The Solo Armada was born in 2017. Two loners met randomly in The Monarch (RIP) in Camden at the start of Frank Turner’s Lost Evenings 1. Those two loners soon became three, then four and so on. It grew and grew and over the next few days a Facebook message group formed to support arrangements for meet ups and find out who was doing what. Designed simply to connect people through a common love of music, the group aims to support and help those who aren’t quite sure if it’s the right thing to do going to a gig on their own, encourage people to talk, communicate and make the world we live in a better place. If this wasn’t enough to get you interested,  you even get a badge! If you go to gigs alone, it’s definitely worth checking out the Solo Armada Facebook, there are tickets, merch and of course, that all important badge!

The simple concept belies the enormity of what this delivers to the gig going community. How many times have you thought to yourself, "I'd really like to go see that band... But I have no one to go with", so you didn’t go. Now, they don't guarantee a friend, but the growth and spread of the Armada’s tentacles means there is a good chance someone is going... or could be persuaded to. It’s international too so if you find yourself in Cologne for the weekend and at a loose end, or planning a US road trip and fancy seeing a band in Arizona, then get on the Solo Armada socials to see who is around.

I'm pretty sure putting on gigs wasn't part of the original mission of the Solo Armada but it is a very natural progression. With circa 4000 'members' who are regular gig going patrons, why not make that next step. The gestation period for this first one has been stretched with the virus situation. Speaking to Wes, one of the organisers and original crew of the Solo Armada, he said this had been a two year journey and the virus wasn’t the only challenge presented to them. The venue had to be changed, the bands had to still be, well a band, and then Frank Turner books his Lost Evenings 4 festival at the Camden Roundhouse for the same weekend. Wes, was at work, unable to look at his phone while it was blowing up until it got too much. He excused himself from the office, expletives echoed around the corridors with the dawning realisation that the gig now clashed with the event it was created for in the first place. But everyone stuck with it. The show sold out, Chloe Glover was added to the bill and the countdown began.

RETRO is a fantastic bar situated in the heart of Manchester with a downstairs venue, just round the corner from the old factory records HQ. The food is amazing, curry with a Manchester theme, ‘This Charming Naan’ (Can you see what they did there?). By all accounts it was ‘punk night’ the night before and to say the floor was sticky was an understatement, brilliant, a proper venue.

Chloe Glover was first up, a singer songwriter from Manchester who released her EP ‘Dark Matter’ on March 20th 2020, one whole day before the initial lockdown kicked in! Obviously that hindered any launch tour plans, so with excitement, relief and a little anxiety, it was time to get these songs out in the wild. But she needn't have worried, she put on an amazing show, with her tantalising vocals, thoughtful lyrics and catchy hooks. Moreover, the crowd had done their homework and were singing the words right back at her. 'Silver Linings' had to be my personal favourite, with the crowd almost drowning her out in the chorus. Come the end, her voice cracked a little and a few tears fell as her set came to a close, it was that kind of night and it had only just started. If you get a chance, go see her and definitely buy her ‘Dark Matter EP’ via Bandcamp, you will not be disappointed.

Next up was Gavin Osborn, a West country singer songwriter who walks the line of humour and music with a smile and ‘likeable grumpy bewilderment’. By song two, he had the crowd right there with him and as the temperature started to soar (it was REALLY hot), Gavin worked the crowd with his engaging chat, and thought provoking songs and they responded, they knew the words, they sang along and they cheered loudly. Gavin even got Wes up on stage to be part of the act. A genuinely lovely man, with some great songs and a strong voice..... let's hope the Covid hiatus leads to the next step forward for him.

Things rolled forward at a pace and I didn't even have time for a pint before Jake Martin took the stage. I've never seen Jake live but having sat in on his livestreams over the last year or so I felt I almost knew the guy! His incredibly busy touring life curtailed by the virus, meant he is springing out of the blocks to tour his new (not new) album. He put on a fantastic show and again, the crowd, danced sang and bounced along. Going one better he got the whole Solo Armada crew present (Tiggy, Kim and Wes) plus Chloe to support on "For Fuck's Sake Jake!". Like Chloe before him, Jake's voice cracked a little at the end as the emotion of returning to a stage with a highly receptive audience hit him right in the feels. He concluded the set by downing a couple of shots.....and after such a great set, why not.

Last up we had Nick Parker and the False Alarms. After a nightmare journey up the M5 / M6 (I have a lot of empathy on that one) a hasty sound check was held straight after Jake Martin left the stage. With banjos, fiddles and an accordion as well as guitars and drums this was no mean feat and Harvey the sound guy did a grand job of supporting them, even if the gaps between the first few songs were greeted with comments akin to "can I have a bit more vocal in the monitor, please". I’m not sure there was more than a foot or so each for them to move on stage but the crowd made up for it. A cracking Greatest Hits set that got the crowd jumping and brought a fitting end to a cracking night. For the song "Es tut mir Leid" (translation: I am sorry) Nick handed out signs written in German to the crowd for us all to point and sing along to at the appropriate place in the chorus. Some proper dodgy German pronunciation echoed across Piccadilly towards the Northern Quarter as the show drew to a close.

The night was a rousing a success and, although plagued with all sorts of challenges to make it happen (including the plague), I hope this is the start of many.

There really is only one word to describe it; scrumtrulescent!

Words and Pictures GM Gig Photography