Swansea Sound is a band that came into being during lockdown and decided that fast, loud, political indiepop punk was the answer to being stuck indoors.
Hue Williams is reunited with Pooh Sticks singing partner Amelia Fletcher (ex- Talulah Gosh, Heavenly), Rob Pursey (also ex-Heavenly) and Ian Button (Wreckless Eric’s live collaborator) provide the noise (Amelia, Rob and Ian also perform in The Catenary Wires). The band has played just one gig in real life – but there will be more in 2022.
Four of the tracks of their debut album Live at the Rum Puncheon, which will be out on November 19th, have already been released as short run singles on a variety of formats. 
The Rum Puncheon, a notorious pub in Swansea, closed down decades ago.

Corporate Indie Band was cassette-only. I Sold My Soul on eBay was a one-off lathe cut 7” single that got auctioned on eBay (with a £400 winning bid). Indies of the World was a 7” single/cassette, which briefly hit the UK physical Top Ten chart, before selling out. 
Most recently, Swansea Sound was released as a limited edition cassette/mini-CD on 1st September. This was the date, exactly one year ago, when the much-treasured South Wales radio station, Swansea Sound, was re-branded by its new corporate owners and its old name became available. The song is a requiem for that lost radio station – a DJ describing his final day at work before his show is ‘rationalised’ – but it’s also a wider protest about the culturally stultifying effect of corporatisation.
 

Hue’s Mixtape:

She Drew The Gun – Behave Myself

This is new I think . Like the atttude though I’m very well behaved myself these days.

Wet Leg – Chaise Longue

Another new song which I’m pretty sure I heard Iggy playing on the radio. Can’t work out if I love it after two or three plays or it’ll drive me crazy over time. Never owned a chaise longue though a friend offered me one recently. Maybe this is a sign.

The Catenary Wires – Face On The Rail Line

Another recent tune and this is obviously Amelia and Rob who along with Ian the drummer make up Swansea Sound with me. I’ve followed their music in various bands for over thirty years now and this is one of my very favourites of theirs.

Paul Revere And The Raiders – Good Thing

I used to listen to a lot of US pop / bubblegum music from the 60s and in the Pooh Sticks we covered a few by people like Tommy James , 1910 Fruitgum Co. etc. so I loved a lot of the stuff on the last Tarantino movie which revisited the era of  the Manson / Sharon Tate murders in LA. This was used in the film.

Kim Fowley – Motorboat

After The Pooh Sticks, I managed and published a few bands. I never met Kim but he saw a band I looked after in Manchester and used to call me for hours at a time telling me how he should produce them and how to be make them grrrreat. I don’t know lots of his stuff but I played this in DJ sets and it always gets a reaction .Dancing’ with the feelin’. 

Lobo – Me and You And A Dog Named Boo

Reunion – Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me)

The band Swansea Sound is named after the radio station in the city I grew up in.
It was bought and closed down by a nasty corporation as we were putting our project together so made sense to keep the name alive. Both these songs are the kind of things I heard on it as a kid.

Live At The Rum Puncheon will be out November 19th on Skep Wax (CD / LP / Digital) and Lavender Sweep (Cassette) in the UK / Europe. HHBTM Records (CD / LP / Digital) and Austin Town Hall (Cassette) in North America. Shiny Happy Records (Cassette) in Indonesia. 
The album will not be released on streaming sites.
Look HERE for more information on Swansea Sound