Share the post "Album review: THE NEW FORBIDDEN – Songs From The Subway (Loyd Grossman and Valentine Guinness)"
Cadiz Music [Release date 04.05.18]
The roots of The New Forbidden, a band led by Through The Keyhole / Masterchef presenter, and pasta sauce entrepreneur Loyd Grossman (OBE), can be traced back to his formative years reviewing for American underground mags and Rolling Stone.
But it was when he came to the UK to study at the London School Of Economics that the first iteration emerged – Jet Bronx And The Forbidden – a band born in the punk explosion and scoring a Top 50 hit with the single ‘Ain’t Doin’ Nothin” in 1977.
Of course he went on to be prominent ‘on the box’, and after a successful TV career, it was an ‘out of the blue’ promoter’s request to bring back the band, that saw its resurrection, this time with pal, and Guinness heir, Valentine Guinness on vocals and lyric duties.
An album Ain’t Doin’ Nothin’ ensued in 2010 and the band’s gigs included punk festivals, and repeated Glastonbury performances. It’s fair to say the album hasn’t left much of a lasting mark on the face of music history, but if contemporary mainstream press reports are to be believed it was a set full of memorable riffs, sneered vocals, and rock ‘n’ roll attitude.
Fast forward eight years and here we have the follow up – Songs From The Subway. Older, and perhaps wiser, Grossman and Guinness remain true to their punk/new wave roots, but there’s more of an indie vibe to the album, which conjures up images more of Morrissey and Paul Heaton, than Johnny Rotten and Rat Scabies.
It’s a deliberately lo-fi affair, and Guinness’ clean mic vocals are something you’ll either love or hate. And Grossman is, perhaps surprisingly, a pretty decent guitarist – nothing flashy but, like Guinness’s vocals, that was never the point of punk. It was get up there, have a good time, and express yourself.
And that pretty much sums up Songs From The Subway. It’s an album that would be entirely enjoyable in a club or pub. It wouldn’t even be out of place on a Radio 2 playlist.
Even if it’s not going to earn Lloyd a[nother] gong for ‘services to music’, it’s refreshingly unpretentious. And what’s more, he does a mean jar of pasta sauce. ***1/2
Review by Pete Whalley
The New Forbidden play Nells Jazz And Blues, 1 North End Crescent, London W14 8TG on Thursday 14 June (7-9pm)
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
Next session: Sunday 1 December
Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio
David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.
UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024
ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)
Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)
Popular (last 10 days)
Share the post "Album review: THE NEW FORBIDDEN – Songs From The Subway (Loyd Grossman and Valentine Guinness)"
PDF - you can delete unwanted sections
