1,000 blogs

Welcome to my 1,000th blog!

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit. 

I write about & highlight music I love, whether it's a new discovery or a song/album I have treasured for decades. Ultimately, I hope I turn you on to an amazing song you've never heard before, or cause you to rediscover an old favourite you've not listened to in ages. It's been nice to receive some feedback over the years.

I've taken a little bit of time to reflect on reaching this landmark. What has happened over the lifespan of my blog? 

I've thought of other Scottish music blogs, favourite bands, local bands that made it, bands that were signed and dropped/flopped, helping bands, putting on bands, forming a label, putting out self releases ...

An old photo from my music room in 2012, before kids took over!

Looking back over the time I've been writing the blog, I've been fortunate to experience some very memorable shows, discover some incredible music (whether newly released, or older songs/albums) and I've met and made friends with some brilliant people through a shared love of music.

As a kid I devoured the music weeklies and then spent fortunes on Uncut & Mojo, along with numerous other magazines like Loaded, FHM, Select, Vox, Q (only sometimes - never a real favourite) and many more short lived Britpop era mags.

I dreamed of being in bands, or of becoming a music journalist. 

I had no idea of how to form a band, although I did draft a few adverts for the NME & Melody Maker and jammed a little with a few people I met in Glasgow. But other than a few open mic nights and a MySpace page with Garage Band demos under the name Acid Hazes, I never explored forming a band with any real conviction. 

But now I have, finally, formed a (real) band! We're called Starboard Hazes and our debut EP is out today. It even features Norman Blake on backing vocals on the song Kicking Our Heels! 

Find out more about how the band formed HERE and check our debut EP HERE

And I didn't have the grades to get into the journalism course at Napier University. So my dreams remained dreams.

Then, all of a sudden, it became a lot easier to do either. Social networking websites like MySpace meant you could release music, or write about music to a (potentially) worldwide audience!

Back in August 2008, just after returning from a year of travelling (during which I wrote a blog), I wrote and published a blog about the Glasgow Music Scene at the time. I referenced venues, record shops and 5 of my favourite ever gigs from King Tuts Wah Wah Hut and The Barrowland.

Outside King Tuts in June 2020, lockdown - the city centre was deserted

While travelling, I though of the name Aye Tunes for a blog, but that was sadly taken. Aye Tunes ran for quite some time, Jim (the guy who ran it) put on shows and worked incredibly hard to promote the DIY Scottish scene.

Some other blogs from around that time were;

• Pop Cop - This was my favourite blog. On the ball with snapshot news and superb in depth articles and interviews. I met Jason once or twice at gigs and I hope he is still writing in some form.

• Peenko - Lloyd from Peenko went on to co-form Olive Grove Records with Halina from Podcart (Lloyd now runs on his own and has for some time). As Peenko he put on shows and put out DIY releases. Lloyd is one of the most positive and friendly people I have met through the Glasgow/Scottish music scene. I've got to know Lloyd pretty well through Olive Grove as he has been releasing my sister Carla's albums. One of the most friendly and helpful people out there.

• Podcart - Halina from Podcart is another exceptional person I've met through the scene. Halina's passion for music shines through and creates an infectious energy. From memory, there have been a few name changes, but looking back (at least for me), Halina really pioneered podcasting in the Scottish music scene. Her knowledge of the scene and podcasting has led to radio appearances. Podcart is still going strong.

• Scottish Fiction - Another blog that ended up putting on shows and releasing albums. Mt. Doubt, Annie Booth and Lovers Turn To Monsters were among their roster. Neil somehow did this for quite some time while studying, working and creating quite a big family! (not sure of the exact order!). Oh, and Neil also ran a radio show for a while! 

• Jock Rock - Still going strong! Good for news and views on the Scottish music scene.

The DIY scene was incredibly healthy and I'd check these blogs daily - expecting a big announcement about a band getting signed to a major! Most of the bands stayed local, adored by blogs and a tight knit scene - although you'd get bands like Frightened Rabbit and Admiral Fallow (pictured below) breaking through. Both bands also had singer-songwriters who cut their teeth on the Glasgow open mic scene.

Following my first blog, I then mainly wrote about gigs I attended through to November, then I didn't write anything again until September 2009! It was only in 2011 that I started to really begin to blog consistently.

And now I've written 1,000 blogs and at the time of writing, they have been viewed 754,483 times! 

Three quarters of a million views! Thanks so much for reading my musings!

Some have had mere dozens of views, lots of have had hundreds, many have had a few thousand, a half dozen have had 5,000/6,000 views and then one has had almost 50,000! (see below)

It's been interesting to look back over old blogs and think about what I've seen, experienced and written about over the last 14-years and 1,000 blogs! It's like a diary! 

I've put on some bands/artists that have gone on to quite big things!

• Gerry Cinnamon - I was introduced to The Cinnamons by my friends in the band Sonny Marvello. They introduced me to an amazing group of people from Castlemilk who lived and breathed for music.  I remember one memorable night at Stereo when I put on Sonny Marvello and The Cinnamons and half of Castlemilk turned up. 

Gerry Cinnamon with his band The Cinnamons 

 Photo by Dave Taylor

So it's amazing to see Gerry Cinnamon doing so well. I once watched him playing solo at Love Music on a Record Store Day to around 10 people. Gerry's personality, charisma and talent were always there. His cheeky charm won friends and his rise is a truly remarkable example of the importance of word-of-mouth.

Cinnamon gigged regularly around Scotland and his open mic night in Glasgow really helped him hone his talent. I was pretty humbled when Gerry kindly put me on the guestlist 2-years running for his incredible shows at the Barrowland in December 2017 & 2018. The atmosphere at these shows (the first in particular) were like nothing I had experienced previously. I hope the blog reviews capture some of it.

Gerry recently headlined 2 nights at Hampden Park - INCREDIBLE. My most viewed blog is one I wrote called The Rise & Rise of Gerry Cinnamon. Gerry was doing everything under the radar, with no press agent, so his growing fanbase were searching for info about him and found my blog! Incredibly, no mainstream media were writing about him! It has almost 48,000 views.

• Stevie McCrorie - Stevie and the Moon came from a little scene that formed around Alloa/Stirling. There were some cracking bands like Little Eskimos (Kevin Harper is one of the most talented and funny people I have met through this blog), Minature Dinosaurs and an electronic producer called MOPP who I really thought was going to blow up. I loved his song Dream About You. I put Stevie and the Moon on at the old Captain's Rest on one boiling hot summer night as part of a charity show for Maggie's. I got a t-shirt that my daughter ended up wearing as a nightshirt for a while! Stevie's voice was (and is) very rich and soulful and years later he showed up on BBC's The Voice. I stuck a fiver on him and won £70! I should have bet more. Stevie showed what a funny, humble and family orientated guy he was on the show. Check his blind audition HERE. 

Stevie is still singing. Another great guy from Alloa is Craig Johnston who cut his teeth putting on shows at Maggie Mays in town, before going on to work with DF Concerts, booking supports at King Tuts, then headliners and he's now putting on Lewis Capaldi and others! Craig's warm personality shone through in the darkest of basements. I'm so pleased he's worked his way up and is living his dream.

• Emma's Imagination - One day I was walking down Sauchiehall Street when I saw a really cool looking, kind of grungey, girl busking. She had a sign in front of her advertising her MySpace page. I followed her page and sent a message to say that I had a spare support slot going at the 13th Note that very weekend for a Sonny Marvello show I was putting on. Emma came down and played a stunning little set. Kind of bluesy, kind of folky, possibly a little stoned. Lyrics were full of humour. She was great. The next year Emma entered Sky 1's Must Be The Music TV show, wowed the judges and audience, won a record contract (and £100,000!) and got a deal with Gary Barlow's label! I don't think she was ever cut out to be a Gary Barlow kind of songwriter or performer. Things never really took off. I hope Emma is still writing and singing.

Emma Gillespie, AKA Emma's Imagination

• Saint PHNX - I met a lovely girl called Helen Keenan on a charity walk. We were walking at the same pace and discovered we grew up in relatively close proximity (Carluke and Wishaw) and that we loved music. Helen's brother Jamie is in The La Fontaines and both of them are absolute gems of human beings - up for mischief, laughs and fun. Helen told me about a band Vigo Thieves that were playing upstairs in The Commercial Hotel in Wishaw the next Sunday night. I went along and they'd packed the place out, playing some kind of ramshackle Libertines style songs. But their closing numbers hinted a bigger and better things. I met singer Stevie Jukes and his people skills and work rate blew me away. He have me a name check on the back of a CD single and hand delivered it along with a ticket to a show. I ended up helping Stevie to manage the band. Truth be told, Stevie did most things and I was someone to bounce off. But I did arrange some London shows and actually managed to get some meetings with record labels! 

It was really exciting. Stevie and I got the overnight train to London and spent the day meeting lawyers, labels and pluggers. Some (pluggers!) were chancers. The label meetings were very exciting and I thought a deal might be incoming! It didn't happen though and after pushing things with Vigo Thieves as far as possible,  Stevie and his brother formed Saint PHNX who have had a big hit with Happy Place and earned a deal with Atlantic Records! The band smashed T in the Park this summer and have SOLD OUT the Barrowland Ballroom next year.

Stevie Jukes crowdsurfing at King Tuts with Vigo Thieves

The band sold out 2 nights back to back - unsigned

Over the years I've helped bands and artists with self releases and putting on nights. These have included;

• A Futuristic Retro Champions single, May the Forth b/w Settle Down with artwork by Martin Creed. The launch night at Mono was incredible. Also their Homemade Lemonade retrospective album. 

• A Miaoux Miaoux single, Knitted, in limited edition knitted sleeves - each one unique! They were hand knitted by ladies that attended a women's group at Maggie's where I was working at the time. All proceeds went to Maggie's Glasgow Centre. Julian (Miaoux Miaoux) is now in Franz Ferdinand!

Watching Miaoux Miaoux create, layer & loop sounds was a joy - a real talent

• Sonny Marvello's 100 club mini-album containing the beautiful Fire Went Out - one of my favourite songs. Also their Easy Boys b/w We're All Cruel 7-inch. Two real favourites. Check my 10 memories of Sonny Marvello blog HERE for more details about the adventures we had together including putting on our own festival!

And then I helped to form a record label - Last Night From Glasgow. It's incredible to think of the amount of music that has been released via LNFG (and their various offshoots) since 2016. The label has grown way beyond initial ideas of 100 members and printing limited runs of 300 copies of 6 releases a year.

There are now over 600 members which gives the label an incredible platform and scope (and funds) to do all kinds of things; re-issues, books, a record shop ... it's a remarkable story. I've not been involved with the label for some time, but I still keep up with all their news - just about!

Ian Smith, who runs the label, is a force of nature. It's nice when dreams come true and Ian is now working full-time to run the label. Truth be told he probably needed to do that from year 3, but he has knocked things into such good shape that it needs someone working on it. I hope to catch up with him soon. Check a recent interview he did about the label.

I've also helped my sister with her fanclubs that allow her to be independent and prolific in her art. And helped run her Since Yesterday crowdfunder for a documentary about Scottish girl groups. 

It's nice to help artists and creative types to make/release music. I have always got a buzz out of it.

Long term favourite bands like Teenage Fanclub, The Charlatans and The Lemonheads are still recording, releasing & touring. They've been my favourite bands for a long, long time! 

Change happens naturally over time. I was very sad to see Gerry Love leave Teenage Fanclub.  At the same time I was very grateful that the band didn't split up. Endless Arcade, their first post Gerry album, was excellent - it had to be really. And their live shows still bring so much joy. 

I hope Gerry records and releases soon. What a talent. It's been great to see Gerry playing live again recently and I'll be seeing him again this month. It sounds like he is getting ready to record an album.

Of course, I also hope to see the band reunited at some point in the future as well. Norman & Gerry's voices gel so well.  

It sounds like Teenage Fanclub will follow up Endless Arcade pretty swiftly which is great for fans like me. I've seen them live more than ever over the last 6-years or so.

Teenage Fanclub, Edinburgh Assembly Rooms, September 2021

My first post lockdown show

The Charlatans, led by the effervescent Tim Burgess, haven't release an album since 2017's Different Days. Sadly, founding member Jon Brookes died in 2013. I loved his drumming style so much. This White Room performance of Crashin' In highlights what a sensational performer he was - look at the way Tim gazes fondly at him.

However they are still very active on the touring and festival circuit. Meanwhile, Tim has just released Typical Music, his 3rd solo album (a double at that) since Different Days was released. It does make me wonder if The Charlatans will record again. My gut says that they will. Tim's Twitter Listening Parties have helped so many people across the world over the last few years. I love his energy, attitude, taste and style and I'm enjoying his new album.

Evan Dando hasn't been very prolific over the last couple of decades. Certainly not in terms of releasing. The last 2 Lemonheads albums have been covers (I am particularly fond of Varshons 2), while it's almost 20-years since the release of his only solo album, the stunning Baby I'm Bored. Evan tours regularly and played in Glasgow this week for the 30th anniversary of It's A Shame About Ray. I could watch and listen to him playing acoustic guitar all night long. BLOG HERE.

A real highlight of mine since I started the blog was finally getting to see the Stone Roses live; Amsterdam, the Sunday at Heaton Park, Glasgow Green and T in the Park.  And the 30th anniversary show of Primal Scream playing Screamadelica in Manchester was one of the most mind blowing shows I've ever experienced. Jim Lambie's visuals were a real trip. 

It's been nice to take some time to reflect on things I've been involved in, bands I've fallen for, gigs I've been to and friends I have met. Lots of highlights, lots of great memories. My blog has documented quite a lot! 

However my most personal highlight has been watching the development of my sister Carla as a songwriter, artist & performer over the history of my blog. With Futuristic Retro Champions, TeenCanteen, as a solo perfomer and with her new band Poster Paints. She's a wee gem, works super hard and has an amazing talent for words and melodies. I  hope she gets a bigger break sometime soon. 

I'll end with a few things I have learned along the way, just in case anyone reading this is considering writing a blog, or recording a podcast, or whatever young kids do these days!

1) Write/Talk about what you genuinely love and care about - it will help you stick with it

2) Don't expect many views/listens early on. Especially if you are writing about a band that attract an audience of 15/20 to a local show. They might go on and do something, but if they can't get a crowd of their mates interested, the chance are no-one else will be either!

3) Reviewing shows sharply helps. The turning point in my blog was when I reviewed an Echo and the Bunnymen show at the Royal Concert Hall.  I was shocked by singer Ian McCulloch's behaviour and wrote about the incident(s) that occurred when I got home. My tweet quickly gained traction and my blog had over 1,000 views in a couple of hours. So I always try to review gigs sharply while interest levels are still high - and I can remember everything! The flip side is that there are memorable gigs that I haven't reviewed. I've started a blog, or left it a day or two .... and then the moment has gone.

4) Building content helps. It takes time, but having a good bank of content ensures that people will find your blog while searching for band/album/single/gig reviews. I have some 'steady performers' like Nirvana covers The Vaselines

5) You'll sometimes be surprised by what blogs do well. Another one of my steady performers is a review of BiS and Cloth playing at The Old Hairdressers. BiS have an incredibly loyal fanbase and Cloth were really developing as a band. So there was a lot of curiosity about them and BiS have a loyal fanbase across the globe. That blog has almost 3,000 views.

6) A bit of luck helps with views. So Hot Chip, Gerry Cinnamon or Britpop Memories retweeting my blogs hugely helps with views. 

7) But.... don't worry about views. Going back to point 1, write about what you genuinely love and care about. I write because I enjoy it. These days I sometimes just post the blog and don't bother to tweet about it, or post about it. People will find it if they are that interested. But thank you so much to my loyal readers!!!

8) Having regular features helps with content. I have tried a few things over the years including; 5 for Friday, Three for Thursday or Magic Motown. But I've now settled on;

• My Never Ending Mixtape - a monthly blog with a link to a playlist. 
• Trust Me - a monthly feature on songs I discover or old favourites.
• Cover version of the month - a monthly blog on cool cover versions. And maybe the odd dodgy one (David Haselhoff covering The Jesus & Mary Chain!) as well!

It means I always have a minimum of 3 blogs per month, complete with playlists.. I'm also up to #17 in a series called Anything Goes & Everything Flows where I create a 60-minute DJ mix/playlist. But I don't want to commit to that forever!

I now tend to average 7/8 per month. We'll see if that continues as I'm not getting out to quite as many gigs as I once did!

So ... 1,000 blogs. Loads of good memories. I enjoy writing, so who knows how many I'll get to, or how long I'll keep it going for. 

Thanks so much for visiting.

As always, I hope you discover something new to fall in love with, or rediscover an old favourite.

Here is an old blog on my 10 favourite songs ... at least at that time. Most of them still are!

Take care & very best wishes

Murray

Flower Power

Me, in Lisbon, summer 2022

It's All Gone To F**k by Stanley Odd

The State's inspiring hate

Something I conspire to break

It's all gone to f**k

What a crazy week! I was waiting to see if a band would come out with a political song and I've been rewarded with It's All Gone To F**k by Stanley Odd.

The song was written and recorded a few months ago, debuted live at the Stag and Dagger Festival in May. Released today, a week after the UK voted to leave the European Union, it perfectly captures the feeling by many across the country, especially in Scotland.

This isn't the first time Stanley Odd have commented on the state of the country or the world. In fact it's pretty much what they do, although things went viral in 2014 with the release of the beautifully poignant and soulful Son I Voted Yes. Listening to it now sends shivers down my spine.

In somewhat typical Scottish fashion, the hip hop outfit from Edinburgh (via Airdrie and Largs) get straight to the point with the  title and Veronika Electronika (great name) led chorus that starts off with gentle guitars before a pulsating electro synth bass comes in.

Solareye (Dave Hook) leads the listener on a merry dance and he skips through the verses with speed, wit, force and intelligence.

The third chorus (after the second verse) picks up speed, the bass and beats kick in along with energetic electric guitars and Solareye joining in with Veronika. It's playful and it sure as hell makes a statement.

A stunning film with drawing and animation by Kirsty Marquis accompanies the song and the film cleverly makes it own comment on the world, tying in superbly with Stanley Odd.

I look forward to catching Stanley Odd live in the near future. Odd??? Not really - honest, intelligent, funny, soulful and speaking from the heart - yeah. Maybe it is everyone else that is odd :-)

Check the amazing video here and the lyrics below. It's All Gone To Fuck is out now on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify. Keep an eye on the bands Facebook page for live dates.

A rusty nail on a stick tae beat yi wi the irony

Forget the rivalry I took some time tae hibernate

Look lively mate. I’m trying tae be alive again

Hi – I’m Dave. I’m the hardest guy in the library

Don’t lie to me. Any questions fire away

I’m higher than a guy in a spire of skyward ivory

Highrise wi me. Fly away while sirens rage 

My touch is Midas-y with Golden Age variety

Drying ma eyes matey wi Mike Skinner’s Original Piracy

While piloting this hovercraft silently through cyberspace

Is that Matrix reference? Is this in the test professor?

I’m having a get together, all aboard the Nebuchadnezzar

Nae pressure, through the iris of a violent age

Any cunt fancy playing eye spy wi me?

Revolutions coming, no time for lies and games

The State’s inspiring hate, something I conspire tae break

I tried in vein the day tae keep ma eyes on the prize again 

But ma resolve dies when Beyonce shakes her thighs at me

I’ll write the slogans if you and yir mate buy the paint

Never plan tae buy cocaine but I’m easily swayed like Simon Says

I’ve got a sweet tooth but no saccharine in my refrain

Couldnae gie a flying fuck who Alan Sugar fired the day

Even if I utter a stutter I’d still defy an amaze

Here by the way it’d be nice nob’dy had tae die diddy died the day

I watched Inner Space and invented a giant ray

Miniaturised ma mate and then fried him in the microwave

Full ae cider I drew on a tigers face

Then went out tae paint the town violet when the giro came

What lies in wait? For live debate I tried to enlighten some right-wing apes 

Took ma time to state the case for peace, immigration and climate change

But they were more intae inciting hate 

With Solareye restrained and crucified on a Formica stage

Everything Flows Podcast January 2016

Everything Flows Podcast #1

January 2016

This is the very first Everything Flows podcast; a little bit of chat, some memories and great music from my record collection.

New and rising Scottish artists Dr Cosmos Tape Lab and JR Green feature alongside legends and faves. Click HERE to listen. 

Everything Flows - Teenage Fanclub
Sound and Vision - David Bowie
The Mirrors Reflection - Dr Cosmos Tape Lab
Love and Mercy (live at the Roxy) - Brian Wilson
The River Song - Dennis Wilson
Nigerian Princess - JR Green
Teenage Kicks - The Undertones

Grand Prix by Teenage Fanclub - 20th anniversary

Grand Prix by Teenage Fanclub was released 20-years ago on Creation Records; it is an album jam packed with all of the things I love about the Fanclub and listening back it still seems to have a special zip and zest to it.

From the opening chords of About You, through guitar pop gems like Sparky's Dream and Discolite, reflective moments on Mellow Doubt and Tears and the outstanding Don't Look Back - Grand Prix is the sound of a band at their very best.

Norman Blake, Gerry Love and Raymond McGinley share the songwriting duties and Grand Prix is an album that reflects magnificently on their progress as writers and musicians. In many ways Grand Prix was the start of another stage in the Fanclub journey, leading on to Songs From Northern Britain and Howdy!

The quality was always there from the debut single Everything Flows, through A Catholic Education, Bandwagonesque and Thirteen. However it is turned up a notch - the songs, the musicianship and production are sublime.

Quinn, Blake, Love and McGinley - 1995

About You sets the tone for the album, warm sounding guitars, upbeat, harmonies and a sense of urgency - all wrapped up in well under 3-minutes. It is almost un-McGinley like; not only for its lyrical simplicity but also for the fact it is so upbeat and urgent; Raymond's work is usually more melancholic and reflective.

Gerry Love contributes 4 exceptional songs to Grand Prix, beginning with Sparky's Dream, the playful riff at the start suddenly explodes into life and Love is (or has been) head over heels but has discovered that love isn't always so easy.

If she lived in space, man

I'd build a plane....

Need a crystal ball to see her in the morning

And magic eyes to read between the lines

I took a wrong direction

From a shooting star

In a love dimension

Fading fast from taking this too far

Sparky's Dream quickly became a live favourite and the band still play it to this day. Love is full of hope and also reflection as the song builds into the flowing chorus, backed by beautiful backing vocals.

The Quietus described it thus;
It never stops ascending. Even where pop songs usually calm down, in the bridges and buffers between the major melodic attacks of verses and choruses, there is no break in the skywards gradient. In some genres this might be more common, but pure pop onslaughts as unrelenting as this one are rare and exhilarating in indie rock.

The opening trilogy concludes with the Mellow Doubt and the three songs remain staples in most Fanclub sets.

I remember going to see the band at King Tut's on the Mellow Doubt 'tour' when they played 3 gigs in Glasgow. As always, there was a degree of humour with the Fanclub, especially when Norman whistled the solo to huge applause. This happens at their shows to this day.

Mellow Doubt is a beautiful song, full of love and heartbreak and aptly named as it is by far the most 'mellow' song in the Fanclub cannon up until that point. I listened a lot to Teenage Fanclub when I went travelling back in 2007 and into 2008 and the song took on a new meaning when I was thinking of proposing to my girlfriend through the lines.

There is no choice, in what I must do

Nothing is greater, than to be with you

Norman's voice is soulful and true throughout the song, particularly in the line;

these feelings don't go away

Gerry Love is in sensational form through Grand Prix. Don't Look Back is a song of pure beauty, shining like the sunshine that Love mentions early on and containing the gem of a line;

I'd steal a car to drive you home

The pace, structure and feeling on this song is just perfect and the guitars that kick in at the end just lift the song superbly to conclusion.

Raymond can be very playful with his lyrics and melodies and that is highlighted on Verisimilitude, although it is the simplest lines that get me when listen back.

I always feel good when I look at you

In you I know our needs are the same

Neil Jung was written by Norman for a very dear friend of his. The guitar chords are warm with a melancholic riff picked out over them. At almost 5-minutes, it is the longest song on the album, allowing the band time to create some gorgeous sounds on their guitars and for Norman to get his message across to his friend.

Norman reaches out to another friend, Creation Records boss Alan McGee, on the piano based ballad Tears. The strings are beautiful and horns come in to just give the song that little edge.

Gerry Love has written some exceptional songs in his time and Discolite is one of my very favourites. Classic Love; it starts with nice warm chords and you can almost hear Gerry chewing his gum as the beat kicks in, the guitar speeds up and the band are off- flowing superbly. There are ooh's, there are aah's as the song speeds up only to return to the warm slow chords at the start before the beat kicks back in and we are off again.

Love takes the song to a new euphoric level with the section below; something that will leave you punching the air in delight, especially if you have the good fortune to catch Teenage Fanclub playing it live.

When the DJ plays your tune

There's a light inside your moon

If the takes don't take you

And the breaks don't break you

Get the train on time, I've waited much too long

The pace slows for Raymond's Say No and he displays his incredible talent for song structure and feeling with clever rhymes allowing the song to flow.

Gerry Love is on fire again with the stunning Going Places; a chiming guitar riff ushers things in gently and Gerry is in a reflective mood yet also finding the space and time (as always) for a lovely romantic line;

I've requested the stars to shine

The song slows superbly for the got the notion... section before lifting to glorious conclusion.

I'll Make It Clear bursts immediately into life; Norman is hopelessly in love and it is the two of them against the world, no-one else understands.

Raymond's last song on the album is the mellow I Gotta Know before Grand Prix closes with the appropriately titled Hardcore/Ballad that explodes into life with a furious jam before dropping to a delicate acoustic guitar with Norman sounding in love but hurt and reflective.

You're my friend but that's not all

We're above them all

Staying here, staying dear

And love is easy to define

Mine is yours as yours is mine

Through the pain, through the pain

20-years down the line Grand Prix remains an astonishing album with real depth to the songwriting, playing and production - timeless.

Major label/Major let down

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