Until The Slits Documentary Premieres at the BFI on October 14th at the BFI - LONDON

more information about The Slits documentary here

PiL documentary 'The Public Image is Rotten' Premiere

 PiL documentary 'The Public Image is Rotten' will receive its Euro Film Festival Premiere at the Raindance Film Festival in London next month.
Screenings are as follows:
Saturday, September 30th, 9pm, Vue Leiester Square
Sunday, October 1st, 11am, Vue Leiester Square
http://www.pilofficial.com/info.html

Wreckless Eric at the Seaside 24 August 2017

Richard Lloyd Memoir EVERYTHING IS COMBUSTIBLE - October 24 2017

Everything is Combustible, the memoir of RICHARD LLOYD the guitarist best known for his role as a founding member of the pioneering New York ’70s band Television, will be published on October 24. Lloyd’s colorful early life, starts in Pittsburgh moves to NYC, and  details his teenage travels and encounters with music legends including Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy and Keith Moon.”

The book recounts the founding of Television, the band’s rise alongside other bands and personalities in the 1970s New York music scene, including the music venue CBGB. “As the rock ‘n’ roll tales unfold, he accompanies them with insights into his approach to music and the electric guitar,” the press release says.

Except here http://www.everythingiscombustible.com/excerpts.html

The 416-page hardcover book includes a foreword by music writer Bill Flanagan. http://www.everythingiscombustible.com/backstory.html

Beech Hill is the publisher.

The book is now available for pre-order 

Vic Goddard - play dates

Mark Perry and ATV play Preston with The Mekons Sat 5 AUGUST

Happy Birthday Siouxsie Sioux, 60 today

Glen Matlock ... The Anarchy Arias

 Glen Matlock has helped the Royal Philharmonic make a record and there is supposedly going to be ... (are you sitting down?)  a punk musical on the west end  ...

I don't know what to say about this... I noticed John Robb (Louder Than War) pointed out there was an album called Classical Punk a long time ago...

John Lydon Q&A following the screening of the documentary "The Public Image is Rotten" (filmed by Mags Piper)

May 18 - Jeanette Lee w/Jarvis Cocker PRIVATE IMAGE PIL

Jeanette Lee has a new book of her polaroids called PRIVATE IMAGE  from when she worked with PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED in the early days.

It's published by IDEA and available to buy from May 18 2017

Jeanette AND Jarvis Cocker who helped with the book, will sign 100 copies at Dover Street Market, London, from 6pm - 7:30 on May 18, 2017.

New Photography book by Jeanette Lee - behind the scenes of PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED early days

http://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/9825/behind-the-scenes-polaroids-of-public-image-limiteds-heyday

May 13 ... Tonight in London, 229 The Venue ... Tomorrow the rest of the tour... WRECKLESS ERIC

This is where you get the tickets:  http://wrecklesseric.com/  DO NOT MISS THIS MAN is all I can say...  see you on the road ...

Roxy signing ...May 9 2017 CONSIDER THIS YOUR INVITATION There will be a Q&A May 9 2017

Blondie in LONDON

4 and 5 May - WIRE at The Garage, London

SILVER/LEAD is the 15th studio album from WIRE ... 40 years since their first record ... Yet it's about as far from nostalgia as you get ... it's "uniquely addictive 21st century psychedelic post-punk"  
The show on 5 May was awesome ... I don't know how they make the sound they make - at some point in the evening you find yourself in a trance-like state ... you notice the drummer has his eyes closed, the guitarist's hair covers his face, Graham is almost wringing the notes out of the bass to make it deeper and deeper and cool as ever on the front line, Colin Newman...  since the first time i saw them at the 100 club, when they stood still and so did everyone in the audience, and the lights were low and the dream began to here ... seems no time at al....  I can't believe it's 40 years since their first record... It's truly as far from nostalgia as you can get. 
"THIS IS THE SOUND OF A UNIQUELY ADDICTIVE 21st CENTURY PSYCHEDELIC POST-PUNK BAND"
Their website where you can catch up on their recordings and t-shirts etc is www.pinkflag.com 

Colin Newman 

Patti Smith ...Citizenship ....

Iggy Pop turns 70 ... 21 April 2017 WHO WON THAT BET?

Completely unpredictable - Iggy Pop turns 70 years old today.

Happy Birthday Iggy Pop.

God knows we love America ... PETER PERRETT How The West Was Won - new single for Easter

Peter Perrett - How The West Was Won (Official Video) taken from the album How The West Was Won out June 30 2017. Stream the new single now: http://smarturl.it/HTWWWStrm
Pre-order the album Digital: http://smarturl.it/HTWWWDownload
LP/CD: http://smarturl.it/HTWWWStore Directed by Focus Creeps Peter Perrett - former frontman of The Only Ones - releases his debut solo album How The West Was Won on June 30th through Domino. Perrett, whose incisive songcraft and sardonic drawl made him one of the most distinctive voices of the Seventies hasn’t released any music for 20 years. Bearing in mind his most famous song began “I always flirt with death” (‘Another Girl, Another Planet’), this is one comeback that nobody saw coming. In the hands of certain songwriters, a story of resurrection and redemption might ring a little hollow, but when the songwriter is Peter Perrett, the usual rules have never applied. Perrett makes each song on How The West Was Won sound natural and effortless, as though he were continuing a briefly interrupted conversation rather than picking up the threads of a solo career that faltered two decades ago. He claims to have barely touched a guitar in the decade between The One’s 1996 album Woke Up Sticky and the 2007 reunion of The Only Ones; with Perrett, a hiatus could so easily turn into a hibernation. Yet Perrett’s familiar voice sounds like it simply stepped out of the room for a few minutes and popped back in again. Backed by his sons - Jamie and Peter Jr. on lead guitar and bass respectively - and produced by Chris Kimsey (The Rolling Stones), Peter’s intuitive feel for words; his flair for idiosyncratic metaphors and his deadpan wit are all still as sharp as ever. As demonstrated perfectly by the title track and album opener which Perrett shares today. It finds him railing against American imperialism and celebrity culture. The video is directed by Focus Creeps (Arctic Monkeys/King Krule) and features Peter’s band with whom he recorded the album

Happy Birthday Dame Vivienne Westwood (76) april 8th

The Roxy London gets a plaque -

Glenn O'Brien RIP April 7 2017

May day (or actually the day after ...) NYC

Negative Primitive the new single from ATV (Mark Perry) out now

Mark Perry, Dave Morgan, Steve Carter, Clive Giblin, Guests: Vic Godard, psycho-bunnies

A Side Negative, Primitive B Side Rebel Proof Glass

Video: Alternative TV/ Ruth@filmfolk.tv

AVAILABLE FROM: http://www.plastichead.com/item.asp?e...Label: PUBLIC DOMAIN/LOST MOMENT

Chuck Berry goes beyond the velvet rope ... RIP

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/chuck_berry_reviews_sex_pistols_talking_heads_clash_and_many_more_1980

memories are made of this ...

THIS IS NOT THIS HEAT Barbican 3.4.2017

Left stunningly euphoric after the rock and roll at the Barbican last night [cough] ... in three parts. Charles Hayward's solo performance piece wholly present and moving... A film from 1987 by John Smith called The Black Tower (could have been made yesterday) ... An interval ... during which the young lady next to me told me she'd been given this random ticket by her dad - a psychiatric nurse - sitting down below us ... he'd been on a road trip during the day with friends (also here) to Canterbury and Dungeness and she mentioned Derek Jarman's garden.
And I mention our conversation because the landscape of Dungeness and the water rolling the flint and the strange sea cabbages and the nuclear power station that throbs like a fridge making ice isn't far off the landscape that invaded the sound energy from the stage when This is Not This Heat got going...
Especially "Not Waving"... the bell... the swimmer out at sea... was the lifeboat out looking? ... sounded like our swimmer wasn't hoping so... Drummer beyond compare, really, Charles Hayward and magician drummer Chris Butler along with a third percussionist, many guitars, three backing singers, a female singer who also played an instrument [i'm not sure, a synthesiser?], clarinets and i don't know what pedals and electronic bits... [I didn't catch everyone's name...] ... I couldn't stop myself being led out there beyond the mud and crocuses, cathedrals, coastline... maybe that acid I had 40 years ago is partly to blame i don't know...
Towards the end of the set, amongst the warriors on the stage... Thurston Moore...
The last song, "Go to sleep," was a beauty but it didn't come to a stop as the other pieces did ... this one kept its eyes open ... green searchlights pendulummed round and out amongst us with this crescendo that brought pilgrims to it's feet.
Afterwards somewhere in the carpeted complex that is the Barbican, walking through such a mixture of ages, and countries, and shoes, and such there was a DJ but we drifted out around the offices and lights on in London, a few sirens here and there ... saturday night... the car underground silent and lined up next to three silver Aston Martins ... drove over the black water of the Thames and looking up not stars but a hell of a lot of blues belting off towards the Kuiper belt... "Don't you love it when things come together?" We do. Thank you.

Video :  Not Waving by Nervous Ice In Cheap Cola  and SPQR by sonofanastronaut

"Danny Says" Documentary ... Now on Netflix

Iggy Pop and manager Danny Fields

photo by Danny Fields

Dee Dee Ramone photo by Danny Fields

Danny Fields

The Feelies ... new Album "In Between"

If you click here you will be transported to a page where you can read a brief interview  along with a chance to hear the new album "In Between"

Chris Spedding ...

Chris Spedding (72 years old. I can't believe it!) joined Tom Robinson on Radio 6 over the weekend. Totally recommend the show.
For the whole show click here   or for The Chris Spedding Segment click here

Chris Spedding was SUCH a generous interviewee, just as he is a generous guitar player on stage and in the recording studios. He got on great with Tom Robinson who was, of course, around punk back in the day.

You may know of Chris Spedding because he produced the Sex Pistols demo (15 May 1976).

You may also know that Chris Spedding played guitar on "Nilsson Schmilsson" with Harry Nilsson ... as well as two albums with Roxy Music, as well as touring with Roxy Music ... and John Cale ... yes!

He's also not without a sense of humour. He also recorded with The Wombles (but not in a Wombles outfit and nor did he go on Top of The Pops or any other away-day as a Womble) ...

But the reason he was involved with the Sex Pistols is that apparently Chrissy Hynde had taken him to see The Sex Pistols and he loved them.  He would hang out at The Speakeasy in London and other places and Journalists, when he said he liked the Sex Pistols told him, "Nah, they're no good" and were advising him to "Stay away from The Sex Pistols. They can't play."

But since Chris Spedding thought they were wrong, to PROOVE them wrong, Chris Spedding took our Pistols to a recording studio and made three very clear recordings of "Problems," "No Feelings" and "Pretty Vacant" - which they played on the show - making it very obvious that there was a drummer - Paul Cook - who could play ... the guitarists Matlock and Jones could play, and outside anyone who doesn't think Johnny Rotten was a perfect front man.

Then there was a rumour. That it wasn't Jonesy playing guitar and people and journalists thought the guitarist was Chris Spedding. On the show he said, "I told Malcolm to put out a press release to tell people that it was really Steve Jones." But Malcolm said, "Nah."

Just recently I had the good fortune to see Chris Spedding live, twice, with The Sharks.
ON DRUMS WAS PAUL COOK ...

Here's a little bit of video:

set list

Our Hero (photo by daisy0

Letts have a Soul 45 party .... 25 February Southampton

Get your tickets here

New Blondie album out 5/5/2017. There's "FUN" while you're waiting...

Bernard and Iggy Pop get to Carnagie Hall, NYC (3-11)

I've nothing but my name ... said Iggy Pop to Thurston Moore

How The Heartbreakers came to play The Roxy Club ...

The Sharks play 100 Club Feb 8 2017

The drummer is Paul Cook (Sex Pistols)
and that man in the middle is THE Chris Spedding.

That's all you need to know. 

See them live on February 8, 2017. Tickets here

Happy Birthday Johnny Rotten (61 today)

Photo by Peter Graville

The Roxy - a book by Andrew Czezowski and Susan Carrington

Bowie's Birthday in Brixton

SET LIST went like this : Dead Man Walking - Gary Oldman Rebel Rebel - Bernard Fowler Sorrow - Gary Oldman and Joe Sumner
 Five Years - Gaby Moreno
 Golden Years - La Roux
 Lady Grinning Soul - Holly Palmer
 The Man Who Sold The World - Jeremy Little and Gary Oldman
 Diamond Dogs - Bernard Fowler
 Life On Mars - Tom Chaplin
 Wild Is The Wind - Gaby Moreno
 Young Americans - Gail Ann Dorsey & The London Community Gospel Choir
 Ashes To Ashes - Angelo Moore Win - Bernard Fowler & The London Community Gospel Choir
 All The Young Dudes - Joe Elliot &The London Community Gospel Choir 
Fame - Adrian Belew
 Fashion - Alex Painter Sound And Vision - Adrian Belew
 Changes - Tony Hadley
 Rock And Roll Suicide Bernard Fowler
 Where Are We Now? - Holly Palmer
 Stay - Bernard Fowler
 Aladdin Sane - Gail Ann Dorsey
 Space Oddity Ga- in Ann Dorsey
 Starman Mr- Hudson
 D.J Boys Keep Swinging - Adrian Belew
 Ziggy Stardust - Angelo Moore
 Moonage Daydream - Angelo Moore
 Suffragette City - Joe Elliot
 Heroes - Bernard Fowler
 ENCORE:
‘Loving The Alien’ – Catherine Russell
 Jean Genie Bernard Fowler
 Let’s Dance - Simon Le Bon &The London Community Gospel Choir
 Under Pressure - Joe Sumner Catherine Russell & The London Community Gospel Choir