Oh the joys of new technology, and its ability to run rings round those human failings which have so frequently caused us in the past to gnash our teeth in rage. I am referring, of course, to the helpful and efficient staff at our usual copying establishment, whose depredations we are endeavouring to circumvent by printing out this edition at home on the new hyper-machine, to see if it's cheaper and less of a pain in that portion of the anatomy which were better left free of aggravation. Meaning, of course, the backside, which in Joseph's case at least needs gentle nurturing, as it has returned, for the first time in several months, to the rigours of an unyielding and antiquated drum stool. Yes, it is true. Blyth Power have reconvened.
Wicked People In The Area
As reported in the last exciting issue, we have co-opted Jessie Adams and Bambi from Eastfield to revisit the band's Wicked Women era. This has worked out so well that plans are currently afoot to extend the project, and it is looking more and more likely that songs like Viking Station and Mary's Mad Army will be creeping back into the set in the Autumn, along with other's old and new. The Ben Jonson in Birmingham was the first date with the chaps on board, and although the whole evening was blisteringly loud, The Dear Leader is reported as having wept tears of pure joy for the beauty of it all. When the opening bars of Bind Their Kings in Chains rolled over him, he claims, he knew that the way ahead was clear and that all his sins would one day be forgiven. Jessie Adams playing folk songs? We'll see…. Blyth are currently on tour with Eastfield, who are in the process of becoming so mighty that they will probably go the way of most of our support bands - become hugely successful and stop sending us Christmas cards. Although they are undoubtedly Gods and Goddesses of Hellfire, they don't play heavy metal, but rather a uniquely tuneful high speed punk rock which, combined with the intuitive sensitivity of the trainspotter born, can only be summed up by the awe-struck expression 'My Lords!' TDL looks forward to the day we wind up with Jessie and Wob on the same stage, because they will probably collide in mid-air, at an altitude of some eight feet, and crash to the floor in a welter of ruptured guitar strings and funny hair. Eastfield's strapping new CD, Keep it Spikey, and the 4-track EP, Come to Bevland, are available from INANE, P.O. Box 7804, Birmingham, B13 8AS. Prices are £5 and £1.50 respectively, and cheques should be made payable to A. Adams. Alternatively you can get them straight from us here, at Blyth HQ, for the same price.
Gladly Give to Joseph
We are at last taking delivery of the live CD of Chris and Protag's last gig at The Duchess in Leeds. Quaintly entitled Gladly Give to Caesar, it's a one-off pressing of 500 copies, and features 16 tracks, including four previously unreleased, and a version of Ixion in which the congregation gathered onstage and bellowed lustily. This release constitutes the next step in the Steeple Fund, and proceeds will go a long way, we hope, towards clearing off the mighty debts incurred by years of relentless unprofitable touring. A board of inquiry is currently investigating The Dear Leader's mismanagement of the band's affairs in recent years, but as he is chairing it himself results are unlikely to prove conclusive. The bottom line is that we bust a gut playing anywhere and everywhere, and it simply didn't pay for itself. CD sales, the profits from which should have gone into making new CDs, funded the epic jaunt, and when we ground to a halt last year we still hadn't paid off the money borrowed to make Paradise Razed. We are loathe to own to a precise figure, but the pre-TOPS number of 20135 springs to mind (spotter's jargon). Since the inauguration of the New Blyth regime, this has been reduced by around 50%. A new round of spending cuts and job losses (the aforementioned photocopiers, Wilton's of London, Pannell, Kerr & Forster etc.) has done much to precede the green shoots of recovery, and with your continued support, and the sale of the live CDs, we hope to get things back on track and some serious new recordings made as soon as possible.
What Folk Music is Still Doing Next
Joseph is still playing solo dates, and despite having a working band, intends to continue doing so forever. There are an awful lot of people out there who won't touch the band with a barge pole, so Whatfolk and Blyth Power will carry on in tandem. Don't forget to pay close scrutiny to the gig list, lest you turn up expecting lilting crooning and receive lusty roars instead. Better still, come to both. Solo dates to watch out for are Fibbers, in York, on May 2nd, with Attila, and The Leopard in Doncaster on May 7th, where TDL will be supporting Martin Carthy. More dates will be happening throughout Autumn and Winter, but Joseph is aiming for a quiet Summer in an effort to finish his epic historical novel which, at 220,000 words, is currently three quarters finished. Glastonbury will be solo only this year, so sorry to all those who were planning to come along for the annual wallow in the quagmire.
Stock Changes
New to stock are the long awaited mugs, which feature a splendid Steve Maden drawing of a power station, black on white with a green logo. Also new are the celebratory 2nd innings T-shirts, which are either black featuring a cricketer (from the Better to Bat sleeve), or white featuring the old Ixion Greek helmet design. We do have a few children's sized white ones, and we hope to be able to keep these in stock - maybe even smaller ones if enough people want them. Mouse mats are still on the agenda and, of course, the new live CD, which even now is in a delivery truck somewhere on its way North. We're almost out of live Pastor Skull CDs, there are half a dozen Alnwicks left on vinyl, and 4 Live in Harlow videos. We won't be re-pressing Live Skull or Alnwick, so book early to avoid disappointment.
Exciting New Developments in Communications and Media
Which is the correct Newspeak way of telling you all about the new mobile phone number, which you can see at the top of the previous page. We do recommend that you call us before travelling great distances, as many strange things can, and do, happen to Blyth gigs. Apologies, by the way, to those who turned up at Maidenhead. The promoter did the usual trick of retiring without bothering to tell anyone, and the new landlord was truculent when invited to honour his predecessor's commitments. We've seen it all before. Don't worry if you don't get through immediately - the phone will be switched off on public transport, and other places where phones should be neither seen nor heard. You can leave a message, and we'll get back to you. Where, you may ask, are the promised websites? As you know, the politburo here consists of extremely old men, who are by no means either sympathetic to, or capable of understanding, new technology. These things will be done as soon as the grain shortage eases up and the tractor factory is back on line. It's all part of the five year plan. In the meantime, Nigel's Blyth page has changed address, and can now be visited at http://www.thebar.currantbun.com/bp/blyth.html For those who have come to terms with the New Church, we are starting an e-mail alternative to the mailout. You can save us time and money by subscribing, and also receive news and updates as they happen. Please quote your old mailing-list number when joining, as we'll be taking you off the postal list. Doctor McBacchus has advised us to send it out as an HTML attachment, so all those poor benighted Mac users should be able to read it.
A Drain on the Kitty
The Chairman of the board - the board, in this case, being the bottom shelf of the computer desk - has been unwell, and we would like to thank all those who asked after his well-being at the recent gigs. Pigwort, as he is known, a black tomcat of considerable antiquity, is even now sleeping off the effects of a general anaesthetic having had four teeth removed and a cubic inch of pus drained from an abscess in his upper jaw. Being almost exactly as old as Blyth Power itself (even older in fact), the signs of ageing are not unexpected, but you may rest assured that like the rest of the living mummies on the ruling junta he will be kept going in perpetuity.
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