Some Guys Have... (Refrain)

In last Friday's post I mentioned that me and my pals were off to see Lene Lovich that evening. This created a great deal of interest - well, two people commented but they were people of taste and distinction - so I thought I would report back on  how it went.

It was great fun. Lene was everything you would hope for, still belting it out at the tender age of 74. The entire set was good but I particularly enjoyed her version of "Supernature", the Cerrone smash for which she wrote the lyrics a few years before becoming a star in her own right.

In her comment on the previous post C described Lene as a one-off, which is true but not for the lack of trying on the part of others. Both of the support acts, Das Fluff and SHH, had female singers whose look and sound were heavily influence by Lene. The evening could perhaps have been billed as 'The Three Lives of Lene Lovich'.

Emboldened by this adventure, me and Mr F decided to take a punt on a mystery gig at the Shacklewell Arms in London's fashionable Dalston on Tuesday. For £7.50 we were promised two support acts - Healthy Junkies and Rats-Tails - and some "very special guests" as headliners.

We genuinely had no idea who the mystery headliners were until we got to the gig, and I was delighted to discover it was Girl Ray. They were getting in some last minute practice before flying out today to start a 13 date US tour. If any of our readers happen to be near the Sultan Rooms in Brooklyn tomorrow (Friday) I recommend popping in to see them.

I have been a fan of Girl Ray since their debut album "Earl Grey", which was one of my albums of the year back in 2017. With each successive release their sound has become less indie and more pop, with parts of the new album "Prestige" sounding a lot like old school disco to me. If I was forced to choose I would abide by the Music Bloggers' Code and say I prefer their earlier stuff, but I do like the new record a lot.

Here is a track apiece from the two headliners. The Girl Ray tune comes from their 2019 album "Girl", Lene's from "No Man's Land" (1981).

"Show Me More" - Girl Ray

"Savages" - Lene Lovich

That's me done for the week. I'm off at the crack of dawn tomorrow to spend a long weekend in Amsterdam with my nephew and his girlfriend who have recently moved there. 

I'll be back on here mid-week next week. The Africa series will be back the week after as there is still some digging to be done on the next couple of destinations. Until then, I'll leave you with videos featuring most of the acts mentioned above (I couldn't find SHH).