It has been just under 25 years since the band Tad split up. Their final single, ‘Oppenheimer’s Pretty Nightmare‘, was released in 1999, and a collection of latter-day recordings and errant stray tracks, ‘Quick and Dirty‘ appeared in 2018. Since then, Tad (the man) formed the band Hog Molly, releasing one album, ‘Kung-Fu Cocktail Grip‘ […]
David Rappaport was unquestionably one of Britain’s greatest actors of the 70s and 80s. Intelligent, witty, debonair and at home playing both good guys and bad, that there isn’t a physical tribute to him is scandalous. From the stage to hit television shows on both sides of the Atlantic to blockbuster movies, it was impossible […]
For some time now, my phone’s ringtone has been “Be a Clown” performed by Verne Langdon. There has never been an occasion when my phone has rung and the tune it plays has been appropriate. Not at the doctor’s, at work, at funerals, whilst shopping… it’s guaranteed to provoke weird looks and, for some reason, […]
In the rather overpopulated world of what is broadly described as ‘outsider music’, it’s true to say there are one or two frauds, or at least those who have been shoehorned in. Are The Shaggs outsiders? Perhaps it was challenging or even outrageous to insist your clearly tone-deaf daughters perform for the masses – of […]
In 1792, France was revolting; in America, George Washington sanded off his choppers for a second term as president; in England, Joanna Southcott, a farmer’s daughter from Devon announced herself as the Bride of Christ. Busy times for all. It’s easy to envisage cults existing in remote areas of America and pseudo-religions in Asia, with […]
This is what we know for certain about Schlitze Surtees, the sideshow performer – nothing. Not even his name. Actually, we can say that we know he wasn’t born Schlitze Surtees, so maybe that’s a start. Most likely born in The Bronx, New York around 1900 (some estimates suggest as early as 1882 but as […]
Thomas Wedders – likely born Thomas Wadhouse – was born in Yorkshire around 1730. Exact details about his life are sketchy, given that much of it was spent as an exhibition at circuses and freak shows. Wedders is thought to have been the owner of the longest nose ever recorded, though sadly the 18th century […]
Morley, Leeds. Like Rome, set upon seven hills – like Rome, see Morley and die. All of life spread across a settlement five miles from Leeds. One thousand years of simultaneously resisting change and grinding down resolve until unwary visitors find themselves unable to leave. First mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086, this “open […]
There’s something slightly religious about Dyr Faser. As I type this, listening to their new album through headphones which may have melted into my ears, there’s a towering, churchy, immoveability to their music. Guitar riffs punch you in the chest, rise to the rafters and circle back down to slap you about the chops. Economical, […]
Some 27 years since its original release, Screaming Trees’ most successful album is given the reissue treatment courtesy of Cherry Red, the handful of B-sides on the additional disc being only part of the reason to dig deep beneath the potatoes and feast heartily on the fleshy songs which feel as refreshingly vital today as […]
