Second Christmas present.

Given my life, I could easily have chosen 'Ska' tracks for all twenty numbers. I've had to resist the temptation.

My second present to you is 'Storm Warning' by Lyn Taitt and The Boys. It's classic Jamaican Ska, that first appeared in the early 1960's. It coincided with a huge wave of optimism that accompanied Jamaican independence in 1962. Those hopes were soon to be dashed - the departing British left the Jamaicans big debts and a corrupt network of politicians who were in hock to British and American interests.

The optimism of Ska was pretty much destroyed by the gangsters who controlled the record companies and the sound systems (like Edward Seaga) meanwhile America and Britain ensured that the country was to be run by anti progressive politicians (like Edward Seaga).

This tune perfectly reflects that retreat from optimism. Hurricane season is no joke in the Carribean and the development of gangsterism and violence on the island was no joke either. This track captures the menace in the air - something that was exported to Britain when the music arrived in the late 1960's.

Enjoy the menace of Lyn Taitt and The Boys 'Storm Warning' here; 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyOxbPj44OA

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

Skanking with The Reggulaters at The Horns.

After a really bad day there was no alternative; we had to get out of the house;

And see 'The Reggulaters' and there have been some changes.

Best of all, we had a chat with Carl Gaywood who used to play drums with 'The Skasouls' and now is with 'The Reggulaters' - these days they really are the dream team.

I can't think of a better way of forgetting our troubles than having a night of authentic Trojan Ska; 

The band were on great form and although I kept telling myself I needed to stay sat down I did have a couple of dances, especially to Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder they come".

This seems very appropriate at the moment;


The Harder They come.

Well, they tell me of a pie up in the sky
Waiting for me when I die
But between the day you're born and when you die
They never seem to hear even your cry

So as sure as the sun will shine
I'm gonna get my share now, what's mine
And then the harder they come
The harder they fall, one and all
Ooh, the harder they come
The harder they fall, one and all

Well, the oppressors are trying to keep me down
Trying to drive me underground
And they think that they have got the battle won
I say forgive them Lord, they know not what they've done

'Cause, as sure as the sun will shine
I'm gonna get my share now, what's mine
And then the harder they come
The harder they fall, one and all
Ooh, the harder they come
Harder they fall, one and all

And I keep on fighting for the things I want
Though I know that when you're dead you can't
But I'd rather be a free man in my grave
Than living as a puppet or a slave

So as sure as the sun will shine
I'm gonna get my share now, what's mine
And then the harder they come
The harder they fall, one and all
Ooh, the harder they come
Harder they fall, one and all
Hey, the harder they come
Harder they fall, one and all
What I say now
What I Say now

What I say now
What I say, one time
The harder they come, the harder they fall, one and all
The harder they come, the harder they fall, one and all.

 

That's a fighting song from Jimmy Cliff!

And then I got given a present which I'm looking forward to listening to;

It was a really great night, nice to be driving home at midnight.

The Reggulaters are playing a lot of gigs these days - catch them if you can!

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me; neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

Still just about moving with The Reggulaters down at The Horns.

It used to be me that dragged Robyn out - these days Robyn's doing the dragging.

We went to see 'The Reggulaters' at 'The Horns' down in Watford.

They were on cracking form - the second set was brilliant.
This is hardline Trojan Ska - 1969 pure and simple.

No nutty sound of 'Madness', no 'Two-Tone' (which I love) just Trojan.

Good strong bass line;

Fine Brass section;

Great keyboards....just a lot of fun;

 

 

Most of the old favourites are there but since I last saw them back in September, they've added a few more. There's more Reggae but they still did 'Return of Django', so that's alright.

 

I haven't been out that much recently - my music scene is dying a bit and venues have been closing this year.

 

 

The last time I was at 'The Horns' I had a walking frame with me. This time I was moving a bit - so much so that someone in a worse state than me (is that possible?) came up and said; "At least you're still moving a bit".

 

Which I guess is true.

 

And we left 'The Horns' at midnight, which isn't such a bad thing either.

 

Neil Harris

(a don't stop till you drop production)

 

Home:  helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

 

Contact me:  neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

 

 

The Skasouls at Mr Bumble.

If you followed my blog for any length of time you'll have seen The Skasouls before - probably the biggest thing to come out of Staines since Hard-Fi;

On Friday we headed down to Mr Bumble on the edge of Camberley - always a good night at Mr Bumble - we made a new friend;

This is Allan and Nick Tidbury on brass; the band plays Two-Tone/Ska to a very high standard. Every night with The Skasouls is a lot of fun.

As you can see, I wasn't the only person who felt that way;

I'm missing Carl Gaywood, their longtime drummer, he brought different influences to them from old time Trojan Ska and Reggae.

These days there's more fun, more rock and I miss the old sound.

But we still ended up leaving after midnight, always fun The Skasouls, check them out for yourself!

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)

Home:  helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

The SkaSouls at The Riverside.

 



  blood

 

 

I'm sorry I'm late with my Blog - had a big old nosebleed in Tesco's - blood on the floor and everything.

 

 

Foolish people might think that I'd been overdoing it - how silly is that?



 

Last night? I'm here at The Riverside Club, Staines. It was massive - we only just got in.

Who was playing?

The mighty SkaSouls that's who.

 

 

 

 

 

Dance floor heaving, rafters vibrating, glasses clinking, toe tapping, Ska band.

 

Neil Harris

 

(a don't stop till you drop production)

 

Home:  helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

 

Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

 

 

 

 



The Reggulaters at the Horns.

 

 

 

As you can probably guess, this is the logo for The Horns in Watford. Voted best live venue in the South-East by several polls, it's got a great sound system and once in a while it's well worth making the long trek over there to see a great band.

 

Like, for example;



The

Reggulaters

As you can see, looking fairly dapper.

Like the Ramones T-Shirt!

It's the real old authentic Trojan records sound of the 1960's, played just the way it should be; great Bass and Guitar, a fine Saxophone, Drums and Keyboards to die for.

All that's missing is a trombone but as I don't like them - who cares?

Great atmosphere in The Horns, entirely due to an audience that came together just for Ska and wasn't disappointed by the time the doors shut.

Skinheads, Mods, me and Robyn and a rather mellow Rastafarian. And this guy;

 

Good crowd, good atmosphere, good night.

 

Neil Harris

 

(a don't stop till you drop production)

 

Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

 

Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com



The Reggulaters at The Carpenters Arms, Hayes.

That looks like the makings of a good Saturday night; The Reggulaters playing Hayes at The Carpenters Arms.

And that meant a whole lot of West London’s Skinheads were in Town (plus one MOD and Robyn)- thanks to everyone for a warm welcome.

What was in the bag?

Just the finest, clearest, cleanest rendition of the classic Ska and Rocksteady of Trojan Records back catalogue.

These are the Mighty Reggulaters;

 

And the Saxophone was in particulary good form on Saturday;

 

Not to forget the unforgettable sound of the keyboards;

Which made some of these classic dance tracks unbearably good and had me beaten in the hat department too.
If you click on a picture you get better quality and a slideshow.

Now if I’ve wetted your appetite how about a trip to The Brookhouse, Hayes on 11^th July when it’s all happening again?

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)
Home:  helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me : neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

 

The SkaSouls down at The Airman.

ska

Friday and more nostalgia – it’s got to stop and I’ve lined up a cure on Saturday night…..but once more couldn’t do at once more couldn;t daythe ny harm, could it?

I’m back at my old patch; Feltham and the Airman Pub to see The Skasouls.

 

I’ve been there when it’s all been about to go off and I’ve been there when it really has gone off but tonight there was a great atmosphere. It was a mixture of young people celebrating the end of a week before they went on ‘somewhere else’ and us old ‘uns enjoying a special band. It was packed solid.

There was dancing till midnight and a lot of familiar faces;

 

On the 25^th May at Chertsey, The SkaSouls are launching their new album with a big fanfare in front of a really big crowd – I’m guessing 500 will be packed into a marquee at The Chertsey Social club (you need to get tickets in advance for this one).

It’s going to be a bit too big for me, which is why I’ll probably give it a miss – but it will be great.

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production) 

Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

Contact;  neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

 

 

MoCara and The Dirt Royals at The Cave - Addlestone.

MoCara

I’ve been hyped – MoCara have a new single out;

 

And I got a request to review it – normally that doesn’t get a very good response from me but MoCara have taken some stuff I really like (Punk/Ska/Reggae) and mixed it all up. (Oh No they didn’t – did they?)

They did….but it works out fine – live.

Beg, Steal and Borrow is good – a punky feel without being nostalgia for old men.

Check it out here;

Beg, Steal or Borrow

But I hung on a bit before I did a review because ‘Undercover Festival’ (Bisley 19 – 21^st September) is holding a series of showcase nights at The Cave (Holly Tree, Addlestone) and I thought I’d come down and see the band live again.

I really enjoyed the first band on – ‘Dirt Royal’, a three piece from Brighton.

 

They look like MODS and sound like Punks.

Hey, they even dress like me! What’s not to like?

 Lots of their own stuff – no covers (OK there was ‘White Man in the Hammersmith Palais’ but they did that really well and, well; I was that man) – they are an exciting three piece with attitude to spare. Does this mean I’m going to have to travel to Brighton?

Possibly.

MoCara

It’s been three months since I last saw them and there’s been a lot of gigs, rehearsing and studio time since then;

 

They were also headlining last night and had more than a few fans in the hall;

There was also new stuff, including  ‘Beg, Steal and Borrow’ which is really good live, as I thought it would be.

And when they let go they do know how to do a bit of Ska as well.

Skankin’,

 And they even forced me to go all the way to

Caffe nero

to do my first download. Not happy about that, I can tell you.

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)

Home:  helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

Contact:  neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
Helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
   

The Reggulaters at The Brookhouse, Hayes

If you imagine a pub on an industrial scale - that's The Brookhouse. It's my first visit and when I got in I found a pub rammed full of youngsters and with the Jagermeister on tap.

Jagermeister is a German herbal liquer, drunk as a shot. It's an unlikely drink for Hayes but 'Jager Bull's' are very fashionable - a beer glass with a shot glass full of Jager inside and surrounded by Red Bull.

As a driver, I haven't had the pleasure of trying one of these yet - when I'm too ill to drive I think I'll explore the palliative effects of a Jager Bull. Now I think about it, the waiting room at Charing Cross Hospital would benefit from a Jager bar.

In Hayes the Jager was on draft - they had a machine so that they could get the shots out quick enough. It was that kind of pub.

The Reggulaters had a tough old time - they play the Trojan back catalogue of Ska and Rock Steady and are completely uncompromising about it. My collection of Trojan isn't small but they play stuff I don't know.

Up against them was a DJ playing music fast and furious and a load of youngsters up for it.

So for the first set the two cultures clashed.

There were lots of shouts for Two-Tone Ska, which I love and which even young people know and like.

At halftime, most bands would compromise and change - not The Reggulaters.

 

 

 

Then at the same time as the Jagers were doing their work

the DJ played 'Billy Jean'. That always had a near reggae beat, so much so that Shinehead did a celebrated 12" Dub version merging 'Billy Jean' into 'Mama used to say'. That did the trick and had both groups dancing at the same time.

 

For the second half it was mayhem, someone chewed my tie.

 

I had a chat with Karl from The SkaSouls who was filling in as drummer for the night. At heart we both prefer pure Trojan - the roots of reggae pure and simple. Dancehall stuff.

 

But then again for me I grew up with Two-Tone, it combined Punk with Ska - it's always going to be a part of me.

 

This was quite a special night for another reason - I met Daniel, who is severely disabled and came out in his electric wheelchair and with his carers. He's obviously a regular at music nights at The Brookhouse - everybody came up to shake his hand like I did or, in the case of the pretty girls, they queued up to do selfies with him on his mobile.

 

You can only ever judge people by the way they treat vulnerable people.

 

Not by whether they are necking Jagers or the kind of music they like.

 

 

Neil Harris

(a don't stop till you drop production)

 

Double Whammy.

Early Thursday morning I opened up my e-mail to find that my trip to France on Saturday had been cancelled. Gutted.

I won’t pretend it wasn’t a blow and it had taken quite a struggle for it to happen in the first place (thanks S, couldn’t have done it without you and thanks to G). It wasn’t meant to be.

It means a real double whammy for me this week and even I have to admit that it left me reeling on the ropes, gasping for breath. There are only so many rounds you can lose.

Well, I’m a big boy - knock me down and I’ll get up again. Also, I never promised you a happy ending.

Thursday Night, at The Riverside.

Even a night with my favourite Ska band, The Skasouls, it still took me three quarters of the show to thaw out.

 

They did manage to thaw me out in the end.

Now all my hopes of international travel have gone out of the window, I am free to take another look at

 The Reggulaters

Who play The Brookhouse in Hayes on Saturday night and that will be fun.

OK, it’s not Moules Frites, its not baguette, or café au Lait, it will never be France. But it is Ska.

 

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)

Home:   helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

Contact:  neilwithpromisestokeep@hotmail.co.uk

The Reggulaters at The Horns, Watford.

........

The reggulaters

........

You have no idea how bad a day I had – a whole day driving up and down and round and round, with a bad back trying to sort things out for my Mum before she comes out of hospital. No food, lifting things I shouldn’t lift, waiting and driving and driving and waiting.

I collapsed at about 4 o’clock and woke up at 7 30pm feeling ill and lousy.

By 8 00 I was aching and off, driving more miles around the M25 to Watford.

When you’re ill and fed up even Watford is exciting.

On Thursday it wasn’t exciting, it was great.

 

The

Reggulaters

For a long time I’ve either been ill or there were problems and I missed this band. Hardline Ska and Rock Steady from the extensive back catalogue of the Trojan Record label, including some that I haven’t come across.

This was very much the ‘spirit of 1969’, which is not really my thing – hardline Skinhead stuff.

But Skinheads have changed a lot over the years. The Watford Skins gave this lone mod from out of town a really friendly welcome.

 

As you would expect, a lot of classic stompin’ stuff – Desmond Dekker’s ‘It Mek’, ‘007’ and ‘The Israelites’. There was Toots and a lot more besides.

But when a band plays ‘The Upsetters’ ‘Return of Django’ there is no hope for me. It is still the coolest song ever written. Am I wrong?

I was deeply envious of the three ladies who were celebrating before heading for Great Yarmouth for a long weekend. That’s ‘Skamouth’ – three days of Ska, Rock Steady, Reggae and I suspect a certain amount of mayhem and madness.

This band may come from Kentish Town but they often play as far west as Hayes and (subject to the odd health problem) I’m going to be there to see them again. Their Ska is pre Reggae but also ignores the whole Two-Tone influence of my youth. This is heavy on the bass, heavy on the Skank, a real labour of love.

The word I'm searching for is authentic.

m

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)

Ouch!

The skaS0uLs

 

The car park was full and every nook on the main road had a car crammed into it. The pub was rammed full for a night of Ska.

Mr Fred Perry, Mr Ben Sherman, Mr Harrington had all decided this was the place to be. There was even medical help available in the person of Dr Martens.

And me?

For me the only place is up front.

Of course I’m paying for it now

But some of my problems are  solved – the NHS has rallied round to help me out. My Mum is back in hospital and I am really grateful to the G.P. who fought for a bed for her, the care workers who could see I was losing it, the ambulance crews I had to call out for her after my back went (ouch! That’s just not fair) and everybody else who helped.

I came out of hospital, got a bite to eat, had an injection and fell asleep for a solid 3 hours before I went out.

And what did I look like? A bit like these two that’s what;

 

Once again, thanks SkaSouls.

the

SkaSouls

Neil Harris
(a don't stop [ouch!] till you drop [ouch!] production)

Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

Contact: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

New Year's Eve with the SkaSouls..

D

Strangely, I found I was well enough to go out on New Year’s Eve after all, even though Elaine who organises the music at The Egham and District Social Club took one horrified look at me as I came in and offered to get me a chair. That wasn’t quite the image I was aiming for.

Now here’s a tattoo I’m a little envious of - Trojan records;

 

Does that give you any kind of a clue as to how I was spending my New Year’s Eve? How about this?

 

This fine feather cut hairstyle is being modelled by Tina who provided guest vocals for part of the evening, and is branching out into a new Two-Tone band I’ll have to look out for.

It wasn’t just music;

 

There was dancing too;

 

Even a fez or two;

 

So Bob Marley, Two-Tone, Desmond Dekker, Symarip, Toots; it all adds up to The SkaSouls.

I left after dancing until 1-00 am, a really nice atmosphere, friendly people and good sounds. I didn't get arrested or end up at Accident and Emergency, so it has to be a good start to a tough year and that means another success notched up (at enormous expense) by ‘The Cancer Drug Fund’. Just thought you ought to know that because this New Year’s Eve was a big deal for me.

Thanks, SkaSouls. I hope to see you in 2014.

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)

Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com