A merrie new year to ye all. What a terrible year 2016 was. This year will be worse, I expect. Never mind, see the cultural panaceas I am pushing.

NEW LONDON CONTENT PROVIDER DATES

Because all the London Leicester Sq Content Provider dates sold out here is another three month block of the SAME SHOW at the SAME VENUE, Leicester Sq Theatre, at the SAME TIME, 7pm, from November this year until Jan 2018.

Weds 1st Nov  – Sat 9th  Dec 2017
Tuesday to Saturday  except there is a performance on Monday 4th December

Tues 2nd Jan to Wed 31st Jan 2018
Monday to Saturday

Not Fri 24, Sat 25, Thur 30 Nov 2017 (DAYS OFF)
Not  Tue 9, Sat 13 Jan 2018 (DAYS OFF)

The following link for tickets goes live 12/1/17 @ 10am

https://leicestersquaretheatre.ticketsolve.com/shows/873569397/events

All dates listed in full at the gigs page.

Other extra dates by other comedians are available

VIAGOGO

Those utter wankstains at www.viagogo.co.uk are selling tickets from my Edinburgh tour dates at twice face value. Needless to say you can get seats for normal prices from the theatre itself and anyone found to have bought a ticket via Viagogo will not be let in. There is no need to be ripped off by Viagogo, whose activities will soon be illegal anyway, as they are criminals.

Other secondary ticketing agencies are available

CONTENT PROVIDER TOUR

Autumn 2017 dates are currently being booked.
More dates will be added as they are confirmed.

All updates will be made at the gigs page.

January 2017

Thursday January 12^th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm SOLD OUT
Friday January 13^th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm SOLD OUT
Monday January 16^th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm SOLD OUT
Tuesday January 17^th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm SOLD OUT
Wednesday January 18^th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm SOLD OUT
Thursday January 19^th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm SOLD OUT
Friday January 20^th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm SOLD OUT
Saturday January 21^st – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm SOLD OUT
Monday January 23^rd – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm SOLD OUT
Tuesday January 24^th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm SOLD OUT
Wednesday January 25^th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm SOLD OUT
Thursday January 26^th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm SOLD OUT
Friday January 27^th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm SOLD OUT
Saturday January 28^th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm SOLD OUT

Monday 30th – Content Provider – OXFORD – Playhouse – 7.30pm – 01865 305305 TICKETS
Tuesday 31st – Content Provider – OXFORD – Playhouse – 7.30pm – 01865 305305 TICKETS

February 2017

Wednesday 1st – Content Provider – OXFORD – Playhouse – 7.30pm – 01865 305305 TICKETS
Thursday 2nd – Content Provider – OXFORD – Playhouse – 7.30pm – 01865 305305 TICKETS
Friday 3rd – Content Provider – OXFORD – Playhouse – 8pm – 01865 305305 SOLD OUT
Saturday 4th – Content Provider – OXFORD – Playhouse – 8pm – 01865 305305 SOLD OUT
Tuesday 7th – Content Provider – NORWICH – Theatre Royal – 7.30pm – 01603 630000 TICKETS
Wednesday 8th – Content Provider – LEICESTER – DeMontfort Hall – 8pm – 0116 233 3111 TICKETS
Thursday 9th – Content Provider – LEICESTER – DeMontfort Hall – 8pm – 0116 233 3111 TICKETS
Friday 10th – Content Provider – HIGH WYCOMBE – Wycombe Swan – 8pm – 01494 512000 TICKETS
Wednesday 22nd – Content Provider – TRURO – Hall For Cornwall – 7.30pm – 01872 262466 TICKETS
Thursday 23rd – Content Provider – BRIGHTON – The Dome – 8pm – 01273 709709 TICKETS
Friday 24th – Content Provider – BRIGHTON – The Dome – 8pm – 01273 709709 TICKETS
Saturday 25th – Content Provider – BRIGHTON – The Dome – 8pm – 01273 709709 TICKETS
Sunday 26th – Content Provider – BRIGHTON – The Dome – 8pm – 01273 709709 TICKETS

March 2017

Wednesday 1st – Content Provider – YEOVIL – Octagon Theatre – 7.30pm – 01935 422884 TICKETS
Thursday 2nd – Content Provider – POOLE – Lighthouse – 8pm – 01202 280000 TICKETS
Friday 3rd – Content Provider – ST. ALBANS – Alban Arena – 8pm – 01727 844488 TICKETS
Wednesday 8th – Content Provider – MALVERN – Festival Theatre – 8pm – 01684 892277 TICKETS
Thursday 9th – Content Provider – GUILDFORD – G Live – 8pm – 01483 369350 TICKETS
Friday 10th – Content Provider – GUILDFORD – G Live – 8pm – 01483 369350 TICKETS
Saturday 11th – Content Provider – CHELMSFORD – Civic Theatre – 7.45pm – 01245 606505 TICKETS
Tuesday 14th – Content Provider – NOTTINGHAM – Playhouse – 8pm – 0115 941 9419 TICKETS
Wednesday 15th – Content Provider – LANCASTER – Grand – 7.30pm – 01524 64695 TICKETS
Thursday 16th – Content Provider – GLASGOW – Clyde Hall, SECC (Glasgow Comedy Festival) – 8pm – 0844 395 4000 TICKETS
Friday 17th – Content Provider – EDINBURGH – Festival Theatre – 8pm – 0131 529 6000 TICKETS

March 21st – Hilarity for Charity. South & North London Care. Leics Sq Th, London. Jessica Fostekew, Dane Baptiste, Tony Law, Stewart Lee, Lolly Adefope, Norman Lovett, Andy Zaltzman and more tbc. ON SALE SOON. (Short set on Charity Bill – not tour show).

Wednesday 22nd – Content Provider – KING’S LYNN – Corn Exchange – 8pm – 01553 764864 TICKETS
Thursday 23rd – Content Provider – CAMBRIDGE – Corn Exchange – 8pm – 01223 357851 TICKETS
Saturday 25th – Content Provider – NORTHAMPTON – Royal & Derngate – 8pm – 01604 624811 TICKETS
Sunday 26th – Content Provider – CARDIFF – Wales Millennium Centre – 7.30pm – 029 2063 6464 TICKETS
Monday 27th – Content Provider – BIRMINGHAM – Symphony Hall – 7.30pm – 0121 780 3333 TICKETS
Tuesday 28th – Content Provider – BIRMINGHAM – Symphony Hall – 7.30pm – 0121 780 3333 TICKETS
Wednesday 29th – Content Provider – CHELTENHAM – Town Hall – 8pm – 0844 576 2210 TICKETS

April 2017

Saturday 29th – Content Provider – MACHYNLLETH COMEDY FESTIVAL – The Mach Arena – 7pm – TICKETS
Sunday 30th – Content Provider – MACHYNLLETH COMEDY FESTIVAL – The Mach Arena – 7pm – TICKETS

May 2017

Wednesday 3rd – Content Provider – SOUTHAMPTON – Mayflower Theatre – 7.30pm – 02380 711811 TICKETS
Thursday 4th – Content Provider – COVENTRY – Warwick Arts Centre – 8pm – 024 7652 4524 TICKETS
Friday 5th – Content Provider – KINGSTON – Rose Theatre – 8pm – 020 8174 0090 TICKETS
Saturday 6th – Content Provider – KINGSTON – Rose Theatre – 8pm – 020 8174 0090 TICKETS
Monday 8th – Content Provider – BROMLEY – Churchill Theatre – 8pm – 020 3285 6000 TICKETS
Thursday 11th – Content Provider – COVENTRY – Warwick Arts Centre – 8pm – 024 7652 4524 TICKETS
Friday 12th – Content Provider – DERBY – Derby Theatre – 8pm – 01332 593939 TICKETS
Saturday 13th – Content Provider – CAMBRIDGE – Corn Exchange – 8pm – 01223 357851 TICKETS
Sunday 14th – Content Provider – CANTERBURY – Marlowe Theatre – 7.30pm – 01227 787787 TICKETS
Wednesday 17th – Content Provider – YORK – Barbican – 7.30pm – 0844 854 2757 TICKETS
Thursday 18th – Content Provider – NEWCASTLE – City Hall – 7.30pm – 08448 11 21 21 TICKETS
Friday 19th – Content Provider – NEWCASTLE – City Hall – 7.30pm – 08448 11 21 21 TICKETS
Monday 22nd – Content Provider – SALFORD QUAYS – The Lowry – 8pm – 0843 208 6000 TICKETS
Tuesday 23rd – Content Provider – SALFORD QUAYS – The Lowry – 8pm – 0843 208 6000 TICKETS
Wednesday 24th – Content Provider – SALFORD QUAYS – The Lowry – 8pm – 0843 208 6000 TICKETS
Thursday 25th – Content Provider – SALFORD QUAYS – The Lowry – 8pm – 0843 208 6000 TICKETS

June 2017

Monday 5th – Content Provider – BURY ST EDMUNDS – The Apex – 01284 758000 TICKETS
Tuesday 6th – Content Provider – COLCHESTER – Mercury Theatre – 01206 573948 ON SALE SOON
Wednesday 7th – Content Provider – COLCHESTER – Mercury Theatre – 01206 573948 ON SALE SOON
Thursday 8th – Content Provider – TUNBRIDGE WELLS – Assembly Hall Theatre – 8pm – 01892 530613 TICKETS
Friday 9th – Content Provider – BASINGSTOKE – The Anvil – 8pm – 01256 844244 TICKETS
Wednesday 14th – Content Provider – BUXTON – Opera House – 8pm – 01298 72190 TICKETS
Thursday 15th – Content Provider – BUXTON – Opera House – 8pm – 01298 72190 TICKETS
Friday 16th – Content Provider – DONCASTER – Cast – 8pm – 01302 303959 TICKETS
Saturday 17th – Content Provider – BRADFORD – Alhambra Theatre- 8pm – 01274 432000 TICKETS
Sunday 18th – Content Provider – LEEDS – West Yorkshire Playhouse – 7.30pm – 0113 213 7700 TICKETS
Monday 19th – Content Provider – LEEDS – West Yorkshire Playhouse – 7.30pm – 0113 213 7700 TICKETS
Tuesday 20th – Content Provider – LEEDS – West Yorkshire Playhouse – 7.30pm – 0113 213 7700 TICKETS
Wednesday 21st – Content Provider – WOLVERHAMPTON – Grand Theatre – 7.30pm – 01902 429212 TICKETS

October 2017

Sunday 8th – Content Provider – BRISTOL – Colston Hall – 0844 887 1500 – 7.30pm – TICKETS
Monday 9th – Content Provider – BRISTOL – Colston Hall – 0844 887 1500 – 7.30pm – TICKETS

November 2017

Wednesday November 1st – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Thursday November 2nd – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Friday November 3rd – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Saturday November 4th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Tuesday November 7th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Wednesday November 8th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Thursday November 9th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Friday November 10th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Saturday November 11th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Tuesday November 14th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Wednesday November 15th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Thursday November 16th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Friday November 17th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Saturday November 18th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Tuesday November 21st – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Wednesday November 22nd – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Thursday November 23rd – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Tuesday November 28th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Wednesday November 29th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS

December 2017

Friday December 1st – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Saturday December 2nd – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Monday December 4th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Tuesday December 5th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Wednesday December 6th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Thursday December 7th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Friday December 8th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Saturday December 9th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS

January 2018

Tuesday January 2nd – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Wednesday January 3rd – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Thursday January 4th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Friday January 5th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Saturday January 6th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Monday January 8th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Wednesday January 10th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Thursday January 11th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Friday January 12th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Monday January 15th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Tuesday January 16th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Wednesday January 17th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Thursday January 18th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Friday January 19th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Saturday January 20th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Monday January 22nd – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Tuesday January 23rd – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Wednesday January 24th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Thursday January 25th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Friday January 26th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS
Saturday January 27th – Content Provider, Leicester Square Theatre, London – 7pm TICKETS

Tours by other comedians are available

Unpaid Charity Benefit Shows

As usual, I continue to work tirelessly for charity.
Feb 20th – PEN Writers’ Freedom of Speech benefit, Union Chapel, London w Jack Dee + Andy Hamilton + Shappi Khorsandi + Stewart Lee + Nick Revell. https://www.musicglue.com/union-chapel/events/20-feb-17-you-cant-say-that-the-big-pen-gig—union-chapel/
Feb 27th – Refugees at Union Chapel bill t b c
March 21st – Hilarity for Charity. South & North London Care. Leics Sq Th, London. Jessica Fostekew, Dane Baptiste, Tony Law, Stewart Lee, Lolly Adefope, Norman Lovett, Andy Zaltzman and more tbc.
Tix on sale soon.

Other charity shows are available

Global Globules with Baconface

On Wednesdays at 11pm on Resonance 104.4 fm and on the station website, the barely present cult Canadian stand-up comedian Baconface continues to play lengthy and mainly uninterrupted selections from his late brother’s extensive record collection of ’60s and ’70s psychedelia, progressive rock, free jazz, folk, acid folk, folk rock, acid rock, electronic music, and ethnoforgeries. In association with the Chilliwack Office of Leisure. [Repeated Saturday 4am.] The shows can also be heard here.. http://www.baconfacecanada.com/listen
And also here, with pictures…
http://www.baconfacecanada.com/global-globules/
Resonance is a groundbreaking 24/7 radio station which broadcasts on 104.4 FM to central London, DAB to Greater London, nationally on Radioplayer and live streamed to the rest of the world.

Other fictional men with masks made of bacon playing vintage psychedelia are not available

SOUNDS OF BACONFACE

Baconface is also a regular monthly columnist for the digital relaunch of the late lamented Sounds magazine. https://soundsmagazine.co.uk/author/baconface/

BITCH MAGNET

I am interviewing Jon Fine of Bitch Magnet about his book, What I Saw At Indie Rock’s Failed Revolution, on Mon 6th of Feb at Brixton Windmill. http://www.damnably.com/2016/12/jon-fine-bitch-magnetcoptic-light-don-caballero-in-conversation-with-stewart-lee/

Damnably is proud to present an evening with Jon Fine ( Bitch Magnet/ Coptic Light / Don Caballero) who will be in conversation with TV comedy star and music critic Stewart Lee then playing live with The Werewolves Of London (feat. members of smallgang).

Jon will be chatting about and taking questions on his critically acclaimed book ‘Your Band Sucks’ What I Saw at Indie Rock’s Failed Revolution (But Can No Longer Hear) published by Penguin Books.

Jon Fine spent years in various aggressive and underground bands — Bitch Magnet being the most known–and, as he writes in his widely acclaimed memoir Your Band Sucks: What I Saw At The Failed Indie Rock Revolution (But Can No Longer Hear), “none of them were ever threatened, even distantly, by actual fame. But fame, of course, was never the point. What was the point was participating in—indeed, living one’s entire life in—the underground rock culture of the 1980s and 1990s, that miracle that happened when a generation of smart misfits found each other and built, by hand, a culture that persists to this day.

In spoken-word-performances-cum-discussions–which Jon has already taken to fifteen North American cities–Jon will read several short sections of his book, interlinked with a series of narrative reminiscences that will serve to join those sections into one narrative arc that will cover the tentative beginnings of the underground of the 80s, its flowering and flourishing, its reckonings with the mainstream (and vice versa) and the re-emergence of many such bands once again this decade, as many got back together for reunion tours. Including Bitch Magnet, a tour in which—well, why give it all away now?

Questions from the audience are encouraged. Actually, they’re mandatory. Where possible, Jon will be joined for a discussion of his book and the independent music culture of the 80’s and 90’s and today by someone who was there, too. (Musicians who’ve appeared with Jon at events in the US include: Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo, Mark Arm of Mudhoney, and Clint Conley of Mission of Burma.)

PRAISE FOR YOUR BAND SUCKS:

“Everything a cult-fave musician’s memoir should be: It’s a seductively readable book that requires no previous knowledge of the author, Bitch Magnet or any other band with which he’s played.”
—Janet Maslin, The New York Times

“The story of the indie rock era has rarely been told as well as it has in Your Band Sucks . . . Written with both anthropological detachment and deep romanticism about the making of music, Fine’s book belongs on the shelf alongside Michael Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life.”
—Salon

“Jon Fine has done something miraculous: he managed to drag me through a time in my life that I hated and made me actually miss it. Both a hilarious personal memoir and an obsessive guide to that weird moment in underground music before the great tsunami of the Internet changed everything forever, Your Band Sucks reminds you that one self-confessed rock-nerd’s journey through rejection, triumph, and cheap motels is as universal as any well-told story.”
—James Murphy, LCD Soundsystem

“Like Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, but for would-be rock stars who live like train hobos and perform for dozens of fans a night.”
—Men’s Health

“More striking than Fine’s clever words is his incisive commentary, which examines everything we’ve come to know about music in the digital age, from cyber communities to music streaming services to major record labels.”
—Esquire.com

“Your Band Sucks is a fantastic document of a culture-defining era of rock music. It paints a detailed portrait of the scene before corporations bought music’s soul. A tremendous read.”
—Stuart Braithwaite, Mogwai

“When we played festivals, we used to have this thing where we’d walk up to the other bands and ask, ‘What shitty band are you in?’ I would dare never have asked Bitch Magnet that same question. In fact, I would probably have run and hid from them the same way I would have from Wire or Iggy Pop, or a tear-streaked, mascara-running Courtney Love, in her ‘Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?’ dress, being escorted through the backstage area on the arms of a couple of police officers. Their music was that intimidatingly good. And in Your Band Sucks, Jon Fine lovingly chronicles, with strong accuracy, the zeitgeist in which his band excelled.”
—Robert Pollard, Guided by Voices

“A fine-grained account of indie rock’s conflicted mind-mess—the mix of boundless idealism and cynicism, lofty aspirations and defeatism, absolute conviction and constant doubt, flashes of transcendence and abject embarrassment. Best of all, Your Band Sucks captures the delirious fun of joining up with a small group, finding your way into a small scene, connecting to a larger family of internationally networked and like-minded misfits, and taking on the world knowing you’ve already lost. This book makes me feel lucky to have played a small part in this grand, doomed endeavor.”
—Clint Conley, Mission of Burma

“I imagine, in a small van, Jon Fine is very hard to take.”
—Amazon reviewer

BIO:
Jon Fine is the executive editor of Inc. magazine. As a guitarist in Bitch Magnet, Coptic Light, and Don Caballero, among others—he’s performed around the world and appeared on MTV. As a writer, Fine’s long-running BusinessWeek column “Media Centric” won both American Society of Business Publication Editors and National Headliner awards, and his work for Food & Wine won a James Beard Award. He has served as an on-air contributor to CNBC, and his work has also appeared in the Atlantic, GQ, and Vanity Fair.

2016 MY CULTURAL YEAR

Here’s all the culture I consumed last year.

1) NEW FILMS

I saw 14 new films this year. The best 4 were…

The Lady In The Van (Nicholas Hytner)
The Martian (Ridley Scott)
Jason Bourne (Paul Greengrass)
Rogue 1 Star Wars (Gareth Edwards)

The rest were…

The Hateful Eight (Q Tarantino)
The Revenant (Alejandro G Inarritu)
Ant Man (Edgar Wright)
Alexander & The Terrible , Horrible, No Good Day (Miguel Arteta)
Swallows And Amazons (Philippa Lowthorpe)
Miles Ahead (Don Cheadle)
I, Daniel Blake (Ken Loach)
Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier)
Supersonic (Mat Whitecross)
Dr Strange (Scott Derrickson)

2) OLD FILMS

I saw 91 old films this year, mainly Italian westerns of the ‘60s and ‘70s as usual. The best 10 were…

Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis 1993) *****
Duel (Steven Spielberg, 1971) *****
Cave Of The Yellow Dog (Byambasuren Davaa, 2005) *****
Southern Comfort (Walter Hill, 1981) *****
For A Few Dollars More (Sergio Leone, 1966) *****
Gallivant (Andrew Kotting, 1996) *****
Two Lane Blacktop (Monte Hellman, 1971) *****
Arriety (Hiromasa Yonebayashi , 2010) *****
The Fog (John Carpenter, 1980)*****
The Guest (Adam Wingard, 2014) ****

The worst seven were…

Garter Colt (Gian Andrea Rocco, 1968) *
Acquasanta Joe (Mario Gariazzo, 1971) *
Daddy Daycare (Steve Carr, 2001)*
Mr Potter’s Penguins (Mark Waters, 2011)*
The Haunted Mansion (Rob Minkoff, 2003)*
Heavyweights (Judd Apatow, 1995) *
Joshua (Larry G Spangler, 1976) *

The rest were…
Galaxy Quest (Dean Parisot, 1999) ****
Django Prepare A Coffin (Ferdinando Baldi, 1968) ***
If You Meet Sartana, Pray For Your Death (G Parolini, 1968) ***
The Dirty Outlaws (El Desperado) (Franco Rosetti, 1967) ****
I Am Sartana, Your Angel Of Death (Guiliano Carmineo, 1969) ***
The Specialist (Sergio Corbucci, 1969) ****
$10 000 Blood Money (Romolo Guerrieri, 1967) ***
Four Of The Apocalypse (Lucio Fulci, 1975) ****
Texas Adios (Fernando Baldi, 1966) ***
Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes (John DeBello, 1978) ***
Keoma (Enzo Castellari, 1976) ****
Nanny McPhee (Kirk Jones, 2005) ***
Raiders Of The Lost Arc (Steven Speilberg, 1981) ***
Ratatouie (Brad Lewis, 2007) ****
Brother Outlaw (Edoardo Mulargia, 1971) ** (same opening as….)
Bury Them Deep (Paolo Moffa, 1968) **
The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004) ***
Mr Bug Goes To Town (Dave Fleischer, 1941) ****
Coffy (Jack Hill, 1973) ****
Foxy Brown (Jack Hill, 1974) ****
Best In Show (Christopher Guest 2000) ****
Iron Man (John Faverau 2008) ****
A Reason To Live, A Reason To Die (Tonino Valeri, 1972) ***
The Fellowship Of The Ring (Peter Jackson, 2001) ****
The Simpsons Movie (David Silverman, 2007)****
The Two Towers (Peter Jackson, 2002) ***
My Neighbour Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki, 1986) ****
The Return Of The King (Peter Jackson, 2003) ***
Death Race 2000 (Paul Bartell, 1977) ***
Ponyo (Hayao Miyazaki, 2008) ****
Tremors (Ron Underwood, 1990) ****
Rollerball (Norman Jewison, 1975) ****
The Viking Queen (Don Chaffey, 1967) **
Loch Ness (Jon Henderson, 1996) ****
Porco Rosso (Hayao Miyazaki, 1992) ****
The Wind Rises (Hayao Miyazaki, 2013) ****
Close Encounters Of The 3rd Kind (Spielberg 1977) ****
Kiki’s Delivery Service (Hayao Miyazaki, 1989) ****
Westworld (Michael Crichton, 1973) ***
Howl’s Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazaki, 2005) ****
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (Mel Stuart, 1971) ****
The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimono, 1978) ****
Race With The Devil (Jack Starrett, 1975)****
The Time Machine (George Pal, 1960)***
Hannie Caulder (Burt Kennedy, 1971) ****
Charlie One-Eye (Don Chaffey, 1973) ****
Pale Rider (Clint Eastwood, 1985) ***
A Little Of What You Fancy (Michael Winner, 1968) **
Champagne Charlie (Alberto Cavalcanti, 1944) ****
Greyfriars Bobby (Don Chaffey, 1961) **
Midnight Run (Martin Brest, 1988)****
The Fly (David Cronenberg, 1986)***
Privilege (Peter Watkins, 1966) ****
Silent Running (Douglas Trumbull, 1972) ****
Hidden Fortress (Akira Kurosawa, 1958) ****
Men In Black (Barry Sonnenfeld, 1997) ***
Cool Runnings (John Turteltaub, 1993)***
Dust Devil, The Final Cut (Richard Stanley, 1991) ****
When Marnie Was There (Hiromasa Yonebayashi, 2014) ****
The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982) ****
78 Killer Kid (Leopoldo Savona, 1967) **
Elf (John Faveraux, 2003) ****
Big Trouble In Little China (John Carpenter, 1986)
Cjamango (Edoardo Mulargia, 1967) ***
Ringo The Lone Rider (Rafael Romero Marchent, 1968) ***
Ultimate Killer (Giuseppe Vari, 1967) ***
Death Sentence (Mario Lanfranchi , 1968)****
Gatling Gun (Paolo Bianchini, 1968) ***
Sartana Does Not Forgive (Alonso Balcazar, 1968) ***
No Room To Die (Sergio Garrone, 1969) ****
Sno Angel Winging It (Maria Monchacz, 2009) ****
The Exterminating Angel (Luis Bunuel, 1962) ****
Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976) ****

3) NEW BOOKS

I read a pitiful nine new books this year. The best 4 were…

Alan Moore – Jerusalem
Lucy Newlyn – Earth’s Almanac
Alexei Sayle – Thatcher Stole My Trousers
Will Carruthers – Playing The Bass With Three Left Hands

Tim Richardson – Righteous Ire Of The Reincarnated Jethro Tull
Daniel Rachel – Walls Come Tumbling Down
Brix Start Smith – The Rise, The Fall and The Rise
Simon Woolstonecraft – You Can Drum But You Can’t Hide
Clinton Heylin – Year Zero

4) OLD BOOKS

I read 9 old books this year..

Sidharth Bhatia – India Psychedelica (2014)
Arthur Machen – Hill Of Dreams (1897)
Ithell Colquhoun – Crying Of The Wind (1955)
Ithell Colquhoun – The Living Stones (1957)
Eric Ratcliffe – Ithell Colquhoun (2007)
Arthur Machen – The Secret Glory (1908)
Francis Brett Young – Cold Harbour (1924)
Rex Warner – The Aerodrome (1941)
Shirley Collins – America Over The Water (2004)

5) COMICS

I barely even read any comics in 2016. Here’s some I remember reading..

Daniel Clowes – Patience *****
Weird Love 2
Mike Mignola – Hellboy In Mexico ****

6) TV NEW

I barely watched any new TV this year..

Better Call Saul series 1 *****
Better Call Saul series 2 *****
First Dates (C4) ****
Happy Valley (BBC2) *****
Line Of Duty series 2 (BBC2) ****
Gogglebox (C4) ****
Line of Duty s 3 (BBC2) ****
Grayson Perry’s All Man (C4) *****
Porridge (BBC1)
Fleabag (BBC2)
SAS Who Dares Wins (C4)

7) TV OLD

Here’s some old TV shows I watched

The Prisoner (series 1) *****
Kung Fu (seasons 1 and 2) *****
Columbo (seasons 2 and 3) *****
Wolf Hall (BBC2) *****
Over The Garden Wall (Cartoon Network) *****
Father Ted (series 1-3) *****

6) MAGAZINES AND PAPERS

The usual, but I have stopped reading Private Eye as they kept calling me a “curator” of ATP, in inverted commas, like I wasn’t.

Guardian, Observer, Mojo, Record Collector, Shindig, Wire, Viz, London Review Of Books, New Humanist, Faunus, Machenalia, Fringe Pig

7) RADIO

The Honey Dripper (Resonance)
The Today Program (R4) – though the experience of being interviewed by a James Naughty who managed to be both biased and ignorant at the same time has made me listen to it suspiciously now. I can hear the cogs turning.

8) THEATRE 2016

I saw nine bits of theatre in 2016. Emma Rice’s Midsummer Night’s Dream at Globe, after which she was sacked, and The Hackney Empire Sleeping Beauty, were the best.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Emma Rice, Globe) *****
Art (Old Vic) *****
Sleeping Beuty (Hackney Empire) *****
Team Viking (Just The Tonic) *****
Shouting Out Loud – Gaby Agis (Greenwich Borough Hall)
Chilcot Report (Bob’s Blundabus, Edinburgh)
Counting Sheep – Lemon Bucket Orchestra (Summerhall) ****
Let’s Put The Band Back Together (Summerhall)
Sleeping Beauty (Kenton Theatre, Henley On Thames)

9) COMEDY 2016

I saw 24 stand-alone comedy shows this year. The best seven were..

Nish Kumar – Actions speak louder …. (Pleasance) *****
Bridget Christie dvd show (Water Rats) *****
Lloyd Langford (White Horse, Free Fringe)
Joe Davis – Who’s The Daddy (Dragonfly)
Ghost Bus Tour (Edinburgh)
Kunt & The Gang (Free Sisters)
Mike Willmott – Uncle (Soho Theatre)

and
Richard Gadd Waiting For Gadot (Machynlleth)
Colin Hoult – Anna Mann (Pleasance)
Emma Sidi – Telenova (Pleasance)
Bill Burr (Pleasance)
Kieran Hodgson – Maestro (Voodoo Rooms, Free Fringe)
Improvised Sherlock Holmes (Just The Tonic)
James Acaster – Reset (Pleasance)
Will Franken (Stand)
Paul Currie (Heroes At The Hive)
Spencer Jones (Heroes At The Hive)
Johnny & The Baptists (Summerhall)
Michelle Wolfe (Pleasance)
Andy Doyle (Stand)
Simon Munnery’s 30th Fringe (Stand)
David O’Doherty (Assembly)
Grainne Maguire (Pleasance)
Arnold Brown’s 80th (Comedy Store)

10) GIGS 2016

I attended 37 musical events

No Cars/Stick In The Wheel (Union Chapel)
The Raincoats (Greenwich Borough Hall)
Fernando/Tom Heyman/Dan Stuart/Sid Griffin (The Islington) ****
Stiff Little Fingers (Forum)
Clipper/Wolfhounds/June Brides (100 Club) ****
Elle Osborne/Alasdair Roberts (St Pancras Old Church)
Jesus & Mary Chain (Forum)
Darren Hayman (Shacklewell Arms)

ATP Friday – Necks/Nightingales/Sleaford Mods/Roky Erickson/Richard Dawson/Ex-Easter Island Head/Richard Youngs & Damon Krukowski/Dave Graney *****

ATP Saturday – Bevis Frond/Ex/Heads/Fall/Steve Noble, John Edwards, Alan Wilkinson/Trash Kit/Richard Youngs/Blue Aeroplanes/Giant Sand/Bellrays *****

ATP Sunday – Bardo Pond/Flamin’ Groovies/Mission Of Burma/Trembling Bells/Evan Parker, John Russell, Mark Sanders, John Edwards, Thurston Moore/Dave Graney & The Mistly/Richard James/Suns Of The Tundra/ Damon & Naomi/Laura Cannell/Terrie Ex & Han Bennink *****

The Fall (Garage Monday)
Tania Chen (Café Oto)
The Fall (Garage Weds) *****
The Fall (Garage Thurs)
The Long Ryders (Under The Bridge) *****

Grant McLennan night – Left Outsides/Bill Botting & The 2 Drink Minimum/Wolfhounds/Pete Astor/Wave Pictures/Gerry Love (Bush Hall) *****

The Scientists (Lexington) ****
Barry Humphries’ Wiemar Cabaret (Usher Hall, Ed’bro)
Melbourne Ska Orchestra (Gilded Ballon)
Captain’s Bar Session (Captain’s Bar)
Blueswater – Queens Of The Blues (Space Triplex) *****
Blueswater – Titans Of The Blues (Surgeon’s Hall) *****
Blueswater – Titans Of The Blues (Surgeon’s Hall) again
Richard Dawson (Summerhall) *****
Blueswater – Titans Of The Blues (Surgeon’s Hall) again
Blueswater – Queens of the Blues (Space Triplex) again
Nick Cope – Songs For Kids (Gilded Balloon)
Blueswater – Queens Of The Blues (Space Triplex)
Savages (End Of The Road)
Laura Gibson (End Of The Road)
Jayhawks (Islington Assembly Hall)
The English Beat (Garage)
Howe Gelb (Genesis Cinema)
Howe Gelb Piano Trio (Café Oto) ****
Evan Parker, John Edwards, Mark Sanders, Shabaka Hutchings (Vortex) *****

ALBUMS I LISTENED TO IN THEIR ENTIRITY OLD SCHOOL THIS YEAR IN ONE SITTING AT A DESIGNATED DEVICE. I MAY HAVE LOST TRACK OF SOME HERE.

11) NEW RECORDS – 2016

I listened to 50 new albums this year. The best eight were

Shirley Collins Lodestar *****
Laura Cannell – Simultaneous Flight Movement *****
Howe Gelb – Future Standards *****
Dexys –Let The Record Show ****
Darren Hayman – Thankful Villages ****
Kosmischer Laufer – III ****
Smitten – Lonestar ****
Car Seat Headrest – Teens of Style ****

Also..

Richard Youngs – Inside The Future ****
Robert Pollard – Of Course You Are****
Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts Of Highway 20 ****
David Thomas Broughton – Crippling Lack ****
Billy Childish & CTMF – Sq 1 ****
Daniel Patrick Quinn – I, Sun ****
The Blue Aeroplanes – Welcome Stranger! ****
Wolfhounds – United Kingdom ****
Suns Of The Tundra – Bones of Brave Ships ****
Hawkwind – The Machine Stops
Sleaford Mods – TCR
Trembling Bells – Wide Majestic Aire
The Owl Service – His Pride. No Spear. No Friend.
Crumbling Ghost – Five Songs
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Intentions – Until The Hunter
Peter Case – Hwy 62
The Golden Void – Berkana
Climbing Trees – Borders
Drive By Truckers – American Band
Van Der Graaf Generator – Do Not Disturb
Kandodo McBain – Lost Chants
ESP Ohio – Starting Point Of The Royal Cyclopean
Jo Lepine & Friends – As The Blackbird In The Evening
The Fall – Wise Old Man
Stiff Little Fingers – No Going Back
Sun Dial – Made In The Machine
Levitation – Meanwhile Gardens
Lukas Graham – Blue Album
Black Bombers – s/t
Blaney w Mark E Smith – Urban Nature
Walter Salas Humara – Explodes And Disappears
Blueswater – Around Here
Blues Pills – Lady In Gold
Case/Lang/Viers – s/t
John Doe – The Westerner
Kris Drever – If Wishes Were Horses
Guided By Voices – Please Be Honest
Cotton Mather – Death Of The Cool
Teenage Fanclub – Here
Coal Porters – No 6
Kim Salmon – E(a)rnest
The Beat feat Ranking Roger – Bounce
Gord Downey – Secret Path

12) REISSUES, NEW OLD LIVE RECORDINGS, AND COMP’S – 2016

I listened to 25 new old records this year. The best 9 were…

Game Theory – Lolita Nation (1987)****
V/A Wayfaring Strangers Cosmic American Music *****
Velvet Crush – Pre-teen Symphonies (93/4)
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs – Completely Under The Covers
V/A – I’m A Freak Baby *****
Paternoster – Paternoster (1972) ****
Yamasuki – Le Monde Fabuleux de Yamasuki (1971)
Guru Guru Groove Band – The Birth of Krautrock 1969 *****
Steamhammer – Mountain (1970)

V/A When Sharpies Ruled
V/A Golden State Psychedelia
Green On Red – Sympathy For The Devil (live 1985)
The Peace – Black Power (1974)
Betty Davis – The Columbia Years 1968-8
Folk Devils – Beautiful Monsters 1984-86
The Bangles – Ladies And Gentlemen
Leviathan – Leviathan (1969)
Syrinx – Tumblers from the Vaults 1970-72
The Bevis Frond – Sprawl (1994)
Big Brother & Holding Company – How Hard/Be A Brother (1970/71)
Marvin Gardens – 1968 (1968)
Folque – Folque (1974)
Kvartetten Som Sprangle – Kattvals (1973)
Les Rallizes Denudes – France Demo Tapes (1977?)
Jack Lee – Bigger Than Life, Anthology 1981-85

13) OLD OLD RECORDS THAT I LISTENED TO IN 2016

I listened to about a hundred old old records in 2016, many as part of an in-car on-tour exercise in listening to artists’ entire back catalogue irrespective of declines in quality, or during the school run. Here’s some of them. Many I failed to note down, or consumed ambiently against background noise, or conversation. I was in other people’s company much of the year. This list reflects that.

Sam Gopal – Escalator (1969)
The Byrds – Mr Tambourine Man (1965)
The Byrds – Turn! Turn! Turn! (1965)
The Byrds – Fifth Dimension (1966)
The Byrds – Younger Than Yesterday (1967)
The Byrds – The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968)
The Byrds – Sweetheart of The Rodeo (1968)
The Byrds – Dr Byrds and Mr Hyde (1969)
The Byrds – The Ballad of Easy Rider (1969)
Dillinger And Trinity – Clash (1977)
The Byrds – Untitled/Unissued (1970)
The Byrds – Byrdmaniax (1971)
The Byrds – Farther Along (1971)
The Byrds – Byrds (1973)
REM – Chronic Town (1982)
REM – Murmur (1983)
REM – Reckoning (1984)
REM – Fables Of The Reconstruction (1985)
REM – Life’s Rich Pageant (1986)
REM – Document (1987)
REM – Dead Letter Office (1987)
REM – Green (1988)
REM – Out Of Time (1991)
REM – Automatic For The People (1992)
REM – Monster (1994)
REM – New Adventures In Hi-Fi (1996)
REM – Up (1998)
Van Morrison – 1967 New York Bang session (1967)
REM – Reveal (2001)
REM – Around The Sun (2004)
REM – Accelerate (2008)
REM – Collapse Into Now (2011)
David Bowie – The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust … (1972)
Warren Zevon – Wanted Dead Or Alive (1969)
Warren Zevon – Warren Zevon (1976)
Warren Zevon – Excitable Boy (1978)
Warren Zevon – Bad Luck Streak In The Dancing School (1980)
Warren Zevon – The Envoy (1982)
Hindu Love Gods s/t (1984)
Warren Zevon – Sentimental Hygiene (1987)
Warren Zevon – The Wind (2003)
Sun Dial – Mind Control (2012)
Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced? (1967)
Stiff Little Fingers – Inflammable Material (1979)
Nobody’s Heroes (1980)
Hanx (1980)
Go For It (1981)
Now Then (1982)
Pink Fairies – Finland Freakout (1971)
Pugwash – The Olympus Sound (2011)
Candidate – Under The Skylon (2004)
Nuala (2002)
Hot Tuna – Burgers (1972)
First Pull Up Then Pull Down (1971)
v/a Mindexpanders Box Set
Hawkwind – Warrior At The Edge Of Time (1975)
Krautrock Archives Vol 1
Krautrck Archives Vol 2
Krautrock Archives Vol 3
Temple – Temple (1976)
King Tubby Meets The Roots Radics – Dangerous Dub (1981)
Sonny Stitt – Now!/Salt And Pepper (1963)
Sonny Rollins/Don Cherry – Complete 1963 Paris Concert
The Selecter – Too Much Pressure (1980)
The Beat – I Just Can’t Stop It (1980)
Madness – Greatest Hits
Madness – One Step Beyond (1979)
Doctor Ross – The Memphis Cuts (1953-6)
Sisters Of Mercy – Some Girls Wander By Mistake (1992)
Howlin’ Wolf – Moanin’ (1958)
s/t (1962)
Live & Cookin’ (1972)
Miles Davis – Kind Of Blue (1959)
Lau – Arc Light (2009)
West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band –Part 1 (1966)
Volume 1 (1967)
Volume 3 (1967)
Guided By Voices – Suitcase 4 (2015)
Muddy Waters – Fathers And Sons (1969)
Gram Parsons – The Early Years (1963-5)
Fulsom Prison Blues ?

Miles Davis – Someday My Prince Will Come (1961)
Specials – More Specials (1980)
American Music Club – San Francisco (1994)
Pearl Jam – Backspacer (2011)
Pearl Jam – Lightning Bolt (2013)
The Faces – Ooh La La (1973)
The Last Resort – This Is My England Skinhead Anthems III (2013)
Little Sonny – Hard Up Goin’ (1973)
Black and Blue (1971)
The Vibrators – Pure Mania (1978)
Arvo Part – Spiegel im Spiegel (2006)
Salem 66 – Your Soul Is Mine Fork It Over (1983-7)
Neil Young – Harvest (1972)

14) HISTORIC SITES

I visited historic sites, including

Eastwood, birthplace of D H Lawrence
Roman goddess of Nemesis shrine in All Saints Church, Gresford, N Wales
Lagrasse Abbey
Grottes des Bev
Orford Castle
Sutton Hoo
Jervaulx Abbey
Caerleon ampitheatre
Twmbarlwm hill fort
Bolton Abbey
Middleham Castle

15) ART

Out There : Our Post-War Public Art – Somerset House
Velvet Underground Exposition – Philharmonie, Musee Music, Paris
Javier Perez – Lamentaciaones – Abbaye De Lagrasse, France
Ruby Pester and Nadia Rossi – Mother Tongue (Summerhall)
Mark Fell – Diagramming The Listener (Summerhall)
APG – Context Is Half The Work (Summerhall)
Cardiff Contemporary Installations, (The Angel, Cardiff)