2025 starts with a bang at The Black Prince

After a couple of weeks off to enjoy a few seasonal liquors and some peace and quiet (possibly), SBD promotions honcho Phil Moore gets back in the saddle towards the end of January, and he’s running at the new year hard – with nine dates in as many days, writes Sammy Jones.

Things start with Sex Pistols Ltd (Jan 25 ) bringing all of the bad language, rude gestures and attitude that the originals favoured. We hope.
Songs? There are a few of those too; God Save The Queen, Pretty Vacant, Anarchy in the UK, Holidays in the Sun, Bodies… you know the drill.

This is the first date on Northampton soil for these Cambs/Beds based imitators, with support coming from locals, Marabar Caves.
The last week of January is Independent Venue Week (IVW) and SBD aren’t messing around; delivering eight shows as part of the offering, starting with multi-instrumentalist, symphonic progressive rock quartet The Emerald Dawn.

Their combined creativity is haunting, beautifully melodic and highly atmospheric, or as one writer declared after watching them live, ‘Often gorgeous and sometimes transcendent…potent pastoral-tinged prog flows from the stage.’

Pulse faves Pearl Handled Revolver are blues enticers with an edge and a frontman with the voice you want to hear. Their ‘four EPs, two Live albums and four studio albums chart a journey from the limits of primal blues, via unlikely liaisons between cult film scores and bare bones Stoner Rock, to blackened psychedelic soul music,’ is how they see their product.

The Bug Club then picks up the IVW mantle (Jan 27). Some bands spend ages pulling themselves together, pausing at every junction and generally making being idle a sport.

The Bug Club are the antithesis. They’ve given fans 10 singles, three albums, two EPs, three things nobody knew how to describe, and an album under a different band’s name, all since 2021.

Incredibly, they’ve also played more than 200 in gigs a year, too.
Last year’s debut LP for the Sub Pop label, On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System, has a little bit of what you fancy – if what you fancy includes ‘B-52’s call-and-response fun mixed with AC/DC power chord grunt’ and ‘duel vocal p*ss-taking, surreal takes on everyday topics that go full circle and become profound.’

Scott Lavene (Jan 28), a storyteller who can capture all the madness, joy and frustration of life while singing about worms writhing in the ground, is next up.

In his formative years, Lavene was told to ‘’Get a grade – you can’t do music,’ and in response to those words from his stepdad, he headed off to France. With a guitar.

He lived in a tent and travelled around before the Essex raised chap came back over here, making Canterbury, and then London, his home.
At one point, he started a band that he says sounded like ‘Chas n’ Dave meets Queens of the Stone Age.’ We’d have loved that.
He has since experienced some highs and major periods of difficulties in his life, but has emerged, rebuilt and here we are.
“I’ve had people tell me my gigs made them laugh, and then moments later they wanted to cry,” Scott said, “In the end, people want to feel things, don’t they?”

Brummie boys The Clause have probably tickled your ears at some point, even if you don’t know it; their music has been aired on Radio 1, 6, X and XS as well as Soccer AM, they’ve hit the road as support to James, The Lottery Winners. DMA’s and plenty more, and they are festival regulars.

Now you can give them your undivided attention when they do the IVW thing at The Black Prince (Jan 29).

Bringing together the swagger of the 60s, the rolling groove of the 80s and the riotous verve and attitude of the 90s, you get huge hooks with gritty verses, indie sensibilities and rhythm and blues groove and melodies. Quite the meal of sound, that.

And there’s another feast of a slightly different sounding fury to follow (Jan 30) with Heavy Lungs who have already found favour with Iggy Pop, and stage shared with the mighty Idles.

They say, ‘Heavy Lungs is a rock ‘n’ roll sandwich you didn’t know you needed,’ and if you fancy a taste before the show, check in with the debut album, All Gas No Brakes.

Avalanche Party (Jan 31) might have the best press spiel of the month: ‘Feral garage-punk from the wild North Yorkshire Moors, hopped up on adrenalin and amphetamines. Every note played through white knuckles, every word spat through gritted teeth.

The beats blast like cannons while the guitars stampede like spooked stallions surging ever onward, snorting, snarling and tearing apart everything in their path. ’You want to go and see them now, right?

The band will release its second album, Der Traum Uber Alles on February 7.
That’s your lot for January, and what a lot it is, but we’ll just tease you a little more with the final two IVW dates for 2025, which stretch into February.

Pavilion (Feb 1) are back on The Black Prince stage for the first time in ages, and Caoilfhionn Rose (Feb 2) will round-off the season with her music, which is rooted in a knowledge of folk, jazz and all the twentieth century’s classic tunesmiths. More about her in the next issue.
Music matters, and there’s plenty here to be bothered about.

Did you get crinkly bits of paper with the King’s head on for Christmas? If you did, spend some of them on tickets for some of these dates. Help keep music live and give yourself the feel good factor.

Tickets for all shows can be booked via www.sbdpromotions.com

And the best of 2024 were…

SBD honcho Phil Moore put on 49 shows in Northampton in 2024.
We sat him down and forced him to reveal his Top 5 shows of the year…

1. TVAM at The Black Prince
The Wigan trio make trippy electronica to lose your mind to. One of the most underrated bands in the whole of the UK.

2. Steve Mason at The Black Prince
The former Beta Band man has the grooves and melodies to rival anyone.

3. The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown at The Black Prince.
Even at 81 years of age the man oozes cool, and the multiple outfit changes were the icing on the cake!

4. High Fade at The Lab
The Scottish funk-rock trio are carving a big name for themselves by simply being the finest time you can have with your clothes on.

5. Raging Speedhorn at The Black Prince
The Corby thrash metal legends really are the greatest thing of the last 25 years. They did not disappoint; an hour of pure rage.