Friday 25 September 2026.

Friday 25 September 2026. HAROLD MELVINS BLUE NOTES live at Shepherds Bush Empire. Legendary soul group are touring , for the 50th anniversary of ' Wake Up Everybody'. 'Wake Up Everybody," the album and the single, marked Teddy Pendergrass last collaboration with Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes before launching his successful solo career. The song was written by John Whitehead, Gene McFadden, and Victor Carstarphen, the same songwriting team behind the O'Jays' hit 'Back Stabbers'. Harold Melvin died in 1997, and all the other original members have passed away , apart from Lloyd Parks who left them many years ago, and does his own thing. Teddy Pendergrass ( R.I.P.) was the lead vocalist before he went solo. I saw him three times at Hammersmith Odeon in 1982. Just a month after these shows , he was in a very serious car crash. On March 18, 1982, the soul singer crashed his Rolls-Royce into trees in Philadelphia. The severe impact broke his neck and resulted in a spinal cord injury. The crash left him paralysed from the chest down as a tetraplegic (quadriplegic). Despite the permanent paralysis, he made an inspiring return to music, performing at the 1985 Live Aid concert from his wheelchair, and later dedicating time to support others with spinal cord injuries. He passed away in 2010 from respiratory failure related to colon cancer complications. Watch great YouTube videos of Teddy singing with them on the ' Soul Train' USA TV show . Current Touring Group: The group's manager is Harold Melvins widow. With no original members , you could say they are a glorified tribute act. -------------- Level 3 is half empty , and stalls seated, so maybe 800 tix sold out of the 1200 capacity. Good to see all the older Soul crowd out in force tonight. SOULUTIONS arrived on stage at 7.30pm for their 45 mins set. With powerful female vocals, this Newcastle based outfit, played a setlist of soul, funk, disco, and feel-good favourites HAROLD MELVINS BLUE NOTES arrived on stage at 8.45pm and played for 95 mins. Half the crowd want to dance and half want to sit down , so I did see a couple of mini arguments . Oddest sight , was that the lead singer is in a wheelchair. All five members wear matching green glittery suits and shoes, and perform nice old school dance routines. They were backed by a six piece band. A nice mix of dance numbers and ballads , from their early 1970s heyday. Two of the singers sung in the stalls seated during a track each. Three classics were performed early on ' If You Don't Know Me Know Me By Now' , was just mega, then ' Bad Love' , then ' The Love I Lost'. Later on was 'Don't Leave Me This Way,' which was their song , but made into a global hit by Thelma Houston , and the classic ' Wake Up Everybody' was superb. Really great to hear those Philly song classics again...very enjoyable. ---------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- Thursday 24 September 2026. AFGHAN WHIGS live at Shepherds Bush Empire . The Afghan Whigs are an alternative rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, known for blending aggressive punk energy with deep soul, R&B, and funk influences. They are celebrating their 40th anniversary with a new album titled ' Soft Control'. ------------- Level 3 is closed and Level 2 is half empty , so maybe 1200 tickets sold.. A mainly middle aged male crowd here tonight. ED HARCOURT arrived on stage at 8pm for his 30 mins. On his own , mixing playing electric guitar and some superb piano /keyboards. AFGHAN WHIGS arrived on stage at 9pm for their 90 mins set. There are fairy lights dotted all around their stage equipment. Five musician's on stage , with most songs having three guitars riffing away , for a lovely loud wall of sound. It got lively stage front for the last 30 mins , with folks dancing . The guitars sounded so great tonight. Full AFGHAN WHIGS setlist played tonight... Parked Outside I'm Her Slave What Jail Is Like House of I Oriole Going to Town Debonair My Lover Loose Talk 66 Somethin' Hot Algiers Catch a Colt The Deepest Part of the Darkest Shadow Demon in Profile Fountain and Fairfax My Enemy Son of the South (With snippets of "Roadhouse Blues" and "The End" by The Doors) Duvateen Summer's Kiss Into the Floor / Miles Iz Ded (Slight Return) and band intros

Posted 24th September 2026