René Berg...

I've been obsessed with the René Berg song The Leather, The Loneliness, And Your Dark Eyes lately.  A brilliant pop song, filled with huge senses of melody and moment, in the style of 80s glam rock.  I came across René's stuff back in the winter of 2008, when I had just bought a ticket to (finally) see Hanoi Rocks at The Astoria (an excellent gig).  René was in Hanoi Rocks briefly towards their end in 1985, he played on the Rock & Roll Divorce live album.  I quickly fell in love with Head Over Heels (another great glam pop song) and the beautifully melancholic London Town, which it's such a shame was never properly recorded.  The Leather, The Loneliness, And Your Dark Eyes, his only solo record, you can hear on Spotify and is also available on iTunes.  Really good songs, I recommend it if you listened to glam metal in the 80's.  Rat Scabies and Paul Grey from The Damned play on it.  I managed to track down the a-side to his first band, Idle Flowers, 7", All I Want Is You; would love to hear more from his other projects.  Also just found out he had a keen interest in fishing!  Sadly, René passed away on July 28, 2003.






The Soho Vultures (René's band after Idle Flowers and after he was in Hanoi Rocks) apparently made a video for Head Over Heels but I can't find it anywhere.

The Damned - "Wait For The Blackout"/"History Of The World Part 1"...

I went to see The Damned's 35th Anniversary Tour last night at The Roundhouse.  I've reviewed it for godisinthetvzine so I won't say too much, except it was what I was looking forward to most this year and it did not disappoint.  They were playing Damned Damned Damned and The Black Album in their entireties, plus a hits encore.  Damned Damned Damned was a joyous explosion of raw energy, especially the anthems "Neat Neat Neat" and "New Rose", but it was The Black Album portion of the show for me that was truly wonderful, being one of my favourite albums and containing two songs of the highest quality.

"Wait For The Blackout" is MAGNIFICENT.   Riotous fun from note one, a guaranteed feel-good pick-me-up.  Hugely catchy riff, great melodies, wonderfully fun subject matter,  amusing middle-8, killer outro.  A perfect song, in my opinion.

With Rat Scabies miming Dave Vanian's vocals:




Great BBC Session (October 9th, 1980):




From The Roundhouse gig last night (November 12th, 2011):




And then there's "History Of The World Part 1".   An epic single which should've been #1 for weeks.  Enormous in scope, vast darkness speckled with thunderous ethereal lights.  Gorgeous melodies, insistent playing, hugely musical, carrying one on a grand sonorous journey.





Mike Read Session 9-10-80:




And an absolutely frantic "I Feel Alright" from last night: