The Cubans have now almost completed five mixes of The Penthouse Messiahs track and plans are being made to possibly get a couple of dance remixes done by some established djs. Apart from the music, the boys have been on a bizarre photo shoot in Moscow and have also produced some smart promotional material in preparation for the single. The scene is being set for a nice campaign for early-Spring.

As you might have noticed, an online store has now been added to the website, along with a blog and a couple of new links to Blu's music projects. The store will be handy place to buy both new and old Cuban releases, including the band's other projects - keep an eye out for new additions soon.

This leads nicely into the news that Ricardo has released a wonderfully diverse solo album called INTERROBANG which is available for download via iTunes or through the new store. Go buy it now!

Ricardo and Skreen have been busy in the studio over the last couple of weeks finishing off Rocky Top and nailing down a definitive mix of The Penthouse Messiahs. The plan with The Penthouse Messiahs track slightly changed as the boys decided to work on it themselves, and they are so excited about how it sounds that they have decided to make it the Cuban Boys' first single of 2007.

It is expected that an extended mix plus some remixes will be made available to accompany the main single mix. More news will follow soon.

As a special Halloween treat, the Cubans have uploaded Spooky! as a free download single.

In the last couple of days both John Kennedy at Xfm and Phill Jupitus at BBC 6Music have played it on their radio shows and the response has been frighteningly positive - wooooooooo!

There is also an extended version with added terror - as you can hear, the boys had a real scream making it.

Check out the front page to download the mp3 or listen online.

Well, it has been quite a long time since the last update - that's mainly because Ricardo has been extremely busy post-Eurovision Song Contest and also it felt like a good time to crack-on with a few improvements to the overall look and content of the website.

Since the last update the Cubans have recorded the basic demo versions of two new tracks - Spooky! and Rocky Top. In particular, Spooky! might be of interest as it is the re-working of one of the first few tracks the Cubans ever tackled. Finally, after all these years, the boys think they've cracked it - it certainly sounds like a belter. Rocky Top should also delight those folk who enjoyed Foggy Mountain Breakdown, say no more.

The Cubans have also sent their crazy Japanese friends, Astro-B, an invitation to mangle an old tune called Penthouse Messiahs' Theme - so, expect to hear much insanity soon.

Finally, talking of theme tunes, you might have also caught the latest series of Still Game on BBC2 recently - as ever featuring the Cubans' much-loved theme tune Cuban Boy.

Tonight's the night, Ricardo has jetted off to Athens for the Eurovision Finals and will be schmoozing in the wings whilst Daz does everything possible to bring back the crown for the UK. The grapevine seems to be suggesting that this year's contest is likely to be one of the greatest ever.

As you are probably aware, the TEENAGE LIFE single slipped into the UK Charts at #13 and is set for release all over Europe.

More info at:

www.dazsampson.com

myspace.com/dazsampson

There has been a rumour flying around that the Cuban Boys are behind the UK's entry to this year's Eurovision Song Contest. The Cubes "catagorically confess" that they are indeed involved in a very big way and have also stated that they will use the exposure to "fund future art pranks and to buy a round of drinks for all their fans at their next gig".

Support Daz Sampson's Teenage Life in Eurovision 2006!

More info at www.dazsampson.com

The Cuban Boys will be shipping out a few promos to the media previewing the tracks CLAUDINE IS BLUE, SUMMER SONG and SORRY!. Listen out but also tune into the free mp3 downloads lovingly uploaded on myspace.

Click below to download the mp3

1. Claudine Is Blue
2. Summer Song
3. Sorry!

or visit the Myspace are here and visit the link

The Cubes welcome your comments on the tunes, maybe drop your thoughts on the messageboard?

Cuban Boys Messageboard

You might be interested to know that both the videos for the Cuban Boys singles COGNOSCENTI VS INTELLIGENTSIA and INERTIA KICKS are now viewable online as follows:

Cognoscenti Vs Intelligentsia (Promo Video)

Inertia Kicks (Unreleased Promo Video)

Just to remind you that the Cuban Boys have a new messageboard to replace the annoying, antique one from yesteryear, click the link below to visit it:

Cuban Boys Messageboard

Don't forget about the Myspace pages too - go here

Since the Festive holidays the Cuban Boys have been recording some new tunes, the current fresh favourite is BRIGITTE which features the sexiest horn segment known to mankind. CLAUDINE has now been officially titled CLAUDINE IS BLUE - with a wonderful single mix and an extended variation mix in the can. Here's a summary of the tracks the band have now produced:

The Nation Needs You
Strictly Cuban
Claudine Is Blue
Sorry!
L.O.V.E.
Summer Song
The Vinyl Countdown
Brigitte
Drink

Well, out of the blue, the Cuban Boys' John Peel Tribute track THE NATION NEEDS YOU was voted 33rd best tune of 2005 in the annual Festive 50 Poll by the listeners of BBC Radio One. Not bad, eh? The amount of positive messages the band received about the track just shows that it was exactly right, as expressed in this blog message found out there in cyberspace:

"Thanks to Take Your Medicine for pointing me in the direction of The Cuban Boys - The Nation Needs You. A tribute to John Peel which in 3 minutes 14 seconds achieves more than all the tribute albums, concerts, biographies and commemorative magazine issues put together."

Read the blog here

See the full Festive 50 listing here

The Cuban Boys' exclusive festive session for John Kennedy's XFM Show will be broadcast next week (from the 19th December). John will air one of the session tracks every night throughout his weekday shows which start at 11pm.

Included in the suite of festive delights are a couple of new re-workings of old favourites, plus a special collaboration with the band's chums from Tokyo, Japan - none other than Astro-B. American sex-kitten, Lolly Pop, will also be providing some winter warmth to the madness. Christmas will never be the same again.

More info about John Kennedy's XFM Show here.

News just in! The Cuban Boys have been invited by John Kennedy, the highly-respected DJ at XFM, to do a couple of sessions for his show.

Firstly, in keeping with the usual craziness the band will be recording a special "festive" session to go out around Christmas. Then in 2006 John has asked for another "normal" session. Naturally, the boys could be seen jumping around with glee at such a prospect.

More info about John Kennedy's XFM Show here.

In true Cuban Boys style, the entire singles back catalogue has been uploaded to the bands' multiple myspace areas for you to download for FREE!

To be honest, not all the tracks have been uploaded yet, but they're.......wait for the pun.........virtually all there! The aim is to have everything available for downloading, including those rare one-off tracks like THE VINYL COUNTDOWN and TEN SHILLINGS A YEAR. What do you mean, you don't remember that last one?

We're linking to all of the tracks in the download page on this site, but if you go to the Myspace areas you will also find extra information along with some exclusive photos.

Here are the Myspace areas:

1 Oh My God! They Killed Kenny
2 Blueprint For Modernisation
3 Cognoscenti Vs Intelligentsia
4 Inertia Kicks
5 Old Skool For Scoundrels

The main Cuban Boys' page is still here

Following on from the wind-down from John Peel Day, the Cuban Boys have sent out a very limited number of promo copies of STRICTLY CUBAN to a select few DJs.

John Kennedy at XFM played his copy on his show within 24 hours of receiving it in the mail - talk about a quick turnaround!

We'll keep you posted with any other developments.

The Cuban Boys have been bleeping away in the studio and a couple of new tracks have emerged in recent weeks.

First up they've crafted a beautifully intoxicating, dreamy, electronic lovesong which goes under the working title of CLAUDINE.

Within the last week the boys have produced a revised eurodance version of their Festive 50 favourite THEME FOR PRIM & PROPER - currently going under the new name of SORRY! or HARD CHEESE! depending on which hour of the day it is and who has the remote control.

Marcelle van Hoof at Another Nice Mess has asked the Cuban Boys to do a special mix for her radio show. Of course, the band have jumped at the chance to do something quirky for their favourite Dutch lady and will be putting something together very soon. According to one unofficial souce "The results might be quite interesting".

For more information about the show visit www.anothernicemess.com

On the 25th October, Marcelle van Hoof at Another Nice Mess broadcast a 3-hour 'Dedicated to John Peel' special. Marcelle played songs from cds/records/mp3s which were dedicated to John Peel after his death, including the Cuban Boys very own THE NATION NEEDS YOU.

For more information about the show visit www.anothernicemess.com

ANOTHER NICE MESS, DFM Radio, Amsterdam
Hostess: Marcelle van Hoof (English spoken)

LISTEN LIVE online: www.dfm.nu every Tuesday between 19-22 hours CET (Dutch time) / 18-21 hours BST (UK time) / 17-20 hours GMT

See also: www.amsterdamdjs.com

The Cuban Boys were proud to be part of John Peel Day and it brought a tear to their eyes to hear COGNOSCENTI VS INTELLIGENTSIA back on Radio One for probably the first time this millennium. The trainspotters amongst you might have also heard one of the Cuban Boys phoned-in messages played during the show.

Full tracklisting of the shows here.

The Cuban Boys also featured on the John Peel Documentary broadcast on the Steve Lamacq Show the following week, in which they gave a rare interview about the bands special relationship with John and explaining the reasons behind their tribute track THE NATION NEEDS YOU.

Listen to the John Peel documentary here.

Radio One also launched their John Peel Site and there is a Cuban Boys section detailing the bands sessions and Festive 50 entries. The Cuban Boys were also included in the Top 125 Sessions ever recorded.

Find the Cuban Boys entry in the Radio One John Peel Site here.

The BBC have announced a special day of events on October 13th to celebrate the life of John Peel.

The Cuban Boys have been approached by various departments at the BBC and are joining in with a host of activities, including a contribution to a radio documentary about John Peel which is due to be aired as part of the Steve Lamacq show.

The band have also been invited to provide some candid Peel-related photos for a forthcoming BBC John Peel website which will focus on the bands who recorded sessions for his show.

The official BBC John Peel Website will go online soon. If you have any pictures of him that you wish to contribute, email them to:
ania.dabrowska@somethin-else.com before 15/09/2005 with your name,
and information about when and where it was taken.

The band themselves have decided to prolong their 'Play It For Peelie' campaign and will be encouraging djs and fans to download and then blast out their John Peel tribute tune THE NATION NEEDS YOU on October 13th as a 3 minute anti-silence.

All the Cuban Boys ask is that you ‘PLAY IT FOR PEELIE’.

John Peel would have been 66 years-old on 30 August. Usually, in the weeks just before every birthday he would drop unsubtle hints to his listeners hoping to be “unexpectedly” showered with good wishes and gifts when the day arrived.

John came to expect a gift of song from his much-loved favourites, the Cuban Boys, and this year the band has decided to carry on this tradition by marking John’s birthday by asking DJs and fans to spin their special tribute song THE NATION NEEDS YOU for John around the time of his birthday.

All the Cuban Boys ask is that you ‘PLAY IT FOR PEELIE’.

Due to the success and raised profile of the BBC2 TV sitcom, STILL GAME, the Cuban Boys have been inundated with requests from fans wanting to hear the full theme tune - actually entitled 'Cuban Boy'. Happily, the boys have raided their archives to provide the theme tune for your downloading pleasure. Added to that, 'to cash-in on the current SPARKS revival', they have also included their version of 'The Number One Song In Heaven' which was exclusively recorded for their second John Peel session.

You will find both tracks on the band's myspace area and also via links in the downloads section of this site.

STILL GAME, the cult Scottish TV comedy show, is back on BBC 2 on Friday nights at 10pm. The Cuban Boys provided the theme tune for this show, it was actually the first recording they ever made, the much-loved 'Cuban Boy (Cuban Boys Go Boom! '98 Mix)' which appeared on their 'Blueprint For Modernisation EP' in 1998. Still game, and still sounding great!

More info about the show can be found at the Still Game Website

The Cuban Boys have conducted their first interview for quite a few years for those insatiable rogues at the UNPEELED magazine. If you've not heard of Unpeeled then you should - it's exactly what the NME used to be!

To read the interview head on over to www.unpeeled.co.uk - or alternatively buy the Series 6 #7 July 2005 paper edition.

Over the last few weeks the Cuban Boys have started sending out a limited quantity of promo copies of 'THE NATION NEEDS YOU' to various radio djs and the response has been magnificent.

Firstly, Rob da Bank premiered it on his BBC Radio One Show, enthusiastically announcing 'The Cuban Boys are back!'. Soon after The Cuban Boys nearly fell off their luxury yacht when they heard that Phill Jupitus had also played it several days in a row on his BBC 6Music Breakfast Show. Even more amazing was the fact that Phill hadn't even been sent a promo copy yet, he'd simply downloaded it from this site and then burnt it to CDR. How's that for dedication!

In true 'sweeping the nation' style, 'THE NATION NEEDS YOU' has also been supported with plays by John Kennedy - Xfm and BFBS, Steve Lamacq - BBC Radio 1, Andy Kershaw - BBC Radio 3, and Marcelle van Hoof - Another Nice Mess (Holland).

In an amusing act of unpaid promotion, on the Sunday night at Glastonbury, Phill Jupitus played it to Emily Eavis from his jeep stereos. Whether the Cuban Boys will be invited to headline Glasto in 2007 remains a mystery.

The Cuban Boys return after a few years of dormancy with a new track called 'THE NATION NEEDS YOU' - a special tribute to their friend and longterm champion, the legendary DJ John Peel, who died in 2004.

In 1998, John Peel gave the band their first ever radio exposure and through his continued love and support, the Cuban Boys somehow managed the unique achievement of being voted Number One in the Festive 50 whilst also battling with the likes of Westlife, Sir Cliff Richard and John Lennon in the UK Charts.

Being keenly aware of John Peel's appreciation of STATUS QUO's 'DOWN DOWN' as a tried and trusted floorfiller, the Cuban Boys have married it with some poignant samples of the great man himself to create 'The Nation Needs You'. As you would expect, it is an absurd clash of styles which teeters between chaos and insanity.

As the Cuban Boys explain 'We tried to capture the spirit of a John Peel Show within a three minute romp - 'The Nation Needs You' is just our way of saying thank you to a great friend, and we hope it will also work as lasting memory for some of his regular listeners'.

The Cuban Boys hope John Peel would have approved.