Wyrd Britain

We've sung the praises of Brian Clemens here before as the mastermind behind a veritable host of Wyrd Britain classics such as Dr.

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Bryan Talbot Jonathan Cape With top-hat and cane in hand, Scotland Yard's DI Stamford Hawksmoor shadows the murky backstreets of London on the hunt for a sadistic serial killer.

Stephen Prince A Year in the Country Before the ubiquity of streaming, British television was a landscape with room for strange experiments, folk-horror nightmares, and “wyrd” transmissions.

Jerry Ibbotson There's an angel living in suburban York.

Klanggalerie Stephen Thrower has had a storied career on the bleeding edge of the art world, having made music with, most notably, Coil (from 1984-1992), Cyclobe (with Ossian Brown) and UnicaZürn (with David Knight); appeared in several Derek Jarman films…

Made by the current affairs programme, 'Wales Today', and originally shown on 23rd June 1964 this is an engaging, ultimately quite superficial, but surprisingly even-handed look at the practice of witchcraft in Wales.

Alan Moore Bloomsbury The second 'Long London' novel kicks of 10 years after the first with our hapless protagonist 'Dennis Knuckleyard' now a purveyor of improbable pornographic escapades, and free - he hopes - of any and all obligations towards that ter…

This terrific little one(ish)-hander stars Rachel Kempson as 'Sarah', a neglected, long-suffering wife who, on a whim, locks her author husband (Kenneth Keeling) in his windowless study with the intention of teaching him a lesson, a long, long lesson.

'Captain Simmonds' (John Hurt), on leave from the battlefields of France, arrives on the island home of 'Mrs Santander' (Jenny Runacre), with whom he's been conducting an affair, where he encounters the butler (Graham Crowden) and, unexpectedly, 'Mr Santa…

From the forests and highlands We come, we come; From the river-girt islands, Where loud waves are dumb Listening to my sweet pipings.

Like one, that on a lonesome road Doth walk in fear and dread, And having once turned round walks on, And turns no more his head; Because he knows, a frightful fiend Doth close behind him tread.

'Moviedrome' ran, intermittently, on BBC2 from May 1988 to June 2000.

The final episode of series 2 of the children's spooky anthology show Shadows, written by Ewart Alexander - who also wrote episodes in series one, 'After School', and three, 'Eleven O'Clock' - is a bit of a strange one.

Some 13 years after releasing 'Tomorrow's Harvest' Boards of Canada return with an album that reflects our times whilst retaining the distinct sense of otherness that has characterised their work.

Out now from the folks at Tartarus Press is a stunning new collection of 28 short stories from co-publisher R.B.

KEK-W Bicameral Press Sinister secrets, maple syrup and dark, unrequited desire.

In 'The Other Window' was the final episode of the first series of the supernatural anthology series 'Shadows' scientist father John Woodvine ('Knights of God', 'Enys Men') brings home a fresnel lens to amuse his three children, Elizabeth (Gwyneth Strong),

Hauntological pioneers, Boards of Canada, brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin, have announced their new album, 'Inferno', will be released on 29th May on Warp Records.

Newly announced by Tartarus Press and shipping this week is the new collection of essays from Mark Valentine, 'Tea and Gargoyles'.

Liam Higginson Picador Carwyn and Rhian – the last in a long line of sheep farmers – are living out a brutal year on their hillside farm, deep in the mountains of North Wales.

For '3 Wyrd Things' I ask various creative people whose work I admire to tell us about three oddly, wonderfully, weirdly British things that have been an influence on them and their work: - a book or author, - a film or TV show, - a piece of music or a mu…

Rosalie & Edward Synton British Library John Travers has been hanged for the murder of his mother-in-law Helga, but to those who knew him something is amiss.

KEK-W The Bicameral Press WELCOME TO THE NEW ABNORMAL!

Filmed by Ken Russell in 1962, one of the 21 films he made for the BBC arts programme, 'Monitor', 'The Preservation Man' is an affectionate short about the artist, performer and great British eccentric, Bruce Lacey.

Dan Abnett Mark Harrison 2000AD / Rebellion The furthest edge of the universe, far into the future.

Our fellow explorer in wyrd territories Stephen Prince of the 'A Year in the Country' blog has another of his fascinating collections available as of today, 'Ghost Signals: The Shadowlands of British Analogue Television 1968-1995', an examination of pre-d…

By it's third and final series, the ITV anthology 'Shadows' was running out of both scares and steam and was delving into the realms of fantasy with stories about Merlin, magic lands and, in this instance, Peter Pan.

Two of the missing Doctor Who episodes, 'The Nightmare Begins' and 'Devil’s Planet', from the Terry Nation and Dennis Spooner scripted, First Doctor (William Hartnell) serial 'The Daleks’ Master Plan', have been found by the amazing folk at Film is Fabulo…

For '3 Wyrd Things' I ask various creative people whose work I admire to tell us about three oddly, wonderfully, weirdly British things that have been an influence on them and their work: - a book or author, - a film or TV show, - a piece of music or a mu…