Liam Gallagher DM30 in Glasgow

30-years ago this month I caught Oasis for the second time in the old Cathouse in Glasgow when it was based on Brown Street. The band were beginning to break as they released second single Shaker Maker, working their way towards the release of debut album Definitely Maybe in August.

Even though Noel, Liam, Bonehead, Guigsy and Tony were aware that they had songs like Live Forever, Cigarettes & Alcohol and Slide Away ready to go, I doubt anyone on the Cathouse stage or in the crowd that night could have predicted how life changing the band, those songs and that album would become.

Or maybe Noel knew. In the legendary Wibbling Rivalry interview (recorded in a Glasgow hotel after their April show at The Tramway in April 94), Noel hammers home;

Rock n roll is about music. Music, music, music. It's not about you, it's not about me, it's not about Oasis. It's about the songs. Noel Gallagher

Noel was always confident his songs would live on. Before long, buskers were on Buchanan Street playing D'yer Wanna Be A Spaceman, Live Forever and Take Me Away. Gallagher seemed to generate a spike in both acoustic and electric guitar sales. Along with his brother, they no doubt pushed the sales of anoraks and cagoules as well!

Tonight I'm a rock n roll star

It's just rock n roll

It's just rock n roll

Liam Gallagher's mantra at the end of his blistering take on Oasis' Rock n Roll Star really hit home last night. His brothers words are almost casually tossed away in the outro. But .... as 13,000 fans will testify, it's not just rock n roll.

30-years on, it is about; the songs, the attitude, the swagger, the hair, the hope, the dreams and the sense of optimism that Oasis heralded in 1994 with the release of 5 singles and Definitely Maybe. It's more than all that, it's the sense of community Oasis created. It's jubilation, it's punching the sky, hugging and singing with strangers and having the time of your life.

5 lads from a Manchester council estate were mad for it, they were having it, and they blew absolutely everyone and everything away. The ripple effects are still there, they are still growing.

13,000 Oasis fans were in the Hydro last night, but the biggest fan of Noel Gallagher's songs was on stage singing them, with every fibre of his body, every bit of his heart and soul.

Liam was in his element. This is what he was born to do. Sing his brothers songs about dreaming, escapism and love. And of course, Liam Gallagher was born to be a total star.

Look at you now, you're all in my hands tonight

We were gladly in his hands. We were mad for it, like it was 1994 all over again. The stage set up was loosely based on the Definitely Maybe cover, but everyone's eyes were on Liam.

Rock n Roll Star set a high bar, the menacing groove of Columbia followed. Shaker Maker didn't reach those highs, the guitars seemed to go lower and Liam's voice was pushed even higher in the mix. But Up In The Sky sounded super fresh with everyone feeling it.

I can feel you

Can you feel me?

Bring It On Down was searing punk soul and old b-sides Cloudburst and I Will Believe were greeted like long lost friends on stage and in the crowd.

One of many highlights was Liam singing Half A World Away along with every single person inside the Hydro. A beautiful and moving moment, his voice was outstanding.

My favourite Oasis song is probably Fade Away and it was incredible last night, delivered with power, pace and passion. The band ripped through it and it felt electrifying. Another b-side!

But before long, Liam and his band were bringing out the real big guns. Whatever felt like a real anthem, the Hydro felt like a church and everyone was singing this huge Oasis hymn. The melodies of Whatever are really strong, the lyrics are universal - everyone was singing from the bottom of their hearts. 

Then it was Cigarettes & Alcohol and the place was absolutely bouncing, seeming to give Liam an extra shot of energy as he stretched out sssssuuuuunnnnnssssshhhiiiiiinnnnnneeee.

After Married With Children, the band regrouped quickly for a BOOM, BOOM, BOOM encore. Supersonic sounded very aptly named and threatened to take the roof off the Hydro. Slide Away was euphoric and Live Forever was spine tinglingly gorgeous. Liam was in fine voice.

I Am The Walrus sent the crowd home deliriously happy. What a show. What a night.

Morning Glory 30th anniversary shows next year please!

It's A Shame About Ray at 30

It's A Shame About Ray, one of my all-time favourite albums, is 30 years old!

And it's 30-minutes of joyous guitar pop! Always has been, always will be. Sometimes it's guitar pop with a punky edge, sometimes with real melancholy, others with a country tinge to it. Sun-kissed, but naturally warm anyway, this is a real gem of an album that has aged beautifully.

The combination of acoustic and electric guitars is one that still wows me all the years down the line. Evan's vocals tug on heart strings. The storytelling is exceptional and Juliana Hatfield (bass and backing vocals) and David Ryan (drums) gel with him superbly.  Nic Dalton played bass on Mrs Robinson (added on as a bonus on the initial reissue only months after the album had been released) and would go on to replace Hatfield. 

The friendship/romance with Juliana and the link to the Australian music scene where Dalton was central thanks to his Half A Cow label, band Sneeze and friend Tom Morgan of Smudge, brought out the very best in Dando. 

It was arguably the most stable and supportive period of his life and career. Everything came together, before it very publicly fell apart.

Pin-ups - Juliana Hatfield & Evan Dando

Now reissued with loads of bonus tracks (on vinyl for the first time; it's time to revisit It's A Shame About Ray and all the added extras in feature length blog taking in Evan and The Lemonheads celebratory show at Glasgow's QMU and then a look at the album track by track.

The QMU was sold out and absolutely rammed. Fortunately we (me, my sister Carla and friend Paul) got a great position standing upstairs with an excellent view. 

Evan ambled on stage to a huge roar and started with Being Around before going straight into The Outdoor Type, two of my favourite Lemonheads songs. Dando was in fine form throughout, joking with the crowd and enjoying an early heckle of play a fast yin. The crowd were in fine voice from the start, singing along tenderly. Hard Drive from his Baby I'm Bored album was gorgeous, leaving me all fuzzy inside, as did All My Life. And Evan's version of Into Your Arms could thaw the coldest heart.

Before long he was joined on stage by the latest incarnation of The Lemonheads for a romp through the classic album. 

The band barely paused between songs, sometimes they just went straight into the next. Evan's guitar screeched, soared, stunned and went straight into my heart. His latest rhythm section kept things tight and allowed him to play.

After the ... Ray album the band were off, on, Evan was off and on and behind drums and we were treated to 45-50 minutes of fun via Evan's back catalogue and some of his favourite songs. There was a setlist taped to the stage but I'm not sure how often it was referred to!

Hospital, Break Me, Tenderfoot, a euphoric romp through If I Could Talk I'd Tell You (joined by friend and co-writer Eugene Kelly on stage), Big Gay Heart oozed with humour and soul, Different Drum, Stove ... brilliant stuff.

Taking requests during his acoustic session, Evan played a beautiful Favourite T and hearts melted. Then Evan clambered behind the drums and sang along to his own beats; Al Stewart's Time Passages and the Jackson 5's I Want You Back. Great fun.

Closing with another request, the incredible Ride With Me, Evan unplugged his acoustic and stepped to the front of the stage for the final section, before jumping down to high five some of the crowd.

What a show. What a guy. What a band.

My friend Bobby Motherwell on Facebook was also at the show and posted this when he got home;

Magnificently shambolic, mistake strewn poignancy, emotionally stark, raw and funny. But those songs ... those songs.

Bobby captures the show perfectly. 

Photo by Nic McAllister

Now for the album; track by track. 

Opening with the 1 minute 45 second blast of Rockin' Stroll, you're immediately into the world of Dando's Lemonheads. A little riff and then a flowing, tumbling rhythm with Dando telling the tale of life through the eyes of a kid in a buggy people's knees and trunks of trees, smile at me.

Yet Dando could be singing about life through his own eyes as he sings;

I'm still aware of little but I'm gonna try

I'm gonna try

Rockin' Stroll oozes warmth, the riffs and the way the band hurtle through it is just joyful.

Rockin' Stroll video

Another flowing rhythm riff ushers in Confetti, words spilling out of Dando in a ridiculously hooky manner. The whole song is like a big chorus, there is a little guitar break at 56 seconds and then a guitar solo for 30-seconds at 1-minute 46. And I love the little scrape along the fretboard at 2 minutes 22.

He kinda shoulda sorta woulda loved her if he could've

The story's getting closer to the end

He kinda shoulda sorta woulda loved her if he could've

He'd rather be alone than pretend

Promo around the 30th anniversary highlights that Evan wrote the song about his parents divorce. Hiding dark and deep thoughts within bubblegum guitar pop. Dando looks super fresh and cool in the video. 

Confetti video

I remember an old school friend called Craig Richardson showing me the chords to It's A Shame About Ray. They were so simple that even I could play them. Although the little riff before the start remains beyond me! A co-write with Tom Morgan, Ray flows along in dreamy, sunshine-y kind of way. I used to drive about the back road of Carluke down to the Clyde Valley, or to Lanark with this on the car stereo. 

If I make it through today

I'll know tomorrow not to leave my feelings out on display

I love the feeling to Rudderless, it's really reflective, almost tinged with sadness. Even the chords Evan plays at the start sound a little sad, but beautifully so.

Hope in my past

Hope in my past

I love when Evan sings walked back home to my place and Juliana then sings tired of getting high. And the closing ship without a rudder section is one I always try and sing without needing to stop for breath. Just a super cool song. Check this great version from Tokyo in 1994 with Dando looking all kinds of grunge cool with his hair hanging all over his face.

Rudderless, Tokyo 1994

My Drug Buddy is, at least for me, one of the most beautiful songs in Evan Dando's locker. Telling the story of his friend/lover coming over to go a walk to  score drugs, My Drug Buddy is sung with real feeling, it sounds beautifully melancholy. The way Evan and Juliana harmonise on I'm too much with myself, I wanna be someone else is so dreamy it hurts.

She's in the phone booth

And I'm looking in 

There comes a smile on her face

There's still some of the same stuff they had yesterday

There's still some of the same stuff they had yesterday

Yeah

The organ adds to the lazy feel of the song, this is peak Dando and Hatfield together. 

My Drug Buddy video

The Turnpike Down is a short song, kind of country punk, repeated twice. I love the line between a want and a need to. 

The Turnpike Down, Evan Dando in Sydney

I'm a sucker for the Dando and Morgan co-writes. They are so simple yet so clever. Bit Part is only 1 minute and 51 seconds long. Acoustic and electric guitars collide, the lyrics are brilliant, the solo is fizzing, Juliana compliments Evan perfectly and it builds to a brilliant climax with Dando hollering the final verse/chorus - it's all one in this song.

I want a bit part in your life

A walk on would be fine

I just want a bit part in your life

(A bit part in your life)

I want a bit part in your life

Rehearsing all the time

Bit Part live at Glastonbury 1994

There is a line in Alison's Starting To Happen that is one of my all-time favourite lyrics. 

She's the puzzle piece behind the couch

Made the sky complete

2-minutes of perfection. A pop punk romp about Alison Galloway from Tom Morgan's band Smudge. Dando and Galloway were on ecstasy and he came up with the line Alison's Starting To Happen. 

All these years (decades!) later, this song still sounds like the band are having so much fun. The Lemonheads were really in the zone on this album.

Alison's Starting To Happen (live video)

Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter joins the band on slide guitar for the sublime Hannah & Gabi. It's a beautiful song, the guitar playing is so inventive and melodic. I would often think of this song when I was on the train to Glasgow as a teenager, watching a girl who got on from Lanark. I'd try to catch her eye in the reflections of the windows. This and Norman 3 by Teenage Fanclub were my songs for her. I had a major teenage crush. We eventually talked, but no more than that. Really up there with the most gorgeous Lemonheads songs. 

Hannah & Gabi (video)

Nic Dalton wrote Kitchen and it really emphasises how effortlessly he fitted in with Evan and the ethos of The Lemonheads around this time. Further cementing Evan's bond with Australia. The bassline practically bounds out of the speakers, the vocal melody is deliciously fast and again Dando & Hatfield harmonise with ease. I love the closing 42-seconds - the sound of a band having fun jamming along.

Ceiling Fan In My Spoon is 1 minutes 47 seconds of psychedelic melodic babble, it has a harder and punkier edge to it than anything else on the album. 

Evan's cover of Frank Mills is just perfect. It fits so well with Dando's move towards telling more stories through his own songs and also with the way he continued to highlight his taste in music through acoustic covers. And with the whole sunshine-y, stoned vibe to the album.

He was last seen with his friend, a drummer

He resembles George Harrison of The Beatles

But he wears his hair, tied in a small bow at the back

Of course, It's A Shame About Ray has been re-released several times, including once not long after the original release date to include The Lemonheads cover version of Mrs Robinson. A pop punk bubbledum performance that introduced the band to many. Would the album still have broken without that addition? Who knows, who cares, it's a f**king brilliant album and I'm sure it would have found its way.

In terms of 30th anniversary bonus tracks, we have songs from Evan's trip to Australia; covers of Divan by Smudge and Shaky Ground by Sneeze. The latter featured in my Trust Me series of blogs. 

Check my 10 songs by Smudge here.

We also have a KCRW radio session of My Drug Buddy, an acoustic cover of ABBA's Knowing Me, Knowing You and demo versions of songs on the album. It's interesting to hear Ceiling Fan In My Spoon in that form.

It's A Shame About Ray is sun kissed, warm, melodic, romantic, funny and the sound of a songwriter not only finding himself, but friends.

Bandwagonesque at 30

My battered and worn 30-year copy of Bandwagonesque

30-years ago I was a 15-year old developing a healthy obsession for music. Raiding my parents record collection, buying the NME and Melody Maker every week, listening to Peel occasionally, the Evening Session a lot and making trips to Missing Records in Glasgow or Impulse Records in Hamilton. 

But arguably my biggest musical education stemmed from conversations and mixtapes at school. I distinctly remember a tape my friend Grant Mitchell made me containing Everything Flows and Don’t Need A Drum by Teenage Fanclub.

Living in the Lanarkshire backwater of Carluke, I was intrigued that this band from Bellshill, a 20-minute car/train ride away, were generating such a buzz. Then all of a sudden there were new singles; the blitz of Star Sign and the impeccable The Concept. Teenage Fanclub were a band happening NOW! I was falling for The Beatles and there is never a bad time to fall for The Beatles, but I was 30-years too late. I'd fallen heavily for the Stone Roses, but I was playing catch up on all their singles and I was 2-years too late, 2-years too young to get into them at their peak.

Bandwagonesque might have been the first album I really looked forward to buying upon release as a teenager, certainly the first from a band so close to home.

This wasn't Manchester, London or Seattle. This was 4 guys from Bellshill, just up the road from me in Carluke. They were playing London, going to America, in the NME, the Melody Maker, recording a Peel Session, they were on MTV and December was even background music for a hot air balloon feature on Blue Peter!

Teenage Fanclub felt like the perfect band, at just the perfect time and Bandwagonesque was the perfect album. They felt real, within touching distance.

Why was it the right album? For all the reasons it still is.

The humour, or at times just blatant cheek. The star kissing harmonies, the glorious guitar sounds, the brilliant use of swearing in Alcoholiday, the kind of cool but also kind of sh*tty sleeve. 3 different songwriters and singers, a crazy drummer. The innocent lyrics in songs like Sidewinder  ‘saw you there with long blonde hair, eyes of blue, oh baby, I love you’ that fitted in so perfectly for young teenage boys (like me) who fell in love with a different girl every day.

Yeah Teenage Fanclub were special, Bandwagonesque was special. They both still are.

The intro lyrics to opening song The Concept still make me smile and tell you so much about the bands humour;

She wears denim wherever she goes

Says she’s gonna get some records by the Status Quo

Oh yeah, oh yeah

I could be jumping around my bedroom singing yeah, yeah, yeah to The Beatles or oh yeah, oh yeah to Teenage Fanclub. The closing extended outro of The Concept gets better with age. The guitars, the harmonies, I'd be happy if it went on forever.

The riff of Satan always makes me reminisce about the band breaking into it live, the chiming guitar of December and Gerry Love singing she don’t even care, but I would die for her love struck a chord as a teenager, now it’s like a symphony, just perfect. 

What You Do To Me is 2-minutes of guitar pop perfection. So simple, so sublime, so pure, so perfect for fitting on to either side of a C90 mixtape you were making for your friend, or to now bring a burst of sunshine to a playlist. McGinley’s guitar on I Don’t Know mesmerises, Star Sign shimmers beautifully and bursts into life in a way that still makes me want to pogo and I don't think I'll ever lose that feeling.

Flip to side 2, Metal Baby still makes me smile, Pet Rock and the aforementioned Sidewinder echo of young innocent love and infatuation, while Alcoholiday is another song that ages like a fine wine, the guitars sound more glorious, Blake singing ‘there are things I want to do, but I don’t know if they will be with you’ tugs on heartstrings. And the last 80 odd seconds of guitar - swoon! 

Guiding Star is so blissfully dreamy and Is This Music? allows you to get lost in the hypnotic riffs and answer - yeah, yeah it is music. And it’s by Teenage Fanclub, my favourite band in 1991 and my favourite band in 2021. Still creating brilliant albums with guitars, harmonies and full of songs to soundtrack my life.

BMX Bandits 30

Everything Flows Podcast #10

BMX Bandits are 30 - Duglas T Stewart interview and music

Duglas and Chloe - BMX Bandits core in 2016

Yesterday afternoon I enjoyed a couple of hours sitting on a bench in Glasgow Green in glorious sunshine with a cheeky ice-cream, recording a special podcast in the company of Duglas T Stewart; singer, songwriter and leader of legendary Scottish band - the BMX Bandits.

BMX Bandits have been celebrating 30-years of music - the band formed in 1985 and released debut single E102 in 1986.

It was 5-years after the release of debut single that I discovered the band in 1991. Aged 15, I was a musical sponge, soaking up all kinds of stuff. From raiding my parents record collections to discover The Beatles, The Stones, Marvin and Tammi and Jose Feliciano....and scouring the NME and Melody Maker every week, looking to discover favourite bands of my own.

A number of the bands I fell for back in 1991 were from in and around Glasgow. A couple happened to hail from Bellshill which seemed rather incredible for a young teenager in the relative Lanarkshire backwater of Carluke.

The BMX Bandits seemed to be a band that practically everyone was linked to in some shape or form. Check their family tree below! Kurt Cobain also said 'If I could be in any other band, it would be BMX Bandits.'

BMX Bandits subsequently turned me on to all kinds of stuff. Being friends with Duglas means that you are never far from a lost 60's classic or super cool new band from Japan appearing on your timeline. I'm very fortunate to have grown up with bands who wear their influences on their sleeves and someone like Duglas has remained a musical sponge long past his teens! His knowledge and taste is impeccable and I was absolutely delighted when he agreed to meet for a podcast where he has selected all of the songs. 6Music or Radio Scotland should sign him up for a show!

Listen in to learn about what these songs mean to Duglas and we also get a chance to talk about all things BMX Bandits - The Pretty Flowers, the Splash Club, E102, 53rd and 3rd, Creation, the 90's, My Chain, Bee Stings, BMX Bandits In Space, past and current members, future plans....

We somehow pack all of this and much, much more into 72-minutes. LISTEN HERE



1. The Morning Of Our Lives - Jonathan Richman
2. The Sweet Sounds Of Summer - The Shangri-Las
3. Lutie Lutie - Tenniscoats
4. Who Do You Think You Are? - Jigsaw
5. Like A Monkey In A Zoo - Daniel Johnston
6. I Saw The Light - Todd Rundgren
7. Someday Man - Paul Williams
8. Jean - Rod McKuen

Also - check this brilliant garage pop groove Razorblades and Honey by BMX Bandits and Anton Newcombe that Duglas mentions in the podcast. Recorded in Anton's Berlin studio during a recent trip. It is ace. Hope they record again in the future.

BMX Bandits at The Hug and Pint

BMX Bandits at The Hug and Pint, 30/10/15

BMX Bandits formed back in 1985 and released their first single, E102, in the summer of 1986. So it is fitting that the band are bridging 2015 and 2016 for their 30 anniversary.

A summer show at the Wickerman Festival was a delight and intimate shows in Dundee and Glasgow this week allowed the band to explore their back catalogue to the delight of some of their die hard fans who got tickets.

Duglas T Stewart always has his ear to the ground and he chose Edinburgh band The Spook School as the support for the Bandits last night. I had only seen the band once before - when they played TeenCanteen's The Girl Effect back in May, they caught my attention with a storming version of Icona Pop's I Love It.

I'd checked them out online and was looking forward to seeing them in action. The Spook School didn't disappoint. The front trio of Nye Todd, Anna Cory and Adam Todd look like they are in their teens, they jumped about, made their guitars sound glorious and their singy shouty vocals were catchy and infectious. Everybody Needs To Be In Love was an early highlight.

The band were punky, poppy and their ear for a chorus won them many new fans. I ended up buying their new album (the bands second) Try To Be Hopeful and a t-shirt. I'll write a separate blog on the band in the near future.

Duglas T Stewart and his BMX Bandits took to the stage and proceeded to delight the packed basement of The Hug and Pint with a set that took in their debut single, songs from their latest album and songs that Duglas is currently working on with Stuart Kidd from Dr Cosmos Tape Lab.

Little Hands was a brilliant opener, the Bandits at their best - romantic, melodic, catchy and fun. A cover of Daniel Johnston's Do You Really Love Me was introduced by Duglas telling the crowd that Daniel is probably his favourite songwriter. The vocals were shared with Chloe Phubo and the crowd really got going.

Serious Drugs was poignant and beautiful, while And It's You, one of my favourite songs from BMX Bandits last album (In Space), was just glorious. It is a gem of a song, stunning melody and has a great natural feel.

The Bandits always guarantee romance, yet they also guarantee a sense of fun and humour. The Road To Loved Is Paved With Banana Skins contained both in bags.

Way of the Wolf and It's In Her Eyes were the newies performed. The latter was my favourite out of those and I look forward to hearing them both on record.

If you haven't heard The Sailor's Song by BMX Bandits then please follow this LINK

It was a bit of a standout for me last night, beautifully sung by Duglas.

You could heal me, make me feel better

Make me feel better than I did today

The closing section was simply sublime;

I could watch you dancing all night

I could watch you dancing all night

Your Class was another highlight, introduced by Duglas as being written in response to hearing Stephen Stills Love The One You're With when he heard it back in the 80's whilst on tour.

It is one of my favourite songs by BMX Bandits, just hopelessly romantic and romantically hopeful.
The delivery was exceptional - Duglas was on top form all night - vocally and also between songs.

And what you do, what you do

Is breaking my heart in two

And I'll never get too tired of you

Don't say we're through, don't say we're through

Cause that could not be true

And I'll never get too tired of you

Disco Girl and E102 were great fun before an encore of old favourite Kylie's Got A Crush On Us and then Fireworks from In Space.

This was a pretty special encore for me and my sister as I used to play Kylie's Got A Crush On Us to her when I was 17/18 and Carla was a young 7/8! And Carla wrote Fireworks for Duglas and he has been exceptionally supportive of her songwriting and TeenCanteen.

This was a fantastic show and I look forward to Duglas and the BMX Bandits plans for the remainder of their 30th anniversary celebrations. Duglas is a singer-songwriter to be cherished and his band seem to relish playing his songs.

Next up for BMX Bandits is a support slot with one of my other favourite bands - The Charlatans - in Dundee in December.