Britrock heroes OASIS released their anthemic piece CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA
as a single in the US, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada today 30 years ago,
on 13 May 1996. Nope, not in the UK.
“How many special people change?
How many lives are living strange?
Where were you while we were gettin’ high?
Slowly walking down the hall
Faster than a cannonball
Where were you while we were gettin’ high?”
“Someday, you will find me caught beneath the landslide
In a champagne supernova in the sky
Someday you will find me caught beneath the landslide
In a champagne supernova, a champagne supernova in the sky”
Legendary mod rockers THE JAM (1972-1982), fronted by their flamboyant
singer-songwriter Paul Weller had their 5th LP, titled SOUND AFFECTS, out
on 28 November 1980, this day 45 years ago.
It reached #2 in the UK.
BBC Music wrote: “With six released in five years, each one of the Jam’s albums
is a distinct stage on Paul Weller’s journey from callow, Thatcher-supporting yoof
to mature writer with more on his mind than just teenage angst and political
disatisfaction.
Sound Affects shows a band that was being pushed by its leader slightly
beyond their level of ability. After the full-on soul revival of The Gift he was
to abandon the three-piece for pastures new. But on this LP you get to hear
the Jam at their absolute peak.”
PAUL WELLER who started his career as the main man of mod punks The Jam (1972-1982), afterward he started The Style Council (1983-1989)
with keyboardist Mick Talbot and he released his first solo LP in 1992.
Today 20 years ago, on 11 October 2025 his 8th album,
named AS IS NOW came out. It peaked at #4 in the UK.
Pitchfork said: “Where on the first listen I found it merely okay, it’s a record that
reveals itself as a work of surprising depth and detail when you give it multiple spins
and start noticing things like the clever trombone counterpoint in the verses of
“Here’s the Good News”.
For a guy with nothing left to prove, Weller sounds determined not to fade away,
and as long as he keeps making records like this every couple of years, there’s no
danger of that happening.”
Cover star Paul Weller who releases his 18th album, named El Dorado,
a covers one, next Friday, July 25 talks about his late father and late The Jam drummer Rick Buckler.
Along with this issue comes a free CD that rounds up a hefty selection of
deep Weller cuts, B-sides and rarities, encompassing bucolic psychedelia,
cosmic shuffles and even a 10-minute krautrock epic.
Also features on Big Thief, Kevin Rowland, Roy Harper,
Lana Del Rey, Mac DeMarco, new album reviews and
more.
You can purchase a copy and let it
be sent to your address. Info HERE.
Band:MANTRA OF THE COSMOS Who: British supergroup featuring happy mondays Shaun Ryder and Bez, Andy Bell (Ride/Oasis) and drummer Zak Starkey, Ringo‘s on, who came up with the project’s
idea.
TUTV: A blaring belter of a banger. Disco-punk pzazz. Noel Gallager
is somewhere in there too, they say. I have no clue what he’s doing.
Anyway, this a bonkers tune.
Band: KNEECAP Who: Belfast‘s sharp-mouthed, notorious rap team KNEECAP – Mo Chara,
Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí – hip & hop around with a knife between
their teeth since 2017.
They released their debut album 3cag in 2018
and went viral last year with follow-up Fine Art.
Lately, they make headlines with their loud and clear, ongoing support for Palestine.
They got heavily critiqued for it when they played Coachella Festival in Indo, California
last April.
To emphasize the whole political charade the band go after the Tory trade minister Kemi Badenoch who started to hunt them back in 2023 when he withdrew an
arts grant awarded to the band.
The trio brought a discrimination case against the U.K. government
and won, donating the proceeds to Belfast community groups. Yes!
“I wrote this one when I was feeling stuck and stagnant, but when I finally
brought it to the band they really breathed new life into it and made it feel
magic again!!”
TUTV: This sickly sticky steam-riff-roller drives me crazy. Head-twisting stuff.
Band: THE IRRATIONAL LIBRARY Who:The Irrational Library is a Dutch-American rock band with its roots
firmly planted in both the regional and international counterculture. The Dutch-American band produces a raw, dirty groove influenced by punk,
provo and punk icons. Their poetry is packed with social criticism.
Track: TRUTH SERUM
First single from the quartet’s new, upcoming
5th LP ‘The Saying Of It All’. More details TBA.
Artwork by political cartoonistTRIK
TUTV: TIL move and groove again with brio and gusto motorized by a striking
drum/bass tandem, while a 60s psychedelic flute flutters like a butterfly throughout
the song. Frontman Joshua Baumgarten draws your aural attention (as usual) with
his near-rapping phrasing of the clear-cut lyrics.
Artist: GINA BURCH Who: Co-founder/bassist of British punkettes The Raincoats (1977-1984, 1996)
were one of the top indie bands in the UK. They released 3 LPs, then called it a day.
In 2023 she released her critically acclaimed solo debut
LP I Play My Bass. It was released through Jack White’s
Third Man Records.
New album artwork
Track: DOOM MONGER
New single of her 2nd LP, named Trouble,
out on 11 July, again via Third Man Records.
TUTV: We’re in the middle of Armagideon Time as we know it. Doomsday is just around the corner. The good news is that this
dub reggae earworm will activate your hips and uplift your worried
state of mind. If we have to go, why not with a slow-mo sway.
Artist: DAVID BYRNE Who: The former talking
head voice/face.
Track: EVERYBODY LAUGHS
First single from his upcoming 9th solo album (that’s already one more than
with Talking Heads). Who Is The Sly? will see the day of light on September 5th.
TUTV: Imagine a beach bathing in the sun and a cocktail bar serving piña colada
while enjoying this feel-good upper. A luminous light in a dark world. Laugh.
“The song is essentially about people only wanting the sweet stuff in life, and sugar coating anything and everything that may be a difficult subject. We live in a society where social media is treated like the Holy Bible, simultaneously releasing dopamine hits, a highly addictive drug, when posting pictures for ‘instant gratification.”
TUTV: This happens when The Ultra Violets eat too much sugar. They pick up their instruments and go mental, producing mental hullabaloo for mental people, like
you and me. Roaring ripper. Flaming score.
Band: LOVINA FALLS Who: The dark dream-pop project of Boston-based singer-songwriter,
multi-instrumentalist, and producer s Valerie Forgione. In 2023, they
released their debut album, Calculating The Angle Of Our Descent.
Forgione: “‘Light and Low’ is about recognizing that as time goes on, it’s ok to let go of old
and ‘historic thinking’ to create a new path through and out of the Thicket of Now. It’s about knowing that when things change, the path is not predestined. Change the change. Move with conviction but head gracefully into the unknown, light and low.”
Collage art by Lindsey Walker, design by Valerie Forgione
TUTV: Lovina Falls take you on a swift gothwavish ride from the get-go, propelled by a motorik bass riff, nervy drum hits, jittery tremelo riffs and poignant vocals. Fast-forward, without brakes nor breaks, speeding like a runaway train. Light And Low unfolds like a salvo of light flashes out of the dark, causing a rapid eye movement sensation. Intriguing, right? Absolutely. Don’t wait, get started.
Artist:JEHNNY BETH Who: Former France-born frontwoman
of female post-punk band Savages.
Track: OBESSION
Single from her 2nd solo LP called You Heartbreaker You.
It’ll land on August 29th. She wrote the album with partner
and collaborator Johnny Hostile.
Beth: “We’re living in a dark time, full of drama and barbarous tragedy.
It became clear to me that, in these times, we either learn how to scream
really well, or we learn how to whisper.”
TUTV: Be prepared for a savage industrial shocker showing her
amadant intention to make an agressive sound on her new record. Obsession is a splintering bombshell with a raging Beth finale.
TUTV: Blimey. Lobsterbomb return with an adrenalized missile, going fast-forward,
full steam ahead from the kick-off. And they never slow down. No breaks, no brakes.
135 seconds of eruptive emotions and high-voltage dash. Imagine The Stooges fronted
by riot grrrl Kathleen Hanna. Boisterous punk turbulence. Bang-on.
p|m: “We wrote and recorded it ourselves, delivered in our trademark double-team
deadpan vocal style, rhyming “80’s car” with “Californiarr”. This one has Arctic Monkeys
swagger and Mannequin Pussy edge, featuring a one-shot video in an iconic venue’s
bathroom.”
TUTV: Punk-pop spunky, sassy spirit, sharp-mouthed flair, dry humor, word spielerei, and utterly cool. That’s what p|m is about. This new non-stop drum-thumping tune zigzags left and right, forth and back flavored with slap-happy vocals. I’m quite sure that peach|melba will become your new favourite bathroom band.
TUTV: This burning funky-punky soul-burst is revved-up with ardent passion, electrical energy, warm-blooded vocals and sultry sax. Shake your booty and scream your lungs out when the clamoring chorus pops up. Sly Stone would have said there’s a riot going on. And it is. Spread the gospel, people.
Artist: NELSON SOBRAL Who: Singer-songwriter-guitarist hailing from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His music is as much Americana and blues as it is soul and rock’n’roll, perfectly balanced with the energy and sound of each of his respective influences.
TUTV:Sobral‘s cover of Cyndi Lauper‘s supreme 1984 classic Time After Time (more
than 1 billion streams on Spotify) is a soulful and enticing accomplishment. A gripping vocal performance, bringing the emotive timbre of the sublime voices of Springsteen and Seger to mind.
Artist: PAUL WELLER Who: The 67-year-old former The Jam and Style Council
maestro, who started his solo career back in 1990.
Track: I STARTED A JOKE
A cover of the Bee Gees‘ 1967 goosebumps ballad.
It’ll appear on his 18th solo LP, a covers one, named El Dorado, out on July 25th.
TUTV: Weller‘s version is pretty poignant and appealing.
At 67 PAUL WELLER is one of those enduring artists with a high percentage of music in
his blood. Following his angry young man years withThe Jam and five LPs with his posh project The Style Council he started his top-ranking solo career in 1992. Since then, he has released 17 albums.
And #18, named El Dorado, is out on July 25th.
It’s a covers album (tracklist below). One of them
is the Bee Gees‘ 1968 pearl I STARTED A JOKE. Weller‘s take is classy.
PAUL WELLER
BEE GEES
TRACKLIST
01 “Handouts In The Rain” (Richie Havens) 02 “Small Town Talk” (Bobby Charles) 03 “El Dorado” (Eamon Friel) 04“White Line Fever” (The Flying Burrito Brothers) 05 “One Last Cold Kiss” (Christy Moore) 06 “When You Are A King” (White Plains) 07“Pinball” (Brian Protheroe) 08“Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire” (Willie Griffin) 09“I Started A Joke” (Bee Gees) 10 “Never The Same” (Lal and Mike Waterson) 11 “Lawdy Rolla” (The Guerrillas) 12 “Nobody’s Fool” (The Kinks) 13“Journey” (Duncan Browne) 14 “Daltry Street” (Jake Fletcher / PP Arnold) 15 “Clive’s Song” (Hamish Imlach)
Modfather PAUL WELLER broke up The Jam (1972-1982), one of the British punk rock bands to form soul pop act THE STYLE COUNCIL with Dexy Midnight Runners/Merton Parka‘s keyboardist Mike Talbot.
Weller introduced his new project at an anti-nuclear benefit
gig in London on 7 May 1983, today 42 years ago.
They released 5 albums and had 7 Top-10 hits
in the UK. They were also pretty successful in Australia and New Zealand during the 1980s.
– SPEAK LIKE A CHILD –
Debut single
– SHOUT TO THE TOP –
Stand-alone hit single from 1984
From The Jam, through The Style Council and solo stardom, Paul Weller’s 50 Greatest Songs are celebrated over 20 pages in this new issue, including an all-new interview with the man himself.
That’s entertainment? No question! And there are two covers to collect.
Also in the issue: Ringo Starr – the man in full; Edwyn Collins’ miraculous journey; 1965’s pop revolution. Plus: The Tubs; Donovan; Wilco; INXS; Quincy Jones; Jeff Buckley; Jesse Ed Davis; King Jammy; Eddie Chacon; Träd GräsOch Stenar; The House Of Love; then All Back To Vashti Bunyan’s!
This month’s Free CD is named Beat Surrender. 15 Mod And Northern Soul Floorfillers, featuring James Carr, P.P. Arnold, Wynder K. Frogg, The ‘5’ Royales and an array of irresistible fruggers.
You can purchase a copy and let it be sent yo your home address. Info here.
