RED TELEPHONE: With a sound that has been likened to "the Willy Wonka tunnel scene but instead of Gene Wilder, it’s John Lennon", Red Telephone's first two singles 'Kookly Rose' and ‘Victoria Park’ have received airplay and support from DJs such as Bethan Elfyn, Huw Stephens, Janice Long and Adam Walton on BBC RW and Radio Cymru as well as Amy Lame on BBC 6 Music, who described them as “great Welsh psych”. They played Focus Wales Festival in May 2018 on the BBC Broadcast Stage in what was only their third gig at the time and were singled out off the back of it as “having the potential to soundtrack a generation" by Drowned in Sound. The band has also been described as "surreal, unhinged psychedelia" and compared to artists such as Syd Barrett, St Vincent, T Rex and Suede. Their second single ‘Victoria Park’ was recently released on Libertino Records’ Ghost Disco singles club and the band have just finished recording of their debut album which will be released in 2019.

https://www.facebook.com/redtelephonemusic/

THE VENEER: Bristol based alternative rock act with psychedelic undertones, mixing raw riffs and melodic tunes. With love of 60s and 70s rock, psych, 90s indie and grunge, punk, the music has a diverse blend of the classics whilst remaining contemporary. Recent highlights have included sets at the Dublin Castle in Camden, London, and performing for the Noel Gallagher High Flying Birds after show party in Cardiff, not to mention many great gigs in and around Bristol!

https://www.facebook.com/theveneerlive/

ORANGE SKIES: Premier new British Beat Group combining high octane garage rock, jangly folk ballads, a strong sense of lyrical storytelling inherited from Bob Dylan and Lou Reed and a hint of post punk via their Marquee Moon inspired guitar int

https://www.facebook.com/theorangeskies/

HIGHER LOVERS: Think of if Neil Young and PJ Harvey had a love child brought up by Neil Finn. Reviewers have also likened me to George Harrison and Radiohead.

Doors Open: 7.30pm Admission: £5 on the Door

Tickets: £4 + BF from Bristol Ticket Shop, High Street, Bristol Tel 0117 9299008 www.bristolticketshop.co.uk

FOOTBALL FC: Bristol indie punksters!

MELOTONE: Bristol indie band

https://www.facebook.com/MELOTONE.UK/

GRANDMAS HOUSE: Bristol based surfy post punk 3 piece with too much energy!

https://www.facebook.com/grandmashouseband/

FEY MILITIA:Four piece indie pop band based in the midlands/south of England.

https://www.facebook.com/FeyMilitia/

Doors Open: 7.30pm Admission: £5 on the Door

Tickets: £4 + BF from Bristol Ticket Shop, High Street, Bristol Tel 0117 9299008 www.bristolticketshop.co.uk

Leyla Diamondi is headlining the Thunderbolt in Bristol on the 27th March 2019.
There will be special guests which will be posted soon.

124 Bath Rd, Bristol BS4 3ED5

Admission: £5 on the Door
Tickets: £4 + BF from Bristol Ticket Shop, High Street, Bristol Tel 0117 9299008 www.bristolticketshop.co.uk

JAMES FUSSELL AND THE NORTH STREET BAND: Indie pop-punk with catchy tunes and intelligent lyrics, led by 'enigmatic David Bowie soundalike' James Fussell. Trystan White on bass, Elliot Hall guitar, Sarah Larkham drums. 

https://www.facebook.com/JamesFussellAndTheNorthStreetBand/

VALENTINA: Bristol Indie band!

FORGETTTING CURVE: Bristol band who play short, loud indie songs !

Doors Open: 7.30pm Admission: £5 on the Door

Tickets: £4 + BF from Bristol Ticket Shop, High Street, Bristol Tel 0117 9299008 www.bristolticketshop.co.uk

THIS THUNDERBOLT IS CLOSED FOR A PRIVATE PARTY

The Thunderbolt & Bizarro Promotions Presents.....

Vic Godard, Johnny Britton and The Subway Sect

Vic Godard is a vocalist, Subway Sect frontman, songwriter and former postman, Johnny Britton is a a former member of legendary Bristol punk band 'The Primates' (who supported Vic at the Barton Hill Youth Club in 1977) who became a Bernard Rhodes protégé and the current, 'Club Left' version of The Subway Sect consist of Rob Marche and Sean McClusky known to Bristolians as 'Joe Public' , Sean and Chris Bostock were in the Stingrays and together Rob, Chris and Sean had great success in the 'Jo Boxers'. They first played with Vic on the 'Stamp Of A Vamp' single in 1981.

Formed at the suggestion of Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, Vic Godard and his Subway Sect have been long-term staples on the post-punk scene since 1976. They still regularly perform, albeit with an ever-changing line-up of band members. A resurgence of interest in his work has seen him find fans with, amongst others, Marc Riley on BBC 6Music, who has booked Vic and the boys for several live radio sessions. Meanwhile 2014 saw the release of an impressive double album career retrospective '30 Odd Years', covering an eclectic range of material, from punk to ska to cabaret/musichall and jazz. Vic now has his own record label 'Gnu Inc' where he has released singles and albums by himself and others.
http://gnuinc.co.uk

THE BIG HOWEVER: Bristol based art folk garage indie collective. Using discarded musicians sourced locally. Melodic, intelligent, yet unintelligent popular music. Non-iconic & sustainable. "Poignant". Cello mandolin guitars bass drums clarinet accordion and soaring harmonies. 

https://thebighowever.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/thebighowever/

CORMORANTS: Ellen Morgan on electric guitar and midi interface and Wolfgang Küchler on acoustic. Both sing and write the songs. Influences noted by our fans include Billy Bragg, Elvis Costello, Joe Strummer, Ray Davies. We also think we’ve been influenced by The Cure, Talking Heads and The Smiths, and the Waterboys.

https://www.reverbnation.com/artist/cormorants

T.S. IDIOT & THE HIDEOUS TREND: Punk/post punk quartet, based around the poetry of T.S. IDIOT with a backing band including members of JOY and Mildred Maude. After critical acclaim for his solo material (from the likes of John Cooper Clarke, Attila The Stockbroker and Glen Matlock), T.S. IDIOT returns - soundtracked by an apocalyptic background of noise."

http://tomstockley.weebly.com/ts-idiot

Doors Open: 7.30pm Admission: £12 on the Door

Tickets: £10 + BF from Bristol Ticket Shop, High Street, Bristol Tel 0117 9299008 www.bristolticketshop.co.uk

THIS THUNDERBOLT IS CLOSED FOR A PRIVATE PARTY

“Thirty years on from his remarkable, indescribably dark and damn right startling Americana debut “Wrong Side Of Memphis”, Ithaca, NY, legend Johnny Dowd returns to the roots rock arena with Family Picnic, his new album set for release on March 1st. 

As Dowd says himself:
“I had to dig pretty deep for this one. Not sure how many more tunes I have in me. Tick tock. This record took an unexpected turn to the past — my past. It’s kind of like Wrong Side of Memphis 30 years down the road. Surprisingly little has changed for me (emotionally, that is). I’m still drawn to the same themes — unrequited love, murder, general foolishness. Waltzes and shuffles and boom chuck beats abound. Ice cream chord changes. Plus Kim Sherwood-Caso and Mike Edmondson. What’s not to like? An Americana classic, if I do say so myself.”

Family Picnic will be released on Mother Jinx Records on March 1, 2019. It will be available digitally worldwide, and the CD will be available at www.johnnydowd.com and on the European tour which begins April 4 and comes to Bristol on April 11th.”

Doors Open: 7.30pm Admission: £12 on the Door

Tickets: £10 + BF from Bristol Ticket Shop, High Street, Bristol Tel 0117 9299008 www.bristolticketshop.co.uk

PETE K MALLY AND GUESTS 'NOT IN MY DINNERTIME' TOUR

Pete K Mally is a metal fan. He’s also a stand-up comedian. He wraps the two together to appeal to the sense of humour of us metalheads as well as… ordinary people. His show is based on his love of metal and features special guests on a regular basis. Talking about his love of rock music, his hatred of the X factor and his reluctance to oat cakes this will be an evening to remember!

https://www.facebook.com/pete.k.mally

An evening of stand up comedy with special guests Craig Dixon , Dougie Carter and  Bristols own rock outfit Flowerpot. 

Doors Open: 7.30pm Admission: £7 on the Door

Tickets: £6 + BF from Bristol Ticket Shop, High Street, Bristol Tel 0117 9299008 www.bristolticketshop.co.uk

Otway And Barrett: The Final Straw Tour 2019

An extremely rare chance to catch two legends of the music business together again. They rarely perform together nowdays, however they alway love playing The Thunderbolt and we love them too!

Originally produced by Pete Townshend of the Who at his Eel Pie studios, who also arranged and performed on the early albums. They shot to fame on the back of punk rock and will always be remembered for their astonishing appearance on The Old Grey Whistle Test, leading to a chart single and a contract with Polydor records.

Still going strong 40 years later, they still have the in yer face originality, contrasting between Willy Barrett’s dead pan humour and the hilarity of the mad onstage antics of John Otway. Known as Rock music’s greatest failure, with which he had labelled himself, Otway is anything but !!

Constant touring has led to a cult audience appeal and he can now add author and movie star to his CV. One of the nice guys in the business , adored by his fans led to him selling out London’s Albert Hall in 1998 for his birthday party shared by 4000 fans!!

Expect all the hits including “Really Free” and “Bunsen burner” amongst a never to be repeated amazing and irreverent performance by two master entertainers. Get your tickets early as this show will quickly sell out !!

Doors Open: 7.30pm Admission: £18 on the Door

Tickets: £15 + BF from Bristol Ticket Shop, High Street, Bristol Tel 0117 9299008 www.bristolticketshop.co.uk

Ted Milton, returns to the Thunderbolt with his iconic eighties band, Blurt.
Milton, like his namesake the poet, is a man with his own unique creative expression. Puppeteer-turned-eccentric saxophonist, he is perhaps the epitome of warped genius.

His nearly tuneful squawks and lyrics shouted like a newspaper seller are as  inspired as his song titles, which include My Mother Was a Friend of an Enemy of the People.

Founded in Stroud in 1979, the band were one of the early Factory records signings, and shared bills with Joy Division and A Certain Ratio before falling out of favour with Tony Wilson for likening the label to the lifestyle-chain Habitat. They were also championed at the time by John Peel.

The band have been through a number of line-up changes but never really went away, and continued to release albums and singles on a number of different labels, the most recent being Cut It! in 2010.

“This sprawling 14 track album perfectly encapsulates the sheer ferocity, ingenuity and originality that are BLURT” LOUDER THAN WAR

“Phenomenal live and on record and supremely underrated”  OPTIMO MUSIC

EYEBROW: Paul Wigens (drums, violin) / Pete Judge (trumpet, electronics)

Eyebrow is a trumpet and drums duo based in Bristol, UK, formed in 2009. Its music evolves out of improvisations which are reassembled into structured pieces with an unexpectedly cinematic sweep, like journeys through slowly-changing landscapes.

New for 2019: the band is currently working on material for a sixth album, called “Track Record”, in collaboration with poetry collective The Spoke, and inspired by the railway line that runs between Bristol and Severn Beach. 

https://www.eyebrowmusic.com

Doors Open: 7.30pm Admission: £10 on the Door

Tickets: £9 + BF from Bristol Ticket Shop, High Street, Bristol Tel 0117 9299008 www.bristolticketshop.co.uk

The Circles are a Mod Revival band that formed in 1978 in Wolverhampton

The band were formed out of Wolverhampton Punk band The Injectors and then became The Circles.

The band signed to Graduate records in 1979 alongside UB40 releasing singles 'Opening Up, Angry Voices, Sumer Nights and Billy.

The band split in 1981 with two members going on to form The Neon Hearts.

In 1999 The Circles reformed briefly for the 20th anniversary of the Mods Mayday album and this year in 2019 Mick Walker has gathered his band together and The Circles have reformed again with the ORIGINAL line up and are heading out to play a select number of gigs in the UK to celebrate their 40th anniversary.

Dates are limited so dont miss them.

www.facebook.com/thecircles79

Doors Open: 7.30pm Admission: £8 on the Door

Tickets: £7 + BF from Bristol Ticket Shop, High Street, Bristol Tel 0117 9299008 www.bristolticketshop.co.uk

THIS THUNDERBOLT IS CLOSED FOR A PRIVATE PARTY

BARNSTORMER: NEW ALBUM 'RESTORATION TRAGEDY' out now on CD and double vinyl LP and available from www.attilathestockbroker.com/merch.php
Barnstormer 1649 aim to do with early music & punk what the Pogues did with Irish music & punk - but with a strong historical and political message. Leader, poet and multi-instrumentalist Attila the Stockbroker, describes their sound as ‘Roundhead Renaissancecore and Baroque ‘n’ Roll’.

https://soundcloud.com/barnstormer1649

ATTILA THE STOCKBROKER: Launched into public consciousness by John Peel in the early 1980s, performance poet, musician, journalist and political activist Attila the Stockbroker has spent thirty five years touring the world. Having performed over three thousand gigs in twenty four countries, releasing forty records and seven books of poetry along the way, he pauses here to relate his life story, a tale of single-minded determination to earn his living, without compromise, doing what he loves in the context of the ever changing, increasingly corporate minded politics of the last five decades. Now his autobiography tour takes him to Bristol.
'A gifted writer and a hugely likeable character...this is a superb document of a life well lived'
Dave Jennings, Louder than war

NEWTOWN NEUROTICS :Legendary, influential radical punks from Harlow, with a new documentary due out soon, Sharp songs, ancient instruments, lyrics (sadly) as relevant as ever...

https://www.facebook.com/newtownneurotics/

Please come early. Attila will start the evening with a spoken word set at 8.15 prompt. Finish by 11. An all action evening!

Doors Open: 7.30pm Admission: £12 on the Door

Tickets: £10 + BF from Bristol Ticket Shop, High Street, Bristol Tel 0117 9299008 www.bristolticketshop.co.uk

ALAN MCGEE : Alan McGee is a Scottish businessman and music industry executive. He has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for The Guardian. He is best known for co-founding and running the independent Creation Records label and is the man who discovered and signed Oasis.

Join Alan as he discusses his career, the music industry and his relationship with bands such as Oasis and Primal Scream. You will also have the opportunity to ask Alan a question.

The night will be hosted by author & broadcaster Ron Fiddaman, who will also be playing a Brit Pop DJ set after the event.

8.00pm start

Doors Open: 7.30pm Admission: £18 on the Door

Tickets: £16 + BF from Bristol Ticket Shop, High Street, Bristol Tel 0117 9299008 www.bristolticketshop.co.uk

THIS THUNDERBOLT IS CLOSED FOR A PRIVATE PARTY

THIS THUNDERBOLT IS CLOSED FOR A PRIVATE PARTY

THIS THUNDERBOLT IS CLOSED FOR A PRIVATE PARTY

THIS THUNDERBOLT IS CLOSED FOR A PRIVATE PARTY

THIS THUNDERBOLT IS CLOSED FOR A PRIVATE PARTY