So tell me, are you on the nice list or the naughty list? Either way may I say a big hello to all the nicies and all the naughties! The annual Christmas messages from bands and artists took a year off last year. These are the bands and artists we have featured or reviewed throughout the year. But they are back baby! For the first one we have a message from a York band that is most definitely on the rise, Vagabond. Look out for them in 2026 and be ready for them to blow your mind
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This would be the sixth time that I have seen Absolute Bowie perform since my first experience back in 2017. Regular readers will know that I have never been a huge fan of covers bands, however there are always exceptions and Absolute Bowie are not just the exception they are exceptional. I have seen two other Bowie tributes, David Live, is slightly closer to the Dame vocally and the Bowie Contingent are better than all the competition musically. However John O’Neill’s Absolute Bowie blow everyone away for entertainment value. You get the costumes, the costume changes, the make up, a superb very tight band and the huge talent and charisma of O’Neill himself. Tonight’s set once again began with a Ziggy Fest with the main man making all the right Ziggy moves and rocking through some seventies classics.
The band kicked off with a wonderfully dark take of “The Man Who Sold The World” and delivered some classic audience sing along moments with “Starman”, “All The Young Dudes”, “Changes” and “Rock n Roll Suicide”. The latter was apparently included after many requests from fans online. Did no one request “The Laughing Gnome”? 🙂 The band wigged out and showed just how good a rock band they are as they stormed through an extended instrumental work out on “Moonage Daydream” while O’Neill took time out for a costume change. The band behind O’Neill are Andy Marr on guitar, Telegram Sam on bass, Danny Mattin on keyboards and Alex Face on drums.
For the second set they returned without the 70s wigs and glitter while O’Neill sported a jacket that kind of took us back to the 1974 American tour and he performed “Cracked Actor” and “Fame” back to back with an immense and superb sonic assault. After he dropped that jacket we were transported to the superstar pomp of the Serious Moonlight period. Inevitably “China Girl” and “Let’s Dance” were given an airing, but for me the stand out song of the second set was a hauntingly good “Ashes To Ashes”. The band returned for the now obligatory encore and stepped up another gear and set the scene with a fine take on “Space Oddity” before raising the roof with the double punch of “Heroes” and “Rebel Rebel”. If, like me, you are a Bowie fan with an aversion to Bowie tribute acts just put away you negativity, put on your red shoes and dance the blues to the magnificent Absolute Bowie!
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Join us for an interview with one of York’s best new young bands, the Expression. Just a few weeks ago they were finalists in the Fulford Arms Battle of the Bands. Take a listen to hear how they came to be where their name came from and what comes next for the Expression and so much more. There is a bit of background noise, including a rather vocal little dog, because we were in the delightful Winning Post Pub in York! Just click here to take a listen!
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York band Vagabond invited me to review their recent gig at the Fulford Arms after I reviewed their support slot for Asylum at this same venue back in December. Back then I said this about them “This band has great potential and my advice is ditch the Oasis cover and get some more original songs.” They promised not to do an Oasis cover, did they keep that promise? Read on and find out! The show was presented by Warren Records of Hull.
First up it was Culture Clash from Hull. They were raucous, loud and frankly fucking ace. They are in possession of some great riffs and excellent songs, some of those reminded me of early Manic Street Preachers. But they weren’t just full speed punks, they had 99% of the crowd sitting on the floor for a delightful slow number. To be fair at that point the punters probably needed a rest after some monumentally mental moshing. Kai from the band also makes comics and bought a copy of his latest, Mr. Zombie. It is weird, wonderful and simply bloody good!
The second band on the bill were also from Hull, they are called Sovereigns. They emanated a real 70s prog rock vibe early in their set. Then they moved onto some rather special pop rock songs which simply made you want to dance, especially their current single “Do You Wanna”.
Vagabond were clearly fired up for this headline show, they exploded into a fiery set . They were rambunctious, brash, roaring, strident and were clearly having fun. They displayed a degree of arrogance, which frankly stems from them being absolutely on the button and on fire. They played a set of their own songs and clearly they are growing into a great band. At times I even sensed some shades of Motorhead style thrash. They appear to draw inspiration from bands like the Sex Pistols, Blink 182 and early Clash. I am also pleased to say that they kept their promise and didn’t even go near Oasis, and nor did they need to. They won Jorvik Radio’s Battle of the Bands earlier this year. Vagabond are most definitely a band to watch and they could be huge in 2026. You heard it here first, possibly!
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On a baking hot July evening, the Fulford Arms in York was lit up with an electric mix of energy, activism, and genre-hopping joy for this year’s Jamnesty gig, a fundraiser in support of Amnesty International. (If you would like to donate, just click here) The lineup was packed with local talent and rising stars, each bringing something distinctive to the stage, a fiery combination that nearly blew the roof off. It was also great to see so many staff and students from Huntington School on the night and on the stage!
The evening opened with El & Ewan, a duo whose stripped-back acoustic set delivered a punch of raw honesty. Armed only with guitar and their voices they gave us a delightful set of gorgeously performed, mostly, sad songs. They both seemed a little nervous, but that didn’t stop them from playing a simply gorgeous cover of Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know”.
Next up, the Sparrows took the stage with a richer, bluesy, dirty garage rock sound. There were covers from the 60s to the 90s from artists that included the Stone Roses, Johnny Cash, Oasis (sadly), James and the Beatles. “Sit Down” was a mega hit with the crowd as they swayed, then stomped, then whooped. A huge shout out to the drummer who was, frankly, phenomenal! A great set from a fresh band.
The tone shifted both dramatically and delightfully with The Fruity Pebbles, who brought neon energy and a funk-pop vibe that was danceable and addictive. They had the room bouncing from their first song. Beneath their wonderfully playful façade was tight musicianship and a band that clearly seemed to have rehearsed well. Their take on Abba’s “Voulez Vous” poured funk into an already funky tune and the emotion was off the scale as they closed with a powerful take on Robbie Williams’ “Angels”.
Next it was a chance for deep groove to meet grit as the Apocalypse Disco lived up to their name. This was a fusion of funk, disco, and dystopian theatrics. Think Giorgio Moroder meets Nine Inch Nails in a synthy warehouse rave, or perhaps the Prodigy on speed. Frontman Robin led a hypnotic performance of “Alive” that turned the Fulford Arms into a sweaty dance floor, the ceiling was dripping sweat too. The apocalyptic groove ran deep as the duo showed that they were easily the most danceable protest music of the night. Namaste motherfuckers!
Then came Fendry, whose headline set proved exactly why they’re one of the UK’s most talked-about rap acts right now. He gave the early part of his set to the mightily talented Rashevos (I hope I spelled that correctly).After that Fendry commanded the crowd from his first rhyme to his last cipher. He has confidence, style, skill and just the right level of arrogance. He has the talent to be as big as Skepta or even Eminem. Fendry is a rapper and grime artist originally from York, but now based in Wembley, London. His recent rise has been through the PenGame rap battle circuit and a string of energetic singles, he continues making waves in the underground scene. He is undefeated in several battles, including wins against JM and Domi Dusk. He gave the crowd a bold, beautiful end to a night of music that meant something.
Jamnesty 2025 at the Fully wasn’t just a gig, it was a statement. The Fulford Arms provided the perfect DIY venue vibe, and the acts each channeled the spirit of resistance, rebellion, and release in their own way. Whether it was acoustic melancholy or disco-punk anarchy, the message rang clear: music can, and will, fight back! Our world needs more nights like this, if you fancy organising your own Jamnesty event then click here for more information.
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I must confess that until my good friend and colleague introduced me to the music of Leo Middea I had no idea who he was. Eva had discovered that he was playing a gig in York and having heard some of Leo’s songs on Spotify I jumped along with my wife Catherine (a.k.a. Catwoman) at joining Eva and Mollie (another colleague) at the Basement in York last month. Leo has a huge following across the world and exceeds 150,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. He has released four well thought of and wonderfully sounding albums and was the first Brazilian artist to reach the finals of the renowned “Festival da Canção” in Portugal. He also received an invite from Portugal’s Prime Minister to perform at the celebration of the Bicentenary of Brazil’s Independence. Middea is Brazilian, born in Rio De Janeiro, and currently lives in Europe, spending his time in Lisbon and Barcelona. In 2024 he finished third in the contest to select Portugal’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest with his song “Doce Mistério”. Still relatively young, at 30 years old you have to wonder how much bigger he can become in the music world.
The set in York, which was part of a reasonably extensive 12 date UK tour, was both intimate and inclusive. Armed with just his acoustic guitar and ethereal and mesmerising voice he captivated the audience from the first note. He is abundantly talented and overflows with charisma and energy. The audience, many of whom were Brazilian or Portuguese, mostly sang along to every song. Me being one of the small band of people that are monolingual did my best but obviously didn’t know the words, although joining in with the non-linguistic vocal hooks was easy. The music has a gorgeous Latin feel and could be used to samba to. It is folk based but 21st century style rather than old school and leans nicely to a joyful funky jazz sound. Leo’s guitar playing is rooted in a kind of classical Spanish style and he shows expertise and prowess with his instrument. All of his songs are in Portuguese, apart from one which is his only attempt to write in English to date. But regardless of language I believe his songs show that music is truly universal. Leo’s songs are simply great pieces of music and he is one of the finest performers I have seen recently. If you get a chance to see him live then do it! You will not be disappointed. If you are anywhere near Montreux next month Leo Middea is playing a set at the world famous jazz festival on 6th July.
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It is always sad when a great band decides to go their separate ways, especially one as good as York’s Everything After Midnight. But this parting last year was clearly amicable as Steph and Jacob from the band are now performing as After Midnight and the rest of the band turned up to show their support at the duos debut gig in York last month. Sadly the talented support act, Kitty VR was unwell and unable to play. However we were treated to two sets, one by Steph and Jacob as After Midnight followed by another from the pair with friends. It was great to hear so many great songs from the Everything After Midnight catalogue. “Still Sleeping” was the best of the night for me. But the cover of “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”, Stockard Channing’s key song moment in the 1978 blockbuster movie, ‘Grease’ ran a very close second. I should add that this venue is incredible, a bakery and cafe by day and a gig paradise by night. A bit like a super hero with a secret identity. But most importantly it was great to see at least some of Everything after Midnight back on stage. If the pair of them go solo what happens to the name? Will one be called Midnight and the other one After?
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I am more than two weeks late with this post, humble apologies to everyone who played. But I am old school and write my notes in a paper notebook. Said notebook was misplaced, but now I have found it! This was to be the first time I had seen GOO and who would turn down the chance to see a band with such a great name? Certainly not me. But before I tell you about GOO, let me tell you about the first support band. They are a classy four piece band called Juku which according to my limited knowledge is a Japanese word meaning a school offering intensive education outside normal school hours. Juku are the new band formed by Dan and Naomi who are the duo that made the Snakerattlers such a great musical force. This is quite a change of direction for the Snakerattlers pair and they have created an immense new sound. I found them reminiscent of some of the finest 90s female fronted bands such as Lush and Elastica. I had to agree with Mr. Tuke on that point. Whilst they reminded me of those great 90s bands Juku have a much harder, punkier edge to them. I guess that the lack of interaction with the audience was deliberate, after all their socials are clear in their REJECT FAME message. It certainly added some mystique to a band that is hard, dark, deep and frankly simply fucking awesome! Such a great set despite Naomi suffering from a cold!
While the poster shows GOO as headliners they played second rather than last. This is done as a means of keeping punters in the venue when a band that is new to York plays at the Fully. What, sadly, often happens is that people come to see “their” band and then fuck off somewhere else and miss the headliners. Personally that kind of behaviour pisses me off, but hey if that’s what people want to do then fuck ’em! Keighley band GOO have endless, boundless energy and a bag, that might be deeper than Mary Poppins’ bottomless carpet bag, loaded with great songs. If you put Bis, Garbage and the Eels (when Mark Everett is in a happy mood) into a huge melting pot and then add some 21st century Beach Boy style harmonies then GOO would be the result if the pot was simmered over a light pop punk heat for an hour. The band were clearly having fun and smiling became infectious while listening to them. Later in their set they showed their versatility with a shift to a majestic post punk sound that evoked the sound of early and very raw Blondie. The lead guitarist has a latent talent for adding a gorgeous vein of classic rock vibes to the band’s sound. “Call In Sick” is wonderfully warped, weird and wacky with a chorus that I am still singing in my head two weeks after the gig!
Suspicious Liquid closed the show. They are a very talented York Uni band with an incredible guitarist in Danny Durie and vocalist Vanessa Toyn’s voice is spot on. Her singing made me think of what might happen if you spliced the voice of Siouxse Sioux and Dolly Parton and sent them in a psych punk direction. The vocal washed across the venue in a proggy, punky heavenly projection. Their cover of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” was operatic and outstanding. Suspicious Liquid are often epic, cinematic , anthemic and at times mesmerising. I have one small criticism, on some of the earlier songs Stephen seemed to be playing a different tune. I am not sure whether that was a sound issue or not. The highlight for me was their amazing cover of Frank Zappa’s “Muffin Man”. I had heard them play this at last years Battle Of The Bands contest at this venue. Covering Zappa takes skill and guts and oh boy did they pull it off with this take of one of my favourite Zappa tunes. Their closing song (which might have been called “Shadow Boxing”) was spilling over with finely balanced emotion and had the whole band on their best form of the night. I felt that this was a set that began without a great spark, but they warmed up and by the end they had lit their own musical Olympic torch!
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Last weekend it was my pleasure to attend a gig to launch Robo’s new single “All Night”. Check out my review of the single here and the review of the gig here. It was more than just a gig though, it was also a night which saw the premiere of the video that accompanies the song. The film was produced and directed by the abundantly talented Natasha Pugh. On the evidence of this film I believe that Natasha has a great future in film making! So many music videos, with some notable exceptions, in recent years have been formulaic, bland and not something to enhance a track. That is most definitely not the case with the video for “All Night”.
It is vibrant, exciting, a little left field and makes a great song even greater. While it retains some of the classic band performing their song trope it has so much more. At times it feels almost psychedelic and I love the way the visuals of the band jump from on angle to another to add more detail of the song. In particular where the main vocal is “she said” and then it cuts to the band doing the excellent call and response “what did she say” part. The film of the band is wonderfully “in your face” and the colour washes used in some scenes makes it look like a 21st century multi coloured and delightfully grainy homage to the video for A-Ha’s huge 1985 hit “Take On Me”. But what I love most about the film is that parts where the band and others don weird masks and run around the woods. That part could easily be an outtake from a lost 1970’s Dr. Who episode. Then you get dayglo tribal paint markings appearing on faces. As music videos go this one is truly epic!
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Robo kindly invited me to this gig for the launch of their new single “All Night” and frankly it would have been rude to refuse! So obviously I went along and I am glad that I did. Community Centres like this one are like a home from home for me after more than 30 years as a mobile DJ. But it was an interesting place for a gig like this. There was some great support before the main event too. First up was Jasmine Lowe, someone I had heard a lot about but had not seen until now. She has a wonderful collection of sad songs that drift in the soft swell on a sea of serene fragility. The songs with spoken word elements reminded me of Kate Nash. In Jasmine’s voice I can hear not just Kate Nash but also Delores O’Riordan and on the saddest of the sad songs a hint of Sinead O’Connor too. Jasmine is a great performer and she knows how to write a great song. I definitely need to see her again.
Next up it was the Unnamed Band. This was the second time that I have seen them, the first was just a couple of weeks ago when they supported Pedestrian at the Fulford Arms. Once again they played mostly covers and as before that selection of classic songs was deliciously eclectic and included the Kaiser Chiefs, the Killers and Chuck Berry. Ace front man took a walk through the crowd during an incredible “Johhny B Goode”. They played a good version of the Hall and Oates 80s smash “Maneater”. The short, saxophone supported, excerpt from “Careless Whisper” dedicated to guitarist Luke and his girlfriend was nicely done. They then played “I Can See Your Face” which Luke actually wrote for said girlfriend. Luke it sounds like she’s a keeper! When I reviewed them earlier I said that I thought their originals were good but that they needed a bit of polishing. I was quite touched when I spoke to Arthur later and he said that they had taken that advice on. In fact that much was evident from their fiery, barnstorming closer “Don’t You Know”.
Finally it was time for Robo. I can tell you that for this performance, their first headline sell out, they were as tight as fuck! Their were shades of Television spliced with the Doors, but without the Ray Manzarek keys. On one song (was it something like “Appalachia”?) it was like hearing the ghost of Jeff Buckley. On the song were the band introduced each other and added each members star sign it took me back to the Floaters “Float On”, not in style, just in sentiment. Robo are far more rock than the Floaters ever were. Some of the band’s songs draw on the blues base of Led Zeppelin and drag it into the 21st Century. When they psych out they do it with style and panache. For one song they were joined on stage by a talented female vocalist who added a Nicoesque layer to the track. The finale was a storming live take on their new single “All Night”. You can find my review of that song here. But essentially if you imagine Tom Verlaine producing the Arctic Monkeys it might sound a little like this new song. This was a short, punchy and absorbing set from a band on top form. After that we were treated to a premiere of the “All Night” video which was produced and directed by Natasha Pugh. The video will have a separate review soon on these very pages. All I will say before that is that it is bloody good!
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