Theatre Of Hate, The Deep South and Y&T all to headline Northampton venue

Theatre of Hate headline the Northampton venue on May 18.

In 1980, Kirk Brandon formed Theatre Of Hate from the ashes of heralded punk band The Pack. Joining Kirk on vocals were Stan Stammers and Luke Rendall, along with old school friend, Steve Guthrie and Canadian born John Lennard, who revolutionised the band’s sound with his haunting sax lines.

Theatre Of Hate’s debut double-A-side single, Legion / Original Sin, topped the independent chart in 1980, and Westworld, their debut album, produced by Mick Jones from The Clash and released in 1982, held the number one position for 21 weeks.

Theatre Of Hate imploded in 1982, with Kirk taking Stan forward to form Spear Of Destiny, but the band have resurfaced over the years to play some very special shows.

Theatre of Hate headline on Saturday, May 18. Doors open at 7pm, tickets cost £17.50 before fees.

Y&T will headline the Roadmender on Tuesday, November 5.

Before the likes of Mötley Crüe, RATT and Metallica, Y&T was slogging away in sweaty rock clubs around America.

When the band formed in the early 1970s, little did they know they would set the standard for hard rock bands that trailed.

Many of the biggest acts of the 1980s became popular opening for headliners Y&T who are one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s own innovators of the hard rock sound.

Originally formed as Yesterday and Today, shortened their name to Y&T and released eight albums on A&M in the 1980s.

With a discography of 18 albums, three greatest hits collections, and a boxed set, Y&T has sold more than four million albums since their 1974 inception.

They continue to tour the world, featuring original frontman Dave Meniketti, John Nymann, Aaron Leigh and Mike Vanderhule.

Doors open at 7pm, tickets cost £18.50 in advance.

Canadian folk-bluegrass quartet The Dead South headline on Wednesday, June 26.

The band released latest album Illusion & Doubt in 2016 which followed their 2014 debut Good Company.

“We are definitely closer to the Pogues than to Alison Krauss,” explains singer and guitarist Nate Hilts.

“Unfortunately, we do not possess much of the delicate elegance so we try and bring more energy and entertainment to our side.

“You could say we are a mix of nu-folk with a few different styles mixed in between.

“We tend to add elements of classical, punk, rock, alternative, bluegrass, folk and everything in between.”

Doors open at 7pm, tickets cost £20 before fees.

Tickets for all forthcoming gigs at the venue are available from www.roadmender.com