home - history - profiles - discography - soundclips - reviews - live - links - club - contact - new lyrics / guitar tab page - where to buy "Lonesome Blue"
latest news
tv stars - out now - solo sweetheart - brian wilson tribute - unique photo
solo sweetheart 2 - new club - townes van zandt tribute
On the 9th September 2001 John and Francis from the Sweethearts took part in a tribute night to the late great Townes Van Zandt. John was the co-organizer and host / MC for the evening and Frank did a song or two. The night was in aid of the Multiple Sclerosis (Scotland) Society and we managed to raise the grand sum of £300. John would like to thank his co-conspirator Gus Macleod and all of the artists who gave freely of their time and effort to make the night a success. Special thanks to John Naismith of Evangeline, The 13th Note, Francis Macdonald, and Fraser Middleton of the Evening Times newspaper who all donated prizes for our raffle. Special thanks also to Townes' widow Jeanene who sent us the following special message of support.
Hello Glasgow from the house and family of Townes Van Zandt.
On behalf of our children, William Vincent, Katie Belle, John Townes and myself, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for keeping Townes' music and spirit alive and well in Scotland a place that he loved.
Tonight as his songs are performed his spirit will be with you because love attracts him and he always loved to encourage other artists to take his songs and make them their own. Wild Horses couldn't keep him away from this gig.
We want to thank Gus MacLeod and all the artists for the effort it took to coordinate tonight's tribute- A Far Cry from Texas, and all the folks who came to pay their respects and to enjoy some great music.
Love to you all and we hope you have a Kickin' Ass time! God Bless, Jeanene Van Zandt
Photographs taken at the event can be viewed at fotango.com (enter Share number 84717 and Password 95666) and also at Willie Evan's Country Fever page.
Radio Sweethearts will start their brand new club in Stirling on the 17th November 2001. The Club will take the same format as Glasgow and will run bi-monthly - initially at The Cowane Centre and moving to the brand new purpose built music venue The Tolbooth in late March. See CLUB page for more details
Radio Sweethearts singerJohn Miller has recorded his debut solo album. The album features appearances from members of Radio Sweethearts, David "Pearlfishers" Scott, Kathy Stewart, The Moonshiners and others. Full details will appear here at a later date.
Radio Sweethearts will be part of the new season on ITV when they appear in the new Inspector Rebus mystery "Mortal Souls" starring John Hannah. The series, based on the novels by Ian Rankin, finished filming in mid February 2001 and the Sweethearts did their bit on February 13th 2001 in Edinburgh. They play the part of a bar rock band in a venue where a murder takes place and are seen performing two songs, both covers of the TV company's choosing, namely Alex Harvey's "Soul In Chains" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Truck Drivin' Man"; "Closing Time" from the Sweethearts' "Lonesome Blue" CD may also be featured in the programme. The plot revolves around white supremacists trying to become active in Scotland and goes out on ITV on the 20th September 2001.
John Miller will also be appearing in a brand new series called "Country Nights", hosted by The Brand New Opry's Brian Burnett. The filming takes place in Aberdeen on Saturday March 3rd and the show also features Slaid Cleaves and Buddy Mondlock. John will perform two songs; "Heart On The Line" from the 'Lonesome Blue' CD and a cover of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues". It's possible this show may only be shown in Scotland (we're not quite sure) and the format will be similar to the current STV show "Northern Nights" but with less folk music. Latest estimate is for a July screening
the Shoeshine / Spit & Polish sampler featuring tracks from all the Shoeshine/S&P releases to date plus tracks from forthcoming albums by Michael Shelley, Paul Burch, Tim Carroll and others is now available in your local store for around £1.99. Don't miss this bargain opportunity to sample the very best in new music.
Sweethearts singer John Miller last year made his solo debut supporting Texan Eric Taylor in Glasgow. He enjoyed the experience so much that he repeated it recently with an appearance supporting the amazing Robbie Fulks. He now says he wants to do it "as often as he can" in future. Keep an eye on the listings (and on the Sweethearts LIVE page - link below) for future John Miller appearances
|
The compilation album "Caroline Now - The songs of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys" was released on the 7th of August 2000. This excellent 24 track album contains an exclusive Sweethearts version of "Honkin' Down The Highway" from the Beach Boys "Love You" album. It also contains tracks by such Sweethearts cohorts as Alex Chilton, Kim Fowley, Chip Taylor & Evie Sands, Stevie Jackson and Duglas T Stewart as well as tracks by Eugene Kelly, Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake, Saint Ettienne and many others. The CD is released on the German label Marina and the sleeve contains many rare photos and an exclusive interview with Brian Wilson himself. |
Here is a unique photograph. This is the first (and maybe the only) time the entire Spit & Polish roster of artists have been in the same room at the same time
l-r :Malcolm (back), Martin (front), John Herald, Laura Cantrell, John, Frank, Kevin (back) and Steve Young
for older news click on the links below
home made jam - spit & polish revue - celtic connections 2000 - spit & polish revue no.2 - birthday bash - big big country 2000 - kevin montgomery - TV appearances - chip taylor
Late May/Early June saw the Spit & Polish Showcase Revue hit the road. The Sweethearts, Laura Cantrell, and John Herald played several dates up and down the country and even found time to record some sessions (with Laura) for Bob Harris and John Peel as well as live appearances and interviews on several other stations. The tour finished up with a spectacular evening at the Sweethearts Club in Glasgow where the Spit & Polish quartet was completed with the completely unannounced appearance of Mr Steve Young, fresh from his triumphant gig at the Renfrew Ferry the night before. Below are some photos sent to me by Sweethearts fan Gus Macleod of this amazing evening in progress. More photos to come later.
 |
LEFT John Herald - RIGHT
Steve Young BELOW Laura Cantrell with Radio Sweethearts |
 |
Nashville singer-songwriter Kevin Montgomery and his sidekick, guitarist Doug Pettibone, made a surprise, unannounced, appearance at a the Sweethearts club where they performed songs from their latest CD "Another Long Story". They were joined for a couple of numbers by the Sweethearts own steel-(Mc)master, Malcolm, and were very well recieved. Kevin and Doug now have a standing invitation to come back to the club anytime they are back this way. For more info on Kevin check out our links site by following the link below.
kevin and doug at the sweethearts club (photo: gus macleod)
spit & polish at big big country 2000
The Spit & Polish roster of stars made their presence felt at this years 'Big Big Country 2000' festival which took place in Glasgow in May. All of the current S&P acts put in an appearance. Radio Sweethearts were the guests of Ms. Laura Cantrell at the Ramshorn Theatre and shows were also scheduled for the wonderful John Herald and legendary singer/songwriter Steve Young whose new album 'Primal Young' finally got an official European release on S&P. Check out the new Spit & Polish section of the Shoeshine website for the latest album info on all of the above acts.
Early this year saw the first appearance of Scotland's top bluegrass outfit Home Made Jam, from Edinburgh, at the Sweethearts Club. They played a blistering 40 minute set which included many old bluegrass favourites like Merle Travis' "Nine Pound Hammer" and "Way Downtown". If you weren't lucky enough to catch them I can only say you missed a treat, but don't worry as we intend to have them back at the Sweethearts Club before too long. If you live in the Edinburgh area you can catch Home Made Jam in a venue near you. Check out their "Bluegrass in Scotland" website.
January 2000 saw the Sweethearts taking part in the Spit & Polish revue alongside Ben Vaughn and Laura Cantrell. Mr. John Herald, whose Spit & Polish album, 'Roll On John', is due soon, was also scheduled to take part but due to illness was unable to make the trip this time. John is now on the mend and we'll be seeing him back here soon. The Sweethearts, as well as doing their own set, also provided the backing for Ms. Cantrell who was performing tracks from her FANTASTIC debut album,'Not The Trembling Kind', which is also on the Spit & Polish label. Laura, who is also a successful Radio D.J. in New York, also played some gigs of her own i.e. not part of the Revue, at which the Sweethearts again acted as her backing band. We all had a great time and can't wait for Laura's return to the UK so that we can repeat the experience.
"Lonesome Blue", the brand new 15 track album from RADIO SWEETHEARTS is now available on Spit & Polish records. Click on the link at the top of this page for more details. Other releases on this label include New York country chanteuse LAURA CANTRELL (Nanci Griffith meets Emmylou) and, coming soon, the first solo album in 18 years by bluegrass legend, and former Greenbriar Boy, JOHN HERALD.
LAURA CANTRELL, JOHN HERALD, RADIO SWEETHEARTS and BEN VAUGHN
 |
 |
 |
 |
TV appearances
John and Frank from the Sweethearts were recently spotted on UK digital TV channel BBC Choice appearing as members of the house band in two shows from the popular BEAT ROOM series. These shows were part of a special Beat Room series called Pop Century which featured music from the 1900s to the 90s. John and Frank appeared in both the 40s and 50s episodes. John was also seen appearing on the Beat Room with legendary songwriter CHIP TAYLOR. I apologise to those of you who are part of the digital revolution and would like to have tuned in to these shows but unfortunately I was not given the broadcast dates to pass on.
Celtic Connections 2000
RADIO SWEETHEARTS played at Glasgow's 'Celtic Connections 2000' festival on Sunday 30th January as support to JOHN McCUSKER AND FRIENDS, an evening which included a selection of Mr. McCusker's well known friends from both home and abroad including, Mercury music Prize nominee, Kate Rusby, past and present members of Battlefield Band, Andy Cutting, Simon Thoumire and many other greats from the folk world. A great night was had by all and, of course, John McCusker joined the Sweethearts for a few numbers. This was one of three shows the Sweethearts played during the festival the others being the Spit & Polish showcase and an appearance at the festival club in Glasgow's Central Hotel.
Radio Sweethearts celebrated the first anniversary of their 13th Note club nights in late November and threw a party for their regular attendees plus a selection of guests who have appeared at the club over the past year. They threw a grand party which included free drinks and an extremely large birthday cake (which promptly disappeared). They also managed to get some of their past guests to do a song including Kevin Key, Con Morris and Tom Clelland (who did two songs). They were joined at the end by L.A. guitarist Will Anderson and, regular doorman at the club, Michael Bryson (who played drums) for a rocking, kick-ass version of Johnny C's 'Folsom Prison Blues'. A great night was had by all in attendance and the band hope they will still be around to celebrate their 2nd anniversary party next year.
l-r: Chip Taylor, John Miller, John Platania
Late last year legendary songwriter Chip Taylor (Angel of The Morning, Wild Thing, Anyway That You Want Me, etc.) made an appearance at the Sweethearts Club in The 13th Note, King Street, Glasgow. Chip was joined by his good friend John Platania who has played with Bonnie Raitt, Natalie Merchant and many others including appearing on no less than 8 albums by Van "The Man" Morrison, including the legendary 'Moondance' album.
Below is a picture of Chip and John onstage with the Sweethearts
home - history - profiles - discography - soundclips - reviews - live - links - club - contact - new lyrics / guitar tab page - where to buy "Lonesome Blue"