Archived News

Phoenix Rising Look Good

The picture above featuring Phoenix Rising on Wednesday proves you can look fantastic on stage without spending thousands. A couple of I Colour 4's,and just three disco lights for effects have been maximised to make the band look like a million dollars. Nice one lads, showmanship is alive and kicking.

Have a Good Weekend

The gig guide is full for this weekend so take a look and see if any of your favourite bands are playing around the area. From Middlesborough to Chesterfield there'll be something to please you. Whilst writing this I was interrupted by an e-mail from the New Barrack Tavern real ale pub where at 9 o'clock this morning a gang of plumbers had called in for breakfast. They're supping lager with their bacon and eggs...I don't know, plumbers have no taste!

Limehouse Well Supported

Good to see Limehouse Lizzy well supported at Leeds Irish Centre last night. The Old Git Mav reports on the venue being full which is good news in more ways than one. Remember Whole Lotta Led and Live Wire will be at the venue in March and April.

Invisible Idols Require Support Band At O2 Academy

The Idols are currently short-listing support acts to play the o2 Academy #2 Sheffield in August. Please contact the band direct via the "contact" page on www.invisibleidols.com and arrange to submit a demo and the band will select a similar music match to play a 30-45 minute set of original material. 500 tickets will soon be available for this event via the band and www.o2academysheffield.co.uk

New Barrack Tavern Beer and Rock'n'Roll

The New Barrack Tavern in Sheffield opens it doors for a beer festival today. Friday Saturday and Sunday will have live music, fantastic tasting beers and a very good food menu. This is a very successful RotN pub and Steph and Kev welcome you. Bands such as Do$ch,Fade2Black,and the Frank White Band have graced this great venue and very soon Chantel McGregor will be treating the NBT to an evening of guitar rock. Great beer and great rock'n'roll-what more could a man want?

Phoenix Rising

The Cross Keys in Morley was the scene of Phoenix Rising's debut gig on Wednesday night. The Old Git Mav who runs the Keys website reported on a great debut by the ex Bad Penny lads. The band added the old favourites to the mix, ones people like to hear that is , plus some unusual material such as Peter Frampton's Show Me The Way. Can't fault 'em. The band have invested in decent PA and extra lights to provide a good show. I'd like to thank Stevie Fingers, the band's bassist for bringing me a band T shirt. Steve had these done at Pickersgill Drake in Leeds. If your band needs T shirts then give them a ring on 01132 441521. Mention Rock of the North to ensure a good price. Bands should market themselves, making a small profit to go towards either consumables or lights for instance. Selling merchandise is a good way of making a few bob towards these.

Achtung U2 Fans

Good news this Wednesday morning is that U2 endorsed tribute band Achtung Baby are to play The Blues Cafe in Rotherham in March. Our comments page received the news a few minutes ago. Achtung Baby have been on the same stage as U2 at Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam, so their credentials are impeccable. March the 7th sees the band in the Blues Cafe's cosy atmosphere, tickets £6.

Voodoo Van Boogie

Yet another new band is ready to rock and the name is as above, Voodoo Van Boogie...well it's a hell of a name and I think it will be a hell of a band as well! Here is a blurb from the band: "Im Frank Goodness, drummer with a new band. VOODOO VAN BOOGIE. We are a 3 piece power rock blues trio, and cover bands like: Hendrix, Cream, ZZ Top, John Mayall, Gary Moore, SRV, The Doors, Deep Purple..loads more. We have Johnny Doyle on Guitar, Chris overpriced on Bass, and Frank Goodness on Drums. We have a myspace site in the pipeline once we have sorted out the demo (should be up by this weekend. We are all experienced musicians, from previous bands and decided to form this "super-group". Hendrix and Cream dropped the ball...we've picked it up again. We are of course, looking for bookings for 2009/2010. You can contact our booking agent, Rich of Yokie Egg Management on 07904 702751, or alternately, mail the band on: voodoovanboogie@yahoo.co.uk"

Infinity Please The Steelies

Our genial concert sec correspondent Barry Wooley reported on a great gig at The Steelies Club in Middlesborough on Saturday night. North East band Infinity is lead by the very cool Mr Trevor Bell who sent his regards to us and reciprocally we send ours to Newcastle. Cheers Trevor, much appreciated and our regards to the lads too. Infinity kept members in the Steelies club despite strong competition from another club in the area. No doubt the promise of many Journey numbers did the trick!

Busy Day On Site Tuesday Evening

I've been skinning my knuckles playing about with my motorbike this evening and when I came back to the RotN control centre, my mailbox had gone mad. Gigs to be updated, classified items to upload, general inquiries...phew I'm tired. Anyway, the classifieds tonight has a nice Ovation acoustic for sale, Matrix want a sound/light tech, Creme Brullee need a drummer, plus all the other stuff. Take a look!

Gav Sends Good News

Shield of Steel and Arena guitarist Gav Coulson works in the trade as an artist liason manager, so he gets to know quite a bit of things...well...the petition we helped along has had the following result. Interesting point was that the petition raised more support than other world issues!

Invisible Idols Launch

Rock of the North are very proud to publish the following press release from Matt Black, leader of the newly formed rock trio Invisible Idols:

"Ladies & Gentlemen, please welcome the hottest rock'n'roll band to set foot on a stage near you in 2009, formed in November 08 and now taking bookings for 2009/2010, INVISIBLE IDOLS are a 3-piece original rock band playing classic rock with a modern twist, some of these tracks were written with the great Zal Cleminson from The Sensational Alex Harvey Band and with all band members in their early 20's there is plenty of attitude, energy and enthusiasm on stage! Your chances to see this band are at The Lucorum, Barnsley in June for a cancer research fund raising event backed by Barnsley Chronicle, Dearne FM and various companies in the media. The Idols are also performing at this years Yorkshire Rock & Bike Show in Leeds on sat 15th at 5:30pm, plus two visits to o2 Academy, Sheffield in August & September, tickets soon available at the box office, via the band direct or online at www.invisibleidols.com
This band are supporting some big named bands over the next 18 months, more details to follow on the website so keep checking back or sign up to the mailing list and you won't miss a thing!
The Lucorum Charity Event is limited to 400 tickets and if you display your ticket on the evening you will receive a free demo CD from the street team. August's o2 event expects VIP guests which will be announced this summer"

McMillan Nights at Thornhill Arms

We've just had a text from Steve Saville of the Thornhill Arms. He is organising some big things to support the McMillan Cancer Care and is looking for bands to appear on two party nights. There will be auctions for the charity and if anyone can provide anything to auction, it would be appreciated. One of the main things will be sending someone to run the London marathon with a full 36 lb army pack on his back in an attempt to beat the record time of 5hrs and 32minutes. Let us or Steve know if you can help in any way.

Last of the Summer Wine

We ventured up them thar hills where the BBC serial is filmed as our webmaster was depping with Broken Angel on Saturday night. It was worth the trip to The White Hart in New Mill as the packed pub witnessed a great set, two great sets actually. Dave Standaven, Graham Hollings and the very affable Mick Norbury were in excellent spirits and our webmaster Joe seemed to fit into the team very well indeed. Some highlights for me within a great repertoire were Nickelback's How You Remind Me, The Zuton's Valerie and the numerous Queen songs. There's few singers who can handle the varied repertoire as well as Mick does but Mick is a very accomplished vocalist, a proper singer, and there's not that many about to be honest. Dave Standaven is a master of the Boss multi FX pedal and his overdriven tone on Fat Bottom Girls was authentic and great sounding. Hidden behind a comprehensive drum kit Graham Hollings was bashing out the beat, and that snare was cracking through an excellent sounding Mackie PA. Joe's Mesa bass amp was back on line and was very nicely mixed and nice sounding. Joe takes his depping seriously and although we're a bit biased, he played as if he'd been in the band for years. The obvious positive chemistry was plain to see with Joe and Mick's stagecraft and vocal harmony working well. These days it's rare I watch all of both sets of a band's performance but the friendliness and enjoyable performance was compelling. I often take the "pee-stone gossip" into consideration and the word in the bogs is that this band rocked! Well done to the band, you were excellent.

Great News- Excellent Bands

News I'd been waiting for and expecting was the news of Top Gun, Monkey Dust, The Rakkiteers and Angel of Sin gigs. Our comments page have indicated that Angel of Sin with their new guitarist Aarren really did the business in The Crimea Tavern on Friday night. Although the band had a heavy load of anxiety due to what they thought was a slightly under rehearsed set, the band rocked the crowd big style and to the point of having crowd surfers and a mosh pit! Brilliant! Down at Bellhouse Road Club, Sheffield, the mighty Top Gun showed what they're made of, leaving a legacy of great rocking in the minds of the Bellhouse rock fans. Top band! Tony of Cas saw The Rakkiteers in Featherstone WMC and said he'd never seen the band play so well. Over in Idle, Monkey Dust ventured up from South Yorks to do what they're good at, and that's entertain the crowds in the Brewery Tap. Raymond the pub's landlord commented that the band got great feedback. More gold plated bands play around the area tonight including Go Commando at The Coniston, Broken Angel in New Mill near Holmfirth and Shameless at The Boot and Shoe, Ackworth. We're lucky people aren't we having such a great choice of quality bands. Check the gig guide.

Contact Request

Can someone mail us the telephone number of Phil of The Rose and Crown in Cleckheaton please? Or the e-mail address will do. Thank you.

Tytania Rock the Keys -Frontier Club Next

Nice to get our regular comment from "The Old Git Mav" this Saturday morning in which he states how well young band Tytania did last night at The Cross Keys in Morley. Well done lads. The band along with two others that we know, Hard Shoulder and The Cadillaxe have Sunday night bookings at The Frontier Club on Bradford Road in Batley. This is the world famous Batley Variety Club of course. We believe the pay structure at this venue is of the Stage Pass Promotions style, i.e. you sell tickets rather than receive a fixed fee. This might suit some but it wont go down well with others. It all depends on your attitude to gigging really. Do you do it for the money or the fun of performing? RotN's view is totally neutral, it's up to the individual band. On the plus side the high quality PA and lights are provided and you will perform on the same stage as some of the world greatest entertainers have in the past. Downside is...well you probably wont cover your expenses, but some bands don't always do that at far less prestigious venues. Another angle on that is your fans don't have to pay to see you at the less prestigious venues. End to end stuff, pros and cons, a lot to consider. 

Yorkshire Rock and Bike Show Looking Good For August

A few details have come out for what promises to be another highlight on the events calendar at Squires Cafe Bar which I believe is on the 14th and 15th of the month. Most of the bands are booked and there's some crackers on there, some young bands, some old favourites and one new band. A collaboration with a couple of bands hopefully will happen and I'm looking forward to that, so we'd better get the microphones counted out. I can't pretend otherwise but this is my favourite gig of the year, very closely followed by the East Leeds Lions Easter Rally. Roll on Spring and Summer!

Jam Night at Duncan

The Thursday jam night in Wakefield's Admiral Duncan is going from strength to strength according to our comments page. That's good to hear that enthusiasts are getting together for a good natured jam, no pressure...well maybe a bit if all the "jammers" are respected musicians! Mid week is pretty good in Wakefield with the Snooty Fox on Wednesday and Admiral Duncan on Thursdays.

Nick's Been Let Down

Nick Joannou has been let down by PM Lounge in Shipley on the Tuesday rock nights. Nick promotes at this venue and puts a fair bit of money into this with flyers and advertising etc. Unfortunately due to the financial climate the PM Lounge have decided to only open Friday Saturday and Sunday. This means all the rescheduling Nick had done during the refurbishment of the PM Lounge, he now has to tell the bands the bad news of cancellation. Nick was worried about his reputation being tarnished but we say there is no way this can be, it isn't Nick's fault at all. Nick's reputation as a promoter holds steadfast. There's very few people with the guts to promote live music in the present financial climate so as far as we are concerned Nick is a top bloke. Nick apologises to bands about the let down but most of these bands will understand completely. 

Sheffield's Jewel In The Crown

The New Barrack Tavern is most certainly a jewel in crown of the Sheffield pub scene. As I upload the venues' gigs it's a pleasure to see the names of Frank White, Do$ch,Fade2Black,Laughing Gravy, and next month Wyke's queen of the silver strings Chantel McGregor will grace this great pub on the A61 on the South end of Hillsborough. Get there early, book a room somewhere and sample the pubs superb real ale. 

Cas Vegas Rocks

As venues and bands send their gigs into us I patiently upload them all to our database and I looked at the end of next month, the 28th February. This date will see two venues in Castleford put bands on. I'm not talking about The Lion and Crimea. These are The Fourways and The Castlefields. So that means four pubs in Cas Vegas will be promoting bands on the same night! The Centre of the Rock Universe? Well it comes pretty close as far as we can see!

Sheffield's April Blues Guitar Bonanza

Leeds generally misses out on big artists but Sheffield never does. The city has two of the greats of modern blues coming to different venues. The Derek Trucks Band, a tremendous group of musicians lead by the fantastic Derek Trucks will be appearing at The Plug on April 24th : Box office 0871 230 1101 and a few days later the incredible Joe Bonamassa appears at City Hall on the 28th April: Box office 0114 2 789 789 Two very different but two incredible guitar players in the rock/blues vein. I can't recommend these American guitarists enough.

Midge Ure and Imelda May In Steeltown

Sheffield is leading the way in Yorkshire as far as big artists are concerned and if you want any genre, you can see it in Steel Town. Nineteen eighties superstar Midge Ure will perform at City Hall in February. He's performing an acoustic set of his work through the decades which should be quite something from the Band Aid and Ultravox star. If you like Rockabilly then an Irish lass called Imelda May could fill your cup with Flock of Seagulls guitarist Darrell Higham at The Plug in March. She's highly acclaimed and tickets at ten quid seem quite a bargain.

All Is Quiet But How About A Jam

It's been fairly quiet on the scene over the past few days but there are things in the pipeline that are not ready to surface just yet. There are jam sessions all over the district but maybe not many know about the Snooty Fox in Wakefield who host them on a Wednesday. Just take guitar/bass/sticks and everything else is provided. Many bands know but some might not that the Snooty Fox have DVD recording facilities. These are ideal for promotional purposes. The Snooty Fox are doing their bit against the credit crunch and drink prices are now reduced. Check it out! The Snooty Fox is hyperlinked on our gig guide.

New Bands Imminent

Last year quite a few bands broke up but it hasn't taken very long for new bands to emerge. It wont be long before the likes of Phoenix Rising, JD Band, Sun City Slackers, Silver Juice Band, Arena and others are out and about on the live scene. The Cadillaxe have already gigged!

Another Good Weekend

Although I've not been out myself there is evidence of some good gigs around the area. I was very pleased The Cadillaxe had a good gig at The Thornhill Arms. It was their debut and it all went well. Special mention to Erics/Heavy Load bassist Big Sexy Dave Close must be made for sound duties and general support. Hard Shoulder had a good gig according to our comments page. An underrated band, they deserve more of a fanbase as they play a solid popular repertoire, and with very good vocals. Mr E and Red Mosquito were complimented by Tony of Cas our regular RotN correspondent, and Shield of Steel and acoustic band Mange 2 also did the business at The Cross Keys on Friday and Saturday. Thanks to the Old Git Mav for this report. Tony of Cas also commented on The Sturdy Lads in Monk Bretton. We're no strangers to the pub and Tony might be surprised to know that the venue is often host to quite big bands such as Oliver/Dawson Saxon and Nazareth. The manager Dank has kept this pub rolling on and is a great supporter of live music. When you get live music enthusiasts running venues, success seems to follow. Witness The Lion, The Crimea Tavern, New Barrack Tavern, The Thornhill Arms, Brewery Tap...etc etc.

 Joe's Weekend Triggers Compliments

Our webmaster Joe had a rest from gigging this weekend but was busy jamming, posing for a photoshoot, and generally being pro active on the rock'n'roll trail. Friday found him on stage with Guns and Oatcakes at Bellhouse Road as a guest of Steve Johnson. Joe enjoyed his cameo appearance but was full of praise for Aaron Johnson's vocals and Jack Rowe's awesome guitar playing. Obviously Aaron is a chip off the old block and Jack continues his progress which will put him in the top flight of rock guitarists! Sunday brought a trip to a Grimsby studio for a photoshoot for a new band which I will be proud to announce within the next week.

We're Not Broken Down Now But Here's Some Reminders

Reminder number one: Sign the petition above, the 70db limit proposed is quieter than a sparrow fart. Reminder number two: Bands-send us your February's gigs, our e-mail problems will be resolved soon. Reminder number three: I can't remember what reminder number three is, I hope somebody might remind me.....oh yes, if you don't sign the petition above, buy yourself an acoustic instrument because your electric ones will be consigned to the skip and history.

Acoustic Players Required

Johnny Mac of Telegram Sam sent the following: Colin White, (who ran The Black Bull in Drig for a couple of years - having quite a few bands on) he's just taken control of The Sportsman in Morley- which isn't currently known for its live music! The plan is to start with acoustic solo/duos every fortnight on a Sunday afternoon. I'm doing the first one on 1st Feb. He's asked me to put the feelers out & find some acts to follow, as last time he did this he used an agent who sent cheapo club turns with dodgy backing tracks (ok if you like it I suppose!). All he wants to do is have live acoustic based music - I'm sure there's plenty about. I'm looking after his diary for Sundays, just to get things going. Ring 07824 566005.

Communication Breakdown Again!

Hope you're all well and having a good weekend so far. We've had a mixed week. Good news and bad news flows past us, but no news is passing to us at the moment due to our mail server letting us down at the provider's end. So....seeing as our comments  page still works cos we use a different server, if you need to mail us privately just use that and put NOT FOR PUBLICATION. Things like your gigs to be uploaded can be sent this way or any band news. Things are a bit hectic for us at the moment as I have elderly parents who are infirm, my dad's an invalid and my mother is in Jimmy's in Leeds right now. I don't know how many black cats have crossed my path, but it must be a lot! I'll do my best to keep RotN maintained during this time.

Rich Plays Last Gig With Angel of Sin

Angel of Sin saw Rich Dunstan's swansong last night at The Silver Fox. As many know Rich has gone back to Top Gun, but he has left an indelible legacy with Angel of Sin, improving the band as a musical director as much as a guitarist. We believe Aarren M will take over this role and they will settle into a regular top gigging band on the RotN circuit.

Arlo Ready to Go-Go

Due to Jerry Smith leaving Splash Alley due to work commitments out of the area, the band have secured the services of Ian McFaddzen on geetar. Welcome to RotN Arlo! 

Street Sleeper Join the RotN Ranks

New band Street Sleeper are ready to gig and play the Drop Kick, Low Moor, Bradford on the 23rd January. The band is a hard rocking four piece with the following members. Bob (vocals) formerly of Scream Machine, Craig (guitar) formerly of Scream Machine, Paul (bass) formerly of Oz Best and Valhalla, and Cell (drums) formerly of Full Tilt, Valhalla, Three Days Lost. Current set list includes all the usual classic, AC/DC, Metallica, along with some newer track such as Buckcherry, Audioslave , Avenge Sevenfold.

SEND US YOUR GIGS

If you want your gigs on our gig guide, then please send us a list of at least those for February as we no longer search for gigs on your websites. You can send all your gigs for the year if you wish and I'll put them on the database. It's a huge job but I don't mind. I don't ask for much, just copy and paste to a notepad file and send it to me.Then as you get more gigs just send me them.

Elkie Rocks Again

We were thrilled to see Elkie Brooks at her best again Wednesday night in Wakefield's Theatre Royal. She was in great voice and loving it. Great band behind her too. In her blues rock mode, she really is something else even at 63 years young.

Reckless Raise The Roof

Reckless played the Polish Club on 20th December and made over a thousand pounds for Barnsley Hospice. I take my hat off to Barnsley people, a friend said dangle a charity bucket in front of a Barnsley person and they'll chuck money in. Well done to Reckless and the people of "the Tarn" !

Planet Rock Reports North

Morning DJ Rob Birnie gave A Foreigners Journey a plug Wednesday morning on Planet Rock. In an e-mail back to me he said he was very interested in the band. Those without a DAB Radio are seriously missing out on some great music.

Cadillaxe Rollin'

The Thornhill Arms, Pudsey saw brand new band The Cadilaxxe make their debut on Saturday and we sent the band our best wishes for a great gig. The picture above shows the band looking cool in a real Cadillac, an Eldorado I think. Rock on boys!

Big D's To Close

You might have read a post from H of the Lion regarding the closure of Big D's biker cafe bar venue in Todmorden. We're really disappointed about this and wish Big Darren all the best with whatever venture he does next. There will be an auction of memorabilia on February the 8th when the cafe finally closes.

JD Band Ready

Ex Styckleback JD Jay has reformed his project with Bare Essentials Col Challinor, Snoopy Ex Bad Penny and a drummer by the name of Matt! It has the makings of an excellent band and with a varied repertoire, the formula looks to be right for the era. Good luck to the band, but they won't need it!

2008 A Vintage Year

I was browsing through some pictures and thinking how good 2008 was for live music.. Who do you recognise from this collage? Apart from Geno Washington and Walter Trout, all the others are local superstars! It reminded me that I hadn't changed our date at the top of the page. For twelve days we've still been in 2008!

What a Great Weekend

The weekend of the 9th, 10th and 11th of January has been an excellent one for live music according to our comments page. Top Gun returned on Friday to Sheffield in the classic format and rocked the Broadfield. Over in Idle the Coniston and Brewery Tap had Going Dutch and Emerald providing the quality. Doncaster had Monkey Dust, Pudsey had Suicide Blonde. Then on Saturday as Tantrum and Resurgence made money for charity in West Leeds, Pancho Bullet were rocking The Thornhill Tavern just over the hill. Back in Cas Vegas rock fans were being completely spoiled for choice as Shield of Steel and Mr Chief provided top quality rock 100yards apart. Twenty miles down the M1 and A Foreigners Journey made their debut to 400 people! Broken Angel rocked The Rose and Crown in Huddersfield at the same time! Then to Sunday and Coast filled the Sturdy Lads in the afternoon, a couple of miles up the road Red Mosquito rocked the Ship and back in Bradford a bit later and Shield of Steel were rocking again at The Bridge Tavern. So things aren't as bad as it seems, January is shaping up well. Let hope the rest of the year keeps the same momentum. Live music, you cant beat it.

Music With Rocks In

The Farnley WMC Leeds hosted the Music With Rocks In event for charity last night and raised over £700.Well done to Tantrum and Resurgence...good result on a cold and frosty January night!

Birdwell Extravaganza

The official debut of A Foreigners Journey went very well last night at Birdwell Club, South of Barnsley. When a spectacular happening goes off at Birdwell, it really does go off....and so it did last night. Click here to read a review of the excellent gig. The club did a fantastic job at the bar as the bar staff were many in number and ultra efficient. Picture above shows AFJ guitarist John "Oxo" Oxley giving his Les Paul some stick!

Meeting a Hero

I was very pleased to meet Zal Cleminson of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band at Birdwell last night. I had an enlightening conversation about the late Wings guitarist Jimmy McCullough and Glasgow blues diva Maggie Bell. I've been a fan of Zal for many years and the lasting image of Zal peering into the Old Grey Whistle Test camera will be with me for ever! Zal is a real gentleman with good memory of rock and roll history.

Mr Chief and Shield of Steel Please Cas Vegas

Mr Chief pleased the Lion in Castleford last night. A fairly full pub enjoyed the band who added Whiter Shade of Pale, Beat It and Heard It Through The Grapevine to their already diverse but rocking repertoire which have all been breathed on by the Chiefy magic The solo in Beat It riveted the punters to the floor! This is one of the strengths of this brilliant band, their ability to successfully change arrangements, one of the qualities that attracted me to the band in the first place. Also on "the Strip" were Shield of Steel at The Crimea. Jon of Angel of Sin commented on how the band had improved from his first viewing and how good their original material was especially as it fit in with the classic covers. Two top bands on the Strip last night. 

Alexander On Form

Great to hear that Alexander's Palace were of form last night at Bellhouse Road Club. They played to a packed house with a set that was typically Ally Pally, so that will have included some of my favourite songs! Alexander Edwards is one of the original club-rock superstars from the North East and long may he rock the heart of clubland. Thanks to Carl Wragg for informing us of a great gig.

Lincoln Joins Twist of Fate

In the news a lot in the past few days Lincoln J Roth is joining Twist of Fate immediately as Scott is going to live in Canada after getting a raw deal in this country. Good luck Scott. Well done to ToF and Lincoln too. This will bolster the ranks of the band and I look forward to seeing them on the circuit.

Golden Lion Halifax Is Shut

The RotN grapevine  has found out that The Golden Lion in Halifax is at this moment in time closed. Thanks to Paddy of the King Bz and Steve Saville of The Thornhill Arms for the info.We have no information about the future of the pub.

Chantel Thanks Lincoln

This morning came the shock that Chantel McGregor Band bassist Lincoln had left the band. Lincoln made a statement on the comments page of RotN basically stating that he was about to leave but he was informed that he'd played his last gig with the band from Chantel's management. We had noticed that Lincoln, a bass player with a great reputation for enjoying his playing just didn't appear to be enjoying the performance. In everyone's best interests the decision was made and Lincoln left the band. However Chantel has made the following statement in good spirit:  Hi Everyone, Can I say many thanks to Lincoln, he’s a great guy, a great bass player, but as he says, we all hoped we were together for the long ride, but sometimes things just don’t work out. As Lincoln says, we were all thinking on the same lines and I’ve learnt from the past that it’s better to draw a line whilst everyone is still friends. We’d all like to wish him all the best with his new projects, he richly deserves to enjoy his music, he’s one of the best.

New Bands Coming Through

The paragraph below is testament to the fact that local musicians are still enthusiastic. 2009 will see a few new bands come to the microphone. A Foreigners Journey are one of the most exciting prospects on the tribute scene, but on the pub scene there's going to be a few additions such as Phoenix Rising from the ashes of Bad Penny. The material is different, and it isn't just a re-hash of Bad Penny's act. Hopefully Basic Instinct will be with us soon as well. I still have some things I'd like to be able to share with you but the time is not right quite. Broken Angel in 2006,The Rakkiteers in 2007, and Flyz in 2008 came from nowhere but really made their mark. I wonder who will  do it in 2009?

Welcome To The Arena

I've just come off the phone and I'm really happy to report that a new band is on the scene and that's Arena. With Shield of Steel's Pete Goodfellow, Gavin Coulson and Mark Sykes, with ex Storm Bringer Chris Pilkington on keys and ex Heavy Load sticksman Lance Brooksbank, the band should really rock! The band will concentrate on stadium style bands, which is a bit lighter than the heavy metal the members are renowned for. I'm particularly pleased to see Lance back and Chris has been a long time favourite musician friend of ours. This band is a separate entity to Shield of Steel who are doing the business and selling records...top stuff from our local heroes! Check this hyperlink http://www.myspace.com/arenastadiumrock

Iron On Maiden At The Snooty

Maiden tribute band Iron On Maiden play the Snooty Fox in Wakefield on Saturday. If you like Iron Maiden you will not be disappointed. We think they will be doing the tried and tested DVD recording at the venue and perhaps they will be on webcast too. We only have sketchy details. It's well worth going.

Steve Pickles's "One For The Ladies"

Here we go girls...left to right Matt Black, Danny Needham, JD Jay (I think it is anyway), Tony Parkin, and I cant tell if that's me or Billy Black on the right! Billy's got a six pack and I've got a "beer sphere"...so it must be Billy! Thanks to Steve Pickles of Red Mosquito for his Photoshop meandering!

Styckleback Poorly But Triumphant

Styckleback continued their successful run of gigs over the Christmas and New Year period despite illness within the band.The Boot and Shoe gig was in the freezing conditions of a marquee but the beleaguered band carried on till the constabulary stopped it! It was a bit too loud for Les's neighbours! Onwards and upwards and the band played a cracking gig at O'Donaghues with the long thin room being packed to the rafters. Well done lads!

A Foreigners Journey

Sadly all tickets are sold for the Birdwell Club's debut of A Foreigners Journey on Saturday. Luckily for the Head Cook and our friends we have our tickets locked in the safe! I'll be reporting on this landmark gig next week and I'm really looking forward to seeing some high quality rock.

Flashback Riot at The Lion

Flashback rocked The Lion Sunday night. It seems it was a total blast again judging by Kev of Flashback's comment this morning!  What is brilliant is that sixties music is causing all the fuss! The band are fantastic though and good luck to them. They return on April the 17th.

Gaz Only Retiring Temporarily

Gaz of Metalworks would like to point out that he is taking a sabbatical and NOT retiring totally from the rock scene. Due to work pressures he's taking these measures but vows to be back in one capacity or another as soon as the time is right.

Steve Pickles' "Babes of the North"

Red Mosquito and Helvis and the Dead Famous guitarist Steve Pickles sent us a Photoshop Babes of the North picture that he did in a few minutes with a few easily available pictures. Although we are very well blessed with many more "RotN babes", the ones above are left to right: Chantel, Vicky, Jamie, Vikki, Liz and Kerrie!

Flippin' Eck, Servers been Down!

Many apologies for RotN being down over the past 24 hours, unfortunately it also left us without internet. Consequently, I've been frustrated to hell, but at least I've had my guitar to fall back on. It made me realise that my playing would be much better if I spent more time on that than on the computer! During my enforced holiday I've watched a great Jimi Hendrix DVD documentary last night, then a Carry On film that made me laugh, then today I went to an autojumble to buy exciting things like hacksaw blades and superglue! The late afternoon brought Stagefright's Matt Black and his mate Shane to Windy Corner for his tea, and I must say the conversation has been mega interesting for many reasons. Thanks to our pal Carl Wragg for his concern about the obvious lack of action during the technical interruption...cheers Carl, much appreciated.

Time Machine Success at The Thornhill

Good to hear that Time Machine had a great gig on Friday night in The Thornhill Arms Pudsey. Thanks to Jon of Angel of Sin for this comment, and nice to see Big Sexy Dave and Woody supporting the venue and the band. We also had a mail from Tracy of Time Machine who says she really enjoyed playing at a great venue.

Blitz Snafu Swansong For Paul

Above is a picture from New Years Eve's gig at Snafu which marked Paul Tomlinson's swansong appearance with Blitz. The band didn't come off stage till after 1:30 and they all had a ball in the party atmosphere. Paul thanks everyone for being there and thanks the management, Snoopy and Steve, for their special hospitality. 

Helvis and The Dead Famous Still Rockin'

Steve Pickles sent this picture from the band's gig in Stockton on New Years Eve. The rock/comedy band are enjoying great success on the club scene and good luck to them! More pictures are available by clicking on the picture below.

Happy New Year

We hope you had a great New Years Eve last night. The Head Cook and I didn't go to a venue but we had a nice time with my old pal and biking buddy and his young family. The guitars were out so that was great. I even tweaked the truss rod on his daughters Christmas pressie! On the way home from the far side of Selby in sub zero temperatures we got a text from our son Joe, "Are you coming to Lion?". Tony of Cas and H were asking. We couldn't be rude and it was nice to call in to a very noisy Lion in Cas where a party was in full swing and Jimi Hendrix was playing over the PA... "You aint nothin' but a Hounddog!...great! So after exchanging New Years greetings with our good friends it was back to Windy Corner for some well earned kip! Around the RotN district there's been some similar enjoyment, the Cross Keys in Morley had a ball judging by the photos...Twist of Fate looked to be doing the business there! Other indications of a great year ahead are from our comments page. Top Gun are rehearsing hard to get back to top form, and a private e-mail tells me that Angel of Sin will soon be rockin' with a revised line up. There are some more changes afoot in bands but these are not for public consumption yet. The past year was a very good  one for Rock of the North and it's associates and I feel quite confident that regardless of some obstacles we might all have to tackle, 2009 will be another good year of live music. You can be confident of one thing and that is Rock of the North will be supporting the live music scene to the best of our ability. If we didn't think it was worth it, we wouldn't do it, but all the hard work we do IS worth it, and the rewards are in the good wishes you bestow upon us. Thank you for that.

Greetings From The Sarf

The festive season is a great time to socialise and it was nice to see "FMJ Dave" up from Dulwich and visiting us at Windy Corner. Dave's a regular RotN commenter and with a wealth of experience, it was nice to have a good natter about guitars for one thing, and about Dave's friendship with Thin Lizzy's Eric Bell. As I upload this paragraph he will be heading the 200 miles back to London. It was nice to see him again, it's a while since we used to jam at The Crimea Tavern on a Wednesday!

Gaz Retires From Metalworks

Latest bad news for the rock scene is that Metalworks vocalist Gaz is retiring from the rock scene altogether. We at RotN were very big fans of Gary as a singer and frontman, a real rock'n'roller in our eyes. Thank you Gaz for entertaining us, we really mean that. This means of course that Metalworks are now looking for a new singer. One of the top bands on the circuit, it's a plum job for the right person.

Good Cardinals Debut

We had a brief comment about The Cardinals debut last night at The Wellington in Leeds. Good to hear the bands first gig went well! Thanks Russ G for the news and well done to The Cardinals.

Comments and More Signs

The passage below prompted a couple of comments and I'm pleased it has. I had a greeting for the New Year come through from Barry Wooley, the Middlesborough concert secretary at The Acklam "Steelies" Club. We have tried to guide Barry at his request as to which RotN area bands might suit the club. This is a quote from Barry's e-mail which backs up my opinions in the earlier passage: "Many thanks again for all your help, advice and opinions which played a big part in making it a good year for The Steelies in spite of difficult trading conditions. Many of "your " bands are now an established draw and are rebooked for next year. I've fully booked the first 6 months already !!"

Sign of the Times

Just had a comment come through from Steve Pickles in which he states that his club band Helvis and the Dead Famous have been cancelled from Rotherham Labour Club even though their fee was comparatively low. Steve's saying that clubs are struggling to pay for big club bands and he feels there is maybe an opening now in clubs for the more reasonable fees of pub style rock bands. Many clubs are changing and not having agents with exclusive rights to booking. There are bands such as Go Kommando, Broken Angel and Top Gun and others who I would rate alongside some of the regular club bands and who charge far less, yet are never even considered to be booked by some of the clubs who I feel would enjoy these bands. What I am saying to club concert secretaries and agents is open your eyes and ears. Naturally not every pub band will suit a club audience, but there are those who definitely would. This might seem contentious but in my eyes the bands I have mentioned are far superior to some of the regular clubland favourites. Tony Liddle Band and Jagged Edge for instance are a class apart of course but not all are as gilt edged as these and some are sadly getting a bit mouldy, regardless of being represented by big agencies. The idea of this paragraph is not to be contentious for the sake of it, it's to try to help concert secs to save their clubs from extinction. 

Bone Factory

A new band is on the scene which is pleasing and a change from those packing it in! The name is Bone Factory, some old troopers from the Wakefield area and past players in the legendary The Outfit, The Factory and Violet Hour. See them make their debut at O'Donahues in Wakefield on the 24th January.

A Foreigners Journey Sell Out Birdwell

AFJ's bass player Paul Flanaghan has informed us of the following: A Foreigners Journey's gig at Birdwell Club Sat 10th Jan has now SOLD OUT.
The band would like to thank everyone who have bought tickets and for their unbelievable support.

ZZ Elliminator Love The Blues Cafe

Rod and Linda of Scene on Line and DrBlue/ZZ Elliminator have asked us to "big up" the Blues Cafe in Rotherham after the band played there. We are more than happy to recommend this venue as we are big fans ourselves. Rod and Linda commended Joe Dudziak for his enthusiasm for putting on a good show. So say all of us. There should be a Blues Cafe in EVERY town! Just as a footnote, I'd like to "big up" Rod and Linda as well. This couple have put loads into the rock and blues scene particularly in the Wakefield area, and I doff my cap to them!

Webmaster Depping

Our webmaster Joe enjoyed depping with Broken Angel in Mirfield's Shoulder of Mutton on Sunday afternoon and reinforced my own view that they are a hell of a good band. Joe was enthusing about the band when he returned to Windy Corner on Sunday night, full of praise for the other three members. Broken Angel are another band who successfully mix the genre, with classics from  The Rolling Stones' Honky Tonk Woman, Thunder's Love Walked In, and The Zutons' Valerie. The pub was packed due to the band's enviable following in the area.  

O'Donaghues Rockin' Again

We're very pleased to hear that O'Donaghues in Wakefield are rockin' again. Ian and Kim have sent us these words of encouragement regarding Shield of Steel's gig there, and future gigs. We'll be supporting the venue in our usual RotN way this year! Check this out: "Music is back with a bang at O'Donaghues as Shield of Steel rocked the place to it's foundations last night.The band played everything from AC/DC to Thin Lizzy and back again, a great evening was had by all.Come in and join the fun on New Years Eve with the Welsh T Band and on Saturday 3rd Styckleback.All the best and a happy new year to all, see you soon."
 

Storm Bringer Swansong Gig

Fans of Deep Purple will be sad to hear that Storm Bringer are calling it a day after Sunday night's gig at The Penistone's Old Crown. I've liked this band for many a year being a Purple fan. The cold shivers down my back have been many when Chris plays the Hammond intro to "Lazy"..wow that really is something else. They've been a great band but the members have decided to stop after 12 years. I'd like to thank them for a lot of enjoyment and entertainment. This is Chris Pilkington's statement: "Well, after over 12 years as Storm Bringer, we play our final gig this weekend at the Old Crown in Penistone. We hope you can help make it a really special occasion for us.
After such a long time together, we were hoping to have had some local publicity courtesy of the Barnsley Chronicle – however they didn’t include us in the What’s On section, and they also published the wrong day in the Brief News section. So, with that avenue of publicity being nicely thwarted, we’re reliant upon people seeing the posters up in town, word of mouth, and this email! So, just to confirm – it’s this coming SUNDAY (28th December) at the Old Crown, Penistone. Please pass the news around your friends - it would be great to see you all there and go out with a bang (as they say)! We look forward to seeing you all on Sunday. But in the meantime, have a lovely (stress-free?) Christmas – and if we don’t manage to see you on Sunday – a great New Year as well. Thanks for your support over the years, we really have appreciated it."

Blitz's Paul Retiring

This Saturday morning I have something that I'm sad to report.  Paul "Tomo" from Blitz who has decided to retire from gigging. The news was sent via the comment page but Paul deserves better than that. Paul has been a model frontman with an excellent voice and great stage presence and has supported RotN for a number of years which we thank him for. This is Paul's statement: "5 years ago I was just a singer on the karaoke but always fancied being in a band and never got round to it. Then in Nov 2003 I got the chance to join up with the rest of the guys and form "Blitz". Its been a great experience and I've met some interesting people on the way and made some great friends. We've played to a variety of audiences from 6 people in a tiny pub in Wakefield to a full house at the Bellhouse club in Sheffield with every gig having its element of fun. We've averaged between 70 and 100 gigs a year and We've played some great outdoor gigs including the Lionfest and even supported the real 'Bad Company' at the Diamond club in Mansfield. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons and family commitments, I've decided to call it a day. The Snafu In Rotherham has always been one of my favourite venues for the atmosphere and enthusiastic crowd and I've chosen our gig there on new years day to officially be my last gig with 'Blitz'. I don't know what the rest of the guys have decided to do yet but, I hope they find another singer and carry on. Whatever they decide to do, I wish them all the best for the future. They've all become great friends of mine and I'm sure it'll remain that way. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone in ROTN land for their great comments and fantastic support over the years. I will see you around at times I'm sure, but now I will be looking up to the stage instead of looking down from it. Happy new year to you all and hopefully I will see a few of you in the SNAFU on New Years day. Once again, Thanks to all of you out there."

Afternoon Delight in Cas Vegas Fishnet Heaven in Pudsey

The Lion in Castleford saw Angabart and Riff Raff play on Friday night at the Sunset Strip venue then Girl Kills Boy hopped on stage for an impromptu short set. It was all loud and proud stuff with Riff Raff on top form and the pub heaving with RotNers. Riff Raff's classic Bon Scott era AC/DC is really special and GKB's War Pigs was exceptionally good. A few miles to the West and Resurgence were giving it full throttle in the Thornhill Arms. Helen and Kerrie had made an effort(!!!) as usual in their glittering LBD's (fashion term for the classic Mary Quant Little Black Dress) and the music was full steam ahead in a nicely busy Thornhill Arms. Joe and Adrian from Hard Shoulder were joining in the action with some kind of linked pogo dance and the pub was loving it. (Just a footnote...Adrian spilt most of his lager so might be wondering why he feels OK this morning). Top gig! Great band.

Limehouse On The Boards

Top tributes Limehouse Lizzy and Let There Be Rock play Sheffield's Boardwalk in the next couple of weeks. Limehouse play there tomorrow, admission £10 and AC/DC tribute Let There Be Rock are at the Snig Hill venue on January 9th .The venue has some great blasts from the past in January including Chris Spedding and Sham 69.Check the link from our gig guide.

Moby Dick Time

As usual I spouted off again on Christmas Day with a speech or overview of the year or whatever you want to call it. It's been a good year on the whole. See what you think to Cap'n Ahab's thoughts here!

Top Gun Revert To Classic Line Up

We have had news that South Yorks band Top Gun are reverting to their classic line up of band members including Richard and Lee on guitar and keyboards. At the end of August we thought we'd never see the band in this format again and they disbanded. The band reformed in a more raw and simplified format of rhythm and lead guitar, with no keys. Top Gun fans had told us they were used to the more sophisticated repertoire of the classic line up, and were in fact disappointed with the two guitar incarnation. Band leader and vocalist Paul realised things were not right and did what a strong band leader should do by getting the old band together. We applaud Paul for his strength of leadership and look forward to seeing one of the North's finest classic rock bands on stage again. This means Rich will be leaving Angel of Sin ,but the vacancy has already been taken care of, please read the paragraph below.

Angel of Sin Announcement

We have had the following comment/statement sent in by Jon of Angel of Sin who have reason change their line up again. We are pleased to be able to relay this news on Christmas Day:"*** Latest Angel Of Sin news *** The time that Rich has played with us has been very fruitful and we wish him well in all his future projects (you may still see Rich playing with us in the changeover period). Our new guitarist/backing vocalist will be Aarren M. Aarren is an ex pro guitarist who will be starting with us in a few weeks time. As well as his skills on guitar he is an excellent vocalist with experience of mixing live sound. Exciting times ahead! In 2009 we have some great gigs lined up including many of our favourite pub venues, with some festival/bike rally appearances under discussion."

Frontier Going Live

When I bought my own suit for the very first time I got it from Burtons, and I wore it to go to Batley Variety Club, the world famous venue where the worlds top variety acts performed. Tom Jones, the Bee Gees, Shirley Bassey, Louis Armstrong, Dusty Springfield and Cliff Richard and Jimmy Ruffin and even Jayne Mansfield walked the boards on this famous stage. Now you can do the same. It's the same venue but is now called The Frontier on Bradford Road. Chris Foster of the club has the following information which he requested our help with: ''Hi there, I'm booking local bands for next year, for our Sunday Night Live bands night. Fully compered night with other bands , sound and light engineer , 24kw P.A . Digital Mixer and recording facilities. We are looking live local bands to play on Sunday Nights  so get in touch , and come and play a legendary venue with a fantastic P.A and Stage .If you have live experience and a set of own material or we're equally at home with covers , all you gotta do is be able to play and bring some people ! We provide marketing and free Tickets for you to sell , or give away, any ticket revenue is all yours , so there is a genuine opportunity to do well here !If you need more info please mail me anytime frontierlive@yahoo.co.uk.'

Great News Soon

I'm hoping to be able to make an announcement about one of the top bands in the district in the next 24 hours. It's good news and we fully endorse the decision. Intrigued?...you will be, so watch this space!

Exchange Rate

The pound in your pocket doesn't seem to be worth much if you buy from abroad it seems. I was browsing for equipment on the German based Thoman's website, somewhere that is usually great value. I keep a check on the prices quite regularly but I was shocked to see how much the prices had risen as a direct effect of the pound losing value against the Euro. Chinese made goods are cheap wholesale but if you buy from a retailer who is in a country whose economy is in Euros, then you'll pay much more than you did a few months ago. In September some lights I was looking at were £186 and this Monday morning they are £225 for the same thing. However if you buy the exact same kit at CPC, supposedly a pseudo wholesale company, the price would be £256:44 plus VAT at 15% which would be around £300 all in! Regardless of the exchange rate Thoman still seems cheap at the price to me!

Festive Season is Here

Well many of you will be starting your Christmas and New Year break and I'd like to wish you all the best possible time during this traditional period. Enjoy your break from your work and don't forget to support the local venues during this time. There's some great gigs on offer around the district!

Shortest Day

Sunday was the Winter Equinox, the official start of Winter and the shortest day, it was flippin dark at lunchtime, no good for someone like me who craves daylight! It's only six short months to the Summer Equinox and I think we should have a RotNstock gig that weekend, dont you? As I sit here with my SAD lamp blazing away...they work as well, I dont feel tired, but it's not quack medicine! We need to get cracking and organise some charity gigs, especially Frock of the North 2 The Frill of Live Music, and Convention Gold. I'll not be able to arrange dates for this till I get the all clear to go back to work after my illness, but it's all there in spirit, so watch this space!

Quiet After Chrimbo

As I have been adding gigs to our guide I have noticed that January will be even more quiet that usual. I suppose the recession wont help but it is often quiet just after new year as far as music is concerned. There's not a lot of money about. So I suppose the New Year will be more quiet than in recent years. It's not all gloom though as there are a few band projects on the back burner for now and the next year will see some good bands come to fruition. I'm looking forward to that. Tomorrow is the shortest day of the year, then it's Bah Humbug time next week for me, but make this weekend count, you're a long time dead so live your life to the full. Take a look on the gig guide and see what you fancy.

Send Your Gigs In

Just a little reminder that if you don't send your gigs in for January, your gigs might not be published. It doesn't take much to cut and paste on to an email and send it to us. For the past 5 years we've had to spend hours looking at your websites to see where you're playing...then we have to upload it. It's a full day's work. Help us help you.

Nice RotN Collage For You

Just thought I'd upload a colourful pretty picture of friends of RotN, but dont worry if you're not on here, these were just random pictures I made into a collage. There's some real talent in the RotN community and these pictures come from the past couple of years. Thanks for entertaining me.

Rehab On Stage Again Saturday

Newly formed band of experienced musicians, Rehab, play their second gig at the manor in Farsley on Saturday night. Landlords and promoters take note of this band!

Music Lives On at O'Donaghues

Thanks to Pete Goodfellow of Shield of Steel for keeping his finger on the pulse as usual and keeping us informed of the state of play at O'Donaghues. I was speaking to Kim, the landlady and she will be keeping me updated on the venue. You must re-book your gigs there as the old book is not available. While you're at it, send us all your January gigs by e-mail. O'Donahues contact number is 07877533103
 

Why Is Beer So Expensive

I answered a comment last night about sixties music specialists Flashback, a great band. The answer  to the comment rambled on about how much beer and petrol was in the sixties. In 1968 petrol was five shillings and threepence to five and sixpence in old currency, approx 27pence in "new" money. Beer was about one and six to one and ninepence, around 7 or 8p in new money. Forty years ago you could get three and a half pints of beer for the cost of a gallon of petrol. Today with lowered prices due to crude oil coming down you can get a gallon for about four pounds fifty...how many pints of draught beer can you get for that money? You'd get maybe two...so where did the other pint and half vanish to? Have any brewers got an answer to that? No wonder there is a dwindling trade. Bottled beer prices are in another league altogether, Budweiser is almost as much for a pint (2 bottles) as a gallon of petrol. The cost of beer affects the trade that semi-pro bands depend on. Why do brewers sell beer so cheap to supermarkets? The managers and landlords haven't got much chance at all have they?

Classifieds Are Working-Gig Guide Needs Help

Our classifieds are working nicely and people are buying and selling, finding new band members and using our band services so it's pleasing for us to receive messages thanking us. As it's Christmas time our gig guide might be a bit depleted due to lack of time to research it, but we'll get there! If you'd like to help us, please send in your January list by e-mail, it would save us a fair bit of time.This might have to be the way in future but just cut and paste from your website and mail it to the webmaster e-mail address .

Flashback Don't Deafen

John Ratcliffe of Left Hand Drive mailed us today saying he was very impressed with Flashback in the Lion on Sunday night. He said it was nice to hear every note without being deafened! Good band!

O'Donaghues Back With Us

We've heard that O'D's in Wakefield are indeed having bands on with the new management. If you thought yours was lost then contact the venue. This was sprang upon us all but two hours ago therefore we have no real details.

Rallies Look Good in 2009

Bike rallies have always been a great social event in the rock calendar and 2009 bodes well for the bands and punters. Our favourite is the Yorkshire Rock and Bike Show at Squires, although not a rally as such, is a brilliant weekend. The East Leeds Lions and Pudsey Cobras and GEMcc all run great rally/rock shows. The Easter Rally run by the East Leeds Lions will be another 3 nights of great rock, and the Pudsey Cobras run their Venom Rally at the end of May. Added to the MAG events throughout the year, we should see some great gigs!

Area Packed With Experience

Over the past 24 hours we've had some good comments regarding guitar FX which have been interesting. These threads provide some great information. A thread about the micing up of drums has been next and I hope this will also provide some good response.

Muse Are Good

 Muse are not really my cup of tea but I have to say that they are a hell of a band. Musically they're fantastic. Those bass lines are really good, especially the one entitled Hysteria, and Knights of Cydonia. Vocally and as a sub genre I don't really care for it, but as always, it's down to personal taste, and I wouldn't knock anyone who says they like 'em. Sometimes you have to listen to something different to appreciate the musicianship.

Saturday Good Tidings

As predicted the reports from the Erics and Mr Chief gigs have been very good. The Thornhill Tavern also had a good weekend, Stu Page's Wild Hogs doing the biz last night. We have had reports that Paul the Mr Chief drummer fell off his drum throne but rumours that the after effects of bassist Joe's KFC or Fridays Ruby Murray were to blame, are unfounded. 

Contrasting Friday

Friday evening for us was a contrast of large provincial theatre and a small rock pub. The Head Cook and I went firstly to see Paul Carrack at The Grand Theatre, Leeds. It really was a grand affair, the gig was superb, highly enjoyable and something for everyone to aspire to. Great lighting, fantastic sound and one of the best singers in the world today in Paul Carrack, we enjoyed every minute. The gig finished around 10:15 so we headed towards Pudsey and specifically the Thornhill Arms where Red Mosquito were just starting their second set. We enjoyed the contrast of venues and we enjoyed the second half of our evening. Both halves of the evening were showcases for great live music, the sit down laid back theatre style and the stood at the front, in-yer-face, rock pub atmosphere listening to some good old classic rock. You cant beat it, whichever end of the spectrum, it's LIVE music. Let's keep it that way. Nice to see Big Sexy Dave and Woody in the Thornhill and thanks to Red Mosquito for the warm welcome and dedication All Right Now, my favourite song! -Yes it really is!

Great Guitar For Sale

Not sure if many look at our classifieds section but you should do if you want a bargain. From band placements to musicians services, there are a lot of things to see. In the past few weeks there's been some good guitars for sale, but this one I'm about to mention is a real bargain. It's a "Pre law suit" single cut-away Paul Reed Smith guitar for just £1200 and it would make a great Chrimbo pressie for some lucky person. Owned from new by Four Fighters guitarist Tom Allen, it's a very nice piece of wood. Take a look.

Roxy Radio- 'Rama at The Beeb

We received a mail from Fin Keating this morning reporting that Leeds band Roxyrama enjoyed great hospitality at BBC Leeds on Thursday night and the band enjoyed the unplugged sessions which were aired live. You should be able to listen again on the BBC website one hour and four minutes into the show. Well done lads! Picture above is Roxyrama with presenters Brendan Ormsby and Adam Pope!

Four Fighters Pack The Coniston

Thursday night the excellent Four Fighters played at a very full Coniston in Idle. The band had a celebrity audience which included members of Scooby, Talliwhacker, club diva Helen-Marie, Brewery Tap landlord Raymond, Broken Angel's Graham Hollings, as well as Sound PA Crew's Joe Lally of Mr Chief and Jonno of GKB. I felt a bit old within this concentration of young talent, and The Four Fighters didn't disappoint with a popular repertoire of The Foo Fighters songs and played so well. I didn't realise I knew so many Foo songs! Top stuff, good luck in Bulgaria.

More About Stage Pass Promotions In Wakefield

 Shaun Whelan the Wakefield promoter mailed us today to kindly give his views on the Stage Pass Promotions company. It's a strange phenomenon as Shaun is pro Stage Pass and Malc at the Snooty Fox has rejected the company. Here's what Shaun has to say: "Stage Pass are coming in to the Strafford on 9th January to run 5 nights a week upstairs which will be predominantly Indie bands, some top name punk bands along with local band nights and some of the names from the Manchester scene ie Bez from Happy Mondays and Bonehead from Oasis.
This in no way effects the normal downstairs gigs where we are bringing the usual Classic Rock tributes and some great names including Oliver Dawson Saxon in April. In all the Strafford is going to be the complete live music venue featuring all genres of music."

Girl Kills Boy at Lion

Unfortunately as occasionally happens, Mr E have pulled out of their gig at the Lion and fresh from their acclaimed gig at the PM Lounge on Tuesday night, they are to stand in at the Castleford venue. That's this Saturday the 13th December.

More Links Added

Three more links were added today to our ever expanding page! The Fabulous Clog Iron Brothers, D-Railed and Suicide Blonde are now linked so check 'em out.

The Erics Christmas Party

The Erics play the Cross Keys in Morley on Saturday which will incorporate Big Sexy Dave's birthday celebration and a special Christmas Bash in their home town. Should be a good atmosphere in the old Keys.

Great Bands at The Boardwalk

The Boardwalk at Sheffield are listing some great bands on their gig guide. Check them out on the hyperlink from our gig guide.

Snooty Fox Reject Stagepass

Malc of the Snooty Fox has posted on Facebook that he and the venue are no longer associated with Stagepass. The reason for this is not known but he wishes bands who want a booking to contact him by telephone 07989 508963. 

Form 696 -The End of the World is Nigh?

I had a mail from Mark Rodger in Howden and he was asking us to check out a petition to lobby for the scrapping of Form 696. What is this form. Well it's like a regulation of all musicians who play in pubs. Another friend of ours, an accountant by trade ,has offered the following passage: If you’re a landlord/landlady, a musician or just like live music this could affect you!!!!!!!! I’ve never heard of it before but I’ve received an email alerting me to form 696, a form required to be completed by music venues in 21 London boroughs since October 2005. According to the police, the 8 page form requires submitting 14 days in advance, (take notice landlords/landladies), and is a risk assessment to predict the target audience, which failure to comply with could result in the loss of a licence, a fine or even imprisonment. Everyone now take notice, the form requires a mass of detail including all musicians/performers names, aliases, private addresses and telephone numbers. A quote from The Independent, “In theory, it applies to any licensed premises where there is live entertainment, but Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Martin, head of the Met's pubs and vice squad, said that in reality it will apply only to performances likely to draw large crowds”. However, according to Feargal Sharkey, the head of UK Music, which has reported the use of the form to the Equality and Human Rights Commission as the initiative may unfairly target black and Asian youths, "We are already aware of a number of pubs that have had this now attached as a mandatory condition to their licence, which means if the landlord of that pub does not give that information, he is then in breach of his licence". If like me you believe that what happens in London will inevitably become nationwide, and that it would be easier to regulate if the form became compulsory to all venues, then what are the implications for local music? As a landlord/landlady, do you relish the thought of collating all of the information required and submitting this before each gig? As a musician, do you want your information on the forms? Nowhere can I find any reference to it the implications of either the venue submitting incorrect information or a musician giving the wrong information to the venue, that’s one for you to work out, but, just my opinion think, negligence, tax fraud etc etc. As a result of this, according the email I received, some venues are already ceasing to have live music. So what can you do? Firstly, think about the implications for you if this goes through, and secondly, there’s a petition about this on the official site of the Prime Minister’s Office and you can get to it on the following link: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Scrapthe696/

Rock of the North .com

We will soon be changing our ISP. After a couple of years with the www.rockofthenorth.f2s.com we will be going back to www.rockofthenorth.com and www.rockofthenorth.co.uk so please put these into your favourites and use these new addresses. The .com address works in google anyway. I put a blog on our myspace too.

Funny Old Weekend

It's been a mixed bag weekend. Friday saw Mr Chief at Ashfield Club in Barnsley, a club where they have a good reception normally, but this time it was frequented by mainly lifeless punters and chavs. Disappointing really. The same night the Thornhill Tavern rocked to Shield of Steel at it's official opening, then Saturday repeated the success with a great gig from Angel of Sin. Scooby did the business in the Lion on Saturday night and this was repeated with Shield of Steel on Sunday night, our webmaster reports that Pete Goodfellow was in fine voice! Our webmaster was working in Manchester with Girl Kills Boy on Saturday night with the Sound PA. He says the band were excellent again but wasn't impressed with the local support band who were a little bit unprofessional in their approach. Hard Shoulder and GDI Band both reported healthy turnouts of punters and GDI did the inaugural gig at The Tarn in Yeadon which was a mega success! Still on the West side Brian Glover reports that Go Kommando were very good indeed at The Brewery Tap and Spank the Monkey were also good in The Coniston.

Fatha In Boots

Check this out, a Blueflies production, Miles and the boys feature "Fatha" with his new shoes on!       Treacherous Kicks

Who Are Stagepass?

There is a company called Stagepass who have moved into Wakefield's Strafford Arms and Snooty Fox. They seem to be a company who promote tribute bands in York, Selby and Wakefield. Every gig is a pay-on-the-door or advance ticket sales job. Can anyone give us the lowdown on the company? We're not biased one way or the other but it would be nice to have an understanding of the company.

Alarming News Of Lost Gigs

John of Left Hand Drive asked me to take some gigs off our gig guide. The reasons are quite  alarming  and those are because O'Donahgues in Wakefield and The New Roscoe in Leeds are cutting gigs. The Roscoe isn't as bad as it seems with just Sunday afternoons taking a hit, but O'D's in Wakefield are pulling live bands forthwith. Check to see if your gig is on and please let us know.

Pancho Bullet

The Malt Shovel in Gomersal is host to new band Pancho Bullet on Saturday the 6th December. A classic configuration of guitar, bass ,drums, vox, expect classic tunes to go with it. The band have some gigs but are looking towards increasing those. It's one of those bands I have a lot of confidence in.

Happy Birthday Head Cook

Joe and I would just like to wish The Head Cook at Windy Corner a happy birthday today. She put an American diner plaque on the wall in the kitchen recently which says Eat Here Get Gas...she'd no need to remind us! In the absence of her beloved Stevie Ray Vaughan, we're going to see Paul Carrack as part of her birthday treats.

Thornhill Arms Rides Again

I feel like putting the William Tell Overture on the MP3 as the Thornhill Arms, Pudsey reopens on Friday night with top heavy rockers Shield of Steel doing the business as a celebration of saving the pub from closure by landlord Steve Saville. Get along there if you can to support a great rock pub. The pub in reality opened Thursday but tonight is the official celebration.

Drummers Aplenty

You go through phases with shortages of one or another type of musician and drummers are often in short supply. On our classifieds we have three available right now! Good singers are always in short supply, sometimes bassists too cos everyone wants to be the guitar hero, but at the moment I know a band who might need a top guitarist.

The Malt Shovel Needs You

Ace guitar player Nog from Rock Factory in Castleford and of new band Pancho Bullet informed us today of the landlady Wendy's desire to put bands on at The Malt Shovel in Drighlington on Friday nights. The number is 07760 433995. To qualify you must have "I Love RotN" tattooed on your left buttock...only kidding.... it's the right buttock.

Twist of Fate Play The Station

Twist of Fate return to their old stamping ground The Station Hotel Ravensthorpe on Saturday night. This is in place of Bad Penny who recently broke up. By co-incidence Stevie Fingers ex BP is standing in on bass duties as regular bass player Scotty is on a sabbatical.

Slack Alice at Clowne Sunday

It's a bit of a blusey quality kind of week with Slack Alice at Clowne Blues Club on Sunday evening, Do$ch at The Duck and Drake Leeds at teatime and Aynsley Lister at The Blues Cafe, Rotherham on Friday. Don't forget Harry Coffey record their DVD at The Snooty Fox, Wakefield on Sunday evening too.

Not Long Now Yer Know!

Not long to the festive season and the New Year. The Boot and Shoe are having another party in the marquee at New Years Eve and Marie urges people to get their tickets early from behind the bar. Kinky Monkey play into the New Year. Further into January and there's a bit of a happening as A Foreigners Journey play Birdwell Club on the 10th January. Tickets are £6, cheap at the price for this quality.

GKB Win Battle of the Bands

Local heroes Girl Kills Boy continued their run of success at Rios Leeds last night at the regional finals of Red Battle, the battle of the bands. They won by more than 200 votes. They'll now go forward to the national stages at The Carling Academy in Liverpool.

Use Our Local Craftsmen

The guitar in the picture above belongs to me. It's a cheap guitar, a Wesley that I bought secondhand from a friend at the beginning of this year. It's a nice thing, weighs a ton, really nicely made and is an illegitimate love child of a Les Paul and a Telecaster and it sounds fantastic. The reason for this is because it was retro fitted with Dave Thorpe P90 pick ups, hand wound in Penistone. We are lucky to have people like Dave Thorpe (of Storm Bringer) and Shane Haigh (of Piston Broke) who are fantastic luthiers. In these austere times don't forget to use these craftsmen. Numbers are on the classifieds page. To track back to these pick ups, I was bashing away on my humbucker equipped guitars, then my standard Fender Strat and the Strat sounded thin and the humbucker guitars sounded muddy.You know those days when no sound is good? I plugged in the P90 equipped guitar with Dave's pick ups and it was a revelation, clarity with umph and very little hum even with a fair bit of gain on. I recomend these pick ups. Dave also does "Coil Oyl Specials" for Strats which rival the Texas Specials from Seymour Duncan.

Sweet Home Cas Vegas

Just before I hit the sack I was informed of a fantastic gig in the Lion performed by Chicago Joe and The Soul Divas. Live music at it's best it seems! With a Blues Brothers kind of style, brass instruments and female backing singers, the Lion filled up and the place was rocking. Our webmaster Joe was very impressed with the band and was quite exited when he came home to relay the news. Nice to have a change isn't it?

Shield of Steel CD in HMV

I'm more than pleased to report that our friends Shield of Steel have their excellent CD Communion on the shelves in HMV shops. This is great news for the band who feature some of the most experienced musicians from the area. See the band on Friday at the re-opening of the Thornhill Arms in Pudsey. Well done to Pete Gav Mark and Sir Rodders.

Birthday Weekend

This weekend has some birthdays to celebrate. One is Brian Glover the "Don of the Bradford Music Mafia" who celebrated at The Woodend in Shipley last night with Splash Alley and Top Notch. It will have been no night off for Brian, he loves being involved and will have been shoving the faders up and down and twiddling with his DMX desk!The only difference is he'll have been full of WKD. Our lovely friend Bev a.k.a Wifey, regular music fan at The Cross Keys and rival to Ginger Rodgers on the dance floor and Marie wife of twist of Fate's singer Rodger both celebrate their birthdays this weekend. So Many Happy Returns to you all and thanks for supporting RotN so positively.

Harry Coffey DVD Recording Next Week

The Harry Coffey Band are recording a DVD at the Snooty Fox on Sunday night NEXT WEEK from 7pm and would be grateful for support. Not sure if you've ever seen this band but the guitar playing is world class. Get to see them on Sunday the 7th evening and cheer 'em on. John has two American Strats for sale on our classified. They're hot rods, so if you're a Fender enthusiast (like myself) you could treat yourself.

Resurgence At It Again

The Old Git Mav reports that the band played a great couple of sets at the Cross Keys last night. Good to hear people ventured out on a freezing night to see the band. I was looking for a good picture of the band to show the leggy ladies at their best but I got a bit of a bonus with Dave in his best hosiery! Nice thighs Dave! Helen the band's bassist has mailed me to say that The Rakkiteers are playing at the GEMCC bike club Christmas party on December 13th at West Leeds Sports and Social Club and all are welcome at £4 entry. That's just up Tong Road behind the White Horse we think, where the speed cameras are.

Good Reports from Friday, Saturday Bodes Well

From first light this Saturday the gig comments came in and it's great to see reports of established bands such as Rock Solid have a stormer at The Barge in Brighouse. On the tribute trail it's good to see a more unusual band get the toffee. That's Roxyrama, obviously the Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry tribute band. They did the business in the Strafford Arms in Wakefield so well done to them. Then as usual at The Cross Keys Morley, Styckleback played yet another humdinger of a gig. This band are going from strength to strength with line up changes this year which have proved to be very successful. The band are a great example to others for going the extra mile to make a show of it. The band put flyers out, erect banners, and generally advertise and promote their gigs before the event so fans turn up at the venue. Then the band go to the venue early, put up a great light show , then come and play a wide ranging repertoire to please everyone. I can't fault 'em. So to Saturday and check out the gig guide for another great evening of entertainment around the area. Picture courtesy of Mav and Bev. Mr Chief played to a full house in Scissett WMC with the highlights being lead guitarist Johnny Crossland who "was on fire" last night. New drummer Paul fit in very well. Another highlight was ex member Stevie who guested on vocals on the very special Mr Chief arrangement of Etta James "I Just Wanna Make Love To You" which is really awesome.

Friday On My Mind

Friday has begun with a cold frost but it's warming up a bit. Weather report over and the comments page has been singing the praises of Kat and Jo since they have had to come out of the Tut and Shive. Enthusiasts for live music they must be and Harry Coffey said  -"best backing singers we ever had". Doesn't that just say it all. Looking forward to this evenings large array of gigs and my probable destination will be Scisset WMC up in them there hills when Mr Chief will be playing at the hillbilly shindig. From over in the West, 3 Daze Lost will play The Lion in Castleford for a lively evening. Styckleback will fill the Cross Keys in Morley (after Kev eats all my biscuits today) and Rotherham and Sheffield will no doubt be well entertained at The Blues Cafe, Snafu and New Barrack Tavern. So get out there and fight the credit crunch.

Loaded Reunion

A statement from Loaded: Saturday 13th December 2008 and following many requests to do so, LOADED will be playing a one off special gig at our old stomping ground, The Fleece in Elland. Playing will be the line up you all ask to see of Tony, Rich, Goddzi (3 Daze Lost) and Dave so a fun night should be in store. You asked for us so you're gonna get us!!! This will be the first time in over two and a half years that this line up has played together and in keeping with our past approach to playing live we're only having one quick rehearsal before the gig!!! We can guarantee you a great night of the very best classic rock music played by some of the best players around! We'd love to see as many of you there as possible and please bring as many people with you as you can as we plan on having a really good night! Everybody is welcome!!!

Space Cadets Audition

The South Yorks band Space Cadets auditioned for Britains Got Talent this week and have got through to the next round. Heres a picture below outside the studios!

A Good Musical Thursday

It's been a funny old day today. Apart from the comments page where for the past 24 hours we've been discussing the way ahead for the pub music scene, which has been interesting with many good threads, I've had Brian Glover visiting for coffee and a chuckle and seen my cousin at Tesco Seacroft who I rarely see, and she tells me she likes Metallica! Upon my return to Wakefield and Windy Corner I checked the e-mail to find one from Halifax. It was a rep for a band called Codego a great sounding young Halifax band that I recommend you listen to. Vocals (but not the music) are reminiscent of Geoff Tate of Queensrhyche, one of my favourite singers. To continue my pleasure today the Head Cook was giddy to present me with a vinyl LP which starred another of my favourite singers. That LP is Fanx Tara by Sad Cafe and the singer, the late Paul Young (Not that Paul Young) broke into the big time with this record with a fabulous band who went on to huge fame in the States in the early eighties. I've been trying to procure this LP for years and the Head Cook eventually tracked it down, succeeding where I failed. This was the debut album by Sad Cafe and is a real classic with some fantastic rock tracks including Babylon, Hungry Eyes and the title track Fanx Tara. For me this album surpasses any of their later softer rock and reminds me of how good they were when I saw them live at St Georges Hall around 1980.Still one of the best gigs I've ever seen.

Bands Demise

Sad when bands break up don't you think. All the rehearsals and hard work are flushed down the pan and the fans of the band are disappointed and feel at a loss. Two bands I liked have ceased to be in the past couple of weeks. Hard to Handle  are one, a band I liked for their female fronted rock and unusual repertoire which included Scorpions material which I loved. Another casualty is Bad Penny the Leeds band who were starting to cement their good reputation in the minds of Leeds music fans. Human beings don't always get on in sometimes nervous situations. It's a true saying "There's nowt queerer than folk!" I'd just like to wish all ex members of these bands the best of luck in getting back on stage again.

Good Luck To Des

Our best wishes go to Derek (Des) Price the drummer with Splash Alley who will have surgery for a heart problem Thursday. What a nice bloke he is, and a good drummer. The prognosis is good and he should be drumming again in six weeks. Soul 7's Pete Tate will dep on Saturday with the band.

Our E-mail Server is OK Again

Please note that our E-mail server was playing up at our ISP during Wednesday evening. It's OK again...well we've had 30 mails since 10pm so it must be!

Chantel's Bridge Gig Off

The Bridge in Huddersfield have double booked a week on Friday the 5th December and Chantel McGregor's gig is off. As more and more people are wanting to see her, I suggest you go to The Kings Arms in Heaton on Friday or the Old Tramshed Saltaire next Monday. Check the gig guide.

Mr Chief Home Gig

Mr Chief play Scissett WMC on Friday with new drummer Paul in their home village. The band will also play next week at the Ashfield Club at Stairfoot, Barnsley on December 5th.

Reckless Play For Barnsley Hospice

The Polish Club will host a gig in aid of Barnsley Hospice on the 20th December and star former Udathunkit members Reckless. I'll get a poster on the events page soon but the official one from the band has crashed the RotN PC twice so I cant be bothered doing it again!

In Good Company at Howden-Live

The head Cook and I were in very pleasant company on Saturday night at the brilliant Howden Live Ribfest.The two pictures above show The Head Cook and property tycoon Annette Cavell with Chantel McGregor fan Steven Halliwell, more commonly known and loved as Zak Dingle from Emmerdale. The one on the right sees my old pal David Cavell and myself with the lovely Chantel McGregor, definitely a rose between two old thorns!  We'll have another plug for Mark Rodger for his hospitality and a great nights entertainment. Thank you Mark.

Audio Cooker Studios

The above picture shows Steve Eaton sat an the nerve centre of Audio Cooker a new Leeds based studios and PA retailers. The large premises has rehearsal rooms, a showroom, and studio. The studio equipment is like a who's who of the very best equipment available in the world today. On the PA side Steve can guide you through your requirements. What he doesn't know isn't worth knowing anyway. Watch this page for an open night date.

Annoying Literature

Getting some waste papers for recycling at my mothers there was a flyer from Virgin Media. It was an advert for their media package. It said "Staying in is the new going out". Oh yeah? I was always a fan of anything to do with the Virgin brand but they should try telling that crap to hard pressed managers who are scraping a living.

Ribfest Brilliant Entertainment

It's been a long day but a very enjoyable one. We pointed the bluesmobile east to Howden and saw four great bands do their own thing. It was all totally different. First off Chantel McGregor band did a great set, short by their standards but great quality rock with a tinge of blues so ably led by Chantel with the excellent Lincoln/Martin rhythm section. Spellbinding stuff. Slack Alice followed to remind me how entertaining they are with a rock'n'roll/blues rock/country/rhythm'n'blues mix. Great band led by Cliff Stocker, with a great voice and huge slice of humour added. Imagine Joe Cocker, Brian Johnson and Rod Stewart's voice all rolled into one...you've got it. Great band too, top stuff, and highly enjoyable. This led the way for the Australian genius Derrin Nauendauf to do his rhythmic acoustic rock for the very appreciative Howden crowd. Derrin and the band gave us a treat then he asked Chantel McGregor to get up and jam. What a great and very rare interlude, savoured by many,but none more so than this old scribe! Voodoo Chile was brilliant, and it was an impromptu and first time ever happening! After a sound check it was time for the headline act , Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band. This was blues brothers territory, not really rock or blues but great live music served in a funk style. Geno was brilliant and so was the band. Funky minor sevenths on the guitar, great double sax playing, a drummer without a single tom on the kit, and a thundering bass made good listening. Sunday night Sherman Robertson graces the Shire Hall, so look at our events page for details.

Emerald at Cross Keys

We have had two reports that Emerald were excellent at the Keys on Saturday night. Well done lads on a great short notice gig.

Ribfest in Howden On Last Night and Sunday

The Shire Hall in Howden will host the Ribfest on the 22nd and 23rd November in the East Yorkshire town of Howden. Apart from two of our favourite bands, Do$ch and Chantel McGregor playing there, Derrin Nauendauf, Slack Alice, Steve Gibbons Band, Geno Washington and Sherman Robertson grace the hallowed hall. Promoter Mark Rodger has organised this and Mark should be praised for the fantastic work he has done raising charity funds for Cookridge Hospital and now The Yorkshire Cancer Centre at St James in Leeds. Check the Events page for details.

Tap Only Shut For A Day

Raymond the co-owner of the Brewery Tap in Idle is keen to let you know about renovations to the pub which will take a little while BUT, the pub will only close for one day, that's all, and not two weeks as some would have you believe. Check Raymond's comment for a laugh where he states emphatically that it's not going to be a wine bar!

Venus and Mars of Guitars

Mr and Ms Awesome-Guitar down at the Music Live Exhibition where Chantel McGregor kindly played a Trevor Wilkinson Fret King guitar to demonstrate this premium brand to the gathered masses. Chaps...watch this then get the matches out, you'll want to burn your guitar after you see it! The video has been altered since I originally posted the link and Chantel is right at the end of the opening Youtube clip which has a still of Geoff Whitehorn. At one part of the clip Joe Bonnamassa is heard saying that Chantel had kicked his ar*e a couple of times! The picture above shows Chantel with our other local guitar hero, Gav Coulson of Shield of Steel and Artist Liason Manager of John Hornby Skewes of Leeds.  http://www.youtube.com/user/vintageshred71

Classified Intrusions

We had a mail from a musician who had an advertisement on our classifieds. He told us that he had some low-lifes ringing him at one and two o'clock in the morning. The calls were malicious with abusive language. If any one knows of this kind of behaviour going on, please let us know and we will contact people who will deal with the situation. This caller (s) might be in the musical field or just browsing the net, it could be anyone. Unfortunately we do know of some scum within the semi pro scene so you cant rule anything out. It can be made simpler if we either have a reference for each ad and no telephone numbers but it just gives in to the scum if we do that. So bear this in mind when you put ads on the classified, it's up to you.

The Deal at The Bandstand

The late lamented Wakefield band The Deal reunited at The KT City Blues Fest the Sunday before last. Band leader Duncan Wood was wearing a natty jumper to keep the cold out. It was great to see the band perform again after so many years!

Classifieds Lucky Dip

Our classifieds page has been filling up with available musicians so take a look at your new project! How about a lady drummer who is into Sabbath and Metallica? Take a look!

Blues Cafe Treats

The Blues Cafe in Rotherham continues to promote great bands from out of the area and this weekend has Sean Webster Band on Friday, all the way from Holland, and Saturday sees the fantastic Gary Boner's Roadhouse straight from London.These are top quality bands.

World Class Recording

I'll soon be able to reveal a new world class recording studio in the North of England, based in Leeds. The facility is almost finished and will have a PA retailers attached. It's gonna be good so watch this space.

The Missing Convention

For the past two years this coming weekend has been the time of the Rock of the North Convention. Unfortunately this year, and for a full year I have had a lot of uncertainty regarding my health so I've not had the clear vision or confidence to organise the 2008 event. We've done other events this year and we did the Frock of the North event too and everything we've assisted with has been a big success. The Rock and Bike Show, Lionfest, Barnstock, and Sheik Rattle and Roll have had RotN assistance. Now I've started to feel a bit better in myself and with the assistance as always of my family and friends, (and four operations later), I think we should be looking at a musical 2009 with some good festivals. I'm looking forward to the Yorkshire Rock and Bike Show (Satan's Slaves Yorkshire Chapter  -fantastic weekend), Rotnstock '09, Frock of the North, and Convention Gold. Roll on 2009.

Welcome To Tino

One Fat Spider as you may already know have a new drummer known simply as "Tino". Tino's been in the band a few weeks after some time in the punk rock circuit. Tino mailed us at the "Webmaster" address and this is what he had to say about the community we have all helped  to build: New drum spider here....just thought I'd punt in my two pennorth and say hi....nice to see the camaraderie out there with all the local bands....coming in from 'outside' from the punk side of things, it seems much more of a scene than I'm used to...over my first month with one fat spider I've had more of a laugh than I've had over the last 12 months in my own old band...and I've met a lot of nice people in that month as well. So the spider bandwagon will roll on into the new year, and damn glad I am to be aboard the thing. new songs coming up, maybe even some new jokes for Paul; who knows? I'll keep an eye on the boards here, and stick me oar in when it suits, if that's ok with you guys? Catch you out there somewhere soon I hope. Come and say hello to an old punk who's wearing out and slowing down! cheers!

Resurgence Pleased

One of our favourite bands Resurgence played at the Lion in Castleford on Saturday night and reported on a great gig and hospitality at the famous Aire Street venue. It's nice to hear a different repertoire and it's also good to hear a female lead vocals. Resurgence will feature at our next Frock of the North festival and Helen and Dave of Resurgence will be a big part of the organisation as they were at last year's event.

Good Response for Vagabond

The first gig promoted by Nick of Live Promotions in the Victoria Hall in Saltaire, has provided a response to us which is pleasing to hear. Although this came in as a comment, I'd like to put it on this page as well .Here it is: I saw you were advertising VagaBond playing at the Victoria Hall, and had heard of the band for years around Bradford but never seen them beforeThanks for letting us know about them, they were absolutely fantastic. Great musicianship and great vocals and an amazing and professional show!I can highly recommend them, all though they do mixed rock, their Bon Jovi stuff is brilliant! Thanks again, as without you, we wouldn't have probably gone to see them, and would have missed a great night. Cheers, Dave.

DC and Lizzy On Same Bill

Birdwell Club sees a double header of Twin Lizzy and DC79 on the 20th December. Just five weeks away, starts at 8:30 and entrance is £4 on the door. Should be a great night of classic rock. Limehouse Lizzy play at Kirkhamgate Village Hall this Saturday night but check for ticket availability as it sells out at this venue.

Nigel Seeking New Project

Saxon and now Oliver Dawson Saxon drummer Nigel Durham has chosen Rock of the North to seek a new project to run concurrently with his OD Saxon duties. Rock solid with an obvious pro attitude, Nigel would be a good candidate for a top notch new band or add some thunder to an existing band looking for a replacement drummer. See Nigel's ad on our classified's page.

New Inductees

The Hall of Fame has two more members this Friday lunchtime. Helen and Dave Taylor of Resurgence are very worthy inductees for their work over the years in the Northern rock scene. Organisation, charity work, and just going the extra mile to help people, including us at RotN gives the couple the credentials to join the hallowed hall of special people. See Resurgence play at The Lion, Castleford on Saturday. 

Rehab at Pudsey

Newly formed band Rehab played Bojangles in Pudsey last night. The members have played on the local circuit for many years in such bands as Valhalla, Four Fighters and Spank the Monkey. For a laugh they started jamming a little while back and found a real spark between them. As a result they formed Rehab!  They can also be seen live at The Manor in Farsley on Dec 20th, then will be gigging regularly in 2009.With this pedigree the band should be great.

Station To Stationary

The Station at Dodsworth has stopped promoting bands again. Live music is at a standstill in Dodsworth. Apparently a DJ will be providing the music from now on and all band's gigs are cancelled forthwith.

Best News For Ages

Just had a text from RotN supporter and landlord of The Thornhill Arms, Steve Saville. The message is that the brewery are re-opening the pub with just Steve at the helm. So Steve is the new landlord, just him -nobody else. The pub should re-open in the first week of December, so bands booked after this date ,well those gigs are safe. Bands if you've got gigs booked  because you thought the Thornhill was gone, well please contact Steve so cover can be arranged. Steve will understand your actions. We are chuffed about this, it's bucking the trend and we didn't want to see the Thornhill be lost, especially as it's a biker pub allied to RotN, and one where bands like to perform.

Bit of Hope

I've had contact with licencees around the area with regard to the credit crunch and things might not be quite as  bad as we first thought. From Sheffield to Leeds, along to Wakefield and Castleford, the landladies and landlords/managers are being philosophical about things. We are hoping for some good news this week regarding a recently threatened venue. We'll keep you posted.

Quiet Sunday

Not sure about the rest of the area but Castleford was quiet on Sunday evening. The lousy weather doesn't give much incentive to leave the nest but the recession is having an effect. I'm certain Red Mosquito and Blitz gave their usual polished performances but you can't drag people into the pubs if they've no money. Nice touch wearing the RotN T shirts Blitz, thanks for the support. O'Donaghues in Wakefield rocked to four great bands to finish off KT's City Blues Fest in style.

Cant Beat A Good Laugh

The picture above sees Helvis and the Dead Famous rocking out at Butlins Skegness Motor Cycle News bash last month. I love comedy and I love music and this is what happens when they get blended into one. Above shows Jimmy Hendrix, Helvis and Buddy Holly. Jimmy and Buddy play in Red Mosquito this afternoon at The Crimea Tavern, Cas!

Blues in the Park

 Sunday afternoon in Clarence Park was very cold and damp but the hardy music fans who braved the crappy weather were well rewarded by two excellent sets by firstly Matt Johnson of Little Caesar, then The Deal, the legendary Wakefield rock/blues band led by Duncan Wood. Matt's solo set was very good, and armed with only an acoustic guitar played very well and I was very impressed by his vocals which were excellent. A little later The Deal struck up and wow, it took me back to the last century when the band wowed the Wakefield area regularly. This band were scrambled together for the gig and you'd never have been able to tell as they were really top notch. With numbers from Free, Rory Gallagher, Led Zeppelin, BB King and Jimmy Hendrix, the music made the crowd forget the damp weather. It was a great performance but one that made me sad when it ended. Bands like this don't grow on trees. Duncan was returning to Scotland so the band will be under the dust sheets for at least another year. What a shame. Again very well done to Kate Honeyman for the whole KT City Blues Fest. 

KT's Feelgood Factor

Terry Costello asked on our comments page about the Dr Feelgood gig that was last night and by good fortune the festival organiser Kate Honeyman rang me this afternoon to report on a successful gig by the Essex R&B giants at The Strafford Arms. She says it was a good start to the festival which lasts till Sunday night. On Sunday at O'Donaghues where four great rocking blues bands perform, the main raffle draw will take place for a guitar provided by Trad Music, the Wakefield popular musical instrument retailers. Check our feature below and our gig guide for more of the blues fest in Wakefield.

Another Great Weekend Ahead

Check our gig guide to see what's on near you. There's another full list of quality bands all over the weekend in the area's venues so get along there to support the bands and especially the venues. Remember the simple formula: No Customers = No Venues...No Venues=No bands.... No bands=No live music.

Brian's Thanks For The Polish

I would like to thank everyone who helped , played and came to Rockin the Polish 2 to help save the club from closure , with your help we managed to raise a massive £2000 which will help the club in these troubling times.
Special thanks go out to all the bands MR CHIEF, FLYZ, STRAIGHT RAZOR ANGELS, HERE’S JONNY for giving their time and giving people a fantastic afternoon out.Also Marcus Ward for his p.a and logistical skills aided and a bettered by Chris (Metalwork’s) ShawJulie Ward for her tireless bucket shaking and raffle ticket selling and the guys at the club Andy (The Hutch) Hutchinson Bob, Baggy Jeff and the bar Staff for their hard work but a special THANKS to you all that attended .Thanks for supporting The Polish club. Brian Featherstone.

Remember Remember the 5th of November

I'll probably remember this as the day I heard that Barrack Obama became president elect of the USA. Historic stuff for more than one reason and one reason why one of my American musician friends will be happy . I can't say I'm too happy myself today but that's because  we heard that Carlsberg are shutting the old Tetley's brewery in Leeds with a loss of 170 jobs. One of those jobs belongs to a friend of RotN so I'm feeling down for her at the moment. However the shock wave might have more serious consequences for venues, but which ones, we don't know. On the other hand, Carlsberg might simply ship in supplies from out of the area and the management might be at offices elsewhere. 

Elkie Brooks Gig Cancelled at Theatre Royal

We've just had word from the theatre in Wakefield that Elkie is poorly and she cant make it for Thursday's gig. She will return in January. I was looking forward to seeing her as well...ah well never mind.

Music Therapy

This weekend's events have been a crazy mixed up bag of sh*te, from a cracking Saturday night out for us and the good news about the Polish Club event, and numerous bands having good gigs. The bad news has been depressing to someone like myself who cares about my friends, what with the pub closures etc. I went to make the head cook and miself a coffee and she was listening to Ken Bruce on Radio 2. The volume was low but I got one of those good feelings of nostalgia as the strains of Barry Ryan's Eloise was playing. What an epic song, and one I think which was covered by The Damned. It gave me a feelgood buzz to help me through the day. Music's great isn't it?

For more archived news please follow this link