The first gig of the new decade was the wonderful Sex Patels at the Brudenell. With much of Leeds snowed under it was great to see a decent crowd come out for them, including the Chumbawambas who were there in force. In fact, the whole evening felt like a New Years Eve party wed gatecrashed.

Chumbas Norbert Nobacon MCd the night and seems to have taken up growling rather than singing. His stand up comedy bits between songs were, as youd expect, very entertaining.

Its been 2 years since I last saw the Sex Patels who did their usual set of classic punk tracks, to an eastern sitar drenched drone with Up Town Top Rankin and Ghost Town really getting the crowd going. It was announced that tonight would be the last time Jacqui Patel would play with the band a real shame as her vocal stylings really make it all work. An LP of Tom Waits covers in the offing sounds good though. An unexpected guest on stage was Capt Jack a bottle of booze that went round the band but took a real liking to lead singer Outlaw Patel who couldnt stand up by the end!

The band (minus Capt Jack) came back for a second set as The Rats a hard edge funk outfit who did a couple of soul numbers with Jacqui (It was her birthday after all) and then had a rapper frontman, whipping the crowd up about the next days Clash of the titans Leeds Vs Man Utd in the FA cup (surely an easy win for Man U ho ho!).

A great way to see in the new year!

Bob the Chiropodist

December was a bit crazy with kids stuff so gigs went out the window. I was gutted that I missed Madness, The Pogues were on fine form apparently and even did an impromptu acoustic set at a city centre pub after the show and PiL were excellent (but at £40+ per ticket youd expect nothing less!).

Live music for me, was provided by my kids at their Xmas concerts. Primary school productions get more sophisticated but are no less cute. Gone are the teatowel on heads values of nativity plays of old with lavish sets and costumes with St Pauls production of the littlest angel Matty and Sally had minor roles but in a show like this everyones a star!

Marisa was involved in 2 groups a school concert that boasted an amazing range of talent, and a Christmas medley sin-a-long with her drama group. The School concert had everything from Christmas carols and show tunes to Dhol drummers and Chinese instrumentalists. All gelled together with the dept Heads awful jokes (Did you hear about the boy who ate all the decorations off the Christmas tree? He got Tinsillitis!). The finale was a rousing chourus of Slades So here it is Merry Christmas wouldnt be Xmas without it.

Marisa goes to Ology and they recorded a Christmas Medley which they performed in Leeds City centre. The music teacher had a great T-shirt with the slogan The mediocre teacher tells, The good teacher explains, The Superior teacher inspires – wise words indeed

Bob the Chiropodist

I never got to see the Specials in their hey-day as they broke up about the time I started going to gigs. I saw Neville Staples do a superb gig supporting the Beat where he did a set of Specials tunes. I count their LPs amongst my favourites and was excited about their re-union…..until I heard that Jerry Dammers wasnt part of it! I missed out on the first wave of gigs and the people I knew who went to gigs in Manchester and Leeds Millenium square (Fog + Rachel, Mike and Tony) all raved about them.

Got up close to see them at Glastonbury and loved it, so when my pal Lee, who lives in Bridlington, phones and says Theyre playing the Spa, you coming? the answer was yes! Even though it was a Monday night. A cold, wet, blustery, seaside Monday night. That didnt put off the Fred Perry, suited and booted folk of Yorkshire from turning up in droves. There were 6 of us in our gang and we ensconced ourselves in a crowded bar where the Newcastle Brown was £1.50 a pint and the music was strictly ska great for getting you in the mood. Quick stop at the chippy and we were ready!

The Spa was packed out and the atmosphere was one of Jubilation. The Specials were on excellent form and did all the tracks from their 1st LP in the course of the evening as well as singles, tunes from the second LP and perhaps the best B-Side ever? (Fri night Sat morning).

About a third of the way through their set I felt my right calf tear and stopped jumping around with a Oh no! what am I gonna do now? expression on my face. I know I thought, Ill hop! and hop I did for the rest of the evening.

Waiting for a pizza afterwards we got talking to a large tattooed gentleman Great tats mate! Do you like Paul Weller? he says lifting his trouser leg to reveal a wonderful likeness of the Bard of Woking Not as much as you obviously do!

A recent copy of Mojo landed on my mat with Kraftwerk on the cover and a CD of electronic music attached. My favourite track on it was one I hadnt heard in years: Slow Motion by Ultavox with original band member John Foxx on vocals. The month before there had been an article about Mark Gatiss introducing him at the London Apple store while other 80s chart busters are reforming and playing their old stuff, John continues to be a very innovative and interesting artist. Then last week Foxx made an appearance in the wonderful BBC4 rockumentary Synth Britannia.

So when the misses went to London with the kids for half term and I looked to see if there were any gigs on in Leeds, and there was John Foxx playing at the Music college, I felt compelled to go and bloody glad I did.

He played 2 sets, both accompanying films, the first of which was called Tiny Colour Movies featuring synthesizer music. The films came from the private collection of Arnold Weizcs Bryants and contained an eclectic mix of styles and subjects: The guy who filmed the Florida highway, looped it and then projected it in his house, The underwater amateur who filmed his girlfriend swimming around cars dumped in the lake (I was never this lucky when 17!), The guy who filmed New York on his way to work everyday, The Psychiatrist who projected faces over his clients face to form new identities, How birdsong enhances psychic ability, Slow motion sunsets .etcetc I was fascinated and enthralled a wonderful blend of music and sound.

The second half contained 2 pieces on the Grand Piano. The Quiet Man is a poem (here set to music with an illustrative film) about a future decaying London where everything is overgrown by forest. It features a man in a grey suit which Foxx got from an Oxfam shop After being the lead singer in a punk band, to put on a grey suit meant that I could blend in and observe. The second piece featured his son who was VJ-ing (Video Jockying thankfully not in the style of the guy who used to support the Fall) whilst John improvised over the top. He advocated sampling any films you like for this sort of event I think that film belongs to us because we paid for them and they becomes part of our story.

There then followed a question and answer session that showed his to be a most intelligent, thoughtful, self-effacing bloke. I asked him if his attitude to him sampling films extended to others sampling his music. Of course, I think thats a compliment. Theres nothing new in any of this. Who gets the royalties when Jools Holland plays the 12 Bar Blues?

He confessed to dreaming whole scenes from films, even the ad breaks sometimes. “Dreams are the real world. I remember my son asking me that dreadful question ‘Is Superman in the real world?’ and I said ‘Is that comic in the real world?’ ‘yes’ and Superman’s in that comic so he’s in the real world'”

Someone asked if there was such a thing as a bad film Good question but I dont think Im the one to ask my favourite film is Robot monster Not the one with the gorilla in a space suit! yeah, its usually described as the worst film ever made but I saw it when it came out. My mum owned a shop in Chorley and it didnt open on a Wednesday and we always went to the cinema. She would always take me to science fiction films and I remember she liked this one which was unusual for a woman.

And on the original Ultravox getting back together…. I love Billy Currie but who wants to be their own tribute band? Being in a gang in your 20s is great but I dont want to be in that gang now.

You cant argue with that!

Bob the Chiropodist