Band in a Box 2025

A band from Yorkshire, formed in 1965 under the name The Shots, was also called Chords Five. Since 1967 - The Smoke (which means London in local slang). It's Smoke Time is their only LP from 1967 + singles. The very first forty-five My Friend Jack immortalized The Smoke in the annals of psychedelia - not so much because of its musical merits, but thanks to the line "My friend Jack eats sugar lamps", which caused indignation of the BBC censorship, which banned the song and unwittingly enveloped The Smoke in an atmosphere of heroism. As a result, The Smoke boycotted by radio stations were able to achieve greater popularity on the continent, especially in Germany - where the album It's Smoke Time was released, which has not yet been released in England. The band's subsequent UK releases did not generate the same hype as My Friend Jack. An interesting song is Utterly Simple, written by Dave Mason and featured on the Traffic album "Dear Mr. Fantasy". Although it was never released as a single, it can be heard on various psychedelic compilations. The preserved material paints The Smoke as a musically diverse, rather tough (sometimes garage) band capable of composing a good melody, conveying concert drive to the listener and knowing the measure when using studio effects. After the breakup of the band, none of its members left any noticeable traces in music anymore, with the exception of drummer Jeff Gill, who became the sound engineer of the famous disco band Boney M.

A live document of the band´s homecoming performance at London’s O2 Forum in September 2024. Two full sets, including ‘Fauna’ in its entirety as well as material from throughout their career across over 3 hours of music

Machina: Aranea Alba Editio is a box set by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. It was released as an octuple vinyl box set on September 5, 2025, via the website of Billy Corgan's Madame Zuzu's tea shop. The box set consists of material from the band's 2000 albums Machina/The Machines of God and Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music. The band broke up shortly after the release of the latter record, with Corgan saying he considered the entire Machina project "unfinished". The set includes a 48 track version of the Machina album, as well as 32 bonus tracks. It includes some rerecorded songs, and all the material has been remixed and remastered. It was promoted by a concert tour of North America, with Corgan forming a new band titled Billy Corgan and the Machines of God. The band included Corgan alongside bassist Kid Tigrrr and drummer Jake Hayden, as well as the Smashing Pumpkins's touring guitarist Kiki Wong.

An iconoclast with a large, loyal audience and a long, very successful career, Neil Young has explored a impressive range of styles – from acoustic introspection and wistful country rock to blistering hard rock, electronic experimentation, blues, rockabilly, and heartfelt polemics – while sounding entirely like Neil Young at all times, with his engagingly craggy voice, his flinty sincerity, and unique gifts as a songwriter. Young's creative restlessness is a comfortable match for his prolific nature, and he's not averse to dropping his current fascinations for something else on the drop of a dime, which frustrates some fans but also helps keep his music fresh and full of ideas. Even when he's in relatively familiar musical territory (his electric music with Crazy Horse, his rootsy semi-acoustic work, the intimacy of his solo performances, his thematic albums focusing on life experiences and his take on the world around him), there's a spark of unpredictability that fuels his muse and keeps him in the present day despite a career spanning over seven decades.

Machina: Aranea Alba Editio is a box set by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. It was released as an octuple vinyl box set on September 5, 2025, via the website of Billy Corgan's Madame Zuzu's tea shop. The box set consists of material from the band's 2000 albums Machina/The Machines of God and Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music. The band broke up shortly after the release of the latter record, with Corgan saying he considered the entire Machina project "unfinished". The set includes a 48 track version of the Machina album, as well as 32 bonus tracks. It includes some rerecorded songs, and all the material has been remixed and remastered. It was promoted by a concert tour of North America, with Corgan forming a new band titled Billy Corgan and the Machines of God. The band included Corgan alongside bassist Kid Tigrrr and drummer Jake Hayden, as well as the Smashing Pumpkins's touring guitarist Kiki Wong.

For Gareth Lockrane, music is inseparable from community. His reputation as a flautist, composer and arranger ensures that he’s in constant demand for a wide range of top-end musical projects, from international touring stars to Hollywood movie soundtracks, but he’s equally renowned for his dedication to education and mentorship, teaching at all the London conservatoires and supporting emergent voices.

The Grateful Dead celebrates its diamond 60th anniversary this year with ENJOYING THE RIDE, a sweeping 60-CD collection that maps an epic cross-country road trip along the "Heady Highway" with stops at storied venues where the music, the moment, and the magic of the Grateful Dead reliably converged. Spanning 25 years of legendary live performances, this expansive collection spotlights defining shows from 1969 to 1994 at 20 venues that consistently inspired the band to new heights—Winterland, Frost Amphitheatre, Madison Square Garden, and Hampton Coliseum, among them. Whether playing the intimate confines of Fillmore West or beneath the open skies at Red Rocks, the Grateful Dead never played the same show twice. ENJOYING THE RIDE is a thrilling testament to that adventurous spirit. With the exception of a few tracks from earlier releases, virtually all of the music on ENJOYING THE RIDE is previously unreleased, spanning more than 450 tracks and over 60 hours of music. Of the 20 shows in the collection, 17 are presented in full, with some featuring additional material from the same venue. The remaining three—Fillmore West, Fillmore East, and Boston Music Hall—are curated from multiple performances at each venue, capturing key moments on those legendary stages.

NOW is going back to the 1970s to proudly present the next instalment in our ongoing ‘Yearbook’ series – featuring 84 stellar tracks celebrating a brilliant year of pop singles. NOW – Yearbook 1976. Kicking off in magnificent style with signature songs from enduringly popular artists: A #2 in 1976, Queen’s ‘Somebody To Love’ is first up, followed by Electric Light Orchestra with ‘Livin’ Thing’, Fleetwood Mac with ‘Say You Love Me’, and 10cc with ‘I’m Mandy Fly Me’. Chicago hit #1 with their all-time classic ballad ‘If You Leave Me Now’, and Bonnie Tyler made her chart debut with ‘Lost In France’, whilst Leo Sayer reached #2 in the UK, and #1 in the US with ‘You Make Me Feel Like Dancing’. Next up, a trio of dance-floor favourites – and all #1s in ’76: Tina Charles with ‘I Love To Love’, The Real Thing with ‘You To Me Are Everything’, and 14 years after making their UK chart debut Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons enjoyed their first chart-topper with ‘December 1963 (Oh What a Night)’. The floor-fillers continue from Candi Staton, Barry White and Melba Moore ahead of a disco-flavoured single from former glam-pop stars, MUD. Brilliant and unforgettable pop gems from Smokie, Bryan Ferry, Sailor, and a cover of ‘Here Comes The Sun’ from Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel lead into Paul Simon’s ’50 Ways To Leave Your Lover’, and the first disc’s closing tracks – both timeless ballads: Joan Armatrading with ‘Love And Affection’, and Diana Ross with ‘Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)’

4CD REMASTERED CLAMSHELL BOX ANTHOLOGY COMPRISING ALL OF SKIN ALLEY’S RECORDINGS FOR CBS & TRANSATLANTIC RECORDS BETWEEN 1969-1973. INCLUDES ALL THE TRACKS FROM THE ALBUMS ‘SKIN ALLEY’, ‘TO PAGHAM & BEYOND’, ‘TWO QUID DEAL’ & ‘SKINTIGHT’ ALONG WITH ALL TRACKS FROM ‘STOP VERUSHKA!’, THE BAND’S “LOST” 1970 SOUNDTRACK ALBUM & RARE SINGLES. ALL TRACKS REMASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES. Formed in 1968, Skin Alley were part of the infamous Clearwater stable that included fellow acts such as Hawkwind, High Tide, Trees and Cochise. The band’s infectious fusion of jazz and rock was suited to the time and the band became a regular attraction on the underground festival and concert circuit. Skin Alley recorded their self-titled debut album for CBS Records in November 1969 with former Pretty Things guitarist Dick Taylor producing. The band’s second album, ‘To Pagham and Beyond’ was recorded in 1970, along with a shelved soundtrack album for an unreleased film about the German model Verushka.