I’ve listened to The James Clarke Five, Zoom, and The Gadflies again. This album is a keeper, and I hope James Hughes releases a vinyl version so I can listen to the whole album on my big stereo. “Long gone are the days when Echo & The Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes and THE CHERRY BOYS represented the 1980s Liverpool new wave scene, but Cherry Boys frontman JAMES HUGHES is still churning out fantastic music as JAMES CLARKE FIVE. Friday brings the release of his latest album ‘Zoom and The Gadflies’ via UK label Favourite Recordings.”

“This album was written and recorded over a period of two and-a-half years. As it progressed song by song, I found that it was showing a common theme inspired by the music that excited me as a child: people like Adam and The Ants, and also the likes of T Rex and the ‘production style’ of the Glam Rock era,“ explains James Hughes.

“So it gathered pace in that direction, which for me was very exciting if initially subconscious, development. But then all my music is in some way an homage to the music I love, with, of course, my personal quirks in the mix – for example the penultimate song, Buddy and Joe, which is my take to the music of Joe Meek, Telstar etc. On the other hand, D’You Not Think is inspired by psychedelic-era fairgrounds and steam organs (albeit with a ‘political’ lyric), and for me this song personifies the great fun I had putting this album together.“

This album was recorded in his home studio in London,  James Hughes produced and mastered it. He performed all instruments and vocals except Mack The Sax, who plays saxophone on ‘Gadfly Groove,’ and Karen Bates, who provides backing vocals on ‘It’s Been So Long.‘

As of March 15, the ‘Zoom and The Gadflies‘ album is available on fine digital platforms, including 

Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/artist/1VRyxQ7tms6Grakd3So0qO, Apple  https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/james-clarke-five/338084841, and Bandcamp https://jamesclarkefive.bandcamp.com

Before you all come to the end of this blog, I want to add one more thing. As I listen to the song  ‘(Who’s Been On The) Big Rock Candy,‘ I can’t help but wonder if this started on Big Rock Candy Mountain. Harry McClintock first recorded and copyrighted “The Big Rock Candy Mountains” in 1928. I am partial to the Berl Ives version. It doesn’t matter; they are both quality songs that can stand on their own merit.

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