CURRENT

The Scoundrelles' new album, "Atomic Batteries To Power!" will be released on CD and on limited edition vinyl (with gatefold sleeve) by Bang! Records in June 2008. The album contains versions of the Troggs' "Give It To Me", Suicide's "Rocket USA" and the Rutles' "Don't Know Why" along with other tracks recorded over the last couple of years at Toe Rag and other studios in London. Oh, and a track recorded at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. Tracks: Give It To Me; Glidrose Grilse; Head On; Rocket USA; Shut Down; I Wish I'd Broke Your Heart; Middle Of A Broken Heart; Cindy's East; Present Forever; The Girly Song; Neptune; Don't Know Why; Enter Girls Gone Wild; The Scoundrelles Will Return... Keep checking for news of shows here or at http://www.myspace.com/thescoundrelles Due to Diggory (hopefully temporarily) bowing out to spend time with his pair of delightful twins (daughters, not Playmates...) the current line-up of the Scoundrelles will be Tony, Hugh and Yan, with Robert Coyne comfortably ensconced back in his guitar-playing role.

FAIRLY RECENT...

Apart from recording, The Scoundrelles had a bit of an enforced hiatus over the past couple of years, due to:

1) Tony being drafted back in to perform on several Scientists' "final" reformation tours of Australia and Europe and being invited to perform at ATP festivals (The Mudhoney-curated one at Camber Sands and the Dirty Three curated one at Minehead). Most recently the Scientists had a "homecoming" show at the Perth International Arts Festival (no parochial chuckling) and supported Sonic Youth's "Daydream Nation" tour of Australia, performing "Blood Red River".

2) Frantically trying to complete the new Venus Ray LP before Diggory's twins made their world debut (we failed...).

3) Tony, Yan, Rob and Joe touring with Chris Wilson & His Groovin' Flames, performing with Amy Rigby and and recording and performing with Sky Saxon.

4) Rob releasing his own album (we always knew this would happen once he realised he could sing as well as instinctively play every instrument known to man (and a few unknown ones)) "Death Is Not My Destiny" on Turpentine Records. Rob also composed the soundtrack to the film, 'The Great Happiness Space: Tale Of An Osaka Love Thief' which won the Best Documentary Feature Award at the Edinburgh Film Festival.

5) Life getting in the way...

OLD HAT

The Scoundrelles were very saddened to hear the news that Rob's father Kevin Coyne passed away on 2nd December 2004. We last saw Kevin at the 100 Club in October, where despite his illness requiring him to have oxygen on stage, his uniquely Beefheartian songs and delivery were still in evidence. Our condolences to Rob, Eugene and Lesley.

On Monday 15th November 04 Kim Salmon's Scientists concluded their European tour at the Dirty Water Club. Tony joined them on stage for this show and was thrilled to finally get to play Last Night and High Noon as well as all the usual smash hits-that-never-quite-were. Stay tuned for news of a probable Scientists live album.

In October 04, Yan and Rob, together with Robin Wills and Jeremy Gluck, wowed Paris as the reformed Barracudas. As ever, the 2nd supercharger kicked in with the arrival of Chris Wilson on the stage but Paris was graced with a 3rd nitro-supercharger when the fabulous Mr Roy Loney appeared to perform Yesterday's Numbers, Slow Death and an incindiary, H-bomb-charged Teenage Head. The following day saw Roy opening an exhibition of sublime pics from Roberta Bayley and Leee Black Childers with an acoustic show, helped out by Robin Wills for a few tunes and Tony experienced one of the highlights of his life when he and Roy together performed the most wonderful song in the universe, 'She's Falling Apart'.

Following a couple of months away due to a flurry of extra-curricular activities, The Scoundrelles returned to live playing at the fab On The Rocks in Dalston on Wednesday 22nd September 04.

Tony, Yan and Rob have been recording and playing the odd chaotic gig with the legendary Sky "Sunlight" Saxon (see right) along with Spaceman 3's Stirling Roswell and Horton Jupiter (They Came From the Stars, I Saw Them). An album of new, Space-Age Seedstastic material (ok, with a couple of VERY SLIGHTLY updated Seeds fuzz classics - they just couldn't resist!) has been recorded and is currently being mixed at London' Goldtop Studio's for imminent release by Jungle Records.

Diggory has been hard at work mixing the forthcoming Venus Ray album which will be released on Negative Records in early 2005 (MAKE THAT 2007...).

Hugh has been giving himself triple-writers-cramp transcribing interviews with Ron Asheton, Rob Younger and the as-legendary-as-Sky (in our book) Chris Bailey, for various respected publications. As well as a non-existent one. No names, no pack drill.

Not to mention time out for gigs by the New York Dolls, Nancy Sinatra, Amy Rigby, Bo Diddley, Glen Matlock, the Rutles, Wreckless Eric, Ray Davies and, well, there must have been SOMEBODY contemporary and under 25 that we saw besides Amy Rigby's marvellous daughter, Hazel...

The Scoundrelles' debut CD "Organic Molecules In Action" comprising recent recordings from Liam Watson's Toe Rag Studios, augmented with a couple of gems recorded elsewhere, is now available. Says Lindsay Hutton of Next Big Thing: "What a fab racket it is too. Imagine "Flies" period Chilton marinated in Scientists with a little Neil Innes on the side and you ain't even close." See the tunes page for previews of new tunes and click here for further press/testimonials.

To coincide with the album's release, the Scoundrelles played a series of dates, at the Last Rockers Club at the Canaervon Castle, Chalk Farm Road, Camden, and at Pennyblack music's night at the Spitz.

The Scoundrelles' played on Sunday, November 23rd at the Windmill, Brixton, supporting Registered Nurse (thanks James for the loan of the Epiphone Casino!). Registered Nurse's frontman, Richard Andrew was last seen on stage with Tony as part of the reformed Scientists' Australian tour last year. Hopefully we'll be doing some more dates with the Nurse in 2004.

Scoundrelles drummer Yan Quellien performed recently in Miguel Marin's score (in a dirty monk's habit) in Valencia as part of  Bigas Luna's (Jamon Jamon, Golden Balls) stage production of  "Las Comedias Barbaras". Yan played alongside THE Spanish string section, Capella De Ministrers. The show ended 2003's Biennial in Valencia.
 
Yan and Scoundrelles collaborator Robert Coyne performed with Robin Wills and Jeremy Gluck as a reformed Barracudas in London and Spain, including a double bill with the Dictators in Madrid. They also play on a brand new Barracuda's single: Don't Ever Say It Can't Be So.

The Scoundrelles played the Hope and Anchor, Upper Street, Islington on Saturday 26th July.

To coincide with the release of the Sympathy For The Record Industry CD/LP 'Sympathetic Sounds of Toerag Studios, London' (a collection of Liam Watson produced recordings from his infamous studio), the Scoundrelles performed at London's Metro Club in W1 in February. Audiences flocked in from as far away as WC1 and Sydney, Australia, to try to steal the secret of the extreme string bending of the Scoundrelles' track "Why Doesn't Somebody Take This Goddam Girl Away From Me?"

The 9th April 2003 marked a year since the Scoundrelles were shocked and saddened by the sudden, tragic death of their friend Steve Smith. Steve was the drumming heart of a slightly incestuous family of groups including Venus Ray, Mean Vincent , Electrocuting Elvis and the Cigarettes, all of whom also contained various Scoundrelles. A memorial weekend to celebrate Steve took place in July 2002 at his parents home in Somerset where Steve dreamt of building a studio for all his groups to use. A further tribute to Steve, Venus Ray's "The World Wakes Up Without Me" LP which was being recorded when Steve died was, fittingly, released by Negative Records in April.

In October the Scoundrelles returned to the Windmill in Brixton, once again, for a particularly cracking headline appearance. The dual slide-guitar attack of the brand new Lee Hazlewood-esque "Hard Workin' B7 Surface Receptor" was a firm audience favourite. Even if this was because they mainly thought it sounded like the Monkees…

The Scoundrelles, with Yan safely restored to his drum seat, again played the Windmill, Blenheim Gardens, Brixton in August, with Cambridge's Broken Family Band and Southern Star.

The Scoundrelles inadvertently added to London's crumbling national monuments by shaking the Windmill to its foundations on 25th May using guest drummer and ex-Scoundrelle (and current Venus Ray & Mean Vincent guitarist) Robert Coyne, as Yan was dodging bullets in the Columbian jungle.

Following last years appearance on ABC TV's Studio 22 and being lauded as the unsung inventors of grunge on the ABC's history of Australian Rock: "A Long Way To The Top", Scoundrelle Tony toured Australia with a briefly re-formed Scientists. Kim Salmon, Boris Sujdovic, Tony and honorary drummer Richard Andrew (of Melbourne group Registered Nurse and owner of Pharmacy Records) played to sell out crowds to promote the recent release of The Human Jukebox (1985-87) CD, available from Citadel Records and Sympathy For The Record Industry (Home of fellow Toe Rag recordees The White Stripes).

Check these links: http://www.sympathyrecords.com and http://www.pharmacyrecords.com.au/

The Scoundrelles feature on a James Bond tribute album available now on the French label 442eme. For this project, they've recorded a cover of 'From Russia with Love' which features an extended instrumental intro borrowed from Ursula and Sean's 'Under the Mango Tree' and features Maxwell Smart's arch-nemesis and head of KAOS, Siegfried The Malevolent. Also featured on this limited edition vinyl picture disc are Bonebox, The Flaming Stars, Nikki Sudden and a host of international acts.

The Scoundrelles played their 'Xmas gig' (and did have the odd nip of sherry), at the Hope and Anchor, Islington, on Saturday 8th December 2001. It was short, sweet (like the sherry) and brutal and the masses shook their booties wilder than Angelus at Cordelia's party (Series 1, episode 13 [Probably]).

The Scoundrelles played at the Dublin Castle, Camden Parkway, on Saturday 10th November 2001. The set was captured on video by the talented Sarah Dutton.

Back in September, we took the Garage by the throat and shook it like a pugnacious hound on causing a good 20% of the punters to race for the CD stall to snap up preview copies of This Goddam Girl EP. Catch 'em and get 'em while they're hot!

The Scoundrelles played at the Verge, NW1, on Friday 31st August '01, supporting the formidable Japanese duo, Yumi Yumi. Worth seeing if you get the chance! We flogged some prerelease copies of the our 'Goddam Girl' EP, which should be more widely available very soon, watch this space for details!

We also ventured into the West End for a gig in the appealingly low-down sleazy environs (and we mean that as a compliment!) of Gossips, Dean Street, Soho on Thursday 12 July, supporting former Scoundrelle Robert Coyne's new group: Mean Vincent.

The previous week, the band played a stormer at a hot and sweaty night in the Camden Dublin Castle, on Monday 2 July.

Back in April, The band headlined a gig at the Verge, Kentish Town Road, and bribed the audience to applaud with an item of confectionary known as 'Snot Shots'. These are small green sugary lumps of what seems to be bubble gum. This seemed to work.

Whilst on holiday in Australia in March, Scoundrelle Tony teamed up for reformations with the Interstellar Villains and the Scientists. The Interstellar Villains (Tony, Richard Walsh and Alan Hislop) played a suitably chaotic set, blowing up Vox AC30s, at Sydney's Green Square Hotel with the Crusaders. The Scientists (Tony, Kim Salmon, Boris Sujdovic with drummer Phil CollinGs) recorded a half hour show for the ABC TV program "Studio 22" which was broadcast on 3rd May.

The band introduced new drummer Yan Quellien (and actually played live) at the Hope and Anchor on Upper Street, Islington, on Monday 12th February '01. The consensus was that the gig went off very well with a good reaction all round. Many thanks to headliners Big Fluff for letting us borrow part of their gear for the night!

The Scoundrelles' Mark Lusardi produced song: 'Calling All Cars' featured on the free CD attached to Bucketfull of Brains, issue No 55.

Robin Wills and Roy Loney, Paris Oct 04