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des b Gangster

Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 324
Location: South Devon.
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Post subject: THE SIMMERTONES CD LAUNCH PARTY 21/7/11. |
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Last night I attended the triumphant launch of the brand new EP by the Westcountry's finest authentic ska band THE SIMMERTONES at The Rainbow in Torquay. The venue used to be a nite klub back in the day and was packed to the rafters with around 400/500 people. The first thing that struck me looking around was the age of the audience - from a load of people who weren't even born when 2tone was in its heyday and men in their 40's and 50's with their long suffering wives and girlfriends to those who are genuine eccentrics - like the fella dressed as a doctor version of Jake the peg (with his extra leg). The evening kicked off with Glyn (Simmertones' vocalist) spinning some 60's Jamaican classics as part of his Ska-au-go-go revue. Then an hour of Northern Soul tunes by DJ Eddie Piller (founder of the ACid Jazz record label). The Simmertones took the stage at 10pm and treated the audience to a breathtaking array of tunes all done in their inimitable style - they take tunes from the '60's Jamaican recording scene and add their own take on them - old favourites like "Watermelon Man", "54-46", "Wine and Grine", "A Message To You Rudy" etc become new favourite inna Simmertones stylee. The original tunes that form part of their set are dancefloor fillers too, tunes that appeared on their debut mini album "Presenting The Simmertones Volume One" (still available to download from all the usual outlets even though the CD has sold out), like "One Time Soon", "Warm Your Bones" and "Do What You Got To Do" are all greeted like old friends by the large and appreciative audience. Their ska'd up version of the Doctor Who theme always brings the house down and tonight is no exception - the floor starts to shake with all the stomping ! For the final part of the set STEVE CRADOCK of Ocean Colour Scene and The Paul Weller Band joins The Simmertones on stage and adds a totally new dimension and depth to their sound - they perform all four tracks on their brand new CD EP, which Steve guests with the band on, and the audience takes it up another gear in their appreciation. Finishing with a rousing Prince Buster-esque version of "Enjoy Yourself" where the crowd drowned out the band in their sing-a-long (no mean feat when the sound was as loud as it was - my ears are still ringing !). There were quite a few people recording and taking pics of this event so hopefully some footage will be available on sites like youtube, which will help spread the word not only in the ska scene but in the wider music scene that these guys are an excellent live band and fully deserve to be reckoned alongside the very best in any musical genre. Thanks for a great night lads, I got the CD EP on my way out of the venue and would highly recommend this to anyone - "Everything's Coming Up Ska" is the name and it includes two crackin' new tunes "Bring Your Love To Me" and "A Little Time" alongside stompin' versions of Desmond Dekker's "King of Ska" and The Valentines anti-gun crime tune "Blam Blam Fever". These guys deserve a wider audience, they sound as tight as a gnat's chaff ! Today Devon... tomorrow the world. _________________ If you're going through hell, keep going. |
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Posted:
Fri Jul 22, 2011 10:02 am |
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Rankin Robbo Too Hot

Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 3155
Location: Royal Leamington Spa
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What a review! Fantastic Des! Thanks for sharing.  _________________ !!! |
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Posted:
Fri Jul 22, 2011 12:03 pm |
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des b Gangster

Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 324
Location: South Devon.
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Cheers Robbo ! I think I met you briefly up at Skasplash in Skegness - I was one of the 3 knackered guys who'd just driven up from Devon, moaning about the fact that the venue closed for half hour in the afternoon and when it re-opened the pints had gone up a quid... bastards  _________________ If you're going through hell, keep going. |
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Posted:
Fri Jul 22, 2011 3:15 pm |
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rich Gangster

Joined: 05 Oct 2004 Posts: 352
Location: Devon
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Oops double post _________________ not in a ska band anymore although we do play ska. And punk. And folk, reggae, indie, rock, dub. All of it.
http://www.facebook.com/thehumanitarians
Last edited by rich on Fri Jul 22, 2011 3:26 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Posted:
Fri Jul 22, 2011 3:23 pm |
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rich Gangster

Joined: 05 Oct 2004 Posts: 352
Location: Devon
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Hi Des, thanks for the write-up. Sorry we didn't get longer to chat last night, it got a bit busy. We'll have to catch up over beers _________________ not in a ska band anymore although we do play ska. And punk. And folk, reggae, indie, rock, dub. All of it.
http://www.facebook.com/thehumanitarians |
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Posted:
Fri Jul 22, 2011 3:25 pm |
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des b Gangster

Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 324
Location: South Devon.
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Sounds good Rich, see ya soon  _________________ If you're going through hell, keep going. |
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Posted:
Fri Jul 22, 2011 3:44 pm |
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des b Gangster

Joined: 07 Apr 2008 Posts: 324
Location: South Devon.
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Can't stop playing the new EP. Highly recommended. Sounds awesome very loud  _________________ If you're going through hell, keep going. |
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Posted:
Sun Jul 24, 2011 3:12 pm |
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darkcity1965 Ska Face


Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 131
Location: Lydney, Glos
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Posted:
Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:27 pm |
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Rankin Robbo Too Hot

Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 3155
Location: Royal Leamington Spa
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Des, i'll dig out some of those old ska splash pics
Quite some footage you got there Dark city. It will keep me busy for a while tomorrow  _________________ !!! |
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Posted:
Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:10 pm |
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Del Boy Bass Ska Face

Joined: 25 Aug 2002 Posts: 61
Location: South West, UK
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Cracking night! Cheers for the review Des...Great vids Pete! 450+ punters loving it...nearly as much as the band! |
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Posted:
Thu Jul 28, 2011 12:05 am |
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Rankin Robbo Too Hot

Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 3155
Location: Royal Leamington Spa
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Very disappointed with the good people of Torquay - No stage invasion!  _________________ !!! |
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Posted:
Sat Jul 30, 2011 2:58 am |
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rich Gangster

Joined: 05 Oct 2004 Posts: 352
Location: Devon
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to be fair there wasn't much room on stage for them to invade  _________________ not in a ska band anymore although we do play ska. And punk. And folk, reggae, indie, rock, dub. All of it.
http://www.facebook.com/thehumanitarians |
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Posted:
Mon Aug 01, 2011 11:54 am |
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