Gerry Cott Live - 27th November 2010 - St Andrews, Church Road, Cobham, Surrey

Heavens above! A rat in a church. I didn't attend so have no idea what was played or how well the concert went.



Gerry Cott will play a series of one-off performances of Urban Soundscapes in acoustically and architecturally interesting venues.

The first of these performances will be held at 7.30pm on 27th November 2010 at the 12th century Norman church of St Andrews, Church Road, Cobham, Surrey KT11 3EJ

Get yer Kicks in the Sticks!

The Boomtown Rats played at the Whyteleafe Football Club tonight.

For a very small venue and given the extreme cold, the concert was well attended with between 100 and 150 people turning up. By the end the place was rocking with a dozen or so people on the dance floor.

They played, not necessarily in this order as I wasn't taking notes...

• Mary of the 4th Form
• Close As You'll Ever Be
• I Can Make It If You Can
• Like Clockwork
• Neon Heart
• Joey's On The Street Again
• Someone's Looking At You
• Diamond Smiles
• She's Gonna Do You In
• She Does It Right (vocals by Garry Roberts)
• Riot in Cell Block #9 (vocals by Simon Crowe)
• Looking After Number One
• Rat Trap
• She's So Modern
• I Don't Like Mondays

Fortunately the concert ended shortly before the last train out of Whyteleafe to London (via East Croydon) so I was able to make it home in the wee small hours (yawn).

Geldof in India

Bob Geldof played at The Hay Festival in Trivandrum, Kerala.

Sting got up on stage with him and they sang A Hole to Fill. See it here
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturevideo/8135373/Sir-Bob-Geldof-and-Sting-at-Hay-Festival-in-India.html

Sting - "I flew to Thiruvananthapuram to see Bob. It was a high point of my life performing the number with him. I am happy to perform with Bob and it's always a pleasure to hear him sing."

Geldof also played Banana Republic and, inevitably, I Don't Like Mondays.

An Interview with Geldof can be found here
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main47.asp?filename=hub201110That_balmy.asp

November Dates for the Rats

A busy month for the Rats. Particulary looking forward to the Surrey date which I will be attending.

Saturday 13th November Essen Grugahalle, Germany
Sunday 14th November Landungsbruecken theatre ,Gutleutstrasse 294,Frankfurt am Main.Germany
Wednesday 24th November The Pavillion, Rhyll, as special guests to The Blockheads.
Thursday 25th November Walkabout, Barnsley
Friday 26th November Whyteleafe Football Club, 15, Church Road, Whyteleafe, Surrey CR3 0AR.

Darren Beale and the Pooh Sticks

Rats guitarist, Darren Beale, will be playing with the reformed Pooh Sticks at Indietracks at the Midland Railway Centre this weekend (23rd-25th July). Catch them on the Indoor stage form 20:15 - 21:10

No - I have never listened to the Pooh Sticks. Listen to them here www.myspace.com/thepoohsticks

Gerry Cott - Urban Soundscapes

Tracklisting (Previews)

01 Liverpool: Eleanor Rigby
02 Munich: Central Station to Seeg
03 Merritt: Last stop before Vancouver
04 NYC: Cab Ride
05 London: The Southbank Nighttime
06 Santander: Looking out on a stormy sea
07 Tokyo: Walkways
08 Kiev: Big cars darkened windows
09 San Francisco: Up The Down Staircase
10 Maui: The road to Hana
11 Dublin: Empty streets with distant echoes
12 Scarborough: Going to the fair
13 Carrickfergus: Looking back

Looks like Gerry took on board my comments of picking up the guitar again a couple of years ago when I met him at the 100 Club. Sadly he has not rejoined the Rats (boo!), but he has made a solo guitar album entitled Urban Soundscapes (hooray!).

"I always was an acoustic guitarist masquerading as a rocker.". Indeed. The album kicks off with an impressive version of Eleanor Rigby so far with Gerry's distinctive lyrical style of playing. I have to confess for fans of the Rats this record may not rock your boat. Though the guitar playing is technically good and shows off Gerry's abilities, it is incidental music that is ideal background for doing the dishes or other household tasks, but unlikely to hold your interest nor move you.

Of course, you can make your own minds up and purchase the CD at the Gerry Cott Homepage or get it on iTunes . The album is also on Spotify.

You can listen to Eleanor Rigby and Cab Ride in his entry for the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition. The album is also available on

Gerry also has a twitter account you can follow.

There is the promise of some forthcoming tour dates.

Jay Bennett - Kicking at the Perfumed Air

On May 24, 2009, award winning multi-instrumentalist and producer Jay Bennett passed away. Although Jay is probably best known for his work in Wilco, he was also a very sought-after producer, collaborator and solo artist, and was the owner of the Champaign, IL-based music studio.

Jay’s posthumous record, Kicking at the Perfumed Air has been released for free download. While the download is free, donations are currently being accepted to benefit the Jay Bennett Foundation or one of its partner charities.

The title track, Diamond Smiles, is a cover of the Boomtown Rats track from The Fine Art of Surfacing. The track is done in a very different style, even though Jay's vocal are somewhat remincient of a raw youthful Geldof. The song ends with a twinkling homage to the introduction of I Don't Like Mondays.

http://rockproper.com/JayBennettFoundation/

Oil City Confidential - BBC 4 - Dr.Feelgood night

Given their influence on Rats, see the originals on BBC tonight!






9:00pm Oil City Confidential
Director Julien Temple's film celebrates Dr Feelgood
10:50pm Sight and Sound in Concert
Pete Drummond introduces a concert from Queen Mary College with Ian Dury and the Blockheads and Dr. Feelgood
11:50pm If it Ain't Stiff
Adrian Edmondson narrates a documentary chronicling the story of Stiff Records
1:20am Oil City Confidential
As above