I’m a 61 year old grey haired gig goer. I get to a lot of gigs and festivals in a variety of places. The last five years or so it’s cranked up a notch with the help of a similarly (even more gigaholic) enthusiastic mate and my gig-loving wife.
I seem to be on one massive tour and keep squeezing in the music where I can.
Johnny Depp and Alice Cooper with The Hollywood Vampires at Birmingham Resorts Arena (NEC)
I thought I could leave a blog trail as I go on my gigaholic wanderings – the bands – my photos – the venues – the festivals – bits on travel and parking – the odd handy pub and all that stuff.
With Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs at The Roundhouse
All photos are my own unless I mention otherwise. I use a Panasonic compact pocket-sized zoom mostly, a TZ90, previously TZ60. Unobtrusive and only ocasionally not permitted, and that’s where there is a no phones or cameras rule which I always abide by. I occasionally take a better Nikon bridge camera to outdoor gigs, especially festivals so the pics there are best quality. Then there are gigs when I forget my camera, run out of battery etc 🙄
Keith Flint of The Prodigy at Victorious Festival
My mobile phone camera is pretty bang average, but I do take an occasional video clip or pic with it, if it isn’t going to get in anyone’s way – I like a pillar or a wall behind me. In Spring 2022 I started putting these on a YouTube channel. It saves memory on the WordPress account if nothing else but is getting hundreds of views in its own right, occasionally over a thousand. Link to my Grey-Haired Gig Goer channel.
The Covid pandemic hit activities hard but through my blogs you can see the various attempts to keep gig-fit and measures brought in during this awful period in our history.
Four nights ago Gary Numan’s brother John died, after they left the Leeds gig. Gary took the difficult decision to soldier on, on advice from their father said a statement. An emotional evening.
Slade live at O2 Academy Oxford (16.12.2025) with Sons of the Seventies supporting.
No photos to share with this blog and it’s just a brief note to mark the occasion. This was the pre-Christmas get together of me and a regular gang of gig-going friends. Our gig was spent drinking, dancing about and singing along at the back. No camera and just a distant phone shot (and several drunken videos of our group enjoying the music which I kept for myself).
I had come straight from my work Christmas lunch in London and started my evening in the adequate and Slade fan filled, Cowley Retreat pub, about 100 yards from tonight’s venue, The O2 Academy Oxford. The number 3 bus is convenient to get out there from the main station.
Having met up with friends there, we were a bit late in, so no queue but the near sell-out crowd was already in position and Sons of the Seventies already well into their set.
Not much chance to find space for the group of eight of us so we settled for the back, near the bar, where we were happy. Sound was good, but hard to see much of what was going on up on stage.
As I said – a way back
There are two venues in one here and this gig was switched to the bigger of the two as tickets sold well. After all this is billed as The Final Tour.
Slade only have one original 70s member these days: guitarist Dave Hill. I saw the same line up in Salisbury in December 2019. The vocals are good mind.
We all know the hits but Slade have such a depth to their catalogue. While they glammed up at the end of their chart topping era, they were a hard rocking band earlier on. You can hear the influences in later heavy metal bands and even in Oasis material – and they cover some so the influence is acknowledged. (Oasis live)
Sons of the Seventies are a welcome support band choice. Covers of AC/DC, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. Sweet’s Ballroom Blitz was more squarely on the Slade glam rock trail. Then to finish, Born To Be Wild and a big singalong to Queen’s Fat Bottomed Girls. Crowd suitably warmed up, while the aircon at the back poured cold air on us.
It’s a low ceiling in this venue and that gives it more of an old club feel. I remember seeing Elbow on an early tour here, and Echo and the Bunnymen in more recent years. Many legends have played here including Black Sabbath, as the wall mural reminds us. The other room is smaller with a higher ceiling and we went in there to see The Slow Readers Club a couple of years back.
In the first part of the set there is a great run of more mellow numbers: Everyday; Run Run Away and Coz I Luv You (oh to hear Noddy Holder sing that one live with his beautifully gravelly Black Country voice).
A family trio in front of us have a teary huddle – this means so much but who knows why. Emotional just watching them.
The stomping My Friend Stan hints more at Slade’s pub rocker origins. Far Far Away is another classic single. Fifty one years old that song and it still does the job. So many gems to rediscover. Even older is the wonderful Gudbuy T’Jane (they do luv their yobbish spellings eh). (1975 YouTube video link.)
Seventeen consecutive top twenty hits, six of which made number one. What a massive band they were!
The main set finishes with the wilder Mama Weer All Crazee Now. (Top of the Pops video).
On the return, Dave Hill says his words of thanks and shares his gratitude for a lifetime in the band. Is he done? Who knows. It seems that in so many cases ‘you can’t stop rock’n’roll’.
Then it’s the arm and imaginary scarf waving of My Oh My before maybe their best song – Cum On Feel The Noize. I say ‘best’…of course they finish with the monster lifetime hit that is Merry Xmas Everybody. It is a special thing to hear live, one original member or not.
I think my Spotify Slade selection maybe about to take a hammering. Perhaps time to watch the Slade in Flame film again.
Sham 69 live at The 1865, Southampton (6.12.2025) with Club Brat supporting.
As a lad, I lived over the river from true Sham country but the South West London suburbs were still Jimmy Pursey heartlands. I bought Angels With Dirty Faces when it charted which got me started – I was 15 and a wore my “lace up boots” (army cadet boots) “and corduroys” (black flares taken into a drainpipe with a bit of mum sewing).
Graffiti at Sunbury Cross in the early 80s – featuring my mate Chop
I never went to see Sham live back then though. Their gigs attracted trouble – right wing skinheads began infiltrating – and it proved to be a burden. One of their 12 inch singles, Hersham Boys, even has Pursey breaking up a fight on the B-side.
No bother here and it’s nostalgic smiles tonight and a happy place to be. A lot of older single blokes in – back to see Jimmy Pursey and the 1977 line up.
I didn’t see Sham live until nine years ago in Bristol and the only other times I have reunited with these tunes from my youth were a Butlins Minehead festival performance a few years back, and support slot for Stiff Little Fingers in Belfast earlier this year. All excellent.
Uncomplicated songs to stir the mood up with anthemic air punching choruses. Raw. Still raw and no let up.
Sham 69 – Jimmy Pursey
Jimmy Pursey is 70 years old now and what a performer he is still. Pained expressions accompanied by knee and back flexibility I can only dream of.
Sham 69 – Southampton
“What have we got?” Bawls Pursey – “Fuuuck all” is the cheery response as the set kicks off.
The rest of the band play hard and fast but no one challenges Pursey’s limelight. Between songs he swigs from his water bottles, squirting the contents and discarding them over his shoulders – it adds to the chaotic look and fuses the lights at one point, plunging the stage into darkness.
Jimmy Pursey – Sham 69 – The 1865
The set is compact and intense at around an hour but 17 songs on the setlist. They have a lot of short songs – that was the way – you only needed 3 minutes to make your point.
The best known hits, yes they were ‘hits’ (If The Kids Are United got to number 9; Hersham Boys, number 6)are the most singalong rabble rousers of all, but there is a familiarity in every track. When we were 16, we played our limited collection of records to death, so leaving an indelible marker in our brains. Even the stuttering Rip Off or more inaccessible Tear Gas Eyes sound melodic to my ears.
Borstal Breakout – Feltham Borstal and its naughty boys was a few miles away home – was always the first song I thought of with Sham. The Borstal Breakout graffiti just sat there uncleaned for years under the concrete flyover that took the M3 into London. The single cover hung on the wall in Sunbury Record Scene. Hence it was that song I latched onto as it started and recorded here on my YouTube channel.
Angels With Dirty Faces is my favourite song tonight though, but who can resist the finale of the defining Hersham Boys and almost comedic Hurry Up Harry. This is extreme pleasure. So glad I came.
By the end, Pursey has given his all and shed his top clothing to reveal an Iggy Pop like image. He’s still lean and mean.
Hersham Boy – Jimmy
The support band tonight, ClubBrat, are really well worth clocking. Novel. A special collection of noise: heavy bass and drums; scratchy guitar and bold rasping vocal. Punky yet hard to define. Have a listen but it is a live sound to experience. (Official YouTube clip.)
You can hear all the instruments distinctly working away frantically. A gymnastic small female bassist throws shapes while everything is led by the big man Ike McCormick.
Club Brat – supporting tonight
Between some songs Ike reads from a small book. Poetry? Or just words of wisdom..or doom?
The Clause live at Papillon, Southampton (22.11.2025) with The Kairos and Harvey Jay Dodgson supporting.
Only my second visit to the smart and compact old church that is Papillon. Last time was recently for Spear of Destiny and more notes on the venue here in that blog.
Bit slow getting in after a later than advertised doors opening time – slightly irritating as it is pissing down and I am not up for any long standing.
The venue is being tested a bit more tonight as it’s a sell out and is soon packed. With more dodgy knee issues I was grateful for a bar seat upstairs first, where I could hear but not see the support bands. There must always be some room up there. I could get up for a wander round the little balcony and peer through heads at the stage briefly, but I had to save the legs. What an old codger eh.
First up is near local act from Pompey, Harvey Jay Dodgson. A very promising start and very much a suited support to go with the other two guitary indie rock pop bands tonight. The place is quickly rocking and full.
Harvey Jay Dodgson on first
Balcony view
A second support slot is taken by The Kairos, a band I would go and see on their own. Again, guitar based indie rock. Rather like The Clause, it’s been hard going to get a significant release. Their 2023 Better Late Than Never is their main one and I see they are inviting pre-orders on a spring 2026 EP.
I caught them first when they were supporting The Rifles in Kentish Town and later they had a support slot on the 2025 Reytons tour.
The Kairos – view from the back
Noisy, charismatic indie pop rockers with an edge, from around Liverpool. Hardcore Cast sound at times and guitar and vocals led by Tom Dempsey. Excellent.
Tom Dempsey fronts The Kairos – Papillon
It’s a good package, these three bands tonight. A full Saturday night out.
It doesn’t seem that long but it’s almost exactly a year since my first Clause gig, noted here in my previous Clause blog.
The Clause – Papillon
This band, from Solihull, are really accelerating now. The debut LP is out: Victim of a Casual Thing. This has half new songs and half earlier singles and EP tracks. A cracking start.. I say start: it’s taken eight years or so to get this first LP out.
There is certainly that air of rowdy excitement that lets you know this is the place to be tonight. An anthemic start with the clear lyrical opening of Nothing’s As It Seems and its loud singalong chorus. The pin is out of the grenade and the party has started.
The band have more confidence than a year ago and they really know how to work the audience. They are absolutely buzzing. So much more to come as well I’d hope.
The Clause – Southampton, Papillon
The songs have a variety of pace to them and it’s the faster poppier ones that get the biggest reaction, naturally. There are softer songs that still have a bit of guitar edge in there.
Tonight there are ten tracks from the LP and another five from singles and EPs. Weekend Millionaire and I Don’t Care are my pick of the whole lot.
The Clause – Pearce MaccaPearce Macca – The Clause
We have come downstairs for The Clause – there was no way I was going to fail to savour the full atmosphere of this one, without actually venturing down the front. My alcohol pain killing is working and I last the hour or so set. Certainly a set that makes you want to go again as soon as the opportunity arises.
The backlit stage is the favoured approach – rare chances to snap a pic that isn’t a silouette view, effective though that is.
They finish with In My Element and the floor is bouncing down the front end. It is a mixed audience age-wise, with a notable contingent of grey haired gig goers who like their music and find bands like these to enjoy – without having to resort to the nostalgia market. It is so reassuring to see young bands and punters at gigs like these. All hope for youth is not lost eh.
The Clause
Good luck lads. See you again soon. Pleased to see them recently announced to play Victorious Festival in Southsea on the Saturday. I will be there, all being well.
China Crisis live at The Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, Dorset (20.11.2025)
As time goes on with my blogs there is increasingly the chance of repetition. Tonight’s gig is another old favourite from the 80s but the novelty is the charming Marine Theatre, on the edge of Lyme Regis harbour and right in the middle of the small town.
I won’t go over my previous China Crisis notes – here in another of my China Crisis blogs. My only other visits to the Marine Theatre have been to see Los Paciminos (a Paul Young band) and earlier this year, The Magic Numbers. That blog gives a bit more detail on the venue and location.
Eddie Lundon on guitar – Lyme Regis
Frontman Gary Daly at The Marine Theatre
No support band tonight but a China Crisis two part set, the second half featuring the older, better known tracks. This is a well-honed approach that works. From the off, frontman and main vocalist, Gary Daly, outlines how the evening works. This includes explaining that we would all get up from our seats for the last few songs ‘so it feels like we’ve been to a gig’ – this is what happens later, on cue.
Tonight, the venue is unreserved seating but with the twist of filling the surrounding space with standing guests. I mean filling – it is packed and Gary notes it. It’s a sell out and makes for a lovely, busy feel.
It’s a four piece band with Eddie and Gary playing with Eric Animan on saxophone and a keyboardist, Jack Hymers – both have toured with the band in recent years. The sax is a most welcome addition where it’s used. Eric also plays some other electronic wind instruments which couldn’t identify!
Eric Animan on sax and some other devices
Daly hams up the ageing nature of the audience, which here seems even older, and even jokes about either him or Eddie having to perform on their own when the other one pops their clogs. Humorous, irreverent and yet politely put by a realist.
Lundon and Daly
A few sound problems with Eddie’s monitor eventually leads to it blowing – very rock’n’roll – and it’s switched off in favour of a rear amp, after some open conversations with their sound man at the mixing desk.
At the break between sets I go to get some more drinks in and am surprised to see Eddie Lundon pushing up next to me at the bar to get a few in. How times have changed he reflected – what with all the riders and backstage antics of yesteryear. We let him in to get something.
The big songs are naturally most appreciated: the likes of African and White; Black Man Ray and King in a Catholic Style. All their material is packed with great tunes – synth pop tunes that make for such a relaxed evening. This is a 40th anniversary tour celebrating their third LP, Flaunt the Imperfection, but only four or five additional tracks to the latter two of the singles noted above.
There’s the ‘whoppadoahhh’ singalong for Arizona Sky to get the lungs working and endorphins flowing, conducted carefully by Daly: “Not too loud. No one has paid to see you. It says China Crisis on the ticket”.
Eddie is referred to by Gary a few times as ‘the Chinese looking one’ and it is he that was the singer for one of their big early singles, Wishful Thinking which Eddie performs tonight. When that early video was out, I remember thinking Eddie was the lead singer for ages.
Eddie Lundon – Wishful Thinking
As assured, Gary gets the crowd who can stand, to stand, for the last few songs. These include Tragedy and Mystery and Christian.
Phones out please
Rather than hide from the threat of obtrusive phone waving, Gary solicits it by asking everyone to get their phones out with torches on – he wants to show mock rivals Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark that they have wild concerts as well.
Phones out – torches on
Gary takes his own photos to promote the good time – participation is enthusiastic, once a lot of people had fiddled quizzically with their mobiles.
China Crisis at The Marine Theatre
Daly mentions their love of performing live in this sort of community based hub, recognising the importance of keeping them going and people coming out – which he appreciates, while hinting that maybe there isn’t much else in Lyme – hence the sell-out crowd ‘even though half of you haven’t heard of us’. He is funny. The whole evening is full of smiles.
Gary Daly – Marine Theatre
China Crisis pitch their gigs just right. I can’t imagine not going to see them as long as we all keep going – they seem willing.
Gary Numan live at O2 Academy Bournemouth (19.11.2025) with Raven Numan supporting.
From the top deck seats known as ‘The Gods’
O2 Academy Bournemouth – in Boscombe
RIP John Webb.
A statement on social media confirmed that Gary Numan’s brother John, aged 60 and also a musician, died after being with Gary for the gig in Leeds. After what must have been tortuous considerations and discussions with his dad, and with the blessing of John’s wife, the Gary Numan tour continues. Tough times.
To compound the family emotion, the support band tonight is Raven Numan, Gary’s daughter. She carries it off with a great set and a great band with her. No words between songs are needed. Like Gary Numan to follow, the room is respectful and supportive. It’s heavy with emotion.
Raven Numan – support tonight
Raven – O2 Academy Bournemouth
The red and white Telekon LP cover design is up in lights as Gary comes on stage. This is an anniversary tour of the second Numan solo album, from 1980. Excellent for true long-term Numanoids – which I can’t claim to be one of.
The number one album was recorded at Shepperton Studios, a very local landmark of my suburban London youth.
First up, the single This Wreckage. Numan twists and bends – rock ballet. The sound is excellent, all night. I have found it astonishingly loud at times on previous Numan tours. No ear piece defences needed tonight…I suppose we are up the back.
Gary Numan in Bournemouth
O2 Academy Bournemouth
No words from Gary. Hands across the chest occasionally and in the prayer of thanks position. He needs say nothing. It must be hard. We know. His voice is without blemish as he works through the Telekon gems. I have come to know it more in recent years, with a copy I got Gary to sign up in Manchester – I have more recent Numan history than most – older blog.
The lighting on this tour is exceptional. The slightly tiered stage and layers of light beams working with the stage smoke. Possibly the best non-arena lighting I can recall, really. It’s not incidental – it is part of the overall art form. Love it.
Please Push No More appears to be the song where the emotion bubbles up to the top. It’s melancholy and whatever it is about, it’s the song that hit him most and stalled him at the Birmingham gig….and fans will be aware of that.
The last two songs of the main Telekon set are the other singles, aside from tonight’s first song, This Wreckage – I Die, You Die, captured here on my YouTube channel, and We Are Glass.
A short break as appreciation is roared to the venue’s beautiful rafters. The band and Gary return with four Tubeway Army songs: My Shadow in Vain; inevitably the big classic, Are ‘Friends’ Electric; Listen to the Sirens and the wonderful Down in the Park to wrap things up.
An unforgettable evening which will be part of the incredible Numan story. It’s date seven on a 15 date UK tour. I hope he makes it through the tour as he wants to do, and he continues to get that huge support from fans to keep him going. And a thought for Raven also… what a challenge she is meeting, with her dad.
Palaye Royale at O2 Academy Birmingham (9.11.2025) with The Hunna + The Molotovs supporting.
A very rainy night in Birmingham and I’m stood outside in the big queue to get in to the O2 Academy, with wife Sally, after a trip to Villa Park to watch the footy, in particular AFC Bournemouth.
I happened to have seen a journalist’s current top ten bands summary a few weeks back and Palaye Royale were in it. I hadn’t heard of them but liked the sound of their style, so when looking to see if there were any gigs on while we were up here, I grabbed the chance of tickets when seeing that Palaye Royale were on. Then a week ago I looked up to see the support and blow me it was The Hunna and The Molotovs… I would happily have bought the tickets just to see either of them.
The O2 Priority queue ‘isn’t working tonight’. I didn’t realise the perk was optional. However, the shorter of the two queues was for the unreserved seated balcony that we had tickets for. Fortunate, as I can hear The Molotovs playing inside and the other queue looks like half an hour in the pouring rain.
We must have missed half the set but I have been trying to see this young trio for ages. Punchy, energetic and reminiscent of early Jam. This lot, including 19-year-old brother and sister, have been making waves and with a debut LP in January, Wasted on Youth, there are more exciting times coming.
Shortly after we get in, they play a rousing cover of Suffragette City. A good reception to that and the rest of the set. The 3,000 capacity venue is full – standing downstairs and seating on the balcony.
First support – The Molotovs
The Hunna – Ryan Potter
Next up, in front of the swaying crowd down below us are The Hunna. We’ve seen them a fair bit – got their albums on CD – and this is a bonus tonight. Frontman, Ryan Potter, opts for a set of the more wild rock than indie rock end of their spectrum, which it turns out fits the headliner’s style best. You have to be going it a bit to get your top off as a support band… but Ryan gets there. He plays his part in bigging up the main attraction and winding up the crowd anticipation for them.
A short sharp shock of a set. Do we need another band we wonder…it’s been a long day and Bournemouth got hammered 4-0 by The Villa earlier….. but Palaye Royale (PR) make it easy for us. What a performance and the set was not that long – hour and a half maybe.
O2 Academy – balcony view
PR have released four albums since their first in 2016. Tonight it’s the last one they are celebrating on the final gig of their Death or Glory tour, named after the 2024 LP.
The group is five on stage but the core of the band is three members that have been together since forming a band in Las Vegas in 2008. They subsequently moved west, to Los Angeles. Two guitarists but I see no bass. The keyboards seem to do that job to add to any guitar sound.
Remington Leith still fully dressed – Palaye Royale
No messing when they start. Appearing through a door in the back of the stage set, they kick off with the track Death or Glory. I’ve been listening to this album as my focused gig revision, so some familiarity is there. Then the fireworks start…already, and literally.
My instant thought is My Chemical Romance as a soundalike, and the figure of Remington Leith up front. What a huge amount of stage presence he has. There’s an Alice Cooper in there and as the set evolves I can hear T Rex and retro rock sounds. They do get glam rock, art rock, and fashion rock labels. The show and the visuals are an important ingredient. This band is so much more than its recorded works.
Early fireworks at O2 Academy Birmingham
Remington Leith – jacket off
Addicted to the Wicked and Twisted starts quietly and then builds, straining Remington’s vocals to the limit. So much effort to control it from exploding. Another notable Death or Glory track in the mid-set is Showbiz. A slower start with guitar riffs to savour.
Balloon time
Large, nicely weighted, balloons are pushed out from the stage for a song or two of floating about before the final burst. All very Muse show of the noughties.
It didn’t take Remington Leith that many songs to get stripped down to his waist. That seemed a more natural image than his suit and tie start…yes, a tie. Not even for work these days eh.
Remington Leith – down to his working gear
Palaye Royale – O2 Academy Brum
Leith’s activity is staggering. He leaps down from the drum and keyboard plinth, stands up on top of the crowd, jumps down in the crowd, parting it to start the mosh. Later he disappears down a side and appears up dancing on the left balcony – the stewards must be having kittens, having been shining torches on anyone standing near the balcony edge. Not sure if something has happened here – there is an extra rail that looks to have been a later attachment.
The balcony excursion
Stage diving boat with Remington Leith aboard
But the real show stopper: an inflatable raft appears out of the front pit and onto the crowd heads at the front – then Leith leaps aboard before riding the sea of fans.
The whole band are giving it their all but no one is at that frontman Leith’s level. Unstoppable. It is the last night of the tour and it has that celebratory, leave it all out there feel.
The two-song encore finishes with For You, again from Death or Glory. It’s anthemic with a tuneful chorus – a fine finale.
Glad I managed to catch this epic showman and his band. The women next to us pointed out that Palaye Royale played Wembley, and I think they have the presence to play anywhere. Even better then to get to see them somewhere more up close.
Turnstile at Alexandra Palace (5.11.2025) with The Garden supporting.
Ally Pally is all a bit out of the way and considering it’s London, all a bit of a chore. I stayed in Wood Green which has little to appeal beyond The Nag’s Head and the tube line out of it, just opposite. It’s about 25 mins on the tube, north of central London. Then you have to get to the Alexandra Palace itself. It’s a mile walk or there is the W3 bus that goes from the stop, found if you turn left and round the corner from The Nag’s Head. The W3 bus drops you right outside the venue. The return is less straightforward as the buses are rammed and queues large. It worked though, as it did for my only previous visit to the indoor venue here, for Bauhaus in 2021. (The Bauhaus blog.)
That Bauhaus gig, in hindsight, was about half capacity. Turnstile was a sell-out. A massive gig and at approximately 10,000 capacity the place is verging on the inadequate.
There is a huge bar room before entering the auditorium. It is an old fashioned exhibition centre and feels like it. Cavernous halls. Drinks were absurdly expensive (£9 for 440ml can of cider/ £6 for a 330ml Neck Oil) and queues for drinks and bogs nauseous. Most of the toilets appeared to be up stairways packed with women in queues, so the gents were hard to access. Downstairs people queued for festival style plastic portaloos which capture smells so beautifully.
Ally Pally bar area
I’m here with gig buddy Keith who I was at school with and bumped into a couple of years ago. We liked the idea of exploring the much lauded Turnstile, fuelled by the excellent 2025 album Never Enough. We concluded that we were the oldest people here by some margin.
There were two support bands listed but we got in to find The Garden playing, and the only support we saw. They are twins from Orange County, California – Wyatt and Fletcher Shears. What a great noise they make, and have made for the last 15 years, apparently. Punky, drums and a guitar that sounded like a whole lot more was going on. Very mobile on stage – plenty to watch.
Wyatt Shears – The Garden
I thought it was full when they were on but that was nothing. An endless trail of groups of blokes mainly, curiously tall, making their way through to the front for Turnstile. This was a big one. A lot of anticipation and a real buzz. I ended up wide, near the right wall, as a position to point and shoot my trusty pocket zoom from, not that I bothered much.
Turnstile – Alexandra Palace
Turnstile formed in 2010 in Baltimore and are labelled as hardcore punk. Listening to the new LP, Never Enough, I was dubious of this, but clearly the older material was more frantic and the live experience was a beautiful riot of sound.
Lead singer, Brendan Yates, doesn’t have to whip the crowd up. The band just plays and the crowd goes wild… I mean wild. The whole front centre of the crowd is mobile. This video of Fazed Out (from the 2015 Non-Stop Feeling LP) gives an illustration, with the crowd scenes beamed up on the backdrop screen.
Brendan Yates – Turnstile
A big mosh at Ally Pally
While I preferred the familiar to me newest album tracks, they had four albums to build their setlist from and all went down well – real fans roaring on the older material, as ever. 15 of the 21 tracks were from the last two albums, the previous one being Glow On (2021).
Never Enough is the great title track from the album, and it is the Never Enough Tour, so maybe not surprising that this is the highlight for me. So much of the LP sounds great live though. This is LOUD but the sound is good.
The track they finished with was Birds. Something of a classic already, their performance of this has been nominated for a Grammy award, as best metal performance, along with the album as a whole. Some great live versions of this on YouTube with a lot of stage diving.
The track Never Enough is nominatedfor best rock song and best rock performance, Seein’ Stars getting nominated for best alternative song performance….another one they played tonight.
There were a lot of what I presume were just lucky fans, crowded around the wings of the stage. At a few points they were free to leap around or off the stage to increase the chaotic feel to what was a sharp, well drilled performance.
Silhouette of Meg Mills – Turnstile
I just seem to hit this band at the right time. New album, UK tour and seemingly a key point in their presumably blossoming popularity. Really good to see a packed place, full of fans who were up for it. It reminded me of my early Ramones gigs. Energy and excitement at max.
Ok so maybe I would come back to Ally Pally again… for the right band. Big but better than an arena.
The Undertones at Bournemouth Old Fire Station (14.11.2025) with Avid Fan supporting.
We arrive shortly after 7pm and the support from near Manchester, Avid Fan, are already playing. Their merch stand man says they had 15 minutes left so we hurry in. This is an early evening gig with the venue, essentially the student union nightspot, transforming into nightclub mode for ‘the kids’ at 10pm. Mature old heads in for the bands: Undertones faithfuls.
Apparently, it had been a rough ole journey down from the North West for this support slot. A powerful punky sound but I only got a listen to a few songs. Sound.
Support tonight – Avid Fan
Tonight’s Undertones’ gig is part of the 45th anniversary Hypnotised tour, celebrating that second LP. I was there the first time round at Hammersmith Palais for the 1980 Hypnotised tour. After three gigs in 1979-80, I picked up again a few years after they reformed, with frontman Paul McLoone replacing the deserter, Feargal Sharkey. In between there were the That Petrol Emotion gigs which also included the O’Neill brothers, Damian and John, as the principal songwriters.
With the focus on Hypnotised, as well as the title track and the hit single My Perfect Cousin, there’s a chance hear some lesser known songs like Boys Will Be Boys, Nine Times Out of Ten and the one I captured on video, the drum thumping Hard Luck.(Links to my YouTube channel).
Hard Luck is the only track I can find that has a credit to Feargal Sharkey. His voice was such a key feature but it was the O’Neill brothers who were, and still are, the main songwriters.
Damian O’Neill – lead guitar
John O’Neill – Rhythm Guitar
I am in a good rail leaning spot towards the back. Slightly raised up giving a clear view – I like this venue more each visit. The sound is good. The 550 capacity venue is quite full and nearly all standing, bar some bench seats to either side.
The Old Fire Station view from the back – The Undertones
Michael Bradley on bass and backing vocals is still the chopsy one – chirping away between songs. He questions whether this was where they dealt with old fires and whether Bournemouth was now without a fire station. No comment on the fact that the building next door to the Old Fire Station appears to have burnt down.
Chirpy Michael Bradley – bass
Paul McLoone is the man who has had the 26-year-long challenge of ‘replacing’ Feargal Sharkey, who was with the band for the first eight years before pursuing his solo career. McLoone is the ever dancing frontman, conducting the choruses and leading the clapping percussion. So many songs that we all know the words to. It’s a bouncy singalong every time… and this is number 12 ‘tones gig for me.
Aside from McLoone, it’s the original members, including Billy Doherty on drums.
Paul McLoone
Big songs come early with Jimmy Jimmy a surprising opener, with Male Model following and we’re not kept waiting to the end for Teenage Kicks or My Perfect Cousin. What classics. You’ve Got My Number is another. Such catchy guitar hooks from the O’Neill brothers.
Michael Bradley and John O’Neill
It becomes apparent that the early 10pm curfew is non-negotiable and some urgency creeps in, no time to disappear before an encore and they settle for cracking through a few more songs, including the excellent Get Over You.
My next appointment with these boys from Derry is in Belfast next summer, at the Stiff Little Fingers annual Custom House Square bash.
As one of the first bands I ever saw live – at Bracknell Sport Centre in 1979 with my mate Nick – they will always be special, Feargal or not.
Marilyn Manson at Bournemouth International Centre (31.10.2025) with Dead Posey supporting.
A bit of a surprise, Marilyn Manson turning up on the doorstep for Halloween.
As soon as the date was announced the protesting posts started. The Brighton gig had its licence withdrawn in light of unresolved and unproven allegations against Marilyn Manson. I wondered where the stirring would get to in Bournemouth but everything carried on after some initial noise. I went anyway and wondered about my principles.
I have seen him once before at Reading Festival in 2001. It was at the height of Manson hysteria. As a live experience it was disturbing, exciting and almost terrifying. Fake blood, whips, crucifixes lifted from the stage, screams, sounds and Manson in various raging characters.
I recall during Disposable Teens, with that chanting chorus, that feeling of being totally absorbed by a sea of bodies overwhelmed by the experience, verging on cult worship. I often refer to it as the most scary performance I’ve ever seen. So I’m back, this time in a rear balcony seats at the Bournemouth BIC. Turns out those seats are just fine for the right act.. a powerful one.
I was here just a week or so ago for Adam Ant and the audience could not have been more different. It helped massively that it was standing downstairs and that the audience members were 20+ years younger, and it was Halloween, making for some great outfits – who could tell the difference between goth and fancy dress enthusiast?
I was very impressed with goth rockers, LA based, three piece, Dead Posey, supporting tonight. All over the stage and in the crowd, lead singer Danyell Souza is the focus – at times crawling across the stage.
Dead Posey – BIC
Dead Posey in Bournemouth
Dead Posey – supporting tonight
I can’t pretend to know Manson material but I have the headlines etched on my brain – Disposable Teens; Dope Show; This is the New Shit;Beautiful People. He does them all.
Marilyn Manson – Halloween in Bournemouth
Marilyn Manson
The entrance he makes is dramatic and crowd is at high hysteria level. Controversial… yes, but this is a big showman. This is the One Assination Under God tour and the title track of that album opens the performance, not that there were that many from that LP – I checked, four.
“The more people hate me, the stronger we get!” balls Manson gratefully and angrily, with the first song over.
His antics on stage are a little calmer and less prop based than 25 years back but he is still hugely visual. Voice still powerful and with range. A real showman putting on a real big rock show.
The cover of the Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams is a Manson fan favourite but it was amazing just how passionately it was received. The poppiest number in the set and crowd are going bonkers. Security keep returning to the balcony edge to discourage falling off. They have a job on but keep control.
The performance is very impressive, whether or not you are deterred by the personality. Bringing this big goth rock show to Bournemouth on Halloween is a winner. I see nothing but enthusiasm, and hysteria in some cases, in front of me. I am happy to view from up here for this one as a curious observer.
One of the two encores he returns with is If I was Your Vampire, with ‘snow’ falling down on Manson and his big fedora type hat, in a tube of light. This has been high impact, unforgettable and perhaps guilty, pleasure.
The Psychedelic Furs live at De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea (30.10.2025) with Anja Huwe supporting.
It’s a tortuous drive along the coast from Portsmouth, where I was for Wednesday night’s gig, to Bexhill-on-Sea, in East Sussex. An endless trail of roundabouts, traffic lights and two lanes into one, all with queues. We made it to the De La Warr Pavilion though, and I’m glad I made the trip.
Before the venue opened at 7pm, we have a pint in The Compass, a lovely bistro style bar on the same road, nearly opposite. Parking next to the venue was easy and inexpensive at 6pm but look like it filled up quickly from then on.
Approaching this seafront, 1935, iconic, modernist building, it looks like an old Pan Am terminal. It’s due a refurbishment but inside the architectural lines are beautiful. There’s a relaxed bar upstairs, a record seller in the lobby, an outdoor balcony that’s a bit breezy tonight, with another bar downstairs. Many of the punters in the upstairs bar are artistically dressed, as if for a film festival – trendy place huh. The Furs do have that art school feel.
Stairwell – De La Warr Pavilion
Despite the sprawling building, the venue itself is relatively small with a 1,500 capacity. It reminds me of my old school hall (that was built three years later I find), even the balcony where I am seated, at the rear (third row centre – eventually). It could be a scene from the Ramones’ Rock’n’Roll High School film. The difference is the lower, standing balconies to each side. Novel.
My photo makes it look further than it is to the stage but cameras not welcome up here so I stick with my phone and only snap a few to show I was here.
The De La Warr auditorium
The support band was a particularly interesting one. I never did see 80s German goth rock band X-Mal Deutdchland but had a compilation LP with a few tracks on and they were a John Peel radio show regular. Tonight we have their singer, Anja Huwe, to entertain us.
Anja Huwe
The piercing eyes of Anja Huwe
A genuine treat to hear Anja Huwe and best of all the rendition of Incubus Succubus, the track I remember most from X-Mal Deutschland. (Link to Peel recording.)
Anja Huwe and her band in Bexhill
My Psychedelic Furs history involves buying all the LPs, including the first four on cassette. (More here on my Furs in Pompey blog.) Then at the end of that tour was The Roundhouse gig where I ended up in the end of tour party with the band, where I found out I was born in the same hospital as bassist Tim Butler.
Hence my Psychedelic Furs bond is a firm one. There are only a few bands that can play absolutely anything and I know it. The set list tonight is a wander through tracks from the first to the most recent, eighth album. No room for anything from The Book of Days mind.
Small show feel – The Furs live in Bexhill
The confined nature of the stage was now enhanced by the lighting, making it all look even more like a school hall concert. No roving spotlights either, so that when any band members, notably bassist Tim Butler, went walkabout off to the sides they disappeared into the darkness, bar the glow from nearby phones.
No saxophone on this tour, following the death of Mars Williams, two years back. Perhaps a mark of respect and it is such a missing addition given how the sax flavours many Furs songs.
Richard Butler acts out the songs with his hand gestures and expressions – as I was seated I didn’t feel I should join in. He’s very mobile for 69 and his little jumps in anticipation of a song show he’s up for this. The voice is still the sound of a thousand smoked cigarettes.
Richard Butler on stage at the De La Warr Pavilion
President Gas, a favourite, is delivered early – no controversial mock salutes tonight. Other poppy tunes include Love My Way and Pretty in Pink and, while I enjoy these, it’s the rougher rasping numbers that are better as a live experience. There’s the chaos of Mr Jones from Talk Talk Talk and the slower strains of the brilliant The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll, from the latest 2020 album. Wrong Train is another belter from that album and that gets an airing.
Richard Butler
The lighting at times uses the pink and green associated with the Forever Now LP and that deep purple colour of the 2020 Made if Rain LP. Quite minimalist though and I wonder if there is more unused equipment in the truck for the London Palladium tomorrow.
The Furs – Tim Butler on bass, on the right
The poppy Pretty in Pink and similarly poppy but more urgent Heartbreak Beat round off the main set. The crowd has been quite calm but appreciative… and now they’re noisy. I imagine this is one of the more sedate venues on the tour.
The Furs return with the weaving, stop/tart of It Goes On from the second LP, Talk Talk Talk. (I failed to resist a t-shirt of that LP, downstairs at the merch desk.) Then the final beautiful offering…India. Starting with that slow build-up, Richard Butler using some percussion to mimic the unmistakable interference sound, then the rumble before the song gets in full flow with the frantic drumming and thrashing guitar. Great way to finish.
Furs at the De La Warr Pavilion
They’ll soon be back to the US where they live and I wonder when, and if, we will see them tour the UK again. Enjoy it while you can, eh?
Just a short note to mark the festive celebration that was our visit to see Dave Hill’s Slade.
The Hersham Boys from 1977 can still pack a venue with excited old blokes to hear the anthems.
New debut LP at last. The Clause are here in this lovely old church on a wild and wet Saturday night.
An unusual and beautiful coastal location for the visit of 80s underdogs, China Crisis.
Four nights ago Gary Numan’s brother John died, after they left the Leeds gig. Gary took the difficult decision to soldier on, on advice from their father said a statement. An emotional evening.
Gigs with Ivan 