Saw these in Manchester roughly early noughties. Loud which is to be expected and they played Ace of spades and Overkill and a bomber was made out of a lighting rig when Bomber was played. Great to tick off a legend. Lemmy passed away in 2016 r.i.p. I saw these with Snell R.I.P., Lee and Gaynor, John George and Lizzie.
Motorhead
We Are Motörhead No Class Bomber Civil War Damage Case Love for Sale God Save the Queen (Sex Pistols cover) Brave New World Metropolis Nothing Up My Sleeve Doctor Rock R.A.M.O.N.E.S. Shoot You in the Back Sacrifice Just ‘Cos You Got the Power Going to Brazil Killed by Death Iron Fist
Encore: Ace of Spades Overkill
Anthrax
Among the Living Got the Time (Joe Jackson cover) Caught in a Mosh Inside Out Room for One More Superhero Antisocial (Trust cover) I Am the Law Bring the Noise (Public Enemy cover) Only
Motorhead have too much of a history for me to delve into and I was a cursory fan at best (in fact I was more stoked to see Anthrax) so here is a link to their site https://imotorhead.com/ Motorhead were on their sixteenth full length album when we saw them on their bomber tour. The album Hammered had been released that year. Ace of spades is their signature tune. One of Motorhead’s most popular tunes, “Ace of Spades” is an ode to gambling and risking everything for the thrill of the game.
It’s still very popular. When we do it onstage, everyone loves it. But when we wrote it, we were just doing an album. It’s just fucking another song. I thought it was pretty good, but I didn’t think it was that good. So I have no special memory of writing it. It’s got a “tap-dancing part,” you know, Phil [Taylor’s] solo. When he called it that, there was a big debate: “Are we going to take it out or leave it in?” And then we left it in. I was surprised when the song took off. It’s no better than all the others.
I did a bit of gambling back then, but I don’t have any good gambling stories; I have lots of bad ones. I’ve lost a lot of money. I used to live on the seaside in Wales, and that’s all there was: There was a gambling machine in the local caf’. And they had a jukebox at the same time, so I was all set up. I’m not a poker player; I play slot machines. I’ve been playing them since I was about 18, when you were getting into bars. I don’t trust any form of gambling with people involved in it; I like the machines better.
Anthrax I was more into as I loved the John Bush-era Sound of white noise and Stomp 442. They were on their eighth album and third singer.
“I Am the Law” is a single by thrash metal band Anthrax, from the album, Among the Living. Anthrax, in true nerdy fashion, pay tribute to the iconic 2000AD supercop Judge Dredd. I was massively into 2000 A.D. so it is great when a band crossovers into that territory.
Therapy? played at The Leadmill on the first of December 2001. I went with friends Snell who has since passed away from Cystic Fibrosis. A great friend of mine and other friends including Simon Jenkins. A tough year for the band and the world as it would never be the same after 9/11 the terror attack on New York which unfolded live on our television screens.
The band head to Seattle in the American North-West to start work on their next album with legendary producer Jack Endino. The band want a more live rock and roll feel to their new work and Jack helps them achieve that over the course of the eight weeks they are there. Augmenting their sound with the help of Barrett Martin (Queens Of The Stone Age, R.E.M. and The Screaming Trees) on percussion and various friends on vocals and guitars (Clutch, Black Halos and Mr. Endino himself) the band have a blast and let themselves go. They not only record the album itself but also a cover of Turbonegro’s Denim Demon for the Alpha Motherfuckers album on Bitzcore Records and several other tunes, including covers of the Black Halos’ Blood Sucking Freaks, legendary Irish punk band Rudi’s Big Time and also an insane original piece called Valentines Day 2001 which ends up sounding like Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits jamming in a jazz club at the end of the world. It’s not all work and no play though. While there, the band take in great shows by Mudhoney, Supersuckers, The Melvins, Tad Doyle’s new band Hog Molly, The Catheters, Clutch and Nebula.
Inspired and ready for action the band return home in March. Due to various record company fuck ups however, Shameless is not released until later in the year meaning that the excitement and momentum the band had built up is somewhat lost. A short American tour of the east coast is a minor success but with no new record to promote it seems very strange at times.
The single Gimme Back My Brain receives single of the week in Kerrang! and The Guardian but is lost among record company ‘faux pas’. Trying to make up for lost time the band embark on a grueling autumn/winter tour of Europe where the cold weather and busy schedule sees all the band falling ill and feeling exhausted.
They are also getting a familiar nagging feeling that, once again, all is not well with either their drummer or the record company. What started off as a year with so much promise, ends in fatigue and uncertainty. The only thing making the whole exercise seem worthwhile at this point is the support of their fans who have been great throughout. The final two gigs of the year in Belfast and Dublin confirm this and bring the band home with some comfort. Two days before Christmas Graham Hopkins leaves the band.
Therapy?’s eighth album, often described as pure rock ’n’ roll, featuring Gimme Back My Brain and I Am The Money. Recorded in Seattle and produced by Jack Endino. Released by ARK 21 Records in 2001 on CD. Released in September.
“Everything about this album bar the finished result was perfect for me. We recorded it out in Seattle, which is my favourite place in America, at the incredible Robert Lang Studios where Nirvana and the Foo Fighters recorded. We worked with the legendary producer Jack Endino [Mudhoney/Soundgarden] who couldn’t have been nicer; he was a really good cheerleader in regards to getting the album done. The problem was the material. At this point in time, because Therapy? had been around for over a decade, we had a clear idea of what we wanted to do and we didn’t want to follow the nu-metal trend, which was at its height at this point. As a reaction to that movement, I started listening to lots of old punk and punk ‘n’ roll records.
I felt like some of the stuff we’d done on Nurse, Troublegum and Infernal Love was almost like a precursor to nu-metal, so we’d done that already and there was no need to jump onboard that band wagon. Michael [McKeegan, bass] and I went in the direction of wanting to do a raw punk record, but the other two guys in the band – Graham [Hopkins, drums] and Martin [McCarrick, guitar & cello] – were really into the whole nu-metal thing and I suppose they didn’t really see what Michael and I were trying to do. They thought we were being old-fashioned but I said, ‘No, I’m trying to make an absurd rock ‘n’ roll record.’
The tracks were written by the time we got over to Seattle, but it was obvious from the start that Graham in particular wasn’t into it – we actually found out later on that he’d already planned to leave the band and the motions were already in place. So he just wanted to go and that made for a not very nice atmosphere. Martin wanted the material to be more nu-metal as well, and he was constantly playing White Pony by the Deftones. To overcompensate for that, rather disturbingly, they wanted to play as many instruments as possible and originally what started as a very back to basics rock ‘n’ roll record ended up being this kind of half-finished album that didn’t really sound like Therapy?.
It just sounded a bit weird, like a lost rhythm & blues band, and it definitely didn’t come out the way we wanted it to, which is a shame because we had a really good time doing it. I remember thinking at the time, ‘What happened to our band?’ But we had a great holiday in Seattle and we hung out with some very cool people – the guys in Pearl Jam and Soundgarden lent us some of their gear, so it wasn’t all bad.”
Therapy? were a brilliant band once. But their fixation with the camp, kitsch aspects of heavy metal seems to have overtaken them. Any band who lists their main influences as Judas Priest, Exodus (specifically “Bonded by Blood” era), and Saxon… have either got their tongue in their cheeks, or mean it. Therapy? On the other hand, used to mean something more than all those bands combined. Now all they mean is Thin Lizzy-esque double guitar harmonies (favourite of Iron Maiden, and worryingly, Papa Roach), songs that start with the Bon Jovi-esque choruses of “Woah Woah”), lyrics so infantile and puerile they make the Ramones look like Steven Hawking, and all the worst metal cliches under the Sun – only they mean it, maaaan. Gentleman, start your axes indeed.
Setlist 1. Gimme back my brain 2. Hellbelly 3. Lonely, cryin’, only 4. This one’s for you 5. Die laughing 6. Teethgrinder 7. Tango Romeo 8. He’s not that kind of girl 9. Stalk and slash 10. Opal mantra 11. Stories 12. Isolation 13. Joey 14. Knives 15. Screamager
16. Alrite 17. I am the money 18. Church of noise
19. Nowhere
Infernal Love was the last album I bought of theirs and apart from seeing them live I had moved on.
I saw Therapy? again at The Leadmill on the so much for the ten year plan tour. I attended with my friend Lee supported by Dog Toffee. I have taken the next bit of information from Andy Cairns on their official site https://therapyquestionmark.co.uk/about-us/
1999 This year got off to a bad start with drummer Graham Hopkins breaking his arm after a bad fall. With no label, no drummer and a crappy drum machine, Andy, Michael and Martin holed themselves up for weeks in Ritz Studios in Putney, London. Fucked off, they started writing songs for the bands seventh album. Having been disillusioned with the world of corporate rock that they had found themselves in, they began pounding out riffs, noises and feedback as if their life depended on it. Graham joined the fray in March and in June they headed off to Great Linford Manor Studios in Milton Keynes, England to make their new album with P.J. Harvey’s producer, Head. Working furiously round the clock for nearly six weeks, the band lived in a world of their own, listening to everything at full volume. By this point they had signed a worldwide deal with ARK 21 Records run by former IRS boss Miles Copeland. October saw the release of Suicide Pact—You First. There was no single and the album charted in the UK just outside the top 40 but the band were playing with a born again fierceness and determination which saw a ferocious European tour with many unforgettable shows. The uncommercialness of the record meant that sales were down and radio wasn’t playing it but that didn’t stop people from turning up and having their heads fucked. In fact, on this tour some of the theatres they played got bigger. The album made many of the rock papers’ end-of-year polls. Visions Magazine in Germany even went as far as to include Suicide Pact—You First in their top 50 albums of the ’90s. Even Rolling Stone gave it a great review.
2000 This year saw the band releasing a ‘best of’ as a way of getting out of some money still owed to Mercury. So Much For The Ten Year Plan—A Retrospective 1990-2000 had various tracks from the bands ‘career’ and proved an excuse to go on a lengthy tour playing whatever the hell they wanted from the last ten years. The band toured continuously and had a few prime festival slots including Bizarre in Germany, Pinkpop in Holland and Witness in Ireland. In August they played the only sold out show of the weekend at the South By Southwest (SXSW) event in Austin, Texas and had a blast in Europe with their good friends Clutch in tow. November saw the band in Ritz Studios, Putney again preparing for their next album.
I never bought the album Suicide Pact-you first I had heard samples from kerrang! on a taster cassette tape free with the magazine and I wasn’t impressed. The album is noisy and acerbic and has dated quite well.
The album was a move away from the pop sensibilities of their previous album, Semi-Detached, and was considered a dark and twisted effort, seemingly as a retort to the conditions and restrictions imposed upon them and other bands on major labels. Although the album garnered very little radio airplay and only reached number 61 in the UK Albums Chart, it received mixed reviews in the press.
NME gave it 2.5 stars out of 5 https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-nme-1476-337346 I was happy to see them live and play some old hits which in the year 2000 the fans wanted songs from their earlier material.
Here’s the setlist:
1. He’s not that kind of girl 2. Church of noise 3. Knives 4. Little tongues first 5. Bad karma follows you around 6. Stop it you’re killing me 7. Trigger inside 8. Joey 9. Die laughing 10. Nowhere 11. Diane
12. Evil Elvis 13. lonely, cryin’, only 14. Breaking the law 15. loose 16. Potato junkie/Pretty vacant/Paranoid 17. Screamager
Pretty good setlist with two tracks from Suicide Pact-you first and Joey off their soon to be released album Shameless.
The year 2000 I was unemployed after working at KFC and Gunstones in 1999 but got a placement at SIF (Sheffield Independent Film). I was on placement at nacro through New Deal.
Poster design via Procreate. Took an old photo of a glass pane and lowered the opacity. Drew an outline of the band and the album cover Suicide pact-you first! the logo and an excerpt from Potato junkie “James Joyce is fucking my sister!” I like this poster I think it fits the aesthetic of what Therapy? are about with their DIY punk attack and homages the old cut and paste style of zines and posters despite being created digitally. When I think of the year 2000 I think about a place called SIF which I had a placement at via New Deal Labour government. Previously I worked at Gunstones bakery in Dronfield and KFC at Woodseats. Like the track nowhere I wasn’t particularly motivated and depite a passion for music and films my love of art had dissipated somewhat after attending a signwork course for two years at Parkwood College that I didn’t enjoy. I did enjoy Sheffield Independent Film on Brown St and it’s no longer there.
One of my earliest gig memories is seeing Therapy? at The Leadmill in 1998 with my friend Lee Williamson. They were supported by the short lived Groop Dogdrill from Doncaster who were decent and after two albums disbanded. It was a long time so recollections are hazy, I have tried to best to find information about the gig but this was a time when the internet wasn’t a thing so I am unable to. I did however find the setlist courtesy of setlistfm.
1. Nausea 2. Knives 3. Tightrope walker 4. Die laughing 5. Disgracelands 6. Stories 7. Black eye, purple sky 8. Teethgrinder 9. Turn 10. Isolation 11. Diane 12. Don’t expect roses 13. Screamager 14. Lonely, cryin’, only 15. I fought the law 16. Nowhere 17. The boys asleep
A pretty decent setlist that favours five tracks off Semi-detached the album released that year. Three great tracks from Nurse their debut album and six off their most commercial and melodic album Troublegum. Just two off their Infernal love album and a cover of The Crickets I fought the law.
I remember being wet with sweat jumping along with the crowd and singing along to the songs.
Northern Ireland, 1989. Andy Cairns from Ballyclare and Fyfe Ewing from Larne meet at a gig of local bands. A mutual taste in music and attitude drives them to decide to start a band. Their influences include Big Black, Sonic Youth, Rapeman, Hüsker Dü, Butthole Surfers, The Undertones, That Petrol Emotion, Captain Beefheart, Motörhead, Mudhoney, early Metallica, Fugazi, The Stooges, Loop, Funkadelic, Can, Belgian New Beat, Trance, Techno, Hip Hop (Public Enemy) and Jazz (John Zorn).
They decide on the name Therapy?—it’s short and easy to remember.
Rehearsing in Fyfe’s bedroom after school and when Andy has time off from the factory he works in, they put together their early material with Fyfe on drums and vocals and Andy on guitar and vocals. Easter/summer they go to a small studio on Belfast’s Lisburn Road and put down their first demo, including: Bloody Blue, Skyward, Body O.D. and Beefheart/Albini, with Andy filling in on bass duties.
Needing a bass player to complete the line up they recruit Fyfe’s school buddy Michael McKeegan on bass. Michael, an energetic and enthusiastic metal fan, is influenced by the same music as the boys but also adds to the party: Voivod, Carcass, Napalm Death, Black Sabbath and various Grindcore, Black, Speed and Doom Metal.
They play their first gig that summer at Belfast Art College organized by Giro’s gig collective, supporting Decadence Within. Later that year they record their second demo in a studio in Lurgan. The tracks are Multifuck, Here Is, S.W.T. and Punishment Kiss. They play more gigs round Northern Ireland and decide to record their own single.
1990
The Meat Abstract single is recorded early this year at Homestead Studios, Randalstown with engineer Mudd Wallace. The 7” vinyl single is released on the bands own Multifuckingnational Records. 1000 copies are pressed up. English D.J. John Peel plays the single, as do Northern Irish D.J.’s Mike Edgar and Johnny Hero. The band sells the single in Caroline Music Records and Heroes and Villains Records in Belfast, as well as at their gigs. It soon sells out. “Meat Abstract” is named after a piece of art by British avant-garde artist Helen Chadwick.
That summer they do their first UK tour supporting brilliant Derby band The Beyond. Taking any support slots they can, Therapy? open for Fugazi, Loop, Ride, Inspiral Carpets, Teenage Fanclub, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin and Tad.
At a Revolting Cocks / Silverfish gig in Edinburgh that year they give a copy of their single to Leslie Rankine from Silverfish, who passes it on to their record company boss Gary Walker of London based Wiiija Records.
Wiiija and also head of their distribution, John Loder at Southern Express show an interest in the band. Going back to Homestead Studios the band record the rest of what will be their first album, Babyteeth.
1991
Babyteeth is released in July of this year. The band tours the UK again and starts doing press, raising their profile. The John Peel Radio Sessions and relentless gigging keep the band busy. They also do a major tour opening for Minneapolis noise rockers Babes in Toyland. Babyteeth goes to no. 1 in the English and Irish Indie charts.
Towards the end of the year the band go into Southern Studios in London to work on their second album with engineer Harvey Birrell.
1992
Pleasure Death is released in January on Wiiija/Southern Records and goes to no. 1 in the UK Indie Charts. Quarterstick records in America, run by Corey Rusk, releases Caucasian Psychosis, a compilation of both the Babyteeth and Pleasure Death albums. Mass touring follows with the band making their first forays into mainland Europe, doing well in Germany and France before returning to do their first major festivals at Reading and Finsbury Park in the UK and the Feile in Southern Ireland.
That summer the band signs to major label A&M Records and heads to Loco Studios in Wales, again with Harvey Birrell, to begin work on their next album. That October the band releases Nurse which makes the UK Top 40 Album Chart. Teethgrinder, the album’s single, makes No. 30 in the singles chart. Magazine front covers with NME and Melody Maker follow, as well as the band’s first trip to the USA where they do their own small headline tour and open up for The Screaming Trees in New York. They end the year with a sold out tour of Britain and Ireland.
1993
The band starts the year in Black Barn Studios, Oxfordshire recording the Shortsharpshock EP with producer Chris Sheldon. Released early that year the lead track Screamager goes top 10 in the UK and lifts up the band’s profile even more. The band play English charts show Top Of The Pops and the following tour is sold out.
The band makes the cover of Kerrang! magazine and return to mainland Europe for a successful tour. During the year the band release further singles Opal Mantra and Face The Strange EP (featuring lead track Turn). Both these make the UK top 20 and see the band appearing on numerous TV and radio shows and on the covers of various magazines.
The band makes the most of the interest and tour as much as possible in as many countries as possible continuing their reputation as one of the hardest working bands around. A two month US tour sees them opening for two of their favourite bands Helmet and The Jesus Lizard while they begin to make many appearances at European festivals.
After the summer the band return to Homestead Studios in Northern Ireland to start writing and rehearsing for their new album. They go from there to Chipping Norton Studios to do recording and tracking and then on to Rak Studios and The Church Studios in London to do vocals and mixing, all with Chris Sheldon. The band still manages to squeeze in a British and Irish tour to end the year with.
1994
Early in the year the band release the Nowhere single which picks up lots of radio play and goes top 20 in the UK. On the back of it the band release the album Troublegum which goes top 5 in the UK and also charts in various other countries. The album not only contains Screamager, Turn and Nowhere but also future singles Die Laughing, Trigger Inside and (in Germany) the Joy Division cover version Isolation.
The album is a critical and commercial success and gives the band a chance to play even more gigs around the world. They tour America with Henry Rollins, Tad, Swervedriver and others as well as doing their own shows there. They also make it to Japan for the first time, playing two memorable sold out nights in Tokyo.
The European tour sees the band building on their increasing fan base especially in Belgium, Holland, Germany, France, Scandinavia, Spain and Austria. They also play Israel. That summer they also play the Castle Donnington, Monsters Of Rock festival.
The year ends with Troublegum topping many end-of-year polls. The band picks up a Kerrang! award for Best Album, a Mercury Music Prize nomination and a nomination for Best Rock Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards. The bands’ work rate went through the roof with constant touring, record releases and press. https://www.kerrang.com/troublegum-at-25-an-oral-history-of-the-therapy-classic
1995
The band starts work on their new album at Real World Studios in Box, just outside Bath, England with producer Al Clay. Also present at the sessions was cellist/guitarist Martin McCarrick who had previously been with Siouxsie And The Banshees and had added the strings to Troublegum’s track Unrequited.
The overall dark tones of the album were embellished by Martins’ string arrangements on tracks such as Bad Mother, Stories and most effectively on the bands cover version of the Hüsker Dü classic Diane. The album was to be titled Infernal Love. Later that year Stories, Loose and Diane were all released as singles in the UK, all going top 40. https://www.loudersound.com/features/therapy-s-infernal-love-an-oral-history
Diane was a major success on mainland Europe, however, going top 10 in many countries and picking up an award for best single in Belgium from Humo Magazine. Touring the album took the band as far afield as Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Poland, Australia, New Zealand and the Czech Republic. The band even had a minor radio hit with Misery in the US. The relentless work was however taking its toll.
1996
Early January Andy gets a phone call from co-founder Fyfe to tell him he was leaving the band, stating he would “go mad” if he carried on. Early March, after many auditions, Graham Hopkins from Ireland joins the band.
At the same time Andy and Michael ask Martin McCarrick to join the band full time, he accepts. Deciding that there’s still touring for Infernal Love to do, the band spends most of the year playing together as a band getting used to working as a four piece. They depart for a US tour supporting Girls Against Boys, then head on to Canada for a further month of dates before returning back to the States to open for Ozzy Osbourne. They return to Ireland where they record two covers by The Misfits and The Smiths for various tribute albums and then back to the European tour circuit.
1997
Most of this year is spent writing and rehearsing, with a few festivals thrown in. The band starts going to studios for short periods of time, slowly starting work on their next album.
1998
In the beginning of the year the band finished their new album at Metropolis Studios in Chiswick, London. Produced by Chris Sheldon, it was the first album featuring the new four piece line up. The year started well enough with the band doing a secret middle slot in London between the then fledgling Scottish band Idlewild and current champs of rock, the Deftones. The gig was well received and got great reviews for the new, fuller sound.
The first single off the new album Semi-Detached, Church Of Noise, received radio play and entered the UK top 40. A sold out tour of the UK followed to promote the single and the album release followed shortly, going top 30. At this time the band headed off for Europe. The next single Lonely, Cryin’, Only was released soon after and saw the band doing a lot of press as well as television shows in England, Ireland, Germany, France, Belgium, Holland and Austria. The band hit the Euro festival circuit hard that summer, including a third appearance at the legendary Torhout/Werchter shows in Belgium.
About this time it became apparent that all was not well at A&M England, the label to which the band was still signed. Promotion for the album was scarce and it was finally settled in August that the label would be closing down, leaving Therapy? still committed to a hefty European tour until Christmas. The band themselves were told by the Universal Group (who owned A&M) that they would be moving to Mercury Records, also on the Universal roster. The band even went so far as (at the request of Universal) recording a video for the staff of Mercury saying “looking forward to working with you”, etc.
However, a double blow happened later that month when not only did the band get told that there would be no home for them at Mercury but also that Semi-Detached would not be getting a release in the USA through Universal. Nevertheless, the band stuck to their commitments and with no deal, no promotion and Andy and Michael paying the road crews’ wages, finished the tour as planned.
So this is when I saw the band as a four-piece at The leadmill and their star was waning. 1998 was a strange year for music Grunge had imploded with Kurt’s suicide, Soundgarden calling it a day, Faith No More splitting up, Metallica releasing Load/Reload and cutting their hair. Britpop had exploded and Radiohead had released the genre defining OK Computer but nu-metal dominated the airwaves.
In 1998 I was just at the end of a two year course studying Signwork at Parkwood College.
Imaginary poster for a gig in 1998 with reference to the image from lonely, cryin’, only single. The band playing on a vertical plane to emulate the front cover of Semi-detached and the setlist for the gig. Pretty simple and even a sprayed daub of their logo for the flyposting authenticity.
This feels good, nothing can stop me Every nerve pumping hard through me Every thought rushes at full speed This false smile grates through babyteeth
(I’m a teethgrinder) Teethgrinder (In my sleep I grind my teeth) (I’m a teethgrinder) Teethgrinder (In my sleep I grind my teeth)
Think to win and I’m up on it I can’t lose, I’ve got nothing to Try me now, I’ll try anything This is me, this is what I feel
(I’m a teethgrinder) Teethgrinder (In my sleep I grind my teeth) (I’m a teethgrinder) Teethgrinder (In my sleep I grind my teeth)
(Losing his mind and he feels it going) (Losing his mind) (Losing his mind and he feels it going) (Losing his mind) (Losing his mind)
(I’m a teethgrinder) Teethgrinder (In my sleep I grind my teeth) (I’m a teethgrinder) Teethgrinder (In my sleep I grind my teeth)
(I’m a teethgrinder In my sleep I grind my teeth)
The sample in “Teethgrinder” (“He’s losing his mind and he feels it going”) is taken from a 1960s information film by the US Navy warning of the dangers of LSD, a section of which was later included in a BBC documentary called The Beyond Within.
Other samples in “Teethgrinder” are taken from a TV documentary entitled American Conversations. Teethgrinder was a single released by rock band Therapy?, taken from their album Nurse (1992). An awesome single with an amazing cover and what a drummer!!!
Since graduating from university in 1994, with a B.A. Honours in Fine Art, George has produced almost 450 paintings and sold them all. Born in the coastal village of Ardglass, in the north of Ireland, in 1968, he was encouraged as a child by his father Ben, himself a talented water-colourist, to draw and paint.
Discovering the work of the Surrealists in his youth cemented his notion to become an artist. Extensive travelling allowed him to view paintings in the flesh that had only ever been poured over in books. In fact at one point George found himself standing in Salvador Dali’s home studio in Port Lligat, Spain.
Later he discovered the work of the Modern Scottish Realists and befriended his hero, the renowned painter, Peter Howson, who provided George with much valued encouragement.
Settling at Tyrell Beach, close to Ardglass in 1995, saw his palette become brighter, inspired by the sunshine of Los Angeles which he visited often.
George has exhibited in Dublin, London and New York. He has produced icon images for rock bands and activist groups, as well as wine merchants. His work has been seen on T-Shirts, tattoos, mugs and M.T.V.
Taken from his site.
Around the middle of 1990 George was introduced to Fyfe Ewing the drummer in an emerging Irish rock band called Therapy? They immediately hit it off.
A mutual love of music, painting and cinema saw the band asking him to design the cover of their debut, self-financed single ‘Meat Abstract’ A copy of which was handed personally to the Radio 1 DJ John Peel who played it shortly afterwards.
So impressed with the result they then gave him carte blanche to produce the artwork for their next two albums ‘Babyteeth’ and ‘Pleasure Death’.
“I believe the imagery matches the music perfectly”, he says, “uncompromising, in-your-face but at the same time thought provoking.” Paul Brannigan the ex-editor of British music magazine ‘Kerrang!’ has said that “They are my favourite album covers of all time!”
Babyteeth is the first mini-album by the Northern Irish rock band Therapy?
“Meat Abstract” is named after a piece of art by British avant-garde artist Helen Chadwick.
Bo Olawoye is a Nottingham-based independent creative producer and consultant who is dedicated to making innovative arts projects in collaboration with diverse communities, young people (13+), marginalised groups, artists and public partners. Bo’s work explores race, identity, place and social justice issues. Commissioners have included Beam Arts for people and places (North), INIVA (London), Edinburgh Art Festival, Lakeside Arts (Nottingham), Gods House Tower (Southampton), idle women (Lancashire), Mark Devereux Projects (Manchester). She has been awarded a 2023 Churchill Fellowship to research how diverse community led initiatives are using the arts to transform their neighbourhoods in Chicago (USA) and internationally (2024). www.bosedaolawoye.com/
After Bo is introduced the theme of What now and what next is also introduced. Bo was born and raised in Essex London. Raised by a foster family experienced racism, bullying, unemployment and imposter syndrome. Bo works with diverse people on community set programs. Working with under-represented groups etc.
Bo then goes on about her past projects she has been involved in.
Bo worked with women’s groups and domestic violence survivor groups and created prompt cards and collages. Soap sculptures also played a part.
Co-producing a printed zine with Browtowe Women’s Project and Heya Nottingham (Arab women), through a series of interactive conversations. The printed zine captures the women’s creative responses to artwork made by people in the criminal justice system as featured in the “Power” exhibition. A collaboration with artist and curator Chiara Dellerba. Read a copy here.
Artwork from the school exhibition. Photo Jules Lister
Producing You Can’t Ignore Us, a youth-led project created by young people from Castleford for CoLab Wakefield. We explored how museums and galleries don’t always represent their lives, passions and interests.
Students (aged 13 & 14) from Castleford Academy collaborated with Leeds based spoken word artist/writer Simone Yasmin and art therapist Will Jones to create an exhibition and zine. The group used collage, song lyrics, drawing, BSL sign language and more to express how they feel about the issues that matter to them. View the zine here
Initiating and producing a creative consultation project & internal report about why Lakeside Arts does not engage and involve people of colour across Nottingham? Members of Inspire Urself Carnival Troupe (aged 20+) worked with artist Honey Williams to create their own zine to express their impressions, feedback and ideas for how the organisation should connect and collaborate with diverse communities.
I enjoyed this lecture and I appreciate community led projects that favour diversity and inclusion.
Mengele wet cold with night sweats jerks abruptly awake the sound of a spectrum reverberating around his skull. The scratchy noise of a ZX Spectrum from a decade farther in the future. The sound of future technology is so foreboding to a man who experiments on children sewing them together that his conscience is pricked by a fear and anxiety unrelated to his deeds. The Spectrum is a symbol of computer technology that will in forty years take over the world in an A.I. nightmare. Doom scrolling through a feed and witnessing the death of a man falling from a crane, red mist and the sound of a skull shattering. Did that man throw himself into a train? Not sure but here come the likes and inane comments. An obese woman eating herself to death whilst receiving coins on OnlyFans. A woman admiring her mastectomy jealous of the midwifes breastfeeding the homeless. Josef maybe the angel of death but he takes comfort in a cruelty that is confined to the space of a camp and in the era of war. In exile in Brazil he will hear the sound of a Spectrum loading and know the worse is yet to come. Enjoy the famine on your 4k televisions the holocaust never went away.
So it’s been a great year for gigs and the first gig of the year was Kid Kapichi at The Leadmill with my friend Scott on 4th of February and I was still dry so I drove.
Kid Kapichi delivered a blistering set, they are best described as a rock band with a punk venom hailing from Hastings. They were supported by Snayx and Monakis.
Setlist Kid kapichi
5 Days On (2 Days Off) Working Man’s Town Glitterati Fomo Sapiens I.N.V.U. Cops & Robbers Party at No. 10 New England Rob the Supermarket Super Soaker Sardines Violence Special
Encore: Smash the Gaff Death Dips
I went to Corporation on the first of March 2023 to see Dub War supported by Desenser and Gen and the degenerates. Spoke to all the bands at the merch stand. Benji is a sound bloke.
Psycho System Respected Words of Warning Spiritual Warfare Nar Say a Ting Blackkk Man Fun Done Vibes in the Place Original Murder Crack Art of War Cry Dignity Fools Gold / Bassball Bat / Prisoner / Strike It
Encore: Million $ Love Gorrit War Inna Babylon Caroline
On March 17 2023 I attended a gig at The Leadmill on a date with Catherine and I saw Fine Art tutors Yuen and Chloe in there. We saw The go! team and Baba Ali. Such a good energetic, fun and infectious gig.
On 26th May my friend pulls out of a gig and asks if I want to go to see Blur at a warm up gig for Wembley at Wolverhampton Civic Hall with my friend John and he drove to the gig. Supported by Wu-lu and Sounds mint!
St. Charles Square There’s No Other Way Popscene Coping Jubilee Chemical World Young & Lovely Beetlebum Trimm Trabb Villa Rosie Coffee & TV Out of Time End of a Century Parklife To the End Oily Water Advert Song 2 This Is a Low Girls & Boys The Narcissist Tender For Tomorrow Intermission The Universal
I saw Inhaler at The Leadmill feeling ill so I drove with John. Supported by Blondes.
Just to Keep You Satisfied These Are the Days When I Have Her On My Mind The Things I Do So Far So Good Perfect Storm Now You Got Me Valentine Dublin in Ecstasy Love Will Get You There If You’re Gonna Break My Heart My Honest Face
I drove to a gig at Sidney and Matilda with Scott to see Snayx supported by Monakis and Shelf lives.
on 13th of November for a birthday gift I went to The Foundry to watch Death Cult supported by Lili Refrain. What an awesome gig.
83rd Dream Christians Gods Zoo Brothers Grimm Ghost Dance Butterflies A Flower in the Desert Resurrection Joe Horse Nation Go West (Crazy Spinning Circles) Hollow Man Dreamtime Spiritwalker Rain
Encore: Moya She Sells Sanctuary
For my birthday I travelled with Catherine to London and stayed over two nights to go and see Queens of the stone age at O2 Arena. they were supported by The Chats and Deep tan.
Regular John No One Knows Smooth Sailing My God Is the Sun Emotion Sickness If I Had a Tail Carnavoyeur The Way You Used to Do Better Living Through Chemistry The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret Paper Machete Domesticated Animals I Sat by the Ocean Straight Jacket Fitting Make It Wit Chu Little Sister
God Is in the Radio Go With the Flow A Song for the Dead
Last but not least was Therapy? and Bokassa at Network 2 in Sheffield on the 2nd of December. I saw Lee Williamson and his son in there. got snowed in at the afterparty.
They Shoot the Terrible Master Nausea Isolation (Joy Division cover) Joy Unbeliever Safe Bewildered Herd Neck Freak Two Wounded Animals Turn Totally Random Man Woe Poundland of Hope and Glory Stories Days Kollaps Mongrel Diane (Hüsker Dü cover) Teethgrinder
Encore: Bloody Blue The Wait (Killing Joke cover) (one verse and chorus only) Die Laughing Potato Junkie (with ‘Iron Man’ interpolation and drum solo) Ugly Screamager Requiem (Killing Joke cover) (one verse and chorus only) Nowhere
Rusty'sArtWerk 