Retro Man Blog's Highlights of 2013...

Well, 2013 was certainly a bumper year for some quite stunning gigs, albums and singles - there is such a great scene going on at the moment and it all looks set to get even better in 2014. So, just to prove we're not all "retro" at Retro Man Blog here's a quick re-cap on some of our favourites of 2013, please click the highlighted link to take you to the relevant review or feature...

Retro Man Blog's Gig of 2013 - Graham Day & The Forefathers at Bethnal Green WMC Nov 29th
We went to 52 gigs in 2013, averaging one a week, here's some of those we enjoyed the most...
Giuda + Jonny Cola & The A-Grades at Islington Buffalo Bar May 24th
Les Kitschenettes + French Boutik + The Travellers at Le Bus Palladium Paris Nov 23rd
Crash 74 at The 12 Bar Club May 31st
The Len Price 3 "Nobody Knows" Album Launch at The Half Moon Putney Oct 25th
Thee Spivs "The Crowd & The Sounds" Album Launch at The Half Moon Jun 29th
Free Fall at Camden Dingwalls Feb 15th
The Fallen Leaves at The White Trash Club Berlin Sep 20th
TV Smith + Eight Rounds Rapid at The Railway Hotel Southend Dec 07th
The Rezillos + SpizzEnergi at 229 The Venue Apr 26th
The Flamin' Groovies at London Scala Kings Cross Jul 02nd
King Salami & The Cumberland 3 at Hipsville Weekender May 11th
Nina Persson, Ebbot Lundberg & Magnus Carlsson at Stockholm Kulturfestival Aug 14th
Jane Birkin at The London Barbican Centre Nov 09th
Cyanide Pills at The 100 Club Dec 29th
Vic Godard & Subway Sect at Kings Cross Water Rats Mar 29th
The Stranglers at Guildford G-Live Mar 12th
The Undertones at Reading Sub89 May 27th
Caviare Days at Beyond Retro London Sep 14th
The WitchDoktors + SuperMinx'70 at Fighting Cocks Kingston Jun 14th

Retro Man Blog's Album of 2013 - The Fallen Leaves "If Only We'd Known"
There were some excellent albums released in 2013, here's a pick of some of the best...
The Len Price 3 "Nobody Knows"
Mattias Hellberg "Gurimolla!"
Thee Spivs "The Crowd & The Sounds"
Duncan Reid "Little Big Head"
The Movements "Like Elephants 1"
Giuda "Let's Do It Again"
Marie Modiano "Ram On a Flag"
TV Smith "Acoustic Sessions Volume 1"
Wire "Change Becomes Us"
Free Fall "Power & Volume"
The Monochrome Set "Super Plastic City"
Jonny Cola & The A-Grades "Spitfire"
King Salami & The Cumberland 3 "Cookin' Up a Party"
The Godfathers "Jukebox Fury"
Elephant Stone "Elephant Stone"
Thee Oh Sees "Floating Coffin"
Hanni El Khatib "Head In The Dirt"
Cyanide Pills "Still Bored"
King Khan & The Shrines "Idle No More"

Retro Man Blog's Single of 2013 - The Travellers "Stay"
Here are some other great tracks that we've loved...
The Len Price 3 "London Institute"
Caviare Days & Ebbot Lundberg "When The Light Is Breaking"
Thee Spivs "Straight Out Of Art School"
Temples "Keep In The Dark"
Giuda "Wild Tiger Woman"
Eight Rounds Rapid "Writeabout"
The Fallen Leaves "Passing By"
Cyanide Pills "Apathy"
French Boutik "Ici Paris" E.P.
The Jetsonics "Cruel Lizzie Vickers"
The Past Tense "Remember The Days"
The pUKES "Will I Learn?"
The Ace! "The Poet"
Killer B's "Born Again"
The SuperMinx '70 "Adrienne Posta"
The Kite Collectors "The Man In The Paisley Shirt"

If you like this sort of thing don't forget to check out our Retrosonic Podcasts where we play a selection of new stuff from the Bands and Artists featured above, along with an eclectic pick of some of our old favourites, hidden gems and rarities from different eras of Punk Rock, New Wave, Psych, Post-Punk, Soul, Garage Rock, Reggae, Power Pop and Ska...As well as our regular shows there are dedicated episodes with very Special Guests including TV Smith, Chris Wilson from The Flamin' Groovies, Ian Person and Mattias Bärjed from The Soundtrack of Our Lives, JC Carroll of The Members, Ian Ballard from Damaged Goods Records, The Fallen Leaves, Harley Feinstein from Sparks, Mattias Hellberg, The Movements and many more. Click the highlighted link to go directly to each "special", otherwise browse the archive at our Soundcloud site, all episodes are free to download. If you haven't heard the Retrosonic Podcasts yet, here's a sample Episode...

Happy New Year everyone and a big "Thank You" for all the fantastic comments, feedback and contributions in 2013, it's really appreciated! Let's hope 2014 brings us even more great music...