A compilation to celebrate the release of the brand-new book – To Ease My Troubled Mind: The Authorised Unauthorised History of Billy Childish written by Ted Kessler. When the idea for the book was mooted Billy wanted to put a succinct double album compilation together to summarise his 47 years of making music. This is the result.

My name is William Ivy Loveday, aka Steve Hamper, aka Guy Hamper, aka Jack Ketch, aka Billy Childish. I was born on the Medway, Kent, where I still live. I left school in 1976 when I was 16. Because I have no qualifications I was turned down by art school so went to work in Chatham dockyard as an apprentice stonemason. I later managed to get onto a painting course at St. Martin’s School of Art on the basis of my paintings. Me, Bruce, big Russ, and little Russ formed The Pop Rivets in 1977 and made our first recordings. Our inspiration was punk rock, TV21 and The Swinging Blue Jeans. I learned to play guitar then in 1979 I worked for four weeks at Oakwood Mental Hospital as a ward porter, then me, Mick and Bertie formed The Milkshakes. Our inspiration was Link Wray, the Beatles Live at the Star Club LP, the track ‘Gotta Get the First Plane Home’ by The Kinks and our hatred of new romanticism. Then I was expelled from St. Martin’s School of Art for writing what was described as “the worst type of toilet wall humour.” I beat my father up on his release from prison for drug smuggling. We never paid ourselves in The Milkshakes and put all the money back into making our own records. I kept the money in a bank account under the name of Kurt Schwitters. I lived on the dole for 12 years. In 1985 we formed Thee Mighty Caesars. Our inspiration was Bo Diddley and The Troggs. I became a member of Greenpeace. In 1989 me and Bruce formed Thee Headcoats. Our inspiration being Son House and Downliners Sect. In 1999 me, Wolf and Johnny Barker formed The Buff Medways. Our inspiration was Jimi Hendrix in Beatle boots and The Who before Roger Daltry started wearing his nan’s curtains. Around 2008 me and Julie formed The Musicians of the British Empire. That morphed into CTMF. That blurred into The Chatham Singers. Our inspiration was based on us. Next up it was time for me and Neil to form The Spartan Dreggs, inspired by Homer and A. E. Housman. Other groups arose and fell - making sure no one knew who we were or why. In 2019 The William Loveday Intention emerged - the inspiration being Hollis Brown and the Mississippi Sheiks. Guy Hamper showed up once again, joined by Jamie on Hammond. Some of these group remain; many have departed for distant shores with sharp hidden rocks.Mainly I paint and write poetry and novels. Along with the music I play nothing I do has ever been particularly fashionable but that is rather the point. Even in 1977 we enjoyed saying no. Then, when punk turned into new romanticism, we descended backwards into early rock ‘n’ roll and the blues. In The Milkshakes we were told that we released too many LPs and were committing commercial suicide, so we released four different LPs on one day.Every now and then someone famous comes along and a small crumb rolls across the table and splashes into our tepid soup. Other times nobodies emulate us and prove to be only better. I love pop, but not pop stars. I am only interested in sound and colour and being small scale. I don’t hide behind volume and off stage mixing. I don’t need to play a show because I prefer to sit and have a cup of tea. My work belongs low, close to the ground, to instinct and the elemental. I believe in homemade music, homemade art and homemade cooking. I want to bring back the tram and the horse. Music has been a rewarding hobby over the years. I have met and worked with many good friends, and God saved me from fame.

TRACK LISTING

Thee Mighty Caesars – You Make Me Die
The Buff Medways – Archive From 1959
The Milkshakes – For She
The William Loveday Intention – You Gotta Move
Thee Headcoats – Fingers In The Sun
The Spartan Dreggs – Headlong Fly The Achaens
Thee Headcoats – Punk Rock Ist Nicht Tot
CTMF – Last Punk Standing
CTMF – Bob Dylan’s Got A Lot To Answer For
The Buff Medways – Troubled Mind
Billy Childish And The Singing Loins – I Don’t Like The Man I Am
Billy Childish And Holly Golightly – Upside Mine
The Guy Hamper Trio Feat. James Taylor – Moon Of The Popping Trees
CTMF – All Our Forts Are With You
The Musicians Of The British Empire – Christmas 1979
The Delmonas – I Feel Like Giving In (French)
The Musicians Of The British Empire – Thatcher’s Children
Thee Mighty Caesars – Lie Detector
The Pop Rivets – Fun In The UK
Thee Headcoatees – Hurt Me
CTMF – A Song For Kylie Minogue
The Shall I Say Quois Feat. CTMF – It’s So Hard To Be Happy
Jack Ketch And The Crowmen – Brimful Of Hate
CTMF – Failure Not Success (ALT)
Thee Headcoats – Davey Crockett
The Musicians Of The British Empire – Joe Strummer’s Grave
The Buff Medways – Medway Wheelers
CTMF – You Can’t Capture Time (Slight Return)
The Spartan Dreggs – A Shropshire Lad
The William Loveday Intention – Sex And Flies
Thee Headcoats – The Same Tree
Thee Mighty Caesars – Cowboys Are Square
Billy Childish And The Singing Loins – Song Of The Medway

Two brand new tracks by The Courettes on GOLD coloured vinyl! A-side will also feature on the band’s next album! B-side exclusive to this release! The grooviest Courettes’ tune to date! Try to listen to ‘Shake!’ without rocking your hips! An invitation - or better, an intimation - to put out your pointy shoes, let it loose and make your best sleazy moves! Killer fuzz riffs, Motown beats, hints of soul and young Tina Turner vibes are all in there, showcasing a bit of the recipe of The Courettes’ next album due out in September 2024 on Damaged Goods Records. 

TRACK LISTING

1.Shake!
2. You Woo Me

Originally released to coincide with The Courettes’ first US tour, we’re very pleased to announce a second pressing of this special compilation album. It’s now on PURPLE vinyl and is limited to 1000 copies only! Boom! Dynamite includes singles, deep cuts from their studio albums, with B-sides and rarities thrown in for good measure! The Courettes are two souls in love with each other and in love with rock ‘n’ roll. They’ve been touring nonstop throughout Europe since 2015, bringing their “perfect blend of garage rock, ‘60s Girl Group, Wall of Sound, surf music and doo wop” to the delight of any audience even remotely interested in rock ‘n’ roll. Expect excitement, danger, sweat, explosive performances, and most importantly, GREAT tunes! The “hardest working band in showbiz” now venture further away - After visiting the Land of the Rising Sun in 2022, The Courettes are thrilled to tour the USA for the first time in 2023. Described as “The Ronettes meet The Ramones at a wild party at Gold Star Studios echo chamber”, The Courettes have released four fantastic albums on the legendary label Damaged Goods Records, each one praised by magazines such as MOJO and Shindig!, most notably the Back In Mono album in 2021, a true milestone in their career.

This new compilation, Boom! Dynamite, released exclusively for the US market, guides you through their albums from the very beginning, from the early raw power garage rock onto their present Spector/Levine Wall of Sound Gold Star sound, made using complex recording techniques at StarrSound Studios in Denmark with top producer Søren Christensen and mixing genius Seiki Sato from Japan. From Here Are The Courettes, their debut album from 2015, you´ll find ‘I’ve Been Walking’, ‘Push it Too Hard’ (a duet with Kim Kix of Powersolo), both raw and rocking, along with a 2021 re-recording of ‘The Boy I Love’, which heads deep down the ‘60s Girl Group alley.

On We Are The Courettes, their second album, the duo began using overdubs in the studio. You can hear Flavia singing harmonies and playing piano and organ on the swinging tracks ‘Time is Ticking’ and ‘Strawberry Boy’. The album also contained the garage nerve of ‘Hoodoo Hop’ and ‘Voodoo Doll’, featuring legendary Brazilian Horror icon Coffin Joe on spells. The brilliant Back in Mono album found The Courettes on top songwriting form and was made using the Wall of Sound technique of their own StarrSound Studios.

Back In Mono is represented on the compilation by ‘Hop The Twig’, ‘Want You! Like a Cigarette’, ‘Night Time (The Boy of Mine)’, ‘R.I.N.G.O’ and ‘Misfits & Freaks’. ‘Only Happy When You’re Gone’ is a hidden gem from Back in Mono (B-Sides & Outtakes), and the fantastic single ‘Christmas (I Can Hardly Wait)’ is for the first time included on an album by The Courettes. Featuring Brazilian Flavia Couri on guitars and vocals, and Danish Martin Couri on drums, The Courettes were born international. For them there are no nations or borders. Their mission is to connect, cherish, and inspire rock ´n´ roll souls around the world, including now, in the USA. The Courettes are pure dynamite! Turn up the volume and fuzz out! BOOM! 

TRACK LISTING

Boom! Dynamite
Hop The Twig
Want You! Like A Cigarette
Christmas (i Can Hardly Wait)
Time Is Ticking
I’ve Been Walking
Only Happy When You’re Gone
The Boy I Love
Night Time (the Boy Of Mine)
R.i.n.g.o.
Misfits & Freaks
Strawberry Boy
Push It Too Hard
Voodoo Doll

Reissue of classic album originally released by Sub Pop Records in 1990! Now with new artwork + two extra tracks (‘Girl From ’62’ was originally released as the A-side of a single on Regal Select Records, USA 1991 / ‘Troubled Times’ – was the B-side of a single on Dog Meat Records, Australia 1990). 

Q&A with Billy Childish (September 2023)

What’s the story behind the album title?

“Heavens to Murgatroyd, even!” is a term of surprise by Snagglepuss, a bright pink lion, who starred in his very own Hanna-Barbera cartoon. The term was famously employed by The Downliners Sect on the intro to their top tune ‘Leader of The Sect’.

This album originally came out on Sub Pop Records in 1990. The label was known for US grunge at the time, how come they ended up working with a Medway garage ‘n’ racket group?

We prefer the term “Maximum Drums and Racket”. It all came about because a young Steve Turner, of Mudhoney fame, when a young lad visiting England with his father, happened across Thee Mighty Caesars playing at The Cricketers Public House at the Oval. Fast forward five years and he is telling the Seattle Grunge mob all about how great we are. We were then invited to play with Mudhoney on their first Sub Pop jaunt in the UK. Bruce Pavitt, the Sub Pop visionary, saw our mass appeal and asked if we'd knock out an LP for Sub Pop. He also asked me to sign a contract. I replied - “what’s a contract, can you eat it?” By this good chance we still owned the LP.

You recorded the album at Red Studios in Wouldham, near Rochester in Kent. What are your memories of recording there?

It was all fine and dandy, I won’t go into details as I don’t want to embarrass Red Rodders, the engineer. Let’s just say there was a lot of marsh gas down Wouldham way.

Some of the tracks were recorded with Ollie Dolot (The Squares) on bass and backing vocals. How long was he in the band and why did he end up leaving?

Ollie was in for a good few months. Ron (Bruce) roped him in. Then whilst helping out The Cramps with their show at the Town and Country Club (formerly the home of British Fascism) we ran into Tub and knowing him from when he was guitarist with Mike Spenser and The Cannibals we asked if he'd like to twang the onion twine. Ron then told Ollie he was out the band sunshine and that it was me who had thrown him out. Which was not the case, it was Ron. I also think Ollie may have been absent due to being nicked for house breaking, or something. Strange but true.

This new edition is expanded with two non-album tracks and has brand new artwork. What made you want to release it with a different cover?

Sub Pop did the cover without asking - a bit of a shocker! This cover is near to what we would have done ourselves. The two extra tracks would have been on the original LP, but they got swiped as 45s by small labels desperate to get a bit of gold.

Are there any songs on the album that you’re particularly proud of?

They are all pretty top notch but ‘We're Gone’ and ‘Rusty Hook’ sit nicely with ‘Troubled Mind’ and ‘Girl From ‘62’.

Along with the 13 Childish-penned tracks is a cover of ‘Stewball’, a song made famous by Leadbelly and later covered by several artists in the 1960s. What made you want to record your own version?

I just love Leadbelly. I believe we even brought him to the mind of that young fellow-me-lad Kurt Cobain.

TRACK LISTING

Thee Headcoats - Troubled Times
Thee Headcoats - Mantrap
Thee Headcoats - No Way Out
Thee Headcoats - Reindeer Are Wild
Thee Headcoats - Hand To Hand
Thee Headcoats - Headcoat Man
Thee Headcoats - Girl Of Matches
Thee Headcoats - Girl From '62
Thee Headcoats - I Don't Like The Man I Am
Thee Headcoats - Pocahontas Was Her Name
Thee Headcoats - We're Gone
Thee Headcoats - Stewball
Thee Headcoats - I Ain't About To Give You My Name
Thee Headcoats - Rusty Hook

25th Anniversary issue with 5 BONUS TRACKS!
KRYA from The Headcoatees with backing by Thee Headcoats! This is one of our favourite albums of the 90’s and we’re over the moon to finally have it out on Damaged Goods, it was originally released on Vinyl Japan (ASKLP71) in 1998. This new expanded version with FIVE bonus tracks including her 7” with the legendary ‘Armitage Shanks’ is also available on coloured vinyl for the first time, peach in fact! Kyra Rubella was best known as a member of Thee Headcoatees and was also in The A-Lines and The Shall-I-Say-Quois.

ORIGINAL LP SLEEVENOTES – Kyra (that’s pronounced ‘Keera’) is a Flemish girl who sings punk rock and Chansons with heart and abandon. She first came to our attention as one of Thee famed Headcoatees. The energy and power of her performance convinced us that she should make an album of her own. How about it, Kyra? “YES! YES! YES!” she screamed, jumping up and down. So, recorded live and in a style that would make lesser hearts tremble, here she is, (she always is).

TRACK LISTING

Agitated
Anna K.
It’s A Stick-up
Here I Am, I Always Am
Naked
Louise
Marieke
Ego Maniac
Do Things Right
Organic Footprints
Today Is The Night
Laughing Song
Doodlebug *bonus Track*
Punk Rock Ist Nicht Tot *bonus Track*
Love In A Void *bonus Track*
Orgasm Addict *bonus Track*
Die Wonderlijke Dag (this Wond’rous Day) *bonus Track*

Long Awaited Fourth Long Player By Leeds Punk Band Cyanide Pills! We catch up with lead singer Phil to discuss where the band is at man… What inspired you to make this concept album, time was right? I had to look up what a concept album was, it means an album where the songs all relate to each other? It must have been an accident due to memory loss, “Phil, haven’t we already done a song about war?” “Phil, haven’t we already done a song about corruption?” We live in dark times, the stupid ones are in charge, the evil ones are at the controls. It’s hard to write songs about kittens and flowers at the moment. It’s been six years since your last album, why so long? It’s taken a while! At first due to laziness, everyday life gets in the way, we have to pay the rent and eat so tyres have to be changed, holes have to be dug, floors have to be swept, then there was a pandemic! but it’s mostly laziness, we are lazy cunts. The album was produced by Carl Rosamond at the Billiard Room in Leeds. What’s it like working with him? Everything we have ever recorded is with Mr Rosamond, he’s the extra member of the band. Who needs George Martin or Phil Spector when you have the ‘razor blade’ Rosamond living down the street. Love the cover art for the new album. Who’s the talented artist? The cover was drawn by ‘The head honcho’ ‘Numero uno’ ‘The big cheese’ ‘Our glorious leader’ ‘Das Kapitan’ ‘The chosen one’ ‘The golden goose’ ‘The idiot Savant’ ‘The one that walks among us’ otherwise known as Phil Privilege, he didn’t credit himself as he is very humble and shy. ‘Low Budget Rock ‘n’ Roll’ – Love it! If you were making a mixtape of low budget rock ‘n’ roll, which bands would be on it? Low budget rock n roll, the mix tape would include anyone who hasn’t got a pot to piss in but knows three chords and just wants to play rock n roll, you know who you are. How do you think the government are doing, happy with the Tories still? The government are doing a marvellous job! Encouraging us all to return to old traditions like starvation, destitution, hopelessness, and despair. Let’s hope the guillotine makes a resurgence too. You finally managed to make it into Europe for your Covid-postponed gigs. What were the best and worse things to happen on the tour? Touring will always be fun, a bit more bureaucracy and self-inflicted bullshit to deal with but it’s soon forgotten when we get to play for our punk brothers and sisters in Europe. You’ve been playing live without Alex, is he still in the band? Yes, we are playing without our Mr Arson, like we mentioned earlier, life gets in the way of fun sometimes, they have to work and pay the rent in Norway too. We decided to play as four-piece for the time being, we want to play live no matter what! It was a difficult decision at first but when we noticed how much more room there was in the van…..Yours sincerely Cyanide Pills.

Monkey is the second single by The Rellies since releasing 'Isabella is Annoying/ Brainwaves' in 2020. Ryan, guitarist and dual singer and songwriter for the band describes the making of ‘Monkey’ during lockdown with his brother Riley. “During covid we got very bored. Originally, we wanted to get our Monkeys and run them over with our dad’s car, but we settled for filming them falling down the stairs and writing a song about it. When the other members of band finally heard the song, they liked the Monkey and then we made a clip with our friends and some TV monkeys. Everyone sang ‘I like the Monkey’ and soon everyone liked the Monkey!” Helicopter is Ryan’s sonic representation of “hunks of steel flying through the sky. I’m an aviation nerd.” He doesn’t disappoint. Helicopter’s opening riff is catchy and travels. Ryan’s vocal powers through the song and the background vocals from kid brother Riley kicks it up a notch as he improvises his way through the chorus begging for a ride. The Rellies ages range from 13-16 and developed at Kings Cross Conservatorium. The brothers began writing and recording at age 9 and 11 respectively and doing shows as The Rellies in 2018 with Jarlath Kiernan on drums. In 2021, the band replaced guitarist Aiden Burke with Lachlan Knight when Aiden decided rehearsal was too loud. Ryan: “We love the Beatles but lately we’ve got more of a punk energy in our songs. Also, Riley likes a lot of different stuff like Tyler the Creator… his lyrics are inspiring us to be creative with humour.” All songs music and lyrics by Riley and Ryan Francis. Drums Jarlath Kiernan Guitar & Vocals Ryan Francis Bass & Vocals Riley Francis Produced by Stephanie Bourke. Engineered, Mixed & Mastered by Owen Penglis.

TRACK LISTING

1. Monkey
2. Helicopter

The 3rd of April 2022 was a very sad day in the world of punk, fashion and beyond. An icon had departed far too soon, but she will never be forgotten due to her legacy. The name ‘Jordan Mooney’ was the stuff of legend! She’d “been there, seen it, done it”, in a whole host of differing fields, from ballet dancing; to seeing Ziggy performing live and meeting the great man; from being and looking punk before it ever existed; from witnessing the formation of the Sex Pistols right before her eyes along with Malcolm and Vivienne; from acting in forward-thinking films; from sharing banter with Andy Warhol; to managing Adam & The Ants and briefly marrying one of them; and from the later career veterinary nursing. Jordan achieved many things in her meagre 66 years, but whatever she put her hand to, she did it to her very best ability. Jordan was true to herself as well as others and was totally trusted by those that had the pleasure of knowing and meeting her. On Sunday 29th May 2022, hundreds of souls gathered in Brighton at ‘The Official Jordan Mooney Charity Memorial Concert’ to celebrate the life of this truly remarkable woman. Some had travelled across the planet from Japan, Germany and elsewhere, solely to attend the special day of celebration. On that day, old friends and new friends were gathered under the one roof as the perfect send-off. Jordan had known Captain “cheers me dears!” Sensible for around five decades and during the last few sacred months of her life, she had a Johnny Moped song as an earworm in her head that she and I would joyfully sing to each other: “Darling, let's have another baby; Let's make one soon on our second honeymoon…”.It made perfect sense that Captain Sensible would once again ride again with his old mates, Johnny Moped, in memory of Jordan. Some of the event was recorded and so ladies and gentlemen we proudly bring you this charity record release! Enjoy x (Jordan’s partner - Nick Linazasoro).

TRACK LISTING

1. Hard Lovin’ Man (Live)
2. Something Else (Live)

A compilation to celebrate 30 years of Helen Love! Featuring the best singles, album tracks, rarities, and fan favourites!

“Almost all the songs on here were recorded on an 8-track second-hand tape machine. We recorded everything ourselves, we mixed them ourselves in the attic, we made all our sleeves on the back of cornflake boxes, Pritt-sticked, cut-outs from The Face and Nintendo magazine covers and a sheet of Letraset. We couldn't play, we used auto accompaniment pre-sets off old Casio keyboards, and an old Woolworth electric guitar. There was only going to be one single. No plan... we still haven't got a plan… we are still here though 30 years later. Punk Rock forever! Xxx” HELEN LOVE 2022

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A stunning collection of the life and times of Helen Love. Featuring 33 of their most well beloved punk smashers from 30 years in the business, INCLUDING the version of Punk Boy featuring none other than Joey Ramone. Essential collection.

TRACK LISTING

1. Yeah Yeah We’re Helen Love
2. Punk Boy 1
3. Beat Him Up
4. King Of Kung Fu
5. Girl About Town
6. Sunburst Super Kay
7. So In Love With You
8. Leader Of The Pack
9. Long Live The UK Music Scene
10. So Hot
11. Ahead Of The Race
12. Joey Ramoney
13. Jump Up And Down
14. Shifty Disco Girl
15. Atomic Beat Boy
16. Let’s Go
17. We Love You
18. Put Your Foot On The Fuzzbox Baby
19. Bubblegum
20. Rockaway Beach For Me, Heartbreak Hotel For You
21. Great In Formula One
22. Long Hot Summer
23. Happyhardcore
24. MC5
25. Does Your Heart Go Boom?
26. Love, Kiss, Run, Sing, Shout, Jump!
27. Debbie Loves Joey
28. Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight)
29. Diet Coke Girl
30. Wig Wam Bam
31. Punk Boy (Feat. Joey Ramone)
32. Golden Summer
33. Summer Pop Radio

Superb 45 featuring two Hammond-led instrumentals. The A-side is taken from The Guy Hamper Trio’s second long player due out on Hangman Records. The B-side is exclusive to this release. ‘Man in the Mouth of a Cave’ I have painted St. Cuthbert’s Cave, Northumberland on many occasions and decided that it was imperative that I write a great jazz /beat theme all about it. (Important info: After Viking raids monks from Lindisfarne wandered the north-east carrying the body of St. Cuthbert. Legend has it that they took refuge in ‘St. Cuthbert’s Cave.’) I wrote the song with my friend Jamie Taylor in mind to have his way with it, which he does to thunderous applause - I should imagine. ‘107 Sleepless’ ‘107 Sleepless’ is a tune I wrote in the early 1980s when me and Mick Hampshire would stay up the entire weekend writing songs for our group The Milkshakes. (We lived at 107 Rochester Street, Chatham.) About 3am Sunday morning we would be flagging and sitting there senseless. I would play this jazz riff over and over for some unknown reason. Meanwhile it should make a nice theme tune to some yet to be written HBO series and make me a millionaire - I should imagine. GUY HAMPER – APRIL 2023

TRACK LISTING

1. Man In The Mouth Of A Cave
2. 107 Sleepless (Alt. Version)

Three brilliant albums by the Buff Medways, neatly contained in one box, complete with booklet! The albums are Steady The Buffs, 1914, and Medway Wheelers. Buffs leader Billy Childish kindly answered a few questions about the band… The Buff Medways were formed quickly after Thee Headcoats split. The group split after ‘The Last of The Buff Medways’ 7” on Damaged Goods, with Billy Childish forming the Musicians of The British Empire soon after. How do you feel about the group looking back? Do you ever listen to the Buffs LPs? “I listen to some tracks if I have to learn them (I don’t know any of my songs and can’t remember words or how to play them, even live). I like the group a lot.” Were The Buff Medways the greatest group ever to be named after a breed of chicken? According to all accounts indeed they were. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A lovely little collection of three releases from Wild Billy Childish and The Buff Medways. Two of the LP's here were originally released on Graham Coxon's Transcopic label and have been unavailable for some time. A timely and welcome box set.

TRACK LISTING

STEADY THE BUFFS

Troubled Mind
Dawn Said
A Strange Kind Of Happyness
Archive From 1959
Time’s Up
Sally Sensation
Vanessa Does Favours
Strood Lights
Misty Water
Well Well
You Piss Me Off
Ivor

1914

Unable To See The Good
All My Feelings Denied
Sonya Fagg
Evidence Against Myself
The Least Disappointing Man
Just 15
Nurse Julie
Saucy Jack
Mons Quiff (instrumental)
Barbara Wire
You Are All Phonies
Caroline

MEDWAY WHEELERS 

The Man I Am
A Distant Figure Of Jon
Karen With A C
22 Weeks
Dustbin Mod (instrumental)
Medway Wheelers
(i’m A) Lie Detector
Private View
The Poet’s Dream
You’re Out The Band Sunshine
Poundland Poets
I’m Glad I’m Not Like David Wise

Featuring Captain Sensible and Paul Gray from The Damned, with Johnny Moped drummer Marty Love! Who, what and why are The Sensible Gray Cells? Captain:- Paul Gray and myself being garage psych aficionados would prefer to hear more of this kind of music and this is our contribution to the cause. If I said that some of the songs were 'Damned rejects' that shouldn't be seen as an indication of inferior songwriting.. more that they're not wearing the right shirt. A Postcard From Britain came out in 2013. What have you been up to since then? Captain:- I've never been a prolific writer.. being a lazy so and so I think it's best to wait for inspiration to call.. which explains the 7 year gap..(how many albums could the Beatles have crammed in that period!) but in the meantime PG rejoined the Damned and we've gigged about a bit, which is always fun A Postcard From Britain was a snapshot of modern life. Does the new album cover similar themes or have you taken a new direction? Captain:- It's sad that high streets around the world have been destroyed by online shopping but nobody's forcing people to do it.. but what can you do. These are very strange times were living though - I just count myself lucky to have been around to witness the 2nd half of the 20th century.. a fab time for music, culture, ideas.. and that without even mentioning Benny Hill and On The Buses. The new album coincides with all this virus malarkey.. which, unpleasant as it is will undoubtedly be used by the powers that be to tighten the screws on us little people on behalf of their billionaire paymasters. Blah blah, etc. There's a bit of that hidden away in the album. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Sell Her Spark
2. Get Back Into The World
3. Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn Ya
4. Black Spider Memo Man
5. Stupid Dictators
6. So Long
7. A Little Prick
8. DJ With Half A Brain
9. Jam Tomorrow **CD Only Extra Track
10. What’s The Point Of Andrew?
11. Fine Weather Friend
12. I Married A Monster
13. You And Me
14. Another World **CD Only Extra Track

The undisputed kings of garage rock are back! It’s been 22 years since the last Headcoats album, but now Billy, Bruce, and Johnny return with a brand-new studio album! Recorded last year at Ranscombe Studios in Rochester. Billy, Bruce, and Johnny kindly answered some pertinent questions…You got back together recently as Thee Headcoats Sect to make the ‘Tribute to Don Craine’ EP.

What was it like working with each other again after all this time? BILLY: It was 'fab' and 'gear.' BRUCE: The weirdest thing for me was how weird it wasn't. It was like time compressed, but to the 'good old days', early on. I was wary that it 'wouldn't be like Thee Headcoats', but it was. JOHNNY: I'm with Bruce and Billy on that one. I think we were all surprised how it all just worked. If I remember correctly, we kicked off role playing like we detested each other. Then we got started and well, you can hear the result. What were the first songs you ran through when you got in the studio? BILLY: That’s a very good question. No idea. BRUCE: I can't remember. They all sound the same to me. JOHNNY: Bill had stuff on his phone that went “KSSHHCCCKSSHHHH”! So, we did that first. You’ve also paid tribute to Don with a track on the Irregularis album – ‘Oh Leader We Do Dig Thee’. He was, along with the other members of Downliners Sect, a big inspiration to Thee Headcoats. When did you first become aware of his music and what was he like to work with? BRUCE: We were given (or possibly lent) a reissue of the Sect's first LP around 1977, marketed as 'Punk From The Vaults', which certainly floated our boats and definitely popped our corks, due to the somewhat aggressive yet carefree nature of the tunes and sound in general. Ollie, our old bassist, found an ad in a trade magazine for them with a contact number for a Michael O'Donnell, which I excitedly called almost immediately. T'was none other than Don his'self and we managed to convince him into venturing down to Rochester to record some tunes with us which became the first Headcoat Sect EP. We were fairly starstruck and presented him with a brand new 'dearstalker' (or 'Headcoat', as they were now known). He was very accommodating and a great laugh and spent the evening with us, regaling us with tales of yore. I recorded a lot of it on cassette, which I may still have somewhere. Gawd bless Don.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Baker Street Irregulars
2. Full Time Plagiarist
3. The Ballad Of Malcolm Laphroaig
4. Cops And Robbers
5. Mr H Headcoat
6. Thee Headcoatitude
7. Tubs Help Out
8. The Leader Of The Sect
9. Oh Leader We Do Dig Thee
10. One Ugly Child
11. 7% Solution
12. The Kids Are All Square

New studio album by Billy and CTMF! Featuring Billy at his song writing best! Includes covers of Richard Hell and Jimi Hendrix songs, along with a newly recorded version of ‘Bob Dylan’s Got a Lot to Answer For’! We asked Billy a few questions about this mighty fine album… Great album title! It will seem counter-intuitive to some but why do you favour failure over success? If the Pop Rivets (the first group I was in in 1977) had been “successful” in the formal sense, then it would have been a disaster - no learning about sound, growth, and independence. Luckily, we considered ourselves successful from the outset by doing what we wanted the way we wanted. We believed the hype of punk rock – do-it-yourself and lived it, unlike the “successful” leaders of the movement. I’ve always wanted small gigs where your open and exposed. The same with recording - excitement, mistakes, humour, and hopefully joy. The reason to become “successful” is to cut yourself from your origin and roots. In short, we'll decide what success is, not a critic, the world, or public opinion.

The album opens with a cracking cover of Richard Hell’s ‘Love Comes in Spurts’. You’ve previously recorded this with Thee Headcoats on Brother Is Dead… But Fly Is Gone! from 1998. What made you want to revisit the song? Has Richard heard it? If so, what did he think? I forgot that we did it with Thee Headcoats. If I had that LP, I’d give it a listen. I do remember covering it live with The Pop Rivets in 1978. Richard said he liked it a lot and told his girlfriend he only wants my tunes at his funeral. I said, “not too soon I hope." He assured me he's well. We’re digging the instrumental track ‘Walk of the Sasquatch’. Is this track in honour of the North Kent Sasquatch Research Group? What do you know about that mysterious organization? The track is more about the pacific Northwest cousin of the English version (the Woodwose). The North Kent Sasquatch program has gone a little quite of late, but I believe they are still trying to get Cobham Woods - nearby across the river - to be designated as a reserve, though of course this poses some danger to the public during the spring breeding season. The album closes with a version of previous single ‘Bob Dylan’s Got a Lot to Answer For’. What would you say is the biggest thing Bob has to answer for? And what do you most admire him for? It’s a different take from than the 45 version. The single was recorded in full lockdown. What has Bob got to answer for? I guess a lot and nothing. It’s not his fault he is famous, it is the fans and enablers that should be strung up for turning poor little pop stars into demi-gods. He seems to be one of the few in the mainstream music industry, who has remained in charge of his own recordings, sounds, and writing. Besides writing a few very good songs, I also liked his pronouncement: “I made bad records on purpose.” Now that’s a great line - so maybe he deserves his Nobel prize after all. You have a couple of CTMF shows coming up at the Lexington in London in February. Given you have such a great hat collection, have you decided what stage gear you’ll be wearing yet? Billy’s “fashion box” will have to be investigated. I first got “into” fashion in thee Headcoats days. Thee Headcoatees started attracting members of the gay community to our gigs, that’s when I saw an opportunity to “go for the pink pound.” There was much excitement in the dressing room, pre-show, especially from Holly, to see “what fashion Billy might have in his bag this week.” Hats are of course top of all fashion requirements, and I’ll give my best thought and attention on the day.

TRACK LISTING

1. Love Comes In Spurts
2. Failure Not Success
3. Beneath The Flowers Serpents
4. Walk Of The Sasquatch
5. Hanging By A Tenuous Thread
6. Fire
7. The Old Long Bar
8. Come Into My Life
9. Skinwalker
10. Becoming Unbecoming Me
11. Moon Of The Popping Trees
12. Bob Dylan’s Got A Lot To Answer For

Thee Headcoats and CTMF go head-to-head! Two Billy Childish bands battle it out with versions of the same song! Thee Headcoats version is taken from their forthcoming new studio album Irregularis: The Great Hiatus. The CTMF version is exclusive to this release. Two versions of the same song by different bands. Has each band heard the other version? If so, did they pass judgement? No, neither group heard the other version. I had forgotten how the CTMF version went - even though it was only a few weeks past. As with all the LPs there’s no rehearsal. I play the track - we do a run through and then press record. I don’t remember how either version goes now. There’s a famous saying – “Talent borrows; genius steals”. Are you a borrower? A stealer? Or something else entirely? As I’ve said before, I follow strict music industry guidelines and only plagiarise 50 percent of my material. Kurt Cobain put it better - he said people thought he was original because he didn’t let on what he was ripping off. Though we know he got the riff to his most famous song from The Daggermen, a local group Wolf (our drummer) played in. What was it like recording with Bruce and Johnny after such a long time? We met up in the studio in the morning, had a cuppa, a chat, plugged in and recorded the LP (in two days.) It was the first time we'd all been together in about 30 years, and it felt like yesterday - just laughing and joking about how rubbish we were and generally having fun. It was like no time had passed at all. Love the sleeve picture for this 7”! A lot of people miss the humour in your work, does that frustrate you? I’m not frustrated but surprised that the British seem to have lost their sense of humour somewhat - they’ve been pretty po-faced since 1978, I think. I was brought up on Pete and Dud when I was a kid. Interestingly a lot of comedians seem to like what we do. Stewart Lee has always been a fan and he said there are others of his ilk. If something can’t be mocked or laughed at, I’m not that interested in it

For fans of - Booker T & The MGs, James Taylor Quartet, Georgie Fame, Big Boss Man.

Groovy Hammond garage rock instrumentals from Billy Childish (Thee Headcoats/CTMF etc) and featuring James Taylor (Prisoners/JTQ) We’re loving this new album by The Guy Hamper Trio! Who’s in the band sunshine? Mainly myself on guitar, Julie on bass, Wolf on drums, and of course Jamie on Hammond. A great bonus is Thee Headcoats with Bruce and Tub guest as rhythm section on a track or two.

You and James Taylor go back a long way. Do you remember how you first met? The Prisoners were a young group who played with us (the Milkshakes) in the early 1980s. One day they turned up with an organ player, Jamie. Jamie used to then borrow my Selmer guitar amp to play through. You’ve revisited a few old classics on this album, and given them a true makeover.

How would you describe The Guy Hamper Trio’s sound? I guess there must be a derogatory term for it but I might need some help finding it. In the very early days of The James Taylor Quartet (Wolf was their drummer back then), I was in the Natural Born Lovers (A blues group with Big Russ and Sexton Ming). We used to be the support for them. I really liked their sound and I guess The Guy Hamper Trio is not a million miles from that blues-influenced, film soundtrack vibe, man. There you made me say “man”. Next thing you know I will be saying “cool!” Let’s just say it's a wizard sound, Jamie is such a great player.

Prior to this album The Guy Hamper Trio’s sole release was the ‘Polygraph Test’ 7” from 2009. Why such a big gap? It takes time for all of us to get all our solders in line. “Get on with it mush! And trifle not, your time is but short!”

What inspired the album’s title track All The Poisons In the Mud? It’s actually the title of a novel I’ve been writing, and rewriting, over the past 12 years, and is taken from a quote from I Claudius by Robert Graves - a formative influence on me as a 15 year old.

The sleeve art is pretty different to your other recent records, could you tell us a about that? Who designed it? I nominally designed it but the truth is that it's essentially a rip off of a Saul Bass sleeve he did for Duke Ellington. We started mining that seam back in the Milkshakes when Bruce (Brand) did the sleeve for Thee Knights of Trashe.

The album closes with a storming cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire”. What do you think Jimi would make of your version? I've been a fan of Jimi since my elder brother brought his records home in the '60s. Jimi was well known to “dig” others work and interpretations and would no doubt smile, narrow his smoky eyes and say “cool man!” and I would no doubt reply "wizard Jimi!"

TRACK LISTING

All The Poisons In The Mud
Come Into My Life
Moon Of The Popping Trees
Girl From '62
Full Eclipse Of The Sun
Sally Sensation
7% Solution
Step Out
Polygraph Test
The Kids Are All Square
Skinwalker
Fire

In memory of Chris Broderick of the Singing Loins, who passed away earlier this year, we present a new studio album by Wild Billy Childish and Arf and Rob from The Singing Loins. The Fighting Temeraire contains new songs, old songs re-worked, traditional songs and a Bob Dylan cover.HMS Temeraire was a 96 gun ship of the line, built in Chatham, as was HMS Victory. After the passing of their dear friend, Chris Broderick, (lead Singer of The Singing Loins), Billy, Arf, and Rob decided to get together and record a 45 in his memory. The single 'Song of the Medway' soon led to this full length LP. The Billy/Loins connection goes back to the early '90s. Billy had recorded the first two Singing Loins LPs in his bathroom back then, as well as an LP of folk variations of his own tunes with Chris and Arf. It was Chris's dying wish that the boys should continue the Singing Loins, so it was pretty much a given that this fine LP would come to be. At once ancient and modern, it is a fitting tribute to a great ship (and singer) of the Medway.

TRACK LISTING

1. Song Of The Medway
2. A La Mort Surbite
3. I Don't Like The Man That I Am
4. White Whale Blues
5. Stood Upon A Chair
6. The Broken And The Lost Of The Old Long Bar
7. The Fighting Temeraire
8. A Rusty Stain
9. Your Mediocre Mind
10. The Walls Of Red Wing
11. The Jutland Sea
12. The Rochester Recruiting Sergeant

A boxed set of 4 CDs featuring four classic albums by Thee Headcoats! We present four albums by Thee Headcoats in a clamshell box set complete with booklet. With exclusive new artwork by Bruce Brand at Arthole! The four albums in the set are - Headcoats Down! The Kids are all Square, This Is Hip! Headcoatitude W.O.A.H! Bo in Thee Garage Thee Headcoats was a band formed in Chatham, Kent, England in 1989, that was well known for its garage rock sound, explicitly sticking to this style on almost all of their albums. The band's signature sound as well as their prolific writing has been attributed to Billy Childish's love of simple, direct recording. The band has been on multiple labels including Billy's own Hangman Records, Damaged Goods and Sub Pop. Described in the New York Times as 'the king of garage rock', Thee Headcoats had their roots in the British punk scene of the 1970s (both Billy and Bruce playing in The Pop Rivets and The Milkshakes). The band recorded songs by The Clash under the pseudonym Thee Stash. The band also recorded tribute albums to Bo Diddley and Jimmy Reed. Their debut album featured new versions of songs recorded by Son House including 'John the Revelator' and 'Child's Death Letter', both of which were later covered by The White Stripes upon whom Billy and Thee Headcoats were a great influence. These influences give a good indication of the band's sound; punk mixed with pure rhythmic rock 'n' roll and blues. 

Four song Extended Play 7” by Thee Headcoats Sect! “Absolutely fantastic, cracking rhythm 'n' blues, best thing I've heard for years!” - Rob Symmons (The Fallen Leaves) After 23 years off Thee Headcoats (Billy, Bruce and Tub) have again teamed up with Keith Evans of Downliners Sect, to record a top notch Extended Play as Thee Headcoat Sect. 'The Backer Street Irregulars' features Keith on lead vocals, still equipped with all the power, fun and attitude that put him at the top of the tree of British R'n'B vocalists back in the heyday of rhythm and beat. The EP was recorded in honour of their dear friend Don Craine (the leader of the Sect), who passed over in February 2022. 

TRACK LISTING

A1 – The Baker Street Irregulars
A2 – Oh Leader, We Do Dig Thee
B1 – One Ugly Child
B2 – The Ballad Of Malcolm Laphroaig (Alt Version)

In Memory of Chris Broderick of the Singing Loins, who passed away earlier this year. We proudly present a vinyl reissue of this Medway folk classic!

A re-issue of one of Damaged Goods early releases and a rather overlooked classic album, a one off collaboration between Billy Childish and legendary Medway folkies The Singing Loins. This was recorded in 1993 when Billy was in Thee Headcoats and The Singing Loins were in their first incarnation. The Singing Loins formed in late 1990, a two piece band playing Authentic raw folk from the Medway Delta. They are Chris Broderick on Vocals / Stick and Chris Arfur Allen on Guitar. They had recorded two classic albums before this both of which were released on Billy's own Hangman records. The album features a few Childish classics reworked including "You Make Me Die" and "Every Bit Of Me" as well as four tracks written by Billy & The Loins especially for this album.

The Daggermen all went to Rede Secondary School in Medway, Kent. It was a school for those that failed their 11 plus, or who passed it but decided to go there anyway (as Jon pretends). Being in some of the same classes we became friends and found we liked the same music; The Who, The Small Faces, The Kinks, The Beatles and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. We started going to Carnaby Street, wearing Beatle boots and generally being a bit Moddy. Dave’s older brother, James Taylor, played organ in The Prisoners and we’d listen to cassette tapes of them along with other local band, The Milkshakes as we bounced on the trampoline during P.E. After watching both bands play live in local venues such as the M.I.C. club in Chatham we formed The Daggermen, working out who was going to play which instrument as we stood next to the now demolished school sports hall. No one can quite remember who thought of the name, The Daggermen (it was me) or how comes Jon was playing bass on a guitar in the band at the very start and then Terry took over when we started gigging (it was because he had a real bass guitar and a car). But the next thing was that we were supporting The Prisoners both in Medway and places such as the 100 Club in Oxford Street. Then, one sunny day at around the age of 17, I bumped into Billy Childish walking across a field. I formally introduced myself and told him that he should definitely come and see our band that night because we were “fucking brilliant”. He did turn up and bought us a tray of whiskies whilst we were on stage, a sure sign that he had liked it. This led to him and Russ Wilkins, bass player in The Milkshakes alongside Billy, asking us if we wanted to record an E.P. for Russ’s label, Empire Records. This was our first ever recording called Introducing The Daggermen which was made in a brick arch under Rochester bridge that we rented for £2 a week to rehearse in and lovingly referred to as ‘The Hole’. We got ourselves a “manager” (our mate, Vic Templar) and started playing up and down England, drinking as much as possible in the van on the way to each gig, often paralytic by the time we went on stage. Our musical style was a sort of mixture of punk and mod and we played covers such as ‘Heatwave’ (The Who’s version) and ‘Get Ready’ by the Temptations, along with Dave and Terry’s originals. Then came a change of line up when Jon resumed his position as bass player and Terry left for America. We started wearing military jackets thanks to Jimi Hendrix and made our first long player, Dagger In My Mind (I got the title off an episode of Star Trek, although I remembered it wrong and it should have been ‘Dagger Of The Mind’). The album was produced by James Taylor and Allan Crockford of The Prisoners at Woolly Studios on the Isle of Sheppey in 1986. This line-up played together for a couple of years up and down the country (also with a few gigs in France) before we called it a day and sailed off into the future in bands such as The James Taylor Quartet, The Kravin’ “A”s, The Solarflares and Billy Childish and The Buff Medways. As energetic youths we had a lot of fun and I am very proud to have been part of The Daggermen. We hope you enjoy these recordings, now all gathered together for the first time. Sincerely yours, Wolf Howard, Cafe Mozart, Chatham 

Billy & The Loins reunite for a tribute 7” to founding Loins member Chris Broderick. Billy recorded the first two Singing Loins LPs with Chris Broderick and Arf' Alan in his bathroom at May Road, Rochester in 1991 and 1993. The lads then decided to record an LP of folk variations of Billy’s own tunes, called At The Bridge. The Singing Loins then went their own way recording many LPs. Fast forward to late 2021 and the singer Chris was diagnosed with blood cancer. Before his passing in January 2022, he let Arf (and later Loin Rob), know that he wished them to carry on the group. That said Billy proposed a memorial 45 (and an LP to follow). The tracks: ‘The Song of the Medway’ is about their hometowns of Rochester, Chatham, Strood and Gillingham, all on the banks of the River Medway. Chatham's ancient Dockyard was where Nelson’s Victory was built. The Broken and the Lost of the Old Long Bar celebrates a drinking hole on Chatham High Street (which once boasted more pubs and brothels in a single mile than anywhere in the world). Especially written by Billy for this return of The Singing Loins, the songs are at once brand new and ancient. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Song Of The Medway
2. The Broken And The Lost Of The Old Long Bar

Put together in studio down-time and ably backed by Toe Rag's stable of musicians, On My Mind features Fabienne's customary mixture of both English and French lyrics sung with plenty of coquettish charm. The album marks something of a departure from the jaunty beat-pop and ye-ye of her previous albums however, there's a definite autumnal feel to several of the tracks, putting you in mind of what the much mooted Francoise Hardy/Nick Drake collaboration might have yielded. 

Four has a more nuanced and mature sound, rooted in Mellotron-drenched psych whilst retaining some snappy French pop and ‘60s garage styles. The original songs are masterfully crafted for Fabienne’s distinct delivery, and both feature a strong ‘60s groove. Carefully chosen covers are lovingly interpreted – take Lyme and Cybelle’s ‘Follow Me’, a heavy-handed garage-folk jaunt, or the stunning take on the Human Beinz’ second album opener ‘Face’. A lifelong devotee of “the Quo”, Fabienne tackles a Spare Parts album track, whilst Francoise Hardy’s smouldering French classic ‘J’ai Fait Du Lui Un Reve’ is ethereally reimagined. 

Over three years in the making, Between You And Me is full of swinging 60’s Ye Ye pop charm including a few French language songs and the single ‘I’m Gonna Catch Me A Rat’. It’s the usual mix of cover and new songs written by George Miller, Peder Bernhardt and fellow Damaged Goods artist Pete Molinari (who also guests on one track) 

Fabienne moved to London in 1996, almost immediately joining the Bristols, a then studio project consisting of Liam Watson and Ed Deegan, two producer-engineers at Toerag Studios. After two albums, a few singles and several tours of Europe, the Bristols came to an end. Eager to carry on singing, Fabienne went solo. With the help of Liam Watson producing, Fabienne recorded her first album No Time For Sorrows concentrating on a more elaborate but similar style she had previously experienced with the Bristols. 

An 18 track compilation featuring the best of Croydon's punk and post punk scene! Are They Hostile? Is a new documentary film about the Punk, New Wave and Indie scene in Croydon in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. It takes its name from the first single by Croydon band Bad Actors. To coincide with the film’s release Damaged Goods Records are releasing a compilation vinyl LP and CD featuring bands from in the film including Johnny Moped, The Marines, The Daleks, Case, Fanatics and also bands such as The Straps who played Croydon many times usually at The Star Pub in West Croydon. The CD version also features a specially recorded introduction by the legendary ex-Croydon Greyhound DJ Peter Fox. It’s been argued that Croydon was the birthplace of Punk in the UK, largely due to The Damned and Johnny Moped.

But there was a group of other, less well-known bands who were part of that scene, or who came just after, but who didn’t achieve the same success or recognition. The film and album attempt to set the record straight by shining a light on bands such as Bad Actors, Case, The Daleks, The Heroes and Fanatics. the music still fizzes with the energy and enthusiasm of youth and the punk ethos of just doing it. And the participants, if a bit older and slightly less slim than forty years ago, come alive in the current interviews as if connected to the mains.

As the saying goes, “old punks don’t die”, but they do remember. The documentary film takes us through the history of these bands, the people in them, the places they played and, through current interviews with “a bunch of old punks”, what they did next, and how formative and important being in a band was for them growing up. The film is the brainchild of Bad Actor Griff Griffiths and Mark Williams and will premier at the David Lean Cinema in Croydon on 2nd September with a Q & A afterwards by Griff and Mark, and an aftershow party nearby with special celebrity guests TBC. Griff explains: “It’s also a film about being young, being passionate, being part of something.”

TRACK LISTING

1 - Bad Actors - Are The Hostile?
2 - Johnny Moped - Groovy Ruby (Live At The Roxy)
3 - The Marines - Step This Way
4 - Slime - Controversial
5 - Case - Smiling My Life Away
6 - The Daleks - Tiny Town
7 - Fanatics - Total Confusion
8 - The Straps - New Age
9 - The Heroes - Tarzan
10 - Bad Actors - One Of Us
11 - Johnny Moped - Incendiary Device (Live At The Roxy)
12 -The Marines - Pleasure Business
13 - Slime - Loony
14 - Case - I Don't Wanna Kill The Whales
15 - The Daleks - Rejected
16 - Fanatics - When The Sun Goes Down
17 - The Straps - Brixton
18 - The Heroes - Russia

Brand new studio album by The William Loveday Intention as part of their “career in a year”! “The cover pic is from a visit I made with my son and friends to the artist Giovanni Segantini's hut in the High Alps sometime around 2016. Segantini (1858-1899), was an illiterate and stateless artist famous for his paintings made in the Engadin. The title track is about living your life through someone else's YouTube channel: a blow by blow account of how their life in the frozen north is more, picturesque, sensitive, fun, enlightened and artistic than yours could ever be.

'Stood Upon a Chair' is about the villain Jessie James, but without the romance part that is usually added to such tales. 'You Gotta Move', a Mississippi Fred McDowell cover, is one of the best recordings we've ever made. Here I’m accompanied by my wife Julie and my friend Dave Tattersall who plays electric slide guitar. A true gem which should make someone, somewhere, rich and famous. (Or at least make Mick Jagger blush with shame.) Topping it all off we hit a couple of old Headcoats numbers with added verses that reveal the hidden depth behind those impeccable pop songs.”

TRACK LISTING

1/Paralysed By The Mountains
2/Becoming Unbecoming Me
3/Stood Upon A Chair
4/Too Many Things That Mean Too Much To Me
5/You Gotta Move
6/Joe Strummer's Grave
7/I'm Unkind
8/Gun In My Father's Hand
9/The Day I Beat My Father Up
10/Joe Strummer's Grave (Reprise)

Johnny Moped's “lost album” from 1990, finally gets a reissue! I like this album, Johnny hates it. But why? I think it’s more “Johnny Moped” than any other album out there. What other album has entirely penned JM songs/ditties like ‘Soldiers’ and ‘Moped Crash’ plus ad-libs and all the other little interludes in between the tracks that are pure “Moped”. Johnny thinks it sounds like a “disco” album, which it does in places, but, hey-ho, it was 1989 and it was the age of Stock, Aitken and Waterman. At the time there had been no Moped band since 1985-ish and certainly Slimy hadn’t been in the band since the early ‘80s.

Also, there was only one album out there, Cycledelic so there was a lot of songs destined for a follow up album that never happened and it looked like we were going to be a one album band. So, with so much unreleased material and a chronic lack of “mopedisum” I decided to embark on a little project…This album came out in 1990 on Deltic records but the deal was that I had to produce a finished master tape that could go straight to the cutting room and be pressed, so I borrowed a 4-track Teac and a Roland sampler and Roland drum machine and got to work. Some of the tracks sound like they were recorded in someone’s bedroom, that’s because they were, but Captain recorded some great stuff on his 8-track where I had recorded Johnny “live” and handed over a tape for him to work with (‘I’m a Spasm’, ‘Soldiers’, ‘Cut across Shorty’).

Also, he provided some decent backing vocals on other tracks (‘Corpse Boogie’, ‘Hiawatha’). The album came out in 1990 and to promote it we put the band back together... in a different format. The Johnny Moped Big Band did a series of gigs where we started with two guitarists, bass drums and Johnny for three songs and then swapped to different musicians during ‘Wild Breed’ for another three songs. Then we’d bring the whole lot together for the rest of the set. The photos on the back cover are taken from the “live at the Cartoon” video. Notice Johnny’s original Moped jacket had long gone missing, and he was wearing a grey tasselly “thing” I made for him.

He didn’t like it at all, so I donated my own studded leather jacket and he’s worn it ever since. The front cover is studio shots taken of Johnny for the album that were never used at the time (how did we end of with such a bad drawing of him instead on the original album?!) So… this has been lovingly re-mastered by Jez Larder after Captain managed to retrieve most of the material from the very old DAT tapes. Some of the “interludes” were missing, and I’ve had to get them off the vinyl (see if you can spot ‘em!). Enjoy!

Dave Berk - May 2022

The third ever release on Damaged Goods was the original vinyl version of this album. (FNARRLP3) ‘Terminal Stupid’, their one and only single was one of my favourite singles from 1977 and in 1988 I searched out lead singer Giovanni Dadomo and together we put together this album. It features both sides of their that 7” plus another track they released on the Beggars Banquet compilation ‘Streets’ (Beggars first release), although they had to change their name (to Arthur Comix) as Beggars were worried about the word ‘shits’ on the cover of their album! Anyway we found another six or so tracks, mastered it with Dave Goodman and put it out, at the time Gio had also unearthed one of the three tracks that he cowrote and recorded with The Damned, ‘There ‘Aint No Sanity Clause’ is included on the LP & CD. This is a review of the original album from the Trouser Press website....

“The hazard of anyone-can-do-it musical movements is what might get dragged in. Fortunately, the jokey Snivelling Shits - two London rock critics (singer Giovanni Dadomo and guitarist Dave Fudger) and such musician friends as Steve Nicol of the Hot Rods and bassist Steve Lillywhite - were sharply skilled at smuttily satirising the sounds of '77. As anthologised in this archival colored-vinyl document, the band's brief recording career (eight whole tracks, including the viciously irreverent "isgodaman?," originally released on a Beggars Banquet compilation LP under the name Arthur Comics?) included incisive swipes at the Sex Pistols, John Cooper Clarke ("I Wanna Be Your Biro") and the Velvet Underground.” That's history for you!

TRACK LISTING

1/Crossroads
2/I Can’t Come
3/Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi
4/I Wanna Be Your Biro
5/Bring Me The Head Of Yukio Mishima
6/Only 13
7/Terminal Stupid
8/Isgodaman?
9/There ‘Aint No Sanity Clause
10/Terminal Stupid (demo)
11/I Can’t Come (demo)
12/Isgodaman? (demo)

Remastered reissue of debut LP with new sleeve artwork! The Courettes´ debut album from 2015. Recorded in only two days by Kim Kix from the iconic PowerSolo in a small, cramped studio in Denmark. Unpolished tunes - fresh, raw and alive tunes - and the garage is shaking! Minimal overdubs, no editing, no auto tune, no bullshit. Punk straight out of the garage and a lot of riot grrrl charisma. Mixed by Kim Kix and Nikolaj Heyman. The album features eight original songs all in Mono. Now it’s reissued with a new sleeve, and new mastering making it sound better and louder than ever!

TRACK LISTING

1 - I've Been Walking
2 - Go! Go! Go!
3 - Money Blind
4 - The Boy I Love
5 - Push It Too Hard
6 - I Wanna Be Your Yoko Ono
7 - Shiver!
8 - We Are Gonna Die

A boxed set of 4 CDs featuring four classic albums by The Milkshakes. The four albums in the set are - Talking 'Bout Milkshakes/

After School Session/Thee Knights Of Trashe/The Milkshakes Revenge!. THE MILKSHAKES were mainly Mickey Hampshire (Git/Vox); Billy Childish (Git/Vox); Bruce Brand (Drums); Russ Wilkins (Bass). When punk rock group the Pop Rivets broke up in 1980, Billy Childish joined forces with Mickey Hampshire, a Pop Rivets roadie who had been performing in a group called Mickey and the Milkshakes with his cohort Banana Bertie. The two began writing songs together and the group released their first LP, Talking ’bout Milkshakes! in 1981. With Childish and Hampshire sharing guitar and vocal duties, Bruce Brand on drums, and Bertie on bass (later replaced by Russ Wilkins then John Agnew), the Milkshakes’ sound was a primitive blend of British beat groups, like the early Kinks at their toughest, and hard-rocking American guitar instrumentalists like Link Wray. This sound came to be known as the “Medway sound” and the core members have been playing a variation on it throughout their whole careers. The Milkshakes were a very prolific group, recording nine records in their four years together, and the band was very much a blend of Childish’s primitive songwriting and Hampshire’s more melodic leanings. The group also masterminded and backed a Medway girl group, the Delmonas.When Mickey left The Milkshakes in 1984 Childish, Brand and Agnew went on to form Thee Mighty Caesars. Mickey and Bruce now play in The Masonics along with Ludella Black from The Del Monas, and Russ lives in Scotland and fronts the Wildebeests as well as being Lord Rochester.

TRACK LISTING

1. She'll Be Mine
2. Pretty Baby
3. For She
4. I Want'cha For My Little Girl
5. Ruhrgebeat
6. After Midnight
7. Bull's Nose
8. Shed Country
9. Don't Love Another
10. Tell Me Where's That Girl
11. Can'tcha See
12.Love You Through The Whole Night
13. Nothing You Can Say Or Do
14. I Say You Lie
15. Shimmy Shake
16. I Can Tell
17. Tell Me Child
18. Goodbye Girl
19. More Honey
20. Soldiers Of Love
21. El Salvador
22. Let's Stomp
23. Hide And Scatter
24. Jaguar
25. That Girl Of Mine
26. You Can Only Lose
27. Little Minnie
28. Cadillac
29. I'll Use Evil
30. What You've Got
31. Girl, It No Good
32. I'm Out Of Control
33. I Dreamt Last Night (That I Lay Dead)
34. Bill's Beat (Instrumental)
35. Old Time Shimmy
36. Can't Seem To Love That Girl
37. Club M.I.C. (Instrumental)
38. Despite The Danger
39. You're Asking Too Much
40. Cassandra
41. Green Hornet
42. Let Me Love You
43. I Want You
44. If I Saw You
45. Graveyard Words
46. Boys
47. Little Girl Be Good
48. Pipeline
49. She Tells Me She Loves Me
50. Little Girl (Mumble The Eg)
51. Every Girl I Meet
52. The One I Get
53. Baby What's Wrong

10” Mini LP featuring outtakes and re-recorded B-sides from the 'Back In Mono' sessions!!! Back in Mono, The Courettes´ third album, was critically acclaimed worldwide and made it onto numerous best -of -the-year lists in 2021. If, like us, you can’t get enough of Back in Mono, here's some good news! Back in Mono - B-sides & Outtakes is coming out at the end of May, just in time for the band's UK tour! Bringing some more “spit ´n´ snarl garage-meets-Phil Spector pop” (Mojo) in three brand new unreleased tracks.

Look forward to hearing the three new smash tunes 'Daydream', 'Tough Like That' and 'Talking About My Baby', all wrapped in a new mix by Wall of Sound aficionado Seiki Sato (Japan) and produced by the hit wizards Søren Christensen & C.T. Levine. Also included are the three non-album B-sides from the band's most recent singles. These B-sides have been newly spruced up with extra instrumentation.

Making up the eight tracks is the inclusion of a Courettes rarity - 'So What' was previously only available on a split single with The Jackets released on Chaputa Records back in January.

TRACK LISTING

1. Daydream
2. Tough Like That
3. Talking About My Baby
4. Last Dance With You
5. Only Happy When You're Gone
6. Killer Eyes
7. The Boy I Love
8. So What

Brand new studio album by The William Loveday Intention! As part of an incredibly productive year by one of the world's most productive and cherished artists, Billy Childish releases a new LP by The William Loveday Intention as part of his attempt at “a career in a year”. “The Baptiser is titled after John The Baptiser, Christ's teacher who proclaimed that you don't need to make blood sacrifices in the temple of Jerusalem to have communion with God – it's direct one to one in the desert, wearing a camel hair shirt and eating the fruits of the honey locust tree. The LP has many spiritual highs and blaming lows. It should move and sound like the contents of a thinking mind.” 

TRACK LISTING

1/The Baptiser
2/A Library To You And The Self
3/A Painted Pantomime Dame
4/Mister Smith
5/Poems Of Anxiety And Uncertainty
6/I'm Good Enough
7/Knockin' Of Heaven's Door
8/A Framed T-Shirt Remnant
9/Poems Of Anxiety And Uncertainty (Blues)
10/The Baptiser (Reprise)

Brand new double 7” by The William Loveday Intention! As part of an incredibly productive year by one of the world's most productive and cherished artists, Billy Childish releases a new EP by The William Loveday Intention as part of his attempt at “a career in a year”. “Four tracks that address the game of being a human being.” 'I'm Good Enough' is a fresh look at Thee Headcoats' classic. 'Failure not Success' speaks for itself - and embodies the quest for un-muddied art. 'Becoming Unbecoming Me' is the story of a Jewish girl in Austria who changed her identity and married a Nazi to escape the death camps. 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' is our version of Bob Dylan's version of 'Too Much Monkey Business' by Chuck Berry.”

TRACK LISTING

A – I'm Good Enough
B – Failure Not Success
C – Becoming Unbecoming Me
D – Subterranean Homesick Blues (Alt Version)

Brand new live album put together by original founding member Pete Makowski and us at Damaged Goods to celebrate the reunion gigs by The Snivelling Shits in late 2018 and 2019. The original Snivelling Shits album ‘I Can’t Come’ was released on Damaged Goods back in 1989 with original frontman Giovanni Dadamo supplying the tapes and helping with the artwork. We started to get to know the other two original Shits, Pete Makowski and Dave Fudger in the 2010’s and Pete was very keen to “get the old band back together” as they say…so they commandeered Tom Crossley on vocals, he was in Giovanni’s second band, Famous Monsters after the original Shits imploded so he was a perfect replacement, another good friend of Pete’s was James Sherry (of Done Lying Down / Toast / Desperate Measures) who took over the drums, and firstly Richard Leeds from Du Bellows and later Moyni from Tom’s current band The Phobics on bass duties.

After a few rehearsals they did a low-key warm up gig billed as Arthur Comix, then their first proper gig at the Damaged Goods 30th anniversary gigs at The Lexington on the 15th December 2018 supporting Johnny Moped, swiftly followed by another gig at The Pelton Arms in Greenwich on the 16th February 2019. Both gigs were recorded by Lee McFadden and sounded great, so Pete suggested making a live album up to “celebrate” the events. The Shits went onto play a gloriously unhinged and chaotic set in front of a huge crowd at the Opera House at the Rebellion Punk Festival in Blackpool in August 2019.

That was the last gig as soon after the pandemic hit and very sadly and tragically, Pete Makowski died in late 2021. we’re really proud to have this coming out, albeit a lot later than planned due to the vinyl shortages. It’s a fitting tribute to Pete (who oversaw the artwork and tapes) and the band’s amazing comeback gigs. It also includes two demos from the original line-up that appeared as a very limited 7" for sale at the Rebellion Festival show in 2019, which sold out and is already a sought-after collector’s item! Pete would only let us release it if it was on brown vinyl…so that’s what it is! When the shits hit the fans, one could say. Dedicated to Pete Makowski 1956-2021 and very much missed by us all.

TRACK LISTING

1/Terminal Stupid
2/Only 13
3/Crossroads
4/Bring Me The Head Of Yokio Mishima 5/isgodaman?
6/I Wanna Be Your Biro
7/Bring Me The Head Of Yokio Mishima (Demo)
8/Et Mo, Et Moi, Et Moi (Demo)

REPRESSED AT LAST - Legendary US hardcore band from 1982-83 featuring J Mascis. J Mascis lived in Amherst. There was one punk at his high school and it wasn't Uma Thurman, it was Charlie. They were fortunate to have Ken Reed's great store, Main Street Records, in nearby Northampton. And they could get almost any American or UK punk stuff they needed from the racks or by special order. One day in early '82, J met a Dee Dee Ramone lookalike at the Oi! singles bin. This was bassist Scott Helland. Scott posted a flier soon after looking for musicians into Anti-Pasti, Discharge and the like. J called to audition and had his dad drive him and his drums over to guitarist Lou Barlow's place in Westfield.

They had a singer already, but J got them to replace him with Charlie, and Deep Wound was there. They made a cassette, got a few gigs in Boston with the X-Claim bands (SSD, FU's, Jerry's Kids, etc.) and became the Western Mass band most likely to open for Hardcore visitors. They cut an EP, had tracks on Gerard Colsoy's Bands That Would Be God comp and even did a late-period session with Gerard singing that has disappeared into nada. And every day they vowed to play faster. And they did, eventually developing a blur that could verge on experimental noise. Finally they burned as fast as they could, and realizing that was the case, they stopped. It was 1984.

The rest of the story is well known: Dinosaur, the Outpatients, Sebadoh, Gobblehoof, etc. Most of what Deep Wound recorded is on this disk, and it still sounds pretty choice the hundredth time through (believe me, I know). Like many of their suburban kith, there are huge swathes of Xeroxed style and content, but these patches are obliterated by an underlying fascination with the reckless potential of absolute speed, and an intellectual overlay (albeit in a nascent state) that would blossom more fully in the bands that would follow. But y'know, Hardcore was a really fucking good scene. And Deep Wound were a really fucking good Hardcore band. Living in this society has left a DEEP WOUND. Get used to it

TRACK LISTING

1 - I Saw It
2 - Sisters
3 - In My Room
4 - Don't Need
5 - Lou's Anxiety Song
6 - Video Prick
7 - Sick Of Fun
8 - Deep Wound
9 - Dead Babies
10 - You're False
11 - Time To Stand
12 - Pressure
13 - Training Ground
14 - Deep Wound
15 - You're False
16 - Your Head In In Your Crouch
17 - Psyched To Die
18 - Sister
19 - Patriots
20 - Never Let You In
21 - Adult
22 - Don't Need
23 - Video Prick
24 - Let's Go To The Mall

Steve E. Nix and The Famous Lizards are a new four-piece group led by guitarist/singer Steve E. Nix (from legendary Seattle punk band The Briefs). Accompanying him as The Famous Lizards are bassist Kicks (also from The Briefs), guitarist Emi Pop and drummer Miles Freeborn. The Motorcade EP is the band’s debut release. Available on a limited edition black vinyl 7”, it features four killer pop-punk tracks, just what you’d expect from the prolific pen of Steve E. Nix. “I’m a punk rocker who loves guitars and interesting songs. I really like The Godfathers” says Steve. Steve has been putting out quality underground music since 2000 when The Briefs released their first single ‘Poor And Weird’. After four albums, a slew of singles and relentless touring, The Briefs took a well-earned hiatus. Never one to stay still for long Steve almost immediately formed and fronted The Cute Lepers. With Briefs’ bassist Kicks on board and a rotating cast of drummers, guitarists and back-up singers The Cute Lepers continued to tour across the US and Europe and released three albums, all on Damaged Goods Records, along with a bunch of 7” singles. In 2014 The Briefs started touring again and also began work on an album, Platinum Rats, which was eventually released by Damaged Goods Records in 2019.

Brand new 7” from Leeds' finest! A taster from their next full-length LP due out later in the year Ever been interrogated by the punk rock police? Are you manufactured by a company? Is your band real or plastic? Have you ever paid a thousand quid for a poster? Can the kids be trusted with rock n roll? Answers on side A.

The Senior Service returns with a brand new 10” for 2022. A year or so ago, The Senior Service decided that it wanted to add a little more to its well-honed instrumental sound. On one slightly drunken night out, they approached local songwriter and chanteuse Rachel Lowrie and asked if she’d like to perform guest vocals on some specially written new material. By this time, Rachel had supplied impressive ‘pipework’ on quite a few Medway records so the band was confident that she’d be able to deliver – the band was right. Following a lengthy hiatus in activity due to lockdown restrictions, The Senior Service was finally able to get together to record the new songs, so they piled into Ranscombe Studios to crack on. It soon became apparent that they’d lost none of the chemistry that had made them such a powerful musical collective and the instrumental backing tracks were laid down with relative ease.

It was when Rachel arrived and sprinkled vocal sugar over the tracks that they really began to shine! Intuitively, she understood the approach needed and delivered a made-to-measure performance for each song. this collection includes four original tracks penned by the band plus two rollicking covers of lesser-known instrumentals; John Schroeder’s take on ‘Lovin’ You Girl’ – a slinky slice of lounge grooviness, given a slightly chunkier sound, informed by the band’s musical aesthetic, and ‘Mysterious Land’ – The Chris Lamb Orchestra’s little heard filmic masterpiece; a track seemingly tailor-made for the band to get its musical chops around. So, we invite you to spend ‘A Little More Time with The Senior Service’

TRACK LISTING

1/Everyone's Stranger Than Me
2/Seasons Of My Mind
3/Lovin' You Girl
4/Just A Little Time
5/If You're Not There
6/Mysterious Land

Amyl and the Sniffers are a punk band possessed by the spirit of seventies Australian rock. Amy Taylor (vocals), Bryce Wilson (drums), Dec Martens (guitar) are former housemates who formed the band, wrote a handful of tunes and released their debut EP, Giddy Up, all in a span of twelve hours. Completing their line up with Gus Romer on bass, the band take their cues from a diverse bunch of legends including AC/DC, Cosmic Psychos, Dolly Parton and Die Antwoord, setting out to have as much fun as possible.

Their 2nd EP, Big Attraction, was released in February 2017, kicking off a stellar year for these young punks. Growing buzz around their blistering live show made the band a hot tip at Bigsound in Brisbane, while the band was added to festival lineups including Meredith and CherryRock17. The band and were invited to join the Cosmic Psychos on their forthcoming November/December tour and capped off the year with a sellout NYE show at the legendary Tote in their home town of Melbourne.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Amyl And The Sniffers have been a force to be reckoned with on the Australian punk scene (and indeed over here), and this early document of their first two EP's are an absolutely essential purchase. Every bit as incendiary and uncompromising as their LP's, an essential purchase.

TRACK LISTING

1 I'm Not A Loser
2 Blowjobs
3 Mole (Sniff Sniff)
4 Balaclava Lover Boogie
5 Westgate
6 70's Street Munchies
7 Pleasure Forever
8 Caltex Cowgirl
9 Mandalay
10 Stole My Pushbike

New album from CTMF! On CD, digital and black vinyl LP! Billy Childish - Musician, poet, painter and writer shows no sign of slowing down. The last twelve months have seen him record a “career in a year” with The William Loveday Intention, battle off a debilitating COVID infection and revisit his punk roots with CTMF

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The always prolific Childish returns for another storming LP of fuzzed-out punk and jilted rock and/or roll. Screaming guitars segue into jangling rhythmic sections, brilliantly epitomising the melodic duality of this hugely influential character.

TRACK LISTING

1 – Where The Wild Purple Iris Grows
2 – Mystery Song
3 – Ballad Of Hollis Brown
4 – She Was Wearing Tangerine
5 – Pluma Dorada
6 – Come Into My Life
7 – Train Kept A Rollin'
8 – You Can't Capture Time (Slight Return)
9 – You Say That You Love Me
10 – Tunnel Of Love
11 – Mouldy Fig
12 – The Same Tree

Remastered reissue of the second LP with new sleeve artwork! The Courettes´ 2nd album was produced by PowerSolo’s Kim Kix with Nikolaj Heyman as engineer in 2018. This album goes deeper in its songwriting showing The Courettes´ love for '60s Girl Groups like The Ronettes and Shangri-Las. Fuzzy wild sounds are there, loud as hell drumming also, but some additional elements were added to their garage recipe: soul ballads and a handful of '60s girlie pop. Sonic quality is now stereo and overdubs like organ, piano and backing vocals were allowed – all performed by The Courettes themselves, of course! Including 'Boom! Dynamite!', 'Time is Ticking' and 'Voodoo Doll' (featuring horror movie legend Coffin Joe).

TRACK LISTING

1 - Hoodoo Hop
2 - Time Is Ticking
3 - Come Inside
4 - Nobody But You
5 - T-C-H-A-U
6 - Strawberry Boy
7 - Voodoo Doll
8 - All About You
9 - The Way You Walk
10 - The Teens Are Square
11 - Boom! Dynamite!
12 - Fool Fool Fool 

The Courettes' first two albums remastered and reissued on a 2-on-1 CD! The Courettes are an explosive garage rock duo from Denmark/Brazil, highly praised by the world's coolest music magazines. Their first single for Damaged Goods, 'Want You! Like A Cigarette', was released in 2020 in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic and received airplay on BBC6 Music in the UK and spins at P6Beat and P4 in Denmark. The first pressing of the 7” vinyl sold out in two weeks. “This extraordinary 45 marries a super-charged pop top side to a charging, rampaging flip" wrote Kieron Tyler (MOJO). A brand new single, 'Hop The Twig', followed in Spring 2021, featuring an exciting blend of garage, surf, '60s girlie pop and riot grrrl attitude.Back In Mono, the duo's third album is being mixed now in Japan by Wall of Sound aficionado Seike Sato and shows the band in top form, with great songwriting and Spector-esque arrangements.

The album also see them add broader nuances, influences and sound qualities to their garage rock recipe. The tunes are teen-trash-tragedy garage meets The Ronettes and The Ramones in Gold Star Studios’ echo chamber. Fuzz guitars, loud drums, trashy pianos, jingle bells, tambourines and three-minute dance floor garage killers where a Wall of Sound blasts the songs out of the speakers! The album will be released in Autumn 2021 on Damaged Goods Records. With a bit of luck the duo will be back on the road promoting it. Like everybody else, The Courettes can´t wait to have sweaty rock’n’roll shows again!

TRACK LISTING

1 - I've Been Walking
2 - Go! Go! Go!
3 - Money Blind
4 - The Boy I Love
5 - Push It Too Hard
6 - I Wanna Be Your Yoko Ono
7 - Shiver!
8 - We Are Gonna Die
9 - Hoodoo Hop
10 - Time Is Icking
11 - Come Inside
12 - Nobody But You
13 - T-C-H-A-U
14 - Strawberry Boy
15 - Voodoo Doll
16 - All About You
17 - The Way You Walk
18 - The Teens Are Square
19 - Boom! Dynamite!
20 - Fool Fool Fool 

The Daleks - “I started the group In the summer of 1977 after listening to Rattus Narviticus about 100 times on a church youth club holiday. Slimy Toad's brother, Nicky, who co wrote "I'm a cunt" with me, had it on tape cassette. I remember we used to turn it right up in the middle In the middle of Ugly...because Hugh Cornwall shouted "it's only the fucking rich that get to be good looking". And all the church leaders would have a right go at us. That was it. Had to start a band! Up until 1979 just I had a guitar although we had a drummer a singer and a bass player that were going to get their instruments it never happened. I had loads of the songs already written by the time the first other member with an instrument joined. Mark Adams (Bass), who later joined Case.

Then Woodie joined and things started to move quickly with Gaz joining (the original singer. Nicky Fitzgerald, Slimy Toads brother, bailed out when it started to become a real thing. Then Dean replaced Mark Adams.” - Eddie Turtle 2021. “I was at school south of London in Caterham in the late '70s and used to hang out in Goodness Records each afternoon spending all my paper round money there. I'd seen 'The Daleks' sprayed on a wall in the town and got chatting to Eddie one day, they were looking for a drummer - The general consensus locally was that he was a great songwriter. I think the band name came from the end of Remote Control by the Clash - 'gonna be a Dalek... I obey!' There was quite a few line-up changes before the record, it was me that suggested Gaz as a front man. He'd just been expelled from my school for dying his hair and looked the part... yellow creepers to boot! It was him that did the artwork for the record sleeve and got all our mates to get photo booth pictures done. We all made the pilgrimage to Broadcasting House at the BBC to take John Peel a copy. Gaz spoke to him from the phone on reception (while he was in the middle of a show).

I only heard one side of the conversation but it went something like 'It's Gaz from the Daleks from Croydon, we've brought you our record to play... it's fuckin' brilliant!'” - Woodie Taylor 2021 Strictly Rockers Following the demise of The Daleks in the early 80’s, Gaz the lead singer and front man of The Daleks, was quick to form a new band, Strictly Rockers, with two local Croydon reprobates Ian and Steve. Gaz and Ian wrote the songs and Steve provided the distinctive percussion. The 3-piece band was born, Gaz was again lead vocals but now sported a bass guitar. Running off the back of the punk rock era the band exploded with collection of up-beat anti establishment songs, the exception to the theme being the classic track 'I Miss You'. The trio played a variety of different venues in the Croydon area, with their favourite haunt being the “Star” in West Croydon where they played regularly. Probably their most memorable gig was with UK Subs, and the infamous Charley Harper.

Strictly Rockers' popularity was short lived, and within 18 months the trio had gone their separate ways. L.A.M.F. ViaVess “When Gaz and Roland left, I felt that we would have been successful if we'd stayed together, so, thought I'd call us Virgins of Success, shortened to V of S. Then I thought what about giving it a mysterious twist so ViaVess was how the initials sounded when you said V of S, so that became our "shortlived" name. It was a very short-lived band (3 or 4 months and I was then off following the Meteors full-time).” - Eddie Turtle 2021

TRACK LISTING

1/Rejected (Single)
2/Man Of The World
3/This Life
4/Daleks
5/Suicide
6/Rejected (1979 Demo)
7/Stand By Me (Strictly Rockers)
8/Tiny Town
9/One Small Mind
10/I Got You (Strictly Rockers)
11/You Wouldn't Know (ViaVess)
12/Transfixion (ViaVess)
13/(I'm Not In Love With The) Rude Girl (ViaVess)
14/I'm A Runt (Eddie Turtle)
15/Miss You (Strictly Rockers) 

A boxed set of 4 CDs featuring the recent studio albums by The William Loveday Intention! For the first time on CD we present the recent studio albums by The William Loveday Intention in a clamshell box set complete with booklet. The four albums in the set are - People Think They Know Me But They Don’t Know Me Will There Ever Be A Day That You're Hung Like A Thief? Blud Under The Bridge The Bearded Lady Also Sells The Candy Floss For the uninitiated, The William Loveday Intention is the latest band put together by Billy Childish. The four album project includes guest appearances by James Taylor (The Prisoners, JTQ), Dave Tattersall (The Wave Pictures) and Huddie Hamper (The Shadracks) amongst others.

Our classic Talulah Gosh compilation album! As heard recently on Tim Burgess' Twitter listening party. Talulah Gosh were a guitar-pop group from Oxford and one of the leading bands of the twee pop movement/C86, taking their name from the headline of an NME interview with Clare Grogan. They supposedly formed when Amelia Fletcher and Elizabeth Price, both wearing Pastels badges, met at a club in Oxford. Formed in 1986, their original line-up comprised Amelia Fletcher (vocals, guitar), her younger brother Mathew Fletcher (drums), Peter Momtchiloff (lead guitar), Rob Pursey (bass) and Elizabeth Price (vocals). Rob left early on, to be replaced by Chris Scott. Elizabeth left in 1987 to be replaced by Eithne Farry. They called it a day in late 1988 with Amelia, Matthew and Peter reappearing soon after as ‘Heavenly’. Amelia and Rob went on to form Tender Trap and released the 2012 album ’10 Songs about Girls’. They currently perform as The Catenary Wires Peter Momtchiloff went on to join Would-Be-Goods and The Hot Hooves.

Eithne Farry is an author and likes a glass of sherry Elizabeth Price won the 2012 Turner Prize for her video installation “The Woolworths Chior of 1979” This compilation brings together all of their recorded output, plus the two BBC sessions and the four tracks which appeared on the demos EP in 2011

TRACK LISTING

1. Beatnik Boy
2. My Best Friend
3. Steaming Train
4. Just A Dream
5. Talulah Gosh
6. Don't Go Away
7. Escalator Over The Hill
8. My Boy Says
9. Way Of The World
10. Testcard Girl
11. Bringing Up Baby
12. I Can't Get No Satisfaction (Thank God)
13. The Girl With The Strawberry Hair
14. Talulah Gosh (Radio Session Version)
15. Do You Remember
16. Looking For A Rainbow
17. Sunny Inside
18. My World's Ending
19. Be Your Baby
20. Break Your Face
21. In Love For The Very First Time
22. Spearmint Head
23. I Told You So
24. Pastels Badge
25. Rubber Ball
26. Steaming Train (demo)
27. I Told You So (demo)
28. Mmm Mmm He’s So Dreamy (demo)
29. Sunny Inside (demo)

Brand new studio album! Featuring Captain Sensible and Paul Gray from The Damned, with Johnny Moped drummer Marty Love! Who, what and why are The Sensible Gray Cells? Captain :- Paul Gray and myself being garage psych aficionados would prefer to hear more of this kind of music and this is our contribution to the cause. If I said that some of the songs were 'Damned rejects' that shouldn't be seen as an indication of inferior songwriting.. more that they're not wearing the right shirt. A Postcard From Britain came out in 2013. What have you been up to since then? Captain :- I've never been a prolific writer.. being a lazy so and so I think it's best to wait for inspiration to call.. which explains the 7 year gap..( how many albums could the Beatles have crammed in that period!) but in the meantime PG rejoined the Damned and we've gigged about a bit, which is always fun - CAN WE HAVE GIGS BACK AGAIN PLEASE!!!

A Postcard From Britain was a snapshot of modern life. Does the new album cover similar themes or have you taken a new direction? Captain :- It's sad that high streets around the world have been destroyed by online shopping but nobody's forcing people to do it.. but what can you do. These are very strange times were living though - I just count myself lucky to have been around to witness the 2nd half of the 20th century.. a fab time for music, culture, ideas.. and that without even mentioning Benny Hill and On The Buses. The new album coincides with all this virus malarkey.. which, unpleasant as it is will undoubtedly be used by the powers that be to tighten the screws on us little people on behalf of their billionaire paymasters. Blah blah, etc. There's a bit of that hidden away in the album

TRACK LISTING

1/Sell Her Spark
2/Get Back Into The World
3/Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn Ya
4/Black Spider Memo Man
5/Stupid Dictators
6/So Long
7/A Little Prick
8/DJ With Half A Brain
9/What’s The Point Of Andrew?
10/Fine Fairweather Friend
11/I Married A Monster
12/You And Me

Who, what and why are The Sensible Gray Cells? Captain :- Paul Gray and myself being garage psych aficionados would prefer to hear more of this kind of music and this is our contribution to the cause. If I said that some of the songs were 'Damned rejects' that shouldn't be seen as an indication of inferior songwriting.. more that they're not wearing the right shirt. A Postcard From Britain came out in 2013. What have you been up to since then? Captain :- I've never been a prolific writer.. being a lazy so and so I think it's best to wait for inspiration to call.. which explains the 7 year gap..( how many albums could the Beatles have crammed in that period!) but in the meantime PG re-joined the Damned and we've gigged about a bit, which is always fun - CAN WE HAVE GIGS BACK AGAIN PLEASE!!!

A Postcard From Britain was a snapshot of modern life. Does the new album cover similar themes or have you taken a new direction? Captain :- It's sad that high streets around the world have been destroyed by online shopping but nobody's forcing people to do it.. but what can you do. These are very strange times were living though - I just count myself lucky to have been around to witness the 2nd half of the 20th century.. a fab time for music, culture, ideas.. and that without even mentioning Benny Hill and On The Buses. The new album coincides with all this virus malarkey.. which, unpleasant as it is will undoubtedly be used by the powers that be to tighten the screws on us little people on behalf of their billionaire paymasters. Blah blah, etc. There's a bit of that hidden away in the album.

Johnny Moped “Official Bootleg”In 1983 Johnny Moped were asked to play a rally in Trafalgar Square, Central London The rally was for the Campaign Against Seal Hunting and was held on Saturday afternoon, the 12th March 1983. This recording, taken from the Dave Berk archives has been lovingly restored from the original cassette and will be available as a limited LP & Download on Damaged Goods Records. It’s got a screen printed cover and a A4 sheet of photos and info from the day. Features Captain Sensible, Beki Bondage and also the original speeches from the speakers on the day. Speeches include Gabrielle Drake and Fiona Richmond. Johnny Moped “Official Bootleg”In 1983 Johnny Moped were asked to play a rally in Trafalgar Square, Central London The rally was for the Campaign Against Seal Hunting and was held on Saturday afternoon, the 12th March 1983. This recording, taken from the Dave Berk archives has been lovingly restored from the original cassette and will be available as a limited LP & Download on Damaged Goods Records. It’s got a screen printed cover and a A4 sheet of photos and info from the day. Features Captain Sensible, Beki Bondage and also the original speeches from the speakers on the day. Speeches include Gabrielle Drake and Fiona Richmond. 

TRACK LISTING

1 – VD Boiler
2 – Hell Razor
3 – No One
4 – Make Trouble
5 – Speech 1 (David Ennals MP/Fiona Richmond)
6 – Save The Baby Seals
7 – Foxhunters
8 – Speech
2 (Gabrielle Drake/Johnny/Captain)
9 – Hard Lovin' Man

Fabienne Delsol’s new album Four is a culmination of a year or so’s activity at Toerag studios. The big change this time around is the co-production by Fabienne alongside Luke Oldfield, himself a long-time engineer and producer at Toerag. Though swathed in the same toil and tears of her previous three solo albums, Four has a more nuanced and mature sound, rooted in psych whilst retaining some snappy French pop and ‘60s garage styles of auld. There is also a mass of complimentary instruments, in particular the Mellotron is a welcome and worthy addition to many of the tracks. The contemporary and original songs 'I'll Never Be Lonely Again' and 'See How They Run' are masterfully crafted for Fabienne’s distinct delivery, and both feature a strong ‘60s groove in-keeping with her trademark sound, the latter being a contender for the highlight of this classy album.

As is archetypal of a Fabienne Delsol LP, carefully chosen covers are lovingly interpreted via Fabienne’s delicate voice – take Lyme and Cybelle’s ‘Follow Me’, itself a wonderful heavy-handed garage-folk jaunt, or the stunning take on the Human Beinz’ second album opener ‘Face’, a spellbindingly solid piece - praise indeed to the assembled players on both. A lifelong devotee of “the Quo”, it’s no surprise then to hear Fabienne tackling a Spare Parts album track, only here ‘When I Awake’ is pared-back and sparkling, whilst Francoise Hardy’s smouldering French classic ‘J’ai Fait Du Lui Un Reve’ is reimagined with a sumptuous air of the ethereal, with stark emotion in that voice and slowly building up tonal layers as the track progresses - you’ll struggle to hear anything as haunting this year. 

TRACK LISTING

1 – See How They Run
2 – Ladder
3 – Door Knob
4 – So Many Could Not
5 – When I Awake
6 – The Face
7 – No Love To Give
8 – J'ai Fait De Lui Un Reve
9 – Follow Me
10 – I'll Never Be Lonely Again
11 – Hurtin' Kind

Kiss My Ring is the fourth full-length studio album from London-based rhythm ‘n’ blues garage rockers, the follow-up to 2017’s Goin’ Back To Wurstville. It features fourteen tracks, a mix of brand new original compositions and the band’s eclectic choice of covers. The album was recorded at London’s legendary Gizzard Studios by Ed Deegan (Holly Golightly). The band truly represents the best of multi-cultural London, the members having a mix of Caribbean, French, Japanese and Spanish heritage. With a repertoire influenced by many of the great songs of the ’50s and ’60s made to sound fresh and new to modern ears, you won’t be able to help but move your feet when the Cumberland Three are blasting out of your speakers. The King howls like Screaming Jay Hawkins with Bo Diddley chasing his coat-tail whilst Andre Williams tries to offer up some of his bacon fat, and the Trashmen do the Surfin’ Bird behind him. This is a man that never stops shakin’ and twistin’ and groovin’. The Cumberland Three (former members of punk rock bands, including The Parkinsons) rock up a storm with their own branded mix of vintage rockabilly, desperate rock ’n’ roll and stomping soul, with fire, energy, gusto and, above all, fun! 

Like an Inexplicable Wheel' The strangest thing in life is time, not clocks but that there was a past and there will be a future apparently). Life seems to be an inexplicable wheel, and I thought there should be a pop song (or two) about that. 'Last Punk Standing' A more CTMF sounding track. This should really be called 'Who'll be the Last Punk Standing?' but it looked better as a shortened title. Again it's about time, and knowledge running out. When a generation passes there's no one left to explain the true nature of their experience. eg- those who fought in WW2 are all but gone and that's how we get the rise of the new right: we learn from history that we don't learn from history. Who'll be left to pass on the essence of what punk was about - home-made, please yourself music. PS - the character Roberta, is from a Leadbelly tune- I thought it nice to have her and Mark E. Smith in the same pop song (Mark was still with us when we recorded this number). Billy Childish – May 2019

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There's no denying that Childish has had one of the most prolific and succesful careers in the rock and/or roll world thus far, and it doesn't look like he has any intention of slowing down. Clashing, snarling punk-rock attitude and most importantly, bloody good tunes.

How did Billy come to be?

Holed away in the distant inter tidal marshland of mid-Seventies Kent, breaking rocks in the hot sun as a teenage dockland stonemason, undiagnosed dyslexia and general insubordination denying him the educational path he might have taken, Childish took the punk gospel Malcolm McLaren and the Sex Pistols preached in 1976 as revealed scriptural truth.

Forty-two years later Childish is the last man standing, the most enduring, uncorrupted and prolific of the class of ‘77.

And some heroic fool has now tried to sum him up in a mere forty-eight songs, from the thousand or so he has recorded.

This compilation provides tiny tasters of each of Childish’s phases, and some snippets of short-lived side-projects too.

Administered correctly, it will make an addict of you. You have been warned.

TRACK LISTING

A1

1/Whatcha Gonna Do About It (Live) - The Pop Rivets
2/Kray Twins (Demo) - The Pop Rivets
3/Love Can Lose - The Milkshakes
4/I'm Out Of Control - The Milkshakes
5/You Make Me Die - Thee Mighty Caesars
6/The Double Axe - Thee Mighty Caesars
7/Come Into My Life - Thee Mighty Caesars
8/Cowboys Are Square - Thee Mighty Caesars
9/I Feel Like Giving In - The Delmonas
10/Brimful Of Hate - Jack Ketch And The Crowmen

A2/

1/Davey Crocket - Thee Headcoats
2/Girl From '62 -Thee Headcoats
3/All My Feelings Denied - Thee Headcoats
4/Punk Rock Ist Nicht Tot - Thee Headcoats
5/An Image Of You - Thee Headcoats
6/Evil Thing - Thee Headcoatees
7/Wild Man - Thee Headcoatees
8/Hurt Me - Thee Headcoatees
9/I'm Hurtin' - Thee Headcoats

B1/

1/Step Out - Billy Childish And Holly Golightly
2/Upside Mine - Billy Childish And Holly Golightly
3/I Don't Like The Man I Am - Billy Childish And The Singing Loins
4/Muscle Horse - Billy Childish And Sexton Ming
5/This Wondrous Day – Kyra
6/Rum And Coca Cola - Wild Billy Childish And The Blackhands
7/Mr Hitler - Wild Billy Childish And The Blackhands

B2/

1/Archive From 1959 - The Buff Medways
2/Troubled Mind- The Buff Medways
3/Unable To See The Good - The Buff Medways
4/Strood Lights - The Buff Medways
5/The Man With The Gallows Eyes - The Chatham Singers
6/The Angel Of Death - The Chatham Singers
7/Medway Wheelers - The Buff Medways
8/You Piss Me Off - The Buffets

C1/

1/Joe Strummer's Grave - The Musicians Of The British Empire
2/Snack Crack - The Musicians Of The British Empire
3/Christmas 1979 - The Musicians Of The British Empire
4/Polygraph Test - The Guy Hamper Trio
5/We Spartan Dreggs (Be Fine) - The Spartan Dreggs
6/Headlong Fly The Achaeans - The Spartan Dreggs
7/A Shropshire Lad - The Spartan Dreggs

C2/

1/A Song For Kylie Minogue – CTMF
2/In A Parallel World – CTMF
3/Something's Missing Inside – CTMF
4/All Our Forts Are With You – CTMF
5/Cadillac - The Dear Watsons
6/It's So Hard To Be Happy - The Shall I Say Quois
7/CTMF – CTMF

Seems like only yesterday but it's 30 years since the first Damaged Goods release! As part of the anniversary celebrations we’re releasing this compilation bringing together a selection of top tracks, deep cuts, lost gems and personal favourites. Punk, garage and indie are all well represented, with artists including Thee Headcoats, Holly Golightly, Johnny Moped, Manic Street Preachers, Cowbell, Pete Molinari, Fabienne Delsol, Thee Dagger Debs and many more!

The past is a foreign country and there’s certainly been many changes in the musical climate since 1988. Formats have come and gone (and returned!). Online, digital and streaming music were all pure science fiction then. But good music is as they say timeless. With this in mind we bring you some of the best music Damaged Goods Records has released since its humble beginnings in Ian Damaged's front room. With 500 releases to date it was difficult to whittle this collection down onto two pieces of vinyl and two shiny compact discs but we’re happy with the result. As a handy best-of or taster for further investigation we hope you’ll enjoy this selection.  Place it on your turntable, crank up the volume and enjoy! 

TRACK LISTING

SIDE 1

1/ Ain't No Rock 'n' Roll Rookie Johnny Moped
2/ Every Bit Of Me Thee Headcoats
3/ Shirts Off Armitage Shanks
4/ Soundtrack To The Daily Grind Graham Day And The Gaolers
5/ You're So Sorry The Budget Girls
6/ When My Mind Is Not Live Fabienne Delsol
7/ New Art Riot Manic Street Preachers
8/ Hanging By A Thread Cowbell
9/ Punk Rock Enough For Me CTMF

SIDE 2

1/ Walk A Mile Holly Golightly
2/ I Came Out Of The Wilderness Pete Molinari
3/ I Don't Like The Man That I Am Wild Billy Childish And The Singing Loins
4/ Davey Crockett Thee Headcoatees
5/ Archive From 1959 The Buff Medways
6/ Love Pours Out Of My Heart Miss Ludella Black
7/ Slingshot The Senior Service
8/ The Harbour Master Cee Bee Beaumont
9/ Sing Shed Sing Billy Childish And Sexton Ming

SIDE 3

1/ Conquer The World Cyanide Pills
2/ Terminal Boredom The Cute Lepers
3/ Number 10 Giuda
4/ Father And Son Oizone
5/ I Don't Want It Thee Spivs
6/ Are You A Wally? The Spartan Dreggs
7/ Never Gonna Push Me Around Mikabomb
8/ My Favourite Place J Church
9/ Bring Me The Head Of Yukio Mishima The Snivelling Shits
10/ It Makes Me Belch Wat Tyler

SIDE 4

1/ We Love You Helen Love
2/ Spice Girls (Who Do You Think You Are?) The Period Pains
3/ Endless Song Cuckooland
4/ David Cassidy Betty And The Werewolves
5/ Jack The Ripper The Revillos
6/ Ain't Worth The Time Thee Dagger Debs
7/ All My Friends Are Zombies The Priscillas
8/ It's So Hard To Be Happy The Shall I Say Quoit
9/ Just Around The Bend Holly Golightly And The Brokeoffs

Holly Golightly (real name) started her musical career as a founder member of all girl garage band Thee Headcoatees, a Billy Childish /
Thee Headcoats splinter group in 1991. She spent four years as a Headcoatee before breaking away to release her debut record, The Good Things, in 1995. Where the Headcoatees sound was a blend of girl group sounds and three-chord garage-rock with all the original songs coming from the pen of Billy Childish, Holly's solo sound is more a blend of pre-rock electric blues, folk rock, and less frantic rock 'n' roll. Apart from the wide range of covers of such artists as Willie Dixon, Ike Turner, Lee Hazelwood, Wreckless Eric, and Bill Withers, Golightly also writes most of her own material.

Holly Golightly is definitely the most interesting and diverse artist to come out of the Billy Childish school and is certainly one of the better singer/songwriters of the post-grunge era who gets better with every album. Since her debut in 1995, Golightly has been very prolific, releasing a string of classic long play records and loads of singles for a wide variety of labels as well as touring extensively in America, Australia & Europe. This double vinyl LP, (or single CD newly packaged in a digipack) compiles Holly's first twelve 7” singles, A & B-sides. It includes the bluesy 'No Big Thing' with its bar-room piano and harmonica backing, the dirty guitar-driven 'Til I Get, the shuffling brushed drums and double bass of 'Come The Day, the haunting vocal and bottleneck guitar of 'Stain' and finishes with a brilliant up-tempo cover of Pavement's 'Box Elder'.

TRACK LISTING

1. Virtually Happy
2. The Ride #1
3. No Big Thing
4. My Own Sake
5. 'Til I Get
6. Waiting Room
7. I Can't Be Trusted
8. Card Table
9. No Hope Bar
10. Believe Me #1
11. Come The Day
12. In You
13. Believe Me #2
14. Stain
15. Won't Go Out
16. Too Late Now
17. Sand
18. Lonesome Town
19. Your Love Is Mine
20. Laughing To Keep From Crying
21. Listen
22. Rain Down Rain
23. You Shine
24. Box Elder

More Memphis, more Fuzz, more greasy foot-beating, party-greeting, soul-treating maximum RnB. And yes, more Cowbell. Jack Sandham (Guitar/Keys/Vox) and Wednesday Lyle (Drums/Vox) have straddled the Atlantic with the beat stampede of their songbook so far, but Haunted Heart sees them walk down the dark end of the street, drawing on Atlantic-era Ray Charles and Dusty, while still keeping on creeping on with the sweaty-hand shaky knee Garage rock ear-worms. From the Sun Studio, Cramps-like swagger of the title track, to the paranoid Coasters swing and Doors-keys of None Of Your Business, Jack’s urgent vocals yelp out from the first needle drop, stepping aside for Wednesday’s wink of the eye on the Holly Golighty/Black Lips femme-fatale fury of Downlow, which sounds like it’s been ripped straight from the beating heart of the Fillmore during the Summer Of Love.

Produced by the band themselves at Soup studios in Limehouse, London, their early raw bare-bones sound has now been fully expanded with Jack’s sandpaper grit guitars and Wednesday’s freight train rhythms chased down with some glitchy synths and vintage organs (Doom train/Neon blue) as well as a drop of Delta gospel Blues on Nothing But Trouble (also incidentally the first Cowbell song ever to actually feature a Cowbell). Otis and Pickett-era horns breathe seductively into the swampy-stomp of What Am I Supposed To Do, while New Kind Of Love tiptoes onstage with its alluring smokey jazz piano as Wednesday brings a beautifully casual Peggy Lee type Fever to the microphone.But it’s with the curtain-closers on both sides of wax that 

TRACK LISTING

1: Haunted Heart
2: None Of Your Business
3: Downlow
4: Doom Train
5: Neon Blue
6: Something's Gotta Give
7: Nothing But Trouble
8: What Am I Supposed To Do?
9: New Kinda Love
10: Stop Breaking Your Own Heart
11: No Wrong

The Killjoys were one of the finest punk bands thrown up in the UK 1977 explosion. Energetic, frenetic and just a single piece of plastic to show for it. But what a record! Johnny Won't Get To Heaven is up there with the best in its class. Before Kevin Rowland discovered the joys of making menswear and years before he launched Dexys Midnight Runners he was the lead singer in this legendary punk band from the Midlands. Originally called Lucy & The Lovers and more jazz orientated, Kevin caught the first of a series of wind of changes and hitched a ride on punk with his girlfriend Heather on backing vocals and the gorgeous Gem on bass whom he exploited to the full even encouraging her wearing of sexually alluring clothing!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the debut long player from The Senior Service. A thrilling musical journey tinged with the filmic hues of bygone celluloid classics. Here you’ll find it all; excitement, action, romance, intrigue! Each song tells its own story – no words are necessary. As with all great instrumental music, it weaves its web of magic through the light and shade created from the brush of keys, plucking of strings and beating of skins, with the occasional splash of colour provided by brass, vibes and theremin (naturally) – this exquisite combination alone conjures up its narrative. A year or so back, Johnny purchased his first Hammond Organ. Being in love with the depth of sound and, yes, emotion, that flows, oozes and blasts from this monumental beast from an early age, it was time that Mr. B succumbed. There was a game plan – to form a band and attack the classics, tracks made famous by such giants of the Hammond as Georgie Fame and Booker T. It was a good plan and it was a plan that began to take shape. But then…

…The band – four like-minded old friends sharing a love for the thematic majesty created by the likes of John Barry and Barry Gray – reconsidered and it was quickly decided upon to pen wholly original material, to follow in the colossal footprints of those sultans of the soundtrack. Colossal footprints undoubtedly, but the impassioned quartet of Johnny, Graham, Darryl and Wolf collectively lifted the hallowed mantle and strived to build their own set of purely instrumental tunes. What emerged was a collection of songs with an orchestral sensibility juxtaposed with an urgent garage rock crash bang wallop! It was completely unique but had a comforting familiarity that would take the listener back to the greatest scenes from some of their favourite movies. The fruit of these endeavours is now in your hand, packaged under the title of The Girl in the Glass Case – a title inspired by an original Wolf Howard poem. From the first unexpected crash of Snake Charmer that attacks you like the crack of a rattlesnake’s tail, to the final hushed piano coda of Bees, via the European flavoured intrigue of Into the Tunnel and exhilarating Mexican romance of Five Beans in the Wheel, you are completely immersed in the world of The Senior Service. So please indulge and enjoy. The Girl in the Glass Case awaits you.
Roberto Rocket February 2016

Thee Spivs are back with their third album in as many years and with ‘The Crowds and The Sounds’ they’ve honed their canny blend of trad punk, garage punk, post punk, new wave, classic English rock’n’roll and pub rock to create a magnificently varied album. Dare we say, these young men have matured, with Ben Edge proving his worth as an accomplished songwriter. Drawing from a more diverse array of influences, Thee Spivs have lapped up and reimagined sounds from bands such as The Television Personalities, The Ramones and early Wire. The new album is a natural progression from their critically acclaimed debut ‘Taped Up’ (which landed the band an early Mojo Rising feature and a Guardian New Band of the Day piece as well as praise in The Sunday Times and Artrocker) and last year’s ‘Black and White Memories’ (with reviews including Q, Uncut and BBC). ‘The Crowds and The Sounds’ is instantly more melodic and you can see additional influences from the very British qualities of The Kinks. The songs are slowed down and slightly longer in length, with a lot more thought and work in to each one than the furiously fast, punchy numbers from their early records.

TRACK LISTING

1. Social Network
2. Outside Myself
3. The Crowds And The Sounds
4. Straight Out Of Art School
5. Weathered Men
6. Mickey Pearce Waved Goodbye
7. Heroin Pin Ups
8. Lets Talk About The Weather
9. Jigsaw Man
10. Mozart’s Locked Away

Debut single from French 3-piece electronic garage band, The Jimi Ben Band. Based in Lille, France, they came to our attention having played with Thee Spivs. We strongly suggest you YouTube the video to experience the full majesty and psychedelic majesty of the band.

Once upon a time, Jimi Ben found himself lost in the jungle. He had been wandering in South East Asia for years and could find no way out. One night he was cruising for dirt and love, he got struck by sexedelic visions emerging from the red lights of go-go bars. An inner baboon voice told him: “Jimi ! Bad is good for you. Why don’t you set up a Rock’N’Roll band ?”. That’s exactly what he did. Back in his hometown (Stockton, Northern France), he was taught by long time friend Ricky Love how to play power chords on a guitar and recorded a first LP demo on a 4 tracks tape recorder in his kitchen.In December 2009, Johnny Boom (drums) joined Ricky Love (bass, vocals) and Jimi Ben (vocals, guitars) for their first show and further DIY tape recordings (Monkeys In Da House EP – 2011). Mainly influenced by American Garage bands, 60’s British Beat groups, Surf Music, Punk Rock and New Wave, these slackers like it rather cheesy, danceable and fun. The Jimi Ben Band started as a lo-fi garage trio. Since then, they have performed about 40 shows in France and Belgium and developed a degenerate style based on energy, coconut vocals and great amounts of reverb. They have made it quite clear that they wanted nothing but having girls dancing at gigs.

Thee Spivs are back with their second album in November, following their debut from 2010 the critically acclaimed ‘Taped Up’.

‘Black And White Memories’ was recorded in East London at Gizzard studios with Ed Deegan at the controls over the summer, it features 14 new tracks. This album shows how the band have progressed and matured over the last year, alongside storming garage & 77 Punk tracks like the lead single ‘TV Screen’ and ‘Flicking V’s’ there are even a couple of ballads! The band recently played the MOJO awards gigs at London’s 100 Club alongside the Jim Jones Revue and they are heading back over to Europe for another string of dates in late October. Thee Spivs are Ben Edge (Git/Vox) Dan May (bass) and Steve Coley (drums) Rock ‘N’ Roll hasn’t been this much fun for years, give it a try, you might like it!

After their first two 7” singles last year the Cyanide Pills are ready to launch their loud & snotty debut album… Exploding out of the speakers this 19 track album is bursting with some of the best Pop-punk tunes we’ve heard in years. Think of The Boys, The Briefs, Dickies and you’ll get it. The Cyanide Pills are from Leeds, UK and have been playing around for a few years, this is pure, very British punk rock with a great pop sensibility, they are heading out with the Cute Lepers in May and the will be doing a full tour later in the year.

This is from SugarBuzz Magazine… 'love the Cyanide Pill's tinny, spontaneous, cheap-sounding, production value, too. It sounds raw, and real...Americans tend to Pro-Tool the life outta everything, nowadays. They polish it 'til it becomes a product, loses all it's charm, and truthfulness. The 'Pills aren't merely eager young puppets, being master-minded by some grey haired old fart producer. I'm glad they ain't got nobody editing out all the raggedy, heart-felt bits! Man, the CYANIDE PILLS are fucking great! They're fun, boppy, now. Truly, the nazz. Bubblegum lyrics about politics and teenage alienation. They look terrific. You're sure to dig 'em. if you like real rock'n'roll. Seek them out, NOW'.

Nat Johnson is the former singer, songwriter and guitarist of Monkey Swallows the Universe - a Sheffield based five piece band who released two critically acclaimed albums earlier in the decade, toured the UK with Richard Hawley, the Long Blondes and Camera Obscura, were profiled in The Sun and the Guardian, played a host of festivals and performed live sessions for the likes of XFM, 6music and Radio 4's Loose Ends. Since the band split in 2008 Nat has embarked on what has so far proved to be a very fruitful solo career with her single for Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation "Dirty Rotten Soul" which is on the album and made Single of the Week by Steve Lamacq on 6 Music. Now with her debut album all recorded Nat has assembled a new backing band The Figureheads (featuring MSTU co-founder Kevin Gori, Chris Loftus of Fury of the Headteachers and Neil Piper of Champion Kickboxer) for a series of gigs throughout the Summer and Autumn - all leading up to the release of debut album "Roman Radio" on the 19th of October preceded by the double 'A' side single "Wonderful Emergency" c/w "Don't Worry Baby".

The Headcoatees were Holly Golightly, Ludella Black, Kyra Rubella & Bongo Debbie, they released seven studio albums, a singles compilation and a split live album with Thee Headcoats. Thee Headcoatees played live along with Thee Headcoats from 1990–1999 when they split followed a year later by Thee Headcoats. Holly Golightly has gone on to release 13 solo albums and too many singles to mention, plus notable guest appearances on records by Rocket From The Crypt, The White Stripes and Mikabomb. Ludella Black was a founder member of legendary Medway band the DelMonas and has also released two solo albums with another planned for 2008 and is currently out on tour with The Masonics. Kyra Rubella released one solo album and singles on quite a few labels in the 1990's, she also did a single with Armitage Shanks in 1996. Kyra is currently in The A-Lines along with Debbie and Julie from The Musicians Of The British Empire. Bongo Debbie is currently in various bands including The Buffets, The A-Lines, and Dutronc and before that was also in The Would Be Goods, Honey & The Hucksters, Baby Birkin and probably a lot more besides.

A re-issue of the very first Headcoats album that originally came out on Hangman Records in 1989. Features 12 tracks including "Young Blood" and "You're Looking Fine".