What. A. Night.

We were literally blown away with door numbers and the venue was near capacity. The bars fridges were emptied.

We had a loud and receptive audience, mainly of young folks, but ages ranged from fourteen to seventies. Goths to skinheads, punks to emo’s, and traditionally dressed dandies as well.

Newsom kicked us off. Think Velvet Underground meets shoegaze meets Happy Mondays with a smattering of The Cars. Nice and driving and unpretentious. Only their third gig and these peops have found their voice.

Next on were Pink Slipper. This debut gig brought us a sound like New Order and OMD via the punkier end of C86. Cracking and charming. You need to book them.

Hot Squash were tight, confident and dexterous knocking out singalong instant classics. These lads will be on a major deal soon, so we’re selling their set lists and beer glasses they drank out of. 😂

Final act of the night were Suburban Toys. Energetic from the get go, this bunch smashed out a frenetic set that had the whole pub skanking like it was Blackpool in 1982. Even yer gran likes ska punk, and the audience adored them. They’ll probably go all shy with us saying this but they gave BOBI their mixing desk (when they saw that the BOBI ones last owner was Buddy Holly) and doesn’t that just show that DIY bands and DIY audiences are the future. No jealousy, no competition, just musicians helping each other out. We're not crying, you’re crying.

Most of the bands were young. Most had female members/front women, and there was a complete absence of cockwombles. This is how you build a scene. 👊🫡

Enjoy the photos. We’re back Saturday 27 April. 🤩