Radio Gonzo

I like the way that if you go to Twink's website www.tweinktwink.com you are greeted by the message: “Having played with Tomorrow, The Pretty Things and The Pink Fairies, John 'Twink' Alder requires no introduction to fans of underground rock.” But for those of you who are not aware of the career of this legendary man: John Charles Edward Alder (born 29 November 1944), better known as Twink, is an English drummer, singer and songwriter who was a central figure in the English psychedelic movement, and an actor. Recently, while still recording as Twink, Alder has converted to Islam and changed his name to Mohammed Abdullah. Alder was born in Colchester, Essex, England, into a musical family. His father's mother was a concert pianist and soloist. Alder has said he was always interested in music as a child. Alder's career began in 1963 as a member of a rhythm and blues band from Colchester called Dane Stephens and the Deep Beats. After a year, the band evolved into The Fairies – Dane Stephens (vocals/blues har

The other morning I had a lie in. I didn't mean to, but it was only a few days after the Weird Weekend, and I was still recovering. I slept most of Monday, but Tuesday and Wednesday I was supposed to be back to normal. However, it didn't actually work out like that. So it was about eleven in the morning when I staggered out of bed. I was negotiating my way through a plethora of cats when the telephone rang. I am never in the best of tempers first thing in the morning, and assumed that it was probably someone from a call centre somewhere in Uttar Pradesh trying to sell me something. So I picked it up grumpily, quite prepared to instruct the caller to commit a biologically impossible act of self-procreation, when the last person in the world that I was expecting spoke to me. "Hello Jon, it's Roger Dean," the voice said, and I immediately tripped over the orange cat. For Roger Dean has long been an artist whom I admire greatly. I was a devotee of his paintings on Yes album covers long before I actually heard

Brand X was another one of those bands who were beloved of other musicians, and the more discerning of critics, but which despite everything never had the commercial success that it deserved. They were a jazz fusion band active 1975–1980. Noted members included Phil Collins (drums), Percy Jones (bass), John Goodsall (guitar) and Robin Lumley (keyboards). Not long after jazz/rock fusion greats Brand X put out their 1980 album, "Do They Hurt?", the band members went their separate ways (until their comeback in 1992 which only featured Goodsall and Jones). Jones' utterly idiosyncratic bass playing defined the sound of Brand X as much as Phil Collins' drumming, and the band would not have been anywhere near as interesting without him. He also appeared on classic Brian Eno LPs as Another Green World and Before and After Science and with his own band Tunnels.. This week I telephoned him for a chat. Listen to our conversation here.

I will admit that I had never heard of Mike Taylor. But without knowing it I had heard his music. Michael Ronald Taylor (1 June 1938, Ealing, West London - 19 January 1969) was a British jazz composer, pianist and co-songwriter for the band Cream. Mike Taylor was brought up by his grandparents in London and Kent, and joined the RAF for his national service. Having rehearsed and written extensively throughout the early 1960s, he recorded two albums for the Lansdowne series produced by Denis Preston: Pendulum (1966) with drummer Jon Hiseman, bassist Tony Reeves and saxophonist Dave Tomlin) and Trio (1967) with Hiseman and bassists Jack Bruce and Ron Rubin. They were issued on UK Columbia. During his brief recording career, several of Taylor's pieces were played and recorded by his contemporaries. Three Taylor compositions were recorded by Cream, with lyrics by drummer Ginger Baker "Passing the Time", "Pressed Rat and Warthog" and "Those Were the Days", all of which appeared on the band's August 1968 album Wh

I don't think I had ever come across the phenomenon of mass grieving until the autumn of 1997. One Saturday in August of that year I had spent something like six hours together with Jan Scarff, a mate of mine, having our photographs taken. At the time I was seen as somewhat of an authority on the subject of UFOs. I wasn't of course, but had invented myself as such in order to earn enough money to pay for my exorbitantly expensive divorce, and also - I will admit with a mildly embarrassed blush - to meet cosmic minded chicks. I will confirm that both aims were successful. However, I digress as I so often do within my inky fingered scribblings. I was feeling particularly full of myself, because - for the first, and to date the only time - I had sold an article to the hallowed pages of The Times itself. We spent ages over this bloody photo session and were absolutely exhausted when we finished. As the photographer packed up his gear I joked. "how much do you want to bet that some member of the Royal Family ha

I have a lot of so-called friends on my Facebook page. Unfortunately I have no idea who the vast majority of them are, because I tend to use Facebook more as a marketing tool, either for this magazine or for the CFZ, but there are some people of whom I am genuinely fond. One of these is a record producer from Tennessee called Carl "Blue" Wise, who is the co-owner of Blueboy Records in Memphis. They have this to say about the company: "Carl "Blue" Wise and his son Jordan formed Blueboy Records to exploit all genres of great music including R&B, Soul, Rock and Roll, Americana, and Pop. Carl "Blue" Wise, having been in every facet of the music industry since the Stax glory days, had the good fortune of working with some of the all-time greats in the music industry; Willie Mitchell, Eddie Floyd, Sir Mack Rice, Rufus Thomas, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zant, The Bar-Kays, Joey Molland of Badfinger, an Apple Records artist, and many more. Having the production/songwriting skills and the artistic abilities, Car

Date Published: 25th July 2015 I am very fond of Jaki Windmill. I first met her in the spring of 2013 when my dear nephew Dave B-P and I drove to Brighton to interview the late Mick Farren, and ended up filming one of his last concerts. We spoke to the other members of The Deviants at some length, and on stage that evening I was particularly struck with the sensitivity and energy that one member in particular brought to what was otherwise a brutal monolith of sound. Jaki's vocals and percussion added a whole new dimension to the sound and she provided both a visual and emotional foil to Mick. On her website Jaki describes herself: "I am an astrologer, shamanic practitioner, actress, musician, teacher and writer. I have a son, (aged 36, works for BBC). I was brought up in St. Ives in Cornwall (and retain strong connections there) but now live in Brighton – a stimulating place! I have strong connections with Mexico – and the San Francisco Bay Area! I gained my Diploma from the Faculty of Astrological Studies

This was one of the more peculiar editorial commissions that I have been given. The Grande Fromage sent me an email asking me to interview a dude called Michael Rescigno. Only trouble was, he omitted to give me anything except for an email address for the man, and I have to admit that I had never heard of him. So I did what any good researcher worth his salt does in these decadent days and looked him up on Google. There are all sorts of men with his name, including an interesting fellow who has done research on the growth rates of meadow grass, and although I quite fancy talking to him, I cannot truly say that this is gonna be the sort of thing which will make headline news in a rock and roll weekly, no matter how eccentric. So I did what I should have done in the first place and emailed him, and soon found why I could not find any information about him. He has always played under the stage name of Michael Raz, and his Raz Band has been playing for a hell of a long time, and furthermore the current incarnat

What do you mean you've never heard of Paradise 9. They are awesome, and everyone should have heard of them. First a potted history: Paradise 9 are Gregg McKella on main vocals, guitar, glissando guitar, clarinet and space FX's, Neil Matthars on bass, Tyrone Thomas (Olympic Clamp Down/ex-Alternative TV) on lead guitar and backing vocals and Jonas Golland on drums and backing vocals. The band, have had a busy year, headlining many festivals including Kozfest, Tannerfest, and were second headliners at Green Gathering, and on the Toadhall stage at this year's Glastonbury Festival. The band welcomed Jonas as their new drummer in July, stepping straight into the headline slot at Tannerfest 2014. This followed the departure of drummer Carl Sampson after 9 years, with singer and percussionist Jaki Windmill also moving on after 4 years, concentrating on her new role with the Pink Fairies. Their live sets regularly feature guests' performances including Nik Turner (Space Ritual/Inner City Unit/Space Gypsy/Project

Galahad formed in 1985 just for fun playing roughly half covers (Genesis, Zeppelin, Rush, Sabbath, Focus, Marillion etc) and half original material. Galahad then supported a few fairly well known 'Progressive' bands that were coming up at the time including IQ, Pendragon, Haze and later Pallas and Magnum. Then, after mixing it with the slightly 'bigger boys' Galahad decided take it more seriously, and began playing only original material resulting in the release of their first proper album in 1991, 'Nothing Is Written', which was purely self-financed and released independently but which went on to sell several thousand copies. The success of 'Nothing Is Written' was also helped by the fact that the band received substantial air play on BBC Radio One, especially on the Radio One Rock Show hosted by the late, great Tommy Vance. The band then landed themselves with deals in the UK, Japan and Germany. The band has now released fifteen albums including albums by main band offshoots such as Galahad Electric Com

I have known Neil Nixon for a very long time, and it gave me great pleasure to welcome him into the Gonzo Family, first as a presenter of the Strange Fruit radio show, and then with his book 500 Albums you won't believe until you hear them. He thought up the idea for this book, though it was mainly a case of downloading the sort of things that have been going round in his head since he could first process a thought. You could regard the knowledge displayed inside as an impressive achievement or a cry for help. Either way, he's unlikely to change his behaviour now. When not writing books he juggles a range of jobs, one of which involves managing an undergraduate course in Professional Writing. A useful sideline of this course is the involvement with a community radio station – Miskin Radio – and the chance to present their alternative show, Strange Fruit, on which much of the music and many of the artists discussed in this book have been played. Last week I was doing my own inimitable thing that mainly inv

Date Published: 20th June 2015 It wasn't long after I started running the twin cultural behemoths of The Gonzo Daily and The Gonzo Weekly that Rob Ayling, the Gonzo Grande Fromage, and a friend if mine for the past twenty seven years suggested that we make Gonzo Web Radio a proper Internet Radio Station. We could get a British Government broadcasting license, he suggested and host radio shows which appeal to the sort of people who read the magazine and buy the records and books. What a bloody good idea, I said, always easily enthused by Rob's ideas, and I went off to make it happen. I had not been much of a radio buff since the end of the seventies, but I threw myself happily into the task of looking for shows that we would be able to syndicate. Most of the shows that I discovered were depressingly bad, but some most definitely were not. I cannot remember how or where I discovered Friday Night Progressive and its host M Destiny, but I was immediately impressed by the guy's attitude, and the way that the show

Date Published: 13th June 2015 Over the years I have had the signal honour of interviewing many famous men and women, but the pinnacle of my career came this week when I interviewed the living legend, that is John Shuttleworth. I received the following curriculum vitae from a shadowy figure in a dark raincoat who scared the living daylights out of me when he accosted me in Tesco and insiasted that I include it in this week's magazine. Who he was, or why and how he tracked me down to the fresh pasta counter I have no idea: Name: John Shuttleworth Address: Oo I can't tell you that. Alright then - Walkley, Sheffield. Occupation: Well, I used to be a security guard for a sweet factory in the Rotherham area, and before that I worked for Comet. Now I'm a versatile singer/songwriter. (I also do a bit of drama, and I'm available for instore promotions, theme nights, sheltered accommodation etc.) Parts Played: Wishee Washee in Aladdin at Dinnington Alhambra; Ethiopian Slave in South Yorkshire Amateur Operatic

Liz Lenten formed AUBURN in the summer of 1999. Their first gig was at the jam-packed launch party of Scarlet Records held at the salubrious and smoky Madame JoJo's in Soho to a completely packed and enthusiastic house. Their first EP, Sweet Sebastian, received extensive airplay and sold out of its limited pressing within 2 weeks. They then teamed up with producer Tim Pettit, (Travis, Sun House and Carlene Carter) and recorded For Life, which also got great radio support and the band toured the UK and played many live radio sessions. The debut Album DREAMS was released in 2003 and AUBURN toured with SOPHIE ELLIS BEXTOR in the UK and EUROPE, playing to 40,000 people. In 2005 CRY reached no 5 in the indie video charts after which they took a break and Liz concentrated on parenthood! Since then Liz has continued to work as a vocal coach, artist manager, record label, songwriter and choral director. She was 'SING UP' (governments' national singing campaign) lead facilitator/vocal advisor for Lincolnshire; h

Date Published: 9th May 2015 Clepsydra are a truly excellent Neo Prog band from Switzerland. Many aspects feature in their beautiful music, mainly the outstanding voice of Aluisio Magini, which fits perfectly on top of a well structured instrumentation. The style on "More Grains of Sand" is also very typical of the melodic rock produced by British bands since the '80s (ex: MARILLION, PENDRAGON, IQ). On their third album "Fears" CLEPSYDRA's main influence is still very much the Fish-era MARILLION. This is a fantastic and very powerful album with great vocals, a very tight sound with the bass and the dynamic drumming and some stunning guitar playing.# Clepsydra has been compared to such artists as Step Ahead and Deyss during their career. Combining aggressive symphonic passages with quieter keyboard sections, Clepsydra has never been noted for their originality, but has developed over the years to sound quite close to neo-prog legends Marillion. Clepsydra has their origins in the all-instrumental band Delta P

I first met Roy Weard in the late 1980s when he was the soundman for Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, and I was the bloke who ran the fan club, and did all sorts of other esoteric tasks. We lost touch, but a couple of years back when my nephew David and I drove to Brighton to film what turned out to be one of the final shows Mick Farren ever played, I was overjoyed to find him there, once again doing the sound. We rekindled our friendship and I was very pleased to be able to sign him to Gonzo Books for his autobiography about which he writes: After a life spent in and around music Roy Weard has finally written it all down. From his beginnings in the folk clubs of the early sixties, to playing the free festivals of the seventies with his own band 'Wooden Lion', to touring as a merchandiser with acts like Santana, The Pink Floyd and Genesis, to fronting cult London bands 'Dogwatch' and 'Roy Weard and Last Post', then touring again as a sound engineer and tour manager for many different bands and solo acts. A

Astronomusic are a duo from Brazil. I first heard them on Friday Night Progressive a couple of months ago, and was very soon captivated. This is what they say about themselves: “It may be said that the seeds of Astronomusic were planted when, in 1991, Adrianne Simioni (electric guitar and violin) and Zozimo Rech (electric and acoustic guitar) were introduced to each other. The occasion was the creation of Orquestra Profana, a group dedicated to the interpretation of classical music with “profane” instruments, i.e., electric guitars and synthesizers. In their talkings, the subjects of science (mainly astronomy) and arts (mostly music) would come again and again. It's not unusual to hear that the scientific point of view “sterilizes” or “unromanticizes” what it focuses. No matter how, it works and gives us access to wonderful advances in countless aspects of our welfare. Regarding this, suffice to acknowledge the evolution of an observation of a mere shining point at the sky by the naked eye (which also has

In 2011 the rock world was buzzing with proof that good and evil can in fact work together in the form of former Judas Priest vocal legend and Holy Rage heavy metal frontman Al Atkins and Christian guitarist and music artist Paul May. Together these extreme opposites combine creating a powerful new CD called 'Serpent's Kiss', now available on Gonzo Multimedia. The 10-track album is the product of two of the Midlands finest architects of rock and metal coming together to create something that is unique and totally exhilarating! There are enough doses of melody and metal madness to entice all fans of the genre, and while it is solid, honest, working-class heavy metal, it also has its roots in contemporary metal with some fine axe-work and killer choruses. The cover art for Serpent's Kiss is also unique as it was created by world-famous fantasy artist Rodney Matthews. Al Atkins: More noted for forming UK's Judas Priest and fronting them for four years, and laying down the foundations that would see them eventu

About six months ago we covered a story about theatre director Colin Watkeys imagining of the opera Fall of the House of Usher by Peter Hammill and Judge Smith. Perforce it was a cut down version, but we sent along none other than Judge Smith, who wrote: “Apparently, Peter Hammill has, on occasion, performed a suite of numbers from the opera. I have never seen this, but the Director, Colin Watkeys, and the performer, Jamie West have followed a similar concept in presenting a few individual solo songs from the opera, linked, in this case, with suitable quotations from the Poe short story. Jamie West is a tall, bearded young man, who plays good, clean guitar and equally precise keyboard. He also sings like an angel. Dressed in skinny jeans and a pork-pie hat, he delivered truly admirable versions of four tracks from the album, a selection of songs which more or less covered the bare bones of the story.” Now a more intricate version is being performed, still directed by Watkeys, and we were so impressed by

4th Eden is better known as Martin Eve who lives in North Devon. The name '4th Eden' is just a re-work of Martin's name. Martin has been writing music since the early 1980's and has been compared to artists such as Mike Oldfield, Depeche Mode, Moby, Ulrich Schnauss and Ultravox. He only started re-recording compositions back in 2009. To date he has written in excess of 100 tracks (of which some are available to hear on his Soundcloud page) with many collaborations. In 2012, his first CD was released called 'Infinity' through Global Journey. Currently he is a full time 'immature' student at Petroc College in Barnstaple studying a degree in Music Technology & Production. The new EP, 'Organik Reflektion' will be released on April 17th and 'Pictures On A Soundscape' will follow later this year. I caught up with Martin earlier in the week to chat about the complexities of the Organik Reflektion project.