The REAL GONE Advent Calendar 2021

With the slow return of live gigs and Britain escaping another lockdown (by some miracle), 2021 hasn’t felt quite as troubled as 2020, but it’s not always been fun or easy. As we build up to xmas, it’s time for our usual welcome distraction with Real Gone’s advent calendar!

As with previous years, we’ll be counting down the days until the 24th with a selection of cool videos. It might be an old favourite. It might be something brand new. It could be something you’ve never seen. Come back here each day for a new surprise!

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REAL GONE GOES OUT: Electric Six – Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate, Kent 28/11/2021

As November breathes its last, the changing weather has been a keen reminder that we’re moving from autumn into winter. Parts of Britain are being battered by strong winds; other parts are experiencing snow. Luckily, the Kent coast seems to have escaped the white stuff – for now – but it’s cold. Very cold. Outside the Music Hall in Ramsgate, it feels like the arctic, and those venturing out could feel like Captain Oates. To be fair, everyone has been – and will be – subjected to far colder, but a year’s worth of not going out much due to the global pandemic has made it seem particularly harsh. It’s worth braving the cold tonight, though, as Detroit’s Electric Six are in town as part of a last minute addition to their UK tour.

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SELL YOURSELF SHORT – The Lowest Standard EP

Sell Yourself Short first formed as Best Regards in 2016. Various line-up changes and one rebranding later, the New Jersey punks re-emerged bigger and better in 2020 under their new band name. Their debut EP, ‘The Lowest Standard’ features three tracks that bounce between genres but, from a musical standpoint, bring the best out of the trio at almost every turn.

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HOWARD JONES – At The BBC

Beginning with their massive box set celebrating ‘Human’s Lib’ issued in November 2019, Cherry Red Records have really gone the extra mile with their Howard Jones reissues. Each release has been afforded a wealth of extras, including bonus DVDs featuring archive live footage and TV appearances where available, and the addition of demos and alternate takes accompanying the main albums has been a fan’s dream. It was especially pleasing to see some love for Howard’s 1992 release ‘In The Running’, an album which saw him transition from 80s synth pop hero to a slicker, older singer-songwriter. Although overlooked by many at the time, it now stands proudly as one of the most enduring albums in the artist’s catalogue.

Complimenting the vastly expanded studio albums, this five disc box set of live materials allows for a different kind of exploration of HoJo’s past, but in hearing performances recorded between 1983-87 it really brings home the fact that he was, arguably, the greatest synth pop performer of the era.

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