Good News, Bad News

Making an album is never easy, but throw in a couple of lockdowns and a singer-songwriter (Gerard Sampaio) with an inoperable brain tumour and you've got Good News, Bad News, an album which spans delicate love songs and meditations on not being around for much longer. Gerard describes his situation as 'really shit, but good material for writing songs. At an incredibly tricky time, making this album and the love and support of the band itself have been a godsend. Like self-administered music therapy'.

Never slipping into self-pity, these songs paint a picture of a man staring into the abyss with wit and humour. On the raucous Positive he sings about trying to stay upbeat in the face of his 'cancer journey' and whether being positive all the time is really such a good idea. Sister And Brother is a sweet, heart-breaking ballad to his wife and children. And the title track Good News, Bad News describes the rollercoaster that is 'living scan to scan'.

Recorded remotely during lockdown, Tim Davidson makes a welcome return with his pedal steel guitar, Jamie Houston lends his keyboard skills, while J.P. Berrie and Gordon Kyle provide horns throughout, and a sublime muted trumpet solo on the title track and album closer Good News, Bad News.

The Sweetheart Revue is a six-piece band from Glasgow made up of Jack Cocker (guitar and vocals, Liam McArdle (bass), Jen McKee (cello, accordion, piano and vocals), Heather Phillips (violin and vocals), Moshe Price (drums) and Gerard Sampaio (guitar and lead vocals).