LTW newsletter 99

Dear Warriors,

We are now already entering the festival season proper. Swaggering around Bearded Theory in Derbyshire in the sunshine we felt instantly at home as the music bounced across the field from various stages, backstage was full of old troupers and young dreamers and the field was full of music fiends…even the weather was good for the first day although the ominous clouds of the great British summer are already ganging up all around the verdant green ready to unleash their biblical juices! yet on day one we bathed in that unlikely stuff called sunshine and music made its case for being the only harmony left in a world full of chaos.

Warriors! There has been so much going on since we last met from Bruce Springsteen playing three huge shows in Manchester and delivering a direct hit into the blubbery heart of Donald Trump with an onstage speech that somehow seems to have stirred up a hornets nest of anger from the president and many of his online supporters who often seem to be suspiciously bot like. Of course, LTW was at the gig and we celebrated the boss in his natural domain on what has become a legendary gig.

On one of the Bruce nights and as a measure of just what a major pop city Manchester has become, Kylie Minogue played the other arena across the city. It was fun in the afternoon to spot the very different looking audiences who had descended on the city for both shows. They both stood out a mile as they wandered around the city in the sunshine, creating a high-decibel pop culture cup final atmosphere. Kylie is now a veteran pop performer but still makes it work by adding a showbiz pizazz to her girl-next-door moves.

Sea Fever are like the children of Factory Records, quite literally, and their turbo-charged electronic stylings sees a launch party for their much anticipated second album.

A vinyl outing for the Menstrual Cramps’ first recording reveals the genesis of the Bristol antagonistic queer punk outfit. Despite its semi-acoustic rootsy nature, it oozes punk attitude with anger and humour says Nathan Brown.

Paul Weller has announced a new album of covers. Cover albums are risky ventures, but they also underline just how iconic someone has become when they can put their own distinctive stamp on a song and not be dwarfed by it. Of course, Paul Weller’s covers album shows a mod’s eye for detail and taste, with some obscure moments being the spotlight. 

We never thought we would hear from the Young Gods again but here they are with a new single that sounds as fresh and exciting as ever…

Tony Visconti and Woody Woodmansey have been back out with their celebration of former paymaster David Bowie’s stunning career. This time they played the Ritz and despite the years piling on sounded as magnificent as ever and showed an insider's understanding of Bowie’s alien brilliance. Their Holy Holy is a vehicle for Tony Visconti and Woody Woodmansey to pay tribute to the man who changed their world.

In the past few years, Glen Matlock has secured iconic status playing in many different projects from the Faces to the reconstructed Sex Pistols. He also tours his own band and they came through Stockport with their good time rock n roll set that still thrills and makes for a great night out as we wait for Glen to return to Sex Pistol duty this summer where they seem to be playing every festival in the world! 

Recently, his band brought their driving rock ‘n’ roll down to Stockport. With their decorated history and badges of honour from punk rock, they deliver a decisive blow to the musical cranium of Stockport’s residents with their performance.

Slade in Flame is one of the greatest rock n roll films ever made. Slade remain one of the great British rock n roll bands with that stunning run of singles and Noddy’s scorching voice, which helps. The film saw them play a band called Flame portrating a gritty and melancholic side and the songs they performed whilst acting as Flame pulled back from the raucous terrace anthems and showed the group in a gritty dark drama of the seedy dangerous side of showbiz which may not have chimed with the teenyboppers at the time but is now recognised as a bona fide classic. 

Mercurial Scottish legends, The Waterboys, are still bringing the Big Music…as well as a digestible journey through the life and times of Dennis Hopper. Sam Lambeth doesn’t know how he made it, but he made it.