Retro Man Blog: Would-Be-Goods, Helen McCookerybook and Railcard at Water Rats, London

Saturday, 28 February 2026

Would-Be-Goods, Helen McCookerybook and Railcard at Water Rats, London - A Bizarro Promotion, February 21st 2026

Even Pete Frame would struggle to compile one of his exhaustive Rock Family Trees about the Indie talent pool surrounding Skep Wax Records and their proprietors Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey. Stretching back to the C-86 Twee Student Jangle Indie-Pop scene, or whatever ridiculous genre the music press deemed to patronise the acts with, their band Talulah Gosh was to go on to spawn many and various bands, spin-offs and side projects, not to mention the influence they would have on generations of eager young fans into forming their own bands. Each trademark branch of those intricate Pete Frame diagrams would probably feature guitarist Peter Momtchiloff in some guise or other though, and tonight Amelia and Rob’s former Talulah Gosh and current Heavenly colleague appears in two out of the three acts on show. Hosted by Bizarro Promotions, this sold-out gig at Water Rats in London’s Kings Cross is basically a showcase for two brand new Skep Wax releases – their compilation of Railcard’s first three E.P.’s and the latest excellent album “Tears Before Bedtime” by headliners Would-Be-Goods.

Tonight’s gig came at the perfect time for me, an absolute godsend as I must admit I’ve been on a bit of a Dolly Mixture kick recently, ever since reading Debsey Wykes’ fantastic autobiography “Teenage Daydream” and coincidentally bumping into her at two recent unrelated book launch events. I then went along to see Debsey interviewed by Daniel Rachel about her book in conjunction with a rare screening of the excellent Dolly Mixture documentary “Take Three Girls”. So, suddenly I’d get the chance to see another Dolly Mixture, Rachel Love, and her new band Railcard, for the first time. The Water Rats is sold out and there are almost as many musicians in the audience as there would be on stage throughout the night. Here’s just a few that were in the room – Allan Crockford from The Prisoners (who mixed the Railcard recordings), Viv Bonsels from The Galileo 7, Kevin Younger from The Higher Span, Ian Greensmith from The Dentists and his former bandmate Bob Collins who is now in another Skep Wax act, Swansea Sound. Then there’s Dave Morgan from The Monochrome Set, Jon Klein from Specimen and Siouxsie & The Banshees and even Gaye Black from The Adverts. It would have made for one hell of a supergroup. Oh, and yes, it’s Debsey again, here to support her former Dolly Mixture friend and former bandmate.

Railcard take the stage, Rachel looks amazing and I’m immediately captivated by her cheerful smile and the promise of hearing those wonderful songs live for the first time. The aforementioned Peter Momtchiloff is on bass duties and there’s Ian Button from Heavenly and Penrose Web and Papernut Cambridge (and more!) on drums and vocals with Allison Thomson on trumpet, keyboards and vocals. Ian takes over lead vocals on the brilliant, foot stomping “Northern Soul Dancing” which is my personal highlight of their set with excellent lyrics about getting to the age where you wonder if it’s really too late to try and recapture that abandon and exuberance of youth. Busting out those spins, kicks and flicks on the dancefloor, it’s a classic.

Their songs are catchy and immediate, “Narcissus” is built on a driving military style beat with some biting lyrics and the sublime “Cherry Plum” is one and a half minutes of pure gorgeousness. They don’t play my favourite “Born In 62” though, I love that song with its Sonics “Strychnine” motif, and I was hoping it might make an appearance. The Dolly Mixture movie director, Paul Kelly, told me that song summed up the loose concept behind Railcard, all the original members were born in ‘62. He said that he was in an early incarnation of the band but I can’t remember if he said his role was Off-Peak Railcard, Family Railcard, Student Railcard or Senior Railcard? Talking of which, I was gutted they had sold out of the plastic Railcard railcard holders, a brilliant idea for band merchandise. I’m sure they have now gone on to be much sought-after collector’s items; I shall not rest until I have trawled eBay and spent my life’s savings on one. They play a great cover of Dandy Livingstone’s “Think About That” and close the set with the hypnotic "Disco Loadout" and the warm applause from the crowd fills the room. There’s something totally addictive about Railcard, something uplifting and refreshing – they will leave a smile on your face and a promise to yourself to bust out some Northern Soul shapes as soon as you get home. Well, once you’ve had a sit down and a nice cup of cocoa that is.

Rachel Love of Railcard and her former Dolly Mixture colleague Debsey Wykes

Next up is Helen McCookerybook, formerly of Indie-Pop pioneers The Chefs, who treated us to a thoroughly entertaining set. Starting off alone with the beautifully evocative “London” she is then joined by Robert Rotifer on guitar and vocals and Ruth Tidmarsh on bass and vocals and their harmonies have a real chemistry that ooze warmth. My personal highlight was “Three Cheers For Toytown”. Helen explains at the start “usually we have Terry Edwards playing trumpet but he’s off playing with The Nightingales, so we’re going to hum his parts. “Sixties Man” is another great moment, as is the audience participation on “The Sea”. Helen has an engaging presence, and her voice really draws you in and it’s no wonder she got a fantastic reaction from the crowd.

Would-Be-Goods open the set with the brilliant “The Morning After” which has a chorus that reminds me of The Monochrome Set, not surprising as to singer Jessica Griffin’s right stands the always impressively impassive Andy Warren (of Monochrome Set and before that, the original Adam & The Ants) nonchalantly spinning out some superb bass lines on his trademark Rickenbacker. There’s also a big link between the two bands, Bid and Co. were the backing band on Would-Be-Goods early releases and Peter Momtchiloff, now on stage with his guitar, was in Bid’s side project, Scarlet’s Well. On drums and vocals is Debbie Greensmith from Thee Headcoatees and Ye Nuns and that completes a superb line-up. However, similar to Railcard, Would-Be-Goods were also guilty of not playing one of my favourite songs tonight, sadly there’s no “Emmanuelle Beart”, but they are promoting their latest release “Tears Before Bedtime” after all, so some older numbers are bound to be missed out. Anyway, it’s not such a big issue with the new album being so damn good, packed with songs of the quality of “Tears For Leda” with its killer guitar riff intro reminiscent of The Kinks’ “Till The End of The Day”.

Jessica Griffin’s songwriting is something special, she has a knack of transporting you from a summer picnic on the riverbanks of an English university town, punts flowing past and the sound of leather on willow in the background to the cafes and patisseries of Le Marais and the Rive Gauche followed by a stroll past Serge Gainsbourg’s house on Rue de Verneuil. There’s beautifully constructed exotica such as “Madame X” but Jessica can then hit you right in the heart with stripped back, emotionally raw songs like “Heart of Tin” and “Too Old”. They play a good chunk of the new album and despite only listening a few times on-line prior to picking up a vinyl copy on the night, the songs are immediate and you find they are already lodged in your head. “The Gallopers” and “Witch Hazel” are prime example of the wonderful melodies that sound as familiar as most of the old favourites. Talking of which, I moaned about not getting “EB” but the brilliant “Cecil Beaton’s Scrapbook” keeps me quiet and more than makes up for it. “The Camera Loves Me” is another oldie and mighty fine goodie and it’s great to see Debbie singing the backing harmonies with a big smile, glowing with enthusiasm. It was a fantastic set, and I can’t recommend the new album highly enough, it’s an absolute classic. I mentioned this to Andy Warren, and he replied in perfectly deadpan manner, “thanks, yes it’s a cheerful album”. Priceless!

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Debsey Wykes "Teenage Daydream - We Are The Girls Who Play In A Band" book