As the old blues song put it so succinctly – another man done gone. The Southend music scene has lost one of its best known characters – Barrie Masters, lead singer with the legendary Eddie and the Hot Rods. Even though Barrie…
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Summer is long gone, and we’re ploughing on through the autumn season which is full of great theatre, and soon it’ll be all about the pantomimes. Oh yes it will! To kick off proceedings, I thought I’d highlight a few of the best panto…
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I’m going to show my age here, but I reckon when it comes to pop music, the 1980s is up there with the very best decades. For many people it all got a bit too electronic and plastic, but for me it was always interesting, and nothing seemed…
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Blink and you’ll have missed it… with summer sizzling out, and autumnfalling in, it’s time to get excited about this year’s richly diverse autumntheatre season. Cambridge is fortunate enough to have several great performance spaces.…
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It’s always good to hear a British-made blues album that stands up against recordings made on the other side of the pond. That in itself is not unusual. After all, the Brits have been making great blues albums since the early 1960s when…
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In the spotlight for this month, after briefly teasing their upcoming autumn season last month and following their recent renovation and upcoming new ownership, I’m introducing you to the Peterborough New Theatre. The theatre itself…
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They say nostalgia isn’t what it used to be but let me assure you that in the case of Suffolk blues band Built For Comfort it most certainly is. Back in the 1990s the Comforts were one of the most popular acts in our region, playing to…
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The weather may be hotting up as we get into July, and hopefully you’ve got a Stagey Summer lined-up with the eclectic mix of arts festivals, open air theatre and seaside specials that are on offer. That said, whilst we may be enjoying the…
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There’s plenty of food for thought after the recent StowBlues festival. The now firmly established annual event at the Museum Of East Anglian Life took place last month and while it did attract several hundred people numbers were down on…
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You know you’re getting on in years when police officers, sports men and women and office staff look so young. Another indicator is when you’re ignored by those handing out leaflets for night clubs and trendy gyms. It’s also the case that…
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This year is the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the late, great Rory Gallagher’s recording career. His first commercial release came as part of the Cork blues-rock trio Taste. Their self-titled debut LP was issued in 1969 but within…
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Lowestoft folk star John Ward is celebrating the release of his eighth album. John and his band go from strength to strength and it really is about time they had a bit of national recognition. The CD, Life Drawing, is the best thing John…
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Hex Friends If you’re a lover of great pop with clever lyrics and catchy guitar riffs, you’ll love new band Hex Friends Josie Steward has been centre stage for many a year on BBC Music Introducing in Norfolk first sending in tracks with…
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I would imagine all of us have kicked ourselves for missing out on gigs that we really should have been at. A good friend of mine (yes, you Boot) still gets his leg pulled on a regular basis for not going to see Led Zeppelin at The…
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As we say goodbye to 2018, this year has certainly been a great one for theatre. I’ve been fortunate enough to go to the theatre more times than I should probably admit (I’ve been to over 30 shows and that excludes revisits!) – across…
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It’s all change here at BBC Radio Suffolk, as a new series of local shows have taken over the airwaves from 7-10pm on weeknights. BBC Music Introducing in Suffolk has doubled in length, we’re now 7-9pm on a Wednesday, and I now have a new…
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It’s remarkable and rather frightening to think that Canvey’s finest – Dr Feelgood – have been playing a Christmas show in Ipswich virtually every year for the last three decades. In those early days of their festive visits the much missed…
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As you can well imagine, during my forty-plus years broadcasting in Suffolk I have interviewed hundreds, maybe even thousands of musicians. For the most part, my music guests are delightful people who are usually very accommodating and help…
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Imagine all the brightest colours you can think of exploding right in front of you. Imagine every zingy taste you’ve popped inside your mouth all bursting into life at once. Ok, so now you get Tibetan Night Terrors. This 5-piece band is an…
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After a thoroughly enjoyed festival season, it’s time to turn our attention once again to the bread and butter of indoor gigs. As you might know, I promote concerts in and around the Ipswich area and am delighted to bringing two very…
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