'65 - '66
Here Comes the Colour 

The Beatles, 1966

Welcome to our new blog series showcasing some new bands, old bands and fantastic music!

The first band up is Idle Talk, a three piece Indie band from Brighton, UK. Above is one of their latest tracks, Inner Demons, which can be found on their latest EP, Reaction (released in February 2016).

Picture by Tom Little

Idle Talk are Louis May (vocals and guitar), Matt Geary (bass) and David Bishop (drums). They formed in early 2015 and immediately started making a name for themselves in and around the Brighton music scene. Influenced by elements of indie, mod and soul, the band have gone on to support bands like Secret Affair and From The Jam at sold out shows on their respective tours.

2016 has seen them release their first EP for Detour Records called Reaction. This was mixed by Andy Crofts (The Moons/Paul Weller Band) and has received great reviews. With various festival dates and support slots line up for the rest of the year, the band are going from strength to strength! Make sure to catch them at a gig near you soon.  (Find upcoming gig details below).




Catch Idle Talk live:

10th May - The Latest Music Bar, Brighton
19th June - The Old Queen's Head, London
29th July - Music Mania 2016, Worthing
19th August - The Con Club, Lewes
24th September - The Prince Albert, Brighton (supporting The Lost Boys)
16th December - Concorde 2, Brighton (supporting From The Jam)


Find Idle Talk online: 

http://www.idletalkband.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/idletalkband
https://idletalkuk.bandcamp.com

The Overtures in their Madcap England threads

The UK's premier Sixties tribute band, The Overtures are busy touring Holland with their excellent Bootleg Sixties show currently, but you can now enjoy your Overtures show whenever you want with the new, long awaited, Bootleg Sixties show DVD,  Live From The Playhouse!


Featuring highlights from the show and 38 songs from The Overtures extensive repertoire, including songs from The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones and many more and DVD behind the scenes and interviews extras.


The DVD is £15.00 plus P&P and can be purchased from the Bootleg Sixties website here.

Premier UK Who Tribute band, Who's Next played at the legendary Cavern Club, Liverpool recently for a sold out show in the Cavern's Live Lounge.

The show was a special set from Who's Next. The first half was made up of early Who songs and R'n'B tracks the Who covered when they were first starting out, including some quite rare, and even more rarely played live songs. The second half of the show was the Who's huge hits and rock anthems.

The band wore a lot of Madcap England styles for the Cavern Club show, including guitarist Dante DiCarlo in a Madcap England Racing Jumper and Madcap England 'Casbah' Beatle Boots (because what else would you wear on your feet down at The Cavern?!) and also singer, Gary Charman in a Madcap England Pinstripe Marriott Polo.

Dante, writing on the Who's Next blog said about the show, "The gig was an absolute blast and afterwards we were informed we had sold the place out and it had been packed to capacity! We were all beyond chuffed and can’t wait to play there again!"

Check below for some fab pics from the gig.

And then check Who's Next's website for a gig near you - the band is playing all over the UK this year!

All images © Ian Hanson Photography. (Thanks guys!)

The new Baracuta G4/D4 collaboration with Dainese, world leader in high-tech motorcycle sportswear, (hence the name D4) is now in stock at Atom Retro.

Protective gear for bike riders brand and leaders in dynamic sports technologies, Dainese have lent their expertise in protection to the classic Baracuta G4 Harrington, resulting a unique jacket featuring detachable shoulder and elbow pads hidden inside.

The D4 features inside pockets that allows the insertion of the Pro-Shape, a new generation protections printed on a Fraser tartan, made exclusively for Baracuta by Dainese. The result of all the super tech detailing is one heck of a Mod Scooter Harrington Jacket - The Baracuta G4 - D4 Dainese - Barapel Harrington. Bet Steve McQueen would have loved one of these for jaunts on his many motorcycles!

Limited stock, so don't hang around! Find it here.

The Ray-Ban Clubmaster is one of the most enduring pieces of the Ray-Ban Icons range. A style which is steeped in fashion history, it might be surprising to learn that the modern Clubmaster was actually developed by Ray-Ban in 1986. Drawing on over 50 years off fashion heritage and history, this iconic browline style is a timeless classic which returns time and time again.

The Browline style was first manufactured in America in 1947 by a company called Shuron Ltd, under the brand, Ronsir. The early Ronsir Browline glasses featured interchangeable eyewires, bridges and brow pieces, giving the wearer the ability to completely customise and change the look and colour of the glasses as they desired.

Malcolm X in 1965 wearing browline glasses. Image Michael Ochs.

The Browline features a thick upper part to the frame, giving the impression of eyebrows and lending the style it's name, and usually a thin, metal or plastic lower eye frame. The Browline was quickly picked up on and emulated by other eyewear manufacturers, who developed the design further into mens, womens and unisex designs and incorporating features such as unique plaques and materials, including plastic brows made to look like woodgrain which were popular for a time in the fifties.

James Dean in browline glasses

The browline became one of the most popular styles in the fifties and sixties, where the style accounted for half of all glasses sold in America in the 1950s. The style got it's footnote in history when it was worn by figures such as black liberationist, Malcolm X who was frequently photographed wearing browline glasses and also president Lyndon B. Johnson, who was famously pictured wearing browline glasses when he signed his national statement regarding the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

More famous browline glasses wearers include American actor, James Dean and London gangster, Ronnie Kray, showing how wide the appeal of the style was to people in all walks of life and culture.

In the 1970s there was a decline in popularity for the browline during a backlash against culture and fashion of the 1950s and 60s, which had begun with the late sixties hippie counter culture. The style was viewed standing for some of the more undesirable conformist aspects of the past and were thought too conservative. Despite this, Shuron, the original manufacturer of the browline, passed 16 million pair sold in 1971 and the style did remain popular among older people. In 1978 the browline style had a resurgence, when an anti-disco backlash effected the popularity of the Aviator and Teashade sunglasses (round, John Lennon style sunglasses) which had been at the forefront of eyewear fashion since the decline of the browline's popularity.

Part four exploring The Beatles style from 1961 to 1970, compiled and written by guest blogger, Harrison. In this installment the Beatles move into military style and also into more casual attire. You can also create your very own Beatles inspired look with this guide.

'64 - '65
The In-betweeners 

A replica of the Beatles "Shea" jacket, signed by Paul McCartney.

A Ska and Mod favourite, the Saddle Shoe is the must-have women's footwear style for Summer 2016! These three above styles are new in from GH Bass, the heritage American brand famous for the Bass Weejun loafer.

The Saddle Shoe is a classic American casual style, taking its name from the saddle-like shape of the piece of leather sewn across the waist of the shoe, usually in a contrasting 2-tone colour. Typically, a low heeled oxford shoe, this retro style has been worn by both men and women since it's inception in the early 20th century.

High School Cheerleaders wearing Saddle Shoes in 1948

The style was originally designed by sportswear manufacturer, Albert Spaulding in 1906, basing the style on a gym shoe and creating it in white leather. Spaulding added the saddle to the saddle shoe to reinforce it and add support and stability to the shoe. Spaulding envisioned the shoe as indoor athletes footwear, but it proved unpopular with serious athletes.

Nonetheless, the shoe was a hit with younger people who wore it as casual footwear and it became the shoe of choice for dancing the Jitterbug in the 1940s, but it was in the 1950s that the saddle shoe really took off.

Saddle shoes worn by men & women, c. 1950s

It's soar in popularity might have had something to do with it being worn by the king of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, who wore the style in the movie, Jailhouse Rock as well as other places. Suddenly the saddle shoe was the must-have style for both men and women. The women's saddle shoe became inextricably linked with poodle skirts, the very flared, circle skirts of the 1950s worn with crinoline petticoats underneath. Paired with a poodle skirt and a cute pair of bobby socks, this is still an enduring image of 1950s American preppy and ivy league fashion.

It was also in the late fifties that the saddle shoe caught the eye of fans and musicians on the
burgeoning Ska music scene. Typically in white and black, the saddle shoe's 2-tone colouring appealed and fit in with the Ska and Mod look.

For summer 2016, American footwear brand, GH Bass have brought out three tantalising new colours in women's saddle shoes. In Navy/White leather, Tan/Cream leather and an eye-catching red/earth suede, these comfy casual shoes are an essential for this season. Grab your favourite pair, pair with bobby socks and a gorgeous flared circle skirt and you're ready to go!

Shop Bass Saddle Shoes here.