Heavenly - Live at the Cowley Worker's Social Club Oxford and New Album "Highway To Heavenly"

We haven’t even got to British Summertime yet, but Skep Wax Records have already released an impressive hat-trick of LPs that I’m sure will be vying for top spot in our ‘best albums’ of the year list come December. The label, run by Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey from the recently re-ignited Heavenly, Talulah Gosh, Marine Research, The Catenary Wires (and more…) have put out fantastic records by former Dolly Mixture Rachel Love’s new band Railcard, featuring one of our favourite guitarists, Peter Momtchiloff, then there was Would-Be-Goods sublime “Tears Before Bedtime”, featuring Peter Momtchiloff, and now Heavenly’s very own out-of-this world comeback album “Highway To Heavenly”, featuring, yes you’ve guessed it Peter Momtchiloff! As I said recently in my feature on the brilliant Bizarro Promotions night at the Water Rats with Would-Be-Goods, Railcard and Helen McCookerybook, I have been on a Dolly Mixture binge since reading Debsey Wyke’s quite brilliant autobiography “Teenage Daydream” and seeing her at various events recently. I then found out about Railcard and when ordering their new compilation album from Skep Wax, discovered that Heavenly had also just released a brand-new album entitled “Highway to Heavenly”, their first for 30 years or so. I loved what I heard so ordered that from Skep Wax too and bloody hell, is it great! It’s short but perfectly formed, I don’t think I have heard such an immediate, impactful record for a long time, one listen and you’re hooked. I’ve often discussed with guests on my Retrosonic Podcast what constitutes a perfect album, and it’s rarer than you think, even from your very favourite bands or artist. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few such as “Rocket to Russia”, “Parallel Lines”, “Forever Changes”, “Grand Prix”, “Never Mind the Bollocks” but many other albums that I love have got some flaw or other. 

 

Be honest and think about albums that you would consider ‘perfect’ – ones where you can’t help but listen from Track 1 Side 1 all the way through to the very end without skipping a single song. Where the artwork, production and running order is faultless and where every track would make a perfect 7” single in its own right. Where each song burrows into your ear and sticks in your head after just one listen and you wonder if you’ve heard this all before in a previous life. Where you feel somehow different after listening to it, whether it makes you feel inspired, motivated, moved, emotional or just happy enough to jump around the living room with a tennis racket as a guitar, well “Highway to Heavenly” has all these things and more. After digesting the album, I was desperate to see the band play but was soon disappointed to find out that all the gigs I could have attended were sold out. But there was a stroke of luck as their gig in Oxford was moved to a bigger venue, and it gave us the chance to snap up tickets for the Cowley Worker’s Social Club on the outskirts of the band’s ‘hometown'. The venue was an old-school Phoenix Nights style social club, but it was spacious, the staff were friendly, drinks were reasonable and I happily noticed lots of seats for all of us old folks in the audience. But hang on, I then noticed there was a fair proportion of youngsters there. It was an all-ages gig, and it was refreshing to see so many young people in the audience, quite a few sporting Heavenly “Riot Twee” and “P.U.N.K. Girl” T-shirts. As the band appeared, I roused myself from my seat and made my way to the front of the stage and was suddenly surrounded by some enthusiastic teenagers who I soon discovered were singing along to all the songs, even the new ones, word perfect. Guitarist Peter Momtchillof was also impressed, looking on intriguingly he even asked a bunch of excitable youngsters gathered in front of him “how do you know all the words, the album’s only been out for 2 weeks?!” 

Heavenly seem to have a struck a chord with a younger audience, apparently due to the video for “P.U.N.K. Girl” going viral here and in the States. But I guess it could also be down to Heavenly’s all-inclusive, D.I.Y. ethic and of being embraced by the Riot-Grrrl movement. There’s also the legacy stretching back to Heavenly’s forerunner, Talulah Gosh, who it could be said were one of the key acts of the 80’s ‘C-86 scene’ that set the template for countless Indie-Pop bands to follow. Whereas contemporaries like the Jesus & Mary Chain took to the dark side and out-fuzzed and out-feedbacked everyone else, Talulah Gosh and their like basked in the sunnier side of 60’s influenced Pop married with buzzing guitars. That lineage might stretch to The Velvet Underground to Buzzcocks to Dolly Mixture to The Pastels to The Smiths, bands that were ideal for lovestruck, confused, inquisitive teenagers to take inspiration from. Whether that might be in the lyrical content, of finding out you are not alone in the world or in the good old Punk maxim “anyone can form a band”. Heavenly are still continuing in that tradition and a good example of this is in tonight’s opening number, the fantastic new single “Portland Town” with its lyrical wish to be able to live your life how you want, on your own terms and not be bound by what society might deem as acceptable. It’s kind of naïve of course, but why not? In these increasingly confrontational and negative times with too much cultural dumbing down, a lack of funding for the arts and venues closing left, right and centre - why not wish for a better and more positive place? “Conformity stinks, creativity’s free” sings Amelia and I think to myself, maybe that’s a great slogan for a new Heavenly T-Shirt. 

 

 

The band, comprising Amelia on vocals and guitar complete with a “Hey Ho, Let’s Go” sticker, Rob on bass, Peter Momtchiloff on guitar, Cathy Rogers on keyboards and vocals and Ian Button behind the drums, take the stage and you can sense a huge collective smile emanate from the crowd. They proceed to play a set comprising most of the new album but peppered with some older numbers, a pick from all their previous releases except 1991’s “Heavenly Vs. Satan” for some reason. We get “Sperm Meets Egg, So What?”, “Me And My Madness” and “She And Me” from “The Decline and Fall of Heavenly” and “Our Love Is Heavenly” from “Le Jardin de Heavenly”. My smile gets wider when they play one of my favourites, “Space Manatee” from 1996’s “Operation Heavenly” which reminds me of Pixies with Rob’s bass line taking the lead and some splendid guitar work from Peter. Amelia’s brother and original Heavenly drummer, Matthew, sadly died just before the release of “Operation Heavenly” after which they decided they just couldn’t continue the Heavenly name without him. It meant that sadly this excellent album had an understandably low-key release, and Amelia writes about this difficult time in the updated sleeve notes booklet included with the Skep Wax reissue. 

In fact, it was the communications around the idea to reissue the Heavenly back-catalogue on Skep Wax and the excellent Damaged Goods Records releasing a singles compilation, that was to lead to the reunion. This was initially meant to be just a one-off gig at Bush Hall in London with Ian Button from Rob and Amelia’s project The Catenary Wires, on drums. However, this soon snowballed into more gigs which led onto new songs which would eventually find their way onto “Highway to Heavenly”, their first release since the afore-mentioned “Operation Heavenly”. The songs from the new album played tonight go down really well, as I said earlier, they are immediate and laden with catchy hooks and gorgeous harmonies shared between Cathy and Amelia. The up-tempo “Excuse Me” is excellent in a Buzzcocks kind of way, “Good Times” starts off as a swaying, beautiful Phil Spector style number before bursting into a stellar chorus. The self-referential “Skep Wax” is another goodie, Amelia tells us it’s all about the positive power of music, and there’s one of the album’s highlights “Scene Stealing” which tackles the worrying rise of on-line influencers. “Press Return” has a pulsating synth line reminiscent of Pulp, it’s superb and I realised it’s almost impossible to pick a favourite track from the album, they are all so good.

 

I’ll digress slightly and get onto a couple tracks from the new album that they didn’t play tonight. I was a bit disappointed they missed out “She Is The One” as I love the way the beautiful melodies soar. It’s a masterclass in dual-vocals, reminding me of the chemistry between Belinda Carlisle and Jane Wiedlin in The Go-Go’s back in their prime. And then the album closer “That Last Night” starts with an upbeat tune which initially disguises the serious subject matter of dementia, loss and grief, “when we saw you that last day, we wondered if you knew that we were even there” is heartbreaking, and as someone who has a parent suffering from Alzheimer's, it is comforting knowing that this terribly distressing illness is being talked about. Amelia sings about embracing the happy memories, with one scene bordering on an irreverent Dave Allen TV sketch, involving a wheelchair accident in a church. But then a crunching, discordant chord interrupts proceedings to remind you of the seriousness of the situation. The song ends on a plaintive note “and did I do all that I could?” It’s a haunting end to the album that shows the real depth to Heavenly, they are not just there for the innocent days of youth but they’re facing up to the realities of our generation too.

Back to the show and the oldies “P.U.N.K. Girl” and “Atta Girl” are superb, with everyone around me joining in on a mass sing-along, a brilliant end to a quite wonderful set. The band just had to return for an encore, but Amelia took the stage alone, guitar in hand and apologised to her Heavenly bandmates before playing a solo rendition of Talulah Gosh’s “Beatnik Boy”. This was thanks to someone in the crowd requesting a dedication to his mum and as it was Mother’s Day the day after, I guess Amelia couldn’t refuse. The rest of the band then returned, Amelia put down her guitar to dance, and they played “C Is the Heavenly Number” which went down a storm. All the band members hung around for quite some time after the show to happily sign merchandise and chat to fans. I saw one comment on the band’s social media from another mum saying how happy her 13-year-old daughter was that Amelia took the time to chat and sign her records. It’s these little things that mean a lot and can guarantee another Heavenly fan for life. You can’t beat being amongst a friendly crowd on a night of joyous, life-affirming live music and Heavenly delivered the perfect tonic to all the bad news swirling around at the moment.

You can read about the recent Would-Be-Goods, Railcard and Helen McCookerybook gig at the Water Rats in our Retro Man Blog feature here, which drew a crowd packed with Indie-Pop and Punk celebrities including Lester Square and Dave Morgan from The Monochrome Set, Pete Astor from The Loft and The Weather Prophets, Jon Klein from Specimen and Siouxsie & The Banshees, Ian Greensmith and Bob Collins from The Dentists, Debsey from Dolly Mixture and Gaye Black from The Adverts. Our feature on the Dolly Mixture movie screening and Debsey’s Q&A with author Daniel Rachel can be found here. More videos from these events and from Heavenly’s Oxford show can be seen at our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel here, you can subscribe for free to access our whole archive of all-original live videos. For more information on related bands and labels please check out the links below.

Heavenly

Skep Wax Records

 The Catenary Wires

Would-Be-Goods

Railcard

The Penrose Web

Swansea Sound 

Bizarro Promotions

Damaged Goods Records

 All photos and videos copyright Retro Man Blog 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, Pete Astor from The Loft, Kevin Younger from The High 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! 

All photos and videos copyright Retro Man Blog 2026. More videos from the gig can be found at our Retro Man Blog YouTube channel here, please subscribe for free to access our whole archive of original live videos. Here are some useful links, please click to investigate further...

Would-Be-Goods

Railcard

Helen McCookerybook

Skep Wax Records

Heavenly

Bizarro Promotions

The Monochrome Set

Dolly Mixture

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