DELINQUENTS – Sober on Sunday EP – review

April 20, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

Dundee’s DELINQUENTS released one of my favourite albums of 2017 in the eminently listenable About Last Night, a raucous selection of punk rock tunes.

This four track E.P. is a step progression from their debut, if anything the four tracks here are a cut above, strong musically and lyrically and a sign of greater things to come. This is the sound of David Hennessey and the band making headway, and signalling their future intent. If About Last Night was Saturday, today it is Sunday, and we know what that means…

The band announce their arrival with full throttle pedal to the metal punk riffing and an ode to drinking too much.… Read the rest

Pop Life – Tom Kirkham Interview

November 28, 2018 By neilho27@sky.com

I have recently finished reading, and thoroughly enjoying, “Pop Life, The Story of a Minor Musical Expedition” by Tom Kirkham and reviewed the book for Louder Than War. Fortunately, I also had the opportunity to ask Tom a few questions. I could see a lot of parallels between him and I, so that was where I started.

TGQ: We sound quite similar in many ways. We are music fans with eclectic taste (although I can’t stand Oasis). We’ve been impacted by periods of poor mental health and we use writing as a way of dealing with and overcoming mental health issues.… Read the rest

Developing Resilience

August 11, 2018 By neilho27@sky.com

I haven’t written directly about mental health unrelated to music for a while. It isn’t that this is something that is no longer important to me, or something that I’ve forgotten about. On the contrary, forgetting is not an option. In fact this blog is about just how much mental health has been to the fore in my mind and the way I deal with it has been put in the spotlight in recent weeks.

Dealing daily with your Mental Health

When you are someone who lives with anxiety and depression, every day brings its challenges. Every day. There is no end as such, there is no miracle cure.… Read the rest

Free Gig Tickets – Reservoir Droog’s gigs

May 22, 2018 By neilho27@sky.com

Free Gig Tickets

I’m sure that heading has got your attention…

Fellow blogger (Reservoir Droogs), lover of music, vinyl, books & film, gig promoter and all round good guy Alex “Mainy” Main is keen to ensure those who love live music aren’t disadvantaged by their circumstances.

He is introducing an initiative with gigs he is promoting (and spreading the word amongst other bands and promoters) to allow music lovers who might not otherwise have been able to attend, to go to a gig they may really want to attend.

I asked him to share some information about this and allow the word to spread….… Read the rest

Britrock Must Be Destroyed – May 19th, Glasgow

May 20, 2018 By neilho27@sky.com

May 19th 2018 – a date to remember

So apparently today is some sort of big day. Something involving a ginger (small g) bloke and a (bad) actress celebrating a good feeling? Oh, and a number of games involving 22 blokes kicking a spherical object around for 90 minutes to try to win some silver things.

All that pales into insignificance, none of it really matters as the main event is happening in the O2 Academy. There is some premier 90’s rock to be had for the discerning Glaswegian punter. Anticipation has been building for this event for some time. The great and the good will be in attendance for this not to be missed event, only the select few will get this opportunity.… Read the rest

Mental Health Awareness Week 2018

May 14, 2018 By neilho27@sky.com

Today marks the start of Mental Health Awareness week (14th – 20th May 2018), so I couldn’t let it pass without a blog.

You’ll know by now if you’ve read my blogs that I’m passionate about raising awareness of mental health, a passion that stems from my own experiences.

My own mental health and that of others has been fresh in my mind in recent days and weeks.

From a personal perspective events have conspired to test my resolve. Events that in years gone would have seen me crumble, letting my negative thoughts in and letting them win. A time where I would have catastrophised every situation visualising the worst possible outcome, filtering out all potentially positive outcomes to paint a bleak picture of the future.… Read the rest

ILL – We are ILL – album review

May 7, 2018 By neilho27@sky.com

ILL vs Music Today

I like music to inspire, to excite and invigorate. To take me off in unexpected directions and escape reality, or at least give me a different take on reality. I like my music to provoke thought but not be too po-faced. Music is for enjoyment, it can be fun even if you’re trying to make a point.

I can’t stand the unending conveyor belt of beige, insipid, uninspiring bands (groups?) that appear in droves these days. On one hand I blame reality shows like X Factor. All because a similar group/pretty boy with a guitar released an instantly forgettable ditty that became massive.… Read the rest

Ginger Wildheart Interview

May 1, 2018 By neilho27@sky.com

Ginger – Ghost in the Tanglewood

Ginger Wildheart has recently released his latest solo album, Ghost in the Tanglewood, recently reviewed on my blog. Personally, I found the album to be inspirational. I wanted to talk to Ginger about the background to this very personal album, much of which focuses on his own battle with depression.

While people are more open about talking about Mental Health these days, there is still too much of a stigma around it. The more people like Ginger are willing to share their personal experiences, the further society can progress. It can only help in understanding and supporting those who do battle depression and other Mental Health issues.… Read the rest

Accept Yourself

April 15, 2018 By neilho27@sky.com

“When will you accept yourself?” (Morrissey, The Smiths, 1983)

Despite what the start of this blog looks like, this isn’t a music post. It doesn’t actually have anything to do with the Smiths or Morrissey per se, but everything to do with that lyric. It says a lot to me about my life.

I’ve had a number of conversations recently that has brought this to mind and I took that as an opportunity to post this blog.

Talk about your Mental Health

At work I have recently joined a team of Mental Health and Wellbeing Champions with a remit of raising awareness of mental health in the workplace.… Read the rest

Time to Talk Day 2018 – Mental Health Awareness

January 28, 2018 By neilho27@sky.com

Time to Talk Day 2018

This coming week heralds a new month. Where has January gone? And on February 1^st it is “Time to Talk Day 2018”. The aim of this day is to get people talking about mental health issues and reduce the taboo. To make it easy for people to ask for help when they need it without feeling as if they will be judged.

No matter who you are, where you are, what you do, what age you are, we all have mental health. Like our physical health we all have the potential to suffer from poor health from time to time.… Read the rest