Busyness

I haven't written a posting for what seems like ages. It's been a busy time- I had prints made of six of my drawings for the exhibition at The Pelirocco in Brighton that I'm having with Gaye Black and Charlie Harper. They have come out very well. Then I had to go and buy frames, and I'll be framing them tomorrow.

I've been contributing ideas to one of Gina's songs, which is turning out really well. Every time we work on it, it gets better, and that's really fulfilling. I'm also supposed to learn three Asbo Derek songs on guitar before next Friday. They are very short and not hard to play at all, even though they are thrashers and not finger-pickers, but at the moment I can't tell which song is which! I'm supposed to learn a Piranhas song to sing but they haven't sent the lyrics yet so that may be impossible, because I'm learning my own songs for the album launch in April.

Naturally, my fingernails have all snapped. They can never be relied on to support me, the little buggers.

I've drawn some illustrations for Robert Halcrow to use for one of his songs. I did four of them, but I'm not going to post them here until he has filmed them for the video. He's done a cover version of A Good Life With A Bad Apple in a genre that I described as 'wobbly lounge', on which he's playing sax. It's very different to my song, but it's very good. Or maybe that's why it's good! Ha!

It's possible I'm going to sing some backing vocals on Kenji's solo album, but I'm not sure if they can wait until after my launch. Robert has written the songs, I think; but I've had to wait to see if I could still sing after quite a drastic operation at the end of last year. I hope they wait. It would be such an honour to contribute to that.

Funny, isn't it? I left my lecturing job and felt very upset by that. I felt as though I was living a lie: the University was not abiding by its own Equal Opportunities manifesto, and by working there I was helping them to be dishonest. Plus, I was effectively working full-time and being paid as a part-time worker. As a consequence, I have a tiny pension, so instead of going round the world on a wonderful holiday like many of my contemporaries, I've had to just have a holiday in my head, and get on with art and music.

Part of that wonderful holiday would have involved visiting Vermont, San Francisco, and New York again. Naturally, I can't even do that in my head. The situation in the USA is the stuff of nightmares: wannabe Roman Emperors in their new clothes, strutting about celebrating their own vanity. What horrible specimens of humanity, or rather inhumanity, they are.

Maybe I'll get to Cuba and listen to some wonderful music! A day in Paris wouldn't go amiss, either.

Until then, I'm art-ing and musicking like mad. The Pop-Up Chefs EP will be coming out in about a month's time (I hope). It's just being manufactured. I hope to get my brother James's music up on Bandcamp shortly too. Let's have a bit of Chefs energy out there in the mix!

Chefs First Badge Design Proof From Better Badges

 

Being A Clue In The NME Crossword, 1990

 

Coming Up In June In London

 

Tickets: https://dice.fm/partner/loud-women/event/k6bdp9-chlu-helen-mccookerybook-juju-kat-five-14th-jun-the-hope-and-anchor-london-tickets?

From Theater Am Spittelberg, 2023

 

Next Gig: Birmingham, Thursday 3rd April

This will be my first proper gig for almost 5 months. I'll be playing songs from my new album, as well as some older ones.

It's about 10 years since I last played there- and of course many more years that that since Helen and the Horns appeared on Pebble Mill at One!
Thursday 3rd April, tickets here:
https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Birmingham/Rock-And-Roll-Brewhouse/Helen-McCookery-Book/40471794/

Busker With A Lot Of Drums

 

Donkey And Man, Soho, Last Week

 

Pelirocco Art Exhibition Private View, 27th March

 

Betsey Trotwood Matinée, Saturday 5th April, Now Sold Out

Coming up 5th of April, a matinee gig at The Betsey celebrating my album 'Showtunes from the Shadows' on Tiny Global

Guest musicians Robert Rotifer, Ruth Tidmarsh, Karina Townsend, Terry Edwards and Jack Hayter will be joining me to play songs from the album. The Wouldbegoods Three (Jessica Griffin, Peter Momtichoff and Andy Warren) will be playing too!

Only seven tickets left: https://wegottickets.com/event/646434

Only three tickets left now

Two...

Sold out!

Bar Italia, Soho, Friday

 

Pelicans, St. James's Park, London

 

Man With Working Newfoundland, Blackpool

 

The Rock & Roll Library, Farsight Gallery, 4 Flitcroft Street, London WC1

When I first heard about it, I couldn't imagine what it would all be about; Mick Jones's collection of personal ephemera? How could that be more interesting than my own?

Well, there was something very uplifting about this walk-through two room exhibition. Three huge frames hold collages: red, yellow and blue, of cuttings, ads, and (yes) coloured vinyl records, mixed together in an impression of 1960s childhood that was oddly moving. There are scary plastic-headed glove puppets, old media tech (TVs, film cameras, still cameras), strips of coloured film on lightboxes, zines, a booth with old comics (Hotspur, Beano, The Dandy) amongst other things. There are old Clash posters; there are armchairs and rugs and lamps.

 There's a notable absence of guitars (possibly far too risky security-wise). When we got there, Sean McClusky the gallery owner (and ex-JoBoxer) was just opening up. He told us there's a 28-year lease on the place and he's going to open a music venue in the basement. Yay! That's just what we need- a positive thought amongst the 'live music in small venues is dying' narrative.

On the way out we bumped into the DJ Steve Proctor and his friend, the Walthamstow Rock and Roll Book Club man, who is also a tube driver apparently. We chatted for ages.

I gather many pop stars of a certain pedigree have been to visit: Vic Godard, Shanne Bradley and more. I don't blame them: this was more than an exercise in nostalgia, because it took me right back to being an art student in the 1970s and the sort of clutter we worshipped with an irony that was beyond the comprehension of our elders. We deconstructed the madness of our world and held a mirror up to it's contradictions by juxtaposing all it's silliness by reconstructing it in an utterly different way.

I particularly liked the two dogs in the yard behind the gallery, energetically play-fighting and completely oblivious to human culture.

It was sunny, it was friendly, and it was the perfect antidote to the ghastly orange man and his demented henchman. Go!

Review in Deutsche Rolling Stone

 

The footprints that Helen McCookerybook left behind in the past 40 years of UK pop history may not be large or deep. She may have lacked the ambition or the elbows for that, but record collections that lack the legacy of her early bands are deplorably incomplete. Take the delectable discs of Helen & The Horns (the singer surrounded by trumpet, trombone and sax!), the 7inch delights of the Chefs with their fruity punky pop (“Thrush”!) and, last but not least, the world's best version of “Femme Fatale” served up by Helen's sadly short-lived quartet Skat. Fast forward: Today Helen is an active academic writing books, making films, also and especially so about the beginnings of Girl Punk and its heroines. One of whom, Gina Birch, formerly of the fabulous Raincoats, can also be heard on this new LP, next to Robert Rotifer, known to readers of this magazine as an author. Helen herself sounds hardly aged since the old days, she is crooning and trilling (hard to find the right translations from German here...) delightfully, and her twelve new tunes are testament to an unstoppable temperament and an enviable joie de vivre that she has saved up for the present. Charming!

By Wolfgang Doebeling

Translated by Robert Rotifer

Bandcamp Friday

It's Bandcamp Friday!

https://helenmccookerybook.bandcamp.com/

Photo by Ruth Tidmarsh

Upside-Down Deflated Pikachu Balloon In Tree

 

Woman with Birthday Balloons

 

Gina's Gig At The Troxy

This was an amazing night. The Troxy is an incredibly well-run venue: spotless toilets backstage with cleaners on duty all the way through, really nice staff, good treatment of the engineers (they stopped the sound-checks on the dot so they could have an evening meal before the gig started), nice security people, the lot.

The sound-check was quick and relatively stress-free. Jack White's tour manager was formidable but fair: seconds after asking me to get off the low bars of the lighting rig where I was sitting, she brought me a chair to sit on. And she tuned up all the guitars for Gina, Marie and Jenny before they went on. She also allowed them to go on fifteen minutes later than originally scheduled so that the venue was nice and full.

Boy was it full! Not only that, everyone was squashed up against the barriers already, in anticipation of Gina's set. Watching from the side, I could see a few fans-already, but I could also see new people gradually realise what was going on with the music and really get into it.

They started with Digging Down, and played a storming set that included Feminist Song with an intro from Gina that even had some of the lads in the audience punching the air, I Play My Bass Loud, the three of them strutting their stuff magnificently, Causing Trouble Again, and more. Half an hour isn't a lot of time to pack a punch in, but they sure as hell did that. In a flash, it was time to get on and sing I Wanna Live Forever. It's a fabulous song, so strong and powerful. I gave it lungfuls of air; there was no lack of confidence, because these women had made me feel welcome from the second we met. They are supporters not competitors, and that's the best sort of musician to be: they melted their own musicianship into Gina's music imperceptibly from the outset, completely understanding how to contribute to her songs. They stand tall beside her in their bright colours, and give it their all.

The set ended with Lola, and almost as soon as it began, the crowd joined in at full volume. 

LOLA, L-O-L-A, LOLA!

Just beforehand, we'd all shaken hands with Jack White and his wife. Afterwards, there were photographs, even one with me in it, but I don't think that will ever see the light of day! I filmed Digging Down but the file's too big for Blogger so I may try to share it from Youtube eventually.

And then I went home: I'm still quarantining really and a big full Jack White crowd was simply too risky. But oh, how happy I was! Thank you so much for inviting me along Gina. It was utterly cathartic!

Tonight at The Troxy

Well, tonight at Gina Birch's invitation, I'll be joining her, Marie and Jenny on stage for a couple of songs at the end of their support set for Jack White. 

You could have knocked me down with a feather. 

I've learned the backing vocals for the original song I'm singing on, but Lola is proving to be more of a challenge. Jenny says I can take the lyrics on stage with me, which will be a big help. It's actually the structure as much as anything else, but we'll have time for a run-through at sound check time.

I'm the green one (each person has a different colour) and I bought some cheap green trousers off eBay and have dug out some old green jewellery that I'm wearing already in case I forget to take it at the last minute.

This is the first gig singing I've done since mid-November, so it's a Big Thing. I haven't been keen on being at gigs, so will mooch about backstage and just soak up the atmosphere, for verily the Troxy is a dude of a gig!

Dixy Chicken, Leith Walk

 

Cazz Blase review of 'Showtunes from the Shadows'

Cazz is a writer on female-led music and I am delighted that she has reviewed the album on her blog! Take a look here: https://cazzblase.blogspot.com/2025/02/album-review-helen-mccookerybooks.html

Empty Launderette

 

Influencer Crosses Road, Brighton

 

On Being Free Range

In the Northumbrian village Wylam where I was brought up in the 1960s, we felt that we children ruled.

Yes, there was the vile and violent village school, but all round the edges was Us. There were four of us in our household, four children exactly the same ages as us across the road; plus their neighbours, first a Canadian family with children and then a British one, same. Behind us were  family with three children, and along the road, another family with three. The latter two families belonged to a different social class to us (mcMum called them 'County'), and relationships between the parents cooled a bit after McMum and McDad outed themselves a socialists.

A lot of the time, ten or eleven of us would rampage through McDad's garden, swinging upside down from trees, playing with the water hose, tending bonfires (I made some particularly disgusting rhubarb and cauliflower soup in the pan McDad used to pour oil into the lawn mower), play 'pirates on a ship asleep' on the shelves of the shed amongst rows of waxy apples with bruised surfaces (maybe that was just me), climbing on to the corrugated iron that covered the woodpile, and running along the tops of walls which were probably five metres high at great speed. 

We got sent round the allotments with the dog for being naughty on Sundays, got locked in the old henhouse by a child who lived in another road, and ate sour raw broad beans straight from the shell.

I made miniature houses from sticks and muddy earth in the flower beds, tried to make fabric out of smashed nettle stems after reading about how linen was made, and swung upside down from a rope hung from a tree branch, with my hair swishing the dust underneath it as I drifted back and forth.

We ate ice lollies and too many sweets, and pretended to be Arabs (one of McDad's patients had given us the headgear). We swore and told each other the Facts of Life (how disgusting). Within our child-world, there were subsections: we would pair off, get up to age-appropriate (according to us) mischief, and then gang together again. Bruv and me would eat the flowers of Red Hot Poker plants to see what they tasted like, for instance. Little Sis and her friend across the road used to disappear off, we knew not where. Little Bruv's friend waited at the bus stop with a random lady and got on the bus with her to the next village, aged four.

We'd take the dog to the woods, where she learned how to pick blackberries and went back to ransack McDad's raspberry bushes. We learned Holly trees were great for climbing and hiding in (internal ladders and thick bristling carapaces), Yew for playing 'house' (twisty branches and thick, dense 'walls'), crab apples were too tart-tasting to eat as windfalls,  and even nice looking apples could be full of worms.

There were few broken limbs: Little Bruv broke his arm, and I dislocated a cartilage in my nose after whacking into a fence post face-first in a sledging accident. Once, Little Bruv had his arm in a cast and Little Sis had her leg in one too. 'Two cripples!', bellowed one of the 'County' neighbours delightedly when she came to the door one day.

A local admirer chap brought a bag of Brussel's Sprouts round for Little Sis once (she was about 13). We incorporated other children into our community. McMum once told me rather indignantly that the late Scottish poet Hamish Henderson came to stay and left his children with us, vanishing in a puff of poetic smoke for days before returning to collect them. One guest family brought us catapults, which disappeared just as rapidly as they appeared.

Overwhelmingly, we felt like our own bosses. The house was where food was (hooray) and where bed was (boo). Is it any wonder that I didn't want to grow up to be a 'lady', after all that freedom and wonderful chaos? I could not see the benefits for me, not one bit. I still can't, not at all.

More Tickets Added, Betsey Trotwood

I have just added some more tickets. Advance tickets are cheaper- and probably a good idea because this is a bijou event in the downstairs bar of the Betsey. Tickets are going fast!

https://wegottickets.com/event/646434

Riley and Coe: Three Cheers for Toytown

Exhausted after a trip to Brighton to meet Charlie Harper and his partner (plus Gaye Black on speakerphone), to begin sorting out our exhibition at the Hotel Pelirocco, and added bonus was to have Three Cheers for Toytown played on their show this evening by a solo Mr Coe.

I wasn't drawing along this time- too tired! But how exciting!

I forgot to have a Mr Whippy, but having the song played more than made up for that.

One book on from Tommy McCook!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0027tj4

Loud Women, Resonance FM

First live performance since November! It was an absolute pleasure to chat to Cassie Fox this evening, and play some songs live (Almost There, Reaching for Hope, Puppet and Three Cheers for Toytown). Resonance has such a nice studio, cosy in the best way and with ace volunteer staff. Cassie also played two of my choices of tracks: Lotte Lenya singing Surabaya Johnny, and The Chiffons' Up On The Bridge. I think it's listenable-again here: https://loudwomen.org/2025/02/15/helen-mccookerybook-performs-live-on-the-loud-women-radio-show-on-resonance-fm-tuesday-18-feb-at-6pm-gmt/

Brighton 27th March

 

Veteran Collecting Donations

 

Singing Harmonies

Gina has invited me to sing backing vocals for her, with Jenny and Marie, for a couple of songs when she supports Jack White at The Trocadero on the 28th of February. We had a rehearsal last Thursday, four of us sitting around her giant kitchen table choosing harmonies to sing and singing together over the bare bones of the track. I have words to learn: it's not the words necessarily, but rather getting them in the right order. We sang for probably an hour and a half, and it was lovely to have the experience of slotting into a set of harmonies. On the recording I sang all of them (actually I think they may have replaced some of me with them, so to speak), but in real time, singing in harmony with other women is a unique experience. We were focused and each came away with notes and phone recordings to get the details right on the day.

I've had a long break from properly singing, and am hugely relieved to still be able to do it. Today, I've sung through some of my songs for Tuesday's live Loud Women broadcast on Resonance FM, which will be my first live 'gig' since November. I am looking forward to that: last time I was there was with Dexter Bentley for his show, so I know the studio (and some of the staff there too, probably). I'm trying to do at least two songs from the new album that I didn't sing on his show. Fingers crossed my voice will be with me on the night!

I am so looking forward to gigging again. I've had enough poor cats and dogs, stairlift and walk-in bath, cancer and funeral daytime adverts to last more than a lifetime. The same emollient voiceovers, sad piano, off-the-shelf graphics and gently threatening message runs through all of them. Then in the evening, it swaps over to gambling, fast food and cleaning products with an uplift in energy underpinned by barely-heard dance music tracks. I have not been tempted to buy a single one of the products on offer, and indeed have silently vowed never to do this in my lifetime, so there.

The Mojo review, and having lots of people play my songs on their radio shows, has been invigorating. If you know me, you'll understand how much this was needed.

Oh yes- a visit to the Tirzah Garwood exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery and the William Morris gallery in Walthamstow last week also were really uplifting. Three cheers for art, and three cheers for music! We need these cultural joys in these dismal, grey and threatening times.

Album Launch

Album launch gig alert!

Extra guest musicians: Robert Rotifer, Ruth Tidmarsh, Terry Edwards, Jack Hayter, Karina Townsend The Would-be-goods Three will be playing too Ding-dong! Betsey Trotwood, afternoon 5th April Advance tickets from here: https://wegottickets.com/event/646434

Adrian Goldberg's Brum Radio Show

Here's the link to Adrian's show that was broadcast this morning; Adrian interviewed me for the show and will be playing a couple of new tracks and an oldie too:

https://www.mixcloud.com/BrumRadio/adventures-in-music-with-adrian-goldberg-ft-helen-mccookerybook-15022025/

Mojo Review

 

More Airplay

Many thanks to Iko Cherie for playing Reaching for Hope on the Soho Radio show Little Trouble Girls.

Link here- there's a lot of really great music on this show:

https://sohoradiolondon.com/show/little-trouble-girls-feat-sassyhiya-01-02-2025/

This album is getting more play than anything I've done for years, and is getting a three-star review in Mojo in the next edition. It was worth all that hard work!

The Porter Rose at Dawn had its first play on Big City Radio's Beautiful Freak Show last Saturday by Wayne Moseley, and he'll be playing another track tomorrow.

Piglets

 

March Gigs: April and May Coming Soon

March 25

27th Pelirocco, Brighton Art Exhibition w Gaye Black & Charlie Harper, songs from Charlie & Helen

28th Prince Albert, Brighton Bob Piranha tribute w Piranhas Four, Attila the Stockbroker, Del Strangefish, Asbo Derek & more

https://www.ticketweb.uk/event/bob-grover-tribute-concert-the-prince-albert-tickets/13705084

Celebrating Bob Piranha

The gentleman punk. We will be celebrating his life at The Prince Albert, Brighton on Friday 28th March.

https://www.ticketweb.uk/event/bob-grover-tribute-concert-the-prince-albert-tickets/13705084

The Pop-Up Chefs

A couple of years ago, my brother James suggested that we should record guitar duo versions of four songs by The Chefs: Records and Tea, Food, 24 Hours and Let's Make Up. We actually played these songs live together- once at The Betsey Trotwood in 2023 on Burns Night, and again in Woodingdean, outside Brighton at a gig at Nusoul Studios. They were wonderful gigs, well-attended and great fun.

The recordings sat on ice for months. Finally, we are planning to release them on the Gare du Nord label, mostly digitally but also as a very limited edition 7" vinyl e.p.

I've had to edit down two of the tracks because getting four tracks on a 7" e.p. is hard; if you squash the cut grooves too closely together, the needle jumps. It's hard to make the grooves deep (good bass sound) because the sides will collapse, too.

It will take a couple of months because vinyl takes ages. You have to join the queue, and the big labels are always in front of you, even in the dedicated independent queue, because they bribe their way to the front of that. I wish I didn't know these things.

Anyway, I'll be designing the cover over the next few days. The master masterer Ian Button has done his thing and they are sounding fab. It will be great to get these tracks out there, both for me and for James.

Man With Bluebells At May Day Parade

 

Submariners Having A Bevy In Whitehall

 

New Badge Design

Just like miniature vinyl LPs, here are the next lot of badges. So shiny! I love things like this!

The other ones are sold out.

You can get one here: https://helenmccookerybook.bandcamp.com/merch/showtunes-from-the-shadows-badge

Naughty Gull At Bin

 

Back Cover Of Showtunes from the Shadows

 

Woman With Terrier At Festival

 

I Don't Know What It Is

For years I've had a bowl on the side that's gradually filled up with old keys, expired cards, paperclips, safety pins, broken badges and things like that. Yesterday's project was to empty it and clear the space for... more of the same, possibly.

I tipped it all on to the kitchen worktop and started sorting through it all. Lots of it was easy to throw away or redistribute into a 'things' drawer.

I am left now with a pile of 'I don't know what it is' things. A tiny, tiny block of green stuff wrapped in cellophane that looks like it could be modelling clay, but it's rock hard; a shaped hard black plastic thing that looks like a lid, but isn't; a broken white plastic thing that looks like it was due to be used to mend something, but I can't remember what; a tiny grey plastic thing with '3' etched on to it and a brass screw embedded into it; a little plug about one centimetre long, that looks as though it was designed to hold something together; a small flat black plastic spanner that looks as though it might break soon; and a small plastic device with a brush at each end.

I'm at a loss as to whether to bin them or not. I can imagine in the future coming across something that's missing a vital part, and one of the Dontknowwhatitizzes is the vital part that it needs- but I threw it away.

This is obviously why I put them in the bowl all those years ago. I was afraid to throw them away. Today, I will be brave. At some point in the future, I may live to regret this, but it's quite interesting to be able to see the bottom of the bowl.

Lost Tiger Ears At The Tennis Court

 

Ears to the Ground in Nashville Give Three Cheers for Toytown!

https://www.wxnafm.org/spins/?id=20132666&sid=218038&xname=Show+%23161

Woman Painting Gingerbread Men On The Cake Shop Window

 

Velvet Sheep Radio

Thanks to Nick Hutchings for playing 'Three Cheers for Toytown' on his show on Saturday. He also plays my all-time favourite Cristina song, from a previous show that he asked me to contribute music to.

https://soundcloud.com/repeater-radio/velvet-sheep-with-83581217 

Gig in Rochester, Kent, April

This is such a lovely venue, and I'm really looking forward to going back!

https://wegottickets.com/event/647479/

Another Review: 'Three Cheers for Toytown'

Sent to me by The Nightingales just now. Love them!

https://outsideleft.com/main.php?updateID=3384

Showtunes from the Shadows

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

The Swan-Whisperer

It was dusk, wintry dusk, with a pinkish-grey sky. I was walking across Kensington Gardens from Bayswater station thinking things over.

To one side there was a small field of Egyptian geese, spaced out and grazing quietly. On the other, on the waters of the Serpentine, a rustling mass of swans were clustered: a mass of huge, beautiful white wing-feathers and long, smooth necks. As one they glided across the water to meet a squad of tall, dark suited and coated business people who may well have been from an east Asian country. Gathered in a formal, straight-backed group, they focused on the swans. 

Languidly, a swan lifted its graceful head above the throng. The tallest businessman reached out and caressed it in a moment of communion that was completely astonishing. The swan rested its head gently on the man's gloved hand, almost blissful in its demeanour. 

I'd thought of swans as being vicious beauties, not to be tampered with under any circumstances. 

Somehow, this man had completely charmed the swan, moments of frozen time breaking nature's rules of engagement without fanfare. 

I am so glad I saw this happen.

Reaching for Hope on Riley and Coe

Thank you to Riley and Coe for playing this last night. 

It's not about a romance: it's about what's happening now.

https://helenmcc.bandcamp.com/track/reaching-for-hope

Man On Scaffolding Painting, In The Sky

 

The Drawings

Of course, many if not most of them are of men. I realised this when I started to avoid hi-vis jackets, which are fun to draw but so ubiquitous that they make my drawings samey.

Partly, this is because I spontaneously ask people if I can photograph them when I'm walking around outside. Those (often women) shop assistants that I interact with regularly are usually busy assisting people with their shopping, and I'm usually shopping and not photographing. 

Anyway, I have a joint exhibition with Gaye Black and Charlie Harper coming up at the Hotel Pelirocco in Brighton on the 27th of March. I've just sent off some drawings for the poster, so it's going to happen. Charlie and me are also going to sing some songs at the opening night, which will be the first time I've sung live for four months.

I'd quite like to include some drawings of Brighton people, so I'm planning a recce there some time soon. It doesn't matter if I don't find anyone or if everyone says 'no'; I have more than enough drawings anyway. I reached number 100 yesterday, which also means that I've listened to 100 episodes of Riley and Coe on BBC6 since last April. Lately, I've become so absorbed in drawing and listening that I've forgotten to note down what I've been listening to. Getting the balance between the two is part of the fun. I spent ages a couple of weeks ago going through my postings on Twitter to write down what I'd listened to each programme, because I was going to leave the platform. Funnily enough, there is less about Orangefaceman there than there is on BSky. The remaining Twitter users are either so rabid that I've already blocked them (including the owner), or furiously posting detoxifying woke stuff that is a joy to read. How interesting.

It's always worth remembering that life is what happens off social media, not what happens on it. 

You don't get any wellbeing from the innards of your computer. You might get 'wellness' but that's a load of tripe, isn't it!

Man With Tray Of Magnificent Cakes

 

Good Review in Maximum Volume Music

Here it is: https://maximumvolumemusic.com/review-helen-mccookerybook-showtunes-from-the-shadows-2025/

Lookalike Competition

From Clerkenwell Festival, last year

Review in 'Godisinthetvzine' by Neil Laurenson

Thanks to Neil for this review. Now I'm officially philosoph-twee!

https://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2025/01/17/helen-mccookerybook-showtunes-from-the-shadows-tiny-global-productions/

Three Cheers!

 

Album Launch Gig 5th April

Matinee gig in London at The Betsey Trotwood. More details of this and other gigs soon!

Photo by Ruth Tidmarsh

https://wegottickets.com/event/646434

Release Day!

I'll be sharing details of the launch gig on 5th April later today!

12" vinyl, CD and digital here:

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