#simon tong

[federalstars]

[no-distance-left-to-run]

happy birthday to the good the bad and the queen, released 22 january 2007

[damonalbarn]

Shared by ‘marevelous’ Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

[mancopan]

Damon on Jo Whiley’s BBC Radio 2 Show, 10/11/2021. (Photos by Mark Allan)

[gloriamoncada]

In March 2007 I caught this supergroup at The Republic Nola and shot pictures till my phone died. At the end of the show they announced they were giving away free band posters that they would meet up with us to sign. I met Simon Tong from The Verve, Tony Allen from Fela Kuti, and lastly Damon Albarn from Blur and The Gorillaz. I was unable to locate Paul Simonon from The Clash. I spoke briefly to Simon and Tony and they signed my poster. When it came time to meet Damon, I became completely star struck but was able to carry out a good lengthy conversation. I know this record wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea but it resonated with me after Hurricane Katrina and even now with what has been happening with the pandemic. I revisited it last night thinking of Tony Allen as I treasured his drum beats more. Damon told me they had gone to see the Mardi Gras Indians for the first time and that it had been well over a decade since he’d been back to New Orleans. I told him how certain lyrics in certain songs affected me and he said he had written the lyrics before the hurricane and he could understand me relating to them. He spoke a bit of his song writing process and a bit of stream of consciousness. I felt like I was looking at an angel while treasuring every word of that conversation. Alas, I didn’t think of asking anyone with a camera phone to take picture of us to send me and have that poster lost somewhere in storage. I’ve always wanted to meet Damon again. I was fortunate to meet Tony Allen again at The Music Village in NOLA in 2018. He was a very cool dude. I will try and locate videos and images I took and neglected to post as soon as possible if I can hopefully find them in my archives!!

[mewmurdock]

The Good, The Bad and The Queen had such a Vibe™. Reminiscing of the London's past, visiting old war memorials and paying respects, puppet shows, seagulls cawing over the cloudy beaches, imagining yourself with your lover at the circuses and the old bars, drinking yourself to death, and, on special occasions, pure musical cacophony. A Vibe™.

[red-hot-moon]

The Good, the Bad & the Queen - The Truce of Twilight

Directed by bassist Paul Simonon, the performance video was shot simultaneously on three iPhones.

[elvendorkwan]

Who is the good (the good) , the bad (the bad) and queen (the queen) in the group?

Simon Tong:Tony Allen is the bad guy. Paul Simonon is good, he's really a gentleman. Damon Albarn is the queen! Damon Albarn is a fantastic author and arranger. For him, a song is never finished, he always pushes us to take risks, to push our limits, we are never relax with him. Sometimes it's tiring, but at least you don't get bored! Tony Allen is still playing and still playing at 79, I dream of having a tenth of his energy at his age. Paul Simonon is our DJ on the bus. He has an incredible knowledge of dub, reggae, film music ... Our influences are so different, between Tony's Afrobeat, Paul Simonon's punk, the Britpop of me and Damon, we have a unique sound, a little weird and dissonant. In addition, each time we work with a different producer, as a fifth member of the group, who brings his own influences. After Danger Mouse , this album was produced by Tony Visconti (producer, among others, of the last album of David Bowie).

-Le Point 07/25/2019

(it's in french and I google translated it)