TV SMITH & RICHARD STRANGE
A DFFRNT WRLD (MOLECULAR SCREAM)
Hard on the heels of their critically-acclaimed singles "Don't Panic England" and "A DFFRNT WRLD". TV Smith, frontman of The Adverts and Richard Strange, frontman of Doctors of Madness release "A DFFRNT WRLD", a DOUBLE CD set of songs for the Digital Age.
A collection of fist-pumping, toe-tapping rants by two of Britain's finest songwriters.
The two met in 1976 and were firm fans of each other's bands. They started writing together in 1977, and Record Store Day 2021 saw the release of their sell-out vinyl album 1978, a collection of songs written by the two when their respective bands hit the buffers in that year.
Encouraged by the success of the vinyl release, the two discussed the possibility of re-imagining and re-recording the songs in a world that has changed beyond recognition since 1978.
When the two musicians first met in 1977, there was no internet, no mobile phones, no wi-fi, no samplers, no digital recording, no Instagram, no Facebook, no TikTok, no Starbucks, no Covid _it is, and was, A DFFRNT WRLD.
Produced by Strange and with some tracks mixed by Martyn Ware and Tom Gillieron, A DFFRNT WRLD flexes its musical and lyrical muscles like a digital-age superhero, and speaks loud and clear to all generations.
The Adverts and Doctors of Madness were two seminal bands of the mid 70s.TV Smith wrote three of the most iconic songs of the punk era_One Chord Wonders, Bored Teenagers and the hit single Gary Gilmore's Eyes, and has released 14 albums to date.
His live shows are legendary for the fervour and the almost religious zeal of his fans.
Richard "Kid" Strange went on to work with artists as varied as Tom Waits, Frank Zappa, The Nightingales and Marianne Faithfull, as well as working as an actor in the films Batman, Robin Hood, Gangs of New York and Harry Potter.
Their friendship dates back 45 years, through the unique journeys their lives have taken them on.
Their fans are as diverse as their music_from Henry Rollins, Joe Elliott and Julian Cope to Vic Reeves, Tom Robinson, Neil Gaiman and Atilla the Stockbroker.
This release shows beyond argument they were two of the most visionary artists of their generation.
("GREAT_" Joe Elliott, "GREAT_" Henry Rollins, "GREAT_" Tom Robinson, "GREAT_" Robin Denselow).