Opening Party for Male, Pale and Stale exhibition 6-9pm The Front room Gallery on Bellevue Road 30th March 2023

On Thursday 30th March there will be a private view of 'Male, Pale and Stale' at The Front Room Gallery, 10 Bellevue Rd, Ramsgate, CT11 8LB Don't miss the opportunity of enjoying drawings, ceramics and paintings from 6 of the best artists whoever drew breath.

Image above: 'The Bell' by Des Hughes ( Iron and Resin. 50cm x 4cm x 43cm)

Image Above: 'The Secretary Bird' by Harry Pye (Acrylic on canvas, 65x90cm)

Image above: 'Untitled' by Mikey Georgeson (Oil on canvas)

Image above: 'Vase' by Luke Gottelier (ceramic)

Image above: 'Untitled' by Stuart Cumberland (photo copies of drawings collaged)

Image above: 'Magic Baby' by Gav Toye (42 x 59cm)

After the party the show will be open from 10:30am - 5pm from Friday 31st March until Monday the 10th of April.

Lust For Life at The Lexington on Pentonville Road on Sunday March 12

The Lexington is an award winning London boozer that's 5 minutes walk from Angel tube. On 12/03/23 I went there and had a blast watching watching Glen Matlock, Katie Puckrik, Clem Burke, Kevin Armstrong, Luis Correia, Florence Sabeva, and Steve Norman celebrate the 45th anniversary of Iggy Pop's classic album 'Lust For Life.' It was their last show the band had previoulsy played the same set at various venues including the legendary 100 Club, The Cavern in Liverpool, The Colchester Arts Centre, Exchange in Bristol, and Wheelan's in Dublin. Several members of the band have collaborated with Iggy Pop in the past. Kevin Armstrong was Pop's musical director and also collaborated with Bowie a great deal. I knew the musicians would be more than good but I was kind of unsure if Katie Puckrik (who I only knew as the very likeable host of 90s TV hits like The Word and The Sunday Show) would be able to sing such amazing and much loved songs as 'Success' and 'Turn Blue.' Halfway through the run Clem Burke (who has played drums with Blondie, The Eurythmics, Nancy Sinatra, Joan Jet and many others tweeted: "Katie is fantastic and it’s just occurred to me she has joined the ranks of the other brilliant women I’ve been fortunate to play with: Debbie, Annie, Nancy, Wanda, The Go Go’s, & Joan!" And I feel I must say I thought Puckrick's performance couldn't have been better. She genuinely was fantastic and brilliant. To paraphrase the fantastic Mr Osterberg the show at The Lexington left everyone wanting to blast off on success, hop like a frog and do the twist. You can watch Clem Burke and Katie Puckrik discussing the project on London Live: HERE You can watch the band doing their version of The Passanger live in Ireland: HERE You can watch them doing Pretty Vacant in Essex : HERE My photos from the night are blurry and bad but I quite like them...

Bad photos and text by Harry Pye

West Contemporary 20th Year Anniversary Group Show at Gallery Different, 14 Percy St London WIT 1DR

Willkay & West Contemporary proudly presents a group show featuring 20 of the world's leading and emerging artists. It's going to be well attended so I reccomend you RSVP : info@west-contemorary.com 

See prints by Willkay: here

For more info on West Contemporary and the artists they represent click: here

Review of Richard Cabut's Disorderly Magic & Other Disturbances (Far West Books)

"Vagrant visions – here for a flickering second, a minute, a second minute, and then gone for good – there is no such thing as lost time and stolen time is sweet theft. Piss drenched potholed bombsite dossers walk barefoot in rubble like actors on Shakespearean stage seeking authentic connection with the boards they tread, walking on slivers of broken bottles like on tightropes. But the power of the performance, the only one that really makes it, is rooted and booted in that which is not an act, or pose. A kind of moment that baked its shadow into the walls and only now the sound is fading, if ever. Am I right? Eh?"

Far West Books is an independent publishing press started in 2020. They encourage musicians, film directors and poets to write what they want. According to them their books contain "dangerous, active ingredients." Cabut's new paperback is small enough to fit in your back pocket but if you're a fan of The Velvets, Patti Smith, Derek Jarman, Linder, Victor Bockris I'm sure you'll find a lot to enjoy in Disorderly Magic.

Do you believe in the ruins of your own memories? Do you relate to Charles Baudelaire's quote, "We are enveloped and steeped as though in an atmosphere of the marvellous; but we do not notice it"? Or do you just need a bit more magic in your life? If you answered "Yes" to any of the questions above you'll probably love reading this book.

In one section Cabut shares the thoughts he had whilst watching the film 'Chelsea Girls' in 1983. In another section he lists songs he thought about whilst walking round a Basquiat exhibition in Paris in 2011. There are also memories of being a child in the mid 60s and hearing A Windmill in Old Amsterdam for the first time.

Richard Cabut has contributed to numerous publications, edited punk anthologies, played bass guitar for Brigandage, and written plays which have been performed at various theatres in London and nationwide, including the Arts Theatre in Covent Garden. You can listen to Richard read from his book: here

Fans of Mr Cabut include the artist and singer song writer Mikey Georgeson who wrote this rave review of Cabut's novel, Looking For A Kiss for issue 15 of Le Document. Craig Campbell of Louder Than War magazine is also an admirer. In his review of Disorderly Magic Craig wrote: "There’s a point when reading Richard Cabut’s fervent new book that makes you feel as if you’re travelling over a precipice on a speeding rollercoaster or stumbling into a dimly lit back alley where two hysterics are fist-fighting each other… The human experience is presented as a volume dial... ‘It’s a ragged diatribe about the energy flash of post-punk and pop culture and what kind of imprint it has left on the modern world… that ultimately sees the witchcraft and music in such things."

Above: A recent photo of the author of "dark jazz, post-punk, beat up, free-fall, free-for-all, swinging-on-a-star, modern literature" by Sarah Leigh Lewis

Please note: There will be a launch party from 6pm - 9pm at 46 Gallery, 46 Ashfield Street, E1 2AJ (Whitechapel Tube)featuring special guests Kirsty Alison, David Erdos, and DJ Jonhy Brown. Richard will be signing copies of his new book. If you can't attend you can pre-order from Far West Press: here

Review by Harry Pye