Yes you have just until midnight tonight (New Year's Eve) to vote in our 2015 WRC Awards! Simply choose your favourite from each of the eleven categories provided here (see our Ryan Bingham Vid Of The Day) and hit the vote button. Only one vote per category per e-mail address is allowed - so there. So what are you waiting for? Spread the good news and make sure your favourite band gets the votes it deserves! Watch out for our first award announcement tomorrow on New Year's Day - 'Best Tribute'!

Even though it's a day early - in order to remind people to vote in our 2015 WRC Awards here - watch out for our January 2016 e-mail bulletin that's going out today with all the links you need re: the current goings on at Wrinkly Towers which includes an exclusive announcement re: BluesRockFest 2016! Whether it's Merchandise, Gig Reviews, FREE Membership, New Bands, CD Reviews or our latest Gig Calendar  - it's all there. And if you are not currently on our e-mail circulation list then please send us your details in the contact box below!

Dronningen are a 5-member electro-rock assault squad based in London. A blend of distorted guitar riffs and psycho synths, with the ultimate aim of making you dance. Formed in August 2014, the band has been playing many shows planning to release their debut EP anytime now. Check out their LastMinuteBandz page here plus today's Track Of The Day.

Lemmy, who has died aged 70 after being diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of cancer last week, was the front man and only constant member of Motorhead, one of the loudest bands in rock music. He was also something of a rock legend, his mutton-chop whiskers, facial wart and high microphone position making him one of the most recognisable figures in the business. There was also his obsession with slot machines, and his collection of Nazi memorabilia, which endeared him to diehards and casual fans alike. He is credited with introducing punk sounds into the heavy metal mix, paving the way for a generation of thrash metal and speed metal followers. In 1972 he was recruited as bassist for the space-rock band Hawkwind, despite having played only rhythm guitar before. He also sang lead vocals on the band's biggest hit, ‘Silver Machine’ (Vid Of The Day), which reached No. 3 in the UK charts, after a previous effort by the band's usual vocalist was deemed too weak. Lemmy's tenure with Hawkwind ended abruptly when he was busted for drug possession on a tour of Canada.

In 1975, Lemmy decided to form his own band, "so that no-one can fire me again", and adopted the name Bastard, until it was gently pointed out that he would be unlikely to get a gig on Top of the Pops. Instead he changed it to Motorhead, US slang for someone who takes speed and also the title of the last song he had penned for Hawkwind. Lemmy's guttural vocals appealed to the fans and the punk influences in their blistering music tapped into the fast-changing music scene in the UK. Indeed Motorhead collaborated with punk outfit The Damned on a few occasions. It marked the start of the band's most successful period, which peaked with the release of their fourth album, ‘Ace of Spades’, in 1980. The thunderous title track became the band's definitive anthem and appearances on Top of the Pops helped it stay in the UK charts for 12 weeks!! During the following three decades the band released no fewer than 17 further albums, the last one being ‘Bad Magic’ in August 2015.

One of the band's last performances was a storming set at Glastonbury earlier this year. The WRC were fortunate to see them at British Summer Time in Hyde Park (pictured) last year... So glad we did now. Lemmy's appetite for drugs and alcohol remained a constant throughout most of his career. He famously once claimed he had drunken a bottle of Jack Daniel’s every day since turning 30, slept with over 1,000 women and he was also a proponent of amphetamines. Recently, he joked that he had switched from drinking whiskey and coke to vodka and orange for “health reasons” to combat his diabetes!! But even though he once thought he was indestructible, sadly that hasn't proved to be the case as death has proved to be the only thing keeping him from playing music...

So in summary, for me, Lemmy's voice and the sound of the bass guitar was exactly the same. It was a fantastic bluff gruffness which is so attractive, so hypnotic that it's a really great sound... It's a mistake to say it's just a noise because he wrote really good songs. Rest In Noise Lemmy. You truly deserve your place in Rock and Roll's Hall of Fame.. And now everyone please play Motorhead loud and have a drink or few ..........

It's farewell to one of the greats.

Wrinkly the Silver

It was just two days after Christmas and stuffed with turkey, roast potatoes and brussel sprouts, Rory Auskerry was back on 2015 WRC Award nominees Route 66 with another helping of Rock & Blues. Well Santa has well and truly emptied his sack full of new music all over today's Track Of The Day which features tracks from Black Keys guitarist and singer Dan Auerbach, Foghat, Jared James Nichols, Moreland & Arbuckle, FM (pictured at Ramblin' Man) and Within Temptation. Along with the latest music news there are classic tracks from ELO, Aerosmith, Van Halen, Jerry Lee Lewis and Dire Straits.

With a voice and classic writing style reminiscent of torch singers past, Kareña can belt out those Blues or sizzle with smoky Jazz vocals. Hailing from the north of England originally, Kareña came up through the big band scene there before embarking on what became an international music career that has taken her far and wide, including an appearance at Dubai Rock/Blues Festival with her Blues band Nightcalls. Now settled back in the UK she is currently working on her solo album with her new line up. Kareña is also involved in multiple recording projects with Wily Bo Walker, including ‘Moon Over Indigo’, WBW’s solo album, which involves some of the finest musicians from across the globe released in September 2015. So why not check out Karena's very own LastMinuteBandz page here?

If you missed the exclusive BBC2 Radio airing last night of a special live performance from Joe Bonamassa recorded in the intimate setting of Mr. Kyps in Poole 10 years after his first ever UK show there - well the good news is that you can listen to the broadcast again as it's today's Track Of The Day!  In 2005 club owner Mark Kyprianou was approached by JB, at that time a completely unknown American guitarist, who was keen to gain exposure in this country. Although Mark had faith in Joe's talent it was difficult to sell tickets with the result that only 100 people paid to see the show. Afterwards Joe promised Mark that he would be back one day - a promise he made good on this autumn. At the end of his latest sell out arena tour in November, JB and his band returned to the 300 capacity club for an unforgettable evening and BBC Radio 2 was given exclusive access to capture the event!

Touring in support of their third album, ‘The Tree’, The Riotous Brothers are a Rock & Blues band which blends 60's style R&B with a soul influence. Their special mix produces its own unique, dynamic sound and live their primary aim is to entertain. Once you’ve seen them you won’t forget them! So head on down to The Tuesday Night Music Club tonight at the Hooley Village Club, St. Margaret's Road, Hooley Village, Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5 3RB and don't forget to also to tune into Mein Host Richard Dunning's 2015 WRC Award nominated Blues On The Radio show here beforehand from 5pm!

Immortal Machinery are a Gothic Hard Rock trio from London. Formed only a couple of years ago, they are fast becoming known as a hard-working, relentlessly-gigging band with an intense and entertaining live show. As well as hosting many self-promoted gigs, they also have an album release, a UK tour and a Camden-based residency under their belts in a relatively short space of time. As well as their own music, their repertoire also includes crowd-pleasing classic covers from across the decades. Check out their LastMinuteBandz page here plus our Vid Of The Day!

An exclusive airing of a special live performance from Blues superstar Joe Bonamassa recorded in the intimate setting of Mr. Kyps in Poole 10 years after his first ever UK show there will be broadcast on Radio 2 here at 7pm tonight. In 2005 club owner Mark Kyprianou was approached by JB, at that time a completely unknown American guitarist, who was keen to gain exposure in this country. Although Mark had faith in Joe's talent it was difficult to sell tickets with the result that only 100 people paid to see the show. Afterwards Joe promised Mark that he would be back one day - a promise he made good on this autumn. At the end of his latest sell out arena tour in November, JB and his band returned to the 300 capacity club for an unforgettable evening and BBC Radio 2 was given exclusive access to capture the event!

With Christmas virtually over and voting in our 2015 WRC Awards ending here in four days - we are now looking forward to 2016 with not only a number of gigs lined up here but also a number of  WRC gig Promotions as well (see below)! Consequently our Vid Of The Day is Puddle Of Mudd (lead singer Wes Scantlin pictured with the WRC in Amsterdam in June 2012) who we are off to see at the Islington O2 Academy on Sunday 27th March. Watch out also shortly for our 2016 WRC 'On Tour' t-shirt - an addition to our 2016 WRC Calendar available here.

Dead by 1985, reborn in 2013, The Bronsons are a six-piece high energy band playing loud, driven, fast and relentless London-style pub-Rock garage-band Rhythm and Blues. Yes, the latest addition to our LastMinuteBandz network can be found here as well as being our Track of The Day!

With normal service sort of resumed today at Wrinkly Towers after Christmas Day & Boxing Day - we thought we would remind you that you only have five days left to vote in our 2015 WRC Awards! Simply choose your favourite from each of the eleven categories provided here (see our SIMO Vid Of The Day) and hit the vote button. You have until midnight 31st December to make your choice and only one vote per category per e-mail address is allowed - so there. So what are you waiting for? Spread the good news and make sure your favourite band gets the votes it deserves!

And talking of New Year's Eve - there's still time to order our 2016 WRC calendar (pictured) which is available from our merchandise page for £7 + p&p here. We also have some Wrinklystock IV T.Rextasy t-shirts available here, '2015' On Tour' t-shirts here and 2015 BluesRockFest DVD/CD's here. Don't forget that WRC members automatically get 10% off by entering their WRC promo code!!  

What with Christmas, all our recent gigs and our up and coming awards announcements - we thought another band addition to our LastMinuteBandz service was well overdue! As you probably read, we had the pleasure of Geoff Carne's company recently at Def Leppard - Geoff even given us his take on proceedings here. Well Geoff is the vocals/guitar half of Geoff Carne & The Hatz with drummer/percussionist Mick Armstrong making up the other 50%! Anyway read more about the guys here plus have a gander at our Track of The Day!

It was definitely the attraction of AJ's '2015 WRC On Tour' t-shirt and not AJ himself that got us talking to Joe Bonamassa fan Lucy at the Wembley Arena Whitesnake gig last Friday. In fact Lucy made us all very envious as she was lucky enough to see JB  fulfil a promise that he made 10 years ago when he performed at a special concert in Poole, Dorset, at the beginning of November  - the same venue where he played his first ever UK concert back in 2005! Lucy told us "The show at Mr. Kyps was epic and I know how blessed I was to win tickets ..... something that will stay with me always." Lucy also kindly sent us a couple of brilliant pics which we have reproduced on the website today. Also watch out for our '2016 WRC On Tour' t-shirt coming out shortly - although we still have a couple of 2015 t-shirts still available here!      

Further news from Ramblin' Man Fair HQ sees Black Stone Cherry now headlining the second day on Sunday 24th July at Mote Park, Maidstone, supported by Airbourne.  Other additions to an already very impressive line-up includes Blurred Vision, IO Earth, The Fierce & The Dead, The Graveltones, The White Buffalo and Von Hertzen Brothers. Although one WRC member has already died and gone to heaven thanks to the inclusion of Prog Rockers Frost - and as it's Christmas Eve - what better Track Of The Day than 'Snowman'! 

Talking of Ramblin' Man - last year saw the excellent Jess & The Bandits perform on the Outlaw Country Stage on the Saturday. Rockrpix's John Bull also caught JATB here at the Borderline in October. Well today's Vid Of The Day is Jessica Clemmons accompanied by honorary bandit - Joshua Green on piano - performing 'O Holy Night' from her home in Texas. Wow - what a voice! Merry Christmas everyone!

"The next song was again from the 1987 Whitesnake album, 'Give Me All Your Love' and this was followed by 'Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City'.  The following three songs, however, were from the Purple album, with 'Mistreated' the next.  Personally I didn’t think the “Snaked-up” version of this song with twin guitars worked and needed the Coverdale/Blackmore bluesy collaboration.  'You Fool No-One', however, more than made up for it though with this culminating in a stunning Tommy Aldridge drum solo before Reb Beach exchanged his electric guitar for an acoustic one for the 'Stormbringer' classic 'Soldier Of Fortune'."

Read the rest of Phil Thornton's review here - the final part of the Def Leppard/Whitesnake/Black Star Riders trilogy. Also have a look at our photo gallery here.

We know most of our attention is on Christmas at the moment but why not treat yourself to an early present and book your place at the first big gig of the year to see the legend that is John Verity rock Leos Red Lion in Gravesend on Saturday 23rd January. Tickets are £7 in advance here and £10 on the door. WRC Members can purchase them for just £5 by e-mailing wrcpromotions@aol.com - bargain!!!

2015 WRC Award nominees Rock On The Ridge also included some fellow nominees on their show, originally broadcast last Saturday night. Indeed Saturday's tweet from Bob and Jules duly promised "On the show tonight @blacktopdeluxe @bandsouthbound @QueenWillRock @IronMaiden @alterbridge @SHOOTERtheBand @deeppurple_off & more Ho Ho Ho". Anyway, listen to today's Christmas show Track Of The Day that has some great music including The Darkness and Greg Lake with lots of fun and even one of their mates drops in to join them!

"At this time of year when 'Fairytale Of New York' is churned out once again - the Ugly Ducking fairytale in reverse springs to mind given Black Star Riders reinvented themselves from Thin Lizzy. This point is hammered home as Lizzy legend Scott Gorham makes his way on to the Wembley stage just before 7 to a half empty arena. With a restricted forty minute set, literally 'All Hell Breaks Loose' as BSR hit the ground running with the classy title track from their very first album - with Gorham's guitar already in overdrive. Ricky Warwick then asks "Are You Ready?" and of course the arena starts to rock as those unique Lizzy guitar harmonies ring around the auditorium. It's then back to the title track of their second album 'The Killer Instinct' which again has those distinct Lizzy chords with guitarist Damon Johnson showing that he's just not there to make up the numbers. We then see-saw back to 'Jailbreak' - Warwick's vocals as usual are spot-on for my all-time favourite Lizzy track. Brilliant. 'Bound For Glory' was followed by the opening Celtic drum intro from the excellent Jimmy DeGrasso on 'Kingdom Of The Lost' also from 'AHBL' - a latter day 'Black Rose'. However the stand-out BSR track of the night was 'Finest Hour' from 'TKI' - not forgetting new recruit Robert Crane on bass (who replaced Marco Mendoza) completing a formidable BSR unit. The guys finished with 'Whisky In The Jar' and to be pefectly honest we could have quite easily gone home happy after that opener. Black Star Riders might still have a bit of an identity problem but who cares when they produce music of this quality." AJ.

Have a look at today's Vid Of The Day plus our photo gallery here. 

For the last Route 66 show before Christmas host  Rory is joined by his brother Hamish 'junior jock' Auskerry for 2 hours of top tunes including Queen and The Rolling Stones, music news, gigs and festive fun. If you haven't seen the pre-show video for today's Track Of The Day  featuring Rory as Darth Fader and a pile of kitchen utensils as robots - you need to see it here.

If you're looking for a gig tonight then why not check out The Old Avengers at the Tuesday Night Music Club at The Comrades Club, 194 Brighton Road, Coulsdon, Greater London, CR5 2NF. Mein host Richard Dunning has also been nominated for his Blues On The Radio show in our 2015 WRC Awards so you can still vote for BOTR or any of the other eleven categories provided here by hitting the vote button. You have until midnight 31st December to make your choice and only one vote per category per e-mail address is allowed - so there. So what are you waiting for? Spread the good news and make sure your favourite band gets the votes it deserves!

"Def Leppard strolled into London's Wembley Arena heavily armed with their hits from the 80's and early 90's. Kicking off with 'Lets Go', 'Animal', 'Undefeated', 'Dangerous' and 'Love Bites' made the opening twenty minutes feel like one. Bassist Rick Savage and drummer Rick Allen hold a tight ship at the bottom end, while Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell (ex-Whitesnake/Dio) dual guitar attack compliment each other perfectly. Lead singer Joe Elliot delivers the hard rocking songs and ballads with ease aided by all the band's players contributing impressive harmonies. Phil Collen who plays shirtless with a six-pack at 57 years of age - certainly had the ladies around us 'wide-eyed'. Ending with 'Pour Some Sugar With Me' and encoring with 'Rock Of Ages' and 'Photograph' you got what you paid for!"

Thanks to Geoff Carne for his thoughts on last Friday night's proceedings and today's Vid Of The Day is dedicated to Wrinkly The Silver who couldn't make the gig because of illness. Also don't forget about our photo gallery here.

That's right. Following news on Saturday night that Shooter's Xmas single 'Xmas Time’s a Time to Rock' (our Track Of The Day) had reached #23 in the Amazon Rock Charts we then got the following tweet yesterday lunchtime: "@RockontheRidge @WRINKLYCLUB NOW UP TO 11 on Amazon!!!!! Keep spreading the word oh and buying the song!" Don't forget it's still available from i-Tunes and Amazon plus you can also still vote for Shooter or any of the other bands in our eleven 2015 WRC Awards categories provided here by hitting the vote button. You have until midnight 31st December to make your choice and only one vote per category per e-mail address is allowed - so there. So what are you waiting for? Spread the good news and make sure your favourite band gets the votes it deserves!

Thanks to all of you that contacted us re: pre-ordering our 2016 WRC calendar (pictured) which is now available from our merchandise page for £7 + p&p here. Don't forget that WRC members automatically get 10% off by entering their WRC promo code!!  

Tweet of the Day yesterday has to go to Geoff Carne of  Geoff Carne & The Hatz: "Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott (pictured) trying to steal our image last night at Wembley!" The WRC had the pleasure of Geoff's company on Friday and indeed we will bringing you his take on Def Leppard in the next couple of days. Watch out also for 'The Hatz' being added to our 'LastMinuteBandz' page over the coming week - but in the meantime check out our pics from Friday in our photo gallery here. 

"With the crowd already warmed up with the first two tracks, “Bono” was quick to latch on to the lyrics of the next track namely 'Even Better Than the Real Thing' by motioning to each member of the band as he repeated the lyric – no one in the crowd appeared to disagree with the sentiment. Next up was 'Mysterious Ways' which AJ had eluded too and the noise from the crowd moved up a notch. The set was moving along nicely before organiser Ciara was invited on to the stage to duet with Bono to the anthem 'I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For' (Vid Of The Day) – to say the roof came off is an understatement and it was thoroughly deserved. With the crowd fully engaged by now they were not going to slacken the pace and three heavyweight tracks followed in 'Vertigo', 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' and 'Beautiful Day' soon to be joined by 'I Will Follow'. If that wasn’t enough we still had 'The Streets Have No Name' and 'With Or Without You' to come. Brilliant evening and not just because of the quality of the band."

See our Vid Of The Day and read the rest of Wrinkly's U2-2 review here.

Today's Track of The Day features guitar legend Joe Satriani who chats to host Rory Auskerry on a Route 66 Interview Special. The guys discuss some of the stories behind Joe's songs, why Joe has never really taken to writing lyrics, how artificial constraints can help during the creative process and how not all Rock singers are created equal. Don't forget also to tune in here tonight at 6pm as 2015 WRC Award nominated Route 66 brings you two hours of the best new & classic Rock & Blues music broadcast from the UK!

"When he’s on stage there’s still nobody better as a showman, singer and raconteur. Physically fit and with his voice in far better shape than on the last tour, there’s a consistency and an enthusiasm about his performance that defies the Saltburn crooner’s advancing years. “I’m gonna be 60 in September,’’ he moaned before ruefully admitting his attempts to turn the clock back had failed. For a man from the north, Coverdale’s between-song banter is puzzling. His cut glass Queen’s English is regularly punctuated with profanities, making him sound like a lord who has had one too many brandies!!"

That was part of Wrinkly The Silver's take on Whitesnake at London's Hammersmith Apollo in June 2011 - so another four year's down the line and with DC now 64 and WTS unable to attend with a bad back - how did last night's Whitesnake/Def Leppard/Black Star Rider's Wembley gig go down? A review and more pics to come - but in the meantime check out our Vid Of The Day!

Hands up that we all set off for Wembley Arena before The Marshman announced the line-up of his Festive Fayre for his Blues On The Marsh show last night. The good news is that not only has BOTM been nominated here in our 2015 Awards, but also Mr. Beale's latest broadcast is today's Track Of the Day! 

Good to see also that Bob & Jules at Rock On The Ridge are still actively canvassing votes with their latest Facebook posting: "Dont forget there is still time to vote for us for Best Radio show of 2015 here! Go on you know you want too ... Happy Christmas all." Anyway, don't forget to tune into tonight here at 8pm to find out why they were nominated and if you still have not voted in any of of our 11 WRC categories yet - then simply go here!

We still have a standing ticket for tonight's gig going spare - but all roads lead to Wembley Arena for an amazing line up of Whitesnake, Def Leppard and Black Star Riders! Watch out over the coming days for a review, pics and a vid but in the meantime if you want to have that spare ticket then please e-mail us through the contact box below!

2015 WRC Award nominees  - The Blues Club Podcast - hope to ease you gently into the seasonal spirit today with a few Christmas crackers, along with UK IBBA Presenters Picks for December 2015, new releases, Blues, Rock, Soul Jazz, Acoustic, some of their very favourite tracks and more. Therefore Our Track Of The Day includes music from Brian Setzer, Rory Gallagher, Ian Siegal Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Walter Trout, Eric Bibb, John Mayall, Eric Clapton, Dave Alvin, Buddy Guy, The Knickerbocker All-Stars, Half Deaf Clatch, Bondi Cigars, Brad Wilson, Tanya Piche Blues Band, Crooked Eye Tommy, Russell Morris, Robben Ford, Charlie Musselwhite, Mete's London Bluesion, Fran McGillivray Burke, Tommy Castro, Beige Fish, BluesCorp, Bob Bates, B. B. & The Blues Shacks, Jamie Williams & the Roots Collective, The Damned And Dirty, Connie Lush Band, Richard Townend & The Mighty Boss Cats, Fiona Boyes, Mike Zito and more!

With our photo gallery already here and a review to come on Sunday (Bloody Sunday) - today's Vid Of The Day was filmed at the special London show at The Borderline on Tuesday night where U2 2 were in concert with all money raised going to Mencap. Well done to all concerned.

That's how Wrinkly summed up a special London show at The Borderline on Tuesday night where U2 2 were in concert with all money raised going to Mencap. Even the biggest WRC critic of them all - Wrinkly The Elder - said it was the best gig he had been to for a long long time! Praise indeed! Watch out for a review, and a few vids over the coming days but in the meantime check out our U2 2 Photo Gallery here! 

It's the next best day to Christmas Day - yes today's the day that WRC Award nominee Shooter's Xmas single 'Xmas Time’s a Time to Rock' (our Vid Of The Day) with the immortal line "Well We May Be Old & Wrinkly" (we're not worthy) is released! Don't forget it's available from i-Tunes and Amazon plus you can also still vote for Shooter or any of the other bands in the eleven categories provided here by hitting the vote button. You have until midnight 31st December to make your choice and only one vote per category per e-mail address is allowed - so there. So what are you waiting for? Spread the good news and make sure your favourite band gets the votes it deserves! 

Matt Woosey joined another WRC Award nominee in the Blues On The Radio studio ahead of his recent gig at The Tuesday Night Music Club.  Today's Track Of The Day has host Richard Dunning chatting with Matt and spinning some of his favourite music. And of course there's also the IBBA albums of the month, news of gigs coming up and some of your favourite music. Two hours very well spent and it's the last BOTR show before Christmas!

All roads led to a special London show at The Borderline last night where U2 2 were in concert with all money raised going to Mencap. The show had been set up with ambassadors from Mencap including The Edge’s cousin, Ciara Lawrence Evans, making a speech to highlight Mencap’s ongoing work. Well we saw the real thing at the O2 Arena, London, (pictured) in October so did the world’s longest running U2 tribute, formed by current members in 1992, performing over 1000 shows, spanning three continents - move in 'Mysterious Ways'? Watch out for a review, pics and a vid over the coming days!

Thanks once again to all of you that have already taken the time to vote in our 2015 WRC Awards. Today we focus our attention on best Rock performance given we have experienced a few web gremlins with this category! Anyway, check out Crobot (Vid Of The Day), Nazareth (Track Of The Day and Shooter (pictured) here.  If you have not voted yet, then simply choose your favourite from each of the eleven categories provided here and hit the vote button. You have until midnight 31st December to make your choice and only one vote per category per e-mail address is allowed - so there. So what are you waiting for? Spread the good news and make sure your favourite band gets the votes it deserves!

It has been such a memorable year for the WRC that we thought we'd resurrect our WRC gig calendar utilising what we consider to be the best gig photo taken from each month in 2015 (for example T.Rextasy pictured in November). So if you are interested in ordering one (or two) just drop us a line in our contact box below so that we can not only accomodate your order but also try and make them as reasonably priced as possible. Also don't forget our merchandise page here where WRC members automatically get 10% off!  

Well we saw the real thing at the O2 Arena, London, in October (pictured) but tonight the WRC are off to a special London show at The Borderline where U2 2 will be in concert with all money raised going to Mencap. The show has been set up with ambassadors from Mencap including The Edge’s cousin, Ciara Lawrence Evans. Ciara will be making a speech to highlight Mencap’s ongoing work and U2 2 will be performing a full show. U2 2 are the world’s longest running U2 tribute. Formed by current members in 1992, they have performed over 1000 shows, spanning three continents. Watch out hopefully for a review, pics and a vid over the coming days!

2015 WRC Award nominee Route 66 featured 21 year-old guitarist, singer and songwriter Chris King Robinson as their guest this week. Along with his obvious musical talents, his persistent use of social media and the web have helped to become a well known name amongst Blues circles. He has over 600,000 Twitter followers and has had millions of video views on Youtube. Chris and his band have just released their debut 5 track EP 'Tell Me Why You're Scared' and on today's Track Of The Day host Rory Auskerry discusses Chris's vocal development, influences, his career plan and more. Also on the show are tracks from A Thousand Horses, Thin Lizzy, The Sheepdogs, WRC Award nominee Bernie Marsden (our Vid Of The Day), The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band featuring Warren Haynes, T.Rex and Marc Bolan,  ZZ Top (pictured), Julian Sas and Alabama 3. 

Matt Woosey will be joining another WRC Award nominee here live at 5pm in the Blues On The Radio studio ahead of his gig at The Tuesday Night Music Club at  the Hooley Village Club, St. Margaret's Road, Hooley Village, Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5 3RB. Host Richard Dunning will be chatting with Matt and spinning some of his favourite music. And of course there'll also be the IBBA albums of the month, news of gigs coming up and some of your favourite music. Two hours very well spent and the last show before Christmas!

"Sari's band ran through songs including 'Ain't Got No Money', in which Sari showed that however she is financially, she has plenty of voice, singing at a penetrative, but still musical, yell. By the close of her second song, 'Demolition Man', Sari had a hardened audience of media, venue managers and DJ's, unprimed by free booze (sadly) or any other stimulants, whooping and clapping. Where the bulk of Sari's songs were pumped out loud and fast by her band, The Engine Room, 'Oklahoma' particularly showed a mellower side. In another strong song, 'Kiss Me', Sari's added a tribute to her three pitbull terriers. Innes Sibun's guitar wove some impressive solos throughout and a particular highlight was Anders Olinder, playing beautifully on keys and organ. One song to really look forward to on the album will be the powerful 'Aunt Hazel', which has nothing to do with family relations and a lot more to do with New York and drugs."

Read the rest of Darren Weale's Suri and The Engine Room review here.

Ho Ho Ho! Yes it's Christmas cheer with today's Track Of The Day from 2015 WRC Award nominees Rock On The Ridge. Bob and Jules's latest show - broadcast on Saturday night - includes  Davy's Grip, New Device, Wolfmother (pictured), Under A Banner, Adeliters Way and the Christmas track from Shooter. Christmas has come early for your ears!

Thanks to all of you that have already taken the time to vote in our 2015 WRC Awards. Today we focus our attention on best support with The Rainbreakers (Vid Of The Day), Born Healer (pictured) and The Replicants. If you have not voted yet, then simply choose your favourite from each of the eleven categories provided here and hit the vote button. You have until midnight 31st December to make your choice and only one vote per category per e-mail address is allowed - so there. So what are you waiting for? Spread the good news and make sure your favourite band gets the votes it deserves!

Votes flooded in yesterday for our nominees (see todays Vid & Track Of The Day) in this year's WRC Awards - a day which recorded record hits for our website. If you have not voted yet, then simply choose your favourite from each of the eleven categories provided here and hit the vote button. You have until midnight 31st December to make your choice and only one vote per category per e-mail address is allowed - so there. So what are you waiting for? Spread the good news and make sure your favourite band gets the votes it deserves!

It's not very often we mention ABBA on our website - but today we give a deserved mention to the ABBA girls who performed at the Celebrations Theatrical Group Christmas party for adults with learning disabilities yesterday lunchtime. The gig itself was actually funded by the WRC following the money we raised at Wrinklystock IV for our nominated charities. We also received this very kind thank you from Julian Thornington of Celebrations: "Just to say thank you so much, on behalf of Celebrations  for booking and paying for the ABBA Girls. They were just what we wanted and they were all lovely people. It was the best party I think we have had and a fitting end to a good year for the Club. I do hope all of you have a great Christmas."

Believe it or not - our second gig of the day took place at the Elephant & Castle in Amersham, as we celebrated WRC member Darren King's 50th birthday! The surprise bash organised by Darren's lovely wife Liz was also attended by some of The Replicants - although they were able to relax and enjoy another Cover's band! Naturally, Darren was presented with a new WRC t-shirt to mark the occasion! Happy birthday mate!

With all the great music we have witnessed during 2015 (see our Vid Of The Day) - it wasn't easy - but yes we have finally come up with our nominees here in this year's WRC Awards. Simply choose your favourite from each of the eleven categories provided and hit the vote button. You have until midnight 31st December to make your choice and only one vote per category per e-mail address is allowed - so there. So what are you waiting for? Spread the good news and make sure your favourite band gets the votes it deserves!

Friday's first tweet from the Rock On The Ridge team said "Oh the show Saturday part 1 @DavysGripp @Brokenwittrebel @SHOOTERtheBand (pictured) @underabanner @stillroom @adelitasway @DefyAllReason and more". The second tweet shortly after also promised: "On the show Saturday 8-10pm part 2 @wolfmother @13_band @BlackStarRiders and more so join Jules and I for some xmas cheers & a mince pie"! So make sure you tune in here tonight at 8pm!

As usual the Marshman put together a great show last night featuring 'The Blues Harp Women' CD's including tracks from Big Mama Thornton, Paula Rangell, Roxy Perry, Dana Dixon, Terry Leonino, Judith Rudin, Zola Moon and Stacy Jones. And talking harmonicas, today's Track Of The Day also celebrates the great Junior Wells who would have celebrated his 81st birthday this week plus Blacktop Deluxe (pictured), Malcolm Holcombe, Michael Messer, Leslie West, Pete Mitchell, The Jordan Patterson Band and a couple of festive offerings from the Fran McGillivray Band and Playing for Change. All in all a great offering as always!

Wednesday's tweet from the organisers of Ramblin' Man Fair - "#RMFair16 #rambleon #ramblinmanfair 1st Release! Keep an eye open for 2nd Release next week!" - revealed a very impressive line-up including Whitesnake, Europe, Walter Trout, King King and Uriah Heep. Next year's event over the weekend of the 23rd and 24th July - held again at Mote Park, Maidstone - will also include Ginger Wildheart, Procul Harum, Hawkwind, Hayseed Dixie and Lifesigns. 

With just two weeks to go now to Christmas Day, today's Vid Of The Day is not one for the squeamish! Believe it or not it actually features one-man 100% genuine Blues boogie machine Andy Twyman who performed (with his clothes on) at our very first BluesFest in 2013!

The latest Blues Club Podcast is today's Track Of The Day with UK IBBA Presenters' Picks, Blues, Rock, Soul, Jazz, Acoustic, Swing, classic tracks, new releases and more of Jim & Malcolm's favourite music! Tracks on this week's show are from Robert Cray, Mike Zito, Buddy Guy, Jordan Patterson, Karen Lovely, Altered Five Blues Band, Walter Trout, The Damned And Dirty, Joe Louis Walker, Will Johns, Tommy Castro, Billy F. Gibbons, Brad Wilson, Mississippi MacDonald, Scott Bradlee, Brothers Groove, Niecie, The Paul Garner Band, Jamie Williams & the Roots Collective, BluesCorp, Dave Weld and The Imperial Flames, Wards Xpress, The Mighty Boss Cats, Cotton Belly's, The Blues Brothers, Connie Lush Band, Peter Green and Friends, B. B. & The Blues Shacks and more!

We brought you news in October about guitarist Dave 'Bucket' Colwell, formerly of Bad Company and Humble Pie and his new band 'Buckets Rebel Heart'. Well not only has their new album '20 Good Summers' reached 99% of their pledge goal here - but also Dave is at Leos Red Lion on Saturday 13th February 2016. Support is also from our 2014 BluesFest mucker Damo Fawsett with his new band Big River. The gig kicks off at 7.30pm and tickets priced £8.50 can be ordered in advance here.

Yes with just over two weeks now to the big day we thought we'd add a bit of festive magic with today's Vid Of The Day from our friends The Strawkites (or Half A Kite to be precise) and Georgia Paris. And talking of WRC friends don't forget that Shooter's Christmas single is released here next Thursday 17th December whilst John Verity's Christmas Blues EP (pictured) is also available here!

Today's Track Of The Day brings you the guitarist, singer and charismatic front man from the Scottish Rock & Blues band King King - Alan Nimmo. On this Route 66 Interview Special - Alan joins Rory Auskerry for a chat plus there's a video also featuring footage from the band's sold out show at the Sale Waterside Arts Centre in Greater Manchester!

On Monday night we were lucky enough to witness an intimate Blues Rock performance at the Surya in London from Sari and The Engine Room featuring New York Blues Hall Of Fame inductee Sari Schorr, British guitarist Innes Sibun, formerly with Robert Plant, drummer Mike Hellier (Mud Morganfield), Anders Olinder on keys (Glenn Hughes) and bass guitarist Kevin Jefferies (Roger Taylor). With a review to come - have a gander at our photo gallery here and take another look at our Vid Of The Day!

The 'King Of Tone', US guitar legend Leslie West joined Rory Auskerry for an interview on this week's Route 66 show. Listen to our Track Of The Day as they discuss Leslie's band Mountain, The Vagrants and West, Bruce & Laing. Leslie also talks openly about his disability, getting clean and the fun he had recording tracks with The Who, Joe Bonamassa and Brian May. Also on the show are new tracks from the Dead Daisies, Def Leppard, Within Temptation and Jared James Nichols plus there's music from Motley Crue,  Billy Gibbons and The BFG's,  Albert Cummings,  Queen & Paul Rodgers, The Rolling Stones and more.

This week the House of Commons Public Bill Committee will consider an amendment to the Housing and Planning Bill 2015-16 proposed by Michael Dugher MP. That amendment is a measure which would mean that developers would be responsible for protecting music venues against future complaints when they build residences nearby. Essentially, it is Agent of Change. It's just one year ago that the Music Venue Trust launched Frank Turner's campaign to adopt the Agent of Change principle into UK law. Today, we could actually change the law so that it starts to happen - but we need to keep the pressure on! To help support live venues across the UK go to this link here. Thank you.

In January 2015 legendary producer Mike Vernon was invited to receive a ‘Keeping The Music Alive’ Award at the prestigious International Blues Challenge in Memphis. This award, was not the only highlight of the weekend for Mike, the second was witnessing the performance of one of the most amazing female blues singers Mike has seen in years - Sari Schorr. Mike was so knocked out with Sari that he offered to come out of retirement again and produce an album with Sari. Several years of touring the USA & Europe with Joe Louis Walker and Poppa Chubby brought Sari greater prominence in the Blues world. Already a consummate songwriter, with tracks on major labels, Sari was recently inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame and has written or co-written most of the songs on her new album due to be released in September 2016 alongside a European tour. Last night we were lucky enough to witness an intimate Blues Rock performance in London from Sari and her new band The Engine Room featuring British guitarist Innes Sibun, formerly with Robert Plant. Review and pics to follow but in the meantime check out our Vid Of The Day!

Music so good your ears will think its Christmas Day already - that's today's Rock On The Ridge Track Of The Day originally broadcast on Saturday night! Join Bob and Jules for more great music which includes Blacktop Deluxe (pictured), Stillroom, Black Stone Cherry, Blackwolf, Aerosmith, Leslie West, The Cult, Dirty Streets and a track from the new album from New Device! 

Well the good news is that our good friends the Laura Holland Band are playing tonight at the Tuesday Night Music Club at The Comrades Club, 194 Brighton Road, Coulsdon, Greater London, CR5 2NF. The bad news (although not for mein host Richard Dunning) is that, not surprisingly, the gig has sold out! But the good news is that we have the next best thing to seeing the guys live - our 2014 BluesFest DVD/CD here for sale on our merchandise page which of course includes part of Laura's outstanding set!

All roads lead to the Surya in London tonight as the WRC are again lucky enough to have been invited to a intimate Blues Rock performance from a New York Blues Hall Of Fame inductee!   Yes Sari Schorr (pictured) and her band The Engine Room (Track Of The Day) hit London for one night only and we will be there joining in on the launch of this exciting new act along with Manhaton Records, Mike Vernon, Mike Hellier and Innes Sibun (Video Of The Day) - who we introduced you to here in February this year. 

The WRC in conjunction with Leos Red Lion are delighted to announce that ex-Argent frontman and former 2012 WRC Award winner John Verity will be appearing with his band at the venue on Saturday 23rd January. More information to follow shortly but in the meantime to book tickets go to our Ticketsource box below or use the link here.

Watch out shortly for a review of Danny Bryant's new CD 'Blood Money' that is due to be released on Friday 29th January 2016. Not only that, but Danny, who we saw at Ramblin' Man this year (pictured by John Bull), will be touring in the UK in February 2016 and his itinerary includes a WRC Promotions gig at Leos Red Lion, Gravesend, on Sunday 28th February! More information to follow shortly but in the meantime to book tickets go to our Ticketsource box below or use the link here.

"The brand new 'Revolution' was debuted before we were back on familiar ground with the groovy 'My Lucky Streak' from 'NOY'. Hendrix's amazing 'Voodoo Chile' was almost the only cover on the night - Turley more than doing this epic justice. Two more new tracks 'Rock & Roll' and 'Feeding The Flame' still kept the momentum going before they rounded of an excellent set with two final tracks from 'SOTC' - 'I Wanna Know' and finally the stand-out title track. with its give-away slide guitar intro and riff.  Of course Santa checked out who in the audience had been naughty and nice and we all subsequently received an encore prezzie in the form of: Albany Down in Santa hats,  the cover 'Let It Snow' (which it did thanks to the snow machine) and the rockin' title track 'Not Over Yet' - which - despite its name - brought proceedings sadly to an end! All in all a great night from two outstanding and very friendly bands - we must really try and celebrate Christmas like this every year!"

Read the rest of AJ's Albany Down & Southbound WRC Xmas Bash review here plus our photo gallery here and our Vid Of The Day.

Make sure you tune into Route 66 here tonight at 6pm for Rory Auskerry's full interview with guitar legend Leslie West of Mountain fame. Rory and Leslie not only chatted about his new album 'Soundcheck', but also playing and recording with The Who, Brian May, Joe Bonamassa, Jack Bruce & Johnny Winter! They also discuss his time working with Mountain, The Vagrants and West, Bruce & Laing.

As The Marshman quite eloquently put it: "Friday night's shenanigans are now on Mick's Cloud!" Therefore have a listen to our Blues On The Marsh Track Of The Day which includes: J W Jones, Mike Zito And The Wheel, Dove And Boweevil, Cotton Belly’s, Billy Gibbons And The BFGs (pictured), John Mayall, The Muggs, Walter Trout, Sassy Brown Band, Connie Lush, Ron Sayer And Charlotte Joyce, Beige Fish, Damned And Dirty, Robert J Hunter Band, Tommy McCoy, Mighty Bosscats, Omar And The Howlers, Jack J Hutchinson, Auld Man's Baccie, Chris King Robinson and Lewis Hamilton.

The WRC would like to add to the many tributes paid to The Wildabouts and former Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver lead singer Scott Weiland who died on Thursday night aged 48. Consequently our Vid Of The Day is the classic 'Slither' - and although we never actually got to see Velvet Revolver live - we did see Slash perform this with Myles Kennedy at High Voltage in 2011. RIP Scott.

On a happier note - all of us at Wrinkly Towers were delighted to hear that now after more than three months, Larry Miller is now out of hospital and progressing. He is some way from coming back to the stage but he aims to make a return by Summer 2016.  Larry has now begun to pick up the guitar and although he is finding it a little difficult coordinating his right hand with the left, this will improve in time. A fundraising gig at The Stables,  Milton Keynes, on Friday 15th January 2016 has been arranged here featuring Larry's band plus special guests which include ex-Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden, Stray's Del Bromham and Oli Brown. Anyway, today's Wrinklycast Track Of The Day takes us back to BluesFest 2013 where Larry memorably headlined.

Following their awesome performance at Wrinklystock IV two weeks ago - The Replicants are again making tracks and are now heading towards The Railway Tavern in Longfield, Kent, tonight. There's also support from The Prenups and it's free entry!

Well what a swell party that was at our WRC Xmas Bash at the Horn, St. Albans on Wedneday night. Watch out shortly for our review but in the meantime take a look at  some of our pics of the Albany Down/Southbound gig in our photo gallery here plus also our Southbound our Vid Of The Day!

Yes it's Friday so the Blues Club Podcast is back with another two hours of non-stop "Best in Blues with More Music and Less Chat." Today's Track Of The Day featuries Blues, Rock, Soul, Jazz, Acoustic, new releases, UK IBBA Presenters Picks for December 2015 and some of Jim and Malcolm's  favourite recent tracks. Music this week includes King King, Joe Bonamassa, Anthony Geraci, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Trampled Under Foot, Tommy Castro, Billy Walton Band, Jack Hutchinson, The Jackson Four, The Andy Layfield Sound, Ross Ward, Kelly's Lot, Blacktop Deluxe, Lara Price, Wicked Grin, Crooked Eye Tommy, Harmonica Shah Band, Beige Fish, Brad Wilson, The Damned And Dirty, Walter Trout (pictured), Richard Townend & The Mighty Boss Cats, Steve Young, Mike Zito, Connie Lush Band, Chris Farlow, Lauren Housley, Norman Beaker Band, B. B. & The Blues Shacks and many more!

Christmas is drawing near and Tobias Sammet has got his "Nutcracker suit" on already! If you listen to the Tobias Sammet Rockshow on Radio Bob here on Wednesday 9th December at 21.00 German Time you will get a world-exclusive pre-listening of the new Avantasia tune! It will also be available officially on Friday 11th December digitally from i-Tunes and other platforms.

Well the WRC knew what they would get musically with two class bands at our bash at The Horn last night. But did the lead up to Christmas, the Santa hats and the mistletoe add that extra bit of magic? Well watch out shortly for our considered review plus some pics of the Albany Down/Southbound gig but in the meantime take a look at our Vid Of The Day! Ho ho ho!

Tonight is the final gig for this year at the Woodlands Art Centre, Gillingham ME6 2DU, 'home of the Medway Delta Blues' with Katie Bradley Blues featuring Chris Corcoran. It's bound to be a cracking festive night, so get your party gear on and make this a party to remember! Don't forget that WRC members get £2 off the normal admission on production of a valid WRC members card. For more information call 0300 065 8210 or e-mail r&abrother@aol.com

The WRC were delighted to receive the following tweet from Fran McGillivray ahead of her bands gig at The Tuesday Night Music Club - "@WRINKLYCLUB @BlueRootsRadio big thanks for RT. On our way to Tuesday Night Club through dense traffic ready to rock #big hug #kisses". Well today's Track Of The Day is the next best thing to seeing Fran's band live - it's Richard Dunning's Blues On The Radio show from Tuesday night that not only features Fran but also a myriad of other classic Blues tracks!

All roads lead to the Horn in St. Albans tonight for our WRC Xmas Party where Albany Down (Vid Of The Day) and Southbound (Track Of The Day) will be rockin' this iconic venue to set your Xmas festivities off with a bang! Tickets are £9 on the door and Southbound should be on stage at 8.30pm. And don't forget to bring your Santa hats and mistletoe. See you there!

And talking of Albany Down - our thanks to all of you that  have bought the official 2015 BluesRockFest DVD/CD here featuring both two video and two audio tracks from each of the six artists that appeared at the The Red Lion, Gravesend, Kent, on Saturday 4th July 2015. And it's still not too late to order your copy for a bargain £10 + p&p in time for Christmas! Don't forget that WRC Members can also get 10% off by simply entering their coupon code!

Aussie sci-fi shredders Aversions Crown are back touring in January after a busy 2015 that saw them tour the UK with the likes of Thy Art Is Murder and Within The Ruins. Aversions Crown's  Nuclear Blast debut Tyrant, was released in late 2014; it was created in the oppressive heat of Brisbane’s summer with Thy Art Is Murder’s Andy Marsh producing and Mark Lewis (Whitechapel, Carnifex) of Audio Hammer mixing. 2016 will see Aversions Crown play to UK audiences for their first ever headline run on British soil:  Jan 11th – Bournemouth, Anvil -  Jan 12th – Glasgow, Ivory Blacks - Jan 13th – Birmingham, Rainbow - Jan 14th – Plymouth, Hub - Jan 15th – London, Boston Music Rooms.

With our Xmas Bash tomorrow night plus the announcement of our 2015 WRC Award nominees later this week - watch out for our bulletin e-mail that's going out today with all the links you need re: the current goings on at Wrinkly Towers! Whether it's Wrinklystock IV, Merchandise, Gig Reviews, FREE Membership, New Bands, CD Reviews or our latest Gig Calendar  - it's all there. And if you are not currently on our e-mail circulation list then please send us your details in the contact box below!

You'd think that two hours was enough time for a radio show - but there's so much to fit in to tonight's Blues On The Radio here at 5pm that Richard Dunning could do with an hour more! This week Rich aims to  fit in Buddy Guy, The Reverend Shawn Amos, Danny Bryant, Matt Woosey, The Mighty Bosscats, Brad Wilson, Lilly Martin, Jack J Hutchinson, Connie Lush, Paul Cox, The Jackson Four, Eric Bibb & Jean-Jacques Milteau, Walter Trout, Rebecca Downes, Hazmat Modine, Catfish, Bad Bob Bates, Mike Zito, Tim Green Band, The Laura Holland Band, Ron Sayer & Charlotte Joyce, The Damned & The Dirty, Blacktop Deluxe and more into that 120 minutes! Oh and of course there'll also be some music from The Fran McGillivray Band (Vid Of The Day) ahead of their gig at The Tuesday Night Music Club, straight after the show at  the Hooley Village Club, St. Margaret's Road, Hooley Village, Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5 3RB.

Featuring new music from SIMO (pictured), Jesse Davey, Leslie West, The Sheepdogs and new ‘supergroup’ Supersonic Blues Machine – this latest Route 66 show will rock your winter warming socks off! Today's Track Of The Day not only gives the WRC a mention but also includes classic tracks from REO Speedwagon, Montrose, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Thunder and Gun. In other news, the show has  just signed a new syndication deal with the guys at Rock Radio UK which means you can catch this show twice a week on 2 different stations - broadcasting live each Sunday on Pure 107.8FM from 6-8pm, but as of this week the programme will be re-broadcast on Rock Radio UK every Friday evening from 8-10pm!