On the May Day Bank Holiday Sunday of 2026, I was hosting a celebration at mine from 5pm, secure in the knowledge that at 7pm, the host would be leaving to traverse the M62 down to Liverpool. Psycho Comedy were making their return you see, and nothing would be allowed to get in the way […]
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Words Prince Far Out Pictures ©Pete McKee (apart from the crap band picture I took). On Saturdays and Sundays when I am not occupied with football or gigs, I can mostly be found in the Northern Quarter of Manchester, and in particular, the Night and Day Café. On the unassuming day of Sunday the 26th […]
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Edwin Stevens – A Plague of Gimps Wrong Speed Records – Released 6th March 2026 Warning: If you want loud and splenetic vibes, you are in the wrong place. For that you need to visit Edwin Stevens wonderful band Irma Vep (check out King Kong and you’ll catch my drift, then want to thank […]
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A musical celebration, natural wonders and a harrowing history – Prince Far Out explores Belfast; the nooks, the crannies and the awe-inspiring, spectacular scenery, flown in on a mystic via a majestic soundtrack from Van Morrison. Mid August and being a flaneur, I was doing some flaneur-ing at home (idly browsing the web) when I […]
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My own personal history with the Smiths/Morrissey has been mixed. I am not a rabid fan, but have valued every single album release in different ways. However, my live experiences thus far have not been brilliant. Picture a clement October 28th 1986, and a young boy in North Wales, luxuriating in his bath, beyond excitement […]
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Sunny War‘s Armageddon in a Summer Dress is a magnificent achievement, and yet you have never heard of her, have you? Certainly that is the impression I get from a trawl of Manchester’s Independent and High Street stores, and it is mind boggling. As an artist, Sunny War (Sydney Ward) is ploughing her own […]
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Edwin R Stevens – Pontio, Bangor – October 5th 2024 As I am sure many of you will be able to attest, it’s cold/Covid/flu season, and as a victim of one of the three (maybe all) I was wavering on whether or not to make the four + hour round trip to Bangor…only I wasn’t […]
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“Sanity calms but madness is more interesting” – or – “How I Survived the Yellow Peas”. Day 1 – THURSDAY – “Best Mind Fuck Yet”. When the fantastic line up for Ara Deg 2024 was announced a few months ago, I had to hold fire on booking a ticket in case there were summer holiday […]
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In the aftermath of glowing five star reviews from both music magazines and the highbrow newspapers, it was little surprise to see a queue stretching down Manchester‘s Oldham Street and snaking round into Church Street (in sub zero temperatures too!) for the opportunity to hear Bill Ryder-Jones give the genteel treatment to his sparkling new […]
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The name above may not mean a lot to many of you, but the chances are that if you have any Welsh music in your extensive record collections those artists are likely grateful to Emyr who sadly passed away yesterday. As one of the founding members of the Ankst organisation and the man who […]
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