Various – Get Hip! – Red Star (limited edition) Vinyl LP

Starting life five years ago at the Music Lounge, the Get Hip club nights were set up by Mark ‘Bazza' Barrett, a regular happening, with Mark joined on the decks by Graham Richardson and Tony Pass, with the trio serving up an intoxicating blend of fly tunes, embracing soul, R&B, psyche, funk, (60s) garage, Latin and original ska. Initially, the idea was that Get Hip would be a DJ affair; however, a surprise visit on the inaugural night by Graham Day and The Forefathers, as punters, led to a tweak to what Get Hip was offering. From the second Get Hip night onwards, there has been a live act playing. Over four years, up to March 2020, the regular Get Hip nights went from strength to strength, eventually outgrowing their original home. All set to move to a new home, The Green Room, Get Hip – like club nights all across the UK – were confounded by the obvious advent of this current worldwide pandemic and subsequent series of lockdowns. There was a one-off Get Hip event (held under restrictions), at their new home's sister venue, Georgian Theatre, during October 2020. To mark Get Hip's fifth anniversary, a compilation album showcasing some of the bands who have played there was set for release on both vinyl and CD formats in March 2021.

All in all, there are 14 bands featured, many of whom have played at Get Hip, each contributing an original track. Some are well known on their respective scenes, others are up and coming, but they all capture the essence of what Get Hip is all about.

Opening the collection are Sheffield's own exponents of garage punk, The Mourning After, who have been plying their trade since the 80s. They were the first live band to play Get Hip and due to demand, they've returned on three more occasions. It's Gonna Be Alright is a scorching slab of sleazy, frantic garage punk, driven along by an unrelenting Hammond, a song lifted from the band's 2018 album The 10th Century, albeit this is a different mix to their own album track. Although now no more, Leeds-based The Chessmen's contribution is Gonzo, a legacy to what might have been. One of a brace of Teesside outfits on this album, which also includes local legend Tim Oxnard in the line-up, is Oilbirds. Their featured track, I Will Not Be Denied, is off the threepiece's recentish debut EP (CD), a taste of their no-nonsense blues-rock sound. Edinburgh's Thee Girl Fridays launched their debut vinyl single, The Love Witch, at their only Get Hip appearance, early 2019. The B side, Shake-Shake, a trash-punk garage thumper, is a frenetic dance craze number served up in style by the all-girl four. Next up psyche-popsters The Jack Cades appeared at Get Hip in 2020, their Run Paulie Run is a Get Hip anthem. King Of Fools, an unused recording from their album Perfect View sessions, gets its first release, anywhere, on this long-player. Doc Croc, a slice of instrumental 50s-style surf, comes courtesy of North East-based combo, The Milk Lizards. Psyche-garage infused Thee Strawberry Mynde are veterans of the underground music scene in their native North East.

Renowned as more of a live than a studio band, nonetheless they provide Know No More, which featured on the soundtrack of the cult film Old Scars. Green Fuzz, a duo, half of whom is Tim Oxnard, landed a plum support slot for their second ever live appearance. They opened for legendary 60s US garage-punk outfit The Sonics! Green Fuzz Theme is the duo's featured track. One of Medway's most prolific musicians is Allan Crockford, he has a musical CV that includes The Prisoners, The Solar Flares and Prime Movers among others. Allan has been fronting The Galileo 7 for more than a decade, a live cut of Looking Up appears on this Get Hip compilation. It is from the band's sixth studio album There Is Only Now. Heavy Soul Records has released, so far, two albums and four singles with Leeds four-piece, The See No Evils. Having built a formidable live following in the North East, it's almost inevitable that they are firm favourites with the Get Hip regulars. They must be, having made three appearances at the club. Losing Streak is an exclusive track for this Get Hip showcase release. Also based in Leeds are Nervous Twitch, a trio who serve up a nitrous fuelled style of pop-punk. Veterans of two Get Hip club night appearances, From Spots To Stripes, get their first release on this collection. Penultimate band on the track listing roster are The Voo-Dooms; bassist Bruce Brand, a veteran of the Medway scene, provided the cover art for this album while the band contribute the trashgarage-punk flavoured exclusive track, You Can't Have Me. To close is the glam inclined garage romp, Lies, lifted from Thee Dagger Debs' Damaged Goods album from 2018. If you're missing live entertainment, going out gigging to check out fresh talent (I know I am), and like your music of the alternative, less mainstream variety, this compilation may help fill the gap. It's a limited edition (only 300) vinyl release, so don't sleep on it. Available mail order from: www. facebook.com/gethipteesside