Retro Man Blog's 25 Favourite Albums of 2025

Happy New Year to all Retro Man Blog supporters, subscribers and contributors. Here's our favourite 25 Albums of 2025, another great year for new music...

1. The Liminanas "Faded"

2 . Mandrake Handshake "Earth Sized Worlds"

3. The Minus 5 "Oar On, Penelope

4. WitchDoktors "Izzatso?"

5. Viagra Boys "Viagr Aboys"

6. David Byrne "Who Is The Sky?"

7. WITCH "Sogolo" 

8. Oh! Gunquit "Flex"

9. Sparks "MAD!"

10. The Penrose Web "The Least of Our Concerns"

11. Spiders "Sharp Objects"

12. Jetstream Pony "Bowerbirds and Blue Things"

13. Stereolab "Instant Holograms On Metal Film"

14. The Hives "The Hives Forever Forever The Hives"

15. Robert Forster "Strawberries"

16. The Guy Hamper Trio "Volume IV: The Goddess Tree"

17. Luke Haines & Peter Buck "Going Down To The River To Blow My Mind"

18. The Phobics "Gimme Cyanide"

19. Pink Nun "Pink Nun"

20. John McKay's Reactor "Sixes And Sevens"

21. The Capellas "Untamed"

22. MIEN "MIIEN"

23. Palooka 5 "MetroKino"

24. Paper Lips "Melodic Melancholic"

25. Proper "Meant To Say Something"

David Arnoff "Shot In The Dark" Book Resurrection Party at The Dublin Castle, Camden, Sunday March 19th 2023

Here are some photos from a thoroughly entertaining afternoon at the legendary music venue and pub The Dublin Castle in Camden, a suitably Rock 'n' Roll setting for the re-launch (or resurrection...) party to celebrate the new edition of "Shot In The Dark - The Collected Photography of David Arnoff" which is out now on Red Planet Books. David was there to sign copies and chat about his work, and there was a selection of iconic shots taken from the book on display, including superb photos of The Gun Club, Ramones, The Damned, Blondie, The Fuzztones, Thee Hypnotics, Television, The Cramps and many more. There was a DJ providing an excellent soundtrack to the book with loads of great CBGB's era-Punk Rock and classic tracks by some of David's many photographic subjects. I spotted some familiar faces in the crowd too, including members of Jim Jones All Stars, The Phobics, The Priscillas, The Charity Case and Gaye (Advert) Black among others. The new edition of "Shot In The Dark", which includes 16 extra images and a deluxe slipcase, is available to buy from Red Planet Books here. For more information on David and his photography, please check out his Instagram page here or his official web-site here.

All photos copyright Retro Man Blog, 2023

The WitchDoktors & The Phobics live at The 100 Club London Friday May 09th

The WitchDoktors at The 100 Club - Photo by Steve Worrall

Two of Retro Man Blog's favourite bands, The WitchDoktors and The Phobics, appeared together at the legendary 100 Club last Friday as part of The Bermondsey Joyriders launch party to celebrate the release of their new album "Flamboyant Thugs". DJ Jeff Munday warmed things up perfectly with a stomping collection of 70's Glam, Stooges and early Punk from both sides of the Atlantic and he even slipped in a track from The Fallen Leaves for good measure...! After a brief and humorous dance routine from The Action Men, who I was surprised to notice included an ex-guitarist from King Salami & The Cumberland 3 (more of them later...) it was time for The WitchDoktors.

Andy Last of The WitchDoktors - Photo by Steve Worrall

The band launch straight into "Movie Star" the opening track from their superb "$3 Hooker" album, and despite the early hour, the crowd get into it straight away. Name-checking lots of iconic stars of the golden age of cinema and with it's "I just wanna live like a movie star..." chorus, this song is a perfect calling card for the band. They are steeped in the classic Rock 'n' Roll traditions and imagery of Americana, with their uniform of cool bowling shirts, they look like a good time, hard partying gang, Bassist Zig, Guitarist Tony, drummer Joe and Singer/Guitarist Andy, all unashamedly throwing poses and shapes but always with a wry smile. They mix up Clash style Punk Rock, raw Rockabilly and sleazy Garage Rock all crushed up with a twist of voodoo and a good measure of Jack Daniels.

Tony, Joe and Andy of The WitchDoktors - Photo by Steve Worrall

Two new songs follow, "Tie Me Up" and the supercharged "No Pain No Gain" which are both excellent and promise that more good things will come to those of us that wait (somewhat impatiently...) for a new album. A crunching version of "I'm Sick", where guitarist Tony shows off his considerable skills on the harmonica, is followed by the Johnny Cash influenced "Big Black Sack" which half-way through morphs nicely into a cover of "Guns of Brixton". The infectiously catchy "Knock Me Back" is quickly followed by a raucous "Neck Tattoo" and it's clear that most of The WitchDoktors songs could be released as stand-alone singles in their own right they are so good. The too-short set draws to a close with "Common Prayer (For A Working Man)", Zig jumps off one side of the stage and disappears into the crowd still playing. Then suddenly from the other side day-glo Punk legend Spizz appears after a bit of seamless swapping of the bass and manages to keep up quite admirably for a few bars. Then Zig takes over again and normal service is resumed! The WitchDoktors are quite simply one of the most phenomenal live acts out there!

The WitchDoktors - Photo by Steve Worrall

Joe & Zig of The WitchDoktors - Photo by Steve Worrall

The Phobics were next up and they treated us to some prime South London meets downtown Manhattan Punk Rock. Most of tonight's tracks were taken from their excellent "Deptford Calling" album with the highlights for me being "Split Personality", "One Girl" (probably the best song the Ramones forgot to write) and "No Faith" with it's New York nihilism "drop the bomb, annihilate us all..." refrain and Johnny Thunders riffing. Vocalist Tom, with his slicked back hair, prowls the stage whilstnext to him bassist Moyney, head down is a picture of concentration, ripped jeans and low slung bass. There's a nice bit of tension fizzing around the band as the rhythm guitarist seems hell bent on winding up his band-mates but he does add a nice bit of aggression and unpredictability to proceedings, no bad thing in my book...Check out The Phobics if you get chance, they are one of the best Punk Rock bands on the circuit at the moment and well worth seeing play live.

The Phobics at The 100 Club - Photo by Steve Worrall

The WitchDoktors will be appearing at our Retro Man Blog Night at the Half Moon Putney on Friday July 18th along with King Salami & The Cumberland 3 and The SuperMinx'70, which is shaping up to be a great night out. You can hear tracks by all three bands, and The Phobics, in various episodes of Retrosonic Podcast, have a rummage round the archive.

  For cheap advance tickets and info on the July 18th gig please visit the Half Moon event page here.

 

DJ Jeff Munday - Photo by Steve Worrall

The WitchDoktors - Photo by Steve Worrall

WitchDoktors guitarist Tony Major by Steve Worrall

The Phobics - Photo by Steve Worrall

For more photos of the gig at the 100 Club, please head on over to the Retro Man Blog Facebook page and hit "Like" for access to the photo album.

The WitchDoktors and The Phobics at The Camden Barfly October 4th - Exclusive Paul Slattery Photos

The WitchDoktors at the Barfly - Photo by Paul Slattery

The first week of October started off with two excellent shows, first of all The Fallen Leaves and their regular "Minimum R'n'B" club night at the 12 Bar, which saw the band put in one of their best performances I have seen from them this year. Then on Friday the 4th, we had the enticing line-up of The Phobics and The WitchDoktors supporting The DeRellas at the Camden Barfly. Rock photographer Paul Slattery took some great photos, so we thought we'd share them on the Blog.

The Phobics (above) by Paul Slattery

The WitchDoktors Andy and Tony by Paul Slattery

Tony from The WitchDoktors by Paul Slattery

Zig C. from The WitchDoktors by Paul Slattery

Andy and Joe from The WitchDoktors by Paul Slattery

Andy from The WitchDoktors by Paul Slattery

The WitchDoktors at The Barfly by Paul Slattery

For more information on The WitchDoktors please check out their official web-site here and The Phobics can be found here. You can also hear some tracks from The WitchDoktors in Episode 9 and Episode 10 of our Retrosonic Podcast and The Phobics in Episode 8. Click the highlighted link to take you to the relevant Episode where you can either listen or download for FREE...!

With thanks to Paul Slattery for sharing the excellent photos of one of the gigs of the year. All photos copyright Paul Slattery 2013 and may not be reproduced or copied without prior consent.

Retrosonic Podcast Episode 8: "The World's So Far Below Her, It's Not Her Scene"

Steve from Retro Man Blog, Adam from The Jetsonics and Rock Photographer Paul Slattery with the usual eclectic mix of tunes and waffle...In Episode 8 we have some Garage Rock from The Fallen Leaves, Les BOF! and Shocking Blue, raucous Punk Rock from The Phobics, The Cortinas, The Snivelling Shits and Adam & The Ants. Some classic Trojan Reggae from The Fabion, a Clash favourite from The Equals, a Power Pop hidden gem from The Tours, influential Rockabilly from Charlie Feathers, some Psych-Folk from 5th Dimension, Mod Soul from The Fay Hallam Trinity and a Glam stomping riot from Giuda...!

There's also chat about the stunning Giuda gig at The Buffalo Bar, the Joe Strummer London W11 Mural unveiling party, ex-Sparks and Revillos members get together as Crash 74 at the 12 Bar Club and there is news about our exciting album launch party for THEE SPIVS at The Half Moon Putney on June 29th. This Episode is available to download for FREE from our Retrosonic Podcast Soundcloud site...Enjoy...!

Coming Soon..."Sparks: the Early Years" a Retrosonic Podcast special edition with Harley Feinstein, the original drummer with Sparks, or Halfnelson as they were then called. Harley gives us a fascinating insight into the early formation of Sparks, their first two albums on Bearsville and their very first visit to the U.K. Harley also tells us about his latest band Crash 74, featuring Nicky Forbes of The Revillos, and their triumphant London gig at the 12 Bar Club last month.

The Fallen Leaves + The Phobics at The 12 Bar Club June 05th

The Fallen Leaves - Photo by Steve Worrall

So, it's the first Wednesday of the month, a date that is block booked in the calendar as it's The Fallen Leaves residency and their "Minimum R 'n' B" Club night at the 12 Bar Club. It's becoming a real highlight of my live music schedule, even more so as The Fallen Leaves always pick a good selection of three or four other bands to play on the night, and this time round, the bill included The Phobics, who I'd been looking forward to seeing for some time. I had actually seen a couple of the band members play an acoustic set at one of Gaye Advert's Art Exhibitions before, but this was the full line-up, so I was particularly keen to catch their show tonight. The band kicked off with "Punk Rock Show", the opening track from their superb album "Deptford Calling", and they weren't wrong, as they treated us to a masterclass in raucous yet tuneful old school Punk Rock. 

The Phobics (L/R) Jeff, Shaun, Moyni and Tom - Photo by Steve Worrall

"Won't Let Go" thunders along, reminding me of the great Canadian Hardcore band D.O.A. It's this Trans-Atlantic Punk culture-hopping that gives The Phobics an edge over a lot of contemporary Punk bands. One minute, with the excellent "Split Personality", they are taking us on a trip to the downtown New York of Max's Kansas City and CBGB's, and then on the supremely catchy "One Girl" the Ramones suddenly enter the room and in the corner, the Dead Boys are hanging out with Richard Hell. We are then transported back to the tough streets of South London with "Boy Band" which is bovver-boot rock at it's best. Drummer Charlie keeps things thundering along at some pace, with his rhythm section colleague Moyni on bass, centre stage, a picture of concentration. 

Tom and Charlie of The Phobics - Photo by Steve Worrall

They both lay down a solid foundation for the impressive lead guitarist Shaun to play some cool riffs and Johnny Thunders style breaks. With vocalist Tom Crossley, a charismatic but statically cool front man hanging on his mic stand, it's left to rhythm guitarist Jeff to provide the visual assault, with assault being the operative word. The stage of the 12 Bar is small enough, and it's certainly too small to contain Jeff who spends a good part of the set playing guitar amongst the crowd, sitting on the stage or leaping about, he adds an edge of aggression to the band and his enthusiasm is certainly infectious. Great to finally get to see The Phobics and I recommend getting hold of a copy of "Deptford Calling" and seeing them live, just try not to leave it as long as I did...

The Fallen Leaves - Photo by Steve Worrall

There's been a real buzz of positivity around The Fallen Leaves recently, what with their sessions with Marc Riley on BBC 6 Music and on Resonance FM and a glowing review in the Sunday Times by comedian Stewart Lee for their latest album "If Only We'd Known". They just keep on getting better gig by gig, and more people seem to be turning up to the 12 Bar each time they play. Rob Symmons seems to be intent on wreaking as much damage to his guitar as possible without actually smashing it on the stage. Banging it and shaking it to get optimum power, he twists the strings to breaking point, spilling out classic Garage Rock riffs to songs such as "Passing By" and "Trouble".

The Fallen Leaves - Photo by Steve Worrall

Drummer Bill Lewington had a particularly good night, his drumming really stood out and he didn't even shatter a drum-stick over me this time! Bassist Matthew Karas, in his crushed velvet smoking jacket and Cheshire cat grin, is a calming presence as it all goes off either side of him. Vocalist Rob Green's wonderfully English eccentric performance with his tweed, pocket watch and tea ceremony is a delight every time and you think that this is the sort of band that we should be able to watch on "Later with Jools Holland" - they deserve a much wider audience. The Fallen Leaves will play at our next Retro Man Blog night which will be the official launch party for Thee Spivs new album "The Crowd and The Sounds" at The Half Moon Putney on June 29th. We are also pleased to welcome special guests The Past Tense to the party so please come along, it promises to be a great night!

For more photos head over and "Like" the Retro Man Blog Facebook page for access to the Photo Album. Here's a video of The Fallen Leaves on the night with "Against The Grain".

London's Burning! A Celebration of the life of Joe Strummer December 21st with The Phobics and more at Surya, London

Surya at 156 Pentonville Road London, presents "London's Burning!", a night of live music celebrating the life of the great Joe Strummer and to help raise money for Strummerville, the Joe Strummer Foundation for new music. The show features Ignore Alien Orders, Band Of The Underhand, The Phobics, Riot In Paradise, Skinny Girl Diet and DJs Jamie Headcharge & Zowie Carr so, expect Clash songs aplenty and some of London's finest punk/alternative bands and maybe one or two guests along the way. Ignore Alien Orders are made up of members of various Sheffield bands such as Artery and Protex Blue and brought together on the first anniversary of Joe Strummer's death for what was to become an annual event in Sheffield. They decided to bring the concept to London to mark the tenth year of his untimely passing and will be closing the evening in their inimitable fashion with some Clash classics! Riot In Paradise feature Terry Sex-Gang (ex-Sex Gang Children), Michi Sinn (ex-Jnr Manson Slags) and Pete Novakowski (ex Miguel and The Living Dead), they describe themselves as Trancy, Punky, Dubby, Jazzy, Spikey, Dancey and Dark 'n' Sparky. Skinny Girl Diet are an exciting, uncompromising all-girl 3-piece, wringing-wet with 1977 attitude that belies their tender years. Fast becoming one of the most exciting new young bands on the London circuit, do not miss them!

The Phobics formed in Deptford a few years back by punk survivors and misfits with a love of raw rock 'n' roll and bored of the smug and complacent music scene. Sometimes tight, sometimes not, occasionally sober but always eventful, faster and louder. A kick up the arse with great tunes that’ll hook you deep. The band are busy in the run up to Xmas, as they will support the legendary Heavy Metal Kids at the Merton Manor Club on November 10th, and also appear on the bill at the Borderline in London with Sham 69 and Menace on November 24th. The Phobics have also contributed to the Paul Fox Tribute album, a 24 track compilation released on November 16th to help raise money for the Hospice that cared for the popular and influential Ruts guitarist during his last days. The album also features tracks by The UK Subs, TV Smith, Ruts DC, Laurel Aitken, The Priscillas, Chelsea, The Duel, Splodge, Duncan Reid, Urban Voodoo Machine and Texas Terri amongst others with the cover art work designed by Gaye Advert.