Second Hand Marching Band

The Second Hand Marching Band has a limited edition single available, if you're quick. You can get their wintry "Grit and Determination" EP from HERE until 1 January 2010. Their excellent 4-track EP is available for a princely £3 (plus £1 p&p). You can buy it as a download or as a numbered handmade CD.

Here's how the band summed up 2009:

"Year two

We brought out our first EP in January this year and sold it oot, only 150 copies mind you. We played about 20 gigs including the square in a university, outside a big edinburgh venue, a botanic garden and a blustery festival - in 5 different towns in Ecosse. We've been listened to (according to the Internet) more than 45,000 times. We've done a BBC session. We met lots of cool people. It's been a good year.

Let me tell you a bit about my favourite bits:
1. Beerjacket times in King tut's and also Oran Mor. BJ is a local legend who I love and it was awesome to play with him. we have twenty members straining to do what he can do with one wee tambourine. It's impressive. He gets better every year and had lots of great sound out this year on a new album. Go go go mr Kelly.

2. Releasing our EP on Chaffinch Records. Dave from Chaffinch is a legend also and we picked up lots of really great reviews in magazines, blogs and newspapers. Thank you if you were one of the writers of one of them. It was so very unexpected for people to like our home recorded CD and most welcome. It spurred us on so blame them if you want rid of us pals. To have our own CD out was great and we hope to do more with the wonderous Chaffinch later on. Woo!

3. BBC Scotland session. We went on Vic's program and it was amazing. The sound chaps were so great and helped us out when basically we sat there like 19 morons not knowing what to do. The end result was very pretty. You can get it on last.fm. It was a great great experience so it was.

4. Sold out gig with Zoey Van Goey. There are a fair few ZVG fans in our ranks but this was a belter of a gig and we had a great time at it - seeing a packed stereo was exciting and I think we played quite well due to all the excitement.

5. Rest of band's fun times as wickerman and so on - I wasn't there ( I was in America... ) but it was awesome and there's lots of cool videos and so on of their time there. hurrah!

6. All Tomorrow's Parties weird appearance. We appeared walking through the audience playing a song by Battles called Atlas before the ATP film started. What was one of the most ridiculous, horrible days was also one of the funniest. We were very badly behaved and spent many hours sneaking about being band, running across roads and shouting at people. It was great.

7. Blog heroes. We met and found so many new blogs this year and had so many great reviews in them and it's great to hear honest and fresh opinions. In Scotland the emerging new writers from things like the Glasgow Podcart and many of the music blogs is making a difference to wee bands like us who don't spend money on PR or adverts or anything - people manage to find us through things like this so thank you very much.

8. All the great bands we played with, including Benni Hemm Hemm, Meursault, 17th Century, Zoey Van Goey, Beerjacket, Esperi, Share, Sparrow and the Workshop, Japanese War Effort, Pineapple chunks, wounded knee, jesus H foxx, phenomenal handclap band, burnt island, apples of energy and many others.

And before I go here is a collection of strange and lovely memories from such times:
Running about St. Andrews with confused onlookers following on.
The moment we pretended to be a jazz band because 'Tara' thought we were and was going to pay us.
Goddamn you crazy posh St. Andrew's girls!
Playing in the sea at St. Andrews by throwing rocks etc
Getting to the quiet break in 'Hurricane, Thunderstorm' on BBC radio and seeing all the funny faces of bandmates
Liam's theatrical take on ONE ARMED SCISSOR live on Radio Scotland
The Stoo's ability to drown all of the rest of everything on the radio (before it was live but) Dave and mears swapping instruments without anyone noticing
Starting recordings with Benni Hemm Hemm, the Icelandic genius.
Wandering around playing the accordion in the dark in Dundee in a botanic gardens.
Making up winter songs

So that's our year. It's not over though. We are selling a wintery EP until the 1st of January. After that it's gone gone gone.

We have two more gigs left then none (maybe one) before summer next year. Time to practice.

Next year's plans: Joint EP with Benni Hemm Hemm, two EPs of our own. Less gigs more practice (you'll be happy to hear)

Thanks for all those who came to see us etc and see you soon!"

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 27 December 2009

I figure that by Boxing Day people have had enough of Christmas records so I've decided instead to give myself a musical Christmas present. I'll be joined in the studio - snow permitting - by my mate Dave as we host a two-hourJocknroll special, playing a variety of well-known and not so well-known Scottish bands from the last few years:

Camera Obscura - Swan (4AD 2009)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
Aberfeldy - Tom Weir (Rough Trade 2005)
Roddy Hart - Flames (Odd Art 2004)
Sergeant - The Time Is Now (Shy Recordings 2009)
Ally Kerr - Could Have Been A Contender (Much Obliged 2007)
Roddy Frame - Western Skies (Redemption 2006)
Aztec Camera - The Boy Wonders (Rough Trade 1983) (Connect 3)
Belle and Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap (Jeepster 1998) (Connect 3)
The Beatstalkers - Little Boy (CBS 1968) (Connect 3)
Big Dish - Miss America (WEA 1990)
The Bluebells - Wishful Thinking (Will She Always Be Waiting) (London 1984)
Superstar - Superstar (French vocal) (Deconstruction 1997) (Foreign Language)
Orange Juice - I Can't Help Myself (Polydor 1982)
The BMX Bandits - Let Mother Nature Be Your Guide (Karaoke version) (Vinyl Japan 1989) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Teenage Fanclub - Slow Fade (PeMa 2005)
Colin MacIntyre - Famous for Being Famous (Future Gods 2008)
The Fabulous Artisans - Sycamore Square (Bendi 2008)
The Goldenhour - Julie's In Control (Neon Tetra 2007)
Trashcan Sinatras - People (Lo-Five 2009)
Attic Lights - Never Get Sick of the Sea (Island 2008)
Del Amitri - Ceasefire (Chrysalis 1985)
Justin Currie - What Is Love For? (Rykodisc 2007)
Daniel Wylie - Define Love (Neon Tetra 2007) (Connect 3)
The BMX Bandits - I Wanna Fall in Love (Version #2) (Unreleased 1996) (Connect 3)
Simple Minds - Love Song 12" (Virgin 1981) (Connect 3)
The Orchids - Thaumaturgy (Sarah 1992) (Two of a Kind)
The Orchids - Last Thing On Your Mind (Siesta 2007) (Two of a Kind)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

Please not that some of these tracks probably won't be aired due to the great likelihood of Dave and I blethering too much!

Good day, good health and enjoy the rest of the festive season. I'll be back on the 3rd of January with my normal show and a new theme tune.

The Cat
=^..^=

Horse - News for 2010

A few words from our friends at Randan HQ:

"Merry Xmas everyone

I hope you are in good health and looking forward to the upcoming festivities? Just dropping by to pass on all of the latest news from Camp Horse!!! :o)

DVD - It has been a long time coming but for the first time in my career we have filmed one of the summer shows. This is very much due to San Kapil, Potter and their team who talked me into this and with hindsight....I am so glad that they did! It isn’t a huge production, but I feel that it captures what was an amazing night for us in Edinburgh this year. The venue is the Queens Hall, Edinburgh - a favourite venue for me (I won a Forth award for best performance there in the past) I hope to have it available around the end of Jan time and possibly available pre order in the next week or so. The pre-order section will be set up in the shop area on www.randan.org so that you can place an order at the very least if you wish? There’s a feature bit at the end with a wee interview with me and the band too!

Single - "Something Wicked", from "Coming Up for Air", is going out as a single download on Jan 1st (01 01 10!). This will be a radio edit of the song. The more downloads the better so maybe we can start a campaign? Anyone interested in being part of a teamhorsestreetteam let me know? We need people in all parts of the country...the planet!

Video - "Something Wicked" ... we began filming the vid for this track on Fri 11th Dec here in Glasgow - I have a very special guest appearing in it and I am so thrilled – as was our star guest apparently - the one and only Lorraine Kelly! She was so fabulous and great fun, nothing phased her – what a day I was so happy I could have fainted! Lorraine and her equally lovely hubby Steve spent a good part of the day with us. This could be the difference between getting it seen on a wider scale or not. The band and I filmed our bits in Halifax and the finished video will be live by 11th Jan. Fingers crossed that Lorraine puts a wee clip on the LK today show

"Coming Up for Air" - Finally this, my 8th album, will have an official release date!

Applestore - Thurs 21st Jan 2010, Buchanan St Glasgow Special performance in Glasgow to flag up both the single and the upcoming Celtic Connection show and the subsequent tour that follows....

L Beach - 16th April 2010 Hamburg First womens fest in Hamburg. www.l-beach.com probably a solo appearance

Website (Twitter, Facebook) My sites are currently being updated. Any comments as to what you would like to see on these is most welcome. The new version of www.randan.org will be live in the next few days.

"The Same Sky" - 2010 is the 20th anniversary of this first popular album. I hope to mark it by performing the album in it’s entirety on the day of the anniversary – 6th Nov and possibly key venues in the UK

As ever thank you for supporting me. I really do appreciate it. I am looking forward to the new dates coming up in 2010. Take care of yourselves – Happy new Year see you next year I hope?

Finally I hope you have a very happy xmas and a merry new year!

Love Horse"

Horse Dates in 2010

Sunday 24th January 2010 8pm - Celtic Connections - City Hall, Grand Hall
Glasgow, Scotland
Celtic Connections, the largest winter music festival in Europe
http://www.celticconnections.com

Thursday 28th January 2010 8pm - The Ironworks
122b Academy St, Inverness, Scotland
First date in new UK tour - full band

Friday 29th January 2010 8pm - The Lemon Tree
5 West North St, Aberdeen, Scotland AB24
Tel: 01224 642 230
www.boxofficeaberdeen.com/index.asp?VenueID=281

Saturday 30th January 2010 8pm - Fat Sams
31 south ward rd, Dundee, Scotland DD1 1PU
Tel: 01382 228182
www.fatsams.co.uk

Thursday 4th February 2010 8pm - Leicester Y
7 East St, Leicester, Midlands LE1 6EY
Tel: 0116 255 6507
www.leicesterymca.co.uk/y-theatre.php

Friday 5th February 2010 8pm - The Queens Hall, Narberth
44 High St, Narberth, Wales SA67 7AS
Tel: 01834 861212
www.thequeenshall.org.uk

Thursday 25th February 2010 8pm - Huddersfield LBT
Queen's Square, Queen Street, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD1 2SP
Tel: 01484 430528
http://www.lbt-uk.org

Friday 26th February 2010 8pm - Adam Smith Theatre
St Brycedale Avenue, Kirkcaldy, Scotland KY1 1ET
www.attfife.org.uk

Saturday 27th February 2010 8pm - The Stables
Stockwell Lane, Wavendon, Milton Keynes, South MK17 8LU
Tel: 01908 280280
www.stables.org

Jocknroll Review of the Year

Here are my choices as best in show for 2009:

New Album of the Year:

1. Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
2. Dropkick - Abelay Hotel
3. Sergeant - Sergeant

Old Album of the Year:

1. Jackie DeShannon - Breakaway?: The Songs of Jackie DeShannon 1961-1967
2. Various Artists - The Girls Are At It Again: UK Beat Girls 1964-1969
3. Jackie Lee - The Town I Live In: The EMI 1965-1967

Single of the Year:

1. Camera Obscura - Honey In The Sun (although I think it was a promo only that's good enough for me)
2. Polka Party - Serbian Tennis
3. Camera Obscura - French Navy

Band of the Year:

1. Camera Obscura
2. Norman Blake and Euro Childs aka "Jonny"
3. Dropkick

Gig of the Year:

1. Edwyn Collins with Teenage Fanclub (Mono/Trongate 103, Glasgow)
2. Camera Obscura/Attic Lights (Barrowlands, Glasgow)
3. Attic Lights/The Primary 5/Dropkick/The Parish Music Box (Town Hall, Darvel)

Book of the Year:

1. Simon Goddard - Mozipedia: The Encyclopeadia of Morrissey and The Smiths
2. Luke Haines - Bad Vibes: Britpop and My Part in its Downfall
2. Graham Joyce - Simple Goalkeeping Made Spectacular

Audio Book of the Year:

Andrew Collins - Where Did It all Go Right?: Growing Up Normal in the 70s

Film of the Year:

The Monks - Transatlantic Feedback

TV Programme of the Year:

1. Mad Men
2. House
3. Big Bang Theory

Quiz Show of the Year:

1. Pointless
2. Only Connect
3. University Challenge (even though I'm rubbish at it)

That's your lot for this year. See you all in 2010.

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 20 December 2009

It's the last of my three festive extravaganzas:

Saint Etienne - I Was Born On Christmas Day (Heavenly 1993)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
Badly Drawn Boy - Donna and Blitzen (Twisted Nerve 2001)
Adam Faith - Lonely Pup (In A Christmas Shop) (Parlophone 1960)
Peter, Paul and Mary - Christmas Dinner (Warners 1969)
The Orchids - Christmas Is The Time To Be With Your Baby (Columbia 1964)
They Might Be Giants - Santa's Beard (Bar/None 1988)
KT Tunstall - Mele Kailimaka (Christmas in Hawaii) (EMI 2007)
Connie Francis - I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter (MGM 1962) (Connect 3)
Arthur Lee Harper - Wintertime (PHI 1968) (Connect 3)
Ed Harcourt - In The Bleak Midwinter (Unreleased 2004) (Connect 3)
The Beatles - Christmas Time Is Here Again (Lyntone 1967)
Low - Just Like Christmas (Tugboat 1999)
The Cocteau Twins - Frosty The Snowman (Fontana 1993)
The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale of New York (Pogue Mahone 1987)
Britney Spears - My Only Wish (This Christmas) (Jive 2000)
Isabelle Aubret - Savez Vous Qu'il Fait Au Sapin de Noel? (Label Unknown 1969) (Foreign Language)
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Hwiannggerdd Mair (Mary's Lullaby) (Mercury 1993) (Foreign Language)
Russ Conway - Snow Coach (Columbia 1959) (Half-Time Instrumental)
The Crystals - Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (Philles 1963)
The Variations - The Man With All The Boys (Immediate 1965)
The Beach Boys - Christmas Day (Capitol 1964)
The Beach Boys - Santa's Got An Airplane (Capitol 1977)
Valerie Masters - Christmas Calling (RGM 1964)
Pet Shop Boys - It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas (Fan Club 1997)
Teenage Fanclub - Jesus Christ (Creation 1997) (Under The Influence)
Dropkick - Scampi for Xmas (Download 2007)
Dan Lyth - Maybe This Baby Could Save Us All (Moojuice 2009)
Twice As Much/Vashti Bunyan - Coldest Night of the Year (Immediate 1967)
Darlene Love - White Christmas (Philles 1963) (Connect 3)
Julian Casablancas - I Wish It Was Christmas Today (Rough Trade 2009) (Connect 3)
The Del-Vetts - I Want A Boy for Christmas (End 1961) (Connect 3)
Attic Lights/Cerys Matthes - Santa's Girlfriend (Island 2008)
Sufjan Stevens - Joy To The World (Asthmatic Kitty 2005) (Two of a Kind)
Sufjan Stevens - It's Christmas! Let's Be Glad (Asthmatic Kitty 2001) (Two of a Kind)
Nat King Cole - The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot (Capitol 1953)
Chris Rea - Driving Home for Christmas (Magnet 1988)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

Good day, good health and have a great Christmas. I'll be back on the 27th for a modern Jocknroll episode of my show as I figure everyone is sick of Christmas records by then.

The Cat
=^..^=

The BAMS Awards 2009 - We Have A Winner!

Lloyd Meredith, from the mighty fine Peenko blog polled a large number of the Scottish music blogs to ascertain their favourite albums of the year. It's hardly a surprise that only one of my selections made the final list but I'm so far out of touch with what 'the kids' are listening to I might as well be on Jupiter.

Anyway, here's Lloyd's announcement of the results:

*drum roll*

"Hey Boys and Girls

Now for the moment you might have been waiting for/forgotten about, it's the results of all of your top ten albums from this year and you'll find out in a second who won. First off, can I just say a massive thank you to everyone who took part, I know that I caused quite a few headaches for some of you. Since this might become an annual event I have decided to give it a title. As the website/bloggers album of the year was a bit drab, I have decided to go with, 'The Scottish Bloggers and Music Sites Award 2009', or the 'Scottish BAMS Award 2009' (your choice, the BAMS bit just amused me).

Anyway, the bit that you have all been waiting for; our winner. After totalling up all of your top tens, it was good to see such a wide variation in your choices, in all we had a grand total of 166 albums represented and it really did go down to the wire. The winner for this year was........drum roll........The Phantom Band with "Checkmate Savage", who pipped the Animal Collective at the post. Having noted all of your top tens as they came through, it was fascinating to see how many different outcomes we almost had. Anyway, here's how the final top twenty looks (the scores are in brackets)

1. The Phantom Band - Checkmate Savage (61)
2. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion (54)
3. De Rosa - Prevention (53)
4. King Creosote - Flick the V's (51)
5. Withered Hand - Good News (45)
6. The Twilight Sad - Forget The Night Ahead (43)
7. We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls (40)
8. Beerjacket - Animosity (38)
9. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More (32)
9. Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career (32) - my choice!
11. My Latest Novel - Deaths and Entrances (28)
11. Malcolm Middleton - Waxing Gibbous (28)
13. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - s/t (25)
14. You Already Know - s/t (24)
14. Broken Records - Until the Earth Begins to Part (24)
16. The XX - s/t (23)
17. The Antlers - Hospice (21)
18. Sufjan Stevens - The BQE (19)
18. And So I Watch You From Afar (19)
20. Wilco - The Album (18)

If you would like a break down of how all of the voting panned out then just let me know and I'll send you the spreadsheets, god this is sounding far too business like. Anyway, here's the list of all of the blogs/websites that took part, it includes some ex-pats and our very own honorary Scot...
17 Seconds, AyeTunes, Dear Scotland, Earz Mag, Elba Sessions, Glasgow Podcart, Hooligans Lament, Jim Gellatly, JocknRoll, Jockrock, Kowalskiy, Last Years Girl, Love Shack Baby, Manic Pop Thrills, My Portiswasp Says, Off the Beaten Tracks, The Pop Cop, Products of a Gaseous Brain, Song By Toad, The Blues Bunny, The Daily Growl, The Spill, The Steinberg Principle, The Vinyl Villain and Under the Radar.

A mighty fine list if I do say so myself, thanks once again to all of you for taking part.

I have also managed to grab a quote from Andy from the band (hence the delay in me emailing you all). Here's what he had to say....

"This makes us feel very honoured because the opinion of people out there giving opinions is what matters most, rather than the financially influenced press. It always amazes me that people would take it upon themselves to go out and champion a band or an album or a band for no material gain, but it gives me faith in human nature. Blogs and reviews have been the only advertising we've ever had. Apart from all those people who got online and promoted us, we'd like to thank those little almost-stale doughnuts you get in big tubs from Sainsburys for keeping us fat during the recording. We obviously also have our Producer Paul Savage and the wonderful people at Chemikal Underground to thank for letting us do what we want. These guys are the quiet heroes of Scottish music for sure."

Cheers
Lloyd (Peenko)"

So there you have it, no Cheryl Cole, no Coldplay and, thankfully, no Joe McBlackberry. For the record I chose the following albums:

Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
Dropkick – Abelay Hotel
Trashcan Sinatras – In the Music
Colin MacIntyre – Island
Sergeant – Sergeant
Ian Brown – My Way
Prefab Sprout – Let’s Change the World with Music
God Help The Girl – God Help The Girl
Jackie Leven – Winter: Men in Prison/Munich Blues
Butcher Boy – React or Die

Dan Lyth's excellent The Fat Man and the Baby Boy was received too late.

Dan Lyth - Merry Christmas

I heard a track from Dan Lyth's "The Fat Man and the Baby Boy" album on Jim Gellatly's Radio Magnetic show and I was blown away. In the first of two Alternative Xmas shows, Jim played "Maybe This Baby Could Save Us All!" and I was hooked. Fearing it was a one-off I headed off to Dan's website and heard some more of his stuff. What can I say? I bought the album instantly.

But this isn't just any old CD, oh no. The sleeves are individually letter pressed by hand and wrapped in jute twine (bought from B&Q apparently!). Each copy is signed and numbered. The CD has six tracks, four original songs and two covers. If you order four copies and get a fifth one free, including individual gift tags. An ideal Christmas present for loved ones methinks.

Not only that but you get an immediate download of all the tracks in your choice of just about any format you could desire. Wow! The songs and packaging doff their cap to Sufjan Stevens' "Songs for Christmas" but that's no bad thing at all.

The excellent blog also goes into detail about the putting together of the packaging as well as the music. If there's any justice in the world Dan Lyth should be big in 2010.

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/danlyth
Website: http://www.danlyth.com/

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287AM - Sunday 13 december 2009D

It's week two of my festive fun and games as I present the following Christmas menu for your delectation on "Where The Action Is":

Eels - Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas (Dreamworks 1998)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
The Crystals - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Phil Spector 1963)
Rufus Wainwright - Spotlight On Christmas (Unreleased 2004))
Jackie DeShannon - Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown (Imperial 1969)
Three Wise Men (aka XTC) - Thanks for Christmas (Virgin 1983)
Darlene Love - Marshmallow World (Philles 1963)
Aztec Camera - Walk Out To Winter (Rough Trade 1983)
Kate Bush - December Will Be Magic Again (EMI 1980) (Connect 3)
Julie London - Warm December (Capitol 1958) (Connect 3)
Paper Dolls - Remember December (Utopia 1970) (Connect 3)
Marvin Gaye - Purple Snowflakes (Motown 1964)
Kim Weston - Wish You A Merry Christmas (Motown 1993)
Manic Street Preachers - Ghosts of Christmas (Download 2007)
Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans - Here Comes Santa Claus (Philles 1963)
Big Star - Jesus Christ (Rykodisc 1974)
France Gall - Il Neige (Philips 1965) (Foreign Language)
Nana Mouskouri - Mon Beau Sapin (Fontana 1972) (Foreign Language)
The Funk Brothers - Winter Wonderland (Motown 1993) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Stevie Wonder - Everyone's A Kid at Christmas (Motown 1993)
The Carpenters - Winter Wonderland (Medley) (A&M 1978)
The Beach Boys - Merry Christmas Baby (Capitol 1964)
The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick (alternate mix) (Capitol 1964)
Sufjan Stevens - Put The Lights On The Tree (Asthmatic Kitty 2006)
The Orchids - Mr Scrooge (Decca 1964)
Camera Obscura - The Blizzard (4AD 2009) (Under The Influence)
Jethro Tull - Ring Out, Solstice Bells (Chrysalis 1976)
Connie Francis - Baby's First Christmas (MGM 1961)
Fountains of Wayne - I Want An Alien for Christmas (Atlantic 1997)
Patti Page -Pretty Snowflakes (Mercury 1955) (Connect 3)
Claudine Longet - Snow (A&M 1967) (Connect 3)
The Beach Girls - Skiing In The Snow (Dynovoice 1965) (Connect 3)
Louis Armstrong - Cool Yule (Label Unknown 1953)
Camera Obscura - Happy New Year (Andmoresound 2001) (Two of a Kind)
Mary Margaret O'Hara - What Are You Doing New Year's Eve (Virgin 1991) (Two of a Kind)
Nat King Cole - The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot (Capitol 1953)
Yo La Tengo - It's Christmas Time (Egon 2002)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

Good day and good health.

The Cat
=^..^=

The Cat on "Where The Action Is" Kirkcaldy VRN 1287 AM - Sunday 6 December 2009

It's a Cliff-free zone as I present the first of my three special festive editions of Where The Action Is.

The Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping (Ze/Island 1981)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)
Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (Philles 1963)
Big Star - Jesus Christ (Rykodisc 1974)
Rilo Kiley - Xmas Cake (Nettwerk 2003)
The Ronettes - Frosty The Snowman (Philles 2003)
Margo Guryan - I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You (Demo 1967)
Etta James - Merry Christmas Baby (Private 1998)
The Soul Stirrers - Christmas Means Love (Checker 1968) (Connect 3)
Shonen Knife - Space Christmas (Seminal Twang 1991) (Connect 3)
Ryan Adams - Hey Parker It's Christmas (Promo 2003) (Connect 3)
The Searchers - The Happiest Christmas of All (Unreleased)
Alma Cogan - Never Do a Tango With An Eskimo (HMV 1955)
Ron Sexsmith - Maybe This Christmas (Nettwerk 2002)
Vikki Carr - It Must Have Been Mistletoe (Delta 1992)
The Flirtations - Christmas Time Is Here Again (Deram 1968)
Katja Ebstein - Wovon Traumt Ein Weilnachtsbaum Im Mai (Liberty 1969) (Foreign Language)
Gillian Hills - La Tete A L'Envers (Barclay 1961) (Foreign Language)
The Ventures - Jingle Bell Rock (Liberty 1963) (Half-Time Instrumental)
April March & Los Cinchos - Last Train To Christmas (Sympathy for the Record Industry 1998)
Sufjan Stevens - Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance (Asthmatic Kitty 2006)
The Beach Boys - The Man With All The Toys (Capitol 1964)
The Beach Boys - Santa's Beard (Capitol 1964)
The O'Jays - Christmas Ain't Christmas, New Years Ain't New Years Without The One You Love (Neptune 1969)
Paul Revere - Wear A Smile at Christmas (Columbia 1967)
The Cocteau Twins -Winter Wonderland (Fontana 1993) (Under The Influence)
James Brown - Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto (King 1968)
The Wedding Present featuring Simone White - Holly Jolly Hollywood (Scopitone 2008)
Elton John - Step Into Christmas (DJ 1973)
Eartha Kitt - Santa Baby (Christmas) (RCA Victor 1954) (Connect 3)
Fountains of Wayne - The Man In The Santa Suit (Atlantic 1997) (Connect 3)
Jackson 5 - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Motown 1972) (Connect 3)
Brenda Lee - Strawberry Snow (Decca 1964)
The Ronettes - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Philles 1963) (Two of a Kind)
The Ronettes - Sleigh Ride (Philles 1963) (Two of a Kind)
The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble (Decca 1967) (show theme)

Good day and good health.

The Cat
=^..^=

Pin Ups - Hogmanay Ball

EVENT - PIN UPS HOGMANAY BALL 2
DATE - THURSDAY 31ST DECEMBER
VENUE - THE FLYING DUCK, 142 RENFIELD STREET, GLASGOW
DOORS - 9PM - 4AM
ENTRY - £10 IN ADVANCE
PERFORMING LIVE - ROD JONES (IDLEWILD), PAPER PLANES
GUEST DJS - TWILIGHT SAD, FINDO GASK
PIN UPS DJS PLAYING THIER INIMITABLE MIX OF NEW & CLASSIC INDIE, PUNK, SOUL & ELECTROPOP
WWW.PINUP-NIGHTS.CO.UK

Following the sell out success of last years first ever Pin Up Nights Hogmanay Ball, we’re doing it all over again. We’ll be pulling out all the stops to make it the best party in Glasgow this New Year with the usual mix of Pin Ups nonsense, incredible live acts and big name guest Djs.

Our headline live act is ROD JONES (IDLEWILD). Guitarist of Idlewild and one half of the songwriting team that has brought you classics such as "I'm a Message", "When I Argue I See Shapes", "Roseability", "American English" and bona fide UK top 10 hit "You Held The World In Your Arms", Rod and his live band "The Birthday Suit" will be playing songs from his forthcoming album "A Sentimental Education" and if you behave yourselves he might just throw in some Idlewild too!!

Also playing live are the fantastic PAPER PLANES . Cracking debut single “Doris Day” has rightly inspired rabid hyperbole across the board (such as “The best debut single from a Glasgow band in living memory” from the normally level-headed Keith Bruce in the Herald) and the band will be playing their unique brand of surf-indie live in the Main Room.

Following their recent world tour in promotion of their 2009 album “Forget The Night Ahead” we’re delighted to welcome THE TWILIGHT SAD as very special Guest DJs. The entire band will be in attendance and treating you to a fine selection of their favourite tunes. Joining The Twilight Sad on the Pin Ups wheels of steel will be FINDO GASK. We have exhausted all our superlatives this year for Findo Gask – trust us, they’re dead good – and we’re delighted that the chaps will be on the decks to treat us to their high calibre selections.

We’ll be adding more action to the bill and in amongst all this drama the Pin Ups DJs (Baillie, Iain OC, James Butcher Cassidy, John D, Niall and Paul Smith) will be on hand to keep you on the dancefloor from the first instant at 9pm to the very end at 4am, and, after a very popular stint in the Kitchen at our September Circus, all-lady DJ troupe Bow-Peep will also be back in action to lend lady-power to the choice of tunes. The plan at the moment is to have a good rowdy Pin Ups disco in the Main Room and a definitive selection of what we consider to be the “Best of the Noughties” in the Kitchen. The Pin Ups boffins will be presenting this selection in a highly scientific fashion. There's talk of labcoats, clipboards, graphs and much much more!

As you would expect, the nonsense won’t end there with negotiations underway as we speak to have an old bloke playing accordion in the kitchen to give you that authentic Hogmanay flavour, a tall dark handsome stranger handing out delicious black bun, plenty of shortbread for everyone, the chance to become a bard with our special Hogmanay Aidan Moffat masks and much much more...

Although we’re calling at a Ball, there’s no formal dress code or any of those shenanigans at Pin Up Nights. If the chaps want to suave up in the style of Rabbie Burns and the ladies fancy the plunging necklines of saucy Jackie Bird then feel free but the choice is entirely yours!

Despite a loaded bill on the most expensive night of the year we’re keeping the ticket price down to £10 for an advance tickets and £12 on the night.

Most other nights in Glasgow are charging between £14 - £40 so we hope you’ll agree this is excellent value. We’re also confident you won’t find any comparable nights in town. In fact we can pretty much guarantee this, because over the last 2 months we’ve been in touch with loads of top Scottish musicians to sound them out for Pin Ups, and like crazed Scottish musician stalkers we can now tell you exactly what most of them are up to on Hogmanay! Feel free to ask us about your favourite (although disappointingly the answer is that most will be at home with their families....we know....BORING!)

Lastly, thanks to all of you for your support of Pin Up Nights throughout 2009. Its been our best year yet with loads of unforgettable action like The Pin Ups Circus with Naboo, The Festival in June, Florence and The Machine and Friendly Fires in January, our star studded ladies night in February, Pin Up Frights at Halloween....the list goes on.

Pin Up Nights.xx

P.S. Check oot last year's antics

P.P.S. Up next for Pin Ups in 2010 is a Guest DJ appearance by the chaps from LATE OF THE PIER at the end of January, and an NME Aftershow Party (Guest DJs THE BIG PINK and BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB) on Friday 5th February.