Simon Cooper Recommends Frank Turner!
2012/06/30
2012/06/28
Beatles are back in Bournemouth!
An exhibition of rare
and previously unpublished photographs of The Beatles in Bournemouth goes on
show in the Bourne Lounge at Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) from July 9
until September 5.
The exhibition features
photographs, posters and stories from author Nick Churchill’s recent
publication Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Beatles & Bournemouth, the
definitive account of the connections between the greatest rock ’n’ roll group
that ever was and a small town on the south coast of England. Did you know that
the band played more shows at Bournemouth Gaumont than any other UK theatre
outside London?
With stunning images of
The Beatles taken in and around Bournemouth, photos licensed from Beatles
Monthly and never-before-seen images of John Lennon’s aunt Mimi at home in
Sandbanks, the story is told using first-hand accounts from the people who were
there – the fans, reporters, photographers, venue staff and musicians.
The exhibition features
more than 40 photographs taken of the Fab Four when they appeared in
Bournemouth in the 1960s, including Robert Freeman’s iconic half-shadow photo
that adorned the With The Beatles album sleeve which was taken in the
restaurant at the Palace Court Hotel in Westover Road (now a Premier Inn)
during the Beatles’ week-long summer residency at the Gaumont in August 1963.
Other exhibition
highlights include posters from Beatles shows at the Bournemouth Gaumont and
Winter Gardens, plus a remarkable colour photograph of John Lennon by the
Sandbanks Ferry with his Aunt Mimi and four-year-old son Julian.
“Interest in The Beatles
is as strong as ever and this part of the world played a significant part in
their incredible story,” says Nick. “The reaction to the book and these
remarkable images has been astonishing and I’m really excited to see these
images on show again – suddenly The Beatles are back in Bournemouth!”
Nick would love to hear
new stories from anyone who saw The Beatles in Bournemouth and especially from
people who met them.
“The links between this
area and The Beatles are made even stronger by people’s memories of seeing the
Fab Four or meeting them,” he says. “I’m sure there are lots more stories to be
told by hotel and venue staff, fans or even passers by who may have encountered
John Lennon on a trip to Sandbanks to visit his Aunt Mimi.”
Yeah Yeah Yeah: The
Beatles & Bournemouth is published by Natula
Publications, and is available at www.beatlesandbournemouth.com.
More information can be
found on the blog www.beatlesandbournemouth.blogspot.com
2012/06/26
Johnny Marr, Nick Churchill's interview, 2009.
Nick has written The Beatles in Bournemouth and it's still available here.
I'm not sure why it was a surprise when
Johnny Marr was co-opted by The Cribs in 2009 because it shouldn’t have been.
Never one to let the grass grow too long, Johnny had been plying his trade with
Modest Mouse and a host of other passing collaborators – a year or so earlier
I’d found him quite by chance hanging out with Peter Buck when the REM
guitarist passed him the phone mid-interview.
Gamely playing the willing interviewee
ahead of The Cribs’ theatre tour in support of the still-breathtaking album
Ignore the Ignorant, Johnny was in a happy, chatty mood, talking up the Jarman
brothers’ increasingly valid contribution to contemporary music and playing
down his own legacy – athough he still found time to call the record his best
in 25 years. Only when I asked about a Smiths reunion
did he lose his patience and who can blame him? He later had the good grace to
acknowledge he could understand why I’d asked, just that he wished people
wouldn’t. Fair enough. Anyway, top bloke Johnny Marr, one of the
best.
If we get the heroes we deserve, we must
have done something right to end up with Johnny Marr. I find the former Smiths guitarist in
expansive, expressive mood as he prepares to go out on the road for the first
time as a full-time member of The Cribs, the punky indie noise factory from
Wakefield, fronted by twin brothers Ryan (guitar) and Gary (bass) Jarman, with
younger brother Ross on drums. “What I like about them is they’re not
insecure,” says Johnny, who’ll turn 46 a couple of weeks after The Cribs play
Southampton Guildhall on October 7.
The age gap – Ryan and Gary turn 29 ten
days before Johnny’s birthday; Ross is nearly 25 – doesn’t concern the members
of the band.
“It doesn’t come up. You know, they’re not
babies,” says Johnny.
“We all like the same songs, we like the
same sneakers and we like the same guitars… they’re pretty ballsy and I like
that about them.”
Having founded The Smiths in 1982, Marr
forged a fruitful songwriting partnership with singer Morrissey until their
acrimonious split in 1987.
Since then he has worked with a host of
talented singers and writers including Matt Johnson’s The The, New Order’s
Bernard Sumner in Electronic, Chrissie Hynde in The Pretenders, Beck, Black
Grape, Billy Bragg, Talking Heads, Pet Shop Boys and Neil Finn of Crowded House.
But as Johnny speaks it’s immediately
clear how much he’s genuinely excited about being in The Cribs.
“I liked their lyrics from when I first
heard the band. I like the sound of two guitars as well.”
Crucially, the other three Cribs also
conform to Johnny’s philosophy on good rock and roll haircuts – the fringe
should always head south.
I had to ask – will The Smiths reform?
“Why do you have to ask that question? What
do you think would happen if you didn’t ask that question? Nobody’s really that
bothered, only journalists,” he bristles.
He’s been answering that question for more
then 20 years now. The answer is always the same and, to his credit, Johnny is
fairly gracious in dismissing the notion.
“No, it doesn’t annoy me, and it’s a shame
there’s a cloud of negativity around that issue.
“But thinking about playing in that
situation doesn’t get me excited, unlike playing what I’m playing now, which
does.
“I can’t see it happening, because I don’t
think it would be anything of value. If it were going to happen, it would have
done so by now.”
The Smiths – like The Jam directly before
them, and The Stone Roses immediately after – meant the world to a lot of
people.
“A lot of this thing that goes on with
bands re-forming is to give people another opportunity to relive a past they
had, or think they had, or never had, and I’m just not into that,” adds Johnny,
his irritation subsiding.
“The Cribs sound inspired, full of life and
energy, and that’s what I’m into... I’m not into cabaret.”
For him, the thrill of music making
remains the same today as when he first strapped on a guitar after hearing
Metal Guru by T-Rex.
“It’s a lot of things, but the chemistry
has to be right. I never used to like touring when I started, but I really like
it now.
“I like standing in front of people with
an amplifier behind me and helping people enjoy themselves.
“You know, nobody’s trying to reinvent
their own wheels here, we’re just doing what we do instinctively.”
Nick Churchill
First printed Bournemouth Echo, 3 October
2009
2012/06/25
Johnny Marr in his own words (Facebook)
Playing the
guitar means always having something cool to do. It means having ambitions to
be a rock star, escaping your life, or just learning to play your favourite
songs. It means having fun - because you really don’t need to be able to read
music or have lessons to do it pretty well - and it means buying a strap and
making sure it’s the correct length so it looks right and feels comfortable.
But mainly so it looks right.
Playing the guitar means forming a band with your mates and having your own thing, and it means struggle, on your own with sore fingers for two weeks, or with your band in little pubs, clubs and vans around the country until something happens or you give up. Playing the guitar means meeting new people and making new friends, it means staying up late, and showing off, and it means being able to express yourself, often at very high volume. Playing the guitar means fixating on a particular model or make you dream about getting but can’t afford. It means dressing up, and impressing some girls and impressing some boys. It means having a laugh, or disagreements over bits of songs or the direction of the group or the cover of the record, and it means feeling so happy about a riff or a song that you want the world to hear it that minute.
Playing the guitar means never being alone with nothing to do. It means strumming for fun, or going further and further into amazing territory and a lifetime of discovery and discipline, or just taking up a hobby that gives you a bit pleasure and a sense of achievement. Playing the guitar means everything. Know what I mean?
Playing the guitar means forming a band with your mates and having your own thing, and it means struggle, on your own with sore fingers for two weeks, or with your band in little pubs, clubs and vans around the country until something happens or you give up. Playing the guitar means meeting new people and making new friends, it means staying up late, and showing off, and it means being able to express yourself, often at very high volume. Playing the guitar means fixating on a particular model or make you dream about getting but can’t afford. It means dressing up, and impressing some girls and impressing some boys. It means having a laugh, or disagreements over bits of songs or the direction of the group or the cover of the record, and it means feeling so happy about a riff or a song that you want the world to hear it that minute.
Playing the guitar means never being alone with nothing to do. It means strumming for fun, or going further and further into amazing territory and a lifetime of discovery and discipline, or just taking up a hobby that gives you a bit pleasure and a sense of achievement. Playing the guitar means everything. Know what I mean?
2012/06/22
Weller in Brussels, review, the English attempt...
 |
| Copyright Alex Vanhee, check his facebook page. |
A Weller gig is never only another Weller gig, it’s a
complete party, we have rituals, we have to be there around 5 PM, stay in the
pubs all around and when you’re anonymous Welleraholic like us, it’s always a
bit a ceremony. Oh no, I’m not the ultimate fan, I don’t even have all
the records, and I’m not that sure to love Sonik Kicks, blame and shame
on me but I can’t listen it from the beginning to the end. But it’s Weller and
he moved forward, once again. It’s great and I love him for that. There’s
nothing rational in our relation with Weller, he’s a part of us, it has to be
said. You all know that, the parka army etc. So when I go to a Weller’s gig
with my UK Bro Simon, with Niels, with my 21 years old son Anton (he was born
the first solo LP years, mates…), got butterflies in the stomach, I’m afraid to
be late due to Brussels heavy traffic (was only 15 minutes late, Simon, come
on… Don’t say it to everyone or I will have to say you forgot your ticket…),
I’m afraid of cancellation, first Belgium earthquake ever, whatever… Everything has been
cool. We were right on time and the celebration could start! We had a few beers
with Fellow friend Niels and three Liverpool’s lads who knew the blog. Couldn’t
be more proud! Honest, it’s
the European and continental Weller’s version, it’s not the big crowd and we
were about 25 to wait for the Magic bus. I have to admit I had really bad and
very naughty thoughts about the Weller lookalike clones, it should be
very very strange to walk in the same shoes, to go to the hairdresser and ask
the same cut, etc and…it’s probably very strange too to be in the bus, to be
the original Weller and to watch those copies. It was a bit freaky in a way,
like this Alien Movie with Sigourney weaver when she is in the test room,
looking at the first attempt to recreate … Ripley. Bad boy… I don’t put the
blame on them at all and Weller is, in a way, in my DNA, yes, he changed my
life, when I was 14, going to a public library, listening Sound Affect. Became
a mod in 35'35" minutes…for life. And he gave me so much music. Mark Baxter said
it, thank him for so many records to listen, so many propositions, from the
Beatles to John Coltrane for me, from Curtis Mayfield to Krautrock. Wasn’t very
fan of the late Style Council and the plastic soul era (send me insults, love
you anyway) but he’s always on the verge to smash me with a new song and his
average songwriting level is incredibly high! He’s a real mod, completely open,
not a narrow minded nationalist, he knows it’s a bit short to have a Fred Perry
shirt and a Scoot. Modness is a commitment to openness, don’t you think?
A fan, me?
Yes, he’s in my DNA now and my son was here, it’s definitely in the family now
but what about the gig? In 2008, it’s been a pretty bad one. He was angry, he
wanted to bite someone, he did try to do something but nothing worked…No soul,
no fire… Something was wrong and he even wrote “Shithole” on the setlist
instead of Brussels…It’s been a short gig and the day after, he gave one of the
best I’ve ever seen in Amsterdam’s Paradiso but not this one. Niels and Simon
went back home under a heavy cold rain… Bad mood, bad gig… Goodbye Brussels… |
| Simon? Who is the guy behind the camera? |
I really
wonder how you can feel when you’re an “under the skin” fan, same hair dresser,
same hair cut, same glasses but… a bit too small, a bit too something anyway. I
also wonder what you can feel when you’re the real Weller, in the bus, watching
the pavement and to have a strange mirror like this one.
We had much
fun with our fellow English companions and they wanted to offer us a beer
because they knew the blog, honest, and Anton and I had a beer in our hands and
two full glasses waiting for us. Cheers, Boys!
 |
| Stay Cool Andy, Niels is just behind us... |
8.10 PM.
The band is on stage, Weller is absolutely classy, Mod, Elegant, in the best
Saville row tradition. We all know immediately than the gig will be good,
Weller is happy with the sound, with the backline, with the level of his voice,
with his guitar, he was just happy and not grumpy at all. Sonik Kicks is much
better on stage, much electronic loops, yes, but the density is better, the
stage and the sound of the LP live is very impressive. Even the cigarette is an
electronic one and Weller could smoke on stage! So, it’s a good moment, a
strange experience too to know exactly what he’s gonna play…It’s pretty brave
to play a NEW album in full. Weller still moves on, he doesn’t want to become
his own tribute band, playing the old stuff again and again and we love him for
that. He could pick in his back catalogue but… no way. From In the city to
Sonik Kicks, it’s a long walk to move forward. You, audience, you’re gonna hear
my last album, the hot one, not my cold ashes and if you don’t like it, no way
to do something else… Mrs Weller, HannaH, the sweet Weller’s palindrome came on
stage and sung very well the jazzy dub song. She smiled to Paul, who didn’t
have a look at her, we play, nothing else, it’s all about music.
The
acoustic set reached the roof, really, completely brilliant, Weller has been
intelligent, once again, and he picked up the most interesting songs from the
vocal point of view to play with all the singers he can use… it means any
member of the band but Ben, on the second drum kit…Vocal harmonies were
beautiful and it’s not Déjà Vu by Crosby Stills Nash and Young but it’s
pure, aerial, immaterial, subtle, and it’s not numb or flat… The songs walk
over you, it’s always a dynamic flux, not the flat acoustic moment, it’s the
time of the proper language of the acoustic way to do music. Closer of John
Martyn than another useless MTV Unplugged record. We have so many useless self
repeating pattern in the songs we have to stand on the radio…And then came the
Sonik storm, we went in the eye of the hurricane...
Weller,
sober, is very sharp and tight again when he plays the guitar and I think he
took more solos than usually, he was looking for a deep sound, for the electric
vibration, the sustain is back and there’s no more too short notes (and no more
barking on the voice), he was really trying to reach everyone, even that 15 years old kid
with a brilliant “All mod cons” shirt on the first row… The great Weller is
here, when he has that very personal way to move, slowly moving on a feet and
on another one, blinking et looking at the audience in a challenging
attitude, like he was saying « Is it good enough ?” Oh yes, it
was and The AB became a spaceship, straight to the clouds, up there with the
best british performers and it’s been one of the most moving Weller’s gig i’ve
been ever… A white butterfly flew staright to me, a plectrum, Fender
« Heavy »,was happy to catch it, Sonic Pick…
Several
encores and no old stuff, no Wildsood, no You do something to me, no Malice but
Broken Stones…
No Crack on the pavement this time, no sad and cold rain,
the sky wasn’t crying… The crowd went out to celebrate that gig and she was
conquered, by the Weller stage army and by the music too… Outside, I met Eon
Ballinger, he lives in France now and he played on the last Creation (yes the
genuine mod band) when they had a reunion (Power Surge LP). We had a friendly accolade. The
street was red with purple flashes…Couldn’t be more perfect…Sonik geeks...
2012/06/21
2012/06/20
Brussels gig, the blog's review (French today, English friday)
Un concert de Paul Weller n'est jamais seulement un concert
quand on est nourri de sa musique de manière quasi pathologique, quand on a
depuis longtemps dépassé le rationnel, pour autant qu’il y ait quoi que ce soit
de rationnel dans l’amour fou de la musique.
C'est un rite Mod auquel je me rends en espérant bien que tout sera
présent, la magie de l'avant, l'enchantement du concert, la béatitude de
l'après. Fan béat, transi, inconditionnel?
Non, je n'ai pas tout et j'avoue que je dois rater quelque chose en ce qui
concerne le dernier album, Sonik
Kicks, parce que j'ai vraiment beaucoup de mal à l'écouter d'une traite, je
lui reconnais le mérite essentiel de ne jamais se répéter mais cette nouvelle
déclinaison de son talent a du mal à m'atteindre. Weller reste Weller, on
avance, move on up et on voit. Si celui-là me semble un peu mince, je n’ai
aucune envie d’entendre Stanley Road volume 14.
Mais avouons. Ce gamin de 14 ans qui entre dans une discothèque municipale, aux
prises avec l'acmé de l'acné, c'est moi, le mec qui en sort en apnée de l'année devant
tant de classe pour devenir un Mod à vie après l'écoute de Sound Affects,
le fils racé et urbain du Revolver
des Fab ‘, c'est moi aussi. Entre
deux, la cervelle percutée par la soul, le riff de cuivres de Boy About Town et je le dis
sérieusement, au premier degré, une vie intégralement changée. En sortant, j'avais une identité, j’étais un Mod un peu
avant de savoir ce que c’était vraiment. Pas comme ces crétins passéistes et
nationalistes qui n'ont rien compris du tout à l'ouverture d'esprit qui va
obligatoirement avec ce que Weller appelle lui même la Modness, mais l'attitude
mod, cet orgueil bravache qui nous fait croire qu'on ne nous la fait
pas. Avec Weller, je découvrais les Jam mais il allait aussi m'emmener
vers la soul de Curtis Mayfield, les Beatles, toutes les grandes sixties
anglaises, vers des horizons constamment proposés et renouvelés et rester, de
loin, hors concours en matière de songwriting malgré la tentative inaboutie de
son valeureux Style Council, la Soul en plastique et le concept ayant fini par
prendre le pas sur la musique. Aucun musicien ne m’a proposé autant de musique
à écouter autre que la sienne. Mod, ce n’est pas s'acheter une panoplie, un
Fred Perry et un scooter, glander à Carnaby et se la jouer au Bar Italia dans
Soho. C'est une nécessaire ouverture sur le monde, ce n'est pas un son étriqué,
rien à voir avec une crispation d’oreille obstinément collée sur de vieilles
scies sixties qui n'auraient jamais quitté les clubs d'un London qu'on dit
swinging. Le Mod cherche, avance, partage, écoute, propose, de John Coltrane à
Debussy en passant par The Creation. C'est ce que ne cesse de faire Weller,
notamment depuis le début des années 2000 quand il eut épuisé les ressources de
ses obsessions, Traffic et les Small Faces. Il sentit alors qu'il fallait aller
ailleurs ou rester sur place. S'ensuit une éblouissante série d'albums... Fan ?
Oui, je crois qu'il est passé dans mon
ADN et la présence de mon fils à ce concert semble confirmer qu'il y a eu
passation génétique. Mais quid du concert? en 2008, je l'avais vu trois fois
pour deux concerts de feu et un concert très raté, ordinaire, sans âme, un peu
bâclé même pour un performer qui joue sans le moindre artifice ("It ain't
no fucking circus, mate"), un concert court au cours duquel toutes les
tentatives de se lancer avait échoué. Un set acoustique plat qui ne décolle pas
et une électricité qui tourne à vide, un Weller très agacé qui avait
manifestement envie d'engueuler quelqu'un et qui écrivit un rageur
"Shithole" sur la setlist au lieu de "Bruxelles". Bref, ça
n'allait pas. Goodbye Brussels…
L'internationale Mod avait donc rendez-vous à côté de l'AB... Trois lads de
Liverpool, Niels le Danois, Simon the brummie (Birmingham ou Brum) et nous. A
quelques pas, d’authentiques copies non conformes de Weller... J'avoue,
honteusement que ça me faisait penser à des essais de laboratoire non
concluants, voire à Alien, le dernier épisode, quand Sigourney Weaver est face
à ses premiers clones. Je me demande bien quel effet ça fait d'être à ce point
admirateur, de se mettre dans les pas, dans les mèches de son idole... Je me
demande aussi quel effet ça fait d'arriver pour un concert, d'être Weller et de
se voir en plus petit, en plus gros, en plus vieux, en plus grand. Etrange... To be someone must be a wondefurl thing…
Tout le monde se charrie gentiment, on essaie de ne surtout
pas boire autant que les Anglais, même s'il faut avouer qu'ils sont adorables
et qu'Antoine et moi nous sommes retrouvés avec une bière entamée posée sur la
table et... deux autres, offertes par les envahisseurs d'une Albion pas
tellement perfide pour l'heure. Le temps passe, on traîne à l’anglaise, et on
se raconte nos concerts... On laisse monter une impatience nécessaire. Le bus,
noir et racé, arrive enfin. Weller a le même groupe depuis 2008, Steve Cradock,
l'éternel lieutenant qui faisait le pied de grue devant le studio de Weller à
l'âge de 19 ans pour que Weller le laisse jouer avec lui..., Andy Lewis à la
basse (Red Inspectors, dernier album), Steve Pilgrim, ex battteur de the Stands et artiste folk en solo
(trois albums) et le génial Andy Crofts, clavier pour Weller et auteur
compositeur de The Moons, groupe dont
je ne peux que vous recommander le premier album, Life on earth. Enorme
avantage des concerts européens de Weller, il est détendu et abordable, nous
sommes 25 à l'attendre, il est cool, le trottoir est large, aucune tension.
Mark, le bodyguard, n'intervient pas et tout le monde peut discuter cinq
minutes avec tout le monde, on sert la main de Weller, on prend des photos. SoniK
Pics. Etrange encore, ces gars là nous sont tellement familiers depuis tant
d'années qu'on demanderait presque des nouvelles de la famille...ça commence
vraiment très bien, c’est un tout autre Weller que celui de 2008. Fin du
premier acte.
En attendant le concert, au premier rang d’une Ancienne Belgique
qui ne se remplit que doucement, on a le loisir d’apercevoir et de discuter
avec le grand Alex Vanhee dont je ne peux que vous recommander les photos. Un œil
inégalable sur ce qu’il photographie, comme s’il sentait parfaitement ce qu’il
y a derrière l’objectif ! Enfin, 20 heures 10, le Weller en chef arrive et
joue intégralement Sonik Kicks, sanglé au cordeau dans le costume de la
pochette de l’album, impeccablement élégant, habitué à la grande classe
vestimentaire de Saville Row et de ses maîtres tailleurs. On sait que le
concert sera bon, Weller ne regarde personne rageusement, ne demande aucun
ajustement, ne chipote pas sur la voix, la guitare, le retour. Honnêtement, l’album
prend beaucoup de grain et de densité live, plus cohérent, le son est plus
homogène, les « bandes » tournent mais le bidouillage vaguement
électro est moins sensible, la densité physique de la scène amoindrit le sentiment
de montage artificiel. Pourtant, même la cigarette d’un Weller qui tente
obstinément d’arrêter de fumer est électronique. Allez, c’est bien, mais on
attend quand même que le groupe lâche les chevaux, étonnant aussi que de savoir
par cœur quel est le morceau suivant. C’est courageux de jouer un album en
entier, du début à la fin, Weller ne lâche rien, il ne veut absolument pas
devenir un tribute band dédié à sa propre musique. C’est l’un des rares à faire
ça et il ne manque pas de morceaux après 35 ans (si.) de musique, de In the City, 1977 à ce Sonik Kicks. L’attitude est à l’image de
Weller, on ne lâche rien, on ne servira pas le best réchauffé, on jouera ce qu’on
vient de finir, ce qui est encore chaud et si le public reste les bras croisés
et que Weller admet qu’il perd une partie de ce public sur cet album, tant pis,
on avance. Quant à la reformation des Jam, n’y pensez même pas. Madame Weller,
HannaH, le doux palindrome de Paul, fait une courte apparition sur la tentative
électro dub de l’album. Pas un regard, elle vient chanter, point barre. Pause.
Le deuxième set est acoustique et
totalement étincelant, Weller a eu l’intelligence d’aller chercher dans ses
derniers titres les plus intéressants sur le plan vocal, les harmonies sont
magnifiques, Steve Pilgrim, batteur discret qui s’était sauvé à la descente du
bus est un excellent chanteur et Andy Crofts aussi. On harmonise donc le plus
possible, ce n’est pas tout à fait Crosby Stills Nash and Young mais c’est pur,
aérien, éthéré sans niaiserie, l’énergie restant un maître mot dans la dynamique
wellerienne. Cette capacité de vous donner l’impression que la chanson marche
vers vous est assez rare pour être soulignée, que de redites en effet après un
couplet et un refrain dans tant de chansons radiophoniques. All on a misty morning s’envole vraiment
très haut dans les sphères de L’AB,
on pose les guitares dites sèches. Et
puis vient l’orage et l’heure électrique, le kick sonique.
Weller, sobre, redevenu très précis dans sa
quête du son, joue serré et ca chercher la vibration électrique dans le moindre
recoin de la salle. Son jeu de guitare est tendu et le sustain maîtrisé, moins
de pains qu’à l’habitude quand il oublie de faire attention. On le verra même
avoir ce tic des grands soirs, il avance vers le public, se balance de droite à
gauche en restant sur place, cligne rapidement des yeux sans les fermer
totalement et donne l’impression de demander si ça envoie suffisamment en
relevant le menton. Oh que oui, ça envoie et l’AB décolle, en vaisseau spatial
que les salles de concert deviennent parfois selon ses propres mots. Un
papillon blanc vole vers moi, heureux d’attraper ce médiator blanc, Fender
Heavy, SoniK pick. Rappel et toujours
pas de vieilles scies, ouf, pas de Malice, pas de Something to me, pas de
Wildwood… Move on up. Les trottoirs brusselois ne se noyèrent pas de pluie
froide et intense comme en 2010 et la foule sortit conquise, au sens premier,
après une conquête amoureuse et électrique. En sortant du bar, je croisai Eon
Ballinger qui me gratifia d’une belle accolade. Eon a joué sur un titre de l’album
de la reformation des Creation. Ça ne
pouvait pas être plus parfait. Sonik Geek.
Mike Cobley's Book at last available!
Wholepoint Publications
Imagine
growing up with the Carry Ons. Getting to hobnob on a
regular basis with the likes of Sid James, Barbara Windsor, Frankie Howerd,
Charles Hawtrey, Jim Dale and Kenneth Williams. Well, I was that lucky guy. The catalyst for my meetings with the cream of saucy British comedy was Talbot ‘Tolly’ Rothwell. Tolly wrote the scripts for twenty-two of the big-screen Carry Ons, and was a close family friend for all of those glorious mega-grossing box office years.
A Write Carry On catalogues not only his eleven years with the Carry Ons, but also Tolly’s time as a Second World War captive at the notorious POW camp, Stalag Luft III (best known for two famous prisoner escapes that took place there by tunnelling, which were depicted in the films The Great Escape (1963) and The Wooden Horse (1950), and the books by former prisoners Paul Brickhill and Eric Williams from which these films were adapted).
Along the way you will get a behind-the-scenes peek at the lives and personalities of all the major Carry On stars. There were a lot of laughs but also a few tears. Oh, and the odd illicit affair too!
"Infamy! Infamy! They've all
got it in for me!" - Kenneth Williams - Carry On Cleo (1964)
See awritecarryon.blogspot.co.uk or wholepoint.co.uk for more info.
To buy a copy at the introductory price of just £2 CLICK HERE
2012/06/16
La Libre Belgique, review, Ancienne Belgique.
Paul Weller, la classe
Sophie Lebrun
Mis en ligne le 16/06/2012
En grande forme, l’Anglais a joué trois concerts en un, en 2 heures 20, jeudi à l’AB.
L’Anglais Paul Weller affiche une forme olympique, disait-on à propos de "Sonik Kicks", son 11e album solo paru en mars. Son concert, jeudi à l’Ancienne Belgique, confirme cette impression. Ceci explique cela - c’est lui-même qui le dit - : il a arrêté de boire, de fumer, et a vu récemment sa "tribu" s’agrandir de jumeaux (prénommés Bowie et John-Paul !). A 54 ans, le "modfather" chéri des Anglais, le père de la britpop, paraît, plus que jamais, bien dans ses baskets. Façon de parler, du moins, car John William Weller, de son vrai nom, est plutôt du genre costard-cravate-souliers-coupe de cheveux bien nette.
C’est ainsi qu’il apparaît, dans une AB blindée de quadras et quinquas, fans de la première heure. Mais, pour l’heure, point de tube des Jam (groupe rock-mod-punk très populaire au tournant des années 70-80) ou du Style Council (1983-1990) emmenés jadis par Weller. Non, là, entouré de cinq musiciens, dont l’excellent guitariste Steve Cradock, il interprète "Sonik Kicks" dans son intégralité. Le son n’est pas au top et le chanteur abuse des effets d’écho, mais au final l’opus tient très bien la route, entre puissants basse-batterie, solos de guitare électrique, touches électro et notes psychédéliques. Le ska "Kling I Klang" est une petite bombe, et l’ondulant "That Dangerous Age" fait mouche, entre séduction et humour. Plusieurs titres font songer à Blur ou Gorillaz, les projets de Damon Albarn. C’est là qu’on se souvient - remettons les choses dans l’ordre - que Weller eut une influence importante sur Albarn... Un bémol : le mielleux "Be Happy Children" final. Il rappelle ces hymnes de Noël réunissant, main dans la main, pour la bonne cause, des kyrielles de popstars...
Voilà le "Sonik Kicks" bouclé. Mmmh, c’est un peu court, mon cher Weller Mais ce n’était que la mise en jambes. Un petit entracte plus tard, le chanteur s’installe à l’avant-scène avec ses musiciens, le temps d’un set quasi acoustique, occasion de puiser dans ses albums solo. L’ambiance est folk, feu de camp, et la combinaison des (quatre) guitares et des voix, tout simplement magique.
Paul Weller a troqué son costume contre un T-shirt. Il va à présent le mouiller. Car sans crier gare, le groupe a rejoint ses claviers, batteries et guitares électriques (Weller lui-même va alterner gratte et piano), et c’est parti pour une heure de déferlante rock, punk et pop. Sourires béats dans le public, ravi de retrouver cette énergie plus carrée, serrée, adolescente, un peu teigneuse. Surtout quand Weller, visiblement pas pressé de s’en aller, remonte jusqu’à l’ère The Jam, avec "Art School", "In The City" et, en guise de point final, "Start !". Well well, il a la pêche, ce Weller. Et quelle classe.
Brussels, Part 2 (Art School / In the City)...
Still doesn't know the lyrics and chords 35 years later! ;)
Thanx to original taper
2012/06/15
2012/06/13
2012/06/10
2012/06/05
2012/06/02
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)