FORTHCOMING GIGS:
MARCH
9th WAKEFIELD Black Flag 14+ - DON'T BUY TICKETS
Slight issue with this gig but we're sorting it ASAP.
10th EXETER The Cavern 18+ FREE ENTRY
13th LONDON Hoxton Underbelly 18+ £7 TICKETS
14th SHEFFIELD The Hop 18+ FREE ENTRY
16th STOCKTON-ON-TEES KU Bar (ticket info TBA)
17th GLASGOW King Tut's 18+ £6 TICKETS
Listen to new single 'All The Rest Is Propaganda'
Watch the video for 'All The Rest Is Propaganda'
Download 'The Lonely Hearts of England'/'43 Degrees'
Download debut album 'Love, And Other Catastrophes'
Buy 'Love, And Other Catastrophes' 12" LP via Germany
Buy official band t-shirts & Matt's short story booklet
General Manager:
Alex Stephens
alex.stephens@heistorhitrecords.com
(CC: management@heistorhitrecords.com)
Press Contact:
James Parrish
james@prescriptionpr.co.uk
Jay Taylor
jay@prescriptionpr.co.uk
Ellie Clarke & for physical promos (for review)
press@prescriptionpr.co.uk
Booking Agent:
Lee Taylor
lee@selectbookingagency.com
UK Radio:
James Chapple-Gill
james@chapdav.com
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When Yorkshire performance poet Skint & Demoralised (Matt Abbott) signed with Mercury in 2008 the debut album 'Love, And Other Catastrophes' drew incredible support from press and radio alike. Featured as Q's Next Big Thing, the accolades flooded in from The Clash, The Independent, Sunday Times Culture and The Guardian, while radio support for the single 'Red Lipstick' followed from Sara Cox, Zane Lowe, Colin Murray, Huw Stephens, Steve Lamacq, Nick Grimshaw, Annie Mac, Dermot O'Leary, Janice Long and Chris Moyles.
As a poet first and foremost, lyricist second and and frontman third, it's logical that 'This Sporting Life' would absorb some of John Cooper Clarke's charismatically uncouth, humorous and honest musings on life and British culture. When Abbott initially made the transition to performance poet, it presented a multitude of opportunities to be counted as a musical act, and so lyricists like Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, Shane MacGowan, Morrissey, Billy Bragg, Guy Garvey, Leonard Cohen and Johnny Cash all helped to shape the Skint & Demoralised sound.
'This Sporting Life' is a record owing more to cinematic and literary sources than musical ones. However, the band's mutual love for The Pogues was behind 'The Lonely Hearts of England' and Abbott's obsession with Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan inspired 'Maria, Full of Grace'.
Lead single 'All The Rest Is Propaganda' is a famous quote from Alan Sillitoe's novel 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'. Lyrically it aims to capture first of all the uncertainty and insecurity, and then second of all the untouchable joy of a new relationship.
Just as the album title suggests, inspiration for 'This Sporting Life' lyrical themes stem from the British new wave of cinema in the early '60s; 'kitchen-sink dramas' that were based in typically grim Northern towns, documenting the classic 'angry young man' character and focusing on romance, social politics, coming-of-age and the general struggles of young working class people. Films such as 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning', 'A Taste of Honey', 'Room at the Top', 'A Kind of Loving' and of course 'This Sporting Life' captivated Abbott as he rebuilt the Skint & Demoralised band set-up. Just as these features captured the universal simplicity of British working class life, and the poignancy of relationships between the characters, Abbott's own storytelling styles re-imagine this important legacy, making 'This Sporting Life' feel like a tapestry depiction of the British every-man's collective mentality.
"The themes touched upon in the likes of 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning' and 'A Taste of Honey' are as relevant now as they were when they were written in the late 1950s, and it's these themes that I love to try and replicate. No matter how politics and technology changes, these are the issues that will continue to dominate our lives for another 50 years to come."
With Abbott taking this approach, 'TSL' has every chance of standing the test of time as well.
ALL THE REST IS PROPAGANDA - SINGLE 5th MARCH
THIS SPORTING LIFE - ALBUM 12th MARCH
Listen to S&D on SoundCloud- Follow Matt Abbott on Twitter
- Like S&D on Facebook
- Watch S&D on YouTube
- Follow Matt Abbott on Tumblr
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Sets
- 3 tracks (11:22)Single release of 'All The Rest Is Propaganda' to promote the full launch of second album 'This Sporting Life'. Available digitally via Heist Or Hit Records from 5th March.
All tracks written by Abbott/Gledhill, produced by MiNI dOG and recorded at 6x7 Studios, Sheffield.
Tracks 2 and 3 remixed by MiNI dOG at 6x7 Studios, Sheffield. - 12 tracks (42:38)Skint & Demoralised's entire debut album 'Love, And Other Catastrophes'.
Recorded at:
The Daptone Studios, Brooklyn New York
RAK Studios, London
6 x 7 Studios, Sheffield
Produced and mixed by MiNI dOG, except for tracks 3, 5, 8, 9 and 11 mixed by Jeremy Wheatley.
All tracks written by Abbott/Gledhill.
Performed by Matt Abbott, David Gledhill, Tracey Wilkinson and The Dap-Kings.
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Tweets
- My mum has just said, in all seriousness with a pleasant & optimistic tone, "You haven't started losing your hair yet, have you?" I'm 23!!!
- Things that are annoying (1) someone trying to talk when you have headphones on (2) trying to talk to someone when they have headphones on.
- Wow. Another amazing review, this time @Shout4Music http://t.co/xxwkpNur 8/10 & "not as outlandish as it seems" comparison to Mozza. Result!Feb 22, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Bloody hell. Brilliant review on RockReviews24/7: http://t.co/5kftnugq - Quite taken aback by this one, haha.Feb 22, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- It'd look great on those classic cinema-style boards outside an O2 Academy...Feb 22, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
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Wall
- Wow. Another amazing review, this time Shout4Music. 8/10 and a "not as outlandish as it seems" comparison to Mozza. Result!
- Bloody hell. Brilliant review on RockReviews24/7. Quite taken aback by this one, haha.
- I would love Skint & Demoralised and The Lottery Winners to collaborate. Both musically and because of the brilliantly contrasting names!
- You'd have to try REALLY hard not to like this band. Please vote for them to support Graham Coxon on tour! They are The Lottery Winners.
- I'll be making an official announcement with regards to the Wakefield album launch very soon. It'll still be on the same night and £4 in. Obviously very disappointing about Black Flag going bust. Tickets won't be transferable I'm afraid but SeeTickets have offered full refunds.
- Fancy driving S&D? 25+ with clean license? Fee & expenses paid (including beer & hotel). Exeter 10th March, Glasgow 17th. Let me know if you fancy either or both!
- Another great review for 'This Sporting Life', this time by A Musical Priority. Nice to see that people "get it" on this album.
- Right, so I've made a Tumblr page. The more places S&D are the better. Don't really know what I'm doing yet though...
- I've done a playlist for the Q Magazine website here. Songs inspired by poems; from The Rolling Stones to Pet Shop Boys.
- We're playing at Eddie's Rocks Club in Birmingham tonight if anybody fancies it. £7 on the door, 14+, due on at 10pm.
- Avoid missing out on the Kaiser Chiefs and Frankie & The Heartstrings Official Aftershow at Dry Bar Manchester tomorrow night by coming to our gig there instead.
- Just another quick reminder; Eddie's Rock Club in Birmingham tomorrow night & Dry Bar Manchester on Saturday. £6 in, 14+. Can't go wrong!
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Uploads
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Posts
I’m out for a good time. All the rest is propaganda.
-Arthur SeatonAlan Sillitoe novel ‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’ (1958)I did a playlist for Q Magazine this week. They asked me to choose ten songs which were directly inspired by a poem. I’ve always spoken of my love for poetry because it’s the reason that S&D started, but there’s a massive stigma attached to it these days and most people just assume you’re a bit pretentious.
So in choosing bands like The Rolling Stones, The Cure, Bob Dylan, The Doors and even Pet Shop Boys, I’m hoping it’ll help to show how big a role poetry plays in popular music.
Oh, and it obviously features the legendary John Cooper Clarke. A poetry playlist wouldn’t be complete without The Bard of Salford!
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This is the video for our new single ‘All The Rest Is Propaganda’. We shot it in a few hours up on Sam’s farm.
It was co-directed and filmed by the very talented Andy Little from (b-side). I’ve worked with him on our videos since day one and no matter what the budget, he always does an amazing job! He also did the video for ‘43 Degrees’ last summer as well as both ‘Red Lipstick’ videos (2007, 2008) and also ‘The Thrill of Thirty Seconds’ (2008).
Co-starring Sam Greenwood and Olivia Rhodes. Oh, and co-directed, written, produced and edited by myself…so if you think its shit, its definitely my fault ;)
The single is released digitally via Heist Or Hit Records on 5th March.
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