5 from Happy Mondays

Photo by Kevin Cummins

I often think that Happy Mondays don't get the credit they deserve. They were like nothing before or since. Unmanageable, inventive, street wise, not only at the heart of the scene, but dealing drugs for the scene and also soundtracking it. Of the time, but completely different from any other band around. 

24-Hour Party People was the title of their third single and it described them perfectly. The Mondays lived and breathed the lifestyle. It seemed like they didn't stop from 1987 - 1992, releasing 4 albums and a string of singles. 

The band were self confessed drug fuelled scallies and chancers. Their don't give a f**k attitude was pure punk. Happy Mondays were out for a ride and they were going to ride things until the wheels fell off. 

Would anyone other than Tony Wilson and Factory Records have invested so much time, patience and money in Shaun Ryder and co? The Mondays grew and developed with the times, but there is also an element of the band being in the right place, the right city (Manchester), with access to the right club (the Hacienda), at the right time (Acid House), when the right drug came out (ecstasy) and on the perfect record label. 

The Mondays had something; raw and untamed. Pure but dirty. Post punk, post funk, double double good. Wilson saw it and so did New Order, Mike Pickering and others in and around the Factory scene. The band learned to play their instruments along the way - but they always had an ear and feel for a groove. Producers helped bring some structure to their madness - John Cale, Martin Hannett, Paul Oakenfold . Listen back to those first few albums and you can see the direction of travel and how producers helped them to develop their sound. 

You couldn't create the Mondays. They were real, genuine and complete one-offs. That's what made them so magical. You didn't know what they were going to do next - what they would create, what Ryder would say or do, or if they would show up! They had the look, the flares, the drugs, the club, the label, the songs, the producers, the front man and ... Bez!

Listening back to some of my favourite Mondays tunes, watching YouTube clips and reading about their adventures has been immensely entertaining. My big takeaway has been how integral Mark Day's guitar is to a lot of the Mondays songs, especially my favourites. The reverb drenched Performance, the baggy riff that is central to Kinky Afro, the scuzzed Chic riff on WFL .. Day (and indeed the rest of the band) are rarely talked about when it comes to the Mondays. Along with Gaz Whelan on drums and Paul Ryder on bass, the beats and grooves they conjured up were sensational.

Against all the odds, Ryder and Bez and co are still touring and will be playing 3 sold out nights at the Barrowland Ballroom next week to celebrate 35-years of their seminal Pills, Thrills & Bellyaches album.

Here, in no particular order, are 5 of my favourite Happy Mondays songs (moments and stories!).

1. Performance

The Happy Mondays drug consumption was merrily discussed in the music weeklies as much as their music, if not more. And no wonder! They revelled in the lifestyle, on stage and off. And ... they made it look fun, to the extent they turned Manchester into Madchester.  Things were bright for a long, long time, before they turned decidedly darker.

The first time I heard Performance was on a Happy Mondays and Stone Roses VHS cassette bootleg that I bought from a record fair. The bootleg mashed together band interviews, performances and videos recorded from the TV. I played that video to death.

Photo by Kevin Cummins

My jaw dropped when I saw The Mondays playing Performance on Tony Wilson's Other Side Of Midnight show. Visibly off their heads, Bez dancing in a trance around the set, looking like he is attempting the breast stroke through air. Ryder just eggs him on, vibing off him. The chemistry, no pun intended, between them is incredible. At 1-minute 42 seconds into this performance, Ryder is literally playing his maracas on Bez. The energy is off the scale. I can't take my eyes off them, even all these years down the lines.

The reverb on the guitar is sublime, The Mondays are completely locked in to create an infectious groove, while Ryder and Bez look like they are having the time of their lives. Bez, eyes shut, just constantly grooving. Ryder somehow loses his glasses and at 2-minutes 40 seconds, when Mark Day takes off on an inspired solo, Shaun is off to groove with Bez, squatting, vibing, his mate is lost in the groove. Utterly spellbinding.

2. Kinky Afro

Late 1990, certainly in terms of chart performance, was peak Happy Mondays. Step On, the lead single from Pills, Thrills & Bellyaches reached number 5 in the charts in spring and seemed to hang around all summer. Kinky Afro, the follow up, wasn't released until October and it also reached number 5.

The groove of the song originated from bass player Paul Ryder jamming around Hot Chocolate tunes that he had been listening to. Gaz Whelan came up with some beats and the working title of the song was Groovy Afro, changed to Kinky Afro after The Farm released their Groovy Train single.  They took the groove out to LA where the band were going to work with Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osbourne.

Oakenfold and Osbourne cleaned and polished the Mondays sound. They kept the grooves that the band had displayed on the likes of Wrote For Luck and Hallelujah, but gave them a sheen that made them more radio and chart friendly. What would Pills, Thrills & Bellyaches have sounded like if Martin Hannett had continued as a producer following his work on Bummed?

Photo by Kevin Cummins

Any excuse to get on an E!

However, the band had already moved on with the W.F.L single that saw Vince Clarke and Paul Oakenfold (through his Think About The Future) remix Wrote For Luck. 

The change in producer certainly helped with the Mondays sound. Some would say they transformed it. However the move from recording Bummed in Stockport to Pills ... in the sunshine of Los Angeles also played a part. You can almost feel the sunshine and warmth coming out of the record. Factory also licensed the album to London Records - the Mondays were going big time.

The groove is there from the off, synth strings, Day's guitar riff, then Ryder coming in with a catchy vocal melody with self-confessional and self-reflective lyrics. 

Son, I'm thirty

I only went with your mother 'cause she's dirty

And I don't have a decent bone in me

What you get, is just what you see, yeah

Ryder's hook for the chorus is a cross between Bruce Willis in Die Hard and Lady Marmalade by Labelle. The instrumental section comes back to Day's circular guitar riff. The video is like the Mondays take on Robert Palmer's classic Addicted To Love promo - more colour, street clothes for the band and Shaun's hairstyle looking like he could be in the Inspiral Carpets.

It was the first song they'd written that felt like a massive pop song. Rowetta, The Guardian, 2014

3. Stinkin' Thinkin'

Tales of the Mondays heading to Barbados to record Yes Please, their fourth album, are legendary. Factory allocated a phenomenal £150,000 budget and Barbados was suggested as a location as there was no heroin available. However, there was a bountiful supply of crack. The Mondays, by all accounts, were in complete disarray there were marriage breakdowns, copious amounts of drugs and alcohol and mere scraps of songs to take to Barbados.

Shaun Ryder reportedly spent 20-hours a day smoking crack. Bez broke his arm 3 times - crashing a car, in a speedboat accident and when his girlfriend sat on it. This resulted in some legendary photos of the dancer with an external metal brace pinning his arm together.

Ryder sold his clothes for crack, sun loungers for crack and even held the master tapes to ransom. The £150,000 that had been budgeted was now a drop in the ocean. 5-weeks in, the Mondays had only completed one song. The album eventually cost £380,000!

Despite the frazzled and fractured state and status of the band, Stinkin' Thinkin' is a gem. The groove is like Barry White and his band if they landed in Manchester and had a weekend at the Hacienda - soul funk sleaze, super cool. Ryder is half singing, half whispering;

Kiss me for old times sake

Kiss me for making you wait

Day's guitar lifts off a little, in tandem with Shaun changing the vocal melody

I've got to pick out what's in the pockets

So I can leave those pockets clean

It's a delicious groove, the Mondays just keep it going and Ryder, as he always does to the best grooves and riffs, lifts his own game too. Rowetta's vocals add extra soul and a club feel. This is a real favourite of mine. 

4. W.F.L. - The Vince Clark Remix 

For their 1988 Bummed LP, that Wrote For Luck featured on, the band worked with Martin Hannett, consuming ecstasy on a daily basis and taking in all kinds of influences to create sounds on whatever instruments they could get their hands on. 

Hannett found an incredible guitar sound for Mark Day, one that, even through all the synths and beats, is central to Wrote For Luck. A funk punk Chic sound, scuzzed up and drenched in reverb. 

Wrote For Luck starts at pace, big beats and Day's guitar over the top, Shaun then begins to sing and spout his unique poetry over the top.

You were wet, but you're getting drier

You used to speak the truth 

But now you're liar

You used to speak the truth 

But now you're clever

The original version of Wrote For Luck has a sense of urgency and even danger to it; a raw white boy funk groove stretched out to a little over 6-minutes, riding on Day's guitar, Shaun groaning and moaning an extra little melody to add to the feeling.

Vince Clarke, in his W.F.L remix totally gets the groove and brings the bass to the fore, the guitars (at least at the start) are gone, the beats are more clubby, the synths are making all kinds of cool noises and it's Shaun at the heart. The original raw version is just cleaned up a little, becoming more clinical ... more chemical. 

The guitar groove is finally dropped in for the last 2-minutes and it sounds even more glorious over the menacing bass groove that Clarke has created and the clubby beats. The video captured the times perfectly - Ryder off his face in a club, ecstasy fuelled grin plastered on his face, with everyone around him going for it big time. FULL BLOG HERE

5. Hallelujah - Club Mix

It's difficult to pinpoint peak Happy Mondays. In terms of success, there is no doubt that it was the Pills, Thrills & Bellyaches album, singles, tours and festivals. Musically and in terms of being completely in the zone as a band (totally original) and with culture, I'd argue that it was in the last quarter of 1989 through the W.F.L single, which was followed by the Madchester and Hallelujah EP's, just before the whole rave/house music scene went overground.

The Mondays released their Madchester Rave On EP in November 89, with Hallelujah as the lead track. Memorably, they played Top of the Pops with fellow Mancunians The Stone Roses who brought out the phenomenal Fools Gold 9.53 the same month. Check my blog on that landmark release HERE.

Ryder and Mani discussed taking acid and mixing the bands up, but I'm glad that didn't happen. The Roses went out and smashed it out the park, looking impossibly cool. Their appearance on TotP is still discussed regularly to this day. For some reason, the Mondays isn't. 

Kirsty MacColl joins them in double denim (she sang on one of the remixes) and the TotP camera doesn't really know whether it should be focusing on Ryder and Bez or not! Given the amount of times it pans away from them for extended passages, I like to imagine the producer and directors of the show screaming 'move away from the mad men, not the mad men!'

The Hallelujah Club Mix has both Andy Weatherall and Paul Oakenfold working on their magic on the Mondays sound. The result is sensational. Like a pure MDMA rush - a synth bass groove, a scream of hallelujah, chemical beats, house piano pushed to the fore ... Weatherall and Oakenfold have fun - dropping things in, taking them out, building it up, letting it fall and then lifting it higher. 

Ryder is almost rapping in his own distinct Mancunian style;

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Shaun William Ryder

Will lie down beside you

Fill you full of junk

Then the Mondays go off on one, Day's piercing guitar then falls back to a dirty groove, things are stripped to the persistent house piano and a beat, Ryder returns and the Mondays, aided by Weatherall and Oakenfold, roll on. There is an energy and urgency to this song and mix that can't be replicated. Magical.

Lone Swordsman

Trust me #94
Lone Swordsman by Daniel Avery

I always try to listen to 6music when I get the opportunity to work from home. More often than not, there will be a cool tune played that I've never heard before.

That happened on Friday when I heard a song on the Desert Island Disco that had me checking online to find out what it was and who it was by. It was Lone Swordsman by Daniel Avery.

Avery released  Lone Swordsman on September 1st 2020 as a poignant tribute to the late DJ and producer Andrew Weatherall, who passed away in February of that year. The track was released via Phantasy Sound as the B-side to Avery's single Dusting For Smoke, from his album Love + Light.

"I was in my studio the morning I heard about Andrew Weatherall's passing. The track Lone Swordsman is what formed that day. Andrew was a hero, a friend and someone who regularly reminded us all how it should be done, not to mention the funniest fucker around." Daniel Avery

As I imagine many of you reading this blog will know/have guessed, the title Lone Swordsman references Weatherall's project Two Lone Swordsmen, a collaboration with Keith Tenniswood . 

Musically, Lone Swordsman is an dreamy instrumental, blending ambient textures with elements reminiscent of 90's club/rave culture. The emotive synths and understated rhythms had me (wrongly) guessing that it was an Orbital song when I first heard it. I love the feeling Avery has created.

The influence of Andrew Weatherall will be felt for decades to come. He was a true pioneer, fearless in his pursuit of different sounds, beats and textures. 

"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room." Andrew Weatherall

Lone Swordsman is added to my Trust Me playlist; search for Everything Flows - Trust Me on Spotify or CLICK HERE 

Check below for all previous blogs in my Trust Me series.

Previous Trust Me blogs

1. Something On Your Mind by Karen Dalton

1A. Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells

2. I Am, I Said  by Neil Diamond

3. Where's The Playground Susie?   by Glen Campbell

4. If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lighfoot

5. Gimme Some Truth by John Lennon

6. Gone With The Wind Is My Love by Rita and the Tiaras

7. In The Year 2525 by Zager and Evans

8. The Music Box by Ruth Copeland

9. The Ship Song by Nick Cave

10. Sometimes by James

11. I Walk The Earth by King Biscuit Time

12. Didn't Know What I Was In For by Better Oblivion Community Centre

13. When My Boy Walks Down The Street by The Magnetic Fields

14. The Man Don't Give A F**k by Super Furry Animals

15. All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun by Jeff Buckley and Liz Fraser

16. Are You Lookin' by The Tymes

17. A Real Hero by College & Electric Youth

18. Feelings Gone by Callum Easter

19. Sunday Morning by The Velvet Underground

20. Did I Say by Teenage Fanclub

21. Don't Look Back by Teenage Fanclub

22. Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From by Teenage Fanclub

23. Belfast by Orbital

24. Clouds by The Jayhawks

25. Dreaming Of You by The Coral

26. Everlasting Love by Love Affair

27. Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke

28. Teenage Kicks by The Undertones

29. Shaky Ground by Sneeze

29. Rill Rill by Sleigh Bells

30. I Can Feel Your Love by Felice Taylor

31. The State We're In by The Chemical Brothers w/ Beth Orton

32. Sunshine After The Rain by Ellie Greenwich

33. Losing My Edge by LCD Soundsystem

34. Mondo 77 by Looper

35. Les Fleurs by Minnie Riperton

36. Rat Trap by The Boomtown Rats

37. How High by The Charlatans

38. I Can't Let Go by Evie Sands

39. Pop Song 89 by R.E.M.

40. Summertime Clothes by Animal Collective

41. There She Goes by The Las

42. We're Going To Be Friends by White Stripes

43. Autumn Sweater by Yo La Tengo

44. Sister Rena by Lomond Campbell

45. Revolution by The Beatles

46. Lazarus by The Boo Radleys

47. Wrote For Luck by Happy Mondays

48. American Trilogy by The Delgados

49. Loser by Beck 

50. Silent Sigh by Badly Drawn Boy

51. Comedy by Shack

52. Take The Skinheads Bowling by Camper Van Beethoven

53. Freakscene by Dinosaur Jr

54. Thank You For Being You by The Pastels

55. I Think I'm In Love by Spiritualized

56. Chestnut Mare by The Byrds

57. Cannonball by The Breeders

58. Like A Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan

59. You Make Me Weak At The Knees by Electrelane

60. Lucky by Radiohead

61. Strange Currencies by R.E.M.

61. I Am The Cosmos by Chris Bell

62. Like A Ship (Without A Sail) by Pastor TL Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir

63. Nothing But A Heartache by The Flirtations

64. Made of Stone by The Stone Roses

65. Tonight In Belfast by Orbital, David Holmes, DJ Helen and Mike Garry

66. Anything by Adrianne Lenker

67. I Hold Something In My Hand by Bill Ryder-Jones

68. I Meant Every Word by Burnett Sisters

69. Dream Baby Dream by Suicide

70. Stove by The Lemonheads

71. Red Lady by Phil Cordell

72. Little Fluffy Clouds by The Orb

73. I Can Do It With A Broken Heart by Taylor Swift

74. Turnin' My Heartbeat Up by The M.V.P.'s

75. Razzle Dazzle Rose by Camera Obscura

76. Such Great Heights by The Postal Service

77. The Rat by The Walkmen

78. My God Has A Telephone by Aaron Frazer

79. Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack

80. Sweet and Tender Romance by The McKinleys

81. Hoppipolla by Sigur Ros

82. 69 Police by David Holmes

83. Hey Lisa by David Holmes

84. I Am A Rock by Simon & Garfunkel

85. Kung Fu by Ash

86. Kids by MGMT

87. Slight Return by The Bluetones

88. Give Peace A Chance by John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band

89. Cut Your Hair by Pavement

90. Race for the Prize by The Flaming Lips

91. Waitin' for a Superman by The Flaming Lips

92. Acquiesce by Oasis

93. This Is Music by The Verve

Confidence Man at the Barrowland

Sugar high!

Janet Planet on the shoulders of Sugar Bones

I have no idea how many times I've attended gigs at the famous Glasgow Barrowland since I first climbed the steps to the Ballroom back in 1993, 31-years ago! I am fortunate to hold so many incredible memories of singing, dancing, sweating, bouncing and being part of a community in such a wonderful venue. In the words of the late Maxi Jazz 'this is my church'.

Over those years I've witnessed some wild nights, when the famous sprung dancefloor has been tested to the limit by 2,000 people dancing, jumping, grooving, bouncing and pogo-ing to the likes of Basement Jaxx, Underworld, LCD Soundsystem, Primal Scream, The Charlatans and Oasis.

Lately, I've found the Barrowland to be a little more chilled. A 2024 audience has seemed more content to watch, film on phones and be polite and not bump into others.

That changed on Sunday night with a joyful, euphoric and theatrical performance by Confidence Man who came to town to celebrate their new album 3AM (LA LA LA). They sure know how to host and start a party!

Confidence Man came to my attention a number of years ago as they brought their first LP, Confident Music for Confident People, out on Heavenly Recordings. I always take an interest in what Heavenly release, they have impeccable taste and a knack for picking up on cool bands.

Greg Wilson got his hands on their Out The Window single and I fell head over heels for his remix. The late great Andrew Weatherall also heard something in that song and sprinkled some magic in a remix, also taking on Bubblegum.

I meant to go and see Confidence Man at Saint Luke's a couple of years back and was gutted that I didn't go after reports indicated they had lifted the roof off the place.

Then, in late June this year, we sat down as a family to watch Glastonbury and happened to catch Confidence Man play an absolutely blinding set. I immediately checked their tour dates and bought tickets for the Barrowland.

What a night!

Confidence Man, who are fronted by the highly energetic Janet Planet and Sugar Bones with Reggie Goodchild and Clarence McGuffie on production duties, blew everyone away.

Their set was pure pop, theatre, dance, like a festival, like a club ... generating an energy from the crowd that I haven't seen in many a year. People were going crazy, the Barrowland was bouncing!

Costume changes, dance routines, cheesey poses, cheeky smiles ... I'm not going to lie, I now have a total crush on Janet Planet! And I suspect my wife has one on Sugar Bones! 

They were on it from the off with the sublime electro pop of Now U Do, bounding from one side of the stage to the other, straight into Does It Make You Feel Good? The answer, was YEAH!

Confidence Man songs are sexy, funny, cool and UPBEAT with a capital U P B E A T! All My People tells the tale of someone with a toy boy. There is a great lyric - they say there's 7 wonders but my toy boy makes it 8. And hooks galore including;

With a face like that, there's no conversation

With an ass like that, there's no hesitation

C.O.O.L Party is full of funky bass and beats with Janet Planet talking about a cool party, leading to a huge fun chorus that they literally spell out. 

We moved from pop to a real club atmosphere for BREAKBEAT, BREAK IT DOWN (ON THE BASSLINE), SICKO and the glorious Boyfriend (Repeat).

My boyfriend wants to talk

My boyfriend talks too much

The Barrowland crowd were lapping it up. Everyone was pushing to get on the dancefloor and it was JUMPING! Janet and Sugar were absolutely on it, relentless with their energy and dancing, projecting it out to the audience who responded wholeheartedly.

A closing blast of SO WHAT and Holiday was incredible. If the Scottish Government are interested in green energy then they should hook up to the Barrowland dancefloor the next time Confidence Man are back in town!

The encore was the title track of their latest album 3AM (LA LA LA) and that was it. 75-minutes of electro pop club perfection. 2 pop stars taking us on a merry dance of hooks, synths, bass and beats.

I do hope Confidence Man return to the Barrowland for a couple of nights next year. It is the perfect venue for them and they are the perfect hosts for a Barrowland party!

Anything Goes & Everything Flows DJ mix 11 - Andrew Weatherall

Andrew Weatherall seemed to sprinkle magic on absolutely everything he touched. Coming to my attention through Primal Scream's seminal 1991 album Screamadelica, Weatherall's taste was cool and unique. If he loved something, if he thought it was interesting - then he was all in.

This resulted in him working with an incredible range of bands and artists through his career. From bands at their peak, to new bands breaking through. Old friends and new friends.

His talent and taste was well supported by labels like Heavenly Recordings, recognised by peers and worshipped by devoted fans.

In short, Weatherall was special. A visionary. He heard things in songs that us mere mortals couldn't. Or at least we couldn't until he got his hands on them and remixed them. 

On the second anniversary of his death, I found myself checking Twitter for tributes and fans posting their favourite Weatherall moments. Leading to me going down a delightful Andrew Weatherall rabbit hole for a few hours and clicking on some remixes that I hadn't heard before. As well as old favourites.

So for my regular Anything Goes & Everything Flows 60-minute mixes I've compiled one of Weatherall mixes. Only it's gone way beyond 60-minutes. That's probably apt as Andrew Weatherall was a guy who didn't believe in boundaries.

I believe in you, I've got no bounds

As mentioned in previous blogs. I started the 60-minute mixes based on favourite pubs in Glasgow like The Variety Bar and McChuills. I think this would go down a storm on a Friday/Saturday night in either.

I hadn't heard a number of these songs/remixes before. I particularly love the Silver Apples song, while both The Asphodells songs are fantastic and I'm exploring them a little more. Elsewhere long-time favourite bands of mine are well represented. 

Enjoy. Search for Everything Flows DJ mix 11 - Andrew Weatherall remixes on Spotify, or CLICK HERE

I Heard Wonders (Andrew Weatherall Instrumental Mix) - David Holmes

2013 (Andrew Weatherall Dub) - Primal Scream

Another Lonely City - The Asphodells (Andrew Weatherall & Timothy J Fairplay)

101 (Andrew Weatherall Intensity Mix) - Finitribe

Make It Right (Andrew Weatherall Vocal Remix) - Frank Butters Presents

Edge Of Wonder (Andrew Weatherall Remix) - Silver Apples

Wide Eyed (Andrew Weatherall Remix) - The Horrors

Feathers - Andrew Weatherall

Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Andrew Weatherall Mix) - Saint Etienne

Hallelujah (Club Mix by Andrew Weatherall & Paul Oakenfold) - Happy Mondays

Mainia Theme (Andrew Weatherall Remix) - Hardway Brothers

Restless (Andrew Weatherall Remix) - New Order

A Love From Outer Space - Version 2 - The Asphodells (Andrew Weatherall & Timothy J Fairplay)

Come Together - Primal Scream

Love Comes In Waves - Andy Bell interview

 

Andy Bell's love of music shines through on his social media channels. During lockdown I've enjoyed Andy's tweets of him playing cover versions (and tutorials) of his favourite songs. In addition Andy has talked openly about celebrating a recent landmark birthday. 

And then Andy posted news that he would be releasing The View From Halfway Down, his debut solo album, on 9th October, before treating us to a taster with the single Love Comes In Waves.

The fresh psychedelic pop vibe of the single sent warm tingles down my spine, there is an urgency and playfulness to it, there is a constant flow and drive, Bell sounds like he's having fun. The guitars sound glorious and I immediately wanted to play it again.

I was so inspired that I sent a few questions off and I was thrilled to receive a reply!

So read on for a feature length interview taking in the impact of COVID, Ride, GLOK (Andy's electronica alter ego), recording with Andrew Weatherall, the solo album and what Andy hopes the album will be thought of if he has succeeded.

A desire to create and play leaps out from the interview and I look forward to hearing the album in October, I'll be blogging on that on release.

But first - A few links and the video for the single before we get started;

Andy Bell - Bandcamp  

Ride - website 

GLOK - Bandcamp

Album pre-orders from Sonic Cathedral

How are you? How has life been for you over the last 5-months? What have you had to put on hold? What have you had more time to do?

I'm really good thanks. In the grand scheme of things I feel like I've had things pretty easy during lockdown. Luckily no-one in my family has been taken ill. It's hard not being around people outside of our family unit, but that has started to ease a little in the last few weeks. But there are still folks, such as my wife's parents over in Dublin, who we haven't been able to see at all, and that's been hard.

When this all started I had just come back from a Ride tour of Europe. It was the start of February and COVID was looming over the horizon but not here yet. Ride has a summer of festival gigs lined up and we were looking forward to that But Ride was coming to the end of a cycle rather than launching into a new one. This meant that we were mentally prepared to be winding down anyway, at least for the moment, which made it easier I think.

My immediate plan was to prepare for the first GLOK gigs, which had been put in the diary from March onwards. My GLOK live debut was due to be at an event called Music's not for everyone which was curated by Andrew Weatherall, and this was cancelled, not because of COVID, but because the great man tragically passed away at the start of the year. In fact his funeral was the very last time I saw people out and about, before lockdown started.

Mr Weatherall's passing was such a massive loss to music. Andrew was a titan of the musical culture I grew up with and definitely a hero of mine. It was sad to me on a personal level as well because we become friends a couple of years earlier, when he invited me down to his studio, ostensibly to buy a guitar off him. In the event, I ended up staying for upwards of 2 weeks, because when I plugged the guitar in to try it out, I ended up playing on something he was working on (a track he eventually titled Making Friends With The Invader - the guitar is a Vox Invader) and then another and another. These sessions, which took place in Summer 2018, were a fantastic memory that I will carry with me forever. Andrew had also become something of a mentor to GLOK and one of his last remixes, possibly his last one, was of a GLOK track called Cloud Cover. (check it on Bandcamp) 

As well as the Music's not for everyone gig, GLOK also had shows lined up at the Social, the Great Escape and Worlds Unknown. I was figuring out to convert my album Dissident into a live setting, when lockdown just obliterated all those plans. There was a GLOK remix album about to be released Dissident Remixed which ended up getting put back a few months due to COVID, that's now been released and has done really well. It's great - it includes that excellent Weatherall remix but also great mixes from Maps, Timothy Clerkin, Richard Sen, C.A.R. and many more.

So no GLOK gigs, no GLOK remix album, no Ride festivals, lockdown left me with only one thing to work on, an EP which I'd planned to put out on Sonic Catherdral, to follow up a 7" I'd released in 2019 as part of their singles club. I was trying to figure out which songs to put on this 12", out of all the possible choices, and it was doing my head in until I had the idea to maybe expand it from 20 minutes to 40 and make it an album. The change from an EP to an album was a direct result of lockdown. That, and a shedload of DIY!

You've announced your solo album The View From Halfway Down is coming out in October. Did you set out to write a bunch of new songs or did it just happen?

For me it was more a question of track selection. I recorded a lot of tunes with Gem Archer at his stdio back at the start of 2016, directly following the death of David Bowie, and this album draws from that but also other bits and pieces. The songs on this album were mostly finished before all of this. It was mainly vocals and mixing that happened this year.

The lead single Love Comes In Waves is real melodic psychedelic pop. Did anything specifically influence the sound of the single or forthcoming album? What kind of stuff were you listening to?

The influences shine through as clear as day I think, it's the music everyone knows I'm into. The Beatles, Krautrock, Spacemen Three, The Stone Roses.

Would you like to play some solo shows when it is possible?

I'd like to, yeah. I'd like to play some Ride shows too! And some GLOK shows! I'm basically desperate to play a real gig again. Ride did an online gig the other day, and although it was great to do, it basically just highlighted everything that was missing from that moment. I miss our audience and I can't wait to get onstage on a real tour with Ride again. I feel cheated out of the end of our last tour, but hopefully we can pick up again where we left off when this is all over.

What can fans expect from the album?

It's a pretty humble affair. Around half of the tracks are instrumental, it's not so much of a "songwriter" album. It's more about a listening experience, I tried to make something that I'd want to listen to. It's pretty gentle most of the time, touches of psychedelia, I think it sounds great in the sun. Basically, if I've succeeded, it's the ideal shoegaze barbeque album.

10 from Primal Scream

Following on from 10 favourites by The Vaselines, The Lemonheads and The Pastels, ahead of two sold out shows at the Barrowland Ballroom on 17th and 18th December, it is the turn of Primal Scream to receive some love and attention.

Primal Scream came bounding into my life with the Movin' On Up video and single. They looked super cool and sounded incredible. I bought Screamadelica off the back of it, expecting more high energy rock n roll. Instead my mind was blown by the ambition, talent and soundscapes spread across this exceptional double album.

I have followed the band ever since then, catching them numerous times at Glasgow Barrowland, in a tent at Glasgow Green, at festivals, traveling to Manchester to see them play Screamadelica for the 20th anniversary and I have followed them on their sonic journey through music.

Screamadelica, Give Out But Don't Give Up, Vanishing Point and XTRMNTR is an exceptional run of albums from 1991 to 2000.

Pre 1991 the Scream were still determining who they were, their two patchy albums, Sonic Flower Groove and their second eponymous album released in 1991, were splashed with highlights like Love You and I'm Losing More Than I'll Ever Have, but in general it seemed like the band couldn't decide if they wanted to be The Byrds or The Stooges. The band were best known for the b-side Velocity Girl, 90-seconds of pure jangle guitar pop magic.

Sonic Flower Groove era Scream

Meeting Andrew Weatherall and being introduced to ecstasy changed them - for the better. Although it took time to change everything, even when Primal Scream released Loaded as a single Gillespie had greasy hair and dressed in leathers, his performance on Top of the Pops for that single is ridiculous to watch. Check it HERE

With a sharp mod style haircut Bobby Gillespie was suddenly the coolest person on the planet fronting the coolest band on the planet. Looking good enough to match his never undeniable excellent taste in, knowledge of and thirst for music.

Boundaries were being broken down in music all over the world and the Scream suddenly saw all kinds of new possibilities opening to them with Andrew Innes, Gillespie's partner in crime, starting to play a key role. Andrew Weatherall took them to another dimension.

The controls were not just set for the heart of the sun, Primal Scream were going higher than the sun.

The band arguably went too high, burned too brightly and they had to come down. Kind of. Give Out But Don't Give Up (and the recent Original Memphis Recordings) show a completely different side to the band - rock n roll, funky jams and gorgeous ballads - that they had touched upon with the incredible damage.

They went further, 1997's Vanishing Point is exceptional. The band, buoyed by the addition of Mani from the Stone Roses joining on bass, produce a melting pot of sounds that is truly their own. It is notable that the album was largely self produced.

This radio station was named Kowalski

Primal Scream went even further with XTRMNTR in 2000 - bringing in all kinds of guests to create truly incredible and pulsating music - Kevin Shields, the Chemical Brothers and David Holmes were among those joining the party. I would love to the 20th anniversary of this album to be marked with some live dates where the album is played from start to finish.

Has there been an album as energetic and as angry released since? Is there a band out there with the talent, anger and background that the Scream had at this time? Will there ever be again?

Primal Scream also utilised b-sides, recording cover versions, jams and releasing som stunning remixes. Although only one has made it into my list below, favourite b-sides include How Does It Feel To Belong?, Hammond Connection, Screamadelica (from the Dixie Narco EP) and the Burning Wheel (Chemical Brothers remix).

The post 2000 albums did take a dip in quality for me, but the exceptional tunes kept coming; Autobahn 66, Country Girl, Sometimes I Feel So Lonely and 2013 being just four.

The last few years have seen Primal Scream become a little more reflective in old age - revisiting the Memphis Sessions (who could blame them after Andrew Innes' extraordinary discovery of the tapes!) and with the singles compilation and tour.

Primal Scream in Memphis

Gillespie has always known how important Primal Scream were, or were going to be. And he is a music fanatic, he knows how to play the game, how to talk his band up on the level they should be.

And this current singles tour, a greatest hits tour if you will; maximum rock n roll, punk rock energy, euphoric house music, bluesy soul ballads - all combined will only cement what a truly incredible band Primal Scream are. They should be cherished ... they are.

Somehow I have tried to select 10 favourites. I could easily have selected 20.

Autobahn 66
Mani's bass for the Stone Roses is fantastic, but I think he really makes his mark with the Scream. I love the rumbling bass, the beats and the beautiful instrumental melody before Gillespie comes in.

Dreaming, I'm still dreaming

Dreaming my life 'til the day that I die

Dreaming my life 'til the day that I die

Autobahn 66 has a pulsating energy and delicate dreamy beauty to it. It's a real favourite of mine.

Everybody Needs Somebody (Original Memphis Recordings version)
There is a lyric in this song that got me the first time I heard back in 1994 and it still gets me every time. It's when Gillespie sings;

a little bit of soul

is worth more than gold

everybody needs somebody

The BBC documentary on the Original Memphis Recordings is fantastic. I love how Bobby rhymes off all these incredible people working on the album, names he has got to know through record sleeves and I love how he talks so passionately and proudly about his band mates and how they stepped up their game to play at the standard required for this album, in the setting they had in Memphis and with the musicians, engineers and producer involved.

This is such a gorgeous song, Denise Johnson's backing vocals are heavenly and I love the way the song breaks down to rise gloriously. A stunner.

Shoot Speed/Kill Light
I mentioned Mani's bass above, on this sonic electro punk blast it is at the heart of the song, allowing guitars to blitz all around it. On record this sounds like the vinyl might not cope with it, live it is one of the many songs Primal Scream have in their arsenal to shake things up, to move to another level, to threaten to tear the roof off the place. White Noise, White Heat. Incredible.

Benicassim Festival - live

Come Together (Farley mix)
I have blogged extensively on my love of this song, most recently HERE. My favourite version is from the 2011 Screamadelica shows where the Scream mix 3 versions together - you'll find that on the link above. Utterly euphoric pop, acid house, soul, gospel music.

I'm free, you're free

I want you to touch me

So come on touch me

It's all too much

Movin' On Up
This was the first Primal Scream record I bought after seeing the video on the chart show. Bobby Gillespie pulling all his Jagger moves, looking great, sounding great and with a big gospel choir singing my light shines on. This still sounds so fresh all these years down the line. Brilliant on record, utterly sensational live.

Rocks

I remember this coming out as a single and being incredibly excited by it. The Scream Team looked completely wasted on the cover, you stuck on the record and it was up tempo Stones-y rock n roll. High energy, high fun, high times for the Scream Team as they shot into the top 10 for the first time. Deservedly so.

The lyrics for the verses flow out of Gillespie like Dylan fronting the Stones before Mick and Keith come in for the chorus.

Velocity Girl
Released as b-side to Crystal Crescent back in 1986, this 90-second guitar pop gem was lumped in with C86. It stood out a mile and was allegedly the inspiration for the Stone Roses moving away from the sound of their Garage Flower era songs towards the likes of Made of Stone. This is clever, pure pop. I blogged on Velocity Girl back in April - HERE

New video from 2019 for Velocity Girl

Higher Than The Sun
A Dub Symphony In Two Parts
In my opinion this is Primal Scream's best song. Lyrically, musically and with the production, they just get it absolutely spot on. This is psychedelic bliss; Gillespie sings;

I'm beautiful I wasn't born to follow

I live just for today I don't care 'bout tomorrow

What i got in my head you can't buy, steal or borrow

I believe in life and let live

I believe you get what you give

The music is trippy and beautiful, really taking the listener on a journey. Looking back and listening to Primal Scream's eponymous album in 1989, there is nothing to suggest what would come. You'll get more of an idea from reading old Bobby Gillespie interviews.

Higher Than The Sun features on both sides of Screamadelica, the original version on side 1 is sublime, the Dub Symphony In Two Parts on the flip is outrageously good, it really does head higher than the sun - stunning!

Primal Scream - Higher Than The Sun

All 3 sections edited together

Swastika Eyes (live)
Good on record, so good they included 2 mixes on the XTRMNTR album, but live this song becomes an absolute monster. Provocative, punk, electro, high energy, techno... anyone on before or after Primal Scream at a festival was obliterated by this song with Mani in sensational form on bass. The imagery and energy that leap from this song is sensational.

Damaged
This gem of a ballad comes after the euphoria of Come Together and Loaded on the Screamadelica album, easing you back to earth after sky scraping highs. This may well be my favourite Gillespie vocal and the groove that the band get locked into is simply heavenly - they are on it.

If I had to choose in order, Damaged would probably be my second favourite Scream song behind Come Together. The love lyrics are beautiful, the guitar solo is inspired, and Gillespie's confessions of happiness, security and love sound like the microphone has been inserted directly into his heart.

Sweet summer days when I was feeling so fine

Just you and me girl, was a beautiful time

Oh yeah, said I felt so happy

One Dove

Way back in 1993 I fell for a Scottish band called One Dove who released a string of impeccable singles and an album Morning Dove White consisting of electro pop so pure that it can lift you high.

And, I have to admit, I totally fell for their gorgeous singer Dot Allison who just seemed effortlessly cool. Girls like this didn't seem to exist in the Lanarkshire backwater of Carluke, only 25-miles from Glasgow, but at times it seemed like a million miles away. Especially if you got the last bus home from the Garage on a Saturday night.

The album is essentially a collection of the singles, flowing like a club mix with different versions of songs included. It works brilliantly.

Fallen, produced by Andy Weatherall, opens the album, it's buzzy synths, cowbells and a breathless Allison proclaiming she doesn't know why she is telling anyone this and asking for forgiveness. When the beat kicks in you are fully immersed in the world of One Dove, it has that purity I mentioned before and it just flows superbly.

There is a glorious breakdown when the beats and bass stop and it really is like you are falling and floating with the song and Allison - beautiful.

We then receive a blast of guitar to interrupt the purity and the flow with the Guitar Paradise Mix of White Love. The radio mix features later on the album and it was my first introduction to One Dove when it was released in the summer of 1993 when I was 17. This is simply sublime, the chorus just makes me smile, it just keeps running, flowing, feeling really euphoric.

Want to keep hold of this for you

The Guitar Paradise Mix is stretched out to over 10-minutes and the beats kick in with more breathless and sexy Allison vocals, kicking in just before the 3-minute mark. The bass is superb, it's a trippy mix by Andrew Weatherall, it has echoes of Screamadelica all over it.

White love, this love

This powerful, this pure

We then have the Cellophone Boat Mix of Breakdown, another single that was lifted from the album. There is beautiful piano/keys over big beats before everything comes together at around 1 minute 20 and One Dove find that pure flow that made me fall for them. The mix chops things up a little, coming in and out of the pureness I love.

The radio mix of Breakdown, still 5 minutes 30 seconds, comes later in the album (not on the original vinyl) and it just sensational. Allison croons about the moonlight, shadows, clouds and despair, how the small hours are hard to bear, leading to a chorus that can't help but be uplifting despite the lyrics.

Breakdown and cry (I cry for you)

Breakdown and cry (cry)

Breakdown and cry 

Cry (I do)

The last verse has the brilliant line I remember the night you left me, the moon was full, I felt empty

The mix and the album continue with There Goes The Cure, this is blissful and another song about lost love. This is super chilled until 4 minutes 30 and then cries, extra synth strings and beats come in, Allison can only repeatedly sing he's gone, this really is lush, a little cousin to I'm Comin' Down from Primal Scream's Screamadelica LP.

The clubby vibes through the album continues with Sirens, funky dub bass, hammond, handclaps, beats and Allison sounding like a siren. The feel of this song and the invention it contains is stunning, it contains so many gems, especially when you listen on headphones. The arrangement and production are incredible.

Allison is incredible on this album, she should have been a total star, sadly band and label conflicts prevented a follow up. My Friend is dub and clubby with Allison's vocals whispery and echo-y repeatedly singing about a fever.

This remarkable record continues with synth strings over the sound of a heartbeat. Transient Truth, stretches to over 9-minutes and it is super trippy, leading into the utterly glorious Why Don't You Take Me? Allison pours her heart out over music that probably wouldn't sound out of place on a Massive Attack record from this era.

Oh baby when I sit and cry

The skies cry with me

Why don't you take me

Straight to your heart

Yeah I'm asking you please

I need you now, need you, need you now

Then we have the piano reprise of White Love, Allison singing over only house/gospel style piano, she sounds like an angel. It's only 1-minute long and you wish it was longer.

And that concludes the original vinyl version of the album, although the CD and digital versions (thankfully) have the radio mixes of White Love and Breakdown.

I say thankfully as they are absolutely stunning and, at least for me, the album wouldn't be complete without them and they add to the clubby feel as DJ's would (and still do) cut back to songs they had previously played in the mix.

The writing, singing, arrangements, playing, mix and production are just sublime from start to finish, this really is an album that takes the listener on a journey. Allison is not afraid to sing about a broken heart and her band mates Ian Carmichael and Jim McKinven are not short of ideas.

Morning Dove White is a gem of an album and I really hope anyone reading this blog either revisits it or checks it out. A vinyl reissue would surely be welcomingly received?