Blyth Power
Sweeping changes are the order of the day, here in the dour northern fastness that is the headquarters of Blyth International PLC. Those of you who regularly cruise the internet may have come across dark hints and rumours that the band has ceased to exist and that henceforth there will be no more carefree nights of carousel in our company. Here, to set the rather confused record straight, is what is happening. Joseph has indeed decided to dissolve the current line up, and for the time being will be performing as a solo artist. The last date with the band will be at The Duchess of York in Leeds on September 18th. All dates thereafter will feature Mr Joseph Porter and his ill-treated acoustic guitar, performing a selection of hitherto unreleased songs, along with a selection of older bits and pieces as and when there are enough people present who haven't heard them played by the band before. He says he will be open to suggestions and will play requests on receipt of bribes so long as they are only songs that involve the chords A,D and E, which pretty much covers the whole of the back catalogue. There are plans to put a full band together in the spring, but for the time being Mr Porter has decided that he needs a change of air and is determined to live out his Joe Strummer fantasies alone, claiming that it is now time to wreak a dreadful revenge on every guitarist he has ever known who thought they could play drums and tried to prove it. Under the banner 'What Folksongs Did Next', the mad despotic villain will be appearing all over the place with his latest collection of moral lectures, so those of you who wish to either berate him for his importunities, or simply to ask him what the Devil is going on, are advised to study the enclosed list of fixtures and come along and ask him in person. That's about as much as we are authorised to say for the moment.
That Duchess Show
Those of you wishing to pay your respects to the departing stalwarts are advised to come along to The Duchess of York in Leeds on September 18th, where the band will be playing an enormously long set, and churning out the old hits one last time. At least fifteen people have vowed that they are going to bootleg the event, and it should be a good night. Be sure to bring either a black armband or an orange vest along for the occasion. Doors open around eight, and the band will be starting early. The management would like to pour scorn upon the rumour going about that there is to be a 'blacklist' at the door, of undesirables. Blyth Power, as you well know, are a bunch of carefree earth-children who love everyone.
Golden Handshake
Those among you who have in the past booked the band for weddings, parties or other events, will no doubt be sorely grieved to hear that our be-suited and avaricious agent, Dee, is retiring from the music business for a while and has gone to seek his fortune in pastures new. Dee has been sending us hither and thither for the last few years, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank him for all the work he has put in on behalf of the company. Booking gigs is one of the most miserable experiences known to mankind, and we would like to further commend him for the fact that in all those years of toil and hardship he has never once sworn at us. Not only this, but he has put up with every manner of obstreperousness and stupidity from promoters and agents from Penzance to Inverness, without once losing his icy cool demeanour. Hurrah we say for this man. Now that he's off the hook, as it were, we would like to invite him to phone up all his least favourite contacts and tell them one last time where they can get off, but he's probably far too serene to stoop to such an act. See you around Dee.
Golden Showers
While we're on the subject, this month's 'Curl up and Die' award, for incompetence and downright stupidity, goes to whoever it was at the Free Butt in Brighton who fouled up the booking we had for July 31st last. Huge apologies to anyone who went along on the night. We hope that whoever was responsible is suitably ashamed and should they wish to re-book, then for an advanced guarantee of £300 cash we might consider it.
Booking Hall
If you do want to book Joseph for your offspring's tea party, or indeed if you have been promised a band for an event next year and are worried that you might be fobbed off with a folk-singer, then the man now responsible for booking anything and everything that goes forth under the banner of Blyth Power is a Mr Gary Hatcher, who can be contacted at the number overleaf. All the tentacles of the Blyth Enterprise are now gathered together in one fair northern town, so we hope that when we've sorted a few things out, we'll be able to function at peak efficiency. Do not hesitate to call - as far as Blyth Power PLC is concerned it's business as usual.
Mad dogs and Englishmen
On October 10th Mr Porter is supporting The Whisky Priests in Hamburg. They inform us that this gig is being recorded for live release and it promises to be a storming event. The venue is the Markthalle, which is where the band recorded the triumphant 'Bloody Well Live'. It's big, and it will be busy, so it's well worth making the effort, even if you only go to throw buns at Mr Porter. There are rumours of coaches going over for those who don't want to miss out, so if you're interested phone Gary & Glenn on 01904 410038 or 01904 423060.
Death and a Lady
Close scrutiny of the accompanying mail order form will reveal a couple of new items for your delectation. In order to promote the next few month's solo work, Mr Porter has recorded a CD of himself and his guitar, which features twelve new songs, only one of which has previously been played by the band. The chief purpose of this artefact is to send to bemused folk clubs and promoters, in an effort to introduce his songs to them in a manner to which they are more accustomed. There is a limited run of 250 which we're selling. It goes under the title 'When Death went to bed with a Lady', and for those of you familiar with his solo work, tracks include 'Rubenstein', 'Wintersfiend', 'The Ass in the Oak Tree', yet another song about that dratted horse, and a version of 'Cider Dreaming Time'. This fairly spiteful collection is accompanied by a T-shirt featuring a lewd drawing of Death and the lady in question. We hope to have both items before the Duchess gig, so order now, early for Christmas. Hurrah! We still have stocks of CDs and cassettes, but vinyl is running short, so now is the time to dissolve into a shopping frenzy. The PO Box address is still operative, so you know what to do.....
Ancient History
If you're really addicted to the ghosts of Blyth Power past, then Mr Nick Donovan is still making up CDs of a 1985 gig at the Demolition Ballroom in Bristol. What it lacks in polish, I'm sure it makes up for in ambience, and includes most of the songs from the 'Wicked Woman' era. If you're interested send a cheque for £6 payable to N. Donovan at: 23 Earls Port Southview Road Chester CH1 4JJ Nick has a secret source of old material, including a very interesting rendition of 'Jerusalem' which never made it out of the rehearsal studio. We shudder at the thought of what else he may have up his sleeve.....
Artwork Let Me See
Also in the pipeline is another lyric book with illustrations by top drawer Mr Steve Maden, which we're looking forward to immensely. Production may not be imminent, as Steve's drawings take time, but it will be well worth the wait, and will, we hope, make sense of some of the more obscure pieces of 'Death and a lady'. Even if it doesn't, then it will be jolly fine, so watch this space for further news.
Beg & Grovel
No Blyth Power mailout would be complete without the usual plea for stamps and stationary. We're very keen to keep in touch with everyone, but it is ruinously expensive, so do please make sure you let us know if you change address, and do keep sending the stamps, ink jet cartridges, filing cabinets etc. We'd like to try to keep our main efforts directed at being musicians, but the paperwork overwhelms us sometimes, so anything that lessens the workload is popular in the typing pool. If you write, then please make sure you quote the number that appears on the address label of your magical Blyth mailout envelope. We don't want to reduce you fine people to a series of numbers, but it makes the office boy's life easier and leaves him with more time to contemplate his stamp collection.
And Finally
I know this is all a bit strange, but bear with us. We have plans, and will unfold them in the fullness of time. We hope to have a link to the internet, a fax machine, a mobile phone and all our heart's desires eventually. Meanwhile thanks to everyone for their help and support, and we look forward to seeing you somewhere and somewhen. Feel free to write, as we're always happy to hear from people, and we don't toss letters in the bin if they don't have a cheque with them. If you can't make it to the Duchess on the 18th then check out the list overleaf and go and see Joseph somewhere. Until next time... Confusion to our enemies.
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