Former CBS record label mates convention....

Had an unexpected reunion with former CBS records labelmate John Cooper Clarke, still strutting his stuff as the definitive punk poet... On the right (my left in the photo) is one of my son's craft stalls (Sam's Wood) with his wooden creations displayed in the Essex town of Wivenhoe, where JCC now resides.

We reminisced about the various shared acquaintances and personalities from those days, compared notes on our life stories since being 'signed' and generally put the world to rights. Have to say his detailed memory from those heady days is impressive, he hasn't aged a bit ;-)

Here is one of my favourite examples of his work:

I wrote the songs that nearly made
The bottom line of the hit parade
Almost anthems, shoulda been hits
Songs like... Puttin' on the Ritz
Some enchanted afternoon
Twenty-four hours to Levenshulme
Dancin' in the daylight, singin' in the smog
You ain't nothin' but a hedgehog
So close and yet so far
Do you remember they way we are
I'd like to get you on a speedboat to china
From an idea by George Steiner
Ain't no blag - uncle's got a brand new jag
Ain't no slouch - mama's got a brand new couch
She ain't heavy, she's my sister
Not to leave out twist and whisper
Brand new leapordskin pillbox glove
Baby you and me we got a greasy kind of love

P

Does my bum look big in this?!

I recall it was all a tad stressful as our Ivor had already legged it home to watch the transmission when a technical problem was identified and we were put on standby to re-record.... Fortunately all was well!

P

Making me loud and proud - 1980-f

It is always a brilliant feeling when you hear someone perform your music! I love this exuberant performance, the conductor keeping it vigorous and everyone having a ball, lovely...

Just in case you're wondering, this is what the original sounded like, 1980-f from After The Fire.

P

Fats Domino v Café Musica mashup...

Part of the joy of playing acoustically is the re-discovery of pieces you probably would never consider in an 'amplified' band line-up. Here buddy James and yours truly give Fats Domino's piece 'Be My Guest' the Café Musica treatment at our first ever house gig a few days ago...

And here we play our version of After The Fire's punk anthem 'Time to Think', from ATF's Laser Love album, originally released in 1979.

P

Ten Years After...

Yesterday (Sunday 11th Sept 2011) I was privileged to musically assist my buddy Rob Halligan at one of the events happening on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Because of the extra security in Grosvenor Square for the BBC live transmission of the afternoon memorial ceremony meant I landed up having to be between the inner 'secure' area and the great outside. So I was only able to watch, from a distance, over the hedge or through the door of one of the BBC outside broadcast trucks whilst being unable to traverse either security cordon. Ironically this restriction then enabled a wider perspective on what was happening all around the square, both being able to witness the various protests and 'unrest' along with hobnobbing with the police and media personnel. At times there were some unusual juxtapositions, for example there was one period when what protestors were shouting through a megaphone blended with very audible music from the Radio 2 Hyde Park concert whilst the Thoresby Colliery Welfare Band brass band deftly played Sir Edward Elgar's sublime 'Nimrod' as the guests were gathering.

Prior to the service Rob was on the media interview 'treadmill', his responses encompassing the virtues of grace, forgiveness, hope and redemption giving the broadcasters an opportunity to explore a sea change in thinking partly fueled by a sense of 9/11 'replay' fatigue. And all this under the shadow of the massive eagle atop the foreboding American embassy to the West. Even the programmes presenter, David Dimbleby, felt some optimism replacing the usual entrenched views when chairing an intriguing Questiontime on 9/11 the preceding week.

Another of the concerns expressed by various commentators is that the repeated showing of films of from that day would inflict pain on grieving relatives all over again. However, whilst sharing one of those precious cuppa moments with Rob yesterday he said that it isn't the footage that gets to him, it is often music that's the trigger to bereavement symptoms. Some songs, some bands and even music that is not Rob's taste all have a powerful effect. Nowadays when there is such a close correlation of news footage and a typical Hollywood blockbuster perhaps we actually become inured to reality once it is repeated so many times?

P

Freddie Mercury Google Doodle

Remembering Freddie on his birthdate, who would have been 65 years old today. A rock genius... am privileged to have worked with both Queen and Freddie.

An official tribute and insight (with a smattering of rude words!) to planet Freddie here.

P

Let everything that hath breath...

Saturday night's alright for music! The official launch of the new 'Friends of West Mersea Parish Church' was both an inspiration and a privilege to be part of...

Setlist for Café Musica:

Help - The Beatles
Blowin' in the wind - Bob Dylan
You - Rob Halligan
Time to think - After The Fire
Are we alright? - Show of Hands
Harvest home - Traditional

With a little help from my friends - The Beatles
Forever young - Bob Dylan
Every breath you take - The Police
Railroad man - The Eels
Still haven't found - U2
Blackberry blossom - Traditional

Do you wanna dance? - Bobby Freeman

P

A secret chord...

Am tickled pink today... Wikio contacted me to say my blog had gone in to their music rankings at number 5! Plus they've given me the opportunity to publish a sneak peek before they release them:

1	Musicrooms.net
2	SoulCulture.co.uk
3	Alter The Press!
4	Lil Wayne HQ
5	St. Peter's View (BanksyBoy)
6	LondonJazz
7	Word Magazine blogs
8	Matrixsynth
9	No Rock And Roll Fun
10	Live4ever - The Brit Rock Daily
11	uncarved.org blog
12	Popjustice
13	PUT ME ON IT
14	Southern Hospitality
15	Slipped disc
16	Song, by Toad
17	We Are Pop Slags
18	On An Overgrown Path
19	Tom Service on classical music
20	The Chemistry is Dead

Music

Ranking recorded by Wikio

Greenbelt Festival 1974-2010 re-United...

 

Every so often a little bit of self promotion is unavoidable...! So here goes:

Saturday week 16th October 2010 After The Fire are delighted to have been asked to be part of this event to help raise funds and awareness the plight of the Dalit people of India via Life Association, a charity headed up by the noble Simon Hawthorne. The main attraction of the evening will be the re-union of the Bill Mason Band with the aforementioned Simon on guitar. Along with ourselves (After The Fire) and 70s legends The Movement Family Band the lovely songstress Hannah Atkins will be performing bringing the Greenbelt Festival connection right up to date after her stonking set in the Performance Café this year at #GB10.

For details of how to get tickets (via a PayPal donation) for this special one off event follow the Life Association link.

See you there?!

Life's a game of football...

 

Taken from the After The Fire Forum, a timely piece written by author and diamond geezer Roderick Williamson whose cracking first novel 'England Expects Yet Again' was published last year:

Latest team news announced for potential ATF giantkillers drawn away to Manchester later this year.

Peter 'I remember Gordon' Banks (player/coach) - known for all the clever little jinks and shuffles out on the right wing, creating all the chances for the front man to score. Known for his vision on the pitch, although rumours that this is not as sharp as previous seasons. Can be sensitive if the crowd gets on his back if there is no early sign of a breakthrough. Like Russell considered veteran status and now operating in the lower leagues but he has plied his trade at the highest levels. Has got the silky skills to waltz round any disrespectful Mancunians. Question on supporters lips - does he still retain the nippy factor?

John Russell 'athletic' - controls the middle of the park, known for hitting in a few screamers from left field. Big enough and ugly enough to be pushed forward to cause damage at set pieces. Now like his long standing team mate Banks, he plays at semi-pro level, opinionated likes getting up on his soapbox. Contributions in the past have been the difference between winning and losing.

Robert 'Bobby' Halligan - Young ball of energy up front, prepared to chase seemingly lost balls. Thrives off the support of the two experienced players around him. Offers another dimension with his own special moves. Fast enough to set the house on fire if he receives the right level of service. Can he last the full 90 minutes at this pace has been aired among the ATF camp followers.

Ian 'the grey ghost' Niblo - the Franz Beckanbauer of the team. Stays deeps, rarely seen in the opposition half. Quietly and efficiently playing the sweeping role and making sure that the man between the sticks is not under too much pressure. The quiet man that makes the team tick.

Tim 'Tiny' Turner - By all accounts likes to belt out 'Nutbush City Limits' in the shower after the match. Like Bobby and Nibs another graduate of the ATF youth development programme. Shows command of the 18 yard box. Early days so far but looks to be a safe pair of hands, press critics worrried that he may be susceptible to the high ball.

Subs - Faith, Hope & Charity. First two expected on early if the pre-match tactics fail to deliver.

The vocal contributions of the travelling faithful could be the sixth man at this fixture.

Cheers Rod!

Back to Pub Sunday...

 

I have to confess to a bit of shyness when it comes to walking into places I am not already familiar with. It is always a joy to be made welcome and last Sunday, visiting a new Parish, I noticed I wasn't the only one who was warmly welcomed. The small team of 'Welcomers' made sure everyone was comfortable, understood what was going to happen, where the facilities were and where to get refreshments.

Throughout the evening the joy of all the key people involved in this new 'Outreach' venture was impressive and reassuring at every level even from the top. During the collection, as the bucket went round, it was made absolutely clear that donations were an extra voluntary contribution which would all go to Christian Aid along with an extra contribution from those taking part.

I was uncomfortable, though. I had a knawing sense of guilt and discomfort that actually this is exactly how churches should 'feel'? However, this wasn't even a church initiative put on in the very splendid new music venue 'The Farncombe Cavern' but one run by the Freeholder's Pub team in Surrey who chose to make their opening night a flag to indicate the start of Christian Aid Week...

The Lord be with you... and make mine a pint

Digital Economy Bill - Oxymoronic...

This little video (which has no sound, btw) brings to light more than one issue about the absurd Bill that Peter Mandelson is championing at the moment. First of all it is clearly impossible to police and, as has already been proven with some court cases, inconclusive as to who the actual culprit is.

In this country there is a huge amount of mistrust whilst in Canada, for example, even high profile folk do not have fences or hedges around their properties. Their WiFi connections are usually unprotected and therefore a subscriber could be open to abuse by a passer by, however, my impression was that Canadian people are simply more interested in being real world, i.e. outside and enjoying themselves!

However, in the UK it makes a lot of sense to protect your WiFi router as someone could piggy back and exceed your monthly allowance or, if you have an uncapped service, get it restricted. Now I think that to abuse an openness of an unprotected WiFi like that does amount to stealing, however, when it comes to the thorny matter of royalties from uploaded videos and other matters the Digital Economy Bill seeks to address it is a very different matter.

I very much take the view that has been eloquently explained on Steve Lawson's blog and the reference to Danny Barnes' blog here, we are living in a new era for music generation where the revenue is returning to performance rather than sales of media that has an enormous mark-up on it. Despite the plethora of seriously crap output and the promotion of 'celebrity' above talent there are many new ways to be heard and work within reasonable means to be an artist.

Ironically, for me, as a bit of a 'has been', my music is tied up by worldwide rights such that I cannot use the very wonderful Bandcamp to sell new recordings of my own 'legacy' material, the very pieces that former followers of After The Fire do want to buy. We are restricted to any brand new material that would have a limited market. However, there is no doubt that this is the way ahead for all but a tiny slither of folk trying to make their way in music. Alternatively trying to shoehorn the old music business ways into the new Digital economy is a complete non starter.

P

Computer destiny post iPad domination...

Pc Coffee Maker

See more funny pictures and videos at Fugly.

A use for all the old PCs after Apple iPads take over the armchair world... as long as it's Fairtrade coffee, of course!

Coffee much needed today at the half way point on After The Fire's wee Help for Haiti tour of Essex and Sussex, last night centre of the lesser known universe, Mersea Island, tonight down in Burgess Hill.

P

Social media working to raise funds...

Image of iPhone courtesy mashable.com who report how the Red Cross have now received over $1,000,000 from this text campaign to raise funds for urgently needed support in earthquake torn Haiti. In the UK a number of websites now offer direct links to the charities offering a means of making a credit card donation online.

P

After The Fire - International Rescue!

On my chum Peter Dixon's Facebook status today

:...lost the mobile phone in the middle of a snowy field....fortunately it wasn't on silent - I've never been so pleased to hear "Der Kommissar" (12inch version!) blasting out in my life!

Saved by the riff...

Love will always make you cry...

A wonderful piece of artwork drawn at our gig last night in The Cut Theatre, Halesworth, Suffolk by the delightful Katie (yes, we do have a younger audience too!). I definitely see an album cover here?

After The Fire are now on the last leg of our 2009 mini Autumn tour, up in Cambridge tonight and finish next weekend, Saturday in Godalming and our End of Tour (free entry!) gig in Billericay on Sunday Afternoon 5pm... we'd love to see you!

Redeeming Culture...

.


A little video explanation created by Rob Halligan of our Bradwell experience...

ATF Pilgrimage to Bradwell

.

So it's nearly time for what has become After The Fire's annual visit to the tiny chapel of St Peter on the Wall, Bradwell, Essex, where we ring the changes from our usual power pop-rock output to a seriously unplugged, meditative service of worship which we gently steer. The ambience and natural acoustic of the chapel is extraordinary yet still allows our energetic approach to enable folk to express themselves in song and prayer regardless of their church preferences or faith journey. This year we are as adventurous with the repetoire of songs as usual, so if you are intrigued and have a broad taste in music raging from R.E.M. to traditional hymns (and live not too far away!) join us at 6:30pm this Sunday 2nd August!

That's me in the corner...

After The Fire at Music on the Green - not quite a T in the Park - but a very well run event and with the local C of E church (behind cameraman Richard Shipton) flung wide open offering an interactive Art Show and yummy refreshments, I was impressed! As for ATF... we did ok-ish, much room for improvement tho': 4/10.

Drivetime Details

As part of the build up to the Music On The Green festival day this Saturday 11th the interview with Steve Foster at BBC Radio Suffolk went out last night with some After The Fire songs and my three song selection:

1) The most amazing Imogen Heap with 'Speeding Cars'
2) The Artist formerly known as Prince with the very religious 'I Would Die 4 U'
3) And finally the incredible Arcade Fire with 'Intervention'

For a few days the interview is on iPlayer hope to see some of you Saturday!

þ