Uncle John & Whitelock

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Uncle John & Whitelock

| image = Uncle John & Whitelock.jpg

| caption = Uncle John and Whitelock performing live 3 August 2005
Photo: Stephen Robinson

| landscape = yes

| origin = Glasgow, Scotland

| Instruments =

| genre = Horror punk, Blues, Rockabilly, Surf, Psychobilly, Garage rock

| years_active = 2001–2006

| label = God Forgot Man

| associated_acts = Jacob Yates and the Pearly Gate Lock Pickers, Tut Vu Vu, Adopted as Holograph

| website = [http://www.myspace.com/unclejohnandwhitelock Uncle John and Whitelock]

| past_members = Jacob Lovatt - Guitar, vocals
Raydale Dower - Bass
Andrew Hobson - Drums (2001–02),
Guitar (2002–05)
Matthew Black - Drums (2002–06)
Nic Denholm - Keyboards (2002–05)
David Philp - Guitar (2004–06)
Jamie Bolland - Keyboards (2005–06)

}}

Uncle John & Whitelock were a Scottish horror punk band from Glasgow. They were active from 2001 to 2006 and were noted for their live shows which incorporated elements of performance art.

History

File:Jacob Lovatt and Raydale Dower.jpg

Uncle John & Whitelock was formed in 2001 by singer and guitarist, Jacob Lovatt, and bass player, Raydale Dower.{{citation

| title = Raydale Dower

| url = http://www.glasgowinternational.org/index.php/artists/view/raydale_dower/

| access-date = 17 June 2010

| work = Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art}} The three-piece line-up was completed with the addition of Andrew Hobson on drums.

The band was expanded to a five-piece line-up in 2002 with the addition of drummer Matthew Black and keyboard player Nic Denholm, Hobson moving to guitar.

Denholm and Hobson left in early 2005, Denholm later moving to London to form psychedelic/powerpop four-piece The Snap Elect.{{citation

| title = The Snap Elect

| url = http://www.myspace.com/thesnapelect

| access-date = 9 October 2010

| work = Myspace}} They were replaced by Jamie Bolland on keyboards and David Philp, formerly of Cannon, on guitar.

The band were supporters of the charity the Scottish Association for Mental Health, appearing on their One in Four CD. In October 2005, they appeared at an awareness-raising music festival in Ljubljana, Slovenia for World Mental Health Day.{{citation

| title = One in four goes to Slovenia

| url = http://www.samh.org.uk/assets/files/25.pdf

| access-date = 12 January 2010

| work = Mental Health Solutions, Scottish Association for Mental Health Annual Report and accounts 2004/2005

| page =35}}

The band maintained a heavy gigging and touring schedule from 2004 to 2006, playing with bands as diverse as Franz Ferdinand,{{citation

| title = Franz Ferdinand: And the pop renaissance

| last = Harvey

| first = H

| year = 2005

| publisher = Reynolds and Hearn

| location = Richmond, Surrey}}

Babyshambles{{citation

| title = Uncle John & Whitelock at the Barrowlands!

| work = Submit Response

| url = http://submitresponse.co.uk/weblog/2004/12/15/uncle-john-whitelock-at-the-barrowlands/

| date = 15 December 2004

| access-date = 12 January 2010}} and The Fall.{{citation

| title = Triptych: The Fall/Uncle John & Whitelock, Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow (live review)

| work = The Herald

| url = http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/triptych-the-fall-uncle-john-amp-whitelock-queen-margaret-union-glasgow-3-5-1.55383

| date = 2 May 2005

| access-date = 12 January 2010}} Their final show was played on 23 December 2006 at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow.{{citation

| title = Uncle John and Whitelock – a post-mortem by Jacob Yates

| last = Shukla

| first = M

| date = 25 November 2009

| work = The Skinny

| url = http://www.theskinny.co.uk/article/97924-uncle-john-and-whitelock---a-post-mortem-by-jacob-yates

| access-date = 8 January 2010}}{{citation

| title = The impossibility of death in the ears of the living

| url = http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=78828846&blogId=194327550

| date = 17 November 2006

| access-date = 8 January 2010

| work = Uncle John and Whitelock, Myspace Blog

}}

Lovatt now fronts Jacob Yates and the Pearly Gate Lock Pickers;{{citation

| title = Jacob Yates and the Pearly Gate Lock Pickers

| url = http://www.myspace.com/jacobyatesandthepearlygatelockpickers

| access-date = 12 January 2010

| work = Myspace}} Dower, Black and Bolland play in Musique concrète ensemble Tut Vu Vu;{{citation

| work = The Skinny

| date = 12 October 2010

| title = Tut Vu Vu: Stardust From Tomorrow

| url = http://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/features/100762-tut_vu_vu_stardust_from_tomorrow

| access-date = 26 April 2012}} and Philp in Gypsy folk combo Adopted as Holograph.{{citation

| title = Adopted as Holograph

| url = http://www.myspace.com/adoptedasholograph

| access-date = 12 January 2010

| work = Myspace}}

Music and critical reception

File:Jamie Bolland.jpg

class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#dddddd9; color:black; width:40em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5"

| style="text-align: left;" | "THERE'S a storm gathering, an apocalyptic thing raging on the horizon. Black clouds, wind that will be rattling your bones, rain that will sting your eyes, a storm that will engulf you. That's what Uncle John And Whitelock are like: the sound of the end times, the last howls of those who refuse to succumb."

style="text-align: left;" | – Review of There is Nothing Else, Sunday Herald.{{citation

| work = Sunday Herald

| title = Uncle John and Whitelock, There is Nothing Else (GFM) 5/5

| date = 4 December 2005

| url = http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/uncle-john-amp-whitelock-there-is-nothing-else-gfm-5-5-1.35579

| access-date = 14 January 2010}}

The band quickly built a reputation for the originality of their live performances which incorporated elements of theatricality and performance art.{{citation

| title = True originals jump aboard the Subway

| work = The Scotsman

| date = 19 January 2004

| url = http://living.scotsman.com/music/True-originals-jump-aboard-the.2496105.jp

| access-date = 12 January 2010}}

These performances might see the band playing on stage inside a specially constructed wooden shack, unseen by the audience, or with scratchy black-and-white, 16 mm film projected over the band as they played, giving the impression of an old silent movie.{{citation

| title = The fake concept that accidentally spawned a real band

| date = 12 March 2010

| work = The Scotsman

| url = http://living.scotsman.com/features/The-fake-concept-that-accidentally.2758018.jp

| access-date = 12 January 2010}}

Live reviews often focused on Lovatt's stage presence, describing him for example as a 'demented frontman', or a 'crazed urban preacher',{{citation

| title = Uncle John and Whitelock @ The Bongo Club

| work = The Skinny

| date = 16 April 2006

| access-date = 17 January 2010

| url = http://www.theskinny.co.uk/article/42376-uncle-john-and-whitelock-the-bongo-club}} while the band as a whole were described as 'the best live band in Glasgow'{{citation

| work = The Herald

| date = 1 January 2006

| title = Seven reasons to go see...

| url = http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/seven-reasons-to-go-see-1.33187

| access-date = 14 January 2010}} and 'perhaps the best undiscovered band in Scotland'.{{citation

| title = Hey You Get Off of My Pavement! Festival

| work = Pitchfork

| date = 22 August 2006

| url = http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/6407-hey-you-get-off-my-pavement-festival/

| access-date = 14 January 2010}}

The music was described as 'steel-toed subterranean rock' and 'frighteningly visceral blues',{{citation

| title = Top five gigs nationwide

| url = http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article766888.ece

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110615110659/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article766888.ece

| url-status = dead

| archive-date = 15 June 2011

| work = The Times

| date = 24 December 2005

| access-date = 12 January 2010

| first=Pete

| last=Paphides}} and this blues sensibility, coupled with Lovatt's distinctive vocals, led to the band being compared with Dr John, Captain Beefheart, Tom Waits and Nick Cave,{{citation

| title = Uncle John and Whitelock: Rock and pop review

| date = 9 January 2006

| work = The Scotsman

| url = http://living.scotsman.com/features/Uncle-John-and-Whitelock.2740512.jp

| access-date = 12 January 2010}} while their songs were noted for their disturbing and anarchistic content.{{citation

| title = Uncle John and Whitelock, There is Nothing Else

| work = Boomkat

| url = http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=22321

| date = June 2006

| access-date = 12 January 2010}}

Their recorded output was well received by critics, with their album, There Is Nothing Else given a five star review by The Sunday Herald and placed at number 18 in The Skinny's Scottish Albums of the Decade, described as a 'strange and singular work in the canon of Scottish rock'.{{citation

| work = The Skinny

| date = 25 November 2009

| url = http://www.theskinny.co.uk/article/97923-scottish-albums-of-the-decade-18-uncle-john-and-whitelock---there-is-nothing-else

| title = Scottish Albums of the Decade No. 18: Uncle John and Whitelock – There Is Nothing Else...

| access-date = 18 January 2010}} The band were championed by DJ Vic Galloway and their records were played regularly on BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio 1.{{citation

| title = Introducing with Vic Galloway in Scotland: The Train

| work = BBC Radio 1

| date = 17 June 2004

| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/vicgalloway/tracklistingarchiveshtml.shtml?20040617

| access-date = 14 January 2010}}

{{citation

| title = Introducing with Vic Galloway in Scotland: Black Hat

| work = BBC Radio 1

| date = 5 June 2005

| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/vicgalloway/tracklistingarchiveshtml.shtml?20030605

| access-date = 14 January 2010}}

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