Day 69 The Beat "Stand Down Margaret"

As the week ends, here's the final instalment of Brum beat. That first Beat album was a cracker, wasn't it?

Day 68 Dexy's Midnight Runners "My National Pride"

Using Brum beat as a good reason / excuse to put up a song by the mighty Dexy’s.

They say never meet your heroes, and they are probably right. Mind you, I met Kevin Rowland at a media do for EMI ‘Director’s Cut’ reissue of this album. Having kept my cool for the first, oh, 30 seconds or so, I found myself welling up as I tried to tell him how much this song in particular meant to me – Irish heritage blah blah blah. I think he was genuinely taken aback by my fanboy gushing, but not unhappy. I ended up talking to him and his lovely (though mad) missus for a good while and giving him some insightful tips based on my judgement as a music business professional (“Make some more records – they’d be great!” etc)

He went off to the bar after a while, but when I went to leave, I heard a voice behind me shout “Hey, John” I turned around and Kev (as I now know him) told me to “look after yourself, alright?”

I know it's all a bit Nick Hornby, but it the best moments of my time in the music biz.

Day 67 ELO "Mr Blue Sky"

Brum-beat, part 3

Best song ever to come out of England’s second city. Perfect pop

*dons tin hat and ducks for cover*

Day 66 The Streets "Let's Push Things Forward"

More Brum-beat....

I've always thought that this track sounds like a 21st century re-make of something off “In The Studio” by Special AKA. Which can't be a bad thing, can it?

Day 65

Part of a series, started yesterday, exploring Brum's musical heritage (I know, it'll be short).

Here's the Black Country's Lou Reed himself, Lawrence from Felt. He shoulda been a contender, y'know...

Day 64 The Move "Blackberry Way"

Inspired by a slightly drunken conversation with the Martins last night about Birmingham's musical heritage, here's an old favourite from Roy Wood..

Day 63 Can "Halleluwah"

There was a time in the mid to late nineties when I thought Can were the best band ever – better than The Beatles, even. I’ve since revised that view somewhat, but they are amazing - Jaki Liebezeit’s drumming in particular. Imagine seeing them live at the height of their powers...

Day 62 Etta James "Something's Got A Hold On Me" & "In The Basement, Part One"

Couldn’t decide between these two great Etta James songs, so here’s both of them.


She looks a fright – some kind of peroxide roadkill perched on her head, enough eyeliner to sink the titanic and a dead man’s cardigan – but man, she can sing.”





Also check out “In The Basement” - just the best party record ever. If you don’t move to this, rigor mortis must have set in.

Day 61 Loleatta Holloway "Love Sensation"

Another of the great voices is gone. RIP Loleatta

Day 60 Freddie Scott "(You) Got What I Need"

As sampled by Biz Markie and (very recently) Kanye West.

Has the same effect on me as Jackie Wilson’s “Higher & Higher” - it puts a bit of hope in my soul.

Day 59 Cass McCombs "I Went To The Hospital"

Great song. Should have been a hit, but wasn’t. The world’s not fair, is it?

Day 58 Datblygu “Casserol Effeillaid”

Welsh-language, Fall-inspired oddly brilliant number. First heard on Peel – where else? – and loved ever since. I often find myself singing along to this in a series of noises that have no link to the Welsh language.

Day 57 Harry McClintock "Big Rock Candy Mountain"

I first heard this of course on the “O Brother, Where Art Thou” soudntrack. Great film, great soundtrack, but this is the highlight for me.

“Where they hung the jerk / who invented work” could be the finest sentiment ever expressed in song.

Day 56 The Faces "If I'm On The Late Side"

I love a bit of Rod Stewart. Not "Tonight I'm Yours" or any of that shit, you understand, but the stuff from before, to paraphrase Griel Marcus, he betrayed his talent completely*. And particularly his time with The Faces.




*the full quote is “Rarely has a singer had as full and unique a talent as Rod Stewart; rarely has anyone betrayed his talent so completely.”

Day 55 The Cramps "Can Your Pussy Do The Dog?" and The Clash "Stay Free"

Another twofer – this time for Chris W, whose birthday it is today. He’ll know the significance…

Day 54 Public Enemy "He Got Game"

They made a righteous noise early on, but for me this is PE’s best moment lyrically. How about this in the theme to a film about basketball?


“White men in suits don't have to jump
Still a thousand and one ways to lose with the shoes
God takes care of the old folks and fools
while the devil takes care of makin’ all the rules
Folks don't even own themselves
payin’ mental rent, to corporate presidents”

Day 53 Smiley Culture "Cockney Translation"

To continue Britain's 80's revival, Black people are again being killed in police raids. RIP Smiley.

Day 52 The Three Johns “English White Boy Engineer”

What a great band and - in retrospect - what a great show The Tube was...

Day 51 The Pentangle “Hunting Song”

Another discovery from my time at the coal face in Record & Tape Exchange. After watching a dodgy video copy of “The Wicker Man” at a workmate’s place, I started trying to hunt down similarly wyrd folk as the music in that film. This lot were, of course, the first ones I came up against.

Danny Thompson’s bass playing is incredible. In fact, everyone in this band is incredible and the interplay between them is so subtle and understated. England's version of The Band, in that sense.

Day 50 Groove Armada "At The River"

It's Sunday, it's hot, the cicadas are chirping... watching this seems the only appropriate thing to do.

Day 49 Phil Ochs "The Ringing Of Revolution"

Phil Ochs – a tragic, wonderful figure who wrote some incredible songs. You wonder where the people are doing the same thing in a time of similar crisis. I'm not idealising the past - I'd genuinely like to hear them.

Day 48 Stereolab & Nurse With Wound "Simple Headphone Mind"

Blissed out motorik goodness. Wonderful. I still have the 12” of this in a kind of shiny wrapper thing.

Day 47 Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance "Debris"

Originally by The Faces, of course, with Ronnie on vocals. But this is a great version - a soothing balm at the end of a long, hard day.

Day 46 The Bees "Chicken Payback"

Sometimes you just feel like a bit of nonsense, don't you?

Day 45 Lucille Bogan “Shave ‘Em Dry”

Carrying on from The Smith’s rather explicit lyrics yesterday, here’s something even more risqué. Don't play this in front of the nippers...

Day 44 The Smiths "Reel Around The Fountain"

Ah, side one, track one of the best album of the 80’s

Day 43 Cymande "Brothers On The Slide"

Brothers from...Harlesden. Who'd of thought it?

Day 42 Aretha Franklin "I Say A Little Prayer"

An obvious choice I know, but sometimes, some songs are obvious choices because they are so good. Griel Marcus famously wrote a whole book about Dylan's “Like A Rolling Stone” - he should have a go at this.

Day 41 Sarandon's german disco song and The Buff Medways "Troubled Mind"

Today’s offering is a twofer (I've some to make up after missing a few last week.) Two musicians: both insanely prolific; both ploughing their own musical furrow regardless of the fickle vagaries of fashion; and both still going…

First up, Sarandon. Being a music fan who can’t play anything, I’ve always been slightly jealous of musicians. So it’s particularly annoying when you meet one who turns out to be a lovely bloke too. I met Crayola from Sarandon when I was unsuccessfully trying to sell the records on the label he worked for. Our high level strategic sales meetings consisted of a few pints at an unfashionable pub on the Portobello Road (yes, there were unfashionable pubs there once). The agenda was normally half an hour spent on work, followed by several hours spent reminiscing about how good bIG fLAME were (we were both at their farewell gig !). Since then we've been firm friends and I've been introduced to a world of fine music I might otherwise have missed.

If you’ve checked out John Robb’s book “Death To Trad Rock” (and you should) Sarandon feature heavily, as the last men standing of those angular, trebly, lurching bands from the mid-eighties. John Robb calls them post-post-punk, and arguably it was the last time ‘indie’ genuinely meant independent, not just in terms of 'attitude' or anything airy-fairy like that, but in terms of recording, distribution, gigs - an alternative network of like-minded people.

Anyway, enough of the waffle and on to the music - here they are at indietracks last year – German Disco!



No need to tell those who know about Billy Childish. The king of Garage, and owner of rock’s finest moustache.

Day 40 Ian Dury & The Blockheads "What A Waste"

I remember seeing this on TOTP and remember thinking it was funny and melancholy. Still do.

What I don't remember is the hairy cornflake introducing it. I must have blanked that trauma from my mind...

Day 39 Madness "Grey Day"

I guess I'm having one of those days when this song seems appropriate. Strange isn't it, that The Nutty Boys, with their comedy trousers, funny walk and general silliness, should produce one of the bleakest records of a very bleak era?

"So begins another weary day..."