Shortly before making the move from his hometown of Edinburgh to North London, singer/songwriter/general fantasist, Keith M Thomson cultivated the idea of forming a band of international musicians with a view of realising his unique hybrid of Country, Punk, Ska and Balkan Folk. After moving to London, a combination of serendipity and sordid late-night drinking sessions soon brought him into contact with exactly the sort of likeminded and talented musicians who could make his idea’s become a reality: ‘Drink has often given me the courage to pursue my many day dreams, some with positive results, others less so. Luckily, this time proved to be positively glorious.’ said Keith.
Introducing the band: The Penny Black Remedy consists of Keith M Thomson on vocals, guitars and song-writing duties, classically trained, Croatian vocalist/percussionist Marijana Hajdarhodzic and of course the powerhouse rhythm section of Dutch drummer Wilco Van Eijk and bassist Steve Nelson, from England; As Keith puts it, ‘It was glaringly obvious from our very first rehearsal that this was not only going to work unimaginably well musically, but that we shared a similar passion, drive, sense of humour and an uncanny collective ability to still perform whilst drunk.’
The Penny Black Remedy’s symbiance of darkly comic, unpretentiously intelligent, stubbornly genre defying and catchy songs and their exhilarating live shows have been wowing audiences and promoters alike in places as far afield as London, Holland and Croatia, building a loyal following of dedicated fans, as a result. Keith ponders, ‘We’re just trying to take people back to the days when you can have a good old fashioned sing-song and a knees up around either a camp fire or an old piano. The fact that most of my songs are about death, lost love, brothels or just trying to live in a constant state of crippling paranoid fear and cope with the daily grind of everyday life is irrelevant. If anything, encouraging people to sing loudly and out of tune about the absurdity of general existence seems to instil a sense of comfort and unity. I think.’
Highlights so far include winning the Gibson Guitar Best Alternative Act at the 2008 UK Indy Awards, sharing bills with such distinguished acts as The Buzzcocks, Starsailor, The Boys, Joanna Newsom, Alabama 3 and many others at legendary places such as The Kentish Town (HMV) Forum and The 100 Club, and selling out premier London venues such as The Borderline, Charlotte Street Blues Bar and The 12 Bar Club (3 nights). They have also performed to thousands at festivals such as Stokefest, London, The Valkhof Festival in Nijmegen, Holland and a run of shows at the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, including one in the notorious fringe venue, the Udderbelly. They also recently travelled to Amsterdam in September 2009 to perform to a packed house in one of Europe’s greatest venues The Melkweg.
Impressively, in between the constant gigging, they managed to find time to record their debut album “No One’s Fault But Your Own” in Zagreb, Croatia. Released in 2009 on their self-managed record label, Soundinistas, the album has international distribution (physical and digital) through Cadiz Music. On release, the album was received with rave reviews; Robin Denselow from The Guardian claiming that the track I Won’t Argue When I’m Dead was “Quite simply, the finest country sing-along I’ve heard on the vexed pop topic of how one’s body should be disposed of after death.” The album has also already featured on Steve Lamacq’s BBC Radio 6 show, ‘winning’ the ‘song title of the week’ award for the track Come Back When You Have More Ambition.
The Penny Black Remedy’s immediate plan for 2010 is to promote their new album by taking their exuberant live show on the road, taking in a few festivals at home (including Glastonbury, The Larmer Tree Festival, The Big Sessions, The Secret Garden Party and Eden Festival) and abroad (Conincx Pop in Elsloo, Holland). Their new single “You Have Wasted Your Life, Now Please Stop Wasting Your Money”, is released on 28th June 2010.
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“This track [You Have Wasted Your Life, Now Please Stop Wasting Your Money] will become your summer anthem.” – Chris Hawkins, BBC 6Music
“Quite simply, the finest country sing-along I’ve heard on the vexed pop topic of how one’s body should be disposed of after death. Great lyrics from Keith M Thomson” – Robin Denselow, Guardian F&M playlist
“It’s deliciously hard to label their sound … This is a terrific riot of a debut from a very talented outfit” – London Tour Dates
“No One’s Fault But Your Own is an earthshaking cauldron of ska, blues and rock’n’roll” – Musicians Magazine
“Brillian, brilliant, brilliant album” Waiting Room, Woxy.fm
“Like The Pogues at the height of their powers” – Von Pip Musical Express
“Beyond any shadow of doubt, the most exciting live band I have seen” – e-gigs.co.uk
