Philip Jeays - vocal and guitar
with occasional appearances by.. David Harrod - piano John Peacock - guitar Jezza Campbell - drums William George Q - bass
and The Fabulous Stapleton Sisters... Kerry - bass Simon - guitar Paul - drums
Influences
Jacques Brel
Jake Thackray
David Bowie
Scott Walker
French/European Chanson
Sounds Like
“...a singer songwriter whose darkly comic songs, with Sondheimesque tongue-twisting lyrics, have projected him to semi-cult status.”
LONDON EVENING STANDARD
Singer-songwriter Jeays was living in France when he
discovered Jacques Brel - just the latest in a long
line of introspective troubadours to have fallen under
the Belgian songwriter's spell in the years since
Scott Walker snatched his muse back from the likes of
Rod McKuen and re-invented Brel for the
English-speaking doom-pop crowd. David Bowie, Alex
Harvey, Marc Almond, and Momus have all acknowledged
Brel's impact on their work, as both writer and
performer. But only the pioneering Walker ever
suceeded in truly translating homage into his own
words, turning in a fourth album (1969's Scott 4)
loaded with distinctly Brel-ian, but uniquely
personal, self compositions.
Jeays' debt to Brel, too, is heavy; like Walker,
however, it would swiftly be amply repaid with a
series of songs which, again, echoed but rarely aped
the master's. After some years spent gigging around
the southern English club circuit, Jeays' one man show
erupted into mainstream consciousness in 1996, when he
appeared at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. (He
would make triumphant returns there in 1998 and 1999.)
There the Scotsman newspaper raved, "Jeays has an
avid, charismatic cabaret style all of his own, dipped
in theatricality. Alternatively casting himself as
romantic fool, sneering devil, and irony streaked
sinner, Jeays produces a neat, hour-long set mixing
wisdom and sarcasm, self-reflection and
self-dramatization."
Other press was swift to follow. Comparisons with
Bowie, Tom Waits, and even Stephen Sondheim, aside
from the inevitable Brel and Walker, prompted The
Morning Star to enthuse, "Jeays writes his own songs
in a style quite unlike any other British songsmith
I've heard. They are superbly crafted, written with
poetic sensibility that is imbued with bitter irony
and mordant wit. They can be funny and touching
simultaneously and often carry in their subtext
serious comment on human nature."
1997 saw Jeays make a similar impression at both the
Salisbury Festival and the Canadian Vancouver Comedy
Festival. Two years later, with a band comprising
David Harrod (piano), John Peacock (guitar), William
George Q (bass), and Ditton Pye (drums), he released
his now much-anticipated debut album, October, backing
it up with a series of live shows climaxing at the
Talk of London in early 2000. Summer then saw the
release of Jeays' second album, Cupid Is A Drunkard,
launched during the Edinburgh Festival in August.
Taken from "Alternative Rock - The essential listening companion" by Dave Thompson [an American publication published by Third Ear]
Hi, through JUNE AND JULY we are slashing our day time rehearsal prices. Between 10am and 5pm all our rooms are either £6 or £7 per hour including weekends. Making us one of the cheapest in SUSSEX. Plus If you buy 3 hours we will even throw in a 4th totally FREE. YES TOTALLY FREE.
OUR RECORDING RATES ARE STILL JUST AS AFFORDABLE TOO, FULL DAYS FROM £200 ALL IN.
So come and rehearse and record in one of the best equipped music complex's in the South.
This has to be one of the best events in Brighton this year, not least because Pat Fish will be joining us. Check out www.jazzbutcher.com for more on Pat's noble career.
Also performing will be Hull’s answer to Same Difference, Cracktown; three wise men who crawled out the swamp, GlassEye; Britain’s Got Brel finalist Phil Jeays; teller of wee tales, Brian Blaney; and, of course, new-look garage cabaret combo Asbo Derek. "What a fucking line-up" - Roger de Courcey It will get full and, yes, it really will start at six. Come early and stay til it all comes to a crashing halt around 11. Afterall, it's the night before a Bank Holiday and, hey, those bankers deserve a rest. Please enter this into your palm pilots – it’s gonna be special. love and plums Asbo Derek
hey phil, went to see your gig on the boat the other day with steve, fucking incredible, i requested the antelope but i think madame, arles and mr jeays were the best,real passionate which is great in such a jaded world, if youve got the time,id like to know what you make of my band? take care gabi
ow goes it Mr Jeays? Beg ya pardon weve nicked your awesome epic "Mr Jeays" and perverted it to "Mr Skog" your genial host of last we met (its not anything positive on his behalf). Apologies!
P.S
Example:
He's got no charms to impress But with the girls he's had sucess Cos in the end "No means Yes" The Rapist...Mr Skog
Dear chap - great to catch up, albeit "online". You were a distant memory until I stumbled onto the Welly site, where I played last month, and found "Geoff" there. Unbelievably evocative and practically emotional, hearing you address him again! Dear chap! Jus X
Hi Phil, you certainly can have a copy of the video when I've finished the editing. Hopefully we won't be able to hear people talking on the camera. Besides I kept telling them two to shut the fuck up. It was an honor to have you perform. I'll let you know when I've done the video. Take care Jayney x
Thank you Philip for an outstanding performance last night. Sorry, I was a little tiddly towards the end of the night and I did waffle on a bit on stage. But you were fantastic. If you ever want to do another Off The Road you would be more than welcome. Jayney x
