I loved Friendly Fires' debut album in 2008, kind of missed their follow up Pala in 2011 and was completely oblivious to their third album Inflorescent in 2019. To be honest, in 2026 I thought that Friendly Fires were no longer a going concern.
So, the arrival on Wednesday of new single Lose All Your Friends was as unexpected as it was welcome.
Co-founder Jack Savidge has departed, leaving Ed Macfarlane and Edd Gibson to continue, but this is a promising return. Rather than recreating their original sound from 2008, they've arguably gone back another twenty years, with a sound that's reminiscent of the sunset / Balearic / comedown sounds of 1988.
I'm also going to track down Pala and Inflorescent, and reacquaint myself with their self-titled debut. The latter got off to a rousing start with this single, which I misheard as "Jump In The Poo" and have been stuck with ever since...
No, Elmo, today’s post is brought to you by the letter S and the number 3! Hello, Spacemen 3!
In July, the wonderful No Badger Required blog ran a series counting down Rock's Greatest Number, that is, bands or artists with a number in their name.
I had the privilege of making nominations and casting votes as a member of the Musical Jury. That said, the role doesn't presume any expertise, knowledge or skill or that I have the faintest idea what I'm talking about. Even a casual visitor to this blog will pick up that I've spent a lifetime being out of step with musical trends and popular opinion.
Rock's Greatest Number may be considered a prime example of this, as I placed Spacemen 3 at number 15 in my Top 20 of the shortlisted candidates, which contributed to their final placement at #6 in the official countdown.
"Sixth? Sixth? What were the musical jury thinking" NBR mastermind SWC wondered at the time. "Spacemen 3 should be, oooh, five places higher, at least. They are clearly rocks greatest band to have a number in their names. Whose stupid idea was it to involve the thoughts of other people anyway….?"
It's reasonable to say that SWC's love of Spacemen 3 is well documented.
My relationship with the music of Spacemen 3 has been different and, well, complicated.
To be honest, I got annoyed with Spacemen 3 before I even heard a single note, thanks to hipster music journos in the late 1980s and early 1990s who banged on that you needed to be on drugs to really ‘get’ their music.
Although to be fair, Spacemen 3’s album titles - The Perfect Prescription (1987) and especially Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To (1990) - didn’t exactly help provide an opposing view.
I didn’t like being told what music I should listen to and what drugs I should take to listen to it. So, I did my usual teen thing of going the opposite way.
Therefore, I skirted Spacemen 3 during their lifetime and I only found my way back to them in the mid-1990s after first falling in love with Spiritualized, the band that Jason Pierce formed immediately following.
Ironic really as, if anything, Spiritualized took the drug references to their logical and ludicrous conclusion, but I appeared to have no problem with that whatsoever.
It also took a few more years before I explored and appreciated Pete Kember's aural excursions as Sonic Boom. Which just goes to show what a hypocrite I am.
Anyway, taking to long way round to Jason and Pete's band of course revealed that Spacemen 3 made beautiful music all along. I've shared some examples below.
Today's post is also dedicated with thanks - and apologies - to SWC. Spacemen 3 should have been higher.
I'm constantly fascinated by and drawn to Daniel Avery's music, whether his own creations or his reworkings of other artists. Daniel is experiencing a particularly productive period with the latter of late, so much so that it's hard to keep track of it all.
Last week's release of Out Of My Reach by Jehnny Beth was the latest addition to a dizzying and varied collection of Daniel Avery remixes.
So, as a post-cum-shopping list, here are twelve remixes from the last couple of years, and mostly from the last 12 months. Many of them are available to buy in digital format, but I've also included links to the artist's own store or Bandcamp page so you can have a rummage around their catalogue whilst you're there.
1) Out Of My Reach (Daniel Avery Remix): Jehnny Beth
2) Atom Bomb (Daniel Avery Nuclear Summer Remix Edit): Fluke
3) The World’s Biggest Paving Slab (Daniel Avery Remix): English Teacher
Someone wisely advised not to rely on the first line of a song as the inspiration for blog post titles. However, when the above is the opening line of the opening song of Robyn HItchcock's new album, The Confuser, it would be remiss of me not to!
The Confuser actually came out a month ago yesterday and it was Monday's posting of the video for Wasted, the album's closing song and fifth single, that grabbed my attention.
So, for my benefit as much as yours, here are all five videos in tracklist order, with links to buy the album from the official website or Robyn’s Bandcamp site
Robyn's on tour, including UK dates in September and October.
Time to paws and relax with some sunny Sunday sounds from the last half-century.
A mix of familiar and unfamiliar, old and new, borrowed and blue, the common theme is that this top notch dub, perfect for soundtracking a day of doing as little or as much as you like.
Notably fewer complaints from the neighbours when this is booming from the Casa K sound system, too...
1) Rock In Dub: The Roots Radics ft. Gladstone Anderson (1982)
2) Dub Spring: Alien Dread (2017)
3) Secours Dub: Muflon Dub Sound System (2013)
4) Heart Beat Dub: Sly, Robbie & The Revolutionaries (1975)
5) Dub Of Correction: Jonah Dan / Alpha & Omega (2003)
6) Ariwacumbé ShaunVox Dub (Remix By Mad Professor): Frente Cumbiero (2010)
7) Iron Bar Dub (Album Version): Linton Kwesi Johnson (1980)
8) Go On Dub (Adrian Sherwood 'Reset In Dub’ Version): Panda Bear & Sonic Boom (2023)
9) Step It Up in Dub: King Tubby & Friends (1979)
10) Rasta Dub: Horace Andy (1977)
11) Harmoniser Dub: Dennis Bovell (1976)
12) Dub Of CCTV (Wolsey White Dub) (Remix By Gran Tourismo): Hard-Fi (2006)
1975: Hardcore Dub: 4
1977: In The Light Dub: 10
1980: LKJ In Dub: 7
1982: Radical Dub Session: 1
1994: Dub Gone Crazy: The Evolution Of Dub At King Tubby's 1975-1979: 9
But It Is by The Proclaimers nails it, a blistering, brilliant, un-tinted unstinting critique of the global shitshow that we're all bit part participants in.
The video is also excellent, revisiting the world that John Lennon Yoko Ono dreamed of in their song and video Imagine, back in 1971.
"The spirit of 85-year-old John returns to find the hypocrisy of Western countries and the tragic and sad world it is politically now."
Only director Douglas Mackinnon achieves this through the art of puppetry, adding another layer to the song's meaning.
Forty years on from their debut, a single by The Proclaimers arguably shouldn't be this good. But it is.
Today's post is dedicated to Stuart, for a friendship that's lasted even longer.
I dip into the Beat-Club channel on YT often for it's archive gems, but it's served up a treat this week, with half a dozen songs performed by Billy Preston from 1972, the final year of the German TV show's transmission.
These may be completely out of sequence from the original broadcast, but none of that detracts from the soul power emanating from the screen and speakers. Billy is on top form, with a super fit band (including the Brothers Johnson as rhythm section) and the set choices are spot on. And that's before I pay tribute to Billy and co's inestimably cool hair and wardrobe.
Just sit back and admire and wonder.
1) I Wrote A Simple Song
2) Summertime
3) Outa Space
4) My Sweet Lord
5) Hey Brother
6) Improvisation
It's two decades since Billy Preston passed in June 2006, but his reputation and influence are as strong now as ever. A CV that includes recording and performing with Little Richard, Eric Clapton, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones and, of course, The Beatles.
I Wrote A Simple Song is the title track of Billy's 1971 album, an uplifting blend of soul, gospel, funk and R&B built around that instantly recognisable keyboard style. Simple it ain't.
Summertime is the oft-covered George Gershwin song from Porgy and Bess, and appeared on the Music Is My Life album in 1972. Billy opts for an instrumental interpretation, groovy as hell, and with a mid-song break to "imagine how Bach would play it...Bach, or Beethoven." Billy puts the 'class' into 'classical'.
Outa Space is another tune from the I Wrote A Simple Song album, the title giving a hint to the journey he takes the band on. A wonder to behold.
I had no idea that George Harrison initially gifted My Sweet Lord to Billy, and his recording appeared first, on his 1970 album Encouraging Words. Harrison's own version is so embedded in my psyche that it remains the definitive take, but I love this uplifting, gospel infused predecessor. And wait til you get to 2:30...
Hey Brother takes the tempo down a tad, but dials up the funk and soul. Again, a nod to the whole band here, it's a joy to watch these pros weaving in and out of the groove.
Lastly, an untitled improvised, just over a minute, but as satisifying as a hearty meal. Jools Holland was taking note.
Wee Papa Girl Rappers were London-based hip hop duo and sisters Sandra Lawrence aka Total S, and Samantha Lawrence aka TY Tim.
The group name was inspired by their father, originally from the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia and prone to using the French Creole expression "Oui Papa", which the sisters phonetically adapted into their stage identity.
Following an early break as backing singers for Feargal Sharkey, Zeke Manyika and Brilliant, the siblings formed Wee Papa Girl Rappers in 1987. Signed to Jive Records, their debut single Rock The Clock didn't make a signficant impression, but 1988 saw an upturn in their fortunes. Second single Faith got to #60 in March and Heat It Up (with 2 Men & A Drum Machine but no trumpet) peaked at #21 in June.
And then there was Wee Rule. By their own admission more "in a dancehall style" than hip hop, it struck a chord with the record buying public and reached #6 in October 1988, as well as wider Top 20 success across Europe.
It was a great time for female rap artists, Wee Papa Girl Rappers alongside the Cookie Crew and Monie Love. Their debut album, The Beat The Rhyme And The Noise, cracked the Top 40 in November 1988.
Unfortunately, December's follow up single Soulmate stalled at #45, and Blow The House Down in March 1989 was their lowest (and final) charting UK single, at #65.
Second album Be Aware arrived in 1990, along with a slew of singles in the next few years, but chart success eluded them. A brief break and reformation as The Wee Papas in 1992 sadly didn't revive their commercial fortunes and the sisters called time on the group in 1994.
Tragically, Samantha passed away in December 2024, at the age of 55.
The legacy Samantha created with older sister Sandra as Wee Papa Girl Rappers, perfectly encapsulated in Wee Rule, lives on, a joyous, celebratory three and a half minutes that gets me moving every time.
