Advent Blog - Day Twenty Four - Christmas Eve

T'was the night before Christmas and all through the house......

Here we are then, Christmas Eve, and the last date of our Advent Blog! I hope over the last 24 days you have found our posts to be interesting, informative and entertaining. We did try.

We shall be updating this loads more in the future so make sure you keep checking back here. Between Christmas & NY we will have all our DJ's for NYE leave their top 10 track selections from the last decade to go along side Orlando's below, in preparation for what will be our massive Zoo Year's Eve party here!

As it is Christmas Eve, I thought I would share the below with you. It is the intro to the BBC's brilliant Children's Dramatisation of The Box Of Delights by John Masefield, which was originally shown in the run up to Christmas in 1984.

I watched it as a child, and it is for me the best Christmas adventure of all time.

I am sure that anyone that remembers it will agree, and anyone that doesn't will do as soon as they watch it. Just listen out to when 'The First Noel' music kicks in after 32 seconds.....



In the meantime it leaves me to wish you all a wonderful Christmas!

Love The Old Queen's Head! x

Advent Blog - Day Twenty Three - Orlando Maccabees Tracks Of The Decade

If you're anything like me then you will measure the passing of time by music - what your favourite bands were, what gigs you went to and what records you bought are all landmarks in life that piece together the past.

So, with the turning of a decade fast upon us it seems the perfect time to look back on what has been an amazing ten years of music. Between now and New Year myself and other people at The Old Queen's Head will be sharing with you our ten tracks of the last ten years - and asking you to suggest yours.

To kick things of though we thought we would invite a guest in to share those, and who better than Orlando Weeks, lead singer of The Maccabees, and also our Guest DJ for New Year's Eve Party!



I asked him to send me over a list of the most important tracks to him from the last 10 years and here is what he sent back.....

"All I can say about these songs is that they remind me of good things.
I think top 10s are fickle little buggers that change from 1 moment to the next but these all hold good memories and that will do for me!"

Love O x

Richard Hawley "The Ocean"


Radiohead - "Reckoner"


My Morning Jacket - "It Beats For You"


Regina Spektor - "The Flowers"


Franz Ferdinand - "Darts of Pleasure"


Arcade Fire - "My Body Is A Cage"


Interpol - "Slow Hands"


Animal Collective - "Purple Bottle"


The Walkmen - "The Rat"


The Caesars - "Jerk It Out"


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Thursday 31st December
The Old Queen's Head
ZOO YEAR'S EVE!
FEATURING.....
THE MACCABEES (ORLANDO & HUGO)
MR THING
BRUCE WAYNE
TIDY RHYTHM
ALLY WOLF
8pm - 5am
£20 Advance Tickets From The Bar
Free Cocktail on the door before 9.30pm
ZOO ANIMAL FANCY DRESS!
http://www.theoldqueenshead.com
http://theoldqueenshead.blogspot.com/
************************************************************

Advent Blog - Day Twenty Two - The Best Christmas Songs Of All Time?

Here we are then, one more day in The Office for everyone at The Old Queen's Head and to while away the hours till we can wrap up and head home for Christmas we have been banding around what our Top 3 Christmas songs of all time are. Feel free to leave your selections below

Just for your reference in the office we have the following:

Ally Wolf
Tom Lunn
Ruth Sanders.

Ally Wolf
1) The Pogues Feat Kirsty McCall – Fairytale Of New York


2) David Bowie & Bing Crosby – Little Drummer Boy



3) Saint Etienne & Tim Burgess – I Was Born On Christmas Day



Tom Lunn
1) RUN DMC – Christmas In Hollis


2) Ray Charles & Dionne Warwick – Baby It’s Cold Outside


3) Oscar The Grouch – Oscar Hates Christmas



Ruth Sanders
1) Wizzard – I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday


2) Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You


3) Kylie Minogue – Santa Baby

Advent Blog - Day Twenty One - Zoo Year's Eve Fancy Dress Idea's

Well after the slightly content heavey blog of yesterday I thought it was time to lighten it up a bit with some fancy dress idea's for Zoo Years Eve!

We are of course going for a Zoo Theme - and we will have decorated The Old Queen's Head out to look like a massive Zoo - so all you need to do is turn up looking like your favourite Zoo Animals!

If you are struggling for idea's I suggest you visit these sites!

Firstly - if you don't to go all out for a whooe costume, these girls make amazing Animal hoods! Hve a look at their website!

http://www.merrimaking.co.uk



Or these guys do whole animal fancy dress!

http://www.fancydressed.co.uk/Zoo.html



Or if you just want to look at animals then go here!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/



http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals

Advent Blog - Day Twenty - Rage Against The X-Factor

Bit of a wordy blog today as thought I should pass comment on this whole Xmas number 1 chart battle.

Well it looks like Rage Against The Machine poured hot water on Simon Cowell's plans for a Christmas Number One with the winner of this year's X-Factor, beating Joe McElderry.

So an Internet campaign via facebook (member 800,000+) beats a prime time ITV show (viewers 19 million) to take a song to the number one spot, leaving Simon Cowell seething.

What does this tell us? Well, numerous people have poured their opinions about it at every opportunity, claiming it as proof that the public won't buy into manufactured X-Factor pop, and that this signals the end of Simon Cowell's reign on the charts. Countless other people have raised the fact that RATM are signed to Sony, who also look after the X-Factor act's and that the whole campaign is a ploy by a major label and that the people who bought into the Facebook campaign are as guilty as the x-factor fans.

All a little bit to serious i think.

What are my thoughts - well I have two of them.

1) Joe McElderry's track is weak. It is not a patch on Girls Aloud's Xmas Number 1 'Sound Of The Underground' or any of the other X-Factor / Pop Idol / Pop Star The Rival's winner's songs for that matter. It is a cover of a little known original which has no meaning to anyone, sung by a new artist who from the little we have seen of him seems to have no striking personality or back story. People haven't fallen for him like they did Gareth Gates, Will Young, Leone Lewis or Alexandra Burke - he seemed to win by default of being the best of a bad bunch.

'Killing In The Name Of' on the other hand is an amazing song, which has been in the public consciousness for 19 years, and aside from the songs strong political meaning within the song has a huge significance to many generations of music fans through soundtracking their lives. RATM as a band have one of the most loyal and passionate fan bases, and have spent their whole careers finding that perfect balance between being a cult credible act and achieving mainstream success. They have personalities & opinions and mean something to people.

2) It was a massive piece of fun. When was the last time anyone cared about who was Number 1 at Christmas? Or number 1 at any point during the year for that matter? The charts have become meaningless to everyone. I remember devoutly tuning in to the Top 40 (with Mark Goodier!) when I was a kid, and celebrating certain songs getting to number 1 (when The Verve's Drugs Don't Work got to number 1, the Blur v's Oasis battle standing out for me in particular).

So in conclusion what should we take from this....

Well today I was on a coach when it got to 6.50pm, and without a radio - so I called my dad to find out for me. That made me realise what this was actually all about.

It wasn't about a David v's Golith chart battle or a turning in the tide of the public attitude to mass produced pop. It was simply about the quality of a song, the fact that people were able to get excited about the charts again and above all else FUN. Pop music is meant to be fun, always has been and always will be & the fact that in 2009 our Christmas Number 1 will be a song called Killing In The Name of, with a refrain of 'Fuck You I won't do what you tell me' is in my eyes simply hilarious.

Advent Blog - Day Nineteen - Bar Boot Sale

Last month we hosted the first ever Bar Boot Sale at The Old Queen's Head. Organised by the lovely Kirsti & Rebbecca, Bar Boot Sale See's a collection of London's most loveable and stylish ladies descend upon The Old Queen's Head for an afternoon to sell a collection of vintage clothes and accessories featuring a record and CD fair and hairdressing - all soundtracked by DJ's.

Saturday 19Th December
Bar Boot Sale @ The Old Queen's Head
Midday till 5pm
Free Entry

Here is a video they made of their last one!

Advent Blog - Day Eighteen- Xmas Party!

The last Friday before Christmas!! Which means one thing - it's time to PARTY.

Anyone heading down to The Old Queen's Head tonight will get in FOR FREE!!! if they arrive in fancy dress. We will have DJ's till 2am, Christmas Cocktails, a mistletoe kissing booth and mince pies a plenty for everyone!

We are expecting a massive attendance so please arrive early!

Advent Blog - Day Seventeen - The Sunday Social

Our wonderful promoters Broccoli are hosting our Christmas Sunday Social this Sunday at The Old Queen's Head - and they have delivered a whole host of bands and artists for your entertainment!

All the finer details can be found here - best rest assured it will be a blinder!

Don't forget that The Old Queen's Head serves the best roast dinners anywhere in the land - even better than the one's your mum makes. That's a fact!

Advent Blog - Day Sixteen - Roll Over Jackpot

Our Pub Quiz Jackpot rolled over last night - so we are now up to a massive £400+ to be won next week for our Quizmas Quiz......

Check out the details here on the facebook event

************************************************************
The Old Queens Head Pub Quiz
Christmas Special!
Tuesday 22nd December
Registration from 7pm
Quiz Starts 8pm
£2 Per Team Member / Max 6 people per team.
Each & Every Tuesday!
************************************************************

Advent Blog - Day Fifteen - Rage Against The X-Factor

So, there seems to be quite a kerfuffle going on in the world of the Internet regarding the race for Christmas #1.... It seem's that someone has a bee in their bonnet about the winner of The X-Factor (this year it being Joe Mcelderry) always claiming the spot, and as a consequence they have started a campaign on Facebook to get Rage Against The Machine's 'Killing In The Name Of' to the chart summit.

Who are we to say who is right or wrong? Who will win? My money is with these boys....

Advent Blog - Day Fourteen - Bad Town TV

So tonight at The Old Queen's Head we host the launch of Bad Town TV - which is a new TV programme starting in 2010.

Bad Town TV looks distinctively trashy, low-budget and satirical. A screening of the first episode is followed by sets from Razorlight's Carl and Skully and Badtown TV resident Randy Toot.

Rumour has it that the Razorlight boy's may even be playing on stage too.....

Advent Blog - Day Thirteen - River Rat Pack Photo's

So we hosted The River Rat Pack tonight at The Old Queen's Head - as you will know from previous posts they are a collection of bands and artists who spent this summer touring the canals and rivers of this country &and this was the first time all the bands had played togethor since!

Here are some pics...

Beans On Toast


Alex Cox from Wild Wolves


Richard Hanson SixNationState


Smokey Angle Shades


Dancing People


Jameela & Alex DJ's

Advent Blog - Day Twelve - Christmas Party!

Hey!

So it is two weeks till Christmas and what better way to bring in the Festivities than a Christmas Party!

Next Friday we will be hosting a massive one here at The Old Queen's Head & it will be FREE ENTRY if you are in Christmas Fancy Dress!

Advent Blog Day Eleven - The River Rat Pack

The River Rat Pack started in 2008 when 3 friends, myself, Beans On Toast and Nat Jenkins were wondering what to do with there summer and had a slightly mad idea of taking loads of bands to Oxford from London on barges playing free shows everywhere we went..... the next thing we new we had ended up in Oxford with Mumford & Son's, Golden Silvers and whole host of other amazing acts having played shows in London, Henley, Reading and Abingdon along the way.

The River Rat Pack 2008


Well, we did it all again this year, with a whole host of new acts - and this Sunday we will be reuniting for a special show at The Old Queen's Head

As with all River Rat Pack show's it is Free Entry, and us lovely folk at The Old Queen's Head are serving up the best roast dinners from 1pm till 10pm! The bands start at 5pm and there are DJ's all night - including the gorgeous Jameela Jamil spining tunes!



This summer we took SixNationState, Smokey Angle Shades, Wild Wolves, Cheka, Ciara Haidar, Beans On Toast, The Riff Raff and Nat Jenkins on the tour - and here are some video clips from it:

Ciara Haidar

Ciara Haidar - Ode To South Ken from Brittney Bean on Vimeo.

Wild Wolves - Touching You

Wild Wolves - Touching You from Brittney Bean on Vimeo.

Beans On Toast - It's My River, It's Your River, It's Everybody's River

Beans On Toast - It's My River, It's Your River, It's Everybody's River from Brittney Bean on Vimeo.

SixNationState - Everybody Wants To Be My Friend

SixNationState - Everybody Wants To Be My Friend from Brittney Bean on Vimeo.

Advent Blog - Day Ten - Track In The Box

Not every day is this blog going to be about The Old Queen's Head. If it was then A) it would get a little bit boring for everyone, B) it would look very self-centered and C) well if all you do is write and think about yourself how are you going to experience and share anything new - which at the end of the day is what being a great venue is all about, finding new things and telling people about them.

So, I'm gonna write about something else today.

I met up for a drink with a good friend of mine, and whilst chatting she told me about a new project she had started called Track In The Box . I had heard of it already, but didn't know it was her that was behind it.

So what is Track In The Box all about? Well, it is very simple, and very very good. All you do is sign up to their mailing list and everyday you get an email in your inbox which has 1 song in it for you to listen to, with a description about the track and what it means to the person that sent it to you.

You click on the link to where it is streamed and listen.

Amazing.

To keep it new, interesting and varied, aside from the editors of the site, they ask guests in to select the tracks, and so far they have had the guys from Chess Club Records (Mumford & Sons, White Lies....), Rock Feed Back, Neon Gold amongst many others.

So, I logged on to the site today to sign up, and the track of the day was Tina & Ike 'Nutbush City Limits', which, guilty pleasure or not, is a great tune. (I had also been playing some Tina Turner in the office earlier - Private Dancer if you wish to know). The track from the day before was Is Tropical, who played the last Loveless at OQH, and before that it was Peggy Sue, who came to see First Aid Kit here on Monday!

So, not only a great idea, a great way to discover both new and old music, but obviously a purveyor of great taste!

Which leaves me with this, if I had to choose a Track In The Box song what would it be? Well here it is - of no relevance to anything other than it simply being an amazing song, delivered by an amazing guitarist and vocalist. Pay close attenton between 2.34 secs and 3.00 secs. Genius.

McAlmont & Butler - Yes

Advet Blog - Day Nine - Quiz Pics

Every Tuesday we hold a Pub Quiz at The Old Queen's Head. It's not any old quiz, in fact in some respects it borders on a game show - which in my opinion can only be a good thing - I mean, who wants to sit and answer questions on general knowledge and geography all night?

Certainly not the 18 teams that turned up to play last night that's or certain. With rounds such as I'm forever blowing bubbles (the person who blows the biggest bubble) to blind darts (not just named after the results of playing the game wrong!), paper aeroplane throwing, moulding sculptures out of plasticine and playing a kazoo based version of Karaoke our quiz certainly encourages a lot of audience participation, balls and some skill.....

Oh... and also you can win bottles of wine, a meal for your entire team, endless free shots and a cash jackpot which at the moment stands at over £350...!

Here are some photographic highlights from last night...

Forever Blowing Bubbles


Blind Darts


Winner!


Winner!


Winners!

Advent Blog - Day Eight - First Aid Kit Live Pics & Download

So on Monday we hosted the exclusive live playback of First Aid Kit’s debut album. The two Swedish girls, backed by a drummer, graced The Old Queen’s Head stage to treat us to a track by track live performance of The Big Black and The Blue, which is to be released next year.



Amongst the audience was a mixture of their own fans who were lucky enough to get the few tickets that were available on the door, and a cross section of record labels, press companies, journalists and fellow musicians (the lovely Katy & Olly from Peggy Sue to name but a few). The show was also being filmed and recorded live – so all in all quite a big show for them to do and us to host.



Regardless of the pressure of the show and appearing slightly nervous on stage they delivered their folk-pop beautifully, leaving the 100+ people in the room completely silent except for the raucous rounds of applause between songs.

They ended their set with an undeniable encore, stepping of the stage and singing their customary cover of Fleet Foxes’ ‘Tiger Mountain Peasant Song’, in the heart of the audience.



As a thank you to us they have let me post this link
http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/First_Aid_Kit/music
Which will take you to a site where you can download free tracks and watch a huge selection of their video’s.

Advent Blog - Day Seven - DIOYY Pics

Just a quick one for today. Last Friday saw Rob and Chloe (formally of the underrated indie band Elle Milano) from Does It Offend You Yeah? step up to the decks alongside The Queen's Of Noise and a certain James Dean (a new DJ to these parts but expect to see more of him here as he was wicked).

James Dean got us underway with some wicked electro and indie mash-up's, The Queen's of Noize did their usual party set and then DIOYY stepped in to take things a little harder down the electro route.

Before hand though we managed to snap Rob & Chloe sorting out thier set in The Old Queen's Head Office.

Advent Blog - Day Six - First Aid Kit

Phew....! I nearly fell asleep without writing this. That would have been a cardinal sin in blogging world. Luckily as I was about to drift off to sleep recovering from the weekend my mind flitted over what lies ahead for this week at The Old Queen's Head and I realised how much I was looking forward to the First Aid Kit show we have here tomorrow (Monday 7th December).

First Aid kit are from Stockholm, which is in Sweden, which along with Norway and Denmark ( & maybe Finland??) forms what is commonly know as Scandinavia. If anyone can clarify the Finland aspect to this paragraph I would be most grateful.

Anyways, First Aid Kit are sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg, who although both still in their mid to late teens, make a glorious narrative style of folk not a million miles away from Bright Eye's & Devendra Banhart.

First Aid Kit


They first rose to prominence when they released the Drunken Tree's EP in 2008 on The Knife’s label, Rabid Records in Sweden, and a video of them performing a cover of Felt Foxes 'Tiger Mountain Peasent Song' surfaced on the Internet.



This brought them to the attention of Wichita Recordings, home of amongst others Bloc Party, Conor Oberst, Les Savy Fav, Los Campesinos, Simian Mobile Disco and The Cribs.

With a full UK release for their last EP and many tours under their belts, they now grace The Old Queen's Head for an exclusive live playback of their debut long player The Big Black and The Blue, which will be released in the UK in Jan 2010.

Being able to put on shows like this is one of the many reasons I love my job of promoting & booking a music venue. I really love this band, and it will be amazing to see them perform such an exclusive show in such an intimate environment!

I am not the only person that thinks they are great - this is what the critics say:
‘Hottest Acts of 09’ The Sun
“Blessed with the voices of plaid-clad angels” The Guardian
“Narrative folk so charming and wise that it’s easy to forget they’re still teenagers” Dazed & Confused
“Beautiful, Appalachian country meets 50’s pop” The Fly
“Drunken Trees showcases the sisters’ angelic voices and their way with a melody” Metro
“Sweet, lovable and infectious” Plan B

You can listen for yourselves here

This track 'Hard Believer' is a favourite of mine....



First Aid Kit
Monday 7th December
The Old Queen's Head
Doors 7.30pm
£6 entry - No Advance Tickets.

Advent Blog - Day Five - Joe Ransom's KISS Radio Show

A Massive night at The Old Queen's Head last night with Does It Offend You Yeah? DJing - big hangovers all round today! Expect pics from the event on here soon!

Tonight see's two of our finest residents take to the decks, with Maximilian on on till 12am and then Mr Joe Ransom till 2am.

Joe Ransom is one of our best resident Saturday DJ's, but aongside this he also has his own Radio Show on KISS FM - read on for more details!

JOE RANSOM RADIO SHOW ON KISS FM FRIDAY MORNING 1 - 3 AM

Listen Back via www.totalkiss.com/joeransom every week.

Tracklistings

Four Tet – Love Cry (Joy Orbison Remix) – Domino
Mike Monday – Grace (Justin Martin Remiix) – Dirty Bird
El Guincho – Kalise (Mumdance Remix Ft Jammer) – Young Turks
Uner – Labaneria – Eklektisch
Jahcoozi – Whatching You (Oliver $ Remix) – Sugarcane

BIG TUNE OF THE WEEK
Florence And The Machine Ft The Xx – You’ve Got The Love (Jamie XX Rework) – Moshi Moshi

Emika – Drop The Other (Scuba’s Vulpine Remix) – Cdr
Gucci Vump – Sha Shtil! (L-Vis 1990 Remix) – Sound Pelagrino
Funkin Even – You – Eglo
Poirier – 90’s Back Yard – Cdr
Skunk Anansie – Weak (Paul Woolford Dub) – Virgin
The Phenomenal Handclap Band – 15-20 (Glimmers Remix) – Tummy Touch

7 INCH OF THE WEEK
Trus’me Ft Dam Funk – Bail Me Out – Prime Numbers
Claude Von Stroke – Monster Island (Godizzla Dub Drop Mix) – Dirty Bird
Daniel Stienberg – You Need Love – Front Room
Crystal Fighters – I Love London (Matt Walsh And Alex Jones Remix) – Kitsune
Thunderheist – Lbg (Little Booty Girl) (Lucy Lo Remix) – Big Dada
Sticks And Stones – Monkey Dance – Cdr
Drop The Lime – Set Me Free (Zombie Disco Squad Remix) – Trouble And Bass
Friendly Fires – Onboard (Joakim Remix) – Xl
Uner Meets Deep & Suga – Disco Stu – Diynamic
Catz And Dogz Ft Pol_On – Kawa Z Grunten – Get Physical
Motorcitysoul – Vivid (Roman Fugel’s Desperate Dub) – Simple Records
Doves – Jetstream (Lindstrom Remix) – Heavenly
Red Dragon Band – Let Me Be Your Radio (Pt 1) – Cdr

______________________________________________________________

Listen live
Every Friday morning 1-3am on 100 fm in London / 101 fm in the south west and 105-108 fm in East Anglia on DAB, online and on satellite.

Listen back
Via KISS Kube at www.totalkiss.com/joeransom

Join my Facebook Group:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=26132981054&ref=ts

Myspace:
Check my newly revamped page here
__________________________________________________________________
Send promos and music to:
Joe Ransom, Kiss, Mappin House, 4 Winsley St, London W1W 8HF
Or email yousendit / zshare links or 320 kbps mp3 to joeransom@me.com

Advent Blog - Day Four - ZOO YEAR'S EVE

So blog number 4 of our advent blog-ender (??) see's us announce what we are doing for New Year's Eve - and it is massive!

The Old Queen's Head will transform itself into a ZOO for the night, as we usher in the next decade with a massive party celebrating the last 10 years of music!

Featuring special guest DJ's Orlando from The Maccabees (one of our favourite bands), Mr Thing (one of our favourite DJ's) & more gracing the decks for Zoo Year’s Eve party, along with animal themed fancy dress and a complimentary cocktail on the door before 9.30pm!

We will have face painters on hand to animalise everyone, life size animals scattered around the pub, a monkey house photo booth and loads more!

Go ape, get your catsuit out and get ready to flex it...this party is going to be absolute PANDA-MONIUM!



Also, keep an eye on this blog where all the DJ's for the night will be posting thier favourite songs from the last decade - and feel free to leave your suggestions too!
*************************************************************************************
Thursday 31st December
The Old Queen's Head
ZOO YEAR'S EVE!
FEATURING.....
THE MACCABEES (ORLANDO)
MR THING
BRUCE WAYNE
TIDY RHYTHM
ALLY WOLF
8pm - 5am
£20 Advance Tickets From The Bar
Free Cocktail on the door before 9.30pm
ZOO ANIMAL FANCY DRESS!
http://www.theoldqueenshead.com
http://theoldqueenshead.blogspot.com
*************************************************************************************

Advent Blog Day Three - Lenny Henry Secret Stand Up

The wonderful girls from Comedy Gold, who hold their comedy night every month at The Old Queen's Head had their Christmas party last night - and with it came a whole host of special guests, including the one and only Lenny Henry, who came in straight from playing Othello in the West End.

Performing a 20 minute stand up routine, Lenny took the opportunity to test some new material out, wowing The Old Queen's Heads audience with a barrage of jokes, one liners and songs and raps. Yes Lenny Henry rapped.





The rest of the night was equally as entertaining, with amazing set's from Tim Key, Benny Boot, Chris Martin & Alistair Barrie and Chris Addison

Comedy Gold host a monthly residency at The Old Queen's Head and their next event is on the 20th January. Watch this space for details.

Advent Blog - Day Two - Chew Lips Free Download

Ok, so it isn't strictly speaking still the 2nd Dec, but I'm pretty new to this blogging world and it's taken me more hours than I care to mention trying to work out how to upload music on here... so when you read this pretend it I wrote it on the 2nd Dec......

Well - last night was an amazing night at The Old Queen's Head - one of my favourite bands Chew Lips graced us with a special show. Fresh off the back of a UK tour, NME Radar piece and a glowing review for their debut album which isn't released till january - they had over 200 people queueing round the block to see them!

Having booked them shows for the last year or so, and having known them for longer, it was extra special to see so many people turn up to see them at what was the best gig I have seen them play - and also their first time playing The Old Queen's Head.

Our live room upstairs was heaving by the time the support band Ten Bears went onstage, and they were followed by one of the best upcoming DJ's, the one and only Big O .

Feast your eye's on the pics below (courtesy of the legend Jamie Roberts from The Soft Box)







As soon as the gig was finished, they were whisked straight off to Radio 1 to be interviewed by Nick Grimshaw - you can listen again here.

As a special thank you to all Chew Lips have kindly given us one of their tracks for you to download - and rest assured it is a belter - get it here by clicking on the link below and following the on screen instructions....

Download Chew Lips - Rising Tide

Advent Blog - Day One

Have you ever seen Thom Yorke laughing? Nope? Have you even thought Thom Yorke would laugh? Thought not.

Well let us share with you below a clip from The Big Fat Quiz of the Year a few year's ago, which not only sees him laughing, but also doing a mighty fine impression of a Hyena in the process. On National Television too. It's not often you see Noel Fielding speechless.....



What has this got to do with anything you may ask? (this link will be slightly tenuous - a lot of these advent blogs may be....) It is a Tuesday, and that mean's it's time for The Weekly Old Queen's Head Pub Quiz!

Now, we can't promise you a laughing Thom Yorke, or Thom Yorke at all for that matter - and we don't need to. What we do have for you is quite possible the loudest, craziest, slightly rude and no doubt funniest pub quiz in London.

With lashing of games rounds, questions rounds, free booze rounds and a massive jackpot of £200 to be won (just think of all the Christmas presents you could buy....), all held together and hosted by the marvelous (if a little mad) Quiz Master Martin it is essential entertainment for a Tuesday night!

Resurrecting The Blog - The Advent Blog.

We have been rather slack of late keeping this Blog up to date, and now is the time to resurrect it.

From now on this will be a home for us to share with you not only everything that we will be hosting at The Old Queen's Head- but also an insight into the creative hearts and minds of everyone behind this mighty fine Pub.

To re-launch it we will be blogging in the style of an advent calender, with each day from now until Christmas seeing us post on here various things which we hope will amuse, excite, educate and expand your daily world.

This will be in the form of an insight into the great shows and events we have coming up here, fantastic bands, artists, DJ's & comedians we think you should know about, or simply videos, songs, trivial facts, jokes and anything else which takes our fancy.

Maximilian New Mix

Maximilian is one of our top resident DJs and he works in our DJ studio producing for Lee Plump (Plump DJs), Tayo and Joe Ransom. He's always one step ahead of the game when it comes to new music.

Click the HERE to check out a new mix by Maximilian


He's playing next on Friday 24th July with A-Skillz. 8pm - 2am / £4

If you like what you hear join him on Facebook and check out some of his remixes on Myspace.


TRACK LIST

Animal Collective - My Girls (Maximilian Edit)
Mr. Oizo - Steroids (Mr Oizo Remix)
La Roux - In For The Kill - Skream's Let's Get Ravey Remix
Lady Sovereign - I Got You Dancing (Jack Beats Remix)
Zinc vs Kingstonlogic - Heads Edits Mash up
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - ZeroLoco Dice - Pimp Jackson Is Talkin' Now (Dubbel Dutch bootleg)
Fake Blood - Mars (Exclusive Herve Re-Fix)


Jeremy. x

New Khalil Mix and Mr Thing Video

Click HERE to download a new mix from one of our resident DJs, Khalil.

As well as being a super nice guy and a top DJ he's the man behind all the great music and DJ bookings at The Westbury in West London. Having organized parties which have included performances from the like of A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, James Lavelle, Krafty Kuts, Yoda, The Chemical Brothers and many many more - he sure knows his stuff.

You can check him out on the last Saturday of every month with Mr Thing (DMC World Champ) at The Old Queens Head.
Or, if you're more a West Londoner go see him play at The Westbury.
http://www.westburybar.com/

Check Khalils mix track list and a video of Mr Things at the DMC championship below.


KHALIL TRACK LIST

Tone-Loc: Funky Cold Medina (Aaron LaCrate & Debonair Samir RMX)
Salt N Peper: Push It
Outkast: The Way You Move
Earth, wind & Fire: Boogie Wonderland
The Prodigy: Out of Space
Eurythmics: Sweet Dreams
New Order: Blue Monday
Jesse Rose: Touch My Horn (The Hump Day Project 'Dutch My Horn' Remix)
Jesse Rose: Touch My Horn (Mad Kids Remix)
Tori Amos: Professional Widow (Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix)
MGMT: Electric Feel (Justice Remix)
Womack & Womack: Teardrops
Metronomy: heartbreaker (discodeine mix)

F.L.U @ Old Queens Head

This was our second monthly night at the old QUEEN. The first Tuesday of every month treats us nicely. The somewhat unpredictable Gods of Promotion and Fortune, always ready to upset the rhythm, to keep you on your toes.

Overseers of the cosmic universe of the 3rd/4th and 5th dimensions revel in the comic nature of humanities existence and the jokes it can play on you/me and the curious life of a promoter. A truly exceptional breed. Choosing to exist in a realm of pure chance and lottery. YOU BUY YOUR TICKET, YOU TAKE THE RIDE. There are no P.A.Y.E's here. Just unstable elements that one convinces them self, that combined & confined into one venue for one night will create a chemical & henceforth physical reaction with punter & cash money alike. That wonder/amazement/a mild inter-rest, the suspension of disbelief for a few hours from the illusionary reality that we all BUY INTO can be offered up to the Gods for 5 ENGLISH POUNDS.


We pray! We abandon all religion and superstition! We become MATH. I AM THE FOULS/YOU ARE KRAFTWERK/ JESUS.......AND THE MARY CHAIN............I digress.

Our line up for April here was about as true as you can get to what F.L.U(FUTURE LONDON UNDERGROUND is all about. We had the Black Soul Strangers who are moved/moving to the Sepultura CITY(LONDON) to make their fame and fortune. Sounding like a angry/Irish RADIOHEAD, ones to watch explode into orbit this summer.


The Black Tricks, return to the limelight with a whole host of new songs and line up. Elliot the guitar player of the now defunct SKALLYWAGS (R.I.P) is on bass duties. Word on the streets of East London is that they are bringing another new member to cover bass? who? and Elliot will jump back on his sonic blaster and do what he does best....rinse the shit out of his guitar. Alongside John Black Tricks on guitar this band will be immense.


Next up we had Poppy & the Jezebels. These young ladies are front runners in the underage gig scene that has blown up over the past few years. We couldn't wait to have them come and tease us with some of their crafty pop psychedelia. Check them out on this Episode of our FLU CAST.

Finally for this night , we finally finally welcomed Plastic Passion their second gig for F.L.U and their LAST EVER as the Plastic Passion we have come to know and love. This band of outsider punk misfits of the post punk rinsers is OVER. Their self recorded album Contrived Imagery, released in JAPAN. Hearts & Minds WON.


HOWEVER this is just the beginning for these punks. They are LAUNCHING their new band SAVANTS( www.myspace.com/wearethesavants) this SAT 25TH APRIL @ TOMMY FLYNN'S on the 360 Stage on the CAMDEN TRAWL 4:30PM. With the addition of DAN FATEL (Fatels/No Picasso) to this trio, THINGS ARE EXPECTED?


COMEANDGETTHEFLU. SAFENESS TO YOU ALL, KAFKA FANCULO


P.S well be back for more TUESDAY 7th JULYCheck website for full listings http://www.futurelondonunderground.co.uk/

Dons Fatels. x

COMEDY GOLD presents STEPHEN MERCHANT

Wow! Another sell out COMEDY GOLD night upstairs at The Old Queens Head. The comedy was hot and the beer was cold, the perfect combination. A star-studded bill that included Dave Gorman (BBC2’s Genius) and Stephen Merchant – yes THE Stephen Merchant off the telly! - kept the audience giggling away all night. We also laughed our socks off at Jon Holmes (from BBC6 Music) Holly Walsh and the hilarious Nick Doody.

If you missed the show this month, make sure you catch the next COMEDY GOLD on Wednesday 20th May at The Old Queens Head.

Click HERE to check out the Comedy Gold website for more info.
Click HERE to join Comedy Gold on Facebook.

Comedy Gold. x

LITTLE BARRIE LIVE (FREE ENTRY!) EASTER BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY 13TH APRIL

Little Barrie return to their Old Queens Head residency to preview songs from their 3rd record.
Barrie has been away across the planet palying with Primal Scream and this is his own bands first show back on home soil!

Hand Picked support acts from Little Barrie

Live Music and DJs from 4pm

Bugged Out Easter Sunday All-Day-Er, Like New Years Day but on Easter Sunday. Kinda. Sort of.

Following the huge success of our new years day disco'n'pop party which saw Erol Alkan switching between Dusty Springfield and Girls Aloud, Tayo playing house and rave classics, Dan Beaumont show stealing with his Heart/John Farnham nexus Bugged Out is back - moonlighting from the techno day job - to host another 12 hour session of pop, disco, yacht rock, vintage handbag, guilty pleasures and old rave. Hosts with the roasts are Johnno & Charlotte with guests Tayo, Ben and Dan from Disco Bloodbath, Mick Wilson, Joe Chalmers and a very special guest all confirmed and ready to be revealed on the day! Toot toot! Get on board.

THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT - FRIENDSHIP

Video for FRIENDSHIP's new single 'The Graveyard Shift' out on Too Pure Singles Club on the 20th April 2009.

Animal Collective - My Girls (MAXIMILIAN Edit)

This month in the studio I've been working on an Edit of My Girls by Animal Collective. The original is such an awesome track but doesn't have a beat, so couldn't really play it in my DJ sets.

I went about adding some drums, a 808 sub and changed the songs structure so that it would work on the dance floor.

I've posted the Edit on my myspace page so CLICK HERE to check it out.

Also I've hosed it HERE for your downloading pleasure. Enjoy.

You can catch me at the Old Queens Head on the Sat 11th April.
See you there
Maximilian. x

I Think We're Alone Now!

A certain topic has continued to crop in conversations with mates over the past few days, so I feel that it is probably worth a quick blog.

Picture the scene, you have been out at the Old Queens Head, you’ve had a few drinks, a bit of a dance and you have been fortunate enough leave with a new friend that you’ve made; fun times are potentially on the cards. At this point there are so many things racing through your mind. Do you go back to their house or yours? Did you remember to replenish your durex stockpile in your wallet before you went out? Do you even remember their name, because she is bound to pick the most inappropriate moment later to ask whether you remember it? But whilst all this is racing through your head, you are having to think about the most important decision that you can make all night…In the event of ending up back at your place, what music are you going to play?

Over, the past few days I have come across a rather eclectic mix of music that people I know like to listen to whilst they do the dirty. It seemed to be a general consensus that the time-honoured standard of spinning a bit of Marvin Gaye may be a bit passé these days. However, I think that there may have been a problem with my research in the field, as all these discussions seemed to be between male friends of mine. So, when I canvassed the opinion of my female housemate last night, without hesitation she went straight in with a bit of ‘Sexual Healing’! Boys, ladies obviously love Marv!

Maybe it’s time to reassess my tactics, as I was thinking that if I was lucky enough to tempt a lucky young lady back to my lair that I would love to whack on a bit of Celine Dion, ‘My Heart Will Go On’. Just imagine the look on her poor face. Firstly she is starting to sober up, in the process realising that she has had the misfortune of ending up with me, but she is also discovering that I was going to try it on with her whilst imagining that I was in Titanic. If she did not leave immediately at this moment, I would be slightly worried for her standards/sanity.

Another option that was put forward by a friend was to play anything by Boards of Canada. Just imagine the kind of sex that is going to be – it would probably be followed by some Belle and Sebastian and then a little post-coital cry! Another friend ventured ‘Danger Zone’ by Kenny Loggins; yes, it is that tune of Top Gun! Is this friend tying to tell me something about his sexuality? This same friend that text me this morning telling me that he was wearing a cowboy hat at work.

Therefore, I think what started out as a rather standard conversation about what’s the best music to get busy to, has ended up revealing something much deeper. It has revealed the very essence of an individual’s true identity! So, whilst you are sitting there just try and think of your top five sexy desert island discs and then try and think what is says about you. Don’t worry, it can’t be as bad as what Celine say about me!

CHECK IT!!!
http://raggsplat.blogspot.com/

Check out a new A.Skillz 60min live mix.

CLICK HERE
to download an MP3 of the mix. Good times.

A.Skillz
Friday 20th March
8pm – 2am / £4
The Old Queens Head

What has The Old Queens Head got in common with a Lamb Rogan Josh?

My appetite for food of late is embarrassingly massive. I have been a skinny as a rake, skinny jeaned, slimster since day one. I sit down to my desk in the Old Queens Head, get my Spotify playlist sorted with tunes better than anyone else’s in the office and start thinking about what I am going to have for my bloody dinner... Basically, what I am getting at is that I could happily eat a Bombay Bicycle Club take out curry every night. We even share Essex Road with a branch of London’s best take out restaurant, I have a similar knowledge of the numbers on the Bombay Bicycle Club menu as I do of the Track Listing of The White Album (that’s extensive knowledge). Put it this way, the curry form this place is so good a band even stole their name. Amazing.

Liam x

MYSTERY JETS (dj set) // BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB (dj set)
The Old Queens Head
Friday 27th March
8pm – 2am £4

THE MYSTERY JETS (DJ set) - Friday 27th March

Our favourites the MYSTERY JETS are coming back to DJ at The Old Queens Head with support from young upstarts BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB and DANNY BOY - Friday 27th March

Check out this version of TWO DOORS DOWN recorded for the RADIO ONE'S LIVE LOUNGE.

MAN I SURE AM HUNGRY

This Red Hot Entertainment video has been drivin' everyone in the office nuts, it's about a year old now but still funny as hell....

JUNIOR SPESH, JUNIOR SPESH, JUNIOR SPESH!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT HAVE THE OLD QUEENS HEAD AND HI-FIDELITY GOT IN COMMON?

As if it is almost bloody march!

I have been taking some massive stick in the office over the last few months for being the ‘musical snob’ from my boss, my colleagues and even the bar staff! But, to be honest, it is a title I am quite proud to keep hold of and it’s not something that I have taken on lightly. I have been obsessing over music and making sure I am music geek number one, keeper of all musical facts, trivia and general knowledge since I was a kid and it is a goal I intend to keep chasing. Whether it be how many girls Gene Simmons had his way with, arguing the merits of Motown vs Stax or whatever happened to The Beta Band I want to know everything! As long as I have a job promoting at The Old Queens Head, I 100% intend to keep the snob crown...

Liam x

Oh, while we are here, the answer to The Beta Band question: they went on to form The Aliens, but whilst we are on musical geeks and the Beta Band, here are some of my peers ,...



THE RAKES (dj set) // THE ALIENS (dj set)
The Old Queens Head
Friday 13th March
£4
8pm – 2am