Tonight's "The Conspiracy Files" (on 7/7) was pretty amazing - I was getting worried for a bit, but it came in with enough sucker punches in the last 15 minutes to leave me reeling.

Especially this bit when the "We Are Change" style of "confronting" people is turned against the maker of the most successful 7/7 conspiracy film.

Although the moment when another conspiracist is revealed to be a holocaust denier was pretty sweet too.

Should be on BBC iplayer soon, for those who missed it.
EDIT: It's here

I didn't get that Frock LP I wanted - it went for £137.

I'll have to try elsewhere for this little bit of Blackheath Morris history...

I remember back when The Wire was essentially a jazz magazine, but was trying to push the envelope a bit (late 80s I guess) it caused an uproar amongst its readers when it put Michael Jackson on the front cover, many considering it the nadir of a once great mag (for me, that was when Paul Weller made the cover, but I digress)

I think it says something about the essentially conservative nature of much left-field/experimental music that it would doubtless cause much more of a furore if they were to do it today.

Michael Jackson never came over as a particularly likeable bloke to me, but he did make some bloody great records.

Courtesy of Mark Spybey - these are photographs of The Euphoria Case, Spring 1985 (just a few months before I moved to London). Incidently the decay on these photos are not deliberate effects - the pictures were rescued from a flood at Mark's house. Click on the photos for enlargements.




l-r, Ronnie Burke, Mark Spybey, bagrec, Martyn Simpson, Gary Philips





Gosh, don't we look "C86"!

Mark and I's collaborative recordings from 1992 are being released by Lens Records on the 14th of July.

After about two years of having it on my saved search on eBay, it's finally come up trumps. I get about 10 emails a week telling me they've found "Hostage in A Frock" by Cecil (which I'm not remotely interested in), but finally they've found a copy of the record I was actually looking for.

It's a folk-rock LP made in 1978 by a band called Frock which allegedly included several members of Blackheath Morris Men - hence the final track being "The Blackheath Morris, Stick Throwing Dance", in fact I'm lead to believe that Blackheath Morris appear on this LP.

I must have it. Wish me luck.

Avant Rock On-


Actually really enjoyed the gig last night - as I think this picture communicates well-



And it was nice of Benny Goodman to turn up and jam with us-



"The Constitution" was a really nice pub, lots of proper beers, a beer garden and the back of the music space opened directly onto the canal - very bohemian. To be honest I was expecting a Carling Black Label rock pub - very pleasantly surprised. Also very pleasantly surprised to bump into members of Die Trip Computer Die who popped along. "1979", I confirmed, when they asked what year we were....

On the way there, in a truly horrible crowded tube , I was offered a seat. I accepted it, once I realised I probably was the oldest bloke in the carriage, and certainly the greyest. This, I imagine, is the shape of things to come.

Photos by the irrepressible Andy Coules

Look, I'm sorry that this blog has become little more than a collection of press releases and adverts for gigs I'm doing, but I'm assuming you're probably all bored with reading about how permanently knackered I am since entering full time childcare.

However, I am occasionally seen in the flesh, and on Thursday (tomorrow) I will be making a very rare excursion into North London to play with Lost Robots in Camden of all places.

Our friend Simon has organised it and it should be a good bash, we're on with Sculpture (Dan Hayhurst) who does interesting retro-sci-fi things with old cassette machines, DJ Tendraw who's on a kind of slo-mo Christian Marclay trip with records made out of strange materials and "The Reactor Core Is Splendid", Simon's own project - singular and peculiar songs sung by a guitarist who has the looks and mannerisms of a young Tom Verlaine. It's at at The Constitution, 42 St. Pancras Way, London, and costs and astonishing £4 or £2 concessions to get in....

I know what you're thinking - Bob Crow has stopped us from getting to this gig, but apparently he has little control over the Northern Line, which, in an effort to confound its "misery line" reputation, is making it easy for you to get to an avant rock gig in Camden. So come on, it'll be like the old days, won't it?

This is what we look like-



Now, you are powerless to resist.

My very good friend Mark Spybey has just sent me this press release - it concerns some recordings we made a good few years ago, which are finally seeing the light of day.

Sanderson / Spybey

THE SETLAND L.P.

Richard Sanderson is a musician, radio presenter and music promoter. He is also an old friend and long-time collaborator of Mark Spybey. Originally from Middlesbrough, he began his career in the band Solaris with his cousin, Mark Sanderson and Spybey in 1974. He then formed a string of punk-post-punk bands such as Drop and The Euphoria Case that Spybey was also a member of (Drop were one of Julian Cope’s favourite bands, he famously tried to get Bill Drummond to sign them to Zoo Records and failed..) Richard has lived in London for over twenty years, where he has forged a singularly eccentric career that has seen him focus on free improvisational music, minimalist pop, playing the accordion, morris dancing and collaborations with a diverse range of people such as Steve Beresford, Blixa Bargeld, Minnow and Ticklish. He has played live with hundreds of musicians including members of This Heat and the cream of the UK improvisational scene. He has promoted live music in a variety of clubs over the years, is a Director of the London Musicians Collective and presents a regular show on Resonance 104.4fm.

Mark Spybey was a member of both Zoviet*France and Download. His collaborators include Jarboe (Swans), Mick Harris (Scorn), James Plotkin, Jean-Yves Theriault (Voivod), cEvin Key (Skinny Puppy), Genesis P. Orridge (Throbbing Gristle/Psychic TV), Not Breathing, The Legendary Pink Dots, Tommy Grenas (Aubian Lights, Nik Turner’s Hawkwind), Chris Connelly and others. He was a member of Can guitarist, Michael Karoli’s band, called Sofortkontakt! until Michaels sad death in 2001. He played with Can as part of their 30th Anniversary shows. He also toured with Michael and Damo Suzuki and is featured on the Damo Suzuki Network CD ‘Seattle’. Mark has done remixes for Faust and Neu! and toured with Michael Rother and Dieter Moebius, of Neu! Kraftwerk, Cluster and Harmonia fame. Since 2005, Spybey has been recording and playing live with Robin Storey (Rapoon & founding member of Zoviet*France) under the name Reformed Faction. They have released three acclaimed albums. He has recorded for labels such as Kranky, Nettwerk, Scratch, Invisible and Soleilmoon. His two main projects have been Dead Voices on Air and Propeller. In 2008 he released two albums with Phil Western from Download as Beehatch and toured Europe.. He is currently working with Phil on a project called mzmz lalalala with Simon Fisher Turner (Mute Records, Derek Jarman soundtracks)


Richard and Mark have been friends for nearly 40 years and have collaborated together episodically. One such episode took place in London in 1992, shortly before Spybey moved to Canada. The duo revisited some of the songs they had played together in Drop and within the space of 24 hours had assembled a hastily mastered cassette tape of diverse material. Over the years both spoke of releasing the material but for a number of reasons, it just never happened. Spybey mastered the material from the cassette tape weeks before it was destroyed in a flood in 2005. He subsequently manipulated some of the music and finally, it will be released via digital download only courtesy of Chicago’s Lens Records.

The Setland L.P features a number of songs written by Sanderson dating back as far as 1978. On the recordings, Richard played guitar, bass, keyboards, sax and sang. Mark played drums, trumpet, keyboards, backing vocals and toys. The songs are short, staccato and spiky. It’s no wave, it’s textured, minimal ambience, it’s an homage to some of the bands who inspired the duo and it’s an album born out of the beauty of the industrial landscape that they grew up in; of deserted docks, redundant remnants of the once proud iron works and the piercing cold of the wind blowing in from the North Sea. Moreover, it’s a record of the duo’s friendship, one that has weathered relationships, time, hairstyles, continents, movements, the poll tax and fads. It is a relationship that continues to be rooted in their love of music and the capacity that they have to inspire each other.

Both Sanderson and Spybey have experienced success in their respective careers since this album was first recorded. The Setland L.P is a teasing insight into the work that they have done together over the years that, until now, has remained unreleased.

I'm playing an improv gig tomorrow-
I'm playing melodeon and electronics in a trio with Martin Hackett (synthesizer) and Paul Hood (record players)

It's at Klinker South in Nunhead. Details at The Wire website.

Also on the bill is New York singer/pianist/accordionist Amy Kohn who I've had the pleasure of being on-the-same-bill-as twice before, and she's well worth seeing.

From The Guardian-

Airport staff issued a security warning after a passenger tried to carry pease pudding on to a plane. The traditional northern snack – made from boiled split peas and ham fat – was confiscated from hand luggage at Newcastle International airport. It was part of the 450 litres of banned liquids seized by staff each day, including suntan lotion and jars of Marmite. Chris Davis, the head of operations, said it was costing the airport a fortune in recycling and waste disposal. He said: "We're asking our customers to make sure they're aware of what can and can't be taken through the security search in their hand luggage."

That was my mother-in-law, with the pease pudding. Really.

I've spent today updating my entries on Last FM. Unfortunately I share the same name as a pretty successful (8 million copies of his hit)Europop artist, so I felt that he should probably have the first part of the biography, you'll find mine in the "read more" section of his biography.

It has however given me an opportunity to make a load of my old music available for free. As well as "Pinhole" and "Tiny Soundtracks" by me you'll find pages for Tick Tick and The Euphoria Case. They're all full of downloadable free MP3s. Help yourself.

spoombung, you already have a page on there, as do Ticklish!

Just found this on Flickr. it's my old band, "The Euphoria Case" performing in Darlington in 1984. How strange!

This is my oldest toy. I've had it for as long as I remember - it's basically wooden blocks held in place with wooden sticks on a painted wooden base full of holes, with a road, a lake and a railway - all kept in a suitably ancient Peek Freans biscuit tin (which desrves its own post to be honest - a Bermondsey company apparently)


I'm delighted to say our kids love playing with it too- they seem to like its fiddlyness. I thought the fact that you can't move anything on it would put them off...



(click on the pictures for enlargements)

For the full Proustian experience, I tentatively sucked one of the blocks - it still tasted disgusting.

We came, we saw, we stood around a lot...




...and yeah, we danced too. But being one of the dancers, I haven't any photos of that. Dur.

Weird weather, downpours, bright sunshine and cold gusts of wind, all tempered by some lovely pubs and lovely people.

Speaking of which, it was a fantastic surprise to meet jermynsavile (and his Mum and Dad) who was as charming and delightful in real life as his online incarnation - I hope to meet him again next year ('cos we will be there next year) and have further discussion.

Also marvellous to meet up with Pootergeek, who was too late to catch the dancing, mainly because he'd been working to 5.00am - which was roughly the same time I was being woken up...we'd be a shift-work company's dream couple! I fear I was a little worse for wear by then, (knackered to be honest) so I don't know how good company I was, but Pootergeek was wonderfully entertaining company.

I'll see the rest of youse next year!

Look, here's Mad Jacks Morris doing a morris dance which involves drinking and dancing simultaneously.


Ingenious.

I know I have a few readers in Brighton.

This is where you'll find Blackheath Morris Men performing as part of the Brighton Morris Day of Dance tomorrow (Sunday) -

10.30 - 11.45 as part of a mass stand in Pavilion Gardens.

12.00 - 12.45 at The Pump House

1.45 - 2.30 at The Basket Makers

2.45 - 3.30 at the Brighton Tavern

3.45 - 4.45 as part of a mass stand at Pavilion Gardens

The other Morris sides appearing are Brighton (natch), Armaleggan, Berkshire Bedlam, Bristol Rag, Cuckoo's Nest, Ditchling, Hobos, Hunters Moon, Mad Hatters, Mad Jacks, Rampant Rooster, Rockhopper and Windsor Morris.

If you are one of those wierdos that has an aversion to men (and women) jumping around in funny outfits waving hankies and banging sticks, then you best keep away...

otherwise, come along and say hello!

This was by far the best thing I caught on TV over the weekend-


and, yes, it is genius.

The marvellous Bob From Brockley is celebrating Spring (and today it really sprung) by re-doing the "Seven Songs" meme from a year back, and tagging me for good measure-

The rules-
List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to

My Answers-

1. Animal Collective - "Brother Sport" - even with the rather irritating whooping bit in the middle that goes on far too long, I find this totally uplifting. You can hear a stream of it on this page of the Domino website.

2. Al Green - "The Letter" - I've always thought Alex Chilton hugely over-rated, although he did write this gem. Al Green's version is sublime though, he slows it down - which somehow makes it more desperate. Here (sound only) on YouTube.

3. Randy Newman - "Baltimore" - An utterly depressing song, but lightened by fantastic Eagles harmonies. Astonishingly never used in either "The Wire" or "Homicide - Life on the Street".
Not bad live version (2006, and minus the lovely harmonies) on You Tube.

4. Oren Ambarchi - "Highway of Diamonds" - essentially two drones separated by a jumpcut. But what drones! On the Touch 7" "Destinationless Desire" (possibly my title of the decade) - an excerpt is on this Boomkat page.

5. The Free Design - "I Found Love" - was there ever a more enjoyably twee band than "The Free Design"? "I found love in the spring, and I did not lose a thing!" that must fit the remit, surely? The whole gorgeous two minutes and twelve seconds of it are here on Last FM.

6. Mawkin:Causley - "Come My Lads" - a song about the joys of hanging out with blokes and drinking beer. Doesn't sound too promising, does it? It's utterly marvellous though- Bright Young Folk Things on full blast. Full song is on their MySpace page

7. Joyce Grenfell - "Bring Back The Silence" - a plea for the abolition of piped music. Deploring the "The unending toothpaste-like stream of sweet music". John Cage would have approved of the sentiments, and it's also very funny. Amazingly, the whole track is on Last FM, somewhat less surprisingly I'm listed as the "Top Listener", in fact, the only listener.
Listen to it here...

OK - I tag ednawatley, suzanne219, steviecat, brotherturold, land_girl, flamingfairy and zagreb2.
No obligation, of course.

Blimey - there was footage from today's Deptford Jack In The Green procession on the internet when I got home from it...

Lovely weather - smashing day. Happy May Day everybody.