Blog: Johnny Domino VS Doctor Doom

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I have previously mentioned my great joy in listening to This Are Johnny Domino, a DELIGHTFUL podcast featuring Mr G and Mr S Woodword AKA Giles and Steve from ace band Johnny Domino.

It follows the traditional format of Two Blokes Talking To Each Other, but what makes it GRATE for me is that they're theoretically talking about the songs they recorded together as the aforementioned band, who were very much affiliated to Artists Against Success. Not only did AAS release some of their records but me and The Validators regularly GIGGED with them too, notably on the "Players with Words" TOUR to plug their album Players and our album Say It With Words. Good times abounded and so it is always nice to hear them talk about their AMAZING songs, and also to hear them wander off into other topics, often about other people we both know and what they're doing too.

Even if you DON'T know the ins and outs of The Derby Scene at the turn of the century though, it's also good for the THORTS and the occasional forays into NEW STUFF of various types that they venture into. In the current episode, for instance, they go through a whole BATCH of new stuff to listen to, and also talk about my recent "single" Like Batman But Better.

I say "single" because although technically it IS one, available on all your modern streaming services, it's more of a PUBLICITY TOOL to try and promote the current run of gigs. I hadn't really thought of it as something that you'd want to LISTEN to in and of itself, so it was a bit of a surprise to hear it spoken of as such. INDEED, if you listen to the show, you will find that Giles and especially Steve are a little surprised by it too, considering it to be full of FACTS and more like a lecture - which, in a very real way, it IS!

When I've done these MUSICAL EXTRAVAGANZAS in the past there's usually been a song or two I've been able to EXTRACT for wider use - We Did It Anyway being a prime example, first appearing in Moon Horse VS The Mars Men Of Jupiter, getting re-used in Hey Hey 16K then released with The Validators on Still Valid and played at gigs to this very day. It's lovely when that happens, but the very nature of this show, with its many FACTS, means I've always known it was unlikely to happen this time. I did TRY playing the song at a gig once, at the King's Lock back in February, but it didn't really work on its own to people who may or may not have opinions about Batman, let alone Doctor Doom.

It was lovely of them to play it, and as I say I HIGHLY recommend Liking and also Subscribing to their show, but it did remind me that I need to get on with making some STANDALONE HITS once this is all wrapped up!

posted 2/11/2025 by MJ Hibbett

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