Tag Archives: Manchester

Pip Blom / Talk Show / Jacob Slater – Band on the Wall, Manchester

Champions League Final? Well, there was no way that could ever live up to either semi, and perhaps this was my show of support for Ajax, nipping down to Manchester, erm, City to catch another Amsterdam outfit with youth on … Continue reading

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Whatever floats your Boat – the Pip Blom interview

In a sense, perhaps it was almost inevitable that Pip Blom would follow her parents into the alternative music market. It’s now three years since this Amsterdam-based singer-songwriter first shared her somewhat raw, lo-fi brand of indie guitar pop with … Continue reading

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Robert Forster – Band on the Wall, Manchester

I missed out on The Go-Betweens live during their defining 1978/90 spell and the 2000/6 second coming, that latter period providing three LPs now nestling among my favourites of all time. But I had the pleasure of witnessing Robert Foster … Continue reading

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All Night Party People – in conversation with A Certain Ratio’s Jez Kerr

It promises to be a busy year for industrial punk-funk pioneers and indie-dance survivors A Certain Ratio, currently playing a series of UK dates to coincide with new Mute collection, ACR:BOX. After 2018’s acr:set compilation and their LP reissue campaign, the … Continue reading

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The Undertones / The Neville Staple Band – The Ritz, Manchester

An early start caught me out, my train arriving after seven, The Neville Staple Band already in charge by the time I’d made it from nearby Oxford Road station. And to channel ska inspiration Prince Buster and fellow 1979 breakthroughs … Continue reading

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Nouvelle Vague – Manchester Gorilla

I’ve witnessed some effective starts to live shows lately, with the arrival of Mélanie Pain and Phoebe Killdeer to the stage at The Gorilla particularly jaw-dropping. The price of the drinks already had me a little dazed, but this was … Continue reading

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Mott the Hoople ’74 – Manchester Academy

Five decades after his initial Mott the Hoople recordings, it’s fair to say Ian Hunter knows a fair bit about live presence and was certainly on sparkling form in Manchester for this Class of ‘74 reunion. What’s more, fellow survivors … Continue reading

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A walk on la Rive Gauche – talking Nouvelle Vague with Mélanie Pain

  Mélanie Pain was working for a Paris design agency when the stars realigned and she ended up swapping careers in 2004, a favour for a friend happening to alert producer Marc Collin. And you could say the rest is … Continue reading

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Further strings to the bow – back in touch with Gretchen Peters

It seems that she’s hardly been back in Nashville a few weeks, but American singer-songwriter Gretchen Peters is set to return to the UK – her ‘second home’ – next month for a rather special, potentially one-off tour. This time, … Continue reading

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A Manchester love affair on record – the C.P. Lee interview

It wouldn’t be right to call C.P. Lee an unsung hero of the North West music scene. He’s sung a fair bit in his time and those who truly know the Manchester scene know full well who he is. So … Continue reading

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