Bodyslams and Backdrops: Q&A with William Regal

By Joe Baiamonte

Darren Matthews has spent the best part of the last 30 years travelling the world, entertaining the masses. From the indie circuits in Lancashire to sell out crowds at Madison Square Garden with more than a a smattering of European and World tours thrown in for good measure, along with a handsome share of awards. But this mysterious yet hugely successful Mr. Matthews is no singer or songwriter, but rather WWE superstar William Regal. Professional wrestler and more importantly, a rather massive Northern Soul fiend.

A Blackpool native, Regal grew up on the doorstep of the Northern Soul revolution in the UK, yet got his kicks (literally) elsewhere as he became a student of the squared circle rather than the dancefloor, sharing bills with the likes of Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks and appearing on ITV's World of Sport alongside tag team partner and fellow British wrestling legend, Robbie Brookside. 'Lord' Steven Regal, as he was then known, would go onto ply his trade in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) before finally becoming an essential part of the furniture in Vince Mcmahon's WWE in 2000, where he has remained ever since, lifting Titles on no fewer than 15 occasions as well as being crowned the 2008 King of The Ring.

The relationship between wrestling and popular music nowadays isn't perhaps anything to shout about (Flo Rida appeared at the last WrestleMania) yet a little walk down memory lane will remind us of the Rock 'N' Wrestling Connection between MTV and the then WWF in the mid 80's and of appearances by Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Gladys Knight. So the worlds of 'Sports Entertainment' and soul music aren't perhaps as far apart as you may think. And to bridge any gap between the two, there's William Regal, wrestling villain and Soul Head extraordinaire . . .

The Soul Kitchen: How did you first get into Northern Soul music and what is it about it that you love so much?

William Regal: I first got into Northern Soul in 1985. I used to work in the Tangerine Nightclub in Blackpool. One night I was stood at the door and I heard 'There's A Ghost In My House' by R. Dean Taylor coming from inside the club. I walked in and saw three lads gliding around the dance floor and I was hooked. I stood there as 'Needle In A Haystack' by The Velvelettes and then 'The Snake' by Al Wilson came on and was totally enthralled watching these lads spin about. I asked the DJ what it was all about and he said it was "Casino music". I asked another doorman and he told me what I had been missing all my life. Not long after that the club started running a soul night on Mondays and so if I wasn't wrestling I used to ask to work it. I got to meet some people who were either Soul fans, Mods or Skins who enlightened me more. Magic.

TSK: You've never been shy of letting loose some of your dance moves in the ring (to hilarious effect), but how would you rate yourself on the dancefloor?

WR: I'm not a great Northern dancer as I feel a bit awkward being 6'3 and 17 stone.Nowadays my right knee is a bit suspect and I'd look even dafter with the bloody great brace I have to wear on it. 

TSK:  You often promote Northern Soul all nighters through your Twitter page, but we're guessing with your hectic schedule that you seldom get to attend any. When was the last time you managed to get to one?

WR: About 20 years ago. Sad, really.

TSK: Ok, picture the scene. It's WrestleMania, you've just won the WWE Title in the main event and the confetti is raining down and the fireworks are erupting around the stadium. Which Soul tune do you choose to blare out of the PA system to celebrate with?

WR: 25 miles by Edwin Starr.For no other reason than that it's the right sound(as long as the bass is brought up) and I've trained more with that tune playing than any other.

TSK: Are there any other Soul heads in the WWE locker room or are you the only one Keeping the Faith?

WR: No one apart from me, although Daniel Bryan has listened to some with me when we've been traveling and he always likes it.

TSK: Aside from yourself, who has the best taste in music in the WWE locker room and who has the worst?

WR: Left to his own devices then Daniel Bryan has without doubt the worst taste in music I've ever heard. The last time I traveled with him he was playing some folk music about vampires! Wade Barrett has a good collection of tunes, mostly British bands. A lot of Wrestlers seem to like Nickleback who I think are the worst band of all time.

Daniel Bryan didn't take kindly to Regal's critique of his Vampire Folk collection.

TSK: Do you listen to anything before a match to get yourself in the zone? Given your love for reptiles and all things villainous, I'm predicting it's 'The Snake' by Al Wilson.

WR: Before a match I listen to a wide range of tunes to get ready while I'm warming up. A lot of 100 mile Northern but also some early British Metal, Motörhead, Saxon and Maiden.

TSK: During your career you must have worked shows in Detroit numerous times, have you ever taken in Hitsville USA, now the Motown Historical museum?

WR: Yes I have. Only once, though and I got a bit emotional thinking of all the tunes that have been a part of my life that were made in there.I always loved Motown before I ever got into Northern. In fact most forms of soul, Philly and Memphis have always worked for me.

TSK: And finally, is there any chance of seeing a return of your legendary rap skills in the future? Surely Vince Mcmahon realises villainous Lancashire rapping = ratings?

WR: You never know. I'll do whatever I can to entertain. My whole character is "Carry On Wrestling".

* You can (and SHOULD) follow William on Twitter @RealKingRegal *

Until next time,

Keep on Keepin' on,

Baia

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The Tapestry - Live Review

Who: The Tapestry
When: Thursday October 4th
Where: KRAAK Gallery, Manchester

The term 'exciting new Manchester band' is one which rightfully causes much trepidation. It's often a desperate attempt at making sub par Smiths-Lite indie seem like the most important musical happening the City has seen since the first bars of 'Live Forever' chimed out. So it was with great relief that we discovered The Tapestry.

Fronted by boy/girl duo Liam and Katy, the obvious comparisons with Sonic Youth and Pixies immediately hits you, as does the thumping Glam Garage catchiness that inhabits every one of their seven songs tonight. 'Sink or Swim', 'Rode Your Luck' and 'Right as Rain' are more New York and Seattle than Manchester, with Katy's backing vocals adding a delightful slice of 60's girl group melody to proceedings.

There's no posturing or faux, cultivated 'swagger' about the Tapestry, just a tightness that far belies their years. Tonight's gig, a headline slot done in favour as part of a tour showcasing the finest new music from Wales, in a venue that is a glorified student living room, could have been a night to 'throw one in'. Except The Tapestry do their utmost to blow the remaining few tiles out of the ceiling, instead.

The Tapestry are a welcome change to an over saturated Manchester music scene and one which won't remain a 'best kept secret' for much longer.

'Like' The Tapestry at http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Tapestry/118675874820563?fref=ts

Until next time,

Keep on Keepin' on,

Baia

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Soul Kitchen Jukebox: Leon The Canteen

It's been a while since the Soul Kitchen's old Wurlitzer was dusted down and fired up, too long in fact. But every once in a while there comes a guest selector whose choices are impossible not to chronicle and share with you all. Leon 'The Canteen' (his real surname remains a mystery to us) is not only the manager of our new favourite outfit Janice Graham Band, but is also a veteran on the wheels of steel, too. The Canteen was the name of Leon's club/band night which toured the Manchester club scene and airwaves on Revolution 96.2, so it's safe to say the man knows his onions when it comes to grabbing the attention of the public's ears. We also bumped into him at the Brian Jonestown Massacre's gig at the Manchester Ritz recently, which further confirmed our suspicions that he was the right man for the job.

First Record You Bought

The Beat - Tears of a clown - I was 7 years of age and I wanted my own record player for Xmas ( I was sick of having to have my ear pressed against my Mam and Dad's BIG MASSIVE sideboard record player system that was in the living room.....while they were watching telly ) so I could have it in my own room. 'Tears of a Clown' was the record I wanted. So on Christmas Day I had my own record player, but only one record! The day after Boxing Day my Mam took me to the shop where I then bought 'The Prince - Madness' out of my Christmas money.


Song That Makes you Hit the Dancefloor

Young MC - Know How 

Everybody was either into some form of 'indie' and the Manchester thing or house music which had not yet hit the council estates of Salford, who were into the stoner grooves of Floyed/The Doors/Bowie/and Reggae. I've always been brought up on Northern Soul and Funk as my Mam and Dad were original Twisted Weel regulars. This was before 'Fools Gold' came out and it was like BLAM! It was around the same time as Deelight's 'Groove is in the Heart' and it was like "wow these are where I'm at" . Ace sample, amazing flow and a bassline to die for.



 Song You're Listening to Most Right Now







Ennio Morricone - Ecstasy of Gold

I don't really play that much music in the house anymore, it's more in the car or at work. I usually share a few tunes on Facebook so I tend to play them over and over again. Today's share is this dedicated to 'Team GB' and what can you say? Raw emotion which empowers you. If this song doesn't want to make you fuck, fight, cry, scream you're already dead. I was in a little band donkey's years ago and we came out to this at one of our gigs haha ( years before Metalica I might add ). For me this song is the closest I will ever get to God!


 Your Guilty Pleasure Record




Frankie Valli - Grease

What a fucking tune?!!!! And to be honest I'm not guilty it's pure pleasure... " We take the pressure and we throw away/Conventionality belongs to yesterday....there is a chance that we can make it so far" amazing. I was a little too young for the film as I was only 5-ish , but I do remember my Auntie Rita taking a gang of us ( I had older cousins ) to the pictures one Sunday afternoon. Picture the scene of about 25 Ordsall madhead scruffs all walking down Deansgate to the ABC ( Moon Under The Water ) hahaha



 Your Sunday Morning Record



Van Morrison - Astral Weeks 

The FULL album leaves me breathless. For me this is the best album ever made. I'm on my second vinyl copy after wearing the my first copy out. The album's a tale of a relationship. Side one is called 'In the beginging' while side two is called " Afterwards" the joy of finding and falling in love, the honeymoon period when you're so much in love that it hurts (I for one have certainly been there ) the sheer burden of weight of 'Beside you' and genreally track after track of pure 'luv'd up' bliss and then you hit side two ( Afterwards ) ...... with lyrics that implode my mind like " I'm stood in your doorway and I'm mumbling and I can't remember the last thing that ran through my head " and " Saw you early this morning with your brand new boy and your cadillac ". Heart wrenching to say the least. My tiny brains not big enough to fully comprehend this album , but until my dying day i'm gonna keep on trying.

Until next time,

Keep on Keepin' on,

Baia

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Dedicated Followers of Fashion

While 'British Summer Time' is nothing more than a myth nowadays, the Monsoon climate that has engulfed dear old Blighty has done nothing to dampen the Summer wardrobes of the Festival Season devotees or scooter boys and girls making their way to weekenders and all nighters across the British Isles.

However, with the word 'vintage' gradually becoming more a way of conning an extra £30 or £40 out of insufferable 'Gap Yah' types, we decided to heed the advice of a website who specialize in timeless pieces that won't burn a hole in the pocket of your boating blazer.

Atom Retro (http://www.atomretro.com) has cemented it's position as the premiere online destination for Mod, Retro and Indie clothing over the past few years and, as loyal customers with more than a few Madcap shirts taking up our wardrobe, we decided to take the advice of site owner Lindsey Hagston as to what we all should be decking ourselves out in this Summer.

The Soul Kitchen: What are you expecting your biggest selling pieces to be this Summer?


Lindsey Hagston: We always sell some staples all year round but this Summer there has been a lot of interest in some of the limited edition collections such as the Admiral Retro Collection (due to Euro 2012), Lambretta's Trojan collection and the limited edition Olympic inspired styles. The new Realm & Empire collection is also getting a lot of interest as there's so much 'British-ness' around this Summer with all the sporting events and the Jubilee.


TSK: Any collections in particular that you would recommend to someone looking to buy a retro Summer wardrobe?


LH: It depends on what era or style you're looking for. Gabicci Vintage, Original Penguin and Farah Vintage are great for a 60's/70's Mod look. John Smedley always offers timeless and classic retro pieces and Admiral, Bukta and Dunlop Retro are perfect for sporty or indie pieces. On the women's side, Tulle concentrates on vintage looks and styles while Heartbreaker's dresses are all inspired by the 50's and 60's.


TSK: Summer is known as being Festival Season, but it's also rife with Soul and Mod weekenders and all nighters. What attire would you recommend for the Summer dancefloors?


LH: Delicious Junction have developed a bowling shoe style which has a special 'tunit' sole, specifically with Northern Soul dancefloors in mind. The styles are called 'Watts' in black, red, white and blue or 'Italia' which are red, white and green. For the braver ones, there's the 'Tommy' , also with the 'tunit' sole available in red/white/blue Union Jack or brown/cream Union Jack.


TSK: Who are Atom Retro's fashion icons?

LH: From music and culture there are the obvious ones like Steve Marriott, Brian Jones, The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan etc and we also love 60's designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Faole and Tuffin, Mary Quant, Mr. Fish, John Symons and Warren Gold of Lord John. But probably who is most inspirational to us is John Stephen who was the founder of Carnaby Street

and at one time owned 15 shops along it. It's really John Stephen who gave us what we would call the 'Sixties look' and made things like flares, floral shirts and fitted Velvet Jackets part of Mod and Sixties fashion. 

TSK: What 'look' would you say is going to be most in this Summer? The Harrison in India? Elvis in Hawaii? Summer of Love revisited?

 

LH: There's a 'heritage UK' trend this Summer, again probably from the Olympics, etc. so anything quintessentially British is hot or anything with Union Jacks, etc on. There is a sort of Retro Seventies shirt trend coming through too, so think big, loud prints and Magnum PI.

TSK: What are your two absolute favourite new items that you're stocking for this Summer (1 men's item, 1 women's)?

 

LH: Mens - The Holy Roller Flares are based on the flares George Harrison wore in all the 'Mad Day Out' pictures. They're something a lot of people have requested in the past so we pretty chuffed to get these in at last. George's were the red and black ones: http://www.atomretro.com/8891 but there's also Grey/Black for a more toned down look: http://www.atomretro.com/8892

Womens - The new Dollierocker dresses are really good. We've made some dresses before but I think we really have it spot on with these new ones. They're a great Saturday Night frock, in Mod Target Print: http://www.atomretro.com/8576 or Navy/Red Mono Target: http://www.atomretro.com/8577. They have a great Sixties Mod feel and fit. 

 * You can 'Like' Atom Retro on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/atomretro  and also follow them on Twitter @AtomRetro https://twitter.com/AtomRetro

Until next time,

Keep on Keepin' on,

Baia

X

 

Swimming With The Sharks

Social media is a vast ocean, teeming with tweets, apps, photo filters and angry birds. Making a drop in this ocean is hard enough at the best of times, let alone during recession, yet Manchester based multimedia production company Tunafish Media have made some serious waves over the past 18 months.


Formed by Salford University alumni Smudge Jones, James McDonald and Richard Brooks in January of last year, Tunafish sought to offer something fresh and vibrant to the corporate film making industry. Quicker than a Sailfish (ok, last fish/ocean reference, promise) they had built up a client list including Harvey Nichols and the charity Forever Manchester, not to mention being featured as the North West company to watch by GQ.

Aside from the world of corporate film making however, it has been Tunafish's work behind the camera of several music videos which has most caught our eye.

The trio have directed videos for Manchester artists Daystar, Danny Mahon and The Last Party with many more still in the pipeline. To discuss these videos, rap battles, an unhealthy obsession with tuna and more, one third of Tunafish and resident Indiana Jones enthusiast, Smudge Jones ( the bearded one on the right. No relation to Indiana).

The Soul Kitchen: First things first, what was the inspiration behind starting Tunafish?


Smudge Jones: None of us really fancied starting at a bigger production company and working our way up. I imagine it can be quite soul destroying doing a degree and training to do something only to have to make coffee for a couple of years before you get given anything creative or interesting to do. Starting up ourselves has been quite liberating in the sense that if something goes wrong it's all on our heads. Learning how to handle things yourself and working out how to do all the 'running a business' things that running a business entails has been interesting too. I think having a grasp of all that stuff can only stand you in a good stead for everything that you plan to do in the future.




TSK: Also, and I'm guessing you get asked this a lot, but why Tunafish? Why not something a bit cooler and dangerous like Swordfish, Piranha or Narwhal?


SJ: I never thought it would be so hard naming a company. At one point we had a list of about sixty names that were in contention but the three of us could never really agree on one. We were planning on being called 'Chase the Sun Media' for a while but my Dad started slagging us off for sounding like a holiday company so that got binned pretty quickly.

We ended up going for Tunafish because Ric eats Tuna for every meal of every day and it had started to become a running joke to the point that we were in the cinema and Macca and Myself could smell fish. We turn around and there he is eating a Tuna baguette whilst everyone else is tucking into their popcorn.

There were some dangerous names on the list. I can remember suggesting 'Baddaman Media' but those two just stood up and walked out of the cafe that we were in. I never mentioned it again after that.

TSK: Starting your own company is a risky venture even at the most affluent of times, nevermind during a recession. Was that chance of failure daunting in the beginning or did it in fact spur you on to make Tunafish a success?

SJ: It spurs you on I think. I don't really think it was that big of a risk. We're all young, none of us have children or mortgages so there wasn't really any external factors stopping us from having a go at it. It looks like we're in a double-dip recession now too, which is frustrating. Someone recently told me that we started Tunafish in the worst possible time in history to start a company, which was nice. I've never had good timing.

TSK: You've recently directed music videos for Manchester artists Danny Mahon and The Last Party. How did these collaborations come about?

SJ: We've known Danny since we all worked on Manchester Radio Online. It was our first big job and I think when it came out people started taking us a bit more seriously. I think the danger of starting a company whilst you're young is that people think you're messing about but I guess that video showed that we weren't.

The rest of the music videos we have done have come off the back of that really. The Last Party liked that video so we did their's. It was the same with Daystar and Endeavours too.

TSK: The music video seems to be something of a dying art form nowadays, with the majority of bands settling for sub standard 'live' performances instead of something with any artistic integrity. Is that something you had in mind when shooting these videos?

SJ: I still think there are a lot of good music videos being made but there does seem to be a lot of performance videos at the minute. I guess it's because they are easier to make. When we got started we just wanted to create videos that were fun and had a bit of substance. I think the videos are just as important for us as they are the artists. They promote the single and the band but they promote us as well and that's why it's important that each of them is as good as it can possibly be.

TSK: Who's next for you to shoot (on video, not with a gun/crossbow)?

SJ: We have quite a few music videos coming up. There are a few more Danny Mahon videos in the pipeline and one for Kingdom Lost. We have started working with 12 Dirty Bullets from London as well, which I really enjoyed. They're a great band and I have been a fan of their's for a couple of years so to be asked to do their videos was great news. But it's not just indie bands we're doing videos for. We've got a really good dance video coming up with a DJ called Alan Conor, which is different to what we usually do but we're really excited about sinking our teeth into something different.

TSK: Ideally, who would your dream musician be to collaborate on a project with?

SJ: I would say Elvis Costello or Damien Rice but I imagine you would get a different answer from Macca and Ric. I'd like to make a Sigur Ros video too. I think out of all the bands around at the minute, they have the best music videos. They are incredible.

TSK: Social media seems to be evolving on an almost daily basis. How do you manage to keep up?

SJ: Social Media is chaos. We just keep an eye on what's going on and chip in when we can or have to. It's an exciting time for bands though, they can potentially reach an audience of millions without leaving their bedroom.

TSK: Any plans on the Tunafish Group to form a band of your own and jump in front of the camera?

SJ: We are the least three musically talented people walking the earth. Although, saying that Macca has just started guitar lessons. He knows how to play the G chord and he is quite good at rapping. We do seem to spend a lot of our time battle rapping each other. Life is just one big rap battle, it's better to be prepared.

TSK: Finally, what does the future hold for Tunafish? Documentaries? Feature films? Something in 3D?

SJ: I guess we would like to do all them things, except maybe the 3D films. Them things are just confusing. We have been working on a ducmentary about vinyl for a while which we will hopefully be releasing into festivals towards the end of the year. Personally, I'd like to carry on doing music videos, they're great fun.

*You can visit Tunafish's website to see more examples of their work at http://www.tunafishmedia.co.uk*

.Until next time,

Keep on Keepin' on,

Baia

X

The Rolling Stones: Sucking In The 80's (And Beyond . . .)

By John Ammirati

The first and last piece of music journalism I ever wrote was for my high school newspaper back in 1997: a review of the then-new Rolling Stones album Bridges to Babylon. At fifteen, I was an uncritical Stones obsessive, and in my article I gushed over their 'latest masterpiece', hailed the record 'an instant classic', kissed the band's Royal Ass like only a teenage fan or Mojo can.

            

That was half my life ago . . .

The Stones have only released one studio album since then, 2005's A Bigger Bang, and now in 2012 we're celebrating/ deriding their existence as a band for fifty long, long years.

           

  But as far as the World is concerned (World = the general public who like the odd Stones single and probably have a scratched copy of Forty Licks collecting dust in their parents' attic), the Stones haven't had a “hit” since 1981's Microsoft jam, 'Start Me Up'.

           

Even most Fans (those of us with the Stones embedded in our DNA, who see the world  through a tongue-and-lips-shaped veil) gag at the thought of Reagan-era Stones, and feel underwhelmed by the band's meagre output since. 

            

So out of those fifty years, it's really only the first ten (for Die-Hard Golden Era Fans) to twenty (for Less Tight-Ass Fans, music doesn't end with Exile on Main St.) years that are worth commemorating.

           

Let's get personal: Yes, the Stones are some Corporate Sell-Out Motherfuckers to a degree that would shame Moby.

Yes, they've been endorsed by both Bill Clinton and Queen Elizabeth, and Yes, they really did release the song 'Might As Well Get Juiced' without apology.

           

However.

           

 In their defence I would like to spotlight seven hot rocks from the past thirty-odd years that whip the hell out of 'Ruby Tuesday' and heaps of their other Sacred Output:

All About You (Emotional Rescue, 1980)

Heaven (Tattoo You, 1981)

She Was Hot (Undercover, 1983)

Slipping Away (Steel Wheels, 1989)

Jump On Top of Me (B-Side from Voodoo Lounge, 1993)

How Can I Stop (Bridges To Babylon, 1997)

Rain Fall Down (A Bigger Bang, 2005)