Blog Archive: June 2021

Boing Boing
A few weeks ago we UNLEASHED the latest Jane and John single, Here At Last / Boing Boing, and the occassion was marked by the release of the video for Here At Last. We're following that up with the video for the OTHER side of the single, Boing Boing, which you can see right HERE:



The song is all about the ups and downs of life, and the video is a combination of lyrics video, newspaper headlines, sports clips and especially BOUNCING BADGERS, which were a particular DELIGHT to edit together. It's out now to coincide with Wimbledon, so if you or anyone you know happens to be in charge of television coverage, do consider the idea of using it for a MONTAGE of players' various fortunes, we think it would work rather nicely!

posted 29/6/2021 by MJ Hibbett
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We Did A Gig!
On Saturday morning I packed my bags, and also my guitar, and set out to do an in-person, on purpose, GIG for the first time in SEVENTEEN MONTHS!

As with most things, the weirdest thing about this return to a post-covid activity was how it DIDN'T feel as weird as expected, although it DID feel a lot more anxious than I recall, as I went round and round in circles CHECKING everything approx 1,000,000 times before I left the house to make sure there wasn't a VITAL ASPECT that I'd forgotten. SPOILERS: there wasn't!

The gig was in Derby, and I was accompanied there by Mr S Hewitt, who like me was taking his first trip NORTH of the M25 for AGES. We met at Euston and travelled to TAMWORTH and changed there, due to this being both cheaper and quicker than the usually direct train from St Pancras. We got to the Premier Inn and after a bit of kerfuffle checking in (Premier Inn had sent multiple emails and even RUNG to advise/check on things, and this had mightily discombobulated the lady checking in before us) we were all sorted and off to THE PUB to meet The Validators.

The pub was The Furnace, where we played just over two years ago at another weekend beer festival. This time they had taken MASSIVE precautions to comply with regulations, including table service, advice on masks, and especially laminated sheets telling people THE RULES, including not singing along and not getting up to dance!

Frankie and Tom were already there, and the Pattisons arrived soon afterwards, and initially it was a bit OVERWHELMING. Travelling up with Steve had been fine because a) he is obviously a DELIGHT and b) there is only ONE of him, which is the number of people I've generally interacted with at any one time for the past year and a half. The Validators are similarly delightful but there are FOUR of them, so it took me a while to get used to it, but it was BLOODY LOVELY to see them again. It felt like no time at all since we'd all been together, but also it felt like FOREVER!

We got set up, did some IMMENSE BICKERING as per over setlists, said hello to whole HOSTS of lovely people who came to see us, and then did THIS:

Billy Jones Is Dead

My Boss Was In An Indie Band Once

20 Things To Do Before You're 30

The Fair Play Trophy (again)

Have A Drink With Us (Drink Doch Eine Met)

Hey Hey 16K

It Only Works Because You're here

People Are All Right (if they are given half a chance)

Easily Impressed

We Did It Anyway

The setlist was not that different to what we played last time, which was sort of on purpose, as we've only actually PLAYED together ONCE since then, back in July 2019, so it made sense to do songs that we (theoretically) knew. Actually, we did pretty well, especially as the last time we played The Fair Play Trophy (again) as a band was about SEVENTEEN YEARS ago! I was especially proud of myself for remembering ALL of the words to Hey Hey 16K in the right order, which was a rare triumph!

We had a lovely time doing the gig, and then a similarly lovely time afterwards as we sat around in the Beer Garden for several hours drinking some EXCELLENT beer. I had a pint of Best Bitter, which I haven't had for AGES and it was LOVELY. Proper Brown Beer!! We also thoroughly enjoyed the band after us - Frankie pointed out that we'd seen them before in BERLIN and this led to some MARVELOUS Rock And Roll Chat with them. "Are you sure it was in Berlin, not Hamburg?" etc etc. ROCK!

With all that done we went for a CURRY, during which the traditional Heated Political Debate took place, also much NATTER, then Tom got a taxi to the station while the rest of us went for just one last beer, which turned out to be KOLSCH(-style) which seemed awfully fitting. More YACKING, and then we all said our goodbyes. It had been a BRILLIANT evening!

It was a somewhat subdued me and Steve who met for breakfast next morning - mysteriously, neither of us had slept well and were feeling Slightly Unwell - and sampled the Premier Inn's radical solution to a breakfast buffet in times of Covid i.e. you order what you want and they bring it to you. It was MUCH needed after such rock and roll excess - I used to do gigs like this ALL THE TIME, sometimes on consecutive evenings, it is a wonder I have got to the age I have looking so fresh and wholesome!

The trains home were all fine and that was that, GIG DONE. To summarise: it was BLOODY GRATE to be back, can we do it again sometime please?

posted 28/6/2021 by MJ Hibbett
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Gubba Lookalike
If you've been following the Jane and John Twitter feed (and if you haven't, please do!) you will be aware that we are at FULL STEAM AHEAD on the promotional campaign for our new double A-side single Here At Last / Boing Boing.

Here At Last is all about the joy of getting together with people again to watch long-awaited sporting events, so as the Euros have now arrived we've been tweeting away like mad. Thus, this week we hit on a rather cunning WHEEZE to tie tweets into individual games by giving out FACTS that end with "Here At Last" somehow. For instance, the first of the week said "Scotland have never beaten the Czech Republic in the Euros - could their time be... Here At Last? " and then a link to the video.

Good eh? The only slight drawback, which wasn't really much of a drawback at all, was that it meant I had to spend several hours looking up all of these FACTs online. I now have IMMENSE respect for professional sports commentators who must have to sit and work out HUNDREDS of these for each game, so they can drop them casually in as they go along. Sometimes it seems like they're just reeling FACTs off rather than watching the game, but now I know how much WORK goes into it I don't blame them!

We've got the FACTs planned out for the rest of this week, so I'll need to get on with the rest of them soon, but in the meantime look out for FASCINATING information. For instance, how many times have England and Scotland played each other, and who's ahead on wins? Find out on Friday!
posted 15/6/2021 by MJ Hibbett
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Here At Last is here! At last!
Today is the RELEASE DAY for the latest single from Jane and John and I am QUITE excited about it. I always get excited on Release Day, and always give myself a stern talking to about it. "Nothing ever happens on Release Day," I tell myself. "You rarely get radio play on the day itself, and any Exciting Things tend to happen a few days later." I always nod obediently to myself at this point and then, as soon as I'm not looking, go and get ALL EXCITED again.

The single is a DOUBLE A-SIDE called Here At Last / Boing Boing and you can get it on ALL streaming services (e.g. Spotify, Amazon, iTunes) or direct from us via our Bandcamp page. It's a SPORTS-THEMED EP, with Here At Last being about how GRATE it is to finally be able to get together for events like the Euros and the Olympics, while Boing Boing uses TENNIS as a METAPHOR for LIFE. They are both ACE!

Both songs will have videos as well, with the one for Boing Boing being UNLEASHED a little bit closer to the start of Wimbledon. The one for Here At Last, however, is available right NOW, right HERE:



As ever, any shares, likes, mentions, or good old-fashioned usages in major TV coverage of international sporting competitions are very much appreciated. Both these songs have been a long time in the making, so I'm mostly just happy that they're finally OUT there for people to listen to - I hope you like them!

posted 7/6/2021 by MJ Hibbett
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Jane and John are BACK
Those who follow the Jane and John Twitter account (i.e. all the GROOVY people) will already be aware that we a) are BACK and b) have a new single out next week!

The single is a double A-side featuring two GRATE new tracks - "Here At Last" and "Boing Boing". They're both sport-themed, with "Here At Last" being about events like the Euros and the Olympics FINALLY happening and us being able to celebrate them with PALS, whereas "Boing Boing" is a deep philosophical THORT-PIECE tied into a cunning tennis metaphor that has a chorus involving the phrase "Boing Boing" a LOT.

They are both BRILLO, and I'm really really looking forward to people actually getting to HEAR them next week. We have spent literally MONTHS working on them, HONING each track to be as FAB as we can make it, and I feel that the levels of FAB we have reached are HIGH. You can judge for yourself on Monday 7 June when it comes out, but in the meantime do check that there Jane and John Twitter account for more details and a big COVER REVEAL tomorrow!

posted 1/6/2021 by MJ Hibbett
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