4.52am Issue: 060 The Penny Rimbaud Issue 23rd November 2017

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T
his week in 4.52am we have an interview
with the legend that is Penny Rimbaud
whilst Learn to Play sees us enjoying
ourselves with Nile Rodger and Richie
Blackmore.
From there it is all music with the Spitfires
leading the line and everything getting super
cool with Anna Burch and Joe Dolman.
Then of course La Contessa treats us to a tip-toe
through the decades with the Spencer Davies
Group, Judy Tzuke, U2, K.D Lang, the Super Furry
Animals and the Artic Monkeys.
Can’t be bad.
Hope you enjoy it
All at 4.52am

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Contents
Penny Rimbaud ....................................................................... 9
Learn to Play: Nile Rodgers ................................................... 21
Learn to Play: Richie Blackmore ............................................ 25
The Spitfires .......................................................................... 29
Anna Burch ........................................................................... 33
Joe Dolman ........................................................................... 35
La Contessa Presents… .......................................................... 37
1960s: Spencer Davies Group ................................................ 39
1970s: Judy Tzuke ................................................................. 41
1980s: U2 .............................................................................. 43
1990s: K.D Lang ..................................................................... 45
2000s: Super Furry Animals ................................................... 47
2010s: Artic Monkeys ............................................................ 49

Penny Rimbaud
W
e mentioned a few weeks ago that Penny Rimbaud of
Crass fame was about to release an album of Wilfred
Owen’s poetry, set to music, recording this with two
fantastic musicians in Liam Noble, (Piano) and Kate Shortt,
(Cello). Whether you are into poetry or not, Wilfrid Owen’s
poems, written in World War One prior to his death shortly
before the end of the war, are something that are hard to ignore
and which resonate loudly every year at Remembrance Services.
But Owen’s words are relevant all of the time, not just to be
rolled out for an anniversary, and in recording this album, and
performing this work, Rimbaud brings what is something very
important back to the centre of the stage, ensuring that it can’t
be ignored or forgotten, along with all the people who died
alongside or on the other side from Owen.
I was delighted to be able to talk to Penny about the album and
many other topics, and we’re really pleased to be able to
reproduce a portion of the interview here. The full interview will
appear elsewhere.

Can I ask what inspired you to record a selection of William
Owen’s Poetry?
“In many ways it goes back to the very start. I was born during
the war and it wasn’t until I was three or four that I met my
Father. Like many children, I didn’t know who he was when he
came back after the war and I didn’t like him very much. I didn’t
really know what war was and he didn’t want to talk about it. In
fact all that I remember him talking about was what he called
the ‘Real World’ which to me sounded a horrible place. This was
reinforced later when I discovered a book about Auschwitz
among my Mother and Father’s books, with all these horrendous
images. I got more and more convinced that I didn’t fancy this
‘Real World’ and that I would do anything I could to avoid it. In
fact at home all I was able to do was listen to Brahms, it was the
only music my Father had. I grew to love Brahms, but not as
much as I liked Benjamin Britten.
As I got older, I was a chorister and sang in most of the
cathedrals in Southern England. I love choral music, although
Christianity made no sense to me. Why would you worship...how
is a corpse on a cross meant to make you happy?
But it was as a chorister that I very luckily found myself singing
as part of the first performance of Britten’s ‘Spring Symphony.’
Britten conducted it himself. He was a lovely man, very involved,
compassionate, and this gave me an interest in music that
Brahms hadn’t. I started to listen to his work, although my
Father didn’t approve - far too modern for his tastes.”

Was this when you discovered the ‘War Requiem?’
“Very much so, it was the ‘War Requiem’ that was my
introduction to Wilfred Owen. I’d still got this hatred of the idea
of my Father’s ‘Real World’ and reading a line from Owen,
‘I am the enemy you killed, my friend’ for the first time made
sense to me. “
I am the enemy you killed, my friend.
I knew you in this dark: for so you frowned
Yesterday through me as you jabbed and killed.
I parried; but my hands were loath and cold.
Let us sleep now. . . .”
(‘Strange Meeting’, Wilfred Owen)
“It resonated far beyond Owen’s and mine own self-interest. I
didn’t immediately understand what it was that made it
important, but it gave me a clue and I was at that stage in life
when you are searching for clues, trying to make sense of it all.
At this point I was very sure what it was I didn’t want to be in
life, but I was still searching around to find out what it was that I
wanted to become. It was all clues I was following and as I
reached my 20s it all started to come together. Owen, Britten, I
had discovered Zen and was becoming very interested in that,
and then there was CND and Aldermaston.”
Did the music and your lyrics for Crass grow out of all of this?
“Yes, I had a brief flirtation with Rock ‘n’ Roll but that was only
very short and until I discovered Jazz, and then Jazz was
everything, coupled with proper blues - people like Leadbelly
rather than the pale, white version that was becoming popular.“

“Once I started playing with bands, I think I always wanted my
own version of Owen, but I was never sure how to. In fact the
final Crass album contained what I can only describe as this
elongated, freeform rant, that was the closest I came to Owen. I
remember sending a copy to Peter Pears, Benjamin Britten’s
musical and personal partner who had sang on the ‘War
Requiem’, along with a note explaining that I was inspired by his
and Britten’s work. I never heard back, but I hope he liked it.”
How did you come to record ‘What Passing Bells?’
“It started about 10 years ago. I was playing with Liam (Noble,
Piano) and Kate (Shortt, Cello) and really wanted Liam to help
me set Owen’s poems to music, but it never quite happened,
although it was always in the back of my mind as something I
should do ‘sometime.’
By 2014, I’d become aware that the centenary celebrations were
starting to happen, and it was very much a ‘now or never’
moment. I was really concerned that we would see a lot of
jingoism, and hoped that Owen could prove to be an antidote to
that. In truth that hasn’t happened so far, but regardless I feel as
though we have done our bit in putting this out.
But yes, it was in 2014 and myself and Liam were to play the
Owen poems at the Vortex Jazz Club in London and by chance I
met Kate the day before and invited her along, and she joined us
for the second half of what turned out to be the first
performance of ‘What Passing Bells.’

“Since then we have played it perhaps half a dozen times. It is an
incredibly complex and powerful experience, to play and
perform and is immensely draining, but there is a vital, raw
energy and power to it. It is of course never the same twice and
Kate and Liam create the whole piece anew every time which
makes it difficult for me as obviously Owen’s words have to be
the same, but I need to reinterpret them for the music.
As for how it came to be recorded, I didn’t know how it would
happen and I was expecting to be trying to find the money to do
it, and probably paying for the recording myself, but I was
speaking to Derek Birkett at One Little Indian records, who years
ago, back in the Punk days I had given a copy of the ‘War
Requiem’ to and he had loved it, and he just volunteered to
record the album. As simple as that. This was fantastic as it
meant that suddenly we could record it in the very best studios
with all the best equipment. It turned out to be a fabulous
recording - we even got to use Freddy Mercury’s piano, which
was particularly special.”
“What Passing Bells” by Penny Rimbaud is now available from
One Little Indian Records, Here, and is quite simply one of the
most important, and potent albums we have heard in years. It is
something rare and special and you really need to check it out.
As we write this, there is one more performance of the show
planned for 2017, at The Vortex Jazz Club on the 8 th of December
2017. You can Book Here, but tickets are extremely limited in
numbers, so be quick.

Learn to Play:
Nile Rodgers
B
Y the time you get to the bottom of the page, Nile
Rodgers will probably have played on another hit record,
and his famous ‘Money Maker’ will have earned him a
few more bob too. Not that money is the measure of the man,
when you look at just how many classic songs he has been
involved in, and stylistically there is quite literally nobody else
that sounds or fills a gap like Nile does.
But that doesn’t stop us trying and this week we thought a guitar
lesson would be a fine idea, so enjoy.

Learn to Play:
Richie Blackmore
G
rowing up and desperate to learn how to play the
electric guitar, between Angus Young playing ‘Whole
Lotta Rosie’ and just about anything Richie Blackmore
played, my horizons were definitely widened. If I could have
played the start to ‘Tarot Woman’ on the tambourine I would
have died happy, never mind on a guitar.
So Mr Blackmore, it is long overdue…

The Spitfires
W
e featured The Spitfires way-back-when in 4.52am,
and it is great news to hear that they have signed for
one of the coolest labels around in Hatch Records
and will be releasing a brand new single ‘Over And Over Again’
on 15th December 2017.
The single will be available on 7” vinyl and via all good digital
retailers and comes with another new track ‘Take Action!’ as the
B-side, with a special 14+ single release show in London on 16th
December at The Borderline, with an extensive run of UK/EU
tour dates lined up heading into 2018 (dates below).
Commenting on the track, singer and songwriter Billy Sullivan
said,
“We recently had George [Moorhouse, keys] join the band and
his ability and playing style has added something different. For
me personally it's the most 'complete' song I've written and
we've released to date.”

“The lyrics are about being on a night out in some shitty club and
the more you drink the more miserable you become. That thing
of watching your mates have a good time when all you can think
about is how bored you are with your own situation. Whether it
be your job, where you live or your relationship. And how you
can predict in 6 months down the line you'll be back in the same
club, same time, feeling the same thing.”
Find out more,
Website Facebook
Twitter

Anna Burch
I
t must be the week for new signings as the rather wonderful
Anna Burch has signed for the equally cool Heavenly Records,
and is about to release a single, ‘Asking 4 A Friend’ to
celebrate.
Talking about the track, Anna says,
"I was playing 'Asking 4 a Friend' for my mom and after the first
verse she very concernedly asked 'Is this about drugs?' I told her
it was a metaphor for going back to a bad, undefined
relationship and she seemed satisfied with that."
We’ll no doubt be hearing plenty more, but for now if you want
to find out more, here is where you should go next,
Facebook Twitter

Joe Dolman
T
his week La Contessa has spread her wings and demanded
that we have Joe Dolman in the magazine, not that it was
ever a problem, I just think she is claiming the kudos, but
regardless of all of that Joe is a young man with a serious talent
and in ‘Something Beautiful’ has recorded a song that could take
him places. So we are honoured and hopefully we’ll hear more
from him in the nearest of futures.
You can catch him live,
15/11 - The Fox and Newt, Leeds
16/11 - The Glad Cafe, Glasgow
7.3.18 - Birmingham O2 Academy 2
8.3.18 - Bristol Cafe Kino
10.3.18 - Glasgow Glad Cafe
11.3.18 - Manchester Fallow Cafe
12.3.18 - London O2 Academy 2 Islington
Find out more,
Facebook
Twitter

La Contessa Presents…
A
s you would expect this week, La Contessa has really got
Autumnal, and there is no better song for this time of
year than U2’s ‘Unforgettable Fire’, although it is Judy
Tzuke that is in there for Bev and that matters far more.
Alongside that we have the Spencer Davies Group, the Super
Furry Animals, K.D Lang and the Artic Monkeys.
Now that would make for a party and a half.
Enjoy!

1960s: Spencer Davies
Group

1970s: Judy Tzuke

1980s: U2

1990s: K.D Lang

2000s: Super Furry
Animals

2010s: Artic Monkeys