IPO Liverpool 2018 Preview : The Gold Needles

The Gold Needles are from Hull and the new album, Pearls, is one of the best things that I've heard this year. I'll not dwell on the album too much, because there's a lengthy review to appear here after the IPO Previews are done.

Although the band are well in with the Fruits de Mer crowd, they are definitely at the poppier end of that brigade. What The Gold Needles do is hard to pin down, equally comfortable with Psych as Pop, one minute they sound all latter day Be Bop Deluxe, the next it's reminiscent of The Cars.

That is what makes the album so good. It's incredibly varied, but at it's heart there are real pop sensibilities, no matter how left field it goes. I can't recommend Pearls highly enough. It's a corking 18 track ride.

Here I talk to Mark English about the band's past and future.






Pearls is so varied, who exactly are your influences?


"Anyone listening to our music will hear that our influences are wide and varied and this is reflected in the eclectic nature of our songs. We love melody and harmony, we love to hear the guitars jangle and we also love a bit of power.  The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, The Motors, Love, Gen X and Be Bop Deluxe all feature highly in our individual playlists.

Coming from Hull, we are all massive fans of Ziggy era David Bowie given that the Spiders all hailed from our hometown. Our lead guitarist, Dave, in particular, is a massive Mick Ronson fan."


So how did this love of music evolve?


"In early 1977 for some reason, local band, Dead Fingers Talk, were booked to play at my school disco.  Although I had no idea what was going on, I could feel that something was.  Being young and impressionable I quickly decided that I wanted to be in a band.

I used to daydream about playing All My Loving and other early Beatles stuff.  Coming to The Cavern to play at the most famous venue in the world is a dream come true. Music has the ability to move and inspire you, to energise and motivate you. There is nothing like being at a gig and feeling the air move. The rest of the band have similar stories as to why they wanted to play music."






How did the band come to be?


"We formed 3 years ago as a recording project.  Since then we have expanded the line up in order to play live, making our debut last year supporting Duncan Reid and The Big Heads.

In 2016 Fruits de Mer records released a limited edition 5 inch lathe cut single featuring First Sunrise and this sold out within an hour.  We also appeared on their festival compilation CDs for both 2016 and 2017.

Then we self released our own limited edition clear vinyl lathe cut single, Not Tonight Josephine, in 2017 and this received a glowing review in Record Collector magazine.We contributed a cover of The Poster to 7a Records who specialise in Monkees' related releases and this was included on their tribute album, Listen To The Bands.

In 2018 US label, Kool Kat  released Pearls, making it available on CD and download.  However, we have had considerable interest in this being released on vinyl and we are currently taking orders for this. The album received a very favourable review on May's Goldmine Site. Tracks from the album have received airplay in the UK, USA, Canada, South Africa and Australia."






What are your future plans?


"We welcome Duncan Reid And The Big Heads back to Hull on 29 June and we will be supporting them again.  In August we make an appearance at Fruits de Mer Records 16th Dream of Dr Sardonicus Festival which is sponsored by Record Collector Magazine.

Our single on Fruits de Mer Records, Smell Of Incense, will be available exclusively at the festival.  This is a taster for a various artists triple album release on the same label in the Autumn. We are bringing The Darling Buds to Hull on 7 September and are excited to be supporting them on their first date in Hull for over 25 years.

We have also been asked to contribute to an Adrian Borland / The Sound tribute album which is to be released on TBM Records.  Our version of Counting The Days will be included on this. In the meantime we continue to write and record and we are actively looking for more opportunities to play live."




You can listen and buy the album here. The CD can be bought at Kool Kat here. The band play The Cavern Club and The Cavern Pub on Tuesday 22 May.

IPO Liverpool 2018 Preview : Micah Gilbert

The excellent Micah Gilbert hails from Athens Georgia, but is resident on these shores. His debut album, Book Of Changes is wildly regarded as one of the great lost Singer Songwriter Classics. His latest album, Tales Of Love, was released late last year and enhances his reputation.

Gilbert writes songs of depth that may jangle or strum, but hang on melody and lyrical strength.


So who are your influences Micah?


"My biggest early musical influences are The Beatles, songwriters of good melodies and/or lyrics in general, e.g., Paul Simon, James Taylor, Leon Russell, Nilsson, Bob Dylan and some of the Tin Pan Alley songwriters. Slightly more recently, Sam Phillips and Aimee Mann are two favourites."


Why Music?


"I love making music is the basic answer to that question.  Music was not a choice for me. I was born with the love of music and as soon as I could understand it I tried my hand at making my own. It moves me like few things do. I’m drawn to the energy of it, or composition of it, or the lyrical content, or by the sheer magic of something I can’t explain."





Tell us a little about your history?


"I was born in the southern U.S and lived in various places on the eastern side of the country. From a relatively early age (if memory serves, about 14 years of age) I started playing in bands and doing solo or duo work.

This was and has always been the case. I’ve always recorded, from the time I made my first recordings on two cheap tape machines bounced to each other live in the room. I’ve had spells of inactivity and an occasional (understandable) lack of interest in the business of music that sometimes goes along with making music, but I’ve always come back to performing in some way.

I’ve enjoyed what I’ve done. I went from a smallish town in the south to recording in New York, and Athens, Georgia and Scotland,and performing in large showcases like South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. People still ask me about “Book of Changes”, my first album. I just released a new album “Tales of Love”."


What are your current and future plans?

"I’ve been rehearsing with a great group of dedicated musicians (Kevyn Smith, Paul Syme, and Jim Carney) for the IPO festival. Also, I’ve been working on a new album. More recording is planned, some live gigs with the Liverpool band and some solo performing to air out my new material and hang out with friends."




What you think of IPO and Liverpool?


"I love the IPO and Liverpool (great city). David Bash and I had known each other (without having met) for some 20 years. We were first in touch about my album “Book of Changes”. Four years ago, we connected face to face at the IPO.

David has done so much to give a helping hand to so many musicians. He and Rina Bardfield do an incredible amount of promotion for musicians, songwriters, and bands.  History will look kindly on David’s dedication to the music world.  I know I do.

The IPO also gives me the chance to catch up with the Big Stir Records folks and The Newds and an assortment of friends who seem to always show up at the Cavern."






You can listen to and buy Tales Of Love here. You can buy Book Of Changes and other songs here.

Micah plays at both The Cavern Pub and The Cavern Club on Wednesday 16 May.

I Don't Hear A Single Radio Show Episode 43

In between the IPO Previews and general giddiness about the current batch of releases, Number 43 of the IDHAS Radio Show is ready to meet the world

The I Don't Hear A Single Radio Excitement is broadcast on KOR Radio at 8pm UK Time on Fridays, repeated at the same time on Saturdays. Due to increased popularity, a Monday Night Repeat has been added at 8pm.

You can listen to it here.

Also, a reminder that the show is archived the following week on Mixcloud. You can listen to the other forty two shows and two Xmas Specials here.

Here's this week's playlist :

01 Pete Wylie - Sinful
02 Palace Winter - The Ballroom
03 Hux And The Hitmen - Stay With Me
04 Phil Yates And The Affiliates - Send Him The Bill
05 Roger Manning Jr - I'm Not Your Cowboy
06 Flight Of Icarus - Where The Stars Collide
07 Wild Animals - Science-Fiction
08 Ken Sharp - She Hates The Beatles
09 Chris Mullin - Sooner Or Later
10 The Black Delta Movement - Let The Rain Come
11 Courtney Barrett - Nameless, Faceless
12 San Antonio Kid - Mystic Waves
13 The Major Labels - Velveteen Queen
14 Oberon Rose - No Stranger
15 Broomfiller - Agnostic Orgasmic
16 The Scrags - Invasion Troopers
17 Jukebox The Ghost - Jumpstarted

Liverpool IPO 2018 Preview : Rob Clarke And The Wooltones

Rob Clarke is really one of our local heroes. Although his solo career took him all over the country, he is one of our own. That solo career included playing live and involved in sessions for Pretenders, Fischer Z, The Truth and Peter Hammill. He returned to Liverpool after teaming up with A Flock Of Seagulls' Paul Reynolds and Frank Maudsley in the band, Almighty Atmosphere.

His later solo work included three acoustic albums before the Telecaster Psych blitz of 2014's The World Of The Wooltones. There followed an Alt Country album, 10 Country Greats And 1 Other, which you can listen to and buy here.

It is however the development of The Wooltones that caught most people's attention. It's a 60's Psych Pop noise that just grips you. The World Of The Wooltones was repackaged as a compilation with two extra tracks and a bonus disc on my great friend Ray Gianchetti's Kool Kat Label. The resultant, Are You Wooltoned was reviewed on I Don't Hear A Single here.

The new album, Big Night Out has just been released. Kool Kat have a bonus disc with a Quarrymen connection which you can buy here. You can listen to the album and buy the download version here. There will be a full review on IDHAS after the IPO Liverpool Previews are done.

Rob cites amongst his influences, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Byrds, Neil Young and The Tornados. His aim is to "broaden The Wooltone brand, trying to take some of the good stuff from the 60s particularly the way things were done. The aim is to look at it from the standpoint of today without losing too much of the innocence along the way."

He explains, "There was a lot of naivety in the 60s, but it was also mixed with some extreme intelligence and a lot of people maybe did have some inkling or perception of how things were going to go."

Clarke thinks "IPO is different from almost every other event locally as it draws bands who aren’t necessarily very well known from all over the place, especially other parts of Europe. That alone gives it a completely different flavour."

"People go to it and like it for what it is so it tends to have a wide audience who are thrilled to be where they are and to enjoy it and to soak up the atmosphere of the Cavern. Which makes it fun to do. The whole thing feeds off the energy of David Bash, who puts on IPO events all over the US and Europe on a seemingly never ending tour."

Rob's research shows that "Our audience is primarily 45-54 year old men." So "Everything from now on will be scientifically assessed, so as to appeal to them and them alone." I think he might be joking, but I'm also surprised by the audience feedback, because the DIY Psych Pop feel of Wooltones' albums should really appeal to the more hipster market.

Rob Clarke And The Wooltones play The Cavern Club on Wednesday 16 May and The Cavern Club on Monday 21 May. For those interested in Rob Clarke's earlier solo work, you can listen to and buy it here.

IPO Liverpool Preview 2018 : Matt Purcell

Matt Purcell is something of an IPO Liverpool Regular. An Australian who relocated to Dublin. His third album, Silver Man, is full of thoughtful Power Pop Goodness. There's plenty of Jangle to be heard.

His earlier Australian Band, Deluxe, played supports with Elastica, You Am I,  Powderfinger and The Pursuit Of Happiness. Below is a brief interview about his influences, future plans and playing this year's IPO.


Who were your influences?


The Beatles, of course, The Kinks & The Easybeats. I also find that the bands that I first supported as a teenager, are still very influential for me. The Pyramidiacs, The Crusaders & The Slaters, all Sydney bands, that between them, had a lot of the influences that have been a constant in my song writing. That being 60’s, power pop, garage & independent guitar music (and all great live bands).


What are your thoughts on IPO and Liverpool?


For starters David Bash is the real deal. You can only praise what he is doing can’t you? This will be my 4th time playing IPO Liverpool. I love seeing amazing bands from all around the world playing 60’s Power pop ‘n’ garage music.

Some of the stand outs for me have even sung in English and when I went to talk to them after the show, realised that they couldn’t speak English. Great bands from Italy, Spain, Germany etc and also the local bands that blow you away every year. There is nothing like the IPO at The Cavern for me.






What are your current and future plans?


I have my third full length album coming out now ‘Matt Purcell - Silver Man’. It will be released on vinyl in July 2018. This is my first vinyl release, so it’s a 25 year plan coming to fruition. Excited about that really.

I will be pushing to play some more shows to support the release, Liverpool, London, Spain, Germany, who knows?, maybe even get over to the US for the first time, I will basically be trying to keep my Liverpool International Pop Overthrow Festival going continually until next year's one.

You can listen to and buy Silver Man here. Matt will be playing at IPO Liverpool in The Cavern Pub on Thursday 17 May and at The Cavern Club on Friday 18 May. You can find out more about Matt here.

IPO Liverpool 2018 Preview : The Ragamuffins

I think many of you know just how highly I rate The Ragamuffins. Saviours Of The North West who should have the world switched on to them by now. They feature a few times on IDHAS, the most recent appearance was a review of the current album, Cause Of Causes, here.

The band has evolved, the directions differed, the anger is far more directed. Every step that the band has taken has caused surprise and delight. As David Jaggs tells us in this short interview, that development has largely been finding the right people to convey the soundscape in his head.


Who were your influences?

"Our roots were always plunged deep into the songs we came up with. I've often said that discovering Belle & Sebastian was a sort of awakening in terms of seeing the scope of orchestration you could do with a pop band on a scale that wasn't a case of international mega-stardom. But it's taken me years to get to a point where I have the gang of bandmates surrounding me who can come together and deliver the kind of full sonic scope I've had in my head.


Stuart Murdoch, Jarvis Cocker and Elvis Costello were lyrically the biggest influences on me personally as a songwriter and the latter's use of double entendres and wordplay is pretty much second to none.

My use of a Jazzmaster has nothing to do with the great man though; I found it going cheap in a music shop (Reidy's) in Blackburn, couldn't really say no and bought it before meeting the girl who is now my wife for a cup of tea at a friend's house for the first time. The fact the guitar is her favourite colour (seafoam green) is just another of life's beautiful coincidences I suppose?






What are your thoughts on IPO and Liverpool?


We first played the IPO festival ten years ago and it was one of the first shows we ever did as the prototype version of The Ragamuffins. It's always been good to us and David and Rina have always been so supportive of us.

The first gig we ever played as The Ragamuffins was at The Cavern alongside Everything Everything in 2008, which is wild when you think about it. There's undoubtedly a bit of snobbery towards the festival and Mathew Street as a music hub full stop, which I can understand. There's still that revisionist feeling about wanting to completely move on from the Merseybeat days (it was a long time ago now!) amongst some within the Liverpool music community.

Granted, there can sometimes be a bit of a hit or miss affair with some bands on the bill at IPO, but I've made really good friends amongst some of the Swedish and German bands we've caught playing down the years especially The Jooles, Rhonda and others."





What are your current and future plans?


"We're still very much plugging our latest record, Cause Of Causes, which you gave such a smashing review to a couple of months back. The album was named after a horse which we received in a sweepstake after a gig. It winning us the money needed to actually master the record!

We do have plans to do some studio stuff in June though. I REALLY want to work a new version of "It Never Rains On Mossley Hill" into our plans, as we're looking to do some slightly more dub/ska/reggae tinged material. This will probably be an EP's worth with maybe two complete re-imaginings of Ragamuffin staple tracks, one refreshing of an older tune that was always sauntering down that road and two brand new songs.

There's a few singles we're working on together, but I think we might hold them back for now. We've got the capacity to stick new stuff onto Spotify and online sites at will really through our Chocolate Chip Records label now.

However, sometimes Independence can create it's own problems to you as an artist. You're just too eager to give people your new music to listen to and without anyone to restrain you you'll simply overwhelm all but your die-hard fans. Even a Michelin starred chef has to serve his food one course at a time."





"I have thought of an idea that incorporates crowdfunding, live streaming of gigs and giving access to special records to your fans but it'd be mid summer by the time we could put that into play."

You can listen to and buy all things Ragamuffin here. Cause Of Causes is on Spotify here. The band play The Cavern Club and The Cavern Pub on Monday 21 May. The Ragamuffins are one of the bands that I'm most looking forward to seeing over IPO's eight days.

IPO Liverpool 2018 Preview : Bob Of The Pops

I've always been a fan of The Junipers. I've always thought of them as a more modern day Diesel Park West. Maybe it's the Leicester connection, but more that Robyn Gibson has an almost unique Gentle Vocal, slightly different to John Butler. but just as good. You can read my review of Red Bouquet Fair here.

Gibson had always wanted to record a cover album and so after the weekly Junipers' rehearsals, he recorded the first Bob Of The Pops album over those years and was astonished at the fantastic reaction that the resulting album gathered. You can read my review of the first album here.

The Junipers were now mothballed and so Robyn set about recording the excellent Volume 2 in five months, a tenth of the time of the previous album. Volume 2 is equally excellent and thise Teenage Fanclub comparisons from Volume 1, feel more so on Volume 2.

Then Bob Of The Pops became a band, so this seems the right time for Robyn to tell the story to this point.






"The only purpose of this whole thing is for the sole purpose of fun.  I started recording solo cover versions initially as a teenager, enjoying the chance to make a 'band' sound by playing drums, guitars bass etc. Just to play to mates (for fun.)

Cut to years later and I've managed to get my foot into the door of one of my favourite bands by accidentally becoming their singer (I joined as guitars/harmonies, that was the plan anyway.)  My first band practise with the group, the original singer didn't turn up and in fact, never did again.  Quite lucky aren't I?

The idea for a solo covers album had been a constant 'one day.. I'll try to do this' notion for years, but finally happened when I suddenly had enough fun solo covers (which I'd knock up after band practises or recording sessions with the Junipers, staying behind afterwards to record drums) to actually make up an album's worth.

So this was volume one.  It took about five years to get enough songs recorded.  You know, just for fun..  The idea was always to make it to give away, (Absolutely so, as I couldn't take any credit for all the fantastic songs I was getting to sing. These are written by creative geniuses!)"






"I was so astonished at the positive reactions to Vol.1 and secretly a tad proud to have finally made 'an album' by myself, that I couldn't help but attempt a second volume straight away. Which I managed to get done in about five months, this time...  (Due mainly to the fact that the Junipers had gone into the deep freeze for the time being... What's a feller to do when the weekly band practises are knocked on the head, temporarily?  There's an empty studio, just sitting there... Impossible not to spend a night or two per week doing music, even if it's less sociable on your own..)

Whilst about halfway through recording volume 3, earlier this year, I got my old pal Ben, who'd been missing the Junipers' nights as much as myself, but hadn't had the luxury of still going 'down the room' every week, to come and play drums.

It only takes two mates to change a solo thing to a band, it turned out. We should have done this months ago!  We've been constantly meeting up every week since to record or play together.  We were even offered a gig (Playing support to the unbelievably good El Goodo), so by default, needing a name to put on a poster, 'Bob of the Pops' became the name of the band."







The first gig was done, (for the sheer fun of it), as a drums and guitar 'band', but a bass would have made it even better... So for the IPO, we've enlisted Ash, also a Juniper. (I'm seeing a pattern here)  All of a sudden I've got 'my own band' (for the first time in 30 years of playing in groups...)  Ash and Ben are such a great rhythm section, we've known each other as mates and band mates for many many years. We all have a laugh, almost all the time... I love it.

I am astonished at my luck and fortune to be having seen this grow into what it now is, all by itself, almost by accident. Like I say, quite lucky, aren't I really?"


You can listen to the first two Bob Of The Pops Albums and download them for free here. Bob Of The Pops play both The Cavern Pub and The Cavern Club on Sunday 20 May.

IPO Liverpool 2018 Preview : The Top Boost

IPO Liverpool in just over a week and over the next 7 or 8 days, I Don't Hear A Single Will be previewing some of the artists you can go and see and hear. You can see the band schedule here.

The Top Boost

Vancouver trio, The Top Boost, show a maturity beyond their age. All three contribute to the vocal mix and this adds real depth to their songs. The debut EP, Turn Around, splits it's four songs half and half.

The title track, which you will have heard on last week's Radio Show, is pure Power Pop, but it's the Psych Pop that stands out most. Still On My Mind is a gem, but the masterpiece is What If She Loves You? 

What If She Loves You? is a sort of Mod Psych, a real crackerjack of a song. The Top Boost play The Cavern Pub on Friday May 18 and The Cavern Club on Saturday May 19. You can find more on the band here.