Welcome dear friends to the latest and most eagerly anticipated Power to the Penguin. So settle your chilly bottoms into a comfy snowdrift, don your special perusing pince-nez and prepare to enjoy our feast of Arctic Circle flavoured offerings:

• We deliver to you, free of charge, everything you need to know about the next few Arctic Circle Event. Including details of our too cool for yule Christmas offering at the Union Chapel. Tickets are now on sale!

• The superb Dollboy gets pally with yours truly as we find out whats been keeping him going as he waits to entertain you Arctic folkses once again

• Batten down the hatches: Chief Penguin is back to shake a tail feather or two in your general direction.

CP
chiefpenguin@jointhecircle.net

DOLLBOY INTERVIEW

In what is becoming a PttP tradition, we tracked down this esteemed musician to his usual haunt among the myriad fast food joints of glamorous Gants Hill. He is of course the marvellous Olliver Cherer, aka Dollboy, a mysterious arctic creature, who is poised to bring joy and entertainment to you all in a matter of days, and he agreed to tell us about his current musical preoccupations as well the exciting projects he has lined up for the very near future.

Take it away Dollboy…

“Let me see....

I'm currently working on the third Dollboy album. In a bid to avoid repeating myself I've started writing in a way that I'm less comfortable with. This has started producing songs with words and singing! Radical eh?

The stuff that's influencing the new music includes Crosby, Stills & Nash, Harmonia, all those German Bowie albums and The Coronation Scot. Can you have a voyage of re-discovery? Seriously, one tune really does quote the famous tune from "The Coronation Scot". It makes for a very English record.

Apart from all this there is a new 7" record out soon. It's a split with Robin Saville (Isan/Arable Records) who has an original tune called "Player Piano" one side with my version of JS Bach's "Prelude No1 in C Major" on the other. It'll have a beautiful hand printed sleeve and is coming out on Static Caravan. Also, there's to be a very limited 3" CD of covers by The Fall and The Smiths coming soon on Harmonium by Dollboy and Woodcraft Folk.

I'm also very excited by the prospect of a new Robert Wyatt LP.

Ttfn”

www.dollboy.co.uk
myspace.com/dollboyuk

And he was gone But don’t forget you can come and see Dollboy for yourselves at the very next Arctic Circle gig, this Friday at the Whitechapel Art Gallery (see above).

My Memoirs (Part 4) Le Memoir de Moi – Le grand savant Chief Penguinè

Dear Reader

Well! My most esteemed friends, you will be delighted to hear that since I was last your correspondent we have had the most wonderful of times as the solid weeks of snow and ice storms have finally given way to a vast blue sky. Consequently we have been able to leave our hole in the ground - which as we have become such intimate acquaintances dear Reader, I am not afraid to confide in you - had developed something of a terrible whiff.

Nor am I embarrassed to tell you that on that first day out in the fresh air we engaged in somewhat youthful spirits; my faithful companion the Head Yeti Keeper taking off at high speed until all we could see of him was his bright blue hair, which became a distant spec with some rapidity!

Tinkles, the Prof. and myself were amused by making childish sculptures in the snow; Prof rolled the snow into a lovely traditional snowman, and although it saddened me to see that it lacked coal for eyes and a carrot for a nose, Prof’s thick glasses did give it a strangely human gaze. I chose to spend the afternoon carefully recreating from memory the fond rotundity of my dear mother, Mama Penguin; and Tinkles built a fully functioning ground to air missile system, complete with soviet insignia, before completely destroying it in a fit of flashback paranoia.

Sadly it wasn’t long before the weather closed in once more and we reluctantly returned to the safety of the old science station. And guess what dear Readers? We are one more in number! I am sure you will be surprised to hear that Prof’s snowman took on a life of his own and now roams coldest dark corridors of our hideaway with a heavily glazed look of murderous intent. Fortunately he has retained the expected fear of fire; otherwise Santa knows where we’d be!

Yours in mild to moderate peril!

Chief Penguin

full news on all gigs and other Arctic Circle activities at:
jointhecircle.net

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written by: chiefpenguin
with artwork by:pika pika