On the 23rd of August, fans of legendary band Mansun will descend on Chester for a fan convention, and there are a myriad of special things happening...

Outtakes

The band's studio engineer Ronnie Stone kept all of the daily sessions from the recording of Mansun's chart-topping debut album Attack of the Grey Lantern, and will be playing some highlights and rarities from the hours of audio he has at the event.

Ronnie says:

"I think hearing the fun element in these earlier sessions is important. I remember taking some tapes in to play EMI and they were astonished at what they described as '6 tracks and 5 hit singles in one session'"

Convention organiser Andy Lyth says:

“This is an incredible discovery for Mansun fans – listening to this will change the way fans enjoy 'Attack of the Grey Lantern'. We’re all looking forward to hearing Ronnie’s stories about recording such a seminal album”.

Here are some clips that have been snuck up online ahead of the event:

Six-ies

At the convention you'll be able to get a photo of yourself sitting on the cover of Six. We're calling these #SIXies but we doubt it'll catch on...

Unseen Photography Exhibition

Seventy never before seen photos from the EMI archive by renowned photographer Pennie Smith (who famously captured iconic images of The Clash amongst many more) will be on display at the convention. Here are a few sample photos from the exhibition:

Event Programme

The programme will feature notes from variety of people including Ryan Needham (Menace Beach), James Brown (Pulled Apart By Horses), The Anchoress and Dev Hynes (Blood Orange/Test-Icicles) plus pieces by respected music journalists discussing their appreciation of the band including DiS' Sean Adams, NME’s Mark Beaumont and Damien Jonez, Paul Lester of The Guardian, Simon Price, John Robb, Tom Pinnock and more.

Charity Auction

The convention will also be raising money for CLIC Sargent who support children with cancer. Many items of personal band memorabilia have been donated by members of Mansun which will be auctioned off in support of the charity.

The full itinerary for the convention can be read here, which includes Q & A sessions discussing the band, displays of the bands instruments, never before seen photographs of the band from the EMI archive, live music, unseen archive video footage.

For more information go to the Mansun Convention website or the event's facebook page.