Few musicians are as enamoured by their hometown quite like Richard Hawley. Now nine records deep into an illustrious solo career, each offering has been heavily influenced by his love for the Steel City and its people. That’s been as evident as ever on latest release, the aptly named In This City They Call You Love, which made it to number five in the official album charts last week. “It’s hilarious,” he declares to the crowd at his show at the Wulfrun Hall in Wolverhampton. “Taylor Swift, Billy Eyelash and a couple of rappers, and then a 57-year-old pisshead gobshite from Sheffield.” But bef ..read more

If you want to see how inconsistent the music business is when it comes to recognition of genius, look no further than The Zombies. Even after recording a perfect album in 1967 (Odessey and Oracle, released in 1968), which is equal to if not better than classic albums released in that year; for example ‘Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake’, or ‘A Saucerful of Secrets’ it was not given enough support on its release and consequently was unsuccessful, leading to the band breaking up soon after. It is reminiscent of ‘The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society’, which also bombed at the time due to la ..read more

Opening the show for Vended were Profiler and The Gloom In Corner and it was great to not see a local support in sight. The term nepo-baby get banded around a lot these days and it’s understandable to see why (sorry Roman Kemp) but it’s hard to distinguish whether much of the crowd on Friday evening were there for the band or the Slipknot associations. Formed in Des Moines, Iowa the band is made up or Corey Taylor’s son on vocals as well as Clown’s son on drums. It’s clear that Griffin has taken some pointers from his father, from his vocal style to his ‘Let me see you scream’ type call outs h ..read more

Girl Scout are a Swedish band who play a fascinating cross of genres moving between pop and post-punk, with elements of indie-rock and more than a sprinkle of jazz.  Imagine a perfect mix of The Cardigans,  Veruca Salt and Middle Kids. There has been much talk recently about the cost of gig tickets, with certain artists (you know who I mean) who choose to play in colossal barns, expecting 80000 people to spend over £100 each for a seat, where you either look at a 40 foot screen or the back of someone’s head for two hours.  Well check this out, tonight, here in a small venue in B ..read more

C.O.F.F.I.N are currently touring the UK & Europe in support of their most recent release ‘Australia Stops’, Tuesday evening saw the band headline the Hare & Hounds in Birmingham. Formed in 2005, the punk four piece originate from Sydney and this show acted as the first of their UK run. Opening the show were local band The Butters Aliens. To call a drummer a frontman feels quite strange as he was most certainly sat at the back, but the band is led by lead vocalist and drummer Ben Portnoy who was fantastic in both his playing ability but also continually providing vocals throughout as w ..read more

Gaining momentum throughout the UK garage scene, Daniel Bedingfield rose to fame in 2002 with his hit album and single ‘Gotta Get Thru This’, elevating him to worldwide stardom instantly before retreating to LA to discover his passions for farming and ecology. Earlier this year Bedingfield announced his long-awaited return to the musical realm with a run of three UK shows as well as support slots with Olly Murs lined up. Following the first show in Manchester, there was wide scale Twitter and news press reports about his arrogance, lack of well-known hits and miming vocals so the evening was t ..read more

Currently touring the UK & Europe as part of the A New Dimension tour, The World of Hans Zimmer found itself at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham on Tuesday evening to perform in front of a jam-packed audience of film score enthusiasts. It’s reported that by the end of the tour, the show will have been seen by half a million people. Curated by Hans Zimmer himself, the tour performs the music of the two-time Academy Award winner with a huge orchestra conducted by Gavin Greenway. Opening with the music from Man of Steel, the first half of the concert took audiences through various movie ..read more

The World of Hans Zimmer – A New Dimension is coming to Birmingham Resorts World Arena on Tuesday 9 April! For this brand new tour, Hans Zimmer is arranging a selection from his tremendously diverse collection of scores, conducted by Gavin Greenway. Soundtrack conductor Gavin Greenaway, the long-time trusted friend of the Hollywood composer, is now conjuring the magic of Hans Zimmer’s works live for the audience in 2024, along with some of the most outstanding and renowned soloists from Zimmer’s talent pool and the Odessa Orchestra & Friends. The audience will be able to enjoy stunnin ..read more

The well-chosen support act for tonight are Simple Minds’ fellow countrymen, Del Amitri. Considering how early the band take to the stage, the arena is already nearing capacity evidencing the draw that the band deservedly have. Del Amitri begin the proceedings with one of their biggest hits, Always The Last To Know , a song about the dynamics of a deceptive relationship. The 90s guitar riff and keyboard melody resonate throughout the arena and have many people standing in appreciation, something that does not wane during their concise ten song set. Justin Currie’s soulful vocals flow seamlessl ..read more

Yard Act have just embarked on a wide-ranging tour to promote their new album Where’s My Utopia. Warming up for this they played several in-store gigs including an appearance at the HMV Birmingham Vault . In-stores tend to be strange affairs. This one was no different. The Vault is a new location in Dale End and I was struggling to remember what was in the building before HMV came along. As Yard Act singer James Smith mentioned this has to be the biggest HMV he, or any of us, has been in. Imagine the area of a football pitch filled with records, cds, books and a whole host of incongruous items ..read more