Category Archives: Music

The Members – The Star and Garter, Manchester

If you’ve seen The Members on a bill recently, it’s understandable if you felt sceptical about a line-up without lead singer Nicky Tesco, that voice and charismatic energy a key component of what this band were about. But there in … Continue reading

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The Cardigans: from indie roots to Gran Turismo and beyond – the Nina Persson interview

Nina Persson was between rehearsals with The Cardigans at home in Malmö when I called, getting set for four UK dates revisiting the band’s best-selling album Gran Turismo in full, 20 years on. Including the singles ‘Hanging Around’, ‘Erase/Rewind’ and ‘My … Continue reading

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The Comeback: Elvis and the Story of the ’68 Special by Simon Goddard – a WriteWyattUK review

I wasn’t quite sure what to make of The Comeback: Elvis and the Story of the ’68 Special at first. I felt I already knew plenty about the event and circumstances surrounding it, even though I was barely a year … Continue reading

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Forever switched on – back in touch with Andy Kershaw

It’s been 35 years since Andy Kershaw left West Yorkshire’s Radio Aire, redundancy from his promotions manager role in November 1983 proving the catalyst for a wealth of  adventures in rock’n’roll and broadcasting. “Was there ever a more productive sacking, … Continue reading

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Hugh Cornwell – Clitheroe, The Grand

  Apparently, four punters needed St John Ambulance medical attention in Kendal the night before I got to see Hugh Cornwell and his band’s two assured sets in not so far off Clitheroe. With that in mind, Hugh told the … Continue reading

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Behold what she has done – back in touch with Hazel O’Connor

Hazel O’Connor was at home in County Wicklow when I caught up with her, after a long haul from a gig in Taunton, Somerset, including a late-night Holyhead-Dun Laoghaire ferry. “My boat got me in about half past midnight. It’s … Continue reading

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Blancmange – Darwen Library Theatre, November 7th, 2018

If you’ve not yet caught up with Wanderlust, the latest album from Blancmange, you’re missing out. After several weeks’ rotation around the house and in the car, I put it to one side for a couple of weeks. But now … Continue reading

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Two Preston Nights to Remember, part two – Girls in Synthesis / Erskine Brown – Preston, The Ferret

You know you’re at an intimate gig when, stood by the bar with pint in hand, a manic bass player frantically threads his way past you, mid-song. I’d have happily paid the £3 on the door (three quid, I tell … Continue reading

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Two Preston nights to remember: part one – The Men They Couldn’t Hang, Preston Guild Hall

It seems a little arse about face to start a review with the opening encore, but it was Eric Bogle’s ‘The Green Fields of France (No Man’s Land’) that sent shivers up the spine on Saturday night. A song The … Continue reading

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From record shop pilgrimages to transatlantic discovery – talking The Decemberists with Colin Meloy

This weekend, The Decemberists leave Portland, Oregon for their latest UK and mainland European tour. But don’t expect them to have worked on the set these last couple of weeks. As vocalist/guitarist and occasional children’s author Colin Meloy explained, “We’ve been … Continue reading

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