Railcard & The Corner Laughers at The Betsey Trotwood London, Sunday 9th August 202

 

It’s my third Railcard gig already this year and I’m in danger of repeating myself, after all, there’s only so many ways of saying “I bloody love Railcard!” They are fast becoming our ‘Band of the Year’ and it’s not just us; the wind is undoubtedly in their sails as they cruise towards the release of their ‘proper’ debut album “Two Steps at a Time” in September. So, here we are for a Sunday afternoon matinee show at the Betsey Trotwood in Farringdon, it’s such a cool pub that the landlord is wearing a Felt “Me and a Monkey on the Moon” T-Shirt. There’s some Indie Royalty in the bright sunlit room, Railcard’s vocalist and guitarist Rachel Love’s former Dolly Mixture bandmate Debsey Wykes is there along with her partner Paul Kelly, once of Saint Etienne and Birdie. Jessica Griffin from Would-Be-Goods and Pete Astor of The Loft and The Weather Prophets are also present and correct. Yes, there’s a real buzz around Railcard now, so much so that they have even been acknowledged by British Rail, or whoever it is that runs the railways nowadays, with their very own official Railcard ‘railcards’. Handy for one of the best bits of band merchandise I’ve seen in a long while, the plastic Railcard railcard holder, I never leave home without mine. 

 

In fact, Railcard do have a pretty good imagination when it comes to their merchandise – the T-shirt on sale today sports a print of a mock rail network with the station stops replaced by this year’s tour dates and venue. This comes with a “You Are Here” button badge that you are meant to re-position on the shirt according to the gig you are attending at the time. There are also Rachel’s trademark berets in a variety of colours at the merch desk alongside a very fetching Tote bag and copies of their brilliant self-titled debut compilation album that gathered their previous three E.P.s in one glorious package. Last year they also produced some cool Northern Soul style patches together with the release of the “Northern Soul Dancing” E.P. They really seem to enjoy the creative process of coming up with inspired ideas for merchandise and it got me wondering just what new goodies they are going to dream up around the release of the new LP. 

Today’s set is quite different from their recent and rather splendid show at the Water Rats when they were supporting Brian Bilston & The Catenary Wires alongside Jetstream Pony, which you can read all about here. They included “Revolutionary Calendar” and “Daydream” from the E.P. collection alongside new songs “Foxy”, which features on the excellent Skep Wax Records compilation “Pets Sounds”. There’s the excellent latest single “Unstable Neighbour” with some spaced out Psychedelic trumpet from Allison and the album title track “Two Steps at a Time”, which comes complete with a catchy whistle-along refrain. Drummer and vocalist Ian Button does his best to explain the background behind some of the songs; however, he is often reduced to amusing Robyn Hitchcock style flights of fancy as his bandmates try to interject and put him off. Rachel is all smiles and occasionally she cracks up when she catches Allison’s eye – it’s this wonderful chemistry between the band that warms the heart of even this cynical old gig-goer. They play a great new Peter Momtchiloff penned track called “Paper Thin” and of course, favourites such as “Railcard”, “Northern Soul Dancing” and the set closer, the hypnotic “Disco Loadout” make their appearance. 

However, sadly there’s still no place for my favourite “Born in ‘62” though, which is after all, the song that explains the catalyst behind the band’s formation, fingers crossed that maybe they’ll play it one day. Then it’s all over until, enthusiastically spurred on by Debsey, we all join in to call them back for a well-deserved encore. They don’t take the easy option, deciding to play another new song called “Inspector Sands”, and it is fun watching the band give it a go for the first time. This song Rachel explains, appears on the bonus 7” single that comes with the limited Dinked edition of the new LP. I’d recommend ordering it now, as it appears that some stores have already sold out in advance. Judging on the quality of the recent singles and new songs that I’ve heard them play live, I’m guessing that the new LP is going to be pretty damn good indeed. I’ll be there at The Lexington on Sunday 20th September for the matinee “Two Steps at a Time” launch party, which also features Gina Birch and an Indie-label record fair downstairs. Now, that’s ticking a lot of boxes for yet another very special Railcard event, can't wait!

 

 

Special guests on the day were The Corner Laughers from Redwood City, California, or half of them at least, as we were treated to an acoustic duo version of the band featuring Karla Kane on ukulele and lead vocals and Khoi on guitar and backing vocals. The connection between them and the headliners is that Railcard’s Ian Button released Karla’s debut solo album “King’s Daughters Home for Incurables” on his Gare Du Nord Record label and he invited them to play as they were over in the U.K. It was an inspired choice, as their beautiful pastoral Folk Pop songs and Californian melodies made for the perfect soundtrack to the glorious summer weather outside. Karla has a wonderful warm voice and Khoi’s backing harmonies complement her perfectly and they quickly endear themselves to the audience.

My personal highlights were “Changeling”, “Terra Mia” and two songs which hint towards their appreciation of the U.K. “Victoria Sponge” with handy lyrical recipe included, and the single “Rainbow Cardigan”, which even namechecks the Lake Districts’ Kendal Castle. As Karla explained, on record with the full band, they sound a bit different to today’s stripped back affair, but to be honest, it kind of suited the vibe of such an intimate, sun-drenched afternoon perfectly. I picked up a copy of their latest album “Concerns of Wasp & Willow” and bagged one of the last vinyl copies of “Matilda Effect”, which included a free CD version and left the venue with a very large and contented smile on my face. You can see more videos of both bands by subscribing for free to our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel here.

 

With thanks to Karla and Khoi.

Andrew Perry - A Celebration of a Life In Music at The Social, Saturday 11th July 2026

It was an honour to be there at The Social in London on Saturday night to celebrate the life of music journalist Andrew Perry, who very sadly, passed away from brain cancer earlier this year. Andy was one of the U.K.'s best and most respected music journalists, contributing to magazines and newspapers such as Mojo, Select, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine and The Daily Telegraph as well as writing and co-authoring books about John Lydon, Tricky and Bez. He also DJ'd with Andy Fraser under the banner Intensive Care and had a regular show on Totally Wired Radio. Andy was as Rock 'n' Roll as most of the musicians he covered but he also kept that passion and enthusiasm of a true music fan. There didn't seem to be any of the cynicism, bitterness or ego that affects many of his fellow music journalists. In fact, the amount of love and affection that poured out following his passing was quite remarkable, more so considering he was working in the field of journalism. Nobody seemed to have a bad word to say about him and that is testament to Andy's character. There were many tributes from high profile names in the music and publishing business including Bobby Gillespie, Tim Burgess, Steve Mason and Ebbot Lundberg to name just a few. Whether you knew AP well or just bumped into him at the occasional gig, he was one of those people that cheered you up immediately. His big infectious smile and positive energy will be sorely missed.

I can't claim to be a long-time, close friend of Andy Perry, we first met in the early 2000's and became mates, gig buddies and most importantly, we were both huge fans of Swedish Psych-Rockers, The Soundtrack of Our Lives. That's really where the connection was. But not only was he a fan of the band, he had the privilege of being able to write about them professionally and he did all that he could to cover and promote the so-called "Swedish Invasion" that included the likes of TSOOL, The Hives and The (International) Noise Conspiracy. I was also a big fan of Andy's writing, and the way he wrote about music was certainly one of the inspirations for when I decided to rekindle my old 1980's DIY fanzine "Out of Step" and turn it into one of these modern Blog type things. Initially when I started the Blog in 2011, it was designed solely to write about The Soundtrack of Our Lives. I chose Retro Man as it was the name of my favourite TSOOL song, and not because I was a nostalgic old git (seriously...) as some people might imagine! Unfortunately, my grand idea didn't really pan out as expected as the band were to split up a year later - I'm sure it was nothing personal. So I expanded my musical horizons to write about all the other great bands I was discovering, along with TSOOL's last shows and their various spin-offs, solo work and musical legacy. Inspired by Andy, my mantra for writing about music was to try and make sure I kept things positive and to write like the fan I was. After all, that was Andy - a music fan first and foremost. I even tried to get him on an episode of my Retrosonic Podcast as a special guest, "Blimey, thanks, I am seriously not worthy!" he replied. To my regret, sadly we never did get round to it.

At Rough Trade East for the TSOOL Record Store Day show, Andy chatting to Ebbot & Alex Kapranos

 

Despite The Soundtrack of Our Lives split, Andy and I still met up at various band related shows here and in Sweden. He was there at the Half Moon Putney for my gigs with their frontman Ebbot Lundberg, his first solo shows in the U.K. We were backstage at the Refused gig at Shepherds Bush Empire to catch up with his good friend, the former TSOOL guitarist Mattias Bärjed, who was touring with Refused at the time. Then we saw the legendary Swedish Punk band, and TSOOL forerunners, Union Carbide Productions reunion show in Gothenburg. It was a great gig but Andy moaned to me afterwards about the strange decision to hold the show at a posh all-seated theatre, especially considering the wild nature of the band. When a mutual friend from Sweden came over to London to see the Canadian Psychedelic band Elephant Stone, who's frontman Rishi had played sitar for TSOOL on occasion, Andy made sure he came along too and he turned up at The Lexington sporting his bright blue and yellow Torquay United scarf! As a supporter of a lower league club myself, we would sometimes end up chatting about football as much as music. Then, I remember at one of his birthday parties on a boat on the River Thames when he introduced me to Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols, who happened to be drumming with Vic Godard & Subway Sect, one of Andy's special musical guests on the night. It was never dull when Andy was around.

Andy backstage with Ebbot at our Retro Man Blog Night, his first UK solo show

Then our wish came true when we found out that The Soundtrack of Our Lives had decided to get back together. I tried to persuade Andy to go with me to their first reunion show at Gothenburg's Way Out West Festival and he tried to twist my arm to join him at the Azkena Festival in Spain. Then we found out that they were due to play a show at the Electric Ballroom in London on March 6th 2024. The atmosphere was amazing and Noel Gallagher, another longtime TSOOL-super fan and big supporter of the band, popped in backstage. It was just like old times, the band looked and sounded fantastic and we were all on cloud nine, it was great to be there watching the band we loved so much, it was as though they'd never been away. Andy's passing hit The Soundtrack of Our Lives hard, they never failed to acknowledge or appreciate his support for the band and Ebbot published some nice words on TSOOL's social media after the sad news broke.

"Andy had been following and supporting us from the very start. He was a true fan. One of the kindest, wittiest and most big hearted persons I’ve known in this world. Whenever we played—in San Diego, New York, Spain, or Gothenburg—he was always there. We were from the same generation and shared a lot of influences. That connection meant we always understood each other, and our exchanges were consistently inspiring and rewarding. We’ll miss him forever!" – Ebbot/The Soundtrack of Our Lives

Jim Jones & Heavy Friends, featuring Misty and Lucy

Jim Jones with David Holmes

Saturday's event "Andrew Perry - A Celebration of a Life In Music" at the Heavenly Social was an emotional yet ultimately uplifting experience and I'm sure Andy would have appreciated the great music on offer. People were sharing their stories about Andy, and the amount of love in the room was palpable. DJ's including the legendary David Holmes, Rhys Webb from The Horrors, Declan Allen and Andy Fraser provided some cool sounds. Ebbot has recorded a new E.P. of cover versions that he has dedicated to Andy and hopefully that will be released soon, he had sent them to Andy's partner Victoria to play on the night as an exclusive, unfortunately, I was out getting some fresh air and missed them. I will of course advise further details as soon as I get news on the official release. Then there was a cracking live set from Jim Jones All Stars, although tonight they were billed as Jim Jones Heavy Friends who ran through a superb selection of some of Andy's favourite songs. Jim Jones is certainly the go-to man if you want to get a set of killer covers together. I will never forget the "Lenny Kaye plays Nuggets" night at the 100 Club where he pulled together a super-star line-up including such luminaries as Lenny Kaye himself, Brian James, Rat Scabies, Cheetah Chrome of The Dead Boys, Dave Treganna of Lords of The New Church, Peter Coyne of The Godfathers, Jon King of Gang of Four and many more to deliver a stunning two hour set of 60's Garage Psych classics. Tonight Jim and his All Stars did Andy proud by thrashing through some great songs including The Damned's "New Rose", Velvet Underground's "Run Run Run", Eddie Floyd's "Big Bird", Rolling Stones "Happy", Jesus & Mary Chain's "Head On" and MC5's "Kick Out The Jams". The band were joined by Lucy Maycroft for a take on Royal Trux, and then she was joined by Misty from Tuesday's Cockroaches for a superb performance of The Runaways "Cherry Bomb". It was a perfect tribute and their charged, raw and emotional performance was as cathartic as it was enjoyable. More videos can be found at our Retro Man Blog YouTube channel here.

The tickets for the event were a donation to the Brain Tumour Charity, and if you didn't have chance to make it along but would still like to make a donation, then please do check out their web-site here. I'm writing this just as I got the news that Jennifer Finch, the super-cool bassist from L7, has been diagnosed with an agressive form of brain cancer, so it really is heartbreaking that this terrible disease is taking it's toll on people that are far too young. 

Excuse me for ending on a rather personal note but one of the last times I heard from Andy was just before my 60th Birthday gig at the Half Moon Putney last September - we were born in the same year, 1965. I had arranged some special guests to play, including The WitchDoktors with Marty Love from Johnny Moped, Nicky Forbes from The Revillos, Damian O'Neill from The Undertones and Gaye Advert DJing, and I really wished he would be OK to make it along. His reply kind of summed up his positivity and love for music despite what he must have been going through.

"Many thanks for invite, I will try..! Currently however on a nightmare oncology journey…desperately missing my Rock action!"

Our sincere condolences and thoughts go out to Andy's partner Victoria and all his friends, family and fans of his writing.

Brian Bilston & The Catenary Wires, Jetstream Pony & Railcard at The Water Rats London 9th July 2026

 

This was another very special (but swelteringly hot) night at The Water Rats in Kings Cross in the company of Skep Wax Records, who were hosting the launch party for their fantastic new "Pets Sounds" compilation LP. I was lucky in that I managed to grab the very last copy of the album on vinyl from the night's stock, and it really is a superb collection of mainly animal and pet-themed songs by bands from the Skep Wax stable (sorry about the terrible animal-themed pun there...) such as Railcard, Jetstream Pony and Brian Bilston & The Catenary Wires, who all played full sets on the night and Sassyhiya, Swansea Sound and Gay Skeleton Club who all got up as special guests and performed a song each. Skep Wax is run by Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey from Indie-Pop legends, Heavenly and not content with being in at least three bands at the moment, they seem determined to promote and release records by as many of their favourite bands as possible, most of which are currently making waves, in particular The Cords and Special Friend are starting to break through to a wider audience.

 

 

Tonight, Railcard open proceedings with their delightful, beautifully crafted songs, as you would expect from the involvement of former Dolly Mixture, Rachel Love. Rachel takes on lead vocals and guitars with Ian Button on drums, Peter Momtchiloff on bass and Allison Thomson on keyboards, trumpet and generally looking very cool, despite the heat. They played a couple of excellent new songs including "Foxy", which features on the "Pets Sounds" album and "Two Steps at a Time", the title track of their forthcoming album which is due out in September. The band have just announced an afternoon matinee launch party for the LP at The Lexington in London on Sunday September 20th and it seems really interesting, as not only is former Raincoat, Gina Birch the special guest, there will also be an Indie-label record fair in the downstairs bar. You can get tickets for this from We Got Tickets and I wouldn't hang around, as demand for this is surely going to be very high. As I have written on the Blog before, I love Railcard, there is just something so likeable about the band and their life-affirming songs that grabs you by the heartstrings. My favourite "Northern Soul Dancing" with Ian on lead vocals, is a fantastic number and I love the sentiment behind the lyrical theme of yearning to let yourself go, to throw yourself into frenzied dancing without a care in the world. I am really looking forward to the new album and especially the launch party gig in September which promises to be very special indeed.

 

Next up is Jetstream Pony, who I must confess I'd never seen play live before, despite being a fan for a long time and playing some of their early releases in episodes of our Retrosonic Podcast. They didn't disappoint, in fact I'd go so far as saying that they exceeded expectations, and they went down really well with the crowd. Lead vocalist Beth Arzy is an engaging presence up front with an easy humour and a wonderful voice and she makes light of the heat while bombarding the crowd with stuffed cat toys. While they are probably more known for their releases on another of our favourite labels, Spinout Nuggets, they have contributed a track to the "Pets Sounds" compilation called "Grimalkin Tom" which they play tonight and it's a prime example of their trademark shimmering wall of sound. This is mainly down to the twin guitars of Shaun Charman, formerly of The Wedding Present and Mark Matthews who was in The Dentists and that's some pedigree there for sure. Their interplay is superb which is somewhat ironic though, because as far as I know neither were guitarists in their former bands, but you'd never know it and I really love the riffs and textures that they conjure up. 

      

 

The foundation of any band is of course the rhythm section and drummer Tom Levesley impresses, but I'm completeley blown away by bassist Kerry Boettcher - and I mean that quite literally as I was standing in front of her amp! I might be biased, what with me being a bassist and all that, but she has an immense bass sound - think of "Blindness" by The Fall or "Toiler on The Sea" by The Stranglers or "Research Chemicals" by Viagra Boys and then crank it all up a notch and you might come close. The band play a set comprising mostly of songs from their excellent current album "Bowerbirds and Blue Things" and Beth gives a shout out to Buddy Ascott, former drummer with The Chords (who I happen to be with at the gig) as apparently he was the one who came up with the title. He jokingly tries to use this sudden boost in prestige to get a discount off the album at the merch desk, but I think the young guy behind the counter looks a bit panicked at Buddy's "do you know who I am, I named the album!" line (just kidding!). Hard to pick out specific highlights as the set was full of them, but "Bubblegum Nothingness” really stood out as one of my personal favourites. At one point they are joined on stage by Amelia Fletcher for the spoken word parts on "The Relativity of Wrong", which was originally performed by Eleni Poulou of The Fall on the album itself, and they end with the 'classic' "Had Enough". It was a brilliant set and I kicked myself for not managing to see them before, sometimes these things just happen but I certainly hope I can catch them play again soon.

Unfortunately, due to chatting outside the venue while trying to get some fresh air, I missed most of the special guest appearances but made it back inside to catch the brilliant "Compilation Cassette" by Brian Bilston & The Catenary Wires. The Catenary Wires are Amelia, Rob and Ian Button and last year they teamed up with the author and poet Brian Bilston for the album "Sounds Made By Humans" to put music and melodies to Brian Bilston's observant, humorous poetry and spoken word musings on the minutiae of modern life. The album works remarkably well from all aspects, the songs themselves are enough to satisfy anyone who initially might not be that keen on poetry but the delivery and humour of the words is really the key. I think if you love The Blue Aeroplanes then you will love this album. Tonight they are joined by Dentists/Swansea Sound guitarist Bob Collins who adds some sublime sounds from his Rickenbacker. But back to "Compilation Cassette" and any romantic music fan will understand the pre-digital age love letter of a painstakingly compiled TDK-C90, in which each song was chosen to say the things you couldn't bring yourself to say. It's a beautiful song that strangely reminds me of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" and Rob's warm voice contrasts nicely with Brian Bilston's spoken words. Other songs/poems such as "The Interview" and the brilliant "31 Rules For Midlife Rebellion" really strike a chord with those of us of a certain age and I can see lots of knowing smiles around me in the crowd. Regretfully, I couldn't stay for the whole set due to problems on the trains, I didn't want a repeat of the two hour journey from hell up into London on the way home too. A real shame, as I was enjoying the set so much and I hope the project doesn't end with just the one album. I've certainly become a big fan of Brian Bilston's poems now and I look forward to investigating some of his books too.

 

I really love what Rob and Amelia are doing with Skep Wax, and whilst not all of the bands on the label are to my own musical taste, they have no doubt created a wonderfully inclusive and diverse roster with a real identity. It's a truly Independent label with all the values that I have loved going back to my old days in bands and doing fanzines and cassette labels in the early to mid-80's, that DIY spirit of postivity and mutual cooperation. It's refreshing and inspiring in these often negative and cynical times, it's certainly hard to beat.

For more videos please head on over to our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel here and like/subscribe, it's free!

 

John Robb "Punk Rock Ruined My Life: And Other Stories" Book Launch & Gaye Advert Interview at Jacksons Lane Art Centre Highgate, 3rd June 2026

We attended a thoroughly enjoyable evening at the excellent Jacksons Lane Arts Centre in the company of John Robb, the acclaimed music journalist, TV presenter, author, frontman of The Membranes and Goldblade and of course, a cultural ambassador for Blackpool. John was on tour promoting his new autobiography "Punk Rock Ruined My Life: And Other Stories". It was a night of two halves - the first section featured John delivering an impressive one-man blast through his early years, clutching the mic stand as if he was fronting one of his bands. Then after the interval, John introduced special guest Gaye Black, or Gaye Advert as she was once known in her time as the iconic bassist with The Adverts, to discuss her life in Music and Art. In fact, this format runs throughout the intensive nationwide tour, with John's 'solo' talk followed by a Q&A session with various musical pals depending on the show's location, these included such luminaries as Stuart Braithwaite from Mogwai, Pauline Murray from Penetration, Holly from The Lovely Eggs, Steve & Paul Hanley from The Fall and Dave Rowntree from Blur.

John discussed his early life, growing up in Blackpool and how he felt it was such an uncool place that it meant he didn't have to worry about trying to be 'cool'. He talks about discovering music from a very early age and he was particularly taken by "Yellow Submarine" although he preferred the Pinky & Perky version rather than the Beatles original and admits he thought The Wombles were cool. He fell in love with Glam Rock, especially David Bowie and as an avid reader of the music press he found out about Punk Rock. In a bid to look Punk, John started buying clothes in local Oxfam shops, borrowing his Dad's string vest and piercing his ears using a compass and piece of cork. He nails what it was like growing up in the 70's, throwing in some nostalgic comments on those radioactive orange three-bar electric heaters and the state of English cuisine, where the only use of olive oil was when your Mum soaked a piece of cotton wool in it to stick in your ear when you had earache. It's these hilarious vignettes that have many of us laughing and sighing in recognition. 

 

Those shared generational experiences don't happen so much in modern life, and an example of this was Top of The Pops, where the whole nation was glued to the TV on a Thursday evening. John talks about forming The Membranes - taking the Punk motto of you don't need to be able to play music to form a band to a new level. He explains how The Membranes became cool in America and how Dinosaur Jr filmed the video to "Freak Scene" in his garden. Unfortunately, one hour just wasn't enough so we only get to the part where he takes his first steps into music journalism contributing to magazines such as Sounds and Zig Zag. I'm looking forward to getting stuck into the book to continue on the journey and hopefully I'll find out if Punk Rock did ruin John's life or indeed, save it.

Please check out John Robb's web-site here for details on the remaining Tour dates and updates on all his many and varied projects. You can order "Punk Rock Ruined My Life" here. 

Gaye Black will be curating an Art Exhibition and appearing at the "50 Years of Punk" event at the John Peel Centre in Stowmarket which runs from 9th-14th June. For more information on her Art please check out her web-site here. You can also still download or stream our special Retrosonic Podcast with Gaye, where she discusses her life in music and art and plays some of her favourite records for us.

Retrosonic Podcast · Gaye (Advert) Black, Artist & Former Bassist with The Adverts

The Pandoras at The Hope & Anchor Islington, Wednesday 6th May 2026

I was thrilled to witness The Pandoras make a rare U.K. appearance at the legendary Hope & Anchor in Islington, a place that has over the years hosted acts such as The Jam, Elvis Costello, The Specials, The Saints and The Clash. It’s hard to believe now, but Joy Division and U2 made their London debuts here and The Damned filmed the seminal promo video for “New Rose” in the tiny basement venue. In the mid to late Seventies, it was a vital outlet for Pub Rock and early Punk Rock acts and was the birthplace of Stiff Records, even The Stranglers recorded a live album here in 1977. It’s also one of the very few legendary London venues to have survived gentrification and redevelopment and it’s great that it is still thriving and going strong to this day. It’s probably hard to believe for first timers to grasp that this tiny, cramped basement has hosted so many well-known names over the years and now it’s The Pandoras turn. 

 

The Pandoras were one of the early front-runners of the Californian Sixties revival of the early to mid-80’s and they straddled the sounds of the Paisley Underground, Power Pop and Nuggets style Garage Rock perfectly. Most acts go through various trials and tribulations over the years, such as changes to their line-up and/or musical differences and The Pandoras certainly had their share of these, but they were also hit by two unforeseeable tragedies. First of all, let’s look at some of the key line-up changes – just after the release of their debut album “It’s About Time” in 1984, there was a falling out and lead vocalist and guitarist Paula Pierce decided to recruit new members including Melanie Vammen on keyboards and Karen Blankfeld (now Basset) on drums and they managed to keep hold of the Pandoras name. Then in 1985 they got in a new bassist, Kim Shattuck and this classic line-up of the band would go on to release their second album, the superb “Stop Pretending”. Then we come to a change of direction which would ultimately lead to another shift in the band’s line-up. This was Paula’s decision to move the band into Heavy Rock territory with the quite literally titled “Rock Hard” mini album. Prior to recording the album, Karen had left the band and Sheri Kaplan (Weinstein) took over on the drums. Paula wanted to push on with this heavier direction and decided that she no longer wanted keyboards so Melanie was ousted, Kim left in support of her bandmate, and both would go on to form The Muffs.

Then the first serious tragedy in The Pandoras history hit with the sudden death of Paula due to an aneurysm in 1991. This was to mark the end of the band from the public eye until 2015 when Melanie, Kim, Sheri and Karen got back for a live reunion show. Kim had moved from bass to lead vocals and guitar; Karen took on bass duties so that Sheri could join on drums and Melanie was in her familiar role on the keyboards. Then, the second tragedy occurred with Kim Shattuck’s sad and untimely passing in 2019 of ALS, a form of motor neuron disease. Kim had a popular stint playing bass with Pixies (although probably too popular for some of her bandmates) and shortly before her death had recorded a fantastic album with The Muffs. She was also part of a great side-project called The Coolies along with Melanie and Palmyra Delran, so Kim’s passing was made even sadder as she was in such fine creative form. Anyway, I digress, let’s get back to tonight’s gig…the crowd is full of familiar faces, many of whom are in bands themselves as I see members of The Parkinsons, King Salami & The Cumberland 3, The Phobics, Baby Seals, The Tuppenny Bunters and The Cannibals/Raw Fun. There’s a charged, expectant atmosphere buzzing round the packed out steaming hot venue as The Pandoras take the stage and hit us with their cinematic Garage Surf instrumental “Haunted Beach Party”. 

 

The current line-up features Melanie on keyboards and guitar, Sheri on drums, the most recent recruit Natalie Grace Sweet on bass and Karen is now up front on lead vocals and guitar. As Sheri mentions during the band introductions, “Karen has played every role in The Pandoras except keyboards!” and she does a fantastic job, you’d never think she had started on drums and moved to bass before finally fronting the band, she’s a natural. Most of the set understandably features tracks taken from their 1986 album “Stop Pretending” but they also throw in some singles such as the brilliant “Hot Generation”, deep cuts like “You Lie” and a cover of We The People’s “You Burn Me Up and Down”. However, debut album “It’s About Time” is also represented as is the band’s foray into Heavy Rock with “Craving” taken from the “Rock Hard” mini-album and as previously mentioned, the first to feature Sheri on the drums. There’s a great cheerful chemistry across the band that seeps into the crowd, and I reflect that after Love with Johnny Echols stunning show at the Shepherds Bush Empire last Saturday (review here), it’s the second time in less than a week that a California based band has made my spirit soar. 

The great songs keep coming, "That’s The Way It’s Going To Be” with its stabbing keyboard riff and the catchy backing vocal harmonies on “I’m Your Girl” are just two of my personal highlights. Melanie abandons her keyboards halfway through the show to strap on a guitar, and at one point she leaps down among the crowd during a brilliant blast through “It Felt Alright”. They dedicate the gig to the memory of both Paula and Kim, which is a nice touch, before finishing with “Melvin”, their take on the Van Morrison and Them/Patti Smith classic “Gloria” and it’s a perfectly chaotic singalong to end what was a thoroughly entertaining set. I was so pleased to finally get to see The Pandoras, a great band and great people and I sincerely hope it’s not too long until their return to our shores. Oh yes, there was also the added bonus of Melanie having been in one of my (many…) favourite bands The Muffs, and she gladly signed copies of my Muffs 7” singles that I’d taken along, so I made my way home with a big and very contented smile on my face.

 

 

You can check out more videos from the gig at our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel here, it's free to subscribe. In Retrosonic Podcast Episode 49 we played a great track from The Coolies, the band originally formed by Melanie Vammen, Kim Shattuck and Palmyra Delran. We picked the fantastic single "King of Confusion" a Go-Go's cover which featured special guests Clem Burke and Kathy Valentine, you can check that out here.