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BEATS: DON’T MISS Teenage Fanclub, Academy 2, Thursday

The Glasgow lads haven’t toured for a while so they’re raring to get back out onto the road to showcase new album “Shadows” — their first in five years.

The band, which came to life in 1989, has been compared with the Byrds, Big Star, the Beach Boys and Neil Young thanks to their penchant for soaring guitars and upbeat melodies. The lads hit the big time in the early 90s when their album “Bandwagonesque” beat Nirvana’s “Nevermind” to the album of the year prize in 1991. Liam Gallagher named them as “the second best band in the world” (after Oasis of course).


Bandit kings

PROG rockers RX Bandits are swapping the sunny climes of Southern California for the UK to give their British fans a night to remember.

The band formed in 1995 and struggled through their first three albums due to conflicts with their record label. They eventually broke free and latest album “Mandala” fuses rock, punk and blues keeping them one step ahead of their peers.

Over the years, the lads have toured with the likes of The Bloodhound Gang, Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish and New Found Glory as well as enjoying stints at festivals across the world.

Catch them live at Manchester Academy 3 on Friday.


Abbey hour

A NIGHT of Mayhem has been planned for an Oldham pub in a bid to raise money for orphaned children in Thailand.

The fun starts at the Abbey in West Street, Oldham, at 7pm on Saturday. Admission is £3.

Blastermann, The Crash Mats, All Kinds of Wrong and Drink and Drive — all local bands — will perform and revellers can drink until 2am. There will also be a raffle and all money raised will fund a trip to Thailand to provide food, clothing and toys for abandoned children.

Meanwhile, over at Jackson’s Pit on Sunday, the Constant Friction gang have organised a night of bank holiday treats for music lovers. Paper Spaceman, an 11-piece acid pop outfit, will take to the stage and there will also be stints from Elgazelle and Sunny Jim and the Size 9s.

The fun starts at 8pm and runs all the way until 3am with Constant Friction DJs. Entry is £3.


Retro crooner

WITH Barry White, Smokey Robinson and Curtis Mayfield as inspiration, it was clear Detroit-born singer, producer and instrumentalist Mayer Hawthorne was going to be anything but run of the mill.

The 29-year-old, who comes to Manchester’s Deaf Institute on Thursday, grew up listening to jazz radio and readily welcomes the retro tag that critics seem to love putting on him.

Mayer, a self-confessed vinyl junkie, never planned to make his passion for crooning public, but changed his mind after getting mindblowing reactions from friends and family.

His stage name is a combination of his middle name and the name of the street he grew up on.