MUSIC

Scissors poised to chop out the tunes

If you were there the first time around, you won’t fail to remember the fun times we had at Bar Central.

Back in the 1990s, ‘BC’ was a weekly pilgrimage made by Brit Pop disciples and rock heads, delivering a staple diet of smart sounds.

The chips were cheap, the after effects of the tequila were often traumatic (!) and as for the tunes?

Blur vs Oasis, The Verve, the off-kilter pop of Pulp...and a bit of Sympathy for the Devil thrown in for good measure.

Bar Central was hidden away on the first floor of The Food Centre, which has since been razed in preparation for more new flats (they call it progress), but while the new city is sadly now bereft of music hot spots and is instead awash with apartments and hotels, we do have some smart venues operating from the outlying towns.

One of those hubs, The Craufurd Arms, is hosting live music from The Indie Scene on September 17 together with a return to the decks by one of Bar Central’s original disc spinners, DJ Scissors.

He soundtracked those aforementioned fantastic times and he’ll be chopping out more tunes at this bash.

“The height of Britpop and the birth of the 90’s indie club nights in Milton Keynes seem forever ago now, but I was proud to play a big part in them and still enjoy being involved at some of the nights at The Craufurd Arms, MK11 and Unit 9, to name but a few,” Scissors told Pulse music.

“It’s brilliant to see that although the centre of MK has lost its nights like that, if you’re bold enough to venture away from the main hub you can still find cool places playing alternative music and giving a platform for people to play the music they make or even just the music that made them.”

Scissors’ return to the decks comes after the past two years of restricted living thanks to the pandemic.

“It’s been a hard time for these venues and I’m happy to get back involved and play some of the classics that shaped our youth and sculpted our futures.

“Fabulously talented local band The Indie Scene and I plan on taking you back to those fond memories of the Bar Central and Happy Wednesday era, and will play you some absolute gems from all your favourite bands of the 90’s, from Madchester to Britpop through to Indie and Rock,” Scissors said, “I look forward to seeing you all there.”

Check in with them on Wednesday, September 28.

While on the subject of The Craufurd Arms, the exterior of the venue has now been spruced up and is looking mighty fine!

Artist and musician Matt Downes is responsible for the stained glass inspired designs.

“The venue is an integral part of our music scene and it’s great to have the opportunity to have these featured,” Matt said. Five tracks that will definitely air on the night...

Other Craufurd highlights this month

In a spin with Scissors

Pulp – ‘Disco 2000’ One of the stand out albums of the 90’s and although ‘Common People’ will always be the big single from this album, ‘Disco 2000’ will always be a big floor filler.

Ash – ‘Girl From Mars’ I’m not sure an indie night goes by without the demand to hear this. It’s always requested, and of course, happily played.

Oasis - ‘Slide Away’ Probably the biggest debut of the Britpop era, I love the early part of the Bar Central nights when you can play some of the slower anthems. This has to be a must for all the 40+.

The Verve - ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ It sounds as amazing now as it did back then, and will forever raise the hair on the back of my neck. Who didn’t walk across that dance floor with their chest out emulating Ashcroft in the video? A great anthem for the early evening or drunken singalong at 2am.

Blur - ‘Girls & Boys’ The album Parklife was everywhere and this is the song that kicked off my love affair for Blur and everything Britpop!

Enjoy a bit of a Dodgy night out (September 3) when Nigel Clark, frontman with the 1990s hit makers behind Good Enough and Staying Out For The Summer, steps out with his solo material.

As frontman with metal titans Fear Factory, Burton C. Bell was on heavy rotation in the Pulse Music household in times past. He stepped away from FF back in 2020 and is now focusing on his longterm side project, Ascension of the Watchers.

Burton is joined by Welsh muso and producer Jayce Lewis and together they bring elements of industrial rock, goth and tribal dance beats to bolster their unique heavy metal credentials. See them live on Monday, September 5.

A Much Betta ABBA show is a 60 minute spectacular featuring drag queen and original RuPaul Drag Race competitor Baga Chipz and Tanya Hyde.

Ascension of the Watchers

Shooting the Stars

Just time enough to mention the summer of sounds at Campbell Park which saw many thousands of music fans entertained by artists including Craig David, Steps, Paloma Faith and the major festival, Reggae Land. HAZE Photography captured this great image of the crowd engaged with Rag’n’Bone Man who was a real highlight.

MK Music Archive:

It might be the first time Burton C. Bell has rolled through town with Ascension of the Watchers, but he did play here with Fear Factory – as part of the Ozzfest bill at the National Bowl way back in 1998.

And keeping with the National Bowl, this September 5 & 6 marks the seventh anniversary since Foo Fighters last graced the new city, when they were joined by Iggy Pop and Royal Blood for the dates. And on September 10, 1988 Michael Jackson performed.

For more on Milton Keynes’ musical history visit FB @miltonkeyneswiredforsound

Michael Jackson Iggy Pop at The Bowl

A thoroughly Mod-ern night out

Mad Mods and Englishmen will deliver another blistering set of classics this month when they play live at Unit Nine on September 2.

The band’s repertoire will see them deliver tracks from The Who, The Kinks, The Stones, Spencer Davis, The Jam and a whole host of others.

Tickets are £8 if you buy them now, a tenner on the night. Tap to unitninemk.com

The Doctor will see you now

Methods and music

Coda Rushing, the musical union of Mitchell Taylor (a former Bard of Northampton and Stony Stratford) and Craig Hudson (the creative behind Billy Nomad) have followed up last year’s Pulse favourite Skills with the new EP Methods of Escape.

The Autism awareness advocates say this new delivery ‘feels like something you’d dig out of a 90’s bargain bin, in all the best ways.’

“On the first EP I wanted to be conscious of the sounds people like to hear – there was a lot of samples used that I didn’t have much to do with making,” Craig admitted, “With Methods of Escape we created all the parts ourselves from scratch, arranged them and then Mitchell added his lyrics to give them the finishing touch. It’s a bit different from what some listeners might be used to but it’s 100% Coda Rushing this time!”

This new delivery ‘deals with the escapist mentality of someone growing up with undiagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorder,’ which the boys share in common.

Sound-wise, it pulls on piano, strings and industrial noise, so you can understand where the references to Mozart and The Beastie Boys come from.

Want to tip your ears to Coda Rushing? Head over to the usual digital stores for your fill. Now that the curtain has fallen on the antics of Ramsey Street after 37 years, one of its best known faces (nah, not her) is coming to MK11 to look back at his time spent as Neighbours’ most famous doctor, Karl Kennedy.

Alan Fletcher spent nearly three decades with the show and he’ll be sharing secrets and reliving the best bits at this event, and there will be the chance to pose your own questions too.

It’s not rock n’ roll in the traditional sense, but it’ll still be a rock n’ roll event, don’t you think? And besides, Alan has more than dabbled in music himself.

Tickets for the MK11 show on Friday, September 30, the last date of the tour, can be found by tapping to mk11kilnfarm.com

Scottish duo Hue and Cry are also coming to MK11 this month. Brothers Patrick and Gregory Kane, responsible for 80s hits including Labour of Love and Looking For Linda, will be live at the Kiln Farm hub on September 15.