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Music News - Toby Jepson Blasts back on the 'Rock 'n' Roll Scene By Steve Rudd Photographs Courtesy and Copyright Les Linyard
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Building on his incredibly successful initial career as singer-songwriter with
The Little Angels and more recently as special guest to THUNDER and subsequent
headlining solo shows through 2006-2007, Toby and his band are back and heavier than before.
Toby Jepson is a remarkable singer/songwriter, somewhere between Bruce Springsteen,
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People - The Genius of Eric Bogosian By Steve Rudd
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Eric who? Eric Bogosian!
What do you mean you've never heard of him? Ah, well that's your loss, ain't it?
Still, there is a chance that you might have seen him and not even realised it, as he's
appeared in numerous US movies such as Under Siege 2 and Dolores Claiborne for starters.
Having said that, over in the US he's probably far better
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People - An Interview With Hey Negrita By Steve Rudd
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Hey Negrita are an awesome Americana-laced indie-rock outfit based in London.
Fronted by singer and guitarist Felix, the band has recently released a new
single, Can't Walk Away, which is a sublimely catchy song that precedes their
forthcoming album, The Buzz Above.
Here Felix chats to Steve Rudd about their new material, touring and some of
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People - An Interview With James Lovegrove By Steve Rudd
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James Lovegrove is an extraordinary writer of novels in every respect imaginable.
His novels are in turns surreal, life-affirming and bizarre.
He has written a number of acclaimed novels such as The Hope and The Foreigners,
and his latest masterpiece in Provender Greed has recently been published to rave reviews.
He is also the author of Wings, a bewitching
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People - An Interview with Jenny Siler By Steve Rudd
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For those people who love their novels to be fast-paced Thrillers that are packed to
the rafters with drama aplenty, then the consistently captivating books of
American writer Jenny Siler will be right up your gunshot-riddled alley.
The best-selling author of titles such as Iced, Shot, Easy Money and, more recently,
Flashback,
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People - Interview With Laurie Gough By Steve Rudd
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Laurie Gough is a Canadian travel writer and the author of
Kite Strings Of The Southern Cross (published in Canada as Island Of the Human Heart).
Her latest book is Kiss The Sunset Pig. Here she talks to Steve Rudd about her life and work.
How are you doing?
Pretty good, thanks!
Do you prefer being 'home' or 'away'?
When I'm home I often fantasize
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People - An Interview with Lucy Kaplansky By Steve Rudd
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New Yorker Lucy Kaplansky is a renowned Folk/ Country singer-songwriter who
recently unleashed her latest album, Over The Hills.
Born and raised in Chicago, Lucy moved to New York in her late teens, where she
got involved with the Folk scene in Greenwich Village, going on to play with the
likes of Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin.
In 1994 she released her much-anticipated
Read more...
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People - An Interview with Kris Mole, Skint In Europe By Steve Rudd
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Intrepid travellers unite, and meet Kris Mole... metaphorically speaking!
He's a globetrotting man on a mission, determined to visit the capital city
of every EU country on a budget of... wait for it - NOTHING!
And all in aid of charity, too! How, you might ask?
Well, if you read this here interview that Kris took time out to conduct
with Steve Rudd
Read more...
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People - Interview With Miles Cain By Steve Rudd
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Miles Cain, once a Hull resident, is a superb singer-songwriter who is now based in York.
Back in April he unleashed yet another outstanding album - A Way Of Being Free' - and,
fresh from his recent support slot with Lucy Kaplansky in York, here he chats exclusively
to Steve Rudd about the state of the local music scene in general, what
Read more...
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People - An Interview With Nick Quantrill By Steve Rudd
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Regular visitors to thisisUll.com should be familiar with the writing talents of
Nick Quantrill, as he often contributes short stories to the site.
His Complicity novella recently featured on the site, an exciting Crime Short that
was unmistakably set in Hull and that featured a number of decidedly shady characters
getting up to no good in and around various well-known
Read more...
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People - An Interview With Peter Moore By Steve Rudd
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Peter Moore has been described as the Jim Carrey of travel-writing,
and whoever boldly coined such a cunning comment actually isn't half wrong.
Anybody who has read any of Peter's genuinely madcap travel books, such as
The Wrong Way Home or The Full Montezuma, will surely agree, as he manages
to negotiate all manner of
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People - An Interview with Steve Steinman By Steve Rudd
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Steve Steinman is the mastermind behind the hugely successful shows
Vampires Rock and The Bat Trilogy.
After appearing on Stars In Their Eyes as Meatloaf, Steve threw himself into the
world of entertainment without hesitation, and today he is one of the hardest-working
performers in the UK, regularly touring his shows the length and breadth of the country.
Read more...
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People - An Interview With Tajinere By Steve Rudd
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Tajinere is an extraordinary Hip-Hop artist who is based in Hull.
He's been writing songs from a young age and has recently set up his own record
label in order to better promote his music, including his recent single release Ours Tonight.
He not only dabbles in Hip-Hop, as there are plenty of other musical influences thrown
into the artful mix from Soul, Pop
Read more...
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People - An Interview With Woody Woodmansey By Steve Rudd
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Brace yourselves, one and all. Michael Collins, who is actually related to
the famous Irish Nationalist of the same name, is the author of acclaimed novels
The Keepers of Truth, The Resurrectionists and Lost Souls.
He has just finished tying up all the loose ends of his latest story in
The Secret Life Of E. Robert Pendleton, which is due to hit bookstores
very soon indeed.
Read more...
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Poetry - When You're Ready and Resolve By Steve Rudd
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We made a pact
At the last filling station
Interstate M62..
I was so proud of you
You'd never normally say boo..
Who drove you to rebel?
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Reviews, Books - The Long Rain by Peter Gadol
Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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After I had walked around the winery, I climbed back in my truck and continued driving farther up
into the foothills, and some nights I did make it as far as the mountain road.
I wanted to cross the Diablo range.
I wanted to keep driving clear across the state and into the desert, deep into the American
vastness, where I knew no one and no one knew me.
Read more...
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Reviews, Books - Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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All of us take pride and pleasure in the fact that we are unique, but I'm afraid that
when all is said and done the police are right: it all comes down to fingerprints.
Which, I presume, means that Sedaris (who is both a highly respected playwright and
author) really
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Reviews, Theatre - Saturday 13th October 07 - Vampires Rock at Hull New Theatre By Steve Rudd
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It's safe to say that Steve Steinman is one of the hardest-working singers and performers in the UK.
No sooner did he finish his Bat Trilogy tour on the brink of summer, and he was getting back to
grips with his other great show - Vampires Rock - in anticipation for the current Autumn tour
that's sweeping up and down the country in style.
Read more...
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Places to Visit - The Three Peaks Of Yorkshire Challenge 10th June 2006 By Steve Rudd
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'Good morning gentlemen - rise and shine!' As I slowly came to my senses I couldn't
help but glance at my watch. I'd been warned the previous night that we would be
woken up at 4:15am sharp, and barely a second later.
Unfortunately, that really was the case, and as exhausted as I was, there
was a mammoth 25 mile walk ahead...
It's a shame that I'd only managed
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Poetry - Taking Sides By Steve Rudd
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They're dead already; displaced
Souls without soles, disgraced
Bare feet, as cracked as the desiccated ground
Raining blows on their toes
Marching ever onward, in the heat of the night
Passion features not - when
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Poetry - Earth, As It Is In Iraq By Steve Rudd
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What on earth is going on in Iraq?
It isn't even on earth, now
The violence is underground...
as a bomb a day surveys an old scene
from a play, that dropped out of school.
The Bard's lost for words.
Read more...
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Poetry - Liquid Reflection By Steve Rudd
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From the bottom of the Dead
Sea, to the top of Mount Everest
We go to extremes, only in our best interests...
From A, to B - to be a better person
Night falls too soon, and we're lost out of season
In a region that few tourists
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Album/EP Reviews - The Fondas - Dirty Kicks (Level Sound) Release Date: April 8th 2006 Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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Fans of vibrantly anthemic rock 'n' roll music could do worse than seek out this 12-track album from this quartet, a four-piece that hails from the South Wales/ Bristol area where they're a well-known outfit on the back of having played plenty of gigs in the region.
Fronted by Andy Ward, D'ya Feel Lucky? hears the band hit their stride right from the opening
Read more...
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Reviews, Books - Mission Flats by William Landay
Reviewed by Steve Rudd
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Crime-thrillers come no better than this edge-of-the-seat masterwork from American
writer William Landay, who here delivers a truly superb debut novel that attacks the senses and ultimately leaves you reeling from the brilliantly-staged shock ending.
It's amazing how some Crime writers make their stories sound so authentic courtesy of the detailed lengths that they go to in order
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People - An Interview With Woody Woodmansey By Steve Rudd
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Brace yourselves, one and all. Michael Collins, who is actually related to
the famous Irish Nationalist of the same name, is the author of acclaimed novels
The Keepers of Truth, The Resurrectionists and Lost Souls.
He has just finished tying up all the loose ends of his latest story in
The Secret Life Of E. Robert Pendleton, which is due to hit bookstores
very soon indeed.
Read more...
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People - An Interview With William Landay By Steve Rudd
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William (or Bill, for short) Landay is a hot new American crime writer who has recently published
his debut novel - Mission Flats - to widespread critical acclaim.
William is currently hard at work on his second novel, which is due to be published next year.
Still, amidst his busy writing schedule, William kindly managed to take a little time out to
chat exclusively to Steve Rudd
Read more...
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Single Reviews - The Human Value - Give Me (Big Deal) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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Armed with band members from as far-flung places as Cuba, Greece, Spain and North America, this fresh quartet is making some exceptionally exciting sounds courtesy of this debut single.
Here is an Alt.-rock band with commanding attitude, fronted as it is by the feisty Turu - who used to be in the band The Send Effect. Turu, in The Human Value's initial
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Fiction - Red Carpet Blues By Steve Rudd
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'One more word out of you, and it'll be your last - I promise.'
The ice-cold gun nudging Ellie's temple was motivation enough for her to keep her mouth shut, as she trembled with fear. She daren't even sob in case her captor construed that any form of noise was reason enough to blow her brains out without further ado.
So much for being a superstar in her own right,
Read more...
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Single Reviews - Hey Negrita - Can't Walk Away (Fat Fox) Release Date : 24th April 2006 Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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Hey guys! Hey gals! Guess who it is? It's Hey Negrita!!!
This band might be based in London, but their sweeping Country-cradled rock sound has
come via Nashville, Tennessee to a large degree.
Indeed, Hey Negrita's brand of Americana revolves around some beautiful melodies and soulfully
melancholic vocals from frontman Felix.
Can't Walk Away is a chilled-out
Read more...
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Single Reviews - Tajinere - Ours Tonight / Welcome (Heart of the Nation) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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It's all about the music. Nothing else is important, beams Tajinere,
an exciting Hip-Hop artist
who has recently returned to live in Hull.
He used to live in Hull, but in 2004 he took off travelling and spent some time in Australia and Guatemala.
Now he's back, and he's focusing all his energy on music, with this double-A side single being his debut release.
Ours Tonight is a chilled-out
Read more...
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Fiction - 'I Do' By Steve Rudd
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Nobody told me marriage would be like this. I thought it would be bliss, day in and day out,
but problems soon surfaced, after our hastily arranged elopement in good old Gretna - that bizarre little settlement that straddles the border between England and Scotland as though it can't quite decide where it stands; where it belongs; which side of the metaphorical fence it is
Read more...
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Album/EP Reviews - The Vibrants (4-track EP) Release Date: March 14th 2006 Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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Quite why this band remains unsigned is one heck of a mystery.
Truth is, this London-lounging quintet is more than living up to its
name with the blazing-hot brand of garage-trashing rock 'n' roll that
is being produced by The Vibrants.
This eponymous EP was recorded at Pete Townsend's Oceanic Studios no less,
and The Who is just one band that has inspired
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Single Reviews - The Answer - Into The Gutter (Albert) Release Date: 24th April 2006 Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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On the back of an appetite-whetting EP release, and in front of their eagerly awaited
12-track debut album that is set to land in Summer '06, this single is surely
destined to help in making this young quartet something of a household name.
Already they have enjoyed fabled support slots with titans of hard rock Deep Purple,
and the sound of The Answer owes a
Read more...
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Album Reviews - Ellenby - All You Need To Know (Level Sound) Release Date: 10th April 2006 Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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And all you need to know is that this album is a sheer pleasure to listen to, as this duo
delivers stunning song after song.
There are ten tracks in all that all mix and mash together beguiling Folk, Pop and Rock
elements to intoxicating effect, with Liz Young the singer of the duo, leaving
multi-instrumentalist Ben Goddard to create the wondrous and consistently
Read more...
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Album Reviews - Hi Flyer - Here Comes The Sunshine (Reiker) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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Having been masterfully engineered by Portishead bassist Jim Barr, this melodic
Pop-Rock album comes from a young band from Bristol, with two of the members
being brother and sister Henry and Elle Williams, who are backed up by
Mike Edwards and Tom Raiff.
All of the songs are easy listening mid-paced anthems, and any one of them
could quite easily get
Read more...
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Single Reviews - Archie Bronson Outfit - Dart For My Sweetheart (Domino) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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This single from the somewhat mysterious ABO entity is deliciously dark and
menacing and will surely appeal to any fans of Nick Cave's musings.
The guitar melodies are charged with intriguing malice, and yet the b-side in
Fire Horse is still exhilarating in its own unique right, buoyed by a
striking intensity in the face of such compelling darkness.
This Outfit has been
Read more...
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Album Reviews - Japan - The Very Best of ... (Virgin) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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As the old saying goes, you can never have too many compilation albums to chart a band's career.
So, with this in mind, here's yet another Japan Best of to add to the long list of previous compilations that highlight all the classic tunes that the Brit group pumped out.
Fronted by David Sylvian (who went on to have a successful solo career following
the band's break-up),
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Single Reviews - Lovemat - Between The Lines (Disturbia) Release date: April 3rd 2006. Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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A racy anthem to get your rocks off to, the heady music of Lovemat is
primarily propelled by mesmerising guitar riffage that thunders into the mix beside
delectable harmonies and strong vocals from Paul Kell.
They are an old-skool hard rock band and hail from Newcastle, with this being their debut single.
If I were you, I'd buy up a few copies of this release,
Read more...
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Single Reviews - The Voom Blooms - Politics And Cigarettes (Fiction) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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Here we have some truly beautiful music, from a band that only got together early in
2005, and that is based in Loughborough.
This, their debut single, is a classic and builds on the star-gazing sounds that
were unleashed via their much-sought-after London Heads demo.
A quartet fronted by George Guildford, The Voom Blooms are masters of melody
creation,
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Album Reviews - Billy Bragg - Billy Bragg Volume 1 (Cooking Vinyl) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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An essential purchase for hardcore BB fans as well as those people who might
have heard just a few of his songs but who dare to delve further into the life
and times of Billy Bragg, this release is a box set comprising seven
CDs and a couple of DVDs.
In and amongst Billy Bragg Volume 1 there are four of Billy's earliest
and greatest albums, which are Life's A Riot
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Album Reviews - Graham Coxon - Love Travels At Illegal Speeds (EMI) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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Since leaving Blur, Graham has proved himself to be one hell of a rock god, and right
from the off with this mesmerising thirteen track album, the focus is on loud guitars and swaggering
rock 'n' roll trials and tribulations. Fittingly, the album-opening tune is the hugely popular
single release Standing On My Own Again - a bona-fide anthem in every respect.
Read more...
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Album Reviews, - Richard Ashcroft - Keys To The World (Parlophone) Reviewed By Steve Rudd
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Thank God for the songwriting talents of Richard Ashcroft.
He is now some six years into his solo career since the nation's favourite band from
Wigan - The Verve, that is - split.
Luckily, the material that Richard has released as a solo artist has consistently
been just as enticing, and this latest 10-track album of his will have surely to
goodness attracted plenty more
Read more...
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