The Patrick Hamilton Appreciation Society discussion
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Nigeyb
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Mar 10, 2021 11:10PM

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If it’s being broken up into three episodes, perhaps you guys can work out a three-part rota for having me as a houseguest. Let me know...
I need to track down that channel first and see if I have access to it
EDIT: Just checked. I don't
I think it's only available via one internet/TV provider called BT
EDIT: Just checked. I don't
I think it's only available via one internet/TV provider called BT

Meanwhile, Tony Visconti’s revealed the most-cherished of the tracks he produced, and it’s a Spotify playlist. It came in on a Far Out message over the weekend.
Laaaaavely.


Plenty to appreciate there David
Shane's years of self abuse make him quite hard to understand these days - here's hoping there's a subtitles option
Shane's years of self abuse make him quite hard to understand these days - here's hoping there's a subtitles option

I’m also curious about White Riot, the new documentary on Rock Against Racism.
Mark wrote:
"I came to the conclusion long ago that the subject matter is secondary, and that Temple makes the same film over and over"
But what a film!
"I’m also curious about White Riot, the new documentary on Rock Against Racism"
That's been shown on TV here Mark. Very good it is too. I'm sure you'd enjoy it
"I came to the conclusion long ago that the subject matter is secondary, and that Temple makes the same film over and over"
But what a film!
"I’m also curious about White Riot, the new documentary on Rock Against Racism"
That's been shown on TV here Mark. Very good it is too. I'm sure you'd enjoy it


I was unable to travel to the Victoria Park gathering, but I knew a few people who did. One came back with appalling scarring on his legs, the result of having to escape, over and through a broken chain-link fence, from the violent attentions of an SPG officer. The SPG were around on the day and were unequivocally on the side of the NF according to him and others who travelled.



You’ll enjoy it, I’m sure. Daniel Rachel is a very engaging writer with a clear passion for whatever he chooses as his subject matter. He worked on Ranking Roger’s posthumous autobiography, which I thought was fantastic.
I've now watched the Shane MacGowan doc...
Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan (2020) directed by Julien Temple
Very enjoyable and impressive
Does Shane justice - warts n all
Also a great reminder of just how many stunning songs he managed to write when The Pogues were at their zenith
So sad to see the way it turned to ash for the group, and Shane cuts a truly tragic figure these days, but I don't suppose he would not have had it any other way
Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan (2020) directed by Julien Temple
Very enjoyable and impressive
Does Shane justice - warts n all
Also a great reminder of just how many stunning songs he managed to write when The Pogues were at their zenith
So sad to see the way it turned to ash for the group, and Shane cuts a truly tragic figure these days, but I don't suppose he would not have had it any other way

In corresponding with the mag’s editor (a singer in a Cumbrian punk band and who discovered the organic punkiness of indigenous roots music like Shane) yesterday, he responded, “I’m glad you liked the MacGowan film. I wasn’t that struck. I thought it concentrated too much on style over substance but there were good parts.�
Shane seems still to not give a fuck, whilst still having a good heart, which I find admirable.
That's fair criticism from the Ed however if it had been an indepth look at, for example, the roots of Irish folk music and how Shane's writing interacted, it would have been a very different kind of viewing experience.
Crock of Gold was a broad sweep and more about MacGowan the man rather than MacGowan the artist. Personally I'm much more interested in the former and, on those terms, it was undeniably a success.
My only minor quibble was with the sycophancy of all the interviewers. Johnny Depp?! Jeez. Had his tongue so far up... etc etc.
The most insightful comments came from Shane's sister who really seemed to have the measure of him and most accurately spoke in favour of his good points and about how the drink and drugs turned him into a different person completely.
Crock of Gold was a broad sweep and more about MacGowan the man rather than MacGowan the artist. Personally I'm much more interested in the former and, on those terms, it was undeniably a success.
My only minor quibble was with the sycophancy of all the interviewers. Johnny Depp?! Jeez. Had his tongue so far up... etc etc.
The most insightful comments came from Shane's sister who really seemed to have the measure of him and most accurately spoke in favour of his good points and about how the drink and drugs turned him into a different person completely.

Yes, I concur with all of that.
There's a whole additional chapter to be told about the split between Shane and the Jem/Spider axis.
It was interesting to hear him diss Elvis Costello for his production of Rum, Sodomy and the Lash. Elvis does mention it (as I recall) in Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink (the audiobook is solid gold), and of course Fiesta, which Shane said he hated in the film, has a side-swipe at him. A translation from the Spanglish is:
"The twenty-fifth of August
James Fearnley opened his eyes
He drinks fifty gin camparis
And he lay down to close them
And Costello, the King of America
And the Sumptuous Cait O'Riordan
Don't Break My Balls
Shouting Outside the House"
Coincidentally - or not - 25 August is Elvis Costello's birthday. I know this because my elder daughter was born on 25.08.85.
What an enigma.
That's fascinating David - bravo Sir
Yes, old Elvis got very short shrift. Perhaps a bit of jealousy about Cait? Who knows?
The resulting album Rum Sodomy LP was unquestionably their finest hour (along with the Poguetry in Motion EP)
I must read that EC memoir. He's an articulate fellow who must have a plethora of great stories
Yes, old Elvis got very short shrift. Perhaps a bit of jealousy about Cait? Who knows?
The resulting album Rum Sodomy LP was unquestionably their finest hour (along with the Poguetry in Motion EP)
I must read that EC memoir. He's an articulate fellow who must have a plethora of great stories

You ain’t seen me, right?
RIP pub rock legend Lew Lewis died yesterday
Founder member of Canvey Islands 'Southside Jugband' alongside Lee Brilleaux of Dr Feelgood who taught him to play harmonica
That Jugband spawned Eddie and the Hot Rods, who enticed Lew into their fold for the first two singles, before Lew formed The Reformer in 1977
In 1987 Lew was given a seven year jail sentence for armed robbery, after holding up a post office with a fake pistol, stealing £5,000 and trying to escape on a bicycle
Like many Pub Rockers he was big in France but virtually unknown in dear old Blighty
RIP LL
Founder member of Canvey Islands 'Southside Jugband' alongside Lee Brilleaux of Dr Feelgood who taught him to play harmonica
That Jugband spawned Eddie and the Hot Rods, who enticed Lew into their fold for the first two singles, before Lew formed The Reformer in 1977
In 1987 Lew was given a seven year jail sentence for armed robbery, after holding up a post office with a fake pistol, stealing £5,000 and trying to escape on a bicycle
Like many Pub Rockers he was big in France but virtually unknown in dear old Blighty
RIP LL


The pleasure’s mine. I recognise probably 80-85% of the references, so I’ll take the video as a signpost to discovering some of those that I’m not already familiar with.

My old Aussie chums' band, The Scientists, are to release a new album in June -- their first new album in 35 years. If you like loud, dumb fun, you’ll dig this one...
The Scientists -- Outsider
If that one fails to please, then try this one -- brand now debut solo effort from Jamie Perrett. No prize for guessing who his dad is.
Jamie Perrett-- Masquerade of Love

The big picture
Chalkie Davies’s 1979 shot of musicians signed to the 2 Tone label captures the cultural power of the UK’s emerging ska scene
The New ReviewKillian Fox
It was October 1979 and the first three bands signed to 2 Tone, the Coventry record label that spawned a hugely popular musical genre, had struck out together on a 40-date UK tour. For the opening show in Brighton, the photographer Chalkie Davies was on hand to document a germinal moment in a British cultural movement that still resonates today, not least for its forward-thinking stance on issues of race, politics and national identity.
Davies had been commissioned to shoot the Specials for the very first issue of the Face, but wanted an image that would represent all three bands. “I thought it’d be a great idea to take a picture of people the next morning [after the show], not realising quite how hungover they might be,� he says, laughing. “If you look at the three of them� � Graham “Suggs� McPherson of Madness, Neville Staple of the Specials and Pauline Black of the Selecter � “they do look a little bit� scraggly.�
The exuberance of 2 Tone was on full display in Brighton � most of the musicians had never been on a tour bus before and were having “lots of fun. The amount of energy that came out of those people was astounding. To this day, Pauline just bounces around. She hasn’t stopped.� But there was a serious side to the movement too, says Davies. “You read those lyrics, they’re not always as sweet as they sound. There are messages. It really captured the period of Thatcher and the garbage strikes. Those were tough times.�
The image he took that morning at the back of the tour bus, now part of an exhibition celebrating the 2 Tone label, captures the racial and cultural diversity at the heart of 2 Tone, which united the sounds and fashions of ska and punk. Seeing black and white musicians together on stage, or sideby-side in tour photos, “is normal now but wasn’t so normal then,� says Davies. “It was normal for these kids, but not for the public. And that was very powerful to see.�
2 Tone: Lives & Legacies is at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry from 28 May to 12 September


I have since listened to the debut ‘cast, being unable to resist Kenney Jones’s Artful Dodger reminisces, which are always entertaining. I will get around to watching the YouTube version which is a longer and unedited version, and for which the presenter gives a URL.
There’s a Suzi Quatro one too, to which I’ll also lend an ear in the very near future.
I suspect that the ‘Classic Rock� title may put off potential listeners, but I’d advise sifting through the list of episodes on offer and dipping in to anything that looks interesting.
The Kenney Jones link:

“Simon Armitage in his shed on R4 with Johnny Marr strumming chords on a 12 string acoustic? That's your licence fee right there.�
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