As HOUSE Of ALL prepare to go on tour in April & May 2026, taking with them EUROPEAN SUN and PRECOGS on selected dates, Ged Babey talks to the frontmen of all three bands about being Post-Punk Elders on the road and making the best music of their lives.
The combined ages of House of All – including the three drummers and the two younger guitarists Pete and Phil – is 410. (at a rough count)
So, ‘statistically’ at least, HOUSE Of ALL seem to be the oldest band on tour in April 2026.
Justified and Ancient! Dignified and Old!
And actually on the best form of their lives. The new album is a mighty masterpiece! Their back catalogue unrivalled. Their history etched in granite and on wax and in print.
Reviewing Inklings for LTW Robert Plummer said:
No mithering here – at this stage in the game, the experimental may have become conventional, but The Fall’s old hit-and-miss highs and lows have been replaced with a diamond-hard consistency. And whereas The Fall could often be utterly shambolic live, House Of All’s “solid work ethic” guarantees a great night out every time.
Two bands chosen to play selected tour dates with Martin Bramah and co are LTW favourites Precogs and European Sun. Unique, inspirational artists with long histories in cult post-punk rock and roll. Both bands are fronted by songwriters who Martin Bramah encountered decades ago…
Tim Lyons – was in legendary 1979 Psych band The Things with John Maher, Harveys Rabbit, The Harveys and now PreCogs.
Steve Miles – was in C86 contenders Modesty Blaise, The Short Stories and now European Sun – who recently released the epic 17 minute School Report.
None of them are getting any younger, but all three are bringing out, arguably, their best work … so Ged Babey asked them all – the same questions: apart from the first one…
(Martin) Why pick these fellers as support?
(Martin Bramah) They have both in their own ways come to epitomise highbrow lo-fi music. They are both driven creatives. I have no idea who’s driving… I think it will make for an interesting bill, and will hopefully help us to raise our game as a result.
(Steve and Tim) Describe Bramah in three words.
(Tim Lyons) Creative songwriter, a genius.
(Steve Miles). I need six. – Mad as the mist and snow (which is a good thing). That’s eleven.
(All three of you…) ‘Rock’n’Roll’ and Punk Rock were supposedly all about ‘youthful self-expression’ – but now we are (all) ‘old’ is it the right form to use still?
(Tim) – Of course it is, because we have more experience, it’s natural for “youths” to want to express themselves but the old blues guys and jazz people I’ve always thought of as Punks…there is more to Punk than punk!
(Steve) – All we’ve got to do is open our arms and the agents of change smile on us.
(Martin) Those labels are ancient history now, I don’t think in those terms. It’s for journalists to stick a label on what we do, if they feel the need. If you must, then make it pithy, original and relevant to the times, a big ask, I know.
Does writing/ recording / releasing new music give you the same buzz as when you did it the first time around?
(Martin) Yes. It is very satisfying to complete a musical cycle and present it to the world. That buzz never gets old.
(Tim) – Indeed it does, if you’re creative it’s a part of you and hard not to be. It’s a pain in the arse sometimes, but valued, I love it.
(Steve) – Oh, it is much better now. I write better songs and I play and sing them better, for sure. The inexorable requirement of social media self-promotion takes a lot of the shine off it for me, though. Manufacturing ‘content’ purely to draw people to the ‘product’ makes me feel dirty, the way reading a copy of the Sun left behind on a bus always did. Blackened fingers, blackened soul. But being able to record the last album at home and ‘play’ strings and wind instruments with one finger on a computer didn’t exist back in the old days, so technology, like everything else, has a plus side and a negative side.
Do you think that you’re making the very best music of your career… age, experience and wisdom combining to make ‘great art’?
(Tim) – As people get older they do become wiser, more honest and expressive with what they create. So, yes.
(Steve) – On the whole, you get better at things the longer you do them, don’t you? If I had to make a living doing music I’d no doubt have all kinds of pressure that negated that progress, which explains why most people’s first album is their best. Most bands these days only seem to make records and tour so they can sell more t-shirts. That’s not my world. But then I don’t sell many records either!
(Martin) The new album is always the best one to me. I have to keep moving forward. Music is the great adventure. To add to the sum of human expression is a great thing. It’s where I fit in; your humble minstrel.
What is on your rider for the tour dates?
(Steve) – A kettle, some tea bags, some soya milk, and some digestives, please.
(Tim) – I’ve no idea, a bicycle perhaps. (???)
(Martin) Top secret. If I told you I’d have to kill you and everyone who is reading this.
…..
Thanks chaps.
Make sure you catch the HOUSE Of ALL and all the support acts, this Spring.
House of All Tour Dates – April/May 2026
Fri 17th April Stoke-On-Trent – Artisan Tap
Sat 18th April Sheffield – Sidney & Matilda
Sun 19th April Newport – Le Pub (Matinee) with EUROPEAN SUN
Thu 23rd April Hebden Bridge – Trades Club with PRECOGS
Fri 24th April Glasgow – Stereo
Sat 25th April Dundee – Beat Generator
Sun 26th April Newcastle The Grove with PRECOGS
Thu 30th April Reading – Face Bar with EUROPEAN SUN
Fri 1st May London – Oslo with EUROPEAN SUN
Sat 2nd May Brighton – Hope & Ruin with EUROPEAN SUN
Sun 3rd May Ipswich – St Stephen’s Church with EUROPEAN SUN
Latest releases available..
House Of All – ‘Inklings’ – CD/LP/DD – Tiny Global Productions
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