The Wurzels are heading to The Factory, Barnstaple for a Bank Holiday Special

Scrumpy and Western legends The Wurzels are heading to The Factory on Saturday 27th May for a bank holiday weekend special with Thatchers Cider.

Westcountry cider-supping legends The Wurzels will be celebrating the May bank holiday weekend at The Factory along with some additions from our mates at Thatchers Cider!

🍏We have teamed up with Thatchers to bring you a Pop up Thatchers Haze Bar, serving cloudy cider!

🍏Thatchers 'Cider Drinker Raffle' with prizes up for grabs on the night! 1 raffle ticket for every pint of Thatchers Gold or Thatchers Haze bought!

The Wurzels formed in 1966 by Adge Cutler, this bunch of haystack-headed, cider-soaked and dung-booted, not-quite-so-young Avonside lads play good-time traditional Zummerzet Scrumpy 'n' Western music.

Best known for their number one hit The Combine Harvester and number three hit I Am A Cider Drinker


LOCAL SUPPORT: Bicycle Repair Man, James Spencer & Matthew Warren,  a Devon based acoustic duo, playing covers & original material.

The Wurzels Saturday 27th May for a bank holiday weekend special.

Local support comes from Bicycle Repair Man. 

 Minimum age recommendation 16+
ADVANCE TICKETS £15

STANDING ONLY DOORS 8pm
The Factory Petroc Brannams Campus, Oakwood Close, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 3NJ
M +44 (0)7446 692751
www.thefactoryvenue.co.uk

Wille and the Bandits. New Album "Steal" available now. UK Tour Starts 20th January

Wille and the Bandits UK “Steal Tour” continues 20th January with a return visit to North Devon in March. If you missed them at The Factory, Barnstaple last October fans can catch up when they play at The Palladium, Bideford on the 18^th March. Other local gigs include:

• 20^th January -  Penzance, The Acorn 
• 21st January - Honiton, The Beehive 
• 29th January - Minehead, Giants of Rock 
• 2nd February - Bath, Chapel Arts 
• 4th February - Poole, Mr Kyps
• 17th March - Totnes, The Barrel House 

The new album “STEAL”, available to pre-order now, is the strongest sounding album yet from Wille and the Bandits. With three previous self-released albums, “New Breed” (2010), “Breakfree” (2012) and “Grow” (2013), the band have been building a reputation throughout the UK and Europe as one of the best live acts around, playing over 200 gigs a year. 

Among the artists they have shared festival stages with are Joe Bonamassa, Deep Purple, JJ Grey, Beth Hart and Wilko Johnson. The UK trio’s socially aware lyrics and multi-instrumentation makes for the most original and refreshing sound heard in years. 

Now signed to the Jigsaw label, the new album “STEAL” was produced and engineered by Dave Williams at The Grange Studios in Norfolk. It was tracked to analogue tape with the band live on the floor and without the use of any digital tools. The album sees the band deliver all the excitement and power of their electrifying live performances, while mixing it up with dynamic music choices, from hard to soft, electric to acoustic, a music roller coaster seldom achieved by recording artists these days. 

The band of Wille Edwards (Lead Vocals, Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Electric Lap Steel, Weissenhorn and Dobro), Matt Brooks (Six String Electric Bass, Five String Double Bass, String Arrangements and Backing Vocals) and Andy Naumann (Drums and Percussion) are joined by Don Airey from Deep Purple (Hammond/Keyboards) for three tracks on the album.  In support of the new album "Steal", the band will be touring the UK & Europe throughout 2017.  In April they will be touring Australia, New Zealand and India.

 WILLE AND THE BANDITS – “STEAL”

  Website - Wille and the Bandits

Facebook - Wille and the Bandits

YouTube - Wille and the Bandits
👀👀

Who Said What about Wille and the Bandits
“Socially aware lyrics and planet hopping instrumentation makes for the most refreshing sound heard in ages”. CLASSIC ROCK

“This is Wille & the Bandits’ fourth album and it’s their strongest effort to date, with guitarist and vocalist Wille Edwards ably providing the six-string fireworks”. GUITARIST

“Wille’s playing remains a source of slide delight, with a crack rhythm section and Don Airey adding ethereal Hammond organ on a few tracks”. ACOUSTIC MAG.

“From the slide-driven Allmans influenced “Miles Away” to “1970” which sounds like Free, they play with a dynamic energy and have built an enviable live reputation”. UNCUT

“Steal” is a stunning album. The Bandits have taken blues-rock, dusted it off & freshened it up”. BUZZ MAG.

“This, their fourth album is strong enough to see them break through in a big way”. RHYTHM MAG.

“This phenomenal band produce intoxicating music that pulls you in, until you become drunk in the sound. The killer boisterous stadium rocker, ‘1970’ left a near full 100 Club breathless & stunned, in the nicest possible way”. BLUES IN BRITAIN

“It’s no surprise to me that these guys have been going down a storm on the festival circuit, with prestigious support slots with Joe Bonamassa and Deep Purple among others”. BLUES MATTERS

“Brilliant, there is so much good blues/rock around at the moment, not just Bonamassa.. 'Steal' is one of the best”. BEAT

“Wille and the Bandits sent campers home happy from the Great British R&B Festival - Rockin!” RECORD COLLECTOR

“One of the best up and comers that Britain has to offer in 2017, special talents and a hell of an album”. MUSIC-NEWS

“Wille is a superb slide player, I love what these guys are doing”. JOE BONAMASSA

“One of the best live acts in the country”. DAILY TELEGRAPH

“Love the soul in their music”. BOB HARRIS
“Easily the best support I can remember us playing with”. DEEP PURPLE 

Devon bound Wille and the Bandits "Steal Tour" October live gigs at Barnstaple and Plymouth

Wille and the Bandits "Steal Tour" kicked off on the 1st October, 39 dates in all including gigs at Plymouth The Junction on Friday 21st October and at Barnstaple, The Factory on Saturday 22nd. Their brand new album "Steal" will be available at shows ahead of the official release date in January 2017.

The band have been building a reputation throughout the UK and Europe as one of the best live acts around, playing over 200 gigs a year. Among the artists they have shared festival stages with are Joe Bonamassa, Deep Purple, JJ Grey, Beth Hart and Wilko Johnson. 

The UK trio's socially aware lyrics and multi-instrumentation makes for the most original and refreshing sound heard in years.

Now signed to the Jigsaw label, the new album "STEAL" sees the band deliver all the excitement and power of their electrifying live performances, while mixing it up with dynamic music choices, from hard to soft, electric to acoustic, a music roller coaster seldom achieved by recording artists these

days.

The band of Wille Edwards (Lead Vocals, Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Electric Lap Steel, Weissenhorn and Dobro), Matt Brooks (Six String Electric Bass, Five String Double Bass, String Arrangements and Backing Vocals) and Andy Naumann (Drums and Percussion) are joined by Don Airey from Deep Purple (Hammond/Keyboards) for three tracks on the album.

  Website - Wille and the Bandits

Facebook - Wille and the Bandits

YouTube - Wille and the Bandits 

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WILLE AND THE BANDITS 
gigs at PLYMOUTH, THE JUNCTION on Fri 21st Oct. 
and BARNSTAPLE, THE FACTORY on Sat. 22nd Oct.
Tap here for Tickets

The FactoryPetroc Brannams Campus Oakwood Close Barnstaple Devon EX31 3NJ
The Junction 6 Mutley Plain, Plymouth PL4 6LA

DUB PISTOLS RETURN TO THE FACTORY - BARNSTAPLE FRIDAY 30TH SEPTEMBER WITH SUPPORT FROM KIOKO

They're back again! The Pistoleros are riding into Barnstaple again Although they've never really been away. Barry Ashworth's evergreen bunch of dubwise vagabonds will be rocking festivals thru the summer, and now it's back to the towns and city's previewing tracks from there soon to be released 7th album And it's going to be another corker.

Their last album 'The Return Of The Pistoleros' makes them sound like a Latin prison gang, extras in a spaghetti western, a marauding mob of Tequila-swigging mobsters, or a Mexican drug cartel. Some of which have a grain of truth to them. Joking aside, though, it's been a long road to get to where they are - one of the most popular and best-loved acts on the circuit - but it's testimony to their perseverance and staying power that their popularity still keeps increasing.

The Dubs have been dubbed 'The Pistoleros' in recent times by their army of fans - so it seemed only natural to adopt the tag for their latest album on Rob Da Bank's Sunday Best imprint. El Pistolero is also the nickname of Uruguay talisman Luiz Suarez, who knocked England out of the 2014 World Cup. But as Barry is a Liverpool fan, he's happy to still have this association. Just. The Dub Pistols coalesced in the mid-'90s and initially surfed the big beat wave along with acts like the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim. They had some minor chart hits like 'Cyclone' and 'There's Gonna Be A Riot' on Concrete Records, remixed the likes of Moby and Limp Bizkit, and made dramatic inroads into America.

Their debut album in 1998, 'Point Blank', cemented their position as party-rockers extraordinaire, and by the time it came to their second album around the Millennium - 'Six Million Ways To Live', with guest vocals by reggae great Horace Andy and lead singer of The Specials, Terry Hall - they were more concerned with some of the world's problems. The album was due to come out just before September 11th 2001 - the date of the Twin Towers terrorist attack in New York - and so had to be postponed. It was the start of the now-familiar Dub Pistols self-deprecating mantra: what could possibly go wrong?

As the noughties progressed, they signed to Sunday Best and went a bit more poppy for 'Speakers & Tweeters', which included cover versions of 'Rapture' by Blondie, 'Peaches' by The Stranglers and 'Gangsters' by The Specials - a track they had been making their own live. After guesting on their second album with 'Problem Is', estranged Specials singer Terry Hall started singing live with them, and the warm reaction he received from music fans was instrumental in him agreeing to reform his infamous 2-Tone band a few years later.

Next Dubs album 'Rum & Coke', so named after some infamous recording sessions in Barbados, introduced more guest vocalists such as former Freak Power man Ashley Slater and Beats International gal Lindy Layton, and with last long-player 'Worshipping The Dollar' in 2012  they consolidated their position as one of the foremost festival-rockers in Europe.

The Dubs toured with Neville Staple from The Specials at the start of 2014, and this led to the toaster guesting on 'Real Gangster' on the new 'Pistoleros' album. On the album, 'Our Life' is a free-spirited dub cut featuring long-term Dubs vocalists Lindy Layton and TK Lawrence. Languid beats song 'Say Goodbye' features the deep jazzual tones of Ashley Slater, 'Report' showcases major new hip-hop talent Genesis Elijah freeflowing over some lilting Dan Bowskill verses, and 'Kill Your Sound' has great reggae vocalist Seanie Tee all over it. 'Roll & Come In' sees the legendary Earl 16 (Leftfield etc) return to add sweet words to this spacious dub cut, and regular MC Darrison guests on dubwise drum & bass party track 'Ride With It'. And there's plenty more where that came from - it is, indeed, another corker.

Like their incendiary live shows, this new long-player is a riotous mix of dub, drum & bass, hip-hop, punk and ska. They'll be heading out on tour this autumn in support of the new 'Pistoleros'  release, so watch out! The gun-slinging outlaws are back in town - and this time, they're swigging Tequila.

Dub Pistols return to The Factory Petroc, Barnstaple 30th September 2016

DUB PISTOLS with KIOKO

THE FACTORY, PETROC BARNSTAPLE FRIDAY 30TH SEPTEMBER

DOORS 19.30 - 23.00 TICKETS: £15.00 +BF

TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM

PETROC BRANNAMS CAMPUS

BEATS WORKIN - 01271 321111

http://www.seetickets.com/go/dubs

http://www.wegottickets.com/

www.thefactoryvenue.co.uk

The Factory Petroc Brannams Campus Oakwood Close Barnstaple Devon EX31 3NJ

Seth Lakeman to play The Factory, Barnstaple 23rd September

Award-winning folk-singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Seth Lakeman will be playing at The Factory in Barnstaple for a standing show ahead of releasing a new album 'Ballads of the Broken Few' in Autumn 2016. 

Seth has successfully steered English folk music into the mainstream with high-energy performances and a series of best-selling albums over the last 10 years. His previous albums include 2014's Word of Mouth which entered the UK Top 20 album charts on its release, Mercury-nominated 'Kitty Jay' and the gold-selling 'Freedom Fields'.

 The last few years have been eventful and busy for Seth. In between writing and recording albums he has played to audiences around the world including two tours of Australia, he has become a dad to twins, played with the BBC Concert Orchestra, presented a show on BBC Radio 2 and played at a diverse range of venues including the Royal Albert Hall, the Minack Theatre, a number of Cathedrals and in Trafalgar Square.

Seth's new album 'Ballads of the Broken Few' has been produced by Ethan Johns who has worked with Kings of Leon, Joe Cocker and Laura Marling to name but a few and will be released through Cooking Vinyl.

Be ready to embrace some amazing talent and memorising folk music.

Tickets on Sale from Friday 9am

DOORS: 7.30pm MINIMUM AGE RECOMMENDATION: All ages. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult 

Physical tickets available from North Devon Theatres box offices PRICE: £18 - Standing only 

 [Box office booking fees may apply.]

The Factory Petroc Brannams Campus Oakwood Close Barnstaple Devon EX31 3NJ M +44 (0)7446 692751 www.thefactoryvenue.co.uk

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Facebook - Seth Lakeman

The Fallen State Headline The Factory in Barnstaple 28th May

The Fallen State play their biggest headline to date at 800 Capacity The Factory, Petroc, Barnstaple on May 28th. Local rockers One Man Boycott, Pretend Happy and Goose The Nun will be supporting.

This show comes ahead North Devon band The Fallen State opening for Multi-Platinum selling USA rockers 3 Doors Down on their UK tour this November, including a date at the world famous Hammersmith Eventim Apollo in London. The band will join 3 Doors Down and well known US rock band Pop Evil on 3 dates of their UK tour which include Birmingham O2 Academy, Manchester Academy and London Hammersmith Apollo.

The news follows a successful 18 months for The Fallen State who started out by playing shows at Bideford Palladium Club, Exeter Cavern and The Olive Branch and The Golden Lion in Barnstaple.

The successful sell out local shows led to the band being invited to open for US Grammy award winning band Halestorm on their UK tour in March 2015 followed by a tour of Ireland in June 2015 (including the legendary Ulster Hall in Belfast) with Arena headliners Black Stone Cherry. This, with shows with bands such as Puddle of Mudd and Trapt, have led to the band building a steady UK fan base and being invited to play festivals such as Camden Rocks in London (headlined by Bullet for my Valentine) and Planet Rockstock (headlined by The Darkness) in Wales.

The band have also had several features in UK publications and the first track on the cover mount CD of Classic Rock Magazine last June. Radio play on Kerrang, Total Rock and BBC Introducing was further backed up by a 5 week rotation of their latest single 'Sinner' on SCUZZ TV in January. 

Tickets for The Fallen State at The Factory, Barnstaple are £5 Advance and are available from Beatsworkin
Age 16+ any under 16s to be accompanied by an adult
For further information or digital tickets - www.thefactoryvenue.co.uk
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The Factory Petroc Brannams Campus Oakwood Close Barnstaple Devon EX31 3NJ 

M +44 (0)7446 692751
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The Fallen State Facebook
 

Brother Strut; the critically acclaimed funk and soul band play The Factory 19th May

If you are a fan of anything funk and soul this is a night you would be insane to miss! As individuals Brother Strut have performed on records that have accumulated over half-a-billion sales, as a collective they form Brother Strut; the critically acclaimed funk and soul band. 

“You will wait a very long time indeed to see anything better, I can’t think who can top this” says Blues and Soul Magazine, awarding their debut album an astonishing 10/10.

 

The general public responded to the album with similar enthusiasm and the album entered the UK iTunes chart at number 2. Subsequent recording deals in the USA, Italy, South Africa, South East Asia and Australia followed. Whilst the band also featured in the top ten of the album charts in the UK and Italy, Craig Charles play listed it on his award-winning BBC6 Music, Funk and Soul Show.

Producer and sax player Stevie Jones assembled the bunch back in 2012, shunning the manufactured ‘X-Factor generation’s’ pursuit of fame at any cost. However, Brother Strut are far from just a recording studio band; From Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Madonna to Sting, George Michael, Amy Winehouse and Tina Turner to name but a few, Brother Strut’s members honed their prodigious talents on some of the world’s most prestigious stages alongside an array of music’s most cherished icons.

Indeed, the stage remains the band’s spiritual home. Peerless showmen as well as musicians, Brother Strut pride themselves on their ability to deliver unparalleled live shows. Composed of some of the finest and funkiest musicians around, Brother Strut includes Steve Pearce (bass), Frankie Tontoh (drums), Otha Smith (electric guitar), Sam Tanner (keys/lead vocals) and Stevie Jones (Saxophonist/keys).

As Saxophonist and producer Stevie Jones notes, Brother Strut are focused on delivering exceptional live performances of “awe-inspiring” quality and their unswerving dedication to this ethos has been the catalyst behind the band’s success.

Taking their album on the road, two spectacular sell-out tours followed. Gaining notoriety for their ‘barnstorming’ sets, Brother Strut’s passion for live music has endeared them to an audience who seek real music amidst the music industries increasingly corporate soul.

To this end, the band release their music through their own label Brother Strut Records. With their freedom intact, Brother Strut only take directions from their inspirations: funk, blues, American soul music of the 1960’s and ‘70’s and stunning live music.

Local support from Loney

Brother Strut at The Factory, Barnstaple 

Thursday 19th May
DOORS: 8pm PRICE: £10 Standing only
MINIMUM AGE RECOMMENDATION: All ages. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult
ADVANCE TICKETS: Online tickets available from www.thefactoryvenue.co.uk
Physical tickets available from Beatsworkin, Queens Street, Barnstaple and North Devon Theatres box offices

Box office booking fees may apply.

The Factory Petroc Brannams Campus Oakwood Close Barnstaple Devon EX31 3NJ 

M +44 (0)7446 692751

Swingrowers play The Factory 29th April

Hailing from Sicily, this six piece quintet fuses electronic beats to their jazz/gypsy jazz stylings. They are one of Europe's pre-eminent electro-swing bands and it's a rare treat to have them appear in North Devon on Friday 29th April.

Swingrowers signed to Brighton based label Freshly Squeezed. Known for their mixture of jazz, swing manouche and dance/electro, they have extensively toured Europe and North America, opening sell-out shows for Parov Stelar, Chinese Man & Caravan Palace. On top of delivering official remixes for Caro Emerald and Swing Republic, Swingrowers also boast musical collaborations with The Lost Fingers, Gypsy Hill, DJ Pony Montana and have had their own songs remixed by Bart&Baker and Jamie Berry.

Following on from their debut album ‘Pronounced Swing Grow’ers' in 2012, Swingrowers have released their most recent album ‘REMOTE’ in early 2015. Swingrowers are one of the most exciting rising talents within the retro music scene and “a band maturing at a rapid pace”.

Come out swing, and stomping to live electro beats. With an explosive sound that reverberates back through time. Let’s show them a proper welcome!

Support from: Bicycle Repair Man

Doors: 8pm Friday 29th April

Tickets: Standard Entry £8

Physical tickets available from Beatsworkin, Barnstaple & North Devon Theatres Box offices.

Online tickets available from www.thefactoryvenue.co.uk

NB Minimum age recommendation: Under 16s to be accompanied by an adult

oooOooo

The Factory Petroc Brannams Campus Oakwood Close Barnstaple Devon EX31 3NJ 

M +44 (0)7446 692751 www.thefactoryvenue.co.uk

Howard Marks - In Conversation with "Mr. Nice" at the Factory, Barnstaple 13th December

Just over a year ago Howard Marks was diagnosed with Cancer of the Bowel which had spread to two other organs, he was given 10 months to live. Here we are 3 months after his predicted passing and after nearly 30 sessions of Chemotherapy combined with Cannabis Oil Treatment, which is more and more being used seriously for the treatment of cancer and other illness and everything from apricot seeds to moths. Howard has just released his latest book ‘Mr Smiley: My Last Pill and Testament’ which went into the Book Charts at Number 7.

Interviewed by Dub Pistols Barry Ashworth, expect stories from his incredible life as a drug smuggler, hunted man, inmate at a high security prison, to becoming a celebrity, a national treasure with a film made about his life.

Born in 1945 in Kenfig Hill, a small Welsh coal-mining village near Bridgend, Howard Marks attended Oxford University where he earned a degree in nuclear physics and post graduate qualifications in philosophy

Described by the Daily Mail (UK Tabloid) as 'the most sophisticated drugs baron of all time', Howard Marks has worked with the British Secret Service and has been connected with the Mafia, the IRA, MI6 and the CIA.

Busted in 1988 by the American Drug Enforcement Agency and sentenced to twenty-five years at America's toughest federal penitentiary; Terre Haute, Indiana. He was released on parole in 1995 after serving seven years.

In 1996 he released his autobiography, Mr. Nice, which remains an international best seller in several languages and was the best selling non-fiction book of 1997.

During 1997, he performed his first live shows, which discussed his life as a marijuana smuggler and his views on drug use and legalisation. The shows received excellent reviews throughout the national press, and his now legendary one-man comedy show, An Audience with Mr Nice, continues to sell-out at venues throughout Britain and Europe covering an ever-widening range of topics.

Howard wrote a monthly column for Loaded for five years and has written features for The Times, Observer, Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, Time Out, GQ, and the Guardian. He has also penned Senor Nice, the sequel to his autobiography, collected together writings on intoxication for the anthology Dope Stories, co-wrote 101 Uses of a Dead Roach and has published the first of a series of crime fiction novels called Sympathy for the Devil.

His TV and Film career includes a cameo in Human Traffic, narrating Manumission – The Movie, presenting Channel 5 News on the day George Best died, interviews for Selena Scott, Hardtalk and This Week and appearances on Dinner with Portillo and Heartbeat amongst many others.

A Cardiff City supporter, Howard directed the Welsh Celebrity Soccer Six team that included Ian Rush and members of Goldie Looking Chain and reported on the 1998 World Cup in Paris for The Evening Standard. He is also a keen follower of Rugby Union, Boxing and especially Lawn Green Bowls, his interest in which was piqued when he learned it had been made illegal for the hoi polloi by Henry VIII.

Since his release from prison Howard has been politically active, standing for parliament in four separate constituencies (Norwich South, Norwich North, Neath and Southampton Test) in the 1997 general election on the single issue of the legalisation of Cannabis, catalysing the formation of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance. He applied for the position of Drugs Tsar, created by the Labour government in the late 90s but Keith Halliwell ‘pipped me at the post’. He continues to campaign vigorously for the legalisation of recreational drugs.

HOWARD MARKS - IN CONVERSATION WITH ‘MR NICE’
THE FACTORY SUNDAY 13TH DECEMBER 7:30PM

Doors open at 19:30pm
£20 in advance - Seated based on first come first seated
Physical tickets - North Devon Theatres & Beatsworkin, Barnstaple
Online tickets available from
More info – www.thefactoryvenue.co.uk