Happy Birthday To You (All)

On 22nd September 2015, US Judge George King ruled that the original copyright to Happy Birthday was invalid and the song would now be entirely in the public domain. 

The tune was originally composed 1893 by Mildred and Patty Hill, two sisters from Kentucky, and titled Good Morning To All. This subsequently evolved into the song that you, me, pretty much the whole world has been singing ever since.

The copyright was filed in 1935, and obtained by the Clayton F. Summy Co. from the sisters,; the company was succeeded by Birch Tree Group, which claimed the copyright. 

In 1988, Warner/Chappell acquired the copyright for $15 million when it bought the Birch Tree Group, and had been collecting fees on the song since then. In 2015, revenue was estimated at $2 million a year (approx. £1.95 million today), from charging every time Happy Birthday was used in a film, television episode, advertisement or other public performance.

In 2013, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Nelson filed a putative class action suit against Warner/Chappell, in the name of her production company Good Morning To You Productions. Warner/Chappell had asked for $1,500 (roughly £1,520 in 2025) for the right to use Happy Birthday To You in a documentary that she was making about the song and its history. 

A week later, a further suit Rupa Marya v. Warner Chappell Music Inc was filed by Rupa Marya and Robert Siegel, and subsequently the two suits were combined, arguing that Happy Birthday was in the public domain and should not be subject to copyright fees.

Ultimately, Judge King ruled that the original copyright was only granted for the melody, and the rights to piano arrangements based on the melody, not the song itself. In other words, the Clayton F. Summy Co. had never acquired copyright to the song's words.

At the time of the ruling, Happy Birthday remained in copyright in the European Union, but happily this expired on 1st January 2017 and is now fully in the public domain.

All of which seems a good excuse to wish this varied bunch a Happy Birthday, sharing a special day with the date of this landmark legal victory.

Toni Basil (82)

David Coverdale (74)

Vudi aka Mark Pankler (73)

Richard Fairbrass (72)

Doug Wimbish (69)

Nick Cave (68)

Andrea Boccelli (67)

Joan Jett (67)

Billie Piper (43)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Optimum Space To Twitch

Celebrating Keith McIvor aka JD Twitch aka one half of the mighty Optimo, following news of his passing on Friday 19th September 2025 at the age of 57.

Last month, it was revealed that Keith had an untreatable brain tumour and funds were raised to support round-the-clock care. And now he is gone. My thoughts and best wishes go to Keith's family, friends and loved ones.

Keith was a legend in music for two reasons: his solo work as DJ and producer JD Twitch; then there was Optimo, or Optimo (Espacio).

The latter had two separate and distinct identities. Optimo (Espacio) was a club night that ran in The Sub Club in Glasgow from 1997 to 2010, a partnership between long-time pals Keith and Jonnie Wilkes. 

Optimo, or Optimo (Espacio) was also a remix and production duo of Keith with Dave Clark, and which provides a heavy contribution to today's selection. The pair have released countless remixes over the years and it's a testament to the quality of their work that this is just as much about what I had to leave out than what I included.

And Keith's remixes as JD Twitch kept the bar very high, as today's picks will attest.

But that wasn't my first experience of Keith's music, though I found this out much, much later. 

In my first forays into downloading MP3s from music sites in 2000 and 2001, I was introduced to Mount Florida via the Matador Records label. I knew next to nothing about, but were subsequently revealed to be a partnership between Keith McIvor and Mike Lancaster. Just five releases between 1997 and 2001 - a 12" of untitled dubs, three EPs and an album, Arrived Phoenix - all excellent.

Today's selection is a tribute to Keith's formidable skills at the controls, redefining trance music for the 21st Century and creating remixes that frequently surpassed the original source song.

I could have gone on and on, but I've restricted my selection to 13 songs and just under 90 minutes. It's not enough, though it manages to span Keith's end of the century excursions with Mount Florida right up to this year's rerub of Primal Scream.

If you're a fan of Keith's music, I hope this serves him well. If you're less familiar with his work, then I hope it inspires you to go looking for more, it's every bit as good as what you'll find here.

Rest well, Keith, you have left so much to savour and remember you by.

1) Life Magazine (An Optimo (Espacio) Mix): Cold Cave (2010)

2) No Social (Optimo Espacio Remix): The Shortwave Set (2008)

3) In Sintesi (JD Twitch Optimo Mix): Róisín Murphy (2014)

4) Buzz In (Optimo Remix): Boris (2009)

5) 18 Hours (Of Love) (An Optimo (Espacio) Remix): K-X-P (2018)

6) Circus Of Life (A JD Twitch Remix): Primal Scream (2025)

7) Autonomia (A JD Twitch Optimo Total Destruction): Mark Stewart vs Primal Scream (2012)

8) G-Twang! (Single Version): Mount Florida (1999)

9) Greater Reward (Piano Power Edit By JD Twitch): Severed Heads (2015)

10) Infected (A JD Twitch Optimo Mix) (Cover Of The The): David Shaw And The Beat (2012)

11) White Rooms And People (A JD Twitch Mix): Working Men's Club (2020)

12) Lost In Satie (Single Version): Mount Florida (1999)

13) Bedjem Mebok (JD Twitch Remix): 10LEC6 (2017)

1999: Stealth EP: 12

1999: Strut EP: 8

2008: No Social EP: 2

2009: Buzz In: Remix Project EP: 4

2010: Life Magazine EP: 1

2012: Autonomia EP: 7

2012: Infected EP: 10

2014: Mi Senti Remixed EP: 3

2015: Big Saints Reward (88-90 Dubs) EP: 9

2017: Bedjem Mebok EP: 13

2018: 18 Hours (Of Love) / Tears (Extended Interlude) EP: 5

2025: Come Ahead: The Remixes Volume One: Vocals: 6

2025: JD Twitch: Heavenly Remixes EP: 11

Optimum Space To Twitch (1:28:51) (GD) (M)

Watt's The Frequency's Zenith?

Today's selection is an hour-long tribute to bartender, auto mechanic and master of the 12" edit, Joseph Watt.

My first experience of Joseph's work was in 1985, buying either the 7" double pack of What's Your Problem? by Blancmange or the import 12" of Master And Servant by Depeche Mode, both of which contained examples of his handiwork.

I soon discovered his vast body of work with Art Maharg as Razormaid, though much of it was out of my reach until the early 2000s, when it became available online via various music blogs.

Since then, I've amassed over a hundred different Joseph Watt edits and remixes, spanning 1983 to 1993 and covering a wide range of genres, but favouring the alternative and electronic pop music of my teens.

In pulling together this selection and post, I discovered a fascinating article-cum-interview with Joseph from 2014 on the Red Bull Music Academy website of all places. It's well worth a read, especially if you have an interest in Razormaid and the US subscription-only remix services that proliferated in the 1980s, but also as an inspirational tale of serendipitous and seismic career changes.

"Where did you come from? 

Are you like some big hotshot DJ from Miami or Paris?’"

They said I was like this enigma. 

I’d just say, 

"What do you mean?

I just came over from my apartment on 17th Street"

I've selected and sequenced nine personal favourites from Joseph's catalogue, some commercially released, some included on the numerous Razormaid 12" singles and compilations from the 1980s and 1990s.

The aforementioned remix of Depeche Mode is present, Blancmange too, though instead of That's Love That It Is from the What's Your Problem? 7", I've gone for Game Above My Head, a stunning extended remix that appeared on the follow up 7" double pack, Lose Your Love.

I offer apologies to anyone led by the post title into thinking there might be some R.E.M. here as well. Not so, but the rest of the mixtape, from Sparks to Erasure, Bronski Beat to Vicious Pink, O.M.D. to Talking Heads and ending with Electronic, is pretty heavyweight compensation. 

1) Burning Down The House (Razormaid Mix): Talking Heads (1987)

2) Music That You Can Dance To (Razormaid! Edit): Sparks (1990)

3) Smalltown Boy (Razormaid Mix): Bronski Beat (1984)

4) Game Above My Head (U.S. Extended Remix Version): Blancmange (1983)

5) Tesla Girls (Razormaid Mix): O.M.D. (1992)

6) Master And Servant (US Black & Blue Version) (Edited By Joseph Watt): Depeche Mode (1984)

7) Cccan't You See... ('89 Mix By Razormaid aka Art Maharg & Joseph Watt): Vicious Pink (1989)

8) Sometimes (Extended Mix By Rico Conning) (Edited By Joseph Watt): Erasure (1987)

9) Getting Away With It (Digital Mix): Electronic (1992)

1983: That's Love, That It Is EP (USA 12" single): 4

1984: Master And Servant EP (USA 12" single): 6

1987: Sometimes EP (USA 12" single): 8

1988: Class X One: 1

1989: Razormaid's 4th Anniversary Issue: The Atrocity Exhibition: 7

1990: Prehistoric Razormaid!: 2

1992: The Best Of... This Is Only A Test!: 3, 9

1992: Razormaid! 7th Anniversary Box Set: 5

Watt's The Frequency's Zenith? (1:02:43) (GD) (M)

Further listening:

Bevans Above! (Bert Bevans, November 2021)

L'art De La Discothèque, Volume 1 & Volume 2 (François Kevorkian, May-June 2025)

WareHouse (Martyn Ware, May 2025)

How Can It Feel This Wrong?

A stunning new version of Roads, performed by Portishead in support of Together For Palestine.

Filmed at the Cube Microplex in Bristol and posted the day that the festering sore on the backside of humanity left the UK.

Thank you, Beth, Geoff and Adrian.

Something's Missing

Today's completely random pick - and why I'll be forever grateful for the 'shuffle' option on my music player - is "BabyRock" Rock, a 2010 single by Clorofila.

I listen to full albums a lot as well as the Dubhed selections that I churn out at an alarming rate. I also listen to a lot of mixes that other supremely talented people - professional and unpaid (never amateur) - have put out there in the blogosphere.

Frequently though, I like to press shuffle and have an hour or so of whatever the music library on my computer or phone decides to fling at me. 

Frequently, it will offer a song or a remix that I haven't heard in a very long time - in some cases, just the once before it was filed away or overwhelmed by the deluge of newly acquired stuff that inevitably follows. 

So, this is a great way of being reminded of a great but overlooked song and will often send me back to the album, EP or wider work of said artist.

I'll 'fess up, I know very little about Clorofila, and have caught up via Discogs to write this post.

Clorofila was the project of Mexican graphic designer Jorge Verdín, initially with pal Fritz Torres. Formed in 1998, Clorofila was a founder member of the Nortec Collective, described on Discogs as 

The term Nortec is a conjunction of 

Norteño ("of" or "from the North") and Techno, 

but mainly describes the collision between 

the music, style and culture of electronic music 

with those of norteño and tambora, 

two popular music genres from the North of Mexico. 

These styles are characterised by their use of 

accordions and double bass (norteño); 

tubas, clarinets, horns and pumping bass drums (tambora) 

and quirky use of percussion and polyrhythmic snare drum rolls (both). 

All of these elements are used to create a sound 

that is very Tijuana. 

As a complement, there's also a 

"Colectivo Visual" 

a group of designers and VJs 

who take care of the visual side of Nortec live shows. 

My introduction was via Ahora Yo A Ti... Una Colección De Remixes Por Panóptica, a 2005 compilation of remixes by Nortec Collective member Panóptica aka Roberto A. Mendoza, which included a rework of the Clorofila song Almada.

Up to now, Almada and "BabyRock" Rock have been the only two Clorofila songs in my collection.

"BabyRock" Rock appears on the 2010 album Corridos Urbanos, labelled as "Nortec Collective Presents: A Collection Of Songs By Clorofila" despite the fact that Jorge had effectively left the collective circa 2007/8.

Unlike Fra Lippo Lippi earlier in the week (sorry, guys!), on hearing Clorofila again, I was inspired to check if Corridos Urbanos was available for purchase on Bandcamp. It is, though on CD only, shipping from the USA. I ended up buying the 13-track digital version from iTunes for £3.99.

If you prefer to dip your toes into the water first, there's the 2014 follow up Ahorita Vengo, a digital snip at five US dollars.

You may have noticed that I referred to Clorofila in the past tense. In looking up the biog info for this post, I discovered that Jorge sadly passed on 16th April 2024, at the age of 59.

A sad end to the story perhaps, but I am grateful that today's random shuffle prompted me to take a trip back into the music that Jorge created.

Break Chains, Don't Regret It

I'm feeling a lot of love for the Brighton-based Higher Love Recordings label, whose half dozen releases so far this year have been varied but beautiful gems.

Memories is a radio-friendly slice of pure pop from Polish pair Jazxing aka Jakub Sautycz and Mateusz Filipiuk, featuring Jakub Zwolan and Przemysław Bartoś on vocals. The Full Disco Purrefection Mix starts with synths, chords then congas, building and stretching out over nearly eight minutes. Lighter on vocals but heavier on groove, a perfect (purrefect, if you will) companion to the single version.

And We'd Be So Happy by Puerto Montt City Orchestra (Angus Murray and Tim Salter to their friends and family) is a heartwarming spoken word remembrance - by Tim's daughter Kitty - of family trips to the seaside, stuck in the car, eating homemade sarnies whilst the elements rage outside, but finding a simple pleasure and joy in the experience. As someone who spent many rain lashed summers on the sea front in South West England and Wales, I can relate!

Four mixes to choose from, all highly recommended, but I've plumped here for the Feelings Mix by Balearic Ultras aka Mike Bradbury and Ian Upfold, which strips everything back, eight minutes after the rain.

We're spoilt with not one but two releases so far this year from Hugo Nicolson. Field Of Dreams came in February, with superb remixes from David Holmes, Rude Audio and Hardway Bros. In June, Hugo followed up with the Black Stick EP, with three brand new tracks, plus a radio edit of lead track Little Kind.

Again, having to select just one to showcase here, I've gone for Zombie, lighter than than the other two tracks, Little Kind and Spanner, but don't mistake light for slight. Zombie has heft and a mesmerising melody, paired with an attitude that shouts 1985 as much as it does 2025, which is a very good thing. Hugo's on a real creative rip at present and I am very happy to see it continue.

Andres Y Xavi returned in September with the 4-track Cities EP. Joining Lagos (initially released as a standalone EP last October with new remixes of Bibbles) are New York, Chicago and then a transatlantic hop to Spain for the closing track.

Sant Antoni is a neighbourhood in Barcelona but this epic ten minutes and forty four seconds inevitably gives a wave to Sant Antoni De Portmany in Ibiza too, and feels at home in either setting...and your headphones, for that matter.

A new Andres Y Xavi release from Glenn Fallows and Steve Ellis is always something to look forward and the Cities EP will give even the armchair tourist the trip of a lifetime.

 

 

 

Read Many Books And Save Every Dream

A cultural tour de force from Fra Lippo Lippi, taking in Norway, Italy and Camberwell in Surrey...all in less than four minutes!

Shouldn't Have To Be Like That shuffled into play, a song that I haven't heard in a long time by a band I know next to nothing about....until Messrs. Google, Wiki and Discogs intervened.

When Shouldn't Have To Be Like That was originally recorded in 1985, for the band's self-financed third album Songs, Fra Lippo Lippi was a four-piece, comprising Per Øystein Sørensen, Rune Kristoffersen, Morten Sjøberg and Øyvind Kvalnes.

By the time that the band had signed to Virgin Records and re-recorded and re-released Songs for the European market, Fra Lippo Lippi were a duo of Sørensen and Kristoffersen. 

Shouldn't Have To Be Like That was their only single to dent the UK Top 100, albeit in the lower regions, spending four weeks in February 1986, bouncing from 97 to 81 to 90 to 86, then...bye bye.

In addition to the suitably wistful video, there's a great performance on legendary Netherlands music TV show TopPop, broadcast on New Year's Day, 1986. The audience is small but enthusiastic, and all clearly adhered to the strict wardrobe requirement of 'bright colours only'.

Fra Lippo Lippi took their name from the poem by Victorian writer Robert Browning (1812-1889), born in Camberwell, died in Venice. The poem itself was inspired by Italian Renaissance painter Fra' Filippo Lippi (c. 1406-1469).

I was surprised to find I have over a dozen Fra Lippo Lippi songs in my collection, all of which will have been acquired online and from other music blogs, mostly made of EPs, random album tracks and a few extended edits from The Spiral Tribe series of bootleg CDs in the 1990s.

Whilst hearing this song hasn't triggered an overwhleming urge to seek out the rest of their catalogue, it was a nice reminder that Norwegian pop wasn't all about a-ha in the mid-1980s.

Waves And Then Goodbye

Celebrating Stephen Luscombe, 29th October 1954 to 13th September 2025.

I was very sad to read on Sunday of Stephen's passing after a long illness. Although Stephen had been unable to continue beyond Blancmange's spectacular comeback album Blanc Burn in 2011, he remained a fervent supporter of Neil Arhur's continuing journey with the band they formed in 1979.

And what a legacy, not just as Blancmange, but also as West India Company with Pandit Dinesh and Asha Bhosle. Andrew Weatherall was an early adopter.

There is an informative tribute by Chi Ming Lai over at the Electricity Club blog. I've picked a single/video from each of the four Blancmange albums that Stephen recorded with Neil, in reverse chronological order, ending inevitably with Waves.

1) The Western (2011)

2) What's Your Problem? (1985)

3) That's Love That It Is (1983)

4) Waves (1982)

I've also reactivated links to a two Blancmange compilations that I've previously posted, focusing on their 12" singles and remixes.

Just Desserts (2005)

Please Sir, I Want Some More (2022)

Thank you for the music, Stephen, rest easy.

 

 

 

Wonderful Life

On the seventh day of the week, seven songs from Stevie Wonder.

A companion piece of sorts to The O'Jays selection from a couple of weekends ago, today's Dubhed delight delves into some deep, extended Stevie Wonder workouts.

Without making this an hour-long mix - which I could have, easily - I have had to miss out some landmark albums, namely Where I'm Coming From (1971) and Music Of My Mind (1972). Otherwise, Stevie's run of classics through the 1970s is well represented.

Nicolas Laugier aka The Reflex is hopefully a familiar name to most of you. He has been producing 'revisions' of classic songs for years now, initially as a labour of love, now as a full-time occupation.

Don't Make Me Wait Too Long was originally written and performed by Stevie Wonder for Roberta Flack, which she recorded for her 1979 album Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway. 

The Reflex Re√ision takes the multitracks from the original recording session, including Stevie's unreleased lead vocal. to create an nine-and-a-half minute, well, wonder. 

From the 1980s, I've included the promo 12" version of Master Blaster (Jammin') which extends the original Hotter Than July album version for another minute or so. Part-Time Lover is also represented by it's 12" mix, at eight minutes twice the length of the version which opens 1985 album In Square Circle.

And what other way to wrap things up than with the full length album version of Isn't She Lovely from Songs In The Key Of Life?

A soulful Sunday with Stevie. What could be better?

1) Maybe Your Baby (1972)

2) Don't Make Me Wait Too Long (The Reflex Re√ision By Nicolas Laugier) (2020)

3) Master Blaster (Jammin') (12" Version) (1980)

4) Boogie On Reggae Woman (Album Version) (1974)

5) Part-Time Lover (12" Version) (1985)

6) Visions (1973)

7) Isn't She Lovely (Album Version) (1976)

1972: Talking Book: 1

1973: Innervisions: 6

1974: Fulfillingness' First Finale: 4

1976: Songs In The Key Of Life: 7

1980: Master Blaster EP: 3

1985: Part-Time Lover EP: 5

2020: Don't Make Me Wait Too Long EP: 2

Wonderful Life (47:58) (GD) (M)

International Roots

I was gearing up for a Saturday night of great live music in the company of Pama International, and a second chance to see the legendary Misty In Roots.

Unfortunately, Friday brought the following sad news:

"We are sorry to announce that Misty In Roots 

Bristol show at The Lantern Hall 

has been postponed to Friday 27th March 2026, 

due to circumstances out of the bands, promoters and venues control."  

It's been a particularly rough ride for Pama International, who were due to play at The Fleece in February, only for that gig to be cancelled. 

The September date and change of location, although with the admittedly brilliant addition of Misty In Roots as headliner, came at financial cost and it's gutting to see that there has been another setback.

Tickets remain valid and can either be used for the rescheduled date or the upcoming shows in Brighton and London. Refunds have also been offered, as well as a request to keep hold of tickets to "support the band in these difficult times."

It's a sad indictment of the times we live in that those who bring such joy and happiness into our lives by making, performing and/or releasing music do so at great personal, emotional and financial loss. 

I didn't ask for a refund in February and I'm not going to now. In fact, the news prompted me to get over to the Happy People Records label on Bandcamp and plug some of the gaps in my Pama International collection. I also pre-ordered the vinyl re-release of the Misty In Roots classic, Live At The Counter Eurovision 79, due in October.

A small gesture in the scheme of things, perhaps but...

As a celebration of the music by both bands that I have previously acquired, I've created a fresh Dubhed selection called International Roots, split into two sides, each showcasing Pama International and Misty In Roots. 

I've also reactivated a couple of related selections. None of this is as good as seeing them in person, live on stage, but it's great music, through and through.

Side One: Pama International

1) Second Chance (G. Corp Mix By Brian Nordhoff & Roberto Cimarosti) (2005)

2) Neither High Nor Dub (Pama International Meets Manasseh) (Remix By Nick Raphael) (2007)

3) Happenstance (2009)

4) Never Think That You're Not Loved (ft. Jeremy Pena) (2022)

5) Desobedient Children (2006)

6) Questions Dub (Remix By Mad Professor aka Neil Fraser) (2016)

7) Warm & Tender Love (Album Version) (2022)

8) Dub As You Are (Pama Int'l Meets Wrongtom) (Remix By Tom Robinson) (2009)

Side Two: Misty In Roots

1) Live Up (Album Version) (1981)

2) Dreadful Dread (1983)

3) Wise And Foolish (John Peel Session) (1980)

4) Salvation (1979)

5) Lifeboat (John Peel Session) (1981)

6) Economical Slavery (1985)

1979: Rich Man / Salvation EP: B4

1981: Wise And Foolish: B1

1983: Earth: B2

1985: Musi-O-Tunya: B6

1995: The John Peel Sessions: B3, B5

2005: Dub Store Special EP: A1

2006: Trojan Sessions: A5

2007: Trojan Sessions In Dub: A2

2009: Pama Outernational: A3

2009: Pama Int'l Meets Wrongtom In Dub: 8

2016: Pama Intl Meets Mad Professor: A6

2022: 3: A7

2022: 6: A4

Side One (25:26) (GD) (M)
Side Two (26:34) (GD) (M)

Misty Ruts (Misty In Roots + The Ruts DC) (October 2024)

Dubby Happy People (April 2023)

Empty And Abstracted And Full Of Rage...We Think Too Much And Feel Too Little

Gorillaz? Sparks? Together on one song? How has this not happened before?!

And, unsurprisingly, The Happy Dictator is a brilliant collaboration and an exciting teaser for ninth (ninth!) album The Mountain, coming in March 2026.

The song title and the thumbnail image of Murdoc for the 'official visualiser' are of course a reference to Charlie Chaplin's 1940 film - and magnum opus - The Great Dictator.

Whatever your opinion of Damon Albarn, it's difficult to deny that Gorillaz, created with Jamie Hewlett in 1998, has been a game changer in the music world, and still has the power to surprise over a quarter of a century later.

I'm looking forward to The Mountain as much as I did their self-titled debut back in 2001.

I am the one to give you life again 

I am the one to save your soul, AMEN!

As the shadows they are forming come and join me centre stage

Oh what a happy land we live in

If you are empty and abstracted and your broken heart is full of rage

Oh what a happy land, oh yeah

In a world of fiction I am a velvet glove 

Oh what a happy land we live in

I am your soul, your resurrection, I am the love

Oh what a happy land, oh yeah

So look out to the west now, see where the devil lies

Oh what a happy land we live in

It’s pharmakon is with you and your empire it is paralysed 

Oh what a happy land, oh yeah

I’ll propagate eternity and seal it with my kiss

Oh what a happy land we live in

So look into the coffin and let me grant your wish

Oh what a happy land, oh yeah

 

No more bad news 

So you can sleep well at night 

And the palace of your mind will be bright

Everything is slowing down yet everything is faster

Oh what a happy land we live in

While everyone is consuming I’ll save you from yourself

Oh what a happy land, oh yeah

 

Upon this world of fiction my love I will bestow

Oh what a happy land we live in

And as we march into the future happiness will grow

No more bad news 

So you can sleep well at night

And the palace of your mind will be bright

Everything is slowing down yet faster 

Consuming us I’ll save you from yourself

My love bestowed upon this world of fiction

March to the future happiness grows

Are you not better off than ever 

Are you not better off right now

When have you felt this way I ask you

When have you felt better off than right now

I am the one to give you life again

I am the one to save your soul, AMEN!

No more bad news………

(Mountains and rainbows , palaces of love)

So you can sleep well at night and palace of your mind will be bright

So you can sleep well at night and palace of your mind will be bright

It's So Hard To Love When Love Was Your Great Disappointment

I found this review of Rattlesnakes (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) by Lloyd Cole & The Commotions that I wrote in February 2006, which I wanted to share.

The review's opening comment about my youth being firmly in the past is felt evenly more keenly by the sobering realisation that Rattlesnakes celebrated its 40th anniversary last year.

Anyhoo... over to my younger self.

A twentieth anniversary reissue for the band’s debut album, more evidence that my teenage years are rapidly retreating into the past. It’s difficult to place these songs in the glossy mid-1980s, thanks to a combination of sharp lyrics, an unusual (for a mainstream UK ‘pop’ band) predilection for country music and deft production from Paul Hardiman. 

During my “headphone years”, when songs were played in a dimly lit bedroom and the narrative meant as much as the melody, Rattlesnakes ranked up there with The The’s Soul Mining and The Smiths’ Hatful Of Hollow and, on reflection, has stood the test of time.

There’s no sense of filler, with ten songs clocking in at just over half an hour and a near flawless running order. The statement of intent is there from the outset, with Perfect Skin's declaration that 

I choose my friends only far too well 

I’m up on the pavement

They’re all down in the cellar 

with their government grants and my IQ

It was perhaps inevitable that, like The Smiths, Lloyd Cole & The Commotions would be pigeonholed as ‘student bedsit soundtrack music’, given the lyrical references to Norman Mailer, Love’s Arthur Lee and Eve Marie Saint, and love songs about girls with “cheekbones like geometry” who “know how to spell ‘audaciously’”. 

Yet Cole’s admittedly maudlin delivery is balanced with humour and strong melodies, arguably equalling The Smiths in this respect. 

Speedboat is a great example, with it’s swampy sound underscored by the narrator’s admission that 

It was just not my style to find surf in my eye

It was much more my style to get sand kicked in my eye

Another is closing track Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?, where the central character, “pumped up full of vitamins”, is advised “If you really want to get straight / read Norman Mailer / or get a new tailor.” 

Writer Julie Burchill dismissed them at the time as a “country and western Velvet Underground”, though this is a fair – if simplistic – description. 

The second CD is a curiosity, containing demos, live tracks, radio sessions and B-sides from the era. The live tracks demonstrate that, as a performer, Cole sounded every bit as uncomfortable as his characters, but it’s interesting to hear an alternative take on Charlotte Street, with awkward, excess verses that were thankfully excised from the superior studio recording. 

The BBC Radio 1 sessions are enjoyable, particularly Forest Fire and Speedboat, but again do not surpass the originals. The B-sides themselves are mostly forgettable, with a few exceptions, notably Andy’s Babies and Jesus Said, though there’s no sense that the Rattlesnakes album would have been stronger for their inclusion. 

In that sense, the Deluxe Edition works well, by keeping the original album intact and separate from the generous quantity of bonus tracks. Another plus is the lavishly illustrated booklet, which features song by song commentary from the band members. 

There are some great quotes throughout, my favourite by keyboardist Blair Cowan, describing an encounter with goth gods The Sisters Of Mercy whilst recording Charlotte Street: 

“The [Sisters Of Mercy] were in the same studio 

and on a scorching summer afternoon 

we played them at tennis. 

We were in shorts, t-shirts and trainers 

and they wore Cuban heels, black drain pipes, 

black polo necks, black everything. 

They beat us.” 

Everything That Happens In Africa Is Extraordinary

Senegalese polymath Tidiane Thiam released the album Africa Yontii in May 2024 on the fabulous Sahel Sounds label.

Twelve months later, Sahel Sounds issued a second single and video for Néené Africa. The visuals mix footage of Tidiane with archive mobile shots of Pethity, a village in Fouta-Toro, the same region where Tidane lives.

Pulaar is a dialect of the Fula language spoken by the Fula and Toucouleur peoples in the Senegal River valley and surrounding regions, particularly in Senegal, Mauritania, Gambia, and Guinea. 

Africa Yontii is a Pulaar phrase that translates to “Africa, It's Time”.

"It’s time that Africa changes," Tidiane explains further. "It’s time our leaders change. Everything that happens in Africa is extraordinary. We have everything: water, earth, sun, fields of oil, gas. We have all this in Africa, but Africa is still poor. It’s time we change our way of thinking. It’s time for Africans to take their destiny into their own hands. If not, others will take it.” 

The beautifully intricate, disarmingly gentle sounds that emerge over the nine instrumentals on Africa Yontii may at first seem at odds with the strength of the message. 

Yet, it called to mind a place I worked nearly thirty years ago, and a Chief Executive who used to advocate mental gardening. It was the mid-late 1990s and I didn't really get on board with the concept; my equivalent up to then had been sticking on an ambient/chill out album and getting out of my head, not into my head.

Since then, I have a better understanding of where he was coming from, and whilst I still haven't embraced it in my life, Tidiane Thiam's music resonates with me for similar reasons. 

Listening to Africa Yontii isn't about escapism, it's more about allowing the listener to create a mental space - a plot of land, if you like - to plant seeds, nurture them and help them to grow. Only in this case, those seeds can be manifesting change, shaping and steering destiny on a personal level or, in the case of Africa Yontii, an entire continent.

If, on the other hand, you think the last four paragraphs and 184 words were a load of old bollocks, I am certain that you will not have the same opinion of Tidiane Thiam's album and music in general. Truly a thing of beauty.