Yes, this humble site is ten years old. Since then it has attracted over 80k visitors (a fraction of them may have been actual people I'm told)
It first emerged at the end of 2010. The design is the same as it was then. I guess you could say I'm a creature of habit. Thank you to all those who have visited over the years.
As we head toward 2021 I take this moment to look back on a few popular posts from the site.
Bjork Inspired T-shirt (2016)
From 'Perforated Eardrum' Book published 2019.
Ballet: Lockdown Art (2020)
Dalek Kids (Published in Celestial Toy Room (2013)
Wonder Woman T-shirt (2016)
Tay Art (2014)
The Flood that Did Come published by Avery Hill (2020)
As visitors of this site may have spotted I published my first proper graphic novel this year with Avery Hill entitled 'The Flood that Did Come' It could be the perfect Chriistmas gift for that dystopic, apocalyptically inclined friend of yours.
Collected below are links to as many reviews as I could think of as well as some other stuff. 'The Flood that Did Come' is available from all good bookshops as well as The Avery Hill site....
''Simple, breezy and chilling to the core, this tale of resistance and capitulation is made all the more effective by Wray’s cunning choice of art style and faux children’s book feel. ''
''All in all, it’s a peculiar book with a peculiar presentation, which obviously makes it stand out from just about anything being released these days and which is certainly its major charm.''
''Granted, that may be a fairly qualified endorsement of The Flood That Did Come, but it’s in no way an unenthusiastic one. Quite the contrary, in fact. For those with sensibilities broadly considered to be “off-kilter” and who enjoy seeing tried-and-true themes explored via new and interesting artistic methodologies, this book falls somewhere between a clever, largely successful experiment and a truly innovative, borderline-”outsider” art. ''
I release a new download album entitled 'Radio Waves' this Thursday. The album collects together various works created for radio. These include 'Clapton Pond: A Radio Musical' (2018)and 'Christmas Night: A Radio Musical' (2018). These are presented in their entirety with any notable songs also appearing separately.
There were a few things I couldn't include for technical reasons such as two tracks from a Dexter Bentley Session I did in 2017. The album also features a new song entitled 'The Bad Stand-Up'. I also unearthed a demo from 2009 of the track 'Simon' which is the original basis of the 'Clapton Pond' musical.
Any profits from the album collected before the end of January will be donated to Hackney Winter Night Shelter https://www.hwns.org.uk/ I chose this organization partly due to it's Hackney connection to 'Clapton Pond' (Clapton is directly next to Hackney)
I have an article in the new Record Collector Magazine on the eighties art pop/post-punk/unclassifiable band Sudden Sway. It is a short piece for a section called 'Under the Radar' I had planned a much longer form article but various obstacles got in the way, but hopefully this piece will serve to shed some light on this much overlooked band.
I interviewed legendary A&R man Mike Alway for the piece as well as Jon Wozencroft from Touch who did the sleeve design for 'Spacemate'. Both provided insightful comments and it was really interesting to speak to them. Printed below is the full interview I did with Mike Alway.
Mike Alway
1. Am I right in thinking you discovered the band?
I can't claim to have discovered Sudden Sway. They had released three records even before I made contact with them. The fact is that I read what was written about them and discovered, to my delight, something wholly unclassifiable and extraordinary.
2. What did you like about them?
In the early 1980s much rock and pop had reverted to the primitivism of the 1950s. A dark place where creative and conceptual gestures were considered "pretentious". In short, Sudden Sway shared my belief that the rules were there to be ignored and that anything was possible. To that extent were on the same wavelength.
3. Any memories of working with the band and/or leader Mike Mcguire?
Mike is a giant. Striking. Handsome. extremely intelligent. A remarkable person. Some of what motivated him was highly intellectual and at the time beyond my comprehension. I felt that this did not matter. I didn't care so much about the philosophical side so long as the tunes were there. I saw them as musical Dadaists with sweet melodies and Mike's remarkable voice.
4. Do you think the fact they were difficult to pin down may be why they are largely forgotten now?
They are a genre in themselves. They stand I suppose as a blueprint for a pop future that might still be possible if you were to take their attitudes apart and reconstruct them.
No doubt one day, people will look back at 'To You with Regard' and exclaim "How did we miss that?!"
5. They were signed to your Blanco Y Negro label. My understanding is that this was a label on which WEA hoped to capture the post-punk , indie market and Rough Trade hoped to have some pop. This all suggests there were a few people around who thought Sudden Sway could have some hits. Is that a fair observation? Were there great expectations for them commercially?
We convinced Warners that Sway could do anything. That the sky was the limit and we were sincere in that.
6. Why do you think they never really broke through despite some big labels behind them etc?
'Sing Song' and 'Spacemate' were conceptual art statements. Had I stayed with Blanco I would have asked the group for hits on their own terms and fought to have Warner release them.
I have always believed that you can change everything with one record.
Art Installation Edinburgh 1987 (Photo courtesy of Alan Laing)
Here is my annual Halloween inspired pic. It depicts cult pop group The Shaggs who recorded the song 'It's Halloween' which was featured on their classic LP 'Philosophy of the World'
A song I co-wrote with Norwegian singer songwriter Mats Davidsen who records under the name Painted Romans appears on his new album 'Heart' released today as download and limited edition CD.
The song entitled 'Drives Me On' was written for the Davidsen and Wray 'My Big Idea EP' which was released in 2016. Any hey, the song didn't quite fit into the style of the EP (which is also available as free download on Painted Romans bandcamp page) and it has been reworked to spectacular effect for 'Heart' The song also features Roxy Dunn on backing vocal.
As well as this song, the album also features seven more brilliant tracks that may appeal to fans of The Cure, Depeche Mode, China Crisis and Painted Romans!
The 'My Big Idea EP' which I made in collaboration with Mats Davidsen of Painted Romans back in 2016 has now been made available as a free download from our respective bandcamp pages. It has been remastered and features a bonus remix of 'Lets's Go to the Beach' by Audio Obscura.
You can read what I said about it back in 2016 here....
