It’s finally October, and we hope all your Halloween plans are coming together! Especially if you’re heading for North Yorkshire, to help the Whitby Gothic Weekend celebrate its second 21st Birthday. There will be enough traders to make even the bravest bank account tremble, enough old friends and new faces to carouse with, and of course the stand-out nights of live bands at the Spa…
The UK’s Queen of alternative festivals is back down to two nights after their incredible four-night band extravaganza earlier this year, but don’t think for a second there’s any less excitement to be had!
From the 29th October until 1st November, you’ll be able to catch all of these classic and breaking new bands on stage at the Spa. Let’s take a look at the exhausting audio extravagances we will be enjoying…
Friday 30th October 2015
Chasing Dragons
Incendiary, powerful melodic hard rock from God’s own country of Leeds, West Yorkshire. Post-hardcore bursts, thunderous vocals and overflowing alt metal – one of the first groups to play at Leeds pride, and growing ever since, Chasing Dragons are the perfect collision between passion and power on the alt-rock scene.
Bad Pollyanna
One of the fastest rising stars in alternative music. Beauty and darkness in tandem, the group have built an explosively expansive following, and have found themselves in heavy demand for their charity work in particular. Passionate, talkative – and stunning. This year, especially for WGW, they’ll be performing their new album, The Broken Toys for the first time, and advance physical copies will be on sale ahead of worldwide release on 1st Dec.
Fearless Vampire Killers
Death pop? Theatrical rock? Nobody knows for sure – but the Fearless Vampire Killers and their radical, conceptual music have a legendary stake in the Goth, Scene and Rock movements. This year they’ll be performing some of their latest material – from their latest mini album, Bruises.
Clare Grogan and her Altered Images are headlining Friday, harking back to the days when she was studying for her A Levels – and touring with Siouxsie and the Banshees. With three top ten albums to her name and numerous film, television and stage roles under her belt, the multi-talented Clare and Altered Images are still exciting their adoring fanbase, more than thirty years since they first appeared in the evolving New Wave scene.
Saturday 31st October 2015
in ISOLATION
A collaboration between musicians and songwriters who helped represent the Goth scene from the 1980s to the present day, this exciting outfit intends to look both backwards and forwards – presenting the new contemporary and the old classics in equal doses. They’ll be releasing their latest single to you at the Spa this year!
Vince Ripper & The Rodent Show
Welcome to the boneyard! Ratfink, unleashed from his service in Alien Sex Fiend, brings his DJ friend Vince Ripper for a series of alternative DJ sets and remixes, with 3D glasses, horror movie clips, excessive props and theatrics befitting of the great Alice Cooper. Ripper and The Rodent Show will be bringing all the twisted tricks of their trade to the stage!
The Last Cry
Only the finest darkwave for Whitby Goth Weekend’s 21st year – the band boast one of the most dedicated fan followings the alternative has ever seen, and they’re here for you. The Last Cry continue to rise through the ranks – and spots on the WGW setlist – year after year. Soulful, passionate, and impossible to ignore.
Spear of Destiny
Kirk Brandon has been leading Spear of Destiny to constant applause for over thirty years, and they will bring Whitby Goth Weekend to a clamorous summit on Saturday. Now boasting a line up with musical talent from such groups as New Model Army and The Mission, the group’s live shows now harks back to decades of full flight rock and roll. It’s all there, and it’s bound to satisfy anyone who has heard their vinyls from as far back as 1983.
Something there for every spirit and mournful soul that will be turning out. Now, we’ll put the thumbscrews on and ask you to answer, on pain of pain, which one single band you are most looking forward to seeing!
Vote in our poll below, but remember – you can only vote once!
For those damned sorts who can’t make it to Whitby in October, we’ll be blogging live, and you can follow us on all our social media channels. Tune in, comment on, share out!
The Blogging Goth 