MANSUN - ASTORIA LONDON - FRIDAY 22nd JANUARY 1999

We arrived at the Astoria shortly after Gay Dad started their set. As a support act they were excellent, they warmed the crowd with some high energy rock ‘n’ roll, reminding me primarily of Nirvana, but also of the power pop bands of many years ago, Chelsea, the Radio Stars and in places, XTC. They were well received by the audience, deservedly so, and well worth checking out. Nice one!

In the interlude the Astoria went from packed to heaving, and the audience were treated with some vintage David Bowie and Sex Pistols. Fab! Then Mansun came on and the place went wild! They launched straight into "Negative" with no posing or taking the applause before they’ve done anything, and it was fantastic. Paul wore a bright red shirt and skintight black trousers and looked utterly divine. His dancing (when not playing a guitar) consisted of a hip shake which was a hybrid of the Full Monty "Hot Stuff", The Bump (remember that?!) and Elvis, and he was duly adored by the teenage girls. Swivel those hips, boy!!! Chad moved more sedately, concentrating on playing, for the most part, a beautiful cherry red guitar. He wore a beige-ish shirt, brown waistcoat and blue stripy trousers, very punky. Stove was dressed from head to toe in skintight black and looked lean and mean, just like a bass player should. The three created quite a front together, not aggressive, but confident and tidy.

The sound was fantastic. I would have thought that their dense, structured music would be extremely difficult to recreate live, but they did so with alacrity. I noticed that they played their most accessible songs, the more "difficult" tracks on "Six" were not played, and I feel this made for a better gig, what better than to hear your favourite songs? Paul’s voice was incredible, his vocal range is just unbelievable at times. And it was complimented perfectly by the music, he did not have to strain to be heard, the volume was right and the musicianship just brilliant. Musically although I admired Chad and Stove tons, it was Andie who impressed me most of all; he clobbered the life out of that drumkit with the thickest sticks I’ve ever seen. His physical fitness must be something else. Tracks played were "Being a Girl" and "Stripper Vicar", both played straight after "Negative" with hardly a pause for breath. Others were "Wide Open Space" (the audience went berserk), "Special", "Mansun’s Only Love Song" "Six", "Television", "Taxloss" and my personal favourite, "She Makes My Nose Bleed". And it was fantastic, I just couldn’t get enough of it. When the set finished only too soon, I thought "Is that it", it just didn’t feel long enough.

For the encore though, Paul really went for it, going wild, swinging his guitar round (the other two got out of the way pretty sharpish!), banging on the drums, jumping around. The last song played was "Legacy" and this is the song which surprised me most of all. It was played in a completely different key to the single version, which I found incredible because that song has several changes of key signature and is incredibly difficult to sing. The fact that Paul could completely change the main key signature on it really brought it home to me the sheer technical brilliance of Mansun.

At the all-too-soon end, the band all came to the front, applauded the audience and were gone, all with the minimal fuss, and minimal verbal communication. However, I don’t feel they need to verbally communicate with the audience, they do that already with their songs. Just brilliant, pure genius.

Written by Paula Cook

Mansun new single SIX released 1 February 1999 (Parlophone)

Plus UK Live Dates January 1999

Mansun will release SIX as the Mansun Eleven EP on February 1st 1999 (Parlophone) which will coincide with dates around the UK (rescheduled from October when Manic Street Preachers invited them to be special guests on their recent European dates).

CD1 SIX (single version) / Church Of The Drive Through Elvis / But The Trains Run On Time

CD2/with poster SIX (album version) / What Its Like To Be Hated / Being A Girl - Parts One and Two (live)

Clear vinyl 7 SIX / Television (live)

Grant Gee (Radiohead, Meeting People Is Easy) is currently working with Mansun who are stockpiling live footage and off-the-wall film for a possible long-form video release in the near future. Grant Gee also shot the stark-glam new wave video for SIX which is the first of the highly acclaimed promos from the album SIX to have Paul, Chad, Stove and Andie actually in it!

Mansun have a hectic schedule through to Spring 1999 when they will start work on their third album. Following hugely successful recent UK shows in Liverpool, Chester and Edinburghs Hogmanay, they tour Japan and Hong Kong in January - their third visit in a year. The band have had to upgrade venue sizes and add an extra date due to excessive demand as Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka sold out fast. In Hong Kong they are hotly tipped to win Best International Single for Legacy on the countrys main music channel and will also be flying out to USA this year to embark upon promotion towards the release of the SIX LP..
Mansun, live and unmissable....

January 22 London Astoria 0171 434 0403/4
January 23 Kings Lynn Corn Exchange 01553 764864
January 24 Margate Winter Gardens 01843 296111
January 26 Guildford Civic Hall 01483 444555
January 27 Brighton Event 01273 709709
January 28 Oxford Brookes University 0171 344 4444

Following these dates, Mansun will start work in earnest on their third album..
Mansun recently mailed out an exclusive, free, limited 7 to all the fans who have been writing regularly to Dark Mavis. It contains two tracks from their October sell-out show at Brixton Academy: Live versions of Tax Loss and Everyone Must Win.

Fans wishing to make contact with Paul, Chad, Stove and Andie should write Dark Mavis, P.O.Box 72, Liverpool L69 1YG.

Mansuns Ansaphone 01244 675442

website: www.mansun.co.uk (also includes new exclusive interview and links for sites dedicated to mansun, cyberspace superstars)

EDINBURGH HOGMANY REVIEW HERE

MANSUN PARTY (WORLD-WIDE) LIKE IT’S 1999!

Mansun will be bringing in the New Year on December 31 at Edinburgh Princes Street Gardens. (Edinburgh hosts Scotland’s premier Hogmanay party attended by two million visitors) with a live performance. The event will be broadcast on Scottish Television and Sky-WorldWide.


Mansun will be performing a special set to end 1998. This will be their biggest live appearance (approx. 60,000), to date (previous 90s rock acts to play Hogmanay include Stereophonics and Manic Street Preachers). Ticket information can be obtained from 0131 473 1999 (main number) or call Ticketline on 0131 220 4349..

Prior to that, Mansun play a special Christmas gig at Chester Northgate arena on December 18th (their first home town appearance since April 1997 - fans are travelling from as far as Australia for the occasion!) and warm up with a show at Liverpool’s premier night club, Cream. Tickets for Liverpool are on sale via the Cream shop (Tel. 0151 708 9979)..

Having have just completed a highly successful tour with Manic Street Preachers, Mansun return to Japan and Hong Kong in early January due to excessive demand (their third trip in a year). In fact "Six" (Mansun’s second album to go gold) has caused such a reaction on the planet’s alternative scene that the band are being deluged with requests to play live from all over the globe, but in the mean time, incredible scenes at:-
December 17th Liverpool Cream (warm up show) December 18th Chester Northgate Arena December 31st Edinburgh Princes Street Gardens January 23rd Kings Lynn Corn Exchange January 24th Margate Winter Gardens January 26th Guildford Civic Hall January 27th Brighton Event Centre January 28th Oxford Brookes University

There will be a new single in January, details to follow shortly, Mansun are currently in the studio recording b-sides.

"Six" is the second Mansun album to go gold and the most unique rock release of 1998. This will soon become apparent...

Possibly too hard for some too take in with one listen, it often baffled the critics but after just two months, the frighteningly advanced musicianship of this Chester quartet has caused a fascination among music fans that is past obsession’s borders. "Six" is a detonator.

With around fifty fanzines and websites dedicated to every facet of Mansun. already, and a live show that rocks like a bastard. Mansun. are the UK’s top rock cult, capable of charting without much airplay and even selling out London’s Brixton Academy via their fan network (The Mansun Family).

The fans have put Mansun on a fast track and in only three years (compared to around a decade for the majority of the cream of alternative pop) they have had ten Top 40 hits, two gold albums and released albums worth of excellent songs at a more prolific rate than Lennon & McCartney..

Mansun have just completed their own large-venue tour of the UK (expect a long form video in the future). They then played a highly successful European tour with Manic Street Preachers (who they were main support to at MSP’s Nynex Arena last year). Mansun take their thrilling live experience to Japan and Hong Kong before playing some dates around the UK in January..


Thanks to Caffy @ Hall or Nothing for this information.

TOP PHOTO IS ORIGINALLY BY PENNIE SMITH BUT MANIPULATED BY GENINE
LIVE PHOTOS TAKEN FROM THE GLASGOW BARROLWANDS GIG BY GENINE AND SCANNED BY PAUL ANNETT (THANKS!!)