Voodoo Lounge Live Presents:

The Puncturists // The Amber Squad

7.30pm.

£10.00 / £8.00

Tickets :: https://wegottickets.com/event/647694

The two bands featured in this punk/new wave/power pop double header may be at different stages of their careers but have deep roots in the sounds of the late 70s.

Local boys The Amber Squad started out in 1979, influenced and driven by the punk and pub rock bands of the time, including The Clash, The Damned, The Jam and Dr Feelgood to name but a few.

The Puncturists formed only a few years ago but with members whose experience goes way back to the heydays of punk and new wave.

The Amber Squad served their apprenticeships playing in clubs and pubs up and down the country, and releasing acclaimed records on independent labels, including “I Can’t Put My Finger On You” and “Can We Go Dancing?”, both of which have been subsequently re-released in more recent times.

Despite building up a substantial following, by the mid ‘80’s reality starts to bite and the need to pay the rent, the demands of work and relationships resulted in them crashing and burning and going on to focus on other pursuits, both musical and otherwise.

Fast forward to the mid 2010’s, however, and sustained and renewed interest in music from the post punk/new wave era, including the “Mod Revival” movement, has brought their music to the attention of a whole new audience, resulting in them playing with renewed vigour at gigs in the UK and Germany, including the famous Hope & Anchor Pub Rock venue in London, and the Wild at Heart Music Club in Berlin. The band currently consists of Dick Beechey (vocals), Paul “Magic” Fairey (guitar), Graham “Tuzzy” Tyers (drums) and Gary Tyler (bass).

The Puncturists formed as recently as 2022 after guitarist and chief songwriter Pat Crawford departed Barnsley-based “System of Hate” looking for a new and more melodic venture. After releasing “The Punk Tourists EP” which features such crowd favourites as “A Swan Can Break Your Arm (Don’t You Know)” and “So Very Bored” they went through several line up changes and now feature Gail Townsend (vocals), Pat Crawford (guitar), Dale Farrow (bass) and Martin Gregory (drums).

The Puncturists have established themselves on the Northern punk circuit and become a crowd favourite at events such as the Nice and Sleazy weekender in Morecambe and high-profile support slots with the likes of Spear Of Destiny, Peter And The Test Tube Babies and SpizzEnergi. With their catchy, singalong but thought-provoking songs, a critically acclaimed live album, “Foxed As A Newt” released in Oct 2024 and with a new studio album and single out in the spring, 2025 is looking like being a busy year for this lively bunch.

You may have noticed a familiar name in The Puncturists’ line up with Stamfordian and former local music scene stalwart Dale Farrow on bass, now exiled in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Dale’s first band was at school in 1978 with future Care For A Waltz drummer Ratty Thompson before forming his own band Reflex in 1980 then playing guitar with 1926 for a spell and then establishing S.I.G. (which he still does as a side project) before taking over bass duties in March To The Grave from Rick Simpson for a 5 year stretch. It was during this period that both Dale and Paul were in MTTG and are reunited again when their respective bands take the stage together. With 2 members of “The Grave” from the madcap mid-80s who knows what might occur!

Dale also has a special link with Mama Liz’s: his dad, Ray Farrow, was until 1969 the manager of Peatling and Cawdrons on Broad Street whose warehouse and cellars are what eventually became Mama Liz’s and The Voodoo Lounge. Dale lived in the flat above the shop on Broad Street for 5 years so this gig really is a case of “Dale’s coming home”!