Category: Arts Culture

The Hard Crowd

My song Hard Crowd, released on 26th January 2024, started with a simple idea. What is it like working for the Rolling Stones or any of the huge stadium filling rock ‘n’ roll monsters?

In my mind the guy in the song is some minor bean counter or roadie. If it’s the Stones, then Mick and Keith have no idea who he is, but apparently Ron Wood was introduced to him, vaguely recognises him, but can’t remember his name. Our hero casts a beady eye on all the backstage shenanigans.

This song follows my French adventures with Fred & Ava and Mobylette and has a more blues-based approach. It contains a blistering alto sax solo from Mr Simon Clarke of The Kick Horns. He’s really preaching with the choir at the end. Sannie Fox provides backing vocals. Everything else was played and sung by me and Dom Clark. The whole farrago was put together at Mustard Seed Recording Studio in Stratford East, London. A better place to lay down sounds would be hard to find.

The Kick Horns have a great new big band album. Listen here.

Listen here

The Hard Crowd

Running with the hard crowd

Running all the while

The hard, hard crowd

Trying to raise a smile

Look at that fool, propping up the bar

Who does he think he is? A rock and roll star?

Well, you are

Give ‘em an inch, watch them smile

Give ‘em and inch, they’re gonna take a mile

That’s their style

Tough gig, hard crowd

So cool, so loud

What do they see, all them girls

A playboy of the western world

Look at them guys, pounding on the door

Never going to win in this life that’s for sure

Oh for sure

Running with the hard crowd

Running all the while

The hard, hard crowd

Trying to raise a smile

Tough gig, hard crowd

So cool, so loud

What do they see, all them girls

A playboy of the western world

My band has a gig at Vauxhall Variety

Shameless plug

My band is playing at Vauxhall Variety on Saturday 21^st August. The event is at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, just behind Vauxhall Cross. We amble to the stage at around 5.30pm. We’ll be playing some rock & roll and blues for your delectation and delight.

I’m joined by guitar wrangler Les Davidson (Joan Armatrading, Shakin’ Stevens, Sniff and the Tears) and on tenor sax by Mr Tim Sanders (Eric Clapton, Stones). On drums is the mighty Chris Sharley (Krissy Matthews Band, Sassafras).

This will be a really fun event with all kinds of acts, sort of Vauxhall’s Got Talent.

Stop by if you can and let’s hope the sun is shining.

Art in the Arches

Covid has given retail a right royal kicking. With people stuck at home, many have swapped their shopping habits from the high street to the internet. Where Amazon and the rest have benefited, shops from Debenhams to our local gift shop Max & Melia are shuttering. Take a walk through the City of London and you’ll see a retail graveyard. Even Piccadilly, in the heart of the West End, has space to rent.

Unfortunately, the same is true in our neighbourhood. Vauxhall styles itself as The Vibrant Place though some of its vibrancy has washed away as shops and restaurants close. The same is true of empty railway arches at Vauxhall Cross. To be fair two places I always liked, Counter Vauxhall Bar and Brasserie and the motorbike shop Metropolis, closed before the pandemic took hold.

*Picture by Roxanne Dewar (Bucket and I thought this was the best)*

Vauxhall One, the local business improvement district, does huge amounts to keep Vauxhall clean and green and they commissioned a series of murals to paper over the empty spaces.

*Not art, just me and Bucket having a snoop*

The artists have done a great job, but in many ways I’m ambivalent about the whole project. The pictures brighten up the place but I’d far rather there were thriving businesses in their place.

For art we can go to the Damien Hirst Gallery on Newport Street or Tate Britain just over the river.

But don’t let me put you off, take a stroll to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, and look at what the artists have achieved. Some of the paintings are exquisite.

Here are the artists along with their Instagram links

Mr Penfold (Tim Gresham)

Luke Smile, a typographic artist

Susheel Basra, graphic designer

Illustrator Roxane Dewar

Italian artist and illustrator Gianinna Delpino

Botanical print designer Leila Vibert Stokes

Collage designer and animator Flavia Felipe

Graphic designer Craig Yamey

Muralist, illustrator and self-professed doodler Luke Embden

Artist and graphic designer NERONE

Thomas Kirk Shannon, VAULT Creative Arts

The featured image at the top is by Gianinna Delpino

Liner Notes

I have a new album out which goes under the snappy title of ‘Cat in the Spirit House’. The picture below will give you a rough clue as where the name came from.

Full disclosure: These are not actually new songs but are taken from the two albums I released in the 1990s. ‘Don’t stare at the celebrities’ came out to wide- spread acclaim (hang on that should read apathy) in 1995 and ‘Shopping in bed’ followed two years later. These ten cuts represent the best songs those two albums had to offer.

In the nineties I moved to journalism and worked largely with ABC News covering the first Gulf War, the Concorde crash and the Bosnian conflict among hundreds of other stories. News features quite heavily in the lyrics if you know where to look. I was still in touch with an amazing group of musicians from by recording studio days. All these years later their playing still sounds extraordinary. Thanks to one and all.

Credit for this new album should go to my old comrade in arms Simon Webb who came up with the idea and who also suggested getting Ian Tompson to re-master the chosen tracks. Ian did a wonderful job pulling off the cobwebs using all the dastardly wizardry at his disposal.

Click here to listen to the album

Love to all

Jim

Spring 2021

Credits

Voice/guitar: Jim Preen

Guitar: Les Davidson, Tim Stone

Bass: John Gordon, Jeremy Meek, Phil Manley, Richard Lee, Simon Edwards

Drums: Richard Marcangelo, Steve Dixon

Percussion: Phil Overhead

Keys: Mick Parker, Damon Butcher, Tim Bradshaw

Vibes: Roger Beaujolais

Harmonica: Mark Feltham

Tenor sax: Ray Carless, Nick Penteloe

Backing vocals: Helen Hardy, Sonia Jones, Zoe Nicholas, Susie Webb

The Kick Horns: Roddy Lorimer (tpt), Simon Clarke (bari), Tim Sanders (tenor)

Brass arranged by Simon Clarke

Songs remastered by Ian Tompson

Photograph: Judith Hurst

Design: Rob Anderson

Framed written by Leiber & Stoller

Mr Siegal written by Tom Waits

JP responsible for the rest of the malarkey