Dear Scarecrow,
Welcome to Scarecrow Parish News - your informative guide to all Rev Hammer activities. Many apologies for the delay in producing this first edition - we trust it was worth the wait.

Plans for 1994
27th Jan - 11th Feb - Red Sky Coven Tour (see details inside)
28th Jan - New L.P. - Bishop of Buffalo released in Germany (COOK CD 063) - Rough Trade/Public Propaganda
28th Feb - L.P. released in U.K. on C.D. + limited ed. vinyl featuring 2 extra tracks
23rd Mar - 9th Apr - U.K. Tour (see details inside)
April - possible German Headline Tour (check press for details)

The Dam
This was our valley, yes.
Our valley 'til they came
And chose to build the dam.
All the village worked on it
And we were lucky of course
All through the slump we had
Good jobs; they were too well paid
For the water rose ninety feet,

And covered our houses, yes -
In a midsummer drought
The old church spire pokes out
And the weathercock treads the wind
But we were lucky of course
We were - most of us - laid on
Like the water, to the town.
Somehow, I stayed behind.

I work on the dam, yes -
Do you think the drowned ash trees
Still have faint impulses
When Spring's up here I wonder?
I was lucky of course
But oh there's a lot of me
Feels like a stifled tree
That went on living, under.

They turn on their taps, yes,
In the dusty city and drink:
Now is it that we sink
Or that the waters rise?
They are lucky of course
But as they go to work
There's an underwater look
In their street-shuttered eyes.

This was our valley, yes,
And I live on the dam
And in my sight the dream
Still drowns the dreamer's home.
But I am lucky of course
For in a time of drought
Within me and without
I see where I came from.

(R. S. Thomas)

Red Sky Coven - 1994
The Red Sky Coven touring folk club, featuring Justin Sullivan (New Model Army), Joolz and Rev Hammer, is a unique show mixing music, poetry and stories (both tragic and humorous) from three very different talented writers/performers.

Tour details are as follows:
27.01.94 Ratingen - Manege
28.01.94 Bremen - Modernes
29.01.94 Hannover - Glocksee Indigo
30.01.04 Berlin - Knaack Club
31.01.94 Kiel - M.A.X
01.02.94 Hamburg - Fabrik
03.02.94 Osnabrueck - Lagerhalle
04.02.94 Koeln - Wartesaal
05.02.94 Trier - Tuchfabrik
06.02.94 Bochum - Zeche
07.02.94 Mainz - Kulturzentrum
08.02.94 Stuttgart - Schuetzenhaus
09.02.94 Muenchen - Muffat Halle
10.02.94 Bern, Switzerland - Wasserwerk
11.02.94 Amsterdam, Holland - The Arena

For further information contact
Contour Music Promotions
Stuttgart 0711 238500
or:
Red Sky Coven info line
(intl.) 44 274 660923

The Bishop of Buffalo
In January 1994, Rev Hammer releases The Bishop of Buffalo on Cooking Vinyl (COOK CD 063). The LP was produced by Justin Sullivan of New Model Army, and is the follow up to his debut LP Industrial Sound and Magic (COOK CD 046) which was released in 1992 and featured The Levellers as the backing band.
The new album mixes solo numbers with tracks featuring Rev Hammer backed by a full band, and offers a powerful cocktail of original songs ranging from acoustic ballads to hard edged electric material, covering themes ranging from drunken love to dreamland.

BISHOP OF BUFFALO RELEASED 28 FEB. 94 IN THE U.K.
COOK CD 063 + LIMITED ED. VINYL (U.K. ONLY)

On the Road With Rev Hammer and Friends
U.K. Tour Dates
23.03.94 Portsmouth - Wedgewood Rooms (solo support)
24.03.94 Norwich - Oval Rockhouse
25.03.94 Leicester - The Princess Charlotte
26.03.94 Bedford - The Angel
27.03.94 T.B.A.
28.03.94 T.B.A.
29.03.94 Derby The - Warehouse
30.03.94 Birmingham - Pen and Wig
31.03.94 T.B.A.
01.04.94 Coventry - General Wolfe
02.04.94 Nottingham - Rock City
07.04.94 Southampton - Joiner's Arms
08.04.94 London - New Cross-Venue
09.04.94 Cambridge - Boatrace

*More dates to follow - see press/ring info line for details.

Scarecrow Parish News
P.O. Box 12
Bulwell
Nottingham NG6 8GF
U.K.

New 24 Hr Info Line
Intl: 44 602 795826
U.K.: 0602 795826

Merchandise
T003 - Very limited edition XL t-shirt "It Came from the Corn" - Red or White - £ 6
T004 - "Bishop of Buffalo" LP design - XL t-shirt - Red - £ 8
T005 - Buffalo and Cross logo - XL t-shirt - Unbleached Cotton - £ 8
B001 - Scarecrow Face Brooches made from spoons - £ 10
COOK CD 046 - Industrial Sound and Magic - Debut LP featuring The Levellers - £ 8

Please add 20% postage and packing to your order.
Send cheques/postal orders/I.M.O.s for the total amount (payable to Scarecrow Merchandise) in sterling to the above address.