Tag: zine

Kula Shaker

25th January 2026 at Banquet Records, Kingston

Kula Shaker were included in the Britpop cohort of the late 90s, even though their mystical sound was quite different from their contemporaries. I’m wondering if I’ve seen them live since their set at Knebworth supporting Oasis in 1996, given their debut album K must be one of my most listened to albums that year. 

Thirty years on, they are back in Kingston. Front man Crispian Mills and bassist Alonza Bevan were at nearby Richmond College together and played at “an Irish pub near the Grey Horse”. (Someone suggested O’Neills but that isn’t really in the right area so I suspect it more likely to be Whelans, or the Artful Dodger as it was known for most of my lifetime. Anyway, not important.) They claimed to be a folk band but were accused of being a hippie band, so they resorted to playing a limited repertoire of covers by The Fureys on rotation.

Kula Shaker poster

I’m at the second of two back-to-back acoustic instore sets at Banquet Records. Unusually the music has started before everyone in the queue gets into the store. Crispian and Alonza are sitting on the counter, Jay Darlington behind the corner on keyboards and drummer Paul Winterhart tucked away to the side. It’s not a huge store and there is a large record display through the middle like a spine. It is very intimate, and the sound quality is excellent.

Crispian explained that they were going to play a different set to their earlier show, which is great for the lucky ones that managed to get to both. They had a song ‘bench’ so they could vary the set – but the songs on the bench contained girls names. Crispian mentioned Ophelia, and Ruby, both appear to be from their 2010 album Pilgrims Progress. They played Ruby, declaring that it was the first time that they played it live.

Lucky Number, the opening track on their forthcoming new album Wormslayer (according to Spotify), sounds great acoustic, more jangly and light than the complex layers of the record, which I also love.

I also like the catchy Infinite Sun, which I assume is a new song but I find afterwards it is actually 10 years old.

The band ended their set with a rousing rendition of their 1996 hit Govinda. Sung in Sanskrit, it brings out their influence of Indian music and spirituality, and led to a beautifully nostalgic moment. 

Meeting Kula Shaker

After the set there was an opportunity to meet the band at a signing. I learn that I share a name with their first manager and their current manager… something to think about if I ever want a career change.

Wormslayer will be released on 30th January and I’m looking forward to hearing more new material from Kula Shaker. 

Signed tour poster
This week’s events at Banquet Records

Tim Burgess at the Merch Market

11th January 2026 at Troxy, London

The headlining act at Troxy was an acoustic set from organiser and self-proclaimed ‘Merch Market guy’ Tim Burgess, playing a selection of Charlatans classics accompanied by Sam O’Donovan on guitar.

Set list:

  • North Country Boy
  • White Shirt
  • Salt Water
  • For The Girls
  • Just When You’re Thinkin’ Things Over
  • The Only One I Know

This is something special. A reward for everyone that has stayed at the Troxy til the very end of the Merch Market. (It’s been a long day!)

Hearing the upbeat jangly classic North Country Boy completely stripped back was exquisite. Unlike the songs that followed, which sounded like acoustic versions of themselves, the arrangement of North Country Boy turned it into something completely different.

Tim Burgess & Sam O’Donovan live and acoustic

White Shirt sounded fantastic. I haven’t heard it in ages.

It was the first time I’ve heard Salt Water live. It’s a melodic interlude with few lyrics and invokes imagery of a cold winter’s beach, quite a contrast to the rest of the new album as it feels a definite change of pace, so fit perfectly into this acoustic set. 

Another new one, For The Girls, was very well received and is soon to be considered a Charlatans classic, I’m sure!

Just When You’re Thinkin’ Things Over is always great to hear (“It’s a matter of taste, yeah!”).

And finally, The Only One I Know, which works amazing well as a stripped back acoustic version.

The set was short and sweet, and ended with a “Love you all” to the audience.