Dressing For Pleasure: Tudor House, Wigan 3/2/2012

"I wasted little time introducing myself to the girls who were surprised I’d bothered coming all the way from Liverpool for the gig. Before long we were settled in at a table and chatting freely. I learned a lot. Alex and Naomi were both very big fans of Led Zep. Jess, their new drummer and native of Wigan loved The Crystals, The Ronnettes, The Shirelles, and Dusty Springfield.

At twenty three she had an impressive ten years gigging experience under her belt. She’d started out in a couple of punk bands and her dad had built her a rehearsal room at the family home where DFP spend a lot of time rehearsing and writing new material."

'Katy' By Katy Setterfield

This is the new long awaited album ‘Katy’ from winner of ‘The One And Only’ television show Katy Setterfield. Since winning the competition Katy has been working hard on the cruise ship circuit and theatres up and down the land on a seemingly never ending tour. She’s also done several dates across Europe and briefly (2008) the U.S.A.. Katy was recently performing in the West End in ‘Respect La Diva’ (2011) with Sheila Ferguson.

Katy’s a seasoned performer who’s been leaning the ropes since she was a teenager and it’s a wonder she hasn’t broken through before now, or is it ? You see Katy isn’t known as Katy, she’s known as ‘the Dusty Springfield tribute act’.

Though Katy sings Dusty beautifully, and also sings as others, she rarely sings as herself. Dusty’s back catalogue is a goldmine for plunderers. If the singer has any talent at all she can’t go far wrong pulling out a Dusty song to engage the audience with. Few however are able to match Katy.

The Selecter: Liverpool Eric’s 31/3/2012

"It was at the Go-Go Cage in January that I heard that The Selecter were due to play Eric’s. The last time I saw The Selecter in town was 1994 at The Student Union in Maryland Street. It was a great night some of the audience around me tonight remembered fondly. Go-Go Cage and old Planet-X regulars had been anticipating the gig with baited breath and it was nice to see Debbie, Andy, Sam, and Paul in attendance among others."

Dusty Day 2012

“Where you off to today ?”, he said eyeing my leather.

“I’m off down London for the day to go to the Dusty Day event.”

“What’s that then ?”

“Tell you the truth I’m not too sure but that’s why I’m going, to find out. From what I can make out it’s a gathering of Dusty Springfield fans who come together every year. They auction off some of Dusty’s stuff and raise a bit of money for charity. Have a bit of a sing song, and some of the folks who used to work and sing with her go too. Last year Madeline Bell was there.”

“Is that that what the gear is all about ?”

I laughed,

“No. I look like this all the time.”

“Madeline Bell eh ? There’s a singer, and she is a singer not really a backing vocalist. How did you get into that then ?”

“Ah, now that’s a long story.”

My driver raised an eyebrow quizzically. Oh what the hell, so I told him the story.

“Well, going back to 2010, no, .... actually, going back to 2008 ……….”

Pauline Black: 'Black By Design'

"This book is a an extremely good, well written, insightful, engaging, and humorous exploration not only of a little girls struggle to claim her own place in the world at large but also of the changing political, cultural, musical, and racial social history of the U.K. itself. This book is worthy of inclusion on any syllabus dealing with issues of identity, race, cultural history, media, or politics.

At a time when the country is suffering under the hangover hegemony of post colonial imperialism and neo-Victorian ideology embodied in the unrelenting and stringently uncompromising right wing policies of another Tory government it is not only fitting but timely that The Selecter and Pauline Black are back to take up the 2-Tone ideology and provide an otherwise inaccessible alternative."