Northeast Music Guide

HEAVEN 17 & BRITISH ELECTRIC FOUNDATION (B.E.F) DUAL HEADLINE TOUR THIS AUTUMN HEAVEN 17 PRESENT… ‘PENTHOUSE & PAVEMENT’ 35th ANNIVERSARY PLUS  BRITISH ELECTRIC FOUNDATION’S FIRST EVER UK TOUR With the votes now in and a career-affirming title now crowning their legacy, Sheffield's Greatest Band of All Time : HEAVEN 17  and B.E.F. will be providing a just reminder of their glittering achievements this autumn as they electronically revisit their magnum opus: ‘Penthouse & Pavement’, at a series of UK shows.  Thirty-five years since the release of their landmark debut album, Messrs Glenn Gregory and Martyn Ware will be commemorating the record that launched their sensational career by performing a brand new electronic version of ‘Penthouse And Pavement’ live and in full. Part two of each show will also feature a live set from B.E.F. (British Electric Foundation) who embark on what will be their first ever live tour. Founded i...

Two Local Rock Bands Earn The Right  to Play Bloodstock Festival Over the last few months local rock and metal bands have been competing in the Metal 2 The Masses “battle of the bands” style heats at Newcastle’s Trillians Rock Bar. Last weekend the final was hosted at The Cluny and not one but two bands were chosen to play Bloodstock. They will be joining legendary local black metal innovators Venom at the festival making it a hat-trick of northeast bands entertaining people from all over the world. Bloodstock is the largest independent heavy metal festival in the UK with up to 15,000 attendees. The festival started in 2005 with only 700 people, an example of careful but ambitious growth. The size of the crowd at the Cluny reflected the enthusiasm for metal that seems to be experienced a rebirth in the Northeast. The overall winner of the final, chosen by Bloodstock’s Simon Hall, was The Souls of Jack Ketch: angy brutal metal with fearsome vocals and yet a really friendly...

Magnum: Still Rocking With the Same Spirit The show opened with tight harmonies from 6 piece band Vega and a cracking tune called Explode . The band were keen to get the audience on board with the second song Kiss of  Life , from their first album. A new song from the latest album Every Little Monster made us think of AOR legends Honeymoon Suite. The band understand the protocols of one foot on the monitor singalong AOR big numbers that get an audience's fists in the air. All Or Nothing has a passing resemblance to Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar On Me and the band acknowledged this by chucking in a line from the song. This song however was better for not containing some rather weak rap. The new album Wherever We Are has some great driving music like White Flag that wouldn't be out of place on a Top Gear compilation. Saving Grace. This was great AOR and the band never put a foot wrong, or indeed on a monitor. Nick Workman has an enviable vocal style perfect for t...

James and Slow Readers Club,  Newcastle City Hall 17/5/2016 The typically bar-obsessed City Hall audience was a bit sparse while Slow Readers Club brought ethereal lyrics and jolly Smiths-esque guitars to the stage. This didn't make their reception to the support band any less warm There could be some Echo and The Bunnymen/ Electrafixion influence with this band but the sound is very stand-out in the current market. One More Minute and Days Like This Will Break Your Heart bode well for the contents of the new EP. The unsigned band from Manchester have been doing fabulously on Youtube with the highly memorable I Saw A Ghost and this was performed beautifully with Aaron Starkie’s wonderfully resonant vocals the star on the Christmas tree. They are a very tight live band and show real love for their work. This band have such a great package of songs to deliver, I'll definitely have to buy the album and see them again.  James are back with a new album ( Gi...

Over the past few weeks, 25 great bands have graced the stage in the first ever Newcastle round of the Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses. The Newcastle winner will go on to play Bloodstock Festival in August. There have been some high quality and extremely tight battles in the heat stages, but now only 10 bands remain. "I knew there was a lot of talent in Newcastle," says promoter Kev Morris of RFTK Promotions, "Though I hadn't expected some of the heats to be so tight." "I'm genuinely gutted for some of the bands that didn't go through - but - that only goes to show the bands we've got to be all the better" There are two semi finals which will reduce the field from 10 down to 5.   The semi finals take place in Think Tank on Time Square on May 15th and May 29th. This Sunday, 5 bands battle it out - they are; Hellion Rising - local Groove metal Arcite - Melodic Metal Guardian - hardcore from Nort...

Shows coming up from RFTK Promotions: *May 3rd - Milk Teeth + Black Foxxes + Eat Me @ Think Tank Milk Teeth (by Justin Worden) *May 5th - Chameleons Vox @ Think Tank Chamelians Vox  *May 14th - Chasity Belt + Tuff Love + Slurs @ Think Tank May 15th - Bloodstock Metal 2 Masses Semi-Final 1 @ Think Tank May 23rd - Mortiis + Seraph Sin + deadfilmstar @ Cluny May 27th - Dorje + Four Colour Ghosts @ Independent (Sunderland) May 29th - Bloodstock Metal 2 Masses Semi-Final 2 @ Think Tank May 30th - Cold in Berlin @ Head of Steam June 9th - Ayria + Inertia + EurasianeyeS @ Think Tank June 17th - Bloodstock Metal 2 Masses Final @ Cluny June 29th - Combchrist + Filter + Rabia Sorda @ Riverside October 5th - The Birthday Massacre @ Think Tank Tickets for all are available from www.seetickets.com , www.ticketweb.co.uk , Reflex Records.  Cluny shows are available from the bar. Bloodstock M2M Tickets com...

THE SLOW READERS CLUB TO SUPPORT INDIE STARS - JAMES - ON 11 UK TOUR DATES THIS MAY Newcastle City Hall on Tuesday 17th May  “The Slow Readers Club are the best band you’ve never heard of.  But once you have, you’ll find it impossible not to fall for them.” - Louder Than War “On the cusp of something spectacular” – Manchester Evening News “They’ve made an album called Cavalcade which I have to say I really, really think is a very good record.” – Saul Davies (James) Manchester indie-electronica outfit The Slow Readers Club will support James on 11 dates of the ‘Girl At The End Of The World tour’.  With an anthemic electronic sound perfectly suited to the big halls of the country that they will be visiting on this tour with James, The Slow Readers Club will be hitting venues such as the Brixton Academy, Shepherds Bush Empire, Newcastle City Hall and Bristol Colston Hall among others.  The band will be playing to thousands of new fans before embarki...