STANLEY ROAD

I first became aware of Mod/Powerpop band Stanley Road through my friend over at the Retroman blog and instantly upon hearing them was taken back to around 1978 and the mod revival period, a time when bands weren't swallowed up by TV shows like X-Factor and suchlike and regurgitated out to the masses, a time when bands made their own way down the road of rock 'n' roll and that is what we have here in Stanley Road, an honest hardworking  band doing what they want to do........and it is good!

Last month I flew back to the UK to catch a performance of Len Price 3 at the Half Moon in Putney, what I didn't know when I booked my return flight was that the wonderful Spanish Mod/Powerpop band, Stanley Road, would be playing close by the following night, around about the same time as I would be flying back to my adopted home here in Sweden.  However, unbeknown to me, also in the crowd that night, jumping about and having a great time, were Sabino, Pablo and Chusin from Stanley Road and I had a chance to chat with them over a beer or two.  But before that, take a listen to "Nothings

Gonna Come" from their new E:P.

Stanley Road are:  Sabino López: Guitar, Lead Voice

                        Chus Foxton: Bass Guitar, Voice

                        Pablo Álvarez: Drums, Voice

From: Asturies Metropolitan Area, Spain.

Q. How did the three of you meet and when did you form the band?

A.    The band was formed in 2003. After three years Sabino got a job in Madrid, he stayed three years so the band just couldn’t carry on playing. Fortunately in 2010 we decided to come back together and play again. We have been good friends since we were kids.

Q. Who are your greatest musical influences?

A. The Jam, The Circles, Secret Affair, Small Faces, Housemartins, Green Day, Los Flechazos, Brighton 64, Northern Soul…

Q. You have recently played the UK in Cambridge, where else have you played and which is your favourite venue?

A.  We played all around Spain: Madrid, Zaragoza, Santander, Oviedo, Gijón, Cáceres, Logroño, San Sebastian and much more…we played in festivals and mod rallies like October in Rain, Pop Art Weekend, Purple Weekend, Go Lleida…  Our favourite venue was in Logroño and San Sebastian where we really connected to our fans.

Q. What is the funniest thing that has happened to you when playing gigs or recording?

A. Last gig in our home city, cops arrested Chuce for public disorder. Sabino tried to help him and he got arrested too…at that time Pablo was in a Pub playing darts. The fine was payed with Stanley’s money!

Q.  You have recently recorded and released a 4 track vinyl E.P, why did you release this on vinyl and what is your preferred format when listening to music?

A.  We prefer vinyl because its sounds better. It’s the way to listen Rock & Roll.

Q.  What bands are you currently listening to?

A. We love The Movement(Denmark), Innocenti(Malaysia), Cooper, The Bite(Spain), Len Price 3, Universal(England),The Go Signals(Philippines), Rioji & The Last Chords(Japan)... We think that we are in a boom of new mod bands in all around the world.

Q. What is your favourite record of all time?

A.   CHUCE: The Jam – All Mod Cons,  PABLO: Marvin Gaye: What’s going on,  SABINO: The Jam – Setting Sons

Q.  The Mod/Powerpop scene in Spain seems to be very popular right now, why do you think this is?

A.  Because there are a lot of bands and festivals, so people get to know them, and really like power pop and mod bands, but anyway we think that promoters are just interested in old bands so the new ones have no chance to get known…that could be a problem for the scene.

Q. If when watching a band, one of the band members was abducted by aliens and you had to replace them, who would you be?

A. C: John Entwistle P: Keith Moon S: Howlin’ Wolf or Paul Weller.

Q. What are your hopes and aspirations for Stanley Road?

A. We hope to become the mods and music lovers favourite band all around the world. We’re thinking about recording our first LP this spring.

Q. Finally, the most important question of all, what is your favourite ice cream?

A. C: I don´t like ice creams. I prefer meat and chips. P: Milk rice cream, S: Philadelphia cheese with strawberry.

Many thanks to Sabino, Pablo and Chusin for taking the time to talk to me, we, at Ice Cream Man, wish them all the best for the future with the band and the recording of the LP which we look forward to hearing sometime next year.

 You can contact the band by e mail at: stanleyroadband@gmail.com to buy a t-shirt or the record and you can listen to the great tunes at stanleyroadoriginal@myspace.com you can also find them on facebook.

The band are playing live on the 19th of November at 22:00 with Squire at the Wurlitzer Ballroom in Madrid  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=145401772227045

L-R:  Sabino, Rick.N.Baker, Chusin, Legendary rock photographer Paul Slattery and Pablo.

Photo: Steve Worrall

Grant Lindberg - Revolution FREE ALBUM DOWNLOAD

GRANT LINDBERG - REVOLUTION

Get it HERE

Having trawled the internet, I have been unable to find out any more about this artist than this:

Grant Lindberg is a solo artist out of Minneapolis, MN. He has been called “a poor man’s Matthew Sweet in a box.” He has been several bands including Avenue, The Methods and Alceon.

I am not sure that I personally would call him a poor mans Matthew Sweet in a box, whatever that means?  Grants music is full of vibe and energy, depth and richness and for those of you that like some crunching guitars in your mix of power pop, you will love this.

You can find three of Grants albums, including this one and an E.P over on his bandcamp page, all really worth taking time out to listen to, in the meantime, if I manage to find anything else out about the man and the music, I shall post it here as soon as!!!

The Prisoners - The Last Fourfathers

The Prisoners were a mod revival/1960s garage band formed in 1982 in Chatham, Kent, England. They were a regular live fixture on the London "psychedelic revival" mini-scene of the early 1980s, and often toured with sparring partners The Milkshakes who included Billy Childish on guitar. The Prisoners' sound combined catchy, retro flavoured melodies, punky guitar riffs, a Steve Marriott-esque vocal style and a lead instrument of the then-unfashionable Hammond organ. The Prisoners never met with much commercial success during their original lifespan but have latterly been likened to Paul Weller and The Charlatans. Indeed Tim Burgess of the Charlatans has cited the Prisoners as a major influence.
The band's lineup was: Graham Day (vocals and guitar), Jamie/James Taylor (hammond organ), Allan Crockford (bass) and Johnny Symons (drums).

Get it here: The Prisoners - The Last Fourfathers

Rare Mod Volume 3. Various Artists

Some of the finest underground mod, rhythm and blues and beat bands of the sixties.

Mod, you can't live with it, you can't live without it!

Link: HERE

The Martial Arts - Your Sinclair (2006) FREE DOWNLOAD

"THE MARTIAL ARTS ARE THE BEST GLASGOW BAND THAT YOU PROBABLY HAVEN'T HEARD."

Probably one of the greatest power pop albums you will ever get for free!  I love this album and still can't understand why the band gave it away for free, it really is a classic from start to finish. If you don't have it, get it, you'll love it!

Free Download here

What others have said about the record:

"The Martial Arts are in a blissful time warp that traps bands between the 60s and the present day. Equally excellent, check out both "Summer Tweed" and "Finale" to get your daily dose of radiant, sunshiny indiepop." -LOOSE RECORD

“As fortune would have it this album landed with me a matter of days after I narrowly missed seeing them live. A shame really as this is a thoroughbred collection of quality guitar driven pop. The production coupled with a generous use of keys - from theremin to synths - keeps the sound fresh making the influences harder to pin down. 'Contemptuous Disdain' is good example that mixes everything up well and even features a hint of ska. Upbeat opener 'Murry & Audree' is reminiscent of 60s beat but could just as easily be pulling from mid seventies Flamin' Groovies. Not that it matters, it’s three and a half minutes of timeless pop. Don’t Want to Talk continues in the same vain. Four songs in and 'Frost' changes tack a bit - a not quite ballad anchored by piano. Straight away 'Mod Val' kicks in and accelerates away as the guitars are reasserted in something of a punk out. 'Summer Tweed' is another stand out bit of tunesmithery from Paul Kelly - California style pop conceived in Northern Europe. Talking of which, this would have probably been my album for the summer months if it was not already pissing October.” - IS THIS MUSIC?

“Jaw on floor, dancing boots in turbo, absolutely marvellous, marvellous stuff. Expect great things - if not, you’ve only your damn selves to blame.” - THE SKINNY

“I’ve had this album on repeat since I got it!” – Lennart Wrigholm, Musiklandet.se

“An enchanting pop explosion” – Lisa Olaison, Sundsvalls Tidning

“Buy This Record!” – Dalademokraten

“The Martial Arts are the creators of this years indie summer” – Arbetarbladet

“Amazing melodies....the sky is the limit for The Martial Arts” – Groove Magazine

“Almost perfect” - Falu Kuriren, Borlänge Tidning

"An extremely recommendable disc for all" -blondie.cl

"The first words on this great album, are also my last - “Listen up to good advice” - listen to The Martial Arts." -Will Campbell, sohostrut.co.uk

An Indie Pop Compilation - FREE DOWNLOAD

Free Download HERE

Now the leaves are falling and the days are cooling, it is nice to have something that warms the heart and ears a little!

This Feels Like Summer is the 7th installment of Popscene MNL's mp3 compilation series. The title of the current collection is also the title of the most recent track by Carnival Park.

Time flies by so fast when you're having fun. After two years and eight compilations, we've made new friends and reacquainted ourselves with old ones. Hard to believe, but this is our story so far.

Sleeve design by Manny Gallo of Sodajerk/ Sunday Picnic Love Affair.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

credits

Ben Sherman and his shirts!

I realised today that I have been wearing Ben Sherman shirts for 32 years, I had my first one at the age of 12, a black and white paisley patterned shirt, brilliant for a 12 year old Mod, I now have a wardrobe filled with various plain and patterned designs, so I thought it was time I paid homage to the man and his shirts and a staple part of fashion since 1963.

Mr Ben Sherman

Arthur Benajmain Sugarman was a born in Brighton, East Sussex in 1925, at the age of 20 he emigrated to America and attained American citizenship, he changed his name to Ben as this is what his family called him and  changed his surname to Sherman as he deemed this to be a good strong American name.

Ben married the daughter of a Californian clothes producer and raised a family in San Fernando Valley and started working for his father in law.

When Ben's mother fell ill, he relocated his family back to Brighton in England to care for her.  Having no work when he returned he decided to start up a clothing company with the experience he had gained in the states, he started this in a rented factory in Bedford Square and started work producing the shirts we know and love so well.

Brighton and Hove buses name their buses after famous residents from the town, here is Mr Shermans bus tribute.

The Mods who had a sharp eye for italian designs and styles soon embraced the design and wore the shirts with their tailor made suits and skinny ties.  Orders soon overtook Ben Shermans production capacity, it is famously quoted that in 1970 he ordered a million yards of Oxford fabric, a quater of a million yards of gingham fabric and a quarter of a million yards of striped material from an American fabric mill.


Sherman’s shirts with their button down collars and a button on the rear of the collar were an instant success. Soon he opened a showroom in Carnaby Street, London, and a shop in Duke Street, Brighton. Another two London shops followed. Sherman’s success was too much for the Brighton factory and production was moved to  Northern Ireland in 1969.

Ben Sherman had some great adverts in the 70's.  There is another one with a vicar that is rather amusing  but not embedded, so here is the link; BEN SHERMAN VICAR ADVERT there are several more on youtube to watch too.

Ben sold the company in the early Seventies and moved to Australia to start new ventures. He died aged 62 in 1987 after a heart bypass operation. But the business lives on and is particularly associated with Mods. The stylish and popular shirts are unique in design and high in quality.

The company was sold to Oxford industries in 2004 and it is heartening to see that they have kept some of the humour in their advertising as this advert shows.

Now having existed for nearly 50 years the Ben Sherman shirt and brand have been adopted by almost every youth culture or style movement of the last 5 decades, from the mods, to Two tone and ska, to brit pop and is today still worn by the current bands and style leaders of the current decade, this is surely testament that Ben Sherman gave us one of the most iconic pieces of clothing in modern times and now I have to go and do some ironing!

Cheers Ben!

The Lance - The Massacre on Watergate Street FREE DOWNLOAD

The Lance come from my adopted home of Sweden, up in Borlänge, home of the Peace and Love festival.
The band have a great 60's feel to them and remind me a little of early Mando Diao, which is no bad thing, I hope to catch them playing around Västra Gotaland in the near future.

Download the album FREE here

The Lance formed in January 2007 by Olle Hägg and Gustav Good. They had no jobs, no money and nothing to live on and The Lance was a simple act of desperation and an insane obsession for rock n roll music. When they started they had two screaming guitars but still needed a bass guitar to back them up and keep the rhythm. Their friend Micke Bojfeldt was the only one they knew who could play a mean bass guitar and talk rubbish at the same time so he was their obvious choice. Although they knew from previous experience that most drummers were idiots, they found this guy Dan Lif in a basement in Borlänge, Sweden. They put him up for a quick audition and he totally blew their minds with his rhythmic and frenetic style of swinging the sticks. They were then a quartet and became The Lance.

The Lance was the obvious band name because it’s nonsense. A lot of things The Lance does is nonsense and nonsense is what they can identify themselves with. The true meaning of the Lance is “four stupid fools”. Handsome and clever fools.

At the first rehearsal they all sat down in Dan’s basement with only old guitars and old amplifiers at hand. They didn’t have any freaky effects or any overdrive pedals, just turned the volume up and suddenly had their own sound. Raw, natural drive with some help from electricity.

About a year later here they are with the same old raw sound, same old style and the same members. They’ve done a number of recordings in an old, small studio in Borlänge.

THE BLUE SQUARES - HARD TIMES Free album download

Download the album for free HERE

Another album I stumbled upon recently from a band that deserve your attention!

PLAY LOUD AND ENJOY!

The Blue Squares emerge from Detroit's underground rock scene with their debut album, Hard Times. Featuring 10 songs reminiscent of The Kinks, The Zombies and MC5, the long-player draws from the sounds of an era long past, but eternally cherished for its cultivation of timeless music. From their beginnings as a 3-piece known as The Wednesdees, the group has since matured into a quartet while continuing to channel legendary underground rock bands from the Sixties and gaining comparisons to such contemporaries as The Greenhornes and The Len Price 3. The evidence of misfortune in Detroit is sadly difficult to avoid, and all too obvious. Using the dilapidated city as a backdrop, Hard Times delivers a sound full of grit and determination that speaks to both the city’s past and future.

Take the sound of early recordings of The Kinks, The Animals or The 
Doors.  Now add more power to the drums and more fuzz to the guitar
and you have The Blue Squares. Their new album Hard Times is going 
to make you proud of the musical talent and vision Detroit has to 
offer. With a '60s garage rock sound, this quintet harkens back to the 
days when music was simpler. They'll have you singing along in your 
car and entertaining the thought of pursuing a career as an 
international spy. 

New Shouts Free EP downloads.

A few days ago I heard a tune that really grabbed my attention, it had a great 60's vibe to it, after days, well, a week to be honest, I managed to track down who they were, they are New Shouts, the band are based in Pittsburgh PA and are currently unsigned, quite why, I am unable to fathom because they have a great  sound and they look like pretty cool geezers too!

They say about themselves:  "We wanted to be a 60's r&b girlgroup, but couldn't get to the 60's and couldn't find the girls so we decided to be a rock n' roll band of dudes."

Get the EP's: here and here for free, you can also purchase the bands 7track EP/mini album: here for a mere $6.99

You can find the band on facebook here: New Shouts Facebook Page

Northern Soul. Lorraine Silver - Lost Summer Love

Back in the early eighties my brother, who was a scooter boy, very kindly made me up a compilation of Northern Soul songs as I had expressed an interest in the genre.  Having been really into RnB and Motown, it was no surprise that Northern Soul was going to grab, and hold my attention as it has.

Among the tracks, none of which were listed on the cover, was a track with a marching beat, punchy brass sound and great vocals, it immediately stood out as a really strong track among all the others, which were all great, but this song really stood out and I decided to find out a little more about Lorraine Silver and couldn't believe what I found.

In the school summer holidays of 1965, a 13 year old Lorraine headed out shopping in Oxford Street London and after looking through records, she decided to make a record and that wasn't as difficult as it sounds, as back in the sixties, Woolworths had their own record booths where you could record your voice and get a vinyl disc delivered in pretty much the same way as you get passport photos!

                                                   Record Booth.

Lorraine sung a rendition of  the Bryan Hyland song "Sealed with a Kiss" and then made her way to  PYE records at Marble arch and delivered the disc to them asking if anyone wanted to hear it.  A pretty bold gesture for a 13 year old girl.  About 2 months later Lorraine was invited to an audition at PYE and subsequently given a recording contract.

                                                               Lorraine Silver Aged 13.

The song  scheduled to be recorded was The Marvelettes song, "I'll keep on holding on" but then she was given a ballad by American Shelley Fabares and asked to cover that instead.  A band was arranged for the recording which included, on bass Klaus Voorman, who was a close friend of The Beatles and also designed the cover for  the "Revolver" album.

Lost Summer Love was well received and heavily played on Radio Luxembourg amongst many other radio stations, including Ready Steady Radio which was based in The Marquee Club.  Many articles appeared in the press and the teenager became a heroine amongst her friends at school and probably a figure for jealousy as she was allowed to miss out on lessons to appear at photo shoots and the like.

With everything going so well, the world was her oyster until The Overlanders turned up.  Lorraine was due to appear on Ready Steady Go with a rendition of Lost Summer Love which could have lifted her career to dizzying heights, however, this was not to be, Lorraine's agent was also agent to The Overlanders and their rendition of "Michele" was making a big impact on the charts and Lorraine was replaced by The Overlanders for the filming of the show.

Lorraine recorded one more record for Pye, "The Happy Faces" an original song written by Johnny Harris who had produced "Lost Summer Love."  The single didn't receive the backing it required and subsequently failed to chart.
Lorraine went back to school to finish her education but continued to perform in cabaret clubs and television talent shows like "New Faces."

"Lost Summer Love" continued to grow in popularity in the Northern Soul clubs, especially at the famous "Wigans Casino."

Jumping forward 23 years later in 1988, Lorraine's 2nd husband entertainment agent Barry Collings showed Lorraine an issue of Blues and Soul magazine that listed Northern Soul DJ Nick Greg's top ten Northern Soul tunes which, obviously, in my opinion, listed Lost Summer Love.  Lorraine was amazed and totally knocked out to learn how popular the record was, even now.
As a result of this Lorraine went on to perform at many Northern Soul functions and still performs to this day.

                                                                Lorraine Silver today.

Lost Summer Love has become something of a collectors item with original copies changing hands for £100.00 plus, in fact a copy sold on Ebay a while back for £360!  The track, along with all her other recordings, has appeared on numerous Northern Soul collections.

Lorraine is currently touring with Chris Farlowe and Steve Ellis (Love Affair) as part of The Mod All Star Band.

Sun 23rd Oct	Mod All Star Band : The Mod All Star Band + Steve Ellis + Cliff Bennett + Lorraine Silver + New Amen Corner	Palace Theatre Mansfield
Sat 18th Feb 2012	The Mod All Star Band + Chris Farlowe + Steve Ellis + Lorraine Silver	Martlets Hall Burgess Hill
Sat 25th Feb 2012	The Mod All Star Band + Chris Farlowe + Steve Ellis + Lorraine Silver	Fairfield Halls & Ashcroft Theatre Croydon
Sun 4th Mar 2012	The Mod All Star Band + Chris Farlowe + Steve Ellis + Lorraine Silver	Theatre Royal Lincoln
Sun 25th Mar 2012	The Mod All Star Band: The Mod All Star Band + Chris Farlowe + Steve Ellis + Lorraine Silver + New Amen Corner	Assembly Hall Theatre Tunbridge Wells
Fri 18th May 2012	The Mod All Star Band: The Mod All Star Band + Chris Farlowe + Steve Ellis + Lorraine Silver	The Alban Arena St. Albans
Fri 21st Sep 2012	The Mod All Star Band + Chris Farlowe + Steve Ellis + Lorraine Silver	The Kings Theatre Portsmouth

And if that wasn't enough, Lorraine is also appearing on The Northern Soul Tour 2012 as a guest singer with Edwin Starr's band The Team:

EDWIN STARR’S BAND- THE TEAM

With ANGELO STARR + Special Guest LORRAINE SILVER

AGENT 00 SOUL * LOST SUMMER LOVE * 25 MILES

THE HAPPY FACES * STOP HER ON SIGHT * I’LL KEEP HOLDING ON * TIME * LANDSLIDE * WAR * GOODBYE NOTHING TO SAY * HEADLINE NEWS * I’LL DO ANYTHING * EYE TO EYE CONTACT

The late great EDWIN STARR’S brother ANGELO STARR is the original musical director of THE TEAM. He has now taken over lead vocals performing all the fantastic Edwin Starr classics, plus dynamic performances of some great Northern Soul covers.

EDWIN STARR’S original 8 piece band THE TEAM who backed Edwin on all his shows are still intact, with sax, keyboard, lead guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussion & female backing vocalist.They have a new CD out called “Keeping the Faith ”The first track is titled “Bless My Northern Soul” www.theteam-online.co.uk

Links:  Lorraine Silver Official site

The Riffbackers - The Curtain shop and alterations FREE ALBUM DOWNLOAD

THE RIFFBACKERS - THE CURTAIN SHOP AND ALTERATIONS

The Riffbackers are headed by two members of the much-missed The Winnerys. Shot to the top of my Top 15 list for best of 2009, too! Fret not fans of The Winnerys. No diversions here; The Riffbackers will filled the void very nicely - arguably, even better. Taking cues from a long list of power poppy favorites, The Riffbackers DELIVER! Each song as a different frame of reference - Lead off track "Now It`s Fine" sounds like a long lost favorite from The Plimsouls or Paul Collins Beat, from there listen for Raspberries, Cheap Trick, The Who, early 70s McCartney and on and on.


Get it free: HERE

Offical Web site: http://www.myspace.com/theriffbackers

The Hush Now - Memos FREE ALBUM DOWNLOAD

Another brilliant band giving away a free download of their latest album, so if you like a little indie rock go and get it now whilst it is still available.
The Hush Now have been compared to My Bloody Valentine and Guided by voices  and have been called "Audio candy for the art school crowd."  What that means exactly, I don't know, but it is a great album.

Get it free here:  http://thehushnow.bandcamp.com/

The band are currently touring, check them out if they come your way.

Tour dates and other info available on their official site:  http://www.thehushnow.com/

Enjoy!