When: 7.30pm on Friday 19 July 2019
Where: Gullivers, 109 Oldham Street, Manchester, M4 1LW

We’re delighted to be working with the Catenary Wires for the first time – plus very special guessts Milky Wimpshake!

The Catenary Wires are Rob Pursey and Amelia Fletcher. They specialise in emotive indie duets, capturing the spirits of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood, Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot, and releasing them into modern Britain. In their previous lives, Amelia and Rob featured in indie bands Talulah Gosh, Heavenly and Tender Trap.

Live, The Catenary Wires become a five-piece, with musical heavyweights Andy Lewis (Paul Weller Group, Spearmint) on bass and cello; Fay Hallam (Makin’ Time, Prime Movers) on Hammond organ and backing vocals, and Ian Button (Death in Vegas) on drums.

The new Catenary Wires LP, Til the Morning is available on Tapete Records from 14 June. The album was recorded during 2018 at the Sunday School, in the middle of nowhere in Kent. It is a big step forward from their first album (Red Red Skies on Elefant Records/Matinee Recordings): more complex and more beguiling, with a multi-layered sound that reflects a range of additional instruments, including harmonium, bells and an old trailer. It was produced by Andy Lewis, who has recently produced albums for Judy Dyble and French Boutik. Track 1, Dream Town, is the first single from the album.

Milky Wimpshake were formed in 1993 by Pete Dale and Joey Ramone (not the Joey Ramone; she officially changed her name to that for reasons which are obscure). In 1994, Christine Rowe joined the band on bass. Joey left in 1995 and a number of drummers have appeared over the course of seven or eight LPs, but the latest drummer Ione Downs will hopefully be a permanent addition.

The band has a small but enthusiastic cult following, numbering the late John Peel and Iggy Pop (who recently professed his enthusiasm for the band on his 6 Music show) among its fans. In 2014, Alexis Petridis compared Milky Wimpshake to Arctic Monkeys in the Guardian on grounds of both bands’ longstanding reputations. The 2015 album Encore, Un Effort! was awarded 7/10 in both NME and Uncut.

Wimpshake recorded for the Fortuna POP! label for 15 years, gigging regularly with labelmates Spook School, Martha and others from the UK’s current crop of younger DiY punk-related groups. Milky Wimpshake are considered grandees of the UK DIY scene, indeed, having survived as a group from the heyday of Riot Grrrl through to the present with gigs every year and regular record releases over the last 25 years.

Milky Wimpshake regularly appeared on bills with Amelia from the Catenary Wires’ previous bands (Heavenly, Marine Research, etc) and are delighted to be on this bill.

Buy tickets now. Tickets are available from the bar (no booking fee), Vinyl Exchange, WeGotTickets.com, Ticketline.co.uk and on 0871 220 0260.

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