Music

Grime rapper Dizzee Rascal will be playing in Northampton at Delapré Abbey on Friday 9th August 2024! Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. He released his debut album Boy in da Corner in 2003. It earned him the 2003 Mercury Prize, and has since been considered a grime classic. Follow-up albums Showtime, Maths + English, and Tongue n' Cheek were critically praised and certified platinum, with Tongue n' Cheek going platinum for sales exceeding 300,000 units in the United Kingdom. He has achieved 5 UK number-one singles, "Dance wiv Me", "Bonkers", "Holiday", "Dirtee Disco" and "Shout”. UK music icon Dizzee Rascal returns with the electrifying new album “Don’t Take It Personal”, out February 9th, 2024 via Big Dirtee Records Ltd.  The announcement is paired with the release of new single “How Did I Get..

He is the God of Hell Fire and he’s coming to Northampton... ‘Iconic shock rock and theatrical rock legend’ is how Arthur Brown is described on his social media channel. It’s accurate and to the point. When the God of Hellfire increased temperatures with his 1968 Hammond-driven delivery Fire, his innovation and exaggerated delivery was without comparison. Quite simply, he was a unique offering in a sea of rock n roll and pop. Fire took the top spot in the singles chart in the UK and fared fabulously well on the other side of the pond, and his flamboyant theatrical performances, paired with his wide-ranging operatic voice ensured staying power. A true pioneer of the shock rock movement, his influence on the hard rock scene has been immense too, and he had associations with Hendrix, The Who, Frank Zappa, Hawkwind and Alice Cooper. Collaborations? There have been more than a..

The 17th annual celebration of the UK’s independent record shops will go live on Saturday, April 20 with 100s of artists issuing special Record Store Day releases. There really is something for everyone with records spanning rock, pop, jazz, hip hop, reggae, classical and folk, writes Sammy Jones. Among those participating this time, music junkies can grab exclusives from Blur, At The Gates, Billy Bragg, Bowie, Fatboy Slim, George Harrison, Jessie Ware, Ladytron, Little Richard, Motley Crue, PiL, Pulp, Ringo Starr, Sia, Steven Wilson and The 1975. You want more? The Rolling Stones, The Verve, The Yardbirds, Thin Lizzy, Tom Grennan and Zappa will all figure too. Like we said, eclectic and something for all. Of particular interest to some ‘fampton folk will be the Peter Murphy live release, Volume One – Covers. It is the first release on the Northampton born post punk and goth originator’s own label, Silver..

With zero chance of seeing the real mccoy play live again, fans of Brummie based genre creators Black Sabbath have no choice but to embrace the tribute thing to get their live fix these days, and SBD Promotions has booked Sabbra Cadabra (March 2) to give it to you. They will be cutting loose a fiery set of Ozzy era excellence with a two-hour long set. Get set for masterpieces including Planet Caravan, Fairies Wear Boots, Sweet Leaf and Paranoid. “The finest of the Black Sabbath tribute bands, Sabbra Cadabra were magnificent,” said Jim Simpson, following a show, “As Black Sabbath’s original manager, I can vouch for their uncannily authentic performance, taking me right back to the ‘Henry’s’ of 1969.” SBD hooks up with Headcharge Club (March 22) for a night of new sounds over at The Lab on Charles Street. Dig The New Breed will deliver ‘dream pop from..

What started in our local pubs more than 25 years ago, has grown and evolved into the UK’s premier festival for fans of psychobilly. As the 2024 instalment of Bedlam Breakout prepares to go live at the Northampton Roadmender, festival founder Tobe Wright spoke with Pulse’s Sammy Jones about his passion for the sounds... “The scene was pretty hit and miss in the mid-noughties so we decided to do something to keep it going,” Tobe said, recalling the idea to put on a series of shows at the Racehorse. Plenty has changed since those days; the venue still exists, but has been spruced and relaunched as The Black Prince, of course, and what started as the occasional live show is now a full-on weekender hosted at The Roadmender. Bedlam is all about the psychobilly, rockabilly and garage sounds, and Tobe’s ears were tempted by the genre while he was at..

It’s all about Independent Music Week shows as February gets under way, and Phil Moore has come up trumps with SBD Promotions, by bringing in a feast of fabulous to The Black Prince, but each with a very different USP. Empyre (Feb 1) are still riding high on the critical acclaim that followed the release of their second album, Relentless, last year. Once described as ‘the love-child of Pink Floyd and Soundgarden’ this is a band for those who like their atmospheric rock taut and dark. Ten Tonnes, aka Ethan Barnett, issued his debut album through Warner Bros, and then? Everything changed. In the four years between that self-titled opus and the next, he became an independent artist, stepped out of London, began therapy, focused on the introverted part of his brain and now he’s back; with an album about reflection, growing up and carving a different path for himself...

Whether he is stepping into the ring, or onto the stage, Chris Jericho can be counted on to make a real entrance. A wrestler with numerous titles to his name, including plenty of World Titles, Jericho knows a thing or 10 about putting on a show, as he told Pulse’s Sammy Jones. Later this month, Chris will bring the party to The Roadmender when his band Fozzy wrap up a 10-date UK tour in our neck of the woods. Of course there are similarities between the two disciplines at which he excels. “It’s all the live element of connecting with a crowd, and that could be wrestling or music or stand-up comedy or a Shakespearean actor on the stage. If you are doing something live, you want to connect with the audience and make them interested in what it is you are doing, and be the party host, so to..

Miles Hunt is back in Northampton (Jan 13) with a date at The Black Prince for SBD, and The Wonder Stuff fella will arrive armed to the back teeth with material – he’s got nearly four decades worth of produce to choose from, including material from his latest album, Things Can Change. There was no new formula when it came to rustling up tracks for the opus; he just made use of the tried and tested way; writing about things that were happening around him, and the things that had happened to him in the past. Oh, and he wanted to make the music as uplifting as possible, accepting that we live in a constant state of flux, and that things can, and will change. Indie-soul trio Skinny Living (Jan 30) are coming to Shoe Town from their homeland of Wakefield. Are they any good? Well, 75 million worldwide streams..

Sammy Jones speaks to Natalie Norris-Lee, co-owner of the Roadmender as she celebrates a special anniversary. Fourteen years ago, Natalie’s husband Dave came home with an idea: ‘How about we take over the Roadmender?’ he suggested. After laughing at the suggestion, smiles gave way to serious conversations, and they approached the trust that owns the venue. Suddenly they found themselves at the helm of a venue that has played host to some of the biggest names in music. Dave had a long-running association with The Roadmender, having supplied security there, but neither of them had the necessary experience to run a venue. Tech-specs and riders and sound levels and a zillion other aspects of venue management were new things to be tackled. But they had a passion. “My background was in hospitality and Dave’s was running the security business,” Natalie said, “So the business side of things wasn’t the biggest..

Northampton’s Eddz is back with his new single, EC_ET, which is officially released on the 1st of the month. EC_ET – standing for English Cities, English Towns - has a grittier edge to it, mixed in with some socio political commentary - it’s a bit of an indie smasher too, pairing spoken words with a tasty backdrop of dance beats and a big chorus. Listen once, hum for the rest of the day. Josh Guy, who takes care of keyboard, synths and production duties with Phantom Isle, worked on the track. He already had form with Eddz’ material, having previously remixed the track Ignorance. “I ventured out of Northampton for the recording of EC_ET to work with Joshua in London,” Eddz said, “EC_ET is about the demise of our local towns and cities. Regardless of where you visit, they are all generally run down and appear all the same. “Initially,..

The Roadmender hosts Sanctum Sanctorium on September 9, with their take on the dark side of the 80’s. Aesthetically, this show will be in the shadows with smoke machines working overtime, and so far as the music goes, expect the moodiness and magnificence offered by artists including The Cult, Sisters of Mercy, Siouxsie & The Banshees, and the town’s own Bauhaus. Does anyone else remember getting excited when any of these artists bagged a slot on TOTP, sandwiched between the latest pop-players, or was that just us? Brian Downey’s Alive and Dangerous return (Sep 14) when the founding member of Thin Lizzy and his band play all those classics tracks that you know and love; Jailbreak, Whiskey in the Jar, Killer on the Loose, Don’t Believe A Word and of course, The Boys Are Back in Town. Thin Lizzy left us a catalogue of pure class, and as their drummer,..

In the late 1970’s, The Chords issued singles including Maybe Tomorrow and Something’s Missing which did well as part of the mod revival. Fans included some fella called Weller, the band recorded Peel Sessions, and Sham ‘69 founder Jimmy Pursey signed them to his production company. But three years after inception the good times soured; musical fashions were changing and The Chords responded to the downturn by disbanding. A live album, recorded in 1980, was cut loose in 1986, tellingly titled No One’s Listening Anymore. But by 2010 The Chords’ members decided the time was ripe to reconvene, and they are still active today with the original line-up, which is quite something. Seemingly, people are listening after all. The Chords aren’t just about basking in the past, mind you – they’ve got plenty to say, and play. You can check that directly when the band plays The Black Prince for..

Acclaimed singer-songwriter, and born and bred Northamptonian, Billy Lockett is set to headline the main stage at Northampton Music Festival on Sunday 10 September. The festival will be a rare opportunity to catch Billy live in Northampton for free. Billy will headline the main stage, which this year will be in Abington Street due to the works being carried out on Market Square. The 32-year-old, whose current album Abington Grove reached number 15 in the UK albums chart, will play an hour-long set starting at 8pm. A long-time supporter of the festival, Billy said: “I honestly cannot wait to headline my hometown festival. I’m proud to be from Northampton and I have a feeling this show is going to be very special.” Tommy Gardner, Festival Co-ordinator, said: “We’re so excited to have Billy headline NMF23 – we’re honoured he will close the festival, bringing a day of incredible free live..