On April 15th 1989, 96 Liverpool fans went to watch their team play an FA Cup semi-final vs Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough, and never returned. David Cain’s Truth Street, hosted by the Spark Factory at Sweet Waterfront 1 as part of the Brighton Fringe festival, was an attempt to make sense of that tragedy through … More Truth Street, Waterfront 1, Tuesday, 16 May
Shirley Collins’ story is an incredible one. A prominent figure in the sixties folk revival, she met the legendary musicologist Alan Lomax at a party in London in 1954 and subsequently embarked on landmark folk song collecting trips to Europe and the United States, working alongside Lomax to unearth some of the most talented and … More Shirley Collins, Brighton Dome, Sunday, 14 May 2017
It’s hard to write about supporting Coventry without wallowing in self-pity and naval-gazing about the point of it all. Basically, good things don’t happen to Cov fans. My last game was the 4-1 defeat away to Oxford in November. I left in disgust, lamenting the wasted money, the time I could have spent on something … More Blue Skies Over Wembley
Swedish-American four-piece FEWS would have been massive if they’d emerged at the height of the naughties post-punk revival. But those were simpler times, and the place of guitar bands of their ilk is less assured in today’s musical landscape. This was reflected in a Sticky Mike’s crowd consisting predominantly of men of a certain age. … More FEWS, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar, Saturday, 28 January 2017
You Know What It’s Like, Carla dal Forno’s bleak and ominous debut solo album, is an isolating listen. The Australian resides in her nightmarish songs like a spectral, half formed memory, intertwining with found sounds and hypnotic, lo-fi beats. Performing at Sticky Mike’s on the first night of her UK tour, she appeared alongside … More Carla dal Forno, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar, Thursday, 2 February 2017
New York-based Aaron Maine, the 27 year-old behind Porches, has been on something of a musical journey these past few years. 2013’s raw, Neil Young-influenced album Slow Dance in the Cosmos hinted at a talented songwriter with an ear for a hook, but it was the maturity of this year’s synth pop symphony Pool that … More Porches, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar, Tuesday, 18 October 2016
1. Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool 2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Skeleton Tree 3. David Bowie – Blackstar 4. ANOHNI – Hopelessness 5. Agnes Obel – Citizen of Glass 6. Guy Andrews – Our Spaces 7. PJ Harvey – The Hope Six Demolition Project 8. James Blake – The Colour in … More Albums of the Year 2016, 1-100
1. Tame Impala – Currents 2. Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly 3. Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear 4. Viet Cong – Viet Cong 5. Colin Stetson & Sarah Neufeld – Never Were the Way She Was 6. Ought – Sun Coming Down 7. Girl Band – Holding Hands With Jamie … More Albums of the Year 2015 1-50
“This is an exit poll, very carefully calculated, not necessarily on-the-nail, but here it is – 10 o’clock – and we are saying: the Conservatives are the largest party…and here are the figures which we have – quite remarkable, this exit poll – the Conservatives on 316…that’s up 9 since the last election in 2010. … More The complacency of the Left has paved the way for Tory carnage
After a load of speculation and some protracted negotiations, it has finally been confirmed that Tony Mowbray will be the new Coventry City manager. His first and most important task will be to secure safety for the Sky Blues, and to avoid the unthinkable: relegation to the fourth tier. I’m too superstitious to even contemplate any … More Tony Mowbray: former clubs’ fans give their verdict
