Punk Rock Advent Calendar ... follow this link...

CLICK ON THIS LINK
http://www.punk-christmas.com/ 
and then click on the date for your free punk rock tune for the day!

22 December ... Joe Strummer "Greed, it ain't going nowhere."

“And so now I'd like to say - people can change anything they want to. And that means everything in the world. People are running about following their little tracks - I am one of them. But we've all got to stop just following our own little mouse trail. People can do anything - this is something that I'm beginning to learn. People are out there doing bad things to each other. That's because they've been dehumanised. It's time to take the humanity back into the center of the ring and follow that for a time. Greed, it ain't going anywhere. They should have that in a big billboard across Times Square. Without people you're nothing. That's my spiel.” ― Joe Strummer

Paul Simenon

Book Launch "The Punk of Dyslexia" By Steve Mick at Rough Trade West

Steve Micalef read from his book of poems at Rough Trade West record shop. 

The book was written this year about the ten months that he spent writing with Mark P for Sniffin' Glue Fanzine (August 76 to May 77) under the name Steve Mick. 

The poems are reproduced in Steve's handwriting which will be familiar (a transcript is provided opposite in case you can't decipher it). 

The book is a LIMITED EDITION of 500 and each copy is hand-numbered. 
We saw

John Tiberi (photographer) left: Manny (right) 

Richard Cabot (right)

Jane Palm-Gold

better shot of her fabulous outfit

More information in case you are out of town and want to order the book here: 

https://www.roughtrade.com/events/steve-micalef-aka-steve-mick-poetry-reading-signing

Amy Rigby (Assisted by Wreckless Eric) at the Apple Tree

What a brilliant early Christmas present... Amy Rigby on tour in the UK.
Wreckless Eric (her husband) played bass and what I liked about that was he didn't play in the background in any tip-toe kind of gentle way. He came up front and gave the songs warmth and power.

It was a cosy little room near Exmouth Market in London. The crowd gave the two a very warm reception and we were given such a lovely set... Funny, heartfelt, real-life songs...  John Perry from The Only Ones happened to be standing near me at the bar and said afterwards he found himself laughing and then being taken to the brink of tears which you have to admit tells you the high quality of her talent.  Some of the songs played that night were...

Eric is surprised to meet John Perry (Only Ones)

photo Nick West

We spotted Nick Tesco from The Members in the audience with his lovely partner Francesca (who can knock out a characture in minutes) and when Wreckless Eric stood in for the photo here a few people thought, hmm... that would be an interesting band for Amy... after all those guys know three chords (at LEAST!)

Francesca's drawing

Best dressed punters... Lloyd and Ali Rawlings

The Unreliable Witnesses and Vic Godard and the Subway Sect play The Water Rats 9 Dec

 The Unreliable Witness
photo Tonje Cecilie Tainsh

Water Rats
Kings Cross London.
Friday 9 December

It wasn't cold out. Took the 17 bus down to King's Cross. DJ Sue welcomed everyone in to the room with every song she played. The sound was perfect. The lights were groovy.  The merch was groovy.

Sheila took this photo

There were three bands. The first band was The Unreliable Witnesses. They were very interesting, upbeat ... a three-piece cover band with a difference. They had Cos Chapman on guitar - but he didn't just strum, he scraped and tapped with a drumstick... and Miss Demeanour played bass, but not a walking beat and humming, steam-heat radiator, heartbeat throbbing bass and the front man ____ [name check] read out songs:

They never "sing" the same song twice so each set is unique.

They had a special guest for one number who looked the spitting image of Vic Godard but he was called to the stage by the name Kew-C.

And they did a Christmas song.


The third band up was indeed Vic Godard, with Dave Morgan on drums and Mark Brady on guitar. The keyboard/guitarist was ____ [name].

It wasn't a typical Vic Godard and the Subway Sect set. It was a bit of poetry here, a bit of jamming behind Vic as he sorted papers and picked a poem or a song at random. There were some covers and no set list to pinch at the end.

A fabulous version of Waiting For My Man was pretty masterful...

DJ Sue 
17 December - Dragon Bar, Hastings, 8.30-11.30pm, FREE 
18 December - The Enterprise, Camden, 7.00pm-midnight, FREE
19 December - Shoreditch Radio Show, 6-8pm
20 December - Joe's, 10pm-3am, FREE before 11pm then £3
22 December - The Strongroom, Shoreditch, 7pm-1am
27 December - Joe's, 10pm-3am, FREE before 11pm then £3
29 December - Camden Head, 10pm-2am, FREE 
31 December - Howling Hops, 9pm-2am, FREE: New Year's Eve Party

Chalkie Davies has beautiful prints for sale - and not expensive

Chalkie Davies was a staff photographer at the NME from 1975-1979. In 1980 he helped launch THE FACE magazine. His photos are the ones you like on record covers by David Bowie, Elvis Costello, The Specials, The Pretenders and Thin Lizzy. And these beautiful shots are available for not too expensive. I won't put the price here incase you want to buy them for a present. 

http://enormousart.com/product-category/artists-a-z/d-artists-a-z/davies-chalkie/

16 December Rough Trade WEST Book Launch for The Punk Kings of Dyslexia by Steve Micalef

6pm Start (sharp)  6:30pm Finish.  Free Entry. 
Rough Trade WEST is at:
130 Talbot Road, London W11 1JA 

The book is a book of poems written this year about the 10 months that Steve Mick (real name Micalef) spent writing with Mark P for Sniffin' Glue Fanzine (August 76 to May 77). The poems are reproduced in Steve's handwriting which will be familiar (a transcript is provided opposite in case you can't decipher it). 

LIMITED EDITION of 500 and each copy is hand-numbered. 

(This event is recommended by Mark P who is unable to be at the event)

More information in case you are out of town and want to order the book here: 
https://www.roughtrade.com/events/steve-micalef-aka-steve-mick-poetry-reading-signing

Lydia Lunch UK tour RETROVIRUS

Lydia Lunch is in the UK. Her tour is called RETROVIRUS and she's on fire. She's got Bob Bert from Sonic Youth on drums. Tim Dahl on bass and Weasel Walter on guitar.

A young Lydia Lunch came to UK with her band Teenage Jesus and the Jerks in 1977. I swear she played the Vortex the night Elvis Presley died. I remember her in the shoebox of white light that was the stage there, in silouhette, with Bradley Fields on one drum and one cymbal to her right, playing standing up, and the guitarist to her left. Unforgettable.

One of my favourite songs of all time is Final Solution by Pere Ubu. Here's her cover of it:

For more songs and info - this is the link for Lydia Lunch's Official site

For tickets and ... if you see me on the road trip, say hello
http://www.songkick.com/artists/23742-lydia-lunch

Joe Strummer Blue Plaque unveiling 1.01pm - 7 December 2016

Seymour Housing Co-Op is unveiling a blue plaque at the former squat location where Clash singer Joe Stummer lived from 1978 to 1979 The Unveiling will take place at 1.01 on Wednesday December 7, 2016 which will mark the anniversary of the release of The Clash single "LONDON CALLING" a week ahead of the actual release date which was in fact December 14th, 1979.

Amy RIgby (WIth a bit of assistance from Wreckless Eric) Tour Dates

Lucky UK - Amy Rigby is on tour here (with assistance from her husband Wreckless Eric).  
If this tour had a name it would be  "The antidote to the end of the world doom and gloom blues tour."
Recommend this to your friends.

Backstage story:  For some reason Amy, (and I can't remember WHY she was booked to play Hull but she was booked to play HULL). Yes!  This American girl from NYC, Brooklyn, and Nashville and Ohio (she moved around, but I met her when she lived across the street from me in Brooklyn last century), comes to the UK to play HULL.
Amy sets up for soundcheck and it JUST so happens that the guy doing the soundcheck is a mate of Wreckless Eric. Wreckless Eric JUST HAPPENS to be in HULL visiting. Amy just happens to soundcheck a song by Wreckless Eric called "The Whole Wide World." The sound man phones Eric to tip him off:
Sound man: "Mate, there's this American singer here going to do your song later."
Eric:  Really?
Sound man:  Yeah, come down and hear her.
Eric: All right, I will.

LATER:  Amy on stage with Eric close by, moves the capo on her guitar and says something like, "I'm going to sing a song by someone else now, it's called The Whole Wide World," and Eric says out loud something like, "Not in that key you're not."
Amy:  Oh yes I am.
Eric:  Oh no you're not.
Amy:  But I like this key.
Eric:  But you would sound better if you sang it in (names key)...
Amy sings song. It sounds great.

LATER:  Eric assumes Amy has a boyfriend. Amy assumes Eric has a girlfriend.
Cutting the long story short:  they actually meet up and get together and get married and now they're on tour and sing together and it's great. It's magical even. But most of all it's authentic, real-life, heart-tugging, heart-warming stuff that comes from out of the Milky Way or somewhere. I have no idea how they do it...

meanwhile... in NYC 7th Street and Avenue A

Photo by E. V. Grieve

Joe Corre burns memorabelia ... come yawn with me...

On the cold, rather damp gloomy afternoon that it was here in London today, 26 November... on the River Thames, Joe Corre makes his film crew film "the" burning of his memorabelia.  

SPOILER ALERT:  no one swoops by with a fire-extinguisher at the last minute to save it.

And, it was heavily rumoured, that the reason Joe Corre spoke ill of the dead a while ago (the dead man being his dad, Malcolm McLaren) was because Malcolm left his son Joe a lot of ton of knock-off Seditionaries clothing made in China. Whether Malcolm knew they were knock-offs wasn't clear when overheard in the loud venue but it is 90% likely that the burning could actually be that junk punk stuff. Who knows if Joe has the real stuff in his loft. And as someone else said, "Why couldn't he do it quietly at the end of his garden?"

The streaming video originally posted on youTube has been taken down and this video, with the preamble of Joe's manifesto, has replaced it. 

SPOILER ALERT
No fire-barge comes along side. 

November 25 - Steve Jones LONELY BOY signed copies available

Steve Jones, guitarist... has written his life story and you can buy signed copies of it for £20 plus shipping from Rough Trade Mailing Department

Steve Jones playing guitar

November 24 THE POP GROUP at 100 CLUB

Address: 100 Oxford St, Fitzrovia, London W1D 1LL

Phone:020 7636 0933

November 24 Rough Trade East Book Launch of GOD SAVE SEX PISTOLS

Anthology Editions presents: Book launch for Deluxe Edition of "GOD SAVE SEX PISTOLS"  with host Bob Stanley, photographer John Tiberi (my favourite) and writer-journalist Jonh (not a spelling mistake) Ingham.

Now, mind, the book is a DELUXE book. 
How much do you think it costs?  
It's £120. 
It's in a limited edition run of 2000 and it was sorted out by Johan Kugelberg and Jon Savage.

Rough Trade East tonight at 7.00pm 

In-conversation starts 7pm
7.45pm  -audience questions
8.00pm - signing

Address: The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL

Phone: 020 7392 7788

Museum of London - Punk Debate

Joe Corre

Mark from SS and Lesley Edgar

BOB DYLAN at Halcyon Gallery, London November 5 - 11 December

BOB DYLAN has an exhibition of his drawings, paintings, prints and iron works at
HALCYON GALLERY
144-146 New Bond Street
London W1S 2PF

Open
Monday to Saturday 10-6pm
Sunday 11-5pm

It closes on 11 December.
Recommended.