Saturday @ Fruit Market StageAugust 17, 2011Saturday 3rd September JOHN COOPER CLARKE 10:05pm What can you say about our John? His biting, satirical, political and very funny verse delivered in his rapid-fire performance style resonated with the punk movement that had begin to pick up speed in the late 70s and saw him begin to draw huge crowds in his own right after touring with most of punk’s seminal and ground breaking bands including Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, The Fall, Elvis Costello and Siouxsie and the Banshees, to name but a few. The steep rise in his profile soon saw him begin to be supported by some of the very bands he had opened up for a few years previously (New Order actually supported him on no fewer than seven separate occasions). A figurehead for the movement and all that it encompassed, he became the “Punk Poet”, “The Bard of Salford” who found himself as one of the leading voices of punk and youth culture of the late 70s. Live he would find himself performing to thousands across the UK, crowds gathered with open eyes and ears gazing up at his distinctive, and now iconic visual appearance (tall and thin with a mess of black hair, black sunglasses, drainpipe trousers and cuban-heeled boots) all transfixed as he worked through a catalogue of work taken from his four studio albums and numerous singles. So what of John now? Aside from being a key component of the punk movement which has shaped countless bands since and being a key orator of British society during this time, his mark is indelibly seen in today’s pop culture. Aside from his fashion style spawning a number of copy-cats that stroll past you in pubs and clubs all over the country, his effect on modern music has been huge. His influence needs only to be heard in the satirical and keen social observations of the songs of bands like The Arctic Monkeys (Alex Turner cites JCC as a huge inspiration and john’s work appears in the sleeve of one of their singles as well as Turner apparently having a JCC tattoo), Reverend and The Makers (John duetted with lead man John McClure on the b-side of the band’s huge hit single ‘Heavyweight Champion Of The World’) as well as platinum selling Plan B (another keen fan, asking John personally to appear in his directional film debut Ill Manors, which is out late 2011, as well as appearing on the soundtrack). Clarke’s recording of “Evidently Chickentown’ was also used in the closing scene of one of modern TV’s most famous and respected television shows, The Sopranos. One of Britain’s best loved and most important poets and performers, John is as vital now as he was then; continuing to write new work from his Colchester home, which he regularly performs live all over the UK and Ireland. JCC will also feature soon on Radio 4’s Chain Reaction on the 13th and 14th August being interviewed by none other than New Order’s Peter Hook, John will then interview a mystery superstar a week later. In true mad-cap style he is also pushing for the UK to all spend 24 hours talking to each other in nothing but rhyme on National Poetry Day (October 6th). Start working on your rhyming couplets. He’s not going anywhere, and oh yeah that distinctive voice tempting you to buy pizza in the new Dominos ad? Yep, that’s our John. ALICE GOLD 8:50pm
Alice’s debut album, ‘Seven Rainbows’, is made up of dense, complex atmospherics and an effortless melodic sophistication, it was completed in just 22 short days with no money from any record label. Even so, the quality in the songs was and is obvious, so much so that labels were queuing up for the rights to release it. A deal with Fiction Records allowed Alice to put together the live band she had always dreamed of: far from session musician blandness, the noise they make is a reflection of the records Alice has always loved: Led Zeppelin, Neil Young and Jefferson Airplane; classic songwriting, energetic and rough-aro An important part of the Alice Gold sound comes in the shape of producer Dan Carey. This is a man whose recording credits speak for themselves, featuring as they do everyone from Franz Ferdinand to Hot Chip to La Roux to Lily Allen to Kylie (with whom he co-wrote ‘Slow’). “We just clicked,” Alice says. “I basically hounded Dan for six months to make room in his diary and told him he had to pay for it all too ‘cos I was broke. But he did it. I played the stripped down tracks to Dan in his studio and explained the mad band in my head. He came up with these killer bass lines and the sound I was looking for began.” Featuring a blistering bass line, the funk shuffle of ‘And You’ll Be There’ pits lyrics full of hope against a grief-ridden backdrop. A positive lyricist she might be, but there’s more than a bit of darkness in Alice’s songs too. The stripped back, beat-focused ‘Cry Cry Cry’ is a case in point – a song about having a good old blub that sounds like a shot full of summer sunshine. Alice Gold’s journey has been dedicated to music from day one. Her desire for adventure and for living life to the full led her to buy a one-way ticket to the America, won a 1978 Winnebago in a poker game and spent the next six months weaving across the US alone. Of course, lots of people fantasize about the notion of a Stateside road trip, but Alice Gold actually did it. This is typical of Alice’s lust for life, for taking in experiences and letting it feed into the one thing that matters to her: music. One time she could be found lodging for free in a Luxembourg castle in exchange for English lessons, recording late at night (“Until I got fired for having wine and joints in my room”); another she took up residence on a boat in London, as a cheap way of avoiding the nine-to-five grind. But through all of this randomness, the focus was always there. “I’ve always known what I was meant to be doing,” she stresses. It’s hard not to believe her. MARCUS FOSTER 8:00pm
“Organic” is a clichéd word, but Marcus’ slow and stealthy gestation into a new artist of genuine note has nevertheless been just that. When you hear his songs, you realise it could never really have gone any other way. Marcus contributed one song to the Twilight soundtrack, entitled Let Me Sign, sung by his Robert Pattinson and two songs in the road movie Five Dollars a Day starring Christopher Walken and Sharon Stone, this was enough to light a fire under Marcus’s name, and create an awful lot of premature excitement. With astonishing rapidity, he had now became a word-of-mouth sensation, and signed to Communion at the tail end of 2010. Nameless Path is released in conjunction with Polydor Records. MAN MADE NOISE 6:20pm “an intoxicating cocktail which bubbles with surprising flourishes at every turn…. an inventive and unassuming treat” Rock n Reel 4/5 For those with an eclectic taste in music, look no further than ‘Man Survives’, the second studio album by Man Made Noise. With two Japanese tours under the belt, and regular air play on the BBC’s Introducing show, the Elbow and Radiohead inspired Yorkshire 4 piece are building a reputable following in the far East and are also beginning to do so on their home turf. ‘Man Survives’ features ‘Glamorous Cake Stall Holder’, a catchy, off beat, harmony infused dedication to the passing of a local opera star, which contains an inspired choral ending recorded in the local Church. ‘Stay Calm’ is the musical equivalent of Frankenstein’s monster, crossing a 70’s cop chase with Elliott Smith circa XO in a Jazz club and ‘Man Survives Shark Attack’ has definite nod towards Radiohead’s ‘The Bends’. They have spent the last 12 months shaping a diverse and kaleidoscopic selection of songs and with guidance from the likes of Ralph Sutton (Prince, Stevie Wonder) and John Spence (Happy Mondays, The Beautiful South) the future of Man Made Noise is making noise. Man Survives is available now on Crash Tested Records. www.myspace.com/itsmanmadenoise KINGSTOWN ALLSTARS 5:30pm Slim Tubby, Purematics ,Redlocz, Drunken Master, Monkey, Doctor Rhythm, Sugarlips, Stigg o’ the Didge, Cactus Boy, Scientist, Mr Halliday form The Kingstown Allstars. Part of the Idiolog label based in Hull. Been around for a few years but have recently revamped the band with 10 strong players including 2 new vocalist to give a full on reggae, dub band. Influences King Tubby,Mad Professor ,Sly and Robbie, Steel Pulse Bob Marley, Jimmy Hendrix. “We like to do upbeat tracks when we are playing live as we like people to dance and they do. Our style is reggae dub authentic old skool fusing with a new skool sound, vocals and samples”. A definite for all music lovers. THE PEPPERMINTS 3:50pm FOLK IN HULL Present: – THE HILLBILLY TROUPE 2.10pm – 2.40pm The Hillbilly Troupe are a collective of musicians in Hull spanning generations including members of young indie punks The Paddingtons, old shanty singing locals along with an ever-evolving mix of local talent. Bringing to the people a traditional mix of folk and Americana from the UK, the US and beyond, this band is certainly not just hillbilly, using traditional home made instruments along with banjo’s, guitars, and stomping drums to breath new life into songs near forgotten. All timings are approximate. With thanks to:
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1st - 3rd September 2011, Hull City Centre
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There aren’t many new musicians who can harness the elemental rock’n’roll soul of both Ike and Tina and Jimi and Janis. Alice Gold though, comes bloody close, a powerful pull of both masculine and feminine laced together with straight out Patti Smith punk spirit and a keen pop ear. Gold by name and gold by nature, there’s an immense warmth in Alice’s sound and lyrics.
und-the-edges. “I definitely write pop songs,” Alice says. “But I’m inspired just as much by leftfield stuff, rock and roll and psychedelia. Basically, I love Janis Joplin but I’ve got a crush on Alicia Keys.”
Marcus Foster could have had it easy. He could have dropped names; doors could have flung open, and all the usual boxes could have been ticked. But Marcus Foster is no ordinary singer songwriter, and so he was never going to be quite so easily tempted into the tried and tested route of overnight success and instant fame.
