What They Do To Me

I can't remember what possessed me to suggest to my fellow Teenage Fanclub Fanclub members that we should try and compile a tribute album of b-sides and rarities. Possibly someone had posted in the Facebook group chat about the possibility/dream of a b-sides, sessions and rarities boxset and someone reminisced about previous TFC FC tribute albums recorded albums like Bandwagonesque and Thirteen.

Anyway, something sparked an idea. But with a vast array of b-sides and rarities (upwards of 80), where would this project start and end?

That was going to be dependent on interest levels and quality. There was no shortage of either!

Over 40 fans from around the world registered an interest in covering a song. Either themselves or through bands that they are members of. Spain, USA, Argentina, Australia, Phillippines, Ireland, Slovenia ... The quality, diversity and love coming from around the world was mindblowing.

In addition to offers of support from TFC FC members from around the world to record covers, I also received offers of help by Tom Burgess and Mark Rolfe - thankfully! Tom is an incredibly creative guy and a talented musician in his own right, so I knew he'd keep the project on the right track in terms of quality. And Mark is also a musician, fellow Star Wars fan, runs his own small digital record label - Winnetka Records and is also skilled in the art of mastering  - so we had an outlet for releasing the album!

As the project began to grow arms and legs, I checked in with David Barker, a TFC FC member who also happens to be an integral part of the bands history, releasing debut single Everything Flows (where I got the name for this blog!) and debut album A Catholic Education on his label Paperhouse Records. 

David is still releasing records through his Glass Modern label. With the project growing all the time, I was keen to check what we could and couldn't do. I certainly didn't want to piss off the band we were paying tribute to!

Releasing an album of cover versions is quite a big project! David was really helpful and extremely experienced as Glass Modern were building towards the release of the Glass Remade / Remodelled compilation album. It's well worth checking out and includes Gerry Love covering The Pastels.

After talking with Dave and in order to avoid any complications, we decided to go with a free digital only release with a suggested donation to charity. I checked in with Norman to see if the band would like to choose a charity and he very kindly said that we should choose as it was our work. We've chosen Simon Community Scotland and you and make a donation HERE

Pretty soon we were taking suggestions for the album name (my own suggestion of Genius Envy wasn't taken forward!), artwork and recordings started to come in!

And after a while, we decided to release the album in 2 volumes in order to break up the work and also to ensure the songs had some space to breath. 

So ... after many months ... Volume 1 came out on 1st December! 

What a delight it is!

There is a great mix of Blake, McGinley and Love originals, along with a sprinkling of covers by The Beatles, Dylan/The Byrds and The Bevis Frond. After all, Teenage Fanclub are fond of covers themselves!

I'm so proud of the way this has come together. It sounds incredible - recordings in bedrooms, garages and studios around the world in tribute to Teenage Fanclub.

Here is a short piece on each song. Enjoy the album and please make a donation.

What They Do To Me Volume 1: b-sides, rarities and deep cuts
A tribute to Teenage Tanclub

so far gone - min min lights, (australia) (written by gerard love)

Min Min Lights blast through Gerry's So Far Gone that came out on the God Knows It's True single, released between A Catholic Education and Bandwagonesque. It's a faithful cover and you can tell the band are having fun. Incidentally, Min Min Lights also play Fanclub tribute concerts under the name Starsign! 

sidewinder - the pace cars, (sweden) (gerard love & brendan ohare)

Ah the chiming guitars, Swedish accent, harmonies and warmth that pour from this recording get me every time. One of my favourite Fanclub tunes. There is a beautiful purity to it and The Pace Cars (great band name!) really bring that out.

some people try to fuck with you - deep clean, (usa) (norman blake)

This particular recording really blew me away when it came through. I think it was one of the first I received and it set a high bar! Released on the Mellow Doubt single, this era of the band really highlights how prolific they were; releasing albums every couple of years and singles packed with b-sides due to labels releasing two CD's with different b-sides to maximise sales. Fanclub fans didn't complain! 

genius envy - the mondo & lc project, (philippines) (raymond mcginley)

There is a line in this song where Raymond McGinley sings so what if you see other people, I only get jealous if I listen to The Beatles, so go and get someone new.

I love it! And I love the way The Mondo & LC Project introduce Beatles strings and effects to their cover. The love for the band and the song shine bright. 

tell me what you see - the proper authorities (usa) (lennon & mccartney)

When people were staking their claim to record b-sides and rarities, this is one that caught me by surprise! I hadn't heard Teenage Fanclub covering Tell Me What You See. The band recorded it around the time of Thirteen for a label compilation album.

I love it - the band romp through it and so do The Proper Authorities. The biggest compliment I can pay them is that I've gone back to the Help! era of The Beatles as a result of their cover. What a song!

headstand - the slow return (england) (gerard love)

One of my favourite Fanclub b-sides! I love this recording, there is a little bit of The Flaming Lips to it. The vocals have a psychedelic feel to them, drawing on the emotion of the lyrics. 

speeder - japanclub (japan) (teenage fanclub)

A collaboration between real Fanclub devotees from Japan. With Kaori now residing in Glasgow. I meet her regularly at gigs around town. Kaori HAD to be on the album and I love the DIY raw punky vibe to this instrumental.

mr. tambourine man - wet paint (ireland) (bob dylan)

Oh this melts my heart! A gorgeous duet on Dylan's sublime poetry and imagery. Teenage Fanclub really covered The Byrds version rather than Dylan's. Wet Paint really take this somewhere dreamy in the closing minute. 

the count - gary page (england) (raymond mcginley)

Come put your arms around me, I can't count the times you found me

Quite why The Count was a b-side is beyond me! One of Raymond's best songs and Gary does a cracking job with it, his aching vocal is beautiful.

he'd be a diamond - broken by rock (scotland) (nick saloman)

Another cover of a cover. Broken by Rock are my friends Alan Clarke and Derek McKee. I think Alan produced this one all by himself though and I am a big fan of the punk pop DIY vibe he has lovingly created. I used to love hearing Norman and Gerry's voices harmonising on this. Check them performing live on BBC Scotland's The Quay Sessions. What a stunning song!

getting real - michael vickers (england) (gerard love)

2-minutes of guitar pop perfection courtesy of Gerard Love. Michael stays true to the original; pounding drums, a driving riff and melodic vocals. 

the world'll be ok - vlado nosal & the avedons (slovakia) (raymond mcginley)

This cover really got me. I felt quite emotional when it came through and I listened on headphones. Cause the world isn't OK right now. Everything seems to be going wrong. Just when you think it can't get any worse ... it somehow gets worse! I really do hope the world'll be OK.  This cover gave me hope.

when i still have thee - rocket kings (england) (norman blake)

I'd love Teenage Fanclub to introduce this to their sets. What a beautifully pure cover.

long hair - starboard hazes and broken by rock (scotland) (norman blake)

I recorded this with my friend Derek from Broken by Rock, who also feature on volume 1 with their cover of He'd Be A Diamond. Del (former drummer for Creation band Boyfriend) has an amazing home studio set up. He recorded absolutely everything and then I went over and recorded the vocals in one take! Definitely need to go over to Del's another time!

one thousand lights - seahorse migration (scotland) (raymond mcginley)

Seahorse Migration is a brilliant band name! Made up for this project! This is gorgeous. I love the DIY feel, the melodic vocals and the gentle xylophone.

country song - dirtwater stank, hank b & stevie sticks (scotland) (gerard love)

Volume 1 closes in style with this fantastically grungy sounding cover of Country Song. I love the guitars on this. 

Never Ending Mixtape Part 35

Welcome to the latest additions to my Everything Flows Never Ending Mixtape on Spotify. We are approaching the 1,000 song mark! We'll do that in the next blog.

In the meantime dig into early Belles on the Beeb, some rare Charlatans b-sides, 4 songs from Marvin Gaye including 2 incredible outtakes from the Let's Get It On sessions. You HAVE to listen to them.

We have later period New Order with the stunning Krafty, a Primal Scream instrumental b-side alongside a rock n roll stomper, there is northern soul, James Brown, psychedlia by The Polyphonic Spree, Bob Dylan features, we have the stunning Shack, Robyn, Queen (the Bohemian Rhapsody film is incredible), Small Time Hustler the song the Stone Roses walked on stage to at Spike Island, some songs from Futuristic Retro Champions - my sisters first band, very DIY MySpace pop and classic songwriting by Lee Hazelwood and Glen Campbell. And the unique and brilliant Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers.

Have I covered everything?!

Dig in and enjoy, you'll need to scroll write down the playlist to get to these tunes, or dig in anywhere or stick it on shuffle. Search for Everything Flows Never Ending Mixtape on Spotify or CLICK HERE. Read on for a full list of additions.

The State I Am In (BBC Session) - Belle and Sebastian
I Could Be Dreaming (BBC Session) - Belle and Sebastian
Electronic Renaissance - Belle and Sebastian
Never Learned To Dance - Harvey Averne
Scorched - The Charlatans
Complete Control - The Charlatans
I Walk - Quarks
Riders on the Storm - The Doors
Get Up Offa That Thing - James Brown
Keep Getting' It On - Marvin Gaye
Come Get To This - Marvin Gaye
Song #3 - Marvin Gaye
Cakes - Marvin Gaye
That Summer Feeling - Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers
She Comes Running - Lee Hazelwood
Krafty - New Order
Hammond Connection - Primal Scream
Country Girl - Primal Scream
You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (more blood version) - Bob Dylan
Section 12 (Hold Me Now) - The Polyphonic Spree
It's The Sun - The Polyphonic Spree
Dreaming Of You - The Coral
Our Lips Are Sealed - The Go-Go's
I Wish (A-Cappella) - Robyn
Under Pressure - Queen and David Bowie
I Want To Break Free - Queen
Shout Bamalama - Detroit Cobras
Natalie's Party - Shack
Captain's Table - Shack
She's Losing It - Belle and Sebastian
Judy and the Dream of Horses - Belle and Sebastian
Strawberries and Vodka Shots - Futuristic Retro Champions
Isn't It Lovely - Futurisic Retro Champions
I'm Tired - Futuristic Retro Champions

Put The Message In The Box - World Party
Small Time Hustler - The Dismasters
Out The Window (Andrew Weatherall mix) - Confidence Man
Guess I'm Dumb - Glen Campbell

Teenage Fanclub Barrowland night 3

One of my favourite Teenage Fanclub songs (definitely top 5) is an old b-side called Broken, released as a b-side to Ain't That Enough back in 1997. It never used to be in my top 5 until the band played it many years ago when they did a b-sides and rarities night at Oran Mor in Glasgow. I fell for it big time and since then it is a song I have returned to many, many times.

It was the penultimate song of their 3-nights at the Barrowland Ballroom and it was truly, truly beautiful. I have experienced some incredible moments in the Barras and this was up there. Starting with Norman on acoustic, the band gradually joined him, playing the same fragile riff over and over before Norman started singing your heart has been broken again, it's broken, it's broken.

The song is deceptively simple on paper. There are no more lyrics, they are just repeated like the riff. But the combination of the playing, melody, lyrics, feel and performance of the song is magical. Even more so tonight. Norman and the band gradually fade out and as they faded you could hear the whole of the Barrowland Ballroom singing just as gently, as hushed and as considerate as Norman;

My heart has been broken again

It's broken, it's broken

It was a spine tingling Barrowland moment, kind of difficult to describe, just trust me on this one! My favourite band, playing one of my favourite songs in my favourite venue. Quite a few people seemed to get some dust in their eyes, possibly even some of the band.

And so I'm back home beginning to wonder what I will do tomorrow night. I've seen Teenage Fanclub 4-nights out of 6!

Tonight was the turn of Howdy! and some b-sides and rarities. The second set will cause me to go up in my loft tomorrow to dig out all my old CD singles. I had forgotten about some including a Gerry Love song called Getting Real which is outstanding! I thought it was a cover tonight! In fact it is so good, check it out! It was even better live.

Highlights from Howdy! were Gerry's impeccable Near You, Raymond was outstanding tonight with The Sun Shines From You being my favourite of his, while I'll plump for Norman's If I Never See You Again as my own highlight from his songs from this album.

Norman was beaming all night, a smile was never far from his face. Brendan appeared regularly to assist the band and as always generated smiles and laughter. Paul Quinn was fantastic on drums whilst Francis contributes so much, his backing vocals/harmonies were superb tonight, and of course the ever reliable and supremely talented musician Dave McGowan played all manner of instruments.

The second set of the night was probably my favourite though. The band seemed relaxed and in great spirits as they opened with Norman's sublime Did I Say. Raymond's My Life was another I didn't remember, while Long Hair is one of my favourite Fanclub songs - power punk pop. It sounded sensational with Dave joining Norman and Raymond on electric guitars.

Norman's Some People Try To F**k With You was outstanding and Gerry and Norman singing together on He'd Be A Diamond always caused a nice shiver down my spine.

The aforementioned Broken was magical and a romp through The Flying Burrito Brothers Older Guys closed the night and what may be Gerry Love's final Glasgow show with Teenage Fanclub.

Despite the odd shout from the crowd for a speech, I don't think anyone was really expecting the band or Gerry to make a big deal of it. They've said their piece. Lets just enjoy the amazing music, the memories and also look to the future.

My take - I doubt very much that was the last time I will see Gerry with the band in Glasgow again. I certainly hope not! But the band are off on tour and hopefully Gerry might release some new music.

Now, could I get a ticket for a Manchester or London show....