Two decades on, ‘Slim is still gigging - albeit these days, only handful of times each year rather than the relentless three or four gigs a week of its heyday. The gig was such fun the boys decided it wouldn't hurt to reunite for the odd gig now and then. After three years of silence, the fearsome beast that was 'Slim raised its head again for a big birthday celebration. They sold the van and the PA and came off the road.Ģ002 brought the band's 20th anniversary and a return to the fray. The boys decided to quit while they were still ahead. (Boy George was at Number One!!!) Punters' lives and tastes had moved on and the number of gig-goers who actually "got" what 'Slim were about was dwindling. By 1999, the musical world had changed, however. Oh, and four drummers.present incumbent Don Moore is the longest-serving by a huge margin, after almost three decades.
The small audience wasn't entirely sure what to make of it, a few muttering into their beer that this band was a flash in the pan, a decidedly short-term proposition.įast-forward to 1999.Automatic Slim had proved the doubters wrong.3,000-odd gigs around the UK and continental Europe, sharing stages with some of the biggest names in the business, four albums, a string of singles, tens of thousands of miles on the tour-bus clock. No prizes, then, for guessing what the music was that night - tunes from the songbook of the Feelgoods, Wilko, George Thorogood, Mickey Jupp and Nick Lowe, played fast and furious and with commitment, energy and a cast-iron determination to entertain. The band - Tim Aves (vocals/harmonica), Ian Cundy (guitar/vocals), Howard J Bills (bass/vocals)and original drummer Chris Love - were all self-confessed Dr Feelgood nuts. Novemwas the date on the very first poster to bear the name AUTOMATIC SLIM. The venue was a small and entirely unprepossessing place just outside Basildon called the Treble Chance, behind a disused gravel pit enjoyed chiefly by the jet-skiing fraternity and the town's more inventive flytippers. The world was a rather younger and more innocent - and so were the principal players in this story. Cocaine (All Around my Brain)** (Rev Gary Davis)Īutomatic Slim - 40 years of fun and games, A 300lbs of Heavenly Joy (Willie Dixon)ġ3. Mess of the Blues*** (Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman)ġ0. Recorded and mixed by Pete Crisp at Rooks Yard Studio, Essex, August 2019-October 2021.ģ. Joel Fisk - lead guitar on Mess of the Blues and Caroline Howard J Bills - bass guitar, backing vocals, ukulele, vocal**ĭon Moore - drums, various percussion, backing vocals,, lead vocals*** Ian Cundy - guitar, lead vocals on *, backing vocals Tim Aves - lead vocals, backing vocals, harmonica, slide guitar, odd guitar bits It’s amazing really that people still want to hear what we’re doing after all these years.” “There’s been a LOT of interest in this project. "Our engineer mate Pete Crisp has done an amazing job at Rooks Yard Studio to make us sound this good - aided and abetted by a few excellent musical chums. That one’s been out of print for years, so it’s great to be getting our music out there again. “We’re thrilled to bits with the way the album has turned out,” said Tim. Downloads will also be available shortly from the usual platforms, while a limited-edition vinyl release is currently also being considered.
The CD will be available in hard-copy form for the first time at its official launch gig on Saturday, February 5, 2022, at Kelvedon Labour Club, Kelvedon, Essex (see the Gigs page for details|) and thereafter to order from our new merchandise page here.
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The 13 tracks on “Down by the Waterside” include new original songs, including “Caroline (Under the Covers)” a tribute to the legendary radio station, several Dr Feelgood/Wilko Johnson favouties, plus the band’s unique take on a number classic blues and rock’n’roll tunes. The CD also features contributions by award-winning blues guitarist Joel Fisk (Hokie Joint/LaVendore Rogue/Tim Aves & WOLFPACK), piano player Carleton Van Selman (Mojo Preachers) and up-and-coming singer Holly Hallam. It’s our first new recording since 2001's "Growing Old Disgracefully" and was mostly recorded at Rooks Yard Studio, in the Essex Delta, just before the first lockdown, then completed in the autumn of 2021. “Down by the Waterside” Showcases a mixture of new original songs and r’n’b favourites we've been playing across our 40-year career and more than 3,500 live shows across the UK and occasionally into continental Europe. AUTOMATIC Slim are delighted this week finally to confirm the release of out first new album in two decades.
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