As far as many people in the UK are concerned, John Mellencamp burst onto the music scene in 1982 with his radio hit ‘Jack & Diane’, but by the time that was loved by the masses and its parent album ‘American Fool’ was a success on both sides of the Atlantic, Bloomington’s most famous export had been building a career for several years. Previous albums ‘John Cougar’ (1979) and ‘Nothing Matters & What If It Did’ had seen some success stateside, but Mellencamp’s musical roots actually stretch back even further. In the mid 70s, he signed with the management company Mainman (a company who had David Bowie and Mick Ronson on their books) and recorded three albums’ worth of material in a very short period that, over the years, has been somewhat overlooked.
Tag Archives: singer songwriter
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #148
With new tracks from a couple of the indie scene’s UK/Irish leading lights and a Bristol based guitar driven band who’ve already attained cult status, this visit to the Singles Bar feels rather weighted towards jangly material and swirly shoegaze sounds, but with a very retro sounding track that fuses blues rock with prog flourishes and a dreamy number from a French singer-songwriter, there’s a sharp contrast too, helping to keep the usual love of shining a light upon the most cult of artists. Bolstered by an unexpected reissue from the 80s and a lo-fi workout that could split opinion, it’s certainly an interesting selection this time around. As always, of course, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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LOVINA FALLS – Would That It Were EP
Valerie Forgione – aka Lovina Falls – creates a strange and sometimes dream-like world on her 2025 EP ‘Would That It Were’. Its five tracks create a great extension of the sounds shared on 2023’s ‘Calculating The Angle of Our Descent’, bending pop, synth, dream pop and melodic 90s influences into new shapes, on material that invites its audience to listen closely.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #147
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the more interesting individual tracks that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. This selection takes in a genuine curveball from a cult musician, shares a perfect slice of soul, a great single from an up and coming singer songwriter, a brilliant melodic rock banger, and more… As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
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RYAN HAMILTON – The Come To Jesus Moment / You May Be Right
In a just world, the name Ryan Hamilton would be one of those dropped into musical conversations often, but over the years, the US singer-songwriter has had to settle for achieving a Marshall Crenshaw-like cult status. Whether as a solo performer or as frontman of the Harlequin Ghosts, of course, he’ll be more than familiar to fans of retro sounding college rock, power pop and indie infused country rock.