Just a few days to go until Some Weird Sin's Pump It Up Powerpop Weekender! We thought we'd give you a quick run-thru of some of the fantastic bands on offer. If you haven't got your tickets yet, make haste as they're nearly all gone!!
Saturday's headliners THE NUMBER ONES hail from Dublin. Their 2011 debut EP cassette Italia '90 is like gold-dust so don't even bother looking. Much more findable is last year's four-track Another Side Of The Number Ones for Static Shock, featuring this A1 tale of lost love, 'You're So Happy I Could Cry'...
DUNCAN REID & THE BIG HEADS need no introduction: the former bassist of punky powerpop legends THE BOYS has come into his own in recent years with a pair of explemplary albums. 'April Fool' is from the first of these, the newly reissued Little Big Head.
A lot of folk missed out on LAST GREAT DREAMERS first time around, so they got back together in 2014 to make good on their fantastic powerpop dream. This eponymous anthem is from their debut album Retrosexual which gets a 25th Anniversary deluxe reissue this autumn.
Infusing their powerpop hooks with punk crunch and glam style, THE PRISCILLAS have been one of North London's rock'n'roll treasures for more than a decade. They're just breaking in a new line-up, but here's a blast from the past to set you up for the weekend.
A gen-u-whine Detroit legend, NIKKI CORVETTE shot to fame with Class of 77 punk-poppers THE CORVETTES. Her appearance at Pump It Up is a real feather in the cap and her Sunday night headline show shouldn't be missed.
Marquee favourites THE PENCILS were forged in the post-punk crucible of powerpop alongside the likes of The Jags, The Pleasers and Tonight. The 1980 Reading Festival could've been their second chance, if they hadn't had their gear nicked the night before. If any band's worthy of a second chance, it's these guys - still sharp after all these years.
Former ROLE MODELS man RICH RAGANY is a big favourite of Vive Le Rock! We even premiered his new video a couple of months back. Here it is again for good jangle-tastic measure.
Newcomers AUTOGRAMM a veritable supergroup, their members coming from Brooklyn, Berlin and London to converge on Vancouver, British Columbia. One of 'em even used to be in BLACK MOUNTAIN! How's that for pedigree? Check out their new single 'Cool Kids Radio'.
More new kids on the block - although we suspect they're older than they look! - THE SPEEDWAYS recently opened the prestigious Somerstown Festival, playing one end of a bill that had the reformed THE ONLY ONES at the other!! Kudos or what?!?! They've only just dropped this killer video of Kirsty's 'They Don't Know' which we reckon will have you swaying misty-eyed in the arms of your loved one on the night. You have been warned.
The Pump It Up Powerpop Weekender takes place at The Lexington, Pentonville Road, London on 27 & 28 July. For details of full line-up, day splits and tickets, go here.