FAQ 1

1. So what on earth was this blog all about, then?

"Left and to the Back" was a blog exploring the dark and dusty world of flop singles and albums, the kind you may find lingering near the stock room of your local second hand record store (if you still have one), or perhaps going for extortionate sums on ebay.

It is, however, no more (as you can doubtless gather). It sits online in a mothballed state and will not be updated again. My current project is "Everybody's Number One To Someone", a blog focusing on all the NME indie chart number ones from 1981 onwards. If you liked it here, I hope you'll enjoy it over there too. Sorry, but everyone is entitled to change the subject at least once in 16 years. 

2. Why did you stop writing it? Can't you bring it back?

Believe it or not, I have been asked this one, so it does belong on the FAQ. It's a lovely question and I wasn't expecting to be asked after I downed tools. There are so many reasons, but most of them are covered in the final blog post. Sixteen years is a very long time to keep on doing the same thing - for one thing you start to get tired of it, and for another it can rapidly become less relevant to the outside world too. The internet has changed enormously since "Left and to the Back" launched (it was always a bit of a Johnny-Come-Lately mp3 blog anyway - it launched in 2008 a couple of years after the hipsters had more-or-less got tired of the concept and moved on to podcasts or online radio sites). 

As for bringing it back - your only hope is that a wealthy benefactor might offer me a generous monthly wage to relaunch it, which is slightly less likely to happen than a massive lottery win. If I had any doubts about whether I wanted to continue with this or not, I'd have taken an extended break to think about it rather than posted up a "goodbye" message. 

3. Did you write all the content yourself?

Yes - there was no "us", there was only ever me. It also generated no revenue (in fact, this blog actually lost money on cloud server costs for the mp3s) so please do bear that in mind if you're considering leaving an impolite comment. I'm OK with people asking for favours or posting corrections so long as they're polite. Rude, snappy requests get ignored.

If you see identical content anywhere else, there's only one explanation - I've been plagiarised. Seriously. This has happened in the past, and I'd be really grateful if you brought these incidents to my attention.

4. Why can't I access any of the download files I'm being pointed towards?

Well... because this blog is dead and almost all of them have been deleted now! Keeping a huge cloud subscription going purely for the benefit of a mothballed website seemed like an unnecessary financial indulgence in these difficult times (and my wife agreed). 

A threadbare number of mp3s have been kept live because, for boring reasons I can't be bothered to delve into, I deem them to be low maintenance. If you're lucky enough to encounter any of them and want to download them, move the pointer over the three dots next to the filename and click, then click on "download" on the right hand side (Don't click on "Log in" or "Sign Up" - that's irrelevant).  Hey presto... the mp3 is yours.  If this doesn't work, then check the security settings of the web-browser you're currently using - in most cases so far where someone has reported a problem, this has been the cause.

Sometimes Box might kick back an error message because far too many people have tried to download a file this month. Not much I can do about that without getting the credit card out, I'm afraid. 

(Actually, I can't preview the tracks, and that's damn annoying! Also, why am I being asked to drag a cloud - actually a tiny dot - into another cloud which is pixel sized? Are you some kind of sadist?)

There are three possible issues I'm personally aware of here:

• One file previews but the other one doesn't. The solution to this is really simple - just refresh the page and give it another chance to load. This applies to loading glitches on any site, not just my own. 
• The previews just don't work at all. This is almost always down to the individual's personal security settings. If you're using a Mac with Safari, enabling cookie blocking means my site (and others) can't work properly - go to this link to put that right. I'm afraid I'm not an IT expert, so I can't give a solution to every single configuration of every shiny new or decrepit old steam-powered laptop there is, but please do look at your settings and check your security settings aren't ramped up to the maximum. 
• If you're suffering from the freakish "tiny cloud problem" something else may be going on here (but suffice to say, I'm not a sadist and you shouldn't need to play such an odd game just to hear some music). According to the IT team at Box, other personal configurations may be standing in your way, and I quote directly from the steps they've sent over to me here:
• Make sure your browser's up to date. 
• Clear your browser's cache and cookies, here are the steps. 
• Check if your firewall is configured. 
• Disable any plugins/add-ons/extensions. 

5. Sure, I get it, the blog is dead. But reupload the thing I'm desperate to own, please? It's only one thing I'm asking for.

If you're really, truly desperate to own some audio, and its genuinely not already on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music or any of the other places you might be likely to find it (and you're absolutely sure about that, I'm often asked when there's no need) drop me an email and I'll either try to help or put you in touch with someone I think can - but I won't be undertaking any further maintenance work on this site. Sorry. 

6.  How can I get hold of you to talk about my band/ point out a mistake/ offer you some work?

Your best bet is to drop me an email. Messages from bands or artists whose identities or whereabouts I've been trying to uncover for years are still very much welcome! 

7. The blog didn't have much focus.  Novelty pop, cult indie, sixties psychedelia, easy listening... why didn't you upload more of a, b or c?

Yep. The lack of focus of this blog was entirely my decision when it was launched, and may have been the most misguided approach ever in terms of finding an audience.  However, enough people regularly read this for me to think that it probably wasn't a complete mistake. Record collectors, and 45 collectors in particular, are fascinated by music from all kinds of genres.

The philosophy behind the blog was quite simple - interesting recorded music has been falling by the wayside or otherwise forgotten about since the dawn of the music industry.  To argue that the sixties was the only era where "nuggets" of pop goodness were washed down the backpipe is a bit misguided.  The weekly release schedules have always been saturated to the point where at least a few records worthy of attention have slipped away unnoticed, and to my ears, whilst Animals That Swim may sound completely different to The Eyes, both have brilliance in common.

8. What is it with all the novelty records?  

I find a lot of novelty records amusing, or find them to be curios which highlight certain passing crazes which dominated for a brief period of time, only to be discarded or forgotten.  The "Novelty" compilation blog entry contains a longer explanation of why I find these singles fascinating.  Also, I refer the honourable gentleman to the last answer I gave.

9. What is the title "Left and to the Back" referring to?  I have a theory...

And you may be wrong.  In the Australian comedy show "John Safran's Music Jamboree", the opening sequence always involved somebody entering Safran's record store and asking if he had some oddment or other - examples included New Kids on the Block singles from when they repositioned themselves as gangster-rappers, and albums by Def Leppard from when their drummer had two arms.  Safran's response would always be a sneery, disinterested "Yeah... Left and to the back".  So the title of this blog refers to the dusty, messy, budget-price corner of the store where the discarded and unloved items can normally be found.

Of course, outside of Australia "John Safran's Music Jamboree" is arguably a more obscure reference point than anything actually found on this blog, so no wonder everyone got confused and started asking me about Bill Hicks. 

10.  I'd quite like to just cut and paste an entire entry of yours and put it on my blog/ my YouTube station/ my ebay sale, I hope that's OK with you?

This might surprise you, but I'm not much bothered about you replicating my work elsewhere.  However - and here's the catch - only if you credit me and link back to this blog!  Passing my work off as your own will unsurprisingly leave me feeling a bit cheated. This has only happened a few times in this blog's long history, but on no occasion did I feel chuffed.  Just tell your readers where you got the work from and link back - it's the polite thing to do.

11. I don't like this blog. I've read something I don't agree with on it. Oh, and I've found something factually incorrect you wrote in 2014 about a band who hadn't even been traced at that time. You've also called something psychedelic pop when it is CLEARLY folk rock, you idiot, any record collector would know and hear that, you have ears made of panty liners. My blog and YouTube channel is FAR better than yours and also reveals vital information about the SCAMDEMIC we had. I'm going to leave a really shitty comment. You will feel my wrath and I hope it stings for THAT is what you deserve.  

If that's the mood you're in, don't bother. Or, to add unnecessary detail - if you're one of those crazed nostalgia freaks who argues with everyone incessantly and unpleasantly and writes racist, sexist and homophobic comments under old videos on YouTube, please just don't read this blog or leave comments. Your failures in life have nothing to do with me, and I have no wish to engage you in an argument. Your comments will almost certainly be either deleted or ignored, or if you're lucky I'll send you a link to a "Women who need loving husbands and immigration visas" website.

 

12. Who are you, what else do you do, and is there anything else of yours I can read?

Very few people ever ask the last question, so it probably doesn't belong in a FAQ... but anyway, I'm a Government worker who currently lives in the West Midlands (though I was born in suburban East London and lived there until very recently). 

I'm also a qualified journalist, writer and spoken word artist, and have had short stories and poetry published in several anthologies, as well as bits of music journalism and literary journalism/ criticism in newspapers and magazines. Writing isn't my bread and butter these days, but I will still take on some commissions in my own time, so don't be afraid to contact me.