The Rifles on Q Radio

If you missed The Rifles playing DJ at Q Radio earlier, I've got a list of songs the three chose to play.
Replay is on Tuesday from 9pm - 11pm, or listen to the 2 hour show at www.QtheMusic.com
(They also mentioned a double a-side with Romeo and Julie and The General!!!)

Intro - Romeo and Julie

Joel:

• Toots and the Maytals - 54-46 (That's My Number)
• The Moody Blues - Go Now
• Neil Young - Rockin' in the Free World (Live acoustic version)
• Del Shannon - Runaway
• Howlin' Wolf - Smokestack Lightning
• Martha and the Vandellas - Jimmy Mac
• The Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps
• The Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be Nice (Vocals version)
• The Kinks - Autumn Almanac
• The Doors - The Soft Parade

Grant:

• The Strokes - Someday
• Smashing Pumpkins - 1979
• Jimmy Ruffin - What Becomes of the Brokenhearted
• Blur - The Universal
• The Clash - Lost in the Supermarket
• Nirvana - Oh, Me (Meat Puppets cover)
• Queens of the Stoneage - 3's & 7's
• Beck - Nobody's Fault But My Own
• Kings of Leon - King of the Rodeo
• David Bowie - Modern Love

Rob:

• The Young Knives - Here Comes the Rumour Mill
• Editors - Munich
• Bjork - Army of Me
• MGMT - Time to Pretend
• Apartment - Fall into Place
• Radiohead - Karma Police
• The Who - Love Ain't for Keeping
• Neil Young - Heart of Gold
• The Crystals - Then He Kissed Me

Closing - The General

Friday Update

• The next stop after today on The Rifles instore tour will be at the Rapture in Oxfordshire on February 3rd (5:30pm)
• The Rifles are taking over Q Radio! This Saturday (tomorrow!!) at 6pm - 8pm the boys will be playing THEIR favorite music! Replay is Tuesday 9pm -11pm, but they'll have it online for a week at www.QtheMusic.com
• A fan video of The Rifles instore at Rough Trade East playing Local Boy from Thursday...

• And the same guys filmed Romeo and Julie as well...

Thursday Update

A few Rifles items to share...

• Listen to a preview of "Lazy Bones (Konk Version)" right here!
  

• The Rifles next stop on their instore tours will be at Banquet tomorrow at 6pm.
• Leave a comment on The Rifles' blog for your chance to win a £100 bar tab for one of the tour dates in March!
• The Rifles instore at HMV, preforming "The General"...

• Joel and Luke talking about their upcoming album...

• The Rifles in an awkward interview with Phil Clifton from XFM...

Full Tour Dates

Today The Rifles announced a tour of Europe in April. Here's the full listing of tours:

January
Jan 27th – HMV, Glasgow - Lewis' Building (6.00pm)
Jan 28th - Fopps, Covent Garden (6.00pm)
Jan 29th - Rough Trade East (7.00pm)
Jan 30th – Banquet, Kingston (6.00pm)
February
Feb - 3rd – Rapture, Witney in Oxfordshire (5.30pm)
Feb - 4th – Resident, Brighton (6.00pm)
Feb - 5th – Sound Knowledge, Wiltshire (6.30pm)
Feb - 6th – Fives, Leigh On sea (6.00pm)
March
18th London - Roundhouse
(19th at Roundhouse again (?))
21st Hitchin - Remix
23rd Northampton - Roadmender
25th Southampton - The Brook
26th Norwich - Waterfront
27th Birmingham Academy
29th Glasgow - The Garage
30th Nottingham - Rescue Rooms
31st Manchester - The Ritz
April
3rd - Lido - Berlin
4th - Knust - Hamburg
6th -Gleis 22 - Munster
7th - Botanique / Rotonde - Brussels
8th Melkweg - Amsterdam
9th - Mezz - Breda
11th - Beatpol - Dresden
13th - Backstage - Munich
14th - Batschkapp - Frankfurt
15th - Weekender Club - Innsbruck
16th - Abart - Zurich
18th - Luxor - Cologne

Your "Great Escape" is here!

"We all want our escape from something, I think." - Luke Crowther

After years of waiting, The Rifles second album "Great Escape" is out in stores today!!!



Go and get your copy today! I heard there's even a bonus track for ya! (Only on iTunes)

Great Escape tracklistings:
1. Science in Violence
2. The Great Escape
3. Fall to Sorrow
4. Sometimes
5. Toerag
6. History
7. Winter Calls
8. Out in the Past
9. Romeo and Julie
10. The General
11. For the Meantime

Quick Update [UPDATE #3]

• Head on over to The Rifles myspace page to listen to 5 tracks from the new album now! (Toerag, The General, For the Meantime, Sometimes, Romeo and Julie)

• The Rifles are having a party with some friends next thursday and are selecting a few fans to invite. Just comment on the blog and they could pick you.
• Just a few more days until the their second album "Great Escape" (Not "The Great Escape", like I had been writing). The Rifles recommended three places to purchase the album: iTunes, Play.com, and HMV.
• If you didn't get your Rifles fix for today, enjoy the band's "Red Stripe: Bring it On Back" free gig series, Live from Shunt Vaults in London, Jan. 22nd, 2007. (4 Live Tracks: She's Got Standards, Peace & Quiet, Repeated Offender, Local Boy, PLUS interviews!) Special Thanks to Nsrifle!

[UPDATE]

• Oops! Almost forgot: Catch The Rifles on Soccer Am tomorrow morning!!!

[UPDATE #2]
Here's the link to the Soccer AM video from yesterday...
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid958992159?bctid=8901701001

[UPDATE #3]
Found a clip of The Rifles on Soccer AM in need of some target practice...

Album leak: The culprit?

The one responsible for leaking the The Rifles new album may just be this guy named Jason, possibly a rep at a music company in Japan, as one of our posters pointed out.
The "Rip Date" suggests he was the one who ripped it from a promo copy.

Video Special! Music Videos and more! [UPDATE]

All The Rifles music videos are available to download.
All the videos below are taken from youtube, so the quality is not great, however the Mercury Lounge videos are in higher resolution.

Music Videos:

• Peace & Quiet (1)
• Peace & Quiet (2)
• Local Boy
• She's Got Standards
• Repeated Offender
• Talking
• The Great Escape
  

The Mercury Lounge, NYC, 19/09/08.

• Talking
• The Great Escape
• Local Boy
• Out in the Past
• Robin Hood
• Peace & Quiet
• Romeo and Julie
• Toerag

[UPDATE]
The Nokia Theater, NY, 10/09/08.

• She's Got Standards
• Robin Hood
• Out in the Past
• Local Boy
  

Only Fools and... Rifles?

Why do only fools and Rifles work?
With The Rifles doing a great deal of promotional tours and gigs, it'll be hard to keep track of them. But if you're a member of Facebook, you should have gotten an update of all the band's gigs. They've even created a group for each gig, so join the groups for the shows you'll be attending.


Here is a hilarious video from Soccer AM starring The Rifles and their new manager!
barry and the rifles/trotters

The Bootlegs: Part 3

While you're enjoying the new single today, you can listen to 2 more live shows! With thanks again to the provider of the links who assembled them all together for you!

• Club 3Voor12 in Holland, 2007. (5 Live Tracks: Peace & Quiet, She's the Only One, She's Got Standards, Robin Hood, Local Boy)

• The Lowlands in Holland, 2007. (14 Live Tracks: Talking, She's Got Standards, One Night Stand, She's the Only One, Spend A Lifetime, Toerag, Peace & Quiet, Robin Hood, Winter Calls, Repeated Offender, Narrow Minded Social Club, Hometown Blues, When I'm Alone, Local Boy)

The Lowlands show has a longer version of "Toerag" with more lyrics, so definitely check that out.

Fall to Sorrow and tours!

"Fall to Sorrow", The Rifles first single from their new album is out today!
7":
A. Fall To Sorrow
B. Lazy Bones (Konk Version)

CD:
1. Fall To Sorrow
2. The Great Escape (Strings and Vocals Version)


The group have also announced more tour dates.

Jan 26th – HMV, Manchester - 90 Market Street (6.00pm)
Jan 27th – HMV, Glasgow - Lewis' Building (6.00pm)
Jan 28th - Fopps, Covent Garden (6.00pm)
Jan 29th - Rough Trade East (7.00pm)
Jan 30th – Banquet, Kingston (6.00pm)
Feb - 3rd – Rapture, Witney in Oxfordshire (5.30pm)
Feb - 4th – Resident, Brighton (6.00pm)
Feb - 5th – Sound Knowledge, Wiltshire (6.30pm)
Feb - 6th – Fives, Leigh On sea (6.00pm)

Quick Update

Just a few things to share...

• The live song "Same Mistakes" is from the London Calling gig (below), which has a better version than the one previously uploaded, so if you'd like that individual track, you can download it here.
• I found this site while doing a search. It has entire concerts The Rifles did! Including 3Voor12 and the Lowlands. Maybe soon I'll get those up here as well...
• The Rifles have a contest on their myspace page for 5 free tickets to a gig on their next tour, so if you've already bought the single, you can sign up.
• The only other live song I have is from The Sugarmill in Stoke. The quality is not good, but still worth a listen. The song is Hometown Blues (Live).
• FALL TO SORROW OUT TOMORROW!
  

The Bootlegs: Part 2

The quality of these are simply amazing.
(And if anyone has any more gigs, please post them!)

Audio:

1. BBC 6Music broadcast, 2006. (4 Live Tracks: Narrow Minded Social Club, Local Boy, Rat Race, Fat Cat)
   
2. The Rifles at Lido in Berlin, Germany, 2006. (9 Live Tracks: No Love Lost, Repeated Offender, One Night Stand, She's the Only One, Fat Cat, Robin Hood, Peace & Quiet, Hometown Blues, When I'm Alone)
   
3. The Rifles at London Calling, 2006. (12 Live Tracks: Repeated Offender, One Night Stand, Hometown Blues, She's the Only One, Peace & Quiet, Same Mistakes, Fat Cat, Robin Hood, She's Got Standards, No Love Lost, When I'm Alone, Local Boy)
4. The Rifles at Karlstorbahnhof in Heidelberg, Germany, 2006. (14 Live Tracks: Repeated Offender, One Night Stand, Hometown Blues, She's the Only One, Peace & Quiet, Fat Cat, Spend A Lifetime, Robin Hood, She's Got Standards, No Love Lost, When I'm Alone, Narrow Minded Social Club, Holiday in the Sun, Local Boy)
5. The Rifles at Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh, Scotland, 2006. (13 Live Tracks: Repeated Offender, One Night Stand, Hometown Blues, She's the Only One, Peace & Quiet, Fat Cat, Spend A Lifetime, She's Got Standards, No Love Lost, When I'm Alone, Narrow Minded Social Club, Robin Hood, Local Boy)
   

The Bootlegs: Part 1

It's your lucky day.
Thanks to a gracious donation of links (and time), we have a plethora of downloadable Rifles material for you, so give thanks and check it out...

VIDEO:

1. The Rifles - Romeo & Julie
2. When I'm Alone Soundcheck - Liverpool Arena
3. The Rifles - Toerag Live
4. Talking featuring Paul Weller (June 26th, '08)
5. The Rifles at Boogaloo - Runaway
6. The Rifles at Boogaloo - Rock the Boat
7. The Rifles at Boogaloo - Robin Hood
8. Repeated Offender - from Hull
9. The Rifles - The Great Escape (Acoustic session)
   
10. She's Got Standards - Live at Keele
11. The Rifles - The Great Escape (Music Video)
    
12. She's the Only One - Live from Astoria
13. She's Got Standards - Live from Astoria
14. Repeated Offender - Live from Astoria
15. Peace & Quiet (Music Video 1)
    
16. The Rifles - Fat Cat - Live from Astoria
    
17. The Rifles - Local Boy - Astoria Encore
18. Paul Weller and The Rifles - That's Entertainment
    

Coming Soon: Fall to Sorrow [UPDATED]

[UPDATE]: By the way, The Rifles Fan Blog now shows up on Google! (Sometimes on the second page, but hey, I'm not complaining!)

It's a bit slow in terms of news today, but as a reminder... It's just a few more days now until The Rifles' first single from the new album is released! You can purchase the 7" and CD here, but as a refresher, here are the track listings...

7":
A. Fall To Sorrow
B. Lazy Bones (Konk Version)

CD:
1. Fall To Sorrow
2. The Great Escape (Strings and Vocals Version)

The Bootlegs: Same Mistakes

[[UPDATE]] Here is a better version of "Same Mistakes", performed live at London Calling. http://rapidshare.com/files/185674171/06_Same_Mistakes.mp3
[[End UPDATE]]

Same Mistakes: http://rapidshare.com/files/183464885/Same_Mistakes.mp3
This is the audio of an unreleased Rifles song performed live at one of their shows. A great song but with no actual title, I've just called it "Same Mistakes" because of the chorus. I've also done my best with the lyrics here:

The morning's waiting for me
but it finds me sleepin'
all folded up and alone
like the odysseys of Rome

In the art of no control
when the evening creeps in
that's when the sweat starts to pour and all things
bound to get unstuck

And the banging in my head that aches
makes my fingers start to shake
but then I'm brought back home again

One day to another day
wasn't looking for the change but a change come anyway
unstuck like a sitting duck
if it wasn't for the love then I wouldn't make the same mistakes

And now it's so hard to place
the events last evening
one hundred pounds worth of ?----?
and a two stone weight in change
that will always indicate
difficulty breathing
and paranoia floats around and all that's
bound to get unstuck

And I've underslept again
cause it took two hours to take a walk
?with a temper anyway?

One day to another day
wasn't looking for a change but change come anyway
unstuck like sitting duck
if it wasn't for the love, I wouldn't make the same mistakes

And it's so hard to say that I love ya
when ?I found out her problems are not mine?
and I said that I need you
All the things I wouldn't do

And I've underslept again
cause it took two hours to take a walk
?with a temper anyway?

One day to another day
wasn't looking for a change but change come anyway
unstuck like sitting duck
if it wasn't for the love, I wouldn't make the same mistakes

(Please help with the lyrics if you know any)

The Rifles website!

TheRifles.net just got a makeover! Sign up to get a discount on those March tour dates AND some exclusive goodies (not yet, but soon). They're also publishing a blog on the site so you can keep up to date with them.
CHECK. IT. OUT.

March Tour Dates

The Rifles announced today the schedule for their March tour. You can order tickets through their website here: http://theriflestickets.sandbag.uk.com/Store/DisplayItems-2-0-music.html

18th Mar 2009 - London Roundhouse

21st Mar 2009 - Hitchin Remix

23rd Mar 2009 - Northampton Roadmender

25th Mar 2009 - Southampton The Brook

26th Mar 2009 - Norwich Waterfront

27th Mar 2009 - Birmingham Academy

29th Mar 2009 - Glasgow The Garage

30th Mar 2009 - Nottingham Rescue Rooms

31st Mar 2009 - Manchester The Ritz

All Cover'd Up [UPDATED 2]

The secret to success for most bands is to start by doing a cover of another artists' songs. Even The Beatles did it. The Rifles are no exception and I've decided to chronicle their covers so far. You can click on the links to download The Rifles version of each song.

Name of Song - Original Band - (Description)
-------------------------------------------------------------
* Rat Race -The Specials - (Performed live on XFM radio)
http://rapidshare.com/files/182701347/Rat_Race.mp3
* In Between Days - The Cure - (From the "She's Got Standards" single)
http://rapidshare.com/files/182705910/In_Between_Days.mp3
* The Eton Rifles - The Jam - (Audio taken from the video of the live gig at The Forum)
http://rapidshare.com/files/182703101/Eton_Rifles_-_Live.mp3
* Beautiful Boy - John Lennon - (Performed live at the Christmas Zoo Session)
http://rapidshare.com/files/179475683/Beautiful_Boy.mp3
* Sleigh Ride - Leroy Anderson - (Live from the Boogaloo Session)
(Watch clip here)
* That's Entertainment - The Jam - (Live from Absolute Radio)
http://rapidshare.com/files/181947080/That_s_Entertainment.mp3
* Runaway - Del Shannon - (Live from the Boogaloo Session)
http://rapidshare.com/files/181217029/Runaway.mp3
* Only Fools and Horses Theme - John Sullivan

[UPDATE]
*Waiting in Vain - Bob Marley - (Demo)
http://rapidshare.com/files/188886966/Waiting_in_Vain__Demo_.mp3

[UPDATE #2]
*Buffalo Stance - Neneh Cherry
(Watch YouTube video here)

[UPDATE #3]
*Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
(Watch live performance at YouTube)

[UPDATE #4]
*Keep On Running - The Spencer Davis Group
(Watch live performance on YouTube)

(If I left any out, please make a comment)

"That's Entertainment", XFM CD, and more!

The Rifles have another video from their December 5th visit at Absolute Radio, this one a cover of The Jam's song "That's Entertainment", featuring Paul Weller. As a bonus, you can download the audio from the provided link!

Download audio here!

Remember The Rifles trip to XFM Radio? Well they must have been impressed, as the boys will be featured on their upcoming CD: "XFM Presents This Is Music". The song "Repeated Offender" will be track number 18 on CD 2.



And lastly, in addition to the band's Roundhouse gig (at an undesignated date as of yet), they'll be doing a "Free in-store gig" at Banquet Records (52 Eden Street, Kingston-Upon-Thames) on Friday, January 30th (6 pm) to help promote their second album, just like they did for the first. You'll need advanced tickets though, so visit www.banquetrecords.com for more info.

B-side Preview

With "Fall to Sorrow" looking more like it will be the first single off The Rifles' second album "The Great Escape", a free preview of the track and of it's B-side "The Great Escape (Strings and Vocals Version)" is up at amazon.com, right here! (fixed link)

New Rifles Videos [UPDATED]

The Rifles not only have a special new years message for you, but also two videos they've recorded at the Boogaloo session on December 16th.

Special Message from the Rifles...


The Rifles - Rock the Boat (Live)


The Rifles - Runaway (cover)


[UPDATE]: If you wanted the songs in the above videos for keeps, then you're in luck...

Rock the Boat - Beautiful Music
http://rapidshare.com/files/181215240/Rock_the_Boat_-_Beautiful_Music.mp3
Runaway
http://rapidshare.com/files/181217029/Runaway.mp3

XFM Session

The Rifles' XFM session from a few weeks back is now up for download. Enjoy the 4 live tracks performed by Joel and Luke at XFM radio.

1. For the Meantime
http://rapidshare.com/files/180486682/For_the_Mean_Time_-_XM.mp3
2. Peace & Quiet
http://rapidshare.com/files/180488477/Peace___Quiet_-_XFM.mp3
3. Robin Hood
http://rapidshare.com/files/180489565/Robin_Hood_-_XFM.mp3
4. Toerag
http://rapidshare.com/files/180491194/Toerag_-_XM.mp3

Where is "The Great Escape" single?

What ever happened to "The Great Escape" single, the first single from the upcoming album? It was supposed to be released sometime in December and we haven't heard anything about it. We even have details for the band's second single, "Fall to Sorrow" (scroll down), which hasn't been released yet. Could "Fall to Sorrow" be the first single instead? We'll have to wait and see...

The 5 rarest Rifles songs [[UPDATED]]

Some of The Rifles' songs are hard to come by. But which ones are you most likely missing from your MP3 collection? Here are the hardest to find, and maybe some you didn't even know about...

1. "Narrow Minded Social Club (Live)": This is the B-side to the vinyl (7") release of the "I Could Never Lie" single.
Why can't I find it?: The vinyl was limited to 1,000 copies only.
BONUS: Here is a taste, a 1:32 clip of the song...
http://rapidshare.com/files/179873037/Narrow_Minded_Social_Club__live__clip.mp3
2. "Repeated Offender (Acoustic)": This is the B-side to the second 7" release of the "Repeated Offender" single.
Why can't I find it?: It IS out there, just not as common as the first 7" release.
3. "She's Got Standards (Acoustic)": This is the B-side to the 7" single release of "She's Got Standards".
Why can't I find it?: It was on a limited Pink vinyl release while the Black vinyl release is more common.
4. "Live at Shepherds Bush Empire" (EP): This is a Live EP by The Rifles from 2007. It features 5 live tracks: Talking, Robin Hood, Up Close, Peace & Quiet, and Narrow Minded Social Club.
Why can't I find it?: It was limited to 1,000 copies only. However, you can still pay to download it off the internet.
5. "The Eton Rifles (Live)" (featuring Paul Weller): This is a special live cover of The Jam's song "The Eton Rifles".
Why can't I find it?: On The Rifles website, the banner at the top says that if you sign up, you can get it for free. However, after signing up it tells you to wait for an e-mail confirmation to download... but it never arrives. Possibly it's just not ready yet.

[[UPDATE]]
But the hardest to find would be...
"Lazy" (2 versions)
"22 Years" (2 versions)
"Fighting" (Demo)
"Camden"
"Only Fools and Horses" (Theme Song cover)

The Rifles' Christmas Zoo Session [UPDATED]

The Christmas Zoo Session at Absolute Radio is now downloadable here for you to enjoy. It includes The Rifles' exclusive cover of John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy"!

1. Beautiful Boy (John Lennon cover)
http://rapidshare.com/files/179475683/Beautiful_Boy.mp3
2. For the Meantime
http://rapidshare.com/files/179476976/For_the_Meantime.mp3
3. The Great Escape
http://rapidshare.com/files/179479169/The_Great_Escape.mp3
4. Toerag
http://rapidshare.com/files/179485773/Toerag.mp3

UPDATE:
The Christmas Zoo Session was actually The Rifles' second appearance at Absolute Radio. Here's the first, back in 2005, where they played two songs live!
1. Local Boy
http://rapidshare.com/files/179487848/Local_Boy.mp3
2. Robin Hood
http://rapidshare.com/files/179488983/Robin_Hood.mp3

Fool or Fall-y?

There's been some confusion over the title of the song "Fall to Sorrow", where it is often spelled "Fool to Sorrow". On the band's official album pre-ordering page, it's listed as "Fool", technically making that the correct form. But on various other websites and the band's own myspace page, it's spelled "Fall". Based on the song's lyrics, it is also "Fall". So until the album comes out and we can look on the back and see for ourselves...
VERDICT: Fall

"Fall to Sorrow" Single details

The details of The Rifles' second single "Fall to Sorrow" from their upcoming album "The Great Escape" have been unveiled. This gives us a glimpse at the singles' B-sides... and here they are!

7" Track listings
1. Fall to Sorrow
2. Lazy Bones (Konk Version)

CD Track listings
1. Fall to Sorrow
2. The Great Escape (Strings & Vocals Version)

"Winter Calls" gets makeover

The track listings for The Rifles' new album showed us something very interesting. It seems the demo "Winter Calls" is going to be jazzed up and used on "The Great Escape", due out January 26th.
Never heard the demo before? Don't worry, you can download "Winter Calls (Demo)" here for free:
http://rapidshare.com/files/178840150/Winter_Calls__Demo_.mp3

Album Leaked

The Rifles second album "The Great Escape" has been leaked onto the internet. No word on how this got out, but it does give us a chance to view the track listings. The official release date is the 26th of January, 2009.

1. Science in Violence
2. The Great Escape
3. Fall to Sorrow
4. Sometimes
5. Toerag
6. History
7. Winter Calls
8. Out in the Past
9. Romeo and Julie
10. The General
11. For the Meantime

Welcome to the band!

With the start of 2009, we've entered into "The Year of The Rifles", dubbed so by the band's adoring fans in anticipation of their second album "The Great Escape" to be released on January 26th.
I've started this blog to help you, the fans, keep up to date on all things Rifles. Into the new year we go!