James Trumpeter Andy Diagram & Spaceheads Audio-Visual Electro-Jazz-Dance Show Lights Up Gullivers

If you can't wait for the much anticipated sellout James homecoming show at the Manchester Arena on 13th of May, help is at hand for James fans.

The iconic Manchester band's trumpeter, Andy Diagram, is bringing his own quirky project, Spaceheads, to Oldham Street's Gullivers venue on 22nd April, along with Paddy Steer, long time collaborator with Graham Massey and 808 State in a magical electronic audio-visual show not to be missed.

Diagram, often seen running around the stage with James wearing a flowery dress and trumpeting from balconies in the middle of the audience, is no less unorthodox with his long-time Spaceheads duo. Dressed more soberly, he nonetheless manages to wow his audiences with the hi-tech electronic wizardry he attaches to the trumpet - quite literally, as the effects are controlled via a mobile phone velcroed on using a fish slice - putting it through effects and harmonizers to create breathy loops and rhythmic sounds not normally associated with the traditional brass instrument and then accompanying his own loops with melodious tunes and wah-wah pedal to create an inventive and memorable sound quite unlike anything you've heard before.

Alongside Diagram, his long-time musical partner Richard Harrison employs equally leftfield methods with his drumming and percussion. Never a conventional drummer, Harrison utilizes tin cans, bottles, whisks and various sheets of metal into his performance and has even been spotted wielding a pair of squeaky toy pigs to add to his repertoire!

James fans expecting a sound familiar to them are in for a surprise however - Spaceheads' sound is hugely different though just as unique and catchy as that of the 7 piece indie legends. A fusion of indie-electro-acid jazz-funk & dance, Spaceheads' music has always defied categorization, which perhaps explains the Manchester formed band's criminal lack of airplay over their 26 year history, which is being rectified to some extent with tracks from their recent EPs Sun Radar and Trip To The Moon, along with the album A Short Ride On The Arrow Of Time having featured on BBC 6 Music.

Not content with simply providing aural entertainment though, Spaceheads are complemented by Rucksack Cinema - with live mixing of video images, from black and white films of steam trains, 1920s space films and clips from classic movies combined with images of the universe, spinning stars, psychedelic swirls and blocks of light and colour projected around the walls, floor and ceiling of the venues they play, turns the whole show into a complete mind blowing audio-visual experience not to be missed.

They are backed by the electronic wizardry of Paddy Steer, who has recently been playing live with 808 State. Paddy has been described by long term musical sparring partner Graham Massey of 808 State as sounding 'like a Swiss cuckoo clock made of egg boxes and horsehair, glued together by an African Moog player in a Vietnamese iron monger's shop'.

He's made a career out of living in the leftfield of music, offering up his considerable talents on everything from jazz drumming to Hawaiian guitar to the likes of Homelife and Toolshed, and happily bringing a smile to the faces of anyone who came across his work.

Paddy has produced an album of splendid nonsense, expansive weirdness and downright brilliant adventure. Make no mistake, you won't hear another thing like it all year.

For early birds, a thought-provoking treat awaits, as Cheshire's finest guitar picker, Mal Dino, marries thought provoking lyrics with great melodies. His music is underlined with an acerbic and sometimes sarcastic wit.

Tickets are available for £5 in advance or turn up on the night and pay on the door - don't leave it too late though, the venue only holds 150!

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