Amor de Dias, Leaf Library and Hacia Dos Veranos live November 22

3 (THREE!) of our favourite bands are playing at The End festival on Saturday November 22:

Amor de Dias
We released their first record, New Wine, on our first record, but they haven't let that get in the way of making 2 excellent albums for Merge and global success. Last year's House At Sea saw traditional Spanish guitars meet English folk’s flintiness for cultured, poetic splendour.

Leaf Library
They don't release records often enough which made The Greater Good even, er, greater and gooder and more special. Fans of The Free Design, David Axelrod and Stereolab stop what you're doing and play this:


Hacia Dos Veranos
There are no words. Literally. They play instrumental music with Forever Changes-style melodic power and Michael Head psychedelic mystery. These are direct pop songs with South American rhythms and the weirdness of English folk music.

Venue: Hornsey Parish Church Hall, N10 3AH
Doors: 4,45pm
Tickets: £15

Full line up
Amor de Dias:
Leaf Library
Hacia Dos Veranos
Evelinn Trouble
Forced Random

First band on at 5.45pm. Hangover Lounge DJs between acts and the after the bands from 10.30pm.

Nat Johnson album launch gig November 16

Nat Johnson's new album Neighbour of the Year is out on Monday November 17. So let's have a launch gig for it - available on a choice of clear 10″ vinyl or CD - the day before. It is, as you'd hope, haunting, pastoral and broken-hearted.



Emma Kupa is playing as well. You will, like we do, hold all of Emma's musical enterprises - Standard Fare, Without Feathers, Mammoth Penguins - dear to your heart. This time it's Emma "plus extras". No idea who those extras are, but we're certain it will be special.



Completing the independence for Yorkshire theme is newcomer Luke Saxton. He's got an album coming out on Bad Paintings, the label run by a Hangover Lounge guest DJ of many Sundays. Luke's obsessed with the Beach Boys and Harry Nilsson, so it would be remiss of us not to host his talents.


The gig starts at 3pm. It's free to get in. We start at 2pm, roast dinners are available and kids are welcome. See you there

The Loft free gig October 5

Ocotber 5 marks 30 years since The Loft released Why Does The Rain, 50 years since Pretty Woman was number one and 70 years since Bruce Forsyth got his bus pass. We're celebrating the first of those milestones with a free acoustic gig by The Loft.

And that's not all. Oh no. The Caretaker Race are playing as well. And Pete Astor will be playing a set of Weather Prophets songs accompanied by Mr Steve Dore on bongos.

The gig starts at 3pm. It's free. What are you waiting for? Oh yes, October 5. We start at 2pm, roast dinners are available and kids are welcome. See you there.

CANCELLED: The Papas & The Mamas: free gig October 12

Due to personal reasons, this gig is cancelled. The Paps & The Mams will now debut in January. We're really sorry for the inconvenience.These mamas are Sarah Cracknell and Debsey Wykes. The papas are Martin and Paul Kelly. Two sets of parents playing the songs of The Mamas & The Papas, acoustically.

You know them as, variously, members of Saint Etienne, Dolly Mixture and East Village. This is their debut gig as The Papas & The Mamas. We are, understandably, very excited.

Be at The Lexington by 3.30pm on Sunday October 12 to catch the live action. We start at 2pm as usual. Kids are welcome until 7pm. Roast dinners are available.

Happy Birthday Daylight Music

Daylight Music hits the 5-year mark in April. They've had 168 Saturday afternoons with over 500 artists. 9 of them over 3 Saturdays of our annual Lost Weekend have been Hangover Lounge guests:

2014

The Pictish Trail


Freschard


The Middle Ones


2013

Withered Hand


Hacia Dos Veranos


The Understudies


2012

Birdie


David Tattersall

Would-Be-Goods

We'll be back on January 24 2015 with 3 more brilliant bands. Before then, Daylight Music are having a party on September 12.

Matinée show this Sunday - Just Joans and The Catenary Wires

Not content with the long sold-out Clientele - Birdie - Would-be-goods show tonight there is a second part to our weekend of fun arranged in conjunction with our bezzy mates at Chickfactor, this time one of our more familiar free acoustic Sunday matinée marvels. Here's what the CF page says:

We are teaming up with our pals at The Hangover Lounge to have a lovely laid-back Sunday afternoon event with some quiet music upstairs and some gentle DJ action downstairs.

july 13 at the lexington!

upstairs: the catenary wires & the just joans

downstairs: DJ bob stanley & chickfactor DJs & hangover lounge DJs

the catenary wires are amelia and rob from various bands you know! cannot wait to see what they’ll play! 

the just joans are a Scottish pop group we’re excited to have play!

daytime, usual hangover lounge hours. 

DJ Bob Stanley is bound to make your day 100% better.

Team chickfactor & Team Hangover Lounge will also get on the tables and make your head not spin.

(Yes, this happens to be the same day as the World Cup Final, but worry not, footie fans. This thing will be well over by the time it begins!)

Photograph by Alison Wonderland

Which says most of what you need to know. The Catenary Wires will be on at about 3, and the Just Joans at abut 4pm, so don't be late!

Oh, and we'll be giving away some now-traditional celebratory hand-letterpressed beermats, on a first-come basis (there aren't very many) which look like this:

photograph by me.

Clientele gig: special food offer

Coming to the Clientele/Birdie/Would-be-goods gig straight from work this Friday? Want to eat for cheap? You're in luck.

The Lexington are doing 25% off food for anyone who shows their gig ticket. Check out the delicious menu.

5 amazing gigs

Today we are 6 years old. Come along and enjoy a pint, some fine tunes and grab a birthday beer mat, designed and printed by Tim. There are some free compilation CDs, too. Join us from 2pm.

Between now and then, reminisce about 5 gigs we can't quite believe we put on (originally printed in our 5th birthday fanzine, May 2013).

Withered Hand and Pam Berry, February 16 2013
September 2012, Dan Willson is touring on a budget and looking for a place to crash after his gig supporting Frightened Rabbit. Ben’s sofa bed is offered and accepted. Talk turns to Dan’s love of Black Tambourine and how he’d love to work with Pam Berry. Ben texts Pam, who immediately responds with “I would totally love to”. Practices ensue, new songs are written and they play to 550 people at the Union Chapel. It’s wonderful. They record one of those new songs for a forthcoming Hangover Lounge picture disc.

Grant McLennan tribute gig, May 5 2013
Robert Forster turns up to watch David Westlake, Elizabeth Morris and The Mexican Postcards at our third annual McLennan tribute gig. He played in Barcelona the night before and has had only an hour’s sleep: “I don’t know if this expression still exists, but I did an all-nighter. I’m not on drugs.” After the acts, Forster takes to the stage and plays I’m Alright and Darlinghurst Nights: “I’m honoured to be here today.” The feeling is mutual.

Darren Hayman, 1 January 2012
Darren helps everyone start the year on the good foot. Hangovers are cured, clouds are parted and resolutions quickly forgotten. The crowd bellow along to “We’re Tired Of Being Dicked Around”. Life seems ok.

Birdie, 15 November 2009
Paul Kelly and Debsey Wykes tried “very hard not to sound like other groups”. The record-buying public decided that Birdie wouldn’t be their main source of income. They had a family to raise, films to make and touring with Saint Etienne to worry about. Admirable stuff, but we decided that their work wasn’t yet done. Thankfully they agreed.

Allo Darlin and The Wave Pictures, 27 May 2012
Both bands were having so much fun on their European tour that they asked us one Thursday if they could continue straight after their return on the Sunday. Only a fool would say no. We are not fools. The bands are obviously having so much fun playing. So, too, is the audience.

The History of the Hangover Lounge

The Hangover Lounge turns 6 this Sunday, May 25. Last year we put on a gig - Birdie, Amor de Dias and Hacia Dos Veranos - and gave away a glossy fanzine. That zine contains a history of the Hangover Lounge's first 5 years. There have been many great events in the last year, but settle back and read about the first 5 years.

Oh, and come along this Sunday. It'll be great to see you relaxing as always.


Gather round as we relate the many heroic tales, valiant adventures and musical milestones of London’s award-winning club.

2008-2009
John invents the Hangover Lounge but seeing as his record collection consists of a Can box set and the B*Witched back catalogue, Tim and Ben are recruited to cover the musical gaps. We open at the Salmon and Compass in Islington, playing every Sunday. We start doing monthly gigs, beginning with a young Australian, Elizabeth Morris, who plays AC/DC’s You Shook Me All Night Long on the ukulele. She’s very good. We become a venue on London popfest and cajole The Hit Parade into playing.

2009-2010
100 yards down the road, the Lexington are feeling like they’re missing out so we accept their promotion offer. John gets a girlfriend, which is the real reason he wanted to become a DJ. We wait for his resignation letter. Eventually, we accept that he’s staying. Such are the demands of running an award-winning weekly club we recruit a new board member, Steve. He tells us he knows Brian Wilson, so we expect a special secret gig. Steve receives a written warning for wearing a Jefferson Starship shirt and then an official reprimand for wearing a Survivor shirt. Turns out he doesn’t know that Brian Wilson. He’s got a car, though, so we retain his services.

2010-2011
We expand our entertainment empire into the world of actual record releases. Our first 10” EP features Amor de Dias’ excellent debut and Allo Darlin’s best song to date, Tallulah, written especially for this release. A production line of volunteers help sleeve 500 of them in the Lexington one Sunday. Heartwarmingly, the same people help sleeve the next two EPs. Tim moves our merchandising into new, even giddier, heights by making beer mats.

2011-2012
Edwyn Collins plays an acoustic gig. A number of grown men appear to have ‘something in their eye’. We release our second 10” EP, featuring Pam Berry’s first solo outing, a cover of Love’s Wonder People (I Do Wonder). She claims this got her a “handwritten cease and desist order sent straight from the grave by Arthur Lee”. We claim that it’s really rather good. The question ‘why isn’t anyone paying tribute to the memory of Grant McLennan’ becomes ‘why don’t we do something’. We have our first annual McLennan tribute day. To celebrate our third birthday, Darren Hayman designs a splendid poster.

2012-2013
We move to the Union Chapel for one day in January, as part of our first Lost Weekend, and celebrate the release of our third 10” EP. Due to the vagaries of international record pressing (aka not being as important as Mr Big Records, who have block booked the Czech Republic’s pressing plants in the run-up to record store day) a hectic dash by car is required to get the records to the church on time. And that is why we kept Steve and his car on the team. Saint Etienne launch their Words & Music album in May with a Q&A. Robert Forster sees footage of our second McLennan tribute day, starring David Westlake, Phil King and Pete Astor, among others, and sends a lovely email thanking the bands for their “incredible gesture”.

2013
We press 500 copies of a 7” picture disc. And then give them away. It’s the most expensive flyer ever. It seemed like a good idea at the time. It still does. Withered Hand headline the Union Chapel on our second Lost Weekend and it’s so busy they have to open the upstairs. We release our first album, Limay by Hacia Dos Veranos. We expect it to go gold. It sounds that good. Due to swingeing government cuts, the RNLI is replaced by the Hangover Lounge as the fourth emergency service.

Disclaimer: we cannot help you in a shipping crisis, but we can help calm your hurting head on a Sunday.

Grant McLennan tributes filmed

Thanks to Luke Haines, David Westlake and Heathers' Michael Avishay for reminding us, again, what brilliant songs Grant McLennan wrote and what wonderful musicians he inspired.

We'll start with Luke and David playing together for the first time in 23 years.



Luke played The Monkees' Pleasant Valley Sunday in recognition of Grant's Monkees devotion, then played Don't Let Him Come Back.



Michael played a new song inspired by The Go-Betweens, an inspired version of Streets Of Your Town, and Cattle and Cane (last year on hearing Elizabeth Morris was going to play Cattle and Cane, Robert Forster remarked "that is a brave choice").

A letter from Grant McLennan, February 1979

Grant McLennan "hails from the outback. His family are pioneers. He is courteous and listens to the radio a lot."

The Clientele / Birdie / The Would-be-goods: Friday 11 July

It's not very often we arrange ticketed shows, but when we do we do our best to make sure they're good ones. This is no exception. We're proud to announce, in conjunction with our friends at Chickfactor, this blinding bill featuring rare sets from three of our very favourite groups: The Clientele, Birdie and The Would-be-goods. 

Even when these groups played more often they didn't play enough. These days, we miss them and can't wait to see them. 

What's more, everyone who buys a ticket gets a free copy of a beautiful brand-new 7" picture disc featuring new songs by The Clientele and Birdie!

The show will be on Friday 11 July. Tickets have been on sale for a few days and they are selling fast, so be sure to get yours quickly. Like, now, preferably. They're available here but I fear they won't be for very long. 

While your diaries are out, make a note of the afternoon of the Sunday immediately after that, Sunday 13th July. Back to the usual Hangover Lounge Sunday afternoons, we are working on yet another extremely special line-up. More of that soon. 

Incidentally, we think the photo of The Clientele up there is by Gail O'Hara of Chickfactor, but we're not absolutely certain and we'll correct the photo credit asap if we have to! 

Grant McLennan tribute gig 4 May 2014

It's that time of year when we celebrate the work of one of our best-loved songwriters ever, Grant McLennan. Our fourth annual Grant McLennan gig stars David Westlake again, because it wouldn't be the same without him (you should listen to his radio session backed by Robert Forster, Amanda Brown and Robert Vickers). And you should know that The Servants' excellent Small Time/Hey Hey We're The Manques! is now on vinyl.

We're equally delighted to welcome Heathers from Los Angeles, one of our favourite bands to debut last year. Of course they're Go-Betweens fans. Why would they not be. Here, listen to the rough and tumble jangle of their new single:



There's a very special guest joining us. Don't ask us who, because we're not telling. Last year Robert Forster dropped in, fought the jetlag and played a couple of songs. You remember:



We open our doors at 2pm. The gig's free and starts at 3pm. You should stick around afterwards and go to the Odd Box gig in the evening. Why not? It's a bank holiday the next day. Why? 4 ace bands, that's why:

Kid Canaveral
One Happy Island
Night Flowers
Chorusgirl

Gavin Osborn, Grace Petrie, MJ Hibbett - free gig June 1

Gavin Osborn sings about break-ups and girls. And occasionally, burgers, clown-costumes and cryogenic freezing. A lyrical feast for the wistful, the hopeful, the lovelorn and the losers. In his own words.

He has recorded three albums for Banquet Records - In The Twee Small Hours, Meeting Your Heroes, and Come On Folks, Settle Down. He is regularly on BBC Radio 4, has co-written heart-warming midnight story-shows with comedian Daniel Kitson, with whom he toured the UK in 2010, supporting Belle and Sebastian.

Here he is with Kitson at Latitude:



"Gavin Osborn writes minutely detailed, bittersweet story songs on his acoustic guitar and sings them with a comic timing usually absent from his anti-folk contemporaries." - Stewart Lee, The Sunday Times

Grace Petrie is a songwriter, activist and performer from Leicester. She exploded onto the national protest scene in 2010 with the emotive anthem Farewell to Welfare, which captured perfectly the spirit of the new wave of dissent in austerity Britain. Since then she has quietly become one of the most respected independent songwriters working in the UK today.

Her young career boasts three studio albums and national tours with Emmy the Great, Josie Long and Robin Ince, as well
as a string of festival performances including Latitude, End of the Road and Glastonbury.

In 2012 she appeared on Channel 4's Random Acts, in a video made by award-winning director Chris Shepherd for her song "Rise". She has been featured in the Guardian, Diva Magazine and named 'one to watch' the Independent on Sunday's Pink List. She has appeared
on BBC Radio 4's The Now Show, and writes brilliant third-person autobiographies.




MJ Hibbett has performed live on Radio One, had a Record Of The Year in Rolling Stone, an Album Of The Day on 6Music, released one of the first ever viral videos, inspired a character in Judge Dredd, toured all around the world, very narrowly avoided writing an autobiography, and taken five productions to the Edinburgh Fringe, all independent of
record companies or management. He doesn't expect a medal for it, though a pint would be nice.



This gig starts early at 2pm and will be over by around 4pm. And it's free.

The Understudies album launch Sunday 30 March

The Understudies are launching their finger-snapping, rump-shaking debut album, Let Desire Guide You Hand, on Sunday March 30 with A Little Orchestra.

You won’t have forgotten their 2013 star turn at our Lost Weekend:



And A Little Orchestra, the hardest working orchestra in showbusiness, will be playing a set of their own, too.



Enderby’s Room, meeting all your indiepop folk needs since 2012, make a welcome return. They were very good a year ago. They’re better still now.



Tickets are a mere £4, or £12 if you fancy a side order of The Understudies’ album with your ticket. And if you’re a fan of Spector pop and Smiths jangle, the £12 option is recommended.

The Lounge is open from 2pm as usual. Doors to the gig open at 6pm and the whole shebang will be over by 9.30.

Chris T-T live at the Lexington Sunday 19 January

Chris T-T is playing an evening gig at the Lexington this Sunday after the acoustic shenanigans of our Lost Weekend. Chris has helped us out with the timings, affording us the chance to present you 3 fine acts. We think he's a gentleman and a scholar.

So does previous Lounge guest, MJ Hibbett, who offered this vignette of touring life to demonstrate Chris's humility and nobility:

In 2011 Chris did his show "Disobedience" at the Edinburgh Fringe. As he is such a delightful chap we spent a lot of time hanging around with him, so one day we were all sat having a natter in the Pleasance Dome cafe, when he spotted a journalist he admired, sitting a few tables away. "I'd love to go and talk to him and tell him how great he is," said Chris, "but he probably just wants to be left alone".

We had a lengthy discussion about it, with me (and Steve) pointing out that being told you're great is a Nice Thing, and that he'd be pleased if someone came and said it to him. This is typical of Chris - he's fearless in
his willingness to speak truth to people who deserve it, but ever wary of upsetting anybody who doesn't - but after some determined badgering he went over to say hello.

A few minutes later he came back, happy and relieved. They'd had a lovely chat, the journalist had indeed been pleased to be told he was great, and the entire experience had been a delight for all concerned.

We toasted our success and returned to our general chat, until another few minutes later when a nervous young man approached our table and said "Excuse me, are you Chris T-T? Sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to say I think you're great."

That's great, Mark, but what's the best Chris T-T song for anyone still dithering about whether to go to the gig?

Favourite songs is a bit difficult - in my house it's a FITE between "Giraffes #1" and "Seven Hearts", so rather than cause VILENCE I'll give you links to both, THUS:

And what are you up to, MJ?

We're releasing a podcast version of "Total Hero Team" at the end of the month with live dates in London, Sheffield, Glasgow and Leicester.

The Lost Weekend 2014

The Lost Weekend - 2 days of free gigs and relaxation, interspersed with a few drinks - is back on Saturday 18 January and Sunday 19 January.

Starting at 12pm in the Union Chapel on the Saturday, we've got The Pictish Trail (he likes "drum machines, old 8-track recorders, lo-fi fuzz boxes, squelchy synthesizers" - all we know is that he'll come with an acoustic guitar and everything will be very special).


Freschard specialises in Francoise Hardy vocals, Jonathan Richman gusto, Lieber & Stoller songwriting, played with a relaxed Lou Reed guitar, a gentle Parisian swing, a nod to calypso, a country twang and some yé-yé innocence. Her latest album Boom Biddy Boom goes a little bit like this:


The Middle Ones are Grace and Anna. They play acoustic guitars, sing different vocal lines simultaneously in different keys to each other while both quite possibly out of tune, decorate their bedsit pop with toy instruments and giggle at the silliness of it all. Pop music doesn’t get more charming than this.



The Union Chapel gig finishes by 2.30pm, at which time we'll be going to the pub. See off your hangover in style the following day, Sunday 19 January, at the Lexington, where the Hangover Lounge starts at 2pm.

The live music starts upstairs at 3pm sharp, featuring:

Stanley Brinks: the umlaut in Herman Dune, collaborator with the Wave Pictures and Freschard, and ace troubadour in his own right.

Steven James Adams, once of the Broken Family Band (whose critical acclaim cruelly never quite translated into platinum sales) now of the Singing Adams (same story; it's a great one so worth hearing again). Steven's playing solo for us and it, too, will be great and worth hearing:


Michaelmas, aka Michael Wood, aka Singing Adams bassist, is playing a rare solo gig. You might remember Michaelmas. You would if you saw them.