Punk legend Glen Matlock makes a long-awaited return to Courier Country next week.
The former Sex Pistols and Rich Kids bassist is playing a solo acoustic show at Beat Generator on Wednesday – one of just two Scottish dates on his first UK tour since restrictions on live events were lifted.
Matlock, 65, who’s also appearing at Edinburgh’s Bannermans a night later, enjoyed a run of visits to Perthshire and Fife prior to the pandemic.
Back on the road
He starred as a guest of Heaven 17 founder Martyn Ware’s British Electric Foundation at the Rewind Scotland festival at Scone Palace back in July 2017.
He also headed for the unlikely destination of Newport-on-Tay alongside legendary ex-David Bowie and John Lennon guitarist Earl Slick for a brace of appearances at the north Fife town’s Rio Community Centre in both May and November 2019.
Unlike his sidekick Slick – whose recent planned live outing at the Green Hotel in Kinross suffered an eleventh hour cancellation – Matlock is up and running again.
The English leg of his acoustic tour is under way following a rousing full band show at London’s iconic 100 Club earlier this month.
Anyone planning on going along to next week’s gig should look up the Tickets Scotland website.
Goodbye Mr Mackenzie for Church
Separately, reformed Scottish alt-rock veterans Goodbye Mr Mackenzie kick off their latest tour in Stirling on Thursday.
The Edinburgh-based outfit have sold out their Tolbooth show, which is the first of five concerts the Rattler.
The Now We Are Married hit-makers are playing north of the border this month – including an appearance at Dundee’s Church on December 11 and a grand finale at the Barrowland in Glasgow on December 17.
Next week’s gig will be the first time the band have played live in almost two years, with their last couple of shows in late December 2019 going down in posterity on their excellent Live: A Night In The Windy City album, which came out 12 months ago.
New CD from the Mackenzies
Besides the tour, there’s more good news for GMM followers in the shape of a another CD offering from the edgy, Nick Cave-influenced troupe dropping today on the band’s own Blokshok Records.
Originally a series of demo recordings created throughout 1995 in the band’s front room with the aid of a Tascam 16-track tape machine, the Mackenzies’ fourth studio offering The Glory Hole is all set for a 21st Century makeover.
A spokesman says: “The band had run out of cash in 1995 with the tax man chasing them for an ‘estimated’ £84,000 unpaid VAT bill left behind by their management.
“The cupboard was bare – which was actually fine as the band needed a cupboard to record the guitar amp! With that as the backdrop they had to make this album great, even if it was recorded on a shoestring.
“It was hard times at the Mackenzie mill and they were on their own. What emerged was a disturbed and sometimes funny album created with a true DIY punk ethic – so back to their roots.
“Basically the band did everything – performing, recording and mixing, sleeve design.”
New bonus tracks
The rebooted Glory Hole includes new cover art by GMM frontman Martin Metcalfe plus three previously unreleased bonus tracks recorded in 1995 with Stuart Hamilton at CaVa Studios in Glasgow – with one of the songs, Stopwatch, discovered on an old cassette tape.
Fans can get hold of the special edition CD of The Glory Hole via the band’s website goodbyemrmackenzie.com and at the upcoming live shows.
More live gigs
Elsewhere, PJ Molloys has a set from tribute outfit The AC/DC Experience tonight, with the Dunfermline venue set to welcome indie popsters The Lathums a week later.
The Wigan outfit head north fresh from scoring a number one with their debut album How Beautiful Life Can Be, and unsurprisingly their PJ’s show is long since completely sold out.
Finally, Beat Generator hosts breaking bands Happy Tears, Jeshua and Plasmas tomorrow.
