Buddy Miles R.I.P.

Buddy Miles, the American drummer who played with Jimi Hendrix in his Band of Gypsys, has died at the age of 60 at his home in Austin, Texas of congestive heart failure.

Born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1947, Miles was performing in his father's jazz combo by the age 11. Within a few years he was an in-demand session player for top r'n'b groups. He earned his dues playing with the likes of the The Ink Spots, Ruby and the Romantics, Wilson Pickett, and The Delfonics. Then in 1967 Miles joined forces with guitarist Mike Bloomfield to form rock and soul outfit Electric Flag. Later he teamed up with Hendrix and bass player Billy Cox in the short-lived Band Of Gypsys following his work on Jimi's Electric Ladyland double-LP. The Band of Gypsys made just one album, a live set recorded on New Year's Eve in 1969-70, and two of Miles' songs, Them Changes and We Got to Live Together, were included on the album. In later years Miles played with the likes of David Bowie, Muddy Waters, Barry White, Carlos Santana and Stevie Wonder.

A statement on his official site www.buddymiles.com said that a tribute show will be announced shortly that is open to all to attend.

New retro shop: The Beehive

A new shop in south London, The Beehive, is set to become a new mecca for fans of retro music, clothing, and accessories.

For many years 320 Creek Road in Greenwich has been the home of retro kitsch shop Flying Duck. This is no longer the case as Carolyn and Presley said goodbye to the premises last month. But in its place has emerged a real treat: the multi-faceted Beehive. Four traders from nearby Stockwell Street Market have jointly taken over the running of the premises to offer a unique 'four-in-one' shopping experience. Calneva Vintage Collectibles, aka Frances, sell 1950s and 1960s collectibles for the modern home. Alongside her is Ollie, who deals in a wide range of vintage clothes and accessories. Thirdly we have Casbah Records, run by Graham, who specialises in a range of '60s music genres, selling both original and reissue CDs and vinyl. And last but not least we have coffee provided by the people behind London Coffee Roasters, to help you relax with a well earned break. Sounds like a great place to spend an afternoon.

Calneva and Ollie started trading last week, and the finishing touches to the remainder of the shop are being made now, and will be open we're promised by the 8th of March. Why not pop down soon: and say we sent you, of course.

The Beehive, 320-322 Creek Road, Greenwich, London, SE10 9SW. DLR: Cutty Sark.

Retro TV W/C 29th February 2008

Barry Murphy returns once more trawl the TV and radio guides (so you don't have to) to find anything worth tuning into this week. All listings are for UK terrestrial TV, Freeview and national radio, with the shows running from Friday 29th February to Thursday 6th March.

Highlight of the week

After being heavily trailed over the last couple of weeks, Mad Men finally comes to our screens (BBC 4, Sun 2nd 10pm & BBC 2, Tues 4th 11.20pm). Written and produced by Matthew (The Sopranos) Weiner, this polished drama is set in the world of 1960s Madison Avenue advertising executives.

BBC 4 are showing related programming throughout the month, with documentary series Selling the Sixties starting Sunday 2nd at 9pm. Interviews with advertising execs from the 1960s tell the story of how they sold the American dream. 

The Boiler in Barcelona

The Boiler returns to Barcelona on Saturday 8th March at the Jazz Room in the city.

It promises rhythm and soul from guest DJs Damien Hewitt (Manchester), Marco Moretti (Milan) and Albert Petit (Valencia) alongside the residents. The Jazz Room is at Calle Vallmajor nº 33, Plaza d’Adrià (Barcelona), with the night running from 23:30 - 05:00, admission 10 euros (including a drink).

Future dates are May 10th with Jo Wallace (London, UK), Roberta “Underground Blues” (Teramo, Italy) and Moonwolf (Castello), July 11 & 12th - the Boiler’s 5th Anniversary with Barbara Grassi (Genova, Italy), Alan Handscombe (London, UK), Neil Henderson (Manchester, UK), Batman (Paris, France) and a band to be confirmed, September 13th with Warren Boogaloo (UK), Alvaro de Diego (Madrid) and Ivan Muench (Barcelona) and finally, November 8th with Mick Moyland (UK), Merv Parnell (UK) and Paul Bennett (UK).

Find out more at the Boiler website

New UK Brian Wilson shows

Brian Wilson has announced three UK shows, due to take place in June.

Dubbed the 'greatest hits' shows, Wilson and his band will be digging deep into his back catalogue to offer a trio of unique shows for his fans here. The ex-Beach Boy will open the 2008 Kenwood Concert season on June 28 before taking his band to Ipswich's Regent Theatre on the 29th, and then finishes at London’s Royal Albert Hall on July 1st. The ticket details are as follows:

Kenwood House: £27.50 to £36.00. Click here for more.
Ipswich Regent Theatre: £50.00. Click here or call 0844 576 5483. Tickets go on sale Friday (February 29) at 9am.
London Royal Albert Hall: £35 - £75. Call 0207 589 8212 / 0207 434 2222 or click here. Tickets go on sale next Friday (March 7) at 9am.

And if you are looking to buy a new outfit to wear to the shows your luck is in as to coincide with the shows there is a brand new range of official merchandise available. For details and more on Wilson see the official Brian Wilson website here.

Finger Poppin' Time in London

The Finger Poppin' Time crew are promising the best in Club Soul, R&B, Ska, Latin, Boogaloo on Saturday 1st March at The Cavern in Walthamstow.

DJ's for the nigh are local residents Alice Fowkes, Mark Ellis, Jo Sadler and Tim 'The Mod' Fuller, spinning tunes at a 'great friendly venue' within easy reach of Walthamstow tube (Victoria Line).

Find out more at the Modculture forums or drop Tim a line via email here.

Madrid's s.m.a.r.t. club - March 2008

The s.m.a.r.t club in Madrid returns on March 15th 2008 with the usual top-notch selection of guest DJs.

Playing mod and soul sounds are Mary Boogaloo (Rome), Niamh Lynch (London) and Ana Vila (Barcelona), playing with resident Bego Cueto.  It takes place ar the Clamores Club, 14 Alburquerque street (metro station: Bilbao).

Time: 01:00 till 05:30
Entrance: 10 Euros (one drink included)

Find out more at the s.m.a.r.t. website

Lennon's Magic Eye to go on display

A mosaic created by John Lennon in the mid-60s is to be seen by the pubic for the first time when it goes on display at The Beatles Story Museum in Liverpool.

"The Magic Eye" was a 16ft by 6ft artwork feature of Lennon's Kenwood estate swimming pool (in Surrey). The mosaic is thought to have been inspired by his interest in spiritual matters following The Beatles 1967 visit to India to study the teachings of Maharishi Yogi.

Weighing over two tons and made up of approximately 17,000 ceramic pieces, it has been painstakingly restored by ardent Beatles fan Tom Lorimer, a technician at Liverpool John Moore's University. Lorimer had been contacted by Merseyside businessman Wladek 'Butch' Reszczynski, who had been asked to clear items from the derelict site of the 1984 International Garden Festival. The story goes that he found The Magic Eye and stored it in a field in the Wirral, only belatedly discovering the Lennon connection. Lorimer says;

John Lennon was fascinated by Indian mysticism. He designed The Magic Eye based on the Maharishi's teachings about the Eye of Knowledge or the Middle Eye. It was in very poor condition. Moss was covering it in parts but I offered to restore it and Butch agreed.

The Magic Eye goes on display in early March at the newly expanded Beatles museum on Albert Dock. For more on the museum and the artwork visit The Beatles Story website here.

Garage Greats 45 reissue series

Here in the UK some enterprising souls have set up a new label Garage Greats, dedicated to re-issuing the best and rarest garage 45s from around the world.

The first batch of ten records include classics such as Fe Fi Four Plus 2’s ‘I Wanna Come Back (from the World of LSD)’ The Heard's version of 'You're Gonna Miss Me', and The Plague's ‘Go Away’. Some of these 45s are so rare as to be simply impossible to find no matter how deep your pockets (less than 20 known original copies in all cases). Each 45 has been remastered at London’s Abbey Road studios for ‘maximum playback enjoyment’. In keeping with the original releases the original labels have been reproduced faithfully. Each release is a hand-numbered limited edition of 500 that comes in a generic Garage Greats house bag.

The website www.garagegreats.com has been registered and advertised but is currently inactive (hopefully that will change soon). In the meantime  you want to purchase any of these 45s your best bet is from Bomp Mailorder in then US and Soundflat in Europe.

Leeds in the 60s photo exhibition

Swiss photographer Eric Jaquier was a resident of Leeds in the late 60s, filling his time as a stay-at-home husband with photography of everyday life in Leeds. And 38 years later, those photos are on display in Leeds as part of the Strangely Familiar exhibition at PSL.

It's now a great record of British working-class life in that era - everything from children playing in the street, houses and shops, city centre architecture, businessmen heading to work, people killing time around town - even mods on scooters, years after the movement's heyday.

The photos sit alongside more modern images by Peter Mitchell, comparing the city past and present. Strangely Familiar runs from 27th February - 10th May 2008. See the link below for information about the gallery.

Find out more at the PSL Gallery website

Via Retro To Go