Riz Ahmed. Photo: Hassan Hajjaj
THE geniuses behind Club Fandango, responsible for putting on hundreds of gigs at the Dublin Castle over the years, have launched Radio Fandango to ensure we don’t miss out on discovering our fave new band while venues are shut. With a jovial mission to embody the spirit of the likes of pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio Luxembourg from times past, expect new music, interviews, live sessions, podcasts and a promise to support the support bands. They promise no genres, no pigeon holes and no algorithms – it’s a refreshing and ambitious approach and we can’t wait to hear more. We particularly hope this will inspire one particular Tufnell Park resident, who recently sparked a debate on a Camden website asking for tips on discovering new music when venues are closed and looking for good radio stations. We’d also recommend Boogaloo Radio where our very own Dan Carrieris a regular on the airwaves. Find out more at
His nationwide tour was originally planned for July 2020 and only visited Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch before darting off to Australia. But with the Aussie leg of the tour still on hold due to Covid-19, he was able to extend his Kiwi tour to other regions, including Taranaki. “People wanted more gigs, so we started adding more shows and people wanted me to come to places I’ve never been.” His tour also visits Dunedin, Tauranga, Palmerston North and Hamilton. The show is as blend of his arena show in the UK, material he wrote throughout his European summer and then stuff that has happened to him since he arrived in New Zealand in January.
Chilly Gonzales
NO sooner was this column prepped to detail the various slowly resuming festive gigs and events coming up over the next few weeks than London was plunged into Tier 3 again. Venues are resigned to cancelling carefully planned gigs and rescheduling dates that may well be further postponed down the line. So, this week we’re focusing on more tangible/intangible elements, such as live streams, virtual experiences and Christmas releases.
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Fill the gap left by the absence of live music, or fork out for an affordable Christmas gift, with Anoint My Head – How I Failed To Make It As A Britpop Indie-Rockstar, a new memoir set in pre-Britpop Camden. Written by Andy Macleod, who set up Club Fandango with Fierce Panda’s Simon Williams, putting on early gigs for Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys and many more in some of our most beloved small venues, the book charts band The Pointy Birds’ bid for success against a backdrop of other British Britpop bands reaching levels of succ