Live the Music

Somethin' Too, by The Normantones could be a tale of love and loss at first glance but it is more important than the love between two people. This song is about how you can look beyond this and believe in yourself. The something we can all be is true to ourselves and our dreams. 

Life is never straightforward but as it says in the song:

 "Learn from the river, it's wise

If you can't go one way, it finds another"

This does not mean we should ever give up on finding love again in the future, just start with not giving up on yourself and then the future, well, who knows!

Midwife Pam, by The Normantones contains direct references to each of their two younger sisters, Pamela and Tracey. The two of them work in the midwifery and teaching professions respectively. In releasing a piece of work that, on the face of it, salutes the contributions of Pam “…doing all she can for the mite in the scan” and Tracey (“…where would be without teacher Tracey’s ABC?”), it is a much broader tribute to all those, in whatever job or profession, who work to provide our essential public services. In upholding our individual and collective wellbeing and prosperity, they really do, as the lyrics suggest “put the great into Great Britain” and are “one of our nation’s best creations”. Thank you to Pam and Tracey and to you all. We love you!

Back In Your Arms Again started life in Anthony's head as a melody that had a verse and chorus, the key words back in your arms again and little else. What happened next lies at the heart of most of The Normantones compositions. After sharing this with Tony during one of many sessions the collaborative spirit kicked in and Tony took it away and crafted the words. We both love Motown music and this track was our homage to this. This track was originally released in 2023 as part of the album, REVIVER. It has proved to be one of the most listened to tracks from the album and this combined with another twist where Tony was sharing our music with his friends in France and that is how Dan Tes Bras Encore was created with the help of our guest vocalist Didier Martin. Both the English and French versions are now available and we hope you enjoy both.

And the sunlight clasps the earth,

And the moonbeams kiss the sea;-

What are all these kissings worth,

If thou kiss not me? 

-Shelley-

Overtures tells the story of Natalie who has recently been through a break-up, and her new suitor who is acutely aware of this. His concern for her, and his hopes for their future together are ‘front and centre’ in the song, but they are tempered by a lyrical wariness of the dangers posed by a precipitous entry into a rebound relationship: “Just recently you’ve split with him, so you might not accept my overtures…”. He’s afraid that if he reveals his true feelings for her, she might “simply head straight for the door”, and so he opts for forbearance and understanding. When asked about the song, Tony explained “I’m recounting the feelings of one who is afraid of what might turn out to be an opportunistic ricochet into a new and ill-fated relationship, so he relies magnanimously on the hope that there will come a day when his feelings are reciprocated. It’s a demonstration of how, sometimes in life and in a relationship, discretion is the better part of valour!”. 

The production of Overtures saw The Normantones work closely in tandem. Anthony recalls that “The instrumentation comprises Tony on piano and guitars, with my scoring of the orchestration. Our best songs come about when we work in a concerted and complementary way, so Overtures is another piece that we’re especially proud of”. 

Clichés is about the complexities of  relationships and uses well worn phrases to capture the aspects that most go through. The sound is a departure from the more recent acoustic offerings with synth sounds from the 1980's. The Normantones are firm believers in "what goes around, always comes around". Don't be too quick to judge this offering by its cover.

“There is no instinct like that of the heart”. So said Byron, and The Normantones’ latest offering “No Way! tells the story of an incipient relationship within which all the early signs and omens are good and both parties, who have become lovers, instinctively feel that they may have found their soulmate. Indeed, their instincts are such that there is literally “No Way” that either party wants to give up on it. 

With No Way!, The Normantones are re-visiting their acoustic ‘unplugged’ roots. Acoustic guitars were their first instruments, bought for them by their parents, and it is this fingerpicked instrument that fronts No Way! The sound of crickets, recorded in Normandy, open the song and set the nocturnal scene in which the protagonists have begun their courtship. At the conclusion of the song, one is left wondering about their fate and hoping that it is not all “the final act in some sad play”. We again hear the sound of crickets telling us that a day has elapsed, and that the twosome are on the threshold of another night. Whatever the future holds, there is the all-pervading sense that each will cherish the night that brought them together and that they might always feel that:

There was a time, I need not name,

Since it will ne’er forgotten be,

When all our feelings were the same,

As still my soul hath been to thee…

-Byron-

The origins of this song date back many years to a warm summer day where I once lived and reflected on how we need to take time and make time for each other. 

Whilst the language in the song is singular it is an amalgamation of a number of  stories that hopefully mean something to you when you hear it and as such  will relate to all types of relationships.

Prisoner is a somewhat dark and disconcerting tale of not only feeling love for someone, but of also feeling incarcerated by it. The song’s protagonist is all too aware that whilst the object of his affection is someone he desperately wants to be with and feels has totally captured his imagination and affection in an apparently irreversible way, there is the fear that his love may not be reciprocated (“For you to feel the same way, that’s what I need”/“ Will you play prisoner to me?”). It is a love reminiscent of that between Emily Bronte’s Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff. It is a deep and passionate connection that transcends, and may even give offence to, societal norms. The listener is intentionally made to feel ill-at-ease and left questioning, in their own mind, what makes for a healthy, loving relationship, because the one in Prisoner is likely to lead to sleepless nights or as Bronte herself put it, “unquiet slumbers”.

REVIVER - The debut album from The Normantones, and as the name suggests, the album contains some  tracks that have been "revived" in so many ways. A mix of old tracks recorded on a four track cassette recorder in the 1980's seamlessly blended with some new material penned once the two members of The Normantones were reunited as a group nearly 40 years later! We hope you enjoy this album as much as we enjoyed making it.

Sunday School Sally was one of the singles released by The Normantones in 2023 and is the opening track on the album. Read more about the song in the 2023 Singles section.

This track is what this album, REVIVER, is all about, a track written , recorded and performed live back in the 1980's. It tells the story of the ups and downs of fame, "Superstars you once were called, people came they cheered adored" is definitely the upside. Aside from some very minor "tweaks" this recording is the one that was done all those years ago on some basic equipment in comparison to today. One thing that shines through on this  track is the energy and youthful enthusiasm that created this song.

Another single release in 2023 that made the album. Read more about this single in the 2023 Singles section.

A hymn of praise and acknowledgement sung by someone who realises that the love they receive from their partner is as indispensable as the light and warmth of the sun. When it isn’t forthcoming, life feels desolate. Anyone who has ever been in love can identify with this Normantones offering.

The lyrics tell of a Mister Jones who has “poverty imposed” and is “imprisoned by his mediocrity”. Although the song was penned way back in the early 80s, the problem of pensioner poverty persists today. A 2022 government report found that the percentage of GDP spent on state pensions and pensioner benefits in the UK was 4.7%. This compares with 8% in Germany, 11.9% in France, 11% in Italy, 8.2% in Japan and 6.4% in the United States. The song is The Normantones’ musical indictment of this state of affairs. The lyric which says of Mister Jones that he “would laugh out loud” but maybe “laughed too loud”, is a comment upon the often all too accepting “mustn’t grumble” attitude that often typifies the British response to hardship.

Inspired by Walter Scott’s seminal novel of the same name. The subject matter of the song is one of the book’s beautiful and captivating subplots, namely the love triangle of Ivanhoe, Rowena and Rebecca. The guitar solo endeavours to capture the emotions of the lachrymose Rebecca at the end of the story, who has to accept that she has lost her beloved Ivanhoe to her Saxon rival, Rowena. Oh, Ivanhoe! Are you sure you married the right person?!

The Normantones share their exasperation at our post-truth political predicament and the ease with which too many people fall for, and unthinkingly accept, the disinformation, propaganda and falsehoods that are peddled by parts of the media and on social media. The result: unvarying, predictable views that are driven more by emotion than objective fact. Orwellian or what?!

Another single release in 2023 that made the album. Read more about this single in the 2023 Singles section.

The Normantones recount the story of a soldier trying to make sense of their service and their sacrifice. “As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular”, so said Oscar Wilde. This is a song about the pity of war, its fascination and its vulgarity. 

The Normantones have produced a ballad, sung as a duet, that details a romance that is going so well, it is literally child’s play. In Hamlet, Shakespeare wrote that “In love, the littlest doubts are fear” and this fear is manifested in the misgivings voiced in the song about whether the love will last: “Will it be the same tomorrow?”… 

The Normantones are telling this story from the perspective of one who knows that their partner’s wanderlust and errant heart spell the end of their love. The feeling that the grass is greener on the other side is prompting their erstwhile partner to “follow the sun”…