Bomber Command over Disneyland?

On display outside the Johnny Cotter gallery...
Familiar with the Dickies back catalogue Mr C?

Or, a day trip to the seaside.

Time was when Folkestone was just another fading English seaside town, with only a brief flirtation with booking interesting new bands (we're talking early '80's so think New Model Army, Brilliant and er, The Milkshakes, at dingy 60's nightclub Pipers), to suggest any kind of cultural life.

Fast forward to 2012 and Folkestone is being pre-fixed with words like 'groovy'.  As David Coleman might have said, 'quite extraordinary!'

It's been going on for years of course, as artists have long had a fascination with the Kent coast for its open sky and natural light.

More recently Saga mainman Roger De Haan has invested in 'The Cultural Quarter' an arts led regeneration of the harbour area that's led to the Triennial arts festival, a string of small creative businesses opening up on the Old High Street and lots of spin offs, like music events, such as the 'Skabour' festival.

All highly commendable.  And then the global economy went belly up. What's that do to your average arts led regeneration?

No doubt it's been tough, but even the response to the inevitable empty shops, ends up producing yet more photo opportunities on a day at the seaside, thanks to the 'Hidden Gems' project...

Maria Slovakova  - artwork as part of a display 
at the excellent Googies art cafe

Pop Eats Itself (again and again)

A quick post, I know it doesn't matter, I know I shouldn't care.  But The Clash's 'London Calling' being used in an advert?  It just seems wrong.

I know 'Should I Stay, Or Should I Go' got re-released off the back of a jeans commercial, becoming a far bigger hit than the original single and plenty of Clash songs have made it to film soundtracks, with varying degrees of success.  But the effect of hearing 'London Calling' co-opted for the benefit of a large British airline, still doesn't sit well.

Pop Eats Itself (again)

A rather tired old cliche now, I know, as pre-teenage kids wear Motorhead t-shirts as fashion accessories as a matter of course, without even the slightest knowledge of the work of Mr Kilminster & co.

But old punk iconography in the High Street still makes me wonder.  What next?  UK Subs slippers?  And more pertinently, whose licensing this stuff and where is the money going?

Such is life it seems for bands who are now routinely described as 'legendary' or 'iconic'.  Either you become accountants like U2 or you get ripped off.

Of course Tommy and the estates of Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee may be getting a slice of the shopping bag action.  I don't know.  Or perhaps it's Sire Records or their global owner who owns the rights to this Ramones artwork?

Like I said, I don't know, maybe it's the graphic designer who came up with the Ramones 'seal of office' in the first place, who should be topping up his pension fund.  Or has the copyright holder shuffled off this mortal coil?  Unlikely as copyright generally covers a set timeframe or the author's lifespan plus 70 years.  So ownership should fall to their beneficiaries, rather than becoming out of copyright.

OK, I'm not a lawyer, but that's my guess.

What I do know, is taking this photograph got me thrown out of the shop I saw it in, amid demands that I delete the photo.  Well as you can see, I chose to delete a photo... oops guess it wasn't the right one.

Back in the day, I had a Ramones t-shirt, bought at a gig of course.  Saddest thing is, I rather like the idea of punk rock shopping bags, I'd just be a bit happier knowing that the bands featured, or at least a retirement home for distressed punk rockers somewhere on the south coast, was benefiting from the deal.

Somehow, knowing the fine upstanding reputation for ethical trading of the high street shop this picture was taken in, I doubt it.

Wiggo, sideburns, scooters and yellow jerseys

Hardly had time to watch this year's Tour de France, let alone write about it as last year - for reasons too tedious to go into, but had to post a belated comment on Bradley Wiggins ride into history.

He may be efficient rather than flamboyant on the bike, he's certainly benefited from the no expense spared team Sky have built around him, but every other rider who laid down a challenge, got an answer from the Kilburn Mod.

But that's not the best of it.  Wiggins, you suspect to the frustration of the team Sky PR machine, is not media trained to within an inch of his life, to trot out bland platitudes.  Ask him a question and you'll get an answer.  As demonstrated by Wiggins f-word strewn response to yet another insinuation about just how it was possible to ride clean and achieve all Wiggins has this season.  For a slightly more reasoned variation on that, see Wiggins excellent tour blog from The Guardian here.

That's still not the best of it.  We know he collects scooters, loves real ale (although I suspect that's a strictly rationed indulgence at the moment) and may own a record or two by The Jam.  But better still than all that, was his reaction as he stood on top of the podium as the newly crowned winner of the Tour de France.

Punk Britannia...slight return

While on the subject of the BBC's 'Punk Britannia' season, both the John Cooper Clarke and The Adverts documentaries were excellent.  Although I found it curious to see Attila The Stockbroker pop up on 'We Who Wait', but not on the JCC film.

Clearly Attila and TV Smith are kindred spirits, who've undoubtedly shared a stage in their time.  But the heavy use of comedians to offer us a view of the impact of the Bard Of Salford, was a bit one dimensional.  Of course Johnny Clarke influenced them, but what about the 'ranting poets' who followed hot on his Chelsea booted heels?

Attila and the late Seething (later Steven - and Susan for that matter, but that's another story...) Wells were chief amongst the protagonists.  It was under this banner that a certain Porky The Poet got his first audience as well. He's better known as Phil Jupitus these days.

As for the man who brought us 'Russians in the DHSS' and 'Libyan Students from Hell', he's still doing it - much like TV Smith you suspect, gigging out of a suitcase and just about breaking even.

Now that's punk rock - and long may they continue.

 

Still Censored - after 35 years!

Despite myself, I am enjoying some of the BBC's 'Punk Britannia' coverage - if only as an antidote to the tedious House of Windsor soap opera.

But, listening to the eminently reasonable Gideon Coe's contribution this evening, it was surprising to hear that The Damned's 1976 Peel session - played in full and still sounding stunning - was censored.  The F-word being rather more subtlety edited out than the traditional BBC beep that graced it at the time of the original broadcast.  But censored it was.

Apparently the word fuck is not acceptable at almost 10 o'clock at night on 6music.

Hmm, what exactly has punk rock changed then?

Buzzcocks - Ever Been Onstage With Someone (You Shouldn't've)?

Oh dear.  A rather worrying review of the much vaunted - and now it seems - controversial, Buzzcocks 'Back To Front' gig in Manchester last week, on Louder Than War. It seems Mr. Diggle 'hit the sauce more than usual' as a friend and fellow Buzzcocks fan put it.

That same friend saw Buzzcocks in Dublin recently and reports that Stevie D (to give him his football nickname) was 'fairly restrained'.  Let's hope Joe Whyte's view that "the sooner Shelley dumps Diggle, the better" doesn't prove to be the case - however understandable the sentiment may be in the light of the "poor, under-rehearsed shambles of a gig" he witnessed.

Shelley & Diggle have often been likened to a bickering couple, who despite everything, know they are better together than apart.  I've seen it myself some years ago at a fairly unpleasant 'punk all-dayer' with Diggle reveling in the drunken chaos, while Shelley looked like he couldn't get off-stage soon enough.

The body language that night suggested a band that was falling apart, but they carried on then, although the fallout from a high profile home town gig may be harder to patch up.

Buzzcocks recent albums (particularly 2003's self titled 'Buzzcocks') have been excellent.  But 'Flat Pack Philosophy', their most recent set of new material, was released in 2006.  Perhaps it's time to get back in the studio and get off the nostalgia treadmill?

A Real Jubilee...

‘Let out all the prisoners, ‘cause that’s a Jubilee’ sang The Stranglers in 1978 on ‘Do You Wanna?’.  Never gave it much thought at the time, as it was possibly one of the weaker track on the superb Black And White album.  Their best in my view, but other opinions are available.

These days, a quick search on the 'net and it turns out they had a point.  The concept of a Jubilee is mentioned as far back as Jewish and Christian fables, apparently.  Not sources I am particularly inclined to credit with much accuracy, but clearly the idea has been knocking around longer than the monarchy.

The idea of a Jubilee being a period of remission and forgiveness, occurring once every fifty years, when slaves would be freed, debts wiped clean and prisoners pardoned, is certainly a more interesting concept than Brian May playing his guitar on top of Buck House, or whatever nonsense is being planned this time.

So how about, for this Jubilee, making all the subjects of this country into citizens? Or wiping out international debt?

Thought not.  Have a Bank Holiday, wave your plastic flags and be grateful to the ruling classes.