Fact gleaned from Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll (an airport purchase, and fantastic) is that Noel Coward once said "Ah, Brighton - piers, queers and racketeers." My amazement that I've never heard this description of my adopted home town is drowned out only by an almighty Revolting Cocks earworm.

ONE WEEK till LATE NITE MINICAB FM comes to Komedia Brighton, Fri 14 Nov! Cabbies Alexis Petridis & @simon_price01 spin slow jams & power ballads that break your heart in the back of a taxi. Fists Of Pure Emotion aloft! Tickets www.komedia.co.uk/shows/late-n... Info www.facebook.com/events/18569...

Honoured to be the guest on this week's Rock's Backpages podcast, talking to Barney Hoskyns and William Pike about 80s/90s Melody Maker, 00s/10s Independent, Manics, Curepedia, Romo, Radiohead, Dave Ball, evolving hairstyles and fashion choices, and more. www.rocksbackpages.com/Podcast/Epis...

A proper classic old-fashioned Spellbound night with no twists or gimmicks, just bangers from across the Alt-80s spectrum. It's been too long. See you there!

@spellboundclub.bsky.social is back at Komedia Brighton on Sat 15 Nov, playing Goth, Post-Punk, New Romantic, Alt-Rock, New Wave, Synthpop & Ska 1979-89. Our last theme-free night was way back in June so we're super-excited! Tickets komedia.co.uk/shows/spellb... Info www.facebook.com/events/11608...

I first saw the word ‘colourway’ in a Marina Hyde column earlier this year, and now I’m seeing it everywhere. Has everyone gone colourway-crazy this year, or have people always said it and I somehow just haven’t noticed until I’m in my fifties?

Imagine if people everywhere were actually doing the southern freeze.

Here's my DJ gig set supporting @thewendyjames.bsky.social. Leaning heavily into 70s Glam & Punk (mostly avoiding Spellbound-style Alt-80s stuff) with a tiny bit of 50s/60s and 90s/00s. Brought me back to Stay Beautiful days and made me feel... hmm, I'll say ten years younger. (So still pretty old.)

The Venn overlap of people who insist Hallowe'en isn't British and people who insist 'soccer' isn't British is probably close to a circle. They're all wrong. For a kid in 70s Wales, it was huge. Carving turnip lanterns (no pumpkins available), apple bobbing etc. And we didn't learn it from America.

Next week: he is to be stripped of the name ‘Andrew’, for bringing disgrace upon it, and will have to issue a formal apology to Andrews everywhere.

I bloody loved Prunella Scales. Legend. Icon. Stone cold fox. R.I.P.

Ideally, the thing that finally brings down the Royal Family would be the British public finally waking up to the insulting obscenity of a hereditary monarchy at the top of our system, which laughs in the face of any notion of a meritocratic society. But this will do. www.bbc.com/news/article...

North Macedonia women played an international friendly against Russia women today, despite the UEFA ban. (Friendlies don’t come under the ban.) Well, isn’t that just delightful?

The last few tickets went on Saturday night. I think this is the earliest our Hallowe'en Party has sold out. (Maybe because it's on the actual 31st this year, I dunno.) See you there!

Advance tickets for @spellboundclub.bsky.social's Hallowe'en Party are SOLD OUT (thank you!). However, keep an eye on our socials, and try Komedia's box office komedia.co.uk/shows/spellb... for returns or released tickets nearer the time. Info: www.facebook.com/events/60692... See you on Friday!

Finally finished How Are You? It's Alan (Partridge). Three favourite bits: 1. The elongated rant about boarding schools. 2. The am-dram Dead Poets' Society. 3. Lynn: "You said you quite like clever women..." Alan: "No, I said I like quite clever women." (Honourable mention: riding old bicycles.)

Last chance...

EIGHT TICKETS LEFT for @spellboundclub.bsky.social's Hallowe'en Party at Komedia Brighton! It will sell out today. If you don't wanna miss out, here's the Box Ofice: komedia.co.uk/shows/spellb... Full info: www.facebook.com/events/60692...

My next DJ gig is supporting @thewendyjames.bsky.social (Transvision Vamp) at Patterns, Brighton on Thu 30 Oct. I'll be playing Glam, Punk, Trash & Rock'n'Roll bangers (more of a Stay Beautiful than Spellbound vibe) from when the doors open at 7. Tickets from dice.fm/event/av9dm2... See you there!

If you’ve ever wondered how Belinda Carlisle anticipated the internet/social media/online dating as long ago as 1987, when she sang “And you look me up on the web of love” in Heaven Is A Place On Earth, sadly you can stand down. Turns out that isn’t what she’s singing.

"Amazing result for Plaid Cymru, so here's a guest from Reform anyway..."

Dave Ball's three-way fusion of Kraftwerk, Northern Soul and John Barry was inspired, a perfect backdrop for Marc Almond's emotionalism. And he did so much more besides Soft Cell (eg The Grid and as a producer). To meet Dave and work with him was a privilege. Love to Marc, and to Dave's family. RIP.

Don't say we didn't warn you, Sussex folks. If you and your gang aren't sorted yet, get yourselves sorted. This one's been selling faster than any previous year, and WILL sell out.

Brighton! THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Tickets for @spellboundclub.bsky.social's HALLOWE'EN PARTY, in Komedia's 400-cap Main Room, are 90% gone (and we're selling them ALL this time, so the walk-up option isn't guaranteed). Get yours: komedia.co.uk/shows/spellb... Full info: www.facebook.com/events/60692...

Two things you will probably never do again, between now and the day you die: Play Hide And Seek. Do the Hokey Cokey.

God only knows what 80s horror iconography I'm going to reference on next year's poster. Running out of contenders. (Yes, I know Ed Scis was 1990, but it would have been in production in 1989 so I bent the rules a little...)

Goths & ghouls of Sussex! Tickets for @spellboundclub.bsky.social's HALLOWE'EN PARTY are flying bat-like out of the Komedia box office (well over 80% sold!). Get yours: komedia.co.uk/shows/spellb... Info: www.facebook.com/events/60692... Artwork from previous years: www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...

YES! Darts (the actual 70s Darts, no ringers or new members) are an absolute joy to see. I've been twice now. Highly, highly recommended.

Don’t worry, The Louvre. The police have got their best guys on the case.

God I wish I’d put money on that. I KNEW it was gonna be 2-1 to United.

Michael Sheen polishing his Aussie accent for The Damned Forest.

Best place in town to get monster mashed on the 31st.

Goths & ghouls of Sussex! Tickets for @spellboundclub.bsky.social's HALLOWE'EN PARTY are flying bat-like out of the Komedia box office (already 3/4 sold). Get yours: komedia.co.uk/shows/spellb... Full info: www.facebook.com/events/60692... Photos of previous years: www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...

It beats dancing with yourself.

Long way off, but @spellboundclub.bsky.social is having an Alternative 80s NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY at Komedia Brighton! Tickets on sale NOW from komediabrighton.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/... Full info at www.facebook.com/events/14821... In the midnight hour, Spellbound gives you MORE, MORE, MORE...

"Beep beep, beep beep, yeah! Traffic news, on Radio O-o-o-one!" It took me years to find out that was nicked from The Beatles. Which little bits of borrowed music in adverts or jingles did you not realise were borrowed? "Persil Automatic washes whiter" (from the Beach Boys) was another one for me.

After a fantastic visit in February where I brought my Spellbound night (as well as promoting Curepedia), the lovely people of Kells, Co. Meath have invited me back to bring the Alt-80s tunes again...

If you're in Ireland but wish you could come to @spellboundclub.bsky.social, Spellbound is coming to you! On Fri 7 Nov, I will be playing an Alternative 80s DJ set at the Headfort Arms, Kells as part of the Samhain Festival of FOOD & Culture there. Info/tickets: foodcultureireland.ie/event/spellb...

I will say this. I haven’t heard of half the England team. We’ve got a chance here. (Yes I know, you haven’t heard of any of the Wales team.)

An occasional series in which Late Nite Minicab FM highlights one song from our playlist. This week it's my choice, Never Too Much by Luther Vandross. If you want to comment, feel free to go over to the post on Minicab's page and get involved... www.facebook.com/LateNiteMini...

Perhaps we should be grateful for Clegg's useful idiocy here in saying the quiet part out loud: "This industry can only thrive if it is allowed to destroy this other industry by being a pale imitation of it."

But what could Antifa have been opposing in Weimar Ger…. Oh. Oh!

See, this is exactly why I follow Vintage Obscura Radio. I could have lived out the rest of my days and never heard this track. But I happened to see them share this, and I had nothing else to do, so I clicked on it, what the hell, why not. And it is INCREDIBLE.

Cure fans! I'm talking to French photographer @richardbellia.bsky.social - who took the pic on the front of CUREPEDIA – on Sat 11 Oct at Henge Brixton as part of his exhibition there. We'll both be signing our books after. Plus Cure-based DJ set by Mark Hex. Tickets FREE from dice.fm/event/7dlma7...

(Not a design classic, but it does the job.)

New @spellboundclub.bsky.social flyer Autumn/Winter 2025, displaying our four remaining nights at Komedia Brighton this year: Hallowe'en, Sat 15 Nov, Sat 20 Dec (Xmas Party) and - just announced - New Year's Eve! Full info www.facebook.com/spellboundcl... Tickets www.komedia.co.uk/shows/spellb...

Fuck. Ing. Hell.

It's like unions and weekends. Most people don't realize that people fought and sometimes died so we can arse around the garden centre on a Saturday instead of coal mining. She was in the vanguard of people that made it possible to look fabulous and not get your teeth kicked in every day. RIP.

So sad to hear of the death of punk legend Soo Catwoman (Susan Lucas). She was so amazing. She was, of course, the main inspiration for my hairstyle. I met her once in the 2000s, and apologised for stealing it. She very graciously said "At least you're doing it well." I'll take that. R.I.P.

Cure fans! I'm talking to French photographer @richardbellia.bsky.social - who took the pic on the front of CUREPEDIA - at Henge Brixton on Sat 11 Oct as part of his exhibition there. We'll both be signing our books after. Plus Cure-based DJ set by Mark Hex. Tickets FREE from dice.fm/event/7dlma7...