The Ginger Line

That's the London Overground to you!

A Plea For Respect And Peace

 

Roller-Skating Pumpkin, High Barnet Today

 

Flaneusing

Yesterday I met Gina on the Tufnell Park tube platform (our usual meeting point) and we travelled down to the National Portrait Gallery to see the Francis Bacon exhibition. I was really taken aback by (a) how varied his work is and (b) the emotional impact it has. For some reason, most of the work we see is the most 'smeary' and distorted work; he himself said that he imagined a snail crawling across the paintings. But in this exhibition there are paintings of his fleeting salesman lovers in their suits and ties, and a very moving triptych of one of his lovers dying, where a huge, carefully-painted matt back shadow seeps across the canvas in despair. Bacon was a master of indication. Look closely at some of the paintings, and all you see are apparently random brush marks; step back, and the brush marks evolve into a carefully-painted polished shoe. There were crowds of people there, but it still managed to be mesmerising. I particularly liked the rather cruel painting of Van Gogh. Bacon had a streak of parodic humour in him, which you also don't realise till you see these paintings.

Afterwards, I introduced Gina to the joys of Bills restaurant. It was perfect for a dreich day, and we stuffed our faces before heading to Carnaby Street where there's a Jeanette Lee punk photo exhibition, a collage of large black and white photos from back in the day. I photographed now-Gina next to then-Gina.

Last of all we popped into Third Man, the label she is signed with. They were listening to the first mixes of her new album, by coincidence. It's all yellow and black in there, very stylish.

When I got home, I did an interview for Josh Gaffin for his afternoon show onWTSQ 88.1 FM in West Virginia about The Chefs compilation. He actually played Thrush on air! It was 1 p.m. in West Virginia and 5 p.m. in High Barnet; we had a good old chinwag about songs, bands, music and all sorts of otehr stuff. It will go up on Mixcloud soon and I'll share the link.

Isn't it funny to be this old and still be doing this? Making records, getting them played on the radio, writing songs. Speaking of which, I need to learn some of the songs from my new album. I have three more gigs this year, all with Rachel Love and the Loveables, and two live radio interviews too.

I'm going to do that now.

Fish and Chip Shop, Hoxton

 

God Is In The TV Review of The Chefs

Great review for The Chefs!
But how did they guess that Mary McCookerybook is not my real name? 😂

(it's been changed now)

https://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2024/10/23/the-chefs-records-tea-the-best-of-the-chefs-and-lost-second-album-damaged-goods/ 

First Airplay from Showtunes from the Shadows: Three Cheers for Gideon Coe!

Three Cheers for Toytown was played by Gideon Coe last night!

Listen here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0023w7r

And the album is here: https://helenmcc.bandcamp.com/album/showtunes-from-the-shadows

Time To Move On

 

Three Priests On The Underground

 

Just Arrived: Showtunes from the Shadows Puppet Badges

Buy one or a whole choir!

Spookily Hallowe'enish, not by intention.

https://helenmccookerybook.bandcamp.com/merch/showtunes-puppet-head-badge

Goat Does Not Want To Be Washed, Rothesay Country Show, Isle Of Bute

 

A Friendship of Bus Drivers, Blackpool

 

Stephen Appleby at Space Station Sixty Five

Tucked away in a yard off Kennington Lane is Space Station Sixty Five, an airy little gallery with exceedingly friendly staff. If, like me, you wondered what happened to Steven Appleby after apparently disappearing from the pages of The Guardian newspaper, then this is the exhibition for you. It's the exhibition for you even if you didn't wonder that. It's full of funny, warm and often slightly disturbing art that massages your sense of normality while quite comfortably straddling the boundaries between that, and what some people would regard as deviance.

There is so much to see and be inspired by here. Steven's line drawings seem to have been drawn with a pin: wiry black lines on a white page, sometimes with a smudge of colour flown in. Sometimes, they read from left to right, sometimes upside down and the right way up, sometimes tempting your eyes to dart about, as though it is you yourself having these thoughts and daydreams in your mind's eye. 

The text is part of the whole, playing with words and ideas (why didn't I think of that? Maybe I did, but Steven has articulated it in real life). Everything is challenged, just when it's looking really cosy. The work is sexy, sexual, real, and dreamy all at once, with a 'normality' in the representation of humans and a sense of humour underpinning the whole that makes you laugh your way into hidden areas of your soul.

Steven's been working as an illustrator, graphic novelist, musical collaborator and practically anything else creative you can think of. I bought his graphic novel after being riveted by just a quick glance inside it. There is much more here than just the line drawings, too. What a breath of fresh air he/she/they is. He doesn't care what you call her: what a wonderful reaction to the screaming bigots! 

It made my day seeing this. 

I messaged the Offsprogs straight away to go and see it. I'm going to go again (it's on till December), because it turned that frown upside down, especially because we went to the Regency Café for a late lunch afterwards. 

And the sun was shining too.

Official Release Day: the Chefs Compilation

Big thanks to Damaged Goods, Alison Wonderland, Lee at Yuba and not forgetting Claire Barratt whose photograph graces the front cover.

https://damagedgoods.co.uk/discography/the-chefs-records-tea-the-best-f-the-chefs-and-lost-second-album/

Man With Book And Golf Clubs On Tube

 

A Hi Five From The Barnet Bee

 

Twang Twang!

Four days to go!

https://damagedgoods.co.uk/discography/the-chefs-records-tea-the-best-f-the-chefs-and-lost-second-album/

The Cardboard Luthier Strikes!

 

Jesus Is Lord, Stratford, London

 

Gigs, Gigs, Gigs, Gigs, Gigs, Gigs, Gigs

Let's start with last Sunday at the 100 Club in Oxford Street, London, where The Irrepressibles were playing to promote their album Yo Homo!

Apologies in advance for my poor photography.

Regular readers will know that it's Jamie McDermot's encouragement that got me back performing music in 2005 as a an artist. I was his University lecturer, and I'd been going to see all the bands that the students had formed that year. The Irrepressibles were coming out on top of a very high standard of student music and songwriting, and I stopped him in the corridor to ask him when their next gig was. 'Why not come along and support us?' he asked. I could think of a million reasons why not, including the fact that I'd only ever played solo twice, it was more than 25 years since I'd played guitar on stage, and my guitar was in its case under my bed covered in a thick layer of dust. But I also felt that I wasn't a proper lecturer if I wasn't prepared to do exactly what the students did; I said yes, and did my first proper gig as a solo artist trembling with fear and playing the only three songs I could play without a band in front of students whose songwriting work I had marked in the past. Stress.

Going to see this latest incarnation of the band at the 100 Club in London was a no-brainer and to my great pleasure, Joe Davin from Brighton was playing bass with them too, joining a line-up of guitar, cello, viola, violin, grand piano, drums and Jamie also on guitar. Jamie has possibly one of the most beautiful male voices on earth (next to Kenji's) and always sends shivers down my spine when I hear him live. The band is multi-sexual as befits Jamie's philosophy, and the audience was a very safe space for gay people to feel comfortable. My favourite song was the one described as a country song, but with its pizzicato strings and harmonies it reminded me of the very best of 60s girl group songs. There was another, Destination, the first of the inevitable encore, that was a sure-fire hit in my estimation. They are on tour at the moment, a definite 'band of the moment to see and hear'. It's probably silly to say this but I feel massively proud of Jamie.

On Wednesday, I treated myself to seeing Joan as Policewoman at the Union Chapel in London. I love her early songs, and I've been listening to her more recent music on Riley and Coe's shows on BBC6. There was a very odd etiquette at the venue; people had reserved swathes of seats with their coats and bags, almost all of the 'good' seats, and it was embarrassing to wander around looking for somewhere to sit when it looked as though seats were empty. This was a level of passive aggression on a level with people reserving sun-loungers around the swimming pool at holiday destinations. I can understand the relaxed attitude of the staff because it is, of course, a church most of the time. But for someone like me going to a gig on my own, if felt hostile. Luckily I found a seat in front of a pillar, and was able to see most of it. Next to Joan's fantastic voice (at times like an extended dog-bark in timbre), she had a remarkable drummer. I watched him damp his crash cymbals so he didn't overpower the dynamic of the songs, and his flexible playing was a marvel to watch. In one song, he picked up on the rhythm and cadences of the main vocal and lyrical line in the song, and played with impeccable tempo throughout. This made listening to the music really relaxing (one of the bad things about doing a lot of recordings and the constant use of a metronome is that you become really conscious of variations in tempo when you both see music live and play it yourself, unfortunately. You become very tuned-in to unintended wobbles in timing). The whole level of professionalism was astonishing and gave the impression of ease, and a flow to the songs that was inspiring. There were of them on stage: Joan on vocals, piano, guitar and synth, and additional guitarist and the drummer both of whom sang, and they created a lush soundscape. At times they veered towards jazz, but then they returned to the off-the-wall melodies and rhythms that Joan is so well known for. I left with a smile in my heart. No photographs, I'm afraid- I was too far away.

Then this weekend started with The Wouldbegoods, Panic Pocket and me at The Water Rats in London's King's Cross, a gig organised by Bizarro Promotions who have a knack of matching up bands and music to maximise the pleasure for their punters. Being first on can be tough, but the sound engineer got me a good sound and enough people came early to make it feel well-attended right from the start. It goes to show how important the 'vibe' from the audience is to getting a good show from the artists they come to see; if people are listening and smiling, the whole feel of the gig goes up a few notches. 

Panic Pocket had a full all-female band this time around (they sometimes play as a duo), but their vocals were still to the forefront. They sing along in unison a lot of the time, which gives their songs a pleasingly bratty and assertive sound albeit presented in a very good-humoured and melodic way. It's something about the fact that they are really glamorous too, and have excellent songs. We were dancing, in our little corner. The photo is from the sound check.

This was the ideal venue for the Wouldbegoods in terms of sound. I've seen them too as a duo, and also as a full band at The Bush Hall and The Betsey Trotwood (great sound there, but oh so crammed!). Here, you could hear everything and although it was pretty full by the time they came on to the stage I could see Andy Warren playing bass (yay!), and hear everything else. Their songs are incomparable, really, spanning French pop influences, The Sweet, gentle indiepop, and their own 'world' of songwriting. This is pure quality, and I would be very jealous if I was not so admiring of their sound and style! Every time I see them I find more to hear in their songs, which is the best possible thing you can say about a band. They were simply wonderful, and the encore delivered yet more fabulous song-smithery. I hope this bill is repeated again some time: it felt completely energising to be part of it. The audience included members of The Dollymixture, The High Span, The Loft, and numerous other musicians (hello Kath Tait!) and producers (hello Ruth Tidmarsh!) of note who had come to drink in the magical silver songwriting moments of the evening. Three cheers for the song-writing underground, and all who sail in her!

And so to last night, yet another evening of good music at the Aces and Eights in Tufnell Park. Again, I was the first on, but I was lucky to be playing to a listening room with no background rumble of chat to contend with. Lester Square and Jo came along and Peter Tainsh, too. I felt brave enough to play The Ginger Line for only the second time (breaking in new songs is tough). The second band was The Alter Moderns, a Brazilian duo with a woman drummer/singer Ananda, and a riff-tastic male guitarist/singer, both dressed in red and incredibly energetic. Their music is deceptively intricate: you hear sheer power, then when you listen in to it, the parts are linked in to each other in a really sophisticated way. We made friends! Again, the photo is from the sound check.

The lovely Micko who organised it all was the headliner. In this incarnation of his band, the songs sound on the punky side of power-pop, which is apt considering he writes about subjects like noisy neighbours. My favourite song of theirs is the one about Joe Meek. Micko is a local to Holloway, and has a natural fascination with Meek and his ouevre. The Melletronics got the room dancing and played a well-deserved encore to a crowd of devoted fans. The photo shows them tuning up before they started to play.

Well, that was a full week of music listening and music playing. In between, I managed not only a couple of grim things (don't ask), but also a visit to my brother James's to re-record the guitar parts for 24 Hours and Food as we complete the four tracks for The Pop-Up Chefs E.P., and sent a track to Jem from Asbo Derek requesting him to write and record a miserable rap for the song I wrote about them being missed-out in a live review, The Band That Time Forgot.

Oh music, I love you.

Man Plays Cello On Train To Exeter

 

Biker at Ullapool Harbour 2023

 

Showtunes From The Shadows

Want to take a listen? https://helenmcc.bandcamp.com/album/showtunes-from-the-shadows

October/November Gigs

Erratum: the Betsey Trotwood gig is on Saturday 23rd November. The Big However confirmed for Bristol!

 

Woman, Child, Toy Monkey And Giant Giraffe On The Train

 

Woman Being Interviewed At May Day March, 2022

 

A Post With No Pictures

Ah blog, I haven't forgotten about you! I have been going to galleries (the Turner shortlist at Tate Britain, which I thought was brilliant despite the snooty reviews), and Come as You really Are, an intriguing collection of collections in East Croydon. While we were in the area we tried to find the Pollocks Toy Theatre pop-up shop in the Whitgift Centre, which alas is a parody of a dying shopping centre: sprawling, enormous and deserted. The shop was nowhere to be found, and nor was a map of the centre or an information person either. So instead we hopped on the train and went to see my brother and talked about food we didn't like, which was a 'curated conversation' of our own, and tremendous fun.

On Sunday, we went to Brighton and visited the Fisherman's Museum, which to my great glee had a few examples of Sunderland Ware without saying what it was. The Sunderland Ware said what it was though: 'Wearside Bridge'. It would appear that even museums are telling lies these days. I remember at one of the Universities where I worked, the course leader was so untruthful and I inadvertently caught him out so frequently, that he started each sentence with 'I'm not lying, Helen...'.

Brighton was blustery and alternately sunny and grey with lots of fresh air, a terrifyingly volatile-looking multicoloured sea, and a new one-pound charge to get on the pier ('It's so cheap, nobody will mind'). What an astonishingly mean-spirited mini-charge! There was nothing new on the pier that justified the charge, and we looked longingly over at the skeleton of the West Pier whose rueful structure said 'Capitalism will do this to you too, Palace Pier!'. How strange of the council to allow an observation pole to be built that already looks tatty, when they could have built a new West Pier complete with conservation centre, breeding programme for sea birds, and arts centre! Now there's something that might have been worth a quid. Anyway I'm being a bit pensioner about that, aren't I?

Really I meant to write about my records. The Chefs vinyl album will be out on the 18th of October, and my solo album will be out in November. It's all gone off to be manufactured, and it sounds absolutely amazing even to my hyper-critical ears. I will have to organise some sort of launch and I've been scoping out venues for that, but there are a few other things to sort out first. Life has flung a few lemons my way recently and also the way of some of my friends and relatives; in fact, going back to food conversations, I think I prefer to say hardboiled eggs because I hate them, and I do like lemons. So life has thrown a few hardboiled eggs across my path, and I'm gingerly picking my way through them because to step on one would release the most horrendous sulphurous stink.

Roll on record release days!