I was back in Islington London the weekend and as usual I'd pass my old haunts and shed the odd tear for what has replaced some of them.
The Hope'n'Anchor is now a painful reminder of what happens when a corporate chain decides to go castro with know thought for the old girls history. But back in the day it was the birth place of legends.
It should have remained as it stood then on historic grounds in much the same way the cavern is nowadays. The signatures on the dressing room walls and ceilings was probably the finest most random selection of rock, punk, blues,ska, new wave, reggae memorabilia I've ever seen as everyone who is anyone passed through it enroute to much bigger things. But sadly and like a lot of my old haunts it got trashed, skipped then eventually made way for the nothingness it is now.
Great memories of a great place indeed. Check out some of the names and entry prices on the poster covering a random week. The youtube link at the bottom is the stranglers playing to its 100 max capacity to give you some idea, apologies for the sound quality it's rare footage indeed
https://youtu.be/CBKb0iZSTfo

technology is giving me a first class ball ache today. let's hear it for good old fashioned pen, paper and real time as in (human to human) socialising and networking
Arrrgh 

As if recording an album, getting a band together and gigging weren't enough to fry the brain, another talent any self respecting musician these days needs is to have web skills! Well, I'm learning fast and this is all tentative to say the least but here's the start of the Ben Kelly blog and website.........watch this space!

Know that She appears appears as song 7 on my Sunny Side Down album.
It was written in the small hours when i was half asleep, half awake and in that place where the mind dishackles itself from the day's pressures and begins to roam freely.
I've often found when in this state that i have know control over where my mind is heading or what it will unearth to bring back to me. I can rarely block what comes next and often find it best to go with the flow. I like the small hours its a good time to write.
Know That She is reflective song based on a long since passed relationship that lasted ten years. You could say we were joined at the hip for most of it but with london life never likely to make things easy for us when it came to finding an affordable rent, the relationship was bound to feel the strain somewhere along the line. In the early days we were happy enough but forever on the move thanks to leeching landlords and random rent rises. I had originally sighted this constant movement and financial struggle as the reason for our and indeed her sudden departure without explanation as i slept one cold November morning. However
back in the small hours and with the benefit of the passing years allowing me to see things alot clearer other stuff started started to surface.
My own shortcomings at the time began to arise and Know That She began to be born. I started remembering things in clear images, I began to see pivotal points, places, dates and times where I'd neglected to ask how she was feeling. Then as each year fell into the next I'd rarely compliment her on the way that she looked or notice the sadness in her eyes that said i just can't do this anymore. She new I loved her but looking back I doubt she rarely felt loved. It quickly  began to dawn on me that the me of old had given her every reason to fall out of love with me because  In short i fucked up, got complacent, took us forgranted and completely missed those glaring signs of total unhappiness.

I'd grown up a lot since then and at the time of writing this song and  gone through a lot of personal changes. For starters I'd found out who i was, acknowledged my shortcomings and learned by my mistakes. I left what is essentially good about me at the core of my being but threw out the rest.
So I got to thinking had I been the way I am now in those pivotal moments during that relationship instead of disappearing up my own backside would i have been so blind? I think not. Would i have seen her side? most definately. Would we be together now? Who knows we were young and may have naturally ran our course anyway. The last I heard she was happy and doing well. I'm happily married having found my soulmate and loving every minute of it. I've always been big enough to admit when I get it wrong this being one such time. My only regret is that I didn't see it coming.
I would now

"Know that She
comes into my mind.
That's where I visit her
And bring us back to life.
If me now
could have been me then
We would be stronger now
than we had ever been
We would be stronger now
Than we had ever been"
It's a very simple tune with a simple sentiment. It's also the track that convinced the guy who produced the album that I was worth taking a punt on.
Know That She appears on Sunny Side Down by Ben Kelly & The Mighty Bern
Order your copy today at Benkellymusic.com or download it from Amazon or iTunes price £7.00

I just recently shared a track on facebook and twitter called foreign lands. it's not a song that made the final cut for the album but having not heard it in a while Im wondering why I chose not to include it.
The idea for the tune was simple enough and loosely based on the odd conversation I'd have with my then 6 year old niece.
Everything she ever said had a refreshing air of truth, curiosity, reason & imagination about it. She at the time looked at the world and people in it with optimistic eyes. And I would secretly dred watching that slip away the more she became conditioned into being an adult.
I used to have to take her to school most days where I'd quickly lose sight of her in the playground as she'd mix with all the other kids of different races, colours and greeds
So I got to thinking why doesn't it stay like that throughout our adult life? I arrived at the conclusion that the beauty and innocence in our hearts get replaced by power freaks wishing to rule, pseudo inlectual politics, religions that separate good from bad in an extremely wrong and fucked up way and of course greed.
But if none of the above existed like they do not in the eyes of a child where would we be? I'm not overly sure,  but where we would not be is in the midst of religious and non religious wars. We would not be at the mercy of leaders whom often with no life experience make choices that strip real people to the bone.
And we certainly would not be judging people before we meet them.
In short foreign lands is about simplicity being key to getting along. Imagination not desciscration being key to making the world a better place. And not filling our youngsters heads with all kinds of shit just because someone who couldnt care less says it matters. To quote foreign lands "How does simple fail? You twist it and watch the world burn"
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1519945704988813&id=100009201945176

A song called Louie appears on my album Sunny Side Down, it's one of the oldest tracks on the album regarding how long ago i penned it, it's also one that I initially did not have in mind for the album.
However that changed thanks to a guy called Tony Cullen during the short drive from London to Brighton for my first day in the studio.
My memory of playing it live at solo gigs was that it didn't seem to go down to well, but then he reminded me of what happened when I decided to drop it for a couple gigs, I got a hard time for leaving it out and it was only then that I realised how much the words and it's rolling movement had resonated with people. Needless to say I never dropped it again indeed it became a template for what many see as my style these days.
I've always referred to it as a song for the good souls. The kind of people that are always there for everyone else rarely putting their own needs first.
It's loosely based on 4 people I know, the name Louie came when I realised that some girls called louise where often called Louie as were guys called Lewis. The 4 people I'm talking about where both male & female so I seen it as a good neutral name thus meaning it could apply to anyone that you know.

The song however does not just go on about how wonderful they are. It also delves into the area that these people are often taken forgranted. They have often had many struggles of there own that would put most people's smaller problems & some folks self centered whinging in the shade.
They often have low points and its in these moments that they'd die for a knock on the door from someone who's called not for a favour or a shoulder to cry on, but to see how they are. This unfortunately if rarely ever happens as more often than not people tend to forget who helped them once they are back on their feet which in a nutshell sucks. So yeah they get angry, yes they cry and yes they have moments when they feel very much alone and somewhat used. They are only human afterall.
They for me are life's real unsung heroes, the nurses of humanity if you like and I for one will never forget who the people like this in my life have been.
Louie is my own small way of showing some acknowledgement to those people and to people like them everywhere across the globe and beyond.
For me to write a song about someone is the biggest gift I can give, the song also goes into how I would give them so much more if I possibly could and believe me when I say I mean it.
"The Jeanie the wish
god if I ever find it
I'd give you a love
a respect you could bathe In
do you hear me louie
as the gods hand over the moon
can you see them louie
see them tipping there hats to you.

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​Louie appears as track 8 on my album Sunny Side Down which is now available on iTunes and Amazon. If you wish to hear it now follow the link, I hope you enjoy it.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=950201181682611&id=870230723012991