BPREVIEW: The Taboo Club + Sofa King – free entry gig @ The Prince of Wales (Cambridge St) 30.11.19

Words by Ed King / Pics courtesy of The Taboo Club & The Prince of Wales

On Saturday 30th November, The Taboo Club headline a free gig at The Prince of Wales (Cambridge St) – with support from Sofa King.

Doors to the venue, situated at the back of the ICC/REP Theatre, will be open all day – with the free entry live gig taking place from 8pm. For more information, visit the Facebook event page by clicking here.

What’s better than a Black Friday weekend bargain…? Well, many things. In fact, most things. But something that appeals to the carnivorous consumer is FREE STUFF – so in the true spirit of Christmas, The Taboo Club are celebrating the start of Yuletide with a FREE ENTRY GIG at The Prince of Wales on Cambridge St (that’s the proper boozer with beautiful lights, nestled at the back of the ICC/REP Theatre – a stones throw from The Flapper).

Prepping for their debut album, The Taboo Club have been feverishly recording, mixing, mastering and sitting around nodding their heads in satisfied unison. The rumour mill has this magnum opus set for release in sprint 2020, but to keep us hooked on the morphine music that this eclectic ensemble has been hocking since they formed in 2018.

Plus, Saturday is not just about free music on stage, as The Taboo Club will be releasing their new single, ‘I Wish There Was A Way’, on the same day. Again, for free. Lord only knows how these gents find money for rent, or the suave ‘kings of cool’ dapper dress that they seem to wear so effortlessly.

But a true rough diamond in Birmingham’s music scene, The Taboo Club are doubtlessly set for bigger and brighter things when the album lands – so a free gig seems like a fair enough trade for impending stardom. The band’s previously released singles, ‘Bible John’ and ‘Strangers’, have been piquing the interest of the great and good form the music media fraternity – with tension/excitement growing to see what this polymath ensemble will do with a longer track listing to play with. Time will tell, but to hear The Taboo Club’s singles, new and old, visit the band’s Bandcamp page by clicking here.

Plus, The Prince of Wales is a venue steeped in Midlands musical history – with pictures of artists from Black Sabbath to Ruby Turner to The Special adorning the walls, and people sitting around them who have firsthand stories to tell. And in the darkness of winter, with a few reasonably priced ales and the occasional pie and chips to scoff, I can’t think of many better ways to say goodbye to your November.

Actually, I can. As the always awesome and worth a stop, look, listen Sofa King will be joining The Taboo Club – playing, again for gratis, at this full throttle winter warmer. Bit of a no brainer really.

On Saturday 30th November, The Taboo Club headline a free gig at The Prince of Wales (Cambridge St) – with support from Sofa King. For more information, visit the Facebook event page by clicking here.

For more on The Taboo Club, visit www.facebook.com/TheTabooClubUK/

For more on Sofa King, visit www.sofakingqueen.bandcamp.com/

For more on The Prince of Wales (Cambridge St), including full event listings and venue details, visit www.facebook.com/thepowcambridgestreet/

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NOT NORMAL NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To learn more about the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here. To sign up and join the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here.

If you have been affected by any of the issues surrounding sexual violence – or if you want to report an act of sexual aggression, abuse or assault – click here for information via the ‘Help & Support’ page on the NOT NORMAL NOT OK website.

INTERVIEW: The Taboo Club

The Taboo Club / Paul Reynolds

Words by Sam Lambeth / Pics by Paul Reynolds

**On Saturday 29th September, The Taboo Club headline the next Birmingham Review live music showcase at The Victoria on John Bright Street – with support from Liquid Cheeks and Lilac Noise. Doors open upstairs at The Victoria from 7pm, with tickets price at £7 (adv) and £10 (otd) – as presented by Birmingham Review.

At the time of writing this event has a third sold out. To buy any of the remaining General Admission advance tickets click here, or to buy tickets direct from The Taboo Club click here. Join the Facebook Event Page by clicking here**

January 2018. If you happened to have frequented one of Birmingham’s more dimly-lit dive bars, you might have seen him there. A man with hair like a raven’s nest, dark and dishevelled, his waiflike physique squeezed into a squalid suit and his hands bulging violently out of his pockets. Josh Rochelle-Bates had a lot on his mind. He had spent several years as the bassist and main creative force behind mercurial Midland miserablists Semantics. Now an uncertain world lay ahead of him. Like OJ Simpson post-trial, he was alone, aloof, and alienated in a world that seemed foreign and unforgiving. The band had announced an indefinite hiatus, and Rochelle-Bates felt adrift as the adulation of the Second City gave way to silence.

Joshua Rochelle-Bates - in Paris / Sam LambethMiles away from Birmingham, fellow Semantics stalwart Rob Lilley was feeling similarly sombre. Despite the occasional accusation that Semantics were nothing but ‘Interpoor’, they had a brooding beauty and glacial gracefulness that separated them from the Harborne herd. For Rochelle-Bates and Lilley, they knew they’d return to music, and one word stuck in their heads.

“Collaboration,” says Rochelle-Bates in the July afternoon sun, sipping a bold glass of claret in a Paris eatery. “I think for once I actually suspended expectation and let myself be open to a much wider spectrum of ideas, emotions and ways of articulating them. My hope was to find people who were passionate about creating and expressing themselves, and would be open to working in a collaborative environment.”

As Rochelle-Bates tilts his chair in self-satisfaction, expensive plonk in one hand and a forkful of French fancy in the other, you realise Paris is the perfect place to personify his new band’s sound. They are The Taboo Club, a phenomenal five-piece that are the musical manifestation of buzzing neon signs, decadent derails down depraved alleys, and a sharp eye for smart fashion. Their recent single, ‘Strangers’, exudes gratuitous sax and senseless violins (well, more of the former), brass bursting out of the hi-fi over muscular guitar gristle, Rochelle-Bates’ creamy bass licks and Lilley’s warped howl.

The Taboo Club / Paul ReynoldsYes, Lilley is the one who has enjoyed perhaps the biggest transformation. In Semantics, he was quiet, charismatic and concerned. Now he’s gradually turning into a real frontman, coquettishly waving his tambourine and tantalisingly twitching his hedonistic hips. For him, joining The Taboo Club was a revelation. “I immediately wanted to be a part of it,” he says. “The creative freedom and experimentation was one of the first things that stood out to me. I love the fact that it’s enabled me to pull from a wide array of influences, but everyone’s suggestions remain on the table – that’s an enticing draw for any artist.”

Enough about Semantics now. That chapter is closed. The Taboo Club is open for business and the five band members couldn’t be happier. With his tousled and slightly untamed mane, flamboyant shirts and overall quiet demeanour, guitarist Jack Ingaglia is the James May of the gang. “We have a shared goal of creative freedom, but I don’t think we’ve always been on the same page – that’s what makes writing exciting,” he says. “We all pull in slightly different directions.” For ‘Strangers’, Ingaglia’s role was more textural. “There are some jagged guitar chords tucked away in there, which come from my love of funk and soul,” he says. “I also did a lot of guitar doodling in the verses.”

‘Strangers’ has enjoyed considerable success, but The Taboo Club are fast becoming known for their overall aesthetic, which seems to be that of a gang of gangly male models enjoying a snifter of scotch after a long day of posing. “I certainly think it’s accurate based on what we have allowed people to see so far,” nods drummer Aiden Price, slayer of snare and sharp of cheekbone. “The music is, of course, our top priority but we want to give people the complete package – great songs, distinct image and personality. The lot.”

There are many exciting things around the corner. The next single, ‘Bible John’, will be released in the autumn, with the band once again using the services of a certain Ryan Pinson for production (“He has such a good ear and an innate attention to detail,” gushes the band’s multi-instrumentalist Ben Oerton). ‘Bible John’, according to Oerton, is the soundtrack to a “Quentin Tarantino film about a serial killer,” which feels like a very accurate description.

Also coming soon is the band’s big showcase gig at The Victoria in Birmingham, taking place on the 29th of September. As always, Rochelle-Bates-Kennedy-Onassis advises us to expect the unexpected. “We wanted to do something unique, different and immersive instead of just a headline show,” he reveals. “Expect for it to be really strange.”

Strange it will be, but no doubt like everything The Taboo Club has offered its loyal members so far, it’ll be unforgettable, debauched, and damn right delightful.

On Saturday 29th September, The Taboo Club headline the next live music showcase with Birmingham Review at The Victoria on John Bright Street – with Liquid Cheeks and Lilac Noise in support. For more information visit the Facebook Event Page by clicking here – or click on See Tickets the logo for a direct link to online sales.

For more on The Taboo Club, visit www.facebook.com/TheTabooClubUK

For more on The Victoria, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.thevictoriabirmingham.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

SINGLE: ‘Strangers’ – The Taboo Club 20.07.18

‘Strangers’ – The Taboo Club 20.07.18

Words & live pics by Ed King

On Friday 20th July, The Taboo Club release their debut single ‘Strangers’ – a taste of what’s to come, with their next track, ‘Bible John’, already earmarked for release in autumn this year. But first things first.

‘Strangers’ will be available for free download through the standard online steaming sites from Friday 20th July, with some helpful signposts no doubt on the band’s social media. For more information direct from The Taboo Club just hop, skip and jump over to their Facebook page – click here.

The first track to come from this relatively new band (although each member has been playing in one guise or another for long enough for me to wince at the descriptive) ‘Strangers’ is as perfect an introduction to The Taboo Club as you could get.The Taboo Club - supporting The Mothers Earth Experiment @ The Dark Horse 13.07.18 / Ed King Having recently seen them pop their live cherry at The Dark Horse – supporting those glorious astral adventurers, The Mothers Earth Experiment – The Taboo Club are hard a little to surmise. But it’s my job to try, and by doing so I will be making a paint by numbers review of ‘Strangers’ itself. Right then, where to begin…

There’s a sax, which is awesome, and keys, which are both wonderfully used (not over) by Ben Oerton. Although this invites the lazy journalist jazz references to come spilling out when I’m not watching the keyboard.

But this is not jazz, even if it reminds me of ‘bourbon lit Harlem dive bars’; the overall ‘tapestry of genres’ from The Taboo Club is very much driven by guitar – a duel attack from Jack Ingaglia (rhythm) and Josh Rochelle-Bates (bass), reminding this writer of the Velvet Underground if they happened across Maceo Parker one night and took a shit load of mushrooms. Then, lurking behind some omnipresent red velvet curtains, is a steady kick drum, heartbeat, and teasing rim tap from Aiden Price – all led by Rob Lilley’s deep, brooding, and yet curiously comforting vocals.The Taboo Club - supporting The Mothers Earth Experiment @ The Dark Horse 13.07.18 / Ed King

‘Strangers’ works with these jigsaw pieces, creating a surprisingly short layer cake of crescendos; I say surprisingly short as you could quite easily, and happily, see this ensemble rise and freefall for a good 15minutes before pausing for breath. And no doubt, in the aforementioned New Your suburb, someone under some other name is doing just that.

Produced with aplomb by Ryan Pinson, ‘Strangers’ is a touch of red velvet class to come out of the Birmingham music scene – a true musical fusion without the hubris or hangover of years at the Conservatoire. But to be fair, any of The Taboo Club could well be classically trained – they just haven’t felt the need to tell us about it during the first round of drinks. And the second.

But they did have a few words to throw on the table, in a bold declaration from the ‘Strangers’ press statement, that explains: ‘The Taboo Club are entirely of their own, comprising of and expressing the values of its individual members to create something heart-breakingly cathartic’. And I couldn’t have put it better myself.

The Taboo Club release ‘Strangers’ on Friday 20th July – available for free download through all the usual online steaming sites. For more on The Taboo Club, visit www.facebook.com/TheTabooClubUK

The Taboo Club Showcase Gig with Birmingham Review will be held at The Victoria on Saturday 29th September. To find out more, and to be on the waiting list for when tickets are released, visit the Facebook Event Page by clicking here.

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.