MEDIA, THE - BLINK OF AN EYE Vinyl LP
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Loved and collected by discerning late 1970s Mod and Punk fans alike, The Media’s authentic 60s beat meets 70s street songs of south coast suburbia add a unique voice to one of the UK’s defining eras of music (the original vinyl singles are highly collectable and go for a lot of pretty green). In 2019 their late 1970s recordings were collected on the Love Child Records album Bright New Future (GAGLP1).
July 2021 see’s the launch of an album of brand new songs, Blink Of An Eye (Detour Records), written and recorded by the original line-up. Trust us, it sounds like it was recorded at the same time as their 1979s recordings. It has all the energy of that unforgettable time so many of us grew up with, all the poetry of prime era The Jam, Buzzcocks, Rudi, The Adverts, The Kinks, The Small Faces, The Who and includes a touch of premier ‘terrace’ Glam … it makes this new album an extraordinary collection).
Songs like the title track, Blink Of An Eye (check the video out on YouTube) and Charlotte Street encapsulate what this album is about, while the Glam stomp of Judy Punk Rocker helps define some of the core feelings at the album’s heart.
The Media reformed in 2019, and before Lockdown they were playing sold out shows in their own right and picking up prominent support slots (with the likes of Penetration). The magic is still there, they are nailed on for interest to the UK’s major Punk/Mod festivals/gatherings.
As singer Martin Jacks remembers “I don’t know what category we fit but there’s definitely a Glam thing going on as well. Why wouldn’t there be as we were all into Bowie, TRex, Slade, Roxy, Mott and Hawkwind before Punk came along.
The evolution of 70’s music and the diversity of it gave us the sound but as a group of teenagers we didn’t have the ability to play like those guys. We heard The Damned, The Jam and Buzzcocks and the like and thought we could have a go and make up our own songs.
What people forget is what those days were really like. Just two music shows all week on telly Top of the Pops and The Old Grey Whistle Test. High unemployment and giro cheques. Sulphate weekends and dodgy blue pills swallowed down with pints of Double Diamond.”
It’s a story many of us know, but The Media’s charm is in recording south coast life (not that of London or Manchester) so evocatively and with that touch of late 70s realism. Saturday’s kids indeed.
“When we got back together” Martin continues, “it was to learn the old songs from listening to them and copying our younger selves. Then the new ideas came along and I put lyrics together mostly adapted from poetry I had written over the years.
Some ‘story songs’ and some about how I felt looking back at my past. I hadn’t seen the guys in the band for 30 years. I wrote the words to The Hope after the gig with Penetration. It was the first time I’d been in Albert Road, Portsmouth in all that time. Meeting people I hung out with all those years ago. Some things seem so familiar and yet others so different. The Hope is wishing you could go back there as it was but knowing you can’t.
Judy Punk Rocker was a girl we all thought we loved … but she’s gone lost forever. It just went by in the blink of an eye. I didn’t know I loved her till it was to late, but if I had my chance again I wouldn’t hesitate!”
‘I wouldn’t hesitate’ could also be the title of this album. The things you would tell your younger self?
We’ll leave you to listen to the music, to ‘review’ it and have your favourites, but give it a listen … we believe it tells a timeless story. It has that duality of our younger selves standing side by side with our ‘now’ self. It features sharp lyrics, urgent beats, memorable tunes and the singer has a voice that rivals Shelley’s, Devoto’s, TV Smith’s, Bob Manton (The Purple Hearts, and The Chords, are the Mod bands The Media are closest too) and Mott’s Ian Hunter … you are a music fan, already sussed, check the album out and you will get the references!
July 2021 see’s the launch of an album of brand new songs, Blink Of An Eye (Detour Records), written and recorded by the original line-up. Trust us, it sounds like it was recorded at the same time as their 1979s recordings. It has all the energy of that unforgettable time so many of us grew up with, all the poetry of prime era The Jam, Buzzcocks, Rudi, The Adverts, The Kinks, The Small Faces, The Who and includes a touch of premier ‘terrace’ Glam … it makes this new album an extraordinary collection).
Songs like the title track, Blink Of An Eye (check the video out on YouTube) and Charlotte Street encapsulate what this album is about, while the Glam stomp of Judy Punk Rocker helps define some of the core feelings at the album’s heart.
The Media reformed in 2019, and before Lockdown they were playing sold out shows in their own right and picking up prominent support slots (with the likes of Penetration). The magic is still there, they are nailed on for interest to the UK’s major Punk/Mod festivals/gatherings.
As singer Martin Jacks remembers “I don’t know what category we fit but there’s definitely a Glam thing going on as well. Why wouldn’t there be as we were all into Bowie, TRex, Slade, Roxy, Mott and Hawkwind before Punk came along.
The evolution of 70’s music and the diversity of it gave us the sound but as a group of teenagers we didn’t have the ability to play like those guys. We heard The Damned, The Jam and Buzzcocks and the like and thought we could have a go and make up our own songs.
What people forget is what those days were really like. Just two music shows all week on telly Top of the Pops and The Old Grey Whistle Test. High unemployment and giro cheques. Sulphate weekends and dodgy blue pills swallowed down with pints of Double Diamond.”
It’s a story many of us know, but The Media’s charm is in recording south coast life (not that of London or Manchester) so evocatively and with that touch of late 70s realism. Saturday’s kids indeed.
“When we got back together” Martin continues, “it was to learn the old songs from listening to them and copying our younger selves. Then the new ideas came along and I put lyrics together mostly adapted from poetry I had written over the years.
Some ‘story songs’ and some about how I felt looking back at my past. I hadn’t seen the guys in the band for 30 years. I wrote the words to The Hope after the gig with Penetration. It was the first time I’d been in Albert Road, Portsmouth in all that time. Meeting people I hung out with all those years ago. Some things seem so familiar and yet others so different. The Hope is wishing you could go back there as it was but knowing you can’t.
Judy Punk Rocker was a girl we all thought we loved … but she’s gone lost forever. It just went by in the blink of an eye. I didn’t know I loved her till it was to late, but if I had my chance again I wouldn’t hesitate!”
‘I wouldn’t hesitate’ could also be the title of this album. The things you would tell your younger self?
We’ll leave you to listen to the music, to ‘review’ it and have your favourites, but give it a listen … we believe it tells a timeless story. It has that duality of our younger selves standing side by side with our ‘now’ self. It features sharp lyrics, urgent beats, memorable tunes and the singer has a voice that rivals Shelley’s, Devoto’s, TV Smith’s, Bob Manton (The Purple Hearts, and The Chords, are the Mod bands The Media are closest too) and Mott’s Ian Hunter … you are a music fan, already sussed, check the album out and you will get the references!