Hello folks,
Finally available for pre-order is the new album and single from Billy Chyldish's CTMF. We also have a lovely limited edition badge set available too. Also released on the same day is the 3rd album from Thee Spivs. Already getting great reviews we think you're going to love it! As always simply click on the pics to pre-order. Read on for more details..
CTMF - All Our Forts Are With You (LP/Digi) - Released 24th June
In 1976/ 77 the ‘shortly to be’ Billy Chyldish, as well as being head of research in the counties first fortress study group The Medway Military Research Group, was working as an apprentice stonemason in Chatham dockyard. After seeing a feature on punk on the London Weekend show Billy thought he wouldn’t half mind being the singer in a punk rock group himself. Childish duly left work and suggested to a few old secondary school mates that they should form one pronto. “What about a name?” they asked, “simple”, answered Wild Billy, “we’ll be called CTMF.” Button Nose Steve, who was to shortly give Billy Chyldish his punk moniker – and even owned a Woolworth’s guitar, and Dave Marsh, a form mate who said he might buy a drum kit one day – both nodded slightly. 36 years later, and CTMF have finally come into being. no ones sure where Dave Marsh now is, but button nose Steve is busy feeding pigs and ducks on his small holding in New Romney and Billy Chyldish, with other mates, has recorded an LPs worth of material – and half a dozen 45’s for different destinations around the globe – utilising lyrics first jotted down for the original CTMF line up in 1977. Billy describes CTMF group as “the epitome of modern”.and their sound as “the sound of yesterday, tomorrow” All of their records are released under the moniker CTMF. Some say this stands for Copyright TerMination Front, others claim it is simply short form for Clarity Through Fuzz .There have been numerous rumours that Jimmy Cauty plays bass and that it is none other than Bill Drummond that can be heard on Xylophone. Billy, however, muses that though he is indeed friends with Jimmy Cauty – and has in the past been in correspondence with Bill Drummond – he has never knowingly heard of the KLF as he “gave up on music after punk turned crap at the end of 77”.
People in the know can vouch that all this is in fact truth
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THIS RELEASE IS THE FIRST ONE, IN 25 YEARS TO BE MANUFACTURED AND DELIVERED INTO THE DAMAGED
GOODS WAREHOUSE WITHOUT OUR INVOLVEMENT OR VERY MUCH WARNING!
**A CD VERSION WILL FOLLOW IN JULY!!**
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CTMF - 36 Years Later (7"/Digi) - Released 24th June
The track 36 Years Later refers to the digging up of that old group name and how my sensibilities remain the same to his punk ethos of 36 years ago (+ the LP cover shows us set to trek a mile out out on to the Medway mud flats to retrieve a WW2 bomber engine). David Bowie gets a a mention in the lyrics as one of Billys favorite enemies. Thou he rote and recorded the track befor the old-so-and-so re-emerged, Billy must confess that he was unaware he'd retired and asumed he was still anoying people with his 'I'm from mars' line. His friend Tracey Emin assures him that he's a lovely fellow, which he’s sure he is, but he didnt even like his stuff when he had a real group sorting his songs out for him in the early '70s. He know that makes him in the minority of one, but he likes it like that. The truth is, he dislikes rock music, and is officially the worst fan in the world.
The lyrics to the b-side, Chatham Forts where written around christmas '76, when Billy first fantasised about forming a punk rock group. Having no gear, or real players CTMF were still-born. Later in 77 The Pop Rivets came about. He’s been preocupied for the last 36 years so the Chatham Forts never got the kiss of life till this year when he dug the words out and started over again. The name comes from his involvement with the Medway Military Research Group, which he co founded in the early 70's with a school friend, Keith Gulvin. They were the world's first fortress study group, and Billy and Keith are still involved in research of the local forts in our local towns. Really, Chatham Forts would have been headed by Billy under his first punk moniker, Gus Claudius, but regardless, due to his genius CTMF sound as new and broken now as the would have in 1977.
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2 EXCLUSIVE - NON-ALBUM TRACKS
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CTMF - badge set
To mark the release of the CTMF's debut album we've a lovely set of 8 badges complete with a CTMF postcard. Wear with pride!
Thee Spivs - The Crowds And The Sounds (LP/CD/Digi) - Released 24th June
Thee Spivs are back with their third album in as many years and with ‘The Crowds and The Sounds’ they’ve honed their canny blend of trad punk, garage punk, post punk, new wave, classic English rock’n’roll and pub rock to create a magnificently varied album. Dare we say, these young men have matured, with Ben Edge proving his worth as an accomplished songwriter. Drawing from a more diverse array of influences, Thee Spivs have lapped up and reimagined sounds from bands such as The Television Personalities, The Ramones and early Wire. The new album is a natural progression from their critically acclaimed debut ‘Taped Up’ (which landed the band an early Mojo Rising feature and a Guardian New Band of the Day piece as well as praise in The Sunday Times and Artrocker) and last year’s ‘Black and White Memories’ (with reviews including Q, Uncut and BBC). ‘The Crowds and The Sounds’ is instantly more melodic and you can see additional influences from the very British qualities of The Kinks. The songs are slowed down and slightly longer in length, with a lot more thought and work in to each one than the furiously fast, punchy numbers from their early records.