The Good, The Bad & The Queen
Though initially rumoured in its developmental stages to be a Damon Albarn solo record, January 2007 saw the release of something even more exciting. ‘The Good, The Bad & The Queen’ is an LP from a band that, whilst featuring Albarn staunchly at its helm, also numbers Clash bassist Paul Simonon, Afrobeat leg-end Tony Allen (whom Damon worked with on his ‘Mali Music’ album) and The Verve’s Simon Tong (touring guitarist for Blur on the ‘Think Tank’ LP), and was produced by the ever in-demand Danger Mouse, who had also worked with Albarn on ‘Demon Days’, the remarkably successful last record from his virtual band Gorillaz.
Described by Damon himself as ‘a song cyle that’s also a mystery play about London’, the record has also been cited as the ‘natural successor to (Blur’s 1994 classic) ‘Parklife’’, and is the first time Paul Simonon has played bass since the demise of the Clash. Initially a low key affair, the band released a limited edition single ‘Herculean’ in October of last year (a record deleted on day of release) and played a series of understated gigs - at the Pig Nose Inn in East Prawle, the Marlboro Club in Ilfracombe and Exeter’s loveably dingy Cavern Club.
With the music world sufficiently excited, there then followed ‘the push’. The band performed their as yet unreleased debut LP from beginning to end as part of the inaugural BBC Electric Proms event at the refurbished Roundhouse in Camden, a feat which would be repeated in Wilton’s Music Hall, a competition winners’ gig to launch MySpace.com’s new ‘The List’ service.
The still unnamed band’s first album was then released in January 2007 and quickly achieved rave reviews (and Gold status). There followed a sell out tour of curious venues around the United Kingdom, reportedly selected because they had a special relevance to the formative days of Blur and The Clash, and the often shambolic gigs the two young bands would play in provincial towns. Which suggests The Verve never played a shambolic gig in their lives…
TGTB&TQ OFFICIAL SITE: Wallpaper downloads, videos documenting the daily tasks of each individual band member and a painfully up to date news service all make the official site, for once, worth a visit.
TGTB&TQ MYSPACE: The band have developed a good relationship with the evil empire, even devoting a recent gig as the opener for their new ‘The List’ service – you can see this, and other stuff, on their profile page.
TGTB&TQ DOT NET: He does this to people, Damon Albarn – people become fans to the extent that they feel it necessary to create fan-sites, even for his side projects. But Albarn fans are a special bunch, devoted to the core, and this site is a real labour of love. Make sure you download the video of the band’s cover of the Clash’s ‘Guns of Brixton’.
HERCULEAN REVIEW: The first fruits of the sessions, this single was deleted on day of release – instantly smitten, we were.
DEBUT ALBUM REVIEW: Michael Cragg nicely sums up the many hazy charms of the band’s first opus.
KINGDOM OF DOOM VIDEO: A fittingly moody take on one of the highlights from the band’s debut LP.
LIVE AYLESBURY CIVIC HALL: We jump on a train to Oxfordshire to catch two boyhood heroes on the same stage.
AYLESBURY PHOTO EXHIBITION: Photos from the above show. If a picture’s worth a thousand words, then this article is 5000 words long.