Bourbon-soaked street fightin’ blues cool from East London.
Opening like a quick draw scene from a Sergio Leone Western, ‘Love Song 666’ slinks its way from the speakers with a satanic and sexy strut as ringmaster Mr Paul-Ronney Angel leads his flock of red ‘n’ black-clad miscreants through a barroom bop with the lyrics “So I fucked your sister/Tried it on with your mother/Kicked the shit out of your brother…”, intoning them with the gravitas of a sin-soaked preacher leering out of his pulpit at his damned congregation of drunks and punks. With a band culled from the darkest dive bars and titty joints this side of a James Ellroy novel (comprised of Nick ‘Nasty’ Marsh on guitar/vocals, Barney Hollington on violin, Dr Loyd Gomez De Ville on trumpet, upright bass player The Reverend Gavin Smith, percussionist extraordinaire Brother Jim Jones, The Late J-Roni-Moe on drums, Joe ‘Mongo’ Whitney on melodica, washboard and percussion and Jary on floor tom, cymbal and sticks), The Urban Voodoo Machine make music to drink, fight and fuck to, harnessing a sound that makes grown men strip and strippers lose their shit as master of the perverse verse Angel harnesses the smoky-shrouded cool of old school Tom Waits to the kind of swing that makes the burlesque dancers of the East End do their thing, dragging one and all into the band’s dark carnival. Having left an indelible mark on Vagueness, Edinburgh Festival and Latitude Festival, if they’re not out on tour, you can find The Urban Voodoo Machine propping up, playing on or underneath the bar at the Gypsy Hotel, an East London club night especially created to showcase their unique skills in getting a crowd good and sweaty. Personally invited by Spider Stacy to support The Pogues last year amd with their bourbon soaked second album 'In Black 'N' Red' out now, be sure to get their early to see just what all the fuss is about.
'In Black 'N' Red' is out now on Gypsy Hotel.
theurbanvoodoomachine.com
LIKE THIS? THEN CHECK OUT:
The Pogues – Rum, Sodomy And The Lash
Tom Waits – Nighthawks At The Diner
The Clash – London Calling
PAUL-RONNEY ANGEL'S (front centre of pic above) 10 OUTLAW ANTHEMS
1. San Quentin - Johnny Cash (above)
JC wrote this for the inmates of SQ, trying to put himself in their place - he did it well! "Your stone walls turn my blood a little cold"
2. The Guns of Brixton - The Clash
"When they kick at your front door how you gonna come, with your hands on your head or on the trigger of your gun?" Nuff said!
3. Mack the Knife - Louis Armstrong
OK, there is hundreds of versions of this song, but I belive Satchmo's is the best! "Someones sneaking round the corner, could that someone be Mack the Knife?"
4. Jesse James - The Pogues
No list of outlaw anthems are complete without cowboys and the Pogues, this combines both! "Jesse James we understand, has killed many a man"
5. Devils Right Hand - Steve Earle
Mr Earle was the country outlaw guy of the ‘80s, this song sums him up nicely! "Mama says the pistol is the devil’s right hand"
6. Stagger Lee - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
From the excellent Murder Ballads album, Ol' Stag is the meanest gunslinging, gambling motherfucker around, "And he will crawl over fifty good pussies just to get to one fat boy's asshole" - scary!
7. Rock 'n' Roll Singer - AC/DC (above)
"You can stick your 9-5 living and your collar and your tie" - Bon Scott is the ultimate Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw!
8. Jumping Jack Flash - The Rolling Stones
Anyone "born in a crossfire hurricane" got to be an outlaw! And then there is Keef of course!
9. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - Ennio Morricone
The ultimate western soundtrack - beautiful, scary and dramatic. If you want to hear a more rocking version, check out Los Plantronics.
10. Going Out West - Tom Waits
"My parole officer is gonna be proud of me" - yeah right Tom!
~OK, you asked for 10, but I always go to 11, so here is one I wrote!
11. Orphans Lament - The Urban Voodoo Machine
"Snake-Eye Jack that's my name, too tough to die and too wild to tame"
