"We had a shared, inherent sense that we hadn’t yet completed the mission"

Following the recent release of The Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster's new album Blood and Fire, my obsession with them has reached near unhealthy heights that have not been equalled since I was a lonely 14-year old screaming their lyrics 'I wanna fly like an eagle; I wanna sing like Sinatra' every time I was on my own, whilst literally swooning over pictures of their sweaty singer. God, I love him.

Thus I feel that it is about time this sharply dressed, wild haired, diamond of a frontman gets a post of his own. I give you:

TODAY'S FAVOURITE: GUY MCKNIGHT.

Guy McKnight is sexy. He really is. And he has a voice that far more people should hear; it sends shivers down your spine and raises goosebumps on your arms. It's beautiful, powerful, insane, heartbreaking, intense, captivating. It is a raw talent, which is no doubt why, in the music industry of today, it is so unchampioned.

From copious youtube watching of TEMBD's live shows, I created an idea of Guy McKnight in my head that, in reality, turned out to be quite different. I imagined him as very effervescent and wild, and yes, he is these things, but he is also very charismatic, understated, and - for lack of a better word - polite (unless he is in the crowd- I saw him push a lad at least a head taller than him out of his way on his mission to get back to the stage). Whereas most singers crave the spotlight constantly, when there is a part of a song with no singing, he seems to take a step back from the band. He stands there, with his hands behind his back, watching the crowd, staring off into space...I just fell in love with him all over again when I saw them live (not once but twice in the space of eight days, a few weeks back). But then when he is performing, or when he's jumping into the crowd, or when he's screaming I wanna fuck your mother, he is so dominating. He has this incredible presence which makes you feel kind of humbled, because you can just tell that you are in the company of a genius.
His live performance is so surprising also because he seems so awkward and shy in interviews. Like this one, for example. He says 'er' more than any interviewee I have ever read. It makes me smile.

I wish I could write more about this man, because he is, in my opinion, one of our generation's great unheralded gems, and I adore him in ways I did not think possible, but I have been at work all day and it is way past my bedtime, so not only do I feel that my writing is not up to scratch, but I also suspect that I am in no way doing anything to even partially describe what a beautiful man Guy McKnight is. So I will let the pictures do the talking, and I will see you in the morning.

love

These photos are from an amalgamation of sites, including Flickr, GettyImages and various googled places. If you want crediting, that's cool. Let me know.

How did I forget to write about this?!

The May bank holiday weekend was the best weekend of my life, and I have realised that I have not yet posted about it! Because I am lazy and because I am tired (I have just returned from the absolutely fabulous Download festival), I will be mainly using visual aids.

Here is a synopsis of the weekend 28-31st May: The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster gig in York with Rachel (even better than Leeds), One Night Only at my uni summer ball, a grand day out to the Scarborough seaside with my pals Ruth and Katie, EVOLUTION FESTIVAL! with Hayley, missing Frankie & the Heartstrings (sob), seeing The Futureheads, seeing Paolo Nutini, a delicious italian meal, a search for a cash machine, bumping into Frankie and Michael of Frankie & the Heartstring fame, hugs and malibu and coke, pissing off a taxi driver with our 'oh my GOD!''s, a pleasant morning around Sunderland museum, Jacky Whites market, seeing I Blame Coco (beautiful), seeing The Horrors (LOVE), seeing Enter Shikari for the 8th time and it being absolutely unbelievably magnificent, being at the front and Chris Batten smiling at us, another OH MY GOD! taxi ride, some tasty pasta, an early train ride to work. Perfect.

"Put a tune to that and you've got a song"

I wanna fly like an eagle
I wanna sing like Sinatra
I got a date with destruction
I wanna love like a mother

I Got A Date With Destruction

When I was but a young girl of 14, I had an ambition: to see Guy Mcknight in person. Tonight, after a mere six years of waiting, I fulfilled that ambition. Tonight I saw The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster live.

It was the most insane, intense and incredible thing that I have experienced in a long time. I feel like my brain has been punched by pure musical genius. I am tingling all over. My body is aching. It was painful and beautiful and astonishginly mind-blowing. Please do not misinterpret me: I have been to better gigs. I have seen better bands. But I am having a hard job thinking of the last time I saw a band perform with such raw intensity. And I go to a LOT of gigs.

My friend (not Hayley, this time) and I were right at the front. The venue was quite small. There was no barrier between the stage and the crowd; we were leaning on the speakers. The place was packed; it was incredibly hot, incredibly sweaty, and every single girl I saw appeared to be absolutely loaded with I don't even want to know what. The lass next to me actually kept flashing the band. Just pulling h er dress down. It was surreal. They didn't even notice her (apart from the rhythm guitarist, who frowned in a confused, kind of disgusted, way).

They were exactly how I always thought a band should be: focused, committed, and fucking great performers. They owned the room, they really did. They just commanded your attention. And the songs, oh man, the songs just blew me away. They played all the old classics, plus several off the new album (which was released this or last week - BUY IT) which were fantastic. Listening to them play live was, as corny as it sounds, like stepping into a dream world. Everything was just different. It was beautiful.

Now, I know I say this about every band I write about, but please, please go and see them. Tonight was only their second in as long list of current tour dates, and for £9, you cannot got wrong. Go for the music or go for the experience - either way, it will absolutely blow your mind.

Here are some photos I took. They're not up to my usual high standard because I was right at the front and the lights were mad, but you can see McKnight's various stages of undressing.

Hidden Gems

I generally listen to quite commercial music. Mostly, when I say to somebody what band I am listening to, they can say 'oh right, yeah'. But there are a few bands that I adore that, while perhaps not being entirely unknown or underrated, they still do not have the recognition that I feel they deserve. So here is a list of my five favourite underappreciated bands. Have a listen. Spread the word.


1. The Sunshine Underground.

When I was 16 I used to hang around in Leeds pretty much every single day, and basically I discovered TSU just by being in the right place at the right time. They were doing a single signing at Leeds HMV where they also played a short live set, and it they were astonishing. I have never ever seen a man wearing jeans and an Adidas tracksuit jacket that could sing as powerfully as TSU's frontman can. I few months later I saw them for the second time, again at a single signing, and they just blew me away. Raise The Alarm is such an epic album, and it really should be heard by more people. I have also recently just bought their second album Nobody's Coming to Save You, and while I don't prefer it, I still love it.

Fun Fact: they're from Yorkshire and the lead guitarist is WELL fit.





2. The Chapman Family.

I saw The Chapman Family in York when I went to see Frankie & the Heartstrings on an NME tour, and they were exceptional. Their music is different to anything that's really going on right now, and when they came on stage they started off with this really weird, rowdy piece of music before they even played any songs, which I thought was a great sign of their confidence, and also bravery as a band. They are probably a band that needs to be seen live to be fully appreciated, but I listen to the stuff on their YouTube and it still makes me happy.

Fun Fact: the guitarist looks and acts exactly like Frank Iero, who I adore. And their band t-shirts are the softest and most comfortable that I have ever purchased.






3. One Night Only

Yeah, you probably know who these are. They did that Just for Tonight song a couple of years ago, remember? Well in 2008 I was obsessed with this band. OBSESSED. Thinking about it now, it is embarrassing how obsessed I was. I saw them 12 times in the space of about eight months. No doubt when their new album comes out in a little while I will do a full on ohmygod post about them, but right now I'll just say this: NME were wrong. NME ripped the shit out of One Night Only every week for about a year, and it pissed me off. Yes, they are seen as a band for 13 year old girls. But that's because they're cute and their music is easy to listen to. If you listen to them, really listen, you will understand that George Craig's voice is actually so beautiful. It is. It astounds me even now how lovely his voice is. And when you see them live, they are so much more raw and powerful than on record. I love them.

Fun Facts: In his spare time, George models for Burberry, probably because he's the most beuaitufl 19 year old on the planet. Me and my friend once went on their tourbus and played poker with them. I got drunk on their WKD.





4. The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster

Eighties Matchbox really, really should be superstars by now. Imagine The Cure, The Horrors, The Mighty Boosh and The Dead Weather with extra Jack White, and then add a strangely attractive goth singer, and you have TEMBD. I'm almost entirely certain that Noel Fielding bases his entire personality on Guy McKnight (singer).

Despite being a fan of the band since I was about 13 or 14, I have never seen them live. UNTIL NOW. I'm going to see them on Thursday and I am uncontrollably excited. Apparently they're one of those bands that it is an experience to see them live, and I cannot wait.

Fun Fact: If you want a good rock 'n' roll story, read this band's biography. Their former guitarist said the following about why the band eventually stopped doing drugs: "Because it's irresponsible, and you can't get anything done, and it stifles your creativity, and there's no benefit in it really, apart from its like going on vacation constantly"





5. Bombay Bicycle Club.

BBC are a really sweet kind of folk-indie band. Jack Steadman's voice is lovely; he's got that whole warbly (is that a word?) thing going on. I saw them for the first time at Leeds Fest in 2007 before NME started bumming them, and then again in Hull in 2008. The thing about BBC is that they genuinely want to be different to other bands - their sound in 2006/7 is quite different to it is now. Back then nobody really played music like they did, but now with bands like Mumford & Sons (incidentally who I aso love), it's quite common, so they have changed to a much more folksy kind of vibe.

Fun Fact: At gigs in the past, BBC used to invite fans to come on stage with them when they played their final song. When my friend and I saw them at Hull, we mentioned this to them, and before they played their last song they asked us to come on stage. You can find their music pretty music anywhere on the internet, so the below video is me and my pal dancing on stage with Bombay Bicycle Club.