Mod/beat legends The Creation are back together for a gig - at London's 100 Club.
The date for your diary is 24th July 2008, running from 7:30pm until 11pm, with DJ support from Gary Crowley and Dave Edwards.
Tickets are a fairly hefty £20 and available from the link below. Or find out more at the 100 Club website.
Order tickets for the gig online
Ex-Small Face Ian McLagan is going back on the road in the UK and Ireland, promoting his latest album under the Bump Band name.
The album is called Never Say Never and it's released on 7th July 2008 on the Proper Records label. It's described as 'beautiful and emotionally raw' and features all new material. The tour will play at several small venues - so ideal to get things signed and a photo or two I guess.
If you want the full schedule, read on over the page.
Allen Toussaint is set to play a rare show in London.
The New Orleans singer, songwriter and producer par excellence will play the Mojo Club on Monday August 4th at the Roundhouse in Camden. Since the mid-50s Toussaint has been lending his hand to some of the most memorable R&B and southern soul songs, working with Lee Dorsey, Benny Spellman, Dr. John, The Meters, Irma Thomas, and many more. He also worked in the fields of rock and pop, collaborating with amongst others The Band, Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney. He recently finished producing London-based blues singer James Hunter. Except to see one or more of these stars joining Toussaint onstage during the performance.
Tickets for the show (which will probably sell out quickly, so we don't advise you hang around) cost £27.50 and are available from Aloud here .
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Everyone’s favourite unhinged San Fran psych-tinged garage rockers The Brian Jonestown Massacre have announced a 9-date UK tour this summer.
Stars of 2004 documentary Dig!, the group released their latest album My Bloody Underground last month. Anton Newcombe and the boys play:
Oxford Academy (June 29th)
Stoke Sugarmill (30th)
Manchester Academy 2 (July 1st)
Northampton Roadmenders (2nd)
Birmingham Academy 2 (9th)
Nottingham Rescue Rooms (10th)
Leeds Cockpit (11th)
Barrow-In-Furness Canteen (15th)
London Forum (16th)
They are also set to play Glastonbury Festival on June 27th. For more on the band visit their Myspace page here.
New R&B-jazz
combo Trio Valore have announced their first live shows.
The three-piece - Steve White, Damon Minchella, and Seamus Beaghen - play London Brixton Jamm on May 16th, London Jazz Cafe on June 15th, and a week later the band heard down to Southampton to play the Soul Cellar on June 21st. More dates are expected to be announced soon. They will be playing tracks from their debut album 'Return Of The Iron Monkey', out this summer.
Hear Trio Valore on Myspace here.
Rhoda Dakar makes a return to Filthy MacNasty this weekend, specifically Saturday 12th April 2008.
The ex-Special and Bodysnatcher will be onstage from 8pm, accompanied by Nick Welsh (Selecter, Lee Perry etc). Full details in the flyer above or check out the MySpace site below.
Over the past week news has filtered through of a potential Specials reunion.
Singer Terry Hall was speaking to the BBC last week and said there could be live dates in the Autumn:
We need to spend the Summer rehearsing... I think it's taken me 30 years to realise we could do it really well…I saw Patti Smith do Horses, and I saw The Pixies reforming... you do it with dignity or don't do it at all.
Then yesterday MC and vocalist Neville Staple confirmed the rehearsal, but warned the live shows may never materialise:
A couple of months ago we all started talking. We had to talk first to see if we could get on, but we got past the talking stage. Then we said, ‘Okay, let’s see what we’re like in a room together rehearsing with instruments’. So the musicians done that first, then Terry went down. So we’ve had two rehearsals. One where they're on their own, and then the last one where me and Terry went in…So if it works, we’ll do it. If not, well. I’m sorry lads and girls. But we’re trying.
Any notion of going into the studio to record new material seem unlikely right now. Rumours of a reunion had circled for months, but it was thought keyboard player Jerry Dammers was not keen. The rehearsals have gone ahead without him, but the rest of the band haven’t given up on him eventually joining in.
To stay up to date with all the comings and goings on The Specials visit their official website here.
The biggest date in the UK soul scene calender has been for many years the 6Ts Cleethorpes Weekender, and this year's live act line-up has just been announced.
Taking place over the weekend of 7th-9th June at Beachcomber Holiday Centre, Cleethorpes, the 2008 6TS Northern and Modern Soul Weekender boasts three impressive acts live at the Saturday all-nighter.
The opening act is Karime Harris, daughter of LA songwriter/producer Kent Harris and singer Ty Karim. Now a London resident, the one-time Killer Meters singer will perform a special tribute to her parents’ work (including ‘Lighten Up Baby’, ‘You Just Don’t Know’, and ‘You Really Made It Good To Me’). Next up is Frank Dell, the New York singer with the big voice, who travels to Europe for the first time. Famous for his northern soul hit ‘He Broke Your Game Wide Open’, the long-time jazz circuit singer is soon to feature on Kent ’s “Northern Soul’s Classiest Rarities Vol 3”. Headlining Cleethorpes will be Gigi & The Charmaines, the superb girl group from Cincinnati. The group is lead by Gigi Griffin, who supplied backing vocals on James Brown’s King sessions and went on to work in Detroit and Chicago in the mid 60s when those cities produced non-stop soul gold. An unreleased track by the group was featured on the 6Ts 23rd anniversary single. Gigi’s sister, Gerri Jackson, was responsible for the duet with Herman Lewis (Griffin) version of ‘The Right Direction’, which she will perform on the night.
Weekend dancehall passes are still available for £59 each. Send cheques (payable to 6TS Weekenders and enclose a SAE) to:
6TS Weekenders
1 Elm Drive
Market Harborough
Leics
LE16 9DS
Or use PayPal - details and more information on the weekend are here.
Do The Dog have been promoting ska music in the UK for twelves years now and to celebrate are undertaking an anniversary tour in May and June.
Record label, 'skazine', live promoters and CD mailorder service: Do The Dog really know how to push new ska music to a wider audience, so expect this tour to be as top notch as ever. Rebelation and New Town Kings will be performing at all dates, with a revolving support at different venues including Splitters and Robb Blake.
Those dates in full:
St Albans The Horn (2nd May)
Hastings The Crypt (3rd)
Shrewsbury The Buttermarket (8th)
Blackpool The Riff (9th)
Nottingham The Maze (10th)
Doncaster Leopard (16th)
Newcastle Venue (17th)
Leicester Charlotte (18th)
Margate Sugar Lounge (23rd)
Chester Telfords Warehouse (24th)
Darlington Forum (6th June)
London Rhythm Factory (7th June)
For more see the Do The Dog website here and Myspace page here.
Brian Wilson has announced three UK shows, due to take place in June.
Dubbed the 'greatest hits' shows, Wilson and his band will be digging deep into his back catalogue to offer a trio of unique shows for his fans here. The ex-Beach Boy will open the 2008 Kenwood Concert season on June 28 before taking his band to Ipswich's Regent Theatre on the 29th, and then finishes at London’s Royal Albert Hall on July 1st. The ticket details are as follows:
Kenwood House: £27.50 to £36.00. Click here for more.
Ipswich Regent Theatre: £50.00. Click here or call 0844 576 5483. Tickets go on sale Friday (February 29) at 9am.
London Royal Albert Hall: £35 - £75. Call 0207 589 8212 / 0207 434 2222 or click here. Tickets go on sale next Friday (March 7) at 9am.
And if you are looking to buy a new outfit to wear to the shows your luck is in as to coincide with the shows there is a brand new range of official merchandise available. For details and more on Wilson see the official Brian Wilson website here.
Legendary soul and gospel singer Mavis Staples has announced a European tour for April and May. 
The one time Staples Singers member and former Stax Records employee had many top 40s hits throughout the 1960s and '70s, and was at the heart of the civil rights movement in the States. Staples continues to produce breathtaking vocal performances live and on record (most recently heard on her upcoming album We'll Never Turn Back, produced by Ry Cooder). The European tour dates are:
Paris Banlieues Belues (9th April)
Brighton Dome (10th)
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall (11th)
Gateshead Sage (12th)
Manchester Bridgewater Hall (14th)
London Barbican (15th)
Basingstoke Anvil (16th)
Bristol Colston Hall (17th)
Leicester
DeMountford Hall (20th)
Amsterdam
Paradiso (23rd)
Brussels
Ancienne Belgique (24th)
Amiens
La Maison de la Culture d'Amiens (29th)
Odense International Blues Days Festival (1st May)
Bergen Music Fest (2nd)
Trondheim
SAS Royal Garden (3rd)
Support on the UK dates comes from Mississippi-born experimental jazz-gospel singer Jhelisa Anderson.
For more on Staples visit her official site here.
In the next couple of months London will see performances from modernist icons at two charity events.
First up is the Childline Rocks fundraising event which takes place at the indigO2 on Thursday March 13th. Hosted by radio presenter and Old Grey Whistle Test fave 'Whispering' Bob Harris, amongst the line-up are '60s legends The Zombies, The Shadows drummer and songwriter Brian Bennett, Ian Paice and Glenn Hughes from Deep Purple, and The Who frontman Roger Daltrey.
Then in April the capital plays host to the annual Teenage Cancer Trust Gigs at the Royal Albert Hall. The brainchild of Roger Daltrey, the series of shows help raise awareness and funds for the unique charity. The highlight of the 8th year of shows has to be the April 10th night, where Paul Weller and Ocean Colour Scene man Steve Craddock will perform an acoustic set together. This will then be followed by a performance from new soul songstress Duffy. Also of note is the following night, where contemporary Scottish garage rockers Figure 5 will open for The Fratellis. Tickets for both these shows are on sale tomorrow (Friday) morning from 10am, so don't delay in booking.
For more information, including where to buy tickets for both events, click here for Childline Rocks and for the Teenage Cancer Trust shows click here.
Pop art mods The Creation have just confirmed their first live show in years, at London's famous 100 Club on Oxford St on Thursday 24th July.
The current line-up consists of Eddie Phillips (guitar/vocals), Simon Tourle (vocals), Tony Barber (bass/vocals), and Kev Mann (drums). Not only will we be hearing The Creation classics like 'Making Time' and
'Biff Bang Pow!' that night but the band are set to play (pre-Creation band) Mark Four material as well. The current line-up have been working on new material over the past year or so, and to preview some of these new songs they are set to produce a 'gig only' 45 of new material to be sold on the night.
And if this wasn't enough to get you excited, the gig also sees top DJs Gary Crowley and Dave Edwards spinning '60s sounds.
Tickets are 20 pounds plus booking fee and are available through the 100 Club website here. Hear more of The Creation on their official Myspace page here.
The soul and reggae influenced outfit Pama International release their 5th studio album 'Pama Intl Love Filled Dub Band' on Rockers Revolt on the 25th February.
You can pre-order the new album from here. For more on the band check their website or Myspace.
Paul Weller has announced a UK tour for the spring to support his new studio album, 22 Dreams (which is released in June). Tickets for the UK tour go on sale Saturday 16th February. Dates are:
May 2008
Mon 5th: Halifax Victoria Theatre
Tue 6th: Stoke Victoria Hall
Thu 8th: Blackpool Empress Ballroom
Fri 9th: Middlesbrough Town Hall
Sun 11th: Doncaster Dome
Mon 12th: Derby Assembly Rooms
Wed 14th: Motherwell Concert Hall
Thu 15th: Dundee Caird Hall
Sat 17th: Bournemouth Opera House
Sun 18th: Bristol Colston Hall
Mon 19th: Leicester De Montfort Hall
Wed 21st: London Hammersmith Apollo
TICKETS: £30.00 (£35.00 London) maximum 6 tickets per household
24 Hr Tour Hotline: 0870 735 5000
Online booking at www.bookingsdirect.com
Former Animals singer Eric Burdon will join forces with WAR for the first time in 37 years to play a one-off concert at London's Royal Albert Hall on Monday April 21st. 
When the New Animals disbanded in 1969 Burdon helped create the multicultural Californian funk band WAR. They made two albums together and had a huge hit with the Latin-flavoured 'Spill The Wine'. The show coincides with a major Rhino Records reissue campaign that will see 1970's Eric Burdon Declares WAR and The Black-Man's Burdon hit shelves on March 24th. The Best of Eric Burdon & WAR and The WAR Anthology will then follow on April 14th.
Tickets for the gig will go on sale at 9am on February 14th and can be obtained by phoning 0844 576 5483 or clicking online at www.livenation.co.uk.
Having already scheduled a London show on the 21st March, garage rock legends
The Sonics have now added a second show two days later. The second date at The Kentish Town Forum, announced after the first show sold out, will see support from current garage favorites and Southend scene trailblazers The Horrors.
Tickets for the new show can be brought from here (and it seems there are some tickets left for the first Friday show too).
There has been speculation also that a well-known contemporary Swedish garage band have been lined up to support the band on their first date, although nothing has been confirmed as yet.
For the latest news on the gigs check the New Untouchables website here.
One of the best bands from the mod revival period, Secret Affair, have announced their first live show since their scintillating performance at The Scala in 2003. 
The power poppers, famous for revival anthems such as 'Glory Boys' and 'Time For Action', are set to play the Astoria 2 in London on Saturday September 13th. The current line-up is believed to be original members Ian Page (vocals), Dave Cairns (guitar), and Dave Winthrop (sax), plus new members Simon Hanson (drums) and Nick Abnett (bass). It will also be a chance to hear songs from the bands' new studio album (title and release date TBC), to be put out by Peer Music. The band still enjoy a massive following: the last time Secret Affair played a full gig it was packed (in a very real sense), so get booking quick.
Tickets are available for the Astoria 2 show from the See Tickets website here. For more info on Secret Affair visit their official website here.
Everyone's favourite modern-day vintage soul/funk outfit Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings are touring the UK and Ireland, throwing in an appearance on Jools Holland's Later... as well.
The dates are all in April, where you'll catch them at:
10th Button Factory Dublin
11th Mint Lounge Manchester
12th Concorde 2 Brighton
13th Yardbird Birmingham
15th The Sage Gateshead
16th 17th 18th Jazz Café London
19th Fiddlers Bristol.
We're making an effort to bring you news stories everyday - but we do need your help.
We need your news stories. This can be just about anything - club news, clothing (things you've seen online or in stores), music news, events, art/design, films, scootering, new band recommendations, cool websites, things you've seen in the media, new books - in fact, whatever you see that has any interest to a mod audience rather than just related to the mod scene.
So we can get things online quickly, we have set up a new inbox for your stories. Email anything you have to:
modculturenews@gmail.com
Please note:
You can still contact us in the normal way for general Modculture business, but unless you send details to the news email address, you'll not have your club, event, gig etc featured in the news section/frontpage (as this area is being looked after by separate people from the general site).
The Gene Drayton Unit are back on London's live circuit, supported by Orgestra Koolberg at the 100 Club, 100 Oxford Street, London W1
The Koolbergs will play a short set around 9pm to showcase the new 'Vesparation' / 'A Man Alone' single, which will be followed at 9.45 by the Draytons performing the new 'Done 'n' Dusted' album in its entirety in track order. After a short break in which Tim the Mod will be spinning appropriate classics, GDU will return with a second set made up entirely of old favourites.
Saturday 15th March 2008 2000-0100hrs
Admission £10, £7 with money-off flyer
Easter is coming and with it Le Beat Bespoke 4.
Yes, back for a 4th year (and to coincide with the Le Beat Bespoke 3 album) is the three-day event in central London (21st - 23rd March 2008), headlined by legendary garage band The Sonics - the band's first-ever European appearance. Much of the supporting bill has yet to be announced, with Austria’s The Staggers and The Jaybirds, UK bands the Good Time Charlies and The Excellos, The Phantom Keys and Los Chicos from Spain and Sweden’s The Branded the only names listed so far.
As well as the bands, there's the club nights, with everything from garage, psych and rockabilly to soul, ska and jazz, along with go-go girls, cult cinema, an all-night bar, a large retro/vintage market, art exhibitions and a scooter run.
More details announced soon. In the meantime, you can book tickets here.
Find out more at the New Untouchables website
Saturday 19th January sees the CD launch party for the new album from ex-Bodysnatchers, The Specials and Special AKA member Rhoda Dakar - and you are welcome to come along to this free event.
She will be at Filthy MacNastys with Nick Welsh, playing as an acoustic duo - Nick has played, written and produced with acts such as Bad Manners, The Selecter and Lee Perry. Rhoda’s debut solo CD, Cleaning In Another Woman’s Kitchen is produced by Nick and available on Moon Ska World.
Dj for the evening is Dave Edwards.
The venue is: Filthy Macnastys, 68 Amwell Street, London EC1
Filthy McNastys website
If you happen to be in the Brixton area on Friday 11th January, you should make an effort to head down to the Dex (said to be the area's hottest venue of the moment) to see nine-piece ska band the Top Cats.
The band are onstage at midnight, with full DJ support including Jazzman Gerald and Tim Keenoy playing a mix of soul, jazz, northern, ska etc. Tickets are £3.50 in advance - the price is purely to cover the price of hiring the band.
If you're interested, get down there or drop Tim a line at timkeenoy@yahoo.com for details of buying a ticket or just to find out more.
In an attempt to keep Modculture moving along with fresh content, we are starting a series of weekly interviews - and you could be one of them.
10 questions with... is exactly what it says - 10 questions with a range of people, from people on the mod scene past and present, to musicians, designers, clothing retailers, artists, DJs - in fact, just about anyone with a relevance with mod past, present or future.
Don't be shy - if you want to put yourself forward, please do so, we would love to hear from you. Or if you have a suggestion for someone we should interview, please tell us. Or finally, if you actually want to do the interview (which is as easy as compiling 10 questions in an email), again drop us a line - and the person you want to interview. Chances are we'll be able to get hold of them.
And watch out for the first interviews online later this week. More detailed interviews are to follow when the site re-design is completed.
Ska legend Prince Buster with the Delroy Williams Junction Band at The Fairfield Hall, Park Lane, Croydon this month,
Expect him to rifle through the classics on November 23rd, with doors open at 8pm. Tickets are on sale at £21.50 advance + booking fee. You can find out more at the Fairfield Hall website.
If you happen to be further north, Prince Buster is also part of a very strong bill at the Newcastle Boss Sounds Reggae Festival, which takes place on November 25th 2007. You will find more details of that event here.
If you happen to be doing some Christmas shopping in Paris, you might want to drop in at the Move On Up Christmas Extravaganza.
It's on Saturday December 22nd, running from 9pm until 6am, with live appearances from Pussydelic, Smash and Les Playboys (pictured) until midnight, followed by DJs including Mr Pal (Bag o Grooves), Christophe B (Underground Soul from la Rochelle), Ol' Stark (Modaction) and El Superfreak (Soul Sauce) spinning rare soul, freakbeat, French jerk, early funk, latin and jazz.
It's at La Fleche D'Or, 102 bis rue de Bagnolet, PARIS 20eme (Metro: Porte de Bagnolet ou Gambetta). Admission s free.
Find out more at the Mod Action website
If you happen to be in London this coming Thursday, get yourself to Filthy McNastys for a charity event with a top-notch line-up.
It's in aid of the British Thyroid Foundation and sees live and unplugged appearances by Chris Pope (The Chords), Dave Cairns and Ian Page (Secret Affair) and RT3. There's also DJ support from Dave Edwards and Eddie Piller.
Admission is officially free (as this is a private party), but this is a charity event, so a contribution of £5 for the charity would be appreciated. It all runs from 7pm until 11:30pm on Thursday November 15th.
Filthy McNastys, 68 Amwell Street, London, EC1
(nearest tubes re Angel, Kings Cross or Farringdon)
Mod favourites Gene Drayton Unit are out and about again, with two gigs in November.
On Saturday 3rd November, they play the Oval Tavern,131 Oval Road, Croydon, CR0 6BR. GDU will be doing two sets, on around 9pm,and it's free to get in - as is the DJ support. For more details of that show, click here for more venue info.
A fortnight later on Saturday 17th, they're heading off to Hitchin - Club 85, 74 Winbush Road, Hitchin, Herts, Hitchin, SG5 1PZ to be precise, supported by the Petty Hoodlums and DJs. £5 to get in, with the night running from 8pm until late.
Fred Perry has been running its Subculture gigs for an invite-only audience for some time now, but for the first time, the company is giving everyone the chance to attend.
The next gig looks like a lively affair, featuring The Dead 60s, The Draytones and DJ support from Don Letts and Terry Hall, plus 'a very special guest' who will be revealed on the night. It takes place at London's 100 Club on Thursday 15th November 2007.
Interested? Just follow the link below, enter your details and you'll go into the draw for free tickets.
Tickets for the Fred Perry Dead 60s/Terry Hall gig
If you haven't subscribed to the New Untouchables newsletter by post, there's an easy way of getting it right now - by downloading it.
You can download the full newsletter as a PDF. Just follow the link below and you'll have it in no time, which means you can check out photos and reports on Euro Ye Ye and Brighton, news on forthcoming events and gigs, plus the usual classifieds and reviews.
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There's two rare opportunities to see London's hippest Hammond and Horns combo in the north of England in October, as the Gene Drayton Unit play gigs in Manchester and Glasgow.
First up is a gig at Manchester's only specialist jazz club, Matt & Phred's, taking place on Friday 5th October with three sets from the band. No details as yet about prices, so it's probably worth contacting the venue via the Matt and Phred's website.
A day later on Saturday 6th October you can see them at Regal Social @ Maggie Mays, 60 Trongate, Merchant City, Glasgow. The night runs from 10pm til 3am with support from the Meltin' Pot and Friday Street DJs. Admission is £10.
For more details on the band and to hear a few tunes, check out the GDU MySpace site.
If you want to catch top mod groovers Gene Drayton Unit, you're in luck, with the band playing two gigs in the coming weeks.
The first is this Saturday 19th May, at the 100 Club, 100 Oxford Street, London, W1. The night runs from 7.30 til 1.00 and support comes from DJ Tim Fuller. If you're one of the first 25 in, there's also the promise of an archive recording to take home with you - which means you'll be in pocket even after you have paid the door tax.
Admission is £7 with flyer from the band's myspace site.
If you cant make that, you can catch them in Birmingham on Saturday 2nd June. Venue is The Yardbird, Paradise Place, Birmingham B3 3HJ, time 8:00 til 2:00 and support is from DJ Roy Roastbeef.
Admission is £5
Interesting event at London's ICA on 21st April - Freak Out, Ethel!, which is described as "an evening of musical mayhem".
What that means in reality is three bands and a play about Syd Barrett. The play is Malcolm Boyle's one-man The Madcap - a journey into the psychedelic underground as seen through the eyes of Syd Barrett, mixing narrative with hallucinatory film, slide projections and Boyle's own interpretations of Barrett's songs.
Along with that, there's live performances from The Amazing World of Arthur Brown, Circulus and The Pretty Things, plus psychedelic visuals from Optikinetics (as pictured).
Tickets are £20 / £18 (concessions) and £16 ICA Members
Arguably the best live soul/funk act around today, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings are returning to the UK in March/April for three dates.
They're playing at the Jazz Cafe in London on Friday March 30th, Saturday March 31st and Sunday 1st April. Tickets are available now from the Mean Fiddler website.
The band are also playing other dates in Europe, check out the band's MySpace site for full details.
Paul Weller has been added to the line-up to play the latest Manchester Versus Cancer show, which takes place at Manchester's MEN Arena on 30th March 2007.
He joins a line-up that already includes Ian Brown, The Charlatans and Echo & The Bunnymen. How long each act will play isn't clear, but with a number of acts on the bill, it's unlikely that you'll get anything more than 30 minutes or so from anyone on the bill. However, it's expected that there will be some collaborations on the night - with Weller expected to play with The Charlatans.
Tickets are available for £40 each.
Paul has forwarded me a link to a raft of Mod-friendly YouTube clips he has online. The content includes the likes of The Jam, Secret Affair, Nine Below Zero, The Lambrettas, The Chords and the Purple Hearts.
And best of all, he's uploaded rally footage from the 1980s. Check out the clip below for an example of view all his clips here.
Though obviously without certain famous members (Marc Bolan springs to mind), John's Children are still out gigging, the latest of which is at the Night and Day in Manchester.
The current line-up is supplemented with Morrissey's guitarist Boz Boorer and Phil King from the Jesus and Mary Chain. But you should still get all the well-known 60s tunes (Midsummer Nights Scene, Desdemona etc).
Night and Day. No. 26 Oldham Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester M1 1JN
CONTACT: ANDY ELLISON for more info 07966284068 or email johnschildren@googlemail.com.
If you're up in Scotland (and more particularly Lanarkshire), it's worth making a note of Saturday 24th February, when the Melting Pot night returns, featuring the Scottish debut of London's finest Hammond combo the Gene Drayton Unit.
The band will be playing two sets with DJ support spinning classic Mod sounds - 60s R&B, Northern Soul, 60's Beat, Ska, 60s Garage & more.
Venue for this night to the Caledonia Bar, Caledonian Road, Wishaw. 8 till late... £10 on the door. For more information, email scottishmodscene@hotmail.co.uk or visit the Melting Pot MySpace website.
Following on from the BBC/Barbican collaborations covering jazz and folk, we now have the third instalment on the series - Soul Britannia - which looks at Britain’s extended love affair with black music over the past 50 years.
Events are varied and perhaps not all to your taste, but there's definitely some interesting stuff worthy of your attention. Pick of the events for me is Transatlantic Soul Connection, which features Geno Washington, Jimmy James, Eric Burdon, Madeline Bell, Eddie Floyd and Sam Moore. The night highlights Britain's emerging fascination with black music in the 50s and 60s, revisiting the sound of the clubs in that era.
Other events include a live set from the Brand New Heavies (with a stack of special guests), a rare showing of Babylon (a 1980 movie about a young Rastafarian rapper rising above his daily grind through a reggae sound system) and Jeremy Marre’s feature on the life of James Brown - Soul Survivor. There's also DJ sets throughout from Dennis Bovell's HiFi and the Soul II Soul Sound System.
The season runs from 2nd February, with tickets available now.
Two of Leeds' finest Mod bands, the recently-formed Flying Squad, along with The Lost 45s are having a 'secret' get together at Baby Jupiter for the benefit of a good time for all.
Admission is free - and for that you get both bands playing live, along with DJ support from the Leeds 25th Hour Collective and Lee Miller. It all starts at 7pm, running until around 12:30am, with the first band on around 9pm.
Venue: Baby Jupiter, The Basement, 11 York Place, Leeds, LS1 2DS.
Ian Page and The Affair are playing live in Kingston next month - Saturday 11th November to be precise, at the Kingsmeadow Stadium. Full DJ support, playing a cross-section of 60s soul, ska, R&B and powerpop. Tickets are £11/£12, with the doors 8pm until late.
For further information emailinfo@kingsmeadowlive.com or visit