Billy Franks- A Far Cry From Sunset

I have been reading Billy Franks' book A Far Cry From Sunset. It tells the story both of his life and struggles in the music business and beyond and the summer of 2005 when he and some mates travelled round Europe and the States trying to get prominent artists to make a tribute album to an unknown songwriter ( Billy himself).


It's a great read. The writing, like his songs, is direct, honest and very personal. It is a story of humour, appreciating what life has given you, but at the same time , despite all obstacles, pursuing your dream.

Billy should be respected if only for three songs he wrote many years ago. Easter Parade (written from the point of view of a soldier injured in Falklands War), Fulham Court ( about the estate he grew up on in West London) and The Tradesman Entrance (about the 80's depression). He has written many other good songs over the years and regularly gigs around West London.

He's not a friend ,I have never met him but like other, better known, musicians ( Weller, Gedge, Strummer, Young, Reed, Nelson, Cave to name a few) his songs have permeated my whole adult life and influenced my outlook on it..

His book is available from Amazon. Buy it and support a great unknown British artist and check out his music also available from Amazon as MP3s.

The End Of The Pier - The Distractions

Long-time readers of this blog will know I have a very soft spot for the 1970s/80’s Manchester band The Distractions . They brightened up my 4 years in Manchester, in that time between the end of the 70's and before the Hacienda Mad- for- it era when Manchester was still a  post-industrial shithole.

The Distractions their music and their gigs were always something me and my girlfriend (now my wife) looked forward to. We  were at nearly every gig they played in the city in our time there.

I remember buying their EP “You’re not Going Out Dressed Like That”  before I left to go to Uni in the city on recommendation of the hip young staff at the local indie record store in my home town.I went home and put it on the turntable and instantly fell in love with the sound, the lyrics, the vocal delivery. On the pictures on the sleeve they looked normal people – like me. This was what punk was really about ;people like me making good pop music, singing about stuff I knew and understood. I still listen to their music today and they mean as much to me as any band can ever mean to someone.

After their split, nothing was heard until I came across news a couple of years ago that they were going to release some new songs. So it was with some concern that I listened to the comeback  EPs “Black Velvet” and “Come Home” . I was not disappointed, the tunes, the lyrics the delivery and musicianship were all still there. Shame it wasn’t all the original members but when, like me, you are a big fan of The Wedding Present you get used to band members coming and going , it’s the spirit that remains and changes and develops whoever the members are in that particular band  around David Gedge.

It’s the same for The Distractions, if Mike Finney wasn’t  singing it wouldn’t be The Distractions and no offence to Arthur Kadmon or any other of the band members  the band was never quite the same after Steve Perrin left. (although I did love the  And Then There’s.. EP- despite the awful muddy production).

And so the follow up to Nobody’s Perfect was released in August of this year. It’s called The End of The Pier.  

I have hesitated for a number of weeks before writing this recommendation to go and buy it. I wasn’t sure that I could be impartial enough and that my love for the band wasn’t colouring my perception of this album. There are some negatives. I was disappointed there weren’t more detailed sleeve notes ( at least there weren’t on the CD) I’m not that keen on the album opener song “ I Don’t Have Time” and the album lacks a bit of  momentum , by this I mean it doesn’t really get going until Track 4 “Boots”.

After the 4th track though , it really is full on and despite only Perrin and Finney remaining from the original band and despite no joint song writing credits for them both , it is really in the tradition of the band and you can feel the legacy of their first album as well as a  sense of progression. The song’s themes are not simple “moon in June” stuff as befits a band who are now in their fifties and beyond and despite some bizarre and clumsy lyrics I like that.

I prefer the more up-tempo numbers but that’s just me. The final  track on on the CD ( The Last Song)    is  magnificent and showcases Mike Finney’s vocals as well as the excellent musicianship that flows through all the songs.  I’m not  a teacher or a lecturer but if I was giving marks out of 5 I would give this album 4. It’s not perfect, but then nothing and nobody is.

You can buy all their stuff from Occultations Records website here. You can view some  footage from their August gigs in Salford on the website here. They looked like they enjoyed themselves.

I am now looking forward to the next Distractions’ album, just don’t leave it another 32 years guys, please.

Roddy Woomble

The wife and me went to The Sage on Gateshead Quayside to see Roddy Woomble on the first night of his English ( as he described it) tour.

It was a good gig. I love Roddy’s voice and, he could sing the telephone directory for all I care, I’d still listen to him singing. The accompanying  acoustic band ( no drums or percussion but you  could hear Woomble's feet stamping out time on the stage) included Gavin Fox who has played bass with Idlewild. As always the acoustics at The Sage were outstanding. The banter was good and he seems a nice guy.

The songs from his latest album The Impossible Song and Other Songs were nice folky stuff and suited Roddy's voice.

But it was the songs from his first solo album My Secret Is My Silence that made the gig for me. In
particular Waverley Steps- a real favourite of mine. I was only slightly disappointed there were no Idlewild songs included in the set. I would loved to have heard Actually, Its Darkness played.

EDIT . A lesson here for all writers. check your facts before publishing. In fact they did play an Idlewild song Take Me Back To The Islands from the last Idlewild album Post Electric Blues. In my defence its not a typical Idlewild song and I thought it was from the Drever, McCusker, Woomble collaboration album.Before The Ruin

The set lasted an hour- I could have done with 20 minutes or so more- the crowd was a mixture of the middle aged beardy types, Idlewild fans and  people  drawn to the folk(ish) revival led by the likes of Mumford and Sons.

All in all a nice night for a first night on tour. If you get a chance to see him , take it.  Here is his website. You can listen to some of his songs and if you like them follow the links to buy his CD for only £6.99 from Amazon. Less than two cappuccinos and  a cake at Starbucks.

Costa Del Sol

Me and the wife have been away for a well deserved holiday to Spain.

We hadn't been to the Andalucia for 30 years when we toured campsites round the region the Summer we graduated. This time we stayed in a 5 star timeshare just outside Marbella. The resort was OK but not 5 star , and at about 150 metres off the main A7 a tad noisy from the traffic that roared along day and night.

But the sun shone the whole time and after a 30 year delay we got to go to La Mezquita in Cordoba. That was worth the trip alone.

I had done some pre holiday practice of my Spanish and that stood me in good stead and I had no problems communicating. After my Cuba experiences I had been worried that I was losing my Spanish but this proved to be unfounded. I was relieved by this as despite my seeming indifference when asked, I love Spain, the country, the culture and language and its people.

Now, back at work and freezing cold I can only look back and wonder that this time last week I was lying round the pool in 30degree heat.