RIP Simon Finch
Simon Finch (front) pictured with The Machine.
It’s so sad to report the passing of guitarist Simon Finch, best known for being a member of the Coventry based band The Machine, who became Hot Snax.
Refer to these bands as just some local units if you dare, because these musicians help to galvanise local music in the area in the 1980s.
Never taking themselves too seriously, they nevertheless created some stunningly original sounds.
Simon was the guy with his stylish guitar licks. While other members were showing their more extrovert side on stage, it was Simon, the musician’s musician, that held it all together. The band also included former Specials drummer Silverton Hutchinson, Julian Bell, Jackie, Mike Collins and the legendary Doc Mustard.
The Machine’s finest moment came when they featured on the ‘Sent From Coventry’ Compilation album with the song Character Change. The album helped to demonstrate to people outside of Coventry that there was more musically happening in the city that just Ska music. The track resurfaced on to the ‘Staring at The Rude Boys’ CD in 2021.
By 1982 they had rebranded to become Hot Snax. The Snax was always a learning experience, and I don’t recall them ever playing to an empty room. They even secured a support slot with Bad Manners and came second in a Mercia Sound Music Competition.
It looked for a while like they would be the next big thing to emerge from the city, but fate had other ideas, and depressingly the band left the scene with a whimper rather than a bang. Simon went on to play with various local bands including O Pablos, Pigs in Aspic and The Roaches, they played at The Stoker, General Wolf and many other pubs in Coventry.
Peggy, Simon’s wife, said: “Simon died at UHCW on February 9 of heart failure. We knew each other since 1993 teaching at Henley College and we were both Union reps. Time went by and we met in early 2007, both of us single then and married December 22, 2007.
“I miss him so much.”
Change by Guy Surtee
The cover of Guy Surtee’s Change, which blends his sound with a fresh, country-inspired twist.
Riding high on the waves of an extraordinary 2024, which saw the release of the critically hailed single Thirty Minute Star and the chart-topping iTunes number one album Long Time Coming – not to mention a whirlwind of 12 electrifying festival performances and a 12-date US tour – Guy is back to captivate hearts again. This time, he’s blending his sound with a fresh, country-inspired twist.
The first gem of this new chapter is Change, a brilliantly crafted ode to the idea that love doesn’t demand altering who someone is at their core. Instead, it gently reshapes their world, by changing their address and their last name, in a heartfelt nod to the timeless tradition of marriage and building a life together. It’s an old-fashioned sentiment wrapped in tender wit, yet brimming with a resonance that reminds us of what truly matters for humanity’s future.
Abz – Tired of You
Abz Winter.
As a local music journalist, it’s easy to get excited when another single is dropped from the power princess Abz Winter.
In a parallel universe somewhere, I’m sure she has reached the status of say Rihanna or Dua Lipa. Her powerful energised vocals and superbly written and produced songs make you wonder why Abz isn’t a household name.
So maybe this will be the song that breaks her. Entitled Tired of You, it’s another blockbuster of a tune.
Abz knows well how construct her power pop epics and, as before, it builds to a high energy chorus that, as far as I’m concerned, is as good if not better that what’s being offered nationally and internationally right now.
Abz herself describes the pop/rock genre song written about the Pick Me Girl: “This is a fresh, exciting tune with punchy drums, rock guitars, and upbeat, bouncy hooks celebrating youthfulness but keeping the humour of life.
“It has an honest youthful approach to friendships.”
Peeping Tom Issue 8
Look out for edition eight of Coventry’s most existential fanzine, full coloured and glossy and packed with mind boggling poetry and graphics that will entertain and frustrate you in equal measures. The whole thing is glorious, as you search for the reason why this is a thing.
This issue will enthral you with its German poetry and its pages of grisly verse. There’s a page dedicated to bikes, and another to matches.
Fancy a poem about Coventry’s ring road? Then this is the publication for you. There are newts and frogs and a page dedicated to nonsensical song titles, including one of my favourite tracks Beedle Um Bum by the Armpit Jug Band.
Don’t miss out – get your copy now.
Reaper Records
Look out for another local record shop, this one located in Stockingford Nuneaton which is, as they say, ‘Bringing Vinyl Back From The Dead’.
So far all who have visited have been mightily impressed.
I personally love it when a new record shop opens, all power to you guys.
Contact Reaper Records on 07402 517716.
