MUSIC LIST/ROCK
Edinburgh
I Swing '89 Malt Shovel. Cockburn Street. 225 6843. Evening. Twogtiitars. clarinet and sax. Hot Cltib sound.
I Louisiana Ragtime Band Navaar l louse Hotel. Mayfield (iardens. 667 2828. Evening.
I West End Jan Band Basin Street. Haymarket Terrace. 337 1006. Iivening. Trad.
I Shore Music The Shore Bar Restaurant. The Shore. Leith. 9pm. Tonight Robert Pettigrew and Kenny Ellis. piano double bass.
WEDNESDAY 11 Glasgow
I Sandy Taylor/Alex Moore Duo ( ilasgow Society Of Musicians. Berkeley Street. 221 61 12. 8.30pm. 50p. Bar.
Edinburgh
I Jazz Pool l.':\ttache. basetnent of Rutland Hotel. West lind. Princes Street. 9pm. Free. Drummer Bill Kyleorganises this band. leually piano keyboards. bass. drttms. gttitar. and brass and or reeds. Modern. bop. some mainstream. blues. Moved from Thursday nights.
I Shore Music The Shore Bar Restaurant. The Shore. [.eith. 9pm. Tonight Sixteen Strings three piece guitar swing.
I Charlie McNair’s Band Preservation Hall. Victoria Street. 226 3816. livening.
THURSDAY 12 Glasgow
I Bobby Deans Quartet Blackfriars. Bell Street. Merchant City. 552 5924.1ivening. ()ne of (ilasgow‘s great tenor sax players.
Edinburgh
I Graham Blamyre Jazzers Basin Street. Haymarket Terrace. 337 1006.1ivening. I Templehall Stompers'l‘emple Hotel. Esplanade. Joppa. 669 4264. Fvening. Trad and dixie residents.
I Shore Music The Shore Bar Restaurant. The Shore. Leith. 9pm. Tonight Pschyco Blue.
ROCK
FRIDAY 23
Glasgow
I Love and Money. Texas and Pale Fire Barrowland. 244 (iallowgate. 552 4601. £5.50. A good package ofCrlasgow talent here. with two promisingsupporting bands (in particular Pale Fire. whom regular readers will remember us praising last issue). Expect copious handfuls of both the early cheeseburger funk and the slicker. more FM-oriented Strange Kind ofLm'c material from Love and Money.
Edinburgh
I Swamp Trash and The Critter Hill Varmints Queen's Hall. South Clerk Street. 668 3456. 8pm. £5. Dust off your banjos and fiddles for what should be an excellent night. Swamp Trash have been raved about often enough. btit be sure to turn tip in time for the Varmints. fresh from their Pogues tour and scheduled for Halfway m Paradise's ‘Best ()f' Christmas roundup. I John Martyn Music Box. Victoria Street. 2201708. Home from home for bigJohn. it would seem. and if you‘ve never seen him live. now could be a good time. See also Wed 28 and Thurs 29.
I Baby's Got a Gun Venue. Calton Road. 557 3073. Noticed that every band who has a perfectly ordinary gig at this time ofyear calls it their Christmas Party‘.’ Thisone could be better than most. though. asthe Babies have tightened tip their loud and
LOVE DEGREE
Unless you’ve caught any of the shows on their current Scottish tour, at which the Edinburgh Venue on Friday 30 is the last in this area tor a while, your only contact with Love Decree will have been the ‘Chinheads’ ad tor McEwan’s Lager. The song backing those singing, drinking chins is called ‘Something So Real’, and Love Decree have been pleasantly surprised on their personal appearances in discos throughout the country to hear the chorus belted back at the stage, an unusual experience tor an unsigned band out on theirllrst tour.
They are well aware oi the likely consequences oi their iirst public work being a commercial, and know that it they are to shake oil the image of in-house ad-jingle writers their material has to be top-notch. They are conlident that it is. ‘The rest at our material is equally strong,’ says percussionist Gordon Gow who, along with singer Grant Mackintosh, is co-ordinating the currently managerless band.
He is conlident that the band will eventually get over what he calls ‘the stigmatism at being the Chinheads band’, a situation that has arisen alter the band have been together only a year and gone through tour or live line-up changes, leaving no time tor them to prove themselves in the usual way betore the Big Time, at a sort, beckoned.
‘Part of the problem was that the band spent a a good six months writing material and getting the sound right. At the point when we were just about to start launching ourselves we heard that
snotty act a fair bit.
I G-Spot Tornado Calton Studios. Calton Road. 556 7066. 8pm. £2. Something ofa Christmas party. they tell us. btit support has still to be confirmed. Tickets available from Virgin. Ripping and Backbeat.
I Paris, Texas and The Thomas Crown Altair Moray House Student L'nion. Holyrood Road. 5568455.
I The Charge Lord l)arnley. West Port. 2294341. 10pm. Free.
I Blues Assassins Preservation Hall. Victoria Street. 226 3816. £1 aftcr9.30pm. I The Rumptl Family Trading POst . The Shore. 553 5153. 8.30pm. Free. Country.
CHRISTMAS EVE Glasgow
I Gary Glitter and Girlschool Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre. Finnicston. 248 3000. Now here's the real party. Becoming as much of an institution as Santa Clatis. (iaz is the only way to celebrate.
I Glasgow Venue. 470 Sauchiehall Street. 332 3872. 10pm. The city's most tireless purveyors of heavy rock. civic-minded enough to have named themselves after home sweet borne.
I The Thieves Revue. 244 (iallowgate. 552 4601. The band's position as hunkiest up-and-coming (ilasgow heartthrobs may have been usurped by Filming 1n Africa's Bobby Preston. but they‘ve got enough young admirers to carry them through this
I Wraygun and The Rockets Halt Bar. 160 Woodlands Road. 332 1210. 9pm. Free. SkiffTe and rock'n'roll.
Edinburgh
I Lixx Hard Rock Cafe. Venue. Calton Road. 557 3073. See panel.
McEwan’s were looking tor a new band)
Dut ottwo-and-a-halithousand applicants, explains Gordon, The Shamen won, but were hurriedly dropped in a well-publicised embarrassment lorthe brewers. The door was open tor Love Decree.
‘l thirk we will be stigmatised as the Chinheads band lora while, and it would be wrong torus not to accept that, but it’s really caught the Scottish people’s imaginations. Whenever it appeared on television the switchboards ot Channel 4, Radio Clyde, Radio Forth and STV were all jammed with people wanting to know who the band were.‘
Gordon says that he wants to get across the point that there’s more to Love Decree than just that commercial, but the band’s tortune depends on it lor the moment. ’Chinheads’, or ‘Something 30 Real’, is the iirst McEwan’s ad to be shown nationwide (an advantage which would probably
I The McCluskey Brothers Moray l lotlsc Student L'nion. Holyrood Road. 5568455. It's been a wee while since the McCluskeys played over here. so tonight should be a good one. The question that springs to mind is why are they not better known'.’
I Bluetinger Mtisic Box. Victoria Street. 220 1708. £1 after 9pm. Fifties- and Sixties-influenced pop.
I The Rainmates (TB(‘) Negociants. Lothian Street. 225 6313. 9pm. Free. Featuring some of the musicians who played on the Danny Wilson LP.
I The Brothers Preservation Hall. Victoria Street. 226 3816. £1 after9.30pm.
I The Rootsie Tootsie Blues Band Lord l)arnley. West Port. 2294341. 10pm. Free.
I The Humptt Family Trading Post. The Shore. 553 5153. 8.30pm. Free. Country.
BOXING DAY Glasgow
I The Pastels. The Wake and The Thanes Rooftops. 92 Sauchiehall Street. 332 5883. 10.30pm. The Wake Not Dead Shock! Perhaps they just went into hidingafter too many New Order comparisons. No fear of that happening to pre-hippy garage fetishists The Thanes or the fabby btit awkward Pastels. who must be due for another dose of attention from the world at large.
Edinburgh
I The Duireboys Music Box. Victoria Street. 220 1708. A swift return forthe lads after their last tour. Wouldn't write them off yet. as the B-sidc oftheirlast single showed there‘s more to them than just another sub-l 1M ripoff.
I Texas Breaktast Preservation Hall.
l
have made Win Top Ten stars by now). The linal barrier is London, which will either get the ad in March or May, so Love Decree are still taking things slowly.
‘Chrysalis have said they want to put it out as a single, but obviously we’re looking tor an album deal. At the moment we’ve got tour or live companies interested, but we’re going to hold out until January or February next year.’
‘Haltway to Paradise’ have also expressed an interest in putting the band into their second series which, says Gordon, will also be around May, titling in with their plans very well.
‘lt’s taken us a year to get this tar, which is quick by any standards, and people are talking about Love Decree now, ratherthan Chinheads,’ says Gordon. Nevertheless, it’s a ‘stigmatism’ they’re going to have to live with tor a long time to come. (John Dundas)
Victoria Street. 2263816. 9.30pm. Free. Rocking bltics with accomplished twin-guitar interplay.
TUESDAY 27 Glasgow
I The Narodniks La Taniere. 15 Fox Street. 221 4844. 9pm. Free.
Edinburgh
I Tantara Blade Music Box. Victoria Street. 220 I708. (ilasgow trad-pop band. they remind me of theCostello Squeeze school. strangely enough.
I The Tex Fillet Five Negociants. Lothian Street. 225 6313. 9pm. Free. Country-inspired. and good fun.
I The Dsterbergs ()tldt‘ellows. Forrest Road. 220 lb‘lb.
I The Rootsie Tootsie Blues Band Preservation Hall. Victoria Street. 226 3816. 9.30pm. Free.
I Billy Jones 1 ltmtsman. Mayfield. l)alkeith. ()ne of Bill's last gigs before he goes to work with an English—speaking theatre group in Greece on his musical version of I)r.lt'ky'// and Mr Hyde. (iood luck.Bill.
WEDNESDAY 28
Glasgow
I The Hummingbirds. The Beautilul Suit and The Steel Chain Fury Murrys. 96 Maxwell Street. 221 651 1. 9pm. £2.50.£2 with ticket. 50p off for studentsand LJB40s. No excuses will be accepted for missing this. The three prize winnersof our demo tape competition (in association with Meliwan's Lager and RadioClyde) play together for the very first time for your listening pleasure.
I John Martyn Sub Club. 22 Jamaica
The List 23 Dee 1988— 12Jan 1989 39