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Flag of St George is the second in a string of Junior Bill singles to come out this year (2023). Following Boys From Jungle, this song shows a more plaintive side to my songwriting. Written just after the Brexit vote, towards the end of my first year living in England. Like all of my ‘political’ songs, it offers more mournful questioning than definitive statements. I also never victimise groups or make them small with my words, instead trying to understand them. So I guess the process of writing this song was an attempt to understand why some people voted to leave the EU, among other things. Was it to recapture a dying sense of Britishness? Was about something that never existed? Or a protest against the collapse of the things that once held society together? I’ve gone and spoiled any magic there by talking about it in this way. I prefer artists who let the music do the talking but hey. If it interests you then that’s okay. Recording it in my bedroom during the first lockdown in 2020, it still felt relevant. Here we are in 2023 and it feels relevant yet again. 

Written, produced and recorded by Rob Nichols 
Music video filmed and edited by Maria Sanmartin 

Lyrics

I saw the flag of Saint George today
All the red had been painted grey
And proudly stands
The English man
Holding in his right hand 
The keys to the land 
For him alone

And the post office was for sale
And the National Health had failed 
To carry on 
Cos one by one 
The things that we had were gone 
And nobody saw it wrong 
To give them away

So what's left here?
And what's he that wishes so?
What we auctioneered
Was not covetous for gold 
So we'll be sailing on 
To leave behind our troubled past 
Flag of Saint George 
Is nailed to the mast 

We'll bid farewell to the poundlands 
Bookies and roadside burger vans
Where we once worked 
In the hope 
That if we do as we're told 
We could afford to own
Our own gated homes 
And retire
In front of a warming fire 
Pensions and church spires 
When we get old 

So please remember us
Oh we few we happy few 
In our Sunday best 
As we disappear from view 
So we'll be clinging on 
To the things we thought we knew 
Flag of Saint George
I'll wrap myself in you

Flag Of St George

The angular, textured hybrid punk of Junior Bill is set to re-emerge into the spotlight this year. ‘Boys From Jungle’ is the first song released from their upcoming debut album ‘Youth Club!’. The track details the bleak fates of asylum seekers after their arrival in the UK. The song’s catchy new wave tunefulness makes for a juxtaposition to the incisive, cynical social comments that spill out as a collage of slogans and thrown away official observations. After airplay on BBC Radio Wales, Adam Walton said that Junior Bill have an “ability to cross pollinate cultures and musical styles but make them entirely their own … they’ve got their own spirit and defiance to them … they’re clearly brilliant”

Cardiff’s Junior Bill is the project of frontman and songwriter Rob Nichols. The band has been thrilling audiences through the small venues, pubs and festivals of the UK & Ireland since 2013. From teenage beginnings rehearsing in Cathays Youth & Community Centre, they have since self-released a string of EPs, singles and an ambitious, award-winning live concert film called 'Above Your Station' in 2017. In the live music scene they’ve made a lasting impression, opening for Supergrass during their reunion shows after a supporting tour with drummer Danny Goffey, then last year making their debut at Glastonbury Festival.

Much of Nichols's writing reaches into the lives of other people with an unusual intellect and an open empathetic spirit. Gigwise said "it's a political maturity set against a childlike honesty that makes Junior Bill so intriguing." The band are also known for their well crafted concepts with artistic relish surrounding releases. 2017’s self-titled EP saw a guerrilla marketing campaign surrounding the fabled “Wolf In Grangetown” which ended up capturing the imagination through a series of national headlines.

"Boys From Jungle's jolly sound is a smokescreen for the bleak realities expressed in the lyrics.” says Nichols “It’s a story about the depressing fates that often await those who’ve risked life and limb to make it to the UK. I wrote it years ago after reading a WalesOnline article exposing the grim conditions of an overcrowded hostel for asylum seekers near where I live in Cardiff. The lyrics were intentionally written with bad grammar to evoke a hastily written report." 

More singles from their brilliant new album ‘Youth Club!’ are set to follow, culminating in the album’s release later in the year. Pre-save ‘Boys From Jungle’ now at https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/juniorbill/boys-from-jungle

LYRICS:

Omed said got boys from Jungle
Came through sleet and storm and thunder
Young, black skin and came on boat
Now have found a cold, hard sofa

One boy has got family down here
Waiting for mum to get visa
Paying for sister's education
What about mum well he can't just leave her

One got in a case needing legal aid
Two years now just going in circles

Only three of the boys got papers
Many waiting four years later
Round here people don't believe
Back home he used to be a doctor

Some will have to go to Swindon
Too much people, poor condition
Got to get a wristband if you wanna get fed
Keep your mouth shut for the council inspection

One boy tried to break away
No one else there spoke his lingo
Found him disappeared one day
Smashed the sink and the bathroom window

Omed said got boys from Jungle 
Came through sleet and storm and thunder 
Young, black skin and came on boat 
Now have found a cold, hard sofa 
Omed said got boys from Jungle

Boys From Jungle

Pre-Save here: https://ffm.to/juniorbillteeth.OPR

After the roaring success of Junior Bill’s first 2023 single ‘Boys From Jungle’ - praised, played and playlisted worldwide - then the mournfully and politically-loaded follow-up ‘Flag of St George’ comes the third Junior Bill single of the year. ‘Teeth’ is a melancholic reggae number about a lonely, isolated society where sugar passes for joy and life stays stagnant around a tiny cul-de-sac in post-Brexit Britain. 

Junior Bill is the project of Cardiff songwriter Robert Nichols - acclaimed as ‘a 21st Century Joe Strummer’ by BBC 6Music’s Tom Robinson earlier this year. The group have found support both locally in their home country of Wales as well as internationally on radio and press in Australia, Spain, Brazil and Canada. Turning debut album ‘Youth Club!’ into a series of singles released over the course of the year, has shown a broad range of reggae, psych, indie and blues that has a core element of storytelling about pressing and urgent politicised life.

The songs of Junior Bill reach into the lives of others in an unusually empathic way, whilst still remaining extremely “singable”. Gigwise said "it's a political maturity set against a childlike honesty that makes Junior Bill so intriguing." ‘Teeth’ tells the story of an elderly woman who can’t stop eating sweets, living a lonely life in a Truman Show-style world where people “live and work and die” all in one isolated neighbourhood. It’s all somewhat reminiscent of Britain’s increasingly claustrophobic societal atmosphere. This toy-town is recreated in the song’s video, a naive stop-motion animation made by Junior Bill and his friends. The track deals with themes of isolation, the loneliness of ageing, our increasing inability as a nation to care for the vulnerable, as well as the song’s main hook singing of the both immediate and deeper long-term need for the country’s national healthcare.

In the live music scene Junior Bill have made a lasting impression, opening for Supergrass during their reunion shows after a supporting tour with drummer Danny Goffey, then last year making their debut at Glastonbury Festival. The band returned to their hometown of Cardiff in January to a packed out show, and have a series of dates to come throughout the UK whilst releasing more singles and then the debut album ‘Youth Club!’ before the end of the year. 
Pre-save ‘Teeth’ now at  https://ffm.to/juniorbillteeth.OPR
  

Ends -




Contact artists@eltmusic.co.uk for more
ISRC: QM4TX2359017 - PRS Tunecode: 328583FW - UPC:
Stream: (Private link for press only): https://bit.ly/juniorbillteethstream
Full assets: https://bit.ly/juniorbillteethpress

LYRICS:
She's been getting holes in her teeth
Bet she wish she took 'em to the NHS
You can hardly hear when she speaks
And she's been talking less
Living in the house on the hill
With the yellow corridors and cups of tea
Little, white, pound-shaped pills
And cold company

Mrs Winterburn cuts your hair
And Mr Federico takes you out to town
Six chocolate eclairs
Seven up to wash it down
Neither of them need to hear you cuss
Even if they don't understand
Typical of you to make a fuss
When people give a helping hand

But how does she want it?
Let her have her cake and eat it 
Independently

Sitting up in my bedsit
I can see the children go running by
Every day they grow a little bit
As their independence dies
You won't let me visit you still
Let me take you to the dental surgery
I look up at the house on the hill
And every day it looks at me

But how did she want it?
Let her have her cake and eat it 
Independently 
But tell her to brush her teeth

The hospital and the baptist church
The graveyard with the funeral hearse
The playground to the call centre
You can live and work and die just here
On this tiny cul-de-sac

But how did she want it?
Let her have her cake and eat it 
How did she want it?
Let her have her cake and eat it
Independently
Tell her to brush her teeth

Teeth

David is the final single to be released from our debut album, Youth Club!

Youth Club! is dedicated to the place we all first met as a band - Cathays Youth & Community Centre, Cardiff, and to youth services across the country.

David is the opening track on the album and perfectly encapsulates what the album is all about.

Listen and purchase the album here, plus Youtube and socials
linktr.ee/juniorbillmusic

David

Junior Bill

Old Cardiff Winds

The Butetown RATS

SELF-RELEASED 07/10/18 
juniorbill.co.uk
Social Media: @juniorbillmusic
facebook.com/juniorbillmusic twitter.com/juniorbillmusic 
instagram.com/juniorbillmusic
FFO: The Specials, The Clash, Talking Heads
ISRC - GBMA21815991

JUNIOR BILL return after the success of their award-winning concert film “Above Your Station” with brand new music - “THERE’S A WOLF IN GRANGETOWN” is the first in a series of four tracks to be released this year. 
The song documents the long held myth that a wolf prowls the streets of Grangetown, a lively multicultural area in Junior Bill’s hometown of Cardiff. Written by lead songwriter and frontman Rob Nichols, the song is based on the lunchtime whisperings at his high school and an ode to the way a rumour can spread. Some say the wolf has returned to the area in the past month or so, whilst others say it may simply be a marketing ploy from a certain band… (more here: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/grangetown-wolf-myth-versus-reality-15109258)

“I swear down! It’s got claws! It scared the boys when they’re selling their draws”

The band's mischievous promo antics have already caused the legendary 'Grangetown Wolf' to become a cult Cardiff figure, with a local tourist gift shop creating their own Grangetown Wolf logos, art being created by its inspiration and even a twitter account posing as the wolf itself.

Junior Bill continue to pursue their niche of combining a range of influences, taking notes from UK pioneers The Specials and The Clash to worldwide influences from the favelas of Brazil and stories from doctors who travel to Syria. Whilst this track is based firmly in the Welsh capital, their songs breathe with the life of the diverse people who live there. 

“With no collar around its neck/I was too scared to have a check”

Formed in 2013, Junior Bill have been through a few incarnations, but the writing talents of Rob Nichols have combined with keyboard & synth player Joel Beswick and bassist Rory Saunders since the bands inception. The five piece is currently completed by drummer Jim Strickland and newest member Luke Owen on vocals, samples and guitar. Junior Bill’s live show has been highly praised for its enthralling energy and has earned them the reputation of being one of the best new acts in Wales, a mantle which will be tested this November as they embark on a UK tour with former Supergrass drummer Danny Goffey.

“Saw it howling on the roof/The CCTV got conclusive proof”

The double a-side “THERE’S A WOLF IN GRANGETOWN/ROMAS” will be released on Sunday 7th October on all digital outlets and streaming sites – with the music video for “There’s A Wolf In Grangetown” released on the same day. The full self-titled EP is expected before the year’s end.

Live dates (*with Danny Goffey):
29th September – The Golden Lion, Bristol
5th October – Cwmcarn Hotel, Cwmcarn
16th November – Old Market Assembly, Bristol
17th November – Yellow Arch Studios, Sheffield*
18th November – The Hug & Pint, Glasgow*
19th November – Cluny 2, Newcastle*
20th November – Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham*
21st November – Soup Kitchen, Manchester*
22nd November – Bullingdon, Oxford*
23rd November – Thousand Island, London*
24th November – Gwdihw, Cardiff

For more info, interviews, live bookings etc. contact manager Ed Townend at juniorbillmusic@gmail.com

Produced by Andrew Sanders at King's Road Studio
Mastered by Matthew Berry
Percussion by Jon Cole
Backing vocals from guests: Luke Owen, Maddie Jones, Mike Johnson, Sally Thomas, Francesca Dimech, Tumi Williams, Peanut Williams, Hjordis Moon Bradford, Dan Lambert

There's A Wolf In Grangetown

The second track of the double a-side is “ROMAS”, a song written in defence of an ostracised ethnic community; “This one's for the Romas and the Czechs/They don't get no respect”. Both songs see Junior Bill continue to sing the gritty, street-level stories of a young urban Cardiff whilst delivering catchy choruses that ring around the listener's brain for weeks, just like the whispered provincial rumours from which the lyrics were born.

Romas

Email us at juniorbillmusic@gmail.com for any enquiries.