Blog: The Sorted Scene

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I spent a happy half hour yesterday doing some updates to The Database Of ROCK which runs this whole here website, updating a gig from over A QUARTER OF A CENTURY ago, as well as adding a compilation album that came out this week.

The gig was one that The Council played at The Physio & Firkin back in 1996, and I found out about it because a POSTER appeared on Twitter. When I first set up this website I tried to get as much Historical Data as I could from old diaries and what few old posters I have left, but this was a poster I hadn't seen since I left my flat in Leicester and chucked loads of them away, so it was lovely to be able to fill that gap in.

The poster was posted as part of the reaction to the ALBUM what I mentioned earlier, for LO! Sorted Supremo Dave Dixey has just UNLEASED Tarotplane Kandy Korn: The Sorted Records Anthology, Vol. 1, a collection of twenty top tracks from the halcyon days of what nobody is calling (though they should) THE SORTED SCENE of the mid-90s in Leicester. I've been listening to it on Spotify and it has been a DELIGHT to hear some of these songs again, not having heard some of them since they were last played in The Durham Ox. It includes THREE tracks involving me, "Last Notes on a Late Story" by The Fabians (Jimmy from the Bobby McGee's band before that one), "Pilchards of Death" by Voon and Mind The Death by The Council. It's notable that ALL of those three songs have someone who isn't me doing the lead vocals, and I must say this was a WISE DECISION. They all sound pretty amazing, especially "Mind The Death" which sounded just as exciting to me NOW as it did when I first got the TAPE of it from the studio and lay in bed listening to it on my headphones.

My pleasure at the lack of my singing was based on my other nostalgic experience this week, watching some of the VIDEOS that Dave has been uploading to the Sorted Records YouTube account. I pop up in a few of them, and it is DEEPLY WEIRD to see me in my 20s, gawking around looking entirely uncomfortable in myself, especially during gigs when I am CLEARLY trying to EITHER copy Neil (who, in direct contrast, is INCREDIBLY COOL in ALL the videos) OR some vague idea of what I thought Punk Rock might be, and coming across as a RIGHT WALLY. The worst culprit is the version of me performing in The Council, where I not only put on an "Angry Punk Rock" voice, but also play OPEN STRINGS as much as possible because I Thought It Looked Cool. Reader, it did not.

It's great fun to SEE all this stuff though, and I have high hopes of Dave adding some more. There must be something in the AIR, as an article about The Durham Ox Singers (written by me, but still) also appeared in the most recent issue of The Teatles Book. All it needs is one more thing and we can call it a MOVEMENT. Come on, The Melody Maker, stick The Non-Writters on the cover!

posted 10/3/2021 by MJ Hibbett

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