Leave Nothing But Memories

How many bands have the career longevity to release ten albums? They might have
been perilously close to falling apart on various occasions in their history, but the
Dub Pistols have rolled with the punches and are now gearing up to release their
tenth album in early 2025.


It’s been a long road travelled, full of twists and turns, but with their legion of faithful
fans and numerous collaborators and friends the Dubs are in a better place now than
they’ve ever been with a new album, their own festival, a documentary, a book and
more international tours on the horizon. These renegade Pistoleros are unstoppable.

Hand-break off, Sports Team are back. With musical pedals to the metal and saxophones at full throttle, a river of halogen glows golden and an incisive critique of latter-day capitalism burns through the haze as the six-piece’s new single ‘I’m In Love (Subaru)’ glides into view.

A song not only born to float out of car stereos, but one to question the mass-produced, brand-obsessed cultures that create them.

Carpooling with the likes of Trust-era Elvis Costello, city-pop icon Mariya Takeuchi and Bryan Ferry shimmering with all his Roxy Music sophistication, ‘I’m In Love (Subaru)’ merges thematic lanes with Prefab Sprout’s ‘Cars And Girls’, to deliver an updated exploration of cynical sting lurking behind the new car dream, though with a power steering assuredness Sports Team embrace the musical spirit of ‘the road’.

“The mood of the first verse and the chorus is quite sincere, a Hollywood-inspired, teenage love song,” explains guitarist and lyricist Rob Knaggs, “but by the time we get to the second verse, we’ve found the worm in the middle of that apple. All the symbols of teenage rebellion, the car itself, have all been co-opted into selling something that can’t actually be bought. It’s that classic, Freudian-drenched symbol of a middle-aged bloke in a sports car, wearing his racing gloves as he goes through a crisis. A real corporate, capitalised view of masculinity that is divorced from reality or what might genuinely be cool.”

They say the bonds formed as teenagers are the strongest. In that case, Wales’ main
contenders The Royston Club are an unbreakable unit, formed in Wrexham by schoolfriends
Ben Matthias (Guitar), Tom Faithfull (lead vocals, guitar) Dave Tute (Bass), later adding Sam
Jones (drums). After the lineup was complete, things moved fast: they hit the ground running,
performing a run of high-energy gigs in their hometown, self-recording and releasing demos
to an ever-expanding and devoted fanbase.


In 2021, they signed to Run On Records (home of The Coral), quickly making their mark by
releasing debut single Coasting, which reached no.10 on the official vinyl charts. Their sound
was established: anthemic indie hooks, life-affirming melodies and ragged riffs – songs to
soundtrack your life. Support slots soon came, with the likes of Jamie Webster, Blossoms and
The Academic, bookended by their own raucous headline tours. More studio time followed in
Chapel Studios, Lincoln; sessions which would eventually produce debut album Shaking
Hips And Crashing Cars, rocketing to number 16 on the official album charts, selling out of
all physical formats and subsequent special editions.


In the time after, things snowballed. They sold out London’s Koko, conquered Glastonbury
three times, headlined Focus Wales, and picked up Hollywood actor and Wrexham FC owner
Ryan Reynolds as a fan. Intermittent time on the road provided experience, space in which to
write. In early 2024, they went to Kempston Street studio, Liverpool, with producer Richard
Turvey (Blossoms, The Coral) for a session that led to last month’s critically acclaimed
comeback single The Patch Where Nothing Grows, showing a new depth to both the band’s
songwriting and performing, paving the way for an album to be confirmed later in the year.

In the meantime, the band’s rigorous work ethic continues; namely with slots at Portsmouth’s
Victorious festival, a couple of European dates, headlining both This Feeling’s Bridlington
By the Sea and Stockton’s Gathering Sounds festival, Liam Gallagher’s Malta Weekender,
and two shows at Liverpool O2 Academy, both of which have already sold out. If the
Royston Club are about to go skyward, then The Patch Where Nothing Grows is the perfect
launchpad.

Legendary 70s folk-rock pioneers LINDISFARNE return to form with a classic five-piece line up of long-time members fronted by original founder-member Rod Clements on vocals, mandolin, fiddle and slide guitar. With a repertoire of unforgettable songs like Meet Me On The Corner, Fog On The Tyne, Lady Eleanor and Run For Home and a reputation for live performance second to none, LINDISFARNE’s power to galvanise festival and concert audiences remains undimmed and is guaranteed to get the crowd on its feet and singing along.

Throughout Scouting For Girls’ immensely successful career they’ve sold over two million albums,two million singles, had four Brit Award nominations, an Ivor Novello nomination, had four top ten singles, sold-out Wembley Arena, The Royal Albert Hall and most recently sold-out two nights at The London Palladium and had a series of hit singles all of which were inescapable radio smashes. Scouting For Girls continue to prove they are unstoppable.


The past 2 years have been an unprecedented year in so many ways. And like many of us,
indie-pop band Scouting For Girls initially responded by surrounding themselves with sources
of comfort and escapism, things from what felt like a simpler time. Going back to the music
and culture of their childhoods in the 1980s, the band regrouped in 2020 during what should
have been a summer of festivals, and the result is a joyous album of 80s covers alongside
some incredible new tracks, and an optimism that 2021 could be everything that 2020 was
not! This rained true for the group as they have just completed their 42 date UK and Ireland
tour amidst the pandemic in 2021.


Roy commented; “Touring is our very favourite aspect of being in this band and to go
out longer and harder than ever is a dream come true. We’re going to put 2020 behind
us and put two years of pent-up energy into every night of this tour – We can’t wait to
give people the most fun night out of 2021”


During the lockdown’s, Roy had time to extend the bands repertoire, reimagining of some of
the biggest songs from the 80s. ‘Easy Cover’, their latest album release, is a joyous celebration
of that golden era of music with Scouting For Girls revisiting their favorite childhood musical
moments, from Tears For Fears, The Waterboys, Cyndi Lauper, Whitney Houston, Phil Collins
and much more.


“We’re not trying to do justice to these songs! That’s impossible. We’re just trying to
have fun and take them out on the road to give people the night out they deserve
after 2020!”


However, it’s not just covers and Roy (who has songwriting credits with One Direction, Five
Seconds of Summer & The Vamps) was soon inspired to write some original material inspired
by the decade. Upcoming single ‘I Wish It Was 1989” (“An anthem for 2020!”) and album
closer and new single ‘Xmas In The 80s’ (“A nostalgic longing for when Santa was called
Father Christmas) are already set to be Scouting fan favourites and show Roy’s unique
songwriting at its very best.


Never resting on their laurels and constantly striving to challenge perceptions of the band, Reverend and the Makers have become one of the enduring and great survivors of the British music scene. With a career spanning two decades Jon McClure and his collective of musicians burst onto the scene with their Top 5 charting debut album, ‘The State of Things’. The album spawned the UK top 10 single “Heavyweight Champion of the World”. The five albums since have seen the band move through several incarnations, sounds and line ups and experience all the highs, and most of the lows, that the music industry has to offer. Each album has reached the Top 20 of the UK album charts, an impressive unbroken run of six albums. These albums have seen them cut across a creative spectrum, ranging from collective efforts to the frontman’s singular visions. Instead, The Makers is more a sobriquet, a statement of intent, a commitment and a guiding principle that has seen McClure consistently strive to build, innovate and grow musically and artistically. The Reverend’s story is one of the great survival stories of the music industry as charisma, talent, defiance and sheer willpower sees the band start a new chapter reenergized and raring to go. With a point to prove, with ‘Heatwave In The Cold North’, Reverend And The Makers set about the task in hand armed to the teeth with an arsenal of their biggest, best and most accessible and ambitious songs to date.

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Formed in 2004 The Pigeon Detectives are Matt Bowman on lead vocals, Oliver Main and Ryan Wilson on guitars, Dave Best on Bass, and Jimmi Naylor on drums. The band enjoyed a meteoric rise starting in Leeds where they released their first single in 2005 with Leeds label Dance to the Radio, then growing into the UK Music scene rapidly with debut album ‘Wait for Me’ that landed all over Radio Playlists and hit number 3 in the charts, eventually selling platinum. The album featured singalong hits like ‘I’m not Sorry’, ‘Take Her Back’, ‘I found out’ and ‘Romantic Type’. Second album ‘Emergency’ (led in by Top 20 single ‘This is an Emergency’) also charted in the Top 5 selling Gold, and 3 further albums followed.

A live act that always brings an energetic show packed full of indie bangers, The Pigeon Detectives recently went out on a packed anniversary tour to celebrate 10 years of ‘Wait for Me’ in 2017. A regular on the festival scene the Pigeon’s songs have stood the test of time as have the audiences which are a mix of all ages and testament to a band that has big tunes in the streaming age.

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Our favourite band are back on the Main Stage!


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Fran Healy considers Travis’ inception, imagining a bay of little sailboats “with all the bands and artists sitting in them, waiting on that freak gust of wind to blow them to fame and fortune.” For some it never comes. For Travis, it would yield a run of hits including modern standards such as Sing, Why Does It Always Rain On Me, Driftwood, and lift them to unimaginable heights. At various points along the trajectory, Travis have sold millions of albums (The Man Who is 9x Platinum certified in the UK alone); secured multiple wins at the BRITs, Ivor Novello and Q Awards; and acclaim from the likes of Paul McCartney, Elton John and Graham Nash – also songwriters whose ability to divine a timeless melody out of thin air has sustained them through decades.

There’s something powerful about the fact that Travis is made up of the same four musicians who first came to prominence in 1996 with their debut EP ‘All I Want To Do Is Rock’. An unbroken line-up for an unbroken band – Fran Healy (vocals, guitar); Andy Dunlop (guitar); Dougie Payne (bass); and Neil Primrose (drums). By his own account, Travis’ new album, L.A. Times is Fran Healy’s most personal songwriting since ‘The Man Who’. Honouring the unique chemistry that first united the band in Glasgow, 5000 miles away from L.A., if you’ve heard the new single Gaslight, you’ll have been reminded that when the four members of Travis convene to make music, the resulting sound is impossible to mistake for any other band.

Fatboy Slims career spans 4 decades but he is best known as one of the worlds most loved DJ’s.

He loves it more now then he did 40 years ago and whilst things have certainly changed a thousand times or more what drives him and keeps his thirst for it is the power of the collective unity and community that a shared musical experience can have.

When he goes on stage he is no longer Norman Cook he is Fatboy Slim with the Hawaiian Shirt and the bare feet where he gives it his all as a performer and a showman and in his words a professional idiot!

What makes his sets so special apart from his craft of re editing songs and samples specifically for his sets is that the whole performance is peppered with his enduring hits…

Songs like, Right Here, Right Now, The Rockafella Skank, Weapon of Choice and Praise You (which has recently become an unofficial anthem for the NHS) are feel good songs and tracks that the whole world know and can come together to listen to, dance to, fall in love to and pretty much anything else to! Fatboy Slim is a grammy and Brit award winning artist who’s cutting edge videos are part of the fabric of British culture.