John Peel Centre

ARGH KiD is an English alternative hip hop band from Manchester, England, led by the MC/Poet David Scott. With an eclectic approach to hip hop featuring a live musicians to provide a backdrop to life in austerity UK, with all it flaws and lingering beauty.

His first two singles 'Frank' and 'Neighbours' were met with critical acclaim and support from industry big hitters such as Chris Evans, Janice Long, John Kennedy to name but a few. Their live shows are a high-octane concoction of breakbeats, outstanding musicianship and a powerful and passionate lyrical outpouring rarely seen on stage these days.

Quite the Way with Words. Brilliant Chris Hawkins, 6 Music A Breath of Fresh Air Brilliant Songwriter Janice Long, BBC Radio 2 BangersI love it John Kennedy, Radio X A Dose of Realism Shot Through With Imagination Clash Magazine Brilliant Urban Poet. I love it Chris Evans I love it. The wit, the beat, the realness Jack Wood, Radio X

www.soundcloud.com/arghkid www.facebook.com/ArghKid/ www.arghkid.com

We are excited to be welcoming Argh Kid to the John Peel Centre as part of Independent Venue Week 2020.

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Blackbeard's Tea Party's bold and riotous modern folk rock is built for late nights and big stages. Traditional songs and tunes are given a heavy rock edge with earth shattering riffs, playful arrangements and driving dance rhythms.

This is gutsy folk rock dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st Century.

The band celebrate a decade of rocking the folk boat in 2019 and will commemorate this with their 'Ten YAAR Anniversary Tour' in the Autumn & Winter and will re-release an updated version of their most popular track 'Chicken on a Raft' to commemorate this milestone.

Blackbeard's Tea Party believe a live show should be a spectacle for the eyes as well as the ears. Outlandish outfits, costume changes, DIY props, unhinged stage antics and chaotic choreography all add up to an engaging, high-octane show that inevitably leaves audiences cheering for more.

Their most recent release, the 5-track EP 'Leviathan!', explores the romanticized glories and the full gruesome horrors of the 19th century whaling industry. The record brings with it a bigger, bolder sound and a revamped live show, employing a heftier rhythm section with their new double-Drum Kit set up.

The past few years have seen Blackbeard's Tea Party perform at festivals as diverse as Glastonbury, Cambridge Folk Festival, Fairport's Cropredy Convention, The Rainforest World Music Festival in Borneo and many more.

Formed in 2009 after meeting at the University in York the group was conceived as a busking band to temper the savage realities of adult life and scratch together some extra pocket money. These sessions would go a long way to inform the later incarnation of the band, frenetic dancing drew bigger crowds in the street and had the added bonus of keeping them warm. Subsisting on a diet of pasties and cheesecake, Blackbeard's Tea Party quickly developed a fervent local fanbase.

The band members come from diverse musical backgrounds and their list of influences is eclectic. The decision on which songs to arrange as well as the writing of original material is usually lead by Stuart Giddens who is largely informed by folk influences such as Jim Causley, Eliza Carthy, Tim van Eyken, Stan Hugill, Cyril Tawney as well as groups such as Le Vent du Nord.

The contemporary twists that the band places on their arrangements come from a large melting pot of artists from the rock and metal genres such as Primus, Rammstein, Iron Maiden, Tool and Led Zeppelin. From further afield theafield the band takes its inspiration from classic funk groups such as The Meters, the bombastic pop hooks of artists like Beyonce and the dark storytelling style of Nick Cage.

"Contemporary folk rock at its most infectious" - R2 "York's answer to The Pogues, but with cleaner fingernails" - The Telegraph "Blackbeard's Tea Party restored my faith in foot-tapping, fun, energy-packed music recently. In short: they make shanties chic" - Roger Crow, Huffington Post "Gloriously wild, gamely OTT and sharp. This is convincing and essential" - fRoots "Barnstorming buccaneers belting our riff-tastic folk rock" - Songlines

www.blackbeardsteaparty.com www.facebook.com/blackbeardsteaparty

Support from James Morgan

Hailing from darkest Suffolk, land bound pirate James Morgan crafts folk songs for the modern age, with a hefty lump of punk sensibility thrown in for good measure. James has travelled the length and breadth of the country, playing bars, pubs and festivals from Scotland to Cornwall, and travel plays a major part in his songwriting process. Also songs about pirates, assassins, and mutineers. Because why not?

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After a successful show here at the John Peel Centre early in 2019, Catfish return to Stowmarket. UK and British Blues Award winners Catfish have carved a reputation for themselves as an excellent live band with a phenomenal frontman in 25 year old guitarist/vocalist Matt Long who plays with a real passion for the blues.

In 2016 they won a British Blues Award and in 2018 won the UK Blues Award for Blues Act of the Year (England).

Two of their three albums have reached no 1 in the IBBA Blues Airplay Charts, and their album Broken Man was voted album of the year for 2017 by the Independent Blues Broadcasters Association. They have a new album 'Burning Bridges' which was released in May 2019.

During 2018 and 2019, they have played in Holland, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Rhodes, France, Czech Republic and Spain and have a further three European tours already booked for 2020, along with an impressive set of UK dates all over the UK.

This is blues with a very broad brush - from epic prog anthems to stripped back piano ballads.

'Catfish are one of the finest live bands in Britain today. The quality of musicianship is outstanding and in Matt Long, they have one of the greatest young guitarists on the scene today…' - Blues Matters Magazine

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Looking for the best Christmas Party in Stowmarket? Look no further - this could be it! Join us for the last John Peel Centre event of 2019 for an evening of dancing and great music as the JPC Vinyl Lounge DJs play the best vinyl in town.

Get into the attic, dust off your records and bring a couple of them down to us and we'll do our best to play them for you! Dance the night away in a chilled environment of candles (not real ones!) lamps, lights & drapes with friends and like-minded people.

Licensed bar with Adnams & Aspall draught and bottles Doors from 7.30pm.

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In 1981, Ian formed The Icicle Works with Chris Sharrock (drums), and Chris Layhe (bass and vocals). They quickly gained a following through their debut single release, Nirvana, and extensive live performances up and down the country.

The Icicle Works became part of the Liverpool renaissance movement of the eighties, alongside acts such as Echo And The Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes, WAH!, Heat, OMD, Black, Dead Or Alive, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, The Lotus Eaters, and China Crisis. They signed to Beggar's Banquet records, and under the guidance of Martin Mills scored a top 20 hit with Love Is A Wonderful Colour in the U.K ; and top 40 placings in the U.S, Canada, and Europe with Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream), with their eponymous debut album. The Icicle Works achieved top 40 placings in the UK for all four of their albums - The Icicle Works, The Small Price Of A Bicycle, If You Want To Defeat Your Enemy Sing His Songs, and Blind - until they split up in 1988.

Since then Ian has worked on various music projects and has released a number of solo albums. In 2009 he published his autobiography. This decade, Ian has released a number of albums, including some harder rocking albums, an album of cover versions, and an collaborative album.

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The Karpets are an Inspiral Carpets tribute band, but a tribute band with a difference: their lead singer Tom Hingley was actually the lead singer with Inspiral Carpets from 1989-2011. Tom sang on all the Inspirals chart hits, including This is How it Feels, Saturn Five, Dragging Me Down, I Want You, She Comes in the Fall and all the songs on the bands four Major label albums - Life (1990) The Beast Inside (1991) Revenge of the Goldfish (1992) and Devilhopping (1994).

Formed in 2016, The Karpets have played barnstorming sets at Shine On Weekender, Embrace's Secret Festival , Readipop Festival, Vicars Picnic, Rochdale Live, Darwen Live, Festival Too and headline sets at the 100 Club, Audio in Glasgow and over thirty other UK clubs to date.

The band comprises: Tom Hingley (lead vocals), Dickon Kyme Wright on keys & backing vocals, Philip McIntyre on guitar & backing vocals, Ste Pearce on bass and drummer Malcolm Law.

The Karpets can play all of Inspirals Greatest Hits as well as the whole of the band's Revenge of the Goldfish album and a healthy selection of obscure B-side and fan favourites.

The live experience is raw, dynamic, punky and energetic. The band play like their very existence depends on it with humour, skill and volume.

We are excited to be welcoming The Karpets to the John Peel Centre as part of Independent Venue Week 2020.

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In his new show 50 Things About Us, Mark Thomas combines his trademark mix of storytelling, standup, mischief and really, really well researched material to examine how we have come to inhabit this divided wasteland that some of us call the United Kingdom.

Mark picks through the myths, facts and figures of our national identities to ask who do we think we are?

It is a show about money, history, songs, gongs, wigs, unicorns, guns, bungs, sods of soil and rich f*ckers.

And how we have so much feeling for such a hollow land.

(In the vein of The Manifesto [Mark's book] meets a sweary History channel)

50 Things About Us is also a podcast (coming out in September) and a book published by September Publishing in February 2020 and an art exhibition… in Liverpool January 2020.

Suitable for ages 16+

• Concessions pricing applies to under 21s, students, and carers accompanying the person they support. Please note ID may be asked for to ensure the correct ticket type has been purchased.

Doors open at 7.30pm, for an 8pm start. There will be an interval.

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Please note that this is a seated event, with seating unallocated, though all with a good view.

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Renegade Twelve return to the John Peel Centre to showcase all of your favourite covers from the last 5 years before the NEXT CHAPTER begins!!!!

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Please note that this event has not been organised by the John Peel Centre, and as such all aspects of it are the responsibility of the hirer.

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Rev Hammer is a maverick English Singer-Songwriter and veteran touring musician.

He has released 8 studio albums: Industrial Sound and Magic (1991) recorded with the Levellers in an Essex Cow shed, Bishop of Buffalo (1993), Freeborn John (1996) The Story of John Lilburne, England's First Radical, The Green Fool Recordings (1996), Spitting Feathers (1998), Down the Alley (2008) and Skald (2016)

Although primarily a solo singer songwriter it is in recording and live performance collaborations that Rev has made his name.

In 1986, he formed the Red Sky Coven Travelling Folk Club with the poet/Novelist Joolz Denby, New Model Army lead singer Justin Sullivan and bassist Brett Selby. They have recorded 5 live albums.

Rev is also a founding member of Drunk in Public the irreverent acoustic touring group along with Mark Chadwick, Simon Friend and Jon Sevink from the Levellers. They have recorded six live albums.

The Fabulous Goodtime Part Boys or Fabbies, a ten-piece soul and New Orleans festival ensemble saw Rev work again with his long-term friend and producer Phil Johnstone with whom he had recorded the epic Freeborn John, Spitting Feathers and the Green Fool recordings. The Fabbies have recorded one studio album Let's hear it for the little fella (2008) and one live album Carbon Jackboot (2010).

Rev's songs have been recorded by a varied list of performers over the years: Eddi Reader, Rory McCleod, Maddy Prior, Rose Kemp, The Oyster Band, Justin Sullivan , the Levellers, Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman. In 2008 Rev received a gold record for 100,000 sales of the song Maid of the River recorded by the Levellers for their album Zeitgeist. His song Searchlights was featured on the record breaking, charity Warchild -Help album. (Rev was a member of the Serious Road Trip which toured war torn Balkan States back in 1994-5).

Rev's latest recording Skald features more collaboration. The musical wizard Nick Harper produced and played on the album as does Rev's son Samuel Ryan who wrote the album's title track the instrumental Skald.

Rev will be performing with Sanchia Hylton-Smith.

We are excited to be welcoming Rev Hammer and Sanchia to the John Peel Centre as part of Independent Venue Week 2020.

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COMMON GROUND THEATRE COMPANY present SHERLOCK HOLMES & THE WARLOCK OF WHITECHAPEL

by Pat Whymark & Julian Harries

A CLASSIC XMAS COMEDY CAPER

?"Who'd be interested in this old relic, Holmes?" murmured Watson, one morning at the breakfast table of 221b Baker Street. "Nonsense, Watson. A splash of cologne and a trim of your moustache, & I'm sure someone would have you". "Be serious, Holmes. Look here - in the Morning Post!"

Thus began the case that Dr Watson dared not share with the public, till now. A case that, were its full facts to be known, would shake the nation to its very core, and beyond.

Ancient artefacts are disappearing from museums and private collections all over Europe,. A pre-Christian effigy one day, a shamanic totem the next, a pagan fetish at the weekend. Either someone's on their own personal antiques road trip, or they're trying to summon dark forces. and gain mystical powers. But to what endand why?

The ensuing adventure takes Holmes and Watson from the wharfs and alleys of East London, to the icy wastes of the north and the hidden temples of the east (changing at Peterborough), as they pursue "The Warlock of Whitechapel"

Julian Harries and Dick Mainwaring once again don the deerstalker, plus fours and travelling capes of Holmes and Watson, and are joined by Common Ground regulars Joe Leat & Emily Bennett in this classic Xmas comedy thriller.

Common Ground have been bringing their distinctive brand of music theatre - with strong narrative, strong emotion and just a touch of the surreal to venues across East Anglia, since 2008.

?Running time - 2 hours (including interval)

?Suitable for ages 8+

Performances: Sunday 15th December 7.30pm Monday 16th December 7.30pm Tuesday 17th December 4pm & 7.30pm

Doors will be open approx 30 minutes prior to the advertised start time.

Please note that this is a seated event.

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