7th May 2009
by Ben Davis on 12 May, 2009 | 0 comments
You can’t beat a good wedding do. After a couple of years of having to patiently listen to the girls in the office talk about it, the day eventually came round last Sunday, so Jade and I took ourselves along to the party that evening to join in the celebrations and following a (very good) covers band we bore witness to the legend that is Stormin’ Norman.
He’s a Northern Soul DJ from the Wirral and he must be in his 60’s maybe even 70’s but there is no sign of him slowing down. He’s a true original, still using his trusty 45’s and sporting his bowling shoes. He even demonstrated some Northern Soul shapes on the dance floor, albeit with no customary talc thrown down. I was in awe so much I got him to sign my shirt with Jade’s eyeliner pencil. Ace times… now, on to the news.
They made their debut just 2 years ago at the infamous Frog and Parrott venue in Sheffield and since then they have built up a reputation as one of the most well supported and cherished bands in the area. The Maydays will be playing the Red Lion in Marford this coming Saturday and like their previous appearances there, a huge crowd is expected.
Opening the gig will be Wrexham’s favourite melody maker Craig Williams accompanied by his brother Lance and following them will be Tom Foolery & the Jesters. It’s the final gig for Tom Foolery singer Rob Hughes as well so expect a front row of emotionally unbalanced girls sobbing into their Alco pops. The gig is free entry and doors are 7:30pm.
This weekend will see Gallops perform their most important gig to date. On Sunday evening Paul, Mark, Brad and Dave will be taking to the Introducing Stage at the mammoth BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Swindon where they will be playing to tens of thousands of free ticket holders.
The weekend is the first major UK music festival of the year and is usually an indication of the new names who will dominate the summer’s festivals. There will be four stages catering for different tastes in music, the main stage features the usual Radio 1 commercial fodder; Snow Patrol, The Script, Ne-You, The Saturdays, N-Dubz etc but it gets interesting when you get to the ‘In New Music We Trust’ and ‘Introducing’ stages. Doves, Friendly Fires, White Lies, Little Comets, Bombay Bicylcle Club and of course our lads Gallops. I hope it goes well for them and I’ve no doubt plenty of opportunities will arise following their appearance.
Speaking of festivals (there will probably be alot more fest talk over the coming months) Heal the Last Stand have been confirmed to play Glastonbury in June. They will be playing a number of performances during the weekend with their main one’s being in the Green Fields area of the site.
The Green Fields are known to be the ‘soul’ of the festival where crafts, healing, poetry, story-telling and general peace loving activities take place – right up Heal the Last Stands street. They are also the busiest part of the festival before the main stage’s fire up.
The Guild Bar at Glyndwr University have some talent from Shropshire playing tonight. Well known around the Oswestry area, Mitsu’s Run regularly play the big cities and can attract large crowds when they play their hometown. Mitsu’s Run formed in March 2008, played their first gig in May 2008 and made their first demo in June 2008. A slow start by some standards, but they are now reaping the benefits by having regular radio play on BBC Radio Wales and all of their members have gained experience in their previous bands, some of which include Lady Muck, Inzaghi and Quyamar Shor.
The other Shropshire based talent comes in the form of solo singer-songwriter Mark Morgan. Entry to the gig is free and as with all University campus bars, the drinks are very cheap! Get there from 7pm and enjoy.
That’s all I have for this week and we’ve still not been wiped out by this Swine Flu business. Media hype if you ask me. Email me at ben@wrexhammusic.co.uk, nothing rude or untoward as it goes straight into the old spam box. Take care.