one4review | On 14, Aug 2026

It’s the early 90s, and music is changing and apparently everyone is in a band trying to be the next big thing.

Enter stage left Andy Macleod. From watching his first gig to going to start his own, The Pointy Birds and the slightly more successful Big Slice, Macleod may not have quite made it to playing Wembley, but he certainly found his way into the heart of what was happening. While working full-time in less arts-related jobs, he began putting on bands around Camden and London and slowly became immersed in the music scene, struggling with band names and surviving the changing music zeitgeist.

Based on his book, the real crux of the show, though, is the bands who didn’t make it. The talented ones that had songs, ambition, and belief but never quite made the grade. Macleod is interested in what happens when things don’t go to plan. Take, for example, the Norwegian female three-piece Tiny Too, who, for a brief moment, looked like they might be going somewhere give the show its heart.

There are a few well know names scattered throughout rather than thrown at you, from Oasis and Blur, Arctic Monkeys, Adele, The Killers and Amy Winehouse. There’s also a brilliant throwaway story about the beginnings of Coldplay that is worth the price of admission alone.

The staging is sparse, with Macleod occasionally picking up the guitar and playing some of his own songs, which, to be honest, are pretty good. But it’s the stories that carry the show here and a celebration of a time when the next big thing could be playing in a sweaty Camden pub rather than a sterile one selected by an algorithm.

Macleod is a delight: engaging, honest and, when he picks up the guitar, he comes across like a more street smart, savvy and clever 90s John Otway, with the enthusiasm of someone who clearly loves the world he found himself in.

Soho Days and Camden Nights is ultimately a love letter to a particular time and place in music. It’s about Britpop, stardom, rubbing shoulders with the great and good, but also going with the flow and seeing where it takes you.

Well worth checking out.
****
Reviewed by Steve H

Just The Cask Room at Just The Tonic at The Mash House
Until 17 Aug 14.25