Benjamin Holland - Is He Mad?

Danny Brown, owner of Press Release PR, Danny Brown

Posted by
Danny Brown
Feb 15, 2007

Genre: Singer/songwriter
Sounds like: Billy Bragg, Paul Weller, Jarvis Cocker
Home: Ormskirk/Newcastle, UK
Benjamin Holland

Many strange and bizarre things in life pique my interest. From walking naked cross-country to raise awareness of skin cancer, to dumping raw meat on a government minister's car to protest at the baby seal culling in Canada, there are a lot of ground-breaking initiatives out there to draw attention to a good cause. It's not often it's seen in music, however. That's about to change.

Welcome one Benjamin Holland, from the mighty town of Ormskirk, Lancashire, in the UK. An acoustic singer/songwriter in the great indie traditions of Billy Bragg and Paul Weller, Benjamin is someone who I've been starting to follow via his MySpace profile. Having travelled Australia for a while before settling in the north of England, his journeys have afforded him a wonderful collection of tales. It's these very anecdotes that are inspiring a project so wacky in its ambition, you can only applaud the intent.

With the idea of posting one song every week until the end of the year, it’s obvious that Benjamin is not short of a tale or two. Whether he can maintain the quality of the early entries remain to be seen, but it’s a good start, especially with the likes of the witty Everybody Needs A Friend. Coming across like a latter day Billy Bragg, social and emotional commentary is the lyrical stance of Benjamin. And so far, it seems to be working.

So, if you have a spare five minutes out of your week, take the time to visit his profile and see how far he gets with his project. Personally, I’m rooting for him, as this is exactly what music needs nowadays – a maverick like Benjamin Holland showing the majors that it’s still all about the songs.