Always a difficult choice at the end of the year, but one that is getting a bit easier as each year passes. Enforced abstinence does mean that whilst it is not stopping me from going to gigs, I have become a little more selective in what I choose to go to. Pre-gig meets in pubs have been part of the process for decades and still is. The problem really comes with the Festival type events where the beer is/was (for me at least) an integral part of the day's proceedings. That kind of rules some things out for me... Rebellion for example.
So, the pool of gig experiences this year is a little shallower than in previous years, but here goes... in no particular order.
1. The March Violets Oslo Hackney London 25th June 2025.
Reviewed in greater detail (here), this was my first time of seeing the March Violets after liking them for 40 years! Some bands somehow just slip the net like that. But, it was worth the wait as they put in a great performance to a surprisingly thin audience (in number terms... not a physiological observation) on a very hot summer's night. No hits as such, but all of the big tunes were there as well as tracks from their excellent 2024 album 'Crocodile Promises'. They have UK dates booked for 2026.
The March Violets
(Oslo, Hackney 28th June 2025)
2. Hugh Cornwell The Islington Assembly Hall 13th November 2025
In an unintentional continuation of a gothic theme, next on my random list is Hugh's gig in Islington, a night of the undead as after a mere 45 years he unleashed 'Nosferatu' upon his audience. More can be read here. It is an album that I have always loved (in fact the top of the pile of all of the band's solo and spin-off efforts). Most of the crowd knew what to expect, but I did notice a few whose facial expressions suggested patient endurance of the experimental stuff whilst waiting for the hits! Even to my ears, and I know the album like the back of my hand, there were some bits in there that were reminiscent of The Fast Show's 'Jazz Club'! I hope that some of his earliest solo material still works its way into his sets going forward... perhaps in place of 'Bring on the Nubiles'... 'Wired' and 'White Room' survived through to the Dover gig in December so that's a start.
Hugh Cornwell
(The Islington Assembly Hall
13th November 2025)
This was really more of a day out than a run of the mill gig. An opportunity to enjoy a late summer day by the sea in the company of friends. The gig was really the icing on the cake. The Stranglers played a great festival set before the main attraction took to the stage. I like the Pistols and the 'Bollocks' album, but I have never really gone much out of my way to see them. I was at Finsbury Park for 'Filthy Lucre' but didn't bother with subsequent gigs... Shepherds Bush, Brixton Academy and the like. The same goes for the recent gigs, but I did want to see them once and this presented an ideal opportunity. I like the fact that the three Pistols involved in this project are asserting their right to perform the music that they created in '76/'77, in the face of noisy Lydon protests from the sidelines. Is Frank Carter a good fit?... I dunno, but then again how on Earth do you put in Lydon's place??
More on this one here.
Sex Pistols
(Dreamland Margate 23rd August 2025)
4. Tom Robinson Band Corn Exchange Hertford 13th August 2025
This perhaps was the one (more here), the best gig of the year. It wasn't the most raucous (the average age of the audience was the highest of the year) and the singer/bass player was forced to sit for most of the gig thanks to a troublesome hernia. Those facts notwithstanding....
It was the most positive, uplifting gig of the year as punk's premium activist went through TRB's impressive back catalogue. At a time when a far right minority feel empowered in this country, Tom's set was a much needed shot in the arm. Power in the darkness indeed!
Tom Robinson Band
(Corn Exchange Hertford 13th August 2025)
5. The Vapors & Ombudsmen Record Junkee Sheffield 15th March 2025
Promoting their new album 'Wasp In A Jar' The Vapors played a handful of gigs in the UK. Support for two of these gigs, in Manchester and Sheffield, came from Manchester's Ombudsmen. These grass roots dates made for a fun weekend of loading gear in and out, soundchecks and poor food! I know that the support appreciated the exposure that came with playing with a name band. Surprisingly, they were better received in Sheffield than in their own town. Having said that, Ombudsmen's experimental/Devo-esque set is a world away from the new wave/mod tinged music that a Vapor's audience were perhaps anticipating. Still winding up elements of an audience is no bad thing is it? Just ask The Stranglers!
More words here.
6. The Stranglers Roundhouse Camden 1st November 2025
Much anticipated Stranglers tour, albeit a small, nine date affair, seemingly in keeping with their declared intent to knock the touring marathons of previous years on the head. Great to hear 'Pin Up' in the set, but I am sure that for me and for a significant proportion of the audience, the run away highlight of the show was a closing rendition of 'Mean to Me'. Great stuff.
A typically poor photo from me (but it does get in all four members!).
The Stranglers
(The Roundhouse, Camden, London 1st November 2025)
7. Gary Numan Cambridge Corn Exchange 26th November 2025
Reviewed here. For someone who sang 'Keep your revivals', Numan pulls off a revival with the best of them. Tragically, what was initially intended to be a 45th Anniversary celebration of his 1980 No.1 album 'Telekon' unexpectedly evolved into a tribute tour following the tragic death of Gary's brother, John Webb, two days into the schedule. Of all of the 'classic album' tours that Numan has done, this was the best yet, delivered with an edge for which the sudden loss of John may or may not have been a contributing factor.
Gary Numan
(Cambridge Corn Exchange 26th November 2025)
Not my usual fayre, but a happy discovery this year. An unusual but most welcome choice by Hugh of support for his Nosferatu tour. Stylish, noisy and fun!
The Courettes
(Concorde 2 Brighton 16th November 2025)
9. Ruts DC MAH Cambridge 6th December 2025
Just as Moderna provided the required booster to the Pfizer vaccine back in the dark days of COVIC-19, Ruts DC's gigs in London and Cambridge in December offered a much needed booster to the TRB gig back in August. A further dose of intelligent music to challenge an alarming rise in intolerance and hatred was in order in the wake of certain events of last summer. As ever Ruts DC delivered it.
Segs's shirt choice of the evening neatly summed things up in one word... 'Resist'.
10. 999 Monkeys Music Club Hamburg 25th July 2025
Gunta and I have been following this band for 40 years now, but this summer was the first time that we had travelled over to Europe to see them. This was the second of two shows we took in (the other being in Dusseldorf). More here, but suffice to say that the band went down a storm with their German Crew!
999
(Monkeys Music Bar, Hamburg 25th July 2025)
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