A vastly experienced live act with over 500 shows under their belts, The Twisted Melons (Paul Johnson – Lead Guitar and Vocals, Stephen Johnson – Bass and Backing Vocals, Mark Johnson – Drums and Backing Vocals) are one of the west of Scotland’s best kept secrets, playing live relentlessly in small venues throughout the country while regularly producing and releasing their music 100% independently.
Comprised of the three Johnson brothers, the band have an uncanny sibling musical telepathy that makes every show a one-off. Moving effortlessly between psychedelia, hard rock, pop, funk, fusion and electronica, the band recall the great bands of the past while moving towards the future along their own path.
Their diverse sound has seen them supporting a wide range of acts including Otherkin, Blaenavon, Fufanu, The Vryll Society, Here We Go Magic, Rituals, Pete MacLeod, Focus and Deacon Blue.
The Twisted Melons 4th album “West Of The Rock” was released on 1st April 2016, featuring the singles “Love Is A Drug” and “More Fool Me”.
The first single from the forthcoming album “77” was released on 4th May 2018.
Inspiration for the track
We grew up in the shadow of RAF Machrihanish, which during the Cold War was one of the most strategically important bases in the whole of NATO. We were exposed to militarism at close quarters and were very much aware of the power of the state.
Militarism is in our culture in the UK, so much so you get called an extremist and an insurgent for criticising the war culture and wanting the UK to take a deep breath before involving itself in conflict. We were protesters against the Iraq war and wrote and released pro peace songs during that time. At the time of the Iraq War we kept getting told about how important it was to win the hearts and minds of the populations of countries the UK were invading. The propaganda to paint the UK as just was astonishing.
This is all background to a new brigade of the British Army which was created under the Army 2020 project, a brigade that was involved in “non-lethal warfare.” This brigade is called the 77th Brigade and it will reach full operational capacity in January 2019. When launched the press described this brigade as “Facebook warriors.” The Brigade is involved in online and media operations. It is a organisation designed to control the narrative online.
In this era of fake news and realities created by online entities we thought it important to raise awareness of this particular branch of the army, especially when their predecessor was deployed against the British public online to try to gain public support for the invasion of Libya. If the British army were willing to deploy it’s “hearts and minds” division against the British public on the Libya issue what else are they willing to use it on and to what ends? This is a serious liberty issue, especially with the backdrop of clandestine organisations trying to disrupt our democracy. What else have they been deployed for? Who are they targeting and why is our tax money being spent on trying to troll and argue with people on line, especially British citizens?
There was a time when the Internet was your friend. Now it’s a battlefield for your thoughts, one for hearts and minds, and one where victory can never be defined. Why should the British Army’s agenda get government funding and be allowed to roam unchecked online? This is an assault on our democracy and this time, we’re all on the front line.
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