Two English for You?
Re-introducing the B-Side spirit — the way it was always meant to sound.
Welcome back to the B-Side corner — where the familiar gets flipped, the underrated gets amplified, and the deep cuts finally get centre stage.
If you’ve been around long enough, you might remember my very first story on this blog. A raw, nervous little write-up where I introduced myself, apologised half a dozen times, and hoped someone out there wouldn’t judge me too harshly.
Well… forget all that.
This is the 2.0 version. Same passion. Better chops. And a whole lot more volume.
Because December is a party, B-Side culture is alive, and today we go back to where it all began — but in the voice I should’ve used the first time.
Led Zeppelin — “Traveling Riverside Blues” (1969)
The English giants meet Mississippi dirt.
Before Zeppelin were gods of stadium thunder, they were students of the blues — and nowhere is that clearer than in this electric, swagger-soaked reimagining of Robert Johnson’s “Travelling Riverside Blues.”
A few gems worth knowing:
Robert Johnson recorded the original in 1937 — it didn’t even get released until 1961. True B-Side energy.
Zeppelin recorded their version in 1969, broadcast it once, then buried it for two decades.
It only saw the light again in 1990 on their box set — five hours of Zep, and this gem hiding in the shadows.
Jimmy Page stacked the track with 12-string electric magic, acoustic slide guitar, and pure swampy attitude.
And of course…
“Squeeze my lemon ’til the juice runs down my leg.”
Only Zeppelin could turn a 1930s blues line into hard-rock mythology.
Arctic Monkeys — “Red Right Hand” (2009)
Sheffield’s sharpest students take on the master of gloom.
Jump forward a few decades and across the decades to the English north — where a young Arctic Monkeys were carving out their place between indie swagger and rock revivalism.
During their 2009 Australian tour, they dropped a gritty, moody cover of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ “Red Right Hand,” a track soaked in menace and poetic dread.
What makes it special?
Nick Cave released the original in 1994, dripping in gothic blues.
The title comes straight out of Paradise Lost, a nod to divine vengeance.
The Monkeys didn’t re-imagine it — they inhabited it. Darker. Leaner. More feral around the edges.
“He’s a God, he’s a man, he’s a ghost, he’s a guru…”
A line that sticks like fog on a back alley.
Two English Bands. Two Covers. Two Deep Cuts Worth Every Second.
That’s the heart of what we do here.
Not the big hits. Not the overplayed anthems.
But the songs lurking just out of sight — where the real stories live.
Two generations of English rock royalty tapping into their influences, paying tribute, and proving that the deep cuts can be just as powerful as the hits that made them famous.
Join me again on Wednesday, were we celebrate you, The Fans.
Stay locked in. And as always —
Drop your favourite B-side, a forgotten gem, or an underrated band you think deserves a spotlight. This blog grows because you do.
Until then — rock on.
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