LTW newsletter 60

Howdy folks!

I’m back from the USA! Stetsoned up and living the life of an Englishman abroad. I spent two weeks touring my ‘The Art Of Darkness - the History Of Goth’ book in places like New York and LA and it was great to meet many Louder Than War readers and subscribers out there. The USA and UK may be separated by a common language but we are conjoined with music and the Anglo-American music axis has been at the core of modern pop culture for decades.

Whilst there, I heard lots of great new music and saw a couple of great shows which will be getting reviewed if I can shift this heavyweight of jet lag and find a minute to type before rushing off to Whitby this weekend to speak at the Tomorrows Ghosts festival,

In the meantime LTW was getting caught up up in the endless flood of October gigs because, as we all know, everyone tours in October and all at the same time and often on the same night. Many people of a certain age complain about the modern Manchester skyline and how it gets in the way of the music, but they don’t seem to realise that Manchester now has more venues than ever - about 50 in the city centre and they all seem to have gigs on the same night!

Chrissie Hynde brought her evergreen Pretenders to the Manchester Ritz and it was, of course, a great show. Growing older in rock n roll Chrissie somehow still looks and sounds amazing. Those extra years have added a wisdom to her heartache and infuses the songs with that voice that is hypnotic. Last time she was in town over the summer we bumped into her for a cup of tea but this time continents separated us but the LTW Team was there to report back from a magnificent gig.

Another blast from a more recent past were Hard Fi who re-emerged to tour and end it with a show in London. What were once young pretenders are now getting to dust down their songs that were embedded briefly into a generation - they even had a top 5 album at their peak. There is something fascinating about these portal of time shows - the audience has grown older and settled down and that carefree youth is briefly ignited in one evening of melodic memories but were HiFi any good…our reviewer was there.

Last October, Simon Reed reported on the gig he thought he’d never see (Opens in a new window). This October, he reports on the final night of the tour he never thought would happen. It all lives up to the expectations he never thought he’d need to consider.

We were shocked and saddened to hear that our mate and Mancunian legend the cartoonist Tony Husband died at the age of 72. It can only have been 5 weeks since we chatted with him as Sea Power’s Krankenhaus festival and now he's gone - having an heart attack on Westminster Bridge on the way to a leaving do at Private Eye were his Yobs cartoon has been the best thing in its pages for decades. Tony was music through and through and a wonderful warm hearted human being and will be much missed.

It was great to hear about the 2024 Adam Ant tour. His last couple of tours had been cancelled and there was a radio silence so we must admit we were getting worried but he’s back and a list of dates has been announced by the king of the wildest frontiers and the bravest of the brave.

The New Dawn Fades play about Joy Division has been resurrected by Nigel Carr from this LTW parish and its run sold out quickly - more dates are to be announced soon and the new improved version of the play has been getting rave reviews including one here (the reviewer wasn’t forced into a good review!).

Whilst walking the mean streets of New York and Little Italy, Martin Scorsese entered the mind. His life is so entwined in the city with his films documenting its ups and downs. Scorsese has a new movie out - people are saying it is his best and defining work but what did our reviewer think of Killers Of The Flower Moon.

Gary Numan has been out and about celebrating his rise back to the top of the heap in the last few years. After those decades spent in the doldrums, he rediscovered his mojo, and his current show is a life exorcism and a Digital Noise Thrill. Where can he go next? Were there any clues in the current show? We sent our reviewer along to the pared down show to find out.

Hitting number this week is UK rapper Ren and his ‘Sick Boi’ album - a heart on the sleeve account of his life and conditions. It’s a powerful personal affair played out over an intense rap backdrop, kinda like a UK Eminem with those catchy nursery rhyme rhythms that deal in a deep personal anguish and complex life in a thrillingly catchy way.

Hip hop is evolving all the time and Ren has  probably produced the most ambitious album we’ve heard for years. The word genius comes to mind. Wayne AF Carey reviews.

At the other end of his career Billy Bragg’s ‘The Roaring Forty’ documents his greatest moments that threaten to turn him into a national treasure. Billy Bragg celebrates 40 years of music with a selection of releases to appeal to everyone, whether you’re a casual admirer or a die-hard fan of the singer, songwriter, activist and author.

The same can be said of the late and great Kirsty MacColl who covered many of the same boards as Billy Bragg. Universal have released See That Girl (1979—2000) an 8 CD Boxset celebrating the life and music of Kirsty MacColl 23 years after her untimely death. Iain Key reviews.

In 2024 I will be on another tour where I talk all about this stuff - music and life and the universe in my Do You Believe In The Power Of Rock n Roll solo spoken word tour - tickets and details from below…