Words by Ed King / Pics courtesy of Sam Lambeth
On Friday 12th July, Sam Lambeth presents 10 Years on Four Chords – a final gig showcase held at The Victoria on John Bright Street, where he will perform cherry picked tracks from The MonoBloggers, Quinn, My Perfect Summer and Winona. And like that… he’s gone. This really is your last chance to see the boy up on stage. Although as a musical epitaph, Lambeth released a compilation of his decade long back catalogue under the same name back in May this year – to read Abi Whitsance’s Birmingham Review of 10 Years on Four Chords (the album) click here.
Joining Sam Lambeth for the 10 Years on Four Chords last hurrah will be ‘an array of special guests from throughout his career’, standing in as his swansong band mates – extra support comes from further local artists Giant & the Georges, Bryony Williams and Paul Beaumont (Wood and Nails).
Doors open at The Victoria on 12th July from 7pm, with tickets priced at £5 (+ booking fee) – as promoted by The Future Sound Project. All money raised from the door sales will go to Teenage Cancer Research, a charity Sam Lambeth has supported for several years, with NOT NORMAL NOT OK also invited to have a presence at the event – challenging sexual assault in the music scene, from dancefloor to dressing room. For more direct gig information and links to online ticket sales, click here to visit the 10 Years on Four Chords Facebook event page.
Birmingham Review first saw Sam Lambeth as frontman for/founder of Quinn, when the indie pop three piece were supporting erstwhile Goth rockers, Semantics, back September 2017. Describing their sound as ‘languid melodies disguised by fast paced distortion and an unashamed rock outlook on life’, Quinn’s set was confidently wrapped around their engaging frontman – with Lambeth’s self-deprecation and humour being one of the highlights of a thoroughly enjoyable evening. The line we settled on was: ‘Lambeth is a superstar in the making, with absurd confidence, deft solos and the kind of charisma that you would sign in blood to possess.’
But Mr Quinn had worn several hats before Birmingham Review saw him strut his funky leopard print stuff, having again founded and fronted both The MonoBloggers and My Perfect Summer – the former enjoying some pretty respectable momentum and attention, getting picked by music media such as NME and Radio 6 alongside support slots for The Lemonheads and Little Comets.
Likewise, when the first incarnation of Quinn went the way of the dodo back in 2018 Lambeth sought to re-establish the band with some pretty sold new material – darker than its predecessors, a smattering of tracks were floated around (which Birmingham Review dubbed ‘Evil Quinn’) but despite being pretty exciting evolutions sadly did not pan out as many of us had hoped. No doubt, Sam Lambeth included.
But not one to be easily thwarted or pushed of stage, Lambeth set about redefining his redefinition with a further band – the again exciting but again short-lived Winona. In fact, when we run through it all it’s difficult to pinpoint why Lambeth isn’t now sipping hare of the dog cocktails in the Ivy, kvetching with Noel Gallagher about all the new faces at this year’s Glastonbury. To paraphrase the words of Robert Burns… I guess things just fuck up. But it’s an odd equation gone wrong that ‘Sam Lambeth’ isn’t on the way to being a household name by now. Or at least, to Celebrity Love Island.
Platitudes and prophecy aside, 10 Years on Four Chords will see this decade of highs, lows, fortune and famine played out (literally) on stage at The Victoria on Friday 12th July – in a portfolio packed showcase that presents ‘choice cuts from every band, resulting in a winning playlist of some of his (Lambeth’s) best tracks spanning his ten-year tenure.’
Expect tears, expect laughter. Expect growing old gracefully to be shoved down the back of the sofa for a night. Come and say well done/goodbye to someone who has been embedded, both on stage and off, in the Midland’s music scene for the last 10 years. Someone should bake a cake, or buy a watch. Do PRS and Birmingham City Council issue a long service award…?
‘All the Best’ – Quinn
On Friday 12th July, Sam Lambeth and The Future Sounds Project present 10 Years on Four Chords at The Victoria – showcasing tracks from The MonoBloggers, Quinn, My Perfect Summer and Winona. Support comes from Giant & the Georges, Bryony Williams and Paul Beaumont (Wood and Nails). For direct gig information and links to online ticket sales, click here to visit the Facebook Event page.
For more from Sam Lambeth, and for a sneaky peak at what’s coming off stage at 10 Years on Four Chords, visit https://spoti.fi/2G6ANA1
For more on Giant & the Georges, visit www.giantandthegeorges.co.uk
For more on Bryony Williams, visit www.soundcloud.com/bryony-williams
For more on Paul Beaumont (Wood and Nails), visit www.spoti.fi/2IJ1IWc
For more from The Future Sound Project, visit www.seetickets.com/promoter/the-future-sound-project
For more on The Victoria, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.thevictoriabirmingham.co.uk
For more on Teenage Cancer Trust, visit www.teenagecancertrust.org
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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.
Bedroom-quality recordings no more; production has worked wonders on tracks like ‘All the Best’ and ‘Start’, making them potential indie anthems of the Summer – albeit slightly generic ones.