THE GOLDEN LION – A CULTURAL HUB IN AN UNLIKELY PLACE

Everyone knows how brilliant Manchester is for music, culture and arts, but take a train half-an-hour out of the city and there’s something bubbling under in an unlikely place. Todmorden is a town on the border between Lancashire and Yorkshire and in the last few years, a magical thing has been happening there. It’s an […]
I meet Tom Hickox in Ye Olde Cock Inn, an old, country-style pub whose exterior belies its location just a short walk from Didsbury village. This part of town was of the singer’s choosing, returning to his student base where he spent three and a half years studying English Literature. “I haven’t been in here […]

INTERVIEW: TOM HICKOX

WHO ARE YA? THE GNARWHALS

From time to time, one of our contributors will recommend an artist/band they think deserves  your attention. No record labels, PR companies, bands or band’s management will ever have made these recommendations. It is simply one music fan putting their taste on the line in the hope of sharing good music. The questions are intended […]
From time to time, one of our contributors will recommend an artist/band they think deserves  your attention. No record labels, PR companies, bands or band’s management will ever have made these recommendations. It is simply one music fan putting their taste on the line in the hope of sharing good music. The questions are intended […]

WHO ARE YA? JAMES HOLT

NOW CLOSED – TICKET GIVEAWAY: PAIR OF TICKETS (AND A MEAL) FOR STAY FRESH FEST II

September 2016 saw the first Stay Fresh Fest take over two floors of one of Manchester’s favourite venues The Deaf Institute. The all-dayer which hosted eight emerging acts from around the North West was such a success that Stay Fresh Fest II is ready to roll again on the 28th of January. This time round […]
From time to time, one of our contributors will recommend an artist/band they think deserves  your attention. No record labels, PR companies, bands or band’s management will ever have made these recommendations. It is simply one music fan putting their taste on the line in the hope of sharing good music. The questions are intended […]

WHO ARE YA? BIRDS OF HELL

MY TOP THREES OF 2016 – VIC

I’m a lucky little sod. Producing and presenting the Silent Radio Show I am privy to loads of new tracks, album previews and bands I ain’t never heard. Also in 2016, made a concerted effort to listen to more stuff that was beyond my usual and have a little dabble, which is why Jessie Glyn […]
These are three of my favourites in each category, not a top 1, 2 and 3 like in a chart. GIGS Wild Billy Childish & CTMF at The Lexington: 21st May This was a brilliant day, and one the wife and I had been really looking forward to. We used to go and watch Billy […]

MY TOP THREES OF 2016 – SIMON ZACCAGNI

MY TOP THREES OF 2016 – PADDY KINSELLA

GIGS Bjork, Hammersmith Apollo There is no break up album as painfully honest as Bjork’s Vulnicura. Take away the percussion and it’s all the more devastating. With lines like ‘family was our sacred mission that you abandoned’ delivered on a regular basis, this was going to be no light-hearted Saturday evening. And it isn’t long […]
GIGS 1) Los Campesinos! at Brudenell, Leeds Los Campesinos are the best band in the country and the Brudenell is the best venue in the country (even if it is on the wrong side of the Pennines). They curated an all dayer of their favourite bands, a stellar lineup including the likes of Hookworms, Slow […]

MY TOP THREES OF 2016 – ANDY VINE