WHERE'S JOHNNY? DEPP'S STUNT DOUBLE KNOWS + LITTLE NOISE + BRAVO MOBO NOMINEES AKALA AND N-DUBS

EVER wondered what Johnny Depp’s stunt double does when not risking his life to save Hollywood’s most precious cheekbones?
Turns out Pirates of the Caribbean cast member Scott Sener is a musician. He supports Camden band Earth Prayer – fronted by Heidi Jo Hines, daughter of former Wings guitarist and Moody Blues founder member Denny Laine – at a free gig at Scars Studio, 20 Castlehaven Road, Camden Town, on Saturday.
Sener’s invited cast members so keep your eyes peeled for the genuine article – Mr Depp has been known to pop up at the odd underground gig – ask Babybird.

(Can't find a clip of Earth Prayer so here's Heidi Jo Hines on her lonesome).

• Fellow music lovers, it’s all happening. Once you’ve completed the three peaks challenge of Elton, Neil Diamond and Robert Plant at Electric Proms (Oct 28 – 30) – here’s what’s coming up.
• Regular readers will know this is my absolute fave series of gigs, Mencap Little Noise Sessions return to the Union Chapel (Nov 15 – 20) with Tom Jones, Paolo Nutini and Hurts latest headliners to be announced – my pick so far – Hurts. Be there.
• Can’t believe we’re talking about the Camden Crawl already but early bird tickets go on sale at the Bull and Gate launch gig (Oct 28) – The Chapman Family, DELS, Hook & the Twin, John & Jehn, Martyna Baker and the inevitable secret guest tba by Twitter of course!
• If you missed Tim Robbins at the Union Chapel, you can catch him supporting Paolo Nutini at the Q Awards gigs at HMV Forum (Oct 22).
Also playing are Jamiroquai (Oct 20), Chase and Status (Oct 22) and Mark Ronson & The Business INTL (+ Rose Elinor Dougal) (Oct 23).
• Bravo N-Dubz and Akala for Mobo nominations – find out if they won (Oct 20).

CAMDEN CRAWL - WATERLOGGED AND WONDERFUL - DAN LE SAC VS SCROOBIUS PIP, ROLO TOMASSI, PENDULUM, CASIO KIDS, MAN LIKE ME, THE HUNDRED IN THE HANDS AND MORE

RIVERS of black eyeliner streamed down Camden High Street as buckets of torrential rain threatened to wash away thousands of Camden Crawlers last weekend.
Unlucky for the ballet pump-clad crawlers queuing all the way to Morrisons car park waiting to swap their tickets for wristbands, Saturday was a warm washout.
Sunday was dry but infinitely chillier, the miserable kind that takes hold of your bones, amounting to equal stints of sprinting between venues and subsequent reluctance to move on to the next.

(Drenched Camden Crawlers enjoy Man Like Me)

An impromptu rave by collective Red Pill London, which sprung up under a small-time gazebo, ended abruptly when police swooped in and collared DJ “The Brain” – for “inciting a riot”. I was there, it wasn't a riot. LostProphets later leapt to his defence – see footage at www.youtube.com/RedPillLondon.

The few secret gigs were mostly tucked safely away from the real people in the VIP bar at Lock 17. Rumours of Johnny Depp joining Babybird and Mick Jones with Roots Manuva fell flat, but how important are the clandestine ones when there's already a packed timetable?

There were a few disappointments as Villagers, Joe Gideon and the Shark and others were unable to play, and creative crises as we were forced to choose between headliners.
Delays and The Drums, previous picks of mine, were casualties of scheduling only a time-machine could solve. Yet there were big gaps in the evenings, where a bunch of gigs would end with nothing scheduled for 45 minutes - staggering would be welcome next year.

Aside from these minor strategic issues, we found plenty of raw talent to keep us entertained.
Another triumphant, if soggy Camden Crawl.
Here's a round-up of some of the acts I made it to:

ROLO TOMASSI - RED BULL OUTDOOR STAGE

An enigma – switching from tuneless, eyes-rolling-to-the-back-of-their-heads, roaring hardcore rock to almost deconstructed jazzy instrumentals, mathrock giants Rolo Tomassi were captivating but painful to listen to. It was hard to tear away from lead singer Eva Spence, who sounded like a sweet young girl when chatting, but became a freaky possessed wildcat with a piercing screech, when the music began, singing the odd delicate tuneful refrain. Not one for me.

CASIO KIDS, then KATY B - JAZZ CAFE
A welcome change of pace, light in sound, happy electro, they attracted huge queues and quite rightly so. The kind of guys you want to hang out with, because you know it’d be fun.
Katy B's soul had hints of rude-girl attitude but was a bit too loungey. An accomplished singer who feels every word.

PLAN B – ROUNDHOUSE

Plan B rocked the camp bouncer look. Switching from rudeboy rapper to shiny suited doorman, to cheesy house dancer to Marvin Gaye-soul, Plan B played a confusing set. He was a little light on the rap, focusing more on his crooning, but maybe not quite what his crowd was waiting for. Each time he did burst into a short rap, the audience cheered their approval.

EMILY BARKER - BLACK CAP
Described by Andy Ross as having one of the best voices in the country, Australian singer Barker, with fiddle and accordion accompanists played a pure set of beautiful country/folk.

PENDULUM - ROUNDHOUSE

What better way to dry out than to launch into the swirling tumble drier of a mosh pit for Pendulum. Their tunes didn’t need much variety, and too right, a track from their new album (plugged 300 times), verged on euro-dance and sounded flat. So a wise return to the repetitive beats, mindless MCing, the odd varied bassline and a bit of electronica. The ultimate professionals, Pendulum are masters of winding up frantic drum ‘n bass to the highest scale.

TIM TEN YEN - SPREADEAGLE

Food Records’ Andy Ross’ picks were varied and enthralling. Lanky besuited Tim Ten Yen, whose only accompaniments were the smallest keyboard in the world and a sleeping battery-powered cat, had an air of John Hegley about him. Geeky synth-pop, comic vocals and uncle dancing.

MAN LIKE ME - OUTDOOR STAGE
So good we saw them twice. Only the most hardy braved the outdoor stage on day one. Many questioned if the acts would even bother to turn up, but all credit to them, they did. Nothing would dampen Man Like Me’s spirits, they played like the sun was blazing, frontman Johnny Langer coming on under a Lidl bag. And they managed to raise a party from the small but formidable umbrella-clutching crowd. They played a triumphant show at Electric Ballroom at midnight, turning the crowd into one big house bash. It’s hard not to smile when they’re around.

GAGGLE - ELECTRIC BALLROOM

There was considerable buzz around this female choir who sing about modern-east-London type female dilemmas “How can I tell if My Man is a Liar” in a freaky tribal confrontational, don’t mess with us way, while sounding a little like the pickpockets from the musical Oliver!
Wearing colourful rags, they looked more like the latest wannabe Britain's Got Talent dance troupe but, although credit due for their bold attempts to be different - not something I'd like to hear more of.

THE HUNDRED IN THE HANDS - DINGWALLS
Moody electro duo. Guy plays guitar, girl fiddles about with electric things, runs her hands through her hair a lot and pouts under her fringe. Sound great. They should be French.

DAN LE SAC vs SCROOBIUS PIP - RED BULL OUTDOOR STAGE

The only other act I saw twice. They command a loyal following, many thousands on twitter and many more in real life. A drier Hawley Crecent was packed for their earlier show, Le Sac a perfect wing-man to Giant Pip’s almost preacher-like demeanour. Extremely accessible, Pip was correct when he told me his music brought together followers from all walks of life – people you’d never expect to see enjoying the same gig. Their evening Electric Ballroom set turned into one huge messianic party – a clearly memorable show.

PROFESSOR GREEN - THE ROUNDHOUSE
Forced to play the evening set after endless delays during the Sugababes, Professor Green came on bounding with energy. He’s got a cheeky young voice and his hit “I Need you Tonight” was just that.

BABYBIRD - DUBLIN CASTLE

Stephen Jones aka Babybird was in fine voice, though a little nervous he wouldn’t be playing to anyone who’d actually heard of him. He was wrong. It was an all-age crowd and he won a warm reception.

LEAFCUTTER JOHN - BARFLY

His atmospheric solo was drowned out by the rudest baying Barfly crowd in history. Where in other venues, similar acts were respected, something strange was happening here. He soldiered on and the few who were listening were mesmerised. But it’s hard to believe he was not affected by the confidence-shattering reception

THE WILDERNESS OF MANITOBA - SPREADEAGLE
Last of Andy Ross' picks, New Age Canadian four-piece with haunting harmonies, a cross between Simon and Garfunkle and Fleet Foxes – a laid-back mid-afternoon interlude with Tibetan singing bowls and a cello.

ANOTHER BAND - ICE WHARF
Emerging Talent Award winners Another Band brought “atmosphere” to the Ice Wharf – absent since the day it opened – you know what I’m saying. We actually witnessed rhythm in the dancing crowd.

CAMDEN CRAWL - BEAT THE SYSTEM, AND BEST OF THE REST

THEY love to keep us in suspense don’t they? But even though the Camden Crawl’s timetable is a tightly-guarded secret until the day of the event, organisers can’t keep a lid on all the bands.

So here’s how to beat the system – check out individual band websites and most importantly keep an eye on twitter.  That should cover most of them. Expect word of surprise appearances to spread like wildfire on the Twitter grapevine so if you’ve got an iPhone, now’s the time to make use of it.

                                          (New Young Pony Club)

But for a more unpredictable experience, manage your own expectations and take a scattergun approach. Pick out bands, singers or acts you like, expect to be beaten by the queues and look forward to checking out the band that follows, which is inevitably the point where you’ll finally be let into the venue. But if you really want to be certain to catch something, camp out from ages before. 

Here’s a few events I’ll be checking out:

ISLAND Records Boat Party, The Constitution (Sunday, 1pm-6pm): Off the beaten track, this is where the insiders hang out. Expect to see some of Island Records’ bright new stars.

A party boat with onboard bar and resident Island Djs will ferry fans from Camden High Street to The Constitution pub, where the likes of Essex 15-year-old rising star Daisy Dares You will be performing, along with Zimbabwean singer-songwriter (the dude with the cool giant glasses) Tinashe, Dagenham MC Devlin, Welsh singer-songwriter Pete Lawrie, Tennessee soloist Lauren Pritchard and the grit-laden man with soul in his core, Jonathan Jeremiah.

OUTDOOR Stage, Hawley Crescent: I’ve said it before but any carnival-type event isn’t complete without the high-spirited, hilarious choreography of Man Like Me. Their catchy nu-ska sounds have party written all over them. Catch them at the Hawley Crescent outdoor stage along with Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, Chew Lips and Skepta – anyone with an NW1 postcode who applied online can get in for free.

                                          (Man Like Me)

PRIMROSE Chill: If you haven’t got a ticket, don’t despair. The Primrose Chill has lined up some below-the-radar acts to play four of the area’s most prized pubs. You can sort of pretend to be part of the Crawl – never mind you’re across the canal with the posh people, miles from the carnage, and you didn’t have to spend a penny.

ELIZA Doolittle: A singer-songwriter with folky undertones, she’s already caught the tabloids’ attention – for wearing short shorts. Her single Skinny Genes was released on April 12 and she’s been touted as one to watch.

DELAYS: This is one band we’ll actually be getting there early for. A must.

VILLAGERS: Rated sixth in The Irish Times’ 50 Best Irish Acts Right Now, well last year, Malahide’s Villagers have been compared to The Frames, U2 and Leonard Cohen. Low key, wordy, literate and dark – I imagine Tim Burton would be a fan. Tipped by Bob Harris on his radio show last week.

PLAN B and Pendulum, Roundhouse, Friday: The only show of the Roundhouse headliners I’ll be checking out. Plan B just because there’s always room for a little East London rap and Pendulum, known for their high-energy live shows, are a definite way to wake up after the long trawl through the day’s guitar offerings.

PUB Quizzes, various venues during the day: A chance to further your education or just show off – the battle for the title of king/queen muso begins.

Best of the Rest: Shy Child, The Sunshine Underground, The Drums, Akala, Joe Gideon and the Shark, The Hundred in the Hands, New Young Pony Club, Holly Miranda, Billy Childish, Best Coast, Speech Debelle (because she’s unpredictable) and Roots Manuva. 

For the 30-something sentimentalists – Cornershop, Babybird, Stereo MCs and Teenage Fanclub.

THE CAMDEN CRAWL - HOW ARE THEY COPING AND WHY THE SUGABABES??

THE Post-its are flying all over the place and staff at the Camden Crawl HQ are slowly being buried under a pile of CDs.

We’re only weeks away from one of the biggest events in the music calendar (May 1 and 2) – and with the ever-expanding daytime programme, it’s beginning to give the Edinburgh Festival some serious competition.

There’s the big names: LostProphets, We Are Scientists, Calvin Harris and The Drums. The oldies: Teenage Fanclub, Babybird and Cornershop. The dubious pop choice: Sugababes. The cool- as-ice Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, The Delays, New Young Pony Club and the most important to me, Camden’s home-grown talent – Akala, Ms Dynamite and Man Like Me.


(Teenage Fanclub, who play this year's Camden Crawl)

The day starts early with impromptu gigs, theatre shows, countless quizzes to tax even the brainiest muso, mind-bending spoken word performances and real comedy from real comedians. On top of all this there’s a series of free events for residents with a street party in Hawley Crescent, and free gigs at the Hawley Arms and the Primrose Chill. There’s also a programme of free live music in four pubs: The Queens, The Lansdowne, The Engineer and the Princess of Wales.

But right now organisers are preoccupied with the Emerging Talent Awards (ETA). And they’ve had a huge task to whittle down 1,000 hopefuls with stars in their eyes to just 45. And now the work begins, picking the eight best bands to play the ETA stage at the Ice Wharf.

Event organiser Chris Jakubiak said: “If the weather’s good we’ll have the doors open. The standard’s been really high, much higher than we’ve anticipated. The prizes are amazing.”

The finalists will be announced on April 12.

Barring Madness’s takeover of Inverness Street last year, this will be the first time the Crawl’s put on an official street party.

Chris said: “There’ll be a road closure in Hawley Crescent, from Kentish Town to Stuckley Place. We’re putting a Red Bull stage at the Kentish Town Road end and the space on the street is licensed to hold 2,000 people. That part of the event is 14-plus and accessible to Crawl wristband holders and also a few local residents will be invited. We’re going to look after everyone.”

So why did they book the Sugababes for the Crawl?

Chris said: “What’s a typical Camden Crawl band? It’s about diversity. They’ve got new material, a new line-up, the show will be very interesting. Very special guests will be announced next month."

Each year there’s the odd surprise gig – last year Graham Coxon played The Spread Eagle and Chris hints there could be more to come: “I’m almost certain that there’ll be something like that, but we never know until close to the time.”

But right now, the Crawl staff are busy turning the cogs.
Chris said: "I’m covered in Post-it notes and I’ve got stacks of CDs I’m
listening to. We’re working late into the night but it’s always an
enjoyable experience."

BABYBIRD - DEBT TO DEPP

THE first time Babybird frontman Stephen Jones saw Johnny Depp, he was sitting under his desk, backside to the door, in a house in the King’s Road.
From these humble beginnings grew a long-term friendship, with Ol’ Jack Sparrow becoming so chummy with the Nottingham singer that he played guitar on and directed the video for Babybird’s current single Unlovable. The video also features This is England actor Stephen Graham.
Stephen first met Depp when he was filming Finding Neverland.
“I was summoned to come meet him,” says Stephen. “The first time I saw him he was under his desk with a guy that works with him... so the first thing I saw was their backsides.”

He credits Depp for making new album Ex-Maniac possible.
“I made it in LA and it was kind of paid for by Johnny Depp – it’s the best production of any album I’ve ever had. It’s got quite an American feel to some of the songs which I didn’t plan. I hope every song I write is different but you can’t change your voice that much so that always brands it as a Babybird record.”
He said Depp was “the same as most directors”, adding: “If something’s not going right they’ll tell you, but if it is they don'’t say anything.
“He did come and just tell me the odd thing but I got through it. It was very strange because there wasn’t any lip synching so it was almost like an acting job. The subject matter’s quite dark. We had a massive film set, four days shooting in the forest.”

Away from his Hollywood mates, Stephen enjoys a quiet life with his family in Belsize Park, and is a regular visitor to Camden market.
He said: “I love it, it’s a fantastic market, the best I’ve been to in the world. I love the horses and everything. I know it’s become more of a business but some of it is like entering another world, bits from Blade Runner, it’s changed for the good.”
It’s been a while since Babybird’s smash You’re Gorgeous and with the big hit behind him, Stephen is relishing working to his own tune.
He says: “Babybird’s maybe not as commercial as it could be because of the lyrics I like to write – the first line of the album is, ‘I will kill you said the five-year-old’. It’s not necessarily going to be easy to get it played on radio.

“I’m lucky because my big success came years ago, with You’re Gorgeous and that album. I didn’t really want it to be a massive success, it just happened. So after waiting a couple of years to go off the radar again, I’ve been lucky to do what I wanted – no commercial pressure, particularly with this new album. If it fails it doesn’t matter too much because we can make another.”
But, Stephen revealed, he has an incurable disease, menieres, which can affect his hearing.
“Van Gough apparently had it, one of the reasons he cut his ear off,” he says.

“It just happens because I’m into music I get this thing that affects my right ear. It’s okay, it’s very liveable, but some people get it and it’s terrible. You’re in the middle of the street, you look drunk just because your whole balance is gone and you’re falling all over the place. It’s horrible when it happens, I could be looking straight at you but everything is spinning round and I can’t focus.
“It’s kind of water pressure in your ear building up and you feel you’ve got a pea stuck in it. I get that every now and then. I’ve never had the bad episodes but it still affects you when you’re listening to music. You can only hear out of one side when the pressure builds up.”
• Babybird play Scala on March 25 and the Camden Crawl (May 1 and 2).

WEEKLY GOSSIP - CAMDEN CRAWL PICKS, KISS, ROUGH SCIENCE, ROBOT DISASTER AND TWEET OF THE WEEK

ONLY two months to Camden’s answer to the marathon – a prolonged drunken stumble between 40 venues over two days, hell, it’s tougher than the pansy marathon, it’s the Camden Crawl. Get training.
The initial line-up was released this week but the big names are yet to come.

Here’s my pick so far – Sunshine Underground, The Drums, The Delays, Chew Lips, The Hundred in the Hands, Holly Miranda, Eliza Doolittle, Billy Childish, Best Coast, Speech Debelle (because she’s unpredictable) and Jamie Woon. Some from my uni days in there – Cornershop, Babybird and Teenage Fanclub. See the full line-up at www.camden newjournal.com and follow me on twitter @roisingadelrab

• Face paints ready, grandad rockers KISS play the humble 02 Academy Islington on March 2 – make-up guide’s on Wikipedia if you need help. The tickets sold out in seconds and now they're going for hundreds of pounds on eBay.

• Kentish Town’s Rough Science blend music from around the world to give you a wicked and unexpected night, full of Latin rhythms, hip-hop bass and beats with some London lyrical sensibility. (Bull and Gate, March 6).

• Too excited – former Record of the Week boys Robot Disaster play Camden Barfly on Saturday.

• Lightning Strikes the Empire State are ready to launch their first single. See them at the Water Rats on March 2.

• Tweet of the Week goes to @davejoyner in response to news Peckham rapper Giggs has had to cancel his tour – including a date at 02 Academy Islington on March 4 – due to security fears: “Nice of the Feds to help shut down that Giggs tour in case it got all stabby and/or shooty and ting.”

UNLIKELY CELEB GROUPIES GETTING IN ON THE ACT- JOHNNY DEPP, PAUL KAYE AND MAT HORNE

THE first time Babybird frontman Stephen Jones saw Johnny Depp, he was under his desk, backside towards the door.
Now, old Jack Sparrow is the official director of Babybird's new single Unloveable out on Monday.
The Fun Lovin' Criminals have been friends with actor Paul Kaye ever since he began flaunting his outrageous Dennis Pennis character in LA.
Recently liberated from their own legal wrangles, Huey Morgan told me he could identify with Kaye's outrageous MTV lawyer character Mike Strutter.
And now Kaye's featuring on the FLC's new album Classic Fantastic on comedy skit ‘Conversations With Our Attorney’ featuring Mike Strutter.
At the same time the video for last year's stunning Maccabees single No Kind Words featured Gavin and Stacey actor Mat Horne, who's been following the band for some time.
And he did it for nothing.
And now it just remains to predict who next and how famous do I have to get before a band will let me star/direct/or just appear in their video?