Category: Music

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.

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

Click here to listen to the album

All the things I love are shut

Here are some of them:

Ronnie Scott’s Club
606 Club
Tate Britain
My gym
Franco Manca (Victoria Branch)
Brixton Ritzy
Banh Banh (Brixton)
Natural History Museum
Clapham Picture House
St John’s Smith Square

Don’t worry this is no anti-lockdown, anti-vax, Bill Gates and 5G Networks control the world rant, it’s just me listing and missing what I love. Make no mistake I’ll be rolling up my sleeve to receive a vaccine as soon as one is on offer.

I’ve lived in central London for most of my life because I love it. I’ve always felt sorry for those who were forced to live in town, hated it, but had to do so because of their job. Then I’d say well at least you’ve got live music, theatre, museums to which many would reply well I don’t go to them much anyway. Now I hear several of my friends and colleagues are moving out of town because they’re working from home and will be for the foreseeable future. And those who had three-hour daily commutes are spared that grind and can remain rural. Covid has put rocket boosters on remote working and we’ll be living with the consequences for many years, many of which are not all bad.

As for me, will I be moving to the countryside? Not a chance. I like to take trips out of town on a weekend but come Sunday evening it’s time to head back to civilisation. The problem is of course that civilisation as I know and like it is pretty much closed.

First bike ride of 2021

I’ve just come back from my first bike ride of 2021. A 17K spin around Pimlico, Victoria, Hyde Park, Oxford Street, Chancery Lane, the City, over Blackfriars Bridge and home to the Oval. I’ve never seen London so empty, which is a big fat lie as it was just as empty in March when I was doing the same ride albeit in more pleasant early Spring weather. Despite there being virtually no cars, I still manged to give a Black Cab driver apoplexy with him shaking his fist at me for reasons I’m a little hazy about. One of the things he probably hates are all the new cycle lanes that have popped up all over town. They are a godsend to us two wheelers and another unexpected Covid bonus, though that’s not a view often shared by the four-wheel community. You can now pedal safely up Park Lane which used to feel like joining an F1 starting grid.

Low-traffic neighbourhood

We now live in a new low-traffic neighbourhood which means our streets have become virtually pedestrianised. I see families with very young kids pedalling around in safety in a way that could never have happened before. Once again car drivers don’t much like the look of LTNs, but to me they are another bit of lockdown luck. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-car, I don’t own one, but we use Zip cars on a regular basis.

I always detest January and February; they seem to holdout so little chance for fun. This year more so than ever. Mrs Preen is engaged in dry January which always seems such a poor month to stay off the booze. I’ll be endeavouring not to drink during the week but may get on the outside of the good stuff over the weekend.

This seems rather a bleak post to start the New year, but with vaccines ready to be jabbed into our arms things will hopefully improve and perhaps 2021 will be a Happy New Year even if it takes a little time for the happiness to arrive. I’m sat here waiting for London to wake up once again.