The top 10 punk and post punk songs with a sax

Sax Appeal: The top 10 punk and post punk songs with a sax In the scheme of things, the saxophone is not an instrument that most people associate with punk rock, and yet there it is dotted throughout the form so much that, after guitar/bass and drums, it’s the next most used instrument. Somehow, it added a dash of colour to the monochromatic and a freedom to the sonic bondage and there are so many great tracks from…

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I Wanna Be A Teen Again (North American Power Pop Of The ‘80s)

  Various Artists – I Wanna Be A Teen Again (North American Power Pop Of The ‘80s)  Cherry Red Records  3 CD box set available here Out now.    Power pop was big in the ‘80s and this box set brings together the best of a much forgotten genre. Pete Townshend coined the term power pop back in the ‘60s, but a decade later it was being used to describe the poppier end of post punk New Wave.…

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Jr. Thomas In The Eraserhood – Album Review

Jr. Thomas & Eraserhood Sound: Jr. Thomas In The Eraserhood                   Colemine Records Vinyl & Digital Out Now All roads lead to Philadelphia on this collaboration between songwriter Jr. Thomas and Eraserhood Sound, who carry on the proud tradition of the city’s storied musical past while adding a futuristic sheen to proceedings. MK Bennett looks in. Authenticity is a sacred text, unknown yet apparently immediately recognisable, according to some, at…

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After 50 years in the vaults, two exclusive T. Rex recordings

Long lost Trex track released as single   After 50 years in the vaults, two exclusive T. Rex recordings have been unearthed and fans are about to hear Marc Bolan like never before. The two unheard tracks coincide with a major moment of recognition for Marc Bolan’s enduring influence, as English Heritage today unveiled a blue plaque at Bolan’s former home at 31 Clarendon Gardens, Maida Vale, London W9 1AZ, commemorating his extraordinary contribution to British music and culture.  The ceremony, held on what would have been Bolan’s birthday, was led by…

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Richard Hawley: Regents Park Open Air Theatre

Richard Hawley brings his 20th anniversary celebration of (probably his greatest album) Coles Corner to London’s Regents Park Open Air Theatre for a memorable and poignant evening amongst the trees and under the stars. (Before I start, a small warning that anyone who prefers their music reviews to be light on personal slant should look away now.) When the opportunity to see Richard Hawley in Regent’s Park came up I jumped at it for several reasons. First, I’d…

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The Cure, Lewis Capaldi and Calvin Harris to headline Isle Of Wight Festival 2026

The Cure have been slowly drip feeding European festival announcements over the past few days (Nova Rock, Rock En Seine and Primavera Sound so far), and today brings the first UK news – that they’ll headline the final night of next year’s Isle Of Wight Festival. They’ll join Lewis Capaldi, recently back after two years away, and Calvin Harris. Supporting acts will include Tom Grennan, Sex Pistols (Paul Cook, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock) featuring Frank Carter, The Last…

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Self Esteem: Manchester Academy – Live Review

Self Esteem (Rebecca Lucy Taylor) Self Esteem | Moonchild SanellyManchester Academy27th September 2025 Self Esteem arrives in Manchester for the first of three nights on her sold out UK tour celebrating A Complicated Woman. I’d been looking forward to tonight since buying tickets back in March for my better half and myself. Both fans for some time, we’d enjoyed Rebecca Lucy Taylor’s previous visit to our city in 2023 and weren’t going to miss this, even though, at…

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Ash: Ad Astra – Review

Ash: Ad Astra (Fierce Panda) Released 3 October 2025 CD | LP | Cassette | DL | Streaming 4.5 out of 5.0 stars4.5 Indie rock’s favourite space cadets, Northern Ireland’s Ash, are back with their ninth studio album. Coming just two years after their last record, Ad Astra shows that their sense of mission remains undimmed. Robert Plummer witnesses the launch. Ash have always had a fascination with intergalactic cinema epics. Remember how their debut album 1977 was…

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Octavia Freud and The Weird Sisters – Mancbeth Remixed

Octavia Freud and The Weird Sisters Mancbeth Remixed Out Now/DL   Revamped, re-energised, and punchier than ever, Mancbeth Remixed from Octavia Freud and The Weird Sisters revives that blistering, pumping 90s nightclub vibe, providing a gritty, modern take on Shakespeare’s bloodiest play. This is the soundtrack to the intriguing, and exhilarating multi-media project from David Lemberg’s Whittaker Lemberg Productions Ltd, involving an eclectic mix of talent from the Oxford indie music scene. The opening track, Manc Chat (Volcanic…

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The Beths bring their winsome melodies to Birmingham

The BethsXOYO, Birmingham25th September 2025 Auckland indie rockers return to British shores to showcase the razor sharp hooks of recent album Straight Line Was A Lie. Sam Lambeth reviews. Is Elizabeth Stokes the best thing to come out of New Zealand since Flight Of The Conchords? Hell, yes. In fact, she’s probably the best songwriter from those shores since the almighty melody machine Neil Finn. And there are more similarities to Crowded House than just geography – like…

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M_Dokumente book review

M_Dokumente: Mania D., Malaria!, Matador Written by Beate Bartel, Gudrun Gut and Bettina Koster Order the book from here  Or here   Post War post punk Berlin is the stuff of legend, and sometimes the legend itself can almost exclude the true story. The catalytic band that combined New York No Wave with a Berlin sensibility were Mania D, formed by Beate Bartel, Gudrun Gut and Bettina Koster, and this book tells their own story and of the…

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