NEW ALBUM : »International Departures«

With the exceptions of new versions of Into The Night and Don't Let Me Keep You - both of which were first recorded by the original Shakespeare And The Bible band in the mid 90s but never released (although the latter did appear on a limited edition Jazz Butcher cd in 2000) - all the songs have been written since the release of Plus Or Minus Zero in 2009. This gives the album more thematic cohesion than the previous one, which was basically a collection of tracks writtten over a period of 20 years - although the variety of musical styles remains as ever in our work... fuck pigeon-holes.

We're not getting any younger, and with age, inevitably, comes loss, which is a theme in several of the new songs. Trust Me, I'm A Barman is for our dear departed friend Michael - but it's no dirge, rather a celebratory romp with a touch of The Pogues about it. To Hazel is a musical setting of a poem that Owen's dad wrote half a century ago for his mum, who passed away at the end of 2009.
Drug Dog and Out In The Darkness are tributes to departed friends of the four-legged variety: Kristina's dog (punk) and Owen's cat (reggae).
The opening track, 'Time Ain't Money' is a bit of contemplation triggered off by a brush with cancer a couple of years back; and there's also a reflective tone to the bar-room philosophy of the country ballad Play Misty For Me... you know, the ups and downs of human relationships and all that...  The downs, specifically, are addressed in the darkness of The Pathologist.
Quasimodo And The Ketchup Boys celebrates the joys of life on the road with this band - and, believe me, they are many...
There's a song of hate (well, bile and contempt, anyway) in If You Were On Fire... and there's a song of love, pure and simple, to round it all off: Sunlight.

The album features the first appearance of our new bass player, Fred Kröger. There are guest appearances by Alison Jones, of British West Country folk-rockers Spin Two, on violin, and Charlotte Kracht, from the Hamburg wave outfit Sweet Sister Pain, on 'cello. We even mamaged to assemble a real horn section for one track. In addition, our old amigo Max Eider helps out on backing vocals.

 It took a lot of energy and time, we've paid for it with bleeding fingers, sleepless nights, and the occasional minor nervous breakdown... and of course it's been a load of fun as well. Oh, and it cost quite a lot of money,too - so do us a favour and buy yourself a copy or two... The album will be officially released (on Kai Degenhardt's Plattenbau label) in the New Year, but you can beat the crowds if you come to our Release party in the Kir, Hamburg-Altona, on 10th December.