It’s the weekend yet again. Woo hoo. Hopefully you’ve had a good week and are enjoying respite from work (if you’re lucky enough not to work at the weekend, of course). We continue to whittle down the bands in Manchester in this second qualifying round. Remember to vote on Twitter and my Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/394844465714175
Oasis – The kings of Britpop find themselves in round two having knocked out the Buzzcocks. This time around they are up against three other bands and need your votes to get further.
Take That – Gary and his singing and dancing mates are here in round two and just like all the others, they need your votes to go further. So remember to vote if you want them to go through!
The Chemical Brothers – A comfortable win in the last round sees the duo into this second round group. Potentially, in fact, a group of death. Can they get through?
James – The band (not a man called James), defeated Simply Red in the last round, and only your votes can get them further.
That’s all for now. It’s your call. Only two of these bands can go through. See you next time for the third group in this second qualifying round.
It’s Wednesday night and most English football fans are still basking in the glory of beating Germany in the Euro 2020 tournament. I bet they’ve been singing “it’s coming home” almost non-stop too, right?! Well, let’s leave that to one side for now as it’s time for four more Mancunian bands to face each other for a place in the next qualifying round of my mammoth ‘Ultimate British Band’ search. As you will know by now, go over to my Facebook page to vote – the link is right here for you – https://www.facebook.com/specsrugssausagerolls – see, right there!
Simply Red vs James
Formed in 1985 in Manchester, Simply Red featured the flame-haired frontman Mick Hucknall in front of a seemingly ever-changing line-up. They released their debut album in 1985 – ‘Picture Book’ – which featured hits like ‘Money’s Too Tight (To Mention)’ and ‘Holding Back The Years’. Between 1989’s ‘A New Flame’ and 1998’s ‘Blue’, they achieved four successive number one albums. Despite this success, they only ever managed one number one single – ‘Fairground’ in 1995. The band split in 2010 after Hucknall decided that 25 years was enough. However by 2015, they were back together to celebrate their 30th anniversary. Further live tours followed and a twelfth studio album ‘Blue Eyed Soul’ was released in 2019.
James were formed in Whalley Range, Manchester in 1982. With Tim Booth on vocals, the band released their first album ‘Stutter’ in 1986, but it was their third album ‘Gold Mother’ that earned them their first commercial success as it peaked at number two in the album charts. They released nine albums before Booth left the band and they went into hibernation until his return in 2007. The only two original members left are Booth and Jim Glennie, and they have gone on to release another seven albums since their reunion.
The Fall vs Starsailor
Formed in 1976 in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, The Fall were the musical vehicle of frontman Mark E Smith. They released thirty one studio albums between 1976 and Smith’s death in 2018 which effectively brought the curtain down on the group. They had limited commercial mainstream success, but enjoyed a cult following and hit the top of the indie album charts on more than one occasion.
Formed in 2000 in Warrington (which is not quite Manchester, but near enough dammit), Starsailor are a four-piece group featuring James Walsh, Ben Byrne, James Stelfox and Barry Westhead. Their debut album ‘Love Is Here’ was released in 2001 and peaked at number two in the album chart, as did the follow up, 2003’s ‘Silence is Easy’. They took a break in 2009 when Walsh decided to pursue a solo career before they reformed in 2014 with a tour and a greatest hits album. They released a fifth album ‘All This Life’ in 2017.
That’s all for now. Next time will bring the curtain down on the first round of the Manchester qualifying section, so make sure you come back for that!
So, last week was a bit of a let down, chart-wise, but I’m not too downhearted – they were mostly shite anyway. I’m back again this week with another five tracks of varying quality, so sit down, prime your ears, and let’s begin…
The first track is ‘One Kiss’ from Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa. I’m going to shock you all by saying I’ve heard of both of these two. I happened to watch the start of the Brit Award ceremony this year, and Dua Lipa was all over the place. I can’t remember why I know who Calvin Harris is. But I’m sure that this sort of collaboration is like a chart wet dream. For me, though, it’s a nightmare. There is nothing about this song that stands out. It’s just a dirge. And that means only one thing – HIT.
The second track before the jury is ‘Into My Arms’ by Band of Horses. From the opening chords, you know it’s a cover of the Nick Cave song, and that’s as good as it gets. The vocals just don’t have the same effect as Mr Cave’s. Apart from that rather massive issue, it’s pretty true to the original. For me, it’s not a patch on the original, so I’m plumping for a MAYBE. I wonder what my Nick Cave loving wife will make of this…
The third track of the week is ‘Love Like Waves’ by Friendly Fires. Hmmm. I’m immediately regretting this choice. It’s poor, even by today’s standards. Big fat MISS. I can’t even find anything to write about this. I want it to be over. Where’s the stop button…
The fourth track is ‘Better Than That’ by James. Now I’ll admit that apart from ‘Sit Down’ I’m not familiar with their back catalogue, but this sounds alright, really. It has Tim Booth’s recognisable vocals, and to be honest, after what I’ve had to listen to so far this week, it’s a marked improvement. I could listen again, and enjoy it too. The sad thing is it won’t trouble the charts, but I get the feeling that James fans wouldn’t give a flying fuck about the charts. So while it may be a MISS, that will be seen as a triumph over quality over, well, shiteness!
And that brings me to the week’s final new release. ‘Get Along’ by Kenny Chesney is so fucking Country. Not Dolly Parton ‘Country’, or Billy Ray Cyrus ‘Country’. It’s probably what you’d call ’21st Century Country’. Which, if you like that sort of thing, is all well and good. Sadly all I can think of is checked shirts, tassles and cowboy boots. This will not be a HIT, folks.
It’s been a tough week, new release-wise, but now this is the bit where we all take a trip down memory lane. On this day in 1987, at a lowly number 25, The Beastie Boys were tearing up the charts with an absolute belter – ‘(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)’. Scaring the bejesus out of parents everywhere, this was the track that announced them on the world stage. Plus the music video is pretty damned good too!
Specs, Rugs & Sausage Rolls 