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Pop & Politics

by Wyatt Riot

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1.
2.
Billy 03:42
3.
Share 03:20
4.
5.
Stand Up 03:16

about

Hailing from the promised land of Ramsgate, Kent, Identical twins Wyatt and Woody Riot started playing music together before they could talk.
Soon they set about bringing down the government one song at a time.
They came together as vigilantes to fight for a common cause.
To rid the Home Counties of greed and fascism and to keep the spirit of Woody Guthrie alive.
These gunslingers carry the weapons of great songs and a collective voice.

Q & A with Steve Gamble of Ramsgate’s Wyatt Riot.

Growing up, did you always want to be a musician?
Music was all around in our house when I was a child. Mum played classical piano and listened to jazz. She met my dad at a dance where he was playing tea chest bass with a skiffle band. He had a fine collection of Lonnie Donegan and Bill Haley that I still listen to today. Mum worked as a bookkeeper at Essex Music and would bring home the latest releases along with tales of rock stars visiting the offices to pick up their royalty cheques. I was always dazzled by rock and roll. I had no other options.

When did you form your first band?
I had piano and guitar lessons as a kid and sang in the church and school choirs. Even recording for the BBC with the original west end cast of Joseph. Paul Jones as the lead. I guess I was 13 but my mind was made up. It was another 5 years before I got to play my first proper gigs. We supported Steamboat Willy at the Golden Lion in Fulham. The buzz I got from playing to a packed pub of my appreciative peers was beyond compare. In no time at all we were regulars on the London circuit, playing at the Marquee and Dingwalls along with unis and colleges around the South East. I guess we sounded like a cross between Aztec Camera and The Style Council. The early/mid 80s were a fantastic time for live music. Gigs were cheap. Record companies saw touring as a loss leader to sell albums. The exact opposite of now. I pretty much saw every major band in the 80s. From the Smiths to Wham! (at a miners benefit) and everything in between.

What was your inspiration for the band?
Politics was endemic in 80s music and played a big role in the making of Wyatt Riot. Much like now there was a huge frustration with the status quo. There has been thirty years of Guardian articles saying ‘Where have all the protest songs gone?’. Well they are back for sure.
Wyatt Riot was born the day after the 2015 election. The daunting prospect of 5 more years of Tory rule, austerity and neo liberalism ripping apart our society was the catalyst to my political songwriting.

How would you describe your music?
I had been trying to find my political voice for years but my songs were generally personal or humorous. Years of listening to Billy Bragg, The Clash, Tom Robinson. The Specials, Chumbawumba, Steve Earle, Dylan, Springsteen and of course Woody Guthrie were a great training ground. It just fell into place. Wyatt Riot and socialist skiffle were born.
Ty Watling aka Woody Riot and I had been musical collaborators for many years. I am a bit of a Luddite and Ty has the musical chops and technical knowhow to bring my incoherent scribblings to life.

How has lockdown affected you creatively?
Lockdown has been really tough for musicians. For me personally it has been a massive change. At the end of 2019 i was made redundant, i have lost family members, my marriage broke down and so did i to be honest. I relocated to Ramsgate, It's just about the cheapest
place to live in the south east, it has or had a great music and arts scene and who doesn’t like living by the sea? I have plenty of time on my hands at the moment so I play and write every day. As soon as I'm settled in my new home (right across the road from a great recording studio) I will set about getting the new songs down. I miss playing live dreadfully. You might find me out busking on the seafront as soon as it warms up.

What are you currently listening to/reading?
I’m currently devouring the new Adam Curtis series Can’t Get You Out Of My Head on BBC IPlayer. His documentaries are incredibly powerful and insightful and are essential viewing.
I am revisiting Kerouac’s Dharma Bums at the moment. I have needed to find some inner tranquility and strength to survive the last year. Reconnecting with nature, walking and learning to breathe has been a big part of that.
Top of my playlist at the moment is the latest Laura Marling album. I have been a big fan since Once I was an Eagle but Song For Our Daughter is without doubt the best thing
I have heard in years. I don’t think it is possible to overstate how good it is. I also tune in to Cerys Matthews on 6 music every Sunday, that’s my church!

What’s next for Wyatt Riot?
I’m hoping to get some new stuff out by the end of the summer. If however we come out of lockdown in June I may end up partying for the whole summer, making up for lost time.

credits

released February 26, 2021

All songs written and performed by Steve Gamble and Ty Watling except fiddle on Madame Guillotine and Don't Vote Tory - Chris Goddard.
Additional backing vocals on Don't Vote Tory - the Watling family.

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Rough Kid Records England, UK

Rough Kid Records
A tiny U.K independent record label championing alternative music across multiple genres!
'A jamboree bag of sounds!'
Send demo submissions to...
roughkidrecords@gmail.com
Artists on Rough Kid Records include...
Sir Robert Orange Peel // C.S.E Art Project // The Wot Nots // Orange Bomb // Wyatt Riot
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