Morrissey
How can you describe Morrissey? He’s probably one of the most unique performers of the late 20th and 21st century, defying all genres, an innovator and inimitably miserable. This is a chance to catch him live in the UK before he jets off back to his adopted home in LA.
The singer-songwriter is well known for his mordant lyrics and vocals. Described by NME as “one of the most influential artists ever,” and the Oscar Wilde of rock, he is recognised for being a major innovator in indie music.
“Pop music was all I ever had, it was completely entwined with the image of a pop star. I remember feeling that the person singing was actually with me and understood me and my predicament,” said Morrissey describing his teenage years when he often experienced depression. This belief became one that was carried over in Morrissey’s own lyrics and delivery; his songs are uniquely conversational and intimate giving the impression that he is talking directly to his audience.
Forming the alternative rock band, The Smiths in 1982, with Johnny Marr, the pair began a songwriting partnership, creating such masterpieces as Hand in Glove in 1983, championed by the Radio 1 DJ John Peel and Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, the Smith’s first top 10 hit and landmark single.
Success continued but exhaustive touring and personal differences took their toll and the band split up. But it wasn’t until after going solo in 1988 that Morrissey reached his potential as a performer. Hits like Suedehead, His album Kill Uncle our Arsenal peaked at number 8 in the charts, Vauxhall and I, described by Morrissey as “the best album I ever made” was written after the loss of three of his friends. In June 2003, You Are The Quarry got rave reviews and Irish Blood, English Heart reached the number 3 spot. In 2009, Rolling Stone Magazine named him as one of the Greatest Singers of Our Time in a poll cast by a panel of 179 music experts including Bono and Bruce Springsteen. What more can be said about this legendary performer?
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Simple Minds
Tickets are now available for this iconic Scottish rock band famous throughout the 80s and 90s who are playing in venues across the country at locations including Glasgow, Belfast, London and Cardiff. With a string of critically acclaimed hits behind them ranging from their number one worldwide single, Don’t You (Forget About Me), from the soundtrack of the movie The Breakfast Club, the band has a loyal fan-base with songs that are as relevant today as they were a decade ago and the tour is likely to prove a sell-out.
Founder members Jim Kerr (vocals) and Charlie Burchill (guitar, keyboards) and drummer Mel Gaynor were initially influenced by punk music and first tracks were reminiscent of performers like Lou Reed. Though later singles came under the rock banner they always retained an anthemic element with avant-garde rhythms and experimental edge.
Once Upon a Time, released in 1985 included the massive hit singles Alive and Kicking, Sanctify Yourself and All the Things She Said and heralded in a new political phase for the band with albums like Street Fighting Years and She Moved Through the Fair released in support of the kidnap hostage Brian Keenan.
Subsequent albums were critically acclaimed and with the latest offering, Graffiti Soul flying high in the UK and European Charts, the band is currently experiencing a renaissance and continues to wow the crowds with a mix of old classics and quality new material. It’s well worth getting a ticket to see this historic band.
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The Enemy
Playing at a venue near you The Enemy receive rave reviews wherever they perform. This is a band that doesn’t pussyfoot about; headlining at Leeds, T in the Park and a major band at Glastonbury, the debut album We’ll Live and Die in These Towns in 2007 went straight to the top of the charts.
Hailing from Coventry, The Enemy has supported a host of bands, some of which they have subsequently surpassed in popularity, plus some absolute musical giants like the Rolling Stones and the Stereophonics. They were also chosen as special guests on The Oasis 2009 Stadium Tour and played six nights in a row at the London Astoria.
Representing a formidable force on the British music scene, concerts make use of a huge video screen that provides a backdrop to the high energy stage tactics. Playing in support of their new album Music for the People, there’ll be plenty of anthemic hits with lots of communal singing, swaggering stage presence and accomplishment well beyond their years with the subject matter of their songs striking a chord with many. 2009 has been a huge year for The Enemy and they look set to see it out in style.
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DragonForce
The Force is with us as DragonForce return in a succession of blistering concerts throughout the UK taking place in locations in Scotland and cities like Liverpool, Bradford, Wolverhampton and Cornwall.
One of the greatest heavy rock acts around, DragonForce is famed for its “extreme power metal” that incorporates influences from computer games, and electronic sounds.
Fronted by ZP Theart, the outfit are a romantic looking bunch with glossy locks that would put any cavalier to shame. Any DragonForce concert will involve fast-paced twin guitars and keyboards with dramatic songs inspired by heroic subjects including war, journeys and battles as phantasmagoric elements combine with larger than life, epic rock, screaming vocals, keyboard wizardry and dazzling fretboard work.
Spawned in 1999 in London, DragonForce first won its spurs with the breakthrough album of 2006, Inhuman Rampage which contained the band’s biggest hits, Operation Ground and Pound and Through the Fire and Flames. The latter track features on the game Guitar Hero lll: Legends of Rock. The 2008 single, Heroes of Our Time from the album Ultra Beatdown, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Perfomance in 2008.
As their die hard fans across the world already know, it’s well worth battling through Fire and Flames to see this outfit in action – they’re from the stuff that legends are made of.
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Electric Six
Heavy metal meets burlesque in a series of outrageous concerts taking place in December performed by the six-piece band, Electric Six.
This genre blending outfit must be seen in all their perverse, politically incorrect, bizarre and grotesque glory. With their glorious combination of disco, glam and arena rock, pop and synth, the Electric Six never cease to amuse and abuse.
Their first single Danger! High Voltage was released in 2003 when it struck a chord with the good old UK public always up for something a bit different. Sales were helped by the rumour that Jack White of The White Stripes featured on the single, a fact that the band refuses to either confirm or deny. A second single, Gay Bar, probably the most popular to date, made it to number 5 in the charts.
Often courting controversy, in 2005, Electric Six covered the Queen track, Radio Gaga releasing a video that portrayed Freddie Mercury as a ghost with a backing band of poodles. Although Queen’s guitarist, Brian May allegedly liked it, drummer, Roger Taylor professed that he was seriously “unimpressed.”
However, it’s lead singer Dick Valentine’s piercing vocals that give Electric Six its edge. His shrieking falsetto plunges every now and then into punk rock anarchy. Despite lyrics that have been described as “disaffected, angry, ironic and lustful, expressing macho flippancy and tongue in the cheek pomposity”, Dick Valentine claims that about 90 per cent of the songs are about “absolutely nothing.” Nevertheless, whilst almost every song contains references to war, nuclear and fire (one of the reasons why the latest album, Fire, gained its title) others aim to shock with controversial titles including “She’s White” and “Naked Pictures (of Your Mother).”
“I’m a man torn between vengeance and fashion,” claims Dick Valentine. Go and see Electric Six in action – you’ll be tantalised, mesmerised and outraged.
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65 Days of Static
Tour dates have been confirmed for the post-rock group, 65 Days of Static in September and November. The quartet from Sheffield is doing three gigs following the release of their live album, Escape from New York, at Digital in Brighton on 10th Sept, Manchester Academy on 17th November and Heaven in London on 18th November.
This largely instrumental group love playing live; in 2005 they complained that they had only played 91 shows in a year. Their penchant for touring means that they’ve developed a huge fan base appealing to the cognoscenti and hipper elements of the underground scene with critical praise from the musical press. In 2006 they played at the Summer Sonic festival in Japan and last year they supported The Cure on their North American tour.
With three critically acclaimed albums, The Fall of Math, One for All Time and The Destruction of Small Ideas, plus the recent live album, 65 Days of Static’s brand of music defies genres, mixing heavy progressive-guitar with live drums, keyboard and drum and word samples.
Live, their performance is riveting. Creative and atmospheric music combines with nervy, angry energy, frenetic drums and euphoria while guitar instrumentals either provide an onslaught or beautiful interludes accompanied by electric violins and melodic keyboard.
If you haven’t yet heard this highly creative band play you should do so now. Get your tickets today.
Jools Holland
Put these dates on your calendar! Gifted rhthym & Blues performer, Jools Holland is joining up with blues/rock guitarist, Dave Edmonds for a run of shows that must not be missed.
Jools Holland’s Later… with Jools Holland, is the most influential music show on TV today with his Hootenanny now essential viewing on New Year’s Eve for the majority of people. No-one is in any doubt that without the inimitable co-ordination of Jools himself, introducing and interviewing a fascinating mix of classic and new performers, the show just wouldn’t be the same.
One of Britain’s most versatile and talented performers, Jools was playing Boogie Woogie and Blues piano by the age of eight and formed the iconic rock band Squeeze at the age of 15, eventually selling out stadiums in the US and generating millions of record sales. As presenter of The Tube, the performer’s laid-back style was inspirational for the new style of music programme. As if that wasn’t enough he launched the mighty 12-piece Rhythm and Blues Orchestra in 1990 and has ever since been selling out shows all over the continent and UK, receiving an OBE for his contribution to music in 2003.
Dave Edmunds is a guitarist, singer and record producer famous for his number 1 UK single I Hear You Knocking and linked with the pub-rock movement of the early 1970s as a producer has worked with an impressive array of artists like Paul McCartney, The Stray Cats and Status Quo. He also continued to release solo albums whilst collaborating with Nick Lowe in the band Rockpile.
Together these two towering giants of the musical world promise to provide a night of unsurpassed entertainment. Get on down there; it’ll be a Hoot (enanny).
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Paul Potts
Winner of Britain’s Got Talent in 2007, Paul Potts is out on tour to promote his second album Passione, and is appearing at various venues across the UK.
Long before Susan Boyle came on the scene, the cuddly tenor’s well-documented story has inspired people everywhere, converting many to classical music who wouldn’t normally listen to anything outside the pop genre.
Paul was the victim of bullying at his school in Kingswood, Bristol and took solace in his singing – his first operatic performance was in a karaoke competition in 1999 when he was dressed as Luciano Pavarotti. A win on the Michael Barrymore quiz show My Kind of Music enabled him to pay for singing lessons in Italy and he subsequently starred in amateur productions, when he became a dedicated performer, once refusing to undergo surgery for an adrenal tumour rather than abandon his role in Aida.
After a bike accident left him with a broken collarbone in 2003, Paul thought his operatic career was over until four years later, he plucked up the courage to compete in Britain’s Got Talent. Although he almost didn’t send the application off because of a lack of confidence, he wowed Simon Cowell with his audition and received a standing ovation at his performance singing Puccini’s Nessun Dorma in front of 2,000 people.
The rest is history. His first appearance on Britain’s Got Talent became the fourth most viewed YouTube in the UK up until April 2009. Since then he has performed in glittering concerts at prestigious venues all over the world and won an array of international awards. Singing a mix of operatic arias, pop, carols and songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber, his soulfully sad, warm voice moves many emotionally. Perhaps part of his appeal is in his personal history and his vulnerability – he holds nothing back of himself and we can identify with his hopes, dreams, setbacks, fear and determination to achieve the ultimate success.
“I’ve just always sung” explains Paul, “That’s always been something I’ve done. My voice has been my best friend. When other things have gotten me down, my voice has always been there.”
Don’t miss out on the chance to see this performer with an amazing voice and an amazing history.
The Levellers
To the uninitiated, The Levellers are more influential than most people realise. It would come as a surprise to many to discover that they have had more gold and platinum selling albums than any other UK band in the 1990s. This is in some part due to the tendency of the musical press to ignore them, stemming from acrimonious exchanges in the early days of the band’s history.
With a six man, multi-instrumental line-up The Levellers excel in genres of alternative rock and folk-punk with fiercely outspoken lyrics. Beloved by students and travellers of the 90s, the band’s inspiration comes from politics, cultural and social issues. They even founded their own festival, Beautiful Days, in Escot Park, Devon after becoming disillusioned with the commercial character of many UK festivals.
They are nevertheless, veteran festival performers, especially at Glastonbury, where their appearance on the Pyramid Stage in 1994 attracted one of the biggest audiences ever and was featured on a video of Glastonbury’s finest moments. In later years the band repeated this success setting stage records for Glastonbury again and again.
Their album successes include Levelling The Land in 1991, described as an underground classic, featuring the anthemic single One Way. An eponymous album Levellers was another huge hit reaching 2 in the album charts spawning the single This Garden. Other iconic tracks include 100 Years of Solitude which lists everything the Levellers hate, including the NME. The 2008 album Letters from the Underground was The Leveller’s 8th studio album and represents a return to top form, harking back to the “golden days” of the 90s. You may hear singles like 100 Years, 15 Years and Last Man Alive – grab those tickets now!
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The Proclaimers
They’re back on that road and walking, the Proclaimers are playing a series of concerts in support of their studio album Notes & Rhymes and previously released single Love Can Move Mountains.
The bespectacled brothers, Craig and Charlie Reid have synthesised Scottish folk, new wave and punk with political awareness and memorable lyrics.
Born in Leith, the twin brother were influenced by early rock’n’roll and punk and formed The Proclaimers in 1983. In January 1987 their appearance on The Tube when they performed Letter from America, a story about Scottish emigration, propelled them into stardom. They were voted NME Readers’ Best New Band. A follow up album, Sunshine on Leith spawned two iconic singles I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) and the anthemic title track, later inspiring an eponymous musical by Stephen Greenhorn that follows the plight of two soldiers returning from Afghanistan.
Matt Lucas writes of the brother’s music; “I find it hard to put into words quite how the music of The Proclaimers makes me feel. It makes me laugh. It makes me cry. It just makes me generally euphoric … Sunshine on Leith says more to me about my life and the way I feel than anything Morrissey or Cobain ever wrote.”
It’s impossible to follow a comment like that. Find out for yourself exactly how moving The Proclaimers can be.
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