Andy Bell, of Ride and formerly Oasis, brings solo GLOK show to Margate

Musician Andy Bell, best known as the guitarist in band Ride and formerly the bassist of Oasis, is heading to Margate next month.

The singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and DJ is going on a 16-date tour following the release of new live album – Gateway Mechanics: Live Electronic Sound under his solo brand GLOK.

The album was recorded in session at the Electronic Sound magazine studio earlier in 2023 and has an exclusive Electronic Sound release first edition of just 500 units pressed on transparent yellow vinyl.

As GLOK, Andy has released two prior albums Dissident and Pattern Recognition which turned out to be a surprise dance chart number one.

Andy will play at Where Else?, The Centre, Margate on October 27 followed by an after show party at Libertines venue the Albion Rooms in Cliftonville.

‘Amazing turnout’

It isn’t Andy’s first visit to the isle or, indeed, to his chosen venues.

He said: “I decided to come back to Elsewhere Margate (now rebranded) and The Albion Rooms because I had such a brilliant time last time.

“I have quite a few friends who have left London over the last few years and made homes for themselves in places like Margate and Broadstairs, so I’ve visited now and again. It’s a beautiful part of England.

“My mate from Broadstairs came along with a whole crowd of mates (to the last Where Else? gig) and there was a really amazing turnout considering there had a been a load of train disruption that day so all the trains from London were cancelled.

“I remember having a great time in that very vibey basement of Elsewhere with an excellent support set from Pynch.

“Playing grassroots venues is something which comes naturally to the kind of concerts that I play under my own name, or Space Station / GLOK. This is mainly because due to the small scale of these releases, I need to play in tiny places, which often are run independently. But I do think it is a perfect match.

“I seem to make a lot of new friends whenever I go on tour like this. It reminds me of my early days in music, where people would book a band to play because they genuinely liked the music, and friendships get born out of that kind of thing, with promoters, musicians, journalists, or people you randomly meet. There’s a sense of community and a whole ecosystem of music that I find really inspiring.”

Career in music

Andy’s career has been hugely varied as part rock band Ride, and playing for Oasis from 1999 to 2009 as well as Hurricane #1 and post-Oasis project Beady Eye plus solo projects and record production.

Asked which part of his musical journey he’d enjoyed most, Andy said: “A lot of musicians will tell you that the time when they are just starting out is a real golden time, before any disillusionment starts to kick in, and there’s a lot to that, because in a way that’s when all your dreams come true, or at least begin to.

“But I have to say I’ve never been happier than now. A big part of that is that these tours and records I make on this very small-scale level, and the experiences I have, have a lot in common with those early days, and what it’s reminded me is that music, bands, songwriters, everything is constantly regenerating, and if you are jaded, it’s probably just that you have lost touch with the spirit of it all.”

The Albion Rooms is also on Andy’s list for more visits following the after-party. He said: “ I’m a big fan of the Libertines and Pete Doherty in particular. The Albion Rooms has an aesthetic that I relate to, they’ve done a lovely job with the decor – a phrase I never thought ’I’d saying about the Libertines – and last time I was there I was also given a look at the studio – which I’m determined to come back and use.”

Birth of GLOK

Making music as GLOK came about almost by accident but has since seen success.

Andy said: “ GLOK started off as an attempt by me to start to make electronic film scores. I didn’t get to make any, but I did get offered the chance to put some tracks out on cassette on a label called Bytes. The cassette sold out, and we decided to make vinyl, that sold out as well, and away we went.

“I’ve done two albums so far as GLOK. Dissident, and Pattern Recognition – the second album was a dance chart number one, which shocked me to the core.

“I’ve also made two solo albums – and for all of these releases, I’ve hardly played live, not in a conventional way anyway. I started doing streamed solo gigs with a guitar rig and a DJ set up during Covid and this developed into something called “Space Station” which was what I was doing last time I came here.

“It allowed me to jam around with any of the various releases I’d put out and unreleased music too. But I’ve put that to bed now to concentrate on each element separately.

“Next time I make a solo album under my name I’ll do it with a live band and I’m keeping the one man show thing for GLOK, although I always try and bring Innerstrings Visuals, to keep the whole thing visually interesting for people.

“I’ve only played live as GLOK twice before in public, once at Watching Trees festival and once at Convenanza festival in France.

“Before those two gigs I did a live session for a magazine called “Electronic Sound” and that came out so well that we are putting it out as a live album. The album is called “Gateway Mechanics” and it is out on 29th September.”