WELCOME TO THE CFZ BLOG NETWORK: COME AND JOIN THE FUN

Half a century ago, Belgian Zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans first codified cryptozoology in his book On the Track of Unknown Animals.

The Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) are still on the track, and have been since 1992. But as if chasing unknown animals wasn't enough, we are involved in education, conservation, and good old-fashioned natural history! We already have three journals, the largest cryptozoological publishing house in the world, CFZtv, and the largest cryptozoological conference in the English-speaking world, but in January 2009 someone suggested that we started a daily online magazine! The CFZ bloggo is a collaborative effort by a coalition of members, friends, and supporters of the CFZ, and covers all the subjects with which we deal, with a smattering of music, high strangeness and surreal humour to make up the mix.

It is edited by CFZ Director Jon Downes, and subbed by the lovely Lizzy Bitakara'mire (formerly Clancy), scourge of improper syntax. The daily newsblog is edited by Corinna Downes, head administratrix of the CFZ, and the indexing is done by Lee Canty and Kathy Imbriani. There is regular news from the CFZ Mystery Cat study group, and regular fortean bird news from 'The Watcher of the Skies'. Regular bloggers include Dr Karl Shuker, Dale Drinnon, Richard Muirhead and Richard Freeman.The CFZ bloggo is updated daily, and there's nothing quite like it anywhere else. Come and join us...

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Unlike some of our competitors we are not going to try and blackmail you into donating by saying that we won't continue if you don't. That would just be vulgar, but our lives, and those of the animals which we look after, would be a damn sight easier if we receive more donations to our fighting fund. Donate via Paypal today...




Sunday, March 09, 2014

CRYPTOLINK: Lyme’s Own ‘Loch Ness Monster’ Surfaces in the Sun

A word about cryptolinks: we are not responsible for the content of cryptolinks, which are merely links to outside articles that we think are interesting (sometimes for the wrong reasons), usually posted up without any comment whatsoever from me. 

Loch Ness Monster in Lyme
We were sent this great photo by Connie Donkin of Lyme, which shows a strange sight she saw in Hamburg Cove a week or two ago.  We had to agree with her that it’s remarkably reminiscent of the famed ‘Loch Ness Monster’ — but we decided it looks like he’s sunbathing, which we’re not sure that the real thing would be very likely to do in light of the chilly weather in the Scottish Highlands!

BIGFOOT NEWS IN BRIEF



Bigfoot News | Bigfoot Lunch Club: Paul Graves Presents at Western Bigfoot Society This Saturday
Earlier this month Paul Graves presented to a sold-out crowd at Columbia Gorge Discovery Center. Many of the attendees reported to Bigfoot Lunch ...


Bigfoot Screams Recorded in Washington - Cryptozoology News
In a chilling audio release Wednesday, a man compared two different alleged screams of Bigfoot in Washington state. The man, Adam Bird, posted a ...

Rick Dyer Reenacts His Alleged Killing of Hank the Bigfoot ! > Bigfoot Buzz
CP Notes > Ricky D is back out in the woods of Texas, play acting as he always does the infamous killing of Hank the Bigfoot. Ricky is so good at this ...

Bigfoot And Native Americans [Video] - Disclose.tv
While encamped at the biggest lake in california searching for Sasquatch,ancient clues have led them to hidden caverns and a Massacre
Bigfoot Evidence: Bigfoot In Snowy Background?
The stupidity in the bigfoot world is prfound, but Coonbo takes it to another level. Even the stupidest of enthusiasts dont rehash the same crap over and 

Bigfoot Evidence: Bigfoot In Snowy Background?
The stupidity in the bigfoot world is prfound, but Coonbo takes it to another level. Even the stupidest of enthusiasts dont rehash the same crap over and  

iTunes - Podcasts - Sasquatch Chronicles by Bigfoot Hotspot
Download past episodes or subscribe to future episodes for free from Sasquatch Chronicles by Bigfoot Hotspot on the iTunes Store.

*IMPORTANT* LET'S MAKE A (HYPOTHETICAL) BIGFOOT - SLUniverse Forums - SLUniverse.com
However, let us pretend we're going to go on the road with our Bigfoot. Since we're goign to present a body and not a taxidermied rug, we are going to ...

Bigfoot Evidence: Man Wants To Do What Finding Bigfoot Will Never Do
Bigfoot Evidence Shawn
A Canadian-based production company funded by "five venture capitalists" is searching for a new show to fund for $100,000, and the Bigfoot ...

TODAY'S BIG CAT ROUND UP


The hunt for British Big Cats attracts far more newspaper-column inches than any other cryptozoological subject. 

There are so many of them now that we feel that they should be archived by us in some way, so we are publishing a regular round-up of the stories as they come in. 

The worldwide mystery cat phenomenon (or group of phenomena, if we are to be more accurate) is not JUST about cryptozoology. At its most basic level it is about the relationship between our species and various species of larger cat. That is why sometimes you will read stories here that appear to have nothing to do with cryptozoology but have everything to do with human/big cat interaction. As committed Forteans, we believe that until we understand the nature of these interactions, we have no hope of understanding the truth that we are seeking. 

  • RESCUED LION DIES
  • VIDEO: THE JAGUAR: BIG CATS - Animals/Nature/Wildl...
  • VIDEO: Spain's Last Lynx - Nature Documentary
  • NEWSLINK: Picture gallery: Linton Zoo doing a roar...
  • UK SIGHTINGS: The Unexplained North: Big cats and ...

  • UK SIGHTINGS: Reader's letter: Takes right place a...
  • FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES


    What has Corinna's column of fortean bird news got to do with Cryptozoology?

    Well, everything actually!

    In an article for the first edition of Cryptozoology Bernard Heuvelmans wrote that cryptozoology is the study of 'unexpected animals' and following on from that perfectly reasonable assertion, it seems to us that whereas the study of out-of-place birds may not have the glamour of the hunt for bigfoot or lake monsters, it is still a perfectly valid area for the Fortean zoologist to be interested in. 





    THE GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN IS SURREAL THING

    The Gonzo Daily - Sunday
    Outside it's a beautiful early spring day
    and my stepdaughter Shoshannah has come to stay
    Graham's in London with Keith Levene
    and I'm waxing lyrical if you know what I mean
    Its Sunday, so again its time
    to do the bloggystuff in rhyme,
    why? you may well ask (confused)
    only 'cos it keeps me amused
    Cheer up guys, it could be worse
    I'm capable of worse horrors than bad verse
    and before you readers start to freak
    I only do it once a week
    This weekend's issue of Gonzo Weekly is here. Hooray!!! It has lots of Rick Wakeman stuff, a Cyrille Verdeaux auto-interview and a report on The Musical Box plus Acid Mothers Temple, Dr Who, Hawkwind, Eric Burdon, Wreckless Eric, and more news, reviews, views, interviews and sheep having a snooze (OK, no sleepy sheepies) but I got carried away with things that rhymed with OOOOS) than you can shake a stick at. And the best part is IT's ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!
    To make sure that you don't miss your copy of this and future issues make an old hippy a happy chappy and subscribe
    http://eepurl.com/r-VTD
    PS: If you are already a subscriber but think that you haven't been receiving your copies please check your spam filters. For some reason known only to the Gods of the internet, some e-mail programmes automatically count the magazine as 'spam' probably because it comes from a mass mailer. Either that or they are just jealous of our peerless content
    *  The Gonzo Daily is a two way process. If you have any news or want to write for us, please contact me at  jon@eclipse.co.uk. If you are an artist and want to showcase your work, or even just say hello please write to me at gonzo@cfz.org.uk. Please copy, paste and spread the word about this magazine as widely as possible. We need people to read us in order to grow, and as soon as it is viable we shall be invading more traditional magaziney areas. Join in the fun, spread the word, and maybe if we all chant loud enough we CAN stop it raining. See you tomorrow...

    *  The Gonzo Daily is - as the name implies - a daily online magazine (mostly) about artists connected to the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies. But it also has other stuff as and when the editor feels like it. The same team also do a weekly newsletter called - imaginatively - The Gonzo Weekly. Find out about it at this link: http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit-to-print.html
    * We should probably mention here, that some of our posts are links to things we have found on the internet that we think are of interest. We are not responsible for spelling or factual errors in other people's websites. Honest guv!

    *  Jon Downes, the Editor of all these ventures (and several others) is an old hippy of 54 who - together with his orange cat (who is currently on sick leave in Staffordshire) and two very small kittens (one of whom is also orange) puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon which he shares with various fish. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his elderly mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention the orange cat?

    GONZO WEEKLY #68

    This is quite simply the best magazine you will ever find that is edited by a mad bloke (and his orange kitten), and produced from a tumbledown potato shed on the outskirts of a tiny village that nobody's heard of in North Devon. The fact that it is published with Gonzo Multimedia - probably the grooviest record company in the known universe - is merely an added bonus.
    THE GONZO WEEKLY
    all the gonzo news that’s fit to print
    Issue Sixty-Eight          March 8th
    I PROMISED THIS WOULD BECOME A MAGAZINE AND I ALWAYS TRY TO KEEP MY PROMISES
    NAMING THOSE RESPONSIBLE
    This issue was put together by me and Captain Frunobulax the Magnificent, (who is, in case you didn't know, an insane orange kitten on the verge of adulthood) ably assisted by:

    Corinna Downes, (Sub Editor, and my lovely wife)
    Graham Inglis, (Columnist, Staff writer, Hawkwind nut)
    Bart Lancia, (My favourite roving reporter)
    Thom the World Poet, (Bard in residence)
    C.J.Stone, (Columnist, commentator and all round good egg)
    Kev Rowland, (Reviewer)
    Lesley Madigan, Photographer par excellence
    Douglas Harr, (Staff writer, columnist)
    Jessica Taylor, (PA and laughing at drunk pop stars)
    Dave McMann, (He ain't nothing but a) Newshound-dog
    Orrin Hare, (Sybarite and literary bon viveur)
    Mark Raines, (Cartoonist)
    Davey Curtis, (tales from the north)
    Jon Pertwee (Pop Culture memorabilia)
    and Peter McAdam (McDada in residence)
    THIS WEEK WE BRING YOU CFZ RECORDS, MIKE DAVIS, NORTH DEVON FIREFLY FAERY FAYRE AND BALL, STONEHENGE, SWISS CHEESE, NOODLES, DAVID CAMERON, BADGERS, MIKE WESTBROOK, KATE WESTBROOK, RICK WAKEMAN, THE DEVIANTS, ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE, ERIC BURDON, McDONALDS, GALAHAD, ERIC GOULDEN, YES,THE KINKS, MICK FARREN, STEVE HILLAGE, PSYCHEDELIC WARLORDS, ALAN DAVEY, MICHAEL DES BARRES, PARADISE 9, STRANGE FRUIT, SPRITS BURNING, BRIDGET WISHART, MICK ABRAHAMS, ANDY COLQUHOUN, PERCY JONES, CLEARLIGHT, FRANK REED, FRANKIE SARDO, HUNTER AYLING, CYRILLE VERDEAUX, DAVID ICKE, HAWKWIND, DAVE BROCK, THE MUSICAL BOX, GEOFF DOWNES, SPACE 1999, JON ANDERSON, CHRIS SQUIRE, MARVIN GAYE, STAR TREK, MICHAEL JACKSON, ROLLING STONES, SLIPKNOT, THE WEIRD WEEKEND, DAWN OF TEARS, GLORIOR BELLI, GREENROSE FAIRE, LOVIJATAR, WARDRUNA
    This is the nearest that you are ever going to get to a posh weekend colour supplement from the Gonzo Daily team. Each week we shall go through the best bits of the week before, and if there aren't any we shall make some up, or simply make our excuses and leave (you can tell the editor once did contract work at the News of the World can't ya?)
    WHO GONZO? WHY GONZO? WHAT GONZO?
    What? You don't know who Hunter Thompson is/was/might have been/will be? Without Hunter Thompson there would be no Gonzo Multimedia. It would have been completely different and that would have been an unforgivable pity.

    So here is:
    C.J.Stone suggested that as well as explaining Gonzo to those wot don't understand, we should do a weekly quote from the great man himself. So here goes:
    "Yes sir, I am a tortured man for all seasons, as they say, and I have powerful friends in high places. Birds sing where I walk, and children smile when they see me coming."
    Social media stuff that I am really too old to understand, (my stepdaughter spent much of last Christmas trying to explain Twitter to me) but I am assuming that at least someof our readers are younger and hipper than I am.
    Facebook
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Twitter
    Website
    Website
    Google Plus
    Google Plus
    Email
    Email
    Pinterest
    Pinterest
    LinkedIn
    LinkedIn
    SO WHAT IS ALL THIS ABOUT, ALFIE?
    It is simple; my name is Jon and I'm the editor of the Gonzo Multimedia daily online bloggything. Now there is a weekly magazine, once again edited by me and a small orange kitten from a dilapidated ex-potato shed  in rural Devonshire, to which you subscribed by opting in on the website. I hope that you all stay to join in the fun, but if it is not to your liking it is easy to unsubscribe again. But what a long, strange trip it is gonna be...

    I keep on thinking that I ought to have some sort of a mission statement in each issue, but it is more than a little difficult to do one. Basically, (if you don't mind me sounding more like a wishy washy old hippy than my haircut in the photograph above would imply) I think that books and music are immensely important. I look around and see that we are living in a world where the things that I think are important are valued less and less by society as a whole; a world where asinine gameshows and so-called reality TV (which is actually a complete oxymoron, but don't get me started) are of more importance to most people than anything of cultural or spiritual value.

    I am also very disappointed by much of what the contemporary music press puts out, and I decided many years ago, that probably the only way I could read the things that I want to read, would be to publish them myself. So this is what I have been doing for much of my life. I am also naive enough to think that music and art can change the world, and as the world is in desperate need of change, I am gonna do my best to help.
    MORE LIKE A MAGAZINE:  Putting my money where my mouth is
    Now, before we go any further, I haven't very much money, but I do try to do good things with it. At the end of January Graham did my tax return, and I found that I was paying more money to HM Inland Revenue than I felt comfortable with, and so I wanted to do something about it.

    So, together with various of the social malcontents who make up my circle of intimates, I decided that it would be a rather nifty idea to do something that I have wanted to do for a long time and start my own record company, which in these current economic climes is a proven way of throwing money down the drain where the forces of law and disorder cannae get hold of it.

    So, here it is: a community based record company which is intended to put out records that we like, by people we think deserve to be heard, where - like the publishing company we already run - commercial concerns go completely out the window.
    The first record - an EP by my old mate Mike Davis - will be out imminently. Mike Davis is one of British music's best kept secrets. Why he isn't a star I have no idea, and when you hear his music you are bound to agree with me!

    I have worked in what Berry Gordy once described as the "industry of human happiness" on and off throughout my adult life. Thirty years ago, when I was trying to be the Brian Epstein of South Devon, I picked up a hitchhiker called Mike Davis travelling through Starcross. In all my years in the business he is still the most talented singer/songwriter that I have ever met! 

    I am lucky enough to have achieved most of my ambitions in life, but the one ambition that I have yet to achieve is to make Mike Davis a star! I have a sneaking suspiscion that as we get half way through the second decade of the 21st Century, that his and my stars are finally right!

    Check him out on You Tube
    I have just been told about the North Devon Firefly Faery Fayre and Ball, which will be held on Saturday 26th July 2014. This is North Devon's first celebration of faery culture, art, crafts, and music for both children and adults, and any proceeds will go to The Small School in Hartland, North Devon, England. The event will take place on Saturday 26th July 2014 at the Anchor Inn in Hartland, where there is plenty of B & B accommodation (but book early), and food will be on sale in the evening for the ball only. There is a camping and caravan site a few yards up the road, and local shops are just next to the pub, which also has a music licence.

    There will be a faery fayre through the day, including stalls and children's entertainment, and a faery ball with a range of musical acts in the evening. Things like this are important and I want to support these people in any way that I can. There is too much ugliness, rudeness, anger and general bad vibes in the world, and anything we can do to address this has got to be a good thing.


    https://www.facebook.com/pages/North-Devon-Firefly-Faery-Fayre-and-Ball-Saturday-26th-July-2014/240091446158610
    THE THREE COMMANDMENTS OF GONZO WEEKLY:

    1. Art is as important as science and more important than money
    2. There is life after (beyond and before) Pop Idol
    3. Music can and sometimes does change the world

    If you think those three ideas are stupid then you should probably give up reading this magazine now. Otherwise... enjoy
    As is the rest of this magazine, this is mostly about music, and the bits of contemporary culture that I find interesting, but it also has a smattering of actual NEWS, especially if there are ethical questions that effect us all, or one of those put in authority over us does something spectacularly inane. The nearest that this section will ever come to politics is laughing at politicians.
    • PRESERVATION Dave Davies of the Kinks returns to London to perform his first UK concert for 13 years at the Barbican Hall on Friday 11th April.  This concert will see him celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the revolutionary guitar sound he created, which launched the Kinks to international stardom. Read on...
    • WET CHEESE DELIRIUM Every new harassment victim who comes forward pokes another hole in the Swiss Cheese Pervert's defense.  Another victim came forward over the weekend, the fourth woman accusing 42-year-old Christopher Pagano of his cheesy trick: Exposing his penis while asking victims to pleasure him with Swiss cheese. Police and witnesses, who have dubbed him the "Swiss Cheese Pervert," say the man has been terrorizing residents in Mayfair, Penn. since the beginning of January.
    • NOODLE NAZIS Wong Kei in Wardour Street, famously the rudest restaurant in London, is being refurbished. It will reopen on 10 March. The menu is unchanged; the main renovation has been one of attitude. They are no longer intending to shout "Sit down with them!" or "Go upstairs!" at you the minute you arrive, as if you're some idiot stranger who has wandered into their bathroom while they're cleaning their teeth. I never classed myself a "wonkee", and never bought the rudeness as authentic. People enjoyed it too much. It was too vaudeville. I suspected them of having a staff meeting at the start of each shift, to practise their "fuck-off" faces. Read on...
    • After entering office in 2010, David Cameron promised to lead "the most open and transparent government in the world". But once again, the coalition has fallen foul of the number crunchers at the UK Statistics Authority. This time, the dispute centres over the Treasury's presentation of figures on infrastructure investment in the government's National Infrastructure PlanRead on...
    • Post mortems of badgers killed during a recent cull raise further questions about whether the policy is humane and effective, say wildlife experts. Channel 4 News has exclusive sight of the results. Read on...
    THE LAST WEEK AT GONZO DAILY
    Sunday
    Monday
    Tuesday
    Wednesday
    Thursday
    Friday
    Saturday
    THE WEEK THAT'S PAST:  Mike and Kate Westbrook Concerts Guildhall Jazz Festival London

    Mike Westbrook / Kate Westbrook
    Mike and Kate by Miklos Buttkai
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    M
    ike Westbrook
    Kate Westbrook

    announce
    Two concerts in London
    at the
    Guildhall Jazz Festival

    Wednesday 26th March 1.00 pm 
    The Guildhall School of Music and Drama 

    Silk Street Music Hall
    Silk Street
    Barbican London EC2Y 8DT
    Mike Westbrook directs
    The Guildhall Saxophone Ensemble director Christian Forshaw
    eleven saxophonists, plus rhythm in his compositions for saxophone solo,
    quartet, sextet and 11‐tet,
    and featuring Kate Westbrook’s Democratie from The Cortege


    Thursday 27th March 7.30 pm 
    Silk Street Music Hall
    (address as above)
    Kate and Mike Westbrook direct
    The Guildhall Jazz Ensemble director Martin Hathaway
    A BIGGER SHOW or Waxeywork Show Expanded
    lyrics by Kate   music by Mike
    first performance in the UK
    a composition for 25‐piece big band featuring
    vocalists, brass, saxophones and double rhythm section  

    MIKE WESTBROOK AT GONZO (UK)
    MIKE WESTBROOK AT GONZO (USA)
    THE WEEK THAT'S PAST:  Rick Wakeman's new Journey
    Journey2014
    40th Anniversary Tour
    RICK WAKEMAN DOUBLES HIS
    ‘JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH'
    TOUR 2014
    40th Anniversary of Rick Wakeman's Classic Album
    150th Anniversary of Jules Verne's Classic Book
    Tickets on sale at 9am on Friday November 1
    Available at www.kililive.com
    Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the release of his landmark concept album, Rick Wakeman extends the Journey To The Centre Of The Earth 2014 tour. Based on the novel by Jules Verne, which will also mark its 150th anniversary in 2014, the album is one of the rock era's landmark achievements - a record that sold 15 million copies and rewrote the rules.
    Rick Wakeman and The New World Symphony Orchestra, accompanied by The English Chamber Choir and the English Rock Ensemble, will celebrate this anniversary with a state of the art, dramatic, live presentation of this epochal, classical-rock crossover work. The ‘Journey To The Centre Of The Earth’ tour has already grown from 5 to 7 dates and now, due to popular demand, embarks on an expanded Journey around the UK with 14 shows.
    File:Rickwakemanmoog.jpg"This is the start of a new Journey," says Rick Wakeman, "the original score for the album had been lost for so many years, making any new performances impossible. but after it turned up without warning , we managed to restore it and add previously missing music that was not included in the original performances. It has taken another half decade to develop it into this tour, but I can't wait to take Jules Verne's magnificent story on tour again."
    Presented in 2 parts, the first half will be Rick, alone on stage, telling the story of the original album - from the inspiration to the many trials and tribulations that made the record and world tour almost as challenging as the great adventure the story depicts. Based on his acclaimed Edinburgh Festival show this year, Rick and his piano bring the often hilarious and unlikely tale to life in his own irrepressible style.
    Then, the second half will relive the thrill for the millions who grew up with the original album and the many film and TV adaptations of the novel, and introduce Wakeman to a new generation of concert-goers, as well as his loyal fans.
    The tour will open at Newcastle City Hall on Thursday 24th April 2014.
    The Tour:
    Thurs 24 April Newcastle City Hall
    Fri 25 April Manchester Apollo
    Sat 26 April Plymouth Pavilions
    Mon 28 April London Royal Albert Hall
    Tues 29 April Birmingham NIA
    Weds 30 April London Royal Albert Hall
    Thurs 1 May Grimsby Auditorium
    Fri 2 May Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
    Sat 3 May Bournemouth Intl Centre
    Sun 4 May Cardiff Arena
    Tues 6 May Glasgow Clyde Auditorium
    Thurs 8 May Sheffield City Hall
    Fri 9 May Liverpool Philharmonic
    Sat 10 May Llandudno Venue Cymru
    Tickets are available at www.kililive.com or by calling 0844 8718803
    RICK WAKEMAN AT GONZO (UK)
    RICK WAKEMAN AT GONZO (USA)
    THE WEEK THAT'S PAST:  UK Punk Legends The Deviants Back Catalog Gets Reissued On Gonzo Multimedia
    London, UK - Much to the excitement of punk rock fans around the globe, Gonzo Multimedia is reissuing the legendary Deviants back catalog. The Social Deviants were founded by singer/writer Mick Farren in 1967 out of the Ladbroke Grove UK Underground community, featuring Pete Munro on bass; Clive Muldoon on guitar, Mike Robinson on guitar and Russell Hunter on drums. The band shortened their name to The Deviants after Munro and Muldoon left and were replaced by Sid Bishop on guitar and Cord Rees on bass. With the financial backing of Nigel Samuel, the 21-year-old son of a millionaire, whom Farren had befriended, the group independently recorded their debut album 'Ptooff!', selling copies through the UK Underground press before it was picked up by Decca Records.

    Rees left the band in June 1967 to be replaced by Farren's flatmate Duncan Sanderson and the band released a second album 'Disposable' through the independent label Stable Records. When Bishop married and left the band, Farren recruited Canadian guitarist Paul Rudolph, at the suggestion of Jamie Mandelkau. This band recorded and released the album 'The Deviants 3' through Transatlantic Records.
    During a tour of North America's west coast the relationship between Farren and the musicians became personally and musically strained, and the band decided to continue without Farren, who returned to England where he teamed up with ex-Pretty Things drummer Twink and Steve Peregrin Took to record the album 'Mona – The Carnivorous Circus', an album interspersed with interviews with members of the UK Hells Angels, before concentrating on music journalism. The three remaining musicians - Rudolph, Sanderson and Hunter - returned to England, and teamed up with Twink to form the Pink Fairies.
    In the mid-1970s, Farren was offered a one-off deal by Stiff Records to record an EP, 'Screwed Up', which was released under the name Mick Farren and the Deviants. The musicians on this record included Rudolph, former Pink Fairies/Motörhead guitarist Larry Wallis, former Warsaw Pakt guitarist Andy Colquhoun and former Hawkwind drummer Alan Powell. This band, without Rudolph, went on to record the album 'Vampires Stole My Lunch Money' and the non-album single “Broken Statue”, both credited to Mick Farren rather than The Deviants.
    The Deviants - 'Barbarian Princes Live In Japan 1999':
    At the end of the 1970s Farren again concentrated on his writing and relocated to New York. He would resurrect The Deviants name for occasional live performances, such as these shows recorded in Japan with long-time friend and collaborator Andy Colquhoun. (To be released on April 28, 2014)
    Tracks:
    Track Listing:
    1. Aztec Calender
    2. Eating Jello With A Heated Fork
    3. Disgruntled Employee
    4. It's Alright Ma
    5. God's Worst Nightmare
    6. Leader Hotel
    7. Lennon Song
    8. Thunder On The Mountain
    9. Lurid Night
    10. Dogpoet
    The Deviants 'Dr Crow':
    The legendary Mick Farren, for nearly forty years their singer and guiding light has stated that The Deviants were originally a community band which "did things every now and then—it was a total assault thing with a great deal of inter-relation and interdependence". Musically, Farren described their sound as "teeth-grinding, psychedelic rock" somewhere between The Stooges and The Mothers of Invention. The Deviants have been described as a transition between classic British psych and the punk/heavy metal aesthetic of the 1970s.
    Andy Colquhoun, long-time Deviants guitarist explained,  “It was recorded in LA. It was mostly recorded at some studio up in The Valley”. He went on to explain that there were actually two versions of the original album, and that the Gonzo release included two tracks that originally only appeared in Japan.

    Tracks:
    The Deviants - Dr. Crow
    1. When Dr Crow Turns on the Radio
    2. Strawberry Fields Forever
    3. The Murdering Officer
    4. Taste The Blue
    5. Bela Lugosi 2002
    6. You're Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond
    7. Diabolo's Cadillac
    8. Song of The Hired Guns
    9. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
    10. Sold To Babylon
    11. A Long Dry Season
    12. What Do You Want?

    The Deviants Have Left The Planet:
    At the end of the 1970s, Mick Farren would resurrect The Deviants name for occasional live performances, such as in February 1984 when he teamed up with Wayne Kramer and Wallis' band which featured Sanderson and drummer George Butler. This set was released as Human Garbage. In 2002, a new line-up of the band (featuring bassist Doug Lunn, drummer Rick Parnell and vocalist Michael Simmons) released 'Dr. Crow'.
    Farren then continued to perform and record sporadically under the name The Deviants, using a pool of musicians which include Colquhoun and former Blodwyn Pig saxophonist Jack Lancaster. 'Eating Jello With A Heated Fork' was released in 1996, credited to Deviants IXVI, followed by 2002's 'Dr Crow'. On June 25, 2011, after returning to live in the UK, Farren performed on the 'Spirit of 71' stage at Glastonbury Festival with 'The Last Men Standing'. The band included Colquhoun and the Deviants late-1960s rhythm section of Sanderson and Hunter. During a rare performance by The Deviants at The Borderline in Central London on 27 July, 2013, Farren collapsed on stage. He died later in hospital.
    This album was originally released in 1999. Critic Dave Thompson writes: “Half live, half-studio Left the Planet bristles with the highest octane intake of new Mick Farren songs in years - and anyone armed with the 'Barbarian Princes' live album will already know what that means. The bulk of the album was recorded with Farren's Deviants lineup of guitarist/bassist Andy Colquhoin and former Motörhead drummer Phil Taylor - itself an aggregation to make your skin crawl. Four live tracks from sundry Terrastock and L.A. shows, however, add a shapeless shadow to any sense of well-being which familiarity might conjure up...the overall mood of the album remains fearful, foreboding, and absolutely poisonous, a kick in the small of the back to propel you into a world which restructures the sound of the rock revolution before the media middlemen tacked their percentage on top - and it proves that some things really can't be bought or sold. Peace of mind is one of them.”

    Tracks:
    1: Aztec Calender
    2: Gunfire in the Night
    3. It's Alright Ma (I'm only bleeding)
    4. God's Worst Nightmare
    5. People are Afraid of Reality
    6. Love Among the Zombies
    7. Let's Loot the Supermarket again Like we did Last Summer
    8. Yellow Dog
    9. Mick Farren has Left the Planet
    10 Twilight of the Gods
    11. Memphis Psychosis
    THE DEVIANTS AT GONZO (UK)
    THE DEVIANTS AT GONZO (USA)
    THE WEEK THAT'S PAST:  An ursine mystery
    I have no idea what this means. But I was sent it this week by someone who is either a member of the band, a connection of the band, or someone who knows that I am rather fond of them and feature their music in these pages fairly regularly. OK, I admit it! I have absolutely no idea who sent it to me, and it could have been anyone. But it obviously means something, and as it is taken from their Facebook page, I assume that it is not some slice of uberlibellous unpleasantness. So I am posting it anyway.

    However, if anyone can tell me what it is all about, I would be massively impressed..
    CHECK 'EM OUT AT GONZO (UK)
    CHECK 'EM OUT AT GONZO (USA)
    THE WEEK THAT'S PAST: Wreckless Eric
    Back in the autumn of 1977 I was unemployed and eighteen years old. The BBC showed Tony Palmer's All My Loving which is now available on Gonzo Multimedia, and as I mentioned some weeks ago it changed my life. Amongst the amazing artists that I heard for the first time that night was a bloke called Eric Burdon. Well, no, actually I didn't hear him for the first time that night. I had been aware of his magnificent rendition of 'House of the Rising Sun' whilst the lead singer of Newcastle R&B merchants The Animals and as a wannabe guitar hero I had ploddingly learned the chords myself. But it wasn't until seeing Tony Palmer's film that I first heard Eric Burdon the bonkers solo artist. And I fell head over heels in love.

    It depends who you believe. Some folk have written that Burdon discovered the dreaded heaven and hell drug, and became imbued with the San Fransisco peace and love ethos. Others say he had a breakdown, others an epiphany, but whatever the cause, in the mid 1960s this Geordie bruiser changed and started producing some of the most gloriously insane music I have ever heard.

    He is now 72, and on Valentine's Day this year he visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. I thought you might like to know

    ERIC BURDON AT GONZO (UK)
    ERIC BURDON AT GONZO (USA)
    PECULIAR STORY OF THE WEEK:  

    McDonald's Sued For $1.5M
    by Customer Who Wanted More
    Than 1 Napkin


    In a $1.5 million civil lawsuit, a McDonald's customer says he suffered "undue mental anguish" after he was given just one napkin when he visited one of the burger chain's restaurants.
    Webster Lucas, 59, claims he was eating on Jan. 29 at a Mickey D's in Pacoima, Calif., when his hands were left unacceptably dirty.
    "I am an immaculately clean person," Lucas told The Huffington Post. "I saw food particles on the table and wanted to clean them up. I told the manager and he said, 'You have napkins in the bag.' I said, 'You gave me one. Do you want me to wipe my hands on my shirt?'"
    According to the suit, filed Feb. 27 in Los Angeles Superior Court, the manager, Angel Arciga, "developed a nasty attitude" and mumbled a few words to Lucas.
    Lucas said he told Arciga he didn't need to have an attitude over a few extra napkins. "I should have went to eat at the Jack In The Box, because I didn't come here to argue over napkins," he says in his suit. "I came here to eat."

    Chew it over a bit more, unless you suffer from indigestion....

    THE WEEK THAT'S PAST:  Galahad for CELEBR8.3
    The first acts for the Celebr8.3 festival have been confirmed – with headliners The Tangent playing two different sets.
    They’re joined by Twelfth Night, Galahad, Cosmograf, The Fierce And The Dead, Sanguine Hum and Thumpermonkey for the third annual event, which moves from Kingston Upon Thames to the Islington Assembly Hall for 2014.
    Andy Tillison will be rejoined by former member Luke Machin, who now fronts Maschine, for The Tangent’s bill-topping show on Saturday, May 31. The lineup also includes Jonas Reingold, Morgan Agren, Lalle Larsson and Goran Edman.
    Earlier the same day they’ll also appear as Karmakanic, delivering an entirely different performance.
    In a change to previous formats both days of the festival will kick off with a big-name act. Twelfth Night open the event with a one-off performance, while Galahad play the same role on Sunday, June 1.
    Celebr8.3 takes place on May 31 and June 1 at the Islington Assembly. A limited number of earlybird tickets are on sale via The Merch Desk costing £55. Earlybird Gold packages are also on offer, including sponsor shirt and programme, costing £85.
    GALAHAD AT GONZO (UK)
    GALAHAD AT GONZO (USA)
    THE WEEK THAT'S PAST:  Eric's Burdon
    On his Facebook page Eric Goulden (now living in the Catskills) offers up a terse one liner: I'll be 60 in May!
    THE WEEK THAT'S PAST:  Ugly things' memories of Mick Farren
    It has been eight months now since dear Mick Farren left us, and I will be the first to admit that not a day goes by without me thinking of him and missing the old bugger. I liked him a lot and I am sure that we should have worked together lots if he had still been alive.

    I found this the other day, and rather than post it in the Gonzo Daily I kept it for the weekend.
    MICK FARREN AT GONZO (UK)
    MICK FARREN AT GONZO (USA)
    THE WEEK THAT'S PAST:  Steve Hillage starts new Tour
    Iconic guitarist Steve Hillage and his band SYSTEM 7 join forces with Japan’s leading progressive rock band ROVO for their first-ever UK tour which starts  Friday March 7th in Manchester.

    The UK tour dates include:

    Manchester Ritz                                               Friday March 7
    London Islington O2 Academy                    Saturday March 8
    Brighton Concorde 2                                      Sunday March 9
    Leamington Assembly                                   Monday March 10

    Tickets for the four concerts are available now from Music Glue.

    SYSTEM 7 & ROVO collaborated on 2013’s highly acclaimed studio album PHOENIX RISING,followed by the release the HINOTORI animated promo video.

    With eight musicians on-stage, including two live drummers, the PHOENIX RISING concert showcases a sophisticated blend of electronic beats and live instrumentation.  Hillage fans can be assured that, in the format of PHOENIX RISING, his masterful electric guitar style will be fully unleashed, with extensive soloing and duets with the electric violin of Rovo's Yuji Katsui.
    STEVE HILLAGE AT GONZO (UK)
    STEVE HILLAGE AT GONZO (USA)
    THE WEEK THAT'S PAST: Psychedelic Warlords in Rotherham
    ALAN DAVEY AT GONZO USA
    ALAN DAVEY AT GONZO UK
    THE WEEK THAT'S PAST: Michael Des Barres on the radio
    MICHAEL DES BARRES AT GONZO USA
    MICHAEL DES BARRES AT GONZO UK
    THE WEEK THAT'S PAST:  The latest news from Paradise 9
    I was supposed to put this in last week but completely forgot. Never mind, these things happen and all of space and time is merely some rather complicated practical joke of the Gods. I am very fond of Paradise 9; they are a band that really deserves watching, their new album is fantastic and Jaki Windmill is on top form. Quite a lot has been happening with the band in recent weeks.Read all about it here.
    THE WEEK THAT'S PAST:  The Gospel according to Bart
    Sad news. Today Bart wrote to me: Sorry,my friend, I haven't anything of interest to share this week.. Thrilled to be a part of your staff,and hope not to disappoint you and your readers again... Still 'on duty' for Gonzo in America.... Bart'

    I replied:

    Never mind mate - it is the way of the world. As Scott Walker sang: "The Good News you cannot refuse, the bad news is there is no news"
    THE WEEK THAT'S PAST: Gonzo Web Radio
    There is a new episode of Strange Fruit, but first Strange Fruit presenter Neil Nixon is looking for help. There are some other exciting things afoot with another entirely new station being added to Gonzo Web Radio, and a total revamp of the radio index.

    Strange Fruit, Miskin’s Radio’s home of alternative, off-the-wall and otherwise generally strange sounds is looking for a co-presenter. This is not a paid job, but would give the lucky individual the chance to present two hour shows of music generally ignored by radio, and broadcast them twice a month to be heard by Miskin Radio’s audience online and then archived on Gonzo Multimedia’s website, where their audience would devour them. Radio experience would be useful, but isn’t necessary. The ideal candidate would be able to come to our Dartford studios, be trained and begin work when ready. Alternatively, anyone capable of self-producing and Dropboxing shows will be considered. Fame and wealth are unlikely but the chance to indulge your most maverick musical tastes knows few limits in this job. In the first instance email Neil Nixon, nlnxn@aol.com to express an interest. Also check out our shows on Gonzo Multimedia’s web radio page and Miskin Radio’s own site – www.miskinradio.co.uk

    STRANGE FRUIT: Episode 59 
    Date Published: 8th March 2014
    Strange Fruit is a unique two-hour radio show exploring the world of underground, strange and generally neglected music. All shows are themed and all shows set out to give the most hardened of sound-hounds asome new delight to sample. The show is also unique in providing homework for undergraduate students on North West Kent College’s Foundation Degree in Professional Writing (who dig up many of the odd facts featured in the links between tracks).  Strange Fruit presenter Neil Nixon is currently working on a book about rare albums for Gonzo Multimedia.

    The show is broadcast on Miskin Radio every Sunday from 10-00-midnight.
    PART ONE
    PART TWO
    For more news on Strange Fruit CLICK HERE
    For more news on Canterbury Sans Frontières CLICK HERE
    For the Gonzo Web Radio homepage CLICK HERE
    What's been did and what's been hid
    I am growing up in public, as it were. The Gonzo Weekly has been going for very nearly a year now, and we are beginning to find our feet. I am making changes as I go along, and - no doubt - some of these changes will turn out to be mistakes. So, let me know what you think. Do they work? Do you like them? Hate them? Or don't you care either way?

    Please pass this magazine around as far and wide as you can. And encourage as many people as you can to subscribe. Remember it is free, and will remain so. However, I want as many subscribers as possible to move on to the next stage of the party. There might well be cake.

    Remember, I am always looking for new authors. If there is something that you feel you could add to the general melange which is the Gonzo Weekly, please email me at jon@eclipse.co.uk. The more the merrier.

    Although this newsletter also goes out in a plain text version for those of you who do not trust image intensive thingys in your browser, I promise that as long as it is technically feasible (which will be for the forseeable future) the text only mailout will continue. However, I strongly advise that for you to get the best out of this rapidly evolving publication, that you really should see it in all its picture-led glory.

    Please tell your friends, colleagues and family about The Gonzo Weekly, and try to persuade them to subscribe. The more subscribers we get, the bigger and better and more effective the whole thing will be.
    Remember, if you want more than your weekly fix of this newsletter you can check out the Gonzo Daily, which - as its name implies - does much the same as this newsletter but every day. It also features a daily poem from Thom the World Poet, and the occasional non-Gonzo rock music rambling from yours truly, plus book and gig reviews from our highly trained staff of social malcontents. And its FREE! You cannae say fairer than that!
    Each week, some of you seem to recognise me. Yes, I am indeed that weird bloke off the telly who chases mythological animals. I have a day job as Director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology, and also the editor of the CFZ Blog Network, and publisher of a plethora of books about mystery animals.
    GONZO RELEASES FOR MARCH 2014
    1. Spirits Burning & Bridget Wishart “Make Believe It Real” 
    This album adds a new chapter to the Spirits Burning story. The twelfth Spirits Burning CD is the first to be a double CD: Disc 1 features 11 new compositions, and disc 2 features remixes and songs that were previously available on compilations only.
    2. Mick Abrahams - Novox
    Over the years, the legendary Mick Abrahams of Jethro Tull and Blodwyn Pig recorded a number of solo albums, steeped in the delta blues DNA that had mystically been passed down to him by Robert Johnson. These include this fantastic instrumental album from 2000, entitled “Novox” (No vox, instrumental? Geddit?) Mick is 70 now, and not in the best of health, but he still has the heart of a bluesman and the remarkable musicianship on this gem of an album pays testament to that.
    3. Andy Colquhoun - Pick Up The Phone America!
    Andy Colquhoun is a guitarist with a peerless pedigree. He first came to the notice of the music press when in 1977 his band Warsaw Pakt recorded an album (Needle Time) that was in the shops 24 hours after the first note was recorded. After Warsaw Pakt, he joined Brian James' Tanz Der Youth, (described as the world’s first hippy punks) subsequently moved on to the band The Pink Fairies, and then a band with ex-MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer. For the best part of thirty years he was songwriting partner and collaborator with the legendary Mick Farren; a partnership which only ended with Mick’s sad death in July 2013. In 2001 he released his first ever solo album He writes: “There comes a time in the life of every guitar player when he or she gets the chance to make a solo album. This is my attempt, and I've put as much guitar on it as possible.
    4. Percy Jones Ensemble - Propeller Music
    Fretless electric bassist Percy Jones has carved out his place in fusion and progressive rock during his longstanding affiliation with the bands Brand X and Tunnels. Furthermore, Jones represents one of the early innovators of the electric bass despite a lack of widespread recognition. Yet, since the mid-'70s, the artist's signature sound and style to coincide with his enviable chops has at times, been overshadowed by others who reside a bit closer to the limelight. The album is a peculiar, though satisfying mix of jazz fusion and electronica, and is another one of those classic albums that slipped through the cracks at the time, which is just unfair. Great tunes, great compositions, great musicianship. What’s not to like?
    5. Clearlight - Impressionist Symphony
    Clearlight’s “Impressionist Symphony” focuses on the artistic style of impressionism, painting and music as well with a Ravel, Satie and Debussy influence merged with Cyrille Verdeaux’s progressive music experience and linked with the French impressionist school of painting.The release celebrates the 40th anniversary of “Clearlight Symphony,” an early classic Virgin Record release, which featured Cyrille’s compositional skills and virtuoso keyboard playing, with performances by Gong family members Tim Blake, Steve Hillage, and Didier Malherbe, and others.
    6. Rick Wakeman - Live At The Hammersmith Odeon 
    Wakeman teamed up with Tim Rice to write the 1984 album, a musical adaptation of George Orwell's book of the same name. The project was a flop for a couple of reasons; critics panned it because Rice's lyrics tried to give the adaptation an upbeat ending, something the book did not have. Secondly, when Wakeman wanted to tour the production in the U.S. Orwell's estate would not give clearance. The show was performed in the U.K. though and this concert features the opening overture and scattered later in the program, "Julia" and "The Proles." The show overall is a mish-mash featuring "Sea Horses" from the Rhapsodies album and then proven crowd pleasers from King Arthur, Henry VIII and Journey. In the liner notes Wakeman says that he was at a low point in his career when this show was taped; his father had just died, he was going through a divorce and he was not happy with the line-up of his band. He doesn't single anyone out but the female vocalist here doesn't live up to the work done on the record by Chaka Khan. Still the show has its redeeming values; the arrangements are changed on the familiar stuff from the three main albums and the band tackles the difficult "Catherine of Aragon" and "Anne of Cleaves" for the first time ever live. Wakeman introduces every song, joking that then the audience will have advance notice as to when to go to the bathroom.
    BACK ISSUES OF THIS PERIODICAL
    Most of the back issues have now been archived on a dedicated Blogger site. Please use the navigation tree on the right of the page. However, please be aware that there are still a few formatting issues, and the magazine may not look as nice in blogger as we would have liked.

    If, however, you are using the MailChimp archive, (below) please be warned: Magazines from #11-41  contain the cartoon at the bottom of the stressed out guy with the computer  Apparently someone has accused the public domain images site I got it from of hosting malware, and even though there was none found there by Google, the fact that I used an image from the site (perfectly legally) flagged our whole newsletter up as possibly containing malware. This should only effect people using Google Chrome, and I would strongly suggest that you click the 'proceed anyway' tab, and view the newsletter as you had originally planned...

    Newsletter #36  Newsletter #35  Newsletter #34  Newsletter #33 Newsletter #32  Newsletter #31  Newsletter #30  Newsletter #29 Newsletter #28  Newsletter #27  Newsletter #26  Newsletter #25  Newsletter #24  Newsletter #23  Newsletter #22  Newsletter #21 Newsletter #20  Newsletter #19  Newsletter #18  Newsletter #17 Newsletter #16  Newsletter #15  Newsletter #14  Newsletter #13 Newsletter #12  Newsletter #11  Newsletter #10  Newsletter #9 Newsletter #8  Newsletter #7  Newsletter #6  Newsletter #5 Newsletter #4  Newsletter #3  Newsletter #2  Newsletter #1
    THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Frank Reed (1954-2014)
    News of the death of Frank Kevin "Tchallah" Reed came on 26th February via his brother.  Frank was the lead singer of The Chi-Lites. He died on 26th February, leaving Marshall Thompson as the leader and sole surviving member of the vocal group.  Read more ...
    THOSE WE HAVE LOST:  Frankie Sardo (1936-2014)
    Frankie Sardo (Frank Sardo Avianca) died on 26th February.  He was an Italian-born American rock androll singer, actor and film producer and back in 1959 he opened the bill at the concert at Clear Lake, Iowa, the evening before the plane crash that claimed the lives of Buddy HollyRitchie Valens and the Big Bopper. Read more ...
    THERE IS NOW A GONZO WEEKLY SHOP
    Now, I don't know whether this is a good idea, a bad idea, or just an idea, but - as I believe you know - this magazine is put out each week on a budget of £25, and is free. It will remain free, but I would like to be able to generate some income so I can pay our contributing writers. So, 'why not flog Gonzo Weekly T Shirts?' I thought. 'Why not', I answered... 
    http://www.zazzle.co.uk/gonzoweekly
    COVER STORY: UNCLE RICK, DAD'S ARMY AND A JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH

    by Jon Downes
    I think that it is one of those well known truisms within the music industry that Rick Wakeman is a nice bloke. In fact, although I have never met him, I have first hand experience of this. About a year ago we fostered an eight month kitten called Buttons. He never really settled in with us and roamed at will around the village, although he was perfectly friendly when he saw us. About a month after he first arrived he was hit by the garbage truck, and that was the end of Buttons. Rick Wakeman, who loves cats, sent me several kind e-mails, and ever since I have had a soft spot for him.

    So, therefore, it is a great pleasure to be able to tell you (in a rather convoluted way) that there are all sorts of exciting Wakemany things on the horizon. Gonzo are doing the merchandising  on Rick's forthcoming UK tour. If you are an aficionado of prog, you must have been deaf dumb and blind, or possibly living in a small hole in the Sahara Desert for the last six months or so if you don't know that our favourite grumpy old dude (I love the hat, by the way, and as an aspiring grumpy old dude myself I very much want one, maybe one of my stepdaughters could knit me one) has been revisiting one of his undowbted career highlights recently.

    The story behind Journey to the Centre of the Earth is a complicated one. Rick had originally started work on a concept piece based on Jules Verne's 1864 sci fi novel, as early as 1971, but it was put on the back burner while he completed various projects with Yes, and his first solo album. It is the story of Professor Lidenbrok, his nephew Axel, and their guide Hans, who follow a passage to the Earth's centre originally discovered by Arne Saknussemm, an Icelandic alchemist. Wakeman performs with the London Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Choir, and a group of hand-picked musicians for his band which later became The English Rock Ensemble. Actor David Hemmings provides the narration to the story. The cost of making a studio recording of the piece would have been prohibitive, so the album was recorded live on the second of two dates at the Royal Festival Hall in January 1974.

    The piece was originally 55 minutes long but had to be cut so that it would fit on to two sides of an LP record. Rick always intended to release a complete version, but life got in the way, and the scores were lost, and Rick presumed that this was a permanent state of affairs. However, a "huge cardboard packing case" arrived at his house in 2008 which stayed in his garage for "about five months" before he found the score at the bottom which was damaged by water. A year was spent digitising and forming the complete score with conductor Guy Protheroe. Wakeman re-recorded the album with an orchestra, choir, and members of his English Rock Ensemble band as a studio album, incorporating 20 minutes that was previously cut. As Hemmings died in 2003, the narration is voiced by actor Peter Egan.

    Now it is time to take the show on the road for the first time in the best part of four decades. The tour dates are elsewhere in this issue, and will be plugged mercilessly over the next few months. But what has this got to do with Dad's Army? And why are Rick and Hunter Ayling pictured on the front cover? Hush, best beloved. All will become clear.

    Some weeks ago, just as the final fag end of winter was beginning to splutter out, Rob Ayling, the Gonzo Grand Fromage, and his son Hunter (henceforth known as Le petit fromage, An Cáis Sóisearach or ?????? ??? - take your pick) visited Casa Wakeman to collect some merchandise and other stuff what the great man had secreted around his premises. The three of them loaded it into the  van and Rick (who is very fond of Hunter) gave him an affectionate hug, which explains why they are pictured in front of what appears to be the open tailgate of a Ford Transit.

    But there's more, Mr Mainwaring.

    Rick Wakeman and Hunter Ayling have something in common. They are both fans of the classic UK sitcom Dad's Army, and so later that day, The two Cheeses (that sounds like a sitcom title in itself) went off to the Dad's Army Museum. What? There's a Dad's Army museum? Yup. In May 2004 a Dad`s Army Trail was launched in Thetford. It showed the locations used during the filming of Dad`s Army.Several of the cast and the producers were in the town.The leaflet was largely written by Tony Pritchard of the Dad`s Army Appreciation Society and included a map of the trail, information on the show and a quiz. Many thousands were sent all over East Anglia.Later that year in response to requests, guided tours started, these were mainly for coach companies who brought visitors to the town for the tour and later took them onto Bressingham where they have had a Dad`s Army area since 2000.

    And so to mark this occasion le petit fromage decided to dress as Private Pike, and le grande fromage channeled the spirit of Captain Mainwaring from another universe somewhere on the "World as Myth" timeline, and a splendid time was guaranteed for all.

    And I've just realised something uncanny. Both Dad's Army and Yes started their activities in 1968. Dads's Army finished its nine year run in the July of the year that two sevens clashed. And in the very same month Yes (featuring Rick Wakeman for the first time in years) released their magnificent 'Going for the One' album, which was completely recorded in Walmington on Sea and featured Air Raid Warden Hodges on Vibraphone. (Yes they did, no it wasn't, and no it didn't).

    Uncanny eh readers?
    RICK WAKEMAN AT GONZO (UK)
    RICK WAKEMAN AT GONZO (USA)
    EXCLUSIVE: An auto-interview from Cyrille Verdeaux
    Thank you very much for taking your time and effort to answer to my questions, Cyrille. I would like to ask you first where did you grow up and what were some of the early influences on you?

    Hello everybody
    I was born in an interesting place: the American Hospital of Neuilly sur Seine, (a rich neighbourhood near Paris) on July 31st 1949. It was a very hot day according to my mom and without AC machines, of course. This detail is important because from this first day, I never could appreciate cold weather, only hot, and dry if possible. Right now I am in a hot, and for half of the year,  dry part of Brazil and my body and mind are both very happy here.

    As you can imagine, just a few years after WWII, Paris wasn't as it used to be; the most beautiful city in the world. It was poor and dirty for the main part. My father was working at the American Hospital as a doctor, and this is why I could be delivered in this safe environment by my mom. Interestingly enough, I was born in the same hospital, and even the same bed and exactly 100 days after Dominique Strauss-Kahn's birth. I guess everybody knows now who DS-K is, and not for good reasons probably! I need to say that my sexual life (and life in general actually) has been very, very different from this guy. And all things considered, I prefer mine to his!

    About my first influences. It has been very open from the start, I was hearing the music that my parents were listening to (they love classical instrumental), the music that my big brother (7 years older than me) was listening to (he loves essentially jazz and later became a good trumpeter and one of the pillars of the Jazz Hot Club de France) and the music that I could get with my little transistor radio, basically the first years of rock ‘n’ roll, with Chubby Checker, Little Eva, Ray Charles, Bill Haley, Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry and of course the Franco Belgium local rock star glory, Johnny Hallyday. In 1960, at 11 years old, I received as birthday gift a little teppaz turntable. I started to buy records on my own with my pocket money when my friends were buying candy bars and screwing their teeth.

    Now, it is no problem for young people like it was for me; they can free download everything they want from their home. This is why my personal humble indie online record Cie, clearlight888music.com went almost bankrupt, but this is an other story! The new story is to have my back catalogue and new album distributed by Gonzo Multimedia and this is what matters.

    You studied in Paris composition, harmony, and piano. Did you record anything before starting Clearlight? Any releases perhaps?

    I began my musical studies at the national Conservatoire of Paris in 1965. The only tape recorders on the market back then were sophisticated "nagra" or revox; only for professionals. I made some attempts with the cassette recorders but the sound was too horrible to my ears, so no, I had no recording of anything audible before 1974, the date of my first recording ever.

    It was few months after the end of my first band, Babylone, led by Christian Boule (RIP). There is no recording of our concerts back then. It's maybe better this way. Most of  the Babylone's repertoire had been recorded a few years later (1978) in good condition in a recording studio and distributed first by Polydor, and after the premature death of Christian Boule, by Musea. It is called Photo Musik and I produced it for Polydor who was also distributing my 3rd album, Clearlight Visions. Even now, this album is really good, with Gong and Hillage influences.

    Back to 1974, and I recorded what became later the Clearlight Symphony with a 4 tracks TEAC one night of a full moon (in the sky with Lucy). I had only at my disposal an acoustic piano (a superb half grand Gaveau with an inspiring sound) that has always been in my mom's country house. This night I was all alone and spent most of the night playing and recording. It was a true "clear light" experience as it is described in Timothy Leary's books. This is why the title of this music wasbn’t difficult to find. I had no idea that I would base all my future career on this very first recording, though. I even receive, from time to time, mail from new young fans discovering this 40 years old creation with vintage gears.

    What is the story behind Clearlight? How did you manage to get musicians such as Didier Malherbe, Steve Hillage, Tim Blake, Gilbert Artman, Christian Boulé and Martin Isaacs to work with you on the album?

    It was quite fast. After this full moon recording, I added some organ parts (the synthesizers still did not exist on a large scale, so I had only a Wurlitzer organ to make the faked symphonic parts above the piano track.)

    I began to share this demo with some friends involved in musical reviews but they all said they couldn't help me with this tape (2 pieces of 20 minutes each non-stop, totally non-commercial, compared to the requirement of 3 to 4 minutes songs that the show biz was imposing on musicians for radio broadcasts.) But one of these guys liked it, Jean Pierre Lentin (RIP) from the underground magazine Actuel! Sometimes, one is enough and makes a great difference, because he is the one that suggested that I show it to Virgin. Why? Because “Tubular Bells”, the first album released by Virgin, very new on the market, was beginning to become a big hit thanks to the great success ofThe Exorcist movie, where a few lines of Mike's album were used.

    By coincidence, this album was also made of 2 parts of 20 minutes each; I guess this is why Jean Pierre suggested me to go to Virgin's office. He gave me the address in London of the squat of Tim Blake, Gong's synthesist (in London, a lot of artists were living in free squats in the ‘70s). I had met Tim twice already when Babylone was playing in the same festivals as Gong.

    So I took my precious tape under the arm, bought a boat ticket  for Paris to London and arrived in London with, as only the tip, Tim Blake's squat address, period.

    Luckily, I found also there my future manager, a French English teacher named Jacques Reland, who was sharing the squat with Tim and his girlfriend Brigitte. My English was very bad at the time, so I was needing a guy to assist me to meet Virgin's A&R, (named Simon Draper) and I asked Jacques to be the translator, and to study the contract for me, and this is how he eventually became my manager for 4 years. Simon Draper was Richard Branson's right arm. In spite of the low quality level of this demo (nowadays, it would be totally utopic to hope to have the attention of any A&R for more than one minute with such a sound, but in this blessed time, everything was yet possible, especially at Virgin). Simon accepted and proposed a recording contract. Few weeks after, the contract was signed in Branson's office. I was really happy. Tim Blake also signed the contract as artistic producer for this project.

    When I returned to France with the contract, I began to look for musicians. Virgin was a good name already and I could easily find the musicians needed. Tim helped me to convince Steve Hillage and Didier Malherbe in London, and I took care of the French crew (Christian Boule and Gilbert Artman) in Paris.

    What is the main concept behind the album and what can you tell me about the recording and producing sessions?

    When I listened back to the day after the fruit of my magical night, the concept was easy: it was a rock symphonic album where both my scale in classic and rock knowledge was displayed. But it was also a spiritual "clear light" experience where I had crossed the 7 bardos of consciousness according to the Tibetan book of Death) and was transmitting these feelings to the piano. For side B, more classical and drum-less, I recorded first the piano parts at the Manor and the rest was recorded at David Vorhaus’ (White Noise) home studio. And for side A, more rocky, I recorded all the parts at the Manor with my French fellows one month later, which gives this difference of sound and atmosphere between the 2 sides.

    According to the contract, I was my own producer, and Virgin was only advancing me a certain amount of money to pay the sessions, the musicians and the renting of the instruments and it was not enough money to record the 2 sides at the Manor with a real symphonic orchestra, as Mike Oldfield could do with his Tubular Bells and the London Symphonic.

    What gear did you guys use?

    As I said, I had a low budget, so the best I could do at this time, when numeric sound samples didn't exist, was to rent a mellotron to create all the symphonic orchestration with this imperfect tool. For instance, I couldn't use the notes for more than 5 seconds each, because the tape was making a big "clack!" after these 5 seconds. It was the first time I had the opportunity to play this mythic instrument, so I spent a couple of hours trying to find a good way to play all the parts in spite of this stupid 5 seconds of limitation. I also used a Hammond for the organ parts. Tim used his EMS synth for the spacey noises. That's it.

    What can you tell me about the cover artwork?

    Jean Claude Michel, the painter, was a good friend. He was working at the time on illustrations for a book of anatomy, so he used one of his works on the human head to create the cover. Since he was listening to my music while painting, he added the psychedelic elements. A real masterpiece of surrealistic art, appreciated by everybody at Virgin when I showed it.

    Later on, it was selected to figure in a book collecting the best rock albums covers. And both the Clearlight Symphony and Clearlight Visions figure now in the list of the 100 best progressive rock albums of all time published by the Billboard Guide magazine. It was a good beginning, to say the least!

    Apparently, I am also the only French musician present on this Billboard list, but I find it a little hard for Magma, for instance.Christian Vander's music should also figure in the list of best 100 progressive albums of all times, in my opinion.

    In 1975 you released another Clearlight album called “Forever Blowing Bubbles”and then you started another project called Delired Cameleon Family. This was somehow a project for the movie called Visa de censure n°X, right? Would you like to tell me the story behind this release? I would also like to hear more about this film…

    The story is quite simple. I had a friend, Yvan Coaquette, guitarist and former soundman of my first group Babylone, who was friend with Pierre Clementi, a famous French actor. Between 2 movies, he was shooting his own small budget movie, mainly with his friends of the "nouvelle vague", Jean Pierre Kalfon, Valerie Lagrange and others, and he was looking for a soundtrack, so Yvan introduced me to him, knowing that I was able to compose music for movies. So I worked a few days while watching the movie to find musical themes. When done, Philippe Constantin (RIP) and friend of Pierre’s proposed to be the producer and interface with EMI France and when I was ready we could obtain a budget to rent only 3 days of recording studio. 2 days to record and 1 to make the mix with the movie. Very ridiculous but better than nothing at all! Then Yvan and I decided to invite all the good musicians’ friends that we had for a free non-stop session, 16 hours a day. The 2 engineers were relaying 8 hours each. It has been a lot of improvisation in this session, with a very special atmosphere of intense work, this is why I found the title: Delired Cameleon Family. The movie itself was very special, with several fast motion pictures mixed together. It is difficult to tell the story line of this movie; very avant garde. This movie and soundtrack figures now in the permanent list of original psychedelic movies at the Musee Pompidou, in Paris. But it has been a commercial flop. The French market was not familiar with this kind of art.

    Les Contes du Singe Fou is your third Clearlight album, but this time your style changed a lot. Same goes for Visions. Why do you think?

    Forever Blowing Bubbles was the second and, unfortunately, the last project with Virgin. I had a contract with 3 albums but when Richard Branson asked me to move out of Paris to live permanently in London to ease the promotion of the band, I had to refuse because my wife was 7 months pregnant when he requested it and of course my wife didn't want to leave Paris and her mom at this stage of her pregnancy. So, when you say NO to a Branson request, this is it. Virgin cancelled my contract (without any compensation whatsoever) and I couldn't do my third project there with them, the almost ready Les Contes du Singe Fou. I wanted to try a new form of concept for my third project, a Space Opera type of album. I gave the theme and story synopsis to my gifted anglophone friend Francis Mandin, a great fan of Yes and Genesis.

    After a few weeks, Francis brought me some wonderful lyrics in English. I had planned to have John Wetton (King Crimson) on vocal and bass, Bill Bruford (not a King Crimsoner anymore) had been approached but with the premature end of the Virgin contract, all that had been cancelled. So, I realised this album with a low budget in a Parisian studio, instead, with an obscure small label ISADORA and not very known musicians, that didn't know how to promote music, so it has been also a commercial flop.
    Seeing that, I decided to produce my fourth project, Clearlight Visions, myself. I went back towards a more instrumental style, more simple to organise. That album was also my first where I was deciding everything. I paid musicians and studio myself, so that nobody could decide things for me. I asked to Didier Malherbe (sax-flute) and Didier Lockwood  (electric and acoustic violin) to bring their talent, and Christian Boule on guitar and Jacky Bouladoux on drums to complete the crew. I also began to use natural sounds (ocean waves, birds, woman having a climax (in spirale d'amour) to go with the music, which was very revotionnaire at this time where new age music didn't yet exist.

    During the ‘80s until now you have released many solo albums. Tell me something about that period of your life…

    The 80's began with a very nice experience : Along with Frederic Rousseau and Jean Philippe Rikyel, I decided to produce an album by renting a mixing table and an ATARI 8 tracks for one month, creating a home studio in the living room of the country house of my parents and the same familial piano that I used to learn music and record Clearlight Symphony's demo. The result has been "Messenger of the Son". But before I was able to propose it to various music labels, the worst thing that can happen to a human being happened to me: the accidental death of my 5 year-old-son, Jonathan.

    I left France right away, leaving behind all my musical projects and went to an ashram in Arizona where I could learn yoga and meditation. I met some musicians there such as Dean and Dudley Evenson, musicians and owners of the small new age label "Soundings of the Planet". I became good friends with them and began to release new age music on their label. Offrandes, Nocturnes digitales, Shamballa, Journey to Tantraland.

    One year later, I moved for California. There, a US fan of Clearlight from the early days, Josh Goldstein, former manager of Happy the Man, offered me his services to represent me. He was a Vietnam vet and had lost a leg there in a helicopter crash, so he had received a good sum of money just before our meeting. He proposed to produce my new music. I completed the tracks of Messenger of the Son with some local musicians, and tried to submit this album to a Californian label. One was interested right away, Fred Catero, former chief engineer of CBS. He had recorded Bob Dylan, Blood Sweat and Tears, Chicago and many others stars during his CBS career. He was now retired and wanted to create his own label. I was very proud that he picked up Messenger of the Son to figure in his list of first releases on his label. So Messenger of the Son became my sixth and last vinyl. Unfortunately, his label Catero records went bankrupt quite fast because his spirit of independence didn't please the local show biz mafia and they made the distribution of his catalogue impossible!

    I didn't lose everything because Windham Hill new age label signed one of my Messenger of the Son's song, Remember Jonathan, a kind of short requiem that I had composed just after the death of my son and had added to the Messenger album.

    This very emotional piece is now for ever in the PIANO SAMPLER ALBUM 86 (but also in the CD of Messenger of the Son).

    This Piano sampler album experienced huge sales, fortunately. I was sharing the royalties with 7 other pianists and yet I could finance the birth of my twin daughters in Santa Cruz, CA.

    In 1986, my French wife wanted to go back to France, so we packed and went back to France, where I decided to continue alone, to record new projects and my very first CD: Rhapsody for the blue Planet, followed the next year by a new Nocturnes Digitales. I also became teacher of music during this French stay. Money, money...Most of the labels selling my music didn't pay me my royalties correctly, so...I couldn't sue them, so I dropped the idea to continue to make money with my art only.

    In the ‘90s, I met Pascal Menetrey (RIP). He had a huge collection of natural sounds and with his sound material and E-Mu sample gears, I recorded Ethnicolours and Tribal Hybrid Concept, to honour all the human tribes facing extinction. The style was new for me, based on house and tribal rhythmics surrounding hundreds of different sound samples. It should be in the Guinness Book of Records in this category if it existed, lol! Ethniclours was the yin version, more mellow, and Tribal Hybrid Concept the yang version, more wild.

    Then I met Patrick Meynier, owner of a record store in Paris, Legend Music. With his help, I could remix Clearlight Visions on CD with several bonus tracks in it. Then with his wife violonist, Genevieve, I recorded Solar Trance fusion and Aerobix, two powerful albums of progressive house music, if I may say.

    All these years I was going back and forth between France and California and in 1995 I met a good singer, Leah Davis, with whom I recorded Flowers from Heaven, along with other singer friends, Frances Key, and Gunnar Amundson. I was recording where I could, song per song, the home studios were becoming more and more serious and well-equipped in numeric and small equipment. This album is the only one that has only songs in it. The lyrics created by the singers are all excellent and meaningful, making this album a very initiatic one, philosophically wise.

    This brings us to the 21st Century. I met another Clearlight fan, Dan Shapiro, living in Santa Barbara. First he proposed to produce a solo piano album, Piano for the 3rd ear. Then Dan told me about his huge fantasy, which was to produce the re-recording of the Clearlight Symphony, with all the numeric sounds that didn't exist 30 years ago. I spent 3 weeks in a home studio in Santa Barbara, alone with a Kurzweil 2600 and recorded Inner Peace Concerto, a reprise of musical themes of the Clearlight Symphony with many improvements and new themes.

    After that, we decided to create an online music label together as a little start up, www.clearlight888music.com. We converted all my vinyl music into numeric and made CDs with it. Plus, the label was releasing also the Kundalini Opera, a 7 hours synthesis of 7 of my CDs, each of these CDs harmonizing a specific chakra. I was mixing here all my knowledge in yoga and music together.

    - Tribal Hybrid Concept takes care of the 1st chakra
    - Journey to Tantraland, the 2nd
    - Solar transfusion, the 3rd
    - Flowers from heaven, the 4th
    - Rhapsodies for the blue planet the 5th
    - Piano for the 3rd ear, the 6th
    - Inner peace Concerto, the 7th

    Inner Peace Concerto was sounding so great to his ears that Dan decided to pay for more sessions, with other musicians, a violinist, a sax-flute player, a drummer and an electric guitarist. I called this final result "Infinite Symphony" because it ends exactly as it begins, as a Moebius ring. Hey, I had a new band, eventually ready to go to play in US progressive rock festivals.

    Just a few days before the departure for our first festival, the drummer, Shaun Guerin, decided to kill himself because of some problems with his wife and probably a bad trip with bad drogues! Unbelievable! But true, alas. After that, the other musicians decided to quit the band idea and my last chance of restarting a public career with a Clearlight band stopped right there. And on top, I had to leave the country, having no more professional reasons to get a green card and a work visa.

    I had met a charming Brazilian lady on the internet a few years ago (2002), and I decided to answer to her invitation to visit her in Brazilia. This is now where I live permanently and I am married to her. Life with its permanent ups and downs...I know exactly what it means!

    Thank you very much! Would you like to send a message to the Gonzo Magazine readers?

    Yes, here is the message, which my guardian angel transmitted me to share it with everybody. It was in 1977, but I think it is timeless:

    EARTH BEINGS, listen...

    Please read carefully the following message :
    The time has come to realise that your unlimited expansion in all sectors are seriously threatening the harmonious balance of your sphere of birth.

    Consequently, your survival and the survival of your children are now threatened, for the new ecologic datas you are creating are artificial, therefore devastating to your natural ecosystem.

    Even before the right to freely travel and to express yourself, your very first rights must be those to breathe non-carcinogenic air, drink non-polluted water and eat no- toxic food, all conditions indispensable to your biological existence.

    Several severe plagues of planetary dimension are beginning to manifest, synonymous of dark and painful cuts in your rows, a new revolution, pacific and ecological this time, happens to be urgent and necessary.

    To get rid of the ghost of your extinction, you, from the humblest to the almightiest would only have the small price to pay of remembering that the Bill of Human Rights passes necessarily after the Bill of Rights of the planet that welcomes and nourishes you. Do respect and appreciate the natural harmony of Nature, fruit of hundreds of millions of years of preparation and evolution.

    Consequently; it becomes important that each of you wakes up in order to effectuate the necessary corrections for the preservation of your destiny, individual as well as collective.

    Understand that the more you will delay to concretise this revolution, the more dramatic will be your fate, for the natural forces making functioning your ecosystem are stronger than yours and will be able to find an other new balance than the one you think you can impose and it will often make you feel miserable.

    To help you to remember or to finally realise that your blue planet (whom you still are the most precious fruit), is really alive, listen to her music. Then  will you understand she must be preserved from destruction.

    Her voice is indeed necessary in the partition of the Symphony of the Spheres, primordial universal anthem for the establishment and development of Life.

    So protect and share her
    CLEARLIGHT AT GONZO (UK)
    CLEARLIGHT AT GONZO (USA)
    God's Goalkeeper:
    An interview with David Icke
    Photograph by Dave HendleyPin It
    See all 3 photos
    Photograph by Dave Hendley

    Interview

    The following interview was conducted early in 1994 at various locations, starting on the site of the Big Breakfast Show, which was Channel 4s flagship breakfast programme at the time. The programme was shot in a set of lock-keepers cottages in the East End, which is where the photographer, Dave Hendley, and I met our interviewee David Icke. It was being conducted on a freelance basis, but with a degree of encouragement from the Guardian, who I was writing a column for. Unfortunately they didn’t like the result, and the interview was never published.
    There were several reasons why I wanted to do the interview. Firstly that my friend Steve (the Bard of Ely) was a great Icke fan, and I’m always interested in what Steve has to say. Then that a young woman who I had a crush on at the time was also a fan. (I remember telling David this, and his eyes lit up.) Thirdly, that I had recently become aware of the road protest movement, which had suddenly catapulted itself into the national consciousness that year, with a major road protest on Solsbury Hill near Bath, which I had written about in my column. Icke’s world-view and that of the road-protest movement seemed very similar: the same conspiracy theories, the same belief in dark, magical forces at work, the same identification of a Masonic elite working in the dark for their own nefarious ends. On the back of this, in fact, I managed to get him an invitation to speak at the first Criminal Justice Bill rally in May that year, a speech which many people acknowledged was by far the best.
    However, that was the last time that Icke spoke at such a high-profile public event, and it wasn’t long before his own public speaking venues were being picketed by left wing groups, including the Anti-Nazi League.
    The clues as to why this should have happened are here in this interview. I even warned him about it. It was his adoption of a piece of Nazi propaganda as “evidence” of his developing theory. This is the famous book, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which has several times been shown to be a forgery.
    This is the problem with David Icke. Is he a Nazi? No, he is not. Is he a racist? Emphatically not. But he is naïve, and he has – accidentally or otherwise – adopted a peculiarly right-wing view of history, the so-called Illuminati Conspiracy. Look at the history of this particular conspiracy theory and you will see from the very earliest times that it has had a reactionary mark upon it. It is essentially a variation on the Jewish-Communist Conspiracy espoused by the Nazis and their followers.
    The measure of his naïveté can be deduced from the fact that the Protocols only came into his possession a few weeks before the publication of the book, and that he clearly had not heard of them before. And yet he incorporated them into the book as if he was dealing with a verifiable historical source. And it makes you wonder, too, exactly who the people were who were busy funnelling this kind of material in his direction? David is certainly not a Nazi, but some of his informants might easily be.
    There were a couple of incidents during the interview which for some reason are stored in my head. One was that as we were walking by the canal by the lock, he gestured towards all the detritus which had accumulated on the surface. “That’s a metaphor for what has happened to our mind,” he said. “All that rubbish clogging it up.”

    Read on...
    NOW AVAILABLE FROM GONZO MULTIMEDIA

    "Stone writes with intelligence, wit and sensitivity."
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    "Wry, acute, and sometimes hellishly entertaining essays in squalor and rebellion."
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    C J STONE AT GONZO (UK)
    C J STONE AT GONZO (USA)
    SOME OTHER BOOKS BY C.J.STONE

    Housing Benefit Hill: 
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Housing-Benefit-Hill-Other-Places/dp/190259343X

    The Real Animal House: The Awesomely Depraved Saga of the Fraternity That Inspired the Movie by Chris Miller 
    • Print Length: 337 pages
    • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0316057010
    • Publisher: Back Bay Books (8 Oct 2007)
    • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
    • Language: English
    • ASIN: B00FOR2LXI
    Back in my student days I first saw the movie 'Animals House', and spent the rest of my student days trying to emulate these people. Then, after my divorce in 1996 I did much the same, and I was in the second half of my forties before I stopped behaving like one of the characters in the film, and with my health in tatters, finally settled down. I had vaguely realised that the movie was based upon the experiences that one of the writers had in college.
    Last week Harold Ramis died, and I was convinced that he had been the writer in question. So in one of my maudlin moods I looked him up on Wikipedia, found that he wasn't, but that someone called Chris Miller (who - as far as I am aware is still alive - was). And furthermore he had written a book about it. I ordered it, and yesterday read it in one sitting. It is massively entertaining, but one of the most interesting things in it was that the social group that was lampooned (oooh) as Delta House, had become depraved party animals in the first half of the 1950s when it was mostly inhabited by ex-American soldiers who had come back from the Korean War suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and as a result ran amok, starting a tradition which carried on for nearly a decade. From a purely sociological point of view that is very interesting, or at least it interests me. And it makes me wonder what psychological guidelines (if any) are in place now to stop such things happening.
    HAWKWIND NEWS
    (The Masters of the Universe do seem to have a steady stream of interesting stories featuring them, their various friends and relations, and alumni). Each week Graham Inglis keeps us up to date with the latest news from the Hawkverse..
    Now that the dust has settled on the Hawkwind one-off performance of "Space Ritual" in London recently (Shepherd's Bush 22 Feb, billed as Rock4Rescue), many fans' attention is turning to the resulting CD release, amid wondering-out-loud about how long it might take to hit the shops.

    Of course, history offers some information: last time around, the waiting time between the actual gigs (Brixton and Liverpool, December 1972) and the resulting release was around 5 months. As has been pointed out, though, that release (in 1973) was a double vinyl album, and also had a fairly unusual cardboard sleeve arrangement, as is well demonstrated by this photo from the dustandgrooves.com website, a site devoted to vinyl music culture: 
    And a warning for traditionalists: this time around, "Space Ritual" probably won't be released on 8-track cartridge. 
    The winner of the Dave Brock Krazy Kaption Kompetition
    Last week I posted these two photographs and posed the question "What on earth is the Obercheesenmeister up to now?"

    The best entry and the first entry was from some chap that I have never heard of called Tim Blake who apparently lives in France. His reply went:

    "Grand Fromage ? Isn't that something smelly, Tim eats?"

    Yes Monsieur Moonweed, you have won. And an appropriate prize will be winging your way shortly...
    Selling England by the Note
    Tribute band The Musical Box brought their wares to the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco February 21, and 22 2014.  The first night they recreated the 1973 Genesis tour that supported Selling England by the Pound (SEBTP).

    On the second night they performed the 1972 tour for the prior Genesis release, Foxtrot.
    The performances were striking in their accuracy, and transported this viewer and those in the audience to a time long ago when to many of us, Genesis owned the English progressive rock mantle.  The experience of seeing this band is something better than tribute.  They actually recreate these shows down to the set design, including slides, costumes, and props, and very faithfully perform the live music itself, with the same interpretation the band employed during the shows from the era.
    Having thus far only seen The Musical Box perform the 1974 masterwork The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, it was a rare treat to see these two prior tours.  For me personally, the SEBTP album and tour represent the best, most realized work in their early days.  Between the touching opening of “Dancing With the Moonlit Knight” to the majestic “Firth of Fifth” and melodic refrains of “The Cinema Show” this is where the band really hit it’s stride.  The Musical Box capture the live experience deftly, and hearing the work in it’s live format, complete with visuals, and Peter’s stories, explain what all the fuss was way back in those days.  It was even grand to see them wind their way through “The Battle of Epping Forest” usually dismissed by the actual members of Genesis as a bit of a mess.
    SPACE IS DEEP
    I have only just signed up to this weekly, after meeting John at the 'Space Ritual' run through at Seaton, and must say what a great piece he wrote on the experience, I totally agree that it was something very special.  The other point is that I noticed there was no 'forum page' would this not generate more interest in Gonzo Magazine?

    Also I don't know if anyone else has spotted it but Channel 4 is using 'Silver Machine' to promote its 'Live from Space' week starting 12th of March.                                   

    Pete

    We are starting work on a dedicated Gonzo Weekly website, which may well have a forum, but in the meantime, will this letters page do?

    THE BROOKER PRIZE
    Howdy from North Florida Jon! I am so grateful your label was able to put Brand X's "Is There Any..." from 1982 back in print!

    What this world really needs is a reissue of Gary Brooker's "Echoes In The Night" from 1985: it's really the long-lost Procol Harum album, the last time Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher and the late drummer BJ Wilson ever recorded together! Here's to hoping someone can pull it off

    Best

    Gerard

    FLYER AT THE EDGE OF TIME
    Hi John,
    Thanks as ever for the Gonzo weekly newsletter, and why I’m e-mailing is to ask for a “copy” of the Hawkwind flyer re the special offer, as when I tried to print it just had “More like a Mag” paragraph, then blank.
    Thanks,
    Colin
    P.S. Last Sunday saw the Carl Palmer band locally, excellent++, clever “covers” of E.L.P. material, “tight” trio, all of us over 50 at least, and considering the hall size, about 100 if that...

    I sent Colin a copy of the aforementioned flyer. I would hate anyone to miss out, so if you can't print it out, e-mail me.
    He actually IS called Jon Pertwee, and he runs a shop selling  pop culture memorabilia with a special emphasis on Dr Who related stuff. He is an old mate of mine, and from now on will be doing a regular column in this magazine. Hooray!
    He also appears on BBC Radio Devon on Wednesdays at 10pm if you are in the area
    A long time ago in a TV set long since defunct, a channel that was then called ITV showed a series called Space 1999. It was the brainchild of poptacular puppet wizard Gerry Anderson. Anderson had a long line of string based TV shows but this was his second foray into live action, the first being UFO. The idea behind 1999 was that a group of extremely serious scientific types were living on the moon in an moon base called Alpha.  They were led by square jawed John Koenig, and together with his stern-faced team of researchers, they hung grimly to the small dome that protected them 
    as the Moon was torn asunder from the Earth. The Moon travelled amazingly fast and each week it was fortunate to meet a different alien race in some guise or another. But this was a different horse from Star Trek, it brought the average viewer science, albeit in a somewhat basic form.

    The noble crew of HM.RippedoutofEarthsorbit.com were the brave Commander, his Doctor and former squeeze, Helena Russell, and Victor Bergman - the boffin who frowned a LOT and said, “You know John, this could spell trouble”, and Paul Morrow, who I was sure was related to a doctor who had an island with strange mutated animals on it. 
    The episode that stood out was one called “Dragons’ Domain”, in which a huge multi- tentacled abomination drew space craft to its lair and chewed on the occupiers until they were spent withered husks.  Strong stuff for a Saturday morning kids’ show. A good strong script and FX created by the marvellous Derek Meddings, Space 1999 was a strong stab at well thought out SF.

    Until next week, this is Commander Jon Pertwee signing off.
    THE WORLD OF GONZO ACCORDING TO GHOSTMAN RAINES
    THE YES CIRCULAR - TIME AND A WORD
    The Court Circular tells interested readers about the comings and goings of members of The Royal Family. However, readers of this periodical seem interested in the comings and goings of Yes and of various alumni of this magnificent and long-standing band. Give the people what they want, I say
    This has been the best week in some time for stories from the various Yes alumni, and indeed from the Mothership itself. We start off with three interviews from Trevor Horn which can be found herehere and here,  Chris Squire has always been one of my favourite bass players, second really only to Paul McCartney and there is a eulogistic article about his four stringed prowess. There is a retrospective look at Jon Anderson's first solo album, a look forward to Yes' Glasgow show, and an interview with Geoff Downes.
    And, as well as all the Wakemanbits in this week's issue, there are no less than three interviews with Grumpy Old Rick. Find them herehere and here. I am probably getting a bit OCD about all of this, but I find the Yes soap opera of sound to be absolutely enthralling, and I for one can't wait to see what happens next! 
    MORE DETAILS OF YES AT GONZO (UK)
    MORE DETAILS OF YES AT GONZO (USA)
    Changing the world one gift at a time
    The worldwide Freecycle Network is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a grassroots movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Freecycle groups match people who have things they want to get rid of with people who can use them. Our goal is to keep usable items out of landfills. By using what we already have on this earth, we reduce consumerism, manufacture fewer goods, and lessen the impact on the earth. Another benefit of using Freecycle is that it encourages us to get rid of junk that we no longer need and promote community involvement in the process.

    http://uk.freecycle.org/
    ANGELS ON MY FRONT LAWN
    How do i know?Every morning i pick up wings
    left over from the pixie party  of the night before
    Each bird both solitary and witness
    when morning comes-a different song emits!
    Black grackles shine like stormtrooper boots
    Hacking our privacy ,allegedly for worms
    Mourning doves,in couples,repeat cooing vows
    while watching from our fence posts
    Bluejays peck their way among thrown bread
    Sparrows avoid their sharp critiques
    Always ,generic,species clump and rise
    when fear means food must wait
    Back again-one cardinal,red-
    her favorite perch outside my only window
    When bread is gone,so too these morning moon star visitors
    Leaving little wings as witness for one sun..
    In Victorian times every well-bred Gentleman had a 'Cabinet of Curiosities'; a collection of peculiar odds and sods, usually housed in a finely made cabinet with a glass door. These could include anything from Natural History specimens to historical artefacts. There has always been something of the Victorian amateur naturalist about me, and I have a houseful of arcane objects; some completely worthless, others decidedly not, but all precious to me for the memories they hold.

    But people send me lots of pictures of interesting, and, may I say, peculiar things. But once again this week it is over to my lovely wife...
    You never know what you are going to find, or what is going to find  you
    You never know what might fall out of some old record albums that cost 50 cents each at a yard sale. Like Marvin Gaye's passport -- which could be worth $20,000 to collectors today.

    Issued in October 1964, the expired US passport depicts a smiling Gaye -- then 25, born in Washington on April 2, 1939, six feet tall, with brown hair and brown eyes -- along with his authentic signature.
    The passport reappeared this week on US public television's "Antiques Roadshow," where a male guest from Detroit told how it fell out of some old LPs he'd picked up at yard sale.

    "When I got home, I was going through them and out of an album fell this passport," said the guest, identified only as a former employee of the Motown Museum in Detroit. "And so, it literally fell into my hands."   
    Read on .....

    The pillars that form Stonehenge may have been chosen because they were like sacred “prehistoric glockenspiels”, according to researchers.
    The sonorous quality of some of the bluestones used for the monument built between 3,000 BC and 1,600 BC may explain why they were transported 200 miles from Pembrokeshire, Wales, when there were plenty of local rocks to use nearby.
    ‘Archeo-acoustic’ expert Paul Devereux, the principal investigator on the Landscape and Perception Project, explained the choice to the BBC. “There had to be something special about these rocks,” he said.
    “To boldly go (to go boldly for goodness sake) where no pancake has gone before: Original Star Trek cast get a tasty homage”

    Okay, so this should have really gone under "Peculiar Story of the Week" I suppose, but it was a toss up (ah, the joys of puns) between napkins and pancakes and I plumped for the former.  But one cannot simply leave a story such as this so I have added it here.

    But I have to say that I am glad they named them; I only recognised two.  

    Singer claims he has DNA proof he is long lost son of pop icon Michael Jackson

    "Brandon Howard, 31, who bears a resemblance to the Beat It singer, said he will tonight reveal proof he is the eldest son of the late musician"

    (As I am typing this, that’s tonight folks.)

    "Sources told celebrity website TMZ that Brandon's mother, soul singer Miki Howard, met with The Jackson 5 legend in 1982 and Mr Howard was born shortly afterwards…"

    So are these sources intimating that this ‘long-lost’ offspring was conceived at that meeting?  I think it must be the first time I have heard of giving birth after a 9 month-long pregnancy referred to as giving birth shortly afterwards, but that is just nit-picking I guess.
    And to end with some other news this week:

    Rolling Stones play track not heard live since 1973 at Tokyo show

    What can I say?  Wow…..that is big news.  My life has been enriched by such knowledge.

    Slipknot to begin 'major work' on new album in March

    That’s more like it.  
    SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION TIME

    Just in case you are interested, here is yer beloved Editor at iTunes

    Bipolar, Jon Downes Lost Weekend, Jon Downes Hard Sports - EP, Jon Downes The Man from Dystopia, Jon Downes

    Check it out now...
    INTRODUCING THE NINE HENRYS
    There are nine Henrys, purported to be the world’s first cloned cartoon character. They live in a strange lo-fi domestic surrealist world peopled by talking rock buns and elephants on wobbly stilts.

    They mooch around in their minimalist universe suffering from an existential crisis with some genetically modified humour thrown in. I think Peter McAdam is one of the funniest people around, and I cannot recommend his book The Nine Henrys highly enough. Check it out at Amazon.
    Each issue we shall be running a series of Henrybits that are not found in his book about the nine cloned cartoon characters who inhabit a surreal world nearly as insane as mine...
    The Weird Weekend is the largest yearly gathering of mystery animal investigators in the English-speaking world. Now in its fifteenth year, the convention attracts speakers and visitors from all over the world and showcases the findings of investigators into strange phenomena.
    Cryptozoologists, parapsychologists, ufologists, and folklorists are descending on Woolfardisworthy Community Centre to share their findings and insights. Unlike other events, the Weird Weekend will also include workshops giving tips to budding paranormal investigators, and even a programme of special events for children. The Weird Weekend is the only fortean conference in the world that is truly a family event, although those veterans of previous events should be reassured that it is still as anarchically silly as ever!
    The event is raising money for the Centre for Fortean Zoology, the world’s only full time, professional cryptozoological organisation. The profit from food and beverages goes to a selection of village charities, mostly working with children.
    BUY TICKETS AT A SPECIAL ADVANCE PRICE
    the running order (so far) for the 2014 event
    THE WORLD OF KEV ROWLAND
    DAWN OF TEARS          Act III: The Dying Eve      (INVERSE)
    This Spanish group released their debut in 2007, and followed it up with an EP in 2009 (both of which are available now as free downloads from their websitewww.dawnoftears.org so why not give them a try?), so hence the title of this album. Having read some of the reviews of their previous work, plus seeing who they have been gigging with, I am somewhat surprised that it has taken so long for this album to be released, as they seem to have a good name but it has taken a while. Whatever the reason, this is sure to get quite a lot of coverage as their take on melodic death/gothic/black metal has a lot going for it. Plenty of passion, loads of melody and thoughtfulness (with some additional female vocals which does also give them a slight
    Cradle of Filth feel at times), this is an album that just reeks class from start to finish. The guitars are clean and clear, the drums and bass are locked in and heavy, while the vocals add that additional edge. The keyboards provide the right amount of melody without ever taking away from the power of the guitars.

    This is one of the best releases I have heard from this label, and one that I highly recommend. Given that their first two releases are available free of charge why not give them a try? You have nothing to lose, and plenty to gain.
    GLORIOR BELLI        Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurls    (AGONIA)
    Whenever I see the word “gator” in a musical sense, my thoughts always turn to Molly Hatchet, but before you start thinking that these guys are contemporaries from Jacksonville, Florida, let me set the record straight. Firstly these guys are French, not American, hailing from Paris, and this has little to do with good-time boogie, although there is room in the mix for some elements of that. Following on from 2011’s ‘The Great Southern Darkness’ (okay, so there is a theme at least in the recent album titles), this is their fifth album and again they are showing that there is plenty of room within black metal to expand and bring in new ideas. 
    There are elements of sludge, blues, boogie, and a whole host more in an album that is threatening and dynamic in the traditional sense, but expanding and very wide in another.

    At times very down and dirty, and at others extremely clean, this is an album that is going to excite fans of Watain and Eyehategod for example, although in many ways it is quite different to both. The production is extremely good, and allows the nuances and inflections of the bass to come through and not be lost – there are times where S is gently bending the strings, adding another dynamic to the overall sound. But there are plenty of times when it is just a full on onslaught.

    Although these guys are classed as Black Metal, and rightly so in many ways, they are definitely not restricting themselves to what others may view as being what they should be doing within the genre, but instead are very much following their own path and this album is all the stronger for that. Extremely heavy, with those Southern influences being just part of the melting pot, this is going to find them a whole new group of followers. www.agoniarecords.com 
    GREENROSE FAIRE           My Home Is Where My Heart Is        (INVERSE)
    So there I was, working my way through the latest batch of downloads from Inverse when this started playing. To say that I was stunned is something of an understatement. While I thought that I was no longer surprised at what this label releases, this one caught me totally off guard. Normally Inverse concentrates on Finnish acts (although not always), and on various types of metal (again not always), so where on earth did this incredible English folk album come from? A quick check later and I discovered that this not an English group, and isn’t their first album either. Greenrose Faire have an English sounding name, and a very English sound, but when you look at the members then you realise that all is
    not as it seems at first: the current line-up is Salla Rimmi (vocals), Anni Latva-Pukkila (violin), Jupe Hirsimäki (Octave mandolin), Petri Hannuksela (keyboards), Niilo Sirola (bass) and Tomi Hyttinen (Drums & backing vocals).

    Here is a group that are a band out of time, and by that I don’t necessarily mean the medieval period, which is obviously where they feel at home, but these guys should have been around in the early Seventies when Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, Renaissance, Fotheringay and others were being lauded as there is no doubt that this is where there main influences come from in the modern era. Salla has a wonderful voice, not as high as Annie Haslam or Maddy Prior, but with a presence such as Sandy Denny’s. The rest of the guys provide the perfect backdrop, with a special mention to Anni whose violin playing is a perfect foil, while never being over-invasive. If these guys were to go on stage with Mundy-Turner then that would indeed be a match made in heaven, with great violin from both, wonderful female vocals, with great support and instrumentation.

    I notice that they have been playing virtually entirely within their own country, but if ever a band should be on the Cropredy stage then these are it! But until they get in touch with Peggy, then we need to be content with one of the most wonderful folk albums I have heard in many years. The songs are melodic and relevant, and the more I have played this the more I have become convinced that given the right opportunities these guys could be one of the major folk discoveries for quite some time. They just need to get onto the British circuit. If you enjoy acoustic or folk with great female vocals, musicianship and songs then visit www.greenrosefaire.com to find out more. 

    LOVIJATAR      Pimeän Tuoja            (SECRET ENTERTAINMENT)
    ‘Pimeän Tuoja’ (which can be translated to ‘The Bringer of the Dark’) is the debut album from Finnish Stoner/Pagan/Folk act Lovijatar. Formed by Jussi Rautio (Battlelore, guitar) and Tommi Vaittinen (Elephant Bell, vocals) they were inspired lyrically by Finnish epic folklore Kalevala and old Finnish poetry while their musical ideas come partially from traditional Karelian keens of requiems (itkuvirsi). The music is often very heavy, but definitely touches on all of the styles mentioned above, which means that they have quite a unique sound. While some of the folk metal bands almost treat the style as a huge joke, and something to drink plenty of beer to, this is altogether more serious. In addition, they perform totally in Finnish, which again gives the music a different feel 
    to many. Rauso states that they do this because “We have lost lots of old Finnish culture and it is best preserved in folk poetry. That’s the only place where we can really go and find something ancient from our heritage.”

    The line-up is completed by Mikko Neuvonen (Elephant Bell, drums), Petrus Rapo (Boner, guitar) and Riku Hakala (Tytär, bass.) and the quintet have created something that is melodic, emotive, dark, heavy and intriguing all at the same time. There is a definite edge here that lifts this album out of the ordinary. www.lovijatar.com
    A SHORT INTRODUCTION TO WARDRUNA
    by Corinna
    Wardruna is a musical project based on Nordic spiritualism and the runes of the Elder Futhark.The project was started by Einar "Kvitrafn" Selvik in 2003, along with Gaahl and Lindy Fay Hella.

    It has since released two albums, each based on a set of runes and there are plans to release at least one more disc, based on eight more of the runes.  In 2014 Kvitrafn announced that they would take part in composing the score for season 2 of Vikings along with Trevor Morris.

    Not the cup of tea of everyone I am sure, but I can listen to them all day quite happily. Here are a couple of videos for your delectation,here and here
    THE BEST LAID PLANS...
    It has been a rather peculiar week here in the potato shed where Captain Frunobulax, Lobby the Lobster and I plot world domination and edit these hallowed pages each week. There have been various family things and various health things with which I shall not bore you, as well as having a visit from my old friend Richard Freeman, which means a little wine was imbibed on Monday night.
    However, two days earlier on Saturday night my old friend Mike Davis celebrated his half century on the planet, and so what started off as a sophisticated buffet with his mother and sisters ended up with me and him still drinking whisky at 4.00am. So for the rest of this week I have been on the wagon, which is probably no bad thing considering the state of my blood pressure Tuesday morning.

    I was supposed to be going to London this weekend, but I have so much stuff to do here, I really didn't want to leave Woolsery until I had caught up with myself. I seem to have been chasing my tail for weeks now, and I need a breather. So I was very pleased when I was told by the person organising the event that we were filming that they only wanted one cameraperson. So, Graham (who enjoys travelling more than I do) is going in my stead, and I shall be at home with the animals and various people in my extended family. I have spent much of the last few days listening to Tim Blake's New Jerusalem and kicking myself that I hadn't remembered what a bloody super record it is. So, basically. Life goes on pretty much as usual. See you next week.
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