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News: Prince Buster, An Obituary 1938 – 2016
Ska and Rocksteady pioneer Prince Buster died on the 8th of September, at his home in Miami at the age of 78. Cited as creating the ska sound when he told his band to play on the off-beat, his influence on Jamaican music was vast. Buster (real name Cecil Campbell), a street boxer, teamed up …
News: The Magnetic Fields reissue 69 Love Songs on vinyl
When a colleague recently turned around and asked me out of the blue what the one album I would take to a desert island with me, I said The Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs without hesitation. Okay, so naming an album which stretches across three CDs was something of a cheat, but really, I couldn’t …
News: Baywaves announce European tour dates, plus new vinyl releases
If you enjoyed ‘Only For Uz’, the debut EP from Madrid’s Baywaves, with its sunny psych-y indie pop, then you’ll non doubt be delighted to hear that UK collective Flying Vinyl is releasing the bands singles, “Marsupilami” and “Time Is Passing U By” on 7″ vinyl. Staples on the Spanish scene, having played festivals such …
Live Review: The Wired / Ashley Holland, The Rocking Chair, Sheffield, 19.08.16
The Wired are a blossoming little indie pop band from Sheffield who clearly have their sights set on the big time and following in the footsteps of the local greats who came before them like Pulp, the Arctic Monkeys and new kids on the block, the Sherlocks. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the Wired …
Preview: Strange Waves, Manchester 09.09.2016
A meeting of minds in Manchester has set wheels in motion for something rather special that is to come on 9th September 2016. Promoters Strange Days and Now Wave have joined forces to offer an exclusive event being held at The O2 Ritz over two stages, with proceedings continuing through to 1am. Headlining the event …
Preview: Reading And Leeds Festival 2016
Reading and Leeds Festival is now only TWO WEEKS away! The bank-holiday is fast approaching and with Reading already selling out of weekend tickets, you’d better move fast if you want to head to the Northern date of the festival. Here at Backseat Mafia, we’ve picked out our 10 artists you should check out if …
News: Avenged Sevenfold Announce Huge Arena Tour For 2017
What’s better to get you through the upcoming winter months than an Avenged Sevenfold tour? The Californian five-piece have announced a massive arena tour for January 2017. The last time the band graced the British shores was for their incredible headline performance at Download Festival in June 2014 and haven’t toured since December 2013, where …
News: Corinne Bailey Rae announces autumn tour
On the back of the release of her new album The Heart Speaks In Whispers, Leeds songstress Corinne Bailey Rae has announced her first UK tour for five years. She’s already performed highly regarded sets at Glastonbury, a support slot with Stevie Wonder at British Summer Time, as well as supporting Lionel Ritchie on his …
News: Kate Jackson & The Wrong Moves announce Autumn UK tour
Most will look back on Sheffield’s The Long Blondes with a fair degree of fondness: It’s be easy to trot out the “female fronted Pulp” cliché but they were so much more than that, and promised great things until their untimely split in 2008 following guitarist Dorian Cox’s illness. Front woman Kate Jackson has been …
News: John Foxx – Cathedral Oceans deluxe 5 vinyl reissue
John Foxx is one of those artists who inspires such loyalty among his fans, that every release he makes is greeted with rabid expectation, so the news that his elegant trilogy of Cathedral Oceans (1997), Cathedral Oceans II (2003) and Cathedral Oceans III (2005) is being given the comprehensive deluxe treatment, will no doubt be …