(This is a Noticeboard post so I’m just pasting the info.)

Including a lavish 136-page coffee table hardback book and 96-page tour history book, Unburied Treasure is a 30-disc deluxe boxset with signed photo, authorised by all members of Gentle Giant.

Strictly limited to 2000 copies globally, the set includes remastered versions of the 12 albums the band released between 1970 and 1980, along with 15 concert albums (7 never previously released, 7 never previously officially released and 1 previously unavailable on CD). The box also includes two posthumous live/outtakes albums and a Blu-ray bonus disc (featuring a Steven Wilson surround mix of the band’s 1970 debut).

Also included are books, posters, replica promotional items and much more.

**This boxset will be shipped by courier**

———

The contents of the Unburied Treasure box set include:

• Signed photograph by band members Derek Shulman, Ray Shulman, Gary Green, Kerry Minnear & John Weathers • Brand new cover artwork illustration by Bob Venables based on original illustrator George Underwood’s design for the band’s debut album • The 12 original albums released during the band’s active years, including live album Playing the Fool • Two albums released after the disbanding: Winchester » Continue Reading.

29/09/2019

Back To Black played from half-speed mastered vinyl on a top-flight hi-fi in the Courtyard Café, Papworth Everard. ‘Support’ from The Ronettes, Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, and The Specials.

Home-roasted coffee, loose-leaf tea, locally-sourced cakes, full bar including microbrewery ales.

3-5pm, free entry. Well-behaved kids and dogs welcome.

05/10/2019

This annual festival runs from 5 – 26 October this year. Afterworders may be particularly interested in the appearance of David Hepworth, speaking about his Fabulous Creation book, and Stephen Morris of New Order being interviewed by Jon Savage on his Record Play Pause book. There are, of course, many other delights worth checking out too if you are in the area.

Home

Renowned Dutch guitarist Jan Akkerman will be releasing ‘Close Beauty’, his first studio album in 8 years and his first on Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group on October 25, 2019.

At 72 years old, the supremely gifted guitarist is equalled by very few and his legendary ability makes him impossible to pigeon hole. As a founding member of Focus from 1969 to 1976 he recorded a number of breakout albums, which included the mega-hits “Hocus Pocus” and “Sylvia”.

For generations, he has impressed and inspired large numbers of guitarists with his timing, harmonics, virtuosity and his ability to perform with a wide range of musicians from various musical backgrounds.

‘Close Beauty’ can be considered as one of Jan’s most varied works, while this record is his first album in almost 30 years that also gets a vinyl release. The stunning album cover, painted by Michael Cheval, fits the musical content of the album perfectly.

Close Beauty will be released worldwide on CD, double shiny gold vinyl and digitally. The double vinyl includes a code for a complimentary MP3 download of the album.

» Continue Reading.

A few weeks ago, I started posting YouTube montages of period cuttings, pics and audio from bands I enjoyed in the mid-90s in Belfast – often at a now legendary 18-month venue called ‘The Warehouse’, near the docks. That online activity led to renewed coffee shop get-togethers with a few people from back in the day… which led to a ‘Warehouse Remembered’ concert, featuring reunions and repertoire resurrections, at a current local venue (The Pavilion) in September!

It was literally an old warehouse, opposite The Rotterdam Bar – an isolated, down at heel old bar in the middle of nowhere that had become famous among the cognoscenti for hosting local and touring troubadours, folk, trad, soul, country,local rock and blues acts. Chris and Ernie, the proprietors of the Rott, vaguely planned to renovate it to moved their license to what became ‘The Warehouse’ in late 1994. (They never did – after 18 months or so they just moved back to the Rotterdam and it rumbled on for a couple more years, before everything around it was redeveloped or turned into car parks.)

The Warehouse became a fantastic venue – several times the size of the Rotterdam, coinciding with » Continue Reading.

14/09/2019

An Evening with Steve Kilbey & Amanda Kramer will enchant you with old songs, new songs, borrowed songs, blue songs. The show will feature Church and solo songs by Kilbey as well as eclectic interpretations of other songwriters, plus storytelling from their combined 70 years of touring the world.

Steve Kilbey is the lead singer, bass guitarist and principal songwriter of Australian band The Church, who have been together 38 years, released 26 albums and sold 2 million records worldwide. Their 1988 album Starfish went Gold in the US and featured the hit Under the Milky Way which featured in Donnie Darko. Steve has released numerous solo albums and collaborations including Isidore, Speed of the Stars, Jack Frost (with Grant McLennan), Kilbey Kennedy and more. He has written and published over 1,000 songs. Steve is also the subject of a recent art house film ‘Something Quite Peculiar’.

Keyboardist Amanda Kramer’s first band Information Society, also had a Gold record in 1988, with their debut album. She has been the keyboardist in the Psychedelic Furs for the last 15 years and also played with The Golden Palominos, 10,000 Maniacs, Siouxsie Sioux and more.

Kilbey and Kramer met when The Church » Continue Reading.

A PR who contacts me occasionally tells me that there is a John Wetton box set in the pipeline following his passing a couple of years ago. As there is a lot of affection for the great man here – a terrific singer as well as bass player. Info is:

Since John Wetton’s passing in January 2017, his family, friends and management have been working on finding a fitting tribute to such a remarkable man and iconic artist. The result of this labour of love is a box set entitled “An Extraordinary Life”, dedicated entirely to John’s solo career. The project has the full support of John’s wife, Lisa, and his son, Dylan, who are wholly involved with compiling the contents.

The set will include definitive, remastered editions of each of his six solo albums, with bonus tracks and artwork selected by John towards the end of his lifetime, and in some cases expanded to two discs:

1. Caught in the Crossfire 2. Battle Lines 3. Arkangel 4. Sinister 5. Rock of Faith 6. Raised in Captivity An Extraordinary Life will also feature a lavish hardback “coffee table” book written by one of John’s friends, the journalist Nick » Continue Reading.

30/06/2019

Queen’s Greatest Hits (the UK’s best-selling album) played from half-speed mastered vinyl on a top-flight hi-fi in the Courtyard Café, Papworth Everard.

Home-roasted coffee, loose-leaf tea, locally-sourced cakes, full bar including microbrewery ales.

2:30-4:30pm, free entry. Well-behaved kids and dogs welcome.

26/05/2019

OMD’s Architecture & Morality, The Human League’s Dare, Soft Cell’s Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go 12″ and a handful of other 1981 pop singles played from vinyl on a top-flight hi-fi in the Courtyard Café, Papworth Everard.

Home-roasted coffee, loose-leaf tea, locally-sourced cakes, full bar including microbrewery ales.

2:30-4:30pm, free entry. Well-behaved kids and dogs welcome.

A new issue of my magazine Barmcake is out now.

It features interviews with the director of Being Frank, Tjinder Singh from Cornershop, Adelle Stripe, A Certain Ratio, Bernard Wrigley, and the MD of Talking Pictures TV.

There is also an extract from a new book by Ian Clayton, as well as features on Nick Cave, Stephen Morris, Gentleman Jack, Mekons, Helen Mort, AA Dhand, James Bentley, Fur Clemt, plus the only listings for northern and middle-aged people.

A limited number of free copies is available in 45 pubs and shops in and around Leeds, Manchester, and Sheffield.

Copies are also available by post. For UK residents, please send a minimum of £1 to barmcakemag.tumblr.com. For people outside the UK, please add postal charges to the donation.

Thanks for the donations. They help keep the magazine going.

I started the magazine five years ago because I felt there was nothing out there to cater for a person of a certain age who likes particular music, comedy, pubs, plays, exhibitions and books. Most entertainment magazines tend to target the under-40s and ignore many interesting performers.

I was also fed up of reading beautiful-looking magazines full of flabby features and boring » Continue Reading.

Hey folks. Myself and StevenC have started a new podcast about, are you ready for this, THE BEATLES. We are launching today and in future weeks will cover such topics as Help! & Magical Mystery Tour – the forgotten albums, January 3rd 1970, Beatle Books and more! So here’s a list of links to all the usual podcast-y places. Enjoy!

APPLE PODCASTS https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/nothing-is-real-a-beatles-podcast/id1462587848

SPOTIFY https://open.spotify.com/episode/6bbngJK9Vhf3evaJaaGx48?si=L7KdGjgsSnW0rWOpbhX30A

WEBSITE http://beatlespod.libsyn.com/website

RSS FEED http://beatlespod.libsyn.com/rss

STITCHER https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=400396

OVERCAST https://overcast.fm/+R-acTxxl0 While your enjoying your elevenses, what not listen and subscribe to Nothing Is Real, out now!

APPLE PODCASTS https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/nothing-is-real-a-beatles-podcast/id1462587848

SPOTIFY https://open.spotify.com/episode/6bbngJK9Vhf3evaJaaGx48?si=L7KdGjgsSnW0rWOpbhX30A

WEBSITE http://beatlespod.libsyn.com/website

STITCHER https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=400396

OVERCAST https://overcast.fm/+R-acTxxl0

PODBEAN https://www.podbean.com/media/share/dir-bcf44-61bbce3

PODCAST ADDICT http://podplayer.net/?podId=2368655

‘Unpentangled: The Sixties Anthology’, from Cherry Red at a mere £23, is a 6CD set collecting John Renbourn’s three 1966-68 solo LPs, his two LPs with Dorris Henderson (1965 & 1967) and 1966’s ‘Bert and John’, with Bert Jansch, under one roof. It includes the handful of bonus outtakes that were previously added to Sanctuary CDs of ‘John Renbourn’ and ‘Sir John Alot’ and the three Dorris/John singles sides, plus ‘Lucky Thirteen’ appended to ‘John Renbourn’ and ‘The Waggoner’s Lad’ appended to ‘Bert and John’ (both of these being Renbourn/Jansch instrumental collaborations originally found on Jansch LPs of the period).

Progressive small-group jazz of the Horace Silver/Charles Lloyd variety was a big influence on Renbourn in this period, alongside other influences such as medieval music, British and Celtic folk song, and blues. These albums show together how John assimilated all of these influences into the style he brought to the Pentangle and later refined as a solo artist in the 70s.

David Wells has written and excellent essay and I supplied a load of period ads, pics and reviews to the 24-page booklet. Oli Hemingway did the mastering, which is excellent, and I asked him how he felt the » Continue Reading.

13/04/2019

Hey Glasgow! Loads of bands, Glasvegas at 3, Tom McGuire at 3:30, Beat Poets at 4

26/04/2019

I am double-booked for a gig on Friday 26th April, at The Shepherd’s Bush Empire, with Mott The Hoople ’74. I am gutted at having to make the choice but, The Tedeschi Trucks Band calls. The ticket is a designated seat in the first tier, 5 rows back. Ticket price is £63.15, I’ll take £30.

28/04/2019

Are You Experienced, Electric Ladyland and Jimi Plays Monterey played from vinyl on a top-flight hi-fi in the Courtyard Café, Papworth Everard. Guest speaker (and Hendrix expert) Chris the Brewer.

Home-roasted coffee, loose-leaf tea, locally-sourced cakes, full bar including microbrewery ales.

2:30-4:30pm, free entry. Well-behaved kids and dogs welcome.

My friend Lonesome Chris Todd’s solo debut ‘Dark Horses’ EP was released digitally yesterday – two originals, two blues classics: the former recorded in studio luxuriance, the latter in ‘field recording’ style (one mic, one home recording gadget).

Here’s the amazon download link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=Lonesome+Chris+Todd&i=digital-music&search-type=ss&ref=ntt_srch_drd_B07P5G7XWN

31/03/2019

Two hours of 1972-era David Bowie and related – Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, Lou Reed’s Transformer, Mott The Hoople’ All The Young Dudes, Lulu, possibly the Stooges’ Raw Power if there’s time. Played from vinyl on a top-flight hi-fi in the Courtyard Café, Papworth Everard.

Home-roasted coffee, loose-leaf tea, locally-sourced cakes, full bar including microbrewery ales.

2:30-4:30pm, free entry. Well-behaved kids and dogs welcome.

24/02/2019

Two hours of classic Fleetwood Mac on vinyl – Polydor Greatest Hits, Rumours and Tango In The Night. Played on a top-flight hi-fi in the Courtyard Café, Papworth Everard.

Home-roasted coffee, loose-leaf tea, locally-sourced cakes, full bar including microbrewery ales.

Guest presenter @Twang will explain the history behind the music.

2:30-4:30pm, free entry.

09/02/2019

https://youtu.be/_uCqWky8DgM

The wonderful Jarrod Dickenson is playing Oslo in London this Saturday night (9th Feb) and, due to illness, I have 2 tickets (on e-mail) going spare. They are £16-80 each but I’ll do the 2 for £20.