Merry Christmas

It's a cold one this year! This photo was taken by Sue's Great Grandfather who was a photographer in Scotland and it is the first ascent of Ben Nevis by car - it's a Model T-Ford.

Jerry Lee Lewis 'Meatman'

A carnivorous anthem for us meat-lovers.

Dion and the Belmonts 'Runaround Sue'

12 days of Elvis

The Cherokees - Minnie the Moocher

Australian beat group playing Cab Calloway song. Good on them.

Ballad of Two Brothers

Heard this slice of cheese on the WFMU Ichiban rock and soul stream - it's great - hope you all enjoy it. One of the best Vietnam records I have heard in a long time.

Mick Mercer reviews A & M Lyon recordings

Read it here also further down the page is his review of the reissue from Trowbridge's Moskow in the form of their recent 'Crescent Studio Demos' release.

'Step Inside Love'

I was singing a medley of Cilla Black songs on the way back from a cider run and I didn't realise then until I hit the 'net that this was originally a Beatles tune. Not bad at that.

'Rain' the Beatles

Today in 1980 Lennon was shot so that's one excuse to post this and the other is the fact that we have had something like 51 days of the stuff without letup. I think someone ought to write some more rain songs as it's more a part of our winter than all these 'Marshmallow world' or 'Frosty the Snowman' types of thing you get at the moment.

Cramps Green Fuzz (1981)

Shot at the Mudd Club NYC. What a great band they were...

Link Wray Rumble (1978)

This is a great clip of the master at work looking every inch the punk rocker. We saw him around the early 80s and Sue got to shake his hand.

Pickled Onions

Just finished peeling a huge batch of pickling onions ready for Christmas. If you want to do some yourself now is about the right time to get them in. Of course your eyes and nose stream...but I found that if you do it outside it's better, but well ventilating the work area is also helpful. We bought some pickling spice to beef them up a little - this will probably result in a few difficult moments for those not initiated into the world of eating strong pickled onions. Try to avoid this non-brew condiment as a vinegar substitute - it's the stuff they use in chip shops and its not really vinegar.

Animals & Men live March 6th The OCCII Amsterdam

We are very excited to be playing in 2010 at this famous venue on March 6th for a special show. Article on the venue's history here

The OCCII is a music venue that specialises in alternative and underground music, from hardcore punk through to trance. The majority of the OCCII crew are volunteers, keeping in line with the venue's squatting history and culture. Squatters moved into the building in 1984 and were granted ownership in 1989. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the venue is also home to less alternative activities, including children's theatre, arts & crafts and noise sampling workshops. Venue website here

'Girl on Death Row' Duane Eddy/Lee Hazlewood

Ichiban just introduced me to this little beauty... hope you like it.

'Apple cider' Doc Starkes & his Night RIders

The other day we were talking about songs about cider and this little beauty has popped up on Ichiban...what d'you think?

Dr Ross

Blowing some great harp in 1993 a few months before he died.

I'm Coming Home Harmonica style

This version of the song below was up on Youtube and I thought you might like it - nice blowing man.

Mel Torme 'Coming Home'

This was on Ichiban's rock and soul stream last night - it must be 40 years since I remember hearing it before - there's a nice live version of it on youtube but it lacks the essential backing vocals so we'll go with this one. It's the sort of thing that used to get played on the radio when I was a little one.