A Year in Music – 2024 – Zoe Howe (Author)
by Killian Laher

Photo Credit – Ian Treherne

How are you, what sort of year have you had?

Overall I’ve had a great year, thank you, and I hope you have too. 2024 saw me moving to Liverpool to be closer to family, and I’m really enjoying it. It turns out we’re living in a house that used to belong to John Lennon’s beloved Uncle George and his family. We occasionally see the more die-hard Beatle fans who’ve REALLY done their research sidling up to take a sneaky photo of the place.

I’ve been doing lots of events, a few of them have been about the connections between witchcraft and activism, as well as more specifically music-related ones. One recent event was at the British Music Experience for Writing On The Wall / Black History Month, a screening of Jeff Perks’s fantastic 2-Tone Arena documentary Rudies Come Back with a discussion afterwards with Jeff, Dennis Bovell and June Miles-Kingston. It was poignant seeing it after such a shocking summer of racist violence, and with the BME being at Pier Head in Liverpool, just feet away from where things had kicked off horribly a few weeks earlier. I should add that Pier Head was also the scene of a very positive counter-protest and reclaiming of that space, organised by Stand Up To Racism, the week after the riots in the face of another Far Right protest; it was heartening to be with people who absolutely reject racism and bigotry and wanted to show support for the communities who had been directly affected by this ’summer of hate’, pushing back. So seeing Jeff’s film again a few weeks after that, hearing the Specials talking about rejecting racism and encouraging their fans to do the same through their music, felt very timely. I’m proud to be doing some stuff in support of the Merseyside faction of Love Music Hate Racism https://www.lovemusichateracism.com/ and Stand Up To Racism https://standuptoracism.org.uk/ where I can – they are doing amazing work and it is so needed right now.

In other news, we’ve just adopted two rescue kittens because we decided we didn’t have enough chaos in our lives. They’re big jazz fans, as it happens.

What are the albums you enjoyed most this year?

Tinariwen – Idrache (Traces of the Past). It was always my dream to see them Tinariwen and I finally did, in Manchester, a few months ago. They were totally charismatic, effortless, and they absolutely rocked. We’re talking about real rock ’n’ roll rebels. All the pretend ones can step aside, just leave it to Tinariwen. Their energy is deeply powerful and uplifting, and the guitar sound is immense and mean. They’re the authentic pioneers of desert blues and you can hear all sorts of magic in there, their music is completely transporting. There’s also nothing pompous about them, they’ve got a dignity that is hard to come by in rock ’n’ roll, I’d say. Bass player Eyadou Ag Leche is extraordinary, he’s all over the bass like Norman Watt-Roy.

I’d also like to mention SheBeat’s debut album From Liverpool to Leith, which is beautiful. And I’m not just saying that because I’m on there providing some BVs on a couple of tracks. (I’m saying it despite the fact that I’m on there providing BVs.) It was lovely to be asked; I think the last time I did that on any recording was when I was drumming/backing singing / other things-ing for Viv Albertine, and that was some time ago. I’ve been in bands on drums since then, and I still occasionally make music in my own time but it was lovely to be creative in that way again, coming up with little vocal ideas for someone else’s music. SheBeat had contacted me during the Covid years and sent me her song ‘Lockdown Limbo’, which I played when I was doing stuff on Southend’s indie station Ship Full of Bombs, and then she kindly sent me a jingle – just like ’Zoë Howe on the radio, oooh…’ – which I was really touched to receive and still use. I later said to her, ‘what do you think about making a jingle specifically for my ‘Rock ’n’ Roll Witch’ show on Soho Radio?’ So she set to it, and what’s really lovely is she then developed it into a complete song with fab Shangri-La kind of rhythms and it’s a real beaut. That’s on her new album too. She has a really special quality, and her songs are deeply uplifting and wise.

Is there any artist or album that defined the year for you?

Kneecap. Kneecap’s Fine Art (Manchán Magan’s voice is on there, how great is that?). Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap film. Just, you know, Kneecap, for all the reasons. I was on the BIFA jury this year and was so pleased to see how they just captivated everyone, they and Peppiatt deserve all the success. Comhghairdeas, buachaillí.

Do you get to many gigs these days?

More so than I used to – I had a few years living in deepest rural Norfolk where it wasn’t exactly easy to see stuff, to say the least, although the owls and bells and the sound of semi-wild horses clip-clopping past the house through the night was music enough for me at times. But we’re starting to make up for lost time now. The aforementioned Tinariwen were unforgettable, and we recently saw Massive Attack at the M&S Arena in Liverpool which was powerful, not least because Elizabeth Fraser came on as a guest, something I wasn’t expecting – an absolutely fantastic surprise. I’m a big Cocteaus fan and Liz Fraser is a true enigma, so it was a big thing, seeing her singing live, and she sounded utterly perfect and otherworldly. Another highlight from this year was seeing close personal showbiz pal Pete Wylie singing live in Liverpool, his voice is just as fantastic as ever and he is a force for good, heart as big as Liverpool indeed and rightly loved. He’s going on tour again next year. Also Kathryn Tickell and the Darkening – I love a bit of clog-dancing. Nearly Dan (Steely Dan tribute) were also splendid at the Liverpool Empire recently.

Do you think it will get to the stage where the ‘big concert’ is unaffordable for most of us?

I feel like we’re already there, although we’re thankfully seeing a backlash. Thank goodness for The Cure and artists like Paul Heaton for consciously making a stand against that.

What’s your reaction if Stairway To Heaven comes on the radio?

My first thought is, ‘gah, I’ve heard this too many times’, but once it gets going I’m airborne.

Anything interesting in the works yourself?

I’m still broadcasting my monthly Rock ’n’ Roll Witch show on Soho Radio, which unites my love of music and magical life (much jangling on about folklore and things like that, plus, if I say so myself, a killer playlist inspired by the particular magic of the season we’re in). I haven’t done much in the way of music journalism for some years now, but I was really pleased to be invited to write a feature about the magical Yoko Ono for the John and Yoko edition of Record Collector, which is just out, and a lovely synchronicity given the Lennon connections with where I now live!

I’ve also been working with the conservationist and author Ajay Tegala (BBC Springwatch) on a show called Witching the Wild Year, which we’ve been sporadically touring around the UK – we debuted the show on Summer Solstice, and we’ve a couple of appearances around Winter Solstice in Guildford and Oxford – we’re celebrating folklore, the natural world, nature magic and how that ties in with how we can live more sustainably. It’s also a kind of live almanack going around the astrological wheel of the year. It’s very sparkly too, which is obviously important.

I still do visual art – my next project is with the Thames Group of Artists, and we’re all making something inspired by the great venues of the so-called Thames Delta – something that’s close to my heart, as I lived there for ten years and have written about it a lot (Wilko Johnson: Looking Back At Me / Lee Brilleaux: Rock ’n’ Roll Gentleman). I’ve bagged the venue The Esplanade, site of many a Dr Feelgood show, amongst others, indeed the last big night there before it closed (and was then burnt down) was my book launch for Lee Brilleaux: Rock ’n’ Roll Gentleman, so it feels very special to be making a piece of art in honour of that dear, departed sacred site of Southend rock ’n’ roll history. The exhibition will be at Southend’s Beecroft Gallery in May 2025. Other artists include the brilliant Peter Knock, Rod Melvin (Kilburn & The High Roads) and Phill Jupitus, and there’ll be some artwork by Ian Dury included as well, I’m told.

zoë howe – Royal Literary Fund Associate Fellow – https://linktr.ee/zoehowe
Radio: Soho Radio