First things second: The Golden Arvo is coming up in a scant few weeks on SEPTEMBER 21st to be precise. You can get info from Colchester Arts Centre  on www.colchesterartscentre.com   or ring to book on (0)1206-500900.

We've got special guests Lee and Kimberley and hopefully a few other people too.

There'll be cakes, tea,  ale and a welter (whatever that is) of music and other stuff.

BBC Radio Four's programme Coward the Poet ran a week early on Sunday 24th. They didn't bother telling me. You can catch it on Sat 30th Sept again at 11.30 I think. There's only a bit of me on it. Switch your kettle on too slowly and you'll miss me. Very good programme though.

I'm supposed to be making another BBC Inside Out TV documentary this month for screening in October. But I don't believe anything that anyone working in broadcasting says any more. Then I'm off to do one or two music gigs in Spain, straight after The Golden Afternoon.

October Gigs: There are two so far. One on October 3rd at (I think Grand Theatre in Blackpool and one on October the 8th at Clacton Princes Theatre, which is in Clacton, on October the 8th  (which is also in Clacton) More on this later. It's going to be a  big gig. (in Clacton, that is.) It's with Jude Simpson and Polly Enfield too. In Clacton.

BOOKS: I'm going to start work again on the only-a quarter-written Prospect of Wivenhoe II very soon. Not out till Christmas 09 though.

THIS LITTLE ZIGGY,  my rock memoir, which has been out of print for about 5 years now, will be back in print this November. It will be more or less as it was but in a brand new cover and published by Wivenbook, who brought out Prospect of Wivenhoe 1, so well.

MUZIC:  Yep, I've got a small brace of new songs. Carl Seager and I will, if nothing goes wrong, be recording in early spring of next year for a follow-up to A Summer Tamarind. No surprise changes of direction or anything. You like me jangly, a bit psychedelic, lots of vocal harmonies, a bit of wackiness, plenty of cunning chord changes, verses, choruses and not too much production? That's what you'll get. Unless Simon Cowell suddenly decides he likes me and give me loads of money to bring out some rubbish. 

That's it for now. Hope to see some of you at The Golden Afternoon...or at least in the locked ward afterwards. Look...it's been great. Let's do it again sometime.

JULIE NEWSLETTER

I also have to write some new stage stuff and when James Dodds is back from his sojourn in America, we have to think about re-servicing This Little Ziggy in time to get it out for Christmas. Those awfully nice bookshop ladies at WivenBooks will publish it Jardine will just help me with the makeover. With copies on Amazon going at nearly forty quid a pop, somebody's making money out of this and it ain't me. So yeah, it looks like I've got some spare time on my hands at last. 
This means the blog ( and I know I keep going on about this) will be re-activated soon.

Golden Afternoon (6)is on in about two or so months and although we're not doing a new album till next year, I reckon it's about time I started writing new stuff don't you? Shortly after the Golden Arvo, I've got one or two gigs in Spain, it says here. More about that later. I pledged to not work so hard this year and it's been the most workingest year for years of years, so I obviously got that wrong. Date for BBC Radio 4 Noel Coward programe about his poetry is 31st August about 3.00 pm.. I talked loads but I don't know how much of it they'll use. A BBC TV programme about culture in my region is being filmed in September. 
Apart from anything else, I'm still pretty tired but I'm having difficulty squeezing sleep between work , the pub and the pub. And yes I know I mentioned the pub twice but I like that. Never mind. Nature abhors a vacuum cleaner and the devil finds work for idle Hans. So call in, check the message board and keep those interesting pictures of 1930s Bavarian waitresses coming in please. We get through an awful lot of them in Bathroom 2, during the late summer months.Hmmm...and hold that pose.

June and probberly a bit of July Newellsbetter
Er...hello readers and listeners. It's been a pretty busy old time over here of late. There's as much going on as ever of course, but I've decided to take it a bit slower for a week or two  because they're all saying I'm looking a bit wan and wispy from working. Ms B's had an exhibition. (See pics) and taken a rather good picture of an owl, which she sat up all night trying to get. All I seem to have done lately is do things. However here is the news.

GIGULAR MATTERS:
On 21st June, a Saturday, if it doesn't roar down with rain again, I'll be playing in the Greyhound garden in Wivenhoe, which I get roped in for ( willingly) each year. I'll be playing a set of my songs and perhaps a couple of unusual covers. Also playing will be Tai Chi Dave a lovely geezer and  Tim Whitnell ( ace local acoustic-guitar maestro). This is an informal thing. Smashing garden. High Street Wivenhoe opposite the town car-park, if you happen to be in the vicinity. From late afternoon till about mid evening.Oh and there's a small beer festival too, so lots of great guest ales.

Evening of July 5th, I'm on at St Albans Maltings Arts Centre.
Two full sets. Book early to avoid piss annointment.
Saturday July 12th, I'm doing Rock In The Garden, east side of Colchester. It's a private gig to raise money for an African Village.
Saturday August 2nd is Big Al's gig in Rudry, Wales, lovely Wales.  More on that nearer the time.

THE GOLDEN AFTERNOON (6) Colchester Arts Centre. (0)1206-500900
My annual autumn afternoon song-fest with cakes and tea and a bar in the company of the wrecked splendour that was once Martin Newell. September 21st is the date. About 1.30 p.m. doors open. Goes on till 5.00 p.m or a half past. I'm starting to learn my old songs again now. Big treat this year. Special guests (roll of drums) are my old friends Lee Cave Berry and her paramour Kim...better known to some of you as Kimberley Rew-- formerly of the Soft Boys and Katrina and The Waves. Unlike me, Kimberley won't be doing his old hits but he will be doing some unusual covers...and he's a pretty amazing rock'n'roll guitarist, so you'll like that. Bring kids, dogs and cake plates. 

TV and RADIO
 I are be makin some more proograaams this yearrr, moorrr on this laydurr.
Sorry...went all rustic there for a minute.

BOOKS
I'm slowing down work on Prospect of Wivenhoe (II) because I'm knackered from writing and I want to take my time and enjoy it, not rush it.
THIS LITTLE ZIGGY : The good news is that we're ( me and the women at Wiven.Books) hoping to re-service this and get it out, in a brand new cover in time for Christmas. Designs are being considered. Oh and yes, SELECTED POEMS the book, is doing okay, thanks for asking. We had a good review in the Independent already and we're hoping for more.

CLEANERS FROM VENUS ANTIQUES FAIR
An American gentleman called Johnny Durango, with my consent, has compiled a potential first volume of early Cleaners From Venus ( this is the DIY tape years Cleaners) and is in the process of having them digitally cleaned up. The plan, if I reckon the quality to be okay, is to put out a limited edition oxide and vinyl release for connoisseurs. It's in progress at the moment. It's going to be a lot of work, warngling and letter writing, but fingers crossed.

I've noticed that you never see people dancing around maypoles anymore, do you? Well, I've decided to do something about it and have duly ordered a new maypole from Argos. It should be here in a couple of days, so if you're in the area of the Wivenhoe Bookshop, on the afternoon of Saturday 17th I'll be there, doing some entertainment round the back and if the maypole still hasn't arrived, I guess we'll just have to improvise round something else.

After all the launchings and performances of the last two weeks, the book Selected Poems is finally out and can be ordered from james@jardinepress.co.uk . Or ring (0)1206-827798. Hurry up now, he's waiting for your call...quivering slightly, in a gingham-check babydoll nightie, under a four-poster, in the end bedroom off the main gallery. 

Gigular matters
I'm at the Bath Fringe on 2nd and 3d of June. The first is a late night spot at the Fringe Club Back to Mine in the Paragon. The second, on June 3rd is a special event elsewhere. We'll be showing the filmIf..... which will be followed by a talk by me about the film its times and my times. It's at The Little Theatre . I don't know quite where this is yet, but it's central Bath ( which is a lovely place.) and all events are in the programme. Sorry, the organisers are about as good as I am on these matters. Try googling Bath Fringe 2008. It worked for me. Mind you, so did that gingham-check babydoll nightie. On Saturday July 5th I'm doing a full show at The Malting Arts Theatre, St Albans, Herts.Book early to ensure disappointment. 

PARIS IN JUNE: I'm not going. There is a perfectly good reason for this. Although my song On Lighthouse Way has been nominated for an award, you can't really hear it very well in the film. In fact you can hear the gasps and rustlings of the couple making love louder than the radio which the track jangles out of, while they're going it like badgers. Having said that, Primrose Hill is a stunning film. I'm not hurts about this, it's just that I'd feel a bit of a fraud going to the awards. How do I network that? " My track. Oh...yeah. It's that jangle coming out of the radio during the money-shot." And anyway... awards ceremonies? Come on. Not really me is it? Can I get on with my work now, please? 

I'm looking forward to a summer doing a few gigs, writing some music, finishing part two of A Prospect of Wivenhoe and making a couple more television programmes, they tell me. Hell, it's a living of sorts. But you never know what's round the corner, do you? 

Spring Newellsletter

BOOK:

A new poetry collection Selected Poems, the absolute worst of twenty years of my work is due out round about 6th May. This is being published by the great Jardine Press and has a helluvva foreword from femme doyenne and all-round top woman of Essex, Professor Germaine Greer. I'm not kidding, this is a hell of a bill. I even had to look up one or two of the words she'd written, so copious were her notes. The book will have two launches. 
The first is at Messum's Art Gallery in Cork St, London between 6.30 and 8.30 p.m on Tues 6th May 2008. This is a quite a big thing for me, because I usually don't do stuff in London. I ain't complaining. I expect I'll talk a bit and generally try to be on my best behaviour. 
Our local launch will be at the Wivenhoe Bookshop, Wivenhoe High Street, two days later on Thursday 8th May 2008. Probably about 6.30 to 8.00 p.m. 
Two days after that on Saturday May 10th, there'll be a gig at the Lakeside Theatre, Essex University. I'll be doing this gig with another poet called Jane Holland. Lovely venue. I'm doing two sets. Doors open at 7.30. You can book seats from arts@essex.ac.uk 

TELEVISION:

Shortly before all this happens, BBC TV East, Inside Out who brought you the Rock ferry documentary will be showing Miners, another slightly weightier documentary we made, which is about the 1984 Miners Strike and its effects on my town. I don't have a date for this yet but I think Fri 25th April BBC 1 about 7.30 is a likely date and time. We will keep you posted about this. Later this year it looks like we'll be making another programme too, for next autumn. 

MORE GIGS:

I'm definitely performing at the Bath Fringe this year. Two gigs so far...for Monday 2nd June and Tuesday 3rd of June. Venues and times as they come in. Bath gigs are always fun. As some of you will know, that was where I lived for 6 months, when I made the Englishman album, and we also stayed there during the Brotherhood of Lizards Tour, so it's a bit of a pilgrimage really. 
I am, it seems, up for some sort of film music award nomination in France in late June. I'm waiting on details for this. 

MORE BOOKS:

Work has begun on A Prospect of Wivenhoe (2). Out in November we hope. It's been going slowly but will get underway properly soon. I seem to spend all my time working. Is this what writers are supposed to do? 

SPOKE'N'WORD 2008:

When summer finally gets here we'll be rejuvenating some sort of Spoke'n'Word tours. This year we'll be doing town tours and walks from pub to pub, because we think it might be more popular than the country walks and the 16 mile cycle rides in the pouring English rain. 

Beware the Newsletter of...MARCH

It's March, the sun is getting stronger, the days are getting longer and the glistening banners and burnished shields of the enemy's serried ranks are only just over the hill in Frating, so let's get this great big underwired brassiere of a newsletter hauled off and get ourselves go-go dancing into the cage of all our trembling tomorrows. Yassuh! 

GIGS COMING UP SOON:
This just in: Kelvedon Institute evening o' March 14th . Music and spoken word 
It's right off the A12 on Kelvedon High Street, Essex. Y'can't miss it. 

We've got Wivenhoe Librararary on the 26th of March for Essex Book Festival 
But you won't come will you? Even though I'm doing this one in the nude. 

GIGS IN THE MIDDLE DISTANCE:

May 10th: Essex University Lakeside Theatre. Spoken word. 

June? BATH FRINGE FESTIVAL this will be a special gig to be announced, connected with the showing of the film IF.... I'll be doing a talk and telling some gags. There might be other stuff too, because it's my old friends at the Bath Fringe. More later on dates and times. 

July 5th : St Albans Maltings Arts Centre. Solo gig. I'm doing two sets. 

July 12th Rock in the Garden (tbc) This is a great little charity gig over the river in east Colchester which helps to raise money for an African village. And I've always wanted my own African village, so give generously, the shipping costs won't be cheap you know. 

August 2nd Rudry Village Hall. A whole evening of me in lovely south Wales. Big Al Davies is putting this one together for me. Yaay! 

......................................................................................................................................... 
BOOKS: 

My own Selected Works is due out in spring on Jardine Press . We're just waiting on foreword, proofs etc. More info when we have it. 
......................................................................................................................................... 
TELEVISION
BBC 1's Inside Out docu "ROCK FERRY" which was made last summer with me as presenter/poet has a tentative transmission date of FRIDAY 28th MARCH at 7.00 p.m. Confirmed .Eastern/central regions. You may be able to watch it here if you are able to access the BBC's IPlayer.We're wrapping up the Miners Strike programme very soon, for transmission (it says here) not long afterwards. Two other future docus are also in discussion. Hi Mum! Look who's on telly Etc etc. 

Despite me trying to have a bit of peace and quiet, the phone keeps ringing, the mail still arrives and Ms B. keeps bringing new footwear into the house. So don't expect it to be too quiet for long. The blog's been raked out, re-set with kindling wood and is blazing nicely again. 

Not only that,our local estimable organ of truth and justice The East Anglian Daily Times, after a trial period, have decided they like me, so they're having me wrapped and taken home. My column size has been increased ( something Viagra never succeeded with) and I'm thriving on the work. So merry March to you all and see you on the massage board. Hep hep!. 

February Newell'sletter

Hi Everyone,
As you will be aware, I haven't been about on the site much lately. There's been a lot going on, but I'm trying to clear my desk even as I write this. For those I haven't been in touch with I'm sorry and I will be in touch with you in due course. That's especially Ashley, for sending me the pics and the calendar and to Ian Callender himself sending me the Blogge so well put together. 
 

GIGS:
I'm doing POOLE LIGHTHOUSE at the Arts Centre on TUES 19th FEB 
The other gig on the 13th Feb is a private one...to do with the building of fishing boats 
Gigs are coming in for Bath and St Albans too. More news soon. 
 

Writing: 
I have just finished Draft 2 of the 10,000 word Blah Political Manifesto. The Blah Party have very much taken up the baton of The Monster Raving Loony Party and are running with it. Captain Sensible is our head honcho. The Party Conference will be scheduled for Brighton in September this year, I'm told . I don't know if I'll stand or not. Probably not, but at least I've contributed a nice satirical manifesto, which was a lot of work, believe me. Running in tandem with this I've been collating my new book SELECTED POEMS/ Jardine Press/ Out in spring. This will be the absolute best (or worst) of my stuff from the last twenty years. That too was quite a task but it's done now, Oh and Germaine Greer is supposed to be writing the foreword. 
All the while this has been going on, I've been doing my usual weekly poem for The Express and column for The East Anglian so yeah, it's been a tall order. 
I'm not going to start Vol 2 of A Prospect of Wivenhoe, for few weeks, I need a break but that is this year's main project, since the first has been such a success. It's out nationally in arch. 
 

Musicals.
Black Shuck my old epic poem about the ghost dog of East Anglia is to be turned into a schools musical It will be shown at the magnificent Yarmouth Hippodrome in May this year. It involves five schools, so work begins immediately. 
 

Merriage: 

Ms B and I are to marry. Probably not till spring of 2009. So don't go out buying those flimsy provocative dresses yet, Paul and Steve. 
 

TV: 

The Rock Ferry programme's BBC 1 broadcast date will be upon us soon and I start filming the Miners Strike documentary this week. In fact I have to work on it now, so goodbye. Blogs will start again soon Mwah! Love you. 

Gigs: For some reason there are two coming up in Poole in Dorset. One on Thursday 14th  Feb at Poole Yacht Club and another on the 19th Feb at The Lighthouse, which is the Arts Centre. More about them in the next newsletter, when I find out what the hell's going on. 
I'm also ( it says here) helping to open the East Colchester Town to Sea Heritage Walk and performing the poem commissioned for the event, on Sunday the 27th January. If you want to come, write in to the Message Board and ask me in two weeks. 

Discs: A Summer Tamarind seems to be selling steadily in its small way. Those reviews we've had... and there weren't many in print.. have been very good. The internet reviews have been mostly very good except for one guy in Australia who hated the album and told us so. I don't think we've had any airplay. So hardly any reviews and not much airplay. I'm obviously doing something right, staying true to form, writing the wrong sorts of tunes, tackling unpopular subjects and generally being me. If, after I'm dead, they all start saying that they were fans all along, they're lying, alright? There are times when I wonder why I bother doing any music at all. But mostly I carry on, because I like it and I can't not do it. Anyway, this record, in its few months of shelf-life, has already outsold the last one after 4 years of its shelf-life. Though that doesn't mean we've sold a lot. Carl Seager and I may start another album next summer or autumn if Cherry Red give us the go-ahead. 
Oh and jazz singer Richard Shelton starts recording his new album this spring for autumn release. A few of my songs will be on there. More news when it comes in. 

Books: Carrying on my 'staying local' stance, my book A Prospect of Wivenhoe blithely shifted over 600 copies in the 4 weeks up to Chritsmas from one local  shop. During this time A Big Book Chain, having been initially uninterested in the book, ordered 20 and then two days later another 70. We haven't bothered sending any review copies out to anyone in London yet, cos we couldn't be arsed. But we possibly will do now. It's done very well. I'll probably write a part two now for release in late autumn, but I don't want to thrash myself as hard as I did last year so I'll take this one slower. 
In fact, book sales are up generally and record sales kind of potter along alowly, which is not bad for someone with no management and no literary agent, who can't be bothered travelling much and doesn't really care whether some oil-drizzlers in London have heard of him or not. Ha ha ha. And futher more, Ah ha haa haaa haaaa haaa! 
Jardine Press will publish my Selected Works in the spring. The best of nearly 20 years work is being assembled now. Foreword will be by Germaine Greer. 

TV Stuff:There is, as I mentioned, one TV documentary in the can, slotted for broadcast sometime in spring and I start filming another in February ( this one about the Miners' Strike). More stuff is in the offing. All of this for BBC TV 1 by the way. 
Collaborations and Projects. 

Spoke'n'Word: I'm considering changing the nature of these guided summer tours. We'll probably try and run it out of the bookshop and do more general tours of this small town. These will be aimed at people who ain't necessarily as fit as a marine commando. We feel that the all-weather cycle and walking trips which we've done up until now, have a limited market, being slightly too strenuous for some folk and people would really rather have a shorter stroll starting with a pub and ending with one. But we'll still have a few site-specific poems and load of old chat from me. We're shirt-sleeving ideas around soon. 

Conclusion:  I've made enough to continue being alive for another few months and I can still house Ms B's many shoes and my daughter's collection of plastic bags full of sparkly tops and Nintendo rechargers. Apart from my old man kicking off last November it was quite a good year. So I'm going to blow up a large balloon, have a sweet (probably an After Eight)  and shout 'Hooray for Modern Life!' Now where are those 17th century death masks  and my Sooty pyjamas? Celery. 

December 2007 (not quite Christmas yet) Newsletter

Hello then,
                   I'm very strict about this sort of thing, even if Colchester Council aren't, so there'll be no Chrissy lights or snow machines here, until at least December 21st. And you will all remain at your desks in your thin coats in front of a miserable little coal fire glowing only very faintly red, until we break out the Babycham and the Cherry  B and drape the site with festive cheer. At this point, I will come out of my office Scrooge-like and say to both of the clerks 
“Hilly-ho Steve! Hilly-ho Paul! Let the merriment commence!  Until then GET BACK ON WITH YOUR WORK!

Gigs:
This year's gig Christmas with Johnny and Martin and Young Married Luke Wright is at Colchester Arts Centre as usual on Friday 21st December at about 8.00p.m.  www.colchesterartscentre.com
or 01206-500900 for bookings of any sort.
Books:
I have a brand new book out. A Prospect Of Wivenhoe It's not poetry, it's a series of stories and reminiscences about my town. Early run copies have been selling like hotcakes. We launch nationally in the New Year but for now it can be got from the Wivenhoe Bookshop who are small but highly efficient as well as damned attractive
( for a shop) and if it wasn't already married to Wivenhoe High Street, my god I might be tempted to invite it to move into Queens Road with me.. 
Any of my books which are still out  can be ordered from The Wivenhoe Bookshop on wiven.book@zetnet.co.uk
or phone 44(0)1206-824050 JARDINE BOOKS are also selling books on www.jardinepress.co.uk 
 (We have set up a Nochex system which currently isn't working for USA customers. Jardine are sorting this out at the moment.

Spoke'n'Word CD.
It's here at last. It looks and sounds really great. We're trying to sell it.
Remember: Because I try to stay small, local and fair, we have all the usual distribution problems attendant upon not playing the game. But I still believe that our way is the future rather than the past. In the end, I would rather we had these small inconveniences, even if it means making less money, than join the wasteful greedfest  which is the way of the dinosaur. At the moment all of my creative affairs are tied up with the Wivenhoe Bookshop, Jardine Press and Cherry Red Records, all of whom are small but intrinsically good firms. If it ends up that I have to sit here wrapping up CDs and book myself and running round to the Post Office with them, like I did in the old  DIY tape days, then if that's what it takes, that's what I'll do. 

Paul and I will try and get a special Christmas newsletter up er...near Christmas.

I must fly...