SpideWriter

Part 2 of Interview with Micko Westmoreland of Micko & The Mellotronics (June 2026) Sooty,  a glove puppet, star of  children's television show that ran from 1955 on the UK's national TV channel BBC TV until 1967 and then on the commercial-funded channel ITV until 1992, is an unlikely cover star for Micko & The Mellotronics third album, The Trinity .  The glove puppet, with its (her?) permanent expression of a naïf surprised by life, features on front and back of the new CD cover.  Micko explains that the pictures, painted by his first teacher, Jacob Cramer at Leeds College of Art, feature Sooty because the puppet's character is " in   some ways, the essence of innocence. Art Work Garry Barker "On the front cover Sooty is accompanied by two other more ethereal glove puppets, two mashed deities.  A weird threesome, reflecting the album title, The Trinity. The reverse cover shows Sooty being raised in two hands above the head of a  sor...

Meeting Micko Westmoreland: Part 1 Doing A Proper Job It’s been a fascinating couple of weeks at SpideWriter.com Towers, what with a Hollywood actor hitting town with his band, Norwich’s first Zero BPM drone festival featuring various bits of electronica tech and the Embers choir, then having to get out to La Securité’s gig at Voodoo Daddy’s Showroom on Wednesday.      Then to top it all, I had the absolute pleasure of meeting up with Micko Westmoreland, of Micko & The Mellotronics to talk about the launch of his third album, The   Trinity , which is available as a CD and in all streaming formats from 12 th   June 2026. Micko & The Mellotronics first came to my attention with the single ‘Proper Job’ earlier this year.  It struck a chord with me, following my recent visit to the Play Produce Promote youth project in Great Yarmouth, and given the crisis in youth employment, the defenestration of entry level work by A.I., and the obligation of older ...

La Securité / The Aide / Decent Wrestlers Voodoo Daddy's Showroom, Norwich  27th June 2026 Music lovers of Norwich always appreciate it when a band makes the effort to travel to the Viking market place that was Norvic.   La Securité came all the way from Montreal, Canada, which is a good effort and they were duly rewarded by a solid turnout at Voodoo Daddy’s Showroom on a Wednesday night.  Those who turned up to catch the band were rewarded too, as the band produced an excellent performance, amply led by the theatrically coquettish Éliane Viens-Synnott.  La Securité is a product of pandemic lockdowns and play what they describe as ‘dance-punk’ (or is it 'punk-dance?).   The Punk genre was always an attitude, not a sound.  The angry Sex Pistols , the social commentary of  The Clash , Pete Shelley’s love songs in Buzzcocks , the comedic Jilted John , the rather silly rapid-fire Ramones , the theatrical Talking Heads , even the quirky keybo...

Zero BPM (Beats Per Minute) Drone Festival The Church Piano Bar, Redwell Street, Norwich NR1 This was less festival, more celebration.  There was the popping of corks for the ‘soft opening’ of Norwich’s latest live music venue, converting St Michael at Plea, smack in the heart of the city, from an evangelical tea, cake and event venue into a dedicated ‘quality’ jazz and blues venue.  There was also champagne metaphorically cracked open on the hull of Zero BPM (Zero Beats Per Minute) to launch an enthralling drone music mini-festival, which I hope can be expanded to be run over a couple of days in the not too distant future, whether in St Michael at Plea, or any other setting. The Zero BPM concept is excellent.  Stimulating, challenging, provocative and food for thought and subsequent conversation.  It would be fun to have more time to talk with performers, organisers and other audience members about what has been played and heard.  The i...