Hello,

It's been a while since the last Ex-Rental release, and that's because it's taken a while to prepare this new `virtual box set', featuring 50 tracks!

"Choreography – The Very Rest Of Ex-Rental"

It's basically every half-decent recording or remix that wasn't on last year's "Unpopular Pop" album, and many of the tracks are previously unreleased, even though you might recognise a few of them from live shows.

The set is divided into four loosely-themed volumes:

1)      "Boy Girl Action"

(mostly pop, either electronic/dance-oriented or slightly more noisy)

2)      "Here We Are, The Dead Men"

(most leftfield material, either `alternative' or moody pieces)

3)      "Landfill Nation"

(other bits and pieces, some strange, some unfinished, many just plain silly)

4)      "Revisionism"

(other mixes, remixes, and alternate versions)

And it's free to download from http://ex-rental.com/boxset.htm - available as four separate zipped volumes, in case you don't want to download all 50 tracks at once.  You can also listen to excerpts of selected songs from each volume, and everything should be online for about six months, in case you need time to digest it all. A lower-fi 12-track sampler compilation is also available at http://www.last.fm/music/Ex-Rental/Choreography+sampler ...

By the way, as you might have noticed in the subject line, this is the final Ex-Rental release!

Yes, I've decided to call it a day.  I recently became a father, so now my son needs me to make up songs to sing to him instead... :)

So thanks very much to everyone who's been listening over the years – this new 'box set' is dedicated to you all!

Take care, and thanks again for listening.

Best wishes,

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again,

It's been a while since the last mailing list/MySpace exclusive, so
today I'm making two tracks from the archives available for a while!

The first is a totally retro and throwaway synthpop jingle titled
"Your Sinclair" - not too hi-fi as I found it on an old cassette, but
you might like it if you 'get' the title...?  It's previously
unreleased but I think it was used as intro music at a live show in
2002, so there's a chance you may have heard it before...

The second is a live audience recording from the first Ex-Rental show
in London (January 2001 at Madame Jo Jo's, with Lucy Banham and Harry
Stephens) - again, it's not too hi-fi, but it's one of the few
recorded live Ex-Rental tracks and it's another previously unreleased
song called "Sanitised".

You can find them here for a limited time:

http://ex-rental.com/Ex-Rental_-_Your_Sinclair_(demo).mp3
http://ex-rental.com/Ex-Rental_-_Sanitised_(live_at_Madame_Jo_Jos_2001).mp3


By the way, the Ex-Rental album is finally finished at long last!  Now
I just need to work out how to make it available, which might take a
little while as I'm still settling into the USA, but it *will* happen
sooner or later, including pretty much all the very best Ex-Rental
songs.  Watch this space!

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again,

As some of you may now, I'm moving to the USA shortly, so to mark
the occasion, I've made the curious decision to record a
particularly dumb would-be RAWK anthem called "Rock City, USA".

Please don't take it seriously - it's completely tongue-in-cheek and
not at all representative of the forthcoming Ex-Rental album (for
better or worse!).

So I've put it on the website as a free download single, 'backed' by
the suitably noisy "Ad Nauseum", and it'll be available here until
the album's release:

http://ex-rental.com/outrock.htm

I apologise in advance for any distress it may cause.  Normal
melodic pop service will be resumed as soon as possible...!  ;)

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again,

It's time for another exclusive mp3, this time from way back in the
late 90s!

It's an old demo called "Vanity Versus", which began life in my
previous band, but I never got around to putting a decent vocal on
top.  Then I listened to it again as an instrumental, and realised it
still works even without vocals, so here it is.

To download it, just sign into http://groups.yahoo.com/mygroups ,
select Ex-RentalNews from your groups, then click Files and you'll
find it in the MP3 folder... until it's time for the next exclusive!

By the way, I'll be DJ-ing at Pretty In Pink again on Saturday 31st
March - full details will be on http://thefanclub.info/pretty.htm soon!

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

In case you haven't had a chance to download the "Too Much Attention"
EP yet, here's the link again:

http://ex-rental.com/outtoomuch.htm

It'll be disappearing forever on New Year's Day!

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again,

It's time for another song from the Ex-Rental vaults!

This time, it's a demo from about five years ago which briefly
appeared in part on the website and then disappeared again.  It's
called "Knuckleduster" and it's not exactly a ton of fun.  It's one of
the 'harder' tracks I've recorded (the lyrics are pretty violent in
places), so we never played it live as it didn't fit in with the rest
of our sets.

But this is probably my favourite of the recent exclusives so far, so
take a deep breath and give it a try...

You can get it from Myspace here:
http://myspace.com/exrental

or a slightly more hi-fi version when you sign into Yahoo Groups:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Ex-RentalNews/files/MP3/

It'll soon be time for the annual Christmas mp3 giveaway too, and
there may even be another release of some kind before the end of the
month (watch this space).  But "Knuckleduster" will be online for at
least half of December if you can't pick it up right away...
Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again,

There's now an Ex-Rental page on MySpace.com:

http://www.myspace.com/exrental

As well as including three song excerpts also found on
http://ex-rental.com, the MySpace page includes an mp3 of early demo
"Walking In A Straight Line".  This will be online for a few weeks, to
be replaced by another exclusive sometime in October, and these
ever-changing exclusives will remain a regular feature on MySpace
until the long-overdue Ex-Rental album is finally ready.

None of these exclusives will be on the album either, so this seems
like a good way to let you hear all the other demos lurking in the
Ex-Rental archives...!  So if you use MySpace, feel free to join the
Ex-Rental 'friend list'!

(By the way, in case you prefer to avoid MySpace for any reason, you
can also download each exclusive on Yahoo too - just login and check
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Ex-RentalNews/files/MP3/ ...)

In other news, I'll be DJ-ing again on Thursday 28th September, at my
monthly night with The Fan Club's Val and Nick Nyro, "Pretty In Pink".

We'll be playing the best bits of the late 70s and the 80s on two
floors at The Fly, 36-38 New Oxford St, London WC1A 1EP - Val and
myself will play dancefloor-friendly new wave, new romanticism and pop
down in the basement, while Nick plays post-punk and indie up on the
ground floor.

Admission is again FREE, doors are open 7:30pm - midnight and all the
other details are on the website here:

http://thefanclub.info/pretty.htm

Hope to see you there, and on MySpace!

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again!

Just thought you might like to know about a couple of DJ dates I have
coming up in the next few weeks...


Tuesday 23rd May

"VERY PET SHOP BOYS" @ Nambucca, 596 Holloway Road, London N7 6LB

This is a one-off event celebrating the Pet Shop Boys' return, which
is basically five hours of PSB classics, PSB influences, PSB
collaborations, people inspired by PSB, and so on.

It runs from 7pm to midnight, admission is free, drinks are pub
prices (because it's basically a pub with a dancefloor at the back!)
and I'm on from about 10pm to 11:15, or thereabouts.

Details on:
http://www.myspace.com/verypetshopboys


Tuesday 6th June

The very last "SMASH HITS 7" @ Nambucca, 596 Holloway Road, London N7
6LB

I've decided to make the seventh of my Smash Hits 7 nights the last,
while it's still fresh.  I'm currently planning a fairly similar
night at a more central location (more details soon), but if you've
ever wanted to check out or return to Smash Hits 7, this is your last
chance!

I'll be joined by special guests Val, Paul and Nick Nyro from The Fan
Club, who'll be playing their favourite seven smash hits from 1978-
1985, and there'll be extra copies of Smash Hits around the venue for
the occasion.  Don't miss it!

More details on:
http://www.smashhits7.com

Hope to see you there!

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Chidren are hanging oversized socks on the wall... large birds are
quivering nervously in the corner... the blood-curdling tones of Cliff
Richard are terrorising shoppers in every mall.  It can only mean one
thing.

Yes, it's time for this year's annual Ex-Rental mp3 giveaway!

I've gone back to the archives and found an almost-too-poptastic demo
recorded in January 2002, which Lucy and I first played live at The
Water Rats that month.

Sadly, we never finished recording it properly (which means I'm
singing everything on this demo), but it's so catchy, I couldn't just
leave it in the archives.

So, here it is, in all its lo-fi glory, until January 5th 2006...
"Lovesick"!

http://ex-rental.com/Ex-Rental_-_Lovesick_-_2002_home_demo.mp3

"Paranoid Android" it ain't. ;)

Well, that's all for now, so I hope every one of you has a wonderful
Christmas and a fantastic New Year!  Maybe see you at
http://www.smashhits7.com next month... all the best,

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again,

I'm about to embark on a superstar DJ world tour of London (*cough*),
calling at Leicester Square, Camden and Holloway Road in a gruelling
15-day schedule.  Details are as follows:


* Wednesday 16th November - WARM ELECTRO

I'll be DJ-ing for top electro-pop duo Schmoof before and after each
of the four bands at The Marquee in Leicester Square.  Other bands
include Airport, Alexander's Festival Hall and Trash Fashion, and
I'll be playing electro tunes between their sets from 7:30pm 'til
midnight.  It's £5 admission with a flyer, which you can find here:

http://www.schmoof.com/gigs.html


* Friday 18th November - THE FAN CLUB

I'm back at my old favourite, which is now at The Purple Turtle in
Camden, where I'll be playing a mix of 'alternative' (whatever that
means these days) and pop, directly after the live bands around
11pm.  Come down earlier if you want to catch live performances from
Luxembourg, Tim Ten Yen, Kalev and The Composers.  Doors open at 8pm,
and it's £5 admission with a flyer, which you'll find on the club's
website:

http://thefanclub.info


* Wednesday 30th November - SMASH HITS 7

My world tour ends at my own club night, which is devoted to the BEST
music in Smash Hits magazine during its first seven years (1978-
1985).  As this one falls on St Andrew's Day, I'll be playing a
little extra Scottish music from the era, including the likes of
Altered Images, Associates and Orange Juice.  It's at Nambucca on
Holloway Road, admission is completely free and it'll help raise
money for Save The Children, so do come along!  There's more
information on the website:

http://www.smashhits7.com


Phew.  Hope to see you at one or more of these nights!

Take care,

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again, hope you're all well!


*** "Your Dad doesn't like me, your Dad doesn't like me!"

You might like to know that one of Ex-Rental's noisier numbers, which
features *guitar* (gasp!) is unleashed on CD next month.

A new mix of "Your Dad Doesn't Like Me" will appear as the second
track on Brainlove Records' "Real Pirate Radio" compilation,
alongside tracks by a whopping 27 other bands and artists, including
Piney Gir, Fosca, Bishi, The Schla La Las and many more.

And it only costs £5!  For details of how to order a copy, see the
Brainlove Records website at http://www.brainloverecords.com/ ...


*** "You're about as easy as a nuclear war!"

In case you hadn't already heard, my utterly retro club night "Smash
Hits 7" returns to Nambucca tomorrow (Thursday 27th October),
following a successful first night last month.

This month, we're marking the birthday of Simon Le Bon with some
extra Duran Duran tunes, among all the other classic new wave,
electro, new romanticism and pop from 1978-1985.

Admission is free, every drink you buy will help raise funds for
Save The Children, and it's darned good fun, so do come along if you
can!  Full details are on the website at http://www.smashhits7.com ...


*** "Chocolate... boyfriend... chocolate!"

Finally, I'm also DJ-ing for electro-pop duo Schmoof, who you may
have seen play with Ex-Rental, when they bring their Warm Electro
event to The Marquee on Wednesday 16th November.

I'm not sure exactly when I'll be DJ-ing yet, but details will surely
be on http://www.schmoof.com soon.


OK, that's all for now - hope to see you at Smash Hits 7 tomorrow!

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again... hope you're all well!

You may like to know that I'm starting a new and unashamedly retro
club night in London on Thursday 22nd September called Smash Hits 7.

It's devoted to the best music covered by Smash Hits magazine in its
first seven years (from November 1978 onwards), so you can expect to
hear classic new wave, electro and pop by the likes of Blondie, Duran
Duran, The Human League, David Bowie, Japan, The Specials, Madonna,
The Smiths, Soft Cell and many more.

Admission is completely free, 5% of the price of each drink bought
will go to the Save The Children charity and there should be a few old
copies of Smash Hits magazine around the place, as a reminder of how
good it used to be.

It's at Nambucca, 596 Holloway Road, London N7 between 7pm and
midnight, and you can find all the details on the new website here:

http://www.smashhits7.com

If you like the sound of it, please do come along, as this first one
is just a one-off.  I hope to make it a regular event, so if this one
goes well, hopefully there'll be more of them, so please come along to
support it!

Hope to see you there!

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again...

Just a quick note to let you know I'm guest-DJing at The Fan Club
next Friday (15th July), which as you may know has now moved to The
Purple Turtle in Camden.  Much nicer than The Verge.

I'll be on directly after the live bands (including Tim Ten Yen and
the highly recommended Cnut), at around 11pm-ish, joining resident
DJs Val, Nick, Paul and Andy in their usual potent mix of the best
electro, new wave and other sonic delights.  You will almost
certainly want to dance.  Or drink.  Or both.

Oh, and if you've ever wanted to dance to Duran Duran's "Friends Of
Mine" in a club, your chance has come at last.  Be there early
though!  ;)

If you need directions or any other details, take a look at
http://thefanclub.info/about.htm ... hope to see you on the 15th!

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again...

I was recently invited to record some guest vocals for the very
talented Soundhog (http://www.soundhog.org.uk - you may have heard
some of his many bootleg mixes or his remix of Ex-Rental's "Sophie's
Audition"), and the results are now available to download for free.

It's a cover of The 13th Floor Elevators' "Slip Inside This House", as
also covered by Primal Scream on their "Screamadelica" album, and it
forms part of a 'tribute' to that album.  You can download the whole
tribute (either as separate mp3s or as a torrent file) from
http://www.primalscreamremixed.com so get it while you can!

(Note: that's NOT me at the start of the song, in case you wonder!)

Work on the long-overdue Ex-Rental album has been on hold recently, as
I'm getting married in a couple of weeks (if you know me personally
and I still haven't told you about the pre-wedding party, let me
know!).  I just need to negotiate an exclusive wedding photo deal with
The National Enquirer, possibly, and then I'll get back onto the album
this summer... ;)

Hope you're well,

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again,

I'll be DJ-ing at the Dead Man's Boots night at Push (93 Dean
Street, off Oxford Street, London) on February 28th, but this is a
DJ set with a difference.

The night began when the guy who runs it bought a box of 1400 old 7"
singles through Loot and found out they used to belong to an old DJ
who passed away.

So the idea of Dead Man's Boots is to play a selection of those 1400
singles each week, giving away each single to whoever wants it after
it's been played, until all the singles are gone.

I have no idea what singles are left, as they've only got enough to
cover three more evenings, so I don't even know if I'll recognise
half of them!

But it should be interesting watching me wonder what on earth to
play next for an hour (9pm - 10pm), so if you fancy a cheap night
out, it's only £1 admission (all proceeds to Help The Aged) and
there are 2-for-1 beers until 11pm. And you might go home with a
free single!

Oh, and there's apparently something very funny happening straight
after my set, which I'm hoping isn't a custard pie in my face...!

For more details and a map, see http://www.deadmansboots.co.uk -
hope to see you there!

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again...

I know it's not quite Christmas yet, but I've just finished
preparing this year's annual exclusive mp3 for members of the Ex-
Rental mailing list, so I thought I'd put it online right away!

This year's mp3 is possibly the trashiest one yet (ahem), and it
dates back to 2002, when Lucy and I were due to play at a retro-
themed event... so we thought we'd perform a suitably retro cover
version.  As this was at the height of the 'bootleg mix' craze, we
thought it'd be fun to mix some songs together...

In the end, illness prevented us from playing the show, so my demo
for the cover version has been gathering dust ever since... until
now.  It sounds quite rough, but I've made it a little more
presentable with a few changes here and there, and you can now
download it here:

http://ex-rental.com/EX-RENTAL_Spin_Me_Round_The_Beach_rough_demo.mp3

And just in case anyone feels inclined to try making a terribly post-
modern bootleg mix of a bootleg-style cover version (!), here's the
instrumental mix...

http://ex-rental.com/EX-
RENTAL_Spin_Me_Round_The_Beach_instrumental.mp3

Both will be online until January 5th... hope you don't find them
too unlistenable!  Heh...

By the way, the music page on the website has just been revamped,
with the addition of an excerpt from "The Death Of A Thousand
Disinterested Chattering Fashionistas", featuring vocals by Wendy.

This song will be released on CD in the New Year, alongside another
Ex-Rental track, plus six other songs - two each by Schmoof, Cnut
and Trademark.  You'll also be able to find "Too Much Attention"
and "Your Dad Doesn't Like Me" on two other forthcoming compilation
CDs - more details on the news page of the website.

Anyway, this will probably be the last mailout of 2004, so I'd like
to wish you all a very merry Christmas, and all the best for 2005.
Have a good one!

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again...

If you've ever had a great night out at The Verge in London (almost
certainly on a Fan Club night!), you may like to know that the venue
is closing at the end of this month.

The Fan Club will be moving to The Purple Turtle in Camden in
December, but not without one final farewell night at its current
venue!

So if you want to catch the last great party at The Verge, it's this
Saturday (October 30th) and I'll be joining the resident DJs Val,
Paul and Andy on the wheels of steel, probably soon after the live
bands (Hoboken, Miss Pain, Headless and The Uterus Women) finish at
around 11pm.

It's a (pre-)Hallowe'en night, so feel free to dress up, and expect
the usual fabulous mix of electro, indie, new wave, disco and quality
pop music.

Doors are 8pm 'til 2am, admission is just £4 with a flyer (£5
without) and you can find all the details (including printable
flyers) on http://thefanclub.info ...

Should be a blast - hope to see you there!

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again,

Just a quick note to let you know I'll be guest DJ-ing tomorrow
evening (Friday 24th September) at post-punk/new wave club night Dot
Dash.  It's at Asylum, 1a Percy Street, London W1 (on the corner of
Rathbone Place, not far from Tottenham Court Road tube station).

Doors are open from 8pm 'til 2am, admission is FREE before 10pm (only
£3 after 10pm) and I'll be on the decks for an hour from 10:30pm.
Dot Dash regulars Nick Nyro and Jimmy Mack will provide the rest of
the evening's sounds, which should range from Wire to Bowie to
Blondie to The Velvet Underground to Public Image Limited to Pixies
to The Fall and beyond...

Also, it looks as though there could be a number of compilation CDs
featuring Ex-Rental coming up within a few months... watch this space
for details!

Maybe see you tomorrow,

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again...

OK... Ex-Rental has just entered a new phase, or something.  Wendy
is moving on to pastures new, and so Ex-Rental will in future become
a lot more more flexible - essentially just me (Sean) continuing to
write the songs, sing, play keyboards and guitar, etc, etc, with
occasional guests on vocals, probably including Wendy.

As a result of this, for the foreseeable future, Ex-Rental will
become a lot more studio-based and live shows are likely to become a
rarity for the time being, while Sean works on new material for the
forthcoming album, with collaborators old and new on a few of the
songs.

I'd like to wish Wendy all the best with her future endeavours and
say a big "thank you" for all the time and energy she's invested in
Ex-Rental over the last year, as well as being an all-round fab
person.

And if you're impatient for your next fix of Ex-Rental, don't worry -
  there should be one or two new tracks available for you to listen
to before the end of the year, probably including at least one of
the recordings made with Wendy...

Watch this space for more details!

Sean x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again...

We're pleased to be playing our first ever Scottish show next
Saturday (July 31st), when we headline the End Of The Month Club in
Glasgow!

It takes place at the 13th Note Café, 50 - 60 King Street, where the
entertainment will also include synthpunks Luxury Car, club hosts
Bozilla, video artist Thriftshop XL, 'plastic stuntman' Weevel
Kinhell (!) and something known as Weeble City...?

Admission is just £3, doors open at 9pm and there are more details
on http://www.eotmc.com ... so if you're anywhere near Glasgow that
night, please put it in your diary, and come along and support us!
Thanks...

Also, Sean is DJ-ing twice this weekend:

* Friday 23rd July - DOT DASH @ Asylum, 1a Percy Street, London W1
(playing a Hot Bedfellows set with Lucy from 10pm... expect a rather
noisy set including the likes of Weird War, James Chance and so on -
and it's FREE admission before 10pm!)

* Saturday 24th July - WARM ELECTRO FOR COLD EARS @ The Water Rats
Theatre, 328 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X (before and after live sets
by Schmoof, Vic Twenty and Serge... expect electronic pop by
everyone from Sparks to Rachel Stevens - arrive before 8:30pm and
it's only £3 to get in!)

For more details on both these events, see the flyers on
http://thehotbedfellows.com ...

Anyway, that's all for now - hope to see you soon!

Sean and Wendy x

http://ex-rental.com

Hello again... just a quick note about a couple of things...


1) "Kitchen At Parties", Wed 23 June

Sean's DJ-ing at this event on Wednesday, at the request of
electropopsters Vic Twenty who are playing live, ably supported by
Hotel Motel and 235.

It takes place Upstairs At The Garage from 8pm and Sean will be on
the decks for about an hour after the live bands.  Full details are
on Vic Twenty's site:

http://www.victwenty.free-online.co.uk/page2.htm


2) "Flux" magazine online

In case you missed the Ex-Rental article in issue 42 of "Flux"
magazine, we've scanned it (quite badly!) and put it online, as
issue 43 is probably in the shops by now.  If you'd like to see it,
it's here for a short while:

http://ex-rental.com/fluxmagazine42ex-rental.jpg


That's all for now - more soon!

Sean and Wendy x

http://ex-rental.com