Charles Latham and The Left Outsides: free gig November 24

Charles Latham is the star of our split 7" picture disc with Withered Hand. On Sunday November 24 he's joining us with Ellie Brooks, who sang on Hard On.

You might know Withered Hand's brilliant cover. What it misses is Ellie's vocals. Charles says:

I don't think anyone's been able to recapture my friend Ellie Brooks' second vocal. She came up with the part while singing along when I played the song at a friend's house in Brighton shortly after having written it. I used to spend most evenings at the flat of my friends Jimmy and Eleanor, who were at the time a duo (now a full band) called The Bobby McGees. They were and still are my favorite band. Anyway, I would go to their flat and we'd take turns sharing songs. Ellie was living with them at the time, and she was sitting around with us and started singing along with the tune. I'd either brought my recording machine or brought it the next time, and we sang it a couple more times and just went upstairs and recorded it. The noise at the beginning is a false start because the phone started ringing.

We've been asking The Left Outsides to play for the past 4 years. Good things come to those who wait.


This is an especially early gig. The Left Outisdes start at 2.45 with Charles at 3.15. Entrance is free.

Bob Stanley book signing 3 November

Bob Stanley will be signing copies of his book Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. It's an informative, amusing and passionate appraisal of the late-20th century's greatest art form, written with the warmth of a fan's beating heart and the insight of a critic's sharp eye.

You can buy the book on the day for the knockdown price of £17. And Bob will be DJing. Given his previous DJ sets, that alone is enough of a reason to come down.

Words and Music at the Hangover Lounge

4 authors are DJing at the Hangover Lounge on consecutive Sundays in November.

Volume 1, November 3: Bob Stanley
Bob Stanley’s Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop is a thorough – and thoroughly enjoyable – tour of popular music’s rich tapestry. Bob launched Words and Music by Saint Etienne at the Lounge last year with an exclusive Q&A. He’s DJed for us a few times before, always with excellent results. This time will be just as entertaining and engaging.

Volume 2, November 10: Sam Knee
A Scene In Between: Tripping Through the Fashions of UK Indie Music 1980-1988 is Sam Knee’s fascinating journey through the then-unheralded anoraks, oversized jumpers, leather trousers, bowlcut hairdos, blouse shirts and stripy t-shirts of 80s indie. Sam will be playing records by those now-heralded indie musicians.

Volume 3, November 17: Travis Elborough
Travis Elborough returns to the Lounge following publication of A London Year: 365 Days of City Life in Diaries, Journals and Letters.

A London Year vividly evokes moments in the lives of Londoners in the past, providing snapshots of the city’s inhabitants at work, at play, in pursuit of money, sex, entertainment, pleasure and power.

Travis’s bibliography includes The Long-player Goodbye: How Vinyl Changed the World, so he knows his records. His previous Hangover Lounge DJ sets have proved he’s capable of playing a relaxing set of high-quality refinement.

Volume 4: Richard King
Richard King has spent 20 years in the independent music business during which time he has worked at Domino Records as an A&R and world-class envelope stuffer.

He’s also the author of the acclaimed How Soon Is Now? the Madmen & Mavericks Who Made Independent Music.

The Sunday Times made it their music book of the year 2012:

“Beautifully researched, and unafraid to display a deep love of its subject on every page. Exhaustive and reflective, this is the definitive work on one of Briain's great artistic booms.”

Coming Down This October

We've begun October already with a rootin' tootin' rock 'n' roll show with Rozi and Emma and some very special guests but you've already seen and enjoyed it or missed it and regretted it. Never fear, though, we've a ton of good stuff coming up. 

OCTOBER THE THIRTEENTH! Lucky for some, those some being the people who are there to enjoy Dan Mayfield's marvellous handmade record players which are incredibly cool. Accompanying music will be provided by our pals the legendary David Tattersall and the equally-but-differently legendary "Prog" Rob. This will all be great. 

OCTOBER THE TWENTIETH! Guest DJing today will be members of Talulah Gosh, The Dentists, The Would-be-goods, Armitage Shanks, Heavenly, The Claim Ft Vic Templar and Scarlet's Well, also a published poet and author and a publisher. WHAT??? We're delighted to be hosting a double header guest DJ slot featuring perennial pop dons Ian Greensmith and Peter Momtchiloff.  

OCTOBER THE TWENTY SEVENTH! while the delightful Karren and Sandy of the Stolen Wine Social Club play excellent records, Greg (who in this company has the role of chum, husband or brother-in-law depending on who he's sitting next to) will be rocking out his collection of fascinating and strange board games. Come along and sit in on a game, you'll be very welcome. 

All of the above comes with a side order of the usual mixture of good company, good music and sore heads. 

Keep your eyes out and your reading specs on for advance warning of a decidedly literary Hangover Lounge November, with a string of published authors coming to play records and another live show on Nov 24th (diarise THAT, suckers), but more of all that soon enough. 

Emma Kupa and Rozi Plain live October 6

Emma Kupa is a long-time Hangover Lounge favourite. We loved her old band Standard Fare so much that we released (Acoustic) Darth Vader .

We were so excited by her solo career that we saw her first gig in March .
And promptly begged booked her to play at the Lounge as soon as she could. Which is Sunday October 6.

We're equally delighted to welcome back Rozi Plain. You'll surely remember her fantastic When Are You Coming? COME ON! from the second Hangover Lounge 10" EP.

You surely won't have forgotten her Hangover Lounge gig in 2010. If you weren't there, do yourself a favour and come along this time. We start at 2pm, the live music starts at 3pm.

My Love Is Your Love (Forever) by The Isley Brothers

Motown barely bothered with The Isley Brothers. Big mistake. When they returned to their own T-Neck label in 1969 the American public knew what Berry Gordy didn’t – The Isley Brothers' records were so great that they would sell by the million.

My Love Is Your Love (Forever) is the songwriting genius of the young Stevie Wonder (yearning, desperate, pleading innocence) and Ivy Jo Hunter (dramatic master of soaring strings and thumping piano). Motown shelved it. Had this come out in the summer of 67, it would have stayed at number one all summer.

As it was, the Miracles’ inferior version (what are those drums doing? where is the atmosphere?) came out as an album track. When The Isley Brothers were selling millions worldwide, Motown released their version on a Dutch compilation album in 1972. Big mistake. Even then, a single release would’ve seen them number one all summer long.

Now? Any Sunday we play this, it sounds like one of the greatest records ever.

Advance Warning! Live music on October 6th

We'll tell you more about this shortly but this is a swift note to say HEY! Get October 6th in your diaries! Live and unamplified as usual in the afternoon we'll be welcoming EMMA KUPA, formerly of Standard Fare, and ROZI PLAIN, continuingly of Rozi Plain. It will be excellent. More soon.