Have you ever heard a band for the first time and felt like a part of your soul just became more complete than it had been? When I first heard James and the Cold Gun, that is the easiest way to describe the feeling. Hailing from Wales and with a string of singles prior to this debut EP, they have laid down an incredible EP that somehow becomes even better with each listen as more and more elements reveal themselves. EP of the year? The answer is an emphatic “yes” with me experiencing the same euphoria I felt when Quinn the Brain released their debut EP a couple of years ago.

What makes this band so special? Let’s start at the beginning of this release with ‘Seven’ which builds slowly before unleashing a killer rhythmic hook. They pack an urgency in the groove that gives way to an insidious chorus that sticks in the head like gum on your new shoes. Hints of bands like the Foo Fighters, 3 Colours Red, Ash, and others are present but really just serve as a reference point as James and the Cold Gun have captured their own identity. There is an awesome breakdown in the song which takes the musical dynamics to another level. They show no let up with a RFTC influence introducing ‘Around the Bend.’ The guitar work here is awesome with the mix really giving extra flashes to the guitar notes. This feels like having a freight train barreling down on you in the tunnel and hopping on for the ride at the last second.

‘Plug Me In’ might be my favorite among favorites here. The intro reminds me a bit of a harder-edged GvsB as the volume gradually increases over the first couple of verses before exploding to give way to the chorus. The vocals here have a vitality to them that showcases so much emotion and passion that it is hard to describe. If you could unleash some primal screams with melody while feeling your throat get pulled apart, that might get you close to the right spot. Next up is ‘It’s Mutual’ which brings some Queens of the Stone Age to mind but again James and the Cold Gun have really captured a magic and unique formula all their own. Here they use a sneaky great chorus that will have you singing along while trying to figure out what the actual title of the song is as it is seamlessly etched into the chorus lines. Wrapping up this bundle of sonic perfection is ‘The Long Way Home’ where a seesaw-type riff leads into a hit single in waiting. Some hand claps are added into the mix here which are perfectly placed in the mix as the guitars still lead the way. The bridge breaks the song down and creates a feeling of intense pressure building before it throttles all that tried to stand in its way. It brings to mind Refused around the time of ‘The Shape of Punk to Come.’

At this point, I hope you have ordered this album and are currently already listening to it as there is not much else I can say. This is an incredible release that has become a part of my soul. It’s a cathartic release that can be played again and again. The bigger question might be how the band follow up this release but, much the way the Wildhearts followed up their initial EP releases with an amazing full-length debut many years ago, I think James and the Cold Gun will do the same.      

‘False Start’ is available now.

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Author: Gerald Stansbury

The second single, ‘Terminal Love’, taken from the album Punch Drunk’. Sees More Kicks get back in the groove.

Kicking out the jams since 2017, More Kicks released their self-titled debut album in 2019 which we reviewed and hailed as a masterclass in power pop. Since the pandemic singer /guitarist James Sullivan managed to release a fantastic experimental solo album, ‘Light Years’ but this is his bread and butter and a most welcome return for the trio.

Following up the single ‘Animal’. ‘Terminal Love’ sees the band pack a bigger punch on this new single. After a quick jaunt across the USA More Kicks set a release date for September for the album from Dirtnap Records/Stardumb Records. pre order Here

You can find More Kicks on FacebookTwitterBandcamp and their website.

After an unusually long silence (for Tyla), Dogs D’amour have returned with this new EP featuring songs that will not be on the new ‘Tree Bridge Cross’ album, which is also about to finally see the light of day following a very long delay due to issues pressing the vinyl. These songs are slightly rougher production-wise than the ‘In Vino Veritas’ album and the aforementioned ‘Tree Bridge Cross.’ The five songs plus the instrumental piece at the end work very well together and will have me tagging these onto a playlist of the new album when it is finally released.

The Dogs these days have been functioning as a tightknit unit for many years with Tyla joined by Gary Pennick (guitar), Matty James Cassidy (bass), and Simon Hanson (drums). ‘Blow on my Dice’ rings in the proceedings here with Tyla’s distinct voice serving up the first lines over the guitar notes before the rest of the gang crashes through the door. This midtempo song is extremely addictive and catchy with some tasty background vocals serving the song perfectly. This is not cutting edge by any means but a fun lighthearted singalong. What follows in ‘Every Scar’ I would say is essential and a killer epic at nearly 7 minutes. The spaghetti western acoustic guitar and whistling set the tone as a dark somber verse takes hold. The slow build in this song has made it a favorite on the EP for me. At times, I am reminded more of a song that would feel more at home on ‘Libertine’ or ‘Nocturnal Nomad’ than on a band release. Hanson’s drum work has to be noted as it is just perfectly executed. The haunting vocals executed perfectly. I am hoping this one will get translated over to the live shows.

Returning with the quicker tempo ‘Jimmy Moonblood’ next, the band shines in another hook-filled delicacy that reminds me of ‘Johnny Silvers’ in the chorus from way back in the day. My only issue with this one is it is over way too fast at just two and a half minutes. The band again slows the tempo way down on ‘Memphis’ featuring the last piano Scotty played with the guys before his passing. First time I heard this song, the comparisons that came to mind musically were Johnny Cash and Elvis. It’s a beautiful song that could be a close cousin of ‘Empty World’ in its feel and delivery.

The last proper song on the EP gets rocking and bluesy with ‘Nazarine.’ Cassidy’s bass work with these Dogs has always been top-notch, and the groove he and Hanson serve here is extremely tight. With Tyla and Pennick rocking out on the guitars over the top and adding a simple vocal hook that does not let go, it serves as the perfect closer. ‘Never Forget That Day’ then adds the musical ending as the credits scroll down the screen. This adds a very different touch to the EP that what we have seen Tyla and the Dogs do in the past.

Tyla’s Dogs D’amour are not going to revolutionize music or start any new trends in the mainstream. They deliver vital rock n roll packed with the blues, sincerity, spirit(s), and heart which have kept me hooked on Tyla’s music since the 80’s. This EP hits the mark and has constantly been in the rotation since it arrived. Now, I’m going to play it through all over again and enjoy the musical journey.

‘Dice Clown Man’ is available Here   / Tyla’s Art Tavern

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Author: Gerald Stansbury

The Sweet Kill have just announced the release of their debut LP Darkness with their newest video single by the same name. The Sweet Kill is a one-man post-punk project which focuses on the more dark and gothic side of the genre. Perpetually recording and producing at his own SHADOW ZONE SOUND in Los Angeles, Pete Mills wrote The Sweet Kill’s sonic cinematic debut Darkness with the intent to inspire those lost in the shadows of life. Driven by cold synths, atmospheric guitar, and melodic bass, multi-instrumentalist and velvety crooning baritone Mills conducts a darkwave masterpiece of romantic sorrow echoing the laments of The Cure and Joy Division.  

The video for the single Darkness was shot and produced in Los Angeles by director James Mitchell. The video features Mills in a straitjacket, tormented by an inescapable, faceless antagonist draped in BDSM gear. While Mills is tortured and teased by his nemesis in erotic black vinyl, he comes face to face with a real-live panther which eventually becomes one with his inner being. Reflecting on the meaning of the single Darkness, Mills states, “The spark between dark and gothic attraction can lead to a charged demise. Perpetually intertwined with murky chemistry and twilight solemnity, Darkness polarizes this extravagance”. Starring Murphy The Panther, the video for Darkness also features actors/dancers Andrea Feyler, Paradise Brittain, Luliia Lozovaia, and of course Pete Mills as himself.

The album Darkness, due out on vinyl in September 2022, is a dark and gothic post-punk diviner of millenarian angst. Darkness bridges the decades between the early days of post-punk and the now. You can hear elements of The Cure and Bauhaus reverberate through Mills’ taut, brooding vocal performances, while the pounding bass lines and brisk percussion are reminiscent of artists like The Killers or Franz Ferdinand. The personal lyrics and accessible melody and production fall somewhere between Editors and Fontaines D.C., lending the songs an openness that will appeal to fans of pop and rock, not just post-punk.

D I S C O V E R

Website: http://www.thesweetkill.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesweetkill

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thesweetkill

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesweetkill/

Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/thesweetkill/

Bandcamp: https://thesweetkill.bandcamp.com/releases

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/the-sweet-kill/285070330

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/445d0aCtpY1jmpLO87SfNu?si=x7ivetUYQ_yXII25w5ydDg

I first came across DFM way back, having been bounced a you need to have a listen to these guys from Pity my Brain main man Jamie Richards, and was instantly blown away by the depth atmospherics and intensity of the music, that initial LP Time was followed on in 2020 by the superb Inviolate, stretching the intensity out, building on the first LP showing a band choosing a direction, both powerful, observational and more to the point drawing the listener in to a dark dystopian world created by none other that Caroline Cawley and Brother Bill Fisher from the Church of the Cosmic Skull, but music that shines as the complete antithesis of that body of work.

But on to the current release (War of the Ether), preceded by the self-titular single War of the Ether, again this is seriously powerful stuff. As the press release illustrates, “Lyrically, the album dives deep into a recent scandal surrounding 796 skeletons found on the grounds of the former Catholic-run Tuam Mother & Baby Home in Caroline’s native country of Ireland. To hide the shame of pregnancy out of wedlock, women were sent to homes like this all over the country. Forcibly separated from their mothers, many of the children died in infancy due to neglect, and some were trafficked for adoption to the US”.

First track up She came from up the Dromban Hill draws you in before the poetic spoken vocals lead you through the story unfolding. At times I get drawn back to some of the almost autobiographical work of Joolz, real time observational, an outsider recanting the story, looking in and backwards, the first thoughts I’m starting to build as we move into second track up Critical mass is how sharp the whole sound is, focussed, driven and intense. This feeling of intensity is an off set to the almost at time ethereal vocals, but the vocals form only part of the whole, all the parts twist and engage wrap around each other, cocooning you in an aural soundscape.

Next tracks up The Veneer and Walls of Filth and Toil, again lead you step by step engaging, driving and moving you inwards spiralling into the soundscape of the story unfolding. Then the Title track War of the Ether, hits in hard, the intensity ratcheted up another notch, the guitar work enhancing and pushing the vocals ever higher. License of their Lies maintains the intensity. By the time you reach No Matter, your held by the story unfolding, gripped by the soundscape and hit by an almost Primal Scream of emotion. Finishing the LP off A decent class of girl a fitting tribute and uplift to the sounds and story that we’ve been told.

This an LP that again draws you in, the subject matter, coupled with the intensity of the music and some staggering good ethereal vocals really demands your attention, well worth checking out released in October, with a tour following, this is the type of music that really needs to be witnessed live.

You can buy the LP here, keepin’ it independent!!

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Author: Nev Brooks

First up we have the first video off the brand new Baz Francis EP ‘Wake To The Morning’ check it out and pick it up at the links. Facebook / Pick it up Here

second time around we’d like to share the brand new video from Girls In Synthesis and ‘Watch With Mother’ the post punk outfit are set to release the eagerly anticipated follow-up to 2020’s incendiary debut, ‘Now Here’s An Echo From Your Future’. Entitled ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ it’s available this coming October via the band’s own label Own It/Cargo Records, it’s mix of fractured guitar, crushing drums and bass, intense vocals and lyrical content – create as challenging a record as you will hear this year! Pre order here

Ricky Rat has been kicking around dishing up punk rock n roll and power pop for a long time. He’s served his time with his band the Trash Brats spitting out punk rock mashed up with Glam Rock in the late eighties to early naughties then he served as the gunslinger and backup comrade to Rock and Roll lifer Kevin K crisscrossing Europe and the US of A for a few decades before he got to play with Cheetah Chrome for a couple of years with his version of the Dead Boys. What happened next happened to us all – Covid!

Oh, A decade ago he released the excellent ‘Songs In C Major Love’ that sort of wrapped up everything he’d done to that point and given it his own seal of approval by singing the songs as well as writing them and playing them. Quite how it’s taken him a decade to follow up that beauty only Ricky could answer. But Hell, here we are mid-2022, and ‘Ghost Of Isolation’ is with us released on i94 Recordings it’s ten power poppin’ punk rockin’ tunes full to burstin’ with passion and a love for his chosen craft.

During lockdowns, Ricky was writing and videoing a song a day for about 150 days straight! which has been cut down to an acceptable album length and the content of ‘Ghost Of Isolation’ well, nine new songs and a Jimmy Cliff cover (we’ll get to that later). We kick off with the rollicking title track that’s got an air of optimism and a spring in its step. From the punchy rhythm to the chorus it’s like a gentle sigh of relief that better things are coming and this is the soundtrack.

The album is packed with melodies and upbeat tempos and even when the song might be about loneliness or loss of love it still has an optimistic delivery. ‘Lakepoint Nights’ reminds me of the Role Models and that songwriter punch of power pop that makes you want to sing along on top of your voice without a care in the world. Because nothing matters more than being in that moment. A great skill to have as real life flys by its just you – the song and the moment. Perfect!

The dreamy qualities of ‘Bottom Of My Heart’ and its blue-collar Detroit countrified rock n roll is a song David Johansen would have killed to write when he reformed the Dolls and that solo is killer. It’s gritty and wistful and a sidestep from the edgy overdriven punk rock, also the duet style really pays out in earworms that take root and demand to be heard over and over. I have to say that as much as I loved Ricky’s debut solo album this one is a real step up in quality, musicianship, and arrangments, its got a great flow to it from top to bottom from the up-tempo rockers like ‘I Can’t See Shit’, ‘Laughing Stock’ to the more gentle numbers like the excellent ‘Glow Of Gabriels’ which is a particular high point. Even the Jimmy Cliff cover sounds like it was written for the Stones in the mid-70s with a great swirling keyboard adding texture and depth.

‘When We Were The Boys’ is a great autobiographic Rock n Roller (like much of this album) it’s universal and personal and plays like the chapters from Ricky’s life story spilled over the grooves of a record. Then a piano comes in to signal the swan song ‘Singing With The Angels’ that isn’t a ballad or picked acoustic outro but a barnstormer that makes you puff out your chest and punch the air because you’ve been lucky enough to hear what is a stonking album.

Never a chore and always a pleasure, listening to what Ricky Rat has put on tape is an adventure through Rock n Power Pop and Trashy Glitter of the highest quality and long may it continue. Check it out for yourself and when you do pick up a copy tell him RPM Sent y’all!

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Author: Dom Daley

Amongst the many hundreds of concerts I’ve attended over the years, I still Slade as one of the best live bands I have been fortunate enough to see. I saw the classic line up of Noddy Holder, Jim Lea, Don Powell and Dave Hill twice, in Cardiff and Bristol, on the ‘til Deaf Us Do Part’ tour when I was around 14 years of age, and having initially fell in love with the band through their ‘Sladest’ album around 1974-75, I think this is proof positive that when you fall in love with a band early on in life they stick with you forever, especially when they are as awesome as Slade.

I’ve also collected the band’s back catalogue with an almost religious fervour over the years, and with Salvo having provided the almost definitive reissues of their recorded output as recently as 2006, including the ‘Slade Alive! (The Live Anthology)’ two CD set (which features three of the albums/concerts included here plus the ‘Slade Alive Vol. 2’ set which isn’t included here) you’ll forgive me if I admit that the purpose behind this all new ‘All The World Is A Stage’ 5CD box set is somewhat frustrating.  With only the CDs ‘Live At The New Victoria’ recorded on April 24 1975 and ‘Live At The Hucknall Miner’s Welfare Club’ recorded on June 26 1980 proving to be of any real interest, and at around £40 for the set, I have to say that’s a lot of money to spend when things are getting pretty tight at the moment.

Granted the ‘Alive! At Reading’ CD (which I’m sure some will also be buying this set for given its almost legendary status) restores the classics’ Tak’ Me Bak ‘Ome’, ‘Mama Weer All Crazee Now’ and ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ (all missing from the Salvo reissue along with the ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ singalong) but it’s still not the full fifteen song set, and to include ‘Slade Alive!’ and ‘Slade On Stage’ but miss out ‘Slade Alive Vol. 2’ simply feels like an opportunity missed to finally give Slade fans as near a definitive live document of the band as they always excelled in that setting.  Or why not simply ditch the already released albums and just go with previously unreleased live sets, I’m sure there must be enough fans who would have snapped that 5CD set up?

To that effect, I find myself only briefly dipping into the review streams of ‘Slade Alive!’ and ‘Slade On Stage’ (they sound just as I expect them to), before moving quickly to ‘Alive! At Reading’ and that triumphant Sunday back in 1980 when Slade stepped in at short notice to replace Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard Of Oz and Gary Moore’s G Force on the Reading Festival bill and then proceeded to not only steal the show but also kickstart their ‘80s reawakening. There are a few sonic dropouts throughout this set, but it’s great to once again hear it in most of its glory, as my tape recording from the Friday Rock Show had long since disappeared from my collection, most probably leant out to a friend and never returned. 

Moving on to ‘Live At The New Victoria’ from April 1975 and not only does it capture the band live at the time I first started listening to them, but it also has a set list that centres largely around the band’s then new album and film ‘Slade In Flame’. The volume on the stream of this recording seemed to drop ever so slightly compared to the Reading set but it’s a rip-roaring run through a dozen of some of the finest songs the band ever penned. Okay ‘The Bangin Man’ might be stretching that definition a bit but this set is worth investing in just for the versions of ‘How Does It Feel’ (which is also my all-time favourite Slade song), ‘Far Far Away’ and the B-side ‘OK Yesterday Was Yesterday’ where Noddy slips into an impromptu Tommy Cooper impression for the song’s introduction. Amazing stuff indeed!

The ‘Live At The Hucknall Miner’s Welfare Club’ 1980 CD that closes this set out is (as far as I can tell) pretty much the full live set that Slade did a few nips and tucks on for their Reading 1980 set, and here the band sounds absolutely fantastic from opener ‘Dizzy Mama’ through to ‘Born To Be Wild’ which brings things to a suitably high energy end. I’m not sure how large the crowd was at this show but compared to the turbocharged sound Slade generate onstage they sound positively timid. This is the sound of Slade firing on all cylinders, yet seemingly on the verge of also splitting up due to their lack of commercial success at the time. Mind blowing stuff indeed.

Unfortunately, as I’ve only received a stream of this box set to review, I cannot tell what the twelve-page booklet or clamshell packaging is like, but what I can tell you is that the (mainly) previously unreleased live material really is exceptional.

As I said at the top of this piece Slade will always rank as one of the best live bands I’ve seen in my forty plus years of gig going and ‘All The World Is A Stage’ turns that fact up way past eleven…and then some. Magical stuff, even if the set is seemingly somewhat overpriced. I’ll let you decide if you snap one up now or wait for the price drop that will no doubt follow.

Buy Here

https://www.facebook.com/SladeBandOfficial/

Author: Johnny Hayward

It’s been a while in the making but it’s finally here, Steve Vincent has assembled a cast of reprobate Rockers to assist in pulling this together and apart from writing and playing a lot of the instruments himself, he’s accentuated a lot of the tracks by drafting in the likes of Danny McCormack from the Wildhearts and Steve Conte from Michael Monroe band as well as Miqu December from Plastic Tears who also has a writing credit on a track he duets on (‘Fallen Wheel’).

Hailing back to a time when Grunge killed off glam and all strands associated rightly or wrongly struggled with the association people like Steve survived and moved on but never lost the passion and love for Rock n Roll. In a time (the early 90s) when London was alive with real rockers and genuine great bands like Gunfire Dance, Kill City Dragons, Cheap and Nasty to name a few who stood a fighting chance but never quite fitted in with the punk rock crowd nor the glam rock dandies it was a more gritty mid 80’s feel going on, Steve kept going with his band Paradise Alley who were also out of step with what was considered Glam and what would have cut it as punk.

The band limped on in various states playing towns and cities from America and beyond but burrowing away at home writing and recording Steve kept his powder dry and long after Grunge ate itself, Steve appears like a genie from a bottle (of thunderbird wine no doubt) and delivers a solo record that deserves being championed from these here pages as I wonder how or why it’s taken so long to get all this music out there. Steve does a sterling job on the harmonica he blows on up-tempo opener ‘Yesterdays Man’ with its layers of sound from the picked guitar and Danny McCormack throb on the bass. That sleazy Hanoi Rocks inspired swagger of ‘All I Wanna Do’ has Steve wheezing on that harmonica again for a barroom sing-a-long with some decent guitar licks courtesy of Mattias Johansson and some most welcome joanna tinkling courtesy of Matt Connor adding to a feel-good rocker. The late night come down flip side of ‘All I Wanna Do’ is ‘Last Train To Babylon’ with a laid-back tempo and groove with some tasty guitar playing courtesy of former New York Doll Steve Conte which seems apt as the New Yorker adds some real Noo Yawk flavour to the mix about the city that never sleeps.

Steve swaps his pixie boots for a pair of two-inch creepers and puts his foot to the floor for ‘Can’t Bring Me Down’ as the lyrics take a darker turn so does the groove – it shows a side that isn’t just good times and parties but real issues and a riff to boot on this well-constructed darker song.

Once dubbed as the “happy song”, ‘Falling’ is a standard rocker wearing a big smile and it shows – you certainly feel it. ‘Fortune wheel’ is co-written with Miqu from Plastic Tears and works well. Left to ferment from the 90’s it reached its vintage and this toe-tapper leads the charge into the home straight.

The penultimate song ‘Sleepwalking’ is a self-confessed homage to Stiv Bator who I’m sure would have approved of the songs meaning and story he’d also have enjoyed the meandering guitar work that underpins the riff that oozes glam punk not some powder puff Sunset Strip Glam Rock but a gritty authentic Punk Rock slice of Glam grafted from mid 80s wardour street to the here and now, excellent stuff.

To close off the album is the gentle and considered acoustic ballad that is ‘Lost Boys And Fallen Angels’ dedicated and inspired by a former bandmate who lost his life a decade ago and to people everywhere who’ve lost someone with a PMA and kind soul that’s never coming back – it’s a fine and fitting end to a really impressive album showing that Steve Vincent has many strings to his bow and an ability to write and record some excellent rock and roll. Long live real Glam Punk Rock n Roll and keep on keeping on Steve – this is a record that deserves to be heard and hopefully just the start.

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Author: Dom Daley

Tony Wright releases new single – Pre-orders Here plus 19 date UK tour 

The poignant ‘Cannonball’, is taken from his forthcoming solo album, ‘The Anti Album’, out on October 7th

Cannonball is a sad and lonely song. Full of emotions that wouldn’t be wished upon anyone. It’s where we end up when we lose confidence and stability… Whether it’s through mean people or hard times the song just talks of the emotions and feelings inside. There was no point trying to cover over these cracks or pretend anything different so it is blunt and to the point. Not what everyone wants to hear perhaps but that’s not going to change the way we play it and or the sentiment behind it.” – Tony Wright.

The video takes a slightly lighter approach and tells of the jealousy of the miserable clown at the circus who’s envy is all consuming when he sees the Human Cannonball. The clown wants to be the Cannonball and enjoy the praise and adulation that pass him by. The plot thickens and the video tell the story of how the clown goes about rectifying this… Based on the silent movies which allowed us to get away with lots of stuff when it came to the filming it includes peril and danger alongside cunning and underhand tactics. He wants to fly through the sky and break down walls.
Along with Cannonball, The Anti Album features nine further songs, including the previous single Buried You Deeper 

This truly honest record is the perfect manifestation of Tony Wright’s immutable wit, sadness, quiet anger and charm.
The Anti Album is available to pre-order in usual CD and vinyl, plus an exclusive limited edition red vinyl album


UK dates in full 

October Fri 7th Settle Victoria Hall

Sat 8th Scunthorpe Cafe Indie
Sun 9th Todmorden Golden Lion 

Mon 10th Sunderland  Pop Recs 

Tue 11th Edinburgh  Bannermans

Wed 12th Glasgow  The Hug and Pint

Fri 14th Isle Of Man Colby Glen

Wed 19th Scarborough Vibe

Thu 20th Hull Welly

Fri 21st Doncaster Imperial 

Sat 22nd  Blackpool Compass Cafe

Wed 26th Hertford Corn Exchange

Thu 27th Plymouth  Junction

Fri 28th Newport Le Pub

Sat 29th Stafford  The Ship Aground 

November 

Thu 3rd  Milton Keynes The Crauford Arms 

Fri 4th Wolverhampton The Giffard Arms

Sun 6th Bradford   Nightrain  

Fri 11th Oxford The Jericho Tavern

Tickets available from https://linktr.ee/Tony_Wright