As I was trying to catch the barman’s eye at the Penny Bank in Lancaster I overheard someone saying “Why is this place so packed tonight?” “There’s a band on”, came the reply “They’ve got a massive following”. And it was a massive night for the Heroes of She, who played two sets over nearly two hours, with no fewer than six songs from their forthcoming second album including two played in public for the first time- Don’t Talk To Me and Not Wrong. This video features Don’t Talk To Me and you’ll see that it’s a change of style for the band, but one of the most original, innovative songs they’ve written. I love it and can’t wait to hear a recorded version.

At the Penny Bank in Lancaster I managed to capture a Flip video of the second public performance of We Don’t Love You. The tune is irresistible. In fact I’ve had it on my brain for the last couple of days. The style, pace and tempo are just right for the Hammond /Drums combination of James Mackie and John Elles. It’s my guess that this will be the first single release from their second album. On the other hand I’ve only heard half of the songs for the new album. Let’s just say- It’s looking good.

When the Heroes of She agreed to headline at a fundraising event for the earthquake victims of Haiti they were told that they would be following “The Bishop”. A spin-off from Reverend and the Makers perhaps?. Nothing so mundane. This was a real bishop, the Bishop of Haiti, who was there to lay bare a few uncomfortable facts about the tragic events in Haiti. He did a good job as more than £1,000 was raised on the night.
As for the Heroes- they were storming, playing a full set for more than an hour- in fact one of the best gigs they have done. The Heroes have been lying low for a while, writing and rehearsing songs for their second album; tonight they played two of the new songs in public for the first time. The first, “We Don’t Love You” is instantly catchy, obvious single material. The second, Diabolique, sung partly in French, is one of the cleverest, most inventive songs they have written. Here it is, as captured on my flip video. Thank you guys for your generous words in the introduction.

It’s an uncomfortable truth that almost no new British bands made it big in 2009. The BBC and in particular Radio 1 have received a lot of stick for not giving airplay to new acts. Radio 1 has a playlist of 50 records each week which is dominated by the big three labels, which doesn’t give small outfits such as Northern Music and the Heroes of She a fair chance.
We are fighting back and we are lobbying hard to get a fairer share of the airtime. Radio 1, to give them their due, have been listening, which is why I’m down at the BBC Television Centre in Wood Lane, at the invitation George Ergatoudis (see posting on November 13th) the Head of Music at Radio 1 who is giving a presentation to explain just what Radio 1 is doing to help the independent sector. George speaks from the heart, he loves music, he quite clearly isn’t intimidated by the power of the “big three” and here gives us independents lots of insights into how we can get onto the inside track. My thanks to the Association of Independent Music, who organised the evening. I made a “Flip” video of the entire presentation and as this short extract shows there’s no doubt that George and his team are doing their best to redress the balance.

‘Sometimes life can taste so sweet
When you slow it down’

From ‘Upside Down’ by Paloma Faith

It’s not just the Heroes of She who have failed to make it big in 2009, very few British acts broke through last year. Apart from reality TV acts only Florence + The Machine have surpassed 300,000 sales in the year. 2009’s winner of the BBC’s “Sound Of” poll, Little Boots, was only 120th in the ranking of album sales. The new artist who I adore and who is bound to be a sensation in 2010 is Paloma Faith, whose “Upside Down” from her album “Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful?” is set to become the Slow Life anthem. This video clip show her singing it on the Jools Holland show. Incidentally, since my posting about Paolo Nutini’s “Sunny Side Up” on December 27th his album has shot from No 15 right to the top of the charts- after 31 weeks in the chart , no less.