There’s more to this than you might think – I’ve always, always rated this band – Just Like Honey is one of my favourite songs of all time. And I have seen them before – back in the days when they’d blast through the set with such feral animosity that you couldn’t tell where one song ended and another began. Where Jim would say nary a word to the audience and William would turn his back on us. Maybe they were just a bit shy back then.

None of that was in evidence tonight: they opened with Never Understand and the gig just got better and better. Jim acknowledged the audience with a few sharp wisecracks and the performance was pitch-perfect. By the time they played Happy When it Rains, I was already in the moshpit being bounced around by hundreds of like-minded JAMC devotees. Have you ever been in a slow mosh?

Nine Million Rainy Days made it for me – not least because they played it straight after I’d shouted it out – it just blew me away. I’m pretty sure they closed out with an old Syd Barrett song, Vegetable Man, and I think they played I Wanna be Yr Dog at one point too.

This wasn’t a gig, this was a five-star moment in Rock’n'Roll history.

Right, I’m off to find my PsychoCandy LP…

Rob

We managed to catch another band – a New Zealand band we’ve never heard of called Connan and the Mockasins who were absolutely bonkers but who turned in a great performance. Very entertaining and I’d very much like to see them again.

I managed to record a teeny tiny clip of the White Stripes playing “Jolene” on my camera. I can’t say as the audio is that great but it gives you a great feel for the atmosphere at the festival. Enjoy.

His MO is a little peculiar – he travels round the world, stops off for short periods and then assembles a band to play his music. Everywhere he goes, it sounds different.

I was fortunate enough to see OMR in late 2005 – I saw them by accident at a gig at the Rock Garden in Covent Garden, where my friend Arda was playing, and they were so good that we all went to see them again the same day. We saw them one more time, for their final gig at the 12 Bar club in Denmark Street, before Ohad left for warmer climes.

The gig was amazing – a tiny venue, about 30 people there and the band managed to rouse us into a frenzy by the end with a stunning Bob Marley cover. The band’s own songs were great and I’ve spent the last couple of years trying to get hold of the album they recorded whilst in London (you can only buy it in Australia). I’ve received a copy in the post today and I can’t wait to listen to it.

Anyway here’s the clip. It might give you the slightest clue as to what’s so special about this man and his music

I found this on the internet about a decade ago – someone had OCR’d it in from the original book by Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty. It sat around on an old floppy in a dusty cupboard for a few years until I stumbled over it again the other week.

I re-read it and was really surprised at just how well-written it was. Clear, incisive commentary on the British music industry circa 1988, funny anecdotes about the rocky road to success and just what it takes to walk it. The “Golden Rules” section is pure magic.

Anyway, I decided that it’s no good keeping it to myself and – in the true spirit of the Kopyright Liberation Front* – I’m gonna share it with the rest of the world. It’s too good to hide away…

get it here (right-click to save the file)