Northeast Music Guide

Review: Tom Robinson at Newcastle Riverside 28/10/2017 We walked at the start of support act Lee Forsyth-Giffiths. Lee is a superbly talented bloke with a skill for writing well observed lyrics and singing them them beautifully. Astronaut was a particularly pertinent take on how people aspire to great things then just sit on their backsides and do nothing about it. Because things like that don’t happen to people like us. Lee’s music is definitely worth checking out. One piece of advice though, don’t talk during his set, he can get a bit lairy. I definitely prefer him when he’s singing. The night was also raising funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and celebrated the memory of David Greaves, a local man who succumbed to the condition but campaigned tirelessly for the charity in his final years. His family were at the gig as were fundraisers and Debs McCoy who raises money for the charity using her music. Debs’ played during the interval which provided a ch...

Review: Blancmange at the Boiler Shop, Newcastle A suitable support act for Blancmange came in the form of electro pop trio Transfigure. First on stage were guitarist Alex Greenup and Lewis Norvid on synths with minimal electro beats and simple riffs, until joined on stage by Grace Blamire who added ethereal vocals enhanced by the church-like acoustics of the boiler shop interior. As a trio they work perfectly with upbeat electro with a dark edge not common here but with a following on the continent. I was reminded of electro pop band Parralox and also another local band who made it big, Dubstar. We felt this band would be very at home at a German festival like Amphifest.  Blancmange started their set on the Abba cover The Day Before You Came which in my opinion is the better version as it is gentle, deep and pulls at the heartstrings even more. The band did not rest on their laurels, and went straight into the title track from their new album Unfurnished Rooms . ...

MORRISSEY ANNOUNCES UK TOUR METRO RADIO ARENA – FRIDAY 23 RD FEBRUARY 2018   “ LOW IN HIGH SCHOOL” IS OUT VIA ETIENNE RECORDS/ BMG 17 NOVEMBER 2017 Spent The Day In Bed – Top 20 Airplay Hit Morrissey will perform Spent The Day In Bed on The Graham Norton Show tonight (27 th Oct) at 10:35pm on BBC 1 Low in High School Reviews “Consistently excellent – 4 Stars” Q ’glistening and richly textured beast…partisan powerful and controversial” MOJO BBC 6 Music Live Reviews “This hour-long set was a joy… Morrissey looked and sounded like a star”  The Times **** “It all suggested that next month’s new album, Low in High School, his first in three years, could be classic Morrissey: musically adventurous, witty and political” The Daily Telegraph  **** Morrissey is proud to announce his first full UK tour since 2015, giving fans the chance to hear tracks from Low in ...

Lahayna present new single  House of Cards/ Sign of the Times In advance of their long awaited debut album, Lahayna release their second single ‘House of Cards’ and B-side ‘Sign of the Times’ on Monday November 20th 2017 via Snakehand Records.  All proceeds from the sale of the single will be donated to PAPYRUS, the national charity for the prevention of young suicide (https://www.papyrus-uk.org/about). Please read the attached open letter from songwriter Matt explaining why this is so important to him personally and the background to the song. About us - Prevention of young suicide UK | PAPYRUS www.papyrus-uk.org PAPYRUS is the national UK charity dedicated to the prevention of young suicide. The band achieved UK chart history in 2007 when their debut single, ‘In the City’, reached #33 in the Official UK Singles Chart, despite no radio airplay or industry support. Lahayna were swept along on a wave of exhilarating live performances and guerrilla marketing....

THE RPMS ANNOUNCE AUTUMN/WINTER LIVE DATES TO ACCOMPANY FORTHCOMING SINGLE RELEASE Tune after great tune, something you just can't resist - John Kennedy Radio X Best of BBC Introducing -  Huw Stephens BBC Radio 1 Energetic indie-rocking, with some catchy pop rhythms sprinkled in -  Louder Than War More hooks than a harbour - Chris Hawkins BBC 6 Music A stylish introduction to this youthful band - CLASH A bunch of lads with an ear for a great tune" - Steve Lamacq BBC 6 Music Straight off the back of a string of summer gigs and festivals up and down the country, The RPMs are back and all revved up with a bigger sound than before. The RPMs recently released their second EP ‘Agents Of Change’ in June 2017 through Xtra Mile Recordings. The release revealed a band getting to grips with coming of age in an increasingly volatile world with the band offering their take on the hold of social media in modern life.  They followed their release wi...

Thursday 30 November | 7.30pm | Sage One  Entertainers is proud to present Go West and special guest Cutting Crew together in concert. The 80s are back as these two legendary stars join forces for a truly incredible concert experience. With millions of albums sales and iconic hits such as We Close Our Eyes, Call Me, King Of Wishful Thinking, and the classic (I Just) Died In Your Arms, this authentic 80s double header is not to be missed. Go West Go West had their first hit single We Close Our Eyes in 1985. Other hits followed including Call Me, Goodbye Girl and Don’t Look Down, Faithful and the smash hit theme song from the film Pretty Woman King of Wishful Thinking. Aces and Kings:The Best of Go West Cutting Crew Originally formed in the mid 80s, this GRAMMY nominated, Anglo-Canadian rock band will always be remembered for their classic song (I Just) Died In Your Arms, which helped define the musical sounds of the club sce...

DJANGO DJANGO ANNOUNCE 2018 UK AND EUROPEAN TOUR INCLUDES LONDON SHOW AT THE PRINTWORKS NEW ALBUM 'MARBLE SKIES' TO BE RELEASED JANUARY 26th “A fizzing, furious new wave and disco mash-up.” - NME “A giddy track fizzing with nervous energy.” - 4*, The Sun “The galloping guitars and harmonies recall their first album” - The Times Hot on the heels of announcing the January 26th release of their forthcoming album ‘Marble Skies’, sonic adventurers Django Django today announce details of a new UK and European tour. Always an incendiary live experience, these dates represent their first full tour here since 2015 and includes a London show at arguably the capital’s newest and most exciting venue The Printworks. Tickets will go on pre-sale at 10am this Wednesday 25th October and on general sale at 10am on Friday 27th October and will be available from the band’s website.  In addition to the album announcement, Django Django also shared the first single, Tic-Tac...

Review: Thomas Truax and Dressed Like Wolves Cumberland Arms,  Newcastle 22/10/2017 The Mother Superior Dressed Like Wolves was stripped down to the Teesside based songwriter at its core, Rick Dobbing. The rest of the band were unable to make it. But no matter, Rick endeared us all with his songs containing lots of inconvenient truths about our existence. He opened his set with Tiny Ides , a sweet song about falafel. He got through his performance with a self-deprecating sense of humour that complemented such songs as Depth Charge (about death), Ship Song (was to be called Daydreamers but that was too twee) and the quite haunting Churches. His vocal style is fractured, vulnerable with a touch of the Feargal Sharkey about it. I’d like to see him with a full band but he carried this off really well and has a truly likeable stage presence. Rick Dobbing Thomas Truax Nothing could prepare us for the entrance of Thomas Truax. He started his set standing on...

DJ FORMAT  RELEASES EXCLUSIVE HALLOWEEN MIX UP FRONT OF THE STILL HUNGRY PT. II ToOUR WITH MC ABDOMINAL     As you probably already know, DJ Format & Abdominal are hitting the UK roads once again to spread the glorious word of their current LP, STILL HUNGRY. Released in April of this year, the duo had success through the Spring with another sell out tour, a #1 album chart topping position on Bandcamp (for two months!), play listing and appearances on BBC 6 Music and Soho Radio and ample rave reviews. Still Hungry Tour Pt.II kicks off on the long Halloween weekend and to celebrate, DJ Format has crafted on an point mix to celebrate all things that go bump in the night! Expect horror, monsters, nightmares, terror and devil's in disguise when you click the link for a 50 minute ride into the darkness of dooooooom!! https://www . mixcloud.com/matt-ford/dj-format-halloween-mix/ Tickets for the tour can be purchased via www.facebook.com/DJFormatUK ...

JIM WHITE RETURNS WITH NEW ALBUM ‘WAFFLES, TRIANGLES & JESUS’ + EUROPEAN TOUR DATES STREAM NEW SONG ‘FAR BEYOND THE SPOKEN WORLD' JIM WHITE is set to release new album 'Waffles, Triangles & Jesus" and has announced his European tour dates. “White remains one of modern music's most fascinating artists”, according to The Line Of Best Fit, who spoke to Jim White about his forthcoming new record and new song, 'Far Beyond The Spoken World'. Discussing the inspiration behind the new track, Jim explains: “All my life I've battled the considerable undertow of fear of abandonment. It was never crippling, but was certainly ever present. This song was written at a time when I was first becoming aware of the dimensions of that issue. I've spent much of my adult life alone (I have kids, but no partner), in great part due to some serious psychological baggage I acquired as a child. As I enter the later years of my life I'm working to bett...