Slaves

After a summer packed full of festival performances Slaves bring their incendiary set to the seaside as they kick off their latest headline tour. Laurie and Isaac are bringing their energy and immediacy to Dreamland, in Margate, to play a swiftly arranged gig in The Hall By The Sea. 

Slaves at The Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow 2018 / Photo Credit: Stuart Westwood/Rmv/Zuma Press/PA Images

The Tunbridge Wells duo last played here, in a sell-out show, just over two years ago when they were supported by Black Honey. This time around circumstances beyond their control have meant that a gap appeared in their touring schedule. Slaves were due to play The Wheels & Fins Festival just down the road but unfortunately "due to financial constraints" the two day festival has been cancelled. Not wishing to disappoint their fans, or miss a trip to the "Fine Kentish shores", Kent's finest purveyors of Punk are making the trip to Dreamland.

Continue reading: Slaves At Dreamland 2019 - Preview

In case you needed another reason to be disappointed in the UK government amid the mess that Brexit has caused, it seems that they are set on raising beer duty yet again. In other words, your local pub is about to be put at risk of closing thanks to increasing tax pressures. This has so many negative consequences.

Slaves at The Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow 2018 / Photo Credit: Stuart Westwood/Rmv/Zuma Press/PA Images

According to the Long Live The Local campaign, an average of three pubs close per day in the UK thanks to a third of takings going straight to the taxman. The UK now has one of the highest Beer Duty rates in Europe, three times higher than the US average and 12 times higher than our beer-swigging neighbours Germany. Worse still, the government only plans on increasing beer duty further this year. 

Continue reading: Why Music-lovers Should Be Worried About The Government's Plans To Raise Beer Tax

As they gear up to release their eagerly anticipated new album, punk duo Slaves have just announced dates for their biggest UK and Ireland tour yet, and it begins in just three months! Get your credit cards at the ready because this will not be one you'll want to miss.

Slaves performing at Bearded Theory

To celebrate the imminent release of their third studio album 'Acts of Fear and Love', Slaves are set to embark on a 13-date run kicking off at Newcastle's O2 Academy on November 7th 2018. They'll also play Nottingham's Rock City, Dublin Academy, Manchester Academy, Leeds' O2 Academy and more, before wrapping the tour with a show at London's Alexandra Palace on November 24th. 

Continue reading: How To Get Tickets For Slaves' Big Fall 2018 Tour

It's turning out to be a great summer for music, and to think we've still got half the season left. We've already seen Years & Years' 'Palo Santo', Florence and the Machine's 'High as Hope', Gorillaz's 'The Now Now' and Christina Aguilera's 'Liberation' among others, but there's an exciting bunch more to come.

Here are just 7 of our most anticipated albums for the rest of the summer:

Jake Shears - Jake Shears

Continue reading: From Ariana Grande To Idles: Seven Summer Albums Still To Drop

Slaves have just dropped the tracklist for their forthcoming third studio album 'Acts of Fear and Love', alongside a brand new video featuring footage from the making of the record. It's incredibly funny - in case you needed any encouragement to pre-order the record which, let's face it, you probably don't.

Slaves performing live in 2017

The first single was, of course, 'Cut and Run'. Released last month, it's the duo's first single since 2015's 'Sockets' and 'Cheer Up London' from their critically acclaimed debut album 'Are You Satisfied?'. Their 2016 second album 'Take Control' didn't produce any singles, though the punk pair did appear on the Chase & Status song 'Control'.

Continue reading: Everything We Know So Far About Slaves' Album 'Acts Of Fear And Love'

There is no way to aptly mark the passing of some of the very best artists of any generation but in amongst the untimely deaths has come some inspirational and ground breaking music.

My albums are all ones I have enjoyed immensely and continue to play. Whilst Radiohead, M.I.A, Peter Doherty and many others may have missed the cut it wasn't really a difficult choice this year. It may not be all that eclectic but there are some great albums in there. Nick Cave's Skeleton Tree is not only this years best album but also an album that is rapidly becoming one of my all time favourites, it's just so good.

Continue reading: Andrew Lockwood's Top Ten Albums Of 2016

The Mercury Music Prize nominations for 2015 have been announced, and it’s a list with quite a few surprising omissions and inclusions.

The twelve artists fortunate enough to make the select list were announced over the course of Lauren Laverne’s BBC 6Music Radio show on Friday (October 16th), with Florence + The Machine and Wolf Alice being the biggest names among the dozen.

Florence’s third album How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, which reached Number 1 on both sides of the Atlantic earlier this year, is her second nomination after her debut Lungs in 2009, which was beaten by Speech Debelle. Wolf Alice’s first album My Love Is Cool came out in the same month and made Number 2 in the UK, winning rave reviews in the process.

Continue reading: Mercury Music Prize 2015 Nominations - Who's On The List?