Category Archives: Books Films, TV & Radio

Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker – Preston, The Continental

“The fun’s over. Strap yourself in, it’s gonna be a miserable ride”. After upbeat sets from opening acts Tom Hyatt and Sweeney Astray, Josienne Clarke suggested a change of mood was on the cards at this happening River Ribble watering … Continue reading

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Valley high – back in touch with Public Service Broadcasting’s J. Willgoose Esq.

Commercial success doesn’t seem to have changed the pseudonymous J.Wilgoose Esq. Unless of course his excuse of not picking up his phone straight away as he was ‘carrying a cup of tea into the studio’ is shorthand for some rock’n’roll … Continue reading

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Boo Hewerdine / The Huers – Wigan Parish Church

I’ve encountered some impressive live music settings over the years, and All Saints’ Church, Wigan, must be up there with the best, however unlikely a venue. It was clearly an odd call for Boo Hewerdine too, this Cambridgeshire-based singer-songwriter up … Continue reading

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Banishing with love – in praise of Laura Marling’s Semper Femina

If expectation carries a weight, it doesn’t seem to concern Laura Marling, six LPs into a somewhat understated yet still stellar career, this super-talented artiste gracefully rising above genre labels amid major music press analysis and hyperbole. I tried to … Continue reading

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Lloyd Cole – Preston Guild Hall

We were two songs in on Monday night before our special guest deigned to talk to us, fixing us with something of a 1,000-yard stare while sussing out his audience before announcing, ‘You’re not getting any younger either’. It was … Continue reading

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The continuing adventures of the Magic Band, the Mothers of Invention, and the Muffin Men – the Denny Walley interview

Do you know the Muffin Men (‘the Muffin Men?’ I hear you ask. Yes, the Muffin Men), presumably based in Liverpool’s Drury Lane or Mulberry Place? Chances are that you might. They’ve been doing the rounds for more than a … Continue reading

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Life beyond The Waves – the Katrina Leskanich interview

When Katrina Leskanich told me down the telephone line, ‘The sun is shining, finally’ in London, I took it with a pinch of salt, not least as earlier that day I revisited a grainy mid-‘80s promo video in which she … Continue reading

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WriteWyattUK on White Riot … 40 years on

I couldn’t get through Saturday, March 18th, 2017, without mentioning a certain clarion call from the early days of punk, released 40 years ago today – the song that inspired this website’s name. Naive maybe, but so much energy to … Continue reading

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A Whole Lotta Zeppelin, with the Black Dog Orchestra

There’s a treat in store for Led Zeppelin fans next month, as Stairway To Heaven: Led Zeppelin Masters opens its UK run at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, prompting us to get the lowdown from this grand-scale production’s Aussie front-man, Vince Contarino. Four … Continue reading

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Once More … with The Wedding Present

Following this site’s breaking announcement last week comes news of The Wedding Present adding a second night in Preston, Lancashire, having sold out their first summer show at The Continental in super-fast time. Three decades after their first visit to … Continue reading

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