Over the past 24 hours, Pale Blue Eyes have announced two shows as a reward for their studio-based efforts over the past few months. The band visit south-east London before playing at the Delicious Clam in Sheffield for the first time with DIY kings (and queens) Bingo Records supported by Chorley darlings British Birds.
ARTWORK BY MR BEN
Show and tickets details:
3rd Sept – Omeara, London w/ Hello Mary & Dove Ellis (FREE SHOW) – TICKETS 21st Sept – Delicious Clam, Sheffield w/ British Brids – TICKETS (£13)
On 8th May The Bug Club announced that they had signed to Sub Pop Records. The debut release ‘On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System’ is released globally on Fri 30th August. To date, the band have released two singles from the album; ‘Quality Pints’ and their latest offering ‘Lonsdale Slipons’. The album was recorded in February, produced and mixed by Tom Rees, and mastered by Mikey Young who is based in Melbourne, Australia.
The negotiations with Sub Pop commenced in December 2023 after an introduction to the label by Matthew Cooper at Candy Artists who is the band’s booking agent. After a couple of conversations, it was clear that both sides really wanted to work with each other and we proceeded to negotiate the deal.
Having now worked with the label for a few months, it is evident that we are working with the structure of a major record label without the corporate bullshit. From top to bottom, the label always puts the band and their creative vision first and they are a dream to work with. We are already working on future releases beyond the album as well as further tours of the UK, Europe, and the US. The artwork for the album campaign has been created by Willem Hampson with the layout expertly put together by Dusty Summers in the Sub Pop office.
The Bug Club ‘On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System’
From a personal perspective my two career goals were to work for Rough Trade (distribution/label) and Sub Pop so in my 40th year in the industry I have, at last, achieved my goal.
We are delighted to announce the addition of Pale Blue Eyes to the Trust Management roster. We have been fans of theirs for a long time and have to thank the wonderful Marc Riley who introduced us to them via his show on BBC Radio 6 Music.
The Sheffield-based band are currently working on their third studio album, the follow-up to 2023’s ‘This House’ released through Full Time Hobby. Live datesare scheduled from May onwards including a return to Europe to play with Slowdive.
Dan Matthew has decided to move on from his role as drummer with The Bug Club with immediate effect.
Quote from Dan: “I’ve been really grateful for my time with the band and I’m so proudof everything we’ve achieved, but now feels like a right time to step down to focus on myself. I’d like to thank Sam and Tilly for the best years, and to wish them well for an exciting future. x“
Quote from the band: “It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce the departure of our little Danny boy. He’s decided to hang up his drum sticks and settle down with his lovely wide Emily and we wish him all the love and happiness in his future! Thanks for the laffs Daniel “Bobby Love” “Danny Maffers” “Sickboy” “Gluteboy” “little baby Dan” Matthew all the best to ya lad xxxxxx“
Quote from management: “We have worked with Dan and the band since February 2021 and 231 shows later we are extremely sad to see him depart. We want to thank Dan for his huge contribution to the band and for making us feel part of his family. We wish him all the best for the future. X“
Two short films about Princess Superstar’s DJ dates in Japan in March 2009. The last show was in Tokyo and we went to Narita Airport the next day to fly home, but as we arrived to check in we saw a cargo plane crash onto the runway which closed the airport down for three days. Stranded, we returned to Shibuya in Tokyo and waited for the airport to reopen so that we could return to our respective countries of home.
Front covers: just a few of the front covers over the years with At The Drive-In and Johnny Marr – ATDi (NME) was shot in El Paso, TX by Steve Gullick, Kerrang! was shot by Scarlet Page in New York (Irving Plaza) & Johnny was shot by Shamil Tanna in London. Also included is the ATDI ‘break up’ piece in Kerrang!. My quote was given in the toilet of a hotel in South Kensington while the band were in the room waiting for their flight back home. I’m still livid that we had to share the NME front cover with All Saints!
Live recording from Shepherds Bush Empire 2nd November 1998
Sean Lennon Live DAT master – 2nd Nov 1998
I joined Grand Royal in July 1998 and within a few months went on the road with Sean Lennon who was supporting Air to promote the release of the ‘Into The Sun’ album. It was a fascinating tour to be around and the additional musicians for both artists seem to have been borrowed from Beck‘s touring band (Smokey Hormel, Roger Manning, and Justin Meldal-Johnsen) and Cibo Matto (Yuka Honda, Timo Ellis, and Duma Love). On all the tours I have been on, there’s always a moment within the set where I stop whatever I am doing to watch a key part of the show. On this tour, this included when Beth Hirsch came onstage in Paris to sing ‘All I Need’ with Air. A beautiful song that was delivered with stunning perfection and adored by an extremely respectful Parisian crowd. There were tears all round, especially from Beth, as the song finished. The show at Shepherds Bush Empire on the 2nd Nov was recorded by Radio One on their mobile unit at the expert hands of the wonderful Miti. For some reason, I don’t remember anything about this show but I do remember the show the previous evening at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane(!)
Dazed & Confused front cover – Jan 1999
Also on this tour, we were asked to take photos of the various dates and write a tour diary for Dazed and Confused which was published in January 1999. This was my first, and only, photo credit that I received for a piece in a recognised publication. Lots of fantastic memories and stories from this tour which included Yoko Ono and Sam Havadtoy coming along for a few of the shows in the UK, Germany, and Ireland. I’m claiming that I was the first person to buy Sean ‘fish & chips’ in a chippy in Manchester which I’m extremely proud of to this day.
I was a massive fan of The JAMs (see blog post ‘The KLF – Part 1’) when I worked at Virgin Records in Portsmouth who were introduced to me by my mate John Carter via James Brown at the NME. When I joined The Cartel/Rough Trade in 1987 we were selling in JAMS/Disco 2000/The KLF records on telesales and we were getting the test pressings and promos up front. When I moved to Rough Trade in Collier Street in 1989 I was responsible for selling in all the key singles and albums to the major chains. This included The KLF‘What Time Is Love?’, ‘3 A.M. Eternal’, ‘Last Train To Transcentral’, ‘America: What Time Is Love?’ and ‘Justified & Ancient’. All were Top 5 singles and ‘3 A.M. Eternal’ made it to #1. It was a great learning curve for me dealing with such huge singles and trying to coordinate everything with the label to maintain the stock levels. It also turned me into a really cocky 24-year-old git which I arguably haven’t managed to shrug off since! To be involved with it was just exhilarating and showed the industry that you could have consistent top 10 singles and albums and remain independent. The band and especially Sallie Fellowes at the label (KLF Communications) were game changers. Still relevant 30+ years later.
Tibetan Freedom Concert 13th June 1999 Amsterdam, Tokyo, Chicago & Sydney
I had a discussion with Adam Yauch in Cologne at a Beastie Boys show in April 99 about getting involved with the TFC. Adam asked me to work on the Amsterdam show with Milarepa and Mojo Concerts so off to Amsterdam I popped. On the day we had performances from Blur, Radiohead (Thom & Jonny), Alanis Morissette, Joe Strummer, Garbage, and Ben Harper. RATM were scheduled to play but flipped it to Chicago at the last minute.
The highlight of the day (and arguably one of the highlights of my career) was to look after Joe Strummer for a couple of hours. We ate together and then Joe was good enough to do some press interviews for us to help highlight the plight of the Tibetan people. Once that was done we went back to Joe’s dressing room and had the following conversation:
JS – “Dave”
DC – “Yes Joe”
JS – “What’s different about this dressing room to normal ones?”
DC – “I don’t know Joe”
JS – “It has no ceiling” (the rooms were just partitioned off with curtains)
DC – “Duly noted Joe”
JS – “and Dave. What’s that over there?”
DC – “It’s a bowl of fruit Joe”
JS – “That is correct Dave. If I was to throw the fruit into the other dressing rooms would you have any objections”
DC – “Of course not Joe. Crack on my friend!”
Joe Strummer, punk rock warlord, then proceeded to throw fruit into Radiohead, Blur and Garbages dressing rooms and was laughing his head off for a good length of time”. So lucky to have been there to witness it.
Extremely proud to have been involved with Yauch’s vision and to have worked closely with Milarepa, His Holiness, and the Tibetan Embassy. #FreeTibet
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