Charles Connolly

Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙤𝙪𝙩 – 𝙍𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙡

Charles reeds allowed…

Do you remember when you were 20 or so? I mean, I know some of you are maybe not yet 20, and others of you might be thinking “well, of course I remember; it was only a few years ago”. But let’s face it, for most people who read these articles of mine, age 20 was a while ago. I think I can safely say that. So, DO you remember it? Do you remember the feeling? Do you remember what you were thinking? Do you remember what your big, bold plans were? Did you have plans to change the world? Were you instead rolling around on the floor in a stupor, wondering what all the fuss was about…? Maybe Plan A with a side portion of Plan B? I think a lot of us were ready and poised for great things, no? As if it was all a matter of course. That things would simply fall into place. I personally had my entire early life mapped out. I was going to break out. Not in hives, but by the age of 23 I was going to be a rockstar/popstar. Obviously. I was going to be married at the age of 27, and the rest would simply just happen. At the age of 21 I already had my music degree from a tiny music college in a cruddy part of London (which has since moved to an equally cruddy part of London), and I sort of assumed I would simply “be discovered”. HA!! My naivety was slightly astounding when I look back on it. Worryingly so. These days I am a realist to the point of pessimism. But only because the reality is not so hot. I mean, just look around. I don’t see the vibrant smiles of 1996. The carefree attitude that once ruled London. Things seemed genuinely to fall into place. Breakout was obvious and inevitable…

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙎𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙙 – 𝙆𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙠𝙞

Charles is sick of regurgitation…

You’d probably think I would be far too exhausted to write an article this week, what with having been crowned (or “coronated”, if you wish) just a few days ago. But I have commitments, and they must be fulfilled. I am not however going to be talking about my Coronation or anything to do with the extended celebration weekend. A glorious time was had by (almost) all, but we must now get back to work – if reluctantly. God Save the King!

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘽𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘿𝙖𝙮 – 𝘿𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧

Charles walks like an…

Egypt is a funny place, much like no other. Until recently, much of its famed land lay barren and dry. In fact, this land is STILL pretty desolate. Of course, Egypt is not only desert. I think many don’t realise its bustling cities and modern way of life. What do we imagine when we think of Egypt? What’s the absolute number one thing that springs to mind? Well I’ll tell you. It’s Toblerone. A stone version. Thousands of years ago the Egyptians took a bite of the delectable Western chocolate treat and loved it so much, they decided to build a huge shrine in its honour. Quite fascinating, really! I mean, just how on earth did they get their hands on a bar of Toblerone in the middle of Egypt? And wouldn’t it melt in the burning heat of the sun? The answers to these questions will forever remain unknown. There are other such peculiarities as how they built these trianguloid structures… A system of ramps, rollers and pulleys? Simply very strong men? Very strong women? And what about layers that aren’t on the “ground floor”…? They just threw them? Lobbed them up in the air and hoped for the best? These stone slabs weigh roughly 2.5 tonnes each!! For you Europeans, that’s 2,267,960 grams. I could probably just about manage the 960, if I remember to take my vitamin pills. So what’s it all for? Just for the sake of a bar of chocolate? Well, yes. And that is why Toblerone is so popular to this day. Their stone equivalent is now more famous than the chocolate bar itself, so people buy the bars to show their affection and appreciation for the gargantuan feats of engineering. Swings and roundabouts!

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘽𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙎𝙤𝙣𝙜 – 𝙍𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣

Charles celebrates 5 years of Connolly’s Corner…

Well…!! Here we are again, with another instalment of the CC machine. But this one is a little special. It’s one that I never really thought I would reach. I have been writing these things every single week for five years. Five bloody years, can you believe?! That’s the age of the New Artist Spotlight. Half a decade! You all know this as Tuesday Review Day, but for me it’s Monday. I always write these on Mondays. To me, Monday means writing day. It’s my weekly dose of creativity, where my mind goes wherever it wishes. Monday is never free, for I am busy doing this. Just this. Yes, it takes most of the day. It may seem like a half-hour dash, but it’s really not. Hence why I’m stunned to have reached this milestone. What milestone…? Well, my 250th review, of course!!! What a lotta woyds.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘽𝙐𝙍𝙉-𝙊𝙐𝙏 – 𝙅.𝙃.𝙈

Charles strikes a match and waits…

The life of an artist can be an arduous one. But then again, so can any life. Let’s focus on the artist side of things, since that’s what we all are. Artists, right? Being an artist used to mean just that. The arty type who is brilliant (or so they think) at arting, and not very much else. It was always forgiven that they could barely brush their teeth and dress themselves, because “oh, just LOOK at what they create”… Correction: artists could do these things, but would very often not bother (in the same way that they would forget to eat), because it was just not important to them. Art ran in their veins. It was their raison d’être. It plagued them. It excited them. It sedated them. Once they had created their latest masterpiece, it would be handed over to the man who knew nothing about art, but who was good at business. It was his job to advertise it and eventually flog it. There could even be a whole team involved. The artist was left to do what the artist was intended to do. Art. This way, everyone was happy and everyone stuck to what they did best. If said artist wanted to celebrate the completion of another piece by drinking himself into oblivion, then so be it. Little would suffer as a result, except maybe his liver.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘽𝙪𝙧𝙮 𝙈𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙈𝙮 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙨 – 𝙈𝙖𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙢𝙣

Charles briefly does it…

In a selfish (or kind) way, I’m going to keep this short. The reason being, at the time of writing, it is Bank Holiday Monday (at least here in England). But I didn’t want to simply not write an article this week, just for the sake of a lazy Monday. It wouldn’t be fair on the artist who would miss out on their earned praise. I know most of you – if plonked in my shoes – wouldn’t even contemplate working on a Bank Holiday Monday. But perhaps a few of you might think it their duty to carry on regardless. I’m doing the annoying thing of meeting halfway. Neither one thing nor the other. Not ignoring my duty, but not putting in everything I’ve got for most of the day.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘾𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙒𝙖𝙡𝙠 – 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙤 𝙃𝙞𝙡𝙡

Charles welcomes you to Ruby Tuesday…

What a week I have just had. You must permit me to ramble and go to excess this week. Well, I’m going to anyway. Hush, I don’t get paid for this. And advance apologies to Sano Hill for going on. Recently I have been working hard on a production in collaboration with a mystery NAS artist you all know well, but whom shall remain nameless, at least for now. It is going extremely well, but it can go to one’s head, this art thang. It can get a bit much, so one needs breaks from time to time. Monday evening was the first of these breaks. My girlfriend and I felt like watching a horror film. Not terrifying gore-filled heart attack inducing horror, but the old kind. The quaint, amusing Vincent Price kind. And so we sat down to watch The Raven. Yes, The Raven. as in, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven. We contemplated watching it standing up, but thought this to be altogether rather uncomfortable. “While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.” – yes, THIS was what I wanted. Such charm and style in the old way. The film was just as I had hoped for. A break from reality. Something to take my mind away from music – something for which I rarely wish.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘾𝙖𝙨𝙝 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙃𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮 – 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙁𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧

Charles counts his pennies and considers his class. Being broke in the music industry…

As hierarchy, status and class dissolve fast, one vulgar thing unites us all. I speak not of “All You Need Is Love” by Ringo and his mates, but actually of “All You Need Is Cash” by their spoof tribute, The Rutles. It all used to be about class and social standing, here in Britain, regardless of wealth. I gather that in the Ewe Ess of Ay, these are synonymous with money. They come as a package. Traditionally in Britain it had always been about background and ancestry. If one was born into an aristocratic family, that person would be an aristocrat. If one was born into a working class family in a mining town, that person would probably continue the line. Although there is now much considered wrong with this, there was usually comfort in understanding one’s way of life. People were usually pretty happy with their status – one knew one’s place – except for the muddy middle muddle, which has always been lost. I am one of those middlians. Striving for no apparent reason, other than the feeling that it is what I am supposed to do. Modern Britain, along with most of the rest of the world, now makes it simpler. The richer you are, the more successful you are, and therefore the better you are. Money, cash, spondulicks, dollars, pounds, yen and the feebly and unimaginatively named Euro – call it what you will – it runs and rules our lives now. It is everything. And I hate to say this. It should be love, happiness and contentment, but it is pounds, shillings and pence, with emphasis on the larger denomination. We even see it in music. Pop songs used to be about love, but increasingly they are about fame and fortune. Money “Can’t Buy Me Love” – true, but it can buy me just about everything else. Even I wrote a song – Tap When You’re Ready – about contactless payment – God help me – where a spoilt woman wants to know the man is with her at all times, just in order for him to plonk down his card whenever something might pique her fancy (listen on our brand new NAS Rarities, Oddities and B-sides playlist). Money is everywhere. Nay, money is talked about everywhere. It has become less about greed and more about need. The struggle and the compulsion. Long gone are the days of simple subsistence. And don’t get me on to money in the music industry. The Small Faces had it right, with “All Or Nothing”.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘽𝙮 𝙈𝙮 𝙎𝙞𝙙𝙚 – 𝙍𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣

Charles has nothing but time…

Last week I talked about not taking life too seriously. I also talked about work and how it can truly crush the spirit and make you a bit of a drone. Well, actually I didn’t say that. But that’s what can happen with work. It can get the better of you and start to own your soul. We only get two chances at pure freedom. One, when we’re too young to appreciate it, and the other when we’re too ill to enjoy it. Both ends of the spectrum, and both ends of life, as we know it. In the middle we are in our prime. And yet, in the middle we are too busy and too stressed to even contemplate a bit of relaxation and fun. Typical! God plays these little games from time to time. Well, in between natural disasters, of course. It’s his own “me-time”. So yes, that middle of life… The majority of life. We toil and we worry. We fret about the future. And it all just seems so endless. Weekends are spoiled by the impending knowledge that another Monday is soon to be thrown on your desk. The sun is shining, and yet you cannot enjoy it because… EMAILS. There is little more depressing than a grey inbox. Have you noticed that despite your screen predominantly being white, it feels grey? Pale, dead, depressing, lifeless grey. And you think back to those days when you used to go out all the time, feel free, wear what you wanted, do what you wanted, and be who you wanted. You had great ambitions and the future was bright. Well, now you realise that the future is not orange but in fact grey. And oh so current. What happened…?? Well, we mustn’t dwell on what happened, but instead on what is happening. Life is happening. And you must simply get on with it. Why? Because there will be a time when you are NOT doing the mundane. When work will be a thing of the past. When you are once again free! There is a caveat, however…

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝘾𝘼𝙂𝙀 – 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙠𝙤 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙨 & 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙮𝙖𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙣

Charles is content in his cage…

Europe in the Summertime. A song I wrote years ago. Europe is fun in summer. We think of Roman piazzas. We think of English coasts. We think of Spanish villas. Sun, sun, sun, as it relentlessly beats down upon our already scorched arms. Summer is the time to get away. Americans call it vacation. We, in England, call it holiday. A break from the norm. A time to eat ice cream without feeling it has to be squeezed into a swift lunch break. But is it simply a break from the norm, or is it more than that? Is it wanted or is it needed?

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