Archives for April 2011

I didn't see The Damned during their first incarnation, but for a brief time, they journeyed as The Doomed. It was this line-up that played The Pound in Belfast, around 1979. Dave Vanian on vocals, Captain Sensible on guitar and Rat Scabies on drums. They had lost their songwriter Brian James, but like some of the great rock and roll institutions, they were learning how to compensate, maybe even improve.

The Pound was a famously crummy venue, but they made the most of those cramped conditions. Vanian was swinging from the rafters, a natural behaviour for his vampire persona. The Captain spent most of the gig scrounging ciggies from the punters and I recall that Scabies was an absolute gent afterwards, talking squarely to us all. They played the hits, including 'New Rose', the original punk rock single from 1976 and all we left elated.

BBC Radio Ulster, 92-95 FM

Online: www.bbc.co.uk/radioulster

Blog: https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/stuartbailie/

Mondays, ten - midnight

The Marvelettes - Beechwood 4-5789 (Spectrum)

Smith Westerns - Dance Away (Weird World)

Anthony Toner - East Of Louise (Dozens of Cousins)

Seasick Steve - You Can't Teach An Old Dog (PIAS)

Anthony Toner - All Of The Above (Dozens of Cousins)

Gruff Rhys - Honey All Over (Turnstyle)

Steve Earle - Waitin' On The Sky (New West)

Cashier No 9 - Flick Of The Wrist (Bella Union)

Timber Timbre - Creep On Creepin' On (Full Time Hobby)

Booker T Jones - Representing Memphis (Anti)

Emmylou Harris - Six White Cadillacs (Nonesuch)

The Hot 8 Brass Band - I'll Fly Away (Tru)

Part Two

The Damned - Smash It Up (MCA)

The Decemberists - This Is Why We Fight (Rough Trade)

The Waterboys - Old England (EMI)

Shirley Lee - And Old Cricketer (For John Peel) (Missing)

Steve Earle - This City (New West)

One Sixth Of Tommy - The Pact (Helium)

Josh T Pearson - Woman, When I've Raised Hell (Mute)

Warren Zevon - Werewolves Of London (Warner)

Chris Spedding - Guitar Jamboree (EMI)

J Mascis - Is It It Done (Sub Pop)

Ben Glover - Trick Of The Light (Ben Glover)

Other Lives - For 12 (PIAS)

John Grant - Where Dreams Go To Die (Bella Union)

And So I Watch You From Afar - 7 Billion People All Alive At Once (Richter Collective)

Here's a fascinating picture from Wolsely Street Belfast, taken in 1982 or perhaps 1983. The occasion was a Terri Hooley street party that was neither licensed nor approved by the other residents. But hey, the kids were united and Terri was never one to be bothered by mere bylaws.

A few of the characters were in a band called Doomed Youth, who played on the street later that day. They had been inspired by acts like Southern Death Cult, Specimen and possibly even Alien Sex Fiend. In the jargon of the music press, they were 'positive punk', and when these crimped-up warriors played in venues like the Errigle Inn, they brought along a portable Batcave and a banner that read 'Where No Shadows Fall'.

Zigzag magazine ran a very positive feature on the combo, an achievement that was only slightly tempered when we discovered that the writer, Johnny Skull, was in fact the band's bass player, using a cunning alias. Their other legacy is that the singer, born Thomas Spence, is still known as Tommy Doom to his pals.

A few hours after the shot was taken, the police arrived and broke up the fun. We were outraged, of course. That's me leaning against the hedge with the leather jacket, the hair and a can of something in my hand. Most likely Kestrel Lager or Bavaria. Ever the connoisseur.

The memory of that day had been almost lost, but the image turned up in the archive of Bill Kirk, an amazing street photographer who is on display at the Red Bar Gallery, Rosemary Street, Belfast. I've already raved about his work here and there's only a few days left to catch this lovely collection. Go see.

Anthony is bold enough to write about local place names, a move that might sometimes sound contrived. But it works for Van, it's increasingly easy for Duke Special and on the track 'All Of The Above', Anthony puts the subject of his song in Bedford Street, Belfast, surrounded by the stylish, the superficial and the kind of people who blow kisses into mobile phones. How do you find meaningful emotions in such a place? That's the poser that the songwriter and his love-shy subject are unable to resolve.

BBC Radio Ulster, 92-95 FM

Online: www.bbc.co.uk/radioulster

Blog: https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/stuartbailie/

Mondays, ten - midnight

Elvis Costello - High Fidelity (Demon)

Rufus Thomas - Bear Cat (Sun)

Wake The President - Elaine (Electic Honey)

The Waterboys - The Whole of The Moon (demo) (EMI)

Ben Marwood - Singalong (Xtra Mile)

Lemonheads - Outdoor Type (Atlantic)

Eliza Carthy - A Letter (Hem Hem)

Culture - Behold (Virgin)

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Anne With An E (PIAS)

Robbie Robertson - When The Night Was Young (Fontana)

Anthony Toner - All Of The Above (Dozens of Cousins)

Jason Isbelle - Never Could Believe (Lightning Rod)

Arctic Monkeys- Don't Sit Down (Domino)

Mott The Hoople - All The Way To Memphis (Columbia)

Booker T Jones - Representing Memphis (Anti)

Alex Clare - Too Close (Island)

Paul Kane - Dadstar (white)

Jason Isbelle - Codeine (Lightning Rod)

Anthony Toner - Still Unsigned (Dozens of Cousins)

Robert Randolph - Salvation (Warner)

Rolling Stones - 100 Years Ago (Polydor)

North Mississippi Allstars - Ain't No Grave (Songs of the South)

Noah And The Whale - Old Joy (Mercury)

As previously mentioned, the first record I bought with my own money was 'Roll Away The Stone' by Mott The Hoople. It happened in a little shop on the Woodstock Road and to be honest, I also bought Alvin Stardust and 'Good Love Will Never Die' at the same place, soon after. But hey, don't be telling anyone.

Watching people behind the counters of record shops is like seeing Siberian tigers in the wild. They are rare, but oddly good for the soul. And while a bunch of the old places are now derelict, there was still a chance to celebrate the day with a visit to Terri Hooley's Good Vibes shop on Winetavern Street. He's threatening to close up in the coming weeks, so there was poignancy there. Plus refreshing drinks and some live music. Terri wore his battered persona with grace and he tolerated the cacophony and the needy, strange people.

Head Records in Victoria Square was busy with The Answer, Tom McShane and some others. I liked the rumble and twang of Charles Hurts. Old pals Lyndon Stephens and Joe Lindsay were playing discs in the shop and throughout the day we kept colliding in town and smiling. There was another treat in the form of Magpie Records on Anne Street, above Bang Clothing. Their first day in business and trade was brisk. They were selling old vinyl and cool books, giving floor space to live tunes from The Bonnevilles and Robert Holmes. The black circle is spinning, still.

I know that my car journeys should be soundtracked by new bands with sculpted face-fuzz, arch-ironic names and improbably narrow pants. But y'know, not every day is a TV On The Radio moment. Some times, the old fella just has to get out the Springsteen tunes. Albeit that fairly recent compilation, 'The Promise', with the outtakes of 'Darkness On The Edge of Town'.

I have blethered about this recording before, but just to add that while quite a few of the tracks have been listened to and found wanting, I just adore 'Candy's Boy'. It's the story of a guy who falls for a girl who has other partners from the rich side of town. This is kinda wearisome for the young suitor, but there are moments when the song's narrator and his love just walk out of the script and snatch their happiness. There are interludes in the cheap motel down by the dynamo, which sounds just as exciting as Van Morrison and his brown-eyed girl, down by the stadium. Surely no coincidence.



It's a great, loose piece of music also, as Bruce follows his instincts and calls out the changes to the band, who choogle on with team skill. I can't stop playing it.

BBC Radio Ulster, 92-95 FM

Online: www.bbc.co.uk/radioulster

Blog: https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/stuartbailie/

Mondays, ten - midnight

Jerry Lee Lewis - Breathless (Sun)

Mona - Listen To Your Love (Zion)

Smith Westerns - Weekend (Wild World)

The Answer - Rock And Roll Outlaw (Spinefarm)

Black Crowes - Sting Me (American)

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (Bella Union)

Robert Randolph - Travelling Shoes (Warner)

Colenso Parade - The Truth That Ran Us Down (white)

Drive By Truckers - Dancing Ricky (PIAS)

Nick Lowe - Cracking Up (Radar/ Proper)

Nguuni Lovers Lovers - Beth Kathini (Moshi Moshi)

Bruce Springsteen - Candy's Boy (Columbia)



Mic Christopher - Heyday (Loza)

Robert Randolph - If I Had My Way (Warner)

Villagers - The Pact (Domino)

The Lost Brothers - Goodbye Kid (white)

Emmylou Harris - New Orleans (Nonesuch)

Josh T Pearson - Woman When I've Raised Hell (Mute)

Isobel Anderson - View Out Of Site (white)

Kate Bush - Moments Of Pleasure (EMI)

Drive By Truckers - Everybody Needs Love (PIAS)

Robyn G Shiels - When We Were Brothers (No Dancing)

Feldberg - You and Me (Small Town America)

Emmylou Harris - The Road (Nonesuch)

Austra - Lose It (Domino)

Unlike some of the reportage photographers during that era, there is no Troubles Porn. Nobody gets exploited. The conflict isn't presented as some weirdly sexy thing. And we've seen too much of that before. Rather, Bill goes looking for the quiet insight, the alternative drama. And so we get to see the old fellas in the snug, the kids finding pure fun in the terrace rows, the mods and the punks out parading.

Bill Kirk came from Newtownards and his youth was marked by tuberculosis, which killed his parents and almost finished him off as well. He gave up a desk job for photograpy, and he was faithful to the gentle, humanist style of Cartier Bresson and André Kertész. He worked for the tourist board and massed up so many images that are only now being revealed.

I meet up with Frankie Quinn at the gallery, who is rightfully in awe of the man's legacy. Frankie is helping to catalogue over 16,000 frames and amazing shots are still presenting themselves. There's a shot that Quinn discovered on a old roll, of a little girl, leaping across a wave at Tyrella Beach. It's pure Cartier-Bresson and the poetry of it leaves you stunned. So too with those pictures inside the Klondyke Bar on Sandy Row, a year before an exposion that would take out the building and a barman with it.

Like the American photographer Walker Evans, our guy Bill Kirk was interested in the little details of people's houses, those totems of life and community. I have a well-loved copy of Bill's old book, Images Of Belfast, but these exhibition prints are even more persuasive. Bill is still with us too, cycling into his seventies and working on his digital techniques. Legend.

Bill Kirk: A Retrospective, Red Barn Gallery, 43b Rosemary St, Belfast, BT1, until April 26.

Just as they were laying the body of Ronan Kerr to rest in Beragh, the people of Belfast were gathered at the City Hall to mark the occasion. There were union banners, school blazers and old punks. Some carried photos of the murdered policeman while others were tweeting and re-sending those affirmative images into the aether. What seemed to be a modest turn-out suddenly blossomed around 1pm until you could see many thousands of people far down Royal Avenue, keen to be present.

A friend responded. "You're doing it for yourself, at the end of the day."

He might be correct. You're reassuring your fibres that you're against all that, you're standing with people who feel alike and you're holding onto seconds of silence in response to a brutal conflagration. There will be more to do, some other time.

A busy little radio show this week. Rachel Austin and her producer pal Declan Legge were live in the studio, taking about a recording spree in the old Delorean factory and playing tunes from the 'Age Of Love' EP. Check out that video for 'Baby Doll', which is artfully barmy.

BBC Radio Ulster, 92-95 FM

Online: www.bbc.co.uk/radioulster

Blog: https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/stuartbailie/

Mondays, ten - midnight

Primal Scream - Moving On Up (Creation)

Glasvegas - Euphoria, Take My Hand (Sony)

Ron Sexsmith - Get In Line (Cooking Vinyl)

Rachel Austin - Baby Doll (white)

Rachel Austin - Close (white)

North Mississippi Allstars - This A Way (Songs of the South)

Jackie Wilson - You Better Know It (Ace)

Emmylou Harris, The Low Anthem - To Ohio (Nonesuch)

Josh T Pearson - Country Dumb (Mute)

Buzzcocks - Love You More (UA)

The Dears - Thrones (V2)

King Creosote - Bubble (Double Six)

Small Faces - Hey Girl (Immediate)

North Mississippi Allstars - Stuck Inside Of Mobile... (Songs of the South)

Emmylou Harris - Hard Bargain (Nonesuch)

Ron Sexsmith - The Reason Why (Cooking Vinyl)

Ben Glover - I Am With You (Ben Glover)

Ben Glover - You Are The Same At The Tide (Ben Glover)

Laura Cantrell - Kitty Wells Dresses (Spit And Polish)

The Carter Family - No Depression In Heaven (Proper)

Josh T Pearson - Thou Art Loosed (Mute)

Agnes Obel - Riverside (PIAS)

Glasvegas - Whatever Hurts You Through The Night (Sony)

Devotchka - The Common Good (Anti)

A Plastic Rose - Two Steps (Di Di Mau)

Alan McGee, former boss of Creation records, was in town for the showing of the Upside Down film. Part of the Belfast Film Festival, it tells the story of a dynamic record label (Oasis, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Teenage Fan Club, Jesus And Marty Chain) and the characters that made it. I first met Alan 25 years ago, and he has always measured to the challenge of living an interesting life.

Upside Down is a narrative that I mostly lived through but it still amazes. The early years are possibly the best, as he assails the music industry with the richest ideas, unswerving front and a profound appreciation of underground culture. In time, he creates a different kind of mainstream and then has to exit the label when the finance guys are spoiling the ride. But the trajectory involves many classic records, some ferocious parties and a burning example of how far your wits and your audacity can take you.

I spent a short while with the guy before the screening and was reassured to see that he is still vivid and curious and contrary. He's a music man in the old-fashioned sense, a quality that's in there for the duration. Good enough for me and Alan McGee.

Michael Longley is often good value for a laugh but at the launch of his new collection, A Hundred Doors, the tone is downbeat, almost valedictory. The Great Hall at Queens lends the occasion some extra ceremony while the man reads those lovely poems to his grandchildren, the best gift that a soul might ask for. Of these, 'The Sixth Swan' is a precious note to Maisie, the latecomer. The words seem purely of the moment but are also loaded with an appreciation of time and its hasty parade.

The new collection is dedicated to Frank Ormsby, poet, editor and sometime English teacher of mine. He sits at the back of the hall with Ciaran Carson and some other heavyweights. I have intense memories of his classes, when he ditched the curriculum and read us stuff that thrilled his heart. It has never left me, although when I met him again a few years ago, Frank could not remember myself as a pupil...

Oh well. His fortnightly pints with Longley in the Crown bar are now part of the dedication. A lyrical hint of afternoons in the umbrage of a wooden snug, lit by stained glass, a rare kind of confession.