Teaching the lessons of the past through the music of the future.
An alphabet of bands and artists as a series for the next 26 days. These were selected by the Spotify algorithm.
This is also the 100th post on this new blog.
Again, not surprising that Public Service Broadcasting appeared in the algorithm as I've been listening to them for a long time and have seen them play live numerous times over the year, each time getting a little bigger and better with more ambitious productions.
The band started out small, and their early stages featured TVs with visuals on them. Their shows are always visually interesting.
J Willgoose performed solo before teaming up with Wrigglesworth on drums in 2010. I first saw them around 2012 I think.
He came up with the name, as he said in the interview linked to above...
"....that was me. Just me, as at first it was just me in the band; it really was just a solo entity and the first gigs that I played was just me in a pub without any visual accompaniment or anything. It really was a solo, semi-live, semi-electronic performance. The name just seemed to fit what it was that I was doing. The only bad thing about it was that it meant that we would end up with the same initials as the Pet Shop Boys and obviously they got there first and they are a lot better (laughter)."Here's a picture of mine from a gig back in 2015....
The musicality is excellent and even my daughter was converted when she went to see them at Latitude in 2025.
The band uses music linked with vintage audio of speech, including early news reels, and audio from organisations such as NASA and early newsreels. Their first album featured classics like 'Spitfire' and 'Everest' which are still part of their live set today.
Here's 'Spitfire'...
You could argue that all of their albums are concept albums in that they are themed around a particular idea.
The band have also performed at the Proms including a specially composed one on the history of the BBC called 'This New Noise', which was later released as an album.
When the band tours, they now also add vocalist Eera to do the vocals.
For many years, any interaction with the audience was through pre-recorded voice samples.
The most recent concert I atteneded was at the Barbican in November 2025.
Here's their excellent poster. They often have a screen-printed poster for sale at their gigs, similar to other bands such as 'The Decemberists'.
Their albums are varied and exciting as well as the EPs that they have released on some eclectic topics, including a Dutch speed skating race called the 'Eleven Cities Tour'.
As this YouTube clip says:
In April 2013 we were approached by the organisers of the Explore the North festival in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. They asked if we would use some footage of the Elfstedentocht (Eleven Cities Tour), the world's biggest ice skating race, and write some songs around it. So we did.
More on that in another post as well...
Every Valley explores the decline of the coal mining industry in South Wales. I will return to that separately in a later blog post as it is definitely connected to a place and a community that has been changed by circumstances.
The Race for Space chronicled the space race, with tracks about Sputnik, Korolev and the moon landings with 'Go', as well as the first Apollo missions. What I particularly liked about this was the detail that a different drum kit was used for the Russian songs than the American songs... again more on that in a later post.
And here's a live performance of 'The Other Side' - a classic song played live....
Bright Magic is their Berlin album with more synthesisers and again J. Willgoose moved to Berlin while they were recording the album.
The Last Flight tells the story of Amelia Earhart and her attempt to circumnagivate the globe which came to a tragic end. This album has its own entry on the blog, as the design involves several maps of the proposed route. Her flight came to an end
After a series of concerts to support 'The Last Flight', the band is now preparing to record their next album. I can't wait to find out what the theme is....
Discography
They will play their largest gig at Alexandra Palace in 2026, and I have a ticket...
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