Music, Culture & Creative Craft

Brian Yates

Music, Culture & Creative Craft

Latest Articles

Ink on Paper, Stars in Hand: The Twilight Years of Britain's Autograph Obsessives
Culture

Ink on Paper, Stars in Hand: The Twilight Years of Britain's Autograph Obsessives

Before the selfie became the universal currency of fan devotion, a particular breed of British enthusiast haunted stage doors and television studios with programmes, fountain pens, and an almost religious patience. The serious autograph collector is a rare creature now — part archivist, part devotee, part eccentric — and their world is changing faster than they'd like. We spent time with the people still doing it, and asked what they're really chasing.
Before the Cameras Rolled: The Unsung Art of the Television Warm-Up Comedian
Music

Before the Cameras Rolled: The Unsung Art of the Television Warm-Up Comedian

Every great British television studio show had one — the comedian who arrived before the crew, warmed a cold room into something resembling an audience, then stepped aside the moment the real business began. The warm-up comedian built entire careers in this peculiar, unglamorous corner of the entertainment industry, and their craft is quietly vanishing as live studio television retreats. This is their story.
Pulling the Plug: The Quiet Collapse of Britain's Theatrical Lighting Hire Trade
Culture

Pulling the Plug: The Quiet Collapse of Britain's Theatrical Lighting Hire Trade

For decades, a hidden network of specialist lighting hire firms powered British theatre from the shadows — rigging rigs, loading vans, and keeping touring productions alive on shoestring budgets. Now, squeezed by soaring energy bills, digital disruption, and the slow death of the touring circuit, many are switching off for good. We went looking for the people behind the lights before the last one goes dark.
Not Quite the Real Thing: Why Britain's Tribute Acts Deserve Far More Respect Than They Get
Culture

Not Quite the Real Thing: Why Britain's Tribute Acts Deserve Far More Respect Than They Get

They pack theatres the original artists couldn't sell out, they know the back catalogue better than most journalists, and they've turned imitation into a genuinely demanding craft. Britain's tribute band scene is a multimillion-pound world of discipline, dedication, and the occasional existential wobble — and it's time we started taking it seriously.
Press Play: How Britain's Over-70s Became Unlikely Streaming Pioneers
Music

Press Play: How Britain's Over-70s Became Unlikely Streaming Pioneers

They grew up queuing at record shops and huddling round transistor radios to catch pirate broadcasts. Now Britain's oldest music lovers are navigating Spotify playlists, YouTube rabbit holes, and Alexa commands with a confidence that would surprise anyone who assumes age and technology don't mix. What the music industry keeps getting wrong about its most loyal — and most overlooked — audience.
In the Dark: The Lighting Engineers Who Give Britain's Live Music Its Soul
Culture

In the Dark: The Lighting Engineers Who Give Britain's Live Music Its Soul

The band gets the applause. The sound engineer occasionally gets a nod. The lighting technician, crouched over a desk at the back of the room, gets nothing — except the quiet satisfaction of knowing they just turned a decent gig into something people will remember for years. It's time to talk about the people who paint live music in colour.
Write What You Love, Starve What You Need: The Brutal Truth Behind Britain's Music Blogging Dream
Music

Write What You Love, Starve What You Need: The Brutal Truth Behind Britain's Music Blogging Dream

They built the readerships, championed the artists and wrote the pieces the mainstream press wouldn't touch — only to discover that passion doesn't pay the broadband bill. Britain's independent music bloggers are caught between a culture that consumes their work enthusiastically and an internet economy that rewards it with almost nothing. This is their story, in their own words, and it's more complicated than you might think.
Reels, Rhythms and Real Community: How Britain's Indie Cinemas Became Accidental Music Venues
Culture

Reels, Rhythms and Real Community: How Britain's Indie Cinemas Became Accidental Music Venues

Britain's surviving independent cinemas are quietly reinventing themselves, swapping the occasional late-night screening for jazz nights, acoustic sets and intimate gigs that no purpose-built venue could replicate. It's part financial necessity, part happy accident — and the communities around them are all the richer for it. We went to find out how the picture house became the most unlikely stage in town.
Four Walls and a Dream: The Garages, Church Halls and Garden Sheds Keeping Britain's Bands Alive
Music

Four Walls and a Dream: The Garages, Church Halls and Garden Sheds Keeping Britain's Bands Alive

Long before any band plays a stage, they spend countless hours in a borrowed room, a converted outbuilding or a church hall hired for a tenner an hour. Britain's informal rehearsal space network is the unglamorous backbone of grassroots music culture — and it's under more pressure than ever. We went looking for the people who keep it going.
After Last Orders: The Quiet Death of Britain's After-Hours Music Sessions
Culture

After Last Orders: The Quiet Death of Britain's After-Hours Music Sessions

There was a time when closing time wasn't the end of the evening — it was just when the serious music started. The lock-in session, that informal, unrecorded gathering of musicians around a cleared bar, was where Britain's folk, blues, and jazz traditions were quietly handed down. Now, squeezed between licensing laws and noise complaints, it's all but gone. But the people who were there remember.
Staples, Passion and Printer Ink: The Stubborn Survival of Britain's Fanzine Culture
Culture

Staples, Passion and Printer Ink: The Stubborn Survival of Britain's Fanzine Culture

Before Twitter threads and Substack newsletters, Britain's most honest music criticism arrived folded in half and handed to you outside a venue in the rain. The fanzine underground never really died — it just got more stubborn. Here's why a new generation is still reaching for the staple gun.
The Person in the Dark: Britain's Live Lighting Designers Deserve a Proper Bow
Music

The Person in the Dark: Britain's Live Lighting Designers Deserve a Proper Bow

Every spine-tingling moment at a live gig — the dramatic blackout, the perfectly timed wash of colour, the spotlight that somehow finds the exact right beat — is the work of someone you never see and rarely think about. Britain's live lighting technicians are the secret co-authors of every great concert experience. It's well past time we talked about them.
When Home Was a Stranger's Spare Room: The Forgotten Network That Kept British Theatre Alive
Culture

When Home Was a Stranger's Spare Room: The Forgotten Network That Kept British Theatre Alive

For decades, a hidden network of theatrical landladies provided more than just beds for touring performers—they offered sanctuary, wisdom, and the closest thing to family life on the road. Now, as the last of these remarkable women hang up their keys, we explore what Britain's entertainment industry has truly lost.
From Church Fête to Centre Stage: The Unlikely Launchpad That Shaped British Entertainment
Music

From Church Fête to Centre Stage: The Unlikely Launchpad That Shaped British Entertainment

Behind the tombola stalls and cake competitions, Britain's village fêtes have quietly launched more entertainment careers than most people realise. From wonky PA systems to nervous first performances, these humble gatherings remain one of our most democratic talent scouts.
Life in the Slow Lane: The Invisible Army That Keeps British Music Moving
Music

Life in the Slow Lane: The Invisible Army That Keeps British Music Moving

They're the first to arrive and last to leave, spending their lives in transit vans and loading bays while the stars take their bows. Meet the lifers of Britain's touring crew—and discover what happens when the road runs out.
Voices in the Void: How Britain's Local Radio Lost Its Soul to Spreadsheets and Algorithms
Music

Voices in the Void: How Britain's Local Radio Lost Its Soul to Spreadsheets and Algorithms

Once the beating heart of British communities, local commercial radio has been systematically stripped of personality and local connection through two decades of consolidation and cost-cutting. Former presenters and loyal listeners reflect on what we've lost and whether genuine local broadcasting can ever return.
The Double Life: Britain's Part-Time Session Players Keeping Live Music Breathing
Music

The Double Life: Britain's Part-Time Session Players Keeping Live Music Breathing

Between their day jobs and weekend gigs, thousands of British musicians sustain the live music economy as part-time session players, wedding band members, and backing musicians. But rising costs and changing industry dynamics are making this essential double life increasingly difficult to maintain.
The Needle and the Thread: Britain's Unsung Costume Keepers Weaving Magic From Spare Rooms
Culture

The Needle and the Thread: Britain's Unsung Costume Keepers Weaving Magic From Spare Rooms

In church halls and converted garages across Britain, an invisible army of volunteer seamstresses and tailors maintain vast costume collections that bring amateur theatre to life. These dedicated keepers of theatrical wardrobes work miracles with charity shop finds and remnant fabrics, but their irreplaceable collections face an uncertain future.
Tuesday Night Gladiators: How Britain's Comedy Clubs Outlasted the Algorithm
Culture

Tuesday Night Gladiators: How Britain's Comedy Clubs Outlasted the Algorithm

While Netflix serves up comedy on demand, Britain's grassroots clubs remain defiantly analogue. From Manchester basements to Edinburgh attics, these sticky-floored sanctuaries prove that some things can't be streamed.
Wood, Wire and Wonder: The Quiet Revolution in Britain's Instrument Workshops
Music

Wood, Wire and Wonder: The Quiet Revolution in Britain's Instrument Workshops

From a converted barn in Devon to a Glasgow tenement, Britain's luthiers are crafting instruments that challenge the dominance of factory production. Their tools are traditional, but their mission is revolutionary.