Last Day Deaf is more than proud to announce that is Media Partner for the May Day Special event (The Nightingales, Blue Orchids, Blyth Power, The Train Set, Mick Shepherd, Vukovar, The Room Upstairs) that will take place at The Continental, South Meadow Lane.Preston, UK.
Within the very next days, interviews will be hosted on the site with all performing bands.
The event is co-organised by Tuff Life Boogie & They Eat Culture.
Press release
The Nightingales
If John Peel sessions are the rock and pop equivalent of England caps, then Nightingales mainstay Robert Lloyd is in Bobby Moore territory with only Mark E Smith, David Gedge and Ivor Cutler notching up more Peel show appearances. Between 1978 and 1990 he recorded 15 Peel sessions, including eight with The Nightingales plus others with The Prefects and in other combinations before going to ground for ten years.
Since Rob reformed The Nightingales in 2004, the band have put out more albums of great new material than they managed in their original run, most recently the incendiary ‘Become Not Becoming 10” mini LP. Big favourites of Marc Riley on BBC 6 Music, they’ve recorded numerous radio sessions for him too in recent years and have also toured the UK, mainland Europe and the USA many times (including several outstanding performances at The Continental), buoyed by a constantly changing line-up.
Most definitely not resting on their laurels, the current four piece ‘Gales of Rob, drummer Fliss Kitson, bass player Andreas Schmid and guitarist Jim Smith is one of the best line-ups yet and will pin you to the wall for a non-stop hour of frighteningly good newly-minted tunes.
Blue Orchids
Martin Bramah’s decision to reform Blue Orchids in September 2012 was eagerly welcomed by the band’s legion of fans.
Originally formed in 1979, after Bramah had left The Fall, Blue Orchids is viewed, by many commentators, as one of a handful of post-punk outfits that delivered quality material with great songs and a mesmerising live act, and which has consequently stood the test of time. Martin’s most recent band, Factory Star, had been playing a number of Blue Orchids songs in their set and the positive reaction to these meant the move to recreate the Orchids sound was highly anticipated.
Gigging around the country over the last 4 years (including a couple of great sets at The Continental), the band has consistently received a rapturous reception wherever they have played. With a selection of material from the bands four main albums – The Greatest Hit, The Sleeper, Mystic Bud and Slum Cavern Jest – Bramah’s shamanic stage presence is not to be missed, as he delivers his songs with the fevered intensity of a travelling preacher man.
With a tight rhythm section and the signature Orchids keyboard sound fully present and correct, the band, who also include members of both The Monochrome Set and A Witness, both respect the source material but take it to a new and contemporary level, too. Classic tunes like “The Flood”, “Work” and “Bad Education” are delivered with equal measures of passion and venom to create a singular and memorable live experience.
Recent recordings ‘The Once and Future Thing’ (2016) and ‘Skull Jam’ (2017) have been very successful and we’re delighted to welcome Blue Orchids back to Preston.
Blyth Power
Formed in late 1983 from the ashes of anarcho-punk band The Mob by singer/drummer Joseph Porter, Blyth Power remains one of the most original and innovative bands around. One of the prime features about the band is their all-consuming individuality. They have a strikingly identifiable and personalised sound built around Joseph’s epic songs, with their colourful personnel, exotic story-lines and crashing, impassioned choruses.
Overriding everything is the breadth and content of the lyrics, which Mr Porter claims are his first love, and his most cherished care. Irony and subtext mingle with plain-speaking and historical metaphor in brilliant tapestry of colour and irreverent speculation. Will Charles succeed to the throne? Will politicians ever keep their pants on? Why was Mary Tudor so uncouth as to burn total strangers, and will the legacy of sweat and boredom left in the desert by the Templar Knights be rekindled in the Kevlar helmets and SA80s of the modern armies bound for Baghdad? Anyone can make music, but not everyone can find the time to make every word count for a dozen, or to unravel the intricacies of human fallibility with a perception that rarely falls short of sympathetic.
Tuff Life Boogie fondly remembers excellent Blyth Power shows in Preston during the late 80s and is honoured to welcome them back here for the first time in many years.
The Train Set
Originally hailing from Crewe, home of one of the most historic railway stations in the world, The Train Set formed in the mid 80s and quickly became a fixture on the Manchester scene. They were signed to Dave Haslam and Nathan McGough’s Playhard records and their debut single, ‘She’s Gone’, was a glorious blast of prime time indie-pop which became single of the week in NME and achieved a high position in the Indie Chart. The Train Set famously rehearsed on a small farm near Tarporley Cheshire and toured with Happy Mondays and James but never quite broke through and were put back in the box before they had the chance to release their much-delayed debut album.
Now back together and joined by new guitarist Jason Woolley the band are gigging, including an appearance at last year’s Shiine On Festival, writing new material as well as revisiting their back catalogue. Their singles and demos were finally collected by boutique indie-pop label Fire Station Records on a terrific CD compilation, ‘Never California’ in 2015 and the vinyl version appeared last November, along with the new single ‘Beautiful Monster’.
Classic indie-pop is always appreciated in these parts and Tuff Life Boogie are happy to present The Train Set in Preston for the first time!
Mick Shepherd
Mick Shepherd has been writing and performing since the mid eighties when his Chameleons-inspired Dancehall Giants hit the local Preston and national scenes. Big Red Bus cemented Mick’s songwriting and performing credentials as the band went on to eclipse the success of Dancehall Giants, touring far and wide whilst releasing critically acclaimed singles and an eponymous debut album. Supporting the likes of The Stone Roses and visiting the shores of Norway three times to take their guitar laden pop to an eagerly awaiting Scandinavian scene, the band also saw releases in Germany and Japan take their music to an ever widening and diverse audience.
Big Red Bus called it a day in the 90s save for two reunion gigs over the last five years. Mick has continued to write new material that can be best described as an indie folk hybrid. Inspired by the likes of Damien Jurado, Tallest Man on Earth, Tim Hardin and Nick Drake, Mick’s songs also betray his lifelong affection for indie greats he grew with musically, such as The Go Betweens and Teenage Fanclub. His mix of intricate and energetic acoustic guitar, plaintive vocal melodies and emotive lyrics combine to create a heady mix of melancholic storytelling and social commentary.
Vukovar
Vukovar hail from the St Annes/Wigan/St Helens axis of evil. They emerged thirty years too late to take up their rightful place at the Leeds Futurama Festival, but nonetheless at the right time for their acerbic, bass-heavy post-punk to be informed by Coil, Cabaret Voltaire, Sisters of Mercy, J.G. Ballard, J.G. Thirlwell and The Coachwhips.
Resourceful and prolific, Vukovar have put out two great albums, ‘Emperor’ and ‘Voyeurism’, in the last 12 months on the Small Bear label and some more provocatively-titled releases on the way, which will be unveiled at this gig. Make sure you turn up early to see one of our favourite North-West acts!
The Room Upstairs
An indie-pop group inspired by 1960s pop music. Influences: The Beatles, The La’s, The Coral, The Byrds, Simon and Garfunkel!
This amazing MAY DAY MATINEE starts at 2pm omn May 1st 2017. Door open at 2pm.