Backstage page

Page started on 26th March 2009

Last edited Tuesday, 21/02/12

We go backstage to checkout the parts the public cannot reach

Promoter walks out of Walkabout

Trevor Locke walked away from Granby Street's Tuesday evening bands night after football disrupted the night two weeks in a row. Dismayed by disgruntled bands and carefully planned lineups being pushed aside by football broadcasts, the gig promoter threw his boomerang out of the pram and waved farewell to the Aussie theme bar.

Changes at Sumo

TIMES ARE CHANGING AT SUMO: The new full time promoter of sumo will be Andy Wright. Andy previously ran the legendary Charlotte venue in Leicester. He will now turn his hand to the basement venue of Sumo. If you are interested in playing / putting on nights please contact andy@sumobar.co.uk, or myspace andy on Sumo's myspace. Keep your eyes pealed for new exciting happenings and listing from Sumo! Source: Myspace blog. Bands tell us that Andy will also be involved in the new Frog Island venue, Lock 42.

After two and a half years of promoting at Sumo, Grant has moved on to a new career in primary school teaching. He will still be promoting part time in various venues with Club Beaux Yeux.

Backstage with the Heroes at Glastonbury

Rooster takes us backstage at Glastonbury.

Alex Van Roose singing at Glastonbury © courtesey of the BBC.

The Heroes arrived at Glastonbury Festival on Thursday at 3am after a long journey from their home city of Leicester. On arrival, The Heroes (when they should have been preparing for their performance on the Friday) were confronted with ticket problems and ended up having to sleep in the tour van for the night.

Woken up in a nearby car park to crowds of people, the band finally managed to sort out their passes and work their way into the backstage area of Glastonbury – a campsite overlooking the whole of the festival.

Throughout the rest of the festival, as well as performing, The Heroes also went on to meet a number of important people in the backstage areas including former ‘Libertine’ Carl Barat (a massive influence on The Heroes’ music themselves).

Having barely slept for 24 hours in the tour van, The Heroes got a much deserved early night sleep on the Thursday whilst everybody else was exploring some of the things that Glastonbury has to offer.

On the Friday of the performance, The Heroes drove the kit to the stage to set up for their performance. TV Cameras, freelance interviewers/reviewers, industry, a capacity crowd and various members of the BBC including Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens were there so the pressure was really on (particularly with a different sound system and environment from what The Heroes are used to).

It was bound to be a daunting experience to them, but The Heroes quickly adjusted to the surroundings and launched into their track ‘Blue Rave’ (one of the tracks which has received airplay on radio and was quite clearly known to some of their Leicester fans in the audience). Later on in the set, The Heroes played ‘My Fault’ and a new track called ‘Save Today’ – both chosen by the BBC as video showcases for the band’s performance on the BBC website and highlights of Glastonbury.

After playing well known tracks such as ‘Wake up Radio’, ‘Only Living for Tonight’ and ‘Flowers in Golden Times’ (another track which has received significant national radio play), they launched into their final track ‘Look at me’. From the video footage you can see that The Heroes had really captured the audience and strung them along through the infectiously crafted hooks, fills, twists and turns of a traditionally exciting and energetic heroic set. The track was accompanied by clapping throughout and singing where the audience knew the words.

The Heroes left the stage with a huge response from a packed tent of spectators (some of which were even viewing from the outside of the tent which suggests the size of the crowd) – certainly impressing a lot of important people as well as gaining new fans. Huw Stephens was one of those impressed - he even posted a comment about how good the performance was on Twitter (a praise which was not awarded to many of the other bands throughout the festival).

The Heroes

More behind the scenes - including videos

You can check out The Heroes at Glastonbury on the BBC web site

Rock dude lingo misunderstanding

One night I was standing at the stage in the Pavilion when a band member from a certain Newcastle band came up and said "On my god, look at the rack on that". I thought he was talking about the drum kit until someone explained that he was referring to a young lady standing nearby ...

Razmataz in rehearsal

Razmataz are a young Leicester indie band that are rising steadily, having written a set of memorable, catchy songs and played several top gigs in Leicester and some away matches. Our picture shows them in rehearsals at RPM Studios. Though the band members are all 17, they have a very mature and professional approach to band practice and show a remarkably solid attitude to developing their music.

The Chairmen

Hinckley indie stars the Chairmen have been off the road for a while; lead singer Jonny Gavin has developed a serious throat condition and has had to lie low for a while. The band is planning to burst back on to the scene with some new songs which, we are told, are dazzling. They have also taken on a new manager: Richard Wheatcroft, who is the organiser of the Empire Band of the Land.

The Pennyhangers

Blake Edwards has decided to stand down from managing The Pennyhangers. Blake told us he wants to concentrate on promoting shows at Superfly but is still good mates with the band.

Meanwhile ... Pennyhanger's drummer Jonny Wells featured on BBC news recently. The news story showed Jonny looking after his dairy herd on his farm. He gets up at 4 am in the morning to milk them and often is still on the go playing with the band till midnight.

The Utopians

Utopians lead guitarist James Shaw came down with glandular fever recently, which has put the band off the road for a while. After a spell in hospital the Manchester based guitarist is making a strong recovery.

The Heroes

Leicester mod band The Heroes played at the legendary Dublin Castle in Camden recently; at the end of their set there was an accident in which drummer Craig Blockley got a cut head and left the stage with blood streaming down his face. All well, rock and roll is all blood, sweat and tears, so nothing remarkable there.

Mas Fina is not a new band but they haven't been seen much in Leicester until they turned up at the Empire Band of the Land and won it, trouncing even the mighty Heroes and the Pennyhangers. Just goes to show, you can't rest on your laurals!

The Displacements are even more popular than we thought. On a recent coach trip organised by The Heroes, the fans spent some time on the way home singing Displacement's songs, such as Lazy Bones, with full guitar accompanyment, in the back of the coach. The massed choirs of Heroes Fans was almost better than the original; hey Andrew - get them to record a choral version - it will be mint! trust me!