Pennyblackmusic: July 2025
Interviews
Robert Forster
Co-leader of cult Aussie indie rockers The Go-Betweens, Robert Forster chats to Denzil Watson about new solo LP ‘Strawberries’ and his upcoming October UK tour.
John McKay
Spear Of Destiny
Cathode Ray
Resurfacing with his debut solo album ‘Sixes And Sevens’, legendary former Siouxsie and the Banshees guitarist John McKay chats about his time with the post-punk outfit and his current projects
Denzil Watson speaks to Sear of Destiny’s Kirk Brandon about their heavy-touring schedule and 'Janus', their new double album,.
Jeremy Thoms. the frontman in Edinburgh experimental outfit The Cathode Ray, speaks to John Clarkson about its fifth album, 'Advance Retreat'.
Sir Tim Rice
Chris Wade
Fiona Hutchings
Armory Show
Award-winning lyricist Sir Tim Rice talks to Nick Dent-Robinson about his new stage show, 'My :Life in Musicals - I Know Him So Well', in which he presents performed extracts from his own songs and talks about them.
Dodson and Fogg frontman Chris Wade has just released a memoir,, ]Adventures in Music Books and Film'. He talks to Malcolm Carter about it and his many projects, including, as well as recording albums, making films and writing books about film legends.
Fiona Hutchings, who has written for Pennyblack for over fifteen years, talks to John Clarkson about her second book of poetry ‘Uncommon Labels’, which has poems about her survival of a brain haemorrhage, music and what it means to be working class.
Skids' frontman Richard Jobson talks to John Clarkson about resurrecting his 80's project The Armory Show and its dark and nihilstic new album, 'Dead Souls'.
Loft
Yardbirds
Deb Googe and Cara Tivey
Liz Mitchell
Denzil Watson speaks to Pete Astor and Andy Stricklanf from reformed indie band and Creation Records act The Loft about their debut album, ‘Everything Changes Everything Stays the Same’, which has come thirty-nine years after they acrimoniously split up.
Lisa Torem catches up with The Yardbirds co-founding member, Jim McCarty, on the band’s early history, current tour and his role as drummer.
My Bloody Valentine bassist Deb Googe and classically-trained pianist Cara Tivey talk about their unusual friendship and joint album, ‘The Golden Thread’.
Liz Mitchell talks to Adam Coxon about her time as a vocalist in Boney M. being in the first Western band to perform in Russia and the down side of fame,
John Philip Shenale
Vapors
Dave Barbarossa
Repomen
Lisa Torem talks to John Philip Shenale about extending the sound palette of acoustic instruments and what’s beyond the cacophony of Cage?
Vapors' lead singer/songwriter David Fenton chats about the power pop band’s new album ‘Wasp In A Jar’, upcoming UK and US tours and the health challenges of being on the road
Dave Barbarossa, the former drummer with Adam and The Ants. Bow Wow Wow and Republica, talks to John Clarkson about his second novel ‘Mute’ and new band Third House.
Denzil Watson , the frontman with Sheffield indie band RepoMen, talks to John Clarkson about the death in 2023 of the group’s guitarist and songwriter Ric Bower, and the recent ‘A Concert for Ric’ in tribute to him.
Visitor Comments
Editorial
Vinny Peculiar - Things Too Long Left Unsaid
Bram Tchaikovsky - Profile
Zombies - Breathe Out Breathe In
Comsat Angels - Interview with Stephen Fellows
The Church - Interview with Steve Kilbey
Adrian Gurvitz - Interview
Gay - You Know The Rules
Man From Delmonte - Interview
TJ Lind - Interview
Marianne Faithfull - Interview
Eric Bell - Interview
Bram Tchaikovsky - Profile
Zombies - Breathe Out Breathe In
Comsat Angels - Interview with Stephen Fellows
The Church - Interview with Steve Kilbey
Adrian Gurvitz - Interview
Gay - You Know The Rules
Man From Delmonte - Interview
TJ Lind - Interview
Marianne Faithfull - Interview
Eric Bell - Interview
Hello and welcome to the July edition of the Pennyblackmusic Magazine. 2025 has already become a horrible year for rock deaths. At the end of January we lost Marianne Faithfull, and since then David Johansen from The New York Dolls, Brian James from The Damned, Clem Burke from Blondie and Mike Peters from The Alarm have passed away. Now David Thomas of Pere Ubu and Rocket From The Tombs and Brian Wilson are also gone. In this edition we pay tribute to them both. We interviewed the notoriously prickly David Thomas six times over the years, and our long-term writer Mark Rowland cond ....more
Profiles
Malcolm Carter reflects on the impact of him of Brian Wilson’s music and sixty years as a fan,
Brian Wilson
Pere Ubu
Shrag
Roberta Flack
Nick Dent-Robinson pays tribute to Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys who died in June.
Mark Rowland reflects on four interviews with Pere Ubu’s notoriously cranky frontman David Thomas, who died in April.
Dave Goodwin praises the release by Precious Recordings of London on 10 inch vinyl of two radio sessions by Brighton-based indie pop outfit Shrag,
Nick Dent-Robinson pays tribute to legendary soul singer Roberta Flack, who died in February
Live Reviews
Crystal Teardrop
With Rob Hadley on photos, Cherry Holiday watches 60’s-influenced band The Crystal Teardrop play the launch gig for their outstanding debut album, ‘The Teardrop Is Forming’.
Crystal Teardrop
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Night Owl, Birmingham, 10/3/2025
Waterboys - Roundhouse, London, 1/6/2025
Yardbirds - Des Plaines Theater, Des Plaines, 18/4/2025
Skunk Anansie - Old Market, Brighton, 16/5/2025
Kruder and Dofmeister - Paral-lel 62, Barcelona, 27/4/2025
When Rivers Meet - Waterfront, Norwich, 29/5/2025
Nils Petter Molvaer - El Molino, Barcelona, 24/4/2025
Badly Drawn Boy - Aviva Studios, Manchester, 18/4/2025
Pistol Daisys - Waterfront, Norwich, 29/5/2025
Credits - ARC, Liverpool, 17/5.2025
Max Bianco and the BlueHearts - Troubadour, London, 29/3/2025
Waeve - Club Academy, Manchester, 18/3/2025
Waterboys - Roundhouse, London, 1/6/2025
Yardbirds - Des Plaines Theater, Des Plaines, 18/4/2025
Skunk Anansie - Old Market, Brighton, 16/5/2025
Kruder and Dofmeister - Paral-lel 62, Barcelona, 27/4/2025
When Rivers Meet - Waterfront, Norwich, 29/5/2025
Nils Petter Molvaer - El Molino, Barcelona, 24/4/2025
Badly Drawn Boy - Aviva Studios, Manchester, 18/4/2025
Pistol Daisys - Waterfront, Norwich, 29/5/2025
Credits - ARC, Liverpool, 17/5.2025
Max Bianco and the BlueHearts - Troubadour, London, 29/3/2025
Waeve - Club Academy, Manchester, 18/3/2025
Waterboys
Yardbirds
Skunk Anansie
Steev Burgess enjoys an euphoric set from The Waterboys at The Roundhouse in London.
Lisa Torem enjoys. the Yardbirds' evergreen setlist at the Des Plaines Theater on the last night of their 2025 American our..
Sreev Burgess watches Britrock veterans Skunk Anansie air the hits and preview new material at an intimate show in Brighton.
The Great Escape Festival that takes over the venues of Brighton was set
Most Viewed (articles)
Current Edition
John McKay - InterviewRobert Forster - Interview
Cathode Ray - Interview
Spear Of Destiny - Interview
Fiona Hutchings - Interview
When Rivers Meet - Waterfront, Norwich, 29/5/2025
Carl Ewens - David Bowie 1964 to 1982 On Track: Every Album, Every Song
Chris Wade - Interview
Brian Wilson - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Shrag - Huw Stephens Session 08.12.10 and Marc Riley Session 21.03.12
Previous Editions
Heavenly - P.U.N.K. Girl EPBoomtown Rats - Ten Songs That Made Me Love....
Allan Clarke - Interview
Manic Street Preachers - (Gig of a Lifetime) Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, December 1999
Oasis - Oasis, Earl's Court, London, 1995
Barrie Barlow - Interview
Beautiful South - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Dwina Gibb - Interview
Pixies - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Sound - Interview with Bi Marshall Part 1
Favourite Albums
Jack Frost
Robin Trower
Gary Numan
In our Re: View section, in which we look back at albumsfrom the past, Dixie Ernill examines a new box set from Jack Frost, the 1990’s side project of Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens and Steve Kilbey from The Church, which collects together their two albums plus extra material.
Lisa Torem reflects on former Procol Harum guitarist Robin Trower's 1975 album 'For Earth Below' which has just been released in a 50th Anniversary edition.
Eoghan Lyng praises Gary Numan’s 1984 album ‘Berserker’, which has kust been released in an expanded edition.
Features
In commemoration of Brian Wilson who died in June, Lisa Torem draws from the former Beach Boys’ co-founder and solo artist’s vast songwriting collection to choose her ten favourite songs from him.
In Video Vault Tommy Gunnarsson reflects on the video for Chicago’s ‘Stay the Night’ which he describes as “a classic.”
Carl Ewens
Belouis Some
Johnny Cash
Maarten Schiethart
Lisa Torem finds Carl Ewens’ book about David Bowie for the On Track series to be a well-detailed and illuminating read.
In the inaugural 'Video Vault' column Fiona Hutchings chooses Belouis Some’s 'Imagination' as a music video that had a real impact on her.
In our new 'Video Vault' series, Adrian Janes admires the openness and vulnerability for the 2003 video of 'Hurt', the final single which Johnny Cash released in his lifetime.
In Vinyl Stories Dave Goodwin Talks to our Dutch writer Maarten Sciethart about buying vinyl online and in his native Nijmegen,
Photography
Andrew Twambley takes photos of Morrissey at the Viictoria Warehouse in Mancehester.
Andrew Twambley takes photos of the reformed Pogues at the Apollo in Manchester.
Amanda J Window takes photos of bestselling indie rock band The Lathums At The Apollo in Manchester.
Razorlight
Primal Scream
John Hassall
Ian Dunn takes photos of indie rock band Razorlght at the O2 Institute in Birminham,
Ian Dunn photographs Primal Svream at the O2 in Birmingham.
Mark Roberts photographs Libertines bassist John Hassall at a tare acoustic solo gig at The Grreen Room in Altrincham.
Most Viewed (reviews)
Current Edition
Peter Doolan - I Am a Tree Rooted to the Spot and a Snake Moves Around Me,in a CircleVinny Peculiar - Things Too Long Left Unsaid
Garbage - Let All That We Imagine Be The Light
Vultures - Liz Kershaw Session 16.06.88
John McKay - Sixes and #Sevens
Little Simz - Lotus
HAIM - I Quit
Morcheeba - Escape The Chaos
Billy Nomates - Metalhorse
Pulp - More
Previous Editions
Feedback File - SummerlandMarika Hackman - Big Sigh
Primal Scream - Country Girl
Nik Kershaw - You've Got to Laugh
Reg Meuross - Songs about a Train
Black - Blind Faith
Kiki Dee and Carmelo Luggeri - The Long Ride Home
Dashboard Confessional - The Shade of Poison Trees
Mixtapes and Cellmates - Mixtapes and Cellmates
Joy Division - Plus Minus: Singles 1976-1980
Reviews
Garbage
Pulp
Peter Doolan
Vinny Peculiar
Uncompromising journey through darkness and light on sixth album from post-punk act Garbage
Remarkable comeback album of quirky genius, their first in 24 years, from Pulp
Well-crafted but perhaps one-sided tales of heartbreak from gifted London-based Irish singer-songwriter Peter Doolan
Poignant but funny sixteenth album from Worcester-based cult musician Vinny Peculiar
Morcheeba
Eddie Chacon
HAIM
Little Simz
Eleventh album from much acclaimed British trip-hop pioneers Morcheeba upon which they make a successful return to familiar territory
Cathartic, soulful journey on third solo album from Eddie Chacon, who was previously one-half of chart-topping R and B duo Charles and Eddie
Strong harmonic pop on fourth album from HAIM, who are a Californian trio of sisters
Lyrical, innovative ode to survival on sixth album from London rapper Little Simz
Lapsley
Billy Nomates
Taylor Austin Dye
Philip Jeays
Intimate and honest third album from Lapsley, who has an unconventional take on love
Impressive concept album from Bily Nomates, the nom de plume for Bristol-based post-punk singer-songwriter Victoria Ann Tor Maries, which makes an expressive journey towards catharsis
Appealing combination of spirited country tunes and reflective lyrics on second album from Ketucky-born singer-songwriter Taylor Austin Dye
Romantic and reflective latest album from Jacques Brel-influenced singer-songwriter Philip Jeays
Only Child
Davey Woodward
Nigel Stonier
Suzanne Vega
Deep dive into loss, memory and enduring hope on fifth album from Only Child, the project of Liverpool-based musician Alan O'Hare
Eclectic eighteenth album from Bristol-based singer-songwriter and former Brilliant Corners' frontman Davey Woodward
Eighth ‘solo’ album from Nigel Stonier, who is still best known for his role as producer for other artists, but there a feeling that’s about to change with ‘Wolf Notes’
Outstanding first album in nine years from Suzanne Vega which breaks new ground
Darkness
John McKay
Waterboys
Black Country, New Road
Flamboyant and semi-parodic latest album from heavy rock band The Darkness proves to be an album with attitude
Post-punk architect John McKay unearthed on new compilation
Ambitious conceptual album from The Waterboys about Hollywood hell-raiser and mega-star Dennis Hopper
Inventive change of style for Mercury Priize-nominated Cambridgeshire sextet Black Country, New Road
Charles Ellsworth
Vultures
Le Volume Courbe
Maurice
Enjoyable new album from alt-country singer-songwriter Charles Ellsworrth
Excellent only radio session on 10” vinyl from short-lived 1980’s garage punks The Vultures
Sound and survival on quietly powerful first album in ten years from Le Volume Courbe, the project of French-born but London-based experimental musician Charlotte Marionneau
Intriguing debut album from atmospheric French-American band Maurice which is dedicated to joy and rebellion
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adam Coxon
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dixie Ernill
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart