Leisure Noise - Gay Dad

Back in 1999, Cliff Jones and Gay Dad had been hyped as the next big thing to hit Britain's charts. Although the rockin' single 'To Earth With Love' reached the top 10, the other singles didn't fair as well. That really doesn't matter though, because Gay Dad created one of the best, and most under- rated albums of 1999. The single 'Joy' is an absolute gem of a song, with it's soulful lyrics, powerful guitars and big fat drums. 'Oh Jim' is a slower, more thoughtful song, but still bloody ace! The beautiful, ambient songs 'Black Ghost' and 'My Son Mystic' are some of the album's highlights, as they ...  Read the complete review

Whatever happened to Gay Dad, eh? The biggest Brit hype of '99 suddenly just dissapeared as soon as they'd made impact. "The new Oasis!" said the press to some effect. I just dug out their 'Leisure Noise' album again today and enjoyed it. The huge amount of hype on the band's inception no doubt earned the band some valuable PR brownie points, but if you haven't the goods to satisfy the demand then you're in big trouble, and that's what it seems killed Gay Dad. Frontman Cliff Jones is also the master of speaking waffle that sounds good in that rock star way, and the ladies love him. Their debut however is actually rather ...  Read the complete review

I didn't expect to like Gay Dad's "Leisure notes" at all at first, but it's turned out to be one of my favourite albums from 1999. When I first played it, the first things I thought were "wow, back to the 70s?" as there are so many influences from that time. Whether it's Alice Cooper, T. Rex - and don't just mean musical references, there are snatches of their lyrics too ("school's out", "let's get it on" - you don't have to be a 70s addict to spot them) - or Cheap Trick, Supertramp, Eagles? I hear them all in there somewhere. I don't think that Gay Dad are just trying a Pop Quiz ...  Read the complete review