MICK TERRY – Days Go By

It has been well documented that second albums can be tricky to complete. For some artists, it’s a case of finding material with a rapidly advancing deadline and a record label breathing down their necks; for others, it’s more a case of real life getting in the way of art. For London-based singer-songwriter Mick Terry, the latter definitely applies. Following the release of his debut ‘The Grown Ups’ in 2009, he began making early plans for a follow up. A tentative completion date was scheduled for Easter 2012, but with a producer several thousand miles away and various other things proving a distraction, that time came and went.

By the end of 2012, a couple of songs had appeared online, but as far as a full release of any kind was concerned, there seemed to be nothing doing. Terry continued to talk about a second album, but still the years ticked by. Grey hairs were cultivated, songs were written; album names changed…Then, eventually, in the summer of 2018 – approximately eight years after a follow up to ‘The Grown Ups’ was first tentatively mentioned – the recording was finally complete and almost ready to fill the world’s collective lugholes.

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HECTOR AND THE LEAVES – Little Bee EP

little bee epLondon based singer-songwriter Tom Hector has an old spirit. On this, his third EP, his music has a dreamy quality, resurrecting sixties pop and sunny attitudes, replayed through a sort of nineties filter. It results in four tunes that might appeal to fans of the Beach Boys or The Feeling, yet at the same time he presents material that holds on to a slightly woozy attitude that might just catch the ear of those who’ve followed the solo career of The Bluetones’ Mark Morriss.

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Awake & Dreaming: Real Gone meets Mick Terry

In 2010, London based singer-songwriter Mick Terry released ‘The Grown Ups’, a debut album with a personal quality.  Its creation came as a surprise, since Terry wasn’t especially planning on recording an album after returning to music after a family-raising break.  Since 2012, he’s been working on a follow-up.  Real Gone caught up with him in January 2015 to find out if it’s almost finished…

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JIM BOGGIA – Fidelity Is The Enemy

a2403831630_2Following a stint as a jobbing songwriter and working with and/or supporting well-known singer songwriters Juliana Hatfield and Amanda Marshall, power pop performer Jim Boggia delivered a storming full-length debut in 2001.  ‘Fidelity Is The Enemy’ takes in many moods during its old fashioned created- for-two-sides-of-vinyl-length forty two minutes. Every one of those moods is as fully realised as the previous, showing Boggia to not only be a strong songwriter, but an arranger of some confidence.

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VARIOUS ARTISTS – Here Comes The Reign Again: The Second British Invasion

second british invasionIn the spring of 2013, record producer Andrew Curry gathered many power pop superstars and cult artists to record their own versions of 1970s AM radio hits.  Highlights included a note perfect take on 10cc’s ‘The Things We Do For Love’, alongside previously unheard covers by the almost legendary Mike Viola, ex-Candy man Kyle Vincent and – no stranger to the cover version – one man pop factory Michael Carpenter, who put his own stamp on Cliff Richard’s UK #1 hit ‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’.  ‘Drink a Toast To Innocence’ was the embodiment of “guilty pleasure”, for those who believe that such things exist.  A year on, Curry gathered more cult pop performers – including return visits for some – for ‘Here Comes The Reign Again: The Second British Invasion’, a similar look back at 80s radio hits.

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