Counting Down The Minutes with Alison Moyet

In April 2013. Andy Howells spoke to Alison Moyet about her album The Minutes as well as touring later that year.

“For a long time I've wanted to work with electronica but the problem is finding the right person to work with,” Alison Moyet tells me as we discuss her album The Minutes. “The great thing about my producer, Guy Sigsworth is he studied harpsichord at Cambridge, so his musicality is sublime.  

Couple that with a really fantastic way around technology and he’s got a great edge to him which meant we could do something not only musically pleasing, but also really interesting soundscapes. It’s the most cohesive album project I've done. It’s definitely an album to be listened to as a whole as opposed to albums made by a myriad collection of songwriters and producers that are just a collection of singles.”  

Alison’s approach to making an album borders more on Serendipity, “My motivation is not about being famous or selling lots of records. It’s a creative project I want to make. Of course, I’d like it to be well received, I’d like it to go well, but that can’t be the starting point. It has to be a happy accident as opposed to shaping your work.”  

Alison has seen some changes in the music industry over the years, she started out working with musicians such as Dr Feelgood’s Wilco Johnson and numerous punk outfits before collaborating with Vince Clark to form Yazoo in the early 1980s.  

“I think my generation was one of the most blessed when it came to music,” she says “ When we grew up we had pop, prog and punk rock, new technologies, the reinvention of pop. We had such a great bed to grow in and the great thing about radio and television in those days was you’d get what you considered really fantastic stuff next to something really horrible. That was part of the joy to determine who you were in the world as opposed to this kind of colour by numbers; everyone’s cloning everyone else, which I find kind of dull now.”  

Alison feels there’s a personal return to form with The Minutes which can be compared with her Yazoo days “I see Yazoo as a very happy creative time," she says, “That has been created again now in the sense that we made this record without the record companies A and R men in the same way I did in Yazoo, I feel really good about that.”  

Following the release for The Minutes, Alison will be looking forward to the autumn when she takes the album on the road.  “Touring’s my favourite thing , she says , “the vocals are going to be quite challenging to transfer to the stage as I'm using a lot of falsettos and very deep voices on this album but live is the place I'm comfortable as its that communion with people.”  

“The best thing about this is I'm going on tour with screens and synthesisers which means that I can approach the older material with  the grandeur of the sound they should have had with electronica, also with tracks from albums such as Raindancing which were more programmed it allows me a wider bed of hits to choose from.”  

Clearly Alison sounds both happy and excited about her latest album and continues to lavish praise on her producer, “I have to say this experience with Guy has been my favourite. We’ve come to shorthand so very quickly. My esteem of him is absolutely massive and if you said who would I like to record with again, I'd say I'd like to work with Guy.”

• The Minutes by Alison Moyet is available now on Cooking Vinyl
• A version of this interview appeared in The Guide during April, 2013 and can be seen on The South Wales Argus website.
• For the latest news on Alison Moyet visit her official website.

Pet Sounds - Petula Clark Returns With Lost In You

In February 2013, Petula Clark released a new album entitled Lost In You, this coincided with an announcement that she would tour later in the year. Andy Howells spoke to her about Lost In You, touring and her career.

Not many popular singers or musicians can admit to have been on the music scene since 1949, and even fewer can release an album in 2013 that sounds as fresh and contemporary than anything around at the moment, yet international music star Petula Clark has achieved just that with her new album Lost In You.

Fans shouldn’t be surprised; Petula has seen more musical changes than most artists. Her million-selling release Downtown reached the top of the charts in several countries as Beatlemania rocked the world in 1964. A very different release compared to her UK Chart-topper of five years previous Sailor where musical tastes were still heavily influenced by the music of the post-war years.

‘It’s never a conscious thing;’ says Petula, ‘I never sit down and think I’ve got to move with the times. I just live for the day and if the music comes out sounding different or contemporary that’s just the way it is.’

Her latest album Lost in You opens with the beautiful ambiance of Cut Copy Me, a release which has surprised many of Petula’s fans and she couldn’t be happier: ‘That was the first song we’d done actually. My producer John Owen Williams said: "Why don’t we go into the studio and see what happens?" I just went up and did it and its come out very well.  It is contemporary but I’m not trying to sound like someone else, they haven’t fooled around with my voice, it’s that track which was the driving force to do this CD. We just got together with some young writers and co-wrote most of them and of course we did some covers including Downtown…”

There’s almost a giggle in Petula’s voice as she mentions Downtown, but why return to it I ask… ‘That was exactly my reaction when John suggested we did it.’ She says, ‘I said "Why?" And then I said "No!" I went to Paris and when I came back a couple of days later he said "Have a listen to this!" He put the track on which was very beautiful but it had no melody, so I didn't know what it was. I said, "What is that?" and he said it’s "Downtown!"’

‘It was the most amazing experience, because I don’t know how many times I’ve sung Downtown over the years, I thought I knew it and suddenly I was singing the song in a different tempo with a whole different feel to it. I was like singing a brand new song, I find that very interesting.’

Petula also returned to her Welsh roots for another song, the autobiographical Reflections, which recalls her time growing up in Abercanaid when she was a child. ‘There’s a reference to Bach which means little and I wrote the lyric. John said to me why don’t you do something autobiographical and then I thought why don’t I just take myself back to Wales, that’s what it’s all about. I’m quite pleased with that track it’s very different to everything else on the CD.’

Petula will be returning to Wales later this year when her UK tour brings her to St David’s Hall on October 14, ‘I’m really looking forward to that’ she says with excitement. Will she get time to visit some of her old homeland? “That’s the problem will I have time?’ she sighs, before continuing more hopefully ‘I’ll be off down the valleys and maybe drop in to Abercanaid or Merthyr Tydfil, that trip from Cardiff down to Merthyr is one of my favourite things in the World.’

• Andy Howells interview with Petula Clark was published in The South Wales Argus entertainment supplement The Guide on March 1 2013 and can be currently viewed on The South Wales Argus Website.

Martyn Joseph - Going Back To His Roots

Andy Howells spoke to Welsh singer/songwriter Martyn Joseph in January 2014, prior to Martyn's appearance at St David's Hall in February.

Welsh singer/songwriter Martyn Joseph clearly loves been busy, despite recently completing a UK tour following the release of two albums and a tour in 2013, his 2014 diary is already rapidly filling up.

He plays a date later this month as part of St David’s Hall, Cardiff's Roots Unearthed season which focuses on global sounds in the intimate setting of the L3 Lounge, an environment Martyn himself particular excels in during his concerts.

Among his set will be songs from his very latest release Tires Rushing by in the Rain, showcasing tracks written by Bruce Springsteen.

“I’ve always done a couple of his songs in gigs” Martyn tells me. “People said "we’d like to have recordings of these", but I was always a bit shy because it’s sort of hallowed turf. Then a couple of years ago at a radio station in New York I met a guy called Dave Marsh who is married to Barbara Carr, Bruce Springsteen’s manager. Dave has written biographies on Bruce and he suggested that if the covers were well thought out, he would write the sleeve notes. I thought maybe I should take the risk; I recorded the 17 songs in three days last summer. We put that out and it’s done really well.”

“The reaction has been incredibly strong and I'm doing a special gig in London of all 17 songs in one show and I’m suddenly getting all these Bruce fans coming to my show who have never heard of me.”

Despite the fact that Martyn began his musical journey back in the 1980s, and has since released many albums including chart success in the 1990s how does he feel about  been described as ‘The Welsh Springsteen’?

“That makes me a feel a little uncomfortable to be honest,” he replies, “I think a reviewer said that once and people have run with it. I think it’s interesting, it’s a need to be able to understand who you are, what you do and what you’re about so I guess it’s a useful tag to say he’s a bit like this, but it’s a lot of weight to carry.”

Martyn is still very much his own artist, touring and recording regularly as well as fulfilling his charitable work. “I’ve run my own label for over 15 years. After the heady days of the 90s, I've been able to manage everything myself and control it and keep putting albums out, playing 160 odd shows a year  travelling the states, Canada and Europe. The latest thing I’m excited about this year is I’m forming my own foundation and trust fund to aim finance some of the projects I've been involved with and others I’ve always pointed towards social concerns within songs. After a visit to Palestine last year, I thought its time to help some of these people who do a lot of great grass roots work. They help each other and other people and are always in worse off situations but don’t get a lot of attention or get the big grants and money. Its going to be called the Let Yourself trust with a small team of great people around me we can keep going.”

Its Martyn’s awareness of worldwide situations that has kept his approach to music fresh and relevant over the years, fans can usually follow his latest work through his frequently updated website as well as regular newsletters. “I’m just following a path. It’s a natural thing, in life, as you walk along the road things change. I suppose my job is to try and articulate in an art form called song writing. In a way the slant of the music has changed through the years and I think it’s important in terms of having longevity to keep something of reinvention about what you do. There’s a lot of ways of getting your message across these days with modern communication, you’ve got to be clued up on that.”

Still focusing on the live show, Martyn tells me that there will be a good mixture of new and old material as well as a special guest from America , “Billy Porter is one of the best guitar players I’ve ever seen. He’s a good friend and he’s coming over to open this show. While the shows still contain some very serious issues were having a good time these days. There’s a lot of getting the crowds singing. I want them to have a good time, a laugh, it’s a mixture of all those things one is trying to do every night and make that connection so that it feels like a dinner party and not concert!”

A version of this interview appeared in The Guide supplement and The South Wales Argus website during February 2014.

Visit Martyn Joseph's Official Website for latest news on Martyn's projects.

Meet The Band: Remembering August

Ahead of their new release Brother Jessie Hallett and Luke Searle of South Wales duo Remembering August chat to Andy Howells

What are your names and where are you both from? 
Jessie Hallett (Cardiff) Luke Searle (Beddau)

How did Remembering August come together? 
We met studying Music in Bridgend College. We were paired up by our tutor for our end of course project to sing a duet together, we really connected through that experience and it all went from there! We started to stay behind after College to mess around with some covers to see how well our voices blended together with harmonies. Then we started gigging in our local area and then went onto songwriting which has lead us to where we are today!

Where did you get your name from? 
August was a month where we felt we had two very different paths to choose from. Both needing a lot of commitment and dedication. So we always look back to how we felt at that particular time, and how passionate we were to follow what we really wanted.

How would you describe your music? 
Our lyrics are always very personal to us, they always tell a story of an experience that either one of us has been through. Our live gigs are always very intimate with a lot of chemistry when we perform.

How do you go about writing your songs, do you find it easy to work together and inspire each other?
As solo artists we were both song writers in our own right. So making the transition from being a solo artist to being part of a duo was always going to be difficult. Majority of the time Luke will come up with amazing one-liners or a really catchy hook. He’ll then call me over and we’ll start developing his ideas. Once we start writing a new song, we work on it intensely until we feel perfectly happy with the outcome. We tend to get more inspired whilst at different locations. A lot of our songs have been written at the beach or just somewhere with a nice view, we like experimenting by putting ourselves in various areas. We've been fortunate to sign a publishing deal with Seemonkeysongs Ltd so will continue to write new songs.

You have already released one EP how did that come about and how well was it received? 
Our first EP was recorded and produced by Ed Sheeran's co writer Amy Wadge. We met Amy whilst participating in a songwriting workshop in The Muni, Pontypridd. We performed our single ‘Stay’ for her, and she then booked us into her studio a few weeks later. The EP was self-released and we really learned a lot by doing that. We worked extremely hard to do everything necessary that would make the release great. Working off our own backs was hard, but It was a great learning curve for us.

What's been your best live experience so far? 
One of the highlights of our career so far was definitely performing on the Forum Live Stage at Birmingham LG Arena before the Katy Perry show. It was an amazing crowd, and a real honour to be asked to play. We also supported James Walsh (Starsailor) at Clwb Ifor Bach, which was actually our favourite audience to date. We also played in the Park & Dare Theatre (which was Sold out) supporting Only Boys Aloud. We've been really fortunate to have played these fantastic venues with appreciative audiences.

Are you working on any more material? 
We've finished recording out next EP ‘Brother’. We recorded it in Monnow Valley studios where the likes of Oasis, Led Zepplin have recorded. The EP consists of 5 tracks, one of which is our next single ‘Stay’. ‘Stay’ will be released on the 20th October followed by the EP release on the 27th October. Everything will be available for download on all major distributors e.g. iTunes, Spotify, Amazon etc.

We’re extremely excited to see our hard work come to life - a lot of blood, sweat and tears (literally - watch the music video!) went into this EP and we can’t wait to share it. Lee House (our producer) is doing an amazing job with our tracks so far so we hope you’ll all love them as much as we do!

Where can we see you live? 
Our next gig is The Big Cwtch Festival in Camarthen on 13th September. We are currently booking live shows for the rest of the year, all of which will be released on our social media very soon - so keep your eyes peeled! We’re also happy to have announced our signing with booking agent Swb Artists!

Where can we find out more about the band? 
Our official website is www.rememberingaugust.co.uk / facebook.com/rememberingaugustmusic / twitter.com/rememberingaug / youtube.com/rememberingaugustuk / soundcloud.com/rememberingaugustmusic

• A version of this Q&A with Andy Howells appeared in the South Wales Argus entertainment supplement The Guide during September 2014

On Stage and Screen - Lee Mead Interview

Early in 2014, Andy Howells interviewed singer and actor Lee Mead prior to his UK tour of concerts across selected theatres. The tour commenced at Cardiff's Sherman Theatre on May 4.

Versatility doesn't come naturally to all artists but Lee Mead is undoubtedly an exception to the rule. Proving his talent well beyond winning the title role of Joseph in Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on the talent show Any Dream Will Do, several years back, Lee can currently be seen on BBC One’s Casualty. 

He was also recently announced in a starring role of Cardiff New Theatre’s pantomime, Cinderella this Christmas as well as embarking on a UK tour. 

“I feel lucky I can do both” says Lee when discussing his TV and music career, “over the years I’ve done shows at the New Theatre and the Millennium Centre, but the kind of show I’m putting on this year is a more stripped back acoustic based set. The main reason to do smaller venues on this tour is to make it more intimate, I did a small run at a jazz bar on London’s Old King’s Road, I really enjoyed that way of performing it was the first time I’d done that as opposed to doing big shows in the West End.” 

The tour will be spread out across UK venues on Sunday evenings across the remainder of 2014 in order to tie in with Lee’s filming commitments to Casualty in Cardiff. It’s a balance he finds quite challenging, especially as he also makes trips back to London to see his daughter. 

“I started filming on Casualty last October but the episodes you see on TV are shot four months in advance so my first episode was broadcast over a month ago,” says Lee who says the role of Lofty has given his acting career “a new lease of life”.  

“It’s something I wanted to explore about five years ago but to make that transition when you’re publicly known for musicals is hard. You have to prove yourself; I’d done a guest appearance on Casualty three years prior. The producer Oliver Kent called me in to read for a new role Lofty, a nurse and had me in mind for the part. Fortunately I read really well and was filming about a week later. Its crazy, Casualty is a big show and has a real loyal following with 5 or 6 million a week I’m really proud to be a part of it.”

Lee is currently in the process of recording his fourth album, although he admits he gets little time to write songs due to his busy schedule, so he will be concentrating on producing new takes on familiar material including music from classic MGM musicals South Pacific and Anything Goes, some songs will be previewed at his forthcoming shows. 

“I’m trying it out to see what response I get,” he says, “I’m doing Some Enchanted Evening from South Pacific and Luck Be A Lady from Guys and Dolls. That’s where I got my passion for musical theatre. I’m a working class lad so couldn't afford to go, it was a once-a year treat, so my passion came from watching those films.” 

“I've got a great producer and musical director called Mason Neely who also works with Cerys Matthews and Hayley Westenra, he’s a super talented guy and I'm really lucky to have him on my team. We've done an arrangement of Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera and what you’d expect to hear is that theatrical iconic version but the version we do is acoustic and stripped back, the way he’s written the arrangement is so beautiful and completely different. There will be a couple of Joseph numbers as well because you cant miss that out.” 

Lee scored hits with both Any Dream Will Do and Close Every Door after winning the Joseph talent show on television several years ago. I ask him if he had ever got tired of his association with the musical.  “If I’m been honest I did because for a couple of years afterwards I didn't want to be pigeonholed and your fighting against that’s all your known for. Seven years on, I've learned to embrace it and think how lucky I am to have had that platform. It’s a nice thing now to have those songs in my concerts and get asked to sing them; it was a unique thing that happened”. 

Lee is also looking forward to his Cardiff show because he will be joined on stage by fellow actor and singer Stephen Raman Hughes, “He’s a big star in Asia and he’s not as established here as a solo artist but he’s about to play the lead in Rock of Ages the musical on a UK tour he’s a great friend and we’re looking at doing a duet, he’s got a very different voice from mine which is important.” 

Lee believes his ability to act is as crucial to live performances as his singing, “With acting you've got to tell a story it’s not good enough to have a nice voice and sing a song.”

• A previous version of Andy Howells interview with Lee Mead was originally published in The South Wales Argus entertainment supplement The Guide during May 2014.

Review: Robot Wars 2014, Newport Centre

10 months after their last visit, Robot Wars was back at Newport Centre over the weekend for further demonstrations in robotic style, aggression and total damage.

Fun was certainly the order of the day as Sunday afternoon’s show commenced featuring audience participation from the offset as a series of contests ensued in the Robot Wars Arena testing the agility and strength of heavyweight and lightweight contestants.

The audience roared with delight as robots such as Saint, Rattler, Ripper, Megamouse, Cherub and DTK   attacked each other with spikes, flippers and flames. Long standing favourites Major Damage and Matilda (a fierce weapon with a chainsaw for a bottom), were on hand to deliver their own style of Robot Wars carnage.

The audience  witnessed  contestants  getting thrown into the pit, been smashed to smithereens and even been set on fire, of course  no-one got hurt, except maybe the robot operator’s pride and even they took it all in good part as its all intrinsic to the fun of the show!

There was also a special appearance from Star Wars' R2D2 who offered his own opinion as to which robot team would win in the ultimate face off between Ripper and Megamouse. R2D2 even delighted fans by posing for photographs with fans in the shows interval.

All in all, Robot Wars remains great fun for all the family retaining the essence of energy and adrenaline that made the original TV series so much fun, be sure to see it live if you get the opportunity!

• A version of this review by Andy Howells appeared in The South Wales Argus during May 2014.
• Bringing Major Damage To Robot Wars - Andy Howells Interviews John Findlay

Brian Poole Returns As Tremeloes Frontman - Interview

Now celebrating its 29th year, The Solid Silver 60s Show comes to Cardiff later this month with some of the 1960s biggest acts. Topping the bill will be The Tremeloes, reunited with their original frontman Brian Poole, who recently took time out to chat with Andy Howells.

“We used to play Liverpool all the time, we were Liverpool’s second sons,” laughs Dagenham’s Brian Poole as he recalls the moment in 1963 his band The Tremeloes, toppled The Beatles She Loves You from Number One with their single Do You Love Me. “They didn't care we were from London, and we were walking in Lime Street station and went to a paper stall to buy a paper there. It was plastered all over the place, Beatles toppled by Brian Poole and The Tremeloes. If I could find that paper now I’d totally love it. Of course we knew the boys as well and lots of banter went on as you can believe!”

It sounds like the stuff of dreams but this was not the first time that Brian’s group The Tremeloes had toppled the Fab Four, 18 months previously in January 1962, the bands, both relatively unknown, had auditioned with Decca Records for a recording contract.

Brian and his band won out over The Beatles. “George Martin, who eventually signed The Beatles, later told me that everyone turned down The Beatles in those days,” says Brian who thinks hindsight is a great thing.

“The Beatles came and did songs that weren’t suitable for that time, we came and Decca knew our work because we’d already been backing people like Tommy Steele, Johnny Burnette and Gary US Bonds. Decca didn't know about the Beatles writing style. Lennon and McCartney are two of the greatest songwriters in the world bar none, although Decca were quite happy with us; we sold 15 million records for them. “

Brian and The Tremeloes in 1963

Brian along with Alan Blakely, Alan Howard and Dave Munden formed The Tremeloes in Dagenham in 1958. Although The Tremeloes were originally a five-piece group, Brian became the front man after he was elected so by the other band members on a bus journey home from a trip to see visiting US band Buddy Holly and The Crickets in East Ham.

“On the way back they went into a bit of a huddle and I said "What are you talking about? Is my shirt hanging out?” They said “No, we’ve just had a chat. We think there’s got to be a front man for the band and we’ve decided its going to be you.” I said “I don’t know I’ll give it a go” and sure enough, it took off that’s the way we did it. They made it easy for me.”

Prior to signing with Decca, Brian and The Tremeloes became a top draw in the dance hall circuit, “Those were the best days. We were playing in dance halls. Nobody sat down; they were all up dancing to us. We got to play all those songs like Do You Love Me and Twist and Shout and if you didn't play them the way they wanted them, they didn't dance to them.”

It was the bands upbeat sound which made them chart mainstays from 1963 until the end of the 60s, although following five world tours, Brian opted to leave the group in 1966. The group of course continued to have further success in their own right with hits such as Silence Is Golden and Here Comes My Baby.

Almost five decades on, Brian is back with The Tremeloes which still features original drummer Dave Munden for the 2014 Solid Silver Sixties Show . The show which visits Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on April 17, will also feature such artists as Chris Farlowe, Chris Montez and Vanity Fair.

“I love the fact that Dave Munden has kept The Tremeloes running to a high degree,” says Brian , “Alan Blakely and I invented that name The Tremeloes and Dave was the only person around at that time, thank God, he’s kept it going. It’s a total pleasure for me to be back with the band that’s a top attraction in their own right and putting me back with them – beautiful!

• A version of Andy Howells' interview with Brian Poole appeared in The South Wales Argus entertainment section The Guide during April 2014.
• Read Andy Howells interview with Tremeloes drummer Dave Munden
• Read Andy Howells interview with Tremeloes guitarist Chip Hawkes