Author: uylrjp

When it comes to podcasts, the idea of two blokes discussing music is about as revolutionary as sliced bread (and at this point, nearly as old). 2 Promoters 1 Pod has an edge, however. Hosted by Damnation Festival director Gavin McInally and 2000trees/ArcTanGent boss James Scarlett, it’s a weekly insider look at what it’s like to run an independent UK festival.

This month, the pair are taking a live version on the road, with dates in Bristol, Birmingham, Gloucester, London, Glasgow, Manchester and Leeds.

“There are so many different kinds of people listening,” James marvels, explaining that 2 Promoters 1 Pod is not just a business podcast – although industry folk are clearly paying attention, including those who secure the shows for your favourite bands.

“Promoters are supposed to be behind the scenes, and you don’t usually know what they look like, and you’re certainly not supposed to hear their opinions – but here we are! Now I get messages from booking agents saying, ‘You’d better not be saying that about me!’ In a joking way, of course!”

The pair started 2 Promoters 1 Pod in February 2024. The episodes feature discussions on everything from band fees to logo placement on posters (a contentious issue!), and the difficulties of remaining independent.

“We did the first three episodes the same night,” recalls Gav, the showrunner of Manchester’s Damnation, the biggest indoor extreme metal festival in Europe, which this year will feature Perturbator, The Haunted and more.

“We didn’t know until week two if anybody would actually give a shit. It turns out, a lot of people do!”

A big part of that is due to Gav and James’s no-bullshit approach. With more than 20 years’ experience running their own events, they represent every music lover’s dream – imagine putting on your own festival! But they talk candidly about some of the setbacks they have encountered, as well as the issues facing the music scene today – without dropping anyone in the shit, though…

“We won’t name bands when we’re talking about fees, and we only say the name of a booking agent or manager if it’s a positive story,” James says. “We’re not trying to call people out or be controversial.”

Before 2 Promoters 1 Pod, Gav hosted the Damnation Vs podcast, where he had frank chats with bandmembers from the likes of Svalbard and Pig Destroyer, plus managers and fellow promoters.

But he found listeners were tuning in for specific guests rather than coming back each week, so he reached out to James about becoming a co-host and making it more like a hang between mates. James looks after Cheltenham’s 2000trees (Coheed And Cambria and Alexisonfire are playing this year) and Somerset’s progressive ArcTanGent (Wardruna, Karnivool, Tesseract).

“It was more organic than two middle-aged men starting a TikTok,” Gav jokes.

Soon after launch, they realised 2 Promoters 1 Pod was a hit, with listeners flooding back for more and even setting up paid memberships (although the podcast is available for free on the usual platforms).

Although the duo are the podcast’s main draw, they still invite the occasional guest to offer a sneak peek into a different side of the music industry, from band managers like Andy Farrow (Opeth, The Wildhearts) to local promoters like Birmingham’s Ian Shaw (Surprise You’re Dead Music). James admits that Download head booker Andy Copping would be a dream guest, but Gav is quick to add a caveat.

“My dream guest is just whatever agent, booking agent or manager is happy to come on and tell the good stories,” he says. “So if we got Andy Copping, I’d want him to tell us exactly what happened with Kid Rock [at Download Festival 2008, Rock pulled out on the day of the fest despite apparently showing up on-site], or why Manowar have never played Download. These are the questions in my head, so that’d be the dream.”

In the meantime, Gav and James have started planning the topics for the live tour, as well as rolling out bits of information about their own festivals happening later this year.

“We want the listener to come away with some new information, even if it’s one small morsel,” Gav says, of why they’re letting people in on the hidden realities of running a music festival.

“That’s the entire point. One of our best-received episodes was The Ballache Of Billing A Festival; it gave a real sense of what we’re about. People were like, ‘What do you mean, bands get upset about whose logo is on the left or right? Who gives a shit?!’ So it was all a surprise to them.”

The 2 Promoters 1 Tour events start in Bristol on March 20. 2000 Trees takes place in Cheltenham from July 9 – 12 and ArcTanGent takes place in Bristol from August 13 – 16. Damnation takes place at Manchester BEC on November 8 & 9.

Bob Weir says he has not made any definitive decisions as far as a potential Grateful Dead reunion, or the future of the band in general.

“We speak a language that nobody else speaks,” he recently said to Rolling Stone. “That’s a formula that’s worked real well for us over the years, and there just aren’t enough of us left now to do that anymore.”

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Dead, and there has been previous talk of Weir, bassist Phil Lesh, and drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart reuniting for the occasion. However, with Lesh’s passing in October of last year, Weir is reconsidering.

“I think when Phil checked out, so did that notion, because we don’t have a bass player who’s been playing with us for 60 years now. And that was the intriguing prospect,” he said. “I think you need somebody holding down the bottom. Phil had all kinds of ideas that were pretty much unique to him. I grew up with Phil holding down the bottom in his unique way.”

READ MORE: Top 10 Grateful Dead Shows

Weir added that if those plans were to continue, he would not replace Lesh and instead perform as a trio with Kreutzmann and Hart.

“It’d be me and two drummers. I’d have to think about that,” he said. “I haven’t thought about it — it’s just now occurring to me that it’s a possibility that we could do that, since you asked. … I guess we’ll just see what the three of us can pull together.”

What About Dead & Company?

Weir also clarified that he has not spoken to John Mayer, who has toured with Dead & Company since the group’s 2015 inception, about future performance plans — “We go where it takes us.”

Back in 2023, Dead & Company announced its final tour, but approximately six months later, announced they would be playing a residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas. At present, the band has dates scheduled at the venue through May 17.

“Every day, things change. You can’t overlook an opportunity like that,” Weir explained of that decision. “The interesting thing is, I’ve never made plans. And I’m not about to, because I’m too damn busy doing other stuff, trying to get the sound right, trying to get the right chords, trying to get the right words, trying to get all that stuff together for the storytelling. And really, making plans seems like a waste of time. Because nothing ever works out like you expected it to, no matter who you are. So why bother?”

Acclaimed music video director Marty Callner – who helped several of the ‘80s biggest rock bands break through to mainstream video success – died at the age of 78 on March 17.

Hits Daily Double broke the news about Callner, who created the promos for Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again,” both of which helped secure the groups’ successes at the start of the video age.

His work with Aerosmith – including “(Dude) Looks Like a Lady” and “Crazy” – and Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time,” kick-started new chapters of those artists’ careers.

Whitesnake leader David Coverdale responded to Callner’s passing by saying: “Heartbreaking news… What an amazing guy [and a] super talent. My sincere condolences to Aleeza, his family, friends and fans.”

“Two days ago I lost one of my favorite people in the world, Marty Callner,” Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider added. “He directed the ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ video & changed my life. We became & remained friends since the first day we met. His family was mine. Mine was his. I love you, Marty. My heart is broken.”

Watch Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ Video

READ MORE: The 30 Greatest ’80s Music Videos

Callner also directed “Never” for Heart and “We Belong” for Pat Benatar. Earlier in his career he made HBO music specials for Fleetwood Mac and Diana Ross. In the ‘90s he turned his hand to stand-up comedy shows including Robin Williams and Jerry Seinfeld features. He also created the reality sports TV show Hard Knocks in 2001.

In a 1987 interview with the LA Times, Callner argued that rock music videos should be about sex and power, saying: “Hopefully we’re not gratuitous about it. I’m not really the Russ Meyer of rock videos. I don’t want you to think that it’s sex for sex’s sake – although it is and it isn’t, if you know what I mean. It’s not a lot of skin: It’s all attitude.”

Watch Whitesnake’s ‘Here I Go Again’ Video

Marty Callner’s Secret of a Good Rock Video

He added: “There are no rules in rock video. You can experiment and play with film and have a good time. You can get as weird as you want. Rock videos should be nothing more than fun. I think it’s all taken too seriously.

“If you try to make a movie in two days, you make a bad movie. That’s something that Richard Harris told me once when I directed Camelot, and I still carry that. It’s important to be realistic in your goals. When you try to do it more for the art form of filmmaking than for the interpretation of the song, you get in trouble.”

Watch Cher’s “if I Could Turn Back Time’ Video

In Memoriam: 2025 Deaths

A look at those we’ve lost.

Gallery Credit: Ultimate Classic Rock Staff

More From Ultimate Classic Rock

The ’80s were marked by dizzying highs and catastrophic lows for ex-members of the Beatles.

The horrifying first year of the decade saw John Lennon score his first U.K. No. 1 album in almost 10 years before being murdered by a deranged fan. Paul McCartney released his worst album ever but rallied late in the ’80s amid a new songwriting partnership with Elvis Costello.

George Harrison experienced his own ups and downs. He took a long break after 1982’s Gone Troppo failed to even chart in the U.K. then rallied with platinum-selling albums under his own name and with his Traveling Wilburys supergroup. Ringo Starr was actually dropped by his label before getting sober and founding his long-running All-Starr Band late in the ’80s.

READ MORE: John Lennon’s Top ’70s Songs

Lennon died before he could release a planned companion album to 1980’s Double Fantasy, leaving his widow Yoko Ono to complete 1984’s Milk and Honey. (She also oversaw a pair of archival projects, Live in New York City and Menlove Ave., both from 1986.) There were a few partial reunions in his absence, including “Take It Away” (featuring McCartney, Starr and former Beatles producer George Martin), “When We Was Fab” (Harrison and Starr) and, most memorably, “All Those Years Ago” (Harrison, McCartney and Starr).

Yet the group most associated with the era will always be Harrison’s new star-studded amalgam. His rebound had also been spurred by a new collaborator, as Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra fame co-produced his comeback, 1987’s Cloud Nine. He then rounded out an incredible Traveling Wilburys lineup that also included Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty.

Despite unspeakable tragedy and some very notable stumbles, these former bandmates somehow ended up notching their fair share of successes. We return to the best of them in the following list of Top 20 Solo Beatles ’80s Songs:

No. 20. “Stranglehold,” Paul McCartney
From: Press to Play (1986)

This song’s positioning at the lead track on the sometimes exhaustingly mechanized Press to Play should have had Paul McCartney brought in on false-advertising charges. With “Stranglehold,” however, he finds a smart little reed-honking groove, then barks out the lyrics with a whiskey shot of vigor. The result is very nearly a “Jet”-level anthem, despite his penchant for getting lost in Fairlight synth presets elsewhere. Next, McCartney would tear through the oldies-filled Choba B CCCP and finally start to get his mojo back.

No. 19. “Wreck of the Hesperus,” George Harrison
From: Cloud Nine (1987)

The title of this sharp and snarky rocker, originally found in a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, became a colloquial term used by the Brits in reference to a disheveled appearance. That opened the door for a winking glance at George Harrison’s newfound status as a dinosaur rocker: “I’m not the wreck of the Hesperus,” “feel more like the Wall of China,” “getting old as Methuselah,” etc. Ringo Starr was, of course, the perfect choice to drum up a sense of humorous self-effacement.

No. 18. “Not Such a Bad Boy,” Paul McCartney
From: Give My Regards to Broadstreet (1984)

On an album that would represent the nadir not just of this decade but of his career (yes, McCartney re-recorded Beatles songs; no, that wasn’t a good idea), “Not Such a Bad Boy” arrived like a bolt of lightning out of the blue. At this point, McCartney had scarcely attempted a rock song since the final edition of Wings flew apart, and this flinty aside about a reformed rebel now reduced to kitchen-pass adventures shows just what an awful loss that had been. He wouldn’t let loose like this again until Run Devil Run.

No. 17. “Unknown Delight,” George Harrison
From: Gone Troppo (1983)

This LP was also defined by the use of then-hip synths, but Gone Troppo actually plumbed some notable emotional depths as Harrison spoke to a desire to be part of smaller things after the big things have let you down. (In this way, it could be favorably compared with the pastoral joys of John Lennon’s earlier Double Fantasy.) Proof can be found in “Unknown Delight,” a lovingly crafted track dedicated to his son Dhani. This song remains a miniature triumph on one of Harrison’s most up-tempo, if instantly dated, releases.

No. 16. “One of These Days,” Paul McCartney
From: McCartney II (1980)

Perhaps unsurprisingly, one of the strongest tracks on this goofball experimental dud of an album finds McCartney at work with an acoustic guitar. Sure, he double tracks, and weirdly synthesizes, his voice but that’s the extent of the adornments to be found on the quietly effective “One of These Days.” “Quietly effective” may sound like a back-handed compliment. But in the ’80s, and on an LP that found McCartney focused so completely on at-home doodles with a new-fangled keyboard, that counts as high praise.

No. 15. “This Is Love,” George Harrison
From: Cloud Nine (1987)

“Got My Mind Set on You” became a chart-topping smash, and “When We Was Fab” was the album’s sentimental favorite. But “This Is Love,” with one of Harrison’s most openhearted vocals, should have been the hit. Credit in part goes to Electric Light Orchestra frontman Jeff Lynne, whose sonic fingerprints are everywhere. He also co-produced the album, sang background vocals, played bass, guitar and keyboards, and co-wrote three songs with Harrison – including “This Is Love.” The results are simply infectious.

No. 14. “I Don’t Wanna Face It,” John Lennon
From: Milk and Honey (1984)

A still-resonant tune with biting introspection, “I Don’t Wanna Face It” begins with the smeared sound of a tape machine engaging — this powerful reminder that Milk and Honey includes the incomplete, posthumous recordings of a murdered genius. Even so, you’ll find that all of the parts are still there in this half-chiseled monument to creative rebirth for Lennon: He works in antithesis, throws away a bit of ageless wisdom, acts a little silly. It was more evidence that Lennon’s muse was still intact, despite five years away.

No. 7. “Figure of Eight,” Paul McCartney
From: Flowers in the Dirt (1989)

McCartney had a very McCartney theme (“better to love than give in to hate“) and the creative momentum to cut this track live. You hear it in his rough-hewn vocal. But then co-producers Trevor Horn and Steve Lipson kept tinkering with the track in an effort to “modernize” its sound. McCartney pushed back and some elements were changed, but he was never completely happy with the results. It’s a shame because no song on Flowers in the Dirt more completely reanimated his former hit-making sound.

No. 13. “That’s What It Takes”
From: Cloud Nine (1987)

Cowritten with Lynne and Gary Wright, “That’s What It Takes” sounds like the completely realized mid-’70s hit Harrison never quite managed. Many of his collaborators on this song dated to that era – beginning with Wright, who’d been collaborating with Harrison since All Things Must Pass. Eric Clapton, who takes a quickly elevating second solo, had been friends even longer. Lynne admittedly adds some late-’80s polish amid Harrison’s nicely understated turn on slide, but not enough to disturb the throwback vibe.

No. 12. “I’m Losing You,” John Lennon
From: Double Fantasy (1980)

Double Fantasy was sometimes more gossamer than necessarily great. Lennon was, at his zenith, a scratched-and-dented treasure, funny but all edge, and too often seemed to have settled into middle-aged domesticity on this LP — both figuratively and, by employing the prevailing pop veneer, literally. That’s blown apart by “I’m Losing You,” which boasts a familiar kinetic grit. Lennon was beginning to understand what was ahead — a quieter, more settled life — but there was fight still left in him.

No. 11. “Got My Mind Set On You,” George Harrison
From: Cloud Nine (1987)

George Harrison discovered James Ray’s version of this song while browsing record shops during a 1963 visit with his sister in rural Illinois – months before the Beatles first appeared on Ed Sullivan’s show. He didn’t return to “Got My Mind Set on You” for decades, but Harrison’s timing was impeccable. Powered along by a stomping Jim Keltner drum sample, this thrillingly modern update became Harrison’s third No. 1 single just as his old band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

No. 10. “Nobody Told Me,” John Lennon
From: Milk and Honey (1984)

Lennon always had a way with call-and-response lyrics. “Nobody Told Me” traced directly back to the sharp wit and word-play whimsy of his late-Beatles period. So, of course, the single surged into the Top 20 – but Lennon was already gone. Yoko Ono completed Milk and Honey, with its now-familiar shared song sequencing, after he’d been brutally murdered. A heartbreaking demo of Lennon singing “Grow Old Along With Me” found elsewhere on the LP made clear just what she’d lost.

No. 9. “You Want Her Too,” Paul McCartney
From: Flowers in the Dirt (1989)

It seemed McCartney’s spell of ’80s disappointments could only be broken with a new collaborator in the vein of John Lennon. McCartney found that person in Elvis Costello, who helped him back to the charts — and, more importantly, back to respectability. With its straight-razor wit and sharp-elbowed vocals, this duet plays out like a canny update of earlier Beatles successes like “We Can Work it Out” and “I’ve Got a Feeling,” but without feeling derivative. Then it all ends, hilariously, with a crashing big-band coda.

No. 8. “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy),” John Lennon
From Double Fantasy (1980)

Lennon began writing this tender song well before sessions for Double Fantasy began, alternating between the song’s titles while celebrating the househusband era of parenting his son, Sean. Original home demos included draft lyrics that were later discarded. None became more poignant after Lennon’s December 1980 murder than this: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

No. 7. “When We Was Fab”
From: Cloud Nine (1987)

Poking some good-natured fun at the Beatles’ Summer of Love-era excesses, “When We Was Fab” allowed Jeff Lynne to play every psychedelic card in the deck – adding strings, backward tapes and, of course, a sitar. The delightful video included sideman Starr and an actor miming McCartney’s left-handed bass while wearing a walrus costume. Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall also passes by at one point with a copy of Lennon’s 1971 album Imagine. All of it felt like a bittersweet reverie, even then.

No. 6. “Watching the Wheels”
From: Double Fantasy (1980)

Ironically, this paean to doing absolutely nothing was originally titled “Emotional Wreck.” Later, Lennon began calling it “I’m Crazy.” Neither hinted at where “Watching the Wheels” was headed as Lennon explained why he stepped off a music-industry merry-go-round which required an annual album and tour. This same laconic rebel spirit carried over to the recording session, where Lennon had a street person play the dulcimer.

No. 5. “Handle With Care,” George Harrison
From: The Traveling Wilburys’ Vol. 1 (1988)

Harrison’s smash hit about sly resiliency was originally recorded as a throwaway B-side, until his label intervened. He called up Jeff Lynne, who was then working with Roy Orbison. They arranged to use Bob Dylan’s studio, then Tom Petty got involved when Harrison stopped by to retrieve a guitar. All of sudden, one of rock’s greatest supergroups was born. Warner Bros. refused to bury their first song on the back of Harrison’s “This Is Love” single. Lucky us.

No. 4. “Take It Away,” Paul McCartney
From: Tug of War (1982)

Celebrated at the time as a partial Beatles reunion, this patented McCartney pop confection boasts a deceptively intricate bass, a feverish horn counterpoint and an indecipherable narrative. So, in other words, “Take It Away” could have emerged from Wings at their chart-topping peak. 10cc alum Eric Stewart’s presence apparently encouraged McCartney to dabble in some of that group’s famous layering of background vocals. “Take It Away” ends with a soaring loop of sighs from a thousand Pauls, Erics and Linda McCartneys.

No. 3. “Woman,” John Lennon
From: Double Fantasy (1980)

Lennon so rarely returned to core approaches from the Beatles era that it gave new gravitas to rare nostalgic returns like 1974’s unabashedly psychedelic “#9 Dream.” But no Lennon solo song ever had the throwback pop smarts of “Woman,” Lennon’s first posthumously released single. He knew it, too. While recording his vocals, Lennon mused: “I feel like I’m still in the f—ing Beatles with this track.”

No. 2. “All Those Years Ago,” George Harrison
From: Somewhere in England (1981)

Under label pressure, Harrison provided some late-session replacement songs that included this No. 2 hit, a requiem for the late John Lennon. His awful murder sparked an unlikely reunion that included Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Beatles producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick. Even Denny Laine and Linda McCartney from Wings were there. “All Those Years Ago” became so incandescent that it almost – but not quite – make up for the dreck found elsewhere on Somewhere in England.

No. 1. “(Just Like) Starting Over,” John Lennon
From: Double Fantasy (1980)

Lennon once again achieved astounding success by cramming song scraps together, following “I Am the Walrus,” “Happiness Is a Warm Gun” and “God.” Released just before his death, “(Just Like) Starting Over” was actually a compendium of three ideas, made complete in the studio with a fun throwback ’50s feel. Lennon told engineer Lee DeCarlo he wanted to sound like “Elvis Vincent,” a mash-up of Elvis Presley and Gene Vincent. He was clearly having the time of his life – and, for a while, so were we.

Alex Lifeson said he’d felt nauseous for a year after undergoing stomach surgery in 2023.

The ex Rush guitarist revealed that his health had improved after attending a clinic in Austria in January 2025 – but he has to keep strict control over his diet for the rest of his life, which has meant an end to drinking and smoking.

“They have many cancer patients there, and they provide so many different therapies,” Lifeson told AllMusic in a new interview. “And it’s very calm and quiet – no phones, no music. It’s just about almost zenning out… drinking a lot of water, tea; there’s no coffee, there’s obviously no alcohol.”

READ MORE: Alex Lifeson Recalls Mixed Emotions of Rush’s Last Live Show

He explained: “I went because I had surgery in 2023 on my stomach, and it left me with gastroparesis [which means] food stays in my stomach for 10 or 12 hours rather than two or three hours.

“So I really have to eat very carefully, and I have to be very selective about how I eat and not cross that line, because it’s hard for me to get back over. … [O]ne mistake costs me two or three days of discomfort.”

The 71-year-old continued: “I was nauseous for a year. I was miserable for pretty much a year and a half.” When he went to the clinic, “they just taught me how to take control of how I’m eating, what to eat, when to eat. And it’s just remarkable.”

Lifeson described himself as lazy, and someone who wouldn’t work hard on things he didn’t want to do – but following the clinic’s instructions had been life-changing. “I’ve lost about 23 pounds, and I lost another I think 15 or 20 pounds before that. So I’m down close to 40 pounds in a year and a half.

Alex Lifeson’s Not Very Rock Star Life

“And if I’m careful and I eat properly, I can live a happy, relatively normal life. If I don’t, then I suffer. … I don’t drink anymore; I don’t smoke, I don’t eat junk… Gluten free, lactose free… That’s what I have to do. It’s not a choice – this is what I have to do to maintain a decent, comfortable life.”

Asked to describe a day in his life now, he said: “I’m usually up between 5:30 and 6:30. I hit the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. At 9:00, I come back. This is my studio in my apartment, and I like to come back here and spend time here. It’s my sanctuary… I never get bored in here.”

He added: “I play a little bit of golf, and I was going to say some tennis occasionally. And I make my own food… And once a week or so, I’ll drop by Ged’s, and we’ll have coffee and talk about stuff. And see my grandkids. And that’s about it. That’s about my life.”

Happy Monday! The weather’s kinda gone to crap again but what better to brighten spirits than a big, fat wedge of brand new rock bangers to stick directly into your ears? Plus, as always, you can vote for your favourite!

Before we get underway with this week’s new selection of rock tunes, congratulations are in order for last week’s victors Volbeat, as well as second prize winners H.e.a.t., and Ricky Warwick, who rolled up in third place. Top work all round, people.

And now on to new musical business: a fresh batch of Tracks Of The Week contestants, fighting to the death for the top spot armed with big fuck-off riffs, earworm melodies and nerves of steel. Who will triumph? You decide. Check ‘em out, judge accordingly and vote for your favourite at the foot of this page.

But first, how about a victory spin for last week’s winning song? Oh go on then…

The Southern River Band – Fuck You, Pay Me

It’s invariably a good day when these Aussie dudes release a new single, and with the gloriously titled Fuck You, Pay Me it’s no exception. Glistening with that irresistible blend of raw shitkicker rock’n’roll and Thin Lizzy-evoking sweetness that made last year’s D.I.Y album such a corker, it does that wonderful thing of slipping down a treat without losing its edge. No big surprises, no bullshit – just rock’n’roll done bloody well.

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Kaviani – Switch It Up

Originally dreamed up as a hat-tip to the late, great Dusty Hill – and co-masterminded by latter-day Def Leppard producer Pete Woodroffe – this Sheffield-bred (with Iranian heritage) singer/guitarist’s new single sounded pretty damn appetising on paper. Happily, we can confirm, it does not disappoint in real life. A sleek, sassed up feast of ZZ Top-style Texan swagger with a glossy Sunset Strip paint job, it’s like the 80s never ended. Guilty pleasure, or just…well, a pleasure?

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Witch Fever – Dead To Me 

Back with a new, heavier sound – and their first new music in two years – Manchester’s Witch Fever stir up a commanding maelstrom of dark noise and menacing guitars, building to a gear-changing chorus charged with manic screams. “We really wanted to sound bigger,” says bassist Alex Thompson, whose deep, ominous rumbles play a huge part in Dead To Me. “We wanted to push our sound in ways that we wouldn’t be able to do if we were just playing in a room together.” Mission accomplished.

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Cardinal Black – Keep On Running

Back with a new record deal and a new album (Midnight At The Valencia, coming in May), the Welsh-formed trio are on flying form on this soulful rocker, complete with the sort of cool, classy blues rock solo we expect from six-stringer Chris Buck. Vocalist Tom Hollister was inspired by a friend he knew at university who was pursued by a stalker – here, in the lyrics, he takes on the role of the villain. “It’s a darker track, absolutely,” Hollister says, “but unfortunately I think it will also be very relatable for a lot of our fans.”

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Dinosaur Pile-Up – ‘Bout To Lose It

Now that’s how you start a comeback song: with a pummelling, riff-munching barrage of guitars, matching drums and one big ‘arrghhhhh!!!’. Back from the brink after six years and some extremely challenging life experience, Dinosaur Pile-Up sound totally pumped to be making music again on this rousing ode to resilience in the face of serious adversity. Alt. rock at its beefiest and catchiest, with punked up teeth and a fiery case to make.

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Black Honey Cult – Dead In Me

Groovy, fuzzy dark psych with a gothic streak is the order of the day on this deliciously hypnotic number from LA post-punks Black Honey Cult. Feverish and Velvets-esque in a way that you can dance to (albeit in a very spaced out, head-spinning sort of way) – with former and current Lords Of Altamont members in their 60s-charged ranks. Like the sound of all that? Their self-titled debut album comes out in May.

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Dirty Blonde – Adore Me?

“‘Adore Me?’ is probably the most honest we’ve ever been when writing a song,” explain DB’s core duo Ailis Mackay (vocals, guitar, drums) and Hayley Tait (guitar, backing vocals), of this honeyed alt.rock ode to heartbreak at its rawest. “It was written at a time when we had both gone through breakups at a similar time, and had a lot of shared experiences from the breakups. We were basically angry and upset and threw it into a song. It was the quickest we’ve ever written a song.”

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Ashes Of Billy – Without You

Don’t be fooled by the plonky opening notes of this grungy young Danish trio’s new ballad – it quickly grows into something bigger and richer. Once again sounding older than their years, AOB showcase a thoughtfully crafted melody with a catchy, bittersweet chorus. “Without You is one of our few ballads,” singer/songwriter Daniel Aabenhus Hermann explains. “It reflects the frustration of waiting for promises to be fulfilled, waiting endlessly while nothing changes. As time passes, the disappointment grows, and you begin to realize that you’re better off moving forward without those who let you down.”

Peter Farrelly, the lead vocalist, flautist and bass player with Northern Irish prog rockers Fruupp sadly passed away this weekend, aged 76.

The news was announced by his former bandmate, Fruupp guitarist Vincent McCukser on the Fruupp Facebook group, who have recently been so active in getting the bands music reissued recently (a review of the band’s recent A Twilight Adventure box set will appear in issue 159 of Prog).

Farrelly also painted the album covers for the band’s first two releases, 1973’s Future Legends and the following year’s Seven Secrets.

Fruupp biographer Robert Cochrane, author of Masquerades – The Story of Fruupp, pays tribute.

“Peter Farrelly cut an elegant figure in the heady days of prog, his eloquent vocals and sophisticated bass lines, deserving greater recognition for their sublime technique. He could vocally rise from a whisper to a scream with effortless ease. Farrelly’s days with Fruupp, his lynchpin to legacy have aged well like a wine of fine vintage. In delivery he hovered between the jazziness of Cleo Laine and Tim Hardin, although when required, could ‘rock out’ with the best. His voice possessed a rare and subtle eloquence.

Fruupp’s four albums have gathered greater recognition in later years than they were gifted on release. Peter’s distinctive artwork gracing their first two sleeves Future Legends and Seven Secrets and the early promotional posters and flyers. It was only the rigorous touring schedule that ended his role as the band’s visual merchandiser. He simply hadn’t the time to execute another sleeve.

Like most natural talents, he was humble about his own. A distinctive and strong visual centrepiece to the eclectic brilliance behind him, the classical flourishes of Stephen Houston, later the layered electronic washes of the late John Mason, Vincent McCusker’s searingly dynamic guitar lines in tandem with Martin Foye’s driven and eclectic drum flourishes. What made Farrelly unique was his ability to sing exquisitely whilst delivering throbbingly appropriate bass progressions. His instrument of choice had been the acoustic guitar, but in his hands the bass reigned supreme. A remarkable transition, indicative of his innate talent.

After Fruupp he formed The Crowd, an inspired Doors/Stranglers new wave hybrid, who with a little more kindness from Lady Luck could have broken through. Though Peter Farrelly left music, the music never left him. He continued to write songs, developing an interest in classical music after taking up the piano. His talent will continue to bring delight and awe to those who know it already and they who have yet to discover his recorded work. After half a century it still beguiles, remaining a tasteful legacy of elegance and good grace.”