Tag Archives: ramsgate music hall

REAL GONE GOES OUT: The Utopia Strong – Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate, Kent 18/10/2025

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It’s approximately 8:45 on a Saturday night in Ramsgate. A crowd are gathered outside of the Music Hall, and in the venue’s lobby area, various people are milling around in a frighteningly compact space. Even before getting to the gig area, there’s a feeling that this is one of the Music Hall’s busiest nights.

Everyone’s out to see The Utopia Strong – a trio made up of Kavus Torabi (Knifeworld/Gong/Cardiacs), Michael York (Current 93) and 80s snooker legend Steve Davis – who’ve just released a new album. ‘Doperider’ has been well received by those occupying the more “cult” corners of the online press, and those who’ve seen the band before know how special the live experience can be, so this is a night that has a lot riding on it even before the musicians take the stage.

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REAL GONE GOES OUT: The Fierce And The Dead – Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate, Kent 4/5/2024

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It’s been a great day in Ramsgate. The town has been buzzing and the sun has been gloriously bright. It’s felt like the “seaside season” has finally arrived. At the Ramsgate Music Hall, a sell out crowd are in really friendly spirits. They’ve come out to see The Fierce And The Dead – the Northampton post rock/art rock band who took the prog scene by storm with the release of their third album, 2017’s ‘The Euphoric’. That success came with almost a Trojan horse-like approach: for a while, it seemed as if the band were too much of a heavy/stoner rock phenomenon to click with the proggers, but a bit too strange to find a home amongst the Fu Manchu and Kyuss fanbase, but here they were, finally gaining enthusiastic press and a keen live audience.

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REAL GONE GOES OUT: Abdoujaparov – Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate, Kent 21/10/2022

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Following the pandemic lockdown, gigs have been very much back on the table throughout 2022, but for some people, there still seems to be an unease about returning to the fold and sweating it out with others in very close proximity. That might account for tonight’s Abdoujaparov show feeling a little…undersold. It might also be down to the fact that bandleader Leslie George Carter doesn’t always seem keen to trade off his Carter USM past, often preferring to let this band attract people on their own merits, and relying on fan knowledge to attract a crowd. You’d think between the presence of an indie/punk legend and it not being a school night, Ramsgate Music Hall would be packed, but whatever happens, those who’ve come out tonight know they’re in for a great time.

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REAL GONE GOES OUT: Martin & Eliza Carthy – Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate, Kent 8/9/2022

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The beginning of September 2022 has been horrible. The British government has all but fallen apart, bumbling from day to day; energy prices have reached a new level of unaffordable, and the corner of Kent where the Music Hall sits, proudly but unassumingly in a seaside back street, has been battered by apocalyptic weather for what now feels like an eternity. The summer has started to feel like a distant memory. On top of that, The Queen has died. For most people – monarchists or otherwise – this has more than added to an escalating feeling of unease. Most people have no knowledge of a world without Queen Elizabath II on the throne, and somewhat predictably, the internet has quickly descended into factions, either mourning or gloating. It’s fair to say that a distraction is in order.

Tonight’s show from Martin & Eliza Carthy at Ramsgate Music Hall is the distraction we all need, but this show from the father and daughter folk duo has felt a long time coming. Originally scheduled for November 2021, it got postponed until March ’22 and then cancelled. Just as most people started to think it would never happen, it was then re-announced, and almost a year down the line – not before time – the Carthys are set to put in a most welcome appearance on a drab Thursday night.

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REAL GONE GOES OUT: Venus Grrrls – Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate, Kent 13/5/2022

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It’s 8:30 on a Friday night and Venus Grrrls have just taken to the stage at Ramsgate Music Hall. The Leeds band are unknown to most of the audience, but it’s great to witness the venue already packed to the rafters. If this were a London gig, most of the paying crowd would still be in a nearby pub, or standing in the venue bar talking, and paying the musicians very little attention. The seaside crowd are often more thoughtful and, looking at the gathering tonight, this is no exception. It actually feels even more crowded than when Electric Six and Red Snapper played at the small venue at the end of 2021. At a time when people are still concerned about Coronavirus, or the cost of living has made casual nights out difficult for many, it’s a sight that really restores hope.

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