Badge Mack

Well as usual, despite the best intention of releasing my 50 songs. Progress has slowed. I am currently revamping studio equipment and finetuning my drum set up. I work for NHS pathology and the current cancer targets have me working all hours. I didn't really want to put this extra information but reality sometimes somes trumps or derails artistic endeavours. Hopefully I can get back on track soon.

This song is about a popular street in Liverpool city centre where lots of people go to enjoy themselves. In the past few years it has expanded to cater to many different people with the opening of dance clubs and similar.

Wood Street however for me, and many other rock fans will always be associated with the best pub The Swan which has a heavy rock jukebox, the best rock club the Krazyhouse and for the older generation Wilson's Bar.

I sometimes wish my life away dreaming I am there. Wilson's and the K have gone now but you can still sit in The Swan and listen to rock songs that you can't get anywhere else in town...oh and you can also have a special pint of 'Wobbly Bob'.

Many a great Saturday have been passed there.

The song is indirectly about the craziness of the daily commute. For me and the people I see, we're all running to get somewhere forgetting what the real purpose of our lives is. The beauty of life is somehow lost in the drudgery of routine. Although routine can be good sometimes it can drain the colour from life. There are so many of us chasing our immediate goals that the real focus and target is missed. 

The song is just an attempt to put into words the frustration at the loss of a better existence. What is the real destination...? Love and family and remembering what's important.

The song can be heard here https://song.badgemack.com/loveistheway

The cover is courtesy of my very talented brother who painted my portrait as a gift. I am very grateful.

It seems an old song of mine (still on the distributors list) 'Taken Too Soon' released under then name Why the Sky has been streamed nearly 180,000 times on Tik Tok. I have not released it yet officially but intend to in the future.

You can hear the song here Taken Too Soon You Tube version

or here Taken Too Soon Spotify version

It seems this year users of streaming platform Pandora have listened to my song Love is a Four Letter Word more than 12,000 times. I'm happy this many people enjoyed it so much. Great news for me...Thank You America!

Hopefully my next song can perform this well...though very unlikely...fingers crossed.

It is already May. I'm glad to say I have finished my latest song and will release it over the next few weeks. I have to sort the artwork but it shouldn't take too long. Keep your eyes and ears peeled.

I have started recording the first song for the new album. It is coming together but I am altering my recording process slightly so it may take some effort to get things right. Once I am happy with that I can start recording at a quicker pace...slowly but surely.

Well it's 2022, The release cycle for Songs from the Prison River is over. There are no more songs from this album left. It is time to move onto the next album. SFTPR had a wide range of songs on it with differing vibes, I would like to tighten up this next album and have a more focussed sound.

It has hit me that after recording, the song can take on a different life from the demo version, sometimes it is the organic sound of the acoustic demo that connects me to the song. That can get a bit lost when extra instrumentation is added. So I believe I'd like an earthier, more acoustic feel on these next songs. 

As a bonus it should make it faster to record and easier to produce a solo live show. 

As mentioned previously songs for the next four albums are already written. I originally intended to record songs in order and eventually get round to recording songs I am currently writing in succession. This would mean my albums are always retrospective and not current, so I may never, depending on circumstance, record those songs. It seems to make more sense to record both past and current songs together. 

That is the plan anyway.

Good luck and the best of wishes for whatever you have planned for yourselves in 2022.

Just because I like a song it doesn't mean others will. I thought 'Fool in Love' would do the best from the album but it actually did the worst. Anyhoo it does give me some pointers for the next album. I like the idea that the process is dynamic and steered by the listeners. The songs are written for the next album but it gives me an idea for the treatment of them.

Soooo we come to the crux of the past 18 months. The album release. It comes out just before Adele's and Ed Sheeran new album so mine is bound to do well(sarcasm). As I have said there is no point in a huge fanfare as I'm not a big enough artist to make a splash. It will just come out and hopefully some of the multiple releases will be tidied up and subsumed into the one entity. It has been available physically on my website for a while but it will be released on all platforms and can be bought online at various outlets, including Amazon, but as always it better to buy from the artist directly here.

Thank you to everyone who has listened to or is following my efforts so far. It is very, very much appreciated.

I have recently acquired the video equipment for You Tube as mentioned previously, so that is moving forward also.

So this is the last song to be taken from this album 'Songs from the Prison River' before the album is officially released. It has taken a long time but I have enjoyed the process. Thousands of people around the world have listened across multiple platforms and it has been fairly exciting for me to see how far flung my creations can travel. I have listeners in the Americas, Russia, Europe, Australia and all points in between. 

Fool in Love is probably my favourite song from this album. It feels classic in its simplicity and has a 70's vibe. Just a very mellow, unashamedly uncool feel to it.