The Dublin Castle Friday 23rd February Actifed + The Satellites + Self Help + Twister Get Cheap Tickets Here

Actifed are joined tonight by The Satellites, exponents of pithy punk and roll ramalama that goes back all the way to the halcyon days of 1977 and The Roxy/Vortex circuit. Still sounding fabulous and kicking enough ass to teach bands a third their vintage a thing or ten. Punk proper. Plus Self Help… Fizzing Garage punk pop outta Oxford, a little rough-hewn but that’s it’s very charm and they’ve decent tunes played with ceaseless conviction…. “Wacky garage pop of the highest lo-fi calibre, as if Plastic Bertrand and Jilted John had a love child that was brought up by The Modern Lovers” (Nightshift Magazine, May 2017). First on tonite are Twister. Not the Southern punk-pop stalwarts, these guys are mahoosive on their native Tyneside and have perfected an Emo informed, inventive and melodic alt rock. Not afraid to gets proper proggy in places but never loses sight of heavy hitting hooks.

The man running down the alley is the one and only Simon Wolstencroft, seemingly here fleeing from producer Mike Bennett after a conversation about the works of Wishbone Ash or something, and Funky Si -for it is he- also appears in our latest Soho Radio happening, posited handily behind that great photo, where he’s fondly reminiscing about his time with yes The Smiths yes The Stone Roses but mainly The Fall. Tribute is paid to the late inestimably great Mark E Smith and we ponder Fall songs in movies and Mark E Smith’s penchant for black music, soul, perfect pop…it wasn’t all about the Prole Art Threat ya know. We also get an exclusivo listen on Funky Si’s new project, the very wonderful Lyla…very much a hot prospect for 2018 and beyond.

Also featured in that show the wonderful John Hegley, plus Sarah Kate Bradbury, front woman of the excellent Lover, appearing in The Dublin Castle on Friday 2nd March and a great presence in the show she is too, despite Bugbear getting her name wrong and failing to play her tracks when introducing them. It’s all part of the fun though, honest.