Billy Ruffian - My Secret Life

Our review
Customer reviews
Press release

4...according to our Maggie on Fri 15 Jun, 2007.

Again on Filthy Little Angels we have a full album from Billy Ruffian with My Secret Life. Driven music with biting Mancunian vocals from the Mark E Smith camp. Repetitive distorted guitars and wailing trumpet hides a band with a keen ear for a tune. That Billy he's a right Ruffian. Lots of attitude. (Half Man Half Biscuit says Ming).

Billy Ruffian met over house doubles and potent cocktails in a series of city centre dives, and their continuing existence can be compared to dancing on the deck of the Titanic. In their short, tempestuous, history, they have stumbled to the edge of oblivion and back, leaving former members and shell-shocked crowds trailing in their wake. The meeting of frontman Stephen Ruffian's arch lyricism, Thom Cuell's dandy pretentions, Steve Needlestone’s wailing trumpet, a clattering drum machine and Ben Paul's lo-fi sensibilities make the Ruffian a unique melting-pot of sound: Manchester's only truly exciting new band. ??Billy Ruffian's lyrical concerns centre around mythology, demonic possession, lost love and the banality of 'everyday life'; these idiosyncratic themes, melded with proper pop hooks and killer choruses, persuaded us to take a chance on the band, first including their debut single 'Death of a Band' on the Christmas compilation 'Hark the Filthy Angels Sing', and then commissioning a full album, due for release at the end of May ??The band members are already infamous throughout Manchester; Stephen Ruffian's former band, Dead Men Win Fights, won the approval of Fall frontman Mark E Smith and the interest of record labels alike an unusual combination! Bassist Ben Paul writes for arts and fashion magazines and regularly terrorises Northern Quarter audiences with his electro-jazz side project. Thom Cuell has DJed at seminal club nights such as TVOD, Killing Fantasy and Wrong!, alongside the likes of Johnny Slut. ??After tearing up venues such as Manchester’s Academy 2, the View 2 Gallery in Liverpool, and Art Brut's squat party in Peckham, the band have made waves in their own right, being described as 'the best new band in Manchester' by Club F*ck, and 'my new favourite band', by Ellie Lockwood, Fuse FM’s Monday night presenter. ??Billy Ruffian hope that their songs will keep them out of the workhouse. Let’s all drink to that. ??HERE’S WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAID ?"Like Lou Reed fronting The Fall. Manchester dandies with dishevelled poetic'n'roll garage sounds, drum machines and eyeliner." Heart Beats ?"Lyrical genius over a solid wall of music. Billy Ruffian will be at the front of the ever-growing wave of Anti-Scene Bands"
Chris Chinchilla - ex-Art Brut ?"the same brilliantly wry black humour as Half Man Half Biscuit. They are one of those bands where you want to hear every word because there is actually something there worth listening to...worth watching too. in short, just the sort of kick up the arse music needs right now." Manchestermusic.co.uk ?"Quite simply the best new band in Manchester! I heard The Longcut. Shite. I've seen Nine Black Alps. Bored me. But this lot are simply amazing. Think of Suede and The Fall fighting against each other. And frontman Stephen is a true eccentric, not just a twat with scarf like the Mystery Jets” Club F*ck Promoter ?"Sounding like The Fall, Blur and The Only Ones being roughed up in a broken lift is a good start, and having a frontman like Stephen Bray definitely lifts them above the ordinary " Sandman Magazine ?"Let's hope that they conquer! Billy Ruffian are my new favourite band." Ellie Lockwood, Fuse FM ?"Billy Ruffian sound like the Fall, produced by Phil Spector at gunpoint. Brilliant." Fight This

5...according to Thom.

I first met Billy in a park in Wycombe. It was the summer of 91. LL Cool J was in the charts, and John Major had just passed the Dangerous Dogs Act. The real dog was Billy, had I but known.

The first thing I noticed about him was his eyes, and the fact that he was wearing an old Mac with his penis exposed. I was crying because I had just got my GCSE results. I was lonely, and needed a shoulder to cry on, so we struck up a conversation.

We had so much in common, despite the age gap, and that evening he took me for a romantic dinner for two at the Happy Eater. It was all so perfect. I thought, “I hope this night never ends.” He seemed so different from boys my own age, with his Community Service order, and his knowledge of moths. He swept me off my feet. But when the bill arrived he climbed out of the window and ran off without paying.

I still loved him, though, and I stood by him even when he was charged under the Sexual Offences Act. I always forgave him. I was always there for him. He later left me for some boss-eyed tart from Maidenhead, because of their shared interest in moths.

That is how he repays people who care about him. He doesn’t love me, he doesn’t love her, he doesn’t love anyone. ALL HE CARES ABOUT IS MOTHS!

So, what do you think? Best reviewer each month gets £10 off their next order!