RIP Down In The Grooves

It fills us with great sadness to announce that BBC Radio Leeds' fab Down In The Grooves is grinding to a halt due to further BBC cuts. Grrr. The man behind the show and its presenter James Addyman has his say.

I’m sad to be writing this because the radio programme has been part of my life for more than eight years,  Down In The Grooves, the show I do for BBC Radio Leeds is to finish at the end of December, along with dozens of other disparate shows across the BBC local radio network, as part of the DQF savings. DQF (Delivering Quality First) is a typical management confection that was basically cooked up as another phrase for cuts, once ex-Director General Mark Thompson had decided that he didn’t want to stick up for the BBC and froze the licence fee for six years – a decision that has had consequences right across the BBC ever since.

For the uninitiated, Down In The Grooves played a mix of garage-punk, psychedelia, R&B, soul, funk, ska/rocksteady, music library, soundtracks – taken mainly from the years 1955-75 but featuring modern acts echoing those eras and their music. When I started the programme in September 2004, I invited all sorts of DJs, producers, artists to come on the show such as Ady Croasdell (Kent Records), John Schroeder, Gary Walker (Walker Bros), Preston Ritter (Electric Prunes), Andy Votel & Dom Thomas (Finders Keepers) and it was great to hear all their tales. All this helped pass the word around about the show.

I got emails from all round the world saying how glad they were to have found a show that played northern soul next to Hungarian psych next to ’50s rockabilly next to German garage beat. These emails arrived from glamorous and not-so-glamorous locations all over the world including a geologist working in the deserts of Yemen who was blasting my show out to some bewildered goats and their herdsmen!! Now, it’s not uncommon for internet radio shows to have playlists as esoteric as mine but I suppose what people appreciated was that there was a BBC show willing to go beyond the bland playlist. That’s what people told me anyway.

I guess I should have known the writing was on the wall when Mark Lamarr was considered persona non grata at Radio 2. The reasons I was given by my manager was money and apparently 6Music cover the same sort of territory (not the last time I looked) but I guess the same manager knows what she’s doing in keeping two hours of Brass Band music on air and a Big Band Show presented by someone who wasn’t invited to be part of a Radio Leeds Big Band event!!

All I can say is that it saddens me that in the current climate, anything a bit unusual is not going to cut the mustard but hopefully there are outlets for the weird and wonderful sounds of the ’50s/60s/70s out there somewhere. Luckily the show enabled me to DJ in places like Barcelona and Berlin, which were unforgettable nights but I’m just wondering who’s gonna turn the next generation of kids onto the wonders of a Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich B-side!!  

New Fanzine - Start!

This is the start of Start! We don't see that many printed magazines and fanzines arrive in this day and digital age, and we think anyone who launches one deserves our support.

The launch issue has just been released of the mod, soul, ska, and scootering-focused publication. This one has pieces on The Moons, The Questions, John Hellier and London International Ska Festival.

It's editor is one Emma Goodman. Cost of this first issue is just £1 plus postage of £1.40 via this PayPal email.

Start! on Facebook

New Hendrix album in 2013

Exciting Jimi news to share.

Experience Hendrix have announced via Rollingstone.com that they are releasing a 'new' Jimi Hendrix album in the new year.

On March 5th, a collection of 12 previously unreleased recordings by Jimi Hendrix will see the light. People, Hell and Angels follows Hendrix in 1968 and 1969 as he works on material apart from the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Hendrix was considering these new sounds for First Rays of the New Rising Sun, the planned double-album follow-up to Electric Ladyland. Hendrix experiments with horns, keyboards, and percussion, "exploring fresh diversions from his legendary guitarwork".

More news when we have it.

Book News - Demons, Fairies & Wailing Guitars

Demons, Fairies & Wailing Guitars - The Best 100 Obscure Rock Acts 1968-1976

Demons…is a new book by Ra'anan Chelled covering 100 lesser known names from the worlds of prog, psych, hard rock, blues rock, folk, singer-songwriter and krautrock. Covering all the ground from Aguaturbia to Zerfas, some of the bands in between may not appear to be too obscure (MC5 and Hawkwind to name two) though have been chosen for their relative lower international profile than the major acts of the day. 

Happening caught up with Ra’anan for a few words on his book. “The whole thing started in 2003 or 2004 when I wrote a piece for the my university weekly titled ‘The Best Bands You've Never Heard About’, which got some good feedback. So from then on I occasionally wrote about another obscure band for the paper, never coming short with a new one, till finally it hit me that it's a pretty rad idea for a book”. Originally published in Hebrew it is has taken Ra’anan around a year to translate it himself into English.

Asked to name his favourite band in the book, Ra’anan comments, “I have a soft spot for Leaf Hound. Their album Growers of Mushroom propelled me to the world of obscure Rock. I remember hearing it for the first time and thinking "Holy shit! If something this good escaped the ears of the masses, what else is out there?" And there is plenty.”

Featuring exclusive photos and interviews, you can either pick up an electronic copy from Amazon or order a physical copy from Ra'anan.

Austin Matthews

The Jam - Classic Album Selection

Six albums in one box - released December 3rd on Universal.

On November 19th Universal release a set of all The Jam’s classic albums in one nifty little box. Packaged in individual vinyl-replica CDs with rigid slipcases, and would fit nicely into any music fan’s Christmas stocking.

This complete studio album collection is released to mark the 30th anniversary of the band’s startling split in 1982 – at the height of their success and fame, and when principal singer and songwriter Paul Weller was juts a mere 24 years old! This set of albums is released on the same day as the super-deluxe box set of the Jam’s final album The Gift. The Jam were one of the most popular bands to emerge from the British punk rock scene in 1977 (although not technically a ‘punk’ band); along with The Sex Pistols, Clash, Buzzcocks. They had the most impact on pop music in their short career with18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the UK (including four number ones). The Jam had a fanatical following and their gigs would sell out within minutes. Still beloved of original fans and new supporters through Weller’s solo career – he still plays many of the Jam songs in his live sets today.

1. In The City

· Debut LP from May 1977. Influenced by The Who and Dr Feelgood..

· Includes hit single – 'In The City' and Weller’s most ambitious early song – 'Away From The Numbers'.

2. This Is The Modern World

· Follow-up, released a few months after debut in late 1977.

· Includes hit single 'The Modern World'.

3. All Mod Cons

· Landmark album from 1978 that marked a turning point in The Jam's career, Weller's more melodic, complex, and lyrically incisive song-writing heavily influenced by The Kinks.

· Includes the classic hit singles 'Down In The Tube Station At Midnight' and double A-side 'David Watts' /' 'A' Bomb in Wardour Street'.

4. Setting Sons

· Released at the end of 1979, number four in the U.K. and their first charting album in the U.S.

· Loosely conceived as a ‘concept’ album, with a distinct link between key songs - 'Thick As Thieves', 'Little Boy Soldiers', 'Wasteland' and 'Burning Sky'.

· Includes hit single – 'The Eton Rifles'.

5. Sound Affects

· The ambitious, experimental Sound Affects followed in 1980, moving away from the classic Jam sound it made number two in the U.K. At the time Weller considered the album a cross between Off The Wall and Revolver and cites it as his favourite Jam album.

· Includes no. 1 single 'Start!' and one of the band’s most cherished songs – 'That’s Entertainment'.

6. The Gift

· The band’s final studio album from 1982 and first number 1 album – a departure from the harder Jam sound, including more soul and funk influences that would preface Weller’s next project - The Style Council.

· Includes the double A-side number 1 single 'Town Called Malice' / 'Precious'. The band became the first group since The Beatles to play two songs on BBC's Top Of The Pops.

Nuggets 40th Anniversary Reissue

NUGGETS CELEBRATES 40^th ANNIVERSARY

Seminal Garage Rock Collection Originally Compiled By Lenny Kaye In 1972 Gets Remastered And Released As Standalone CD For The First Time Ever In The US

Available On CD And Digital Download November 27, Vinyl November 13

It’s a nugget if you dug it! That small phrase captures the enormous spirit driving one of the most influential rock anthologies ever released, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-68. Originally released as a double-LP in 1972 by Elektra Records, it celebrated 27 three-minute masterpieces that blazed brightly for a few weeks before fading from the charts.

To mark the 40-year anniversary of Nuggets, Rhino has remastered the collection from the original analog album master and will release it as a standalone CD for the first time ever in the U.S. 

NUGGETS: ORIGINAL ARTYFACTS FROM THE FIRST PSYCHEDELIC ERA, 1965-68 will be available November 27 from Rhino (www.rhino.com) and other retail outlets on CD ($18.98) and digitally ($17.99). The album will also be available as a 180-gram double-LP on November 13 for $27.98.

The idea for Nuggets came from Jac Holzman, the founder of Elektra Records. He explains: “AM radio despised ‘long’ tracks, loosely defined as anything that exceeded three minutes, and this was true throughout the ’50s and ’60s. Even our Doors single, ‘Light My Fire’, had to chop Robby’s incendiary guitar solo to fit the rigid AM formula. It’s what made me think about the snappy, short rock and roll singles that had jump-started AM rock radio, at its beginnings.”

To excavate these hidden gems, Holzman recruited legendary guitarist Lenny Kaye. Looking back on this seminal collection, Kaye writes in the newly penned liner notes: “It’s the songs in the end that make Nuggets so memorable, the lightning strikes of brilliance that move a record past genre into the realm of classic… Given the reins, I just played disc jockey, telling my ear-witness tale of inspiration derived, of desire and belief. Or daring to believe.”

Filled with fuzztone and Farfisa, the album pulses with an eclectic mix of songs by The Electric Prunes, The Standells, The Seeds, The Thirteenth Floor Elevators, The Nazz, Count Five, The Remains, The Amboy Dukes, Magic Mushrooms and Chocolate Watch Band. Along with the music, this new edition of Nuggets also recreates the original artwork, which was done by Elektra Art Director William S Harvey and graphic artist Abe Gurvin. 

Beatles remasters on vinyl

The original studio album remasters of The Beatles from 2009/10 make their long-awaited stereo vinyl debut on November 12.

Pressed on 180-gram audiophile-quality vinyl and with replicated artwork, the 14 albums are returned to their original glory. Extras include the poster in The White Album, the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band’s cutouts, and special inner bags for some of the titles. Each album will also be available individually, and the boxset will be accompanied by lavish 252-page hardbound book. The boxset will be a limited run of 50,000 copies worldwide.

The book is authored by award-winning radio producer Kevin Howlett and features a dedicated chapter for each of the albums, as well as insight into the creation of the remasters and how the vinyl albums were prepared. The 12”x12” book showcases a wealth of photographs spanning The Beatles’ recording career, including many images which were not included in the 2009 CD booklets.

And for you mono fans? Well in 2013 the remastered albums will make their mono vinyl debuts.

Frank Wilson RIP

We couldn't let the passing of the singer and writer of perhaps the number one classic northern soul song happen without a mention.

Frank Wilson has died of prostrate cancer, aged 71. 

Wilson joined Motown in 1965. Asked by Berry Gordy to relocate from LA to Detroit, Wilson went on to write and produce hit records for Brenda Holloway, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, The Miracles, the Four Tops, The Temptations, Eddie Kendricks, and more.

He also launched his own publishing firms, as well as trying his hand at being a recording artist himself. The single 'Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)' has a fascinating story. Supposedly 250 demo 45s were pressed, but by that time Wilson decided he would rather focus on producing and he had the demos trashed. Somehow at least two or three known copies survived - the one pictured above fetched over £25,000 when sold in May 2009.

Post-Motown, Wilson became a born again Christian. As a minister, he travelled the US, writing books with his wife Bunny.

Press play below and be transported somewhere else. You know you want to.

Nuggets from Australia

The classic Nuggets compilation is the inspiration for two new Australian garage compilations.

2012 marks 40 years since the release of the original Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968 double LP on Elektra, and now Warner Music are marking this milestone with a new issue of the compilation. Warner in Australia are going the extra mile by dropping two decidedly Australian compilations – provisionally titled Down Under Nuggets and Antipodean Interpolations Of The First Psychedelic Era.

David Laing of Warner told themusic.com.au Down Under Nuggets will “basically be '60s Australian stuff, a single CD which will hopefully be reasonably close to the definitive best of the '60s Australian garage stuff. I’m talking to a few different experts about it. Two guys called Ian (Ian D. Marks and Iain McIntyre) are kind of involved with it. And Mark Taylor, who was in the Lipstick Killers in the late ‘70s in Sydney, he’s one of the biggest ‘60s garage collectors in the world and really knows his shit so I’ve brought them in for opinions and such".

Laing hopes the Nuggets connection on this forthcoming release will make people realise just how influential the legendary compilation was on Australian rock bands. “I think the whole Nuggets thing had a really big influence on Australia, probably thanks to Radio Birdman in the ‘70s doing You’re Gonna Miss Me by the 13th Floor Elevators and they used to do Don’t Look Back [by The Remains] I think they really introduced the Nuggets aesthetic to Australia. Then you had that whole late-‘70s, early-‘80s Sydney thing with The Lipstick Killers and The Lime Spiders and The Wet Taxis and The Psychotic Turnbuckles… and Sunnyboys were doing covers by The Remains; there’s a really strong kind of heritage of it in Australia, so I think it’s appropriate that Mark’s doing this thing with Australian bands and that there’ll be an Australian celebration of what Nuggets is or was.”

Down Under Nuggets and Antipodean Interpolations Of The First Psychedelic Era are scheduled for a November 16 release.

Light In The Attic Road Trip

Light In The Attic Records are in the midst of their annual ROAD TRIP and had to fill our readers in. Over 10 days they will be visiting 58 record stores, covering 3000 miles - from Seattle to Los Angeles and back - to deliver thousands of Light In The Attic CDs/LPs via a 15-person passenger van. And documenting the trip, with daily videos, Instagram, Tweets, and Facebook posts!

Along the way LITA are offering a free seat in the van to a lucky winner, including $50 per day to spend on records.

Episode #2 of their video daily highlights can be watched HERE. You can follow all the daily action on the Official Road Trip Site.

Children Of The Stones celebrated on Radio 4

From the BBC's media centre:

Happy Days: Children Of The Stones

Thursday 4 October, 11.30am-12 noon, BBC RADIO 4

Writer and comedian Stewart Lee explores the 1970s television series Children Of The Stones and examines its special place in the memories of those children who watched it.

In this documentary, Stewart returns to Avebury to discuss the serial's influence on him and explore the history and secrets of the ancient stones. Including contributions from series co-creator Jeremy Burnham, cast members and fans.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2012/40/happy-days.html

Led Zeppelin Celebration Day release (02 Arena)

The Led Zeppelin reunion concert from 2007 is finally to be released on Blu-Ray/DVD.

On December 10, 2007, Led Zeppelin took the stage at London’s O2 Arena to headline a tribute concert for Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. Founding members John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were joined by Jason Bonham, the son of late drummer John Bonham, to perform 16 songs. 20 million people applied for tickets for the band’s first headline show in 27 years.

The film of the event, entitled Celebration Day, will first be screened in cinemas worldwide from October 17. The home release will then follow on November 19.

The full setlist from the night was:

1. Good Times Bad Times
2. Ramble On
3. Black Dog
4. In My Time of Dying
5. For Your Life
6. Trampled Under Foot
7. Nobody's Fault But Mine
8. No Quarter
9. Since I've Been Loving You
10. Dazed and Confused
11. Stairway to Heaven
12. The Song Remains the Same
13. Misty Mountain Hop
14. Kashmir
15. Whole Lotta Love
16. Rock and Roll

For more visit the band's official site HERE. And here is the official Youtube trailer for Celebration Day.

Smoke Fairies new video and tour

Smoke Fairies have made a video for new single ‘Let Me Know’ that captures the band performing on a beautiful summers evening high above the houses on a London rooftop, as the city glows beyond. The single is out now digitally and on limited-edition 7" via V2 come September 10th. You can watch the video here:

The band will also be heading out on their Autumn tour in October. Those tour dates in full:

Monday 17 September – GUILDFORD – St Mary’s Church (£9)

Tuesday 18 September - CARDIFF - Buffalo Bar (£8.50)

Wednesday 19 September - PORTSMOUTH - Wedgewood Rooms (£8.50)

Thursday 20 September - BRIGHTON – The Haunt (£8)

Saturday 22 September - NORWICH – Arts Centre (£8)

Sunday 23 September - OXFORD – Academy (£9)

Monday 24 September - BRISTOL – The Fleece (£8)

Wednesday 26 September - BIRMINGHAM – Hare & Hounds (£9)

Thursday 27 September - LEEDS – Brudenell Social Club (£9)

Friday 28 September - HEBDEN BRIDGE – Trades Club (£9)

Sunday 30 September - NEWCASTLE – Cluny (£8)

Monday 1 October - EDINBURGH – Pleasance Theatre (£9)

Tuesday 2 October - GLASGOW – Oran Mor (£9)

Wednesday 3 October - YORK – Duchess (£8)

Friday 5 October - MANCHESTER – Deaf Institute (£8)

Saturday 6 October - LINCOLN – Engine Shed (£9)

Sunday 7 October - NOTTINGHAM – Rescue Rooms (£9)

Monday 8 October - CAMBRIDGE – Portland Arms (£9)

Tuesday 9 October – LONDON – King's College London Student Union (£12)

Smoke Fairies website

The Poets vocalist, George Gallacher, has died

Sad news has reached us that George Gallacher, singer in Scottish freakbeat/psych legends The Poets, has passed away over the weekend.

Once managed by Andrew Loog Oldham, the band had a string of classic singles on Decca and Immediate in the 60s but never managed an album. They reformed in 2011 and played a handful of shows. Their former guitarist Tony Myles, left this post on Facebook:

"I was privileged to be amongst some of the most talented guys in the business and they showed me the path to creativity for which I have been eternally grateful. Far too soon they have been summoned to play in the ultimate rock band and with the sudden death yesterday of George Gallagher. I am now the only remaining member of the original POETS. Just a few years ago the remaining four of us decided to plan a get-together - then before it happened there were only three of us. Then two. Now there is no one to get together with. One of our fans is quoted as saying - 'Life is what happens when you're making plans'".

Numero Group announce Eccentric Soul Omnibus Volume 1

45th RELEASE FROM VENERABLE ARCHIVAL LABEL IS BOXSET OF 45 45s FROM MOST WILD, OBSCURE, OUT OF CONTROL SOUL PERFORMERS - COMING OCTOBER 23rd

  

Synopsis: 45 7" singles from the dustiest corners of the United States, replicated down to the tiniest detail. Housed in a custom Numero-patterned 45 box, replete with metal hardware and handle. Clothbound hardback book with a word count of almost 50,000, covering the bizarre histories of each group, the early history of Numero, plus an absurdly detailed series of indices. 

Background: Back in early 2003, when Numero was still in an embryonic state, the labels' inaugural release was envisioned as a 10-disc, 20-artist pile of peculiar soul 45s, packaged in a cardboard clamshell mailer. It was cobbled together from what, at the time, seemed like a unique selection of singles: off-key vocalists and over-the-top guitar soloists, one-piece string sections and piecemeal brass lines, each of them ostensibly helmed by a savant mad-scientist producer working in jury-rigged, barely functional studio conditions. Its working title was Eccentric Soul.

The imagined box of ten 45s was scrapped, replaced by Eccentric Soul: The Capsoul Label, the project that became Numero 001. From the wreckage of the original set, Altyrone Deno Brown turned out to be a bedrock voice, a central story, and the cover image on003, Eccentric Soul: The Bandit Label; the Dynamic Tints brightened one small corner of Twinight's Lunar Rotation; and Lady Margo's "This Is My Prayer" later found a home inside Pepper's Jukebox, the double LP that accompanied Michael Abramson's photography in 2009's Light: On The South Side hardcover book.

All 14 volumes of Eccentric Soul that pre-date this Omnibus sketch a given skein of connective tissue, but fully fleshed out here are the colorful strands linking any given record to untold others: untimely deaths, racial injustice, kid groups dimmed of charm by oncoming adulthood, military base installment, the bitter duty of Vietnam, the state of Alaska, tantalizing flirtations with fame. All of it is evidence that the darkened corners of the music business looked much the same in the pale light of Fresno, California, or Owensboro, Kentucky, or Benton Harbor, Michigan: record labels run by wannabe gangsters, managers with sticky fingers, radio promotion men funneling payola into disc jockey pet projects, marching bands turning into stage bands, youth centers turned into soul schools, and master tapes lost to fire, storm, and flood. Most of these 45s appear austere and simple at a glance, but every crude, hand-drawn logo, every missing or misspelled bit of crucial information, every malapropism-laden band name belies a deep well of unique history. PVC footholds in an uphill battle against badly stacked odds, these were records willed into existence through pure determination.

Omnibus Vol. 1 is an attempt at laying bare a tangled mess of loose ends that Numero (and cohorts) have been tripping over for years. Too disconnected and isolated from one another for expansion into full-length CD or LP projects, we've bound together 90 songs and 45 stories, cross-referencing each town and year of issue, and gathering it all into a compact and elegant monument to America's soul diaspora.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

http://www.numerogroup.com/ 

The Monkees announce US tour

AN EVENING WITH THE MONKEES
Michael Nesmith, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork To Perform

Their First Concerts Together In Fifteen Years

Twelve Exclusive Dates Announced For USA

LOS ANGELES – Michael Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, and Peter Tork return to the concert stage this November for a historic, twelve-date tour of the United States. These performances will mark their first concerts together since 1997. The jaunt kicks off at Escondido’s California Center for the Arts on November 8 and wraps at New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre on December 2. 

The trio’s shows are set to feature a selection of their classic hits (such as “Last Train To Clarksville,” “I’m A Believer” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday”), deep cuts from their first five platinum albums (including some performed for the first time since the 1960’s) and fan favorites from the soundtrack to their cult film classic Head and their Emmy^®-award winning television series. The show will encompass a full multimedia evening of music, rare films, and one-of-a-kind photographs.

Since the dates fall forty-five years on from their epic struggle to become legitimate music makers, the concerts will be highlighted by a set performed by just Nesmith, Dolenz and Tork. In 1967, the year the Monkees outsold the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, they issued two #1 albums (Headquarters and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd) which primarily featured the Monkees as a self-contained, musical unit. Each evening’s trio set will showcase numbers from these albums and present the Monkees’ electric garage band sound that they developed on their mid-1960’s tours. To open and close the show, the Monkees will be augmented by a stellar crew of players to play the hand-picked setlist each evening.

These dates comprise the first U.S. Monkees tour to feature Michael Nesmith since 1969. He has reunited with the group over the years; his last stateside concert with the band was a rare private show in support of 1997’s Justusalbum. These dates also follow the unexpected passing of their musical comrade Davy Jones in February. Plans call for Jones to be saluted in the show’s multimedia content.

Although Davy’s absence will undoubtedly be felt by the Monkees and their fans, these concerts will be an opportunity to share their memories amidst the music and the movies that brought them together. Moreover, the band look forward to performing for their many new fans who have discovered their music through repeats of their TV show on Antenna television, classic rock radio, or via social media. One thing is for certain, these concerts will be a once-in-a-lifetime series of shows that are not to be missed.

The Monkees 2012 Tour Dates

November
8                California Center for the Arts                Escondido, CA
9                The Arlington Theatre                           Santa Barbara, CA
10              Greek Theatre                                      Los Angeles, CA
11              Flint Center for the Performing Arts       Cupertino, CA
15              State Theatre                                        Minneapolis, MN
16              The Chicago Theatre                            Chicago, IL
17              Lakewood Civic Auditorium                 Cleveland, OH
18              The Center For The Arts                      Buffalo, NY
29              Keswick Theatre                                  Philadelphia, PA
30              State Theatre Regional Arts Center       New Brunswick, NJ

December
1                The Paramount                                     Huntington, NY
2                The Beacon Theatre                             New York, NY

Chris Langeland R.I.P.

Sad news to start the week: it became apparent over the weekend that the guitarist and songwriter in garage/R&Bsters Thee Vicars, Chris Langeland, has passed away.

The 22-year old has just released his bands third long-player, I Wanna Be Your Vicar.

Dirty Water Records, the band's record label, have released a statement, saying "We are devastated by his death. Chris was as kind and good a person as anyone we've ever met, as well as being a brilliant young artist. He was highly regarded and much loved by many people including his family, his many friends and by fans of the band. It was an honour and a privilege to have known and worked with Chris, and we already miss him terribly".

We here at Shindig! are all fans of his work, and his death is a great loss to our scene.

The Velvet Underground & Nico gets deluxe six-disc treatment

The Velvet Underground's seminal (no, it really is – truly seminal)1967 debut The Velvet Underground & Nico receives the super-duper deluxe box set treatment from Universal on October 1st.

The six-disc set mops up just about every artifact relating to the album and the band's first two years together that you could hope for, including the original album in both mono and stereo versions, piles of alternate versions, Nico's entire Chelsea Girls album, rare and unreleased acetates and demos dating back as far as a January ’66 Factory rehearsal tape, and two discs covering the much-bootlegged Valleydale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio show recorded live on November 4th ’66.

Below is the complete tracklist:

DISC ONE.
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO V6-5008 (stereo version)
Originally issued as Verve V6-5008, March 1967.
1. SUNDAY MORNING 2.54
2. I’M WAITING FOR THE MAN 4.37
3. FEMME FATALE 2.37
4. VENUS IN FURS 5.10
5. RUN RUN RUN 4.20
6. ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES 5.58
7. HEROIN 7.10
8. THERE SHE GOES AGAIN 2.38
9. I’LL BE YOUR MIRROR 2.12
10. THE BLACK ANGEL’S DEATH SONG 3.12
11. EUROPEAN SON 7.46
ALTERNATE VERSIONS:
12 . ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES (alternate single voice version) 5.58
13. EUROPEAN SON (alternate version) 9.06
14. HEROIN (alternate version) 6.15
15. ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES (alternate instrumental mix) 5.58
16. I’LL BE YOUR MIRROR (alternate mix) 2.16

DISC TWO.
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO V-5008 (mono version)
Originally issued as Verve V-5008, March 1967.
1. SUNDAY MORNING 2.55
2. I’M WAITING FOR THE MAN 4.46
3. FEMME FATALE 2.38
4. VENUS IN FURS 5.13
5. RUN RUN RUN 4.24
6. ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES 5.59
7. HEROIN 7.14
8. THERE SHE GOES AGAIN 2.41
9. I’LL BE YOUR MIRROR 2.14
10. THE BLACK ANGEL’S DEATH SONG 3.12
11. EUROPEAN SON 7.57
THE SINGLES:
12. ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES 2.49
13. I’LL BE YOUR MIRROR (alternate ending) 2.17
Mono single, issued as Verve VK-10427, July 1966.
14. SUNDAY MORNING (alternate mix) 2.56
15. FEMME FATALE 2.37
Mono single, Verve VK-10466, released December 1966.

DISC THREE.
NICO: CHELSEA GIRL
Originally issued as Verve V6-5032, October 1967.
1. THE FAIREST OF THE SEASONS 4.10
2. THESE DAYS 3.34
3. LITTLE SISTER 4.27
4. WINTER SONG 3.20
5. IT WAS A PLEASURE THEN 8.06
6. CHELSEA GIRLS 7.27
7. I’LL KEEP IT WITH MINE 3.21
8. SOMEWHERE THERE’S A FEATHER 2.20
9. WRAP YOUR TROUBLES IN DREAMS 5.10
10. EULOGY TO LENNY BRUCE 3.46

DISC FOUR / DISC TWO DELUXE EDITION.
SCEPTER STUDIOS SESSIONS:
Acetate cut on April 25, 1966
1. EUROPEAN SON (alternate version) 9.03 *
2. THE BLACK ANGEL'S DEATH SONG (alternate mix) 3.18 *
3. ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES (alternate version) 5.57 *
4. I'LL BE YOUR MIRROR (alternate version) 2.11 **
5. HEROIN (alternate version) 6.17 *
6. FEMME FATALE 2.36 (alternate mix) **
7. VENUS IN FURS (alternate version) 4.39 **
8. WAITING FOR THE MAN (alternate version) 4.15 **
9. RUN RUN RUN 4.23 (alternate mix) **
* from tape / ** from acetate
THE FACTORY REHEARSALS:
January 1966 rehearsal, previously unreleased.
10. WALK ALONE 3.28
11. CRACKING UP / VENUS IN FURS 3.52
12. MISS JOANIE LEE 11.49
13. HEROIN 6.17
14. THERE SHE GOES AGAIN (with NICO) 2.09
15. THERE SHE GOES AGAIN 2.56

DISC FIVE.
LIVE AT VALLEYDALE BALLROOM, COLUMBUS, OHIO:
1. MELODY LAUGHTER 28.26
2. FEMME FATALE 2.37
3. VENUS IN FURS 4.45
4. THE BLACK ANGEL’S DEATH SONG 4.49
5. ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES 5.03
(Lou Reed)

DISC SIX.
LIVE AT VALLEYDALE BALLROOM, COLUMBUS, OHIO:
1. WAITING FOR THE MAN 4.50
2. HEROIN 6.42
3. RUN RUN RUN 8.43
4. THE NOTHING SONG 27.56

The Jim Jones Revue: new album and tour details

The Jim Jones Revue have a new album out this autumn and a UK tour to support.

The follow-up to one of Shindig!'s favourite albums of 2010, Burning Your House Down, is to be entitled The Savage Heart and is out October 15. Jim Sclavunos (The Bad Seeds/Grinderman) is back in the production hotseat. Apparently the band will be "exploring new musical and lyrical territory", but we can still expect "their renowned powerhouse sound".

Tickets for the tour are onsale now, and here is the rundown of dates:

October UK Tour
8 Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach Buy tickets
9 Leeds Wardrobe Buy tickets
10 Manchester Sound Control  Buy tickets 
12 Sheffield Plug  Buy tickets 
13 Aberdeen Tunnels  Buy tickets 
15 Edinburgh Caves  Buy tickets 
16 Glasgow King Tuts  Buy tickets 
17 Newcastle Cluny  Buy tickets 
18 Norwich Waterfront  Buy tickets 
19 Birmingham O2 Academy 2  Buy tickets 
20 Harlow Square  Buy tickets 
21 Bristol Trinity  Buy tickets 
23 Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms  Buy tickets 
24 Brighton Concorde 2  Buy tickets 
25 London Electric Ballroom  Buy tickets

The Jim Jones Revue website

The Rolling Stones: 50 years young

50 years ago today a bunch of young Ealing Jazz Club enthusiasts revealed themselves to the world as The Rollin' Stones. The place was The Marquee in London's Soho, the date July 12 1962. 50 years later and the band are still together and planning some celebratory concerts before the year is out.

Unfortunately no footage of those early days seems to exist, so instead enjoy their first television appearance in February 1964 on the Arthur Haynes show, performing 'I Wanna Be Your man' and 'You Better Move On'. Before 'Keef' took control the band was all about the mercurial talents of one Brian Jones - check out his slide playing on the first number!