Fortuna POP! Presents….

DARREN HAYMAN & THE LONG PARLIAMENT + PETE ASTOR + THE UNDERSTUDIES
plus poetry from special guest Steve Mclean

Wednesday 29th August, Doors 8pm

The Lexington 96-98 Pentonville Road, London N1 9JB
Nearest tubes : King's Cross / Angel
Tel : 020 7837 5387
Web: www.thelexington.co.uk

Tickets £8.50 Advance / £10 Door
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/177591

DARREN HAYMAN & THE LONG PARLIAMENT
Best known as the singer-songwriter of the phenomenally successful and much-loved Hefner, Darren Hayman is now seven or eight albums into an increasingly idiosyncratic career path. Darren is also writing the best tunes of his career; increasingly complex and mature songs. Following last year's January Songs project and his solo album of subtle, drifting piano ballads The Ship’s Piano, Darren continues his incredibly productive streak with an instrumental album devoted to London's Lidos and the third release in his Essex Trilogy, The Violence, a double album of strangely beautiful, haunting songs about the Essex Witch Trials of the 17th Century.
“London's laureate of sexual dysfunction, discomfort, and dog-eared under-achievement... the match of Ray Davies, or any of the quintessentially English masters.” (The Guardian)
http://www.hefnet.com/

PETE ASTOR
Prolific and erudite multi-instrumentalist, ex of The Loft, The Weather Prophets, and numerous other esteemed projects. Songbox, Pete’s sixth solo album and his first record outing for four years, marks a welcome return for a significant, if under-heralded, British underground musician. With an abundance of lushly arranged, timeless chamber-rock, brimming with wry lyrical insight and haunting melodic hooks, Songbox ranks among Astor’s finest recorded work since those heady ’80s heydays. Along with Ben Phillipson (Comet Gain, 18th Day of May), Pete will be playing a selection of songs, both new and quite old, for your listening pleasure.
"Quintessentially English yet Cohenesque pastoral folk-pop songs bent the way of French chanson. Lovely, every one - and a striking reminder of Astor's influence on artists from Belle & Sebastian to Luke Haines" (Uncut)
http://peteastor.tumblr.com/

THE UNDERSTUDIES
The Understudies reputation as an enthralling electric live band continues to grow with every shake of singer Brian's quiff. Fragile and robust in equal measures in the grand tradition of British guitar bands like The Smiths they stand out as unique in London’s indiepop music scene. Their single “Everyone Deserves At Least One Summer of Love” is available from Odd Box Records.
“They make the kind of dreamy indiepop that Felt peddled in their prime, tinged with a caustic wit last seen dribbling from Luke Haines' mouth." Last.fm
http://www.myspace.com/

STEVE MCLEAN
Around fifteen years ago, Steve Mclean was an angry young man from Scotland. He would regularly bash London venues with his bile and rants that masqueraded as poetry but as time progressed his anger turned to apathy. A few years before his thirtieth birthday he realised that he didn't know everything, so he stopped trying to provide answers and passing judgement on others. Recently Steve has had a mid-life crisis. While some chaps take sabbaticals or buy sports cars, Steve has returned to poetry. He feels the other chaps may have got the better deal.