Gentleman Rudeboy

In October 2024, I wrote about Ashley Beedle's incredible challenges: stage 4 prostate cancer, a brain bleed and seizure, followed by a massive stroke, that also robbed him of speech.

The physical and mental toll is in parallel with the financial cost: we are so fortunate to have the NHS, but that's frequently only part of the story, for example full-time, ongoing care, physio treatment, adaptations, the list goes on.

And that's without considering the drop in gig bookings and work - and income - in the last few years, as Ashley met one challenge after another. 

A GoFundMe page was set up, smashed it's initial targets of £50,000 then £160,000 and is currently approaching it's present goal of £175,000. You can donate here.

Last week, the PRS Members' Fund posted a short video featuring Ashley and his wife Jo. It's incredible to see not only how far Ashley has come in his recovery - the voice, the smile, the humour - but Jo as an example of the difference that a loved one - a spouse, a partner, a friend - can make. 

This always comes at great personal cost, and it's what you do when you love someone, but it also gives hope, in the face of the craziness around us, that human beings are capable of immense strength, determination, selflessness and love.

It's also a reminder, at a time that music is increasingly seen as without monetary value, and those that make it should be honoured that people are even listening to/streaming their music, and that this should be given for free.

The PRS Members’ Fund was formed in 1934, to support songwriters and composers during the Great Depression. Nearly 100 years later, as Ashley and Jo's story proves, it's needed as much as ever.

All love and power to you, Ashley and Jo.

Back in 2024, I posted a fantastic 2-hour set that Ashley created for BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix in 1997, which you can find here. 

I signed off with the promise of "a (relatively shorter) Dubhed selection of Ashley Beedle's remixes and collaborations which will hopefully see light before the end of the year..." 

[embarrassed cough] Er, nineteen months later, I've created a 64-minute selection of Beedle bangers, starting with a remix of Manic Street Preachers (sacrilege in 1993) and Lazy, his global smash hit with X-Press 2 and David Byrne. The rest spans Femi Kuti, The Fall, David Holmes/Unloved and D:Ream, so you are in for a real treat.

And. after you've finished dancing, why not donate?

1) Roses In The Hospital (51 Funk Salute Mix By Ashley Beedle): Manic Street Preachers (1993)

2) Lazy (Freeform Reform Vocal) (Remix By Freeform Five): X-Press 2 ft. David Byrne (2002)

3) Jonny Lipshake (The 360° Drunken Master Soundboy Special) (Remix By Ashley Beedle): Baby Fox (1996)

4) Brother Sun ft. Kimbra (Rodi Kirk & Aron Ottignon Version) (Ashley Beedle's North Street Dub): Electric Wire Hustle (2016)

5) Beng Beng Beng (Ashley Beedle's Afrikans On Marz): Femi Kuti (1999)

6) Same (Ashley Beedle's Afroart Vocal Mix): Smith & Mighty ft. Tammy Payne (2000)

7) Touch Sensitive (Ashley Beedle Re-Edit): The Fall (2014)

8) Witchi Tai To (Album Version) (Cover of 'Everything Is Everything' by Jim Pepper): X-Press 2 ft. Tim De Laughter (2006)

9) Number In My Phone (Black Science Orchestra Remix By Ashley Beedle): Unloved (2022)

10) I Used To Believe In Love (Ashley Beedle's NSW Love & Joy Dub Mix): D:Ream (2021)

1993: Roses In The Hospital EP: 1

1996: Jonny Lipshake EP: 3

1999: Shoki Remixed: 5

2000: Same EP: 6

2002: Lazy EP: 2

2006: Makeshift Feelgood: 8

2014: Message In The Music: The Ashley Beedle Re-Edits (2x CD + DVD): 7

2016: Brother Sun EP: 4

2021: I Used To Believe In Love EP: 10

2022: Number In My Phone EP: 9

Gentleman Rudeboy (1:03:48) (GD) (M)

Give 'Em Enough doPE

"You’ve got the beats, I’ve got the rhymes, let’s make doPE." 

A short email from 2014, a long time to come to fruition, but John Densmore (The Doors) and Chuck D (Public Enemy) finally released an album, no country for old men, in time for Record Store Day 2026.

I have little interest in RSD but on the strength of doPE's lead single every tick tick tick, I'm intrigued! 

Unfortunately, with scalpers already flogging copies on eBay between £50 and £100+ quid, you'll have to count me out...

I'm obliged to say that other dope is available.

 

When Hypocrisy Reigns And Nothing Is True

Arab Strap are back! Back!! BACK!!! with You You You.

Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton continue to make genuinely thrilling and engaging music. Aidan's words in particular capture the moment - particularly if you're a man on the other side of 50 whose feelings range from numbness to bewilderment at the state of the world - with the merest glimmer of hope in that "I've got you, you, you."

Whether that's a loved one, friends or the community occupying a little corner of the blogosphere, and I can relate to all three, when the writing is this good, how can anything I write about the song feel anything more than gilding the lily?

At the time of posting, it looks like You You You is available for streaming but not (yet) purchase or download. Rest assured, as soon as it's available to buy, I'm buying it!

I’ve got a hole in my shoe that lets in rain,

and another new lump in another vein;

I’ve got pills for breakfast every day,

to keep my pains and fears at bay.

I’ve got a portly paunch I just can’t shift;

I feel undesired, dismissed, adrift.

My get-up-and-go is long gone,

and the days keep dragging on.

But I’ve got you, you, you, you;

I’ve got you, you, you, you;

I’ve got you, you, you, you;

I’ve got you, you, you.

I’ve got a hole in my head that can’t be filled;

time is never spent, it’s only killed.

I’m always bored, it seems nothing excites me –

my own limbic system fights me!

I’ve got watchlists I’ll never watch,

and pruritus scroti in my crotch;

I’ve got a seething sadness in my soul,

that might just swallow me whole.

But I’ve got you, you, you, you;

I’ve got you, you, you, you;

I’ve got you, you, you, you;

I’ve got you, you, you.

I’ve got tears in my eyes again tonight,

as the tyrannised unite and fight;

there’s a fiery frog in my throat now,

from all that singing: Bella ciao!

I’ve got my day in court that can’t be missed,

‘cause the government claims I’m a terrorist;

I fear for my son, I fear for my daughter,

but in this world of slaughter

I’ve got you, you, you, you;

I’ve got you, you, you, you;

I’ve got you, you, you, you;

I’ve got you, you, you.

(Yes I do)

And if you’re streaming this song on Spotify,

then we both fund weapons-grade AI.

But if it wasn’t here, then how would you hear it?

We’re over a barrel, but we don’t have to cheer it.

I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK TO DO

when hypocrisy reigns and nothing is true,

and nobody pays for abhorrent behaviour –

FUCK THESE DEMAGOGUES COSPLAYING SAVIOURS

With a rose in my fist,

and a song in my lungs,

I reach for a hand,

and I’ve got you, you, you, you;

I’ve got you, you, you, you;

I’ve got you, you, you, you;

I’ve got you, you, you.

The First And Latest Chapters Of The Book Of Love

I think that I first heard Book Of Love in 2006 when they featured on Future Retro, a remix compilation of 80s artists. After that, they seemed to be ubiquitous on US-only compilations and music blogs with a leaning towards that era.

It's no surprise that that name didn't register to begin with: although Book Of Love's first two singles and debut album were released in the UK in 1985-86, they failed to make any impression on the respective charts. 

What was a surprise was that Book Of Love similarly lacked any mainstream chart success in their home country. In fact, only single #5, Pretty Boys And Pretty Girls, cracked the Top 100 (peaking at #90) in 1988.

The 2006 remix was of Book Of Love's debut single, Boy. Although inferred rather than explicit, writer and co-founder Ted Ottoviano revealed that the song "describes the frustrations of a woman with feelings for a gay man", later adding that Boy was “written about Boy Bar, which was a very exclusive gay club in the East Village.”

Book Of Love's sole US hit, Pretty Boys And Pretty Girls, addresses (again, somewhat obliquely) fears about the AIDS epidemic, 

(When I'm without)

Pretty boys

(I dream about)

Pretty girls

Strangers in the night

Exchanging glances

But sex is dangerous

I don't take my chances

Aside from the 2006 'rockstar' rework by DJ Irene, Boy has been given the remix treatment numeroous times since it's original release in 1985, including Peter Rauhofer in 2000 and, in April 2026, Dave Audé. You can find them here and here.

Boy (Uh-huh), boy (Uh-huh) x6

I want to be where the boys are

But I'm not allowed

I wait outside of the boy's bar

I wait for them to all come out

I'm not a boy

I'm not a boy

It's not my fault that I'm not a boy

It's not my fault I don't have those toys

I'm not a boy

I'm not a boy

Boy (Uh-huh), boy (Uh-huh) x4

But now it's alright (But now it's alright)

Without those boys (Without those boys)

I stay at home at night (I stay at home at night)

And I play with my toys (And I play with my toys)

Boy

I'm not a boy

Boy

I'm not a boy

Boy

I'm not a boy

Boy

I'm not a, not a, not a boy

Boy (Uh-huh), boy (Uh-huh) x4

Still Can't Stop To Mess Around

Following on from Sunday;s post, Side 2 of a punk and post-punk period piece, cramming eleven songs into twenty nine and a half minutes.

Another mix of the obvious and the obscure (at least in the UK), from X-Ray Spex (England) and The Boomtown Rats (Eire) to The Kids (Belgium) and Ebba Grön (Sweden).

I must have heard Sonic Reducer dozens of times before I was aware of or heard the original version by The Dead Boys as it was go-to crowd pleaser for any band with a bit of attitude on the Bristol live circuit in the last 1980s.

999 are the only representatives from Urgh! A Music War, whilst The Adverts have managed to to slip a song in on both sides, Gary Gilmore's Eyes yesterday and One Chord Wonders today. To be honest, it was supposed to be either/or but I couldn't choose and there was room for both.

And the collection closes with a classic that's less punk and more pop, but just had to be included. I can't name another song by Plastic Bertrand, but when the one song is this joyous, who cares?

Next Monday is a bank holiday. Today isn't, so I grit my teeth, gird my loins and prepare to enter the fray. See you on the other side!

1) Sonic Reducer: The Dead Boys (1977)

2) Fascist Cops: The Kids (1978)

3) Oh Bondage Up Yours!: X-Ray Spex (1977)

4) Wild Youth (Single Version): Generation X (1977)

5) Lookin' After No. 1: The Boomtown Rats (1977)

6) Emergency (Album Version): 999 (1978)

7) This Perfect Day (Album Version): The Saints (1977)

8) One Chord Wonders (Album Version): The Adverts (1977)

9) Mona Tumbas Slim Club: Ebba Grön (1979)

10) Lexicon Devil (Single Version): The Germs (1978)

11) Ça Plane Pour Moi: Plastic Bertrand (1977)

1977: An 1: 11

1977: Oh Bondage Up Yours! EP: 3

1977: The Boomtown Rats: 5

1977: Wild Youth EP: 4

1977: Young Loud And Snotty: 1

1978: Crossing The Red Sea With The Adverts: 8

1978: Eternally Yours: 7

1978: Lexicon Devil EP: 10

1978: 999: 6

1978: The Kids: 2

1979: Prorock EP: 9

Side Two (29:24) (GD) (M)

Can't Stop To Mess Around

Since last Sunday's post about Urgh! A Music War, I've been listening to a lot of music from the punk and post-punk period. So much so, in fact, that I've got two Dubhed selections in the bag.

I considered whether to include them all in one bumper post, but reason prevailed (and the realisation that it's Monday, i.e. work, tomorrow). So, it's Side 1 today and Side 2 on Monday.

In the spirit of my original Urgh! mixtape, both of these selections will fit neatly on each side of a C60 cassette. 

As well as some very familiar names such as Stiff Little Fingers, The Only Ones, The Damned and The Slits, I've included a few from outside the UK that I've been introduced to in more recent times by the wonderful blogging community. A couple of examples today: The Rude Kids from Sweden with (I guess) a Stranglers diss song and, from Germany, Abwärts with the title track of the VFM 5-track Computerstaat EP.

The thing that all ten songs have in common is that they are designed to be played LOUD.

More on Monday.

1) Blank Generation (Album Version): Richard Hell & The Voidoids (1977)

2) Suspect Device (Album Version): Stiff Little Fingers (1978)

3) New Race: Radio Birdman (1977)

4) (Get A) Grip (On Yourself) (Single Version): The Stranglers (1977)

5) Stranglers (If It's Quiet Why Don't You Play?): The Rude Kids (1978)

6) Another Girl, Another Planet (Album Version): The Only Ones (1978)

7) New Rose (Album Version): The Damned (1976)

8) Gary Gilmore's Eyes (Single Version): The Adverts (1977)

9) Typical Girls (Album Version): The Slits (1979)

10) Computerstaat: Abwärts (1980)

1977: Blank Generation: 1

1977: Damned Damned Damned: 7

1977: Gary Gilmore's Eyes EP: 8

1977: Grip / London Lady EP: 4

1977: Radios Appear: 3

1978: Stranglers (If It's Quiet Why Don't You Play?) / Punk Will Never Die! EP: 5

1978: The Only Ones: 6

1979: Cut: 9

1979: Inflammable Material: 2

1980: Computerstaat EP: 10

Side One (29:56) (GD) (M)

A Million Different People In Here

Side 1 of an cassette compilation, recorded 27th December 1997.

An end of year 'best of' with an opening song from Björk that had charted less than a fortnight previously. 

Bachelorette is an astounding song in it's original form, and the list of artists brought in to remix the single included RZA from Wu-Tang Clan. He doesn't mess with it too much, mainly a switch of beats, but it makes a big difference.

I've included the UK chart peaks for each of the singles here, which in turn highlights how many of them actually failed to crack the Top 100! 

Smoking Pot by Wubble-U is no surprise as the BBC no doubt slapped a discreet airplay on it due to it's title and sampled refrain of "Why are you children smoking pot?" Lionrock and The Aloof were robbed, though.

This was the era of multi-format CD singles and offers to buy all two (or three, in some cases) for a bargain price in order to secure that all-important chart placing. Therefore, quite a few here found that the single crashed in on the first week, and disappeared without trace by the second.

Only two Top 10s, the first from James with a more commercial punt at pop, produced by Stephen Hague, following a couple of more experimental albums with Brian Eno. 

The second was far more radical: Tori Amos' song Professional Widow was put through the garage grinder by Armand Van Helden, released as a single, and gave Tori her first #1 in the UK. The remix is of it's time admittedly, but it's still a thrilling listen.

Also thrilling, though for different reasons, were Gold Blade, fronted by John Robb (belated happy 65th birthday for 4th May!). I saw Gold Blade play a gig in the super cosy upstairs room at The Louisiana in Bristol in November 1996 and they were just brilliant, full oif energy and Robb resplendent in lamé and quiff.

As a nod to the excellent series at The Vinyl Villain, Edwyn Collins released The Magic Piper (Of Love), a one-off single that incredibly - and delightfully - found itself playing over the closing credits of smash hit movie Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery. You can read JC's thoughts on the single here.

It may be a little while before I get around to Side 2, though the mixtape's title gives a clue to one of the songs. Can you guess any of the other eleven?

1) Bachelorette (RZA Remix): Björk (Bachelorette EP) (#21, 14 December 1997)

2) She's A Star (Album Version): James (Whiplash) (#9, 27 April 1997)

3) Professional Widow (Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix - Radio Edit): Tori Amos (Professional Widow EP) (#1, 12 January 1997)

4) Pussycat (Rosetta Stone Mix By Porl King & Karl North): Mulu (Pussycat EP) (#50, 27 July 1997)

5) Sinking (Radio Edit): The Aloof (Sinking EP) (#n/a, 01 June 1997)

6) Sand (Album Version) (Cover of Lee Hazlewood): OP8 ft. the ilk of Lisa Germano (Slush) (#n/a, 12 January 1997)

7) The Magic Piper (Of Love) (Edit): Edwyn Collins (The Magic Piper (Of Love) EP) (#32, 27 July 1997)

8) Not Even Jesus (Album Version): Gold Blade (Hometurf) (#86, 22 June 1997)

9) Angels Go Bald :Too (Original Mix (Edit)): Howie B. (Angels Go Bald :Too EP) (#36, 13 July 1997)

10) Smoking Pot (Original Mix): Wubble-U (Smoking Pot EP) (#n/a, 27 July 1997)

11) Wet Roads Glisten (Radio Edit): Lionrock (Wet Roads Glisten EP) (#80, 18 May 1997)

Side One (46:00) (GD) (M)

The Rebel In My Soul

A (slightly early) happy birthday to Toyah Willcox, born 18th May 1958.

Prompted by listening to and watching Urgh! A Music War in the past week or so, and particularly enjoying Toyah's live version of Danced, I'd already started on today's selection when I realised the upcoming birthday. 

I should have held it over until Monday, but I don't have any 'spare' posts good to go, so here it is, three days early!

When I was ten years old, I wanted to marry Toyah. I wasn't bothered by the 12 year age gap, or the fact that she was extremely busy with her recording, touring and TV commitments. I overlooked the fact that my only set of wheels was of the bicycle variety and that my only income was pocket money.

As i gazed at the poster-cum-fact-file of Toyah, ripped from the pages of Look-In, the clear and uncontested fact of our connection was right there. We were both 5' 1".

It maybe should have occurred to me that even that tenuous connection would be fleeting, as Toyah's height had presumably stabilised whilst my growth was still (literally) on an upward trajectory. It stalled at 5' 11", if you're wondering.

Next to Toyah was a poster of Adam Ant and they are forever linked in my formative music years. Perversely, whilst I actually shelled out my pocket money for Adam's albums, I didn't own any Toyah records until I found Ieya on 12", plus the Four From Toyah and Four More From Toyah 7" EPs in Plastic Wax Records later in the 1980s.

Instead, back in the day, my Uncle Mike, who lived in London at the time, borrowed Toyah's albums The Blue Meaning and Anthem from his local library (along with Dirk Wears White Sox) and ripped them onto a C90 cassette. He didn't think much of either, but it opened up a whole world for me.

I saw a link to a reprint of a 1980 interview with Toyah in The Guardian that labelled her "The thinking man's punkette", a riff on an equally risible phrase. I was a bit late for punk, but I never made that connection. Mainly due to the visuals more than the music, I didn't see much difference between Toyah, Adam, Steve Strange, Kate Bush and the flamboyance of the New Romantic movement.

When I bought the secondhand vinyl years later, I was struck by the prog elements of Toyah's music. There were some early parallels with Kate Bush in that respect, though whilst Kate's music evolved, progressed and transcended any further categorisation, Toyah's pop music became, well, less popular with the music buying hordes.

I'd lost interest by 1982, drawn more to Annie Lennox/Eurythmics and Alison Moyet/Yazoo... ah, fickle childhood!

It's been a joy to see Toyah and hubby Robert Fripp find a whole new fanbase via their Sunday Lunch series on YouTube, and I still have a soft spot for the music she made that’s rooted in my childhood.

So, it'll be no surprise that today's selection focuses squarely on recordings by Toyah the band, circa 1979 to 1983, rather than her considerably more expansive career as a recording artist.

Split into two sides, which should fit onto one side of a C90 (in tribute to Uncle Mike RIP), my picks lightly touch on the first two albums, one-off singles, B-sides and EP tracks. I will admit that the studio version of Danced isn't a patch on the live version that I featured last weekend, and Ieya remains my favourite Toyah song of all time, but I love 'em all.

Happy birthday, Toyah, have a good one!

Side One

1) Thunder In The Mountains (1981)

2) I Explode (Album Version) (1983)

3) Neon Womb (Album Version) (1979)

4) Angels And Demons (1981)

5) Be Proud Be Loud (Be Heard) (1982)

Side Two

1) Danced (Album Version) (1979)

2) Laughing With The Fools (1982)

3) Tribal Look (1980)

4) Baptised In Fire (1983)

5) Ieya (Album Version) (1980)

1979: Sheep Farming In Barnet: A3, B1

1980: Bird In Flight / Tribal Look EP: B3

1980: Ieya EP / The Blue Meaning: B5

1981: Four From Toyah EP: A4

1981: Thunder In The Mountains EP: A1

1982: Be Proud Be Loud (Be Heard) EP: A5, B2

1983: Rebel Run EP: B4

1983: The Vow EP / Love Is The Law: A2

Side One (22:34) (GD) (M)

Side Two (23:36) (GD) (M)

What You Do When You Got Nothing To Lose

I can't tell you much about Caroline Rose for the simple reason that, approx. five and a half minutes before deciding to write this post, I'd never heard of them.

The five and a half minutes is crucial, because that's how long it took me to listen to new single, Yip Yip Yow, think "wow!" then listen to it again.

Though when I say new single, I should also say old song, as it was written over ten years ago. Exhibit A: Caroline's performance of Yip Yip Yow as the support act for Violent Femmes at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York in October 2016.

Going back to August 2015, Yip Yip Yow was the opener of a 3-song Tiny Desk Concert.

So why so long between writing, recording and releasing Yip Yip Yow? Over to Caroline Rose:

"I wrote Yip Yip Yow 10 years ago 

about feeling like I was born in the wrong time, 

in the wrong place 

and probably in the wrong body. 

10 years later 

the only thing that is different is 

I finally have a recording of it I like."

After Jon Spencer's bluesy, scuzzy rock on Wednesday, it feels a natural step into Caroline's brand of countrified rockabilly, fizzing with energy and full of fun.

Yip Yip Yow is available from all the usual suspects. Personally, I'll be taking the long route through their six albums and one-off singles to date.

Orange Slice, Orange Peel, Talkin' Blues

Jon Spencer is back, sans HITmakers, with new song Orange Slice Blues. Reassuringly, it follows the tried and tested blueprint, ever since he stepped from the ashes of Pussy Galore into the Blues Explosion. A lot of fun packed into a brisk two minutes, with a dayglo video to boot.

It's not the first time that Señor Spencer has expressed an interest in the colour (or fruit, if you prefer). In the autumn of 1993, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion recorded a BBC session for John Peel, including the title track of fourth album Orange, which emerged a full 12 months later.

And, for little other reason than it's a great song and the video features Winona Ryder (sigh) impersonating Mr. Spencer in an orange shirt, here's Talk About The Blues from 1999.

Sadly, I'm going to miss the Jon Spencer trio on their UK tour, starting later his month, as the Bristol date is the night after another gig that I'm going to, but you can check full dates and places here.