Music Monday: Martin Howard - The Ornithologists Arms

Martin Howard has been putting on the well regarded Acoustic Anarchy nights at Water into Beer in Brockley since 2017, and he often sings a couple of his own songs at the start of the evening. More recently he has also helped launch Deptford Folk nights at the Endeavour bar on Deptford Broadway, and is a familiar face at local open mic nights.  Now he's released an album of his songs, The Ornithologists  Arms, available on digital or CD at bandcamp.

Many years ago Talking Heads released their great 'More Songs about Buildings and Food' album, which The Undertones responded to with 'More Songs about Chocolate and Girls'. Martin's album could be subtitled 'More songs about birds and revolution', particularly the title track where the world is put to right over a pint or two: 'we'll talk of birds on the wing, and the songs of freedom that they sing, and the flight of the peregrines... you can't save the birds without saving the planet, and you can't save the planet under Capital'.

Gizelle - from Lovers Rock to Acid House

Another great episode of DJ Controlled Weirdness' Tales from a Disappearing City podcast, this time featuring DJ Gizelle, aka Rebel Yelle. As I've said before what I like about this series is how it shows the ways people's lives connect together all these different scenes which people see as separate, and Gizelle has had quite a journey.  Growing up in Catford, she talks about buying records in Lewisham model market and the punk/reggae/ska crossover  including seeing The Clash at the Lyceum and seeing Desmond Dekker playing with Madness at Lewisham Odeon (actually the line up for that 1980 gig also included The Go-Go's with Belinda Carlisle).

As a teenager she joined lovers rock group Charisma, signed to Nevil King's King City Records. They rehearsed above the King City record shop at 494 New Cross Road, with the backing band One Blood. Maxi Priest also rehearsed there.

Later Gizelle worked in local pubs included the Mid Kent Tavern in Lewisham and then Winston's bar in Deptford (where exactly was that?), where she started out DJing in around 1987. Soon she was getting into the early acid house scene, and DJ'd at Asylum nights at the Harp Club in New Cross (soon to be renamed the Venue). I've heard of this before but had no idea that Colin Jerwood from anarcho punk band Conflict was involved in putting on these nights, or that Billy Nasty did a chill out/balearic room upstairs there  Later Gizelle was involved in a night at Thames Poly called Shaboo. Funnily enough I once saw Conflict play there, as well as at the Ambulance Station on Old Kent Road.

Looking forward to the next episode of this, no doubt some good stories of moving from playing at acid house clubs like Clink Street through to the London acid techno scene of the 1990s and beyond.

See previously Uncle G on Woolwich B-Boys and Acid House. I was also honoured to do a couple of episodes myself.