Nigel Nosebleed: Cockney Gangster
A composite of all the East End baddies I’ve soaked up from movies and TV over the years. I’m pretty happy with this take, although at one point you can catch me drooling for a second 😂
Angelic Upstarts: Shotgun Solution (Monologue)
This is my monologue version of the song Shotgun Solution by the Oi! band Angelic Upstarts. It was released on their 1980 album We’ve Got To Get Out Of This Place, and it’s such an electrifying track. According to an interview with their lead singer Mensi it’s a recounting if real events, but I can’t really figure out who did what. The short version is that the band owed money or were perceived to owe money to someone, and gangsters came to collect. But for me, the bleakness and ferocity of the lyrics is really just so quintessentially English, the song could be about anything from far-flung colonial wars to homegrown sectarian violence. Mensi is one of those punk vocalists who literally still sends shivers down my spine.
The Crass Recitals: Bloody Revolutions
I’ve been practicing this monologue adaptation of the Crass song Bloody Revolutions for a few weeks now and I have to say, it’s quite a challenge! I’m definitely going to have another go at it soon. I tried to be as on-point with my London/Epping accent as I could, but the emotion came out a little stilted. It was my first run. I’m really not used to performing for a camera!! ^.^ It’s so much easier with a crowd..
Anyways, I highly recommend checking out the song, it was Crass’s only chart hit and it also has no swear words, which is rather rare for a Crass recording (lol). I’m not a pacifist myself, but that’s never turned me off from their work and I think Bloody Revolutions is a perfect tour de force, forgive the expression.