I'd forgotten about my tinitus

Ha ha how I laugh. I've got a gig going on in my head and the worst aspect is seems to be quadraphonic.....

The sound is largely symbols but it's got a nice eacey rhythm 

I'm hearing the Proclaimers song ...the words for which are on the edge of my tongue ....it's sorts of high and goes low and says,.  Well I've seen all kinds of rituals, and I'm fucked right out my brain, but you keep coming home ...again.....oh yes I fucked myself right up, cause I'm clearly a fucked up bairn,,...and I will be so grateful if you...could set me right again ....

That's drink anyway ZoO are soooo good you have to see them and SALT are already tipped to enjoy greater audiences - don't pay £150 for a ticket when the real deal is £10!

Happy Family issue 6

KB and I never agreed on a few albums which was great as he got Abba and I got the Happy Family

I don't think either of wanted the Anusia song imagination. It's of it's time and was probably not the best example of synth pop.

1982 line teasers

Great lines or minging?

You decide my only clue is

I'm not Familiar with all of Abba's lyrics....

Issue 6

Issue 6

I knew KB was a big fan of Bucks Fizz, but putting Jay on page 3 was a wonderful ironic gesture for 1982.

Issue 6 like all the early issues involved the Royal Mail quite a lot as Keith put the Deadbeats together in Edinburgh while I partied in Dundee or St Andrews.

Number 6

Number 6

On this day in1974

I like this one - apparently I beat Bruce H at chess but much more importantly to my 10 year old self was that I didn't have this diary last year when I WON the chess tournament, oh how we laugh at the thought of this little 9 year old not having a diary to write it in. 

Much more importantly NUPE gave us the heads up in 1979 that an industrial dispute would see us without Jannies and Cooks! We took to the streets to support them. Nobody crossed the Holy Rood pocket line, let's hear it for the Jannies and the Cooks, 41 years on, I hope you won more than a chess tournament!

On this day in 1980

Hibs beat Morton 3-2 and I read the Hobbit.

It all makes sense.....

It certainly makes a change from 1979 where I stood watching a queue of people building for Thin Lizzy tickets. Who would queue for tickets I laughed.

Nowadays of course, we all queue in the comfort of our own phone, hitting refresh refresh refresh. Back then it was carry outs and sleeping bags!

Who knew three years later in 1982 we'd  be queuing for the Higsons and an interview for issue 10.

Oh such grand memories.

Growing up in Public - April 1980 - Lou Reed

40 years ago today....

Insert album cover (!)





This was my Lou Reed album. It was 1980 I was 17 and this was me, Growing up in Public, with my hands tied. This was Lou speaking to me. This was Lou speaking in a language that made so much sense to me.

We all had our teenage rebellion that resulted in both life and death. Some died, some were having kids, some of us skived school, some were being assaulted by teachers. My rebellion was much more middle class. It was a linguistic war that I fought across the kitchen table as I mashed my tatties. The discussion was usually about what kind of education I was getting. I'd been telling my Mum that there were no "t's" in butter at Holy Rood. If you wanted to make it through school, it was buh'er. If you wanted a pagger, it was 'butter', Growing up in Public, you learned to choose your fights and asking for butter wasn't one of them. I dont think she ever understood the trouble I had explaining we didn't live in a 'boat hoose'. I remember my linguistic education more than most, my wonderful autistic ways make me smile as I continually protested, 'no we dont live in a boat hoose, my mum and dad own it, they bought it.....'

For many who were born too late and missed the Velvets, Berlin, Transformer, Street Hassle, Sally Cant Dance and countless other albums this was the seminal album, for those born in 65 I'm sure theBlue Mask, etc...

I was in love with the Specials, Peter Perrett's lyrics, with Patrik Fitzgerald or Paul Weller spitting them out but Lou just said it as it was.

Nothing over or understated, "smiles", so funny 40 years on. Simple rock n roll, simple messages, read, sing and let your mind take over. The book is often described as the most democratic genre as each reader interprets each word, but for me, the blanker the canvas, the better journey. Simple messages open the mind.

There's not a track on that album that doesn't make me smile. It takes me straight back to where I was "So Alone". I'd tried to get moved to another school, or as I said, a school. I fucked off to university instead at the end of 5th year, and Lou was a helpful step on the journey.

I went along to the April pre-uni school weekend at St Andrews as the album came out and I thought, time to move on and learn something. I didn't know how to apply as I hadn't even sat my highers but the seed had been sown. The grass didn't look greener, it was the fact there was some grass. Holy Rood sadly for me was just a concrete jungle. One of my brothers, the one who also went to Holy Rood, used "Berlin" in 6th year as he sat his English Higher again, allegedly to improve the mark. Instead it was just to allow him another year doing a subject he'd already done. He had music to play....

"The power of positive drinking.." is just the perfect song for someone who is only a couple of years into a lifetime habit, but its a wonderful song. I dont think it led many people to sobriety but then I'm sure "Caroline Says II" cant be laid at the door of abusers. Shining lights is what good art does for me and Lou's music was an inspiration to do much of what followed.

There's no doubt, Lou spoke loudly to adolescent boys, and learning 'how to speak to angel', from an LP wasn't always recommended, but once I'd done the positive drinking, I tried 'Hello!', and surprisingly enough it did work.....once!

I'm not sure if it was when our daughter was 16 or 17 that I suddenly realised everyone was on the outside looking in. I'd spent my life on the touchlines, but then as I looked back recently, clearly I was inside the ropes. I'd written the rules and I'd even taken my ball home in those petulant moments.

When you listen to "My old Man" or "Keep away", you get all the fun of Ian Dury and Lou's playful creative lyrics come firing out from every corner of the house, from every nook and cranny, rhyming couplets that dance you around a collapsing relationship. Dividing up the family jewels is what every divorcing couple should do, but what a lot of shite was in every corner of this house. "....here's Shakespeare's Measure by Measure...", "Here's a yardstick you can measure me by...." and this was just as he was getting ready to divorce drugs and marry again!

Lou has a wonderful musical legacy and so many words are written about the guy and his life. He was never gonna be a Cliff Richard and his death was just a traditional Rock'n'Roll suicide, where he clearly took people out long the way. There's the quick sixties suicide or the longer version where you wait to see how much your body can take. He clearly gave up the bevvy a smidgeon later than intended but late enough that he got through the 80's and out the other side to reach his own 60's. By that time many more records and falling outs had come and gone. I quite like his work with Robert Quine on the Blue Mask. I also like so many of his collaborations, not least Bowie, there's a cracking you tube clip of Lou in 1984 as Jim Carroll performs "People Who Died". I dont think you need to beat up people to write "Caroline say II", and nowadays you'd be rightly jailed for it. I've no idea what the guy was like but I'm glad he wrote the song whether its a form of atonement is for others.

I've slid off the path of "smiles". The truth is they all smile on tv, and if he didn't smile, it wasn't just because his mum told him not to, but his music still makes me smile. Interestingly, I never heard him perform any of this album and its clearly not one he was that fond of, but he always had a big back catalogue to choose from so I'll forgive him and be happy he made it.

Music is about memories, sharing them is fun, but closing my eyes and getting back to the album is even better, so raise a glass, choose your year, close your eyes and listen to one of your favourite albums from when you were 16/17......thats what Covid-19 is all about!

I guarantee you'll pass a day in no time!

Next up Strawberry Tarts....Walking in a straight line.....

ZoO fundraiser plus S.A.L.T. Edinburgh February 28th 2020 - 7pm - 1am

Rolling over into February 29th this year at the King Khalid Rooms, 10 Hill Place near Surgeons Hall.

Both bands have been whipping up a storm on the local scene not least at the Leith Depot last year.

Svengali Paul 'Glenny' Glenwright came back from Cyprus for the gig but as usual didn't read the notice.

The date was in the small print!

Doors open 7pm and you can dance through to the early hours of our leap year.

With Life Support band members on display, Deadbeat dug into the archives to find these pictures.

Simon from S.A.L.T. clearly bulking up to hide drummer Ross from ZoO back in 1986 at Baxter Park in Dundee.

ZoO's Ross is a bit clearer in this image with Simon out of the way, but Tucker stays hidden in the bar.

See ticketor.com for details and see you all on the night!

For those of you who like a bit of nostalgic nonsense the Life Support tab provides that.

Deadbeat's 2020 hindsight will be catching up on all the bands of yesterday as they pop up today.

Some of the more famous bands stood the test of time, but what about the rest?

Did they stay in music, did the record deal arrive, did the band hit one of those joyous meltdowns?

Who burnt the candle at both ends or did it just slowly burn out?

What drugs do you take now and what was the best party, after gig experience?

Cars,  Motorbikes or VW Camper?

For those who enjoyed the band days did the performance roll into your roll making skills at the Picnic Basket or any Sandwich bar? Did you chef skills lead you to cook on tour?

In 40 years plenty will have happened, children, or coming out the closet, what was your favourite moment since those 5 minutes of fame and was it Hampden for a gig or a football match?

Many questions to ask and we'll be asking them over the coming months as we put the finishing touches to Deadbeat, Scotland's fanzine.

We plan to interview all of those we interviewed back then and laugh at the years in between. Its a lot of drinking, but I'm up for it, starting on February 28th!

Thank you SWIM

I'm never done being frustrated by how our generation of teenagers felt we'd done really well, in my case along with Hilary, Keith, Lynne, Kath, Karen, Roy Terre, Graeme, Francis and the many other contributors, we put out Deadbeat and never thought about it, we just did it.

We never made any conscious diversity decisions we just felt we represented who we bumped into in the local or national music scene. An unconscious choice.

I looked back at the covers in the light of so much setting back of the clock and I hold my hands up, especially towards the end.

We had Siouxsie (3 -6) on the cover twice, Annie Lennox (11),  Tracie Young,(14) strawberry switchblade (16), Kate Garner (22), only 6.

Of the bands we had Aztec Camera,(5) fun boy 3,(12),   (15), twisted nerve (17 &28) passionate friends (20) Cocteau twins (21), pop wallpaper (25) Wild Indians (27) Plastic Surgery (32) and the Alarm (33). Of the 11 bands only 3 contained women.

Paul McLaughlin (2), Kid Creole (4), Edwyn Collins (7), Adam Ant (8) Ian McCulloch (9) Switch Higson aka  (10),  Stuart Adamson (13) Kirk Brandon (19), Malcolm Ross (23), Morrissey (24),  Lloyd Cole (29) and the Crucial Xylophone front man (31) 12 covers in toyal. Or double the women on the covers.

I'm suitably chastised by myself for not being a wee bit more mindful, not least as the Rutkowski sisters sweet singing surely deserved to see Sunset Gun on the cover of 17, our first birthday flexi issue, but Deadbeat history will declare it was twisted nerve, a decision probably made at 2am in La Sorbonne when I'd been bribed by a few drinks.

What really frustrates me now, (almost 40 years later) is to look at the line ups for music festivals in Scotland. I'm absolutely baffled as to why the organisers can have all male lineups. 

It is truly ridiculous and for that I apologise unreservedly for not having done more when we were growing up, doing deadbeat although judging by the last 5 covers probably wise we did stop.

We are victims nowadays of being spoon-fed through the acquisition of our data by Facebook Google etc. As any statistician will tell you this is a race to the very bottom and expectations are suitably set.

Organisations like SWIM seek to redress the current imbalance but their job can't be easy. Diversity is an issue our society has booted into the political correctness bin. We all know what we need to do and celebrating all of the human race isn't a bad start.

This rant was provoked by a list of the performers at a Scottish festival this summer. I'm not saying boycott it but I am grateful radio Scotland were broadcasting today at 3:30pm!