Daily noise that works faster than a stream of caffeine
7 August 2024
72-year-old PETER PERRETT, former frontman of British new wavers The Only Ones (1976–1982, 2007–2017) releases his 3th solo album,
named The Cleansing on November 1st.
It features contributions from Johnny Marr, primal screamer Bobby Gillespie, Fontaines D.C. guitarist Carlos O’Connell, and Dream Wife guitarist Alice Go.
Perrett: “Something inside me would like to make my best-ever album.
Seeing Johnny Cash doing his best work right at the end makes me feel
like just because I’m old doesn’t mean I’m useless.”
First single I WANNA GO WITH DIGNITY is a zestful riff-ripper.
It features Bobby Gillespie (also present in the video).
Wake up people,
for the one and only Peter Perrett.
Their most famous single was/is ANOTHER GIRL, ANOTHER PLANET (more than
24 million streams on Spotify), from the band’s debut album. A 24-Karat classic,
that hasn’t aged a bit. Timeless nugget.
Artist: PETER PERRETT Who: ex-frontman of 70s New Wave legends The Only Ones Album:HUMANWORLD / His 2nd solo LP Sound: Perrett still is a romantic at heart, both nostalgic and always
longing, and still is a intimate storyteller & appealing songsmith
Going back in sonic history looking for memorable albums…
2 April 2018
BAND: THE ONLY ONES
ALBUM: Self-titled debut
RELEASED: 4 April 1978 – 40 years ago
ALL MUSIC’s MARK DEMING wrote: “The Only Ones were a band that became identified with the British punk scene largely because leader Peter Perrett had a funny voice and could write a great straightforward rock & roll song at a time when such virtues were possessed almost exclusively by the faster-and-louder brigade. This helps explain why the Only Ones’ self-titled debut album is regarded as a classic of the first wave of U.K. punk despite the presence of the mid-tempo jazz-accented ‘Breaking Down’, the ’50s pop moves ‘The Whole of the Law’, ‘The Beast’ which sounds like some sort of lethargic neo-boogie and the graceful semi-acoustic
semi-samba ‘No Peace for the Wicked.’ When ‘The Only Ones’ felt like rocking out, they did it brilliantly. Along with the instant classic ‘Another Girl, Another Planet’, this LP includes the sinister but rollicking ‘City of Fun’ and the feedback-drenched crunch of ‘The Immortal Story’. Their eclecticism was rooted in a genuine talent for embracing different sounds rather than
the inability to pick a style and master it. Every track is memorable in its own way, and these
ten songs always have heart, soul, and honesty to spare, and if that isn’t always the benchmark of punk rock, it’s at least in the neighborhood.”
TURN UP THE VOLUME says: Doomed glamour and deeply dark romanticism extra emphasized by frontman Peter Perrett‘s weirdly attractive, vulnerable voice – balancing mysteriously somewhere between Syd Barrett and Lou Reed – his pitch-dark stories and John Perry‘s outstanding guitar firework performance.
SINGLES: Another Girl, Another Planet / Lovers Of Today
* ANOTHER GIRL ANOTHER PLANET – timeless diamond…
* LOVERS OF TODAY – We ain’t got nothing to say / We’re lovers of today…
PETER PERRETT – Botanique, Brussels – 17 November 2017
Despite the fact that British legends THE ONLY ONES emerged in the explosive, but quite short era of punk and new wave their characteristic, amplified power guitar pop brilliance
hadn’t much to do with the revolutionary DIY scene at the time. The London band featured bloody good, experienced musicians and with Peter Perrett, their charismatic frontman and singer/songwriter they had a troubled genius who wrote black-pitch stories about death, drugs addiction, and tormented love that hit countless souls. His dark desire for
all sorts of tragic human themes was obviously inspired/caused by his heroin abuse.
His intriguing, melancholic voice matched their dazzling, electrical melodies hauntingly perfect. The band released three albums – Even Serpents Shineis my all time favorite – between 1976-1982 and scored a knockout classic single with ‘Another Girl, Another Planet’ back in 1978…
Enough about last century. Back to the present. Last June, the now 65-year-old Perrett released his first proper solo album ‘How The West Was Won’. Simply the most touching record I heard all year. A highly affecting work of moody passion with several emotional songs about his eternal love for his wife of many years, Zena, but also gripping musings about his turbulent past and striking reflections on his current state of mind. Overall this soul-stirring longplayer is about the one and only essential drug in life: LOVE.
Yesterday the man landed in Brussels. Assisted by a splendiferous 5-piece ‘children‘ band, featuring two of his sons and two cool ladies (electric violin/keys & tambourine/keys), Perrett moved us all intensely with a striking performance for heart and soul. Of course, they played that Only Ones masterstroke but this spellbinding concert was mostly about now, about how Perrett feels today, about ‘How The West Was Won’ and that is something quite special. From amplified lullabies to mind-blowing jams led by brilliant guitarist Jamie Perrett taking the jubilant audience to an ecstatic level. And yes, the veteran’s magnetic voice is still spot on and, most remarkably, he enjoyed every single second of the entire show and looks really like a genuinely happy survivor, still highly capable of enrapturing people, off and on stage. Unlike the late Johnny Thunders once sang ‘You Can’t Put Your
Arms Around a Memory’ I’ll embrace this memorable evening forever…
Here’s the magnificent HOW THE WEST WAS WON in full…
