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The King Blues
The King Blues
The King Blues Origin Genre(s) London, England Punk Folk Reggae Ska 2004–present Field Recordings Island Records Suicide Bid Ramraid The Offy Sonic Boom Six http://www.kingblues.net
Years active Label(s) Associated acts
Website Members Itch Jamie Jazz Fruitbag Johnny Rich Jim Parmley Gumby Sean ’Loy’ Bartlett Former members
Robin Guy (Temporary Drummer for Reading & Leeds, 2006) Chris Goodman (Bass on Under The Fog, Composer of ’Come Fi Di Youth’.)
sound was initially described as "soulful ska with raw folk and a punk rock attitude" [1] or "conscious rude boy ska"[2]. In 2004 they self released a demo EP entitled "All Fall Down" featuring 5 tracks recorded by Itch on guitar and vocals. The cover and CD body art was a stencil of a fuse bomb and the band’s logo, each one was hand sprayed. In June 2006 their debut album, Under The Fog, was released on Household Name Records which coincided with increased touring and gigs. In November of the same year, Mr Music Man was released as a CD single, also on Household Name. The single was enhanced with a video chronicling the band’s attempt to play more gigs in a 24-hour period than Status Quo’s record-breaking 4 gigs in one day. The King Blues managed seven[3]. Their single Mr Music Man was voted Best Punk Song of 2006 by Radio 1. In 2007 the band was signed to Field Recordings, a label co-owned by Rollo Armstrong and backed by Island Records. Under The Fog was re-issued in March 2008, and was preceded by two singles, Come Fi Di Youth and a new version of Mr. Music Man.
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The King Blues are a Punk and Reggae band from London, England. They blend a wide range of styles of music from acoustic to ska. Influences include King Prawn and The Clash.
History
The King Blues started off as a two man ska outfit, consisting of Itch playing ukulele/ Vocals and Jamie Jazz playing acoustic guitar and contributing vocals. Current Member Jamie Jazz use to work in a music/guitar shop called Rock Around The Clock up in north London in Crouch End/Muswell Hill, however Jamie realised that in order to put The King Blues at the top, he had to leave his job. Whilst this was going on they then expanded to include a second acoustic guitar and a bassist, before again expanding to include two full-time percussion members. Their
In May 2008 the band released a single from their forthcoming second album Save The World. Get The Girl called Let’s Hang the Landlord to all those signed up to their email list[5] . The song takes them in a slightly different direction, opening with a violin. The lyric is both autobiographical and true, detailing Itch’s life as a teenage punk [6]. The track was also released on a split 7" single, alongside Mayday, the debut UK single by Flobots. Their second album Save The World. Get The Girl was released on October 20 2008 in the UK. The album was produced by Peter Miles, who produced Under The Fog, and Clive Langer (producer of Elvis Costello, Madness, Dexy’s Mignight Runners, Morrissey, Teardrop Explodes, Bush and The Holloways). My Boulder was released as a single on October 13 2008 in the UK. Zane Lowe has played this track several times on BBC Radio
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1 and recommended it on air to Noel Gallagher[7]. My Boulder includes an excerpt from a reading of the poem The Pied Piper Of Hamlyn by Robert Browning. Another track from Save The World. Get The Girl to receive Radio 1 airplay is What If Punk Never Happened, which has been played by Rob da Bank [8], Mike Davies[9][10] and Zane Lowe[11]. Songs from the album, including "What if Punk Never Happened?" and "Let’s Hang The Landlord" also received air play from the Xfm Punk Show (X Punk) hosted by Pete Donaldson and Phil Clifton.[1] The band have also received considerable airplay in Australia courtesy of Triple R’s punk program Bullying The Jukebox. The band’s latest single "I’ve Got Love" from their 2008 album Save The World. Get The Girl will be released on May 4, 2009. It was played at many gigs and tours before being announced as a single. Its first air time was on BBC Radio 1.
The King Blues
In December 2008, The King Blues supported The Gaslight Anthem on their UK tour. The month previous the band supported Feeder at their last ever gig at the London Astoria, making it so far the biggest venue the band have played to date. On the 14th of January 2009 the band played again at the Astoria. This time for the venue’s last ever night before demolition. During February 2009 The King Blues played a number of gigs across the UK in association with The Big Issue, entry to these gigs was free with a copy of the magazine. This came about after an interview for the magazine, and due to Itch’s history [13] with The Big Issue. On the 5th and 6th of March 2009, The King Blues filled in for Anti-Flag as a support act for Rise Against on their UK tour dates in Oxford and London.[14] On 19th April 2009 The King Blues played at Give it a Name 2009 at Brixton Academy. This gig was attended by Passion Dzenga, Bailey Johnson, Tom Maher and Brookie. On 21st April 2009 The King Blues Headlined the ICA Awards in Inverness as part of a LE PARADE NOIR gig. Some new tracks were played including 5 Bottles of Shampoo; a verse spoken poem, and Fuck the Police, dedicated to Ian Tomlinson, who was attacked by the police at the G20 Summit. On the 10th of May 2009 The King Blues will appear on the In New Music We Trust stage at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Swindon.
[15]
Gigs
The King Blues opened the Lock-Up Stage in 2006 at Reading and Leeds Festivals and played the stage again, in progressively better slots, in both 2007 and 2008. In February 2007 the band played on the inaugural Ruff and Ready Tour alongside Sonic Boom Six, Failsafe and Mouthwash. In August 2007 the band played the Empress Ballroom stage at Rebellion festival at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, alongside The Filaments, Neville Staple and Leftöver Crack. The band also had a monthly residency at The Purple Turtle venue in Mornington Crescent, London, which started in May 2007 and ran for six months, featuring acts such as Natty, Sonic Boom Six and Frank Turner. On Wednesday 30 July 2008 they played their biggest headlining gig to date, selling out the 500 capacity venue Dingwalls in London. Their next London gig was bigger still, as they played the 800 capacity Carling Academy Islington which they headlined on October 22 2008. On December 18 2007 The King Blues played their biggest gig ever at Wembley Arena, supporting Hard-Fi, with Adem from the now defunct punk band Two Finger Salute on saxophone[12]. The band have also played support slots for the likes of Rancid, Capdown, Gogol Bordello, The Slackers, Bedouin Soundclash and Anti-Flag.
Politics
The King Blues have "a commitment to politics and resistance"[16]. Itch writes a column for Last Hours magazine which generally focuses on resistance politics and protest. Several songs on Under The Fog are overtly political, including Chimp In A 3 Piece Suit and Duck and Cover. The band’s website states that Save The World. Get The Girl will feature "a much more personalized take on social ills" than Under The Fog[16]. Nonetheless, overtly political lyrics do feature in two live favourites[17] that will appear on the new album. The title track includes the lyric "Going to war to prevent war is the most stupid thing I ever heard", while The Streets Are Ours includes references to Indymedia and Tiananmen Square. Smash EDO Dub, the B side to the re-release of Mr Music Man,
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Year 2006 2008 2008 Year 2007 2008 Year Single 2006 "Mr. Music Man" 2007 "Come Fi Di Youth" 2008 "Mr. Music Man" (Re-Issue) 2008 "Let’s Hang The Landlord"/"Mayday!!!" (split with Flobots) 2008 "My Boulder" #156 UK 2009 "Save The World, Get The Girl" #68 UK 2009 "I Got Love" #96 UK Album Under The Fog Under The Fog (Re-Issue) Save The World. Get The Girl Title Taking Over EP The Engine Room Acoustic Session Album Under The Fog Under The Fog Under The Fog Save The World. Get The Girl Save The World. Get The Girl Save The World. Get The Girl Save The World. Get The Girl Label Household Name
The King Blues
Field Recordings/Island Field Recordings/Island
Label Household Name Field/Island Field/Island Field/Island Field/Island Field/Island Field/Island
features an interview with a campaigner from the Smash Edo movement[18]. The links on The King Blues’ official website are almost exclusively political [19].
Band members
• • • • • • Jonny "Itch" Fox: vocals/ukulele/melodica Jamie Jazz: vocals/guitar Fruitbag: vocals/guitar Johnny Rich: vocals/bass Jim Parmley: percussion Alan Gumby: drums
Discography
Albums EPs Singles
References
[1] See Last Gang In Town [2] See the Boardmasters website
[3] See Household Name Records: Mr Music Man single. [4] See KingBlues.net: Main Page. [5] See the sign up area of their website [6] See the Philly Girl About Town blog [7] See the King Blues press blog [8] http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/robdabank/ tracklistingarchive.shtml?080825 [9] http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/mikedavies/ tracklistingarchive.shtml?20081118 [10] http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/mikedavies/ tracklistingarchive.shtml?20080812 [11] http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/zanelowe/ tracklistingarchive.shtml?20081208 [12] http://uk.youtube.com/ watch?v=Y2a9xM1RR6w [13] http://www.kingblues.net/ news.php?item=194 [14] http://blogs.myspace.com/ index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=2250267& [15] http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/ bigweekend/2009/lineup/ [16] ^ See the King Blues website [17] See the Reading Festival forum [18] See the Smash EDO website [19] See the links section of the King Blues website
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The King Blues
The King Blues Residency at MySpace press blog Facebook Bebo YouTube channel Q&A with Jonny "Itch" Fox on politics, girls and making it big in America • interview on music.virgin.com • • • • • •
External links
• Official Website • Review of The King Blues’ performance at Island Records’ 50th Birthday Party at the Camden Crawl 25/04/09 on the Daily Music Guide • The King Blues at MySpace
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_Blues" Categories: Underground punk scene in the United Kingdom, Ukulele musicians This page was last modified on 22 May 2009, at 01:58 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers
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