The hype over the Atlanta weirdo-rap collective Awful Records has dissipated somewhat since last year, but less glare could even be for the best: Father, Abra and KeithCharles Spacebar are some of DIY hip-hop’s most compelling voices, and will round off a quietly great year with a one-off London date (14 Nov, Village Underground, EC2) …
Upon receiving his doctorate in 2013, Dr John Cooper Clarke said that he was finally able to branch out into the lucrative field of cosmetic surgery. It seems as if the potty-mouthed punk poet overestimated the nip’n’tuck value of an honorary arts degree from the University of Salford, but, as ever, dermoplasty’s loss is incendiary spoken word’s gain (4 Jun-1 Jul, tour starts Queens Hall, Edinburgh) …
The X Factor 2015 finalists have just moved in with their respective judges, with the contestants waiting until the Xmas run-up to find out their fates. Whoever the winners and losers are, they’ll be driving around the country in a (perhaps frosty) tour bus for a 19-day arena trip with one another early next year (12 Feb-12 Mar, tour starts AECC Arena, Aberdeen).
