3 posts tagged “bollox”

Hello faithful readers,

Time once again to dust off your party socks and champagne glasses because its New Year once again! Yipee! (Although as I type this those of you in Auss - Matthew, I'm thinking of you! - have already had your fill, whereas lovely Europe and the Americas are yet to put on their glad rags. Oh what a miracle our turning globe is!)

I had a lovely Christmas, thanks for asking, and I was delighted to receive so many lovely messages (on facebook) wishing me a merry crimbo. And boo hiss to all you buggers who hate Xmas, I thought it was fab. Who can argue with the presents/food/good telly combo? Not me. Once again I thrilled at the DrWho Christmas special, enjoyed another disaster at the Queen Vic, and laughed a great deal at The Royale Family and Alan Carr doing standup. FAB!

I was presented with a lovely present from my friends Lee and Julia this year - it was a digi-box. Yes, faithful reader, I have been without digital TV so far and have not yet discovered the delights of multi-channel viewing. I'm still on VHS, 5 channels, and have an "if you miss it, you've missed it forever" mentality. Well, I have spent the last few days enjoying the delights of such entertainments as BBC3 and Channel Four +1. And my god, so much choice. So long as you like "Friends".

I'm quite taken with UK History TV though. I now know all about Cortes and the Aztecs, and Blackbeard the Pirate. Coolio.

Anyway, in between all this telly watching, some drinking and dancing has also featured, so here for your viewing pleasure, is pictoral evidence of a recent night out at Legends, at a clubnight known as "Bollox".

Here are the culprits - Mark (Sax and Piano with TMC), Lucy (Bassoon on "Goodnight"), her boyf Mikey, and me:

We were also out with Dario but he was in the toilet throwing up. Bless! And here am I with a pint of cider, with an unknown gay in the background. I know I look fed up but I was having a good time. Its just my moody face I was putting on.

...and these are the frilly knickers that festoon the walls, which, once the aforementioned cider has been consumed, can be placed upon ones person for comedic effect!

Lovely!

All the best for 2009.

EP and album on the way - stay tuned.

best,
Ben

Hello Voxers,

To the left are some photos that were taken last Friday when This Morning Call took to the stage at an alternative indie clubnight in Manchester gay village called "Thriller Killer".

We were the headline band (the only band, in fact). Its one of those events that happen every so often and they invite a great band in to play alongside a guest DJ. The music policy was indie/alternative/electro/britpop and so on, the tag line "for gays who hate hard house".

The venue was a nighclub called Charlies, and under normal circumstances it does a fine line in asian karoke. On a brief visit too the venue mid week to look at the stage, we were regailed by ballads from the other side of the world that we had never heard before, sung by young 20-something asians on some birthday party or other. Its really strange when you come across music that you have no knowledge of whatsoever.

However, we all like strange, tucked away underground places and this was no exception. It was the perfect venue for Thriller Killer and the venue soon filled up to the point at which they were having to turn people away. I hope they all managed to get in eventually.

We went on stage at about midnight and there was a palpable sense of excitement in the room as the synths burst into life on new track "Tides" that we played first. We had a couple of new tunes to play which now means the set is almost universally uptempo and I think we've really managed to raise our game live. This was certainly the strongest show that we've put together so far and I'm really excited now about the prospect of playing down in London again on the 3rd April at The Troubadour.

Mr. Mark Ward was so over excitied about the night that he forgot to take his sax on stage with him, so when it was time to play "Whistle" we had to ask the audience to go on a sax hunt around the venue - what a joker he is!! God we are so rock and roll.

The night descended into mayhem and chaos, and Rob from Bollox DJ'd straight after we finished and everybody was still on a bit of a high. It didn't calm down until after 4am. What with Bollox, Thriller Killer, ourselves and one or two other bands, and of course, Homoelectric, there's a real "alternative" gay scene developing in the village now that we haven't seen before, and that I think is really exciting. Its being promoted very well by a few key individuals. It feels fresh, inclusive, vibrant and creative. Get involved.

Hello bloggers,

Following our lovely review from channel four last week (which I'm still smiling about...), I can exclusively reveal that we now have some gigs in the diary for 2008.

We tend to go for quality over quantity when it comes to gigs, so catch us while you can...

Up first, its "Thriller Killer" at Charlies nightclub on the 22nd Feb 2008:

They say:
"Its a clubnight for indie kids, gays and gay indie kids, and we are playing a full on, full band live and uptempo set with new tunes - think "homoelectric" but better."

I say:
"Its also rather like a clubnight in Manchester called "Bollox" - isn't Mcr gay village great!!!"

Secondly, we're doing an acoustic set at a night called "While Other Bands Park Vans" at Trof, Fallowfield, Manchester.

Yes, its the heart of the student community and its a lovely, sit down sort of event in one of the smallest rooms going. Expect acoustic guitars, pianos, and poetry. A completely different vibe.

More to follow, but I hope that's wet your whistle for now.

Oh, and by the way, did I mention this review from Channel Four, Its ace! http://www.channel4.com/blogs/page/music?entry=band_of_the_week_this

Ben