Wednesday 3 January 2024

Who Votes For Kindness To Be Destroyed

The Lilac Time returned last July with a new album, Dance Till All The Stars Come Down, which I managed to miss completely. 
 
As Stephen Duffy puts it, "On this album I wrote each song as if they were to be the last song ever written, by me or anybody. In someway inspired by the apocryphal story of Dylan needing to write all of the songs he had in one before the Cuban Missile crisis destroyed humanity".
 
There were a couple of singles from the album: 
 
A Makeshift Raft: "I kept thinking I’d come up with a punchline to end every verse. I didn’t... It sounded like something The Lilac Time would sing."
 
The Long Way: "A rebuke to Tory voters...I believed that virtue and righteousness would vanquish. And however unlawful and hateful the current Conservative government is it’s crucial we still believe."
 
You can listen to the album on You Tube, read Stephen's excellent track-by-track sleeve notes on The Lilac Time's website and buy the album from a shop of your choice.
 
I've followed Stephen's music sporadically since the 'Tin Tin' era in the 1980s and every time I dip back in, I'm reminded just what a brilliant lyricist and songwriter he is.

6 comments:

  1. Read Mojo's round up of 2023 and a pop star (Elvis C? Paul W?) said the lilac time's album was their favourite of 2023 - Stephen Duffy is a talented guy...now lives in Cornwall I believe..

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    1. Yeah, Falmouth, I think...as does the guy who plays EastEnders "hard man" Phil Mitchell. Imagine bumping into both of them at the local pub!

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  2. I completely missed this too. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

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    1. In truth, that end of year roundup is never ending!

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  3. I'm another who missed this. It's feckin' impossible to keep up with everything....and just as hard finding the time to listen to whatever I do buy. (No streaming in Villain Towers!!!!)

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    1. Same here, JC, I'm also trying to avoid the 'listen once, file away' habit that I developed with a few albums in the last couple of years that really deserved multiple plays. Some however, like Hifi Sean & David McAlmont, have refused to budge from my playlist since that first airing.

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