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Diary Dates

The Moderators – Saturday 14 October
O2 Academy Leicester

Leicester eight-piece covering Mod and Ska classics. They hare a mutual love of The Jam, Specials and Madness, wearing Fred Perry’s and riding their Scooters. Today they have become a live act that demands your attention and your dancing shoes. The Moderators thrive on raw energy and love nothing more than seeing their huge array of followers skanking, bouncing and sweating along with them at their shows.

Birds in Row – Monday 16 October
The Big Difference

Birds in Row is an experimental hardcore punk/metal trio who write punitive, exasperated tunes with equisitite, dark textures. Their members maintain a level of anonymity to pin the focus on the music itself rather than those who create it. Birds in Row is committed to a true DIY ethic, placing all their efforts into the creation of a deep fan-to-artist connection.

Level 42 – Wednesday 18 October
De Montfort Hall

Level 42 will hit the road once more for the Living It Up UK tour, running October to November 2023. The band will be joined on all dates by Special Guests, The Christians.Frontman and bassist Mark King is a musician who has truly created a sound and style all of his own and is in constant demand, both from the fans and from his peers, along with founder member Mike Lindup who continues to provide the soundscape and vocals that are unmistakably Level 42. To date, the band and Mark have released 14 studio albums, seven live albums, the Sirens’ EP, six compilation albums, had 18 top 40 singles, including the era-defining Lessons in Love, Something About You, Leaving Me Now, Running in the Family, and Hot Water, sold out Wembley Arena for a total of 21 nights and sold in excess of 30 million albums worldwide. In short, they have proven to be one of the most successful British bands ever and it is clear they continue to set the benchmark for British Jazz Funk.

Haircut 100 – Thursday 19 October
De Montfort Hall

Combining light funk with frothy pop, Haircut 100 was one of the cleanest and most accessible new wave groups. Formed in 1980, the British band’s core members were vocalist Nick Heyward, bassist Les Nemes, and guitarist Graham Jones The band exploded on the UK music scene in 1981, just as the new wave boom was peaking. Success came quickly. The Haircuts appeared on Top of the Pops several times and graced the covers of British pop magazines Smash Hits, Record Mirror, New Musical Express, and they even had their own comic strip.

Henge – Thursday 19 October
O2 Academy Leicester

Extra-terrestrial joymongers – HENGE – have been delighting audiences in the UK and Europe since they landed on Planet Earth seven years ago. Their scintillating live performances earned them ‘Best Live Act’ at the Independent Festival Awards and they have since cemented their reputation with two acclaimed albums, numerous tours and regular main-stage festival appearances.

Jim Jones Allstars – Friday 20 October
The Musician

Front man Jim Jones’s distinctive recording history has spanned several incarnations including The Jim Jones Revue, Black Moses, Thee Hypnotics and The Righteous Mind. Now Jim has created a nine piece, blistering rhythm and blues meets rock n’ roll band!

Andrew Cushin – Thursday 26 October
O2 Academy Leicester

Andrew Cushin possesses a nuanced, multifaceted talent for songwriting. The words that he conjures are both immensely personal and reflective of modern social issues, but those serious themes are delivered through songs with huge, pints-in-the-air singalong appeal. It’s a talent that’s winning a growing army of admirers, most notably Noel Gallagher, who produced and performed on Andrew’s single ‘Where’s My Family Gone’.

Sleeper (unplugged) – Thursday 26 October
The Musician

Fronted by singer-turned-novelist Louise Wener, the band had eight UK top 40 singles between ’93-’97 including the breakthrough hit ‘Inbetweener’, accompanied by the classic supermarket promo video starring Dale Winton, and two top 10 singles with ‘Sale Of The Century’ and ‘Nice Guy Eddie’. They also covered Blondie’s ‘Atomic’ for the original Trainspotting film. As T2 hit cinema screens in 2017, Louise thought ‘what do I do now?’ and decided to reform the band.

Sunbirds – Friday 27 October
The Soundhouse

The Beautiful South’s Dave Hemingway is back and sounding better than ever. Together with erstwhile South colleague, guitarist/songwriter Phil Barton, new discovery singer/violinist Laura Wilcockson and top UK session drummer Marc Parnell, Dave has created Sunbirds. Although born and bred in England the band’s sound predominantly features the instrumentation of traditional American roots music combined with the occasional outburst of guitar heavy melody more associated with Seattle in the late 80s / early 90s.

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