State of Undress News

Radio Airplay for Remembrance Sunday

Emma Britton is doing a special show to commemorate Remembrance Sunday on BBC Radio Somerset 95.5fm. She will be playing our song Take Me To The Leader and having a chat about it at approximately 10.30am. We are really pleased to be a part of her special programme. Then, in the afternoon, the great folk artist Johnny Coppin will also be playing our track as part of his show which goes out from 1.00pm - 2.00pm on BBC Radios Gloucestershire, Somerset, Bristol and Wiltshire. We understand it will be the last track he plays on his show. Would be great if you could listen in! Here are the links: http://www.bbc.co.uk/somerset and http://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire

Press Release
State of Undress Van and Equipment Stolen

State of Undress that rocky rootsy fiddlesome band have been having a real roller coaster of a year. Loads of ups - with amazing gigs right across the country; a major down in the summer when their fiddle player’s lovely wife was ill, and now, just when they were really back on the up with a great momentum building for next year, they have had another significant set back. Their band van, together with their sound equipment (PA and speakers), several guitars and other equipment has been stolen.

Charlie Rose, lead singer and one of the writers with State of Undress, said: ‘This is such a huge blow - especially for Malcolm our bass player. The band van belongs to him. It’s a big white Mercedes Sprinter (Reg R388 YTF) but all customised inside. Malcolm had converted it himself so that it could be used as a camper van with sleeping areas and cooking facilities but also seats for all the band members and purpose built storage for all the equipment. There was an exact place for everything. We loved it and we’ve had such brilliant times in it. It’s taken us from Cornwall to Scotland and from London to Ireland this year.’

Malcolm Windett, bass player and song writer, continued: ‘I’m gutted. The loss of the van is bad enough but my guitars are unique and very personal to me. Each one has its own distinctive musical personality. Anyone who plays an instrument will understand how I’m feeling.’

Fellow musicians are asked to keep a look out for the guitars and other equipment which may be offered for sale in local shops or on eBay. The guitars are very striking: an Alembic Elan 5-string bass, a Washburn fretless bass and an Ovation nylon-string acoustic guitar.

The other stolen equipment includes: two Mackie SM450s speakers plus stands and a Yamaha digital desk; a Paul Jones suitcase amp and extension cabinet; a TC helicon vocal monitor; a Boss pedal board and various pedals. A selection of lights and leads were also taken.

State of Undress are not just a local band. They are a professional touring band who play all across the UK. In December, they are due to play in London, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire as well as their annual Christmas show at The Regent Centre in Christchurch - this may prove a little difficult without their band transport!

Charlie adds: ‘ With petrol prices the way they are, it’s just not cost-effective for us to travel separately in our cars. And although the van and equipment is insured, it will take months to sort out everything. If anyone out there can help us in the short-term, we would be so grateful.’

If anyone thinks they have seen a van, guitars or any of the other equipment matching these descriptions and which may belong to State of Undress, please contact Dorset police on 101 quoting case number T11C-049743 and if anyone thinks they can help the band in any other way please contact them on 07971 472768.
 

Press Release

And so it’s 90 years since the Poppy Appeal was started. 93 Years since the end of the ‘War to End All Wars’. Except it didn’t. And here we are nearly a century later with major conflicts taking place in many parts of the world. Mostly, ordinary people have no part in the decision to go to war. They are caught up in world events and global politics over which they have no control. And, yes, there are times when a country has to make a stand, when you have to fight to protect justice, dignity and freedom. But no matter how just the cause – in war, everybody loses. And children and the vulnerable lose the most.

This is the message of the song Take Me to the Leader performed by State of Undress that rocky rootsy fiddlesome band from Dorset. They are donating all profits from downloads and single CD sales to the charities ‘War Child’ and ‘The Royal British Legion.’

Take Me to the Leader was written some years ago by Dorset musician, the late Peter ‘Foz’ Foster, who was a great friend and mentor to State of Undress. Pete had been a well-respected musician in the 60s and 70s, playing with the likes of Ralph McTell and Cat Stevens.

Charlie Rose, lead singer with the band explains: ‘It was Pete who, in the early days, encouraged Alan (State of Undress guitarist) and myself with our song-writing and performing. ‘Take Me to the Leader’ was a song Pete had written before we met him and we were so honoured when he asked us to record it. He loved this version and we know he would have been delighted that we have put it out as a single to raise money for these two very important charities.’

Alan Rose continues: ‘Although State of Undress is mostly known for our uptempo, fiddle-infused music, we do perform some more thought-provoking songs. Take Me to the Leader is a track that we play at special gigs and it’s a highlight of our annual Christmas show. We play it then as part of a set-piece with a reading about the football match in the trenches on Christmas Eve in World War I. It’s always a highly-charged, poignant moment and gets a great response from the audience.‘

Although the band recorded Take Me to the Leader some time ago and it has been available as an album track, this year’s very special Poppy Appeal made it seem the right time to put it out as a single.

To get a copy of Take Me to the Leader download it from www.itunes.com/stateofundress. For more information about the work of War Child and The Royal British Legion, log on to their websites: www.warchild.org.uk ; www.britishlegion.org.uk

Shop til you Drop!

Spend the day shopping in London on Sunday 30th October and then spend the evening with State of Undress
at one of London’s most iconic music venues  Half Moon, Putney
Coach leaves Southampton at approx 9.00am (Can pick people up at pre-arranged points en-route). Shopping in London 11.30am – 6.00pm. Leave for the Half Moon, Putney at 6.30pm. Doors open 8.00pm, Band on stage at 8.30pm. Coach leaves Putney at 11.00pm. Cost £22.00 includes return coach fare and entry to The Half Moon. Places strictly limited. To book yours…

Oh What a Night!

On behalf of Jerry and myself, I would like to thank everybody that came to the fantastic State of Undress gig on Friday 29th July at Ye Olde George Inn.
From the first moment that Jerry joined the band a year ago, we both felt as if we had been welcomed into an extended family of band members, friends and fans. We couldn’t believe that such a lovely group of people could exist.
The evening kicked off with a surprise from my good friends Hobos Morris. I had a message from Sue to say that “you may be getting a few more Hobos there than you bargained for....” Little did I know that they would turn up in costume with the band and put on such a wonderful performance! Even Charlie couldn’t resist joining in on one of the dances!
As Jerry said, the money raised will be put to the best use – we want to rent somewhere closer to Dorchester. We desperately need a house with central heating and in a better condition than the quirky little cottage that we inhabit at the moment. Although in an idyllic location, last winter we had to put up with sharing our home with mice, damp walls and ice on the inside of the windows. We were also cut off for over a week when it snowed heavily in December. We have found somewhere we like and pending reference checks, we hope to move in at the end of August. What you did for us on Friday night has made this a possibility rather than a whimsical dream.
There were so many involved in helping to make it such a special night for us, and I am sure to miss people out. I would like to thank Liz Windett and Charlie’s sister Georgie for looking after me at various times in the last few months, Ronnie and her helpers on the door doing such sterling work selling raffle tickets, Sarah for putting Jerry and myself up in her house, all the Hobos team for coming along on the night and their messages of support, fans that travelled from far and wide (Wales, London, Scotland, Bath), Tony and Angela, Ronnie and Sal and Steve, Sheila and Kev, all of Charlie’s friends locally in Christchurch, the person who paid for my trip on the minibus to the gig, Jerry’s aunt and uncle for making the trip down from Oxfordshire to see us (they are now firm fans of the band!), the Olde George for allowing the band to use the room... I’m sorry if I have missed you out of this long list, but I thank each and every one of you that contributed to one the best evenings I have had in a long, long time.
Finally, I would personally like to thank the lovely Charlie, Alan, Malcolm and Keith for all their support and for being such a brilliant band. Together, they spread a lot of happiness around through performing their wonderful music. In this world that is quite an achievement. They certainly are very special people. Jerry has had a fantastic year with State of Undress and he has loved every minute of every gig. On Friday, I thought that the whole band played exceptionally well and the response from the audience was out of this world. It has given my spirits a huge lift and made me feel even more determined to fight for better health.
Diane

Jerry's Gig!Friday 29th July - Result!!

Hello wondrous people! You raised an incredible £1001.52!!
What can we say? What an amazing night. The atmosphere was electric and you are all just the best audience any band could have! Thank you so much for your support of this special event, many of you travelling a great distance to be part of it. We loved every moment of playing for you.
We have so many people to thank, we're not quite sure where to start but we'll have a go:
First of all - a big thank you to Ian of Ye Olde George Inn for the use of his lovely courtyard room and to his team for looking after us all so well.
To the fabulous Hobos Morris side for the fun start to the evening - what a great surprise for Diane!
To all those who so generously donated raffle prizes:
Alan Cackett, of Maverick Magazine; Sean McGhee of R2 Rock n Reel; Sarah Meaden of Angelic Jewellery; Julian Hubbock of the Great Dorset Steam Fair; Julie Hearn author of Follow Me Down; Show of Hands; Liz Windett; Gary Theobold of The Regent Centre; Ian of YOGI; Adrian Collis of Thoroughbred Music and Billy Bragg.
To our dear friend Ronni who was on ticket and raffle prize duty all night so hardly saw the gig at all. (But she did party til 4 in the morning so she made up for it afterwards!)
To all those who were unable to come to the gig but who sent us donations and who were there with us in spirit.
Finally, last but never, ever least - you, our audience, for giving us the best night ever!
We hope we'll see you soon.
Warmest Dorset wishes to each and every one of you.
Charlie, Alan, Jerry, Malcolm and Keith xxxxx
State of Undress

Jerry's Gig: Friday 29th July

We are organising our most special, most personal gig ever.
It's on Friday 29th July at Ye Olde George Inn in Christchurch starting at 8.00pm. Tickets are £6.00.
You need to book your tickets in advance by phone (07971 472768; 01425 277462; 07988 622398) or email.
Here's why...
Our wonderful fiddle player, Jerry, and his wife, Diane, need all our support. Diane is really unwell at the moment and is doing battle with the Big C. This is a really recent development only diagnosed in the last few weeks so it has come as a bit of a shock to everyone. So, we thought we really needed to do something practical to help. As anyone knows who has had any dealings at all with this ****** of a disease, it's a long old haul and involves lots of trips to hospital and extra things at home. Lots of additional expense.
We are doing a gig to raise money for them. This is not a 'charity' event - it's not for MacMillan or Cancer Research. This is to help Jerry and Diane. Jerry will be playing. And we are going to have the best night ever whilst doing it!
Ian, Landlord of YOGI (Ye Olde George Inn) in Christchurch has offered us the use of his lovely Courtyard Room. YOGI is one of the oldest pubs in Christchurch. It serves Piddle Real Ale and great food too. The Courtyard Room holds 75. We played there in May for their Beer and Music Festival and had a great time. It'll be a tight squeeze - but, hey, that's how we like it!
If you can't come to the gig but would like to help anyway, then you can send the price of a ticket (or whatever you want) by cheque payable to Rosebud Music and send it to:
Jerry's Gig, State of Undress, 7 Solent Road, Walkford, Christchurch, Dorset, BH23 5PZ
We'll keep you all posted about this very special gig. In the meantime, we ask you for the power of positive thought!

Live Recording

We are working with Eric Montague of Netfora TV on a DVD of behind-the-scenes footage of the recording of our new album...

Christmas Show

Eric filmed The Hangman's Daughter at our Christmas Show...

Fantastic Fundraiser

The fundraising gig we did on Friday 11th March at The Bridge Inn, Woolston for Cancer and Leukhaemia Research raised a whopping £900+. Big congratulations to Sue and all her helpers for organising such a great night!

Studio Time!

We are back in the studio recording our Christmas single 'The Legend of Christmas Eve' and, by popular request, 'The Hangman's Daughter'. Both of these will be available to purchase at gigs and on-line very soon. We are also working on and recording material for a new album (Hangman's Daughter is a taster!) which will be out in time for Easter. Keep checking the website for updates.

Song for a Boy

We were proud and touched that our song 'Song for a Boy' was included on the playlist for Women of Substance Radio for their special themed show at the beginning of September.

Sad Tidings, Glad Tidings

We are very sad to tell you that our lovely fiddler, Samantha Jane, has moved on to pastures new. We had a fantastic 4½ years playing with her in the band and she made an amazing contribution to our progress. There were many adventures, heaps of fun, loads of laughter and much music making. We shall miss her greatly but send her on her new journey with much love. The wonderful Jerry Bird has joined us. Jerry plays some very fine fiddle as well as guitar, mandolin and banjo. He is a highly-respected figure on the roots circuit so we are delighted that he has chosen to join us.

World Cup Anthem

Our World Cup Song 'This Time!' made it to the Semi Final on Steve Power's Breakfast Show on Wave 105. Many thanks for voting for us.

We had a fabulous time recording and making the music video of our World Cup Anthem. There's a great write-up about it in The Daily Echo April 5th edition 'It's our World Cup Anthem - by Christchurch band State of Undress'.

. . . more . . .

Morning Glory

Our beautiful song 'Morning Glory' is being used every Saturday at 5.00am to introduce the programme of the same name on BBC Radio Bristol and Somerset.

Livin' it, Lovin' it!

Our new mini-album 'Livin' it, Lovin' it!' is now available. Seven great tracks including our singles produced by Grant Showbiz (Billy Bragg's long time producer) 'One More Shot (of you boy)' and 'Red Waters' plus four new tracks and our version of the traditional Raggle Taggle Gypsy.