The wheel of the year turns from 2024 to 2025

Posted on January 1, 2025 by frazerlee

Feels like a sharp intake of breath is needed before contemplating what 2025 might bring…

I didn’t publish so much in 2024, for various reasons, but was pleased to have my story ‘To Take the Water Down and Go To Sleep’ included in the anthology Shadows on the Water.

I fulfilled an ambition to have work published in one of my favourite magazines, Hellebore, with my article ‘Rewriting the Landscape’ appearing in The Storytelling Issue #12.

My Goodreads profile makes it look like I hardly read anything in 2024, but I read/annotated/fed back on dozens of short stories, screenplays and full novel manuscripts as part of my day job. Always a pleasure to read emerging voices in various genres and styles! There was, and continues to be, much uncertainty in academia with diminished budgets and the threat of job cuts across the sector. Solidarity with and sympathy for all those affected, and I hope things improve. (No pressure on our new Labour-lite government of course…!)

The film funding landscape was also difficult to navigate in 2024, though I’m cautiously optimistic for better days ahead with the promise of better tax breaks for indie movie production. Sadly, nothing came of the shopping agreement for my feature film screenplay ‘Knock Three Times’ and rights have reverted to me so it’s back to the anvil with that project. In better news, my folk horror film ‘The Stay’ continued its film festival run, picking up its 31st award honour. I won’t curse myself by saying anything about future productions, maybe I’d better just say ‘watch this space’…

2024 was also the year that I completely failed to see The Cure play live, but tickets for their BBC Radio & Troxy shows turned out to be rarer than politicians with good intentions. Here’s hoping for some dates in 2025 so I can overcompensate! The long awaited Songs of a Lost World album exceeded all expectations — an instant classic. I did get out & see some fantastic shows in 2024, including Ride, Hawkwind, and Front 242’s final(?) UK gig.

Speaking of final(?) gigs… In 2024 I started but didn’t quite finish my 8th novel. Not making any New Year’s resolutions here but will aim to pick that up again in 2025 (in addition to finding a new potential agent/publisher for the book).

Last but by no means least, I had the most fun chatting all things vampiric & gothic horror with Blackletter Games’ Kris Rees and Happy Goat Horror’s Kayleigh Dobbs — and I was super honoured to see my novel Hearthstone Cottage on Kayleigh’s Top 10 Ghostly Horror Books list!

Fangs for reading & here’s wishing you a happy, healthy, or just plain tolerable 2025.

x Frazer

#TheCure concerts I have known & loved: Hyde Park, 7th July 2018

Posted on July 7, 2024 by frazerlee

The Cure’s 40th anniversary was always going to be special. But quite this special? What a day. What a night. Let’s rewind to 7th July 2018…

It was a scorchingly sunny Summer’s day in Londontown & 65,000 of the faithful descended on Hyde Park in a shimmer of summer hats beneath a black cloud of tour t-shirts. Robert Smith had curated quite the line-up (something of a continuation of his amazing Meltdown Festival during the preceding month).

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Editors, Pale Waves, Lisa Hannigan, The Twilight Sad, Ride, Goldfrapp (spent most of their set queueing for a t-shirt), Interpol, (and more!) all went down a storm before The Cure arrived onstage to a truly rapturous heroes’ welcome.

Interpol at Hyde Park 7/7/18 (Photo ©Frazer Lee)

What followed was the consummate festival set (reminiscent of their standout Bestival shows from 2011 & 2016) featuring an embarrassment of hits & some strategically placed deeper & darker grooves like Burn & If Only Tonight We Could Sleep.

The encores had everyone singing along, (their voices already raw from cheering for Engerland in the World Cup quarter final earlier) and The Cure brought its anniversary to a close with a clutch of the tunes that have helped them endure in the hearts & on the stereos and playlists of so many.

I’m glad that I was lucky enough to have seen the ‘Curaetion-25’ Meltdown show a couple of weeks earlier, when they played two tracks off each album forwards then backwards along the Cure’s timeline. It meant that i was (a little) less obsessive about hearing songs from Pornography & Faith than i usually am!

I couldn’t help but think of the stark contrast with the band’s previous Hyde Park outing, in 2002. That was one of their darkest outdoor sets (and one of my favourites, natch!) and really felt like the end of a chapter for the band — whereas this anniversary show felt like a joyous pause, a playful stocktake before the beginning of a new one.

Early on, Robert apologised for his lack of banter between songs, but as the sun went down he opened up a bit. “Thanks to everyone around me, I’m still here…” Robert mumbled, “and to you as well, so thank you very much!”

We had the opportunity to relive this special show all over again, in cinemas, with the Anniversary film shot by none other than Tim Pope, and then at home with the sumptuous 40 Live box set.

“It’s been a good four decades, here’s to the next one,” Robert said at the end of this epic gig, “here’s to the next one! See you again very soon!”

And we did. But as ever, that’s another story…

See what The Cure played on 7th July 2018 here.

Follow The Cure on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and visit the official website.

Comment below with your Cure memories! I’d love to hear them!

A nervous glance back at 2023 & a cheeky peek forward to 2024

Posted on January 1, 2024 by frazerlee

As i sat beside the fire last night, nursing a Guinness & burning the Yule Log & last year’s Xmas tree offcut, i got to thinking about the importance of rituals in daily life.

And, as is customary on this blog, it’s time once more to ritualistically take a quick look back at events of last year before stepping into the unfolding mystery of the new.

(I know these year-in-review posts can be the last thing you might wish to read if you’re struggling right now. If that’s the case, I’d just like to send you my love & all best wishes for the year ahead.)

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2023 was a year of highs & lows for sure, as I’m sure was the case for many of you. The terrible loss of so many luminaries hit hard each and every time. Personally speaking, losing both Chris Fowler & Benjamin Zephaniah in 2023 was nothing short of savage. Both had such an impact on anyone who knew them, and their work, and both left us far too soon.

The highs kept me going some. 2023 was The Year of The Doctor, and not only because it was the 60th anniversary of the much beloved franchise. After 5 years of research, which flew by, I completed my PhD and can now call myself a Doctor of horror. And I finally got to achieve a lifetime ambition to write something officially within the Whoniverse, in the form of Gobbledegook, a 5th Doctor audio adventure for Big Finish Productions.

I was also lucky enough to publish Planet of the Dead, a short story in the Blake’s 7 universe, as part of Cult Edge’s charity annual project — another ambition fulfilled.

My novella series The Daniel Gates Adventures was collected in paperback for the first time by Crossroad Press — just in time for my only live event of 2023, the brilliant Haunted Landscapes Conference in Falmouth, where I presented a short paper (snappily entitled The Jackboot in the Green: Writing Corporate Horrors in Folkloresque Landscapes).

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Post-Covid lockdowns, the indie film industry finally kicked into gear again, with my folk horror short The Stay picking up its 30th award on the film festival circuit. I signed a shopping agreement with Play House Studios for my psychological horror feature screenplay Knock Three Times, and launched my next directorial project, Death By PowerPoint with my partners at Reel Fearz, Ash Verma Consulting & Brunel University, and which will hopefully shoot in 2024.

Early 2024 will see the publication of my horror story To Take the Water Down and Go to Sleep, and… beyond that? Well, to be honest it’s all a bit of a mystery right now, and hopefully in a good way! (I won’t even mention the possibility of that ever elusive new The Cure album… oops!)

So, I hope I’ll see you here again this time next year to take stock, count blessings, and to commiserate if necessary. In the meantime, here’s wishing you a happy, healthy, imaginative 2024.

Take care out there and, as always, thanks for reading.

Love, Frazer x

#TheCure concerts I have known & loved: Hammersmith Apollo, 21 & 22 December 2014

Posted on December 22, 2023 by frazerlee

Hard to believe it’s already nine(!?) years since The Cure played their festive run of gigs at the Hammersmith Apollo, a venue that keeps changing its name but which to me will always be, well… Hammersmith Apollo.

There was a lot of speculation from fans online about the gigs. Would they be like the Trilogy shows? Would they play the Top, The Head on the Door, and Kiss Me albums over the three nights? Would there be new songs?

The announcement of the support act was a big hint. And Also the Trees would join our heroes just as they did for the 1984 shows at the same venue. The Top album formed the backbone (or Bananafishbones?) of the set, which also included some rareties and plenty of crowd pleasers. (Tantalisingly, The Cure also soundchecked Stop Dead, but it didn’t appear in the set…)

The first night was a brilliant timewarp of the band’s back catalogue, and reminded me that a Cure gig really is like time travel through past, present (and sometimes into the future). Like Cockatoos was a feathery flurry of nostalgia (a favourite of mine, which The Cure played at my first ever Cureshow). Many of The Top tracks were performed for the first time in 30 years, and the unhinged brilliance that is A Man Inside My Mouth made its live debut.

Another rare outing (Hey You!!!) brought festivities to a joyous close, with the crowd singing & dancing along in the aisles. But the at-close-quarters party atmosphere inside the packed and sweaty venue also meant that I got ill and couldn’t attend the third and final night. But two out of three ain’t bad when you’re seeing the best band in the (empty) world.

See what The Cure played here.

Check out some video footage, while it’s still available.

and Happy Winter Solstice x

Frazer x

Happy 60th, #DoctorWho

Posted on November 23, 2023 by frazerlee

Seems like only yesterday that we were celebrating the 50th & yet somehow today is the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who’s first appearance on our tellybox screens!

I remember an excitable & (much) younger me dragging my poor Grandmother around the Dr Who Exhibition in Blackpool like it was yesterday too…

And as a grown up (or perhaps because I refused to become one!?) I feel very blessed indeed to have been allowed to make my own small contribution to the Whoniverse during the show’s 60th year.

So, from one Doctor to another — Happy birthday! And here’s to many more x

Happy #DoctorWhoDay

Love from Dr Lee x

#TheCure concerts I have known & loved: Crystal Palace Bowl, 11th August 1990

Posted on August 11, 2023 by frazerlee

This time 33 years ago(!) I was aboard a coach & stuck in traffic en route from sunny Staffordshire to an even sunnier Crystal Palace for the event of the year — The Garden Party.

For their South London Pleasure Trips show The Cure had put together a dream lineup with All About Eve, James & Lush providing sonic support.

I remember packing 2 cassette tapes in my bag (Scarlet & Other Stories by the Eves and the B52s Cosmic Thing) and persuaded the coach driver to play them, which was great… until we hit motorway traffic and the tape just kept auto playing until we’d all heard Loveshack far too many times!

Legging it off the bus to catch the last bit of Lush’s set (bloody traffic) there was time to grab a t-shirt…

…before a bit of a Sit Down for James (geddit?), a fair bit of goth hand dancing for AAE (joined by Wayne Hussey on guitar to riotous applause), and then the lake in front of the stage became a dry ice mood swamp as The Cure hit the stage and launched into Shake Dog Shake. Amazing.

There was this ramp thingy with barriers keeping people away from the lake (and several metres from the stage, Robert quipping about needing boats), which made for a piss poor view even down the front. I remember moving back as night fell for some deep cuts including The Same Deep Water As You (aka ‘no, YOU’RE crying’) and (OMG!) Lament. So brilliant to hear those songs under a starlit sky.

Fireworks fizzed and crackled across the lake as The Cure told us whatever they do it’s Never Enough.

Honestly, I could have died happy just having heard Lament played live, and so beautifully, but there were more legendary Cure shows in store…

See what The Cure played here.

Instafollow: The Cure, Julianne Regan (AAE), James, Miki Berenyi from Lush.

#TheCure concerts I have known & loved: Finsbury Park, 13th June 1993

Posted on June 13, 2023 by frazerlee

Thirty years(!) ago today I was in a London park in the sunshine, rocking my socks (and my paratrooper boots) off.

Still got the tee & the ticket! — **Still got the ticket! And the tee!**

Great X-pectations was a special one-day gig in support of indie radio station XFM. Around this time, The Cure had taken to the airwaves and hosted Cure FM a weekend of choons (and by all accounts also a weekend of debauched, erm, XS) on the station, which was pitching for a London-wide license so it could bring the magic to the masses. Rather like XFM itself, the event attracted an exciting mix of artists and an eclectic audience.

Belly and Catherine Wheel were ace (from what I recall all these years later), as were Senseless Things and Sugar. Carter USM went down an absolute storm, but I remember feeling frustrated with the lacklustre audience response to the headliners. I’m far too old to dance nowadays, but 30 years ago it seemed criminal to leave a single blade of Finsbury Park grass uncut by tapping feet!

The Cure‘s set began aggressively with the triple salvo of Shiver and Shake (from 1987’s Kiss Me… album, and the first time they had played it since then), Shake Dog Shake, both containing more expletives than, well, you shake a stick at, capped off by the incendiary One Hundred Years. Around this time, The Cure was subject to acrimonious legal action from former band member Lol Tolhurst (thankfully those wounds have now healed over and if you fancy reading Lol’s account of his side of things, I can recommend his memoir Cured), and I think that maybe set the tone a bit. Maybe the crowd were expecting a ‘greatest hits’ set on such a picnic-in-the-park type of Sunday – hence the lack of movement – but they weren’t gonna get that… not for while yet anyway.

It’s Not You was a lovely surprise during the encores (I had seen them play it a couple of times on the Wish Tour the year before), which, praise be, saw the gathered throng finally cutting some parkland rug en masse.

Pure bliss, as always. A fresh air cocktail of misery and joy. But over too soon.

Looking back, I realise just how unique this line-up of bands and Cure songs really was, a day that reflected the spirit of what XFM was trying to do on air.

This was 1993’s only outing for the band and we were in for a little bit of a wait until the next Cure album and tour, but that’s another story…

F x

Check out The Cure’s Great Xpectations setlist!

And see archival footage/interview here (The Beat)

Leave your own Cure memories in the comments, i love to read them!

It’s behind you! 2022: “Oh no it isn’t!” 2023: “Oh yes it is!”

Posted on January 1, 2023 by frazerlee

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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As is customary on this blog, time for a quick glance back before looking ahead.

2022 was a political pantomime of giant horse costume proportions, and I live in hope of a General Election in 2023… Aside from all that, it was a great year for creativity, and for reconnection with others, but an absolute stinker for illness as we all started circulating once more after the lockdowns. Covid finally caught up with me in June, and it hit me real bad, but I was grateful to have gotten over the worst of it after a couple of weeks. Yuletide gifted the Winter vomity bug, which was as unpleasant as it sounds, but I recovered just in time for the obligatory glass of Guinness on NYE.

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My big news of the year was of course the publication of Damnation: The Gothic Game (the official novelisation of my favourite board game of all time) on Halloween. The re-vamped (yes, pun intended AGAIN, sorry-not-sorry) game will be unleashed in Spring of 2023 after a few inevitable delays, along with the game’s soundtrack, so that’s already something to look forward to. Thanks again to Kris Rees & Blackletter Games for the opportunity, and to the Gothic Game’s co-creator Robert Wynne-Simmons, who also published an official novelisation of his own, the most excellent Blood on Satan’s Claw, which I was only too happy to support on the Unbound platform. It was a fanboy thrill to see my name in the book’s end credits!

I completed my PhD thesis in 2022 and will have my viva voce in early 2023 (not sure if that’s something to look forward to or not, i’ll let you know how it goes!). My short story Ill Met By Moonlight was republished in Castle of Horror Vol. 7, and my historical horror novel The Skintaker returned in paperback thanks to the wonderful people at Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink. My film The Stay went from strength to strength, picking up another five awards on the festival circuit, including Best Horror in Austin & Hollywood, and Best Mystery Thriller in sunny Cyprus. I’m so grateful to all the festival organisers and audiences for supporting my film, and as ever to my cast, crew, and backers for their hard work and belief in the end product.

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In-person events were back on the menu, and I had such a blast at Chillercon in Scar(e)borough, meeting horror heroes old & new, almost selling out of books & blu rays, and finally getting to sit on Bram Stoker’s bench (another ambition fulfilled). My thanks to organisers Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane, and to all the awesome guests and attendees. As hoped last year, The Cure did indeed go on tour in 2022 and I was lucky to see them in Birmingham and London (times three) bringing my show tally up to a respectable 42 since my first Cureshow on December 6th, 1987. 2022’s Shows of a Lost World Birmingham gig was on December 7th, so 35 years and a day since my first! No new album yet, though we were treated to five of the new songs, so that’s also something to look forward to in 2023 (we hope!). It was a pleasure to return to teaching in-person creative writing classes at Brunel University and to see my students graduate at the first offline ceremonies in three long years (not a dry eye in the house!).

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And in the spirit of looking forward, I have my first ever Blake’s 7 story published early 2023 in a charity annual endorsed by series star Jan (Cally) Chappell. I’m looking forward to presenting Writing Horror at University of Hull’s Faculty of Arts, Cultures & Education later this month. One or two other things are in the works, but I’m not at liberty to say anything about them (yet!). Who knows what else 2023 will bring? Come what may, I hope yours is a happy and healthy one.

Thanks again for all your support & best wishes,
Frazer x

The best books that make you the inmate of a sinister institution

Posted on November 29, 2022 by frazerlee

https://shepherd.com/best-books/making-you-the-inmate-of-a-sinister-institution

The titular Greyfriars Reformatory in my recent horror novel is one place you would never want to spend the night!

A lifelong horror fan, I have always been fascinated by haunted landscapes and creepy buildings. My childhood in the Midlands of England prepared me for my career as a horror writer and filmmaker with its abundance of spooky ruins and foggy canal paths.

I have since explored ancient sites all across the U.K. and Europe and my novels are inspired by these field trips into the uncanny, where the contemporary everyday rubs shoulders with the ancient and occult. Places become characters in their own right in my work and I think this list of books celebrates that.

I hope you find them as disturbing and thought-provoking as I have!

(And if you’re looking for similar reads, why not browse this book list featuring more titles set in psychiatric hospitals)

Cheers,
Frazer x

#TheCure concerts I have known & loved: Kilburn National Ballroom, 3rd May 1992

Posted on May 3, 2022 by frazerlee

Thirty(!) years ago today I was beside myself with excitement for a very special The Cure gig. Ahead of the full Wish Tour, the band announced a clutch of warm-up dates at club venues.

All the shows I had seen up to that point had either been in enormous arenas, or outdoor shows. The Kilburn National Ballroom was a relatively tiny venue for The Cure, and that only added to the feeling of anticipation. Seeing your #CultHeroes live is honour enough, but up close and personal? Even better.

The journey to seeing this gig was fraught. I was studying for a Journalism degree at the time and had an in-class assessment the day that tickets went on sale (at only £10 each!). In these pre-internet days phoning up to book tickets, or queuing in person, were the only options. The only person I knew who would want to go wasn’t able to queue up either, so I had to knuckle down and complete my class assessment while the clock ticked down and – you guessed it – the gig sold out.

First world problems, I know! (Hey, I was still very young back then.) And it turns out I passed the in-class assessment so there is that. I was trying to be responsible, even in the face of my borderline insane Cure obsession! And, luckily I was working a part-time job to support myself so I rolled up my baggy black sleeves, put in several extra hours and saved up some cash.

Long story short, the £10 ticket ended up costing me £60 on the night, but I had enough cash left over for a tour shirt and a couple of beers. People danced and sang along. There were promotional balloons! Happy the man, as the old b-side goes.

The gig itself was a loud, joyous, sweaty sprint through the amazing new double album Wish plus several hits and surprises. The crane camera swinging and floating above the crowd added a showbiz touch to proceedings, and from what I recall there was a fair bit of crowd-surfing going on during the faster numbers. (Hey, this was ’92, the golden age of grunge…)

I emerged from the tiny, packed out venue with a massive grin on my face. I would see The Cure a further nine times on the ’92 Wish tour, in those huge arenas again. But, as an intimate introduction to a massive tour, the 3rd May 1992 would be very hard to beat.