Ben Sherman Blog

New York...NEW YORK!

Back In July, we gave our Ben Sherman fans the chance to win a weekend trip away to the Big Apple, by signing up for our fountain of all Sherman knowledge newsletter, INBOX.

With the chance to receive up to date information about our brand, and the added incentive of a trip to New York- we were obviously flooded with names. However, the lucky winner was Toby Oliver.

 
Toby wrote us a little blog about his time in New York, courtesy of Ben Sherman:

I was thrilled when I found out I had won a break to New York. I jetted off to the Big Apple last Friday with my friend, Karim. The hotel we stayed in, The Strand, was located in the Garment district in Midtown Manhattan, right near the Empire State Building. It had an amazing rooftop bar - in the evening  you can go up and have a drink with the famous skyscraper looming right over you. After settling in, we went to explore some of the surrounding area including a walk through Central Park and dinner at a diner.

Saturday was very hot and sunny – we decided to take the subway to downtown, the financial district. Walking past Ground Zero we saw the progress they’re making on the Freedom Tower, the replacement for the Twin Towers. We went through Wall Street and past the Stock Exchange, and paid a visit to Trinity Church – an English-style church located in the heart of Downtown – it was once the tallest building in Manhattan, but now dwarfed by vast skyscrapers. We then walked through Mulberry Street in Little Italy, near the Lower East Side, where many immigrants in the early 20^th Century settled on arriving in the USA, and happened to catch an Italian-American parade. After that we checked out the shops on Broadway.

On Sunday we visited Times Square and Macy’s - the famous department store including the Ben Sherman section. We then climbed to the top of the Empire State building and saw spectacular panoramic views of New York from every direction, from Brooklyn and Queens in the East to New Jersey in the West. After relaxing in Bryant park for a while we caught the plane back to the UK from Newark Airport. Thanks to Ben Sherman for a fantastic weekend!

 

To make sure you are in with a chance of winning one of our fab prizes, make sure you have joined our Ben Sherman Facebook Page and signed up to our Newsletter INBOX for our latest competitions and Global brand news.

 

 

 

Wilmington Wooed by Wookie

Last Saturday Alex Wookie,Reading Brand Ambassador and Golden Hours frontman captivated the crowds of the Wilmington Arms on Exmouth Market, London

Scott Cecil our Lakeside BA and Mod extraordinaire joined in for a night of great music, great location and free beer! 

Take a look at his review of The Golden Hours and the wonderful musical evening he experienced thanks to the Wilmington and King Monkey Productions. www.kingmonkeypromotions.co.uk

Saturday Night at the Wilmington 
The Wilmington Arms in Farringdon, sister establishment to the famous Hawley Arms in Camden boasts past performers such as Mumford and Sons, Lady Hawke and The Guillemots.

It could be considered that there may be something about the place that spurs performers on to bigger and better things. That certainly could be the case with Golden Hours, the latest four-piece band from Reading to grace the tiny stage on this dismal spring night.

The Golden Hours are a band that you will do well to remember. Enigmatic, euphoric indie rock is one way to describe them; well that’s how a NME reviewer would.

I’m not on the NME payroll, so I’m going to go with blooming marvelous.

In a set that was short and sweet, the 6 songs that were offered up to the room created a taste to leave you wanting more, after all, isn’t that the golden rule of showbiz?

The stand-out song of the night was also the opener; Wash the Night Eyes was a slow burning yet frantic 4 minutes of sound that showcased the bands ability. They performed this and the next song, Pioneering with a maturity and precision that masked the fledgling stage of their career.

Doomsday was another song that a veteran band would be proud to have in their repertoire; this was sandwiched between Blind, Invisible Lives and Spider Days all of which carried the gig along with a good pace.

 As the band packed away, I was left wondering how long it would be before The Golden Hours name will be up outside venues more suited to hosting bands of this caliber, my guess…not long.

In fact, The Hoxton Bar and Kitchen is next up on Tuesday 6^th April and it is certainly another step up the ladder for this ambitious foursome.

A quick mention for The Shills who put on a performance that was visually disturbing yet musically brilliant. They were equally as impressive tonight and will also undoubtedly be gracing bigger stages than this.

One last thing, the fact that the band were looking mightily dapper tonight may very well of had something to do with the man behind the sticks. The drummer/vocalist is none other than Ben Sherman’s Brand Ambassador Alex Wookie!!

 

Photos courtesy of Lou Paul.

Suits,Soul and Shots

March, a new month and a new allocation of allowance to spend at Ben Sherman. After the initial excitement of wanting as much as possible when we had our first allowance, I decided on a much more calculated approach as to what I would pick up from the Lakeside store. I need a pair of jeans, so a pair of jeans is what I am going to get. Eyes on the prize Scott, only get what you need.

 

Well, that plan went out of the window as soon as I clapped eyes on a truly stunning 3 button slim fit blue tonic suit. Bada-Boom, Bada-Bing.

 

Easy come, easy go. With the suit and some cufflinks bagged up I left the store knowing it would be another 3 months until I could safely step foot in-store with out worrying about my overdraft.
 
Matt B may bring you the latest and greatest in plastic toys and Alex may get exclusive interviews with Didz and Brett Hammond but I bring much more to the table then both of them put together. Yes Ladies and Gentlemen, what I have for you is even better than a plastic toy interviewing Didz Hammond,

I have (Drums Please)…The Signatures and Stifford Clays Social Club!!
 
The Signatures, for you squares not in the know are one of the best Northern Soul bands this side of the Mississippi (If the Mississippi just happened to be round the corner of my house). And tonight they would be entertaining a crowd of fans that even John Terry would be proud to have turn up. Social Clubs may have a ‘old man’ stigma attached to it, and even though that is the case, what they lack in youth they make up for in drinks prices. Where in the south can you get two Jack Daniels and Cokes, and a Archers and Lemonade for less the a fiver.

 
  The 10 piece band were on form tonight tearing their way through a set list that includes dance floor fillers such as Beggin, On My Way, Tainted Love, Landslide and Turning My Heartbeat Up. The hour they were on stage for went far too quickly for everybody’s liking, especially for Mitch and Jay, our very own dance floor extraordinaire’s. Watching these two dance is like watching Evil Kenival, you really want to give it a go, but it’s only going to end in disaster. So I stuck with what I know. Drinking and shuffling my feet to the music.

After all I am ze Ambassador, I can’t be seen messing up on the floor.

The band finished to a rapturous applause and the DJ’s kept the music going well into the night. The drinks flowed and the sambuca shots started. A good time had by all and only 2 months till the next one, 22^nd May, Thurrock Civic Hall, Blackshots, Grays be there or not be there, the choice is yours.

When Alex met Didz...

Didz Hammond,Alex Wookie

Our 3^rd Brand Ambassador instalment comes from Alex Wookie, our Reading brand ambassador.

Not content with just telling us his misdeeds as the drummer of the band Golden Hours, he also ventured to Shepherd's Bush to see Suede’s Brett Anderson accompanied by Dirty Pretty Thing's bass guitarist Didz Hammond at O2 Empire, London.

Alex managed to grab Didz for a quick chat on all things from influences, post Dirty Pretty Things and hanging out with Keith Allen in the Fuji mountains.

Check out the interview along with some pictures that feature all of the boys wearing yours truly!

Interview with Didz Hammond

Brett Anderson gig ,02 Empire, London

Brett Anderson,Didz Hammond,Alex Wookie

It was a shame that it wasn’t the full Suede band but I will take Brett Anderson’s solo stuff with backing from Didz Hammond playing Bass Guitar for him as a more than sufficient consolation. Didz Hammond has been in two big bands that I personally love. He made his name playing in Cooper Temple Clause who made one of my favourite albums ever, ‘See through this and leave’ and then cemented his music fame after Coopers broke up by joining Karl Barat from The Libertines to start Dirty Pretty Things. Also I live near his parents, so I have to be nice!

Cooper Temple Clause are one of my biggest musical influences. Who are your influences?

‘ Good question, my main influences band-wise growing up were Beach boys, The Beatles,  Led Zeppelin, Blur, Super Furry Animals and Radiohead’ album Kid A. I have been more influenced by the new electro and post punk genres. I love how electronic and guitar-based music is influencing each other.’

What is your favourite show?

 ‘Well that’s easy it would be Fuji festival (it’s up in the mountains!) in Japan. We were all really hung-over and as we were playing mist from the mountains flowed down across the audience. I also played there with Cooper Temple Clause and we wore stolen security outfits from the festival guards!’

Have you got any good stories?

‘Once again when I was at Fuji fest with Dirty Pretty Things me and the guys were looking around the camp site for a party and found a group of tents where they were blaring out reggae music so we sat down with them. What I didn’t realise was that I ended up sitting between Joe strummer and Keith Allen. I hung around listening to old reggae and 60’s music with Joe strummer in his tent. That was a pretty big moment for me especially as it was less than a year later that Joe Strummer passed away, I felt really privileged to have met him.’

What’s your favourite song you’ve been in the writing process for?

‘Hard question...mostly because I have done so many songs but ‘Same Mistakes’ with Cooper Temple Clause and  ‘Buzzards and Crows’ with Dirty Pretty Things have been stand-out tracks for me.’

What do you love about Ben Sherman?

 ‘I really respect their history, musicians have always worn Ben Sherman and the new plectrum logo is a great representation’

What you been up to since Dirty Pretty Things split up in 2008?

‘I have been DJing, helping produce the new Paddington’s album, radio presenting and making sure I am keeping the metaphorical pots on the boil. Obviously playing with Brett is a big thing!’

Is fashion important in music?

‘Yeh ‘course it is. It goes hand in hand; everything sonically and visually must be perfect.’

Ever got in a fight over the last beer in the rider?

‘No I’m a peaceful person and would never hurt anybody...’

What's the most random thing you have got from a fan?

I got a key ring from a fan in Hong Kong when Dirty Pretty Things played there that had Chinese writing saying ‘Gentle’, ‘Melody’ and ‘Didz’ it was a great gift. Well it was till I dropped it last week... (It is ok it will live on in this interview!)

If you have one golden rule for unsigned musicians what would it be?

‘It is a new game from when Cooper Temple Clause started. We sent demos to labels, promoters, played in London as much as possible. There are so many new outlets to use with the internet around now. Oh and playing live is important, even the biggest labels and agents want good live acts.’

How many gigs have done just as a side note?

‘I don’t keep a list but its well over 1000...’ (That’s a lot, I have done about 250 and I thought that was a lot!)

Have I asked I asked enough questions to do a fulfilling interview?

‘Yes you have.  The support act, Kid Harpoon is just about to be on and I need a beer’.

Written by Alex Wookie 26/1/10

Introducing Matt...Our Birmingham Brand Ambassador

The button-down blog introduces Matt,our 2nd Brand Ambassador for 2010.

Not only has Matt provided us with lets face it, an amazing illustration based on our London Conference. He has also dropped us a couple of lines about the Droplet Launch that he attended this month in Bristol.

Check out Matt’s lovely ensemble and have a wander back on to our e-Shop to get the look!
  
  
London Conference

Well... January was a hectic month, amongst its highlights- opening my solo exhibition, a week in sunny (ok, not so sunny in this instance) Brighton, and of course, my first official duty as Brand Ambassador attending the Ben Sherman January Conference.

Myself and the other Ambassadors met at the event in Shoreditch along with staff, representatives, designers et al from across the company for a presentation of the Ben Sherman ethos, a journey in to Mod education, a sneak peek at the looks available in 2010, and some of the best tasting chocolate brownies known to man. For me the most poignant memory of the day (other than deeply considering how socially acceptable it would be to start dancing to The Who during one of the showreels) was the passion and enthusiasm with which the design and marketing teams approach their work, and the excellence of the results speak for themselves.

 

 

Illustration by Matt B

 

“Droplet” Launch

Saturday 6^th February saw me heading south once again, this time Bristol bound for the launch of JamFactory’s adorable second series of Droplets.

For those of you that don’t know, over the last 10 years “designer vinyl” toys and ornaments have become highly collectable items. Often produced in limited editions, sold in ‘blind-boxes’ and including rare variants and designs, the figures are predominantly marketed to adult collectors and hard to find specimens can boast pulse raising price tags.

The Droplet is a 2.5" vinyl toy, designed by Gavin Strange AKA JamFactory and produced by Hong Kong toy company 'Crazy Label'.
Making its debut in May 2008, the success of Series 1 online and in toy stores all over the world, led to a second series now, comprising of 5 new designs.

The launch was held in Park Street’s FIFTY FIFTY store with an accompanying exhibition of droplets on the lower floor that had been customised as one off pieces by specially selected artists and designers including Pete Fowler and Nick “Wallace & Gromit” Park.

 

 
Collectors, photographers, and design geeks alike flocked from all over the country to get their hands on the latest offering, by which time their was a very impressive queue leading off up the street.

 

Photos by G-Han

On a nearby wall, a projector cast a looped animation and a feed of Twitter updates sent using the dropletlaunch ‘hash tag’ which kept the crowd amused until the doors opened at 6pm. As the hoards of punters flooded in they were handed droplet decorated cupcakes and while they bought their way through the toys, t-shirts, and tote bags, there was a giant droplet replica left blank by the door with a collection of pens for people to sign or doodle on as a sort of guestbook (an offer I was quick to take advantage of!)

With people desperate to get their hands on the sought after mustachioed King figure, the whole launch batch of 15 cases sold out in just 58 minutes leaving Mr. Strange overwhelmed and delighted, while satisfied customers swapped their “gots” for “needs”.

As for me, I didn’t go away empty handed, but I’ll have to join the fanboys watching JamFactory’s online shop for the second batch if I want to get one of those Kings!

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Dead dog in gutter, tyre tread through burst stomach”

I have to put in a eulogistic word about the closure of Arena, a magazine that I and many others gave the best years of their life to, which is – Christ, was - also seen as the quintessential British men’s lifestyle publication.

I’ve read a lot of hand-wringing and accusatory broadsides on the internet but the only insightful comment (and one of the few positive ones) came from Observer food critic Jay Rayner (to paraphrase): “I worked for it on and off since 1989 and in that time they printed plenty of pieces that no-one else ever would. At its best it always kicked the opposition into the long grass.”

This is why we should mourn Arena – at a time when the style press and the broadsheets are dry, orthodox and overly politically correct, it’s one less place for progressive journalism to be read and enjoyed.

-Steve Beale-

“I liked Ink Face-Man, but I thought Bat-Owl was boring”

The above is a quote from a female acquaintance on Watchmen, which I’ve seen and can tell you that it isn’t as bad as most critics are saying. Sure, it’s not a piece of high culture in the manner of the book. It’s a multiplex, if not necessarily ‘Hollywood’, superhero movie - rather than a human drama with the para-human myth as its backdrop. In most other senses though it is faithful to the graphic novel, even if the cast do fluff a few of the best lines.

 

 

Neuro-linguistic programming, the slightly creepy psychological science invented by dodgy hippies in the 1970s and used by special forces and advertising salesmen, preaches that there are two kinds of people in business meetings: those that tell you all your suggestions are great and those who will always point out the single flaw. I am in the latter group – it’s one reason why I never write reviews any more. But here’s why I think the film fails (with spoilers). I’m afraid it’ll only make much sense if you’re a comic nerd, but I suspect we’re the only people who care anyway. If you haven’t read the graphic novel, you should – it was the only comic to make Time magazine’s ‘100 best books of the 20th century’.

 

 

I have to agree with a lot of critics in that the second Silk Spectre, Laurie, is pretty poorly played (by Malin Akerman). She’s supposed to be a spunky lass, so much so that when the revelation comes that she’s the Comedian’s daughter, it seems obvious all along. Akerman here is a typical modern leading lady, all perfect skin and no charisma. Seeing as Laurie is arguably the central character, and certainly appears in the most scenes, Akerman’s lack of presence means that Rorshach and the Comedian steal the show. I’m not sure it was writer Alan Moore’s intention that the right-wing idealogues be the most sympathetic characters. The next glaring flaw is Rorshach’s gravelly voice-over. The character comes across as a stock movie ‘cool loner’ rather than an awkward, unattractive, terminally angry individual. But the most glaring inadequacy is the aforementioned fact that it’s more pop video than piece of cinema. But for the latter, go see Gran Turino, which is nothing short of amazing.

 

As for upsides, Carla Gugino is magnificent as the first Silk Spectre and Patrick Wilson also impressive as Dan Dreiberg. Tales of the Black Freighter, the macabre sub-story from the original graphic novel version of Watchmen, is being made as an animation for the DVD, which is heartening.

 

Like all big press screenings these days we had to hand our mobile phones in at the door. I dread to think what Rorshach would’ve made of the unseemly scramble to collect our handsets afterwards, as performed by educated people who should know better.

 

Ultimately I’d rather spend two days reading the graphic novel than two hours watching the movie, but it’s still worth seeing.

 

I love comics but loathe comic adaptations in general – I suppose Iron Man could’ve been worse. I think the animations do a better job than the live-action movies, and as such I’m going to urge you to watch Justice League: A New Frontier. Set in the 1950s with a retro illustrative style, it boasts David Boreanaz, Brooke Shields and all kinds of other big names if you’re into that sort of thing.

-Steve Beale-

The Year of David Peace

You may’ve been exposed to some justified hype around The Damned United, a black comedy about priceless football manager Brian Clough’s time at Leeds.

 

The film is derived from the book of the same name by author David Peace. It was a bit of a departure as Peace is better known for his lyrical-yet-shocking books about horrific crimes in 70s and 80s Yorkshire, some purely fictional, others based on genuine cases from the time.

 

Channel Four are about to get their slice of Peacemania with Red Riding, an adaptation of Peace’s most well-received trilogy. This stars not only Paddy Considine (from Dead Man’s Shoes, which I urge you to check out, it’s directed by Shane Meadows of This is England and it’s easily his best work) but also David Morrisey, Warren Clarke, and Daniel Mays. Plus Sean Bean – who, according to early reports, puts in the performance of a lifetime as an affluent Yorkshire businessman with (spoiler alert) a particularly gruesome and imaginative child porn studio underneath his mansion.

 

It’s due on TV in March but in the meantime you can ghoul-up on the pointlessly OTT Flash website C4 have set up – redriding.chanel4.com. Everyone hates Flash – it is to the internet what CDs were to the music industry.

-Steve Beale-

‘First to wear Gazelles’ flaming contest starts here.

The Liverpool Boys are in Town is easily the best fashion book to land on my desk since the Helmut Newton full of high-maintenance German women eating raw steak and walking their Rottweilers.

 

Subtitled The Birth of Terrace Culture, it follows Liverpool fans from the mid-70s to the early 80s focussing on their esoteric and design-led fashion tastes. Dave Hewitson – the man  behind the 80sCasuals.co.uk - book surges with detail and colour including a potted history of the Wade Smith chain and - my favourite – an exhaustive description of the ‘Retro-scal’ country gent look that many adopted when luxury sportswear became too ubiquitous.

 

  

 

The real surprise is the authentic photography – nothing like this has been published before, with similar titles having to make up numbers with modern photos of old looks.

 

When you think how many art books and biographies are given over to, say, Hip-hop, Punk, and other cultures that the guy who does all the buying at Borders can get easily get his head around, it’s plain irritating that it’s taken so long for British casuals to get their own print eulogy.

 

And simply laughable that no major publishers picked up on it. Never mind the tomes on youth culture I’ve just whined about, all sorts of pedestrian books about British menswear have been published recently – in fact, a press release for one’s just popped up in my inbox, ‘Textile Designers at the Cutting Edge’. But this provides more colour and enjoyment than any number of fawning designer profiles – and is a far more illuminating analysis of what British men like to wear and why.

 

Order from your local bookstore or bluecoatpress.co.uk at £8.99

 

Welcome to our new site! And guest blogger Steve Beale...

I’m the ‘style director’ ie, in charge of the clothing coverage – at FHM. I’ve worked for the men’s mags for years, most obviously at Arena and Homme Plus, and I started out editing a yappy little style mag that you’re too young to remember called Sleaze Nation.

I have never been a Mod, or indeed a skinhead. I don’t own a scooter. But two things I admire are: the combination of the traditional and the contemporary that usually trademarks the best of British design, from Vivienne Westwood to TVR cars; and the esoteric way that the British male dresses – “he is a stylist unto himself,” as Karl Lagerfeld once said in Homme Plus.

Thus I’m an enormous admirer of Ben Sherman the brand, which originally took traditional designs and made them in very modern – especially for the early 60s – cuts, and gave young chaps the chance to look smart on their own terms. So a little over forty-five years since the label was born, I’m honoured to be writing here on its new website.