The Liverpool Life: Sugarmen

Image: Liverpool (credit: Beverley Goodwin) 

For the first instalment of our City Life series, we turned our heads towards a city steeped in musical history. In order to get a keen sense of the city's best musically directed hangouts, we required an institution making a big impact on the city at present. 

Sugarmen are a band doing more than that at the moment, infiltrating anywhere and everywhere with their guitar spun rock and roll that's touted them as the next big thing with justified reason (watch their 'Dirt' video below). 

With upcoming Hyde Park dates under their belt and a Buzzcocks support role, it's clear indication that a lofty trajectory beckons for a band that are yet to release an album. Putting all that into consideration, we hooked up with the band to find out where Liverpool's current rock and roll prodigies conduct their day to day business.  

 Where to party in Liverpool? 

We could list you loads of pubs. The Bombed Out Church (St Lukes) had Todd Terje on the other day. An unexploded bomb fell on the roof during the war and now it's like a garden in there. They play old films and have bands play etc. It's a great place , whenever I walk past and there's DJs on, people always seem to be having a good time. 

Favourite music venue? 

There's a venue called District in the Baltic Triangle area. It's where we played our first gig as a band and we have played countless times since. It's a great space to watch a band in, and the people who run it have been making music, running clubs or running galleries for a long time now and they get it.

They do everything with a lot of love, that's probably what's missing from a lot of places. Ariel Pink just played and the week before that they had Bop English - one of the guys from White Denims' side project.

I'm not sure if we're allowed to pick two, but we have to also say we love the Kazimier. It's closing its doors for good on New Years Eve and it has been such a huge part of music in this city. I've seen bands I'm not sure would of even come to play Liverpool a few years ago if it wasn't for the Kazimier or Evol and Harvest Sun, who put a lot of shows on there. 

Where do you buy your records? 

If it's a new release then probably Probe Records on School Lane. Probe has been around for years, it's moved a few times. In the late seventies and eighties it was down the road from Eric's on Mathew Street.Pete Burns worked in there! Apparently he did a lot of sneering at customers record choices. It was probably something like High Fidelity.

New Vinyl is expensive though, I still buy new albums on CD. Does anyone do that anymore? Dig Vinyl on Bold Street is good too. 

Favourite hang out? 

Our favourite hang out is probably the Grapes on Roscoe Street (Not to be confused with the Grapes on Mathew St) it's the best pub in town and it's in the best part of town. We spend a lot of time plotting in there.

Best memory of Liverpool? 

Last year The Lightning Seeds headlined LIMF at Sefton Park. We had just finished practice, it was a really nice evening and we got the bus down with a few beers from the shop. We could probably list loads, but there was just something great about that show.

They had the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and ended on a cover of Lou Reed's 'Perfect Day'. You looked around and everyone just seemed to be having a good time. It was nice to see something like that in your own city I guess, and to see the park used like that again.

Cheers lads!

Keep on top of all the latest events in the city with our Liverpool what's on guide.