Omicron - the home-truths!

This is the most honest summary of the “make it up as you go along” strategy by the UK on Covid 19 that you will read. Fact!

When Boris and Chris Whitty went on TV a month before Christmas 2021, telling us that “the best thing we can all do is get boosted!”, the Omicron variant had only been reported for a week or two!

Now it took a combination of all the worlds best scientists to rush out a vaccine for the earlier variants of Covid19.....it took them almost a year of round the clock development and testing to finally be able to release something which at least had a ghost of a chance of preventing the huge death toll worldwide.

I remember Matt Hancock going on breakfast TV and actually CRYING with joy the day he announced the vaccine rollout in December 2020!!

It was as if this was a silver bullet, and everything would be back to normal by summer.

So, we all started having the first dose of Pfizer..then Oxford AstraZeneca...then, later, the Moderna (for the youngsters).

Me and my missus are in the over 50-s group and had our first jab in March2021, with our 2nd doses in May.

We both contracted  Covid in February: this would have been the 2nd, “Kent” variant.

We both recovered  OK, without hospital admission.

So...according to the government, after our 2nd dose in June, we should both have had around 90% protection against Covid moving forward?

Add to that our natural immunity / antibodies following catching the virus, then we're basically covered, right? :-)

WRONG, apparently!

Less than 6 months after this (end November 2021), Boris and Whitty are back on the box telling us that basically the previous jabs are totally ineffective against the new Omicron variant, and that we ALL NEED this booster??!

Fact: Omicron is vastly less deadly than previous variants.

Fact: Omicron is now attacking the UK population, over 65% of whom have been double-jabbed.

Fact: Over 80% of the UK population have had a single dose.

The government announcements were designed to create a mass panic, but the fact is that these announcements were based on pure speculation, not on “Data”!

When the announcement was made, the was ZERO data on Omicron: it had only just been reported in South Africa a couple of weeks previously!

Consequently, there can be no guarantee that this amazing booster will actually do ANYTHING.

How can it possibly have been developed, , tested, trialled for effectiveness? There's been no time to do any of that......its just guesswork!

How do they KNOW for sure that mixing the various vaccines will NOT cause issues for individuals down the line. (Remember, they originally told us that if you have a first dose of a certain vaccine, then you need the matching 2nd dose.) No “mix and match!”

But now, magically, you can have this “booster”, and it'll restore your protection from zero to 75% as if by magic!?

What is the “booster”, exactly? Pfizer..?  Oxford..? Moderna..?  A blend of all three..??  or something else entirely?

One thing IS certain: whatever we're being virtually forced to have as a “booster” is very unlikely to either be necessary, effective to any extent, nor be guaranteed to NOT cause us any issues moving forward on a person-to-person basis.

There seems to be an urgency to get these doses in peoples arms, whatever the cost....and based on no real data?

In fact, as I write this on (Boxing Day 2021), infections are up in the 100k-plus, hospitalisations are around 2k, and deaths are less than 2 per 1000.

Now, that's not the ideal “zero”......but crucially, it hasn't gone up significantly in 4 weeks, even though infections are sky high.

This basically confirms that Omicron is NOT a significant threat, (except maybe to the very old / vulnerable / non-vaccinated, who could MAYBE benefit from any additional protection?) and the majority of people just need to get on with life as normal, just taking a few precautions to minimise personal risk of infecting others.

One thing Boris and Whitty dont really tell us is that ANYONE can catch Omicron and pass it on to others, regardless of vaccine status. They make out that having the jab stops you catching it...but it doesn't!

All that is necessary is keeping the load on the NHS to a minimum, and preventing deaths. These hospital admissions and deaths are NOT going to come from Omicron, clearly.

Truth is, the NHS struggles at this time of year EVERY year.... through sickness of staff, and the fact that there are more colds / flu around.  

Creating a blind panic in December, of all months, is NOT the most clever move, is it?!

What with loads more people regularly taking tests, NHS staff testing positive (using tests that themselves could be classed as fairly unreliable?), and subsequently having to take time off work, all that has done is amplify the NHS staff shortage situation this winter.....

Smart move, Boris!

SO....down to the crux of it: what IS the panic to “get boosted”?

What's the REAL reason for this urgency to “get your booster”?

Well, it's simple!

Back in January 2021, the UK ordered 650 MILLION doses of vaccine (including 185 MILLION doses of the Pfizer).

Now, with the UK population approaching 70M, that's around 9 doses EACH?

Clearly, what has happened here is that the UK massively over-ordered at the beginning of the year, using tax payers (OUR!) money.

The problem is (and this is a BIG problem to Boris!) that these doses have a shelf life, and unused doses will need to be destroyed when they reach their use-by date.

VERY embarrassing to have to explain in 2022 how the UK had to dispose of maybe quarter of a BILLION doses of unused vaccines..?!

Doses ultimately paid for by the UK taxpayer!!

So Omicron created an ideal opportunity to minimise the effect of this by getting as many doses in arms as possible before the expiry dates?

Clearly also, we're being given whatever doses are most convenient: no structure or organisation regarding an individuals previous vaccine history.

Just get yourself along to a Medical Centre and GET BOOSTED!

I've been receiving reminders on a daily basis from both the NHS and my local medical centre, including on both Christmas Day, and this morning!

They're REALLY desperate to use up these doses, for sure.

(Incidentally, I'm of the opinion that they did the same with petrol a few months back, too!

Petroleum has a shelf-life too, and the lockdowns severely cut the general demand for petrol

As a result, petrol just sat around, stagnating, the forecourts profits were severely hit, as was the tax to the UK treasury.

So...when we got the HGV driver “storm in a teacup”, the resulting panic-buying enabled the garages to shift all their old stock of fuel, and at the same time gave them an excuse to hike up the prices, recoup some lost profit...and consequently, the treasury got an influx of tax!

Win, win......unless you're a member of the public..!!

SO..there it is...the truth.

Thanks for reading.

We're being played, guys.......be aware.

With the recent launch of the Nouveau Sounds label, and the website , we have obviously been reaching out to artists who could benefit greatly from the service that we offer.

We have several very exciting projects lined up for 2020 as a result of this "reaching out", including artists from a wide range of genres (including rap, reggae, glam and mainstream pop!).

However, after communicating with over 200 prospective artists, there does seem to be a huge misconception about how to get discovered in 2019.

A fair proportion of those we spoke with seem to be under the impression that they can simply record an acoustic cover, stick it on YouTube, and SImon Cowell will come knocking at their door offering a £1M record contract..!?

WRONG!  The "Justin Bieber" days are over!

But why?

Is it that people these days are simply not very talented, and Justin was one of the exceptions?

Of course not! 

In fact, the opposite is true: there are now loads of wannabe's touting their respective talents on YouTube.

It is not a novelty anymore...it is the norm.

These days, when you upload your video to YouTube, you're now competing with thousands, maybe even MILLIONS, of talented singers, songwriters and producers.

All are trying to score that elusive record deal that will enable them to give up the day job, or maybe allow them to never actually need to get a "proper job" in the first place.

Some of these people are incredibly talented, too.

So what am I saying here?

Well, it's simple really: If you want to stand even a slim chance of being discovered, standing out and having your music played by other people, you need to promote yourself.

Not only that, but you need the right song, and, being totally brutal...you need to be GOOD ENOUGH!

As if that is not enough..you also need to have commitment to your art...whether this is singing, writing, dancing, painting, tennis, football...you need to have the dedication, and put the hours in!

How badly do you REALLY want it?

Some of the artists we spoke with talked a good game, but they just were not committed to the cause: they were not giving it enough, generally.

In addition to this, they were reluctant to invest the necessary finances in THEIR futures.

Getting back to promotion..this costs money!

There is no way to avoid spending money on promotion: having the killer song, with a killer performance, the best production, etc, is one thing...but if no-one ever hears it..what's the point?!

In 2019, promotion is probably the sole benefit of being signed to one of the "big three".

They have the budget to promote songs worldwide...but obviously they take a huge percentage in exchange for this.

But even if the artist gets just 20% of the generated revenue, surely that is better than 100% of nothing, right?

SO, it IS still beneficial to get signed, but you need to stand out to even have a slim chance of getting discovered these days.

Nouveau Sounds' sole aim is to help artists to achieve this, with a full package at a very minimal cost.

We want YOU to get signed by Sony, UMG or Warners.

Our package is #TTP (The Total Package). Check us out here.

If you've lost your way musically, maybe following some bad experiences and knock-backs, and don't really know what to do next, we'll give you direction, purpose, and set you off on the road to your next chapter.

We appreciate how difficult it is these days, but if you're TRULY committed to your cause, then we want to hear from YOU...!!

Keep focussed!!

GN.

POPPY at Omeara, London: Monday 19th August, 2019

Arriving at the venue, there was already a long queue of "in the knows", and you could sense an air of expectation. We all knew that, for the UK, this was the beginning of something potentially HUGE!

The venue (which consists of the space under a pair of railway arches divided into the concert venue to the right and a bar to the left) has a capacity of just over 300, and the tickets sold out in under 2 days. The bar area is a nice comfortable, with friendly bar staff.

As you enter the hall, there is sound control area to your left (Mixer, Lighting, etc), and beyond that, in the LH corner, a small bar. It is recommended that you simply go through to the main bar for drinks, though, as you'll have a far greater choice!

Going down a couple of steps, you're on the main floor area: this enables people at the back to get a good view of the stage, especially as the raised rear area goes round both side slightly, too.

The support act, scouse Heavy-Metallists LOATHE, warmed the crowd up with a set full of energy and anger.

I'm glad Liverpool won the Champions League and Super Cup penalty shoot-out last Wednesday,: if this is what happy, jubilant scousers are like, imagine if they had lost...!?

Poppy is well-known online and in her native USA, but (until Saturday @ Reading/Leeds, that is!) largely unknown in the UK.

Poppy and her "creator", Titanic Sinclair, have been gradually honing her image and sound over the past few years, morphing through various phases: Poppy is now a perfect fusion of the real and the surreal.

Nobody REALLY knew what to expect from Poppy when the lights went down: what visuals would we be treated to..fancy costumes? Dancers?

No...Poppy arrived wearing a striped jacket with accessories, and a pair of knee-high boots.

She was flanked by Titanic Sinclair on bass and (I'm assuming?) Aaron Deming on guitar.

I say "assuming", as both had their faced completely blacked out!

There was also a drummer, and the obligatory backing track.

(I'm told that Sam Palombo is their drummer, and that  both he and Aaron are from "Blame Candy".)

No latex in sight!  Actually, she just looked like a human being having a great time,  her waist-length blonde hair fanning out as she span round during the heavier sections of the songs.

She came across tonight like a human being with occasional android tendencies, rather than a synthetic creation. She was engaging and captivating, both visually and sonically..the perfect package.

She has great charisma.....engaging, yet still somehow surreal at the same time...?

This was no carefully-choreographed Kylie-esque affair: Poppy and the band simply rocked the place!

This show was obviously warming up for Reading/Leeds, and you could see that the set-list was tailored for a more rock / metal orientated audience than anything Lady Gaga would have done back in the day.

Perhaps this is the "Billie Eilish" effect? Eilish was an overnight sensation back in March with the release of her album: it looks like Poppy is being targeted at the same, or a very similar audience.

People I spoke to in the audience were unanimously intrigued by Poppy: we're all trying to work her out...which keeps things interesting.

Several years ago, her songs were obviously K-Pop-inspired, both sonically and visually: With Mr Sinclair, Poppy has done a great job with the visual presentation, creating what is now a perfect fusion of visual and sonic appeal.

The "sound" is a combination of pop and metal, often within the same song! This keeps things interesting, as you often don't know if the song is finishing, or merely moving into another phase..!

She played some new material, alongside the favourites: highlights for me were "Time Is Up", "X", "Scary Mask" and "My Microphone"              ("Oh..there it is!!") lol!

She also did a good cover of Gary Numan's "Metal".

The set was around an hour: short, but very sweet...and it left everyone wanting more.

Tonight, this exclusive crowd at Omeara witnessed the dawning of something big...a tidal wave is about to break on the UK, starting at Reading / Leeds this weekend.

All that is missing is that breakthrough hit single: surely that's just round the corner now.

Whether it is one of the new songs, or a remix of one of her catchy back-catalogue tracks remains to be seen...

You know what they say about buses?  You wait for ages for one, and then two turn up within a minute of each other..!?

This year, we've already had Billie Eilish.

Now the second bus is rolling in.

You can feel it.....

Greg Nouveau (Nouveau Sounds)

Today being the 30th anniversary of the UK release of Frankie's Two Tribes, it has made me think back in time (again!).

As part of the class of '84, I can honestly say that it was on hearing Two Tribes for the first time that edged me towards record production rather than just being in a band......?

I have always listened to tracks in detail, hearing hidden riffs and percussion parts, etc, rather than just "the song".

Two Tribes has tons of depth, and hits you like a sledghammer: It leaves me feeling exhausted after listening to the original 7" radio mix!

This experience made me aware of the impact a song can have, and the role of the producer in this process.

The art of the 12" started with TT, as well: amazing to think, I bought a copy of Two Tribes every week for 2 months...! Happy days.....

My pitiful attempts back in the 80's to create songs / music on a par with the tracks I was hearing around that time resulted in immense frustration!

Thats why I simply gave up, realising I could never get where I wanted to be: I had neither the time nor the money to acquire the necessary equipment to produce such a sound.

A decent desk (£50k), a Fairlight (£50k), various synths/outboard, etc (£50k)...and of course, the environment to use it in (...erm, £50k?)...was never going to happen anytime soon....!

HOWEVER.....roll forward 30 years, and I now have the necessary equipment in my relatively modest studio environment...for a fraction of the cost, and 10 times more flexible.....

So...my mission now is simply to carry on where I left off: I'm attempting to create what I yearned to create IN THE 80's, and kinda "finish the job", so to speak....?

I'm trying to only use sounds / effects, etc, that would have been available then, rather than splattering my creations with 21st century plug-ins, and modern sounds......Dubstep doesn't really interest me, you know.....! :-)

I DO use VSTi's / plug-ins, and dont believe in using vintage for vintage's sake...the modern plug-ins are REALLY good: you'd need to A-B them with the real thing solo to tell any significant difference...and in the mix?  Forget it!

I have to blame Trevor Horn for getting me here today.......the seeds were sown back in the day, and I reckon Two Tribes was the deal maker for me........?

So many thanks, Trev..! :-)

I hold Trevor Horm personally responsible for me spending the last 30 years (on and off)

Well, after hearing loads over the past year or so about a new Visage album / comeback, etc, it looks like its 100% happening..!

The new lineup looks like its in place, and after hearing a preview of the album, I have to say that it's actually GOOD...!!

I must say that after hearing that there were only 2 original Visage members in the new band, I was a trifle sceptical about what the resulting album would end up sounding like.....!

However, with a little Magazine, a dabble of Ultravox, a touch of Simple Minds, some foxy female glamour.....oh, and a LOAD of Steve Strange style, it looks like Visage are back in the game with a bang!

"Hearts and Knives" offers far more than the time-honoured "2 singles and a dozen fillers"-format: I'd say all the tracks are fairly strong, and, with a few choice remixes, the album could generate 4 or 5 singles.......?

Steve is also launching a make-up range, with products aimed at the male contingent as well as the ladies, so it looks like he's gonna be very busy doing all the promo work for his various enterprises......!

"Hearts and Knives" is sheduled for release late May: the single "Shameless Fashion" is out already.....

Check out www.visage.cc for details...!

So...Bo Rap is the UK's favourite number one record, then..?

Thank the lord for that, is my reaction!

I was worried for a little while that some 21'st century, Autotune-infested junk was going to get the crown...! 

At least Adele has taken her rightful place near the top of the pile.........well deserved, imho.......

And "Billie Jean"......

So...the British public HAVE got taste.  ;-)

All I have to do now is write something that will make the next countdown!

I'll be happy being #58, or thereabouts, tbh... :-)

Well...what can I say..?

Rio: a true classic album! A real "bird of paradise"!

This album is unique to me, in that even 30 years after its original release, I STILL play it from start to finish to this day....

There are no "fillers": all 9 tracks are masterpieces.

Not many albums can lay claim to this, even going back to the '50's...?

Well done, guys: I've been a fan since day one!

Fave tracks? Well....its a difficult one, but I reckon if I could only listen to 2 tracks off RIO, I would choose "Last Chance On The Stairway" and "New Religion"....!

"What!"  I hear you say! "Not one of the singles?!"

THAT just goes to demonstrate how GREAT this album is........  ;-)