Author: mrmonstagigz

GIG REVIEW: Welly at Rough Trade East, London

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Sunday 23 March, tour runs through August 2025 Tickets

Setlist: Big In The Suburbs; Knock And Run; Soak Up The Culture; Shopping; Country Cousins; Life Is A Motorway; It’s Not Like This In France; Me And Your Mates

Debut album Big In The Suburbs has been in the world for less than 72 hours and we hear 3 songs from it tonight that we’ve not heard Welly play live before.

  • Read on for reasons including how things are just beginning for this band
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GIG REVIEW: Pete Wylie & The Mighty Wah! at the Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Andrew Mosley

WHEN?: Saturday 29 March 2025, tour runs through 8 May 2025 Tickets

It’s a roar of defiance, a statement of intent and, as it introduced the fantastic Songs of Strength and Heartbreak album 25 years ago, so it does proceedings at a packed Brudenell Social Club tonight.

  • Read on for reasons including how discovering Pete’s music changed what Mozza listened to forever
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THEATRE REVIEW: Manhunt at the Royal Court Theatre by Robert Icke

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2

WHEN? Saturday 29 March, opens 8 April and runs through 3 May 2025 RUNTIME: 110 minutes (without interval)

What would former England football star Gazza have said to Raoul Moat, the subject of the UK’s largest manhunt, had police let him access the 2010 stand-off?

  • Read on for reasons including how blackout is used well to explain the complicated aftermath of a shooting
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GIG REVIEW/INTERVIEW: Welly go acoustic at A Slice Of Vinyl, Gosport

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum

WHEN?: Monday 24 March 2025, tour runs through 3 August 2025

Friday saw the release of Welly’s debut album, Big in the Suburbs. Regular readers will know we have followed them since we “discovered” them at Victorious three years ago, and have been to many south coast gigs since, bought the t-shirts, met the mums/nans, interviewed them and now have even been responsible for a custom-made unlicenced Deere John t-shirt. 

  • Read on for reasons including a Humdrum Mum interview with Welly about the new album
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THEATRE REVIEW: Dracula, A Comedy Of Terrors starring Charlie Stemp at the Menier Chocolate Factory

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2

WHEN?: Saturday 22 March (matinee), runs through 3 May 2025 RUNTIME: 90 minutes without interval

We were last at this venue for a fantastic revival of Mel Brooks’ The Producers which transfers to the West End this year and the good news about Dracula, A Comedy Of Terrors is that it shares a similarly anarchic comedic quality.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is love at 1st bite if you want a bunch of belly laughs
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ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Big In The Suburbs by Welly (April 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

Tracklist: Big In The Suburbs; Home For The Weekend; Knock And Run; Deere John; Soak Up The Culture; Shopping; Cul-De-Sac; Pampas Grass; The Roundabout Racehorse; Under Milk Wood; Family Photos; Country Cousins; It’s Not Like This In France; Life Is A Motorway

Under Milk Wood is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas where the narrator invites the audience to listen to the dreams and innermost thoughts of the inhabitants of the fictional small Welsh fishing town, Llareggub.

  • Read on for reasons including why this is the best album of 2025 so far
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GIG REVIEW: The Mary Wallopers & Sexy Tadhg at The Octagon Centre, Sheffield

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Andrew Mosley

WHEN?: 20 March 2025, tour runs through 19 September 2025

As Conor McGregor vows to stand for the Irish presidency on an anti-immigration platform after meeting Donald Trump, it shouldn’t need The Mary Wallopers or myself to point out the stupidity and ignorance behind his message.

  • Read on for reasons including how difficult times provoke bands like The Mary Wallopers
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PREVIEW/PREDICTIONS: Eurovision Song Contest finalists 2025 starring Melody, Remember Monday & Louane

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By Neil Durham

WHEN?: Saturday 17 May 2025

WHERE?: St Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland

HOW DO I WATCH?: BBC1 at 8pm in the UK or eurovision.tv or SVT

Former child star Melody (above and below) threw everything including the kitchen sink at her victorious Benidorm Fest, Spain’s national selection, performance and below we predict how it and the other pre-qualified finalists will fare in the Eurovision Song Contest final.

  • Read on for reasons including how we predict the directly qualified countries will do in 2025’s Eurovision Song Contest final
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FILM REVIEW: Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy starring Renee Zellweger, Leo Woodall & Chiwetel Ejiofor

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

The return of Bridget Jones in this 1st film in the series for more than 8 years is like the reappearance of an old friend and, while we were expecting the laughs it conjured, we had quite no idea just how moved by it we would be.

  • Read on for reasons including how we we couldn’t help but think how surprisingly charming, life-affirming and sparkling this was
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