book

 I'm going to post the first chapter of my book on here. Then if anyone is interested I'll write the second chapter....

JOHN DREDGE & THE BALCONY SHIRTS BAND release debut single

JOHN DREDGE & THE BALCONY SHIRTS BAND release debut single ‘Double Agent Working Alone’ on Friday March 24th.      

  

Listen to them…     

Listen to them…      

     

Double Agent Working Alone is a joyously catchy two-minute guitar-pop song conceived as a homage to the stylish spy thrillers of the sixties.  The video also evokes memories of cinematic espionage, with the inclusion of a secret message and a mysterious multi-story car park.       

     

The group was formed when singer/lyricist John Dredge met guitarist/producer/shop owner Scott Balcony in the Balcony Shirts garment printing and embroidery shop, deep in the heart of Uxbridge.  Bassist Chris Taylor, additional guitarist Leigh Heggarty and drummer Bob Burgons were quickly recruited from the shop staff, and the debut single was actually recorded there despite constant interruptions from the customers.  But what a result!  Shop-based pop at its finest.    

      

Streaming Link: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/johndredgeandthebalconyshirtsband/double-agent-working-alone

 

YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGYHgnKM2k0

 

The Balcony Shirts shop site https://www.balconyshirts.co.uk/

 

@johndredge

New guitar pop EP by John Dredge and The Plinths out today!

Today we release a new EP of guitar pop songs for the bewildered…

John Dredge & The Plinths - The Plinthsmania EP!

'Idiots Run The World' is the new and incontestably truthful lead track from John Dredge and The Plinths - it's the perfect encapsulation of the world today, where "self-serving politicians lead the way into chaos and corruption". The accompanying video, created by the award winning Popaisy Design, sees John Dredge taking over from world figures including Donald Trump, Kim Jong-un, Boris Johnson and that bloke whose entire family came into the room while he was on BBC News.

It's out now as part of 'The Plinthsmania EP', the very third release from the band after their debut 'Emergency EP' and recent 'Pancake Day' single which was championed by Paul Ross and Iain Lee on Talk Radio. Other songs deal with the need for nostalgia, the easy answers of social media, and there’s also a tribute to John Le Carre.

Anyone who thinks this EP will not bring about a change in government is just not being optimistic enough.

The EP is available on iTunes, Amazon, and all download sites, as well as directly from the band via their Bandcamp site.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAkkH2qT0wU&feature=youtu.be

Bandcamp: https://johndredgetheplinths.bandcamp.com/…/the-plinthsmani…

'Sounding great! I love breezy pop!' - Danny Baker

'Highly recommended for lovers of power pop and hummable ditties' Louder Than War

'Great!' Alan McGee

'Fishy fishy fish fish!' - Boris Johnson

RECENTLY REDISCOVERED EXCERPT FROM AN UNFINISHED BOOK BY ENID BLYTON

One morning The Secret Seven were all playing in Peter’s front garden.  

‘This is fun’ said Peter, ‘but it’s a shame there don’t seem to be any mysteries around to solve at the moment.’

‘That is mysterious’ said Colin.

‘Let’s keep an eye out for anything unusual,’ said Vera.

‘What about that car?’ said Janet, who had noticed a car.

 ‘It looks ordinary enough’ said Peter.

‘Too ordinary,’ said Janet.

‘Yes and look at the man in the front seat’ said Noreen. ‘He looks even more ordinary!

The Secret Seven hid behind the garden fence as, slowly but surely, a very ordinary looking man emerged from the car, changed what appeared to be a flat tyre, got back in, and drove away.

‘That was mysteriously ordinary,’ exclaimed Peter.

‘Perhaps we should go to the police,’ said Norman.

‘No, but we’ll have a secret meeting in the shed first thing tomorrow morning!’ exclaimed Peter even more exclamatorially. ‘It all seems very peculiar indeed!’

The next day’s meeting was full of excitement, although you’d be forgiven for thinking it wasn’t. 

‘Look at Scamper!’ said Norman, ‘he’s sitting there just like a dog!’

Everyone laughed at this hilariously appropriate observation, which took at least half an hour to recover from.

‘Now what shall we do about the mystery of the ordinary car?’ said Peter, sounding awfully important.

‘I’ve just thought of something!’ exclaimed Janet, sounding even more important and even more awful.

‘What have you thought of?’ said Norman.

‘Oh dear,’ said Janet, ‘I’ve forgotten.  But it was a good idea.’

‘Don’t worry Janet, it was a jolly good idea to have a good idea,’ said Peter.   

‘Why don’t we go back to where we were yesterday and see if the car comes back?’ said Vera.

Agreeing that this was another good idea, they went front into the back garden, realised their mistake, and went back into the front garden.  They waited and waited.  Suddenly, four days later, they heard something approaching.   

‘It’s a car!’ exclaimed Vera.

‘Shhh, stop exclaiming!’ said Peter, ‘You’ll give us away!’

‘That’s rich coming from you,’ said Vera.

‘What do you mean?’ exclaimed Peter.

‘You’re always exclaiming!’ said Vera, ‘You did it again there!’

‘Now is not the time to argue about who exclaims and who doesn't,’ interjected Janet.

‘Ooo look at you interjecting!’ said Peter bitchily.

‘Calm down all of you!’ said Colin, thankful for a line of dialogue. ‘Let’s keep quiet and see what happens next.’

The sound of the car got nearer and nearer and then finally it drove into view.

‘It’s a completely different car to the other one we saw,’ said Peter, trying not to exclaim. 

‘How peculiar!’ said Janet.

And then as quickly as it had arrived, the car vanished into the distance.

‘I’m going to the police!’ said Norman.

‘Good idea,’ said Peter.  ‘And perhaps they can help discover just exactly what is going on!’

first gig booked

I have booked my first stand-up gig for the end of the month. Five minutes.  Need to keep going over the material.  I guess it gets easier the more you do it.  Not particularly looking forward to it, especially as the show ends so late.  Oh well.

learning it

I am starting to learn my five minutes of standup material.  Learning material is extremely dull. How people learn hours of it I have no idea.  I have settled on a ‘miserable bastard’ persona which suits me well.  The material consists of one-liners mixed with some fairly personal stuff, which I think is the best way to go.  It’s a bit weird because all the other comedy I have done has been surreal and escapist – this is rooted in reality, something I‘ve never been very keen on.  However, that is what seems to come out when writing for standup so what will be will be will be (will be).  Everything is stacked against you when starting out in standup and I recall Harry Hill saying ‘those first gigs are the most difficult you will ever do.’  Who knows how it will go?  Soon enough, I will know.

stand-up

Am going to try stand-up comedy.  I’ve been doing a class in sketch and character comedy and we did a live show which went well, but in the UK there aren’t a lot of outlets for that sort of thing anymore and I feel I need to adapt.  It’s not something I’m naturally drawn to so I’m going to have to work at it.  I’ve got five minutes of material together – who knows how good it is?  The only way to find out is to go and do it and then change it accordingly.  I also have a shocking memory for remembering lines so that’s something else I need to work on.  Anyway, it’s now or never.  I need to learn the material before I can do anything else so that’s the next step.   

I’m not young – and I have a day job which takes up a lot of time and energy so it’s not going to be easy.  I don’t have a wife or kids so that pressure’s not there, which is good.  I have been doing comedy in some form all my life – podcasts, community radio shows, videos, and a double act with fellow silly person Andy Harland.  However with stand-up you can only rely on yourself, which has advantages and disadvantages.

  

Perhaps in writing this blog other people in a similar position might find it interesting and possibly useful.  It will also hopefully keep me on track.  Am going to document what happens on social media.  That's the idea anyway.   

Off we go.