Fat skin's blog: "Offline"

Gig review. Toots and the Maytals. Carling Academy Liverpool. 25 July. 2007 “Toots”is a rare breed. A true living legend. One of the greatest innovators of reggae….. so much so that "Do the Reggay," a 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, is credited with giving the genre its name. His songs have been covered by (amongst others) other heroes of mine, Clash and the Specials. …and here he was, as I live and breath (in my first smokeless gig) In Liverpool! I go to the gig in charming company..friends old and new. Good start. A few bevies in the the Head of steam bar and in we go. More good news, the venue is already more than half full for the excellent support band, local upcoming Ska-cers (Scousers/Ska-cers) The STOPOUTS. Full of energy mixing a little punk in with the bouncing basslines, The Stopouts put on a brilliant show, pleasing the army of young fans and hopefully gaining a new fanbase from the delightful mix of ages and genres. They do a swift 30 minute set full of ska/punk anthems and leave to a derserved rousing reception. I will most definitely be following the fortunes of these guys. After a long long wait, the venue has filled up with an eclectic mix of people. It’s a real throw back. The audience age ranged from 18 up to 60’s. Different races, different genres, (Skinheads, Mods, Rasta’s, Punks, Scooter boys, leather clad bikers and..being Liverpool, a liberal splashing of heavy eyelid-ed scal’s). Not a hint of menace or malice in the air…(or for that matter ciggy smoke, or gange). The Maytals take to the stage and do a slick reggae instrumental song from their upcoming album without Toots. Then they are Joined by Toot’s daughter (sorry, didn’t catch her name) who does 3 numbers very professionally, but doesn’t quite get the expectant audience to rouse above applause. Then at about 10.30pm..He takes to the stage at last and goes straight in the clash-ic Pressure Drop. Bang! The audience go nuts and he has us in the palm of his hand. All around are smiling faces, singing swaying and skanking. The heat level shoots up within minutes and we are all dripping in sweat. He runs through songs dotted throughout different decades of his carreer. With the likes of Peeping Tom, Pomp and Pride, and bam bam keeping up the momentum throughout the tight set. He looks great, he sounds as good as he ever has and the Maytals treat us to a ska/reggae masterclass. Special mention must go to the songs that we all came to hear. 5446 was my number, Monkey man and Pressure Drop are the ones we came expecting to hear. They are delivered with love and passion. This is no cabaret act, this is no crappy re-union tour. This, as I said earlier, is a Living Legend, with his legendary band showing an audience of fans old and new exactly WHY he’s a legend. Even in this eerie smokless atmosphere the audience are transformed and rapturous. EVERYONE leaves the gig with a huge smile on their face…and there are 400 happy sweaty people sitting on the floor outside the academy smoking and chatting in the afterglow of a wonderful night. brilliant Toots….he’s a fuckin legend Oh Yeah, and to cap it all, I got to meet End Contributors and fellow Ska lovers, Scouser & Brummie! Lovely!

We met when we were in school Never took no shit from no one, we weren't fools The teacher says we're dumb We're only having fun We piss on everyone In the classroom When we got thrown out i left without much fuss An' weekends we'd go dancing Down streatham on the bus You always made me laugh Got me in bad fights Play me pool all night Smokin' menthol I practised daily in my room You were down the crown planning your next move Go on a nicking spree Hit the wrong guy Each of you get three Years in brixton I did my very best to write How was butlins? Were the screws too tight? When you lot get out Were gonna hit the town We'll burn it fuckin' down To a cinder Cos years have passed and things have changed And i move anyway i wanna go I'll never forget the feeling i got When i heard that you'd got home An' i'll never forget the smile on my face 'cos i knew where you would be An' if you're in the crown tonight Have a drink on me But go easy...step lightly...stay free

29 Apr 2007 This Is England-Film review Thomas Turgoose ... Shaun Stephen Graham ... Combo Jo Hartley ... Cynthia Fields Andrew Shim ... Milky Vicky McClure ... Lol Joseph Gilgun ... Woody Perry Benson ... Meggy George Newton ... Banjo Frank Harper ... Lenny Jack O'Connell ... Pukey Nicholls Kieran Hardcastle ... Kez I watched This is England last night. I was a bit shellshocked by it all. I love Shane meadows films. "A room for Romeo Brass" is one of my favourite films of all time! He has a skill, where he can capture brilliant snapshots of England in a most authentic way. Sometimes laugh out loud funny, other times parts that most of us would rather forget. This is England is defined in exactly this way. The Film follows a young boy,Shaun (played brilliantly by Thomas Turgoose) still coming to terms about losing his father in the Faulklands war, and the realisation that his flared trousers are the bane of his life. He falls in with a bunch of local skinhead boys and girls. This gang has a heart, and they take Shaun under their wings and encourage him to get rid of the flares and join their gang. All goes well until the introduction of "Combo", an old friend of the skin gangs Leader, Woody. Combo manages to break the gang in two...and quickly establishes his motives. Suddenly the film becomes very dark. Combo, (a sterling performance by Liverpool actor, Stephen Graham) manages to charm you and make you recoil in horror, in equal measures. Capable of intelligent rousing motivational rants, and intense violence he tries to control everyone around him. I won't spoil the film by exposing the storyline, but I do want to mention Meadows uncanny knack for getting it right. I can personally vouch for the "nice Skinhead" gang that some sceptics claim never existed. Like Shaun, I found myself befriending a gang of skinheads in the late 70's, early 80's..They were all older than me and they looked after me. They remain some of the nicest people I have ever met. The Skin girls would shop for me, or tell me if I got it wrong, and they introduced me to Ska, reggae and gange. I can also admit that there were also horrible right wing skinheads in and around the scene who were very clever, and would try to get under your skin in exactly the same way Combo does here...the film evoked a ton of memories one of which was almost identical to a scene in the film. I remember me ma (a single parent) being too poor to buy my the doc martins I craved for and convincing me either Monkey boots or a blag version of D.M.'s called Major Domo's were the way forward! Meadows gets it all in there, the soundtrack and the newsclips help recreate the 80's right before your eyes, just a shame that Two Tone doesn't feature. The film makes you ask questions of yourself, and can be very uncomfortabe (Just as Romeo Brass did). Its a fascinating film, and captures a period of time in Britain that for all its horrors, war, strikes, riots, Thatcher and mass unemployment etc etc remains in my memory as one of the most exciting periods of my life. It will be interesting to see if people who hadn't been through it will relate to this film. I know for a fact I could go and watch this film with two different groups of friends and get two completly different reactions. But guaranteed, it will get a reaction! Go and see this, and then go and get "A room for Romeo Brass" on DVD!...see Milky and Lol in a whole new light! Hail Shane Meadows! He is the leading light in British film making http://www.myspace.com/cannyfarmphil http://www.myspace.com/the_end_fanzine

Hi y'all I'm gonna be off line for a couple of days..I'm promoting my first gig this weekend..couple of local blues singers in Liverpool. I decided to do somthing after going to watch one of these singers (Laney Murphy) at a gig last month, where she drew a crowd of 200, but was paid only $25!..so i've booked a venue, oganise a DJ, got some sounds ready, and advertised it on myspace..tonight I'll be paying Laney her first proper pay packet..and having a party while i'm going about it! This is not a plug...wish me luck! pip pip x