| My Beautiful England | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 14 October 2022 | |||
| Recorded | June 2021 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Length | 39:18 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Tiny Global Productions | |||
| Producer | Des Lambert | |||
| David Westlake chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from My Beautiful England | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Uncut | 8/10 [1] |
| Louder Than War |  [2] |
My Beautiful England is the third solo studio album by English singer/songwriter David Westlake, released through Tiny Global Productions on 14 October 2022.
My Beautiful England was produced by Des Lambert.
In his book Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids?, Nige Tassell notes that My Beautiful England is Westlake’s first all-new album since Play Dusty for Me twenty years ago, and that former Servants bandmate Luke Haines plays guitar on the recording. [3]
Writing for Uncut , Johnny Sharp rated the album eight-out-of-ten, calling it “a delight”. “Westlake retains great respect from [the C86 ] era’s cognoscenti”, he said, and My Beautiful England is “a Britpop concept album from a man who’d surely wince at either label”. [1]
In an in-depth review for Louder Than War , Neil Davenport gave the album a five-out-of-five rating, calling it “one of the most idiosyncratic, political and blazingly tuneful guitar pop albums [of 2022]”. “It’s an extraordinary record”, he says, “a contemporary update on George Orwell’s critiques of left intelligentsia found in ‘England Your England’.” “This is high level stuff”, says Davenport; “Not since Malcom Eden’s old band McCarthy (but in a completely different historical context) has there been an attempt to intelligently challenge received wisdom.” Musically, “My Beautiful England simply triumphs as a consistently great, 14-song guitar pop album. It’s packed with some of Westlake’s best songs.” [2]
Different shows on BBC Radio 6 Music and other BBC stations gave the album regular airplay for several months around its release. [4] [5] [6] [7]
Side one:
Side two:
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970 by Freddie Mercury, Brian May, and Roger Taylor, later joined by John Deacon (bass). Their earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock, and heavy metal, but the band gradually ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works by incorporating further styles, such as arena rock and pop rock.
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent record labels, by the 1990s it became more widely associated with the music such bands produced.
Inspiral Carpets are an English rock band, part of the late-1980s/early-1990s Madchester movement. Formed in Oldham in 1983, the band's most successful lineup featured frontman Tom Hingley, drummer Craig Gill, guitarist Graham Lambert, bassist Martyn Walsh and keyboardist Clint Boon.
The Wolfhounds are an English noise pop band formed in Romford, Essex, in 1985 by Dave Callahan, Paul Clark, Andy Golding, Andy Bolton and Frank Stebbing, and originally active until 1990. The band reformed in 2005 and continues to write, record and play live, releasing new albums in 2014, 2016, and 2020.
The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy. Their varied, volatile and long career encompasses post punk, neo-psychedelia and indie pop; the only constant being Treacy's songwriting. Present and former members include Chelsea childhood mates 'Slaughter Joe' Joe Foster, one time best friend Ed Ball and Jowe Head, with Jeffrey Bloom from 1983-94. The threesome of Treacy, Head, and Bloom formed the longest unchanged line-up and as a result is considered by many to be the definitive line-up, performing hundreds of gigs around the world and recording many of the band's most popular songs like "How I Learned to Love the Bomb", "Salvador Dali's Garden Party" and "Strangely Beautiful". Despite this, the Television Personalities are best known for their early single "Part Time Punks", a favourite of John Peel's.
Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band from Richmond, Virginia, led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous. It was active from 1995 until Linkous's 2010 death. Before forming Sparklehorse, Linkous fronted local bands Johnson Family and Salt Chunk Mary. Only one song, "Someday I Will Treat You Good", survived from these earlier bands to be played by Sparklehorse. Linkous said he chose the name Sparklehorse because the two words sounded good together and could be a loose metaphor for a motorcycle. At its inception, members of Sparklehorse included Paul Watson, Scott Minor, Johnny Hott, and Scot Fitzsimmons.
The Scream is the debut studio album by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released on 13 November 1978 by Polydor Records. The album is considered a landmark recording: its innovative combination of angular and serrated guitar with a bass-led rhythm and machine-like drums played mostly on toms, made it a pioneering work of the post-punk genre.
David Westlake is an English singer/songwriter. He led indie band The Servants from 1985 to 1991.
"Survive" is a song by the English musician David Bowie from his 1999 album Hours. It was later released in remixed form as the album's third single on 17 January 2000, reaching number 28 in the UK. Written by Bowie and Reeves Gabrels, it is a reflective number detailing the end of a relationship. Musically, it recalls the sound of Bowie's folk rock music of the late 1960s, and 1971's Hunky Dory. Its music video echoes the reflective quality of the recording, portraying Bowie levitating at a kitchen table with an egg. Praised as a highlight of Hours, Bowie performed "Survive" frequently through 1999 and 2000.
Bogshed were an Indie band formed in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England, in 1985 by Phil Hartley (vocals), Mark McQuaid (guitar), Mike Bryson (bass) and Tristan King (drums). They released two albums, two EPs and two singles before splitting up in 1987.
"Hong Kong Garden" is the debut single of English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released as a single on 18 August 1978 by Polydor Records, reaching number 7 on the UK Singles Chart.
The Servants were an indie band formed in 1985 in Hayes, Middlesex, England by singer-songwriter David Westlake. The band was the original home of Luke Haines.
T. Rex were an English rock band, formed in 1967 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan, who was their leader, frontman and only consistent member. Though initially associated with the psychedelic folk genre, Bolan began to change the band's style towards electric rock in 1969, and shortened their name to T. Rex the following year. This development culminated in 1970 with their first hit single "Ride a White Swan", and the group soon became pioneers of the glam rock movement.
Invisible System is the pseudonym for the UK & Africa producer Dan Harper whose music involves a fusion of Ethiopian, dub, reggae, techno, trance, drum and bass, jungle, acid, psychedelic, folk, post-punk, goth and rock.
Play Dusty for Me is the second solo album by English singer and songwriter David Westlake.
Westlake is the first album by English singer/songwriter David Westlake. Creation Records released the album in November 1987. Under the title D87, the album was reissued in expanded form in August 2023.
Disinterest is the first album by English indie band The Servants. The record was released in August 1990 on Paperhouse Records.
Small Time is the second and final album by English indie band The Servants. It was recorded in 1991 but had to wait twenty-one years for release: a “lost second album that had been gathering dust for half a generation.”
Rebecca Hollweg is an English singer-songwriter. She has been described as "a talented songsmith" who "combines old-school craftsmanship with Joni Mitchell's perspectives on relationships and environment" and "a silky-voiced jazz-influenced songwriter" who "laces her low-key arrangements with exquisite vocals".
C86 is a cassette compilation released by the British music magazine NME in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from British independent record labels of the time. As a term, C86 quickly evolved into shorthand for a guitar-based music genre characterized by jangling guitars and melodic power pop song structures, although other musical styles were represented on the tape. In its time, it became a pejorative term for its associations with so-called "shambling" and underachievement. The C86 scene is now recognized as a pivotal moment for independent music in the UK, as was recognized in the subtitle of the compilation's 2006 CD issue: CD86: 48 Tracks from the Birth of Indie Pop. 2014 saw the original compilation reissued in a 3CD expanded edition from Cherry Red Records; the 2014 box-set came with an 11,500-word book of sleevenotes by one of the tape's original curators, former NME journalist Neil Taylor.
[12] David Westlake: Bethnal Green Museum Of Childhood
[28] David Westlake: The Modern Ruins Of Old London Town
[7] David Westlake: Bethnal Green Museum Of Childhood
[7] David Westlake: Mallory Kept Climbing The Mountain