You can also get a free MP3 of Feel Like A Woman by clicking here (you’ll need to give them your email address).  Feel Like A Woman is a track from their forthcoming album English Chamber Music, which will be released on 20th August.

See photos and videos on their LoveHowlMuse page, or find out about the album on their MySpace page.

1st Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Kendal - Kendal Calling Festival w/ Dizzee Riscal & British Sea Power

2nd Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Wigan - The Tavern (Club Underground)

4th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Aberdeen - Tunnels (14+)

5th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Glasgow - TBC

7th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Edinburgh - Edinburgh Festival Caberet Voltaire (sick note) – FREE ENTRY

8th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Wakefield - EscoBar

9th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Blackburn - Cellar Bar – MARTIN’S HOMECOMING SHOW

12th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Manchester - Ruby Lounge

13th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Cheltenham - 2 Pigs (16+)

14th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Bath - Moles

15th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Cardiff - Barfly

18th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Southampton - Joiners

19th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Brighton - Freebutt

20th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – London - 100 Club – ALBUM LAUNCH

21st Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Exeter - Cavern Club

23rd Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Plymouth - Hubb

24th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Bristol - The Croft

25th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Tunbridge Wells - The Forum (16+)

26th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Colchester - Arts Centre

29th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz

30th Aug 2008 – 20:00 – London - Offset Festival (Last FM Stage)

5th Sep 2008 – 20:00 – Olso, Norway - Garage

6th Sep 2008 – 20:00 – Stavanger, Norway - Cementen in Stavanger / NuMusicfestival

19th Sep 2008 – 20:00 – Paris, France - La Mechanique Ondulatoire

26th Sep 2008 – 20:00 – Vienna, Austria - Icke Micke @ Planetarium Vienna

What do you do when you put THAT before an unadventurous lover – someone who secures power in their routine? What do THEY do when their power is shown to be a pastiche?

So many questions, so many questions, when all that there really is, is desire.

The Royal Festival Hall wakes up to desire…

Selfish Cunt take the stage dwarfed by Motorhead’s Marshall stacks – that probably go up to 11 – and render them irrelevant. A black hole opens – and screams – YOU’VE GOT IT ALL WRONG! Right from the start there’s a misunderstanding about what you’re expecting and what you’re going to get.

Selfish Cunt delivered a set of astonishing intensity – enough to make your hepatitis ache – that made good on Jarvis Cocker’s promise that this year’s Meltdown Festival “shall rouse you from your slumber”. Martin Tomlinson cracked the microphone whip while Patrick Constable, Matthew Saw and Bambi inserted an adrenaline drip of high frequency feedback, erotic guitar pleads, and metabolic fury. Daring to slow down, bend over, speed up, screech and swarm, Tomlinson sang of dark desires, unsettling sexuality and the stink of money. This was an object lesson for schizophrenics – freaked outness – Pan pranced across the stage and pricked you out!

This is Selfish Cunt. They are an intensity – driving a demon machine – who prance and play like they couldn’t give a shit that Motorhead are hanging out backstage waiting to have their cocks licked under the lights of the Royal Box.

“The image of a woman laying on her back with exposed breasts, spread legs, holding an avocado (?) over her genitalia, combined with the word “cunt” is not felt to be in good taste. Due to differences in definitions there is a chance that this cover art would be okayed for a European release… A playlist under North American or world wide release is subject to different scrutiny. We are dealing with why the hide notes only said “nipples” when this was obviously not the only problem.”

So here’s the artwork in question:

While we argued the case, we submitted this Photoshopped version as a placeholder:

We got this response:

“Unfortunately the new cover art is also felt to be too strong.” 

Ever the hard workers, Selfish Cunt produced new artwork, referring to the “Average Man” mentioned in the Indencent Displays (Control) Act of 1981, where something is indecent if it “offends against the modesty of the average man”:

Note that not only has the image been redesigned in response to iTunes’ qualms, but the name Selfish Cunt also does not appear.iTunes retreated and chose the second Photoshopped artwork, which they had originally rejected as “too strong”. We are left wondering what nerve this final image touched.Two questions:

1. Why would you buy it on iTunes anyway, if you can buy it cheaper from LoveHowlMuse with the original artwork?
2. Is an avocado a fruit or a vegetable?

Avocado is available as a high-quality MP3 with artwork on this site, and also on iTunes, eMusic, Napster and a variety of other online stores around the world. For those of you who buy the single on iTunes we will be making a full-sized version of the original censored artwork available for you to download.

BUY TICKETS NOW!!!

Martin Tomlinson, lead singer of “Selfish Cunt”, was arrested on June the 2nd 2007 for allegedly racist lyrics following an incendary live perfomance on a baking Saturday afternoon at Cambridge’s traditionally family orientated Strawberry Fayre. Following crowd jeers, violent bottle throwing, audience complaints to stewards, and two rapidly restrained yet highly irate stage intruders, police swiftly moved backstage to detain and question Tomlinson following S.C.s thrilling performance on the East Stage at one of the country’s last great free festivals.

The mixed age crowd were stunned by his refreshingly lewd Alice Donut / Iggyesque stage theatrics which included masturbatory and scatalogical mimes to lyrics like ‘cum stain’ and ‘when the shit hit the fans’. A seemingly possessed Tomlinson, stripped down to his underpants, socks and a t-shirt proceeded to tear down the ‘love music / hate racism’ banner which the organizers had placed at the back of the stage. He then launched into the song ‘Batty Boy’ which at first shockingly seemed to be attacking, in no uncertain terms, a black audience presence from a white supremacist viewpoint. This viewpoint was abruptly subverted when the distinctly camp singer began to make homophobic, first person references within the lyrics.

Someone in the crowd, missunderstanding the ironic lyrics hurled a glass bottle at the stage with such force that it shattered against the back wall of the stage, missing drummer ‘Bambi’s’ head by inches. If this first bottle had connected, S.C.’s drummer would now be seriously injured in hospital. It was a violent reaction to what was a thrilling, albeit dangerous artistic statement. The atmosphere intensified whilst a smiling Tomlinson seemed oblivious to the self righteous, drunken morons and shocked bystanders in the audience. Jeers battled with cheers as the assault of missiles increased and the show was rapidly halted. Was such a perfomance appropriate for such an event, at such a time: “Hell no! But what an amazing show!”

Following the organisers swift and heartfelt attempts to calm the audience and restore the events exemplary reputation, Cambridge’s very own “Wave 67″ rapidly took to the stage to restore the atmosphere to it’s usual form of heady celebration. Despite battling a few technical hitches during their inspired and intense cover of the Eurythmics first single ‘Never gonna cry again’, ‘Wave 67′ featuring Ex-’Cubanate’ and underground dance producer / maestro Phil Barry, accompanied by Tranzgenix guitarist Tim Slater and drummer Nicky Butt, regenerate the afternoon, with a stunning selection of tracks from their unreleased, still untitled debut album including ‘Sirens’, ‘The sun don’t shine’ and the massive potential dance anthem ‘Rise’.

YouTube videos from Jake Furious

To view the videos, you need JavaScript enabled and the latest version of Flash Player

To view the videos, you need JavaScript enabled and the latest version of Flash Player

As soon as you hear the name Selfish Cunt you know that you are in for some serious attitude – ask anyone from their cult following. Uncompromising and politically motivated, it’s no wonder that this year’s curator of the South Bank’s Meltdown festival, the equally uncompromising and politically-aware Jarvis Cocker, has selected SC to open the festival by supporting metal legends Motörhead.

Asked why he thought Jarvis had selected Selfish Cunt to open this year’s Meltdown, lead singer Martin Tomlinson replied, “We played a show together in 2004 when Jarvis was fronting Relaxed Muscle. I think what has happened since then is that he has become more politically charged and disillusioned and I believe the Meltdown allows him to vent this frustration with acts such as Motörhead, The Stooges, Forced Entertainment and ourselves. This is also the Royal Festival Hall, so never mind the bollocks!!!”

Causing controversy with their provocative stage personas and lyrics SC don’t sacrifice substance for style in their “glamour terror” approach. When Tomlinson screams “the things that you sell, and the things that you do, it’s a lie, it’s a lie” he leaves you in no doubt about SC’s intentions – to expose what gets glossed over in the pursuit of power and money. This is the voice of a generation living through the War On Terror.

With cult followings in London and New York, it’s not surprising that SC have caught the attention of celebrated producer and Killing Joke founder member Youth, who is producing some tracks for their second album including the forthcoming single Avocado.

Judge for yourself at the first night of the Meltdown on 16th June, and see if Jarvis was right.

ENDS.

For press information and images please contact:

Trish | trish@lovehowlmuse.com | 01821 670 293

NOTES TO EDITORS,

Band members:

Bambi – drums, Mathew Saw – bass

Upcoming gigs:

16th June – 8pm Royal Festival Hall – Meltdown

Links:

Hear their new single ‘avocado’ here: www.lovehowlmuse.com

Selfish Cunt MySpace: www.myspace.com/ixnewyork

NY gig review and video: www.spin.com/video/2007/02/070205_selfish/

Selfish Cunt Video: www.241-24-7.com/omnibus/alive/provinces.htm

Picture credit: 241-24-7, Dario Vigorito, 07863 113 088, info@241-24-7.com

Press Quotes:

“At a time when most protest in rock music comes with an air of meek appeasement, their uncompromising rage sounds strangely refreshing.”Alexis Petridis, The Guardian. The Guardian also named SC as one of the top 40 British bands.

“Hardly the first time that the sensibilities of Daily Mail-reading middle Britain have been given a slap but there’s never harm in delivering another…Tomlinson’s superb satire of asylum seeker paranoia ‘Coming Of The White Man’. SC is a brilliant third-person, devil’s-advocate creation.”Simon Price, The Independent on Sunday

“One of London’s most exciting live acts… [Tomlinson is] the closest thing to Iggy Pop this generation will produce.”Time Out

New York’s Spin magazine praised SC too, after their gig at the Ruff Club, noting: “Instead of yelping ‘fuck you’ to New York, as another Brit-punk band might have done, Tomlinson wanted to have New York every which way to Sunday.” Spin also noted how Martin Tomlinson’s playful antics with the crowd came across as if he were “like a prettier Karen O” and the reference to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs certainly bears out in the presence and control of the band.