January 2 2011

We've had a fine time every Sunday this year playing soothing sounds to the hurting of head, as well as hosting some brilliant gigs and fantastic guest DJs. We get Boxing Day off for good behaviour and resume our role as the fourth emergency service every Sunday from January 2. As ever, come down and come down. We look forward to seeing you there.

In the interim have a great xmas. Here are two tunes from the wonderful Christmastime, Approximately compilation to get you in the spirit.

Standard Fare live

Standard Fare’s acoustic set, featuring Emma and Andy on blistering form, was one of the year’s highlights. Future historians of the band might like to note that this performance was held on Emma’s birthday. Percussion fans may be interested to know that Andy’s playing a cajon.


Thanks to FOTLs (Friends of the Lounge) Sarah and Nat who stepped in when the battery on our camera died and did a great job shooting this footage.

Festive Greetings from the Hangover Lounge!

We're approaching our final Hangover Lounge of the year - it seems the Lexington will be closed on December 26th - and this is just a quick mail to wish our many readers a tremendous holiday season.

We'll be bending a festive elbow this Sunday (19th) though, and to celebrate, we have struck a commemorative beermat, free for you to collect if you show on Sunday!

See you there. 

Christmas Bazaar this Sunday

This Sunday: ameliorate your hangover, idle hours chatting, drinking and listening to good sounds, AND buy some Christmas presents at the Lexington Christmas Bazaar.

Sellers include vintage stalls, craft stalls and jumble selling vintage dresses, jewellery, bric-a-brac, hand-made toys and much more. Plus a tombola stall in aid of the RSPCA with prizes donated by Rough Trade, Domino, JagJaguwar, Cherry Red, The Happy Shop of Hastings and many more.

The Bazaar runs upstairs from 1-5pm; the Hangover Lounge starts downstairs at 2pm.

Would-Be-Goods and Vic Templar today

Bad News: Mr Louis Philippe has had to pull out of today's performance as he's been afflicted by a virus that renders him useful for only mimicking Tom Waits' back catalogue.

Good News: The Would-Be-Goods and Vic Templar still have their name in lights at today's Lounge.

Louis has urged us to think of this as only a postponement and he'll be treading the Lexington's boards one Sunday next year. Watch this space. And get well soon, captain!

Would-Be-Goods + Louis Philippe + Vic Templar free gig this Sunday

We've got (brace yourselves) one el of an afternoon of free music this Sunday (December 5) starring a pared-down Would-Be-Goods featuring Jessica and Peter, and Louis Philippe, the latter of whom we are quite sure will not mind us mentioning that his latest opus, The Ocean Tango, is available on bandcamp.

Vic Templar - familiar to music fans for his drumming duties for The Dentists and collaborating with The Claim on the splendid Mike The Bike - will be reading from his latest book, Candy From A Dog.

Star DJ turns this Sunday

Woodie Taylor, Morrissey's old drummer now keeping the teenage beat for Comet Gain, and ace producer of (deep breath) Shrag, Long Blondes, Veronnica Falls, Love Is All and Help Stamp Out Loneliness, will be DJing this Sunday (14 November).

John Stanley, aka DJ Downfall, aka the bassist out of Tender Trap, is also going to take a turn dropping the bomb (quietly, natch).

Earlyish start for our live visitors on Sunday

If you've read the post below this one you'll have seen that we've two very special guests playing live and unamplified on Sunday 24th - Alan Tyler and Jamie Holman.

Two things you might need or want to know:

ONE! We've had to ask them to play a little earlier than usual in order to accommodate the soundcheck for a show upstairs later in the evening. So, Jamie will be on sometime after 3, and Alan shortly after 4.

TWO! Jamie tells us that he'll be playing with David Boon, who features on Jamie's label Winterbird,which should make for an interesting listen.

See you then.

Alan Tyler / micktravis free gig! Sunday 24 October

More unamplified goodness on its way at the Hangover Lounge. We're delighted to be welcoming two of our favourite songwriters of the last twenty years, all for free and without the unnecessary hindrance of all that amplification business.

ALAN TYLER! "Alan is the former Rockingbird with golden hair, golden shades and a platinum voice. He loves all kinds of music especially country and vows never to become a rock monster!" That's what is says on the back of my 12" copy of "Gradually Learning" and Alan hasn't let us down from that day to this.

micktravis! micktravis is, or includes (depending on circumstances) Jamie Holman of the excellent Tompaulin. We haven't heard from Jamie for far too long and we're excited about this one.

This will be another earlyish afternoon show - we're not quite sure of "stage" times yet but check back here or on the twitter feed or on the facebook page or any other clever modern communication tool which springs to mind nearer to the time and we'll try to let you know.

Standard Fare/Vatican Cellars/Hexicon free gig

Another free acoustic gig, this Sunday, 26 September, with entertainment from Standard Fare, the Vatican Cellars and Hexicon. This one starts earlier than usual, so set the alarm for:
3:00 - 3:20 Hexicon
3:30 - 3:50 Vatican Cellars
4:00 - 4:30 Standard Fare

White Town and Allo Darlin' duet Your Woman

Anyone who's ever thought, "Actually, Your Woman is a song about a woman dumping a man from a woman's point of view. I'd love to hear a woman sing it with Jyoti playing guitar," is about to get lucky. Anyone who's ever thought all that and "but what would make it absolutely perfect would be if Elizabeth out of Allo Darlin' sang it" can rip up the calendar and call today Christmas because we filmed that exact scenario during rehearsal for the recent Hangover Lounge gig.

Our friend Mike Jones held the camera steady and got the lights just right, for which we're very grateful. So much so that we bought him half a pint of bitter. It was literally the least we could do. Cheers, Mike!

Allo Darlin' answer 10 questions about The Go-Betweens

"My version wouldn't be married to Nicole Kidman."

Before Elizabeth's solo show in support of the Hangover Lounge ep featuring the wondrous Tallulah, we asked her ten Go-Betweens-related questions. Fans of hard-hitting investigative journalism should probably look elsewhere; those of you who want to know who Elizabeth would recruit to form tribute band The Australian Go-Betweens have come to the right place.

The Claim: Old

We were delighted when The Claim's two Davids - Read and Arnold - returned to the stage last year and happier still when they recorded their first new song in 18 years for our ep.
The other tracks on the ep are:
• Allo Darlin’ - Tallulah
• Amor de Dias – New Wine
• Hacia Dos Veranos - The Cat and the Cucumber
• The Motifs - Envelopes
• The Middle Ones - Goodnight

To buy this ep, paypal £7 (UK) £8 (Europe) £10 (Americas) or £11 (Aus/NZ/Far East) to wiaiwya@hotmail.com.

Allo Darlin': Tallulah

Allo Darlin' - in this case Elizabeth in solo mode - very kindly gave us their best song for the Hangover Lounge ep. Elizabeth said:

When Jerv asked me to write a song for this I hadn't written a song since we'd finished our album. And I promised him one. Then I hadn't written it by the time he said he needed it. So I wrote it pretty fast, one day I remember. I don't know if you've ever lived far away from where you grew up, you probably have and still do. Sometimes maybe you wish were back there, listening to the Go-Betweens and driving to the beach. This is a song about that. And every single word is true.

You can see Elizabeth play solo this Sunday at the ep launch, as well as Amor de Dias and White Town, and you can buy the ep then. Entrance is free. The first band will be on by 4pm.

Unable to make the gig? Mail order fans should paypal £7 (UK) £8 (Europe) £10 (Americas) or £11 (Aus/NZ/Far East) to wiaiwya@hotmail.com.
The other tracks on the ep are:
• The Motifs - Envelopes
• Amor de Dias – New Wine
• Hacia Dos Veranos - The Cat and the Cucumber
• The Motifs - Envelopes
• The Claim - Old

The Middle Ones: Goodnight

The Middle Ones recorded Goodnight in St John the Baptist Church, Bristol. Fact fans will want to know that "Anna wrote this song partly in her sleep".This is a quiet one, so turn it up.

The other tracks on the ep are:
• Allo Darlin’ - Tallulah
• Amor de Dias – New Wine
• Hacia Dos Veranos - The Cat and the Cucumber
• The Motifs - Envelopes
• The Claim - Old

To buy this ep, paypal £7 (UK) £8 (Europe) £10 (Americas) or £11 (Aus/NZ/Far East) to wiaiwya@hotmail.com.

Hacia Dos Veranos: The Cat and the Cucumber

Hacia Dos Veranos, Argentina’s premier purveyors of Forever Changes-style psychedelic flourish and Maurice Deebank-era Felt grandeur, have contributed a song, The Cat and the Cucumber, to the Hangover Lounge ep.

We asked songwriter Ignacio Aguilo about the song:

The Cat & Cucumber is a cafe located in Bermondsey. For a short time last winter, I lived on top of it. The cafe and the flat share drains so every time they were using the hot water at the cafe, my shower would stop completely. So I would stand there, naked, cold, soaked, waiting for the people at the cafe to stop using the water. It could be 10 seconds or 5 minutes (you never knew). So I could take the risk, stay and wait for the shower to come back soon, or get a towel and postpone my shower. In all cases, I think few times in my life I have cursed anybody or anything as much as The Cat & Cucumber. It definitively deserved a song.

The other tracks on the ep are:
• Allo Darlin’ - Tallulah
• Amor de Dias – New Wine
• The Middle Ones - Goodnight Song
• The Motifs - Envelopes
• The Claim - Old

To buy this ep, paypal £7 (UK) £8 (Europe) £10 (Americas) or £11 (Aus/NZ/Far East) to wiaiwya@hotmail.com.

You can also download Hacia Dos Veranos’s eponymous second album for free, which features Alasdair Maclean on guest vocals and guitar. And you should. It’s a work of art.

THe Motifs: Envelopes

The Motifs' beguiling pop gift had us clamouring to snag them for the Hangover Lounge ep. This acoustic version of Envelopes makes us very glad that they agreed:

We asked Motif-in-chief Alexis Hall about the song:

It is actually about envelopes. And how it's sometimes difficult to find one that fits a CDR. And how the internet is weird.

The other tracks on the ep are:
• Allo Darlin’ - Tallulah
• Hacia Dos Veranos – The Cat and the Cucumber
• The Middle Ones - Goodnight Song
• The Motifs - Envelopes
• The Claim - Old

To buy this ep, paypal £7 (UK) £8 (Europe) £10 (Americas) or £11 (Aus/NZ/Far East) to wiaiwya@hotmail.com. Reckless in Chicago have a few copies, so Americans seeking to save on international postage visit them.

Amor de Dias: "New Wine"

Amor de Dias - Alasdair Maclean of The Clientele and Lupe Nunez-Fernandez of Pipas - have released New Wine, the first fruit of their collaboration, on the Hangover Lounge's debut release, a 6-track 10" ep.


We asked Alasdair about the song.He replied:

Dear Hangover Lounge
It's just a song, not an internal combustion engine, it doesn't have an explanation.
All the best,
Alasdair Maclean

Amor de Dias are playing at the ep launch this Sunday, August 22. You can buy the record then or paypal £7 (UK) £8 (Europe) £10 (US) or £11 (Aus/NZ) to wiaiwya@hotmail.com.

The other tracks on the ep are:
• Allo Darlin’ - Tallulah
• Hacia Dos Veranos - The Cat and the Cucumber
• The Middle Ones - Goodnight Song
• The Motifs - Envelopes
• The Claim - Old

Hangover Lounge 10" ep now available

We're delighted to announce that the first release by the Hangover Lounge label, a 6-track 10” ep of exclusive acoustic recordings by acts who’ve played at the club, is out now featuring:




• Allo Darlin’ - Tallulah (this live favourite is a hymn to the wonder of The Go-Betweens and old friends)
• Amor de Dias - New Wine (Alasdair Maclean of The Clientele and Lupe Nunez-Fernandez of Pipas’s new band)
• Hacia Dos Veranos - The Cat and the Cucumber (Maurice Deebank-era Felt recreated in Argentina)
• The Middle Ones - Goodnight Song (gloriously amateur in the spirit of Melody Dog)
• The Motifs - Envelopes (deceptively simple Australian pop)
• The Claim - Old (their first new material in 18 years)

Did we mention that Pam Berry designed and printed the sleeve? No? Well, she did.

We're streaming a song from the ep each day from Monday 16 August. Of course, it's likely that you're a big fan of at least one of those bands and don't care about hearing it before you buy, in which case paypal £7 (UK) £8 (Europe) £10 (US) or £11 (Aus/NZ) to wiaiwya@hotmail.com.

Or you can buy the record at our free launch gig on August 22, starring Elizabeth Allo Darlin' rocking it solo, Amor de Dias rockin' it gently, and White Town rockin' up to join the party.

Debsey Wykes and Paul Kelly guest DJ

This Sunday, July 25, Debsey Wykes (her out of Dolly Mixture!) and Paul Kelly (him out of East Village!) (the pair of them out of St Etienne!) are guesting on the decks. There'll be Dolly Mixture box sets on sale, so purchasers can save on the postage fees. See you there.

Rozi Plain live footage

Here's footage we shot of Rozi Plain behind closed doors before her recent Hangover Lounge gig. We did dim the lights and provide her with a chair for the actual performance.

Bobby Moore: Bob Stanely and Monster Bobby this week

Bob Stanley returns to captain the Hangover Lounge decks this Sunday AND Monster Bobby from the Pippettes is bringing his 'A Little Orchestra' ("a small chamber orchestra in the classical style, of indeterminate size and instrumentation, taking inspiration from such groups as Steve Reich and Musicians, The Portsmouth Sinfonia, the Scratch Orchestra, the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra and the Fluxus movement") to play some soothing sounds live.

The World Cup Final will be shown live on the big screen after you've feasted on the many musical pleasures.

NB: the flyer does not show Bob Stanley, Bobby Moore or Monster Bobby, but does feature, I am reliably assured, an actual footballer relaxing with a nerve-settling pre-match beverage.

Tracks of my tears

Last Sunday we watched the England match at the Lexington - turns out it's a pretty good place to watch the football, although there was some kind of witchy magic going on where the screen cut out from time to time, and when it came back on, England had lost the ball. Hmmm...

It fell to me to play some records immediately after the game, and my set took on an impromptu theme. I'm not much of a one for themed sets but I thought I'd share this one with you - partly for the fun, and partly to remind you to look out for the Hangover Lounge World Cup Final Day party. Also, I was quite pleased with it!

Anyway, here goes:

Dry Your Eyes - The Streets
Tracks of My Tears - Linda Ronstadt
I Just Can't Help Believing - Ronnie Milsap
You're Going To Wake Up Wiser - Bettye LaVette
$1000 Wedding - Gram Parsons ("supposed to be a funeral if you're gonna act that way...")
You Brought It All On Yourself - Tommie Young
Drink Wine - The Techniques
She Don't Have To See You (To See Through You) - Bobby Patterson
I'm Not a Patriot, But - McCarthy
Busy Doing Nothing - The Beach Boys
The Same Mistakes - Vic Godard
Parlez-vous Anglais? - Katerine
Bitter Club - Pipas
Going Home To Georgia - Johnny Gilliam
Goin' Back - Dusty Springfield
Sweetest In The Land - Whalebone Polly
Man Out Of Time - Elvis Costello and the Attractions
I Never Did Like Planes - Robbie Fulks
Cry Your Love Away - Adventures In Stereo
Such Is Life - Lord Creator
I Left Some Dreams Back There - Freda Payne
Ain't That Always The Way - Paul Quinn
All Goin' Down Together - Hues Corporation
I Will Drink The Wine - Frank Sinatra

Budget Busting Food and Booze

This Sunday - 4th Of July Special!
Hot dogs only £5 and Blue Moon 2 for 1 all day!





Deal Two: 10% Discount Card!
From the 1st of July the 10% discount card will be back in action! If you don't have a discount card you need to sign up to the Lexington's mailing list. If you're already on it sign up again at the bar, get your card and use it right away - don't worry you won't get two mail-outs!

Dinosaur Planet takes over the Hangover Lounge

This Sunday, July 4, MJ Hibbett's Dinosaur Planet is back - new and improved - at the Hangover Lounge for a free preview before they conquer Edinburgh Festival. The famously publicity-shy MJ broke his silence to talk about Dinosaur Planet.








Hello!
Good afternoon! Alternatively, good morning.

Didn’t you do Dinosaur Planet last year?
Yes, very much so. I always wanted to do it as a Gigantic Full-Cast Rock Opera but couldn't work out a way to do that on my own, so last year instead of acting things out I stood and told the story of what WOULD happen in a Gigantic Full-Cast Rock Opera.

THIS year I realised that a way to do a Gigantic Full-Cast Rock Opera would be to get a) a cast b) some costumes. The name of the full-cast is Mr Steven Hewitt, we have bought various HATS and we are ready to ROCK!

(I've also written a batch of new songs, delicately crafted Proper Dialogue, and we've abandoned a cunning scheme to introduce the world's first ever 2D Spectacles to the live theatre. That'll have to wait until another time.)

Hmm. We have never seen this Steve Hewitt in the same photograph as Slipknot bassist Paul Gray. Can you assure our hungover clientele that Mr Gray didn’t fake his own death so he could don a new mask and join you in taking over the world?
I'm PRETTY sure they're not one and the same - Steve is a LOT more rock and roll than any member of Slipknot could HOPE to be - although, now you mention it, he DOES wear a mask in the show. I'll keep an eye on him.

As your worldwide smash Hey Hey 16K might be more popular with computer programmers – men, who don’t know any gurls - is this Hewitt something for all the laydeez in the house?
Absolutely. Last year he patrolled the Royal Mile dressed as a space dinosaur and, as you can see from this video footage, ladies of all genders were soon throwing off their clothes.

Some would say he was just using the disguise as an excuse to go and talk to GURLS. This, of course, would be RIDICULOUS.

We’re trying to improve our SEO. Can you compare your musical extravaganza to the SEX GANG CHILDREN?
We are very much like SEX GANG CHILDREN, not least because most people would have to look us up on Wikipedia (hem hem) to see who on earth we are. Also I believe "Dinosaur Planet" was an early name for Bow Wow Wow, Culture Club, which is a nice coincidence, as well as, of course, Will Young.

I'd like to help out further, but I have a NAKED LESBIAN KYLIE hankering after some FREE DOWNLOADS which is taking up a heckload of time.

It’s theatre sandals again this year. Will you start a trend?
In this new world of Theatre and Musicals I am very MUCH a tourist on brief sabbatical from the sunny uplands of ROCK, so am doing my best to blend in. I'm encouraging Steve to do HIS bit sporting a cravat and indulging in a wave of homosexual affairs, it's the LEAST he can do.

Festival goers can see Dinosaur Planet at The GRV, 37 Guthrie Street, Edinburgh 5-14 August.

Tender Trap shoot video at the Lounge

Tender Trap filmed much of the video for their new single Do You Want A Boyfriend? at London's Trendy Hangover Lounge^TM. You will see HL hearthrob John "Form An Orderly Queue, Laydeez" Jervis turn down the wanton advances of songstrel Amelia Fletcher from the 15 second mark. To be fair, she probably misread his "Shrag" t-shirt, but you can't blame the girl for trying. She's only human.

The first Denim interview

"Driving a Mercedes out of the factory gates, that's what Denim's about."
A little something in anticipation of the Felt fanzine launch tomorrow. From Melody Maker, January 19, 1991.

Felt fanzine launch

Foxtrot Echo Lima Tango, a 150-page spectacular devoted to the godlike genius of Felt featuring essays, photos, reminiscences and ephemera, is being launched at the Hangover Lounge on June 6. Felt alumnus Phil King is our guest DJ for the event.

All The People I Like Are Those That Are Dead, Birmingham Burberries, 19 December 1989

Badges

London's Trendy Hangover Lounge^TM's latest marketing advance is badges in two classy designs. They're free to all punters every Sunday (while stocks last). We appreciate that these badges will become the must-have hipster item this season, so there's an opportunity for one UK resident who doesn't live in London (cos otherwise you could just come along one Sunday and get your badges) to win a set of Hangover Lounge badges. Leave a message and we'll be in contact about posting you the goodies.

Hacia Dos Veranos filmed at the Lounge

We filmed Hacia Dos Veranos behind closed doors before their recent Hangover Lounge gig. Pretty good, no?

Bob Collins interview

We interviewed our recent live guest Bob Collins of The Dentists.

There are more interviews and live recordings of Hangover Lounge guests coming soon. Watch this space!

David Tattersall, Pictish Trail, Rozi Plain free gig

This Sunday, April 18, we're excited to be welcoming a great bill for your delectation:

David Tattersall branches out from The Wave Pictures with his debut solo album - download the bittersweet bedsit pop of title track Happy For A While;

Rozi Plain, Bristolian folk chanteuse whose spectral shanties are no stranger to the HL decks; and

the Pictish Trail, the nom de electro-folk of Fence Records' Johnny Lynch.

Black Tambourine album launch

Black Tambourine’s Pam Berry is on the decks this week to mark the release of her band’s eponymous retrospective – a sort of complete Complete Recordings.

There’ll be chances to win copies of the album, as well as Black Tambourine posters and badges. Songs from the album will be played during the day, as well as the usual mix of classic comedowns.

Read more about the Black Tambourine record (and buy one, unless you win one on Sunday…).

SWIIIIISH!

Upstairs at the Lounge on Sunday we are delighted to see a Swishing session taking place. Here's what Meg, the organiser, has to say about it:

"Swishing! The latest craze sweeping the country is ethical, eco-fabulous, social and fun! It's a way for you to exchange your clothes and accessories with other like-minded souls.

FREE ENTRY
Please bring 1-5 items in good condition & you can take home up to 5 items. What could be simpler?

MEN'S & WOMEN'S ITEMS PLEASE

Drop-off clothes or accessories 2pm-3pm

3pm is SWISH O'CLOCK!"

As far as the Hangover Lounge is concerned, we'll be running our regular 2pm-7pm slurping session, featuring our excellent friend Robster guesting on the decks. See you there.

Child-friendly Guidelines

We're delighted that many of our guests choose to bring their lovely kids to the Hangover Lounge for a relaxing afternoon. However, Islington Council have suggested we remind patrons that The Lexington shouldn't be used "like a playground".


We'd love to continue the tradition of punters bringing their children to Sunday's friendly environment, where they're welcome until 7pm. As the venue has hot food/glass/occasionally tipsy adults, there are a few house rules we'd like observed to ensure everyone can enjoy a chilled out afternoon:

If your kids are getting a little overheated, please ask them to simmer down;
Supervise children at all times; and
Prevent them from running about the pub.

Thanks for heeding these guidelines and we look forward to seeing you and your great kids at the Hangover Lounge again.

March 14 Gig Spectacular

Starring:
Chris Wilson of the Flamin' Groovies
Bob Collins and Mark Matthews of The Dentists
Hacia dos Veranos

I know! We can hardly believe it either. What a line-up. And it's all free. Start counting down the days...

If you haven't already, you'll surely want to buy tickets for the first Dentists gig in 15 years, and the first with the original line-up since 1986, at Dingwalls on March 25, which also features The Claim, one of the all-time greats.

Scrabble Downfall Sunday Special

Hey! You know sometimes you just get to that place where you're thinking "well, I wonder what DJ Downfall, ace DJ John Downfall, monophone touting man of indiedancepop mystery and eponymous bon viveur is up to this Sunday? I wish I could be doing that too!" I know I do, now and again.

It's a problem which needn't worry you this weekend. DJ Downfall will be guesting at the Hangover Lounge. It'll be awesome. Also it's SCRABBLE SUNDAY again, which means that you might get to challenge "Deej" to exchange his customary poker chips for scrabble tiles. Be warned though: he's good.

Freaky Trigger Valentaine's Day special Lounge

On Sunday - that's VALENTINE'S DAY, dudes, a selection of our chums from the excellent Freaky Trigger website will be guesting on the decks, no doubt bringing a skewed pop angle to our usual mixture of the slow and the soothing. It promises to be a good deal of fun. See you on Sunday, we hope!

Middle Ones live

The Middle Ones delighted everyone at the Hangover Lounge last Sunday. Re-live your experience or see what you missed out on with this footage of them playing Young Explorer:

Darren Hayman guest-DJs on Sunday 31st January

If you use one of the variously shonky calendars which sit on the right-hand side of this site you will already be familiar with the fact that Darren Hayman is to be our guest at this Sunday's Lounge. I can think of no better way to see out the last day of the first month of 2010, especially since last time I saw Darren he was talking about how much reggae he'd been listening to lately. I'm hoping for a nicely bass-heavy guest spot.

The only way you're going to have more Hayman-related fun this weekend is to get a TRAIN to Honiton (it's in Devon, dear) then a BUS towards Sidmouth, telling the bus driver to let you know when you've got to Exeter Cross. Get off there and WALK the few hundred yards to Woolbrook. Just past the Balfour, you'll see Hayman's butchers, where they sell world-renowned PORK BRAWN. Pork brawn is what you get when you boil a pig's head and it's delicious. Just ask Rick Stein, who named them amongst his food heroes for their brawn.

Pig's head or Darren's tunes. You decide.

See you on Sunday.

Name That Tune: Drink Wine by The Techniques

Synergy, my friends. Leveraging multiple platforms. Really driving the value from your diversified range of products.

What? Duke Reid. He knew, don't argue. Hard man ex-cop, off-license owner, sound system operator. Also: record producer; largely undisputed king of the rocksteady sound which blew into Jamaica in the 67 / 68 season. Trojan was the sound (the British label inherited the name), Treasure Isle was the label, Treasure Isle was the booze shop.

The result: this beautiful slice of rocksteady, one of my very favourites (and not just because I find the message in the music so sympathetic, or just because of the funky pirate's groovy 'tache on the label).


Come to the dance. Buy lots of booze. Drink same. Not too rowdy, now. I know you'll control yourselves and you'll be... real cool.

Record Fair Upstairs at the Lexington

Double your pleasure at the Hangover Lounge on Sunday January 17 by digging through the crates and scoring some bargains at the King's Cross Record Fair, which will be held upstairs at the Lexington.

Stallholders will be selling punk, pop, indie, new wave, power-pop, soul, Northern, psych, reggae, 60s, 70s, 80s & 90s records, t-shirts and memorabilia. Phew!

Name That Tune: Tonight by Sibylle Baier

Sibylle Baier…put songs in a bottle and kissed them goodbye, not knowing that one day the bottle would drift back, carrying the dreams and emotions of youth, to be picked up by an audience far larger and more appreciative than the one that greeted the music at its inception.
Robert Forster

The hushed melancholy of Sibylle Baier’s one album, Colour Green, recorded between 1970 and 1973 in her native Germany bears comparison to the best of folk’s buried treasures that have been dug up and lauded in the past decade.

In Baier’s case, her reel-to-reel recordings were mostly unreleased and their full issue in 2006 revealed an exceptional talent for hauting atmospherics and alluring homespun melodies.