Tag Archives: Preston

Back to The Icicle Works – the Ian McNabb interview

  I don’t pretend to be the greatest aficionado on the life and times of Ian McNabb, the esteemed Liverpudlian singer-songwriter and leader of The Icicle Works. But I know a fair bit about the Merseybeast’s story, not least his considerable … Continue reading

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Celebrating Little Victories – the Alan Davies interview

Following the success of his 55-date Little Victories UK tour in 2014, and having already added extra dates this year, Alan Davies is set for a final 15-date autumn leg. That includes a date at Preston Guild Hall in early … Continue reading

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Taking the Big Red Bus to town – celebrating Tuff Life Boogie’s autumn return

If you follow the alternative and indie music scene and you’re based in the North West, you may know a little about Tuff Life Boogie. Then again, this is hardly a story of self-aggrandisement or any of that self-serving twaddle. … Continue reading

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Testing the Big Band theory – the Jools Holland interview

It’s difficult to write about Jools Holland without going down the retro route. He is after all a man who carved out a career celebrating the best in popular music from the past century. His long-running BBC television show Later … Continue reading

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Living the genre non-specific rock dream with Polly and the Billets Doux

Polly Perry, lead singer of Polly and the Billets Doux,  is on a train somewhere between Devon and Hampshire, heading back from a weekend of fossil hunting. Yes, fossil hunting. Not very rock’n’roll? Well, there’s plenty more of that deviant … Continue reading

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University of the Nerd Age – the Talk Nerdy 2 Me feature

According to US young adult author John Green, of The Fault in our Stars fame, ‘Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it’.* In fact, nerdiness is a state of mind for some, and you can include Lancashire … Continue reading

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Picture the poet, greet the griot – the Benjamin Zephaniah interview

When I spoke to Benjamin Zephaniah earlier this week, he was between a BBC radio interview and two days lecturing at West London’s Brunel University. The Lincolnshire-based dub poet, author and activist was then heading back for another radio broadcast … Continue reading

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Feeding fiction to the 5,000 – my World Book Day 2015 encounter

As I turned down Lowthorpe Road on my approach to Preston North End FC, a ‘cattlepiddler’ of high-vis jackets from a nearby school heading the same way suggested I was definitely in the right place. Close by, coaches belched out … Continue reading

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One-time Goodie remains a rebel without a clue – the Graeme Garden interview

If Graeme Garden had taken up his expected vocation and become a doctor, the 72-year-old might well have had his feet up by now. The Aberdeen-born Prestonian pondered this down the telephone line from his home in Oxfordshire, in a … Continue reading

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Inspiral Carpets/Blossoms – Preston 53 Degrees

I had a feeling Inspiral Carpets would prove the perfect act to bring the curtain down on Preston’s threatened 53 Degrees venue, and they certainly ended their own 12-date December tour in style. I’m afraid I missed first support Brown … Continue reading

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