Jon The Postman tribute (pt1)

It was a fitting venue. A basement club, once owned by George Best, around the corner from Manchester Town Hall and Albert Square. Here two of Jon "The Postman" Ormrod's favourite bands, The Distractions and The Things, paid tribute to a Manchester legend with a fantastic double set.

Dave Holmes, Joe Brehony, Mike Finney.

First up, The Distractions' Mike Finney and Alex Sidebottom were joined by Tim Lyons, Dave Holmes, Joe Brehony and Chris Dutton of The Things. While Mike has been busy recording The Distractions' third and final album (to be released mid-2016), this was the first time Alex had drummed with The Distractions in over 30 years.

Joe Brehony, Mike Finney, Tim Lyons.

Mike and Alex rolled back the years with a terrific set of early favourites. The 1-2-3 burst of It Doesn't Bother Me, Too Young, and Maybe It's Love, were all from the TJM debut EP. It must be at least two decades since the latter two were performed live. It sounded like Alex, Dave, Joe and Chris had been playing together far longer than a couple of rehearsal sessions, and Mike was in fine voice with backing vocals from Tim.

Alex Sidebottom, Joe Brehony, Mike Finney, Dave Holmes.

Still It Doesn't Ring has been with The Distractions since the earliest days, and followed by the Factory Records classic Time Goes By So Slow, there were ear-to-ear grins all around. The short, sharp and superb show was closed with a stomping cover of The McCoy's Hang On Sloopy.

Mike Finney, Tim Lyons.

Thank you to Wendy Clark for the photos. Read the Jon The Postman obituary in The Guardian.

To be continued. Next, The Things...