Music & Gigs

It might be hard for today's internet savvy, Facebook obsessed, One Direction followers to understand, but Blackpool was once home to a superstar who was loved the world over. His name is Reginald Dixon, and during his 50 year career he was up there with the recording greats, Victor Silvester and Bing Crosby. Reginald is most famous for being the Tower Ballroom organist, and his BBC radio broadcasts from the venue in the 1930s went out as often as five times a week.  It's no wonder the public voted him most popular organist in a national newspaper poll, where he…

One thing very close to my heart is giving young, local upcoming bands and artists the chance to perform live. So I was both privileged and honoured to speak to a soldier of local youth music, Ian Fletcher, founder and co-organiser of Eaglefest. This is an annual summer music event held at The Golden Eagle in Anchorsholme, which gives the stage over to young bands and other more established artists for a day long festival. Along with his team, all of whom are volunteers, Ian has, for the third year running, managed to put together a fantastic line up of…

I caught up with Mark "Chinny" Davis one of the team behind Cowbell Radio and the forthcoming event at Blackpool Cricket Club for the low down on the BIG event Cowbell Carnival to find out what the day is going to be all about. Claire: So it's the 2nd year for The Cowbell Carnival - how are you and the Cowbell staff feeling as the date approaches? Everyone is obviously excited this year as its turned into a big event. Last year was based around the residents but this year we have a stellar line up of guests as well…

There's a moment during the song, 'Illuminate' where Sean Donovan growls, 'I am the light, I am the light.' The question is, what kind of light is he? I mean, there's loads of lights you could be. For instance, you could be a light in a lighthouse in the North Sea, the red light in the window of a brothel on Cookson Street or a flickering street lamp perhaps. I kind of get the feeling that Red XIII are none of these though. No, Red XIII are a handheld UV light, used by CSI departments to show-up semen stains and…

Claire chats to Les, organiser of The Summer Soiree... Claire: Tell us about The Soiree its history and where the idea came from. Les: The Soiree's inception came about in the wake of the debriefing of our 2011 Blackpool Winter Ball event. Christmas events in Blackpool of this magnitude are just not in demand anymore.  Times had changed dramatically over the past five years with music tastes, fashion and culture so we went back to the drawing board and discussed what it is that people (like ourselves) wanted in this town. We knew there was a market for the House,…

Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Blackpool vs Preston, a free-for-all slugfest between some of the grimiest, most unwashed, unsober reprobates the county of Lancashire has seen since the Tudors. My name's Southern Steve and I'll be your commentator for tonight's match. Let me assure you, you're in for an all-out, over the top rope, barnstormer of a main event. We have seven Blackpooligan bands and seven Prestonian pretenders lined up for you. So, with no further ado, Let's get ready to rumble... In the tangerine corner, please welcome our first contestants, 'Dinosaurs are Shit Dragons' with, 'Let's Big Party Go!'…

For anyone in Blackpool with an interest in dance music, the name Luke EP should be familiar. As founder of the Blackpool-based Drum and Bass/Jungle collective, 'Breakout', he's been responsible for some of the resort's most legendary club nights. If you've been lucky enough to have seen Sub Focus, Chase and Status, Hazard, Danny Byrd, Pendulum, Grooverider or Break in Blackpool in the last few years, the chances are you've been high-stepping to the sound of his hard work. Since the Syndicate days, things seem to have gone a bit quiet on all things Breakout in Blackpool. I’ve seen enough…

Believe the evidence of your everyday life; what happens to you and what you see happening to the people around you. On Tuesday, I began my interview with Attila the Stockbroker.  He described censorship at the BBC, the coalition surpassing Thatcher's damage to the country and the trouble with the anti-fracking movment at Balcombe.  Today, the interview concludes with a discussion on the state of protesting in the UK, the need for strong trade unions, the increase in political religion and blind belief in what the papers say. Continuing on the theme of protest apathy, I asked Attila about the…

One of my favourite times of the year is when the Rebellion Festival, at the Winter Gardens, comes to town. Thankfully for me and a lot of my friends, it's on our doorstep. The atmosphere is friendly and everyone is in a great mood. Friends come from miles around, and I don't just mean this country. I mean Australia, Canada, Brazil, Japan and other far flung destinations. It's a fantastic, international party. It's not just the punk music fans who travel from afar but also the stall holders, the bands, the photographers and many others. While I was riding my…

Blackpool's Rebellion Punk Festival is a an absolute Photographers paradise. All those human works of art making Blackpool look interesting and cool. Street photography is pretty tough, especially when you are jostling for space with a number of other photographers all posturing for position. But AltBlackpool takes great delight in welcoming a number of other fine photographers to the team who are happy to share their work through us, we hope you enjoy the photographs. I spoke to a few Punks and discussed how there are no decent counter cultures anymore. Was the last true youth culture the rave scene?…