Hello folks!
Four Medway-centric titles, all released tomorrow!
A brand new LP from The Galileo 7, new 7"singles from The Shadracks and Graham Day and The Gaolers, plus and an expanded resissue from Graham Day and The Forefathers.
A sweet summer solstice is guaranteed!
The Galileo 7 - There Is Only Now (LP/CD)
Brand new album from Medway's finest psych-beat combo!
Heritage can be a harsh mistress. Ex-This, formerly of That. Past acclaim – particularly when it’s attached to some of the most visceral and elemental rock ’n’ roll of one’s generation – can become both a help and a hindrance; impossible to shake off but crucial to continued acceptance in the fickle world of pop music. Not that this is any concern of The Galileo 7 of course. As the title of their sixth album proudly proclaims, There Is Only Now, and this record is nothing if not Now!
From humble beginnings 10 years ago as a DIY outlet for Allan Crockford’s songwriting ambitions (he was rarely afforded such luxuries as bass-wielding anchorman of The Prisoners, JTQ, Prime Movers, Solarflares et al) The Galileo 7 has evolved into a powerhouse live act delivering the kind of lysergically-inclined technicolour garage-rock rarely witnessed these days; one born of experience, exploration and an enjoyment of one’s own craft.
Following a period of fluctuation, the present line-up stabilised around Crockford (vocals, guitar), Paul Moss (bass, vocals), Viv Bonsels (keyboard, vocals) and the busiest man in garage, Matthew ‘Mole’ Lambert (drums, vocals) – yep, there are a lot of vocals in the mix here and the record is all the brighter for it. The G7’s long-players since 2016’s storming “live in the studio” set Live-O-Graphic have carried way more clout as a result of this newfound energy, breathing fresh life into Crockford’s songs as the songs themselves delve ever more skilfully into a pool populated with Dandyish psychedelic pop, British Invasion muscle, new-wave sparkle and that ever-present Medway magic.
(ANDY MORTEN - SHINDIG! - FEBRUARY 2019)
Graham Day & The Forefathers - Good Things (LP/CD)
Expanded reissue of their 2014 album!
On CD and limited edition WHITE vinyl!
Graham Day – vocals, guitar
Allan Crockford – bass, vocals
Wolf Howard – drums
Re-issue of the 2014 ‘almost live’ collection of greatest hits and misses from more than thirty years of the Graham Day songbook - with three extra tracks. Out of print since 2015.
The crucial ingredients of The Prisoners, Prime Movers, Solarflares and The Gaolers extracted and squeezed into one stripped down power trio…
Graham Day, Allan Crockford and Wolf Howard have been intermittently blasting out their muscular version of Medway garage-rock (tm) in various combinations and guises over a period of more than 30 years, releasing dozens of albums between them. Graham and Allan were in The Prisoners (82-86), before forming The Prime Movers with Wolf in 1988, releasing 3 albums before they split in 1993. The trio were re-united in 1999 as the Solarflares, releasing another 5 albums until once again calling it a day in 2004. They also found time to play in various pairings over that period in the original line-up of The James Taylor Quartet and Goodchilde (Allan and Wolf), and Billy Childish's Buff Medways (Graham and Wolf). These days Graham and Wolf also play cinematic instrumentals in The Senior Service, and Allan leads psych-popsters The Galileo 7 (both bands also on Damaged Goods).
The three re-united as a live band in 2013. The Forefathers formed around the idea that the time was right for rifling through the Graham Day Songbook and delivering a 'best of...' set: stripped down live versions of the best of The Prisoners, The Prime Movers, The Solarflares and Graham's most recent band, The Gaolers. Recent gigs have proved that time has not dimmed their fire, energy and passion. If anything, their live performances have been more ferocious than ever. One school of thought says that The Forefathers are essentially a 'tribute act' - a tribute to themselves and their shared musical history... if that is true, they are the purest and best tribute act in existence - no one delivers a Graham Day song like Graham Day, Allan Crockford and Wolf Howard.
‘Good Things’ was recorded in that initial joyful rush of re-discovering old favourites and forgotten classics in 2013. Backing tracks were completely live at their rehearsal room and one-take vocals were added later. For this timely re-release, three tracks have been added to the original running order: ‘Love Me Lies’ and ‘30-60-90’, previously only available on a long sold out 45 on State Records, and a version of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Freedom’. All three cuts were recorded at the same time as the rest of the album, but the latter tune has lain in the vaults since its completion.
Graham Day & The Forefathers still venture out for occasional gigs, but if you can’t get to see them, this album is the next best thing!
Graham Day & The Gaolers - Just A Little (7")
It’s a brand new limited edition 7” from Graham Day & The Gaolers!
Last December to celebrate 30 years of Damaged Goods Records, Graham Day & The Gaolers got together after an eight year lay-off to play at the Lexington in Islington.
Taking advantage of a rare visit to the UK from drummer Dan Eletxro, they took to Rochester’s Ranscombe studio and bashed out the two new tracks that make up this fabulous 7” single.
This will be the Gaolers’ first new release in 11 years, and both songs are full of the typical soulful tunes played with no-frills energy and passion that you would expect from the trio.
It’s as if they’ve never been away!
Graham Day – Guitar/Vocals
Jon Barker – Bass
Dan Eletxro - Drums
The Shadracks - Tranquil Salvation (7")
BLACK VINYL 7" (200 copies)
RED VINYL 7" (100 copies)
It’s a brand new 7” EP fromThe Shadracks! Limited edition of 300 copies! (100 red, 200 black)
As a man of not so noble birth walked briskly down Victoria Street, Rochester he heard the distant rumbling of a beat bass lick, the crash and bang of tin cans, and a whirring of fuzz overtones. ‘Aye,’ he mused ‘must be the hustle and bustle of thy youthful Shadracks!’ And indeed he was right.
And here you have it: three blistering tracks of Babylonian Beat Music: 'Tranquil Salvation', 'Count to Ten' and a live favorite - Dead Moons' 'Walking on my Grave'. All played with expert precision on a hip EP for fans of sophisticated rock ‘n’ roll and other rubbish.
Councillor Duxbury
Stradhoughton, Yorkshire, 1963
Happy solstice!
Ian & Duncan