W♥M

Sleeper: Look At You Now

Sleeper: Look At You Now Read More Sleeper Jon Stewart of Sleeper dropped in on W♥M Radio. Guitarist Jon, along with singer/guitarist Louise Wener, drummer Andy Macclure and bassist Diid Osman formed Sleeper in 1993.… Steve Lamacq Legendary Radio DJ Steve Lamacq is back at SXSW to help introduce some of Britain's brightest new bands to America. The man helped shaped Britpop.…

Yes, you all know how much I love Sleeper. The 90s band reformed in 2017, and I’ve been keeping a very close on an all-things Sleeper.

If you haven’t been keeping up, I’ll help you catch up. After the 2017 initial tour, the band announced they were recording a fourth studio album (recording at Metway Studio and mixed & mastered at Metropolis Studio) in September 2018. Currently, we know that the new album will be called The Modern Age and is produced by Stephen Street and John Davis, both men are masters at their craft.

Today, on Steve Lamacq’s show, he played their new single, “Look At You Now”. If you don’t have VPN or a BBC TV license, you can listen to the song via Spotify (note: US accounts will not work).

Sleeper may or may not be playing that song in the upcoming 6 Music’s All Day Christmas Party, in London on 14 Dec 2018.

Sleeper’s upcoming 2019 tour:

02 Feb 2019 The Forum, Tunbridge Wells
21 Mar 2019 The Garage, Glasgow
22 Mar 2019 Riverside, Newcastle
23 Mar 2019 Liquid Room, Edinburgh
28 Mar 2019 Engine Rooms, Southampton
29 Mar 2019 Roadmender, Northampton
30 Mar 2019 Church, Leeds
04 Apr 2019 The Venue, Derby
05 Apr 2019 The Globe, Cardiff
06 Apr 2019 Trades Club, Hebden Bridge
12 Apr 2019 O2 Academy Bristol, Bristol
13 Apr 2019 O2 Forum Kentish Town, London
28 Jun 2019 Piece Hall, Halifax

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Sleeper at O2 ABC, Glasgow (12 Aug 2017)

O2 ABC Date:  12 Aug 2017 Location: Glasgow, UK Retail Price: ¬£38 Publisher: starshaped.club Description Setlist: Pyrotechnician Dress Like Your Mother Delicious What Do I Do Now? Lie Detector Statuesque Vegas Nice Guy Eddie Atomic (Blondie cover) Inbetweener She's a Good Girl Encore: Miss You Play Love Your Countryside Sale of the Century Gigography‚Äé > ‚Äé2017‚Äé > ‚Äé

Related O2 ABC, Glasgow (12 Aug 2017) Star Shaped Festival Luise and Andy on Stage at O2 ABC, Glasgow (12 Aug 2017) photo: Dom Martin Sleeper on Stage at O2 ABC, Glasgow (12 Aug 2017) photo: Dom Martin Louise Wener on Stage at O2 ABC, Glasgow (12 Aug 2017) photo: Dom Martin Kieron Pepper on Stage at O2 ABC, Glasgow (12 Aug 2017) photo: Dom Martin Sleeper on Stage at O2 ABC, Glasgow (12 Aug 2017) photo: Aimee Sleeper at O2 ABC, Glasgow (12 Aug 2017) photo: Kenny K

Sleeper at 02 Forum Kentish Town, London (05 Aug 2017)

Star Shaped Festival - O2 Forum Kentish Town Date:  05 Aug 2017 Location: London, UK Retail Price: ¬£38 Publisher: starshaped.club Description Setlist: Pyrotechnician Dress Like Your Mother Delicious What Do I Do Now? Lie Detector Statuesque Vegas Nice Guy Eddie Atomic (Blondie cover) Inbetweener She's a Good Girl Encore: Miss You Lady Love Your Countryside Sale of the Century A ONE-DAY FESTIVAL BRINGING THE BEST OF BRITPOP TO LONDON! ON SATURDAY 5th AUGUST AT THE O2 FORUM, KENTISH TOWN, WE PRESENT: ‚Ä¢ SLEEPER (Exclusive to the Star Shaped Festival, playing their first gigs in 19 years!) ‚Ä¢ THE BLUETONES (Full Band set) ‚Ä¢ SPACE ‚Ä¢ DODGY ‚Ä¢ MY LIFE STORY ‚Ä¢ SALAD (Undressed) All tickets include entry to an exclusive after show party as our legendary Star Shaped Club DJ's keep the celebrations going until 3am! Plus exhibitions, visuals and lots of other surprises (Full details below) All this for an amazing ¬£38!! (+b/f) - tickets are starting to run low so grab one while you can! http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/star-shaped-festival-tickets/259643 Gigography‚Äé > ‚Äé2017‚Äé > ‚Äé Related O2 Forum Kentish Town, London, UK (05 Aug 2017) Star Shaped Festival Sleeper at O2 Forum Kentish Town (05 Aug 2017) Photo: Guy C Sleeper at O2 Forum Kentish Town (2) (05 Aug 2017) Photo: Guy C Sleeper at O2 Forum Kentish Town (3) (05 Aug 2017) Photo: Guy C Sleeper at O2 Forum Kentish Town (4) (05 Aug 2017) Photo: Guy C Sleeper at O2 Forum Kentish Town (05 Aug 2017) Photo: Philip S Sleeper at O2 Forum Kentish Town (05 Aug 2017) Photo: Tim P Sleeper at O2 Forum Kentish Town (2) (05 Aug 2017) Photo: Tim P Sleeper at O2 Forum Kentish Town (3) (05 Aug 2017) Photo: Tim P >>>

Britpop Now: Sleeper, S*M*A*S*H, and Elastica

Read More Sleeper I love fanzines. How I got into them were through Tower Records' massive magazine stand. They would sometime carry local fanzines. Usually the type of 'zines I was interested in were Morrissey, Suede…

Read more Britpop.

SLEEPER
sleeper.weheartmusic.com

What kind of A to Z would get you here.

I’m probably the biggest Sleeper fan you’ll ever meet... and I’m super excited to see them reform to play a few dates for the upcoming Star Shaped Festivals.

Personally speaking, the rumors of them reforming started in 2015, on the 20th anniversary of the release of their ‘Inbetweener’ single, which is the band’s signature song (although not my personal favorite single from them). The rumors were actually pretty solid, as I even got word from the rarely heard (or seen) original bassist, Diid Osman in 2015. We talked over email and I learned that he was still keeping in contact with guitarist Jon Stewart, so it felt like the time was right.

Anyway, it’ll be good to have Louise Wener and company back. I wish I was going!

P.S., Other Britpopsters The Bluetones, Space, and Salad will be joining Sleeper.

Tour dates:

Birmingham, O2 Institute (July 29)
London, O2 Forum (August 5)
Glasgow, O2 ABC (August 12)
Manchester, O2 Ritz (August 19)

Read More S*M*A*S*H Just a quick note on that S*M*A*S*H / NxtGen Split Single Launch, taking place 29 March 2014 at The Portland Arms in Cambridge. As I suspected, the lyrics …

S*M*A*S*H
s-m-a-s-h.net

You’ve been on my mind, like a tumor, eating away at my every thought...

Before Britpop, there was a New Wave of New Wave (NWONW) and S*M*A*S*H was part of this movement... Unfortunately, the quick shot to fame left the band crashing and burning and died in January 1996. As a big fan of S*M*A*S*H, I’ve been following their movement post-long hiatus.

S*M*A*S*H recently released their new album, Goodbye W.G.C., with album title logo and cover artwork inspired by Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A.. As of this writing, I do not believe the record is available to buy in the U.S.A., but you can always import it.

The trio (Ed, Salv, and Rob) just headlined The Green Room earlier this week (February 11th) and their next gig is at Banquet Records on February 26th - it’s £11 but includes CD. No excuse if you live in the area. Go take some photos for me.

Goodbye W.G.C. Tracklisting:

1. Art Therapy
2. Erin
3. Hedy Lamarr
4. I Thought I Was Right
5. My Father
6. Secret Bruise
7. Goodbye W.G.C.
8. You In Me (Blondes & Guns)

Read More Elastica Here's a band I know a lot about: Elastica. I have all their singles, EPs, albums, bootlegs and miscellaneous releases (booklets, playing cards, etc). I was a pretty massive fan, I guess.…

ELASTICA
facebook.com/ElasticaOfficial

I'd work very hard but I'm lazy, I've got a lot of songs but they're all in my head. I'll get a guitar and a lover who pays me, if I can't be a star I won't get out of bed.

In mid/late January 2017, Abbey Roads Studios mastering engineer Sean Magee wrote on his twitter that he “cut a record for Elastica today.”

Hold the phone. What?

A photo of Donna, Justin, and Annie, appearing at Abbey Roads came online via @Britpopmemories with singer Justine Frischmann obviously missing. She wasn’t at the studio with them, but the band promised that Justine is involved and that we should not worry. Justine has been a U.S.A. resident for a long time now, so it made sense that she couldn’t easily make it to the British studio.

There probably won’t be a tour, as I know Annie notoriously hated being on the road, but I will settle for a new Elastica record!

NOTE: The inside scoop I was given is that Elastica met in the studio to remaster their old albums, so I’m told there will not be any new songs from them.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Britpop Now: Ash, Lush, Oasis

Read more Britpop.

Read More Ash We love Ash. We've been following the Irish band for a long time now, and a few years ago, they famously said they would "never" release an album. Instead the trio concentrated on just recording singles …

ASH
ash-official.com

Hands down, the greatest Ash album has got to be 1977 (released in 1996). The record has all the hits we know and love, including ‘Goldfinger’, ‘Girl From Mars’, ‘Kung Fu’, and ‘Oh Yeah’.

I remember picking up the album at that time and was simply blown away by some of the catchiest songs I’ve ever heard. And let’s not forget that these guys “introduced” Jackie Chan to America using their single ‘Kung Fu’ as part of the promotion for his film Rumble in the Bronx.

Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of 1977, the trio (singer/guitarist Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray) will be playing the album, from start to finish... of course, sans hidden track ‘Sick Party’.

In addition to the anniversary tour, Ash is also releasing Live On Mars: London Astoria 1997, an 18-track set recorded over the band’s five night run at the London Astoria from the 28th of February to the 4th of March. You can only pick up these limited colored vinyl or CDs at this upcoming tour (I believe if you can’t make it to a show, you can order the album via their official website).

Ian Fortnam from Classic Rock, writes, “These five nights at The Astoria, from February 28th to March 4th 1997, sound and feel like a party. An exuberant, irresistible celebration of a band who, transcending the faddishness of concurrent Britpop, succeeded on that rarest of commodities: raw talent.”

Tour Dates:

09/21 | The Roxy | Los Angeles, CA
09/22 | Independent | San Francisco, CA
09/23 | Soda Bar | San Diego, CA
09/24 | Rips | Phoenix, AZ
09/26 | Stubb’s Jr | Austin, TX
09/28 | Lincoln Hall | Chicago, IL
09/30 | Shelter | Detroit, MI
10/01 | Mod Club | Toronto, ON
10/03 | Middle East | Boston, MA
10/04 | Rock n Roll Hotel | Washington, DC
10/05 | Foundry | Philadelphia, PA
10/06 | Music Hall of Williamsburg | New York, NY
11/10 | Olympia | Dublin, Ireland
12/03 | MOD | Hasselt, Belgium
12/04 | Luxor | Cologne, Germany
12/05 | Knust | Hamburg Germany
12/07 | Lido | Berlin, Germany
12/08 | Paradiso Nord | Amsterdam, Netherlands
12/10 | Roundhouse | London, UK
12/11 | Ritz | Manchester, UK
12/12 | Rock City | Nottingham, UK
12/14 | Garage | Aberdeen, UK
12/15 | Garage | Glasgow, UK

Read More Lush I have mentioned this at various time, I was more of the Britpop-sounding Lush vs their early shoegazing beginning. That doesn't mean I don't occasional enjoy listening to Gala or Spooky …

LUSH
lushofficial.com

I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to hear Lush reunited last year. I’ve caught the band in 1994 and have been patiently waiting for their reunion.

The band is returning to the States in September - and we are committed to driving to Chicago at the Vic Theatre on September 18th. The show is sold out, but we’re hoping to make it in.

I’ve deliberately avoided looking at their setlist from recent reunion shows, so not to spoil myself. I’m assuming they’ll play all the big hits (‘Ladykillers’, ‘Heavenly Nobodies’, ‘Untogether’, ‘For Love’, and ‘Kiss Chase’). I’m sure they’ll play ‘500’, even though it’s not my favorite song.

I would also love to hear B-Side ‘Ex’ live, but I doubt they will be playing these deep, deep cuts. Also, would love to hear the anti-love song ‘Ciao!’, but may be hard to pull off as that requires a Jarvis Cocker to sing the male part.

Tamaryn will be Lush’s special guest on all dates, excluding Portland and Toronto. We previously saw San Francisco’s Tamaryn in 2012 and noted, “Last night's show is what you'd expect from a shoegazing show: dimly lit atmosphere with movie projection accompanied by heavy guitar effects and distorted undistinguished vocals.”

Lush’s Tour Dates:

09/13/16 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
09/14/16 New York, NY @ Terminal 5
09/15/16 Boston, MA @ Royale
09/17/16 Toronto Urban Roots Festival
09/18/16 Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
09/19/16 Detroit, MI @ St Andrew's Hall,
09/21/16 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
09/22/16 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
09/24/16 Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda Theatre
09/25/16 Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda Theatre
09/27/16 Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
11/03/16 Iceland Airwaves Festival 2016
11/05/16 Rolling Stone Weekender Festival 2016
11/25/16 Manchester @ Academy

Read More Oasis Internet time moves so quickly. If I had mentioned something about Noel Gallagher quitting Oasis on Friday, that would've been accepted. But it's been three days later and now I feel like people …

OASIS
oasisinet.com

After an explosive breakup of Oasis in August 2009 and a quiet breakup Beady Eye (in October 2014 via a tweet!), frontman Liam Gallagher has signed a major label record deal with Warner Bros. His solo album is coming out in 2017. In the meantime, Liam is posting photos of his brother Noel Gallagher, calling him “Potato”.

Oasis is also the subject in a recent Supersonic documentary, set for release on October 2nd in limited UK theaters. Director Matt Whitecross was granted an unparalleled look into the troubled relationship between Gallagher brothers Liam and Noel who are both credited as executive producers... and showcase their humble beginning in 1993.

When I saw Oasis in Sacramento in 1994, they weren’t mobbed by fans for autographs. In fact, Liam and Bonehead was hanging outside the venue and we talked to them a bit before going inside to see the opening band...

Supersonic will be released on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download on October 31.

Details:

Featuring extensive unseen archive, SUPERSONIC charts the meteoric rise of Oasis from the council estates of Manchester to some of the biggest concerts of all time in just 3 short years. This palpable, raw and moving film shines a light on one of the most genre and generation-defining British bands that has ever existed.

PS Big Brother Recordings recently unveiled Oasis’ classic 1997 video for their No.1 single ‘D’You Know What I Mean?’ on vevo.com. Directors Dom & Nic added Noel Gallagher's new mix of the song and adding in previously unseen footage. The video has been completely re-graded and is now in High Definition format.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Britpop Now: Lush, Sleeper, Space, SFA, and more

Read More Lush I have mentioned this at various time, I was more of the Britpop-sounding Lush vs their early shoegazing beginning. That doesn't mean I don't occasional enjoy listening to Gala or Spooky …

LUSH
lushofficial.com

When I first heard the news that Lush reformed in September 2015, I was super excited. I had heard the rumors as far as 2013 or 2014 when singer Miki Berenyi granted interviews with Under the Radar and other magazines, so I can’t say I was completely surprised.

Just for the record, in case you aren’t a Lush fan or keep track of these things, but the Shoegazing-turned-Britpop band broke up after their drummer Chris Acland’s suicide in 1996. We caught the band in 1994 and noted, “vivid memories of watching drummer Chris Acland with his mouth wide open throughout the set (and I thought that was really strange).”

I’ve said this before, but these shows are very special because not only are we getting Lush again with the original members (Miki, Emma Anderson, and Phillip King... and filling in for Acland will be Justin Welch, formerly of Elastica), but this will also be a nice reunion for the fans. Trust me, you’ll see plenty of people you haven’t seen in the last twenty years... and it’ll be great!

Lush tour dates are:

4/14/16 Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
4/16/16 Indio, CA @ Coachella
4/17/16 San Francisco, CA @ Warfield
4/19/16 Portland, OR @ Crystal Room
4/20/16 Seattle, WA @ Showbox
4/21/16 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
4/23/16 Indio, CA @ Coachella
9/14/16 New York, NY @ Terminal 5
9/15/16 Boston, MA @ Royale
9/18/16 Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
9/21/16 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
9/22/16 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer

Read More Sleeper No one loves Sleeper as much as I do. I own all of Sleeper's singles and albums. Their second album was a slightly superior to their debut Smart album, even though all the singles leading up to the debut album was wonderful. ... Elvis Costello I've seen Elvis Costello at the Berkeley Theater before. I was there to cover Sleeper, the opening band. We had pretty awful seats, I had brought some friends along. They wanted to leave, but not until he played "Veronica" ...

SLEEPER
sleeper.weheartmusic.com

Guitarist Jon Stewart (not to be confused with actor/comedian/show host Jon Stewart), was on The StageLeft Podcast last month. As a big Sleeper fan, obviously I wanted to bring this to your attention.

Head over to Soundcloud.com, or click on the right.

Details:

Recorded at The Brighton Dome, The StageLeft Podcast is joined by our great influence, Senior Lecturer in Music Business Studies & Sleeper Guitarist - Jon Stewart.

Jon talks us through being centric to the whirlwind of Britpop, his role as Music Director on Kevin Spacey's Telstar: The Joe Meek Story and appearing on the Trainspotting soundtrack. Jon tells us the advice he gives the many musicians he's worked with in relation to dealing with the pressures of the public eye, the difficulties that arise when being in a band with a complex set of personal relationships and current projects Jon is embarking on in relation to helping recovering alcoholics.

- "The 'Fame' experience is a mental health condition... it's a form of mental illness"
- "The way I dealt with it was to drink and to take lots of drugs"
- "This feels like a bit of a therapy session..."

Jon also tells us about being on Richey Edwards final tour with the Manic Street Preachers, supporting REM & Radiohead, playing with KD Lang, and having his music covered by Elvis Costello.

Read More Space Space was a short-lived band from Liverpool. The most interesting thing about the band is that singer, Tommy Scott sounds like he's trying to be Mexican. You can hear it in the way he rolls his "R"s. …

SPACE
spacetheband.co.uk

Look, I love Space, okay? They are a silly little band from Liverpool with silly songs like “Female of the Species” and “Me & You Vs the World”, etc. If you listen to Spiders, it’s clear that these guys love cinema, particularly American cinema. I think for their first US tour, we caught the band in Los Angeles in 1997 (?). It’s been a long time, but it was their first LA gig from what I can recall.

The band broke up for a while, but came back to the music scene in 2011. Last year, the band announced a new single “Strange World” (read all about it on news.weheartmusic.com), taken from their fifth studio album Give Me Your Future (Mulu Records).

Space dates:

7th April 2016 The Brook, Southampton
8th April 2016 Academy, Bournemouth
15th April 2016 Academy, Oxford
16th April 2016 The Haunt, Brighton
23rd April 2016 Bellfield Tavern, Kilmarnock
29th April 2016 Academy Newcastle
30th April 2016 Arc, Stockton
6th May 2016 Empire Music Hall, Belfast
7th May 2016 The Grand Social, Dublin
13th May 2016 Fruit, Hull
14th May 2016 Waterside Arts Centre
21st May 2016 Academy Birmingham
28th May 2016 Academy, Leicester
29th May 2016 100 Club, London
3rd June 2016 Fox & Goose, Southport
June 9th 2016 The Box, Crewe
10th June 2016 The Citadel, St. Helens
11th June 2016 The Exchange, Stoke-on-Trent
9th-10th July 2016 Frodsham Summer Festival 16
23rd July 2016 PKD Festival, Fife

Read More Super Furry Animals Finally, it looks like Super Furry Animals are going to appear on The Late Show with David Letterman - TONIGHT. I haven't been keeping up, but isn't there some sort of writer's strike or something ? …

SUPER FURRY ANIMALS
superfurry.com

I have seen Super Furry Animals at Coachella before... the only thing I can remember was that they were on early on the bill and that they dedicated “Mountain People” to the mountains.

They’ve been around for a long time, but, of course, every time they play in Minneapolis, either with the full band or as solo Gruff Rhys, I have been busy with another show or not available. Unfortunately, at this point, I don’t think they’re coming back here as a full band. I see that demands for them in Los Angeles is go good, they’ve added an additional date.

SFA is currently in the US again, but not promoting a new album. Oddly enough their 15-year-old album Welsh-only Mwng album got reissued by Domino Records recently... so expect some of those classic songs to make their way to their setlist.

Tour dates:

2/09 San Francisco, CA @ Great American
2/10 San Jose, CA @ The Ritz
2/11 Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
2/12 Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
4/29 Austin, TX @ Levitation
4/30 Austin, TX @ Levitation
5/01 Austin, TX @ Levitation
5/03 Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
5/04 Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall
5/05 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
5/06 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
5/07 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer

Read More Menswe@ar Nuisance Recordings and Post/Pop Records recently released Menswe@ar's first single since 1996, called Crash '14. Originally the song was a b-side to We Love You, but the song …

GIGANTIC INDIE ALL DAYER VOL 3
gigantic.com

The lineup for Gigantic Indie All Dayer Vol 3: A Big, Big Love looks incredible. The music festival is taking place at Manchester Academy on 28 May 2016 and will feature headliner The Wonder Stuff... but personally, I am more interested in Bentley Rhythm Ace (aka “BRA”), S*M*A*S*H, and Frank and Walters.... oh and maybe Menswe@r (yes, they are still around!)

Lineup:

The Wonder Stuff

House of Love

Bentley Rhythm Ace

The Darling Buds

The Frank And Walters

BMX Bandits

Back To The Planet

Cud

S*M*A*S*H

The Telescopes

Menswe@r

Credit To The Nation

Bivouac & Jack Adaptor (The Family Cat)

The after show will feature Mike Joyce (The Smiths), MCs & DJs Marc & Jason Jones (Indiecation & Planet X, Liverpool), and Andy Woods (Smile / Unknown Pleasures).

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Flawed is Beautiful on PledgeMusic

Read More These Animal Men Two of the most popular New Wave of New Wave punk bands These Animal Men and S*M*A*S*H recently played at Heaven in London on September 11th. This is TAM's first show in twenty years! … S*M*A*S*H Just a quick note on that S*M*A*S*H / NxtGen Split Single Launch, taking place 29 March 2014 at The Portland Arms in Cambridge. As I suspected, the lyrics …

You know I'm a huge S*M*A*S*H and love These Animal Men (TAM), so I was pretty excited to hear about the documentary Flawed Is Beautiful about the two bands (and the whole "New Wave of New Wave" movement in the UK).

Even if you couldn't care less about punk music or NWONW, you should really appreciate the fact that the film reunited these two bands together under one bill to play at Heaven in London last 11 September 2015 (with TAM's first live show in 20 years!)

I have not seen the film, but I did live through it ... at least via Melody Maker and NME and buying all the singles I could get my hands on: S*M*A*S*H, These Animal Men, Compulsion, Elastica, Sleeper, etc. So I feel I know a little bit about the story of how it happened. Eventually some of these bands graduated to what is known as Britpop.

If you want to know more about S*M*A*S*H, check out this exclusive interview with singer/songwriter Ed Borrie from January 2015.

If you want to own Flawed Is Beautiful on DVD (sorry, no Bluray) the filmmaker has launched a PledgeMusic Campaign. If they don't reach their asking goal then the film will not be made available to the public to own. Typical of these UK-based projects, it seems expensive to buy and ship the U.S.A. ($43 for the standard boxset), but may be worth it if you are a diehard fan.

The boxset is limited to 1,000 copies. The 2 DVD set will include some commentary and TV and live show performances. It also includes two rarities CDs and a 48-page book.

I have about three months to decide what to get, but come January, I may just splash out and pay about $70 to get my name in the film. Since I'm somewhat gainfully employed, I will support the artists I love.

Note about the (new) artwork, I believe it is drawn by Sue Doe, in the style of the old S*M*A*S*H cover artwork and is a recreation of These Animal Men's (Come On Join) The High Society album. Of course, if you live in the USA, you may not recognize it, as we got a different cover, featuring Julian Hewings holding up boxing gloves with the American flag. I still have my copy (along with Taxi for These Animal Men and Too Sussed?) somewhere in one of 10 CD boxes in my basement.

S*M*A*S*H will be playing live at Gigantic Indie All Dayer Vol 3 in Manchester with headliner The Wonder Stuff on 28 May 2016.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Blur at Madison Square Garden, New York (23 October 2015)

Setlist Go Out There's No Other Way Lonesome Street Badhead End of a Century Ghost Ship Coffee & TV Out of Time Country Sad Ballad Man Beetlebum Thought I Was a Spaceman Trimm Trabb Tender Parklife Song 2 To the End This Is a Low -- Encore -- Stereotypes Girls & Boys For Tomorrow The Universal Read More Blur After the release of The Magic Whip (first album since Think Tank was released in 2003), this world tour sees Blur play Australia (including the Splendour in the Grass festival in Byron Bay) …

It seems Damon Albarn of Blur has felt the years-long sting of not quite being able to translate the band's massive popularity in their native England into the same success in the more elusive U.S.

Damon Albarn in Los Angeles

Playing only two dates in North America at ambitiously large venues -- the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and Madison Square Garden in New York -- Albarn seemed to be making a statement: we were meant to be legends here, too. Neither show sold out, despite impressive turnouts of diehards from Britpop's '90s heyday to younger late converts and just fans of the pub-by hit "Song 2" (the one where you scream "Woo-hoo!" after your team wins).

Since I'm one of those diehard fans, I'll just say the show was bittersweet. Albarn plans to spend next year working on the band that did break the States, Gorillaz, and he has enough side projects to distract him from the band he first started out in. This may be their last concert in the country they couldn't break.

This may be their last concert...

The band stuck mostly to their set list from L.A., with the addition of the beautiful, swelling pop ballad "End of a Century" and the random, fuzzed-out buzz of "Country Sad Ballad Man," with a blistering, trancelike solo from guitarist Graham Coxon. Fans all around the Garden flashed their cellphone lights in tribute to "Tender," a touching moment likely for fans and band alike. With no Fred Armisen as in L.A., Albarn announced that comedian Mike Myers was also approached but unable to stand in for Phil Daniels on "Parklife." Instead, a small group of fans came onstage, with one lucky young woman giving her all for the first verse while Damon filled in the rest. From "There's No Other Way" to "Go Out," the rest of the setlist was mostly a survey of singles from their catalogue (though sadly missing that charming, silly love song, "Ong Ong" from their most recent The Magic Whip.)

They can jump and thrash in fits, but this is a band that's mellowed with age, in song and in spirit. It's definitely nothing to be ashamed of -- nor, Damon, is your inability to "break America" with Blur. These are a fan's notes, and my heart soared, I sang along, and I was grateful.

robin ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Blur at Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney (25 July 2015)

Blur Setlist Go Out There's No Other Way Lonesome Street Badhead Ghost Ship Coffee & TV Out of Time Beetlebum Thought I Was a Spaceman Trimm Trabb Tender Trouble in the Message Centre Parklife Ong Ong Song 2 Pyongyang To the End This Is a Low -- Encore -- Stereotypes Girls & Boys For Tomorrow The Universal Tour Dates 07/26/15 Splendour In The Grass (Sydney) 07/28/15 Melbourne, Australia Rod Laver 07/30/15 Perth, Australia Perth Arena 09/05/15 Electric Picnic 10/07/15 Santiago, Chile Movistar Arena 10/11/15 Buenos Aires Tecnopolis 10/15/15 Mexico City Palacio De Los Deportes 10/20/15 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl 10/23/15 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Read More Blur Blur drummer Dave Rowntree would like very much to prove that adage wrong, as according to NME, he'll run as a Labour Party candidate for the local council election in his Marylebone …

"Sorry we haven't been back sooner, Sydney"...."18 years!". Hang on a second... it has been 18 years since Blur played the Hordern Pavilion (that's 1997 for those who need some friendly Sunday morning maths assistance).

After the release of The Magic Whip (first album since Think Tank was released in 2003), this world tour sees Blur play Australia (including the Splendour in the Grass festival in Byron Bay) for the first time in 18 years!

Playing to a very nearly sold out crowd, Blur played a mixed bag from all eight of their albums, complete with backing singers and a four-piece (at least it looked like four from where I was standing) horn section. There's No Other Way, Trimm Trabb, Trouble in the Message Centre, Parklife, Coffee and TV and of course the crowd pleasing, Song 2; all the hits were played. (No Country House... but not sad about it)

As the tour is off the back of the release of The Magic Whip they unsurprisingly played a handful of songs form the new album. I'm not sure about the rest of the crowd, but although I do love the album, songs like Go Out, Lonesome Street and Thought I Was a Spaceman, really didn't strike the same chord in me as the older songs did.

I could not pick a fault with the show in terms of musicality. Each song played faultlessly.... except for the moment at which Graham managed to land a forward roll (whilst playing guitar), but had to miss a few notes whilst readjusting his strap. Damon was his relentlessly energetic self, Alex (dressed only in a t-shirt and shorts... dude! It's winter here!) was having an amazing time strutting his stuff for the pleasure of everyone right of stage, Graham's guitar playing was executed seemingly effortlessly and Dave... well, he's still Dave (face obscured by cymbal for the whole show, but i assume his only changed minimally).

I would also like to mention how pleasant it actually was being in the crowd. It was a significant difference from my last Blur experience: being 17 and frantically trying to be as close to the front as I could be; almost dying of heat exhaustion (I can only imagine how revolting i must have looked to anyone caught a glimpse - not that I cared); and being intermittently saturated by Damon's endless supply of "crowd water".

These days "crowd water" is still being widely thrown, but I felt no jostling or pushing. Just people happy to be there. There was even a "celebrity" sighting or three; with the dudes from Top Gear hanging side of stage. Didn't Jeremy Clarkson get the boot from that show? Who knows... who cares? Anyway, I digress....

After a mammoth two-hour set, one of two things were obvious from Graham's cheeky smiles and other facial expressions during the encore (where they played some of the classic singles: Stereotypes; Girls and Boys; For Tomorrow; and ending on a slow tune with The Universal) that Graham was either jetlagged and ready for a nice sit down, or he had played those songs so many times before that he had gone into auto-pilot mode and his mind was completely elsewhere. Either way, I was not disappointed (which is clearly evident, because the nanna in me usually gets annoyed during the short wait before an encore and is half way home before the band has finished).

Oh.. and support act? Sorry Jamie T, but I had to drink some beers in a pub down the street whilst you were playing; but by all reports you were pretty good and if time machines were a thing, I'd definitely turn up earlier to watch you.

http://www.blur.co.uk

http://www.splendourinthegrass.com

http://jamie-t.com

sally@weheartmusic.com

Blur at Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney (25 July 2015)

sally (sally@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com

Britpop 2014: Damon Albarn, Shed Seven, and Menswe@r

The celebration of Britpop at 20 years continues onto May 2014.

Everyday Robot Warner Bros. Read More Damon Albarn Damon Albarn playing for DirecTV. Very melancholy new material. One minus of shows like this is portions of the crowd have no clue who he is, or could care less … Britpop For all the month of April 2014, we are celebrating Britpop at 20. "Britpop at the BBC" ran for about two weeks so far, and recently (April 10th), they aired put …

DAMON ALBARN
damonalbarnmusic.com

As seen in a viral video, Damon Albarn recently sang Blur's "Parklife" in a rowdy pub. This is one of the big Britpop anthem song from 1994.

This was a smart move, at least on a promotional standpoint, because Albarn recently released his debut solo LP, Everyday Robot (which came out on April 29th.)

When asked about his more popular musical project, Gorillaz, Albarn had this to say, "I think there's a very good chance I'll make another Gorillaz record. I think there is, yeah. But you've got to understand, making a Gorillaz record doesn't require anybody else to do anything. I like making that kind of record. I love electro music – I haven't done a lot of it for a while, and I really enjoy that. It gives me an excuse to buy loads more weird and wonderful synthesizers, which is always a good thing."

Albarn on tour:

05/30/14 Bristol Trinity Centre
05/31/14 Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
06/06/14 New York, NY Randall's Island
06/08/14 New York, NY Irving Plaza
06/09/14 Boston, MA Royale Nightclub
06/10/14 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live!
06/14/14 Bonnaroo Music
06/27/14 Down The Rabbit Hole
06/29/14 Malta Festival
06/30/14 Berlin, Germany Astra
07/01/14 Hamburg, Germany Grosse Freiheit 36
07/03/14 Rock Werchter Festival
07/04/14 Roskilde Festival
07/05/14 Nuits de Fourviere
07/06/14 Festival Beauregard
07/09/14 Days Off
07/12/14 Exit Festival
07/14/14 Brescia, Italy Teatro Il Vittoriale
07/15/14 Rome, Italy Cavea Auditorium Roma
07/17/14 Montreux Jazz Festival
07/19/14 Latitude Festival
07/26/14 Fuji Rock Festival

Let it Ride Polydor Ltd Shed Seven We were talking about Shed Seven and that they were still together (please see Cristina's article). At one point in the conversation, Mel got up and said, "I have to leave!" and storms out of the room. …

SHED SEVEN
shedseven.com

Britpopster Shed Seven were recently announced to be one of the "indie" headliner at Shrewsbury Fields Forever Festival 2014.

Festival Director, Dene Edwards, said: “Shed Seven are an absolutely fantastic live band. They were massive in the 90s during the Britpop era, they have been together for over two decades and are still firm favourites on the festival circuit. Rick has his own radio show which is proving very popular. They are one of those bands where when you are standing in a field singing along and dancing, you realise they had A LOT of hits and you know them all! We love to have bands of this size and strength performing at our festival. They are indicative of the genre and ethos we set out with. John Power of CAST and Superfood are two brilliant acts that we can't wait to see perform. John has such a strong and distinctive voice and both CAST and the LA’s were so influential to the music scene. Superfood are tipped to be massive. No one had really heard of The 1975 before last summer and they had a Number album just a week before performing at Shrewsbury Fields!"

t Wondering what Shed Seven's Rick Witter has been up to? He's a DJ on Disco Down at 104.7 Minster FM.

Shed Seven 2014 Tour

08/01/14 - 08/03/14 Pikehall, Derbyshire Y Not Festival
08/08/14 - 08/10/14 Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire Lakefest
08/24/14 Southsea, Portsmouth Victorious Festival
08/29/14 - 08/31/14 Bingley, Yorkshire Bingley Music Live
09/12/14 - 09/14/14 Shrewsbury Fields Forever Festival 2014

Crash '14 Nuisance Recordings and Post/Pop Records

MENSWE@R
menswearband.com

Nuisance Recordings and Post/Pop Records recently released Menswe@ar's first single since 1996, called Crash '14. Originally the song was a b-side to We Love You, but the song (Johnny Dean's favorite Menswe@r song) got re-worked and re-recorded with a new lineup.

Crash '14 will be out May 26th as a special limited 7" and limited cassette. You can pre-order it at postpoprecords.com.

Preview the song at soundcloud.com.



Menswe@r Upcoming Dates:

06/05/14 Bristol Louisiana
06/07/14-06/08/14 Sportbeat Festival, Gloucester
08/24/14 Victorious Festival, Portsmouth

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic