Jellybean Confessional / Wheels

Lucky Jim, real name Gordon Grahame, releases the startling “Jellybean Confessional” & “Wheels” on Ho Hum Records on 31st May 2010.
Having fronted “The Lost Soul Band” in Scotland, Gordon travelled Europe and lived in New York prior to settling back in the UK and starting the solo artist project that would become Lucky Jim; a name born out of a series of lucky incidents in Gordon’s recording career, rather than from the Kingsley Amis book.
Following a performance at a Ho Hum live event, Ho Hum Records couldn’t wait to record and produce a single with Gordon, who has found fame of late when his track “You’re Lovely To Me” was used in the Kingsmill Bread TV advertising campaign. The song shot to number one in the UK folk charts and the album it appears on, “Our Troubles End Tonight” is rarely out of the top five of the German folk charts, three years since it’s release on SKINT Records.
On this, Gordon’s debut Ho Hum release, Lucky Jim fires two slices of accomplished song writing, his years of working the circuits realised. Featuring the drums of Ian Thomas (Eric Clapton, Yusuf Islam) ‘Jellybean’ delivers a ballad driven by the paranoia of a man searching for answers in love. The heightened intensity is compounded by the Ho Hum production that allows little ease with pounding Wurlitzer, strings and psychedelic electric guitar. Sometimes feeling like the Beatles, this is a classic cut.
Backing up ‘Jellybean’ is the stripped down folk song “Wheels” which sees Gordon plying his guitar and vocal style with the consummate ease of a man who has extreme comfort when playing music the traditional way.
“Wheels” was recorded in a live mock up setting at The Slaughtered Lamb in London, where Ho Hum also filmed a promo video that can be viewed at Youtube or downloaded from Ho Hum Records directly (podcast 005P). It was felt that a live recording would increase the performance from Gordon, clearly a good idea as this is a wonderful recording which would fit aside any Johnny Cash record.
Whilst folk may be a new buzzword in the industry, you cannot buy experience and expert craft, both of which are at Lucky Jim’s table. Join in the feast.