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Singular?

Obscure!

Singular? Obscure!

107% percent of things are overlooked, as we are reliably informed by Florida Man. Now here are two more things to not be aware of.

Ooh la la!

Martin Gordon spoke to Vive le Rock on the 50th anniversary of Kimono My House. Is that a kimono up your house, dear, or are you just pleased to see me?

Mudbath! Steamy but muddy!

If you don’t vote for him, he will come round and sit on you. Here’s how and why.

Kimono My House 50th anniversary

They said it was your birthday:

Was there anything worn beneath the kimono? Given that the ‘Kimono My House‘ album is 50 years old in May 2024, Jason Barnard spoke to Martin Gordon for the Strange Brew podcast. A recently re-discovered diary throws new light on the recordings. Check here for details of the track-by-track excursion.

No Sweat:

He doesn’t sweat, you see. It’s his blood or something. I dunno, I would have thought that crown-wearing business would be enough to make anybody slightly damp, but apparently not.

Who is Martin Gordon?

Bassist, composer, producer, incredulous bystander, wilful participant, personal friend of James Bond. Thrown out of Sparks, rejected by Jet, discarded by Radio Stars, spurned by the Rolling Stones, sneered at by Primal Scream, belittled by Kylie Minogue, ignored by Blur and accused of being a fashion victim by Boy George, his career has been a complete failure. Apart from playing with the Ensemble Modern and all those solo albums, that is. What the crickets say:

‘A string of clever-bordering-on-brilliant solo offerings from a chronically under-appreciated artist’ – Guardian

‘In amongst the crunchy snap and crackle there is copious and consistent evidence of real harmonic ingenuity and, always the bracing intelligence of Gordon’s lyrics’ – Shindig

‘Gordon develops a quirky scenario with articulate wit and extravagant arrangements that, for all their intricacy come replete with smart pop verve’ – Mojo‘

‘Within Gordon’s brilliantly mordant and emotionally charged take on the Fab Four’s “I Feel Fine” lies one of the finest Beatles covers ever. That his writing stands up so well alongside (Lennon/McCartney) marks Martin Gordon as one of Britain’s most accomplished songwriters’ – Rolling Stone

Or maybe you’d care to stop by the alternative biog? Or there’s the discography, with all those groups, the music, the video and the vegetables.

Solo releases

Martin Gordon’s solo career began with the release of the first part of the Mammal Trilogy (‘The Baboon in the Basement’) in 2003. Since then, he has not looked back, although he will not say why. The sixth and final part of the trilogy (‘Include Me Out’) was released in 2013. Some people say it was released on April Fool’s Day, but that’s what some people would say, isn’t it? Since then, Gordon has descended into a twilight world of social commentary and loonies, fuelled only by rage and Beaujolais.

Here’s an album overview and a view of the simultaneously-published lyric book which covers Gordon’s entire career to date. The conclusion of the Mammal Era was followed by an album of Gilbert & Sullivan tunes and diatribes on Brexit, Donald Trump and COVID. In March 2018, the first instalment of the Post-Mammal Era emerged blinking into the fishy sunlight in the shape of ‘Thanks For All the Fish‘. The second instalment ‘OMG‘ followed in early 2020, and the third in June 2021 in the shape of ‘Another Words‘. An expanded version of ‘Another Words – the Phonecall‘ was released in January 2022, augmented by the dulcet tones of #45. ‘Greatest Shits‘, a compelling account of the exploits of the world’s favourite numbskulls and despots, was released in 2023. The career-spanning overviews ‘Singular Obscurities’ and ‘Obscure Singularities’ were released in 2024.

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Be seeing you!