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Little Villains started out as a three piece rock band, which involved the late, great Phil 'Philthy Animal' Taylor, who is most famous for playing drums in Motörhead.
You can find out more about the band:
James Childs formed Little Villains after meeting Philthy in a DIY store checkout-queue in Los Angeles. They got talking and decided to make some music together. James invited Owen Street to play bass. The band went into the studeo, in Palm Springs, and did some recording.
Little Villains original line-up: James Childs, Phil Taylor and Owen Street
Sadly, Philthy died in 2015, before any of the music was released. In 2018, with the blessing of Philthy's family, James decided to release the music they'd recorded as a tribute to one of rock's most legendary drummers.
I first 'met' Philthy in 2005, back in the days when MySpace was popular. He messaged Ye Gods! (one of the other bands I play in) after we sent him a friend request. The messages went like this:
PHILTHY - TO YE GODS!
Oh Ye Vile Blasphemers.....
Thou darest call thyselves Gods?!!!
Well, try this and prove it.
Canst thou turn Wine into Water?..........I can.
Canst thou makest Darkend Vile Odorous Brown Heaps from thy very living Bowels, and verily make it so none may touch them??
Hast any one of ye ever been nailed to yon burning door?
And lived?
Hast though exceeded the divine Holy Speed Limit whilst passing a police vehicle on the left?
And then were though brave enough to fling Given Ticket with a fierce hand and crushed it into the dirt?
Hast thou Vomited Heartily with joy in your heart up someone else’s coat sleeve on the late night bus back from The Dead City of Cleckhuddersfax, in the Valley of Why?
Challenged old people that it is NOT their divine right to push in at the checkout queue?
Released all last vestiges of the trapped gas from a cripple’s wheelchair?
All these things and more have I completed in my past life as a MEMBER of a certain Secret Society known only to a few million world wide.
What?
What? You have?
Oh alright then, you can be my “friends”.
But don’t abuse the privilege and ask me questions about... HIM.
He who bears the mark of the Wicked Wart of WICKENBACKER. Or he shall smite us all verily with trick questions about WWII.
NOW GO!!! And do your “THING”. We shall not speak again I fear until “THE DOING HAS BEEN DONE TO DEATH”.
And now rest, for yes, we do rest, oh yes, we do. We rest and we rest on nice comfy mattresses with only a few piss stains (they’ll come out in the wash) from previous owners. I go... phttufff! See? Gone.
YE GODS! - TO PHILTHY
Mighty Philthy, Dark Banshee of the Night
Indeed, we do thusly call ourselves Gods with brazen recklessness. Verily may we be punished by those deemed mighty enough to pass such judgment.
Wine into Water? We canst, although ‘tis the yellow, unpleasantly odorous water of piss.
Brown Heaps? Indeedly, with the aid of Bass Ale the foul, brown porridge flows freely.
Yon burning door? A test we have yet to pass... we are not as mighty as thee... yet!
Police? We answer only to the police of Rock Justice. Should ever we produce a tune that we wouldn’t be prepared to take into the belly of hell and play to the horned master without fear of death, then lo, let us be punished...
Cleckhudderfax? A place yet to be visited. Although we understand Hull is similarly so.
Old people? They run in fear of my beard. Let them be scared!
As for the evil warted master of bass madness, no questions shall be asked. None. Ever. And so it shall be!
Your faithful servant, Icecry
PHILTHY - TO YE GODS!
Thy reply pleases me. So be it.
Thou shall now be called “FRIENDS” of Philthy.
Verily telleth me where canst this strange “Brown Porridge” be found? This intrigues me. Speak me I say on this Brown Subject. For, the only “ODEROUS” I HAVE KNOWN IN MY THOUSANDS OF YEARS AS A PRO DEITY was a slimy little Demi-God who called himself “Mr. Rogers” and would magically appear upon a magic box called a “smellyvision set”. (Hath thou heard of such vile trickery upon thy plain?) WEARING A STRANGE PIECE OF BODY COVERING CALLED A “CARDIGAN” yet beneath the waist (I am told) out of sight he wore clothing only of which women should be adorned. This baffles me greatly. Why would a person be so strange and “ODEROUS” yet be loved and adored by children and parents alike? You live in a strange World indeed. I was greatly pleased when I heard from my spies “below the WORLD” that he had recently entered that domain and will be boned up the arse for eternity by JOHN HOLMES and all comers with arse splitting dimensions. This pleases me.!!!
Cheers Philthy.
YE GODS! - TO PHILTHY
Ah, the brown porridge, a subject frequently asked about; Let it be said:
The Brown Porridge is an entity of extreme pleasure, but at the same time pain; a two horned demon, a double cream walnut whip of split persona.
If one consumes vast quantities of the fabled Bass Ale and then a Chicken Madras, some poppadums and a pint or two of Kingfisher, then after one’s belly has had a night of sleep to contemplate, digest and yay verily and nay ‘process’ said mixture, one’s ass will undoubtedly produce the said Brown Porridge. And it will be joyous. Much fun can be had. One may even feel compelled to find ones friends, and show them what has fallen out of ones ass. Ah, yes, the pleasure at watching the looks of horror spread over their faces as the smell hits them, and yet they are compelled to also look and see what smells so bad.
But be warned. With this joy also comes untold evil. For, though the Porridge of one’s own ass may bring untold joy to the bearer, the porridge of another beings ass has the opposite effect. The Brown Porridge of others brings pain, humiliation and vomiting.
So treat the Brown Porridge with respect, and be weary of it; ‘tis an untamed beast!
Overlord Icecry
And thus, we became MySpace friends with him.
In 2006, I was doing some work with James on Airbus and Jinxremover projects. Philthy came to the studio and we got to hang out.
In my teens, there were 3 bands I listened to relentlessly: AC/DC, Iron Maiden and Motörhead. Their music formed the foundation of my love of rock music. I learnt loads from listening to their records and seeing them play live.
I've always been nervous of meeting my heroes, in case they don't live up to my expectations. I had no need to worry. Philthy was down to earth and easy to talk to; a total legend.
In 2018, James told me about his plans for the first Little Villains record. He invited me to play drums on new material and on tour, and to provide some backing vocals for Philthy Lies and Taylor Made. Of course, I said yes.
It's an honour to be part of a band that involved one of my drumming heroes.
Little Villains original line-up: James Childs, Owen Street and Phil Taylor
Late in 2018, James's nephew, Owen Childs, came and jammed with the band at a rehearsal in Bristol, while we were prepping for the 2019 Philthy Lies European tour. Having played together before in AD/HD, we instantly clicked.
Philthy Lies was released on Heavy Psyche Sounds Records in March 2019. In April and May, we went on tour as a four piece.
James Childs, Owen Childs (AKA Ö) and Owen Street, rehearsing in Bristol, UK
In 2019, Alan Davey – who played bass in Hawkwind for many years – worked on Taylor Made with James, providing bass guitar for the album.
Little Villains Taylor Made line-up: James Childs, Phil Taylor and Alan Davey
In November 2019, James, Ö and I went on the More Lies Tour in Europe as a three piece, continuing to promote the Philthy Lies album.
Taylor Made was released on Cleopatra Records, a label based in LA, in April 2020.
Early in 2020, Ö and I flew out to LA and started work on new material for a third Little Villains album with James in The Stujo. We laid down 30 tracks over a 3 week period and started work on 2 new albums. Because we were unable tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we stayed busy mixing and work progressed quickly.
The first, Achtung Minen, was released on Spira Records in November 2020.
We are currently working on the rest of this new material and are planning to release another album entitled The Battle of Britain during 2021.
Little Villains current line-up : Ö Childs, James Childs and Chris Fielden
Release date (Spira Records): 29th March 2024
Find out more on our sales page
Below is the first single and title track from the album, Cafe De Stam.
Release date (Spira Records): 15th September 2022
Re-release date (Sliptrick Records): 10th January 2023
Find out more on our sales page
Below is the Battle of Britain 30 second video advert.
Below is the 'Messerschmitt' video, the first single from the Battle of Britain album - filmed at The Red Lion, BS5 in Bristol.
You can see many more videos from the Battle of Britain album on the Little Villains YouTube channel.
Release date: 27th November 2020
Available from Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube and more: find all the details and links on our sales page
"Achtung Minen bludgeons you with riffs, it's brilliant. It's my featured album of the month. Highly, highly recommended – it’s just a great album, a great bit of metal, great fun." The Druids Dozen #24 by Jon Wisbey, DJ of The Sunday Rock Show on BCFM Radio and The Rock Druid Show on Astro Radio.
"A rebel rousing 15 track rock monster that seems set to conquer the metal universe… it's rock n' roll infused metal with a strong focus on groove… the future belongs to the Little Villains." Pulse-Alternative Magazine, review written by Alex Novak.
"Ultimately, the air you breathe while listening to the songs on the record is that of rock with wide facets played honestly by three people who live on the road, arrive, attack the amps and make their performance." All Around Metal, review written by Corrado Franceschini.
"The CD is excellent... Philthy would be proud." Chris P, a fan from London, UK.
Read more about the album in Mythaxis Review
Below is the Achtung Minen 30 second video advert.
Below is the video for 'There Ain't No Cider on the Rider', the third single from the Achtung Minen album - filmed at our local, The Kicker, and some local cider farms.
You can see many more videos from the Achtung Minen album on the Little Villains YouTube channel. In total, we released videos for seven singles from this album.
Release date: 3rd April 2020
Available from Cleopatra Records
Read press coverage about the album on:
Blabber Mouth - Brave Words - Rock Arena - Rockway.gr
"I found the music catchy, energetic, melodic, hard rockin', vibrant, and diverse, with a modern groove, lots of character within the song structures, there, the musicianship is thrilling, I think the band sound great. Good solid vibe, great production, excellent songwriting, and fabulous vocals throughout, and you can feel the energy and soundwaves through the speakers." Fireworks Magazine
+ more via Google search
Below is the video for 'Taylor Made', the title track from the Taylor Made album - you can see more vids on the Little Villains YouTube channel.
And here is a rockumentary about the making of the Taylor Made album.
You can see many more videos from the Taylor Made album on the Little Villains YouTube channel. In total, we released videos for three singles from this album.
Release date: 29th March 2019
Available from Heavy Psych Sounds Records
You listen to the single 'What on Earth' for free on Sound Cloud
Read press coverage about the album on:
All That Is Heavy - Blabber Mouth - CORE and CO - Flight of Pegasus - GRIMM Gent
Hard Force - Head Banger - Heavy Metal.IT - Heavy Sound - Loud and Proud - Louder Sound
Metal Fan.NL - Metal Maximum Radio - Metal Talk - Outlaws of the Sun - PureRockUS
Rock Hard - Rock Pages - Sentinel Daily - The Midlands Rocks
+ find bazillions more via Google search
Below is the video for 'What on Earth', the first single from the Philthy Lies album - you can see more vids on the Little Villains YouTube channel.
And here is a rockumentary about the making of the Philthy Lies album.
You can see many more videos from the Philthy Lies album on the Little Villains YouTube channel. In total, we released videos for three singles from this album.
Release date: 30th January 2019
Available for from Heavy Psych Sounds Records
Featuring the Little Villains single 'What on Earth' from the Philthy Lies album. Also features tracks by Brant Bjork, Duel, Nebula, Nick Oliveri, Yawning Man and many more.
'Café De Stam' Tour, April 2024
'Battle of Britain' Tour, March 2023
Cafe De Stam, Paal, BE - Saturday 25th March 2023
Rock Cafe, Leuven, BE - Thursday 23rd March 2023
Radio Benelux, Paal, BE - Tuesday 21st March 2023
The Louisiana, Bristol, UK - Saturday 18th March 2023
The Dragonffli, Pontypool, UK - Friday 17th March 2023
The Old Ham Tree, Holt, UK - Saturday 11th March 2023
The Frog & Fiddle, Cheltenham, UK - Friday 10th March 2023
Athena Rooms, Bridgewater, UK - Thursday 9th March 2023
'Easter Metal Mayhem' Mini Tour, April 2022
The Lion BS5, Bristol, UK - Easter Day, Sunday 17th April 2022
The Salthouse, Clevedon, UK - Saturday 16th April 2022
Athena Rooms , Bridgewater, UK - Friday 15th April 2022
'Polish Your Bullet Belts' Mini Tour, October 2021
The Poacher, Portishead, UK - Saturday 2nd October 2021
The Old Ham Tree, Holt, UK - Friday 1st October 2021
Athena Rooms , Bridgewater, UK - Thursday 30th September 2021
Real Music UK, online - Wednesday 29th September 2021
'Get Us Out of the Stujo' Mini Tour, February 2020
The Red Barn, Palm Desert, USA - Saturday 8th February 2020
Bullet Belt Video Party, Palm Desert, USA - Sunday 9th February 2020
'More Lies' Tour, November 2019
More Lies tour video:
More Lies tour gig history:
Kulturhof, Lübbenau, Germany - Saturday 16th November 2019
Cihellna, Aš, Czechia - Friday 15th November 2019
Kunstverein, Nürnberg, Germany - Wednesday 13th November 2019
Radio Benelux, Paal, Belgium - Tuesday 12th November 2019
Rock Café, Leuven, Belgium - Monday 11th November 2019
De Pekton, Mechelen, Belgium - Sunday 10th November 2019
The Rocking Bull, Antwerp, Belgium - Saturday 9th November 2019
Café De Stam, Paal, Belgium - Friday 8th November 2019
The Poacher, Portishead, UK - Thursday 7th November 2019
A rare video of Little Villains and Rockin' Rob Rowles playing 'Later That Same Evening' at The Poacher gig
'Philthy Lies' Tour, spring 2019
Philthy Lies tour poster:
Philthy Lies tour video:
Philthy Lies tour gig history:
The Poacher, Portishead, UK - Saturday 18th May 2019
The Dragonffli, Pontypool, UK - Friday 17th May 2019
The Rocking Bull, Antwerp, Belgium - Monday 13th May 2019
Cihellna, Aš, Czechia - Saturday 11th May 2019
Zauberberg, Passau, Germany - Thursday 9th May 2019
Kunstverein, Nürnberg, Germany - Wednesday 8th May 2019
Altroquandro, Zero Branco, Italy - Monday 6th May 2019
Splinter Club, Parma, Italy - Sunday 5th May 2019
On Stage, Castelfidardo, Italy - Saturday 4th May 2019
Sidro Club, Savignano, Italy - Friday 3rd May 2019
The Factory, Verona, Italy - Thursday 2nd May 2019
Rockhouse, Salzburg, Austria - Wednesday 1st May 2019
ArsVitae-Café, Rodewisch, Germany - Tuesday 30th April 2019
Toast Hawaii, Berlin, Germany - Sunday 28th April 2019
Dirty Dancing, Osnabrueck, Germany - Saturday 27th April 2019
7er Club, Mannheim, Germany - Friday 26th April 2019
Café De Stam, Paal, Belgium - Thursday 25th April 2019
Rockcafé de Engel, Den Helder, Holland - Wednesday 24th April 2019
Radio Benelux, Paal, Belgium - Tuesday 23rd April 2019
Rock Cafe, Leuven, Belgium - Monday 22nd April 2019
The Talbot Inn, Calne, UK - Sunday 21st April 2019
The Old Ham Tree, Holt, UK - Saturday 20th April 2019
One of the earlier posters from the 2019 tour:
James Childs - bass, guitar and vocals
Chris Fielden - drums
Owen Childs - guitar
Philthy Animal Taylor - drums
Alan Davey - bass
Owen Street - bass
Little Villains current line-up: Ö Childs, James Childs and Chris Fielden
Lidl Villains on tour in Europe 2019: Owen Childs, Chris Fielden and James Childs
A pile of Villains, from top to bottom: Chris Fielden, Ö Childs and James Childs
Little Villains Philthy Lies Euro Tour line-up: Owen Street, James Childs, Chris Fielden and Owen Childs
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