Blog: Davy Henderson

Frontman of the Edinburgh indie band, The Nectarine No.9, blogs ahead of their set at Salford's Islington Mill

Hero image

Hiya Big Issue North!

I’m Davy Henderson, singer with The Nectarine No.9 and The Sexual Objects. The Nectarines are heading south to your north this Sunday coming, to prepare for a performance on Marc Riley’s BBC6 Music show broadcast live from Media City, Salford at 7pm, 25 January. On Marc’s show we’re playing selections from an album recorded in Glasgow in the winter of 1994 for Postcard Records of Scotland, called Saint Jack.

It’s named after the Peter Bogdanovich movie from ’79, starring Ben Gazzara as Jack Flowers, who says things like: “William, people make love for so many crazy reasons. Why shouldn’t money be one of them?”

Check it out if you don’t already know it.

The SJ album has just been reissued by Forever Heavenly on vinyl, for the first time ever. There’s also a beautifully packaged double CD with Johnny Peel sessions etc, hence the current Nectarine promotion.

So following the live session for His Royal Highness we’ll be playing a show at Islington Mill, Salford on the same bill as Burnley debased explosive psyche/punk/garage/math/metal types All Hail Hyena! fronted by Nelson boy Jay Stansfield, a fave singer of mine (https://soundcloud.com/allhail-hyena)

A few years back, after witnessing a performance of Say (a previous incarnation of Jay’s) I said to his ma, in the very same Islington Mill: “He’s the new Bowie, your son!” Gen up! Worth checking out too is his teenage outfit, from the beginning of this century, tRANSELEMENt. Click here for a free download their cryptically titled album (—-) is missing.

Also playing on the bill are Post, led by my favourite guitar player in the modern world, Graham Wann – now full-time resident of Manchester. The current line-up includes Steve from BC Camplight, Jake from Turf and Henrietta from Faerground Accidents. What band, man. You must see them. Even in the future – they’ll make you feel new. Listen now on this link.

After a Saint Jack show in London just before Christmas we talked of resurrecting Friends of the Cult Sixties Pop for inclusion in the live set. It’s a song from Fried For Blue Material, an LP we made in the latter half of the 1990s. Although fond of this number it’s only been played once by the band in a set done for John Peel’s Meltdown in 1998. The second verse of the song (wishing quick death to Britpop) has direct lifts from DB’s Life on Mars and Robert Altman’s MASH.

This world without David Bow-wow – in his absence he’s never been more present, in the pop charts and in Big Brother’s house where the kids are playing games of “guess which Ziggy song’s on the radio now”. Last time it was the Jean Genie – first record I ever bought. (Steve Lamacq jus played Sound of Silence by Paul & Art! Fuck sake, hope things aren’t getting back to normal.)

Verse three of Cult Sixties… goes something like: “If tomorrow knew to devour you/That Lazarus read/A tape from the dead/Get back in your bag and go back to bed/(go back to) Swallow your tongue/Hey little big mouth etc.” Being devoured by clouds from the wild eyed free-boy ain’t no bad thing, baby. If you want yer head to remain in a magenta fuggy haze, tune into this.

Anyway, Major Tom, it’s time to make the tea. Gonna end with the last line from Feels With Me by The Sexual Objects. “What about David Bow-wow/He’s left us for the kiss of death/He saved us from the kiss of death/And one of those melted cheese things…”

You betcha!
Woof-woof,
Davy x
The Nectarine No.9 play Islington Mill, 25 January

Interact: Responses to Blog: Davy Henderson

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published.