Say It With Garage Flowers

I’m pleased to announce that a brand new song has emerged from my latest recording session with UK alt.country act Quiet Loner. (aka Matt Hill)

A demo version of Death of a Popular Hairdresser is now available to listen to at www.myspace.com/seanhannamlyricist

I wrote the lyric and Matt wrote the music. If features Matt on lead vocals and all instruments (guitars, bass and drums), while I simply pitch in with a spoken word piece on the chorus and help out with some ‘oohs’ and ‘la-la-las’ in the middle eight section.

Recorded and mixed by Matt in one night, the song was up online within about five hours of us making it, which is not bad, even if I do say so myself. We’re so punk rock, man.

Inspired by a newspaper billboard I saw in Harrow-on-the-Hill, which simply read ‘Death of A Popular Hairdresser’, the song is a tawdry tale of drink, drugs, sex, C list celebs and scissors.

When I wrote the lyric, I dreamt up a ficticious storyline of a girl and a guy who enter the murky world of celebrity culture and fashion, which, ultimately, leads to their demise, and sadly, the premature death of one of them. I’ve always wanted to write a ‘story song’ – this is my first attempt, so please be gentle with me.

In my head, I wanted it to sound like Squeeze meets the Pet Shop Boys – I think the words are my attempt at being Chris Difford. It hasn’t turned out that way – it’s actually more of a Billy Bragg country-pop song, I guess – like something from Talking To The Taxman About Poetry.

As Matt said, just imagine a full band version, with Johnny Marr playing a jangly riff and Ian Mclagan laying down some warm Hammond organ. Maybe one day…..  I really love the middle eight, which has some Beatlesy backing vocals. I think the end is a bit Beatles, too – the way Matt finishes on ‘hairdresser’ is very Paperback Writer.

And then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like ‘And cut’…..

Well, I thought it was funny, anyway……