Skip the first 5 seconds if you want to avoid Gordon The Gopher and his sidekick, otherwise this is a pretty much uninterrupted version of the song, unlike the 120 seconds or so that would usually be afforded on Top Of The Pops.
I would never have considered Going Live, or it's predecessors Saturday Superstore and Swap Shop, to be particularly progressive or daring in respect of it's music bookings, but this is pretty out there by anyone's standards.
And if any parents were present, did their ears prick up in mild alarm at the opening verse?
I'm not numbed out anymore
Not longer feel the hate and pain
No longer drenched in shame
I'm not numbed out anymore
Now I am the key to the door
I mean, it's hardly Goodnight Girl by Wet Wet effing Wet, is it? That particular song was bothering the UK #1 spot when Visions Of You was released and was still there (for a fourth week) on 9th February 1992 when Jah Wobble, Sinéad and the Invaders peaked at #35. Thankfully, the refreshingly morbid Stay by Shakespear's Sister was at #2, poised to knock them off the top the following week...
I wasn't watching Going Live in 1992, but I was buying records and the 12" single of Visions Of You was a must buy, not just for the song and the guest star, but the superb remixes by Adrian Sherwood and (three, count 'em, three) by Andrew Weatherall. All of them have stood the test of time and are simply magnificent.
Finally, if you're looking to add something to your Bandcamp Friday shopping bag this week, how about 2017 album Usual Suspects, where Jah Wobble & The Invaders Of The Heart revisit and revise 23 back catalogue gems, including a sumptuous seven and a half minute version of Visions Of You?
It's fair to say that I didn't make a significant contribution to keeping live music alive in 2023. Even if I'd make it to all the gigs I'd bought tickets for, I wouldn't have hit double digits. In the end, I managed three and a half music events, one poetry performance and one stand up comedy gig.
But I enjoyed every second of every one that I made it to, revisiting some great venues, seeing artists I never thought I'd see, sharing the experiences either with family or friends (a shout out to Mike here).
Here's a rundown what I could've - and did - see in 2023, the hits and near misses.
The year should have got off to a cracking start with a chance to see Luke Haines (The Auteurs) and Peter Buck (R.E.M.) at Strange Brew in Bristol in February.
Unfortunately due to a family illness I had to skip the night but managed to find someone else to go in my place. Mike was also there and shared his thoughts on the night:
"The good news is it wouldn't have changed your life. I think it is in that category of 'glad i went but no real revelations to speak of'.
What I hadn't realised was Scott Macaughey would be playing as I imagine you know he was essentially a member of REM's touring party for 15+ years. Both Buck and Scott had aged quite a bit since i saw them with the minus 5 at the Fleece but two great musicians nonetheless.
[...] the songs were pretty much the Haines/Buck 2 albums [...] and I thought the songs from the first album stood up a bit better than the most recent.
Other observations - there was a point where the 50+ male brigade wanted a photo of Mr Buck for their collection and if we had been on the Thekla it might have tipped the boat over but normal service was resumed pretty quickly.
The beauty of last night was the fact that a music legend at 66 is still happy to play small venues."
So my first gig of 2023 ended up being a trip to Cheltenham with Clan K in March to see comedian Dave Gorman. It was a matinee show, something of a novelty for us, at the Everyman Theatre in the town centre, a lovely old building. We were up in the gods, with a great view of the main stage.
Mrs. K and I have enjoyed Dave Gorman for many years, including his show on TV channel Dave (what else?) called Modern Life Is Goodish. Which was handy as Powerpoint To The People is essentially an extended version of that, only with plentiful effing and jeffing from the outset. Lady K didn't know of Dave Gorman at all but had a great time too. And home in time for tea. Win-win.
I was especially gutted to miss The Anchoress at Gloucester Guildhall in May, not least because Catherine Anne Davies had been forced to postpone and reschedule dates a couple of times in the last couple of years.
My only consolation was that I got to see her (on TV at least) join Manic Street Preachers on stage at Glastonbury in June where, frankly, she smashed it. She also released the superb Versions album, collecting covers that she'd recorded and released individually during lockdown and beyond, including a sublime rework of Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order.
In August, I managed one and a half gigs. The half measure was a Clan K excursion to Bristol's legendary venue The Fleece to see Bad Manners.
Well, two thirds if I'm being pedantic, as I got to experience 10 of the 15-song setlist. You can find the full sorry story here. Great support from local band Belishas. Mrs. K and I contemplated heading back to The Fleece on Boxing Day to catch Bad Manners' annual festive show. Considering that yesterday was spent trying not to succumb to a food-induced coma, I'm glad we decided against it.
For our second gig in August and someone I never expected to see live in concert, Mrs. K and I spent an evening in the company of John Cale and band. The fact that we also got to experience it in the intimate surround of the Subscription Rooms in Stroud was a real pinch me moment.
Another opportune gig - and my first in 2023 with Mike - was Mozart Estate and Half Japanese at Strange Brew in Bristol in September. Two very different but compelling acts with charismatic front people in Lawrence Hayward and Jad Fair respectively. Not in the least bit daunted by this, local support act Bruno & The Outrageous Methods of Presentation more than met the challenge, led by 17-year old Bruno Bof-Wilkinson. My only regret is that we missed most of the latter, arriving just in time to catch the tail end of their set.
As I wrote at the time, a slightly mad - if slightly under-attended - night out in a great venue which I hope to spend more time in next year.
Another missed opportunity was GLOK (aka Andy Bell) playing an intimate gig at Moles in Bath, which would have been my first time for both artist and (incredibly) venue. Unfortunately, fate intervened and I was unable to go on the night.
As if that
wasn't gutting enough, 43 days later on 5th December Moles announced that they were closing their doors with immediate effect. After 45 years
of hosting everyone from Wolf Alice to King Crimson to Sleeper to James
to Laura Marling to Daniel Avery to Pulp to Katy J Pearson, it's a sad
end and a reminder of how much the incumbent government has shafted
grass roots music, particularly in the last few years.
My final gig of 2023 was Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart featuring Jon Klein performing Metal Box Rebuilt In Dub in the bowels of the Thekla, a cargo ship-cum-venue in Bristol's central harbour area.
Of course, Jah
was a founding member of Public Image Limited and recorded the original
album so if anyone is qualified to rework the songs, it's him. And he and the band played a blinder, peppered with some truly hilarious asides and anecdotes throughout. It was another great night in Mike's company, a surprisingly punctual set and early finish (due to the Saturday club night straight after) but I can't think of a better way to have ended my gig-going in 2023.
Without wishing to tempt fate, Clan K already have tickets for three gigs in March, July and August 2024, and there's an impressive line-up of artists performing in Gloucestershire, Bath and Bristol from January onwards, so I am hoping to get over the line into double figures this year, whether with family, friends or solo.
This time last week, another legendary venue, Moles in Bath, closed it's doors. I had a ticket to see Andy Bell/GLOK there on 24th October and regrettably couldn't make it. In the same week, we lost the poet Benjamin Zephaniah. In respect of both artist and venue, I was determined not to miss this opportunity to see Jah Wobble at the Thekla, a venue that meant so much to me and was a frequent haunt in my formative gig- and club-going years, living in the city centre.
My retrospective attempt at pulling together a log of gigs I've been to is highly unreliable and full of gaps due to lost tickets and memories but it's likely to have been a quarter of a century since I last saw a gig at the Thekla. The fact that it's still there at all is a minor miracle. A former cargo shop permanently moored at the Mud Dock in Bristol's sprawling harbourside region, it's days looked numbered back when I was a regular punter.
Somehow, it's survived and thrived and, having parked in nearby Queen Square and approached the venue, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia and wellbeing. I'm not sure how old this stock photo is but it looks pretty much the same as it did on Saturday night and in the late 80s and 90s. It's had a lick of paint and a fancy neon sign since those days but there's nothing like the feeling that you're about to experience a gig or a club night in the bowels of a ship.
The inside had also had a makeover without changing things too much. Again, this is a stock photo, but it gives a sense of the size and the scale of the interior. On boarding the Thekla, you head down some stairs into the main bar and stage area. Another set of stairs takes you to an upper floor and a 'balcony view' of the main stage. There's decent lighting (and security mesh) that I don't recall from the 'good old days' and the days of sticky floors, sweat dripping down the walls and lungs clogged with smoke machines were long gone by all accounts. But it was still a real buzz to be there again after all these years.
The Thekla's capacity is 400. There was less than that on Saturday night and, from what I could see, all of a similar age, yet a real energy, initially anticipation followed by genuine excitement as Jah took to the stage with the Invaders Of The Heart: Martin Chung (guitar and FX), George King (keyboards), Marc Layton-Bennett (drums) and local lad Jon Klein (guitar and vocals).
With no messing about, the band launched straight into Albatross and for the next 100-odd minutes, the audience were taken on a dub, post-punk, jagged jazz odyssey. Jah was like a conductor, orchestrating the band, the sound (praising and directing Nathaniel at the desk) and the audience, his comments and observations random and frequently side-splittingly funny. I was feeling choked up at various points in the gig but help was on hand. I'm not sure if this is a recognised medical technique but Jah's bass performed a sonic Heimlich Manoeuvre on me. Yep, that deep.
I can't recall the setlist in full and no-one else has posted it online yet but Bristol seems to have followed the same pattern as other nights on the tour, in that Metal Box: Rebuilt In Dub was played in full just, as Eric Morecambe would have put it, "not necessarily in the right order".
This wasn't just a straight recreation of the album versions, either. Jah recited the lyrics to Poptones, elevating the poetic impact of John Lydon's writing, before the band then launched into the song proper, ending with a tsunami of synth strings courtesy of George King (due to our position in the crowd, sadly obscured by a speaker in our light of sight).
Public Image was astonishing: a three-part, near 12-minute suite featuring the 'Rebuilt In Dub' version, a more faithful Public Image Limited rendition and then another, even more out-there dub version. What might sound like repetition was completely enthralling on stage, not least due to the inclusion of a priceless Wobble anecdote, which also - kind of - inspired today's title.
Don't take my word for it: Jane B filmed it from the balcony and posted it on You Tube.
It was all
brilliant, to be honest, and a special nod to the additional setlist versions of Death Disco
B-side No Birds Do Sing plus a cover of John Barry's theme from Midnight
Cowboy.
It was all over too soon: wrapped up by 9.50pm to allow for some signing duties on the merch stall before the Thekla was turned over to Saturday club night; a queue of people were shuffling in as Mike and I left and made our way back to the car.
What a night. I've been a huge fan of Jah Wobble for nearly four decades and seeing him perform live for the first time, with this Invaders Of The Heart line-up, performing Metal Box in an intimate venue that has meant so much to me, is a memory that I will treasure for the rest of my days.
If you get the chance to see Jah Wobble live - and he's got a ton of 2024 live dates lined up, including a return to Bristol - then don't even think twice, do it.
A special nod to Mike, who supplied the cover photo, which I’ve mangled and manipulated using the LunaPic app. Nice one, Mike, looking forward to more gigs in 2024!
As a bonus, here is Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart performing 4 songs for KEXP in 2016, including Public Image and a superb version of Liquidator, with commentary/music lesson from the main man.
Celebrating Maxwell Alexander Fraser aka Maxi Jazz, 14th June 1957 to 23rd December 2022.
Maxi Jazz is inextricably linked with Faithless, not least for the classic singles Insomnia and God Is A DJ. Today's selection goes a little wider and deeper, picking up his pre-Faithless solo material and his other releases with Soul Food Cafe and E-Type Boys, as well as collaborations with Tiësto, Akasha and 1 Giant Leap.
The earliest Maxi Jazz appearance I have in my collection is a guest spot on the 12" version of Erzulie by Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart from 1991. I haven't kept up with Faithless releases in the 21st Century so the most recent song is by Maxi Jazz & E-Type Boys from 2016.
All in, there's a dozen songs spanning 25 years and giving a flavour of just how good a wordsmith and performer Maxi Jazz was. Rest easy, man.
