Author of "The Birth And Impact Of Britpop: Mis-Shapes, Scenesters And Insatiable Ones"
In a parallel universe the British music scene of the nineties is remembered not for the dreck and roll of lad culture in its myriad guises, but for the much more fragrant likes of Jake Shillingford’s My Life Story.
Here was pop as art, or art as pop.
Pop art.
Not for Shillingford a desire to excavate the already picked clean carcass of the likes of The Beatles and The Stones, instead his magpie eyes were turned to the more baroque corners of pop music history…grand, operatic, romantic, ambitious, eloquent.
Yummy.
Now they return with their first new music since 2019’s “World Citizen”.
A very welcome return it is too as we all brace ourselves for the return of the blokiest, bloke rockers of them all…you’ve heard the rumours too. Faced with the prospect of the entire country being overrun with post-manopausal geezers snorting white liiiiiiiiiiiiiines off of every surface they can locate, before wailing “Don’t Look Back in Anger'' on the last train home, my heart breaks.
Fortunately My Life Story applies the soothing balm of Gilead in advance of this horror and reminds me just how good pop music really can be.
Give thanks.
Pop pioneers My Life Story released 'I’m A God’ on the 30th of August, with a tour and new album to follow next year. On this new single, the charismatic Jake Shillingford said: “I wanted to highlight how the media lazily awards everything and everyone divine status and consider if worshiping false gods is embedded in our DNA. I remember reading that even Prince Phillip was seen as a god by the Yaohnanen people”. He went onto say “It's a classic MLS listing song similar to 12 Reasons Why I Love Her - by juxtaposing a real god next to a false idol it creates a collage of lyrical contrasts.”
My Life Story have achieved 6 UK top 40 singles and a top 40 album throughout their career. Forming in Southend in 1984, the band combine playful lyrics with an epic pop sound.
Signed to Parlophone in 1996, the band released the album ‘The Golden Mile’ which spawned hit singles including ‘12 Reasons Why I Love Her’, ‘Strumpet’ and ‘Sparkle’.
TOUR DATES
FEBRUARY
Thurs 15th St.Albans - The Horn
Fri 16th Brighton - Hope & Ruin
Sat 17th London - 100 Club (Sold Out)
Thurs 22nd Birmingham - Hare & Hounds
Thurs 29th Bristol - Louisiana
MARCH
Sat 2nd London -100 Club
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