Tag Archives: Manchester

Let me tell you about Sweden (and Denmark, Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester …) – catching up with Hugh Cornwell

Early May sees the return of former Stranglers frontman Hugh Cornwell to the road for three more UK headline dates, celebrating last October’s acclaimed Moments of Madness LP. Following a 23-date nationwide tour late last year, he has shows in … Continue reading

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Journey to the Art of Darkness – talking The History of Goth with John Robb

Ah, the dreaded label. An integral part of music culture down the years, but an all too easy way to categorise, and often proving nonsense. Punk, post-punk, alternative, indie, indie pop, twee pop, shoegaze, soul, funk, jazz funk, heavy soul, … Continue reading

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Tally Ho to your New Modern Homes – The Chesterfields / The Amber List: The Talleyrand, Manchester

A new venue for me, and a cracking one at that. Initially set up as a bar with in-house art gallery and performance space, The Talleyrand – around four years on as a venue, give or take the odd break … Continue reading

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Way beyond The Implausible Man – crossing the Irish Sea with Adam Leonard and Invaderband

Prolific is the word that springs to mind when describing Adam Leonard’s output these last couple of decades. Head to his Wikipedia entry, missus, and you’ll see a stream of releases since 2003 debut LP, How Music Sounds, and he’s … Continue reading

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Blessed is the Greek – the Tony Michaelides interview

It was barely 7am in Florida when I caught up with broadcaster and former music industry promotions high-flier Tony Michaelides. But he’d already walked his dog, still seemingly functioning on Manchester time, 18 years after leaving the North West for … Continue reading

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Right on track with The Goa Express – in conversation with James Douglas Clarke

Rising indie guitar band The Goa Express are the sort of outfit that give me hope for the future of live music. The Manchester-based Burnley and Todmorden five-piece’s most recent single, ‘Everybody in the UK’, their ‘call-to-arms for togetherness in … Continue reading

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The Undertones / Hugh Cornwell – Manchester Academy 2

How I’ve missed this. My 13th live outing since last July’s return following the pandemic shutdown, and the biggest venue faced so far. And while until now I’ve stuck to smaller, trusted venues, this was a blast from beginning to … Continue reading

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Altered Images / Scarlet – Manchester Academy 3

Four decades after Clare Grogan first came into my life, marking my 14th birthday with a personal greeting from north of the border (that week the first of the four their biggest hit spent in the UK top 10, with … Continue reading

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All hail the Lakeland echo sounders – talking Sea Power with Noble

I often wonder when talking to musicians deemed to have ‘made it’ how much of a part fate played in their success. There’s more often than not plenty of toil and heartache en route before that perceived rise to a … Continue reading

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Up, up and away – a late introduction to Magic Roundabout

Once upon a long ago, there was a band – described by their modern-day label as ‘criminally-unheard Manchester noisemakers’ – that borrowed its name from a hit UK children’s TV show that itself started life in a very different form … Continue reading

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