LIVE: THE BREEDERS – 13/07/2018

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- There may have been several different Breeders line ups over the years, but for many, the foursome that takes to the stage at a sold out Ritz is the definitive one – the four who recorded the iconic album Last Splash in 1993 and more recently the new album All Nerve. Kicking […]

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- Glamour at the Ritz is a night that would get any Manchester music fan frothing. Ten bands spread across two excellent live rooms – one massive, one small – over the course of 5 hours… paradise. Well, if your paradise consists of aggressive punk rock, high energy activity both on and off […]

LIVE: CABBAGE / PINS / THE BLINDERS / LADY BIRD / THE RHYTHM METHOD – 19/05/2018

LIVE: THE BLUETONES / JORDAN ALLEN / THE GALLERYS – 17/05/2018

-O2 RITZ, MANCHESTER- O2 Ritz is one of those places that takes on whichever band or artist is playing – the vibe is set by the music, the crowd and how excitable they are. So I’m a bit unsure what to expect from 90s Britpoppers The Bluetones on Thursday – a bit of an institution […]

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- “We did our first live show in Manchester,” beams Jungle’s Josh Lloyd-Watson mid-set, with evident pride. And tonight they’re back, bringing the urban beat to the urbane heart of Manchester, organic beats emerging from our concrete jungle. Together with childhood friend, school pal and one-time next-door neighbour Tom McFarland, the duo formed […]

LIVE: JUNGLE – 10/05/2018

LIVE: WE ARE SCIENTISTS – 09/05/2018

-RITZ, MANCHESTER- Out of that mid noughties indie disco scene, there haven’t been many bands that have stood their ground and kept going in the same way that We Are Scientists have. Keith and Chris have just released their sixth long player Megaplex, which sees the band take a more electronically infused tone to their indie […]

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- I know quite a few different people heading to the Young Fathers gig, and so catch up with a beer beforehand. One of the girls in our group is actually friends with the guys, and she sums up the band pretty well. She says that they started off really R&B, and then […]

LIVE: YOUNG FATHERS – 23/03/2018

LIVE: PAUL DRAPER – 01/03/2018

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- I wasn’t sure I’d ever see this to be honest. Paul Draper, former lead singer of britpop heroes Mansun, on stage, not only armed with some solo material but also ready to deploy the entirety of Mansun’s debut album Attack of the Grey Lantern (AOTGL) for the first time after a it […]

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- Jane Weaver’s new album, Modern Kosmology, is an absolute belter, high up on album of the year list good – I personally think it’s a step up from her Piccadilly Records album of 2014 The Silver Globe. The first thing I heard from it was the sublime ‘Slow Motion’ when I was presenting […]

LIVE: JANE WEAVER – 30/11/2017

LIVE: THE DIVINE COMEDY – 28/11/2017

-RITZ, MANCHESTER- Northern Ireland’s The Divine Comedy have to come to be affectionately known as an orchestral pop band. Formed in 1989 and fronted by the ever enigmatic Neil Hannon, the band has seen an ever evolving line up with constant changes in personnel. Having an impressive 11 studio albums under their name, they arguably […]

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER- The Lemon Twigs couldn’t care less about what you think is cool. The objectionably young brothers Michael and Brian D’Addario have evidently been force fed the uber-melodic AOR 70s rock of ELO, Supertramp, Todd Rundgren and Wings since the dawn of their ability to absorb sound, and have been churning it over […]