Two-thirds of Hagar The Womb on Tuesday night at the Hope & Anchor. Bloody marvellous. Mini-Mekons (also featuring wee Mitch...) also stonkingly good value... especially the tiny 'Three Johns' sub-set at the end... ...happy, happy, happy... ❤️

Prospect of seeing the Waco Brothers at the Lexington in July is almost painfully thrilling. Last spotted (by me, anyway) at the Camden Underworld circa 'Wacoworld' around a quarter of a century ago (and blisteringly fine they were...). 'S been too long... ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Am delighted that an all-action starring role has FINALLY been found to meet the talents of the mighty John Robb... ...and that his hair's grown back at the sides a bit. 'Robb for Bond', I say. 'S never too late.

A hearty "Cheers..." to everyone who gave us a fiscal bung for 'Paint, Sing...' these last couple of months. As promised we've passed on the (vast, vast) profits of £57.52 to UNICEF... and topped it up to something more festive on your behalf. Gawd blezz y's all, and all best for '26... Amanda x 🍷

...and a very merry Christmas from the SpanAm/Chickpea Darlings collective. Do drop by if you're passing - 's sherry around about now, then a DVD of 'The Great Escape', and we'll be carving the Waitrose (yes, Waitrose..!!) vegan roast around 4-ish. All goodhearts welcome. Love to youse all. X

💋

Fred, this evening, discovering that I'd decanted a handful of his medicinal-kibble-for-ancient-cats-with-dickie-kidneys into a little bowl (so I could try convincing him they were Dreamies(TM)): (We have tried teaching him shame, but he just doesn't get it...)

Three-fifths of Skimmington Ride at Hitchin's (delightfully NOT axed) Club 85 last night... remarkable for their amiably beery pep, their winning way with a 14th century banger and - most remarkable of all - their entirely invisible drummer. We have an invisible drummer too. T'ain' easy. ❤️

CD copies of 'Paint, Sing, Burn Down Everything' now exist... and they have, as you can see, been scattered insouciantly on the carpet at Amanda Towers. 'Teaser' song still accessible on SpanishAmanda.com - www.spanishamanda.com/4_The_Doctor... Releases on Bandcamp on 26th October - hurrah..!! 👍

We don't normally GET excited by things - we don't have the requisite glands - but our next long-player is just heading down to Essex to be duplicated. This is on it: www.spanishamanda.com/4_The_Doctor... Enjoy.

Delightfully - as of 5 minutes ago - we appear (after much tea'n'dunkies) to have a rough start-to-end mix of the soon-to-be new SpanAm album. The pic is me (or possibly my brother... can't be sure), c.1976, pre-emptively jumping for joy... a prescient 49 years early. Possible sleeve art..? 🙂

He's on his way... ...although the bureaucracy involved getting him seconded from the Highlands & Islands division to East Sussex may take a month or two. Chill. Hunker down. You'll be fine. 👍

If you do not post again within 4 hours, I shall alert the local constabulary... who'll despatch a well-meaning, morally upright and sexually repressed young copper (who looks eerily like Edward Woodward) to investigate your whereabouts. What could possibly go wrong..? 🙂

Aaah - understood. They're all heartbreakers, though, really, aren't they..? This is our wee heartbreaker, right this minute, enjoying a well-earned kip on his sofabed. I melt every time I look at him... and Popcorn will *undoubtedly* have the same seismic prowess... oh yes...

Wally - sir..!! ...Dawn and Dawn have just got home from a double-date with a couple of members of Oasis (they're too coy and ladylike to say who...), and have asked me - somewhat drunkenly - to convey the following 'artwork' to you. May God have mercy on... well, you know, whatever. 🙂

Aaaaw... you played the Dawns, so y'did... who are threatening to smoke my last packet of Rothmans King Size unless I send you the following (admittedly rather disturbing) image. Blezz 'ee, sir..!! Blezz 'ee..!! 🙂

Just seen this wee chap on top of Mrs Darling's alliums... quite the buzz...

Engaging wee review of the Dawns' new EP here from the (always insightful, always discriminating) Alex at Mexico's Sound-&-Vision, below... and the apparent news that the Dawns now possess a 'LOVE CLUB' (regarding which, we have NO IDEA...). svmusica.com/2025/05/27/t...

Aaw, blezz 'ee for re-posting the Dawns, Wally... ...they're sitting next to me, actually... Dawn ZM says she hopes King C has been "a good boy" on his visit to your homeland, and that he'll be "in serious bother" when he gets back if he's misbehaved. She remembers THIS all too well... Mmm..!! 🙂

Aaaaaw, gawd love yer..!! That's *never* had a public airing before... ever... 26 years in the closet... Our karmic advisory team (KAT) wish to add, tho', that the words were 'borrowed' from the Mekons... the rear of the 'Slightly South...' EP from 1986... to whom, love, as always... and 'ee..!! 👍

I think, in fairness, that we should've seen this coming... thefalsedawns.bandcamp.com/album/we-jus...

We have this hanging in the downstairs loo. We'd like to think that if either of the surviving Jo(h)ns were to require use of the facility, they'd feel comfortably accommodated... ideologically, at least (it's a bit bloody spartan, otherwise). Passing Wolfhounds are welcome too, incidentally. 🙂

Thinking back to everything we were told by their probation officers (and a handful of their more traumatised boyfriends...), I guess this was inevitable. "False Dawns go Full Tarantino" is how it's being reported in the Letchworth Comet... sigh. thefalsedawns.bandcamp.com/album/we-jus...

Oh dear. The False Dawns (our friends..? lodgers..? tormentors..? overlords..?) NOW insist we issue the following demand to the world's music press (yes, ALL of them). We've tried covertly switching them to decaf... but it very clearly hasn't worked. thefalsedawns.bandcamp.com/album/we-jus...

Our friends the False Dawns have promised us half a bottle of cooking sherry and a £2 bet on 'Lucky Lad' in the 3:30 at Lingfield if we post the following: thefalsedawns.bandcamp.com/album/we-jus... And - anyone in the Letchworth area who requires half a bottle of cooking sherry, please DM us. Ta.

Fred, the SpanAm cat, looking distinctly nonplussed as his people settle down for Eurovision. He's missed his Eurovision epoch, I feel - he (genuinely) likes flutes, cellos and random songbird-type twittering. Won't countenance EDM at any price. Reckon he'd have appreciated Sandie Shaw... Mmm...

Mekons, sadly, had a decidedly sub-par feel last night at the 100 Club, we reckoned... and a few numbers on the set list that were strictly 'hardcore acolytes only'.

Found myself reminded of the opening sequence from 'School For Scoundrels'. Can't imagine why...

Band outing to see Rialto at the Scala ce soir... an unalloyed delight. Assessments of Louis Eliot: Me: "Cracking pipes. Endearingly sleazy." Jo: "Splendid hair. Shame he's a bit posh." Tomorrow, the Mekons. Expect corresponding remarks re. pipes and hair 24 hours from now. Missive ends.

Tragically, thanks to AI, this is now Google's 'best guess' response to a search for 'Spanish Amanda'. For about 6 months in 2023/4, it thought it was us (hurrah..!). And between about 2018 and 2022, it mostly yielded porn links (but, presumably, porn with a bracingly jangly C86-ish soundtrack).