SPOTTISWOODE

12 takes on the joys and humiliations of fatherhood and getting older.
Sentimental. Irreverent. Catchy. Morbid.

I’m a washed up rock and roller
I played a season in hell
Now I’m pushing a stroller
Along the Regents Canal

All records are labours of love but once in a while the love runs particularly deep. IT WASN’T IN THE SCRIPT is an album about family, fatherhood and getting older. Unashamedly sentimental. Unashamedly tongue-in-cheek. Unashamedly rock and roll.

Dedicated to Spottiswoode’s now ten-year-old daughter, Sophie Lee, the collection features her singing backing vocals on over half the tracks including the haunting duet, Prayer #1.

“In their different ways these songs mark an unexpectedly magical time in my life.”

After making seven critically acclaimed records with his New York septet Spottiswoode & His Enemies - see full bio here - the IMA winner chose a different path for this collection. More stripped back. More rock’n’roll. The sound of children singing!

Basics were tracked at producer Peter Fox’s Brooklyn Pearl studio in Dumbo NYC: Brian Geltner (drums & percussion); Drew Hart (bass); Kenny White (keyboards); Spottiswoode (Fender Stratocaster & vocals).

Overdubs were later recorded in Brooklyn and in London where Spottiswoode now lives. The backing vocal section includes dear friends Matti Müller, Chris Marquardt, Walter Salas of The Silos, and soulstress extraordinaire Martha Redbone. Martha brings her trademark fireworks to the emotional coda of Old Man At The Station (an epic story about Spottiswoode collecting his daughter at Paddington Station) and to the wistful closing track, Summer Day.

And then there’s Sophie Lee. “Peter was understandably skeptical about her participation but I hope I’ve converted him. She brings the extra joy, humour and spookiness.”

A string of release shows is planned for Germany, New York, Massachusetts, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Italy and the UK. Find them HERE.

“Genius!” New Yorker

”Nothing short of transportive” Paste Magazine

”Spottiswoode commands a room. He doesn’t simply sing his songs, he inhabits them” Northampton Gazette

”Feels like the punchline to a joke that begins ‘Leonard Cohen, David Bowie and Frank Sinatra walk into a bar…’ The man and his jaw-droppingly tight seven-piece are simply that sophisticated, that eccentric, that charismatic, time after time after time.” The Daily Vault

IT WASN’T IN THE SCRIPT comes out April 21st - Vinyl, CD and primary streaming platforms.

A Blip Records/Brooklyn Pearl release

Extra info from Spott about the songs and videos HERE
Hi-Res Photos & Press HERE
Full Bio HERE
Contact (PR & Booking): spode@spottiswoode.com