23rd August ... through the decades!!!

The ULTRAVOX! Marquee five nighter ended on August 23rd 1978. Such a classy band, a true proto-Goth catalyst.

And then no other gigs on this specific date until 1995 when the glorious DOYENNE played the Bull & Gate! You can currently find guitarist Marc at work creating the music for the amazing DEAD ANYWAY.

LIVEJOURNAL

23 August 2002

EXCESSION - Forever (Celestial Records)

With Dave from Vendemmian involved you’ve got to give it a go. He handles instruments and Yasmin sings, it’s all very polite, there’s no website and I don’t have a great deal to say about this, because I don’t think it has a great deal to offer than you might already realise.

Picking highlights I’d have to say that ‘Wanting’ is very attractive musically, which is short and to the point, quietly melodic, but with hazy, rather expressionless, vocals.

‘59’ is a sleepier, filmic, music that stops way too early, and with the guitar urgency underplayed ‘Caged Bird’ is sweet, but I’m not overly impressed.

In ‘So Close’ Yasmin’s vocal deficiencies are highlighted by the music plodding forward. Her voice isn’t that bad, but certainly lacks strength and she can’t sustain anything high pitched, so the musical arrangements leave her frequently exposed . The music also has a problem in that certain Goth sounds have ossified and this rekindles memories of the early to mid 90’s, having acquired no added depth, which maybe down to a lack of equipment, or effervescence. The irony is that when they don’t sound noticeably Goth the music actually has a tranquil charm, but when it does get Goth it sounds dated. ‘Blind Faith’ being slow suits her voice better, and has greater personality because the emphasis is on her character, but it remains rather dour, just as ‘It’s A Sin’ is a nice little song, which would have sounded far better with a fresher sound.

One for the diehards.

write to Excession, 16 barrow Road, London, SW16 5PF

Tomorrow, albums by Wreckage and Audra, with an In The Nursery tribute compilation over the weekend, but then I’m out of CDs to appraise, apart from reviews earmarked for Blu at Starvox, so if any bands have something that you fancy seeing reviewed here send it in. Admittedly you don’t get the typical zine soft-soap approach from me, so some bands may not wish to take a chance, and I know there are plenty of sites out there for you to consider, but most give short reviews, in a somewhat identikit fashion, and at least you know you’re reaching a few thousand people here with my reviews. It doesn’t even have to be a release from this month. As long as it came out this year send it in and I’ll review it. (Unless it’s neo-folk, in which case I’ll throw it away.)

NEUROTIC FISH at http://www.neuroticfish.com/ announce fiercely on the front EBM Is Dead! Just as well if the poor sod has asthma! That’s not an easy thing to adapt to live stuff, is it? Good looking site with plenty of well-presented news of Sascha Mario Klein’s hard synthy outfit, with plenty of music details but still fairly soulless.

Make sure you wait at http://site.voila.fr/rajna because it all looks blank and the skip intro doesn’t work immediately. Rajna’s site hardly needs the flash intro because it’s a pointless waste. The contents are weird, with skimpy bio, a few dull pics, the music doesn’t work and the term Ethno-Goth is hardly explained.

SECOND SKIN at http://www.secondskin.net/ isn’t great either. There’s music and video there with minute news, but the pics are rubbish and there’s nothing in depth, which is surprising. You’d expect better.

KARTOO at http://www.kartoo.com is probably the cutest search engine I’ve seen and it works. I don’t quite get the top left bit and I can’t fathom the add/exclude topic + and – bit at all, but it’s FANTASTIC and more fun than all the others! (The important thing is that bottom right it says ‘map’ thing, which is the ‘next page’ equivalent of boring old search engines.)

HANNE PIASECKI at http://hannepiasecki.com/ is a ‘simple’ photo site, where more conventional site contents are promised, which is just as well.

Monday, August 23rd, 2004

NICKI JAINE
OF PIGEONS AND OTHER CURIOSITIES
Shaman

Oh boy, this is different, and the bio is realistic, which makes a nice change, alluding to the Roaring Twenties and Goth Cabaret, where comparisons to Dietrich and Nico are pretty accurate, except this is dark fun. In fact it’s odd to think I reviewed an old Melinda Miel album only recently and said the kind of Torch singer who wasn’t a diva was a very rare thing indeed, then along comes this in the post, after I asked Ego Likeness (they’re friends) if they would ask her to send one. You usually find that artists with a certain sensitivity knows others of equal insight and adventurous spirit, and so this has proved to be. Nicki Jaine is very unusual indeed.

A joyfully wild piano is often key to the moods on these songs, which sounds like a pianist from the Silent Movie era has been dragged forward through time, brought up to speed on cult tv and comics, then let loose in the studio, suitably pissed. Great lolloping melodies fill the air as Nicki’s voice, often about ten times as big as she is, booms out at us like a Victorian child-strangler you wouldn’t want to mess with.

‘Sound Of Girls’ is a deceptive opener, introducing us to the romping music and deep rolling voice, and sure, you can think of stylists like Weill, Brecht or Brel, or what Ute Lemper might have sounded like is she had ever been devious? But…it’s also like a seriously twisted, vengeful Sondheim. There is a weary sense of relationship failure, offset by arch lyrical defiance, often creating a central presence in her songs that is positively indomitable. Apart from when it doesn’t, and that’s what provides a slight problem, but we’ll come to that.

‘Pretty Faces’ finds backing vocals moaning to emphasis the effects the piano causes with its staggered pauses, on top of the increasingly strident guitar and drums, all making a real impact, and then Jaine is seriously vamping it up over some hedonistic revelations in ‘Should Have Known’ where the piano teases us, as the vocals harden. ‘Pigeon Named Crow’ is a fine example of how vibrant it all is, because those musical ghosts have been liquefied into a post-modern cauldron, as she sings, “smile now, the flies are coming, and when they call you’ll miss them.” As she does so, the ghost of Theda Bara is perched on one shoulder, making eyes at Louise Brooks on the other. (Both have resisted piercings.)

This works with the dramatic, mystery persona. It’s when we hit ‘Amsterdam’ with the faded warmth, pretty violins and perceptive notes on a poor romance that we suddenly hit normality, which seems out of kilter, just as ‘Animals Crawling’ is a little vague lyrically, meaning the sense of character is also diluted. ‘Octopi’ then churns on some mighty big guitar gusts, with tinkling, twinkling music box notes and light snare, all suffocating happily behind a superb vocal performance. The repetition slightly drags it down, but you’ll still be sitting there, thinking ‘what the fuck is this?!!’ which is half the fun.

‘Disaster, You’re Beautiful’ is again less convincing, because when identified with being a loser it seems more histrionic than powerful, just as the musically becoming ‘Untitled’ is a mix of wonderfully artistic guitar and mournful cello, but rather ordinary lyrics. ‘One More Show’ closes in a weird way, because it’s more about the music than about her, which is what we’d become used to, but these criticisms are tiny observations, as all songs have other points about them which make them enjoyable.

Ah, and I haven’t mentioned ‘Antarctica’, have I? Almost the flipside of ‘Amsterdam’, with a far stronger personal version on hope or regret, when orchestral bells chime and the guitar kicks in with a monster riff this is bristling rock she ought to have a license for!

A remarkable record, of extraordinary music, by an immaculate singer!

* Make a note of these dates on the Black Tape For A Blue Girl tour where Nicki will be supporting (as well as being part of BTFABG itself):
14th Sept – DN A Lounge, San Francisco
16th Sept - The Vogue, Seattle
18th Sept - Sabala’s Mt. Tabor, Portland

Trust me, you’ll want to boast to your friends that you were there.

http://www.nickijaine.com
Mark Bohn (drums) and Mike Stang (bass) http://www.hierosonic.com (brilliant website!)
Jarred Cannon (guitar) http://www.evensongmusic.com

Leslie Van Stelten (photography) http://www.leslievanstelten.com – (stunning!)
Kyle Cassidy (photography) http://www.kylecassidy.com (even more stunning - that’s one of his up there)

THE MUSIC OF RAZORS
CAMERON ROGERS
Penguin
ISBN 0-14-028078-2

I have to admit I am not the greatest reader, seizing on books for a few months every few years, as though I resent having forgotten about them, and when I enter this feverish period I am so curious as to how a book ends I will usually charge ahead, meaning some details are lost to me. With this delicately woven plot I sometimes thought I was going in circles, as much as the book was propelling me that way anyway with invisible literary fingers.

This didn’t matter, because the tale of fallen angels and what they brought to Earth which humans could use, in all ways except good ones, has enough about it to intrigue just on the surface level, but with the characters created it also holds you as a story of human development and foul abuse, where several children are toyed with by those who require them for malign purposes.

An angel falls with a large number, and one follows, specifically hoping to join up, only to be refused. It then sunders another and transforms its remains into tools which are distributed around the Earth and can be used by humans to manipulate people. That’s the mysterious bigger picture. The smaller details come in the form of child coma victim Walter, whose body is tended for by his mother and sister when the hospital money runs out, while his actual spirit is out and about trying to look after his sister.

Walter loses ‘his’ monster in an eerie early scene, which plays well with a familiar stereotype. With the monster out of the way, Walter is prey to a vile doctor, who is onto the tools and can move through dimensions of reality at will, or so it seems. Some of the scenes where he and Walter meet, or involving the idiotic artist Suni, are quite hilarious and yet also pretty disturbing. Suni is chosen by Walter to be a friend and eventual failed consort to his sister Hope.

Walter aims, effectively, to be her monster, to prevent the doctor reaching her, only it all goes horribly wrong. Now, somewhere in amongst all this I lost track of just what the Doctor, Dorian and Felix were all up to, but as bad guys who came to incredibly sticky ends, I wasn’t too bothered by the finer points, because what was more important was the way Cameron Rogers has woven this spellbinding book, in that you care equally about Walter, Hope and Suni, and grow increasing concerned the closer they come to an obvious endgame.

Apart from Storm Constantine and Poppy Brite there haven’t been any notable Goth contributors to modern fiction that I’m aware of, which seems odd, but you should now take

http://www.bookworm.com.au

And his site, for news: http://www.cameron-rogers.com

Lynda’s back from Paris and I have to admit a kitsch ashtray is always most welcome.

August 23^rd 2007

THE ETERNAL FALL
CD SAMPLER
Own Label

It’s always good to be introduced to Goth which merges old school nobility with newer eras of sound simplicity. A duo in this case, of David Tenza and the man simply named Sol who united in 2001, and have a fair few records out. This CD is a sampler which includes Videos on the sampler include three promos, a darkly arty ‘Das Angsthaus’, a simple ‘The Scar’ shot live at Beyond The Veil, and a disturbing one, ’The Puppet’, involving a puppet.

Musically it’s dark and direct, without heavy atmosphere. ‘Closed’ is moody Goth with hushed vocals that suddenly leap up, keenly pained and pouring out angst over the sedate synth and pootling rhythmical flow. ‘I Like The Sounds Of Your Death’ has a cheap drum machine and plinking keyboard with sweet, slow synth gas, a thickening bass web and suddenly dramatic vocals flooding the spaces between. Invigorating and semi-stately, it looms large as a sound like a gracious version of Also. With ‘The Hanged Man’ it grows bolder, guitar like a blunt scalpel, pushing through the softer membranes, with the vocals a stern spotlight, sweeping the linear length.

‘Today I’m So Sad’ is a beautiful, lightly mournful piece which benefits from no upfront noise but an understates and dignified glide, while the comparatively urgent ‘To You’ tumbles freely although my copy seems to skip, as the vocals roll frantically, and this curdled pop frenzy boils over during ‘The Scar’, a distant Danse Society relative. ‘The Door Under The Floor’ crackles, ‘The Pain Of Penitents (Remix)’ and ‘I Fed Up (Remix)’ are bursting and bubbling, with a longing, vibrant ‘The Regret’ bringing it to a superb close, on a record which reveals that a catchy,

http://myspace.com/theeternalfallband

http://www.myspace.com/momentomoriuk - a welcome return!

August 23rd, 2008

CHARLOTTE’S SHADOW

ETERNAL SLEEP

Own Label

I respect bands who keep developing in their own way, even when it confuses me. Maybe I even respect that more because it gives you something to grapple with and the moment Charlottes Shadow step nimbly into the ‘The Key’ you know it’s another example of them moving onwards but still in a dementedly dramatic. The synth is as bright as a skinny chandelier, A. Avalos’ bass compliant and clearly friendly to poppy intentions, yet the vocals are almost collapsing and falling back down J. Catala’s throat! It’s dead catchy, dead strange.

‘Evelyn’ starts gently, then the rhythm snakes around as Blas Bernal stirs the dark electronic stew, and once again a stricken J. Catala moves deliberately into the centre of the whirlpool and starts to descend into it, demurely and regretful, a beautiful song. ‘Cold’ is instantly warm, bathing the listener in morbid Goth sentiments and squidgy keys and a combination of all of these inflates the title track. ‘Eternal Sleep’ is like a steep mountain face up which subtle guitar inches, around which harmonious synth floats as depressed, with oaken vocals hanging off a lofty ledge, sunlit and generally wispy. With such a spry melodic ability you do wonder why they stick with the inverted dramatic vocalising, as it works against them, but it’s clearly what they prefer. Nutters.

( Read more... )

http://www.charlottesshadow.com

http://www.myspace.com/charlottesshadowtheband

23 August 2009

THE EXPLODING BOY

AFTERGLOW

Ad Inexplorata

Apparently trimmed down from their original six to just four members – well, there is a recession on – we find our Swedish Post-Punk melodic manglers at work again with a slightly warmer, more orthodox tone to their work, but every bit as their eponymous predecessor.

‘The Right Spot’ creeps cautiously in on a doleful synth and sullen beat, but then glows indeed, quietly with shapely bass and glinting guitar behind sharply inquiring vocals. The achey soft-focus turns the music makes reminds me of following a road at night through a windscreen, hypnotic and slightly eerie. ‘40 Days’ is sore and angular, the rhythm shuffling and the increasing urgency from the singer sending it coasting into a nervy chorus and you have prettiness crawling out of the throttled guitar. It’s a blast, disguised under cobwebs.

The bass strides confidently as ‘London’ wakes and shocks by being a thoroughly conventional burst of bracing emotional resentment. Another cool chorus too, which is a bizarre knack they have.

‘Heart Of Glass’ is starker but brightly polished, and not the Blondie song in case you were wondering. It had a raged, buzzy guitar arching upwards, and downcast troubled vocals. ‘See You’ provides an acoustic turns of events, like an improved Oasis, in a short and sweet lilting snapshot. ‘What You Want To’ is a slow burner with a sweet overture and a weary circling undertow, guiding you through. ‘Intervention’ stays fairly low key but active, with ‘Desperados’ a winsome, wriggling thing on a soft bed of bassy goodness. ‘Let The Right One In’ gently pushes the same point home, with a breezy insistence, while the delicate intrigue of ‘Explodera Mig’ is a finely wrought instrumental which flutters softly away.

It’s a simpler album than before, and in a way quite mainstream, but quality throughout, with subtle murkiness and strangely cohesive in the lyrical insularity instead of being merely abstract like so many. Added power wouldn’t have suited the melodic sensibilities, although I’d have liked some fire there to accentuate the cooler highlights, but you can’t have everything. They’re a fascinating band and clearly one to follow.

http://www.myspace.com/theexplodingboyse

NEONGRAU http://www.myspace.com/neongrau - German electronics

ECTOPLASMA http://www.myspace.com/ectoplasmagrupo - Colombian Goth Electro

PYTHIE’S http://www.myspace.com/ectoplasmagrupo - French Metal/Industrial

THE BIG CONFUSION http://www.myspace.com/thebigconfusion - Spanish Electronica

COSMIC INTENT http://www.myspace.com/cosmicintent - Swiss Electro Pop

…and… ROSALIO JAIME ANAYA - http://www.myspace.com/xilamchalo - Skull sculptures? Unusual work from Mexico – check the photo albums.

FLYERS?

1988

1994

1995

FACEBOOK then …

23rd August 2011

MORTAL CLAY

GILDED THRALLS

EDM

Although the bravely fiery nature of their music has probably left them

with a reputation for having been raised in the woods by wolves, Mortal Clay

have an almost scholastic dedication to sound. In what would probably have been

on constant rotation on the Gormenghast jukebox everything has a specific place,

or counterpoint, so that here is a pestilent form of prosaic indie which could

just as easily have been bewitching ambient if stripped of vocals and then

bathed in certain washes. Instead the translucent sketches have rightfully become

scary daubs coalescing into striking pictures of a descent into darkness.

‘Into The Land’ has a beguiling and solemn start where notes hang in

the air like slow motion pinging gamelan darts, ready to strike. Deadly vocals

hover menacingly, and yet the words themselves carry no threat, merely mocking

human folly. It’s a slow, plunking stroll until strings come in to lighten the

jutting bass. ‘Orpheus’ Lament’ is unkempt by comparison, sounds vibrating over

a cantankerous beat, with a constant vocal tribute to a lost love forlorn and hurt in the forefront.

‘Fusillade’ is one step away from crumbly and croaking, artful and weird, but

there is a fine vocal display with some notion I can’t quite decipher: “Though

you are afraid, truth is medicine in the face of babes.”

With a lighter mood, musically, ‘My Poor Nora’ talks of a woman buried

beneath burning lava, so I assume people who know their ancient history or

myths may get something out of this? It’s lightly queasy but piquant nevertheless.

‘High Treason’ is a twirl with a courtly cadence, as though a formal dance could be

held in honour of the demonic banking laws which smile smugly at the heart of the accusatory lyrics.

Enchantingly one degree down from shouty, this is really good fun, oddly.

‘Stumbling Giant’ has a rougher spirit but almost a Parisian swagger

with the capering beat and jangling string insouciance countered by some grubby

guitar, making it a fanciful beast of as thing.

‘Goldfish Tree’ is bubblier, reedier with the male vocal yearning, and

could have been recorded in a cathedral it’s so openly chiming and rolling, at

which point we collide with their groaning ‘To Be A King’ like a lapsed

orchestral fairy tale, with floaty historical vocal stylings and a bit of a

guitar wassail.

Had they continued for a few songs in this vein we would have quite a

magnificent record, like an American counterpart of Gae Bolg or 23 Trublion 23,

but the remaining four tracks are remixes and I’m never really interested in

those. I can however recommend this to anyone with a fascination for truly

artistic endeavours, which in this case could be of interest to anyone from fans of Ataraxia to Attrition or

pretty much anything on Projekt. It’s

that good.

https://www.facebook.com/MortalClay

http://www.mortalclay.com

(Apologies if the review looks weird but I live in Internet Hell right now.)

23 August 2012

FREDWATCH August 23rd 2012, 14.10p.m. He’ll have to get back to you. Bit busy...

MABELLYBABEWATCH August 23rd 2012, 13.20p.m. She’s on her patrol route.

MABELandMACKWATCH August 23rd 2012, 13.30p.m. All is well.

23 August 2013

SUSAN RAE, who describes herself simply as ‘Scottish Bint’ on twitter, just announced herself on Radio 4 Extra. “I’m Susan Rae, the cat that won’t cop out, when there’s danger all about. Can you dig it?” My kind of continuity announcer!

23 August 2015

MICK MERCER RADIO Broadcast #85 is going to be pretty fanbloodytastic, or maybe even a complete and utter disaster. Who knows? Who cares? I can tell you that it already includes some brilliant demos from 1977 by The Cramps, lashings of March Violets, a dash of Sisters, some Nephilim microbes, oozing Bauhaus brilliance, and that’s quite apart from the edifying inclusion of Parchment Prayer, Siiiii, The Men That Will Not (etc), The Terrorsaurs, Dead Curtis, Rebel Christening, The Barbarellatones, The Bolshoi, Big Black, Sleaford Mods, Horse Party, Howard Devoto.

I AM the Ambassador, and I AM spoiling you.

https://www.facebook.com/events/425142171006571/ - EVENT PAGE

HOW TO LISTEN? This is a the direct link

http://server2.luschaudio.com:9162/listen.pls

Or go to

http://server2.luschaudio.com:9162/

and hit ‘listen.’ That will download a small file so you can connect you to the live stream. Hit play on your media player. You can listen using iTunes, VLC, WinAmp and various other media players.

If you have any problem listening I advise you download the VLC media player. That always seems to work. When you open VLC from the menu pick Media > Open network stream…and pop the url in there. It goes without saying there will be nothing there until the show starts (usually a few minutes before the hour so you can get your levels sorted).

All previous broadcasts have been uploaded here:http://www.mixcloud.com/mickmercerradio/

Our old Cat World Cup 2014 page has had over 120 views this week!!!!!! Still love this Mabel Banks save.

23 August 2016

Got a new pair of glasses the other week and they’re vari-whatevers, so I can’t read what’s on the screen properly. This was expected, by the optician, saying, ‘get some Reading Glasses.’ I have never had these before, Glasses previously being fine for all occasions before they diversified to make more money. Anyway, got some today and they don’t do anything clever, they just magnify everything! You stand up and almost fall over as everything is now bigger around you that in reality and you just blunder around like a nutter. My tip: the moment you go to stand up take them off.

23 August 2017

Tonight’s show (live from 9pm, UK time) has more from new albums by THE B.H.D., A Thousand Hours, Hamsas Xiii, Luxury Stranger and Supernova 1006, alongside further brilliance from Hi-Reciprocity, Apoptygma Berzerk, Cab Calloway, Double Echo, David J, Gang Of 4, Fake Figure, Pins And Needles and Red Lorry Yellow Lorry. Maybe even some others…

Everyone is invited. Chat on the Event Page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/315551005583113

HOW TO LISTEN? This is a direct link

23 August 2019

Continuing on the theme of gigs I have photos from where I don’t have the actual date, here we have the mighty AUSGANG at a small basement club called Satan’s Alley, in 1983. It was a very short-lived venue on Oxford Street, near Tottenham Court Road tube. Anyone know the date? Michael Sanderson perhaps?

Zillah Minx

Hi Steve Clark this was an awesome gig we played a few with Ausgang supporting great band. I think Sean Mowle is right Nov 7th 1983.

August 23r^d 2020

BAGWATCH, August 23rd, 2020. The lovely, well-deserved tributes to the wonderful Dele Fadele (R.I.P.) frequently mention he’d always have a carrier bag with him. This was the freelancer’s friend, the chosen conveyance for transferring records from music paper office to Record & Tape Exchange, thereby increasing your chance of actually surviving financially.

I too was known for my bag, always a Sainsbury’s Bag, in which I kept my camera. I had a couple of t-shirts in the bottom, to add a protective layer, and never had the camera nicked, so pretty effective, especially considering how pissed I usually was by the end of any given night! I started wondering if I had any photos of it in action, in the wild, as it were.

As luck would have it I stumbled across a few quite easily. These noble examples I grant you now, are 1990 vintage and there’s no use asking if I still have the bags and offering me large sums because they’re long gone.

The important thing here is to see the effect the bageratii can have on the populace. In the first photo Chris from the Pop Club is having to shield himself from the glare of magnificence emanating from the bag. In the two bar shots where the bag is on the ground, on what is clearly a quiet night, people have been drawn TO it, like moths to a flame. Even more remarkable is the shot of Grimetime, where the typically shy and retiring Theo Shend has no option but to leave the stage and join the bag on the venue floor. It’s out of his control!

More evidence when it appears...

Radio broadcast #189 tonight, live from 9pm (UK time) onwards. New releases, old ones, some in between, nearly all Goth, but a few surprises. What have you got to lose, apart from two hours? https://www.facebook.com/events/306352357362959

If you don’t fancy being at the event page (url above) to chat with people, simply visit the stream page (url right):

http://server2.luschaudio.com:9088

SUN, 23 AUG 2020

Mick Mercer Radio Broadcast 189

23 August 2020

Dolly Parton WOWNESS!!!

Erick Moore

19t rumcJciSpanmatgonuaroylon 2s0ooret2s0d ·

In 1990, the high school dropout rate for Dolly Parton’s hometown of Sevierville Tennessee was at 34% (Research shows that most kids make up their minds in fifth/sixth grade not to graduate). That year, all fifth and sixth graders from Sevierville were invited by Parton to attend an assembly at Dollywood. They were asked to pick a buddy, and if both students completed high school, Dolly Parton would personally hand them each a $500 check on their graduation day. As a result, the dropout rate for those classes fell to 6%, and has generally retained that average to this day.

Shortly after the success of The Buddy Program, Parton learned in dealing with teachers from the school district that problems in education often begin during first grade when kids are at different developmental levels. That year The Dollywood Foundation paid the salaries for additional teachers assistants in every first grade class for the next 2 years, under the agreement that if the program worked, the school system would effectively adopt and fund the program after the trial period.

During the same period, Parton founded the Imagination Library in 1995: The idea being that children from her rural hometown and low-income families often start school at a disadvantage and as a result, will be unfairly compared to their peers for the rest of their lives, effectively encouraging them not to pursue higher education. The objective of the Imagination library was that every child in Sevier County would receive one book, every month, mailed and addressed to the child, from the day they were born until the day they started kindergarten, 100% free of charge. What began as a hometown initiative now serves children in all 50 states, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, mailing thousands of free books to children around the world monthly.

On March 1, 2018 Parton donated her 100 millionth book at the Library of Congress: a copy of “Coat of Many Colors” dedicated to her father, who never learned to read or write.

Happy 74th Birthday Dolly Parton!

23 August 2021

Nosebleed territory!!!!

28Tim Peberdy, Paula Sowton and 26 others

This week’s show is up. PILGRIMS OF YEARNING just won the listener vote, followed hotly by Dead Anyway and Dead Born Babies. Full lineup >>> ANGEL’S ARCANA - MICHAEL ASTON’s G-L-J - OUTSIZED feat. NINO SABLE - WHISPERS IN THE SHADOW - DEAD ANYWAY - RAVENS MORELAND - PILGRIMS OF YEARNING - ROBBIE QUINE - DEAD BORN BABIES - HARRY STAFFORD & MARCO BUTCHER - THE GOTHS - THE GALLEY SLAVES - ARIEL MANIKI AND THE BLACK HALOS - DEATHSOMNIA - DELIVERANCE MX - NEW SKELETAL FACES - DOUBLE ECHO - JULES COHEN (Spiritease) - BURIED IN ROSES - GHOSTFIRE - PROJECT - VERSARI - STRANGE FUTURES - BYRONIC SEX & EXILE - GOTHZILLA - LOST MESSAGES.

MICK MERCER RADIO Broadcast 233 - August 22nd, 2021

23 August 2021

OLLI WISDOM (March 1958 – August 2021) R.I.P.

Very sorry to report the passing of musical bon viveur OLLI WISDOM at only 63. He’d been at this music lark for seemingly his whole life, from a dodgy punk band, on through the glory Goth days, globe-trotting in search of new scenes, surging into dance culture and then settling into a vibrant niche all of his own.

Olli started off in The Unwanted, a typically crap punk band (but let’s be honest, we all bought the ‘Secret Police’ single), before then joining somebody called The Metroz, who I admit I’ve never heard. He achieved UK prominence as co-founder of The Batcave where so many fledgling bands cut their pretty teeth, and flamboyant vocalist of the great Specimen, both here and in the States.

By the 90’s if anyone started that whole, ‘whatever happened to?’ thing, the answer was he was in Thailand, or Australia, or Goa, and was anyone surprised? No, of course we weren’t. He was more than a singer or a musician, he was more than an entrepreneur, DJ or businessman, he was the whole thing rolled into one, and fizzing.

People like this don’t come along that often, and even less so these days. Space Tribe, his psytrance band, have managed a dozen albums or so, and he’s criss-crossed the world many times over playing or DJing, along with occasional Specimen reformation tours, and work under the names Alien Jesus, ESP and Mad Tribe. He made music his life and he made a good life. He will be much missed.

23 August 2022

Mick Mercer updated his cover photo.

FINN - R.I.P.

FINN PANTON - R.I.P.

Fantastic guitarist, brilliant bloke. xxx

Now they’ve got me all worried!

23 August 2023

What are they like?!

Make sure you follow us at https://www.facebook.com/CatWorldCup2023/ for all of the action!

The first match of the Cat World Cup 2023 sees the ginger giants against each other! Match video at https://www.facebook.com/CatWorldCup2023

A fine performer in 2018, Tigger should have this sewn up.

More tomorrow…

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