Groovy Uncle makes excuses

Plus: A very old ship comes to town, a review of The Quills, our weekly events guide, news in brief, and more

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Jul 26, 2024

Editor’s note: Welcome to an earlier than usual Friday edition of Local Authority. Why so early, you ask? Today is the day of the Kent Press & Broadcast Awards, so we’re off on a jaunt to Canterbury for the ceremony, where we are nominated in two categories. Wish us luck!

Today’s edition features our music correspondent Stephen Morris diving into the new album by prolific Medway musician Glenn Prangnell, also known as Groovy Uncle. We also have news of a very old ship coming to town, a review of The Quills in Rochester, our weekly events guide, news in brief, and more.

Groovy Uncle makes excuses

by Stephen Morris

There are things in Medway that are forever, consistently there: Rochester Castle standing over the river, a resolute monument to barons standing up to an overbearing king; Gillingham Football Club endlessly dreaming of promotion from League Two; and Glenn Prangnell, a.k.a. Groovy Uncle, who can be depended upon to churn out an album - an album of substantial quality, no less - with the reliability of clockwork.

For Making Excuses, Groovy Uncle’s thirteenth album, Glenn Prangnell has collaborated with singers Jane Wrangham and Jules Winchester to create an album as stylistically varied as anything he’s done before – perhaps more so.

There are the obvious McCartneyisms, of course: opening track ‘Shine’ recalls the sound, if not substance, of ‘Piggies’ from The White Album, while ‘I Don’t Suffer Fools’ could easily pass from something from Macca’s early solo career.

But elsewhere, ‘Somebody’s Everything’ recalls Burt Bacharach; ‘I’m Making Excuses’ and album closer ‘Mind Your Language’ uses the sound palette of Harry Nilsson; and there’s even a hint of Genesis on ‘Hard as Nails’.

The aim of Groovy Uncle has always been – as the first album title put it – to Play Something We Know (or, at least, to play something that sounds as if we should surely know it), and in Making Excuses, Glenn Prangnell shows no signs of letting us down on that front.

He’s even added something of a West End musical vibe to proceedings. This should come as no surprise since one of Mr Prangnell’s other recent projects was to co-create a musical, New York Letters, based on the concept of letters sent to and from John Lennon.

Listening to ‘Shine’, ‘What You Said to Me’ and torch ballad/duet ‘Moonlight’, it’s hard not to imagine the songs being sung by actors on a Shaftesbury Avenue stage against a backdrop of dancers and theatrical props.

What strikes most prominently about Making Excuses though is the lyrics. There is a world-weariness and despondency here that stands out clearly when placed alongside the sentimental love songs that pepper the album.

‘When He’s Awake’ is an eloquently written groan about the prevalence of older men who should know better, seduced by the sounds of Trump, Farage and Johnson.

Prangnell has covered such ground before, such as on Meanwhile in Mediaeval Britain with ‘Howard Eno’. But here, there seems to be a greater sense of sadness and frustration than the smirk, satire and eyeroll employed with previous songs.

The sentiment rings loud and clear: ‘Is this really where things still are?’

At the end of the album ‘Mind Your Language’ picks up this theme again, with a very polite Prangnell explaining to some unidentified antagonist exactly why they need to just stop talking:

I respect you, but I don’t know why
You expect us to see eye to eye
You’re looking daggers at me
Some things should be left unsaid
If words could kill, we’d all be dead.

Earlier on, other song lyrics point to Prangnell feeling battered by the onslaught of unkindness and intolerance that passes for normal in the mid-2020s. ‘I Don’t Suffer Fools’ with its early 60s pop groove snarls about lessons learned and lines being drawn in the sand:

I don’t have the inclination
To join in with your congregation
And what for – it’s a bore.

It’s immediately followed by the slower pace of ‘Sticks and Stones’ in which the narrator is both resigned to accept the jagged new world for what it is while remaining determined not to let those ever-present bastards grind him down.

Part of Prangnell’s frustration throughout these songs is that he can see it is all just a façade anyway. There is a palpable anger in ‘Somebody’s Everything’ about destructive decisions made by those with a stubborn yet irrelevant point of view.

Such people are addressed with a mix of sorrow, irritation and disappointment on other songs from the album. Take for example the album opener in which the song’s subject presents as a popular Instagram star - boasting pictures of their dinner - while remaining intensely lonely.

Later on, ‘Hard as Nails’ offers a reality check to someone who is acting obnoxiously out of fear and self-loathing:

Each to their own but you seem quite alone
Have you ever wondered why?

In Making Excuses, Glenn Prangnell has tapped into something of the sense of ennui that reactionary politics and general unkindness have caused. It’s a splendid album that demands repeated listens, each highlighting a new lyrical gem. Beyond the splendid pop of yet another Groovy Uncle album, there is an insight that taps deep into the soul.

Making Excuses is out now on Trouserphonic Records via Bandcamp.

In brief

🚓 A man has been charged with attempted murder after a soldier was stabbed repeatedly in Brompton on Tuesday. Lt Col Mark Teeton was airlifted to hospital and is now in a serious but stable condition. Anthony Esan of Rochester was arrested on the day of the attack and has been remanded in custody. Counter-terrorism police are supporting the investigation, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer described his shock at the attack.

🏢 The former Natwest building at Chatham Dockside is set to be converted into 60 flats. Planning permission has been gained for the site, including a mix of one and two bedroom flats. Most of the flats barely meet minimum space standards and contain no outside space.

🚧 Medway has joined other councils across Kent in calling for urgent government action to mitigate problems from new border processes taking effect in November.

Very old ship comes to town

A rather unique maritime exhibition will be coming to Chatham next week, as a replica of the Nao Victoria arrives at Chatham Marina for a week as part of it’s country-hopping educational tour.

The Nao Victoria was the first vessel to circumnavigate the world in 1522, and now this replica of the ship will allow you to experience what life would have been like on board during the three years it took to make the journey.

The Spanish vessel will be docked at Chatham Marina from 31 July until 4 August. For £8, you can go on board and look around. You can find more details about the visit and buy tickets here.

Out to Lunch: The Quills

In which Steven Keevil assesses the lunch options available in our towns. This week, he’s been down to The Quills in Rochester…

Located at the bridge end of Rochester High Street, in what was once a UKIP office, The Quills has recently had some work done and has a new bar right by the front door. It is helpful to know this in case you haven’t been in a while and wondered, like this writer, if you were in the right place upon entering. The Quills is a double-fronted establishment with plenty of seating and a good Rochester view. The building’s historic nature helps to give character to the place, including the feeling of being sat at an angle from the uneven flooring.

By a slight quirk, we arrived slightly early at 11.45, meaning we were given the breakfast menu, so this is an Out to Breakfast review. Even though the menu finished at 11.50, I ordered a ‘make your own’ breakfast with a double helping of hash browns, a portion of back bacon and (yes, and) streaky bacon, three fried eggs, and a portion of mushrooms. This was accompanied by Earl Grey tea and apple juice.

The hash browns were clean and crisp. Back bacon and mushrooms are always a good combination, and I made the right choice by also getting the streaky bacon, which was flavourful. However, there is no getting around the fact that the eggs were overcooked, with hard yokes and rubbery whites. They didn’t represent what The Quills can do, but perhaps they were cooked after the 11.50 cutoff.

When the waiting staff asked how the food was, I, of course, said the food was good because not all heroes wear capes. Despite the eggs, The Quills is recommended for breakfast or lunch.

Events this week

🎸 In a ‘how did they manage that?’ moment, The Platform 3 Club have legendary indiepop band The Wedding Present playing in Rainham tonight (Fri 26 Jul). Lead David Gedge will perform an intimate acoustic show supported by The Pastel Waves and Men From Memphis. Tickets £22.50.

🎸 Punk band The Scutches play Poco Loco tomorrow night (Sat 27 Jul). The band, comprised of members from the US and the UK, will be supported by Shackleford and The Honey Buzzard. Tickets £5.

👻 Cineworld continues its 1999 season with a screening of classic M Night Shyamalan film The Sixth Sense on Monday (29 Jul). Few people won’t know the twist at this point, but it’s remarkable how well the film holds up after all these years. Tickets £5.

🍸 Medway Cocktail Week is back from Thursday (1 Aug) until 11 Aug. Over 40 venues across Medway will offer exclusive cocktails for only £5 to wristband holders. Tickets £10.

Remember that our Medwayish shop contains a wide range of Medway-related gifts and products designed by local creatives. We have books, mugs, t-shirts, prints, and all kinds of other fun bits and pieces. Check it out!

More Authority

This week, we published our quarterly Voice columns, in which we hear from both the Leader of Medway Council, Cllr Vince Maple, and the Leader of the Opposition, Cllr George Perfect. Each of them sets out where their parties are and what comes next following the changes of the General Election.