I'm Edei, fly me

Midweek I glimpsed the rarest of things: a bona fide live showcase. In these days of fewer and fewer new artists getting a bite of the financial apple, it was quite exciting to troll down to the launch of Edei (pronounced Ee-dee). My mate was even more up for it: "It's been years since I went to one of these things." Like how long? "Er, Eternal. When there were four of 'em".

The money behind Edei is well-deserved though. The 22 year old Londoner has a raspy, distinctive voice that sounds like she's been doing it for years. Have a listen to her cover of Plan B's Prayin' here. She's also very at home on stage with an easy-going, confident performance. And the music? One track, Inside Information, was an instant classic laden with strings and pathos, totally suited for a cold November night. The upcoming single, Loved, is a perfect introduction.

The team behind Edei, from producer Misreid and co-writer Connor Reeves to the backroom bods who coped with Joss Stone will mean she'll get some attention, but as ever, radio play will be the catalyst in her album launch. Loved will sound great on the radio and with Adele's mammoth new track Rolling Deep due out on the same day, January 16th, the play lists will be looking for other organic sounding tracks to butt up against. And with Adele's Chasing Pavements studio boffins working on Edei's new album, there's more than a chance for her bother the charts.

EDEI "Loved" (clip) by Edei Music

The blog that eats itself

Just because I can and because I think this is a much better use of space on the revamped myspace, here's a demo of a song I've been working on with the fabulous Holestar. This is Dirty Men. Think gay men's thoughts sung by a lesbian playing a tranny. It's not hard. Or it will be by the end of the track...

Clicky Linky here: Dirty Men - Holestar by phileastend

Let us know your thoughts!

Together's amazing

As Chartrigger says, some of the Pet Shop Boys videos have been lacking the usual creative flair. Maybe not this one, but definitely this one. So it's refreshing to see the new video for Together. Admittedly, the classic girl dance versus boy urban dancers isn't new, but at least it's classic PSB.

Can I get? Can I get get? Yes, you can

I'm in love with a German boogie star. Hamburg-based producer, Marco Niemerski aka Tensnake, does the kind of music that makes our Indian summer feel like July. His summer anthem, re-released last month should be riding high on the charts. Admittedly the time may have passed, but if you want an excuse not to dig out that bloody winter coat, just put on your speedos, sit in front of a big light, pop on the Raybans and bathe in the glorious warm funk of Coma Cat. Oh. And buy it here.

A fine bromance (reprise)

It's enough to make me quote Kenneth Williams: "What's the bloody point?" The reasons for Blogger taking down posts are becoming more draconian. I received notice that the one below was taken down. Why? I'll leave you to judge whether my own campy humour, a picture of Grum and a video for his latest single infringes anyone's copyright. If it's about offending sensibilities, then it all becomes a bit more Big Straight Brother, which is worrying...

Hetero yet totally non-hetero, I love a good bromance. And this video from Grum for their new single Through the Night hits the spot. Granted, I'd rather see Ashley Judd and Ryan Reynolds a-huggin' an' a-fruggin' but these two mulleted cops are still pretty do-able. Check them out at 2:16.



Grum is a Scottish bloke called Graeme Shepherd who became the blogger's delight last year with his single Heartbeats. He'll soon pop up on a forthcoming Pet Shop Boys release with a remix of West End Girls, and no, I haven't heard it yet, but Chris Lowe has and he lurves it. So that's nice.

Gypsies, cats and Toto

Now if you go wandering in the woods of Stoke Newington, London, namely Clissold Park, you'll more than likely bump into this pair strumming on a guitar and beating on a paint tin to a background of soft rock synths. Gypsy and the Cat - which one's which, who can say - have upped sticks from Oz and settled over here producing big anthemic pop; the kind that raises a smile through tears. Sniff.

Xavier Bacash and Lionel Towers (FAB names) have a brand new album out, Giglamesh, which is like hearing Toto's Africa for the first time. It's a fresh yet classic sound. Nice to see Art Malik popping up in the vid below for their recent (amarze) single Time to Wander filmed just down the road from me outside the Tate Modern.

Aeroplane take off my fashion ideas!

That pesky Belgian duo, Aeroplane, have ram-raided my fashion cupboard and nicked all my ideas for this season's outfits. The cheek! Anyhoo, it makes their video for the newly released single, Superstar, stand out from the pack. Go buy it here.



After DJing around the globe over the summer, they've finally landed their new album We Can't Fly and parked it on my iPod. It's got their trademark languid groove with a few 'rockier' numbers I'm less keen on. But as a debut, it's well worth the wait.

It's kinda scary but oh so thrilling...

Well, Monsieur Electrosexual has created a monster. This duet with Mz Sunday Luv is deep and massive, like a thumping heartbeat on a dancefloor heady with amyl. I Feel Love is out now as an EP with three other all-meat tracks (clicky here for the UK - oh, and here and here).

New Yazoo single!!!

28 years after the original version was played every week as the theme tune for the BBC's cheapo saturday show Get Set For Summer, Yazoo's Get Set is OUT NOW! As a single!! Here!!! I remember the TV show being outside a lot, but with a British summer, that usually meant bands looking pissed off, slipping onstage as their peacock hairdos flattened in the drizzle.

Yazoo - Get Set (1982) by phileastend

Vince Clark and Alison Moyet had a ball reconnecting with each other and the Yazoo back catalogue on the Reconnection world tour last year. The songs were massive live and Vince, being the studio nerd he is, had all the original synth sounds which meant it was like listening to the two albums Upstairs at Erics and You and Me. But with Alison's belting 28 year older voice, they were given a new twist. Check out the live experience below.

Yé-Yé music

Years ago, in high school, my headmaster told me the French called pop music 'Yé-Yé music'. It wasn't meant as some cultural snippet but as a sneering put down. He was the same headmaster who blubbed to the local press when Neil Tennant wrote It's a Sin about his time at the same school. In other words, the man was a boring shit who hated pop music. And by dismissing Yé-Yé music, he missed out on something joyous. No wonder he was miserable. Here are two pop songs currently making me feel vindicated.

First up is a bunch of thrift store guitar twiddlers turned All Saints stadium pop gods. One Night Only have grown up - due in part to lead singer Georgie Craig's Glamorama-type existence as Burberry's pin-up boy - and become Keane/Duran Duran. I love bold, confident music, but the lyrics have to match. "The big screens, the plastic-made dreams" has such an 80s anthemic ring, it belies the true age of the singer (er, 20). Say You Don't Want It is now a bona fide top 40 hit, ripe to sound mammoth in Wembley Stadium.



Next up is someone who really doesn't need any poking from me. Web-rat, Sky Ferreira's One is everywhere at the moment. It's the kind of clever pop that gets on people's tits but others think is nothing short beautiful, just like the fashion shot of her above. Honestly, she doesn't need to bother after this.

FREE! download of new Pacific!

The marvelous Hot Lips duo from Sweden, Pacific! are back! Back!! BACK!! And gone all frightwig on us. Delving into the depths of the universe they've come back with Narcissus, a bone-shaking, sonic-bothering, rumbler of a dance track that made my arse cheeks quiver.



Heads up to Jon Pleased Wimmin who put this on his facebook with a warning. It's hard to believe it's the same band who's debut album, Reveries, was such a squelchy, funky laid back affair. But I like bands going leftfield. It's been two years since they began travelling the world with Hot Lips et al and in that time they'll have seen, done, eaten, danced to A LOT. In other words, this is a band expressing their broadening horizons. As a taster to the new album on Alan Braxe's prolific label Vulture, it's coming straight at you, fists flying. The Pet Shop Boys should take note that Narcissus was originally "conceived as a live performance to accompany a modern dance ballet" and especially as this track has the anthemic qualities of a classic PSB track.

And the FREE Jagz Kooner REMIX is below via Soundcloud. Enjoy!

PACIFIC! - Narcissus (Jagz Kooner remix) MP3 by sigimarra

Katy B mine

I can inhale this track all day. In.... and out. Goldsmiths alumni Katy B is all over the radio and much deserved too. Sidestepping the current Brit sound to create their own hugely appealing version of dubstep, Katy and producer Benga have hit on a winning formula. Check out the current A-listed Katy On a Mission and the just as amarze Louder.

The straight Sylvester

Well this one sneaked out... Mischa Barton's new squeeze, the clubbing fashionista, Ali Love, has a proper collection of ten tracks released as a bona fide album, Love Harder. Following the killer singles, Diminishing Returns and Love Harder, this album should be MASSIVE. Think of a straight Sylvester. That's Ali Love.

Love Harder is quite an achievement. Every track is accomplished dance/pop. He's kept the huge 80s feel of his earlier material but added a twist with dirty synths and filthy vocals. Love In Darkness has the aforementioned Sylvester feel. It's a bit like two straight blokes doing Man 2 Man's Male Stripper. Glorious. But he can still do floaty pop with the lovely Dark Star.

Here's the latest single, Smoke and Mirrors. Go get the album here before he explodes - in the filling out arenas sense - because he will!



FOOTNOTE: repeated listening of the album and the more I'm thinking how would it sound with Ewan Pearson at the helm as producer. Pretty epic I'd suspect. And how about a Fred Falke remix? Just wet meself.

Hurts all over like a rash

It's taken well over a year, but Hurt's Wonderful Life single finally gets an official video in the run up to the release next month. The Hurts camp have been clever in their mass global awareness campaign. Like a slow creeper, they've spread roots all over Europe. It remains to be seen whether or not it all pays off: the last stop before release, radio play seems to be non-existent. I find it very odd that Radio 1 are resolutely ignoring one of the most talked about bands of 2010. With a few weeks to go, it should be way up there on the playlist. A message to the band themselves though... "Don't let go. Never give up it's such a wonderful life"!

**UPDATE AUGUST 5th: Wonderful Life now on Radio 1's B-List!!!**

Judie Tzuke: something new, something old

A friend of mine bemoaned the lack of updates here, "I suppose there's nothing new worth writing about though". Coming from the queen of the bright and shiny and all that's new, it's a big statement. But he and I both know there's loads of new stuff worth writing about, it's just we take our eyes of the horizon for a bit of a rest. And that's where we uncover hidden gems from the past. Or rather, it becomes the new discovery. And that quite neatly sums up the stunning collection of 33 (bloody Nora!) tracks Moon on a Mirrorball from Judie Tzuke .

Her name has always been always been synonymous with the UK's rock and pop pantheon, but weirdly, I couldn't recall any of her music. A chance encounter on a radio interview where they played her 1979 hit Stay With Me 'Til Dawn and THAT VOICE just lifted me. Yes, I actually elevated off my seat. And then I realised I knew her voice all along, usually in the back of a cab gurning all the way home at sunrise o'clock when the taxi driver's tuned into Magic or Heart or dressed in Mylo's clothes as Need You Tonite on his classic Destroy Rock and Roll album (quick aside: where the fluck has he gone?!?).



After 30 years as a singer/songwriter she's packaged her favourite tracks alongside new ones which is the PERFECT introduction for Judie Tzuke philistines. And the new stuff is KILLER. Take the introductory single If (When You Go). Her daughters Bailey, 23 (yes, the Freemasons singer on the glorious Uninvited) and Tallulah, 15, provide the angelic, ethereal backing vocals - one in each ear - with their mum front and centre with a deeper, resonant, slightly gravelly voice on a track co-written with Kylie's longtime collaborator Steve Anderson. His trademark strings do the business, sweeping and swooshing underneath this mammoth song.



Judie Tzuke's songs are like looking up into a blue sky to see jetstreams criss-crossing. They're the past and the future. And it's clear she has influenced a plethora of singer/songwriters with her music. Sia springs to mind immediately.

Go buy Moon on the Mirrorball here. She's touring the UK in autumn and the gig in majestic Union Chapel in London promises to be vare special.

Ever so lonely without you...

...oops, just saw the last blog post was April 17th. Tsk tsk. Well, there's been loads happening while I've been away, making music and shiz. I meant to post this video ages ago, so here it is; better late than never. I love the deluxe minimalism of this track So Lonely by Chris Sorbello. The production on it is top notch, especially the way they give her vocals the necessary ice cool sheen.

Living in the plastic age

And so, for Independent Record Shop Day, here is my own first Top Ten. I happily trolled down to WH Smith for what were only 7" singles because, of course, an album didn't even figure in my pre-teen brain. I was always slightly disappointed when I didn't get the picture sleeve version and only realised years later that WH Smith was the one shop you were guaranteed to get the boring sleeve. I played these records on permanent rotation which is why they're etched into my brain.


1. New Musik - Living By Numbers Listen out for the Lorraine Chase-alike "They don't want your naaaaame" at 2.50.


2. The Buggles - Living in the Plastic Age


3. The Regents - 7Teen


4. Altered Images - I Could Be Happy


5. Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers


6. Blondie - Rapture Clicky here for the proper video.


7. Adam and the Ants - Antmusic

8. Adam and the Ants - Young Parisians Do you see the start of a trend here? And this was a re-issue on the back of Antmusic.


9. Adam and the Ants - Stand and Deliver


10. The Human League - Don't You Want Me And so began the longest love affair... This is my favourite clip of their telly appearences, Christmas Top of the Pops 1981. Watch out for the silly string nearly choking Joanne at 3.00.

Holestar's single, NyLon Woman OUT NOW!!!

WHOOP! WHOOP! It's here at last! NyLon Woman the debut single by London's favourite 'tranny with a fanny', Holestar, is OUT NOW! And I'm screaming about it because I wrote it. You can read all about my involvement here. With a punk ethos that would have made Malcolm McLaren proud, Holestar is out to prove a point; namely, that the DIY route is so much easier in this digital age. For one, it's cheaper to produce than ever before and secondly, the reach to music fans is worldwide in a heartbeat. The blog love on this has been inspiring. Go on, have a read!
FIZZYPOP
POP TRASH ADDICTS
MANHATTANCHESTER
SILENCE IS A RHYTHM TOO
XO'S MIDDLE EIGHT
2,000 FEET
I AM SOHO
FREAK CHIC
To download the single now GO TO: iTunes UK and change your store if you're outside of the UK or to Amazon. It's even on Napster! What you waiting for? COME TO MAMA!

If you want a FREEBIE MIX by me, clicky here!

Punx are punk

Thanks to a friend of mine whose finger is always on the throbbing pulse of gaydom, here's Hunx and His Punx. Below is their brand new single, You Don't Like Rock 'n' Roll which they're touring the UK promoting as I write. This San Franciscan has a great sound: like The Ramones teaching Martha Reeves and the Vandellas how to fist each other... It's fuzzy rock 'n' roll with a delicious queer taste. I can imagine John Waters watching the vids and chuckling, "That's my boy".



The whole ethos of being able to make any kind of music with any kind of lyric and get it out there, like Hunx and His Punx, is a fitting testament to Malcolm McLaren who died yesterday. These Punx live up to their name admirably.

Below is my favourite track (and video) of his (theirs?) called Cruising. The leather clone outfits are more fashion than sexy, but that's the point, methinks.

Happy Easter!

Look at these love eggs the Easter Bunny left behind.

Baby Can't Stop by Lindstrøm & Christabelle
This gorgeous bumping track by the Norwegian duo has been somewhat overlooked since its release at the end of last year. But not in this house. Clicky here for a FREE mix by the magnificent Aeroplane, second only to Fred Falke in the remix stakes.


Columns by Silver Columns
Another duo, this time from Scotland, were a mystery last year, releasing a series of 12-inch vinyl singles with no information attached. Chelsea Kelsey of Readers Wifes got me onto this one a couple of months ago saying how he couldn't stop playing it. And I know what he means. The news about Silver Columns is that an album is imminent. HiNRJ versions of Madonna tracks? Sounds too good to be true. I'll believe it when I hear it.

Can You Feel It?! by Slight Delay
Gawd, a bit of house piano and I'm anyone's. This track has been around since last summer and because of its summery vibe, I've been using it to chase away those winter blues.

Acapella by Kelis
Praise be, she's back. Gone is the faux hip-hop sex kitten. The creative diva has ragged that weave off and is pounding a Grace Jones drum. I really hope she strikes a chord with this one because we deserve a global star like Kelis v3.0. Now we can tell Rihanna to fuck off.

History by Groove Armada
Out of a patchy Groove Armada album (and that pains me to say it) comes this absolute gem. I can't write enough superlatives about this Will Young collaboration other than it's right up my back passage. Will sounds like a drug-addled club singer on History and if he's clever, he'll build on this sound for his next album. It suits him.

Live the Life You've Imagined by Jon Pleased Wimmen
Last month saw me screaming about Jon Pleased Wimmen's band Voyagers, but this track, on his MySpace was the one that grabbed my attention first. You know how much I foam at the gash for synth pop, well, here's why! It's accomplished and I want more.

Momma's Place (Microfilm Remix) by Microfilm
Roisin Murphy's stomping single gets that rarest of remixes: one which (shh) betters the original! Hit repeat and it's a gift that keeps on giving from the PSB slashing synth to the mournful strings at the end. There's also a very clever and sophisticated drum track which pops up about 1.49 - where numb nuts here left a comment. Sublime. It makes me want to hear all of their remixes now. And if you click on the dark arrow to the right, you can download for FREE!

One hit in the 80s and that's yer lot

Which is a shame, because this lot had another few in them. First up is:

Scarlet Fantastic - No Memory
No. 24 October 1987
Borne from the trio Swans Way (their biggest hit was Soul Train) Maggie De Monde and Rick P. Jones were the classic 80s duo: charismatic singer with moody musician. The video below cut old footage of London with the updated 1987 version; a much better concept than the "We're so wild we're caged up in this (pretend) jail".




Desireless - Voyage Voyage
No. 5 May 1988
A synth classic complete with an iconic-looking singer. So why didn't Desireless catch on? The flop follow-up John was OK, but not great. But really, there's only so many French language songs the UK charts can handle.




Housemaster Boyz - House Nation
No. 8 Sep 1987
After Steve 'Silk' Hurley's Jack Your Body hit number 1 at the beginning of the year, 1987, house music dominated the charts. The videos were annoying and some of the arrangements don't hold up to scrutiny in 2010, but this one does well on both counts. I loved this track. The video does away with the crappy twenties flappers footage. I remember it being as dark as the track itself. It's the kind of record you'd find dancing to itself in the shadowy recesses of a club by the ciggie machine totally oblivious to anyone else.




Big Sound Authority - This House (Is Where Your Love Stands)
No. 21 Jan 1985
Formed with the guiding hand of Paul Weller, who matched girl singer with band, Big Sound Authority had this one great hit. If only they'd kept going, they could have been the blueprint for rousing bands and kept the likes of Deacon Blue away.




The Passions - I'm In Love With a German Film Star
No. 25 Jan 1981
In my 11 year old head, I used to get The Passions mixed up with Altered Images because the singers looked so similar. Little did I know I wasn't far off. One singer is Gogan and the other is Grogan. Oh, and watch this to forget about the Sam Taylor-Wood version...

Parralox: isn't it strangely fabulosa?

Fresh from the second Parralox album State of Decay comes this thundering slab of gorgeousness. Go here to sample track after track of synth pop heaven. It seems like ages since Isn't It Strange was slated for a single release and with 15 other tracks on the EP version, no bloody wonder it's taken a while. This band add value!

This version, above in the video, is a perfect example of how Parralox have matured since their debut, Electricity, two years ago. With a neat little nod of respect to Serious Japanese by Melon and People are People by Depeche Mode, a theme which runs throughout the album, the band have carved a slice of classic synth pop. And what's more, there is a song at the heart of it. And do I detect the drum backing from Win's You've Got the Power there?

It's nice to see John taking his turn on vocals at the end, bless him, but on Isn't It Strange and across the whole of the State of Decay album, Amii deserves credit for her bravura performance. It's a pop voice with an edge; like Confessions Madonna with perfect Virgin Madonna harmonies. I must admit, the lead-off single Hotter, didn't light my world but in the context of the album it makes perfect sense. The magpie element running throughout State of Decay is clever. Sounds borrowed from the likes of Human League, Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Shannon on Hotter give the sense that the tracks are already classics in their own right. But then with an opening track like Beautiful World: pop verses, solid chorus and deluxe sounds, the album has a lot to live up to and it does, which is why, like Electricity, State of Decay actually sounds like a Greatest Hits collection; every track could be a single. Check out my absolute favourite When the Walls Come Tumbling Down below...

Parralox - When The Walls Came Tumbling Down by phileastend

And my own remix of an older Parralox track Sharper Than a Knife is available here as a FREE download. Go on, have it! Bona!

Parralox - STAK (phileastend RMX) by phileastend

The Hole story

Once upon a time, a blogger, not too far from here, met a sparkling, luscious tranny full of joie de vivre. Little did he know, the tranny had a secret. It was a secret she'd kept to herself mostly but would bring out on special occasions. It was something she was unsure of herself but other people would marvel at. Undaunted, the blogger made her get it out and helped her see that it was indeed something amazing she should share with the world.

What was the secret? It wasn't anything she had under her wig. It wasn't even what she had under her frock (no cock, she's a woman playing a man, playing a woman, darling). It was the fact that she had a voice! A legit, belting voice capable of great things.

Well, the blogger is moi, and said tranny is the gorgeous Holestar pictured above. And actually, there are three of us embarking on this brilliant adventure. The first fruits of which is the single NyLon Woman which is out worldwide on iTunes, Amazon and Napster on 12th April. And do you know what's brilliant about all of this? We're doing it all with no money, no third party backing and no risk. All we have are ideas and the willing to make something out of nothing.

NyLon Woman (Radio Edit)  by  Holestar

As for the video though, Holestar wanted a five day shoot, a multitude of costumes and a cast of thousands. Hmmm. Chatroulette it is then! If you've no budget, keep it clever, quirky and original...



And every artist has to have a live video. Here's Holestar performing NyLon Woman at Gay Bingo's 5th Birthday in London. Pure class, especially the dancing penis.

But of course, even if you're creating something out of nothing, ultimately, people want something for nothing, so here we have it! Click on the link below for a FREE DOWNLOAD of this brand new remix. Bona!

NyLon Woman (Phileastend Mix) - Holestar


The beautiful images © Adrian Lourie 2010

Lose that Monday morning feeling...

...by just playing this. Honestly it can be done. This gorgeous piano-driven slow house track is perfect for pretending it's the weekend already and that it's actually June, not March. This track, Holiday, by Swedish duo Montauk is out late March. Spring's been and gone. Summer's here!

Get the Ali Love

Well this new Ali Love track is so low on the downlow it's practically invisible, which is a shame, because it's his strongest yet - a brooding groove with a KILLER chorus. There are shades of early 90s dance with the synth sequence from Candi Staton's classic You Got the Love popping up. Thanks to catblack9 for the heads up on this one. The single is out now. Clicky here for iTunes.

Ali needs to get the radio love back again or his last single Diminishing Returns will be a prophecy rather than a track that was criminally ignored. Without radio airplay, the crowded world of solo artists means he could be buried under a thousand Erik Hassles. He needs to do something inventive visually. The Chicane video below is a case in point. As classy as his videos are, they're a bit murky and forgettable. But what do I know. Judge for yourself with the video below...

Woop! Woop! Great new band alert! Voyagers!

Well, actually, in many ways, Voyagers are a new/old band. New in as much as the duo was formed in 2009 but there is a mammoth musical pedigree in tow. Susanna Klayman and Jon Pleased are on "a mission to create the perfect pop song" and judging from the tracks so far, they're well on their way. Try this stomper, Guiltless. The chorus is KILLER.

Voyagers - 'Guiltless' by Jon Pleased

Jon Pleased is a fixture on the UK club scene, in fact, I remember him popping up as a pioneering DJ, dragged up, power wig 'n' all as Jon of the Pleased Wimmin in the early 90s. He was such a refreshing change to all the Super DJs with his own brand of uplifting house and techno. Eventually, of course, Jon Pleased Wimmin became a big draw himself playing alongside the likes of Sasha all over the world and earning two top 30 hits with Passion and Give Me Strength. His night in Edinburgh, Dare!, an homage to The Human League of course began this year and was graced with the presence of the legendary Jo Callis from the band itself. And in some ways, the Voyager tracks have a similar feel to ver League. Listen to Here Again.

Voyagers - 'Here Again' by Jon Pleased

But Oh Yeah is my favourite Voyagers track and in their words it's "a straight up 'old-school' style house track". It progresses like a dance track, chunks added layer upon layer until it drops and comes back with one last flourish. Loves it.

Voyagers - Oh Yeah by Jon Pleased

Check out Voyagers facebook page here. And MySpace here.

"Did you write the Book of Love?"

I KNOW! I KNOW! I haven't been around here much. Been vare busy cooking up another project, more on which vare soon. Anyhoo. I overlooked Paul Young's No Parlez album when it first came out but the Come Back and Stay single was always a favourite.

Chicane have produced a meh dance version, Well, it's a bit lazy to be honest, but, THE VIDEO! Watch it. It's the most inventive, creative and engaging vid I've seen in YEARS.

Can't wait for the Boy

How perfectly queer and AMAZING. The TV production company behind the seminal Queer As Folk, Red, are to begin shooting a 90 minute drama about Boy George! Called Worried About the Boy, it will begin with his leaving suburbia through to global pop stardom. And what's in between will be Malcom McLaren, Marilyn, Steve Strange, Philip Sallon, The Blitz and of course Culture Club. I think I've just fainted.

What's even more interesting is the casting. Burberry's poster boy, newcomer Douglas Booth, will portray George (which will please the Boy himself, no end), Gavin & Stacey's Mathew Horne will play drummer Jon Moss, Hustle's Marc Warren will play Steve Strange and - this is VARE interesting casting - League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss will be Malcolm McLaren. Like I said. Can't wait!

Read here at the Guardian for the full lowdown. The BBC press release can be found here.

"Geordie Neil is top of the pops!"

Don't they look YOUNG! Well, it was 24 years ago. Here's a clipping from the Newcastle Evening Chronicle from January 1986 heralding the Pet Shop Boys first number one, West End Girls. Clicky piccy to make it biggy. The band thought the record had finished its climb up the charts: "We all thought it had peaked when it got to No.4 at Christmas, so this is wonderful news". The Geordie connection meant Neil would always feature in the Chronicle thereafter and because he went to the same school as Sting (and me!) his name would forever be connected with The Police front man.

"Lorraine! There's somebody at the door!"

Picture the scene: you're in the kitchen, horsing down a packet of Pringles, crumbs on your stained dressing gown, hair all over the shop and scratching your bum when, "Ding, dong". You go to the door of your Twickenham home and there outside, with cameras and entourage are the Pet Shop Boys. Fluff me!

Lucky Lorraine Sands got the boys in her sitting room reproducing a condensed version of the Pandemonium tour; a miniscule of sound, so to speak. She said: "I've been a massive Pet Shop Boys fan for over 20 years and to have them play a gig right in my front room, for just me and my closest friends, was too good to be true. It was the best day ever."

They played Suburbia, All Over the World, It's a Sin and West End Girls.

Big in Japan

Now here's a turn up: something different. There's rapping in Japanese, the return of New Jack (sorta), the return of 90s rave (sorta) but more importantly, I loves it. The Dexpistols duo have broken through from the Japanese underground to the worldwide underground, performing DJ sets and supporting dance giants Daft Punk around the world. Watch the perfectly styled vid below and keep your ears peeled. Oh. And the 90s are officially back. Selfridges have deemed it so.

DEXPISTOLS / NEW JACK HOUSE feat. JON-E（RADIO EDIT) from TOTOTOKYO23 on Vimeo.

PSB: construction time again

Alongside a load of burly Welsh miners, Neil and Chris performed their massive hit Go West at The Brits in 1994. And they could be winners again. Just clicky here to vote for their show-stopping appearance. Seriously, though, who would vote for The Who?

Personally, I always loved this Banarama performance of Love in the First Degree. Can't think why.

You're only one beat away...

Now, Cicada... Have you not heard/bought their 2009 album Roulette yet? Oh, just do it now and be cheered by the fact a band can still produce a collection of beef and no filler. I was flipped like an Angus steak quarter-pounder hearing Roulette for the first time. And today, they release One Beat Away with the obligatory stack of remixes. The luxurious original is below...

ONE BEAT AWAY (Original Mix) by Cicada