Nowhere to Run: the return of the mighty Thrum

 

There are those bands that you missed, the ones you only caught glimpses of and they captivated you but somehow you let them go. Something remained though and nagged at you. And every now and then you look them in this digital world and listen to what's out there. Missing that glimpse, those caught riffs and chords, that voice, the energy all half remembered and probably laced with memories kinks and tricks. 

And then you find that they are playing at a museum in Coatbridge. Should you go? Will it spoil the half remembered memories of a different time? 

That was my dilemma. Was it really was one?  They are a band that should have been and maybe would have been but for chance and missed opportunities. It's the story of rock'n'roll. My snatched memories of Thrum include the appearance on the Word but much more nuanced is the one time I 'saw' them live. It was the Whitehall Theatre in Dundee and they were support to the Proclaimers. I was in the bar with pictures of Scottish entertainers like the Alexander Brothers looking down on my conversation with an old school friend. I could hear the support act start their set and we reminisced. As the set moved on I eventually made my excuses and headed back into the hall. I couldn't have caught more than two or three songs but it was the sound that stayed with me over the years and it was the sound that took me to Airdrie (the gig was moved to accommodate ticket demand) to see Thrum play a few weeks ago.

Thrum are essentially Monica Queen and Johnny Smillie and they'd put together a solid band to revitalise the album 'Rifferama' their only release before their too early exit from the scene in the mid 90s. The title track and my particular favourite 'Purify' were worth the ticket price alone. The thing that came over on the night was just what a strong and powerful voice Monica has. She's a wee wummin but what a voice. Johnny drenched the tunes with melodic riffs that dripped with Neil Young like flourishes off setting Monica's voice which combined her power with a gentleness that I think made them unique in their time and is their appeal now. Did Thrum invent what we now call Americana? Who knows, they did what they did and then they disappeared. When I least expected it they returned and to quote them I'm 'So Glad'.

There is a documentary coming and there are whispers about another gig, maybe gigs. Could 'Rifferama' be re-released? Thrum's return may have a ways to run yet.

ttps://www.facebook.com/MonicaQueenandThrum

https://youtu.be/s7zdGbT_FPE?si=hhuCIQMPuadYXFgx

Talking to Mac Gayden about macrobiotic food

 

When you are on a road trip in the US there is always the opportunity for strange things happen. To be fair they are not often or they weren't the main thing in 1990 when I traversed the US from a stop over in New Jersey from San Antonio to Seattle.

This is my memory of one of the those little events along the way that has stayed with me.

I was staying with a new found friend Jim Bunch in Nashville. I'd met Jim in Tootsie's Orchid Lounge on Broadway. He asked where I was staying and I told him. 'You can't stay there' he exclaimed. 'Why' I asked. 'It's where people go for one-night stands' he explained 'Come and stay at my apartment'. I know what you're thinking. And yes I'd been propositioned before in Lake Charles when I was asked if I was into bi-sex and would I be interested in a three way. Jim was ok he was with a group of friends who also seemed to be ok. Though they did all take me to a club which my Let's Go guide said was a gay hangout - they shrieked with laughter when I showed then the entry. The club didn't play country music. But I digress - I said yes to his offer and bunked down on his living room floor for a few days.

Jim worked for a casting agent. One night I returned to the apartment and found a strange man there. He was friendly and was cooking up some food. He told me it was macrobiotic and introduced himself as Mac Gayden. Internally I gasped. THE Mac Gayden writer of 'Everlasting Love' and member of Area Code 615 of the Old Grey Whistle Test theme 'Stone Fox Chase'. He was and I was in the presence of greatness. He told me that he'd written part of 'Everlasting Love' when he was a teenager and kept it until he found the rest of the song (which he completed with Buzz Cason and it was a huge hit for Robert Knight in the US and Love Affair in the UK). He'd been to Memphis to meet U2 when they covered the song during sessions for Rattle and Hum album (later released on the Best of 1980-1990 compilation). He seemed touched that this young Irish band had recorded his song. They were nice boys he said.

We spoke briefly about macrobiotic food and he was gone. Mac was the husband of Jim's boss and they were pulling a late shift contacting casting options and Mac as a dedicated husband had prepared the food for that late shift.

That was 1990 and now many years later I've learned of Mac's passing. I'll remember that brief encounter and a man who seemed caught up up in his own humility. Just making macrobiotic food and conversing with a traveller form Scotland. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Gayden

Watching Marianne Faithfull

 

Friday 31st January 2025 

Watching Marianne Faithfull on BBC 4 . A BBC in session concert in LSO St Luke's in London from 2009.

She's enjoying herself. There's  'Broken English', a Billie Holiday song - 'Solitude', there's a Jackson C Frank song 'Kimbie', 'Dear God Please Help Me' by Morrisey, 'The Crane Wife' from the Decemberists. Sister Morphine and 'As Tears Go By' come from her back pages.

Watching I'm thinking WHAT is it about her? She's unique.

Yeah, yeah she was Mick Jagger's girlfriend, the Stones gave her 'As Time Goes By' her first hit, she took drugs, was a heroin addict. 

I think she was more than than though, so much more than that. From the Broken English album with it's electric European sound onwards she built a body of work that others would struggle to equal and many must envy. 

Watching this concert there it seems clear she listened deeply to music and was attracted to the joy, the darkness and beauty of music. There was no equal to her in English music. She was one of a kind.

She was a captivating performer and she'll be missed. I'm so glad she was here.

    

It's snowing in New Orleans - Beau Gris Gris and the Apocalypse live at the Voodoo Rooms

 Going to see Beau Gris Gris and the Apocalypse at the Voodoo Rooms when it was snowing in New Orleans was always going to be a special night. So I hoped and so it was. 

No support just a four to the floor rock'n'roll band playing to an enthusiastic audience for two and a half hours. 

They opened the night and their tour with the instant crowd pleaser 'What's My Name' audaciously introducing audience participation from song one. It worked and set the scene for the rest of the evening.

Beau Gris Gris are on the face of it the unlikely pairing of a skinny guitarist from Devizes and an ebullient singer from Louisiana have perfected a crowd pleasing sound mixing rock'n'roll, soul, americana and at times crunching glam guitar into the perfect night out. 

Slowing the pace down mid set with a stripped back acoustic guitar a voice and a brace of songs including a soulful cover of 'Nothing Compares 2 U'. 

The band are fronted by Greta Valenti and Robin Davey  and although this was a different backing band  than the last time I saw them  it was clear that these guys all add to the whole. 

After the band return the gig moves up a notch and there are audience invasions by Greta and Robin - there's bound to be film out there go find it. 

Finishing with a curfew pushing rendition of their 'Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down' I can't help but feel that this is probably the best live band I've seen this year! If you get the chance don't miss them.