Ninebar release a new album!

Londons finest, Ninebar, have released their latest album, 900, on rucktion records (click the link to buy!). It promises to be one of the leading releases of the year. I am sure we can all agree that the album has the best cover, possibly, ever:

Sheer Terror to hit the uk!

Sheer Terror will be hitting UK shores for the first time in early 2012. The band, who formed in 1984, have sporadically played a string of reunion shows around the world, including Antwerp the past January and will be doing three shows on the mainland over the summer.

The UK shows will be the smallest shows in Europe to date, with the Old Blue Last holding only 120 punters.

Tickets are selling fast, with over half for both Bristol and London selling in under a week so it is advisable that should you plan on attending these shows, tickets should be purchased in advance.

More information for the Bristol show, including how to get tickets, can be located here:

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=228357157176961

More information for the London show, including how to get tickets, can be located here:

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=207312595972743

Both Travelodge in London and in Bristol currently have rooms for £29 for these dates. Especially for a Saturday night in London, this price is quite unheard of. It is recommended that you book these rooms now as they will no longer be available in the next couple of months.

Travelodge website:

http://www.travelodge.co.uk

For Londonites planning to travel to the Bristol show, cheap train tickets, national express funfare coach tickets and megabus tickets are all released 12 weeks before the event.

And finally, Sheer Terror have released a new song on Facebook: Have a listen!

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=222782754407096&comments

Brotherhood Fest Tickets from the UK!

It has come to that time of the year again. I am the official seller of Brotherhood Fest (formerly known as Filled With Hate fest) tickets in the UK.

The festival is happening on the 6th and 7th August 2011 in Essen, Germany, at the new JZE venue.

The line up is absolutely tremendous and includes one of Shattered Realms 10 year Anniversary shows, the return of the tremendous Death Before Dishonor and Londons favourites, Wisdom in Chains, to name a few. Full details of the line up are on the website (linked above) or on the flyer.

So here is the deal:

Presale weekend tickets are onsale now here in the UK:

Tickets will be priced at £47.50 in person and £51.50 posted (to cover postage, packaging and Paypal fees).


I will be selling tickets at various London hardcore shows in the upcoming months. If you would like to purchase a ticket, PLEASE CONTACT ME FIRST at londoncalling@gmx.com. You will need to check whether I will be attending particular shows as I will not be carrying the book of tickets around London with me, so will need to know how many tickets you would like me to bring.
In regards to posting the tickets, all tickets will be sent via recorded delivery. I will be making a couple of bulk posts a week, as I have a full time job. Each envelope will have a tracking number, and will also NEED A SIGNATURE.

If you would like your tickets posted, please click on the button below STATING AN ADDRESS WHERE SOMEONE WILL BE THERE TO SIGN FOR THE TICKETS

London Calling, the website

London calling loves to let you know whats going on. Whilst the blog (AKA the main website) is not updated as much as I would like it to be, the pages linked to London Calling are updated regularly.

LDNLove, the London hardcore events page, has recently moved from Myspace to a new, smoother, slicker and more simple site which can be located here:

LDNLove

The twitter page is the most up to date page.. with constant, to the minute updates about what is going on.. and reminders of shows happening, its the best place to find out whats what:

LDNLove Twitter

London Calling on facebook has had to close down. Facebook changed the group format, which makes it massively annoying.. many emails that you don’t want when people post status’s on the wall, and generally a pretty confusing format.

So, i have come up with a couple of solutions:

Mass email- In this day and age, no one is every really very far from an email account. Whether at work or on your phone, sign up to the London Calling mailing list.. We promise not to send you more than one email a month (unless something super important is happening). Anyone that was a member of the London Calling facebook group will know that the personalised messages were sporadic and only contained super important information. This will be along the same lines, so no boring spam in your inbox from us. I will be sending the first email out in a couple of weeks so sign up and keep an eye out for it J

To sign up, either fill in the widget on the menu on the right or please go to: Sign up page

Making better use of the messageboard: The London calling messageboard is located here: http://www.londoncalling.cjb.net. It takes less than 2 mins to sign up and you can post about shows and anything you used the London calling wall to post about, there!

Thats it for now folks!

Damage Control Returns!!

Bank Holiday weekend has just become awesome again.

After a very short hiatus, Damage Control Festival returns to Jamm Bar in Brixton. Rucktion records gives us a phenomenal line up featuring the best bands on the label (and in the UK), including Knuckledust, Injury Time, Diction and Special Move, In addition, Rucktion will be bringing back the mighty Wisdom in Chains to London Town for an exclusive, one off show at the festival.

For more information, please go to: www.rucktion.com. For more information about presale tickets, please email: popi@rucktion.com

Bringing Back The Glory Ticket Giveaway!

So on Saturday, I announced the Bringing Back The Glory ticket give away... a pair of tickets to BBTG fest (transport and accommodation NOT included) .. the competition is still running and will end on the 20th March at midday.

To enter, all you have to do is answer this terribly simple question:

Which US city do Madball come from?

Send your answers with your full name to:

londoncalling@gmx.net

Good luck!

SO MUCH NEWS.. SUCH LITTLE TIME!

Bringing Back The Glory competition and tickets:

1. On Saturday 12th March between 12pm-3pm, on http://www.totalrock.com/, I will be announcing the competition to win a pair of Bringing Back the Glory tickets. The prize does NOT include flights or accommodation and the winner will be announced here on London Calling on the 19th March.
2. I literally have a couple of tickets left. If you would like any information on how to get some, please go here: http://londoncallinghc.blogspot.com/2010/12/bringing-back-glory-2-where-to-get.html

LDNLove has moved!

Does everyone remember the old Myspace? The website that was the worlds most popular social networking site? The one that every band on the planet used as a vehicle to get their music out to the masses? The one that was so simple to use? Well, those days have long gone. Unfortunately, the website developers, in an attempt to return to centre stage in the social networking world, have made the site buggy, included too many flash advertisements, and have made easy tasks relatively difficult.
So, as of last week, the LDNLove myspace page has closed down. No more information will be posted on this site.
Instead, the NEW LDNLOVE PAGE has now been set up and can be located here:

http://ldnlove.webs.com/

.. the format is more simple and including show details is no longer a chore. Please let me know if I have missed any shows out and also let me know what you think!

Deathskulls release new album:

Deathskulls have a new album out on Rucktion Records.. The Real Deal II has been a long time coming and was well worth the wait. Taking the best elements of old NYHC and giving it a distinctively English twist, the album is currently leading the run for “album of 2011”. If I recommend any band to check out, it would be this one! For more information on the Deathskulls, please go to: www.myspace.com/deathskulls and please click on the above link to pick up a copy of the album.

Damage Control

I bloody love Rucktion Records. The London label can simply do no wrong. So imagine our excitement when we discovered that they were facilitating the return of the May Bank Holiday weekend fest, Damage Control. The event showcases the best bands on the label (and in my opinion, in the UK), and is also bringing back London’s favourites, Wisdom in Chains.

If you would like more information, please go to: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=103810473031581

Please do not forget to add the London Calling Twitter Page: www.twitter.com/LDNLove
And the London Calling Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=257663513265

Till next time!

Bringing Back the Glory 2. Where to get tickets in the UK.

It has come to that time of the year again. I am the official seller of Bringing Back the Glory tickets in the UK. The line up is absolutely incredible and includes Madball, the return of the tremendous Most Precious Blood and Londons favourites, Wisdom in Chains, to name a few. Full details of the line up are on the flyer at the end of the post.
So here is the deal:

Presale tickets are onsale now.

Tickets will be priced at £25.50 in person and £27.50 posted (to cover postage, packaging and Paypal fees).


I will be selling tickets at various London hardcore shows in the upcoming months. If you would like to purchase a ticket, PLEASE CONTACT ME FIRST at londoncalling@gmx.com. You will need to check whether I will be attending partcular shows as I will not be carrying the book of tickets around London with me, so will need to know how many tickets you would like me to bring.
In regards to posting the tickets, all tickets will be sent via first class recorded delivery. I will be making a couple of bulk posts a week, as I have a full time job. Each envelope will have a tracking number, and will also NEED A SIGNATURE.
If you would like your tickets posted, please click on the button below STATING AN ADDRESS WHERE SOMEONE WILL BE THERE TO SIGN FOR THE TICKETS:

Best of 2010!!

Attempts to supply a top ten for 2009 failed… so with (a little bit of) help from my friends, here is the best of 2010. Please be aware that except for number 1, this list is in no particular order.

1. Album: Sick of It All- Based on a true story (Century Media)

As if any other album was going to make it as number one in this list. Released in April, this album is flawless and proves yet again that this band has all the elements to make a perfect record. With the catchiest tunes and hardest riffs, the band show the younger generation how it is done right. Supported by extensive touring all over Europe and a live show that puts some of younger bands to shame, this record remained at number one throughout the year. Check out the video for “Death or Jail” here.. it should get you going, unless you have no heart or soul.


2. Festival: Ieperfest:

Yet again, this Belgian festival holds the title for most incredible hardcore fest in Europe. This year saw the likes of All Out War, Madball, Cruel Hand, Agnostic Front, 7 Seconds and Breakdown playing to a particularly merry crowd in a field in the middle of Belgium. This is the one festival that London Calling recommends to everyone each summer, and it did not let us down in 2010. We recommend you take the trip over next year!


3. New (ish) band: Breaking Point

One of the few bands that we rated as being any good and actually made us sit up and take notice was breaking point. Whilst we are well aware that the band has been around for longer than a year, they are still relatively new, but are tighter than ever, with influence ranging from old New York Hardcore to the more recent bands such as Down to Nothing and Terror. 2010 saw the band release 7”s on TDON and Purgatory records and we look forward to seeing them numerous times in 2011, beginning with the Bracewar and Foundation tour in January.


4. Best label: Rucktion Records

Rucktion has always released the best in not only London hardcore, but worldwide. This year saw the label release some of the best records currently around, including Ambush- Forward to Hell, Injury Time- The Vex (which will be featured later), and the long awaited Prowler debut full length, Strictly 3.5. Along with their monthly shows at the 12bar, this label is the leading force in UK Hardcore.


5. Person of the year: Steve Kardynal

Whilst Julian Assange obviously gets an honourable mention in this list for revolutionising what the internet is actually used for, Steve was the person that made most people we know smile this year. Just click on the link above and watch


6. Album: Injury Time, The Vex (Rucktion Records)

Mixing Wisdom in Chains with Dropkick Murphys with a dash of Blood For Blood thrown in, this album was on constant rotation for months after it came out. Injury Time are one of the best current bands to come out of London, and this album was by far the best release that came out of the UK in 2010.


7. Joke of the Year: Touche Amore

In 2010, Touche Amore played the Old Blue Last in London. The show was put on by Lydia, one of the well respected promoters in this town. Now, ignoring the fact that a supposed hardcore band have chosen to give themselves one of the least hardcore names in the history of hardcore, the band have now become synonymous with the biggest hissy fit this city has seen since the Frank Turner incident over a decade ago. Posting the promoters phone number on twitter, claiming that she had ripped them off (for £20, although they claim it was £50 "but we need to pay for our flights, maaaan!"), claiming the show was sold out when it was far from that, and then claiming that Lydia had pocketed over £1000 from the show (an impossibility, even if she hadn’t paid their ridiculous guarantee, hadn’t paid the venue or any of the other bands). The band were laughed at for being cry babies, and were basically blacklisted by any real hardcore promoters in the UK.. The band never formally apologised to Lydia, and we suspect will return to the UK riding on the coattails of a far superior hardcore band in 2011, to try and regain the little credibility that they lost with this incident.


8. Album: Bitter End: Guilty as Charged (Deathwish Inc)

Released on Deathwish records earlier on in the year, this has received more critical acclaim than any other album in recent memory. Even now, people are still listening to the album and commenting on how good it is, as if it is the first time that they have heard it. The band took a lot of influence from old Madball records and earlier NYHC. The statement “I was listening to that record and it made me want to punch people in the face” was made for records like this. The band toured in 2010 to support this album over summer, drawing in the biggest crowds and experiencing the largest reactions from the European festival circuit. If you haven’t already, pick up this record, which is, by far, one of the best records released in 2010


9. All dayer: Final Dead and Gone show featuring Dirty Money (Underworld, London, May 2010)

Dead and Gone are dead. These were the words that were resounding around the UK Hardcore rumourmill at the beginning of 2010. The label were to put on a a final show which was also a send off for Dirty Money. Since forming, DM held the torch for UK hardcore.. one of the few bands over the last decade that managed to break the scene in america, as well as being one of the most popular UK bands, they decided their final farewell was to be at the Dead and Gone all dayer. Bringing Justice out of retirement and putting on some of the best of old and new UK and European hardcore on the bill, D&G managed to put on possibly the best show of the year. The atmosphere was something that London hadn’t felt in a long time.. Kids were excited.. stagediving, dancing and actually looking excited about hardcore again. Everyone left exhausted but happy. Well done D&G. You are totally missed.



10. Best New Band: Nails (Six Feet Under/Southern Lord)

Seriously. Maybe at London Calling, we are slightly biased as we think the sun shines out of Todd Jones’s arse, but this band was the only new band that was worthy of a mention in 2010. Thrashy, hard, fast and simply awesome, Unsilent Death was on heavy rotation in 2010. They also played an astounding set with Rise and Fall and Harms Way in November at the Islington Academy 2. The band have signed to Southern Lord records, but their debut can still be picked up from six feet under records.

Honourable mentions go out to:

- Rico and the 17 Stiches crew for doing awesome fun all dayers and fests in Germany!

- Hang The Bastard for being incredible, and the hardest working band in the UK.

- Ceremony at the Purple Turtle and Unbroken at the ULU

- Trash Talks awesome performances at Reading Festival (throwing bins into the crowd, climbing scaffolding) , Ieperfest and..

- "Alleyway crew" (AKA Sick of It All) at the Borderline. Support from Trash Talk and Gallows. One of the best shows of the year.

- Persistence Tour 2010- Sick of it all were awesome and seeing Blood for Blood again was great. Billy Biohazard did an awesome job filling in Robs shoes.

- Cock Sparrer, Street Dogs and Agnostic front- first Cock Sparrer show in 10 years in their hometown.

- Floorpunch at the Underworld- made a Murphys Law joke.. noone got it. Sort it out kids!

Worst shoutouts-

The England football teams abysmal performance at the 2010 World Cup.

And finally-

Please take a minute to remember a wonderful friend not with us anymore. Iain Burns aka Eze lost his life this year. We all love him very much and miss him very much. You are in our hearts.

London Calling 2010 rundown stories wanted

So, its coming to the end of 2010, and Im looking for your favourite stories/albums/whatever from the past year. Drop me an email to londoncalling@gmx.com and the best rundowns will get posted here. Even Touche Amore stories. Heh.