WILLIAM LOVEDAY INTENTION - Paralysed By The Mountains LP

"Probably the most prolific artist in the country, the body of work is an education and an inspiration says Ged Babey, whose whole taste in music has been dramatically affected by the Loveday releases.

The William Loveday Intention have brought me more pleasure and comfort (and a few tears) than any other band or artist over the past two years… I cannot go a day without listening to them. They are a constant. They are my daily bread. My north, my south, my east, my west…

Yes, I have followed and enjoyed Billy Childish and his previous bands for some years, but this time somehow it was different. It has become an obsession. But a rewarding one.

Billy found Bob and has emulated his style: ‘neither homage nor parody’ he said in a recent interview, but also an obsession and one that took him to the soul of the songs.

I never liked Bob Dylan before….couldn’t understand why he was so lauded. Didn’t like his voice, but hadn’t really listened…

I never really understood ‘the blues’ previously…. the proper, original stuff… Childish had recorded some lo-fi blues way back, but it did nothing for me.

The violin and the harmonica were not instruments I held in high esteem…

This has all changed.

My starting point with music has always been punk rock. Billy Childish has taught me that punk is not the only music that is life-affirming and important. (I did kinda know this before, but he brought it into sharper focus maybe…)

Thanks to the William Loveday Intention I now know that there has always been music which speaks volumes to us about life, our circumstances and our dreams… music which is like literature, cinema and prayer in concise form.

A long time ago I discovered this quote from Penny Rimbaud from Crass who said the same kind of thing;

PUNK WAS A STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICITY THAT COULDN’T BE ADOPTED AS THE FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH. LIKE THE BLUES, PUNK WAS THE PEOPLE’S MUSIC, MADE FOR THE PEOPLE BY THE PEOPLE. …LIKE JAZZ, PUNK WAS AN EXPRESSION OF SOUL, ONE PERSON’S SENSE OF LIFE TO CONFIRM ANOTHER’S … LIKE ALL TRUE POETRY, PUNK PLUGGED INTO TO THE RHYTHM OF LIFE, THE HEARTBEAT OF DESIRE TRANSPOSED INTO THE DREAMS OF A GENERATION.