Ruby retro scooter helmets

If you have cash to burn and want to invest it in some stylish headwear for your scooter or motorbike, you should check out the retro Pavillon scooter helmets from Ruby.

Designed by Jerome Coste and available online from high-end Parisian retailer Colette, the helmet range has vintage looks, a carbon exterior and plush leather interior. And there's a range of classic and bold designs, including the one above, all with the vintage-style Ruby plate on the front.

Various sizes available, all retailing for around £443.

See the full range at the Colette website

V&A's Supremes Love Child t-shirts

In 1968, The Supremes had something of a makover - ditching the ball gowns for 'street' styling and going for a grittier sound for the Love Child album. And you can get that look with the V&A's exclusive Love Child t-shirt.

Based on the top worn by Diana Ross on that album sleeve, the t-shirt is being made available in limited quantities by the V&A to coincide with The Story Of The Supremes exhibition being held at the museum.

You can pre-order now, with the shirts shipping from mid-May. Could be one of the t-shirts to be seen in this summer - and it retails in various sizes for just £18.

Find out more at the V&A website

Via Retro To Go

New band: Beggars

Beggars come from Reading, but we doubt be there for much longer. Only a few months after forming they had landed a record deal with Heavenly Recordings and, having already supported Babyshambles a few months back, are about to embark on a nationwide tour in May supporting Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong.

Musically Beggars mix Britrock swagger with the pop-art beat sound reminiscent of The Creation and The Who. The songs are encased in the raspy blues vocals of singer Justin Girdler, which recall Lee Mavers, or more recently the 22-20s.

Clearly they are the '60s-meets-Britpop sonic brothers of northern contemporaries The Troubadours. They have a Beatles-in-Hamburg vibe to their look (plenty of moody shots of them dressed in all-black) which should endear them to the all-important teenage girl demographic. Poster boys for UK guitar rock they may eventually become, but they aren't all arrogant bluster; as shown by their choice of covering Leonard Cohen 'The Future' in their live set (and now available as a limited edition 7" and download). The debut album has already been recorded, with Brendan Lynch producing, and will be out in the autumn.

Hear Beggars on Myspace here. Below is a taster from the debut album.

80s mod scene stories wanted for book

Help is needed for the compiling of a photo book of the '80s mod scene.

Photographer Darren Russell is publishing a book of the photos he took of the '80s mod scene. It is to be titled 'Saturday’s Kids: Mod Life in Camera'. Claudia is helping Darren to edit it, and they are looking for people to tell of their stories of "buying clothes, going to clubs/rallies and seeing bands". If you are interested in contributing to the project then write your memroies down (up to 200 words) and email them to Claudia at Tinymod@hotmail.com.

Note this project has nothing at all to do with Modculture, so please do not contact the site,

Win The Who's Magic Bus

The Who - in conjunction with the Teenage Cancer Trust - is currently running a competition to win The Who's Magic Bus - and it is a real bus.

Well, it's actually an original (but customised) Volkswagen T1 panel van from 1965, signed by both Roger Daltrey (patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust), and Pete Townshend.

You have to pay £5 to enter (with proceeds going to the charity) and answer a ridiculously easy question. And as a bonus, all entrants get a free download of a previously unreleased live performance of The Who's 'Magic Bus' performed during the International Bus Meeting in Hannover in October 2007. If you are feeling lucky, the link below takes you to the band's competition page.

The Who's Magic Bus competition

Mick Hucknall does Bobby Bland

Following Chris Rea's reinvention as a beat artist, another '80s star, Mick Hucknall, is paying tribute to the 1960s by recording an album of Bobby Bland songs.

The Simply Red man is to begin releasing music under his own name, and to kick it off he's made 'Tribute To Bobby',  a 12-track album of Bland covers set for release on May 19th. Hucknalls' tribute to the Lion of the Blues comes from Bland being one of his 'inspirations and music idols' apparently. The album is available to preview until May 1st on Hucknall's official site here. The CD release will feature a bonus DVD containing a 'making of' documentary shot in Memphis (a preview is also on his site).

And should you be moved enough to want to hear Mick perform these tracks live, here are his upcoming UK tour dates:

Bristol Colston Hall (June 29th)
Wolverhampton Civic Hall (30th)
Liverpool Summer Pops (July 1st)
Manchester Apollo (3rd)
Newcastle City Hall (4th)
Oxford New Theatre (5th)
Leicester De Montfort Hall (7th)
Ipswich Regent (8th)
London IndigO2 (9th and 10th)

Tickets for the tour are available to buy here. 'Tribute To Bobby' is available to order from Amazon here.

Numark TTi USB/iPod Turntable

Never mind plugging a deck into a computer and loading up a pile of software to transfer your vintage vinyl to MP3 - the Numark TTi USB Turntable with iPod Dock makes it all redundant.

Well, if you have an iPod that is. That's because it has an iPod dock, recording your vinyl tunes straight to the miniature player. Or if you want to tinker with the audio quality, you can still hook it up to the PC (to the USB port) and load up one of the three types of software sold with the deck.

The turntable itself is belt-drive, with playback at 33 or 45 and line-level RCA outputs (with built-in phono pre-amp). Available now for £149.

Find out more at the Advanced MP3 Players website

Via Electric Roulette

Weller: winter tour and in Mojo

Always looking to bring you exclusive news on Paul Weller, Modculture can reveal details of his UK winter tour.

Paul will be doing 11 dates in November, for which there is a pre-sale, allowing you can get your tickets before the general public. The dates are:

Crawley K2 (November 6th)
Southend Cliffs Pavillion (8th)
Aberdeen Press & Journal Arena (13th)
Glasgow SECC (14th)
Newcastle Metro Radio Arena (15th)
Liverpool Echo Arena (17th)
Manchester Evening News Arena (18th)
Cardiff International Arena (20th)
Birmingham NEC (21st)
Nottingham Arena (22nd)
London Brixton Academy (24th)

Tickets cost £30 (£35 for London) and go general sale on Friday, but you can order them from this Wednesday (the 30th, from 9am) by clicking here.

Meanwhile the new issue of Mojo magazine sees editor Pat Gilbert interviewing Paul to mark his 50th birthday. The magazine also comes with a covermount CD of music that inspired his songwriting, plus 3 Weller rarities. There is a photo gallery of Weller (including the cover shoot) on the Mojo website here.

Paris 1968 street posters re-printed

Great street design and a piece of social and political history too - these extremely limited edition prints of original Paris 1968 street posters are well worth a look.

They are available to coincide with the Hayward Gallery's May 68: Street Posters from the Paris Rebellion exhibition, which celebrates the artwork that inspired the social uprising in May 1968.

The Hayward Gallery is selling a limited edition book containing hand screen printed reproductions of 40 original May 68 posters, but the Keep Calm Gallery has a limited number of printer's proofs of each design, available individually as hand-pulled screen prints on recycled paper. Less than 10 of each one and each selling for around £30 per print. Get them while you can.

Find out more at the Keep Calm Gallery

Via Retro To Go

Armchair Thriller DVD winners

One last competition to draw for now - for a pair of Armchair Thriller DVDs.

Three winners, each receiving the first two volumes of this cult 70s TV series. They are:

Alex Baxter - London
Jane Bullough - Derby
Keri Vagges - Glasgow

A number of new competitions will be starting soon.

Small World of Sammy Lee at the NFT

The Scenester has been out and about, taking in the latest Flipside screening at the NFT - The Small World of Sammy Lee, part of a Soho night of screenings. Over at Cinedelica, you can check out his review of the event and the 1962 film itself - one you should track down, he assures us.

The next Flipside event has just been announced - Sinister Folk. And the one after that promises a night of 60s psych - although details of that night have yet to be confirmed.

Read The Scenester's review of The Small World of Sammy Lee

London Nobody Knows DVD winners

Another competition comes to an end - The London Nobody Knows (1967) / Les Bicyclettes de Belsize (1969) DVD. And we have five winners for the five DVDs. They are:

Darren Whitehead - Manchester
Mikki Francis - London
Kevin Barclay-Jay - Shanklin (Isle of Wight)
Cathy Littlejohn - London
Alison Brown - Newbury

All have been contacted and prizes will be sent out this week.

New Breed CD competition winners

A little later than intended, the winners of the New Breed R&B With Added Popcorn CDs from Kent have just been drawn - and they are the following people:

Tracey Dexter - Solihull
Jo Fisher - Edinburgh
Allan Derbyshire - Wrexham
Guy Joseph - Perpignan (France)
Nick Wain - Sheffield

All winners have been contacted and prizes will be sent out this week.

BBC wants mods for TV show

The BBC are currently working on a new five-part series exploring British style and fashion. And they want you to appear in it.

One of the five episodes is looking at post-war British street styles - from Teddy boys to mods to skins and football casuals - working class street fashions as well as the influence of black culture.

For the show, the Beeb is keen to make contact with genuine mods and those who 'know about the clothes and history of the mod style'. And they also want people to appear in film reconstructions and sequences with people dressed authentically in mod-styled clothes, from early modernist jazzers through to skins and suedeheads.

If you want to appear in the show or have a say in it, get in touch with the man from the BBC by emailing Tony Higgins at tony.higgins@bbc.co.uk.

Modus album gets Hammondbeat release

We reviewed Sounds From The Kitten Casino by Scottish mod favourites Modus back in October last year. But there was one problem - a lack of distribution. That's not the case anymore.

US-based label Hammondbeat is releasing the album from July 2008 (with general US distribution to follow in September), so if you want a copy, check out the Hammondbeat website for details of ordering. We rated it - certainly one to hear.

And if you want to know more about the band, a feature on singer Miss Modus appeared in the Daily Express recently, which you can read here.

Read our review of the Modus album

Film publicity shoot - 60s models required

If you fancy yourself as a model, we've just been informed about some paid work available to promote a film in pre-production.

The movie is called Within You Without You, described as a 'psyche-out 60s feature film' and the people behind it require 'two mod/60s "Dollybird"-type girls and one mod/60s guy' for the fashion shoot.

This has nothing to do with Modculture, so do not contact us. Instead, contact Steve Kemp on 020 7 350 0917 or 07955 170097 (mobile)  or email stevekemp9@hotmail.com.

The Prisoners - Rare & Unissued CD

Originally released (in limited numbers) on vinyl in 1988 on Billy Childish’s Hangman label, Rare & Unissued by The Prisoners gets a welcome reissue this week from Big Beat through Ace Records.

Rare & Unissued brings together all the hard-to-find recordings by the 'pioneers of modern day garage', but is slightly different to the original vinyl release. That's because Ace has already reissued some of the album's tracks on previous Prisoners reissues - so rather than offer duplicate tracks, there's two previously undiscovered cuts - the instrumental Unbeliever (fast) from the Wisermiserdemelza sessions and a take of Love Me Lies recorded live in a studio some time before the its appearance at those sessions.

Also added are two cuts recorded at a demo session in 1984 which appeared on various small run compilations – Joe 90 and a version Hush - and new sleevnotes, with contributions from band members. You can pick it up now from Amazon, which is selling it for £8.98.

Find out more about the CD at Amazon.co.uk

The Boiler in Barcelona - May

Check out the flyer above for the next Boiler in Barcelona, which takes place on May 10th 2008.

Gues DJs are Jo Wallace, Roberta and Moonwolf, with the night running from 11:30pm until 5am and admission 10 Euros.

If you want to know more, contact the organisers via the Boiler website.

Black Cat Club in Kent

First held at the Dublin Castle in Camden in 1990, Phil Otto & Dom Strickland (ex of The Clique ) return with the Black Cat Club on Saturday 10th May.

It takes place every second Saturday of the month at The Poll Hill Arms, between Orpington and Sevenoaks Kent, running from 8pm – 12.30 and playing soul/R&B, British beat/R&B, Mod, and Hammond by a mix of (to be confirmed) guests and resident DJs.

The Poll Hill Arms is an old-style pub, with the club in the back room, extending outside - and the drinks are obviously pub prices. If you want to know more, contact iangrinham@hotmail.com.

Retro TV W/C 25th April 2008

Barry Murphy returns once more trawl the TV and radio guides (so you don't have to) to find anything worth tuning into this week. All listings are for UK terrestrial TV, Freeview and national radio, with the shows running from Friday 25th April to Thursday 1st May.

Highlights of the week

BBC 4's latest session from the LSO sees legendary Celtic soul curmudgeon Van Morrison playing tracks from his recent (rather good) album as well as a smattering of classics (BBC 4 Friday 25th 10pm - repeated Sun 27th 10.50pm). Also showing as part of BBC 4's Friday night Van-fest is another repeat showing of the first episode of Soul Britannia, which, if you haven't already seen it, is essential viewing. (BBC 4, Friday 25th 9pm).

On the radio this week, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings have a session on Craig Charles's always excellent Soul & Funk show (BBC Radio 6, Sat 26th, 6pm), Duffy joins Jools for a quick rendition of Northern Soul classic Tainted Love (BBC Radio 2,  Mon 28th 10.30pm) and BBC Radio 6 repeat the Smokey Robinson narrated Stubborn Kind of Fella - Remembering Marvin Gaye (Week nights 9.30pm)

Solid Gold 60s weekends

Solid Gold Weekends present two autumn events in Hemsby, Norfolk for '60s music lovers.

First up is their '60s Weekend' from the 24th-27th of October. This is one for the beat fans amongst you, as headlining are The Nashville Teens and The Merseybeats. Then comes the 'Soul and Motown Weekend', from the 21st-24th of November. This event see performances from Geno Washington and His Ram Jam Band, Cliff Bennett and The Rebel Rousers, The Soul Detectives, and more. Both events are compeered by Steve Cherelle of BBC Essex.

The weekenders take place at Seacroft Holiday Village in Hemsby, near Gt. Yarmouth. For 3 days and nights of live acts and accommodation combined costs from £99. To book ring 01493 733610. For more info and updates visit the Solid Gold Myspace page here.

Beatles day in Liverpool

The Beatles are to be celebrated in their hometown of Liverpool on the first dedicated 'Beatles Day' this July 10th.

The event marks the 44th anniversary of the band’s triumphant homecoming after they conquered America in 1964. The day will help generate funds for the Alder Hey Children's Hospital Imagine Appeal, and the Liverpool Echo's 'Liverpool Unites' campaign. 20,000 moptop wigs and inflatable guitars are being made, and businesses will be encouraged to decorate buildings with Beatles memorabilia. Radio stations are set to play more Beatles-related tracks, as well as invite listeners to share their Fab Four memories on air. There will be also be a Beatles parade.

The day, part of the Summer Pops series, will end at the Echo Arena with 'Imagine - The Concert', hosted by Ricky Tomlinson. Musicians from far and wide will play their own versions of Beatles songs, with many special guests expected. Summer Pops promoter Chas Cole says:

Liverpool has always been proud of The Beatles and it’s a wonderful idea to combine an annual celebration of their music with a fund-raising drive for charity. Beatles Day will really be about the ordinary people of this city, and hopefully in the future, cities in the UK and beyond because we want this idea to catch on, from Liverpool to London to Los Angeles.

To buy tickets for the Imagine concert (priced £19.50 and upwards) visit Ticketmaster here.

Fred Perry Sample Sale

If you are after a Fred Perry bargain, you'll find one at the Fred Perry Sample Sale, which takes place on Thursday 1st May and Friday 2nd May 2008, running from 8am to 7pm on each day.

You'll find it 33-35 Endell Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9BA. Expect clearance stock, end of range clothing and more interestingly, a number of items that were never actually put into production (due to various reasons) plus limited editions.

All will be at a fraction of the retail cost.

Fred Perry website

Gola anniversary Harrier Suede trainers

Following on from the anniversary Harriers last year, Gola has just launched the 40th anniversary Gola Harrier Suede range.

As the name suggests, this is also to celebrate 40 years of the Harrier, with the leather swapped for suede and with four colour ranges to choose from - all faithful to the original 1968 design.

Every pair comes in a 'vintage' orange box and commemorative leaflet, selling for just £35 per pair.

Find out more at the Cazual website

Via Retro To Go

Sunday Service in Glasgow

If you're at a loose end on a Sunday in Glasgow, Sunday Service looks like it's worth checking out.

Every Sunday at The Venue, Oran Mor (Top of Byres Road), Glasgow, Mark Robb & Craig Loosejoints (Ecurie Weegie) plus guest bands & djs will spin soul, r&b, jazz, psych, funk, reggae and more. The night runs from 11pm - 3am, entry is £4.

Some interesting forthcoming guests too, including:

Sun 4 May Bank Holiday  - DJ Snowboy
Sun 25 May Bank Holiday - DJ Keb Darge
Sun 22 June - DJ Terry Hall (Yes, the bloke from The Specials)

Find out more at the club MySpace page

Fashion In Film Festival

Returning for a second year is the Fashion In Film Festival, mixing talks, exhibitions, newly-commissioned film works, but best of all, some rarely-seen cinema classics that show how fashion of the day was just as important as a good plot and scenery.

Some superb films on show this year too, with highlights (for me) including the visually stunning (see image above) 10th Victim (La Decima Vittima) from 1965 and Get Carter (1970) at the ICA, Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace (1964) at the Horse Hospital, as well as a double bill of delinquency curated by fashion designer and former mod Roger K. Burton (The Violent Years from 1956 and The Boys from '62), Dario Argento's The Bird With Crystal Plumage (1970) at the BFI plus Plein Soleil (1960) and Fata Morgana (1965) Ciné lumiére.

Much more besides, including some rare silent flicks and classic US film noir. Check out the full programme at the website - the event runs from 10th - 31st May 2008.

Fashion In Film Festival website

Via Cinedelica

Win Mother Earth's Stoned Woman on CD

Stoned Woman by Mother Earth is one of my favourite Acid Jazz releases - and now it has been reissued by Ace Records, which has kindly given us five copies to give away.

Originally released back in 1991, it's a mix of soul, funk and 60s grooves - admittedly with a few rough edges, but all the better for it. The new release has brand new liner notes and six bonus tracks - single b-sides and rarities, including a previously unissued version of George Harrison's My Sweet Lord.

If you want to get in the draw to win one, follow the link below...

Enter the Mother Earth competition

French Connection mini dress

New summer collections on the high street means mini dresses are currently ten-a-penny again. If you're looking for an authentic retro style then look no further than French Connection.

This block dress is a great Mod reproduction, with a simple structured A-line shape. The high scoop neck and it's contrast colour detailing really make this just sharp enough to look the perfect modernist dress.

Get it online or in UK stores for £60 now.

Find out more at the FCUK website

Via Retro To Go

Small Faces Convention 2008

Details of the 2008 Small Faces Convention have been announced.

The annual event, organised by John Hellier, will once again take place at Carling Islington Academy in north London on Sunday September 21st. Live acts confirmed so far are Small World, Small Fakers, 17Black, Matt Henshaw, Fuzz Face, Petty Hoodlums, 5 o'clock Heroes, RT3, and special guests Secret Affair. Tickets for the 12th edition are still priced at £20 and will be on sale from in June  from the venue and John himself via the Wapping Wharf website.

Full event address:
Carling Academy Islington
N1 Centre, 16 Parkfield Street, London, N1 0PS
Nearest tube: Angel

And whilst on the subject of the Small Faces, Issue 30 of fanzine The Darlings of Wapping Wharf Launderette is available now, priced £3.50 (from the Wapping Wharf website). It features coverage of last years' convention, the recent plaque unveiling on Carnaby Street, and much more besides.

Diana Ross live in the UK

Soul legend Diana Ross plays her only UK show this year in July.

The 64 year-old one-time Supremes singer will be performing all her hits on Friday the 11th of July at Petworth Park, West Sussex. The outdoor concert, organised by Easternbreeze Promotions in conjunction with The National Trust, is rumoured to be her last ever UK show, so get your tickets in quick. General admission tickets are £45 and 'Golden Circle' tickets cost £75. Both are available online here or via the ticket hotline on 0870 842 2230.

For more on Ross visit her official site here.

Coming soon: The In-Kraut Volume 3

We loved the first two volumes, so we're happy to hear of the launch of The In-Kraut Volume 3.

It's the final instalment in the series on Marina Records, featuring more vintage German grooves from '67 to '74 - 20 rare soul, beat, now sound, mod, jazz & soundtrack gems to be precise. That includes mod stomper Glory Be by Daisy Clan, Dieter Zimmermann's orchestral take on Whole Lotta Love, Inga's cover of Sonny & Cher’s The Beat Goes On, Katja Ebstein's 'druggy' take on A Hard Day’s Night and an even more funk'd up version of The Champ by The German Top Five. Not to mention the usual batch of lost/rediscovered vintage grooves.

We'll have a review of the album before release - which is May 9th 2008.

Find out more at the Marina Records website

Meltdown 2008 announced

The line-up for 2008's Meltdown Festival, London Southbank's annual gig-fest, has just been announced.

This year's event, which runs from the 14th to the 21st June, is being curated by Massive Attack. There are a few acts of particular interest to Modculture readers. Most notably is that psych-rockers Gong will be playing a rare UK show on the 14th, Horace Andy will play an acoustic show on the 15th, jazz-soul man Terry Callier performs on the 20th, and funk-rock legends George Clinton and P-Funk play on the 21st. Also on the 15th will be a screening of The Night James Brown Saved Boston. Massive Attack themselves play on the opening and closing nights.

For more on Meltdown, including info on how to buy tickets, visit the Southbank website here.

May Bank Holiday events

Here is a round-up of events happening this coming May bank holiday weekend.

Blackpool on Friday the 2nd sees a great line-up of mod bands at Riffs (Station Road) -Yeh Yeh, The 5 O'Clock Heroes and The Wrong Box. Tickets are £6 in advance from andy@sheana.freeserve.co.uk. The party starts at 8pm and finishes at 2am.

Staffordshire hosts Modrophenia on Sunday the 4th, a party with DJ Louca spinning northern soul and ska, plus live music. The venue is The Palace in Tamworth, times are 7pm-1.30am. Tickets available from the venue website here.

Over in Wales from the 2nd to the 4th is the National Scooter Rally in Llandudno. You can expect all the usual scooter rally activities: live bands, DJs, custom show and parts fair. For more info visit vfmscoot.com.

In Leicester on the Saturday (3rd) The Buzz gang continue their recent hosting of the second room at Brighton Beach at Leicester University, playing a mixed bag of 1960s sounds. Doors are 10pm-2am, entry is £5. See more at the Brighton Beach website here.

Another Saturday event is the Cambridge Soul Collective do at the Fulbourn Sports and Social Club in the city. Resident DJs Max and David spin northern, modern soul, and R&B alongside guests Big Jon and Dave Halsall. Times are 8pm-1am, and its £5 entry.

London can expect another dose of the Tune Up allnighter @ The Cellars, Newington Green Road. After the success of the first installment Smart Phil and Giordano once again spin plenty of 'maximum strength boilers' of the soul and Jamaican variety, with guests Dave Edwards, Dom Cater, Mischief and Paul Leney joining in the fun. 10pm-6am, £8 entry.               

And finally in Brighton on the Sunday is the Ska Jamboree at The Barfly (Gloucester Place). Live music comes from Crunch (featuring members of Madness), 80s girl-group The Dance Parade, and King Fu.  Special guest DJ is Preston of The Ordinary Boys, and photographer Gavin Watson will be doing a book signing. Doors are 7pm-3am; tickets are £8/10 From Ticketweb.co.uk and the usual outlets.

Oslo Mod Weekender

If you've never been to Oslo, you could take the opportunity on September 5th & 6th for the Oslo Mod Weekender.

Friday night is hosted by Oslo's top Mod club Klubb Magnus playing 60s soul, rhythm & blues, latin and boogaloo in an authentic 60s venue, then following a daytime event on Saturday, the Saturday night will offer more mod sounds, courtesy of  Pow Wow's Mik Parry, Carole F and Callum from Shoutin' the Blues, Mark Raison, Mr. No More Doggin's Kev C and from The Alley Club, Big Jon.

We'll have a flyer and full details in our events section nearer the time.

Find out more at the MySpace website

APC Checked Harrington jacket

Yes, yet another Harrington jacket - this time the Checked Harrington jacket from Parisian label APC.

A bit bolder than your average jacket with that navy and purple check, this 100 per cent cotton jacket has a full zip front, button fastening collar, two waist pockets and ribbed cuffs and waist.

Yours for £140.

Find out more at the End Clothing website

Fred Perry's Terry Hall V-neck sweater

Coming in September is the latest fashion collaboration from Fred Perry - the Terry Hall-inspired V-neck sweater.

It's based on the one that Hall wore in a copy of The Face (the first edition), a late 70s version with oversized Laurel and a deeper V, but keeping the original shape.

It will be made in pure British lambs wool in a choice of black or maroon in a quantity of just 500.  And that's a worldwide figure - so expect demand to be high when it officially launches in September.

Fred Perry website

Via Retro To Go

In The City in London

A band-based club has taken off in the capital recently, looking to provide a monthly dose of mod/scooterist-shaped action in the heart of Camden.

In The City is every third or fourth Saturday of the month at The Fiddler's Elbow, and billed as a 'back to basics' night of thrills and spills without it hurting your wallet. DJ Bioux provides the sounds alongside two live bands. Future live attractions include The Petty Hoodlums (April) and Long Tall Shorty (May). The organisers are planning to set up a local In The City scooter club off the back of the night.

In The City
@ The Fiddler's Elbow, Camden, NW5
Saturday 19th April, 17th May, 21st June, 26th July
8pm-1am, £6 entry.
Myspace page

Toots & Maytals announce London show

Toots and The Maytals have announced a rare London show for this summer.

The reggae legends play the Kentish Town Forum on Wednesday 18th of June. As well as all the classics the band will be playing thracks from their 2007 Grammy-nominated album 'Light Your Light'. The album, a mix of Toots originals and covers, is available from Amazon here.

Tickets for the gig cost £25 plus booking fee and are available from The Forum website here. For more on the band see the official site here.

Retro TV W/C 18th April 2008

Barry Murphy returns once more trawl the TV and radio guides (so you don't have to) to find anything worth tuning into this week. All listings are for UK terrestrial TV, Freeview and national radio, with the shows running from Friday 18th April to Thursday 24th April.

Highlight of the week

Director Murray Lerner's excellent rockumentary Amazing Journey: the Story of the Who comes to BBC 4 this weekend (Friday 18th 9.30pm - repeated Sun 20th 10.50pm).
One of the most innovative and explosive bands in music history and the greatest live act the UK has ever produced, the Who have already been well served by the excellent music documentary The Kids Are Alright. But while TKAA is a compilation of great performances, Amazing Journey is their story. An authorized portrait of the band, this is an honest authentic account of their ups and downs as they have evolved through four decades of rock. It includes recent and extensive interviews with surviving Who members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend as well as close friends and family of the band.

What do you want on the site?

We're about to start our re-design of the website and to go along with it, we want to stick up a load of new content. We hope to expand and improve existing sections, but we need to know specifically what you are interested in.

Do you want more listings? More news? More reviews? And if so - what kind of reviews do you want - clubs, events, films, books, music or anything else?

And do you want more articles - and if so, what kind of articles? And who do you want us to interview? Or perhaps you want something more technical - like a radio station or downloads? Would you be interest in well-designed merchandising?

Please let us know your thoughts abut the above and anything else by contacting the site or leaving a comment below. And if you fancy contributing in any way at all, we're ALWAYS happy to hear from you.

Contact the site

Sixties Soho night at London's BFI

Another great night planned by The Flipside at London's BFI on Thursday 24th April 2008, celebrating the seedy world of 60s Soho.

That means a screening of The Small World Of Sammy Lee (1962), with Strip club compere and small time wideboy Sammy (played by cockney crooner Anthony Newley) losing his shirt at an all-night card game, with the heavies looking to collect. That means a race against the clock around the streets of Soho as Sammy tries to raise the readies, and escape with the girl who loves him, before his luck runs out.

Clique Club reunion at Basics

Basics R&B club in Edinburgh is to help bring back 1980s The Clique club for one night only.

The Clique Club was run by Liam Patterson and friends in the 1980s as an Edinburgh rhythm'n'soul club, to fill the gap between the few UK northern soul allnighters and the more populist mod/scooter nights in Scotland. The music policy of classics alongside the '6Ts newies' coming out of Stafford or the 100 Club was considered unusual at the time, as clubs often played mod revival bands or the more obvious UK groups like The Who and the Small Faces. This 'pursit' policy obviously fits in nicely with what Basics does (missing of course some raw 1950s R&B currently in vogue), so Kevin Conn and Davie Hudson has invited them to man the decks as part of the May edition. Put simply, it looks like being one of those 'must-attend' nights for old and new faces alike.

Basics Presents...The Clique Club
Saturday May 17th, 11pm-3am
Henry's Cellar Bar, Morrison Street, Edinburgh
£5 entry; free CD for first 25 in.

For more on the Basics club visit the Myspace page here.

New band: The Elements

Acid Jazz has just signed their latest hopes, Birmingham's The Elements.

Formed as long ago as 2001, only after a lengthy apprentice period has the group developed into the band you see today. The Elements are Andy Bennett (vocals, guitar), Lee Burn (vocals, guitar), Dave Caswell (vocal, bass) and Tim Jaques (drums). Frontman Andy is perhaps best known as the live guitarist with Ocean Colour Scene, appearing on their two live albums and even their last studio album. They are a self-styled 'modern beat group', although sonically they are more akin to the power-pop beloved of many mod revival scene bands, and classic guitar rock. Expect crashing chords, cavernous drums, and tight vocal harmonies, all expertly polished to give them that anthemic quality.

Already they have supported P.P. Arnold and Paul Weller, and recently signed to Acid Jazz, who shortly are to release the bands' debut single 'Caught In A Storm'. Catch them play the single launch party this Friday the 18th as part of The Beat Generation night at Smithfield's Cock Tavern, alongside London legends Smashing Time. Richard Searle (Corduroy) will be DJing on the night, which kicks off at 8pm and costs £5 entry.

Hear the band on their Myspace page here.

Independent record shops team up

The recent demise of many independent record shops is very much mourned by the vintage music collectors amongst us, and indeed amongst most music lovers. So it is heartening to see them teaming up in order to stay relevant and financially viable in today's market place.

The Coalition of UK Indie Stores is a trade body which will fight for the interests of independent music shops across the UK. An initial grouping includes 15 of the larger stores, notably including London's Rough Trade and Sister Ray, Piccadilly in Manchester, 1Up in Aberdeen, and Jumbo in Leeds. The body will be run in turn by each of the participating shops. The coalition officially launches this Saturday 19 April, a day that has been declared the inaugural "Record Store Day" in the UK, Record Store Day is an American idea which has gained huge support over there in recent years. This awareness-raising campaign day hopes to express the allure of the local record shop and looks to capture both artist and public imagination. Many shops are having live in-store gigs as part of the celebrations.

We at Modculture say head down to your local store this Saturday and spend a few pounds on that soul/blues/jazz (delete as appropriate) compilation you've been meaning to pick up for some time now.

The Buzz bids farewell to the Soundhaus

Northampton’s long-running '60s-based club The Buzz says its goodbyes to The Soundhaus next month, as the venue is to close.

The Buzz has been providing the Midlands with "mod soul and rock'n'roll" at the Soundhaus for the last nine years. However the venue owner is not renewing the lease as new property developments on its doorstep threatens its' ability to continue as a late-night music venue (sadly very much a trend in the UK right now). So on Friday 9th May The Buzz team will have a farewell party, with Smart Phil (Sweet but Deadly) as guest DJ on the night providing the r'n'b, soul and ska dancers. The Buzz hopes to continue in the near future at The New Roadmender. As always check The Buzz Myspace and website for updates.

The Buzz
Friday 9th May
Great Russell St, Northampton
10pm-2am. £4 b4 11pm, £5.50 after

Rock 'n' Roll Soul with The Bees

I'm sure I am not alone in being impressed with The Bees' recording output - so it should be interesting to see what they are like as DJs.

You can find out this Saturday (19th April) at London's Rock 'n' Roll Soul, where they will be guest DJs alongside Boogaloo Stu Kirkham and Emma Sunley.

Rock 'n' Roll Soul is at the Cock Tavern, East Poultry Avenue, Smithfield Markets, EC1 from 9pm-3am, £6 admission.

Find out more at the Rock 'n' Roll Soul website