When I recently met (L-R) Nigel Dean (drums), Donald Ross Skinner (guitar) and Rupert Ingham (voice) of Herne Hill native sons HOTMOTEL just outside the band’s SE24 rehearsal rooms, they were prepping to play Off The Cuff in Railton Road SE24 as part of the 2021 Herne Hill Music Festival. Their bassist Michael Clough was running late for rehearsal, so was absent (pictured framed above). That #HHMF appearance marked precisely 8 years since the band originally formed and played the Festival’s 2013 Bandstand in Herne Hill Market.
At that time the band consisted of founding members Rupert and Donald, with backing singers and a covers repertoire. Rupert had just come off years fronting Ingham Swing Ensemble (a respected jazz collective also made up of Luke Fowler and Paul Canton, who later set up The Junction, go-to jazz venue in Loughborough which has dodged the covid bullet) and Moodswing, a cool crooner duo with late pianist Marius Bak.
Ingham Swing Ensemble in Herne Hill Square, 2012
Donald is a veteran of the indie music scene as a guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer known for his work with Julian Cope, former frontman of Liverpudlian post-punk band The Teardrop Explodes, as well as his time with David Holmes and Love Amongst Ruin. Rupert and Don have also collaborated in the Idle Eye spoken word group.
Donald Ross Skinner at Loco Studios, 1991
On HOTMOTEL collaboration with Don, says Rupert: “When we sat down and wrote at the beginning, there were no rules and no boundaries. `We both fell into our songwriting roles pretty effortlessly, while contributing to each other’s efforts. When we wrote ‘Lady of the Vine’ together, at 3 o’clock one Wednesday morning after a night of Scotch, Don came up with the lines ‘I am hidden, I am unknown’. I wrote the rest of the song there and then. Where do ideas come from? From the wind …”
This is an excerpted audioblog (full audio interview link follows below) and we lead off with intros from the lads and description of how things originally came together.
HOTMOTEL HHMF2013 Bandstand
BAND EVOLUTION
After sacking the singers, the band brought in Nigel Dean as their drummer, worked on more original material, and began premiering songs at the annual Dorchester Court Summer Party in Herne Hill, a remarkable day of activities and live music put on for DC residents, families and friends, BY same residents, families and friends.
HOTMOTEL 2015 Dorchester Court Summer Party
The Summer Party event continues, more or less under the radar. It’s a special, uplifting and celebratory event for a DC community beset by sad dilapidation of its fine Heritage-listed Grade II 1930s, Heritage-listed Moderne apartment blocks.
As the band began to prize originality it also saw itself as the consummate DIY ensemble getting everything done in-house, from website and social media to multi-tracking plus videos self-shot and edited by Nigel. But there was one more big Dorchester Court covers party left, when they performed HOTMOTEL tracks and then let loose with a fabulous Doors set in 2018, bringing in former Moodswinger Marius Bak for some spot-on Ray Manzarek keys.
HOTMOTEL Dorchester Court Party, 2018
A few more gigs and videos followed before covid pandemic struck and lockdown washed out live music and changed how things got done.
Then, in June of 2020, worse came to worst. Rupert was hit by a massive stroke and spent the next 8 months in hospital fending off covid and then learning how to function again. As for the band at that time, Rupert says: “I thought it was all gone.” But the rest of HOTMOTEL, now also including Michael Clough on bass, kept meeting and rehearsing. And as soon as Rupert was ready, they got back on track, recording new tracks including their rock waltz ’Gatsby’ tooled out of F. Scott Fitzgerald literary murder mythology.
Still from the video ‘Gatsby’
The band’s 2021 Herne Hill Music Festival gig was break-through testament to the band’s resilience, as well as Ingham’s come-back tenacity. He got healthy and creative through hell and high water. It helps he’s still a Tai Chi teacher! The band’s latest single ‘Not Now Mama’ is just released and you can watch it on Youtube. Then listen to HOTMOTEL’s full audio interview on the band’s SOUNDCLOUD page.
HOTMOTEL 2021 stills composite from ‘Not Now Mama’ video
For more information on HOTMOTEL, please visit their online pages:
www.instagram.com/hotmotelband
