Mick Mercer Books

26/06/2025

ON THIS DAY ... in 1995 - 60ft DOLLS
36 photos from the Astoria, 1995 at https://mickmercer.substack.com/ - free to subscribe

I didn’t know anything about this band when I saw them and never saw them again, but this gig remains in the memory for one specific moment I’m sure the singer recalls. He’d been coming on like a cross between Paul Weller (Jam-era) and some Oasis braggart, sarcastic towards the crowd and being an all-purpose Rebel Yoof. At one point this involved dribbling water from the bottle he was drinking from and then flinging some (bottle retained in hand) towards the crowd.

Unfortunately this left some serious spillage on the stage. When he then strode dramatically forward he skidded spectacularly and achieved vertical take-off like something from Scooby-Doo, crashing back down upon his back. I’d never been in a venue before where the entire audience (and security) all burst into laughter. Entertainment takes many forms, right? To his credit he carried on as though nothing had happened and they went down okay.

(This gig actually happened during January, but the first time I uploaded these I used the gallery format which I no longer like.)

25/06/2025

I Was A Fashion School Serial Killer #3, Exquisite Corpses #2, DC x Sonic The Hedgehog #3, Vatican City #3, Stranger Things D&D #4
Reliable series, one and all.
Read reviews at https://mickmercer.substack.com/ - it's free to subscribe.

25/06/2025

ON THIS DAY ... in 1979 - THE ADVERTS
35 photos from the Music Machine, June 23rd 1979 at https://mickmercer.substack.com/ - free to subscribe

Easily my favourite band of 1977, because they could match the energy of their contemporaries but nobody had TV Smith’s wit and wisdom, I continued to follow their development up to their very demise, attending the final gig in Slough, but these were the last photos I took of them. The production of some of their records varied somewhat (most bands on RCA could probably make the same complaint) but the songs still stand up today. Pure quality.

24/06/2025

ON THIS DAY ... in 1984 - 1000 MEXICANS. 39 photos of the post-punk terrors from 1984 at at https://mickmercer.substack.com/ - free to subscribe

They may look like trainee lawyers but 1000 Mexicans made as diverse, delicate and dangerous a brew of melodic post-punk intensity as any of their 80’s contemporaries, and in ‘The Last Pop Song’ one of the great 80’s singles. Imagine a sort of Comsats/Red Guitars approach, but with everyone poisoned. That good!

23/06/2025

ON THIS DAY ... in 1990 - DESTROY THE BOY
25 photos from the Bull & Gate, June 23rd 1990 at https://mickmercer.substack.com/ - free to subscribe or click 'no thanks' and in you go!

Always a commendably punchy sound, with short sharp memorable songs. What’s not to love?

22/06/2025

MICK MERCER RADIO #386 now online!
Two hours of gorgeous music.
MICK MERCER RADIO #386 is up. Click below:

https://www.mixcloud.com/mickmercerradio/mick-mercer-radio-386/

STRANGE BOUTIQUE won the listener vote.

Full track list:

STRANGE BOUTIQUE - Whistle And I Will Come To You.

BYRONIC S*X & EXILE – Eurogothic.

SUBTERFUGE - Dividing Times.

GALLOWS' EVE - The Damage.

NINE DAY DECLINE - The Dreamer Lied.

WHO SAW HER DIE? - While the World Burns.

BODY MAINTENANCE - Golden Fire.

COSMOBRIGADE - Lighthouse.

REPLICANT - HELLBOUND

P.T.L KLUB - Warning.

KRIMEA - This Pleasure.

WAR//PLAGUE - Reckoning.

DEAD ANYWAY - A Fear of Explosions.

MY DAD IS DEAD - Babe in the Woods.

MAX RAEL - Slightly Less Than Human.

PAIN IN THE YEAHS - Know You Better.

ROSALIE CHILVERS – S**U.

HEKÁTĒ – Echoes (Heart Of Glass).

CULT OF HELIOS - Nanotube Radio.

IN EXCELSIS – Bonanza.

WILLIAM BLEAK - Never Feel.

MIDNIGHT - Midnight Predator.

PETER MURPHY – Confessions.

A SHRINE TO FAILURE - The Clock That Never Turns.

BLACK ROSE MOVES – Summer Of Sorrow.

WHISPERS IN THE SHADOW – Illusions of Grandeur.

GALLOWS EVE - Run With The Wolves.

Go here » https://www.mixcloud.com/mickmercerradio/mick-mercer-radio-386/

Strange Boutique - Byronic S*x & Exile – Subterfuge - Gallows' Eve - Nine Day Decline - Who Saw Her Die? - Body Maintenance - Cosmobrigade - Replicant - P.T.L Klub - Krimea - War//Plague - Dead Anyway - My Dad Is Dead - Max Rael - Pain In The Yeahs - Rosalie Chilvers – Hekátē – Cult Of Helio...

22/06/2025

ON THIS DAY ... in 1993 - YOGHURT BELLY at the Monarch in Camden. To see more photos check link in comments. I have got so used to smaller bands from this early 90’s era leaving no visible traces online it was something of a shock to find this band having a discogs entry, with their two EPs. And they have a bloody accordion. Weirdos. Singer Karen Reilly is still active with The Neutrinos.

21/06/2025

ON THIS DAY ... in 1995 - SHED SEVEN
34 photos from the Bull & Gate, 21st June, 1995 at https://mickmercer.substack.com/ - free to subscribe or click 'no thanks' and in you go!

Shed Seven were doing the Bull & Gate a favour for this gig, as they could obviously have been selling out the Astoria following “Change Giver”, and the place was rammed as a result. I was there as a Japanese fanzine ask me to try and get photos of them, and the band couldn’t have been more accommodating.

20/06/2025

SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND? is my unpredictable weekly guide of the newest music (with links) from delectably dark genres. This week > Vazum, Casket Cassette, Collage, Strange New Places, R. Missing, Hackedpicciotto, Death By Nature, Bootblacks, The Sad Lunatics, Drama King, The Tunnel, Vilevo, Idol Talk, Soft Vein, Garden Gate, Krystal System, Ratso, Elva Cio, The Sick Man Of Europe, Rayne Reznor, Gary Marx, Hatria, Xmal Deutschland, Golem Dance Cult, Gris Futuro and Post-Modern Trauma.
Click below - free to subscribe, or choose 'no thanks' and it lets you straight in.

Vazum, Casket Cassette, Strange New Places, R. Missing, Death By Nature, Bootblacks, The Sad Lunatics, Drama King, The Tunnel, Idol Talk, Ratso, Elva Cio, Rayne Reznor, Gary Marx, Golem Dance Cult ...

20/06/2025

ON THIS DAY ... in 1984 - XMAL DEUTSCHLAND
34 photos taken to accompany a Zigzag interview, 1984 at https://mickmercer.substack.com/ - free to subscribe or click 'no thanks' and in you go!

I have a feeling these were taken somewhere along the Edgware Road, to go with an interview done for Zigzag magazine. While there’ll be no Xmal gigs to accompany their recent retrospective releases, don’t forget Anja Huwe is touring with the Psychedelic Furs on their seven UK dates during October of this year.

19/06/2025

Pinupocalypse #3, Daredevil #22, Absolute Batman #9, Hyde Street #6, Giant-Size Dark Phoenix #1
Reliable quirks, top quality art, and a few nasty surprises.
Read reviews at https://mickmercer.substack.com/ - it's free to subscribe or choose 'no thanks' or 'continue reading' and you go straight in.

19/06/2025

ON THIS DAY ... in 1992 - SIN DRIVEN THING
32 photos from the Moonlight club, 19th June, 1992 at https://mickmercer.substack.com/ - free to subscribe or click 'no thanks' and in you go!

Another band that has no online presence, yet here we have a mingling of two previous bands, rousing lunatics Melaroony Daddies and Yellow Pigs From Heaven. That much I know. This was the only time I saw them live and therefore I have no memories other than I enjoyed them, which could not be said for an average trip to the Moonlight.

Back in the late 70s and early 80s the Moonlight club was downstairs, effectively behind the pub housing it, the Railway Hotel, and usually a brilliant place to be as the promoter was always on top of what was cool and exciting. By the early nineties no-one really went anymore. It was now upstairs, and boring. I was only living round the corner so would often pop in if I was passing, and it was generally dismal. The pub was always virtually empty, the gig more so. At least Sin Driven Thing had some mates who went along and created a bit of atmosphere. A little while later the place had a massive posh refurb in keeping with the area, switched from music to comedy and the place was rammed all the time.