music
News: RIP John Bradbury – The Specials
I was 11 when I first really got in to music. As a young impressionable kid, I not only wanted to make an impression I was looking for an identity. They were difficult times for me. My parents had just divorced – which, at that time, was a rarity where I came from – I’d …
Feature: Best of 2015: Backseat Mafia staffers pick their favourite gig photos from 2015
Before we start looking forward to 2016 and all that they may bring, Backseat Mafia’s live photographers have been taking a look back at the gigs we covered in 2015 and choosing their own personal favourite photos… STEVE BARNES – DESPERATE JOURNALIST One of our bands of the year, caught them at Crystal Bar during …
Live: Shed Seven / Inspiral Carpets – Leeds 22.12.15 / Sheffield 10.12.15
Seeing Shed 7 has become as big a part of Christmas as turkey and sprouts. Every second year the boys take their show out on the road, and treat us to a set full of their greatest hits. We caught them at Sheffield and again at Leeds for the final night of the tour. (All …
Feature: Top 20 albums of the year – Backseat Mafia staff pick
How do you judge what were the best albums of the year? Well, here at Backseat Mafia its a collaborative affair, where everyone that writes for us has as much of a say as everyone else (how did I let that happen?). Happily, in line with the widely and wildly varied nature of our ethos …
Live: Nordic Giants. Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds 16.11.15
¥ What makes man different from others – is that he is aware of himself, he is able to reflect upon himself and analyse how his environment influences him. Millions of years of evolution has passed and the exploration of consciousness seems to have been forgotten – Are you ready to expand your consciousness ? ¥ …
See: Terminal Gods release video for Road of the law
Under the cover of darkness, Terminal Gods make their escape. Leaving behind their usual, familiar haunts – the sleazy back alleys and late night rum joints of the London underground – the Gods hit the road in a stolen Viva, high tail it outta town and bring us the video for ‘Road Of The Law’… Now …
Feature: The UK Free Festival Scene, 1986 – 1992
These days there is a plethora of festivals, from huge expensive ones (Glastonbury) to smaller more affordable ones (Green Man, Wicker Man), but I don’t know of many (if any) free festivals. The term itself conjures up images of halcyon days back in the sixties, of hippies sat in circles, nudity and free love. But …
News: FIRST FLUFFER PIT PARTY with GOD DAMN, Baby In Vain, Eighteen Nightmares At The Lux, Dressmaker
1 SECRET WAREHOUSE. 4 BANDS. NO STAGE. Sounds like a whole heap of fun to us. Cult underground record label Fluffer Records who first brought you the likes of Slaves, Cerebral Ballzy and God Damn are launching a new series of nights in partnership with Clash Magazine to shake up the underground music scene called, …
Soundtrack of our lives: Graham Massey, 808 STATE + Tour dates.
1988 -89. All eyes and ears were on the North West of England. The Madchester scene was at it’s peak, at the centre of it all The Haçienda nightclub, where indie kids, ravers and more were having it large on the dancefloor. Many, many great tunes make up the soundtrack to that era, but one of …
See: PiL release video for ‘The One’
Public Image Ltd (PiL) unveil the video for their latest single ‘The One’. Taken from their much acclaimed album, ‘What The World Needs Now’ the release comes very near the end of their UK & European tour and just ahead of their North American sojourn. The video see’s Johnny and the boys in his home …