News (2005)
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13.12.05 The Hitchers -Live in
Dolans Warehouse, Friday December 30th!!!!
Limericks finest indie-punk-rockers The Hitchers return to Dolans Warehouse,
Limerick on Friday 30th of December for their by now annual reunion gig.
The band called it a day in 2001 -but for a dozen years previous they travelled
the highways and byways of Ireland, the UK and even got further a field a few
times. They played virtually anywhere that'd have them, made some records and
drank their fill. It's been said that they specialize in delivering high octane,
high speed, lo-fi, low brow, amps up to eleven, kit smackin', two and a half
minute portions of hum-along heaven. But that's only half the story . . .
Uniquely un-fashionable and largely unloved outside their native Limerick in
their earlier years -their fortunes changed for the better when the phone rang
one day in 1997 -it was legendary BBC1 DJ John Peel, phoning from his home to
tell The Hitchers he was at that moment listening to their debut UK release
'Killed It With My Bare Hands', was suitably impressed and wanted them to come
to London to do a session for his show.
The band recorded their Peel Session with producer Mike Engles at BBC Studios in
Maida Vale 4 in July '97.
They recorded four tracks -Human Skull, Wannabee, The Urge To Kill, and My Band
-three of which later appeared on their seecond album 'For the want of some
Better TV'.
Meanwhile their 1997 debut album 'It's all fun and games till someone loses an
eye' got rave reviews. At the time the NME said of the record... "a work of
lyrical genius... 14 songs you can play whilst washing up and/or shagging
without having to break off halfway thru to phone the Samaritans" and garnered
The Hitchers a hardcore fanbase in the UK and Ireland.
The Hitcher's second single from ‘Fun & Games’ -the double A-side 'You can only
love someone/Strachan' turned up in John Peel's Festive 50 - Peel's annual
rundown of the listeners' fifty favourite tracks of the year, 'The John Peel
Festive 50' became a Christmas institution more loved than fairy lights and
Christmas crackers since its inception
in 1976. Listeners of John's BBC Radio 1 show picked the chart by voting for
their three favourite tracks of the year before the end of November.
The Hitchers featured at No 21 in the 1997 chart which had Cornershop's "Brimful
of Asha" at Number one. Peelie continued to play The Hitchers regularly on his
show since then, airing "Strachan" as recently as April 2004.
Like so many other bands that he helped and encouraged, The Hitchers are very
proud and delighted to have been associated with John's show. In the year that
John was posthumously inducted in the UKs rock'n'roll hall of fame -The Hitchers
will be remembering him in their own little way on December 30th.
September 05 'Strachan'
climbing the CPU charts. FREE Hitchers MP3s online
There are half a dozen
FREE MP3s now online at The Hitchers
micro-site at CPU . We initially just had Strachan up there but as it
started to climb the charts (peaking at No. 3 a couple of weeks back!!!) we
decided to upload some more.
April 05 Dutch Courage
Niall's old buddies from The Netherlands
Cooper have just released their fourth studio album
'Makes Tomorrow Alright' produced by Bill Stevenson and released on Kung Fu
Records (owned by Vandals bassist Joe Escalante). The fifteen track LP includes
'Ship Ahoy' which has been picked up by Dutch radio -and guess what -our Niall
wrote the lyrics!!!!
'Makes Tomorrow Alright' is released in continental Europe on April 11th and
gets it's UK and Japanese release on May 9th.
5.3.05 The Pennywhores New Single Murder He Did
The Pennywhores have released their 2nd single/EP ‘Murder He Did’
(4-3-3 CD002) with a launch party in Limericks The High Stool venue on Saturday
the 5th March. The band are back in the High Stool this Friday
the 11th as guests of the wonderful Anti-Product.
The new single continues a theme of sorts that was set with the bands debut
release ‘Legalise Murder’ -released late last year and which received a
surprisingly high amount of airplay (all things considered) with high profile
national jocks of such calibre as Rick O’Shea, Dan Hegarty, Jenny Huston, Cormac
Battle and Alison Curtis giving it a thumbs up along with a host of regional and
college stations picking up on the track.
The 5 tracks on the new release are
1. Murder He Did (Radio Edit)
"Angela Lansbury has unpleasant plans for me - has Jessica phoned to say she's
on her way"
‘ Murder He Did’ is a tale of a naughty boy with a dirty secret and a loud,
irksome skeleton in the closet (or is it under the floorboards?...or in the wall
cavity maybe?) who in his psychosis has become convinced that a certain
fictitious nosey nine pence writer-investigator has figured him out and is on
his tail. Shorter of two versions of the lead track on The Pennywhores 2nd
single.
2. Fattened Calf Meet Sharpened Axe
"He hung a sign over the door
–It said WELCOME MY FRIENDS –TO THE KILLING FLOOR"
Fattened Calf Meet Sharpened Axe lost out to 'Murder He Did' as the lead track
literally by the toss of a coin.
We couldn't separate them on what they mean to us -as a band –right now. It
rocks like a b*****d and we f***in’ love it!!!!
3. There's A Girl Pinned Under The Back Wheels Who Swears She's Kylie (Acoustic
Version)
"Could it be the death of a hedgehog -for the girl with the life of Reilly?
-for the girl pinned under the back wheels who swears that she's Kylie
-and she's begging for the world to stop and look just one more time
-but no-one hears over the jaws of life -or is it that her tolling bell can't
mime?"
Brand new tune only played a handful of times -and you can take it from us
-Kylie goes down brilliantly!!! Arf!!!
By the way that horrific screeching from left to right noise towards the end
isn't your stereo dying on its hole.
It's apparently meant to represent the Angel of Death come to take Kylie to
wherever she's going.
-it's ably played by Nialls toothbrush and a cordless drill put through an
effects pedal. Christ -where's the "roll eyes" emoticon?
4. Murder He Did (Full Version)
"She was a vain thing -and she'd get jiggy with the chef and she was selling
grand-mamahs paintings"
Full and original version which at 5 mins 20 secs we thought might have DJs
shaking their fists at us in a "No!! F*** Off!! We aint playing this!!!" type
stylee
-so we said we'd better do a shorter version (which is still 4 mins
incidentally). This version has a different intro and first chorus and includes
the full rock out ending where we let Mr. Fitz strut for a bit.
5. Legalise Murder
Bonus Track -The Pennywhores first single ‘Legalise Murder’ released November
2004.
Some of these tracks can be downloaded at CPU
3.05 Accept No Imitations!!!!
4-3-3
were recently contacted by a dissatisfied customer who had bought what purported
to be a
Hitchers CD from a third party website (we warned you to be wide of these). It
quickly became apparent
that the CD in question was not in fact one of ours. It was listed alongside
four other legitimate titles
by The Hitchers (Killed It Single, You Can Only Love Someone Single, I Can't
Breath Single and Fun & Games LP).
The title in question, an image of the cover of which is shown above, was
released by a band from the north of England
who have been using the moniker "The Hitchers" since 1999. I contacted them back
in 2001 through their website and
informed them quite casually and without fuss or rancour that there was already
a band in existence in Ireland called
The Hitchers who had been using the name since 1989, had released two LPs and
four singles in the UK under the name
and had done several UK tours. I suggested that it was time for them to change
their name.
The response I got didn't inspire confidence.
I believe it was something like "yeah we know all about them..." and that was
it.
At the time I was all on for taking the matter further but was dissuaded from
doing so for the time being as
-quite frankly - bands appear and disappear all the time and no harm done.
But meanwhile -this English band has continued as before - in full knowledge for
at least four and possibly
as much as six years that they are using another bands name as their own.
Google "the hitchers" now and the majority of the results you get will relate to
the activities of these lads.
I know it's up to us as a band to defend our band name and our "brand" name -
this we intend to do.
To paraphrase that great orator George Dubbya Bush "we will strike back at a
moment of OUR choosing".
When we do take this further all concerned can be assured that we will
be prosecuting an aggressive defence of that which is ours.
If that means I've to hop on a plane and go to Middlesbrough or London or
anywhere else to explain all this to a judge -fine.
Thank fuck for Ryan Air.
We are a Sword of Damocles dangling over their heads and the sooner they act to
put this
right the less costly it will be for them.
Meanwhile all we can do is ask anyone looking for Hitchers CDs on the www to
make sure they're getting the real deal
and not some interloper. Check our discography page -if it aint listed -it aint
us.
Two things before I finish -first I've nothing against these lads (quite like
rockabilly actually). I just want
them to stop using my name.
Second -The Hitchers is a shit name for a band.
I always said it sounded like Big Tom & The Mainliners support act.
We'd have had far less risk of this carry on if we'd stuck with
'Ten Point Six Rothmans and a Stolen Barrel of Heineken Please'.
Niall- March 05
1.1.05 Happy New Year from The Hitchers
Great gig on St. Stephens night. Thanks to the bumper
crowd in attendance and to all the crew who turned up to do their bit. Pics
soon.
