Archive for April, 2009
by Modculture 23 April, 2009
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 24th April to Thursday 30th April 2009.
Highlights of the week
BBC 4 celebrates a night of British female pop on Saturday 25th April. As well as repeating the excellent recent two part documentary Queens of British Pop (9pm onwards), the channel raids the archive for some priceless vintage shows, with an episode of Dusty Springfield's TV series from 1967 Dusty (10.05pm), followed by Cilla (10.30pm), The Sandie Shaw Supplement (11.20pm), Lulu's Back in Town (11.45pm) and finally Kate Bush's Christmas TV special from 1979 Kate (12.10am) featuring special guest Peter Gabriel. A great night's telly.
New drama Best – His Mother's Son (Sunday 26th. BBC 2. 9pm) looks at the family George Best left behind in Belfast during his rise to fame. At the same time as high-living was beginning to take its toll on George's career, this factual drama follows the descent of his mother into alcoholism and its effects on the whole family.
Finally, Marianne Faithfull has a night of programming dedicated to her, once again courtesy of BBC 4, on Monday 27th. Starting with her recent concert at LSO St luke's BBC Four Sessions: Marianne Faithfull (10pm), the night continues with a portrait of the singer/songwriter in Marianne Faithfull: Keeping the Faith (11pm) and the 2006 film Irina Palm (11.50pm).
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by Modculture 22 April, 2009
Not a particularly new band, but one that may have escaped your attention over the past couple of years, Trummor & Orgel are a Hammond-led jazz combo of some repute.
Uppsala in Sweden is the home for siblings Anders Ljunggren (Hammond organ) and Staffan Ljunggren (drums). Formed out of pop-psych combo Second Glance, the brothers love for late-period Beatles, Brina Auger Trinity, Spencer Davis Group, and 60’s psychedelic jazz duo Hansson & Karlsson led them to form a side-project (meaning literally The Drums and Organ Project) which eventually became their main focus.
Two albums later and they are regularly wowing audiences with their unique sound and expertly-crafted songs. New EP entitled Thunderball Sessions has recently been released (on Cosmos / BAM Records) to much praise, and if you can do grab a copy for yourselves.
To listen to the dynamic duo visit the Trummor & Orgel website here, or the Myspace page here.
by Modculture 22 April, 2009
Details are a bit thin on the ground, but we just got word of a new mod club starting this Friday (April 24th) in Liverpool.
Pow! will be held at Monochrome (formerly the Sports Bar) regularly, with dates currently being advertised suggesting it will become a weekly night. Music policy is promised to be "the best mod music from the 60s to now" and "retro sounds, new beat music".
Pow! @ Monochrome
7-11 Sir Thomas St, Liverpool L1 6BW
Fridays April 24th; May 15th, 22nd and 29th
10pm til late, price unknown
Not a lot going on in Liverpool club scene at the moment, so this is definitely worth checking out if you are local.
Visit the Pow! Myspace page here.
by Modculture 22 April, 2009
Fancy winning a vintage scoot and doing your bit for charity? You can if you buy a ticket to win a 1965 Lambretta Golden Special.
It's being raffled in aid of Cancer Research UK, with the draw taking place on stage at the Ryde Ice Arena at the VFM evening do on the IOW, Saturday 29th August 2009. But don't worry – you don't have to be at the IOW to win, just get some tickets and you'll be contacted if you win.
Tickets are just £2 each (or £10 for a book of 5), which you can purchase online via PayPal (jimpiddington66@aol.com) or you can send a cheque, made out to Above the Clouds and send to:
J. Piddington, 6 Calthorpe Gardens, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 3DF.
Please add £1.20 to your total for recorded delivery – very important!!
If you want to see the full spec of the scooter, see over the page. Note that tickets can only be sold to UK residents and only to people over 16 years of age.
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by Modculture 22 April, 2009
You really couldn't make up the story of maverick early 60s producer Joe Meek, so we expect his eventful life and career to make a pretty impressive flick when it hits the big screen as Telstar The Movie.
Yes, we expect the works – a rapid rise to fame, weird and wonderful 60s pop, London in its swinging infancy, madness, depression, bizarre studio equipment, heartbreak, paranoia, murder and suicide. We might even get some drug taking and a touch of the accult too.
A decent cast too, including Kevin Spacey, Con O'Neill, Pam Ferris, James Corden and Ralf Little, plus a top notch soundtrack obviously. Look out for it in cinemas from June 12th, enjoy the trailer below.
Telstar The Movie website
by Modculture 20 April, 2009
First appearing last year, the Sir Peter Blake Pop t-shirts are back with the sun at Ink'd – and this time you can pick up a signed limited edition.
Yes, probably the cheapest signed Sir Peter Blake work around, the t-shirt is a limited edition of 500, but just 50 (all sized medium) will be signed by the great man, hand signed in black pen under the logo. So make sure you don't wash it. And of course, if features that super cool 'pop' logo.
That version will set you back a very affordable £39 – or you can opt for the more practical unsigned version, which retails for £29. Both are sold in a Blake-themed gift box.
Find out more at the Ink'd website
Via Retro To Go
by Modculture 20 April, 2009
If you like the idea of an incredibly detailed period tale of 60s/70s European terrorism, look no further than the Baader Meinhof Complex.
The review of the DVD (which is out from today) is now up on Cinedelica, but for the uninitiated, it's the film version of Uli Edel's book on the Baader Meinhof gang, packed with just about every detail, from the early days of 1960s extremism through to the gang's violent campaign in West Germany in the 1970s and of course, their eventual demise.
Want to know more? Check out the full review via the link below.
Baader Meinhof Complex DVD review
by Modculture 20 April, 2009
This year's 1970 Reggae & Soul Revival weekender is set to celebrate 40 years of skinhead culture, and is headlined with a rare live appearance from Pat Kelly.
Kelly is a legendary figure in the early reggae scene, both as a solo artist and with The Techniques. His backing band for the show will be Intensified. As always the Sounds and Pressure soundsystem will be supplying the sounds at this third edition of the event, which takes place on the weekend of July 10th and 11th.
Guest DJs for the weekend include Mark Wilson (Liquidator), Oxford Paul (Blue Cat) and Dr Huxtable (Axis Sound System), alongside residents Brian Kelson (Scorcher) and Phil Bush (Sounds and Pressure). The Friday night session runs between 8pm-3am ,and the Saturday night event runs an hour longer. A daytime session on the Saturday will have open decks plus the usual record dealers and vintage stalls, Jamaican food, bar etc.
The venue is the Westcoast Bar, 3-5 King St, Margate, CT9 1DD. Tickets cost £25 (before the end of May, then £30 after) and are available here. More info can be had by phoning 07796988633 and 0195260425.
by Modculture 20 April, 2009
This has got to be a match made in heaven – our favourite modern bluesman James Hunter is playing live at renowned venue Ronnie Scott's next month.
James Hunter returns to London to play at the Soho jazz venue that is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year on Sunday May 31st.
Tickets for this one-off show cost between £15 and £26 (depending on where you sit/stand)and can be brought from the Ronnie Scott's website here.
Visit the official James Hunter website here.
by Modculture 17 April, 2009
Scream your mod credentials when you're outdoors with the JC de Castelbajac v Fermob target bistro table.
This is an updated version of a design that's been around (and outside French cafes) since the 19th century, JC de Castelbajac adding his own twist in his Cocard Collection with that target design (which is actually based on the French flag in this instance).
In terms of structure, the table is made of painted steel that's been treated to stop corrosion, with a silkscreen shelf steel top, UV resistance and protective caps on the feet. Choose from three colour variations (see another over the page), all selling for $139 Euros online.
Update: UK retailer Made in Design has told us they can do special orders for these tables. Contact them via their website.
Find out more at the Fermob website
Via Retro To Go
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