PEPPERMINT IGUANA RADIO SHOW SUCCESS SHOCK. Well, nobody expected that. The Peppermint Iguana Radio Show burst into cyber space on 4th October like a drunk coming out of a pub, stumbled, got up, then ran and ran sobering up as it went. We managed to break the station record for listeners (no, not the least listeners, the most), including peeps in Bulgaria! Face book is dead, long live having real friends! We ended the evening with a big high five (although Eggy messed up the news link at the end - amateur)

Was this a one off though, with people tuning in just cos it was the first show? Will people come back or be scared off? Will it sky rocket and get head hunters from big radio stations looking for us to sign us up, or will we have head hunters from Penywaun looking for us to beat us up? Time will tell.

SO WHAT DID WE PLAY? We now have a page set up on the Peppermint Iguana website that gives details of when the next show is and what we played on the last show and answers to all the other questions you might not have. Go to http://www.peppermintiguana.co.uk/radio.html

THE NEXT SHOW IS THIS TUESDAY (18th October) FROM 8pm TILL 10pm. We are a little more organised this time and the play list will feature, among others, Dubrovnik, Tarantism, Tattsyrup, Bleedin’ Noses, Joe Gibbs, Major Lance, the Ethiopians, the Damned, King Blues, Crisis and Dub Trio. Most of the stuff requested during last week’s show will be in there somewhere. With first night nerves over and done with, we might even talk to each other. If you have any gig dates or events you want us to plug, let us know before Tuesday. Or failing that, e-mail us during the show studio@dapperfm.co.uk

SPREAD THE WORD, SPAM YOUR MATES, DOWNLOAD THE POSTER, LET THE WORLD KNOW ABOUT THE HOTTEST SHOW ON THE WEB!

CAN’T WAIT TILL TUESDAY? We are not the only show on Dapper FM you know, drop by and show some love for other DJs http://www.dapperfm.co.uk/

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With Jonathon Ross retiring from Film Night, we thought we ought to demonstrate we can also talk about movies! Actually, no, we are not going to atempt to be the next Mark Kermode, we just want to bring to your attention some non-mainstream movies we think you ought to check out. Go to the new film review page.

Reunited at the great gig in the sky, the one and only John Peel with John Sicolo, larger than life owner of TJs

The world famous music venue, Newport’s TJs, has closed its doors for the final time. Following the death of owner John Sicolo recently, his daughter has decided that it is not financially viable to keep the venue open.

For the last two decades or so it has been an essential stopping place for touring bands on their way from the gutter to the stars (and occasionally on the way back). The Buzzcocks, The Beat, Catatonia, Chumbawamba, Clutch, Conflict, Cornershop, The Cranberries, The Damned, Echo & The Bunnymen, Elastica, Fugazi, Goldblade, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Green Day, Inner Terestrials, The Lemonheads, Manic Street Preachers, Misfits, Mogwai, New Model Army, NOFX, No Means No, Oasis, Offspring, P.A.I.N., Primal Scream, Rancid, RDF, Selecter, Shed Seven, Skunk Anansie, Snuff, Joe Strummer, The Subhumans, Supergrass, Test Department, Therapy?, The Tofu Love Frogs, UK Subs, Voodoo Glow Skulls and The Wedding Present are just a few of the touring bands that have set foot on the TJs stage.

On top of that you can add literally thousands of local bands like The Cowboy Killers, Dub War, 60 Foot Dolls, Novocaine, Flyscreen, Rectify, Four Letter Word and The Terrorist Ballet Dancers from Hell.

Legend has it that Kurt Cobain went down on one knee and proposed to Courtney Love in the club when she played there with Hole in 1991.

The walls of the ‘John Peel Bar’ area of the club are covered in photos of many of the bands that have played there. Pride of place goes to pictures of owner John Sicolo picking up an award at the Brits.

Apparently the club had been in financial difficulty for some time, and solicitors dealing with the estate have advised his daughter Rachel to sell.

Whilst architecturally the place was something of a dive, the building was the organic beating heart of Newport's music scene and as such is totally ireplacable

It would be a cliché to say that Newport will not be the same without TJS… but the fact is, South Wales will not be the same without TJs and Newport will be a poorer place for its loss.

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Reknaw, the long standing London based punk sound system was dealt a major blow today following the torching of their van, with the PA inside.

An official statement on the Reknaw website reads:

"The Reknaw Rocket, which has served us so well for so many years, was burnt out over the weekend. As well as the van being totally destroyed, it had our rig in it. We don't know what we will be able to salvage, but the upshot is that we have lost most of our gear.

This has been a massive blow for us. We are not sure whether Reknaw is going to be able to continue.

We are down but we are not out, and with your support we can get up and running again. If you have facebook, you can join the Benefit for Reknaw Sound System Group ,which has been put together by our friends.

We have had so many messages of goodwill and offers of help. This has given us the strength to carry on when we were considering jacking it all in. It will take a lot of time, money and graft to get Reknaw back on the road. Any donations of equipment will be greatly appreciated. Equipment doesn't have to be working as we can fix it up ourselves. Get in touch through our contacts page. Check back for further developments and news of any gigs that are going to be put on for us. If you can help in any other way, please get in touch via our contacts page.

** If you wish to make a personal donation through paypal, our paypal address is joepublic1@onetel.com. If you want to send a cheque, then email us for our postal address. You can also help us by buying a T shirt. Details are at the bottom of the page. **

Thank you all for your support over the years, with your help we can continue rocking the underground. Without your help ... that will be the end of one of the UK's longest running free party systems. We can't do it on our own, so if you give a shit, get involved.

The Reknaw Crew.

All gigs promoted by REKNAW will still go ahead ... C U there"

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