Named after the debut single by Teenage Fanclub.
This blog is all about being a music lover in Glasgow; reviews, interviews, memories, old faves, new discoveries (past and present), playlists and more. Thanks for visiting - I hope you discover something amazing you have never heard before, or that you rediscover an old favourite.
Regular features/playlists; Never Ending Mixtape / Cover Version of the Month/ Trust Me.
Insta - @everythingflowsglasgow
Calvin Harris to blow the roof off the Barrowland......imagine.....
Scottish music fans regularly debated the future of Glasgow's world famous Barrowland Ballroom for a number of years, particularly when the Academy and the ABC came on to the scene. There was no doubt that the number of shows at the legendary venue fell in number, but 2016 saw Barras end the year in a rich vein of form.
Teenage Fanclub, Deacon Blue, Frightened Rabbit, Twin Atlantic and Fatherson were Scottish acts who elected to have homecoming Christmas shows at the Barrowland Ballroom.
It got me thinking.....
Could the Barras have a month of Christmas shows? Turn it into a Barrowland Homecoming Festival?
It easily could. Here is the Scottish acts who could feasibly book their Christmas show for 2017 already, many would sell out instantly. Can you imagine Calvin Harris blowing the roof off the place? Paolo Nutini ripping it up and singing his heart out and going for a pint in McChuills afterwards?
Paulo could probably do a month at the Barras on his own!
Many acts (Scottish or otherwise) still prefer two or three nights at the Barrowland than opting for a larger single show. Who can blame them for choosing the best venue in the world with the best atmosphere?!
I have let my imagination run (easily) wild and made up a few imaginary support slots/double bills just to fit a number of bands in. I guess you would have give some acts a couple of nights. Who have I missed?
Over to the venue and promoters who could make this happen....
2017 (Imaginary) Christmas Homecoming Festival at Glasgow Barrowland
Friday 1st Dec - Teenage Fanclub with special guest Edwyn Collins
2nd - Deacon Blue with special guests Justin Currie (I know from playing football with Justin Currie that he would love to play the Barrowland again - ideally with Del Amitri!)
3rd - The Twilight Sad
Mon 4th - Idlewild
5th - The Waterboys
6th - Frightened Rabbit
7th - Twin Atlantic
8th - The View
9th - Franz Ferdinand with special guests The Vaselines
10th - Belle and Sebastian with special guests BMX Bandits
Mon 11th - Mogwai with special guests The Pastels
12th - Simple Minds
13th - Simple Minds
14th - Chvrches
15th - Primal Scream with special guests The Jesus and Mary Chain
16th - Travis
17th - Arab Strap
Mon 18th - Amy McDonald with special guest KT Tunstall
19th - Biffy Clyro with special guests Fatherson
20th - Biffy Clyro with special guests Fatherson
21st - Paulo Nutini with special guest Gerry Cinnamon
22nd - Paolo Nutini with special guest Gerry Cinnamon
23rd - Calvin Harris
24th - Calvin Harris
27th - Texas
28th - Runrig
29th - Runrig
30th - Edinburgh Hogmanay warm up show (for whoever is heading to Edinburgh for the bells). Worked well for Primal Scream a number of years back. Failing that The Bay City Rollers
The Scottish Album of the Year Award (the SAY Award) has been a welcome addition to the Scottish music and arts scene since its inception; highlighting the quality and diversity that our nations artists create year on year and provoking debate about what albums should make the shortlist and of course; who should win.
The ten albums on the shortlist are noted below; the fact that the likes of King Creoste with his critically acclaimed From Scotland With Love, Withered Hand with his brilliant New Gods and The Twilight Sad with their most acclaimed album of their career, haven't made the shortlist has already created heated debate amongst Scottish music fans.
Little known acts like Happy Meals are on there - I have really fallen for their album since wondering who the hell they were when they popped up on the long list.
Let's see who is on the shortlist - in no particular order;
Last years winners Young Fathers are shortlisted again with Dead. They won with a mini-album/mixtape last year that created a heated debate regardless of the quality. The band followed that up by winning the Mercury Music Prize and have been gathering incredible critical acclaim and a growing fanbase.
The band are fiercely independent, prolific and are developing a reputation for fierce live performances. Deadhas already won the Mercury - can they do the double? They may well be back on the shortlist again in 2016 with their latest album White Men Are Black Men Too.
The Amazing Snakeheads Amphetamine Ballads sent them careering around the globe causing havoc with their energy and passion. They imploded in February this year to the dismay of many.
Will their sole release win them the SAY Award? It's a menacing album mixing all kinds of stuff - The Doors crossed with punk, rock n roll and jazz at times - as evidenced on Flatlining below.
I caught them at the Wickerman Festival last summer and they were sensational live. They wouldn't be my own personal choice but would be popular with many.
Kathryn Joseph is someone I can see winning the award. Appearing from nowhere with a beautiful Vic Galloway session and causing some Scottish bloggers to melt with her Bones You Have Thrown At Me And Blood I Have Spilled album. I have yet to hear a bad word about this album or her live performances.
Listen to the gorgeous The Bird to get an idea of the beautiful sounds and imagery she creates.
Happy Meals have already won a new fan in me. Their name caught y attention when the SAY Award longlist was announced and I was transfixed by the gorgeous and eclectic sounds they create on their Apero album. It is just so gorgeously different - think Stereolab crossed with Kraftwerk in the year 2025.
I really hope to see them live in the near future.
Belle and Sebastian have made the shortlist with Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance. I reviewed the album on release HERE
It is a brave album; dealing with personal illness, incorporating disco influences, yet remaining distinctly Belles. As per the review, I think there are some incredible songs on the album. Stuart Murdoch is an exceptional songwriter and I certainly wouldn't be surprised if they won.
Paulo Nutini is on the shortlist with Caustic Love. Paulo is a huge artist with worldwide appeal and this album has won him new fans, including those who perhaps poured scorn on him and his music in the past.
I haven't heard the full album however a couple of my best friends have been won over by it. Performances and songs like Iron Sky below highlight why he may become the most mainstream artist to win the SAY Award to date.
Honeyblood are a band that have worked exceptionally hard over the last year to promote their eponymous album that was released on Fat Cat, a label that has taken Scottish acts to their hearts over the years.
Honeyblood (the band and album) is very old school indie guitar music - so no surprise that I quite like it. Humour, warm guitars and good hooks are evident throughout. That said, I'd be surprised if they win and have done well to get to the shortlist.
Paws are another act on the Fat Cat Records label and their album Youth Culture Forever has understandably found favour in America where they have toured extensively. The slacker/grunge guitar sound can be exceptionally catchy at times but it isn't without depth and there is so much more to them as evidenced on their near 12-minute epic War Cry which has echoes of Nirvana, quiet verses then truly exploding into life.
SLAM are veterans of the Glasgow music scene, so in that sense it is good to see them on the shortlist with their Reverse Proceed album. It must be around 10-years since I have seen or heard SLAM in action, however I am reliably informed that they are still leading their field.
Judge for yourself with this continuous mix of the album;
Mogwai's Rave Tapes didn't make the shortlist but Rock Action label mates Errors have made it with Lease Of Life. Pardon the pun but they seem to have had a new lease of life - I was surprised when I caught them live in Glasgow Green for the Commonwealth Games last summer. They put on an incredible show to match their sonic soundscapes.
Errors have a real chance of winning for me. They seem to be progressing as a band, unafraid to explore and experiment, willing to bring friends (Cecilia Stamp on guest vocals) into their inner circle and gathering some fantastic reviews.
Check Through The Knowledge Of Those Who Observe Us for evidence of the expansive, melodic and experimental sound that Errors are capable of creating. The songs were created on the Isle of Jura and this epic 13-minute closer is a song with plenty of dreamy space, not in a rush, building gloriously.
So there you go - my top 3 in no particular order would be Happy Meals, Errors and Kathryn Joseph. My outsiders would be Honeyblood and Paws. But technically each artist has a 10/1 chance of winning!
The SAY award ceremony is at the ABC in Glasgow on the evening of 17th June.
Fatherson have had an incredible 2014, releasing their debut album I Am An Island to critical acclaim, touring Europe and playing some huge shows in Scotland including the King Tut's tent at T in the Park. Check some footage at the end of this blog - it is truly remarkable to watch the audience going nuts and singing along as passionately as the band. The crowd is a size that many signed artists would kill for.
Fatherson seem to be going from strength to strength with word of mouth helping the band to gain new fans with each passing month.
I caught up with Ross Leighton, the singer and songwriter behind Fatherson, to find out what music has caught his ears through 2014.
1. What singles/songs that have been released in 2014 have stood out for you? Feel - Bombay Bicycle Club Messiah - Prides Iron Sky - Paolo Nutini Last January - The Twilight Sad
2. What albums released in 2014 have you enjoyed? My favourite albums of 2014 currently would be :
However my biggest return to an old band is always going to be my favourite band; Thisfamiliarsmile. I think i've re-bought their debut album 'Ribbons, regards and the more machine' like four times now and I love it more every time I listen to it.
4. What has been the musical highlight of 2014 for you?
My musical highlight for 2014 would have to be touring Europe with WWPJ, they took us to so many cool places and we just played our hearts out and loved every minute of it.
However, T in the Park this year we got to play the King Tuts Wah Wah Tent and had an unbelievable show that was the on the red button for a few weeks. I don't think I'll ever forget that day.
5. What are you plans for 2015?
Currently (writing in November) the only plan is to perform at SXSW 2015, which seems like a crazy thing to say, but it's true and I can't wait!
Craig Johnston has a job that I once dreamed of (I guess I still do!)- working for DF Concerts, watching bands, keeping up to date with the music scene and booking them for King Tut's - one of my favourite places in the whole world. I couldn't think of a nicer guy to have this dream job. Craig cut his teeth putting on shows in venues like Maggie May's, building up his knowledge and contacts. Craig is always vocal about bands he believes in and has been singing the praises of young Scottish unsigned/DIY acts like Vigo Thieves, Fatherson and La Fontaines and working with them beyond King Tut's to book them into the Arches and ABC - next stop the Barrowland!
Craig's passion shines through in person and online and I always enjoy checking what he is listening to as his taste is eclectic and he is usually ahead of the game. So this was one review of 2014 I was particularly looking forward to. And here it is.... 1. What singles/songs that have been released in 2014 have stood out for you?
This was a hard one and I think this list shows my mental taste in music. I don't trust people who say they don't like pop music, I understand not liking the idea of the whole pop machine but then those same people say they like motown... wake up... it's the same thing! A few years ago I decided I would judge each song on the song rather than thinking of it a genre or who done it etc and it has totally opened me up to all different styles of music. If I like the song then I like the song. I think people who dismiss pop music are just doing themselves out of hearing some great music and are obviously lying to themselves as everyone likes at least one Spice Girls song. Anyway this list isn't just pop but these are the songs that were released this year that I have listened to most.
Fatherson's "I Am An Island" came out this year and it is amazing. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love this band. I have been promoting them since they weren't old enough to get drunk after gigs. I have watched them grow from a school band to and that are loved throughout the Country and when this album came out it was a really proud moment for me. I imagine it is the same feeling that parents get when they take their kids the first day of school. I am so proud of the boys and it is genuinely my favourite album of the year and not just because of my relationship with the boys but because the songs are belters, it is a massive step up. If you haven't heard this record yet then get on it you are missing out.
3. What old music/bands have you discovered/gone back to in 2014? When I was at SXSW in March I found myself listening to Taylor Swift's Red album again, lots! I thought the album was good when it came out but I fell in love with it this year. I was convinced it was because I had spent the two months leading up to SXSW listening to up and coming bands, bad recording and garage rock as prep I just needed some great pop in my life to redress the balance but thinking about it... It is weird that I got into the album in the quarter that Taylor was being relauched in prep for her new album. Was she around the press more or on TV more so that made me pick that album over the debut Spice Girls example for example? So did I fall in love with the Red album because it is one of the best pop records of all time, was I a victim of the labels subliminal advertising or a bit of both?
4. What has been the musical highlight of 2014 for you? T in the Park seems to be my answer every year but this year was very special. When I was 15 I went to my first T in the Park and it was on that airfield in Balado that I got the bug for finding new bands. Later that year I went by myself to a gig for the first time (at the time I didn't know it would be the first of many) I went to the Martell in Falkirk and seen a band called Biffy Clyro. This was the year I fell in love with both that airfield in Balado and Biffy Clyro so this year to see Biffy headline the last T in the Park on that airfield was a very special moment for me it was made even better now that I am part of the team that puts T in the Park on. Also seeing Fatherson play to a near full King Tut's Tent (12,000 capacity by the way) was very special I really hope there were a few wee guys and girls in that crowd that got the bug for live music like I did.
5. What are you plans for 2015?
Going to more gigs by myself.. really looking forward to the Years and Years, Soak and Prides records coming out (if that is their plans). Also King Tut's 25th Birthday will be fun!
London 2012 was wrapped up a week ago tonight, the closing ceremony was somewhat under-whelming in comparison to Danny
Boyle’s epic opening, yet both ceremonies clearly highlighted how important
music is to British culture.
It got me thinking about the songs
and artists that could soundtrack the Commonwealth Games and Glasgow 2014; what
songs would kick-start the bash, prove how friendly, welcoming and organised us
Scots can be and then close the Commonwealth Games with a party like only
Glasgow knows how to hold.
We certainly have plenty of musical
talent to choose from and some of the names listed below would be more than
capable of producing a specially written soundtrack for the ceremony – think
Craig Armstrong, Mogwai, Bobby Gillespie, Mylo or Calvin
Harris.
Putting my own musical preferences
to one side and thinking of music and artists that would truly represent
Scotland, my own 1
hour-playlist for Scotland would
be;
Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham – A
nice traditional start
Eddie Reader – performing a Rabbie Burns poem
Paulo Nutini – taking on Dougie
Maclean’s classic ‘Caledonia’
Fairground Attraction -
Perfect - cause the Commonwealth Games will be perfectly organised ;-)
Lulu – Shout – raised in the East
End of Glasgow, this would be quite fitting and really get things
going
Bluebells – Young At
Heart - cause we are all so young at heart
Calvin Harris – Some rousing
electronic pop courtesy of the boy from Dumfries
Primal Scream – Movin’ On
Up - not sure if the punk in Bobby G would be up for this, but worth an ask.
The Proclaimers – 500
Miles - has to be included
Red Hot Chilli Pipers – An epic
rendition of ‘Flower of Scotland’ accompanied by a film featuring people of all
ages singing from all around the country in stunning scenery
Runrig – Closing the ceremony with a
rousing Loch
Lomond
That is a pretty safe choice and there are some shoe-ins there that you have to think you could place your mortgage on. Texas, Deacon Blue, Travis, Wet Wet Wet and Simple Minds are the other big names that will likely feature on the committee's 'want' list. Lets not forget Annie Lennox...
Perhaps an alternative
opening/closing ceremony could take place in George Square/Glasgow Green?
Aztec Camera – Roddy Frame with the
triumphant ‘Somewhere In My Heart’…’love will see you
through’
BMX Bandits – leading the crowd in a
sing-a-long of E102’s ‘I’m so happy that love has come around’
chorus
Primal Scream – ‘Movin’ On Up’,
‘Come Together’ and really getting the party started with
‘Loaded’
Superstar – ‘Superstar’ – for the
Superstars that will come out of the Games
Beta Band – a reformed Beta Band
with the classic ‘Dry The Rain’ - as we really don't want it to rain like it has this summer! Franz Ferdinand - 'Take Me Out' - an indie anthem Belle and Sebastian - 'The Boy with the Arab Strap' Teenage Fanclub - 'Ain't That Enough'
Closing the night in style would be the Optimo DJ's.
To bring the mood down we could bring on;
Arab Strap - reforming for a specially written drunken ramble about the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow akin to this joke
Glasvegas - 'Flowers and Fitba Tops'
Never mind an opening ceremony, lets get a festival of the best of Scottish music on the go!
In short, Glasgow (and indeed Scotland) will not be short of options when it comes to music in 2014 and we should make the most of the opportunity to highlight some of the fantastic artists that the city and country has produced.
News filtered through this week that Dot JR, the latest Scottish artist to sign a major label record deal, had 'parted company' with the manager that had engineered his lucrative record contract.
For the record, online blogs point to a £500,000 one album deal - quite staggering. Judge from the video below if you think he is any good or not. I quite like this song, good pop. I didn't enjoy his Radio 1 session for Ally McCrae earlier this year though, mentioned in an earlier blog. This song is much more poppier.
Fair play to Dot JR for his amazing deal, although shame on him for his manager having to take him to court to get what is owed to him. We all know about the success of the likes of Paulo Nutini and The Fratellis, but what about the rest of the current crop of Scottish bands and artists that have had money thrown at them?
In recent years a number of Scottish artists have signed contracts with major label companies, only to discover that it isn't always the golden ticket they dream of. The flip side of the coin (perhaps for another blog) is that bands like Frightened Rabbit and Admiral Fallow have developed from grassroots and built up loyal followings (and moved up the label ranks) through the quality of their material and hard work. I would argue that they are doing better than a lot of the bands mentioned below.
So lets have a little look at some of the artists on major labels...and also some that got the 'golden ticket' only to find that Willie Wonka doesn't take to everyone despite throwing money their way.
I guess I should say that a couple of stories I have been told recently about bands/artists being dropped after huge advances just makes me f**king sick and prompted this blog.
Little Comets got a £300,000 advance and were then dropped. An artist who will remain un-named but was involved with Sharleen Spiteri received a £750,000 advance and was dropped with anothet huge golden handshake.
I just think that if that £300,000 was split between 4-6 bands/artists, then we could see more bands breaking through and not as much pressure being placed on them or the label. There would be more scope and time to develop.
Maybe I am just naive. Anyway, here is the blog....interesting reading?
Pearl & the Puppets Pearl (Katie Sutherland) burst on to the Scottish music scene in 2008 and with the help of the simple, melodic and catchy song 'Because I Do' obtained a deal with Universal and a management deal with Elton John's team. Unfortunately (like Dot JR) above, her manager was ditched, thankfully he got the money he was owed through his lawyer. It shouldn't have gone that far.
I first caught Pearl at King Tuts in January 2009 and really enjoyed her set. She then continued to impress by headlining the Solus Tent at Wickerman that year and also playing an unscheduled main stage set. There was a support slot with Elton John, expensive recording sessions with Stephen Street and tours and promotion around the country.
However things just didn't take off and the latest rumours I have heard are that Pearl and the Puppets (essentially Katie Sutherland and some session musicians) has been dropped.
Don't qoute me on that, however I do imagine it to be true given the lack of activity this year.
I imagine that Katie Sutherland may go on to release an album and do reasonably well given the fact that she is quite well known. However, she may have to rerecord her album unless her old label give it to her. Unlikely I would have thought.
The Boy Who Trapped The Sun AKA Colin MacLeod who is signed to Geffen Records. I don't know what advance he received but I imagine it was fairly considerable.
Geffen seem to be a little bit more patient with TBWTTS than Universal with Pearl and his debut album 'Fireplace' was released to some very positive reviews. I doubt if the reviews transferred to sales.
For a young guy Colin is producing some pretty staggering music, 'Home' below is a particular favourite of mine. With talent like that I hope that success will come his way.
Sugar Crisis Were signed to Island Records thanks to a connection with producer John McLaughlin who thought that their annoying yet infectious song 'We're Stuck In Traffic' would be a smash hit around the globe. As he explained to me 'everyone gets stuck in traffic and drive time radio shows around the world will play it.'
This was when he wanted to start managing Futuristic Retro Champions, yet refused to answer any of the ten questions the band and I posed to him by email about why he was interested and what songs he liked. He would only point to a rough demo 'Count To Ten' (available on itunes). I imagine he thought it would be a worldwide hit as everyone needs to learn to count to ten. I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if the band had gone with him. Although I think the band and I are quite happy with the knowledge that they didn't sell out. FRC's were an independent art school band, probably not suited to a major label and certainly not suited to being told that their song about nights out at indie discos would be used to help people count to ten. I doubt that John ever listened fully to the lyrics about 'the dancefloor all covered in sweat and piss'.
Anyway, John has proved to have a great ear for pop and has been extremely successful, so his mates at Island snapped Sugar Crisis up and released a single on one of their offshoot labels and then......nothing.
I was quite a mad keen MySpace follower at the time and cringed at some of the bands status updates like 'no-one at the label will return our calls. and 'our manager isn't answering our emails.'
So of course they were dropped and they now use the money to produce sugary bedroom pop and extremely cheesey DIY videos.
Midnight Lion I can't confess to know a great deal about Midnight Lion, they are signed to Island Records, although they released their debut single 'All Greatness Stands Still'(click for the JD Twitch remix, the video is below, which I don't like on first listen but I do now, it gets better as it goes on) on their own label.
That can be a major record label 'jedi mind trick'. In that they will sign a band perceived to be 'indie' and stump up the money for a release on a tiny offshoot label, or let the artist release something themselves with financial assistance.
It remains to be seen whether or not Island are pleased enough with the reaction to the single to put out an offical Island release or not.
My own thoughts are that Midnight Lion are young, promising and full of energy and ideas. So I hope they get their chance to develop. At a major label you form an orderly queue and releases are prioritised, hopefully Midnight Lion come up with the songs to warrant a jump up the queue.
Kid Adrift Kid Adrift is also signed to the bohemoth that is Island Records. With a string of acclaimed singles and EP's, Island seem to be allowing him (Iain Campbell) to develop, something that few other major record labels seem to allow.
Campbell's Scottish tones are evident in the vocals, while he has an effective range of beats and sounds that combine to create his electro tunes that can be quite euphoric at times.
This is the song that brought Kid Adrift to the attention of a major label bidding war.Rather good I hope you agree.
Kassidy I'll end the blog with Kassidy, a band that people either seem to love or hate. I must be one of the few people that sits in between, or maybe there is more truth in that I just don't care, although I can admit they have some decent songs.
One of the reasons people seem to hate them is that there is a perception that they only got their golden ticket thanks to one of the band members Dad knowing quite a lot of people within the industry.
I understand why that can frustrate people, especially other bands or fans of other bands. Unfortunately the old saying 'it's not what you know, it's who you know' applies to all walks of life.
I'm not a huge fan of Kassidy and I don't own any of their records, although I do like this, catchy chorus. They seem to be doing quite well and good for them.
If you have 5-10 minutes you can find out all about love/hate for the band by reading the comments on this NME album review
