I was first introduced to Tom when I put on his band Papayér at once rocking bar Catch (here’s the poster). They came all the way from Derby, on a train I think it was, and were astonishingly good. Catch, like most of Kingsland Road has now been reborn into a cocktail/electro bar.
We have a habit of reinventing ourselves, which is healthy, and the very fact I’m being awfully nostalgic about my times sipping cans of Red Stripe in sticky Hoxton venues, structurally on the brink of falling down, is the very antithesis of a forward-looking mindset, or just the mad effect of COVID lockdown.
Which brings us, rather untidily onto Who’s Watching You, the long-awaited album from Derby catchy-song purveyor Tom John Hall. Lured by the smog, Tom relocated to London in 2017 and has been since hard at work, writing more infectious pop hits. A self-proclaimed ‘techy type’ who draws inspiration as far wide as Tom Vek, Kate Bush, XTC and LCD Soundsystem. A voice like no-other, cheering at this time when we need it most.
Let’s not forget he wrote this, a ballad fit for the grandest of campfires.
Pre-order: Who’s Watching You is out on Year of Glad, this coming July.