion, and do a Carry On version of The Prisoner. But then you realise people want that again the next time round.

But I Should Coco is a fantastic record. I had my first daughter about six months before it was released, so I had a lot of hormones hitting me. And it was so exciting to travel. Japan was incredible. It was like A Hard Day’s Night, getting chased down the road by screaming fans.

Danny Goffey, drums

I was at school and got asked to leave. I went to Henley College, and got kicked out of there, too. It might have been an allegation of dope smoking. I tried to start my own babysitting service and I was briefly a dinner lady – it was a good way to meet sixth-form girls by giving them an extra baked potato. Then I was on the dole.That was really fun, very free: waking up late, putting some toast on, grabbing a guitar.

My acoustic guitar invariably had strings missing – Caught By the Fuzz was written just on the first three. I was going over the first line, “Caught by the fuzz …”, trying to come up with another one when our tour manager, Daryl, came out the shower with a towel round his waist and said: “I was still on a buzz!” We honed the songs so they were short and full of energy and life.

We set ourselves little goals. When we were teenagers all we wanted was to play a gig in Oxford at the Jericho Tavern; then you think it would be great to make a video, and record. Our tours started to get bigger, and we went up to Scotland. In Dundee there was this huge surge on to the stage, these kids with no tops on snapping up the wood barrier, pouring pints on the keyboards – a sense of slight mayhem, and that we’d struck a chord with people our age.

When we were recording at Sawmills, we’d try and finish at 10 to get last orders at the Fisherman’s Arms. We were professional, but we still thought: this is a bit of a holiday. There was a thing called Forbidden Rum that we were never allowed to drink. After closing time they used to get it out, and we realised why it was forbidden. I’ve still got a scar down my right eye from walking along the railway line after we left – I slipped, banged heads with someone and fell down the bank to the estuary. I burst into the studio a bit later covered in blood.

Gaz Coombes, vocals and guitar

I was a quiet little 16-year-old. School was uninspiring, and I went just to snog girls and smoke behind the art building. But playing music, I felt like I had something cool to say. When you’re hammering through chords, everything changes – you’ve got a weapon.

When you're out on the road, you come up against dangerous situations. We had this escaped convict on the bus in Texas

The early 90s was an odd time for music. Madchester had been massive and those influences crept in. But the louder we turned up our amps to get over Danny’s drums, the more the sound changed. We were heavily influenced by the Beatles and the Kinks. They had a laidback gravitas, whereas our energy came out in a really fast manic way, but the sensibility was the same: strong melodies you can’t get out of your head.

Before we knew it, we were standing on the famous steps of the EMI building where the Beatles were photographed, signing to Parlophone, the label of our heroes. It was completely insane. Then it was a case of getting back to Sawmills and finishing the record. I Should Coco didn’t sound like anything else that was going on – Oasis sounded like they were on Mogadon compared with it. We soon got lumped in with Britpop though”.

I will finish off with two reviews for I Should Coco. In 2015, The Student Playlist shared their views about the amazing debut album from Supergrass. One of the greatest albums of the 1990s. I remember hearing it when it came out in 1995. It still sounds incredible thirty years later:

“I Should Coco, the first album by Oxford three-piece Supergrass, is not only one of the crown jewels of the Britpop era but is usually thought of as one of the most deliriously fun debuts in pop history. Seriously, without listening to the album, just think of all its joyous moments: ‘Caught By The Fuzz’, ‘Strange Ones’, ‘Mansize Rooster’, and ‘Alright’… and you’re grinning already, aren’t you? Revisited twenty years later, two things stand out on I Should Coco. Firstly, the strength of Gaz Coombes’ pop songwriting abilities, already so sharp at such a young age (the band were barely out of their teens by 1995). Secondly, the shades of dark lingering underneath the album’s surface. Though they dispatch thirteen songs at the kind of breakneck speed that only the energy and impudence of youth can fuel, there’s much more to I Should Coco than the two-dimensionality that such a singular approach might suggest.

It’s an aspect of their songwriting that would be explored in much more detail later on in their career, but we get a really good look at an embryonic version of their darker side on six-minute penultimate track ‘Sofa (Of My Lethargy)’, a hymn of self-beration, and the louche blues of ‘Time’. For the majority of the record, though, Supergrass rarely let cynicism infect their endearingly wide-eyed take on British guitar pop music. For the entire first half of I Should Coco, from the opener ‘I’d Like To Know’ through to its twin song ‘Strange Ones’, Coombes and his bandmates Danny Goffey and Mick Quinn deliver precision-targeted pop missiles. The classic single ‘Caught By The Fuzz’, a story of a naïve youngster in trouble with the police over drugs with its metaphor of the world of responsibility and authority bursting the bubble of innocence and abandon, is one of the album’s two major high points, absolutely fizzing with punk-pop energy.

This delirium continues through the glam-rock stomp of ‘Mansize Rooster’, with its chunky piano power chords, the vaguely grungey ‘Lose It’ and the ‘60s pop throwback ‘Lenny’. After the red herring pianos at the start of side 2, ‘Sitting Up Straight’ picks up the pace once more with a lovingly shambolic punk impression, followed by the daft helium vocals on ‘We’re Not Supposed To’. Coombes’ yearning, minor-key vocals on the otherwise spry ‘She’s So Loose’ are about as downcast as the album gets. After ‘Time’ and the perfectly crafted ‘Sofa (Of My Lethargy)’, the back-to-back duo of laid-back moments mentioned above, we get the sub-2-minute vignette ‘Time To Go’, and that’s it. I Should Coco makes it entrance spectacularly and exits modestly, knowing not to undermine its charm by attempting to finish on a grand arena rock exit.

Without question, the album’s exuberant spirit is epitomised by ‘Alright’, by far the band’s best-known song. The major-minor key shift between bridge and chorus introduces a twinge of melancholia amid the positivity, and it seems to acknowledge the fleeting nature of youth even as it celebrates it. While that may be the standout track for the uninitiated fan, I Should Coco burns with the same spirit more or less throughout. The whole record is accomplished but still has the buzz of being new to the music industry. There’s nothing you could add or take away to make this particular type of debut album better.

In addition to its chart-topping success – the only album of their career to reach to summit of the UK charts – I Should Coco lapped up a great deal of praise by a music press now fully signed up to the concept of Britpop. It is, however, one of the records from this period that still stands up today. The likes of Elastica and Garbage, though they were well-received at the time, somehow don’t shine with the same lustre two decades later. It earned Supergrass a reputation as cartoonish, fun-loving rogues like The Monkees, hit-makers upon whom you could depend to churn out fantastic singles on a conveyor belt. But that reputation unfairly masks the quality of their studio albums, which were every bit as interesting”.

I am going to end with a review from the BBC. If you have never heard I Should Coco then I would advise you to do so. There are no filler tracks to be found. Perfectly arranged to deliver the best listening experience, it is no wonder that is created shockwaves when it came out in 1995. Such an original band who were not messing around when it came to making an impact:

“While the latter-day adventures of Britpop bastions Supergrass have seen appearances at the wrong end of the chart, gory accidents and unfavourable tabloid coverage, 1995 debut I Should Coco has left a deeper and longer-lasting footprint than the band’s legacy overall.

Displaying a shoulder-shrugging joie de vivre normally reserved for that heavenly day when the student loan cheque hits the hall carpet, this guise of Supergrass truly channels the same playfulness peddled so successfully by Madness the previous decade. Yet sadly, this retrospective examination also serves to highlight that few bands even come close to adopting that same energy today. The Kooks and The View may play up to such carefree, youthful ideals, but in the wake of the edge carried by I Should Coco, they sound clumsy, contrived and oafish.

While Alright may have been the initial leg-up required to inaugurate the reign of Supergrass, the downside comes from its notoriety as the definitive Supergrass anthem. A deserving tag, certainly, but later treasures such as Moving, Late in the Day and Pumping On Your Stereo remain in its shadow as a result.

However, within the arena of I Should Coco, it functions exceptionally well. Its recognisable blend of cordial and crazy sits comfortably as part of a mezze of eccentric oddities. A hugely diverse collection, its charms lie in its unpredictability, with the only consistent factor being the high level of quality.

We’re Not Supposed To, which could have been lifted straight from the soundtrack of Labyrinth, sits effectively alongside the bluesy flow displayed in Sofa of My Lethargy. Even individual tracks illustrate the diversity of I Should Coco within themselves, with Strange Ones flitting between, trudging along irately and with high-octane dynamism.

Given that I Should Coco was born during the Britpop sovereignty - a time when harmonious, indie-lite high spirits owned the charts - it understandably became part of the overall movement. No bad thing to be allied with, by any means, even if it did eclipse the content slightly as a result. But hindsight is a marvellous thing, and Supergrass carry even more weight outside of the bubble, underlining that I Should Coco stands up on its own as an iconic 90s masterpiece”.

On 15th May, I Should Coco turns thirty. A classic album that is being toured very soon, if you are lucky enough to be going to see Supergrass soon then it will be a magnificent experience. A masterpiece album from a band who would go on to release a wonderful follow-up in 1997’s In It for the Money, cast your mind to 1995 and the debut. The brilliant I Should Coco. I wanted to get a jump on the anniversary as I know it will get a lot written about it soon. When you consider the quality of the songwriting, production and band performances, then it is…

THE least it deserves.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Marisa and the Moths

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Blackham Images

Marisa and the Moths

_________

I am excited…

PHOTO CREDIT: Blackham Images

to spotlight the incredible Marisa and the Moths. This is an amazing band that I hope get played widely on national radio. I have known their lead, Marisa Rodriguez, for many years now and can attest to the fact she is an incredible artist. Her vocal style, playing, writing and dynamic stage presence. She leads a wonderful band who I hope go far. They are on tour at the moment. Together with Liam James Barnes, Alex Ribchester and Alez D'Elia, they need to be on your radar. Their must-hear album, What Doesn’t Kill You, was released last year. One of the best guitar players in the world, Sophie Lloyd, used to be a member of the band. She collaborated with Marisa Rodriguez last year for Won’t You Come. It was among my favourite singles of last year. I am going to get to some interviews with the group. Before getting there, here is some biography about a band who will be playing huge festivals before too long:

“Marisa And The Moths are turning heads with their unique alternative rock sound and powerhouse female vocals. Marisa's lyrics delve into heavy topics such as mental health, toxic relationships, trauma and sexuality, resonating deeply with her fellow misfits and anyone that has ever dealt with

similar hardships.

Since the release of their self-titled debut in 2019, the band has gone from strength to strength, culminating in their second album “What Doesn’t Kill You” reaching No. 1 in the

Official UK Rock and Metal Charts. Their latest album has been described by fans as a deep therapy session you want to singalong with at the top of your lungs.

Both albums have received rave reviews from press outlets like Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, and Kerrang!, and radio plays from mainstream shows such as BBC Introducing Rock on Radio 1, BBC Radio 2's Rock Show, Kerrang! Fresh Blood, Planet Rock, Total Rock, and Primordial Radio. They have also recently recorded a live session consisting of songs from both albums at the iconic Abbey Road Studios, which will be released later in 2024.

Marisa also features on Sophie Lloyd’s new album, “Imposter Syndrome”. The album was nominated for Best Breakthrough Album by Heavy Music Awards, 2024. Their collaboration single "Won't You Come" dropped in November '23, alongside other singles by the likes of Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Chris Robertson (Black Stone Cherry), Matt Heafy (Trivium), and Michael Starr (Steel Panther). With previous headline tours under their belt, support slots for artists like Kris Barras Band, Von Hertzen Brothers, Those Damn Crows, As December Falls, and Elvana, as well as appearances at festivals like 2000 Trees, Planet Rockstock, and Primordial Radio's General Mayhem, Marisa And The Moths are ready to take the rock world by storm and redefine the genre with their electrifying performances”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Rob Campion

I will move to this interview from last month with Palantine. Durham’s official student newspaper, it is a really interesting chat. I have not included all of the interview, so apologies if there seem to be some gaps or it does not hang quite as well as the original. However, there were some sections I was keen to highlight. They spoke with the sensational Marisa Rodriguez. Someone, who I say, I have known for years and can attest to how passionate she is about music. Marisa and the Moths have the strength and talent to go from strength to strength. It is clear that their lead will soon be collaborating with huge artists and can make a real difference in the music industry. An inspiring artist and human who no doubt is giving inspiration, strength and voice to many other people:

“Firstly, I ask Marisa about the genre of the band’s music. ‘You tend to work within the rock and hard rock genres. Why did you choose this genre of music? And what do you think it is about this music that suits your lyrics so well?

Marisa responds by discussing how she came into the band, ‘I didn’t fall straight into rock. I had always loved rock since I discovered it, and I got more into rock in my teens. I had always had a very clean voice to start with, and I’d tried getting into a few bands, which hadn’t worked out. I then tried moving into more acoustic writing and performances, just me and my guitar, and I’d been in a band before The Moths, which was definitely not a rock band as such. It was only when I began writing songs for The Moths that it all clicked, and I realised this is what I’m supposed to do. I’d gained confidence in growing up, and the music industry had already kicked me around a bit, so I’d found myself a lot more as a result of these experiences.’

I ask Marisa a more personal question about being a female-led band in a male-dominated genre. ‘How does it feel to be such a strong female vocalist within a male-dominated rock scene?’

Marisa jumps straight in, ‘You’re definitely right! It is a male-dominated industry. Rock, in particular, is changing a little more now, but I do think that’s one of the reasons I struggled to get into a rock band when I was younger. I mean, when you think about female-led rock bands that are household names, there’s quite a limited number of them. Women haven’t really had much of a chance to come through before, but now we’re seeing a lot more female-led bands popping up everywhere and absolutely smashing it. It’s still tricky, sometimes there’s a lot of sexism still. I feel like women across all careers tend to have different expectations placed on them; a kind of unconscious sexism which is somewhat alarming. It’s a lot better than it was, but there’s still lots of work to do! I actually speak about it a bit in our second album. ‘Pedestal’ discusses my frustrations with sexism in the industry, my own insecurities with this, and how I have to present myself as being strong all the time, always done up, always attractive. Sexism in the industry is a massive industry, and I feel so strongly about it in general, but I would say it is at least getting better.’ .

I ask Marisa about her interview series ‘Time to Talk’ with @thedashcharity, in which the band promoted interviews with survivors of abuse to raise awareness and help their listeners share their experiences. ‘I just wanted to give you the chance to discuss this, and was wondering why you thought it was so important to share other people’s stories ahead of releasing ‘How Did You Get So Weak?’’

Marisa begins by discussing her own experience, ‘In a nutshell, my personal life was falling apart at the time because of a relationship I’d been in, where I’d been struggling with abuse myself. This person was actively trying to destroy my personal life and business, a lot of stuff went up online, and police were involved too. I think because my ex-partner had already destroyed me many times before that, he was expecting me to crumble and react publicly. But I didn’t, and I needed to show he had no power over me. So, instead of sharing my own story, I decided to give others a chance to share theirs and help each other. I thought this was a good opportunity to make a music video about empowerment, instead of making it about me. I just wanted to genuinely help other people. I think that’s where the whole interview initiative really stemmed from, giving other people a very public and powerful voice in their own situation.’

I thank Marisa for her answer and ask her if she’d be open to discussing how this personal experience has impacted the band’s music. ‘In the past, you’ve discussed this non-linear process of grieving an abusive relationship, and I just wanted to ask how you’ve worked to express this non-linearity within the musicality of your album?’

Marisa answers, ‘I decided the order of the songs later on. The guys really wanted to put some of the heavier tracks at the front of the album, but I was pretty adamant that I wanted to open with ‘Cursed.’ I felt that one was different than the others, and I wanted the album to begin with the downfall of the relationship and then grow into recovery. The album felt a lot like a story of survival, as well as getting over grief. And that’s why we called it What Doesn’t Kill You because it leans into that interpretation that these things happen, and it’s what you’re going to do with them that matters. The whole unfinished title, it’s almost a question but also a statement. When you’re going through something like that, there’s a lot of things that you ask yourself, and it’s a process instead of a straight line.’

I again thank Marisa for being so open, and then ask my final question, ‘Do you and the band have anything lined up for the future?’

‘Yes!’ Marisa exclaims, ‘We’re actually finishing some stripped-back recordings of the album, with a bunch of strings that we’re really excited about! We’re also hoping to run a limited number of stripped-back shows as well. We’re also just finishing a mix of a live session we did at Abbey Road, almost two years ago, which the album took priority over. It’s really nice because we’ve got these two products ready to come out soon, with some new video content too, and then we have our main tour coming up! With sixteen dates around the UK finishing in April. And then, between that and a few festivals lined up in Summer, it should be a bit more low-key again, so I’ll be able to get back into a writing phase again. Otherwise, we’re working really hard to get our first show abroad, and then hopefully we’ll be able to build other shows around that too!”.

Before getting to some reviews, I am going to get to an interview from The Indiependent. Again, we get some incredible insight and reaction from Marisa Rodriguez. After their current tour, I wonder where the band will head next. I have seen have they have grown and all they have achieved. They are primed for some worldwide stages and a lot more great things. If you have not heard them yet then make sure that you do:

“THE INDIEPENDENT: I’ve also read before that you have cited bands such as Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins as direct influences. How do you take influence from these artists without directly imitating them, is that a challenge?

Marisa: Well, I always say when people ask “how do you write your songs?” I don’t really know; I don’t know how to read music, I did study vocal performance at uni but I failed almost all the modules to do with theory! It was always just the songwriting and performance that I excelled in, it just comes from somewhere inside me, where I feel things. I listen to a lot of different music, and I will always love that nineties grunge era because of its rawness and emotive side.

THE INDIEPENDENT: Since you formed as a band in 2017 you have released two albums. With your latest album reaching No.1 in the official UK Rock Charts you must have plenty of pinch me moments to choose from, are there any that stand out?

Marisa: Yes, there are a bunch but immediately the first thing that springs to mind is gigs. For me, it’s like a couple of the festivals that we played. We did the prim Primordial General Mayhem a couple of years ago and it was our first big indoor gig. We were all absolutely bricking it! We met so many people after it and so many of our fans. Maybe that’s not what other people would pick as a standout but it really felt like a milestone kind of thing.

THE INDIEPENDENT: You spoke there about how much your fans mean to you and we also spoke briefly about the impact your music has on your fans – it being that “sing along, deep therapy session” as described also by your website, was that the intention?

Marisa: I always write songs structurally. Even if they are not pop, they structurally usually are. We always try to find a hook that will make it memorable for fans, in a similar way a pop song is put together.

THE INDIEPENDENT: You mention pop music there as being a structural influence to your music, is having people try to categorise your music and yourself as an artist something you have struggled with throughout your career?

Marisa: Absolutely! I think everyone wants to pigeonhole a band or an artist. We’ve realised in the last year that it was that “grunge” label that was probably holding us back a bit. It’s really hard to get people to take a chance on something new, so you end up labelling yourself with something they are familiar with to draw someone in.

THE INDIEPENDENT: I suppose that makes dealing with comparisons much more difficult at times?

Marisa: Yes, and I mean this with love when I say it but I think it’s quite common for people to compare female rock singers to the likes of Hayley Williams or Amy Lee because unfortunately, until now, we did not have many other people to compare them to. Not that I will ever be offended with such comparisons but it can be difficult.

THE INDIEPENDENT: I can imagine as well at times there is a pressure to have a certain fan demographic, a sort of ‘cult’ following if you like that is associated with this specific genre?

Marisa: Yes, I say there that it’s difficult and yet at the same time I think we’ve had a lot of crossover with fans because we are not an obvious straight down the middle rock band. We get a lot of people saying “we don’t really like this sort of rock but we love you guys” and so it’s just about getting the exposure.

THE INDIEPENDENT: There’s also been a lot of cultural changes to the way that we discover new music and new artists as well as the way we promote them. How do you feel about that as an independent artist?

Marisa: I was discussing this with my partner, Peter, who produced our album and helps me with bits of management when I’m overloaded and he said you need lots of ‘touch points’ to break an artist. You still need platforms beyond streaming services, such as the media in terms of music magazines, legitimate radio stations and you have to remain consistent with branding. They say it takes ten years to create an overnight success!

THE INDIEPENDENT: You’ve spoken about what a lot of your songs mean to you and hinted at the catharsis involved in your songwriting but is sharing your music with the fans another part of that healing process?

Marisa: Absolutely! It does scare me though, I was just finishing up writing the song ‘Meanings’, but I was kind of putting it off because it’s really hard to talk about some of these things and it’s very exposing for me because those words aren’t made up, they are really thoughts and feelings. It feels like you are standing naked with the lights on saying to people “judge me”.

THE INDIEPENDENT: You have achieved so much as a band already, but I would like to finish the interview by discussing what you have planned going forward beyond the tour?

Marisa: Obviously we want to grow. Our goal, like most bands, is to play bigger venues and grow our fanbase. Another thing coming up is the Abbey Road sessions that we recorded a few years ago, we never released the audio from that, so I re-recorded the vocals on that. Once we’ve done that, another thing we want to do is break out of the UK and play some venues in Europe. It will be an investment but we will do whatever it takes”.

I will end with a couple of critical reviews for Marisa and the Moths’ phenomenal album, What Doesn’t Kill You. The first interview is from Metal Planet Music. There has been so much love for the band and this album. I am going to try and see them live at some point. I hope some stations like BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 Music give some airing to Marisa and the Moths. Their loyal, growing and loving fanbase proves how good the band are and what an impact they are making already:

“UK band Marisa and the Moths release their second album and it is a cracker. A very deep and emotional release but the sheer talent shines through and no matter the lyrical content this made me very, very happy.

I have to put my hand up, I had avoided this band as every time I saw any mention of them I saw that one word that sends chills down my spine…Grunge. I hated that genre at the time it broke through and that emotion has never mellowed in me but how the hell is this band branded as Grunge? They are so far beyond that, so much better than that label and in What Doesn’t Kill me they have an incredible album and I have to say Marisa Rodriguez is my new found voice of 2024.

The album opens with a stunning track in “Cursed”. Think Evanescence with one of those haunting numbers like My Eternal. The piano is there, the outstanding vocals are there and the heart wrenching lyrics are there in spades. Marisa takes on songwriting duties and she is incredible on this song and throughout the album. This could very well be my song of 2024. This operatic and angelic number is just sublime.

Next track “Get it off my Chest” picks up the tempo and takes all the frustrations of the opening number and throws it into anger, aggression and some brutal instrumentation as well as some top notch screaming. As much as I mentioned Evanescence as the album wore on Maria Brink kept coming to mind more and more and Marisa definitely homed in on that woman’s aggression.

A little scrappy guitar opens “Borderline” and as Marissa comes into the equation you can really hear the tone in her voice and the range. This grows into a Pop/Punk number, more upbeat, more uplifting as some outstanding guitar work from Alessio D’Elia.

The Punk feel continues on “Wither Away” but 70s Punk with that scratchy, spit in your face edge. The guitars are on fire again. The songs follows on the bad relationship story and the breakdown vocals are very, very Maria Brink but why not…she is an angry woman.

We go full on Nu Metal with “Gaslight” and boy do I understand that title. This is a very powerful track and it really ramps up the energy and the metal sound. I loved this.

After a short interlude track we get “Who Are You Waiting For” and the opening is as close to Grunge as I could find on the album but it burst in with a ferocity and a kick as Marisa shouts to herself. Even through her own doubts and as low as she is she knows she is better that this, better than half of a disturbing and domineering relationship. The message? We are all better than that and do not just accept what you know for a simple life, pain is no simple thing!

“Pedestal” starts like one of Alice Cooper’s twisted numbers. An Evil funhouse feel to the guitars and Marisa the demented clown there to haunt your dreams for days. The song is a work of extremes like a fight inside your own thoughts.

“Straight Laced” opens like a 90s Punk number, one of the ones that starts slow and you get the up tempo happy mode but that part is missing. There is no happiness here. This is a simple number but when you have a voice like this you are there for the journey.

“Fake it Till you Make it” turns things around with the sound. The chaotic nature is still there but you can feel a change, a battle half won. This is a quirky but beautiful work of art and the guitar work is stunning again.

We get some sloppy, loose fretwork to portray the feelings on “Sad”. Marissa conveys her emotions so well through her singing here. You really do feel exhausted as the song takes us on its journey.

“Serotonin” is just perfection. That guitar, the desperate vocals and the emotions get you angry and when it kicks in the anger is written all over the track. An outstanding musical tapestry.

There is an indie feel on “Just Like Me”, an almost 80s vibe. It is simple, haunting and as catchy as hell. We get another interlude before we get into “Devil You Know”. This felt like a Norse chant before breaking into that Evanesce feel again. This song soars and screams for your attention.

“Lungs” closes the album and the song really has a feel of struggling to breath as it opens. You feel the struggle. The relationship between pain and sanctity. The crawling through a desert of feelings and emotions to get to the sanctuary that only water can quench. The water here is breaking out and standing undefeated on the other side.

What Doesn’t Kill You is not only a brilliant piece of musical work but it is a soul laid bare. It is passing on lessons that cut deep in order to self heal and to hopefully help others recognise their own worth.

This band and this album could very well be my find of the year and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this talented four piece”.

I will end with this review from Now Spinning. I hope that there are more interviews and features around the band soon enough. That their music reached new countries and potential fans. On the road at the moment, they can take heart from the fact they have this wave of support and faith behind them:

“Firstly, I’m a little late with this album review, with this album having been released on the 3rd of May. What I can say though since then is, after its first week of release, ‘What Doesn’t Kill You’ debuted at No.1 on the Rock Chart in the UK and this week, the band have managed to get their ‘Borderline’ song listed as ‘Track of the Week’ by Classic Rock Magazine. No mean feet for an independently released album and testament to the power of their devoted fanbase. More about that later.

In almost all reviews of this album there will be long passages dedicated to documenting the personal struggles and band splintering that have taken place between the release of the band’s debut album and the aptly titled ‘What doesn’t Kill You’. I’m not going to cover that again, other than to confirm that it’s no hype! And that for such a relatively young band, MATM are already establishing a (Pete Frame) family tree to rival the likes of Fleetwood Mac! All of which have provided Marisa Rodriguez with plenty of lived experience to sing with passion about.

The now established line up of the band are as stable as this band has ever been and seem genuinely committed to each other. Longtime bass stalwart Liam Barnes is a great talent in the band. Singer, bass player, guitar player. He and Marisa herself were among the first acts to fully embrace lockdown live experiences and that time, in retrospect, was so vital in building the hugely devoted following the band has gained.

Alez D’Elia has replaced the revolving door of female guitar players (which included Sophie Lloyd on the first record) and he fits perfectly. Alex Ribchester completes the band on drums. But make no mistake, Marisa herself is the star of the show here.

Marisa possesses a god given voice, reminiscent of Julianne Regan of All About Eve at times, although this is coincidental, as they were not a band Marisa listened to in her formative years. Musically the songs fit into the alt-rock category, I guess. There are as many Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkin influences here as well as other iconic bands from past history

‘Cursed’ opens the album, with Marisa’s haunting and misleadingly frail vocal, over piano and strings leading into the crushing rock of ‘Get It Off My Chest.
Throughout the album Marisa’s voice is just mesmerising, but in a forward move from the debut, the angst in the lyrics sees her able to move from frail to ferocious in a heartbeat. ‘Wither’ is Hole-style grunge, sung from experience. ‘Who Are You Waiting For’ is another highlight, but the biggest surprise shift from the style of the debut is ‘Devil’.

Another hugely personal lyric sees Marisa caress us and curse us with that voice, from the angelic to demonic death style screeches of emphasis. All while the band is given a huge production in what may be their most impressive song yet.

The band have been hitting the live circuit and seem to be making more new friends at every show. The band’s fanbase have funded the independently released album, made it debut at number 1 in the rock chart and now it’s time to take the band to the masses.

Marisa And The Moths deserve every second of success. They have MORE than earned it and are well worth your time to investigate”.

I shall leave it here. I remember back to when I first met Marisa Rodriguez. Quite a few years back now. More or less starting out, I knew then she would go a long way! In spite of some change since their formations, Marisa and the Moths seem settled and hungry. Many more years ahead of them. Make sure that you do not miss on the opportunity to throw your weight behind…

THEIR brilliant music.

____________

Follow Marisa and the Moths

Official:

https://www.marisaandthemoths.com/

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Bandcamp:

https://marisaandthemoths.bandcamp.com/