I'll never tire of reading about the recording of Talk Talk's 'Spirit Of Eden'. I'd completely forgotten that all six songs originally had different working titles, such as 'Maureen' and 'Norm'. This is such an interesting article. www.classicpopmag.com/features/cla...

#NowPlaying #NewRelease JOANNE ROBERTSON Blurrr There have been a couple of mentions of this album, so I'm checking out what all the fuss is about. It's about as stripped back as you can get, sultry vocals over an acoustic guitar. Divine. 🔗 www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6Eh...

#NowPlaying #NewRelease YASMINE HAMDAN I Remember I Forget It feels like absolutely ages since the last album from the Lebanese singer. I first heard her on Jools Holland's show back in 2013 performing the beautiful 'Beirut'. 🔗 www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjMX...

I found this early cutting of @thecharlatans.bsky.social. The gig was before @tim-burgess.bsky.social joined the band (he was the singer in the support band, The Electric Crayons). Baz Ketley left the band shortly after the gig. A very young Martin Blunt is shown in the pic.

A question I've been pondering: Why do most bands split up? - Musical differences - Singer offered solo deal - Personality clashes - Kicked off the label - Run out of ideas - Demoralised with the industry Any others? Which of these do you think is the most common reason?

Exciting news from Radiohead HQ! #Radiohead2025Tour

This new Wolf Alice 'pressed flowers' LP is a first for me. I have picture discs, coloured vinyl, shaped vinyl, lathe-cuts, odd-sized vinyl... but nothing like this, where real flowers are pressed inside the two sides of vinyl. I'm about to give it a spin...

"I am not a number..." 🍻

Released OTD in 1983, the debut album from Manchester's Chameleons. This is a powerhouse of an album which begins with all guns blazing and ends with the most beautiful atmospheric, reflective and otherworldly song, 'View From A Hill'. 🔗 youtu.be/v3nbk3Eqs5A?...

#NowPlaying THE CHAMELEONS What Does Anything Mean? Basically 'Singing Rule Britannia' is such an incredibly powerful song! "Chained to the tree of life A dangerous thing to be And now the baby needs to grow But the mother is crazy" 🔗 www.youtube.com/watch?v=74eq...

#NowPlaying #4AD THE NATIONAL High Violet For me, this album remains the pinnacle of The National's catalogue. The album kicks off really well, but goes into orbit in the second half, with songs such as 'Lemonworld', 'England' and 'Conversation 16'. 🔗 www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg5g...

#NowPlaying #Soundtrack LOST IN TRANSLATION I've lost count of the number of times that I've played this soundtrack. Mainly because of Kevin Shields' tracks that are exclusive to this compilation. Want to hear an 8 min version of 'Are You Awake' ? 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5WN...

#NowPlaying #drone #ambient DEAF CENTER Pale Ravine I've been playing this one a LOT recently. It's around twenty years old, but they've recently released an anniversary edition, and it's absolutely lovely. This is music that you can float away on... deafcenter.bandcamp.com/album/pale-r...

Today is Bandcamp Friday, and my new EP is released. You'll find it across most streaming sites - plus it can be downloaded from the link below. Support independent artists - and Thank You to anybody who listens.

4. The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls This was a simple idea. My Father is 90 years old, and I have precious few recordings of him. It's funny how we go through life taking photos, particularly on our phones, but rarely record sound, even when the conversation is interesting. 1/3

This Friday is Bandcamp Friday.

3. Colours Of Our Day (Remix) The inclusion of a 'remix' is arguably sometimes an excuse for a record label to extend a band's catalogue, though it really came into its own in the '90s when dance music came to the fore. 1/4

2. The Ill Wind Since the release of the album, I've been busy beavering away on a bunch of new songs. 'The Ill Wind' was penned with this in mind, but somehow it just doesn't fit quite right amongst the other songs, and better suits the feel of the 'Answers On A Postcard' 1/2

My 'Shoreline' EP is released tomorrow. Here are a few thoughts on each of the songs: 1. Shoreline Around twelve months ago, I was invited to perform at a festival and wanted to write something special for the set. Around two weeks before the gig, I came up with the chord 1/4

Take a peek at the video for 'Shoreline'. The 4-song EP is released on Friday. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEGv...

My new 4-song EP is out everywhere on Friday. Pre-save it using the link here:- ditto.fm/shoreline-sk...

#NowPlaying #LiveMusic CHAMELEONS Just arrived on stage, it's Chameleons performing a warm-up before tomorrow evening's Castleton gig. I've been looking forward to this for a good while. I'm hoping to hear PS Goodbye in tonight's set.

Ozzy Osbourne visited my magic shop. He said he'd like to buy some stink bombs. How many? All of them. I had to go through drawers finding every last one. He bought 900 of them. To sign the credit card slip I handed him a shock pen, which he thought was hilarious and bought that too. RIP

My new EP, 'Shoreline', is released on August 1st 2025, and includes three exclusive non-album b-side tracks - 'The Ill Wind', a remix of 'Colours Of Our Day', and 'The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls'.

#Manchester #Oasis Outside of the Royal Exchange a few mins ago!

I'm in Manchester! 🍻

#NowPlaying #LiveMusic SQUEEZE Headlining proceedings at Ashley are the ever-wonderful Squeeze, celebrating fifty years together. Playing songs from their catalogue, I'm hoping to hear 'Pulling Mussels From The Shell', 'Labelled With Love' and 'Tempted'.

#NowPlaying #LiveMusic BADLY DRAWN BOY Next up at Ashley Showground is Manchester's Badly Drawn Boy. I saw him when he toured with Squeeze on their last UK tour, and he impressed with his storytelling and mellow delivery.

#NowPlaying #LiveMusic CHINA CRISIS An outdoor gig on a lovely evening at Ashley, near Manchester. There are several bands on the bill this evening, with China Crisis on first and warming up the crowd with some huge tracks, including 'Christian' and 'Wishful Thinking'.

Highlights of #Glastonbury Olivia Rodrigo. She's a pocket-sized bona-fide superstar - and even managed to go one better and invite Robert Smith up to perform 'Just Like Heaven' and 'Friday I'm In Love' together. Her set was fantastic.

22 years old and headlining Glastonbury. She's delivering a fantastic set #OliviaRodrigo #Glastonbury

#NowPlaying #LiveMusic #Liverpool A little belated, as there was zero mobile signal in the venue... but here's SWEET BILLY PILGRIM on stage at The Arts Club in Liverpool this evening. They sounded superb too. Lovely to hear the songs in this intimate setting.

A polite reminder that I follow back people *who mainly discuss music*. I don't follow people whose timeline consists mainly of political posts. I can see how bad the world is for myself without more people rubbing it in my face. Thank you.

Last night's gig at The Salty Dog was fantastic. Thanks to everyone who came down. See you again soon!

Tonight!! Admission is free. Support from the excellent Harry Dunn. Harry's on at 8pm, I'm on at 9pm.

Happy Birthday Nick Drake, who would have been 77 today. 🔗 www.youtube.com/watch?v=idca...

I'm playing a gig this Thursday! Would be lovely to see some of you there, in @thecharlatans.bsky.social's hometown!

#NowPlaying JUST MUSTARD Pollyanna Finally!! A new song from Dundalk's Just Mustard is finally here, three years after their brilliant 'Heart Under' album. 🔗 www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT9K...

#NowPlaying STEVE QUERALT (RIDE) Swallow Just arrived and going straight onto the player is Steve Queralt's debut solo album, with a couple of songs featuring Emma Anderson (Lush). Looking fabulous in yellow too! 🔗 youtu.be/z5Y84ugl7Ao?...

Published today! 'A Further Guide to the Lore of Plenty Wenlock'. plentywenlockpress.bigcartel.com #shropshire #powys #england #wales #folklore #independentpress #selfpublished #ruralauthor #isolation #rural #myth #lore #guidebook #folklore #locallore #localstories #borderlife #madeinshropshire

WIN! - A Coloured Vinyl Copy of Pulp's 'More' One of the most anticipated releases of the year drops next Friday, and to celebrate, we're giving away a copy of the pictured record. Just share and like this post, and give our account a follow to be entered. www.normanrecords.com/records/2087...

+BBC CLOCK COMPETITION+ We won't be making a run of these but this Bank Holiday weekend you can win a one-off 90s inspired BBC ident clock. Follow, Like & RP to enter. Winner announced Mon AM. We've also restocked our 'Radiophonic' inspired signs & other items. hiddenbritain.bigcartel.com

#NowPlaying #Manchester Released 40 years ago today, The Chameleons' second album 'What Does Anything Mean? Basically' is a tour-de-force of fantastic songs from Middleton, Manchester.

Sky Patterns' second single is released on Friday on Bandcamp and streaming sites, plus a video on YouTube, filmed at my recent gig. Includes new song 'A World Alive Tonight'. 🔗 youtube.com/watch?v=3YoBDu6HFlw&ab_channel=SkyPatterns skypatterns.bandcamp.com/album/the-secret-garden

My new single is out on Friday. I'll be posting a video to YouTube and the link to the music on Friday morning. There's a sneak preview below.

#NowPlaying #LiveMusic EXIT NORTH I've been waiting literally years to see these guys, after hearing Feiner's masterpiece 'The Opiates' many moons ago. Touring is extremely rare, so it's a privilege to be in this room this evening.

#NowPlaying #LiveMusic SWEET BILLY PILGRIM Supporting Exit North this evening at Manchester Academy. It's a few years since I've seen these guys, so I'm excited to hear what these guys have been up to in recent months.

A heads-up to Talk Talk fans. There's a 30-minute BBC Radio documentary currently up, hosted by Guy Garvey from Elbow and it's well worth a listen. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

#NowPlaying BON IVER Sable, Fable It's just arrived, and going straight onto the turntable. It looks great too, the first disc is black and the second one yellow. Plus a signed print from Justin. Really excited about this one.

I wait years to track down a copy of an Australian CD, then two weeks ago, one finally pops up on eBay. It arrived today and... they've sent the later reissue (pictured right) instead!