1918-2018

2018 has been interesting. 100 years to the day since the first women voted (and stood as candidates) in a British general election a statue of Emmeline Pankhurst was unveiled in her home city Manchester. Only the second statue of a woman there and the first for 117 years and; as the other one is Queen Victoria and it took all 66years of her reign to get round to putting hers up it is quite an achievement for Emmeline to join her.

It was a great pleasure to be able to attend the unveiling and to join the march from The Pankhurst Trust - her former home and birth place of the WPSU - and greet her return to Manchester in person. There is still a long way to go for gender equality, it is not over. The Pankhurst Trust carry on into the 21st Century and do tremendous work supporting victims of domestic violence and gender equality. Which is why the single issued this year is in aid of The Pankhurst Trust. Buy it, stream it, play it, sing it, whatever, you will be supporting social progress. There were 20 possible women on the list - one of whom is novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, whose house has a The Speed Of Sound connection as we have played a gig there. It would be nice to get the other 19 statues up as well.

Sculptor - Hazel Reeves and Helen Pankhurst holding hands with her great-grandmother at the Emmeline Pankhurst statue unveiling ceremony 14 December 2018.

Bandcamp: https://thespeedofsound.bandcamp.com/album/im-real-i-dont-want-your-attentions

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4vAuRDLhOEVsTyGBpLVC2L 

Apple Music: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/i-dont-want-your-attentions-im-real-single/1434515014

European Gigs

Live in Sweden; solo acoustic live set in Open Mind Records Uppsala - where you can now buy our vinyl over the counter in store. Intimate and a really cool shop.

Set list: 20 Oct 2018
Love
Day In Day Out
Little Miss Restless
Girl On the Roof
Seen It All Before
Last Orders
Charlotte
Uhrwerk
Always Seems To Fall
Open Mind Records: S:t Larsgaten 8B 753 11 Uppsala Sweden
http://www.openmindrecords.se

and
Live in Germany; 26 Oct 18 solo acoustic live at the Irish Pub in Hilden - you can now buy our LP over the counter at Strangeville Records in nearby Wuppertal. A superb and large live music pub
Big thanks to Stephen Leech for hospitality and organisation skills and to Rolf Buschmann Trio for great support and a neat extended jam session afterwards.

Set List:
Last Orders
Seen It All Before
Only Everything
Charlotte
Day In Day Out
Impossible Past
Leaf Blower
Love
Little Miss Restless
Girl On The Roof
Opium Eyes
Uhrwerk
Always Seems To Fall
Blood Sweat And tears
Glide On By
The Wargame


Strangeville Records: Marien Strasse 35 42105 Wuppertal Germany
https://www.strangeville-records.de

Release Launch Party

And the single launch gig was a blast; in the community space at Levenshulme Old Library, with a pop-up bar provided by Inspire (and selling Emmeline cocktails). A wonderful acoustic set by Turner ahead of their single launch and John Broadhurst's first gig in The Speed Of Sound's drum chair... Thanks to all who turned out and made it a magical evening and helped raise some money for The Pankhurst Centre/Manchester Women's Aid. Single link here. Set List:

Tomorrow's World
Impossible Past
I'm Real
Last Orders
Smokescreen
Opium Eyes
Uhrwerk
Charlotte
Only Everything
Leaf Blower
Day In Day Out
Wired And Tired
Love
Shadow Factory
The Day The Earth Caught Fire
I Don't Want Your Attentions

Welcome to John B. Sixteen songs down in the first gig; a bit of catching up to do on some more of the back-catalogue and then we're of on the new songs journey again. Exciting.

We didn't want to use a traditional music venue fir the single launch something more community related was much more appropriate for a double-A-side single the could not have originated within the 'music industry' which is itself part of the problem with incessant objectification and repression of artistic creativity. Rise up. Rebel. DIY music is always where the interesting music lives.

Giant thanks to Turner for playing a fabulous set before us including their first single as a band 'Don't You Ever Stop' and a selection from their forthcoming album. Art is not a competition, it is about inspiring each other.
Turner's single is here

New single

And here it is: with a timely review from Louder Than War:

Manchester’s The Speed of Sound have been crafting their genre-melting underground alternative sound (New Wave post-punk blood powered by the heartbeat of 60’s influences) for nearly thirty years now, a time-frame which may have seen progression for women but, as they themselves seek to address with this latest release, we have a long way to go. Their new double A-side single “I’m Real/I Don’t Want Your Attention,” has been created to mark the 100^th anniversary of suffrage for women, whilst addressing the issues facing women in the modern world. Recorded at the VoltaLab in Rochdale (previously The Cargo, a legendary

studio with an impressive post-punk history), the video was filmed in the parlour of Emmeline Pankhurst’s old home, now the Pankhurst Centre (all profits from this release also go to the Pankhurst Centre and Manchester Womens’ Aid, and have drawn heavy influence from sources like Charlotte Newson’s “Women Like You,” exhibition (pictured).) As ever, John Armstrong has also shown that he really knows how to craft an ear-grabbing melody with both of these songs. “I Don’t Want Your Attention,” sees vocalist Anne-Marie Crowley singing in a fashion both despondent and defiant about sexual harassment in the workplace, whereas “I’m Real” deals with the brutal subject of a possessive relationship. The language used as Crowley tries to articulate all the doll-like things that she isn’t reinforces the problems of the traditionally feminine whilst kicking against them. Both songs have a jangly indie feel which to a casual listener has a sense of optimism: the perfect hook to grab attention before pulling in the listener with the hard-hitting issues at hand. Speed of Sound clearly want us to reconsider the wider representations of women – in history, in social politics, in modern homes and workplaces, and yes, with the music industry – in a fashion that is accessible and far-reaching. Their

long-term DIY spirit is full of anti-conventions and the way industry women should be portrayed is another part of that. The objectification of women in popular music, they claim, is part of the problem. “I Don’t Want Your Attention” and “I’m Real,” are both excellent, melodic indie records. But it is the bold and defiant way that they tackle what the band see as a lack of social progression which means everyone really ought to sit up and take notice of what The Speed of Sound have to say.
The full piece is here (thanks Amy)
Go on, be inspired and get one

Line-up

It has 'been a bit intense' lately, very very busy, which means there is a lot happening. Thing One is: Huge thanks to Anthony 'Eddy' Edwards of Weimar for sitting in on drums since September 2017 and a big welcome to John Broadhurst who will be playing his first gig with The Speed Of Sound at the soon to be announced new single release gig.

Meanwhile - for those that like lists - here's the updated personnel listing since the first EP released in 1989:

Stay tuned for more updates!

Now the football is over...

Semi-final night was gig night, a strange feeling knowing the set start time was dependent on extra time or penalties... Fred's Ale House was hosting Levy Festival and mindful of the result we played a mellower set than it might have been. Thanks to Dave for doing a superb job with the sound and to Fred's and the Levy Festival organisers for inviting us and Nina Gerstenberger for playing a superb opening set and to everyone that wanted to make their evening longer. Late start, late finish, great gig - thanks everyone.

Three songs on their debut

Set List:

Last Orders
Uhrwerk
Leaf Blower
Day In Day Out
Smokescreen
Charlotte
Impossible Past
Love
Seen It All Before
Little Miss Restless
Always Seems To Fall
I'm Real
and
Femme Fatale

 

A first glimpse at the new single...

Test pressing arrived and approved, they sound great... so Production Is Go, and we will have a new 7inch double-A-side single. Yes, with a download option too.

Full colour label and picture sleeve in the production run; white labels are to test the metalwork for the pressings and these sound sweet; the Rickenbacker crunches and chimes, the Hofner violin bass does its punchy thing in the lower stave and the drums bang in a big way, with really immediate vocals. Excellent presence. Its got a live sound like we're actually in the room, ...which we were when we were listening to it. Music is a physical presence and that's why we make physical music, independently with our own label.

Single release date is still to be confirmed, depending on actual production time and there is a release party gig to be announced too.
All releases are exciting, but...
This one is a bit special for another reason too... more on that later...

with In Deed and Weimar in Aatma

Aatma on wednesday bounced nicely with a vigorous gig, thanks again to Eddy for sitting in on drums... and it's all eyes on the new stuff now; four new songs we haven't started on, two we've touched and another we had to leave aside but are coming back to... plus another twelve with titles waiting to be written... busy times ahead
Meanwhile
It's easter - be like the rebel bunny, be free.
 ( photo by NPME )

Set list:

Checkpoint Charlie
Girl On The Roof
Seen It All Before
Shut All the Clubs
Only Everything
Day In Day Out
Love
Opium Eyes
Glide On By
Uhrwerk

Teenage Cancer Trust Gig

Saturday involved a 25,000watt PA, a great venue, a crowd and a mammoth gig in Stoke on Trent as part of the annual 31day long March Of The Mods gigs for the Teenage Cancer Trust, and it also involved kicking balloons off stage so was exactly like Top Of The Pops.

Set List:
Checkpoint Charlie
I'm Real
Shut All The Clubs
Tomorrow's World
Girl On The Roof
Smokescreen
Love
No Kicks
Day In Day Out
Opium Eyes
Uhrwerk
Seen It All Before
(photos by Alan May)

to thing two on Radio On too

The second part of the Radio On interview with John, and loads of music, repeated daily at different

times every day for a month: As the station guide says - "People working in the street, a new gas pipe, a van parked, doors open, loud techno for everyone. What a relief to put on headphones and listen to the new Lord Litter show. Songs in every graduation, introverted, nostalgic, fun, loud, weird and a nice interview over a cup tea to round it off. You don't find people irking in your street everyday of course, but if you'd like to take a holiday from your daily environment then this show is the place to go." Track list here Schedule and listen button here