Retro Man Blog & Retrosonic Podcast's Favourite Gigs of 2024 with Photos & Videos

All photos copyright Retro Man Blog

Welcome to this selection of some of our favourite gigs of 2024. There were some super shows this year, from intimate solo performances in churches to full-on orchestral shows and of course the usual raucous Rock 'n' Roll gigs in classic venues. Please click on the highlighted band name for links to access our videos from the relevant shows and I've added links to various corresponding reviews in our archive too.

1. Love Revisited with Johnny Echols - Shepherds Bush Empire

 For review with photos and videos check out our Retro Man Blog feature here

2. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Camden Electric Ballroom

3. The Prisoners - The Roundhouse, Camden

For review with more photos from the show, check out the feature here

4. Bill Ryder-Jones - "Iechyd Da" Live at The Barbican

5. Lenny Kaye & Friends Play Nuggets - 100 Club, London

Check out the feature here for review and more photos and videos

6. The Woggles, The Len Price 3 & The Galileo 7 - 100 Club, London

See more photos and videos from the show at our Retro Man Blog feature here

7. The Blue Aeroplanes - Lafayette, London

For review with photos and videos from the show check out the Retro Man Blog feature here

8. Michael Head - St. Pancras Old Church, London

9. Love Revisited with Johnny Echols - The Stables, Milton Keynes

10. Indochine - Rough Trade East, London

See more photos and videos from the show at our Retro Man Blog feature here

11. Altin Gun - The Troxy, London

12. Elephant Stone & Karma Sheen - The Lexington, London

Check the feature here for review with photos and videos

13. The WitchDoktors, The Phobics & Damage - The Half Moon Putney

14. Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - EartH Hackney

For review with photos and videos from the show, check out the feature here

15. The Damned - Waterside Theatre Aylesbury

16. Lalalar - The Garage, Islington

See photos and more videos from the show at the Retro Man Blog feature here

17. Michael Head - Rough Trade East, London

18. Ruts DC - ElectrAcoustic at 100 Club, London

For feature on ElectrAcoustic Vol. 3 check out the the Blog archive here

19. Bill Ryder-Jones - Islington Assembly Hall

20. Robyn Hitchcock - Foyles, London

For original videos from most of the shows above, please check out our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel, you can subscribe for free here. All photos and videos copyright Retro Man Blog.

Retro Man Blog & Retrosonic Podcast's Favourite Books of 2024

 

Here's a selection of twelve of our favourite books published this year, please click on the highlighted links throughout the feature below for more information.

1. "Street Level Superstar: A Year With Lawrence" by Will Hodgkinson

Jarvis Cocker interviews Author Will Hodgkinson and Lawrence (Felt, Denim, Go-Kart Mozart, Mozart Estate about the book at Foyles, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

2. "Too Much Too Young: The 2 Tone Records Story" by Daniel Rachel

Author Daniel Rachel (centre) with Pauline Black of The Selecter and Bedders of Madness at the book launch event, South Bank Centre London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

3. "A Taste of Ink, The Prisoners Sentenced By Their Fans" Edited by Elinor Crockford, Jeremy Stride, Thomas Buch & Michael Langer

Editors Jeremy Stride, Elinor Crockford, Michael Langer and Thomas Buch with their book before The Prioners reunion show at The Roundhouse - Photo by Retro Man Blog. You can check out a review of the gig and see more information on the book at our Retro Man Blog feature here.

4. "Forever Changes: The Authorised Biography of Arthur Lee and Love" by John Einarson

You can see our review with photos and videos of the Love Revisited with Johnny Echols "Forever Changes" gig at Shepherds Bush Empire here. Photo by Retro Man Blog

5. "Diminished Responsibility: My Life As a U.K. Sub and Other Strange Stories, Vol. 3" by Alvin Gibbs

Check out our review of "Diminished Responsibility Vol. 3 at Retro Man Blog here.

6. "In The Jingle Jangle Jungle: Keeping Time with The Brian Jonestown Massacre" by Joel Gion

7. "Sixteen Again: How Pete Shelley and Buzzcocks Changed Manchester Music (and Me)" by Paul Hanley

8. "Under A Rock: A Memoir" by Chris Stein of Blondie

9. "Folklore Rising: An Artist's Journey Through The British Ritual Year" by Ben Edge

Ben Edge at the screening of his documentary "Frontline Folklore" at the Garden Cinema, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

10. "1967 - How I Got There and Why I Never Left" by Robyn Hitchcock

Robyn performing during the Q&A to promote "1967" at Foyles in London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

11. "Road Eyes 20:20 Vision, Photo Tales with The Clash & The Mescaleros" by Barry 'Scratchy Sounds' Myers

You can hear our Retrosonic Podcast special with Scratchy discussing the book and his time with The Clash and Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros below...

Retrosonic Podcast · DJ Scratchy Sounds: Photo Tales with The Clash & Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros

12. "Days In Europa" by Richard Jobson of The Skids

Retro Man Blog & Retrosonic Podcast's Best Albums of 2022 (new releases)

Here's Retro Man Blog and Retrosonic Podcast's top 22 new album releases of 2022, we hope you enjoy this selection and if you do, please follow, like, subscribe to the Blog and Podcast and please support all the featured bands and artists. Thanks for all the support throughout the year!

1. Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band "Dear Scott'

2. Graham Day "Master of None"

3. Damian O'Neill "An Crann"

4. Ruts DC "Counterculture"

5. The Schizophonics " Hoof It"

6. The Guy Hamper Trio "All The Poisons In The Mud"

7. The Brian Jonestown Massacre "Fire Doesn't Grow On Trees"

8. Cat & The Underdogs "Punk Rock Overdrive"

9. The Bug Club "Green Dream In F#"

10. Thee Moot "Mood Swings And Roundabouts"

11. Viagra Boys "Cave World"

12. Suzi Moon "Dumb And In Luv"

13. AlterModerns "Side Effects of Reality"

14. Paper Lips "The Sound of Sound"

15. The Senior Service "A Little More Time With..."

16. Sounds Incarcerated "Unswitchable Hits Vol. 2"

17. Robyn Hitchcock "Shufflemania!"

18. Martin Hederos "Hederos c/o Satie"

19. Gaye Su Akyol "Anadolu Ejderi"

20. The Len Price 3 "Ip Dip Do"

21. Luke Haines & Peter Buck "All The Kids Are Super Bummed Out"

22. Autoramas "Autointitulado"

Thanks to all contributors, bands, Podcast special guests and co-presenters, record labels and people who have shared and supported what we have done over the past year. Retro Man Blog and Retrosonic Podcast are an extension of the spirit of my old 1980's D.I.Y. cut 'n' paste fanzine Out of Step and are strictly non-profit without advertising or sponsorship, set up purely to promote music that we like. We hope you have discovered some exciting new music along the way, your support is very much appreciated. 

Robyn Hitchcock with Davey Lane at The Boileroom Guildford, Sunday July 21st

Robyn Hitchcock with Davey Lane at The Boileroom Guildford

Here's some photos and a couple of videos from Robyn Hitchcock's superb gig at the Boileroom in Guildford last Sunday. It was my first visit to this intimate venue and I really liked it. The sound and lighting were excellent and the attractive outdoor terrace with it's own pizza shack, all helped to add to the atmosphere. Robyn Hitchcock appeared on stage in customary dotted shirt and treated us to a two hour set packed full of pleasantly surprising song choices and in-between song chat that was often as psychedelic as his music. The more familiar songs from The Egyptians such as "My Wife And My Dead Wife", "Madonna Of The Wasps" and "When I Was Dead" nestle alongside unexpected solo treats such as "Cheese Alarm" and the new single "Sunday Never Comes", which was available as a lovely pink vinyl single at the merch table. His humorous and bewildering instructions to Spencer, tonight's sound engineer, were worth releasing as an album in their own right.

Robyn Hitchcock at The Boileroom Guildford

Robyn Hitchcock with Davey Lane at The Boileroom Guildford

Half way through the set Robyn was joined on stage by the mightily impressive Australian guitarist Davey Lane, who has also previously played alongside Todd Rundgren and is in the line-up of the popular Aussie Alt. Rock band You Am I. Davey somehow managed to coax some remarkable effects from his guitar that added undercurrents of pedal-steel, cello and psychedelic organ sounds to the stripped back acoustic performance. He also chipped in with some nice vocal harmonies and obviously has a great rapport with Robyn, in fact their on-stage chemistry made for a thoroughly heart-warming evening's entertainment. My personal highlights included a beautiful "Autumn Sunglasses" from Robyn's current self-titled album and a rare outing for a Venus 3 song, a rollicking run through of "Adventure Rocket Ship". There was even a nod to The Soft Boys with "Queen of Eyes" and a raucous crowd singalong to the classic "Brenda's Iron Sledge". It was just one of those great nights of live music, enjoying a true British musical legend at the top of his game in such intimate surroundings with a nice crowd of people. You really can't get much better than that.

Robyn Hitchcock with Davey Lane at The Boileroom Guildford

Robyn Hitchcock at The Boileroom Guildford

Robyn Hitchcock with Davey Lane at The Boileroom Guildford

Robyn Hitchcock at The Boileroom Guildford

All photos copyright Retro Man Blog 2019.

Robyn Hitchcock Live Firestation Arts Centre Windsor June 02nd 2011

This was a great opportunity to catch an intimate solo acoustic show from Robyn Hitchcock in an excellent small Arts Centre Venue. The Firestation in Windsor is a great little place with auditorium style seating looking down onto a well lit stage area and the sound throughout was top quality.  After a well received support set from Terry Edwards (see separate review below) Robyn Hitchcock takes the stage in customary "loud" shirt and is straight into "Queen Elvis". 

Robyn Hitchcock with cellist Jenny Adejayan - Photo by Steve Worrall

An old Soft Boys number "Only The Stones Remain" is up next and then a wonderful version of "I Often Dream Of Trains" and I'm reminded that Hitchcock is an underated, although maybe slightly unorthodox, guitarist. He is then joined by the superb cellist Jenny Adejayan who fills the songs with inventive playing, and The Egyptians track "Wreck Of The Arthur Lee" is a real highlight.

Terry Edwards joins Robyn Hitchcock and Jenny Adejayan on stage - Photo by Steve Worrall

His between song banter is something to behold, psychedelic shaggy dog stories that at one point managed to place Dave, the Landlord from Minder's Winchester Club into a Jean Cocteau Movie, it's a trip!

"The Museum Of Sex" from one of his albums with Peter Buck as The Venus 3 is followed by a song I hadn't heard before called "Old Man Weather", one of two from latest album "Tromso, Kaptein". Then "Sinister But She Was Happy" really showcased Jenny's cello well, but it was "Dismal City" from "Tromso, Kaptein" that proved to be the high point of the gig for me."Sounds Great When You're Dead" closes the set and then Robyn returns for a nice cover of The Doors' "Crystal Ship". Jenny and Terry Edwards take the stage for another cover, this time Captain Beefheart's "My Head Is My Only House" and it all ends with a spirited run through of the Venus 3's "Ole Tarantula".

Terry Edwards, Robyn Hitchcock and Jenny Adejayan - Photo by Steve Worrall